Chapter 277 Civil Unrest in Liao
"drive!"
In the inner city of Bianjing, on the imperial road near the imperial palace, a group of cavalrymen rushed past.
Some people saw this scene and talked about it.
The imperial road in the city was not only for the emperor to drive on.
However, except when the emperor was traveling or when new scholars were parading on horseback through the streets, walking was almost never allowed at other times.
Not to mention galloping on horseback.
After learning about the situation, the Inner City Army wanted to intercept them, but when they saw that the leader was Zhao Xing, they dared not to stop him.
Zhao Xing didn't know all this. At the moment he was extremely anxious and kept urging the horse under him.
The Eastern Palace was not far from the Imperial Palace. Zhao Xing drove all the way and soon arrived at the main gate of the palace.
"Stop whoever comes!"
The imperial guards at the palace gate were facing a formidable enemy. This was the first time in all their years of service that they had seen someone riding a horse straight to the palace gate.
If the soldiers on the city wall had not recognized that the leader was Zhao Xing, they would have shot arrows.
"Xu~"
Fortunately, Zhao Xing still had his senses and did not ride his horse directly into the palace.
Even if he was the crown prince, the guards at the palace gate would not allow him to ride into the palace without permission, and explaining would only waste more time.
Zhao Xing dismounted and ran towards the palace gate: "I am the crown prince and I have urgent business to attend to. Please get out of the way!"
This time the imperial guards at the palace gate did not stop them.
As soon as Zhao Xing entered the palace, he ran to his father's bedroom, and the effect of his martial arts training over the years was revealed.
It took Zhao Xing nearly a cup of tea to get from the palace gate to the bedroom, even though he ran all the way.
"Father!"
Zhao Xing's eyes were red and he rushed into his father's bedroom with a crying voice.
Inside the bedroom, an imperial physician was taking the emperor's pulse in front of the bed, and Empress Cao was standing beside him.
Zhao Xing suddenly rushed in, scaring everyone.
"Fuer!"
The official who had already woken up on the bed came to his senses first. He forced a smile on his pale face and raised his hand weakly.
"Father, what's wrong with you?"
Zhao Xing walked quickly forward, grabbed his father's hand, squatted in front of the bed, and looked at his father with concern.
After just a few days of not seeing him, my father looked much older, and it seemed as if all his energy and spirit were gone.
It had been a long time since he last held his father's hand. Only then did Zhao Xing realize that his father's hand didn't have much flesh on it. It was very dry and shriveled, almost skin and bones.
You have to know that my father is only in his fifties now.
"I'm fine. I was just too excited before. I couldn't catch my breath and passed out." The official smiled.
Zhao Xing burst into tears when he heard this. His father was the emperor after all. What could make him so excited that he fainted?
It is obvious that there is something wrong with my father's health.
"Fuer, Imperial Physician Xu is taking your father's pulse. Let him finish taking his pulse first!" Queen Cao reminded.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing let go of his father's hand, stood up, and wiped his eyes.
"Your Majesty, I have just finished taking the pulse of His Majesty. His Majesty is not seriously ill, but he needs to rest for a few days." Imperial Physician Xu said.
"Does Imperial Physician Xu really mean what he said?" Zhao Xing looked at Imperial Physician Xu with joy.
"How dare I deceive Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Imperial Physician Xu said with certainty, "Your Majesty just needs to rest for a while."
"Thank you for your help, Imperial Physician Xu!" Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that.
"This is what I should do. I still have to make medicine for Your Majesty, so I will take my leave first!" Imperial Physician Xu saluted.
"Yeah." Zhao Xing nodded.
After Doctor Xu left, Zhao Xing looked at his father and asked, "Father, I heard that you fainted because you received an urgent message that traveled 800 miles. What kind of urgent message made you so happy?"
The emperor's pale face flushed when he heard this. Zhao Xing was startled and quickly squatted down and said, "Father, don't be too excited. Someone go and call the imperial physician!"
"I'm fine!" The emperor took a deep breath, controlled his emotions, and looked at Queen Cao.
Empress Cao understood and said that she would go to the kitchen to make porridge for the emperor herself, and took all the palace maids and eunuchs out of the house.
When only the father and son were left in the room, the official said in an excited tone: "Fuer, the Liao emperor is dead!"
"What?" Zhao Xing's eyes widened in shock when he heard that.
Did Yelu Chongyuan really succeed?
That's not right. If Yelu Chongyuan succeeded, it would most likely be poisoning.
But if the Liao emperor died, the Liao ministers would definitely block the news.
Now he has not received any news of any changes from the Liao Kingdom.
Unless the news of the Liao emperor's death was not concealed at all, the 800-mile express message transmission was very fast, so the news had already been delivered to Bian Jing before he received it.
"The Liao Kingdom did block the news, but Yelu Chongyuan had someone planted in the palace, and he was the first to receive the news of the Liao emperor's death. He secretly returned to his fiefdom, and then ordered people to spread the news, saying that Zhao Wang Yelu Yixin was plotting to murder the Liao emperor, raising an army to defend the king, and calling on all tribes of the Liao Kingdom to join him in the uprising." The official said. Zhao Xing had also heard of Yelu Yixin, who was quite favored during the Liao Dynasty's previous emperor.
The current Emperor of Liao trusted him very much after he ascended the throne. Not only did he make him the King of Zhao, he also appointed him as the envoy of the Northern Courtyard Privy Council.
Some institutions of the Liao Dynasty were modeled after those of the Song Dynasty, but there were some differences.
In the Song Dynasty, the chief official of the Privy Council was the Privy Councilor, followed by the Deputy Privy Councilor.
However, the rank of Privy Councilor of Liao Dynasty was second only to the Privy Councilor and higher than the Deputy Privy Councilor.
The duties are the same, in charge of the mobilization of troops across the country.
However, there is no Privy Councilor in the Northern Court of Liao Dynasty now, and he, the Privy Councilor, is the highest official in the Privy Council.
No wonder my father was so excited after reading the urgent news.
"Father, has this news been confirmed? Is it possible that the Liao emperor deliberately pretended to be dead to induce Yelu Chongyuan to raise an army?" Zhao Xing said.
"Impossible." The official shook his head and said, "Yelü Yixin saw that the news could not be concealed, so he supported the eldest son of the Liao emperor, Prince Liang, as the emperor, and announced to the public that the Liao emperor was murdered by Yelü Chongyuan, and called on all tribes to suppress the rebellion. Maybe they have already started fighting now."
"What a pity." Zhao Xing looked regretful after hearing this.
In fact, he also felt that the possibility of the Liao emperor faking his death was very small. If the Liao emperor really wanted to take action against Yelu Chongyuan, there would be no need to let Yelu Chongyuan leave Shangjing last year.
Since the Emperor of Liao let him go, it meant that he was not sure that he could quickly quell Yelu Chongyuan's forces for the time being, and he did not want to waste too much of the Liao Kingdom's strength.
What he regretted was that the Song Dynasty was not strong enough now and could not take the opportunity to retake the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
However, Zhao Xing soon felt relieved. He had long known that even if there was civil strife in Liao, it would be difficult for the Song Dynasty to gain an advantage.
The Liao Kingdom was not stupid. Once the Song Dynasty intervened, the Liao Kingdom would most likely stop and unite against the outside world.
However, the civil strife in Liao is of great benefit to the Song Dynasty, but I don’t know how long it will last.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing said: "Father, I think we should send more troops to the northern border!"
"Hmm?" The official asked in confusion, "The civil unrest in Liao is good for the Song Dynasty. Wouldn't it make both sides wary and unable to fight with all their strength if they send more troops at this time?"
"Father, we must not let them fight with all their strength." Zhao Xing said, "The longer the Liao Kingdom is in chaos, the greater the benefit to the Song Dynasty. At this time, many tribes of the Liao Kingdom are waiting and watching. The Song Dynasty is sending reinforcements to the north. The Liao Kingdom cannot figure out the situation and will inevitably stop fighting temporarily. This will also give both sides time to win over other nobles."
"Isn't Father planning to build the Great Wall in the north? Even if there is civil unrest in Liao, I'm afraid that Song will not be able to build the Great Wall in peace. It is inevitable that more troops will be sent by then. Now it is just slightly advanced."
The emperor was silent for a moment and said, "I have already sent someone to invite a few gentlemen. When they arrive, I will discuss the matter with them."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Eunuch Liu came in and reported: "Your Majesty, several ministers have arrived outside the palace."
"Let them in!" said the official.
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Liu stepped out and soon led Han Zhang and four others in.
There were five ministers in the court, namely the heads of the three provinces and the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Personnel.
Now that Yu Xianggong is not here, there are only four Xianggongs, and the other one is the Privy Councilor.
The status of the Privy Councilor is no lower than that of the few ministers except the Grand Prime Minister.
It’s just that the Privy Council is in charge of the mobilization of troops throughout the country, which is actually a military position, not a civil position, so he is not a prime minister.
"Your Majesty, your servants, greet the Crown Prince!" Several people bowed and saluted.
"No need to be polite, please take a seat!" The emperor waved his hand and said, "I am a little tired, Prince, please tell the gentlemen the details of the situation!"
"Yes!" Zhao Xing responded. After the ministers sat down, he told them about the civil strife in Liao, including what his father had said.
Although they were all shocked by the news, they were in high positions after all, and were considered the most powerful officials in the Song Dynasty. They were shrewd and soon calmed down, with a thoughtful look on their faces.
"Your Majesty!" Han Zhang pondered for a moment, a gleam in his eyes, and he was the first to speak: "We should send more troops to the border now!"
Although Han Zhang had the common problem of scholars, looking down on military generals, he even said that the one who was named at the Donghua Gate was a good man.
But in fact, Han Zhang not only used military tactics, but also personally commanded the war.
As a prime minister who also understands military tactics, he is naturally sensitive.
"What the Grand Chancellor said actually coincides with what the Crown Prince said."
The government has actually already intended to send more troops to the north.
It's just increasing troops without fighting a war. What Zhao Xing said makes sense. When the Great Wall is being built, the Liao Kingdom will definitely send troops to harass us. The existing troops in the north are too few.
Seeing that Han Zhang had the same idea, I was happy and relieved.
"Your Majesty!" Hu Zhongyan bowed and said, "The civil unrest in Liao will only bring benefits to our Song Dynasty. Sending more troops at this time will only make Liao suspicious and we won't be able to fight freely. I think we shouldn't send troops."
The emperor glanced at him and said, "Sir, tell me why we need to send more troops to the north."
"Yes!" Han Zhang responded and told him about building the Great Wall in the north.
Only the emperor, Zhao Xing and Han Zhang knew about this matter, no one else knew.
When they heard that the emperor was actually building a Great Wall in the north, the other ministers were shocked.
They thought about it carefully and decided that if the Great Wall could really be built, it would be of great benefit to the Song Dynasty.
But how much manpower and material resources would be needed to build the Great Wall? Could the imperial court afford it?
(End of this chapter)