I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 442 Liao Xia’s troubles! Or is the moon of the Song Dynasty round?
July 15th.

The Zhongshu Province officially announced that Wu Yu and Bao Zheng would be the main editors of the "Song Xingtong", and Dali Temple, Taijian, and Kaifeng Mansion would collaborate to overhaul the "Song Xingtong". All local officials could contribute their opinions and suggestions. The plan lasted for a period of time Completed in one year.

About it.

Although a small number of officials still hold objections, they can no longer stir up any trouble.

Three days later.

Yan Shu quietly left Bianjing City with Yan Jidao without letting anyone see him off.

This is in line with his style, which is always low-key.

The court no longer belongs to him, so he might as well stay there and shine.

Before leaving.

He asked someone to give Su Liang a calligraphy.

The content is: The next generation is to be feared, how could one know that those who come are not as good as they are now.

This quote is taken from "The Analects of Confucius".

The implication is also obvious. He feels that Su Liang has surpassed him and looks forward to Su Liang making great achievements in the future.

……

July 18th.

The Reform Department once again issued an edict to restart the Hundred Days Examination.

This was a manifestation of the imperial court's dissatisfaction with local officials' various transgressions after their admonishment tour in Taiwan.

Zhao Zhen also saw that it was more difficult to maintain the results of the Song Dynasty's reform than to implement the new law.

This time, it will be even more severe.

If any officials make mistakes similar to those detected during the Taiwan Admonition Tour again, the court will severely punish them.

……

Another day.

The capital of the Liao Kingdom was in Beijing, in the imperial palace.

Emperor Yelu Zongzhen of the Liao Kingdom, Queen Mother Xiao Yujin of the Liao Kingdom, Yelu Zhongyuan, the crown prince of the Liao Kingdom, and Yelu Hongji, the eldest prince of the Liao Kingdom and Marshal of the Army, all sat together with faces drawn.

Since Yelu Chongyuan returned to Liao, there has never been a day of peace in Liao.

Yelu Zongzhen had been sick twice, and his health was getting worse.

Yelu Zong really looked at the three closest relatives in front of him, and even had the urge to strangle them all to death.

The Empress Dowager of the Liao Kingdom, Xiao Yujin, had always disliked Yelv Zongzhen. In the early days of Yelv Zongzhen's pro-government, she even tried to abolish Yelv Zongzhen and support Yelu Chongyuan in his place.

Later, after Yelu Zongzhen came to power, he also put Xiao Yujin under house arrest for several years.

But during the years when Xiao Yujin came to power, she promoted all the Xiao family members, especially her brothers. Some people in the Song Dynasty even called Yelu Zongzhen's court "all the uncles in the court."

This resulted in the power of the Xiao family being no weaker than that of the Yelu Royal Family.

Although Yelu Zongzhen was the emperor, it was not easy for him to be wary of his mother whose "elbows were always turned out" on the one hand, and the power struggle between Yelu Zhongyuan and Yelu Hongji on the other.

Among the Yelu royal family and the Xiao family, some supported Yelu Zhongyuan, while others supported Yelu Hongji.

In order to maintain the stability of the court, Yelu Zongzhen had no choice but to appease both sides. After conferring Yelu Chongyuan as the "Emperor's Brother", he quickly conferred Yelu Hongji as the Grand Marshal of the World's Military and Horses.

In fact, the power struggle between Yelu Chongyuan and Yelu Hongji was also due to Yelu Zongzhen.

When he was drunk, he said that he would let his younger brother Yelu Chongyuan inherit the throne in the future, and the latter took it to heart.

Now, the conflict between Yelu Chongyuan and Yelu Hongji has risen to the surface, and they can even quarrel at court meetings.

The Empress Dowager of the Liao Dynasty, Xiao Yujin, favored Yelu Chongyuan and kept stumbling upon the Xiao family, which gave the Yelu Zong a real headache. Coupled with the constant turmoil among the Jurchens in the north, the Yelu Zong really felt that the Liao Kingdom was on the road to destruction.

"Cough cough..."

After Yelu Zongzhen coughed dryly, he looked at Yelu Zhongyuan and Yelu Hongji.

"Today's court meeting, you two went too far. Do you think I don't exist? You cursed, quarreled, and blamed each other in the court hall, making all the officials see our joke!"

"Look at the Southern Dynasty, and then look at us. If this continues, within three years, we will be far behind the Southern Dynasty, or even be destroyed by them!"

Yelu Zhongyuan raised his head.

"Brother Emperor, I have said several times that the only way for our dynasty to become rich and powerful is to build a strong military, heavy cavalry, trade, and reforms. Compared with the Southern Dynasties, we are far behind, and our national conditions are also different. What we can do After strengthening the army, we will plunder the achievements of the Southern Dynasty’s reforms!”

As soon as Yelu Zhongyuan finished speaking, Yelu Hongji stood up.

"Father, what the uncle said is pure fallacy."

"Only reforms can enrich the country. We must develop our agriculture, livestock, and commerce. If we focus on strengthening the army, the huge military expenditures can only be obtained from the people. I am afraid that we have not yet begun to plunder the fruits of the reforms of the Southern Dynasties. Our own people There’s already civil strife!”

"Aren't the Jurchens the best example? We have pushed them too hard. We should adopt a gentle approach. Only by winning the hearts and minds of the people can we win the world and then make the country rich and powerful!"

Yelu Zhongyuan pointed at Yelu Hongji.

"That's nonsense! Yelu Hongji, you stole a few pieces of reform paper from Nanguo and you thought you understood the reform!"

"Why did your vigorous reforms in the past two years fail? If you continue to act like this, our Liao Kingdom will be destroyed in your hands sooner or later. If you adopt a gentle policy towards the Jurchen barbarians today, they will be stronger tomorrow. times, and then bite you back."

"The people are like nothing, there is no need to care about their lives. We must make our soldiers stronger to resist the Southern Dynasties and completely control the Jurchens!" Yelu Zhongyuan raised his voice.

"Uncle Emperor, the early reform was not a failure, but because the civil servants and generals in the court were too selfish to implement the reform. When I take power, I will definitely be able to carry out the reform."

"How dare you, a person who has been imprisoned by the Southern Dynasty for a year, say that I failed? If you had not been defeated, how dare the Southern Dynasty be so arrogant, and how dare the Jurchens continue to cause trouble?" "You bastard, do you believe that I will break your legs?" !”

"Come on, let's go out and fight. If you lose, you will be dismissed immediately and go home to raise horses. Do you dare?" Yelu Hongji relied on his youth, and now Yelu Zhongyuan was already potbellied, so he dared to do this. Said arrogantly.

"That's enough! That's enough! If you make any more noise, get out!" Yelv Zongzhen said angrily.

Quarrels between the two have become a regular occurrence.

In the end of the quarrel, it was basically Yelu Chongyuan who criticized Yelu Hongji for failing in the reform and being a sinner of the Liao Kingdom.

Yelu Hongji claimed that Yelu Chongyuan was imprisoned by the Song Dynasty and became a prisoner, and was no longer qualified to inherit the throne.

At this time.

The Empress Dowager of the Liao Dynasty Xiao Yujin curled her lips and said: "I absolutely do not want to carry out any more reforms. It is of no use to create a mess!"

The Xiao family around Xiao Yujin are all dignitaries of the Liao Kingdom, and they are also victims of the Liao Kingdom's reform.

Therefore, she strongly opposed the reform.

Yelvzong really thought about it.

"Today, we will set a general direction. Once this direction is determined, we will all work hard in this direction to avoid recurrence of civil strife."

"I also believe that if Daliao wants to resist the Southern Dynasty and control the Jurchens in the north, the best way is to strengthen the army. We are already a dynasty immediately. The Southern Dynasty's tricks are too complicated for us to learn. !”

"We can only strengthen the country by having strong cavalry and aiming to enrich the country by going south to attack the Song Dynasty!"

Yelu Hongji was about to speak.

But Yelu Zongzhen glared back.

"This direction has been set, and then I will set some rules for you."

"Emperor brother, Hong Ji, you two can stop fighting for power for a while. Next, I will decide who will pass on the throne based on the performance of your strong army. If anyone continues to form cliques in the court, If you engage in some shameful deeds, don’t blame me for being rude, I still have the final say in Daliao at the moment!”

Yelu Zongzhen naturally leaned towards his son Yelu Hongji.

But he didn't dare to make it clear now, otherwise Yelu Chongyuan might make a big splash in the Liao Kingdom.

Immediately, Yelu Zongzhen looked at Xiao Yujin, the Queen Mother of Liao Dynasty.

"Mother, from now on, I hope that you can take care of yourself in peace and contentment and stop participating in court affairs. My tolerance for the Xiao family is limited. If they continue to form cliques and do not consider court affairs at all, even if they fight to the death, I will not do anything. Get rid of them!"

"Our country, Liao, has reached an extremely critical moment! I don't want to become the king of the country. If the country is in danger because of you, I will definitely kill you first!"

At this moment, Yelu Zong really had to be ruthless. If he didn't become more ruthless, the Liao Kingdom would be completely in chaos.

Xiao Yujin hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

Yelu Zhongyuan and Yelu Hongji stood up at the same time and held their hands heavily towards Yelu Zongzhen.

……

The capital of Xixia, Xingqing Mansion.

Inside the palace hall.

The seven-year-old Xixia leader Li Liangzuo sat on the throne, fiddling with a brush boredly.

The Empress Dowager Wu Zang was sitting behind the curtain, her face ashen.

The front.

The Prime Minister did not hide the truth and Pang Zheng cursed at the top of his lungs.

"Trash! A bunch of trash! You were asked to go to the border of the Song Dynasty to plunder, and you couldn't even get a bag of grain. You actually learned to sell war horses privately in exchange for tea and grain, and then lied about coming to rob. Anyone who sells horses to the Song people will be punished by death! "

A general wearing black armor was kneeling on the ground.

"There is no chance of a state minister. It's not that we are selling war horses privately, but... it's the merchants and people on our border who are selling them. The people are so short of silk, tea utensils, and food from the Song Dynasty that they can't get any at all when looking for places to buy. In the hands of poor people, they... they are just trying to survive! In the past two years, our... our taxes have been too high! "

"Pull out and kill with a stick!" Empress Dowager Wu Zang said coldly from behind the curtain. The last thing she wanted to hear was someone complaining that taxes were too high.

Since Li Liangzuo ascended the throne, the nobles of various parties have been dissatisfied with the hegemonic behavior of the Wu Zang brothers and sisters. The Wu Zang brothers and sisters can only give them more sweeteners in order to fully control the political power.

Yuan Hao's successive campaigns left the Xixia royal family with little money. In addition, they fought a war with the Liao Kingdom and suffered huge losses.

They can only plunder the people and raise taxes.

After a while.

There were only three brothers and sisters, Wu Zang and Li Liangzuo, left in the hall.

Wu Zang looked at Wu Zang and said, "The business with the Song people cannot be cut off. The green and white salt and animal skins can be sold at reduced prices. In addition, you can find a way to restore relations with the Liao Kingdom. Our biggest enemy now is the Song Dynasty. If If you can form an alliance with Liao, your business will be better. In addition, you and the elders in the clan will move around more. When my son becomes an adult, I will kill all those who are causing trouble for us!"

Wu Zangping nodded and walked out with a dark face.

"Stop! What's the matter with you? Can't you respond when I speak to you?" Meizang said with great dissatisfaction.

Unexpectedly, Pang turned around.

"Stop putting on your arrogant airs! Do you really think of yourself as a king and I as a minister? I am your brother. If I didn't help you, you two would have been kicked out a long time ago. I have my own discretion in doing things. Don't always boss me around!"

"Besides, pick some up in private. When you have an affair with someone, don't let others find out. Even if you don't think about yourself, think about your son!"

After saying that, Wu Zangpang waved his sleeves and left.

Recently, rumors about Mu Zang's affair with a military commander were spreading in the harem. Mu Zang was already angry, but when he saw that Mu Zang had assigned him so many tasks, he was naturally angry.

Meuzang gritted his teeth and snorted, too angry to speak.

(End of this chapter)