The prince is more stable

Chapter 448: Offensive and Defensive Battle
Yelu Zhong left with a lot of anger.

If the Crown Prince was not in the hands of the Song people and Yelu Chun was not under their control, based on Zhao Xiaoqian's attitude and harsh conditions in the negotiations today, Yelu Zhong would have turned the table over long ago with his temper.

Unfortunately, Yelu Chun had been very kind to him, and he was also very clear that Yelu Chun's current situation was very dangerous.

Defeat was a crime, but not a capital one. The more serious issue was the capture of the Crown Prince, which was a matter of life and death for Yelü Chun.

In any case, today's negotiations have produced results. It was basically a unilateral massacre. Zhao Xiaoqian gained a great advantage, while Yelu Chun saved his life.

All that remains is the handover between the two parties.

Yelu Chun offered the Feihu Military Command, and Zhao Xiaoqian gave away the Crown Prince.

Yelu Chun sold out his country very decisively. He gave away such an important strategic location without any guilt or pressure.

Don't underestimate a person's desire to survive. When a person is on the verge of life and death, any bottom line can be lowered infinitely as long as he can survive.

Yelu Chun has enjoyed a life of luxury since childhood, and he does have some abilities. As long as he can get through this crisis safely, he may be able to get his revenge if he regroups in the future.

How can such a person bear to die?
The Feihu Army is just a dead thing, how can it be more important than your own life?

As for the 10,000 war horses that Zhao Xiaoqian wanted, this was not difficult. There were many in the Feihu Bingma Division. When Yelu Chun withdrew the garrison, he left 10,000 horses for Zhao Xiaoqian.

After seeing Yelu Zhong off, Zhao Xiaoqian was in a good mood and turned around and went back to the house.

"Niao Niao, let's have an extra meal tonight. Heat up another pot of rice wine. How about you sing and dance for me while I drink? I want to see the naked folk dance..."

…………

Liao Dynasty, Shangjing.

The news of the defeat reached the Liao imperial palace.

It was early spring and the weather was still cold. Yelu Hongji caught a cold and had a high fever these days.

However, the news was too important, and the palace servants dared not not report it. They bravely delivered Yelu Chun's memorial. Yelu Hongji glanced at it sickly, then suddenly opened his eyes wide and jumped up from the bed. He was very agile and there was no sign of illness at all.

"Defeated? Forty thousand Liao troops, no, plus the ten thousand garrisons on the border, a total of fifty thousand soldiers were wiped out?" Yelu Hongji's expression was extremely ugly. His sickly pale face turned ashen and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

"Yelu Chun, you deserve to die!" Yelu Hongji shouted angrily while looking outside the hall.

All the palace maids in the hall fell to the ground in fear.

Yelu Hongji felt dizzy and almost fell down, but the palace maid next to him was quick to support him.

Yelu Hongji pushed the palace maid away and looked at the memorial with a gloomy face. The more he read, the angrier he became.

He had caught a cold and was running a fever, but for some reason, the high fever subsided and Yelu Hongji calmed down.

"Call the Northern Court Privy Councilor Yelu Wutera and the Capital Palace Envoy Xiao Wuna to the palace to discuss matters immediately!" Yelu Hongji said with a serious face.

The palace maid hurried out of the palace to convey the imperial edict. Yelu Hongji read the memorial several times and suddenly felt that something was wrong.

In his memorial, Yelu Chun described in detail the reasons and process of the defeat, and deliberately described the power of the Song army's firearms, saying that even if there were tens of thousands of Liao cavalry, they would be invincible.

However, Yelu Chun did not mention the Crown Prince Yelu Yanxi in his memorial, which is a bit strange. After the defeat, he fled with the emperor. Did Yelu Yanxi flee with the emperor, or was he lost in the chaos? There must be an explanation in the memorial.

After confirming that the Crown Prince was not mentioned in the memorial, Yelu Hongji became anxious, not knowing whether Yelu Chun had accidentally overlooked it or something had happened to the Crown Prince.

Not long after, Yelu Otera and Xiao Wuna hurried over.

Yelu Hongji said nothing with a cold face, and just threw Yelu Chun's memorial to the two of them.

When Yelu Wutera and Xiao Wuna picked it up and took a look, they immediately gasped and their faces became extremely ugly.

"Fifty thousand soldiers and horses were defeated? This... how is it possible!" Yelu Otera exclaimed in shock.

Xiao Wuna next to him didn't say a word. After reading the memorial, he respectfully picked it up with both hands, put it back on the table, and then silently stepped back a few steps.

Today, Xiao Wuna has been transferred. He is no longer the governor of Huanglong Prefecture and the commander-in-chief of the Northeast Road, but the "Capital Envoy". To put it bluntly, he is equivalent to Yelu Hongji's close adviser on state affairs and think tank.

The reason for his transfer was that Xiao Wuna had indeed made outstanding military achievements. He served as the commander-in-chief of the Northeast Road for many years. He strongly suppressed the Jurchen tribes in the northeast for the Liao court and suppressed many riots and rebellions by the Jurchens, which earned him the admiration of Yelu Hongji.

Secondly, Xiao Wuna received secret instructions from Zhao Xiaoqian to return to the center of power in the Liao Dynasty's Shangjing court as soon as possible.

In addition, the Xiao family secretly engaged in snow salt business with the Chu Palace of the Song Dynasty. The Xiao family made a lot of money in the past year, spent a lot of money in the court, and often gave Yelu Hongji some valuable little gifts and small thoughts. As a result, Jian was in the emperor's favor.

So at the end of last year, Xiao Wuna was finally transferred back to Shangjing and stayed with Yelu Hongji to serve him. Yelu Hongji particularly valued his talents and discussed state affairs with him.

When Yelu Chun was defeated, Yelu Hongji summoned Yelu Wutera and Xiao Wuna immediately, which shows that Yelu Hongji really valued Xiao Wuna.

In front of the two, Yelu Hongji flew into a rage, cursing Yelu Chun and threatening to have him executed. Yelu Wutera agreed without hesitation. The once invincible Liao army had been completely annihilated by Yelu Chun, a humiliation that had plagued the Liao Dynasty since its founding. Such a person did not deserve to live.

The king and his minister cursed each other happily, but Xiao Wuna stood by without saying a word.

There's no way to get involved in this kind of thing. Two people with the surname Yelu want to sentence another person with the surname Yelu to death. You are all royal family members. Fighting behind closed doors is a family matter. What can I, a person with the surname Xiao, say?
It is easy to offend people by saying good things or bad things, so I just keep quiet.

After a long time, the two finally had enough of cursing. Yelu Hongji gasped for breath and found that his head was clear and his eyes were bright, and his body was as light as a swallow. The cold that had plagued him for many days was cured without any medicine.

"Xiao Wuna, what do you think?" Yelu Hongji looked at Xiao Wuna who was silent on the side.

Xiao Wuna bowed and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I think the important thing now is not whether to punish the criminals or not, but how to prevent the Song army from advancing north."

Yelu Hongji's face turned pale with anger: "The Song army is advancing north?"

"Yes, the Song army is riding on the momentum of a great victory, coupled with their powerful firearms and the unyielding character of Zhao Xiaoqian, the leader of the Song State. I believe that Zhao Xiaoqian will inevitably lead his army north."

Yelu Hongji and Yelu Wutera looked at each other, and their expressions suddenly became solemn.

They knew very well that what Xiao Wuna said made sense and that Zhao Xiaoqian might really lead his army north.

The hall was silent for a long moment. Yelu Hongji said gloomily, "Is it true that the Liao Dynasty is unable to deal with the Song army's firearms? Are their firearms really that powerful?"

Xiao Wuna said, "Your Majesty, Yelu Chun is a veteran commander with many years of experience in commanding troops. I believe his strategy and tactics were sound in this defeat, but facing the Song army's firearms, they can't win. Even gods can't do anything about it."

"I don't think Yelu Chun was responsible for the defeat. It was simply because the Song army was too powerful."

"Your Majesty, I have to admit that the situation between Song and Liao is changing now." Xiao Wuna said helplessly.

Yelu Hongji clenched his teeth and said nothing.

No one is stupid. Some facts have actually been discovered by everyone long ago, but no one has the courage to admit it, or no one has the courage to admit it, or they are deceiving themselves and are still immersed in the dream of invincible hegemony in the past. They never thought that the Song State in the south had quietly caught up with, surpassed, and finally crushed them militarily.

Thinking of this, Yelu Hongji felt less hatred towards Yelu Chun.

Xiao Wuna was right. The enemy was too powerful and could not be defeated, no matter who led the troops. Yelu Chun was somewhat blamed for his defeat.

"If Zhao Xiaoqian really leads the Song army northward, how can our Liao Dynasty resist him?" Yelu Hongji said in a deep voice.

Xiao Wuna still kept his head down and said nothing, glancing at Yelu Otera casually.

Yelu Wutera was a rough man to begin with. Seeing this, he stamped his foot fiercely. "Xiao, if you have an idea, just say it now. Why are you looking at me? It's such a late hour and you're still trying to be humble like the Song people. Bah! Hypocrisy!"

Xiao Wuna smiled and said, "You are the Privy Councilor of the Northern Court. Of course, you make the decisions on the Liao military affairs."

Yelu Hongji waved his hand and said, "Xiao Wuna, don't worry, just say what you want to say."

Xiao Wuna sighed and said, "My words were a little disrespectful, Your Majesty, please forgive me."

"You can tell me what you want, I won't blame you."

"After this battle between Song and Liao, the Liao has been defeated. Your Majesty, we can no longer look at the Song with the same old eyes. Whether we admit it or not, the Song's military strength has indeed begun to grow stronger."

"After this defeat, the Liao should no longer think of revenge. Instead, we should shrink our defenses to the south, learn from our mistakes, find the weaknesses of the Song army's firearms, secretly strengthen our forces, and finally think of revenge."

Yelu Hongji's face looked a little ugly, but he didn't say anything.

Xiao Wuna's words were indeed harsh. He actually suggested that the Liao Dynasty shrink its defense line. When had the Liao Dynasty ever been so cowardly?

But when I calmed down and thought about it, Xiao Wuna's words did make sense.

If the Liao army of 50,000 was completely wiped out, would they send another 100,000 or 200,000 to seek revenge? The Song army's firearms were so powerful that if they could easily wipe out 50,000, why couldn't they also wipe out 100,000 or 200,000?

If the strength of the Song army was underestimated again, and the next 100,000 or 200,000 soldiers were lost on the battlefield, it could be said that the Liao Kingdom was only a step away from destruction. This was related to the fate of the country, and it was indeed not possible to easily decide to raise an army for revenge.

You have to endure this even if you can't bear it.

"What does it mean to shrink the defense line in the south..." Yelu Hongji had to ask.

Xiao Wuna lowered his head and said, "I believe that if the Song army intends to advance north, their next target will certainly be the Feihu Military Commission. The Military Commission has over 30,000 troops stationed there. While seemingly formidable, I believe they are still no match for the Song army. If these 30,000-strong garrison engage the Song army, they will inevitably suffer a crushing defeat."

"Rather than sending our soldiers to their deaths in vain, it is better to withdraw our troops and station them on the north bank of the Juma River and the Yishui River, confronting the Song army across the water. From now on, the borders of the Liao Dynasty will be confined to the north bank of the Juma River."

Yelu Otera said angrily, "You mean you don't want the Feihu Military Command anymore? You also don't want the four hundred plus acres of land south of Feihu?"

Xiao Wuna smiled and said, "If you want to defend this land, you can go to war with the Song army. But given the current situation between the two armies, who would dare to take such a risk? Who would dare to lead the troops to fight?"

"Your Majesty, the Liao has already lost 50,000 soldiers. If we are defeated again, our country will be in jeopardy. We know nothing about the enemy's strengths and weaknesses. Blindly charging forward in droves, sacrificing lives, is unwise."

(End of this chapter)