I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 323 Empress of the Jin Kingdom
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After the conditions for peace negotiations between the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty were "leaked," the Liao people in the Yanping area cheered with joy.

Even ordinary people could see that Zhao Yu's proposed peace terms clearly indicated that he did not want to negotiate peace with the Jin Dynasty.

From the perspective of these Liao people, it was possible that the Song Dynasty wanted to help the Liao Dynasty recover its lost territories and then help the Liao Dynasty restore its kingdom; the Song Dynasty was still on the side of the Liao Dynasty.

Although the Liao people here have become Song people after the Song Dynasty recovered the Yanping region, some Liao people still retain a deep-seated affection for the Liao Dynasty. Families who have lived and thrived on Liao soil for generations, including many Han Chinese from Liao, still have old Liao-style wind chimes hanging from their eaves, which still jingle in the wind. Elders still tell children Liao legends. This sense of belonging etched in their blood makes them hope for the day when the Liao Dynasty will be restored, or even for a day when they can return to Liao rule, especially those Liao people who lived well under Liao rule but are now dissatisfied.

Now, the Song Dynasty's demand that the Jin Dynasty return the Liao capitals of Zhongjing, Dongjing, and Shangjing to the Liao Dynasty is like a timely rain falling into the parched hearts of some Liao people.

The Khitan people live amidst the clouds and sands, their carriages flowing like water, their horses like dragons. In spring, the grass stretches for ten thousand miles, peonies and young peonies bloom red in profusion. The elder Khitan leads the carriage, the younger Khitan dances, and Khitan women play the pipa and tune their music…

Many Liao people, especially the Khitans among them, were repeatedly singing the "Khitan Song" in the streets and alleys, reminiscing about the desert scenery, the endless spring grass, the blooming flowers, and the Khitans singing and dancing in groups, exuding a carefree and joyful atmosphere, as well as their hunting scenes and their brave and martial spirit...

Some Liao people naively believed that with the help of the Song Dynasty, there was hope for the restoration of the Liao state. As a result, their resistance to wearing Song clothes and following Song customs lessened, and they even smiled more when they saw Song officials, as if they could see the Liao flag being planted again on the walls of their old capital in a little while.

However, the insightful people of Liao were very clear that the Song Dynasty's offer to return Liao's Zhongjing, Dongjing, and Shangjing to Jin was not to help Liao restore its kingdom. Rather, it was to establish a buffer zone between Liao and Jin by supporting Liao, intending to continuously bleed Jin dry so that Jin would never become a threat to Song. Just as Liao used Western Xia to contain Song in the past, Song was now merely following suit, making Liao a pawn in the process of containing Jin.

The Liao Dynasty was on the verge of destruction by the Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty enslaved Liao men, abducted Liao women, and desecrated Liao graves, committing all sorts of atrocities against the Liao people. The Liao people hated the Jin people to the core. Furthermore, the Liao Dynasty could not restore its kingdom without defeating the Jin Dynasty. Therefore, whether from the perspective of survival, emotions, or irreconcilable contradictions, the Liao Dynasty had to rely on the Song Dynasty and fight the Jin Dynasty to the death.

At that time, the Song Dynasty can sit back and watch the Liao and Jin dynasties fight, and reap the benefits.

Even this was just wishful thinking for the Liao people.

Frankly speaking, since the rise of the Jurchens, the Liao army had never won a decent battle. They suffered defeat after defeat, from north to south, from east to west. Even when the Liao dynasty was on the verge of being destroyed by the Jin, and the Liao army fought with desperate measures, they still couldn't defeat the Jin army. Especially the two major defeats recently suffered by Yelü Chun's Liao army, which almost wiped out the last vestiges of the Liao dynasty's strength.

If it weren't for the Song army leading the Liao army to defeat the Jin army, the Liao state would have been completely destroyed by the Jin state.

Given the Liao army's lackluster combat performance, it was barely better than nothing for the Song Dynasty. Emperor Wanyan of the Song Dynasty could choose to personally take control of the area from the Great Wall to Liao Zhongjing and make contact with the Jin Dynasty, which had already been terrified of the Song Dynasty.

If that were the case, the Song Dynasty would be able to control the situation more directly, without having to worry about supporting the Liao Dynasty, which was incapable of being helped, thus reducing the variables and risks brought about by intermediate links, and therefore no longer needing to worry that the Liao Dynasty would become a future threat.

In fact, there are already such voices in the Song Dynasty. They believe that the remnants of Liao have no value in being supported, and that the Jin Dynasty is also afraid of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty can deal with the Jin Dynasty on its own.

Some even more radicals believed that the Song Dynasty could directly send troops to annihilate the Jin Dynasty and completely control the Northeast.

If things really develop in this direction, the remnants of Liao, led by Yelü Aoluwo, will undoubtedly be plunged into an unprecedented predicament, and may even become a pawn to be abandoned.

Yelü Aoluwo felt as if he were walking on thin ice, his heart filled with anxiety and unease. He found Xiao Sese and said timidly, "Empress Dowager, Zhongjing has been recovered. I wonder when Father Emperor will return Zhongjing to our Great Liao?"

Xiao Sese knew that Yelü Aoluwo's ​​current submissive demeanor was an act. Not only did she know this, but Zhao Yu and Xiao Puxian also knew it. In fact, everyone with a brain in both the Song and Liao dynasties knew that Yelü Aoluwo was biding his time and waiting for his revenge.

To be honest, as a mother, seeing her son have to suppress his true nature and endure hardship made Xiao Sese feel very bad.

On the other hand, the one who is controlling Yelü Aoluwo and all of this is Xiao Sese's current man, the father of Xiao Sese's other two sons and her fifth child in her womb.

This plunged Xiao Sese into an extremely complex emotional vortex, leaving her torn between two choices and filled with mixed feelings, especially when she looked at Yelü Aoluwo's ​​somewhat childish yet forcedly composed face.

'Ah Guo! You've truly committed a terrible sin, subjecting my son to such pain and suffering!!!'

Although he hated Yelü Yanxi, the culprit behind all this, what was the use of hating Yelü Yanxi now?

The situation is now as tangled as a knotted broth, impossible to untangle, and tracing back to the source is pointless.

Xiao Sese suppressed her heartache for Yelü Aoluwo and said, "His Majesty has no intention of taking Zhongjing yet. It is certainly not impossible to return Zhongjing to your Great Liao. However, if His Majesty returns Zhongjing to your Great Liao, can your Great Liao hold it?"

Yelü Aoluwo opened his mouth, as if to say that their Liao Kingdom would definitely be able to defend Liaozhongjing.

But no matter how hard he tried, Yelü Aoluwo couldn't bring himself to say it.

The Liao army now has less than 50,000 to 70,000 men left.

With only 50,000 to 70,000 men, all of them were frightened birds who had suffered defeat after defeat, and could only rely on the Song army to bully them.

If Zhao Yu really returned Liaozhongjing to the Liao Kingdom, could the Liao army of fifty to seventy thousand men, who had been terrified by the Jin army, really defend Liaozhongjing?
Moreover, even Yelü Aoluwo knew that Wanyan Aguda had been defeated by Zhao Yu one after another and now needed merit to save his political life. Recapturing Liaozhongjing and promoting it well might help Wanyan Aguda hold his own for a while.

Seeing that Yelü Aoluwo had figured out the key point, Xiao Sese said, "I ask Your Majesty to return Zhongjing to the Liao Dynasty, or even to send you to guard Zhongjing. It is not that I cannot mediate, but if I grant your wish, it may be harmful to both you and the Liao Dynasty."

Yelü Aoluwo was truly afraid that no sooner had the Song Dynasty returned Liaozhongjing to the Liao Kingdom than he would go there in high spirits to become the true emperor he had always dreamed of, only to have Liaozhongjing fall to the Jin army and he become a prisoner of Wanyan Aguda, helping Wanyan Aguda overcome this difficult ordeal.

Although such a possibility may exist, Yelü Aoluwo's ​​yearning for freedom, his expectation of restoring his country, and his urgent desire to break free from Zhao Yu's control still made him kneel down before Xiao Sese with a "thump." He cried and said, "For my Great Liao, I am willing to risk my life. Even if I die on the battlefield, I will have no regrets. I hope the Empress Dowager will intervene!"

Yelü Aoluwo's ​​tearful outburst struck Xiao Sese's heart like a hammer blow. In her eyes, Yelü Aoluwo, though young, already shouldered the heavy responsibility of the rise and fall of a nation. This weighty sense of responsibility made her feel both heartache and pride.

Xiao Sese took a deep breath, trying to calm her excited emotions, and slowly said, "Since you have such a ambition, how can I sit idly by? However, this matter is of utmost importance and requires careful consideration and meticulous planning."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in Yelü Aoluwo's ​​eyes. As if he had found a lifeline, he hurriedly said, "I will obey the Empress Dowager's every command!"

After agreeing to Yelü Aoluwo's ​​request, Xiao Sese did not go directly to Zhao Yu, but instead went to Xiao Puxiannu first and said to her, "Now that Zhongjing has been recovered, can our Great Liao be restored?"

Xiao Puxian said, "To think that you can restore the country after only gaining one capital is utterly absurd!"

Xiao Sese said calmly, "If we can go to Zhongjing to restore the country, I will follow your lead."

In reality, Xiao Sese was older than Xiao Puxian, but in order to fulfill Yelü Aoluwo's ​​wish, Xiao Sese was willing to become a concubine, allowing the ambitious Xiao Puxian to persuade Zhao Yu to let Yelü Aoluwo go to Liaozhongjing to become the real emperor of Liao.

Xiao Sese was right. Xiao Puxian did not believe that Yelü Aoluwo, the son of Yelü Yanxi, could save the Liao Kingdom. However, this did not prevent her from using this matter to compete with Wanyan Aguda as the Empress Dowager of Liao.

In other words, Xiao Puxian was not interested in helping Yelü Aoluwo go to Liaozhongjing, but she would be willing to give it a try if she were put in charge of Liaozhongjing.

Xiao Puxian looked at Xiao Sese and asked, "Is this true?"

Xiao Sese didn't mince words and immediately promised, "If we are able to go to Zhongjing, then you, sister, will make the decisions for us." The resolute and decisive Xiao Puxian didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: "In that case, we must not allow our Great Song to negotiate peace with the Jurchens."

Xiao Sese agreed. If the Song and Jin dynasties made peace, then the Liao dynasty would have no room to survive and no reason to exist.

Xiao Sese asked, "How can we stop the Emperor from negotiating peace with the Jurchens?"

Xiao Puxian smiled and said, "It's simple, only one person is needed."

Xiao Sese asked, "Who is it?"

Xiao Puxian said slowly, "Empress Aguda, of the Heshilie clan."

That night, through the mediation of Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese, Empress Qinxian of Wanyan Aguda, Consort De of Pusan, Consort Yuan of Wugulun, Consort Chong of Xiao, and Lady Dunuke, among other women, were sent to Zhao Yu's bed.

As for how Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese got Empress Qinxian, Heshilie, and other women to obey them, that was easy.

Don't forget, Tong Guan captured not only women from the Jin Kingdom this time, but also their children.

Using children to threaten mothers has always been effective.

Moreover, there were always aphrodisiacs in the palace that could make women obedient.

Historically, Zhao Fujiang was given this drug when he arrived at the Jin camp, which allowed Wanyan Zongwang to take advantage of him.

In short, under the manipulation of Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese, Zhao Yu ruined all of Wanyan Aguda's empress and concubines in just one night.

Someone might ask, did Zhao Yu really not know who he was sleeping with?
How can it be?

Who would dare to hide such a thing from Zhao Yu?

Do you really think that Zhao Yu's bedchamber ladies were just kept for nothing?

However, at that time, Empress Qinxian, of the Heshilie clan, and other women were already in bed and ready to offer themselves to her.

Crucially, as the emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Yu was irreconcilably opposed to the Jurchens. Given the atrocities committed by the Jurchens during the Jingkang Incident, no amount of revenge by Zhao Yu would be excessive.

Therefore, even though he knew that Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese had ulterior motives, Zhao Yu still "pretended to be confused" and slept with Empress Qinxian and other women.

— Zhao Yu not only slept with Empress Qinxian and other women, but that night, Zhao Yu's interest was exceptionally high. He not only played with all of Wanyan Aguda's women, but also with each of them more than once.

The next day, after Zhao Yu pulled up his pants, he summoned Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese and gave them a scolding. If they hadn't both been pregnant, Zhao Yu would have given them a good spanking.

Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese were obsequious and listened to whatever Zhao Yu said without daring to utter a single word in reply.

Since things had come to this, Zhao Yu simply ordered his men to select the women of high social standing and birth, as well as the one thousand most beautiful women from among the more than one hundred thousand Jin women, and add them to his harem.

Zhao Yu used the rest as rewards for meritorious soldiers.

Some soldiers who made great contributions even received more than one woman from the Jin Dynasty.

Seeing this, not only Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese, but all the other Liao people were relieved. They were all certain that Zhao Yu would not negotiate peace with the Jin Dynasty, and the two countries would fight to the bitter end until only one country remained.

It was against this backdrop that Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese approached Zhao Yu and proposed returning Liao Zhongjing to the Liao Kingdom, so that they could lead the remnants of Liao to stand on the front line for the Song Dynasty and let the Liao people shed their last drop of blood for the Song Dynasty.

They've been married for a long time, and Zhao Yu could tell just by the way Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese bent over.

Zhao Yu was somewhat tempted by this.

After so many blows, the Liao Dynasty was definitely doomed, unless it abandoned the Northeast like Yelü Dashi in history and headed west to develop in the Western Regions and Central Asia.

However, once things are settled in the Northeast, and once the trains in Ma Xiaojiao's area are improved further, mainly by increasing the strength of the rails, Zhao Yu will follow the path that Yelü Dashi took in history, incorporating the Western Regions and Central Asia into the territory of the Song Dynasty.

—Zhao Yu, who was well-versed in history, knew very well that this territory was practically handed to him for free. The key point was that Zhao Yu's son was growing up, and he needed to secure some fiefdoms for him.

Far away.

In short, the Liao Kingdom had no chance left.

In this situation, if Zhao Yu could make use of the remaining value of the remnants of Liao and reduce the investment of the Song Dynasty, why wouldn't he be happy to do so?
As for letting Yelü Aoluwo go to Liaozhongjing, could it be like letting a tiger return to the mountain?

how is this possible.

Putting aside the fact that, through his observations over this period of time, Zhao Yu had already determined that Yelü Aoluwo was not an outstanding ruler and posed no threat to him whatsoever.

It is said that even if Yelü Aoluwo were sent to Liaozhongjing, Zhao Yu would never let him escape his control; he would still be nothing more than a puppet.

The only difference is that sending Yelü Aoluwo to the Liao capital could give those who remained loyal to the Liao a glimmer of hope, making them willing to risk their lives for the Song Dynasty even without pay.

Furthermore, a ruler's word is law. Since Zhao Yu had promised to give the remnants of Liao a chance, how could he go back on his word unless absolutely necessary?

Therefore, through the mediation of Xiao Puxian and Xiao Sese, Zhao Yu agreed to return Liao Zhongjing to the Liao Kingdom, and even promised to let Xiao Puxian, Xiao Sese, and Yelü Aoluwo lead the Liao Kingdom's small court to Liao Zhongjing to establish the capital, making grand promises to the Liao people.

At the same time, Zhao Yu ordered the Song army to retreat and rest, leaving the main battlefield to the Liao army.

Before the Liao court headed north, Zhao Yu said to Yelü Aoluwo and his ministers, "I have given you this opportunity. If you still cannot restore your country this time, then don't blame me for acting in the best interests of the people."

Even without Zhao Yu's prompting, all the Liao people, including Yelü Aoluwo, felt that if they couldn't restore their kingdom, then the Liao dynasty should perish. They should abandon their unrealistic fantasies and honestly become Song citizens to start a new life...

……

(End of this chapter)