I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 299 The Unending Calamity: The Lost Dream of the Liao Palace
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Yelü Yanxi had only one empress and three imperial concubines in his entire life: Empress Xiao Duolilan, Consort De Xiao Shigu, Consort Wen Xiao Sese, and Consort Yuan Xiao Guige.

Of course, as the emperor of the mighty Liao Empire, Yelü Yanxi must have had some concubines as well.

However, because Yelü Yanxi preferred hunting and enjoyed the thrill of it, he was not particularly fond of women. Most of these concubines did not receive Yelü Yanxi's favor, and the vast majority of them did not bear him any children.

Many of them had previously been given to Zhao Yu by Wanyan Aguda as beauties of the Liao Dynasty to sow discord between the Song and Liao dynasties.

In the Liao Dynasty, or rather, in the system of the Hu people, there was a significant difference in status between imperial concubines and imperial consorts.

Consorts belong to the category of "wives" and are close in status to the principal wife (empress), serving as the emperor's official spouse; while concubines belong to the category of "concubines," whose status is subordinate to the principal wife and are not considered official spouses.

Consorts had clear titles and corresponding ceremonial privileges, and could participate in some court ceremonies. Their families could also gain a higher status as a result. Concubines, on the other hand, had lower status, usually did not have independent titles and real power, and their families rarely received special privileges.

Children born to imperial concubines held higher status and were eligible to participate in the succession to the throne or titles; children born to concubines held lower status and had far fewer chances of succession than children born to imperial concubines.

To put it simply, many of the concubines were female officials or palace maids in Yelü Yanxi's palace, responsible for the maintenance and operation of Yelü Yanxi's harem. They were not important and not worth mentioning.

Nine years ago, Aunt Xiao died of grief because her son, Prince Yan Yelü Talu, whom she had given birth to for Yelü Yanxi, died young.

Xiao Sese was taken away by Zhao Yu.

Currently, the two most important women in Yelü Yanxi's harem are Empress Xiao Duolilan and Consort Xiao Guige.

Faced with being surrounded by the Song army, Xiao Duoli and Xiao Guige chose to lead all the Liao women to surrender to the Song army.

To Xiao Duoli and Xiao Guige's relief, Zhang Jun and his Song soldiers treated them very politely, even providing them with a large number of covered horse-drawn carriages and covered rickshaws.

In terms of food, lodging, and even freedom, Zhang Jun and his entourage showed these Liao women the utmost sincerity and provided them with the greatest convenience.

Compared to the women of Liao, the men of Liao fared much worse. The lucky ones, those of higher status, could barely afford an oxcart, while most had to walk. Only Yelü Yanxi and his sons were allowed to ride in covered horse-drawn carriages.

Excluding Yelü Yabuli and Yelü Yuliyan, Yelü Yanxi had five sons and four daughters: eldest son Yelü Xinilie, Prince of Zhao; second son Yelü Yali, Prince of Liang; fourth son Yelü Aoluwo, Prince of Jin; fifth son Yelü Ding, Prince of Qin; sixth son Yelü Ning, Prince of Xu; second daughter Yelü Guyu; third daughter Yelü Wuliyan; fifth daughter Yelü Da'aoye; and sixth daughter Yelü Ci'aoye.

Yelü Yanxi's five sons and four daughters were all captured by the Song army. Because Yuwen Xuzhong and his men had a calculated advantage and seized the initiative, not a single Yelü Yanxi's group escaped.

It is worth mentioning that Yelü Yanxi's two youngest sons and three youngest daughters were all born to Xiao Guige.

It is easy to see how much Yelü Yanxi favored Xiao Guige.

In addition, Empress Xiao Duoli, having been unable to bear any children for Yelü Yanxi, had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs, leaving everything in the harem to Xiao Guige and devoting herself to Buddhism.

Therefore, Xiao Guige was the actual controller of Yelü Yanxi's harem.

If Xiao Duoli hadn't been Xiao Guige's older sister, and if Xiao Guige hadn't been a quiet, unassuming, and extremely virtuous woman, she might have become Yelü Yanxi's empress long ago.

This is not an exaggeration at all.

Since Xiao Guige entered the palace, Yelü Yanxi has almost never shown favor to anyone else.

It was precisely for this reason that Yelü Yanxi blindly trusted Xiao Fengxian, who had presented Xiao Guige to him.

This is one of the reasons why the Liao Dynasty came to this point.

From this perspective, it is not an exaggeration to call Xiao Guige a beauty of "femme fatale" level.

Of course, blaming women is just an excuse for useless men.

Xiao Guige himself really didn't do anything bad.

In fact, Xiao Guige was not a bad woman at all; on the contrary, she was particularly kind and generous.

—Once, when Xiao Guige was taking a nap, a close attendant secretly sneaked into her palace to steal her beloved sable fur coat. Even though she noticed, she did not call the guards to catch the attendant.

In conclusion, although Xiao Duolilan was Yelü Yanxi's empress, Xiao Guige was actually the leader of these Liao women.

Xiao Guige was not a particularly strong woman, but she felt that she bore a great responsibility for the Liao Kingdom's current state.

First of all, if she could have been like Xiao Sese and regularly advised Yelü Yanxi to be diligent in government affairs instead of indulging him in hunting, would Yelü Yanxi have been less incompetent, and would the Liao Kingdom have ended up in such a state?
Secondly, Xiao Fengxian was her brother. If Yelü Yanxi hadn't doted on her so much, he wouldn't have trusted Xiao Fengxian so much, which led to Xiao Fengxian doing so many things that harmed the country and the people.

Furthermore, if she had supported Yelü Aoluwo as crown prince instead of having the idea of ​​making her own son Yelü Ding crown prince, perhaps Yelü Yanxi and Xiao Fengxian would not have forced Yelü Yudu into rebellion. In that case, the situation in Liao would not have deteriorated to such an extent.

Out of guilt, Xiao Guige, who was not very strong, could only force himself to be strong and temporarily help Yelü Yanxi manage the harem so that Yelü Yanxi would not have to worry about these Liao women.

Now that their entire group had been captured by the Song army, Xiao Guige felt that she had to be even stronger and not let Yelü Yanxi be distracted by these Liao women. Instead, she wholeheartedly prepared to negotiate with Zhao Yu and fight for the greatest possible rights for the Liao Kingdom.

So, after calming his extremely bad mood and suppressing his worries about the future, Xiao Guige entered the palace tent that Yelü Yanxi had once occupied.

This palace tent, also known as the Golden Tent, was deep and wide enough to accommodate thousands of people. These tents were large and luxuriously decorated, built on giant vehicles, and transported as a whole by cart.

After the Song army captured Yelü Yanxi's palace tent, Zhang Jun discussed it with the others and then gave the tent to a group of Liao women.

At this moment, more than three hundred Liao women were gathered in the main hall of the palace tent.

Some of them were Yelü Yanxi's concubines, some were the concubines of Yelü Yanxi's sons, some were Yelü Yanxi's four daughters, and some were women from other clans or concubines and daughters of clans, as well as some wives and daughters of Liao nobles.

The Liao women in the tent, regardless of age, were all exceptionally beautiful, especially Xiao Duolilan, Xiao Guige, Yelü Wuliyan, Yelü Da'aoye, Yelü Ci'aoye, and a dozen other Liao beauties; describing them as possessing unparalleled beauty would not be an exaggeration. This was actually quite normal; after over two hundred years of genetic modification by countless generations of beautiful women, how could these Liao women be anything less than stunning?
After the initial tension and fear subsided, and with the Song army having already withdrawn to Yundi and entered the territory of the Zhao Song Dynasty, there should be no further changes. In addition, Zhang Jun and others treated them very politely, and the group of Liao women gradually accepted reality and even began to consider their future.

Upon seeing Xiao Guige return, Princess Yelü Tri of Liang Song Kingdom hurriedly asked, "What did Commander Zhang say?"

Xiao Guige answered truthfully: "Commander Zhang said that they were only ordered to take His Majesty to Bianjing to meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. They knew nothing else. As for letting us go to Nanjing first, they dared not make the decision. They could only go to Bianjing to ask His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty for instructions."

Empress Dowager Xiao Yunyan, Yelü Hongji's favorite concubine in his later years, hesitated for a moment and said, "I have heard that His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is extremely fond of women. Previously, the two concubines of the Great Filial Emperor, the Empress Dowager Yihe Rensheng, the two concubines of the Empress Dowager Yihe Rensheng, the Liao Empress Dowager Huluwa, the King's concubine Nieli, and the Liao Han Lady were all taken into his harem. Is this true?"

It's no wonder Xiao Yunyan was concerned about this matter. Although she was of a higher generation, her situation was actually similar to that of the two concubines left behind by Yelü Jun. Her generation was similar to that of Yelü Heluwo's ​​second wife and the two favored concubines he took in later in life. In terms of age, she was even younger than thirty. So, it was possible that she would also be taken into Zhao Yu's harem.

As soon as Xiao Yunyan spoke, the other Liao beauties fell silent.

To be honest, Zhao Yu did not have a very good reputation in the Liao Dynasty.

This was mainly because Zhao Yu had taken too many women from the Liao Kingdom and added them all to his harem. In total, the number of Liao women who entered Zhao Yu's harem exceeded one thousand.

This also includes Consort Wen of Yelü Yanxi, Xiao Sese; Yelü Chun's fiancée, Xiao Puxian; five Khitan princesses, including Yelü Nanxian and Yelü Yabuli; and the two concubines left behind by Yelü Jun, as mentioned earlier, among other Liao beauties.

To many Liao people, Zhao Yu was a lustful ruler with an almost predatory possessiveness towards Liao women. Falling into the hands of such a ruler meant an uncertain future; whether it would bring fortune or misfortune was truly unpredictable.

Therefore, the atmosphere inside the tent suddenly became heavy, and the eyes of the Liao women revealed worry and unease.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Guige frowned slightly. She was naturally uneasy, but she understood even more that she had to become the pillar of support for these Liao women and prevent fear and despair from spreading among them.

Therefore, Xiao Guige tried his best to make his voice sound calm and firm: "I have also heard what the Dowager Consort said. However, we are different from them. They were all given to His Majesty the Great Song Emperor by His Majesty and Aguda, and should rightfully belong to His Majesty the Great Song Emperor. It is perfectly reasonable for His Majesty the Great Song Emperor to take them into the harem, otherwise wouldn't that be going against His Majesty and Aguda's wishes? But we are different. We were invited to Bianjing, and we do not belong to His Majesty the Great Song Emperor. I think he will not force us into his harem. We must not panic."

Some people wanted to tell Xiao Guige, "Stop deceiving yourself. We weren't invited to Bianjing by His Majesty the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. We were clearly captured and taken to Bianjing by him. We are his prisoners of war. If he wants us, it's just a matter of a word."

But it was clearly inappropriate to say such things at this time. After all, Xiao Guige had already tried his best to calm everyone down. There was no need for them to create anxiety or make things difficult for Xiao Guige. Besides, what Xiao Guige said was not entirely unreasonable. Their situation was indeed different from that of the Liao women who were directly offered to Zhao Yu. Perhaps there was a glimmer of hope.
Seeing everyone remain silent, Xiao Guige continued, "The Great Song Dynasty is a land of etiquette, and His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty would not likely force a woman. We only need to remain dignified and wait for the situation to develop."

The other Liao women echoed this sentiment.

Only these Liao women themselves knew what they were really thinking.

After escorting Yelü Yanxi and his entourage into Yanmen Pass, Liu Fa and Li Miao led the Northern Auxiliary Army back to their defense zone.

Yuwen Xuzhong, Zhang Jun, Zhang Shuye and others escorted Yelü Yanxi and his entourage from Hedong to Hebei, and then changed to waterway, following the dredged Grand Canal, and went straight to Bianliang, the capital of Tokyo.

Subsequently, following Zhao Yu's instructions, all the Liao men were placed in Duting Post Station; while all the Liao women were placed in Chengping Hall of Yanfu Palace, living together with the Liao beauties who had not yet entered Zhao Yu's harem.

Located in the most prosperous part of Tokyo, Duting Post Station was the largest, best-equipped, and highest-standard state guesthouse of the Song Dynasty, so it was certainly not bad.

But for an emperor, the conditions here were far too ordinary.

When Yelü Yanxi and the Liao royal family, clan members, and officials entered the room, they found it deserted and empty; the Zhao Song dynasty had not prepared any hospitality.

This shows that the Zhao Song Dynasty had no manners and no respect for Yelü Yanxi, the emperor of the Liao Empire, and the situation seemed to be in trouble.

Emperor Yelü Yanxi and his ministers looked at each other, their faces pale.

What made Yelü Yanxi and his ministers even more disheartened was that the Zhao Song Dynasty did not send any important figures to receive them, but only a fifth-rank official from the Court of State Ceremonial and a group of minor officials to entertain them.

Seeing that Yelü Yanxi and his entourage were too numerous and inconvenient to eat and stay in, all the Liao soldiers were moved to an empty barracks, leaving only three hundred members of the Liao royal family, imperial clan, and officials.

These people were all arranged to stay in various rooms at Duting Post Station.

Soon, the Zhao Song Dynasty dispatched a fully armed battalion of the Shenji Rear Army to "protect" Duting Post Station, guarding it closely and prohibiting any outsiders from entering.

Chen Gou was still not at ease, so he sent men to erect barbed wire fences around the Duting Post Station, completely surrounding Yelü Yanxi and his ministers.

In name, the Zhao Song Dynasty was sending troops to protect Yelü Yanxi's safety, but in reality, it was imprisoning Yelü Yanxi.

Seeing the posture adopted by the Zhao Song Dynasty and the attitude of Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers, Emperor Yelü Yanxi and his ministers all sensed that their chances of survival were slim.

That night, faced with the humiliation of being confined, Yelü Yanxi, who hadn't shed a tear for many years, could no longer suppress his grief. He wept uncontrollably.

Yelü Yanxi finally remembered how, after ascending the throne, he had recklessly squandered the vast territory forged by the blood and wisdom of his ancestors, and how he had indulged in luxurious pleasures and hunting, neglecting the important matters of governing the country. Those ministers who had once been loyal to him had repeatedly offered their earnest advice, but he had ignored them, even punishing them for disobedience. He thought that his laziness would not affect the continuation of the Liao Dynasty's glory, but he never imagined that this golden age would be as fragile as a bubble, bursting at the slightest touch.

Back then, his great-grandfather Yelü Abaoji rose to power on the grasslands with his valiant spirit, conquering north and south to establish the glorious foundation of the Liao Dynasty. At that time, the Liao Empire was a formidable force, with a forest of iron cavalry and a powerful army! Yet, in the generation of Yelü Yanxi, this vast land was surrendered to others, a truly shameful act against his ancestors!
Yelü Yanxi was filled with remorse, yet he knew that everything was beyond redemption. He could only silently endure the suffering of confinement, awaiting his unknown fate…

The Liao women in Chengping Palace, though temporarily safe, remained deeply troubled. They didn't know what fate awaited them: would they become playthings in Zhao Yu's harem, or be sent away to wander in distant lands?
Although Xiao Guige tried her best to reassure everyone, she herself was actually quite uneasy...

With Yelü Yanxi and his entourage successfully captured, Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers were relieved.

With time running out and the task heavy, Zhao Yu immediately decided to proceed in two steps simultaneously.

The first step was to send Zhao Liangsi and Ma Kuo as envoys to Yanjing to tell Yelü Chun and others that Yelü Yanxi was in the Zhao Song Dynasty and that the Zhao Song Dynasty would soon send him and his son back to Yanjing, thus denying Yelü Chun the opportunity to usurp the throne.

Another step was to first try diplomacy and then resort to force, sending Li Chuwen and Wang Fu to "persuade" Yelü Yanxi to agree to abdicate in favor of Yelü Aoluwo...

……

(End of this chapter)