The surrender of the Qianning army (Ningzhou) without a fight gave the Northern Expedition of the Later Zhou army a very auspicious start to the battle of Youyun, and with Zhang Zangying and Xu Shao'an killing to Yijin, Sikou and Waqiao Sanguan at the behest of Chai Rong, as the main force of the Later Zhou army left Cangzhou and followed by the vanguard troops led by Zhang and Xu also killed to the north, and as Zhong Youpeng and Wang Feng Zhuyi visited the officials and guards of various places with whom they had made an alliance before, it caused a series of chain reactions between the forts in the Zhou and Liao border areas. The passes, prefectures, and counties along the border were like a "domino" effect, repeating one after another a situation similar to that of the Qianning Army (Ningzhou) -- wherever the Later Zhou army passed, the officials and generals of the Liao State all surrendered to the wind, and not a single soldier fought hard for the Khitans.

From the 16th day of the second month of the lunar calendar to the 28th day of the second month of the lunar calendar in the sixth year of Xiande (the ninth year of the corresponding calendar), in just 12 days, the Yijin guards Zhong Tinghui, the Waqiao guards Yao Neibin, the Mozhou assassin Liu Chuxin, the Yingzhou assassin Gao Yanhui and other Liao officials and guards have opened the city or switched to surrender. On the 29th day of February of the lunar calendar, Chai Rong arrived at Waqiao Pass and stayed here, and it took only 30 days for the Zhou army to successfully occupy all the land south of Sanguan without injuring a single soldier, totaling 18,360 households in 3 prefectures and 17 counties.

The battle of the Northern Expedition was smooth sailing, and the horses and fine works sent to Youzhou City brought Chai Rong news in Youzhou City, saying that the Khitan nobles in the city were all panicked when they heard that the Zhou army was pressing the border, and they packed up one after another, and fled from Youzhou City overnight with their families and went to avoid trouble. And Xiao Siwen, who was left behind in Nanjing, was even more panicked, and he didn't know how to deal with the Zhou Dynasty army. In addition to transferring all the soldiers and horses around Youzhou into the city to be armed, this guy will only keep writing letters for help to the "sleeping king" of Liao, asking his master to bring a large army to rescue him quickly, otherwise Youzhou will not be protected.

In the face of such a favorable situation, although Chai Rong is not yet complacent, he is also somewhat complacent, and he is more confident that the Northern Expedition can be completed in one battle. Therefore, on the third day of the garrison at Waqiao Pass, on the first day of the third lunar month in the sixth year of Xiande (the ninth year of the calendar), Chai Rong, who was extremely high-spirited, decided to inspect the troops on the high ground south of Waqiao Pass the next day, to show military prestige and boost the morale of officers and soldiers, so as to continue to maintain high morale and confidence in victory in the next decisive battle. When the decree was issued, the entourage generals naturally returned to the camp to prepare, and Chai Rong also returned to his own line to rest.

At this time, the lights in the imperial tent were bright, and Lin Xiaoyu, who had changed back into women's clothes, saw Chai Rong coming back, hurriedly stepped forward to salute, and changed Chai Rong's clothes with the eunuchs.

took off his military uniform and changed into his regular household clothes, Chai Rong drank the nourishing tea soup specially prepared by Lin Xiaoyu for him, and talked to Lin Xiaoyu about the three armies to be reviewed in the Guannan Heights tomorrow, and sighed that although Lin Xiaoyu was strong in martial arts and talented, it was a pity that she was a daughter, and she could not lead the troops to find a battle like Zhang Yongde, Zhao Kuangyin, Li Chongjin and other generals and make contributions to the imperial court.

Lin Xiaoyu's face was also gloomy when he heard this, and there was an indescribable sadness in his heart. I think that at the beginning, it was precisely because she couldn't give full play to her talents in the crossing team and couldn't be a useful member of the team that she felt that she was a little marginalized, and there were problems in the relationship between her and Xu Shao'an, so that the two of them could only break up, so after meeting Queen Fu and talking happily with her and getting along well, she proposed to the team committee that she wanted to stay in Kaifeng to live, and thus had the opportunity to meet Chai Rong often, thus laying the foundation for her to enter the palace as a concubine- Of course, Lin Xiaoyu chose to stay in Kaifeng and benefited from her. It is precisely because of her choice that she created the conditions for the establishment of the "Kaifeng Detention Office" and created the conditions for Xu Shao'an to enter the Later Zhou court as an official. And "Kaifeng Stay" and Xu Shaoan have made a lot of contributions to the development of the team since then, and from these two aspects, her choice is actually good for the crossing team.

It's just that although Lin Xiaoyu is now an imperial concubine, and Chai Rong is also very fond of her, this can be seen from the fact that she didn't bring any other concubines in this northern expedition, and only took her alone. However, before the Northern Expedition with Chai Rong, all she could do was to move around in the small world of the palace all day long, or practice exercises, dance and sword dances, or talk to other concubines, especially Empress Fu, or treat the concubines and princesses, or discuss medical skills with the medical officers of the Imperial Hospital. Other than that, it's no different from when she's crossing the team. As a modern woman who had work to do every day in her previous life and had to work overtime for it many times, this kind of too leisurely and overly ordinary life made her feel very uncomfortable. If it weren't for the fact that there was a man in the palace who he loved and loved him, Lin Xiaoyu would have regretted staying in Kaifeng a long time ago. ,

The palace life in Kaifeng was already so boring for Lin Xiaoyu, and the situation now was even worse than when it was in Kaifeng. Since Lin Xiaoyu was dressed as a guard to accompany Chai Rong on the Northern Expedition this time, whether it was the space for activities or the objects that could talk and communicate, it was much smaller and less than when he was in Kaifeng. In this situation, it is impossible for Lin Xiaoyu not to feel bored and boring, and it is impossible not to feel depressed in his heart. However, considering that the opposite party was sitting today, this time the Northern Expedition of the companion Jun was fought for by the other party again and again, and the main purpose of fighting for such an opportunity was to do his best to ensure that his husband returned to Kaifeng safely, so the gloomy look on Lin Xiaoyu's face existed for a very short time, and was quickly replaced by a smile.

However, although the gloomy expression on Lin Xiaoyu's face was only fleeting, the careful Chai Rong still keenly captured this, and realized that his concubine had been by his side as a guard since the Northern Expedition, and he had lost the opportunity to chat and laugh with those sisters in the palace, and he couldn't do some of his own personal affairs as long as he was not on duty like other guards. Lin Xiaoyu's range of activities was limited to a small area around the imperial tent, and for this concubine Zhou Xian, who often wandered around the palace, often danced with guns and sticks, and often talked about medical skills with the imperial doctors of the imperial hospital, this range was really a little too small, and it was too embarrassing.

Thinking of this, Chai Rong, who has always been fond of Lin Xiaoyu, naturally wanted to find a way to make his concubine happy and make her mood happy as soon as possible. After all, now that the army of the imperial court is winning one after another, the whole army is full of joy, and if his beloved concubine can't experience the joy in it, it will be a pity for himself - although it was Lin Xiaoyu who took the initiative to ask to go on the northern expedition with him.

Therefore, after thinking about it for a while, Chai Rong said to Lin Xiaoyu: "Tomorrow in Guannan, all the armies of my Northern Expedition will send troops to participate." Not only is the momentum huge, but the various departments practice martial arts, queues, and formations, and the scene will also be very imposing. Since the Northern Expedition, Concubine Ai has only been circling around this imperial tent, and she has never seen the grandeur of the march of the army, nor the grandeur of the military drill. Even so, tomorrow, if Concubine Ai still pretends to be my guard, follows me by my side, accompanies me to review the three armies, and sees the military might of my Great Zhou, I don't know what Concubine Ai wants? ”

With Lin Xiaoyu's intelligence, she naturally understood that the reason why Chai Rong took her to review it was false, let her feel the power of the Great Zhou Army, and let her use this opportunity to breathe and distract her heart. Although Lin Xiaoyu pursues a free and easy life, hopes that her husband understands amorous style, can be romantic, and likes her husband to do something to please herself, but she can still distinguish what she can do and what she can't do.

For her, in order to take care of Chai Rong, ensure his health, and avoid the situation in the history books of her previous life, when the British son suddenly contracted an illness and soon became seriously ill, she could violate the court etiquette and disguise herself as a guard to follow Chai Rong. But if she wants her husband to do something that may be detrimental to the court and the society for the sake of her temporary pleasure, she will never do it-secretly leading the girls to review the three armies, such an act is definitely not done by Mingjun. After all, as far as her morality and principles of life are concerned, she will never be the kind of concubine who is like Bao Xi, Daji, and Feng Xiaolian, who only cares about her own pleasure and happiness, and ignores what her husband does. She will never let her husband bear the name of a faint monarch for the sake of her own momentary pleasure. Therefore, although Chai Rong's proposal made her feel warm in her heart, it also made her mind sober, realizing that her performance just now seemed to be suspected of being pampered and arrogant, and it was not commensurate with her reputation as a virtuous concubine.

So, she hurriedly leaned over and bowed: "The official family is considerate and pampered by the concubine, and the concubine is happy in her heart." It's just that the court has the laws of the court and the rules. The concubine disguised herself as a large internal guard and went out with the official family in private, and she did not openly take the concubine to the expedition as she did a few years ago when she went south to Huainan, which was already inconsistent with the law. It's just that the concubines have only been walking around the imperial tent since the Northern Expedition, so except for the Ouchi guards from the palace, the other generals don't know, and it won't have any impact on the Northern Expedition.

But if the concubine goes to the school with the official family tomorrow to review the three armies, even if the concubine still pretends to be a guard, there is a big difference between men and women in terms of body shape and appearance after all, but any scheming and sharp-eyed soldier will find that the official family is followed by a woman. And the generals in the army have always taboo women to appear in the barracks, if they find out about the existence of concubines, even if the concubines are concubines of official families, they will inevitably be unhappy. At that time, I am afraid that this huge review of the official family will not only not boost the morale of the generals, but will have a negative impact on the generals, which is not conducive to the great cause of the Northern Expedition of the official family, and the concubines will also become a disaster in the eyes of the generals like Bao Xi and Daji. Therefore, the favored concubines of the official family did not dare to accept it, and hoped that the official family would take back their orders. ”

Seeing that Lin Xiaoyu cared about the court and the king so much, he would rather suffer more grievances and sufferings than let the king be affected because of himself, Chai Rong was deeply gratified in his heart. While he stepped forward to help Lin Xiaoyu up, he praised and said: "Concubine Ai is so deeply aware of righteousness, loyal to the monarch and patriotic, and really lives up to the word 'virtuous'." Concubine Ai's request was granted, but in this way, it will be bitter for you again. ”