back to ancient times to be emperor

Chapter 69 The Khitan Invasion (for collection)

Even in the cold north, when the spring breeze blows, greenery will emerge from the barren grasslands.The cattle and horses began to put on weight, which would have been an excellent season.But since Emperor Yelu Hongji of the Liao Kingdom took people from various tribes to gather in Shangjing, all the people of the Liao Kingdom knew that this was the signal for the beginning of the war.

The people of the Liao Kingdom did not have any worries. After all, for a long time, the Liao Kingdom used troops against Dashun, Uighurs, Jurchens, and Goryeo, and rarely failed.The Khitans are invincible with the sharpness of their cavalry.

In fact, the Khitan people in history were still very powerful. They combined the commonalities of farming and nomadic peoples. They could not only produce their own food, but also harvest grass on the border.If it weren't for the Khitan people's own civil strife, which gave the Jurchen a chance to rise, no matter how powerful Wanyan Aguda was, they would not be able to sweep away the Liao Kingdom in such a short period of time and take the original Liao Kingdom into the Jin Kingdom.

And in this different time and space, Wanyan Aguda, the first ancestor of the Jurchen clan, hadn't been born yet, and the Jurchen clan was just a small tribe under the rule of the Liao Kingdom.Yelu Hongji is still considered a generation of Mingjun, not as extravagant as in history.The Khitan ministers had no intention of disobedience. The Liao Kingdom seemed to be monolithic and powerful.

In fact, there are contradictions within any country. Complaints against Yelu Hongji may not seem like a big deal now, but after all, hidden dangers are planted.Why not Dashun?Underneath the seemingly peaceful appearance, undercurrents are surging.Lu Chengqi's tough reforms and the hard push of the Supervision Department have already touched the vested interests of many people.These officials, country gentry, profiteers, all secretly gritted their teeth when Lu Chengqi touched their cake, wishing to push Lu Chengqi down from the throne and restore the previous system.

It used to be that officials and businessmen colluded, ships sailed overseas, and officials secretly benefited a lot. The profiteers only needed to manage the officials well, and they didn't need to pay taxes at all.Now that Lu Chengqi has set up a shipping company, if he goes out to sea privately, he will definitely be detained by the navy, and the cargo will not be returned, unless he pays a sky-high fine.

In this way, fearing the coercion of the imperial court, many profiteers paid fines, took back their ships, and paid up the customs duties before they could continue to go to sea.The profiteer who lost a lot has secretly hated Lu Chengqi.There are no small moves yet, but once the situation between North Korea and China changes, it is uncertain what they will do.

The same is true of officials, on the surface they dare not reach out, but secretly hate the Supervision Department.If the official salary is based on general expenses, it is enough for the official family to spend.But officials want to save face. The daily expenses are extremely high, and the little salary is not enough to spend.What's even more hateful is that Lu Chengqi also blatantly converted all the benefits into currency, and deducted half of it, it was considered a pension.The officials also knew that this was Lu Chengqi's guarantee for their life after resignation. What's abominable is that Lu Chengqi also stipulated that only by being clean can they receive a huge amount of pension.If corruption is discovered, even family property will be confiscated, and officials will go crazy.

They studied hard for ten years in the cold window, isn't it just to become an official and make a fortune?If they can't do this, why do they have to sharpen their heads and drill into it?If it was the original salary, the family can save money and still maintain the scenery.But now it is directly halved, and their lives are suddenly very tight, and they can't even afford servants.Not only has the salary been reduced, but the gray income that originally accounted for the majority is not dared to take it, which is even worse.Thinking of this, there are not many officials who don't hate Lu Chengqi to the bone.They only want to be officials, and they don't care who is the emperor. This is why there are still so many Han people who are officials when the Mongols and Manchus entered the Central Plains, and they sacrifice their lives for it.

The rich and gentry also complained about Lu Chengqi. First of all, he advocated commerce and supported ocean trade, which made many tenants not want to farm, and went to ports, county towns, and state capitals to find a living.With role models, the tenant farmers fled more and more, so that the fields of the rich and gentry were abandoned.Although it is not obvious now, but according to this trend, it will definitely intensify.It's not that the rich and squires don't have vision, and they understand better than anyone else that it concerns their vital interests.

It turned out that Lu Chengqi lowered the agricultural tax, which made them happy for a while, thinking that they would be able to collect more.But Lu Chengqi held commerce and handicrafts in one hand, absorbed a large number of idle people, and his wages were much higher than that of tenant farmers, and tenant farmers were not fools, so of course they would choose to work after weighing the balance.At first it was just one or two walks, and the squires didn't pay attention. Later, the sharecroppers fled in large numbers, and they didn't pay attention.As a last resort, by reducing the land rent, it can be regarded as retaining a group of tenant farmers.However, in the case of the tide of business, the fragile small-scale peasant economy seems to be vulnerable and crumbling.

How can this make the rich and gentry not complain about Lu Chengqi's policy?
This is also why undercurrents are surging when the Dashun Dynasty is peaceful.Lu Chengqi was also vigilant. On the one hand, he accelerated the development of commerce and handicrafts, and on the other hand, he appeased these vested interests to gain time for development.He also knew that the rise of a class must be accompanied by the decline of a class.If the interests of the majority of people can be taken into account, then his reforms will be considered successful.Otherwise, it would be like a mirror image, once he left the throne, it would not take long for him to be beaten back to his original shape.

But now, the conflict has been shifted, because the Khitans have begun to violate the border.

On the grassland full of spring, a large group of cavalry galloped from a distance in darkness, scaring Youzhou City to close its gates and began to defend the city.At the same time, the wolf smoke rose, warning the city not far away.

The wolf smoke spread all the way to Taiyuan City, and then the fast horse galloped out from the post road and went straight to Chang'an City.

However, Lu Chengqi, who was in Chang'an City, received a report from the Supervision Department first, and learned about the composition and generals of this Khitan army.This Khitan army that violated the border was led by Emperor Taishu Yelu Chongyuan.The Khitan people have changed from a nomadic people to an empire, and the position of emperor is not like the Central Plains dynasty. It is inherited from father to son, and brothers may also succeed to the throne.Although the emperor's uncle was respectful on the surface, he secretly disdained Yelu Hongji, and was full of resentment towards Liao Xingzong's succession to Yelu Hongji, and secretly waited for the opportunity to make trouble.

Previously, Yelu Chongyuan was also jealous when he saw Xiao Xulie, Prime Minister of the Northern Mansion leading his army to attack Caogu successfully.Seeing that although he is the Grand Marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, there are very few opportunities to send troops, he secretly resents him.This time Lu Chengqi punished the unscrupulous businessmen and cut off the import of a large amount of salt and iron from the Liao Kingdom. Yelu Zhongyuan took the opportunity to attack, and asked for the right to lead the army this time, vowing to make Dashun pay the price.

Although Yelu Hongji wasn't too wary of Yelu Chongyuan, he was deterred by his military power and ordered him to lead his own troops to the expedition.Yelu Chongyuan spoke again, and only then did he get another 30 soldiers and horses, a total of [-] troops, claiming [-], and they rushed to Youzhou City in mighty force.

Yelu Zhongyuan ordered his eldest son Yelu Nelugu to be the vanguard, leading [-] soldiers and horses to cross the gap in the Great Wall that had been in disrepair and reach the outside of Youzhou City.

Knowing that Yelu Chongyuan was leading the army this time, Lu Chengqi couldn't help feeling relieved.There are not many records about this person in history, but generally speaking, there are two outstanding points.Yelu Chongyuan is good at politics, but poor in martial arts, otherwise he wouldn't have lost to Yelu Hongji in the Chongyuan Rebellion.This passage was also written by Jin Yong, the master of martial arts in later generations. It is the passage where Xiao Feng captures the emperor's uncle alone.

(End of this chapter)