After listening to Li Muchen's words, Emperor Huizong thought for a long time and said: "Don't stand up again, just say what you have to say."
When Li Muchen heard this, he nodded to Emperor Huizong to thank him.
Emperor Huizong continued: "I tell the truth to the envoy that our dynasty has indeed signed a maritime alliance with the Jurchens to jointly conquer the Liao Dynasty. Regarding this situation, I will tell the envoy in detail, and the envoy can convey it to the king of your country. Okay. Make your king understand the reason."
Li Muchen replied: "I would like to hear the details."
Huizong said: "During the later Jin Dynasty, Jin Taizu Shi Jingtang, in order to compete with the late Tang Emperor Li Congke for the world, ceded the land of the sixteen Youyan states in the Central Plains together with its people to the Khitan in exchange for Khitan sending troops to seize the late Tang Emperor. Li Congke’s Jiangshan Sheji.”
While Emperor Huizong was speaking, Li Muchen nodded from time to time to show that he was listening to Emperor Huizong's words.
Emperor Huizong continued: "The change of dynasties has always been a world dominated by those who win the hearts of the people. Since Shi Jingtang wants to compete for the Li family, he can only do it based on his ability, and should not attract outsiders. How can outsiders give it in vain? Did you help? As a result, the sixteen states of Youyan were occupied by the Khitans."
Li Muchen replied: "Shi Jingtang, Taizu of the Jin Dynasty, really shouldn't have done this."
Emperor Huizong nodded and said: "It's not just wrong, it's too wrong. When our Central Plains dynasty loses Youyan, it means it loses its security barrier. When the Khitan takes possession of Youyan, it has a geographical advantage. Because of the geographical advantage, the Khitan Youyan often comes out and harasses our territory in the Song Dynasty. The envoys here should also know that our dynasty has been planning to capture Youyan since Taizu, and has fought many wars with Khitan. In the end, it was unable to regain Youyan because it did not have the geographical advantage. The territory of the sixteen states.”
Wang Fu interjected: "It has been more than 160 years since the Central Plains Dynasty lost Youyan. This is the biggest heartache for our dynasty."
Li Muchen nodded and said: "Understood. Our country understands this deeply."
Emperor Huizong continued and said: "It is good if your envoy can understand. Please listen. Now, after more than a hundred years of development, our dynasty has a prosperous economy, a strong country and a prosperous people, and a strong military. It is a great opportunity to regain the homeland of Youyan." The timing. You should understand that given the current situation, don’t say that the Jurchens are going to war with the Khitan. Since the Jurchens are not going to war with the Khitan, our dynasty will also go to war with the Khitan to regain Youyan’s homeland. What’s more, the Jurchens have already gone to war with the Khitan, and We captured Khitan's Shangjing and Zhongjing. In this case, our dynasty formed an alliance with the Jurchens to conquer the Liao Dynasty together and regain our homeland in the Central Plains. Why not?! Therefore, our dynasty and the Jurchens signed a maritime alliance to conquer the Liao Dynasty together. "
After Emperor Huizong finished speaking, Li Muchen stood up for the third time and bowed to salute Emperor Huizong.
Emperor Huizong said: "Look, the envoy is more polite, isn't it? You are an envoy, not an official of this dynasty, just sit down and talk."
After Li Muchen took his seat for the third time, he bowed to Emperor Huizong and said: "The king of our country knows what the emperor just said. Your Majesty, your Majesty, I am entrusted by the king of our country to be an envoy to your country. We came specifically to discuss the alliance between Song and Jin."
"Oh!" Emperor Huizong was secretly surprised when he heard this.
Emperor Huizong thought that the envoy from Korea was here to make friends with the Song Dynasty. Unexpectedly, the envoy from Korea came specifically for the alliance between Song and Jin. It seemed that the alliance between Song and Jin was very involved and had attracted Gao Liguo's attention. and attention.
Emperor Huizong was surprised and said to Li Muchen: "Come and tell me."
Li Muchen said: "The Great Emperor is above. Our country borders the Jurchens, and we know a lot about the Jurchens. The Jurchens are barbaric, greedy, and aggressive, which is not a good country. Before the Jurchens were founded, they fought with our country for ten years. Over the years, we have had victories and defeats. On my mission to your country this time, in addition to persuading your country not to have any relations with women, I also brought a personal letter from the king of our country to the great emperor."
Emperor Huizong heard that the King of Korea had brought a letter and asked the general to come up.
Li Muchen then handed over the handwritten letter written by the King of Goryeo to Emperor Huizong.
Emperor Huizong opened an autographed letter from the King of Goryeo. It was written in Chinese characters and the content was very simple:
The King of Goryeo sent a letter to the Southern Emperor:
It is said that the Southern Dynasties and the Jurchens formed an alliance to conquer the Liao Dynasty together. I wonder if this is true? The Southern Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty were brothers. Since the Chanyuan Alliance, the two countries have had friendly exchanges and exchanges of envoys for a hundred years, which is not easy. Song and Liao were in good terms. Advances could complement each other, survival could secure borders, and losses would both cause losses. Gold is a land of tigers and wolves, and cannot be traded with.
Special notice, special notice!
Letters from the King of Goryeo
April of the first year of Emperor Renzong of Goryeo
Emperor Huizong was silent after reading it, and then handed the letter written by the King of Goryeo to Wang Fu for reading.
When Wang Fu read the letter from the King of Goryeo, Li Muchen continued to report: "Your Majesty, Jin is a country of tigers and wolves, and it is really impossible to make friends with him. The king of our country believes that your country should maintain good relations with the Khitan for the sake of safety and mutual understanding." If we stick together to fight against the golden invaders, if we abandon the close and become distant, and get close to the Jurchens, we will undoubtedly attract the wolf into the house, and we may end up with the death of our lips and the coldness of our teeth."
After Li Muchen finished speaking, Emperor Huizong replied: "Thank you very much for your king's letter. I will seriously consider it. After the envoy returns, I will ask how your king is doing."
After Emperor Huizong finished speaking, the palace official came over and removed Li Muchen's tea bowl.
Li Muchen knew that this was an order to expel guests, so he stood up to say goodbye and left the palace.
After Li Muchen and his party left the palace, Emperor Huizong became hesitant and looked at Wang Fu.
Wang Fu stood up and left his seat, bending down to salute Emperor Huizong.
Emperor Huizong looked at Wang Fu and asked, "Quecai, what do you think of the words of the envoy of the Kingdom of Goryeo?"
Wang Fu replied: "Your Majesty, these are the words of the King of Goryeo. According to what I heard from Secretary Zhao, after the Jurchens conquered Huanglong Mansion, the King of Goryeo was afraid that the Jurchens would invade his territory and send envoys to Jin. I congratulate the Jurchens on their great victory over the Liao Dynasty at Huanglong Prefecture, and ask for the protection of the border states. Therefore, I believe that this is an act of self-protection by the Goryeo Kingdom. In fact, I want to preserve the Khitan and let the Khitans contain the Jurchens and ensure their safety."
Emperor Huizong heard this and thought it was reasonable, so he nodded frequently.
Seeing this, Wang Fu began to deceive Emperor Huizong: "Your Majesty, I think that Korea is a small country. How can it be compared with my great dynasty? As he said, since they have been at war with the Jurchens for more than ten years , each has its own victory or defeat; what concerns does the Huanghuang Dynasty have about the Jurchens? If the Jurchens contain the Khitan, and the imperial court takes advantage of the situation to attack Youyan, and recover the homeland lost during the Later Jin Dynasty, wouldn't it be an eternal achievement?"
Wang Fu's words made Emperor Huizong's blood boil again, as if Youyan's homeland had been recovered.
Seeing that Emperor Huizong was very excited, Wang Fu further said: "Your Majesty, the imperial court has signed an alliance with the Jurchens. If there is any change, it may not be appropriate."
When Emperor Huizong heard this, he looked at Wang Fu with displeasure and said, "Who said that the alliance between the imperial court and the Jurchens would change?"
Wang Fu hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, please calm down and let me calm down."
"Wild guesses!" Emperor Huizong gave Wang Fu a rare rebuke. Then, his expression changed from gloomy to clear, and he said to Wang Fu: "You and Grand Master Cai have worked hard to reserve and supply more food and grass. The army will set off today to conquer the Khitans." , regain my homeland of Yanyun."
Wang Fu bent down and replied: "I obey your order!"
Wang Fu said goodbye to Emperor Huizong and left the palace to discuss with Cai Jing about supplying food and fodder to the army.
After Wang Fu left the palace, Emperor Huizong was sitting alone, thinking about the letter from the King of Korea. He felt uneasy, so he summoned Tong Guan and Cai You to ask about the preparations of the army and whether there was any way to win. grasp?
Tong Guan finally got such an opportunity to build eternal merits. How could he give it up? So he repeated his old trick, patted his chest and promised: "The Holy Lord, the army has launched and marched northward like a rolling mat. The Liao people are sure to win. The people of Liao are in dire straits and have been waiting for the king's army for a long time. Wherever the army arrives, they will eat pots of slurry to welcome the king's army. Yanyun's homeland will be recovered soon."
Emperor Huizong was overjoyed when he heard the memorial, and ordered Tong Guan and Cai You to say: "Tomorrow we will set off for the Northern Expedition to conquer the Khitans. I will personally support the two ministers."
Tong Guan and Cai You were also greatly encouraged and replied loudly: "I obey the decree!"
Tong Guan and Cai You were about to leave the main hall. Emperor Huizong suddenly remembered something and said to Tong Guan and Cai You, "Please wait a moment."
After hearing this, Tong Guan and Cai You stepped forward and came to Huizong's dragon chair. After paying homage to Huizong, they bowed and said: "I am waiting for the imperial edict."
Huizong said: "It's not that important. I just thought that Lao Zhong had been in Jinyang for a long time and was familiar with the Khitan situation. Besides, his deputy general Yang Keshi was also in the Northern Expedition. You can send an order to Lao Zhong to lead the Jin Dynasty. General Yang is waiting in Baozhou, so Privy Tong can consult Lao Zhong at any time."
Tong Guan and Cai You bowed and replied: "I will obey the imperial edict."
Tong Guan and Cai You bid farewell to Emperor Huizong and returned to the garrison camp.
Tong Guanxiu sent a letter to Pegasus to report to Jinyang. He led ten generals from Jinyang with his instructions and set off immediately to wait at the west gate of Baozhou to welcome the army heading north.
The messenger rushed to Jinyang overnight to deliver orders to Master Zhong.
Later, Tong Guan summoned all the generals to hold an oath-taking ceremony.
The generals of the Song army were all in high spirits and vowed to fight for the imperial court, to conquer Khitan in the north, and to regain Yanyun's homeland.
On the second day, Tong Guan held a military parade at the East Campus.
Emperor Huizong and his concubine participated in Tong Guan's military parade and swearing-in ceremony.
After the military parade was sworn in, Tong Guan said goodbye to Emperor Huizong and the Russian court officials who came to see him off, and led an army of 200,000 to march north.
The army left Bianjing, with flags covering the sun, swords and spears like a forest, and war horses neighing. It was majestic and powerful.
