Chapter 298: Pointing at a Deer and Calling It a Horse

…

When the two dowager consorts left behind by Yelu Jun and the three newly arrived Khitan young women, their faces filled with satisfaction, were escorted by palace attendants to another room to rest, Zhao Yu asked Xiao Puxian in his arms: "Their statuses are extraordinary—did you bring them here without trouble?"

Only after having indulged did Zhao Yu realize that the beautiful woman with little experience and the beautiful woman still a virgin at over thirty were both dowagers of the Liao Empire, concubines of Yelu Yanxi's father; the three Khitan maidens were all daughters of important Liao ministers or high-ranking generals.

The three Khitan maidens were one thing—presumably, as the Liao Empire neared collapse, their respective families were eager to forge ties with Zhao Yu, securing another path to survival.

But those two dowagers—truthfully—their statuses were somewhat sensitive.

Xiao Puxian replied with confidence: "First, with the state fallen and chaos reigns, they have no home to return to; the Emperor taking them in is an act of great benevolence, beyond reproach. Second, since the Emperor has already prepared to depose the Liao ruler and install his son as Emperor of Liao, wielding the Liao Son of Heaven to command the Liao lords, he must combine mercy with authority to make the Liao people obey. They are merely insignificant women—if any Liao person dares accuse the Emperor for sheltering them, how could such a person be allowed to live?"

Zhao Yu understood: Xiao Puxian's words carried the essence of "pointing at a deer and calling it a horse." She clearly intended to use this tactic to test which Liao officials submitted to Zhao Yu and which opposed him, thereby consolidating Zhao Yu's power in Liao.

One could imagine that for those Liao people who endorsed Zhao Yu's mistreatment of these high-status Liao women, Xiao Puxian would regard them as her allies and promote them;

for those Liao people who voiced complaints about Zhao Yu taking these controversial Liao women, she would label them as opponents and later eliminate them under pretext, purging dissenters.

This act was, at its core, a power probe and political purge through the distortion of truth, ultimately aiming to monopolize state affairs.

Hearing Xiao Puxian's well-considered, logically rigorous analysis, Zhao Yu could not help but secretly admire her cunning, ruthlessness, and decisiveness.

Zhao Yu gently stroked Xiao Puxian's smooth hair, thinking, 'I've chosen the right woman—she can help me drain the blood of both Liao and Jin, even exhaust the blood of the Mongol tribes, allowing me to become the supreme ruler of the steppes and unify the two plains…'

What Zhao Yu did not know was that Xiao Puxian saw clearly: Yelu Aoluowan was Seeing Xiao Sese's son, not hers; she was not even Yelu Yanxi's consort. Her position as Empress Dowager of Liao was neither reasonable nor legal—she held it only because Zhao Yu backed her. Without Zhao Yu's support, she would be overthrown by the Liao people in an instant.

There was nothing left to say: Xiao Puxian must firmly stand on Zhao Yu's side, on the side of the Zhao Song Dynasty, if she wished to realize her political ambitions.

Moreover, Xiao Puxian knew well that Zhao Yu had not entrusted Liao entirely to Seeing Xiao Sese because Seeing Xiao Sese still cared for Liao; Zhao Yu chose her to co-rule Liao with Seeing Xiao Sese precisely because, over the years, she had unswervingly plotted against Liao for Zhao Yu and helped Zhao Yu extract profit from Liao.

Crucially, Xiao Puxian understood clearly that she differed from Seeing Xiao Sese: Seeing Xiao Sese had once been Yelu Yanxi's Wen Consort and bore him a son, Yelu Aoluowan, who carried the bloodline of the Liao Emperor and could inherit the Liao throne; whereas the three sons she bore Zhao Yu carried the bloodline of the Zhao Song Emperor—they could never inherit the Liao throne. Even if they inherited, it would be the Zhao Song throne alone.

In other words, though Xiao Puxian was Khitan, since the day she married Zhao Yu, she had effectively severed ties with Liao and become Zhao Yu's person—more accurately, a servant of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Thus, Xiao Puxian knew exactly which side her loyalty lay on, and she had already demonstrated through action that she would aid Zhao Yu and extract as much benefit as possible from Liao for the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Presenting these Liao women to Zhao Yu was proof of Xiao Puxian's loyalty and a masterstroke in her political strategy. She understood well that though their statuses were sensitive, these Liao women could become a double-edged sword in chaos: one edge could intimidate disloyal Liao officials, the other could bind more Liao people desperate for survival and power to Zhao Yu's war chariot.

After thorough communication, Zhao Yu and Xiao Puxian engaged in another bout of passion.

More than a month later, both Xiao Puxian and Seeing Xiao Sese delivered good news—they were both pregnant again.

At the same time, news arrived from Yundi—Yu Wenzhong and his men had captured Yelu Yanxi…

…

Turn back the clock six months.

Yelu Yudu suddenly defected from Liao to Jin, catching Wanyan Aguda by surprise.

When he recovered, Wanyan Aguda could not help but rejoice wildly.

For Yelu Yudu was one of the very few Liao generals capable of facing off directly against Jin's fiercest warriors.

But that was not the most important point.

The most critical was that Yelu Yudu's background was sufficient to shake the very foundations of Liao.

Many did not know that Yelu Yudu was not merely Seeing Xiao Sese's brother-in-law—he was also the maternal grandson of Emperor Xingzong of Liao, Yelu Zongzhen.

Because of this lineage, Yelu Yudu had long been Yelu Yanxi's trusted confidant, commanding Liao's armies for years. His position in Liao was roughly equivalent to that of Gao Qiu in history—except he commanded troops himself, and he knew Liao's military deployments, defensive weaknesses, and even imperial court rivalries inside and out.

Yelu Yudu's defection was, for Jin, like acquiring a "golden key" to tear open Liao's defenses. He could directly provide maps of Liao's core defensive zones, including troop deployments and grain reserves in Zhang Zhongjing, and even in Yanping.

Yelu Yudu also understood the personalities and combat habits of Liao's generals intimately.

This allowed Jin forces to bypass Liao's elite lines and strike precisely at their weakest points.

Previously, though Jin had won successive victories, its advances into Liao's heartland still required cautious probing.

But with Yelu Yudu's guidance, Jin's southern advance would become like walking through an empty land.

Moreover, as a close relative and high minister of the Liao imperial family, Yelu Yudu's defection itself dealt a heavy blow to Liao's ruling legitimacy. Once he publicly denounced Yelu Yanxi's "debauchery and slaughter of loyal ministers" after defecting to Jin, and called upon Liao's tribes and generals to "abandon darkness and embrace enlightenment," it would directly shatter Liao's morale, causing many hesitant Liao officials and generals to follow Yelu Yudu's example and defect to Jin, accelerating the collapse of Liao's ruling structure.

For Liao, Yelu Yudu's defection was the beginning of a fatal "avalanche."

Yelu Yanxi, already deeply suspicious due to years of defeats, grew even more distrustful of his own clan and generals after Yelu Yudu's betrayal.

Even more foolishly, Yelu Yanxi then ordered the execution of several ministers who had once been close to Yelu Yudu—further driving more people into Jin's camp.

Meanwhile, Liao's border troops, thrown into chaos by their commander's defection, either collapsed outright or, under Yelu Yudu's persuasion, switched sides.

In short, Yelu Yudu's defection not only completely overturned the military balance between Jin and Liao, but also internally dismantled Liao's ruling foundations, becoming the turning point of the Jin-Liao war—before this, Liao, though weak, still had a chance to survive; after this, Liao's fall seemed to have entered its final countdown.

Wanyan Aguda was no fool—he immediately grasped the value of Yelu Yudu's defection and seized this once-in-a-millennium opportunity with precision and ruthlessness.

When Yelu Yudu came to surrender to Jin, Wanyan Aguda was in Xianzhou—he held Xianzhou in high regard. Xianzhou was a military stronghold, south facing the Qingshui River and north backed by Huanglong Ridge, famed for the saying, "North rests on Huanglong, south embraces Qinglong." Wanyan Wuqimai had already constructed several palaces and temples within the city.

Upon learning of Yelu Yudu's defection, Wanyan Aguda's first thought was regret—he regretted having sent Yelu Yudu's family to Zhao Yu.