Xiao Zhuobu trembled all over and covered his mouth with one hand, trying to suppress the sound of crying. The other hand stretched along the waist of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu and lifted him off the ground.
The two figures disappeared into the palace little by little.
After their figures disappeared, Cao Wei and Kou Ji looked at each other, their eyes particularly complex.
Zhao Zhen stood in front of the seat with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.
It's not that Zhao Zhen is in a calm mood.
Anyone who knows him well knows that Zhao Zhen is at his most unstable when there is no expression on his face.
Cao Wei and Kou Ji saw Zhao Zhen's expression and stood silently in the main hall of the palace without saying anything.
Zhao Zhen stood there in silence for a long time, and then slowly spoke, "I originally thought that I would laugh heartily if the enemy bowed his head, but now that the enemy has bowed his head in front of me, I am not happy at all."
Zhao Zhen couldn't be happy, and neither could Cao Wei and Kou Ji.
Somehow, when they saw Yelu Longxu resting his head on Xiao Zhuobu's shoulder, they felt indescribably panicked.
Yelu Longxu was not an ignorant and ignorant king.
On the contrary, he is a brave, courageous, capable and capable hero.
During his reign, the territory of the Liao Kingdom reached an unprecedented peak.
During his reign, all nations of the Liao Kingdom came to court.
It stands to reason that for such a heroic lord, even if he dies, he will be the center of attention.
But now he died quietly in Youzhou City, and Xiao Zhuobu, the only one who could help him mourn, did not dare to cry loudly.
As the same emperor, Zhao Zhen was naturally unhappy when he saw Yelu Longxu die like this.
Cao Wei and Kou Ji feel that it is really a great tragedy in the world for a hero to die late.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty was defeated this time because of his military strength.
The defeat of the Liao Kingdom this time was due to time and the twilight of its heroes.
For superpowers like the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty, one or two disastrous defeats could not determine the survival of a superpower.
In the past, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty conquered the Liao Kingdom three times, and was defeated miserably three times, each time more disastrous than the last.
However, the Song Dynasty did not perish after three disastrous defeats. Instead, it has survived to this day.
This incident is enough to show that a disastrous defeat in one or two wars is not enough to determine the survival of a superpower.
If Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty had been in better health or more than ten years younger, he would definitely not have chosen to bow to the Song Dynasty.
Even if he couldn't defeat the Song Dynasty, he would find a way to escape from Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. Then he dealt with the civil strife in the Liao Kingdom, accumulated enough strength, and then led an army to come back.
But his body was so weak that he could no longer sit up.
Even if he tried to escape, he could not escape the Song Dynasty.
Because he couldn't bear the fatigue of traveling and traveling, he would die on the way.
He has no chance to return to the capital or make a comeback.
His son Yelu Zongzhen was still very young and could not hold great power. Even if someone helped him, it would be difficult for him to suppress the eight Khitan tribes and other tribes with his personal prestige.
In the current chaos of the Liao Kingdom, it will be very difficult to survive.
If all the elite soldiers of the Liao army were buried in the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, Yelu Zongzhen would have no power to protect himself. Even if he made it out of the pass alive, he would soon be killed by others.
So Yelu Longxu had to cut his flesh to survive.
The Liao Kingdom is now in danger of survival, partly because of the war between Song and Liao, and partly because of the replacement of the throne.
After Zhao Zhen sighed for a long time, seeing that Kou Ji and Cao Wei were silent, he sighed and said, "Are Fourth Brother and Cao Aiqing dissatisfied with Zhen's promise to let Yelv Zong live?"
Many times, people in the world believe in the idea that if the grass is cut but the root cannot grow, it will grow again when the spring breeze blows.
Zhao Zhen gave Yelu Zongzhen a way out. In the eyes of many people, he was asking for trouble.
Seeing that Cao Wei and Kou Ji were silent, Zhao Zhen obviously thought that was what they thought.
Kou Ji and Cao Wei looked at each other and shook their heads.
"I have no such intention..."
The Double Dragon Meeting and the negotiation between Wang and Wang were not something that the two of them could participate in.
If Xiao Zhuobu begged Zhao Zhen for his life on behalf of Yelu Longxu, the two of them would never remain silent.
There is a word called ‘passover’.
In private, the two of them can go beyond the limits without restraint, but officially, they must not go beyond the slightest.
The more the two of them reach this stage, the more they should abide by some rules.
If Kou Ji is just a seventh-grade official, then he has gone beyond the limit.
Whether Zhao Zhen slaps someone with a stick, reprimands him, or even beheads him, the impact will not be too great.
But Kou Ji is now a highly respected minister, with many disciples and disciples under his command, all of whom hold important positions.
If Kou Ji oversteps his bounds in a formal occasion, it will send a signal to his disciple Gu Jiu.
'I am not satisfied with the person sitting on the throne, you can do whatever you want.'
What can the disciples and old friends do after they get this signal?
Either kill the person on the throne, or make him a puppet and make Kou Ji the powerful minister.
Or put a yellow robe on Kou Ji and plot to usurp the throne.
Therefore, people who are familiar with the court will find that the more senior people are, the more they like to maintain imperial power.
Because they know in their hearts that every move they make can change the color of the world.
Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng, Zhang Zhibai and others, before they took up the post of Tong Zhongshu's Pingzhangshi and participated in the political affairs, they often quarreled with the emperor in the court.
But after they were promoted to the level of Tong Zhongshu's subordinates, including Ping Zhangshi and political advisor, they almost no longer quarreled with the emperor.
Even if there are political differences, they will be discussed privately in the Zishi Hall and will never be discussed in the Chui Gong Hall.
If there is a big disagreement and they argue in the Chui Gong Hall, once the emperor makes a decision, they will follow it.
Could it be that with their strength, they couldn't embarrass the emperor?
Wouldn't they be able to act against the will of others, abandon the government and even stumbling upon the emperor secretly?
They stand out among hundreds of thousands of officials and are at the center. They are extremely proficient in the little tricks in the officialdom, so how could they not use them?
Given their status, even if they embarrassed the emperor, the emperor would not be able to kill them.
In the final analysis, they were unwilling to embarrass the emperor because they were safeguarding imperial power.
Of course, there are also factors to protect one's own status.
In short, the higher the status, the harder it is to overcome.
Because others are thousands of miles away from the thunder pool, but you may be only half a step away from the thunder pool.
When Zhao Zhen saw Kou Ji and Cao Wei shaking their heads together, he sighed and said: "I originally thought that after Yelv Zongzhen came out of seclusion, I would order Liu Heng to get Yelv Zongzhen's head back to me at all costs.
But now I can only give up."
Kou Ji and Cao Wei were stunned and looked at Zhao Zhen in astonishment.
Zhao Zhen said calmly: "I just promised Yelu Longxu that I would let Yelv Zong really come out of seclusion, but I didn't promise that I would not send anyone to deal with him after he comes out of seclusion."
Kou Ji and Cao Wei thought for a moment and nodded slowly.
Zhao Zhen had just promised Yelu Longxu to let Yelu Zongzhen out of the pass, but he did not promise not to attack the territory of the Liao Kingdom in the future, nor did he promise not to send people to hunt down Yelu Zongzhen outside the pass.
But, why did you give up?!
Kou Ji and Cao Wei had doubts on their faces.
Zhao Zhen seemed to see what they were thinking, he sighed and said quietly: "He is like a ruffian, a scoundrel, leaving his life in front of me.
He can play rogue, but I don't want to.
I will summon Liu Heng back later to fight with you against those murderers.
My move can be regarded as giving Yelu Zongzhen a way out.
After we, the Song Dynasty, have resisted those thugs, I will send people out to open up the territory.
When the time comes, I will send Japanese soldiers and Jiaozhi soldiers as the vanguard.
If Yelu Zong really died at the hands of Japanese soldiers and Jiaozhi soldiers, then I would be no one to blame."
When Cao Wei and Kou Ji heard this, they were stunned for a moment, and then laughed out loud together.
After laughing.
Cao Wei hesitated and said: "We asked Jiaozhi to send reinforcements, but we paid a huge price. If we ask them to go out and help us attack the city again, I'm afraid we will have to pay an even greater price."
Zhao Zhen said calmly: "I will naturally reward them at that time."
Cao Wei stared at Zhao Zhen in astonishment.
Kou Ji smiled at the side and said: "What the officials mean is that with the current military strength of our Song Dynasty, Jiaozhi has no room for negotiation with my Song Dynasty.
Either obey or wait to be destroyed by us.
After all, we have been thinking about Cochin for more than a day or two.
Nowadays, among the surrounding neighbors, it seems that Cochin is the only one left."
When Cao Wei heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
It was obviously a very domineering thing, but Zhao Zhen said it in such a tactful way, and he didn't react for a moment.
Zhao Zhen ignored Cao Wei's reaction and said solemnly: "Since Yelu Longxu has surrendered, there is no need for us to stay in Youzhou City.
Cao Aiqing, please quickly send orders to Li Zhaoliang and Wang Kai to march on all three fronts!
Return to Yanyun!"
When Cao Wei and Kou Ji heard this, their expressions became serious.
"Fu Yanyun!"
"Fu Yanyun!"
"..."
The restoration of Yanyun is just around the corner.
Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji, and Cao Wei will naturally not hesitate any longer.
Zhao Zhen only agreed to let 50,000 Liao soldiers leave the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, but did not agree to let other Liao soldiers leave the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun.
Zhao Zhen once said that fifty thousand is fifty thousand, no more, no less.
After Cao Wei left the palace, he immediately sent someone to convey orders to Li Zhaoliang and Wang Kai.
Kou Ji did not leave the palace because he did not intend to participate in the subsequent war.
He had to stay in the palace and arranged the governance of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures with Zhao Zhen.
Once the territory is conquered, we cannot ignore it and we cannot ignore it.
Needs governance.
There is a saying that it is easy to conquer a country but difficult to govern it.
After the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures were captured, issues such as how to assign officials, how to implement the Song Dynasty's political decrees, and how to get the people of the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures out of abject poverty as soon as possible all needed to be solved.
Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen discussed it all night and encountered a problem.
What problem?
There are not enough officials.
Kou Ji didn't like to use dog legs, and Zhao Zhen didn't like to use old ministers left over from the Liao Kingdom.
Kou Ji simply doesn't like bitches.
Zhao Zhen has his own standards for employing people.
According to Zhao Zhen's words, our Song Dynasty soldiers worked hard to regain Yanyun, so officials should be dispatched by my court.
Instead of using those old ministers who surrendered.
When they were in the Liao Kingdom, they killed the people in the fish and meat village.
Now that Yanyun has recovered, will they continue to use their fish and meat village to harm the people?
So what's the use of regaining Yanyun?
The imperial court will not receive any major benefits other than an additional territory.
The same is true for the common people.
On the contrary, are those losers who are trying to get everything they want and are so fat?
Why?
It is precisely because of this concept of employing people that Zhao Zhen insisted on sending new officials to Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.
However, the monarch and his ministers only found out after they sat down and planned for a whole night.
The current number of officials in the Song Dynasty seems to be insufficient.
Eleven more states were added at once, and the Song Dynasty needed to dispatch tens of thousands of officials.
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji calculated all night long, and finally managed to come up with only 10,000 people.
Zhao Zhen suddenly felt that he had failed a bit as an emperor, and that there was actually a situation where no one would use him.
Kou Ji thought this was very ridiculous.
During the Song Dynasty, the large number of officials had always been a huge scourge.
Nowadays, there is actually a situation where there are not enough officials in the Song Dynasty.
"Should I get excited and make an encore?"
After Zhao Zhen thought about it for a long time, he suddenly asked Kou Ji.
If there are not enough officials, Enke will be added. This is the most direct way for the court to increase officials.
Kou Ji thought for a while and said: "It's not appropriate... Nowadays, the selection of officials in our Song Dynasty is very strict. Before an official becomes an official, he must go through at least three years of experience as an assistant officer.
Even if you open Enke now, the selected Jinshi will barely be able to use it three years later."
Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji and said, "Tell me, where do you choose officials?"
Kou Ji pondered for a moment, "Select some high officials to serve as officials... Some Mongolian scholars who have outstanding performance in Mongolian studies can also be made to serve as officials, serving as judges, promotion officials and other deputy positions in the yamen."
Zhao Zhen can understand why he chose an outstanding Mr. Mengxue to serve as an official.
When Mr. Mengxue applied to join Mengxue again, Zhao Zhen promised them that as long as they taught for a certain period, they would be allowed to serve as officials.
Zhao Zhen has now fulfilled his promise by asking them to serve as officials.
But Zhao Zhen couldn't understand the idea of appointing those high-ranking officials in the yamen as officials.
Officials and officials are two completely different classes.
Officials who are promoted from civil servants to official positions can almost be said to be rare.
This is because both the government and the public do not recognize officials with official backgrounds.
In the court, officials with Jinshi background are the first class. As long as they make no mistakes, they are the first choice for promotion.
The recommended officials are the second class. When they are promoted, they are eligible for promotion only if they have no opponents with Jinshi background.
Otherwise, they will almost never get promotion in their lifetime, unless they are recommended by important ministers in the court.
Officials with official backgrounds are in the third grade, and seventh-grade officials are almost their limit.
There are almost no people who can cross the threshold of seventh-grade official.
The word "originality" can be said to mean almost everything in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty.
Moreover, selecting a large number of officials as officials will cause dissatisfaction among officials with Jinshi origins in both the government and the public.
In their view, even if the imperial court wants to select talents, it should open a subject to select scholars instead of appointing a group of officials.
If Kou Ji chooses officials as officials, he will definitely be scolded if word spreads about it.
Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji and said hesitantly: "Fourth brother, isn't it appropriate to select officials as officials?"
Kou Ji said frankly: "In my opinion, some good officials are far better than most Jinshi."
Zhao Zhen pondered and said: "I agree with this. It seems that the people who govern the place are officials, but in fact they are the officials. Some officials rarely do anything after arriving at the place.
It is entirely those officials who govern the place.
Simply selecting officials as officials is obviously not inconsistent with the imperial decree on appointing officials.
When officials from both the government and the public make a fuss, it will be a problem."
Kou Ji smiled and said: "Special times, special treatment. If anyone has any objections, the officials will send him to this place as an official. If he still doesn't obey, he will be thrown away from Dali to educate the people."
Zhao Zhen thought about it for a moment, nodded and said: "That's right. In extraordinary times, it is understandable that I would use some extraordinary methods."
"That's it?"
"Um!"
Just when the monarch and his ministers were discussing this place, a long trumpet sound suddenly sounded outside Youzhou City.
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji both stood up, walked outside the palace, looked at the sky that had just brightened, and headed towards the direction of the Liao Kingdom's military camp.
Zhao Zhen sighed: "Yelü Zong truly informed all the Liao people about Yelu Longxu's death."
Kou Ji nodded and said: "Yelu Zong really endured all night before announcing this news. It seems that the soldiers and horses left by Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu to protect him quietly left the army and horses outside Youzhou City last night.
camp."
Although Zhao Zhen agreed to release Yelu Zongzhen from seclusion.
But it doesn't mean that Yelu Zong really doesn't move, and Zhao Zhen doesn't move either.
Zhao Zhen only gave Yelu Zongzhen a chance to escape seclusion. If Yelv Zongzhen failed to seize it, Zhao Zhen would not be polite.
Zhao Zhen muttered: "Cao Wei should also take action."
As soon as Zhao Zhen finished speaking, the deafening sound of war drums sounded in Youzhou City.
The sound of soldiers and horses running and shouting of trumpets instantly filled the entire Youzhou City.
After Cao Wei gathered his troops and horses, he sent his troops out of the city without any hesitation to annihilate the Liao soldiers and regain the lost territory.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses left Youzhou City and never came back.
After Yelu Zongzhen announced the death of Yelu Longxu, he hardly hesitated and led his troops to leave the Liao military camp outside the city with Yelu Longxu's body.
When Yelu Longxu was about to die, he left his last words and asked Yelu Zong to burn his body and display it in the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun.
But Yelu Zongzhen is obviously not an obedient baby.
After he officially announced that he had taken over the throne of Liao, the first thing he did was to violate Yelu Longxu's last order.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Song Dynasty, led by Gao Chugong, Zhong Shiheng, and Di Qing, dispersed in a fan shape after leaving Youzhou City.
The three soldiers were divided into three groups.
Gao Chugong led some soldiers and horses to chase after Yelu Zongzhen, not giving them any chance to breathe. As long as they caught up with the soldiers and horses led by Yelu Zongzhen, they would kill them all, forcing Yelu Zongzhen to keep running away.
Even if Yelu Zong really wanted to take a break and arrange some means to stop Gao Gongdu, it would not work.
Zhong Shiheng and Di Qing led their troops and rushed to other places and began to recover some other cities in the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun.
After receiving Cao Wei's military order, Li Zhaoliang and Wang Kai quickly led their troops to attack Yingzhou and the Liao territory that was surrounded by Yunzhou.
The Liao army was defeated, and Yelu Zongzhen led the remaining troops to flee for their lives. Facing the strong soldiers of the Song Dynasty elsewhere, there was little resistance.
Therefore, the Song Dynasty was unstoppable all the way, almost galloping on horseback to attack cities and seize territory.
Yelu Zongzhen led the remaining troops to escape from the pass, and when the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses approached Yuguan (Shanhaiguan Pass), it happened to be fifteen days after Kou Ji arrived in Youzhou City.
Because Yelu Zongzhen sent troops and horses in advance to clear the road and led a large number of remnants to escape, when he escaped from the pass, he had more than 50,000 troops under his command.
A general under Di Qing, leading 10,000 cavalry, rushed out of the pass and chased Yelv Zongzhen's soldiers and horses for more than a hundred miles, killing only five of Yelv Zongzhen's soldiers and horses.
After ten thousand years, he led his army back.
"Yan Yun! Returned to Song Dynasty!"
On top of Yuguan City.
After Di Qing's generals entered the city with a group of heads, they roared with the loudest voice in their lives.
Yan Yun returned to the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty averted its previous humiliation.
All the previous humiliations seemed to disappear completely with Di Qing's roar.
"Tiger!"
"Tiger!"
"Tiger!"
"..."
After Di Qing called out that Yan Yun had returned to the Song Dynasty, he was answered by the excited roars of the soldiers.
It wasn't until this moment that the soldiers deeply realized what it meant to be a soldier's pride.
"Yan Yun returns to Song Dynasty!!"
The news spread out of the pass and reached the land of Yanyun behind the pass.
Among the people in the city of Yanyun, some cried loudly, some shouted hysterically, and some carried candles, paper money, and went to the graves to pay homage to their ancestors.
The four words "Yanyun returned to the Song Dynasty" were like a fire, igniting the people of the entire Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.
Across Yanyun, the most common thing people shout is, "Go home!"
"Going home?! What a good one!"
Inside Youzhou City.
Zhao Zhen stood in front of the palace and looked excited when he heard the shouts from inside and outside Youzhou City.
He pointed to the place in Youzhou City where the cheers were the loudest, and said loudly to Kou Ji: "They are all my people!"
Speaking of this, Zhao Zhen pointed to various places and said in a deep voice: "They are all my people! As their king and father, I should protect them!"
"Chen Lin! Chen Lin!"
"The slave is here!"
"Send an order to exempt them from taxes for three years and let them rest and recuperate."
"I have been exempted from official duties for three years..."
"Then I'll be exempted for another year!"
"Here!"
"By the way, send the news back and tell everyone in the Song Dynasty that Yan Yun is back! I have brought Yan Yun back!"
"Here!"
"Hahaha……"
Zhao Zhen laughed loudly, with unprecedented joy.
Although when Yelu Longxu personally found him and surrendered, there was almost no obstacle for the Song Dynasty to capture Yanyun.
But when Yan Yun really recovered everything, Zhao Zhen still couldn't control his excitement.
It’s not enough for him to be happy himself, he also wants everyone to be happy with him.
Not only that, he also dragged Kou Ji to drink with him.
After drinking too much, he said something that made people’s jaws drop.