Chapter 248 Waiting
In Youzhou city.

Due to the lack of command, the Liao soldiers were unable to organize any resistance.

Seeing that there were still a large number of fleeing soldiers on their side, the others were immediately swept up in.

Of course, the guards of other gates also drew their swords to help.

There are only a few hundred or so people, and then look at the soldiers pouring in.

After only a short while, the people in the rear team fled along with the fleeing soldiers.

Although many people may not know what exactly happened, no matter what, just run!

Moreover, the Han soldiers were very obedient and surrendered immediately.

This resulted in Zhao Xin’s army encountering less resistance after entering the city.

It took a whole day.

From morning till night.

Only then did Zhao Xin gradually gain control of the entire Youzhou City.

Yelu Nerugu and others, having nowhere to escape, were forced into a corner of the city wall by Zhao Xin and then captured alive.

What Zhao Xin didn’t expect was that there were 50,000 troops from various tribes in the city.

While these 50,000 people were fighting, their weapons and armor had all been stripped off by Yelu Chongyuan and others.

Upon asking, I learned that this was the troop led by Yelu Renxian.

If Yelu Renxian was still there, although the city might still be breached, the street fighting should not have led to a sudden collapse.

Moreover, Yelu Renxian enjoyed a very high prestige both in the army and among the people.

If the other side were in command, the soldiers and civilians would definitely be willing to fight for their lives.

It’s not like now, the soldiers in the city can’t organize much resistance at all.

But to be honest, resistance is useless.

Because if they resisted, they would be beaten by their muskets and cannons and would have to flee in panic.

It’s just a waste of a little more time.

Zhao Xin ordered his men to occupy the granaries in the city and control all the officials, both big and small, in the city.

And these people added up, there are hundreds of them.

Then comes the most difficult part, which is dealing with the prisoners.

At least 50,000 people, this number is really too many.

Either transport them back or kill them directly.

Because occupying Youzhou City is only their first step!
Next, they will have to rely on Youzhou City to resist the counterattack of the Liao Kingdom, or take the opportunity to recover other states.

Zhao Xin didn’t want to be a bad guy, so he asked everyone, “How do you think we should deal with so many people?”

Wang Shao also immediately understood what Zhao Xin meant.

Said: “Kill him!”

Zhao Xin said, “Although they are all Liao people, isn’t this a bad idea? It’s not conducive to national unity.”

Wang Shao has no idea what national unity is.

He just replied: “If we still have to support these 50,000 people, it will be a huge burden for us in the future. Besides, our battle has just begun, and there are many more battles to be fought.”

Zhao Xin then asked Zhang Yu and Zhang Dun: “What do you think?”

These two were also young men who hated the Liao Kingdom, so they naturally encouraged Zhao Xin and said, “Kill him!”

Zhao Xin actually also felt that it would be better to just kill him and be done with it.

The issue is……

If they are killed, the relationship will become strained, and the people of these tribal armies will only resist more fiercely in the future.

The key is that you can’t just look at the present, you have to look at the future. After you conquer the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, can they sit back and relax?
The Ming Dynasty is awesome enough!
It was not because we were harassed by the Mongols for two hundred years.

Not to mention that there were several invasions inside the Great Wall, if he remembered correctly.

Of course Zhao Xin wanted to kill these 50,000 people, because after 20 years, if each of them gave birth to three sons and two daughters, that would probably be 150,000 people.

however……

Taking some circumstances into consideration, Zhao Xin felt that these 50,000 people should not be killed.

We can’t kill them. If we let them run back, our combat power will be reduced to 50,000 again.

Even though their weapons, armor, and even war horses had been confiscated, the Liao Kingdom still used them as logistics personnel, which was a major obstacle to their subsequent battles.

No, I can’t let it go.

Killing is too reckless.

Then let’s compromise and ask them who knows how to farm, and keep those who can farm.

In fact, the Liao Kingdom also cultivated land in the Shangjing area.

There is a river called Huangshui there, so the capital of Liao was also called Linhuangfu.

Those who can’t farm and can only ride horses and hunt, just kill them.

Wang Shao, Zhang Qie and Zhang Dun all agreed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still too kind.

If they had their way, they should have just killed all these people.

At last……

After a count, it was found that there were still 5,000 people who knew how to farm. So we would try to send these 5,000 people back and let Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi make arrangements to send them to Hubei to try farming first.

It is said that if Huguang is prosperous, the whole world will be prosperous.

Today, there are still large tracts of land in the Huguang region waiting to be developed.

In addition to doing all this, he selected dozens of other people, sent them back, and reported the situation to Yelu Hongji.

The main purpose is to report that Yelu Renxian was not killed by Zhao Xin, but by Yelu Chongyuan.

Zhao Xin said it and Wang Shao wrote it.

“Let’s say… Yelu Chongyuan wants to rebel in Xijin Prefecture, Nanjing, and also wants to form an alliance with me.”

If Zhao Xin’s words alone are not trustworthy, then it’s impossible that the words of the several people from different tribes who were released would be so surprisingly consistent, right?

Moreover, they had witnessed with their own eyes when Yelu Chongyuan controlled them, and Zhao Xin had not yet entered Youzhou City at that time.

Done this.

He sent people to appease the people, and then Zhao Xin continued to turn his attention to the north.

of course!

Places like Youzhou and Weizhou, west of Zhuozhou, are also worth visiting.

However, Weizhou is under the jurisdiction of Xijing Datong Prefecture after all, so the speed of receiving news should be relatively slow. If Xijing Datong Prefecture had not received the news, they would not have come to help on their own initiative, and they might not even know that such a big thing had happened here at this time.

Zhao Xin also reserved a reserve force there, which should be enough to resist the enemies coming from the direction of Weizhou.

After dealing with these things, Zhao Xin immediately waited for Yelu Hongji to arrive with his army.

Two or three days later, the governor of Shunzhou quickly reported the situation in Youzhou City to Shangjing.

The ministers of Liao were also immediately shocked.

Zhuozhou was captured?

Youzhou city also fell?
That’s a city with a population of one million!

Their Liao Kingdom could be said to be one of the most prosperous and wealthy places.

How could it be conquered by the Southern Dynasty so easily?
In Zhongjing, Yelu Tiebu was not aware of the situation until later and was also frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

no……

What is the situation now?
Yelu Chongyuan had just invited him to rebel together and kill Yelu Hongji, but how come Yelu Chongyuan was captured by the Southern Dynasty in an instant?

Has the Southern Dynasty learned the news now?

Yelu Tiebu immediately became extremely worried.

The key is……

He also sent a letter to Yelu Chongyuan.

I don’t know this letter…

Immediately afterwards…

On Zhao Xin’s side, Zhao Xun sent someone to deliver the intelligence intercepted on the road to Zhao Xin.

When Zhao Xin took a look, he felt that the Liao Kingdom didn’t look very good.

It seems that there are many contradictions.

Sure enough! My Song Dynasty and I are really a pair of Crouching Dragon and Phoenix.

No wonder it was so difficult to defeat Xixia.

But now that Chongyuan is gone, this matter has become difficult to handle.

The only thing to blame is that I attacked the city too quickly.

“How do you think… this matter should be handled?”

Someone asked, “Can we persuade Yelu Tie to surrender?”

“The other party is a Khitan, and a member of the Khitan royal family. It’s not that easy. But… you can consider it!”

Then…

Zhao Xin ordered Wang Shao to write a letter saying, “I have no interest in the area north of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. If you can help me, we can use the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun as our boundary and not interfere with each other. And when the time comes, you only need to watch Yelu Hongji and don’t care whether you save him or not. I won’t let you kill the king and bear the infamy.”

Yelu Tiebu was just a member of the royal family, and it was already good enough for him to obtain the entire grassland and plain area north of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

This deal is actually quite a good deal.

of course!

Yelu Tiebu is not a fool either.

You say you don’t want it, but how can I believe that you really don’t want it?
Who knows if you will lie to me?
Besides, helping outsiders and destroying one’s own people is something that even a person with the lowest moral standards would have to consider.

After a night of thinking.

Yelu Tiebu was still hesitating.

At the same time, he also received the news from Yelu Hongji that they would go on an expedition to the south together.

Yelu Tie was not considering whether to tell Yelu Hongji the truth.

But his letter was intercepted by the Southern Dynasty.

There are some unfavorable words in it.

Of course, it’s not as bad as you would like to say those words.

Because it is still a relatively euphemistic way of saying it.

But he was afraid that his cousin Yelu Hongji would turn against him.

The essential……

After all, Yelu Tiebu is not Yelu Chongyuan.

The prestige of his clan is still far inferior to that of Yelu Chongyuan.

All we can do now is to contact Yelu Chongyuan’s old friends as much as possible.

Gather them all together.

Then discuss.

Immediately afterwards…

He gathered some people together, and then took out the letter that Yelu Chongyuan wrote before his death, asking them to cooperate in capturing Yelu Hongji.

All of these people are either relatives of Yelu Chongyuan or have a good relationship with him.

He said, “You are all old people of Chongyuan. In the future, once Yelu Hongji has established a firm foothold in the court, will they still use you?”

The others also looked grim.

Yelu Tie said uncomfortably: “Why don’t you join me in the rebellion?”

Finished saying this.

The executioners outside the door were also ready.

All we can say is that Yelu Tiebu couldn’t resist the temptation in the end.

But to be honest, it was the counselor’s words that woke him up.

The counselor said to him, “Everyone knows that you have a good relationship with Chongyuan. Even if you confess to His Majesty and His Majesty is willing to let you go, do you think you will be treated the same as before?”

This sentence made Yelu Tie confused. If he didn’t do it, he would only die.

Moreover, the counselor cited the example of Yelu Chongyuan, saying, “Back then, someone instigated Chongyuan to rebel, but Chongyuan told Xingzong about it. When Xingzong was drunk, he said that after he died, he would pass the throne to Chongyuan. Look at the result. It’s not that we are unjust, but Xingzong was not kind to begin with, and it’s hard to convince the people. Now, although Your Majesty seems to have rewarded us generously and seems to be very kind, he is only afraid of the troops under our command, so he has to do this. Who can guarantee that he will break his promise like Xingzong? When we have no troops under our command, he will naturally abandon us.”

After hearing these words, Yelu Tiebu immediately understood what to do.

After more than ten days of assembly.

Soon, the Liao Kingdom gathered an elite force of more than 50,000 people and more than 100,000 other troops.

The elite troops went ahead, and within a few days, they had arrived in Shunzhou, and soon after, they arrived at the city of Youzhou.

But the city of Youzhou is high and strong.

They were moving so fast that they had no time to carry siege equipment, so they could only stand at the foot of the city and watch.

As for the food and fodder you mentioned!

There are supplies from other states, so it is barely enough.

Zhao Xin stood on the Youzhou City and looked at the enemy’s neatly-organized cavalry. This was what gave Zhao Xin a headache.

He said to the generals: “The reason why we were able to fight so smoothly before was because the enemy gave up the mobility of cavalry and fought with us in the offensive and defensive battle on the city.”

“If they only surround us without attacking us, and also send people to cut off our food supplies, then even if we want to win, we will definitely have to pay a heavy price.”

Zhao Xin then asked Zhao Xun: “How effective is our cavalry in fighting against the enemy’s cavalry?”

Zhao Xun also replied: “Your Highness, the Liao people have been trained in horseback archery since they were young. Although we have also been trained, we are still a little inferior in terms of skill, but… we are not completely incapable of fighting.”

Zhao Xin said, “Even if it’s one for one, we’re at a disadvantage. They’re all good at riding and shooting. As long as we give them weapons and armor, they can become useful cavalry. We only have so many. Fortunately, we captured Youzhou City this time and seized a lot of war horses. Next… it depends on who loses patience first.”

The more troops the Liao sent, the more difficult their logistics became.

Anyway, after Zhao Xin captures Youzhou City, there will definitely be no problem with having enough food for more than a year.

A few more days passed.

Yelu Hongji also came with all the important officials of the Liao Kingdom.

Basically, all the troops from Shangjing and Zhongjing were transferred here.

After all, Tokyo Liaoyang Prefecture and Xijing Datong Prefecture still have to guard against enemy forces from the Korean direction and the Southern Dynasty Taiyuan direction. Therefore, they can only arrange some people to reinforce as appropriate.

The quantity shouldn’t be too many.

The orders have already been issued.

Next…

We need to see how we can take over Youzhou City.

Looking at the tall and strong Youzhou City, Yelu Hongji found it hard to imagine how such a capital-level city could have been conquered by the Southern Dynasty.

He even suspected that Yelu Chongyuan was colluding with the other party, but he did not estimate the other party’s character, which resulted in him being ambushed by the other party.

After arriving, Yelu Hongji sent someone to send a letter to Zhao Xin, condemning Zhao Xin’s behavior of launching a war without declaration.

Zhao Xin also responded, saying that if you ask Tubo not to sell my horses, I will not be allowed to attack your city.

You know what shameful things you have done behind the scenes.

This woke up Yelu Hongji, and he decided to send someone to Tubo to tell Tubo that if Zhao Xin dared to attack Liao today, he would attack Tubo tomorrow.

It is necessary to put some pressure on the Southern Dynasty in other directions.

As for Xixia, it would be best to send someone there as well.

But when he was about to do so, Yelu Tiebu stood up and said, “Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate.”

Yelu Hongji was also stunned for a moment, and asked, “Why do you say that, uncle?”

Yelu Tie said uncomfortably: “If we are beaten, we will immediately seek help from others. Wouldn’t that weaken the reputation of our Liao Kingdom? How can we convince the people in the future? If Tubo and Xixia know our current predicament, then even if we really repel the Southern Dynasty, they will only despise us even more.”

Yelu Hongji thought about it carefully and it seemed to make sense.

Then he said, “If it weren’t for my uncle, I would have made a terrible mistake. So, uncle, how do you think we can take over Youzhou City?”

Yelu Tie said uncomfortably: “Wait! Now we just need to surround their city and cut off their food supply, and they will naturally get anxious. Moreover, the other party is the crown prince. Just imagine, if the crown prince of a country is besieged, others will surely be nervous. Of course, we can also prepare siege equipment first, and as long as we find an opportunity, we will attack the city.”

Yelu Renxian was away, and Yelu Hongji was just short of an advisor at the moment.

After listening to Yelu Tiebu’s response, Yelu Hongji deeply felt the other party’s loyalty.

although……

Afterwards, someone told Yelu Hongji, “Your Majesty! This Yelu Tiebu is inevitably somewhat involved with Chongyuan.”

On the surface, Yelu Hongji naturally did not believe what the people around him said, thinking that he was his cousin, which was a manifestation of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

But it is hard to say how much he really believes it.

(End of this chapter)