armyinform Chapter 1222 Poisonous Wine
Chapter 1222 Poisonous Wine
Chapter 1222 Poisonous Wine
Although Li Bingchang did not know about the poisoned wine brought by the Liao envoys, he knew the conditions offered by the Liao.
Li Bingchang walked back to the harem and was very happy to see his son Li Qianshun.
Li Qianshun was being cared for by Empress Dowager Liang and Empress Liang. After hearing the news, Li Bingchang stood outside the palace but did not enter.
He waited until Empress Dowager Liang left before entering the palace. Empress Dowager Liang had been ill for many years and took a lot of medicine every day. Only when she saw Li Qianshun did she feel better. Empress Dowager Liang visited her grandson every day. However, Li Bingchang would never meet Empress Dowager Liang, even though they were mother and son.
After Empress Dowager Liang left, Li Bingchang looked at Empress Liang and his eldest son Li Qianshun.
Empress Liang was the daughter of former Prime Minister Liang Yimai, the sister of current Prime Minister Liang Yibu, and the niece of Empress Dowager Liang.
After giving birth to Li Qianshun, Empress Dowager Liang liked this grandson very much. This was a first-class way for the Liang family to mend the rift with the imperial power. However, the rift in the country was deep, and Li Bingchang could not reconcile it. For example, the troops of the East Wing were controlled by Liang Yibu, and the troops of the West Wing were led by Ren Duoya Ding.
Now that Ren Duoyading had died in battle in Liangzhou City, the candidate had to be re-determined, leaving a vacancy. He wanted to nominate Weiming Awu, who was of royal family, but was opposed by Liang Yibu.
He insisted on nominating Renduo Baozhong, who escaped from Liangzhou City, as the commander of the army.
Everyone knows that Renduo's family has no power. If Renduo Baozhong is appointed as the commander of the West Wing, then the domestic military power will still fall into the hands of the Liang family. Weiming Awu is from the royal family and can at least maintain a balance with the Liang family.
However, Liang Yibu's attitude was very firm, and Li Bingchang had no choice but to agree to Liang Yibu's opinion.
Although Empress Liang was a woman, she was very opinionated like her aunt, and Li Bingchang admired her. But admiration is admiration, and it is unrealistic to use blood ties to mend huge differences in interests.
Li Bingchang sat in silence for a while, not saying a word. He was worried that the queen in front of him could not be trusted and would reveal any of his words to Empress Dowager Liang and Liang Yibu.
So Li Bingchang just remained silent.
Empress Liang suddenly said to him, "Your Majesty, I recently read the Spring and Autumn Annals, which contains the story of Duke Huan of Qi killing Ai Jiang. Although Ai Jiang was hated by heaven and people, killing her was against etiquette and is not something a gentleman should be ashamed of."
When Li Bingchang heard Queen Liang say this, he could only smile bitterly.
Empress Liang asked, "Your Majesty, have I heard that the Liao envoy is coming?"
Queen Liang looked at Li Bingchang steadily.
Li Bingchang felt his body tremble a little and asked, "How did you know?"
"When your majesty was talking to Li Qing a few days ago, I accidentally overheard a sentence." Queen Liang looked at Li Bingchang steadily.
……
The Liao envoy Yelu Tabu also looked at Xingqing Prefecture.
Yelu Tabu was also the son of Yelu Renxian. Yelu Renxian's status in the Liao Kingdom was as high as that of Yelu Xiu'ge. As his son, Yelu Tabu was also an important official of the Liao Kingdom, and was both civil and military.
This time, he suddenly came to the Dangxiang Kingdom on the orders of the King of Liao Kingdom, with a secret mission.
He was familiar with the origin of Xingqing Prefecture.
After Li Jiqian captured Lingzhou, he named it Xiping Prefecture as the political center of the Dangxiang.
But after Li Deming succeeded to the throne, he believed that Lingzhou was located in a place surrounded by mountains and was not conducive to defense, so he ordered the minister He Chengzhen to lead the laborers to cross the Yellow River to the north and build this city, which was named Xingzhou at that time.
Later, after Li Yuanhao ascended the throne, he built many palaces, set up civil and military classes in the style of the Liao Dynasty, and changed Xingzhou into Xingqing Prefecture.
Xingqing Prefecture witnessed the rise of the Dangxiang Empire.
Yelu Tabu also looked at the majestic Xingqing Palace, where the moat alone was ten feet wide.
He entered the city from the east gate and saw that the roads were in a grid pattern. The streets were very wide and most of the neighborhoods were low earthen houses or earthen board houses, but they were much more orderly than those in Yanjing of Liao. Yelu Tabu also weighed it secretly in his heart.
When Yelu Tabu was about to arrive at the Tangut palace, he heard the sound of craftsmen working nearby. Tangut attached great importance to the production of weapons and armor, so the craftsman workshop was set up next to the palace so that the king could inspect it at any time.
This made Yelu Tabu look at the Dangxiang with a higher regard.
He knew that the Liao Kingdom was also in trouble.
The Liao Kingdom’s Northwest Route Recruiting Office was specifically designed to deal with the resistance.
The Liao Kingdom had always implemented a system of vassalage for the Zubu tribe. On the surface, the Liao Kingdom was the suzerain, but in fact, the Zubu tribes were autonomous. Although the Zubu tribes had rebelled several times before, they were still relatively obedient. When Emperor Xingzong of Liao attacked the Dangxiang tribe, the Zubu tribes sent troops to support them.
However, due to the constant natural disasters in recent years, the Liao Kingdom took the initiative to comfort and provide relief, rewarding the tribes with money and food to help them through the winter.
But when Yelu Yixin was in power, the Liao government was corrupt, and the relief money and grain were deducted by officials at various levels, making it difficult for them to reach the hands of the lower-class people.
Now, tribes like the Basimu tribe of Zhubu and Daridi are ready to make moves and are showing signs of rebellion.
When the Song Dynasty attacked Liangzhou, the Liao ruler Yelu Hongji wanted to intervene, but he was not confident enough. He had been using rewards to help the various tribes in exchange for peace and severely punishing rebellion. On the other hand, the tribes on the Northeast Eagle Road were also unstable.
The Liao Kingdom consumed a lot of national strength in suppressing the Zhubu on one side and the Jurchen on the other.
This time, Yelu Hongji saw that the Song Dynasty had gained the upper hand in the struggle against the Dangxiang, and convened a court meeting on whether to intervene.
The civil and military officials in the court were divided into two factions and had a lot of debate and discussion.
On one side, it had been on good terms with the Song Dynasty for decades, and on the other side, it had a closely interdependent relationship with the Dangxiang.
The collapse of any of the Three Kingdoms of Song, Liao and Xia would lead to the breakdown of the current balance of power, and the Liao Kingdom's psychological advantage over the Song Dynasty and the Dangxiang would no longer exist.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Yelu Tabuye decided to make this trip to Xingqing Prefecture.
After Yelu Tabuye entered the palace, the Dangxiang ruler Li Bingchang and other civil and military officials received the Liao envoys.
As for the Dangxiang, since the Song army attacked Liangzhou, the Dangxiang had asked for help from the Liao Kingdom several times. The Liao Kingdom had an ambiguous attitude and put forward many conditions.
Liang Yibu was standing here. When the Liao envoys came to Xingqing Prefecture, they were ambiguous and asked for land. Liang Yibu also spoke rudely and rebuked the Liao for asking for too much.
The uncle, Weiming Awu, whispered to Li Bingchang: "Your Majesty, according to the national policy of Liao and Song, when Emperor Taizong was alive, we simultaneously paid tribute to both countries and accepted titles."
"The situation is not as good as before. Even if the Liao envoys did not propose to strip you of your honorable title, you must be patient if you encounter humiliation."
Li Bingchang said to Weiming Awu: "I understand. In Chinese, it means to tolerate each other for the sake of the country. I know."
Weiming Awu said, "Your Majesty, I am sorry for the injustice."
Soon after, Yelu Tabu arrived, and Li Bingchang immediately came down the stairs to greet him. Yelu Tabu glanced at him with an extremely unfriendly look.
As soon as Yelu Tabuye arrived, he questioned Li Bingchang with an air of accusation: "Why didn't your country discipline its people last year, allowing so many people to enter our Liao territory and cause trouble?"
Li Bingchang said: "Your Excellency, last year there was a great famine in the country, and the people sold their children to the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty to beg for food. They had no choice but to do so."
After a while, Liang Yibu said, "Our country and the Southern Dynasty have the intention to make peace, but this year they suddenly sent troops into Hexi, killing people and seizing Liangzhou."
"We also ask the Liao Dynasty to uphold justice and force the Song Dynasty to return the territories and fortresses it has seized and destroy the city walls it has built."
Yelu Tabu also said: "Speaking of the Song Dynasty's invasion of Liangzhou, I was just about to say that the Basimu tribe was disrespectful to your Majesty and has not come to pay tribute for a long time. Why did the Dangxiang sit idly by and allow them to harass our Liao army? Was this at your instruction?"
Li Bingchang said: "There is absolutely no such thing. If possible, I would like to lead the army to attack the Basima tribe to prove my innocence."
Yelu Tabu also waved his hand and said, "No need, my lord has already gathered 700,000 troops on the border, and he will be able to defeat the Basmu tribe soon."
After hearing what Yelu Tabuye said, Li Bingchang and the Tangut ministers were as silent as a mouse.
The Basmu tribe of Zhubu happened to border the northwest of the Dangxiang. If the Liao ruler Yelu Hongji gathered 700,000 troops just to suppress the Basmu tribe, it would be an exaggeration.
So the next step is...
Li Bingchang said quickly: "I don't know what crime I have committed that the Liao Dynasty would punish me like this."
Yelu Tabu also said: "You have been fighting with Song for many years, but you have not been able to protect the territory and the people, and you are still raising troops. This has long been the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people."
"My Lord has been allied with Song for many years, so I don't want to see your two families continue to fight each other. This will make it difficult for my Lord to deal with the two families."
Liang Yibu said: "Although the Liao Dynasty and the Southern Dynasty are allies, our country of Dabai Gao has always regarded the Liao Dynasty as its father and has been respectful and obedient for many years. This year, it also sent more than a thousand Song Dynasty captives to the Liao Dynasty to show its obedience."
Yelu Tabu also rebuked: "Sending Song captives to our Liao Dynasty is to divert disaster to the east. My master has always hoped that you two families can make peace and not cause trouble for him. You sent Song captives to Nanjing, isn't it saying that our Liao Dynasty instructed you to attack Song?"
Liang Yibu was furious. He offered Song Dynasty captives to the Liao Kingdom, on the one hand to show his submission, and on the other hand to show off his military power.
Liang Yibu was so angry that he stopped talking. Yelu Tabu also said, "The king didn't say anything, but you, as the prime minister, spoke first. You are so arrogant. No wonder you and Song have been fighting for so many years. It's because of you Liang family that you deceived the king."
"It led to a fall out among the three families!"
Liang Yi Bu said angrily: "What do you want to do with this?"
Yelu Tabu also snorted and said, "If we want the three families to form an alliance, we must eliminate the Liang family that is obstructing us. My lord has given me a bottle of fine wine, especially for your queen to drink!"
"If your queen is willing to drink this wine, my master is willing to marry the princess to your master, and then the alliance between our two countries will remain the same. If there is trouble in the Southern Dynasty, my Liao Dynasty can also help you resist the Southern Dynasty because of the marriage alliance."
"If you refuse, then I will treat you as if you, the Dangxiang, want to go to war with the Liao Dynasty!"
Many ministers were shocked when they heard this. Liang Yi wanted to sneer, but turned his head and saw that Li Bingchang's expression was very calm, without any surprise on his face, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Liang Yibu understood something in an instant and his eyes widened.
Liang Yibu suddenly remembered why the guard of the palace today was suddenly replaced by Weiming Amai.
Li Bingchang had anticipated all this.
"Let me discuss this for a while. Please take a rest, Your Excellency!"
Li Bingchang spoke calmly, with a hint of sadness in his words.
Li Bingchang did not expect that Empress Liang did not reveal the news of the secret arrival of the Liao envoy to Empress Dowager Liang and Liang Yibu.
He was somewhat reluctant to accept the Liao Lord's conditions at first, but the situation was pressing, and he also did not expect that the Liao Lord would poison Queen Liang.
(End of this chapter)