A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 259 A Fantasy Tale, Stealing a Kingdom with Laughter

As night fell, the Liao Kingdom had already tallied up the day's battle losses in its city gates and set up a banquet in the city lord's mansion to celebrate this great victory.

Some of the generals who sat at the end of the table couldn't help but cover their faces and shed tears while they were happy.

"Heaven bless our Great Liao! Heaven truly blesses our Great Liao!"

The man was crying and sobbing, but no one laughed at him. Instead, they all suppressed their smiles and felt a sense of sympathy, sighing with pity.

When Han Shizhong led his troops across the border river, the generals and officers of the Liao army were still in high spirits, eager to make a name for themselves in this great battle and leave a lasting legacy in the Liao history.

However, after fighting battle after battle, Han Shizhong's troops were like dragons returning to the sea and tigers entering the deep mountains. They had no trace of the weak habits of the southern people. They devoured the land like whales and oxen, and seized piece by piece of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

These generals in the Liao army went up with high morale but failed; they went up again with renewed vigor but failed again; they tried to use the morale of the soldiers in their despair to inspire their determination to win, but they still failed.

Attack, retreat, surprise attack, hold the line, cover the rear, defeat after defeat after defeat after defeat.

The enemy's relentless offensive had nearly crushed the morale of the Liao generals. This city was their last bastion, yet they lived in constant fear and trepidation, unsure when the city would fall, Youzhou would be lost, and they would be forced to retreat all the way back to the heart of Liao territory.

But then, they actually won!

No wonder some people wept with joy. Among the three armies of the Liao Dynasty, it was not only these few generals at the banquet who were shedding tears at this moment.

General Tianshan Yong of the Liao Kingdom, a broad-shouldered and thick-waisted man, was a burly fellow. He opened his mouth, as large as a washbasin, and devoured a beef leg, bone and all, in a few bites. With a satisfied sigh, he exclaimed, "Who could have imagined that there would be such a shameless and suspicious ruler in the world?"

"With a major battle imminent, even if the king and generals are at odds, they could wait until after the retreat and then devise a plan. Even replacing the commander-in-chief on the eve of battle would be acceptable. But that bastard actually went so far as to sacrifice Han Shizhong and 20,000 elite troops! Ha, ha ha ha ha!"

At this point, Tian Shanyong couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching his stomach with both hands and trembling with laughter.

"If only I had known this earlier, haha, if only I had known this earlier, why did the commander-in-chief bother sending people to seek an alliance with Liangshan? He should have just sent some gold and jewels to Bianliang and let the emperor stab him in the back. If that had happened, who knows, our Liao flag might be flying on the other side of the border river by now."

Wuyan Guang drank a large gulp of wine, shook his head and said, "Han Shizhong is indeed a man who deserves to die ten thousand times, but even if he were struck by lightning on the road, choked to death while drinking water, or choked to death while eating, he should not be killed by this emperor like this."

"And the fact that he was able to escape from the city can be considered a win-win situation. We don't have to see a hero harmed by a coward, and we can also make him live in a hell of remorse for the rest of his life, which can also comfort the spirits of our Liao soldiers in heaven."

Wuyan Guang filled both wine cups, stood up holding them with both hands, and raised the cup in his left hand first, saying, "Gentlemen, this cup of wine should be used to pay tribute to the brave warriors of our Great Liao who have died in the bloody battles of recent days!"

The generals raised their cups together and poured the wine onto the floor of the city lord's mansion, where it seeped into the cracks in the wooden planks and flowed freely.

Wuyan Guang put down the empty cup in his left hand, raised the cup in his right hand, and said to the ashen-faced man, "This second cup is to toast the great warrior Yelü Hui!"

This burly man in gray had only recently come to the city to serve the country. He claimed to have lived in seclusion in the mountains for a long time, and upon hearing of the crisis facing the Liao Dynasty, he came specifically to offer his services.

Not only did he utter astonishing words, but his martial arts skills were also extraordinary. He held no official position and, relying solely on his demonic powers, subdued several generals with his bare hands.

Wuyan Guang went into battle fully armed and had the advantage in terms of weaponry and luck, but he was still only on par with this person.

The supervising officer, Yelü Dezhong, was astonished by this and treated him with the utmost respect. Only then did he arrange for the generals to set up an ambush according to Yelü Hui's plan, which indeed succeeded in one fell swoop.

When the generals offered him a toast, the iron-haired man slowly drank a cup, unperturbed by praise or criticism.

Wuyan Guang sighed, "We have also heard many rumors about that Song emperor, but rumors are always exaggerated, or even fabricated out of thin air, so it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood."

"Moreover, after he ascended the throne, the Song army did indeed become far stronger, and they even had the achievement of destroying the Xia dynasty. It's unbelievable that he would be such an absurd person. I wonder how you saw through this and knew that he was so eager to eliminate Han Shizhong that he didn't hesitate to take such a ridiculous action?"

The sturdy man calmly said, "To judge a person's character, one cannot look at the big picture, but must observe the details. Although there are many rumors about the Song emperor, there is no smoke without fire, and we cannot completely disbelieve them. Especially for a monarch, the benevolence, courtesy, and magnanimity he deliberately displays, or his tyranny, favoritism, and bias, are often just to consolidate his supreme authority. Only what is revealed in the small details may be his true character."

"I have collected many rumors about the Song emperor and found that he is actually a mean, ungrateful, and suspicious person. If the times were right, he could have easily let it go even if he were facing a long-serving general or someone who holds military power, leaving behind a good reputation and making it easier to win over more loyal people. But now the Song state is plagued by internal strife, and Han Shizhong has suddenly found an excuse to command all the border troops to attack the Liao state. For the Song emperor, this is obviously a very bad time."

He took another sip of wine and chuckled softly, “When I came here yesterday, I climbed to a high place and looked out. I saw the Song emperor’s five-colored clouds rolling around, but there was no imperial procession or personal guards accompanying him. This confirmed my suspicions and led me to this deduction.”

All the generals nodded in agreement. Wuyan Guang said, "I thought myself to be both a scholar and a warrior, and to hold the position of commander-in-chief, but I am not as clear-sighted as you. It is truly a blessing from heaven that such a talented person has come to join my army. Come, let me toast you again."

Just as Wuyan Guang raised his glass, a very excited voice came from outside.

"It's not that Heaven is blessing the Liao Dynasty, it's that our Great Liao's founding emperor is protecting us!"

Prince Yelü Dezhong of the Liao Kingdom rushed over from outside. Upon seeing the man in iron gray, he was moved to tears and knelt down in worship.

Everyone was taken aback.

Wuyan Guang frowned and said, "Your Highness, you are late for today's celebration and have slighted our great hero. You should indeed be punished. However, you are His Majesty's brother and of noble status. You should not perform such a grand ceremony lightly."

Yelü Dezhong turned around angrily and said, "What do you know? This is..."

Seeing that there were many people in the hall, he paused for a moment and then ordered, "Everyone else, get out."

Everyone looked on in astonishment as they turned to look at Wu Yanguang.

Wuyan Guang said helplessly, "You should go out and enjoy the festivities with the soldiers. Go ahead."

After everyone left, Yelü Dezhong sent men to guard outside the hall and cast spells to isolate the sounds inside and outside before kneeling and kowtowing three times to the iron-gray man, performing the grand ceremony of prostrating himself on the ground.

"His descendant Yelü Dezhong is extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to pay homage to Emperor Taizu of the Liao Dynasty!"

Wu Yanguang's expression changed drastically. He jumped out from behind the table and shouted, "Your Highness, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"Do not be presumptuous in front of the founding emperor."

Yelü Dezhong didn't turn his head back. He took out a scroll of painting from his sleeve, presented it with both hands, kowtowed to the ground, and arched his buttocks high. He said, "When Emperor Taizu came to the military camp, although he deliberately concealed his strength, the methods he used were vaguely the style of the 'Twelve Scrolls of the Rift of Tang,' the national treasure of our Great Liao. Moreover, it is a realm that only the direct descendants of the royal family above the fourth level of the Precious Bone Divine Demon can reach. No one in our Great Liao has cultivated it for a hundred years."

"It is regrettable that I did not recognize the Taizu Emperor immediately at the time, and many doubts arose in my mind. Later, after careful observation, I saw that the Taizu Emperor walked with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, with skin like a divine rock, a leopard neck looking back, and so on. Many of these strange phenomena matched the records in the royal secrets. That night, I dreamed of a hundred auspicious omens, which I cannot fully describe in a short time."

"Only then did I remember to send someone back to retrieve the only surviving image of the divine spirit hidden in the royal treasury."

Wu Yanguang was speechless upon hearing this.

The Liao royal family was prone to internal strife and infighting. Originally, there were only five scrolls of portraits left by Emperor Taizu of Liao, Yelü Abaoji, but three of them were lost, leaving only two scrolls, which were held by the ancestral temple and the Liao emperor respectively.

To behold the likeness and true countenance of Yelü Abaoji was a great honor among the Liao Dynasty's high-ranking officials. Even Wuyan Guang had only seen him twice before, with the emperor's permission.

The scroll that Yelü Dezhong was holding suddenly opened, and a strange light shone from the picture, shining on the iron-gray man.

The martial spirit of Emperor Taizu of Liao in the painting is indeed very endearing to this iron-clad man.

"Indeed, indeed! Apart from the founding emperor, who else possesses such unparalleled skills and such strategic brilliance? Who else would pity the perilous situation of my Great Liao!"

Yelü Dezhong kowtowed repeatedly.

Wuyan Guang dared not doubt it any longer, and knelt down to pay his respects.

The man in the grime shook his head and sighed, "Get up, all of you. I was originally in the midst of the fierce winds of the heavens when I sensed the turmoil within the Great Liao Kingdom, which seemed on the verge of collapse. That's when I awoke and came down to investigate. However, I am the former ruler, and if I were to appear rashly, it might cause chaos. That's why I concealed my name and called myself Yelü Hui, signifying the resurgence of the Yelü clan."

Yelü Dezhong was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably, and said, "Emperor Taizu was benevolent, but Yelü Yanxi, who is now sitting on the throne, has no sign of being a ruler. He is indecisive and has no opinions of his own. He listens to loyal ministers when they advise him, and he listens to treacherous ministers when they advise him."

"Being afraid of us loyal and virtuous people, you favor eunuchs, which is the greatest absurdity in the world. We earnestly request Emperor Taizu to set things right, regain the throne, and lead our great Liao Dynasty to glory again."

The sturdy man's face showed emotion: "Is the current Liao emperor really as despicable as you say?"

He seemed somewhat disbelieving, looking at Wuyan Guang.

Wuyan Guang hesitated for a moment. Yelü Yanxi was indeed easily influenced, but he treated him very well.

However! With Han Shizhong's army advancing, Yelü Yanxi, initially arrogant but now panicked, changed his orders frequently, becoming flustered and helpless, offering no help to the front lines. Even if such an emperor were preserved, what reputation could he leave behind? And this man before them, the founding emperor of the Liao Dynasty…

"What Your Highness says is correct."

Wuyan Guang's heart burned with fervor, and he bowed deeply, "I earnestly request that the Emperor Taizu first quell the war between Song and Liao, and then restore order to the country."

The man in gray seemed to be deep in thought, and sighed, "So be it. Although the Song people lost their great general Han Shizhong, they only lost 20,000 elite troops, while our Liao people have already lost more than 100,000. A truce is the right thing to do. Fortunately, the Song emperor is eager to go back and quell the rebellion, so he will not cause any more trouble."

"You shall immediately draft a peace treaty and present it to me for my review. We shall negotiate peace with the Song Dynasty. After that, I will go and see how Yelü Yanxi is doing."

Yelü was overjoyed and expressed his deepest gratitude.

Wuyan Guang offered the city lord's mansion to the iron-gray man to rest, while he and Yelü Dezhong went to the side hall to convene the generals for a meeting.

Watching them leave, the grizzled man flicked his sleeve, sat back down at the table, and chuckled to himself.

If a dynasty's national turmoil and impending collapse could awaken those demonic masters who chase the sun, then when the Tang Dynasty fell, at least thirty or forty divine demons with precious bones should have fallen from the sky, sweeping across the land and restoring order.

However, as it turns out, even someone like Zhao Kuangyin, who lived a relatively recent era and was suffering from elixir poisoning, was slow to rise in the strong winds, and could only be barely awakened by the active perception of the Heavenly Emperor.

The strange phenomenon of the Heavenly Emperor, who rode the wave of the revival of the demonic path, received the support of the entire nation, and whose imperial fortune was chaotic yet not declining, and whose resentment did not lead to his downfall, was something no one in the Liao Kingdom could achieve.

This is a flaw.

But it doesn't matter.

If a powerful minister like Yelü Dezhong were told directly that he was Emperor Taizu of Liao, he would definitely be suspicious. But if he was allowed to discover it for himself and he was certain of it, he would no longer question it.

Any possible flaws would be filled in by Yelü Dezhong's own flawless explanations, which he used to convince himself and others.

"A mere painting is too easy to fool. Yelü Abaoji and Yelü Deguang, your descendants are all useless."

Disguised, Zhao Kuangyin slowly filled two wine cups, then with a flick of his fingers, picked up both cups at the same time and poured them into his mouth.

"Hmph, since that's the case, they shall all belong to me."

………………

Thud!

The wine glass tapped on the table.

The Emperor of Heaven set up a small table in the wilderness, with a wine pot and two wine cups.

This is the third day of the peace talks between the Song and Liao dynasties.

Both sides have reviewed the peace treaty and discussed it several times; today is the day to swear an oath.

Sitting opposite the Emperor of Heaven's Mandate were the people jointly recommended by Wuyan Guang and Yelü Dezhong.

The fierce generals of Song and Liao stood guard at the foot of the mountain, occasionally gazing at the top of the desolate hills.

Their expressions and thoughts varied, especially those of many generals on the Song side, whose faces were unusually complicated. But neither the Song nor the Liao generals could have imagined that the two people on the top of the desolate hill had not discussed any Song-Liao alliance at all.

"Stealing a country!"

The Emperor of Destiny slowly uttered those three words, saying, "Such a fantastical tale, does our ancestor truly intend to try it?"

"It's just a tiger among sheep; there's nothing to worry about."

Zhao Kuangyin remained calm and said, "After I go, I can ensure that the Liao troops will not have the opportunity to invade the territory of the Song Dynasty. You can act freely and quell the rebellion. Han Shizhong is still alive, which is a major hidden danger. You must be careful."

The Emperor of Heavenly Mandate said, "Since ancient times, the proper order of ruler and subject, father and son, has always been the way of heaven and human relations. It is not more true than this. In every dynasty, there have been instances of commanders betraying their rulers and being killed by their subordinates. I know who in the camp is loyal, who is a traitor, and who is useful. Rather than worrying about Han Shizhong, it is Guan Yu in Luoyang who infuriates me more."

Zhao Kuangyin laughed and said, "I already know the whole story of how the Liangshan bandits rose to power. Guan Luoyang's deception and charlatanry to such an extent is rare in the world. But such a person is like Wang Mang back then. Once his reputation collapses, his morale will suffer a great blow, and then he will collapse like water and his army will be defeated like a mountain. It will be just around the corner."

"As an elder, I have a few words to give you. You must first avoid his sharp edge and not confront him head-on. There are many ways for rebels to operate. You must first eliminate the medium-sized ones, suppress the small ones, and then wipe out the strong ones."

"You must disrupt the morale of Liangshan, deplete their energy, divide their forces, shatter their composure, and destroy Guan Yu's reputation and resolve in Luoyang, and finally..."

The Emperor of Destiny paused his cup, looked up, and finished the sentence: "Only then will it be time to kill him!"

(End of this chapter)