Chapter 324: The Jin Empress

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After the terms proposed by the Song side for peace between Song and Jin were “leaked,” the Liao people in Yanping erupted in cheers.

Even the humblest commoners could see that Zhao Yu’s peace terms clearly indicated he had no intention of making peace with Jin.

To these Liao people, this might mean Song intended to help Liao recover its lost territories and restore its state—that Song still stood by Liao.

Though the Liao people in Yanping had become Song subjects since Song reclaimed the region, some still clung to deep-rooted emotional ties to Liao. Families that had thrived for generations on Liao soil—including many Han people of Liao descent—still had old Liao-style wind chimes hanging from eaves, still told their children tales of Liao legends; this blood-deep sense of belonging made them long for Liao’s restoration, even yearning to return under Liao rule, especially those who had prospered under Liao but now languished in obscurity.

Now, Song’s demand that Jin return the Liao Central Capital, Liao Eastern Capital, and Liao Northern Capital to Liao fell like timely rain upon the parched hearts of some Liao people.

The Khitan dwell in the clouds and sands; wagons flow like water, horses gallop like dragons. Spring brings ten thousand li of green grass, peonies and peonies interwoven in red. Big Khitans pull carts, little Khitans dance; they pluck Khitan lutes and tune Khitan maidens…

Many Liao people, especially Khitans among them, sang the “Khitan Song” again and again, recalling the vast desert, endless spring grasses, blooming flowers, Khitans roaming and dancing in groups, radiating wild joy, and their hunting scenes, their fierce martial spirit…

Some Liao people naively believed that with Song’s help, Liao’s restoration was possible; their resistance to wearing Song clothing or following Song customs faded slightly, and they even smiled more at Song officials, as if waiting just a few more days would see Liao’s banners planted once more atop the walls of their ancient capital.

Yet the wise among the Liao knew well: Song’s demand that Jin return the Liao Central Capital, Liao Eastern Capital, and Liao Northern Capital to Liao was never meant to restore Liao—it was to use Liao as a buffer between Song and Jin, to keep draining Jin’s strength and ensure Jin could never threaten Song, just as Liao once used Western Xia to contain Song; now Song merely copied the same tactic, making Liao a pawn to restrain Jin.

Liao had been nearly destroyed by Jin; Jin enslaved Liao men, seized Liao women, desecrated Liao tombs, committed every atrocity against the Liao people, who hated the Jin with every fiber of their being. Moreover, Liao could not restore itself without defeating Jin. Thus, whether from survival, emotion, or irreconcilable conflict, Liao had no choice but to cling to Song and fight Jin to the death.

Then Song could sit back and watch Liao and Jin destroy each other, reaping the benefits of the fisherman.

And even this was merely a Liao fantasy.

To be honest, since the rise of the Jin, the Liao army had never won a single decent battle—defeated again and again, routed from north to south, from east to west; even when Liao was on the brink of annihilation, even when the Liao army smashed their own cauldrons and sank their own boats, they still could not defeat the Jin army. Especially not the two crushing defeats recently led by Yelu Ao, which had nearly wiped out Liao’s last reserves.

Had it not been for the Song army defeating the Jin army alongside the Liao, Liao would have been utterly destroyed by Jin.

Given the Liao army’s abysmal combat performance, to Song it was barely better than nothing—Song could simply take direct control of the region from beyond the Great Wall to the Liao Central Capital and deal directly with the Jin, already cowed by Song.

If so, Song could control the situation more directly, without the trouble of propping up this useless Liao, reducing the variables and risks of intermediaries, and eliminating the fear that Liao might become a future threat.

In fact, such voices already existed within Song: they argued that the remnant Liao had no value to support, that Jin was already terrified of Song, and that Song could handle Jin directly.

Even more radical voices suggested Song should launch a direct military campaign to annihilate Jin entirely and seize full control of the northeast.

If events moved in this direction, the remnant Liao under Yelu Ao would surely face an unprecedented crisis, even become a discarded pawn.

Yelu Ao felt as if walking on thin ice, his heart filled with anxiety and unease. He sought out Xiao Sesai and spoke timidly: “Your Majesty, the Central Capital has been recovered—when will His Majesty return the Central Capital to our great Liao?”

Xiao Sesai knew Yelu Ao’s submissive demeanor was feigned—not only she, but Zhao Yu and Xiao Pu Xian Nü also knew; every intelligent person in Song and Liao knew Yelu Ao was enduring hardship in silence.

To be honest, as a mother, seeing her own son suppress his true nature and endure such suffering, Xiao Sesai’s heart ached.

Yet on the other hand, the man manipulating Yelu Ao, manipulating all of this, was Xiao Sesai’s current lover—the father of her other two sons and the child growing in her womb.

This plunged Xiao Sesai into an intricate emotional whirlpool, torn between opposing forces, her heart a tangle of conflicting feelings, especially when she gazed at Yelu Ao’s face—still youthful, yet forcing composure.

‘Ah Guo! You have sinned grievously, forcing my son to endure such pain and torment!!!’

Though she hated the architect of all this, Yelu Yanxi, with every fiber of her being, what good was hatred now?

The situation was now a tangled knot—cut it, it would not unravel; sort it, it would not straighten; tracing back to origins was meaningless.

Xiao Sesai suppressed her pity for Yelu Ao and said: “His Majesty has no intention of taking the Central Capital; returning it to your great Liao is not impossible—but can your Liao hold it?”

Yelu Ao opened his mouth, wanting to say his Liao could certainly defend the Central Capital.

But the words stuck in his throat—he could not utter them.

The Liao army, at most, had no more than fifty to seventy thousand troops left.

And those fifty to seventy thousand were all frightened birds, shattered by repeated defeats, relying only on Song’s shadow to appear formidable.

If Zhao Yu truly returned the Liao Central Capital to Liao, could these fifty to seventy thousand Liao troops—terrified by the Jin army—possibly hold it?

Moreover, even Yelu Ao knew that Wanyan Aguda, having been repeatedly defeated by Zhao Yu, now needed victories to salvage his political life; retaking the Liao Central Capital and publicizing it might just buy him time.

Seeing Yelu Ao grasped the key point, Xiao Sesai said: “To petition His Majesty to return the Central Capital to great Liao—or to appoint you to guard it—is not impossible to negotiate. But granting your wish may bring you and your Liao nothing but harm.”

Yelu Ao feared that the moment Song returned the Liao Central Capital to Liao, he would joyfully take up his long-desired throne as true emperor, only for the Jin army to seize it the next day, turning him into Wanyan Aguda’s prisoner and helping Aguda weather his crisis.

Yet despite this possibility, his longing for freedom, his hope for restoration, his desperate need to escape Zhao Yu’s control, drove Yelu Ao to his knees before Xiao Sesai with a thud. He wept: “For the sake of our great Liao, I am willing to risk my life—even to die on the battlefield, I will have no regrets. I beg Your Majesty to intercede!”

Yelu Ao’s tearful plea struck Xiao Sesai like a heavy hammer. In her eyes, though young, he bore the weight of his nation’s fate—this heavy responsibility filled her with both pity and pride.

Xiao Sesai drew a deep breath, steadying her turbulent emotions, and said slowly: “Since you hold this resolve, how could I stand idle? But this matter is no small thing—it requires careful deliberation and meticulous planning.”

Hearing this, Yelu Ao’s eyes flickered with hope—he seized it like a lifeline and hurriedly said: “I will follow Your Majesty’s every word!”

After agreeing to Yelu Ao’s request, Xiao Sesai did not immediately seek Zhao Yu. Instead, she first went to Xiao Pu Xian Nü and asked: “Now that the Central Capital is recovered, can our Liao be restored?”

Xiao Pu Xian Nü replied: “To restore a nation after merely reclaiming one capital—how absurd!”

Xiao Sesai said calmly: “If we may go to the Central Capital to restore Liao, I shall follow my elder sister’s lead.”

In truth, Xiao Sesai was older than Xiao Pu Xian Nü, but to fulfill Yelu Ao’s wish, she willingly took the lesser role, letting the ambitious Xiao Pu Xian Nü persuade Zhao Yu to send Yelu Ao to the Liao Central Capital as true emperor of Liao.

Xiao Sesai was right: Xiao Pu Xian Nü did not believe Yelu Ao, the son of Yelu Yanxi, could save Liao—but that did not stop her from using this opportunity to challenge Wanyan Aguda as Liao Empress Dowager.

In other words, she had no interest in helping Yelu Ao go to the Central Capital—but if she could govern it herself, she was willing to try.

Xiao Pu Xian Nü looked at Xiao Sesai and asked: “Are you serious?”

Xiao Sesai did not hesitate: “If we are allowed to go to the Central Capital, it shall be under your command.”