Song Xiu

Chapter 56 Liu Jiye? Yang Ye!

After initially winning over the troops, Zhao Dexiu returned to Kaifeng City under the protection of the palace guards.

Before subduing the two hundred soldiers, Zhao Dexiu, who was well aware of the turmoil of the Five Dynasties, would never rashly take Huyan Zan to the training ground outside the city.

Even if Zhao Dexiu was at ease, Zhao Kuangyin, who had come through the chaos of war step by step, was not.

After hearing Lü Yuqing's report that Zhao Dexiu wanted to borrow troops from Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhao Kuangyin thought that the Kaifeng Prefecture soldiers were all useless. He directly sent Zhang Qiong with three hundred elite cavalrymen from the palace guards to escort Zhao Dexiu to the outside of the city.

After successfully escorting Zhao Dexiu back, Zhang Qiong returned to the capital.

Upon returning to the capital, Zhang Qiong was summoned to the Wansui Hall by Zhao Kuangyin.

Is he stingy?

Upon Zhang Qiong's arrival, Zhao Kuangyin immediately inquired about his whereabouts.

Sensing Zhao Kuangyin's concern, Zhang Qiong recounted in detail what he had seen and heard outside the city.

After listening to Zhang Qiong's report, Zhao Kuangyin nodded in satisfaction.

Only those who spare no expense for brave warriors possess the spirit of a general.

Besides being a loving father, Zhao Kuangyin was also a mature emperor.

After re-examining Zhao Dexiu's performance today, Zhao Kuangyin quickly discovered some unexpected gains.

There were occasional precedents for "enlistment fees" during the Later Liang Dynasty, but Zhao Kuangyin didn't care about that. What he cared about was Zhao Dexiu's posthumous protection measures for soldiers.

Thinking of this, Zhao Kuangyin subconsciously picked up a vermilion brush and wrote down his thoughts on a piece of paper on his desk.

Since the founding of the dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin had been pondering reform plans for the Imperial Guards every day.

"To win over the hearts of tigers and wolves with kindness" was a core idea in Zhao Kuangyin's plan.

Seeing that some of Zhao Dexiu's actions coincided with his own, Zhao Kuangyin, sitting on his throne, murmured to himself with delight:

"It's not impossible to conspire with him about relinquishing military power."

Zhao Dexiu's little wings flapped, subtly causing changes in the Song Dynasty in certain ways.

But is this the only place that Zhao Dexiu changed?

In late April of the first year of the Jianlong era of the Song Dynasty, while the Song court was making intensive arrangements for the expedition, several debates were recently breaking out in the inner city of Taiyuan, the capital of the Northern Han.

In mid-April, Li Jun, a traitorous general of the Song Dynasty, arrested Zhou Guangxun, the military supervisor, and sent him to Taiyuan to Liu Jun, the emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty, to express his submission.

Li Jun held sway over five provinces and commanded tens of thousands of elite soldiers. For Liu Jun, the fact that such a powerful force was willing to submit was a tremendous boon.

In his excitement, Liu Jun immediately dispatched Li Bi, the Imperial Garden Envoy, with an imperial edict and a large amount of gold, silver, and fine horses to the south to reward Li Jun.

But Li Jun, as a powerful local leader, didn't need these things; what he needed was military aid from the Northern Han.

Not long after, Li Jun sent an envoy to Taiyuan to meet Liu Jun and ask him to lead a large army to assist his military operations.

When the court officials learned of this, a series of debates ensued.

The faction led by Emperor Liu Jun was very inclined to send troops, which stemmed from his national and personal hatred towards the Later Zhou dynasty.

The Northern Han originated from the Later Han. Liu Min, the founding emperor of the Northern Han, was the younger brother of Liu Zhiyuan, the founding emperor of the Later Han.

Emperor Taizu of Zhou, Guo Wei, was originally a regent minister of the Later Han Dynasty, but he usurped the throne of the Later Han Dynasty through a military coup.

The above refers to national humiliation.

The family grudge was that Liu Jun's own brother, Liu Yun, died at the hands of Guo Wei.

Fueled by national and personal grievances, the Northern Han emperor, Liu Jun, had harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Later Zhou dynasty since its inception. Although the Later Zhou had fallen, the Song dynasty had inherited everything from it through abdication. Naturally, Liu Jun harbored an inherent hostility towards the Song dynasty.

Among those in the Northern Han court who opposed sending troops, Zhao Hua, the Left Minister, was the leader.

Zhao Hua was a local from Hedong. His reason for opposing the military expedition was that in the Battle of Gaoping, the Northern Han not only suffered a major defeat, but the Zhou army even launched a counterattack to the outskirts of Taiyuan.

This resulted in heavy losses for the local gentry in that battle, and Zhao Hua felt he did not want to experience such a painful past again.

Of course, Zhao Hua's reasoning was perfectly legitimate: "Li Jun is rash and unprepared, and is not someone I can strategize with."

Originally, even with the opposition from local forces like Zhao Hua, Liu Jun, as the emperor, was able to suppress them. However, just as Liu Jun was gradually gaining the upper hand, a shocking piece of news reached Taiyuan City.

"Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty personally led the expedition!"

Historically, Zhao Kuangyin did not initially intend to personally lead the expedition, but in order to test Zhao Dexiu, he planned to personally lead a large army to quell the rebellion from the outset.

Upon hearing this news, the entire Northern Han court was stunned.

After the Battle of Gaoping, the Zhou army launched a counterattack, and it was Zhao Kuangyin who led his army all the way from Zezhou to the walls of Taiyuan.

After recalling the past, Zhao Hua gained more and more supporters.

Seeing that the opposition was growing, Liu Jun, unwilling to give up the opportunity, summoned Liu Jiye, who had been left behind by Liu Min.

Liu Jiye has a more resounding name in later generations—Yang Ye!
Liu Jiye's original name was Yang Chonggui. He followed Emperor Liu Min of the Northern Han Dynasty when he was young and was deeply favored by Liu Min. The name Liu Jiye was given to him by Liu Min.

In his early years, Liu Jiye was stationed in Daizhou and successfully resisted the Khitan invasions several times, earning him the reputation of being "invincible" on the frontier.

Later, due to his merits, he was promoted to the position of Defense Commissioner of Daizhou. Before his death, Liu Min specially summoned Liu Jiye back to Taiyuan and appointed him as the Chief of the Imperial Guard.

Because the Northern Han Dynasty did not reform its military system like the Later Zhou Dynasty, the Northern Han Imperial Guard was the most powerful imperial guard.

Liu Min made this arrangement so that Liu Jiye could protect and protect Liu Jun.

Of course, Liu Min left behind many royalist generals, but Liu Jiye was the most famous among them.

After the next court assembly, Liu Jiye stepped forward and pointed his finger at Zhao Hua, shouting, "You have all received great favors from the late emperor. Don't you know that his greatest regret before his death was that he could not return to the old capital?"

"Now that Li Jun has raised an army, the Central Plains are in turmoil. This is a great opportunity for our dynasty to recover lost territories. How can you spread rumors and obstruct His Majesty from continuing the great cause of the late Emperor?"
You fear Zhao Kuangyin, but I do not! Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the army into battle!

Liu Jiye's impassioned voice echoed in the hall, leaving Zhao Hua and the others speechless with embarrassment.

If someone else had said these words, they would have been ridiculed.

Back then, Zhao Kuangyin's pair of dragon-coiled staffs almost struck the gates of Taiyuan, scaring Liu Min so much that he turned pale. How could an ordinary military general underestimate him?
However, Liu Jiye was hailed as "invincible" by the people of the Northern Han Kingdom, so his words were much more convincing.

It's not that Liu Jiye was certain to defeat the Song army, but rather that if Liu Jiye were to lead the troops, given his abilities, he would be able to retreat without suffering any casualties.

With this in mind, no one in the court raised any further objections to the proposal to send troops.

Liu Jun was overjoyed upon seeing this, and he immediately ordered: "Promote Liu Jiye to the position of Military Governor of Jianxiong Army, and lead 20,000 troops south to support Li Jun."

After issuing this military order, Liu Jun recalled Liu Min's admonition before his death. To be on the safe side, he ordered again: "Is Lu Zan, the Xuanhui Envoy, appointed as the military supervisor to assist General Liu!"

Upon hearing this military order, Zhao Hua's gaze toward Liu Jiye became playful.

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(End of this chapter)