I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 286 Rouge on the Saddle

...

Emerging from his resting place the previous night, Zhao Yu rubbed his slightly aching lower back, thinking, 'Taking on ten would still be a bit of a stretch.'

Those five newcomers were easy to deal with; one hit from each of them was enough to leave them all half-dead and unwilling to fight anymore.

—To be honest, facing them really gave Zhao Yu a sense of accomplishment.

This is also why Zhao Yu was so fond of newcomers.

When it was the turn of the elderly women, including Xiao Puxian, Xiao Sese, and the two curvaceous young women, they were no longer so reserved or afraid of Zhao Yu. They all took the initiative and used every trick in the book to get something out of Zhao Yu.

Even Yelü Yabuli, who had just become a young woman less than a month ago, was like this.

This is because they are very clear that in Zhao Yu's harem, there are more wolves than sheep. After this time of serving the emperor, it is uncertain when it will be their turn to serve him again, or even if they will be able to serve him again. Therefore, they can only seize the current opportunity and try to conceive a royal child once and for all.

Later, seeing how enthusiastic the veterans were, the five clever newcomers realized that this was a golden opportunity and, without any hesitation, joined in and took the initiative to participate in the battle.

This naturally increased the pressure on Zhao Yu.

As a result, although Zhao Yu won the war, he was also nearing his limit.

"Next time, eight at most. As long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback."

As he was thinking this, Zhao Yu encountered a girl who looked to be about ten years old.

The girl had an oval face, almond-shaped eyes, and delicate, arched eyebrows. Her features were like a painting, and she was as beautiful as a porcelain doll. She was just like Nezha from the prequel to "The Legend of Nezha," exuding youthful charm and as sweet as honey.

Upon closer inspection, the little girl also had some features of the Khitan people, such as brown eyes, a high nose bridge, and a tall figure.

When Zhao Yu saw this little girl, his first thought was whether she was one of his daughters.
Unfortunately, Zhao Yu had far too many children, and he interacted with them very little. As a result, he couldn't even recognize all of his sons, let alone his daughters.

To avoid any major blunders or even royal scandals, Zhao Yu not only arranged for his sons to marry early, but also sent his daughters out of the palace to study at the "Girls' School" at a young age. When they reached sixteen or seventeen, he would find them husbands.

The young girl in front of him was at an age where she could either get married or not, making Zhao Yu unsure whether she was his child.

Just as Zhao Yu was wondering what was going on, the little girl bowed gracefully to him and said, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhao Yu instantly understood that this little girl was definitely not his daughter; otherwise, she would have called him "Father Emperor" instead of "Your Majesty."

'Among the girls Yelü Yanxi sent me this time, are there any this young?'

After a moment's thought, Zhao Yu realized who this little girl was.

—She is Yelü Yuliyan, another daughter of Yelü Yanxi, the last princess of the Liao Dynasty in history, and the princess of Shu.

Looking at Yelü Yuliyan again, I realized that she does look very much like Xiao Sese. I guess when she grows up, she will be another Xiao Sese.

Zhao Yu never imagined that Yelü Yuliyan, who wasn't even born when he arrived in the Song Dynasty, would have grown up so much.

This made Zhao Yu sigh with emotion, 'Time really flies!'

Zhao Yu smiled and said, "Looking for your mother? They're in the inner room."

After saying that, Zhao Yu left.

In fact, Zhao Yu guessed wrong; Yelü Yuliyan had come to see her sister, Yelü Yabuli.

Before Yelü Yabuli arrived, the Liao authorities had instructed her to spend more time with Xiao Sese and Yelü Nanxian, because they believed that these two women had more affection for the Liao Kingdom.

Therefore, as soon as Yelü Yabuli entered Zhao Yu's harem, he took the initiative to meet Xiao Sese and met her half-sister Yelü Yuliyan for the first time.

Yelü Yabuli brought a lot of things to Yelü Yuliyan and took the initiative to befriend her, so she quickly established a deep sisterly relationship with her younger sister, Yelü Yuliyan.

Therefore, Yelü Yuliyan enjoyed pestering Yelü Yabuli, listening to her tell stories of the glory of the Khitan people, the interesting things on the grasslands, and their relatives in the Liao Kingdom...

Yelü Yabuli promised yesterday to teach Yelü Yuliyan to ride a horse today, and Yelü Yuliyan, still a child at heart, naturally ran to find Yelü Yabuli early.

Yelü Yuliyan watched Zhao Yu leave before entering the battlefield where Zhao Yu had fought the previous night.

Zhao Yu had already left, so the safety of others was no longer important. Naturally, no one stopped Yelü Yuliyan from going in to find Xiao Sese and Yelü Yabuli.

As soon as she entered, Yelü Yuliyan smelled an indescribable scent in the air—the lingering aroma of a great battle, mingled with a faint floral fragrance and the rich scent of ambergris, shrouding the entire room in a hazy, ambiguous mist. Her steps involuntarily slowed, a blush of curiosity mixed with slight shyness rising on her face.

Yelü Yuliyan looked around and saw that the brocade quilt was in disarray and the light gauze was dancing. Every piece of furniture and every ray of light seemed to tell the story of the fierce battle last night.

Yelü Yuliyan's heart raced; the scene was both novel and unfamiliar to her.

However, on the other hand, Yelü Yuliyan was, after all, a child who grew up in the harem. Although he had never eaten pork, he must have heard pigs squeal.

It's no exaggeration to say that everyone around Yelü Yuliyan, whether they had served him in bed or not, would inevitably mention Zhao Yu. Moreover, every few words would turn to who Zhao Yu had favored the previous night, and then to how they should behave if they were to receive Zhao Yu's favor one day, and so on.

Even more outrageous, when Yelü Yuyan was just old enough to understand, they said that Yelü Yuyan would one day be favored by Zhao Yu, and most likely with her mother Xiao Sese. In short, they always joked with Yelü Yuyan about such things.

At first, Xiao Sese would try to stop these women from making such jokes.

But as time went on, Xiao Sese either resigned herself to her fate or simply couldn't manage it anymore, so she stopped interfering.

This meant that Yelü Yuliyan knew from a very young age that she would become Zhao Yu's concubine when she grew up.

It was precisely because of this that Yelü Yuliyan would secretly observe Zhao Yu from a very young age.

Just now, Yelü Yuliyan could have waited and come later, after all, she had already seen Zhao Yu from afar.

Yelü Yuliyan really wanted to see Zhao Yu up close and say a few words to him, so she mustered up her courage to greet him. To Yelü Yuliyan's great disappointment, Zhao Yu only said one sentence to her before turning and leaving.

'I'm still too young...'

Just as Yelü Yuliyan was lost in his thoughts, a silvery laugh broke the silence. It was Xiao Puxian's voice, tinged with languor and satisfaction: "Oh, little Yuliyan, you've come to see Bojin?"

Yelü Yuliyan looked over upon hearing the sound and saw Xiao Puxian leaning against the bed, her black hair flowing like a waterfall, her eyes full of charm. The two beautiful Liao women beside her were also smiling at her, their eyes full of satisfaction and pleasure.

Xiao Sese, Yelü Yabuli, and five other newlywed young women sat or lay down, tidying their clothes. The ambiguous atmosphere in the air became even more vivid because of their laughter and conversation.

Yelü Yuliyan explained, "My elder sister said she would teach me how to ride a horse today..."

Upon hearing Yelü Yuliyan's words, all the Liao women couldn't help but put away their smiles.

If Yelü Yuliyan hadn't grown up in the imperial palace of the Song Dynasty, he wouldn't have been almost ten years old and still not knowing how to ride a horse.

As Yelü Yuliyan finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room became subtly tense. The Liao women exchanged meaningful glances, seemingly lamenting the little princess's misfortune. In their original world, horseback riding was not only a skill but also a symbol of freedom and power that Khitan noblewomen had to master. For Yelü Yuliyan, however, it had become a course that required special learning.

Yelü Yuliyan sensed the subtle change in the atmosphere, and a ripple of emotion stirred within her. Though young, she could vaguely sense the complex emotions in the eyes of these Liao women—a longing for their homeland, a yearning for freedom, and a sense of helplessness and lament for their current situation.

Before Xiao Sese and Yelü Yabuli could speak, Xiao Puxian said, "After paying our respects to the Empress, a few of us will go and teach Yu Liyan how to ride a horse. We are children of the grasslands; how can we manage without knowing how to ride a horse?"

The other nine women echoed in unison.

They got up, washed and dressed, ate lotus seed soup, and worked with the female attendants and the palace historian to make a detailed record of their nightly service. Then, they went to Kunning Palace to pay their respects to Zheng Xiansu.

After dealing with these trivial matters, Xiao Puxian and the other women led Yelü Yuliyan to Mutuogang.

Mutuogang was a famous royal horse farm. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, it was converted into a royal horse breeding farm, covering an area of ​​30 square kilometers, raising 20,000 horses, and stationed with 5,000 imperial guards.

Originally, the Song Dynasty was a period in which Neo-Confucianism was gradually developing, emphasizing "distinction between men and women" and "standards of female virtue," and imposing much stricter constraints on women's behavior than in the Tang Dynasty. The requirements for empresses and concubines in the court tended to be dignified and quiet, and activities such as horseback riding and playing polo, which required outdoor activities and dynamic displays, did not meet the expectations of women's introverted nature at that time.

As a result, while horseback riding and polo were popular in the Tang Dynasty court (including women's participation), by the Song Dynasty, although polo still existed, its participants were mostly male nobles or soldiers, with very few women (especially imperial concubines) participating. Public opinion also tended to restrict women's participation in such martial activities.

Therefore, in the Song Dynasty before the reign of Emperor Zhao Yu, it was extremely rare for concubines to go to the horse farm for such activities due to the constraints of etiquette and social norms.

However, after Zhao Yu ascended the throne, he took in too many concubines from Tibet, the Western Regions, the Liao Dynasty, and the Western Xia Dynasty. They all grew up riding horses and loved riding. It was somewhat inhumane of him not to let them ride horses.

Moreover, Zhao Yu was also afraid that one day he would have to abandon Bianliang and flee, or that he would have to personally lead an expedition again. In either case, it would be a good thing that his concubines could ride horses.

Therefore, Zhao Yu issued an edict allowing the concubines in the palace to ride horses and play polo at the renovated Mutuogang, and there was a special train to Mutuogang every day.

That's right.

It's a train.

Although it can only pull five carriages, travels at a speed of only eight kilometers per hour, and currently can only run from the palace to Mutuogang, it is still a genuine train.

In the foreseeable future, perhaps in ten or twenty years, the train will be able to leave Tokyo, connecting every city of the Zhao Song Dynasty, no, the Great Song Empire, and even reaching the frontier, becoming a steel dragon that connects the north and south and runs through the east and west.

At that time, the territory of the Great Song Empire will no longer be limited by the slowness of carriages and horses and the ruggedness of roads. Instead, it will be propelled by this steel dragon, allowing merchants to travel and scholars to journey freely within its borders, reaching every corner of the world without end. The prosperity and progress of the Great Song Empire will, like this steel dragon, surge forward unstoppably.

Zhao Yu's goal was to realize the "Belt and Road" initiative, a grand strategy that he had not fully achieved in his previous life up to the time of his transmigration, within his lifetime.

Mutuogang is a steep and rugged place, surrounded by water on three sides, like a sandbar, with Wuzepi behind it serving as a natural barrier. Occupying this place makes it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Historically, when the Jurchens marched south, they occupied this area and made it their main base.

Zhao Yu accepted the advice of Zhang Chun and Li Lin and rebuilt Mutuogang into an impregnable military fortress. In the event that the Jurchens would invade the south, this place might become their nightmare.

Of course, this is now just a royal horse farm.

Just as Yelü Yabuli was teaching Yelü Yuliyan how to ride a horse, Xiao Sese asked Xiao Puxian, "Your Majesty, you really won't join forces with the Jurchens to destroy our Great Liao?"

Xiao Puxian replied perfunctorily, "As long as Aguo doesn't make any foolish moves, the Emperor will most likely not side with the Jurchens."

Xiao Sese was somewhat skeptical: "Does the Emperor not want to take this opportunity to reclaim Yanjing and Pingzhou?"

Xiao Puxian casually replied, "Of course I want it."

Xiao Sese asked in bewilderment, "Then why won't the Emperor join forces with the Jurchens to attack our Great Liao?"

Xiao Puxian turned her gaze to Xiao Sese, who was still thinking about the Liao Kingdom even now, and asked, "Do you still want to help the Liao Kingdom?"

Xiao Sese said something she didn't mean: "I just wanted to ask."

Xiao Puxian sometimes really admires Xiao Sese; even now, she still misses her homeland.

Conversely, even someone as loyal to his country as Xiao Sese has met such a fate, which shows that the Liao Dynasty deserved to perish.

It wasn't anything important that Xiao Sese wanted to know, and Xiao Puxian knew very well that no matter what she said, Xiao Sese wouldn't believe it completely.

So Xiao Puxian said to Xiao Sese, "Perhaps in the Emperor's eyes, the Khitan are no match for the Jurchen, and the Jurchen are the real threat. Therefore, he does not want to lose the big picture for the small one. Or perhaps the Emperor just wants to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight, take advantage of both sides, and reap the benefits. In any case, at this stage, the Emperor really has no intention of uniting with the Jurchen."

Xiao Sese thought to herself, 'Though the Jurchens are strong, how could they be stronger than my Great Liao? As long as the Emperor doesn't aid the Jurchens, my Great Liao will surely annihilate them. My only fear is that the Emperor will break his promise and help the Jurchens instead.'

To be honest, Xiao Sese really wanted to help the Liao Kingdom at this critical moment when it was facing a life-or-death crisis.

Unfortunately, Xiao Sese is now merely a plaything of Zhao Yu in the deep palace. She cannot even protect her own daughter, let alone a grassland empire.
Xiao Sese could only sigh silently: "I hope my Great Liao can turn this danger into safety..."

……

(End of this chapter)