Became a feudal lord in the late Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 188 The beginning and end of Xia’s civil strife

In fact, neither Song nor Jin had a good year. As for the Xia Kingdom, let alone talk about it, it was still the same. Only the group of Xia people who followed Empress Dowager Yelu made a small fortune behind her.

Yan Yun has lived the most prosperous year this year. He is grateful to the King of Han both inside and outside, and to the soldiers who went on the expedition, but no matter how big-hearted a person is, it is impossible to express his gratitude to the people of Song Dynasty.

After three months of repairs, Yanyun's army began to mobilize again. Because the first slogan was the Northern Expedition, the Jin Kingdom immediately began to prepare for the war. As for the Song Dynasty, they actually had some thoughts at this time, but in the imperial court, the Zhao Guan family was very rare. He lost his temper and scolded all the ministers who advocated taking the opportunity to attack Yan Yun.

It wasn't until the announcement came out that the Song and Jin Dynasties knew that Liu Ling's grand display was just to attack the grassland again. At the moment, the Song Dynasty was even more happy to watch the excitement.

During the Northern Expedition to the Grasslands, the two vanguard armies were the Yiwu Army led by Qu Duan and the Lulong Army led by Yelu Dashi.

Both armies are newly constructed. The main force of the former is the elite Song army that followed Tong Guan in the Northern Expedition. The force of the latter comes from the 15,000 Liao army that retreated from the Northwest Road Recruitment Division. The former army is under the control of the commander-in-chief. , headed by Han Shizhong.

Liu Ling led the Yongqing and Zhenyuan armies that had been supplemented again as the central army. The commander of the rear army was Cai Jing, the prefect of Yunzhong.

From top to bottom, there are more than 50,000 soldiers participating in this expedition, and the auxiliary soldiers and civilians have exceeded the actual number of 150,000. In comparison, the grassland people cannot say that they are fleeing, and most tribes have rushed to form an alliance. It's nothing more than a plate of loose sand.

When Wang Gu's tribe learned that the conflict between the Han army was directly aimed at him, a civil strife broke out that day, followed by direct betrayal by many small tribes around him. Within half a month, more than three civil wars broke out in the grassland. .

In the commander's tent, envoys from several tribes knelt in front of Han Shizhong and kowtowed repeatedly.

At first, the young men of the two tribes formed a team to resist, but the Song troops under Yang Keshi were all elites of the Western Army. It might be difficult to fight with the Xia cavalry, but if they were to hunt down the herdsmen with no armor, it would be really difficult. The momentum is overwhelming.

"The king's kindness to the grassland is all remembered by the slaves, so how can they dare to betray the king of Han? It is really the ancient Wang who betrayed his trust and secretly talked with the Jin people."

There were two small tribes in the local area who did not intend to respond to the Wanggu people, but they also did not want to work as cattle and horses under the rule of the Han Dynasty. They planned to move their entire clan. The sentinels detected the news the day before, and then Pegasus passed it to the Chinese army, and then Han Shizhong came down Qu Duan Command the pursuit.

Immediately, Yang Keshi shook the two heads on his waist and said carelessly: "As long as you obey the orders of the King of Han, you will be a good people under our rule. The military regulations strictly prohibit harassment of good people. I don't know whether you are good or not." ?”

Along the way, there were countless corpses. The number of captive herdsmen and women was about a thousand or so. The leaders of the two tribes were directly turned into "human heads".

"General, we are all good citizens!"

When the army arrived, the whole clan hung the Han flag in front of every household. If a whole family disobeyed, the whole family would be exterminated; if a whole clan disobeyed, the whole clan would be exterminated!

On the seventh day of the army's expedition, the former army arrived at Qingzhong City in Fengzhou, probably in the area of ​​today's Hohhot.

Yang Keshi held two heads in his hand and walked back cursing, complaining that Qu Duan specially sent him to lead the army to take advantage of the hard ideas.

Empress Dowager Yelu raised her head from the desk and responded vaguely. The female official next to her immediately came over to wipe her face and arrange her hair accessories.

After giving instructions at all levels, Yang Keshi finally took charge and personally led 700 cavalry in pursuit for a day and a half, following the migration teams of the two tribes in desperate pursuit.

"Mother, it's time to eat."

Han Shizhong sat in the commander's tent and said calmly: "Commander, I don't care what you say. Since you are not guilty, your entire family is not allowed to move and escape. Along the way, you will provide food, fodder, and horses for the army, and you will have young men from all ethnic groups."

How many years had it been since I had fought so happily?

Yang Keshi was calculating silently in his mind when the deputy general next to him suddenly poked him and pointed at several trembling envoys not far away.

When several envoys stumbled out of the commander's tent, the drums in the army were beating loudly. While they were at a loss, bursts of cheers suddenly came from outside.

If you don't want to hang up, that's fine. I will wait for you to die and hang up the white flags for you in person! "

"What time is it?"

"It's not even two quarters, my dear, I'm going to give you orders for dinner."

"Okay." Empress Dowager Yelu nodded, stretched out her hand to rub her eyebrows, and sighed: "I heard that the King of Han in Yandi spent hours reading these Lao Shizi documents and military reports from morning to night. How could he bear his temper?"

The female official didn't dare to answer. She listened silently. Then the little palace maid outside ran in in a panic and whispered: "The Prime Minister is here."

Empress Dowager Yelu narrowed her eyes, and the female official next to her immediately scolded her: "How dare you enter the palace without permission if the empress did not summon him?"

Before the little palace maid could speak, a hoarse male voice came in, speaking in Dangxiang dialect.

"A summons or an edict?"

Li Yuchang, the Prime Minister of the State, was over fifty years old and exuded a feminine temperament. He stood at the palace gate and looked up at Queen Mother Yelu who was sitting on the dragon couch with calm eyes.

The latter did not speak, but the female official next to him still scolded: "Get back quickly, the Queen Mother has no purpose, how dare you enter the palace without permission?"

"I am an official who only recognizes His Majesty's will."

Li Yuchang said slowly: "I would like to say a few words to the Queen Mother, please step aside."

Queen Mother Yelu frowned slightly, then waved her hand to signal the others to retreat.

The palace door was still open, but it was already dusk outside. Li Yuchang stood at the palace door dressed in night clothes. The lights in the palace in front of him were dim and his face could not be seen clearly.

"What do you want to say?"

Queen Mother Yelu said slowly.

"I would like to ask, why did the empress suddenly mobilize all the troops and horses of the two military divisions to Xingqing Mansion, and gave up all the ground of the Weifu Military Division and Wu Lahai City in the Northeast Black Mountains to the King of Jin?"

The Empress Dowager Yelu, the Prime Minister Li Yuchang, and the King of Jin Richard are the three factions in the Xia Dynasty. Now the Empress Dowager Yelu seems to have taken the initiative to give up the benefit of a big head. There is a faint tendency to join forces with Brother Richard. Naturally, Li Yuchang is sitting on the throne. Can't stand it anymore.

The three parties, at best, are trying to balance the imperial court, but at worst, no matter which party loses power, it will be quickly swallowed up by the other two.

The former didn't seem to deny it at this time. Instead, he smiled and replied:

"Do I need your guidance in doing things? Prime Minister, the late emperor has passed away. I have to raise the prince well. I don't have time to fight for power. King Jin is a general of the country, so it is appropriate to give him more space. .”

"But."

Li Yuchang wanted to curse, "You damn don't want to give it to me!"

Empress Dowager Yelu looked at him curiously and asked, "Hasn't the Prime Minister always been friendly to the King of Jin? Why does he seem a little unhappy today? Do you think I have done something wrong?"

"Miss!"

Li Yuchang bowed to her and saluted, and for a moment, he burst into tears.

"The King of Jin is really an ambitious man who has gathered powerful tribes in the country and has evil plans. I am willing to kill him for my queen!"

"How can this be so!"

Queen Mother Yelu was furious and said: "The King of Jin is a minister of the court, how dare you talk such nonsense, get out, get out!"

After leaving the imperial city,

Li Yuchang stretched out his hand to summon a confidant, and said with a gloomy face: "Report to the King of Han for me, saying that the Zuoxiang Army Commander will not rush to help Heishan this time. Also tell him that the Queen Mother Yelu wants to betray the King of Han, and I, Li Yuchang, can win over the Xia Kingdom for him and win over the Xia Kingdom for him. Its effectiveness!”

(End of this chapter)