The prince is more stable

Chapter 469 Rescue Susu
Putting aside Xiao Wuna's identity as a spy, from an objective and fair perspective, he also felt that Su Shi should not be killed.

Su Shi was a famous writer in the Song Dynasty and had a very high status in the literary world. His students, old friends and supporters were all over the world. If the Liao Dynasty killed Su Shi, the consequences might be more serious than Yelu Hongji imagined.

Besides, in the Song-Liao War, the Liao Kingdom was already at a disadvantage. The fact that it lost both battles showed that the Liao Kingdom was in decline and no longer as powerful as it used to be. Under such circumstances, if the Song envoy was killed, the two countries would really become mortal enemies, the kind that would fight to the death.

It is extremely irrational for an emperor to vent his anger and kill people because of personal emotions.

Xiao Wuna's suggestion was very pertinent, and he was indeed speaking from the perspective of the Liao Kingdom.

Unfortunately, Yelu Hongji was already blinded by anger at this time and did not agree with Xiao Wuna's suggestion.

"If I don't kill the Song envoy, will there be any room for maneuver between Liao and Song? They've already occupied over 400 li of Liao territory, and are currently resting their troops at the Juma River. I don't know when they'll send their troops north again. If I let the Song envoy go, will Zhao Xiaoqian withdraw his troops and return the land to me?"

Seeing that Yelu Hongji seemed determined to kill, Xiao Wuna could not help but advise again, "Your Majesty may not know that Zhao Xiaoqian and the Song envoy Su Shi had a very good personal relationship and could be considered a close friend. If Su Shi died in Shangjing today, I wonder how Zhao Xiaoqian would react."

Yelu Hongji narrowed his eyes and asked, "Zhao Xiaoqian and Su Shi have a very good personal relationship?"

Xiao Wuna smiled and said, "Zhao Xiaoqian was a man of both civil and military talents. He was not only able to manufacture firearms and lead troops in battle, but his poetry rivaled that of Su Shi. The people of the Song Dynasty gave him the elegant nickname 'Zhao Banque'. He and Su Shi had a deep appreciation for each other and became close friends, a legend that was well-known in the capital of Song."

Yelu Hongji frowned. "So what? Even if Su Shi was killed by me, would Zhao Xiaoqian raise an army just because of his personal relationship with him? The soldiers under his command are from the Song court, not his personal soldiers."

Xiao Wuna sighed, "The Song Emperor has great trust in Zhao Xiaoqian, especially since he has already won two battles against the Liao Kingdom. The Emperor's trust in him has reached its utmost. If he wants to raise an army, the Song Emperor will not object."

"The consequences of killing Su Shi are too serious. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider."

Yelu Hongji's brows deepened. He was very dissatisfied with Xiao Wuna's advice today. The murderous intent of the emperor was not easy to eliminate. Xiao Wuna tried his best to stop his murderous intent, which made Yelu Hongji very unhappy.

Yelu Hongji then looked at Yelu Wutera and asked, "What do you say?"

Yelu Wute La and Su Shi had a long-standing romantic relationship, and upon hearing this, he immediately said, "I think Su Shi should be killed!"

"Given the current situation between Liao and Song, whether Su Shi lives or dies, it won't change the status quo. Since it doesn't matter whether he lives or dies, then it's better to let him die."

Yelu Otera narrowed his eyes and sneered at Xiao Wuna, "Xiao Dushi, you're just making excuses for the Song people today, as if you're afraid of the Song court. Fighting the Jurchens in the northeast for several years, have you become less courageous? Haha!"

Xiao Wuna's face was calm, and he said calmly, "I am only making honest suggestions. If Your Majesty does not accept my advice, then it will be as if I said nothing."

Yelu Hongji nodded and said, "What Otera said makes sense. Whether Su Shi lives or dies is actually irrelevant to the overall situation. In this case, it is better to let him die."

"Foreign envoys dared to spread rumors and incite rebellion in the capital. If I forgive them in this case, will I also forgive others if they follow their example in the future?"

After a moment's contemplation, Yelu Hongji said coldly, "Wotela, tonight you will personally lead 500 imperial guards to burn down the inn. The city defense troops will have to wait for a while to put out the fire. Burn the inn clean first."

"Early tomorrow morning, announce to the public that the inn has been flooded and rescue efforts have been delayed, resulting in the death of the Song envoy. Send a personal letter from me to the Song court, expressing the Liao Dynasty's deepest sorrow and apology..."

Yelu Hongji paused, the murderous intent in his eyes growing stronger, and he said coldly: "In short, Su Shi must die!"

Yelu Otera accepted the order excitedly.

Xiao Wuna sighed secretly beside him.

Good advice cannot persuade a damned ghost. As a minister of Liao, the advice just given was truly on the side of Liao. However, Yelu Hongji was stubborn and refused to listen, and Xiao Wuna's last bit of good will towards Liao was thus cut off.

My ancestors and emperors of the Liao Dynasty, I have really tried my best, but Your Majesty does not accept my advice. What can I do?
So, don’t blame me for turning to the Song Dynasty. The Liao Kingdom really has no hope!

After Xiao Wuna calmed down and forgave himself, his expression immediately brightened up, and he showed a smile that no one could understand.

The process of transforming from a traitor to Liao forced by the situation to a die-hard traitor to Liao was so smooth and natural.

…………

Zhen Qing received a secret letter.

The secret letter was sent by Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xiaoqian reminded him that the matter was of great importance, so the knight who was delivering the letter ran for thousands of miles in three days, and finally delivered the secret letter to Zhen Qing.

The moment the secret letter was handed over, the messenger almost died, and Zhen Qing's eyelids twitched violently.

It is definitely not a trivial matter for His Royal Highness to attach so much importance to it.

So without bothering to arrange for the messenger, Zhen Qing hurriedly opened the letter.

There were two secret letters, one was to Zhen Qing, telling Zhen Qing to protect Su Shi at all costs, even if it meant exposing some of the Imperial City Bureau's spies.

The other letter was addressed to Su Shi, sealed with wax, and Zhen Qing did not dare to open it.

But from the letter sent to him by His Royal Highness the Prince, Zhen Qing had already realized the seriousness of the matter. Thinking of Su Shi's lectures and debates in public today, and the expression on Su Shi's face yesterday when he was beaten out of the palace, Zhen Qing's heart skipped a beat and he felt more and more uneasy.

Zhen Qing was a merchant in Shangjing, specifically a grain merchant. He had three grain shops in the city's bustling district, and most of the employees there were also subordinates of the Imperial City Administration. So Zhen Qing immediately called a few employees, closed the shops, and hurried to the inn.

When he rushed to the inn, he found that Su Shi had not returned. Zhen Qing became anxious. From Zhao Xiaoqian's letter, he had already sensed the Liao Kingdom's strong murderous intention against Su Shi.

After finding nothing at the inn, Zhen Qing and his men were about to go to the place where Su Shi was giving lectures. When they reached the door of the inn, Zhen Qing suddenly noticed that there was a group of sneaky people around the inn.

These people pretended to be mobile vendors, idlers chatting on the steps, businessmen greeting each other, etc.

It was a good imitation, but what was Zhen Qing's profession? He was a master in this field and could tell immediately that these people were not on the right track.

My heart suddenly sank. The inn where Su Shi lived had been targeted by the Liao people!

Zhen Qing was about to step out of the inn when he immediately retracted his foot. He casually pulled over a passerby and started chatting with him intimately, arm in arm, while walking towards the backyard of the inn.

An hour later, it was almost dusk and Zhen Qing became more and more anxious. He was not sure whether the Liao people would attack Su Shi, but from all the signs today, the Liao people were probably unable to hold back any longer.

Finally, when it was time to light the lamps, Su Shi came back with staggering steps, humming an unknown Jiangnan tune. It was obvious that he had drunk a lot after giving the lecture, and that was why he came back late.

Zhen Qing and his men were lying in ambush outside Su Shi's house in the backyard of the inn. When Zhen Qing saw Su Shi finally return, he almost cried.

Boss, your life is related to my future, you can’t be in any danger!

Looking around, he found that there was no one nearby. After all, the Liao people did not dare to act too blatantly, and they had not had time to deploy spies in the inn.

So Zhen Qing called his servants to come forward, suddenly grabbed the swaying Su Shi, and held his arms on the left and right.

Su Shi was startled and immediately sobered up a little. He shouted in a deep voice, "Who is so rude?"

Zhen Qing whispered, "Master Su, please be quiet. This is Zhen Qing."

Su Shi felt relieved and asked, "Why are you so sneaky?"

Zhen Qing sighed, "Master Su is truly tolerant. You are in great danger. If nothing unexpected happens, the Liao ruler is probably ready to kill you and strike at any moment."

Su Shi's eyes lit up and he sneered, "I'm just afraid he won't take action! What should I be afraid of?"

Zhen Qing sighed again. Are all you intellectuals so open-minded about your own fate?
Stop playing around, boss. You can risk your life, but if I don't follow the orders of His Royal Highness the Prince, I might end up being buried with you.

Zhen Qing didn't waste any words and didn't argue with Su Shi about topics like "sacrifice one's life for righteousness". He was not qualified to argue with Su Shi.

So Zhen Qing took out the secret letter written by Zhao Xiaoqian to Su Shi.

The seal of the secret letter was branded with sealing wax. Su Shi opened it with suspicion and read it carefully in the dim light of the lantern in the backyard. Then Su Shi's expression suddenly became dull.

"Can't send troops?" Su Shi muttered to himself, his expression complicated. "We defeated the Liao army at Juma River again, annihilating over 20,000 enemies. Now they're stationed at Feihu Bingma Division. The royal army is resting, so why not fight again?"

Su Shi was delighted, then saddened. He smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "I thought sacrificing my life for justice would give the Song Dynasty a reason to send troops. I never expected the situation on the Song-Liao border to be like this. I blame myself for knowing too little about military and national affairs. I'm so shallow after all!"

Zhen Qing leaned over and whispered, "Master Su, your situation is dire. There are many Liao spies outside the inn today, all trying to keep an eye on you. If my prediction is correct, the Liao will probably attack you either tonight or tomorrow."

After reading Zhao Xiaoqian's secret letter, Su Shi understood the current situation of the Song and Liao armies. He knew that it was meaningless to follow the example of the Han envoy and sacrifice himself for battle.

Even if he was killed by the Liao people, Zhao Xiaoqian could not send troops. The only good news was that the Song Dynasty had seized the Feihu Bingmasi, and its territory had increased by more than 400 miles.

Besides being very happy, Su Shi no longer insisted on dying.

Since there is no need for this, there is no point in dying. Wouldn't it be stupid to still seek death?

But the slap of reality finally hit him hard in the face. After Su Shi changed his mind, he looked a little helpless.

"What should I do? I have aroused the murderous intention of the Liao Emperor. Before, I was not afraid, after all, I was seeking death. Now..." Su Shi looked embarrassed and stroked his beard to hide his embarrassment.

Zhen Qing was about to cry again.

Boss, you finally stopped committing suicide!

Seeing Zhen Qing's complicated expression, Su Shi felt even more embarrassed. He asked nervously, "If you can't save me from this predicament, why don't I... die? I can't let you down."

Zhen Qing stamped his feet and said, "Master Su, there's no need for polite conversation at this moment. The inn is under surveillance. I dare to ask Master Su to disguise himself and follow me over the backyard wall."

"Then what? If the Liao people find out that I have run away, they will definitely search the whole city for me. Is there any way to get me out of the city?" Su Shi asked.

Zhen Qing sighed, "Let's escape from the inn first. I have a house in Shangjing with a secret room dug underground. Scholar Su will be forced to hide in the secret room for the time being, and we can plan to leave the city later."

(End of this chapter)