Kaifeng City is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and is not like Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, where there are lofty mountains and dangerous fortresses in the southeast, south, and northwest.

But an ideal imperial capital, even if it is built on a plain, must have a small hill, otherwise it will always feel like it is missing a little royal dragon vein.

Fortunately, in the east of the outer city of Kaifeng, there is a gentle and unremarkable Yi Mountain, which may be as high as three or five Fan Lou at an altitude of three or five Fan Towers, and the victory is not small in area, the forest is verdant, the spring water is everywhere, the stream is meandering, it is quite like a peak that has been cut off, the miniature version of the Zhongnan Mountain.

In the summer, the days are very long, people avoid the noon heat, hibernate until the end of the Shen Dynasty out of the city, take a mule cart to come to Yishan leisurely, it doesn't take half an hour to climb to the top of the mountain, just while watching the magnificent scene of thousands of miles of remnant sun like blood, while overlooking the Kaifeng City of carved beams and paintings under the reflection of Jinhui, all over Luoqi.

"Sir, my sister said, Daliao Wujing, have you been there?"

On the top of Yi Mountain, Ye Rou stood behind Shao Qing, staring at the figure with gold edges, and asked in a flattering tone.

Shao Qing didn't look back, still facing the northwest direction, and said indifferently: "Your sister should be mistaken, I have only seen Yanjing and Xijing." ”

"Then Mr. thinks, this Kaifeng City is more like Yanjing, or is it more like Xijing Datong Mansion?"

"It's not like it, Kaifeng City is Kaifeng City."

Shao Qing's tone was cold with every answer, which was too discordant with the beautiful and warm twilight scene, which made Ye Rou, who was still thoughtful, angry for a moment.

She snorted softly, and said in a crisp tone: "It's true, how can Kaifeng City compare to Yanjing?" Well, if it weren't for the Nanren who dedicated the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun back then, Yanjing City would be like this Kaifeng City now, and even those forbidden troops would be a bit of a pond fish and mandarin birds, and they wouldn't be able to find a little bit of Jin Ge's iron horse's blood and bravery. ”

With these words, she finally taught Shao Qing to turn around.

"Song Jun are all pond fish and mandarin birds? Before the alliance of the abyss, how did Xiao Tzu Rin die? ”

Ye Rou was choked hard.

She didn't expect that Shao Qing would call her ancestor warrior who was regarded as a hero by the Liao State from top to bottom so without reverence.

In the Liao Kingdom, the queen of the Yelu family must be the Xiao family.

Xiao Yanyan (Xiao Xuan), the empress of Yeluxian of Liaojingzong, can be called the most accomplished one of the Empress Dowagers Xiao in the past dynasties in governing the country and foreign military expansion. During her 27-year reign, the Liao army not only repelled the Song army's attack on the Yanyun region, but also marched south to attack the Song Dynasty, and finally forced the long-established Great Song Dynasty to conclude the "Lanyuan Alliance" with the Liao State.

Liao State warrior Xiao Tzu Rin, is Xiao Yanyan's brother, he not only once set up an ambush to besiege the famous Song Dynasty general Yang Ye (that is, Yang Jiye in the literary work "Yang Jiajiang"), forced Yang Ye to die of hunger strike for three days, but also followed the Empress Dowager Xiao all the way to the south, to the city of Shanzhou.

However, it was in the Battle of Lanzhou that Xiao Tzu Rin was directly shot by the powerful bed crossbow of the Song army and died in front of the battle.

With the sudden loss of such a high-level military commander in the war, and the fact that Empress Dowager Xiao did not give up the means of diplomatic negotiations, the Song and Liao finally ceased war and reached a peace agreement between the Song Dynasty and the Liao State every year, in exchange for more than 100 years of peaceful relations.

Ye Rou didn't know how to answer Shao Qing's questioning.

It was not so much that she regretted her remarks, but that she was confused by Shao Qing's attitude.

He is a Khitan, a descendant of the Xiao family, and a pure noble son. She is the daughter of a Han official of the Liao State, and under the national policy of "dividing the north and the south into officials and ruling according to customs" in the Liao State, the Han officials and their families, after gaining real political status and economic benefits, have long regarded themselves as Liao, although they are not Khitans.

So, when two loyal Liao warriors get along, is there anything wrong with ridiculing the Song people and the Song army?

Why did he look at her so often with a kind of boredom that she could perceive even if it was very lightly disguised?

Once upon a time in Yanjing, he was not like this.

The friendship of his father made Shao Qing, his sister and her Ye Rou as close as brothers and sisters from childhood to youth.

Ye Rou subconsciously took a few steps back, as if Shao Qing's unfamiliar eyes would turn into ice and hit her in the face.

Shao Qing's gaze did not focus on her, but over her head and landed on the grassy slope, standing or sitting on the people enjoying the sunset.

The beautiful and peaceful scene touched the viewers, and some even picked up two stones, knocked them on each other, and sang the lyrics of the song.

"After the alliance of the Yuanyuan, the Liao and Song dynasties did not know how to fight, and their armaments were lax. The Liao people were obsessed with the spring mountains and autumn waters (referring to large-scale hunting activities), and the Song people were addicted to singing and dancing, but they could not see that outside the Xia people, the Jurchen tribes, those who were not yet 10,000 or full of invincible tigers and wolves. ”

Shao Qing seemed to be talking to Ye Rou, and he seemed to be talking to himself.

"Sir, the other place has been arranged."

The appearance of another subordinate, Lu Gang, finally alleviated Ye Rou's confusion.

Shao Qing looked at the half-sunset on the boundless plain to the west, nodded and said, "Okay, take advantage of the daylight to try." ”

……

A flat forest meadow in the southwest of Mt. Yishan is deserted because it is far away from the temples or mountain streams that tourists love.

At the end of the leprosy mule, which was grazing quietly, stood a man dressed as a husband.

Seeing Shao Qing appear, Lifu untied the two bulging, long and large bags on the back of the mule, untied the rope, and fell to the ground with a bang, only to see all kinds of intelligible grass or plant medicinal materials spilled out.

During the period, it was accompanied by the sound of clanging.

It turned out to be two sets of armor that were only half a pair of armor.

Shao Qing stepped forward, squatted down, Mosuo armor, and looked at it carefully.

"It's all made out of Xingguofang." Lifu gave a brief report.

Shao Qingdao: "You chose this roe deer, it's good." ”

Lifu sneered: "It is said that gambling is not persuaded to prostitution, and a person who is deeply involved in the gambling table, as long as he keeps his gambling money, he is more obedient than a roe deer." ”

While the two were talking, Lu Gang and Ye Rou turned out from behind a tree not far away, Lu Gang resisted a small crossbow machine and a machete, and Ye Rou dragged a hunted muntjac with a little difficulty.

Shao Qing got up, took the machete, hissed lightly, raised the knife in his hand, and cut the muntjac in half.

Lu Gang and Lifu quickly tied the muntjac with armor, took out the hemp rope, and tied it to the tree farthest away from them in this clearing.

Shao Qing picked up the crossbow machine, caught a layer of metal reflection on the armor in the afterglow of the slanting sun, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

The crossbow bolt is like a lightning bolt in the forest, flying straight to the target.

But when I heard the sound of "bang", the arrow collided head-on with the armor, but it could not penetrate and fell under the tree.

Shao Qing immediately loaded another crossbow bolt and fired it at the target on another tree.

This time, the result was completely opposite, the armor was defeated in the confrontation, and the crossbow arrow simply pierced through the armor and plunged deep into the flesh and bones of the muntjac.

Shao Qing and his subordinates came to the tree and inspected the situation of the two pairs of armor.

The first Na Lifu whispered to Lu Gang and Ye Rou: "The cold forging armor of the Xia people is really powerful. ”

Ye Rou approached the nail piece and tilted her head to study the subtleties of the nail piece being hit by the arrow.

"This armor piece, I also have a girl, I have seen it before I came to the Southern Dynasty."

Shao Qing was quite satisfied with her concise and efficient way of speaking, and nodded approvingly at her.

He paced to the nearby tree, pulled another crossbow arrow out of the muntjac flesh, and stretched out his finger to test the texture of the armor pierced by one arrow.

"This is the hot forging armor that the Song people have been building. It is not surprising that cold forging armor, Xia people, Jurchens, or our Liao people, can be made. It is not surprising that Song Man can't come out. It's not that they're stupid, it's that God doesn't favor them. ”

Several subordinates listened silently.

In addition to Ye Rou, Lu Gang and the Lifu, who was also a spy, had understood Shao Qing's style for several years.

On the surface, he seems to be a man who does not show pride in his home country, but he really never wasted their time in Kaifeng City. As a leader, he has a clear plan and steps.

Sure enough, Shao Qing turned to Ye Rou and calmly ordered: "The east and west workshops of Xingguofang are made of armor, knives and axes, military flags and other things, the things we are looking for are not there, but in the Bow and Crossbow Courtyard, you have to think carefully, how can you enter the Bow and Crossbow Courtyard." ”

Ye Rou's face was awe-inspiring, and she resolutely said "yes".