After Zhao Kuangyin said the opinion of first being inside and then externally, Yelu Ruan was very satisfied. Zhao Kuangyin and Guo Wei also have a very good personal relationship, if he told Guo Wei about this matter, maybe Guo Wei would not be in a hurry to attack.

Of course, Guo Wei's character is really good, as long as he doesn't mess with him, he won't easily send troops to attack the Khitan territory. But the most important Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun are difficult to preserve. Yelu Ruan has worked extremely hard to run the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun over the years, and he must not let this big fat meat be snatched away by Guo Wei, I hope that Da Zhou will still need a few years to deal with the government, as long as he gives himself some buffer time, then he doesn't have to worry about Guo Wei sending troops, but suppressing Cangzhou.

Yelu Ruan said excitedly: "Okay, good, Brother Zhao is right, it should indeed be settled first inside, and then externally." Now the Khitan forces are temporarily integrated, but they have not reached the real unity, so it will take some time for these forces and the small tribes to be completely unified. As long as this is done, the Khitan will also be invincible. This also follows Master Zongxin's wish, as long as the two countries don't have swords, Master Zongxin snickered, right? ”

Yelu Ruan looked at Zong Xin as he spoke, and Zong Xin's face was still calm and did not fluctuate in the slightest. Because the result was already known, Zongxin was not surprised again.

"Laughing, the Buddha sees the Buddha laughing, I don't laugh, I see the Buddha laughing, the Buddha knows. Your Majesty is so powerful, you even know that the poor monk is secretly laughing, dare to ask Your Majesty if you know what the poor monk is laughing at?"

Yelu Ruan probably understood what Zong Xin meant, and then said, "Master Zong Xin is laughing at the few people who understand, and the others are laughing at the fact that others don't understand. Some things can't be broken, and some things can't be broken. Although the widow does not have the wisdom of Master Zongxin, he still has some virtue in grasping the future. ”

Zong Xin sighed: "Admire, admire." His Majesty made the poor monk understand some truths, some things are invincible, everything is providential, and he really can't force it. The poor monk still needs to live his own life, and the world is like this. ”

Zong Xin finally saw it, and this dinner party made Zong Xin hear Zhao Kuangyin's true thoughts, but this idea would make him uncomfortable. What does it mean to first settle down internally and then externally? Yelu Ruan himself did not think like this, but wanted to mislead Zhao Kuangyin.

The two of them have played enough ventriloquism, and Zongxin is also annoyed. Sure enough, the affairs of the world are not controlled by one person. Let's talk about it later, the most important thing now is to delay the time, let this group of people stay in the desert for a longer time, as long as it can be dragged until the Empress Dowager Xiao holds power, it doesn't matter if there is a victory or defeat for these three forces.

Of course, one thing is certain, Yelu Zhen can't die, only he can guarantee the safety of Empress Dowager Xiao, and the strength of Empress Dowager Xiao when she was in power. Otherwise, even if a woman holds great power, others may not obey her. Secondly, Yelu Ruan cannot be allowed to return to the Khitan as the emperor again, because the laws of the Khitan will always revolve around the emperor, and as long as Yelu Ruan deposes the power of the Empress Dowager Xiao, she has no way.

Zongxin's plan must still be implemented, only by making Yelujing, his own son, the emperor, the Empress Dowager Xiao can do whatever she wants, no matter how powerful the emperor is, it is not as great as the biological mother of the Empress Dowager Xiao. Only Yelu Jing could not remove Empress Dowager Xiao from power.

When the Empress Dowager Xiao integrates everything, the other emperors must look at the face of the Empress Dowager Xiao even if they ascend the throne. The balance of law and power will be broken only in this case.

Zong Xin took the mare's milk wine and drank it all, and the corner of the tent was suddenly blown by the wind, and it was already dark outside. Because of the large temperature difference between day and night, it is often windy.

"Cold~" Tianya said: "What Master said is really right, the desert will really get cold at night." Let's go back to our room and sleep, we have to hurry tomorrow. ”

Zong Xin nodded, said goodbye to Yelu Ruan, and took Tianya back to his tent to rest.

Early the next morning, the army began its march north. After waking up from the desert, everyone felt very refreshed, but the scorching sun soon revealed its ferocious side, for the Khitan people who had lived in the extremely cold place for a long time, the temperature here was too hot, they couldn't stand it at all, the army was moving very slowly, and soon the soldiers couldn't help but take off their armor, and every step felt like they were suffering.

In addition to the yellow sand and occasional desert plants, the surrounding scenery is a continuous stretch of sand dunes, which are far more difficult to walk than on solid ground.

The weather is unbearably hot, the sun can easily sunburn the skin, and the desert is hell for ordinary people.

The wind and sand in the desert are very large, as if every breath is like inhaling sand, but there is no saliva in the mouth, the sand is so tightly attached to the mouth, I want to rinse my mouth with water but I am reluctant to spit out the water, so I swallow it directly into my stomach.

Uncomfortable, the whole barracks have no spirits. At this time, they really realized that it really took the right time and place to fight, and if an enemy army appeared at this time, it would not take too many to kill the army of 5,000 people here.

This time it was not a march, but a search for traces of the Fire Temple in the desert, all of them were not just walking forward, everyone was carefully looking for clues around them, but there was nothing but yellow sand here, and it might be easier to find the entrance to the Fire Temple here than to find a needle in a haystack.

Except for the sound of the wind, it is rare to hear any other sounds. All did not want to speak, almost with gestures to express their intentions. Weapons were just crutches for them, and in just one day, these originally sturdy warriors had become refugees.

In this land of death, there are only two people who are completely fine, that is Zong Xin and Ye Luzhen, because the temperature of the Nine Yang Burning Heaven Technique they practiced is much higher than that of the small desert, so they are not uncomfortable at all, but they feel that the climate of the desert is very comfortable, if they raise a fire at this time to roast some fresh meat, and then have a pot of spirits, it would be better. But for other people, it's uncomfortable to think about, and no one actually does it.

In this way, the team marched in the desert for three days, and the physical strength of the Khitan soldiers was almost exhausted, and even the war horses were so tired that they couldn't walk at all. These horses also live in the extreme cold of the far north for a long time, and their resistance to cold is far better than that of heat, compared to the hot climate, there is no way to do it.

The temperature difference between day and night was extremely great, and many Khitan soldiers began to get sick, and all of them regretted coming to this desert, because there was nothing but sand here, and they did not find any traces of the Fire Temple at all.

The wind and sand are getting bigger and bigger, and everyone is feeling extremely uncomfortable. The Khitan soldiers have almost given up hope, they just want to leave the desert as soon as possible and return to the climate they are used to, but for those martial arts masters, it is not difficult to adjust their body temperature a little, as long as they cover their bodies and not be burned by the sun, there is no problem, and the food and water are very abundant, and they have almost no effect.

At noon on the fourth day, a dark cloud was suddenly seen in the northwest direction slowly moving towards the barracks. At first, no one noticed this black cloud, but because the wind was getting stronger, many people looked at this black cloud and realized that it was a black cloud?

The wind flew into the sky with yellow sand, and the black oppression swallowed everything it encountered. When it was discovered, the news spread quickly, and everyone realized the danger of the sandstorm. At this time, the soldiers could no longer listen to the commander's orders, and immediately threw down their weapons and fled in the opposite direction, regardless of whether the Khitan Emperor or the Shenwu King went to him. This is when running for your life is the most important thing.

The originally neat team collapsed in an instant, and everyone began to flee backwards. Only those who understand know that even if they escape, it is useless, because they can't run away from this sandstorm.

In the face of nature's devastating power, all martial arts masters seemed so small. No matter how strong their martial arts were, they couldn't cope with everything at this time. Now everyone is thinking the same thing, how to survive this sandstorm.

Zong Xin sneered: "Zhao Kuangyin, take all the camels we brought and form a circle, let them lie down and form a circle, there is a piece of cloth on the camel's neck, and this piece can be blocked by braking it up, and it is specially used to deal with this situation." It should be safe to stay in the carriage, and it will not be a problem to be surrounded by camels. Have the wolves hide in the enclosure and cover their heads with blankets so that they don't inhale the sand. It is best to surround a few water wheels, so that we do not lack water and food after the sandstorm. Tianya, you go and unload the wheels of the carriage, and then accompany the teachers and girls to hide in the carriage, with camels and wolves in the way, the carriage will not be blown away. Hurry up, time should be running out. ”

Zhao Kuangyin immediately instructed Youyun Eighteen Horsemen to do something, pull the camel back according to Zongxin's instructions, use the cloth on the camel's reins to block the camel's head, and then let them circle around it, and tie all the reins together, so as not to let these camels run away.

There were five waterwheels around the circle, as well as two wagons full of food, in addition to the horse-drawn carriage that Zongxin usually used. The wheels of these carriages were removed, but they still looked empty in the circle. The Eighteen Riders of the Clouds first put on the hoods of the wolves, and then let the wolves hide behind the camels as a second line of defense, so that all the carriages are almost tightly blocked, and unless the sandstorm can fly the carriages directly into the sky, these carriages are very safe.

Zongxin's carriages are made of good wood, as long as all the windows and doors inside are closed, there will be absolutely no air leakage, it is very safe to hide in the carriage, and the internal space of this carriage is quite large, which can fit many people.

The Eighteen Riders of Youyun did not have such treatment, they first found a cloth to cover their mouth and nose, and then covered their bodies with a blanket and hid in the arms of the wolf, which was safe enough.

All the ladies and Tianya hid in the carriage, so that the carriage was almost full. As for Zong Xin and Zhao Kuangyin, they hid in another carriage, which had been following Zong Xin, and the person in the carriage was of course Yelu Ruan.