Zhang Xiaochuan found Zhou Ming, introduced him to Zhao Dechang, and gave him such and such instructions, and then said goodbye and went north with Yelu Longxu.

Yelu Longxu's entourage was really quite a lot, dozens of people dressed up as foot merchants, disguised as caravans, and marched north. The group went all the way north, north, and north. Soon, they arrived at the junction of the Great Song Dynasty and the Khitan.

There are more and more grasslands, and the area is becoming more and more extensive, and the grasslands here are extremely vast, compared to the grasslands of Xia Kingdom, which are much inferior.

Zhang Xiaochuan and Yelu Longxu went hand in hand, galloping on horseback. After galloping for a while, the group was in great interest. Zhang Xiaochuan and Yelu Longxu were still talking and laughing at the beginning, and they walked together. Zhang Xiaochuan sat on a galloping horse, but suddenly remembered the days with Princess Mingyang, especially the time he rode with her. Zhang Xiaochuan thought about the past, and subconsciously urged the horse faster. The horse galloped forward, and gradually left Yelu Longxu and the others behind. At this time, Zhang Xiaochuan was fascinated and unaware. Yelu Longxu only thought that he was a young man with a strong desire to win, so he wanted to let the horse run in front of everyone, but he smiled slightly, and he didn't care at all in his heart.

A large group of officers and soldiers appeared in front, Zhang Xiaochuan thought about the past, glanced at them slightly, and his speed did not decrease at all, and he galloped past.

"Help, help!" Several women's screams suddenly shocked Zhang Xiaochuan back to his eyes. What happened, the shouts were coming from behind. Zhang Xiaochuan pulled the reins, and the horse was quite a miracle horse, running fast and stopping fast. After a few long neighs, the horse came to a steady stop. Zhang Xiaochuan turned the horse's head and reflexively ran towards the way he came.

After turning back, Zhang Xiaochuan saw clearly that the original group of officers and soldiers was escorting an unarmed civilian. The officers and soldiers were dressed as Khitans, but the people were all Song. What the hell is going on? Zhang Xiaochuan pondered as he observed, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Help, help!" there were several more mournful cries from the crowd, and there was a sudden commotion in the crowd. Several women rushed out of the crowd and ran towards Zhang Xiaochuan. Behind, several soldiers chased after them angrily. The one who ran slowly was caught again. A few of them ran a little faster, which annoyed the soldiers even more, and they picked up their leather whips and jerked them at them.

There was a woman who was the fastest runner, and she was about to rush to Zhang Xiaochuan's horse. Suddenly, the soldier behind threw out the javelin in his hand. Because the distance between the woman and the soldier was too close, the incident happened too suddenly, and Zhang Xiaochuan couldn't save her. With a "poof", the woman was shot and fell to the ground. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaochuan understood everything in an instant. It turned out that these Song people, who were captives of the Khitans, no, to be exact, should be their slaves. Zhang Xiaochuan remembered the Uighurs, Zhuge Ziyu, and Prince Basang.

Zhang Xiaochuan jumped up from his horse and fell straight towards the woman. Zhang Xiaochuan came to her side, leaned down, and helped her up, only to see blood oozing from the corners of her mouth, and her breath was very weak. "Help them!" said the woman with great difficulty, squeezing a word out of her teeth, and her head could no longer be lifted. Zhang Xiaochuan put her down gently, stood up, looked up, and saw that the Song people were all women and children. Zhang Xiaochuan couldn't help but feel angry from his heart, and evil was born to the side of his guts.

Zhang Xiaochuan got up and down a few times, pounced on the murderous soldier, punched him and flew straight away, and fell motionless on the grass. Zhang Xiaochuan's anger did not subside, and he pounced on the soldiers with leather whips in their hands. punched and kicked, Zhang Xiaochuan knocked down four or five people in the blink of an eye. Those soldiers have always been accustomed to acting in front of the people, and wherever they are willing, they shouted and shouted in their mouths, and they gathered around one after another.

After a while, Zhang Xiaochuan injured seven or eight more soldiers, and these soldiers surrounded more and more. Zhang Xiaochuan was fighting hard, and he couldn't help but be ruthless in his heart, and with a "choking" sound, Zhang Xiaochuan pulled out his sword. Zhang Xiaochuan hated these Khitan soldiers for bullying and oppressing the people of the Great Song Dynasty, so he simply wanted to kill.

"Everyone, stop!" everyone was stunned for a moment, looked up, and saw that it was Yelu Longxu and others who had arrived. "Third brother, please be merciful!" Yelu Longxu said loudly to Zhang Xiaochuan, and then said a few words to those soldiers in Khitan language. The soldiers also stopped attacking, but the look on their faces was uncertain.

At this time, a man came out from among the soldiers. The man was stout and unruly looking, and it was clear that he was the leader of the soldiers. He glared at Yelu Longxu and spouted loudly. Yelu Longxu was not surprised, and looked at him calmly, his expression was unusually calm.

The leader's roar had already annoyed Yelu Longxu's retinue. There was an entourage who stepped forward, only to hear two "crackles", and the leader had already received two slaps in the face, leaving two red marks. The leader refused to give up, so angry that he shouted "wow", drew his shoulder knife and was about to commit murder. The attendant pulled out a waist card and shook it at him. The leader immediately fell silent, a look of horror on his face, and said a few words to the retinue respectfully. Then, taking a few steps back, the leader found that he still had a satchel in his hand, and he hurriedly thrust it back into its scabbard, and ordered his men to retreat.

"Third brother, it must be that they don't know Mount Tai and swept the third brother's Yaxing, and the third brother should let them suffer some hardships!" Yelu Longxu smiled and said to Zhang Xiaochuan, "Come to think of it, the third brother's anger has also disappeared, let's go!" Zhang Xiaochuan didn't move, he looked at the people of the Great Song Dynasty, everyone showed a pleading look to him, Zhang Xiaochuan was extremely unbearable. "Third brother, third brother!" Zhang Xiaochuan heard Yelu Longxu call himself twice, turned his head and looked at him. "Isn't the third brother angry yet?" "Big brother, little brother wants to ask you for something?" "Why is the third brother so polite. If you have something to say, let's talk about it directly!" "I think, please let the eldest brother release these people of the Great Song Dynasty. "This 。。。。。 "What's the matter, is this matter very embarrassing for the eldest brother?" Seeing that Yelu Longxu was a little hesitant, Zhang Xiaochuan couldn't help but say. Yelu Longxu shook his head and leaned down to whisper a few words in the ear of his attendant. The retinue took the order, and when he came to the leader, he said a few words to him, but the leader was a little reluctant but did not dare to disobey the order, and shouted a few words to the soldiers, and everyone went away.

"Thank you, big brother!" "Third brother, can you and me not be so polite?" Zhang Xiaochuan was about to reply, and those Great Song people had already knelt on the ground one after another, and their expressions were extremely grateful to Zhang Xiaochuan. Zhang Xiaochuan hurriedly called them up and hurried over to comfort them. Seeing the figures of the people of the Song Dynasty go away, Zhang Xiaochuan got on the horse with Yelu Longxu and others.

Zhang Xiaochuan also told Yelu Longxu what he had seen in Hexi before, and sighed when he saw the suffering of ordinary people. Yelu Longxu was unimpressed, and he told Zhang Xiaochuan that this kind of thing is quite common in the border areas of the two countries. "Today, what you see is the Khitan soldiers oppressing the people of the Great Song Dynasty. Third brother, if one day, you see the soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty** I Khitan people, do you care?" Zhang Xiaochuan listened to his question, and his heart was also very conflicted, he hesitated a little and nodded and said, "In addition to the strong and helping the weak, it is my generation!" Yelu nodded approvingly, and then said, "If, if you are me, or you are the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, third brother, what do you think?" "This 。。。。。 Zhang Xiaochuan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Since then, nothing has happened. In the vicinity of Shangjing, the grasslands are even more expansive, and animal husbandry here is more developed. When he arrived in the capital, Yelu Longxu carefully arranged for Zhang Xiaochuan. Yelu Longxu and Zhang Xiaochuan feasted and drank every day, accompanied him around every day, and truly fulfilled the landlord's suitability, and the brotherly relationship between the two of them also developed to the extreme. Sometimes, Yelu Longxu would also take him to the military drill ground, and would also ask Zhang Xiaochuan how his army was. In Zhang Xiaochuan's eyes, the Khitan army has a large number of soldiers, strong soldiers and horses, and has very strong combat effectiveness at a glance.

One day, many guests came to Yelu Longxu's house, and among these guests was Prince Deming. Zhang Xiaochuan and Prince Deming greeted each other, and Yelu Longxu was also surprised by their acquaintance, and couldn't help asking. "How do you know each other?" "We don't just know each other, we're still brothers." Prince Deming said with a feeling of displeasure, but there was another deep meaning in his words. "Yes, we're brothers, too. Zhang Xiaochuan couldn't ignore the meaning of Prince Deming's words, but in order not to embarrass Yelu Longxu, he had to echo it. "Then we are all a family, and we should drink more happily today and not get drunk. "Okay, just listen to the eldest brother, don't get drunk. Although they have their own hearts, the three of them are also full of pride. It turned out that Prince Deming was Yelu Longxu's nephew, and the Khitan had married the princess to King Xia in order to win over the Xia Kingdom.

Zhang Xiaochuan, Prince Deming, and Yelu Longxu feasted and drank endlessly, and in the blink of an eye, there was more than a month. Yelu Longxu treated him with hospitality, but Zhang Xiaochuan knew that Prince Deming had a grudge against him. Zhang Xiaochuan was worried about changes over time, and he was also afraid of some unpleasantness, so he wanted to leave early. Zhang Xiaochuan made up his mind, and then went to say goodbye to Yelu Longxu. When I arrived at Yelu Longxu's mansion, it happened that Prince Deming was also there. Zhang Xiaochuan explained the intention, and Yelu Longxu immediately became anxious, "Third brother, I don't hide it, I asked you to come here, first, to talk about brotherhood, and secondly, to ask for something." "The eldest brother is so hospitable, and the younger brother understands it. I don't know what the eldest brother commands, if there are any requirements, just ask the eldest brother to say directly, but let the younger brother do it. "Hahaha, it's not that hard for you. That's the case, the position of the king of the Khitan Southern Courtyard has been vacant for many years, and I want the third brother to succumb. If the third brother can stay here, then you and my brothers can do things together, and we can get along day and night. "Big brother is kind, Xiaochuan can't repay it, but, I'm sorry, big brother. This matter, it is really difficult for Xiaochuan to obey!" "Zhang Xiaochuan, you are too ignorant of lifting. Prince Deming, who was sitting on the sidelines and listening, was already dissatisfied, and said to Zhang Xiaochuan angrily, "You said goodbye to Xia last time, and now, Princess Mingyang is also pregnant, don't you want to go back and take a look at her?" Zhang Xiaochuan listened to what Prince Deming said, and couldn't help but feel a sense of apology in his heart, and he still said stubbornly, "I will naturally go back to see her, but the time has not come, but not now." "Zhang Xiaochuan, you don't have to quibble! Uncle, this person really doesn't know what to do, and he doesn't know how to lift up, so just take him down!" Yelu Longxu's face showed displeasure, and he stopped him unhappily, "You go down first, and then I will persuade Brother Xiaochuan well." Seeing this, Prince Deming had no choice but to retreat first.

"Brother Xiaochuan, during this trip to the Song Kingdom, I also learned that although Bianjing City is prosperous, the Great Song Dynasty is also full of dangers. Soon after the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, uprisings continued. Many princes and grandsons only knew how to eat, drink and be merry, and among them, hedonism prevailed. Think about it, how can such a country have a future? The Xiaochuan brothers are so skilled, but the Great Song Dynasty is heavy on literature and light on martial arts, if the Xiaochuan brothers have no place to use, wouldn't it be a great waste of talent?" "Thank you big brother for lifting up, and thank you big brother for reminding me, but as a common man of the Great Song Dynasty, how can I go against my parents' state?" "Brother Xiaochuan, good men are determined in all directions, as the saying goes, 'good birds choose trees and perch', you see that we here, aren't there many Han people here as officials?" No matter what others think or what others do, I won't do this kind of thing, and I ask my eldest brother for forgiveness. "Brother, why are you so pedantic?" "Open-minded or pedantic, this is the principle of Xiaochuan's life. "Well, in that case, I can't force people to do it. Let's not talk about this matter for the time being, third brother, you can stay for a while longer, and I will do it for you one day. Seeing that Zhang Xiaochuan was very resolute, Yelu Longxu knew that he couldn't do his job for a while, so he had to soften his tone and persuade him to stay for a while.

Prince Deming was extremely dissatisfied with Zhang Xiaochuan and wanted to encourage Yelu Longxu to detain him immediately, but Yelu Longxu was afraid of ruining his reputation, so he still didn't do that after all, Prince Deming wanted to do it himself and was afraid of making Yelu Longxu angry, so he had to give up. After another period of time, seeing that Zhang Xiaochuan had made up his mind, Yelu Longxu did not force him to stay, so he set up a banquet for him. After the feast, Zhang Xiaochuan began to return to the Great Song Dynasty.