When the Liao Kingdom went to Beijing, outside the thick city gate, a man was pacing in place at the door with his neck bent, as if it would warm up a little, and he, together with other herdsmen and people, looked curiously at the battle outside the city.

It's only October, and it's already snowing lightly on the grassland, and the weather is very cold. The sky was gray; The snow on the ground had not yet covered the withered grass, and it looked like the gray hair of an old man.

In the depths of the snowflakes in the sky, the black oppressive people and horses are surging, and the snow is hazy, as if it is a vague picture.

Not far away, a herdsman said in Khitan language: "There is going to be a big battle, and the tribal army is coming." There are many tents on the north side of the city, and they are all people from various tribes. ”

The man with his neck shrunk is a man, named Zhang Fugui, who has dealt with the Khitan people for many years and knows Khitan dialect.

Zhang Fugui was wrapped in thick fur, wrapped around his waist with a hemp rope, and covered with a wide shoulder-length dogskin hat on his head, as long as he did not speak, at first glance it was impossible to distinguish whether he was a Khitan or a Han. The faces of the Khitans and the Han'er are different, but they are both yellow-skinned, and it is difficult to distinguish just by looking at the small half of the face under the dogskin hat.

However, in the south of the city, the Han'er and the Khitan people live together, and the Han'er craftsmen have the most, even if they are found to be Han'er, it is nothing.

Zhang Fugui watched for a while, then shrunk his neck, put his hands in his sleeves, and entered the city silently with his back bent. Most of the people in the south of Shangjing City are Han'er, but Zhang Fugui is still restless here, and he is usually cautious and basically never smiles.

He walked along the quaint and old street in the wind and snow, pushed open a door, and lifted the back leather curtain that hung on it. The curtain was greeted by a pile of reddish and blue firewood, on which hung an iron kettle, the lid of which was shaken by the "clang" of water vapor. There were two people sitting next to the firewood, a thin old man over fifty years old, and a thick-waisted man with bald hair and hair. Zhang Fugui fixed his gaze on the bald man's face.

At this time, the old man stood up: "Ah Lang, he is here, I told him that you went out of the city, and I don't know if you understand, so I will wait here for the fire." ”

Zhang Fugui nodded, walked over and said slowly in jerky Khitan dialect: "I've gone out for a while, Abu has been waiting for a long time." ”

Abu, a Khitan man, pointed directly to a large package in the corner: "The skin is brought, and the ginseng will be sent tomorrow." ”

"Okay, thank you Abu, you are very trustworthy." Zhang Fugui shook the snowflakes on his body, walked over and picked up the package to check the skin.

Abu said: "Don't worry, it's all good." ”

Zhang Fugui smiled, still looking at the skin, and made a look of caring about the goods...... In fact, he can't make any money with this thing, and he doesn't want to make a fortune from it.

Zhang Fugui used to trade northern goods, mainly through cooperation with the Han people in Youzhou, and the Tochidan people brought ginseng and rare animal skins from the northeast...... This kind of thing is very rare and precious in the Central Plains and even in the southern countries, but it is too far to make a few dollars, and the strength is not strong enough, and the risk is very great, and it is very likely to lose all the money in half of the way.

Later, he was found by the people of the imperial court and did the work of careful work. It's still dangerous, but it's very rewarding.

If it weren't for wealth and livelihood, who would want to go to such an unfamiliar place with all odds? Zhang Fugui first found a Khitan to cooperate, and it was this Abu.

And this Abu is even more discredited!

When he arrived on the grassland, Abu wanted to kill Zhang Fugui and bring all the money he brought! Zhang Fugui is easy to say...... The money will be given to him in full, as long as he gets some skins and ginseng; There is also the next opportunity to make money.

At that time, life and death were on the line! people's greed saved Zhang Fugui's life; Because of profit, not credit and sympathy. That's how a path was established. It was not easy for Han'er to come to Shangjing, and most of the craftsmen there were brought from Youzhou.

Zhang Fugui then observed Abu in the light of the fire, and Abu took a piece of dried meat and roasted it on the flame, and did not seem to suspect anything.

Then Abu said, "I heard that you have gone out of the city?" It's best not to go out and walk around casually these days, there are all troops around Beijing, and I heard that a few days ago a few men were killed as spies. ”

Zhang Fugui said: "Then how can I take the leather out?" ”

Abu said: "When the winter passes, it will be too cold to go south. The Liao army will not go out for more than two months, and when this period of time passes, the road will be easy to walk. ”

Zhang Fugui nodded: "Thank you Abu for reminding me." ”

He got up and brought a pot of wine and some cheese to entertain the Khitan, and sent him away when it was almost dark.

At this point the snow stopped. Zhang Fugui lifted the curtain, looked up, and paced back and forth in the room. Finally, he took out the key and opened a door, and suddenly there was a "coo" sound from inside.

"Shhhh......h He took a small basin with grain and put it in, and whispered, "Eat, I'm going home when I'm full." ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Fugui's heart was sour, he really wanted to write a letter to his family, but the pigeon legs could not be tied to something too heavy, and even the message could only be as brief as possible.

He sat down at the table and began to sharpen the ink, looking back from time to time to observe the movement of the pigeons.

After preparing everything, Zhang Fugui took the bench as a cushion, opened a small window above, and looked at the sky again. The sky was dark, the snow had stopped, and there was not a single star. He let go of his hands, let the two pigeons fly out of the window, and said, "Go home, go home......" His eyes moistened a little as he said these two words.

……

In late October, Bazhou on the south bank of the Juma River traveled. Guo Shao successfully got the news thousands of miles away here.

Most of the more than 50,000 horsemen of the forbidden army have retreated to Bazhou, because a large number of horsemen need to eat food on the north bank of the Juma River, and now they have to save the grain that is transported to the front line.

Bazhou became the base camp of the former military government in Hebei. The location of this place is very good, leaning on the Juma River, in the middle section, not far from the west line of Zhuozhou and the east line of Jinzhou; And it is the local fortress town of the Great Zhou, which has been in operation for many years, and the city is very strong.

Guo Shao unfolded a small note, glanced at it, and said to the civil and military officials sitting at the head of the country: "The army of the Liao State is going south. ”

Everyone immediately talked about it. Qin Shishi, who was standing on the side, glanced at Guo Shao quietly in surprise, as if to say: Your Majesty said before that there was news coming to Beijing, and sure enough!

Guo Shao ignored everyone's discussions, and directly ordered: "Immediately issue an order, let the front division of the palace, except for the infantry of the left wing of the tiger ben, and the main force of the guard Ma Bu Division all go north, and station in the three states of Xiong, Ba, and Yi, and wait for dispatch." ”

Wei Renpu bowed and said, "The minister obeys the order." ”

Guo Shao said: "We must do everything possible to speed up the transportation of grain, and we must ensure the grain and grass reserves in the four cities of Zhuozhou, Gu'an, Xincheng and Jinzhou. As soon as the Liao army goes south, there will be a threat to the grain transportation route. ”

Prime Minister Li Gu said: "The minister obeys the order." ”

Guo Shao gave two military orders very quickly, and his expression eased slightly. He looked back and said: "The winter war is inevitable, and our Great Zhou army will deploy about 270,000 soldiers (real numbers) on the front line of the Juma River; It is estimated that the Liao army should have more than 100,000 cavalry and some Xi infantry to participate in the battle. This war is a matter of national survival, and we will go all out! ”

Everyone looked stunned and clenched their fists one after another.

Guo Shao said in a deep voice: "According to the strategy of the Privy Council, in this year's winter battle, the strategy is to protect the integrity of the fortifications of the Zhuo, Gu, Xin, and Tianjin fronts, and we must not rush to achieve success!" ”

At this time, there was a rumbling drum in the distance outside the lobby, as if urging the overture of the big war, and Guo Shao's heart tightened inexplicably. He took a deep breath and waited quietly for this long, difficult period to pass.

Everything will pass...... Thinking about the Battle of Shouzhou back then, I didn't still carry my head and suffered that time, and now I look back and it's just a relatively profound memory.