The sky was covered with clouds, but it also released some strange light. It was dim and yellow, and it was obviously a dim tone, but the surroundings were bright. In the Concierge Courtyard, where the Dingnan Army was stationed at Li Yi Yin, perhaps the approaching rain showers made the environment seem depressing, reflecting the heavy mood of the guests inside.
For the vassal ministers who took the initiative to come to Beijing this time, the imperial court made adequate arrangements and treated them with thoughtfulness and courtesy as state guests. Therefore, Li Yiyin and his group, from top to bottom, had a very comfortable life during their stay in Beijing. As VIPs, they enjoyed the splendor of Tokyo.
The only thing that was a little unpleasant was that the imperial court arranged for Yanzhou Gao Shaoji and his group to be neighbors "next door". Of course, this was a harmless thing.
However, at this moment, Li Yiyin had no intention of worrying about these details. Especially, after learning that Gao Shaoji's servant had gone to the palace to ask the emperor to accept the land and surrender, his mood became even worse. Recalling Gao Shaoji's sarcastic and contemptuous smile just now, Li Yiyin somewhat understood its meaning.
Just as Liu Congxiao and Qian Hongchu were restless, Gao Shaoji also caught Li Yiyin off guard when he saw the situation. Gao Shaoji can make the choice happily, but it will be difficult for Li Yiyin.
The guards in front of the door stood at attention, and the ministers inside the door sat in silence until a thunder sounded, shaking everyone. Finally, a staff member said to Li Yiyin who was sitting on the throne: "Your Majesty, now that Zhangquan and Yanzhou have donated land one after another, we should also make a decision on where Xiazhou will go!"
"How to decide?" After hearing this, Li Yiyin immediately scolded: "Am I to be like Liu and Gao, who gave away the land gained by my grandfather for three generations after overcoming obstacles and fighting for hundreds of years?"
Compared with the other three parties, the situation of the Difficult Army is obviously much more complicated and more dangerous. Even if we don’t mention the years when the Party members took root and developed in the northwest, even counting from Li Sigong, Xia Sui’s regime has been consolidated there for nearly a hundred years.
The Tuoba Li family has gone through five generations to Li Yiyin. Over such a long period of time, a force has been formed with the four states of Xia Sui, Yin You and others as its core and many party tribes as its foundation. Although they cannot compete with the Han Dynasty in terms of size, if they underestimate them because of this, they will definitely suffer a big loss.
Li Yiyin, as for Li Yiyin, has been in the position of deciding the difficult situation for nearly twenty-five years. In his early years, he followed his father and brother to fight against the Later Tang Dynasty. In the early Han Dynasty, he was not very peaceful in the northwest. Active, frequently making changes, stirring up troubles. Although he has kept a low profile in the past ten years, Liu Chengyou has never been able to eliminate his wariness towards this force.
Such a person, who could barely be considered a hero, would not be willing to surrender. This can be seen from Li Yiyin's attitude.
This time, Li Yiyin naturally did not come to Beijing alone, there were also several staff members and the Li family. After saying this, a party man stood up and said: "Brother is right, I think, sooner or later, the Han Dynasty will attack our Xiazhou. From the beginning, we should join forces with the Khitans to remain invincible. Land, let alone go to Kaifeng rashly, if we are detained by the imperial court and not allowed to return, Xiazhou will be in danger!"
As soon as he said these words, Li Yiyin's expression turned ugly. The main reason for taking the initiative to enter Beijing this time was that the Han Dynasty had won the war against the Liao Dynasty, and Hetao had been recaptured. Xiazhou had become difficult. Due to such a situation, he made this move out of fear. He wanted to go to Beijing this time to express his surrender, gain the trust of the court and relieve the pressure. Of course, Li Yiyin had discussed the risks of this trip with a group of staff and subordinates, and the result was that there was no risk.
But I didn't expect that Liu Congxiao would come up with such a move to clear up these vassal issues. Gao Shaoji's imitation made Xiazhou even more passive.
The rough face was covered with dark clouds, and one could not help but feel panic. In fact, what Li Yiyin is worried about now is really the problem of how to escape, which is a bit like a delusion of being persecuted. The prosperous and magnificent city of Tokyo suddenly seems to have become a gorgeous prison.
However, he glared at the Xiazhou general who spoke and reprimanded: "Allied with the Khitan, that is the imperial army, I am afraid it will turn around and destroy our party first! Furthermore, around Xia Sui, the Hexi Army, Dingbian Army, Are the Baoning Army, Shi Hongzhao, and Wang Yansheng easy to deal with?"
After hearing the rebuke, the man also said: "Even though the Han army is strong, but now it wants to swallow up my Xiazhou and seize my Li family's ancestral property, should we still wait to be killed?"
These words were made out of righteous indignation, but they revealed the crux of the problem without stopping: "Now we are trapped in Kaifeng, like fish on the chopping board, but there is no room for resistance!"
"You are smart! Then tell me, what should I do in the current situation?" Li Yiyin was also a little angry.
This Dangxiang general was named Li Yirui, a younger brother of Li Yiyin, and belonged to the Li Sigong lineage. When asked, he immediately responded: "Don't sneak out of Kaifeng, escape back to Xiazhou, and then wait and see the court's reaction. If he is appeased, he will plead guilty, continue to surrender, and accumulate strength; if he is suppressed, he will gather Xia Sui soldiers and horses and support the party. Liaise with the Khitans and fight against them!"
"What a good plan!" Li Yiyin smiled, but it was obviously a chuckle: "Let me ask you, how to escape from Kaifeng, do you know how many court spies are around this hotel? How to secretly avoid the patrol? Now I'm going to Xiazhou, It’s more than a thousand miles, how do you avoid the checkpoint towns along the way?”
"This..." Facing Li Yiyin's series of questions, Li Yirui hesitated. It seems that things are really not that easy. Sneaking out of Tokyo and escaping back to Xiazhou is not a two-step process.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yiyin tried his best to calm down, looked at another staff member named Zhang, and said: "It is undeniable that the current situation is worrying, and what he said is not unreasonable. Now I am in Kaifeng, far away Basically, if the court really wanted to detain me, there would be absolutely no room for resistance.
If I were imprisoned here, even if I suffered all the humiliation, it would have nothing to do with it. I would only worry about chaos in Xiazhou. Although my son Guangrui is still here, there is no guarantee that the situation will be unstable and the imperial court can take advantage of it.
No matter what, you need to think of a way to escape! "
Before coming to Beijing, Li Yiyin also made full preparations, and even made arrangements for his funeral if he had an accident. However, if the imperial court really turns its back, how can the backup plan be kept intact? He has ruled the Dingnan Army for more than twenty years. In terms of stabilizing the situation and gathering people's hearts, no one in the Li family has the prestige to replace him in a short period of time.
And from Li Yiyin's words, we can hear that it is impossible to offer land!
"Your Majesty, my subordinates think that absconding is a must. It will appear guilty and offend the court!" the staff thought for a while and replied.
"We're already in this situation, why are you so worried about doing so much?" Li Yirui couldn't help it anymore, and was glared at by Li Yiyin before shutting up again.
The staff member surnamed Zhang said: "I think the situation may not be as serious as we imagined!"
"Oh?" Li Yiyin perked up slightly, raised his hand and said, "Please tell me!"
"First, so far, the imperial court seems to have no clear attitude and measures regarding the request to stay in Gao. It is conceivable that the emperor and the imperial court are also hesitant. Let's not mention Zhangquan. The mountains are high and the roads are far away, and it is also a place for Tang and Guangdong. It is blocked by the two countries and cannot be effectively controlled even if it is accepted at this time. It is really useless.
Secondly, the envoy took the initiative to come to court this time with sincerity and generous gifts to congratulate on the great victory. How could the imperial court detain someone so respectfully without reason and cause criticism? How could the Central Plains dynasty not care about their face?
Therefore, my subordinates believe that we must not cause chaos due to this change! "
This analysis calmed people's hearts. Li Yiyin thought for a while and said: "Even so, our safety and the future of Xiazhou cannot depend entirely on the court's benevolence! Given the court's efforts in Longyou and Hexi in recent years, Judging from the encroachment and expansion, our Xiazhou will be their target sooner or later. If the people who stay and Gao turn their targets to us in advance, then the problem will be serious!"
An aide surnamed Zhang said: "Everyone in the country knows that the emperor has the intention to hide in the world. However, judging from the past national policy of the Han Dynasty, we should first focus on the south and then go north. If it hadn't been for the Khitan's provocation last year, I'm afraid there wouldn't have been this situation. The earth-shattering Han-Liao war.
If nothing unexpected happens, I, Xiazhou, still have time to accumulate strength! "
"Just tell me! How to escape from Kaifeng?" Li Yiyin became impatient.
With a wry smile, the staff thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, if you want to escape, your subordinates suggest that you report to the emperor and say that you are willing to donate the territory belonging to the troubled army. However, due to the complicated situation under your jurisdiction, the land register needs to be sorted out. Please return it." Xiazhou, prepare to donate the land. If the emperor agrees, he can do other things when he returns to Xiazhou!"
This suggestion is still feasible. Under normal circumstances, due to various factors, it is really difficult for the court to force Li Yiyin to stay. Li Yiyin thought about it for a while, and then suddenly said: "If I go to court, the emperor would simply use this reason to keep me in Kaifeng? Wouldn't that play into his own agenda?"
The staff was stunned for a moment, and after careful consideration, this possibility was not impossible. The human heart is always unpredictable, let alone the heart of heaven, and today's emperor has never been a conservative person.
After thinking about it, it seems that no matter which direction one considers in Tokyo, there are risks. After a while, the staff spoke again: "Your Majesty, I think that the reason why the emperor held back his request to Liu Congxiao may not be because he did not mean to test the minds of our vassals. Gao Shaoji was the one who followed Liu Congxiao. After that, after making a choice, no matter what, the envoy should express his opinion.
The subordinates suggested that you should go to the emperor's court to test the matter, and at the same time express Xiazhou's intention to surrender, and see his reaction before making any calculations. In addition, in addition to our army, there is also the Wuyue Kingdom in the south of the Yangtze River, which has not made a statement, so we don't need to be too nervous! "
After thinking for a while, Li Yiyin had no other choice. He hesitated for a while and said, "This is the only way for now!"
There were several thunderstorms in the sky over Kaifeng intermittently. In the markets, people returned home and vendors went out of business, and they were all ready to take shelter from the rain. However, a long time passed without a drop of rain falling. Eventually, the long-accumulated dark clouds gradually dispersed, the sun's rays fell, revealing the original appearance of the sky, and the world returned to clarity.
Li Yiyin was in the hotel, feeling depressed, and finally sighed: "It seems that I came to Beijing in the wrong way this time!"
