Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 335

"What, cede the Kyushu behind the mountain to Song State?"

"Yes," Yelu Dashi repeated with a gloomy face, "this is only the first step in the Liao-Song alliance. If the Song Dynasty helps us defeat the Xia army, the states behind the mountains can take it for themselves. Then, Liao The two countries of the Song Dynasty joined forces to attack Xia. After Xia was destroyed, the two countries of Song and Liao took the Great Wall as their boundary. There are only two dynasties in the world, the South and the North, the people from the south return to the south, and the people from the north return to the north. The people who graze, shoot and hunt are all the people of Daliao, while the people who farm are under the jurisdiction of the Song Dynasty. , and share peace from now on.”

Brother Yelu Tie was so shocked that he couldn't speak, and several other ministers also stared wide-eyed, wondering if His Majesty was crazy.

The so-called Youyun sixteen prefectures in the Southern Dynasties were divided into the seven prefectures in front of the mountain and the nine prefectures behind the mountain, with the northern branch of Taihang Mountain as the boundary.Among the territory of the sixteen states, there are not only the important passes that overlook the Central Plains and control Mobei, but also the fertile land that is suitable for farming, animal husbandry, and densely populated.After the Jin Dynasty ceded the sixteen prefectures of Youyun to the Liao Kingdom, the Liao Kingdom not only occupied a favorable location, but also more than doubled its population before, and the country has flourished ever since.And what Song Guo never forgets is to recover the lost land and make up for Jin'ou.The sixteen prefectures of Youyun are the battleground between the Liao and Song Dynasties, and also the fuse of the continuous war on the border of Hebei.

Xiao Yixue, the former commander of the army, said loudly: "Your Majesty, even if you want to repair the relationship with Song and fight against Xia together, you should not cede all of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, right?" Bo He said angrily: "How can the land earned by our ancestors' bloodshed and war be easily ceded!" Yelu Tiege said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the Nanjing Road is prosperous, with many workshops and a prosperous population, and the Xijing Road is vast. There are so many tribes living in Mobei, if I lose these two places, not only will I be short of money and food, but I will lose my arm. From then on, Khitan can only be located in the northeast corner, and will no longer be able to compete in the world. Your Majesty, please think twice!" Yelua Bo He also took a step forward and shouted: "Your Majesty conspired with us back then to sell the land of our ancestors?" His voice was a little hoarse, and he almost shed tears.

The generals around him have been loyal and loyal all these years, and they have never argued with Yelu Dashi so red-faced.Yelu Dashi looked at these people silently, his face gradually moved. After a long time, he stood up and sighed: "All the kings work together for the country, why should I worry about the failure of Daliao!"

Seeing what he said, all the generals were taken aback for a moment, and Yelu Dashi just said: "What I just said just now is a plan to kill two birds with one stone. First, the Liaodong matter is not yet over, and the people of Xia are very anxious to attack me again, so they have made a deal with Song Guoxu Weiyi, using strength to fight against Xia Guo. Second, we only need to wait for the matter of Liaodong. Sooner or later, I will go south to the Central Plains of Hebei. The Song people are cowardly and greedy for profit, so they lure them with profit, so that the two countries will turn against each other, and a gap will be created. At that time, it will be difficult for Xia to help Song with all its strength."

"Your Majesty is using the sixteen prefectures of Youyun as bait," Brother Yelu Tie hesitated, "Isn't it really about ceding my rich Khitan land to Song?" Xiao Yixue and others also looked at His Majesty, Wait for him to give a clear answer.

Yelu Dashi nodded with a smile, and said: "Xijing Road is vast and sparsely populated, and the place is remote. The various tribes have returned to me for a long time. With the strength of the Song army, even if they occupy Xijing Road, it will be difficult to hold it. As for ceding the Nanjing Road, it’s just a sentence. Is the Xia Kingdom so easy to destroy?” Yelu Dashi looked at the topographic map of mountains and rivers hanging in the royal tent, and said with a smile: “It’s an eternal strategy to make friends from afar and attack close. Khitan is far away from Guanzhong, but Hebei and East are between the elbows and armpits, and the alliance with Song Dynasty to attack Xia is just to make Song and Xia animosity, and to consume the strength of the Song army."

Only then did the generals turn their worries into joy, Xiao Yixue said with a smile: "If the Song Dynasty wants to take the sixteen prefectures of Youyun, it must have that ability." Ping Liaodong, and find a reason to attack Hebei and east of the river." Yelu Tiege said in a deep voice: "The emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty have been arrogant for a long time, since your majesty wants to make a show of it, the envoy might as well ask the Song Dynasty for the crown prince Yilie. And pro, the two countries formed a friendship between Qin and Jin.

Yelu Dashi's face showed admiration, nodded and said: "Okay, this matter will be arranged by the North Courtyard." He raised his hand and took a sip of oil tea, his face was slightly grave, and said: "In addition, Xia Guo attacked for no reason. I, I have to report it. Detain all the goods of Xia Kingdom merchants in my court first." At this time, the image of Xia Kingdom's envoy Cui Qianzhi came to mind, and Yelu Dashi snorted coldly, "Besides, Linhuang The envoy of the Xia Kingdom in the mansion is also under arrest, and I will deal with it after I return to the teacher from Liaodong. This person has always been disrespectful to our court. Although he will not kill him this time, he will always give him some trouble Try it."

In the capital city, the Xia Guo Envoy Post, which used to be full of people, now seems a little deserted.Lu Cao has already sent a letter to let the envoys stationed in Liao Kingdom play by ear.However, Cui Qianzhi only arranged for most of the subordinate officials to return home immediately.Because there are still a large number of caravans from the Xia Kingdom that have not yet evacuated, the envoy Cui Qianzhi himself is still sitting in Shangjing, managing officials from the Liao Kingdom, urging the North Court to issue customs clearance certificates for the Xia people, and open the door for the caravans to return.

In the signing room, Cui Qianzhi sat in front of the desk and flipped through the official documents, showing no sign of panic.A scribe stood at the bottom of the desk, bowed and said: "The military government has sent troops to attack Liao, Mr. Cui, if you don't leave at this time, you may not be able to leave."

Although Chen Xian's face was calm, he was trying to suppress his inner fear. In the past two years, Shangguan Cui Qianzhi not only had no airs, but also supported him a lot.In just over two years, Chen Xian became one of Cui Qianzhi's most capable subordinates from an idle and ruined royal family.Chen Xian was grateful for this kindness of support and support. If it wasn't for this, he, who has always cherished his life, would not have taken the initiative to ask to stay.

Cui Qianzhi raised his head, looked at the young man standing in front of him, and said slowly: "Is the caravan on the Shangjing Road all evacuated?" It can be said that it took great pains to arrange the caravan to return to the country.It is necessary to grasp the timing of the retreat, so that the Liao Kingdom cannot see Xia Guo's intentions from the movement of the caravans, and arrange for the caravans to leave slowly, so as not to arouse the vigilance of the Liao Kingdom North Court, and no one can leave in the end.This comes and goes, time is fleeting.Most of the envoy's subordinates followed the various caravans back to Xia Kingdom, and Cui Qianzhi brought Chen Xian and others to make the final arrangements.

There was a complicated look in Chen Xian's eyes, and he cupped his hands and said: "There is no news about the three caravans in Dadingfu. There are about 400 people in them. It is estimated that the subordinates have received the letter from Fu Haixing and are heading to Beijing. Come over here."

"The Great Xianbei Mountains are high and densely forested, and various barbarian tribes are entrenched in it. The roads are difficult to travel. The caravan has no talents to identify the direction, and it is impossible to escape directly from the mountains to the west. We can only go back to Shangjing first, and then walk along the road. But in this case, I am afraid that the Liao Kingdom will have to attack first." Cui Qianzhi frowned and muttered, Chen Xian was extremely anxious, secretly said, my lord, I am afraid that the Liao Kingdom has already attacked, but the post officials are rushing back and forth, It will take some time for the emperor's order to reach the capital.

While the two were discussing, suddenly there were panicked footsteps outside, and a famous clerk rushed in and said, "My lord, it's too bad, a large number of Liao soldiers suddenly appeared on the street outside the posthouse." There was the sound of a large group of people running.

Chen Xian's complexion changed drastically, and he looked at Cui Qianzhi together with the warning scribes, but Cui Qianzhi's complexion was very calm, straightened his clothes, and said in a deep voice: "Since you are here, please be safe. Everyone first Come to the signing room and check the documents again." The clerk hesitated for a moment, then rushed down, and after a while, four or five scribes who stayed in Shangjing gathered in the signing room, and everyone checked separately, and the last batch of important documents were collected. burn it.Before the ashes had cooled down, the Liao soldiers had already arrived at the door.

Suzhou, Nanshan City, was shrouded in dark clouds, and groups of crows hovered in the sky.For more than a month, the Liao army has spared no effort to attack Nanshan City, leaving countless corpses under the city. Although Zhao Xingde allowed the Liao army to transport back the corpses in front of the position every time, there was always a deadly spirit lingering around Nanshan City, and even killed several people. All the crows in a radius of ten miles were attracted.

More and more soldiers of the Han army attributed the success of defending the city to him. Zhao Xingde, who had always insisted on personally stationing in Nanshan City to supervise the battle, gradually became a symbol and pillar in the eyes of the Han army.If the other foreign generals had such prestige, the generals of the Han army's commander-in-chief would have refused to accept it, and would even try to make trouble secretly.However, this time the situation was a bit strange, Han Ningshuang let it go, and all the generals also made friends with him.

In this era, generals have a crucial influence on the outcome of a battle, and when ordinary soldiers praise a general, it will become more and more outrageous, even reaching the bottom of worship and deification. "This Nanshan City was built by General Zhao according to Zhuge Kongming's Eight Formation Map. It is impossible for Liao soldiers to enter." "I have General Zhao alone, which is worth [-] Liao soldiers." is common.

However, these increasingly evil rumors can only make Zhao Xingde more troublesome.

"Is there a picture of Zhuge's eight formations? How can there be such a thing?" He said to Wang Xuansu, "This Nanshan City is just based on the principle of making the artillery play the most useful, and it is just a little more careful consideration." He smiled wryly, "At most, it can only It is said that he followed the trend and followed the way of heaven."

Wang Xuansu smiled slightly, he saw how Zhao Xingde designed it with his own eyes, so he didn't believe those rumors.It's just that the strange appearance of Nanshan City built with several corners protruding out is indeed reminiscent of the Eight Formation Diagram, and the intermittent trenches and low walls outside the city also have a taste of yin and yang.Since it is very different from ordinary cities, and the soldiers don't understand the principle of building a city, it is natural to speculate wildly in private.

Thinking of this, Wang Xuansu smiled slightly, and jokingly said: "It may not necessarily be that General Zhao is collaborating with the ancients."

"Follow the trend, just act according to reason," Zhao Xingde's smile gradually faded, and he said in a low voice, "Cold and heat are not easy, but unfortunately, in the next few months, the sea will freeze, and we will lose our geographical advantage. The Liao army claims to go through the cold The stronger you are, the more advantage you have.”

Looking north and south from the top of the city, the originally blue water has turned into a white ice field. It is estimated that in ten days or so, the brigade will be able to pass through.The weather is getting colder and the sea water is showing signs of freezing.The dangerous isthmus guarded by Nanshan City will soon cease to exist.The commander-in-chief of the Han army had to take refuge on the outer islands, otherwise, when the sea ice was completely frozen and the ships could not reach the shore, they would not be able to leave.During the freezing period of the past few months, only about [-] Han troops will be left in Guannan, Suzhou, guarding a few support points such as Nanshan City.