After Wanyan Aguda, Wanyan Wu Qingmai and other Jin ministers discussed for a while, the group gradually calmed down from the excitement and began to express doubts about the sincerity of the Song Dynasty. In the view of Wanyan Aguda and other Jin ministers, Ma Zheng's position was not considered a high official in the Song Dynasty. Is it reliable for such a person to discuss this matter? Besides, what Ma Zheng just said was just made up by Ma Zheng just to survive? Or did the Song Dynasty really send him to discuss the alliance with Dajin?
Wanyan Aguda, his younger brother Wanyan Wu Qimai and other ministers and generals of the Jin Kingdom discussed the situation mentioned by Ma Zheng for a whole day, and finally decided to make some contacts with the Southern Dynasty first to see this Southern Dynasty's superior country. , what exactly does it mean? Then make a decision based on the situation.
The specific method discussed by Wanyan Aguda and others was to let Ma Zheng, Gao Yaoshi and others go back, but to detain Hu Yanqing as a hostage, and to send Li Shanqing, the Tiantai Secretary of the country, to accompany Ma Zheng, Gao Yaoshi and others to the Southern Dynasties. Ma Zheng introduced Li Shanqing to visit the Southern Emperor in order to obtain accurate information from the Southern Emperor.
Li Shanqing, sent by Wanyan Aguda, was a Han citizen of Bohai State.
The Bohai Kingdom was founded in 698 with the Mohe people as the main body. It is located in Liaoning, Jilin and other places in the northeastern region. At that time, the Central Plains was still the Li and Tang Dynasty.
By 926 AD, the Bohai Kingdom was destroyed by the Liao Kingdom and belonged to the Liao Kingdom.
Li Shanqing's ancestors fled to the Jurchen tribe because they did not want to be ruled by the Liao people. Later, when the Jurchen Kingdom was founded, Li Shanqing held the position of Si Tiantai in the Jin Kingdom. His functions were responsible for observing celestial phenomena and testing calendars.
The reason why Wanyan Aguda sent Li Shanqing to follow Ma Zheng to the Song Dynasty was because, firstly, Li Shanqing had a lower official position and had more room to operate if the agreed matters were to be repeated; secondly, because Li Shanqing was familiar with Chinese, good at observing celestial phenomena, and eloquent. , there are many innate advantages in negotiating with the Song Dynasty.
Li Shanqing sent Song Qian and Wanyan Aguda to summon him alone and made some arrangements for relevant matters.
Later, Li Shanqing set out with Ma Zheng, still by sea, and took a boat to Dengzhou. Then the Dengzhou Prefecture sent troops to escort him, either on horseback or in a sedan chair. After more than half a month, he finally arrived in Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty.
Ma Zheng placed Li Shanqing in the royal posthouse, went to see Tong Guan alone, and reported to Tong Guan the situation of being entrusted with gold.
Tong Guan got his reward, so he went to the palace again and reported the situation of Ma Zhengshi Jin to Emperor Huizong.
Since then, the Song Dynasty court and the Jurchens have been connected. How to operate next is a serious matter. Emperor Huizong handed over the matter to Tong Guan, Wang Fu and Cai Jing, and asked them to specifically demonstrate how to unite Jin to destroy Liao and The feasibility of regaining Yanyun's homeland, the consequences thereof, and the next specific actions.
The situation at that time was more complicated. The three people in power in the imperial court were Cai Jing, Wang Fu, and Tong Guan, and these three people were intrigues, poaching each other, and seeking their best personal interests.
At that time, Cai Jing was able to serve as prime minister for the third time, and Tong Guan played a big role in it. With Tong Guan's intention, he helped Cai Jing become prime minister, and Cai Jing wanted to help him assume the position of privy envoy. However, after Cai Jing became prime minister, although he worked in many ways to make Tong Guan the privy envoy, Cai Jing saw that Tong Guan was becoming more and more powerful and was deeply favored by Emperor Huizong. He was afraid that his authority would be damaged, so he restrained Tong Guan at every turn. Through. As a result, Cai Jing and Tong Guan seem to be inseparable, and their relationship is not harmonious. Tong Guanxin also had resentment towards Cai Jing and was very dissatisfied.
Wang Fu was a favorite of Emperor Huizong and held the position of Taifu. This guy was very good at flattering others. When he saw that Tong Guan and Cai Jing were incompatible with each other and poached each other, he kept a close eye on Cai Jing and thought about how to replace them.
In the matter of uniting the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Wang Fu were in different positions and derived different benefits. Therefore, their views and attitudes were also different.
In the past, when Emperor Shenzong was implementing Wang Anshi's reform, he made a wish that whoever takes back the sixteen states of Youyan in the future would be crowned king. Only the Zhao family could be the princes of the Song Dynasty. If anyone else wanted to be princes, they would have to make lasting contributions.
Tong Guan was a military general. Due to his achievements in recovering lost territory in the northwest battlefield, he was promoted many times and rose to the high position of Privy Councilor, the highest military leader in the imperial court. As a result, Tong Guan's ambitions grew. He wanted to regain the achievements of Youyan's sixteen states and further be crowned king by the imperial court, thereby realizing the greatest value of his life and being famous for generations to come.
Cai Jing was a civil servant, leading troops to fight, so he had nothing to do. The one who could be crowned king by recovering the sixteen states of Youyan could only be Tong Guan, and it would never be him. In addition, as the prime minister, Cai Jing naturally had to take everything into consideration when it came to uniting the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty. At first, Cai Jing was reluctant to make Tong Guan the king for his meritorious service. When he came, Cai Jing saw that the treasury was empty, the border was unprepared, and the military was weak. He joined forces with Jin to destroy Liao and regained Yanyun. There were many variables. Therefore, Cai Jing did not approve of joining forces with Jin to destroy Liao. strategy.
Cai Jing's meaning was expressed when Emperor Huizong first briefly discussed the matter with him. Therefore, Emperor Huizong knew Cai Jing's attitude towards the alliance with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, so when he sent envoys to the Jin Kingdom in the early stage, he did not allow Cai Jing to participate in the matter. Emperor Huizong was afraid that Cai Jing would obstruct him and mess up the matter. Now, the imperial court is in contact with the Jurchens, but in terms of specific operations, there are still many things that need to be considered and demonstrated, and Cai Jing's opinions also need to be referenced. Therefore, at this time, Emperor Huizong asked Cai Jing to participate.
At this time, Wang Fu was favored by Huizong and kept an eye on Cai Jing's position as prime minister. Therefore, he often disrupted the situation and spied on Cai Jing's words and deeds. Whenever Cai Jing and Emperor Huizong had different intentions, Wang Fu would immediately enter the palace and secretly report to Huizong. For this reason, Cai Jing had some scruples and did not dare to fully show his attitude when discussing the alliance with Jin to destroy Liao.
Precisely because Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Wang Fu competed with each other for power, when Tong Guan showed greater interest in regaining Yanyun, Cai Jing often hindered him.
In order to contain Tong Guan, Cai Jing pretended to act impartially when he met with Emperor Huizong, and requested that the matter be submitted to the court instead of consultation between the three of them, so that all ministers could discuss the matter for stability.
Cai Jing's reasons are very good. Because this is a big matter and concerns the best interests of the country, we should be cautious and listen to the opinions of ministers.
Emperor Huizong pondered Cai Jing's proposal for several days. Emperor Huizong felt that it would not be appropriate to keep such an important matter concealed. As Cai Jing said, submitting it to the court and letting the ministers discuss it together might lead to many good ideas. This would be stable and appropriate. With this in mind, Emperor Huizong agreed to Cai Jing's petition and put the matter up for discussion at the court meeting.
When the matter was submitted to the court meeting, it immediately caused an uproar, with enthusiastic approval from those in favor and fierce opposition from those opposed.
Those in favor believe that uniting the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a major opportunity given to the Song Dynasty by God. If we do not seize this opportunity at this time and use the power of the Jin people to recapture the sixteen states of Youyan, we will probably never There is no such opportunity anymore.
The sixteen states of Youyan are all south of the Great Wall and border the Northern Song Dynasty. There are no natural obstacles between them. The Liao people can invade at any time. In addition, the Liao cavalry is strong and mobile. Therefore, in previous wars, the Northern Song Dynasty suffered greatly. .
Since Taizu, the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom had several wars due to the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture, all of which ended in failure.
During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, he finally won a victory, but ended up signing a humiliating alliance with Chanyuan. The Northern Song Dynasty court had to pay tribute to the Liao Kingdom every year to maintain peace between the two countries.
Although this peace lasted for 110 years, the successive emperors were unwilling to pay the huge tribute money.
Emperor Shenzong once made a wish that whoever takes back the sixteen states of Youyan in the future will be crowned king.
When Emperor Huizong arrived, he saw that the economy was getting stronger and stronger, and the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyan could not be taken back. Instead, they had to pay tribute to Khitan every year, which made Emperor Huizong feel very unsatisfied. Therefore, Emperor Huizong still preferred the strategy of uniting with the Jin people to destroy the Liao Kingdom and recapture the sixteen states of Youyan.
Those in favor understood Emperor Huizong's intentions and therefore vigorously clamored for the immediate implementation of this strategy. However, the opponents saw a crisis in it and opposed it even more fiercely.
Among those who opposed it, Dazai Zheng Juzhong was the most resolute.
Zheng Juzhong is the elder brother of Zheng Yunzhong and the elder brother of Emperor Huizong's most beloved Concubine Zheng.
Zheng Yunzhong served as the envoy to celebrate the birthday of the Lord of Liao, and he and Tong Guan went to Liao as envoys. At that time, Zhao Liangsi proposed to Tong Guan a plan to unite with the Jurchens to attack the Khitan and regain the homeland of Youyan. Zheng Yunzhong was very aware of this situation and felt that it was inappropriate and very dangerous to operate. It might endanger the country and the country of the Song Dynasty, so he quietly informed his brother Zheng Juzhong, who served as Dazai and Deputy Privy Envoy in the imperial court, about the situation.
Zheng Juzhong was shocked when he heard this situation. Because the matter was not conducted publicly, he did not know the situation of Jurchen when Ma Zheng sent envoys, and the matter was not discussed publicly at the court meeting. Therefore, Zheng Juzhong thought that this matter was only Tong Guan's personal act, and did not treat it seriously. I want to raise objections and reject them when the matter is formally discussed and discussed by the imperial court.
Zheng Juzhong thought too highly of himself. He didn't know that Emperor Huizong and Tong Guan actually had the same intention, and they also wanted to unite with the Jurchens to attack the Khitan and regain the homeland of Youyan.
Now, this matter is being discussed enthusiastically in the hall.
Seeing that all the ministers in the palace supported this policy that harmed the country, Zheng Juzhong was furious. He suddenly stepped out of the queue and told Huizong: "Your Majesty, anyone who advocates joining the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty can be pushed out and killed!"
Huizong was startled when he heard this, with a look of displeasure on his face, and secretly thought in his heart, I am the one who advocates joining the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty. What do you mean by that? ! Is it possible that you want to kill me? Therefore, Huizong suppressed his anger and said to Zheng Juzhong: "You have your own opinion on the strategy of uniting the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, but it doesn't matter. Why should you be so arbitrary and hurtful with your words?!"
Zheng Juzhong argued rationally: "The reason for the memorial to the Holy One is not that I am hurting others with my words, but that this policy is actually harming the country. Your Majesty, it has been more than a hundred years since Zhenzong's alliance with Chanyuan. Over the past hundred years, the two countries of Song and Liao have been unable to fight. Knowing the sword, farmers do not increase labor. Even the peace plan of the Han and Tang Dynasties is not as good as the policy of our dynasty to stabilize the border. Now, there is no danger in all directions, but we have to rashly break the contract, start a war lightly, and provoke external provocations, which may lead to the wrath of heaven and the resentment of people. And The way to use the army is to predict the outcome. If you win, the treasury will be exhausted and the people will be trapped; if you lose, the harm will be untold! Your Majesty, with Taizu's fierceness and Taizong's bravery, we can recover Yanyun, and there will be countless battles. Defeat, how can we start the war lightly today?!"
Cai Jing liked to hear what Zheng Juzhong said, but he was inconvenient to come forward to support him. Firstly, it was because he and Zheng Juzhong were at odds in the past, and secondly, because he knew that Emperor Huizong, who was very happy with his achievements, did not like to hear what Zheng Juzhong said. Therefore, although Cai Jing He really liked hearing what Zheng Juzhong said, but he did not come forward to support Zheng Juzhong.
Apart from Emperor Huizong who didn't like to hear what Zheng Juzhong said, there were two other people who really didn't like to hear it.
