"Your Majesty, the three adults, have you ever thought about why the Liao Kingdom chose to invite the Great Song Dynasty to destroy Xia at this time?" Su Jin asked.

"Do you need to ask? Of course, because the timing was right, Xia was in turmoil, and the national strength was further weakened, so Liao naturally refused to let go of this good opportunity. Zhao Zhen said.

Su Jindao: "So with the strength of the Liao State, with the current national strength of the Xia State, can it resist the attack of the Liao people?" I'm talking about the fact that my Great Song didn't participate. ”

Zhao Zhen pondered, Xia Zhu spoke: "The palace tent army, tribal army, and Jingzhou army under the jurisdiction of the nine unified military divisions of the Liao State are claimed to be 800,000, and there are also northeast subordinate national armies that can be deployed, so the total strength should be one million; Even if this number is exaggerated, the Liao people have been cultivating and recuperating in recent years, unlike my Great Song and Xia who have fought for so many years, and the quality and quantity of troops should not be much different; With the strength of the Liao people, it is obvious that the current Xia State will be destroyed overnight, and the Xia State is already in the waning mountains, and it is simply unable to resist the attack of the Liao army. ”

Su Jin smiled: "What do Yan Xiang and Du Shumi think? ”

Yan Shu nodded and said: "What Lord Xia said is roughly not bad, and there is no doubt that the Liao people will destroy Xia." ”

Du Yan also nodded in agreement.

Su Jin said: "Your Majesty, you heard that Xia can be destroyed with the power of the Liao people alone, but why did you invite me to the Great Song Dynasty to fight Xia together?" ”

Zhao Zhen said: "What's so strange about this, the lord of Liao and I have a brotherhood, and the relationship between the two countries is very harmonious at present, which is very understandable." ”

Su Jin said: "What the emperor means is that the Liao State has the meaning of seeing wealth, and wants to pull me to the Great Song Dynasty to get a piece of the pie, right?" ”

Zhao Zhen said: "That's roughly what it means." ”

Du Yan interjected: "The Liao people don't dare not share a piece of the pie with us, because if they monopolize the benefits, how can my Great Song sit idly by, isn't he afraid that we will stab us in the back?" ”

Su Jin said: "The emperor rules the world benevolently, and regards the people of the world as the same benevolence and righteousness as my Great Song Dynasty, that is because in the eyes of a gentleman, the world is a gentleman, but the minister is a villain, so you might as well speculate on the thoughts of the Liao people with the heart of a villain; Maybe the Liao people are really sincere and sincere to make friends with my Song people, so it will be like the emperor thinks that it is beneficial for everyone to occupy, then it is another matter; However, in fact, this possibility is very small, the Liao people are the country of tigers and wolves, since the alliance of the Yuanyuan, the Liao people have coveted the richness of my Great Song Dynasty all the time, they will only think about themselves, how can they make my Great Song Dynasty stronger. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "Don't think about it so extremely, when my Great Song Dynasty crusaded against the Xia Kingdom, didn't the Liao people send troops to help the Xia Kingdom attack together?" ”

Su Jindao: "I remember explaining this matter before, the Great Song Dynasty Liao State and Xia State are three-legged, so there is a balance, when Li Yuanhao invited the Liao State to send troops together, one is because of the different offensive positions, Xia can go straight to Bianliang, and the Liao State can only be contained in the Bazhou area, to put it bluntly, it is due to the uneven distribution of interests that lead to mutual suspicion; At the same time, when the Liao envoy came to watch, the ministers made a false arrangement with a new type of firecracker cannon, and the Liao people were also quite jealous, so after the 300,000 troops gathered on the border retreated, they understood that my Great Song Dynasty had defeated the Western Thieves in the Battle of Weizhou, and the time for their joint attack had passed, so how could they attack? ”

Zhao Zhen nodded slightly.

Su Jin continued: "The three kingdoms of Song, Liaoxia and Xia are all restrained by each other, no one wants to see the other country too strong, if one country annexes another country, it will be a fatal threat to the third country, the reason why the Liao people invited me to send troops to the Great Song Dynasty is to eliminate the concerns of my Great Song Dynasty, and want to have a false impression of benefit sharing, but in fact, if my Great Song Dynasty sends troops, the benefits are very small, the Liao people have been stationed in the southwest for a long time, and the road is like a bamboo to break through Xingqing Mansion and a large open area in the northwest and northeast, and the southern Huizhou Youzhou is the place where the heavy troops of the Xia State are gathered, My Great Song Dynasty can only be restrained by the main force of the Xia State and cannot advance an inch, isn't it to make wedding clothes for the Liao people? Do you still expect the Liao people to spit it out and share it with me after they occupy a large area of land?"

Zhao Zhen took a breath of cold air, slowly walked to the bookcase, took out a map, spread it out, and stared at it desperately.

Su Jin pointed to the map and said: "The emperor can see clearly, the Liao people attack from the northeast to the southwest, where there is a large grassland desert and no man's land, far away from Xingqing Mansion, and the defense is also very weak; Once the battle starts, my Great Song Dynasty will first encounter the resistance of the main force of the Xia army from the south to the north, don't underestimate the strength of the Xia State, the army left by Yuan Hao has not lost too much, at least there are 300,000 soldiers who can fight, it is impossible for my Great Song Dynasty to mobilize all the troops to attack, at most it is the part of the Northwest Fourth Road plus reinforcements, the total number will not exceed 200,000, and the imperial court will not be able to bear it; The 300,000 Xia army is fighting with us, and whether they can win is a question, and even if they win, they may be a miserable victory; And the Liao people can easily cross the Gobi steppe in the north and directly occupy Dingzhou and Xingqing Mansion from the belly and back, isn't this a fool of our Great Song Dynasty? ”

Zhao Zhen looked at Yan Shu, Du Yan, Xia Zhu and the others, and everyone nodded slightly, once the war started, the situation would definitely be like this.

Su Jindao: "What is even more worrying is the post-war pattern, if the loss of my Northwest Army is too huge, and the battle of the southern crusade against Nong Zhigao fails to end as soon as possible, and the Liao people turn their faces and attack my Great Song Dynasty at this time, what should I do then?" Are we sure that we will be able to fight on two fronts and win on both fronts? That's when we're most in danger, I'm thinking, that's the true intention of Liao; They have been holding back for too long, the wolves in the northwest are so hungry that they can't eat enough for one person, I'm afraid they will have to spare some of our cities in the Great Song Dynasty, plus a humiliating treaty to stop. ”

Zhao Zhen Khan has come down, and several old ministers are also like white paper, which is like playing chess, taking one step at a time and seeing three steps, the first step is wrong, and then they will be controlled step by step; When the northwest army was completely lost in the battle with the main force of the Xia State, it had to be supplemented by the Beijing Division, and the south was at war, and the financial and military strength were a great test; Although defeat will not necessarily destroy the country, but as Su Jin said, if the northwest is occupied, even the capital will have to be relocated, it will be a big leak, and I dare not think about it.

"It seems that my thinking is simple, thanks to Aiqing's reminder, I almost fell for the tricks of the Liao people." Zhao Zhen stretched out his sleeves to wipe his sweat, and his calves and stomach were a little soft.

Su Jin said with a smile: "The minister is just speculating, the minister is a villain, so he naturally thinks of people in a bad way, and the emperor is a gentleman, so he naturally won't think of these dark places." ”

"Although it is speculation, it is indispensable to guard against people." Yan Shu sighed.

"Yes, Master Su's analysis is quite reasonable, we can't help but take this into account, so as not to get out of control." Xia Zhu already supports his son-in-law from the bottom of his heart.

"I rejected the invitation of the Liao people and did not give him a chance." Zhao Zhen said.

Su Jin hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, what reason do you plan to refuse?" ”

Zhao Zhen said: "The division is unknown, Song Xia has already made peace, and Xia has been a vassal to the Great Song Dynasty, how can he attack for no reason?" ”

Su Jin smiled: "This reason is not bad, but if the Liao people go it alone, what does the emperor do?" ”

Zhao Zhen said: "Will they do it alone?" Aren't you afraid that my Great Song Dynasty will unite with the Xia Kingdom to attack them? ”

Su Jindao: "Of course they are afraid, but there is a reason for them to attack the Xia State, when Yuan Hao was alive, in order to get the assistance of the Liao people, he promised to marry Princess Xingping to the King of Liao Jinghai as a concubine and relatives, and also promised to open the northern pastures to the Liao people to graze horses freely, and promised that after the national strength improves, he will double the repayment of the food and materials aided; Now that Yuan Hao is dead, will Queen Yeli abide by these things promised by Li Yuanhao? The minister and Empress Yeli have had many contacts, she is a seemingly weak, but the heart is as strong as iron, she will never keep her promise, the Liao people can take the opportunity to attack the Xia country justifiably, and my Great Song Dynasty can not send troops to rescue, because the name of the people is right, our division is nameless. ”

"How can you learn from the unknown? The peace between the two countries is clear, Xia is a vassal country of our Great Song Dynasty, and attacking a subject country is attacking my Great Song Dynasty. Zhao Zhen said angrily.

Su Jin shook his head and said: "That's a good point, but everyone knows that the so-called title of a subject country is only on face, and Li Yuanhao doesn't still claim to be the emperor; In addition, since the Xia State is a subject country of the Great Song Dynasty, my Great Song Dynasty should urge the subject country to fulfill its promises, and the subject country is unable to fulfill it, should we pay it back for them? ”

Everyone rolled their eyes and paid off the debts for Xia Guo, are they crazy? Besides, Princess Xingping of other people has already been secretly accepted as a concubine by you, are you willing to hand it over? Isn't it like a monkey with its tail stepping on it?

"In addition, there is another question, the emperor must think clearly, once the Liao people ignore it and forcibly attack the Xia State, will my Great Song send troops to help? This is an unavoidable question. Su Jin said solemnly.

Zhao Zhen fell into silence again, this is a dilemma, not to send troops, to see the fall of the Xia State, and since then he has faced the unprecedented threat of the Liao State, and it is difficult to have a peaceful day; If you send troops, it will be equivalent to turning your face with the Liao, and the strength of the Song and Xia countries may not be able to stop the footsteps of the Liao, and it will give the Liao people a reason to directly attack the Great Song Dynasty.