Yelu Ruan saw the horn and thought to himself: "This chivalrous warrior can come up with this trick of the golden cicada to get out of the shell, and he is not a brave and unscrupulous person. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info: It seems that I misunderstood him before. Yelu Ruan asked the soldiers who had just gathered on the field to return to the camp tent to rest, while he looked at the hill to the east of the camp, thinking in his heart the purpose of the trip of the Seven Swords of Xishu.

Cha Muhe and Xiao Yejin heard the sound of the horn and immediately rushed over. When they saw the soldiers disperse from the field, they walked over and asked, "Lord Wang, have you found any suspicious people?"

Yelu Ruan stood there, remembering what Yu Hengzi had said, shaking his head and saying, "This king has not seen any suspicious people. Cha Muhe said puzzledly: "That's weird, how can there be the sound of a horn for no reason?" Yelu Ruan asked: "Muhe, have you heard about what happened in the emperor's camp in the morning?" Cha Muhe said: "There are Jin State spies who have infiltrated the back camp, and by the time the royal forest guards found out, they had already escaped. ”

Xiao Yejin said slowly: "The emperor's camp is the center, and the accompanying officials also live there. If those spies overhear something militaristic, we will be in danger. ”

After hearing this, Yelu Ruan realized something and said, "Yejin is right. I hope that the emperor will be blessed and the southern expedition can be triumphant. ”

While the three of them were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves. Yelu Ruan looked ahead and found Lu Wanli and two royal guards coming with a holy decree. Yelu Ruan, Cha Muhe and Xiao Yejin hurriedly stepped forward to receive the order.

Lu Wanli took out the holy decree and read it aloud: "Fengtian carrier, the emperor's edict said: I have been marching south for several months, and the army is blocked in Hengzhou, and I can't go straight to Kaifeng, so I am ashamed of the Khitan people." Now that the reinforcements of the Jin State have arrived, there is no reason to attack again. In order to preserve our strength, I have decided that the three armies will withdraw to the north of Yingzhou within two days. Chin!"

Yelu Ruan took the holy decree and asked puzzledly, "Commander Lu, why did the emperor make such a decision temporarily. If our army really withdraws, this southern expedition will be tantamount to a failure. Lu Wanli bowed down and said, "Lord Wang, I can't hide it, I only learned about it this morning." However, since the emperor did this, he must have his reasons. Lord, I still have to go to the middle camp and the back camp to pass the decree, so I won't stay. Farewell!"

Yelu Ruan nodded at him and said, "Commander Deer, thank you for your hard work. As the commander of the former battalion, the king must act according to the emperor's will. Please also tell the emperor. Lu Wanli reined in the horse, turned around and said, "Don't worry, the prince will do everything he can to do it." Yelu Ruan smiled slightly. Lu Wanli then rode away with two royal guards.

When Lu Wanli walked away, Cha Muhe said hatefully: "The withdrawal of troops is a major military matter, when the eunuchs around the emperor send the holy decree to come, how can the imperial forest guards convey it on their behalf?" Yelu Ruan said: "Muhe, this is not in Shangjing. This place is a wilderness, and the Jin State is highly skilled in martial arts, so how can those eunuchs be their opponents? If the Holy Decree falls into the hands of the Jin State spies, the Jin army will definitely pursue us relentlessly, and then even the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun will not be able to keep it. Because of this, the emperor sent Lu Wanli, who was the head of the Imperial Forest Commander, to personally deliver the decree to each battalion. Cha Muhe's face was stunned, and he said with wide eyes: "It seems that the emperor is determined to withdraw from the army." ”

Xiao Yejin said unwillingly: "Lord, can we just go back empty-handed?" Yelu Ruan said helplessly: "Yejin, the emperor's will, we can't disobey it." You and Mu He passed the holy decree into the hands of the soldiers, so that they could understand why the emperor made such a decision. The emperor asked us to withdraw within two days, and we must retreat on time. ”

Xiao Yejin and Cha Muhe were silent for a while, and then they choked up and said, "Lord Wang, let's do it." The two men took the decree and departed sorrowfully.

Yelu Ruan returned to the golden tent and lay down on the couch, unable to sleep for a long time. He thought of the three thousand soldiers who had died, and his grief suddenly welled up in his heart, and he said to himself: "Heavens, can you show me the way so that I will not be so confused anymore." ”

Two days later, the Khitan army really withdrew from Yingzhou one after another. Yelu Deguang was still undecided, and ordered the three armies to temporarily station in Mozhou, which borders Yingzhou. Yelu Ruan's front battalion failed in the attack, and Yelu Deguang did not blame him severely, but only asked him to strengthen training in peacetime.

Yelu Ruan arranged the affairs in the army, that is, he and Xiao Yejin and Cha Muhe disguised themselves as people from the rivers and lakes, and returned to Yingzhou to inquire about the whereabouts of the seven knives of Xishu.

Yingzhou only left more than 5,000 people under Liu Yanzuo's department to guard it. Liu Yanzuo was a Han Chinese, and most of his soldiers were also Han Chinese. Yingzhou was included in the Khitan territory ten years ago, and Liu Yanzuo and his soldiers were wholeheartedly guarding against the Jin attack. Liu Yanzuo stationed nearly 4,000 troops on the border of Yingzhou, and kept an eye on the movements of the 100,000 Jin troops in Hengzhou City.

In the city of Hengzhou, Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen and others heard that the Khitan army had retreated north again, thinking that Yelu Deguang was afraid of the force of the Jin State, and was feasting on meritorious people at this time.

Li Shouzhen raised his wine glass and said to everyone: "This time, thanks to the timely arrival of Taiwei Du, we were able to withstand the attack of the Khitan army. Du Chongwei laughed and said, "Master Li has won the award." As a prisoner of soldiers and horses, you are wise and brave on the battlefield, and you are worthy of being a good general of my Great Jin!" the two complimented each other, raised their wine glasses and drank them all.

The other generals were in high spirits when they saw the two commanders, and they all drank openly. After a period of staggering, Li Shouzhen stepped forward and stopped his hand and signaled: "Generals, please be quiet, Lord Taiwei has something to say to you." ”

When the generals heard the sound of the soldiers and horses, they immediately stopped laughing, put down their wine glasses, and looked at Du Chongwei.

Du Chongwei stood up and said, "Generals, you and I can get together today and drink happily, do you know what the reason is?"

The generals glanced at each other and said with a deep heart: "Thanks to the majesty of Lord Taiwei, I scared away the Khitan Tartars!"

After hearing this, Du Chongwei shook his head slightly, and said: "This is not true! How can I, Du Chongwei, be able to make Yelu Deguang's more than 100,000 soldiers retreat more than 300 miles. ”

The generals looked at Li Shouzhen again, but saw him shrug helplessly, saying that they didn't know the reason. When everyone was puzzled, Du Chongwei said: "Generals, I can't hide it, the reason why the Khitan retreated in a hurry this time was because of the instability in the rear. ”

At this time, a big man stood up and asked loudly: "The meaning of Taiwei's words is very unclear to his subordinates. "This person's surname is Zhang Yanze, and he is a tiger general under Du Chongwei. Everyone didn't understand when they saw the lieutenant's cronies, and they also felt that this matter was a little strange.