Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

After Shi Congyun saw it, he also understood that what Su Xiao said made sense, and it was not surprising that officials in the court and central government avoided him, thinking that he was a cruel official.

It's just that the psychological pressure is extremely high. He has killed too many people. There is no pressure to kill a corrupt official, but killing Ma Kuo is equivalent to killing his three-year-old child.

But the next day, Emperor Shi agreed to Su Xiao's memorandum, sentenced Qinzhou to Ma Kuo and abandoned the city, and confiscated his family property...

After this incident, the atmosphere in the court was tightened immediately, and everyone could see the emperor's determination and ruthlessness in dealing with corruption.

At the same time of blocking, it should also be sparse. Shi Congyun also issued a new edict, and anyone who exposes corruption will be rewarded.

And reward Dou Yi and Su Xiao as role models for all officials.

At the same time, he promoted Su Xiaoyou to admonish the doctor, judged Dali Temple, and bestowed gold and purple clothes to show his favor and set an example for officials.

All kinds of methods were used, and the atmosphere in the Qin Dynasty's officialdom was also changed...

Chapter 403, Precursor of Split

On the banks of the North Canal, the wind blows the reeds, and the air is filled with a stench of dust, just like the smell of dried loess in the forehead, which is halfway through the rain. Today is very different from the past. Sheep smelly.

When the wind blows and the grass is low, flocks of cattle and sheep are crowded on the avenue, and herdsmen on horseback are shouting loudly on the side of the road. Every other section of the road, there are ten cavalry patrolling back and forth, singing loudly, together with the natural white clouds, meaning long.

The bleating of cattle and sheep is all over the hills. Xiao Siwen is riding a white horse, wearing brown and black wolf leather riding boots, and holding the rein in his hand. Floating by the side, like the white clouds falling from the sky, beautiful and soft.

He can all think of the fat taste of those cattle and sheep, the juicy and oily delicacy, which can only be assembled by many herdsmen with great effort and the deterrence of force. The nobles of the emperor's royal family gathered some, but most of them It was forcibly confiscated from the people, and for this reason the army also clashed with the people near Nanjing.

But for these, Xiao Siwen himself didn't worry too much. His Nanyuan forbidden army couldn't beat the Qin army, and it was easy to deal with a few troublemakers.

Xiao Siwen was thinking about something, and when he turned around, he saw Yelu Xiezhen riding over.

"I'm back." He greeted.

Yelu Xiezhen held the horsewhip in his hand, and his eyes flickered with complex expressions, "What a good cattle and sheep, I will give them to Qin..."

"The Qin Army's new guard general in Guanbei, Li Hanchao, is picky and picky. He thinks he is too small and not fat enough...Many people hate him so much that they can't help it..." Xiao Siwen Gritting his teeth, his teeth were itchy too.

"Li Hanchao, what kind of person is he?" Yelu Xiezhen asked. In the past, they rarely inquired about the affairs of the south, especially the royal court in the north. The Daliao Kingdom had never had any opponents. But now it is different. They were extra caring and cautious, and they also paid close attention to every specific person, especially those generals under Shi Congyun.

"Li Hanchao is Shi Congyun's general. I heard that when he was in Shu, Shi Congyun almost killed him because he robbed a widow." Xiao Siwen told the news he had heard. He immediately sent someone to inquire, and paid a lot of money to get a lot of news from the Han people. After all, he bears the brunt of the pressure after Li Hanchao took office.

Although the two countries have already negotiated a peace agreement, knowing himself and the enemy can make him feel at ease with the Qin army who is close by, and he can sleep peacefully at night.

After inquiring from many sources, what impressed him the most was not Li Hanchao's illustrious military exploits in the Southern and Northern Wars, but the embarrassing event that these fifty veterans robbed the widows of common people's homes in Shu and were almost executed by Shi Congyun.

Not only him, but during the investigation, the spies also discovered that even the common people of the state of Qin still remembered this matter, but they were not so clear about Li Hanchao's military achievements. It can be said that it is another kind of fame left in history .....

Regarding this, Yelu Xiezhen just commented: "There are such subjects as there are kings."

Xiao Siwen nodded in agreement, and then thought of the conditions Shi Congyun proposed to him, he frowned and felt relieved.

The reason for his hesitation is that he doesn't know why Shi Congyun, as the hero of the world, is interested in his own daughter, and Yanyan is only 12 years old, she is coveted by Shi Congyun, she is likely to be injured and die early... ..

But the peace of mind is that if he is the Qin emperor's in-laws, at least there will be an extra way out. Even His Majesty is afraid of Shi Congyun.

And he, Xiao Siwen, who has read poetry and books, thinks of the Han and Tang Dynasties in the history books and ancient books. The past is magnificent, and sometimes he also thinks, if it is that kind of reincarnation, if the Han people continue to go north, then he should also be prepared .

All of this can be compared with the reincarnation in the Buddhism he believes in. If this is the reincarnation of the world, then everything makes sense...

"At least His Majesty is happy, he has been trying his best to facilitate this matter, and for this reason he named Yanyan the princess of Yunzhong..." Xiao Siwen asked, "You should know a lot of news when you come back from the north. "

Yelu Xiezhen nodded: "Your Majesty is really happy to stay behind, Shi Congyun is willing to negotiate a peace so that he can sit back and relax and really get rid of the serious illness in his heart.

But the situation in the imperial court is a bit... I can't say, in short, everyone has their own opinions, and there are undercurrents surging. "

"What is the undercurrent?" Xiao Siwen asked, he knew more or less, but he still wanted to ask. Definite news is better than guesswork. It is not what he wants to be far away in Nanjing, and he is always paying attention to the situation in Beijing.

"Some people support His Majesty. They just want to relieve the scourge in the south and live in peace. They don't want to go south. The Qin army is too powerful, and Shi Congyun is too powerful. We have killed tens of thousands of people, but we can't see the hope of going south to defeat them.

Some people also support not going south and living a stable life, but they are very suspicious of Shi Congyun's promise. They think that Shi Congyun, the ruler of the Qin Dynasty, is a vicious wolf, but judging from his many actions, he is also cunning and shameless like a fox. His promises cannot be fully trusted, and one should remain vigilant. Seeing what happened to Emperor Hou Zhou back then, it was the result of trusting Shi Congyun. "

Xiao Siwen agreed: "I believe that Shi Congyun has evil intentions, but as far as the moment is concerned, what can we do? We are not his opponents. Fortunately, Youzhou Jiancheng and the Gobi Grassland can stop him for a while, at least there is no worry for now... ...." As for the future, he didn't say anymore, the Han people in the south generally don't go deep into the grasslands and deserts to fight.

In the distance, the wind blows camel bells, jingle bells, and sheep bleat, attracting a gust of warm wind, which makes people less impetuous, and can't help but immerse themselves in peace.

But such peace and tranquility are not enough to eliminate restlessness in people's hearts.

"The world is changing...." Yelu Xiezhen looked cautious, and whispered: "Not everyone obeys His Majesty's holy will.

There are still many people who feel that they should not bow their heads to the Han people. Many Khitan nobles were dissatisfied with bowing their heads to Qin this time. His Majesty was so happy that he held a feast for several days, and the more people were dissatisfied.

There are still many people who are going to Yongxing Palace in private to contact and walk around, especially Han officials like Han Kuangsi, who like to go to Yongxing Palace, stay behind and understand what I mean. "

Xiao Siwen's originally calm expression suddenly changed, he glanced at Yelu Xiezhen, and asked seriously, "How do you know?"

"A friend told me."

Seeing that Yelu Xiezhen answered indifferently, he didn't press the question, but there was an uncontrollable turmoil in his heart, because Yongxing Palace is not an ordinary place......

Yongxing Palace is not in Shangjing, but in Wangyunchuan, which logically leaves the political center, which is a deliberate arrangement, but even so, it is still difficult to stay away from the sight of the world.

The identities of the people living inside are not ordinary.

At such a juncture, someone started running to Yongxing Palace, contacting the people inside, contacting the current situation, and thinking about the past, always made him uneasy.

"Does Your Majesty know about this?" He asked in a low voice.

"You stay behind to ask this question, so you're not going to talk about it?" Yelu Xiezhen smiled, as if he had grasped Xiao Siwen's mind at once, and then said in a low voice: "It's rare for people to talk about this kind of thing. Because I believe in staying behind.

Besides, it wasn't something shameful, His Majesty didn't pay much attention to it, and there weren't too many people coming and going. "

Xiao Siwen nodded, and began to calculate in his heart.

At that time, Emperor Shizong of the Liao Kingdom, Yeluruan, acted mischievously, went south continuously, and resorted to military tactics, which caused the anger of the sky and the people's resentment, which eventually led to the rebellion of Vulcan Lake, and was assassinated to death. After that, His Majesty Yelujing ascended the throne and cleaned up the situation.

The descendants of Emperor Sejong of the Great Liao Kingdom were adopted in Yongxing Palace......

Yelu Xiezhen suddenly said: "The nobleman in the palace is still young, but he is extremely intelligent. He said he always remembered Sister Yanyan."

"Yanyan?" Xiao Siwen was taken aback for a moment, but he was a smart person, so he quickly realized that his face was very ugly.

"You are embarrassing me!"

He also thought that Yelu Xiezhen had something to do with going south this time, and there was a purpose behind the aimless chat, which was to force him to stand in line.

Having said that, it becomes clear at once.

His Majesty named his youngest daughter Xiao Chuo the Princess of Yunzhong, and planned to marry the Lord of Qin in exchange for the two countries to stop fighting.

However, many Han officials and Khitan nobles in the country are very dissatisfied with His Majesty's weakness, so they want to bet on the heirs of King Sejong to oppose His Majesty's weak policy.

And they wanted to give their daughter Xiao Chuo to the heirs of King Sejong to express their position in secret.

He has always been a person who knows how to stand in line, so he naturally understood all the ups and downs in it instantly, but this moment pushed him into a dilemma.

It is not surprising that the heirs of Shizong are talking about Yanyan. Yongxing Palace is not isolated from the world.

What he didn't understand was why Shi Congyun, who had never met Yanyan before, wanted her by name. This was so strange that neither he nor his daughter could figure it out.

But at this point, it suddenly became a huge problem.

Letting his daughter go south, he will offend a large number of people. They just feel that His Majesty is weak and shouldn't exchange women, cattle and sheep for peace, so they must deliberately prevent the incident of disturbing pornography. It's hard to say.

But if Yan Yan is not allowed to go south, he will also offend a group of people, first of all, His Majesty, but after successive defeats, loss of troops, and separation of people's hearts, His Majesty will rely on him instead, and there is a high probability that he will not be punished for such a trivial matter.

The key is to offend Shi Congyun...

He once let go of the harsh words that if he did not hand over his daughter, he would lead an army of [-] to conquer Youzhou. He didn't know how true or false the words were, but he was also worried. He would rather offend His Majesty than Shi Congyun .

"You are forcing me like this, you are not afraid that I will speak out!" Xiao Siwen questioned a little angrily.

But Yelu Xiezhen didn't care too much and said: "There is no proof, no proof, so what if you talk about it, besides, if you are loyal to His Majesty, you won't think of marrying the eldest daughter to Yelufu Sage."

Xiao Siwen stopped talking. Looking at the cattle, sheep and dragons in the distance, the herdsman yelled and remained silent for a long time: "Let me think about it, it's still early."

"There is not so much time to stay on the sidelines, and later ones will not be able to eat good meat."

"This year, at least until the end of this year."

"Then what about Qin State?"

"I'll take care of it myself. If you have nothing to do, go back to the north as soon as possible. I don't have time to receive you. I still have a lot of things to do!" Xiao Siwen complained angrily, and then he rode his horse and led the guards back along the road, leaving only Yelu Xiezhen behind. stand there.

He sighed, if time allowed, he didn't want to push his uncle like this.

After all, he spent a lot of time in Nanjing when he was young. Xiao Siwen watched him grow up like his father, gave him a lot of guidance, and recommended him to the court.

However, the situation has changed now. Brother Yeluxiu followed Beifu Prime Minister Xiao Wo to fight against the rebellion of Wugu and Shiwei. In this summer, the rebels were defeated. The news of success has been sent to Shangjing one after another, and the army is already dealing with the aftermath.

The class teacher will return to the court within this year, and the position of the rising star Yeluxiu and the prime minister of the Beifu will be unclear, and there may be many changes, so he is eager to force Xiao Siwen to stand on their side as soon as possible.

"Don't blame me..." Yelu Xiezhen said softly, he thought he was right, the Liao Kingdom couldn't be weak any longer, otherwise it would only get worse.

......

After successive defeats and defeats, the Liao Kingdom began to be filled with complaints and fears, which made people nervous and cranky.

Then comes the biggest problem, when you're on the rise, everyone is right about everything.

And once it starts to slide, everything and everyone are at fault, this is the essence of human beings, the so-called reason is just a moon in the water, a flower in the mirror, and a sword on the tongue.

External blows and threats are difficult to dismember and defeat a huge empire, but internal division is much simpler.

When someone is dissatisfied, even the smallest problem is a problem.

Eighty thousand cattle and sheep and a princess are not indispensable wealth for the Daliao Kingdom.

But soon the division and confrontation that was torn apart because of this incident quietly fermented on the grassland. Some people felt that the king was bearing the burden of humiliation. During a difficult period, look for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the southern powers.

Some people denounced this as complete weakness, and they must not bow their heads again at this time. Once they bow their heads at this time, it will encourage the arrogance of the southern powers, making them feel that Liao is weak and deceitful, and it is likely to make a comeback.

As for which arguments are beneficial to the Liao Kingdom, no one knows, and future generations can only criticize and criticize based on the results, but before the results came out, the Liao Kingdom was full of these voices, and they began to gradually split and oppose each other. Church, down to ordinary people.

As time goes by, the autumn geese return to the south, the former overlord of the north and the great power of the world, the biggest problem is no longer the threat from the south, but internal division and confrontation...

Chapter 404: The Second Year of Tenglong

It was another year of good autumn, the sky gradually cleared, and time passed quickly. Shi Congyun stood at the top of Xuandemen City and looked to the north, with countless melancholy in his heart. Finally, after a sage mode, he completely saw himself.

He admitted that he stopped pretending. In fact, all kinds of statements about Xiao Chuo were just giving himself a reason. He just wanted to try and see who made her so famous in later generations. Such a simple reason , without even the slightest emotion.

For this reason, Shi Congyun deeply reflected on his own mistakes, and introspected for a long time. This cannot delay the state affairs because of the impulse of the lower body, but he is also looking forward to it more and more.

Until the end of July, [-] cattle and sheep were received by Li Hanchao, and most of them were transported to Daliang, but Xiao Chuo, who made Emperor Shi eager to fight, did not arrive on time. Xiao Siwen made an apology for this, saying that his daughter had a cold Traveling far may be life-threatening. I hope that the emperor of Qin can forgive him until next year, and then send his daughter south.

This undoubtedly made the Emperor Shi, who was sharpening his sword, lose interest, but considering that Xiao Chuo was really young, only eleven or twelve years old, he still wanted to be a human being no matter how beastly he was, so he agreed to Xiao Siwen's request. In my heart, I sighed again, being an emperor is so good.

.......

In early July, Chen Chengzhao, who was in charge of dredging the canal near Luoyang, received good news that the overall project was almost complete.

Shi Congyun was very happy and happened to be idle, so in mid-July he took a new navy ship and entered the Yellow River along the Bian River, and then went east to Luoyang for a cruise, leaving the affairs of the court to Fan Zhi.

Shi Congyun also gradually discovered that an old friend is harder than a stone in a latrine, and that oil and salt do not enter, and a bad temper that does not eat hot or cold is also good, that is, if he is no longer in charge of the government, there is no need to worry about it. The prime minister will bend the law for personal gain and form cliques.

And Emperor Shi's tour is also of great significance. The emperor's influence in this era is far beyond the imagination of future generations. The emperor went to Luoyang for a tour, and soon brought many new opportunities to the gods, and business travelers followed. At that time, many retired officials also went to Luoyang.

After arriving in Luoyang, Shi Congyun observed the surrounding situation and found that many places in Luoyang were slowly recovering from the war.

As the Central Plains and Guanzhong, the place where Hedong and Shu meet, the development and recovery of Luoyang is very fast, but it is Guanzhong that is most related to its rise and fall.

Because of soil erosion, population moving eastward and other reasons, Guanzhong is no longer as prosperous as it used to be.

During Shi Congyun's stay in Luoyang, he led his soldiers out of the city several times, rode horses to the fields, and observed the surrounding situation between villages.

The final conclusion is that Luoyang has indeed begun to recover, but it is still far behind Daliang.

Due to the restoration of the canal, Luoyang has gradually returned to its former prosperity due to the foreshadowing of peace in these years, but its highlights are gradually dissipating. After looking at the surrounding situation for many days, Emperor Shi also understood why Luoyang gradually failed to earn money in the east. The city is gone.

I'm lonely in Guanzhong......

The Guanzhong Plain was originally not big, and it was enough to support the entire imperial court when the population was small. However, with the development of society and the increase in population, Guanzhong was doomed to be unable to support too many people. The Tang Dynasty had already appeared when food was in short supply. The entire imperial court was about to be relocated, and the emperor took all the officials to Luoyang, the eastern capital, to "eat".

And the loneliness in Guanzhong also doomed the loneliness in Luoyang...

Emperor Shi couldn't help but said a little lonely: "If Guanzhong prospers, Luoyang prospers; if Guanzhong degenerates, Luoyang prospers..."

Few people can understand the loneliness behind Emperor Shi's words, not only because of the decline of Guanzhong and Luoyang, but also because of the larger and long-term considerations.

Because he understands that in this era of inconvenient transportation, the location of the capital determines the scope of the dynasty's influence.

After the Western Han Dynasty opened up the Hexi Corridor and controlled the Western Regions, it was lost in the Tang Dynasty, and the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties no longer controlled the Western Regions.

It was not until the Qing Dynasty recaptured it that it was named "Xinjiang" with the meaning of "solid soil and new return", and there was an interval of 1000 years.

Not to mention the Song Dynasty, the Ming and Yuan dynasties were unable to control the Western Regions like the Han Dynasty, crossed the Congling Mountains, surveyed the Silk Road, and even could not completely control the Hexi Corridor. One of the important reasons is that the capital moved eastward and it was difficult to radiate power westward.