Chapter 330 Zhao Ji’s Regret!

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After Yelu Yanxi was captured, Jiang Hongfei took him to Yanjing City.

Yelu Yanxi presented the letter of surrender in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which read:

Yelu Yanxi, a minister of the Liao Dynasty, bowed his ax and axe, bowed down to the Yuan Dynasty, and bowed down to await his punishment. I heard that people are not afraid of their bravery, but if they are afraid of it, they will be violent. Fu Nianchen's ancestors established a foundation of two hundred years, inherited the throne from heaven, passed down the steps to their descendants, worshiped God in the suburbs, and celebrated internally and externally...

After Jiang Hongfei read the letter of surrender, he issued an edict to confer Yelu Yanxi the title of Marquis of Xiangyin, build a Liao city in Yanjing City, and imprison Yelu Yanxi and all the royal family and clan members of the Liao Kingdom in it.

After finishing this matter, Jiang Hongfei sent Chai Jin and Xiao Rong as envoys to the Zhao and Song dynasties with the "Book of the Great Yuan Bao and the Great Song Dynasty Winning the Khitan Hun Master".

Zhao Ji paid great attention to the envoys sent by the Yuan Empire, and immediately transferred Zhao Liangsi to the capital as the accompanying envoy. He went to the edge of the Yellow River to meet Chai Jin and Xiao Rong and accompanied them to Bianliang City in Tokyo.

In fact, Zhao Ji and his ministers already knew about Jiang Hongfei's capture of Yelu Yanxi.

No.

It should be said that since Jiang Hongfei went north, Zhao Ji and his ministers have been paying close attention to Jiang Hongfei's movements.

Well... let's put it this way, when they learned that Jiang Hongfei had just negotiated peace with the Song Dynasty, he led his troops north to attack Yanjing, Zhao Ji and his ministers almost died of joy.

In the words of some ministers of the Zhao and Song dynasties: "God bless me, the Song Dynasty!"

It can be said that all the ministers of the Zhao and Song Dynasty were very excited when they saw that Jiang Hongfei and Beiliao were fighting each other. They, the Zhao and Song Dynasty, would definitely benefit from it.

Zhao Ji and his ministers planned that once Jiang Hongfei was defeated by Bei Liao, Gao Qiu would immediately send his troops north to recover Hebei and Shandong. If there was a chance, even the sixteen states of Yanyun would be recovered; even if Jiang Hongfei defeated Bei Liao, they could still take advantage of the water. The opportunity of Liangshan being severely hit by Beiliao gave Gao Qiu the opportunity to send his troops northward to eliminate Jiang Hongfei, a serious problem.

In the eyes of Zhao Ji and his ministers at that time, they were destined to be fishermen, and the Zhao and Song dynasties were saved.

Unexpectedly, it had only been more than a month since Jiang Hongfei went north, and Zhao Ji and his ministers were all dumbfounded!

Jiang Hongfei actually recovered Yizhou and Zhuozhou with thunderous momentum, and then took over the city of Yanjing. He also captured Xiao Puxian, the Queen Mother of Northern Liao, and defeated the main force of Northern Liao in one fell swoop, regaining Yanjing.

All this happened so fast that Zhao Ji and his ministers didn't even have a chance to react, let alone intervene.

By the time Zhao Ji and his ministers received accurate news, Jiang Hongfei had completely recovered the land of Yan. The more than 200,000 troops who had just defeated Bei Liao were idle and could march south at any time.

Under such circumstances, how could Zhao Ji and his ministers dare to act rashly?

What if Jiang Hongfei, with the power of victory, led an army of more than 200,000 people to go south to attack the Song Dynasty, wouldn't the Zhao and Song Dynasty be over?

Zhao Ji is so regretful!

Zhao Ji did not regret letting Jiang Hongfei go north to regain the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, nor did he regret not sending troops decisively to join forces with Bei Liao to defeat Jiang Hongfei. What he really regretted was that he did not send troops to regain the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun before the domestic problems of the Zhao and Song Dynasty broke out.

You know, six years ago, when Dong Pang'er surrendered to the Zhao and Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji wanted to send troops north to recover the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun.

At that time, Zhao Ji even ordered Tong Guan to mobilize some elites from the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army to form the front army. At the same time, he ordered all parties in Hebei to prepare for wartime logistics support. He also planned to secretly send the main force of the Western Army to the Hebei border to assemble in the name of defense change. .

Soon, the Northern Expeditionary Army quietly set out from Tokyo. Tong Guan planned to lead the Northern Expeditionary Army to dispatch in early March.

Unexpectedly, after hearing the news, Deng Xunwu hurriedly entered the palace and asked for an interview. Before he was allowed, he rushed directly into the Chongzheng Hall and wrote a memorial that strongly opposed the Yan expedition - "Northern Expedition Questions" directly to Hand it over to Zhao Ji and ask Zhao Ji to order Cai Jing to come and discuss it in person.

Deng Xunwu's memorial was very long, stating a total of 27 matters related to the interests and disadvantages of the Northern Expedition, each with detailed annotations. At the end, he even wrote emotionally:

"Your Majesty, please take a look at the court today. Can any of the counselors compare to Zhao Pu? Can any of the generals be as good as Cao Bin and Pan Mei? Can any of the elite soldiers be as good as those at the beginning of the founding of the country? At that time, with Taizong's martial arts, Zhao Pu's strategy, and the generals Cao Bin and Pan Mei, they were victorious in every battle, but only several attacks against Yan Yun ended in failure. How can it be done today? We have vowed to send troops lightly. If we abandon this oath for a hundred years, we are afraid that if the war breaks out, the insects and vegetation in China will not be able to rest!"

After reading the memorial, Zhao Ji was sweating profusely. He thought to himself: "Is it too hasty to send troops to the Northern Expedition?"

Zhao Ji was suspicious and could not help but waver in his thoughts: "The Khitan is different from Tubo and Xixia. The Khitan is a grassland empire, and its cavalry are not easy to mess with. Once they go south in a big way, they will trample the mountains and rivers."

At that time, the national power of the Zhao and Song dynasties had not declined so sharply, and the four major bandits, Jiang Hongfei, Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La, had not yet succeeded. Therefore, Cai Jing was in favor of sending troops to recover the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, and even vigorously promoted this matter .

Zhao Ji summoned Cai Jing and handed Deng Xunwu's memorial to Cai Jing, saying, "Breaking the ancestral oath may lead to bad luck, so we should stop the Northern Expedition."

Later, Zhao Ji wrote a note to Tong Guan, who was about to lead his troops out: "Suspend all military operations in the Northern Expedition."

Both Cai Jing and Tong Guan didn't understand why Zhao Ji went back on his word. Was it just because of Deng Xunwu's memorial?

Cai Jing and Tong Guan quickly persuaded Zhao Ji to continue the Northern Expedition to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun.

But Deng Xunwu, Zheng Juzhong and others were firmly opposed.

Since then, the Zhao Song Dynasty has been caught in a dispute between those who support and those who oppose the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and Zhao Ji has been wavering and unable to make up his mind.

This matter has been shelved.

Until the Song and Jin signed the "Sea Alliance", Zhao Ji thought he had a helper. At the same time, the Liao Empire lost four of its five capitals. Zhao Ji finally saw that this former grassland empire was really not going to work, so he made up his mind to ally with Jin to destroy Liao and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

However, at this time, the four major bandits, Jiang Hongfei, Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La, had risen and divided the Zhao Song Dynasty, tying up all the troops of the Zhao Song Dynasty, leaving Zhao Ji powerless.

Now, seeing Jiang Hongfei easily recover Yanjing, Zhao Ji couldn't help thinking: "If I had known that Khitan was so weak, I should have sent troops to the north. If I had recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and then used the power of victory to destroy the four major bandits that had just risen at that time, I would have been the greatest emperor in history. Why would my Song Dynasty end up like this?!"

It's a pity that there is no regret medicine in this world!

Zhao Ji could only think angrily: "It was all the ministers who misled me!"

Just when Zhao Ji was full of regret and didn't know how to face Jiang Hongfei who might use the power of victory to attack Song in the south, Jiang Hongfei actually fought with the Jin people again.

When Emperor Zhao Ji and his ministers learned about this, their mood was to paraphrase Stephen Chow's words: "Life has so many ups and downs, it's so exciting!"

This time, Emperor Zhao Ji and his ministers decided that they would keep a close eye on Jiang Hongfei. As long as Jiang Hongfei and the Jin people win, they would send Gao Qiu to lead troops to the north to recover Hebei, Shandong and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

Even Emperor Zhao Ji and his ministers had thought of an excuse.

That is, as long as the Jin people win, they will say that they are here to implement the "Sea Alliance" and take over Yanjing according to the alliance signed by both parties. By the way, there is also Xijing, and the three prefectures of Pingluanying. In short, they want all the benefits.

But what Emperor Zhao Ji and his ministers never expected was that the Jin people who had defeated the Liao Empire were also defeated by Jiang Hongfei, causing Jiang Hongfei to lose his armor and even his wife and daughter.

At that time, Gao Qiu had assembled an army of 200,000 on the south bank of the Yellow River.

But facing the hundreds of thousands of Liangshan troops who defeated the Jin army, Gao Qiu really dared not move.

Not only Gao Qiu, but also Zhao Ji and his ministers did not have the courage to let Gao Qiu lead his troops north.

Next, Jiang Hongfei tore up the peace treaty signed with the Zhao Song Dynasty and ascended the throne to become emperor.

Zhao Ji and his ministers naturally knew about this. They also discussed at the time whether to send someone to condemn Jiang Hongfei for betraying the alliance?

But many ministers of the Zhao Song Dynasty clearly expressed their opposition. They were afraid that this would anger Jiang Hongfei, and Jiang Hongfei would lead the Liangshan Army, which had been renamed the Yuan Army and had won every battle, to march south to attack the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Ji was also afraid of this.

So, Zhao Ji and his ministers pretended not to know that Jiang Hongfei had ascended the throne to become emperor.

At the same time, Zhao Ji sent Ma Kuo to Hedong to discuss recruiting Tian Hu. If it didn't work, he could discuss the union of the two families. In short, they would deal with Jiang Hongfei together.

In addition, Zhao Ji began to burn incense and worship God devoutly, hoping that the ancestors of the Zhao Song Dynasty would bless the country of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Maybe Zhao Ji's prayer worked.

Under Ma Kuo's persuasion, Tian Hu agreed to join forces with the Zhao Song Dynasty to deal with the Yuan Empire.

This is actually reasonable.

You know, after recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Jiang Hongfei's territory has half surrounded Tian Hu's territory, and Hedong has become a piece of territory that Jiang Hongfei must take.

Tian Hu can see this no matter how stupid he is.

And if Tian Hu doesn't want Jiang Hongfei to annex, he can only defeat Jiang Hongfei.

But Tian Hu knows that with his own strength, it is impossible to do this.

At the same time, Tian Hu has been suppressed by Zong Shidao, and his relationship with Wang Qing is not good. It can be said that he has made enemies everywhere.

Therefore, cooperating with the Zhao Song Dynasty is Tian Hu's only way out.

In addition to persuading Tian Hu to join forces with the Yuan Empire, Zhao Ji waited for a third opportunity, that is, Yelu Yanxi wanted to recover the lost land of Yanyunping and seek revenge from Jiang Hongfei for taking his wife away.

After the lessons learned from the previous two failures, Zhao Ji and his ministers chose to take the initiative this time.

Tian Hu recommended a foreign monk to Zhao Ji, who ordered the foreign monk to secretly go to Jiashan to contact Yelu Yanxi with the imperial pen and silk book.

The foreign monk came to Jiashan and found Yelu Yanxi, and helped Zhao Ji convey that Yelu Yanxi should feel free to fight Jiang Hongfei, and he and Tian Hu would fully support Yelu Yanxi. Moreover, even if Yelu Yanxi failed, there was no need to worry, the Zhao Song Dynasty would take Yelu Yanxi in.

Yelu Yanxi quickly wrote back to Zhao Ji, agreeing to join forces with Zhao Ji, and confirmed with Zhao Ji whether he could really go to the Zhao Song Dynasty for refuge if he failed?

Zhao Ji then changed the letter into an imperial edict, and personally wrote a royal letter to Yelu Yanxi to assure him: "When you return, I will treat you as my elder brother, and give you a higher position than the two kings of Yan and Yue. I will build a house with a thousand rooms, three hundred female musicians, and treat you generously."

-The King of Yan and the King of Yue were Zhao Ji's two younger brothers. Zhao Ji meant that if Yelu Yanxi surrendered, he would recognize him as his elder brother, give him a mansion with a thousand rooms, three hundred beauties, and treat him with courtesy.

Yelu Yanxi was very happy, so he made up his mind to fight Jiang Hongfei, and personally led the coalition forces to the Yunzuo area to knock on the gate.

At the same time, Zhao Ji and Tian Hu had already discussed that as long as Yelu Yanxi went to war with Jiang Hongfei, they would send troops to the north respectively, Tian Hu would take Yundi, and the Zhao Song Dynasty would take Hebei, Shandong, Yandi, and Pingluanying three states.

This is definitely unfair to Tian Hu.

But Tian Hu is in a bad situation now. If he doesn't want to perish, he can only hold his nose and admit it.

Of course, the Zhao and Song Dynasty also proposed that after defeating Jiang Hongfei, all the wealth and all the female relatives owned by Jiang Hongfei should be given to Tian Hu as compensation. In addition, after the completion of the matter, the Zhao and Song Dynasty would make Tian Hu the governor of Hedong. The king cut the east side of the river to Tian Hu, so that Tian Hu would guard it for generations, and he would marry a daughter to Tian Hu as his wife and other conditions.

It is no exaggeration to say that in order to join forces with Tian Hu to deal with Jiang Hongfei, no, in order to fool Tian Hu into joining forces to deal with Jiang Hongfei, Zhao Ji and his ministers really worked hard.

But what made Zhao Ji vomit blood was that Yelu Yanxi was defeated in just one battle, and he was captured by Jiang Hongfei, giving him and Tian Hu no chance to send troops.

Now, Jiang Hongfei was in the north, defeated the Jin army, destroyed the Liao Kingdom, and also defeated Xixia, becoming the little overlord of the north.

At this time, Jiang Hongfei sent an envoy to the Zhao and Song Dynasties. How could Zhao Ji and his ministers not be worried? Do you suspect that Jiang Hongfei might want to go south to attack the Song Dynasty?

Zhao Ji quickly issued an order to summon Zhang Xubai, a feather guest from Kinmen, to the palace.

Zhang Xubai is one of the three Kinmen Yu Kes who have the most profound Taoism under Zhao Ji. He is erudite and proficient in all Taoism. He is especially good at Taiyiyanxiujiu, that is, the art of deduction. After he was drunk, he was especially good at it. Accurate.

Zhang Xubai's status with Zhao Ji is also different from other Kinmen feather guests. Zhao Ji calls him "Zhang Hu" every time instead of calling him by his name. He likes to drink, and every time he drinks, he can say whatever he wants without hiding anything. He once lay on Zhao Ji's lap after being drunk. Zhao Ji said tolerantly: "Zhang Hu, you are drunk."

Soon, Zhang Xubai came to the palace. Zhao Ji told him that Jiang Hongfei sent envoys to the Zhao and Song Dynasty, and that Yelu Yanxi had been captured by Jiang Hongfei, and asked him to speculate on the good and bad fortune.

Zhang Xubai then used Taiyi's magic to calculate while drinking.

After a long time, Zhang Xubai said with drunken eyes: "Tian Zuo has been building a palace on the sea to wait for His Majesty for a long time."

When the people on the left and right heard this, they were all shocked!

Zhao Ji looked at Zhang Xubai for a long time and then said slowly: "Zhang Hu, you are drunk again."

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