Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

As for the act of repairing a dead sheep, it is not easy to say, and it is difficult to say that it is difficult: it is nothing more than a protracted wrangling.

Even if the confiscated documents are sufficient to prove that Khitan has broken the oath, the Liao people will definitely deny it in every possible way. Counting the time it takes for the envoys to go back and forth between the Liao and Song states, it would take months just to condemn each other and send diacritic letters to each other. count.

And the reason why the Liao people insist on pretending to be stupid is to delay time. How long the delay will depend on the current stalemate on the Western Front and when the preliminary results will come out.

If the Song-Tibetan coalition forces have the upper hand, Li Yuanhao, who has been retreating steadily, will definitely make trouble. If they show their full strength as an ally, the progress of the two-nation alliance to resist the Song-Tibet alliance will become justified.

As a party who sits on the mountain and watches the tigers fight on the bright side, and secretly bets on the game, Khitan will suffer losses due to Li Yuanhao's potential defeat, but he can easily make up for it by dividing up the results. After all, he is invincible, naturally It seems oily and salty.

Lu Ci had already predicted that they would be shameless and shameless, so he calmly sent officials to verbally condemn them, and the focus was still on getting the Ministry of Rites to immediately stop the amount originally set according to the Chanyuan Alliance, the annual gift of old coins to the Liao Kingdom and other Materials, and then completely shut down all trade on the border, lock the gates of the city tightly, and prevent foreigners from entering.

No matter what the final result is, in the face of this battle that does not know when it will last, every supply is precious, and it is best to stop the loss as soon as possible.

In the next six months, the mid-autumn festival turned into mid-winter, and the mid-winter ushered in the coldness of early spring. The battle on the Western Front did not make progress like the Eastern Front, which had won many victories and sang triumphant songs, but remained anxious all the time. .

Li Yuanhao had the Yue family watching over him, and Song Fan was coming fiercely in front of him, and he couldn't breathe for a moment. He was in a state of mental tension day and night, but he really made him hold on all the way.

He was not willing to be like his grandfather, only lingering in the cracks, but with the ambition to revitalize the Dangxiang clan, he did not hesitate to kill his mother and brother, and imprisoned his father before ascending to the throne.

Seeing that his ambition has not been fulfilled and his ambition has not been fulfilled, he bent his knees several times to win the support of the Liao people and married the princess of the Liao Kingdom...

How could he be willing to put all his efforts in vain, let the foundation accumulated by his ancestors be buried in his own hands, and even cheapen the Song people and his old enemy Tubo whom he despises the most!

Li Yuanhao was already talented and talented. With this blood, coupled with the convenience of the location, and the food and grass sent by the Liao people, the rear supply is much easier than that of Song Fan, so he did not show any signs of decline; , although they have an advantage in military strength, because Fan Yong and Ji Siluo often have disagreements, although they barely reach an agreement in the end, they can't be called concerted efforts anyway.

Coupled with the long-term expedition, the return date is not clear, and the soldiers miss their families, so the morale is naturally not as high as that of the party members who defend their homes and the country.

The strengths and weaknesses of the two sides are balanced against each other, and a stalemate battle situation has been formed in which half a year has passed and there is no way to distinguish between high and low.

The results of the war have not been seen for a long time, but the military resources are continuously supplied. Even in Song Dynasty, the richest country, the treasury stockpile quickly fell to the point where Zhao Zhen felt uneasy and couldn't help crying for poverty.

At this time, the DPRK and China gradually became noisy: some proposed to talk with the party and withdraw troops; Those who put in all their strength; even proposed to give up the interests of the Western Front and focus on the Eastern Front, which has achieved many successes...

The voices were more and more mixed, and they were arguing all day long, but Zhao Zhen, who was gradually losing confidence, was shaken.

However, the council hall, where he is usually the most at ease, is also divided into three factions with clear barriers, which continued the noise in the early court, which suddenly gave Zhao Zhen a headache.

He was really disturbed by what he heard that day, so he simply left the Zhengshitang early, and he felt sulking for a while in the palace. Go to stop Lu Ci and bring him to the main hall.

"They have their own opinions, and each has their own reasons, so I don't know who to listen to." Zhao Zhen, who was surrounded by no one and rarely had the opportunity to talk to Lu Ci alone recently, couldn't help but complain Confidentially: "What I regret most now is that I didn't listen to my little master's opinion immediately, and gave the Khitan people a season's old coins for nothing, alas!"

Lu Ci comforted: "Your Majesty, there is no need to be troubled. If you hadn't seen the evidence in black and white with your own eyes, it would be hard to believe that the Liao people had already betrayed their faith and secretly communicated with the Xia people to plot wrongdoings. Besides, it is too late to make up for it now. It's too late, so why be too harsh?"

Zhao Zhen, who had always regretted giving the Liao people an extra season of New Year's coins in vain, finally felt better after hearing this consolation, and still said a little sadly: "The past can't be pursued, but how can we break the deadlock now?" ?”

Money and food flowed out like running water. With no breakthrough in the war and the loss of pure competition, it is not known whether it was Liaoxia or Song Fan who could not survive first.

On the surface, the Song Dynasty is the richest and most financially rich, and it stands to reason that it can last the longest.

However, first there was the farce of the heavenly scriptures descending to the earth and building temples, then there was the man-made disaster of the Zuozangku fire, and then there were natural disasters such as the locust plague and drought, and the increasingly redundant officials and the increasing yearly coins and gifts... It seems that The addition of piecemeal expenditures becomes an extremely large number.

Although the national treasury has not reached the point where it can make ends meet, it rarely has a surplus every year.

If it weren't for this, Zhao Zhen wouldn't be full of a sense of crisis all the time, releasing palace servants every year to reduce expenses, and the dishes on the table are so frugal that even clams are reluctant to be put on it easily.

Lu Ci shook his head, and said truthfully, "According to the minister's opinion, it is not advisable."

The same party said and withdrew?

That was just repeating the same mistakes, not to mention feeding wolves, but also facing the confident lion of the Xia people, adding another burden to the already struggling finances of the Song Dynasty.

The proposal to dispatch a group of troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front for a quick battle is also a fantasy—the reason why the Eastern Front has been able to hold its ground under the impact of the Liao army that has disturbed the muddy water is the previous emphasis on defense. Under the strategy, the elite soldiers are specially placed; in the case of the general Fan Yong's weak and conservative troops, it is still unknown how much advantage the increase in the western front can bring, but the harm of weakening the eastern defenders is clear at a glance.

The Great Song Dynasty, however, could not afford the serious consequences of defeat on the two fronts: at least it would damage morale, and it would never recover; at worst, it would lose its existing territory, which would indirectly lead to the collapse of the army's morale on the western front.

As for those who complained that Tubo had other ideas and deliberately did not exert all its strength, it was even more ridiculous.

Even if the long-standing grievances between Dangxiang and Tubo are not mentioned, there is an irresolvable contradiction between Zong Siluo and Li Yuanhao who can't get in while taking advantage of the emptiness.Before forming an alliance with the Great Song Dynasty, Zong Ke had many demands, but after the negotiation, he actually used most of the elite parts when sending troops.

It's just that Ji Siluo dared to leave the back of the emptiness of defense to Da Song. He didn't fortify this point, and he doubted it in vain. He is really a villain.

Prolonging the war for a long time will not only damage the Song Dynasty, which needs to provide military resources for both parties, but also Tubo, which has sent the most troops and suffered the most casualties.

The proposal to abandon the interests of the Western Front and focus on the Eastern Front, which has achieved many successes, completely disregards the interests of the allies, the Tubo people: as an alliance, we should advance and retreat together, share honor and disgrace, how can we be greedy for our own interests and abandon our allies? I don't care about it!In the absence of the western front to contain the main force of Liaoxia, it is nothing more than wishful thinking to think that the eastern front will be as aggressive and smooth as before.

After listening to Lu Ci's succinct analysis and vetoing each of them, Zhao Zhen frowned and loosened, loosened and wrinkled again.

In the end, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but said disappointedly: "Right now, do you really have to wait patiently for the result?"

Lu Ci nodded slightly.

What he can't say is that if the government and the opposition were not unanimous and insisted on sending Fan Yong, who is full of poems and books but has no ability to deploy troops, to be the coach of the western front who needs the most sharp and aggressive momentum, the situation in the western front may be terrible. Progress has already been made.

However, the change of generals before the battle is extremely demoralizing. In the current situation where Fan Yong can be said to have done nothing, if he makes this proposal, it will not only be difficult to achieve, but it will also easily set off a wave of disputes between the government and the opposition over the new leader.

Since the prevailing trend is still to use literature to control military affairs, the result of this dispute will at most be another Confucian official to replace Fan Yong after a long period of tossing.

Zhao Zhen was helpless: "Oh!"

Seeing the little emperor's listless look, Lu Ci pursed his lips and smiled, and was about to say a few words of relief when he suddenly noticed something and couldn't help but let out a "huh".

Did he see it wrong because of dazzle, or did the vase on the wooden stand shake slightly just now?

Seeing that Lu Ci suddenly remained motionless, with a serious expression, holding his breath and listening to something, Zhao Zhen couldn't help asking curiously, "Little Master?"

Lu Ci waited attentively for a long time, until Zhao Zhen, who couldn't wait for his response, couldn't hold back and grabbed his sleeve to continue pressing questions, then shook his head.

However, just when he thought that the small shaking he had caught just now was just an illusion caused by fatigue, the ground touched by the soles of his boots actually began to vibrate slightly!

——What an earthquake!

It was too late to say it, and at the moment when the ground began to shake slightly, Lu Ci quickly glanced at the flashy table legs, and immediately gave up the idea of ​​avoiding disaster under the unstable wooden table.

"Forgive me for the offense."

Lu Ci didn't have time to think about it, he leaned over, and picked up Zhao Zhen who was still in a daze and didn't understand the situation. With his free hand, he grabbed the hanging silk hanging by the side, and roughly covered the little emperor's head. Immediately, while the shock was not too severe, he took out the fastest speed and ran towards the open space outside the hall!

When he quickly completed these actions and began to sprint outward, he saw the servants around him still standing stupidly, and he couldn't help reminding loudly: "Why are you standing still! Why don't you run!"

Hearing his reminder lightly, the servants also ran outside one after another as if they had just woken up from a dream.

Different from the previous small tremor that was so slight that it was hard to detect, this time the shock was obviously much stronger.

At the moment when Lu Ci hugged the little emperor tightly and rushed out of the palace door, a heavy gold ornament on the eaves of the palace happened to be overwhelmed by the shock, and the original fragile support was overwhelmed, allowing it to fall straight down...

Lu Ci's eyes were full of open spaces that symbolized safety, and when he caught the heavy object falling from the corner of his eye, it was too late to do more evasive actions.

He rushed forward without thinking, just pushing the little emperor away so that his back could resist the heavy falling object.

The author has something to say: Notes:

In 1029 (the plot needs to be advanced by me by one year) I don’t know the exact months of the Jingshi earthquake, and there is no record of the loss. The amplitude should not be large. The more serious one was the Hedong earthquake in 1037. Nearly 3 people died in the three states people.