I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 188 Empress Dowager of Northern Liao
...

Thanks to the joint efforts of the Song and Liao dynasties, the two countries successfully handed over all their warhorses without any major incidents.

The Liao soldiers were well aware of what surrendering their warhorses meant.

Therefore, when handing over their horses, many Liao soldiers looked ashamed, and many Liao people who had been with their warhorses day and night cried their hearts out when handing over their horses.

After obtaining these warhorses, Zhao Yu ordered the best ones to be selected and reserved for the Shenji Army and the Four Auxiliary Armies. The remaining warhorses, along with those discarded by the Shenji Army and the Four Auxiliary Armies, totaling 50,000 horses, were sent directly to the Northwest battlefield to Zhang Jie to help the Western Army recover Western Xia.

After the Liao army handed over all their warhorses, Zhao Yu ordered Su Zhe to lead eight Song envoys, including Zhao Liangsi, Li Chuwen, Li Chuneng, Cai Jing, Lü Yihao, Zhang Xiaochun, Shen Guan, and Xu Cai, to stay in the Liao court.

Su Zhe, representing Zhao Yu, announced to Yelü Yanxi that from now on, all military and political activities of the Liao court must be reported to them in advance.

This was not Su Zhe's and others' primary task. Their primary task was to deliver the annual tribute and interest.

Under Zhao Yu's orders, after the Song and Liao dynasties had finished exchanging warhorses, Su Zhe and others set their sights on the horses owned by civilians in Yanjing City, demanding that not a single horse be left in the city, and the same apply to cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys.

Yelü Yanxi then personally issued an imperial edict: everyone must hand over their horses to the North and South Courts within two days; those who conceal them will have their entire family punished according to military law; those who report them will be rewarded with three thousand strings of cash.

Thus, in addition to the nearly 70,000 warhorses that were delivered at the beginning, the Liao Dynasty received more than 47,000 horses from the Northern and Southern Courts, starting with the imperial horses of Yelü Yanxi, and all of them were given to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

This time, even the horses controlled by Yelü Yanxi's personal guards were handed over.

Moreover, it included Yelü Yanxi's three thousand fine horses capable of traveling five hundred li a day.

From then on, when high-ranking officials, nobles, wealthy families, and magnates in Yanjing went out, some rode in sedan chairs and others walked. Not a single horse could be seen in Yanjing anymore.

After the Song Dynasty took all the horses from Yanjing, the people in Yanjing lost all possibility of breaking out of the city and became truly trapped, unable to escape.

Next, Zhao Yu instructed Su Zhe and others to demand weapons and armor from Yelü Yanxi and his ministers.

The reason given by the Zhao Song Dynasty was that it was unsafe for the soldiers and civilians in Yanjing to possess these weapons and armor. Previously, they had repeatedly caused trouble inside and outside Yanjing, impersonated Song soldiers to sabotage the peace negotiations between the two countries, and even executed several officials of the Zhao Song Dynasty. If this was not completely stopped, it would not be conducive to the peace negotiations between the Song and Liao Dynasties, nor would it be conducive to the restoration of order in Yanjing.

At Zhao Yu's instruction, Su Zhe and others demanded that the soldiers and civilians in Yanjing City be forbidden from keeping any weapons. All armor and weapons in Yanjing City, including strategic materials such as iron bars, ox horns, cowhides, cow tendons, sheepskins, arrow shafts, and feathers, were to be confiscated and handed over to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

With things having come to this point, how could Yelü Yanxi and his ministers dare not pay their respects?
Therefore, Yelü Yanxi issued an edict ordering both the North and South Courts to post notices simultaneously, commanding the military and civilians in the city to hand over their hidden weapons, armor, and strategic materials within three days, or face punishment under military law.

Everyone knew that this was ostensibly Yelü Yanxi's idea, but in reality it was Zhao Yu's order, and who would dare to disobey?
As a result, the soldiers and civilians in Yanjing City handed over their weapons, armor, and strategic materials one after another.

As a result, all kinds of military equipment and strategic materials were piled up like mountains.

Xiao Fengxian organized 100,000 laborers to transport the weapons and strategic materials by cart and by porter. After several days, the materials were delivered to the location designated by the Zhao Song Dynasty. Some of the materials were then transferred to Hebei, some were sent back to Bianliang (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song Dynasty, and some were sent to the northwest to support the Western Army in its attempt to recover the Western Xia.

After demanding military equipment and strategic materials, the Zhao Song Dynasty then asked Yelü Yanxi and his ministers for two million shi of grain.

Yanjing was the most populous and economically developed city among the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty, known as "the most powerful military force in the world, and accounting for half of the region's taxes." It undertook important political, economic, and military functions for the Liao Dynasty. As an important city in the south of the Liao Dynasty, it needed to store a large amount of grain to supply the city's residents, the army, and to cope with various unforeseen needs.

The Liao Dynasty also had a relatively complete granary system, with granaries set up in various places. As one of the most important cities of the Liao Dynasty, Yanjing had a particularly considerable scale of granaries.

On the other hand, it was indeed a bit much for Yelü Yanxi and his ministers to ask for two million shi of grain.

The key issue is that if Yelü Yanxi and his ministers had given all the grain in Yanjing to the Zhao Song Dynasty, the people in the city would have panicked because they had no food.

Fortunately, it is now harvest season in Yan.

Ultimately, after friendly negotiations, the Liao Dynasty gave all the grain grown in Yan to the Zhao Song Dynasty, allowing the Song army and the Zhao Song Dynasty's laborers to harvest it themselves.

Zhao Yu did not find this troublesome. Instead, he immediately sent laborers to harvest grain in the areas he could find, and ordered the army to take turns harvesting grain. He even hired people from Yan to help the Song Dynasty harvest grain at an exorbitant price of 50/50 to ensure that the Song army had sufficient food supplies in Yan.

Clearly, Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers had devised a meticulous plan on how to effectively control the people in Yanjing.

However, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers seemed completely oblivious. They were unaware that they were falling deeper and deeper into the schemes of Zhao Yu and his ministers, unable to extricate themselves. They still believed that the matter was settled and were immersed in the illusion that peace could be negotiated.

Of course, it's also possible that, under the current circumstances, this is the only option for the people in Yanjing City, so they have no other choice.

After the horses and weapons were handed over, in addition to the continued delivery of grain, cattle, sheep, camels, mules and donkeys, gold, silver and silk were also continuously delivered.

Yanjing was a key point for the transfer of tribute from the Song Dynasty to the Liao Dynasty, with a large amount of annual tribute flowing in. At the same time, it was also a trade hub for Liao merchants from the south, with frequent trade between the Song and Liao Dynasties and with other regions. The market was rich in goods, with all kinds of land and sea products gathered there.

The city of Yanjing had a population of 300,000, including people from various ethnic groups such as Han, Khitan, Xi, Bohai, and Jurchen. This population concentration provided the city with a sufficient labor force and consumer base, promoting the prosperity of commerce, handicrafts, and other industries.

The Yanjing region was rich in fertile vegetables, fruits, and grains, and its agricultural production was highly developed, providing abundant agricultural products. Furthermore, the people of Yanjing possessed many skills, and its handicrafts, such as the flourishing ceramics industry, were also highly developed.

All these factors led to Yanjing being called the "money bag" of the Liao Dynasty, with fifty percent of the Liao Dynasty's fiscal revenue coming from Yanjing, demonstrating its important economic position in the Liao Dynasty.

It is worth mentioning that Yanjing City was the largest of the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty, and also the largest city in the Liao Dynasty.

Even so, the gold, silver, and silk in Yanjing were not enough to repay the annual tribute and interest owed to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

After the warhorses were handed over, Zhao Yu ordered a halt to military operations, which brought some relief to Yelü Yanxi, who felt that their efforts in the peace talks had not been in vain and that they had finally achieved some results.

However, Yelü Yanxi's mood remained heavy.

This was mainly because although the Zhao Song Dynasty had stopped its offensive operations, it had no intention of withdrawing its troops, which made him very uneasy.

Yelü Yanxi knew very well that the Song Dynasty would absolutely not negotiate peace with the Liao Dynasty, nor would it withdraw its troops, until it had received all the annual tribute and interest. The only way to get the Song Dynasty to withdraw its troops as soon as possible was to quickly collect the full amount of tribute and interest and return it to the Song Dynasty. To gather the tribute and interest as quickly as possible, Yelü Yanxi and many of his ministers racked their brains and exhausted all their ingenuity.

Yelü Yanxi issued an edict requiring that anyone who had ever received gold, silver, or silk as a reward, regardless of their official rank or who they were, must return it. Anyone who dared to conceal such a gift and was reported would be severely punished according to the severity of the offense. Those with particularly serious offenses would be executed, or even have their property confiscated and their entire family searched.

Yelü Yanxi also issued an edict to confiscate the property of gentry, wealthy families, powerful merchants, chieftains, and tribal leaders of all ethnic groups other than the Khitan.

Yelü Yanxi specifically stated that if any of these families dared to harbor or conceal information, they would be designated as hiding families and allowed to surrender themselves that day. If they disobeyed, they would be punished according to military law. If others reported any hidden items, half of the reward would be given.

Later, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers found that even this amount of gold, silver, and silk was insufficient, so they stopped exempting the Khitans and high-ranking officials. They explicitly stated that all officials, attendants, members of the imperial family, and relatives of the empress must deliver all their gold, silver, and silk to the treasury. If there were any hidden or concealed amounts of money that should have been paid but were not, after the stipulated period, all kinds of people (including their slaves, wives, concubines, sons, and nephews) were allowed to report them. If the report was verified, they would be granted an official position. However, if relatives, friends, or neighbors knew about the situation but did not report it, or reported it but did not provide a complete account, they would be punished with the same crime as the concealer and all their property would be confiscated.

Xiao Fengxian also gave Yelü Yanxi a good idea: all ordinary citizens who pay a lot of gold, silver and silk should be granted official positions regardless of race or age.

As a result, many ordinary people were granted official positions because of the large amounts of gold, silver, and silk they paid.

It is worth mentioning that Yelü Yanxi not only plundered others, but also destroyed everything from ancestral temples, palaces, imperial carriages, and clothing, obtaining more than 100,000 taels of gold and more than 12 million taels of silver, which he then sent to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

In addition, someone suggested to Yelü Yanxi that there were many jewels and other valuables in the city, but it was uncertain whether the Zhao Song Dynasty would agree to a compromise.

Yelü Yanxi then specifically asked Xiao Fengxian to consult with Su Zhe about this matter.

With Zhao Yu's approval, Su Zhe said to Xiao Fengxian, "My emperor also loves such treasures, which are worth gold, silver and silk. You may bring them over to discuss the price."

As a result, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers began to use jewelry to pay off their debts again.

It's worth mentioning here that because jewelry is difficult to value, the Song Dynasty offered only the lowest possible price.

Although the Liao Dynasty felt that the Zhao Song Dynasty was being too harsh in its demands, they reluctantly accepted the offer in order to get rid of the Song army as soon as possible.

In short, ever since the Song Dynasty agreed that as long as the Liao Dynasty paid all the annual tribute and interest owed to the Song Dynasty, especially after all the horses and weapons were handed over, the Liao Dynasty not only sent people to deliver gold, silver and silk to the Song Dynasty every day without interruption, but also Emperor Yelü Yanxi and his ministers thoughtfully sent various famous fruits, delicacies, imperial wine and so on to the palace every day.

In order to please Zhao Yu and get the Song army to withdraw as soon as possible, Yelü Yanxi spared no expense in giving Zhao Yu imperial jewels, ornaments, precious belts, saddles and bridles, etc. The variety and quantity of these items were numerous and their value was incalculable.

Furthermore, Yelü Yanxi believed that Zhao Yu's willingness to grant the Liao Dynasty a chance for peace talks when Yanjing was on the verge of falling, instead of sending troops to attack Yanjing and allowing the Song army to harass the people in Yanjing, was extremely merciful. Therefore, Yelü Yanxi issued an edict ordering all civil and military officials, monks, Taoist priests, and elders to go to the Zhaigong Palace to express their gratitude to Zhao Yu for saving the lives of the people in Yanjing.

Therefore, civil and military officials, along with monks, Taoist priests, and elders, brought numerous gifts to the Zhai Palace to pay their respects to Zhao Yu.

To the surprise of these Liao officials, monks, and Taoist elders, Zhao Yu personally received them.

Zhao Yu told the Liao officials, monks, and elders that he had been forced to lead the expedition by Yelü Yanxi and his ministers. He said that Western Xia was originally part of the Zhao Song Dynasty, but had been occupied by the rebel Dangxiang Li clan for nearly a century. He asked what business Yelü Yanxi and his ministers had with reclaiming their own territory. They insisted on sending troops to threaten him and even to help Western Xia fight him. He had no choice but to send troops to attack Liao.

As for demanding annual tribute and interest, Zhao Yu also addressed the Liao officials, monks, and Taoist elders, saying that the annual tribute was originally extorted from the Song Dynasty by the Liao Dynasty. Now that the Song Dynasty has won the war, it is only right to reclaim its own money, no matter how far it fights. Furthermore, if the two countries want to maintain good relations in the long term, it is certainly not a good thing for one side to always extort annual tribute from the other, as this will breed resentment between the two dynasties.

The Liao Dynasty's civil and military officials, monks, Taoist elders, and other officials and people saw that the Song Dynasty's attitude was friendly and reasonable. More importantly, judging from Zhao Yu's attitude, it seemed that he only wanted to take back what the Song Dynasty deserved and did not want to exterminate the people in Yanjing. Their tense mood began to relax.

Yelü Yanxi lost the war and paid reparations and interest to make peace, which was one thing, but the problem was that Yelü Yanxi was not ashamed and instead tried every means to please Zhao Yu.

This is something that one person finds very objectionable.

This person believes that Yelü Yanxi's actions are not virtuous and may have the opposite effect, potentially inciting the Song Dynasty to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the Three Prefectures of Pingluanying.

This person is none other than Xiao Puxian, who is even more beautiful than Xiao Sese and Yelü Nanxian. She received a good education from a young age and ruled the fragmented Northern Liao Dynasty, which had only tens of thousands of troops. She also defeated the Northern Song Dynasty's army of hundreds of thousands, tore off the mask of the Northern Song Dynasty as a false strongman, and indirectly contributed to the Jingkang Incident. She is now the most beautiful woman in the Liao Dynasty.

Xiao Puxian, also known as "Brother Yao's Wife," was a beauty whom even Yelü Yanxi coveted.

However, Xiao Puxian looked down on Yelü Yanxi, this great tyrant. In order not to marry Yelü Yanxi, she even chose to get engaged to Yelü Chun, who already had a princess, and prepared to become Yelü Chun's concubine.

Now, seeing Yelü Yanxi's behavior, Xiao Puxian was even more glad for her choice, and said to those around her: "Your Majesty indulges in wine and music, and is debauched in both beasts and women. He has dismissed loyal and good people and appointed sycophants. People far and near are all suffering from his harsh rule. His character is weak and his vision is not upright, not even as good as his ancestors. Therefore, the Song people took advantage of his weakness and attacked him, which led to our Great Liao becoming so incompetent and foolish."

Xiao Puxian's words quickly reached Yelü Yanxi's ears.

Yelü Yanxi was furious and wanted to punish Xiao Puxian.

But now the situation in the Liao Kingdom is so bad, and Xiao Puxian is from a Khitan noble family. Her great-grandfather was Xiao Xiaomu, her grandfather was Xiao Ala, and her father was Xiao Degong. All of them were important officials in the Liao Kingdom, and her family was also a prominent clan among the imperial clans. The key point is that Xiao Puxian is engaged to Yelü Chun, and Yelü Yanxi still has to rely on the prestige and power of Yelü Heluwo and Yelü Chun.

Therefore, Yelü Yanxi had no choice but to give up in frustration.

Yelü Yanxi was unwilling to let Xiao Puxian, who had "slandered" him, go unpunished.

Xiao Fengxian saw through Yelü Yanxi's thoughts and said to him, "Now the King of Yue's prestige is growing day by day, and he also has the protection of the Imperial Uncle. If he were to take Yao Ge's wife as a concubine, the two powerful forces would be unstoppable. Your Majesty should be more vigilant."

This was also what Yelü Yanxi was worried about. Yelü Chun had always been Yelü Yanxi's biggest rival for the throne, especially since Yelü Yanxi had not yet designated an heir apparent.

More importantly, after this defeat, Yelü Yanxi, whose throne was already precarious, will certainly be more likely to lose it.

Therefore, upon hearing Xiao Fengxian's words, Yelü Yanxi couldn't help but mutter to himself: "We absolutely cannot allow the Imperial Uncle's power to grow any stronger, but how can we curb it?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fengxian lowered his voice and said to Yelü Yanxi, "The Song emperor loves beautiful women..."

……

(End of this chapter)