At the beginning of February of the ninth year of Yuan You, Murong Fu received the holy order and hurried to the garrison of the Zhenrong army in Lanzhou. On the tenth day of the first month of February, the Zhenrong army swore to march. On February 20, Jiazi Mountain was captured. The Liao lord Yelu Hongji got the battle report earlier than the official family of the Great Song Dynasty, and naturally there was a call for help from the Xia State along with the defeat of the Xia Kingdom.

After receiving the battle report that the Zhenrong army was mighty and beat Xia Jun to the ground, Yelu Hongji's eyebrows twitched twice. Da Liao and Xia Guo have always been wolf bèi, and often blackmailed the Great Song Dynasty together. But for Da Liao, Western Xia was sometimes too muddy to support the wall. Last year, the Liao State paid money and grain for the Xia State to harass the Great Song border, but the Xia army was beaten to the ground by the Song army and did not catch anything. Before the beginning of spring this year, this urgent report for help was sent to Shangjing! Yelu Hongji held back his anger and asked the envoy of the Xia State: "The Xia State raised an army to attack the Song State, why didn't you report to me first?" ”

Who knew that the envoy of the Xia Kingdom actually knelt on the ground and cried: "Your Majesty, this time it is not my Xia Kingdom that sent troops first!" This Song State used powerful firearms on this expedition, and Zhuo Luo, the Southern Army and the Bohai Navy were almost unable to withstand it! Please send troops to save my Xia Kingdom as soon as possible! As he spoke, he cried and howled to exaggerate the power of the Song army's flintlock pistols and artillery. The Song and Xia countries have been neighbors for nearly a hundred years, and they are always fighting and making trouble. But almost every time, it was the Xia State that provoked first, and the Song State launched a war only a handful of times, and in the end, the Xia State couldn't please it. This time, the Song army had powerful firearms in hand, and it was invincible in attacking the city, and the envoy faintly felt that if he could not move the Liao State to help, the national Zuo of the Xia State would be cut off.

After the envoy of the Xia Kingdom said, Yelu Hongji was immediately stunned, and only asked in disbelief: "Is there really such a powerful firearm?" Not even the Iron Harrier can resist? ”

"It's true!" The envoy of Xia grabbed the ground with his head and cried again and again. "Your Majesty, my Xia Kingdom and Da Liao are dependent on each other, and Your Majesty can't see death without saving it!"

Yelu Hongji was upset by his crying, and immediately got up and ordered: "Go and invite the crown prince, the king of the northern court, Yelu Yixin, the king of the southern court, Xiao Feng, and the ministers to come to discuss the matter!" ”

It was the Spring Festival, and Xiao Feng, as the king of the Southern Courtyard, naturally had to go to Beijing to celebrate the New Year for the Liao lord, and by the way, he made many relatives and friends who visited his father's family. However, Xiao Feng has been rolling in the rivers and lakes for a long time, and he is really impatient with the set of running officials in the officialdom to intercede. In particular, the Xiao clan has no outstanding talents after Xiao Guanyin's father Xiao Hui died of illness, so that Xiao Feng, who has just returned from the Great Song Dynasty, has the highest official position among their Xiao clansmen. Facing those brothers of the same clan who did not learn and did not know how to do the wine pond meat forest, Xiao Feng really couldn't praise them against his will, "young and promising, enough to take on great responsibilities." When he received the holy decree ordering him to go to the palace to face the saint, he was really relieved.

It was only because of the enthusiasm of the clansmen that Xiao Feng and Yelu Moge arrived at the palace a little late. At that time, the crown prince Yelu Jun, the king of the North Courtyard Yelu Yixin, the Privy Council of Tongzhi Xiao Yanshou, the inspector in front of the palace Xiao Thirteen, the right guard Taibao Xiao Susa, and the privy envoy of the North Court Xiao Delit were all already listed, just waiting for Xiao Feng to arrive.

Yeluhong was basically furious because of the war between the Song and Xia countries, and when he saw Xiao Feng's late arrival, he angrily reprimanded: "The state is urgent, why is it late?" ”

Yelu Hongji was conceited, arrogant, listened and believing, had no interest in state affairs, and devoted himself to hunting and having fun, dreaming of one day waving his army south to become the lord of the Central Plains. Last year, the imperial uncle rebelled, and it was precisely because he trusted this imperial uncle too much and gave him countless powers that he had an opportunity. After the rebellion was pacified, Yelu Hongji did not learn a lesson, and he favored Yelu Yixin as he did when he favored the emperor's uncle. Now there are seventeen or eighteen of Yelu Yixin's various rewards and official positions, and Xiao Feng, the direct sect, is dazzled. Such an emperor is really a faint monarch template. Xiao Feng is upright by nature, so he naturally doesn't want to get too close to such an emperor. And the feet of the Son of Heaven have always been crowded, Xiao Feng retreated, and someone else filled the place. Therefore, although Xiao Feng has made a great contribution to saving the driver for less than a year, the Liao lord is not as close to Xiao Feng as before.

Since Xiao Feng got along with Yelu Hongji, he has a good understanding of his mean and unkind character. Seeing that he was angry at this time, he didn't say anything to defend himself, but only knelt down and pleaded guilty: "Xiao is late, please surrender your majesty!" ”

Xiao Feng was so respectful, Yelu Hongji's complexion improved slightly, and he only ordered the guard room around him to hand Xia Guo's letter of request for help to Xiao Feng. "The Song army raised an army to attack Xia, and within ten days, Xia lost two cities in a row. Now that the Empress Dowager Xiaoliang and Li Qianshun have begged me, everyone will talk about it, what should I do? ”

Although the prince and the ministers standing under the jade ladder are loyal and treacherous, the heart of Lianxia to protect themselves is the same. As soon as Yelu Hongji's voice fell, the crown prince Yelu Jun had already come out and said: "Father, the emperor, the sons think that Baoxia is Baodaliao." This battle is inevitable! ”

"The minister seconded the proposal!" Xiao Yanshou, who also knew that the Privy Council, had always been loyal to the □□, and he was also listed at this time. "It is unjust for the Song State to provoke a war for no reason, and I, Da Liao, should raise troops to help the Xia State. Chen Bao raised Xiao Feng, the king of the Southern Courtyard, to lead 100,000 troops to attack the Hejian Mansion of the Song State and force the Song State to retreat! "The king of the northern court of the Liao State defended the tribes that belonged to the vassals of the Liao State, and the king of the southern court of the Liao State defended the Song State. Xiao Yanshou used Xiao Feng to lead the troops to attack the Great Song Dynasty, but it was also very decent.

Seeing that his subordinates all agreed to fight this battle, Yelu Hongji immediately showed joy, and then turned his head to his favorite minister Yelu Yixin and asked, "Does Yixin have something to say?" ”

Since the crown prince Yelu Jun gradually grew up and began to ask about politics, he and Yelu Yixin are not very harmonious. Originally, no matter what the prince said, Yelu Yixin had to oppose it. But this time, Yelu Yixin figured out the holy will, and Yelu Hongji was obviously looking forward to this battle. As a qualified traitor, he naturally wanted to see the wind and rudder, and would never say a word against the emperor's wishes. "The minister seconded the proposal!"

"Good! Good! Yelu Hongji praised twice and said immediately. Proposed purpose, so that Xiao Feng, the king of the Southern Courtyard, led his troops to ...... 100,000"

"Slowly!" Before Yelu Hongji finished speaking, Xiao Feng, who had read Xia Guoguo's book, suddenly fell to the ground on one knee and said loudly. "Weichen doesn't dare to be called!"

Yelu Hongji's eyes narrowed when he heard this, and he said quietly: "Why is this? ”

The crown prince and Yelu Hongji are father and son, so they are naturally very familiar with some of his small actions. But when Yelu Hongji narrowed his eyes and his voice slowed down, it was a suspicion in his heart. Since the prince became friends with Xiao Feng, he admired his cousin's martial arts and brave character very much, and stepped forward to relieve Xiao Feng with a smile: "King Xiao is worried that he has never led the army, and he has missed the big event of His Majesty?" ”

At this time, if anyone under the order is changed, he will definitely follow the prince's words and humble two sentences to fool the scene. But this person is Xiao Feng! I saw Xiao Feng Zhengse say to Yelu Hongji: "Your Majesty, Weichen has been in the Song State for many years and is familiar with the style of the generals of the Song Kingdom. This time, the Song army took the lead in provoking the war, and this battle was a battle to destroy the country! What's more, there are flintlock pistols. This gun is completely different from ordinary firearms, a single shot can kill a person, even wearing heavy armor is difficult to resist. This war is by no means as simple as we imagined, and the whole pattern of war has changed dramatically. This is, this is ......" Speaking of this, Xiao Feng couldn't help but fall silent at a loss. His heart was flustered and agitated, and the five tastes were innumerable. After thinking about it for a long time, he could only sigh and hold back a sentence that he had heard someone say. "A new era shatters the war of the old!"

Everyone in the palace knew something about the military, and they couldn't help but sweat slightly when they heard Xiao Feng say this. After a long time, the prince said in a deep voice: "If this is the case, we can't stop fighting this battle!" ”

Xiao Feng still shook his head. "Da Liao and Xia are interdependent. This truth, Da Liao understands, how can Da Song not know? Wechen is only afraid, Da Song is waiting for us to do it! ”

As soon as Xiao Feng's words came out, Yelu Yi Xinden immediately laughed and said loudly: "Your Majesty, please treat Xiao Feng's evil words to confuse the people and shake the hearts of the army!" As he spoke, he pointed at Xiao Feng and scolded him sharply. The Song people are weak, and fighting on both sides is a taboo! Xiao Feng, you have been in the Song Kingdom for a long time, and you are still in the Khitan and Han? ”

Xiao Feng's cheeks immediately turned blood-red, although he had sworn never to lead troops to invade the Song Dynasty, but today's words are really for the sake of Da Liao! I saw that he immediately hugged his fist and saluted Yelu Hongji, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Weichen is sincere and loyal, Your Majesty is Mingjian!" ”

Yelu Hongji was still hesitant to look at each other, and Xiao Yanshou couldn't help but ask: "King Xiao, is that flintlock pistol really so powerful?" ”

"It's true!" Xiao Feng nodded firmly. "My father's martial arts are especially above Weichen, but he also broke his arm against the flintlock pistol, and almost lost his life. Majesty xià must not be observed! ”

As soon as Xiao Feng said this, everyone's faces immediately sank. With Xiao Feng's martial arts, among the thousands of troops, he can take the rank of general, and this matter is seen by everyone. If Xiao Yuanshan, who is more skilled than Xiao Feng's martial arts, is still not a flintlock pistol opponent, then how can the leather room army, who is just an ordinary martial artist, resist?

"If so, then what is the artillery?" The right guard, Taibao Xiao Susa, couldn't help but ask.

Xiao Feng shook his head and said in a low voice: "The power of artillery, Wei Chen has never seen it. "Before Xiao Feng's life story was revealed, the artillery had never been finalized. How powerful it is, Xiao Feng can't say for sure. “…… It's just that Wechen heard people say back then...... If so, if there are 10,000 cannons, the Tianshan Mountains can also collapse! "The Tianshan Mountains are tall and majestic, and they are holy places in the hearts of the Khitan people. If that artillery can collapse the Tianshan Mountains, it is simply a miraculous skill, how can manpower resist it?

The atmosphere was calming, but Yelu Yixin suddenly snorted coldly: "No matter how powerful this flintlock pistol and artillery are, my leather room army comes and goes like the wind, what can it do to me?" ”

Xiao Feng glanced at him sideways, and said with anger: "The Iron Harrier of the Xia Kingdom is also famous all over the world, what is happening now?" Don't save one out of ten! Even if the leather room army is far superior to the Iron Harrier, the two armies will inevitably suffer losses when they face each other. At that time, we will damage the lives of the soldiers, and the Song army will only damage some ammunition! Who wins and who loses this battle? ”

"You!" Yelu Yixin choked on the ground, and immediately turned his face and said. "Speaking of which, I think King Xiao was frightened by Song Jun's firearms! If you don't dare to go, please ask for your life! With that, he immediately knelt down in front of Yeluhongki. Your Majesty, the minister is willing to lead the army to attack the Great Song River! The minister didn't believe it, Song Jun's firearms were really as good as Xiao Feng said! ”

Yelu Yixin's attitude of daring to use his life is what Yelu Hongji is willing to see, who knows that before he can open his mouth to appreciate, Xiao Yanshou immediately said: "Your Majesty, the north and south courts perform their duties, don't mess with the rules!" ”

Yelu Hongji saw Xiao Yanshou's solemn expression, and he was suppressed back by the little flying spirit that Yelu Yixin had just instigated. In the Liao State, under the emperor are the kings of the North Court and the South Court, the highest status and the greatest power, even if Yelu Hongji favors Yelu Yixin, he does not dare to let him take charge of the North and South Courts at the same time. Thinking of this, Yelu Hongji nodded and said, "Yi Xin's loyalty is clear!" However, since the rules of the court are like this, I can't break them lightly. Xiao Feng, I ordered you to take 100,000 armor to capture Hejian Mansion, can you obey the order? ”

Xiao Feng never expected that Yelu Hongji would turn a deaf ear after persuading him for a long time, and said in surprise at the moment: "Your Majesty, now that the Song Army's combat strength is virtual and real, I don't know anything about it, and it is rash for Your Majesty to raise troops rashly!" What's more, isn't His Majesty afraid of falling for the Song Army's plan to divert the tiger from the mountain? ”

Yelu Yixin lost the credit in his heart, and saw that Xiao Feng was bent on opposing the dispatch of troops, and hurriedly reprimanded loudly: "I have a saint in Daliao, and the world is peaceful, who dares to have a second heart?" ”

After Yelu Yixin finished speaking, Yelu Hongji immediately remembered the rebellion case of the imperial uncle Yelu Chongyuan last year, and his face sank immediately. For Mingjun, the lesson of the past is the teacher of the future; But as far as Dusk Jun is concerned, Xiao Feng is a nasty ghost who exposes his black history!

Yelu Hongji couldn't admonish him, Xiao Feng obviously didn't understand this truth, and in a hurry, he ignored the prince's eyes, and only said-for-tat: "Since there is only power and no justice on the grassland, has Lord Yelu ever thought that once our army and the Song army fall into a bitter battle, how will the tribes on the grassland choose?" "This sentence obviously scolded Yelu Hongji's ability to govern the country." Last year, I gave birth to the Jurchen ......"

"How much wind and waves can a mere student make?" Before Xiao Feng could finish speaking, Yelu Yixin immediately interrupted him with compassion. Last year, although Xiao Feng was responsible for the burning of the tribute by the Yan Ministry, it was the responsibility of the Northern Court to lead the northern tribes, and Yelu Yixin naturally did not want Xiao Feng to bring up the old matter. "Xiao Feng, you are prevaricating in every way, obviously you don't want to lead the troops to attack Song!"

As soon as Xiao Feng heard this charge and deducted it back, he was upset for a while, and he couldn't even kneel down at the moment, so he only got up and said angrily: "This matter is not trivial, why don't you always understand?" Murong laid out seven years to open this battle to destroy the summer, and he would definitely not leave any flaws! ”

"Murong?" Among the people in the palace, the crown prince was more familiar with Xiao Feng, and as soon as he heard Xiao Feng mention this name, he immediately asked curiously. "King Xiao, are you saying that this battle was originally planned by Murong Fu, the Great Song official who once knew you?"

Xiao Feng nodded stiffly with strong anger, and said slowly: "Since the second year of Yuan You, he planned to build a fortress from Lanzhou to Gyeongju to defend the Xia Kingdom, and he has been planning this battle for seven years!" With what I know about him, Xia Guo won't have another chance. Even if Da Liao raised an army to attack Hejian Mansion, it would be useless, and it would even cost the lives of the soldiers for no reason. Last year's tribute was also planned by this person, but Wanyan was punished for no reason, and Da Liao and Wanyan have accumulated grudges. If we raise an army at this time, it is very likely that the Jurchen Twelve will take advantage of the void to enter, but how can we resist it? ”

"Should we just watch Song Guoping destroy Xia Guoping?" Yelu Hongji was even more annoyed when he saw that Xiao Feng was so sure that the Song army was so sure about the destruction of the Xia Kingdom, and he couldn't help but ask in a dark voice. "Xiao Feng, do you know that the Song Kingdom destroyed the Xia Kingdom, and it should be the turn of Da Liao next?"

Xiao Feng couldn't help but be silent for a while when he heard this. He once thought that Murong Fu's determination to Jing'an the world was to be loyal to the Great Song Dynasty. Although he didn't know who Murong Fu was loyal to now, he also knew that with his arrogance, if he could replace Zhao Song one day, he would definitely not be willing to suffer the humiliation of that year. "Your Majesty, you have to be hard to strike iron!" Xiao Feng sighed and said, "In recent years, the two empress dowagers of the Liang family in Xia have reused the party and nobles, extravagant pleasures, lightly started wars, and abused the people's strength, so that the people are miserable. The reason why the Song army was invincible in this battle was not only because of the benefits of firearms, but also because of the people's aspirations? As long as I am in Daliao and the people live in peace, then no matter whether there is a barrier of Xia State or not, no matter how powerful the firearms of the Song State are, we don't have to be afraid of them. ”

Xiao Feng's so-called "extravagant pleasures, light wars, and abuse of people's power" not only talked about the shortcomings of the two Empress Dowagers Liang of the Zhongxia Kingdom, but also said that Yelu Hongji's shortcomings were hit? Yelu Hongji was annoyed and angry, and said in a strange manner: "Xiao Feng, I thought you were a reckless, but I didn't expect that you were actually sent by those corrupt Confucians in the Song Kingdom to fool me!" You refuse to lead the troops to attack the Song Dynasty today, and the Song army will attack in the coming day, I'm afraid that you will be busy opening the door to meet the enemy? ”

Xiao Feng's personality has always stood up to the sky, and he can't be wronged in his life. Yelu Hongji was so suspicious of him, Xiao Feng was also angry, and immediately took off the crown and official robe in front of Yelu Hongji, and said loudly: "Since Your Majesty is so suspicious of Weichen, it is not tasteful for the king of the Southern Courtyard to continue to be the king, and please allow Weichen to resign for the people!" ”

How many people in the palace have seen a court official like Xiao Feng? Seeing Xiao Feng drop off his official robe and leave, everyone couldn't react for a while. It wasn't until he saw that he was about to walk out of the temple gate that Yelu Hongji, who felt deeply offended, came to his senses and roared angrily: "Xiao Feng, you dare to go?" ”

Xiao Feng's martial arts are world-famous, although he is loyal to the country, it does not mean that he will grovel to which emperor. At this time, when he heard Yelu Hongji's words threatening, he glanced at the other party coldly, and said loudly: "Xiao Feng is leaving, I think who dares to stop me?" ”

Yelu Hongji was swept away by Xiao Feng's cold eyes, and immediately remembered his amazing martial arts, and he was speechless for a long time. Although he is above the emperor of 10,000 people, the power of an emperor is not comparable to Xiao Feng's recklessness.

But it was the crown prince Yelu Jun who saw that his father's face was really ugly, so he was afraid that he would be angry afterwards, so he hurriedly stepped forward with a smile and grabbed Xiao Feng and said: "Little uncle, everyone is a family, and today's discussion is all about planning for Da Liao." Even if there are different opinions, it doesn't have to be that way! Feeling Xiao Feng's resistance, Yelu Jun immediately pinched his palm, and then turned his head to Yelu Hongji. Father Mingjian, the little uncle has been in the rivers and lakes for a long time and does not know the etiquette, and the father is both a brother and a brother-in-law, so he will be a little lenient! ”

As soon as the prince said this, Xiao Yanshou and Xiao Susa also persuaded in unison: "Please calm your anger!" ”

Yelu Hongji touched the steps of the stepping down stage, only to see him look at Xiao Feng, who was still unruly, with a gloomy face, and then brushed his sleeves away.