Chapter 7 2. A Baoji's thoughts

Why did Yelu Abaoji conquer Bohai?What is his next strategic vision?A diplomatic meeting fully revealed the great ambitions of the Khitan emperor, who wanted to annex Hebei. After conquering the Bohai Kingdom, Khitan has a vast territory and rich products.There are both animal husbandry, agriculture, and handicrafts.There are both rich mineral deposits and well-developed trade.There are not only powerful nomadic cavalry, but also infantry for field battles.There is not only the political culture imported from the Central Plains, but also Khitan's own writing.There are not only the eight Khitan tribes as the core imperial ethnic group, but also more than a dozen minority ethnic groups integrated.The Khitan Empire not only possessed these various forms of civilization, but also demonstrated the ability to integrate these civilizations. This is a symbol of the vitality of an empire or civilization, a sign of an upward trend, and the ability of a civilization with a competitive advantage.However, the Khitan Kingdom possessed the basic conditions and atmosphere for a large complex empire.Therefore, Khitan's disdain for the north in the next hundred years has laid the foundation, or it has become inevitable.This is all due to the Khitan Emperor Yelu Abaoji, which is the result of his painstaking efforts in more than 30 years of fighting in the north and south.Yelu Abaoji has become a god in the hearts of the Khitan people, the god of war, the god of wealth, the god of protection and the god of spirit.The status of Yelu Abaoji has reached the acme of incomparable loftiness, and he is worshiped and respected infinitely by all tribes.

Yelu Abaoji pacified and unified the north and strengthened the Khitan Empire. He was ambitious and full of ambition, and he wanted to go south to the Central Plains. Yelu Abaoji has every reason to think so, because he can. Yelu Abaoji has full confidence in thinking this way, because he can. It is absolutely necessary for Yelu Abaoji to think this way, because he can. This year, Yelu Abaoji was fifty-four years old, rich in experience, profound in experience, high in prestige, solid in position, and huge in power, which can be called the heyday.He can still do a few big games, and do it for many years.

After the Fuyu City and Huhan City were defeated, many places in Bohai still refused to accept the Khitan's occupation, and rebellions or armed confrontations occurred frequently.It took Yelu Abaoji more than three months to calm down and extinguish the opposition forces in various places. In June 926 AD, the Khitan emperor Yelu Abaoji arrived in Shenzhou (it is said to be west of Fuyu, Jilin), and was going to return to Linhuang Mansion, the capital of the Khitan emperor. Just when Yelu Abaoji was about to return to his teacher, an envoy from the later Tang Dynasty came in a hurry.A Baoji's talks with the post-Tang envoy fully expressed his views on the Central Plains and his next strategic plan.

In April 926 AD, Li Siyuan suffered heavy political persecution and had no choice but to rise up against the later Tang court.Li Cunxu, the emperor of the later Tang Dynasty, rebelled against his relatives and was killed by the rebels when he was at the end of his life.Li Siyuan filled the emperor's vacancy left by Li Cunxu amidst the sound of support.After Li Siyuan ascended the throne, in accordance with common diplomatic etiquette, the Later Tang court sent an envoy, Yao Kun, to Khitan to report the funeral of the Khitan emperor, and to inform the Khitan of Li Cunxu's death and that Li Siyuan had ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty.

Yao Kun was charged with a heavy responsibility, and traveled thousands of miles to Linhuang Mansion, the capital of the Khitan Kingdom.After arriving at Linhuang Mansion, Yao Kun knew that the Khitan Emperor, Empress and Crown Prince were all in Bohai Kingdom and were busy fighting.Yao Kun didn't dare to delay, so Xiaoxing stayed overnight, crossed mountains and ridges, and rushed to Huhan City.Yao Kun inquired about the war between Khitan and Bohai and the whereabouts of the Khitan emperor while he was on the road.On the way, Yao Kun heard the news that Khitan had destroyed the Bohai Kingdom, and Yelu Abaoji was in Shenzhou at this time, preparing to return to Beijing.Yao Kun was taken aback when he heard the news, he was shocked by Khitan's huge victory in destroying the Bohai Kingdom.Although Yao Kun's rank is not high, but his knowledge is not low, he understands that Yelu Abaoji's ambition is not small!The Khitan's national strength is beyond comparison, and it will definitely be a strong enemy in the Central Plains in the future.

At that time, there were no planes, trains, or soft sleeper boxes. Yao Kun traveled tens of thousands of miles this time, relying entirely on horseback and wooden carts.Without TV, broadcasting and Internet, news and information are not well-informed, and the information Yao Kun inquires will inevitably be lagged or distorted, which has caused great trouble for the itinerary of his mission.After walking for a full month, Yao Kun arrived in Shenzhou in June and found the Khitan Emperor. Yao Kun didn't have time to eat, drink, wash his face, or change his clothes, so he hurriedly handed the letter of credence to the Khitan emperor.When Yelu Abaoji heard that Houtang had sent envoys, and traveled thousands of miles to Shenzhou, he immediately announced to summon Yao Kun.

The reception ceremony was held in a tall and spacious felt tent.Yao Kun took two attendants and entered the yurt led by the Khitan guards.The tent was brightly lit, and there were four candles as thick as arms, with flames like torches.The floor is covered with a whole piece of printed and dyed woven carpet.Leopard, wolf and tiger skins are hung on the walls of the tent.Facing the door, deep in the felt tent, there are two hut beds, on which two people sit.The person on the left is estimated to be nine feet tall, wearing a yellow brocade robe with tufted flowers, a large jasper belt inlaid across the waist, tied at the back and hanging down half a foot from both ends of the large belt.This person has a serious complexion, a brow with prominent bones, three strokes of his beard, and piercing eyes, staring at Yao Kun up and down.Yao Kun thought to himself, this person must be the Khitan Emperor Yelu Abaoji.Look at another bed, sitting on a woman.This person was wearing a red jacket with fair skin, his hair was braided into a big black braid over his ears, his eyes were calm and thoughtful, his hands were folded on his knees, and his slender fingers were covered with Gem rings and rings.This woman is Queen Shuluping.

The Khitan custom is different from that of the Han Dynasty. The queen does not avoid the outer court, and can show her face in general like a man. There are a few low tables on both sides of the tent hall, and behind the tables are many people sitting on the ground. These people have different faces, different hair and eye colors, different hair accessories and head shapes, and different clothes. They are probably from the Khitan Kingdom. Civil and military minister or tribal king. While Yao Kun was observing the situation in the yurt, the Khitan Emperor was also looking at Yao Kun.Yao Kun was dressed in a Han-style official uniform, which was already muddy and haggard, but his expression was still full of energy.

Before Yao Kun could speak, Yelu Abaoji first asked: "I heard that you have an emperor in the south of the Yellow River and north of the Yellow River in the Central Plains, is that true?" Yao Kun listened to A Baoji's straight-forward questioning, showing his sharpness and hiding his secrets.This clearly refers to the coup d'état in the Later Tang Dynasty, but A Baoji deliberately said that the later Tang Dynasty split into two countries, one in Henan and one in Hebei.Yao Kun thought to himself, this mission was originally a routine, but he didn't expect so many things to happen in two or three months, not only the Central Plains had many changes, today's Khitan is not the same as yesterday's Khitan.Although Yao Kun made a lot of psychological preparations along the way and planned more than N countermeasures, seeing the aggressive posture of the Khitan Emperor today, he still couldn't help but take a deep breath.Yao Kun knew that today must be a fierce diplomatic battle of swords and swords.

Yao Kun did not rush, bowed to A Baoji, and replied: "The emperor of Henan is my Emperor Zhuangzong, who was killed in the Luoyang mutiny in April this year. Therefore, one of my tasks on this trip is to inform This is bad news for you. The so-called emperor of Hebei did not become emperor in Hebei, but Li Linggong from Hebei. At the time of the former enemy, Luoyang mutinied, and the former enemy's army was in turmoil. Li Linggong was forced to give up the important task of recruiting and return to the capital. After the death of the first emperor Zhuangzong, the country had no owner. With the wholehearted support of the government and the opposition, Li Linggong became the emperor and became the current emperor. There is no question of one emperor in Henan and one emperor in Hebei."

What Yao Kun said was not the original and complete picture of the matter, but he mainly wanted to maintain the unity of the post-Tang regime and the land. The key point was to describe Li Siyuan and Li Cunxu as the same line of relationship, and both were the legal emperors of the post-Tang court. Not in parallel. Hearing Yao Kun's news that Li Cunxu had been murdered and died, Yelu Abaoji suddenly burst into tears, unable to control himself.In fact, Yelu Abaoji had received information about Li Cunxu's death a month ago.At that time, he wanted to take advantage of the fire to loot and send troops to Hebei when the Central Plains was in chaos.But the battle of Bohai was so tight that A Baoji had to give up that excellent opportunity to send troops to the Central Plains.Now that the envoys of the Later Tang Dynasty officially reported the funeral, A Baoji deliberately staged an emotional scene. Abaoji choked up and said: "I think back then, I made friends with Li Ke, the king of Hedong Jin Dynasty, and became brothers with different surnames. Emperor Zhuangzong is my friend's son, which is equivalent to my nephew. More than a month ago, I heard It is said that the chaos in the Central Plains endangered my nephew's life. At that time, I was so anxious that I had ordered 50,000 cavalry to rescue Luoyang, but the war in the Bohai Sea was tight and the surrounding areas were not peaceful, so I had to reluctantly give up the rescue operation. I did not expect my eldest nephew to suffer such bad luck , killed in a terrible disaster. What a great resentment!" Yao Kun thought to himself, your eldest nephew?What big nephew?Ever since you broke the covenant with Li Keyong, your two families have become feuds.At this time, cats cry hypocritically and mice pretend to be merciful. After Yelu Abaoji cried bitterly, he changed the subject and started to attack.He condemned: "Li Siyuan, the emperor of the later Tang Dynasty, heard the news of the Luoyang mutiny, and did not rescue Emperor Zhuangzong urgently, which delayed the opportunity of the war, which led to such evil results!" Yao Kun's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately understood that Yelu Abaoji's so-called "Henan emperor, Hebei emperor" argument at the beginning was for foreshadowing, and he did not intend to recognize the legitimacy of Li Siyuan, the emperor. Thinking of this, Yao Kun replied very cautiously: "The current emperor is not in a hurry, but Hebei is far away from Luoyang, and the road is blocked by rebellious troops from various places. It is really too late to save him." Yelu Abaoji paused for a moment, did not give up, continued to attack, and blamed: "Since my eldest nephew died in a disaster, you should discuss the issue of heirs with my uncle, how can you make decisions without authorization?" Everyone in the yurt could tell that Abaoji's words were sharp and murderous, aggressive and unstoppable.The two attendants of the Later Tang Mission looked at Yao Kun nervously, with cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.Yao Kun, who is thin and thin, not only did not back down, but straightened his back, held his head high, and said neither humble nor overbearing: "I am now a holy sage, who has gone through hundreds of battles and commanded the world's soldiers and horses for more than 20 years. Chief, the army under your command is strong and strong, with a strength of more than 300,000. Li Linggong has great prestige, and hundreds of thousands of people under his command are united and unanimous, and wholeheartedly support Li Linggong as the emperor. If Li Linggong violated everyone's wishes at that time, it would immediately cause a catastrophe , and even life-threatening. It's not that I don't know how to report to the Emperor and listen to the opinion of the Emperor. But people are against each other, so I can't do otherwise." Yao Kun's words can be described as soft but strong, with needles hidden in the cotton.He demonstrated Li Siyuan's status, strength and military strength in the later Tang Dynasty, and at the same time pointed out that Li Siyuan had a strong mass base.The implication is that the court of the later Tang Dynasty should have the final say on who should be the emperor, and they are fully capable of making decisions on their own. A Baoji's censure was rejected by Yao Kun, and A Baoji couldn't find the right words for a while, and he couldn't hold back his face.At this time, Khitan Prince Yelubei took Yao Kun's words and continued to attack. Yelubei waved his hand and said, "There is no need for Tang Guoshi to say more. This is something you don't understand! There is an allusion in the "Zuo Zhuan" of "Pu Niu Qi Tian". Someone was leading a ox, and the ox accidentally trampled on someone else's crops. Although the Cowman was at fault, he wanted to forcibly plunder other people's cattle. Isn't that too much? In the same way, although Zhuang Zong had some shortcomings, your master Li Siyuan wanted to usurp the throne. This is not a robbery ?" Yelubei liked Confucianism since he was a child, and read many Han classics, so he quoted an allusion from "Zuo Zhuan" to refute Yao Kun. The corner of Yao Kun's mouth twitched lightly, and he sneered secretly in his heart: "The kid has studied for a few years, so you don't know how high the heavens are?" Is it the same as ordinary people in the wilderness? When the Emperor of Heaven was in charge of the Khitan state, he must have followed the popular will, so is it also a plunder?" At this point, both Yelu Abaoji and Yelubei father and son failed to beat Yao Kun, but were pushed back by Yao Kun one by one. A Baoji tactfully stopped the topic, and stopped entanglement.He said: "Being an emperor conforms to the will of the people. It should be so. It should be so. After your introduction, I understand the reason why my eldest nephew is in such a difficult situation. I have long heard that there are more than 2,000 women in Li Cunxu's harem." , there are more than a thousand actors, playing hawks and dogs all day long, hunting games, drinking and greedy for sex, not caring for the people's people and material resources, staying away from virtuous officials, and getting close to villains, causing anger and resentment, and people betraying relatives. He worries, fears that it will lead to death." Abaoji clenched his fist and hammered it on his knee as a sign of regret, and continued: "More than a month ago, I got the news that my eldest nephew was sad, and I have already taken it as a warning. All the eagles and dogs were released and cleaned up, and all kinds of actors were cut. Although I have nearly a thousand actors from various tribes in Khitan, it is not a major official banquet occasion, and it is not allowed to perform lightly. If I am as greedy for enjoyment and wanton as Li Cunxu, I will definitely not rule Long time! Hope to learn his lesson." Yelu Abaoji put back his sighing expression, took a sip of milk tea, and said: "Although Li Cunxu and I love each other like father and son, after all, we were enemies at one time, and the two sides have been hostile to each other for many years. You and I have never had any holidays. It should be possible to establish a friendly relationship. You go back and report to your emperor first, saying that I will lead an army of iron cavalry to Youzhou and the south of Zhenzhou in a few days, and make an alliance with your emperor face to face, and give me the land in Youzhou to Khitan. From now on, we will be friendly between the North and the South and will not invade each other." What A Baoji said was too domineering, too direct, too explicit, too brazen, and too confident. These remarks completely exposed Abaoji's ambition to invade the Central Plains and his next strategic deployment.In exchange for recognizing Li Siyuan's legal status as emperor, he asked the later Tang court to cede Youzhou to Khitan.The area around Zhen and Ding was already under the occupation of Wang Chuzhi's son, Wang Yu, who was an ally of the Khitan.In this way, most of the land in Hebei will be separated from the rule of the later Tang court.This is neither a negotiation nor a discussion, but a notification.Ask Yao Kun to bring a message to Li Siyuan, that's the deal, if you can do it, you have to do it, if you don't, you have to do it.If not, the Khitan army will invade the Central Plains by force and start a full-scale war with the later Tang court.This is blatant intimidation and threats. Yao Kun knew in his heart that Yelu Abaoji would definitely go south to the Central Plains after he conquered the Bohai Kingdom.There will be fierce battles between the Central Plains and Khitan. Yao Kun replied neither soft nor hard: "I, as a subject, should not ask and answer questions about the division of the country." A Baoji did not allow Yao Kun to continue talking, but then asked another topic. A Baoji asked: "I heard that you captured Sichuan in Chaozhan? Is that so?" Yao Kun held back his anger, and just now wanted to refute A Baoji's aggressive intentions, but he missed the opportunity. Using this topic, Yao Kun replied with a pun: "I sent troops to the court in September last year, and took over the things on November 16th." In Liangchuan, there are 200,000 soldiers and horses, and countless gold and silver treasures. The current emperor has just ascended the throne, and he has not had time to count the number. After sorting out all the urgent matters, he will definitely send someone to send some of the seized treasures to share with the emperor. .” A Baoji confirmed the news of Later Tang's acquisition of Sichuan from Yao Kun's mouth, and felt very shocked.He knows the dangers of Sichuan, easy to defend but difficult to attack.The court of the later Tang Dynasty occupied Sichuan in just two months. This huge victory is no less than his occupation of Bohai State.It can be seen that the strength of the Later Tang Dynasty is strong.A Baoji asked with three points of jealousy, four points of envy and three points of awe: "I heard that the road between Sichuan and the Central Plains is long and dangerous, and there are natural dangers in the Jiange. How did you go to the army?" Yao Kun twisted his neck. In fact, he didn't know anything about marching and fighting, let alone Guo Chongtao's specific strategy for conquering Sichuan. When Zhuliang was destroyed, there were already 400,000 elite soldiers and 100,000 war horses. As long as Shu Dao still calls it a road, our soldiers and horses will naturally be able to pass through it, and walking on Jiange is no different from walking on flat ground.” Yelu Abaoji was familiar with Chinese, and he could tell that Yao Kun was bluffing. He said to Yao Kun, "I know Chinese well, so you don't have to say it so mysteriously. It's just to scare my deployment and make them retreat. That's all." Yelu Abaoji is indeed a hero, and he has seen through Yao Kun's mind.A Baoji intends to use a tough attitude to force Yao Kun to submit and sign a treaty of land cession in Shenzhou.But Yao Kun refused to obey.Fortunately, Khitan Hanchen Han Yanhui mediated, and Yao Kun was able to return to Luoyang. Yao Kun didn't dare to delay in Shenzhou, so he only rested for three days, and then hurriedly set out on the road again.He wanted to rush back to Luoyang as soon as possible to report important military information to Li Siyuan, so that the later Tang court would be ready to resist the attack of the more powerful Khitan. Extreme joy begets sorrow.When A Baoji was about to show off his grand plan and sent his troops to the south, a serious accident happened.