Zhe Ziyu put on his long-lost young man's clothes and held a folding fan in his hand. He was as graceful and gentle as jade.
People rely on clothes. For those Jurchens who regard her as a god, if Ziyu appears in the dress of a palace concubine's daughter, although she is stunningly beautiful, I am afraid her persuasiveness will not be so obvious.
In the Jurchen tribe, which has a traditional matrilineal society, only shamans and wizards are the only women that people can respect today.
The person sent by Zhuli Zhen was his cousin Wu Lintai, who was two years younger than Zhuli Zhen. The two were uncles and nephews by generation, but in fact they were brothers. This person was not considered to be a Jurchen among the Jurchens.
He is a brave man, but relatively smart, and can be regarded as a kind of aide around Zhuli Jin.
At this moment, he was respectfully describing to Zhe Ziyu what happened in Liaodong.
"Somehow, the Liao people were suspicious of us. They made up a crime and ordered my old patriarch to go to Beijing to plead guilty. They took the opportunity to put him under house arrest to interrogate the truth. The old patriarch refused to tell the truth and died in the encounter. Now the Liao people have sent troops.
Progressing step by step..."
Zhe Ziyu interrupted him and said: "You just said that the Zhuli Zhen clan... Oh, now he is the clan leader. The Zhuli Zhen clan leader has formed an alliance with Bayar of Shiwei?"
Mentioning Bayar, Wu Lin Tai immediately showed a disdainful sneer: "He? Huh! They were also humiliated by the Liao people, but they did not dare to become enemies. At the beginning, Zhuli Zhen and Bayar formed a sworn alliance and vowed to the Tianmeng.
We advance together and retreat together, but now the Liao people have invaded our Jurchen territory, burning, killing and looting, but Bayar refused to send troops to help on the pretext that the leaders of the Shiwei tribes could not reach a unified opinion. It is not a man to retreat in the face of battle and break promises and trusts.
!”
Zhe Ziyu smiled slightly: "Maybe Bayar really can't unify the opinions of the leaders of Shiwei tribes, or maybe he has the intention of retreating. Since the people of Shiwei can't make up their minds, why don't you give them a helping hand?"
Wulin Tai was startled and said in astonishment: "This... Fifth Young Master, we Jurchens have too much to take care of themselves now, how can we help the Shiwei people? The Liao people have not attacked them now."
Zhe Ziyu picked up the fine porcelain jade-like teacup, brought it close to her red lips, and took a sip with a faint smile on her face: "Wulin Tai is a straightforward man, but it seems he still doesn't understand what I mean. I want you to
Helping him is to help him make up his mind to resist the Liao people. They already deeply hate the Liao people, and now you are enemies and allies of the Liao people. Under such circumstances, if their tribesmen are affected by the war and are killed by the Liao people,
When people burn, kill and loot, do they still want to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers and tigers?"
Wu Linti suddenly realized: "Fifth Young Master, I understand. However, the power of the Liao people is as fierce as a tiger. If Shiwei helps, it may still be difficult for them to defeat the Liao people. Zhuli really asked me to come because he wanted to ask for advice from Wu Linti."
Young Master, I hope the Fifth Young Master can give me some advice."
Zhe Ziyu's eyes narrowed and he asked with a half-smile, "Zhuli really only asked you to ask me for advice, but never thought of asking me to send troops to Xixia?"
"No!" Wu Lintai shook his head: "Someone in my clan did mention this, but Zhuli Zhen said that my Jurchens are indebted to the Fifth Young Master, but have no good relations with the Xixia Kingdom, and the Xixia monarchs may not be willing to send troops to help. Furthermore, I
, even if the king of Xixia is willing to send troops, the Liao people's territory is more than ten thousand miles away, and they have hundreds of thousands of powerful troops stationed in various places. The Liao people can send troops to the enemy as much as they can. If the water is far away and the fire is close, it will not be of much benefit to our Jurchen, and it will be delayed.
Friends go into the water.”
"hehe……"
Zhe Ziyu smiled softly: "Zhuli is very sensible and his analysis is correct. The strength of Xixia is far beyond the rivals of the Liao people, and even if the Xixia monarchs and ministers are willing to send troops, they will not be able to break the siege of Liaodong. The Liao troops stationed on the western front will not be able to break the siege of Liaodong.
It's enough to keep us in a stalemate. However, the Jurchens and Shiwei teaming up are not the enemies of the Liao people, and we, Xixia, are not the enemies of the Liao people when we send troops, but we are invincible without seeing the Liao people. There are still people in this world who are stronger than the Liao people.
."
Wu Lin Tai's eyes flashed, revealing a hint of enlightenment: "Fifth Young Master is talking about... the Song Dynasty?"
Zhe Ziyu said: "Yes, the Song Dynasty. You are originally a vassal of the Liao Kingdom. What would happen if you took the waterway to send envoys to the Song Dynasty and begged for help from the Song Kingdom?"
Wu Lintai was indeed a knowledgeable and intelligent person among the Jurchens. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said: "I'm afraid not. As far as I know, the Khotan Kingdom also regarded itself as a vassal of the Central Plains at the beginning, but they were not the same as Karahan*
During the Japanese War, I asked the Song court for help, but the Song Dynasty did not send a single soldier. I heard that the Song Dynasty only sent a hundred or ten monks to go. Hey! Those monks chanted sutras and chanted Buddha, and they were able to withstand the war.
The enemy’s swords and guns?”
Zhe Ziyu said with a smile: "How can the name of a vassal be exchanged for the Song people to send troops? If there is no benefit, the mountains are high and the roads are far away, so the Song Kingdom will naturally not expedition to Khotan, but it is different when it comes to the Liao Kingdom. The Tang Dynasty was divided into four parts, each with its own territory.
The Song Dynasty inherited only the Central Plains, surrounded by tigers and wolves, and there was no danger to defend it. The Song Dynasty wanted to conquer the Western Region, but the tigers from the north looked at them with hesitation.
They were afraid of the strength of the Liao people and feared that both sides would suffer losses.
However, the Song Dynasty is determined to win the sixteen states of Tang Youyun. If you don't take action now, it's just that the time has not come yet. If you surrender to the Song Dynasty, it will give the Song Dynasty a reasonable excuse. With you in Liaodong to contain it, the Song Dynasty will not seize it.
Is this an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and raise troops to march north?"
Wu Lintai seemed to be moved after hearing this, but he still didn't dare to believe Zhe Ziyu's inference. Zhe Ziyu said again: "The Liao people have strong soldiers and horses, and they look around. They are also afraid of us in Xixia. It's just that our Xixia country is small and weak, so it's hard to
The enemy is the Liao Dynasty, and now they are fighting against Longyou, and they are unable to escape. However, if you are determined to seek help from the Song Dynasty, I can make some small plans to create some more chaos within the Liao Kingdom and help the Song Emperor make this determination. How about that?"
"this……"
Zhe Ziyu's smile faded and he said: "Soldiers are too fast to delay. One day later, more of your tribe will die and one more village will be destroyed. Unless you are willing to surrender to the Liao people, tie your hands and let them kill you."
The heads of these leaders of the rebellion will continue to be exploited by them, continue to allow them to oppress your parents, brothers, descendants, and continue to insult your women. Otherwise, do you have another option?"
Thinking of all the humiliations suffered by his people, Wu Lin Tai raised his eyebrows and showed determination and determination on his face: "Wulin Tai, I am willing to follow the Fifth Young Master's plan!"
On May day, I went to the capital city, and the shade was as thick as a canopy.
There was a mat spread under the tree, and the little emperor Lao'er was playing on the mat. Xiao Chuo, wearing only the daily clothes of the palace, was sitting on the mat, gently shaking his fan, and said with a cold smile: "The five tribes of Shi Wei are also involved?
Huh! They really dare to be enemies with me, Daliao, just for the sake of good virtue. It seems that Daliao has really spoiled them these past few years by resting in the health center and settling down with others! Let Brother Yeluxiu go and beat me up.
The power of the Liao Dynasty has come, otherwise... our more than fifty vassals in the Liao Kingdom will be in trouble!"
"Follow the Queen Mother's will!"
Privy Council of Daliao respectfully responded to the order and hurriedly retreated.
"mother!"
The prisoner called her in a sweet voice: "Jurchen, you are so small, what are you afraid of?"
Xiao Chuo turned his anger into joy, hugged his son, and slapped him on the buttocks: "Son, when you regard a person as an opponent, don't underestimate him. Ignorant people can be arrogant, because no matter how arrogant they are,
, it’s just a mouthful, it doesn’t affect the world, but as an emperor, you can’t do it. If an emperor thinks like this, it will be the beginning of disaster, do you understand?”
Lao'er blinked and Xiao Chuo said: "The Turks, Xiongnu, and Xianbei all had great glory. They and our Khitan, before their rise, were all small tribes on the grassland, just like the Jurchens now.
A weak, ant-like existence..."
With a flick of her finger, she flicked an ant that had crawled on her robe onto the mat, and said calmly: "A real ant will always remain an ant, but a tribe can grow and grow from one ant to one."
If you want to avoid being threatened by a tiger, the best way is to crush it to death when it is still an ant! Do you understand, son?"
"Yeah!" Prisoner seemed to understand, but immediately ran over, raised his bare feet, chased the ant on the mat and stepped hard, making Xiao Chuo chuckle.
…
Wang Ke was the envoy of the Song Dynasty to the Liao Kingdom. He was in his forties and in his prime. He was cautious and steady in dealing with people. In addition to practicing calligraphy and painting in the post office on weekdays, whenever he went out, he went to the Nancheng. The Nancheng and the North City of Beijing are clearly separated.
, Nancheng is mainly an area inhabited by Han people. There is a large restaurant called Yanhui Tower, which has authentic Bianliang flavor. Mr. Wang occasionally goes to the restaurant to taste the flavor of his hometown.
The King of Heaven has been going out more frequently these days. The Liao Kingdom is at war with the Jurchens and the surrounding people, and there are rumors in the market. As an envoy of the Song Kingdom, Lord Wang is also responsible for collecting intelligence. Naturally, he is particularly concerned about such a major move.
Although the folk rumors were exaggerated, in his opinion, they were far more reliable than the information he heard through official channels, so he went in and out of the building very frequently.
Wearing ordinary scholar's clothes, black and white, round-neck gown, even Liao people often dress like this, not to mention being inconspicuous in Nancheng where Han people live. Wang Ke took a boy and two guards to dress up.
Become an ordinary master and servant and enter the Yanhui Tower.
He is a regular customer here, but from the shopkeeper to the waiter, no one knows his true identity. They only know that this person is used to doing business in Beijing. Wang Ke has to be careful, although the shopkeeper does not know how to do business.
Do anything detrimental to him, but if you know his true identity, it would be inconvenient for him to pry for information in the tavern.
After more than a hundred years of war in the late Tang Dynasty, the Han people in the Northern Kingdom were finally given to the Khitan people by Shi Jingtang together with the Youyun Sixteen Prefectures. Only then did they live a stable life. In the first few years, the Khitan people exploited the Han people quite seriously.
, that's it, the Han people in the north never thought of taking refuge in the strange Song Dynasty. Later, due to the large number of Han people in the north, the Khitan emperor also realized that he had to change his policy towards this huge ethnic group, and treat them in terms of laws and systems.
The discrimination became smaller and smaller, and when Xiao Chuo was in charge of the government, he acted only on merit, not only Han and Hu, but the status of the Han people further improved. It can be said that the Han people in the North are now more loyal to the Liao Kingdom than the Bohai people and the Xi people.
Because whether they are still farming or doing business, they still inherit the farming society. They hope for social stability and political stability. As for whether the emperor's surname is Li, Zhao or Yelu, it doesn't matter to these common people. Wang Ke
It was only after he went to Beijing that he gradually realized this. Before, he always thought that the life of the Han people in the north was like hell, and they looked southward to their homeland in tears day and night.
He ordered several dishes such as sesame-cured chicken skin, red silk crystal wonton, soft lamb, roasted pork skin and meat, new method of preserved bream and quail soup, and also ordered a pot of fermented rice glutinous rice. Wang Ke drank by himself and listened attentively to everyone's talk.
"Hey! I heard that people from Shiwei have also joined in?"
"No, the imperial court has sent General Yeluxiuge to go on an expedition. This will make them look good."
Most of the people in the restaurant are Han Chinese, but most of them are Han Chinese who have lived in the north for a long time. They have long regarded themselves as Liao people, and they are very proud when they talk about Brother Yelvxiu.
"What's the point of killing a chicken with a sledgehammer! The Jurchens and Shiwei people are in trouble, so there's no need for General Yelv Xiu to go out to fight. As soon as those barbarians heard General Xiu's name, they hid in the desolate place and looked for where they were.
General Xiu Ge has to chase them into the ravine, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the general's reputation?"
"What do you know? The Queen Mother is trying to scare the monkeys by killing the chicken and beating him severely so that the barbarians from all over the world will be honest and stop causing trouble..."
Wang Ke didn't hear any valuable news, so he grabbed a handful of sesame-cured chicken skin and just picked up the wine when he heard a very respectful voice in his ear: "Princess, please."
The voice was not loud, and the eloquent speech was as thin as a gossamer. Ordinary people are talking to themselves. Such a sentence from Zhaer is likely to be automatically filtered out. However, Wang Keben was an official in the court.
Things like Lu are more sensitive than ordinary people. He came out to drink to inquire about news. He was already listening in all directions, but he immediately listened.
Wang Ke suddenly raised his head and looked towards the voice, and saw a slender woman walking out of the store surrounded by several people. The people spread around, keeping a certain distance from the woman, and at the same time keeping a certain distance from the woman.
She was separated from the others. Judging from their appearance, they were all servants. As she walked, the servants and maids had slow steps and behaved appropriately. The two guide men in front were beardless and white and fat.
With a low eyebrow and a submissive look, he looks like...a palace eunuch.
When she arrived at the door, the woman seemed to be dissatisfied with the glare of the sun, so she paused slightly. Someone immediately handed over the curtain hat. The woman took the curtain hat and put it on her head. Wang Ke could clearly see the skill on this side of her face.
Her eyebrows and eyes looked vaguely like that of a person, and Wang Ke couldn't help but feel a twitch in his heart.
At that time, in the Golden Palace, the late emperor was buried, the new emperor ascended the throne, and all the ministers were conferred. The woman was also like the woman in front of him, dressed in white. With her official rank, she was standing relatively far back in the class.
Qia could only see half of her face, and the outline of her eyebrows and eyes were the same. Wang Ke's body was shocked: "How is that possible? Could it be her?"
Wang Ke was from Qiandi, King of Jin, and was a confidant of Zhao Guangyi. He was also one of the few Song ministers who knew that Princess Yongqing was still alive. He did not dare to neglect her at the moment. Wang Ke ordered the young man to stay and immediately pursued him with two guards.
Got out.
When those people left the door, they asked the woman wearing a curtain hat to get into a carriage, and they drove to the north city with people escorting her. Wang Ke quickly got on his horse and gave chase. After chasing for a while, they gradually reached the area of the imperial city.
His sensitive status made it difficult for him to move forward. Looking from a distance, whenever he came to a place guarded by officers and soldiers, and someone came up to say a few words, the guarding soldiers would flash aside and wave to let him go with a smile.
Ke watched for a while, thought anxiously for a while, then turned his horse and walked back.
When the people in the convoy in the distance saw Wang Ke leaving, their original arrogance suddenly relaxed.
Princess Yongqing in the car touched her cheek and said with a smile: "He is gone? When will we implement the next plan? If there is nothing else to do today, I can take off my makeup. Princess Yun taught me this disguise method.
It's amazing, but it's a hot day and my face is greasy and I can't breathe."
Another "Feiyu" secret agent who was pretending to be a maid laughed and said: "You pretend to be a princess and have a drink there in a big way, and I have to watch behind you. Aren't you satisfied?"
"Stop laughing." The fat white man pretending to be a eunuch reprimanded, his voice full of masculinity, without any trace of the soft voice just now. He turned to another white-faced man and said: "Brother Big Head,
I'm going to rely on your help this time. We'll have to wait and see if Wang Ke can return to Yanhuilou. If he asks the store owner about our identities, Princess Yu said, the best effect would be to let him look at flowers in the fog and be uncertain.
Then let's just meet up and call it a day. If Wang Ke has nothing to say, then we still have to bother Brother Big Head, and we have to find an opportunity to put on another show in front of him."
Datou smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. There are countless talented people at the feet of the emperor in the capital city. However, in this city and the imperial city, I still have a bit of dignity. If the elder brother can remember me, I will be happy. I can help you with such a small favor.
What.”
The man smiled: "Speaking of the king, the king misses you very much. The king said that the former brothers will be reunited soon. Only you are left alone in the northern country. If possible, we still hope that you can go back with us."
Datou's face was also a little excited. He pursed his lips and shook his head: "My home... is here, Xixia will not go there. Brothers are close friends, and they don't have to get along day and night. Haha, my eldest brother can become a
The king of the country, I am also happy for him. I can’t say it now, but sooner or later, I will be able to tell others. Then I will say to my son, your father’s sworn brother is the king of a country. If he
If he wants to make a name for himself, I will ask him to serve my eldest brother. My father-in-law and my wife are very kind to me, and here in Beijing... I don't want to leave."
Seeing this, Datou was still a little moved, but he really couldn't bear to leave his home, and he knew that his family would not go to the northwest with him, and he also had some self-awareness. He was more than enough to be the prison chief of the prison, but in Xixia
What can he do? The eldest brother has become the emperor. Xiaoliu and Tieniu are both generals, but he does not have that kind of talent. Here he is very prosperous and he has found his own dignity.
He has relied on charity from others since he was a child, and now he no longer wants to accept charity from others, even if the person giving it to him is his brother.
The man next to him seemed to understand what he was thinking, he just sighed lightly and said nothing more.
Wang Ke hurriedly returned to the restaurant. The waiter came up to him and said with a smile: "Oh, my lord, where have you been? The food is cold."
"Oh, I... Chu Gong."
Wang Ke was stunned and replied: "Take me to clean my hands and heat up the food."
"Okay, come with me."
The waiter led him back. Wang Ke looked around and asked with a smile: "Just now, a woman went out. That woman... do you know her identity?"
The waiter said in surprise: "Woman? Which woman?"
Wang Ke talked back and forth, and the waiter blinked and said, "Well, sir, please forgive me, but the waiter can't remember the people coming and going in the restaurant."
"Humph, this is what you do for a living. Your eyes are so poisonous, how can you not remember anything?" Wang Ke took out a large silver ingot from his sleeve, slapped it into his hand, and said, "To tell you the truth, The woman is very beautiful and heart-warming. Sir, I... Well, sir, I have been doing business in the North for many years, and there is no one around me who knows how to live. I don’t know who that woman is, I think... I think …”
The waiter suddenly realized it and chuckled: "My lord, have you fallen in love with that woman? Hahaha, my fair lady, a gentleman is so arrogant and aboveboard. But I find it disgusting to see you do such a good deed. You'd better not take other people's ideas... …”
The waiter said, fearing that he would take the money back, so he quickly stuffed it into his sleeve.
Wang Ke frowned and puffed out his chest pretending to be displeased: "What's the matter? Mr. Wang's wealth is huge. Isn't he worthy of that woman? Tell me, what is her status?"
The waiter looked around and lowered his voice: "I don't know the identity of that woman, but the last time the woman came, she was accompanied by Princess Ya. Even Princess Ya was polite to this woman. , I guess this status cannot be lowered."
"Ah! Is that so?" Wang Ke pretended to be depressed, but he was secretly surprised: "Princess Ya? That's the royal daughter. If this woman is really Princess Yongqing, it would be most appropriate to have Princess Ya accompanying her. No wonder the Holy One has searched all over the place. The whereabouts of the princess can't be found in the whole world. Could it be that...she not only arrived in the Northern Kingdom, but also got in touch with the royal family of the Northern Kingdom? Princess...Princess, what is she going to do?"
Wang Ke was thinking rapidly in his mind, and pretended to be unwilling to say: "No way, even...Princess Ya is polite to her, little brother, please don't visit me."
The waiter was anxious and said quickly: "How could it be possible? To tell you the truth, Mr. Wang, the last time Princess Ya accompanied this girl to the restaurant for drinking, it was the younger one who brought food in. The younger one remembers clearly what they ordered. All the dishes were famous in Bianliang. The young man passed a few dishes in first, and then when he brought a braised carp in, he saw the woman raising her sleeves to wipe her tears, saying something... something..."
He blinked his eyes, as if he couldn't think of anything. Wang Ke was so anxious that he quickly took out another ingot of silver and stuffed it into his hand. The waiter smiled happily and said: "Listen to what she said, eating this food, but having hometown The flavor reminds people of her hometown, her parents, and her brothers, and she can't help but shed tears."
"The younger one saw Princess Ya's words of comfort, and said that the Queen Mother had already taken this matter to heart. It's just that the Liao Dynasty has not been peaceful in the past two years, and she couldn't make time for a while to ask her to live here with peace of mind. , if there is any need, just say, in two years time, the Queen Mother will definitely send troops to seek justice for her."
The waiter smacked his lips, nodded and said, "I'm just thinking about it, this woman must not be simple..."
Not simple? Of course not simple?
It was a bright sunny day in May, but the air conditioner was blowing from Mr. Wang's head. He returned to the front hall, but he didn't know how to eat. He reluctantly took a moment, checked out immediately, and went back. When he got to the hotel, he immediately wrote a letter. He sent a secret message to his confidant and asked him to rush to Bianliang at an urgent speed. The confidant did not dare to neglect, so he led seven or eight people, each with one person and two horses, and immediately set off on the road.
Master Wang Ke's secret letter and the Jurchen envoys entered Bianliang City in Tokyo...