I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 414: Attack and defense change, Xiao Qinyan dies
Do you dare to start another war with the Liao people?

If he had lost the previous battle, Zhao Wei might have reconsidered it.

However, the victory of this war not only recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, but also restored the confidence of the military and civilians of the Song Dynasty. Even the civil service group in the court was in a weak position against the Liao people in the peace talks and was willing to give up enough interests to cease fire. It was also for their own interests and their voice in the court, in order to suppress the rise of the military group.

Zhao Wei really didn't know where Yelu Zongsheng got the courage to say this.

He was too lazy to answer, and just said indifferently: "I don't have so much time to talk nonsense with you. If you want to cease fire, you can. All the treaties signed in the first year of Jingde are invalid. You must pay 200,000 taels of silver, 400,000 pieces of silk, and 5,000 cattle, sheep and horses to our Song Dynasty every year. In addition, the land we occupy now, that is, Jingzhou and Luanzhou, will also belong to our Song Dynasty."

At the time of the Treaty of Chanyuan, the Song Dynasty paid an annual tribute of 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 pieces of silk to the Liao Kingdom. Now the conditions proposed by Zhao Wei were even more than what they had proposed back then, and were exactly twice as much, which directly made the Liao people angry.

"Zhao Wei, you are going too far!"

Zhao Wei never bothered with the dead. He ignored the Liao people who spoke and continued to say to Yelu Zongsheng: "These are the conditions for our Great Song to cease fire. If you Liao people do not agree, then we will continue to fight."

Yelu Zongsheng's face changed: "Is this your idea or your emperor's idea?"

"It doesn't matter who meant it. What matters is that you lost. How can a loser have the qualifications to negotiate with me? I think you are stupid, right?"

Zhao Wei sneered, and his cold eyes swept over the officials of the Song Dynasty, and finally set his eyes on Yelu Zongsheng: "In the sixty years since the founding of the Song Dynasty, we have been defeated repeatedly by you Liao people, which has led to the loss of morale and national prestige. So do you know why I fought that battle before?"

Without needing Yelu Zongsheng to answer, Zhao Wei said proudly: "I launched a war against you Liao people just to tell the world and you Liao people clearly that from now on, the offensive and defensive positions between Song and Liao will change.

Kou can go, so can I.

If I can recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun today, I can sweep across your entire Liao territory tomorrow."

"Insanity!"

Zhao Wei glanced at the Liao man who spoke, laughed, and continued to Yelu Zongsheng: "King Liang, do you know what I am called in the Song Dynasty? Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Guanjun, traveled thousands of miles in the Xiongnu territory, swept through the ancestral holy land of the Xiongnu people, and rushed to the Wolf Mountain, which you foreigners regard as a holy place.

I know I am not as good as the Marquis of Guanjun, but I have a million soldiers under my command. With a million soldiers, I am also confident that I can sweep across your Liao Kingdom. Today, if you do not agree to the conditions of the Song Dynasty, I will personally lead a million troops to take it. By then, what I want is not the two states, but your entire Liao Kingdom. "

The civil service group of the Song Dynasty did not want to fight, and the Liao people did not want to continue fighting even more than the Song Dynasty, otherwise they would not have written to the country asking for peace talks.

Now faced with such a tough guy like Zhao Wei, Yelu Zongsheng and his men remained silent.

After all, the Liao people, or the foreign races, are a group of barbarians. When dealing with barbarians, they will only surrender if you are more brutal than them.

After a long while, Yelu Zongsheng finally spoke: "I can't make a decision on this matter."

"If you can't make a decision, then why are you here to talk? You're wasting my time." Zhao Wei snorted coldly, "I'll give you three months. Go back and tell your emperor that if after three months, my Song Dynasty has not received your tribute and letter of surrender, I will regard you Liao people as giving up the peace talks between our two countries. We'll meet again at the border then."

After saying that, Zhao Wei turned around and walked away, but after taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped as if he had thought of something.

"Oh, by the way, I remember that during the last peace talks, you Liao people killed our Song Dynasty envoys. So why don't you leave some of your people behind today? We will kill twice as many people as you kill."

As Zhao Wei finished speaking, a group of soldiers armed with weapons rushed directly into Sifang Pavilion and hacked at a group of unarmed Liao people.

"stop!"

Ke Zheng shouted loudly, but the soldiers who came in were all Zhao Wei's personal guards, so how could they obey his orders?

The Liao people, of course, would not just sit there and be killed, so they immediately put up a resistance.

Zhao Wei was not in a hurry to leave. He stood at the door and saw that the Liao people still dared to resist, so he directly ordered: "Except Yelu Zongsheng, no matter who dares to stop me, I will kill them."

A bloody massacre took place in Sifang Pavilion, not only killing Yelu Zongsheng from the Liao side, but also killing several Song officials. Even Ke Zheng was almost killed by Zhao Wei's personal guards.

This is definitely the greatest persecution of the civil service group since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

But apart from Ke Zheng and a few other officials, no one dared to agree.

Because everyone knows very well that this Crown Prince who has just taken the throne of heir is completely different from Taizu, Taizong, and the current emperor, and he will really kill them, the civil servants.

If you say kill, kill.

More importantly, Emperor Zhao Heng's attitude was that he simply scolded the crown prince verbally and then went on to prepare for the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

It is obvious that the government's attitude has undergone a 180-degree turn.

In addition, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a million soldiers under his command. Anyone who is not stubborn will not cause trouble for Zhao Wei.

As for the Liao people, they were naturally extremely angry after hearing the news.

The Song people's long-term weakness made the Liao people look down on them from the bottom of their hearts. Of course, they could not tolerate the killing of their envoys, let alone Zhao Wei's conditions, so many Liao officials proposed to go to war.

But as Zhao Wei said, the offensive and defensive positions between Song and Liao have changed, and it is still winter, which is not suitable for the Liao people to fight. Yelu Longxu naturally would not agree to go to war with the Song Dynasty immediately.

Emphasis: Immediately.

In other words, Yelu Longxu agreed to go to war with the Song Dynasty, but he would wait until the beginning of next spring. After all, the entire Liao Kingdom would never agree to Zhao Wei's conditions, even though they were a defeated country.

But what no one expected was that just as the Liao Kingdom was preparing its army for the national battle in the spring, Yelu Longxu suddenly died of a serious illness and became the real Emperor Shengzong of Liao, which led to civil strife in the Liao Kingdom.

Eventually, Yelu Zongsheng succeeded in ascending the throne and became the new emperor of Liao. However, the internal strife for the throne also caused heavy losses to Liao, which was severely damaged and had no ability to launch an attack against the Song Dynasty again.

So at the beginning of the spring of the third year of Qianxing, the Liao people sent annual tribute, cattle and sheep, and a letter of surrender, which shocked the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Wei's prestige was thus raised again, far surpassing that of the official Zhao Heng. The officials who had impeached Zhao Wei all began to praise him, and there seemed to be a trend of supporting him to become emperor and making Zhao Heng the emperor emeritus.

Zhao Heng did not care about this. He felt that he was far superior to Taizu and Taizong, and was very high-spirited. After arranging people to take over Jingzhou and Luanzhou, he took his wives, concubines, children and some officials to Mount Tai, leaving all state affairs to Zhao Wei to handle.

In addition to the two major events of Zhao Heng's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai and the Liao Kingdom's tribute, there were also major changes in the court. Xiao Qinyan, who had served as prime minister for several years, was old after all. After working day and night and suffering repeated blows, his health gradually failed and he fell ill.

Xiao Qinyan's illness naturally caused significant changes in the political situation, but fortunately Zhao Wei was in power and quickly suppressed the influence brought by Xiao Qinyan. However, it was not a good thing for the Xiao family.

The few young masters of the Xiao Mansion, except Xiao Wei, are still alive now because Xiao Qinyan's status is high enough, otherwise he would have been exiled long ago. Although Xiao Wei has made a lot of progress in the past few years, he is just a tall man among short people. Looking at Tokyo, he is not outstanding at all, and his future achievements are limited, not to mention that Xiao Wei has only been in office for two or three years and is now just a small official, who can't support the Xiao Mansion at all. Xiao Qinyan has always been worried about the future of the Xiao Mansion, and has been trying to win over Gu Qianfan, especially after he became seriously ill, he is even more eager to have Gu Qianfan return to the Xiao family.

But unfortunately, Gu Qianfan was transferred to the border at the end of last year, leaving him with no place to use his strength. He only wished to see his son for the last time.

Fortunately, before his death, Xiao Qinyan finally waited for the son that made him most proud.

Gu Qianfan looked at Xiao Qinyan, who was lying on the bed, tortured by illness and looked like a monster, and felt mixed emotions.

His feelings towards Xiao Qinyan are very complicated. After all, he is his biological father. If he doesn't have any feelings for him, it would definitely be fake.

Many of Xiao Qinyan's actions after returning to Beijing were beneficial to Gu Qianfan. Even though he knew why Xiao Qinyan did so, he was still quite moved.

But he could not accept Xiao Qinyan's approach, and never thought about returning to the Xiao family. He would only be Gu Qianfan of the Gu family.

Looking at Gu Qianfan's complicated expression, Xiao Qinyan felt relieved, as if he suddenly felt stronger all over, and his words did not sound like those of a seriously ill and dying old man at all.

"Qianfan, don't be sad. Everyone is interesting. I am satisfied that my father has lived to this extent. This life is not in vain."

Xiao Qinyan was open-minded. He had experienced ups and downs in his life, and all his experiences had tempered his spirit and will to an extraordinary level. Even when facing death, he could accept it calmly.

Because of the complicated relationship and emotions between father and son, Gu Qianfan didn't know what to say for a moment, and it took him a long time to speak.

"Is there really no hope?"

Xiao Qinyan smiled calmly and said, "There is no hope, but it doesn't matter. It's enough. What I can't let go of the most right now is the Xiao family. You should understand."

Gu Qianfan nodded: "I understand, what can I do for you?"

"I have made some arrangements, but those children... well, you know, nothing can happen. But no matter what, they are your brothers. If they encounter difficulties in the future, you can take care of them if it is convenient for you. If it is not convenient, it is their fate. You don't have to feel guilty. You should take care of yourself first."

Xiao Qinyan knew his sons very well. If he really had no expectations, how could he place all his hopes on Gu Qianfan?

"The one I'm most worried about now is you. You are my most promising son, but your entry into the Imperial City Division had a huge impact on your reputation. I'm afraid you'll have a hard time in the future. You took the wrong path from the beginning."

Listening to Xiao Qinyan's sigh, Gu Qianfan remained silent. He was naturally aware of this matter, but he never regretted it. This was his own choice. The most important thing was that with his contributions in the Imperial City Bureau, he not only fulfilled his wish, allowing his biological mother to be granted an imperial decree, be included in the Gu family tree, and enjoy incense, but also gained the attention of the prince.

"You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine now."

Xiao Qinyan nodded: "Well, fortunately the prince is different from the emperor. His attitude towards warriors has given you a chance. Although you are now at the border, far away from the court, the court situation is unpredictable, so you must remain vigilant.

I know you don’t like party disputes, but even if you don’t participate in them, you still need to have friends in the court. People who keep to themselves will not end up well in the end. Besides, the relationship between you and me, the prince is afraid of you…”

Xiao Qinyan paused, and said with some guilt: "In short, it is me who has dragged you down. You are now a general at the border, so you must be careful about everything. I have already made arrangements..."

Before he finished speaking, Gu Qianfan interrupted and said, "I know what to do, and His Highness is not the kind of person you think."

Xiao Qinyan burst out laughing, knowing that he could not persuade Gu Qianfan, so he changed the topic and talked about another matter.

"Qianfan, you already have a son and a daughter. If possible, I hope your next child will have the surname Xiao."

Looking at Xiao Qinyan's expectant eyes, Gu Qianfan was silent for a long time before nodding.

"I see."

Xiao Qinyan smiled with relief and used up his last bit of strength to tightly grasp Gu Qianfan's hand.

"Qianfan, thank you!"

Gu Qianfan shook his head. He could feel that Xiao Qinyan didn't have much time left. Thinking of what Xiao Qinyan had said about Zhao Wei before, in order to let Xiao Qinyan leave with peace of mind, he was silent for a moment and then told him about the relationship between him and Zhao Wei.

"In fact, as early as three years ago, I had secretly surrendered to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so you don't have to worry about what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will do to me. From now on, as long as Xiao Wei and the others don't cause trouble or break the law, I will do my best to take care of them."

Xiao Qinyan really didn't know that Gu Qianfan had already defected to Zhao Wei. When he suddenly heard the news, his eyes widened in shock.

Then, the smile on his face became more relieved and proud.

As if sensing something, he let go of Gu Qianfan's hand and slowly closed his eyes.

"father……"

Gu Qianfan finally called out "Dad", but unfortunately Xiao Qinyan could no longer hear him.

Xiao Qinyan was once a prime minister after all, and even when he died he was still a minister, so the court naturally could not turn a blind eye to it.

No matter what his reputation was during his tenure as an official, he should be given the respect he deserves and be posthumously honored. Otherwise, it would not be the Xiao family that would be offended, but the hearts of the civil and military officials in the court.

He was posthumously awarded the titles of Duke of Ji and Minister of the Central Secretariat, and given the posthumous name Ximao. This was the tone set by the court.

Xi: being cautious and fearful is called Xi; being honest and receptive to criticism is called Xi; returning after being punished is called Xi; being firm and resolute is called Xi; having made mistakes is called Xi; being kind and loving is called Xi; being cautious and prudent is called Xi; being happy to hear good words is called Xi; being respectful and prudent without making mistakes is called Xi

Mao: To be appointed to an official position based on virtue is called Mao; to be rewarded based on merit is called Mao.

The final sixteen words to sum up his life are: receive an official position based on virtue, receive rewards based on merit, enjoy hearing good words, and be respectful and cautious without making mistakes.

To put it simply, Xiao Qinyan was a famous minister who never misled the country or the people and was cautious and without fault.

Although "Xi Mao" was just a posthumous title, it was actually a high compliment to Xiao Qinyan.

At least that's what Zhao Wei thought, but Zhao Heng and Liu Wan were not very satisfied, and finally gave Xiao Qinyan a beautiful posthumous title - Wenmu.

Coincidentally, this posthumous title is exactly the same as the posthumous title given to Xiao Qinyan's historical prototype, Wang Qinruo, after his death.

(End of this chapter)