This time, he got the important task of receiving Wu Yingying's return to Hexi on the battlefield where hundreds of thousands of troops of Song Liao circled and invited, and it was a rare opportunity for the Bai Yu Army to raise their eyebrows.

According to the prediction of the Military Intelligence Department led by Chase, Zhao Jiong and the privy envoy Cao Bin usually used the forbidden army as the main force, while the Xiang army and the armies of the various feudal towns served either as escorts for transporting baggage, or to divert the attention of the enemy army on the flank battlefield. Therefore, the Bai Yu cavalry who followed the Xiazhou Dangxiang soldiers and horses across the Yellow River needed to follow the instructions of the Road Division and the Chengying Battalion to strive for a position close to the Song army camp where Wu Yingying was. When the battlefield was chaotic, the forbidden army would support Zhao Dezhao, and Zhao Jiong would take care of himself, Wu Yingying could take advantage of the chaos to get out, and under the protection of three hundred tooth soldiers, he would turn with the White Feather Army, and then quickly leave the battlefield and gallop all the way back to Hexi.

The news of the Northern Expedition in the coming year was not deliberately kept secret, and this New Year in Bianliang City, in the lively atmosphere of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, there was a faint sense of tension. Whether it is the nobles of the court or the soldiers and ordinary people, most of them are excited with a trace of expectation and excitement. The last battle of the unification of the world, the fierce generals are looking forward to seizing this opportunity to make meritorious contributions, and the soldiers are planning to open the Taiyuan city, more or less able to get some oil and water, and the camp is rumored that the gold and silver in the pile vault are like mountains, and the silk is like the sea, and after this battle, it is time to take it out and give everyone a point. As for the common people, they pinned their hopes on the peace of the four seas, and experienced the late Tang Dynasty and the five dynasties when the Hu people went south from time to time to loot, and everyone understood the ancient precept that they would rather be a peaceful dog than a troubled world.

This is the third New Year that Cai Yu, the prince of Longxi County, has spent in Bianliang. During the New Year's holidays, the courtiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty who came to the door from time to time to fight the autumn breeze in the past did not dare to come to the door, only a few singers and dancers took care of the old master, did not avoid suspicion, and came to the house to visit, which set off the atmosphere in the house very bleak. Fortunately, since Anxi Jiedu sent Wu Yingying into Beijing, he sent his sergeants to send money and silk to use from time to time, and the life of the already shy county prince of Longxi has also improved slightly.

In the past three years, every New Year, Bianliang is snowing heavily, borrowing wine to pour sorrows, the servant came to report the Anxi Festival to the embassy with New Year's gifts to visit, Cai Yu's somewhat cloudy eyes showed a bright color, put down the wine glass, tidy up the clothes, and then let the people in the Anxi Mansion come to meet. Every time Wu Yingying sent someone to visit, although he no longer held the courtesy of the monarch and ministers, he was extremely respectful in his words, and Cai Yu also had self-respect, and he didn't want outsiders to see the decadent Tang Dynasty again.

When he was young, the Venerable Master of Anxi Mansion brought it up, this son was dressed in a red military robe, the robe had traces of wind and snow, he was wearing a square scarf on his head, thick eyebrows, big ears, he looked quite honest, but a pair of eyes were extremely alert, and when he saw Cai Yu, he arched his hand and said: "Anxi Jiedu envoy Wu under the command of the little official Bagen, see Longxi County Gong." ”

Cai Yu raised his hand and said with a smile: "Always so restrained and polite, how is General Wu recently?"

Bagen got up and said: "Thank you for the concern of the Duke of Longxi County, Lord Wu is very good, ask the villain to speak to the Duke of Longxi County, I am in Bianliang, the situation is forced, I can't come to visit the Duke of Longxi County in person, and I ask my grandfather to forgive me." Lord Wu also said that he would soon follow His Majesty Hu on the Northern Expedition, and everything in the Bianliang Mansion was arranged by the small officials. ”

His words were respectful, which made Cai Yu feel good, and wanted to reward him with a thing, hesitated for a moment, but there was really no treasure to get his hands on, and looked at Bagen, he was a rough man, if his ink treasure was given to the literati, it was a treasure, but to this Bagen, it was inevitably a pearl secretly cast, and finally had to nod slightly, and said with a smile: "General Wu also has a heart, I am good here, the war is dangerous, this is a statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva, which is a gift from the senior monks, and you will bring it back to your general." Manjushri Bodhisattva is the head of the Bodhisattva, in the previous dynasty, there was a Dharma according to the Zen master, because of the fate of the meeting, stepped into the Manjushri Bodhisattva's dojo 'Great Sage Zhulin Temple. I saw Manjushri Bodhisattva according to the lion high seat, Xuan Miao Dharma sound, left and right around the Dharma-hearing Bodhisattva saints about 10,000 people, returned to paint this portrait of Manjushri Bodhisattva. May the Bodhisattva bless General Wu and help him return safely. ”

Bagen thanked him, took the portrait, and when he got up to say goodbye, he said in a low voice: "Lord Wu said that the army is in chaos, and if the city is not peaceful, it will fall on the little official, and he will definitely protect the county prince of Longxi from danger." "In the past six months, Wu Yingying has been handling all kinds of money and silk things to Cai Yu every time, just to let Cai Yu have some trust in him, so that he can stand by and act conveniently.

When he said this, the servant who had been waiting next to him saw that Bagen was leaving, so he had already gone out to make arrangements. Cai Yu was slightly stunned, thoughtful, and before he could recover from the shock, the servant had already turned around and took Bagen out, and Bagen did not delay anymore and said goodbye.

Back at the Anxi Jiedu Embassy, Wu Yingying carefully inquired about Bagen's situation, pondered for a moment, and instructed him: "The Military Intelligence Department will send back the news of the defeat in front as soon as possible, and at that time, you must be quick to protect the Longxi County Duke from danger." Once the news of the defeat spreads, the capital will definitely be under martial law, and it will be difficult to get out at that time. The best time is to leave at the moment when the news of the defeat has not spread, and after that, the whole capital will only care about receiving His Majesty, guarding against rebellion, and there will be no spare strength to hunt you down for ten days. ”

Seeing that the centurion of the Ya military camp Bagen surrendered his hand and obeyed the order, Wu Yingying turned his head to Zhang Zhongyao and said: "This Bagen is a material that can be made, if it goes well this time, how about going to your Chengying camp to experience it?"

Zhang Zhongyao nodded and said, "This makes it." He slowly unfolded a map on the bookcase, pointed to the situation of the distribution of troops between the Song and Liao sides depicted on it, and the route of the expected attack of the Song army by the Military Intelligence Department, and said in a deep voice: "The forbidden army is hundreds of thousands of aggressive, even the merchants in Bianliang know that the imperial court is about to go on a northern expedition in the near future, and the enemy is current, but there are only less than 20,000 Han troops in Youzhou, and Han Derang is staying in Nanjing, and he can't send the Khitan warriors of the sixteen states of Youyun to help in the war, is it really a child's play to take military affairs?" As a feudal town in Hexi, he naturally hoped that the imperial forbidden army would hit a big nail in Heshuo, so that there would be no strength left to crusade against Hexi in a few years.

Zhang Zhongyao didn't care about Cai Yu's life or death, but Wu Yingying's plan to return to Hexi safely was indeed based on the defeat of the Northern Expedition of the Great Song Dynasty's forbidden army. But now, judging from the situation grasped by the Military Intelligence Department, the possibility of the defeat of the Song army is quite small, and even Zhang Zhongyao does not understand why Wu Yingying is sure that the Northern Expedition will be defeated.