Youzhou, a large state in the south of Yan and a strong city in Hebei Province, has experienced stable development for many years. Under the governance of King Zhao Kuangzan of Yan, it has achieved considerable recovery in terms of politics, military, economy and culture. However, because it is in a remote location in the north and is under military pressure from the Liao Kingdom in the north of Saibei, there is always an upper limit.
By the 11th year of Qianyou's reign, the city's population barely exceeded 100,000. For such a big city, it was difficult to match its status. This is a city with greater military significance than anything else, so the defense facilities and troop deployment have been very complete.
In the words of Zhao Kuangzan, King of Yan, if the enemy besieges the city, it will not be broken within one year without an army of two hundred thousand. It may be an exaggeration, but from his confident declaration, we can also get a glimpse of the solidity of Youzhou's defense.
Youzhou in midsummer was dry and hot. Fortunately, a continuous heavy rain washed away the restlessness lingering in the city among the people of Youzhou. The people stayed at home and closed their doors, not only because of the rain, but also because of the government's ban.
Many people could see through the gaps in the doors and windows that between the rain curtains, there were also many uniformed officers and soldiers of the Yan army, running menacingly among them, executing military orders. Everyone knew that something big happened in the city, and the entire city was under martial law.
In fact, the state capital is still under martial law, while several cities guarding Youzhou are in a state of complete emergency. Under the military orders of the Yan Palace, they are ready to fight against the invaders.
The heavy rain was still dripping down, and the officials in Prince Yan's Mansion all carefully and solemnly stayed at their posts and went about their duties. The sound of rain seemed to be a busy accompaniment. The figures coming in and out were all carrying rain and dew, making the clean lobby wet.
The rain kept beating on the eaves and green tiles. Zhao Kuangzan, King of Yan, was sitting behind the main case. Two generals, one old and one strong, walked into the hall and saluted Zhao Kuangzan: "Your Majesty!"
The veteran general named Zhang Zangying was a rare chivalrous man who once stabbed his enemies in the busy city. He was well-known in Yanji and was praised by Zhao Kuang as his grandfather. Zhao Dejunshi, who was Lulong's military envoy in the Later Tang Dynasty at that time, cut Yanyun in the Later Jin Dynasty and was also under the rule of Khitan. As an official, he has a deep connection with the King of Yan.
The middle-aged general named Gao Yanhui had also served as a Khitan official. He belonged to the military-bureaucratic-landlord class of Youyan and worked for Zhao Yanshou, the former king of Yan. These two, unlike Zhao Siwan, are close to the big man.
Therefore, in the past two years, Zhao Kuangzan adjusted the strength of the Yan Army faction. In addition to promoting young talents, he also made more appointments to senior generals who followed his political footsteps.
Now the two of them, Zhang Zangying is the deputy commander of the Youzhou Ma Infantry Army (the chief envoy is also personally served by Zhao Kuangzan), and Gao Yanhui is the inspection envoy of Youji. They are representative generals in the Yan army, so their rise to power did not cause dissatisfaction, well, except for Zhao Siwan.
"Say!" Looking at the two of them, Zhao Kuangzan asked directly without being too polite.
Zhang Zangying is already in her painting years, with gray hair and beard. Although she is full of twilight, she still gives people a sense of peace of mind in times of crisis. He raised his hand and reported to Zhao Kuang: "The 'Stinged Face Army' is now under control. Zhao Siwan's trusted generals have all been captured. Following the King's order, the remaining officers and soldiers also took the initiative to hand over their weapons and are temporarily imprisoned in the barracks, waiting for the King's disposal!"
Hearing what he said, Zhao Siwan breathed a sigh of relief. So far, the Yan army's main troops and horses totaled about 20,000 infantry and cavalry. Among them, the assassin army commanded by Zhao Siwan had 3,000 people, two-thirds of which were cavalry. , and indeed it is the most powerful and best-equipped unit among the Yan army. Being able to smoothly pacify and control the situation basically avoids the risk of civil strife.
Why did Zhao Siwan dare to contact the Liao Kingdom and confidently stated that he could cooperate with the Liao Army to defeat Youzhou? This tattooed army was his biggest source of confidence.
Of course, he boasted that he had tight control over his subordinates, and his confidants were all over him, but he did not know that Zhao Kuangzan would never let the best troops and horses under his subordinates escape from control. To attract his attention, he secretly laid many traps and back-up tactics. Therefore, when he learned that Zhao Siwan had rebellious intentions, he used the power of thunder to quickly capture and dismantle him.
There was still a certain degree of chance that Zhao Siwan's incident happened. The reason also lay in the officer named Zhao Yan who was killed by Zhao Siwan that day. After returning to Youzhou, Zhao Siwan sent someone to inform his family of the bad news and gave him a generous gift of money and silk.
Zhao Yan's family originally accepted it, but they asked for the location of the "fall" and wanted to pay homage and find the body. How could Zhao Siwan point out a target for them, so they rudely refused.
Zhao Yan's family was not convinced and asked to come to the house, which made Zhao Siwan furious. The ferocious General Zhao had no time to tangle with such a small person, so he roughly ordered the guards to beat him up.
As a result, Zhao Yan's family directly sued Prince Yan's Mansion. At this time, the news of the Liao army's attack on Yanmen in the south had already spread beyond Taihang to Youzhou. As a local force that bordered the Liao Kingdom and had communicated with it for a long time, Zhao Kuangzan immediately sensed that the direction of the wind was wrong. Although the enemy deployed troops to the west, he also subconsciously raised his vigilance.
In this turbulent atmosphere, Zhao Yan's problem was exposed. In order to reduce the impact, Zhao Kuangzan sent people to investigate. After all, Zhao Yan was a mid-level officer of the Yan Army and died inexplicably. An explanation is needed.
After this investigation, the problem was discovered. It was exposed by one of Zhao Siwan's soldiers. The soldier was on good terms with Zhao Yan. He was even more chilled by Zhao Siwan's violence against Zhao Yan's family. He secretly reported the details and kept his private information. I also told Xiao Husi about his evil intentions. This directly alarmed Zhao Kuangzan and attracted his great attention.
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Zhao Kuangzan remained calm and sent someone to scold Zhao Siwan, pretending not to know. He also said that the border situation was strange and that when the enemy was on defense, he could not use this matter to disturb the morale of the army and asked him to go to Zhao Siwan in person. Yan’s family explained and apologized.
At this time, Zhao Siwan was secretly in contact with Xiao Husi, and something big was about to happen, and she was wandering around in her career plans. Knowing that Zhao Kuangzan has always been lenient, he did not want to offend Zhao Kuangzan and arouse his vigilance at this juncture because of such a trivial matter.
So he went to Zhao Yan's house in person. As soon as he entered, he was captured by King Yan's personal guards who had already ambushed him. Once Zhao Siwan was captured, the next step was to take two steps. One was to interrogate Zhao Siwan and his cronies, and the other was to dismantle his power, especially his influential Thorny Faced Army.
As the trial and investigation deepened, the hidden secrets and conspiracies behind the case came to light, and the situation in Youzhou also changed accordingly. When he learned about Zhao Siwan's plan, even the palace of Yan King Zhao Kuangzan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
He had always known that Zhao Siwan was courageous, but he only regarded him as a brave man, strong and resourceful. Although he knew that he was dissatisfied due to the suppression in the past two years, he did not expect that this would happen quietly. This rebellious intention was directly implemented to this extent.
The reason lies in the fact that the central court put a lock on the beast, Wu Fu, and restrained it, and the use of Zhao Kuangzan was also affected. But they overlooked one thing. After all, Zhao Siwan was a warrior who came out of three generations of troubled times. It was normal for him to want to rebel when he was unhappy.
The more he understood the details, the more frightened Zhao Kuangzan became. After reacting, he immediately arrested the Liao spies in Youzhou City, interrogated the enemy's situation, and let them plan and prepare various responses.
The control of the Thorny Faced Army is the top priority. Otherwise, if these three thousand elites get into chaos, the consequences will be equally serious. Now, with Zhang Zangying's report, Zhao Kuangzan can feel at ease.
After thinking for a while, Zhao Kuangzan ordered Zhang Zangying: "Zhao Siwan's cronies will be detained for the time being. We will inform you that the lone general will go to the military camp in person to inspect the tattooed sergeants and listen to their appeals!"
Seeing this, Zhang Zangying hurriedly dissuaded him: "Your Majesty, Zhao Siwan has been arrested, and the Thorny Faced Army is unstable after all. There may be stubborn thieves who slip through the net. Your Majesty has a great responsibility in Youzhou, so you cannot take risks!"
After hearing what he said, Zhao Kuangzan said: "Old General, this is a loyal advice, and I take it with my heart. However, the Thorny Face Army is the elite of the Yan army and is also Gu's subordinate. How can we hate the whole army because of the sin of one person. If we want to protect Youzhou , to fight against the powerful Liao, they still need their efforts. For the current plan, only Gu goes there in person to appease his heart. Furthermore, if Gu treats him with sincerity, how can he be afraid of harming him! "
While Zhang Zangying admired Zhao Kuangzan's courage and courage, he raised his hand and said, "If the king has made up his mind, although the general is old, he is willing to personally carry the steel sword, guard the left and right, and accompany him into the camp!"
"The old general is really a loyal man! Thank you so much!" Zhao Kuang praised.
"Don't dare to be the last general!" Zhang Zangying was naturally modest.
Zhao Kuangzan thought for a while and said to Zhang Zangying: "Zhao Siwan Tongliao has betrayed a lot about Youzhou's internal situation and city defense layout. Now that the situation has been decided, the city's defense should be adjusted. This matter still needs to be done." Sorry for bothering you, old general!"
"yes!"
Nodding, Zhao Kuangzan said to Gao Yanhui: "The same goes for the defense in the north. Since the Liao army is moving in Tanzhou, the defense of Shunzhou should be the top priority. The general can go to Huairou in person to supervise his division, just like the Liao army. When the army comes, Yingcheng resists it and delays its actions!"
"Follow the order!" Gao Yanhui did not hesitate at all.
Looking outside, the heavy rain was coming from slow to severe. Zhao Kuangzan couldn't help but sigh: "Fortunately, this heavy rain bought us a lot of time and delayed the Liao army's actions. Otherwise, the incident would have happened suddenly and the situation would have collapsed." bad!"
"Zhao Siwan's plan is an act that defies heaven and cannot be tolerated by heaven!" Zhang Zangying couldn't help but show contempt.
In the view of these old Yanjun people, internal conflicts can be resolved internally. It is intolerable for Zhao Siwan to communicate with foreign countries purely because of his own selfish interests. Furthermore, they had been obedient subjects of the Khitan and had submitted to the Central Plains for a long time. In comparison, they were still more willing to be the subjects of the Han.
And Zhao Kuangzan's sigh was just a sigh of relief. In fact, even without Zhao Yan's incident, the possibility of Zhao Siwan's success is not very high. Not to mention the back-up arranged by King Yan, how could the imperial court be unprepared for Zhao Siwan. If not for the protection of Zhao Kuangzan, the observation officer Gao Fang would have found an opportunity to plot Zhao Siwan to death.
After the second general retired, a middle-aged official walked in. He had a thin face, a few strands of beard, and a calm demeanor. His name was Song Qi, who was the Chief of the Yan Palace at the time. Compared with Gao Fang, this person was the first civil servant to assist Zhao Kuangzan in handling civil affairs. When the Zhao Siwan incident happened, Zhao Kuangzan asked Song Qi to be responsible for the trial.
As for him, he was a Jinshi of Khitan in his early years and was a staff member of Zhao Yanshou. Speaking of which, the military and political resources that Zhao Yanshou left to Zhao Kuangzan were abundant.
