Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 17: The Omen of Immortal Voices (This chapter is free)

Li Ruoxu didn't understand why, Li Ruoxue's face showed a 'color' of thinking, but Zhao Xingde said: "This is the same as the last intention of the Tang Dynasty to appoint famous writers as prime ministers. Every two years, the most prestigious and popular Candidates are elected into the Zhu State Mansion. The Zhu State Mansion holds the two powers of formulating laws and supreme rulings, which are enough for these people to display their ambitions of helping the world, helping the world and saving the people, or leading the world. Heroes from all over the world, gather Zhu Guo and Protecting the State, all powerful You can only bow your head and obey orders."

Chao Buzhi nodded slightly, and was about to express his appreciation, but Li Ruoxue who was beside him asked, "Can that woman also recommend Zhu Guo?" Dazed, he added with some embarrassment: "Except for those who have been promoted to scholars, other women have no right to be elected."

The answer Chao Buzhi gave was beyond Li Ruoxue's expectation, and it aroused Zhao Xingde's interest even more. Li Ruoxue asked doubtfully, "Can women also become scholars?"

"Yes." Chao Buzhi nodded, and said in a deep voice, "If the standards are met, some women can be promoted to scholars and serve as some dispatches in the prime minister's mansion or the general's mansion."

"Can a woman be an official?" Li Ruoxue showed an unbelievable expression on her face.

Chao Buzhi looked at his unparalleled female disciple lovingly, nodded, and said affirmatively, "Of course."

Zhao Xingde waited for a while, and saw that Li Ruoxue seemed to be quite shocked by the news that a woman from the Xia Kingdom could become an official, so he continued to ask: "It is said that after the Liao Kingdom wiped out the Han clan, the Yelu clan went against the law in the country. The Han people are like pigs and dogs, and I wonder if the teacher knows the details?" He saw that Chao Buzhi was familiar with Xia's situation, and he talked about it with eloquence, so he knew that this famous teacher was not just a rotten scholar who was looking for chapters and excerpts, but was sincere. Ask Chao Buzhi for advice with the attitude of a student. The sources of information in this era are extremely scarce. Even in the Taixue, officials and students have countless different opinions about the situation of Liao and Xia. It is difficult for people to tell the truth from the fake.

Chao Buzhi's eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "When Han Derang and Han Chang were in Liao Bingzheng, the power of the Liao Kingdom was booming. Fortunately, this time I foiled our Northern Expedition. They ate their flesh and slept on their skin. But at that time, no one could see that precisely because of the usefulness of the Han family, the status of the Chinese in the Liao Kingdom was rising day by day, almost on par with the Khitan people. The Han people lived and multiplied and occupied the Liao Kingdom. Most of the population in the country. After the Han clan was wiped out, the Khitan people were wary of the Han people. Not only did they greatly reduce the military power of Han'er generals, but they also forced Han'er to dress like Khitan people and divided the various ethnic groups in the country into three classes. Humans are the first class, Jurchen and Shiwei are the second class, and Han people are the third class. The Han people offend the Khitan people, and the lightest punishment is whipping, amputation of hands and feet, and even death. Killing the Han people, but only lightly fined the matter, more officials and officials protect each other, let it go."

"There is such a thing?" Zhao Xingde was furious.When the court of the Song Dynasty was preparing for the Northern Expedition, some courtiers wanted Youyan's father to send a cow to give wine to the king's teacher, but they usually regarded Han'er as a member of the Liao Kingdom, and even had a relationship with the Liao Kingdom to hand over the fugitives who crossed the border to each other. agreement.Therefore, the court of the Song Dynasty did not widely publicize the matter of the classification of people in the Liao Kingdom. When the scholar-bureaucrats knew about it, some felt ashamed and did not mention it, and some felt that it had nothing to do with our country and did not care .There were faint rumors about this in Taixue, Zhao Xingde didn't believe it at first, he remembered that the fourth-class system was only established in the Yuan Dynasty 200 years later, who would have thought that it would have been created in this era.

Chao Buzhi showed a trace of grief, and continued: "At the beginning, with the support of Empress Dowager Chengtian Xiao, the Han family vigorously promoted Sinology and Chinese characters in the Liao Kingdom. After the Han family was destroyed, Chinese characters were not allowed to be used again. Many Chinese children would become illiterate if they had no parents to teach them. Among the Khitan Yelu family, there were even more thoughtful people who forced the Han generals to speak Khitan dialect and use Khitan characters. Many Han children have forgotten their own Originally born, he was determined to be a running dog and slave for the Khitan people. The northern land is bitter and barren, and the Khitan people are very extravagant, and they are fond of worshiping the Buddha. They like the silk tea from the Central Plains and the many exquisite things produced by Xia Nong, so they sold a large number of Han people into slavery. Work in the fields under the supervision of the Hu people during the busy season, and work day and night in the workshop during the slack season. The grain produced is made into wine, and some crude things are exchanged with the Song and Xia countries. The men in the workshop often work hard He became ill, lived a life of hunger and cold, and most of them could not live to be 40 years old. They could neither get married nor have children. According to the legend of Han Er, in this life, in this life, he will suffer all the hardships of the next generation for 800 years.”

The tragic incidents in the Liao Kingdom are far beyond what Chao Buzhi said. He took into account that Li Ruoxue present here is a girl, and Li Ruoxu is still young, so he only touched on it.But just hearing such a tragic situation, how can the young people who are full of vigor bear it? Even the underage Li Ruoxu clenched his fists and rattled. , I often talk about the Northern Expedition and the restoration of Yan, how much is it worth?"

Li Ruoxue and Li Ruoxu, who were sitting beside Zhao Xingde, bowed slightly unconsciously.Li Ruoxue looked at Zhao Xingde in astonishment, and immediately averted her eyes, lowered her head and gazed, not knowing why a gentle and elegant Confucian scholar would suddenly exude an awe-inspiring aura, and even trembled a little.However, Li Ruoxu was infected by Zhao Xingde's aura, he gritted his teeth, and looked at Chao Buzhi with his eyes wide open, as if as long as Song and Liao went to war, he would join the army and ride his horse Youyan.Chao Buzhi was also slightly taken aback. As the saying goes, just after a change, Zhao Xingde is so kind, and he is afraid that, like himself, his future in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty will be full of ups and downs.

Chao Buzhi sighed, and murmured: "The art of war says that if you are ten times you will surround it, if you double it you will attack it. Although the Liao Kingdom is cruel and ruthless, its military strength is extremely strong. The Liao army stationed in Youzhou alone has more than ten people. Thousands of people. The so-called 70 cavalry, although there are many false threats, but the Khitan men can fight in small numbers, and they can be recruited. There are always 40 or 80 cavalry. In addition, the Northland Shiwei , Jurchen, Five Kingdoms, Mongolia and other barbarians. Although our court claims to have 30 forbidden troops, the court adheres to the policy of guarding the inside and the outside, and controls the Khitan's two camps in the east and the north of the river. There are few cavalry, so we have more than enough to protect ourselves, but if we want to attack Youyan, it is not enough."

Zhao Xingde pondered slightly, raised his head and said: "According to what the teacher said, the army of the Xia Kingdom is strong, and it is restrained by the Jie people and Turks west of the Congling Ridge, so it is difficult to make a large-scale advance eastward. Is it possible to unite Xia to attack Liao?" He said, While gesturing with his hand, "If Yongxi's Northern Expedition was the same, the troops were divided into two groups. I went to the Hedong and Hebei camps to attack Yan with great fanfare, attracting the Liao army's main soldiers to meet them. , After attacking Youyan, blockade Yuguan, and prevent the elite from the North Academy from coming to help." Zhao Xingde is a scholar who has never been in battle, but he was influenced by the military and state affairs among the Tai students, and now he talks freely. It was as if he had a plan in his chest, and finally said in a deep voice: "After the matter is completed, the Liao Kingdom will be divided equally, and the north of the Great Wall will reward Xia, and I will take the south of the Great Wall."

"It's really madness." Such a comment flashed in Li Ruoxue's mind. When she was young, she was famous for her talents. I don't know how many young talents boasted in front of her, but no one was as arrogant as Zhao Xingde. There is a faint ambition to slaughter the world, how can the word "crazy" be so good.However, Li Ruoxu's eyes showed eagerness to try.

Chao Buzhi looked at Zhao Xingde with a complicated expression, shook his head, and said: "Xia Kingdom occupies Guanzhong, and the emperors of all dynasties have ascended the throne in Chang'an, the eastern capital, and compete with our dynasty for Zhengshuo in the Central Plains. How can we unite Xia to attack Liao?" He paused for a moment, seeing Zhao Xingde's face was still full of indignation, knowing that he had just heard the tragic situation of the Han people in Liao Kingdom, so he gave birth to the heart of Chaoshi, his heart was surging, Not only did it break the saint's lesson that happiness and anger are invisible, but even the imperial court's scruples about Xia Guo were forgotten.