After Liu Chengyou accepted the Gao family, there was no more important business in Yedu. Beginning of winter was approaching, and the anti-rebellion army returned under the imperial edict. Liu Chengyou took his bride with him and returned. On September 10, the imperial chariot set out from Tokyo. The war ended and the beginning of winter came. Also, it’s one month’s time before and after.
Liu Zhiyuan basically entrusted the affairs of Yedu and even Hebei to Gao Xingzhou. In order to save Gao Xingzhou trouble, he moved Murong Yanchao, who was serving in Chanzhou, to the Tianping Army (Yunzhou). It felt like a distribution, and he took care of it. Murong Yanchao's affection, his equal status, and the respect of the Prime Minister in controlling Yunzhou were also very generous to his younger brother, Liu Zhiyuan.
After Murong Yanchao moved to the town, Guo Rong took over him very smoothly and took up the post of Zhenning Army Jiedu, guarding the key to the north gate of Chanzhou for the imperial court.
On the way back to the army, when passing by Baima, Liu Zhiyuan decisively transferred Liu Xin, the envoy of Yicheng Jiedu, and promoted him to the commander of the guard and horse army, leading Xuzhou Jiedu and Tongping Zhangshi. .
It had only been a few months since Liu Xin took office in Huazhou. He had become greedy and unscrupulous. He also implemented cruel laws in the administration and abused the people. In Huazhou, the people were in dire straits and complained. Liu Zhiyuan really had no choice but to He was transferred away. Even if he was appointed as Xuzhou Jiedu, he was not allowed to stay in the town. Instead, he was ordered to accompany him back to Kaifeng to command the imperial army.
Previously, it was because of trust that Liu Zhiyuan handed over important places such as Huazhou and Chanzhou to defend Tokyo to Liu Xin and Murong Yanchao. But after this trip, Liu Zhiyuan realized that although these two brothers were trustworthy, they were actually If you don't have the ability to calm down a place, you will instead be good at harming the people. If you really want to attack a key location, your original intention will not be achieved, but it will easily lead to big problems.
Liu Zhiyuan was really helpless. After looking around the clan and royal family members, they either lacked talent or virtue, or were young and incompetent, but they were useless. After counting around, he couldn't pick out three or two. Fortunately, Liu Chong's younger brother was in Taiyuan and there was no chaos. Come, otherwise, he really can't think of anyone he trusts enough to guard the land of Longxing in Hedong.
Liu Xin was transferred from Huazhou, and Liu Zhiyuan asked Liu Chengyou for his opinion on his successor. The meaning became more and more obvious...
In this regard, Liu Chengyou basically guessed Liu Zhiyuan's thoughts and gave a candidate, Guo Congyi, the commander of the Protectorate City.
Guo Congyi was cautious, strategic, and good at both civil and military affairs. Of course, these are secondary factors. The most important thing is that Guo Congyi is an "old revolutionary" and has a deep friendship with Liu Zhiyuan.
When Liu Zhiyuan was exiled for his crimes and returned to the north for his mother's death, when Liu Zhiyuan went out to control Hedong, he appointed him as the Marquis of Yu, the capital of the Hedong Horse Infantry Army. Since then, he has been following Liu Zhiyuan to suppress bandits, quell rebellions, and fight against Khitan. The establishment of the Han Dynasty also has From Long Zhiyuan, Liu Zhiyuan went to Jin and Jiangdong, Guo Congyi has always been the vanguard. He was also the first Han general to advance into Tokyo City. This time he followed the army to defeat Du Chongwei. Although there was no record of success, he worked hard. After all, there is.
Guo Congyi had many talents. He could write articles and poems, and was good at calligraphy. Probably because of his culture, he was a very reserved general. Among the generals of the Han Dynasty, he was not outstanding, and his presence was not like that of Shi Hongzhao and Liu Xin. He is so satisfied with waiting for someone, but he is indeed the indispensable type. Whenever something happens, he can always be thought of.
Such a talented, qualified and trustworthy old minister is the best candidate to guard the important place of Huazhou no matter how you weigh it. Liu Chengyou's recommendation is obviously very suitable for Liu Zhiyuan. Liu Chengyou almost smiled when he saw him, Directly inform the accompanying Zhongshu officials to write the letter of appointment.
Du Chongwei's rebellion was like a hurdle for the Liu Han court in the Central Plains. It may not be a smooth road after it was crossed, but the turbulent situation was stabilized. At least this clay-footed giant could move forward with difficulty again.
With Du Chongwei's fate in front of him, the governors from all sides, as an important part of the country, saw a lot of disruption.
But the good news, let’s call it good news, came from the north. Zhao Yanshou, king of Yan, reported that the Liao army failed to win in Youzhou and retreated. In Youzhou, Yelu Ruan led his army to attack south and fought for three full months.
As time went on, winter was approaching, food supply was no longer available, morale was declining, and it was difficult to fortify the city, so they had no choice but to retreat. However, before retreating, they captured thousands of Han people and returned north.
The war in the north was much crueler than that in Ye, and the Han people who suffered the most damage were the Han people in Youyan. At first, when Yelu Ruan first arrived in Sainan, he abused the Han people such as Xiao Han, Yelv Jieli and other Khitan nobles, causing
The Han people were extremely dissatisfied against the Liao.
You must know that it took Yelu Abaoji and Yelu Deguang and his son decades to rule the Hu and Han Dynasties before they could barely coexist in "harmony". This time, conflicts broke out, and they were extremely sharp and mutual.
During this time, there was a lot of blood debt.
Yelu Ruan was a person who liked Han culture and had some special "feelings" for the Han people. After he succeeded to the throne as Emperor of Liao, he ignored the opposition of all ministers and appointed the mature woman Zhen he had stolen from Kaifeng as his queen.
However, when the siege of Youzhou was difficult, they no longer suppressed their wolfish ambitions and sent troops to raid the Han people and use them to attack the city. The Liao military factory was better at fighting in the field than attacking the city, so naturally it would not use it at a short time.
Attack the commander and go to attack Youzhou. In the past, during the southern invasion, the Hu cavalry was mainly engaged in field battles and plundering. The dirty work of attacking cities was done by the Han people in Khitan, and the Yan soldiers did it. But now the Yan people have rebelled, and Youyan
The turmoil was a great loss to the Khitan people.
According to Yelu Ruan's original intention, if Youzhou City could not be conquered by force, Zhao Yanshou would besieged and trapped to death. With so many people in the city, it was expected that they would not be able to hold on for long. But he obviously misjudged the situation in the city and the purge against the Hu people.
, which allowed the Yan army to gather a large amount of supplies, and Zhao Yanshou took care of himself and replenished a lot. Because of the massacre of Hu, the determination of the resistance in the city was also particularly strong, and they resisted so hard that they trapped the city for more than three months.
There are people in the city who are starving to death, but they are still holding on.
Zhao Yanshou also propagated in the city that if Youzhou is lost, the Khitan people will massacre the city. Most people firmly believe this, and there is no reason not to believe it. Sure enough, the Liao army was pushed back...
Before retreating, Yelu Ruan was very afraid to send cavalry to raid Zhuo and Yi. Some even arrogant ones continued southward, but were blocked back by the combined efforts of Murong Yanzhao and Li Jun.
The fierce battle in Youzhou ended with the Liao army retreating northward after failing to attack the city. However, in addition to consuming a lot of supplies, the Liao army did not suffer much loss in strength. However, the harvest was also very dry, which can be described as more losses than gains.
In the Khitan country, after a year of great joy and sorrow, there were defeats and civil strife, and they also devoted all their national power to capture Youzhou and failed. The already difficult Khitan must have had a very difficult winter, which was no better than that of the Han Dynasty.
As for Youyan, although the army and the people worked together to defeat the Liao army, after this turmoil, it is difficult to describe the suffering of the people's livelihood. The states were devastated and almost in ruins. Zhao Yanshou reported that more than 40,000 Han people died inside and outside Youzhou city.
Not to mention other things. It was the autumn harvest season, and most of the grain in the fields was looted and destroyed by the Liao cavalry. The Yan army was beaten and only captured a small part.
This winter, more people may die in Youyan...
Liu Chengyou had actually made deductions and conjectures about You Yan's situation, but when such a result became a reality, Liu Chengyou became a little autistic.
Taking the report from the north, Liu Chengyou felt heavy and a little dazed. His heart had completely lost the satisfaction and joy he had felt when his "strange plan" was successful. Basically, it can be said that the tragedy of Youyan was all caused by him. Handwriting.
In the history books in the future, it will definitely be recorded that the king of Zhou poisoned his plan to mess with Youyan. Even if he uses the Spring and Autumn style to beautify it, the numerous corpses behind this plan cannot be erased.
In fact, the Han people in Youyan could barely be described as "peaceful" during the ten years of Khitan rule. At least, they enjoyed ten years of peace in Youyan.
For a moment, Liu Chengyou even doubted himself whether what he was doing was right.
"Did I do something wrong?" Sitting across from Liu Zhiyuan, Liu Chengyou asked in a low voice with a calm face.
Seeing his performance, Liu Zhiyuan scolded him directly: "When did you become so weak? How did you describe the benefits of Youyan's proposal in front of me with great enthusiasm?"
Liu Chengyou's face twitched. With the Youyan Rebellion, he reduced the pressure on the northern frontier defense and gained stability in the Han Dynasty. To put it bluntly, it was quite easy. But, is the Han Dynasty stable?
"If you want to take Guanshan from the north in the future, you would rather harm Youyan than help the Khitans!" Liu Zhiyuan stared at Liu Chengyou coldly. These thoughts were originally shared with him by Liu Chengyou.
Hearing this, after being silent for a long time, Liu Chengyou finally looked straight at Liu Zhiyuan, looking at the firm expression on his old father's old face. He cupped his hands and said, "My son, I understand!"
Liu Zhiyuan's momentum slowly weakened again. He leaned back and thought for a while, then summoned someone and gave instructions: "Ask the Central Committee to send envoys north to Youzhou to commend the King of Yan for me, comfort the soldiers who fought against the Khitan, and pay homage to those who died." Military and civilians.”
"In addition, the imperial edict was issued, and the Yan people who fled south were placed in Chengde, Henghai, and Yiwu three quarters, and the generals from Ying, Mo, Qi, and Tai states were tried to accommodate them..."
"yes!"
Liu Chengyou returned to his tent with a numb face. The bride Gao Huaijin stayed calmly and was a little surprised when she saw Liu Chengyou's face.
On the way back to the south, the two of them slowly had some exchanges. In Gao's eyes, although Liu Chengyou rarely showed any expression on his face and usually kept his expression, it was the first time that he was obviously in a bad mood like this. see.
"Your Highness." Gao Huaijin called tentatively.
"Yeah." Liu Chengyou responded casually.
Sitting on the camp couch, deep in thought. Seeing his appearance, Gao's maternal instinct overflowed for no reason, so she sat down, gently next to him, tenderly reached out and held his hand.
When she touched her, she was startled. She found that Liu Chengyou's hand was extremely cold. But soon, she gently pulled Liu Chengyou's hand from the hem of his clothes and put it into his lapel. She pressed it against his delicate skin and gave it to him. Warm your hands...
His hand was wrapped in warmth, and Liu Chengyou came back to his senses. He turned to look at Gao, and saw the jade face frowning slightly, enduring the coldness in his chest. Liu Chengyou took out his hand, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. This was Gao Huaijin's first This is the first time I've seen Liu Chengyou smile, but it's just not warm enough.
"Go get some wine and have a few drinks with me." Liu Chengyou's voice was still calm.
After hearing his instructions, Mrs. Gao immediately smoothed the ribbon on her chest and left in obedience.
Liu Chengyou is not a fragile person. He has recovered a long time ago. He is just reflecting. Through the Youyan incident, he has a deeper understanding. With his identity and status, it is really a suggestion and a strategy. Even an idea is related to the life and death of millions of people. In the future, you must be cautious in everything and think twice before acting.