Chapter 457: As Soon as Zhao Jun Left, the Knife Began to Move

In June of the ninth year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, many aristocratic families accepted the conditions given by the court.

People have a herd mentality. Originally, no one wanted to leave, but when the Changping Liu family took the lead, some small and medium-sized aristocratic families also chose to follow.

The court naturally welcomed these people and gave them some preferential policies.

Although it is not as comfortable as staying in Yanyun, at least they can use the land of Yanyun to retain part of the family's property, and there will be rewards in the future.

Basically, as long as there is an outstanding young man in the family, the family's rise in the future is not impossible.

Soon within the 15-day deadline, many families chose to submit to the court.

Some of them agreed to move south, and some were local aristocratic families in Yanyun. They did not want to move south, but the court could buy their fields and tenants.

This was also one of the conditions given by the court.

Although some local aristocratic families were unwilling to move south, the court could naturally understand, and Zhao Jun did not expect to clear out all the aristocratic families in Yanyun at once.

You have to eat one bite at a time and take one step at a time. This time, the power of the Youyan family was greatly weakened, and next time, they will be able to be wiped out in one fell swoop.

But for those aristocratic families who do not cooperate, keep silent, and play ostrich, they must be hit hard.

Considering that sending troops directly is no different from the robbery of killing people, Zhao Jun plans to use a more civilized way.

As he said to Wang Anshi and others before, if the aristocratic families in Youyan Road cooperate, it will be fine.

But if they do not cooperate, some means will inevitably be used.

The simplest way is to punish evil and promote good.

In ancient times, many aristocratic families had strict family traditions, governed their families with Confucianism, and required their children to be kind, trustworthy, and moral.

But it is unrealistic for everyone to be a moral model.

There are all kinds of birds in a big forest. Even with the strictest family traditions, it is common for a few scums to appear in the family.

Zhang Zhidong's family rules are strict enough.

His son Zhang Renli is a famous traitor.

So it is impossible for a family of aristocratic families not to have a few bad seeds.

If we really look into it, among the many aristocratic families in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun that were attached to the Liao Kingdom, it is conservatively estimated that more than 95% of them are not clean.

After the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao Kingdom and regained the lost Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, these Yanyun aristocratic families chose to surrender one after another.

After surrendering, the Song Dynasty did not hold them accountable for what they did during the Liao Dynasty and did not settle accounts.

But sometimes, this kind of forgiveness does not mean that the matter is over.

It is like a sword hanging over one's head.

The court can choose to hold this sword and not let it fall when it needs you to help maintain order.

But once you become an obstacle to the court's maintenance of rule, then this sword will immediately become a guillotine to kill these aristocratic families.

On June 15th, Zhao Jun left Youyan Road as planned and headed west all the way to Yunzhou in Yunshuo Road.

The next morning, Yutian County, located more than 200 miles east of Beiping City, has green mountains and forests to the north of the county town. The remaining peaks of Yanshan Mountain are covered by trees and the grass is lush and full of vitality.

There is a continuous village at the foot of the mountain.

It is better to say that it is a luxurious manor. The manor covers an area of ​​unknown acres. It is endless at a glance. Pavilions and towers stand tall, and the walls are winding for several miles.

The manor has rows of houses, gardens and pavilions. The house style is very exquisite, with carved buildings and painted buildings, which are magnificent.

There are fertile fields outside the manor for hundreds of miles. A tributary of Gushui in the north flows down, first circling the manor, and then there are ditches flowing into the manor, like a small bridge and flowing water, and finally irrigating so many farmlands to the south.

The owner of this manor is the famous Yutian Han family, not only the head of the Yanyun family, but also a royal relative of the Liao Kingdom.

Because the Yutian Han family had a deep marriage relationship with the Liao imperial family and the royal family, in addition to the Han family children marrying Liao princesses and princes, the most important thing was that the Liao royal family even adopted the Han family.

Yes.

The Liao royal family had descendants of the Yelu family adopted by the Han family.

In the world, we have only heard of royal descendants being adopted by the royal family, but never heard of royal descendants being adopted by ministers of other surnames.

The Yutian Han family pioneered this feat.

Their leader Han Derang had no children in his life. Liao Shengzong appreciated Han Derang's contributions and adopted his own nephew Yelu Hudugu to him.

But unfortunately Yelu Hudugu died early and also had no children, so he adopted another nephew Yelu Helu to him.

So Han Derang can be said to be the only minister of other surnames in history who was adopted by the royal family and adopted royal descendants twice.

If we add in the number of marriages between the Han family and the Yelu family and the Xiao family, and the number of people in the Han family who were given the Yelu national surname, we can know how deep the relationship between the Han family and the Yelu family is.

The four families of Yan are said to be the four major families.

In fact, at least before Emperor Daozong of Liao, the status of the Yutian Han family was far superior to that of the later Liu family, Zhao family, and Ma family.

At this time, the Han family had long been deserted, and most of the densely packed buildings were empty.

Only the central clan ancestral hall and a huge mansion near the ancestral hall were filled with all kinds of smoke and incense during dinner.

After noon, the Han family finished worshipping their ancestors, and Han Suiyi returned to his own house.

This time the ancestor worship is not just as simple as worshiping the ancestors, but also gathering all the Han family children to have a meal together to show the cohesion and unity of the clan.

There were more than a dozen elders of the Han family who came with him, including Han Suiyi's three sons.

Everyone walked into the room and took their seats according to the order of seats. With the support of his two sons, Han Suiyi sat on the main seat with deep thoughts.

Looking at the slightly empty hall, his expression was very ugly.

Now the Han family is not as good as before. After the Liao-Song War, many people migrated to the north due to the defeat of the Liao Kingdom.

These are all tribesmen who are deeply tied to the Liao Kingdom.

For example, those who married women from the Yelu family and the Xiao family, and those who were given the surname Yelu.

The rest are those Han descendants who had done nothing in the officialdom of the Liao Kingdom and could only return to their hometowns to take care of the family business.

The most typical ones are Han Kuangtu, the eldest son of Han Zhigu, the founder of the Han family, and Han Kuangye, the second son.

One problem with these two people is that their mother is a Han whom Han Zhigu married before he became rich, and is not surnamed Xiao.

After Han Zhigu became successful, the Empress Dowager Shuluping of the Liao Kingdom granted him a marriage, and he married a woman from the Xiao family and gave birth to nine sons.

Among them was Han Derang’s father, Han Kuangsi.

Therefore, starting from Han Zhigu's third son, Han Kuangsi, his official position was very high, and Han Kuangsi was even named King of Qin.

Han Kuangtu and Han Kuangye did nothing, and were only given honorary posts.

After that, the Han family basically agreed that the descendants of Han Kuangtu and Han Kuangye would manage the family business in Yutian.

The descendants of Han Kuangsi and others served as senior officials in the Liao court for generations.

For example, when Han Derang has no descendants, the heads of the Han family of this generation should be the fifth-generation leaders Han Yuanzuo and Han Dilu who inherited the political legacy of Han Derang and Han Chao.

One of these two people is an envoy to the north who is also a county king, and the other is a military officer and a duke to the south. They are both high-ranking officials with honorary titles such as Kaifu Yitong Sansi, inspecting the school, and Jiatong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi. He has great say in the clan.

But these two people, whose Han names were Han Yuanzuo and Han Dilu, were actually given the surname Yelu. They should have been named Yelu Yuanzuo and Yelu Dilu. They ran away long ago after the defeat of the Liao Kingdom.

Therefore, the only ones left in the Han family today are the great-grandsons of Han Kuangtu and Han Kuangye.

Han Suiyi is the only grandson. He is eighty-one years old this year. Because he has lived a long time and has a high seniority, he is now the talker of the Han family.

It can be said that after a large number of descendants of the Han family whose surnames were changed to Yelu fled, they were the short ones and the tall ones, and gradually took over the power of the Han family.

But after all, they had not held many positions in the Liao court, nor had they been involved in officialdom. They had no experience in political struggles, and had not even participated in clan infighting.

They were once just marginal figures in the clan. How could they be willing to give up after they suddenly controlled such a large clan?

Faced with the court's request, the Han family was naturally unwilling to agree.

The room was very quiet, and many old men in their fifties and sixties were silent. After a while, Han Suiyi said: "Zhao Jun is gone, do you think we will be fine?"

"But we are indeed fine now."

An old man named Han Gui said: "Uncle Eighth, what are you worried about? Everyone else has left, can they suddenly come back and turn their guns on us?"

"I'm just a little uneasy."

Han Suiyi shook his head and said: "The Liu family of Changping has risen in recent years and is also closely related to the royal family of the Liao Kingdom. It is already the second largest family in Yanyun, but they are willing to give up their identity as the Yanyun family and choose to move south. I suspect that there is something behind this There must be other secrets that cannot be told, and they may even be related to the life and death of the family. "

"The Liu family was willing to move south because some of them held important positions in the Song Dynasty court."

Han Kuangtu's great-grandson Han Lang sneered: "When the Song Dynasty came over, if Liu Liufu hadn't switched sides and revealed military secrets to the Song Dynasty, how could Daliao have failed? These traitors!"

"Yes, besides, the Liu family has only been married to the royal family in recent years, but we have been married to the royal family for many years, so how can it be as profound as ours?"

"Uncle Eighth, after all, the Liu family can distance themselves from the relationship with Daliao, but we can't. Besides, our ancestors have lived in Yutian for generations, so why should they drive us away?"

"Yes, I don't believe what the Song Dynasty court can do to us. We own more than 100,000 pieces of land. We have more than tens of thousands of tenants. Tens of thousands of people are attached to our Han family. If we are really forced to do anything, the worst is possible."

Several other members of the Han family also shouted.

After all, the Liu family did marry into the royal family in the past ten years or so and married several royal princesses.

On the other hand, the Han family not only has Khitan blood since the period of Han Kuangsi, but also continued to marry into the Khitan for several generations after that. Even the surname was changed to Yelu. How could the bondage be as deep as that of the Han family?

Just a more sarcastic person.

Those present here are actually the descendants of Han Zhi's ancient Han wives. They have a lower status and are not qualified to marry Khitan nobles. Therefore, the marriage partners are basically Han families in Yan.

So if we talk about ancestry, most of these people are of Han ancestry, and the Khitan ancestry is pitiful.

However, they did not recognize the Song Dynasty, which was also of Han descent, and recognized the Liao Kingdom as their mother country. This shows that even the two Han bloodlines retained by their Han family have been completely assimilated by the Khitans.

"Um."

Han Suiyi felt that what everyone said made sense, so he nodded and said, "That's reasonable, but since we are still in Yandi, and Yandi has returned to Song, we should be cautious."

"I think it's better to sell the land early, leaving at most a few families, and everyone will go north to join the Liao Dynasty."

Someone suggested, "In the past, the various families formed an alliance for attack and defense, and they were of the same blood. It was not easy for the Song Dynasty court to move us. But the traitors such as the Liu family, the Ma family, and the Zhao family have betrayed their faith, and we are alone. We are afraid that the Song Dynasty court will divide us step by step, and when our strength becomes smaller and smaller, it will be time to attack us."

"How can we sell the foundation of our ancestors? Besides, who can buy so many fields in Yanyun?"

"I think you want to continue to stay in Being a landowner here, don't forget that if you don't have an official position, no matter how many acres of land you have, it will be taken away sooner or later. Only by being an official can you continue the clan. "

"Do you have an official position if you go to the Liao Dynasty? Logically speaking, we are the descendants of the first and second houses, but before, it was the descendants of the third and fifth houses who made the decisions. Now, isn't it much better than before? "

"Humph, short-sighted people, I'm afraid that you will get this property but not live to spend it!"

"You!"

"Okay, stop arguing."

Han Suiyi saw that everyone had different opinions, and knocked heavily on the ground with his crutches, saying: "We are all family, what is there to argue about."

The others snorted coldly. Han Suiyi didn't have much prestige. It was just that the family had suddenly changed, and temporarily elected a person with the highest seniority as the patriarch.

But now is really not the time to quarrel.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Han Suiyi's eldest son Han Yuanfeng said, "Father, I saw that Zhao Jun didn't make any movement before he left, so he can't do anything to us. Why don't we send someone to contact the relatives in Liao to see if they have any solution?"

"Uh"

Speaking of this, Han Suiyi hesitated for a moment.

Seeing his hesitation, Han Yuanfeng asked in surprise, "Father, what's wrong?"

"In fact, Liao sent someone to deliver a letter a few days ago, but I was afraid that the Song people would find out, so I didn't dare to tell everyone."

Han Suiyi said.

"What, there was a letter, why didn't you tell us about such a big thing?"

"What did the letter say? Do you want us to go north?"

"Uncle, tell me."

Everyone was immediately surprised.

Han Suiyi smiled bitterly and said, "The letter asked us to be the insider and check the news of the Song people at all times."

"It didn't ask us to go to Liao."

Some people were disappointed.

"It's good to be an insider. My Liao will come back one day, and we will be heroes then."

"Song is so powerful, can Liao come back?"

"Song people have always been weak and can be bullied. They are just successful for a while now. What are you afraid of?"

"Hmm"

Some people in the room hesitated, some hesitated, some were excited, and some were overjoyed.

Compared with those who can see the situation clearly from the top, their vision is still too narrow after all.

"Well, then we will be the insiders. Don't we have nephews and nieces working in the prefecture? Let them help to find out the news."

Han Suiyi saw that no one objected, so he decided on this policy.

He said: "You all go back first, and then let your children pay attention. If there is any disturbance in the court of Song, gather here."

"Well, that's it."

"Uncle Eight, we'll say goodbye first."

Everyone stood up and prepared to leave.

At this moment, a servant came in hurriedly and said, "It's bad, my lord. There are many government officials outside."

Before the servant finished speaking, the door of Han's house was kicked open, and a group of ferocious soldiers rushed in.

The leader shouted, "Han Suiyi, you are in trouble, come with us!"

After saying that, he turned his head and looked around, grinning, "They are all here, so we don't have to look for them one by one. Take them all back!"

In an instant, everyone thought they were discovered as spies, and they all turned pale and collapsed to the ground.