When Xu Ping said this, everyone looked at each other. Yes, besides gold, silver and silk, there is also food. Moreover, no matter how much the Khitan sold, the Song Dynasty would definitely collect all the food, and even if the warehouse could not be put down.

There are hundreds of thousands of imperial guards stationed in Hebei, and the food on Hebei Road alone is not enough. In the past, the financial difficulties were difficult, and the taxes on Hebei Road were extremely heavy, and the flood and drought disasters kept people fleeing. This is how the place is. The smaller the population, the heavier the taxes. The heavy taxes made the people unable to survive and they could not escape, thus forming a vicious cycle.

From the perspective of taxation alone, Hebei's taxes are not heavy, much lower than those in Liangzhe Road. However, due to the large number of troops stationed and the number of employees and various miscellaneous tax departments, the burden on the people that are added is heavy. The taxes in the Song Dynasty were only part of the burden on the people, and the big ones were on the increase of taxes and levies in various names. Xu Ping was in charge of the three departments and never reduced taxes, but just slowly cancelled the allocation of miscellaneous tax departments.

If the Khitan was willing to sell grain, the Song Dynasty would not be able to ask for it. It would be better for the garrisons in Hebei and Hedong Road to buy all the food and grass from the Khitan. The local surplus grain from these two routes was stored in warehouses for emergency use, and the burden was reduced in an instant.

Even with canals, roads and trucks, the transportation of grain and forage is still extremely expensive. The Song Dynasty wanted to mobilize the civilian powers of several routes in Jianghuai, Liangzhe, Jingdong, and Jingxi. With the supporting transportation capacity, there are more than 200,000 soldiers and servants. If you buy grain from the Khitan, you can save all of these.

Zhao Zhen thought for a while before he smiled bitterly: "Hebei, Hedong, Fengsheng three routes combined, with a total of 700,000 troops, which is used to deal with the Khitan. The Khitan knew this clearly, how did they sell food to our dynasty? Isn't they afraid that they will increase their troops year by year, and it will be even more difficult for them to support it!"

Ming Hao said in a deep voice: "Thus was the Khitan who was eager to make a vow. Once the vow was established, it could restrict the forces of several routes along the border. Only when the number of people was dead would they be able to take a breath. There was only so many troops, and there was no way out. The Khitan might not be unwilling to sell food."

Du Yan said: "In fact, even if the Khitan did not allow it before, it was not uncommon for people to sell grain to enter the territory of this dynasty. If the Khitan had no other way to make money and could not cut off the trade between the trade, there was only the way to sell grain."

Ding Du said: "This is Guan Zhong's technique of fighting and venting. There must be some ministers in the Khitan who know this plan, but they are afraid that they will not be deceived."

"This matter is for this dynasty. If you get it, you will be happy. If you don't get it, it's okay. The Khitan is willing to do it, and everything is up to him. This dynasty just wants fair trade between the two countries. This is a natural thing. How can the world get it without effort? The northern land is barren, and the goods that can be sold are only horses and grain. If the Khitans can sell other goods, they can naturally do it."

Xu Ping never expects conspiracy. It is not that he does not know the purpose of the plan, but that everything is in my mind. He cannot pin hope on the enemy's mistakes. He is facing the border and forces the Khitan to compete for national strength; cut off trade and make the Khitan materials scarce; he does not allow gold, silver and copper coins to flow into the Khitan, so that there is no currency there. Xu Ping never hides these measures. When the Khitan envoys come, he also tells them clearly. So what if he tells you? The national strength is there.

The Khitan territory was short of gold and silver, and copper. Of course, according to Xu Ping's memory in his previous life, there was mine in their territory, but what's the use of not being mined? International trade can only use light goods, but food is not available. The Khitan can still seal the door and live a life? Xu Ping wanted them to do that. The consequence of doing that was that the Khitan vassals around him would leave quickly, including Yan Yun, and the Song Dynasty would benefit even more. As the same goes, the balance of power changed, everything changed.

The Khitan lost its military advantage. If he confronted the Song Dynasty, everything would be at a disadvantage and there would be no chance to turn things around. Making a pledge to seek peace is the only way out, and the situation will not deteriorate quickly, and it will last for at least ten or eight years. If there is no peace, various contradictions will break out quickly and no one can predict the final result.

The Song Dynasty was not prepared. Making the Khitan unstable would only make the surrounding forces gain advantage. The Khitan forces shrink northward, and the Song Dynasty would face various surrounding conflicts northward, which was the Song Dynasty's need to negotiate peace.

After peace talks, border peace was made, and through trade and other means, the Khitan's national strength was hollowed out, which was a long-term plan. It was always in a sharp confrontation with the Khitan, which made them cheer up, unite and deal with various internal and external difficulties. Peace talks seemed to have made the Khitan breathe a sigh of relief, but the difficulty of solving the problem was ripe when the time was right, but it became less difficult to solve the problem.

The main force of the imperial guards has always been on Hebei Road to defend the Khitan. The difficulty of reform is very high, and it is not a matter of overnight success. In this alone, it is very important to negotiate peace with the Khitan and maintain a relatively peaceful environment on Hebei Road.

Zhao Zhen thought for a long time, but still shook his head: "The art of fighting and venting was written by Guan Zhong a thousand years ago. How could future generations not know? No matter how difficult the Khitan was, he would not be able to sell food."

Xu Ping smiled and said, "It's not just that I can't sell grain. In the past two years, I guess I can't even sell horses. The Khitans definitely don't want to sell these. Whether it's grain or horses, they must be strictly controlled. But it depends on how long they persist. As the saying goes, "The Taoist is poor and has a short ambition, and the horse is thin and long a hair. Let's see when the Khitans feel that they are poor and cannot continue to sell."

Du Yan said: "If the Khitan does not allow it, how will this dynasty deal with it? Could it be that success is so stiff?"

"It's deadlocked, and I took this opportunity to re-train the Hebei imperial guards. As long as this is done, it doesn't matter how the Khitans think. After all, the imperial guards of our dynasty can conquer and fight well. If the Khitans can stand it, they will agree to sell horses. They will sell them to this dynasty for thousands to ten thousand horses a year, and they will get 200,000 to 300,000 pieces of silk, which can barely be supported."

Speaking of this, Xu Ping said to the other priests: "It's just that we must strictly control the tea and silk are not allowed to go to the Khitan territory, and even more so, gold, silver and copper coins are not allowed to flow out. It's their business that the Khitans can't think of ways. Also, even if buying sheep from the northwest is a little more expensive, we are not allowed to buy sheep from Khitan. This item must be cut off, including sheepskin."

The Song Dynasty used a lot of sheep. In the past, tens of thousands of people were imported from the Khitan every year, and it used a lot of money. When the two armies confronted each other, they had to cut off the Khitan's wealth and could no longer buy sheep from the Khitan. Horses are means of production, but sheep are not. According to what Guan Zhong said, this is something to be guarded against.

Zhao Zhen said: "As we just calculated, the Khitan and the dynasty have no exchanges, so it will definitely be difficult to support it. What the prime minister said, what does the Khitan mean? Can the Khitan still let the people in the territory not use these things?"

Xu Ping held the scepter: "It may not be like this when you go back to Your Majesty. In addition to this dynasty and Khitan, there are other small countries in the world. There are Goryeo in the east, Jurchen tribes, and Gaochang Uighurs in the west. The Khitans do not trade with this dynasty, but can buy them from them. Of course, this must be expensive, it depends on whether the Khitans are willing to grit their teeth and do it."

Selling horses and grain to the Song Dynasty was a strategic material to provide the enemy. The Khitan would definitely not do it until it was absolutely necessary. Even if the price was higher, they would rather find a way from the surrounding countries. Tea and silk were only available in the Song Dynasty. After re-trading, the Khitan paid a high price, but avoiding the Song Dynasty might not be acceptable. There is a saying that Xu Ping did not say that when the Khitan was earned by the surrounding small countries, they could be snatched back by force. The Song Dynasty could not snatch them, and these small countries were easy and pleasant to grab them.
Chapter completed!