"Your Majesty, Xu Taifu, a Hanlin scholar and Minister of Rites, has returned from Liao. He is at the palace gate, waiting to see you again!" Zhang Dejun, the young eunuch at the chamberlain, quickly entered and said to Liu Chengyou, who was at his desk approving government affairs.
After hearing the report, Liu Chengyou stopped his ink brush and immediately ordered: "Let him come directly to Chongzheng Hall. I want to see him. In addition, I will also call the ministers!"
"yes!"
Half a month has passed since the Han and Liao Dynasties negotiated peace, and Xu Taifu was ordered to go north to pay an audience with the Liao Emperor and submit his credentials. So far, I have just returned.
During this period, under the deliberate restraint of the upper levels of both parties, the situation in the north was further eased. Although on the border, the agents and spies of both sides are still actively conducting spying activities, the reports received are all curbing the pace of the war step by step. As of now, the end of the war is a foregone conclusion.
Even so, Liu Chengyou still had some concerns about the situation in the north, especially when the war in Huainan had broken out, he needed to be more cautious. Therefore, Liu Chengyou attached great importance to Xu Taifu who had returned from his mission. He needed to confirm the attitude and situation of the Khitan people from his mouth.
Soon, the military and political ministers gathered together, and the Han envoy Xu Taifu took pity on his hard work, and Liu Chengyou gave him the royal meal as a sign of kindness. In this autumn and winter, traveling north and south, a round trip of more than two thousand miles, and exhausting travel and transportation, it is not easy at Xu Taifu's age.
"Xu Qing is an envoy for the country. You have worked hard back and forth!" In the palace, Liu Chengyou encouraged him in a friendly manner and offered him a seat to show his honor.
In the main hall, among the foreign ministers, except for the ministers and the commanders of the two divisions, few other civil and military officials were qualified to sit down.
Xu Taifu immediately became humble and said with excitement that it was his duty to serve the country. Then he sat down carefully and asked. Speaking of Xu Taifu, he has been an official since the Late Tang Dynasty and has been in the officialdom for more than 20 years amid the ups and downs of the political power. However, it was only this time that he was fortunate enough to be ordered by the emperor to serve as an envoy to a foreign country and participate in major military and political affairs, which made some waves arise in his heart. .
"I and Xiao Husi, the Liao envoy, went north to meet the Khitan emperor in Miyun, handed over their credentials, and discussed friendship together! According to my observation, the Khitans are very determined to negotiate peace and stop the war. It should be no different!" Knowing what Liu Chengyou wanted to ask, Xu Taiwan Fu reported immediately.
"What about the new Khitan master?" Liu Chengyou thought for a while and asked.
Mentioning this, Xu Taifu showed a strange look on his face, raised his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Khitan Lord is young and has just ascended the throne. He is not involved in state affairs. When I went north, I only saw two sides of the Khitan Lord. The rest of the peace talks were all made by The Khitan minister Yelu Wuzhi received him. The Khitan master likes to drink heavily, hunt and play, and the second time I saw him was that he led his royal troops to hunt in Yannan, inviting me to show his military power!"
"This Khitan Lord is so unworthy of state affairs?" After hearing this, the officials were a little surprised.
Wei Renpu's attention was focused on another point: "That Yelv house owner?"
"Xiangong Wei is really smart!" Xu Taifu said with a smile, but quickly regained his composure: "According to what I learned from my investigation in Miyun, the rebellion in Huoshendian was caused by the Khitan royal family Yelu Chage and others who rebelled and killed Yelu. Ruan. At the time of the great change, it was this Yelu house host who gathered the Khitan royal tent pro-army Pishi army to join forces with the Khitan leader Yelu Jing and other troops to surround and eliminate the rebels and quickly quell the rebellion!"
"When Yelu Jing came to the throne, it was this Yelu Housekeeper who took the lead and supported him. After Yelu Jing became emperor, he promised to reward the traitors with all their property, but he refused and instead suggested that the Khitan Lord reward other meritorious officers. The Khitan Lord also With the help of the National State Affairs Commission and its implementation, combined with the civil and military forces, the states, counties and tribes in southern Khitan were able to avoid collapse."
After Xu Taifu explained this, the civil and military personnel present understood. Liu Chengyou said thoughtfully: "During this period, the name of Yelvwuzhi was also spread to the south. From this point of view, the power of Pang Khitan was like this." The quality of Yelu’s house is the result of raising the sky!”
"Your Majesty, you can say so!" Xu Taifu's tone was very sure.
After saying this, Xu Taifu had a slight hesitation on his face. Liu Chengyou noticed it and asked, "What else did Xu Qing discover?"
"Your Majesty, I have been in Miyun for six days, and what I have observed is that the Khitan Lord seems to be neglected in state affairs, unlike the Ming Lord. But after thinking about it, since he came to the throne, he has treated the civil and military nobles favorably, rewarded his troops and soldiers, and served the whole country. State affairs and good ministers, this way..."
"It's suspected of hiding one's strength and biding one's time!" Liu Chengyou also showed some interest on his face.
His eyes wandered a little, and Liu Chengyou seemed to have some personal experience of this. The emperor didn't say anything, and the ministers couldn't take the trouble. They were all playing politics, and they shouldn't be too smart in this regard.
Liu Chengyou quickly came to his senses: "What's the situation on the Khitan side now?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Taifu said: "In the past few days, our government has lifted the border police and suspended troop mobilization. The Khitan monarchs and ministers have gradually let down their guard!"
"Just before I returned to the south, the Khitan Lord had secretly returned to the north with his troops. It is said that he was uneasy in Beijing and there was a rebellion in the country!"
"It is a secret return to the north, and it is also related to the domestic situation. Considering the national conditions, this should be a confidential matter. How did Xu Shilang know about it?" Guo Wei suddenly asked.
Xu Taifu said: "I learned this from the mouth of a nobleman who was left behind by the Khitan in Tanzhou——"
"Hiss..." At this point, Xu Taifu himself was surprised: "Could it be that the Khitans deliberately revealed this to the subordinates? Could it be that the Khitans have another conspiracy?"
Guo Wei smiled softly: "That's what I thought! But it's not what Shilang Xu guessed!"
Facing Liu Chengyou, Guo Wei reported: "Your Majesty, according to the reports from the Military Intelligence Department and the front line, it is indeed true that the Khitan troops returned from the north. I guess that the Khitan people revealed this matter through Xu Shilang because they wanted to calm our court. . It can be seen that the Khitans are also extremely afraid of the big Han!"
"Now, on the Khitan side, the person in charge of military and political affairs in the south is named Yelu Talie, and he was worshiped by the Khitan Lord as the King of the South Courtyard. Yelu Antuan, the envoy of the South Privy Council, was deprived of military power and transferred back to Beijing to serve." Xu Taifu added.
"Who is this Yelu Talie?" Liu Chengyou asked.
The officials all shook their heads. The officials of the Han Dynasty did not know much about the personnel situation of the Khitan side.
Xu Taifu said: "I only know that this Yelu Talie is also from the Khitan royal family, but he has been unknown before. He did not become an official until he was forty years old. Within a few years, he is an unknown person. But this person is the hostage of Yelv House. Recommended to the Khitan Lord!"
"In this case, we should not underestimate this person! Sometimes, the more penniless a person is, the more vigilant and careful we should be to guard against him!" Liu Chengyou said: "In addition, the Military Intelligence Department and the Wude Department will, in the future, treat Khitan officials , the nobility and the domestic situation should be investigated more carefully and compiled into files! "
"Yes!" Guo Wei responded.
"Xu Qing's mission to Liao Dynasty has made great contributions. I should reward him with ten pieces of brocade and fifty thousand yuan. He can be promoted to the right to advise the officials and counselor on political affairs!" Liu Chengyou discussed his merits and rewarded him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xu Taifu Shenyu showed a bit of excitement and hurriedly stood up to thank him, but he followed the words and said: "Your Majesty, it is the time of the Southern Expedition. The military resources are very expensive and the national supplies are not enough. What you are doing is within the scope of your duties. How dare you take credit for receiving your majesty's heavy reward? Please use the money and silk given to you for military purposes!"
Seeing Xu Taifu's initiative, Liu Chengyou was surprised and even more appreciative. He chuckled and said, "Xu Qing understands the righteousness. For this, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the frontline soldiers!"
After saying this, he pondered for a while, Liu Chengyou looked around, and said solemnly: "Now that the trouble in the north is temporarily gone, we can stop preparing for war in all the military prefectures and towns in Hebei. The soldiers mobilized by the various states and the civilian men recruited will be registered and returned to their hometowns." . Let’s observe the situation in the north for a while and see how the Khitan reacts to our attack on the Tang Dynasty. After confirming that everything is safe, we can export supplies from the north to the south!”
"Third Division's Duzhi, let's do some calculations. I want to know how much food was lost due to the Northern Imperial Khitans!" Liu Chengyou looked at Xue Juzheng, the deputy envoy of the Third Division, and ordered.
"Khitan, what a huge amount of manpower it has caused me to waste unnecessarily!" Liu Chengyou's tone contained a strong tone of physical pain.
"As ordered!" The ministers with relevant duties responded in unison.
After the explanation, Liu Chengyou was silent for a while, looked around, and reiterated the past in a loud voice: "There is nothing going on in the north now, I can calmly go south to conquer!"
As soon as these words were said, the whole hall was silent. Feng Dao and the ministers looked at each other and suggested tactfully: "Your Majesty is the master of a country. I believe that you should sit in Tokyo to calm the world. Do you want to consider the matter of personal expedition again? consider?"
With a frown, Liu Chengyou glanced at Feng Dao, telling the old fox to look away. He felt a little bit unhappy. Whenever he wanted to personally conquer, these people would always stop him. The previous decision to lead the northern expedition was not easily reached by the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty.
This time, it’s here again.
Although he noticed that the emperor was a little unhappy, but considering his duty as a minister, Fan Zhi still took the initiative to dissuade him and said: "Your Majesty, the crusade against the puppet Tang Dynasty has the generals of the Huainan front camp with their lives. Why bother your majesty to go there in person? The battlefield is a fierce place. I'm afraid that the imperial commander's personal visit will make the soldiers wary when fighting!"
He paused for a moment on Feng Dao, Li Tao and Fan Zhi.
Noticing Liu Chengyou's demeanor, Tao Gu, who was fortunate enough to be present, stood up and said on Liu Chengyou's behalf: "Why doesn't Prime Minister Fan think about it the other way round? When your Majesty goes to Huainan in person, he should boost morale so that the frontline soldiers will fight bravely to defeat the Tang army?"
After Tao Gu finished speaking, Liu Chengyou was no longer interested in arguing with his ministers about the personal expedition, and said in an unquestionable tone: "I am not afraid of the powerful Khitan in the north, let alone the mere pseudo-Tang? My decision regarding the personal expedition has been decided early and cannot be changed!"
"On the 18th of this month, the imperial edict is sent to Huainan!"
Feng Dao and others looked at each other in shock, inevitably a little bitter, but facing Liu Chengyou at this time, they could only pinch their noses and respond.
They have been serving Liu Chengyou for a long time. Basically, they have watched him grow step by step from the beginning of the country to now. It was also clear that when Liu Chengyou showed such a tough and almost unreasonable attitude, he was unstoppable. If he tried to persuade him again, he would be out of touch.
