Moma Liangshan

Chapter 203 The Imperial Court of the Liao Dynasty: A Battle for Power

Inside the central command tent, only Wang Hao and the Princess of Shu remained. The Princess of Shu spoke, "Yelü Dashi and Xiao Yu are both veteran generals of the Liao Dynasty; it's difficult for me to truly control them!" Wang Hao didn't believe that renowned generals like Xiao Yu and Yelü Dashi should be shackled, saying, "In terms of military talent alone, they are probably superior to both of us." The Princess of Shu nodded, saying, "Xiao Yu guards Xijing, and Yelü Dashi guards Nanjing; since taking office, neither of them has made a single mistake!" Wang Hao nodded, saying, "In my opinion, you should only be the nominal commander; the specific affairs should be left to..." "It would be better to leave it to Xiao Yu and Yelü Dashi to handle." The Shu princess found this hard to accept, saying, "Yelü Dashi and Xiao Yu are talented, but they are ultimately just subjects of the Liao Dynasty. How can they be allowed to turn the tables?" Wang Hao shook his head and said, "This is not about turning the tables, but about making good use of people!" Seeing that the Shu princess remained resistant, Wang Hao continued, "An army cannot move without supplies. You can appoint Yelü Dashi and Xiao Yu as left and right generals, while you focus on supervising the transport of supplies. Once you control the supply lines, everyone will have no choice but to obey!"

The princess of Shu suddenly understood and said, "In that case, I will appoint the Youdu troops as the right army, the Yunzhong troops as the left army, and the Liaodong troops as the central army. Yelü Dashi, Xiao Yu, and Xiao Shan will be the right, left, and central generals, respectively, and I will be the commander-in-chief of the three armies." Wang Hao was somewhat impressed by the princess's decision and said, "That's good. It will facilitate coordinated operations among the three armies and prevent power from falling into other hands." The princess suddenly asked, "What position do you want?" Wang Hao laughed and said, "I'll remain your strategist!" The days spent fighting alongside Wang Hao were the happiest times for the princess of Shu. It seemed that as long as Wang Hao was there, the princess of Shu had the courage to face any crisis.

Yelü Dashi and Xiao Yu were both loyal ministers in the late Liao Dynasty. If Emperor Tianzuo had not listened to slander and acted stubbornly, forcing Xiao Yu and Yelü Dashi to leave one after the other, the Liao Dynasty might not have perished so quickly. Wang Hao persuaded the princess of Shu to relinquish power beforehand in order to fully utilize the military talents of Xiao Yu and Yelü Dashi. After all, the Liao army desperately needed a victory to boost morale.

Inside the capital, Emperor Tianzuo, his face etched with worry, sat on his throne and asked, "Has the enemy made any unusual moves?" Xiao Fengxian replied, "Before the reinforcements arrived, the Jurchens, despite their best efforts, could not breach the city. Now that reinforcements have arrived, the Liao Dynasty is destined for victory!" Emperor Tianzuo, ambitious and easily swayed, was momentarily misled by Xiao Fengxian and burst into laughter, saying, "How could the Liao Dynasty, with its two-hundred-year-old rule, be overthrown by a mere Jurchen? Issue my decree: a banquet will be held at the palace tomorrow to reward our officials!" Yelü Yudu secretly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, according to scouts, the Jurchens have only retreated five li; this is not a sign of retreat. Of the fifty thousand troops in the city, four thousand have been killed, and half are wounded. If the enemy returns, the city may be in danger of falling!" Emperor Tianzuo felt a chill in his heart and asked, "The casualties are so heavy?" Yelü Yudu nodded tearfully and replied, "At this critical moment of life and death, how could I dare to speak falsehoods?"

Emperor Tianzuo, filled with fear, asked, "What should we do now?" Yelü Yudu replied, "Dispatch imperial physicians to treat the wounded, open the treasury to provide relief to the disaster victims, and if the enemy attacks again, I implore Your Majesty to personally come to the city wall to boost morale!" Emperor Tianzuo gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, his face turning red, and after a long while, shouted, "I will follow your advice: treat the wounded, provide relief to the disaster victims, and ascend the city wall!" Xiao Fengxian saw the hidden anger in Emperor Tianzuo and seized the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty's body is of utmost importance; how can you ascend such a dangerous place? Besides, although half of the soldiers in the city are wounded, there are hundreds of thousands of troops outside the city, sharpening their swords. As long as they are transferred to the front lines, the capital will be safe." Emperor Tianzuo frowned slightly and said, "The troops of the twenty Khitan tribes have long since arrived, but they have remained on the sidelines, their intentions are despicable!" Xiao Fengxian replied, "Now that a formidable enemy is at hand..." "The people's hearts are restless; too strict an enforcement of the law might backfire!" Emperor Tianzuo roared in anger, "As the Son of Heaven, am I to tolerate these rebellious traitors?" Xiao Fengxian immediately replied, "The fact that the twenty Khitan tribes' troops are halting their advance doesn't necessarily mean they harbor disloyalty!" A glimmer of hope ignited in Emperor Tianzuo's heart, but his tone remained stern as he questioned, "If they don't harbor disloyalty, why are they halting their advance?" Xiao Fengxian answered decisively, "The twenty tribes are leaderless!" Emperor Tianzuo suddenly smiled and said, "Though the twenty tribes are numerous, without a leader, they are merely a disorganized mess. A hasty attack will only allow the Jurchens to defeat them one by one!" He then continued, "In that case, I only need to appoint a supreme commander for the twenty tribes!" Xiao Fengxian said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Emperor Tianzuo was almost overjoyed and asked, "Whom do you think would be best, my dear minister?" Xiao Fengxian replied, "The Prince of Qin!" Upon hearing the words "Prince of Qin," Yelü Yudu immediately thought to himself, "Treacherous." Emperor Tianzuo was also wary and said, "The Prince of Qin is still young and may not be capable of handling this!" Xiao Fengxian didn't explain further, but simply said, "The Prince of Qin is the elder brother of the Princess of Shu!" The meaning of this sentence was obvious: the Princess of Shu was not only a woman, but also younger than the Prince of Qin, yet she had led troops alone to conquer Liaodong more than a year ago. Emperor Tianzuo was in a good mood and said, "Like father, like son; the Prince of Qin is good!" After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "What official position do you think would be best for the Prince of Qin?" This time, Xiao Fengxian answered very cautiously, saying, "Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition!" Emperor Tianzuo was very satisfied, because although the "Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition" had the power to command troops, it was only a temporary position and could not threaten his imperial power. He said, "Good!"

At that very moment, outside the main hall, an urgent message arrived from 600 li away; inside, panic instantly gripped the hall. Emperor Tianzuo, however, remained calm and shouted, "What's all the noise? Bring it here!" The eunuch finally reacted, quickly taking the letter tube and handing it to Emperor Tianzuo. Emperor Tianzuo twisted open the tube, tossed it aside, unfolded the letter, and after a moment burst into laughter, saying, "Truly, Heaven is on my side!" Xiao Fengxian immediately asked, "What joyous news is this?" Emperor Tianzuo announced, "The Princess of Shu has personally led 60,000 palace troops to the east of Shangjing!" The officials in the hall finally breathed a sigh of relief and shouted in unison, "Heaven blesses the Liao!" Emperor Tianzuo's favoritism towards the Princess of Shu was well-known, and her abilities were also evident to all. There were even rumors in Shangjing that the Prince of Jin's greatest advantage in his bid for the throne was not the Southern Court King Yelü Yudu or the Western Capital Governor Xiao Yu, but his younger sister, Princess Yelü Yuliyan of Shu.