The prince is more stable

Chapter 691 Cruel Revenge
Of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the Song Dynasty currently only truly controls two cities: Hejian Prefecture and Xijin Prefecture.

Just as Zhao Xiaoqian had predicted, the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and the signing of a peace treaty between the Song and Liao dynasties were only the beginning; the real trouble lay in the process of acceptance.

Adhering to the principle of wanting both land and cities as well as popular support, Song Dynasty officials and the army were usually quite tolerant when taking over Yanyun City. With so many rebellious civilian armed forces in various places, the Song army basically maintained a policy of retreat and tolerance.

In a prefecture, a county, or even a state, cities are easy to acquire, but winning hearts and minds is hard to come by.

After a century of rule by the Liao Dynasty, the people of Yanyun have all submitted to the Liao. They no longer recognize the Song Dynasty, which is a pressing reality.

The imperial court's intention to take over Yanyun was not simply a matter of occupying the city and taking over the government offices; the real trouble lay in the clan landlord forces in the various villages and fortresses outside the city.

Only by winning over the hearts of local clans and landlords can one be said to have truly recovered Yan and Yun. This was originally a very long process. During this time, the officials from the Song Dynasty who were to take up their posts might have to negotiate, make promises, or even compromise with the local clans and landlords in order to appease them.

However, after Zhao Xiaoqian was seriously wounded in Yanyun, the Song army was suddenly enraged, and the army's behavior changed completely.

They tore off their pretense of tolerance and concession, revealing their sharp fangs, and viciously pounced on the rebellious clan landlords.

No more politeness, no more tolerance. Those who block my way shall die, those who disobey shall die.

The local clan landlords of Yanyun now have only one choice: to completely and unconditionally submit to the Song Dynasty, follow the rule of the Central Plains, and sever all ties with the Liao Dynasty.

Not used to the rule of the Song Dynasty? No problem, kneel down first, and we'll gradually get used to it. The important thing is to "kneel down first".

The situation in various parts of Yanyun suddenly changed overnight.

The Song army, which had been polite and courteous to local clans and landlords, suddenly turned ferocious, domineering, cold-blooded, and cruel overnight, killing people at the drop of a hat.

There was no longer any polite attitude or tone; it was a completely oppressive policy: either kneel or die.

At the northern and southern ends of Yanyun, the troops under Zong Ze of Xijin Prefecture in the north and the troops under Zhong Jianzhong of Hejian Prefecture in the south, totaling 100,000 men, were all mobilized.

In coordination with the officials sent by the Song Dynasty's Bianjing (Kaifeng), under the pretext of pursuing and suppressing Xiao Chouwo, the Song army forcefully sent the officials into the prefectural cities where they were to take up their posts, took over the local government offices and city defenses, appointed new officials and servants, and then summoned the clans and landlords of the villages under their jurisdiction to the city for a meeting.

Inside the city's government office, Song soldiers stood with swords drawn, their eyes wide with anger. The clan landlords had probably also heard about the attack and injury suffered by Zhao Xiaoqian, the commander-in-chief of the Song army.

Faced with the Song army's sudden change in attitude and the chilling glint of their blades, the clan landlords entered the city trembling with fear, obediently went into the government office, and expressed their willingness to become subjects of the Great Song and submit to the rule of the Central Plains.

The matter was not over yet; dealing with the clan landlords was only one part of it.

Under the leadership of their generals, the Song army swept through Yan and Yun, beginning to purge the Khitans, Xis, Bohais and other ethnic groups in the Yan and Yun region. The Song army was particularly cruel to the Khitans, often killing them on the grounds of "disloyalty". They also treated other ethnic groups no better, gathering them together and driving them out of the country.

Xiao Chouwo's ​​surprise attack on Zhao Xiaoqian was a stroke of luck, but he probably never imagined the catastrophic disaster this action would bring to the Liao and Khitan kingdoms.

Zhao Xiaoqian's injury not only implicated the Khitans and people of other ethnic groups in various parts of Yan and Yun, but also the Liao court in the capital.

…………

One hundred li north of Xijin Prefecture lies the newly demarcated border between the Song and Liao dynasties.

A Liao army of over two thousand men was slowly walking along the muddy road. This Liao army was originally a local garrison in Yanyun. With the signing of the Treaty of Hejian, all Liao troops had to withdraw from Yanyun, and this Liao army was one of the withdrawing troops.

They had planned to set off yesterday, but a torrential downpour in Yanyun last night rendered the Liao army completely immobile. After camping in the wild for a day, they finally broke camp today at a leisurely pace.

Looking ahead at the stone tablet standing there, the tablet was still fresh, obviously erected not long ago. Inscribed on it were words that marked this place as the border between the Song and Liao dynasties.

The Liao general in charge breathed a sigh of relief and urged his soldiers to hurry back to Liao territory.

The Liao Kingdom lost the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, an unchangeable reality. The Liao generals felt a pang of resentment, but they dared not disobey the imperial court's orders, nor did they have the courage to continue resisting the Song army.

Like most Liao soldiers, they retreated to Liao in a cowardly manner.

Whether you're a soldier or a general, it's just a job; you just have to follow orders from above.

When they were about a mile away from the stone tablet, the Liao general on horseback was suddenly startled.

He saw a troop of soldiers standing beside the stone tablet.

The soldiers were dressed in dark red uniforms, and a banner with large Chinese characters embroidered on it stood next to the leader.

This is clearly a Song army force, not many in number, about two or three thousand.

However, the Liao general's heart sank slightly. After a moment's hesitation, he mustered his courage and stepped forward, politely clasping his hands in greeting to the leading Song general.

"We were ordered to withdraw from Yanyun and return to the Great Liao. May I ask what brings you here..."

The Song general was quite young, with tanned skin, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he sized up the Liao general.

After a long silence, Song Jiang coldly said, "You can't leave."

The Liao general was greatly alarmed: "We have already been ordered to withdraw from Yan and Yun. What else does your Song state intend to do?"

The Song general's face was frosty as he sneered, "Before yesterday, you might have been able to leave, but starting today, none of the Liao troops within Yanyun territory can leave."

"Why?" "My Prince of Hejian of the Great Song Dynasty was ambushed and seriously injured by your Liao army a few days ago. Your Liao army dared to assassinate my commander, how can my Great Song let you leave so easily?"

The Liao general roared, "What does the assassination of your prince have to do with us? The grievances have their perpetrators, and the debts have their debtors. Why do you have to implicate the innocent?"

The Song general coldly said, "From the moment my prince was injured, there have been no innocent Liao people on the land of Yanyun. Regardless of whether you participated or not, my Great Song army regards you all as enemies and will execute you all!"

Suddenly, the Song general turned hostile, waved his hand, and shouted, "Kill them all! Leave no one alive!"

Before the Liao general could explain, a loud bang rang out. He looked down blankly and found a bloody hole pierced through his chest, blood seeping through his leather armor and gushing out.

Immediately afterwards, another burst of gunfire erupted, and more than two thousand Liao soldiers cried out and fled in all directions, but many more were shot dead on the spot by the Song army's flintlock muskets.

In just a short while, the two thousand Liao soldiers had been almost completely wiped out.

The Liao general fell from his horse, staring blankly at the azure sky. His lips trembled as he tried to speak, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Perhaps he wanted to say it was unfair, he wanted to curse the Song army for not being able to distinguish right from wrong, and he even wanted to draw his sword and fight the Song army to the death.

But there was nothing he could do.

In a desolate wilderness on the border between the Song and Liao dynasties, the Liao general closed his eyes in resentment and grief, dying without leaving his name. Two thousand Liao soldiers died with him.

The Song general watched expressionlessly as two thousand Liao soldiers were killed, and only waved lazily when there was no one left alive on the other side.

"Order to clean up the mess and continue to blockade the border. Kill any Liao soldiers you encounter. This is the military order issued by General Zong."

Similar events were unfolding along the borders of the Song and Liao dynasties.

Zong Ze's 50,000 Song soldiers turned into 50,000 madmen, recklessly slaughtering Liao and Khitan troops everywhere.

At this time, no one in the Song army cared about the so-called Treaty of Hejian, nor did anyone value the lives of the Liao people. Whenever they found a Liao person, whether he was a soldier or an ordinary civilian, they would kill him on the spot.

With Zhao Xiaoqian attacked and injured, it was as if an evil cage had been opened in various parts of Yanyun, releasing hordes of bloodthirsty, man-eating beasts.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were engulfed in flames of war, with corpses littering the fields.

Several days later, the news was urgently sent to the capital of the Liao Kingdom.

Emperor Yelü Hongji of Liao is now in increasingly poor health. After examining him, the imperial physicians clearly stated that His Majesty's days are numbered and that preparations for his passing should be made immediately.

Yelü Yanxi was filled with mixed emotions of joy and sorrow. On one hand, he served Yelü Hongji with deep affection, while on the other hand, he was busy with the formal enthronement of the Liao emperor.

With the Treaty of Hejian signed, the Song and Liao dynasties entered a temporary period of peace, giving the Liao state a chance to catch its breath. Now, the only thing to do is to gather troops to deal with the increasingly powerful Jurchen tribes in the northeast.

With the unification of the Jurchen tribes, they also won over the young and strong soldiers of various ethnic groups such as the Bohai, Xi, and Mohe, and their power grew stronger and stronger. More seriously, the Jurchen tribes had conquered Huanglong Prefecture and occupied Jizhou, Yingzhou and other places. This force had posed a serious threat to the Liao Kingdom.

Yelü Yanxi was restless and couldn't eat or sleep. He felt that he might be the most unfortunate emperor in the history of the Liao Dynasty.

Before he had even officially ascended the throne, he was already facing so many serious internal and external troubles.

However, amidst all these troublesome and upsetting events, Yelü Yanxi still had some happy moments.

That is, he has finally waited for the day of his ascension to the throne. According to the judgment of the imperial physicians, Yelü Hongji will pass away in the next few days. Great joy! ... Uh, no, great sorrow, national mourning.

Just as Yelü Hongji was happily anticipating his death, Yelü Yanxi received another piece of bad news.

Urgent military intelligence arrived from the south by fast horse.

The Song state brazenly broke the peace agreement, and 50,000 Song troops sealed off the border, wiping out and killing Liao soldiers and ordinary Khitan people in the Yan-Yun region.

Upon hearing this devastating news, Yelü Yanxi nearly went mad.

Inside the Liao Palace, Yelü Yanxi was furious. Before him stood two important ministers, Xiao Wuna and Xiao Fengxian, with their heads bowed.

"Why is this so? Xiao Fengxian, you signed the Treaty of Hejian. Tell me, why is this so!" Yelü Yanxi stared at Xiao Fengxian, his eyes filled with anger, but even more so with fear—fear of the Song army and fear of Zhao Xiaoqian.

He feared that the Song army might actually break the peace agreement and launch a war of annihilation against the Liao after acquiring Yan and Yun. To be honest, the Liao army was indeed no match for the Song army at the moment. Despite trying every means, they could only suffer defeat and sink to the ground in the face of the Song army's firearms.

Faced with Yelü Yanxi's anger, Xiao Fengxian remained calm and took out a secret letter from his pocket, presenting it to Yelü Yanxi with both hands.

"Your Highness, there is a reason for this. In the end, it was our Great Liao that made a big mistake first."

Yelü Yanxi received the secret letter, glanced at it quickly, and then his eyes froze instantly, his expression revealing a mixture of anger and fear.

"Xiao Chouwo... he, he actually dared to launch a surprise attack to assassinate Zhao Xiaoqian? Has he gone mad?" Yelü Yanxi said in disbelief, "Who gave him the guts? Who gave him the order?"

Xiao Fengxian lowered his eyelids and said calmly, "It was Xiao Chouwo who arbitrarily mobilized the Nanjing troops and made the decision on his own. Your Highness, he has brought great disaster upon our Great Liao!"

(End of this chapter)