The tents on the undulating grasslands looked like countless haystacks, with flags fluttering in the wind between the tents, and horse teams galloping across the grasslands. Large flocks of sheep lowered their heads and nibbled on the newly green grass. The sound of horse hooves and the mooing of cattle and sheep made the uneven grasslands very lively.
In a tent, Yang Gun was talking to several civil servants in robes. At this time, a bald servant lifted the curtain and said: "There is news about the Yang Mansion. Our people have news."
The officials tactfully said goodbye and came out of Yang Gun's tent. When they looked around, they saw a man wearing a bamboo hat entering the tent from the back. The hat was pulled down very low on his head.
The man who entered the tent took off his bamboo hat and revealed his hair in a bun. He was a man. Yang Gun looked at him without saying anything, then turned around and sat cross-legged on the cushion.
The man walked forward, leaned over and whispered something in Yang Gun's ear for a long time. Yang Gun's expression was uncertain and his brows were furrowed.
Yang Gun thought for a long time and asked in a low voice: How to spread rumors that King Yansa Ge of Qi and King Yue are planning a rebellion
The man said: It’s very simple, if you tell one person, there will be a big mess.
Who? Yang Gun asked, subconsciously guessing who it was. All the people he knew and had heard of in the Liao Dynasty poured into his mind, and it was as if he had walked into a huge maze of intricate relationships.
At this time, the man said: I am happy to hide.
Yang Gun was stunned after hearing this, but after careful thought, he gradually understood.
Xiyin was the son-in-law of Xiao Siwen, the son of Yelu Lihu, the grandson of Liao Taizu. He was frivolous and ambitious. No one in the Lihu family had ever been an emperor, but Yelu Xiyin had always wanted to be an emperor. Before this, he had rebelled twice, but both failed; but Yang Gun believed that he would definitely rebel again if he was instigated.
Why was Yang Gun so sure? Thinking about the people that Xiao Siwen's two daughters were marrying and the man that his youngest daughter Xiao Yanyan was going to marry, they were all people who had the potential to become emperor. Yang Gun fully agreed with Xiao Siwen's views on these people.
After Yelü Xian ascended the throne, he showed tolerance and kindness to the Liao royal family, hoping to change the internal tension during the reign of the previous emperor Yelü Jing and ease the civil strife. If the death of the King of Qi was framed on Yelü Xian, no matter whether others believed it or not, Xiyin would definitely believe it, and would think that he had found an excuse and a pretext: Yelü Xian was mean and unkind to the royal family.
If Xiyin really used this excuse to start a rebellion, there would be no need for someone to spread the rumor. If things got out of hand, the rumor would spread far and wide.
After thinking about it, Yang Gun felt that the person who came up with the idea of using Xiyin was very capable. Not only did he know the internal political relations of Liao very well, but he also had bold associations.
He couldn't help but ask: Who came up with this idea
Haner whispered: Emperor Daxu said so himself.
Oh. Yang Gun nodded slightly. He pondered for a moment, and then said with some regret that even if the foreign invaders came to the doorstep, there would always be many people who only cared about fighting among themselves. This seemed to be the inferiority of human beings.
Half a month later, the Liao royal camp suddenly received an urgent message from a fast horse. It was not one piece of news, but two.
Yelu Xiyin led his troops to raise an army in Zuzhou, and joined forces with Yelu Bishe, the King of Yue who stayed in Shangjing, to occupy Shangjing.
Fall of Jinzhou
Good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone. Both pieces of news were completely unexpected, and the king's tent seemed to be in an uproar.
Someone is cursing Yelu Xiyin. It's already this hour, and he still wants to stab someone in the back. Who will obey him
Some people are scolding the garrison commander of Jinzhou. Jinzhou is one of the strongest cities in the Liao Dynasty. It was captured in just half a month. Why is he so incompetent
The messenger bowed and said: Qi Wang Yelu Yansa Ge was beheaded by Shi Yanchao, and his head was hung on a flagpole and displayed to the public in four cities every day; Xu Jun sent people to shout day and night that the reinforcements had been defeated and Jinzhou became an isolated city. The morale of the Jinzhou defenders was low, and some Han soldiers attacked the east city and opened the city gate. Xu Jun's troops rushed into the city, and Jinzhou fell.
Another person said: Song Wang Yelu Xiyin claimed that the death of Qi Wang was caused by the Khan and his ministers, and he was mean and unkind to the royal family. Yue Wang Yelu Bishe heard that someone had accused him of colluding with Qi Wang to rebel, and he was frightened and conspired with Song Wang Xiyin.
Everyone was talking about it. Once Jinzhou was lost, Xu's army could threaten Liaoyang by crossing the Ling River. The capital of Dongdan was no longer safe. Tiezhou Yingkou and Jinzhou Xu's army joined forces, and the sea and land were integrated. There was almost no resistance to the east to the Yalu River. Xu's army colluded with the Goryeo army and the Jurchen rebels, and responded from east to west; Dongdan was forced from several sides and fell into the situation of being surrounded by the enemy. The most disadvantageous thing is that we are now in chaos in the rear, and it is difficult to concentrate troops to deal with foreign enemies.
Although Yelu Xian usually left all major matters to his ministers, he was already eighteen years old and the emperor of the Liao Dynasty. At this time, sweat broke out on his forehead. He held the scepter tightly in his hand and looked at Yelu Xizhen and Xiao Siwen eagerly.
Xiao Siwen said: King Song is hiding his rebellion, maybe he was instigated by a traitor. I would like to ask someone to return to the capital to contact my second daughter and ask her to persuade King Song.
We don't know what kind of person Xiyin is. A royal noble said immediately, if we use persuasion, he might think we are afraid of him.
Yelu Xizhen turned his head and glanced at Yang Gun calmly, and gave him a wink.
Yang Gun came out from behind, put his hand on his chest and bowed, saying: Great Khan, Goryeo has been eyeing the old lands of Dongdan and Bohai for a long time, and our country has made enemies with Xu. If we take a long-term view, the Liao Dynasty can only stabilize one country and deal with one country at a time, defeating them one by one, and avoid going to war with the two countries at the same time.
The Jurchen tribes of Dongdan Kingdom were spread all over the north and south. Goryeo instigated the Sheng Jurchen to rebel. In order to prevent more Jurchen tribes from rebelling against Liao, it was better to deal with Goryeo and the Sheng Jurchen rebels first. At this time, the Xu army was the strongest. Negotiating peace with Xu Kingdom and resolving the situation in the south could not only greatly resolve the crisis, but also separate Xu Kingdom from Goryeo Kingdom.
Yelu Xian frowned and asked: Are the people of Xu willing to negotiate peace
Yang Gun said: After Fan Zhongyi was imprisoned, I took over his position. When I sorted out the diplomatic files of the Northern Court, I found that the Liao Dynasty Posthouse in Tokyo had written a letter saying that Xu State was willing to negotiate peace. I asked to send an envoy to Jinzhou to test the waters first.
Xiao Siwen looked at Yelu Xian with a complicated expression, as if he was about to say something but hesitated. In terms of his attitude towards Xu State, he obviously advocated a strong fight. However, the situation changed too quickly, and Xiao Siwen was unable to prepare in advance to deal with the current situation.
The situation is like this. If you want to advocate war, you must not only come up with a strategy to resolve the danger, but also be responsible for the consequences of this strategy. Xiao Siwen's face turned blue and red alternately, and he said nothing.
At this time, even Yelu Xian seemed very silent, with shame and anger on his face, as well as helplessness. Perhaps Yelu Xian was thinking of Xiao Yanyan again.
While everyone was thinking about it, Yelu Xizhen bowed and said: "Khan, I support Yang Gun's proposal."
For a moment, people seemed to have gradually figured it out, and many people agreed with this situation, as if it was a sign that Yelu Xizhen could command the civil and military officials in the court; as soon as he expressed his opinion, the majority of people immediately supported him.
Xiao Siwen and others saw this and understood that Yelu Xizhen's position as the Privy Councilor of the Northern Court was gradually gaining the influence that a Privy Councilor should have.
Yelu Xian looked at it, patted the top of the scepter twice, and said: Then let's follow Yang Gun's plan.
The opinions of the king and his ministers gradually became clear in the king's tent. Xiao Siwen didn't say a word afterwards. He felt as if he had fallen into a quicksand pit. ..
It was that feeling, once my legs had sunk in, I didn't have time to react and it wasn't over. But no matter how hard I struggled, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get out, and I got deeper and deeper, and there was no way out.
The moment his legs got stuck was when the siege of Hedong failed and he gave up the position of Privy Councilor of the Northern Courtyard.
Back then, it was Xiao Siwen who strongly advocated for Yelu Xian to be enthroned. The Khan obeyed his orders and the entire court was in his control. But now, Xiao Siwen felt that his destiny was gradually out of control and was completely controlled by others.
He was panicking. Although he didn't speak easily, he was racking his brains to think of a solution. Seeing that important matters didn't need to go through his attitude at all, he became more anxious and sweaty.
There are so many things to do, but where is the way forward
Xiao Siwen was trying desperately to sort out the chaos. Now he had to protect himself, or he would be blamed. First of all, he had to cling to Yelu Xizhen's thigh, because Xiao Siwen intuitively felt that Yelu Xizhen's words in the court were becoming more and more important.
There is an advantage in clinging to Yelu Xizhen. Xiao Siwen and he are allies, but relying solely on friendship is not enough. Yelu Xizhen must see his own value and value his help to him.
Xiao Siwen didn't hear a word of what was happening in the king's tent. He was thinking nervously.
After a long time, Xiao Siwen raised his head, calmed down and said: Khan, I have something to say.
Yelu Xian immediately turned his head and looked at Xiao Siwen. The Khan had listened to Xiao Siwen's opinions for a long time, so he still attached great importance to his words. Yelu Xian said: "Mr. Xiao, please speak."
Xiao Siwen said: The most important thing for the Liao Dynasty is to win the hearts of the people. Yelu Xiyin is plotting a rebellion and falsely accusing the Khan of being involved in the death of Qi Wang Yansa Ge. The court cannot acquiesce and must take action.
Yelu Xian nodded.
Xiao Siwen added: "I request that the King of Qi be posthumously named the Imperial Uncle and the widow of the King of Qi be named the Imperial Concubine. This will both demonstrate the King's benevolence towards the royal family and appease the King of Qi's former subordinates."
At this point, Xiao Siwen looked at Yelu Xian expectantly. The widow of the King of Qi was his eldest daughter, Xiao Huanian. If Xiao Huanian received support from the court and then took control of the King of Qi's old subordinates and fiefdoms, Xiao Siwen would be even more valuable to Yelu Xizhen in winning her over and maintaining her.
Yelu Xian looked around and saw no one objected, even Yelu Xizhen acquiesced. Yelu Xian then said: "Mr. Xiao's words make sense, let's pass on the order."
Xiao Siwen heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. Once he found the exit, more clever ideas would come to his mind. He also remembered that his wife, Princess Yan, was the daughter of Emperor Taizong. With a little arrangement, he could serve as a link between the court and Emperor Taizong's faction to ease the tension.