After leaving Chui Gong Hall, Song Xiang and Pang Ji invited Gao Ruona, Zhang Yaozuo and Zhao Yang to the Privy Council, and held a small meeting before negotiating with the Liao envoy.
Everyone came to Song Xiang's chamber. Song Xiang took a stack of paper prepared in advance from the table and handed it to everyone. Zhao Yang glanced at it briefly and realized that this was the information used for this negotiation. Not only It lists the general comparison of the strengths of the Song and Liao countries in various aspects, as well as the garrison situation, as well as general descriptions of past wars and the number of casualties. The Privy Council even predicted various difficult questions from the Liao envoys and gave corresponding responses. The answer can be said to be quite well prepared.
After inviting a few people to sit down, Song Xiang solemnly said: "This negotiation will be conducted with me and Mr. Pang as the main ones, and the three of us will be the assistants. Do you have any objections?"
Gao Ruona glanced at Zhao Yang. He had been promoted from Deputy Privy Envoy to Councilor of Political Affairs, and he knew the rules. He also knew that Song Xiang seemed to be talking to Zhang Yaozuo, but in fact he was talking to Zhao Yang.
Zhao Yang obviously understood this, nodded and said: "No problem, I will first listen to a few people to negotiate with the Liao envoys."
Seeing Zhao Yang's agreement, Song Xiang nodded slightly, and then said seriously: "Everyone has heard what the officials said just now. The Khitan made three demands for marriage, increased coins, and cession of land. The officials ordered us to reject them one by one. ...Although it is a bit difficult, it is not impossible...I suspect that the last two items are just Xiao Xiaoyou’s last minute thoughts.”
Pang Ji and Gao Ruona were thoughtful, Zhang Yaozuo stopped talking, but Zhao Yang asked: "Does the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty think it was not the Lord of Liao who gave the order?"
"The time is not right." Song Xiang said seriously: "The floods in Hebei started in June and July last year. At that time, the court did not notice the diversion of the Yellow River. It was not until August or September that it became aware of the matter... I don't believe that the Khitan prophets made predictions in advance. The fine works were placed in Chanzhou, Damingfu and other places in Hebei. I guess it was in November when the Yellow River's "north flow" strengthened that the Khitan noticed this northward tributary, so it sent Xiao Xiaoyou as an envoy to visit our country. The Song Dynasty is also trying to spy on the direction of the Yellow River... Therefore, the Lord of Liao can at most grant it the right to act expediently. It is absolutely impossible for Xiao Xiaoyou to force me, the Song Dynasty, to submit, so when we negotiate, our momentum must not be weak..."
Pang Ji from the side sighed softly: "Having said that, it can be concluded that Xiao Xiaoyou and others have decided to change the course of the Yellow River. Otherwise, he would never dare to raise money or cede land again. Even if he is temporarily persuaded to retreat, he will wait until he returns to the country. , report this matter to the Lord of Liao. I am afraid that the Lord of Liao will not miss this opportunity and will probably send envoys again..."
"That's why we want to induce him to make an agreement. For this reason, we can even agree to increase the coins." Song Xiang said.
Increasing coins is a condition that the kings and ministers of the Song Dynasty can accept even if they have no choice but to accept it, and it is more acceptable than the other two items.
Everyone nodded thoughtfully, and then Song Xiang asked Zhao Yang again: "I wonder how Zhao Zhengyan's preparations are going? I'm afraid it will really be used this time."
Before this matter, the officials asked Zhao Yang once and granted Zhao Yang the right to act expediently. Song Xiang asked again, probably because he was worried that Zhao Yang had something to hide in front of the officials.
Zhao Yang vowed: "Don't worry, Mr. Song, he will definitely shock the Liao envoy."
"That's good."
Song Xiang nodded, gave everyone a few instructions, and then headed to the post house under the jurisdiction of Honglu Temple together.
Around 4 o'clock in the morning, Zhao Yang followed Song Xiang and others in a carriage to the post house under the jurisdiction of Honglu Temple. It was also the place where Xiao Xiaoyou, the Liao envoy, rested.
After entering the post house, Wang Yiyong, deputy minister of the Privy Council, led a group of Privy Council officials to arrive early. He Tan, Zhang Zexing and a group of censors also arrived. Song Xiang and others had a brief greeting with them, and then officials from Honglu Temple came to Song Dynasty. Xiang and Pang Ji reported the current situation of the Liao envoys. Most of them were about some requirements for food, clothing, housing and transportation, or they wanted to visit Bianjing City. After all, there were Kaifeng Prefecture sergeants stationed and patrolled everywhere inside and outside the post house. It was euphemistically called Protecting the Liao envoys is also a kind of supervision, preventing the Liao envoys from running around and taking the opportunity to spy on the Song Dynasty. The diplomatic envoys these days are actually spies on the surface.
Zhao Yang felt bored after listening to a few words. He found a place to sit down in the lobby of the post house, took out the stack of information from his arms and read it carefully.
These materials compiled and summarized by the Privy Council can be said to be the secrets of the Song Dynasty, and they are not something that can be seen casually.
For example, there are no censors such as He Tan and Zhang Zexing.
After a while, after Song Xiang, Pang Ji and others finished talking with the two Honglu Temple officials, the latter led everyone to the negotiation hall used for negotiations. It was a relatively spacious elegant room with relatively beautiful decorations. Elegant, the most eye-catching thing is the rectangular wooden table, which is more than an inch thick, more than ten feet long, and six or seven feet wide, which is quite impressive.
Although this table can seat six, seven or more people on one side, there are only five stools, just enough for Song Xiang and Zhao Yang to sit.
On the other side, there are naturally five.
"Everyone, let me take your seats first."
At Song Xiang's signal, everyone also sat down at the table on the inside.
Zhao Yang didn't care about the seat, so he sat down on the outer edge. Zhang Yaozuo seemed to want to sit next to him, but after looking at Song Xiang and the others, he had to sit down on the other side - who called this place except Zhao Yang? , he is the lowest grade.
The officials from the Privy Council and Honglu Temple who came with Song Xiang and others sat down on the stools behind the five people. Counting carefully, there were about fifteen or sixteen people.
"Excuse me, Censor He, to invite the Liao envoy."
Song Xiang asked He Tan, who was still sitting down, to do the work of Honglu Temple. The latter understood and turned around to invite the Liao envoy.
Not long after, Liao envoy Xiao Xiaoyou came with about twenty envoys. When He Tan returned to the Song officials, Song Xiang led everyone to stand up and salute.
Xiao Xiaoyou also returned the gift, and then everyone took their seats. Except for Xiao Xiaoyou, who was sitting in the middle, there were only four people sitting on both sides of him, and the other fifteen or sixteen people were also sitting in the back.
Zhao Yang curiously looked at the two people sitting opposite him and Zhang Yaozuo, including the person sitting next to Xiao Xiaoyou's left hand. He vaguely recognized that these three people were the Hanzhou literati who showed off their poems and songs at the banquet two days ago. Not to mention the "people who forget their ancestral origins" as mentioned by Li Dui, the official of the Censor, it can be seen from their appearance that they are quite different from other Liao people.
At the same time, Xiao Xiaoyou and others also looked at Zhao Yang in surprise.
It's no wonder that Zhao Yang, the youngest of all the officials in the Song Dynasty, can actually sit at the main negotiating table.
Xiao Xiaoyou asked curiously: "Who is this?"
Song Xiang introduced him on his behalf: "He is Wai Lang, You Zhengyan, Zhao Yang, a member of the Ministry of Industry of our dynasty."
Zhao Yang also sat on the stool and cupped his hands towards Xiao Xiaoyou.
This boy is so young, how can he actually sit at the table?
Xiao Xiaoyou was greatly surprised. When he thought about Zhao Yang's surname carefully, his faces showed surprise.
Song Xiang and others clearly saw that the other party had misunderstood, but there was no need to explain.
Immediately, Song Xiang took the lead and said: "Your envoy's request for marriage, increased coins, and cession of land has been heard by heaven, but I, the Song Dynasty, cannot agree to it."
"Privacy Song..."
"Envoy Xiao, please listen to Song." Song Xiang interrupted Xiao Xiaoyou and continued: "Song and Liao have discussed the matter of marriage several times. We, the Song Dynasty, have made it clear that there is only one female official in our country. As the princess of Fukang, she could not bear to marry far away from the Liao Kingdom. From then on, father and daughter were separated. What's more, the official family had already betrothed the princess to someone else, so the marriage could not be ruined. Therefore, unless the Lord of Liao married his daughter to the Song Dynasty, there was no need to discuss this matter. ...The issue of increasing coins has already happened once in the second year of Qingli, that is, in the eleventh year of Chongxi of your country. The envoys at that time were Xiao Ying, the envoy of the South Academy of your country, and Liu Liufu, a Hanlin scholar. Six months later, In August, the Song Dynasty sent Fu Bi as envoy and Zhang Maoshi as deputy envoy to negotiate with your country, and the two parties reached an agreement: first, when the Song and Liao alliances in Chanyuan were repaired, it was confirmed that all previous matters were ignored; second, Taizong of the Song Dynasty attacked Yanji because your country aided the Northern Han Dynasty and obstructed the Song Dynasty, so the fault does not lie with the Song Dynasty. Thirdly, the ten counties south of Waqiao Pass are a matter of a different generation and should not be mentioned again. ; Fourthly, regarding Xixia, Song will not mention it. Now your country should have realized Xixia’s wolfish ambitions, and you will probably regret your past talks for it... In short, whether it is a gift of coins or a cession of territory, the Song and Liao countries that year It has been agreed upon, and we agreed not to mention it again. Now that Xiao Gui is on an envoy to the Song Dynasty, these two matters are mentioned again. Is it possible that the Liao people are ignorant of the word shame?"
This righteous and well-founded refutation made Xiao Xiaoyou's face turn red and he was hesitant and speechless.
Seeing this, the Han Liao official sitting on the left side of Xiao Xiaoyou shook his head and said: "This is the moment and that is the moment."
Song Xiang guessed that the other party was going to mention the diversion of the Yellow River. Pang Ji immediately sneered and said, "Is it possible that Qiu Nehan wants to imitate Liu Liufu and Liu Nehan in the past and threaten and coerce me, the Song Dynasty?"
Before he finished speaking, Gao Ruona, who was sitting on the left side of Zhao Yang, also answered: "In the past, Liu Liufu was shameless and spoke arrogantly, claiming that the 'Tangluo' that I, the Song Dynasty, operated on Hebei Road was of no use. What did you say?" A reed can be used to sail and a stick can be leveled, otherwise a hundred thousand earth sacks can be used to break the embankment.' However, when I was building a pond in a county near Hebei Province in the Song Dynasty, your country immediately sent an envoy to angrily condemn us. Song Dynasty... But the funny thing is that that county is not building ponds, but just reclaiming paddy fields for farming..."
"Hehehe."
Many officials from the Song Dynasty behind Zhao Yang chuckled at the right time, which made the twenty people on Xiao's side feel embarrassed and annoyed.
The Hanlin scholar of the Liao Dynasty named Qiu Hong heard this and looked at Gao Ruona, and said coldly: "If hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the Liao Dynasty go south in the future, you will know whether Tangluo is useful or not!"
As soon as these words came out, the officials of the Song Dynasty were shocked and angry. Pang Ji even slapped the table and cursed: "You alone in the Liao Dynasty have hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers? I, the Song Dynasty, also have millions of forbidden troops!"
Qiu Neihan sneered with disdain: "Let's not mention the imperial army of the Southern Dynasty. There are only a million people, but only two hundred thousand can be used. This is known to all the three countries of Liao, Song and Xia. Why should the deputy privy minister deceive himself?"
"What nonsense!" Pang Ji yelled.
Behind him, the officials of the Song Dynasty also cursed angrily. Some even scolded Qiu Hong for forgetting his ancestral origins. Qiu Neihan looked ugly and retorted: "In the Liao Dynasty, I conquered the later Tang Dynasty and made contributions to the world and became independent. At that time, you I don’t know where the Song Dynasty is yet! In terms of orthodoxy, we, the Liao Dynasty, followed the system of the Han and Tang Dynasties..."
In fact, the Song State was indeed established much later than the Liao State, and the Liao State did have a status, but Song officials obviously would not admit it. The two sides had been arguing about this matter for sixty or seventy years, so how could they At this time, he showed his timidity and started to quarrel with the Liao envoy.
Seeing that the situation was out of control, Xiao Xiaoyou repeatedly tried to dissuade him. On the Song side, Song Xiang also felt that the quarrel was meaningless, and cooperated with Xiao Xiaoyou to restrain the Song officials. Only then did the quarrel between the two sides gradually subside.
After the quarrel subsided, Song Xiang asked Xiao Xiaoyou seriously: "Is Ambassador Xiao really going to destroy the alliance?"
Xiao Xiaoyou quickly shook his head and explained: "It's not to destroy the alliance, but... everyone in the Southern Dynasty, please listen to me in detail. Let's talk about increasing coins first. The Liao and Song Dynasties did have an alliance at that time. If we, Daliao, can make Xixia and If your country makes peace, the coin will be increased by 200,000, otherwise it will only be increased by 100,000. But as Privy Council Song said, Xixia is ambitious and ignores the kindness of Daliao in the past. It is unruly and determined to compete with your country. Therefore, Daliao sent troops to conquer, but... fell into Xixia's trick and lost troops and generals. My personal loss was far more than 200,000..."
Pang Ji sneered and said: "Accepting people's money and eliminating disasters. Since your country has accepted the benefits of the Song Dynasty, you will naturally seek redress for the injustice of the Song Dynasty and lose troops and generals. Then you can only blame your generals. How can you blame me?" Is the Song Dynasty taking over? Moreover, Ambassador Xiao, the increase in coins that year was not 200,000, but an increase of 200,000 coins every year!... In other words, in the past five years, your country has received more money from the Song Dynasty. One million silver silk, such a huge amount, is not enough for your country to pay for the dead?"
"Well..." Xiao Xiaoyou was speechless.
How dare he say that the Song Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of annual coins were only used for the royal family's luxury enjoyment and were never used for the military and civilians.
Seeing that he was at a loss for words, Song Xiang also took the opportunity to say: "If the Liao Dynasty feels that it has suffered a loss, then why not change the 'Agreement in the Second Year of Qingli' and reduce the gift of 200,000 coins to 100,000? There is no need for the Song Dynasty to come forward to force Xixia." Submit, as for the other 100,000, we will pacify the ten counties south of Waqiao Pass..."
Before he finished speaking, Qiu Hong, the envoy of the Liao Dynasty, sneered: "The Privy Council of the Song Dynasty made a good plan! ...In the past, the Liao Dynasty sent troops to conquer Xixia, and the Western Xia Dynasty reconciled with your country. Now the Privy Council of the Song Dynasty calls me the Liao Dynasty." I need to stand up for your country again, so I can burn the bridge across the river. If you are so willing to spend money, are you not afraid that the Holy Lord of Daliao will order hundreds of thousands of armored cavalry to go south in anger? Back then, the danger of the Yellow River in your country could stop our Daliao cavalry. Today, The Yellow River flows north, I wonder how your country can resist it? I am afraid that when the time comes, Xixia will not take the opportunity to invade... If your country asks for peace from Daliao again at this time, it will not only increase the currency by 200,000, but also cut the tile bridge south of the pass. It’s a land of ten counties…”
Seeing that the other party had finally exposed the diversion of the Yellow River, all the officials of the Song Dynasty who were observing the negotiations held their breaths and remained silent. They were probably panicking in their hearts. On the other hand, the envoys of the Liao Dynasty were much more imposing.
Just when the room fell into a brief silence, a burst of applause suddenly sounded. Everyone turned their heads to look, but were shocked to find that it was Zhao Yang who was applauding, as if he agreed with the Liao envoy's threat.
"Did you hear that?" Zhao Yang looked around at Song Xiang, Pang Ji, Gao Ruona and a dozen Song officials behind him. He raised his finger and pointed at the Liao envoy and chuckled: "This is called 'neighbors collect grain and I collect guns.' When there's a shortage of food, what's the use of just civil servants without martial arts? No matter how wealthy you are, you can only rob other people's purses and granaries. If others want to rob them, what can you do to stop them? Just rely on your words to stop them?"
"..." More than ten Song officials who were much older than Zhao Yang remained silent, as did Song Xiang, Pang Ji, Gao Ruona and others.
This scene greatly surprised the Liao envoys.
When Xiao Xiaoyou was about to say something but hesitated, the envoy Qiu Hong took the lead and said with a frown: "Zhao... Zhengyan, what do you mean by this? Could it be that I, Daliao, are to be blamed..."
"No." Zhao Yang shook his head and interrupted: "I am not blaming you or your country for saying this. You are seeking benefits for your country. What is wrong with you? The fault is that many people in the Song Dynasty are too naive and childish. I really thought that I could persuade the invading armies of other countries to retreat with my words, but I didn’t know that in this world, the law of the jungle is the truth. If you are weak, you will be bullied. If you are not bullied for a day, it is just because others did not want to bully you."
"..." Song officials remained silent.
The envoys of Liao looked at each other and fell into silence. After a long while, Xiao Xiaoyou hesitated and said: "What does Zhao Zhengyan mean...do you agree or not?"
Zhao Yang shook his head and said: "Those words before were what I warned my colleagues. I also gave some advice to your envoy. Don't even think about getting things that you can't get on the battlefield at the negotiation table. If the Liao Kingdom insists on getting it, Suoli, yes, come and fight, fight hard, and fight a war that will overwhelm the country! Defeat the Song Dynasty, and your country will agree to the coefficient you want!... The Song Dynasty has been slacking off on military affairs for decades. Most officials and soldiers no longer know how to fight, and they have only a few soldiers. Even though it is twice as powerful as the country, it cannot defeat a mere Xixia. It is just a good opportunity to use this battle to rekindle the martial arts of the Song Dynasty. ... But I have said something before, when to start the war, it is up to your country to decide, but when to truce and make peace, that is not your country's decision. Forget it."
"..." Xiao Xiaoyou was startled and looked at Zhao Yang in disbelief.
Qiu Hong and others were also surprised. They frowned and asked Song Xiang, "Privy Minister Song, can this son represent your country?"
Song Xiang glanced at Zhao Yang and remained silent, as if he acquiesced in Zhao Yang's speech.
Seeing this, the twenty people from Liao Fang looked at each other, and there was an eerie silence in the entire negotiation room.
