On October 15, after learning of the civil strife in Liao, the Dunhuang Protectorate summoned an envoy from the Han army in eastern Liao. Han Ningshuang got out of the carriage and looked up at the three-fold double-eaves circular dome of the Protector's Mansion Hall, which was two feet high, and the gold, blue and blue glazed tiles were shining in the morning sun, looking both brilliant and solemn.

On both sides of the white marble road carved with dragon and tiger stripes, hundreds of Tiger Wing Army guards are all wearing iron armor and guarding with serious expressions. Personally accompanied by the Protector of the Governor's Mansion, Shi Cui Chunyou, Han Ningshuang passed through these tall Tiger Wing Army guards, and she still remembered that when she was a child, Chen Kang used to take her around these Tiger Wing Army guards. Coming to the front of the council hall, she gently lifted the skirt and walked up the steps, the three-story white marble pedestal was two feet high, and the council hall building on it seemed to rise from the ground, with a kind of majesty that overcame the world.

"Miss Han, and after this, the official will go in first to inform you." Cui Chunyou pushed open the door of the hall first and went in first, leaving Han Ningshuang to stand outside. Surrounding the council hall, forty six-zhang high red granite pillars support the heavy eaves and bucket arches carved with dragons and tigers, and the stone pillars are engraved with the emblems of the forty armies that protect the country, both the stone pillars themselves and the power they represent, giving people a great sense of oppression. Even when she was hunted down and killed by thousands of troops and horses of the Liao State, Han Ningshuang didn't feel this way, she couldn't help but take a deep breath, and her eyes fell on the two huge stone pillars on the left and right of the gate of the council hall, one was engraved with a colorful tiger with ribbed wings, and the other was an angry sea dragon with fangs and huge claws.

At this time, the door of the hall opened silently, Cui Chunyou invited him inside the door, Han Ningshuang stabilized his mind, raised his head and walked in. Her steps were extremely light, but the footsteps of the two hundred lieutenants in the hall could still be heard clearly. Chen Kang once showed off to Han Ningshuang that the master craftsmen who designed the Council Hall of the Protectorate Mansion were ingenious, no matter where he whispered, there would be a clear echo throughout the entire hall, so that everyone could hear it clearly.

The light of the sky shines through the transparent glazed tiles in the middle circle of the dome, projecting exactly where Han Ningshuang is standing, so that her every expression and movement can be seen clearly. Under the gaze of countless condescending eyes, she lowered her eyes slightly and held her breath.

Cui Chunyou introduced in a deep voice: "This is Han Ningshuang, the envoy of the Liaodong Han Army who is begging for help. Then he whispered to Han Ningshuang: "Please Miss Han speak first, and then the captains may have some doubts and ask." With that, he stepped aside, and the two scribes of the Protectorate raised their brushes at the same time, and they would write down all the contents of the questions and discussions.

Han Ningshuang raised her head and said in a deep voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, the little woman is not only here for millions of Han people in Liaodong, but also for the safety of the Xia Kingdom. Her voice was not loud, but it touched people's hearts, "Decades ago, although the Khitan was not Chinese, it still had Chinese etiquette, and the Han was born in a bloody place, and he could still survive in secret." Since the Broken Axe Mountain, the Khitan has restored its old system of Diyi, focusing on the nature of its people as jackals, and treating our people as cattle and sheep. He also established a third-class system, so that Huaxia was clothed and reduced to slave animals, and Diyi birds and beasts were becoming more and more arrogant. Han'er wanted to steal his life but couldn't, so he unveiled the rod and got up. Over the past decades, hundreds of thousands of heroes have been smeared with liver and brain, and hundreds of thousands of Han children have been separated from their flesh and bones. The Han army was defeated and fought repeatedly, and the more frustrated it became, the more courageous it became. Not afraid of armor and soldiers, he opens his fist and bramps a white blade, which is the ...... of the world's dull Diyi"

Her voice was slow and clear, spitting out the blood and tears of the Han people in Liaodong, the captains sat on the wide seats, listened carefully, and gradually ignored the appearance of the Han army envoys, and between the white mountains and black waters, groups of Han soldiers and Han people, some fought to death with the Liao soldiers, died of freezing and starvation in hiding in the mountains, and some were betrayed by traitors and killed to death, but they went forward one after another, and fought to the death with the Liao people.

When the envoy finished speaking, there was silence in the council hall for a long time, and Captain Fang asked, "How many troops does the Han army have, and where are they mainly distributed?" ”

Han Ningshuang said: "There are more than 6,800 generals in total, and dozens of villages have been established, mostly in Taibai Mountain and Xianbei Mountain. ”

"I heard that there is an alliance with the Jurchen State in the Han army, what is the situation of the Jurchen tribe in Liaodong and what is the strength?"

"Most of the tribes in Liaodong call themselves Jurchen, and most of the tribes make a living from fishing and hunting, and also do farming, there are about hundreds of thousands, and they are divided into countless tribes, and the Liao people divide them into raw and mature Jurchen, mature Jurchen in the household registration to pay tribute, and the birth of Jurchen is not in the household registration and does not pay tribute and taxes. The Jurchen Wanyan tribe only rose up against Liao more than ten years ago, and gradually subdued other tribes. Since receiving the help of the Song family, the power has developed extremely rapidly, repeatedly defeating the Liao soldiers, and even besieging the Huanglong Mansion twice. Hence the proposal of the rebels to form an alliance with the Jurchens. The Jurchen Jin Kingdom also sent people to contact us and others, willing to join forces with the Han army to fight against Liao. Han Ningshuang said in a deep voice. Although the Han army had not yet formally allied with the Jurchens, many of the cottages were more or less cooperative with the Jurchens. Many of the generals in the Liaodong Righteous Army were born in the Han Dynasty, and they did not have much rejection of the Hu people. The ancestors of the Han clan once recruited Jurchen tribal warriors, taught them the art of war, and relied on them as henchmen, and there were also many Jurchens in the Han army.

A lieutenant sighed: "The Jurchen and the Khitan are both Diyi, and they have formed an alliance with the Jurchen to drive Liao, if they drive the tiger and devour the wolf, aren't you afraid of being attacked by it?" Then he asked, "What about the Jurchen military system?" "The captain of the Protectorate Mansion is extremely familiar with the Liao army. Most of them think that the Liao soldiers are not to be afraid, and they are more vigilant against the Jurchen Jin State, which has repeatedly defeated the Liao soldiers.

Han Ningshuang was gloomy in her heart, she also understood this truth, but with the situation of the Han people in Liaodong, there were not many choices. She said slowly: "The Jurchen Jin State is a fierce and restrained system, and the daily residence is mixed with the military system, and the leaders are pushed up from the five households to the ten thousand households, often restraining the tribes to hunt, and in wartime, they are all self-commanding troops, and they are gradually divided into military commanders, ten captains, and ten captains. The Jurchen military law is extremely strict, the two armies face each other, if the commander dies in battle, after the battle, all four people in the same army are beheaded, and the ten commanders are killed in battle, then two captains are killed, and the layers go up, and if the commander dies in battle, ten thousand commanders are killed. ”

The captains asked a lot about the situation in Liaodong, and Han Ningshuang answered them one by one. A captain with a short figure, a round face and thick eyebrows, but his eyes were bright and bright, asked in a deep voice: "My dynasty and the Song state both claim to be Zhengshuo, what do the envoys of the Han army in Liaodong think?" ”

Han Ningshuang sighed slightly in her heart and replied: "If the Great Xia Xingyi Division saves millions of Han people from fire and water, Liaodong will naturally be regarded as Zhengshuo, and in the future, the Xia and Song dynasties will fight, and the Han army will also be willing to be the forerunner, go out of Hebei from Youyan, take Qi land for Wang Shi, and cut off the southeast Cao Yun." "The Liao, Song and Xia trigrams can last for a long time, if the Liao State is destroyed, the next thing will inevitably be a war between the Xia and Song dynasties. If the Liao State is destroyed, the Han army will inevitably rise in power, and if you want to get the help of the Xia State, this promise, the Han army in Liaodong cannot but do it.

This promise soothed the expressions of several captains, and a captain with a slightly high cheekbones and bright eyes asked in a deep voice: "My country and Liaodong are far away, and it is difficult to save each other overnight. If the Han army wants to fight the Liao on its own and not ally with the Jurchens, what help does the Han army need? ”

Han Ningshuang chewed on the words of "independently fighting the Liao people", obviously the Protectorate did not want the Han army to get too close to the Jurchen Kingdom, but in that case, the situation in Liaodong would be much worse and more difficult. She pondered for a moment and replied: "The training of the Han army is sparse, if you want to fight the Liao army head-on, you need an elite Xia army to sneak into Liaodong to help, in addition, you also need 3,000 pairs of iron armor, 5,000 horizontal knives, 1,000 horse lances, and Liaodong is very short of food and money," many captains looked at the messenger with the lion's mouth wide open with strange eyes, Han Ningshuang suppressed the embarrassing feeling in her heart, to fight against the Liao soldiers with strong armor, she wanted to try her best to win more help for the ragged Han army. She paused for a moment and continued, "Artillery is most needed, and there are good gunners, if you can capture the Khitans' important town warehouse, the rest can be obtained." ”

In the afternoon, in the Linquan Palace, Emperor Chen Xuan flipped through the records of the Protectorate Mansion and frowned slightly. "The power of the Han people in Liaodong cannot be obtained by the Jurchens as they wish no matter what." He put the file on the imperial case and said slowly, "Except for the artillery that can't be given to them for the time being, others can be considered." He paused for a moment and asked in a deep voice, "What does the Protectorate mean?" ”

Changshi Cui Chunyou Bing said: "Most of the captains of the Protectorate also advocate aiding the Han army in Liaodong, and now that Liao's civil strife is in turmoil, Yelu Yanxi and Yelu Dashi are gathering people and horses, preparing to fight to the death, and then Tokyo Dao will inevitably be empty, it is a good opportunity for the Han army to develop its power, otherwise, I am afraid that it will be cheaper for the Jurchens." He muttered, "It is difficult to hastily transport the armor and blades to Liaodong, but we can let Fuhaixing transport a batch of good iron and money silk from Mizhou, let the Han army build its own armor and increase its strength, and at the same time send a Chengying battalion to help them train the new army." ”

A few days later, in the Praetorian Guard camp in Lumei City, Zhao Xingde and other officers also learned the news of the civil unrest in Liao from the military newspaper.

"Are you interested in a game of gambling and guessing who will die in the end?" Kim Chang-tae said with a grin. What happened in the Liao Kingdom was too far away for the seventh battalion of Chengying who was in Lumei.

Zhao Xingde shook his head. According to the history he remembered, no matter how the Liao people were in civil strife, the great enemy of the Han people in the Central Plains was the rising Jurchen tribe, but the military report only mentioned one sentence: "The Jurchen Kingdom besieged Huanglong Mansion." "If the founding emperor of Chen Xia is from the later generations, he should focus on beware of the rising Jurchen Jin Kingdom," Zhao Xingde thought secretly, "It is impossible for him not to know the shame of Jingkang, but it is a pity that the distance between the Xia Kingdom and Liaodong is too far, if it is closer, no matter what, the hidden danger of the Jurchen must be eliminated first." ”

At this time, several officers went over to place bets, and Kim Chang-tae asked again: "Okay, are you interested in having a hand?" ”

"Not interested." Zhao Xingde said lightly, he looked out the window from afar, and thought again, "There is a powerful Xia Kingdom in this world, and it may not be." In the midst of the confusion of thoughts, Sima Junfang hurriedly walked in and said in a deep voice: "Captain Duan convened a military meeting, and there is a big deal to do." ”