I will never be Renzong

Chapter 220 Negotiating with Concubine Yuan and Regent Xia Song
On the first day of June in the ninth year of Tiansheng, Emperor Yelulong of the Liao Dynasty visited the Daxue River Palace. Unfortunately, his old illness recurred. Stay behind Xiao Xiaoxian and the prime minister Zhang Jian, let them assist the crown prince Yelu Zongzhen, and warn not to violate the covenant with the Song Dynasty.

Three days later, Yelu Longchu died at the age of 61. His posthumous title was Emperor Xiaoxuan, Emperor Wenwu, and his temple name was Shengzong.

During his reign, Emperor Shengzong of the Liao Dynasty always abided by the covenant between Song and Liao, and never provoked any border provocations. During his 49 years in office, he tried unjust cases, promoted talents, inspected corruption and cruelty, suppressed luxury and arrogance, hired descendants who died in state affairs, and provided relief to various ministries. He was poor, scolded the flatterers of his close ministers, and refused to accept the tribute of female musicians from Goryeo. Among all the emperors of the Liao Kingdom, he could be regarded as a wise emperor and a wise master.After his death, Prince Yelu Zongzhen ascended the throne and changed his reign name to Jingfu.

But the prince Yeluzong was really not born to Empress Xiao Bodhisattva, but Yuan Concubine Xiao Yujin. When Liao Shengzong was seriously ill, he knew that Yuan Concubine and Empress had conflicts, so he told the prince during his illness: "The Empress has served me for 40 years. , because she has no son, so I made you the crown prince, after I die, you mother and son must not kill the queen!"

But when Concubine Yuan heard about it, she became even more angry. When Liao Shengzong was critically ill, Concubine Yuan scolded the queen: "Old fellow, your love has its end!" She also ordered the servants to take the queen out.

The imperial edict of Shengzong of Liao appointed the queen as the empress dowager and Concubine Yuan as the empress dowager. After Xiao Yujin, the concubine of Yuan Dynasty, received the edict, she hid it. When Shengzong of Liao passed away, Prince Yelvzong was only 15 years old. At the age of being in charge, the concubine Yuan respected herself as the empress dowager and acted as an agent of state affairs.

After Yuan Fei Xiao Yujin came to power, she enlisted Xiao Xiaoxian to conspire to frame the Queen Xiao Bodhisattva. Because Xiao Shidi, the concubine, was liked by the queen, Xiao Shidi was hated by Yuan Fei Xiao Yujin.

Princess Qin Jin knew about Concubine Yuan's plot, and told Xiao Shidi, "You will be killed innocently. Instead of dying, it is better to flee to Jurchen Kingdom to save your life."

Xiao Shidi replied: "How could the imperial court kill Zhongliang based on rumors? I would rather die than go to other countries."

Coincidentally, in order to cater to Concubine Yuan's wishes, the guard Feng Jianu reported to the court that there was a rebellion, falsely accusing Beifu Prime Minister Xiao Chuobu and Xiao Shidi of plotting rebellion, planning to support Queen Xiao Bodhisattva as regent, and slowly discussing who should be appointed as regent emperor.

Concubine Yuan took this opportunity to interrogate Xiao Chuobu and Xiao Shidi, and finally surrendered and executed Xiao Chuobu, Xiao Shidi and seven of their accomplices on June 25. The case presentation was under the deliberate instruction of Concubine Yuan. , which involves Queen Xiao Bodhisattva.

After the new emperor Yeluzong really heard about it, he said to Concubine Yuan: "The queen has served the late emperor for many years, and she has been kind to me in nurturing me. Logically speaking, she should be the queen mother. Not only did she not become the queen, but she was even blamed on her. I'm afraid It doesn't make sense if you don't use emotion or reason?"

Concubine Yuan replied: "If this person is kept, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles in the future!"

Yelu Zongzhen said again: "The queen is old and childless, and she can do nothing even if she is alive."

But the more Yeluzong really interceded for the queen, the more Concubine Yuan had to deal with the queen, and finally drove the queen into a car and sent her to Shangjing for imprisonment.

The ministers of the Liao Kingdom were all afraid of the power of the concubine Yuan, and no one dared to intercede for the queen. Only the privy envoy Xiao Pu wrote a letter to defend the injustice of the queen, but there was no reply. Xiao Pu lamented his grief and anger, so that he vomited blood.

It was not until the 25th that Zhao Zhen received the news of Liao Shengzong's death, so he stopped watching the dynasty for seven days, and stopped music on Henan Road, Hebei Road, and Shandong Road for seven days.

At the same time, Zhao Zhen also sent Xia Song, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, to Luoxie City to discuss peace with the eighteen Tubo forces. The reason why Xia Song was sent there was because Xia Song was treacherous and greedy, and he would definitely implement Zhao Zhen's peace negotiation conditions very well.

On June [-], the ninth year of Tiansheng, three days after Xia Song arrived in Luoche City, representatives of the eighteen Tubo forces went to Luoche City carrying gold, silver and jewelry to discuss peace with Xia Song.

In the majestic Potala Palace, representatives of the eighteen tribes had arrived for half an hour, and Xia Song just got up from two distinctive Tubo beauties, and then walked towards Go to the hall.

Zhong Shiheng followed Xia Song and wanted to kick Xia Song, but in the Song Dynasty, the civil and military affairs were not under each other's control. Civilian officials had no right to command military generals, and military generals had no right to command civilian officials.

In the main hall, all the Tubo representatives were getting impatient, and Xia Song had just arrived late.

"We came here to negotiate peace with sincerity. How could Envoy Xia treat us so perfunctorily? Although we, the Tubo people, have been defeated, we will not let you Song people bully us!"

"Exactly! I heard that Han people treat people with courtesy? Could it be possible for this to happen?"

A group of Tibetan representatives vented their anger to express their dissatisfaction.

Xia Song was not in a hurry. He took a sip of tea slowly and then said, "I should have come earlier, but I didn't expect that a son of Zanpu was presented to me yesterday for two beauties who are as beautiful as flowers. Therefore, I have been tired for a long time." I stayed up all night and couldn't get up this morning, and now my waist still hurts? I hope you can forgive me!"

"Is the imperial envoy acceptable? If the imperial envoy is satisfied, the beauties of our clan will be chosen by the imperial envoy!"

An envoy hurriedly looked at Xia Song with a smile on his face.

When the envoys saw this, they couldn't help but slap their thighs, thinking that they had miscalculated. If they had known that Xia Song was a womanizer, they would definitely offer beautiful women from the clan.

Xia Song did not reply, but said directly: "Today, one of you came here to redeem each family's Zampu, and the other two came naturally to discuss peace. The imperial envoy will first tell me what I will issue to His Majesty. terms of peace negotiation!”

Seeing Xia Song's words, the messengers knew that the most important thing was coming, so they pricked up their ears as if they were listening.

Seeing this, Xia Song said: "First of all, our court will not return the Tibetan soldiers captured this time. Of course, if they are the Tibetan generals and the captured Zampu, you can use money to redeem them. I think everyone will pay for them." Does anyone have any comments?"

There are frequent wars among the various tribes in Tubo, and the defeated party needs to take ransom to redeem their captured soldiers, so there is no objection to this at all.

"Secondly, all the people who are working will pay tribute to our court. Once a year, the value of the tribute is not less than 3 taels. Of course, you can pay the tribute for three years at one time. Is it meaningful?"

If you can't win, you have to bow your head and surrender, and cede land and pay compensation, so everyone has nothing to discuss about this one.

"Article [-]: The cities of Luoche and Pibo that our army has occupied need to be redeemed with money. Whoever pays more money will get the city. It doesn't make sense to come here, right?"

Pibo City and Luoxue City are of great significance to everyone present, and these two cities have the largest number of Tibetan people. Therefore, all the envoys are gearing up, thinking about how to capture these two cities, or possess One is also good.

"Article [-]: Each of the tribes here will provide one thousand of the strongest Tibetan warriors to our Song Dynasty every year. These one thousand Tibetan warriors will be incorporated into our army of the Song Dynasty and serve for ten years."

"It's impossible! All other conditions can be agreed, but this one is not allowed!"

Before Xia Song finished speaking, a Tibetan envoy stood up and objected.

"Yes! All the elites of our clan have gone to the Song Dynasty, who will protect our cattle, sheep and property?"

"Master Imperial Envoy, does this condition embarrass me to wait?"

All the Tubo envoys complained to Xia Song one after another.

Each force provides [-] warriors to the Song Dynasty every year, which is [-] a year. The quality of the Tubo warriors is unquestionable. Will go to the next level.Furthermore, Zhao Zhen had hundreds of strategies to make the [-] Tubo warriors return to the Song Dynasty, so even after ten years of service, he might end up staying in the Song Dynasty.

When Xia Song first came, Zhao Zhen negotiated with him for several hours, and the rest could be given way. Only this one must be achieved, because this one determines whether the Song Dynasty can rule Tubo for a long time.

Xia Song saw the envoys quarreling, so he slammed the table, and then said: "I have an order from your majesty. You must agree to this. If not, you will ask General Zhong to lead his cavalry to attack the tribes that refuse to obey, and then Escort all the nobles to this day and abolish serfdom!”

Xia Song not only threatened to use force, but also claimed to abolish slavery. This hit the nail on the head of everyone present, so everyone kept silent. More than [-] people were recruited, and when these envoys came to some cities, Xia Song asked Zhong Shiheng to order a military drill to intimidate the representatives of all tribes in order to strengthen his prestige.

Zhong Shiheng received Zhao Zhen's order to cooperate with Xia Song. Therefore, Zhong Shiheng not only held a military drill, but also invited the artillery battalion that arrived later to participate. As a result, after more than a dozen artillery shells were fired, a group of representatives My legs were weak from fear.

Zhao Zhen is well versed in the art of giving both kindness and power, and Xia Song also understands the principle of giving a sweet date a slap in the face.

Therefore, Xia Song added: "Each tribe sends a thousand warriors to our court every year to serve in the army. At the same time, our court will confer the tribes here as hereditary viscounts, and each tribe can report the territory it controls to our court. If there are other If any tribe attacks and occupies the city or territory here, you can send a letter of request for help to our court. At that time, our court will send a large army to uphold justice for you. If you sincerely adhere to our court, then you should always contribute a little for our country's country. It’s just right, isn’t it? What’s more, with only 1000 people a year, it’s not too difficult for you?”

"Of course, there is no need to alert me to some minor conflicts, don't you think so?"

The Tubo forces come and go, and the Tubo emperors also take turns. This year is Zanpu, and next year it may be rebelled by his subordinates.The conditions offered by the Song Dynasty can undoubtedly guarantee the long-term prosperity and wealth of their family.

Of the [-] Tubo tribes present here, the larger ones have been conquered by the Song Dynasty army, and their strength is not as good as before. Therefore, the rest are some small and medium tribes. In the past, these small and medium tribes were often bullied by big tribes. Looting, even extermination, and the conditions set by the Song Dynasty undoubtedly guaranteed their power and wealth, so everyone present agreed to the Song Dynasty's request after deliberation.

Seeing that everyone agreed to the peace terms, Xia Song immediately held a banquet in honor of the envoys. At the same time, he ordered people to work hard to deliver the results of the peace talks to Zhao Zhen, who drafted an imperial edict to confer the title of eighteen Tubo chieftains.

All the Tubo envoys and Xia Song are people who enjoy themselves, so when the banquet is in full swing, they are accompanied by Tubo beauties, and the Tubo envoys have long been accustomed to it. After all, in their eyes, these women are just lowly female slaves.

Xia Song was raising his hands at the Tubo beauties in his arms, and suddenly remembered that today's officials are very interested in collecting different beauties, so he pretended to say: "Your Majesty, I am wise and powerful, and I am in my prime. I haven't established a crown prince yet. If you have a person with an outstanding appearance and a graceful figure in the clan, you may wish to dedicate it to my majesty. Once you enter the palace, if you are favored by your majesty's eyes and give birth to a boy and a half girl, then you can give it to everyone. It brings a lot of benefits!"

The envoys all understood what Xia Song meant, so they began to think about which family in the clan had a beautiful daughter. They could present it to His Majesty the Song Dynasty when paying tribute. Maybe it would bring blessings to themselves in the future.

Of course, the beauties dedicated to Zhao Zhen cannot be confused with the beauties in front of him. At the very least, they must be beautiful, and they must be of noble birth and virgin.

In Kaifeng, in the imperial palace, just after Zhao Zhen left the court, he received a report from someone sent by Xia Song. Seeing that Xia Song had completed the task brilliantly, Zhao Zhen was very satisfied, thinking that although Xia Song was a famous treacherous minister in history , but the ability is still there, and he is the most suitable post as the minister of the Ministry of Rites, because with such a person in charge of negotiations, Song Dynasty will not suffer any losses in the end.

It's not that Zhao Zhen doesn't want to take back the whole territory of Tubo, but it's not the time yet. The threat from the north of the Song Dynasty has not been resolved. Moreover, the land of Tubo is too poor. Apart from the quality of the soldiers, there is nothing much to gain.

To develop Tubo, the Song Dynasty would have to spend a lot of manpower and material resources, and some of the losses would outweigh the gains. Therefore, before the threat from the Khitan people in the north was resolved, Zhao Zhen planned to implement a chieftain system similar to that of the Ming Dynasty on Tubo, but the difference was that Every year, Zhao Zhen summons a group of the bravest soldiers from Tubo. The reason why he does this is to weaken the power of each tribe.

In July of the ninth year of Tiansheng, Zhao Zhen issued a decree to confer the title of [-] chieftains in Tubo, and recruited the first batch of Tubo soldiers.

In August of the same year, Xia Song successfully sold Luoxie City and Pibo City, and the money he got was just enough for Zhao Zhen to reward the three armies and appease the families of the fallen soldiers.

In September of the same year, the Song army evacuated Luoxue City with a large number of seized gold, silver, jewelry, cattle and sheep.

After this battle, Zhao Zhen understood that if he wanted to train a cavalry capable of fighting well, only the vast grassland was the most suitable training base, so Zhao Zhen ordered the cavalry of the Qinglong Army and the Qilin Army to pay Qingtang, Qilin and other cavalry respectively. Liangzhou and other places.

Kaifeng retained a total of more than [-] cavalry from the two armies, and they were transferred every two years to guard the capital in turn.

(End of this chapter)