Yelu Deguang fled northward, and Li Congjing and others did not chase deeply. After the gentlemen entered the grassland, Li Shaocheng led five thousand elite horsemen into the grassland, the wind was loud enough to shake the southern Khitan grassland, at this time, if it was not good, it would be collected, once the grassland departments took it seriously, Li Congjing could not deal with it calmly. On the night of the same day, Li Congjing gathered a large army and quickly returned south.

There was no big setback when he went south again, but he also found several Khitan armies cruising around, thinking that the movements of Junzidu and Li Shaocheng caused a backlash, and the large and small tribes on the grassland began to take the initiative to attack, because of the military intelligence department and a strict scout system, the army did not encounter danger.

Until entering the border line, it encountered a big trouble, a Khitan cavalry team of three or four thousand was lying on the road that the army must pass south, blocking the passage, and if the army went around, it would need to go around a large circle of several hundred miles. That day and night, Li Congjing used Du Qianshu's strategy to adopt the method of luring the snake out of the hole, and pretended to break through the Khitan camp in the middle of the night to attack the Khitan camp, and then pretended to be defeated and retreated, inducing the Khitan army to chase after him, causing its defense line to break, and the main force took the opportunity to break it, and the army successfully entered Tangjing.

The returning army entered the Tang realm from Danzhou, and then ordered the various troops on the border of Chen Bing to withdraw from the border line in turn and began to assemble. Li Congjing tossed in the grassland for nearly a month, and finally returned south, just when everyone thought that Li Congjing would definitely order the army to return to Youzhou, Li Congjing immediately came with a military order, which surprised everyone.

Shuai Order: The main force of the army pretended to return south to Youzhou, sent a partial division to march covertly, entered Yingzhou, and approached Pingzhou.

Pingzhou, originally under the jurisdiction of Youzhou, was the land of the Tang Dynasty, and was later seized by the Khitan. At the beginning, Lu Wenjin, the defense envoy of Xinzhou, killed Li Cunjun, the younger brother of Li Cunqing, when Li Cunqiao conscripted troops and the Liang Dynasty fought with Xin County, Lu Wenjin rebelled against Jin and defected to the Khitan, and was appointed by Abaoji to guard Pingzhou. This time, Li Congjing was going to attack Lu Wenjin.

The day before yesterday, Feng Dao, the envoy of the Khitan who went north as an envoy of the Tang Dynasty, and others also entered Danzhou at this time. Feng Dao was originally the palm of Hedong, after Li Cunqiao was called the emperor, the official worship of the Ministry of Rites, his person was known for his profound knowledge, quiet and peaceful temperament in the Tang Dynasty, when he was not confused, he was the upstart in the Tang Dynasty.

This time with Li Congjing to envoy the Khitan, Feng Dao's mood can be described as twists and turns, at the beginning he looked at Li Congjing when he inevitably valued his martial arts, did not think that he had literary ability, this time first experienced the west, and then suddenly turned to the south, on the way there were three battles, so that his heart jumped for many days. After entering Danzhou, Feng Dao intended to talk to Li Congjing, but when he went to visit Li Congjing's accommodation, he was told that Li Congjing was no longer here.

"I have only met with General Li today, and this is less than two envoys, and General Li has already gone elsewhere?" Feng Dao said to Lin Ying, who was guarding this place, outside the door.

Lin Ying said with a smile: "The military marshal has always acted vigorously and resolutely, if the squire is willing, it is not known whether the marshal will return two hours later." ”

Feng Dao is naturally unwilling to wait, in terms of value and status, he is one level higher than Li Congjing, although in this world at the moment, the martial arts are heavy and the literature is light, but the pride of the scholar will not change lightly at any time, although Feng Dao has the heart to meet, but he still said goodbye and returned.

The place where Li Congjing went was Furong Town, Qinglou.

When leaving the barracks, Li Congjing changed into regular clothes, he did not like luxury, advocating simplicity, at this time he was just wearing a brocade and green shirt, hanging jade pendants on his waist, and his hair was tied back at will, adding a bit of chic attitude to his heroic spirit. Followed by Ding Hei and a few other people, Li Congjing stepped into the threshold of the Qinglou and met the oncoming bustard.

Because Tao Yaoyao was not notified in advance, and the members of the Military Intelligence Department were not ordered to lead the way, Li Congjing had to find a hiding place for the Military Intelligence Department after entering the building. This is precisely his purpose, which is to inspect the details of the operations of the Military Intelligence Service.

After taking a turn in the lobby and looking left and right, Li Congjing set his eyes on the curtain leading to the backyard. Although Li Congjing's clothes are simple but not simple, first of all, the brocade clothes are not worn by ordinary people, and the only accessory on Li Congjing's body is the jade pendant on his waist, how is its material, the old bustard's eyes can be seen at a glance, and then look at Li Congjing's bearing, every move reveals the atmosphere and ability, so that the old bustard believes that the young man in front of him is not simple. This is also the reason why Li Congjing didn't say a word, and the old bustard was willing to laugh and follow on the side and keep making noise.

But when the old bustard saw that Li Congjing intended to go to the backyard, she still resolutely chose to stop her, "This son, there are beautiful scenery everywhere in the Qinglou, and he will definitely be able to satisfy the son's romance, but there is nothing in this backyard, and the son does not need to go further." ”

Li Congjing smiled at the bustard and reached out to lift the curtain.

The old bustard changed color and hurriedly grabbed Li Congjing's hand. She originally intended to think about Li Congjing, but she never expected that her move had already crossed the line, Ding Hei and the others paused, and he even reached out with one hand and intercepted the old bustard's hand in mid-air.

Ding Hei didn't have much strength this time, but he had the martial arts that had been refined into steel, and he was very capable of losing weight when he moved at will, and the old bustard's rouge face instantly turned red with pain.

Li Congjing signaled that Ding Hei didn't have to be like this, took out a piece of silver and handed it to the old bustard, and finally said, "Please make it convenient." ”

The old bustard didn't reach out to take the money, covered his hands and warned him, "The villain knows that the son is very human, and the son can't stop the villain if he wants to, but the villain still has to tell the son that the day before yesterday, the horse gang Xiaodao Ye entered this courtyard and never came to the Qinglou again!" She moved out the horse knife to ask Li Congjing to weigh her own weight.

Li Congjing smiled and bent into the backyard.

The old bustard sighed in his heart, his old face turned into a yellow lotus, and he barely kept up. She remembered that day after Ma Xiaodao entered the backyard, her head was bleeding in a moment, and she couldn't help but feel pity for Li Congjing, thinking: This young man was born so handsome, and his clothes were so neat, if he became a bloody head later, I don't know how pitiful it would be.

Li Congjing walked halfway to the road, and the door in the backyard creaked open, and the little lady in red, who was tantamount to impermanence in the eyes of the old bustard, revealed her pretty little face from the door.

The bustard couldn't bear to look at it anymore, she knew what was going to happen next. Unfortunately, she was wrong this time.

When the little lady in red saw the handsome boy in the eyes of the old bustard, her dark eyes were full of surprise, and then a happy smile rippled on her face, she rushed out of the small courtyard to the young man, but did not swing a punch to knock the other party away, but bowed down in front of the other party in a proper manner, and saluted meekly and respectfully, "The fifth time I have seen the military marshal!" ”

Li Congjing smiled and pulled the fifth up and patted her little face, "I'm fat again." ”

The fifth girl was suddenly embarrassed and at a loss, and forced herself to defend: "There is no such thing, it's still so thin!" ”

After speaking, the fifth girl saw the old bustard standing there with a shocked appearance that was about to die, waved her hand and said, "Auntie, go back." ”

The old bustard nodded dumbly and moved out of the backyard in despair.

In the house, Li Congjing saw Tao Xiaoxiao. Different from the fifth cheer, Tao Yaoyao looked calm and calm, looked up at Li Congjing after the case, didn't even get up, after Li Congjing sat down, he simply asked, "Where do you want to fight this time?" ”

"Pingzhou."

Tao Yaoyao nodded "um", and then didn't follow, and continued to look at the information in hand.

Li Congjing took the fifth tea bowl and took a sip of tea, "You walk with me." ”

Tao Yaoyao finished reading the line report at hand, put it away casually, and said to the fifth girl standing aside, "Clean up your things." ”

When Li Congjing led the military intelligence department to evacuate Furong Town, the town general of Furong Town was notified by the personnel of the military intelligence department, and when the town general hurriedly wanted to go out to see him off, Li Congjing had already arrived at the gate of the barracks. Seeing Li Congjing's figure, the town general Ma Huaiyuan was extremely excited, and he was at a loss after the military salute, like a child facing the teacher.

Li Congjing walked into the barracks and glanced at the military man who respectfully followed beside him. Now Ma Huaiyuan, who is in the prime of life, has been in the army for more than ten years, and has made many meritorious contributions in his military career, that is, Li Cunshen has been rewarded, and after being promoted to a middle and low-level general, he is like a fish in water, and often leads his corporal to take the initiative to attack when the Khitan enters.

However, although Ma Huaiyuan is a good hand in war, he is worthless when it comes to being an official, and he does not flatter and stammers to the peak, and he is even more sideways and cold-eyed when discussing the military, so he offends people a lot. When Yelu Abaoji led the army to invade the south a few years ago, Ma Huaiyuan, who was already a captain at the time, led two hundred cavalry to take the initiative to attack one of his rangers, which was a steady and steady battle, but because the Danzhou Assassin did not cooperate and did not send reinforcements to respond in time, Ma Huaiyuan and his troops were pursued by the Khitan brigade on the way to retreat. After that, it goes without saying that the two hundred horsemen were surrounded several times, and when Ma Huaiyuan returned to Danzhou with injuries, only thirty-eight horsemen were left of the two hundred horsemen, and three of them were seriously injured and died, and they swallowed their breath in front of the city of Danzhou.

After that time, Ma Huaiyuan was demoted to a groom and fed the horses for nearly a year. This time, Li Congjing served as the defense envoy of the Tang Dynasty, and will hand over to Li Cunzhen in the future to serve as the envoy of Lu Longjie, and his understanding of the border army has already entered the wood when he was still in Daliang. When going north, because the Military Intelligence Department wanted to set up its headquarters in Furong Town, Li Congjing ordered Ma Huaiyuan's general, released him from the stable, and took more than 100 people out of Furong Town.

Li Congjing chuckled and said: "Captain Ma has been in the army for 16 years - he has experienced countless large and small wars, and he has made meritorious contributions to the border army, and has been cold by the Khitan. If you talk about qualifications, Ben Shuai is still a junior, and Captain Ma does not have to be restrained. ”

Ma Huaiyuan rubbed his hands and said: "How degrading is the military marshal's words, the military exploits of the military for more than ten years are not as good as the military marshal's victory in the first war, how can the military marshal be presumptuous in front of him?" Don't hide it from the commander, since I heard that you were the defense envoy of the clouds, who in the border army doesn't give a thumbs up? The brothers all said that with a military commander sitting in Youyun, the Khitan barbarians will not be able to set foot in Youyun in the future! ”

Ma Huaiyuan was followed by a young general, with a beard on his face, a scarred face, his eyes were as bright as a lamp, and his body was as hard as iron. He heard and witnessed Ma Huaiyuan's words and deeds, and he was unwilling to humiliate himself, so angry that the corners of his mouth twitched.

After entering the barracks, he saw dozens of soldiers practicing in the school field, sweating like rain, and his appearance was vigorous.

Seeing that Li Congjing stopped and observed the soldiers' drills with great interest, Ma Huaiyuan immediately stepped forward and said with a smile: "The marshal didn't have time to rest for a while when he entered the camp, so he inspected the soldiers' drills, and admired his humble duties!" Up and down, the brave heart of the military commander will inspire us and other Youyun soldiers! ”

Li Congjing left the school and walked to Ma Huaiyuan's office, and said on the way: "I heard that Captain Ma is upright and resolute, never flattering, and now he has learned such sycophancy?" ”

Ma Huaiyuan was choked and couldn't speak, the young general next to him took a step forward angrily, and was about to speak, but Ma Huaiyuan pulled him back, glared at him, and after the other party was reined in, he said to Li Congjing with a smile on his face: "The military commander is wise, and the humble position is all true, when today, who doesn't know the power of the military commander and the famous general, and the name of the hundred battles of the army?" The age of the military marshal and the crown shocked the world, and there were few people like the military marshal in the world at that time! ”

Entering Ma Huaiyuan's military tent, Li Congjing sat down in the general's seat, and said to Ma Huaiyuan, who was standing in the hall: "Ben Shuai arrived in Furong Town for less than a day, first saw the city fortifications repaired, and then saw that the city was in order. Captain Ma, how can you use your flattery to be so handsome? Although you are flattering and humble, but you are handsome, but there is no whole battalion of soldiers lined up to read, this is not that you don't know what you should do, but you don't want to be so, so flattering is that people like me who don't like this can still see through, if you really want to flatter, kung fu has to be practiced for a few more years. ”

Ma Huaiyuan was both happy and surprised when he said this, and he didn't know what Li Congjing wanted.

"Captain Ma, the reason why the Japanese marshal exempted you from the crime of being a horseman and ordered you to lead the army out of Furong Town, what I want to see is not a third-rate flattery like you." Li Congjing looked at Ma Huaiyuan, "Do you know what this handsome means?" ”

Ma Huaiyuan and the young generals beside him were both shocked, "Is it the military commander who promoted him to the rank of general of Furong Town?" ”

Li Congjing said indifferently: "Xi is the defense envoy of the Tang Dynasty, and the selection of talents is a matter of the job, and the border army needs people who dare to fight and fight to fight the thieves, and the clouds can block the Khitan barbarians from going south and protect the peace of the people." Captain Ma, Ben Shuai's patrol today has ended, and this is the end of what I said, I hope you don't let Ben Shuai down. ”

Before Li Congjing left the camp, dozens of sergeants who had been practicing in the school field and "turned a blind eye" to him were lined up in a strict formation, and they saluted neatly as Ma Huaiyuan gave an order.

Ma Huaiyuan said abruptly: "The thirty-eight cavalry who survived the attack of two hundred horsemen that day were all in this camp, and they were all soldiers brought out by the lowly position, and they had the same stinky temper as the lowly position. They were also uncomfortable when they fed the horses, and they didn't know that they were promoted by the military commander before, and they originally wanted to take them to live well in this life...... There were two hundred elite horsemen that day, all of whom were brave and brave warriors, and none of them could be ten with one, and the youngest of them was only fifteen years old...... It's humiliation that can't stand them! ”

Li Congjing returned the salute to the soldiers and said in a deep voice: "You are all warriors of Datang, you are the backbone of Datang, and Datang can stand tall because of you!" Ben Shuai can't guarantee whether you will be alive in the future, but even if you die, Ben Shuai will let you die to the sky! ”

Dozens of sergeants were moved, and they all punched their chests and said in unison: "I am willing to die with the commander!" ”

When leaving Yuanmen, Li Congjing saw Ma Huaiyuan and stopped, and asked him if he had anything to say, Ma Huaiyuan asked with hot eyes and embarrassment: "Is the battle of Hulukou from the handiwork of the military marshal?" This time, the military commander went north to the Khitan, did he use troops against the Khitan? ”

Li Congjing smiled, left a word, and left Furong Town.

It wasn't until Li Congjing's back disappeared from the end of sight that the young general next to Ma Huaiyuan poked him with his elbow, "Big cousin, 'You should be like this soon', what does the military marshal mean by this?" ”

Ma Huaiyuan slapped him on the head, "Ma Xiaodao, this kind of thing is not something you rookie can ask, go back and practice for me!" ”

Ma Xiaodao hugged his head and muttered and trotted away, and when he looked back, he saw Ma Huaiyuan staying in place and smiling very happily, like a child.