Yelu Deguang stepped forward to help Lu Wanli and sighed: "Aiqing is worthy of being the prince of Liang State, and he knows the truth of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and forgiveness.

Lu Wanli burst into tears and said respectfully: "The emperor has tormented the ministers. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Weichen is just a person who has lost his country, and he has no relatives in the Central Plains, and he can only have today's status thanks to the emperor's acceptance and promotion. The minister wants to serve the Khitan all the time, as a minister of the Khitan, he dies as a ghost of the Khitan. ”

Yelu Deguang patted his hand and said heartily: "I am very pleased that Aiqing is so loyal! You can rest easy. ”

After Lu Wanli left, Yelu Deguang thought about it again and again, decided not to confront the Jin army head-on, and ordered to temporarily withdraw his troops to Yingzhou for a temporary stay, and then send troops after rectifying military affairs.

Yelu Ruan originally thought that Yelu Deguang would let Yelu Wuqing, the commander of the middle battalion, come to support, and waited for the holy decree to come, but found that it was an order to withdraw the army.

Yelu Ruan was unwilling, and thought to himself: "Since Uncle Huang sent troops to the south, why did he return halfway? Even if the Jin reinforcements arrived, my Khitan soldiers had a large number of soldiers, and they were all battle-hardened, so there was still a chance of victory. Now that he has not fought a decisive battle with the Jin army, he has to retreat. I really don't know what Uncle Huang thinks!"

The soldiers had already heard the content of the decree and had been discussing the emperor's decision. The general of the front battalion, fearing that the soldiers would mutiny, gathered in the golden-roofed tent at this time, only to find the commander sitting on the platform with a solemn expression, without saying a word.

The general who spoke just now was Yelu Ruan's henchman, named Chamuhe, who was only twenty-seven years old this year, and he was burly and powerful enough to cover everyone. When Chamuhe was fifteen years old, he encountered a tiger in the mountains and forests, and he tore the tiger into several pieces with his bare hands, and was known as the first warrior of the Khitan.

Chamuhe's father participated in supporting Yelubei to become emperor, and after the matter was revealed, he was ordered to be executed by the empress dowager Shu Luping. Therefore, Chamuhe was very angry with Shu Luping, and he also had a grudge against his successor, the emperor Yelu Deguang. He and Yelu Ruan were sick and sympathetic, and the two were of the same age, so they had a very happy relationship. After Yelu Ruan became the commander of the former battalion of the Southern Expedition, he immediately appointed General Chamu Hezuo to crusade against the Jin State together.

After hearing this, the generals were very unwilling, and another person stood up and said indignantly: "Lord Wang, I am fighting desperately on the battlefield, there are three thousand soldiers in the wilderness, and now it is not easy to attack Hengzhou, as long as we attack a few more times, Hengzhou will be broken." At that time, after the tens of thousands of troops in the middle and rear camps will join us, they will drive down for a long time and attack the capital of the Jin Kingdom just around the corner! Who knows that the emperor suddenly ordered us to withdraw to Yingzhou, and at present we cannot enter or retreat, so we can only huddle in this wilderness. What face will he face the family of his dead brother one day!"

That man's name was Xiao Yejin, the nephew of Empress Xiao of Yelu Abaoji, and he was the right general in the army at this time. He and Yelu Ruan grew up together and were like brothers. Xiao Yejin burst into tears, and all the generals present were deeply touched.

Yelu Ruan let out a long sigh after hearing this, and then said, "Generals, we are just acting according to orders. The emperor asked us to attack Hengzhou, and I will attack Hengzhou. If the emperor asks us to withdraw our troops, we will withdraw our troops immediately, and we really have no choice! Since the emperor has asked us to straighten out our military affairs, we must not slack off in the slightest. Take care of each of your soldiers, and in a few days the king will examine them himself. ”

The generals let out a "no" and turned to walk out of the golden-domed tent.

Yelu Ruan stopped Chamuhe and Xiao Yejin at the door, and whispered: "There are many people in the army, and the ears and eyes are complicated, so you should pay attention to what you say in the future, if you are caught by the villain and spread to the emperor's ears, you will be in danger." ”

Cha Muhe and Xiao Yejin glanced at each other, looked at each other and said, "Lord Wang, there is a sentence that we have always hidden in our hearts, I don't know if to say it or not?"

Yelu Ruan motioned for the two to go back to the tent and speak. The three of them walked to the center of the tent. Yelu Ruan said: "Muhe, Yejin, we have a relationship with the outside world. If no one else is present, we are three brothers. Whatever you have to say, just speak it to me. ”

Cha Mu He said first: "Lord Wang, I don't think the emperor's withdrawal of troops this time will not be so simple. Yelu Ruan asked, "In your opinion, what is the reason?" Chamuhe said softly: "Our front camp has been invincible all the way, and it has been blocked in Hengzhou for a month. At that time, the reinforcements of the Jin State had not yet arrived, and if the emperor had asked the Zhongying army to support, we would have captured Hengzhou long ago. Now that Du Chongwei has arrived, it is difficult to attack Hengzhou again. After thinking about it, I finally figured out that the emperor deliberately did not let the prince make great contributions. ”

Yelu Ruan said suddenly: "Mu He, what you said makes sense. Although it was the emperor's will for the southern expedition to retreat to the north, the reason for this was still the obstruction of the attack of our front battalion. Now not only the soldiers in the front camp are talking, but I am afraid that the soldiers in the middle camp and the back camp have some complaints about this king. ”

Xiao Yejin comforted: "The prince doesn't have to blame himself too much. If the emperor decrees to investigate, we are willing to share the responsibility with the prince. ”

Yelu Ruan waved his hand and said with a wry smile: "Muhe, Yejin, this is an internal matter of the imperial family, you don't have to get involved." After all these years, I've become accustomed to deceiving me. Ever since I took control of the front battalion, many people have been wary of me at every turn. Now that I'm in vain, I'm just what they're criticizing. It won't take long for someone to go to the emperor and say bad things about me. ”

Cha Muhe and Xiao Yejin stepped forward to hold Yelu Ruan's hand, and said in a low voice: "Lord Wang, it has been really difficult for you all these years. No matter what happens in the future, the two of us will be on your side. ”

Yelu Ruan looked at the two of them and thought: "Now that I am weak in the royal family, they can still treat me as always, and they are indeed my good brothers!" So he said sincerely: "Mu He, Ye Jin, thank you for your support all the way, I can persist until today." ”

Cha Muhe and Xiao Yejin smiled slightly, and said some inconsequential words before leaving the Golden Dome Tent.

Yelu Ruan sent the two away, sat alone on the platform, put his hand on his forehead, closed his eyes, and carefully recalled what had happened recently.

Yelu Ruan had no scruples in using his troops, so he was able to quickly capture Dingzhou in the Jin Kingdom. At the beginning of the arrival of the Khitan front battalion army in Hengzhou, it could have been unhurriedly laid out and besieged the city of Hengzhou, and over time, the defenders of the Jin State would naturally run out of food and surrender. However, Yelu Ruan was bent on avenging his father, and did not want to delay time at this time, so he hurriedly let the army attack, resulting in the stubborn resistance of the defenders of the Jin State, and the Khitan army suffered many casualties.

Before Hengzhou could not be captured, the Khitan southern expedition came to an abrupt end. Yelu Ruan was worried that the emperor would condemn himself, so he was extremely careful in his actions these days.