Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 510 Jingzong Foundation (Special thanks to the book friend Xiangwang Zizai for his 2 monthly tickets!)

After the generals arranged for the soldiers to take over the new capital, Chai Zongxun, under the escort of the imperial guards, led Concubine Yi Zhou Nuying, Concubine Shu Yelu He Gudian and "Prince Ya" Chai Jijun into the city and moved into the former Liao imperial palace as a temporary residence.

A few days later, the Great Zhou sent troops to convey imperial decrees to all directions, ordering the states and counties of the Liao Kingdom to surrender and gradually establish the official rule of the Great Zhou.

When the people saw that the taxes under the Great Zhou were lower than before, that they were given more freedom to run their businesses, and that the laws and regulations were strict, they were all happy to accept the rule of the Great Zhou.

In order to appease the Liao monarchs and ministers who surrendered, such as Xiao Chuo, Chai Zongxun hosted banquets for them almost every day after he moved into the imperial palace, and gave them generous rewards.

In total, six dukes, twenty-two marquises, and more than one hundred earls and barons were conferred the title.

Chai Zongxun wanted to confer the title of a first-rank imperial lady upon Xiao Chuo, but she refused. Chai Zongxun knew that she did not want to affect the reputation of the deceased Emperor Jingzong of Liao, so he still called her "Empress Dowager Xiao."

Taking into account that the Liao people's escape across the sea to the east to the Mayan continent objectively promoted the development of this area, in order to win the hearts of the Liao people on the Mayan continent, Chai Zongxun issued an edict recognizing Yelu Xian's title as Emperor Jingzong of Liao, and conferred the title of "King of Liang" on Yelu Longxu, which would be hereditary.

On the afternoon of November 12, the 38th year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun hosted a banquet in the imperial palace to entertain Xiao Chuo, accompanied by Concubine Shu, Yelu and Gudian.

During the dinner, Yelu Hegudian and Xiao Chuo had a long conversation, mostly about things that happened when Yelu Xian was alive.

When Yelu and Gudian heard that Yelu Xian was still thinking about his sister who was far away in China before he died, they burst into tears.

Chai Zongxun comforted him:

"My beloved concubine, please do not be too sad. He enabled my brother Yelu Xian to cross the sea to conquer Maya and successfully establish a country. He was also a wise king. He also made contributions to the inclusion of Maya in our Chinese territory!

I will immediately issue an order to repair the tomb of Emperor Jingzong of Liao and allow all people to worship him!"

Yelu, Gudian and Xiao Chuo were all grateful.

Yelu and the Classical Way:

"Sister-in-law, Xiao Hunian and Jing Qiong have now been granted the title of marquis by Your Majesty and are now settled in Bianjing. The tombs of our Liao ancestors are also cleaned by special people.

The lives of our Liao people are several times better than before. Many of them have passed the imperial examinations and become officials, or run business and become rich. Your Majesty treats them no differently from the Han people.

After Your Majesty has completely pacified this place, the Imperial Sister-in-law can return to Bianjing with us. Did the Imperial Brother leave any last words? Does he hope to be buried in the ancestral tomb of the Liao Dynasty's imperial family? "

Xiao Chuo sighed:

“Although the late emperor never explicitly said that he wanted to be buried in his ancestors’ cemetery after his death, he often talked with me and my concubines, missing his life in the capital. I believe he still wants to return to his hometown to rest in peace.

I’m just afraid that the road is too far and it will be difficult to relocate the burial.”

Chai Zongxun said:

"Since Emperor Jingzong of Liao has this wish, I will help him to achieve it.

Although the journey from here to Da Zhou is long, most of the way is through cold climates. We just need to put more ice in the coffin and there should be no problem in moving. "

Chai Zongxun paused and continued:
"In terms of time, Yelu Longxu and other Liao officials in Nakbe should surrender in the next few days, right?"

Xiao Chuo's heart moved, a sense of uneasiness flashed through her mind, and she said:
"Reporting to your Majesty, one day before the whole city surrendered, I sent several envoys to the central city of Nakbe to tell them to surrender. They should have arrived by now.

I think there are many people in Nakbei, and it will take some time for Xuer to lead them to Xinshangjing. "The journey from Nakbei to Shangjing takes about 25 days by fast horse, and now it has been two months since Xiao Chuo sent an envoy to Nakbei to announce the imperial edict in early September.

Chai Zongxun nodded, thinking that perhaps because there were too many people and too many things to do, it took Yelu Longxu some time.

It would be better to send a large army to pacify the central and western states of the Mayan continent now, there is no need to rush.

At this moment, in Nakbe, a large city in the central region more than a thousand miles away, Yelu Longxu and other Liao officials were arguing fiercely.

Since Yelu Longxu, under the escort of Prime Minister Han Derang and the commander of the Feihu Division, led the newly arrived Liao subjects in Beijing, he arrived in Nakbei at the end of September.

Not long after, Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Moge, who were attacking the Mayan Empire in the east, also received an imperial edict from Queen Mother Xiao Chuo to withdraw their troops back to Nakbe.

When the Liao army heard that the Zhou emperor's elite troops had arrived at the critical moment when they were about to conquer the Mayan Empire, they were filled with hatred.

Although Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Moge were extremely reluctant, they knew that the biggest enemy before them was the Great Zhou that was chasing them from thousands of miles away, so they hurriedly sent envoys to the Mayan army to negotiate a ceasefire with its emperor Kamu.

After several years of war, Kamu's disadvantage has become increasingly greater. From an army of 600,000 at the beginning, after dozens of battles, the number has been reduced to just over 300,000 today, and the morale is getting lower and lower.

Upon hearing that the Liao army had come to negotiate peace, Kamuru was overjoyed in his dream and immediately agreed to the envoy's request for a ceasefire.

After Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Moge reorganized their troops, the entire army retreated to Nakbe, a large city in the central region, to join forces with Yelu Longxu and others.

The emperor and his ministers waited anxiously in Nakbe for several days. As Xiao Chuo's one-month deadline was approaching, they thought they had secured Xinshangjing. However, on the afternoon of October 17, they received an order from a secret envoy sent by Xiao Chuo to surrender the entire country to the Great Zhou.

Yelu Longxu quickly summoned important civil and military officials to discuss the matter in the governor's mansion.

Yelu Longxu said:
"The Queen Mother has always acted decisively and resolutely. This time she was leading 100,000 imperial guards and intended to defend Shangjing.

Now that you have sent an envoy to urge my king and ministers to surrender to the Great Zhou, you must know that this is impossible. Only by surrendering to the Great Zhou can we save our Liao king and ministers. "

Han Derang sighed:

“Since the last emperor, the rulers and ministers of the Liao Dynasty have worked hard to open up a new world in this Mayan land thousands of miles away!

What a pity that the Zhou Emperor was able to chase us across the sea! God really doesn’t bless our Liao Dynasty!”

Yelu Xizhen said:
"Your Majesty, you must not forget the late emperor's ambition to revive the Liao Dynasty!
In the past, when the country was in danger of being destroyed, the late emperor was not afraid of hardships and resolutely led hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians to overcome all difficulties and cross the sea for tens of thousands of miles to reach this Mayan continent and successfully restore the country.

How can we, the emperor and his subjects, be so afraid of the Zhou army and give up such a vast foundation laid by the late emperor?"

Yelu Moge said vigorously:
"No matter how powerful the Great Zhou is, its soldiers are only mortals. Even if we are defeated and die in battle, we will have no shame in meeting the late emperor in the afterlife!"

After much debate, most of the civil officials believed that Empress Dowager Xiao, who had always been brave and resolute, chose to surrender to the Zhou Dynasty because she naturally saw that there was no hope of resisting the Zhou army. Therefore, in order to preserve the Liao Dynasty's monarchs, ministers and people, they advocated surrender.

The generals believed that everything depended on human efforts. After all, the Liao Kingdom had the geographical advantage on the Mayan continent. Even if they still could not defeat the Zhou Dynasty in the end, they could continue to flee south.

The civil and military officials argued more and more fiercely, while Yelu Longxu hesitated and could not make a decision.

(End of this chapter)