Youzhou, Jicheng, more accurately called Nanjing at this time.
As a thousand-year-old city with profound heritage, it has been the political, military, economic and cultural center of the north no matter what era. Ever since he was cut off from the Khitan by Shi Jingtang, Yelu Deguang had shown great importance.
In the hands of the Khitans, after ten years of development, it actually maintained prosperity, even worse than under Shi Jin's rule. The gap between this gap is not only due to the political stability and military strength of Khitan during the years of Yelu Deguang's rule, it is also inseparable from its Sinicization policy and the large number of Han people employed.
The city of Nanjing is very large, with a circumference of thirty-six miles, two gates on each side, and two avenues running from east to west, north to south. There is a market in the north of the city, where the Luhai Department Store is gathered. There are twenty-six squares, and the people of Hu and Han live in it.
In terms of the overall layout, the Khitans did not carry out large-scale expansion and transformation of Nanjing City, and basically followed the appearance of Youzhou City since the Tang Dynasty. However, great efforts were made to defend the city and repair and strengthen the city walls.
It has great potential. After these years of development, Nanjing has become the most prosperous and prosperous city under the Khitan rule, providing the Khitan with a large amount of taxes every year. Compared with Linhuang Mansion in Shangjing, the capital, apart from its political status and significance, there is no comparison at all.
In fact, if Yelu Deguang could successfully annex the Central Plains, Nanjing would be more suitable as the capital of the Liao Kingdom.
The current Nanjing city has a population of more than 200,000. In this era of sharp population decline, such a city is definitely a first-tier city. During this period, the Hu and Han people lived together. In addition to the Han people, most of them were Hu people. At the beginning, Yelv Deguang migrated a large number of Khitan, Xi, Bohai and other foreign populations southward and lived among them.
If we rush to the Northern Expedition and conquer Youyan, it is not certain which side has the upper hand in terms of mass base in Youzhou.
As the army of Shi Jin's southern expedition was "withdrawn" one after another, a large number of soldiers and horses concentrated in Nanjing, causing the city's population to approach 300,000 in a short period of time.
However, the situation in Nanjing City during this period has been very bad.
The Jin State was successfully destroyed, but the final result was not very wonderful, and could even be described as bad. The emperor died suddenly on his way home, the army was defeated, the victory was lost, and news of internal struggles for position spread unconsciously.
A large number of negative situations have plunged the city into turmoil. Issues between races have never been so harmonious. It has always been normal for the Khitan people to bully the Han people. Previously, with the support of Zhao Yanshou and the suppression of the Khitan nobles, they could still live in peace on the surface.
However, this time, following a bloody encounter in the south, the conflict between Hu and Han, who were already full of contradictions, was directly detonated.
The defeated Khitan troops returned, blaming all the responsibility for the defeat of Luancheng on the Yan soldiers, and publicized the Yan soldiers' rebellion, which inadvertently coordinated with Liu Chengyou's propaganda. The spearhead was pointed directly at the Han people, venting all the grievances of the defeat on the Han people. The Hu people in the city also took the opportunity to cause trouble, beating, smashing, and robbing to vent their anger. Of course, taking the opportunity to seize the Han people's property was the most important thing.
How can the Han people, whose backbone has not been broken, be so easy to bully? They resisted vigorously. Moreover, they also had grievances in their hearts. There were countless people in the city. The men in their families went to fight with the Liao Emperor in the southern expedition. They did not come back, but ended up being betrayed. The conflict between the Hu and Han was fierce, but the Han people without military support were no match for the Hu and suffered a great disadvantage.
As for Yelu Ruan, he was probably a little resentful of the Yan soldiers' betrayal. Although he did not support the Hu people in plundering the Han people, he did not do anything. He somewhat allowed the Khitans to vent their grievances against the Han people.
In the end, Zhang Li couldn't stand it anymore and remonstrated with Yelu Ruan fiercely. They even asked him face to face, if there was chaos in Nanjing, could King Yongkang go north to seize the throne with peace of mind?
Although it made Yelu Ruan furious, it also made him calm down. Soon, Yelu Ruan began to gather his troops and sent troops to suppress them, killing many people before the chaos stopped. The chaos has subsided, but the tension in the city has not diminished at all.
Just like Liu Chengyou had a headache about food, Yelu Ruan also had a headache. Previously, Yelv Deguang's southern expedition had emptied the Youdu treasury, and he had even more people to support. Fortunately, it took until the summer harvest for some relief.
Over the past few days, Yelu Ruan has been reorganizing his army in Youzhou, concentrating food and grass, and repairing armaments. It is obvious that he is planning some big move.
At dawn, large groups of Khitan troops occupied various arteries in the city and implemented martial law. This sudden move made the atmosphere in the city even more tense, especially among the Han people.
It was a good day, the weather was obviously good, the sun was rising high, and the rays of rays were shining brightly on the offices of Yan Palace in Nanjing. The security level of Yan Palace was obviously higher, and the army of guards was more elite. Early in the morning, all the Han and Tibetan officials in Nanjing were gathered here. The noble generals from various ministries also came together in plain clothes and bright armor.
A side hall of Yan Palace was majestic and majestic. The originally empty hall was now filled with people. Except for a small number of Han officials, most of them were Khitan nobles, headed by the kings of the northern and southern chambers, and a series of ministers and generals named "Yelü".
Everywhere in the palace is still hung with white silk cloth. In the center, a huge coffin stood quietly there. Yelu Deguang's spiritual tablet was also placed in front of the coffin. The words on the spiritual tablet were gilded.
Even though it had been pickled, there was still a strange smell that filled the air from his coffin, but none of the civil and military officials in the palace seemed aware of it.
The main character in the hall was obviously Yelu Ruan. He was dressed in mourning clothes, kneeling quietly on the cushions, expressionlessly immersed in the solemn atmosphere, and intoxicated by the lingering smell.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Yelu An, who was appointed by Yelu Ruan as the envoy of the Northern Privy Council, took out a piece of brocade silk, unfolded it, pulled it with all his strength, and said loudly: "Here is the imperial edict, civil and military officials will listen to it!"
After saying this, everyone was refreshed and fell to their knees.
Yelu An Tuan's voice was very steady, and he probably had rehearsed reading this posthumous edict from Yelu Deguang. There are many words in the posthumous edict, but the general meaning is very clear: King Yongkang, the direct grandson of Taizu, the eldest son of King Dongdan, beloved by the Queen Mother, and accepted by the general public, can ascend to the throne of emperor in Zhongjing.
In fact, the matter of proclaiming the emperor and ascending the throne has been prepared for a long time, and everything is in place. Yelu Ruan has received the support of Nanjing's civil and military troops. This edict-proclaiming ceremony is really just a ceremony, a formality.
There is no surprise at all. Yelu Ruan directed and acted smoothly in the coffin succession drama. A group of nobles, both civil and military, also cooperated well. After the edict was read out, they all immediately addressed Yelu Ruan and called His Majesty.
Yelu Ruan is a person who likes Han culture. With the support of everyone, Yelu Ruan changed his clothes, wrapped himself in a dragon robe and wore a crown, and went straight to the main hall of Yan Palace to accept the worship of civil and military officials. Soon, the sound of singing and playing continued in the palace.
With the support of the ministers and generals, he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, which became an established fact. Yelu Ruanfang sent an envoy to report the matter to the Queen Mother Shulu in Beijing. At the same time, he continued to prepare for the war. He had a very clear understanding that the battle for the throne would definitely lead to bloodshed!
