In the felt tent, three important ministers of the Liao Kingdom sat opposite each other on a bed, drinking wine and eating meat, discussing affairs with the Han Dynasty.
"I remember that in the early years of Yingli, I was ordered to go south to Kaifeng to discuss military peace negotiations with the Southern Dynasty. At that time, Shizong unfortunately died at the hands of the rebels. His Majesty was just established and rebelled against Fang Ping. Because of me, The elite troops of the North Dynasty moved southward, and when they encountered the Han Dynasty, the Southern Dynasty also responded tit-for-tat. Chen troops were deployed, troops were repaired, and grain was gathered. In the prefectures and counties of Hebei, troops moved northward in an endless stream, and grain and equipment were transferred, blocking the roads.
However, no matter how the Southern Dynasties mobilized their troops to prepare for war, I was never afraid. However, in the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains, the troops stationed in the north are being reduced day by day, and the shouts of killing from the north have ceased, which makes me even more frightened! "Xiao Husi took a sip of wine and began to talk about his feelings as an envoy.
"It sounds like Privy Xiao was deeply moved by this trip to Han Dynasty!" Yelu Wuzhi said as he toasted with wine.
"There are some things that are better to hear than to see. Only by going there in person can you know what the situation in Han is like today!" Xiao Hu thought.
After finishing the drink, he slowly narrated: "Today's Southern Dynasty, in my opinion, is like a tiger and a hungry wolf that has temporarily tempered its sharpness. It stares and falls asleep, but secretly has not relaxed at all to sharpen its claws. Just wait for it to wipe out the south. , will inevitably turn its evil claws and fangs towards Daliao.
Today, the Southern Dynasty has no less than 30,000 soldiers and horses stationed in Hebei. They all send good generals to guard and control them, eliminate the old and weak, and retain the best. They have been trained for many years and have never been neglected. There is also Commander-in-Chief An Shenqi, King of Chenliu. Although An Shenqi is old, he is a veteran on the battlefield. He has been a soldier all his life and has rarely suffered defeat. He is not easy to fight against.
If we add the Yan army and the Han army east of Hedong, the number of Han and Yan defense troops south of the Yan Dynasty will not be less than 60,000 for many years. In these years, the Southern Dynasty has repeatedly mobilized troops to attack various parties, but it has never used the northern army, and has rotated it from time to time to enrich the passes with elite troops!
From this we can see how seriously the Han monarchs and ministers were on guard and defensive against our dynasty! "
Xiao Husi's narration made Yelu Wuzhi and Xiao Haili look solemn. They were not ignorant of these situations. Over the years, there have been constant exchanges between Han and Liao, and border trade has been frequent. During this process, the Han Dynasty never relaxed its attention to the Liao Kingdom, and the Liao Kingdom never relaxed its spying on the Han Dynasty's military affairs. Some matters cannot be completely hidden, especially the construction of the Han army and border guards. Many situations are exposed in the open to frighten the Liao Kingdom.
Yelvuzhi said: "The Southern Dynasty's military has become very powerful in recent years!"
Xiao Husi nodded and said in a fearful tone: "The elite army of the Southern Dynasties today should be around 200,000, and these Han troops have grown up after ten years of unification wars. They have good combat experience. Even if its combat power is compared with that of our Great Liao Tiger Division, I'm afraid it won't be far behind. In the past ten years, a large number of generals, heroes and heroes have emerged in the Han army. .
Moreover, the Han emperor reformed the military system, selected and trained elite soldiers, confiscated military power, and placed the army under his control. Compared with this, it is even more frightening. For decades, the Southern Dynasty has been experiencing endless civil strife. In terms of the ability to control the army, no one has surpassed the Han Dynasty today.
There is an entire country and hundreds of thousands of troops for the Han Lord to coordinate and mobilize. The war power it can unleash is far more worthy of vigilance than the 200,000 elite soldiers.
Taking Huainan, Jinghu, and Pingchuan Shu, in addition to seizing cities, land, and wealth, they also obtained at least eight million Dingkou. I am not being alarmist, but with so many people, as long as they are used properly and with the inherent foundation of the Central Plains and Hebei, it is not impossible to arm a million-strong army..."
Hearing what he said, Xiao Haili couldn't help but sigh: "For thousands of years, what people feared in the Southern Dynasty, apart from the huge and wealthy land, is the population, money and food that are difficult to consume!"
Xiao Haili's tone revealed a sense of despair. Even now, when it comes to population and economy, the Han Dynasty can already beat the Liao Kingdom. But the competition of national strength does not end there.
Where the Khitan was founded, the population was about 2 million. At that time, it was the result of the unification of the Khitan tribes and the conquest of the tribes in northern Saibei. For a nomadic regime, it was not small. After that, it included the land of Bohai and Yanbei, and developed for more than 40 years. Until the time of Yelujing's rule, it only had about 3.5 million people, which was one-fifth of the Han Dynasty.
Of course, for a semi-nomadic and semi-feudal empire that combines agriculture and hunting, with such a population strength, it is enough to wrestle with the Han Dynasty, and it can also recruit and arm a large army that is sufficient to confront the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, for the Han Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, Yeluwu was wary of them and treated them with caution, but they were not afraid.
"The Southern Dynasties cannot afford to organize a million-strong army. Even if they could, they would be wise and wouldn't do it. After all, a war cannot be fought with just a large number of people!" Yelu Wuzhi calmly commented: "We also have people in Liao. Millions and an army of 300,000 are enough to defeat them!"
Xiao Husi nodded and continued: "This time I went south from Hebei, hundreds of counties and millions of people there have obviously resumed development, and people's hearts have stabilized. Wherever I have gone, there are many people in the villages. During the off-farm days, people gathered to practice and practice martial arts. Local and state officials also continued to repair ditches and dredge rivers. Thousands of official, commercial and civilian ships traveled between the north and the south, covering the sky and the sun. Through the canal, the Southern Dynasty was enough to control the Henan region. The troops, money, food, and ordnance were successfully transferred northward, reaching Beiguan and even Youzhou..."
"Kaifeng in the Southern Dynasties has also undergone earth-shaking changes compared to seven years ago. The city has expanded several times, the population has reached nearly one million, thousands of merchants have gathered, hundreds of industries are prosperous, and cars, ships, cattle and horses are constantly flowing inside and outside. Its national power is rich and strong. Visible to the naked eye.
He overhauled the city, built official offices, warehouses, and camps, and made Kaifeng the most majestic city in the world. However, the palaces in the imperial city were not significantly modified. When I entered the Han Palace, I could still see the familiar scenes from the past, and many renovations were obvious. "
"It can be seen from this that the Lord of Han is by no means an ordinary emperor, he can be called a wise king, and what he wants must be a great cause. Such a person is too dangerous for Daliao.
Emperor Taizong was able to destroy the Jin Dynasty, but because the Jin Emperor Shi Chonggui was ignorant and greedy for enjoyment, he was unable to govern the country with military skills. The current Emperor of Han is as different from the original Emperor of Jin as the spread-winged eagle is compared to the short-legged grass rabbit. "
"As for the civil and military affairs of the Southern Dynasties, there were many good ministers. The rulers and ministers were in harmony with each other. They worked together as one to maintain public security. The laws were strict and upheld internally and externally. Their political clarity and stability also opened up a new generation, which is far from the chaos of the previous generation."
"On the National Day, the grand ceremony was far beyond imagination. Dangxiang, Tubo, Uyghur, Dali, Goryeo and other forces celebrated with gifts. I saw the Han Emperor, high in the Chongyuan Hall, accepting the worship of thousands of people, as if he was facing The great sun that towers over the sky and the earth is so bright that it is so dazzling that one dares not look directly at it.”
"When I visited Kaifeng, I saw that its people were prosperous and prosperous. What I was even more surprised about was that they were fighting against the common people, and they were all talking about conquering the south of the Yangtze River and unifying the south. The people's hearts are attached to it, and the aspirations of the people are already unanimous. .
It can be imagined that the national strategy of the Southern Dynasties was still wiping out the two or three remaining small countries in the south of the Yangtze River, and had already progressed to the final stage. Once it is allowed to complete its final unification, Daliao will face a nearly complete Central Plains Empire that has solved its worries.
By then, Daliao will be the most direct enemy of Han in the Southern Dynasties, and they will also devote their main energy to Daliao. If faced with that kind of situation, even with Daliao's current strength, it would not be easy to deal with it..."
Xiao Husi salivated as he recounted everything he had seen, heard, and personally understood as an envoy. He did not stop until his mouth was dry and his tongue was dry. And listening to what he said, the two important ministers of the Liao Kingdom who were present felt even heavier. This was a sense of concern for the country and the people.
"In just seven or eight years, the Southern Dynasty has become so powerful?" Yelu Wuzhi sighed.
What Xiao Husi said focused on the strength of the Han Dynasty, especially the improvement of its military strength, although there was a sense of exaggeration in the rhetorical description. How many years had passed before the Southern Dynasty could become this powerful?
Of course, because Xiao Husi has always been cautious in his words and deeds, he could be allowed to speak like this without concealing his feelings of fear, which also shows how terrifying the Southern Dynasty is today.
Although they don't know how much the actual situation in the Southern Dynasties differs from the strong men mentioned by Xiao Husi, there is one thing that Yelu Wuzhi and Xiao Haili both admit and even believe. The enemy in the south has become strong and is likely to be not far away. In the future, he will show his fangs to Daliao.
And under such circumstances, how should Daliao respond? They need to think carefully and repeatedly before giving correct opinions to the emperor.
But no matter what, the meat and wine at the banquet seems not so fragrant...
