Chapter 188

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With the joint efforts of the Song and Liao states, both sides peacefully transferred all warhorses.

The Liao soldiers clearly understood what surrendering the warhorses meant.

Thus, during the handover, many Liao soldiers wore expressions of shame, and numerous Liao men who had lived alongside their horses day and night wept bitterly.

After acquiring these warhorses, Zhao Yu ordered the finest to be set aside for the Divine Mechanism Army and the Four Auxiliary Armies, while the remaining horses, along with those retired from the Divine Mechanism and Four Auxiliary Armies, were assembled into fifty thousand and sent directly to the northwestern front to deliver to Zhang Jie, aiding the Western Army in reclaiming Western Xia.

After the Liao soldiers had surrendered all their warhorses, Zhao Yu ordered Su Zhe to lead eight Song envoys—Zhao Liangsi, Li Chuwen, Li Chuneng, Cai Jing, Lyu Yihao, Zhang Xiaochun, Shen Guan, and Xu Cai—into the Liao Ministry of State Affairs' audience hall.

Su Zhe, representing Zhao Yu, announced to Yelu Yanxi: henceforth, all military and political activities of the Liao court must be reported to them in advance.

This was not Su Zhe's primary mission. Their main task was to settle the annual tribute and its interest.

Under Zhao Yu's orders, after the horse handover, Su Zhe and his team turned their attention to the civilian horses in Yanjing, demanding not a single horse remain in the city, and the same applied to cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys.

Yelu Yanxi then issued an imperial decree: all individuals must surrender their horses to the Northern and Southern Courts within two days; those who concealed them would face military law along with their entire families; informants would be rewarded with three thousand guan.

Thus, in addition to the nearly seventy thousand warhorses surrendered earlier, the Northern and Southern Courts received another forty-seven thousand horses—from Yelu Yanxi's own imperial steeds onward—all sent to the Zhao Song dynasty.

Even the horses under the control of Yelu Yanxi's personal guards were surrendered.

Among them were Yelu Yanxi's three thousand precious steeds capable of traveling five hundred li per day.

From then on, officials, aristocrats, scholar-gentry, wealthy families, and merchant magnates in Yanjing either rode in sedan chairs or walked on foot; not a single horse remained visible within the city.

After Zhao Song seized all horses in Yanjing, the city's inhabitants lost all possibility of breaking out, becoming true fish in a barrel, unable to fly away.

Next, Zhao Yu ordered Su Zhe and his team to demand weapons and armor from Yelu Yanxi and his ministers.

Zhao Song's justification was that it was unsafe for Yanjing's military and civilians to retain these weapons; previously, they had repeatedly caused unrest inside and outside the city, impersonated Song troops to sabotage peace negotiations, and even executed several Zhao Song officials—unless completely eradicated, this would hinder peace talks and prevent order from being restored in Yanjing.

Under Zhao Yu's indication, Su Zhe and his team demanded that Yanjing's military and civilians surrender every scrap of iron: all weapons, armor, and strategic materials—including iron bars, ox horns, ox hides, ox tendons, sheep hides, arrow shafts, and feathers—were to be confiscated and delivered to Zhao Song.

At this point, how could Yelu Yanxi and his ministers dare refuse?

Yelu Yanxi issued an edict ordering the Northern and Southern Courts to post public notices, commanding all military and civilians to surrender hidden weapons and strategic materials within three days; those who failed to comply would be punished under military law.

Everyone knew this was ostensibly Yelu Yanxi's order, but in truth it was Zhao Yu's command—who dared defy it?

Thus, Yanjing's military and civilians gradually surrendered their weapons and strategic materials.

The result: weapons and strategic materials filled the scene, piled like mountains.

Xiao Fengxian organized one hundred thousand laborers, using carts and carrying on shoulders; after several days, they transported all these weapons and strategic materials to Zhao Song's designated locations, then shipped part to Hebei, part back to Dongjing Bianliang, and part to the northwestern front to support the Western Army's reconquest of Western Xia.

After seizing weapons and strategic materials, Zhao Song demanded two million shi of grain from Yelu Yanxi and his ministers.

Yanjing was the most populous and economically developed city among the Five Capitals of Liao, famed as "the empire's foremost military power, supplying half the realm's tax revenue." It fulfilled vital political, economic, and military functions for Liao, and as a key southern city, required massive grain reserves to feed its population, army, and respond to emergencies.

Liao maintained a well-developed granary system, with granaries established across regions; as one of Liao's most important cities, Yanjing's granary scale was considerable.

Yet, Zhao Song's demand for two million shi of grain was indeed an extreme burden on Yelu Yanxi and his ministers.

The key issue: if Yelu Yanxi and his ministers handed over all of Yanjing's grain, the city's people would starve and panic.

Fortunately, it was now the autumn harvest season in Yan.

Ultimately, after friendly negotiations, Liao agreed to hand over all grain grown in Yan to Zhao Song, allowing Song troops and laborers to harvest it themselves.

Zhao Yu did not find this troublesome; he immediately dispatched laborers to systematically harvest grain across all accessible areas, ordered troops to take turns harvesting, and even hired Yan locals at a sky-high fifty-fifty split to harvest grain for Zhao Song, ensuring sufficient provisions for Song forces in Yan.

Clearly, Zhao Yu and his ministers had meticulously planned how to effectively control Yanjing's population.

Yet Yelu Yanxi and his ministers seemed utterly unaware. They did not realize they were steadily falling into Zhao Yu's trap, unable to extricate themselves; they still believed the matter was settled, lost in the illusion of peace.

Of course, perhaps under these circumstances, this was the only choice left to Yanjing's people, so they had no alternative.

After surrendering horses and weapons, aside from continuing the handover of grain and cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys, gold, silver, silk, and bolts of cloth were also continuously being surrendered.

Yanjing was the designated transfer point for Liao's tribute to Zhao Song, with vast annual payments flowing in; it was also the southern trade hub for Liao merchants, with frequent commerce between Song and Liao and other regions, its markets filled with goods from land and sea.

Yanjing's population of three hundred thousand included Han, Khitan, Xi, Bohai, and Jurchens; this concentration of people provided ample labor and consumer demand, fueling prosperity in commerce and handicrafts.

Yanjing produced abundant fertile vegetables, fruits, rice, and grain; mulberry, hemp, wheat, sheep, pigs, chickens, and rabbits were all plentiful—agriculture was highly developed, supplying rich agricultural products. Moreover, with its many skilled artisans, Yanjing's handicraft industry was advanced, notably its thriving ceramics industry.

All this earned Yanjing the title of Liao's "money bag," as fifty percent of Liao's state revenue originated from Yanjing, demonstrating its critical economic importance.

Notably, Yanjing was the largest city among Liao's Five Capitals—and the largest city in all of Liao.

Yet even so, Yanjing's gold, silver, and silk were insufficient to repay Zhao Song's tribute and interest.

After the horse handover, Zhao Yu ordered a halt to military operations, which brought Yelu Yanxi slight relief—he felt their efforts toward peace talks had not been in vain, at least yielding some results.

But Yelu Yanxi's mood remained heavy.

This was primarily because although Zhao Song had ceased offensive actions, it showed no intention of withdrawing its troops, leaving him deeply uneasy.

Yelu Yanxi knew well: Zhao Song would never negotiate peace or withdraw its troops until it had received every last bit of tribute and interest; the only way to make Zhao Song withdraw sooner was to quickly gather and repay the tribute and interest.

To assemble the tribute and interest as soon as possible, Yelu Yanxi and many of his ministers exhausted every thought and strained every brain.

Yelu Yanxi issued an edict: regardless of official rank, all individuals who had ever received gold, silver, or silk as imperial gifts must return them; those who concealed them and were reported would be severely punished according to severity, and those with especially grave offenses would be executed, even with family confiscation.

Yelu Yanxi also ordered the confiscation of property from scholar-gentry, wealthy families, merchant magnates, tribal chieftains, and leaders of all ethnic groups except the Khitans.

Yelu Yanxi specifically stated: if these households dared to shield or conceal property, they would be treated as hiding families; they were permitted to surrender voluntarily that day; those who resisted would be punished under military law; if others reported concealed items, half the value would be awarded as reward.

Later, seeing that even this did not yield enough gold and silk, Yelu Yanxi and his ministers no longer exempted Khitans or high officials; they openly declared that all ministers, attendants, imperial clan members, and maternal relatives must surrender all gold, silver, and silk in their households; if any concealed, hidden, or unsubmitted funds remained after the deadline, any person—including servants, concubines, wives, sons, nephews—could report them; if verified, the informant would be granted an official post; if relatives, neighbors knew but failed to report, or reported incompletely, they would be punished identically to the concealers, with all property confiscated.

Xiao Fengxian also proposed a clever idea to Yelu Yanxi: any commoner who surrendered a large amount of gold, silver, or silk, regardless of ethnicity or age, would be granted an official post.

Thus, many ordinary people received official posts for surrendering large sums of gold, silver, and silk.

Notably, Yelu Yanxi did not merely plunder others; he also stripped the imperial ancestral temples, palace quarters, carriages, and ceremonial attire, seizing over one hundred thousand taels of gold and twelve million taels of silver, which he sent to Zhao Song.

Additionally, someone advised Yelu Yanxi that the city held much jewelry, but wondered whether Zhao Song would accept it as payment.

Yelu Yanxi specifically sent Xiao Fengxian to consult Su Zhe.

With Zhao Yu's approval, Su Zhe told Xiao Fengxian: "My emperor also treasures such jewels; they may be exchanged for gold, silver, and silk—bring them for price negotiation."

Thus, Yelu Yanxi and his ministers began using jewels to offset debts.

Here it must be noted: because jewel valuations were difficult, Zhao Song offered only the lowest prices.

Although Liao felt Zhao Song was drastically underpricing, they gritted their teeth and accepted it, eager to rid themselves of the Song troops.

In short, since the Song dynasty agreed that the Liao dynasty only needed to pay its outstanding annual tribute and interest—especially after fully delivering all horses and weapons—the Liao dynasty daily sent envoys to transport gold, silver, silk, and other goods to the Song dynasty; moreover, Yelu Yanxi and his ministers kindly sent various rare fruits, exquisite dishes, and imperial wines to the Zhai Palace every day.

To please Zhao Yu and hasten the Song army's withdrawal, Yelu Yanxi spared no effort in presenting jewels, treasures, precious belts, saddles, and bridles from the imperial treasury to Zhao Yu; the variety and quantity were immense, their value incalculable.

Moreover, Yelu Yanxi believed that, given the imminent fall of Yanjing, Zhao Yu had still granted the Liao dynasty a chance for peace, refraining from launching an assault on Yanjing and merely allowing Song troops to harass its people—truly an act of great benevolence. Thus, Yelu Yanxi issued an edict ordering civil and military officials, monks, Taoists, and elders to gather at the Zhai Palace to thank Zhao Yu for sparing the lives of Yanjing's inhabitants.

Consequently, civil and military officials, monks, Taoists, and elders arrived at the Zhai Palace bearing numerous gifts to pay homage to Zhao Yu.

To the astonishment of these Liao civil and military officials, monks, Taoists, and elders, Zhao Yu personally received them.

Zhao Yu told these Liao civil and military officials, monks, Taoists, and elders that his personal campaign had been forced upon him by Yelu Yanxi and his ministers; Xixia had always been territory of the Zhao Song dynasty, seized for nearly a century by the rebel minister Li Shi clan, and now he merely sought to reclaim his own land—what business was it of Yelu Yanxi and his ministers? Yet they sent troops to threaten him and aided Xixia in fighting him, leaving him no choice but to launch an attack on the Liao dynasty.

Regarding the demand for tribute and interest, Zhao Yu also told these Liao civil and military officials, monks, Taoists, and elders that the tribute had originally been extorted by the Liao dynasty from Great Song; now that Great Song had won the war, reclaiming its own money was entirely justified, no matter how far it reached. Moreover, if two states wished to maintain lasting friendship, one constantly extorting tribute from the other would inevitably breed resentment between the two courts.

The Liao civil and military officials, monks, Taoists, and elders, seeing the Song's friendly and reasonable stance—and sensing that Zhao Yu merely wished to reclaim what was rightfully his, not to exterminate the people of Yanjing—began to relax their tense spirits.

Yelu Yanxi had lost the war, paid tribute and interest to seek peace—that was understandable—but the problem was, he felt no shame and instead devised ever more elaborate ways to flatter Zhao Yu.

This greatly displeased one person.

This person believed that Yelu Yanxi's conduct was not virtuous and would likely backfire, inciting the Song dynasty's ambition to reclaim Yan Yun's Sixteen Prefectures and the Three Prefectures of Pingluan.

This person was Xiao Pu Xian Nü—more beautiful than Xiao Sese and Yelu Nanxian, raised with excellent education, historically the ruler of the fragmented Northern Liao with only tens of thousands of troops, who defeated dozens of Song dynasty armies, shattered the Song's facade of strength, and indirectly triggered the Jingkang Humiliation—the historical Empress Dowager of Northern Liao, now the Liao dynasty's number one beauty.

Xiao Pu Xian Nü, also known as Yao Ge Niangzi, was a beauty whom Yelu Yanxi coveted desperately.

Yet Xiao Pu Xian Nü despised Yelu Yanxi, the great fool; to avoid marrying him, she even became betrothed to Yelu Chun, who already had a Wang Fei, intending to become his concubine.

Now, seeing Yelu Yanxi's conduct, Xiao Pu Xian Nü felt even more certain of her choice, and told those around her: "Your Majesty is addicted to wine and music, consumed by lust and vice. He banishes loyal ministers and appoints petty men. The people near and far suffer under harsh rule. His spirit is weak, his gaze unsteady—he falls far short of his ancestors. Hence, the Song people exploited his weakness and attacked, bringing our great Liao to this state—utterly foolish."

Xiao Pu Xian Nü's words soon reached Yelu Yanxi's ears.

Yelu Yanxi flew into a rage and wished to punish Xiao Pu Xian Nü.

But with the Liao dynasty's dire situation, and Xiao Pu Xian Nü's noble Khitan lineage—her great-grandfather was Xiao Xiao Mu, her grandfather Xiao A La, her father Xiao De Gong—all high-ranking Liao ministers, and her clan among the most powerful of the imperial in-laws—keyly, Xiao Pu Xian Nü was betrothed to Yelu Chun, and Yelu Yanxi still relied on the prestige and power of Yelu He Lu Wan and Yelu Chun.

Thus, Yelu Yanxi could only sulk and abandon the idea.

Yet letting "slander" go unpunished left Yelu Yanxi deeply resentful.

Xiao Fengxian perceived Yelu Yanxi's thoughts and said to him: "The Prince of Yue's prestige grows daily, protected by the Imperial Uncle. If he marries Yao Ge Niangzi, the two powerful factions will unite—their strength will be unstoppable. Your Majesty must remain vigilant."

This was precisely what Yelu Yanxi feared. Yelu Chun had always been his greatest rival for the throne, especially since Yelu Yanxi had yet to name a crown prince.

More importantly, after this defeat, Yelu Yanxi—who had never firmly secured his throne—would now be even more vulnerable to losing it.

Thus, hearing Xiao Fengxian's words, Yelu Yanxi muttered to himself: "I cannot allow the Imperial Uncle's power to grow further—but how can I curb it?"

Xiao Fengxian, hearing this, lowered his voice and said to Yelu Yanxi: "The Song Zhu loves beauties..."

…

(End of Chapter)