Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 614 Tell the truth frankly
After bidding farewell to Madam Liu, Zhao Mu went to the inn where Yelu Yanxiu was imprisoned.

At present, the entire Liao Kingdom delegation has followed the previous envoys back to the Liao Kingdom, leaving only Yelu Yanxiu who is still imprisoned here by Zhao Mu.

But in recent days, Ah Zhu didn't have to be so tired because the war in Lingzhou City was over and those Conglong Guards who had drifted to Qi State had returned one after another.

Fang Shisan returned to Zhezong's side and continued to serve as his guard.

Cong Longxuan also followed the rewarded army back to Bian Jing, and after she came back, she and Azhu took care of Yelu Yanxiu together.

Zhao Mu walked into the room slowly. Yelu Yanxiu was sitting on the bed. Ah Zhu had gone back to rest, and only Cong Longxuan was watching over her.

At this time, Yelu Yanxiu no longer had her former radiance. Although Zhao Mu's men did not abuse her, she still looked so haggard.

When Long Xuan saw Zhao Mu coming in, he quickly stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your humble servant pays respect to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Zhao Mu said, "Master Xuan, there is no need to be so polite."

Now, Cong Longxuan admired Zhao Mu even more. Zhao Mu did not establish himself in the Xixia homeland, which was a model of loyalty that could be achieved for generations.

Zhao Mu had the Golden Casket, the Imperial Edict of Succession, and the Imperial Seal. After he led his army to the east and captured the city of Bianjing, he became the legitimate emperor of the Song Dynasty.

But even so, he still waited for Zhezong to recover from his illness, and then asked him to return power to him. Even the famous Duke of Zhou would not be able to do such a thing.

Long Xuan was finding Zhao Mu more and more pleasing to the eye. Apart from his greed for money and lust, and his habit of forcibly taking someone else's wife, he had never made a mistake in matters of right and wrong. No one is perfect, and compared to Zhao Mu's current enormous power and achievements, this little mistake was insignificant.

Cong Longxuan has also made up her mind that she will follow and protect such a loyal and righteous person for the rest of her life.

Zhao Mu looked at Yelu Yanxiu and asked, "Princess, how are you these days?"

Yelu Yanxiu glanced at Zhao Mu at this time, and she could no longer laugh.

Although the Song Dynasty imprisoned Yelu Yanxiu, it did not stop her from communicating with the Liao envoys. She learned from the Liao envoys that the Liao Kingdom was defeated in its expedition against Qi Kingdom and lost tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

Although the loss of troops was not great, all the money and food accumulated in the past few years were lost.

The reason they were able to retain their strength to the maximum extent this time was because the Song army was not under the personal command of Zhao Mu.

Moreover, most of the generals were somewhat arrogant and complacent, underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly. But even so, the Liao army was still defeated.

This made Yelu Yanxiu realize a serious problem, that is, the Song Dynasty did not need Zhao Mu and had the strength to win alone.

In the past, everyone in the Liao Kingdom believed that the weak Song Dynasty was able to defeat the Liao Kingdom because of the bravery of King Qi and the civil governance of Emperor Zhezong. Both were indispensable to defeating the Liao Kingdom. As long as the two were separated, the Liao Kingdom could rest easy. However, the battle of Lingzhou made the Liao Kingdom realize that without King Qi leading the army and without Emperor Zhezong's civil governance, the Song army could still win the battle against the Liao Kingdom.

The only difference is the difference between a "big victory" and a "small victory". This is the most terrifying thing. This marks that the Han people, who have been bullied by these northern ethnic groups since the Five Dynasties, have completely stood up. What's more terrifying is that the former Great Tang, that terrible monster, is also likely to come back.

Yelu Yanxiu looked at Zhao Mu and said, "You are finally willing to come and see me?"

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "Haha, I've been very busy recently. I haven't come to meet Your Highness the Princess yet. I'm sorry that Your Highness missed me."

Yelu Yanxiu stood up and said, "What do you want?"

Zhao Mu knew what Yelu Yanxiu meant by asking, so he replied, "You are my captive. Your Highness should know that captives are not qualified to negotiate terms."

At this time, Zhao Mu walked to Yelu Yanxiu's side. He looked at her with a sly smile and said, "You are my biggest trophy this time. Of course I have to take you back to Lingzhou to let the people of the Song Dynasty see that a dignified Liao princess has become my captive. This will greatly boost the morale of the army in the future."

After hearing what Zhao Mu said, Yelu Yanxiu realized something and said, "Are you going to attack my Liao Dynasty?"

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "Of course. I didn't dare to make a move before, and I had some concerns. After all, a centipede is still alive even after death. The Liao Kingdom has been established for more than a hundred years, so it naturally has its own strength. And the battle in Xiongzhou was just a lucky victory for me because of the right time, right place and right people. Although the offense and defense have changed since then, I still don't have the confidence to swallow up the entire Liao Kingdom in one bite."

"Even if we could eat you up at that time, the best outcome would be the demise of the Liao Kingdom, and the Song Dynasty would be damaged by excessive military expansion. It would be like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in his later years. Even if the number of registered permanent residents could not be reduced by half, it would still be a waste of money and manpower."

"But this time, your invasion of my Qi Kingdom has completely exposed your current strength. Although Wang Jin and Wang Xian, those idiots underestimated the enemy and rushed in recklessly, they missed the opportunity to fight and did not eat up the invading enemy in one go."

"But even so, your Liao Kingdom was still defeated, which is enough to prove your weakness. Your Majesty and I have already discussed it. The army will rest for half a year, and after the autumn harvest next year, it will be time to annihilate your Liao Kingdom!"

Yelu Yanxiu couldn't help but tremble all over after hearing this. She continued to be stubborn and said: "Although my Great Liao was defeated this time, it was only defeated because of the initiative. If you Song people attack, we will defend. You two families alone may not be able to swallow my Great Liao."

Zhao Mu couldn't help laughing when he heard this. He said, "Haha, who said that it was me and your majesty who led the army? But since you asked, I can tell you everything now. I have been to Goryeo before and married Princess Anping of Goryeo."

Yelu Yanxiu sneered and said, "A small country like Goryeo is not strong enough to be an enemy of Liao. Do you think Liao didn't pay attention to Goryeo after you married Princess Anping? I will tell you one thing today. Since Princess Anping married Qi, Liao has built many camps on the river. If the army crosses the river, as many as come will die!"

Zhao Mu still looked at her with a smirk on his face when he heard this. Zhao Mu said, "When did I say that it was Goryeo that was allied with me? Although the King of Goryeo agreed to pay tribute to me with Princess Anping, the Crown Prince and the King of Goryeo did not agree to participate in the war between Song and Liao. Sending Princess Anping to marry was also a strategy for them to neither take sides nor offend the Song Dynasty. The real knife that wants your life is the Jurchens in the jungle and a hidden chess piece that I support."

At this time, Zhao Mu hugged Yelu Yanxiu from behind.

He whispered in Yelu Yanxiu's ear: "Our battle plan is this. The Song army will harass the border to attract the main force of your Liao army to deploy defenses, and even fight a decisive battle. And by then, the Jurchen tribe and my hidden chess piece will be like two sharp knives, piercing straight into the heart of your Liao country. I just don't know whether the Liao army will retreat across the board and let the Song army march straight in. Or will they ignore it and let Zhongdu and Shangdu be looted by the Jurchens? Hahahaha."

(End of this chapter)