Side Story 3
Xiao Dili lowered his head once more.
His face seemed full of concern, and his voice remained low.
"Your Highness, I would never dare speak lightly of His Majesty.
"But the talk spreading through the army has already become deeply troubling.
"His Majesty has spent too much time at the hunting grounds, while affairs of state move slowly through the hands of favored retainers.
"Even when reports of defeat arrive from the frontier, the court first tries to conceal them, and the truth spreads through rumor before it is ever officially spoken."
Yelü Chun did not answer.
Xiao Dili took that silence as an opening and stepped further in.
"We have already suffered three defeats against Jin.
"At first, they called it a disturbance on the frontier.
"Then they said the Jurchen momentum could not last.
"After that, they claimed that gathering more troops would be enough to crush them.
"There have been errors in judgment. Matters that could once have been stopped with a hoe now require a shovel.
"Cities are falling. Tribes are changing their loyalties. Generals are passing responsibility from one to another."
He cautiously studied Yelü Chun's expression.
The prince's face remained unchanged.
Xiao Dili continued.
"His Majesty still seeks victory through numbers.
"He orders more troops gathered, more tribes summoned, more banners raised.
"But a larger army does not necessarily become a stronger army.
"Provisions arrive late, horses are exhausted, and every tribe is weighing victory against defeat.
"At a time like this, the sovereign should stand firmly at the center of the army.
"Instead, more men ask with each passing day what His Majesty's actual strategy is."
Xiao Dili's voice grew softer as he spoke.
He did not behave like a man insulting the emperor.
He appeared instead like a loyal subject reluctantly forcing himself to speak painful truths out of an even greater devotion.
"Your Highness, what I fear is not only the edge of the Jin sword.
"I fear Great Liao collapsing from within first.
"If the emperor cannot read the battlefield, if ministers cannot speak the truth, and if generals cannot trust one another, then even an army of hundreds of thousands can never become one body."
Yelü Chun's fingers touched the rim of his cup.
Xiao Dili noticed the slight movement and lowered his voice further.
"That is why General Yelü Zhangnu has gone to the Temple of the Founder.
"He is not a man seeking private glory.
"He wishes to report before the founder, gather the will of the imperial clan, and restore the lifeblood of Great Liao.
"If Your Highness steps forward, it will not be an act of dragging His Majesty down in disgrace.
"It will be an act of saving a collapsing dynasty."
A trace of coldness entered Yelü Chun's eyes.
Xiao Dili pretended not to notice.
Encouraged by his own explanation, he added still sweeter words.
"Your Highness has governed the Southern Capital and brought order to both its military and civil affairs.
"Han officials trust your judgments, and the Khitan nobility knows your caution.
"If Your Highness allows your name to be raised within the army, scattered hearts will return.
"Even Jin, once it sees that a new emperor has restored Great Liao, will hesitate to advance recklessly."
At last, Yelü Chun spoke.
"So what you are saying is this: depose Tianzuo and raise me in his place."
Xiao Dili immediately prostrated himself.
He dropped to the floor as though he had been waiting for those very words, while placing an expression of shock on his face.
"How could I dare be the first to speak of deposition and enthronement?
"I only mean that Heaven is showing a road to the man capable of preserving the dynasty, and that the imperial clan must follow that road.
"If Your Highness steps forward, it will not be rebellion.
"It will be loyalty in defense of Great Liao."
Yelü Chun remained still.
Xiao Dili's words grew sweeter and sweeter.
When speaking of the emperor's faults, he invoked the people.
When speaking of rebellion, he invoked the founder's will.
His words were designed to rename the listener's desire as loyalty.
Only then did Yelü Chun understand clearly.
Xiao Dili had not come to offer remonstrance.
He had come to open the door to rebellion.
Prince Yelü Chun listened to him until the end.
He did not interrupt.
Because of that, Xiao Dili believed his words were taking effect.
He lowered his head, lowered his voice, and alternately invoked the dynasty, the suffering of the people, and the will of the founder.
"If Your Highness steps forward, the army will regain its center.
"The founder's legitimate line will be restored, and the tribes will gather their hearts once more.
"General Yelü Zhangnu has already gone to the Supreme Capital.
"He intends to offer rites at the Temple of the Founder and prepare to receive Your Highness.
"If Your Highness shows your intention only once, Great Liao can stand again without further bloodshed."
Yelü Chun withdrew the hand that had rested near his teacup.
Xiao Dili's words were gentle.
They were spoken in the language of concern for the country, reverence for the imperial clan, and salvation for the people.
Yet at the end of every soft phrase lay a blade aimed at the emperor's throne.
Yelü Chun slowly looked at him.
Xiao Dili still kept his head lowered, but expectation flickered around his eyes.
He had come bearing the close tie of being the princess consort's own brother, a secret proposal from Yelü Zhangnu, and the great justification of the Temple of the Founder.
He wore the face of a man convinced that even Prince Wei's heart must waver before such things.
Yelü Chun asked quietly,
"Is this your thought alone?"
Xiao Dili answered cautiously.
"There are others who share General Yelü Zhangnu's purpose."
"Who?"
Xiao Dili's eyes wavered for the briefest instant.
"It is difficult to name them now. Once the matter succeeds, ministers of both the Northern and Southern Administrations will support Your Highness."
Yelü Chun had already found his answer in those words.
No minister of the Northern Administration had come.
No minister of the Southern Administration had come.
No other princes had gathered.
They were speaking of the Son of Heaven's throne, yet the first man to arrive had been the princess consort's younger brother, alone in the middle of the night.
What stood behind him was not the will of the court.
It was Yelü Zhangnu's army.
Yelü Chun's voice turned cold.
"This is no small matter."
Xiao Dili raised his head.
Yelü Chun spoke clearly.
"The sovereign is upheld by the princes and by the ministers of both the Northern and Southern Administrations.
"If you wish to speak of the founder's tomb, the dynasty, and the people, then the imperial clan and the ministers should stand together.
"Yet you came alone in the middle of the night and spoke of deposition and enthronement.
"Why?"
Xiao Dili's lips stiffened.
He tried to dress his words again.
"Your Highness, every matter has its proper moment. What matters now is to establish the will first.
"The ministers will follow, and once the army hears Your Highness's name—"
Yelü Chun raised a hand.
Xiao Dili's words stopped at once.
"There is no proper order in what you say.
"You would shake the emperor first and attach the ministers afterward.
"You would move the army first and invent legitimacy afterward.
"And you call that an act for the sake of the dynasty?"
The color drained from Xiao Dili's face.
Only then did he truly look into Prince Wei's eyes.
They were the eyes of a calm man.
But judgment had already been made within them.
Yelü Chun slowly rose from his seat.
His robes settled quietly around him.
The attendants inside the chamber lowered even their breathing.
"You said Yelü Zhangnu intends to offer rites at the Temple of the Founder?"
"Yes, Your Highness. He wishes to report Great Liao's peril before the founder and—"
"The founder's tomb is not a place to hide treason."
Xiao Dili's shoulders stiffened.
Yelü Chun stepped down once.
"You say you wish to raise me up, but in truth you would push me into disaster.
"The words 'become emperor' are sweet.
"But the moment I accept them, I become a sinner against my own clan.
"You claim to act for the dynasty, yet the first thing you would destroy is the law of the imperial house itself."
Xiao Dili hurriedly prostrated himself.
"Your Highness, I speak only out of loyalty—"
"Loyalty does not creep through the night in secret."
The room froze.
The moment Yelü Chun heard Xiao Dili's proposal, he understood.
These were not words of persuasion.
They were a blade.
Accept them, and he became emperor.
Reject them, and he remained a loyal subject.
Hesitate, and he became a rebel.