Outlaws of the Marsh

Chapter 492 Flood Dragon Enters the Sea (Please Subscribe!)
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Cai You left the capital on May [-]th and arrived in Xiongzhou on June [-]th.

This is only a journey of thousands of miles, and it takes up to three days to travel fast. Cai You actually walked for 25 days.

Along the way, Cai You knelt down and worshiped every temple, and burned incense when he saw the gods. It is said that a whole carriage of incense was used.

Regardless of facing the Buddha or Guanyin Bodhisattva, Cai You held incense with both hands, closed his eyes and prayed, chanting words, begging for their blessings.

When he arrived at the Daming Mansion, Cai You learned that the Song Army had defeated Baigou, and suddenly fell ill and was bedridden.

The Daming Mansion stayed behind and quickly found some beautiful women to take care of them day and night, and Cai You gradually recovered.

When Cai You arrived at the Xuanfu Division of Xiongzhou, Zhao Ji's edict to withdraw the troops had just arrived.

After Tong Guan received the order, he planned to retreat to Hejian Mansion and wait for the opportunity there.

And Cai You really wanted to go back to Daming Mansion and continue to recuperate.

Everyone is preparing to withdraw.

Only Zhao Liangsi, the initiator of the recovery of Yanyun, was very unwilling to fail like this - if they went back in such a desperate way, he would definitely be looked down upon and ridiculed by his officials, and more importantly, his political life would also come to an end .

Zhao Liangsi once heard from Ma Kuo that Li Chuwen is now Yeluchun's prime minister and holds great power.

And many years ago, Zhao Liangsi and Li Chuwen had become close friends, so he wanted to write a letter to Li Chuwen to persuade him to be an internal response and Yeluchun to surrender.

Zhao Liangsi came to the Xuanfu Department and said to Tong Guan: "I used to form an irreversible friendship with Li Chuwen in the Liao Dynasty. Li Chuwen saw that Emperor Tianzuo had lost his virtue and wanted to go south with me to the Song Dynasty. The North Pole Temple in Yanjing offered incense as an alliance and wanted to destroy Khitan together, if Li Chuwen received my letter, he should be our internal response."

After Tong Guan heard this, his eyes lit up!
In fact, the situation of Tong Guan and Zhao Liangsi is the same, or even worse - if they just go back in such a desperate state, then Tong Guan will not only end his political life, but also have to carry the shame of this great defeat all the way into the coffin.

Therefore, upon hearing Zhao Liangsi say that Li Chuwen still had hope, Tong Guan immediately ordered Zhao Liangsi to write a letter to Li Chuwen.

Zhao Liangsi wrote in the letter:

I secretly think that the sky hates Khitan, self-inflicted subversion, wars and disasters, when the old emperor has not returned, the new emperor is isolated, and in the midst of disturbances, he can only rely on his labors...

……

After Li Chuwen received Zhao Liangsi's secret letter, he read it several times and was filled with emotion, and he also moved the idea of ​​surrendering the Song Dynasty.

But Li Chuwen felt that it was unlikely to succeed in persuading Yeluchun to surrender.

Because Xiao Qian and Yelu Dashi defeated the Song army, the Liao army believed that the Song army was vulnerable, so they all demanded a decisive battle with the Song army to the end.

In addition, among the Hanchens, people like Zuo Qigong also made it clear that they would rather surrender Li Yan and Jin than surrender Song. Dishonesty, narrow-mindedness, unreliable at all.

What Li Chuwen was most worried about was that he didn't have any weapons in his hands.

The Liao army is now divided into several pieces.

Except for the Liao army defending important places such as Juyongguan, Zijingguan, and Gubeikou, the rest of the Liao army was roughly divided into four parts.

Part of it is in the hands of Xiao Qian, mainly stationed around Fancun.

Part of it is in the hands of Yelu Dashi, mainly stationed in Xincheng and Baigou River.

Part of it is in the hands of Guo Yaoshi, mainly stationed in Zhuozhou.

Another piece is the army defending Yanjing, which was originally in the hands of Yeluchun, but because Yeluchun was seriously ill, it was actually in the hands of Xiao Puxian and her daughter Yelv Dalibo.

Nothing is in Li Chuwen's hands.

Without arms, there is no power to control the situation, and there is insufficient confidence.

Li Chuwen believes that the most urgent task is to establish an armed force of his own in case of emergency.

But the establishment of an armed force cannot be completed overnight.

Fortunately, Li Chuwen had a sum of money in his hand, which was given to him by Yeluchun to recruit troops to fight against the Jurchens.

Li Chuwen planned to use the money to recruit warriors and build his own armed force.

Soon, Li Chuwen asked his son Li Shi to write a reply to Zhao Liangsi, introducing the situation in Yanjing.

Li Xun said in his reply:
... Now the new king is sick, Yanjing is in chaos, and people are panicking.Xiao Qian, Yelu Dashi and Concubine Xiao De held heavy soldiers, and they had a strong murderous aura.There are also many comrades who want to return to the south, and Shi will discuss with them.Xianggong is also deliberate and chooses the opportunity to act.The matter is so important that it has to be kept secret...

After reading Li Shi's reply, Zhao Liangsi was very excited.

Zhao Liangsi couldn't help recalling the scene where he, Li Shi, Ma Rouji and Liu Fan drank wine and made oaths at the Beiji Temple in Yanjing many years ago.

At that time, seeing that Emperor Tianzuo was losing popular support day by day, they made secret plans many times in an attempt to get rid of the Khitan people's rule over Yanjing and restore the Han family.

After so many years, Zhao Liangsi really didn't know if they still had the enthusiasm they had back then?Now, after reading Li Shi's reply, Zhao Liangsi felt very relieved and had confidence in them.

Both Ma Rouji and Liu Fan are now serving in the Liao army, and Ma Rouji is Zhao Liangsi's elder brother.

Therefore, Zhao Liangsi wrote another letter to Ma Rouji, hoping that he would "make righteous men, open the city gate to welcome the surrender, arrest Khitan, and turn disaster into blessing."

Later, Zhao Liangsi told Tong Guan and Cai You about Li Shi's reply letter and his plan.

Tong Guan and Cai You had great hopes for Li Chuwen and Yanjing's anti-Liao martyrs—they both believed that Yanjing would definitely undergo internal changes before long.

Tong Guan and Cai You are not just guessing. Their aides have already analyzed it for them. Yeluchun is now facing a lot of pressure, both from Li Yan and Jurchen. With the pressure from their Great Song Dynasty, Yeluchun must not last long.

Moreover, Ma Kuo once told Tong Guan and Cai You that Yeluchun is now seriously ill and bedridden, and it is estimated that his life is coming to an end.

Therefore, Tong Guan and Cai You did not leave Xiongzhou in the end, but sat in Xiongzhou and waited for the internal incidents in Yanjing to happen.

really!

It didn't take long for Li Shi to send news to Tong Guan that Yeluchun had passed away, and that Beiliao would be headed by Xiao Puxian.

Tong Guan and Cai You were overjoyed, and hurriedly told Zhao Ji the good news, and at the same time paid close attention to the further development of the matter, that is, waiting for Li Chuwen and the martyrs in Yanjing City to donate Yanjing City.

But Tong Guan and Cai You waited and waited, but a bad news came - Li Chuwen was given to death, and Li Shi was beheaded by Ling Chi.

turn out to be--

Li Chuneng, who supported Yeluchun with Li Chuwen, Li Shi and his son, felt that Li Chuwen's private collusion with the enemy was too dangerous, so he hid in the temple ordained as a monk, and resolutely refused to participate in the dedication of Li Chuwen and his son to the city.

Li Chuwen was unhappy about this, and at the same time realized that he could no longer procrastinate, and had to act as soon as possible.

Therefore, Li Chuwen urged his son Li Shi to say: "You must hurry up to form an army and speed up the pace. The sooner we will be more active, the later we will be more passive."

Li Shi nodded in agreement, and then called his main assistants Yeluce, Gao Xie and Ma Er to discuss.

Yeluce is a palace guard, Gao Xie is a yamen soldier, and Ma Er is a secretary and a young supervisor. They are very enthusiastic about Li Chuwen and his son's plan to dedicate the city of Yanjing to the Song Dynasty.

After much discussion and discussion, Li Xun, Yeluce, Gao Xie, and Ma Er decided to hijack Xiao Puxian and force Xiao Puxian to sacrifice the city.

Of course, the prerequisite for hijacking Mrs. Xiao Pu is that they have to have their own armed forces.

Therefore, Li Xi, Yelu Ce, Gao Xie, Ma Er and others contacted each other separately, and secretly recruited warriors with a lot of money, preparing to pull up an armed force of 3000 people.

Everything is going on quietly and nervously.

On this day, that is, the seventh day after Yeluchun's death, Guo Yaoshi, who was left behind in Zhuozhou and guarded by the Changsheng Army, came to Yanjing from Zhuozhou to mourn Yeluchun.

Guo Yaoshi is from Tiezhou, Bohai.

Six years ago, Gao Yongchang, a native of Bohai, rebelled and killed Xiao Baoxian, who was left behind in Tokyo.

Emperor Tianzuo sent Zhang Lin, the prime minister at that time, to crusade.

As a result, Zhang Lin was defeated by the Jurchens in Shenzhou.

Later, Emperor Tianzuo conferred the post of Marshal of Yelu Chundu, King of Yan at that time, and ordered him to conquer Gao Yongchang.

Yeluchun recruited hungry people in Liaodong and formed an army known as the "Resent Army", which means the army complaining about the Jurchens.

This team has a total of more than 8000 people, divided into eight battalions: Qianyiying, Houyiying, Qianjinying, Houjinying, Qianying, Xianying, Qianxiandaying and Yanzhouying.

After the establishment of the Resentment Army, successive rebellions occurred. Especially in the first month of last year, General Dong Xiaochou of the Resentment Army rebelled because he was unfavorable in conquering Lizhou and worried about being punished. He was finally suppressed and executed.

Guo Yaoshi saw the right time and acted in time, killing Luo Qinghan and other rebels, and made outstanding contributions.

Later, Xiao Qian and Yelu Yujian led the army to put down the rebellion, and were ordered to completely solve the rebellion problem of the resentful army.

Yelu Yujian suggested to Xiao Qian to kill all the resentful soldiers.

Xiao Qian disagreed, thinking that there are still some loyal people in the resentment army.

Xiao Qian then carried out a large-scale reorganization of the resentment army, leaving only 2000 troops, organized into four battalions, led by Guo Yaoshi, Zhang Linghui, Liu Shunren, and Zhen Wuchen, and the rest of the troops were scattered among the forbidden troops.

Judging from the short history of the Resentment Army, this is a team with a tradition of rebellion.

After Yeluchun proclaimed himself emperor, Xiao Qian recommended Guo Yaoshi to come to Yanjing to serve as the Imperial Palace Zhi, that is, the emperor's attendant.

Yeluchun changed the name of the resentment army to the Changsheng army, promoted Guo Yaoshi to be the general of the guard, put him in charge of the Changsheng army, and stayed behind in Zhuozhou.

Judging from Guo Yaoshi's rapid rise, it is not an exaggeration to say that Xiao Qian is Guo Yaoshi's benefactor.

Xiao Qian heard that Guo Yaoshi came to the palace to mourn Yeluchun, so he wanted to take the opportunity to win Guo Yaoshi further. The current Changsheng Army has been expanded to more than 8000 horses by Guo Yaoshi, who is very good at expansion.

For the Northern Liao Dynasty, which has a serious shortage of soldiers and horses, the Ever Victorious Army is now a force that cannot be ignored.

Guo Yaoshi has a keen sense of politics.

As soon as he entered the palace city, he felt that the atmosphere in the palace was very tense and the situation was very mysterious.

Therefore, as soon as the condolence activities were over, Guo Yaoshi left the palace immediately, without even returning to his residence in Yanjing, he left the city directly, and then returned to Zhuozhou.

After Xiao Qian entered the palace but failed to find Guo Yaoshi, he went to look for Guo Yaoshi at his home in Yanjing.

But there are only a few followers in Guo Yaoshi's family, how can there be Guo Yaoshi?
As soon as Xiao Qian got angry, he called Guo Yaoshi's followers to interrogate them one by one.

Coincidentally.

Xiao Qian had a ferocious appearance and a great reputation, and he was in a bad mood when he couldn't find Guo Yaoshi, so when interrogating him, his tone was a bit scary, and he seemed to want to beat or kill.

One of Guo Yaoshi's entourage, Fu Zunshuo, was afraid that Xiao Qian would beat him, so he reported, "Young... the villain knows that Li Chuwen, the Taiwei, and Tong Guan, the Xuanfu envoy of the Song Dynasty, passed secret letters back and forth. Li Chuwen tried to... …In an attempt to hijack the Empress Dowager Nacheng to join the Song Dynasty. The people who delivered the secret letter to them were… Zhao Luren and Liu Yao. The State Propaganda Department is waiting to take office."

After Xiao Qian heard this, he was shocked and hurried to tell Miss Xiao Puxian about it.

Xiao Puxian's daughter ordered Xiao Qian to immediately deploy troops secretly to control Li Chuwen, his son and their accomplices, and prevent them from fleeing out of the city.

Li Chuwen and his son were almost ready at this time. Li Shi had even made an agreement with his subordinates that Yeluce would be responsible for abducting Xiao Puxian in the palace. , Li Shi was responsible for contacting the Song Army, and as soon as the Song Army arrived, they immediately opened the city.

But at the last moment, Li Chuwen, his son and their henchmen were captured by Xiao Qian.

From Li Chuwen's home, Xiao Qian seized [-] pieces of armor and saddlery and other military equipment, more than [-] guan of money, and a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, and exquisite porcelain and jade.

Everyone got all the stolen goods, and there was nothing to say, Xiao Puxian immediately ordered: "Li Chuwen has made great contributions to the country, leave a whole body, and Li Shiling will beheaded."

Knowing that Li Chuwen and his son fell short at the last moment, Tong Guan and Cai You felt very sorry, and hurriedly told Zhao Ji and Wang Fu the news.

Zhao Ji and Wang Fu also felt very sorry for Li Chuwen and his son who fell short at the last moment.

(Later, after the recovery of Yanjing in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji issued an edict to posthumously designate Li Chuwen as the king of Guangyang County, Li Shi as the envoy of the Baoning Army, and ordered Yanshan Mansion to change Li Chuwen's house into an ancestral temple to commemorate the father and son. Song made a sacrifice to recover Yanjing.)
Although the offering of Yanjing by Li Chuwen and his sons failed, Zhao Ji and his officials learned through Li Chuwen and his sons that Yeluchun was dead and that the Northern Liao Dynasty was ruled by a female generation, and that the people of Yandi were thinking of the Song Dynasty, and there were many internal conflicts.

This made Zhao Ji want to send a large army to recover Yanjing again.

In fact, Zhao Ji can't do without taking back Yanjing - if he doesn't take back Yanjing, then Li Yan will definitely go to take Yanjing. Song Guo is in danger.

Therefore, it is imperative for the State of Song to recover Yanjing.

But to send another army northward, Zhao Ji faced two problems:

[-]. Where does the money come from?
Second, who will command the troops?
……

(End of this chapter)