In the Luan Jia, they got married and the atmosphere became more cordial. The monarch and his ministers talked freely, and bursts of hearty laughter broke out from time to time in the Luan Jia driving in the cold wind.
Zhao Kuangyin was extremely happy. It was already an honor to be married to the royal family, but to be able to directly deepen the relationship with the prince was even happier. Of course he would not think that a crown prince's concubine would wrong his daughter. You must know that the current crown prince is from the Murong family.
Over the years, as the early founding generals and heroes gradually receded into the background, the young and powerful Zhao Kuangyin became increasingly prominent. Now, Zhao Kuangyin is only in his forties. The junior at that time has completely become a big boss and a pillar of the country.
In addition to being ranked among the twenty-four ministers of Qianyou, the Zhao family's status in the Han Dynasty is also constantly rising and is very prominent. If coupled with the indelible achievements in the Liaodong battlefield, his qualifications and reputation will be enhanced.
But even so, Zhao Kuangyin was not confident that he could completely overshadow the Murong family. Even though Murong Yanzhao had been dead for some years, Zhao Kuangyin did not dare to say that his reputation could compare with him. The geese left their voices and the people left their names. The great Han Wei Gong was once the number one general of the Han Dynasty.
Of course, Murong Yanzhao's death caused a decline in the Murong family's reputation. However, Murong Yanzhao was not the only one in the Murong family. Supporters such as Murong Yanqing and Murong Yanzhong, although far inferior to Murong Yanzhao, were He was also a senior general and important minister of the imperial court.
Murong Yanzhao had many heirs and many elite talents. Murong Deye was already a high official in the state government, and Murong Defeng was even more close to the prince. Compared to the Murong family, the Zhao family still relied on him to support him. Although his brother Zhao Guangyi was also well cared for by the emperor, overall, it was still too weak.
Therefore, no matter how you say it, being able to send your daughter to the East Palace will definitely be of great benefit to the Zhao family. In addition, the prince has always respected him very much. When the prince was supervising the country and governing the country, he often asked him for advice.
If Emperor Liu had not taken the initiative to propose it, Zhao Kuangyin would not have thought of it in order to avoid arousing suspicion. However, since Emperor Liu took the initiative to get married, he certainly would not refuse.
In addition, considering the reasons why the emperor decided on this marriage, in addition to the political marriage of a win-win nature, it may also be the problem of the East Palace. The crown princess has nothing to do, and everyone who is interested is paying attention, and Zhao Kuangyin is obviously also interested.
If my daughter is lucky enough to give birth to a grandson, then...
During the exchange with Emperor Liu, Zhao Kuangyin's thoughts were changing in a thousand ways, and the more he thought about it, the harder it was to hide the smile on his face. Compared to Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Liu's considerations were relatively simple.
The most important thing is to help the prince enrich his harem because he has no heirs. At the same time, there is a political marriage between the left and right, so Zhao Kuangyin is qualified to be his in-laws. Emperor Liu was not afraid that the Zhao family's reputation and status would continue to rise. The Han Dynasty already had enough relatives, and he was not afraid of another one rising.
"Your Majesty, Yanshan Road Army Report!" Accompanied by the sound of horse hooves, cabinet bachelor Zhang Yong reported outside.
Instead of being disappointed by being disturbed, he looked at Zhao Kuangyin, but became more interested and responded: "Send it up!"
The carriage that Emperor Liu was riding in was almost a mobile sleeping palace. Emperor Liu lived in his own bedroom, while Yan Tuo and three other servants were waiting in front.
Zhang Yong did not dare to enter. After boarding the carriage, he just stood at the door and handed over a report: "General Dong Zunzhao has led his army to plunder Liao and return to Beijing!"
"Oh? What's the harvest?" Emperor Liu asked while flipping through, with a little expectation in his tone.
"Destroyed the five cities of the Liao Dynasty, attacked the capital with soldiers, killed more than 4,000 people, and plundered 10,000 people and 40,000 cattle, horses, alpacas and livestock before returning!" Zhang Yong replied ably.
"Were you unable to defeat the capital city after all?" Emperor Liu didn't seem to notice the above-mentioned victory, and said with a hint of pity.
"When the army was approaching, the Liao army gathered in mass to defend. Our army lacked weapons to attack the enemy, and the weather was extremely cold. It would have been a mistake for the Lord of the Liao to lead his army back. He had to retreat in time!" Zhang Yong said.
Emperor Liu reviewed the military report, which came from Wang Yanchao. The above-mentioned account of how Dong Zunjiao's army led the north was very detailed. Speaking of which, after Emperor Liu decided to send troops to attack Beijing, Wang Yanchao acted very quickly.
The Han-Xi joint cavalry led by Dong Zunjie, with a total of more than 15,000 cavalry, claimed to be 20,000, set out from Dading City on October 10. Under the guidance of their guides, they braved the cold and rushed to Beijing.
By the 20th, they had already drank Mahuang water and went to the surrounding areas of Beijing. Because Yelvxian went south, he was already in a very empty state. There were very few troops left in various places. Even with the small number of soldiers who escaped from the Xi tribe, With less than ten thousand people, it is obviously impossible to take into account the defense of the entire Shangjing and its surrounding areas.
Originally, there was a guard of the Xi people in the south to ensure their safety and not be threatened by military disasters. However, no one expected that the Northern Rebellion led by Xi Ren, led by Tsai Ning, not only collapsed the defense line built by the Liao Ting, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of troops, but also completely exposed Shangjing to the front of the Han army.
Dong Zunjie, the Han army coming from the north, really took advantage of a big loophole. When the Han flag was raised on the bank of Huangshui River, the cities panicked and the capital was shaken.
In the Liao Kingdom, there were many prefectures and cities around Shangjing. After Dong Zunjie swept away the cities on the south bank of Huangshui River, he quickly crossed north, first defeated Raozhou, and then entered Shangjing.
However, compared to the surrounding small towns, Shangjing was the capital of the Liao Kingdom after all, and it still had certain defenses. The most important thing was that when the enemy suddenly appeared and the situation worsened, someone stood up.
Xiao Siwen!
Xiao Siwen, if you want to say that he has any amazing military talents, is not that great, but he still showed some responsibility at critical moments. Unlike when he was in Tongzhou, he chose to escape back to Beijing. This time, he took the initiative to take over the responsibility and joined forces with some noble ministers of the Liao Kingdom to send out people and help, gather troops and defend the city.
In times of crisis, some people would be unable to withstand the pressure and fall into collapse, but Xiao Siwen, the old chief, withstood the pressure and faced the difficulties. At that time, people in Shangjing were in turmoil and turbulent, but under his manipulation, they stabilized. Of course, it was the capital of Daliao after all, the center of the Khitan nation for more than half a century, so it still had a certain degree of cohesion.
Faced with this situation, Dong Zunzui did not force him to come. Instead, he dispatched troops to sweep away the tribes in the cities and towns around Shangjing that had not been evacuated, and he himself led the main force to press Shangjing.
However, although tens of thousands of people gathered in Shangjing City, and even an army of 20,000 to 30,000 people could be temporarily armed, Xiao Siwen did not dare to go out of the city to fight, and just insisted on holding on. He could see clearly that the Han army was coming from far away and lacked the ability to attack. As long as you can defend the city with peace of mind, you will be fine.
Although passive defense often makes it easy to lose control, the situation between the two armies is special and the Han army cannot stay for a long time. If it drags on, time will also be beneficial to the defenders.
Dong Zunjiao remained calm and calm for nearly ten days, but he was helpless when he saw that the capital city remained motionless and the defenders were as stable as Mount Tai, free from provocation and stimulation.
After entering November, the weather became colder and colder, but the situation still did not change at all. There was a stalemate. Dong Zunyi had already decided to retreat. He was not a reckless man.
After repeated provocations to no avail, they finally called back the troops. After reuniting, they decisively withdrew southward with the captured troops. But maybe he was angry, so before leaving, he asked the entire army to pee in the capital as a sign of humiliation.
They left quickly and returned simply, even using some false moves, but they didn't give the Liao army in Beijing a chance to pursue them. It was also Dong Zunzui who retreated quickly, and Yelvxian, who suffered a disastrous defeat in Shanyang, also returned after more than a month of shelter and rest. Although the troops were exhausted and defeated, if they retreated more slowly and cooperated with those who came to the capital, even if Dong Zunjiao's army could not be severely damaged, it would be difficult to bring back all the spoils captured.
By November 20th, Dong Zunzui led the army and returned to Dading City. Although this trip failed to break through Shangjing and achieved the most glorious results, it was definitely a serious blow to the Liao Kingdom.
After Dong Zunjie's plundering and killing, Shangjing, the core area ruled by the Liao Kingdom, was in a mess and its vitality was severely damaged. It can be said that since the Northern Expedition, no part of the huge Liao Kingdom has been affected by war, and the foundation of the Liao Kingdom's rule has once again been shaken.
