The situation in Youzhou fell into a strange balance in a short period of time as the Liao army's power shrank. Even if Yelu Shuogu led the army south to support, he did not rush to attack Youzhou. However, although they did not attack Jicheng, a group of Tibetan generals launched a wave of purges of Han subjects, not only as a tough response to the Yan army's killing of Hu, but also to plunder property for military needs.
Just as Liu Chengyou had expected, the war will spread and the people of Youyan will be in dire straits.
Under the looting and slaughter of the Liao army, a large number of refugees fled to Youzhou. After a bloody journey, they only reached the city of Youzhou before Zhao Yanshou had enough power to protect them. Under such a situation, Zhao Yanshou passively won the hearts of the people of Youyan and led the heroes of Yan to resist the Khitan.
In the southwest, the two states of Zhuo and Yi surrendered one after another. Either take Youzhou, or go to Zhuo and Yizhou to fight against the Khitan. In this way, the two results of Liu Chengyou's previous discussion with Mu Zuo were realized. Zhao Yanshou, on the other hand, struggled to control the rudder of the ship and sailed against the current in an unbearable historical torrent, unable to control himself. Some of the original intentions and small thoughts were no longer dared to be considered in a short period of time.
This situation is far beyond Liu Chengyou's previous expectations. No matter how it develops, at least in the near future, Liu Chengyou will not invest too much energy.
The civil war in the Khitan did not last as long as Liu Chengyou expected, but ended quickly. After the Battle of Zhangdequan, Yelu Ruan completely let go of his scruples and marched northward to Huangshui.
The old empress Shu Luping in Shangjing, although much older, has a tough character. She gathered the remaining palace troops, soldiers, and slaves in Shangjing and its surroundings, and personally went out to confront Yelu Ruan across the bank. Yu Huangshui.
Before a decisive battle in this royal war, one person stood up. Tiyin Yeluwuzhi, who served as the clan official in the north, personally made peace between the two parties, reasoned with each other, presented the facts, and made clear the righteousness. It took a lot of effort from the boss to persuade them to achieve some results.
The Queen Mother said to Lu Pingping, "This is a strong woman, a smart woman. Of course she can see the situation clearly and knows that she will not be Yelu Ruan's opponent if she continues to fight hard." He sighed and said to his youngest son Yelu Lihu, "If I don't want to establish you, you can't do it." Then he expressed his willingness to negotiate peace.
As for Yelu Ruan, he naturally hated and feared Shuluping, his grandmother, and was very jealous. At the beginning, had it not been for Shuluping's partiality, the throne should have been inherited by his father Yelubei. As a result, he was persecuted and exiled and died in the Southern Dynasty.
In the process of supporting Yelu Deguang that year, Shuluping massacred hundreds of their father and son's followers and supporters on the grounds that Taizu was "buried", and all his political enemies were wiped out.
When it was the turn of the Han minister Zhao Siwen, the king asked the general Shu Luping and his army: "There is no one closer to the late emperor than the Queen Mother. Why didn't the Queen Mother die with her own body? How can we and other ministers go to serve us as the late Emperor wanted?"
Then a very classic scene in Khitan history happened. Shuluping, who was forced into a corner, directly pulled out the golden sword, cut off his right hand, and ordered his people to be placed in the coffin of Yelu Abao as his "accompaniment".
This is how the Broken Wrist Queen Mother was born.
This woman was really ruthless, ruthless to others and even more ruthless to herself. Since then, it can be said that the entire Khitan dynasty was afraid of Shuluping and did not dare to resist. With such a strong mother suppressing him, Yelu Deguang's twenty-year rule over the Khitan was actually very smooth, and he was able to give full play to his talents in civil and military affairs.
Yelu Ruan naturally lives in the shadow of Queen Mother Shulu. If given the opportunity, he would certainly prefer to completely eliminate Shuluping. However, considering the situation in Khitan, considering the cost, and the changes in Youzhou, Yelu Ruan still chose peace talks.
The grandfather and grandson met face to face. The expectations of the two sides were very different, and they were constantly at odds. However, the negotiation with great disparity in power ended in Shu Luping's compromise. After all, the situation was stronger than the person. Of course, Queen Mother Shulu was obviously not willing to let this rebellious grandson usurp the country. Whether she would cause trouble in the future would depend on the future.
The conclusion of the "Crossing Covenant", for the Khitan, eliminated the internal friction of a bloody war, preserved the strength of the already difficult Khitan country, and stabilized the hearts of the people. As far as Yelu Ruan was concerned, with the "approval" of the Queen Mother, his succession to the throne was legally stable.
Although during this period, especially after the defeat of the Southern Expedition, the situation in the Khitan was somewhat unstable, as long as there was no chaos in Shangjing, it would be enough to suppress everything. Two generations of emperors, Yelu Abaoji and Yelu Deguang, father and son, built the Great Khitan in the past half a century, and they still have a lot of foundation. But now the grassland empire rising in the north has returned its leader Yelu Ruanlai.
After the internal fighting ended, Yelu Ruan successfully took over the capital and formally succeeded to the throne. He accepted the homage of the clan and ministers of the northern and southern chambers. Then, he will reward you for his merits, appease people's hearts, and when everything is settled, he will turn his attention to Youyan again.
Whether it is for military and economic strategic reasons, or to stabilize his position and enhance his prestige, he also wants to retake Youzhou.
...
No matter what happens next in Lingbei and Senan, Liu Chengyou, who represents the power of the new dynasty, can already sit firmly on Diaoyutai.
The top of the city has completely changed its appearance, and what is flying on the city wall are "Han" flags. In the Central Plains, it had been more than a month since Liu Zhiyuan entered Tokyo. Old ministers from the two capitals and Fangzhen in the Central Plains were vying to join him, and the Liu family's situation was determined.
On the fifteenth day of this month (sixth), Liu Zhiyuan entered the Chongyuan Hall, accepted civil and military worship, and granted amnesty to the world. He renamed Daliang, which Yelv Deguang had demoted to Bianzhou, to Tokyo, and changed the country's name to Han. The reign name remained unchanged, and it was still called Tianfu, or the rhetoric of "can't bear to forget Jin"...
When the news reached Zhending, the king's flag immediately changed on the city wall, which was also an encouragement and comfort to these soldiers who followed the Liu family to conquer the world. As far as Liu Chengyou personally was concerned, it was awkward to establish a country and manage a new dynasty, but he had to use the banner of the previous dynasty. Now the armies north and south of the river could be called "Han Army" in a dignified way.
During this period, Liu Chengyou sorted out Chengde Town and the states south of Youyan, arranged border defenses, and appointed military and political officials.
Murong Yanzhao was appointed as the defense envoy of Mozhou and the commander of the Ma Infantry Army, and led the Longqi Fourth Army to station in Mo County. Li Jun inspected Taizhou and led two thousand troops to garrison Rongcheng. These two are the Nanyi water defense line built by Liu Chengyou to monitor Youyan.
He Fujin is still in control of Hejian, and Luo Yanxuan leads the fifth army to control Qizhou. The two are ready to support Mo and Taizhou.
Liu Chengyou is arranging border defense, and Liu Zhiyuan is also arranging Zhenzhou. The town of Zhenzhou was reorganized into Hengzhou, and Zhang Yanwei was appointed as the envoy of the Shunguo Army to control the four prefectures of Heng, Shen, Ji, and Zhao. As for Liu Chengyou, he was summoned back to Tokyo. Fortunately, Liu Zhiyuan agreed to all the arrangements he made.
When the proposal to appoint Zhao Yanshou for the Northern Expedition reached Tokyo, it still aroused controversy in the Han court, even though on the surface it seemed that the decision was made by two princes. Liu Chengxun arrived in Beijing smoothly, and he acted like a gentleman and endorsed Liu Chengyou. Then he was reprimanded by Liu Zhiyuan for the first time, saying that he was good at making opinions.
Under such circumstances, a wave of criticism suddenly arose against Liu Chengyou in the newly reborn Han court. He was labeled as being selfish, domineering, power-loving, and nepotistic. Many labels were attached to him. Obviously, if the trees are beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy them.
After the Yan army succeeded in the Northern Expedition and captured Youzhou, some of the courtiers had their whims and even suggested to Liu Zhiyuan that they send troops to the north to defend Zhao Yanshou. Fortunately, Liu Zhiyuan calmed down under the advice of Guo Wei and other few civil and military officials who kept a cool head.
When he was summoned to Tokyo to produce the book, Liu Chengyou was still in a very calm mood. After all, he did not want to be out of town for a long time, and he could not stay away from the center of power for too long.
After settling down and getting ready, at the end of midsummer, Liu Chengyou led his troops southward towards Tokyo. He wanted to see what the new Han Dynasty was like.
