Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 749
Yelu Hongtai suspected that he had heard it wrong, but seeing the serious face of the emperor's brother, he knew that the emperor's brother was not talking casually, but had already thought it over.

"Brother Huang, do you have to move the capital?"

"Other than that, what other methods do you have to keep the Liao Kingdom?" Yelu Hongji asked lightly.

Yelu Hongtai didn't dare to speak anymore. In fact, he and his ministers had already discussed peace talks with the Song Dynasty and made appropriate concessions, such as removing the emperor's title, accepting the Song Dynasty's canonization of the Liao King, and so on.

So today Yelu Hongtai came to look for the emperor to discuss this matter with the emperor, but the emperor proposed to move the capital, so that he dare not say more.

Yelu Hongji glanced at him and said: "Your solution is nothing more than seeking peace from the Song Dynasty. First, will the Song Dynasty accept the peace proposal? If I were Zhao Xu, I would surrender instead of seeking peace. Is the Liao Kingdom still qualified to sue for peace with a method that is only used when it is evenly matched?"

After a pause, Yelu Hongji said again: "Take a step back, even if the peace is successful, then our emperor's title can be preserved? Liao Kingdom only has warriors who died in battle, and there are no cowards who kneel down. I decided to move the capital, but I don't want to kneel down. In front of Da Song."

Since Yelu Hongji said so decisively, Yelu Hongtai couldn't ask for peace from Song Dynasty anymore, so he could only ask, "Where does the emperor plan to move the capital?"

Zhen Yelu Hongji pointed to an open map and said: "I plan to take two steps. The first step is to establish a firm foothold in the north of Jinshan Mountain, and then to the west of Lingshan Mountain, with Suiye Lake as the center, and rebuild Daliao there. .”

The north of Jinshan is the westernmost part of the expansion of the Liao Kingdom, that is, the westernmost end of the Shangjing Road, which belongs to the territory of the Naiman tribe, but the Naiman tribe has a large area, and the northern foot of Jinshan Mountain is not its main sphere of influence. There are only ten people there. A few small tribes, the Liao Kingdom can gain a foothold there, the key is the Suiye area, including the former nine kingdoms of Sogdia, which is the territory of the Black Khan, and if the Liao Kingdom wants to expand there, a fierce battle will inevitably break out .

"Has His Majesty decided?"

Yelu Hongji nodded slowly, "I have considered for a long time and have made up my mind. Although it will be a protracted war to deal with Heihan, we have a very good relationship with Xizhou Huihe, and Xizhou Huihe and Heihan have always been hostile. , So I consider that we can join forces with Xizhou Huihe to eradicate Heihan, and once Heihan is wiped out and the Liao Kingdom moves into Suiye, I can give up the land at the northern foot of Jinshan to Xizhou Huihe."

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid it will take several generations to realize this dream."

"It does take time. I hope to establish a Western Liao Kingdom in a hundred years."

"But will the Song Dynasty drive us all to extinction?" Yelu Hongtai asked in a low voice.

Yelu Hongji said with a faint smile: "For the Central Plains Dynasty, the threat to the north is not a certain nomadic people. The Xiongnu left, Rouran came, Rouran left, Xianbei came, Xianbei left, Turks came, Turks Gone, came Huihe, and then our Khitan, now Khitan is leaving, then who will it be? Lieshan tribe, Dadan tribe and Naiman tribe are all possible. I believe that the Song Dynasty prefers a fragmented Mobei On the prairie, the Song army will not kill us all, on the contrary, the Song Dynasty will hope that the Liao Kingdom, after moving westward, will become a force to contain the three major tribes in the prairie."

"Your Majesty wants to send someone to talk to the Song Dynasty?"

Yelu Hongji nodded, "The envoys I sent are already on their way."

Three days later, Yelu Hongji promulgated the decree to move the capital, and brought hundreds of thousands of Khitan and Xi people to move the capital to Jinshan City, the westernmost part of Shangjing Road, which is an extremely remote place, thousands of miles away from Shangjing.

When the news came out, the government and the public were in an uproar, and there were many opponents. Yelu Hongji immediately issued a second decree. Shangjing is still one of the capitals of Daliao. If you don’t want to move westward, you can choose to stay. A decision that cannot be opposed.

The objection was invalid, and the Liao Kingdom began various preparations to move the capital to the west. Yelu Hongji set a time, and the capital was officially moved in half a month, and arrived at Jinshan City before the snow fell.

The Song army was not in a hurry to go to Beijing for the Northern Expedition, and was still preparing for the Northern Expedition. The food, grass and military supplies of the 60 army could be transported to Changle County, Raozhou through the Liao River. One of the rivers flowing to the northeast is still called the Liao River, and the other tributary to the west is called Huangshui, and Shangjing is called Linhuang Mansion.

An army of 60 is marching northward. The current Song Army is no longer what it was 30 years ago. It has obtained 30 horses from Kunzhou, and more than a million horses from Hexi, Xixia and Liao.

Although there are only 60 professional cavalry in the 15 army, each soldier has a horse to travel, which makes the army's march no longer difficult and faster. The team is like a river flowing on the official road.

The carriage that Zhao Xu was riding in was very large, pulled by dozens of horse-drawn horses. The carriage consisted of several mobile houses, including bedrooms, study rooms and small meeting rooms. It was about three feet long and one foot wide. There are eight pairs, all of which are made of fine steel wheels and axles, as well as rubber tires. They walk very smoothly and basically do not feel bumps.

In the small meeting room, the emperor Zhao Xu, Chu Wang Fan Ning, the left and right ministers Guo Fubi and Wen Yanbo, and the privy envoy Han Qi are discussing the battle against Shangjing.

Fan Ning said: "After the civil strife in Shangjing, in terms of military strength, there were only 30 cavalry in Shangjing, but according to the information obtained by my officials, Shangjing has a population of 17, including 30 young and strong men. [-], and there are at least [-] leather armors and millions of spears and knives in the Shangjing warehouse. The combat effectiveness of these [-] soldiers may be weaker, but if they want to survive, they will work hard. From these aspects, It will not be easy to seize Shangjing, and there will be a fierce battle."

Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and asked: "There were 10,000+ troops in Liaoyang City at that time. Didn't His Highness take it down without any casualties? Why didn't Shangjing use the same method?"

Fan Ning sighed and said: "The battle in Liaoyang City was too tragic, and nearly 20 people died in the end. I can bear this notoriety, but it is best to leave a name of benevolence and righteousness for your majesty to drive in person."

Fan Ning's subtext is that if you, Zhao Xu, use the method of attacking Liaodong City, you will not be able to escape your reputation as a tyrant.

Zhao Xu was silent for a while. The monarchs of the Song Dynasty valued the reputation of benevolence and righteousness for generations. If a war caused hundreds of thousands of casualties among ordinary people, this reputation is indeed not good.

Fu Bi stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Maybe it's not that exaggerated. Under the high pressure of the Song army, the Liao Kingdom will soon surrender."

Fan Ning shook his head, "As far as I know, Yelu Hongji is not such a person."

At this moment, a guard outside reported, "Your Majesty, the envoy of the Liao Kingdom is seeking an audience. It is Han Fu, the third prefect of the Liao Kingdom."

Zhao Xu was slightly taken aback, and then he said to Han Qi: "Han Aiqing go and meet her! Let's see what the envoy of the Liao Kingdom wants to talk about?"

Han Qi saluted and hurried away.

Seeing Fan Ning's smile, Zhao Xu asked, "Fan Aiqing knows that the envoy from the Liao Kingdom is coming?"

Fan Ning nodded, "I can only say that I guessed that they would come. It is nothing more than a summation and surrender. Surrender is unlikely, but there will definitely be a summation, or they are fleeing like the Huns or Turks, nomads! If the Liao Kingdom It's not surprising for Wei Chen to do this."

"Does Fan Aiqing think it is necessary for us to accept the sum?"

Fan Ning thought for a while and smiled: "If it is a surrender-style summation, maybe it can be considered, otherwise, it is more meaningful for His Majesty to attack Shangjing."

"May I ask His Highness King Chu, what is a surrender-style summation?" Wen Yanbo asked curiously.

"It is to cover up the reality of surrender in the name of peace."

Zhao Xu also became a little interested, and asked, "Then what counts as surrender?"

"Your Majesty, one of the prerequisites for surrender is to remove the emperor's title. Yelu Hongji accepts His Majesty's canonization, whether it is the king of Liao or the Duke of Liao, all of these can be discussed, but Yelu Hongji must pledge the descendants of his closest relatives to Bianliang. The second is to pay tribute. Once the Liao Kingdom surrenders, if it still maintains the status of the kingdom, then it will be a vassal state of the Song Dynasty. As a vassal state, it must pay tribute to His Majesty every year with land, grain and population."

"Does Ai Qing think Yelu Hongji will surrender?"

Fan Ning shook his head, "Ministers of the Liao Kingdom will, but Yelu Hongji will never."

At this time, Han Qi came back in a hurry, and he waited in the carriage to report: "Your Majesty, the Liao Kingdom intends to move its capital, and I am here to implore Your Majesty to allow the Liao Kingdom to move westward."

Everyone was amazed that the Liao Kingdom was going to move its capital, and Fan Ning was right, and the Khitan wanted to flee far away.

(End of this chapter)