Chapter 312 Conspiracy

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Ms. Xiao Puxian knew Yanjing very well and had experience in governing Yanjing.

However, there were two problems that Ms. Xiao Puxian could not solve.

Moreover, these two problems were more complicated and troublesome than the other.

The first problem was the three states of Ping, Luan and Ying.

As mentioned in the previous document, there were three main routes for nomadic people to go south from the grassland to the Central Plains: the western route, entering Yundi, then entering Yanmenguan, going east of the river, and entering the Central Plains; the central route, going through Juyongguan and other five passes, entering Yandi, and going through Hebei to enter the Central Plains; the eastern route, going through the Liaoxi Corridor, entering Yuguan controlled by Ping, Luan and Ying, and then going through Hebei to enter the Central Plains.

——To clarify, this does not include the Northwest region controlled by Xixia, otherwise it could also go through Yumenguan and enter the Central Plains along the Silk Road.

Even if Jiang Hongfei seized Yandi and the five passes such as Juyongguan, he actually only blocked the passage for nomadic people to go south from the central route.

If Jiang Hongfei wants to completely block the passage for the nomadic people to go south, it is best to recover the nine states of Yundi and the passes such as Dushiguan, Longmen, Yehuling, Taoshan, Baidaoban, and Chenjiagu in Yundi, and recover the three states of Jiangping, Luan, and Ying, as well as the passes such as Yuguan on the Liaoxi Corridor. At the very least, the latter should be recovered.

You know, even if Yundi cannot be recovered, the Han people still have Hedong.

Hedong is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with many dangerous passes, which are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Only Yanmen Pass is enough for the nomadic people to drink a pot, enough to resist the nomadic people from going south.

But Hebei is not possible. Hebei is the vast North China Plain, which is endless.

Whether the nomadic people take the middle route or the east route, as long as they go south to Hebei, the hinterland of the Central Plains will definitely be harmed by them.

Therefore, after recovering Yandi, Jiang Hongfei was most anxious to recover not the nine states of Yundi currently under the control of the Jin people, but the three states of Ping, Luan, and Ying, as well as the passes such as Yuguan there, which were still under the control of the Liao people.

Some people may want to say that since the three states of Ping, Luan, and Ying, as well as the passes such as Yuguan there, are still under the control of the Liao people, it would not be easy to recover them? The Northern Liao has been destroyed, and the matter can be settled by passing an edict. If it really doesn't work, let Xiao Puxian's daughter give an edict to Ping, Luan, and Ying, and let them surrender. Can't Jiang Hongfei let Xiao Puxian's daughter give an edict?

Jiang Hongfei dare not say anything else.

Now, Jiang Hongfei asked Xiao Puxian's daughter to stick out her hair, and Xiao Puxian's daughter would never dare to lie down.

Therefore, Jiang Hongfei asked Xiao Puxian's daughter to give an edict to Ping, Luan, and Ying, and there must be no problem.

The problem is that the will of Xiao Puxian's daughter is useless in Pingzhou, Luanzhou and Yingzhou.

The person who controls Pingzhou, Luanzhou and Yingzhou now is Zhang Jue, the governor of Pingzhou.

Zhang Jue is from Yifeng, Pingzhou. When he was young, he passed the imperial examination of the Liao Dynasty and was later awarded the deputy envoy of the Liao Xingjun Jiedu. When the Liao Dynasty was in chaos, the militia of Pingzhou killed the Jiedushi of the state. Zhang Jue was promoted by the state people to lead the state affairs for his merits in pacifying and pacifying.

When Yelu Chun ascended the throne and established the Northern Liao Dynasty, Zhang Jue privately expressed his opposition. He said to his confidants: "It's enough to be a regent, why do you have to ascend the throne?"

However, since Yelu Yanxi had disappeared at that time, some said that he had been captured by the Jin army, some said that he had died in Yuanyangluo, and some said that he had fled to Xixia to join Li Qianshun, and everyone really couldn't find him.

Zhang Jue was not in Yanjing, so he couldn't stop Yelu Chun from ascending the throne.

Zhang Jue acquiesced to Yelu Chun's establishment of Northern Liao, and Ping, Luan and Yingzhou also nominally accepted the rule of Northern Liao.

Yelu Chun was overthrown within a few months of his enthronement.

After Yelu Chun's death, Zhang Jue felt that the Khitan would surely perish, so he began to secretly recruit troops and horses, and obtained 50,000 troops. He also recruited heroes, gathered food and grass, selected generals and trained soldiers to strengthen his military strength. At the same time, he recruited talented scholars to participate in the conspiracy, secretly preparing for dominating one side.

When Xiao Puxian was in power, the clever Xiao Puxian keenly discovered Zhang Jue's rebellious heart.

But as soon as Xiao Puxian took office, she had to face the threats from the Jin people and Jiang Hongfei. She was bound by the war and had no time to care about other things.

There was no way, Xiao Puxian could only send Shi Li'ai, the prince's guard, to Pingzhou, hoping that Shi Li'ai, who was quite capable, could check and balance Zhang Jue.

But after Shi Li'ai took office, Zhang Jue showed respect for Shi Li'ai on the surface, but actually rejected Shi Li'ai everywhere.

Shi Li'ai was very smart. He noticed that Zhang Jue had different intentions and did not have the strength to compete with Zhang Jue for the time being, so he often claimed to be ill and did not go out. All military and political affairs in the state were decided by Zhang Jue.

Xiao Puxian said to Jiang Hongfei: "Zhang Jue is very ambitious. He has never been truly loyal to Tian Xi and my family. I listened to Shi Li'ai's secret reports. Zhang Jue also had someone draw a portrait of Tian Zuo and hung it in the lobby. He visited him every morning and evening. No matter how big or small the matter was, he would inform him before he acted. He only said that Tian Zuo was the official of the time, which shows his heart."

However, Xiao Puxian did not help Jiang Hongfei at all. She said to Jiang Hongfei: "Although Shi Li'ai is a little cunning, he can be used."

Then, Xiao Puxian handed the person who communicated between her and Shi Li'ai to Jiang Hongfei.

Jiang Hongfei handed the man over to Zhu Gui...

On this day, Yue Fei sent a victory message that he had successfully recovered Jizhou and asked for instructions on the next step.

Before that, Han Shizhong had already sent back news that he had recovered Shunzhou.

In this way, only Danzhou and Jingzhou, as well as Gubeikou and Songtingguan under the control of Danzhou and Jingzhou, remained in Yan.

However, Jiang Hongfei had confidence in Liu Qi and Wu Jie, believing that they would definitely be able to recover Danzhou, Jingzhou, Gubeikou and Songtingguan.

And now, it is time to consider recovering the three states of Ping, Luan and Ying.

So, on this day, Jiang Hongfei summoned all the civil and military officials, including the former Liao officials who surrendered to Liangshan Marsh, to come to Changchun Palace to discuss with them the recovery of the three states of Ping, Luan and Ying.

When everyone was present, Ruan Xiaoqi came to Yaochi Palace to inform Jiang Hongfei, and Jiang Hongfei came over, walked up to the high platform, and sat on the dragon chair where Yelu Chun and Xiao Puxian had sat.

Jiang Hongfei said straight to the point: "I plan to send people to attack Pingzhou, what do you think?"

Kang Gongbi, who once served as the vice chancellor of Northern Liao, suggested: "Zhang Jue is arrogant and has few strategies. Although he has tens of thousands of soldiers, they are all villagers. They are not equipped with weapons and armor, and they are not provided with food. What can they do? We should show him no doubt and slowly make plans. It is not too late."

As far as Jiang Hongfei knows, in history, Wanyan Aguda took Kang Gongbi's advice and sent people to Pingzhou to ask Shi Li'ai to report to the army in Yanjing, and appointed Zhang Jue as the governor of Linhai Army, and still knew the military affairs of Pingzhou.

As a result, Zhang Jue rebelled against Jin as soon as the Jin people left, so Kang Gongbi's suggestion was not feasible at all.

Therefore, Jiang Hongfei immediately rejected Kang Gongbi's suggestion: "This plan is not appropriate. I want to send troops to Pingzhou first, capture Zhang Jue, and then seize Luanzhou, Yingzhou, and Yuguan. What do you think?"

Everyone thought that Jiang Hongfei's idea was feasible, but Kang Gongbi was unwilling to give up. He said: "If we send troops to capture Zhang Jue at this time, how is it different from forcing Zhang Jue to rebel? I used to be an official in Pingzhou and I am familiar with the situation there. Please allow me to go there and investigate what Zhang Jue is planning before making a decision. How about it?"

In fact, Zhang Jue It was already guessed that Jiang Hongfei, who had recovered Yandi, wanted to recover Ping, Luan and Yingzhou, so Zhang Jue sent someone to find Kang Gongbi two days ago and said to him: "The Liao Kingdom has eight routes, seven of which have been destroyed, and only Pingzhou is left. How dare I have any hope? The reason why my soldiers have not yet returned to the fields is mainly to defend against Xiao Gan's invasion. Now the Liangshan army will not come to harm the people. This is the blessing of Pingzhou, all thanks to Kang Gong's mediation."

Afterwards, the people sent by Zhang Jue gave Kang Gongbi a large sum of money and asked Kang Gongbi to speak well of Jiang Hongfei.

It is precisely because of this that Kang Gongbi repeatedly prevented Jiang Hongfei from sending troops to recover Ping, Luan and Yingzhou, hoping that Jiang Hongfei would recruit Zhang Jue and let Zhang Jue continue to guard Ping, Luan and Yingzhou.

The reason why the Jin people in history chose to listen to Kang Gongbi's advice was that they were short of troops and were anxious to return to their country to suppress the Liao people's rebellion that had been repeatedly banned in their country.

Jiang Hongfei had no such concerns at all, how could he listen to Kang Gongbi's slander?

Moreover, Jiang Hongfei already knew that Kang Gongbi had accepted a bribe from Zhang Jue.

So, seeing Kang Gongbi so ignorant, Jiang Hongfei, who had already done enough mercy, no longer showed mercy, but said lightly: "Kang Gongbi, have you used up all the 15,000 Ling money Zhang Jue gave you?"

Kang Gongbi was shocked when he heard this, and his back was immediately covered with cold sweat!

But Kang Gongbi still pretended to be calm and said: "I...I don't understand what the Duke is saying?"

Jiang Hongfei glanced at Zhu Gui.

Zhu Gui immediately understood and shouted to the outside of the hall: "Bring the man up."

Soon, Zhu Gui's men brought up a man in his thirties dressed as a scholar.

When Kang Gongbi saw this person, he immediately knelt down to Jiang Hongfei with a look of despair, and kowtowed like pounding garlic, begging for mercy: "Please forgive me this time, my Lord!"

It turned out that the person Zhu Gui had someone bring up was the one who bribed Kang Gongbi for Zhang Jue.

The key point is that many people in Bei Liao know this person. He is Li Shi, a Hanlin scholar of the former Liao Empire, who was a top scholar and resourceful.

In addition, many people in Bei Liao have heard that Li Shi had surrendered to Zhang Jue not long ago. After a secret discussion, the two people's ideas coincided with each other. They both believed that Jiang Hongfei's seizure of Yandi was an opportunity for historical change. They should seize the opportunity to find a balance between Jiang Hongfei and the Jin people and do something big.

This time, persuading Jiang Hongfei to let Zhang Jue go and give Zhang Jue some time to develop is very important to Zhang Jue, so Zhang Jue sent Li Shi to make this trip in person.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Hongfei had already asked Zhu Gui to lead the hotel intelligence system and the Jinyiwei to place spies in Yanjing City. As soon as Li Shi entered Kang Gongbi's house, Zhu Gui got hold of this information, and then sent people to arrest Li Shi when he left the city.

Li Shi was brought to Jiang Hongfei, and Kang Gongbi was naturally speechless.

Spare Kang Gongbi's life to show his mercy?

But Jiang Hongfei's personality is not a kind person, especially to those who have caused great harm.

No doubt.

Jiang Hongfei deprived Kang Gongbi of the amnesty for voluntarily joining Liangshan Marsh, confiscated his house, sent all the men in his family to the public trial, and the women were all beaten as criminals and redistributed to meritorious soldiers.

After dealing with Kang Gongbi, Jiang Hongfei ordered Yue Fei and Han Shizhong to lead their respective troops to recover Ping, Luan, Ying three states and Yuguan and other passes...

And recovering Ping, Luan, Ying three states is actually just the first problem that Xiao Puxian can't solve.

There is another problem that Xiao Puxian can't solve.

No.

To be precise, Jiang Hongfei is not satisfied with the solution proposed by Xiao Puxian.

This problem is the ethnic issue in Yandi.

As we all know, the ethnic composition of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun is very complicated.

Here, there are nomadic peoples such as Khitan, Kumo Xi, Zubu, Shiwei, Jurchen, Dangxiang Qiang, etc. who still "wear fur, move at any time, and use carriages and horses as homes", as well as Han people and Bohai Mohe people who "wear mulberry and hemp, live in palaces, and govern cities".

The differences in economic, political, and cultural levels among ethnic groups have made the rulers of Liao Dynasty face complex national conditions for a long time.

Now that Jiang Hongfei has entered Yandi, he will undoubtedly face complex national conditions.

Ethnic issues are not small problems in any era. If they are not properly resolved, they will definitely affect the stability of a country.

Some people may say, what is so difficult to solve this problem? Jiang Hongfei will just follow the Liao Dynasty's solution.

It must be said that the early rulers of Liao Dynasty were very outstanding. They were good at learning, constantly learning the experience of governing the country and the cultural system from other ethnic groups, especially the Han and Mohe, and constantly improving and developing their own ruling system.

In addition, with the deepening of ethnic exchanges, a large number of Khitans have entered the city to live and reside, and some Khitans have lived with the Han people for generations. They have long been masters of farming and settled in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun or the prefectures and counties outside the Great Wall.

This has basically formed a highly Hanized but unique political system in the Liao Dynasty.

This political system is a "two-sided" government system, that is, the "southern official" and "northern official" system.

In simple terms, it is to govern according to customs and ethnic groups, that is, officials are divided into south and north, and the northern officials and the system on the grassland are used to govern the nomadic peoples such as the Khitan, Kumo Xi, Zubu people, Shiwei people, Jurchens, and Dangxiang Qiang people, and the southern officials and the Han system are used to govern the Han people and Bohai Mohe people.

Specifically, the official positions of the Liao Dynasty are divided into the North Court and the South Court. The north governs the palace, tribes, and vassal states, and the south governs the Han prefectures and counties, taxes, and military horses.

Facts have proved that this is indeed a very good system, very suitable for governing the Yanyun area.

Xiao Puxian's suggestion to Jiang Hongfei was to use such a system.

However, Jiang Hongfei felt that although the "two-sided" government system of the Liao Kingdom could govern the Yanyun area, it was not conducive to ethnic integration and was prone to hidden dangers.

The method Jiang Hongfei finally chose was much simpler and more brutal, that is, to issue: the order to change clothes, the order to keep the head, and the order to change to Han.

The order to change clothes, as the name suggests, means that all people, regardless of whether they are Han or Fan, will change their left braids to right braids.

The order to keep the head, the full name is the order to keep hair.

The Hu people like to shave their heads and keep braids.

The Han people pay attention to the body and hair, which are given by their parents, and they dare not damage them.

So letting these foreign people keep their hair is also a manifestation of their submission to the Han people.

It must be pointed out that the order to keep the head is really the order to keep the head, that is, only by keeping the hair can you keep the head, and those who shave their hair for no reason will really be beheaded.

The order to change to Han means that all the characters in Yan are changed to Chinese characters.

In this regard, although Jiang Hongfei did not destroy all the Liao characters, he was also prepared to change all the characters that Yan people could see into Chinese characters. All the Liao classics were nationalized and translated into Chinese for circulation. The Liao characters were not allowed to appear again, otherwise they would be severely punished.

Jiang Hongfei's three orders immediately caused a lot of dissatisfaction among the original Liao people, especially the Khitans and Xi people.

In response, Jiang Hongfei did not kill them all, but ordered: those who were unwilling to obey these three orders could leave Yan within three months.

At the same time, Jiang Hongfei let people spread the word that he would start a war against the Jin Dynasty.

Do you want to seek revenge on the Jurchens who beat you from the north to the south, from the east to the west, dug up your ancestral graves, and robbed your women?

If you want to, you can only stay. I, Jiang Hongfei, will take you to revenge. If you leave, you may not have the opportunity to take revenge.

If they want to stay and seek revenge on the Jurchens, they must take the initiative to accept Jiang Hongfei's order to change clothes, keep their hair and change to Han.

Jiang Hongfei did not force anyone. He just gave those former Liao people who really wanted to seek revenge on the Jurchens an opportunity and gave those wavering former Liao people an excuse to stay.

Of course, Jiang Hongfei's biggest goal is to transfer internal conflicts into external conflicts and unite the people in Yandi under his rule.

To put it bluntly, Jiang Hongfei wants to sinicize the grassland people, but he doesn't want to force the grassland people to rebel.

Based on this purpose, Jiang Hongfei can only find a reason for these grassland people to make compromises.

And for revenge, how many people throughout history have endured what ordinary people cannot endure, let alone just changing clothes, keeping hair and getting used to Chinese characters?

That's right, Jiang Hongfei is playing an open conspiracy...

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