Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 214 Hot Potatoes

The fact is just as Yelu Wuzhi thought. Although the Song army successfully repelled the Liao army, the fact that Yelv Jing was captured by the Song army cannot be changed.

If possible, Song Ting would certainly not mind using the Emperor of Liao as a meat ticket in exchange for some benefits from Liao. It would be a great joy if he could be exchanged for the Sixteenth State of Yanyun.

It's a pity that the current Liao Kingdom will probably not spend a dime for Yelujing. This meat ticket is not only worthless to Song Ting, but also a bit hot.

Of course, it would look better when recorded in history books. Capturing the Liao Emperor would also be helpful for internal propaganda, but his role was basically just this.

On the other side of the Liao Kingdom, it was not surprising that Yelv Xian quickly announced the withdrawal of troops, and everyone went back to their homes to find their mothers. After returning to Beijing, they immediately appointed Yelv Xian as the new emperor. This is consistent with history. Same.

This Yelvxian is the son of Yelvruan, and Yelvruan died in the Huoshendian Rebellion. Even now, no one can tell clearly what happened to the Huoshendian Rebellion. Anyway, judging from the results, it is Yelu Ruan died, and Yelu Jing went up with the help of Yelu's house hostage. At this time, if Yelu Jing went back, it is estimated that his eldest nephew might not be too filial.

And Yelvxian himself was worthy of the word virtuous. The first thing he did after becoming emperor was to posthumously recognize Yelu Lihu as emperor.

This man is the third son of Yelu Abaoji. After Yelu Deguang died, Shuluping always wanted to make him emperor. As a result, the Yelu Wuzhi and other clans made Yelu Ruan, the son of Yelu Deguang. It was precisely because of this that After this incident, the conflicts between the clans and descendants of the Liao Kingdom began to break out in an all-round way, and the royal family became a battlefield between the clans and descendants. In the end, Shulu Ping was forced to return to power through military confrontation.

It can basically be understood as the Daliao version of the Zhulu Rebellion, with a hint of the Shenlong Coup.

It's just that Shulu Ping's natal family is a relatively independent Shulu Department, which is far inferior to Lu Pheasant. Naturally, there will be no White Horse Alliance in the Liao Kingdom. The problem is actually appeased rather than solved.

However, Yelujing was still unwilling to follow the tradition and marry a man named Xiao, which led to the growing gap. Until this time, it was almost irreconcilable. Historically, Yelujing could not resist the pressure and married a man named Xiao. He created a two-queen system, but in this time and space, it was obvious that he had no future.

As the son of Yelu Ruan, Yelv Xian can rectify the name of the third son of Yelu Abaoji, who competed with his father for the throne, and posthumously recognize him as emperor. At least his magnanimity is quite good, and he is indeed a great person. Opportunities to relax clans and descendants.

Then he sent a special envoy to Xiao Siwen without stopping to marry Xiao Siwen's daughter.

On the Song army's side, after repelling the Liao army, Zhao Kuangyin personally led the troops and recovered all the four continents of Liang, Gan, Gua, and Sha, and simply changed them back to the ancient names of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang. They also worshiped the Yellow River and performed all the rituals that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had performed all over again.

Jingqiong Khan of the Ganzhou Uighurs was replaced by the Khan and was registered as the Jiedu Envoy of the Gui Ming Army. The Liugu Tubo no longer even had the chance to be the Jiedu Envoy. Those local tycoons who were pro-Liao simply followed Yeluwu. The hostages fled to the Liao Kingdom, and some local tycoons fled to the Qing, Tang, and Tibet. The small number of local tycoons who stayed in Liangzhou had to fully accept Chineseization. Most of them died in slave uprisings and were rebelled against by their own Han slaves. Zhao Kuangyin simply established the Wuwei Mansion here, and Lu Yuqing, a deputy prime minister-level figure, stayed in charge of it.

At this point, this Hexi Corridor, which had been contested endlessly by the Central Plains Dynasty and the Prairie Dynasty in the past dynasties, was completely attributed to the Song Dynasty.

This place already has extraordinary political significance. Apart from the powerful Han Dynasty and the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty was the only Central Plains dynasty to have actual control over this place. Zhao Kuangyin also became the third person to drink from the Yellow River and worship Xuanyuan here. Although the Hexi Corridor is far from the great practical significance it had during the Han and Tang Dynasties due to the chaos in the Western Regions, for the emperor of the feudal dynasty, pragmatism is far more important than pragmatism, especially when he is the emperor who has usurped the throne. It can be said that it is taken very seriously.

Although Zhao Guangmei has no obsession with this, she doesn't object to it. Emperor, it's good to retreat sometimes, and he happened to be traveling to Dunhuang.

As a result, I saw his own huge three-dimensional mural in Mogao Grottoes.

No one in Gui Yijun told him about his life, so he painted it on the wall.

It’s also placed together with a group of paintings of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, flying fairies and the like, and it’s right in the middle, so that this mural is actually worshiped by people.

Knowing that they had good intentions, and that they might even be genuinely loyal to him, felt... weird.

It wasn't until these ritual matters were over that Zhao Kuangyin was finally free and approached Zhao Guangmei to discuss with him how to deal with Yelujing.

"Brother, what do you mean?"

"After discussing with all the prime ministers, we all believe that it is far better to put the person back than to keep him in our own hands. However, due to the current situation in the Liao Kingdom, even if we want to send him away, someone must be willing to accept him. At present, Look, the most suitable one is Xiao Siwen."

When Zhao Guangmei heard this, she smiled and said: "The conflict between the clans and the descendants of the Liao Kingdom is not a secret. If we send Yelvjing back at this time, wouldn't it be a situation where two days are the same? Yelvxian has no reason to abdicate and return to power. Yes, Yelu Wuzhi and Yelu Jing are already incompatible. If Xiao Siwen really accepts Yelu Jing, the Liao Kingdom will probably be divided. Brother, your plan is quite loud, but Xiao Siwen Why, what are you trying to do?"

"This...hey~, the spies reported that Yelvxian has proposed marriage to Xiao Siwen. If nothing else, the Shulu Department will have another queen. Damn it, these people in the Liao Kingdom, how can the politics of the Central Plains be so different? It’s different.”

All fools know that Yelvxian's proposal to propose marriage must have been approved by Yelvwuzhi, and it was even possible that he asked him to do it. This actually meant that the clan represented by Yelvwuzhi wanted to reconcile with Xiao Siwen's descendants. At the same time, it also shows that he, Yelvwuzhi, has no intention of monopolizing power.

Zhao Kuangyin couldn't understand. The politics of the Central Plains had always been winner-take-all. There was no such thing as co-governance between clans and descendants. How could the Liao Kingdom continue to stumble along like this? Woolen cloth?

He really hopes that the Liao Kingdom will fight against each other. For this reason, even the Sixteenth State of Yanyun will be abandoned for the time being.Zhao Guangmei could only say: "The grassland nationalities and the Han people's regimes are indeed completely different. Yelujing has now made it clear that he is the loser in this struggle. From the current point of view, Yeluwuzhi is indeed not greedy for gain and has no intention to usurp the throne. It’s really difficult to provoke internal strife in Liaoning.”

The key point is that the Liao Kingdom does not have a clear system of eldest son inheritance. The succession of imperial power in the past dynasties has to be fought with military force. Yelu Wuzhi is almost sixty this year. Even if he grabs the throne, he will not be able to sit on it for a few years. He is dead. Later, his son was not the natural legal successor, and he also wanted to use weapons to seize the throne. Although his power was great, he could not cover the sky with one hand, so why bother?
And since he won't rob it, no matter how you look at it, Xiao Siwen has no reason to accept the former emperor Yelujing, who has always had a bad relationship with him, and split the Liao Kingdom.

"You have a close relationship with the Xiao family. Now that the border is healthy and there is much cooperation, can't you think of a way? Even if our Song Dynasty gives some more benefits? If this happens, even if we cede the land and pay compensation, we will give them to them. It’s not a bad idea to live in several states.”

Zhao Guangmei smiled bitterly: "Brother, I'm not a fool. Can't they see that you are so obviously instigating infighting? I don't have such a big reputation. Let Xiao Siwen take over Yelujing, why not persuade them to take it with them?" It is realistic for the sixteen states of Yanyun to vote for the Song Dynasty and let them become the descendants of our Song Dynasty. Think about it, how many years can Yelv Xian live for at this age? Now that Yelu Xian has proposed marriage to their family, he has recovered The status of their descendants has been reduced. As long as they wait a few years for Yelu House to die, the Shulu Department will definitely return to its peak. It is not impossible to use the queen to support the emperor. If it is done more carefully, after giving birth to a child, it will be Killing Yelvxian in advance is not equivalent to being the second best in Shuluping. Yelujing and Yeluwuzhi fought internally, but in the end it was their Shulu department that benefited. Tell me, why is Xiao Siwen still making trouble for himself? . He wants to be emperor? Is he crazy?"

In fact, although it is easy for the Xiao family to produce a queen mother, it is almost impossible to produce an emperor. The Shulu tribe is not the main body of the Khitan, and is not even fundamentally a Khitan but an Uighur, representing all other ethnic groups in the territory except the Khitan. ethnic interests, such as the Han and Shiwei people.

The reason why the Liao Kingdom's regime was stable was that the Khitan people represented by the clans and the "minorities" represented by the descendants had always made peace with each other, suppressing all ethnic conflicts with one generation after another.

There is no soil for Shulu to become emperor at all.

This is also the reason why Shu Luping and Xiao Chuo in history were once so powerful that they were no different from the female emperor, but in the end they had to return power to the clan.

So when Zhao Guangmei thought about it, there was no need to even try this matter. What a shame, letting his descendants split Daliao.

Zhao Kuangyin obviously asked with the mentality of giving it a try. After hearing what Zhao Guangmei said, he could only sigh: "In this case, the situation will probably be complicated. Although the Liao army was defeated, the main force was not lost after all. It will be over in three to five years at most." But after regaining her strength, this Yelujing... is hot to the touch, too hot to touch."

Regardless of whether it is Yelu Wuzhi, Yelu Xian, or Xiao Siwen, every one of these three people wants to kill Yelu Jing with a thousand knives. However, politics, no matter what they think in their hearts, on the surface they must pretend. They all had to act as if they were extremely sad and angry. They especially wanted to rescue Yelujing, but the hateful Song State refused to let her go.

The king was captured, which was a great shame and humiliation. Even if it was just a pretense, they had to pretend to be incompatible with the Song Dynasty. In this way, not only did the Song army fight such a battle in vain, but the political upper class of Liao State was left without Yelujing. This troublemaker has become reunited, and the peace treaty that has been scrapped so much has been in vain. It is unknown whether Zhuozhou's free trade market can be developed into Chengdu.

The Hexi Corridor is a long strip and far away from the Central Plains. It would be difficult for Song Ting to manage this newly acquired land. If it becomes an enemy of the Liao Kingdom, there will be too many places that the Liao Kingdom can harass in the future, because Without the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the natural barrier of the Great Wall, the Liao Kingdom could concentrate its forces at almost any time to harass any place among the four continents.

Although the Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty can fight, they will definitely return to Kaifeng after the war. Even if there are troops left in the Hexi area, how many troops can be left?

Although the four counties in Hexi are said to have been taken back, in fact they still have great autonomy. To put it bluntly, they are at most the level of the Xiazhou Dingnan Army. It is the Jiedushi who has the final say. The Han population in the territory is originally small. There are many and complex internal problems. If the Liao army continues to harass them, the livelihood and economy of the local people will inevitably be greatly affected.

Then they will definitely think, before we were bullied by the Khitans when we were not from the Song Dynasty, but now that we are from the Song Dynasty, we are even more bullied by the Khitans, so am I not a Song person for nothing?

How can ordinary people have so much righteousness for their family and country? Besides, there are so many Uighurs and Tibetans in Hexi. To be honest, the Liao State has much more experience in dealing with foreigners than the Song State. Relatively speaking, they are quite Those who treated foreigners as human beings, even Yelu Abaoji, who was the most cruel to the Han people, deliberately built Seoul after the Han people's way of life and treated the talented and learned Han people with courtesy.

On the other hand, the people of the Song Dynasty often turned out to be barbarians and barbarians, and their minds were always different from ours. Otherwise, the whole world was not the royal land. Both Shiwei and Han people could serve as officials in the Liao Kingdom. , and they are genuine high-ranking officials or even prime ministers. Even the Khitans, who have military power, are really willing to give them. As the Xiao family gives birth to queens again, the number of officials held by foreigners in the Liao Kingdom will only become bigger and bigger, and People from the Song Dynasty... To be honest, their temperament is far inferior to that of the Khitan people. Why should those people from Hexi have a sense of belonging to Song Ting?
As long as the upper echelons of the Liao Kingdom are not stupid, they will definitely spend a lot of time working on Hexi Zahu, instigating ethnic conflicts, and even deceiving Hexi Zahu to rebel.

This is too troublesome.

So much so that Zhao Kuangyin had to admit that in the last battle with the Khitan, it would have been worse not to fight, as it would have been more uncomfortable than losing.

"The Song Dynasty is definitely not a good time to start a full-scale war with the Liao Kingdom at the moment. In fact, what you said, Zhao Pu and others have also thought about it. If Yelujing really can't be sent, then... can he be sent to Zhuozhou? ? Let him be the titular emperor of the Liao Kingdom under the protection of our Song Dynasty? Third brother, do you think Xiao Siwen can agree? The friendship between Song and Liao is hard-won."

Zhao Guangmei said truthfully: "I can go talk to him. Xiao Siwen is against the Song Dynasty leader and faction. He must not want to be at odds with our Song Dynasty, but he is busy choosing a queen from his family now. It is hard to say whether he will agree. .”

"Then it's hard work, Third Brother."

"Yes, but brother, I also have something to ask of you."

"You said."

"This battle can be won, or the reason why my brother is still alive and talking to the officials, killing the heroes, and taking great credit. Four thousand soldiers who killed the heroes, almost the whole army was wiped out, and I just managed to turn the tide and make our Song Dynasty This great victory was only possible because I had promised to clear up their grievances. From this point of view, of these four thousand warriors, everyone had grievances and anger, which shows that our officialdom in the Song Dynasty was clear and clear. It seems to be rotten to the core.”

Zhao Guangmei was usually humorous and casual. It could be said that he was neither big nor small. He rarely spoke to Zhao Kuangyin in such a formal manner and even called himself a minister. However, he suddenly saw him kneeling on the ground and bowing in obeisance: " I sincerely request the officials to allow me to rectify the civil service, redress unjust cases, and make decisions for my four thousand brothers and sisters after I return to Beijing. Anyone who unjustly killed my brothers, no matter how many or who they are, please ask the officials. I beg my brother, I will kill him!"

(End of this chapter)