In the palace where Yelu Jing lives, the windows are nailed, and there is usually no one around. He was afraid that he would be killed by the people around him when he fell asleep, and the attendants were even more afraid that he would get drunk and kill indiscriminately.

He rubbed his temples, looked at Yang Gon below, and asked in Khitan language, "Have you seen the king of the Southern Courtyard (Xiao Siwen)?" ”

Yang Gon said: "Yu Khan, I saw it." Xiao Pingping was only in charge of Youzhou's military affairs, and occasionally mentioned Khan, hoping that Khan would drink less, saying that drinking was wrong. ”

Yelujing nodded silently, remembering the previous use of troops in Hebei, Xiao Siwen sent someone to Shangjing to report, but without waiting for an answer, he dispatched troops himself. As a result, there was no loss, but a large amount of property and people were recovered, and of course Yelujing could not blame him.

The relationship between the Xiao family and the royal Yelu family is very good, the royal family generally marries the Xiao family, and the prime minister is basically from the Xiao family. However, this alliance is at the clan level, and it is difficult to say between individuals, just like Yelu Jing, most of the people who want to kill him are from his own Yelu clan.

Therefore, Yang Gon seemed very reluctant to talk about the Xiao family, so he asked cautiously at the moment: "Chen heard that the army of the Zhou State attacked the Northern Han Kingdom?" ”

"I got the news ten days ago. ”

Yang Gon couldn't help but say: "But after the minister arrived in Shangjing, he almost didn't hear anyone talk about this matter, and the nobles didn't seem to take it very seriously. ”

"There was no public talk." Yelu Jing was very calm at this time, and he didn't look like he was as violent as the rumors, "Many ministers and nobles have no knowledge, they see Han'er only in Shangjing Nancheng, or the craftsmen and farmers who cultivate in Bohai, and think that Han'er is very docile, like sheep, and it is inevitable that they will have contempt. But not everyone is so short-sighted. ”

Yang Gon muttered, "The minister remembered the Battle of Gaoping a few years ago...... In the opinion of the ministers, the people of Han'er are indeed docile, and even a little timid and afraid of being weak and bullied, compared to the brave and warlike herdsmen of my Great Khitan, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are sheep; But those 'nobles' and warriors in the Central Plains are by no means sheep, but a pack of wolves! They are the same as us, they all feed by fighting for sheep. ”

"In addition to the Battle of Gaoping, Xiao Siwen has suffered in the Battle of Zhuozhou." Yelu Jing said, "Isn't Guo Shao, the current emperor of the Zhou State, the butcher who slaughtered the Khitan warriors back then?" ”

Yang Gon echoed: "This person has a great reputation, and the ministers have heard of it, and he is known as 'Guo Blacksmith'. However, it seems that he and the craftsmen we have seen are probably not the same kind of people. ”

"This person is not from Guo Wei and Guo Rong's family, but his surname is Guo, and I heard that he is a little related...... "Ye Lujing muttered, and he didn't continue to talk about it here. He felt that the situation of the Zhou State at this time was similar to that of the Great Liao, but the foundation of the Zhou State was shallower than that of the Great Liao. If the blacksmith Guo wants to really stabilize the throne, I am afraid he also wants greater prestige and merit!

Blacksmith Guo is a dangerous person! Ye Lujing immediately spoke: "You must not take Zhou Guoguo's blacksmith lightly. ”

Yang Gon hurriedly bowed and said, "The Khan is wise. ”

Another reason why Yelujing did not dare to despise it was because he was the emperor, and he knew that it was not easy to sit on the throne after seizing power by force in turbulent times. After the blacksmith Guo became emperor, he could also quickly launch an attack to destroy Shu and the Southern Tang Dynasty...... This kind of thing is left in Daliao, and Yelu Jing can't do it, because it can't be integrated internally, and it is difficult to easily gather the armies of all departments; Unless it is such a thing as Guo Rong's large-scale attack on Youzhou, he can ask all the departments to deal with it together. Ye Lujing intuitively felt that the new monarch of Zhou Guo was quite powerful.

At this time, Yang Gon said: "The minister has the courage to speak, please ask the Khan to send troops to reinforce the Northern Han Kingdom as soon as possible, so the local involvement is not trivial." There are many Han people in the south, and the current Shu State and the Southern Tang Dynasty have been subsumed into the Zhou State one after another, and their strength is increasing day by day, and it remains to be seen whether they will threaten the Great Liao in the future. This trend of eliminating the growth of the other, the Central Plains is big, which is not a good thing for Daliao.

There is the Northern Han Dynasty in the west and Youzhou in the east, which is the key place for our Great Liao to attack and defend the Central Plains. Although the land of the Northern Han Kingdom was barren, compared with the important towns of Hebei, it was thick and deep, and threatening the Central Plains from the east of the river was the closest road. Hedong is a matter of great importance to Daliao, and the Khan has observed it. ”

Yelu Jing glanced at Yang Gon more after hearing this, but asked, "Five years ago, the Battle of Gaoping. You led troops to assist the Northern Han Dynasty, held your troops in Gaoping, and sat back and watched the Northern Han defeat fiasco; I heard that it was because the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty was disrespectful, and you were angry? ”

Yang Gon put his hand on his chest and bowed: "Khan Mingjian." At that time, the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty did speak disrespectfully, and said in the battle array, 'Without the help of Da Liao, the Zhou army will still be defeated', and the minister led troops to help him thousands of miles away, and he spoke like this, and the minister was really angry.

However, just because of anger and misunderstanding national affairs, the minister does not have the courage to do so! At that time, the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty was very arrogant, and if he really defeated the Zhou army, he would go south to replace him; Then the Northern Han Dynasty was the second Zhou State. Now the situation of the Great Liao, when it is no longer Taizong (Liao Taizong), can attack and coerce the (later) Jin until it is destroyed...... If that's the case, the Northern Han Dynasty won't listen to Da Liao anymore.

Therefore, at that time, the ministers thought that it was most beneficial for the Northern Han to maintain the status quo. Due to the threat of the Zhou State, the Northern Han had to grovel and obey the holy decree of the Great Liao Emperor; At the same time, the Northern Han Dynasty was located on the head of the Central Plains in the east of the river, which could also restrain the Central Plains Dynasty. The minister did not expect that a few years later, the Zhou Dynasty would be able to sit in Dacheng and be in such a situation. ”

"Good." Yelu Jing made a voice, very satisfied with Yang Gon, and immediately said, "You can reply to the envoys of the Northern Han Dynasty, and Da Liao will mobilize a large army from the south of Yinshan to help them." Who can do it? ”

Yang Gon bowed and said: "The minister is willing to be the leader of the Khan!" ”

"You've just come back from here, so you're exempt this time." Jereh said, "Call Jeruhü to go." ”

……

Yelu Xiuge, the general of the Liao State who can fight well, not long ago the Murwei and other tribes thought that the Liao State was weak and betrayed, Yelu Xiuge led the troops to quickly pacify, everywhere he went, no one could stop him, and the corpses of the rebels were all covered in the grassland, so that the atmosphere of terror enveloped the tribes, and all the tribes were afraid of the strength of the Liao State again. Under the outstanding military achievements, for a time Yelu Hugo has become a general who is talked about by the nobles of Shangjing.

Jinyang City heard that it was Yelu Xiuge who led the troops to the rescue, and the court celebrated, and the pessimistic atmosphere of the lost country gradually disappeared.

The vanguard cavalry of the Liao army soon entered the Dai and Xin corridors, and when Fu Zhaoxu heard the news, he wanted to withdraw his troops from Longzhou immediately and return to the border of Liaozhou to wait and see.

At that time, some generals were greedy for merit when they were easy to fight, and suggested that before the arrival of the Liao army, they should give up attacking the fortified city of Longzhou and attack Yang Yebu in Baigu to the east. This advice is a maximization of military merit...... Although Yang Ye claimed to be invincible, the Zhou army attacked with an army of 50,000, including 20,000 elite Longjie troops, and the odds of victory were extremely high; This is also the reason why many generals do not understand why Fu Zhaoxu has to wait for the rabbit in Longzhou and does not take the initiative to go to Baigu to be greedy.

If you win at Kashiwa, you can stabilize there. If the Liao army has a lot of men and horses, it will not be too late to withdraw at that time, and if there are not many people, it can continue to fight with the Liao army in the field...... If you can get a little cheap when you can fight head-on with the Liao army, this credit will be great! The Central Plains still recognizes the combat strength of the Liao army, and it is a foreign race, and the public opinion of defeating the Liao army in the country is equivalent to a reputation such as "national hero", and no one is not moved!

Lin Renzhao also said in the big tent of the Chinese army: "The lord really doesn't need to worry. ”

The generals echoed one after another, the military generals are not greedy for merit, and the civil officials are not greedy for money, isn't this difficult for the strongman?

Lin Renzhao said: "If the Liao army has a large number of men and horses, it must be a lot of foot and cavalry, and it cannot reach all of them in a short time, and it is not too late to retreat when the time comes; If there are only a few thousand or ten thousand horsemen, how can we not fight with a five-fold advantage? As soon as the Liao army came, they rushed to run without even seeing a figure, which was also a shame, as if we were as timid as mice! Breath! ”

But Fu Zhaoxu doesn't think so, his identity is a military general, but his position is not just a military general, but also a relative of the emperor, and Fu Zhaoxu is calm and respects the meaning of the peak, he doesn't want to be greedy...... Because you don't have to rely on military merit to make a career.

Although Lin Renzhao's words were ugly, he did not reprimand Lin Renzhao, but said: "General Lin is reasonable, but ......" He turned his head to Liu Renzhan and said, "The purpose of our department is to consume and exhaust the Northern Han. Now in the Northern Han Border for more than a month, the Northern Han army was defeated several times; And the Liao army has already moved south, and the Liao army also has to consume the money and grain of the Northern Han State. So far, the goal of our department has been achieved, and it seems that there is no need to take any more risks, what does Liu Gong think? ”

Liu Renzhan nodded yes, turned back to Lin Renzhao and said: "The lord is thinking about the overall situation, and you have to be greedy for merit." ”

Lin Renzhao respected Liu Renzhan very much, and when he heard this, he immediately said: "The last general must obey the military order!" ”

This military general surnamed Lin is very difficult to control, he is the kind of person who has military talents, but does not understand human feelings, and often makes people with higher status feel faceless; The Lord couldn't restrain him, but treated Liu Renzhan like Lao Tzu.

Fortunately, Liu Renzhan was able to control it, Fu Zhaoxu felt relieved, and he respected Liu Renzhan even more; In order to maintain his dignity, Fu Zhaoxu could not grovel to his subordinates, so he made an excuse that Liu Renzhan was older...... Respect for older people is also a virtue.

Fu Zhaoxu is a person who is very good at talking and getting along with; And Liu Renzhan is not the stunned kind of Lin Renzhao, he understands the rules very well, and he is also very appreciative of the face given by others. So Fu Zhaoxu and Liu Renzhan talked very well and there was no dispute.

At this moment, Liu Renzhan said euphemistically: "The lord's public statement to withdraw from the army is to focus on the overall situation. The old man also has a word, don't retreat too far, just go to Liaozhou nearby and camp in Liaozhou first? ”

Fu Zhaoxu groaned, thinking about it in his heart.

Liu Renzhan hugged his fists again and said: "Liaozhou is close to the Northern Han, let's withdraw to this place, and we also maintain a threat to the Northern Han; In such a close place, it is just to adjust the deployment, not to mention fleeing from the wind. We are repairing in Liaozhou, just to stabilize our position and act when the opportunity arises, and the generals will accept it better, and it will not hurt morale. ”

Fu Zhaoxu muttered: "The city wall of Liaozhou doesn't seem to be very strong......

Liu Renzhan said: "As long as there is a city, we can improve the fortifications there." If the Liao army really dares to attack the city defended by 50,000 elites, then we don't have to deliberately avoid this kind of big war. ”

He thought for a while and then persuaded: "We maintain a threat in Liaozhou, and since the Liao army is here, we will stay in the Northern Han Dynasty and wait and see." Could their consumption be transported from the Liao Kingdom, thousands of miles away? It still has to consume the national strength of the Northern Han Dynasty. In this way, our approach does not conflict with His Majesty's intentions. ”

When Fu Zhaoxu heard the last sentence, which was in line with the emperor's will, he immediately said: "Take Liu Gong's strategy!" ”