I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 179 Zhao Yu's Reward
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The reason why Xiao Changge, Yelü Heluwo and others had Xiao Bodie and Zuo Qigong present the Treaty of Chanyuan and the Peace Treaty of Qingli to Zhao Yu was that they wanted to use the peace treaties signed by Emperor Zhenzong and Emperor Renzong of Song with the Liao Dynasty to condemn Zhao Yu for breaking the treaty, and to use these two treaties to force Zhao Yu to withdraw his troops. At the very least, they wanted to stand on the moral high ground and condemn Zhao Yu.

However, Xiao Changge, Yelü Heluwo, and others forgot the circumstances under which the Treaty of Chanyuan and the Peace Treaty of Qingli were signed.

Let's start with the Treaty of Chanyuan.

The Liao Dynasty was a regime established by a northern nomadic people, whose ethnic characteristics included a strong tendency towards expansionism and aggression.

The Liao Dynasty relied primarily on animal husbandry, resulting in a relatively simple economic structure. In contrast, the Song Dynasty enjoyed economic prosperity, with developed agriculture, handicrafts, and commerce. Through its southward invasions, the Liao Dynasty could plunder the Song Dynasty's wealth, resources, and population to meet its own economic development needs and supplement its shortages of necessities.

Furthermore, at that time, Emperor Shengzong of Liao was young, and Empress Dowager Xiao was acting as regent. To consolidate her and Emperor Shengzong's rule, Empress Dowager Xiao needed to enhance her prestige and win popular support through victories in foreign wars. A successful invasion of the Southern Song Dynasty would help stabilize the Liao's domestic political situation and strengthen the rule of both mother and son.

On the other hand, after Zhao Guangyi's failed northern expedition, the Song Dynasty adopted a defensive posture, giving the Liao Dynasty the impression of military weakness. At the same time, the Liao Dynasty believed that the Song Dynasty's internal political struggles were complex and its national strength was weakened, presenting an opportunity for them. Furthermore, the Liao Dynasty also wanted to take advantage of the fact that Emperor Zhenzong of Song had only recently ascended the throne and his regime was not yet fully consolidated to launch a southern invasion and gain greater benefits.

Furthermore, the Liao Dynasty had gradually developed some tactics for dealing with the Song army during its long war with the Song Dynasty. The Liao cavalry was highly mobile and adept at long-distance raids and open field warfare, while the Song Dynasty's military deployment and defense system had some weaknesses. This led the Liao Dynasty to believe that its invasion of the south at this time could yield significant military results.

The Liao Dynasty then chose to invade the south.

In fact, prior to that, the Liao army, with its superior cavalry, had repeatedly sent troops south to raid for grain, loot money, and plunder people from the Song Dynasty.

After Empress Dowager Xiao and Emperor Shengzong of Liao led the Liao army south in a large-scale offensive, they swept through several prefectures and advanced directly to Chanzhou, threatening Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty.

Just imagine.

Had it not been for Chancellor Kou Zhun and others who overruled objections and insisted that Emperor Zhenzong of Song personally lead the expedition to boost morale and resist the Liao army, Emperor Zhenzong would not have ultimately decided to go to Chanyuan to oversee the battle. Although the Song Dynasty was militarily at a disadvantage, its strong fortified cities and tenacious resistance inflicted some losses on the Liao army during the offensive. Furthermore, for the Liao Dynasty, although the southern invasion was progressing smoothly, the battle lines were too long, supply lines were difficult to maintain, and they had penetrated deep into Song territory, fearing that the Song army would cut off their retreat and encircle them. In the end, the Liao Dynasty would have destroyed the Song Dynasty, not just signed the Treaty of Chanyuan.

Furthermore, to put it bluntly, the Treaty of Chanyuan was essentially a protection fee paid by the Song Dynasty to the Liao Dynasty, amounting to 100,000 bolts of silk and 100,000 taels of silver annually, to ensure the Song Dynasty's safety. For the Song Dynasty, this was inherently a humiliation.

As for the Qingli Peace Treaty, it was even more humiliating.

The Qingli Peace Treaty was actually a peace agreement reached between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia. Its main contents included Li Yuanhao relinquishing his imperial title and becoming a vassal of the Song Dynasty, while the Song Dynasty conferred upon Li Yuanhao the title of King of Xia. The Song Dynasty also granted the Western Xia 153,000 bolts of silk, 72,000 taels of silver, and 30,000 catties of tea annually.

However, the Liao Kingdom took advantage of the chaos and, taking advantage of the war between the Song and Xia dynasties, used its large army to press on the border, forcing the Song court to increase its annual tribute, and forcing the Zhao Song Dynasty to increase its annual tribute by 100,000 bolts of silk and 100,000 taels of silver.

Back then, the Zhao Song Dynasty was militarily weak and had no choice but to sign this humiliating treaty and accept the extortion of the Liao Dynasty.

Now, the situation has reversed. The Song army has surrounded Liao Nanjing, one of the five capitals of the Liao Kingdom, and has even trapped the Liao emperor inside. They could break through Liao Nanjing at any time and capture Yelü Yanxi alive.

At this point, reminding Zhao Yu of all the good deeds their Liao Kingdom had done before is incredibly foolish. What could be more foolish than this?

Crucially, Zhao Yu's demand for the return of the annual tribute was well-founded and justified.

You used to be militarily strong, so you collected protection money from me, fine.

Now that my military is stronger than yours, let's put aside the matter of me taking protection money from you. Just return the protection money I gave you, and then we can talk about peace. Is that alright?

This principle is definitely correct.

The problem is that the Liao Dynasty has been receiving far too much tribute from the Song Dynasty over the years.

The Treaty of Chanyuan was signed in the first year of the Jingde reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song (1005). Until the first year of the Hongwu reign last year (1101), the Zhao Song Dynasty continued to pay tribute to the Liao Dynasty.

A rough calculation shows that the total annual tribute paid by the Song Dynasty to the Liao Dynasty over this nearly one hundred years is as follows:

1005年至宋仁宗时期增加岁币前，每年绢20万匹、银10万两，这一阶段约持续40年（宋仁宗在位时间为1022-1063年，以1045年增加岁币计算），则绢的数量为20万匹×40=800万匹，银的数量为10万两×40=400万两。

增加岁币后到洪武元年，约56年，每年绢30万匹、银20万两，绢的数量为30万匹×56=1680万匹，银的数量为20万两×56=1120万两。

综上，赵宋王朝给辽国的绢总数约为800万匹+1680万匹=2480万匹，银总数约为400万两+1120万两=1520万两。

And this is only the principal.

Including interest, the minimum cost would be 3000 million bolts of silk and 2000 million taels of silver.

Such a large sum of wealth would be an extremely heavy burden for any dynasty.

More importantly, this was only a prerequisite for peace talks; there were also war reparations and other issues to come.

Adding these together, the total would probably be an astronomical figure.

After Xiao Bodie and Zuo Qigong returned with trepidation, Su Zhe hesitated to speak.

But after the words were on the tip of his tongue, Su Zhe looked around at the proud people who were all talking about it:

"This tribute is made from the blood and sweat of the people of our Great Song Dynasty, yet it has been plundered by the barbarians for nearly a century! Now that our army is at the gates of the city, it is time to wash away this humiliation!"

"Previously, the barbarians dared to commit such robbery because they thought our Great Song had no one to rely on. Now that our Great Song has been restored, it is only right that we reclaim the annual tribute that the barbarians owe us!"

"A life for a life, a debt for a debt—this is the law of nature. Now that our army has defeated the barbarians and besieged their secondary capital, trapping the Liao emperor, it is time for them to pay back the debt they have been extorting from our Great Song for a century!"

"It's not just about paying back the debt. If we can make the barbarians do what they want, then we Song people should do what they want. Now that they've been defeated, they should pay war reparations to the Song Dynasty, as well as annual tribute. Oh, and a marriage alliance too. These are all common extortion tactics used by the barbarians. Let them taste the humiliation!"

"The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun have been the territory of the Han people since ancient times. They were forcibly occupied by the barbarian barbarians for two hundred years. Now that our army is pressing on the border, it is time to recover them all!"

"..."

Seeing this, Su Zhe, who knew that morale should be boosted rather than dampened, swallowed back the words he wanted to say that might affect morale. He planned to tell Zhao Yu when he met with him alone that it was too much to ask the Liao Kingdom to return so much tribute all at once. He suggested that it would be better to ask the Liao Kingdom to return half or even 30% first, and then ask for the rest gradually, so as not to push the Liao people to the brink of desperation.

Su Zhe had concerns, but Zhang Chun had none.

When Zhao Yu returned to the inner hall, Zhang Chun immediately came to greet him and said, "Your Majesty has acted a bit too hastily."

Zhao Yu asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Chun said, "Although the Liao army has suffered repeated defeats, a centipede does not die easily. Now, they have strong cities defending the interior and countless troops coming to the aid of the emperor from the outside. If Your Majesty proceeds slowly, it will be like a frog being slowly simmered in warm water, eventually dying."

Upon hearing Zhang Chun's words, Zhao Yu realized that he had gone too far and might have inspired the Liao people to put up a stubborn resistance.

When Zhao Yu thought of the Jingkang Incident, he remembered how the Jurchens extorted money from Emperor Huan and his ministers—that was a textbook example of exploitation.

Zhang Chun and Zhao Yu were like two birds with one heart, though they lacked the wings of a phoenix to fly together. She said to Zhao Yu, "Your Majesty, you should give the Liao people some hope first, lest they fight like cornered beasts..."

really!

Zhang Chun's suggestion to Zhao Yu was a replica of the Jurchen extortion of Emperor Huan and his ministers.

Upon hearing this, Li Lin said, "Why go through all that trouble? As long as we capture Yanjing, everything in the city will belong to the Emperor."

Zhang Chun rolled his eyes and said, "With my method, not only can we obtain the wealth of Yanjing, but also the wealth of Liaoshangjing, Liaozhongjing, Liaodongjing, and Liaoxijing. We can make the Liao people obediently send it over."

Then, Zhang Chun said with no small amount of excitement, "If this matter succeeds, our Great Song Dynasty can gain three years' worth of fiscal revenue..."

During Wang Anshi's reforms, the Song Dynasty's monetary tax revenue reached its peak, with the Ministry of Revenue receiving approximately 6000 million strings of cash annually.

After the new law was repealed, the central government's revenue dropped to more than 4800 million guan.

If in-kind taxes were converted into copper coins according to Song Dynasty prices, the Ministry of Revenue's total revenue would increase to approximately 7500 million strings of cash. If revenues not directly counted by the Ministry of Revenue, such as the Green Sprouts Tax and Exemption Tax managed by the Right Office of the Ministry of Revenue, were further included, the total annual revenue might approach 1 million strings of cash. For example, in the second year of the Zhiping era, total fiscal revenue was 1.16 million strings of cash, of which monetary revenue accounted for over 50%, approximately 6000 million strings of cash. Even excluding in-kind taxes, the Song Dynasty's annual fiscal revenue was still 5000 million strings of cash.

Three years would amount to 150 million guan.

During the Jingkang Incident, the amount of money extorted by the Jurchens was only ten million gold ingots and twenty million silver ingots, which, when converted into copper coins, amounted to approximately 1 million strings of cash.

In addition, there were ten million bolts of silk and fifteen hundred young girls.

It also falls short of the three-year fiscal revenue target Zhang Chun mentioned.

Moreover, how could a poor country like the Liao Dynasty compare to a rich country like the Song Dynasty?

However, even if Zhao Yu managed to recover a year's worth of fiscal revenue, he would have already made back the money he spent on conquering Western Xia.

After discussing with Zhang Chun and Li Lin, Zhao Yu decided to increase the strength of the Liao Kingdom so that the timid and cowardly Yelü Yanxi would not dare to have any thoughts of resistance.

It was precisely based on this mentality that, unlike before when Zhao Yu had never directly intervened in military affairs, Zhao Yu personally went to the front line that very night.

Li Lin also wanted to come, but given that she was already more than seven months pregnant and had great difficulty moving around, Zhao Yu refused no matter how much she begged.

With no other option, Li Lin could only continue observing the situation on the battlefield through her binoculars.

Upon seeing Zhao Yu arrive in person, all the Song officials and generals, from the Chancellor Su Zhe, who was on duty that night, to Guo Cheng, the commander-in-chief of this battle, came to pay their respects to Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu told those with tasks to go about their business, as he had Su Zhe and Guo Cheng to keep him company.

What both Su Zhe and Guo Chengxin mentioned was that Zhao Yu actually wanted to go to the front lines to take a look.

After Su Zhe and Guo Cheng's repeated attempts to persuade him failed, Zhao Yu and his entourage arrived at the front lines where the battle was taking place. Zhao Yu personally watched as the Song army attacked Yanjing City.

Just see:

The Liao army's arrows rained down on the Song soldiers from the walls of Yanjing like locusts, their sharp whistling sounds echoing through the air.

The Song soldiers, using all sorts of siege equipment, advanced relentlessly towards the city walls.

At the same time, the Song army used giant crossbow carts, ballistae, tiger-squatting cannons, catapults, and divine crossbows to fire at the city walls, covering the Song soldiers attacking the city as they rushed towards the city walls from the trench bridge that the Song soldiers and laborers had previously laid across the moat.

Soon, a group of Song soldiers rushed to a section of the city wall. Under the cover of the chariots and large shields, they quickly placed explosive charges under the wall.

However, before the Song army could finish setting up the explosives, a large number of rolling logs and stones rained down from the wall.

The rolling logs and stones, with the force of thunder, instantly smashed the chariot and covered the Song army.

The screams and shouts were swallowed up by the flying dust and wood chips.

When the dust settled, only mangled figures lay scattered on the ground, with very few survivors, their armor covered in mud and blood.

To be honest, Zhao Yu somewhat regretted coming.

For someone who had never been on a battlefield, the scene was far too bloody. It was like a cruel and realistic painting suddenly unfolding before Zhao Yu's eyes, exposing the brutality and ruthlessness of war. Those once vibrant lives became so fragile at this moment, like fallen leaves in the autumn wind, which could be swept away by the gale at any moment and disappear without a trace.

Just then, a Song soldier who was not quite dead picked up a torch from the ground and lit the pile of explosives that had not yet been set up.

The moment the explosive charge was ignited, it was like an angry spark suddenly bursting forth in the silent night sky, rushing towards the city wall with devastating force. Flames shot into the sky, accompanied by a deafening roar, and a corner of the city wall collapsed under the enormous force of the explosion. Debris and dust spread outwards like a tidal wave, instantly engulfing everything in that area.

Unfortunately, the walls of Yanjing were too sturdy, and such an attack was not enough to destroy that section of the wall.

But it doesn't matter. If we keep bombing like this, we'll definitely be able to destroy this section of the city wall after ten or eight times at most.

Zhao Yu was moved by the bravery of this soldier. Pointing to them, he decreed: "Those who die in battle today shall be promoted three ranks in pension. The one who lit the explosive charge before his death shall be promoted seven ranks in pension."

Next, Zhao Yu began his reward-giving spree, giving rewards without hesitation—rewards for dying in battle, rewards for charging bravely, rewards for killing enemies heroically, rewards for achieving victories, and even more rewards for scaling the city walls!
In ancient siege warfare, soldiers who went to attack cities rarely returned alive.

Why isn't anyone running?
The reasons are twofold: first, they are afraid to run; second, they don't want to run.

The death rate during a siege is higher than that of suicide. Swords and blades are slicing right up to your scalp, and arrows fly everywhere. Even if you manage to climb up the ladder, there are still boulders and hot oil waiting for you.

Unless someone is insane, no normal person would dare to take that risk.

In fact, the fear of death is human nature.

To prevent soldiers from deserting in the face of battle, the imperial court would usually set up supervisory teams on the battlefield.

When charging into battle, anyone who dares to flee will be killed, and anyone who dares to pause or slow down will be killed.

Both are deaths, but deserters not only die a humiliating death themselves, but also bring a social death package to their descendants. The resumes of three generations of the family will all say that their ancestor deserted in the face of battle.

In that case, why not just die a glorious death in battle?
Not only do they have a good reputation, but they can also receive a generous pension.

The key point is that he didn't want to run away either.

Because this is the only chance for the poor to turn their lives around.

The four greatest military achievements of this era were: being the first to scale the walls, breaking through enemy lines, beheading enemy generals, and capturing enemy flags.

The first person to storm the city wall will be awarded the title of "First to Ascend," the highest of the four military merits.

Let's put it this way: whoever gets to the city wall first in a battle is like winning the lottery jackpot. They'll settle in a first-tier city, get a triple promotion in state-owned enterprise positions, and instantly become a millionaire, like a serf who's been liberated and can now sing praises.

In some major battles, one could even be promoted to a higher rank and hereditary titles.

For example, during the siege of Xiang Yu, a lowly soldier named Yang Xi managed to snatch a powerful asset from Xiang Yu, which propelled him to great heights and established the Hongnong Yang clan as a super-powerful family that spanned the Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties, producing two emperors, Emperor Wen of Sui and Emperor Yang of Sui.

The reason why Heshen was able to work for the emperor at such a young age was mainly because his elders had made early contributions, which led to Heshen becoming a super-rich man in the Qing Dynasty and a notorious corrupt official in China.

So, take a gamble, and you might turn a bicycle into a motorcycle; avoid it, and your descendants will be disgraced.

This is a life-or-death situation, but also a chance to make money.

Today, Emperor Zhao Yu himself is present, and it's been made clear that whoever performs well will receive double the reward.

For the Song soldiers who were determined to fight no matter what, this was a golden opportunity to rise to prominence.

As a result, the Song soldiers displayed unprecedented fighting power.

Not only did they blast deep craters into the walls of Yanjing, but on several occasions, Song soldiers even stormed the walls.

The city of Yanjing was in imminent danger. It was uncertain which section of the city wall would be blown open by the Song army in the next second, or which section would be completely captured by the Song army, who would then storm into the city...

……

(End of this chapter)