Chapter 1078

This is really a heavy snow, and the cold winter in the north has entered a new stage. It is really that the general's horn bow cannot be controlled, and the iron clothes of the capital are cold and difficult to wear.

It's just that the 100,000-strong army under Wang Yan is not just difficult to wear iron clothes, but all of them are difficult to wear iron clothes. Although the position of the capital, to be precise, is himself. A local big man who holds military power and financial taxes, in the Tang Dynasty, this position was called Jiedushi.

The development of the times, the progress of technology, and the seizure of resources have brought down the price of armor. Of course, there are still precious treasures, but the armor of ordinary soldiers is no longer lacking.

After the heavy snow, the snow melted and the temperature dropped. Although the armor was treated, lined with velvet, and thick cotton clothes were worn inside, it still couldn't withstand the daily marching outside. Furthermore, the heavy snow blocked the mountains and buried the roads, causing a serious impact on the march.

From this point of view, Xiao Dongliang's statement that the heavy snow saved the Khitan is true.

Because although the Khitan has reacted and is resisting desperately, the war on the western front has fallen into a stalemate from the previous flat push. But overall, it is still the army led by Wang Yan that is on the offensive, and the Khitan is shrinking its defense line step by step. The current heavy snow and the bad weather that suddenly became several degrees colder have indeed delayed the offensive speed of the 100,000-strong army led by Wang Yan, leaving the Khitan with more time to respond.

But from another point of view, starting after the autumn harvest and fighting until the spring of the following year is the normal war time. Choosing to start after autumn, naturally, before the war started, there was already preparation for winter. The delay caused by the coming of the cold winter was already in the plan. After all, they are slow, and the Khitan is even slower.

Although the Khitan is slow, they are very anxious.

In the imperial capital of Shangjing, just like the Western Xia imperial city back then, they are all ants on a hot pot, doing nothing and having no way. From Yelü Hongji to the ministers of the various North and South Courts below, most of them are furious.

Discussing it, it is nothing more than a few points. First, select people to lead the campaign. Second, logistics work, mobilize materials, and forcibly conscript troops. Third, deployment issues.

To sum up, what to fight with, who to fight, and how to fight. In this way, the central court has set the rules, and then issued them level by level, and executed them separately.

If you have to add other procedures, combined with the current situation of the Khitan, then there are two more. One is to suppress rebellion and maintain stability, because internal chaos is constant, although there is no summary data yet, there is already a trend of smoke everywhere. The second is to negotiate peace. At the beginning of the war, there were already voices of surrender inside.

This used to be the patent of the Great Song. After all, it was the Khitan who beat the Great Song before, and beat out the car god, and also beat out the finished Zhenzong, and shamelessly went to Fengshan Taishan.

But now the offense and defense have changed, and it has changed too fast and too suddenly, so that many people didn't react when they heard the voice of taking the initiative to seek peace, and then they cut off four Han ministers in the South Court and two Khitan ministers in the North Court.

Undoubtedly, the Khitan's North and South Official System is an effective policy for a multi-ethnic regime, promoting ethnic integration, which is a settled matter. But there is no need to question that Khitan people are ultimately more noble and have greater power.

The Khitan's military power is in the North Court, and the Han ministers in the South Court only manage the livelihood of the Han people. The areas mainly managed are naturally the sixteen states of Yanyun sent out by Shi Jingtang.

It is true that some people have placed their hopes on the Khitan, believing that the Khitan can enter the Central Plains in the future, and they hope to transform the Khitan people and strive for the status of the Han people.

But there is no saber in hand, but living under the saber of others. In ordinary times, it may indeed affect some lifestyles and convey some culture. When it comes to the real thing, the Khitan's saber is not soft at all.

"Wronged, wronged..."

The sound of grievance was extremely shrill and did not dissipate in the hall for a long time.

Sitting in the front row, a minister with a long face, long beard, wearing a Khitan official hat, with his hands in his sleeves and squinting his eyes to fill the number, opened his eyes, looked at the people dragged out, and was stunned.

He turned his head to look at Yelü Hongji in the upper position, and met the latter's eyes.

Yelü Hongji's eyes were sharp at this moment. He was only twenty-five years old this year, at his peak. He determined the position of the crown prince early, and did not wait too long to take the position. The transition of power was relatively smooth.

Whether he can achieve great things and whether he has the ability to throw it aside, now that he is in power, he is of course still very powerful.

Being stared at like this, the long-faced and long-bearded person naturally avoided his gaze, but he was a little uneasy in his heart. He stole a glance again, determined that the touch of the gaze just now was unintentional, not deliberately targeting him, and then he felt relieved.

He is Yelü Chongyuan, the younger brother of Yelü Zongzhen, the Liao Xingzong who died less than two years ago. In history, the famous Rebellion of Chongyuan in the Liao Dynasty, he was the protagonist, wanted to assassinate Yelü Hongji to usurp the throne, failed and committed suicide.

Now, of course, he has not rebelled, but he is also unhappy in his heart. Because when Yelü Zongzhen took the position, his position was not stable. His biological mother, Yuanfei Xiao Noujin, knocked down the Empress Ren De Xiao Pusa Ge of Liao Shengzong, established herself as the Empress Dowager to regent, and conspired with her younger brother Xiao Xiaoxian to support Yelü Chongyuan as emperor.

Yelü Chongyuan was not promising, and told Yelü Zongzhen the news, which made Yelü Zongzhen escape this disaster, imprisoned his biological mother Xiao Noujin, and passed this dangerous time. To thank Yelü Chongyuan, he was named the Emperor's younger brother, indicating that he would let him be emperor in the future.

But Yelü Zongzhen did not abide by this verbal agreement that might be unintentional. After all, he was saved once, and he would always promise heavy rewards. After thinking about it, he didn't want to admit it, so he had to muddle through.

Yelü Chongyuan was muddled like this. He honestly and wholeheartedly waited for his good brother to die, but his good brother died, but his good nephew took the position. He was of course unhappy.

To appease Yelü Chongyuan, the good uncle, Yelü Hongji gave benefits when he took the position, adding Yelü Chongyuan as the Emperor's younger brother, the Great Marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, who could be exempted from worshiping the emperor, and gave gold vouchers, four-top hats, and two-color robes, which was the highest preferential treatment among the clan, and was extremely respected. He also gave his cousin Yelü Nielugu the title of Prince of Anding County.

It must have been appeased, but it also made the father and son even more unwilling. After all, they took the position, and it was their turn to seal others. Where did they need others to give alms? That was originally theirs.

This mentality is very terrible. Yelü Chongyuan is better, after all, he is old and relatively stable, and can suppress things. His son Yelü Nielugu is restless, dreaming of being the Khitan emperor...

After the small court meeting, Yelü Chongyuan and Nielugu returned home and dismissed all servants.

Nielugu said: "Father, why did you steal a look at Chala during the meeting just now?"

Chala is Yelü Hongji's Khitan name, and Nielugu obviously does not respect Yelü Hongji.

"I saw his eyes were fierce, thinking that he had murderous intentions against you and me, father and son. After looking at it a few times, I felt relieved."

"How does father see the situation of our Great Liao?"

"It will definitely fail. Outside there is the Song court, inside there is rebellion. With such internal and external troubles, how can we win."

"The child thinks so too."

After a moment of silence, Nielugu lowered his voice and said, "Father, why don't we ka... him. Now there are internal and external troubles, and it is winter, the heavy snow blocks the road, and the traffic is not smooth. It is a great opportunity. And the Song court wants to destroy our Great Liao, that is a daydream. As long as father sits on the throne, as long as we cede the sixteen states of Yanyun and take the initiative to seek peace, the Song court will inevitably stop the soldiers. At that time, we will suppress the internal chaos, and it will be the same to take it back another day."

When talking about ka, Nielugu did the pulling action with his hand saber in front of his neck, just like in a movie.

"Nonsense! At this time, if the war is missed, there will be a disaster of national destruction..."

"Father, if we fight like this now, is there no disaster of national destruction? Now the Great Song is strong, not the Great Song of the past. And Wang Yan is eyeing, holding elite soldiers, and has the ability to lead troops. Eight days to enter a hundred miles, that is 100,000 troops. If we continue to fight, kill our army's courage, then it will be a straight drive.

Coupled with years of heavy taxes, inciting civil unrest. Now we can still cope, if we continue to fight and impose heavy taxes, I am afraid we can't suppress it. By that time, you and I, father and son, as the Great Liao imperial family, will definitely be separated from our heads.

Even if our father and son don't do anything, the sixteen states of Yanyun will still be lost. By that time, we will all retreat to the outside of the Great Wall, and Chala will inevitably use heavy codes to establish power. Father, do you think he can let our father and son live?"

"Besides, the throne should have been father's. It is just that bone does not talk about credibility. He deceived father. If it weren't for father, he would have died long ago. Now where is it his turn to be emperor? It should be father sitting in that position. Now we take back our throne, what is wrong?

The Song court has been fighting with our Great Liao for decades, just for the sixteen states of Yanyun. As long as we cede it back, the Song court's stopping of soldiers is an inevitable move, and will not waste money and food on military affairs. Wang Yan, the little child, is foolishly loyal to the Song court. As long as the Song Emperor has a decree, it is not enough to worry about.

Father, our lives cannot be held in the hands of others, and we cannot live by looking at others' faces, father..."

Yelü Chongyuan was silent, thinking about his good son's words, the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it was.

"How to act?"

"Okay, father, this time our father and son will definitely achieve great things."

Immediately, the father and son discussed...

The Khitan will definitely fail. This is something people have a consensus on. This point, at the beginning of the war, the crushing and crushing that Wang Yan's side played, was already a settled fact.

Because this is the most direct, a contest of military combat effectiveness. In the case of not being able to beat head-on, there is no need to compare the rest.

Western Xia has already told them this with facts. It's just that they don't want to admit it, they still want to continue to compete. In the end, it's not that they don't have to go to the battlefield to die.

The father and son made the choice they thought was correct based on Wang Yan's terror and the Great Song's recent strength, and of course, they also had their ambitions.

To be honest, Yelü Chongyuan has no problem, he is reasonable...

Now it is indeed a relatively good time. Abroad, he is beaten, and at home, he is restless and panicked. Even Yelü Hongji's energy is mostly placed on the war. The guards around him must also be restless and uneasy, and people's hearts are floating, so they are slack. If they are slack, there is an opportunity to take advantage of.

After fighting for another month, the Song army's offensive was still brave. Although on the southern battlefield, the two sides fought back and forth, the western battlefield led by Wang Yan, although blocked by the cold, was fighting steadily and step by step. If there are many troops transferred, the blocking time will be long, and if there are few troops transferred, the blocking time will be short.

The western battlefield has become the Khitan's quagmire, consuming their financial, material, and human resources.

However, they did indeed greatly reduce the forward speed of Wang Yan's army. Although it was constantly winning overall, in a month, it did not fight too far.

It is mainly because there are many people on the Khitan side, and the military strength is naturally more than Western Xia. Even in winter, under forced orders, there is always potential to be excavated. As long as it is not a straw bag commanding the army, it can still play a role.

But the situation at home is becoming more and more severe, which has really shaken the rule.

Yelü Hongji showed the courage that an emperor should have. He sent trusted ministers to suppress the rebellion and announced the reduction and exemption of taxes, no longer forcibly imposing, and he wanted to go on a personal expedition.

As everyone knows, personal expedition is a means that can really increase morale and improve combat effectiveness. Yelü Hongji wants to make a final fight.

But many things are not satisfactory. Yelü Hongji did not have the opportunity to realize the highlight moment as an emperor...

While preparing for the expedition, he was caught by the father and son of Yelü Chongyuan, bought a lot of people, and gathered some elite palace account troops. This is a pure Khitan army, belonging to the emperor's personal army, and its combat effectiveness is still quite good.

Then, cleanly and neatly cut Yelü Hongji to death.

Yelü Chongyuan is not a waste. Now the Khitan also needs peace, so after some of Yelü Hongji's cronies died, Yelü Chongyuan successfully ascended the throne without any waves.

The first thing after ascending the throne was to send envoys to seek peace. He also had to divide the troops into three ways, one to the southern line to find Fan Zhongyan, one to Western Xia to find Wang Yan, and one to the grassland to find the elusive cavalry unit.

Can't fight anymore, if you fight again, it's really over...

"Minister, the brothers in front caught three bastards who took the initiative to send them to the door, saying that they were envoys sent by the Khitan to seek peace. This is their document, and there is also the stamped document of the Khitan dog emperor."

Bastard is the unified name of the Song army under Wang Yan for the Han people who are officials for the Khitan and Western Xia. Wang Yan did not pay attention to this. It was the spontaneous behavior of the soldiers, and he was not willing to manage such small things. Even if there might be some Han officials who had no choice. People, there are always many reasons to find.

And at this time, Wang Yan was sitting with Xiao Dongliang, three little ones, and several knife-pen officials around him, as well as small officials, eating hot pot and drinking shochu, very comfortable.

He waved his hand, signaling that the people didn't have to leave, took the document and looked at it, then threw it aside, and ordered with a smile: "Bring people over."

"Yes, Minister."

The military officer responded respectfully and left. After a while, three people wearing brocade hats and sable furs walked in. Although they were full of wind and frost along the way, although the treatment on the way to be brought over was not very good, although they were very embarrassed, the three still maintained elegance. Their ages were all in their thirties or forties, combined with the temperament on their bodies, these people's official positions should not be low.

The leader arched his hand: "I have seen Minister Wang, I am..."

"This official doesn't care who you are, just say things directly."

"Uh... I have heard of the Minister's name for a long time in the Liao land. Today I am lucky to see it, it is really extraordinary."

"Let you say things." The official sitting on the side stared and whispered, very imposing.

"Uh... yes, yes, yes. My Great Liao Emperor sent us to seek peace, wanting to cede..."

The official looked at Wang Yan who was concentrating on eating meat and picking meat for the little ones, then frowned at the Khitan envoy, a light "Hmm?".

"Yes, return, return, my Great Liao wants to return the sixteen states of Yanyun, and has already sent envoys to the south to Bianjing. My master is afraid that the Minister does not know about this, so he specially sent two envoys, one to the grassland and one to find the Minister, to explain this to the Minister. My Great Liao is sincerely seeking peace, so it is better to put away the soldiers for the time being, so as not to increase casualties and waste money and food..."

"Finished?" Wang Yan picked up a large pair of chopsticks of meat and squinted.

"Ah, there are more, there are more, Minister, my master has already made it clear that as long as the Minister stops the soldiers for the time being, he will give the Minister..." The Khitan envoy was uneasy in his heart, his breath was not very stable, but he also said it smoothly, chanting a long list of gifts. If listed as a list, one item per line, I am afraid it can be written for two meters.

Seeing that everyone was listening intently, and the few little things were also listening hard, Wang Yan did not interrupt until the Khitan envoy finished chanting.

Only then did he take a sip of wine and asked: "Just saw the document written, the signature is Yelü Chongyuan, what's going on?"

"Uh..."

Wang Yan waved his hand: "Pull it down, punish it."

"I say, I say, Minister, I say."

Uneasily looking at the soldiers behind him, the Khitan envoy said, "Actually, the Minister will know in the future, half a month ago..."

The envoy honestly explained the situation, and Wang Yan and others could be considered to understand the great changes within the Khitan.

Although the Khitan emperor has always been difficult to be, and there are always people who want to usurp the throne and seize power, Wang Yan really didn't expect that at this time, someone was really so clear about the situation, decisive and daring.

Speaking of which, Yelü Chongyuan can be emperor, which can be regarded as Wang Yan indirectly helping his dream come true, and has merit.

As for whether it is peace, this is a question that does not need to be said much. You can think of the result with your heels.

The pursuit of the Great Song monarch and ministers is to take back the sixteen states of Yanyun. Now the Khitan can't stand it early and surrender to seek peace. They are of course willing. Taking back the sixteen states of Yanyun and biting a piece of meat down, the Great Song monarch and ministers fell into a collective climax and were happy to heaven.

"Send them to Bianjing."

"Minister, stop the soldiers early, our two countries have great benefits, Minister... ah..." The Khitan envoy was still shouting, and the soldiers behind him who were impatient slapped him with a few big mouths, pulling the three shouting people to shut up.

Seeing the Khitan envoy being taken away, the official on the side asked: "Minister, shall we stop the soldiers?"

"Are you surnamed Yelü?" Wang Yan raised his eyes and looked, then continued to eat meat and drink.

If you don't receive the decree from the capital, you must continue to fight. After all, the territory conquered now and the wealth snatched are all your own. If the soldiers are stopped and the nobles are given time to react, what will be obtained in the future will only be poor people and land. It is impossible to make a fortune. Good things have long been gone.

Should fight, still have to fight.

Even if you negotiate peace, small-scale wars in the future will become normalized, just like treating Western Xia, slowly torturing until it collapses and the regime disappears...