Chapter 471
Zhao Yu and Duan Yu
...
The Imperial Palace of Dali, the inner palace.
A woman with frosty phoenix eyes, eyebrows like cold swords slanting towards her temples, a high-bridged nose, and tightly pursed thin lips exuded a chilling aura that kept people at a distance. Her skin was as white as ice and jade, untouched by any worldly dust. Her black hair was piled high, adorned with a phoenix crown, further enhancing her dignified and majestic presence. She radiated an innate nobility and domineering aura, like a young woman born to rule as a queen. She coldly gazed at Duan Zhengyan and Gao Liangcheng, asking with a calm and unwavering expression:
"You two intend to offer me to the Emperor of the Song Dynasty?"
Duan Zhengyan looked down at his nose, then at his mouth, then at his heart, and finally at his own peace, as if he were in a meditative state, adopting an attitude of indifference.
This is true.
If given a choice, Duan Zhengyan would certainly not come to see Empress Gao, whom he both disliked and could not do anything about, especially when both he and the Dali Duan family were in dire straits.
Gao Liangcheng was so afraid of seeing his aunt that he insisted on bringing Duan Zhengyan along to keep him company.
Currently, Duan Zhengyan and the Dali Duan family are still in Gao Liangcheng's hands. Duan Zhengyan certainly cannot offend Gao Liangcheng over such a small matter, thereby creating unnecessary complications at this chaotic and sensitive time.
So Duan Zhengyan still came.
However, Duan Zhengyan did come, but he wanted to make it clear: the person who wanted to offer you, Empress Gao, to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty was your Dali Gao family, Gao Liangcheng, and had nothing to do with me, Duan Zhengyan, or my Dali Duan family. We will not take the blame for this.
Empress Gao understood Duan Zhengyan's attitude.
But this did not affect Empress Gao's disdain for Duan Zhengyan in the slightest.
Please!
Others are about to offer your wife to another man, and you're acting like it's none of my business, that you can do whatever you want, and that you have no objection.
Isn't this just a typical big turtle man?
How could Empress Gao, a woman of such strong character throughout her life, possibly be interested in a man like Duan Zhengyan?
Empress Gao's disappointment with Duan Zhengyan was not a recent development; otherwise, why would she refuse to have children with him, or even allow him to touch her?
To put it simply, Empress Gao was not surprised at all by Duan Zhengyan's behavior at this moment. She would have been surprised if Duan Zhengyan had actually defended her.
Empress Gao shifted her gaze from Duan Zhengyan to Gao Liangcheng and asked indifferently, "Is Cheng'er going to send me to be the Song Emperor's canary?"
Gao Liangcheng poured out his grievances: "Your Majesty, please understand! The Song army is besieging the city, and the capital could fall at any moment. The fate of the nation is hanging by a thread. The illustrious lineage of my Gao family has been hanging by a thread for generations. It is not that I am willing to kneel, but that I am doing this to preserve the reputation of my clan and the lives of the people. At this critical moment of life and death, only by enduring this humiliation can we preserve the foundation of my Gao family for ten thousand generations."
After a pause, Gao Liangcheng changed his tone and said, "His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is a man of great talent and ambition, sweeping across the world, and is the greatest emperor of all time. Your Majesty the Empress is of unparalleled beauty and virtue. If she could serve before the Emperor, it would not be a humiliation, but rather a blessing for the people of Yunnan and a good fortune for the Gao family. In this way, the Gao family can be protected and the common people can live in peace. This is sacrificing personal interests for the greater good. I hope Your Majesty will consider the overall situation!"
Empress Gao's voice grew even colder: "Why should I sacrifice myself to save you all?"
As soon as Empress Gao finished speaking, members of the Gao clan from the lineage of Gao Shengtai-Gao Taiming-Empress Gao suddenly appeared in the hall. They looked coldly at Gao Liangcheng, who had plotted against them, as if to say, "If Gao Liangcheng doesn't give us an explanation, we'll never let him off the hook."
This is the hidden danger of the Gao family of Dali, and also the contradiction between the lineage of Gao Shengtai-Gao Taiming-Empress Gao and the lineage of Gao Liangcheng.
At this point, if Gao Liangcheng were to eliminate Empress Gao, then the Gao Shengtai-Gao Taiming-Empress Gao lineage might lose power and become a vassal of Gao Liangcheng's lineage.
Therefore, the two sides were constantly fighting amongst themselves, and even Empress Gao was drawn into it.
It is quite obvious that Empress Gao was unwilling to sacrifice herself for Dali and the Gao family of Dali.
If Gao Liangcheng is still determined to offer Empress Gao to Zhao Yu, it may cause a change in Gao Liangcheng's plan to protect the Gao family of Dali by offering the Dali Duan family to the Song Dynasty.
However, if Dali did not offer up its queen when the kingdom fell, it would be impossible to explain to the Song Dynasty.
Left with no other choice, Gao Liangcheng could only ask Empress Gao, "What is Your Majesty's opinion?"
Empress Gao revealed the plan she had already devised:
"It would be better to announce to the outside world that I have been suffering from a long-term illness and have also suffered the pain of the fall of my country. Overwhelmed by grief and indignation, I have suddenly passed away. At that time, we can choose a virtuous woman from among His Majesty's concubines to be the new empress, who will then take over the Phoenix Seal of Yunnan and present it to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. In this way, I can avoid being caught in a trap and preserve my reputation in history. Dali and my Gao family can also be safe. Wouldn't that be a perfect solution?"
Gao Liangcheng knew immediately that Empress Gao's plan was unreliable. Even if walls had ears, with Duan Zhengyan, an outsider, right there, how could this matter not leak out?
If this matter were to leak out, and the Song Dynasty were to investigate it thoroughly, it would be considered a crime of deceiving the emperor.
At that time, the Gao family of Dali might be implicated in this matter.
Gao Liangcheng quickly reminded Empress Gao: "This is absolutely unacceptable, you must know..."
Unexpectedly, Empress Gao ignored her completely, saying only, "I'm tired. Go and do it. Don't disappoint me, or else..."
Empress Gao didn't say the rest aloud, but her threat was already quite clear.
Gao Liangcheng knew that Empress Gao was not trying to scare him. After all, the Imperial Guards in the capital were all under Empress Gao's control. If they were to fall out, Empress Gao might not be salty, but she would definitely be very sour.
At this critical moment of life and death, Gao Liangcheng really dared not provoke this crazy woman.
Gao Liangcheng pondered in his heart: "It would be better to go along with her for now, and wait until the Song army takes over the capital and seizes her military power before revealing the truth to Chen Xuanfu. It won't be too late then."
With this in mind, Gao Liangcheng agreed.
Therefore, Gao Liangcheng promoted Wang, a concubine whom Duan Zhengyan had just taken in, to the position of Empress of Dali and sent her and the Duan family of Dali out of Yangjumei City to prevent the Song army from entering the city and massacring them.
The Duan family of Dali were well aware that if they left the city, they might never return. Therefore, many members of the Duan family of Dali, relying on their status, refused to leave the city no matter what. Some even wanted to pretend to be dead, like Empress Gao, or find someone else to leave the city in their place.
Upon seeing this, Gao Liangcheng was not only very anxious, but also very angry.
Therefore, Gao Liangcheng summoned the army and ordered them to force the Dali Duan family out of the city.
These Dali soldiers were also afraid of the Song army raiding the city, so they agreed without hesitation.
They said to the Duan family of Dali, "Now that Dali has fallen, you are all prisoners of the Song Dynasty. It is inevitable that you will leave. We have prepared bamboo sedan chairs. Please leave quickly."
As these Dali soldiers spoke, they also drew their swords to intimidate the Dali Duan family.
Upon seeing this, the people of the Duan family in Dali were all moved to tears. With no other choice, they had to leave the Dali imperial city in bamboo sedan chairs, leaving the city gates with tears in their eyes.
Every woman in the Duan family of Dali, except for the Empress Gao who had faked her death, rode out of the city in carriages one by one.
The people in the city were puzzled to see so many royal carriages leaving the city.
At the foot of the West Corner Tower, two commoners stopped Duan Zhengyan's bamboo sedan chair and said, "Your Majesty's relatives have all left. What will become of the people of this city? Why not leave one person behind to preserve the dynasty?"
With tears streaming down his face, Duan Zhengyan replied, "The Great Song Dynasty wants me, what can I do?"
After speaking, Duan Zhengyan continued out of the city.
Before noon, the entire Dali Duan clan had arrived at the Song army camp. Soon, Chen Kangbo, who already had a list of the Dali Duan and Dali Gao clans, realized that Empress Gao was not among them.
However, Chen Kangbo did not make a fuss. Instead, he first accepted the surrender of the Dali people, then demanded horses from the Dali people in Yangjumei City, and then demanded weapons from them.
After the Dali people in Yangjumei City handed over all their horses and weapons, Chen Kangbo, on the grounds that the Gao family of Dali was hiding Empress Gao, ordered all the people of the Gao family of Dali to leave the city to be punished.
Gao Liangcheng knew something was wrong, so he rushed out of the city to try and explain to Chen Kangbo.
However, Chen Kangbo did not even meet Gao Liangcheng, but continued to send people to demand people from the Gao family of Dali, and he demanded them according to the list.
The first one in the list is Empress Gao.
The Gao family of Dali wanted to continue to conceal the truth, but the people who went there directly revealed the location of Empress Gao's hiding place.
It turned out that after Yangjumei City was captured by the Song army, a large number of Dali people surrendered to the Song Dynasty, including many confidants of the Gao family of Dali.
Chen Kangbo and Yuwen Xuzhong let these people pass through Yangjumei City, allowing them to act as spies for the Song Dynasty.
How could anything that happened in Yangjumei City escape their surveillance?
Moreover, the Duan family of Dali hated the Gao family of Dali for pushing them out as scapegoats, and they also harbored the idea of redeeming themselves through merit, so they naturally sold out the Gao family of Dali completely.
Now, the Dali people in Yangjumei City have lost their horses and weapons, and are like lambs to the slaughter, fish on a chopping board. How dare they disobey the Song Dynasty?
Before a day had passed, the Gao family of Dali, led by Empress Gao, were all sent out of Yangjumei City by the Dali people.
Next, all the members of the Dali Duan and Dali Gao families were sent back to Beijing to meet Zhao Yu.
While continuing to pacify the Dali Kingdom, Chen Kangbo and his entourage also purged the Dali Kingdom's powerful and wealthy families and relocated Han Chinese to the kingdom...
Leaving aside how Chen Kangbo and others completely incorporated the Dali Kingdom into the Song Dynasty, making it the Yunnan Circuit of the Song Dynasty.
It is said that, since the Song Dynasty's trains had long been laid to Guangnan West Road, the Duan and Gao families of Dali could take the train directly to Beijing.
This meant that just over ten days after the fall of Yangjumei City, all the members of the Dali Duan and Dali Gao families were sent to Beijing.
Immediately afterwards, Zhao Yu received Duan Zhengyan and Gao Liangcheng in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Zhao Yu didn't even glance at Gao Liangcheng, the behind-the-scenes "emperor" of the Dali Kingdom; his eyes were only on Duan Yu.
To be honest, this "Duan Yu" is completely different from those played by Kent Tong, Eddie Kwan, Benny Chan, Jimmy Lin, Kim Ki-bum, and Bai Shu. He doesn't have any dashing or debonair demeanor, nor does he look like a martial arts master. He just looks very humble and lacks the majesty and imposing presence of an emperor.
Zhao Yu asked Duan Zhengyan, "Do you have anything to say?"
Duan Zhengyan bowed and said, "The war with the Song Dynasty was not my wish, nor has it been related to my Duan family. Those three letters were not written by me, and the matter of hiding the Empress was not my doing..."
When it came to Zhao Yu, Duan Zhengyan also let loose and expressed all his "grievances," his main point being that if the Dali Duan family was not having an easy time, the Dali Gao family should not have an easy time either.
Hearing this, Gao Liangcheng's face turned ashen, and he cursed Duan Zhengyan's ancestors for eight generations in his heart.
To be honest, Gao Liangcheng never expected Duan Zhengyan to kick him when he was down. He felt that he had a good relationship with Duan Zhengyan and even thought that after a few years, when Duan Zhengyan's daughter, Princess Zhaoqing, grew up, he would marry Princess Zhaoqing to elevate Duan Zhengyan and ease the relationship between the Dali Duan family and the Dali Gao family.
Unexpectedly, when trouble broke out in Dali, Duan Zhengyan immediately shifted all the blame onto him and the Gao family of Dali, completely absolving himself and the Duan family of Dali of any responsibility.
Gao Liang prepared his words, waiting for the moment when Ma spoke before launching a counterattack, trying his best to protect himself and the Gao family of Dali.
To Gao Liangcheng's utter surprise, Zhao Yu didn't even ask him a single question before saying, "While the Gao family's crimes are indeed heinous, your Duan family is not innocent either..."
Listen to the sound of gongs and drums, and listen to the tone of voice.
Upon hearing Zhao Yu's words, Gao Liangcheng's heart sank to the bottom.
At this moment, Gao Liangcheng was very clear in his heart that whether the Dali Duan family was finished or not was another matter, but the Dali Gao family was definitely finished.
As Gao Liangcheng had predicted, after Duan Zhengyan submitted his surrender document, Zhao Yu dismissed him and Duan Zhengyan without saying a single word to him or giving him a chance to speak.
Subsequently, Zhao Yu issued an imperial edict regarding the handling of the Dali Duan and Dali Gao families.
Tianlong Temple was built in Wanguo City, and all men of the Dali Duan family, regardless of age, including Duan Zhengyan, were granted permission to become monks in Tianlong Temple.
All the men of the Gao clan in Dali, regardless of age, including Gao Liangcheng, were imprisoned in the City of Ten Thousand Nations.
Women from the Duan and Gao clans of Dali all entered Zhao Yu's harem. The young and beautiful were selected to serve Zhao Yu, while the old and ugly were sent to the Shou Kang Palace to live out their old age. Regardless of whether they were the former or the latter, they were never allowed to leave the harem for the rest of their lives.
This is actually no different from the punishments imposed on royal families, monarchs, and members of the royal family in other countries.
The only difference is that Zhao Yu granted the Dali Duan family permission to build Tianlong Temple and gave them certain preferential treatment.
Furthermore, Gao Liangcheng and other members of the Gao clan in Dali were not given any official positions.
"What does Zhao Yu mean by this? Does he not acknowledge the Gao family's status in Dali? Or... is he standing up for the Duan family?!"
Gao Liangcheng and the Gao family of Dali were both furious and terrified!
Even in the City of Nations, there are social classes.
The highest level would definitely include monarchs like Yelü Yanxi, Wanyan Wugumai, Li Qianshun, Wang Kai, and Emperor Toba.
Most of them were demoted to dukes by Zhao Yu.
Others imprisoned in the City of Ten Thousand Nations were also given titles based on their original status.
These titles were not entirely meaningless; they represented the status of these prisoners in the Song Dynasty and their treatment in the City of Ten Thousand Nations.
Take Duan Zhengyan as an example.
Although Zhao Yu granted him permission to become a monk, he still bestowed upon him the title of Marquis of Yunnan, granting him the privileges of a marquis, based on his past status and conduct.
Thus, the fact that the Gao family of Dali had no titles or honors indicates that they belonged to the lowest rung of society in the City of Ten Thousand Kingdoms.
What awaits them is endless humiliation and hardship.
'If I had known this would happen, I, the Gao family, wouldn't have presumptuously led Dali in resistance!'
At this moment, the Gao family of Dali were filled with regret for their previous foolishness and arrogance. They could only place their hopes on Empress Gao and the daughters of the Gao family of Dali, hoping that they could serve Zhao Yu well and win some preferential treatment for them...
...(End of chapter)