Next, Wang Zhaoyuan told Emperor Liu a few short stories about Yelujing, the Lord of the Liao Dynasty. For example, in the fourth year of Kaibao's reign, there was a severe drought in the Liao Dynasty. Yelujing went boating in the pond to pray for rain, but it stopped raining for a long time, so he abandoned the boat and stood in the water.
, it rained for a while.
When the Lord of the Liao Dynasty inspected the prefectures and counties, he saw that some officials were defrauding the people and deliberately inducing the people to violate the prohibitions and get money. In response, Yelujing was furious. He not only dealt with them severely, but also set a criminal law. Such behavior was punishable by death.
Yelujing hunted excessively. Every time he went hunting, he would drink until late at night. He would get drunk and kill people for trivial reasons. The officials often found it difficult to remonstrate and rejected him. However, sometimes, they could accept the strong remonstrances of those who violated the rules.
...
There are many stories about Yelujing, and from Wang Zhaoyuan’s words, his image is also presented through those trivial details. This is indeed not a mediocre person. After twenty years of exchanges between Han and Liao, this is what the monarchs and ministers of the Han Dynasty have achieved.
consensus.
It has to be said that this monarch, who is similar in age to Emperor Liu and controls the great country in northern Saibei, is considered an outstanding figure of his generation. However, due to bad luck, he faced a powerful rise of the Han Empire under the leadership of Emperor Liu.
Of course, over the years, Yelujing has been criticized more and more, especially for being moody, violent, murderous, and feared by others.
In his early years, Emperor Liu had a high regard for Yelujing, but in recent years, he no longer had the same admiration that made him a formidable enemy. He felt that Yelujing had degenerated and judged others by herself.
As an emperor with no special hobbies, he naturally looked down upon Yelujing's current addiction to hunting, drinking, and killing.
But even under such circumstances, the military and political affairs of the Liao State maintained stable operation, and its national strength increased, its military strength recovered, and it achieved the results of pacifying Gaochang in the west and destroying Ding'an in the east.
Seeing Emperor Liu's expressions of emotion several times, Wang Zhaoyuan continued unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, although the Liao Kingdom should not be underestimated, I believe that it still has four dangers!"
"Oh!" Wang Zhaoyuan was obviously in a good mood, radiating confidence and high spirits. Seeing his appearance, Liu Chengyou signaled: "I would like to hear the details!"
"Actually, it's a cliché!" Wang Zhaoyuan said: "First, although the territory of the Liao Kingdom is vast, it has vast deserts and wastelands, and there are many tribes. Although it surrenders to the Khitan, it is always rebellious, especially when there are big Han men threatening the Khitan in the south, which will further increase the situation.
The foreign tribes around it are full of antagonism. Especially now that the Liao Kingdom is conquering the Western Regions, its strength is even more dispersed. Therefore, I believe that the Liao Kingdom is now like a fat man. It looks strong but is unbearable on the inside!
Secondly, although the military and political affairs of the Liao Kingdom were stable, they were developed on the basis of tough attacks on dissidents and rejection of political opponents. The four Khitan tribes were the foundation of its royal rule. However, a rebellion that year caused the Lord of Liao to purge. Although
At that time, the emperor's throne and the country's situation were stabilized, but the subsequent troubles were buried deeper and deeper. Although there is no evidence, I guess that there are still many people in the Khitan, especially within the royal family, who oppose Yelv Jing!
Thirdly, there is the conflict between Hu and Han. I don’t need to elaborate on this point. The Han Dynasty was also deeply troubled by this problem in the northern and southern borders, and the situation in Liao Kingdom was even more serious. In the early years, the Lord of Liao attacked Han forces in order to alleviate the hostility of Khitan nobles. However,
In fact, he still followed the path of his father and ancestors and used the Han system.
Nowadays, even if we don't talk about the people, in the upper echelons of the Liao Dynasty, the differentiation between Han and Hu is extremely serious. As the strength and power controlled by Han, Geng, and the higher Han clans have also been greatly expanded, this has obviously caused
The dissatisfaction of the old Khitan aristocrats was relieved. The two official systems in the north and south, and the division of Hu and Han, certainly had the effect of alleviating conflicts, but under the situation where the Han Dynasty was prosperous and its influence spread, its hidden dangers were great.
Fourth, the Lord of the Liao was murderous. Although he was not as good as the ministers at the top and not as good as the common people at the bottom, he killed people for minor reasons and indiscriminately killed people close to him to vent his cruelty. I believe that this is the way to bring disaster. If this continues, he will be punished.
The harm..."
These four points are probably Wang Zhaoyuan's summary of the current issues in the Liao Kingdom. As he said, they are indeed commonplace. The only one that is more novel is probably the fourth point.
Emperor Liu pondered for a while, with an expression of appreciation on his face, looked at Wang Zhaoyuan, and said again: "Thank you for your hard work, Qing Wang!"
This time, it can be clearly felt that Emperor Liu's tone is much more sincere and less polite.
Wang Zhaoyuan stood up and responded humbly, and then continued: "I was ordered to interact with the Han ministers of the Liao Kingdom, but the result was disappointing. They had abandoned China for a long time and no longer wanted to be Southern ministers. They were willing to become captives of the Khitan and refused to return as I proposed.
Most of the things I have done have been avoided or even sternly refused. If you have failed your Majesty's trust, please punish me!"
"No problem!" In response, Emperor Liu waved his hand: "If the Liao Kingdom treated them with high-ranking officials and generous salaries, it would not be surprising if they behaved like this! After all, those Han officials had been in the Liao Dynasty for many years and took root in the Khitan.
There is no need to treat them as Han people. Letting you contact us is just an attempt, and it is also an attempt to alienate them, to confuse their minds. It doesn’t matter what the result is, and you don’t have to blame yourself!"
"Your Majesty is magnanimous! Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Zhaoyuan certainly had confidence in his heart and responded calmly.
In fact, Wang Zhaoyuan, the Han envoy, went to contact the Han Dynasty, and this result was basically expected. However, Emperor Liu also knew some things. In the secret communication between the Wude Department and the Military Intelligence Department with the Han officials of the Liao Kingdom, there were
Many Han ministers expressed their willingness to serve the Han Dynasty, and some had ambiguous attitudes...
Obviously, those who are not from our race must have different aspirations, and the same applies to the Khitans. How can those Han nobles and bureaucrats really be loyal to the Liao Kingdom? In the end, it all depends on the interests.
Both sides of the head and rat are often despised by people. However, most people in this world, when faced with similar situations, will make the same decision and leave a way out, which may be an almost instinctive move.
"Your Majesty, there is one more thing that perhaps the court should pay attention to!" Wang Zhaoyuan said again while Emperor Liu was thinking.
"Speak directly!" Emperor Liu's response was straightforward.
"I have heard that the Khitan has been trapped in the Western Region for many years and it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend it. The Khitan has the intention to withdraw its troops from the Western Region!" Wang Zhaoyuan said.
"Huh? Can the Liao Kingdom survive?" Liu Chengyou was slightly surprised.
"According to my investigation, the Liao army currently stationed in the Western Regions has nearly 40,000 troops. However, there are only more than 300,000 civilians to support them. Due to years of war and population loss, the remaining ones are mostly old and weak. Moreover,
, harboring hatred and resistance to Khitan.
In addition, the Black Khan Kingdom in the west continued to invade eastward. Although the Liao army won many battles, it never achieved a decisive victory. Due to the expedition, the battle became more and more difficult. Now, it has become a situation of internal and external difficulties, and it is difficult to get off the tiger.
At present, the Western Region is in ruins and depression, and it is difficult to provide the Liao Kingdom with goods and livestock, so the Liao Kingdom is gradually giving up..." Wang Zhaoyuan explained.
"The Liao army was able to destroy Gaochang with tens of thousands of people. Facing a mere Black Khanate, the more soldiers there were, the harder it would be to fight!" Emperor Liu muttered.
When talking about military affairs, Wang Zhaoyuan suddenly became very interested. Facing the emperor, he talked eloquently and expressed his opinions: "I watched the Liao army's Western Expedition. It is not surprising that there is such a contrast between before and after.
Although there were millions of Uighurs in Xizhou, they were poorly prepared and poorly commanded, so they were defeated by the Liao army one by one. At that time, Xizhou was prosperous, with abundant products and a lot of savings, so that the Liao army could feed on the enemy without having to worry about its future.
However, after the Uighurs were overthrown, the Liao army was already tired from long battles. It suffered a setback in Khotan and was defeated by Black Khan's surprise attack. In subsequent battles, even if the troops were increased, the disadvantages of the expedition were magnified, and Xizhou's
Decline and lack of successors made the Liao army's situation increasingly deteriorating.
Therefore, I believe that it is not that the Black Khanate is powerful, but that the Liao army is at a disadvantage due to its favorable timing, location, and people. It is already a feat that it can persist for two or three years!
If you want to solve this problem, you can only continue to increase your troops and fight a decisive battle with strong strength. However, the Liao Kingdom is reluctant to send partial troops to conquer the Western Regions. As long as the Han Dynasty is there, the Liao Army will never be able to completely distract him!
"
It can be said that it has been almost six years since the Liao Army's Western Expedition. In the first three years, it was in full swing, making a lot of money from the war and harvesting the fruits of victory. However, in the last three years, it was obviously at a disadvantage, and the army gradually fell into the quagmire and struggled very hard.
Wang Zhaoyuan's mouth was dry after talking endlessly. Emperor Liu asked Yantuo to change him a cup of tea. He chuckled and said: "So, the Western Regions may have taken advantage of the Black Khanate?"
"If the Lord of Liao really decides to withdraw his troops, if nothing unexpected happens, I'm afraid it will be!" Wang Zhaoyuan sighed.
A ripple flashed across Emperor Liu's eyes. He was thinking, if the Liao army retreats, should they take advantage of the situation to advance westward? It was just a passing thought, and soon reason prevailed. The situation in the Western Regions is still unclear, so he went rashly
It is unwise to pour that muddy water.
The corner of his mouth raised, and he looked up at Wang Zhaoyuan. Liu Chengyou said: "I have gained a lot from talking to you. I will have a meal with you later, so I can take care of you. In addition, there is no need to go back to Tokyo. This time I will go on tour."