Chapter 783: Han people of Liao Dynasty, what is the price of loyalty?
"The letter from across the river has arrived again, but this time it is a little different..."
"Is it good for the two countries to reconcile? Well, it would be great if that were the case, but the fight has reached this point, and it is not easy!"
The Han generals gathered together and whispered.
Since Taizong of the Liao Dynasty established the ruling policy of "governing according to the customs", the basic national policy of the Liao State was to divide the Han and Fan into rule, that is, "govern the Khitans according to the national system, and treat the Han people according to the Han system."
In order to appease the Han people under his rule, the emperor of the Liao Kingdom even used two sets of ceremonies when he ascended the throne. One was the traditional "Chai Ceremony" of the Khitan people, and the other was imitated when the Han emperor ascended the throne.
"Big book gift".
Of course, the most practical thing is the official selection system. The Liao Kingdom also adopted two methods. Northern officials were supplemented by world selection, similar to the "Shiqing Shilu" system, while southern officials were selected through imperial examinations.
However, a system is always just a system. When it is actually implemented, it is another matter. As time goes by, it will change.
All the Han generals present here know very well that the promotion of Han people in the officialdom of the Liao Kingdom has its own rules.
To sum up simply, if you curry favor with the Khitan nobles, you can get promoted.
You need to know who the master is, otherwise you will really think that everyone will be treated equally, or that you can rise to the top based on ability, and those who are cool will be left alone.
Of course, those who can sit here are all those with vested interests who have achieved success and fame. Although they have a Khitan father above them, they really want peace and do not want the Liao Kingdom to fight over, nor the Song people to fight over.
Because no matter which party undergoes drastic changes, it is difficult to say whether there will still be a place for people like myself in the officialdom.
Therefore, before Shi Qian persuaded them to defect and surrender in the name of unification and restoration, this group of people sneered and refused directly.
Now in the name of peace, it touched their minds, and they immediately started discussing.
"Your Majesty has forced the emperor of the Southern Dynasty to flee to Jinling. Such achievements are difficult for predecessors to achieve. Why not return to the imperial court with your troops?"
"Your Majesty is too ambitious. How can you be willing to be hindered by the Daming Mansion?"
"I think at least one of the four major capital cities in the Southern Dynasty must be destroyed to reward the three armies. Only then will all the tribes follow us if we try to move southward in the future!"
"In my opinion, it's that relative, Xiao Fengxian, who is slandering you. Your Majesty has a treacherous minister around you!"
"Silence, is this something we can discuss?"
…
"Shut up! You shouldn't say these things!"
While they were discussing in a low voice, a strong voice suddenly came from behind.
Everyone was shocked. When they saw the person coming, they immediately stood up and saluted respectfully from the bottom of their hearts: "Sun Tuanlian."
The visitor's name is Sun Zhong, also known as Xiancheng, who is the training envoy of the Zhuozhou regiment in charge of the military and political affairs of a state.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, this was basically a noble official without any real power, and his status in the Liao Dynasty was also very noble. It was basically the end of the Han generals who reached this position. It can be seen from the age of Sun Zhong in his early forties that he received honor and trust.
In addition to Sun Zhong, those who came over were also Zhang Qi and Xie Wu, both of whom were among the top military generals in Yanyun and also prominent figures among the Han people with high prestige, and everyone could follow them.
The three of them came hand in hand, and a group of Han generals suddenly became solemn. They heard Sun Zhong say sternly: "At this critical moment, you are still together. Are you really not afraid of getting into trouble and affecting the whole clan?"
The faces of the generals of the Han people changed slightly. In fact, they had always stayed together like this. A sudden separation would also arouse suspicion. There is always no excuse to accuse Sun Zhong. However, Sun Zhong had good intentions, and no one would specifically refute it. They all lowered their heads.
.
Sun Zhong's words just set the tone, and the next words are the key: "Don't even read the letters on the other side of the boundary river. They should all be handed over to His Highness's personal guards, as many as they are handed over, and they must be handed over as soon as possible.
Hand it over, do you understand?"
The generals of the Han people nodded quickly and began to express their loyalty: "Please rest assured Sun Tuanlian, we are loyal to Daliao, how can we collude with the Southern Dynasty?" "We are people of Daliao in life, and ghosts of Daliao in death. We should guard it.
Territory, loyalty and unwavering loyalty!" "Never fall for the alienation plan!"
However, Sun Zhong was not happy and worried: "You have such a casual attitude because you still don't know what kind of crisis we are already facing..."
The Han general was startled, then heard Zhang Qi next to him say: "Do you know about the losses of Yingzhou, Pingzhou and Luanzhou?"
Everyone responded: "Of course I know. I heard that it was a group of bandits from Shandong who landed in Yingzhou from the Bohai Sea. They took advantage of my unpreparedness on the front line and stole the three states..." "As long as the front line is not lost, the three states will be stolen."
What does it matter about the state?" "Don't pay attention to the rumors in the rear. As long as we wait for the front line to stay calm, the people everywhere will not be in chaos!"
These words were not unreasonable, but Xie Wu also sighed and said, "Don't you ask about the generals His Highness sent to recover the three states?"
The Han generals were startled, and after looking at each other, their expressions suddenly turned ugly.
Actually, do you still need to ask? This group of familiar people are all here. Those who went to recover Yingzhou, Pingzhou and Luanzhou are naturally Khitan generals.
If you say this, does the Southern Court King Yelu Dezhong become suspicious of them?
Seeing everyone's gloomy expressions, Sun Zhong sighed deeply: "I can actually understand your Highness. Since the beginning of the Song-Liao war, everyone has been exhausted. Due to the stubborn resistance of the people of the Southern Dynasty, Yanyun has been affected again. How to arrange the peace between the Khitan and the Han people?"
The officials in the South Court must be very worried about the dispatch. We Han people should think more about His Highness and not let others worry about everything!"
Some Han generals felt uncomfortable, but they also understood why they could serve as Tuan Lian envoys. Some Han generals immediately expressed their stance: "Please rest assured, Sun Tuan Lian, we will definitely hand over the letter!"
Sun Zhong snorted: "At this juncture, we must do every detail well to show our loyalty, and we must not slack off!"
"We are all one. If anything happens to any one of us, it will bring suspicion to others, and it will also affect the overall situation of Yanyun's defense. If the Southern Dynasty benefits, it will be a harm to the country!"
“Remember, remember!”
After repeated instructions with sincerity and sincerity, Sun Zhongcai left with Zhang Qi and Xie Wu, leaving a group of Han generals who had no interest in talking and went back to their respective camps.
In their minds, the next step is nothing more than taking advantage of the danger to defend and perform their respective duties.
Fighting is often very boring, especially the offensive and defensive confrontation on the border. It is nothing more than patrolling and checking for leaks over and over again, not giving the enemy any opportunity to take advantage of it.
But in the middle of the night, the noise outside woke up many people, and then the Khitan guards rushed in like wolves and tigers, which made them change their minds: "What are you doing? We are loyal ministers! Loyal ministers!"
Soon the loyal ministers gathered together and were taken to the Chinese army camp.
Yelu was sitting upright, surrounded by hundreds of soldiers in armor. The Han generals who were brought here discovered that three people had arrived first and were kneeling on the ground. They were Sun Zhong, Zhang Qi and Xie Wu.
When they saw the letters stacked on the desk in front of Yelv De's heavy body, the generals deeply felt the foresight of Sun Zhong and the others, and at the same time, their faces became increasingly ugly.
They worked so hard for the Liao Dynasty, and the Song army went north to confront each other for less than half a month. As the king of the Southern Academy, Yelu Dezhong distrusted the Han generals to such an extent, which is really chilling.
Sun Zhong also realized this. Although the high-level generals were basically Khitans, there were too many Han people in the middle and lower levels of the Yanyun Land. In addition, the Yanyun Land was already in turmoil now. He was afraid of causing a disturbance and leading to
When the situation of the war changed, he hurriedly said: "These letters are the tactics of the thieves to separate themselves from each other. I am underestimating it. I hope your highness will forgive you!"
"Keep your heads up!"
After a depressing silence, Yelv Dezhong slowly stood up. After all the Han generals raised their heads, he drew his sword and pointed it at the table.
The generals held their breath, realized something, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
According to their understanding, Yelu Dezhong should have slashed at the table with his sword next, and then shouted: "Any general who dares to meet Lin Chong will be treated the same as this case!"
But Yelu Dezhong, the king of the Southern Academy, wanted more than this superficial warning. He said calmly: "You should have heard that this king was severely beaten by a group of rural warriors from the Song Military Region in Zengtou City.
Defeated and escaped back to Yanyun alone, right?"
The generals dared not reply, so they quickly lowered their heads.
"We Khitan warriors, victory is victory and failure is defeat. There is nothing to hide. But the defeat in Shandong cannot be caused by our Daliao army losing to the mere Xiangyong. Instead, it was designed by Lin Chong to collude with the civil strife in Zengtou City.
Caused by this!”
"From the very beginning, I should not have allowed the Zeng family and his son and the instructor Su Ding to move freely. Instead, I should have imprisoned these people who can make the final decisions in the castle!"
Yelu Dezhong showed deep regret.
If he really did this, even if the Liao soldiers oppressed and tortured Zengtou City, without the leader, the remaining people would have no choice but to endure it and fight to the end with the local warriors outside.
The same is true now.
As a ruler, Yelv Dezhong naturally knew that just like the relationship between the Khitan and the Jurchens, the Khitan and the Han people were also deeply conflicted. In the past, Taizong of the Liao Dynasty's national policy of "dividing Tibet and Han into rule" had long been empty words after years of political corruption.
, especially the heavy pressure of the war, government persecution, victims everywhere, backyard fires, and rumors...
Under such circumstances, the Han army was preparing to set foot on this land again. No Khitan leader could be absolutely assured of the Han generals under his command, and Yelu Dezhong was particularly sensitive.
The key is how to solve it?
He thought for a long time and found that there was no solution.
Because there are so many Han people!
According to rough statistics from later generations, the total population of the Liao Kingdom in this era was more than 8 million, of which 1.5 million were Khitans, accounting for less than 20%, while Han people accounted for more than 3 million, accounting for 100%.
In the 40s, most of these Han people lived in the land of Yanyun.
Of course, this number may not be completely accurate, but one thing can guarantee that there are actually many more Han people in the Yanyun land than the Khitans who are the rulers.
It is obviously unrealistic to resolve the conflict between the Khitan and the Han people by separating the two. If the Han people want to rebel once they are separated, it will be even simpler. There will not even be anyone to supervise.
Yelu Dezhong had considered other methods, but found that none of them were appropriate. He had to go straight to the root cause and follow Zengtou City's method of looking back with hindsight, and put the prestige and capable leader first to solve the problem and prevent it from happening before it happened.
So at this moment, Yelv De came to Sun Zhong again, leaned over and said: "Sun Tuanlian, for the sake of Daliao, are you willing to show your loyalty?"
Sun Zhong actually didn't understand the meaning of the previous words, but he didn't hesitate for a moment, and knocked on his head with a bang: "I am loyal to Daliao and Khitan. If I violate it, I will be struck by five thunders, and the sun will learn from it."
!”
"good very good!"
Yelvde nodded emphatically, and then the sharp sword that was supposed to hit the corner of the table turned around and stabbed into Sun Zhong's chest smoothly.
Poof!
Blood suddenly appeared, and all the Han generals in the camp were stunned, their eyes widened, and they wanted to bulge out.
Sun Zhong looked at the sword edge in disbelief, as if falling into a nightmare.
Yelv Dezhong looked at "Zeng Nong" in this game.
If Han civilian officials want to betray, who will have the greatest impact on the Liao army guarding Yanyun?
It's very simple. The first person to recommend Sun Zhong.
This is the training envoy of the Zhuozhou regiment. Zhuozhou is where the Liao army is currently stationed. It is separated from Xiongzhou in Hebei by a white ditch and is the border against the Song army. Sun Zhong has a profound influence in the army and has the highest prestige among the Han generals.
, can respond to hundreds of calls. If he rebels, the consequences will be disastrous.
So how to solve it?
Imprisonment?
No!
It is different from Zengtou City. Zengtou City is the territory of the Zeng family and his son. If they kill them directly, they will force the people below to rebel. However, the Yanyun Land is the territory of him, the king of the South Campus.
, on the contrary, it will make the Han people's generals develop a rescue mentality and simply do nothing.
"Your Highness...I...I am loyal to Daliao..."
When the severe pain gushed out and spread rapidly throughout his body, Sun Zhong was sure that he was not dreaming. He held the blade of the sword with both hands, his facial features twisted, and he made a trembling sound of extreme pain.
A trace of sadness flashed across Yelu Dezhong's face, and he leaned in front of him again and whispered: "I know that Sun Tuanlian is very loyal to me, Daliao, but just like that Wu Yan Sizhong, he also knelt down on the ground at first, respectfully,
In the end, just because of a trivial matter, I turned against the Liao army..."
"People change. Loyalty now does not mean loyalty in the future. Even if Sun Tuanlian has always been loyal, what will happen if the cronies around you defect to Lin Chong and rebel in your name?"
"You can't make another mistake once! The land of Yanyun is the lifeblood of Daliao. Facing an opponent like Lin Chong, I must nip all dangers in the bud. Your family will be heavily rewarded by me, so go!"
Sun Zhong opened his mouth, then heard two more screams, and saw Zhang Qi and Xie Wu, who were also kneeling in front, being chopped down to the ground by Yelu Dezhong's bodyguards.
The blood of the three most prestigious Han generals, who were so sincere to Daliao, flowed from their bodies and gradually spread, reflecting the silent expressions of the other Han generals in the tent.
"The generals who dare to meet Lin Chong are the same as these three!"
Following Yelu Dezhong's ferocious warning, Sun Zhong fell heavily to the ground. The last thought in his mind was: "My land of Yanyun in Daliao... I'm afraid I can't save it!"