Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 379: The strategy of driving the tiger to swallow the wolf! (Haha, interesting!)

On the other hand, Zhao Xie and Liu Zhi hurried to the Council of State and reported the negotiation situation in detail to Fan Chunren and other ministers.

After hearing this, Fan Chunren's face darkened, and after thinking for a long time, he said, "Xixia's exorbitant demands are obviously insincere.

However, now that our Song Dynasty is facing internal and external troubles, it is not appropriate to start a war again. Do you have any good strategies to deal with it?"

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

At this time, Shangshu Youcheng Lü Dafang said: "In my opinion, we can send another envoy to contact Xixia, explain our Great Song's position, and promise them some benefits to test whether they are willing to lower their demands and negotiate again."

Everyone nodded, thinking that this plan was feasible.

However, the result was not what they expected. The main and deputy envoys of Western Xia had their mouths wide open. No matter how expensive the gifts were, they all accepted them with a smile. But when it came to peace talks, they were more tough than each other.

There is no need to say much about the mastermind Li Binglin. Even the deputy envoy Liang Yiyan is very tough. They have no problem talking about poetry and songs, but when it comes to the content of the peace talks, they say that everything is decided by the mastermind.

Fan Chunren and others wanted to take advantage of the discord between the Liang and Li families, but were ridiculed by Liang Yiyan in person, who said that there was no need to use such a low-level divisive strategy. This strategy did not succeed, and instead made Fan Chunren, Lu Dafang and others lose face.

The matter was soon reported to Empress Dowager Gao, who was very worried and quickly sought out the ministers to inquire about the situation.

Dowager Gao sat behind the curtain with a solemn look on her face. She slowly swept her eyes over the ministers below, and her voice was filled with deep worry: "Now that Xixia has such an attitude and the peace talks are still pending, the people in the court are in a panic. Do you have any good ideas to solve this dilemma?"

Fan Chunren quickly stepped forward, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the demands made by Xixia this time are really excessive. We have sent envoys to negotiate with them many times, but they are stubborn and have no intention of giving in.

I think that the internal situation of Xixia is not a monolithic entity. There have always been many conflicts between the Li and Liang families. It’s just that our previous strategies have not worked, so we need to find another way to alienate them.”

Shangshu Youcheng Lü Dafang then added: "Empress Dowager, I heard that Li Binglin proposed such harsh conditions this time, and there seems to be a hidden meaning behind it.

Although he was a prince in the Xixia court, he was often hindered by Liang Yibu.

This time, he may want to take advantage of the peace talks to expand his own power and get rid of Liang's control.

We might as well start from this aspect and try to make Liang aware of Li Binglin’s intentions and create a rift within them.”

Empress Dowager Gao nodded slightly and said thoughtfully: "What you said makes sense, but how should it be implemented?

If we make the slightest mistake, not only will we fail to alienate them, but we will anger Xixia and trigger a war.”

At this time, the Chief Censor Liu Zhi, who had been silent all this time, stood up, cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan.

You can secretly send people to infiltrate Xixia and spread the news that Li Binglin is secretly colluding with the Song Dynasty and wants to use the power of the Song Dynasty to suppress the Liang family. After the success, he will cede part of Xixia's territory to the Song Dynasty.

At the same time, they sent some forged letters, pretending that they were correspondence between Li Binglin and officials of the Song Dynasty, and tried to get them into the hands of Liang's people.

Liang Yibu is suspicious by nature, and seeing this situation, he will definitely be suspicious of Li Binglin."

After hearing Liu Zhi's plan, everyone looked thoughtful.

Fan Chunren frowned and said, "Although this plan is brilliant, it is extremely risky. Once the news leaks out and Xixia knows that it was the Song Dynasty that did it on purpose, it will definitely completely destroy the peace talks and the war between the two countries will reignite.

Moreover, the war on the front line is in full swing right now. If we want this strategy to work, it will take half a month to complete. I am afraid that the front line will not be able to withstand it.

Moreover, the more the Suide Army rebels develop, the stronger they will become. If we give them another year or two to develop, even if we can control them, it may cause great damage to the imperial court, and the Western Xia and Liao Kingdoms will take advantage of it!"

Liu Zhi smiled bitterly: "Mr. Fan is right, but the situation is urgent now and the Song Dynasty does not have many choices.

If we do not try to sow discord within Western Xia, peace talks will be difficult to achieve and war will cause great loss of life.

Queen Mother, I think you can choose someone who is smart, capable and absolutely reliable to carry out this task, and the action must be kept secret to minimize the risk."

Empress Dowager Gao thought for a while but still found it difficult to make a decision. She was afraid of the Dangxiang people. If she did not provoke them now, the Western Xia would come to attack. If she angered them, wouldn't they then invade Bianliang?

However, the conditions of the Xixia people were absolutely difficult to accept. Returning the land that had been conquered before could be considered as correcting the mistake of the previous emperor. But if the land that originally belonged to the Song Dynasty was ceded to the Xixia, it would be considered as treason, and no one could bear this crime!
Even if Empress Dowager Gao could bear the responsibility, she was unwilling to do so. After all, she had a reputation for being virtuous. The late Sima Guang called himself the female Yao and Shun. If she were to be labeled a traitor, what kind of female Yao and Shun would she be!
She thought about it over and over again, but she couldn't make a decision. She suddenly looked at Zhao Xie and asked, "Zhao Shumi, you have returned from the northwest and you know a lot about the northwest affairs. Do you have any solution?"

Zhao Xie quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I do have a plan, called the plan of driving the tiger to devour the wolf, but I don't know if it is appropriate."

Empress Dowager Gao was immediately perked up when she heard this, and hurriedly said, "Tell me quickly."

Zhao Xie said quickly: "I request that Su Yun of the Suide Army be appointed as the governor of Yan'an Prefecture and order him to guard the entire Yan'an Prefecture..."

"Nonsense!" Lü Dafang shouted angrily, "Zhao Shumi, do you know what you are talking about? Su Yun is a traitor to the court. How dare you ask to appoint him as the governor of Yan'an Prefecture? What do you think of the court?"

Empress Dowager Gao also smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Zhao, your statement is indeed too fantastical and even seems to be highly rebellious."

Zhao Xie shook his head and said, "My lady, Mr. Lu, please listen to me.

Today, the Western Xia is powerful and its evil ambitions are obvious. If it is not checked and balanced, the border will be in turmoil and the Song Dynasty will be in danger.

The reason why Su Yun rebelled was that he had a deep foundation in the Suide Army and had a strong army under his command.

If we were to become enemies with both of them at the same time, I'm afraid the Song Dynasty would be outnumbered.

But we secretly reached a tacit agreement with Su Yun, allowing him to surrender in the name of amnesty, but in fact he would bear the infamy of giving up part of Yan'an Prefecture's land to Xixia."

Zhao Xie's eyes flickered, and with a bit of calculation, he continued: "Once Su Yun is tricked into accepting the responsibility of being the governor of Yan'an Prefecture, he will have to face the attack from Xixia head-on!

In order to protect his own power, Su Yun will definitely rely on the strength of the Suide Army to fight to the death with the Western Xia.

Xixia is bent on expanding its territory, and the contradiction between it and the Suide Army is irreconcilable. Once the two sides go to war, both sides will suffer losses. "

"When they are badly injured," Zhao Xie clenched his fists and emphasized his tone, "then our Song Dynasty can legitimately send out troops and declare to the outside world that the Song Dynasty lost its territory because Su Yun disobeyed orders and ceded land to seek peace without authorization.

In this way, the anger of the people all over the world will be focused on Su Yun, and the Song Dynasty court can distance itself from it.

In this way, we can uphold justice, first suppress the rebellion of the Suide Army, demonstrate the majesty of the court, and then take advantage of the loss of Western Xia's national strength to recover the lost territory, and even further weaken Western Xia, thus winning long-term peace for the border of the Song Dynasty.

This will not only solve the current dilemma in the negotiations, but will also eliminate Su Yun's rebelliousness once and for all, killing two birds with one stone."

After listening to this, Lu Dafang's face changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Zhao Shumi, although this plan is clever, it is too insidious.

Not to mention whether Su Yun would take the bait easily, once the truth is revealed, the Song Dynasty will lose the trust of the world, and the consequences will be disastrous. "

Fan Chunren also looked embarrassed and shook his head slowly: "Zhao Shumi, this move is extremely risky. Although Su Yun is a traitor, he was once a citizen of the Song Dynasty. Now using him to bear the infamy of treason is not a gentleman's behavior, and it may also chill the hearts of loyal and righteous people in the world."

Zhao Xie disagreed and said, "My two lords, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

Today, the Song Dynasty is facing internal and external troubles, the Western Xia is aggressive, and Su Yun's rebellion is difficult to eliminate.

If not, do we have to agree to Xixia's extremely harsh demands for ceding territory and paying compensation? Or do you have a better way to solve these two problems in the short term?"

Everyone was speechless for a moment and fell into deep thought.

Empress Dowager Gao was also in a dilemma behind the curtain. Although this plan was cruel, it seemed to be a way out of the current impasse.

She hesitated again and again, and asked, "Zhao Qingjia, are you sure this plan is feasible? What if Su Yun is unwilling to cooperate?"

Zhao Xie replied confidently: "My lady, although Su Yun now has his own army, he is still known as a traitor and his life is not easy.

If the imperial court offered him an olive branch of amnesty, promising him temporary stability of the Suide Army after bearing the blame, he would most likely agree in order to protect himself.

To put it another way, even if he doesn't cooperate, the Song Dynasty will only lose a few bargaining chips, and it will not have a substantial impact on the overall situation."

At this time, Liu Zhi suddenly asked, "Has Zhao Shumi ever thought that if Su Yun took the opportunity to take over Yan'an Prefecture, wouldn't we end up losing more than we gain?"

Zhao Xie smiled and said, "Of course we have to be prepared. The Privy Council will then send a secret military order to the Western Army to explain the matter and order them to maintain the status quo and not obey Su Yunzhi's orders.

Haha, moreover, those people in the Western Army are unruly, how could they easily hand over the military power? When I was in Yan'an Prefecture, they obeyed my orders for the sake of appearance, but in fact..."

"Mr. Zhao, please be careful with your words!" Lu Dafang suddenly said.

Zhao Xie reacted immediately, a hint of unnaturalness flashing across his face. Isn't this exposing his own weakness?

Empress Dowager Gao felt helpless, thinking that Zhao Xie was really stupid. How could he even talk about such a thing?
However, she thought about it carefully and felt that what the foolish Zhao Xie said did make some sense and was very likely to succeed. Once a military fight between Western Xia and Suide broke out as Zhao Xie said, the Song Dynasty would be the one that benefited.

Even if the worst happened and Yan'an Prefecture was occupied by the Xixia people, at least Su Yun's rebellion was suppressed, and the blame was also borne by Su Yun. It had nothing to do with the imperial court, and even less to do with himself!

Maybe, it's possible?
Empress Dowager Gao looked at Fan Chunren and said, "Prime Minister Fan, it sounds like Zhao Shumi's plan is feasible. Why don't we discuss it again?"

When Fan Chunren and the others heard what Empress Dowager Gao meant, it was clear that she agreed to the matter, but did not want to bear the responsibility themselves. She wanted the ministers to agree to it so as to share the risk.

Fan Chunren secretly groaned in his heart. The Empress Dowager Gao's move was really clever and she kicked the Cuju back.

He carefully considered his words and said slowly: "Your Majesty, if you want to implement this plan, you must be extremely cautious.

As for Su Yun, let’s not talk about whether he will fall into the trap. Even if he is willing to cooperate, how can we ensure that he will not take the opportunity to strengthen his own strength when confronting Western Xia and pose a greater threat to our Song Dynasty?
After all, he has acted rebelliously, and his intentions are hard to predict."

Lu Dafang also said, "What Mr. Fan said is absolutely right.

Moreover, although the Western Army is bound by military orders, if Su Yun really takes up the post of magistrate of Yan'an Prefecture, friction with the Western Army is inevitable.

The internal situation of the Western Army is complicated. If we are not careful, it may lead to internal strife, which will undoubtedly make the border defense of the Song Dynasty even worse."

Zhao Xie quickly explained: "You two gentlemen don't have to worry. As for Su Yun's expansion of power, we can restrict it in the conditions of recruiting him, and stipulate the size of his army, scope of action, etc.

As for the Western Army, I can select trustworthy generals, make communications and deployments in advance, and have them secretly monitor Su Yun and report any unusual movements immediately.

At the same time, the imperial court can also send military supervisors to strengthen its control over the situation."

At this time, Zheng Yong, the Minister of Rites who had been silent, said, "Mr. Zhao, if this matter is to be implemented, we must also pay attention to public opinion.

Once the news gets out, the people will definitely discuss the court's move. How to guide public opinion and make the people believe that the court's move is for the sake of the overall situation, rather than colluding with rebellion, this is a big problem. "

Zhao Xie nodded slightly and said, "What Minister Zheng said is very true.

This matter must be kept absolutely confidential in the early stages. After Su Yun fights against Western Xia, we will release the news at an appropriate time, saying that the court wants to use Su Yun to consume Western Xia, and at the same time give Su Yun a chance to atone for his sins.

Then arrange for the upright people in the court to speak out, endorse the court's move, and guide the direction of public opinion."

Hearing Zheng Yong's support, Lu Dafang and Fan Chunren looked at each other, and then looked at Liu Zhi. Liu Zhi seemed to be in a trance at the moment.

At this time, the voice of Empress Dowager Gao came from behind the curtain, saying, "Prime Minister Lu, Prime Minister Fan, this matter cannot be delayed any longer, and a decision must be made as soon as possible."

Lu Dafang knew that Queen Mother Gao wanted the two of them to take the responsibility of making the decision. He sighed inwardly. He was able to become the prime minister only because of the support of Queen Mother Gao. It was his duty to be loyal to the emperor, so he just had to take on this matter!

Lu Dafang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I agree with this.

Although this plan also has risks, the situation is now critical and the Song Dynasty does not have much room for maneuver.

The tough attitude of Western Xia almost caused the peace talks to break down. If extraordinary measures were not taken, the border war might reignite and the people would be plunged into dire straits again.

Although the plan proposed by Zhao Shumi was a bit unconventional, it was still a way to break the impasse.

As long as we are careful and cautious in the implementation process and strictly control each link, we may be able to achieve two birds with one stone as Zhao Shumi said. "

Seeing that Lu Dafang had already expressed his position, Fan Chunren was worried, but he also knew that the situation was difficult to reverse.

He sighed helplessly, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, since Prime Minister Lu thinks it is feasible, I also agree.

But this matter is of great importance, and the subsequent arrangements must be thorough.

Communication with Su Yun, coordination with the Western Army, and guidance of public opinion are all related to the success or failure of the plan. I hope that the Privy Council and relevant departments can work together to minimize the risks."

Queen Mother Gao nodded slightly behind the curtain, feeling a little relieved: "Since both of you agree, this matter will be settled for now.

Zhao Shumi, you will take the lead and work with all the ministries to formulate a detailed implementation plan as soon as possible.

Remember, you must be extremely careful and not make any mistakes."

Zhao Xie immediately knelt down and accepted the order: "I obey your order! I will do my best to live up to the trust of the Queen Mother and the ministers."

After all the ministers left, Empress Dowager Gao leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes in deep thought.

She knew in her heart that this decision was like walking on the edge of a cliff, and any mistake would lead to eternal damnation.

But for the sake of the Song Dynasty and her reputation, she had no choice but to take a gamble.

On the other hand, Zhao Xie returned to the Privy Council and immediately summoned his trusted aides to discuss a specific action plan.

They carefully studied the details of their contact with Su Yun, selected suitable contacts, developed plans for communication and coordination with the Western Army, and also began to plan how to guide public opinion.

However, there were no secrets in the court of the Song Dynasty, and Ruan Chuanqiao soon discovered this. After learning about this, Ruan Chuanqiao immediately sent someone to pass the news back to the Suide Army as soon as possible, and he began to plan a counterattack.

Ruan Chuanqiao couldn't help but want to laugh, this... is so wonderful!

(End of this chapter)