Chapter 287 Yelu Chongyuan's Hesitation
Sima Guang was silent for a long time after hearing this, and then said, "You didn't come to me just to talk about this, did you?"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince has demoted the Ministry of Finance today, intending to investigate the problems of the three ministries. I have recommended you to take over the Ministry of Finance.
Although the most serious problem in the Song Dynasty is the three redundant problems, you should be aware that the three departments also have their own shortcomings. Don't you want to solve the shortcomings through official administration? This is a good opportunity for you.
I have been with His Highness for many years and I understand His Highness's personality. His Highness is a pragmatic person. If you want to convince His Highness, you must make achievements. Only when you see results will His Highness pay attention to what you say. "
A smile appeared on Wang Anshi's lips. He understood Sima Guang's temperament. Sima Guang's change of subject showed that he agreed with what he had just said.
"Has His Royal Highness the Crown Prince agreed?" Sima Guang asked.
"If Your Highness didn't agree, why would I come here?" Wang Anshi said with a smile.
Sima Guang was silent for a long time, then said, "Okay!"
"Come on, follow me into the palace to meet His Highness!" said Wang Anshi.
"Please wait a moment. I will go change into my official uniform," said Sima Guang.
"Yeah." Wang Anshi nodded.
After Sima Guang changed into his official uniform, the two went to the palace together.
Zhao Xing was very surprised when he learned that Wang Anshi brought Sima Guang into the palace.
Wang Anshi left a name in history as a stubborn prime minister, and Zhao Xing originally thought that Wang Anshi was very stubborn.
After actually getting to know Wang Anshi, he found that he was not as stubborn as he had imagined.
On the contrary, Sima Guang was much more stubborn than Wang Anshi.
Zhao Xing felt that the title of "Stubborn Prime Minister" was most appropriate for Sima Guang.
I thought that Wang Anshi couldn't persuade Sima Guang because of his personality, but I don't know what method Wang Anshi used to persuade Sima Guang.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" the two men bowed.
"No need to be polite!" Zhao Xing waved his hand, looked at Sima Guang and said, "Jiefu should have told you that I am going to let you take over the post of the Ministry of Revenue. After you take over, check as soon as possible to see if there are any problems with the three departments."
"I obey your order!" Sima Guang bowed.
"Eunuch Liu, please send Sima Guang to the Ministry of Revenue to take up his post," said Zhao Xing.
"Yes!"
Eunuch Liu responded and left with Sima Guang.
Zhao Xing looked at Wang Anshi and said, "Jiefu, my father is ready to abdicate to me. He will announce this at the morning court tomorrow. Do you think Sheng Hong is qualified to be the prefect of Kaifeng?"
If his father did not abdicate the throne to him, he would naturally continue to serve as the prefect of Kaifeng when his father recovered.
However, his father had already decided to pass the throne to him, so he was naturally not suitable to continue serving as the prefect of Kaifeng.
The position of Kaifeng prefect was very important. Sima Guang took over as the director of the Ministry of Revenue, and Zhao Xing originally wanted Wang Anshi to be the prefect of Kaifeng.
But he also felt that it was a waste of talent to let Wang Anshi serve as the prefect of Kaifeng.
Wang Anshi was also shocked when he heard the news, but he quickly came to his senses, thought for a moment and said, "Sheng Shaoyin has managed the affairs of Kaifeng Prefecture in an orderly manner. It is perfect for him to be the prefect."
Wang Anshi said this not because Sheng Hong was a relative by marriage.
Rather, it is a recognition of Sheng Hong's ability.
Before Sheng Hong became an official in Beijing, his career was relatively smooth. Although he had the support of the Wang family's connections, his own ability was also a big factor.
Although Zhao Xing was the prefect in recent years, in fact, Sheng Hong was the one who handled most of the affairs of Kaifeng Prefecture.
"In that case, let him take the position." Zhao Xing nodded and said, "You can enter the Hanlin Academy and serve as a Hanlin Bachelor."
"I obey your order!" Wang Anshi said calmly.
…………
On a plain more than ten miles north of Shangjing City, in a military camp stretching for more than ten miles, flags were waving.
At this time, there were 200,000 soldiers gathered in the military camp, which were all the soldiers that Yelu Chongyuan could control.
Including the vassal troops and Han troops from the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the total military strength of the Liao Kingdom exceeded one million.
However, most of the troops, like the local troops of the Song Dynasty, were stationed in various places to maintain local stability.
If we leave aside the border garrisons, there are only three or four hundred thousand standing troops.
Among them, Yelu Chongyuan controlled about 100,000.
At this time, Yelu Chongyuan gathered 200,000 soldiers and horses. Except for his own 100,000 soldiers, the rest were soldiers and horses under the nobles who supported him.
The Liao Emperor actually controlled about 500,000 soldiers and horses, but excluding the garrisons guarding local areas and borders, there were only 200,000 to 300,000 soldiers that could be mobilized at will. This was also the reason why the Liao Emperor was afraid of Yelu Chongyuan before.
If the military strength is similar, even if the Liao emperor can deal with Yelu Chongyuan, the losses will not be small.
After Yelu Chongyuan got the secret recipe of perfume from Zhao Xing, he asked people to make perfume according to the secret recipe.
Then they sent people to Beijing to sell them.
The concubines in the palace had long heard that there was something called perfume in the Song Dynasty.
Unfortunately, the sealing effect in ancient times was too poor and there was no fixative.
By the time the perfume reached the Liao Kingdom, its scent had become very weak.
Apply it on your body and it will spread quickly.
Nowadays, there are people selling perfume in Beijing, and the scent is very strong. It can last for an hour or two after being applied.
The concubines in the palace naturally would not let it go and they all sent people to buy it.
Yelu Chongyuan always sent people to monitor the movements in the palace. When a very favored concubine of the Liao emperor sent someone to buy perfume, the person he arranged gave the buyer poisoned water.
The concubine bought perfume to please the Liao emperor, but when the Liao emperor favored her, she was poisoned and died.
After receiving the news that the perfume had entered the palace, Yelu Chongyuan secretly fled back to his fiefdom.
After receiving the confirmed news that the Liao emperor had died of poisoning, he led his troops to Shangjing.
The cities along the way were not prepared at all, and they attacked like crazy until they reached the outskirts of Shangjing.
However, Yelu Chongyuan did not rush to attack his ministers, but instead he and Yelu Yixin threw dirty water on each other.
After a verbal battle, Yelu Chongyuan said that he would give Yelu Yixin five days to consider, and if he did not open the city gate and surrender by then, he would attack the city.
At this time, in the central army camp, Yelu Chongyuan sat at the head, with his generals and nobles who supported him sitting on both sides.
"Everyone, I have received news that Yelu Yixin has withdrawn 50,000 troops from the border. I have already sent my son to lead the troops to ambush. As long as we can get rid of these 50,000 troops, our great plan can be accomplished!" Yelu Chongyuan said with a smile.
The reason why he surrounded but did not attack was that there were nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses in Shangjing City. He only had 200,000 soldiers and horses, and with those who surrendered along the way, there were less than 250,000 soldiers and horses.
Even if this small number of troops can capture Shangjing, the losses will be heavy.
But he also has advantages. Yelu Yixin doesn't know how many people in the city have been secretly won over by Yelu Chongyuan, and there are not many people he dares to trust.
Yelu Chongyuan did have backup forces in the city, but those people were not of high status.
Under Yelu Yixin's strict defense, it was very difficult for his men to approach the city gate.
The greatest use of these people is actually to win over people.
But the situation is unclear now, and there are not many people in the city willing to join him.
Yelu Chongyuan surrounded the city but did not attack, not only because he did not want to suffer too much loss, but also because he wanted to deal with the troops that Yelu Yixin had called back.
On the one hand, it can weaken Yelu Yixin's strength, and on the other hand, it can intimidate the people in the city.
As long as the people in the city are in panic, his people can naturally win over some people.
It will be much easier to break into the city then.
Yelu Yixin could guess Yelu Chongyuan's purpose to some extent.
However, Yelu Chongyuan used an open strategy. He didn't know how many people in the city had secretly defected to Yelu Chongyuan, so he lacked sufficient sense of security.
In order to stabilize people's hearts, he cannot send people to conduct a large-scale investigation, otherwise he will mess up his own situation.
Therefore, even though he knew it was Yelu Chongyuan's plan, he could only mobilize troops.
"Congratulations, King Qin!"
"You should call him Your Majesty!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Those nobles who supported Yelu Chongyuan began to flatter him.
They supported Yelu Chongyuan just for the benefits he promised them.
If you don't flatter now, when will you?
"Haha!" Yelu Chongyuan laughed.
"Report!"
At this moment, a soldier ran in hurriedly, saluted and said, "Your Majesty, urgent news has been sent from the south!"
"It seems my son succeeded!"
Yelu Chongyuan took the letter with a smile, and opened it to read it amid the flattery of the crowd.
However, when he saw the contents of the letter, the smile on his face slowly froze.
Those flatterers also realized that something was wrong and fell silent.
"Damn it! The Han people are so bold!"
Yelu Chongyuan stood up and kicked the table in front of him over.
"King Qin, what happened?" asked a noble.
"The Song Dynasty sent an additional 100,000 troops to the border. When the 50,000 troops dispatched by Yelu Yixin learned the news, they stopped and did not enter the ambush site." Yelu Chongyuan gritted his teeth.
He also knew that when Yelu Yixin mobilized his troops, he would definitely warn them to be careful of his ambushes.
However, the place where his son was ambushing was the only way back to Shangjing. Even if the other side was on guard, his son had the advantage of terrain and carried more soldiers and horses, so he could still gain the upper hand.
Now that the Liao emperor is dead, the people are in panic. As long as we gain the upper hand, we can persuade them to surrender.
By that time, his troops would increase in number, while Yelu Yixin's troops would decrease in number.
People in the city naturally know how to choose.
Who would have thought that the Song Dynasty would actually send reinforcements to the northern border.
The general leading the troop stopped immediately after receiving the news.
His plan failed.
What made him most angry was not this, but what would he do if Yelu Yixin, after learning the news, threatened to recall the border garrison and forced him to withdraw his troops?
If the troops are not withdrawn, Yelu Yixin will really have to recall the border garrisons. Given the current situation of the Liao Kingdom, how can the defenders of those cities resist?
Even if he destroyed Yelu Yixin and seized the throne, he was driven back to the grassland by the Song Dynasty. What was the point of him being the emperor?
Yelu Chongyuan has been accustomed to a stable life. How could he be willing to live the same life of roaming around like his ancestors?
Not to mention him, the same goes for the nobles of the Liao Dynasty.
They have long been accustomed to the Han people's lifestyle and are unwilling to live a hard life on the grassland.
But if he retreated, it would give Yelu Yixin time to catch his breath.
He will be in danger then.
(End of this chapter)