Rebirth: Overthrow Song Dynasty

The sun shines on the earth, but today's weather is still very cold.

In the howling north wind, Zhao Chen and others galloped forward.

After another quarter of an hour, they finally came to the Liao Palace!

Zhao Chen looked forward, and saw towering palaces appearing in front of him, and he couldn't see the edge at a glance!

This is a huge group of palaces that the people of the Liao Kingdom built here in the past two hundred years. In history, when Wan Yanliang of the Kingdom of Jin established Yanjing as his capital, he also used this place as a royal palace! When the Mongols invaded the Central Plains, they regarded Yanjing City as their capital, and the palace of the Liao Kingdom became the palace of the Mongols!

The palace here has nothing to do with the Ming and Qing Forbidden City in later generations. When Mongolia fell, most of them had been destroyed. Later, Beijing City was rebuilt by Zhu Di, and the Forbidden City was also a rebuilt palace complex. This is an ancient building complex that will not be seen at all in later generations, not even "remains"!

After Zhao Chen came here, his first impression was "big".

The architecture of the Liao Kingdom is very different from the architecture of the Central Plains and Jiangnan. The architecture of the Central Plains and Jiangnan is exquisite and gorgeous, while the architecture of the Liao Kingdom is magnificent and magnificent. The palaces in front of you give people an unusually rough feeling.

He looked around, and suddenly found that there were countless buildings similar to pagodas around the palace, and a surprised expression appeared on his face.

"Those are pagodas, right?" Zhao Chen pointed to the front.

"Yes, Your Majesty, those are the pagodas of the Liao Kingdom! The pagodas of the Liao people are very different from the pagodas in our Central Plains. They are octagonal pagodas, and they are all very tall!" Hu Quan said.

"Why are there so many pagodas around the palace?" Zhao Chen asked strangely.

"Your Majesty, Liao people worship Buddha, so there are many pagodas around the palace! In fact, there are more than ten temples around the Yanjing Palace, and those pagodas are all buildings in temples." Liu Yanzong walked up and said.

"Oh? Liao people worship Buddha? This is the first time I know." Zhao Chen said.

After he came to this era, the Liao Kingdom had been destroyed by the Jin Kingdom. He never regarded the Liao Kingdom as an enemy, so he seldom cared about the local customs and customs of the Liao Kingdom. There are so many temples and pagodas.

"Your Majesty, after Liao Taizu got the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, all of them were Han people here! In order to win over us Han people, Liao Taizu began to build Buddhist pagodas and advocate Buddhism! Later, the wind of worshiping Buddhism spread in Liao Dynasty. The country is popular! More than fifty years ago, Su Song, a great scholar of the Song Dynasty, went to the Liao country to congratulate the then emperor of the Liao country on his birthday. When he came back, he wrote a poem about the worship of Buddha in the Liao country. In that poem, it is said, "The pagoda temple is at the foot of the mountain, and we can climb together with the car. The green pines are like arches, and the buildings are about to rise. The Yili are mostly dependent on the Buddha, and the people are also the monks. Looking at the infinite meaning, the description of hatred is incompetent", There are too many temples, Master Su Song doesn’t know how to describe it. A few years ago, when the Liao Kingdom was still alive, our Song Dynasty often said that the north and the south were Buddhist kingdoms! The Buddhist kingdom in the south is Dali, and the Buddhist kingdom in the north It's the Liao Kingdom." Yu Yunwen smiled as he looked at the pagoda in front of him.

"Your Majesty, when Yelu Yanxi was the emperor of the Liao Kingdom, he also loved Buddhism! This Yelu Yanxi entertained monks with gold and silver from the treasury. At most, he had to entertain hundreds of thousands of monks a year! The national power of our Song Dynasty is getting stronger and stronger. The weaker it is, it is because of Hua Shi Gang, and the weaker and weaker the national power of the Liao Kingdom is, it is because of worshiping the Buddha." Li Chuwen, who was once the prime minister of the Liao Kingdom, said.

"Buddhism is not harmful to people. But after we have experienced many times of "destroying Buddhas" in the Central Plains, now that Zen is flourishing, Buddhism is no longer a concern." Zhao Chen nodded and said.

Zen emphasizes asceticism, not luxury, so after many Buddhist sects were annihilated, Zen became the number one Buddhist sect in the Central Plains.

"Are there any monks in those temples now?" Zhao Chen asked again.

"Your Majesty, there is no one there! When the Jurchens came, they occupied the palace, and all the monks were killed by the Jurchens!" Liu Yanzong said.

The Jurchens also worshiped Buddhism in later generations, but the Jurchens who just started believed in shamanism, and they didn't have the slightest respect for Buddhist disciples, so they killed them whenever they wanted.

"Come on, let's go in." Zhao Chen smiled.

*** ***

They entered through the main entrance of the palace, which is also huge, probably the largest main entrance of the palace in this era.

After entering from the inside, not long after walking, a large lake appeared in front of it.

It's early winter now, the north is cold, and there are a lot of ice floes floating on this big lake.

"Your Majesty, this is Yingsheng Lake! In spring and summer, there are many ducks, geese and waterfowl on the lake, which is quite beautiful." Liu Yanzong said.

Zhao Chen nodded.

After passing by here, a huge palace appeared in front of it, which was also built by the Khitan people, and it was very different from the architectural style of the Central Plains.

"Your Majesty, this is the Temple of Heaven's Blessing!" Liu Yanzong said.

They entered the Tianyou Hall, watched it carefully, and then moved on.

"Your Majesty, this is the Shengming Palace!"

"Your Majesty, this is the Sovereign Palace!"

"Your Majesty, this is Huayang Palace!"

Liu Yanzong is constantly introducing one palace after another!

"Your Majesty, this is a racetrack!" After passing by more than ten palaces, they came to a huge yard. There seemed to be a building like a stable here, but now it became extremely dilapidated, and the whole yard was overgrown with weeds. .

The Khitan people are a race of horses, and their palace also has a racetrack, where the emperor can practice equestrianism.

In addition to the racecourse, there are also places such as the martial arts field and the archery field. Many buildings show the martial arts style that the Khitan people once had. Of course, in the late Liao Dynasty, the royal family of the Liao Kingdom was not much different from the Song Dynasty royal family. Except for a few people, the others were also extremely weak.

Until the sun set, they hadn't walked the whole palace yet.

The area of ​​the Imperial Palace of the Liao Kingdom is several times larger than that of the Forbidden City in later generations!

The Forbidden City of the later generations was built by Ming Chengzu Zhu Di. Zhu Di was a Han. Although he was a tyrant, he was also a Ming emperor. At that time, the country’s financial resources were limited. Zhu Di could not invest a lot of gold and silver in the construction of the palace, but the Khitan people did not. scruples! Especially the Khitan people who just rose two hundred years ago, they are not yet fully civilized, they enslave the Han people, and often use hundreds of thousands of Han people to build cities and palaces, so the scale of the Liao Kingdom's imperial palace is extremely large.

"Your Majesty, the imperial study is ahead, and it's getting dark, let's take a rest inside first." Liu Yanzong said.

"Okay!" Zhao Chen nodded.

They entered the imperial study room, which had been simply tidied up, and the stove was still burning in the room, which was obviously prepared by Hu Quan in advance.

"The imperial palace of the Liao Kingdom is really good. Although it is not as gorgeous and exquisite as the Kaifeng and Lin'an palaces, it is much more magnificent!" Zhao Chen laughed.

"Not bad!" Yu Yunwen also nodded.

To be honest, after walking like this, Yu Yunwen was a little shocked. He didn't expect that the rough Khitan people in the north could build such a magnificent palace group. It's a miracle!

"Yu Aiqing, when I was in Zhongshan Mansion that day, I once said that Yanjing can also be used as the capital in the future, what do you think?" Zhao Chen said fiercely.

When Zhao Chen said that, everyone around was stunned, and Yu Yunwen was also stunned there. Zhao Chen just mentioned it casually that day, and Yu Yunwen didn't take it too seriously. He didn't expect Zhao Chen to say this sentence again now.

"Your Majesty, in all dynasties, most of the capitals have been in Chang'an and Luoyang, and this dynasty is in Kaifeng. Kang Wang's rebels were in the south of the Yangtze River, so they had to use Hangzhou as their capital! When we first entered Guanshan, because the Jurchen threat was too great, so We regard Hanzhong as the capital! Since ancient times, there is no reason to regard Yanjing as the capital. This is the northernmost part of the Central Plains, and it is too close to the grasslands where the barbarians live, Liaodong and other places, and it is too dangerous here!" Yu Yunwen said.

"Your Majesty, I also think Master Yu is right! If Your Majesty wants to decide the capital, he must either return to Kaifeng, or use Chang'an or Luoyang as his capital! Kaifeng, Chang'an, and Luoyang have all experienced wars and are extremely dilapidated. If Your Majesty does not like If so, you can go to Daming Mansion! That Daming Mansion was originally the capital of my court, and it can also be used as a temporary residence for His Majesty." Li Chuwen said.

"If you only want to govern the Central Plains, Kaifeng, Chang'an, Luoyang and even Daming Mansion are all good places! During the Han and Tang Dynasties, the reason why Chang'an and Luoyang were the capitals was because Chang'an and Luoyang were located in the hinterland of the Central Plains! However, what I want to govern is not only It's the Central Plains!" Zhao Chen said.

"What does Your Majesty mean?" Yu Yunwen asked in surprise.

"I mean, Kaifeng, Chang'an, Luoyang and other places are too far away from the grassland, and they are also too far away from Liaodong! I want to conquer the entire grassland, conquer Liaodong, and in the future I will rule the entire grassland and Liaodong. At that time, Yanjing will be in the world, and only in Yanjing can the world be governed better!" Zhao Chen said.

Yu Yunwen, Hu Quan and others all stayed there.

Before the Song Dynasty, the reason why Chang'an, Luoyang and other places were used as capitals was, as Zhao Chen said, because these places were "in the world" at that time and could rule the Central Plains! But in history, when the Kingdom of Jin arrived, Yanjing became the capital, because Yanjing became the "under heaven" of the Kingdom of Jin at that time! In the Yuan Dynasty, this was also the capital, because it could not only sit in the Central Plains, but also control the grasslands! In the Ming Dynasty, the reason why Ming Chengzu established his capital here was that "the emperor guards the gate of the country". At that time, Mongolia in the northern grasslands had not yet been completely wiped out. The country's capital was here, and the world's material, financial and military resources would naturally lean towards this place. , It is more conducive to resisting foreign barbarians! In the Qing Dynasty, this was also the capital city. On the one hand, it was because it was the most marginal place in the Central Plains. On the other hand, the Qing people could withdraw from the Central Plains and return to the pass when necessary!

The reason why Zhao Chen intends to use this place as the capital is, as he said just now, for the purpose of ruling the north in the future! He wants comrades not only in the Central Plains, but also in the northern grasslands, Liaodong and other places! Moreover, it is very close to the Bohai Sea, which will also benefit maritime strategy in the future! China is a land country, but a land country has no future. In the future, it must go out from the East Asian continent! Another point is that setting the capital here, with the development of shipping, is also conducive to the connection between the north and the south!

"Your Majesty has great ambitions, I understand!" Yu Yunwen said after pondering for a long time, admiring in his heart.

Only then did he know that Zhao Chen really wanted to rule the grasslands and Liaodong, and double the territory of the Han people! Before the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Han people also defeated the barbarians in the northern grasslands, and also conquered Goguryeo in Liaodong. However, the Han people’s rule has always been in the Central Plains and has never expanded to the north. , the Turks rose, the Turks disappeared, the Khitans began to rise again, and then the Jurchens began to rise again. If history remains unchanged, the Mongols will follow suit! And Zhao Chen wanted to establish the capital here, and truly manage the north, so that the north would no longer allow foreigners to gallop freely.

"This is unprecedented. Your Majesty, we need to think about it carefully! If we can't defeat the foreign race in the end, it's still too dangerous here." Li Chuwen said.

"The military strength of our Great Song Dynasty is now the highest since the founding of the country. If we can't do it now, we will be even more unable to do it in the future! I want to set up the capital here, and I also express my determination to completely wipe out all the foreigners in the north and unify the world." Zhao Chen said.

"I will understand." Li Chuwen said hastily.

"Think about this matter carefully! Do you want to set the capital here? If the capital is set here, the population needs to be relocated. In addition, we need to build a new city in the Jizhou area, which will be used for sea transportation and connect Jiangnan! Also, If the capital is set here, what should we do if the Japanese pirates come? What if some foreign barbarian navy is powerful and invades us? Think carefully about these things!" Zhao Chen said.

In fact, that day in Zhongshan Mansion, after completely defeating the Jurchen of the Central Plains, Zhao Chen began to think about the matter of Dingdu. He had been thinking about the issues he just mentioned these days, and he just said them now.

"Weichen will think about this matter carefully." Yu Yunwen nodded.

"We wiped out all the Khitans in the inner city today. The rest of the Khitans in Yanjing City will definitely notice it. I don't know how they will react. Well, let the soldiers have a good night's rest and let them rest. Let's live in the palace! From today on, I will be handling official business in the Liao Palace! Regardless of whether this is the capital city in the future, before conquering Liaodong, I will stay here." Zhao Chen said with a smile.