After finishing the meal with Zhao Ji and Mi Youren, Wu Haogu said goodbye and left.

I received a letter from Monk Fu today, which really made him a little excited - this is the breakthrough for Christie's to enter the Maritime Trade Fair in the future! If I could really use Monk Fu's Japanese Xiangguo Temple to get a trade transit port in the Hokuriku region of Japan, then the fleet of the Song Dynasty could bypass the Korean Peninsula and go to Vladivostok... There is definitely no Vladivostok city now, but a natural harbor should exist.

Moreover, Vladivostok is built on a peninsula, and perhaps there are islands to be stationed, so the terrain should be very dangerous. If it is built, it should be possible to build a fortress-type port that is difficult to conquer.

This is a sharp knife behind the Jurchens!

In fact, there is no need to send troops from the Vladivostok fortress. As long as the fortress continues to sell iron weapons to tribes that dare to resist the Jin Kingdom, the goal of restraining the Jin army should be achieved...

Although it is just a small restraint, it is always a good start, right?

In addition, the center of the Bohai Kingdom in history seemed to be near Vladivostok. I don’t know if there are any embers of the Bohai Kingdom there now?

If a relatively powerful Bohai regime could be built, there would be Jurchens who could drink a pot of it.

Regarding the Bohai people, Wu Haogu also understood the issue through Ma Zhi's narrative. The number of Bohai people in the Liao Kingdom is quite large, comparable to the Khitan people, but their social and economic status is very low.

According to Ma Zhi, in the territory directly under the Liao Kingdom, there are mainly Khitan, Xi, Han, Bohai, and mature women. Among them, the Khitans and Xi people have a close relationship. The Khitans and Xi people both originated from the Xianbei Yuwen tribe, and the two tribes were close neighbors and intermarried from generation to generation. Therefore, during the rise of the Khitan, the Xi people also took a free ride and became the nationals of the Liao Kingdom. The surname Xiao (Shulu) was given to the nobles of various tribes of the Xi people. The Xi people, the Xiao family, the descendant of the Great Liao Kingdom, almost all came from the Xiao family.

Therefore, the Xi people can also be regarded as part of the Khitans, rather than an independent nation. In the Great Liao Dynasty, the Khitans and the Xi people are both first-class countries!

The Han people were actually second-class in the Liao Dynasty. Because the Liao Kingdom implemented the "north and south" system, it can also be said to be one country and two systems. The Han people had certain autonomy in the "north and south", and the Han people basically monopolized the Liao Kingdom's imperial examinations and occupied a very important position in the Liao Kingdom's bureaucratic system. Among the Liao Kingdom's prime ministers in the past 20 or 30 years, the Han people accounted for more than half.

In addition, Han officials also had long controlled the finance and foreign trade of the Liao Kingdom. Among the officials of the Five Beijings Case Department of Liao Kingdom, Han people accounted for more than 90% for a long time, and almost all the "State Envoys" were Han people. The scope of management of the Five Beijings Case Department was very wide. In addition to collecting rents and transfers, they also managed salt courses, pit smelting, merchants and koji affairs. It can be said that the economy of Liao Kingdom, in addition to animal husbandry, was completely under the control of the Han tribe.

Although ordinary Han people were still oppressed, their big families were actually very nourishing, and their wealth was not inferior to Yelu and Xiao.

As for the Bohai people, they were almost the most miserable. The Han people also had a "south system". The Han people could also become rich through the imperial examinations, manage their finances for the country and trade with the Song Dynasty. However, the Bohai people did not have their own "east system", but they listed a Bohai tent under the account officials in the north, and their oil and water were far inferior to that of the Han bureaucrats.

Because of the existence of a "Da Family Royal Family" (the Bohai Royal Family's surname) and launched rebellions many times, it has never gained the trust of the Liao court. Among the six major families of Gao, Zhang, Yang, Dou, Wu, and Li of the Bohai people, few of them can rank among the prime ministers of the Great Liao Dynasty, and their status is far inferior to that of the four major families of the Han people.

As for the economic status of the Bohai people, it is even more incomparable. They are basically the most oppressed nation.

Therefore, the Bohai people's resistance to the Liao people was far stronger than that of the Han people. In the history of the Liao Kingdom, uprisings led by descendants of the Da clan or members of the six major Bohai families often occurred.

In addition, there are many members of the Bohai royal family and nobles who avoided Goryeo. The prince Da Guangxian, written by the last Bohai king, led tens of thousands of people to avoid Goryeo after the fall of the Bohai country, and there are still descendants.

If the Bohai people could take advantage of the collapse of the Liao Kingdom to restore the country, they might be able to consume the Jurchens' strength.

This thought came to Wu Haogu's mind, and the spirit on his face couldn't help but fly...

What Da Song faced was obviously not a dead end!

Although the Song army's combat power was unreliable, there were still a few cards to play in their hands. In addition to the Bohai people who had always dreamed of restoring the country, there were also divination on the grassland, and many powerful Han people from the northern regions who wanted to show their skills in troubled times.

If all these forces could be activated, plus the embers of the Khitans and the Xi people, the Jurchens could really be "invincible" and clean up them like chopping melons and vegetables?

"Chongdao!"

Just as Wu Haogu was walking happily towards Panlou Street, someone suddenly called his name.

Listening to the sound, it's a little sharp.

Wu Haogu stopped and turned around and looked at the sound. He saw a man wearing a moon-white Confucian robe and a Dongpo scarf standing on the other side of the street, which was Liang Shicheng.

Wu Haogu has been busy with his own affairs these days and has hardly ever appeared in the Hanlin Academy of Painting. The training courses arranged by Li Zhong can also be recommended, and he is really not an imitation employee.

However, Wu Haogu was still very respectful in treating his superiors. As soon as he saw Mr. Liang walking over quickly, he stepped forward and sang a fat promise: "I have met Mr. Liang."

Liang Shicheng was so stern, "Chongdao, you call me Daguan Liang so unfamiliar. Don't you treat me as a friend?"

"Shou Dao, brother Shu Dao." Wu Haogu quickly changed his words.

Liang Shicheng also laughed: "This is almost the same. You haven't seen anyone in the past few days, are you very busy?"

“It’s all mundane…”

Liang Shicheng asked with a smile: "How many other mundane affairs are there?"

"There is a time to end the civil affairs... Oh, Brother Shoudao, but the official family, is the Queen Mother summoned?"

Liang Shicheng shook his head, "The official family, the Queen Mother's Xuanshou's summons are easy to deal with, but this time the matter is a bit stubborn. However, if it is done well, you will become an official."

What's the matter?

After Wu Haogu thought about it, he understood a little. Maybe he wanted to go to Liao to draw spy paintings by himself?

This matter is really impossible to refuse.

Because Wu Haogu had already agreed to Ma Zhi's trip to Yanyun, and Wu Haogu also needed to know more about the Liao Kingdom for his future plans.

If you don’t go and see it with your own eyes, can you tell me?

Thinking of this, Wu Haogu smiled and said, "What's the matter?"

Liang Shicheng smiled and said, "The King of Dynasties is coming, and the Liao Kingdom will send He Zhengdan envoys as usual this year."

The Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty sent each other's "He Zhengdan envoys" to each other's capital to congratulate New Year's Day. At the same time, some vassal states of the Song Dynasty also sent envoys to Tokyo to congratulate New Year's Day.

The activities of "He Zhengdan" are not only congratulations in the court, but also include activities such as giving banquets, archery competitions, wrestling, and military review.

However, the situation this year is a bit special. The Song and Liao countries fell into tension due to the defeat of the Xixia in Hengshan, and small-scale frictions have begun to occur on the border.

Therefore, the court in Kaifeng Prefecture has been debating whether to send He Zhengdan to Liao.

The result of the court debate was that they did not send envoys He Zhengdan to protest the provocations on the Liao Kingdom's recent border. However, the Liao Kingdom notified the Song Dynasty not long ago that they would send envoys He Zhengdan as usual.

This decision of Liao Kingdom made many important officials and Emperor Zhezong breathe a sigh of relief. In the case of the Song Dynasty not sending He Zhengdan envoy, Liao Kingdom's decision can be seen as a sign of hope of easing.

This shows that the series of border intimidation operations before the Liao Kingdom were all bluffing, and they had no determination to start a fight.

It seems that the Song and Liao countries are now fighting wolves with scoops, and they are both afraid!

Since the Liao Kingdom is also afraid of war, the diplomatic mediation that both sides had stagnated for a period of time would reach a climax.

At the Chongzheng Palace Questioning Today, Prime Minister Zhang Dun made a suggestion to the official Zhao Xu, who sent envoys to Liao for a "return visit" after the Zhengdan period, and collect information from the Liao Kingdom by the way.

There are two key points in collecting intelligence: one is to draw spy paintings; the other is to contact Ma Zhi and Han righteous men in the Liao Kingdom to see if they can establish a channel of contact.

As the "first person in spy painting" and the direct leader of the Hanlin Painting Bureau, Wu Haogu naturally had to go to the Liao Kingdom and his delegation.

So Liang Shicheng, who was notified, went to Christie's store in the crossroads and wanted to find Wu Haogu to discuss the matters going to Liao Kingdom.

As a result, as soon as I arrived at Panlou Street, I happened to meet Wu Haogu who was returning with a painting board on his back.

"They sent a He Zhengdan envoy, so should we also send a He Zhengdan envoy?"

Wu Haogu looked at Liang Shicheng and was a little unsure.

Now is a critical moment. "Photographs of Li Shishi" and "Dance Pictures of Mo Niangzi" have been hung in Fengle Tower for a long time, and it is almost time to sing and sell.

Moreover, the courtesans in Kaifeng's "Seven Buildings" have been selected, and Wu Haogu is going to draw photos for them. If he is arrested at this time, it would be too delayed.

"We won't send He Zhengdan envoy," Liang Shicheng smiled, "It's November now, and it's too late to send it. But after the beginning of spring, we will send an envoy to visit immediately. Brother Chongdao must follow you... He has to set off at the latest at the beginning of two months, so you have to hurry up and prepare.
Chapter completed!