The harbor that Li Buqi named Lushunkou is now very lively, and many houses have been built on the hills and woods around the bay, and a town has begun to take shape. There were many boats parked in the harbor, and the sturdy men either tied up the timber that drifted down the river into the bay, or unloaded the goods from the big ships and loaded them onto small boats. The women watched around the house as the children tended to the land or did laundry and cooking, creating a peaceful scene.

Since Tao Lin killed the Liao State Naval Division, the maritime merchant forces who participated in the war still went to do their old jobs, but the coastal strongmen who were incorporated had nowhere to go, and the imperial court still did not want to pay for the establishment of the Naval Division, and after Tao Lin promised to give these strongmen a way out, most of them expressed their willingness to follow Tao Lin. At this time, the overseas foothold that Tao Lin asked the emperor for played a role, and the strong people also knew that it was inconvenient to continue to live in the Great Song Dynasty, so they followed Tao Lin to this Lushunkou station.

The geographical location and natural resources of Lushun Kou are unique to these people who operate all kinds of business and theft. If you want to go to the coast of Liao to plunder and trade, it is nearly a hundred miles away from Shamen Island; To the east, you can go to the mouth of the Yalu River, and even take a small boat to go straight into the Yalu River to trade with the local Bohai people and Jurchens; There are big trees to be harvested in this Lushunkou, and the Suzhou government of the Liao State has profited from the big wood trade, even when the Liao State and the Great Song Dynasty are inseparable, they are also careful to protect this financial source, as long as Tao Lin pays taxes to them, they will completely turn a blind eye to the increasing situation of the Song people in Lushunkou, and sell the big wood cut down by the people and the furs and mountain goods obtained by collecting taxes to the Song people as usual.

In recent years, the Great Song Dynasty has been financially tight, and there are many harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and the people can't get by, but there are police who are going around to suppress it, and some strongmen in Shandong, Hebei and even Shaanxi who can't get by are also attracted here. According to the census of the population this spring, in addition to the indigenous Bohai tribe, the population that moved in from the Great Song Dynasty has reached 12,000, and most of them are light and strong. With the population, the Taolin has the manpower to cultivate. Over the past few years, the trees around the harbor have been almost cut down, and a lot of open space has been cleared and crops have been planted.

The local Bohai tribe followed these migrated Song people to learn to farm, got rid of the fishing and hunting life, and because of the help of the Song people to buy horses and sell goods, they had more wealth, even if they were oppressed and extorted by the government, their lives were many times stronger than before, attracting two small tribes and many fugitives to come to defect, and because the doctors among the Song people greatly reduced the infant mortality rate, the population has also been greatly expanded. After the strength grew, Maibuku annexed the three nearby tribes that had always been against each other, and the Liao government also turned a blind eye because of Maibuku's contribution to filial piety, and now Maibuku's tribe has reached 5,000 people. Therefore, although the population of this place has increased greatly, because of the abundant resources, the Bohai people and the Han people get along well, and there is some interdependence.

At this time, the wheat has turned yellow, but the soybeans are growing gratifyingly, the sorghum is also swaying with the wind with its heavy head, and there are occasionally a few vegetable fields in the wheat fields, sorghum fields and bean fields, flashing with the figure of hard work.

The sound of horses' hooves made the busy people stand up and look over, and saw two sturdy knights dressed as Bohai tribesmen and six horses running out of the path, bypassing the sheep that were being driven by the children, until they reached a big house in the middle of the town, turned over and dismounted, threw the reins of the horses to a half-grown boy who had heard an errand who met them, and then ran into the big house in three steps and two steps.

This mansion is the center of Lushun Town, where Tao Lin and Bohai Chief Maibuku work together. Because there were few people, everything was simple, and there was no cumbersome etiquette, the two Bohai men ran to the door and shouted: "Khan, it's not good!" Oh no! The Khitan dog lied to us! ”

Tao Lin and Maibuku, who were in the house, both turned their heads to look at the door, and when they saw the two of them, Maibuku turned over and got off the kang to meet them and asked, "Tuligai, Abda, why have you come back?" What happened? ”

Tuligai was the first to say loudly: "The Khitan dog has deceived us!" They're about to send troops against us! ”

Mabuku's face turned pale, and he asked, "What the hell is going on?" Explain it carefully. What about Uncle Amin? Why didn't you come back? ”

Tu Li Gai was very excited, almost dancing: "The Khitan dog said that we give gifts to the new thorn history, and the new thorn history will treat us like the original thorn history and actually paralyze us." The Bohai people, who were working as miscellaneous servants in the government, heard the Khitan dog whispering that they were gathering troops and were ready to kill our tribe and the Song people before the arrival of the new assassin history, and then said that our tribe deceived the government and colluded with the Song people, and they didn't know anything about the things here, and all the blame was borne by our tribe. ”

"We saw in Suzhou that the Khitans were indeed preparing for war. The Bohai people in the government also said that the government had ordered the surrounding tribes to send troops to follow them to attack our tribe. When Grandpa heard the news, he sent us back to report the news. Grandpa said that everyone can't come back, which will make the Khitan dog suspicious. ”

Maibuku's face was already gloomy and almost dripping, and he stood silently in place for a long time before he turned to Tao Lin, who was already standing behind him, and asked, "Brother Tao, do you think this matter is credible?" ”

Tao Lin was secretly grateful to this Khitan assassin for pushing thousands of Bohai people to his side, but his face was silent. As for Maibuku asking him if the information brought by Tuligai was credible, he chose to believe this information without hesitation - there is nothing new in the world, and the officials of the Great Song Dynasty can burn down the official offices and warehouses in order to cope with the audit, so what is the matter of killing a few people in order to cover up their collusion with the Song people for money?

He said calmly: "For so many years, due to the acquiescence of the Liao State Thorn History, tens of thousands of trees and thousands of horses have been transported from here to the Great Song Dynasty, hundreds of thousands of pieces of wealth have been sold to various places in the Great Liao from here, tens of thousands of pieces of money have been given to Khitan officials, and so many Liao people have cut wood for the government. Therefore, what we are doing here is already something that everyone in Suzhou knows, and it is impossible to hide it if you want to. The Liao State sent a new assassin history, and it was easy to learn about it, as long as he reported it to the Liao Emperor, the entire government in Suzhou would be punished. I heard that this new assassin sent by the Liao State is not the same as the current assassin history, and the new assassin history will not necessarily let go of this credit. ”

"If there had been no war between the Liao State and the Great Song Dynasty in the past few years, it might not be a big deal for us to do business here, but the Liao State and the Great Song Dynasty fought two battles and lost both. In this way, the emperor of the Liao State must have hated us Song people to death, if he learned that the officials in Suzhou tolerated so many Song people, maybe how many heads would be cut off, could the Khitan officials in Suzhou not be afraid? Since the matter cannot be hidden, the best thing to do is to find a scapegoat. Moreover, over the years, my brother's tribe has gained some wealth, and we have a large amount of goods stored here, and the Khitans can make a fortune if they kill us. My brother said, "Why don't they stabilize us and then kill them quietly?" ”

Mabuku wasn't stupid, but the stakes were high, and he was just a bit of a fluke. Tao Lin was reasonable, and after dispelling the last bit of luck on Mabuku, he finally made up his mind to deal with the situation in front of him. After thinking for a long time, he asked tentatively, "Brother Tao, is your ship enough to transport everyone here?" ”

Tao Lin made a solemn look: "Brother, this method is not good. It is to be able to take away all the people of the tribe, so many people, without cattle, sheep and livestock, where will they live? ”

Mabuku actually understood this truth, he knew that the ownerless lands in the world were all in remote places, and their tribe lost the land under their feet, but they were afraid that they would either starve to death or be swallowed up. However, he was really afraid of the overwhelming Khitan army.

The leaders of several tribes were attracted by the cries of Tuligai, and one of them said, "We can't just leave here and become slaves to others." ”

Seeing that Maibuku was silent, Tao Lin threw out his plan: "I also think that we can't just abandon such a good land and run away. Suzhou is a small state, there are not many soldiers and horses, although the tribes are dispatched by the government, but they must have different intentions, as long as we can defeat the Khitans in Suzhou in one fell swoop, other tribes will not dare to attack us. From here to Suzhou, there are mountains and forests, and the road is dangerous, but the same is true from Suzhou to Fuzhou. If the Liao army set out from Fuzhou, it would be difficult to receive grain and grass all the way. In addition, the mountains and forests hinder the Khitan cavalry, and the isthmus around Suzhou is not conducive to the cavalry maneuver, if we fight to the death, there may not be no chance of victory. ”