At that time, Tong Guan was very unhappy after hearing what Zhao Liangsi said. He turned to Zhao Liangsi and said, "Why did Secretary Zhao Cheng say such stupid words?! Since ancient times, robbers and bandits have always been resolutely eradicated. How can there be recruitment and appeasement after eradicating the roots? Don’t you understand the principle of pushing further and further? If you don’t let a robber or bandit pay a heavy price, but instead let him get an advantage, he will push further and make bigger demands. The court Once his demands are not met, he will relapse, gather people to make trouble, and cause harm to the court. The robbers and bandits who have done great harm are not punished, but benefited from them. With such good things, who wouldn't be worthy of becoming a bandit? "
Zhao Liangsi was scolded and said submissively: "Privy Tong's advice is extremely good, but the lower official is confused."
Tong Guan snorted in his nose, turned to look at Emperor Huizong, and said sincerely: "Your Majesty, the only way to suppress the Liangshan bandits is by force. Only in this way can the majesty of the court be demonstrated, and only by killing one chicken to scare the monkeys can we suppress them." If you have to live with lawless and troublesome people, you must not be lenient and easy to appease them so that they can escape punishment."
Zhao Liangsi was so grateful to Tong Guan that it was hard to say anything. After hearing Tong Guan's words, Emperor Huizong did not change his expression. He just smiled and said: "What you said is absolutely true. I will follow your words and step up the preparation of troops and horses to conquer the Liangshan bandits."
Tong Guan bowed and replied: "The Holy One is wise!"
Huizong continued to ask: "In your opinion, who can lead an expedition?"
Tong Guan replied: "Your Majesty, it is my duty to annihilate the bandits in Liangshan. I am willing to personally take command and lead the troops to conquer Liangshan."
Huizong said: "You still have the important task of uniting the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, coordinating the mobilization of the world's soldiers and horses, and measuring the bandits and bandits in Liangshan. It would be too extravagant for you to personally lead the expedition. I think it is better to let Gao Taiwei take command and Cai Xueshi supervise the army. . That Lieutenant Gao often advises me that the bandits in Daoliang Mountain occupy the mountain as kings, kill people and steal goods, harm good people, and commit all kinds of evil. They should be severely punished. Since Captain Gao is so eager, it might as well be put in command by Captain Gao and supervised by Xueshi Cai. Army to conquer the bandits in Liangshan. You can give some of the troops and horses that have been mobilized to prepare for the expedition against Liao to Gao Taiwei and Cai Xueshi."
When Tong Guan and Cai You heard the edict, they bowed and replied: "I will obey the imperial edict."
"In addition," Huizong continued: "From now on, Privy Tong is responsible for coordinating the mobilization of soldiers and horses from all over the world, mainly coordinating brave and capable soldiers and horses from the northwest. At least 500,000 people must be mobilized to ensure victory in the expedition against Liao. The Jurchens looked down upon our dynasty. From the organized troops and horses, one hundred thousand could be divided and put under the command of Captain Gao to exterminate the Liangshan bandits. As for how to destroy the Liangshan bandits, it was up to Qing, Captain Gao, and Academician Cai to act accordingly. "
Tong Guan and Cai You bowed again and replied: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will work together to completely wipe out the Liangshan bandits."
"Okay!" Huizong said happily: "If this can be done, I will be very relieved."
Later, Huizong said to Wang Fu: "It has been nearly half a year since Prime Minister Wang took over the post of Prime Minister from Cai Laotai. Since our court has concluded an alliance with the Jurchens to jointly conquer the Liao Dynasty, strategic material reserves are of vital importance. You can mobilize grain and grass from the south of the Yangtze River. To prepare for war."
Wang Fu quickly replied: "I will obey the imperial edict."
Huizong looked at Tong Guan, Wang Fu, Cai You, and Zhao Liangsi, and said, "Please go down and prepare."
Tong Guan, Wang Fu, Cai You, and Zhao Liangsi bowed and said, "I'll take my leave."
After saying that, he retreated out of the palace.
"Secretary Zhao, please stop." Huizong, who was sitting on the dragon throne, suddenly said: "I still want to know the details of the Jurchens."
Zhao Liangsi stopped when he heard this.
Tong Guan, Wang Fu, and Cai You exited the hall.
Emperor Huizong waved to Zhao Liangsi and said, "Secretary Zhao has come to speak."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Liangsi stepped forward and stood in front of Emperor Huizong.
Emperor Huizong looked at Zhao Liangsi and said nothing for a long time. Zhao Liangsi felt uneasy.
After a long time, Huizong said: "You just told me that Liangshan is looking forward to the imperial edict. How did you know about this?"
When Zhao Liangsi heard this, he knelt on the ground.
Huizong waved his hands and said, "You don't have to be polite, please get up quickly."
Zhao Liangsi kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have something that I haven't reported yet. Please forgive me for my sins."
When Huizong heard this, he was greatly surprised, thinking that Zhao Liangsi had something to do with the Song and Jin alliance that he had not yet reported. Emperor Huizong was surprised when Zhao Liangsi said: "Your Majesty, on my way to envoy Jurchen, I passed by Liangshan in Jezhou and was kidnapped by Liangshan bandits."
Huizong was even more shocked when he heard this.
Zhao Liangsi continued: "I was kidnapped to the Liangshan village and met Song Jiang, the leader of the Liangshan thieves. Song Jiang wanted to hijack the gold and silver treasures, and there was a letter written by the Holy Emperor. I had no choice but to reveal my identity as a court official and tell him. It is because of the decree that the servant girl Zhen is sent.”
Huizong asked anxiously: "Then how did Song Jiang handle the situation after learning about it?"
Zhao Liangsi replied: "Your Majesty, after Song Jiang learned about the situation, his attitude was very humble. He held a banquet to entertain the ministers and said that he was waiting for the imperial court's order. He would lead the Liangshan bandits and invite soldiers to go out to fight and recover Yanyun Shi, which was lost to Khitan during the Later Jin Dynasty. The territory of the six states. Therefore, I know that Liangshan is waiting for the imperial court to recruit peace."
When Huizong heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's it. Please get up. I forgive you."
Zhao Liangsi stood up.
Huizong pointed to the seat next to him and said, "Sit down, sir!"
Zhao Liangsi bowed and replied: "Who are you, I dare to sit in front of the Holy Master?"
"But it doesn't hurt to sit!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zhao Liangsi sat opposite Huizong.
Huizong said: "Now that there is no one else, we, the monarch and the minister, can have a good talk."
Zhao Liangsi replied: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Huizong said: "Based on your observation, are the Liangshan bandits loyal to the imperial court?"
Zhao Liangsi replied: "Your Majesty, other ministers cannot guarantee it, but Song Jiang, the leader of the Liangshan bandits, is indeed loyal and filial to the court. If Song Jiang is not loyal and filial to the court, he will definitely not let his officials leave the stronghold, and will definitely rob the court." The treasures carried by Jurchen as envoys. The reason why Song Jiang let his ministers go as envoys to Jurchen and did not rob the imperial treasures shows that Song Jiang still puts state affairs first and is not a greedy person."
Hearing this, Huizong nodded slightly.
Zhao Liangsi continued: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the top priority for the Liangshan bandits is to recruit them. We can use the power of Liangshan to regain the territory of the sixteen states of Yanyun."
Huizong said: "What you said is absolutely true. The prefect Su in front of the palace and the prefect Zhang of Jezhou all meant this. In fact, I also meant the same."
When Zhao Liangsi heard this, he was confused and thought, since Emperor Huizong also wanted to recruit Liangshan, why did he send another 100,000 troops, led by Gao Qiu and Cai You, to conquer Liangshan?
Huizong looked at Zhao Liangsi and said easily: "As for whether the Liangshan bandits should be recruited or suppressed, the ministers in the court have quite different opinions. According to the opinions of Privy Council Tong, Gao Taiwei, Wang Prime Minister, Cai Taishi and others, they should be wiped out by force and eradicated. , leaving no future trouble; and based on the opinions of Taiwei Su in front of the palace, Taishou Zhang of Jeju and others, the top priority is to recruit people. The above ministers are all talents of the imperial court. No matter which opinion is adopted, it will cause internal strife. Based on this , I will let them do it individually. Those who advocate suppression will just go ahead and suppress it. When the suppression fails, they will definitely accept the opinion of the party who advocates recruitment and security; At that time, I will make a decision. Besides, even among the Liangshan bandits, there are loyalists who are inclined to recruit An, and there are also die-hards who are opposed to Recruiting. It would be better to let the imperial army go to conquer him, and wait for them Feeling that there was no way out, he naturally surrendered to the court."
Hearing this, Zhao Liangsi quickly left his seat, stood on the ground, clasped his hands in fists, bowed and replied: "Your Majesty is wise, I remind you of the initiation, and I suddenly wake up."
Huizong said: "Sit! Sit!"
Zhao Liangsi sat on the chair again.
Emperor Huizong asked about some customs and other issues of the Jurchens.
Zhao Liangsi was thinking about his thoughts while answering Emperor Huizong's questions.
From Emperor Huizong's attitude towards Liangshan just now, we can see that Emperor Huizong is a very scheming person, good at taking advantage of people with different positions, and seeking to get chestnuts from the fire. Putting Emperor Huizong's way of life on the matter of uniting the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, I am afraid that he would also do something harmful to the Jin Kingdom. If that were the case, Emperor Huizong would violate the terms negotiated between the Song and Jin Dynasties at any time according to his own needs. At that time, as a signatory of the covenant, he would have to bear the reputation of breaking the covenant. If things were not ideal, he would even become a scapegoat.
The more Zhao Liangsi thought about it, the more worried he became.
After talking with Emperor Huizong for more than an hour, Zhao Liangsi left and returned home.
That night, Zhao Liangsi tossed and turned, unable to sleep, thinking about whether the Song-Jin alliance was right or wrong? Are there any hidden dangers?
Zhao Liangsi thought to himself that the Khitan was no longer the Khitan of the Empress Dowager Xiao's time. The nobles of the current Khitan were enjoying themselves and had no desire to make progress. The army's swords and guns were stored in the treasury, and the horses were released in Nanshan. They had no fighting power at all and could not withstand the conquests of the Jurchens. It is a high probability that the Jurchens will annihilate the Liao Kingdom. In this case, it is not wrong to unite with the Jurchens to annihilate the Liao Kingdom and regain the territory of Yanyun Sixteen States. On the other hand, even if we do not unite with the Jurchens, the Jurchens will not be able to defeat the Liao Kingdom. The real people also want to destroy the Khitan. What does this have to do with the Song alliance and not the Jurchen alliance?
What if the Jurchens annihilated the Liao Kingdom and took advantage of it to covet the territory of the Song Dynasty? Zhao Liangsi thought to himself, this is impossible. First of all, the Song Dynasty also has millions of troops, and both sides jointly destroyed the Khitan. Then the Jurchens must also be afraid of the military strength of the Song Dynasty, right? ! Secondly, the Jurchens had a limited population and their economic strength was far inferior to that of the Song Dynasty. How could the Jurchens defeat the Song Dynasty? ! In this case, it definitely cannot be considered a mistake to use the power of Jurchens to annihilate the Khitan and regain the sixteen states of Yanyun.
What was the military strength of the Song Dynasty? This time, Zhao Liangsi's consideration came to the root.
Zhao Liangsi envied and yearned for the Song Dynasty from the bottom of his heart, which was why he would rather resign as governor of Khitan and Ningbian Prefecture than join the Song Dynasty. Love the house and the bird. In Zhao Liangsi's eyes, the Song Dynasty was the central state, the center of the world, and would surely bring congratulations to all nations. How could such a great and magnificent country not have a strong military?
Thinking of the end, Zhao Liangsi confirmed the correctness of his initiative to unite the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty. Zhao Liangsi even thought about how exciting it would be to wait for the Jurchens to launch an attack on Khitan Xijing and then hundreds of thousands of Song troops to march to the north, destroying the Liao army along the way and regaining the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. thing! When the time comes, it is possible that the Holy Emperor will consider himself a worthy prime minister because he initiated the proposal to unite the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, and because of his great contribution to the Jurchens in signing the Maritime Alliance. Zhao Liangsi thought, at that time, I would become the biggest contributor to the recovery of Yanyun. Although the battle was fought by Tong Taiwei and his soldiers, this strategy was made by me.
Zhao Liangsi, who was lying on the bed, couldn't help but feel arrogant. He was so excited that he couldn't fall asleep all night.
