Xiao Xunbu trembled, covered his mouth with one hand, tried to suppress the sound of crying, and stretched out his other hand along the waist of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu and hugged him off the ground.

The two figures disappeared into the palace little by little.

Cao Wei and Kou Ji glanced at each other after their figures disappeared, and their eyes were extremely complicated.

Zhao Zhen stood in front of the seat with his hands behind his back, without a look on his face.

It's not that Zhao Zhen's mood is calm.

Those who are familiar with him know that when Zhao Zhen does not have the slightest look on his face, his mood is the most uncalm.

Cao Wei and Kou Ji saw Zhao Zhen's expression, without words, and stood quietly in the main hall of the palace.

Zhao Zhen stood in place and was silent for a long time, and then slowly spoke, "I thought that if the enemy bowed his head, I would laugh, but now that the enemy has bowed down in front of me, I am not happy at all. ”

Zhao Zhen couldn't be happy, and neither were Cao Wei and Kou Ji.

Somehow, when they saw Yelu Longxu put his head on Xiao Xunbu's shoulder, they panicked unspeakably.

Yelu Longxu is not a dumb king.

On the contrary, he is a male lord with belly, courage, means, and ability.

During his reign, the territory of the Liao State reached an unprecedented peak.

During his reign, all the states of the Liao State came to the court.

Such a majestic lord, it stands to reason that even if it is death, it is also in the spotlight.

But now he died quietly in Youzhou City, and Xiao Xunbu, the only one who could help him mourn, didn't dare to cry out loud.

is also an emperor, Zhao Zhen saw Yelu Longxu die like this, and his heart was naturally unhappy.

Cao Wei and Kou Ji feel that the twilight of heroes is really a great tragedy in the world.

Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu was defeated this time and was defeated in military strength.

The defeat of the Liao State this time was defeated in time and in the twilight of heroes.

For superpowers such as Liao and the Great Song Dynasty, one or two fiascos could not determine the survival of a superpower.

In the past, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty conquered the Liao State three times and failed three times, each time worse than the other.

But the Great Song Dynasty did not destroy the country and the clan after the three fiascos, but has survived to this day.

This incident is enough to show that the defeat of one or two major wars is not enough to determine the survival of a superpower.

If Emperor Liao Yelu Longxu was in better health, or more than a decade younger, he would definitely not choose to bow to the Great Song Dynasty.

Even if he couldn't defeat the Great Song Dynasty, he would find a way to escape from the sixteen states of Yanyun, and then he dealt with the civil strife in the Liao State, accumulated enough strength, and then led the army to make a comeback.

But his body is so bad that he can't sit up.

Even if he managed to escape, he couldn't escape from the Great Song Dynasty.

Because he couldn't bear the fatigue of the boat and car along the way, he would die halfway through.

He has no chance to return to the capital, and he has no chance of making a comeback.

His son Yelu Zongzhen was still young, and it was difficult for him to hold power, and even if he was assisted, it would be difficult for him to suppress the Khitan Eight Tribes and other tribes by virtue of his personal prestige.

In the current chaos of Liao, it will be very difficult to survive.

If all the elites of the Liao soldiers were buried in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Yelu Zongzhen would have no power to protect himself, and even if he got out of the pass alive, he would soon be beheaded by someone.

So Yelu Longxu had to cut his flesh to survive.

The Liao State is now in danger of survival, partly because of the great war between the Song and Liao, and partly because of the change of the throne.

After Zhao Zhen sighed for a long time, seeing that Kou Ji and Cao Wei were silent, he sighed and said, "Fourth brother and Cao Aiqing are dissatisfied with Zhen agreeing to let Yelu Zongzhen live?" ”

Many times, people in the world believe in a kind of concept that the grass does not come out of the roots, and the spring breeze blows and grows.

Zhao Zhen gave Yelu Zongzhen a way out, in the eyes of many people, he was asking for trouble.

Zhao Zhen saw that Cao Wei and Kou Ji were silent, and obviously thought that they thought so.

Kou Ji and Cao Wei glanced at each other and shook their heads in unison.

"The ministers did not mean ...... so"

The Ssangyong Society, the negotiation between the king and the king, is not something that the two of them can participate in.

If Xiao Xunbu begged Zhao Zhen instead of Yelu Longxu, the two of them would definitely not be silent.

There is a word called 'Passover'.

In private, the two of them can overstep unscrupulously, but officially, there must not be the slightest transgression.

The more they got to the point where the two of them were, the more they should follow some rules.

If Kou Ji is just a seven-rank petty official, then he will be overstepped.

Whether Zhao Zhen beats the board, reprimands, or even cuts off his head, the impact will not be too great.

But Kou Ji is now a very popular minister, and his protégés have a lot of old ones, and they are all in important positions.

If Kou Ji crossed the line on a formal occasion, it would be sending a signal to his protégés.

I'm not happy with the man sitting on the throne, you see. ’

What can the protégés do when they get this signal?

Either kill the person on the throne, or make him a puppet and make Kou Ji a powerful minister.

or put a yellow robe on Kou Ji and seek to usurp the throne.

Therefore, those who are familiar with the court will find that the more high-ranking and high-ranking people are, the more they like to maintain imperial power.

Because they all know in their hearts that their every move can change the color of heaven and earth.

Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng, Zhang Zhibai and others, before they served as the Pingzhang Affairs and the Governor of Tongzhongshu, were in the court, and they did not scold the emperor.

However, after they were promoted to the level of the same book and the governor of the government, they would hardly scold the emperor again.

Even if there is a political disagreement, it will be discussed in the capital hall in private, and it will never be brought to the vertical arch hall to say.

If there is a big disagreement and there is a quarrel on the vertical arch hall, once the emperor makes a decision, they will also comply.

Could it be that with their strength, there is no way to embarrass the emperor?

Yang Feng Yin disobeyed, dropped out of the dynasty and dismissed the government, and even secretly made a stumbling block for the emperor, wouldn't they?

They stand out among hundreds of thousands of officials and rank in the center, and those small methods in the officialdom, they can no longer be proficient, how can they not be used.

With their status and status, even if they embarrassed the emperor, it was impossible for the emperor to kill them.

In the final analysis, if they are not willing to embarrass the emperor, they are maintaining imperial power.

Of course, there is also the factor of maintaining one's own position.

In short, the higher the status, the more difficult it is to surpass.

Because others are thousands of miles away from the Thunder Pool, and you may only be half a step away from the Thunder Pool.

Zhao Zhen saw Kou Ji and Cao Wei shaking their heads in unison, and said with a long sigh: "I originally thought that after Yelu Zongzhen came out, I would order Liu Heng to take back Yelu Zongzhen's head to me at all costs.

But for now, we can only do that. ”

Kou Ji and Cao Wei were stunned and looked at Zhao Zhen with stunned expressions.

Zhao Zhen said indifferently: "I just promised Yelu Longxu to let Yelu Zong really go out of the customs, but I didn't promise that after he got out of the customs, I wouldn't send anyone to deal with him." ”

Kou Ji and Cao Wei thought about it for a moment and nodded slowly.

Zhao Zhen just promised Yelu Longxu to let Yelu Zongzhen out of the pass, but he didn't promise not to attack the territory of Liao in the future, nor did he promise not to send people to chase and kill Yelu Zongzhen outside the pass.

It's just, why do you do it?!

Kou Ji and Cao Wei looked suspicious.

Zhao Zhen seemed to see the thoughts of the two, sighed, and said faintly: "He is like a ruffian and a scoundrel, leaving his life in front of me."

He can be a scoundrel, but I don't want to.

I will then summon Liu Heng back to fight against the murderers with you.

My move can be regarded as letting Yelu Zong really live.

After my Great Song Dynasty has resisted those murderers, I will send people out of the customs to open up the territory.

When the time comes, I will send Japanese soldiers and Jiaozhi soldiers to be the vanguard.

If Yelu Zong really died at the hands of the Japanese soldiers and the Jiaozhi soldiers, then it is no wonder. ”

When Cao Wei and Kou Ji heard this, they were stunned at first, and then laughed together.

After laughing.

Cao Wei hesitated: "We asked Jiaozhi to send reinforcements, but we paid a great price. If we ask them to go out of the customs and help us attack the city and plunder the land, I am afraid that we will have to pay a greater price. ”

Zhao Zhen said indifferently: "At that time, I will naturally reward them." ”

Cao Wei stared at Zhao Zhen with some astonishment.

Kou Ji said with a smile on the side: "What the official family means is that with the current soldiers of my Great Song Dynasty, there is no room for negotiation with my Great Song Dynasty."

Either be obedient or wait to be destroyed by us.

After all, it's not a day or two since we've been thinking about Jiaozhi.

Now in the surrounding neighborhood, it seems that Jiaozhi is left alone. ”

When Cao Wei heard this, he was stunned at first, and then couldn't cry or laugh.

It was obviously a very domineering word, but Zhao Zhen said it in such a tactful way, and he didn't react for a while.

Zhao Zhen ignored Cao Wei's reaction, and he said solemnly: "Since Yelu Longxu has softened, then we don't have to continue to stay in Youzhou City."

Cao Aiqing, you quickly give Li Zhaoliang and Wang Kai an order, and march with all your strength on the third line!

Fu Yanyun! ”

When Cao Wei and Kou Ji heard this, their faces were all straight.

"Fu Yanyun!"

"Fu Yanyun!"

“……”

The recovery of Yanyun is just around the corner.

Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji, and Cao Wei naturally won't hesitate any longer.

Zhao Zhen only promised to let 50,000 Liao soldiers leave Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, but did not promise to let other Liao soldiers leave Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.

Zhao Zhen said that 50,000 is 50,000, not more, and not less.

After Cao Wei left the palace, he immediately sent someone to give orders to Li Zhaoliang and Wang Kai.

Koji did not leave the palace, as he did not intend to participate in the rest of the war.

He had to stay in the palace and arrange the governance of the sixteen states of Yanyun with Zhao Zhen.

The territory has been defeated, and we can't ignore it, and we can't ignore it.

Governance is needed.

There is a way that it is easy to fight the country, but it is difficult to govern the country.

After the 16 states of Yanyun were taken, how to assign officials, how to implement the decrees of the Great Song Dynasty, how to get the people of the 16 states of Yanyun out of the stage of extreme poverty as soon as possible, and so on, all needed to be solved.

Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen discussed for a night, and they encountered a problem.

What's the problem?

There are not enough officials.

Kou Ji doesn't like to use dog legs, and Zhao Zhen doesn't like to use the old ministers left by the Liao State.

Kou Ji is simply not like doglegs.

Zhao Zhen has his own standards for employing people.

In Zhao Zhen's words, my Great Song soldiers worked hard to recover Yanyun, and the officials should be sent by our court.

And not with those old ministers who surrendered.

When they were in Liao, they were in the land of fish and meat, and they brutalized the people.

Now that Yan Yun has recovered, will he continue to use them to fish and meat in the countryside and kill the people?

So what's the use of recovering Yanyun?

The imperial court will not get any big benefits except for an extra piece of territory.

The same is true of the people.

On the contrary, those dogs have left and right legs, and their brains are full of fat?

Why?

It is precisely because of this concept of employing people that Zhao Zhen insisted on sending new officials to the sixteen states of Yanyun.

It's just that the two of them sat down and planned all night before they found out.

The current officials of the Great Song Dynasty seem to be insufficient.

There were eleven more states at once, and the Great Song Dynasty needed to dispatch tens of thousands of officials.

Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji calculated all night, and only managed to make up 10,000 people.

Zhao Zhen suddenly felt that he was a bit of a failure as an emperor, and there would be a situation where no one would use him.

Kou Ji thought it was ridiculous.

In the Song Dynasty, the number of officials was huge, and it has always been a huge scourge.

Now, there is a situation where the officials of the Great Song Dynasty are insufficient.

"Shouldn't I get excited and open an Enko?"

After thinking about it for a long time, Zhao Zhen suddenly opened his mouth and asked Kou Ji.

If there are not enough officials, they will add Enko, which is the most direct means for the imperial court to increase officials.

Kou Ji thought for a moment and said, "It's not appropriate...... Nowadays, the selection of officials in our Great Song Dynasty is very rigorous, and officials must go through at least three years of experience as adjutant before becoming an official.

Even if Kaienke is now, the selected jinshi can barely be used in three years. ”

Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji and said, "Then tell me, where to choose officials?" ”

Kou Ji pondered for a moment, "Pick some big officials...... Some Mr. Mengxue who has performed well in Mengxue can also be made to serve as some judges, pushers and other deputy positions in the yamen. ”

Choosing the outstanding Mr. Mengxue, Zhao Zhen can understand.

When Mr. Mengxue was recruited into Mengxue again, Zhao Zhen promised them that as long as they taught for a certain period of time, they would be allowed to go out.

Zhao Zhen has now made them outstanding, which can be regarded as fulfilling his promise.

But if those big officials in the yamen were appointed, Zhao Zhen couldn't quite understand them.

Officials and officials are completely two classes.

Officials who are appointed by officials can almost be said to be rare.

Because the government and the opposition do not recognize officials from the background.

In the court, officials from Jinshi are the first class, and as long as they don't make mistakes, they are the first choice when they are promoted.

The officials who are recommended are second-class, and when they are promoted, they are eligible for promotion if there is no opponent from the Jinshi background.

Otherwise, they will hardly be promoted for the rest of their lives, unless they are promoted by important ministers in the court.

Officials from the official background are the third class, and the seventh-rank officials are almost their limit.

There are almost no people who can cross the threshold of the seven-rank official.

The two words of origin can almost be said to represent everything in the officialdom of the Great Song Dynasty.

Moreover, the selection of officials as officials in large quantities will cause dissatisfaction among all officials from the government and the opposition.

In their opinion, even if the imperial court wants to select talents, it should also open a department to recruit scholars, rather than appoint a group of officials.

If Kou Ji chooses an official as an official, if it spreads out, he will definitely be scolded.

Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji and hesitated: "Fourth brother, isn't it inappropriate to choose officials as officials?" ”

Kou Ji said frankly: "In my opinion, some good officials are officials, far better than most Jinshi. ”

Zhao Zhen groaned: "I agree with this. It seems that the officials who govern the place are actually the officials. When some officials arrived at the localities, they did almost nothing.

It is entirely the officials who govern the place.

It's just that if you choose officials as officials, it is obviously not against the decree of the imperial court appointing officials.

When the time comes, it will be a trouble for officials from all over the government and the opposition to make trouble. ”

Kou Ji smiled and said, "Special time, special treatment." If anyone has any objections, the official family will send whoever is here as an official. If they are still disobedient, they will be thrown away to Dali to educate the people. ”

Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment and nodded: "That's right, in extraordinary times, it is understandable that I use some extraordinary methods." ”

"So that's it?"

"Hmm!"

Just when the two monarchs and ministers were discussing here, a long horn suddenly sounded outside Youzhou City.

Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji both got up, paced outside the palace, looked at the sky that had just brightened, and headed in the direction of the Liao State Soldiers and Horses Battalion.

Zhao Zhen sighed: "Yelu Sect really told all the Liao people about Yelu Longxu's death. ”

Kou Ji nodded and said: "Yelu Zong really endured all night before announcing this news, it seems that the soldiers and horses left by Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu to protect himself have quietly left the soldiers and horses camp outside Youzhou City last night. ”

Although Zhao Zhen agreed to let Yelu Zong really go out.

But it's not that Yeluzong really doesn't move, Zhao Zhen doesn't move.

Zhao Zhen just gave Yelu Zongzhen a chance to get out, if Yelu Zongzhen couldn't catch it, then Zhao Zhen wouldn't be polite.

Zhao Zhen groaned: "Cao Wei should also make a move." ”

As soon as Zhao Zhen's words fell, the deafening sound of war drums sounded in Youzhou City.

The sound of soldiers and horses running and shouting trumpets instantly filled the entire Youzhou City.

After Cao Wei gathered the soldiers and horses, he almost did not hesitate and sent the soldiers and horses out of the city to annihilate the Liao soldiers and recover the lost territory.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, after leaving Youzhou City, never returned.

After announcing the death of Yelu Longxu, Yelu Zongzhen almost did not hesitate and led his troops out of the Liao State Soldier and Horse Camp outside the city with Yelu Longxu's corpse.

When Yelu Longxu was dying, he left his last words, asking Yelu Zongzhen to burn his body and raise it in the sixteen states of Yanyun.

But Yelu Zongzhen is obviously not an obedient and well-behaved baby.

After he officially announced that he had taken over the throne of Liao, the first thing he did was to disobey Yelu Longxu's will.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty, led by Gao Ji Gong, Chong Shiheng, and Di Qing, went out of Youzhou City, and dispersed in a fan shape.

The three men were divided into three ways.

Gao Chu Gong led a part of the soldiers and horses, chasing behind Yelu Zongzhen, not giving them a chance to breathe, as long as they caught up with the soldiers and horses led by Yelu Zongzhen, it was a slashing and killing, forcing Yelu Zongzhen to keep running away.

Even if Yelu Zong really wanted to stop for a while, he couldn't arrange a little means to stop Gao Di Gong.

Chong Shiheng and Di Qing led their soldiers and horses and rushed to other places and began to recover some other cities in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

After Li Zhaoliang and Wang Kai received Cao Wei's military order, they also quickly led their troops to attack and killed Yingzhou and Yunzhou to Liaotu.

The Liao army was defeated, Yelu Zongzhen led the remnants to flee for their lives, and other places faced the strong soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty, and there was little resistance.

Therefore, the Great Song Dynasty was like a bamboo, and almost rode horses along the way to attack the city and plunder the land.

Yelu Zongzhen led the remnants to escape from the pass, and when the Great Song soldiers and horses came to Yuguan (Shanhaiguan), the time was just fifteen days after Kou Ji arrived in Youzhou City.

Yelu Zongzhen sent soldiers and horses to sweep the road in advance, and led a large number of remnants to escape, so when he escaped from the pass, he had more than 50,000 soldiers and horses under his command.

A general under Di Qing, led 10,000 cavalry, rushed out of the pass, chased Yelu Zongzhen's soldiers and horses out for more than 100 miles, and killed only 50,000 soldiers and horses under Yelu Zongzhen before leading the army back.

"Yan Yun! It's back to Song! ”

At the head of Yuguan City.

After Di Qing's staff members entered the city with a group of heads, they roared hard with the loudest voice in their lives.

Yan Yun returned to the Song Dynasty, and the Great Song Dynasty was ashamed.

All the previous humiliations seemed to have dissipated cleanly with Di Qing's roar.

"Tiger!"

"Tiger!"

"Tiger!"

“……”

After Di Qing shouted out Yan Yun's return to the Song Dynasty, what answered him was the excited roar of the soldiers.

It was not until this moment that the soldiers deeply realized what it means to be a warrior.

"Yan Yun returns to Song!!"

The news spread out of the pass and reached the land of Yanyun behind the pass.

Among the people in the city of Yanyun Land, there were those who cried loudly, those who shouted hysterically, and those who carried candles and paper money to the grave to pay tribute to their ancestors.

The four words of Yanyun returning to the Song Dynasty are like a fire that ignites the people of the entire Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.

Everywhere in Yanyun, the most common thing that the people shouted was, "Go home!" ”

"Home?! What a homecoming! ”

Inside the city of Youzhou.

Zhao Zhen stood in front of the palace and heard the shouts inside and outside Youzhou City, and his face was excited.

He pointed to the place where the cheers were most enthusiastic in Youzhou City, and said to Kou Ji loudly: "They are all my people!" ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Zhen pointed everywhere again, and said in a deep voice: "They are all my people!" As their father, I should protect them! ”

"Chen Lin! Chen Lin! ”

"The slave is here!"

"Send them a decree to exempt them from paying taxes for three years, and let them recuperate."

"Official...... It's been exempt for three years......"

"Then one more year free!"

"Whoa!"

"By the way, send the news back again, tell everyone in the Great Song Dynasty, Yan Yun is back! I've got Yan Yun back! ”

"Whoa!"

"Hahaha......"

Zhao Zhen laughed loudly, unprecedentedly happy.

Although when Yelu Longxu personally found him to give in, there was almost no obstacle for Da Song to take Yan Yun.

But when Yan Yun really recovered, Zhao Zhen still couldn't restrain his excitement.

It's not enough for him to be happy, but everyone wants to be happy with him.

Not only that, but he also pulled Ko Ji to drink with him.

After drinking too much, he said something that made his jaw drop.