Chapter 290 Before the war
In fact…

Today, most of East Asia is in the middle of a national dynasty.

The most troublesome thing in the middle period of the dynasty was that various population and resource conflicts began to erupt one after another.

It’s also Zhao Xin’s own fault.

If Zhao Xin himself allowed the Li Yuan army to kill as many people as possible in these places, then perhaps the contradiction between population and resources would not be so great.

of course!

In that case, the region will remain in poverty for a long time and it will take a long time to recover, making it even more inconvenient to govern the area.

the second year.

At the beginning of the new year, reports of locust plagues, snow disasters, famine, etc. were already commonplace for Zhao Xin, who was reading memorials.

The only thing Zhao Xin can do now is to ask for relief.

Chen Yuanyuan sat in Zhao Xin’s arms. After reading the memorial, she also said, “It seems that the disaster in Liao Kingdom this year is much more serious.”

Zhao Xin also said: “It happens every once in a while, I’m used to it.”

Chen Yuanyuan said, “If it’s really too serious, will the people rebel?”

Zhao Xin: “It’s hard to say. But I have asked Su Shi to send people to the Jurchens, Ugundile, and Zubu tribes to investigate and inquire about the local situation. At the same time, he told them that everyone is having a hard time and that everyone has to be patient at this moment. At the same time… he also told them about the necessity of family planning.”

Chen Yuanyuan asked, “What is family planning?”

Zhao Xin said, “Just try not to get it in there.”

Since Zhao Xin was talking and practicing at the same time, Chen Yuanyuan immediately rolled her eyes at him.

The Jurchens, Ugundile, and the Zubu tribe…

After hearing about the national policy of family planning.

Everyone fell into deep thought.

This……

If there are no new populations in the clan, won’t we be bullied our whole lives?
Of course they would not agree to such a thing.

and……

On our grassland, the law of the jungle prevails. If you stop people from having children, and they do, then you won’t be able to defeat them and you might end up exterminating your entire clan.

of course!

Although I don’t quite agree with Tian Khan’s national policy.

but……

This cannot be said to be completely without reason.

If we want to live a good life, the population should be smaller.

Then someone asked, did Khan do the same thing that day?

The visitor then told the other party that in the Song Dynasty, those who could not be supported were simply thrown into the water and drowned.

The visitor then continued, “The Khan wants us to tell you that in today’s world, life is hard for everyone. We hope you won’t cause trouble at this time.”

This sentence was a direct warning to them.

“The Khan also said that he considers you as his own people, so he said these words to you. If you really have any difficulties, you can send someone to Zhongjing of the former Liao Kingdom to find Su Shi. Su Shi will convey your difficulties to the Khan.”

This is true!

Once upon a time…

But no one has ever cared about their life or death in this way.

However, although the disaster in the north of the Song Dynasty was serious, it was only in some individual states.

For example, in Chunzhou, the price of corn is usually less than ten cents per dou.

Zhao Xin was also thinking about how to transport the local corn.

pity……

Even the nearest city, Zhongjing, is more than four hundred miles away.

However, the Liao Kingdom had so many horses, so it was not difficult to transport them.

As long as there are enough carriages, it will be fine.

Zhao Xin also considered that since there was a lot of land and few people in the area, he might as well get some steam locomotives there to expand the scope of farming.

It can also improve the ability to resist disasters.

……

After the first few months.

The disaster was gradually alleviated.

This summer.

The remaining two sons of Zhao Xin returned from Jiaozhi.

then……

After the reunion, Zhao Xin asked them to recruit soldiers in Hebei and prepare to train them to fight against Goryeo.

to this end……

Zhao Xin was also blamed.

The son had just come back and he asked them to go out again.

However, Zhao Xin had no choice.

time does not wait.

Gao Li was actually scared to death of Zhao Xin.

There is hardly a day that I don’t spend in fear.

Because Gaoli knew very well that Zhao Xin was not an easy person to get along with. If they dared to reject the Song Dynasty’s proposal, they would definitely not have a good life in the future.

The fact that cities along the Yalu River were placed under martial law and trade was cancelled also confirmed this.

only……

What Wang Hui and other ministers couldn’t understand was that they had treated Zhao Xin like this, but Zhao Xin didn’t attack them immediately.

This made them somewhat lose their appetite.

of course!

Actually, this kind of thing is okay once you get used to it.

After all, as a monarch, there are always all kinds of annoying things happening every day.

If we say that in early spring, Wang Hui was a little frightened.

So now…

Wang Hui was not so afraid anymore, and even sent envoys to the Song Dynasty to discuss matters.

But it’s obvious!
Wang Hui still didn’t plan to let Zhao Xin go.

therefore……

The discussion on this matter was not very successful. It can only be said that it ended in nothing and there was no progress.

As for the other party, they also wanted to find out the date when the Song Dynasty would send troops.

This is even more impossible.

Because even Zhao Xin didn’t know when it was.

He wanted to spend a large sum of money to bribe others, and then Zhao Xin found out about it.

Zhao Xin asked the officials to release the news, saying, “Let’s say it’s this autumn.”

When the other envoy received the news, he went back happily.

When the Goryeo king and his ministers learned the news, they immediately deployed their troops to the border and notified Japan.

But to be honest, Japan is not very concerned about this matter.

After all, think about it, what does protecting your Goryeo have to do with me?
You can’t cede your land to me.

The reason why Baekje could ask Japan for help was because Baekje and Japan had had a marriage alliance a long time ago, and if Japan wanted to obtain the technology and culture of the Central Plains, it had to rely on Baekje to provide them with technology and culture.

But it is different now. Japan has almost closed its doors to the outside world and is only interested in itself. Therefore, it has no interest in Goryeo and Song Dynasty.

But…as for what Goryeo said, that the Song Dynasty was going to attack them, they had to be extremely vigilant.

of course!

Some of them even suspected that Gao Li was talking nonsense.

to this end……

Japan’s ministers of state have discussed this matter no less than seven or eight times.

Some people said, why not send someone to the Song Dynasty to confirm it first?

But the person who refutes it is also the Tao, how do you confirm it?

You can ask the other person directly if he wants to hit you.
Then will they come and beat you?
Even if they want to beat you, will they tell the truth?

However, this is indeed an unexpected disaster for Japan.

We were all living well, but you suddenly said you wanted to beat me up. This is a bit unreasonable.

Considering that people from the Song Dynasty had come to their place before.

Maybe this is really possible.

But Japan has been at peace for a long time, so it is hard to say whether we can defeat them.

In addition…

If you want to build a warship or something, it will cost a lot.

In late summer and early autumn, after learning that the Song Dynasty would attack in autumn, Japan finally set the tone for the next step.

Although they did not take Goryeo seriously.

however……

If something really happened to Goryeo, they would inevitably be the next to suffer.

therefore……

We still have to help when this matter needs to be helped.

only……

Naturally, this benefit is also indispensable.

This is one of them.

Second, they should not do their utmost to help Goryeo. It would be better if they could make both sides lose and then benefit from it.

Even at this time, there are still people in the country who covet the territory of Goryeo.

They thought that by taking advantage of the chaos, they might be able to expand their territory to Goryeo.

This year……

Emperor Go-Sanjo abdicated and Emperor Shirakawa ascended the throne.

Emperor Shirakawa was only in his early twenties and was full of energy. He felt that he might be able to take advantage of this opportunity to integrate the country’s manpower and regain power from the regent Fujiwara family.

The Japanese regent at that time was Fujiwara no Yoshimichi, who was 77 years old. When he thought that Emperor Shirakawa had such an idea, he was certainly the troublemaker behind the scenes, so it would be best not to let Emperor Shirakawa take back the power.

and……

Emperor Shirakawa wanted him to send people to fight, just to let the Fujiwara family take the lead in dying.

If too many members of the Fujiwara family die, the family’s influence will be lost in the future.

After some debate between the two sides.

However, the Fujiwara family could not gain any advantage after all.

after all……

indeed!

This battle must be fought.

It is impossible for the Song Dynasty to say that after defeating Goryeo, it would mercifully say that it would never attack you.

only……

How to fight this is a problem.

The best outcome, of course, is that Goryeo could stop the Song Dynasty on its own.

Then let’s train our troops and build warships.

Emperor Shirakawa couldn’t help but feel proud when he thought that the Fujiwara family could not defeat him.

Now!

Japan quickly requisitioned four to five hundred fishing boats and more than ten thousand soldiers and transported them to Goryeo.

A large amount of food and fodder was also collected.

however……

July is over.

August is over.

By September…

All I can say is that there was no movement at all, whether on land or on sea.

How can I put it? The generals of the Fujiwara family in Japan felt like they were cheated.

The essential……

If we continue to consume food and manpower like this, it will be a huge waste of food and manpower.

Zhao Xin also asked Dengzhou, Laizhou and other places in Shandong to pay attention to Japanese ships.

Prevent the other party from coming to burn, kill and loot.

September.

As expected, a few scattered Japanese ships were discovered in Dengzhou and Laizhou.

But it looks like they are just here for reconnaissance.

it’s over…

Since Koreans tended to despise the Japanese, Japan stationed troops in Korea.

nature……

The two sides also gradually accumulated some conflicts.

For example, the Koreans looked down on the Japanese.

Then the Japanese soldiers took the initiative to step forward and provoke trouble. Who told you to look down on me?

As a result, a fight almost broke out.

Until the leaders of both sides restrained their people.

at the same time……

At the upper level, Japan also asked Goryeo to provide them with food and fodder.

Although food and fodder for ten thousand people is not a lot.

but……

No matter what, it was Goryeo’s grain that was consumed.

Wang Hui called the envoy over and scolded him.

This is clearly fake news!

just now……

The question facing the Goryeo king and his ministers was whether or not to let these Japanese go back.

and also……

What does the Song Dynasty government mean by this?
As a last resort, he sent another person with gifts to greet Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin is not averse to accepting gifts.

Anyway, it’s something given to you by others, so you’d better accept it.

As for what you said about fighting?

What war?

I have no intention of fighting at all. Who told you this?
The other envoy was stunned by what he said.

Zhao Xin also deliberately emphasized, “I am a peace-loving person.”

The envoys even wanted to report directly to Zhao Xin, “Your Majesty, there are people in your court who accepted bribes from Goryeo, but gave us false information. You must punish such people.”

of course!

This is impossible.

If you really say that, then next time, no one will provide you with information.

October.

The envoy brought the news back to Goryeo.

Wang Hui was so angry that he almost wanted to draw his sword and kill the man.

“So what should we do now?”

A minister also said so.

Everyone also started discussing it.

The only solution now is to repatriate the Japanese first.

of course!

If Japan is interested in looting Dengzhou and Laizhou…

No!

If Japan really went to Dengzhou and Laizhou to plunder, the Song government would really have to fight them.

This made Wang Hui and his ministers very embarrassed.

Japan is also very annoyed.

When Wang Hui sent someone to inform the other party that the information was wrong.

The other party immediately wanted to find a place, rob some, and then return to Japan.

After all, I came out so far and almost fell into the sea to feed the fish. I can’t go back empty-handed.

it’s over…

Goryeo also did not allow them to attack Dengzhou and Laizhou.

although……

Goryeo can shirk responsibility by saying that it was Japan that did it and it has nothing to do with them.

but……

The Song Dynasty officials may not listen to your explanation.

then……

In the winter of that year, Wang Hui once again sent people to Youzhou City to express his attitude.

This time, there is nothing else to give.

simply……

Just send beautiful women to Zhao Xin, and hope that the emperor of the Song Dynasty can concentrate on having fun with beautiful women instead of starting a war which is not good for both sides.

He even gave orders to the beauties to seduce them as much as possible.

It would be best if the other party could ignore state affairs.

During this visit, the envoy also asked, since the Song Dynasty has no intention of going to war with Goryeo, then what will the Song Dynasty do about Japan?
Zhao Xin also replied: “Why don’t you just follow what your king said before and teach them a lesson, and forget it.”

Zhao Xin said this.

After the envoys returned to Goryeo, Wang Hui and his ministers had to make another difficult decision.

Someone suggested: “How about… kidnapping Fujiwara Nobunaga?”

Someone else asked, “Fujiwara no Nobunaga is the son of Japan’s ruling minister Fujiwara no Kyomitsu. Do you really want us to make Korea an enemy of Japan?”

“What should I do?”

Japan side.

The minister also asked Fujiwara no Kōmichi, “This is a bit too risky.”

Fujiwara no Kyomichi said, “How can a young eagle grow up without going through some things? If we can win a battle, the prestige of my Fujiwara no Kyomichi lineage will be even higher. When the opportunity comes, we must grab it.”

in fact……

Fujiwara no Yoshimitsu also used this method to train his successor.

(End of this chapter)