The windows of the palace where Yelu Jing lived were nailed shut, and there was usually no one around him. He was afraid that he would be killed by the people around him when he fell asleep, and his servants were even more afraid that he would get drunk and kill people indiscriminately.
He rubbed his temple, looked at Yang Gun below, and asked in Khitan: Have you seen the King of the Southern Courtyard
Yang Gun said: "Khan, I have seen it." Xiao Gong was only in charge of Youzhou's military affairs, and occasionally mentioned the Khan, hoping that the Khan would drink less, saying that drinking would cause trouble.
Yelu Jing nodded without saying anything, thinking of the previous military campaign against Hebei. Xiao Siwen had sent people to report to the capital, but he dispatched his own troops without waiting for a reply. As a result, there was no loss, and a large amount of property and people were recovered. Yelu Jing certainly couldn't blame him.
The relationship between the Xiao clan and the royal family Yelu clan was very good. The royal family usually married Xiao wives, and most prime ministers came from the Xiao clan. However, this alliance was at the clan level, and it was difficult to say between individuals. For example, most of those who wanted to kill Yelu Jing were from the Yelu clan.
Therefore, Yang Gun seemed reluctant to talk about Xiao's affairs, so he asked carefully: "I heard that the Zhou army attacked the Northern Han.
Yelu Jing said: I got the news ten days ago.
Yang Gun couldn't help but say: But after I arrived in the capital, I hardly heard anyone talking about this matter, and the nobles didn't seem to take it seriously.
There was no public talk. Yelu Jing was very calm at this time, and he did not look as violent as the rumors said. Many ministers and nobles were ignorant. They only knew Han'er in the southern city of Shangjing or as a craftsman and farmer farming in Bohai. They thought Han'er was very docile, like a sheep, and they could not help but look down on him. But not everyone was so short-sighted.
Yang Gun pondered and said: I am reminded of the Battle of Gaoping a few years ago. In my opinion, the Han people are indeed docile, even a little timid, weak and vulnerable to bullying. Compared with the brave and warlike herdsmen of our great Khitan, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are sheep; but those nobles and warriors in the Central Plains are by no means sheep, but a group of wolves. They are the same as us, and they all rely on fighting for sheep to eat.
In addition to the Battle of Gaoping, Xiao Siwen suffered in the Battle of Zhuozhou. Yelu Jing said, isn't Guo Shao, the current emperor of Zhou, the butcher who slaughtered the Khitan warriors back then
Yang Gun echoed: "This man has a great reputation, and I have heard a lot about him. He is known as Guo the Blacksmith. But it seems that he is not the same kind of person as the craftsmen we have seen."
This man is not from the Guo Wei and Guo Rong family, but his surname is Guo. I heard that they are related. Yelu Jing pondered and stopped talking here. He felt that the current situation of the Zhou Kingdom was similar to that of the Liao Dynasty, but the foundation of the Zhou Kingdom was shallower than that of the Liao Dynasty. If Guo the blacksmith wanted to truly stabilize the throne, he probably also wanted greater prestige and achievements.
Blacksmith Guo is a dangerous person. Yelu Jing immediately said: We must never take Zhou Guo the blacksmith lightly.
Yang Gun hurriedly bowed and said: Khan is wise.
Another reason why Yelu Jing dared not underestimate him was that as an emperor, he knew it was not easy to seize power by force and hold the throne in a turbulent period. After Guo Tiejiang became emperor, he was able to quickly launch an attack and destroy Shu Nan Tang. Yelu Jing could not do this in the Liao Dynasty because he could not integrate internally and it was difficult to easily gather the various armies. Unless he encountered an incident like Guo Rong's large-scale attack on Youzhou, he could call on all the armies to deal with it together. Yelu Jing had a hunch that the new king of Zhou was quite powerful.
At this time, Yang Gun said: "I dare to make a suggestion, please send troops to reinforce the Northern Han Kingdom as soon as possible, because this place is of great importance. The southern Han people are numerous and powerful. Now Shu and Southern Tang have successively joined the Zhou Kingdom. Their strength is increasing day by day. Whether they will threaten the Liao Dynasty in the future remains to be seen. The trend of one rising and the other falling, the Central Plains becoming stronger, is not a good thing for the Liao Dynasty."
With Northern Han in the west and Youzhou in the east, it is the key place for the Liao Dynasty to attack and defend the Central Plains. Although the land of Northern Han is barren, compared with the numerous important cities in Hebei, it is the shortest way to threaten the Central Plains from Hedong. Hedong is of great importance to the Liao Dynasty, and the Khan should pay attention to it.
Yelu Jing looked at Yang Gun for a second and asked: "Five years ago, in the Battle of Gaoping, you led troops to assist the Northern Han, but did nothing in Gaoping and watched the Northern Han lose miserably. I heard that it was because the Northern Han leader was rude and you were angry.
Yang Gun placed his hand on his chest and bowed, saying: Khan, you are wise. The Northern Han leader did speak rudely back then, saying that even without the help of the Liao Dynasty, they could still defeat the Zhou army. I led the army thousands of miles to help him. I was really angry when he spoke like that.
However, I don't have the guts to let anger ruin the affairs of state. The Northern Han ruler was very arrogant at that time. If he really defeated the Zhou army and went south to replace it, the Northern Han would be the second Zhou. The situation of the Liao Dynasty is no longer the same as it was during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Liao, when the Liao Dynasty could have launched a large-scale attack to coerce the Later Jin Dynasty and finally destroyed it. If that were the case, the Northern Han would no longer listen to the Liao Dynasty.
So at that time, I thought that it would be most beneficial for the Liao Dynasty if the Northern Han Dynasty maintained the status quo. The Northern Han Dynasty was threatened by the Zhou Dynasty and had to kowtow and obey the imperial edict of the Liao Dynasty emperor. At the same time, the Northern Han Dynasty was located in Hedong, which was above the Central Plains and could also restrain the Central Plains dynasty. However, I did not expect that the Zhou Dynasty would become as powerful as it is today after a few years.
Yelu Jing made a sound, very satisfied with Yang Gun, and immediately said that he would reply to the Northern Han envoy that the Liao Dynasty would mobilize a large army from the southern part of Yinshan to help them.
Yang Gun bowed and said: "I am willing to be the Khan's vanguard."
You just came back, so you are exempted this time. Yelu Jing said, let Yelu Xiu go.
Yelu Xiuguo was a general of the Liao Dynasty who was good at fighting. Not long ago, the Shiwei and other tribes thought that the Liao Dynasty was weak and rebelled. Yelu Xiuguo led his troops to pacify the rebels quickly. Wherever he went, no one could stop him. He killed the rebels and left their bodies all over the grassland. The atmosphere of terror enveloped the tribes, and all the tribes began to fear the strength of the Liao Dynasty again. With his outstanding military exploits, Yelu Xiuguo became a general that the nobles in Shangjing talked about with great relish.
When the people of Jinyang heard that it was Yelu Xiu'ge who led his troops to rescue them, the court celebrated and the pessimistic atmosphere of the country's demise gradually disappeared.
The Liao army's vanguard cavalry soon entered the Dai-Xin Corridor. Upon hearing the news, Fu Zhaoxu wanted to withdraw his troops from Longzhou immediately and return to Liaozhou on the border to station and wait and see.
At that time, some generals were greedy for merit and suggested that before the Liao army arrived, they should give up attacking the fortified city of Longzhou and attack Yang Ye's troops in Baigu to the east. This suggestion was a way to maximize military merit. Although Yang Ye was known as Yang invincible, the Zhou army had a great chance of winning with 50,000 troops, including 20,000 elite Longjie troops. This was also the reason why many generals did not understand why Fu Zhaoxu wanted to wait in Longzhou instead of taking the initiative to go to Baigu to gain merit.
If they win in Baigu, they can stabilize the situation there. If the Liao army has a lot of troops, it won't be too late to withdraw at that time. If they don't have many troops, they can continue to fight the Liao army in the field. If they can get some advantages in a direct confrontation with the Liao army, this will be a great achievement. The Central Plains still recognizes the Liao army's combat power. Moreover, they are a foreign race. Defeating the Liao army will be equivalent to the reputation of a national hero in the country. No one will not be tempted.
Lin Renzhao also said in the central military tent: My lord, there is really no need to be anxious.
All the generals agreed that military generals should not be greedy for merit and civil officials should not be greedy for money. Isn't this just asking too much
Lin Renzhao said: If the Liao army has a large number of troops, there must be a lot of infantry and cavalry and baggage, and it will not be possible for all of them to arrive in a short time. It will not be too late to retreat at that time; if there are only tens of millions of cavalry, how can we not fight with our five-fold advantage? It would be shameful to run away when the Liao army arrives without even seeing a single person, as if we are cowards holding our breath.
But Fu Zhaoxu didn't think so. Although he was a military general, his position was not just that of a military general but also that of a royal relative. Moreover, Fu Zhaoxu was a calm person who respected the opinions of his superiors. He did not want to be greedy for merit because he did not need to rely on military achievements to achieve success.
Although Lin Renzhao's words were harsh, he did not rebuke Lin Renzhao. Instead, he said: General Lin's words make sense. However, he turned to Liu Renzhan and said, "Our goal is to exhaust the exhausted Northern Han. We have been fighting in Northern Han territory for more than a month and have defeated the Northern Han army several times. Moreover, the Liao army has already moved south and will also consume the money and food of Northern Han. So far, our goal has been achieved and it seems unnecessary to take risks. What do you think?"
Liu Renzhan nodded in agreement, turned around and said to Lin Renzhao: My lord is thinking about the overall situation, you should not be greedy for merit and advance rashly.
Lin Renzhao respected Liu Renzhan very much. When he heard this, he immediately said: "We will obey the military order."
This military general named Lin was very difficult to control. He had military talent but did not understand the ways of the world or the hierarchy, and he often made people of higher status than him feel embarrassed. The commander-in-chief could not control him, and instead treated Liu Renzhan like his own boss.
Fortunately, Liu Renzhan was able to control himself, and Fu Zhaoxu felt relieved and respected Liu Renzhan even more. In order to maintain his own dignity, Fu Zhaoxu could not be servile to his subordinates, so he found an excuse that Liu Renzhan was older and respecting older people was also a virtue.
Fu Zhaoxu was a very easy-going person, and Liu Renzhan was not a fool like Lin Renzhao. He knew the rules very well, and he was grateful when others gave him face. So Fu Zhaoxu and Liu Renzhan got along very well, and there were no disputes.
At this time, Liu Renzhan said tactfully: "My Lord, you said to withdraw your troops for the sake of the overall situation. I also have a suggestion. Why don't you retreat too far and camp in Liaozhou first?"
Fu Zhaoxu pondered for a long time, thinking about it in his mind.
Liu Renzhan clasped his fists again and said: Liaozhou is close to Northern Han. We retreated here and still maintained the threat to Northern Han. It is so close that we are just adjusting our deployment, not running away. We are resting in Liaozhou to stabilize our position and act according to circumstances. The generals will be more receptive and it will not hurt their morale.
Fu Zhaoxu pondered and said: The walls of Liaozhou City don't seem to be very strong.
Liu Renzhan said: As long as there is a city, we can improve the fortifications there. If the Liao army really dares to attack the city defended by 50,000 elite soldiers, then we don't have to deliberately avoid such a war.
He thought for a moment and advised: "We maintain the threat in Liaozhou. Since the Liao army has come, they will stay in Northern Han and wait and see. Their consumption will be transported from Liao State thousands of miles away, or it will consume the national strength of Northern Han. In this way, our approach does not conflict with your majesty's intentions."
When Fu Zhaoxu heard the last sentence, he realized that it was in line with the emperor's will, so he said: