In the Dali Kingdom, Duan Yu was restless in the palace. Gao Liangcheng commanded over 7,000 barbarian soldiers, all of whom only knew Gao Liangcheng as the Prime Minister, not his son.
Duan Yu had no way of commanding this army, because the more than 7,000 men under Gao Liangcheng's command were from the Gao family. In other words, all the commanders at all levels of the Yizu army were surnamed Gao.
"Your Majesty, an informant in the Yi army reported that Gao Liangcheng is preparing to meet with Prince Zuzan of the Bailang tribe of Tubo in Kagong Town in three days, and then attack Chengdu Prefecture." The eunuch Liuzi reported.
Duan Yu was shocked. Gao Liangcheng was determined to invade the Song Dynasty. If the Yi army captured Chengdu, the relationship between the Song Dynasty and Dali would be like water and fire.
Duan Yu had long heard that the Emperor of the Song Dynasty was quite wise, although it was also said that he was somewhat incompetent. Duan Yu did not believe it. If he was truly incompetent, how did the powerful Jurchens fall?
Even with the might of the Jurchen army, they were unable to defeat the Song Dynasty. In recent years, the Mongols were both afraid and terrified of the Song Dynasty. How could a small border country like them compete with the Song Dynasty, which dominated the Central Plains?
"Liuzi, take your men out of the palace quickly and take this letter with you." Duan Yu picked up a letter from the table and handed it to Liuzi.
"Your Majesty, where should I go?" Liuzi looked confused.
"Go to Chengdu Prefecture and give this letter to the prefect of Chengdu. Tell him that I wrote it to him. The Prime Minister has joined forces with Prince Bai Lan to attack Chengdu Prefecture." Duan Yu instructed him.
Liuzi hurriedly put the letter into his arms and said, "I'll go right away."
The matter was of grave importance; the only option now was to notify the Song Dynasty's Chengdu Prefecture and have them prepare for defense. The Yizu Army were, after all, citizens of Dali, and while this move might harm them, Duan Yu had no other choice; it was still better than taking over the entire Dali.
As Liuzi walked out of the palace gate, a sword suddenly shot out from the side and hit him in the stomach. Liuzi screamed and died with blood spurting from his mouth.
Duan Yu was shocked. Who was so bold as to kill someone in front of him? Was this a rebellion?
This must be a rebellion, Duan Yu was panicking. He saw Prime Minister Gao Liangcheng and several guards walk in, one of whom held a sword still dripping with blood.
"You, what do you want to do!" Duan Yu took a step back involuntarily.
Gao Liangcheng smiled. "Your Majesty, what are you doing? I want Dali to be proud. No longer be subservient to the Song Dynasty, no longer pay tribute to them. I just want the people of Dali to hold their heads high and live as human beings. Why can that tyrant emperor in Kaifeng City flaunt his power, while the people of Dali should be subservient to him? Your Majesty, it's time for us, Dali, to fight back!"
"You, you...someone come, someone come!" Duan Yu shouted in panic, but it was useless. No guard came out to protect him.
It was obvious that the commander of the palace guards who was responsible for guarding the imperial palace was also killed or bribed.
"You, you want to rebel?" Duan Yu's tone revealed a hint of fear. He did not expect that Gao Liangcheng would dare to rebel and risk such a great punishment.
Unexpectedly, Gao Liangcheng bowed and said, "I dare not. I just wanted to teach the Song Dynasty a lesson. To make them not dare to look at us again. But Your Majesty actually disregarded the lives of the soldiers and went to inform the enemy. Your Majesty, you have greatly disappointed us."
Duan Yu gasped. "Gao Liangcheng, you're bringing Dali to ruin. Have you ever considered what we'd do if the Song Dynasty launched a counterattack?"
Gao Liangcheng sneered, "Counterattack? Hahaha, Your Majesty, the Song Dynasty has no chance. If we unite with Prince Zuzan, and then join forces with the Mongols and Goryeo, and the four nations simultaneously attack the Song Dynasty from the east, west, south, and north, do you still think the Song Dynasty has any hope of a counterattack?"
Duan Yu was secretly surprised. He couldn't help but start to panic: "When did you want to stir up the next big chaos?"
"What?" Gao Liangcheng didn't seem to understand.
"I ask you, is it time for you to collude with the Mongols?"
"Hahaha," Gao Liangcheng laughed heartily. "Your Majesty is truly wise. In fact, before the Song-Mongol war broke out, the Right Prime Minister of the Mongol Empire, Ogedei, had already sent someone to contact me. And Ogedei even told me that the Mongol Empire was contacting Goryeo, and asked me to contact Tubo. If the four of us declare war on the Song Dynasty simultaneously, we can divide our forces and invade the Central Plains, carving up the Song Dynasty!"
The more Duan Yu listened, the more frightened he became. It turned out that they had planned everything, and he was still in the dark.
Duan Yu looked at him coldly: "Gao Liangcheng, have you ever considered that even if you divide up the Song Dynasty, the most powerful nation at that time will be the Mongol Empire. Do you think Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire will tolerate us? By then, the Mongols will definitely take advantage of our misfortunes and destroy us one by one."
Gao Liangcheng was shocked. What a powerful emperor! He had previously been deeply dissatisfied with Duan Yu's ascension to the throne. He always felt that he lacked the aura of an emperor and was only trying to curry favor with the Song Dynasty. Now it seemed that Duan Yu was so far-sighted that he had even thought about what would happen after the Song Dynasty was destroyed.
"Your Majesty, who can predict what will happen in the future? Once the Mongols go to war with the Song Dynasty, it will inevitably be a fight between two tigers. No matter how powerful the Mongols are, they will probably be seriously injured after destroying the Song Dynasty. It is still unknown who will win by then." Gao Liangchengdao.
Duan Yu sighed, "Dali has been established for a hundred years and has never waged war against another nation. I never imagined that after a century of peace and prosperity, our people would be destroyed by you. Have you ever imagined the consequences of defeat? The Song Dynasty would surely launch an attack and march south. From then on, there would be no Dali."
Gao Liangcheng said angrily, "Hmph, Your Majesty, are you too pessimistic? The four nations united together, how could we fear the Great Song? Your Majesty, rest in peace in this Glazed Palace, and leave the rest to me."
Duan Yu was a little surprised: "You are planning a rebellion, aren't you? A conspiracy to usurp the throne is what your Gao family has always wanted. Now that your goal has been achieved, what are you waiting for? Act now."
Gao Liangcheng simply bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. I have absolutely no intention of rebellion. I was forced to enter the palace and die for the sake of the people of Dali and the foundation of our ancestors. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me. When I lead my troops north and destroy the Song Dynasty, I will naturally hand me over to Your Majesty. Zheng Chen has never considered rebellion from the beginning to the end. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
In fact, Gao Liangcheng really did not plot a rebellion. He just wanted to put Duan Yu under house arrest so that the emperor would not have the right to mobilize troops.
It wasn't that Gao Liangcheng didn't want to be emperor, but the timing wasn't right yet. There were many generals outside the capital who were loyal to the Duan family, and all he could do now was issue orders on behalf of his son.
In the Song Dynasty, Zhao Huan and his men were unaware that a huge conspiracy was unfolding. Once the four countries joined forces to deal with the Song Dynasty, Zhao Huan would face a thorny road.
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