Next, Wang Zhaoyuan told Emperor Liu several short stories about Yelu Jing, the Lord of Liao. For example, there was a severe drought in the Liao Dynasty in the fourth year of Kaibao. Yelujing went boating in the pond to pray for rain, but it stopped raining for a long time. He abandoned the boat and stood in the water, and it rained for a while.
The Lord of the Liao Dynasty inspected the prefectures and counties and saw that some officials were defrauding the people's money and deliberately inducing the people to violate the ban and take money. Yelujing was furious about this, and not only dealt with him severely, but also set a criminal law. Such behavior would be punishable by death.
Yelujing hunted excessively. Every time he went hunting, he would drink until late at night. He would get drunk and kill people for trivial reasons. The officials often found it difficult to remonstrate and rejected him. However, sometimes, they could accept the strong remonstrances of those who violated the rules.
...
There are many stories about Yelujing, and from Wang Zhaoyuan’s mouth, his image is also presented through those trivial details. This is indeed not a mediocre person. After twenty years of exchanges between Han and Liao, this is what the monarchs and ministers of the Han Dynasty have achieved. consensus.
It has to be said that the monarch who is similar in age to Emperor Liu and controls the great country in the north of Saibei is considered an outstanding figure of his generation. However, due to bad luck, they faced a powerful rise of the Han Empire under the leadership of Emperor Liu.
Of course, over the years, Yelujing has been criticized more and more, especially for being moody, violent, murderous, and feared by others.
In his early years, Emperor Liu Jing had a high regard for Yelujing, but in recent years, he no longer had the same admiration that made him a formidable enemy. He felt that Yelujing had fallen and used himself to save others. As an emperor with no special hobbies, he naturally looked down upon Yelujing's current addiction to hunting, drinking, and killing.
But even under such circumstances, the military and political affairs of the Liao State maintained stable operation, and its national strength increased, its military strength recovered, and it also achieved the results of pacifying Gaochang in the west and destroying Ding'an in the east.
Seeing Emperor Liu's expressions of emotion several times, Wang Zhaoyuan continued unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, although the Liao Kingdom should not be underestimated, I believe that it still has four troubles!"
"Oh!" Wang Zhaoyuan was obviously in a good mood, radiating confidence and high spirits. Seeing his appearance, Liu Chengyou signaled, "I'd like to hear the details!"
"Actually, it's a cliché!" Wang Zhaoyuan said: "First, although the territory of the Liao Kingdom is vast, it has vast deserts and wastelands, and there are many tribes. Although it surrenders to the Khitan, it is always rebellious, especially when there are big Han men threatening the Khitan in the south, which will further increase the situation. The foreign tribes around him are full of antagonism. Especially now that the Liao Kingdom is conquering the Western Regions, its strength has been dispersed. Therefore, I believe that the Liao Kingdom is now like a fat man. It looks strong but is unbearable on the inside!
Secondly, although the military and political affairs of the Liao Kingdom were stable, they were developed on the basis of tough attacks on dissidents and rejection of political opponents. The four Khitan tribes were the foundation of its royal rule. However, a rebellion that year caused the Liao Lord to purge. Although At that time, the emperor's throne and the country's situation were stabilized, but the subsequent troubles were buried deeper and deeper. Although there is no evidence, I guess that there are still many people in the Khitan, especially within the royal family, who oppose Yelujing!
Thirdly, there is the conflict between Hu and Han. I don’t think I need to elaborate on this point. The Han people on the northern and southern borders were also deeply troubled by this problem, and the situation in Liao was even more serious. In the early years, the Lord of Liao attacked Han forces in order to alleviate the hostility of Khitan nobles. However, in fact, he still followed the path of his father and ancestors and used the Han system.
Nowadays, even if we don't talk about the people, in the upper echelons of the Liao Dynasty, the division between Han and Hu is extremely serious. As the vision and power controlled by the Han, Geng, and Gao Han families have also been greatly expanded, this obviously caused the overpopulation of the old Khitan aristocrats. The two-sided official system in the north and the south, and the division between Hu and Han, certainly have the effect of alleviating conflicts, but in the situation where the Han Dynasty is prosperous and has diffuse influence, its hidden dangers are great.
Fourth, the Lord of Liao was murderous. Although he was not as good as the ministers at the top and not as good as the common people at the bottom, he killed people for minor reasons and indiscriminately killed people close to him to vent his violence. I thought that this was the way to bring disaster. If this continues, he will be punished. The harm..."
These four points are probably Wang Zhaoyuan's summary of the current issues in the Liao Kingdom. As he said, they are indeed clichés. The only one that is more novel is probably the fourth point.
Emperor Liu pondered for a while, with an expression of appreciation on his face, looked at Wang Zhaoyuan, and said again: "Thank you for your hard work, Qing Wang!"
This time, it can be clearly felt that Emperor Liu's tone is much more sincere and less polite.
Wang Zhaoyuan stood up and responded humbly, and then continued: "I was ordered to interact with the Han ministers of the Liao Kingdom, but the result was disappointing. They had abandoned China for a long time and no longer wanted to be the southern ministers. They were willing to be captives of the Khitan and refused to return as I proposed. Most of them avoid talking about it, or even sternly refuse it. If you have failed your Majesty's trust, please punish me!"
"No problem!" In response, Emperor Liu waved his hand: "If the Liao Kingdom treated them with high-ranking officials and generous salaries, it would not be surprising if they behaved like this! After all, those Han officials had been in the Han Dynasty for many years and took root in the Khitan. There is no need to treat them as Han people. Letting you contact us is just an attempt, and it is also an attempt to alienate and disturb their minds. It doesn’t matter what the result is. You don’t have to blame yourself!"
"Your Majesty is magnanimous! Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Zhaoyuan certainly had confidence in his heart and responded calmly.
In fact, Wang Zhaoyuan, the Han envoy, went to contact him, and the result was basically expected. However, Emperor Liu also knew some things. In the secret liaison between the Wude Department and the Military Intelligence Department with the Han officials of the Liao Kingdom, many Han officials expressed their willingness to serve the Han Dynasty, and some had ambiguous attitudes... .
Obviously, the minds of people who are not of my race must be different, and it is the same for the Khitan people. How can those Han nobles and bureaucrats really be loyal to the Liao Kingdom? In the end, it all depends on the interests.
Both sides of the head and rat are often despised by people. However, most people in this world, when faced with similar situations, will make the same decision and leave a way out. It may be an almost instinctive move.
"Your Majesty, there is one more thing, perhaps the court should pay attention to it!" Wang Zhaoyuan said again while Emperor Liu was thinking.
"Speak directly!" Emperor Liu's reaction was straightforward.
"I heard that the Khitan has been trapped in the Western Region for many years and it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend it. The Khitan has the intention to withdraw its troops from the Western Region!" Wang Zhaoyuan said.
"Huh? Can the Liao Kingdom hold on?" Liu Chengyou was slightly surprised.
"According to my investigation, the Liao army currently stationed in the Western Regions has nearly 40,000 troops. However, there are only more than 300,000 civilians to support them. Due to years of war and population loss, the remaining ones are mostly old and weak. Moreover, , full of hatred and resistance to Khitan.
In addition, the Black Khan Kingdom in the west continued to invade eastward. Although the Liao army won many battles, it never achieved a decisive victory. Due to the expedition, the battle became more and more difficult. Now, it has become a situation of internal and external difficulties, and it is difficult to get off the tiger.
At present, the Western Region is in ruins and depression, and it is difficult to provide the Liao Kingdom with goods and livestock, so the Liao Kingdom is gradually giving up..." Wang Zhaoyuan explained.
"The Liao army was able to destroy Gaochang with tens of thousands of people. Facing a mere Black Khanate, the more soldiers there are, the harder it will be to fight!" Emperor Liu muttered.
When talking about military affairs, Wang Zhaoyuan suddenly became very interested. Facing the emperor, he talked eloquently and expressed his opinions: "I watched the Liao army's Western Expedition. It is not surprising that there is such a contrast between before and after.
Although there were millions of Uighurs in Xizhou, they were poorly prepared and poorly commanded, and were defeated by the Liao army one by one. At that time, Xizhou was prosperous, with abundant products and a lot of savings, so that the Liao army could feed on the enemy without having to worry about its future.
However, after the Uighurs were overthrown, the Liao army was already exhausted from long battles. It suffered a setback in Khotan and suffered a major defeat due to the Black Khan's surprise attack. In subsequent battles, even if the troops were increased, the disadvantages of the expedition were magnified. Coupled with the decline of Xizhou and the lack of successors, the Liao army's situation became increasingly declining.
Therefore, I believe that it is not that the Black Khanate is powerful, but that the Liao army is at a disadvantage in terms of time, location, and people. It is already possible that it can persist for two or three years!
If we want to solve this problem, we can only continue to increase our troops and fight a decisive battle with strong strength. However, the Liao State was reluctant to send partial troops to conquer the Western Regions. As long as the Han Dynasty was there, the Liao Army could never completely distract him! "
It can be said that it has been almost six years since the Liao Army's Western Expedition. In the first three years, it was in full swing, making a lot of money from the war and reaping the fruits of victory. In the last three years, it was obviously at a disadvantage, and the army gradually fell into the quagmire and was struggling.
Wang Zhaoyuan's mouth was dry after talking endlessly, so Emperor Liu asked Yantuo to change him a cup of tea. He chuckled and said: "So, the Western Region is probably cheaper than the Black Khanate?"
"If the Lord of Liao really decides to withdraw his troops, if nothing unexpected happens, I'm afraid it will be yes!" Wang Zhaoyuan sighed.
A ripple flashed across Emperor Liu's eyes. He was thinking, if the Liao army retreats, will they take advantage of the situation to advance westward? It was just a passing thought, and soon reason prevailed. The situation in the Western Region is still unclear, so it would be unwise to rush into the muddy water.
The corners of his mouth raised, and he raised his eyes to look at Wang Zhaoyuan. Liu Chengyou said: "I have learned a lot from talking to you. I will have a meal with you later, so I can take care of you. In addition, there is no need to go back to Tokyo. This time I am on tour." , just drive along!”
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
