The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

Su Ming looked surprised, and then signaled the eunuch to present the letter.

He took the letter, opened it on the spot, and read ten lines at a glance before finishing it quickly. In the letter, Yelu Abaoji first reminisced about the past and greeted him, and then said that he wanted to arrange a marriage between the two families to facilitate peace talks.

After reading the letter, Su Ming calmly put it into his sleeve.

When Li Siyuan in the hall saw Yelu Abaoji's letter, a strange look appeared on his face. Yelu Abaoji actually wrote a letter to the emperor?

Obviously, Tongwenguan did not find this out.

"I have received your king's letter. I will write a reply later. You can take it back for me and say hello to him." At this time, Su Ming did not mention the marriage.

This matter has not been formally discussed in the court. The main purpose of today's court meeting is to receive the envoys of the Khitan State, and no unnecessary complications can arise.

The road must be walked step by step, and the meal must be eaten one bite at a time.

The normal procedure is to facilitate peace talks first and then arrange the marriage. If it is reversed, it will be distorted.

Chapter 149 The Proud Empress

No matter how bad the imperial court is, there are still three pounds of nails to a rotten ship. It is more nominal and legitimate than the so-called Jiedushi Shogunate. The peace talks between the two countries should proceed according to the normal process and there is no need to rush.

Perhaps, it was the first time for the Khitans, and their handling might have been a little crude, but for the Tang Dynasty, there were already corresponding etiquette and systems. At worst, there were precedents to follow.

Historically, there were not many monarchs who married women from the grassland as their queens, but it happened that more than four hundred years ago, an emperor married a Turkic princess.

That emperor was Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Yong. He also ascended the throne at a young age, and after enduring for several years, he killed the powerful minister Yuwen Hu in one fell swoop, thus regaining power.

Then he turned to negotiate peace with the Turks and married the Turkic princess Ashina (Queen Ashina), who was the daughter of the Turkic Khan Mugan. The marriage between the two sides ensured stability on the Northern Zhou border for several years.

To the north, he married the Turks, and to the south, he made friends with the Southern Chen, which led to a smooth transition of the situation in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Then, he implemented a very remarkable measure: destroying Buddhism!

That’s right, it means destroying Buddhism.

In history, the Three Wus and One Zong all carried out acts of exterminating Buddhism. The posthumous title given to the first three was "Wu", which means full of martial virtue and that martial virtue is the only thing that is respected. The goal was to defeat them and make them submit.

In response to this, Buddhism said, it’s too difficult for me!

After the destruction of Buddhism, the Northern Zhou court had population and land. Emperor Yuwen Yong also implemented the military service system and the equal-field system, strictly restricting large households from hoarding land.

With the money and food obtained from destroying Buddhism, the Northern Zhou Dynasty directly conquered the Northern Qi Dynasty and unified the northern Central Plains.

Unfortunately, this man did not live long enough to accomplish his great cause. He died young in his thirties, leaving behind the huge Northern Zhou Dynasty which eventually fell into the hands of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian.

It can be said that if Yuwen Yong had not laid a solid foundation for the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yang Jian would never have been able to unify the country.

Similarly, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there was another emperor who destroyed Buddhism, Zhou Shizong Chai Rong. He and Yuwen Yong had almost the same script. He was the last of the Three Wus and One Zong.

After these four tough men, no one else tried to destroy Buddhism. However, after these four men destroyed Buddhism, they all died young.

If these four people had lived longer, history might have been rewritten.

To get back to the point, with the example of the Northern Zhou Emperor Yuwen Yong, it was not unusual for Su Ming to marry a Khitan princess. When he thought of Yuwen Yong, Su Ming felt sad.

It seemed that if he could get Yuan Tiangang's approval and truly become the emperor, what he would do in the future would be no different from him.

Buddhism must be destroyed. There is no other way. Who made them so rich?

You can't let Su Ming squeeze the money of the poor people, right? How much money do they have? There is no oil to squeeze, whoever has money will take it, let them taste the feudal emperor's iron fist again.

Compared to Taoism, Buddhism really only remembers to eat and not to be beaten. It was destroyed four times before it calmed down. In comparison, Taoism calmed down after the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the defeat of Tianshi Dao.

It is time to recite scriptures and it is time to make elixirs. I am done with Taoism. I will hide in the mountains and live in harmony with the world. I don’t care about spring, summer, autumn or winter. From now on, Taoism will lie down. I will take time to look at Buddhism occasionally and smile. Those are all left over from my play.

Marrying a Khitan princess, destroying Buddhism, attacking aristocratic landlords, reducing the power of the feudal lords, consolidating military power, unifying the north, and then heading south, going through this whole process, Su Ming seemed to feel as if he had really become the second Yuwen Yong.

Sitting on the dragon throne, his thoughts gradually became distracted and drifted far away. When he came back to his senses, the Khitan envoy had already returned to his original position.

Immediately afterwards, the Khitan envoy left the hall, and the officials continued to discuss the peace talks. Su Ming did not intervene. These matters were handled by his subordinates. He only needed to make the right judgment at the critical moment and grasp the general direction.

If you do everything yourself, you will tire yourself to death.

Soon, the court meeting was disbanded and the officials returned to their respective offices to do their work.

……

After returning to the palace, Su Ming changed out of his solemn crown and put on a bright yellow dragon robe with the help of Miao Chengtian. Since the three holy maidens entered the palace, they had been responsible for his food, clothing, housing and transportation, and Su Ming was not at ease with other people.

After this selection, he will send most of the palace maids out of the palace, leaving only a few with clean backgrounds. Not only the palace maids, but if there is a chance in the future, he will also send away the eunuchs one after another.

When we arrived at Qianqiu Palace, the empress was already processing official documents.

Su Ming didn't pay much attention to it. He walked straight to the imperial desk and began to review the memorials. Half an hour later, he came to his senses. Hey, something is wrong. Why is it so quiet today?

According to past practice, the empress should have asked him about the letter from Yelü Abaoji. Why didn't she ask him today?

He put down the red brush in his hand and looked up at the empress. From his angle, he could just see the empress's exquisite profile, long eyelashes, slightly upturned nose, and fair and smooth face, which was breathtakingly beautiful.

Suddenly, Su Ming smiled. He knew that the empress was angry. Although she said nothing and had no expression on her face, she was really angry.

He did not go up to her and talk to her. Instead, he propped up his chin and stared at her with interest, from her hair, ears, eyebrows, nose, red lips, to her delicate body as she sat sideways.

The empress noticed it the moment Su Ming put down the red pen, but she was so angry that she didn't care.

As time went by, the empress became more and more sensitive. She could feel Su Ming's fiery gaze constantly scanning her body, as if an invisible big hand was caressing her, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. She put down the documents in her hand with a "pop" and turned to look at Su Ming coldly, "What on earth do you want to do? If you continue like this, I will go back."

The empress raised her eyebrows, her eyes were filled with murderous intent, and her cold voice revealed a hint of impatience.

Su Ming stood up and walked forward, "Are you angry?"

"No!" The empress turned her head away and said coldly.

"Are you angry because of those showgirls?"

"No!" She glared at Su Ming, her face puffed up.

Seeing her angry look, Su Ming's eyes filled with a gentle smile. He leaned down and looked directly into her eyes. "When we are done with this busy period, let's go out for a walk together, okay?"

"Hmph, who wants to go with you!" She said it with disdain, but her attitude had actually softened.

Su Ming smiled, helped her up and held her in his arms, "Okay, don't be angry. It's not easy for me to interfere in this matter of the concubine. I can only ask you to help me keep an eye on her. I don't trust anyone else, I only trust you."

The empress did not struggle too much and half-heartedly agreed. She snuggled in Su Ming's arms and said, "Humph, I think you are fascinated by that Khitan princess? You even sneaked to the post station!"

At this time, Su Ming realized that he had guessed wrong. She was angry because he secretly went to watch Yelu Zhi dance.

Chapter 150 Are you jealous?

"Are you jealous?"

"Oh, your majesty is busy with all kinds of affairs. I'm just a little girl, how dare I be jealous of your majesty?" The empress twisted her body uneasily and glared at him.

"She is just a little girl. How can she compare to our charming and beautiful Empress? Don't you think so? How can a little princess of the grassland compare to the Empress of Huanyinfang?" Su Ming stretched out his finger and gently lifted her chin.

"Humph, men always like to get tired of the old and fall in love with the new. Who knows if you will still pay attention to me, an old friend, after you meet someone new?" As she spoke, a trace of worry flashed in the empress's eyes. "Besides, I am so old, how can I compare to those beautiful girls?"

She was not a sentimental person, but ever since Su Ming had aroused her emotions and expressed his feelings, she could no longer maintain her status and her heart was completely devoted to him.

The empress had never experienced love between men and women in her sixteen years of royal career, so it could be said that she was just beginning to fall in love. The relationship between them was very simple, without any romance, no moonlit night, or lovey-dovey talk.

There was no need to say too much between them. They were not an ordinary couple. They were completely immersed in love. She was a royal family and had long forgotten how to be a woman who was just beginning to fall in love. She was not used to playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.

In short, they are not the kind of couple who stick together all day long after they start dating, but they are working towards a common cause. The empress has the world in her heart, and Su Ming has to move towards this goal in order to survive.

On this road, their hearts are in harmony. Every policy and every decision represents their joint efforts. In the process, they know each other and are honest with each other. This is a communication of the soul, which is stronger than any string or wind instrument.

However, Su Ming couldn't intervene in the matter of dealing with the concubines, because he didn't know the details of those aristocratic families and was not clear about many things at the grassroots level.

On the other hand, the empress had been a princess for sixteen years and was familiar with local affairs. When her subordinates submitted memorials to her, she could see the trick at a glance.

Lack of knowledge of local affairs is not only Su Ming's shortcoming, but also a common shortcoming of most emperors in history.

When aristocratic families send their daughters away, there is a lot of intrigue and conspiracy involved. There is a lot to write about which daughter gets ranked first, which daughter gets selected for excellence, and which daughter gets eliminated.

It can be said that people who are not familiar with local forces and the ways in which officials operate simply cannot understand the tricks involved. Some things can only be understood by people in the circle.

The empress was originally a military governor. With her status, it was easy for her to blend in and take charge of the situation.

On the other hand, Su Ming could not intervene. No matter what he did, they would think that he had preferences and he would offend others.

However, no matter how strong the empress was, she was still a woman, and Yelu Zhiwu was just an inducement. Su Ming was busy with military affairs these days and had indeed neglected her a little.

"Those girls haven't even grown all their hair yet, how can they compare to you? Here, this is the letter Yelu Abaoji wrote to me, let's take a look at it together?" Su Ming first praised her, then kissed her, and took her to sit on the couch.

At this moment, the empress blushed, stopped arguing, and sat down with him obediently.

She was not a unreasonable little woman. All she wanted was Su Ming's attitude and comfort.

Sometimes when a woman is angry, she is not really angry. She just wants you to pay attention to her and have an attitude. At this time, right or wrong is not important.

The letter was not long and they finished reading it quickly. Yelu Abaoji understood the original language but did not study it in depth. The letter was written in plain language and was easy to understand.

"You are such a good brother. You never miss any opportunity." After reading the letter, the empress's heart had calmed down and she said softly.

"Yes, he still has evil intentions and is thinking about going south." Su Ming smiled and agreed.

If he remembered correctly, Yelu Abaoji would die suddenly on his way back to the Khitan grassland this year. But if Yelu Abaoji did not return to the grassland and stayed in the old territory of Bohai Kingdom, would he not have died?

He speculated that in history, Yelu Abaoji fought on the grasslands for many years and had many old injuries during his lifetime. It was not surprising that the climate of Bohai Kingdom was very different from that of the grasslands.

It is not surprising that he died suddenly after being unable to adapt to the climate, having many old injuries and traveling a long distance.

But the question is, will Yelu Abaoji's death be any good to him?

First of all, Yelu Abaoji died, and Yelu Zhiwu's identity as a princess was no longer as useful as before. His death was likely to affect the peace talks between the court and the Khitan.

Secondly, once he died, there would inevitably be civil unrest in Khitan.

Queen Shulido of Yingtian was not a person who followed her husband's lead and obeyed his will. She favored her youngest son, Yelu Lihu, and wanted him to inherit the Khitan throne.

Unfortunately, compared to his two older brothers, Yelu Lihu had no advantage. Whether it was his eldest brother Yelu Bei or his second son Yelu Deguang, their power in the grassland tribes far exceeded his.

Even if Shuliduo secretly supported him, he could not become the king of Khitan. Without the intervention of external forces, he would never be able to ascend the throne.

Therefore, this is the opportunity to cooperate with Shulido that Su Ming mentioned before.

Afterwards, Su Ming explained the situation of Khitan to the empress, "Khitan is not a monolithic group. Even if a person is powerful, it is a tragedy if his successor is not good enough. This is the case with the Qin Emperor and Han Wudi."

"Inside the Khitan, Yelu Bei and Yelu Deguang were competing against each other, neither of them would give in. Yelu Bei was the eldest son and the natural successor, but Yelu Deguang had followed Yelu Abaoji in his campaigns over the years and was very popular among the tribe."

After hearing this, the empress's eyes lit up and she said four words, "The trouble started from within?"

"Yes, even if Yelu Abaoji has great prestige among the grassland tribes, he is old after all. On the one hand, he supports Yelu Bei, but on the other hand, he is also on guard against Yelu Bei."

"Otherwise, what do you think is the reason why Yelu Deguang can compete with Yelu Bei?" As an emperor, Su Ming easily guessed Yelu Abaoji's thoughts.

The empress sighed, "You have to use him, but you also have to guard against him. You also have to worry about your successor's lack of prestige and inability to suppress the leaders of other tribes. Yelu Abaoji really took great pains."