Xiazhou, formerly known as Tongwancheng, is a very old city. The palace where Xiping King Li Yiyin lived was called Dingnan Army Headquarters, but in fact it was similar to a palace.
At this time, the sound of wooden fish was heard from where Li Yiyin lived. A young woman wearing a colorful round hat took three incense sticks and lit them on the candle, then handed them to Li Yiyin.
Li Yiyin took the incense and reverently closed his eyes in front of a clay Buddha, reciting scriptures in a low voice.
The people standing around were all very quiet, and the only sound in the hall was the monotonous knocking of the wooden fish.
Li Yiyin's hair has turned grey, and his face is not much different from that of people from the Central Plains. His family changed their surname from Tuoba to Li because of their meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion at the end of the Tang Dynasty. It is said that their paternal ancestors originally had the surname Li.
He was reciting scriptures very attentively and seemed to be praying for something.
At this moment, a man wearing a tall cone hat hurried to the door. The woman next to him looked back, put her index finger on her lips, made a soft hissing sound, and then looked at her father who was facing away from the door.
The woman's eyes were very bright and lively, as if they could speak. The visitor understood immediately, bent down quickly, walked in carefully and stood by.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Li Yiyin suddenly spoke: What's the matter
The man hurriedly stepped forward and whispered in Li Yiyin's ear: Officials from the Zhou Dynasty have arrived in Xiazhou and request an audience with the king.
Li Yiyin was not surprised at all, and said calmly: The Emperor of Zhou will naturally send someone when he goes on a tour to the west. After that, he opened his eyes, bowed three times to the Bodhisattva, then inserted the incense into the incense burner and sat cross-legged on the cushion next to him.
The noble who just came in said: We haven't responded to the Khitans yet. Does the king want to meet the Zhou envoy
I want to see him. Li Yiyin said without hesitation, "Please ask someone to arrange it and report to me."
The nobleman said in a deep voice: Your Majesty is wise. The Khitan envoy was sent by Xiao Siwen, the deputy envoy of the Northern Court of the Liao Dynasty. I heard that Xiao Siwen was defeated by the current emperor of the Zhou Dynasty.
Li Yiyin made a sound without making any comment.
The nobleman bowed and left. At this time, the woman next to him said: I will see Uncle Mei Zang off.
After the two of them left the palace one after another, they looked relaxed.
Mei Zang smiled and said: Before I entered the palace, Brother Ling asked about Princess Yueji.
The girl named Li Yueji had fair skin and a blush on her face, which made her particularly conspicuous. Her eyes flickered as she looked around and said: "Both the Khitans and the Han people want to form an alliance with my father. Who does Uncle Meizang like more?"
Mei Zang said: "As for preference, I don't like either side. The Han people look honest, but they are actually very cunning; the Khitan people are barbaric and violent, and they are all unreliable. It's better to have our own people."
Li Yueji nodded in agreement.
Mei Zang said: "But the tribes' interactions cannot be based on personal preference; I prefer to interact with the Zhou people. Xiao Siwen sent someone to say that the Zhou emperor was on a western tour, targeting the Dingnan Army, and did not trust us; he wanted us to rise up against the Zhou, and the Liao Kingdom was willing to lend us troops to help."
Li Yueji said: My father believes in Buddhism and is unwilling to start a war.
Mei Zang did not comment, and continued: The Liao people are busy with their own affairs. Xiao Siwen was originally the King of the Southern Court. He defeated the Zhou army's northern expedition in Youzhou and was transferred back to Shangjing. Instead, he became the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council. It can be seen that there are many inside stories. Since Guo Rong, the military power of the Zhou Kingdom has been growing day by day. Now is not a good opportunity.
At this time in Shangjing, Xiao Siwen met the messenger sent back from Xiazhou. The messenger brought back the news that the negotiations were not going well.
The Dangxiang people first questioned whether the Liao Kingdom could really send troops to help them, and then believed that the Liao Kingdom’s claim that the Zhou Kingdom’s imperial army was touring the west to attack Xiazhou was untrue.
The Han official Fan Zhongyi said bluntly: The Dangxiang people's reasons are just excuses. In fact, they are opportunists. Seeing that the Zhou Kingdom is strong, they become its vassal.
Xiao Siwen agreed and sighed: After all, the Liao Dynasty was in decline and its prestige had fallen.
Fan Zhongyi said: "The military power of Zhou is growing stronger and stronger, and the target is our Liao Dynasty. It will not force the Dangxiang too much. It may not be easy to persuade the Dangxiang to rebel at this time. It is better to change the strategy and ask them to expand their territory when the Zhou army has no time to look west. The Liao Kingdom is willing to help. As long as there is any movement over there, it can at least contain the Zhou army, which is a beneficial move without any harm."
Xiao Siwen said: This is a great plan. I will immediately send someone to Xiazhou as soon as possible. I also need to instruct the envoy to remind the Li family in Xiazhou to understand that once the Zhou lord is free, he will not trust the Dangxiang people, so let him look further ahead.
Fan Zhongyi wanted to say something but stopped himself, and finally could not help saying: Even though the Khan treated Lord Xiao like this, Lord Xiao still remained loyal to the Liao Dynasty and worked hard for it. His broad mind is truly admirable.
Xiao Siwen said calmly: Let’s put the overall situation first.
Fan Zhongyi bowed his head and said nothing. As a Han official, Xiao Siwen knew that he should not say more.
Many people felt that this transfer was unfair. Xiao Siwen was also angry. At the beginning of the year, he held on in Youzhou. Although he failed to repel the Zhou army, if he had not defended Youzhou, Yelu Xiu'ge's troops would have had the opportunity to repel the Zhou army. Later, when it came to merit, all the credit went to the Northern Army. Even Yang Gun, the deputy general of the Northern reinforcements, had more merit than Xiao Siwen.
Xiao Siwen was transferred to the North Court as the Deputy Privy Counsellor, and he did not even have the decision-making power. Compared with being the King of the South Court, his power is now greatly weakened. It is simply a situation where he has made contributions but was demoted.
Xiao Siwen held his breath and said: You can rest assured, I have never done anything wrong, the Khan will not do anything to me.
A few days later, the Liao general Yelu Xizhen led his troops on a tour and returned to the capital, and Xiao Siwen hosted a welcome party for him.
After drinking in the evening, when Yelu Xizhen and Xiao Siwen were alone together, Xiao Siwen said: When I stepped down as the King of the Southern Courtyard, I wanted to recommend the general to preside over the Southern Courtyard, but I thought about it and didn't submit a memorial. If I came forward to recommend, I'm afraid it would be disadvantageous to the general.
Yelu Xizhen was immediately furious. He was the son of Yelu Helu, a close confidant of Taizu Abaoji. He was born in a high-ranking family and was much bolder. He said directly: When Lord Xiao was still in Youzhou, I sent my confidant to invite you, but you refused. What should I do now
Xiao Siwen said: If I agree to the general, it is hard to say whether Youzhou is still the territory of the Liao Dynasty now.
Yelu Xizhen frowned and said nothing.
Xiao Siwen said: If Youzhou is lost, the fate of the Liao Dynasty will be in jeopardy. If it comes to that, it will not only be detrimental to the overall situation of the Liao Dynasty, but we, as the nobles of the Liao Dynasty, will not be able to live well.
Yelu Xizhen bowed in admiration after hearing this, and then said worriedly: I am afraid that the Khan will harm Lord Xiao, and it will be too late to regret it.
If this is my fate, I have no choice but to accept it. Xiao Siwen sighed, "But I have only been thinking about the Liao Dynasty and have not harmed my people. The tribesmen will have comments. Give me justice."
Xiao Siwen bowed under the lamp and said in a deep voice: I am sure that the Zhou State Lord Guo the Blacksmith will not let Youzhou go. I am afraid that his western tour is to stabilize the rear. If the Liao Dynasty does not make preparations at this time, it will be too late to regret.
Yelu Xizhen boldly whispered: The current Liao emperor is not a good ruler. If we want to restore the country's prestige, we must first replace him.
Xiao Siwen shook his head: I’m afraid it’s not that simple.
He thought: The chaos in the Liao Dynasty was not Yelu Jing's fault at all. It was the result of repeated disputes between the two branches of the royal family. If Yelu Jing was driven out, the new emperor would be able to control the situation.
According to Xiao Siwen's consideration, there is only one way to fundamentally resolve the years of grievances.
Let Yelu Jing take all the blame
When Yelu Jing did many wrong things and many disasters broke out during his reign, and the resentment of various ethnic groups accumulated to a certain extent, then Yelu Jing was a real tyrant.
As the saying goes, good times will come after bad times. Only those who replace the tyrants can be the wise kings who can restore order. Only then will the new kings be supported by all parties, and the general trend will be in place, and the situation will be truly restored.
Before that, instead of continuing the internal strife to seize power, it is better to support Yelu Jing and reduce the turmoil.
After thinking about it, Xiao Siwen hurriedly said: You must not act rashly. You must not start a rebellion or civil war at this time. Be careful to prevent the Zhou people from taking advantage of the situation.
We must try our best to resolve internal grievances and support the Khan, so that we can compete with the Zhou people.
Yelu Xizhen frowned and asked: Why is Lord Xiao so afraid of Haner
Xiao Siwen said: Because Guo the blacksmith is in office. From what I have seen, he must be an ambitious person.
Yelu Xizhen nodded slightly, as if thinking about something.
Xiao Siwen said: The Liao Dynasty has been in trouble these years. As long as we can hold on, once the situation in the Zhou Kingdom changes, the Liao Dynasty will rule the world again.
Yelu Xizhen was persuaded by Xiao Siwen and agreed with the ceremony.
The next morning, the Liao Emperor Yelu Jing could not wait to meet Yelu Xizhen, who had just returned to Beijing, in the hall on the hill.
People say Yelu Jing is a drunkard and sleepyhead, but at this moment he is very active.
The atmosphere in the hall was very depressing, and the nobles were trembling with fear. At this time, Yelu Xizhen reported the tour with a respectful attitude and praised Yelu Jing many times, and everyone was relieved.
Later, Xiao Siwen also stood up to report on the affairs of Xiazhou, and his tone showed no complaints about his job transfer. People in the hall gradually began to discuss the matter, expressing their own opinions and inevitably cursing Haner and the Dangxiang people.
Yelu Jing, who was in a higher position, was silent and looked at the faces of each noble. Gradually, his expression relaxed a little.
At this time Xiao Siwen put his hand on his chest, bowed and said: The Great Liao is blessed by the gods, and the Khitan warriors are brave and good at fighting. As long as everyone is united, they will be able to defeat the Zhou people.
Yelu Xiu'ge on the side said arrogantly: The Khan only hopes that the betrayals that happened before will not happen again.
Xiao Siwen said: "Whoever has two hearts and does something that makes his relatives sad and his enemies happy, we will not let him go."
The situation seemed to have improved for a while. The Southern Zhou Kingdom had launched two northern expeditions in the past few years and was obsessed with Youzhou. The external pressure actually promoted the internal situation of the Liao Kingdom. Since this year, there has been no rebellion in Shangjing.