Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

To prevent them from being defeated one by one by the Western Xia army.

……

Zhao Yuan and Zhong Shidao had discussed this issue before.

However, Zhong Shidao initially estimated that the Western Xia would deploy a maximum of 300,000 troops.

Moreover, it would take some time to assemble such a large force.

By then, the various Western Army forces may have already returned.

However, the Western Xia's assembly time was significantly shorter than Zhong Shidao's prediction.

The number of soldiers and horses also exceeded Zhong Shidao's prediction.

After Zhao Yuan decided to repel the Liao Kingdom,

He then led his troops to aid the Western Army.

Resisting the invasion of the Western Xia army.

Therefore, they were unwilling to fight a deadly battle with the Liao Kingdom here.

To avoid losing too many soldiers.

Zhao Yuan stared at Yelü Dashi and said,

"Lin Ya Da Shi is indeed intelligent,"

"I won't lie to you, the Great Liang really has no intention of heading north now."

"However, my Great Liang will not yield an inch of its territory,"

"As long as you dare to cross the border,"

"Then my Liang army will definitely give you a good beating."

"If there's a next time, I'll do whatever it takes,"

"Lead troops north to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun,"

"I hope you will stop testing my patience."

Chapter 1791 The Covenant

Upon hearing that Zhao Yuan intended to let them return, Yelü Dashi cupped his hands in greeting.

"The Great Liang possesses such firearms,"

"That's enough to ensure the country isn't lost,"

"I will certainly persuade our emperor to abandon the southern expedition when I return,"

"To establish an alliance with the Great Liang."

Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "Can you go back?"

"It also depends on whether your emperor is willing to pay."

Li Kui brandished his broadsword.

He said fiercely.

"Your Majesty, please have more,"

"What if the Liao emperor refuses to pay?"

"Perfect timing for me to chop to my heart's content."

Zhao Yuan sized up the many captured Liao generals and shook his head.

"Wouldn't killing them be a waste?"

"They were all strong and robust,"

"What if the Liao emperor is unwilling to pay?"

"Then send them to dig coal."

"Tian Hu caused chaos in Hedong,"

"The coal supply in the capital is somewhat insufficient."

Tokyo has a population of over one million.

The people in the city rarely used firewood.

They used charcoal for fuel.

That is, coal.

Regarding the large-scale application of coal,

It's not wrong that it led to the birth of cities with millions of inhabitants.

Because without coal

It would be difficult to solve the problem of firewood and charcoal burning for millions of people.

Most of the coal used in Tokyo came from the Kawadong region.

However, Tian Hu caused chaos in Hedong.

Coal production, however, has declined significantly.

The Great Liang is temporarily unable to wage war against Hedong.

The only option was to have the coalfields within their jurisdiction increase their production to supply the capital.

After taking Tokyo,

Many issues related to people's livelihoods have emerged.

Although Zhao Yuan did not attend to political affairs,

But I still know some things.

When the Liao generals heard that the King of Liang actually intended to send them to mine,

They were so angry that their lips trembled.

However, with Li Kui watching intently from the side,

They dared not utter any disrespectful words.

After being defeated, the grassland tribes were enslaved.

It's normal to be treated like a beast of burden.

Mining isn't something that's too insulting to them.

That wasn't enough to make them fight to the death.

Moreover, they believed that the Liao emperor would definitely ransom them and take them back.

Yelü Dashi was a rare talent among the imperial clan.

Wuyan Guang was the bravest general of the Liao Dynasty.

The emperor could not abandon them.

As for them,

The King of Liang probably won't ask for too high a price.

It's probably just a fraction of the ransom for the two people.

The emperor took the lion's share.

Naturally, they wouldn't be stingy with small change.

Yelü Dashi was not a pedantic person.

They didn't say anything about preferring death to letting the Liao Kingdom pay ransom.

There was no further threat to Daliang.

Even before the war, the Liang Kingdom was not afraid of going to war.

Now that we've won a round,

Naturally, they would not accept the threat from the Liao Kingdom.

"How much ransom does Your Majesty intend to demand from our country?"

Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "I don't want gold or silver."

"All I need are warhorses and royal talents like Lin Ya Da Shi,"

"If I ask for less,"

"It is also an insult to your Liao royal family."

"Lin Ya Da Shi, why don't you give me some advice?"

Yelü Dashi heard Zhao Yuan posed this difficult question to him.

He was taken aback for a moment, then thought for a moment and said,

"Although I am a member of the royal family,"

"But it's already a collateral branch of the royal family,"

"His status is really not that distinguished."

When Zhao Yuan heard Yelü Dashi mentioning the collateral branches,

"Of course I won't let him get away with it," he laughed.

"But Lin Ya Da Shi was still the top scholar of the Liao Dynasty, wasn't he?"

"Another general from the Southern Academy,"

"Such a status must be quite high."

"Of course, if you say you're only worth a horse,"

"I want a horse too."

When Yelü Dashi heard Zhao Yuan say this...

He couldn't help but feel troubled.

If he were an idle person,

He could say he was only worth a horse.

However, this involves official positions in the Liao Dynasty.

He also had to be cautious.

Whether it was the top scholar of the Liao Dynasty or a general of the Liao Dynasty,

They were all of prominent status.

If I say anything too low, I'm bound to incur the jealousy of some petty colleagues.

Furthermore, this matter, on a grander scale, also concerns the national image.

The top scholar of the Liao Dynasty was only worth a horse.

If word got out, wouldn't the world laugh their heads off?

It became a joke.

But if you say too much...

If I go back, I'm afraid I'll be attacked by other ministers.

Yelü Dashi, who was always exceptionally intelligent,

Surprisingly, I found myself somewhat at a loss for how to deal with it.

Zhao Yuan wasn't in a hurry.

Turning his head to look at Wuyan Guang, who was clad in golden chainmail, he smiled.