Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 668: Getting an advantage without complaint

After capturing the Liao capital, Zhao Mu led his army and lived here for more than half a month.

After all, there were many things to do in this capital city. It would take more than a short while to finish them. But there was plenty of time, so Zhao Mu stayed for a while longer.

However, compared to the busyness of other people, Zhao Mu has been having a very relaxing time during this period.

Now the entire imperial city is in her hands, and all the captured Liao royal women have become his slaves.

Starting with Empress Xiao, Zhao Mu would visit ten female relatives of royal family and ministers every day.

Basically, all the women of the Liao royal family, whether they were empresses, princesses, county princesses, princess consorts, or concubines, as long as they had a rank, had been used by Zhao Mu.

However, Zhao Mu did not go too far. For those Liao royal nobles who were willing to surrender and serve him, Zhao Mu sent back their wives, concubines and children.

For example, Yelu Neguru and Yelu Chongyuan, as well as the wife and daughter of Taiwei Xiao Cheng, were returned intact by Zhao Mu. In order to win their hearts, Zhao Mu also rewarded them with a large sum of gold and silver when they returned.

And in the name of Emperor Zhong of the Great Song Dynasty, their honorific titles were still retained, and corresponding titles and status were also conferred on those nobles who defected.

Zhao Mu's move greatly reduced the physical and mental resistance of the Liao people, and also made those who surrendered grateful.

After all, the Song army only harmed the officials after entering the city, and did not disturb the Khitan people. After order was restored, the people did what they had to do. It seemed that a lot had happened, but also that nothing had happened.

In addition, the Chu King and his son, as well as the surrendered Xiao clan members, supported Zhao Mu. The sin of the Liao Dynasty's demise was suddenly attributed to Yelu Hongji.

The King of Chu and his son even claimed that the Liao Dynasty did not need to perish, and that everything was the fault of the usurper Yelu Hongji. Moreover, Yelu Chongyuan, for the sake of his own image, extremely vilified and demonized Yelu Hongji and Empress Dowager Xiao.

It is said that according to the will of the previous emperor, the throne of the Liao Dynasty should have been passed down from elder brother to younger brother, and it should have been Yelu Chongyuan.

However, Empress Dowager Xiao and Yelu Hongji tampered with the previous emperor's will and plotted to usurp the throne, which led to the disaster of the four countries invading Liao and destroying the country.

After Yelu Chongyuan and his son stood up for the Song Dynasty, the contradiction of the country's destruction was suddenly transferred from Zhao Mu and the Song Dynasty to the Liao royal family headed by Yelu Hongji.

The people of Liao no longer had any hatred for the fact that their royal family was captured and the royal wives were all taken over and defiled by Zhao Mu. They even felt that Yelu Hongji's family deserved it.

In addition, the Song army had been in the city for half a month without harming the people. They even restored the order in the city in a fair and just manner. This made many people in the Liao Kingdom not feel the pain of losing their country, and even felt that the king's army was fighting against the unjust.

After all, the Song army broke the old order of exploiting the people, and in the places where the Song army was stationed, there was fairness and justice. Not only did the people of Liao not suffer, but social security was also better than before.

The families of the soldiers who died in the battle also began to denounce Yelu Hongji as a tyrant. They believed that if he had not insisted on fighting this war with the Song Dynasty, their loved ones would not have died.

When the news reached Zhao Mu's ears, Zhao Mu, who was currently hanging out with princesses and consorts and defiling the Liao palace, almost died of laughter.

Although he cursed these unruly people for being stupid, he also felt that their ideas were normal and understandable.

The reason is simple, because most ordinary people have their own yardstick in their hearts.

The scale is whoever treats him well, he will follow. After Zhao Mu's army entered the city, they did not burn, rob, or abuse their women. They were fair and reasonable, paid for things, and did not ask them for various taxes during the Song army's stay. Zhao Mu even ordered the opening of the government warehouse and granary to provide relief to the hungry people in the city.

Moreover, they killed and arrested the powerful officials in the capital who usually oppressed them, so that they could no longer ride on their heads and abuse their power.

For most people, there was no point in resisting. Therefore, there was no pain of losing the country. Some people even began to get used to being a "Han Chinese" and a glorious "subject of the Song Dynasty."

However, the good days of these Khitan people are coming to an end, because the Song army has to return home.

After nearly a month of repairs, the Song army had collected everything they had obtained. And with the help of Yelu Chongyuan and his son, the entire Liao Kingdom had been completely controlled.

According to the official document given by Zhao Mu, Zhezong divided the Liao Kingdom in the east into three parts: the Jin Kingdom and the Yan Kingdom, which had submitted tributes to the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty, which had taken back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the Liaodong homeland.

However, the land three hundred miles west of Zhongdu and Shangdu still belonged to the Liao Kingdom.

Zhao Mu divided the land into ten tribes, large and small, and granted them to the Liao royal family and the Xiao clan who knew the current situation. They all had their own ruling power.

Yelu Chongyuan was assigned the largest division and became the new emperor of Liao. He won over the remaining troops and became the leader of the ten divisions. Yelu Chongyuan and his son continued the Liao dynasty.

The Liao Dynasty returned to the era of a nomadic empire. When the imperial edict of Zhezong arrived, Zhao Mu sent them to take up their respective posts.

But the splitting of the Liao Kingdom was not the most vicious thing Zhao Mu did. The most vicious thing Zhao Mu did was that the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, which had migrated westward, still maintained a "brotherly relationship" and did not make the crippled Liao Kingdom pay tribute. He also asked Zhezong to allow Yelu Chongyuan and his son to continue to claim the status of Liao emperors.

As a condition for helping Yelu Chongyuan become emperor, Yelu Chongyuan recognized the sovereignty of the Song Dynasty over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the old land of Liaodong. He also admitted that it was previously occupied by the Khitan. The Song Dynasty's northern expedition was due to Yelu Hongji's immorality, and the destruction of the country was also self-inflicted. However, the Song Dynasty, thinking of their years of brotherhood, allowed Yelu Chongyuan to restore the country and continue the Liao Dynasty.

In this way, the Song Dynasty not only took back the land and plundered the royal family and wealth of the Liao Dynasty, but also did not complain. All the blame was put on Yelu Hongji, the "immoral emperor". This greatly reduced the hostility of the Khitan people towards the Song Dynasty. They were even grateful to the Song Dynasty for its survival.

The main thing is that I took your land, robbed your money, and occupied your woman, and you still have to thank me.

In order to maintain their own ruling status, the King of Chu and his sons could only rely on the Song Dynasty, becoming a country that was independent in name but vassal in reality.

In this way, the Song Dynasty's northern expedition to seize territory was justified and not blamed, and it successfully tore the northern Xuanren into pieces.

After finishing all this, Zhao Mu also prepared to return to Youzhou with his army.

He integrated the profits he had gained this time, and then took out a part to reward the soldiers, and then set aside a part to pay tribute to Zhezong. Then he let his army return to Qi with his spoils. He followed the King Zhongxiao stationed in Youzhou and returned to Beijing to attend the state banquet for the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

Soon, Zhao Mu's army changed guard with the Yan army that came to take over Zhongdu. Then, the Song army left Shangdu with the farewell of the people and set out on the journey back home.

However, after the Song army left, life for the Liao people was no longer so good.

Because according to the previous agreement, Zhao Mu emptied the Liao treasury, the palace's treasury, all the treasures that could be taken away, and the wealth and families of the civil and military officials. Not a tael of silver or a grain of food was left for Murong Fu. All Murong Fu got was an intact city and an empty Liao palace.

In order to expand his treasury as quickly as possible, Murong Fu could only make the people under his rule suffer.

(End of this chapter)