Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 509: Arrangements for Retreat
"Who was the person who searched the yard before?" Zhao Xing said with a gloomy face.

Empress Dowager Xiao was a female member of the family, and the guards were all outside the house. No one was allowed to enter the yard without permission unless there was something unusual or they were summoned.

So the guards cannot be blamed.

But Zhao Xing had ordered a thorough search of that house before.

"Your Majesty, the secret passage was not originally there, but was recently dug. The secret passage leads to an empty house three miles away. The soldiers guarding it are now searching everywhere." Sanshui reported.

"not good!"

Zhao Xing said anxiously: "Quickly send someone to Youzhou City to tell Zheng Jun that if Xiao Asu has not rebelled, let him take Xiao Asu down immediately!"

"Yes!" Sanshui responded and hurried away.

Zhao Xing's face was gloomy. He always felt that Empress Dowager Xiao had nowhere to go. Although he sent people to guard her, he did not pay too much attention to it.

Now it seems that he was a little careless.

It is unlikely that Empress Dowager Xiao escaped to Western Xia and Hehuang.

After all, if she fled to Western Xia or Hehuang, her fate might not be much better than in the Song Dynasty. On the contrary, it would most likely be even more miserable.

But there was absolutely no possibility of easing the tension between Empress Dowager Xiao and Yelu Yixin. Why did Empress Dowager Xiao run away?
Although Zhao Xu couldn't figure out why Empress Dowager Xiao ran away, there was one thing he could be sure of: if Empress Dowager Xiao ran away, Xiao Asu would definitely run away as well.

Previously, Xiao Asu led the surrendered soldiers of Liao to Youzhou City to defraud the city, and then stayed there.

All the county towns between Bazhou and Youzhou City were captured just two days ago, so Zhao Xing was not in a hurry to transfer Xiao Asu back.

It would be fine if Xiao Asu left alone, but Zhao Xu was most afraid that he would take his troops away.

Although there were only a few thousand soldiers and horses, it would be impossible for Xiao Asu to hide it from Zheng Jun if he wanted to take them away.

If Xiao Asu wanted to take his troops away, he had to either suddenly attack the city gate at night and escape by force.

Otherwise, they could only collude with the Liao Kingdom and help the Liao Kingdom break the city with internal and external support.

"His Majesty!"

Sanshui's voice interrupted Zhao Xing's thoughts.

"Have you done what I ordered?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Your Majesty, I have already sent someone to rush to Youzhou City eight hundred miles away."

After Sanshui finished speaking, he held up a letter with both hands and said, "Your Majesty, this was found in Empress Dowager Xiao's room by the maid who served her. It was addressed to Your Majesty personally."

Zhao Xing took the letter and saw that it was written on it that it was personally written by the Emperor of Song Dynasty.

It was written in Chinese characters, and he recognized it as Empress Dowager Xiao's handwriting.

He had seen Empress Dowager Xiao write Chinese characters before and recognized her handwriting.

After Zhao Xing opened the letter and read it, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"If you tell me directly, I will not only let you go, but also provide you with some help." Zhao Xing said with regret.

Yes, it's a pity.

Empress Dowager Xiao said in the letter that Xiao Asu was helping the Song Dynasty to trick the city of Youzhou into opening, and some of the generals defending the city had surrendered.

One of them is from the Xiao family.

The Xiao family was the second most aristocratic family in Liao after the royal family. Even Yelu Yixin did not dare to exterminate the entire Xiao family.

After Yelu Yixin ascended the throne, he only moved against those civil and military officials who were close to Empress Dowager Xiao's lineage.

As for the other members of the Xiao family, he just suppressed them as much as possible.

If that were the case, Empress Dowager Xiao would not have fled back now.

Otherwise, he would not have fled from the Liao Kingdom.

The reason why Empress Dowager Xiao fled now was that she learned that Yelu Yixin was plotted against by Duke Ying and suffered heavy losses.

She believed that Yelu Yixin was no longer powerful enough to suppress the internal situation in Liao.

But the Xiao family was suppressed and needed a backbone.

She goes back now to stabilize people's hearts.

She hoped that Zhao Xing could conceal the news of her leaving the Song Dynasty.

At this time, the Song Dynasty was no longer able to continue fighting the Liao Kingdom, so Zhao Xing was naturally happy to see Empress Dowager Xiao go back and cause trouble for Yelu Yixin.

If Empress Dowager Xiao explained to him, he would not only let her go, but also provide her with help.

The more chaotic the Liao Kingdom is, the longer it will take to recover, and the time for Yelu Yixin's counterattack will also be delayed.

The Song Dynasty will have more time to digest the territories it has already occupied.

Unfortunately, Empress Dowager Xiao did not believe Zhao Xing and did not tell him, but ran away secretly.

However, Empress Dowager Xiao mentioned at the end of the letter that she hoped Zhao Xing would let Xiao Asu leave.

Empress Dowager Xiao did this because she wanted to take control of the initiative.

If she discusses it with Zhao Xing, the decision will be in Zhao Xing's hands.

After she left, there was not much point in keeping Xiao Asu in the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xing hesitated for a moment and said, "Stop the search and tell them that no information about this matter can leak out."

"Also, send a message to Zheng Jun, asking him to hand over all the surrendered soldiers in Youzhou City to Xiao Asu and let him go!"

"Yes!"

Seeing that Zhao Xing had no other instructions, Sanshui bowed and left.

…………

The next day, Zeng Gongliang and Duke Ying returned to Bazhou City.

When Zhao Xing learned the news, he asked Sanshui to go outside the city to greet the two men in person on his behalf.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Zeng Gongliang and Duke Yingguo saluted.

"Be flat!"

Zhao Xing personally stood up and helped the two men up, laughing and saying, "Duke Ying has won a great victory this time, which has dealt a heavy blow to the Liao Kingdom. I am overjoyed to hear this."

"Your Majesty has led the army in person, and the soldiers have been encouraged and are all fighting bravely. I dare not take credit for it." The Duke of England bowed.

"Don't be so modest, Duke of England."

Zhao Xing shook his head slightly, returned to the main seat, and asked the two to sit down.

"Lord Zeng and Duke Ying are both aware of the rebellion in the Central Plains. The Northern Expedition has to end here. How do you two think we should deploy our defenses?" Zhao Xing asked.

Zeng Gongliang glanced at the Duke of Ying and saw that he looked down and had no intention of speaking. He could only stand up and salute, saying, "Your Majesty, the Liao Kingdom is now seriously injured and should not be able to launch a counterattack in a short period of time. Youzhou City has high walls and is a strong city, so there is no need to worry too much about Youzhou City."

"Western Capital City, because we failed to capture Western Capital, the cities that Song Dynasty occupied were not strong cities, so we need to stockpile heavy troops for defense!"

"In fact, I think we don't need to worry about the defense issue for now. The most important thing is how to win the hearts of the people."

"Only when the people are loyal can we hold on for long. Otherwise, we will lose sooner or later."

It is wartime now, and the Song Dynasty has a large number of troops, so the people in the occupied cities are relatively honest.

But after the truce, it is impossible to leave too many troops in the north, otherwise the pressure of support will be too great. The troops left behind should focus on guarding against the Liao Kingdom, and there will not be too many troops stationed in the cities in the rear.

It would be a big trouble if someone instigated the people to cause chaos.

Zhao Xing sneered and said, "I have already considered this matter. The nobles and wealthy merchants of Liao fled, leaving behind a large number of unowned fields, and the crops in the fields are about to mature. I plan to take all these fields as the property of the court, and then rent them out to the people. The crops planted in the fields now will also belong to the people after the harvest, and they only need to pay taxes according to the standards of the Song Dynasty!"

The Liao Dynasty's strategy of "one country, two systems" was indeed effective.

But the Liao Kingdom did this just to win the hearts of the Han people.

Those classes were favored, and the taxes paid by ordinary people in Liao were much higher than those in Song Dynasty.

For ordinary people, they don’t understand the great principles of family, country, loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

Ordinary people care more about whether their family can have enough food and clothing.

As long as Zhao Xing could give them benefits and let them know that being ruled by the Song Dynasty was better than being ruled by the Liao Dynasty, they would naturally support the Song Dynasty more.

Zhao Xing allocated land to them. Although it was only rented to them, they did have more land to cultivate.

The crops in these fields can be harvested soon, and the benefits will be seen soon.

In this way, not only will these people not cause trouble, but they will worry that the Song Dynasty will not be able to be defended and the benefits they have obtained will be taken back.

Once the Liao Kingdom counterattacks, these people will help the Song Dynasty defend the city.

"Your Majesty, this Northern Expedition cost a lot of money. The food from these fields can make up for some of it. That's it..."

Zeng Gongliang also agreed to distribute the land to the people. He originally wanted to suggest that Zhao Xing distribute the land directly to the people.

The people got the land for free and were worried about losing it, so they naturally supported the Song Dynasty very much.

He didn't expect that although Zhao Xing didn't intend to give the land directly to the people, he gave the grain from the fields to the people.

"No need to say it!"

Zhao Xing waved his hand to interrupt Zeng Gongliang and said, "Land annexation has always been a problem faced by all dynasties. Only by nationalizing the land and prohibiting its sale can we truly put an end to land annexation. This loophole cannot be opened!"

Zhao Xing also had to find a way to take back all the land in the world, so it was naturally impossible for him to give it away.

It is easy to give, but difficult to take it back.

"Can…"

Zeng Gongliang opened his mouth. In his opinion, although a large piece of territory had been conquered.

However, these territories are only temporarily owned by the Song Dynasty. Whether they can truly belong to the Song Dynasty depends on whether they can be defended in the future.

Although Zhao Xing's method seemed to be able to win the hearts of the people, renting the land to the people was ultimately not as good as giving the land directly to the people.

If the land is rented to the people, it no longer belongs to them in their minds, and the court can take it back at any time.

In this case, it is unrealistic to expect that the people will support the Song Dynasty when the Liao Kingdom counterattacks.

It’s different if it is distributed to the people. In order to protect their own things, the people naturally don’t want the Liao Kingdom to come back.

"I have made up my mind. There is no need to say more." Zhao Xing said with a firm look on his face.

Zeng Gongliang had this idea because he always wanted to stay on the defensive.

But Zhao Xing did not intend to hold on forever. After quelling the rebellion in the Central Plains and recuperating for a while, he would launch another northern expedition and would not give the Liao Kingdom any time to breathe.

Zeng Gongliang saw this and didn't know how to persuade him anymore.

"British Duke."

Zhao Xing looked at the Duke of Ying and asked, "How many troops do you estimate are needed for defense?"

"Your Majesty, I think at least 250,000 will be needed," replied the Duke of England.

"I will give you 300,000. You must help me stabilize the north!" said Zhao Xing.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. With an army of 300,000, I dare not say that the north is foolproof, but it should be no problem to defend it for a year or two." The Duke of England said confidently.

"I am relieved that the Duke of England is so confident."

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "My two dear ministers, you have been exhausted from the journey. I..."

"Your Majesty, there is urgent news from the northwest!"

Just then, Zhang Feng walked in and bowed and said.

Zhao Xing's face darkened when he heard this. Could it be that Western Xia had sent troops?

Without Zhao Xing's instructions, Sanshui stepped forward, took the urgent report and delivered it to Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing hurriedly unfolded it and began to read it.

"it is good!"

When Zhao Xing saw the contents of the urgent report, he was stunned at first, showing an expression of disbelief. After a long while, he came to his senses, cheered loudly, and his face was full of joy.

"May I ask Your Majesty, what happened in the northwest that made Your Majesty so happy?" Zeng Gongliang asked doubtfully.

Zhao Xing took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and said, "Gu Tingye led his troops to raid the capital of Xixia and kidnapped the queen of Xixia. He also unexpectedly learned the news that the emperor of Xixia had died suddenly!"

"what?"

Zeng Gongliang cried out in shock, not caring about his impoliteness in front of the emperor, and asked, "The Xixia emperor was still young, how could he die suddenly?"

"Gu Tingye captured the Queen and the Crown Prince of Western Xia. This news was learned from the Queen of Western Xia. Gu Tingye said in an urgent report that the Queen of Western Xia seemed to have known the news in advance." Zhao Xing said.

"So it was the Queen of Xixia who murdered the Emperor of Xixia?"

Although Zeng Gongliang felt it was a bit absurd, the information he knew at the time was limited and he had no way of telling the truth from the false.

"Your Majesty, if the Xixia Emperor really dies suddenly, Commander Gu must not abduct the Xixia Crown Prince!"

Zeng Gongliang suddenly remembered that Zhao Xing had said before that Gu Tingye had captured the Queen and the Crown Prince of Xixia, and said anxiously, "The Emperor of Xixia is not very old, and his Crown Prince is even younger. If he succeeds to the throne, there will be internal power struggles, which will inevitably lead to chaos. But if he is abducted, the Emperor of Xixia has no other heirs, and Xixia may choose someone from the royal family to succeed him."

"Gu Tingye said in his urgent report that after he learned the news, although he could not be sure, he did not dare to take the Prince of Western Xia away, so he released the Prince of Western Xia and only brought back the Queen of Western Xia." Zhao Xing said.

Zeng Gongliang praised him, "Commander Gu made such a hasty decision. It's really admirable. He brought back the Queen of Xixia, which was a brilliant move!"

"Although the Xixia prince is young, if the Xixia queen is in charge of the government, the situation can be stabilized quickly. If we leave the Xixia prince behind and take the Xixia queen away, the Xixia prince will inevitably become a puppet."

"Haha."

Zhao Xing laughed loudly, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He said, "Lord Zeng, what do you think of taking advantage of the civil unrest in Xixia and sending troops to destroy Xixia?"

"Your Majesty!"

Zeng Gongliang said anxiously: "Although the losses in this Northern Expedition were not great and the results were quite fruitful, the consumption of food and grass was very high. In addition, there is a rebellion in the Central Plains now, and the best policy is to quell the rebellion as soon as possible. Although Xixia is in civil strife, the loss of strength is not great. I am afraid that sending troops at this time will not yield any results."

"I don't think so!"

Zhao Xing pondered and said, "The Xixia Emperor died suddenly. Without the Xixia Queen, it will be difficult to reach a consensus in a short period of time. The border guards will surely be in a panic."

"Even Mr. Zeng said that it is not appropriate to send troops at this time, so Xixia is even more unpredictable."

"We only need to leave 300,000 soldiers in the north for defense, and there are still more than 200,000 soldiers. I will take these soldiers and return to Bian Jing with great fanfare, but secretly go to the northwest to launch a surprise attack. It will be difficult for Western Xia to defend." Zhao Xing said.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was worth a try. Western Xia was not like the Liao Kingdom and its area was not large.

If we capture Xixia's territory when it is off guard, we might be able to destroy Xixia in one fell swoop.

"Your Majesty, don't forget that there is still Dong Jian in Hehuang. Although he has a grudge against Xixia, he still understands the principle of the lips and teeth being cold. If he sends troops to intervene, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to gain any advantage."

(End of this chapter)