Sihai Tower is the tallest building in Beijing.

In a large group of palaces built on the mountain, it stands out like a flock of chickens.

This place was originally a hill. During the construction of Zhongjing City, all the earth and rocks excavated were piled up here, forming a complete high platform here.

The royal palace was built on this high platform.

Standing on the top of the Sihai Tower, overlooking all directions, you can almost see the entire Zhongjing City.

The imperial city, inner city, outer city, and city walls extend in circles, and different areas are divided into different classes of people.

The further outward you go, the lower the natural level becomes.

But the farther outside, the stronger the smell of fireworks becomes.

The entire city is not completely completed. Standing on the roof of Sihai Tower, you can still see blank spaces here and there, and you can also see the crops that are gradually turning yellow in the fields.

Farther away, there are endless stretches of farmland. Although most of the newly transplanted trees on both sides of the straight road are just bare trunks and there are not a few patches of greenery, you can imagine that there will be more.

They have been a beautiful sight in the past few years.

The outermost city wall has not yet been completed. At this moment, many people can still be seen working hunched over. Huge fired bricks and polished stone slabs are continuously transported up the city wall.

One day, the wall here will be a little more perfect.

The hardest, most tiring, and most dangerous work in building the city wall was done by prisoners of war and criminals, while ordinary people who were working normally took turns taking on easier tasks.

Providing a daily subsidy of five cents to these working people was a measure taken by Queen Xiao Chuo after overcoming public opinion.

It didn't cost much, but it won her a huge reputation.

The construction of Zhongjing City began to take shape in more than three years. Even the old Khitan nobles who were the most stubbornly opposed to Xiao Chuo had to admit that this was Xiao Chuo's contribution.

Building a city, no matter what time it is, is an extremely huge and difficult project. If it is not done well, it will cause a lot of troubles and incidents.

But now that Zhongjing is almost completed and most of the places have been put into use, such a thing has never happened.

Labor, which was the most notorious disease in the past, is also silent this year.

As for the deaths of those criminals and prisoners of war, no one cares.

The completion of Zhongjing will make it the core linking the five capitals, and will also make Daliao officially have a political center.

Yelujun has made it clear that Zhongjing will become the capital of the empire.

As the sun set, the golden sunlight shone on the polished white jade panels of Sihai Tower, turning the entire roof into a golden color. Yelujun stood on the roof with his hands behind his hands, looking down at the city.

Full of emotions.

Every year when I come back, I have a different feeling.

In the past few years, all Daliao people have felt the changes in the Liao Kingdom from top to bottom.

Yelujun suppressed the four seasons, suppressed all directions, and conquered all the barbarians, whether it was the rebellious Jurchen tribe, the Bohai nobles who were already a little bit ready to make a move, or the ferocious and cunning half-herders, half-bandits of the barbarians on the northern prairie.

, or Gaoli, who had been half-heartedly jumping between Song and Liao in the east, all shivered under the iron cavalry of Daliao and became obedient.

Yeluhongde had been ill for many years and the empire had become loose. Many people's stubborn mental illnesses were reduced to smoke under the fierce scimitars and whips of the Pishi army.

And force must always be supported by the economic foundation.

Empress Xiao Chuo was based in Zhongjing. While building the planned political center of the Liao Kingdom, she also controlled a series of political, production, military and other affairs in the four most prosperous capitals of the Liao Kingdom.

As a result, Zhongjing was basically built, and hundreds of businesses such as industry, agriculture, and commerce on Shangjing Road, Xijing Road, Nanjing Road, and Tokyo Road became increasingly prosperous.

In the past transactions with the Song State, the Liao State was basically at a loss. It could only buy, buy and buy. The money it finally earned from the Song State was given back in the form of purchases in the blink of an eye. But this time

Over the past few years, this situation began to slowly improve. In Xiao Chuo's words, the trade deficit with the Song Dynasty was gradually narrowing.

An important method adopted by Xiao Chuo was to liberalize the horse trade between Liao and Song.

This was opposed by both the Northern and Southern Houses of Liao.

Just as the Song Dynasty prohibited the trading of iron tools with the Liao Kingdom, the Liao Kingdom also prohibited the trading of war horses.

But Xiao Chuo advocated liberalizing the war horse trade.

In the end, Xiao Chuo convinced most of the officials and opened the horse trade to the Song Dynasty.

What is the greatest asset that the Song Dynasty can use to fight against the Liao Kingdom?

It's a foot soldier!

It's the heavy infantry they accumulated with countless money.

However, the heavy infantry can defeat the Liao cavalry, but cannot destroy the Liao cavalry.

This resulted in the Song Dynasty not being able to achieve much results even if it won the battle.

Because after the Liao Cavalry was dispersed, they could quickly escape and then regroup.

Therefore, everyone in the Song Dynasty believed that the Song Dynasty could not defeat the Liao people because it did not have enough cavalry. This was the biggest reason why the Liao Dynasty prohibited trading war horses with the Song Dynasty.

Xiao Chuo opened the war horse trade, which made everyone in the Song Dynasty ecstatic.

But is the cavalry really so easy to form?

The reason why the Liao cavalry is strong is that most of them have been able to ride horses since they were young, and some can even walk earlier than they can ride horses.

Cultivating a qualified cavalry is not something that can be accomplished in just one or two years. It requires the efforts of a generation to achieve small results.

Xiao Chuo sold the war horses of the Song Dynasty to the Song Dynasty at a very high price, and made a lot of money through the war horse trade.

After purchasing a large number of war horses, the Song Dynasty's military expenditure seemed to be somewhat stretched.

If military expenditures are insufficient, the infantry's pay and equipment can only be reduced.

This creates a huge problem.

That is, the newly formed cavalry has not yet developed sufficient combat effectiveness, while the combat effectiveness of the heavy-armed infantry in the past has plummeted.

The Liao Kingdom has always walked on two legs.

The Khitan people mainly rely on cavalry, while the Han people focus on infantry.

In the past, the two families seemed to be incompatible if they could not work together. If anyone on the battlefield had even the slightest evil intention, the other party would immediately suffer a devastating blow. But now, under Xiao Chuo's mediation, the two sides are in an unprecedented situation.

United.

Xiao Chuo's method has always been to use sweet dates and big sticks at the same time.

The benefits given are enough, but she is also merciless when dealing with people. No matter what background you have or where you come from, if you fall into her hands, it will be a dead end.

"Your Majesty, if Zhongjing City is really going to take shape, then we need to move a sufficient number of farmers within a few dozen miles of the surrounding area." Pointing to the crops in the distance, Xiao Chuo said: "The plan is to move 300,000 households.

The area has also been divided properly, and the first batch will come in soon."

"Did you bring it back from the south bank of the Juma River this time?" Yelujun said with a smile.

During the negotiations between Song and Liao, in order to jointly attack the Western Army Xiao Ding, the Liao State made major concessions and returned to the Song State all the land covering hundreds of miles on the south bank of the Juma River that it had occupied several years ago.

But the Song Dynasty probably didn't expect that all they got was land.

The people on the land were forcibly relocated by the Liao people.

Some of the relocation locations were near Zhongjing.

All plans are one link within another, and every step has its own role.

Xiao Chuo's entire plan was also amazing to Ye Lujun.

As of now, only Xiao Chuo and Ye Lujun are the ones who know the true nature of the entire plan.

Even Lin Ping, the great king of the Southern Court of Liao Kingdom, only knew one thing but not the other.

"Yes, these people are all veterans of farming. I have prepared enough land for them. When they come, houses, land, and title deeds are all prepared for them. It is no worse than when they were in Hebei.

"Xiao Chuo said with a smile.

"Buy people's hearts?"

"That's right! When people leave their hometown and stay away from their homeland, there are always some benefits." Xiao Chuo said: "Your Majesty, farmers must rely on the city to have a better life. In the same way, the city needs the support of farmers to live a better life.

Keep running. Leaving so much farmland in the city is also for the future. If something happens, even if everything outside the city is lost, there can still be output in the city."

"Who can come to Zhongjing? Someone from the Song Dynasty?" Yelujun said proudly, with a look of disdain.

"Of course, if we become stronger and stronger, there will be more and more construction in the city, and these reserved farmland will be slowly occupied." Xiao Chuo said: "But for now, we still have to wait and see.

It’s ridiculous.”

"You are right!" Yelujun nodded and said: "Your ideas are always different, especially the war horse trade. It seems now that the effect is amazing. It's ridiculous that Daliao has banned the trade of war horses with the Song people for so many years.

I did it, but I didn’t think about the pros and cons.”

"That's not the case!" Xiao Chuo shook his head: "In the past, the practices of the Liao dynasties were not wrong, because in the past, no one could swallow anyone up. During the stalemate, naturally we could not let a large number of war horses flow into the Song Dynasty. But now

But it is different. The people of Song Dynasty are as weak as ever, and we are as strong as ever. Your Majesty, we will soon march to the Central Plains."

Yelujun laughed.

"Before that, it is reasonable to try to make the Song people weaker. Therefore, give them war horses and let them get the cavalry they dream of. But in this way, the importance of their infantry will be weakened."

Yelujun reacted: "I understand, if time goes by and the Song cavalry really develops combat effectiveness, we will suffer a loss."
To be continued...