When Cao Bin heard that the negotiations were over, he couldn't help but ask:
"What terms were negotiated?"
Shi Qian said:
"The annual coin is 300,000 yuan, and there are 200,000 yuan in loans this year."
Cao Bin was speechless for a long time before sighing:
"Can't mud hold up the wall?"
He originally thought that his plan was enough to give in, and he also wanted to use loans instead of annual coins, leaving enough escape routes for the Liao Kingdom, but he did not expect that the court would even get in trouble.
Although it is now less than half the 500,000 sui coins before the war, the sui coins are originally a blow to the morale of the country's people. As long as they exist, it is a sign of weakness!
Shi Qian said angrily:
"You've wasted all your loyalty and careful planning!"
"Originally, the Liao Kingdom has agreed to borrow money first, and we will not talk about Sui coins for the time being."
"But the imperial court was not reassured and offered to give him a yearly coin."
When Cao Bin heard this, he couldn't help but cursed:
"Who is so mean?"
Shi Qian said:
"It was proposed by Secretary Lang Sima Guang, and Wang Xiang, Taishi Pan and others also agreed very much."
Cao Bin was stunned for a moment and said:
"Didn't that guy get demoted from the capital? Why did he come back again?"
Shi Qian said with some sarcasm:
"The Marquis didn't know something. Sima Guang presented a Taoist scripture with auspiciousness, and the Prime Minister personally interceded for him in front of His Majesty before he was transferred back to the capital."
"He wrote in a memorial that only by giving the Liao Kingdom annual coins can the Liao Kingdom have some scruples and maintain long-term peace with the Song Dynasty."
"Although Mr. Kou doesn't agree with it, he still can't win over these husbands..."
After hearing this, Cao Bin also understood that 300,000 Guansui coins were not a lot of money to the Song Dynasty.
If the money can be used to appease the Liao Kingdom, it will be very worthwhile and save the cost of future wars. It can be regarded as a profitable business.
Maybe those courtiers thought this was their proud work and were complacent about it.
But they can only calculate the current expenses on their books, but they don’t know how to plan for the future, and they have no ambition at all.
Since there are no natural dangers in the north, the Song Dynasty had to maintain 200,000 to 300,000 elite border troops on the front lines of Hebei and Shandong all year round even if they were given annual coins.
The imperial court's annual military expenditures amounted to tens of millions, accounting for more than one-third of the national treasury revenue.
This is also the reason why the Song Dynasty was extremely rich and its income exploded, but it was still unable to make ends meet and faced financial difficulties.
The annual coin compensation is a temporary measure. As long as we work hard to regain Youyun in the future, the cost of the frontier army will be greatly reduced.
However, the imperial court regarded the annual coins as its own plan and did not want to make progress, which was helpless.
Cao Bin was silent for a while and cursed:
"Made, the court won't think that I am too meddlesome and will not recognize my merits, right?"
It was fine if the negotiations were not satisfactory. No matter how lazy he was, he would put more thought into it, but if his contribution was denied, he would have to write to the court to hold him accountable.
If you are too honest, others will think you are easy to bully. You must know how to fight for your own interests.
Maybe the court will feel more at ease.
Shi Qian smiled and said:
"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, the imperial court has already agreed to grant Gao Ming and the title of heir, and the imperial edict will leave the capital soon."
"General Zongbao of the Yang family has also been promoted to a marquis..."
After hearing this, Cao Bin's suffocation eased. After all, this was not the Southern Song Dynasty. The court also wanted to save face, and it was not to the point of suppressing its own people to please the Liao Kingdom.
Just then, Menzi came to report:
"Master Hou, there is a person from the Jianghu outside the garden asking to see you. He says he is a disciple of Penglai Island in the East China Sea."
Shi Qian said quickly:
"Master Hou, it is said that the master of Penglai Island is extremely skilled in martial arts and is known as the best in the world."
When Cao Bin heard this, he suddenly became interested, nodded and said:
"Go find Mr. Feng and others and ask them to go with me to meet this martial arts master."
Cao Bin has a good reputation in the martial arts world, so after hearing that he was performing in the ring, many masters he had interacted with came to help him.
The front hall of Xiyuan.
Not long after Cao Bin sat down with many martial arts masters, he saw a servant coming in with a middle-aged martial artist.
The middle-aged man walked like a tiger, with bright eyes. Although he saw dozens of martial arts masters in the hall staring at him, he was not timid at all.
He bowed his hands and saluted Cao Bin and said:
"This is the eldest disciple of Penglai Island Sect. I pay my respects to Marquis Zhongjing."
After hearing his name, the hall suddenly started talking, and they all said:
"It's no wonder that he is the disciple of the number one person in the martial arts world. His aura is so impressive."
"I only heard about his name before, but today I finally met him in person. He is indeed well-deserved..."
Listening to the discussion, the middle-aged man felt slightly proud and asked Cao Bin:
"Master Cao, Xia came here this time because your soldiers killed my Penglai Island disciple without any reason."
"I need an explanation, otherwise Xia will not be able to explain to my mentor."
Cao Bin glanced at him and snorted coldly:
"You want to ask me to give an explanation?"
The middle-aged man did not expect that Cao Bin would be indifferent when he heard about his origin. Not only did he not even give him a seat, he also spoke in such a domineering tone and said with an unhappy face:
"Master Hou, my teacher is an expert in the world, and I would not dare to be disrespectful to the princes and nobles."
"Is it possible that Lord Cao has never heard of my teacher's invincible title? How could he be so rude?"
Before Cao Bin could speak, Feng Yi, who was behind him, sneered coldly:
"Xia, who are you trying to scare? Do you want to try my Marquis's crossbow cannon?"
When the middle-aged man heard this, he was speechless. He really didn't dare to try. Not to mention him, even his teacher couldn't do it with a volley of arrows.
But who the hell brings a crossbowman with them every day? Aren't you afraid of being alone?
Before he could think of how to answer, he suddenly looked at Feng Yihan and said:
"Are you Junior Brother Feng? Why do you..."
Feng Yihan waved his hands and said:
"There is no need to talk about the past. Feng is just the eagle dog of Lord Marquis now."
"You dare to be arrogant in front of the Marquis, but you are just relying on the fact that Penglai Island is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is not conducive to the encirclement and suppression by the army."
"With Feng leading the way, your location is nothing more than child's play."
The middle-aged man was shocked when he heard this and said speechlessly:
"You...traitor!"
Cao Bin said disdainfully:
"It's just an isolated island. How easy would it be to destroy it?"
"If you dare to cause trouble, all you have to do is cut off his water and rice, poison him and set him on fire..."
The middle-aged man suddenly broke into a cold sweat when he heard Cao Bin's casual idea.
I just feel that Cao Bin's brain is full of destructive tricks. Let alone using all of them, even if he only uses one, he and others will not be able to stand it.
He was silent for a long time before saying:
"Master Cao, Xia knows that there is something wrong with my disciple, but the crime will not lead to death, right?"
When everyone heard this, they didn't even look at each other.
This guy was suppressed by Cao Bin after only two words. The hero became short of breath. It seemed that the best man in the world did not dare to go hard with the government.
At this time, Cao Bin took a case file from his subordinate, threw it over and said:
"This is a crime committed by your disciples. Let your teacher explain it."
As he spoke, he laughed and said:
"Looking at you coming out of the island, I must have something in mind."
"I am planning to recruit heroes from all over the world to serve the imperial court, and I need talents like your teacher."
"You think of a way to get him out. Then won't it be great for you, master and disciple, to have beautiful wives and concubines, and be rich and prosperous?"
Seeing the middle-aged arrogance suppressed, Cao Bin also revealed his true purpose...
