The prince is more stable

Chapter 490 The incident came to light
Zhao Xiaoqian caught the brief moment of sadness on Ge Laozhang's face.

Only then did he realize that he had spoken out of turn.

I remember when I first met Mr. Ge, he said that he was an elderly widower in the village and he was the only one left in the family. His wife had died of illness early in life, his son joined the Xiang army and died on the battlefield when the Liao army attacked the border. In such a good family, he was the only one left alive.

So when they first met, facing Zhao Xiaoqian's various questions, the other villagers did not dare to speak, but Ge Laozhang dared to speak frankly, because he was not afraid of implicating his family at all, and also because he had despaired of life.

With a hint of apology in his eyes, Zhao Xiaoqian forced a smile and said, "No matter what, relocating people and distributing land is a great joyous event. I can be considered to have a connection with Mr. Ge..."

"After you migrate and receive your share of land, I'll give you two oxen, one male and one female, as a token of my appreciation. I also wish you a happy and blissful life for the rest of your life, perhaps another twenty years. How do you think?"

Mr. Ge said in a panic, "I dare not, I dare not. I have come to your house today to thank you for your kindness, not to ask for favors. Please don't misunderstand me."

"I know you're not asking for favors, but there's nothing wrong with me helping an old friend personally. Consider it a good deed for me and help me accumulate some merit. How about that?"

Old Man Ge shook his head repeatedly and refused firmly. His weathered face flushed red, and he was obviously reluctant to accept Zhao Xiaoqian's gift.

Zhao Xiaoqian and Niao Niao looked at each other quickly and decided not to mention the matter for the time being.

But Zhao Xiaoqian still made a secret decision and asked Niao Niao to keep an eye on the news about Ge Laozhang. Once he learned that he had been allocated land, he would send the oxen over and leave without accepting them.

I chatted with Mr. Ge for a while until dusk, when he got up to say goodbye.

Zhao Xiaoqian and Niao Niao wanted him to stay in their house, but Ge Laozhang refused in panic and refused to stay even if he was beaten to death, and insisted on leaving.

After repeated attempts to persuade him to stay failed, Zhao Xiaoqian also knew that the lower-class people had awe of their class and understood his feelings, so he didn't force him to stay.

So Zhao Xiaoqian asked Niao Niao to get a bag of fine noodles, some chickens, ducks and other food from the kitchen, and secretly stuffed twenty taels of silver into Ge Laozhang's package.

Mr. Ge couldn't refuse, so he had to say goodbye with many thanks and left with a grateful bow.

Zhao Xiaoqian and Niao Niao stood outside the door and watched Ge Laozhang leave. Only when his figure disappeared at the end of the street did Niao Niao take his arm.

"Your Excellency is so kindhearted, you don't look like a powerful noble at all. If all the officials in the Song Dynasty were as kind as your Excellency, loving the people like their own children, it would be wonderful. The Song Dynasty would probably not be in the state it is in now."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed, "It's not that I love the people like my own children. I just think Mr. Ge is very simple and honest. In him, I see the shadow of most of the people in the world."

"They have suffered hardships for generations, yet they have remained steadfast in their duty to be kind. Officials and dignitaries with a true conscience would not be too cruel or harsh to such people."

…………

Liao Dynasty, Shangjing Imperial Palace.

Yelu Chun and Yelu Yanxi knelt side by side in front of Yelu Hongji, with their heads lowered and their lips pursed, remaining silent. Their faces were frighteningly pale.

Yelu Hongji's eyes were cold at this moment, and he looked at the two of them as if he was a bloodthirsty wolf, sizing up the weak parts of its prey and considering where to start biting.

Although Yelu Chun and Yelu Yanxi lowered their heads, they could still feel Yelu Hongji's cold eyes sweeping over them. They couldn't help but tremble all over, their faces ashen.

Some things are destined to be revealed.

Yelu Hongji may not be a wise ruler, but he is definitely not confused.

The fact that Yelu Yanxi was captured by the Song army was finally revealed.

The incident was not accidental, Yelu Hongji had already harbored suspicions.

It was mainly about the Feihu Bingmasi. Originally, the Liao Dynasty's monarch and ministers had made a decision. The Song army was too powerful and difficult to defeat with firearms. In order to preserve its strength, the Liao Dynasty had no choice but to abandon the Feihu Bingmasi and retreat to the north bank of the Juma River, using the Juma River as a barrier and shrinking to establish a new line of defense.

This was a secret order from Yelu Hongji to Yelu Chun, asking him to carry it out.

But Yelu Chun gave up the Feihu Bingmasi so smoothly and decisively that there was almost no resistance, and only a thousand cannon fodder were left in the Bingmasi.

Even Yelu Hongji knew that as a veteran of the battlefield, even if he withdrew his troops, he should have known to leave behind decoys or set ambushes and traps, which would at least cause some casualties to the enemy. He couldn't let the enemy take over the Feihu Bingmasi happily and peacefully, right?
However, the fact is that the Song army under Zhao Xiaoqian took over the Feihu Bingmasi in a swaggering and peaceful manner. Not only that, when the Liao army retreated, they did not even take away the people and merchants near the Bingmasi, leaving them to be killed, captured, looted, and enslaved by the Song army without warning.

What's even more outrageous is that Yelu Chun also ordered that 10,000 war horses be left in the Bingmasi, and then submitted a memorial to the emperor to report the loss, saying that there was no time to take the horses away. However, as far as Yelu Hongji knew, the Liao army had enough time to take these 10,000 war horses away when they retreated.

Needless to say, the Song army readily accepted these 10,000 war horses.

There were too many suspicious points, and it was impossible for Yelu Hongji to not have spies in the army. After these suspicious points were reported step by step, Yelu Hongji finally realized that something was wrong.

When we think back to the first defeat by the Song army, the Liao army was completely wiped out, and Yelu Chun escaped with dozens of personal guards. However, the memorials at that time did not mention the safety of Yelu Yanshi, the crown prince.

Various signs were exposed to Yelu Hongji's eyes, forcing him to have some bad thoughts, so he ordered a secret investigation.

There is no secret that can be kept secret forever, especially when the emperor wants to know the secret. Soon the results of the investigation came out, and Yelu Hongji almost fainted from anger.

What a shame!
The Liao Dynasty's crown prince had actually been captured by the Song army. In order to save the crown prince, Yelu Chun secretly contacted Zhao Xiaoqian without telling Shangjing. The two made a shameful deal in private. Yelu Chun paid a huge price to exchange Yelu Yanxi back.

Is this something that humans can do?

Yelu Hongji was already utterly broken-hearted at this moment, and his face felt numb, as if someone was slapping him in the face again and again with an invisible palm, from the burning pain to the gradual numbness and loss of feeling.

Standing in front of the two men, Yelu Hongji suddenly staggered and almost fell backwards. He held on to a corner of the table to support his trembling body.

"Your Majesty..." Yelu Yanxi was trembling all over. He wanted to stand up and support him, but he was too guilty to move.

Yelu Hongji seemed to have been drained of all his strength. He raised his hand with all his might, pointed at him, and waved.

"You, you come here, closer to me..." Yelu Hongji said with difficulty.

Yelu Yanxi knew what he was going to face next, so he gritted his teeth and crawled on his knees to get closer to Yelu Hongji.

His guess was correct. When he got closer, Yelu Hongji suddenly filled his body with strength, raised his hand and slapped him hard in the face.

With his other hand, he grabbed his collar and pulled him over with force, then slapped him again and again, making Yelu Yanxi scream in pain. However, Yelu Hongji still had a cold look in his eyes and kept slapping him.

Soon, Yelu Yanxi's cheeks were swollen, his eyes were filled with fear, and he became more and more panicked. He didn't even dare to beg for mercy.

After slapping him countless times, Yelu Hongji let him go, opened his mouth and gasped for breath, his face flushed unhealthily, but his eyes were still as violent as a bloodthirsty wolf.

Then Yelu Hongji's eyes quickly turned to Yelu Chun who was kneeling with his head down not far away, and his eyes were once again filled with hostility.

"You, come here." Yelu Hongji waved to Yelu Chun, his tone frighteningly calm.

Yelu Chun trembled all over, but he knelt down in front of him obediently, without saying a word, closing his eyes and moving forward.

Yelu Hongji raised his hand and continued to slap, again and again. Yelu Chun's cheeks also swelled up, but his performance was much better than Yelu Yanxi. Even though it was in great pain, Yelu Chun remained silent and did not dodge. He closed his eyes with an expression of resignation and desire for death.

Yelu Hongji just slapped her with a ferocious look on his face, without any scolding, accusation or cursing.

Everyone was not stupid and knew very well what a great shame and humiliation it was that the Crown Prince was captured. Any accusations or scolding were pale and powerless in the face of the nature of the matter. Only a slap in the face could slightly ease Yelu Hongji's anger.

After fanning for an unknown amount of time, Yelu Hongji finally ran out of strength and put down his arms, panting heavily.

Yelu Chun was slapped so hard that he was on the verge of collapse and almost fainted. His cheeks were swollen and he had lost consciousness, but he still gritted his teeth and held on.

The three people in the hall were silent. After a long time, Yelu Hongji finally caught his breath, his eyes still sinister.

"This matter must not be known to anyone, anyone! If one more person knows about it, he will be killed!" Yelu Hongji said gloomily.

Yelu Yanxi was stunned when he heard this, then he was overjoyed and tears couldn't stop flowing.

Yelu Hongji ordered it to be kept secret, as the amount of information was huge.

This means that Yelu Hongji will not depose him as the crown prince for the time being, which means that the future monarch of the Liao Dynasty may still be Yelu Yanshi. Even though this shameful incident happened, Yelu Hongji still decided not to depose the crown prince, so this matter must be kept secret.

Yelu Hongji had no choice but to blame himself for not trying hard to have sex when he was young. As a result, he only had one son when he was old, and his only son was killed by the conspiracy of treacherous officials.

Yelu Yanxi was the only son of his only son, which means that this pair of grandfather and grandson were the only ones left in the orthodox royal family of the Liao Dynasty.

So, can this crown prince be deposed?

If he was deposed, Yelu Hongji would have to appoint someone else as the crown prince, which would be equivalent to handing over the Liao Dynasty to an outsider.

Yelu Hongji was helpless and powerless. If he had any other choice, he would have issued an order to depose Yelu Yanxi on the spot.

But who can blame Yelu Yanxi for being the only one left in the Liao royal family among thousands of acres of land?

Yelu Hongji was overwhelmed with emotions at this moment. Various emotions were intertwined in his mind: anger, shame, sadness, helplessness...

In the end, all my thoughts were replaced by a single word: "Forget it."

This matter must be kept secret as if it never happened. The future king of Liao will never allow even the slightest stain to appear.

(End of this chapter)