In the end, she was worried that the trouble would come from her mouth, but she still didn't ask anything. The young palace maid always had a trace of sadness on her face when others couldn't see her. If he had asked, he might have inserted a knife into someone's heart and tore open the bloody wound. You won't get any useful information. Facing the absolute imperial power, as ordinary women, they did not have even the slightest right to resist. Within these four high walls, it is best to put away unnecessary curiosity.
And compared to the curiosity in her heart, Mrs. Cui is actually more afraid that Huang Qiong will torment her again. This experience made her a little scared. Fortunately, in the past few days, although she didn't see Liu Rui again, Huang Qiong didn't bother them either, which made her let go of her worries and even some fears. For her, who had been living alone since she left that evil mother and son, that Lord was really too much for her to bear.
The last time I was delirious, I had no direct experience other than the discomfort afterwards. But this time, it was real, and she suffered a lot. What's more, the tricks the master came up with were somewhat difficult for her to accept. Huang Qiong hasn't come over these days, which makes her, who is conservative by nature, relieved. Apart from thinking about the two children in the palace, life in the palace was also relaxing. Of course, all the clothes were taken away, not even a single piece of personal clothing was left for her, and she was unable to leave the small hall.
As for Huang Qiong not coming here these days, it's not that he doesn't want to. To be honest, Mrs. Cui was originally dressed in rags and looked haggard, so she couldn't tell much about it. But in the past few years in Liu Mansion, Zhang Qiaoer has never treated them badly. It can be said that they treat both mother and son as their own relatives. After a few years of maintenance, not only has the vitality been completely restored, but also due to the improvement of living conditions, the face has become somewhat radiant.
The originally outstanding appearance and figure have become even more outstanding, even plumper than Zhang Qiaoer. In addition, for many years, she has not had any boudoir affairs, so she is naturally a little different. The first time, Huang Qiong could not forget it. That's why we have this opportunity to renew our relationship. But after this time, Huang Qiong did not call her to bed again. In addition to the original thought, let Zhang Qiaoer and Cui communicate more together. After all, this time everyone was completely honest with each other, which was different from the past.
Compared with the past where there was only one master and one steward, now we are all comrades in the trenches. Some things that were originally inconvenient to say have become more convenient. Moreover, Huang Qiong's government affairs have indeed been somewhat busy these days. There was no other reason. A secret message came from the Northern Liao Dynasty. It had just been more than two months since the emperor Yelu Longxu of the Northern Liao Dynasty returned the power. Since the Jingzong period of the Northern Liao Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Xiao Chuo, who had actually controlled the military and political power of the Northern Liao Dynasty, half a month ago. , that is, in the 28th year of Tonghe's reign in the Northern Liao Dynasty, he died of illness in the Shangjing Palace of the Northern Liao Dynasty. At present, everyone in Bei Liao is mourning.
After receiving the news of Xiao Chuo's death, even Huang Qiong, who had always been ambitious and obsessed with the Northern Expedition, couldn't help but lament the loss of such a heroic woman. The Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Northern Liao Dynasty began to rule since her husband Liao Jingzong became seriously ill. When his son succeeded to the throne, he was completely in control and held power for more than forty years. After his son inherited the throne, he served as regent for a full twenty-seven years.
During this period, internal reforms were carried out, the Khitan aristocracy and military power were consolidated, the government was rectified, the virtuous were appointed and the evil ones were appointed, the imperial examination was launched in imitation of the Daqi, and Han people were used to manage the government, which ended the internal fratricide in the Northern Liao royal family. Two consecutive emperors were killed, which continued to cause trouble. A turbulent situation in the country. Although in the past few years, in order to echo the rebellion of the puppet emperor, he mobilized all the troops to go south, but was frustrated outside Yanshan Mansion. In that battle, most of the elite soldiers of the Northern Liao Dynasty were killed or injured, and the foundation was shaken. However, he still used superb tactics to stabilize the situation in Beiliao in a short period of time.
Except for a few nobles who took the opportunity to rebel, there were no major disturbances. Although his governance and his actions during the decades of regency cannot be compared with that of Emperor Zetian, he can definitely be regarded as a hero among women. This man's death was a great loss to Beiliao. Huang Qiong originally wanted to find an opportunity to have a good meeting with this heroic female figure among the Khitan people. But now, this heroic woman who once dominated the Northern Liao Dynasty, and although she did not have the order of the empress, but had the actual status of the empress, has passed away.
Huang Qiong could only suppress his original ambition back into his heart. As for meeting the son of Empress Dowager Xiao and the current Emperor of Northern Liao, Huang Qiong has no such interest. But relying on a good fortune, he was entrusted with the imperial family of Northern Liao, and as the eldest son, he naturally took over the throne. After taking the throne for more than 20 years, the government was controlled by his mother. Before his mother passed away, he was nothing more than a puppet emperor. Such a person is simply not worth meeting. However, the death of Queen Mother Xiao made Huang Qiong's thoughts change.
In the past few days, Huang Qiong has been recruiting Fu Yuanshan and Yu Mingyuan to discuss the matter after the death of the woman who had been in charge of the Northern Liao Dynasty for forty years, and who was now one of the most trusted confidants in the Northern Liao Dynasty. Possible changes in the Northern Liao Dynasty situation. At the same time, the troops along the border were ordered to be on alert. Twelve thousand cavalry were mobilized from the four major battalions, carrying two cannons and heading north into Baoding Prefecture on Hebei Road. From the Xijing camp, more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry troops were mobilized, carrying 30 cannons and stationed in Taiyuan Mansion, Shanxi Road, so as to be ready for response at any time.
However, Huang Qiong did not plan to make the Northern Expedition at this time. In addition to sending troops to take advantage of the national mourning, it does not have a moral advantage, but it is easier to increase the cohesion within Beiliao. The most important thing is that now Daqi's strength savings are not enough to support it. Although Northern Liao lost troops and generals during its previous expedition south, its internal strength still remained. Even if the elite soldiers suffered heavy losses, relying on the large number of nomadic tribes on the grassland, hundreds of thousands of string controllers could still be recruited at any time. Its actual strength, especially its cavalry strength, is still extremely strong.
If Da Qi were to launch the Northern Expedition, it would like to control Tokyo Road, which is located in the hinterland of Northern Liao, a sacred land that Huang Qiong never forgets. The first thing to do is to completely defeat Beiliao's proud cavalry. In fact, the defenders of Tokyo Road are not the key. But if they cannot conquer the numerous tribes in the grasslands and deserts, the tribes that Weibei Liao is now subordinate to, even if they take over that piece of black land, they may not be able to hold it under the impact of the nomadic cavalry. Especially during large-scale migration, they are extremely vulnerable to interception and killing by those tribes.
Even if it is defended, the consumption of Daqi will be difficult to last. According to Huang Qiong's estimation, if the military settlement was adopted first, even if he controlled the black land, it would take at least five years to be barely self-sufficient. If you immigrate later without any disturbance or influence, even if you don't have to pay food, it will take a long time before you don't have to pay money. After all, it will take a long time to develop a piece of completely undeveloped land into a high-yield field under the condition of complete artificial development.
And what I want is to permanently incorporate that land into the territory of Daqi, instead of the usual method of governing the black land like the Han regime in the Central Plains in the past, which only requires a title and annual tribute. Other than that, those people just do whatever they are supposed to do. Whether they are attacking each other, marrying each other, or begging for food everywhere, the Central Plains Dynasty does not care.
As long as they don't take over the Central Plains Dynasty, no one will care. As long as they pay tribute regularly and maintain their nominal status as a celestial dynasty, the Central Plains dynasty will not interfere in their affairs. Even attacking and killing each other was something the Central Plains dynasties liked to see. The fertile black land, although before that nation that was nourished by white mountains and black waters and was extremely strong and strong, came into being, although there had never been a nation that threatened the Central Plains Dynasty. But once those dormant ethnic groups complete their integration, they will shock the entire Central Plains.
This dynasty did not really build the Great Wall on a large scale. The Great Wall used on the Qi-Liao border today was only repaired on the basis of the Sui Great Wall. The only two Great Walls built during this dynasty, the Great Wall from Yunzhou to Jizhou to Pingzhou where it entered the sea was rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. On the basis of the former Sui Dynasty rammed earth city wall, it was changed to a structure based on masonry, and important passes such as Juyongguan, Gubeikou, and Xifengkou were added. One was built during Lizong's reign, starting from the Piantou Pass where Shanxi Road and Qi Liao were facing each other, and along the Hengshan Mountains to the east.
Until it merged with the original Great Wall in Yanqing Prefecture, north of Yanshan Prefecture, forming a complete multi-layered defense system. Although the Great Wall built by this dynasty, compared with previous dynasties, is most likely just a patchwork. But it still consumes a lot of people's resources. Lizong just built a second line of defense on the Shanxi Road with internal and external rivers and mountains, based on the Hengshan Mountains, which consumed three to four tenths of Lizong's annual income. The cost was too huge, and many of the migrant workers died, which caused widespread resentment among the people in the final dynasty.
Moreover, because the Great Wall was never built in the former Tang Dynasty, and the Great Wall was built in this dynasty, even if it was just an addition, it was ridiculed by some dissatisfied literati. In Huang Qiong's view, the construction of the Great Wall itself meant passive defense, giving the initiative of the entire battlefield to the nomads. People can go south whenever they want. If someone wants to attack you, start there. To continue to be beaten passively like this is definitely not what you should do. So I don’t know how to build the Great Wall, and I will never build it.
But if you want to fight Beiliao, cavalry is key. In the past few years, the Northern Liao Dynasty, through the hard work of the Empress Dowager Xiao, has completed the transformation from a slave country that was still nomadic in nature, but actually had not strong internal cohesion, to a centralized dynasty. It can be said that before that dynasty emerged thousands of years later, the Northern Liao Dynasty was the only dynasty that truly controlled the desert plateau, including the tribes on the grassland. Hundreds of thousands of string-controllers can be recruited from among the tribes in the plateau and desert at any time.
Facing such an opponent, the number of Daqi's cavalry was far from enough. Now if Da Qi wants to devote all its efforts to the Northern Expedition and control the entire Northern Liao, its strength accumulation is really not enough. Because what Huang Qiong wants is to capture and occupy permanently. Rather than like the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Northern Expedition was just to eliminate the threat from the north. I have never thought of, or have the ability to truly and permanently control those lands. After all, the cost of controlling those lands and completely defeating the nomads was too huge for the Central Plains dynasty.
Whether it was the strategies of the Han Dynasty or the Sui and Tang Dynasties against the nomadic peoples, they all achieved their goal by defeating them and completely dividing them internally. They were unable to invade the border south. But the vast desert grasslands and harsh living environment have nurtured generations of fierce people. But the Central Plains Dynasty, even if it completely defeated the nation that controlled the grassland, never achieved peace for more than a hundred years. The Northern Expeditions of past dynasties only created opportunities for other tribes to rise, but in reality they served as wedding dresses for others.
