Chapter 288 Tell the World
When the nobles who supported Yelu Chongyuan heard the news, they all began to curse the Song Dynasty.
In their eyes, the Song Dynasty was weak and could be bullied. Even after winning a battle, it would actively seek peace. It was no different from the sheep they raised.
Now that the Song Dynasty dared to proactively increase its troops, they felt offended.
Some people even clamored to unite with Yelu Yixin and destroy the Song Dynasty first.
Although Yelu Chongyuan was angry, he did not lose his mind.
He didn't know whether the person who made such a stupid suggestion was simply stupid or had ulterior motives.
Yelu Chongyuan said: "How to deal with this king needs to be carefully considered, you all should go back first."
After sending everyone away, Yelu Chongyuan sent someone to find Li Ge.
He was able to successfully poison the person thanks to the secret perfume recipe.
The secret recipe of the perfume was brought back by Li Ge.
Yelu Chongyuan did not treat him badly and asked Li Ge to manage all the business of the prince's fiefdom for him.
For this expedition, he asked Li Ge to help him raise food and fodder.
In order to show his loyalty, Li Ge raised enough food and supplies and personally escorted them over.
I just arrived at the military camp yesterday and haven’t left yet.
After receiving the summons, Li Ge quickly arrived at the central military tent.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you!" Li Ge bowed.
"Yes." Yelu Chongyuan nodded and said, "I asked you to come here because I want you to go to the Song Dynasty."
Li Ge was stunned when he heard this and asked, "I wonder what the king wants me to do in Song Dynasty?"
Yelu Chongyuan told the story of the Song Dynasty sending more troops to the north, and said, "When you meet the crown prince of the Song Dynasty, tell him that if the Song Dynasty is willing to withdraw its troops, I will return the line to Yanmen Pass to the Song Dynasty after I take power!"
The northern part of the Song Dynasty was not always without strategic locations to defend. There was also the strategic Yanmen Pass.
Although the Yanmen Pass line could not completely defend against the southward advance of the Liao army due to the loss of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, it could greatly alleviate the pressure on the Song Dynasty's defense.
After Emperor Taizong's failed Northern Expedition, Yanmen Pass was also lost, causing the Song-Liao border to move much south.
It was only after the Treaty of Shanyuan that the Baigou River was officially set as the border between the two countries.
However, the loss of Yanmen Pass not only resulted in the loss of a large tract of land, but also caused the Song Dynasty to completely lose the last dangerous pass in the north.
If you count carefully, the Liao Kingdom now occupies more than just the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
Yelu Chongyuan said that returning the Yanmen Pass area to the Song Dynasty was actually restoring the border between the two countries before Emperor Taizong launched the Northern Expedition.
In this way, the Song Dynasty could not only gain a dangerous pass, but also recover hundreds of miles of lost homeland.
"Your Majesty, I don't think it's necessary. From what I know about the Song Dynasty, the increase in troops this time is more of a deterrent. The Song Dynasty doesn't have the guts to actually send troops to invade the border. And even if it sends troops, the Song Dynasty cannot break through the border defense of our Liao Kingdom. Instead, it can tie down the troops on the border." Li Ge said.
Li Ge has always wanted to transform himself into a counselor, only in this way can he improve his status in the Liao Kingdom.
In his opinion, this is undoubtedly a good opportunity.
Based on his many years of trade with merchants from the Song Dynasty and his understanding of the Song Dynasty, he did not think that the Song Dynasty had the ability to send troops.
Even if the Song Dynasty really sent troops, the troops stationed on the Liao border were all the Liao emperor's men.
Now Yelu Yixin is holding the emperor hostage to command the princes, and those people all listen to Yelu Yixin.
In his opinion, the Song Dynasty sending troops was actually a good thing.
"Just do whatever I tell you to do. I'm not discussing this with you, do you understand?" Yelu Chongyuan said indifferently to Li Ge.
Couldn’t he have thought of what Li Ge said?
But he couldn't and didn't dare to gamble.
Even if the Song Dynasty would not send troops, if Yelu Yixin was really forced into a corner, what would he do if he and the Song Dynasty joined forces?
If he could promise to return the Yanmen Pass to the Song Dynasty, couldn't Yelu Yixin promise to return the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the Song Dynasty?
For him, the best option was for the Song Dynasty to withdraw its troops.
In that case, even if Yelu Yixin asked the Song Dynasty for help, the Song Dynasty would not be able to send troops because of insufficient troops on the border.
As for mobilizing troops, he was not worried.
Troops cannot be mobilized at will. This time, the Song Dynasty increased its troops by 100,000, and the cost of manpower and material resources is not small.
Once the troops are withdrawn, the cost of the next mobilization will be even greater.
Given the situation in the Song Dynasty, it is not certain whether it can afford it.
Even if the Song Dynasty really intended to send troops, he had the upper hand at that time and could handle it.
As for the promised Yanmen Pass area, he had no intention of giving it to him at all.
"Yes! I'll go right away!" Li Ge said hurriedly.
"I hope you won't let me down. As long as you complete my instructions, I will naturally not treat you unfairly." Yelu Chongyuan said lightly.
"Yes!" Li Ge responded and stepped back.
After Li Ge left, Yelu Chongyuan thought carefully about his plan and found no omissions, so he felt relieved.
"Report!"
At this time, a general came in and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, someone from the city has sent a letter, saying that it is for Your Majesty to personally review!"
Yelu Chongyuan stepped forward, took the letter, unfolded it and began to read.
"Haha, does Yelu Yixin really think I'm stupid?"
Yelu Yixin said in the letter that as long as he was willing to withdraw his troops, Yelu Yixin would petition the emperor to forgive his past mistakes and would also allocate two prefectures to him as fiefdoms.
Yelu Chongyuan was not stupid. If he retreated now, it would give Yelu Yixin time to catch his breath.
Some of those who were loyal to the Liao emperor were still waiting and watching after his death.
Once Yelu Yixin is given time to subdue those people, his strength will definitely increase greatly, and then Yelu Yixin will send troops to encircle and suppress him.
"Send someone to the city to tell Yelu Yixin that I need to consider this matter," said Yelu Chongyuan.
Yelu Yixin finally said in the letter that the Song Dynasty had already increased its troops and was watching the Liao Dynasty covetously. If Yelu Chongyuan continued to be stubborn, the Liao Dynasty's foundation might be destroyed. He asked Yelu Chongyuan to think carefully.
The threat in the words was clear.
Yelu Chongyuan didn't want to provoke Yelu Yixin too much at this time.
"Yes!" The general who reported the news responded and retreated. …………
Bianjing
After midnight, a large number of carriages were parked outside the palace gate.
These are the officials attending the morning court.
It's only February now and the weather is still cold.
It was still late at night and it was even colder.
When the officials arrived outside the palace gate, no one got out of the carriage to greet others. They all sat in the carriage, lighting charcoal fires, waiting for the palace gate to open.
After a while, the side doors on both sides of the palace gate opened. After being notified by the entourage, the officials in the carriage got off the carriage and entered the palace gate.
When they arrived at the waiting hall, the officials started chatting with each other, gathering in groups of three or five to whisper, or chatting about family matters, or discussing government affairs, to keep each other informed...
Only when the eunuchs notified them to go to court did all the officials line up and go to the Daqing Hall.
After all the officials entered the hall and stood in line, not long after, the eunuch shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
All the officials in the hall were stunned when they heard this, except for a few people.
During this period, the emperor did not attend the morning court due to health reasons.
It was the Crown Prince Zhao Xing who sat in court and listened to government affairs.
It was normal for the emperor to attend court after he recovered, but they had not heard any news about this before.
However, these officials quickly came to their senses, bowed and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Crown Prince!"
Zhao Xing supported his father as they walked out from the back of the hall and onto the imperial platform.
Zhao Xing helped his father sit down on the dragon throne, and he sat down on the left side.
"My dear ministers, please stand up!" said the emperor.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" All the officials stood up after expressing their gratitude.
For a moment the hall was very quiet.
"I have been taking care of my body these days, and I have a lot of feelings."
The emperor looked lost in thought and said, "I ascended the throne at the age of thirteen, and took power at the age of twenty-four. I have been on the throne for over forty years now. Since ancient times, there have not been many emperors who have been on the throne longer than me, right?"
"I know I am stupid and cannot compare with the emperors of previous dynasties. After ascending the throne, I have devoted all my energy to not bringing shame to my ancestors."
"However, I have been on the throne for decades, and now when I think back, I have accomplished almost nothing, which makes me feel ashamed of my ancestors."
"Now I am old and weak, I need to rest and prepare to abdicate to the crown prince. The crown prince is still young, I hope you can assist him wholeheartedly."
In fact, when the emperor was recounting the past, all the officials had roughly guessed what he was thinking and were all shocked.
Since ancient times, there have been only a handful of examples of emperors abdicating the throne to their princes while they were still alive.
The most important thing is that Zhao Xing is only seventeen years old now.
Generally speaking, those who ascend the throne at this age will be assigned several regents.
That is commonly known as the Minister of State.
However, the emperor is still alive and has no intention of appointing a regent.
No matter what the ministers thought, they could not stop the emperor from abdicating since he said he wanted to abdicate.
"We, the officials, will assist His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with all our heart!" All the officials bowed and shouted in unison.
"Fuer!" The official looked at Zhao Xing.
"Father!"
Zhao Xing stood up and saluted, then stood beside his father, turned around and faced the officials.
"My dear ministers, please admire the heroic figure of the crown prince!" said the emperor.
"I will obey your orders!"
All the officials responded and looked up at Zhao Xing.
In ancient times, etiquette was strict and officials were not allowed to look directly at the emperor.
Although it was not as strict as the Qing Dynasty law that "Anyone who looks up at the emperor with intent to assassinate the king shall be executed immediately", it was still disrespectful to look directly at the emperor.
From today on, even if Zhao Xing has not ascended the throne, he is still a king.
The emperor asked all officials to admire Zhao Xing's heroic figure. To put it simply, he wanted them to see clearly what Zhao Xing looked like.
This was their last chance to look Zhao Xing in the eye.
The emperor's cloudy eyes regained their brightness at this moment, and he said in a deep voice: "The Crown Prince is my only son, he is honest, filial, benevolent, and talented! I will issue an edict today to announce to the world that I will abdicate to the Crown Prince."
"Where is the Chief of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau?"
"Chen is here!"
"Choose an auspicious day for the crown prince to ascend the throne."
"The minister obeys the order!"
"Where is the Minister of Rites?"
"Chen is here!"
"The Ministry of Rites will prepare all matters related to the enthronement!"
"The minister obeys the order!"
……
The emperor arranged for Zhao Xing to ascend the throne and said, "I am tired. Let's leave the court."
"Your Majesty, your Highness the Crown Prince, we respectfully bid farewell to you!" All the officials saluted.
Zhao Xing supported his father and left the hall.
Returning to the palace, the emperor said, "It's still early, let's sleep for a while."
(End of this chapter)