Xu Wei listened, he was really happier than being crowned the king of the county, and after a few strides out of the desk, he said with joy with his eyebrows: "Xiliang Mansion is an important town in the west of the river, and I always thought that if I wanted to take Xiliang, it would be indispensable to fight viciously for days. Unexpectedly, your father was so fast! De Xiliang, the Western Army has horses! ”

Seeing his praise, Yao* was also happy in his heart, and nodded vigorously: "My father sent a lowly official to see the privy minister, one is to report success, and the other is to ask for instructions, what should I do next?" Xu Wei shook his hand, raised his head and thought about it: "First of all, it is to be stable, and it is necessary to properly deal with the demotion of troops and generals; Secondly, it is to appease the surrounding people, and it is strictly forbidden for soldiers to loot and slaughter, and those who violate this order will be punished with capital punishment! But if your father is permissive, I will take him and ask, "Again, even horses, your father should know what to do." ”

Yao Fu saw Xu Wei smiling at first, he was already relaxed, but now seeing that he was serious, his heart jumped again, and he hurriedly said: "When I go back, I will definitely convey the decree of the Privy Council to my father." Zhang Qing saw him as a "privy minister" and reminded: "The Son of Heaven has been canonized as the king of Tianshui County, and he can no longer be called a privy minister." ”

Yao was stunned for a moment, bowed his head and hugged his fists and said, "I don't know if I am humble." ”

Xu Wei waved his hand, didn't mind at all, and said in a softened tone: "You go back and tell your father and the generals in the army that this time you have captured Xiliang and made a great achievement, and the Xuanfu Disposal Division will definitely reward you as usual after the official battle report is submitted." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yao annoyed goodbye.

"Well, there's one more thing." , Xu Wei is colorful. "If the Khitan army takes Ganzhou and arrives at the boundary of Xiliangfu, and asks your father to receive him, he must not be reckless or lose his prestige, understand?" Of course, Yao Fu didn't understand, but he conveyed the original words to him, so he nodded desperately and said, "The humble position has been recorded."

"Very good, you go" let your father and uncle do things with their hearts. After Yao ......Pingzhong seized Xiliang Mansion, he followed Xu Wei's instructions to "properly place the troops and generals, and sent the generals to appease the Xiliang Zhuyi." Most of the residents living in the area of Xiliangfu are former Liangzhou Tubo, but there are also some other ethnic groups. After the fall of Xiliang Mansion, there were still many tribes who pulled teams to reinforce, but they were all defeated by the Xihe army. These people saw that the Western Army was menacing, and they took Xiliangfu City in one fell swoop, so when the appeasement envoys arrived, most of them expressed their obedience and allegiance to the Great Song Dynasty. A small number of people resisted stubbornly, and Xiao Taiwei also sent Yi Shenglong's people to persuade them, but if they couldn't do it, they would be destroyed in one fell swoop.

But Xu Wei "is not allowed to loot and slaughter", this article, in general, the Xihe army is implemented, but to completely eradicate it, it is impossible. The Western Army was most famous for two things back then: "one is good fighting, and the other is savagery." In the past, it was a square La, and the imperial court transferred this group of arrogant soldiers from the west to the south, although Fang La was finally destroyed, but the people were also harmed. The bad military discipline of the "can be seen." Although Xu Wei made many efforts after taking charge of the Western Army, it was not easy to fundamentally eliminate this tradition.

As soon as the Xihe army entered the city, they looted on a large scale, and Yao Pingzhong knew about it, but did not stop it. It wasn't until his son Yao Fu came back and relayed Xu Wei's reiterated order that he ordered the officers to restrain the soldiers and not to kill indiscriminately.

As for finding a horse, "he is as active as Xu Wei." Liangzhou was originally a horse-producing land, and after the little captain took Xiliang Mansion, "the soldiers grabbed horses everywhere, and in three days" got 4,000 horses. This is also the reason why some Yi people rebelled, and later Xu Wei's strict order came, Yao Pingzhong reluctantly issued an order, all horses that were not captured from the battlefield, whoever robbed them, they would be returned to whoever was robbed.

On this day, the little captain was in the official office in Xiliang City, dealing with some aftermath matters. In fact, it was the people below who reported it, and he just signed it. For example, how many accounts of the people have been appeased, and which tribes have surrendered.

"Big brother!" , Yao Bilong stepped into the hall and shouted like thunder. When Yao Pingzhong was a child, his parents died, and he was raised by his father Yao Gu, and Yao Bilong was Yao Gu's own child, but Pingzhong grew up with him since he was a child, so there is no difference between him and flesh and blood.

"Why?" The little lieutenant threw away the pen and asked.

"How did the brothers get the horses back? A few thousand horses, that's not a small number! Yao Bilong said as he untied his saber.

"There's no way, this is Xu Shumi, no, now I have to be called King Xujun. This is the order of King Xu Jun, looting and slaughtering are strictly prohibited, and those who violate it will be executed, and if the commander connives, it will also be strictly investigated, including me. Yao Pingzhong said in a deep voice.

Yao Bilong listened, smacked his lips twice, and there was nothing to say. Not to mention the high prestige of the Purple Gold Tiger in the Western Army, nor to say that he has the grace to rebuild the Xihe Army. There is only one article, he is now in charge of the Western Army, and he has the right to dispose of the Western Army from the commander to the sergeant, who dares to make a mistake? Moreover, he himself has a male soldier in his hands, and he is also in charge of money and food, who is impatient to live and dare to brush his tiger beard?

"The western army is short of horses, and now that it has been returned, what should it do? Take money to buy? Take tea for it? Yao Bilong asked, tugging at his beard.

"That's all you have, now you have Xiliang, this radius of hundreds of miles is rich in water and grass, it is an excellent pasture, you have to buy it, but we have this treasure land, won't we raise war horses by ourselves?" , Yao Pingzhong glanced at his brother.

Yao Bilong thought about it and said with great joy: "Brother Ji, you are stable this time!" "How do you say that? Yao Pingzhong didn't know what to do.

"Taking Xiliang has enabled the Western Army to have a horse-producing land, which has been dreamed of by the imperial court for a hundred and ten years, isn't this a great achievement? King Xu Jun is now the king, how can the eldest brother have to be crowned a captain, right? This time, my brother is a veritable captain! Yao Bilong said with a smile on his face.

Yao Pingzhong couldn't help but want to smile, but he still said, "Thinking about good things, how can Taiwei do it so easily?" In the past, if he was not the chief of the three ya, he was not awarded the rank of lieutenant. Later, Song Jin went to war, and those who led troops outside could also be promoted to lieutenant. But I have just made the festival envoy, and it has to be done for a long time before the inspector can add the inspector, and the inspector has to complete the inspection of the school major security, the inspection of the school master, and the inspection of the school major in turn, before he can worship the captain, early. ”

Yao Bilong said disapprerovingly: "King Xu Jun is very eager to see his brother, he has made a great contribution this time, plus the credit of Jisang City in Renduoquan City in the past, he will inevitably be promoted." ”

Yao Pingzhong smiled and said nothing, although he knew that Taiwei was still some way away, but with his merits and his relationship with King Xu Jun, he would definitely be promoted to school officer. As long as you become a "major inspector", just wait for the captain. At that time, the "little captain" who has been called for decades will become a real captain.

As the two brothers spoke, they rushed into the hall in a rage. When Yao Pingzhong saw it, he shouted: "What's the alarm! ”

"Handsome! Out of nowhere, a gang of strongmen appeared "to grab horses in the west!" I was bumped into by my patrol officers and soldiers, and the other side was overwhelming, and the brothers did not dare to move lightly! The officer gasped.

Yao Pingzhong was immediately furious! "Death!" Dare to grab a horse under the nose of Ben Shuai! "At this time, presumably this gang of strongmen has already run away! ", the officer said loudly.

"Run? Can you run? Yao Bilong! ", the little lieutenant shouted.

"Humble duty!" Yao Bilong put on the knife neatly.

"You lead two thousand horsemen, hurry up and chase me! They can't run much faster with their horses! Once you catch up, don't ask the reason, kill me cleanly! Otherwise, "these birds don't know how powerful the Western Army is!" ", the little lieutenant said sharply.

Yao Bilong didn't say much, grabbed the knife and rushed out of the hall. Rushed to the barracks outside the city, ordered 2,000 cavalry, and under the guidance of the officer, quickly pursued to the west. The Xihe army won the battle, and its morale was booming, and when they heard that someone was robbing horses, it was really more angry than being played by their mother-in-law and aunt "beating the child." Two thousand horsemen rode to the west.

After chasing fifty or sixty miles, he disappeared, and asked the Tibetan herdsmen, and they all said that they had run west, "not long gone." When Yao Bilong heard this, he led the army to chase after him! has been chasing for more than 100 miles, and finally caught up by them!

"The first thing that catches my eye is a large group of galloping horses!" See, the eyes of the people! If you look closely, there are knights on both sides of the herd. Because the distance is relatively far, he can't really see what he wears, and Yao Bilong doesn't care about this, so he gallops wildly, and after a while, he takes off the bow and arrow from the saddle. His cavalry was like him: "The knights have bows and arrows in their hands, and they are ready to shoot!"

The men in front apparently spotted the pursuers behind, and "they turned their horses around and gathered to the rear." After a while, the formation was already formed, and it was obvious that they were well-trained cavalrymen, not horse thieves.

Yao Bilong saw it in his eyes and felt strange, could it be Xia Jun? Regardless of him, it's better to be Xia Jun!

Seeing that the two sides were about to merge, at this moment, Yao Bilong's side suddenly shouted: "The commander is a Khitan?" Yao Bilong didn't hear clearly, and the man shouted again: "I'm afraid it's a Khitan!" Khitans! Yao Bilong finally understood, his heart was shocked, and without thinking, he raised the spear in his hand, signaling the troops to slow down and transfer while the other party was also waiting to be impacted, and when he saw the pursuers turning, he also did not move.

After the troops stopped, Yao Bilong turned his head and asked the military envoy: "You say this is a Khitan?" ”

"It's possible! The herders also insisted that they had never seen these people and that they had come from the west. The envoy replied.

Yao Bilong was silent, if it was Xia Jun, or a horse thief or something, it would not be a matter to kill him cleanly. If it was a Khitan, it would be different. King Xu Jun has been committed to Lianjin Tuxia to attack Jin, and I heard that the Khitans have conquered the three prefectures of Sha, Gua and Su, and are besieging Ganzhou, which is only a few hundred miles away from Xiliangfu. If you fight with the Khitan army, I'm afraid it won't be good. As soon as I thought about it, I felt that it was better to ask first and then do it.

"Go to someone, ask where you came from!" , Yao degraded Zhuma shouted.

The envoy of the horse army who reminded him answered and rode forward. There are 2,000 horsemen left, still lined up in an attack formation, ready to charge at any time!

When the other party saw that he had sent someone, he also sent a horse to meet him.

The two stopped less than ten paces apart, and the military envoy took a closer look and felt that the other party seemed to be a member of the party. Look at the robes you wear, the shiny heads, and the braids around your ears. Seeing this, he shouted, "Where are you waiting to fight?" How dare you rob my horse? The other party replied, but this military envoy heard the clouds and mountains and fog, like a book from heaven! His brows furrowed, and he shouted, "What do you say?" ”

The other party said another word, but he still didn't understand, and the military envoy thought to himself, could it be that he was talking nonsense? Because Xihe Road is located on the border, some of the officers and soldiers in the army know a little bit of Tubo and Dangxiang, and the military envoy is a Tubo, so he is sure that what the other party is saying is not Tubo, and it doesn't seem to be Dangxiang, so he really let himself guess right?

But he didn't understand the Khitan language, and when he was in trouble, the other party sent a few people to ask questions in turn. The envoy was as puzzled as he was by the birds, until a man asked in Chinese with a local accent: "Whose army are you?" ”

Although his accent was different from Shaanxi, he could still understand it, and the military envoy immediately replied: "We are the troops of the Great Song Sichuan Shaanxi Pacification Division, and the Xihe Jingluo Pacification Division!" Who are you? Dare to grab the horses! ”

What made him wonder was that he could understand the other party's Chinese with a foreign accent, but he could not understand his Chinese with a Tibetan accent. After a long time of hard explanation, the other party finally said, "Xihe? Are you the Western Army? ”

"Don't fucking talk nonsense" Where did you come from? "The envoy was a little impatient.

"We are the soldiers and horses of the Emperor of Tianzhi." The other party replied in a loud voice.

"I only know that my Zhao Guanjia is the emperor, there is an emperor in the Jurchens in the north, and there is also an emperor in the party, where is there an emperor of Tianzhi?" The envoy said loudly.

Seeing him say this, the other party was a little angry, and said angrily: "We are the Great Liao Army Cavalry!" ”

"Da Liao? Are you really a Khitan army? The envoy changed color.

"Of course! Let me ask you, how to lead the army to chase? The Chinese-speaking knight asked.

"Let me ask you first, how dare you snatch horses? This Xiliang Mansion is already the territory of my Great Song Dynasty" Hugh said that cattle and horses are grass and trees, and they are also owned by the Great Song Dynasty! The military envoy probably hasn't read either, but this sentence is quite decent.

The other party did not answer, but muttered something to his companion in an incomprehensible bird language, and after a while, he said to the military envoy, "Wait a minute. After finishing speaking, he and his companions went back on horseback.

When the military envoy saw it, he also turned his horse's head and ran back to the front of the battle. Yao Bilong split his head and asked, "Who is it?" ”

"It's really a Khitan!" The envoy replied. Yao Bilong lowered his instrument and frowned: "Since he is a Khitan, it is not good to fight him." In this way, return the horse, and we won't talk about it! ”

"Look at them only a few hundred horses, nine out of ten!" The envoy reminded. Yao Bilong nodded, didn't speak, he stared behind the military envoy, and pouted, "Here you go again, let's go." ”

The military envoy rushed back to his original position, this time the other party only had the one who could speak Chinese, and when they met, they would first give their hands to each other, but they knew some etiquette, and said loudly: "Our commander said, this Eastern Crusade" was originally to join forces with the Southern Dynasties to deal with the Jurchens, how could they fight each other? It's better for our two armies to go their own way. ”

"It's no problem" You have to go, our army will not stop you! But there is a "Horse to stay!" The envoy stressed loudly that he had to deliberately speak more slowly in order for the other party to understand.

"This..."Our army has come all the way east, and there is quite a bit of attrition, so we will recruit some horses for military use, and you will go back and report to the commander." The other party replied.

"That's not going to work! We rulers don't have the right to give you horses! The envoy vetoed.

"Then whoever has the power will report it." The other party doesn't seem to have much patience anymore.

“。 Losh! Let me tell you, this matter has to be said by Xu Shumi of Xingyuan Mansion! If you have time, come with me to Xingyuan! "The military envoy is also a little angry.

"Where is Xingyuan? How many distances are there? The other party really asked.

"Xingyuan is not far away, ten or twenty days away." The envoy sneered.

The other party was angry, and raised an iron gun in his hand: "Are you entertaining me?" ”

The military envoy was furious, quickly pulled up his longbow, and wound his arrows: "What about your pastime?" The horses stay, the people go! Otherwise, look behind me for yourself! ”

The man glanced behind him, and there were two thousand elite horsemen, arrayed and ready to attack at any time. And they only have more than 200 riders, and the difference in strength is too great. Moreover, if you clash with the Song army, it is not easy to explain when you go back, and this trip will also cross the line.

Thinking of this, he ignored the military envoy, turned around and left, and when the military envoy saw it, he thought that he was going to fight, so he ran back to the front of the battle. Yao Bilong listened to the words and scolded: "Damn! I just hope that you will join forces to attack gold, and now you will be the first to be strongmen! Brethren, prepare to meet the enemy! Kill him cleanly, and King Xu Jun will not be guilty! ”

"Yes!" The knights shouted.

As a result, strange things happened at this time. Hundreds of horsemen scattered and ran westward, and did not drive the horses any longer. After a while, it disappeared without a trace. Yao Bilong snorted coldly: "Count them elves!" Immediately, he ordered the horses to be driven back, and when they were counted, there were more than 800 horses.

Returned to Xiliang City and reported the matter to Pingzhong in detail, Xiao Taiwei listened to it and judged that since the Liao army had appeared near Xiliangfu, it meant that the Khitans had taken Ganzhou! Soon to Xiliang!

Although the two countries joined forces, looking at the behavior of the Khitans today, he still had to guard against this idea, and based on this idea, he ordered the troops to strengthen their vigilance, especially to send more sentry cavalry out to reconnoitre, and pay close attention to the movements of the Khitans. Yao Pingzhong did not expect badly, at this time, the Liao army had indeed captured Ganzhou. The Liao army that came to snatch the horses today was a unit sent to appease the various departments, and they were still some distance away from Xiliang, but because they wanted to rob the supplies, they went deep into the territory of Xiliang Mansion.

The Liao army captured the four prefectures of Gan, Su, Gua, and Sha, and the Song army captured Xiliangfu, marking the loss of control of the Hexi Corridor in Western Xia. The land that the party members now possess is just a piece of great desert, and the land and city near the national capital Xingqing Mansion have been surrounded on three sides!

If there is no strong intervention by foreign aid, then the strength of the party members alone may not be able to resist the offensive of the Song and Liao armies. The Hexi Corridor in the west is completely lost, the danger of Hengshan in the south no longer exists, and there is the Xiao Heda rebellion in the east, which can be described as internal and external troubles, and the period of its demise may not be far away!!