"Report to the general, the Tanda cavalry has been found under the mountain."

Cheng Keling had just finished his meal and before he could take a bite, an alarm came from the top of the mountain. Jiang Tao asked Zhang Jinbiao urgently: "Didn't you say that there are no Tanda people here?" ”

Zhang Jinbiao was also stunned, he is also a three-way realm, where did he come from? He threw down his job and rushed to the top of the mountain, where there was indeed a small group of cavalry moving.

"It's not the Tanda, it's the Khitan." Zhang Jinbiao panted and shouted down the mountain, in the past two years, the Murowei people and the Khitan people have been fighting year after year. The boundaries of these three regardless of today belong to the Khitans, and tomorrow they may be the Murwei people. Sometimes it's really hard to say.

"Shut down, silence!" Cheng Keling shouted violently, even if he shouted across a mountain, he didn't have to worry about being heard by the Khitan people on the other side of the mountain. The broth that had already been cooked was used as water to extinguish the fire, and the soldiers worked hard to extinguish the bonfire.

At this time, the sky was getting dark, and there was a mountain across the mountain, and the Khitan people should not be able to see the black smoke rising from the fire. It was already the tenth day of the pursuit of Li Shaoqing, and at this time it was thousands of miles away from Fengzhou, and hundreds of miles away from the nearest Tang Dynasty border village.

However, the movement on this side of the mountain still aroused the alarm of the Khitans, and the cavalry suddenly turned their horses and fled in the northwest direction.

"Get on the horse and kill them." Jiang Tao gave an order, and more than 50 horsemen of the pro-army team rushed out like arrows from the string. At this moment, the Khitans have escaped for three or five miles, although their horses are already a little tired, but the distance of three or five miles is not to say that they can catch up. The problem is that there is a small river running east-west five miles away, and it is not easy to cross the river by flowing water when it is close to the wax moon, and the weather in the north is cold.

When the Khitans reached the river, they did not cross the river, but turned their horses and attacked the Tang army that was chasing after them. The Khitans only had more than 30 horsemen, and Jiang Tao's personal army was 50 people, and the Tang army had the advantage in terms of strength; The Khitans came from afar, the men and horses were tired, the Tang army had just rested for a while, although the people had not eaten, but the horses had been fed, and the Tang army had another advantage; The Khitans were surrounded alone, and their morale was inevitably affected, and there were 400 reinforcements behind the pro-army, and their morale was high.

This was a battle without suspense, and after a quarter of an hour, there were only three living Khitans left among the more than thirty Khitans, who were deliberately left to interrogate. Cheng Keling, Jiang Tao and Zhang Jinbiao also rushed to the river at this time. Looking at the corpses of the Khitan people all over the ground, Cheng Keling said with a smile: "It is said that the Khitan iron horse is so powerful, I think it is sparse and ordinary, one person for six, the brothers did a good job!" Jiang Tao smiled and didn't answer, his own pro-soldier team was all experienced in battle, and he lost five people at once, and his heart hurt like digging meat.

Zhang Jinbiao carefully examined the two Khitan corpses, and his brows suddenly furrowed. After a nervous rummaging, he finally found a black iron ring on a young man's finger. Zhang Jinbiao took off the ring with trembling hands and showed it to Cheng Keling and Jiang Tao. Neither of them understood what they meant. Zhang Jinbiao said with a bitter face: "We are in a big disaster this time." This young man is the son of a certain Khitan leader, and if we shoot him, it is equivalent to the Khitan people forming a blood feud. Toyosu was never at peace again. ”

Cheng Keling and Jiang Tao also panicked when they heard this. The Khitan people are divided into eight parts: Diethorn, B Room, Pinbu, Ute, Wukui, Tupinbu, Pinprick, and Tuju. Now they are subordinate to the Uighur Khanate, but in the past ten years, their power has expanded dramatically by constantly annexing the surrounding weak tribes, and has seriously threatened the security of the northern frontier of the Tang Dynasty. The Khitans are known as 200,000 ironclads, and no one can be happy to provoke such a strong enemy.

Cheng Jiang and both of them had a feeling of impending disaster, and the two asked Zhang Jinbiao in unison: "Is there no way to crack it?" ”

Zhang Jinbiao shook his head indifferently: "The Khitan people have the custom of blood revenge, and the people who kill their people have always been blood debts. Moreover, it was their sons who were killed. This matter is uncrackable, uncrackable. Cheng Jiang and the others who said it were like falling into an ice cave, and they couldn't help but tremble.

At this time, Jiang Tao's pro-soldier team Zheng Huang Yiliang coughed lightly, and arched his hand and said, "Brother-in-law, I have something to say." Jiang Tao was overjoyed when he heard this, Huang Yiliang is his brother-in-law, he is meticulous and flexible, and he can often offer amazing plans.

"There is only Jiang Tongjun here, not your brother-in-law. What do you have to say? Jiang Tao said with a tiger face, what annoys him the most is that there is no distinction between public and private.

Huang Yiliang hurriedly changed his words: "Three adults, the injured prisoners have just been tried. The deceased was the eldest son of Jerusarad, the leader of the Dierabu Yili Sumire (chief), whose name was Jerushura. He married the daughter of the Tuju Ministry's Yili Sumire and Tuju Manlei. Ten days ago, the husband and wife had a quarrel with each other, and Uncle Yelu slapped his wife twice. In a fit of rage, his wife went back to her parents' house. Uncle Yelu was ordered by his father to go to the Ministry of Sudden Lifting to pick up his wife at this moment. Because I was in a hurry, I made a detour here. ”

Jiang Tao said impatiently: "What do you mean by saying so much? I don't care what he is and what Jeru...... People die in our hands, what can you do to prevent the Khitans from taking revenge? ”

Huang Yi said with a smile: "Brother-in-law, don't be impatient, I have a way." Jiang Tao coughed again when he heard this, and said with a cold face: "There is no brother-in-law here." Cheng Keling shouted: "When is it, you still care about this!" Turning his head and asking Huang Yiliang: "Don't mother-in-law, mother-in-law, what can you do, say it quickly." ”

Huang Yiliang said: "Among the eight major tribes of the Khitan, the Diera tribe is the strongest, and the Yaolin clan has long held the throne of the Khitan Khan, while the Yelu clan has held the military power of the Khitan. The other tribes have long complained about the two families, but the Yao Ran clan is so powerful that everyone is not convinced and does not dare to do anything with him. But the Yelu family was different, the Yao Ran clan was suspicious of them, and the other tribes did not obey them. The Sudden Lifting Department had fought two battles with the Yelu family, and each of them suffered more than 1,000 casualties. In order to stop the fighting, the two families became in-laws, but hatred is not something that can be forgotten. Yelu Shura and his wife of the Sudden Movement often quarreled and beat each other over old feuds. Both have even used knives. ”

Jiang Tao suddenly interrupted Huang Yiliang's words, "You mean, use the old feud between the two of them to set up a bureau, so that the two of them will be suspicious of each other, and even fight?" …… Wonderful, brother, he really deserves to be my good brother. Jiang Tao hugged Huang Yiliang and laughed.

"But what method will be used to convince Jerusarad that the man was killed by a sudden attack?" Cheng Keling asked puzzledly, "The ingenuity of this game can certainly let us get rid of it." But if they see through it, then there will be big trouble. At that time, not only the Diera Division, but I'm afraid that the Eight Khitan Divisions will come to us for trouble. ”

Huang Yiliang said confidently: "Cheng Tongjun doesn't have to worry, he has a plan for his humble position." As he spoke, he looked at the three Khitan captives in the distance out of the corner of his eye, and a confident smile appeared on his face.

Three days later, a caravan from Yunzhou found 30 corpses on the banks of the Qibiliang River, forty miles away from the Khitan Tuju Department, and one of the young man's body had his hand chopped off and his face removed. The caravan deduced from the clothing and weapons used by the people that the deceased was a member of the Dierabu.

In order to get rid of suspicion, the caravan reported the matter to the nearby Uighur supervisor stationed in the Khitan, asking him to prove his innocence, and the Uighur supervisor who had received the bribe sent his subordinates to rush to the Khitan Diera Department with the caravan.

Twenty days later, Cheng Keling, Jiang Tao, and Zhang Jinbiao led hundreds of remnants of soldiers to return from the shore of Julunbo. The east of Kulunbo is now controlled by the powerful Bohai State, and Li Shaoqing's family members have entered the Bohai Kingdom in advance to ask for help from the King of Bohai County. The king of Bohai County ordered the generals of Bian Town to ambush Cheng Ke's headquarters, and the strong infantry formation of the Bohai State made the Tang army suffer a big loss, and if it was not for the timely retreat, the entire army would have been annihilated.

A month later, Cheng Ke's troops disguised themselves as Han Chinese caravans and passed by the Qibiliang River. There are thousands of corpses on both sides of the river that no one has collected, half a month ago, the Diera Department of the Diera Tribe, 13,000 people from the Jianye Lu Sarad Clan, and the joint B Room, the Product Department, and the three departments of the Tunte Rebellion 20,000 troops to attack the Turbulent Division, the Sudden Movement Department received the assistance of the Turbid Infantry and the Pinching Division, and gathered 15,000 people to fight a decisive battle near the Qibiliang River, and the result was that the Sudden Expedition Department coalition army was defeated.

Yelu Sarad originally intended to slaughter the Tuju tribe to avenge his son, but the Zhaogu Khan, who was born in the Yaoran clan, was worried that the strength of the Yelu family was too large and would affect his authority, so he sent Yu Yue (the prime minister of the Khitan tribal alliance) as a special envoy to mediate a truce between the two families. Yu Yue was the Wukui tribe and left the Wukui Daxiang, and was highly respected among the Khitan tribes, and the Wukui tribe did not participate in the battle between the two families this time. Under his mediation, the two signed an armistice.

――――――――

Yang Hao didn't dare to stay in Bingyan Valley for longer, and after meeting and appeasing Lin Luohu, he rushed back to Feng'an overnight.

Seeing that the good Feng'an City was ruined by Zeng Chongyang and the Guiyi Army, Yang Hao was in a state of nowhere to go, and he was busy with the aftermath for several days. Yang Hao had long forgotten that Qing'er and the others in the Xiangfu Temple in Beishan outside the city were still looking forward to picking them up.

A month has passed in a flash, and today's wax moon seems to be warmer than in previous years, and the shock brought by Zeng Chongyang to the three cities of Fengzhou has gradually subsided, and everything seems to have returned to normal. Cheng Keling, Jiang Tao and Zhang Jinbiao failed to capture Li Shaoqing, which was expected by Yang Hao, so when Zhang Jinbiao stripped off his shirt and imitated the ancients to bear the guilt, Yang Hao asked Yu Yanlu, who had been promoted to the captain of the Agni Battalion, to help him up.

Yang Hao did not cure Zhang Jinbiao's crime, nor did he let him return to Wangshan Town, he appointed Zhang Jinbiao as the deputy envoy of Tuntian to assist Zhang Huchen in the assassination of Shi to step up the implementation of this year's military reclamation plan. Those who have been delayed by Zeng Chongyang must get it back before the beginning of spring, otherwise next year will be another difficult famine.

Cheng Keling was appointed as the city defense envoy of Xiao Chang'an, which was a newly created position by Yang Hao. It is mainly responsible for city defense and security in the city. The city defense envoy is generally concurrently served by the commander of the garrison battalion stationed in the city, and Xiao Chang'an is not garrisoned by a garrison battalion.

Yang Hao admired Huang Yiliang's performance in dealing with the shooting of Yelu Shura, and after returning to the city, he transferred him to the General Staff Department as Guan Suo's deputy, Guan Suo was ordered to prepare the intelligence room at this time, which was an organization designed by Yang Hao himself, from the name of the organization, mission, structure, personnel, budget, system, to the office location, daily dress, Yang Hao personally asked. The Intelligence Office is subordinate to the General Staff Department and is directly responsible to the General of the Xining Army.

On the fifth day of the lunar month, Zeng Chongyang went to Fengzhou for a whole month, the first half of the month he turned Fengzhou upside down, and the second half of the month he spent in the cold study. Yang Hao didn't let him go, and he didn't embarrass him much. At the beginning, Yang Haoxiang used his name to establish some kind of connection with Daming Palace, but later found that this idea was almost naïve, and a failed Zeng Chongyang was worthless in their eyes.

Zeng Chongyang accepted his fate with peace of mind, he stayed quietly in the study, neither happy nor sad, neither protesting nor cooperating, he wanted others to forget him, but others didn't think so. Outside the gate of the defense embassy for more than ten days, hundreds of people gathered every day to apologize for their crimes. Zeng Chongyang was eating and sleeping soundly about this, and he had nothing to do with himself.

On the tenth day of the lunar month, Zeng Chongyang was appointed as the inspector to patrol the north to supervise the imperial history. Although the supervision of the imperial history is only an eight-grade petty official, he holds the Tianxian in his hand and has a great spirit, "the imperial history envoy cannot shake the mountains and shake the prefecture and county, so he will not serve"!

Yang Hao ordered someone to send the official voucher and bronze fish talisman to Zeng Chongyang's study, Zeng Chongyang only skimmed at it and put it aside to continue reading his book.

――――――

Note: Yelu Sarade, the great-grandfather of Liao Taizu Yelu Aguta.

Kulunbo, now Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia.