Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 861: Leveraging the North
After Su Chen formulated the counter-espionage plan, he immediately sent his trusted people to Lin Renzhao with a secret letter. The plan of jointly attacking the Song Dynasty reinforcements became his next top priority.

He planned to secretly mobilize Lin Renzhao and order him to lead his elite division to rush over quickly to cooperate with him to attack the Song army heading south from Bianjing. After sending the letter, Su Chen looked to the north. He realized that the Song Dynasty had already withdrawn a large number of troops from the north to send reinforcements to the south, making the northern defense line seem a little empty. This was the perfect time to unite with the Liao Kingdom and the Northern Han to launch an attack on the Song Dynasty.

Although cooperating with the Liao Kingdom was like seeking the skin of a tiger and was full of risks, Su Chen had a deeper strategy in mind.

He intended to lure out the snakes and let the Song army and the Liao cavalry engage in a fierce battle in the north, preferably a situation where both sides suffered losses. In this way, the resistance to his attack on Bianjing in the future would be greatly reduced, and the difficulty of recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun would also be reduced.

Su Chen's strategy is just like the relationship between Wei, Shu and Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. They were both hostile forces and could also become partners at certain moments.

In this complex power game, Su Chen is like Zhuge Liang in the past, planning and strategizing, winning battles thousands of miles away, and every move he makes is full of foresight.

He knew that war was not only a contest of force, but also a competition of wisdom and patience.

Su Chen has already realized that the military strength of the Song Dynasty is still strong. If Wu relies solely on its strength to fight the Song army to the end, it will eventually be exhausted and unable to compete with the Liao Kingdom.

He knew that if he advanced step by step, the enemy would be waiting for him to tire out, which was not in line with the principles of military strategy. Therefore, Su Chen planned to drag the Liao Kingdom into the vortex of this war. If he could reach a secret cooperation and let the Liao Kingdom send cavalry south to attack the territory north of Bianjing, he could force Bianjing to withdraw its main forces in the north to resist the Liao cavalry.

If the Liao army and the Song army fought a bloody battle and both sides were defeated, the Wu Kingdom would be able to reap the benefits and clean up the mess in one fell swoop. Su Chen's strategy was to take advantage of the contradictions between the various forces and exchange the greatest results for the smallest cost.

Thinking of this, Su Chen began to write a letter to the Liao emperor, Yelu Xian. Two years ago, Yelu Xian ascended the throne as Emperor Jingzong of Liao in a palace coup.

At that time, Emperor Muzong of Liao, Yelü Jing, went hunting with his trusted ministers, including Xiao Siwen. At night, Yelü Jing was drunk and was assassinated by his close attendant, Xiaoge, and others. Xiao Siwen blocked the news and assisted Yelü Xian, who was closely related to him, with Gao Xun, the Privy Councilor of the Southern Court, and Nvli, the Flying Dragon Envoy. At dawn, Yelü Xian rushed to Heishan. Yelü Xian cried bitterly in front of Emperor Muzong's coffin. Xiao Siwen, Gao Xun, Nvli, and others jointly persuaded him to ascend the throne. Yelü Xian finally succeeded to the throne in front of the coffin.

In the first year of Baoning (March 969, 3), after Yelu Xian returned to Shangjing, he promoted Xiao Siwen to the position of Northern Court Privy Counselor and summoned the seventeen-year-old Xiao Chuo to the palace and made her a noble concubine. In May, she was officially canonized as empress. Now it was the third year of Baoning (29), and the nineteen-year-old Xiao Chuo gave birth to Yelu Longxu, which made her position in the harem more stable.

Emperor Jingzong of Liao, Yelü Xian, had been weak and sickly since childhood. After ascending the throne, although he enjoyed two years of imperial life with the company of beautiful women like Xiao Chuo and many beauties in the harem, his body became even weaker. He was often bedridden and needed to rely on drugs to maintain his health. Therefore, he gradually let Xiao Chuo participate in deciding military and national affairs.

"Xiao Chuo, Xiao Yanyan, Empress Xiao, the future Empress Dowager Xiao!"

Su Chen was no stranger to this powerful woman in history. He had read her biography and watched a TV series with her as the protagonist. Xiao Chuo was known for her wisdom in governance and her ability to appoint the right people to the right positions. She made important use of Han and Khitan ministers such as Han Derang, Yelu Xizhen, and Yelu Xiuguo, and was determined to carry out reforms, reward land reclamation, reduce taxes, develop production, and reorganize the army, leading the Khitan Kingdom from decline to prosperity.

Xiao Chuo used the Khitan capitals as her base, conquered the Jurchens in the east, attacked the Tanguts and Uighurs in the west, attacked the Tieli in the north, and attacked the Song in the south, expanding her ruling territory and making great contributions to the prosperity and development of the Khitan. Her wisdom and skills have left a strong mark in history.

Su Chen knew that if he wanted to cooperate with the Liao Kingdom, Xiao Chuo's attitude was crucial. She was not only the empress of Emperor Jingzong of Liao, but also the actual ruler of the Liao Kingdom in the future. Therefore, in his letters, he would not only express his intention to cooperate with Yelu Xian, but also cleverly express his respect and sincerity for cooperation to Xiao Chuo, while implying that both sides could benefit from it, in order to achieve a tacit alliance.

However, cooperation with the Liao Kingdom is full of risks, but it is also an opportunity. Su Chen must cleverly use the power of the Liao Kingdom to gain the greatest benefits for the Wu Kingdom.

Su Chen's gaze swept across the tent and finally stopped on Liu Dong who was copying military files.

"Liu Dong, come here for a moment."

Su Chen spoke in a steady voice and called Liu Dong, who was one of the military advisers and also served as a civilian. He was a subordinate whom Su Chen trusted.

"Marshal!" Liu Dong quickly walked up to Su Chen, bowed and saluted with a respectful attitude.

Su Chen looked straight at him and said firmly, "There is an important task for you to complete. On behalf of Wu, immediately send an envoy to Liao and hand over my handwritten letter to the Liao emperor and Empress Xiao, proposing a joint attack on the Song's Bianjing city."

"Ah?" Liu Dong was surprised when he heard this. The Liao Kingdom was the court of the Khitan people, a foreign race on the grassland. It was no secret that they coveted the Central Plains. Wouldn't it be like courting death if we cooperated with them?

"Marshal, please think twice about this. The Khitans are known for their cruelty and greed. They have been coveting the Central Plains for a long time, but they were stopped by the Later Zhou and the Song Dynasty. If we join forces with the Liao army to attack the Song Dynasty, once the Liao army enters the Central Plains, it will be difficult to drive them back. What should we do then?"

Su Chen patiently explained: "My strategy is to lure the Liao army southward to fight the Song army. When both sides are defeated, we can take the opportunity to clean up the mess and take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun."

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"Will the Liao army send troops?" Liu Dong was still puzzled.

Su Chen said confidently, "Yes. As long as there is profit to be made, they will never let it go. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even without our joint letter, the Liao high-ranking officials have long had the ambition to attack the Song Dynasty in the south. This letter from me is just a fuse to accelerate their actions."

Liu Dong didn't expect Su Chen's plan to be so far-reaching. He didn't ask any more questions and solemnly accepted the mission.

"I will send you a team of a thousand men to escort you north by sea. This way, you can bypass the Song territory and land in Bohai Bay. If you go by land, you will easily be blocked by Song army checkpoints along the way. The sooner this happens, the better." Su Chen made detailed arrangements.

Liu Dong accepted the order respectfully, fully aware of the importance and urgency of this mission.