Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 508: Persuading Surrender (Special thanks to book friend tai1972 for 2 monthly tickets!)

Around noon on August 18, the 38th year of Kaixi, when the army was only 500 miles away from Shangjing, the capital of the New Liao Kingdom, Chai Zongxun received a report from the Longxiang Guard.

Upon learning that a large number of Liao people had evacuated Shangjing and headed east two days ago, leaving only tens of thousands of Liao imperial guards guarding the city, Chai Zongxun immediately ordered the army to set up camp and prepare meals, and summoned all the ministers to the main tent to discuss the matter.

After the greetings, He Yao, the chief eunuch in front of the palace, briefly summarized the intelligence.

Zhang Ning, the Grand Commander of the Fifth Corps, said:

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it seems that Empress Dowager Xiao of Liao has made two preparations:

On the one hand, he sent the Liao imperial guards to defend Shangjing, and on the other hand, he moved his subjects eastward to join his army that was heading east to conquer Maya.

If the Liao people resolutely resist our Great Zhou and continue to flee, I am afraid that the battle to pacify Liao will be prolonged.

I think it is better to persuade them to surrender."

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"good!
If the Liao people insist on continuing to flee, it will be a big problem to completely pacify them, who now number more than two million.

I have no deep hatred for the Liao people. After I destroyed the Liao homeland, all the previous hatreds have disappeared, and I don't want to kill them all.

Then we should send an envoy to the new capital first, and it would be best if we can persuade the Liao people to surrender.

If you really don’t want to listen, you can only spend time to calm down.”

Naturally, it would be more appropriate to send a civil official or a eunuch as the envoy. If a military general is sent, he might get into trouble after just a few words due to his hot temper.

Ding Wei and He Yao both stepped out of the group and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom!"

Chai Zongxun pondered for a moment and thought that in terms of knowledge and judgment, Ding Wei was naturally superior, so he chose Ding Wei to go on the mission.

Chai Zongxun said:

"Minister Ding, please prepare the imperial edict and gifts for your mission, and bring more treasures to win the hearts of the Liao people.

Today I will have Concubine Shu write a letter to Xiao Chuo persuading him to surrender, and tomorrow morning, Minister Ding will take it and leave."

After lunch, the entire army rested for more than half an hour. Chai Zongxun ordered the camp to be broken up and continue marching south.

Having led troops into battle many times over the years, Chai Zongxun had become familiar with military affairs and knew that the closer a war was to, the more important it was to conserve the soldiers' physical strength and morale.

In the afternoon, while sitting in the imperial carriage on the march, Chai Zongxun told the two concubines, Yelu Hegudian and Zhou Nuying, about this matter.

Chai Zongxun looked at Yelu and Gudian and said:

"My beloved, Xiao Chuo has decided to send troops to defend Xinshangjing. If our army attacks, the Liao army and civilians will suffer heavy casualties!

I have decided to send Minister Ding to Xinshangjing to persuade Xiao Chuo to surrender. If there is a handwritten letter from my beloved concubine, I believe it will be easier to convince her. "

Yelu and the Classical Way:

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness towards the Liao people!
My sister-in-law has always been arrogant and stubborn. I am not sure if I can persuade her to surrender to Your Majesty. I can only try my best. "

Zhou Nuying smiled and said:
"Xiao Chuo and other Liao people don't know your majesty's great military achievements in conquering hundreds of countries! Sister, you only need to pick out a few of your majesty's great achievements after the Liao people fled north, and it will surely scare Xiao Chuo and make her surrender after seeing the letter."

Yelu and Gudian nodded and immediately walked into the living room of the carriage. With the help of his personal maid, he unfolded his study and began to write a letter to Xiao Chuo.

The next day, early in the morning of August 19, Ding Wei bid farewell to Emperor Chai Zongxun and led a hundred Longxiang Guards as his entourage, carrying the imperial edict, letters of persuasion for surrender, and a large number of rare treasures to Xinshangjing.

After riding their horses for most of the day, Ding Wei and his party saw the city wall of Xinshangjing at 3 p.m. The towers were now filled with Liao imperial guards and many city defense equipment.

The captain of the Longxiang Guard rode forward and shouted to the Liao soldiers on the city wall:

"The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty could not bear the flames of war and the slaughter, so he sent Lord Ding as an envoy! Please let us enter the city to meet your Queen Mother Xiao!"

The Liao general guarding the city wall did not dare to make a decision on his own, so he quickly sent someone to the palace to report to Empress Dowager Xiao.

After receiving the report, Xiao Chuo pondered for a moment, and immediately ordered the envoy of the Great Zhou to enter the palace for an audience.

About half an hour later, Ding Wei and a hundred Longxiang Guards were searched by tens of thousands of Liao imperial guards and taken to the main hall in the front yard of the imperial palace to meet Empress Dowager Xiao.

After greeting, Ding Wei said:
"Your Majesty, our Great Zhou Emperor has led 300,000 elite troops here this time, determined to conquer the entire continent of Maya!

His Majesty said: The Liao people are also descendants of Yan and Huang. As long as the Queen Mother can lead the entire nation's military and civilians to surrender sincerely, not a single Liao person will be killed!
The people in the former Liao Kingdom now have full granaries, chickens, ducks, fish and meat, and are not oppressed by the government. The judicial system is extremely fair.

The Liao people in the Mayan continent can freely choose to return to their homeland to settle down or continue to live here in the future. His Majesty will definitely let you live a good life like the Liao people in your hometown!
As for the civil and military achievements of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou, I will not elaborate on them. Here is a letter written by Concubine Shu to the Empress Dowager."

Xiao Chuo said:
"We Liao people followed the late emperor and traveled thousands of miles, going through countless hardships, before arriving at this Mayan continent.

"Lord Ding, how did the Emperor of Zhou find out where we were going? Why did he lead a large army here?"

Ding Wei smiled and said:

"Queen Mother, there is no impenetrable wall in the world, there will always be some clues left.

Besides, how could the Queen Mother forget Jing Qiong? When he and his wife fled to Fusang, they knew many secrets of the Liao Kingdom’s migration.”

Xiao Chuo sighed and ordered the eunuch to go down the hall and take back the imperial edict of the Emperor of the Great Zhou and a letter presented by Ding Wei.

Xiao Chuo first slowly unfolded the imperial edict on the imperial desk and began to read it.

Chai Zongxun's imperial edict read:
"His Majesty the Emperor of Great Zhou respectfully presents a letter to Her Majesty Empress Dowager Xiao of Liao:
The Han and the Khitan are both descendants of Yan and Huang. More than ten years ago, I and my virtuous wife Jingzong parted ways in Shangjing, and unexpectedly we ended up living in different places.

Now that Emperor Jingzong has passed away, the Empress Dowager is left alone to support the country. I truly feel sorry for her.

My beloved concubine, Concubine Shu, is the younger sister of Emperor Jingzong. I have supported her since childhood and we have a deep relationship. Emperor Jingzong, the Empress Dowager and I are also relatives!
Today, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, we have conquered Beiming in the north, conquered the entire territory of Xingxing Sect in the west, and attacked Angkor in the south, destroying hundreds of countries. This is the most prosperous era for the glorious China.

If the Queen Mother can put aside her past grudges and return with sincerity, I will not hesitate to reward you with a duke or marquis, and I swear not to kill anyone at will!"

When Xiao Chuo saw that Chai Zongxun's edict was written so humbly, like a family letter, she could not help but ponder for a long time and was unable to make a decision.

After a while, Xiao Chuo opened the letter from Yelu and Gudian and began to read.

In the letter, Yelu Hegudian first spent a lot of time recalling the unforgettable care he received from his brother Yelu Xian when he was young, as well as his acquaintance and relationship with Xiao Chuo when he was young. He then described in detail the power of the weapons in the Great Zhou army today and the glorious achievements of the Great Zhou over the years.

At the end of the letter, Yelu and Gudian said:

"Sister-in-law, the son of you and my brother is also my nephew.

I have come thousands of miles to follow Your Majesty to Maya because I could not bear to see the Liao people being unable to withstand the might of heaven and being slaughtered tragically, which has kept me awake at night!

Today, the national strength of the Great Zhou and the Great Liao is very different, like a tiger fighting for a rabbit's ear.

I sincerely hope that the Empress Dowager will take the lives and well-being of the Liao people into consideration, turn hostility into friendship, and share the prosperity of the Great Zhou.

I am very lucky! Liao people are so lucky! The world is so lucky! "

(End of this chapter)