Youzhou, Jicheng, more accurately called Nanjing at this time.
As a thousand-year-old city with profound heritage, it has been the political, military, economic and cultural center of the north no matter what age. Ever since it was ceded to the Khitan by Shi Jingtang, Yelv Deguang has shown great importance.
In the hands of the Khitan people, after ten years of development, they actually maintained prosperity, even more than under Shi Jin's rule. The difference between this period is not only due to the stable political situation and strong military of the Khitan during the years of Yelv Deguang's rule, but also the reason for the
Its policy of Sinicization is also inseparable from the employment of a large number of Han people.
The city of Nanjing is very large, with a circumference of thirty-six miles, two gates on each side, and two avenues running through the east, west, north, and south. There is a market in the north of the city, and land and sea department stores are concentrated in it. There are twenty-six squares, and the people of Hu and Han live in it.
In terms of the overall layout, the Khitans did not carry out large-scale expansion and reconstruction of Nanjing City, and basically followed the appearance of Youzhou City since the Tang Dynasty. However, they put a lot of effort into the defense of the city and the repair and reinforcement of the city walls.
It has great potential. After these years of development, Nanjing has become the most prosperous and prosperous city under the Khitan rule, providing a large amount of tax revenue to the Khitan every year. Compared with Linhuang Mansion in Shangjing, the capital city, in addition to its political status and significance
, there is no comparison at all.
In fact, if Yelu Deguang could successfully annex the Central Plains, Nanjing would be more suitable as the capital of the Liao Kingdom.
Nowadays, Nanjing has a population of more than 200,000. In this era of sharp population decline, such a city is definitely a first-tier city. In the meantime, Hu and Han people live together. In addition to Han people, most of them are Hu people. Back then
, Yelu Deguang migrated a large number of Khitan, Xi, Bohai and other foreign populations southward and lived among them.
If we rush to the Northern Expedition to conquer Youyan, it's not certain which side has the upper hand in Youzhou's mass base.
As the army of Shi Jin's southern expedition was "withdrawn" one after another, a large number of soldiers and horses concentrated in Nanjing, causing the city's population to approach 300,000 in a short period of time.
However, the situation in Nanjing during this period has been very bad.
The Jin Kingdom was successfully destroyed, but the final result was not very good, and could even be described as bad. The emperor died suddenly on his way home, the army was defeated, the results of the battle were lost, and news of civil strife spread unconsciously.
.
A large number of negative situations have plunged the city into turmoil. Issues between races have never been so harmonious. It has always been normal for the Khitan people to bully the Han people. Previously, Zhao Yanshou supported the Khitan nobles
Suppressed, on the surface we can still live in peace.
However, this time, after a bloody encounter in the south, the conflict between Hu and Han, who were already full of contradictions, was directly detonated.
The defeated Khitan soldiers who returned put all the responsibility for the defeat of Luancheng on the Yan soldiers and publicized the rebellion of the Yan soldiers. This inadvertently coordinated with Liu Chengyou's propaganda. The fingerpoint was directly pointed at the Han people, venting all the resentment of the defeat on the Han people.
The barbarians in the city also took the opportunity to attack, beat, smash, and rob, venting their anger. Of course, the most important thing was to seize the opportunity to seize the property of the Han people.
How could the Han people, whose backbone was not broken, be so easy to bully and resist vigorously? Moreover, they also had resentment in their hearts. There were countless men in the city who went on the southern expedition with the Liao Emperor. They did not come back, but ended up being betrayed. The conflict between the Hu and Han was fierce, but the Han people without military support were no match for the Hu and suffered a great disadvantage.
As for Yelu Ruan, he was probably a little resentful of the Yan soldiers' betrayal. Although he did not support the Hu people in plundering the Han people, he did not do anything, which meant that he allowed the Khitan people to vent their grievances against the Han people.
In the end, Zhang Li couldn't see it anymore, and he remonstrated with Yelu Ruan with fierce words. He even asked him face to face, if Nanjing was in chaos, could King Yongkang go north to seize the throne with peace of mind?
Although Yelu Ruan was angered, he was able to calm down. Soon, Yelu Ruan began to rein in the army and sent troops to suppress it. He killed many people and the chaos stopped. The chaos subsided, but the tension in the city The atmosphere did not weaken at all.
Just like Liu Chengyou had a headache about the food problem, Yelu Ruan also had a headache. Before Yelu Deguang's southern expedition, the Youdu treasury was completely emptied, and he had more people to support. Fortunately, it took until the summer harvest to alleviate the problem.
In the past few days, Yelu Ruan has been reorganizing his army in Youzhou, concentrating food and grass, and repairing armaments. It is obvious that he is planning some big move.
At dawn, large groups of Khitan troops occupied various arteries in the city and implemented martial law. This sudden move made the atmosphere in the city even more tense, especially among the Han people.
It was a good day. The weather was obviously good. The sun was rising high, and the rays were shining brightly on the offices of Yan Palace in Nanjing. The alert level of Yan Palace was obviously higher, and the army of guards was more elite. Early in the morning, the Tibetan people in Nanjing city All the officials of the Han Dynasty were gathered here. The nobles and generals from various ministries also came together in plain clothes and bright armor.
A side hall of Yan Palace is majestic and majestic. The originally empty hall is now full of people. Except for a small number of Han officials, most of them are Khitan nobles, headed by the kings of the North and South Houses, with a series of surnames " Yelu's minister and general.
Everywhere in the palace is still hung with white silk cloth. In the center, a huge coffin stands quietly. Yelu Deguang's spiritual tablet is also placed in front of the coffin. The words on the spiritual tablet are gilded.
Even though it had been pickled, there was still a strange smell that lingered in the air from his coffin, but none of the civil and military officials in the palace seemed aware of it.
The main character in the hall was obviously Yelu Ruan. He was dressed in filial piety, kneeling quietly on the cushions, immersed in the solemn and solemn atmosphere with an expressionless face, and intoxicated by the lingering smell.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Yelu An, who was appointed by Yelu Ruan as the envoy of the Northern Privy Council, took out a piece of brocade silk, spread it out, pulled it with all his strength, and said loudly: "Here is the imperial edict, civil and military officials will listen to it!"
After saying this, everyone became energetic and knelt down in unison.
Yelu An Tuan's voice was very steady, and he probably had rehearsed it, as he read out Yelu Deguang's edict. There were many words in the edict, but the general meaning was very clear: King Yongkang, the direct grandson of Taizu, and the eldest son of King Dongdan. , the Empress Dowager loves him, and everyone agrees to return him, so that he can ascend to the throne of emperor in Zhongjing.
In fact, preparations for proclaiming the emperor and enthroning the throne have been going on for a long time, and everything is in order. Yelu Ruan has already received the support of the Nanjing civil and military troops. This edict-proclaiming ceremony is really just a formality.
There was no surprise at all. Yelv Ruan directed and performed the drama of the succession in front of the coffin very smoothly. All the nobles, both civil and military, also cooperated well. After the edict was read out, they all immediately addressed Yelu Ruan and called His Majesty.
Yelu Ruan was a person who liked Han culture. With the support of everyone, Yelu Ruan changed his clothes, wrapped himself in a dragon robe, and wore a crown, and went straight to the main hall of Yan Palace to accept the worship of civil and military officials. Soon, the sound of singing and playing continued in the palace.
With the support of his ministers and generals, it was an established fact that he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. Yelu Ruanfang sent an envoy to report the matter to the Queen Mother Shulu in Beijing. At the same time, he continued to prepare for the war. He had a very clear understanding that to seize the throne
The battle for position will definitely lead to bloodshed!
