After everyone left Funiu Mountain, they turned into more than 100 squads and dispersed, after all, the goal of the soldiers and horses acting together was too big, and they would soon be discovered by the imperial court. Scattered into a team of more than 100 people and moving from different routes or at intervals will not attract much attention. As long as you arrive at the designated place outside Bazhou City at the specified time, you can assemble.

Lin Jue Bai Bing, Sun Dayong and more than a dozen relatives detoured to remote roads, stayed overnight, and arrived at a small valley called Xiaodongshan on the outskirts of Bazhou six days ago, which was also the agreed assembly place for everyone. After arriving, only seven or eight teams could arrive, and Lin Jue asked everyone to rest in the small valley and wait for the subsequent team to arrive. He took Bai Bing and disguised himself as an ordinary peasant couple riding a donkey into Bazhou to catch the market.

After several twists and turns, Lin Jue inquired about Ma Qingshan's residence. That night, Lin Jue and Bai Bing sneaked into Ma Qingshan's residence to find out their identities.

Ma Qingshan was very surprised by Lin Jue's arrival, but he was also quite happy. Lin Jue is his life-saving benefactor, so he is naturally courteous and polite. Lin Jue was not verbose, and directly told Ma Qingshan what he knew, about Yang Jun's death, about Lu Zhongtian's attempt, and all the news about the imperial court about to purge Yang Jun's henchmen, Lin Jue told Ma Qingshan about it. Coincidentally, the imperial court's intention to order Ma Qingshan and Han Gang to go to the capital had just arrived this afternoon, and in connection with what Lin Jue said, Ma Qingshan suddenly realized that this intention was not simple, and he and Han Gang were afraid that it would be more than auspicious to go to the capital.

Lin Jue seized the opportunity to chat with Ma Qingshan all night, and finally, Ma Qingshan had a clear understanding of the situation of the entire court and the situation he was facing. Originally, Ma Qingshan had a lot of turmoil in his heart after the last long talk with Lin Jue, and he was quite worried about the situation of Da Zhou described by Lin Jue. It's just that Ma Qingshan finally felt that he couldn't approve of the path Lin Jue took. But for Lin Jue's efforts to save Da Zhou's overthrow, he actually no longer has a misunderstanding. In the conversation with Lin Jue, he felt Lin Jue's concern for the Great Zhou Dynasty and the people of the world all the time, and at the same time realized that Lin Jue was not doing this for personal ambitions. If Lin Jue had any ill intentions, when the imperial court marched north, he could lead the soldiers and horses in Funiu Mountain to attack the city and plunder the land, disturbing the rear of the Great Zhou. Because the more chaotic the Great Zhou, the more opportunities it is for him. He didn't have to go to the Great Zhou North to report to the soldiers and horses to help, he should have hoped that the imperial court soldiers and horses would be defeated. This is enough to show that this person is above board, and he is really practicing his own ideas, just hoping to overthrow the current corrupt court of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the usurper Guo Xu, establish a new Great Zhou court, and take a new road to save the Great Zhou.

Ma Qingshan is not an ignorant person, he is the group of people who are close to awakening. Under Lin Jue's enlightenment, his state of mind changed drastically, and many thoughts that he had previously felt unacceptable suddenly felt that they did not seem to be untouchable taboos. In addition, the current situation of the imperial court informed by Lin Jue has also reached a situation that is difficult for him to accept. It was a cowardly and wrong idea to negotiate with the Liao, and from Lin Jue's words, I heard that the imperial court might have killed Yang Shumi as one of the conditions for the peace negotiation because of the compromise with the Liao, and made a move to destroy the Great Wall. This shows that the imperial court is simply stupid and rotten.

Moreover, that Lu Zhongtian took the opportunity to seize military power, and wanted to purge Yang Jun's old department with the intention of completely controlling the army, and after the military, government and financial powers were monopolized, the entire imperial court would be controlled by him Lu Zhongtian, ostensibly the Guo family, but in fact it was already controlled by the Lu family. The court controlled by this old thief who steals the country, does he still have to be loyal to it? Do you and Han Gang still want to go to the capital and stretch out their heads to cut off the old thief?

After a long conversation this night, Ma Qingshan's thinking changed. And Lin Jue did not force Ma Qingshan to join the Luoyan Army, Lin Jue just provided an idea. That is, Ma Qingshan and Han Gang are actually promising, they must have the courage to take a step forward, wake up the people of the world, and inspire the people of the world. Even if it is death, it cannot be unexplained. Lin Jue hoped that Ma Qingshan would persuade Han Gang to organize his army to fight, which would not only destroy the peace agreement reached between the imperial court and the Liao, break the Liao's conspiracy to divide and rule, but also justify their own name. Lin Jue even assured Ma Qingshan that as long as they dared to send troops, Zhuozhou would be conquered, and it would be a big victory.

After Lin Jue left, Ma Qingshan struggled for a long time and finally made a decision. So when Han Gang, who sensed that something was wrong in the afternoon, invited Ma Qingshan to the upper floor of Beicheng City to discuss the motive of the imperial court ordering them to return to Beijing, Ma Qingshan finally showed his attitude and persuaded Han Gang. The reasons he used to persuade Han Gang were actually all learned from Lin Jue last night, and they were also the reasons why Lin Jue persuaded him.

Of course, Ma Qingshan concealed a lot of content, and he was worried that Han Gang would be suspicious and wonder how he could know so much news. But in fact, it was only a little persuasion, and Han Gang had already agreed to go out with the whole army, and he wanted to die. This shows that in fact, Han Gang himself has already had other ideas in his heart, and Ma Qingshan's persuasion is just adding fuel to the fire. When they learned that Ma Qingshan had similar thoughts to himself, the two naturally hit it off. It's just that Han Gang's idea was to attack Zhuozhou to die Mingzhi, but he didn't think that he would definitely capture Zhuozhou and win a big victory. But Ma Qingshan had some confidence in his heart, although he didn't dare to fully believe Lin Jue's assurance, but Lin Jue's words gave him some confidence.

The reason why Ma Qingshan didn't inform Han Gang of Lin Jue's news in Bazhou was also Lin Jue's request. Lin Jue thinks that Han Gang is a stubborn person, and he can only convince him with facts, he is a leading general, but he is not reasonable in the overall situation, so there is no need to tell him something, otherwise he will rebel and refuse Ma Qingshan's persuasion. Ma Qingshan thought so. Lin Jue didn't go to Han Gang to talk, but came directly to talk to himself, which shows that in Lin Jue's mind, he is much more important than Han Gang, and he is much more reasonable. The fact that he was not afraid of danger to come to his own place of residence also showed that he knew that he was not the kind of ungrateful villain. These actions all reveal that he recognizes and respects himself, and Ma Qingshan is pleased with this, and even has a kind of joy of 'being a confidant in life'.

When Ma Qingshan and Han Gang reorganized their troops and horses, Lin Jue had already led thousands of assembled men to infiltrate the territory of Zhuozhou, and a lot of preparations and explorations had been made in advance. When Han Gang and Ma Qingshan arrived with 30,000 soldiers and horses, Lin Jue and others joined Ma Qingshan's tent, and a complete set of siege plans were already placed in front of Ma Qingshan.

It can be said that the combat operation of attacking Zhuozhou was ostensibly under the command of Ma Qingshan, but in fact, Ma Qingshan was just a general who conveyed Lin Jue's will, and through the hands of Ma Qingshan, he drew up a plan to attack the city on three sides and block the northern city and annihilate the soldiers and horses in the city. Although Ma Qingshan was a little puzzled, Lin Jue's tone was unquestionable.

The army had to be sent on the line, and Ma Qingshan could only choose to believe that Lin Jue's plan would work. That night, after the battle began, all of Ma Qingshan's doubts disappeared. Lin Jue said that there were no defenders at the head of the Liao army, and they only needed to shoot the night patrol Liao soldiers to attack the head of the city. Lin Jue said that the combat strength of the Liao army is not high, they are all tired infantry, and the number is very small, so there is no need to worry at all. All kinds of information that caused Ma Qingshan's doubts were proved to be true and correct. The decisions made based on this were all effective, and at this time Ma Qingshan really understood why Lin Jue dared to take Zhuozhou with a big guarantee.

After capturing Zhuozhou, Ma Qingshan, who couldn't suppress his joy, already admired Lin Jue very much. He even felt that Lin Jue's leading strategy was not much better than Yang Jun's, his thinking was clearer, his goals were clearer, and his courage and courage in battle were also greater. Ma Qingshan faintly felt that if it was not Yang Jun but Lin Jue who led the army at the beginning, I am afraid that there would be a different result.

Lin Jue proposed another plan to attack Xijin Mansion next, and this time even Ma Qingshan felt that it was too much. But he didn't question it, he had already regarded the plan to attack Jinfu as the final test for Lin Jue in his heart. He secretly decided that if Lin Jue could really conquer Xijin Mansion and win another big victory, it would mean that Lin Jue was the person he had been looking for, the person who could follow him and fight against the Liao, then he would not hesitate to join the Luoyan Army and reverse the last trace of reluctance in his heart. Because such a person is worth following and changing his mind.

Han Gang did not have any objection to Ma Qingshan's idea of continuing the offensive, and the battle of Zhuozhou was not killed, and the victory was already an accident. Han Gang thought that it would be a good choice to die under the city of Xijin Mansion, and if he could kill another batch of Liao dogs, it would be even more sufficient. Regarding Ma Qingshan's idea of letting other generals who were forced to leave freely, Han Gang didn't feel anything wrong. Zhuozhou has been captured, and the battle of Xijin Mansion is a mortal situation, so why take these people to die, so he agreed. As for the refusal of the generals at the meeting, Han Gang was surprised. He even almost told the truth to persuade the generals not to follow him to death, but these generals still insisted on their opinions, and Han Gang was certainly not stupid enough to force them to go with a knife. After all, although the attack on Jinfu is an act of death beyond one's strength, the more soldiers and horses, the greater the chance of victory. Even the slightest hope of victory cannot be completely given up. Han Gang didn't dare to imagine what kind of sensation it would be if he could win the battle of Xijin Mansion.

……

The rolling expanse of the land is shrouded in the setting sun, and the scenery in the land of Setsufu is perfect in autumn as the leaves turn yellow and red, and the long grass changes color. The undulating hills resemble a colorful brocade, and the scenery is magnificent and open.

To the west of Xijin Mansion, on the official road leading from Xijing Datong Mansion to Xijin Mansion, a long convoy is slowly moving on the official road. There were more than 300 carts loaded with them, stretching out the land of Rich. The charioteers and the accompanying guards and horses, numbering 2,000 men, hurried slowly along the road one by one with expressionless faces, hoping to reach the camping point between the hills ahead before the sun set. Soldiers and horses had already found a suitable place to camp ahead, just a few miles away.

This convoy was one of the convoys of grain and materials that arrived in Liao from the Great Zhou as collateral for the indemnity after the peace agreement between the Great Zhou and the Liao State was reached. The Great Zhou was able to pay more than 10 million taels of silver at one time, so the Liao State asked them to offset it with food and materials. And this is exactly what Liao needs. Using the grain and grass materials compensated by the Great Zhou Dynasty as the capital to exterminate the Jurchens, this is exactly the wishful thinking of the Liao people.

Chapter 1362

Because the Liao people were in a hurry, after the peace agreement was reached, the Liao State asked the Great Zhou to cash out this large amount of compensation and tribute at the end of the year, so the Great Zhou court issued a holy decree a few days ago and sent special personnel to the state capitals of the Great Zhou to organize a convoy of food and materials to be sent directly to the Liao State. Cashing in batches is carried out by way of pricing summary. Because of this, the convoy sent by the Great Zhou to Liao entered the territory of Liao from several directions.

In the east, it enters the Liao State from the line of Baozhou and Xiongzhou. Eight or nine days ago, a convoy of hundreds of large vehicles passed under the city and entered the territory of Liao through the border town checkpoint. The area around the western border town entered the Liao State through the territory of Xijing Datong Mansion of the Liao State. There are also sporadic convoys from the border towns and cities into the Liao State. These convoys continuously sent the harvest of the hard work of the people of the Great Zhou to the Liao State, maintaining the peace that the Great Zhou court thought it had obtained.

The Liao people not only wanted the grain and materials of the Great Zhou, but what was even more excessive was that they asked the Great Zhou to send all the grain and materials to the Dading Mansion in Zhongjing before the delivery was officially completed. Therefore, all these convoy personnel had to drive a large car to travel a long distance to Zhongjing to deliver, and the hardships and humiliations can be imagined. Of course, after entering the territory of Liao, the escorted soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou were replaced by the soldiers and horses of the Liao State, and the escorts of the Great Zhou could only be accompanied by the officials who delivered and valued the car, except for the coachmen who drove the car.

At present, this grain transport team is escorted by 500 Liao cavalry from Xijing Datong Mansion, the convoy is from Hedong Road Taiyuan Mansion into Datong Mansion, and then through Datong Mansion bypass the rugged official road on the north bank of the Sanggan River, to the east to Xijin Mansion They arrived here It has been a difficult trek of nearly 500 miles, but dozens of miles away from Xijin Mansion is not the end, their end point is far away from Zhongjing Dading Mansion more than 600 miles east of Xijin Mansion, and this humiliating journey can be regarded as complete.

There is a gentle slope between the hills of the official road, with small hills to the north and south, and dense mixed forests on the east and west sides. It really is the ideal place to spend the night. The cold wind at night is more or less blocked by the hills and woods, and although it is inevitable to be cold in the middle of the night, it is better than being exposed to the wind.

As the sun was about to set, the Liao soldiers shouted orders to the officials of the Great Zhou to order all the carriages and horses to stop on the gentle slope. The coachmen shouted at the mules and horses into the heavy carts and hurried to the slopes, and after a while, the chaos finally calmed down. Hundreds of carts formed a three-tiered circle on the slope, with an open space less than a hundred paces in the middle, and this was the simple campsite for tonight.

The Liao soldiers dismounted, and the general of the Liao army who led the army was called Xiao Quan, who was a deputy general among the guards and horses of the Southern Privy Council of the Liao State stationed in Datong Mansion in Xijing. For this drudgery of escorting the carriage and horses, Xiao Quan was unwilling to take it. But the military order is like a mountain, and he has to go this way, so he is quite unhappy. Along the way, he looked for fault everywhere, and he had already whipped dozens of Da Zhou coachmen who were driving the car.

Xiao Quan frowned and rubbed the saddle that was a little painful

thighs, looking at the sunset that was about to set, he instructed the Liao soldiers around him: "Go and ask those pigs of the Great Zhou to chop wood for us, make a fire, cook and feed the horses." Lao Tzu didn't want to eat dry food tonight, so he opened a bag of grain. The rice in Da Zhou is delicious, let's eat the white rice sent by the cowards of Da Zhou tonight. It's a pity that there is no meat, if there is some more beef and mutton. ”

A Liao military captain said with a smile: "General Xiao wants to eat meat, it's not simple. Horse meat is not tasty, but mule meat is delicious. Shall we slaughter a mule for a southerner chariot? The general eats meat, and the brothers can also drink a few bowls of soup. ”

Xiao Quan was stunned and said, "Can it be done?" That's the animal pulling the cart, slaughtering the mule, how does the cart move? ”

"What are you afraid of, two mules and horses in one cart. Slaughtered one and another. If you can't pull it, let the coachmen pull it, and they are idle. The lieutenant laughed.

"That's right, that's it. Go and do it. Xiao Quan laughed and waved his hand, sat on the grass, and picked up the kettle to drink. The Liao soldiers scattered in all directions, shouting loudly at the tired Da Zhou coachmen to cut grass and chop wood to make a fire for cooking.

The captain who had the idea took a few soldiers around the cattle and picked a fat mule to lead to the grass in the middle. The owner of the mule came back with a bundle of firewood, and when he saw this, he hurriedly stepped forward to inquire.

"What do you do with my mule? My mule hasn't had enough forage yet, and he's been working hard all day. The master of the mule said.

"No need to feed it, it doesn't have to pull the cart tomorrow." Liao Military Captain said.

Several Liao soldiers laughed on the side. The owner of the mule asked puzzledly, "What do you mean, the soldiers?" There are still hundreds of miles to go, and my big flower has to work hard for at least ten days. It doesn't pull, who pulls the cart? ”

"Lao Tzu said that if you don't need to pull it, you don't need him to pull it, because tonight it will enter our stomachs. Look at the meat of this body, it must be delicious. As the saying goes, dragon meat in the sky and donkey meat on the ground, mules are born from a cross between horses and donkeys, and the taste must not be too bad. The lieutenant reached out and patted the mule's back, where the tenderloin was, and he knew it must be delicious.

"What? You guys...... Are you going to kill my big flower to eat? Isn't that possible? This is my mule, and besides, it has to pull the cart. Are you kidding? The mule's owner was amazed.

"Who's kidding you? On the side, don't sweep away the joy of Lao Tzu. The lieutenant scolded as he drew his scimitar.

When the master of the mule saw the captain draw his scimitar, he finally understood that they were not joking, but that they were trying to do it for good. So he cried out, "How can you do that? Lord Zhang, Lord Chen, come and see, these Liao people are actually going to slaughter my big flower to eat meat. Haven't you come to dissuade them? ”

Two officials from the Great Zhou happened to come over, and the owner of the mule hurriedly asked them for help. The two men hurriedly trotted over, and after listening to the mule's master's three-word narration, they saw the Liao soldiers sharpening their swords, and knew that what they said was true. The master Zhang sent by the political affairs hall to the lower state capital to act as an escort officer was busy handing over to the Liao military captain.

"Don't be joking, how can you kill mules and horses for meat? This is a cart of livestock, how to pull these materials to your country after eating mules? Besides, this mule is a private property, and it is not for compensation to your Liao State, and if you want to eat mule meat, you have to pay for it. And it has to be sold by the owner. ”

"I don't sell it, my family is counting on the big flower cart to feed, sell us to drink the northwest wind? Besides, they want to kill and eat meat, my big flower is human, how can it be sold to others as meat to eat. The owner of the mule shouted.

The Liao military captain frowned and was silent, Xiao Quan came from a distance, looked at the mule and smiled: "What are you arguing about?" This mule is good, look at the flesh on this breast and thigh, that's it. Slaughtered. ”

The lieutenant hurriedly whispered a few words in Xiao Quan's ear, Xiao Quan's brows furrowed, and he glared at the two Great Zhou officials and said, "Lord Zhang, Lord Chen, what are you talking about?" Our Daliao soldiers eat your big Monday mules and still spend money to buy them? You don't want to think about it, if it weren't for my great Liao's kindness, the army would have hit your Bianliang now. Slowly, it's a mule, and even your wives and children and sisters will become the property of our Da Liao soldiers, and you can toss as you want. You southerners are not grateful, and you eat a mule and make a noise, but it is too undeserved. ”

The official surnamed Zhang smiled and arched his hand: "General Xiao, you didn't say that, our two countries have already made friends, and the peace agreement has been decided." This should be one yard to one yard. The mules are not on the delivery list of this escort, and they are also going to pull the cart, does General Xiao want to delay the convoy's journey? ”

Xiao Quan laughed and said, "Shout? You're still uplifting. I'm really ashamed of you Great Zhou people. Such a big imperial court calls itself the Central Plains. Now when we are dogs wagging their tails in front of Da Liao, they should obediently hold their tails. The master said that he would like to eat a piece of mule meat, and that you will have to cut the flesh that eats you. Not convinced? If you are not convinced, let your soldiers and horses of Da Zhou go to war with my soldiers and horses of Da Liao. It's not that 300,000 soldiers and horses were killed and almost wiped out. Hugging the head of the rat. He turned back and asked us to spare our lives. If I were you, I would have to find a cloth to cover my face and walk in the daytime, and I would be ashamed to death. ”

These words were extremely serious, and the two Great Zhou officials blushed and glared angrily, but they were speechless. The Great Zhou was defeated, and the Great Zhou was the side of the peace. What I'm doing now is an errand to escort the compensation, which is not something to be proud of. When others expose your scars, you have nothing to say.

"No matter how General Xiao insults us, please let this mule go, after all, the errand is important. General Xiao didn't want to delay the escort because of his appetite. Master Zhang said in a deep voice.

"Lao Tzu doesn't care anymore, this mule is ready to eat today. Captain Cha, don't you want to do it quickly? General Ben was hungry, and it was getting dark. Xiao Quan shouted.

The Liao military captain agreed, raised his scimitar and moved. After all, he is a man in the army, and he shoots quickly and ruthlessly. The scimitar slashed diagonally, and after a flash of cold light, the mule's head and neck were cut off, and it fell to the grass with a bang, blood splattered from the severed head, and limbs struggled and bounced.

"Ahh The two Da Zhou officials were startled and involuntarily took a few steps back. They didn't expect the Liao people to say that they would do it, and although it was a mule, it was a bit scary to be beheaded in front of them, and it was really scary to be struggling with blood before they died.

"You dog thieves, you actually killed my big flower...... I'll fight with you. You Liao dogs......" The mule owner was first stunned, then screamed like crazy, and rushed forward with teeth and claws.