Chapter 140: Child Emperor

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

"Ceding the Yanyun area as a reward... this is really something that cannot help but be tempted." Liu Bang commented that even if it was not clearly stated how much would be ceded in the end, the name of Yanyun alone was worth it.

Xiao He also believed that the Yanyun area was extremely important to the Khitan: "Just like the Huns, it is not enough to just gather the tribes. What they need is a more complete cultural system, farming, and iron smelting technology." As the founding emperor, Yelu Abaoji transformed the Khitan from a tribe to a country, which was already a big step beyond the others.

But simply transforming into a country is not enough. As mentioned before in the relevant articles about the late Tang Dynasty, although the Tang Dynasty was divided into pieces, its chances of winning foreign wars did not decrease - at this time, the Khitan's own strength might not necessarily pose a major threat to the Central Plains dynasty.

So what made Khitan become the Liao Dynasty that could make the Song Dynasty's Northern Expedition ineffective? Yanyun was a key.

Thinking of this, Xiao He couldn't help but feel curious about how the Khitans dealt with the Yanyun region: "Although Yanyun is located in the border area, it is a Han territory after all. If the Khitans want to achieve their future status, they must have found a suitable way of governance - what exactly is their system?"

Several people present wanted to see what Liu Bang thought.

But it turned out that Liu Bang did not respond at all.

Turning around, he saw Liu Bang staring at the sky with his eyes wide open. Before anyone could ask, he blurted out, "Compared to this, the name of father and son——? The name of father and son???"

Liu Bang simply couldn't believe what he heard, and was even more unwilling to believe the conclusion he had inferred from this sentence - is this unimportant? Although this does not seem to be more important than the Yanyun area, it can't be considered secondary, right?
Are you crazy, Shi Jingtang? What's wrong with your brain? Using the Yanyun area to exchange for the Khitan troops is already generous and sincere enough, why is there a father-son relationship?

Liu Bang did not think that the name of the father and son could be Shi Jingtang's father and Yelu Deguang's son. It could only be that Shi Jingtang regarded Yelu Deguang as his father, which means that Shi Jingtang regarded Khitan as his father country - can't you just have a brotherly relationship? How did it rise to the level of father and son?

The Han people, at most, are just brothers with the Xiongnu. Who would think of finding a "father" for themselves? Names and tools cannot be lent to others. The names of father and son are also names.

Lu Zhi, Xiao He and others were speechless. On the one hand, they felt that there was really nothing to say about this matter; on the other hand, theoretically speaking, they did not understand why Shi Jingtang had to set up a father-son relationship.

Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan period.

Li Shimin and others were also confused about Shi Jingtang's behavior.

Li Shimin murmured: "If Shi Jingtang is a Han Chinese, then I really can't understand why he would think of paying such a high status and subsequent position? If Shi Jingtang is a foreigner...then do foreigners care so little about the status of father and son?"

You know, father and son and brothers are two completely different things. The father can command the son, and the son has various obligations to the father.

The agreement between emperors as father and son or brothers is not just a verbal title. The agreed relationship is accompanied by various conditions and clauses, which are basically borne by the weaker party.

That’s right, between emperors. If the Later Tang Dynasty fell this time, wouldn’t Shi Jingtang become emperor?

[Li Congke also received the news that Shi Jingtang and Khitan had formed an alliance, so he urged Zhang Jingda, who was besieging Taiyuan at the time, to speed up and resolve the Taiyuan issue before Yelu Deguang's attack.

But Shi Jingtang was a brave general after all and had fought in many battles. Taiyuan was his territory that he had managed for many years and it was also a key fortress. Therefore, until Yelu Deguang led his army south, Zhang Jingda still could not break through the defense of Taiyuan City.

In September, Yelu Deguang personally led 50,000 troops to the south to assist Shi Jingtang. The march was very fast. On the 21st, they arrived at Yanmen Pass; on the 22nd, they were stationed in Xinzhou; on the 23rd, they were stationed in Taiyuan. On the 24th, after resting, Yelu Deguang sent someone to tell Shi Jingtang: "I have come from afar to defeat the bandits with you immediately!"

Shi Jingtang did not intend to be so hasty. Perhaps he felt that Taiyuan could still be held, or perhaps he wanted to show that he had no intention of urging them. After receiving the news, he sent someone to convey a message to Yelu Deguang, saying that there was no hurry, that the enemy was still quite strong, and that it would not be too late to fight tomorrow after everyone discussed it.

But before his letter could reach Yelu Deguang, the Khitan army had already started fighting with Zhang Jingda's army.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che was not optimistic about the outcome of this battle with Zhang Jingda.

Judging from the current content, it is hard to say anything else, but Yelu Deguang's military level is still there; and Zhang Jingda's Later Tang army has besieged Taiyuan City for many days, even if they can achieve rotation rest, they are already a group of exhausted troops.

It is unknown what the intelligence level of Zhang Jingda and other Later Tang troops was. If they only knew that Yelu Deguang's Khitan army was about to attack but could not be sure of the time, they would very likely be caught off guard - and there are many examples of an army arriving on the battlefield at a rapid march, taking advantage of the enemy's disorganized formation to launch a quick battle, and then winning.

The thing right before Liu Che's eyes was a living example.

Wei Qing said: "Now is the time to be cautious, advance step by step, and not advance rashly - without complete intelligence and the enemy attacking suddenly." Of course, an excellent general can observe while fighting and adjust the battle plan to win.

Huo Qubing smiled confidently and said: "Of course, if they have a general like me, we can also assign an army to such a general." Then he could let this person do his job on his own.

Song Dynasty, the first year of Kaibao.

Zhao Kuangyin was not satisfied with Zhang Jingda's actions: "He underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, which led to his being ambushed and killed by Emperor Taizong of Liao, and his troops were scattered. After gathering his troops, he still had a certain combat capability, but he stubbornly defended the camp and failed to make a proper decision. Shi Jingtang was able to successfully destroy the Later Tang Dynasty, and he had his reasons."

First, he failed to control the nearby strategic locations, and then he advanced rashly and fell into an ambush, which led to a great defeat. Then, when there were other possible situations, he was unable to make a decision and just held on - would the same thing have happened if he had made other decisions at the time?
However, there are two old acquaintances joining the battle here.

[Yelü Deguang did not go straight up to fight with the Later Tang army, but set up an ambush first, intending to lure the enemy into it.

He ambushed the main force of the Khitan in a winding place of the Fen River where the Later Tang army could not see him. He appeared in front of the Later Tang army with 3,000 cavalrymen and fought with the enemy, then slowly retreated while fighting.

Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing were now leading the Tang army. When they saw the Khitan army retreating, they chose to pursue and were gradually lured into an ambush. On the other side, Zhang Jingda and Yang Guangyuan were still in formation in the west. When the two sides fought, they were not in full formation and unable to provide assistance. Instead, they were attacked by the rest of the Khitan troops. Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing, who could not wait for support, were ambushed and their army was cut off. They could not take care of each other and finally had to abandon the soldiers trapped in the ambush and retreat first.

After this battle, the Later Tang lost more than 10,000 people, and countless weapons and armor were discarded.

However, Zhang Jingda and others who retreated did not directly withdraw from Taiyuan, but returned to their stationed place, namely Jin'anzhai (Jinci Town, Taiyuan City).

Afterwards, Yelu Deguang and Shi Jingtang joined forces to surround Jin'an Village, cutting off Jin'an Village from the outside world, and the reinforcements from the Later Tang Dynasty had no way to communicate with it.

Liao Dynasty, the first year of Huihe.

Yelu Deguang felt very happy when he thought about his final agreement to Shi Jingtang to send troops to attack the Later Tang Dynasty.

This decision can be said to be one of the most correct decisions since he ascended the throne! If he hadn't seized such a good opportunity, he could have taken part of the Yanyun area during the chaos of the Later Tang Dynasty, but how could he have obtained it so comprehensively and without much effort? !

The battle to lift the siege of Shi Jingtang in Taiyuan and fight against the Later Tang was neither difficult nor complicated.

——To be honest, he did not expect that Shi Jingtang would pay so much just in exchange for the Liao Dynasty sending troops.

However, the question now is how to govern the Yanyun area so that it can maximize its value?

Yelu Deguang looked at his trusted ministers and asked: "What do you think of the method proposed by Duke Lu and others, that is, to govern according to the original Han system, and to separate the Khitans and Han people by not changing their way of life like Taizu did?"

Oh, and there is Tulujung. His father, Yilijin Dilugu of the Fifth Court, died in this battle, so I made him inherit the position of Yilijin. He has been brave and loyal ever since... It's time to promote him to the King of the Northern Court...

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng did not comment on the words "there is no way to communicate with them" in the sky: "Is there really no way or possibility to contact them?" He sneered, "I think the people of the Later Tang Dynasty may have already dispersed, and many generals probably have their own ideas and plans."

Although Tianmu did not talk about the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in detail, judging from the name alone, one can imagine how frequent the changes of countries were during such a period.

Besides the wars between countries, the frequent changes of countries were probably also caused by the unrest within each country. Li Congke's rise to power was not a conventional orthodox one. In addition to being an adopted son, he was also a general. Can't this be considered a role model?
If it was just him, it would be fine, but Shi Jingtang, who was also a Jiedushi guarding one side, also rebelled! With such an example in front of them, wouldn't these generals who have been holding power since the turn of the Tang Dynasty have some ideas?
In particular, Li Congke was obviously unable to suppress them; and the Later Tang Dynasty did not have as much legitimacy as the Tang Dynasty.

The court officials all agreed with the emperor's opinion. Apart from anything else, were there not many cases in the Warring States Period where people agreed to provide assistance but ended up having their own ulterior motives?

[After defeating the Later Tang army, Yelu Deguang formally met with Shi Jingtang to "discuss the relationship between father and son."

Shi Jingtang also asked Yelu Deguang by the way, why you came from afar and your soldiers were exhausted, but you were able to defeat the enemy?

Yelu Deguang said: "At first I thought that the Tang would cut off all the roads to Yanmen Pass and ambush troops at strategic locations, making it impossible to advance. They sent people to spy but found nothing, so they advanced deep into our territory. Our morale was high, so we took advantage of this opportunity to attack them, and thus we won."

I originally thought that the Later Tang army would control all the roads to Yanmen Pass, preventing us from advancing, but that didn't happen. Although the Khitans are far away, their morale is high, so we can naturally take advantage of this opportunity to defeat the Later Tang.

Afterwards, the two sides surrounded Zhang Jingda's troops, and the siege lasted for more than 80 days.

In November, Yelu Deguang felt that the time was almost up, the Later Tang was about to fall apart, and Shi Jingtang would win the final victory, so he said to Shi Jingtang: "I have traveled 3,000 miles to fulfill my mission, and I believe that your physique is magnificent and your knowledge is profound. You are a true leader. The mandate of heaven has been given to you, and the time cannot be lost. I want to follow the opinions of the Han and Tibetan people and enthrone you as the emperor."

Shi Jingtang was naturally willing. On the ninth day of October, Yelu Deguang had already canonized Shi Jingtang as the King of Jin. Now was the time to take a further step.

On November 12, Yelu Deguang officially conferred the title of emperor on Shi Jingtang and named the country Jin.

Afterwards, Shi Jingtang confirmed the terms of exchange with Yelu Deguang again: to offer the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to the Khitan and to deliver 300,000 pieces of silk every year.

(Shi Jingtang, you really deserve to die! You really deserve to die!)
(And what evildoers are your descendants, Zhao Guangyi?)
(Only the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were not recovered by the Song Dynasty for a hundred years!)

(Yes, the Song Dynasty was also a period of three kingdoms that lasted for hundreds of years!)

(Speaking of the Song Dynasty, you say the Song Dynasty is weak, but it partially unified the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. You say the Song Dynasty is strong, but it paid tribute to the Liao Dynasty. You say the Song Dynasty is weak, but it could have joined forces with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty. You say the Song Dynasty is strong, but it paid tribute to the Western Xia Dynasty. You say the Song Dynasty is weak, but it could have joined forces with the Mongols to destroy the Jin Dynasty. You say the Song Dynasty is strong, but it never incorporated the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun into its territory. You say the Song Dynasty is weak, but it still existed when the Liao, Jin and Xia dynasties were gone. You say the Song Dynasty is strong, but it still lost to the Mongols. You say the Song Dynasty is weak, but its king and his ministers led an army of 100,000 to sink into the sea without surrendering.)
Song Dynasty, Kaibao period.

Zhao Kuangyin didn't want to see this period of history at all. This period of history made him furious whenever he thought about it.

Not only did they cede Yanyun, they also had to pay 300,000 rolls of silk to the Khitan every year! If this wasn't tribute from a vassal, what else could it be? Moreover, it was said to be 300,000 rolls per year, but this was only an agreement on paper. What about the actual implementation? Wouldn't the Khitan ask for more every year?

These things eventually fell upon the people in the areas ruled by the Later Jin Dynasty!

Zhao Defang thought for a while: "Isn't this the annual tribute that the Song Dynasty paid to the Liao Dynasty in the sky?" What is the difference between Shi Jingtang's annual delivery of cloth and the annual tribute?
It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned it. Once he did, Zhao Kuangyin got even angrier - "Who the hell is Shi Jingtang? It's fine if he pays tribute, but how can our Song Dynasty go to the point of paying tribute to the Liao Kingdom?! What kind of bastards did Zhao Guangyi give birth to!"

However, perhaps because he had undergone a lot of training since the fall of the sky, Zhao Kuangyin, although still angry when he saw these things, would not get too excited and faint.

(End of this chapter)