I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 181 Consort Wen also didn't want anything to happen to her relatives in the city.
...

Xiao Duoli never expected that Yelü Yanxi would actually send Xiao Sese to Zhao Yu for disposal.

Yes.

Xiao Sese was a bit too assertive and talkative. She always wanted to reform Yelü Yanxi and hoped that the Liao Dynasty could be revived. She was suspected of interfering in the Liao Dynasty's politics.

The reason Xiao Sese is like this is because Yelü Yanxi is useless. Otherwise, why would a woman like her have to worry about these things?
Ultimately, it all came down to the fact that after Yelü Yanxi ascended the throne, the Liao Dynasty's politics became even more corrupt, and internal conflicts were rampant. Yelü Yanxi failed to take effective measures to rectify official corruption and reform abuses, leading to a more chaotic and corrupt atmosphere in the Liao court and a gradual decline in national strength.

Crucially, Yelü Yanxi indulged in hunting, drinking, and merrymaking, neglecting state affairs, which consumed a great deal of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, increased the burden on the people, and further intensified social contradictions.

Externally, Yelü Yanxi did not pay enough attention to the resurgence of the Zhao Song Dynasty, nor did he formulate a reasonable response strategy, which led to Zhao Yu personally leading an expedition.

Moreover, faced with military setbacks, Yelü Yanxi was unable to effectively organize his army to resist, nor was he good at using people, which led to the Liao army's repeated defeats on the battlefield. In the end, they were besieged by the Song army in Yanjing City.

Yelü Yanxi's various actions led to the rapid decline of the Liao Dynasty during his reign. If he did not seize the time to correct his mistakes, he might have become one of the monarchs whose country was destroyed due to his own faults.

Xiao Sese saw this out of deep love and strict discipline, which is why she constantly gave Yelü Yanxi her earnest advice.

Unexpectedly, in the end, Xiao Sese's painstaking efforts not only failed to change Yelü Yanxi and save the Liao Dynasty, but also cost her her life.

The crucial point is that Xiao Sese is pregnant with another child.

If Yelü Yanxi could still send Xiao Sese to Zhao Yu and make Xiao Sese take the responsibility for provoking the Zhao Song Dynasty, is there any hope for Yelü Yanxi?

Xiao Duoli suddenly felt a sense of shared sorrow, like a rabbit mourning the death of a fox. She couldn't help but think, "If sending Consort Wen can save my life, then His Majesty will send Consort Wen. If sending the Empress can save my life, will His Majesty send me to the Song Emperor as well?"

Seeing that his sister was in low spirits, Xiao Guige spoke up for Yelü Yanxi, saying, "His Majesty did not want this either, but the Song army was at the city gates and about to breach the city, so he had no choice but to wrong Consort Wen."

Xiao Duoli thought about it and agreed. If the situation hadn't been so critical, even if Yelü Yanxi was incompetent, he would never have done something like sending his daughter away.

Xiao Duoli sighed lazily, "Alas! Since you understand His Majesty so well, come with me to see Consort Wen and persuade her to consider the bigger picture."

Xiao Guige didn't actually want to see Xiao Sese either.

This doesn't mean that Xiao Sese's son was her son's biggest rival for the throne, nor does it mean that Xiao Sese's fate was caused by her brother Xiao Fengxian.

In truth, Xiao Guige was a kind and gentle person (once, when she was taking a nap during the day, her attendant stole her fur coat, and although she noticed, she didn't say anything). Although she could understand Yelü Yanxi, she really didn't want to see Xiao Sese end up in such a miserable state.

But things had come to this point, and someone had to persuade Xiao Sese to cooperate, otherwise Xiao Sese might ruin Liao's important affairs in a fit of anger. Xiao Duoli was indifferent and didn't care about anything, and Xiao Shigu was in poor health. There was no other way but for her to take the lead, even though she wasn't good at this kind of thing.

To Xiao Duoli and Xiao Guige's surprise, when they arrived at Xiao Sese's residence, Xiao Sese, regardless of whether her one-year-old son Yelü Aoluwo could understand or not, was giving him his final lesson:
"If my son ever ascends to the throne, he should learn from today's disaster, reform corrupt practices, listen to loyal advice, rectify officialdom internally, and reduce taxes and levies; externally, he should assess the situation and prepare for war."

“Now, beneath the walls of Yanjing, the banners of the Song army obscure the sun, while the Liao people within our city are like lambs to the slaughter. This is all due to the inaction of our ruler.”

"My son, you must not follow in your father's footsteps and be foolishness, abandoning the ancestral legacy like worn-out shoes, indulging in wine and hunting, ignoring border troubles, causing the country to be shattered, the people to suffer, and even your own concubines to be unable to protect them!"

"However, the cycle of Heaven is inescapable, and rise and fall are predetermined. If my son cannot turn the tide and prevent the collapse of the great edifice, even in dire straits, he must not lose his imperial integrity by selling his wife for personal gain, which is utterly shameful..."

Xiao Seshe's eyes were filled with sorrow, tears streamed down her face, and her voice was like a cold spring.

Xiao Duoli and Xiao Guige stood outside the door, and upon hearing Xiao Sese's words, they were deeply saddened.

Xiao Duoli was so weak he was on the verge of tears, lamenting the fickle nature of fate and how his loyal heart had been swept away by the flowing water.

After Xiao Sese finished explaining things to her son, Xiao Duoli and Xiao Guige came in.

After much hesitation, Xiao Guige said, "Consort Wen, please don't resent His Majesty. He truly had no other choice but to..."

Xiao Sese interrupted Xiao Guige calmly: "My two sisters, there is no need to persuade me. Life and death are predestined, and wealth and honor are determined by fate. Besides, I am a young woman. I may not die if I go to the Southern Dynasty. It is just that His Majesty will suffer because of this and may bear the infamy for all eternity."

Xiao Duoli and Xiao Guige felt that Xiao Sese was just saying things out of anger.

To put it bluntly, if Xiao Sese really had such thoughts, she wouldn't have said them out loud; instead, she should have focused all her energy on pleasing Zhao Yu.

It is precisely because Xiao Sese said such a thing that it further shows that she probably wouldn't do that.

This made Xiao Guige swallow back what she originally wanted to say, "Consort Wen probably doesn't want anything to happen to her relatives in the city," to persuade Xiao Sese to consider the bigger picture, because there was no need for it, and Xiao Sese would probably consider the bigger picture.

Xiao Guige silently watched Xiao Sese, this pitiful yet respectable woman.

Xiao Sese disliked Xiao Guige's gaze and said defiantly, "You don't need to look at me like that. If my going cannot change the Song Emperor's mind about destroying Liao, the Song Emperor will definitely break through Nanjing. In that case, it is still unknown whether the three of us sisters will continue to be sisters with the Song Emperor."

Upon hearing Xiao Sese's words, Xiao Duoli's heart skipped a beat. Although she knew that Xiao Sese was speaking in anger, she had a vague feeling that it wasn't impossible.

After Xiao Sese vented her anger by saying a lot of hurtful things, Xiao Fengxian sent someone to urge her to set off quickly, as they didn't have time.

If this drags on until night, the Liao people in Yanjing will have no chance at all.

Xiao Sese didn't put on makeup, change her clothes, or take any of her own belongings. She just followed the people who came to urge her on, her face bare.

Before leaving, Xiao Sese said to Xiao Duoli without turning her head, "I will do my best to persuade the Song emperor to mediate for my Liao dynasty and save the Khitan ancestral temple and state. I hope the empress will take good care of my son, considering how shameless I am."

Seeing that Xiao Sese was angry and disappointed in her, but still knew how to consider the bigger picture, Xiao Duoli felt both sad and sorry for Xiao Sese. She couldn't help but think, "His Majesty treats you so well, yet you are still so blindly loyal. What a foolish woman."

Xiao Duoli felt a lump in her throat, tears blurring her vision. She quickly lowered her head and said solemnly, "I will treat him as my own son."

With Xiao Duoli's promise, Xiao Sese left the palace as if going to her death, and went to meet the three hundred beauties that Yelü Yanxi and his ministers had carefully selected for Zhao Yu.

Before long, Xiao Fengxian, accompanied by Xiao Bodie and Liu Yanzong, a Han Chinese official of the Liao Dynasty, went to the Zhaigong Palace to request an audience with Zhao Yu.

The group arrived at the Zhaigong Palace before noon.

When they arrived at the palace, they learned that Zhao Yu, who had personally supervised the battle at the front lines the previous night, was asleep. Xiao Fengxian and the others dared not disturb Zhao Yu's sleep; they could only anxiously wait for him to wake up.

Xiao Sese and three hundred beautiful girls from various ethnic groups are also anxiously awaiting their destiny and fate.

Fortunately, although he hadn't slept all night, Zhao Yu didn't actually sleep through the night.

Around 3 PM, Zhao Yu finally got up.

Upon learning that Zhao Yu had gotten up, Xiao Fengxian immediately requested an audience with him.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yu did not immediately meet with Xiao Fengxian and the others. Instead, he first ate a meal and then met with Zeng Bu, Han Zhongyan, Su Zhe, Cai Bian, Zhao Liangsi, Li Chuwen and others.

Upon their arrival, they reported to Zhao Yu that the Liao Kingdom had sent back Lin Shu and his envoys. Moreover, since morning, the Liao people had been sending gold, silver, and silk to the Zhai Palace. So far, they had delivered nearly 300,000 taels of gold, 500,000 taels of silver, and over 100,000 bolts of silk, and were still sending more. In addition, the Liao Kingdom had also sent Consort Wen of Yelü Yanxi, Xiao Sese, and 300 beautiful young women from various ethnic groups, hoping to use this to negotiate peace with the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Zhao Yu was taken aback and asked, "Why did Yelü Yanxi send Xiao Sese here?"

Zeng Bu replied: "Privy Councilor Xiao said that Consort Wen believed that the Liao and Xia dynasties were interdependent, and that only by uniting could the two dynasties protect each other. She instigated the Liao emperor to form an alliance with Western Xia, and also instigated the Liao emperor to marry Yelü Nanxian, a member of the imperial clan, to Western Xia as empress. Furthermore, she instigated the Liao emperor to send troops to help Western Xia resist our Song attack. She is the culprit who broke the peace treaty between the two countries. Now, Consort Wen is being sent here to apologize..."

Seeing that when the time came, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers shamelessly shifted all the blame to Xiao Sese, Zhao Yu thought to himself, "This Xiao Sese is truly a woman of both beauty and talent, concerned about the country and its people, yet with a tragic fate. It's just a pity that your good intentions will not only be rejected by Yelü Yanxi, but will also greatly anger him. In the end, not only will you be executed by Yelü Yanxi, but your son will also be executed by him."

Xiao Sese's talent and concern for the country moved Zhao Yu to tears. He said to Zeng Bu and others, "Tell Consort Wen and those three hundred girls to go to the inner palace to find Consort Zhang and Consort Li. Politics is a man's business, why make things difficult for women?"

How could Zeng Bu and the others not see that Zhao Yu was showing tenderness towards women?
Furthermore, who can't see that Xiao Sese is just a stepping stone, a stepping stone for Yelü Yanxi to lower his stance? In reality, she is nothing more than an insignificant pawn.

The question now is whether Zhao Yu should take the opportunity presented to him by Yelü Yanxi and his ministers.

As for whether Zhao Yu should be sullen or not, that's a minor matter.

At this critical juncture, Zeng Bu and the others couldn't afford to worry about such trivial matters.

Han Zhongyan gave a wink to the door, and Lü Yihao, who was at the door, understood and went to deal with Xiao Sese and the three hundred girls from various ethnic groups.

After Lü Yihao left, Zeng Bubai said, "Now the Liao emperor and his ministers are afraid. Commander Guo is willing to sign a military pledge that he will definitely break through Yanjing City tonight. I wonder what Your Majesty thinks?"

Zeng Bu, Cai Bian, and others had always hoped that the Song army could break through Yanjing and eliminate the Liao army within the city, preventing them from colluding with the Liao reinforcements that would inevitably arrive and posing a threat to them. Of course, this was only their initial strategic objective. If the subsequent battles went smoothly, they hoped that Zhao Yu could lead them to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Han Zhongyan, Su Zhe, and others believed that once the Song army captured Yanjing, it would be tantamount to starting a full-scale war with the Liao Dynasty, which would contradict the strategic goal set by the Zhao Song Dynasty to contain the Liao army and focus on recovering Western Xia. This could potentially put the Zhao Song Dynasty in the dangerous situation of fighting on two fronts.

In fact, Zhao Yu had already decided that their strategic goal for this war was to promote peace through fighting, without first recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, so as not to give the Liao state the opportunity to fight to the death.

The problem is that the Song army's advance has been too smooth, which has made Zeng Bu, Cai Bian, and other pro-war figures uneasy.

Especially Zeng Bu.

In fact, Zeng Bu has always been a very steady person; he has never been as radical as Zhang Dun.

But this time was different. Seeing that the Zhao Song Dynasty had a chance to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, Zeng Bu couldn't help but be tempted.

Zeng Bu's lifelong dream was to become prime minister.

However, Zeng Bu always fell just one step away from becoming prime minister.

This made Zeng Bu very unwilling.

If we never have such an opportunity, then so be it.

However, if Zhang Dun fails to recover Western Xia, but can assist Zhao Yu in recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, which the Song Dynasty had wanted to recover since its founding but had never been able to, then his merit will certainly be greater than Zhang Dun's.

It could even be said that even if Zhang Dun were to recover Western Xia, his contribution would not be as great as his assistance to Zhao Yu in recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

This is because the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were extremely important to the Song Dynasty. With this barrier, the Song Dynasty no longer had to worry about its territory becoming the backyard of the nomadic tribes.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were the greatest obsession of the people of the Zhao Song Dynasty, without exception.

In order to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, Zhao Kuangyin specially created the Fengchun Treasury.

Before his death, Emperor Shenzong of Song left a will stating, "Whoever can recover Yanshan, even if he is not of the same surname, shall be granted the title of king."

In Zeng Bu's view, as long as he could assist Zhao Yu in recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the position of prime minister would definitely fall into his hands.

It was precisely for this reason that Zeng Bu became extremely radical in the matter of recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

In fact, Zeng Bu was not the only one who became radicalized. There were far too many people, especially those in the military, who, seeing the Song Dynasty's advance so smoothly, hoped that Zhao Yu would change his strategic goals and make the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the Three Prefectures of Pingluanying his strategic objective. They wanted to gain some military merits and promotions in the process.

Of course, there were also conservatives like Han Zhongyan and Su Zhe who kept advising Zhao Yu to act cautiously.

Previously, Zhao Yu had been listening to Han Zhongyan and Su Zhe, and had not changed the strategic goals that had been set before.

Last night, the Song army almost breached Yanjing City.

This gave Zeng Bu and others renewed hope of changing Zhao Yu's mind.

That's why Zeng Bu and his men came to question Zhao Yu.

Fearing that Zhao Yu might be swayed by Zeng Bu and his group, Han Zhongyan also stepped forward and reminded Zhao Yu: "Your Majesty, please think carefully. If Yanjing is captured, there will be no turning back. Our Great Song may be fighting two against one, and will be put on the defensive..."

……

(End of this chapter)