Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 498 , South Court Response

"We have seen the big camp in the north. The Qin army has a large number of soldiers and strong horses." In Shangjing, in the Xiao family compound, there is a small pavilion in the middle of the courtyard imitating the Han people.

But on the outside are some bare persimmon trees and old locust trees, which have a strange roughness with a touch of sophistication and a feeling of neither foreign nor earthy.

The snow had not yet melted outside, Xiao Siwen, Yelu Xiezhen, Gao Xun, etc. were all there, the charcoal fire was red in the middle of the brazier, leaning on the fat and oily mutton, the wine was still warm by the fire.

Yelu Xiezhen drank half a bowl of hot wine, picked out the fattest piece of mutton, and sipped his mouth full of oil, "But they don't seem to have any plans to go north, and they're starting to build the city wall on the Dawuding River."

Xiao Chuo is very conspicuous in front of a group of elders, because she is the youngest, and she is not expected to appear in such an occasion when she is a teenager, but she is an indispensable part of this plan.

Xiao Siwen will not help Yeluxian ascend to the throne for no reason. He needs some benefits and guarantees, that is, his daughter must become the queen, which is both a win-win and a deal.

"The envoy from Beijing came back from Daliang a few days ago and told me a lot of things." Xiao Siwen smiled: "He said that Shi Congyun celebrated his unification of the south, and said he was going to go to Jiangnan this year for a parade, so he and him The prime minister made a lot of noise in the court hall, saying that his prime minister would be dismissed."

Everyone looked at each other, although as the biggest enemy, when talking about Shi Congyun, the complex emotions sandwiched between fear, fear and disgust made them accustomed to describing from the bad side, such as greed for money, lust, insidious cunning and so on.

But in fact, for Shi Congyun's actions in the past ten years, they have heard and seen it, and it is really hard to imagine that he would do such a thing.

Even the youngest Xiao Chuo was surprised. Based on what they had seen and heard over the years, it was hard for them to believe that Shi Congyun was such a faint-hearted person.

Xiao Siwen quickly resolved everyone's doubts, he explained: "Jiangnan is a rich and prosperous place in the Qin country, and it is good for producing good women. When Shi Congyun hit Jiangnan for the first time, the army came under the city, forcing the Tang country's lord to surrender, but he didn't have anything. If you want, you just rob a Tang princess.

The ambassador said that everyone in Daliang City was saying that this time their emperor went to Jiangnan, probably because he wanted to collect beautiful women. "

As soon as these words came out, several talents suddenly realized that they nodded, and when they thought about the request that Shi Congyun had made to the two sisters of the Xiao family, they suddenly felt more reasonable.

"What a foolish monarch." Xiao Chuo said, and the crowd did not answer. Although Shi Congyun's actions were too bizarre, it would be even more incompetent to say that the person who annexed the world for more than ten years was a foolish monarch, so he felt comforted in his heart. Oneself, childlike words.

Xiao Siwen smiled awkwardly and continued: "The envoy said that they went to Daliang carefully in previous years, because they asked others, and Qin did not care much about their hospitality.

But this year, Shi Congyun not only rewarded them with precious gold and silver, but also sent officials to send them to the Yellow River ceremoniously. At first, they were frightened, thinking that the Qin people had some conspiracy.

This just shows that Shi Congyun has no intention of conflicting with us! "...

As soon as he said these words, Yelu Xiezhen and Gao Xun both had sharp eyes, they understood what Xiao Siwen meant.

In fact, they were already prepared, because the emperor ignored the government and often hunted for pleasure in the grasslands north of Shangjing.

Within the Liao Kingdom, many nobles were already on their side.

There are three main points to this.

One is that many people doubt the legitimacy; the current emperor of the Liao Kingdom came to power by mutiny, and many people think that he is not the orthodox heir, and Yeluxian is the second son of the former emperor, Emperor Sejong of the Liao Kingdom, and their elder brother died early. He is the legitimate successor of the Great Liao Kingdom.

The second is dissatisfaction with the current state lord, two consecutive defeats, the Liao Kingdom's elite army lost its troops and lost its generals, and they have to pay tribute to the Qin state every year in exchange for peace.Many people don't say it on the surface, but they all feel that the lord has a great responsibility, especially the first defeat, or the lord himself led the troops south, tens of thousands of elites were slaughtered by Shi Congyun, and the lord himself almost became Prisoner of the class.

After two major defeats, the lord of the country not only did not make every effort to govern and correct his mistakes, but instead had a sense of breaking the jar and letting go, hunting in the grasslands every day and ignoring the government. Many people were dissatisfied with this.

The third is the young nobles who grew up during the rapid expansion and growth of the Daliao Kingdom. Under the influence of such an environment, now they have grown up and stepped onto the stage of power one after another, such as Yelu Xiezhen, etc. These young people Advocate more drastic changes to revitalize the Daliao Kingdom, especially the more thorough promotion of Sinicization, imitating the system of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and more active foreign military operations to expand the power of the Daliao Kingdom.These rulers who ignore the government and abide by the traditions and customs of the Khitan people can't give them.

Therefore, there has long been a huge undercurrent of power surging in the country, wanting to overthrow the current state lord.

Xiao Siwen and Gao Xun have also secretly contacted all parties and others, and have not taken any action, but they are only afraid of Qin in the south.

The Qin state is too strong, they are afraid that the domestic unrest will give Qin a chance, so they have been hiding it.

Only this time, the three of them looked at each other and could see the excitement in each other's eyes. Shi Congyun's debauchery might be the best chance!

"You have to be careful about this, and let the people lurking in the south take a look. If Shi Congyun really left the capital, then it is probably true." Gao Xun said solemnly, he was more stable in his work. .

Yelu Xiezhen and Xiao Siwen nodded in agreement: "Yes, we must make sure that he has left the beam, and let the people over there be more careful. It's a pity that they can't enter the cannon-making workshop anyway."

A few people nodded. In fact, ever since they heard about Qin Jun's secret weapons, they have been sending spies to find out the situation. However, Qin State's defense of those workshops that make weapons is even stricter than that of the palace, and those they can buy can't get in at all. go.

After the two previous defeats, they had already lost their confidence in the face of the Qin army, and now the Qin army's secret weapon artillery has become more prestige, which makes them even more uneasy.

Several people began to figure out whether their spies in the south could grasp Shi Congyun's whereabouts.

Most of the spies they placed in Qin State were bought by money. The advantage of this is that there are many people who are willing to work, but the disadvantage is that they are unwilling to do so if there is a slight risk. …

However, it is actually quite simple near Daliang. As long as they pay, many businessmen who do business on the border between the two countries are willing to tell them some news, but there are no secrets, and most of them are known to everyone.

But that was very good, after all, they couldn't have sent scouts over there.

"If Shi Congyun came out of the big beam, it must be in the public eye, and many people will know."

"I'm afraid those Qin merchants will deceive us." Yelu frowned.

"Ask a few more. We have money. If all parties check the same thing, we can prove this matter. Moreover, every festival, the envoy from the north will go to Daliang, and we can inquire about it from him." Xiao Siwen As he said, he put down the wine glass in his hand: "Beware of the south, mainly about the forbidden army and Yongxing Palace."

"You can rest assured." Gao Xun also put down his wine glass and said solemnly, "I am in control of all the Imperial Guards in the South Court. I have transferred them to the North one after another in the past two years, and now most of them have been deployed unknowingly. Near Yongxing Palace.

Once there is a change, it can not only protect the safety of the noble, but also ensure that the army will escort him to the north to Beijing to inherit the throne as soon as possible. "

Xiao Siwen nodded, and then instructed: "The army is very important."

"I have my own measure." Gao Xun raised his glass and drank with Xiao Siwen.

"The snow is starting to melt."

"Snow melting is colder than snowfall, and we are almost at the coldest time."

Everyone looked at each other silently, just toasted.

In the imperial city of Daliang, Emperor Shi has already prepared to go to Jiangnan. Zhao Shijian has been his effective secretary for the past few years. This time, she let Zhao Shijian stay in Daliang, and also told her her plan in private.

Then, when he and Zhou Xian were preparing, Xiao Huran came to him several times, acting like a spoiled child, saying that she also wanted to go to Jiangnan, and she had never seen the scenery in the south.

Zhou Xian was a little jealous and reluctant. After all, Xiao Hunian had occupied Emperor Shi's bed for several months, so he rejected her on the grounds that she was pregnant and could not run around.

Emperor Shi also comforted her and would take her there in the future. Now that she is pregnant, it is not suitable for long-distance travel.

In late January, Emperor Shi invited Xiang Gong, Yang Jiye, Murong Yanzhao, Li Hanchao, Guo Jin and others who had returned from the northern front to a banquet in Shanglinyuan, and explained many things to them, and also explained to them secretly that he was going to Jiangnan this time. The purpose of this, several people are calling the emperor wise!

Chapter 499: Xiao Hunian's Choice

The moonlight is clear, under the shadow-penetrating pavilion, and under the white jade fence outside the back hall of the Wansui Palace. It was originally a flower garden. Later, Xiao Huran said that she wanted to raise horses. Among the things she brought from Liao, there were indeed several good horses to take care of.

Her palace was not big enough to accommodate a horse farm, and Xiao Huran, who was raised outside the city, was worried about her precious horse.

In the end, Emperor Shi waved his hand. There are too many empty places in the apse of his Long Live Palace, so let's go there and raise them.

The palace of Emperor Shi in the Long Live Palace was larger than the palaces of all the concubines combined. At the beginning, Emperor Shi thought it was too wasteful. He could not live in such a large palace by himself.

Xiao Hunian liked to ride horses very much, and Emperor Shi often took her to Shanglin Garden and to the Yellow River to ride horses.

Although he didn't value the women who married from the Liao Kingdom at first, he didn't have any feelings, and it was all about business, but he didn't expect that there was something in Xiao Huran that really attracted him. That kind of freedom was always running through her. Although it is difficult to escape the shackles of the times, it has a unique charm.

Although he also deeply loves Zhao Shijian, Fu Liumei, Empress Dowager Fu, Zhou Xian, Fei Shi, Xiao Huanghua, etc... Well, Emperor Shi feels that he is generally considered a qualified husband.

He respects his wives... and wants to create an environment he likes for them, within his ability.

Emperor Shi watched from a distance that Xiao Hu Nian was feeding her beloved horse. After a while, she explained a few words to the people in the stable, and then came over. Her lower abdomen had obviously bulged, and now she could no longer ride a horse. .

Emperor Shi also made time to accompany her, as he did when every wife was pregnant.

After a while, Shi Congyun led her to rest under an old tree, and the maids laid out the cushions that had been prepared.

"I think he's so annoying that I can't even ride a horse." Xiao Huran caressed his bulging belly in dissatisfaction. Although his movements were gentle, his words were not polite at all.

Emperor Shi smiled: "You will be more annoying when you are born, especially when you are a child." He also reached out and stroked it.

"When do you want to go to Jiangnan?" Xiao Huran asked.

"Let's go at the end of this month, and I'll take you alone next time, but there are water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, so it's not easy to run horses." Shi Congyun said: "I think it's better to go to Chengdu, there are many mountains outside Chengdu, but there is a flat river near Chengdu. , It is suitable for horse racing. To the south is Jingchu. The fish in that piece is very delicious. It is not uncommon for them to send tribute to Daliang.

When I have time, I will take you there to fish on the Dongting Lake and cook while fishing. It will be delicious.

To the south is Lingnan, where it is very hot, you can only go there in winter, otherwise you will not be acclimatized, the lychees there are delicious, and there are elephants as tall as a two-story building, you can ride like a horse... ...."

Emperor Shi talked about his country like a treasure, and Xiao Huran listened to it with brilliance in his eyes.

"Oh, I really hate this little guy who gets in the way!" She stroked her stomach, and she dared to say that, it was a dragon seed.

After a while, she leaned on Emperor Shi's shoulder and whispered, "They told me that the child will be born in three or four months. I want to go to Jiangnan not to see places I have never seen before, but to see places that I have never seen before. ...I can't make up my mind."

Emperor Shi stroked her hair and asked curiously, "What's the decision?"

Xiao Huran held her hand tightly, so hard that even made Emperor Shi feel a little pain, he was surprised but tacitly did not speak.

"You know, I was very scared before I came here. I thought that in the most powerful country in the world, his emperor would be a terrifying and unattainable person. His power and wealth would be unattainable.

So I kept telling myself not to bow my head, not to back down, or I would be looked down upon by others. "Xiao Hunian suddenly told him.

"But after coming here, I found out that it's not like that." She said, cradling into Emperor Shi's arms, like a lazy kitten: "I have a good life here, and I like it very much."

"What do you like!" Emperor Shi grabbed the key and asked quite contentedly.

Xiao Hunian didn't answer, just squeezed his big hand: "But because of this, I started to worry again, worrying whether I am the daughter of the eldest princess of the Liao Dynasty, or the imperial concubine of Qin..."

Emperor Shi suddenly understood what she meant. The current relationship between Qin and Liao is very complicated and delicate. On the surface, they maintain peace. But everyone knows that the two countries are mortal enemies. .

Under such circumstances, Xiao Hunian came to Qin State, the contradictions and hardships involved are unimaginable.

"You can do whatever you want. You don't have to think so much. No one dares to force you." Emperor Shi said softly, stroking her hair.

"You don't have to blame yourself or think nonsense. I have calmed more than a hundred states in the world and ruled tens of millions of people. I won't accept you because of your Khitan people, and I won't let you be conceited about your family. Those are all things to me. No, at a large level, I prefer to uphold morality rather than petty interests.

Just be yourself, I like Xiao Huran like that, independent and lively, galloping like a cheerful pony and unwilling to stop. "

For Shi Huang, he thought about using Xiao Huran, but the biggest use was to hope that Xiao Huran would give birth to a son of the Xiao family of the Liao State for him, and also strengthen the legitimacy of his descendants to the north.

Apart from that, he never thought of anything else. Although he was cautious, Emperor Shi, who had not met an opponent for more than ten years, did not feel that Liao was his opponent.

Xiao Huran leaned against his chest, "I'm not your pony!"

After being quiet for a while, she said, "But I now know who I am. I am the imperial concubine of the Great Qin Kingdom, a noble woman in the world, and the wife of the Lord of Ten Thousand People."

"I always wanted to go to Jiangnan, I just wanted to be by your side and give myself some time, so that I can hesitate again, now I don't want to push it, I have a lot of things to tell you, because now I am your wife, Qin Guo The princess, our child will be born in the summer."

The shadows of the old trees blocked the sunlight for them, and the fine beams of light rendered a dream world of light and shadow intertwined.

Xiao Huran quickly put down his worries and told him a lot of things, about her father Xiao Siwen and Gao Xun's plans, and about the secrets of Yongxing Palace.

After saying this, she completely determined that she was the imperial concubine of Qin.

Emperor Shi thought that she must have been suffering and conflicted before. She wanted to tell herself, and she felt that she would betray her family and country, but she was already the concubine of the Qin state. Although Emperor Shi used more methods to get her, But in the past two years, their relationship is actually very good.

When their child was about to be born, Xiao Huran made her last choice. She was a wife, a mother, and no longer the daughter of the Xiao family.

Emperor Shi had guessed before, but after getting confirmation from Xiao Hunian, he finally felt completely relieved, and he could invest resources without any scruples. From Xiao Hunian's mouth, he also learned more detailed details.

However, he also thought that if his army went north in chaos in the future, all the guilt in the Liao Kingdom would be placed on Xiao Huran's head, and she would also blame herself very much.

So in order to eliminate her guilt, Emperor Shi also told her that he had seen through the plan of the Southern Academy from some subtle information, and also directly told her that the purpose of going to Jiangnan this time was to let him His father relaxed his vigilance and launched a coup d'etat, and the fact that his army of more than [-] people was already waiting on the northern border.

Xiao Hunian was shocked from ear to ear, and at the same time felt much less guilty, because in this way, even without her betrayal, the result would be the same...

Chapter 500, Global Deployment

Xiao Hunian was surprised that he had known about this for a long time, and suddenly remembered that when Emperor Shi's army marched northward, forcing the Liao Kingdom to pay for cattle and sheep, and forcing him to marry into Daliang, could it be because he had seen through the plan of the South Court a long time ago? ?

Facing her curious question, Emperor Shi nodded without hesitation. That's right, he just knew that the South Court would not dare to do anything, so he was unscrupulous.

Xiao Huran patted him twice to let out his breath, and then he was amazed at Emperor Shi's god Wu Mingrui.

Indeed, if you have not read the history books, Emperor Shi's speculation is worthy of the four words of magic.

After that, he also agreed with Xiao Huran not to tell outsiders about this matter, because it would make her bear a lot of moral burdens, and because she was a Khitan, many people were already dissatisfied with her concubine appointment.

With Xiao Huran's confirmation, Emperor Shi was more confident in his next actions.

But before that, he had to explain everything.

Two days later, Emperor Shi hosted a banquet in Shanglin Garden, including senior officials of the two armies, senior officials of the Privy Council, and the prime minister of the Political Affairs Hall.

At the banquet, Wang Shenqi once again performed his bowing technique of piercing Yang with a hundred steps, but this time it was not more than ten years ago, and Wang Shenqi was also old, and only four of the ten arrows hit the target.

Although it is still the best result in the game, it is a big step backward compared to Wang Shenqi ten years ago.

Emperor Shi suddenly felt a sense of urgency in his heart. His proud generals were getting old and could no longer be delayed.

After the banquet, Emperor Shi began to discuss the whole matter. Everything here is confidential, and more than 20 people present are the highest level of imperial power.

Emperor Shi told them Xiao Hunian's confirmation of the intelligence, and someone euphemistically expressed doubts about Xiao Hunian, and felt that Khitan women were not credible.

Some people also lamented the way Emperor Shi dealt with women.

But in the end, it all comes down to the strategy of Liao.

Emperor Shi, as always, made the personnel arrangements, "In the event of a war, Li Chuyun will be deployed as the northern battalion and command the entire army. Shen Yilun will be the envoy to the north of Sanguan and will be responsible for the logistical supply of the eastern army. In the west, Ludo will be deployed. Xun was a transit envoy in Taiyuan, responsible for the logistics supply and food financing of the West Route Army.