Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

Page 546

Zhang Jue's emissary brought information to Empress Dowager Xiao, Xiao Qian, and Yelu Dashi, saying that after Jizhou surrendered, the Jin army was marching to the east of Yandi. .

Xiao Qian knew that Zhang Jue already had a different heart, so he didn't wait any longer. Together with Yelu Dashi, he protected Empress Dowager Xiao and evacuated northward overnight, and reached Songting Pass on Lulongling.

After the Liao army arrived at Songting Pass, there were serious differences in the army about the next step.

Yelu Dashi, a Khitan native, advocated going west to Jiashan and surrendering to Tianzuo Emperor Yelu Yanxi.

Xiao Qian believed that Emperor Tianzuo was too weak to be a assisted monarch.The fate of the Liao Kingdom today is the result of Emperor Tianzuo's misconduct.Therefore, he will not seek refuge with Emperor Tianzuo again.

Moreover, Xiao Qian and others supported Yeluchun as emperor and demoted Emperor Tianzuo as King of Xiangyin.Going to rely on him now, I am afraid that all the generals will suffer his revenge.

Xiao Qian told Yelu Dashi his plan.

Xiao Qian decided to lead the army back east to the settlement of the Xi clan, and summoned the strength of the Xi clan to prepare for a counterattack and restoration of the country.

The maritime alliance between the Song and Jin countries agreed to hand over the Yanjing area to the Song State. This point has been stated many times when the Jin Emperor Wanyan Aguda rejected the Liao State as a vassal state.

Therefore, Empress Dowager Xiao, Xiao Qian, Yelu Dashi and other high-level officials in the Liao Kingdom knew that the Yanjing area was likely to fall into the hands of the Song army in the future.

What Xiao Qian meant was that the whole army stayed in Lulongling and waited patiently.After the Jin army withdrew and the Song army took over Yanjing City, the whole army attacked, defeated the incompetent Song army, and recovered the Yanjing area.

It should be said that after many battles between the Liao Army and the Song Army, they already know the combat effectiveness of the Song Army well.Xiao Qian's plan, the chance of success is quite high.

The Liao army was far more familiar with Yandi than the Song army.As long as the Jin army withdraws, why should the Liao army be afraid of the incompetent Song army.

However, Yelu Dashi objected to Xiao Qian's proposal, and he insisted on going west to join the Tianzuo Emperor Yelu Yanxi who was hiding in Jiashan.

Yelu Dashi's move was based on political considerations.

Today, Xiao Qian, the great king of the Fourth Army, is respected in the army, and Empress Dowager Xiao is also a member of the Xi clan.If the whole army goes east to the territory of Xi people, it is obvious that all the power will be controlled by Xiao Qian who is the king of Xi.

Even if Xiao Qian can regain the land of Yan and rebuild the Liao Kingdom.However, was the Liao Kingdom at that time still the Liao Kingdom of the Khitan people?

I'm afraid that the Liao Kingdom is already Xiren's, and the Khitan people can only obey Xiren's orders!

Yelu Dashi, as a nobleman of the Khitan clan, first considered the interests of the Khitan people.

The two chief generals in the army were at loggerheads, but they didn't want to cause internal strife, so they had no choice but to divide the troops and act according to their respective plans.

Therefore, the Liao army lined up at Songting Pass and divided them. The Khitan soldiers chose to stand on the side of Yelu Dashi, while the Xi, Han, and Bo navy all chose to stand on Xiao Qian's side.

Tens of thousands of Liao troops were divided into two armies. They shed tears and said goodbye at Songting Pass, embarking on their own different destinies.

Chapter 836 Zhao Liangsi's Difficult Task

As the empress dowager of the Liao Kingdom, despite the dissuasion of Xiao Qian from her own clan, the Empress Dowager Xiao resolutely followed Yelu Dashi and the Khitan army on the road to Jiashan in the west and joined Tianzuo Emperor Yelu Yanxi.

However, just as Xiao Qian guessed, Emperor Tianzuo Yelu Yanxi did not forgive Yeluchun's proclaiming emperor.

When the Empress Dowager Xiao arrived at Jiashan after going through untold hardships, she was executed by the brutal Emperor Tianzuo immediately after she returned to power under Emperor Tianzuo Yelu Yanxi.

Yelu Dashi was pardoned by Emperor Tianzuo because of his contribution to leading the army to defect to Emperor Tianzuo, and escaped with his life by chance.

After all, Yelu Dashi was single-handedly picked up by Yeluchun, and Yeluchun also had a relationship with Yeluchun as a monarch and minister, so seeing the death of Empress Dowager Xiao, Yelu Dashi deeply regretted that he should not have brought Empress Dowager Xiao to see Emperor Tianzuo.

However, a big mistake had already been made, and the empress dowager who bravely went into battle with her own bow when the Song army captured Yanjing City had fallen into a pool of blood.

Empress Dowager Xiao's heroic performance in Yanjing City has already won the support of many Khitan nobles in Yanjing City, so they all followed Queen Mother Xiao to this remote Jiashan.

The atrocities committed by Emperor Tianzuo Yelu Yanxi made these Khitan nobles feel very cold, and many people began to betray Emperor Tianzuo and seek refuge with the Jurchens of the Jin Kingdom.

After learning that Xiao Qian was hiding in the mountains north of Yandi with an army of tens of thousands, Emperor Tianzuo Yelu Yanxi resented him for supporting Yeluchun as emperor, but he still promoted Xiao Qian and made a big effort to win over him.

However, when Xiao Qian learned that Empress Dowager Xiao had been murdered, he was furious, rejected the official position conferred by Emperor Tianzuo, and returned to Jianda Mountain, the hometown of the Xi clan, with the three armies of Xi, Han, and Bohai.

Xiao Qian convened a meeting of nobles from all tribes of the Xi clan to discuss in Jianda Mountain, and won their support, so he established himself on Jianda Mountain and took the title of Emperor Xi.

Xiao Qian changed Yuan Tianfu, and used the civil and military officials brought out from Yanjing City and the nobles of the Xi clan to set up the Privy Council of Xi, Han, and Bohai.Established Xi Ren's own regime.

After Tianzuo Emperor Yelu Yanxi learned that Xiao Qian had established himself as emperor, he immediately issued an order to call Xiao Qian a rebellious minister and traitor, and called on the Liao army and people to work together to put down the chaos.

However, Emperor Tianzuo can only command some nomadic tribes in Xijing Road now, and the Yanjing area has fallen into the hands of the Jin Army and Song Army. How can anyone respond to his call?

The last force of the Liao army in the Yanjing area, the Zhangjue Department of Pingzhou, has also surrendered to the Jin army, and the Liao Kingdom has no more soldiers in the Yanjing area.

For Xiao Qian's Xi Kingdom, Tianzuo Emperor Yelu Yanxi was obviously beyond his reach.

When Xiao Qian Jianguo proclaimed himself emperor, of course he threatened the areas occupied by the Jin army in Zhongjing Road and Nanjing Road.

After Wanyan Aguda, the emperor of the Jin Kingdom, got the news, he immediately wrote a letter to recruit Xiao Qian, telling him of misfortune and good fortune, promising him a high official and generous salary, and asking him to surrender to the Jin army.

However, Xiao Qian rejected the consolation and solicitation of Wanyan Aguda, the emperor of the Jin Kingdom, and vowed to win or lose with Jin and Song.

Arrow Mountain is a traditional settlement area of ​​the Xi people. It is located in the east of Yanshan Mountain. The mountains there are high and steep.

Because Xiao Qian occupied a terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Emperor Wanyan Aguda of the Kingdom of Jin ordered Wanyanchang and others in the Dading Mansion of Zhongjing not to go up the mountain to attack, but only to guard the cities and passes below the mountain.

Wanyan Aguda's strategy is to trap Xiao Qian in the barren mountainous area, making it difficult for him to do anything.

As long as Xiao Qian does not attack north, the Jin army will not take the initiative to attack him.

As for whether Xiao Qianjun would attack Yandi southward, Wanyan Aguda didn't want to pay too much attention to it.Because, against all odds, he decided to hand over the land of Yan to Song.

Xiao Qianjun's troubles might as well be left to Song Jun who took over Yandi to face.

As a generation of heroes and famous generals who have experienced many battles, Emperor Wanyan Aguda of the Kingdom of Jin has already seen through Xiao Qian's strategic intentions and guessed his future attack direction.

At this time, the Song and Jin countries were in a tug-of-war negotiation over whether and how to deliver the Yan land.

Wanyan Aguda kept Ma Kuo in the army at the beginning, mainly to let Ma Kuo help distinguish between the Liao army and the Song army when attacking Juyongguan and Yanjing, so as to prevent the friendly army from being attacked by mistake.

Now that Yanjing has been recovered, and the states in Yandi have surrendered one after another, the Jin army no longer needs to use weapons, and Ma Kuo's mission has been completed.

Therefore, Wanyan Aguda let Ma Kuo go, gave Ma Kuo a war horse, and sent [-] cavalry to escort him back to Xiongzhou to meet Taiwei Tongguan to discuss the handover of Yanjing.

Ma Kuo immediately set off and rushed to Zhuozhou City controlled by the Song Army, and ordered people to rush back to Xiongzhou first, and informed Taiwei Tongguan of the situation in Yanjing City, so that the Song Army could send troops to Yanjing as soon as possible and hand over the land with the Jin Army.

At this time in Xiongzhou City, Taiwei Tong Guan was still busy with the internal liquidation of the last defeat of Liu Yanqing's army.

In order to shirk his responsibility, Taiwei Tong Guan decided to abandon Liu Yanqing and his son, and put all the responsibility for the defeat on Liu Yanqing.

Tong Guan said on the table that Liu Yanqing withdrew his troops without a fight and would collapse without a fight. Now Yanjing in Yunzhong has not recovered. If Liu Yanqing is not severely punished, the lieutenants may be dissatisfied and it will be difficult to order and stop it.

Daojun Emperor Zhao Ji was enraged by Tong Guan's letter, and ordered Liu Yanqing to be imprisoned, ready to be executed.

In order to save his life, Liu Yanqing submitted the document approved by Taiwei Tongguan to the Emperor Daojun, in order to defend himself and prove that it was not his own decision to withdraw the army before the battle. Taiwei Tongguan also knew about it. .

After reading the document submitted by Liu Yanqing, Emperor Daojun believed that although Liu Yanqing did not make the decision to withdraw the army alone, as the supreme commander of the front line, Liu Yanqing still bore the greatest responsibility for the defeat of the Song army during the retreat.