RNP Chapter 1125: Thoughtful Chess Piece
Chapter 1125: Thoughtful Chess Piece
Chapter 1125: Thoughtful Chess Piece
The residence of Aligu in Bianjing.
Aligu thanked the emperor for his grace when he saw the imperial edict and asked, "When can I thank the emperor in person?"
The envoy said to Aligu, "Your Majesty, I have no time to see you. After you enter the palace, you can kowtow outside the palace to express your gratitude and then leave the capital to take up your post."
Aligu was startled when he heard this. He knew some customs in the Han area. If he could not even see the emperor when he left the capital to take up his post... then it meant that he was insignificant.
But Aligu still took the imperial edict with a respectful look.
After the Song envoy left, Aligu's former subordinates came to congratulate him upon hearing the news.
These hundreds of Qingtang tribe leaders were all Aligu's confidants. After Aligu was defeated, they were captured by Wen Xixin and others and presented to Bianjing as captives.
These people now lived quite well in the Song Dynasty. The court married daughters from poor families and prostitutes to serve them, and paid them salaries.
As a result, many of these people married and had children during the Song Dynasty, and also learned to speak Chinese.
Aligu himself also had two concubines, whom he married in Bian Jing.
The emperor of the Song Dynasty gave rewards from time to time, but this time after Aligu returned to Qingtang, most of these people were unable to follow him to Qingtang. Only those who had children in the Song Dynasty were allowed to follow Aligu back to Beijing.
There are only a dozen of them.
One of the leaders asked, "Aligu, do you really believe that the Song people will let us go back to Qingtang? Won't they kill us all halfway through the journey?"
Aligu didn't know whether his subordinate had changed his mind after living in China for so many years, so how could he be willing to reveal his true feelings.
Aligu said: "You have lived in Bianjing for many years. I thought Qingtang City was extremely large, but compared with Bianjing, it is just a mud wall."
"The Emperor of the Song Dynasty has treated us well over the years. You can work for him without any worries."
The other party said: "I am always afraid of being killed by someone in the middle of the night."
Aligu had been looking forward to returning to Qingtang, but now that he had been granted the order, he began to hesitate.
After everyone left, the wives and concubines in the house were all crying. They were all married by him in Qingtang. As for the two concubines from the Song Dynasty, their faces were full of joy.
Aligu was upset and drank one glass after another. He got up to go to the toilet halfway through the drink.
But he heard one of his concubines whispering, "Aligu will definitely rebel against Song again if he returns to Qingtang City. If that happens, how can we survive?"
Another concubine said, "That won't happen. We will all stay in the capital. How can Aligu not remember our kindness over the years? If he goes to the frontier and makes contributions to the court, we will also be proud."
The person who spoke was his Han concubine.
She said to him, "You are a Han woman who has been with Aligu for a short time. You don't know what kind of person Aligu is. He is a natural born hero and will never be willing to be inferior to others in his life. If it weren't for this, I would never have married him."
"Have pity on us."
Aligu went back to the room after hearing this, but saw the light on in the study. His Chinese interpreter was packing up.
Aligu now speaks Chinese fluently and no longer needs a Chinese interpreter, but he knows that this man was sent by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty to monitor him, so he keeps him by his side.
After the two met, Aligu said, "Sir, won't you go to Qingtang with me?"
He said to the other party: "The group is a peerless hero. This time he is like a dragon returning to the sea. He has no need for a villain anymore."
Ali Gu said: "You don't believe me either? Just wait!"
The other party didn't speak.
Aligu said nothing and went back to his room alone to drink all night.
……
Two days later, Aligu bid farewell outside the palace.
The emperor did not meet Aligu, but asked a eunuch to talk to Aligu: "Your Majesty said, I know you are quite brave, this time you return to Qingtang City to guard it, and in the future you should be respectful to the Song Dynasty."
Aligu said, "Would you allow me to meet His Majesty before I go on my mission?"
The eunuch smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty is busy today."
Aligu begged again and again and finally had to leave, but he changed his mind and asked a palace servant, "How do I get to the Secretariat?"
……
In the government hall, Wang Gui, Zhang Yue and Yuan Jiang were discussing matters with the officials in turn.
At this time, the clerk reported to Wang Gui: "The governor Aligu wants to see you."
Wang Gui was shocked when he heard this: "Ali Gu? Why would a foreign minister ask to see the prime minister?"
The clerk said, "Aligu accepted the imperial title yesterday and can no longer be considered an outsider."
Wang Gui thought to himself that the government hall was not a place where he could come whenever he wanted, and was about to order the clerk to leave when Yuan Jiang said, "It's okay to meet him."
Wang Gui took back what he had said.
Soon Aligu entered the government hall, and the other party saluted, which was quite formal: "This governor went to another state, and I intended to say goodbye to Your Majesty in person before leaving, but Your Majesty did not see me, so I came here to ask the prime ministers' opinions."
Wang Gui said, "Your Majesty, if I tell you to go, then go ahead. Come to the Council Chamber and we will have no objection."
Zhang Yue said to Aligu, "Aligu, you have been pardoned by the emperor this time and have returned to Qingtang. You should use your life well and don't let the emperor down."
Aligu recognized Zhang Yue. He had suffered a great loss at the hands of this man in the past and was defeated and imprisoned.
How could he not hate it in his heart when he thought about it every night? If he had the chance when he went back this time, he would definitely... But he also knew that it was impossible.
Ali Gu clasped his fists and said, "Prime Minister Zhang, long time no see."
"I, Aligu, have a plan to offer before I leave today. To the north of Qingtang are the Grass-Headed Tatars and the Kucha Uighurs. I would like to come here to recruit all of them and go north to capture several states such as Sha, Gan, and Su, in order to support the Song Dynasty in attacking Liangzhou!"
After Aligu said this, it was Zhang Yue's turn to look at him with admiration.
Aligu was just a chess piece in his hand, but now the chess piece has his own thoughts. How can this be tolerated?
Zhang Yue was silent for a while. Wang Gui and Yuan Jiang were both very smart people and they saw the clues at once.
Yuan Jiang would not miss this opportunity and said, "Ali Gu, tell me in detail."
Aligu instead asked, "Can Your Majesty understand what I am saying?"
Yuan Jiang said: "Ali Gu, don't think you are a rare treasure. This is Zhongshumen. You know what this place is!"
Aligu thought about it and immediately gave his advice.
An hour later, Aligu appeared in Chongzheng Hall and gave advice to the emperor and his ministers.
It turned out that Aligu took the initiative to propose to recruit the Kucha Uighurs (Yellow-headed Uighurs) and the Cao-headed Tatars (Yellow-headed Tatars).
These two loose tribal alliances were located between the Kingdom of Khotan (Karakhanid Khanate) and Qingtang. The Dangxiang conquered Ganliang and later broke through the Guazhou sandbar, occupying the entire Hexi Corridor and cutting off the Silk Road of the Song Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty's exchanges with the countries in the Western Regions took this route.
Of course, this new Silk Road is very difficult to travel, as it requires crossing the Qilian Mountains and the plateau.
The emperor once asked the envoy from Yutian how many years he had been on the road, and the envoy replied that he had been on the road for two years.
The Kucha Uighurs originated from the Turgesh and moved here after the demise of the Uighurs. Later, after Li Yuanhao conquered Liangzhou, he took in part of the Ganzhou Uighurs. The Yellow-headed Tatars were of Mongolian descent and were superficially dependent on the Kucha Uighurs, but they were also a loose group.
The main reason is that the areas where they live are sparsely populated and desolate, and there is no opportunity for them to form a strong tribe.
But Aligu was a Khotanese, and after spending many years in Qingtang, he mastered the Silk Road, so he had considerable influence among the Yellow-headed Tatars and the Kucha Uighurs.
Aligu proposed returning to Qingtang to recruit these two tribes, attack Shazhou, Guazhou, and Ganzhou of Western Xia, and cooperate with the Song army to capture Liangzhou.
Aligu undoubtedly gave the king and his ministers a new idea.
Even Zhang Yue couldn't tell whether this strategy was good or bad.
But the emperor was undoubtedly persuaded by Aligu, and signaled the other party to go down and rest first while he discussed the matter with the ministers.
"Ali Gu is quite brave and good at fighting. Qi Ding and Wen Xixin are respectful to me, but they are not dedicated to their work. Last time, they almost conquered Liangzhou, but they retreated at the last minute, which ruined my plan."
Lu Gongzhu said, "Your Majesty, Aligu has the look of a wolf and an eagle, and is a heroic man. Just now when Your Majesty said that he wanted to rely on him, he showed a smug look in his eyes."
Zhang Yue thought that Lu Gongzhu was a very good judge of people, and that Aligu was quite cunning, but he could not hide anything from him. Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, Aligu does have the look of a wolf with a hawk's eyes."
The emperor said, "You wanted to let Aligu return to Qingtang before, didn't you also want him to cause trouble with Qiding and Wen Xixin?"
"Most of the tribal leaders loyal to Aligu are now detained in Bianjing, so this person can't cause any trouble."
Yuan Jiang said: "Your Majesty, Aligu has been in Beijing for two years. He has at least become more loyal to the Song Dynasty. His family is also in the capital."
"Even if Aligu is disloyal, as long as he can capture Guazhou, Shazhou, and Ganzhou of Xixia, everything will be his."
The emperor said, "As long as Aligu cuts off the Hexi Corridor, the Tanguts will be like dry bones in a tomb, and there will be no need to be afraid of them. What do you think, Mr. Zhang?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, if Aligu is in Qingtang City, I can still control him. If he leaves Qingtang, it will be difficult in the future."
The official said, "His family is in the capital."
Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, when Tangut Li Jiqian rebelled against the Song Dynasty, the court imprisoned his mother and wife, but in the end they were useless. However, since Aligu has this idea, it would be fine to let him have a try."
The emperor nodded slowly and said, "I appoint Aligu as the commander of Suzhou and send him to Qingtang to recruit the Kucha Uighurs and the Yellow-headed Tatars."
Qi Ding was not a military commander, while Wen Xixin was a governor. After Aligu was appointed as a military commander, he had the opportunity to be on equal footing with Qi Ding in the official hierarchy of the Song Dynasty.
After the court session, Lü Gongzhu said to Zhang Yue, "Aligu's interruption has disturbed the Prime Minister's plan."
Zhang Yue said: "Indeed, but I am not following a plan. War is ever-changing, and you need to constantly change according to the situation."
"Would you please reconsider Lu Gong's mission to Xixia?"
Lü Gongzhu said with a smile, "I have rejected the Prime Minister twice. Does the Prime Minister still prefer me?"
Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Lü Gong, Yan Zi once said that there are three kinds of people in the world."
"A gentleman is difficult to advance but easy to retreat; a second-rate person is easy to advance but easy to retreat; a villain is easy to advance but difficult to retreat."
"It is difficult for Lu Gong to advance but easy to retreat, so it is worth my repeated invitation."
Lü Gongzhu smiled and nodded, saying, "Since the Prime Minister is so sincere, I can only do it with reluctance."
……
After the Battle of Mingsha, both Song and Xia suffered heavy losses. Under the mediation of the Liao Kingdom, both sides agreed to cease fighting and negotiate peace.
The Western Xia sent Li Qing and the Song Dynasty sent Lu Gongzhu to conduct two negotiations in Yanzhou and Xiazhou respectively, but neither of them produced any results.
The second year of Yuanfeng passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was the third year of Yuanfeng.
(End of this chapter)