I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 293 Yelu Hongji: This prince was born with pride, but in the Song Dynasty, he stood out like a chicken among others!

On the seventh day of November, the weather is getting colder.

Yelu Hongji, who was in Yushitai, spent almost every day in wonder.

He was amazed by the efficiency of the officials in Yushitai in handling official affairs.

The efficiency of Tang Jie, Su Liang, and Fan Zhen was equal to the entire Yushitai of the Liao Kingdom.

The key to this kind of efficiency comes entirely from personal ability.

Even if he wanted to steal the master, he couldn't.

What made him even more depressed was that the officials of the Song Dynasty were neither humble nor arrogant.

He neither flattered him because he was the eldest son of the Liao Emperor, nor did he deliberately show off or pretend to be bad in order to show his national strength.

Between bits and pieces.

What he saw was the atmosphere of Song Dynasty as a great nation.

This made him like Song Dynasty more and more, and admire Zhao Zhen more and more.

He became more and more disdainful of his father who was so obsessed with success.

He increasingly looked down upon those powerful people in the Liao Kingdom who "eat meat without chopsticks and indulge in sexual immorality after drinking".

These days.

Yelu Hongji's biggest feeling was that the officials of the Song Dynasty almost took over all the virtuous people in the world. This was a sign of the prosperous age of the Song Dynasty.

In fact, every family has sutras that are difficult to recite.

He only saw the good things about the Song Dynasty, but never the bad things about the Song Dynasty.

In his eyes.

The imperial court of the Song Dynasty made it right for the clan's relatives to have positions but not powers. It was right to focus on eating, drinking and having fun. The strategy of reform throughout the Song Dynasty was unprecedentedly successful. Even the quarrels between officials of the Song Dynasty were fun...

And while getting along with Su Liang.

Yelu Hongji deeply felt what it means to be a talented gentleman, what it means to be talented, and what it means to be outstanding.

All in all, everything about Da Song was delicious in his eyes.

This gave him a strong thirst for knowledge.

I go out early and come back late every day, writing notes in a small notebook, very diligently.

He vowed to move all the literary and political strategies of the Song Dynasty back to the Liao Kingdom and implement them fully after he succeeded to the throne.

……

Su Liang seemed to treat Yelu Hongji casually, but in fact he had been paying attention to the latter's emotional changes.

Ever since Yelu Hongji read the annotations on Su Liang's imperial treasure seal paper, he fell into a state of fanatical worship of the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, the enthusiasm for learning is unprecedented.

Su Liang naturally knew what Yelu Hongji was thinking.

It is not impossible for the Liao Kingdom to imitate the civil rule of the Song Dynasty and rely on its powerful cavalry to dominate the country.

As the eldest son of the Liao Emperor, Yelu Hongji naturally considered the issue from the perspective of a prince.

He is actually very good.

But in Yushitai, a place with "clouds of wise men", he seemed relatively mediocre.

……

In the afternoon of this day, Yushitai and Taiyuan.

Su Liang glanced at Yelu Hongji who was immersed in his homework not far away, and murmured: "Nineteen years old, what a good age, my thoughts are not yet mature and solidified. I may only come to the Song Dynasty once in this life. If I don't leave him Some indelible memories are unjustifiable!"

Su Liang was spinning a wolf hair brush, thinking about bad ideas in his mind.

In the future, there will be a battle between Song and Liao.

Su Liang didn't regard Yelu Hongji as a friend at all.

Yelu Hongji's current respect for Su Liang was just to steal his master, and then in turn check and balance the Song Dynasty.

Su Liang decided that he must first let Yelu Hongji establish a belief: if the Liao Kingdom wanted to keep up with the pace of the Song Dynasty, it must choose reforms at all costs.

……

The next day, it was nearly noon.

Su Liang came to Yelu Hongji with a smile on his face.

"Nie Lin, today afternoon, the Reform Department will hold a free talk. Prime Minister Fan, Prime Minister Ji, Xueshei Ouyang, Tang Zhongcheng, Xueshie Bao, and Yushi Fan will all participate. Are you interested?"

Yelu Hongji was excited and nodded without saying anything.

With so many mainstays of the Song Dynasty participating, he naturally didn't want to miss it.

After nodding in agreement, he asked doubtfully: "Brother Jingming, what is free talk?"

"Oh, free talk is a small gathering where officials chat about a certain political topic in their free time. It is considered a private meeting, and you can talk freely. After it is over, it is regarded as a casual chat. Although the discussion is about political affairs, it does not Ascending to the court.”

"This...this...I...can I listen?"

Yelu Hongji couldn't believe it.

This kind of gathering is the easiest place to create sparks and discuss the truth.

Su Liang smiled slightly.

"This topic will not talk about the Song Dynasty or the Liao Dynasty. We will talk about Xixia. We may also talk about the Liao-Xia war. If you feel it is inconvenient, you can not participate. This matter is not forced."

"No, I want to participate!" Yelu Hongji suddenly raised his voice.

He didn't mind talking about the Liao-Xia war at all.

He believes that the battle his father lost has nothing to do with him, and the outcome has been decided, so there is nothing that cannot be discussed.

"Okay, then get ready, we also want to hear your opinion!"

"No problem." Yelu Hongji replied with a smile.

this moment.

Yelu Hongji felt that Su Liang was too open-minded.

Do not regard yourself as an outsider at all.

If it weren't for his special status, he would really like to become brothers with Su Liang.

Immediately, Yelu Hongji prepared his speech.

He also wanted to show his face for the Liao Kingdom. At this age, he likes to show off his talents.

……

In the afternoon, inside the Reform Department.

Fan Zhongyan, Wang Yaochen, Ouyang Xiu, Tang Jie, Bao Zheng, Fan Zhen, Su Liang, and Yelu Hongji sat on both sides of a long table.

On the table, there are tea, dried fruits, snacks, fruits, etc.

Yelu Hongji was very excited.

At this time, he felt that he was a scholar-official of the Song Dynasty, communicating with a group of outstanding colleagues about political affairs.

This kind of atmosphere is much better than that of Liao Kingdom.

After everyone exchanged a few words, Su Liang took the lead in introducing the topic to be discussed.

"Since the death of Yuan Hao, the leader of the Xixia Kingdom, the Xixia clan was in chaos, with party nobles fighting for power, but now it has gradually stabilized. Xixia is poor, and the people are both soldiers and thieves. When they are short of food and money, they will inevitably Point the signs towards the Song or Liao Dynasties and carry out plundering. Should we destroy Xia or prevent Xia? This is a question worth thinking about. Today, we will talk about how to effectively resist the plundering of the Xixia people!"

Immediately afterwards, everyone began to take turns to speak.

"The Xixia are really giant thieves, and it is difficult to change their thieving nature. If we want to completely solve the Xixia's troubles, we must destroy them in one go. Otherwise, when they are trapped, they will not abide by the covenant. The Xixia people burn and kill from top to bottom. Robbery, committing all kinds of evil, ignoring ethical principles, we must not be friends with them..."

"No. Xixia can be defended but cannot be destroyed. It is like a chicken rib. If it is destroyed, officials must be sent to govern it, troops must be stationed, and even the people must be enlightened and educated. It will consume too much and is really an uneconomical business. "

"Xixia is not that easy to fight! They occupy favorable terrain and have heavy iron cavalry. In times of crisis, they will also adopt a very vicious strategy of clearing the country with strong walls. If they destroy their country, the price will be too high. It is better to fight on the border. Build more castles to prevent looting!"

"Xixia is not impossible to fight. The key is to see whether we can fight with all our strength. If we use all our strength, we can destroy them in March. But how to govern the Dangxiang and Qiang people is indeed a big trouble..."

……

Fan Zhongyan and others spoke one after another.

Everyone is well-founded and analyzes the Xixia people's behavioral habits and psychological characteristics in a clear and logical manner from the aspects of military affairs, people's sentiments, interests and gains and losses, etc.

Yelu Hongji listened with interest, but did not say a word.

It's not that he doesn't want to say it.

But he felt like a chicken among the cranes, and his timidity would show when he spoke.

Even some ideas are not only shallow but naive compared to these people.

At the moment, he represents the Liao Kingdom.

If you can't say it brilliantly, it's better not to say it at all.

Not long after.

His chest became rickety.

He was born with pride.

I have always felt that if I came to the Song Dynasty to take the imperial examination, I would have no problem getting a Jinshi.

At this moment, he realized how big the gap was between himself and the officials of the Song Dynasty.

not far away.

Su Liang showed a faint smile.

What he wanted to do was to blow Yelu Hongji's self-esteem.

Let’s talk freely this time.

It lasted until dusk.

Everyone was impassioned and expressed their opinions, but what Yelu Hongji did the most was nod and giggle.

In front of this group of people, he was not even qualified to play a supporting role.

Yelu Hongji's self-esteem was hurt and his mood was very low.

……

At night, Dutingyi.

Yelu Hongji was sitting in the hall drinking wine.

The more I drank, the more depressed I became.

In his eyes, the Song Dynasty was good in every way, and the Liao Dynasty was bad in every way.

If things go on like this, the Liao Kingdom will be in danger.

at this time.

The slightly drunk Liao envoy Yelusu and deputy envoy Li Han returned.

When the two of them saw Yelu Hongji, they couldn't help being obviously stunned.

Ever since Yelu Hongji took up his post at Yushitai, he usually came back very late, but now it was at least an hour early.

Yelusu and Li Han, as envoys and deputy envoys, have no other tasks.

The purpose of the two coming to the Song Dynasty was to eat, drink and have fun, but in front of Yelu Hongji, they restrained themselves a lot.

Yelu Hongji looked at the two of them and asked in a cold tone: "Is Bianjing City fun?"

Yelu Su and Li Han both looked embarrassed. Seeing Yelu Hongji's gloomy expression, they did not dare to answer.

Yelu Hongji stood up slowly and said, "Come, come with me!"

After about a few interest.

Yelu Hongji's angry roar came from inside.

"Have you seen that the emperors of the Southern Dynasty (i.e. Song Dynasty) were wise and their ministers were virtuous, and the reforms were carried out in a lively and dramatic manner; have you seen that the people in Bianjing City live and work in peace and contentment, and everyone is smiling; have you seen that above the Bianhe River , Thousands of sails are competing, and trade is so prosperous; have you seen that one Bianjing city is worth ten of our big cities!"

"If we don't learn from the Southern Dynasties, the gap will become wider and wider, and we will be destroyed by them sooner or later. You are still in the mood to eat, drink and have fun..."

Yelvsu thought for a while and said: "Your Highness, the military of the Song Dynasty cannot compare with ours."

"Do you know you can't compare? We haven't been at war with Song Dynasty for many years. They have been making progress, and we have been regressing. Didn't you see that the Hebei Forbidden Army has changed its generals?"

"Stupid, useless, do you think the Southern Dynasty is still the same as it was ten years ago?"

After Yelu Hongji cursed the two of them, he clenched his fists and punched them hard.

Yelu Hongji's violent gene comes from his father, Yelu Zongzhen.

Today, he was full of anger and grievance, and he could only attack these two people.

Yelu Hongji waved his fist and beat the two of them wildly for nearly a quarter of an hour, and he couldn't help but feel much better.

He let out a long sigh and murmured: "At present, the reform of our dynasty is not strong enough. We must comprehensively learn from the Song Dynasty, recruit talents from all over the world, and constantly strengthen the proportion of civility and governance, otherwise the gap with the Song Dynasty will become wider and wider... "

(End of this chapter)