Yelü Dashi laughed until tears streamed down his face.
The Great Liao was now at a critical juncture of survival. Liao soldiers were fighting a two-front war, holding back the surging Jurchens and the Song.
Yet, the Emperor of the Great Liao knew only how to flee.
This had brought the entire Liao bureaucracy to a near standstill.
Frontline supplies of weaponry and provisions could no longer be effectively gathered.
This left Yelü Dashi utterly heartbroken and in despair.
“Linya, walls have ears!”
Seeing Yelü Dashi in such a frenzied state, the old servant quickly knelt down.
While the Emperor’s actions were indeed excessive, and many within the country were dissatisfied with him, he was, after all, the Emperor. If such words were to reach his ears, it would mean a death sentence!
“So what if walls have ears? The Great Liao is about to fall! His Majesty Yelü Yanxi has squandered the ancestral enterprise. Am I not even allowed to weep for the ancestors of the Great Liao?”
As he spoke, Yelü Dashi drew the saber at his waist and, with a fierce stroke, split the table before him in two.
At this moment, he held no respect for Yelü Yanxi whatsoever.
His patience had been completely exhausted by Yelü Yanxi.
“Bring me wine!”
After a few ragged breaths, Yelü Dashi, who never drank in the military, suddenly shouted towards the outside of the tent.
“Yes!”
Though they didn't know what had gotten into him today, the soldiers standing guard outside tremblingly brought in a jar of wine.
“I will write you a letter. You will immediately send someone to deliver it to Nanjing and tell Prime Ministers Zhang and Li. If they cannot select a wise ruler for the Great Liao, I will personally pursue Yelü Yanxi to Yuanyangluo and kill him! Whoever wants to fight this war can fight it!”
Having unsealed the jar and downed the nearly five jin of wine in one gulp, Yelü Dashi, with bloodshot eyes, looked at the old servant kneeling before him.
“Linya, you mustn’t speak such words carelessly!”
His statement had truly terrified the old servant.
“What do you know! From the moment Yelü Yanxi fled westward, he ceased to be the Emperor of our Great Liao! Those accursed Jurchen mongrels have now reached Zhongjing Dadaingfu. Must I, like a coward with Yelü Yanxi, become a slave of a fallen nation?”
After his outburst of anger, Yelü Dashi tore off a piece of his robe, bit his finger, and began to write a blood letter.
“Linya!”
Seeing Yelü Dashi with bloodshot eyes, the old servant’s own eyes welled up with tears.
Although he was not an official, having served by Yelü Dashi’s side for so many years, he was not ignorant of the ways of the court.
No matter how morally bankrupt the Emperor was, those who dared to speak of deposing him had never had a good end, from ancient times to the present.
“Issue an order: the entire army is to be on high alert. Guard against any surprise attacks by the Song army!”
After finishing the blood letter, Yelü Dashi felt as though the suffocating pressure in his chest for days had finally eased somewhat.
“Go fetch that Ma Kuo!”
Taking a few deep breaths, his emotions finally stabilized.
He then instructed the soldiers serving him to bring forth Ma Kuo, who had been captured and summoned for surrender negotiations a few days prior.
“Yes!”
Seeing him in such a disheveled state, the soldiers attending to him dared not disobey his command.
“Yelü Linya, warfare between nations does not execute envoys! It does not execute envoys!”
As he watched the soldiers with murderous intent, Ma Kuo cursed Tong Guan’s entire ancestral lineage a hundred times over in his heart.
If not for that damned eunuch, how could he have ended up in such a predicament?
He was asked to persuade them to surrender, yet they had already launched an offensive. Even if they launched an offensive, they were soundly defeated and forced to retreat.
Was this not an obvious trap?
“Who said I was going to kill you? You go back and deliver a message to Tong Guan for me!”
Seeing Ma Kuo trembling, Yelü Dashi said disdainfully.
“Deliver a message?”
Hearing this, Ma Kuo finally felt a wave of relief. If this were the case, at least his life would be spared.
“Hahahaha, go tell Tong Guan that the Liao and Song have been in harmony for a hundred years; the alliance and oaths are etched in every word. You may deceive our nation, but you cannot deceive Heaven!”
Watching Yelü Dashi’s frenzied demeanor, Ma Kuo’s heart felt as though it would leap out of his throat.
This was, after all, the Liao army’s encampment, and he truly feared that Yelü Dashi would suddenly order him beheaded.
However, fortunately, Yelü Dashi proved to be somewhat reasonable. Not only did he not kill him in the end, but he also returned his retinue and warhorses.
“My lord, they simply let us go?”
As they made their way out of the Liao army’s camp, Ma Kuo’s attendant asked, still in disbelief.
“Aren’t we out? What else is there to say? Let’s hurry on our way. Be careful of delays that could lead to unforeseen events!”
Glancing back at the brightly lit Liao encampment, and then at the Liao soldiers escorting them, Ma Kuo lowered his voice and said.
“Yes!”
Under the threat of death, these attendants dared not delay. After several hours of travel, they were finally able to see the lights of the Song army’s camp in the distance. Only then did the Liao soldiers turn back.
“Yelü Dashi, a true hero…”
Watching the receding figures of the Liao soldiers, Ma Kuo let out a long sigh of relief and exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.
Unlike all the Song generals and officials he had encountered, he had truly felt a sense of benevolence and compassion in Yelü Dashi.
When he thought of the arrogant demeanor of the high officials in court, and the corpulent generals, even Ma Kuo felt a sense of confusion.
Could the Great Song truly win this war?
“Prime Minister, Ma Kuo has returned!”
As Tong Guan was drowsily asleep, a young eunuch quietly entered and softly woke him.
“You said who? Ma Kuo?”
Hearing this, Tong Guan immediately perked up.
The series of defeats on the front lines had caused him immense stress recently.
He was well aware that with the continuous loss of troops and generals, the Emperor’s confidence in him would likely dwindle before long.
He knew better than anyone how he had risen through the ranks over the years. Liang Shicheng might survive even after losing power, but he was different! Li Yan’s death served as a harsh lesson for him!
Once he lost power, a merciless reckoning awaited him!