Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 500: The Proposal to Conquer Maya (Special thanks to the book friend Tangtanger for the two monthly tickets!)

The Liao Dynasty's various industries, especially the skills of iron smelting and armor making, were much more advanced than those of the indigenous people of the Mayan Empire, a slave society. Moreover, since the Mayan land was vast and sparsely populated, with abundant resources, there was no motivation to compete for resources, so there were few wars throughout history, and there were few major wars like the ones in Chinese history.

The Mayans were not on guard against the Liao people from the beginning. This was why when Yelu Xian led hundreds of thousands of Liao people to flee to the Mayan continent, they were accepted by the Mayans with just some gifts of gold and jewelry and a small amount of taxes paid each year.

Xiao Chuo sent people to conclude an alliance with the Dongshan tribe, her relatives by marriage, and after obtaining their strong support of 100,000 troops, she raised an army of 300,000 in August of the 30th year of Kaixi and began to conquer the neighboring Mayan small tribes and city-states.

During the battle, the Mayans, who were poorly armed, were no match for the elite cavalry of the Liao Kingdom and turned to the royal court for help.

In the palace of Tica, the capital of the Mayan Empire, Emperor Kamu was furious when he heard the news, so he sent General Huyu with an army of 500,000 to attack the Liao people.

After several years of fighting between the two armies, both sides had wins and losses. In the end, the Liao army, led by experienced generals such as Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Moge, had superior overall combat quality and gradually gained the upper hand.

By the 37th year of Kaixi, the Liao Kingdom had conquered more than half of the Mayan Empire's territory in the west and central parts, ruled over more than 200 Mayan tribes, and had a population of over 6 million.

In May of this year, in the battle to capture Nakbe, an important town in the central part of the Mayan Empire, Yelu Xizhen broke into the city with water attack and annihilated 150,000 enemy guards, causing great damage to the strength of the Mayan Empire. This became a crucial battle that reversed the strength of the two sides.

After Wei Feng and his companions had sneaked into the Mayan Empire to spy for more than ten days, they became aware of the risk of being discovered by Xiao Tiandu's "Flying Fox Division" and therefore withdrew and returned north.

On the one hand, he sent someone on horseback to Bian Jing to report to Emperor Chai Zongxun.

After reading the details, Chai Zongxun pondered for a while, and after dinner he set out for the bedroom of Concubine Shu, Yelu and Gudian.

After greeting and sitting down, Chai Zongxun said:

"My beloved concubine, Wei Feng's memorial has been sent back, and we have obtained accurate information about your beloved brother, Yelu Xian and others!"

Yelu and Gudian were surprised and delighted, and quickly asked Chai Zongxun for details.

Chai Zongxun sighed and said:
"After Yelu Xian led hundreds of thousands of Liao subjects to the Mayan continent, he presented valuable gifts to the leaders of the Mayan tribes and was able to take root in the central part of the continent.

He used the policies of our Great Zhou as a model, and also implemented benevolent policies that emphasized industry and commerce and reduced taxes on the people. Over the years, the area has become quite prosperous.

In the 28th year of Kaixi, Yelu Xian's old injury relapsed. He insisted on taking care of his body so that his eldest son, Yelu Longxu, could marry the daughter of the Dongshan tribe, one of the four major Mayan tribes in the area, as his crown princess. He died that year.

My beloved, I once said that I would let you see your brother again in this life, but unfortunately, it is impossible. "

Yelu Xian was born in the second year of Tianlu in Liao Dynasty (947) and died in the twenty-eighth year of Kaixi (987) at the age of only 40.

Yelu and Gudian threw themselves into Chai Zongxun's arms and cried bitterly, saying:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for telling me in detail!
Who would have thought that my royal brother would die young, alas!
That farewell in Youzhou turned out to be the last time that I and my royal brother saw each other!
Back then, my father, the emperor, and my mother, the empress, were both murdered by treacherous officials, and it was my brother who took care of me and others since I was a child..."

Chai Zongxun patted Yelu and Gudianxiang's back and sighed:

"My beloved, do you hate me for conquering the Liao Kingdom and taking you into my harem?"

Yelu and Gudian said hurriedly:
"Your Majesty, why are you still saying this? Everyone's fate is affected by the times, but Your Majesty is the one who can decide the direction of the times.

I have met your majesty and have been loved and favored for decades. Now I am the king of Liao with a vast fiefdom. My life has not been in vain. "Chai Zongxun nodded and said:
"My beloved, the Dragon Guards have already prepared sufficient military supplies. I intend to send a large army across the sea as soon as possible to pacify the remnants of the Liao Kingdom and conquer the Mayan continent."

Yelu Xian is dead. In Yelu and Gudian's hearts, Chai Zongxun and his son Chai Jihui are the most important people. They no longer care so much about the survival of the Liao Kingdom. They are just a little worried that the fleeing Liao monarchs and ministers will be slaughtered by the Zhou army during the war.

Yelu and the Classical Way:

"I beg Your Majesty to show leniency to the Liao monarch and his subjects and not to harm their lives."

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
“Don’t worry, my dear.

How can I bear to hurt my beloved concubine's family? Now that millions of Liao people in Liao can live and work in peace and contentment, their lives are thriving. I believe that the Liao people and Maya people in Maya continent can also do the same."

The next day, on the morning of November 6, the 37th year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun discussed with his ministers the matter of attacking the New Liao Kingdom.

The chief military minister Hu Yanzan came out and said:

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, if the Great Zhou did not send troops to invade, with Yelu Xietai, Yelu Moge and others being famous generals with many battles under their belts, the Liao Kingdom would surely be able to defeat the Mayan Empire and unify the continent."

Deputy Minister Wang Dan came out of the class and said:
"Your Majesty, the Mayan continent is too far away from our Great Zhou Empire. It will be difficult for Your Majesty to rule it. If you are not careful in employing people, it will easily become a hotbed of rebellion."

Chai Zongxun knew that many great empires in history had conquered vast territories. However, due to the inability to keep up with the productivity level, especially the extremely inconvenient transportation, they often prospered for a few decades before falling apart into several smaller empires due to the central court's weak rule.

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

“The country is too large, and if transportation is too difficult, it will easily lead to rebellion and independence.

However, I had already considered this point several years ago and ordered the Ministry of Works to invest hundreds of millions of silver taels and mobilize millions of civilian laborers to build the "Great Zhou Straight Road".

With the straight roads extending in all directions, the connections between various regions are becoming increasingly close, and trade is becoming increasingly prosperous. With my strategy of commanding the army, we can ensure stability.

And now that the "railway cars" have just begun to be built across the country, they will greatly increase transportation capacity in the future, making transportation more convenient and connections closer."

Chai Zongxun took a few sips of tea and said:

"For example, the distance from Baghdad to Bianjing is more than 30,000 miles. It is not less than the distance from Bianjing to the Mayan continent. Isn't it increasingly communicating with the mainland now?

Now the Longxiang Army still has four corps that can be mobilized. I have decided to send three corps all the way north, through the Weifeng Peninsula and the Tiandu Strait to land on the Mayan continent, wipe out the remnants of the Liao Kingdom and the Mayan Empire in one fell swoop, and incorporate the Mayan continent into my territory! "

Many military generals came out and volunteered to the emperor to lead the army to invade the Mayan continent.

Thinking of Yelu and Gudian's worries, and considering that he had been in charge of the country for all these years and no one in the country dared to rebel, Chai Zongxun's heart moved and he said:
"The Liao people have fled to the Mayan continent for several years. The situation there is complicated. It will be difficult for the generals to make a decision unless I come in person!
Therefore, I have decided to lead the 90,000 Imperial Guards and two Longxiang Army regiments to lead the army in person!"

When the ministers in the Chuigong Hall heard this, they were all shocked and tried to persuade Emperor Chai Zongxun to stay in the capital and not take risks by traveling long distances.

(End of this chapter)