The prince is more stable

Chapter 662 Agreement and Harmony
After suffering repeated heavy blows, Emperor Yelü Hongji of Liao once again vomited blood and fell into a coma, plunging the Liao court into chaos.

The imperial physicians rushed to treat Yelü Hongji that day, and it wasn't until nightfall that Yelü Hongji woke up, but he was no longer able to speak.

Grandson Yelü Yanxi and his ministers had been waiting outside the palace. After Yelü Hongji woke up, he weakly raised his finger and pointed at Yelü Yanxi before dismissing the crowd.

Knowing his intentions, Yelü Yanxi, amidst the chaos of war, assumed the responsibility of overseeing the country and continued to discuss state affairs with his ministers.

For the Liao Kingdom, the situation was becoming increasingly dire. Not only were Zhao Xiaoqian's troops from the Song Kingdom advancing aggressively, but the Jurchen tribes in the north were also rebelling and were on the verge of attacking the capital.

Caught between attacks from the north and south, the Liao Kingdom lost its composure and was unable to attend to both ends.

Among the ministers in the council, Xiao Wuna and Xiao Fengxian were also quite shocked.

The fact that the Song Dynasty and the Jurchen tribes joined forces to attack the Liao Dynasty was something neither of them had expected; Zhao Xiaoqian had not informed them beforehand at all.

But for the two who were already traitors to Liaodong, this was undoubtedly good news.

The grim situation weighed heavily on the Liao emperor and his ministers like a mountain pressing down on them. Yelü Hongji's original plan to fight the Song Dynasty to the death with more than 200,000 troops was also aborted due to the uprising of the Jurchen tribes.

These 200,000-plus Liao troops were temporarily drawn by Yelü Hongji from various tribes of the Liao state. In order to gather these troops, many places in the Liao state were already militarily depleted and were simply unable to suppress the Jurchen rebellion.

The Jurchen tribe, however, advanced with unstoppable momentum, advancing straight ahead. Despite having fewer than 10,000 troops, they were virtually unstoppable. Only now has the Liao Dynasty awakened from its dream and gained a completely new understanding of the Jurchen tribe's fighting strength.

It must be said that Zhao Xiaoqian's strategy did indeed cause great trouble for the Liao Kingdom. The Song-Liao War became increasingly complex and unpredictable due to the involvement of the Jurchen tribe.

There was no hope for Western Xia. Even if Li Qianshun wanted to form an alliance with Liao, Zhao Xiaoqian sent Zhe Keshi to lead troops to harass them, and the Northwest border commander Zhang Jie led his troops to patrol the border day and night. This effectively kept the Western Xia army under strict control within the country, and they dared not move at all.

At this point, the Liao emperor and his ministers understood that Zhao Xiaoqian of the Song Dynasty had made meticulous plans beforehand to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. Now that these plans had taken effect, the Liao Dynasty had been put on the defensive at every turn since the start of the war.

"Let's negotiate peace. My Great Liao has no other choice." Yelü Yanxi sighed helplessly. At this moment, he felt utterly exhausted and filled with worry about the future.

Despite being about to inherit the throne, he felt no joy whatsoever; instead, he felt increasingly lost. He had no idea what kind of empire, riddled with problems and beset by internal and external troubles, he would be taking over.

Privy Councilor Yelü Yan looked somewhat unwilling, but unable to come up with a better solution, he could only frown and say, "Does the Crown Prince mean that the Liao Dynasty should cede the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun?"

Yelü Yanxi said helplessly, "Otherwise what? Besides this, what good plan is there to repel the enemy? Zhao Xiaoqian's army of 100,000 elite soldiers, who in the world can stop them? He is determined to take the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. Since the Liao Dynasty cannot defeat him, it can only compromise."

As he spoke, Yelü Yanxi looked at Yelü Yan and asked, "Do you have a better idea?"

Yelü Yan paused, then sighed in despair.

Xiao Wuna said in a deep voice: "A temporary compromise has bought time for the Liao Dynasty. Your Majesty should use the time gained to reform and innovate, learn from the reforms of the Song Dynasty, and strengthen the country. Only then can the Liao Dynasty regain its former glory. Losing Yanyun in exchange for the Liao Dynasty's rebirth, Your Highness, I believe that paying this price is worthwhile."

The assembled officials nodded in agreement. Xiao Wuna's words were reasonable and irrefutable, and his intentions were for the sake of the Liao Dynasty. No one doubted his loyalty.

Xiao Fengxian quickly glanced at him with an admiring look.

This is what a traitor to Liaoning should be like!
Using the most righteous words and the most loyal attitude, they uttered words that would bring disaster to the country and its people, deceiving the entire court and its officials into believing them. This is the highest level of treachery in Liaodong.

I'm clearly lacking in experience; I should listen more, observe more, and speak less in the future to avoid giving myself away.

Yelü Yanxi was also moved by Xiao Wuna's words and said with emotion, "What Minister Xiao said is very true. In the future, the Liao Dynasty should not be arrogant and conceited anymore. It should humbly learn from the Song Dynasty and emulate the Song Dynasty's reforms so that the Liao Dynasty can regain its former glory."

After a pause, Yelü Yanxi said, "The peace negotiations are settled. Who is willing to be the envoy to the Song Dynasty to negotiate with Zhao Xiaoqian?"

The courtiers remained silent.

The cession of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun was the first humiliating negotiation in the history of the Liao Dynasty, and no one was willing to go, fearing it would damage their reputation.

After waiting for a long time without anyone speaking, Yelü Yanxi frowned, subconsciously looked first at the person he trusted, and then personally called out names.

"Xiao Fengxian, are you willing to do it?"

Xiao Fengxian trembled and lowered his head, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I really do not wish to see the ugly faces of those people from the Song Kingdom."

Yelü Yanxi sighed sadly, “You say you don’t want to see the faces of the Song people, but in fact you don’t want to bear the infamy of disgracing the ancestors of the Khitan. I know you are loyal, but I have no one else to use, so I can only trouble you to go. Even if you bear the infamy, I will bear it. You are just following orders, what crime have you committed?”

Xiao Fengxian immediately revealed a sorrowful expression of bearing humiliation, and lowered his head, saying, "Since Your Highness insists that I go on this mission, I dare not disobey."

Yelü Yanxi said, "There is no time to lose. We should prepare quickly and set off today. If we delay any longer, the Song army will soon be at the gates of Xijin City."

Xiao Fengxian acknowledged, bowed, and turned to leave. The people in the hall watched him depart, their hearts filled with increasing sorrow. A sense of unease, a feeling of helplessness at the impending collapse of the empire, deeply troubled them.

…………

Zhao Xiaoqian, dressed in plain clothes, walked the streets of Hejian Prefecture like a carefree rich young master, casually strolling around. His leisurely demeanor was completely different from that of the city's residents, attracting the attention of many people.

No one here recognized Zhao Xiaoqian, but Chen Shou and the imperial guards behind him were on high alert. Every civilian who tried to approach Zhao Xiaoqian was blocked by the imperial guards with their burly bodies. Within a ten-foot radius around Zhao Xiaoqian, the imperial guards used their bodies to form a four-sided wall.

After the city of Hejian was breached, the population and commerce within the city were far less than before. Although the government repeatedly posted notices to reassure the people and restore normal order in the city, the merchants and people of Hejian still had many doubts and lived in fear every day.

The city, which had enjoyed a century of peace, was suddenly struck by war. The Song army broke through the city with lightning speed, committing numerous atrocities in the city that day.

Undeniably, the merchants and common people of Hejian Prefecture harbored a hostile attitude towards the Song army, but they dared not show it.

Faced with this situation, Zhao Xiaoqian was helpless.

Lax military discipline is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can greatly boost morale, but on the other hand, it can also lose the hearts and minds of the people in the occupied territories.

The killing and looting on the day the city fell was something no general could stop. Zhao Xiaoqian's soldiers did not have lofty beliefs; they fought so desperately to get promoted and make money. After the city fell, the generals could only tacitly approve of everything the Song army did inside the city.

After walking along the busiest street, looking at the sparse crowds and the few shops that were closed, Zhao Xiaoqian frowned.

"To restore order and the former prosperity, we still need to provide policies..." Zhao Xiaoqian murmured. "The best course of action now is to spread the word that we can encourage merchants to move in with tax exemption and subsidy policies, and we also need to relocate a group of Han Chinese people from Zhucheng, Hebei."

Hejian Prefecture was a place where many ethnic groups lived together. The city was inhabited by Khitan, Bohai, Tieli, Mohe and other ethnic groups. Han people accounted for about half of the population. However, the Han people in this city had become accustomed to the rule of the Liao Dynasty and gradually became estranged from the Central Plains dynasty. They basically considered themselves Liao people.

Winning back the hearts and minds of the people in the city will be a very long process.

The so-called grand scene of the people welcoming the king's army with food and drink was completely nonexistent. Zhao Xiaoqian walked around the city today, and the eyes that were fixed on him were full of indifference or even hatred.

Zhao Xiaoqian watched silently, plotting how to win over the hearts of the people in the occupied territories.

With his mind preoccupied, Zhao Xiaoqian's steps were inevitably slow. Just as he was about to turn around and return to the government office, a commotion suddenly erupted on the street, and then a figure flew out in a graceful, sweeping motion, crashing heavily to the ground, only a few feet away from Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xiaoqian remained calm, but the imperial guards around Chen Shouhe were terrified. In the next instant, they all drew their swords, and several guards quickly surrounded Zhao Xiaoqian, forming a human wall to block the assassination attempt.

Every member of the Imperial Guard was well aware of the dangers of the newly occupied territory. This newly conquered city was fraught with peril, and no one knew how many Liao spies and assassins were secretly eyeing Zhao Xiaoqian, looking for an opportunity to strike.

Since entering the city, Chen Shou and the Imperial Guards have been on high alert, constantly guarding against Liao assassins taking advantage of any opportunity to infiltrate.

Seeing Chen Shou's tense expression, Zhao Xiaoqian simply patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't be nervous, he just got beaten up, it has nothing to do with us."

The person lying on the ground was a middle-aged man; judging from his clothes, he was probably Han Chinese.

The man clutched his stomach and groaned in pain. Immediately afterward, a towering figure emerged from a roadside restaurant, followed by several idle men who were laughing and joking as they watched the man fall to the ground.

Zhao Xiaoqian stared quietly at the towering, burly man. Judging from his clothes and braided hairstyle, the man seemed to be a Khitan.

The idlers behind him didn't look like Han Chinese at all.

Sure enough, the burly man came out of the restaurant, pointed at the man lying on the ground, and started muttering something incoherently. Zhao Xiaoqian judged that he was probably cursing, and cursing very filthyly at that.

Chen Shou frowned and leaned closer, saying, "Your Highness, these are Khitans."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed in agreement and said, "I understand now. After we breached the city, why were there still Khitans inside? Didn't they flee at the first sign of trouble?"

Chen Shoudao: "The situation in Hejian Prefecture is a bit complicated. There are quite a few Khitans. After the chaos when the city was breached, General Zhong ordered a strict ban on indiscriminate killing of civilians and ordered most of our soldiers to withdraw from the city and set up camp outside.

"When the Khitans in the city saw that the soldiers had stopped fighting, they were no longer afraid and continued to live in the city."

Zhao Xiaoqian was even more puzzled: "Even so, now that our Great Song has occupied Hejian Prefecture, the Khitans in the city should behave themselves. Why do they dare to humiliate the Han people like this?"

Chen Shou smiled wryly and said, "I guess that's what happens when you're used to being the master and can't help but kick a dog when you see it."

Zhao Xiaoqian immediately became unhappy: "They were the hosts before we arrived, and they're still the hosts after we arrived. Didn't we come for nothing?"

(End of this chapter)