Chapter 714: Hedong Is Gone
Bingzhou, Hedong
When news came that Xie Zhan in Chang'an had set fire and hanged himself, Xiao Kun met Xie Fang through Pei.
"You said Brother Wei is dead?" Xie Fang couldn't believe it. It was Brother Wei who died, not Xie Zhan?
"This is his suicide note. You will know after reading it." Xiao Kun took out Xie Wei's handwriting.
Xie Fang read it with trembling hands, his face full of disbelief. He didn't expect the inside story to be so complicated! Moreover, as Brother Wei's brother and the head of the Xie clan, Xie Zhan actually treated Brother Wei like this!
At the end of the letter, Xie Wei told him that if things really happened, he would switch to Pingzhou. Because what happens to him today may not be what happens to him in the future.
Xie felt very sad because he knew that this handwritten letter was Brother Wei's lament before his death.
"Why, you all guessed this is a conspiracy, why don't you save Brother Wei?"
Xiao Kun said nothing and let him vent. As for why he didn't save Xie Wei, he believed that Xie Wei had already written it, and Xie Fang just couldn't accept it for a while.
Xie Wei did write in the letter: He was going to gamble on this, and if he won, this handwritten letter would not reach Xie Fang. If he loses, he is willing to admit defeat.
Less than half a quarter of an hour later, Xie Fang put the calligraphy in his arms, wiped the corners of his eyes, collected his emotions, and said, "I listen to Brother Wei, I will help you!"
Xiao Kun asked him to express his condolences, and then said, "Don't worry, you should wait for my news in less than two days."
Before Xiao Kun left, he thought, now everything is ready, all he needs is the east wind!
Chang'an, Imperial Palace
Xie Zhan passed away.
He has always been a think tank of the Dali court. If he goes, the court will have to operate and life will have to go by, right?
At this time, the talker from a wealthy family who promised to be deeply tied to Dali came onto the stage.
As a result, the Dali court quickly established a cabinet. The cabinet members were composed of Shen Wan, Sang Baiqing, Zheng Lingfeng, Wang Yun and Li Wenjue. The first two were important ministers of the court, and the latter three were talkative people from aristocratic families.
Such a power structure can truly realize the vision of "the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats co-ruling the world".
At this time, they were discussing the bottom line of the peace talks between Dali and Pingzhou. Wang Yun and others did not agree with Pingzhou's request to Dali to cede Yanzhou.
Wang Yun said, "Your Majesty, I would like to thank the Governor for sacrificing his life for the country. We, Dali, have given Pingzhou an explanation. If Pingzhou still does not cease fighting, we can condemn it in a righteous way!"
Now the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats rule the world together. This Yanzhou is no longer just Dali's. It is very heartbreaking to give it away like this.
Others echoed.
"Yes, Your Majesty, the lion of Pingzhou wants to cede Yanzhou, one of the thirteen states in Li."
"Yes, although Yanzhou only has five counties, it is the real hinterland of the Central Plains! How can we just give it to Pingzhou for nothing?"
"Your Majesty, there is no need to be afraid of Pingzhou. If it wants to fight, keep fighting! We, Dali, will accompany you to the end!"
Song Mo pointed out one point pointedly, "Until there is no way to deal with Dali's explosives, Pingzhou may not listen to Dali's appeal."
"The worst we can do is use a human wall! Move the people to Yanzhou!"
"Your Majesty, after we gave our explanation, justice no longer exists in Pingzhou. Even if we use a human wall, the people will understand us. If Pingzhou does not stop fighting and the more people die, the more unreasonable and lost it will be. People’s hearts!”
"Your Majesty, we cannot be weak. If Pingzhou is to be fought, we, Dali, will accompany us. Pingzhou is a new force, and it has become more aggressive in recent years. What's the background? Pingzhou will definitely not be able to bear a long-term war. If we agree to cede Yanzhou, we will stop Fighting is exactly what he wants."
Song Mo understood what they meant. No matter Dali, Xianbei or Pingzhou, it would be too much for them to fight for a long time.
Pingzhou spent a lot of money on the war, but the situation of Dali and Xianbei themselves was not very good either. Because before the war started, they were harvested by Pingzhou.
It's equivalent to Pingzhou using their resources to fight with them. Isn't it irritating?
At least that was the case at the beginning. After fighting for so long, Pingzhou’s own resources should be used later.
All three parties are constantly consuming.
The current situation is not only a competition of force, but also a competition of national strength.
In the words of later generations, the battle between Pingzhou and Dali and Xianbei is like hypoglycemia vs. high blood pressure. It depends on who falls first.
Now, several aristocratic families including the Langya Wang family, Zhaojun Li family, and others have joined forces and plan to donate generously to renew Dali's blood. They want to hold on a little longer and see if they can bring down Pingzhou.
For Song Mo, it is certainly good if the family is willing to contribute money and effort to solve the problem.
Song Mo agreed to their proposal, and Wang Yun and others were very happy.
Apart from the war, during this period, the aristocratic families also thought of some ways to improve the economic situation of Dali, and by the way, see if they could increase the consumption of Pingzhou.
Because in Pingzhou, depositing money into Pingzhou Bank and Ji's Bank will earn interest.
They also launched such a business through several major banks in Dali. The banks paid interest on deposits, and the interest was twice as high as that in Pingzhou. The intention is to attract wealthy people in Pingzhou by raising interest rates.
Because the aristocratic family comes out to endorse, the effect is there, there are always people who are jealous of money.
But the actual effect was far less than the families expected.
The aristocratic families were puzzled at first. Is it because the interest they paid was not high? But the interest they give, no matter how high it is, is almost like profit!
They didn't know why this trick was so ineffective, much worse than when Pingzhou used it at the beginning. You know, Pingzhou's interest rate was half as low as theirs at the beginning.
After an investigation, they found out the reason.
The main reason was that Dali's previous approach made people feel insecure.
When those middle-class small landlords wanted to leave Dali before, Dali's conditions were too harsh. In addition to floating wealth, fields, shops and houses were not allowed to be sold, and they were not allowed to exchange them for silver and take them away.
Now that Dali has done this, even with the endorsement of the noble families, people are worried. It's easy to invest this money, but what if it can't come out?
After learning the reason, the noble families were furious. Before they could make another move, Pingzhou was not a pushover, and they responded immediately.
Pingzhou newspapers directly printed a big headline saying that they were thinking about other people's high interest, and other people might be thinking about their principal.
Those businessmen and rich people who were slightly tempted immediately gave up the idea of earning high interest.
Who made Dali show the nature of a robber before? Moreover, the returns from their investment in Pingzhou are not low, so there is no need to take such a big risk.
These are all fights outside of war.
…
The Xianbei are indeed an uncivilized tribe, and are very good at stealing chickens.
Take advantage of your illness to kill you.
Immediately led troops south to attack Hedong.
When the news came, Song Mo was almost mad at the Xianbei.
The Xianbei are really not presentable. Obviously, the two sides have agreed to join forces secretly, but they still want to take advantage of the chaos in Dali to come to Dali to collect autumn wind!
Before he sent someone to warn the Xianbei, another news came that Hedong was gone.