I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 187 Zhao Yu's Strategic Resolve

...

The next morning.

As dawn broke, Zhao Yu opened his eyes.

Zhao Yu removed the jade-like arm of a Uyghur girl who looked like Gulnazar from his waist, and then moved the long legs of a Qiang girl who looked like Dilraba off his thighs, before sitting up.

The dozen or so palace servants who were attending to Zhao Yu immediately came over to help him get up when they saw that he had woken up.

Zhao Yu stuck out his index finger and shushed him.

The dozen or so palace maids immediately understood that Zhao Yu didn't want them to wake the five women in bed.

They immediately became very stealthy.

Zhao Yu turned around and glanced at Xiao Sese, who was huddled at the very back.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yu pulled over the brocade quilt, wanting to help Xiao Sese cover herself with it.

It's late autumn now, and the mornings in the north are still a bit chilly.

Xiao Sese sweated a lot last night, and if she catches a cold, it might cost her and her daughter their lives.

Moreover, this seemingly small action was enough to guarantee Xiao Sese's status and livelihood in the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Just as Zhao Yu was about to cover Xiao Sese with the blanket, he saw Xiao Sese's exceptionally long eyelashes flutter.

Seeing that Xiao Sese was pretending to be asleep, Zhao Yu slapped her on the buttocks.

Xiao Sese was so frightened that her heart was pounding.

At the same time, Xiao Sese's heart skipped a beat. The unforgettable experience of last night flooded her mind like a movie, causing her cheeks to flush involuntarily. She closed her eyes tightly, pretending that her panic had not been revealed, but her heart was pounding like a drum, filled with both shyness and an indescribable nervousness, fearing that Zhao Yu would expose her disguise in public.

Seeing Xiao Sese's reaction, Zhao Yu's lips curled into a playful smile, a smile that carried a hint of doting and a touch of teasing. He then helped her cover herself with the blanket, tacitly refraining from further exposing her.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yu covered the four young girls, uh... newly married women, who had also served him very diligently the night before, with blankets.

It's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality.

To Zhao Yu's surprise, these four newlywed young women were also pretending to be asleep. They were clearly a little shy, unlike the unrestrained Hu people.

'Those four are very Sinicized, huh... no wonder they speak Chinese so well.'

Now that Xiao Sese and the others were all awake, Zhao Yu decided to stop pretending and ordered a group of palace servants to help him wash up and get out of bed.

Xiao Sese and the other five women endured the ordeal for an unknown amount of time, until their bodies were sore from pretending, before Zhao Yu finally left.

Just as Xiao Sese and the other three women breathed a sigh of relief and were about to change their positions, Zhang Chun walked in from outside, surrounded by more than a dozen maids.

Seeing this, Xiao Sese and the other three women quickly continued to pretend to be asleep.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Chun was not as indulgent as Zhao Yu towards Xiao Sese and the other four women.

After she arrived at the bedside, she plopped down on the bed and said to the four newlywed women, "You four go and have a bowl of lotus seed soup as a good omen. Also, cooperate with the lady-in-waiting to register, otherwise your time in bed will be for nothing."

Zhang Chun was deceiving these four newlywed young women. It was precisely because they were currently away from home that the female officials who served the emperor kept more detailed records, fearing that even the slightest mistake could lead to the loss of a royal heir.

These four newly arrived young women, who had been lucky enough to be chosen by Zhao Yu just yesterday, were unaware of the intricacies of the situation. Upon hearing that they might be able to sleep with Zhao Yu for free, they were so frightened that they quickly got out of bed.

Because the movements were too strenuous, they were all wincing in pain.

But they couldn't care less about that now.

They quickly bowed to Zhang Chun, then hurriedly put on their clothes and went to register with the female attendant.

After the four newlywed women left, Zhang Chun said to Xiao Sese, "Stop pretending. I don't believe you could sleep well last night."

To be honest, Xiao Sese was really afraid of Zhang Chun.

This vicious woman forced her to obey and cooperate with her with just words, and even made her do many things that she had never done or even thought of before. This tore off all her fig leaves and made her look like a whore.

The key issue is that after experiencing all this, Xiao Sese felt her heart was in turmoil. She didn't even know what she was thinking anymore; it wasn't all about national righteousness and the survival of the country anymore, but also seemed to have a shadow of Zhao Yu. It was as if a new world had been quietly carved out for her. This left her both confused and captivated.

Seeing that Xiao Sese's eyes remained tightly closed, Zhang Chun's lips curled into a playful smile, and she said with a grin:
"How about it? Isn't the Emperor more imposing than Yelü Yanxi? Isn't it fair that Yelü Yanxi was defeated by the Emperor?"

"You were so sexy last night, I guess you were conquered by the instructor's family."

"I heard that when you were by Yelü Yanxi's side, you were always aloof and arrogant, but now you are so obedient. Your Majesty is truly skilled..."

Zhang Chun's words were like sharp blades, cutting through Xiao Sese's pretense piece by piece.

Xiao Sese could no longer hold back. She sat up abruptly and said angrily, "Kill me or torture me, do as you please, but please stop humiliating me!"

Zhang Chun said with a smile, "This matter depends on what you do."

Xiao Sese glared at Zhang Chun with hatred.

Seeing this, Zhang Chun smiled and asked, "You want to kill me?"

Although Zhang Chun's explanation was strange, Xiao Sese still understood what he meant.

To be honest, Xiao Sese really wanted to agree with Zhang Chun and say, "That's right, I just want to kill you."

But before she could finish speaking, Xiao Sese, still unsure of what to do next, turned her head away, clearly neither admitting nor denying it.

Zhang Chunxin said, "You're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing a kind heart," but then added, "Since you can't sleep anyway, why don't you do something for me?"

Xiao Sese pretended not to hear what Zhang Chun said.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Chun said very bluntly, "The pose you made last night with your knees together or hip-width apart, hands shoulder-width apart, and thighs perpendicular to the ground is called the Cat Pose, also known as the Big Cat Pose. This pose..."

At this point, Zhang Chun started drooling.

It seems that Zhang Chun's statement that pregnant women crave this kind of thing more than ordinary women is based on personal experience.

Xiao Sese couldn't listen anymore. She gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, I'll help you!!!"

Before Zhang Chun could say anything more, Xiao Sese quickly got out of bed, afraid that Zhang Chun would continue to expose her past.

At this moment, several maids immediately came over to help Xiao Sese with her makeup and dressing, and then helped her change into a brand new palace dress of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Zhang Chun looked at you for a while, offering his critique, and concluded: "You look better in the clothes of a Khitan imperial concubine."

At this point, Zhang Chun muttered to himself, "I must instruct the envoy to bring you your services; your strength lies in controlling and seducing."

Xiao Sese had no idea what "uniform fetish" meant, but she instinctively felt that it was probably not a good thing, and that Zhang Chun might be plotting against her again.

Zhang Chun treated Xiao Sese to a special meal for pregnant women, prepared by her and Li Lin. Afterward, Zhang Chun took Xiao Sese to the place where she usually helped Zhao Yu process memorials.

Zhang Chun said to Xiao Sese, "During this time, you, Li Jieyu, and I will be here helping the Emperor review memorials."

Upon hearing this, Li Chun took out a stack of less important memorials and handed them to Xiao Sese, then taught her how to review them.

Xiao Sese didn't want to do it, so Zhang Chun used Xiao Sese's performance from the previous night to threaten her again.

Xiao Sese was a person who cared about her reputation, so how could she possibly fight against Zhang Chun, this female hooligan? She could only obediently accept Zhang Chun's discipline.

Initially, Xiao Sese was truly forced into this situation by Zhang Chun.

But as she continued reviewing the papers, Xiao Sese realized that having something to do meant she didn't have to think about those troublesome things anymore.

Xiao Sese had also considered whether she should cause trouble for the Zhao Song Dynasty, but all the matters she reviewed were trivial matters concerning people's livelihoods, and Zhang Chun would personally check them after she finished reviewing them. There was no point in her causing trouble, and she couldn't cause any trouble at all.

Xiao Sese thought to herself, 'Let's wait and see...'

……

Despite Zhao Yu's seemingly carefree enjoyment of the spoils last night, he was actually just as nervous as Yelü Yanxi.

Otherwise, Zhao Yu wouldn't have been able to see Xiao Sese was so exhausted from his torment last night that he would have chosen four more girls to continue.

Indeed, Zhao Yu was also worried that the handover of the warhorses would not go smoothly today.

Let's say that.

If Yelü Yanxi and his ministers could hand over their warhorses today, Zhao Yu would not only have achieved a glorious victory, but would also be able to control the subsequent development of this matter.

However, if Yelü Yanxi and his ministers choose to resist stubbornly or take the risk of leading their troops out of Yanjing, then not only will Zhao Yu not be able to secure this great victory, but the subsequent development of events may also get out of control.

no way.

If Emperor Zhao Yu refused the toast offered to Yelü Yanxi and his ministers, he would have no choice but to force them to drink a penalty cup, which would mean allowing the Song army to capture Yanjing. Otherwise, where would Emperor Zhao Yu's imperial authority be?

The problem is that once the Song army breaches Yanjing, or Yelü Yanxi and his ministers rush out of the city, bloodshed and chaos will be inevitable.

By then, the hatred between the Song and Liao dynasties will be difficult to resolve, and it may become an irreconcilable conflict, just like the one between the Southern Song and the Jin dynasties. Even if a powerful enemy emerges that can destroy both countries, it will not be able to resolve this hatred.

In this way, even if the Jin Dynasty rose to power in the Northeast, the Song and Liao Dynasties would have to fight each other like snipe and clam until one of them was completely destroyed, and then be unified by the Jin Dynasty or the Mongols who appeared later.

Zhao Yu really didn't want things to develop this way.

The key point is that Zhao Yu is not ready to sweep across the grasslands at this stage. He still needs to lie low for another ten or eight years, or at least three to five years.

Therefore, Zhao Yu only hoped that Yelü Yanxi and his ministers would be more pragmatic and not push the path between the two countries to the brink.

It was precisely because of this matter on his mind that this night seemed particularly long for Zhao Yu.

To get through the long night, Zhao Yu focused all his attention on Xiao Sese and the four girls until he cleared his mind and fell asleep.

After getting up early, accompanied by Li Lin, Zhao Yu practiced Convict Conditioning and Yoga for another hour.

Subsequently, Su Zhe came to report: "Your Majesty, I personally boarded a hot air balloon and observed through a telescope that the Liao people have gathered their warhorses on the Imperial Street, but there are not many soldiers. They seem to want to hand over the warhorses to our dynasty."

Zhao Yu felt a little relieved, and then he instructed Su Zhe: "We must be prepared for the Liao people to repeatedly meet us, and we must also restrain our soldiers so that they do not do anything bad."

Su Zhe understood that there were far too many people in the Zhao Song Dynasty who wanted to start a war, and it was hard to guarantee that some of them wouldn't go to extremes and provoke a war in order to gain promotions and rewards.

To be honest, Su Zhe really admired Zhao Yu. Even he didn't expect that Zhao Yu could still have such firm strategic resolve in the current favorable situation.

Su Zhe thought to himself, 'Our Great Song Dynasty is destined for prosperity!'

Meanwhile, Su Zhe continued his report: "Grand Tutor Han has personally taken charge of the Pacification Commission and has also dispatched reliable individuals such as Li Chuwen, Zhao Liangsi, and Lü Yihao, who are familiar with the customs of the Liao people, to hand over the warhorses. I expect there will be no changes..."

……

Although the Song army did not attack the city last night, this does not mean that the Song army did not take any action last night.

In fact, last night the Song army built a large number of artillery frames and dug a large number of trenches in front of various city gates, and set up a large number of defensive works such as deer antlers, further strengthening military control over Yanjing City and preventing the people in Yanjing City from becoming desperate and resorting to desperate measures.

In addition, last night, Li Chuneng entered the city and instructed Xiao Fengxian to send men to cut off all the slow paths leading from the outer city gates to the city towers to prevent the soldiers and civilians in Yanjing from climbing the city walls.

Fearing the emergence of individuals like Xiao Gan and Yelü Dashi who could sabotage the peace negotiations between the two countries, Xiao Fengxian decisively adopted the "suggestion" of the Zhao Song Dynasty. He ordered the destruction of all the slow lanes in the city. As a precaution, he even ordered the lowering of the heavy gates of the seven city gates, except for Tongtian Gate, thus eliminating any possibility of people in Yanjing City escaping and demonstrating the Liao Dynasty's sincerity in negotiating peace to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

As the hour of Chen (7-9 AM) approached, the entire Song army went on high alert. The Shenji Vanguard and Rear Guard, along with more than a dozen light and heavy cavalry units, all gathered in front of Tongtian Gate to strengthen their defenses and closely monitor the situation inside the city.

However, even though both the Song and Liao dynasties had made ample preparations, an unexpected incident still occurred within the city just before the handover of the warhorses.

Around dawn, rumors suddenly spread throughout the city that Xiao Gan and Yelü Dashi were going to lead Yelü Yanxi out of the city. Zhao Yu was furious when he heard the news and prepared to send troops into the city to massacre them.

And so, yet another period of chaos began.

People in Yanjing fled from the inner city to the outer city in search of refuge.

Some ruffians and deserters among the Liao people took the opportunity to cause trouble. They changed into Han Chinese clothes, wore headscarves and turbans that Song people liked to wear, and some even wore Song army uniforms. They impersonated Song soldiers and went around robbing and killing people, and even broke into houses to kidnap women.

The problem was that these Liao people killed several officials of the Zhao Song Dynasty who had followed Li Chuneng into the city.

Even though these Song Dynasty officials shouted before their deaths, "We have come here to make peace and save your lives, please do not kill us!", the Liao people who were causing trouble did not let them go. Instead, they killed them on the spot and continued their rebellion.

A minor official from the Song Dynasty escaped this calamity by feigning death, and then reported the matter to Li Chuneng.

Li Chuneng was both shocked and furious. He sent the man back to report the matter while personally going to confront Xiao Fengxian.

When Xiao Fengxian learned of this, he was greatly alarmed. He immediately sent Xiao Bodie and Liu Yanzong to explain to the Zhao Song Dynasty and to stop the Song army from coming to raid the city.

At the same time, Xiao Fengxian immediately sent people to capture the people who killed the officials of the Zhao Song Dynasty, wanting to give the Zhao Song Dynasty an explanation.

In this chaos of war, where can we find the people who killed the officials of the Zhao Song Dynasty? At present, there are a large number of people causing trouble in Yanjing City. They have killed many people, and many high-ranking officials, noble families, wealthy families and merchants in Yanjing City have been looted by them.

In the end, Xiao Fengxian sent men to capture thousands of people, behead them all, and then sent the heads to the Zhao Song Dynasty, indicating that these were the people who killed Zhao Song Dynasty officials and had nothing to do with their Liao Dynasty.

However, this happened a day later.

A quarter before Chenshi (7-9 AM), the matter had already been reported up the chain of command and reached Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu first issued an edict to give a grand funeral to these officials who had died for the country. Then he summoned Xiao Bodie and Liu Yanzong and said to them, "The country is in ruins and people are in chaos. It is only natural. We should not punish them. The handover can proceed normally."

Thanks to Zhao Yu's words, the exchange of warhorses between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty proceeded normally and was not disrupted by this unexpected event...

……

(End of this chapter)