In the afternoon, the sun was in the clouds, the sun was not clear, there was no wind in the sky, and the early summer was already a little stuffy.

Guo Shao came out of Zhou Xian's palace full of food, turned his head and smiled at Zhou Xian: "The taste of Jiangnan people is lighter than that of the Central Plains, but that dish is still very delicious." ”

Zhou Xian said softly: "If Your Majesty likes to eat, next time the concubine will cook a few dishes." ”

Guo Shao turned his head to Chen Jiali again and said, "The time for duty is almost up, so let Emperor E accompany Mrs. Shen to talk." ”

"Congratulations to Your Majesty."

Guo Shao walked down the stone steps from the main entrance of the palace, but when he saw Jing Niang's unhappy face, he was stunned, and suddenly remembered in his heart that Jing Niang had never liked Chen Jiali.

He looked up at the clouds in the sky, and said to the eunuch who was standing aside, "I want to go, wait for the car to go first." ”

"Whoa." The eunuch hurriedly responded.

Guo Shao and Jing Niang walked slowly along the brick road together, and the two of them walked one after the other, and Jing Niang was behind Guo Shao's side in a regular manner. There was nothing to say for a while, and Guo Shao didn't know what to say, so he looked at the fallen leaves on the road, and his heart was not only in autumn, because the life of most leaves could not last for two full seasons from spring.

Unexpectedly, at this time, Jing Niang took the initiative to speak: "I have always had something I don't understand, Your Majesty is a Ming Jun, and he has the people of the world in his heart, but he has the clouds, the majesty of martial arts, and the stability of the country, why is he still bent on fighting in the south and the north?" ”

"Huh?" Guo Shaoxian was a little surprised.

If this issue is in public, Guo Shao will use a lot of glamorous and righteous words to say it, but with Jing Niang, there is no need to say those official words.

"Most of the time people do it for themselves." Guo Shao turned his head to look at her, "The dynasty is not as safe as it seems. ”

He pondered for a moment and said: "A few years ago, the world was in turmoil, the land was shrinking, and the population was withering. If our own family is weak and withered, who can trust the strange conqueror to be merciful to us? The reason why there are countries and tribes in this world is that people with similar languages, customs, and cultures are trying to survive together, because familiar people can make people feel more comfortable. ”

Guo Shao said in a low voice: "Justice or not, but the position is different." ”

Jing Niang was thoughtful, and after a moment of silence, she said: "Then the Liao Kingdom and the Northwest Provinces, I am afraid that they are very resentful of the Daxu Imperial Court at this time, and they don't think we have any great righteousness." ”

"As it should be." Guo Shao said frankly, "So what? Can I still threaten myself for justice and help others? ”

After talking for a while, Xuanyoumen was already in front, and the attendants were also waiting there. Guo Shao and Jing Niang walked over there, and they had to go to Jinxiang Hall for office in a while.

Recently, he has to decide on the coach of the Western Expedition. Guo Shao doesn't have to go on a personal expedition now, no one can compare with his existing achievements, and sleeping in the open is not a good day, and as long as he goes to the battlefield, there is always a risk.

Guo Shao is more inclined to Li Chuyun, to ensure the victory of the Western Expedition as much as possible, Li Chuyun is reliable, brave and strategic.

……

Da Liao Shangjing. A servant in the Xiao Mansion said a few words in Xiao Siwen's ear, and Xiao Siwen's expression changed: "Bring him in." ”

After a while, I saw a man dressed like a beggar walk into the house, and the maid next to Xiao Siwen also hurriedly covered her mouth and nose with her sleeves, and the smell was really a little unpleasant.

Xiao Siwen also took out a white silk handkerchief, he has always paid great attention to appearance, and sometimes some Khitan people criticize Xiao Siwen for not being like a military general with troops.

"Plop!" The man knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "I have high hopes for Xiao Gong below, and I am ashamed to ...... Xiao Gong."

Xiao Siwen heard the voice and was sure it was Yang Gon, "You can still come back alive." ”

Yang Gon's voice was also a little choked: "It's a capital crime to come back, but as long as you can die in your homeland, you are also a little relieved." ”

Xiao Siwen sighed when he heard this: "Get up, my father doesn't want your life, so you don't have to ask for death." ”

Yang Gon said: "I have a humiliating mission, and I have gone through a lot of hardships on the way back, so I don't have to steal my life, but I have seen some strange tactics of Xu Jun in Dongdao, and I want to inform Xiao Gong to feel at ease." ”

Xiao Siwen frowned and said, "Hurry up and go to the shower and change clothes, clean up and come to see my father." ”

When Yang Gon was taken out by the slaves, Xiao Siwen also pushed away the guests he wanted to see today, and went straight to the courtyard of the inner house, ready to talk to Yang Gon who came back from afar.

The peach trees in the yard are still there, but the peach blossoms are gone...... Xiao Yanyan, who used to climb trees and pick peach blossoms there, is also gone. When Xiao Siwen came here, he couldn't help but feel hurt.

After waiting for a long time, Yang Gon finally got cleaner and walked in, but saw that he had a yellow face and thin muscles, and it seemed that he had suffered a lot.

Xiao Siwen stood on the verandah, kept looking at the green peach trees, and didn't say a word.

Yang Gon pressed his hand to his chest, saluted, and said: "Before the defeat of my country at sea, I besieged the fortress of the Xu army in Iwami, and besieged it with fifty times the strength for several months, but did not take the fortress defended by 500 people, and finally was killed and wounded by reinforcements! Xiao Gong Mingjian, in my opinion, the most difficult thing for Xu Jun to fight is the castle fortifications! ”

As he spoke, he took out an animal skin bag from his clothes, which contained some paper, and handed it to Xiao Siwen with both hands, "After the siege of the city, I recorded the tactics at that time, and asked Xiao Gong to take a look." ”

Xiao Siwen took the things, but still looked at the trees, not saying a word.

Yang Gon was a little at a loss, because Xiao Siwen didn't respond to anything.

After a while, Xiao Siwen finally turned around: "Fortunately, the fortress can't run on its own, and its firearms infantry is still an infantry army." ”

Yang Gon hurriedly said: "During the Battle of Youzhou, the Xu army repaired the fort properly, which made the Great Liao Army suffer a lot of losses; Now the fortifications in our country are more than before. The fortress of Iwami Kuni's Xu army, with its ingenious shape, no matter how it attacked, was within its firearms shooting, and its firearms were roughly the same as those in the Battle of Pingxia, with an artillery bombardment of one mile, and the range of the firearms was at least fifty or sixty paces; The army is besieging and it is difficult to get close. ”

Xiao Siwen suddenly said in a deep voice: "No one can stop Blacksmith Guo." ”

Yang Gon was stunned for a moment.

Xiao Siwen glanced at him: "Now it's not just about the fortress. Li Yiyin is in Hexi, and if the Xu army marches west, he will go for the war horse; Blacksmith Guo collects good horses everywhere, and he must be dealing with Da Liao! ”

Yang Gon was stunned and said, "Nanren...... Can you really attack the steppe? ”

Xiao Siwen's face was blue and said: "During the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu were in the grassland, where are the Huns now?" ”

Yang Gon couldn't help asking, "How should Da Liao deal with it?" ”

Xiao Siwen said coldly: "In this situation, who in the whole world can help but get Blacksmith Guo?" We can only sit back and see what happens. ”

Yang Gon asked, "Has Li Yiyin ever turned to Da Liao for help?" ”

Xiao Siwen said: "We can't help him, Hexi is too far away, Da Liao has no time to take care of himself, and has increased his troops to the east and made preparations early." Unless Li Yiyin can find a way to block Xu Jun and gain a foothold in the west, Da Liao will not be able to help. ”

The two fell silent. Xiao Siwen looked up and could vaguely see the roof of the palace on the hill not far away, and he had mixed feelings for a while.

The Khitan nobles were not yet alert, but Xiao Siwen was uneasy. In the past, Da Liao dominated the north and south of the grassland, and the country was very prosperous, but now Xiao Siwen has a sense of storm...... The Khitans will not necessarily be wiped out by the Xu army, if they can't maintain their strong force, the resistance of the grassland tribes can overthrow their foundation!

The next day, Xiao Siwen took Yang Gon to the palace to face the saint, and sure enough, someone attacked Yang Gon for not making an inch. Fortunately, the Great Khan Yeluxian obeyed Xiao Siwen's words and pardoned Yang Gon for the death penalty on the spot. However, Yang Gon returned to China in embarrassment, and there was no hope of restoring his official position and aristocratic status.

Higashishima surrendered for months, and the facts were in front of him. Many nobles in Daliao were already very afraid of Xu's military strength, and some people advocated peace with Xu. Xiao Siwen did not advocate peace, because he was worried that the prestige of Daliao would decline too quickly and backfire on himself.

Xiao Siwen proposed to send a secret envoy to Goryeo to repair relations with Goryeo.

A nobleman retorted: "The Goryeo people covet the old land of the Bohai Kingdom, and everyone knows it. ”

"At this time and at that time, now the Goryeo people are still stupid enough to want the old land of the Bohai Kingdom, and they are undoubtedly seeking skin with the tiger!" Xiao Siwen said.

Several people seconded: "Goryeo has close contacts with Xu Guo, and I am afraid that they will not form an alliance with Da Liao for a while, but I hope they will no longer help the abuse." ”

Xiao Siwen said loudly: "Pingxia Province is a lesson from the past!" The East China Sea can't stop the Xu army, if it goes on like this, from the grassland to the sea in the future, there will be no more countries, it's all Xu Guoxing! Everyone has become slaves, and the Han'er still loot our ore, cattle and sheep! ”

The main hall suddenly fell silent, and the nobles were dumbfounded.