Among the famous figures in the late Tang Dynasty killed by the Tiance army, Yelu Abaoji was undoubtedly the saddest one, because he was only eighteen years old when the Flying Eagle Brigade shot the deadliest arrow at him in April 890, and his legendary life was destined to wither away in the vast grassland of the northern part of the country before it began.

And when Yelu Hanxiong led the army to the place where the two sides finally fought more than 400 miles north of Zhongjing, Abaoji had already lost his young life, although the body was snatched back by the last guards, but it could not change the wordless sadness and grief in Yelu Hanxiong's heart. Among the many heirs, only Abaoji is a young genius, not only outstanding in martial arts, but also has shown unique talents since he was a child, and when he grows up, the royal court guards under his command have been invincible in the past few years with Yelu Hanxiong's southern and northern wars. This is Yelu Hanxiong's best son, and he is also the wisest king of the grassland in the future, but at this moment he has become a cold corpse lying quietly in Yelu Hanxiong's arms.

At this moment, Yelu Hanxiong even extinguished the thought of avenging his son, but quietly looked at the still immature face, as if there was a deep trace of doubt and incomprehension, which made the leader of the Khitan people reluctant to return to the show for a long time.

He didn't move, and the surrounding royal army also stood quietly in the wind, towering like a tombstone, to see off Abaoji.

Yelu Hanxiong did not move, and was saddened by his son's departure. Wan Dan over there didn't have the slightest mind to care about Yelu Hanxiong's mood. At this moment, he just kept sending messengers to urge the main force of the expedition to Danzhou to return to help quickly, and transfer the army back before Yelu Hanxiong reacted, otherwise he would not be able to face the anger of the hundreds of thousands of troops directly under the Khitan royal court.

Now it's too late for Banten to regret it. According to his plan, he didn't think about taking Abaoji's life at all, he just wanted to seize Abaoji and negotiate with Yelu Hanxiong, so as to realize his desire to split the Khitan and go south to claim the king's hegemony. It's a pity that the sky is not as good as the people, and at the last moment, the long arrow slashed through the sky, completely disrupting his plan.

Originally, he wanted to find out who shot the arrow, but after hearing the scout's report that Yelu Hanxiong fell into a long silence after seeing Abaoji's body, he didn't have the intention to do so anymore. He has dealt with Yelu Hanxiong for more than ten years, and he has the most thorough understanding of his temper and temperament. The more silence there is, the stronger it will erupt in the future. At this time, the silence has already surfaced, and he and Yelu Hanxiong have been dying, and there is no room for relaxation. That's why he desperately urged the front-line army to urgently return to help, and let his son Chateauroux give up everything in the south and return to the grassland to fight for the dominance of the Khitan, which was a life-and-death battle for Bandan.

While Banten was waiting for his son's help, Yelu Hanxiong slowly buried Abaoji's body in the remnants of Yanshan Mountain north of Zhongjing, and repaired a simple tomb.

"Khan, we can't wait here, we want to seek revenge from Wandan." When Yelu Hanxiong buried Abaoji, Yan Xiong, the deputy general of the Wang Ting Guard and one of the only twenty-eight people left, knelt down on one knee.

"Don't worry, this battle must completely unify all the Khitan tribes. Something like this must never happen again. Yelu Hanxiong seemed to have aged dozens of years overnight, and his originally sturdy body was also rickety, but his voice softened and his expression gradually calmed down.

In fact, these generals around Yelu Hanxiong were afraid that Yelu Hanxiong would lose his mind because of the pain of losing his son, and they were all relieved to see him calm at this moment, and at this time they heard Yelu Hanxiong's voice in their ears again: "I heard that Banten's son Shateauru has returned to the army, let's wait for him to come back and solve everything in a battle." ”

"If you go to integrate the troops, it seems that it will only be a day or two. After we have finished fighting Banten, we will also send troops to the north, and the Huangtou Murowei people have probably also received the news, so we can't go to war on both sides. Yelu Hanxiong took a deep breath.

Once Yelu Hanxiong recovered, he immediately became the former grassland hero, and his mind became extremely clear when he analyzed the situation, but behind this indifferent voice made the generals present frightened, how much perseverance did it take to suppress the pain in his heart in just two days?

However, although Yelu Hanxiong looks scary in this way, the advantage is that the army directly under the royal court began to make pre-war preparations in an orderly manner, and according to Yelu Hanxiong's deployment, there is no need to sneak attack Banten's army. The two sides are separated by dozens of miles, but they are seizing the time to plan a life-and-death battle.

At this time, Hu Xiaosi had already arrived in Chen Fan's camp, and after a long time, the two decided to intervene in the battlefield in the second half of the decisive battle between Yelu Hanxiong and Wandan. At the same time, Xuan Yingwei also came with the latest news from the north. That was the movement of the yellow-headed Murowei people who were teased by Yelu Hanxiong before.

"In this way, after we finish fighting the Khitans, we may have to fight against the Murwei people non-stop?" Chen Fan frowned and said, "Taxi is on call in the north, you will immediately send someone to contact him to keep an eye on the movements of the Murwei people?" We can't be praying mantis catching cicadas, and his yellow finch is behind. When necessary, Taxi's steppe cavalry battalion should take on the task of containing the Murwei people and create conditions for the main force to gather and annihilate the main Khitan force. ”

Chief of Staff Liu Yi hurriedly sent someone to give an order, and Hu Xiaosi also nodded and said: "Don't worry, according to the current situation, it should be that the people of Muwei learned about the relationship between Yelu Hanxiong and Wandan, and wanted to take advantage of the fire to rob the northern region of the Khitans, and basically had no intention of intervening in the battlefield." Moreover, the Huangtou Murwei people are sparsely populated, and they have been bullied by the Khitans all year round before, and this time it is estimated that they are robbing people and property. ”

"According to the pace of Chateauroux's march, the army should have reached the garrison of Banten by this afternoon at the latest. The Ninth Legion trailed behind and should have gone undetected. Yelu Hanxiong should also want to solve all the hidden dangers in a war, and ask for internal constraints within the tribe to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Hu Xiaosi analyzed.

In this way, it seems that this Yelu Hanxiong is really a heroic figure, and such a short incident can get rid of the pain of losing a child, and the current situation is analyzed so well. It seems that it cannot be underestimated. Hou Yong on the side nodded and smiled.

"Little Si, have you ever seen this Abaoji when you were in the north? How can you listen to the meaning of the lord, this kid is more important than Yelu Hanxiong? Wu Huan was a little puzzled: "Even if Yelu Hanxiong cultivates him as an heir, he is just a smart and capable son at present, there is no need to be so sad, right?" ”

"How do I know? But Abaoji was able to control the most elite royal court guards in Khitan at the age of his teens, and his ability naturally has nothing to say, but I haven't understood the words of the lord, there may be something we don't know. Hu Xiaosi shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Forget it, no matter how powerful Abaoji is, he was shot by Xiaohu with an arrow, so don't discuss this matter." Chen Fan said: "Where is Tieliang's heavy cavalry battalion now?" Let him meet us tonight. If the battle of Yelu Hanxiong starts tomorrow, the heavy cavalry battalion in the middle is the main force. In addition, immediately inform the other participating troops, and immediately inform Tuoba Siji and Gao Siji in the rear, and get ready, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, you need to go into battle. ”

Chen Fan decided to ride a horse to the location of Tuoba Siji, Gao Siji, and Tahi. This battle to lock the ownership of the Youbei grassland began immediately. At this time, the northern Huangtou Murwei people also began to move. Yelu Hanxiong's worries became a fact, this tribe that had lost its support because the Khitans had defeated the Tunjas finally turned around and gathered their own tribal warriors, ready to take advantage of the fire to rob and vent all the anger they had suffered in the past two years. However, the Huangtou Murwei people did not want to intervene in the war between Yelu Hanxiong and Wandan, and their thoughts were the same as Hu Xiaosi's prediction, and they favored the northern people and livestock bordering the Khitan.

The wind was surging in the north, and Li Xuanqing, who was in Yingzhou, sighed faintly after receiving the news of Abaoji's death, handed the information to Qiaoxi, walked to the side, and looked at the Bohai Bay, which had begun to thaw, quietly distracted.

"This time, the history of the northern steppes has also been completely changed." Qiaoxi walked over and said softly: "Abaoji's death should cause a chain reaction, at least the Khitans have no possibility of rising." But I feel that history still has its inertia, maybe the Khitans are defeated by us, and the Hangs may rise and replace Abaoji. ”

"Perhaps, but it doesn't matter. Abaoji's death represents the disqualification of the elite generation of grassland people in this battle for the world, even according to the previous historical inertia, the grassland tribes will become vassals of the Central Plains Dynasty for hundreds of years to come. From this point of view, we can be regarded as ending the scene of secession in the late five dynasties, and removing one obstacle to reunification in advance. Li Xuanqing shook his head and said: "As for whether the people can rise or not, it doesn't matter, after defeating the Khitans, the Tiance Army has won the dominance of the grassland competition, and has also replaced the position of the Khitan in history. We can be regarded as completely stabilizing northern China. ”

"I didn't expect the end of an Abaoji to make the big brother see so many things." Qiaoxi pursed her lips and smiled.

"As our strength continues to grow, I am almost numb when I see the characters from previous history appear in front of me." Li Xuanqing smiled slightly: "I remember that a Tuoba Sigong made me feel novel before, but now it seems to be a fuss." ”

"Although these people can be called masterpieces, they are not enough to see in the pattern of the world. Big brother is actually much more powerful than them, so naturally he won't make a fuss because of these people. Qiaoxi was not so curious about these people, but laughed.

"Haha, Qiaoxi, why didn't I find out that you were so good at praising people before." Li Xuanqing also let go of the shock caused by Abaoji's death, and said with a smile: "Let's go, hundreds of boatmen dug up by Xu Xingxia from the south are here today, let's go and have a look." Yang Yi also mobilized a team of hundreds of people, ready to enter the factory to study. ”

"What do they have to see, I have already asked Brother Zhang to receive them. Qiaoxi has something I don't know what to do for the time being? Our navigation technology seems to be missing a short board? Qiaoxi didn't care about Xu Xingxia's group of boatmen, but frowned.

"Shortcoming? You mean navigation technology? Li Xuanqing thought carefully about the positioning and timing technology of sea navigation in the Tang Dynasty, and found that there seemed to be very few records, so he couldn't help but laugh and said: "Why don't I invent one?" ”

"Big brother is talking about transplanting Zheng He's positioning and timing technology to the West?" Qiaoxi nodded and said, "That's okay, it's not a big deal for those instruments to be imitated, but someone has to be able to use it." ”

"Qiaoxi, don't underestimate the ancients, the Tang and Song dynasties are actually the two dynasties with the best scientific and technological development, and the technology of the Zheng He era is actually the result of the development of these two dynasties. So let's make the equipment out and dial it, and basically there will be no problem. Li Xuanqing shook his head, for the Tang and Song dynasties of ancient science and technology, Li Xuanqing has nothing to say, this period is not only the peak of the development of ancient dynasties, but also the most glorious era of ancient science and technology development, and the accumulated technologies have benefited future generations for hundreds of years.

"Okay, since the eldest brother said yes, let's go and see how Brother Xu prepared himself." Qiaoxi thought about Li Xuanqing's words, nodded and said with a smile: "If their technical reserves are enough, let's put the technologies of the transoceanic star map and water compass on the big brother's naval warship." Then organize personnel improvements, and it should be about the same. I heard that the second brother Yin in Chang'an also began to prepare to open a private technical college to teach these physics, chemistry and mathematics knowledge. ”

"Don't worry, it seems that the history books used to say that during the Tang Dynasty, our merchants from Middle-earth had already sailed to India. It's okay, leave the star map across the ocean to the navy. Li Xuanqing pulled Qiaoxi and walked forward and said: "As for Yin Hongfeng, this kid's achievements in the future will not be worse than his brother's, and even surpassing." ”

"In this way, the big brother can be regarded as a science and technology leader." Qiaoxi smiled: "Let's go, Brother Xu has already seen us." It's strange that Fu Yao really came with the second brother Tianxiang. ”

"What's so strange about this, Fu Yao, this girl is already interested in Tianxiang, and I have already said it so bluntly, but Tianxiang, a stunned young man, has only reacted until now. But fortunately, I finally lived up to the beauty. Li Xuanqing smiled and walked up with Qiaoxi, but his eyes were instantly stunned, and even Qiaoxi next to him almost screamed, these people were surrounded by a strange-looking machine, but they could vaguely distinguish its function.

"My lord, this is a maritime positioning device transported from Guangzhou - the guide car and the seventy-two astrolabes." Xu Xingxia saw Li Xuanqing's surprised expression and thought that he was frightened by the machinery in front of him, so he hurriedly came over and explained.

However, these words had a different meaning in the ears of Li Xuanqing and Qiaoxi, and the next moment Li Xuanqing suddenly said loudly: "Xingxia, can these people who make equipment still be found?" ”

"Yes, this is the finished product of the Zhang family in Guangzhou." Xu Xingxia didn't understand for a while, so he had to reply with a sigh.

"Brother Xu, you immediately ask people to go to Guangzhou and invite them over. No matter what conditions they offer, don't hesitate to agree directly. Qiaoxi's voice trembled a little, he was discussing with Li Xuanqing just now to copy the Ocean Star Map, this guy suddenly appeared with mature technology, and it looked not much worse than the Ocean Star Map.

"If they don't agree, then just tie me up. This is one of the keys to whether you can successfully lead the ocean-going fleet to sea in the future. Li Xuanqing then said something that surprised everyone present. And it was this sentence that made Xu Xingxia no longer have the heart to stay in the shipyard, so he hurriedly took people to the south, and on the way, he met Xuan Yingwei's people and went straight to Guangzhou under the stars and nights.