Chapter 221 The Situation in Xixia
While Zhao Xing was taking concubines and enjoying himself, the Western Xia envoys also returned to Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of the Western Xia.
Li Yunchu returned to the palace and went to see the Emperor of Western Xia.
No one knew what the two talked about, but the people guarding outside heard bursts of quarreling coming from inside.
Finally, Li Yunchu covered her face and left crying.
The Xixia emperor then ordered that the eldest princess was not allowed to leave the palace.
…………
In the study room on the east side of the Western Xia Imperial Palace, a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old and a middle-aged man were sitting opposite each other, playing chess.
The young man is the current Xixia Emperor Li Liangzuo, and the man opposite him is the father of the current Xixia Queen and current Xixia Prime Minister Liang Guangchuan.
Liang Guangchuan and his daughter played an indispensable role in Li Liangzuo's successful seizure of power, and the Liang family also received rich rewards. His daughter became the queen and he became the prime minister.
"Your Majesty, is there anything worrying you?" Liang Guangchuan asked after dropping a piece.
Li Liangzuo looked at the chessboard, put the chess piece in his hand into the box, and said, "I lose."
"Your Majesty has not lost. There are still many solutions to the chess game." Liang Guangchuan said.
"This game of Go is profound and difficult to understand. I have only been learning it for a short time, so how can I be a match for the father-in-law?" Li Liangzuo shook his head.
"Your Majesty, you still need to learn more. The culture of the Central Plains is extensive and profound. Although Go is just for entertainment, it also contains mysteries." Liang Guangchuan said with a smile.
"I understand. I will learn more from you in the future." Li Liangzuo nodded and said, "My sister is unwilling to go to the Song Dynasty to marry."
"Your Majesty is hesitating?" Liang Guangchuan asked back.
"My royal sister is very good to me, and I don't want to force her." Li Liangzuo said.
He became the emperor of Western Xia when he was still in his cradle and knew nothing.
His mother had a chaotic private life and didn't care about him. She and his uncle controlled the government.
Only Li Yunchu treated him sincerely and made him feel the warmth of his family.
"Your Majesty, you must not be too soft-hearted. Although Your Majesty has taken control of the government, the court has been in chaos over the years due to the Emperor's uncle. The generals who hold military power, except for those in Kyoto, all have the intention of holding their own troops. If Your Majesty wants to take back the military power, there will be unrest in the country. If the Song and Liao invade at this time, the consequences will be disastrous.
In fact, the chances of the Song Dynasty sending troops are very small, but the Liao Kingdom may not. Marrying the Song Dynasty can make the Liao Kingdom wary, so that the internal instability can be eliminated safely. "Liang Guangchuan said.
"I understand what the father-in-law said, but my sister doesn't want to do it, and I can't bear it." Li Liangzuo said.
After all, he is only fourteen years old. Even though he is smart, he is not that cruel.
"Your Majesty, as a princess, Her Royal Highness the Princess enjoys wealth and it is only right for her to make some sacrifices for the court and Daxia. As long as Daxia becomes stronger and stronger, the Song Dynasty will not dare to treat the Princess badly." Liang Guangchuan said.
Li Liangzuo closed his eyes for a long time before opening them. The hesitation in his eyes disappeared completely, and he said, "The father-in-law is right. The marriage is settled."
Li Liangzuo was also a decisive person. Having made a decision, he did not hesitate and asked, "The father-in-law contacted those generals. What did they say?"
"Only a few people are willing to hand over their military power, while the rest are vague." Liang Guangchuan said.
"Hmph, we've given them the chance. In that case, don't blame me." Li Liangzuo said coldly.
"Your Majesty, I have a plan that may be able to take back the military power without bloodshed." Liang Guangchuan said with a smile.
Li Liangzuo was somewhat unhappy when he heard this. After he came to power, Liang Guangchuan suggested following the example of the Song Dynasty and establishing six ministries.
Liang Guangchuan is a Han Chinese. Although his ancestors had been under the rule of Western Xia during the Tang Dynasty, they were always guarded against by the Dangxiang tribe.
Li Liangzuo did not discriminate against the Han people. On the contrary, he also recognized Han culture.
Otherwise, his ancestors would not have surrendered to the Han people.
He recognized it, but there was one thing he hated.
Han people always like to be mysterious when they speak.
Just like now, Liang Guangchuan could clearly tell the solution directly, but he insisted on keeping it in suspense.
Although he was unhappy, Li Liangzuo still patiently asked, "What's the solution?"
"Your Majesty, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty once used a trick of giving up military power with a cup of wine. Your Majesty can follow suit. The eldest princess is about to marry the Song Dynasty. Your Majesty is reluctant to let her go and wants to hold a grand banquet to see her off. You can then summon those generals back to Beijing." Liang Guangchuan said.
Li Liangzuo frowned and said, "Will they come back? I have tried various reasons before, but they all found various excuses to shirk their responsibilities."
"Yes, I have contacted some people, and they are willing to hand over their military power. As long as someone takes the lead, the rest will definitely come back, unless they have the courage to rebel." Liang Guangchuan said confidently.
Although Li Liangzuo only controlled the troops in the capital, it was close to half.
In addition, some people were willing to hand over their military power, and the remaining people only controlled one-third of the Western Xia troops.
Moreover, these troops were scattered among several people, and they did not have the courage to rebel.
"Okay, let's give it a try. My imperial sister is going to marry a foreign prince, and I really want to give her a grand farewell." Li Liangzuo nodded.
After discussing for a while, Li Liangzuo let Liang Guangchuan go back.
Li Liangzuo looked at Liang Guangchuan's departing back, a trace of fear flashed in his eyes. Liang Guangchuan and his daughter really played an important role in his seizure of power.
But after calming down, he felt that he had been tricked.
In order to better control him, his uncle married his daughter to him as queen.
Liang was the daughter-in-law of his uncle and the sister-in-law of his previous queen.
Later, Liang often went to the palace to talk to her sister-in-law, and the two came into contact.
Li Liangzuo hated his uncle for treating him as a puppet, and with Liang taking the initiative to seduce him, the two had sex with a desire for revenge.
From then on, Liang went to the palace more frequently, and he also used Liang to find out some information about his uncle.
At the beginning of this year, Liang suddenly told him that their affair seemed to have been discovered.
Li Liangzuo would definitely not die for committing adultery with his cousin's wife, but once his uncle found out, his life would be very miserable.
And Liang is doomed to die.
For a moment, the two of them were tied to the same rope.
Liang told him that the Liang family could help him get rid of the king's uncle's family and let him truly take power.
Li Liangzuo naturally didn't want to be a puppet forever, so after some planning with the Liang family, he got rid of his uncle's family.
The whole process went extremely smoothly.
With the help of the Liang family, he quickly calmed the storm and officially took control of power.
Later, thinking about it carefully, it was too smooth at that time. Many officials in the court who had defected to his uncle were secretly won over by Liang Guangchuan.
Perhaps his affair with Liang was never discovered at the beginning, and it was just a plot by the Liang family.
He now needs the Liang family to help him stabilize the situation, so he doesn't dare to explore it at all.
Otherwise, if the Liang family finds out, we will be in trouble.
However, when seizing military power this time, we cannot let the Liang family interfere too much.
Liang Guangchuan said that he had persuaded some people to give up their military power. Who knows whether those people did so because of Liang Guangchuan or because of him.
…………
Zhao Xing knew nothing about what was happening in Western Xia, and he was in no mood to pay attention to it.
At the end of July, Li Ge came to Bian Jing again and came to the Eastern Palace under the leadership of Sheng Changsong.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Li Ge saluted.
Zhao Xing waved his hand and asked, "Why did you come to see me this time?"
"Your Highness, I am here for the secret recipe of perfume. My master is willing to exchange ten thousand stallions and a hundred Khitan beauties for the secret recipe of perfume." Li Ge said.
"Ha." Zhao Xing sneered, "Some time ago, one of my uncles tried to murder me by poisoning me with perfume. The King of Qin is trying to get the perfume secret recipe, is it to murder someone? But I heard that the Emperor of Liao was assassinated when he was on a tour some time ago."
Li Ge's face changed slightly and he said, "Your Highness, you are worrying too much. My master wants the secret recipe just to make money."
"Really?" Although Zhao Xing was asking, his face almost showed disbelief.
"Your Highness, I am also a Han Chinese. Regardless of whether your guess is true or not, even if it is true, it is not a bad thing for the Song Dynasty. Why bother to delve into it?" Li Ge said.
"That's true." Zhao Xing nodded slightly and said, "So you are in Cao's camp but your heart is with Han?"
"I am a Han Chinese, so I naturally side with the Han people. It's just that my ancestors have always been in the Liao Kingdom, and many of my relatives are under surveillance, otherwise I would have returned to the Song Dynasty long ago." Li Ge said with a smile.
"It's okay, as long as you have this intention. I also know your difficulties. Although you can't come back, you can still serve the Song Dynasty. Provide me some intelligence about the Liao Kingdom in the future. If you destroy the Liao Kingdom in the future, I will confer a title on you." Zhao Xing tempted.
"This..." Li Ge hesitated after hearing this.
"Why, you don't want to?" Zhao Xing pretended to be unhappy and said, "You just said that you are loyal to the Song Dynasty, but you are not willing to provide any information to me. Are you playing tricks on me?"
"The villain dare not!"
Li Ge smiled and said, "I am just afraid of being discovered and worried about the safety of my family. But Your Highness thinks highly of me, and a man will die for his friend. I am willing to serve Your Highness!"
"Yes." Zhao Xing nodded in satisfaction and said, "In that case, then tell me, what is the purpose of King Qin asking for the secret formula of perfume?"
"Your Highness, I really don't know this. I am just managing some business for King Qin. There are many people like me under the King Qin. Because I am a Han Chinese, I have never been valued. In recent years, I have worked with Your Highness and my status has improved a little. But people like us are just managing business after all. No matter how high our status is, it is not that high. King Qin will never say these things to me." Li Ge said with a wry smile.
"Then what use do I have for you?" Zhao Xing said unhappily.
"Your Highness, I will try to find out after I go back. If I can bring back the secret recipe of perfume, I will have made a great contribution. My status will also be greatly improved, and maybe I will be able to get access to these secrets." Li Ge said.
"Humph!" Zhao Xing sneered, "Do you think I'm a fool? You said you wanted to join me, but you didn't get any useful information. Instead, you asked me to give you the secret formula of perfume. You used all these tricks to get something for nothing on me. Do you think that I won't dare to do anything to you just because you are the King of Qin?"
"Your Highness, please calm down!" Li Ge looked flustered and said in an aggrieved tone, "I also wanted to tell Your Highness, but I really don't know."
(End of this chapter)