Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 470: The Bird is Gone, the Bow is Hidden (Special thanks to book friend Yaer Huoma for the monthly ticket!)

"The Liao Kingdom was defeated by our Great Zhou. How can the Liao people's martial arts compare to our Han people?
If we let the Liao people win this time, it will be a shame for us Han people."

“That’s not the case.

Your Majesty has issued a decree that all young men between the ages of eighteen and thirty in the country can participate in the "Martial Arts Contest to Win a Bride". Then, young men from all ethnic groups in our Great Zhou who meet the requirements can all participate.

The Liao people are also citizens of our Great Zhou, so of course they can participate."

"This Liao man seems to be quite skilled in martial arts. Why don't we join forces to drive him out of the capital to prevent him from competing with us!"

Many people with mean temperaments became more and more aggressive as they spoke, and they wanted to gang up on the Liao people.

Upon seeing this, the shopkeeper of the Heluo Inn shouted:

"The military commander of the Wude Division has instructed that all inns in Bianjing should assist the government in maintaining order in the capital:

During the "Martial Arts Contest to Win a Bride", no bullying, forming cliques, or private fighting is allowed. Violators will be severely punished!"

Upon hearing the name of the Wude Division, several aggressive Han youths immediately lost their temper and sat back at their tables and chairs.

After a moment, a young man in Dali clothing with outstanding temperament looked at the young man from Liao and said:

"This Liaoren brother, are you also here to participate in the "Martial Arts Contest to Win a Bride"?"

The Liao youth put down his wine glass, bowed and said:

"That's right! Has this brother already competed in the Yangguogong Mansion?
I don't know what the situation is, can you tell me something? "

It has been nearly ten years since the Great Zhou conquered the Liao area. With the prosperity of industry and commerce, Chinese has become the most commonly used language in the area. Therefore, this young Liao man speaks fluent Chinese with a northern accent.

The young man who was asking the question moved to the table of the Liao youth and said:
"Don't blame me for bothering you!
I did go to Duke Yang's Mansion, but after entering the venue, I did not participate in the competition.

This "martial arts competition to win a bride" arena has three levels in total, and the people guarding the first two levels are all strong fighters.

Brother, if you can lift the 300-jin stone lock in front of the Yang Mansion tomorrow, you will understand after you enter and take a look."

The young man from Liao said:
"Thank you for your advice, I will go to Yang's Mansion tomorrow.

"Brother, you are so impressive, may I know your name? Where is your hometown?"

The young man with outstanding temperament said:

“I dare not. It is a great honor for me to meet my brother today. We feel like old friends from the first sight.

My name is Duan Suguang, I am 23 years old this year, and my ancestral home is in Dali. May I ask your full name and where your hometown is?"

The Liao youth saluted and said:
"So you are a descendant of the royal family of Dali. My name is Yelu Gun, and I am the nephew of "Chu Hou" Yelu Shanbu. I am two years younger than you, and I am from Linhuang Prefecture (Shangjing)."

Both of them were born into aristocratic families and had achieved the title of Juren, so they became more and more compatible as they talked.

……

At the beginning of December in the 33rd year of Kaixi, the ten Longxiang Army corps that had marched to Zhangye in the Hexi Corridor had received the news of Yang Ye's incident in Bianjing, and they dismissed their subordinates. Only the eight generals gathered in the big tent for a secret discussion.

Hu Yanzan said angrily:

“These civil servants are really abominable!
We, the military commanders, braved the wind, frost, snow and rain, and led the army to fight for the country. These civil officials were well-fed and well-off in the Bianjing government, enjoying music and dancing day and night, but they were unwilling to see us military commanders make meritorious contributions and be rewarded by Your Majesty, and they always framed us in front of Your Majesty! Fortunately, Your Majesty is wise and brave, and was not bewitched by them, otherwise, we military commanders would all be imprisoned! "

Jingsheng Road:
"These civil officials accompany Your Majesty in the court every day, unlike our military officers who are on long-term expeditions under the imperial decree. If there is no effective control, the civil officials will have plenty of time to do bad things to our military officers in front of Your Majesty. This is very worrying."

Zhang Ning said angrily:

"If we, the generals, had not followed Your Majesty's orders to lead the army to fight and eliminate foreign threats, how could the country be so prosperous today?
If you ask me, these civil officials are just jealous of our military generals who have made many meritorious services and are often rewarded by His Majesty!
They don't even think about it. If they are asked to brave the arrows and stones, will they dare?!"

Zhe Yuxun said:

"Your Majesty is wise. Yang Ye can't control his hot temper and foul mouth!
Your Majesty is a master of strategy and has a far-sighted vision. How can Yang Ye use his own military achievements to question Your Majesty's decree?"

Gaohua Road:
"This Yang Ye is also a surrendered general of the Northern Han Dynasty. He is so highly respected by Your Majesty, yet he dares to complain about Your Majesty's peace agreement with the Eastern Roman Empire?
How stupid! No wonder you are not well received by the civil and military officials of the Great Zhou."

Ma Zhijie hesitated and said:

"My dear commanders, Your Majesty can distinguish between loyalty and treachery, and has pardoned Yang Ye's crime, only dismissing him from his post and fining him silver.

However, now the 13th to 16th Corps, with their new weapons and muskets, have replaced us in attacking the Star Sect, and we can see that all external threats to our Great Zhou have been resolved.

When you return to the capital this time, will Your Majesty follow the example of Emperor Gaozu of Han and put away the bow after the birds are gone?"

He wanted to say the second half of the sentence "The dog is cooked after the rabbit is dead", but he was afraid that he would commit the crime of contempt for the emperor like Yang Ye, so he took back his words.

The generals in the tent were silent for a while, all worried that Emperor Chai Zongxun would reduce the military power of the generals.

Over the previous thirty years, Chai Zongxun unified China and expanded its territory, which naturally provided ample space for military generals to display their talents.

Now, the strongest opponent of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the coalition forces of more than 20 countries of the Star Religion, are about to be pacified. Looking around, Fusang in the east is just a small and backward country, the north has occupied the seashore all the way to the Pole, and the Angkor Dynasty in the south is just a clown. After the Star Religion is pacified in the east, there will be India, which has been divided into dozens of small countries.

It can be said that there is no country that can be called a rival of the Great Zhou.

In this way, the role of military generals in the eyes of Emperor Chai Zongxun was greatly reduced, and it became possible to reduce the military power in the hands of military generals or even eliminate a large number of powerful and prestigious military generals.

Lin Renzhao said:

"Your Majesty is different from all the emperors in the past. You are extremely wise and kind, and you will never let us down.

In the past, Governor Huyan led the army to conquer the Tang Kingdom, and I was stationed in Nandu. Your Majesty, out of pity for the people of Nandu, asked Governor Huyan to send food to me. This is an unprecedented move, which is enough to prove that Your Majesty is as virtuous as the Three Emperors. "

After hearing this, the generals recalled their past relationships with Emperor Chai Zongxun and nodded one after another.

Moreover, with the Longxiang Army's military supervision and military police system, even if a few generals had the intention to rebel, they knew that it would be impossible to succeed:
Firstly, the soldiers' salaries had always been paid by the eunuchs who supervised the army starting from the centurions. The emperor was their breadwinner, so how could the soldiers listen to their generals' plot to rebellion?

Secondly, once the rebellious intention was leaked, the military supervisors and the military police would be able to detect it immediately, and it would be easy to capture the rebellious generals immediately.

Third, Chai Zongxun had implemented the "rotation system" in the army in the tenth year of Kaixi, whereby the generals were rotated every five years. With such a short time, it was difficult for him to cultivate close friends among his soldiers.

The ten commanders of the Longxiang Army discussed secretly for an hour or so, and all of them believed that the emperor was so wise and righteous that he would never treat them unfairly.

After all, Yang Ye had committed the serious mistake of speaking carelessly and disrespecting the emperor, but Chai Zongxun had defended him wholeheartedly before.

After the discussion was finalized, the generals replenished their food and fodder and continued on their way to Bian Jing.

(End of this chapter)