Six months later, Liu Zhiyuan took control of Bianzhou and took control of the Central Plains. Gao Congjie's speculation was successful, so he sent envoys to Bianzhou to congratulate Comrade Liu Zhiyuan on his enthronement and proclaimed himself emperor, and sent him generous congratulatory gifts. At the same time, he reminded Liu Zhiyuan that it was time to fulfill his promise.
Liu Zhiyuan expressed his sincere gratitude to Gao Congjie and politely declined his request to cede Yingzhou.
But Gao Congjie, the "Gao Laizi", was so angry that he said, "Liu Zhiyuan, you are such a scoundrel!" Then he announced that he would break off diplomatic relations with the Later Han Dynasty and become a minister to Later Shu and the Southern Tang Dynasty.
However, breaking off diplomatic relations with the Central Plains will injure the enemy eight thousand and damage oneself ten thousand. The Central Plains can leave Jingnan, but Jingnan can never leave the Central Plains. Jingnan's economic prosperity mainly benefited from trade with the Central Plains, so Gao Congjie broke off diplomatic relations with the Central Plains dynasty, which resulted in himself being "poor in the territory", so he sent an envoy to apologize to the Later Han Dynasty, "Brother, I was wrong."
"Begging for tribute, I will bring into the Han Dynasty two hundred taels of gold, one thousand taels of silver, fifty ingots of fine brocade, six baht of embroidered brocade, two hundred ingots of Xialuo, and two kilograms of dipterocarp."
The court of the Later Han Dynasty issued an edict to appease him, "No one can make mistakes without being a sage. If you can correct your mistakes, there is no greater good. Brother, I forgive you."
5. Huang Liang Yi Meng
When Yelu Deguang announced his accession to the throne in Bianzhou, the most disappointed and melancholy person in the world was probably none other than Zhao Yanshou. Yelu Deguang once vowed that after overthrowing the Later Jin Dynasty, he would be crowned the Lord of the Central Plains and look after the Han lands in the Central Plains for the Khitans.
Previously, when Yelu Deguang wanted to kill Du Chongwei's surrendered troops, Zhao Yanshou tactfully reminded Yelu Deguang that sooner or later you would lead the Khitan army back to the grassland, and you would definitely need someone who was familiar with the Han system in the Central Plains and who was popular among the Han people in the Central Plains. People who have a little bit of reputation and are loyal to the Khitan - like me, will help you look after the Central Plains and Han Dynasty.
Yelv Deguang also expressed to Zhao Yanshou tactfully: Who said I must return to the grassland? If I am the lord of the grasslands, I will be the lord of the Central Plains. I will govern the Han lands of the Central Plains by myself.
Zhao Yanshou didn't dare to say anything, so he had to wait obediently.
After waiting and waiting, Yelu Deguang became the lord of the Central Plains. Zhao Yanshou was very unwilling and asked Prime Minister Li Song to send a message for him: Since Your Majesty wants to be the emperor of the Central Plains, I dare not say anything more, but... can you make me the prince? I will wait patiently. After a hundred years, I will work hard for the Khitan again...
Yelu Deguang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he asked Li Song to help him: "I have a bad relationship with Zhao Yanshou. Even if I am asked to cut a piece of meat for him, I am willing to give it to him. However, the crown prince must be the emperor's son. No matter how close Zhao Yanshou is to me, he will never be the Khitan Crown Prince."
In order to appease Zhao Yanshou's emotions, Yelu Deguang ordered Zhang Li, his chief adviser, to draft an official position for Zhao Yanshou, which would be enough to give him glory and wealth.
The Liao Dynasty upgraded Zhenzhou to Zhongjing, so Zhang Li drafted the title of Zhao Yanshou as "prime minister, recording ministerial affairs, privy envoy, staying in Zhongjing, and supervising all Chinese and foreign military forces" and submitted it to Yelu Deguang for review.
Yelu Deguang took up the pen and erased "Lu Shangshu Shi" and "Captain of Chinese and foreign military affairs", which meant that Zhao Yanshou's real power was deleted and only given a lot of empty titles without actual power.
Zhao Yanshou was unwilling but did not dare to take any action. Until Yelu Deguang suddenly died of illness, Zhao Yanshou began to have the ambition to separatist power. He claimed that he had the right to know the military and state affairs of the Southern Dynasty and mobilize the suppressors according to the imperial edict of Yelu Deguang. The state army planned to use Zhenzhou as a revolutionary base and then unify the Central Plains.
However, Zhao Yanshou's conspiracy was quickly put down by Yelu Ruan. A few years later, Zhao Yanshou was imprisoned and died.
6. The biggest challenge——Liu Zhiyuan
After Shi Chonggui came to the throne, Liu Zhiyuan was jealous and alienated. A blessing in disguise is a blessing in disguise. Therefore, Liu Zhiyuan jumped out of the Three Realms and was not among the Five Elements. He stayed alone in this turbulent battle and preserved his strength.
In the entire Jin-Liao War, only at the beginning of the first battle, the Khitan pretended to attack Hedong and was repulsed by Liu Zhiyuan. Since then, the Khitan's main attack direction has been around the Shandong battlefield, and Liu Zhiyuan was able to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. At the last moment, Shi Chonggui ordered Liu Zhiyuan to go to Beijing to serve as king.
Liu Zhiyuan's group remained calm despite the weather. On the one hand, they mobilized troops and strengthened their strength; on the other hand, they tried their best to "hide men" and stay away from the Shanxi-Liao war. Shi Chonggui ordered him to go east to the Taihang Mountains to participate in the war. Liu Zhiyuan promised, but in fact he refused with various reasons and never left the Taihang Mountains.
Now, the preliminary results of the Jin-Liao War have been reached. The Later Jin Dynasty fell and the Khitan took over the Central Plains.
Shi Chonggui, Yelu Deguang, and Liu Zhiyuan are all foxes on the same mountain, so let’s not talk about Liaozhai.
While Yelu Deguang sent troops to the passes near the Taihang Mountains, he also sent people to contact Liu Zhiyuan, expressing his hope to get his approval.
Liu Zhiyuan sent his general Wang Jun to Beijing to pay homage to the dock with three memorials.
The first memorial was to congratulate the Khitans on taking over Bianzhou and taking over the Central Plains. Hedong expressed its recognition and support for the Daliao Empire and was willing to pay tribute to Daliao as its vassal; but——
The second memorial is that the Hedong area is special, with Tibetan and Han people living together, complex ethnic composition, and it is an important border defense town. The matter is so important that I really can’t get away from it. Please forgive me for not being able to go to Beijing in person to see you;
The third memorial. Logically speaking, I should pay you a generous tribute along with this memorial. However, the Daliao army has crossed the Taihang Mountains and formed a siege on our Taiyuan. The people in Hedong are frightened and the roads are blocked. Wait for Your Majesty to withdraw the army. , to eliminate the misunderstanding and appease the people's emotions, I will naturally pay tribute to you.
He is so calculating that he even saves on gifts and does not make unnecessary investments.
Liu Zhiyuan had a good grasp of Yelu Deguang's thoughts, and Yelu Deguang really treated Liu Zhiyuan favorably and rewarded Liu Zhiyuan with a wooden stick.
But - this is not an ordinary wooden stick, because according to the Khitan etiquette, only extremely noble and favored ministers will receive this kind of reward, just like "giving a few sticks" in the Central Plains etiquette.
It is said that when Wang Jun returned to Taiyuan with this broken wooden stick, "everyone in Khitan looked at him and avoided the road", with a temperament "as if I were here in person".
Wang Jun returned to Taiyuan and truthfully reported what he saw along the way to Liu Zhiyuan, so "the emperor (Liu Zhiyuan) knew that the Khitan was in political chaos" and believed that the Khitan would definitely not be able to rule the Central Plains for a long time, and it was time to consider some big things.
In order to further paralyze the Khitan, Liu Zhiyuan sent the second-in-command in Hedong, Taiyuan deputy left-behind Bai Wenke, to Bianzhou for an audience. This time, Bai Wenke was not empty-handed, but brought a batch of silk jewelry and famous horses to express his submission to Yelv Deguang. .
The arrogant Yelv Deguang chose to have a showdown with Liu Zhiyuan and sent someone to tell Liu Zhiyuan: "You are unwilling to serve the Southern Dynasty and you are unwilling to serve the Northern Kingdom. What do you mean?"
