bookrebus Chapter 92 Lü Dafang: Diplomacy requires fierceness!
Chapter 92 Lü Dafang: Diplomacy requires fierceness!
People in Wanchaozhong also recalled the late Tang Dynasty, when the Guiyi Army struggled to survive for nearly two hundred years.
Once the Tang Dynasty lost control of the Western Regions, it quickly showed signs of decline. Even though some people tried to turn the tide, they could not stop its decline.
The Northern Song Dynasty today emphasizes civil affairs and suppresses military affairs. Even if some of the officials in the dynasty are not literate, they still understand right and wrong. What good can come of looking down on military generals?
Sighs fell one after another, yet there was nothing that could be done.
……
Lin Ke also knew that the time left for the people of the Northern Song Dynasty was actually not much. She wondered if the old party would regret it after they learned about the future of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Was the frequent suppression of political enemies truly for the sake of the Northern Song Dynasty or for their own benefit?
And then there's Empress Dowager Gao, she lacks political ability and loves to give orders blindly, it's infuriating just thinking about her!
Lin Ke paused for a moment, then continued, "As mentioned before, Sima Guang heard from Sun Lu and Mu Yan why Xihe Road could not be abandoned. He also affirmed the two men's points and advocated using the six mountain strongholds behind to exchange for the captured people. The main reason was that he hoped to negotiate peace with Western Xia."
"Fan Chunren shared similar views with Sima Guang. His younger brother, Fan Chun, had been leading troops on the border for many years and had personally witnessed how miserable the people were during the Five Routes' campaign against Xia."
"He had calculated that those mountain strongholds were deep in the Western Xia territory, making transportation extremely difficult. In the end, it might only be possible at the cost of the people's lives and the destruction of their families. Perhaps this is why Fan Chunren was the first minister to propose returning the land."
"But in the first year of the Yuanyou era, he was influenced by his student Bi Zhongyou and changed his attitude."
“This Bi Zhongyou was a descendant of Bi Shi’an, a famous prime minister during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong. He participated in the war to expand the northwest border during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, so he always opposed abandoning Xihe Road.”
"However, he also knew that it was unrealistic to not give any land to the Western Xia, so he agreed with Sima Guang's point of view."
A soldier from the Ming Dynasty: Actually, I also agree with the view that we should not abandon the land!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: Once we start ceding territory to seek peace, things will get out of hand!
A low-level official in the Tang Dynasty: It seems that these Yuanyou ministers did not have a deep understanding of Xihe Road, so naturally they did not know what this piece of land meant. They were thinking too highly of themselves!
……
"So what is Lü Dafang's opinion on this?"
"Surprisingly, Lao Lü insisted on opposing abandoning the land, and was even unwilling to give up those few mountain strongholds."
“He believes that abandoning the land will only damage the prestige of the Song Dynasty and make other countries look down on it. You agree to abandon the land only because those mountain strongholds are located in remote areas and are difficult to support. If there are too many soldiers stationed there, they will be too exhausted. If there are too few, they will not be able to hold the position. You are hesitant and indecisive.”
"Old Lu also said that the Suizhou and Lanzhou areas are full of fertile farmland. All that is needed is to send troops to cultivate the farmland, and the harvested grain will be enough to support the mountain strongholds in front. Li Yuanhao only had the opportunity to invade Guanzhong after he captured Ganzhou from the Uyghurs and Liangzhou from the Liugu tribe. Don't you remember that?"
"The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is now weak. If the Western Xia were to gain control of these territories, the harm it would cause to Guanzhong and Shu would be something we have to worry about!"
A poor young man from a poor family in the Ming Dynasty: What this gentleman says is absolutely right!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: It would be best not to give them any money at all!
A spoiled brat from the Tang Dynasty: "Give them money?! Even with the Song Dynasty's decline, it's not certain the Western Xia can take care of them! They might even be gradually devoured!"
……
"It must be said that Lord Lü was more clear-headed than others. The reason why the later Yuanyou Dynasty was able to vigorously crush the Western Xia and Qinghai Tubo was partly due to people like Lord Lü."
"However, there was another person like him. While the court was constantly discussing whether or not to return the land, a mid-level official named You Shixiong also stood up and insisted on opposing the abandonment of the land."
"However, these two were still a bit outnumbered and outmatched by Minister Yuanyou. In the end, they gave up the four mountain strongholds in the Hengshan area, but retained Lanzhou and Xihe Road."
A scholar-official from the Qin Dynasty: Even if two people agree, it won't make a difference...sigh.
A burly man buying meat in the Ming Dynasty: Saying more is useless!
Northern Song Zhezong: ...
"Since Xihe Road has been preserved, the liquidation of Xihe Road must begin. In May of the first year of Yuanyou, Zhao Ji, who was in charge of the finances of Xihe Road, was first transferred to Hedong, and then impeached by Wang Yansou and others and was demoted."
"Zhao Ji was in charge of the communication between Xihe Road and Qinghai-Tibet. Now that he has stepped down, the Song people still think that as long as they pay more money, Qinghai-Tibet can continue to be their little brother."
"This is truly a dream. Just as Lord Lü said, being too weak in diplomacy will only make others think you are easy to bully. I don't need to tell you what they will do after they have this impression!"
"Moreover, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was not peaceful internally, with regime changes. After those who were on good terms with Zhao Ji stepped down, the Song Dynasty became increasingly unclear about the internal situation of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau."
"At the same time, Qinghai Tibetans turned to Western Xia, and even made an agreement to return Lanzhou to them after taking back Xihe Road. They also offered a large sum of money to Tibetans as inside agents. In short, they were eyeing Xihe Road covetously."
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: Damn it! You are...? ...@!
General Judy: Brother Zhao, you should take a break. This isn't explosive enough yet!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Indeed, what our fourth brother said is right!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ...
All Song Dynasty emperors (feeling guilty): ...
"However, some people reported this situation to Zhong Yi, who then told Liu Shunqing. But at this time, Liu was still reporting to the court that he had too many people and hoped to reduce the number of employees."
"When Zhong Yi saw it was acceptable, he was convinced. What kind of time is this to be doing this? So Zhong Yi directly reported it to the imperial court, bypassing his superiors."
"Fortunately, there were still some capable people in the court. Prime Minister Lü Dagong, Regent Fan Chunren, Lü Dafang, and others all realized the seriousness of the problem, so they jointly recommended someone to go to Xihe Road to deal with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau issue."
"This person is You Shixiong, whom I mentioned before."
A soldier from the Ming Dynasty: I wonder if this guy is any good!
A playboy from the Tang Dynasty: Don't you know about the later ones?
A soldier from the Ming Dynasty: Sigh, we didn't have much formal education!
……
"He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the second year of the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Song (1065 AD), and his first job was as the Registrar of Yizhou on the northwestern border."
"Soon after, he was valued by his leader Fan Chunren and became his protégé. Later, when Han Qi was guarding the border, Fan recommended Xiao You to him and he successfully built Xining Village."
"Later, he was highly regarded by Cai Ting and made great contributions in the Song-Xia War in the early years of Xining. Therefore, among the later border guards, everyone wanted Xiao You to be their advisor."
"However, many of these bigwigs opposed the new law, which meant that although Xiao You was valued by some, he had no way to get promoted. He just toiled away at the grassroots level year after year, and when he opened his eyes, oh my, twenty years had passed!"
"It wasn't until the bigwigs guarding the border all returned to the court and took power after the New Party lost its influence that Little You, no, Old You, was able to return to the court with them."
Yu Shixiong (young): Damn, I've actually wasted so many years!?