Twenty-five Histories · Kuma Luotian

On that day Yanyun Eighteen Riders returned to Nanjing, and told all the generals about Shaoshi Mountain to the generals of the South Court, only to hear that everyone was astonished and unspeakable, and some of the straightforward ones almost shouted.Also saw that Xiao Feng didn't mention a word after he returned to Beijing, every day when he was away from government affairs, he seldom said a few words, drinking alone was like drowning his sorrows with wine.All the generals didn't dare to ask, they could only resort to another method, prepared wine every three days to invite Xiao Feng.Dao is a lively place for everyone, and the wine of the king can relieve him a little bit of sullenness.

On this day, everyone gathered in the hall to drink again, and the generals of the South Court took turns to come up to pay their respects.Xiao Feng never refuses the wine until the glass is dry, he also smiles when he hears that he is happy.It's just that all the generals felt uncomfortable when they saw his smile, and they felt cold after drinking strong wine.Just when it was a bit boring, suddenly there was a noise from the bells of galloping horses outside, and the sound of someone calling in a high voice.Two personal soldiers rushed into the hall, bowed with smiles all over their faces and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Yelu of the Supreme Harmony Palace has come to see you!"

Before the words were finished, the high-pitched voice laughed loudly, and said: "What's the big deal, no one is making fun of everyone! King, I'm back to see you and all the brothers!" After a few bangs, The man rushed into the hall excitedly, bowed down and bowed.A black face was reddened by the wind, it was Yelvge.

It turned out that all the generals of the Southern Academy were rewarded for their achievements in the Northern Expedition.More than a dozen people were promoted to be officers of the Beijing command and transferred to Beijing.Among them, Yeluge contributed especially, the new Commander of the Taihe Palace is already a top figure in the Palace Guard Army, but his temper has not changed at all.After giving the gift, he jumped up and said with a smile: "How is your Majesty doing? The old brothers miss you in their diaries every day, and when they drink wine on weekdays, they always want to have another good drink with your Majesty!"

Xiao Feng couldn't help laughing and said: "Why is this so difficult? Whoever is not drunk will go back today, brothers, don't let him go!" He called people to serve wine with Yeluge.Yelvge was honest and blunt, and drank a big cup first.People who were acquainted with him all came to clap their shoulders and greeted each other. Some people said: "Brother, is there any leave in the army? Why did you come back to Nanjing?" Yeluge put down his cup, wiped his mouth and said: "Where is leisure It’s official business. The emperor had a sudden whim, and suddenly wanted to drive Nanjing, and brought the cavalry from the Pishi army, Hongyi, and Taihe armies for a walk. I am the Taihe army, and I am in a hurry to see the king, Ma. Hurry up. In a few hours at most, the rest of the brothers should be here too."

Brother Yelumo's heart skipped a beat, and he thought: "At first, the emperor transferred these brothers to Beijing, something was wrong. Dong Nabo has always been in Guangping Lake, how could he suddenly divert to Nanjing without hearing the decree? What's more, the Nabo imperial guards are only four thousand, and now they have brought more than fifty thousand cavalry out of the capital, could it be...?" Cold sweat broke out, it's hard to think about it.In a blink of an eye, seeing Xiao Feng was really happy, and thought: "Have a drink first, let's find some time to talk to the king." The audience toasted to Xiao Feng in unison, they raised their glasses together and started drinking.

Yeluge couldn't think of much, and was so happy after drinking, he couldn't help but said loudly: "I heard it in Shangjing, Your Majesty, you went to the south a few days ago? Is the scenery in the Central Plains really good? Yes, let's That Salanna is from the south, have you seen him, my lord? Why didn't you invite him and come back with the brothers?"

When everyone heard him talk about the Central Plains, they knew it was going to be bad.A few people beside him hurriedly patted his arm as a signal, but those who were too far away could not be patted.But Yelvge is in high spirits, why pay attention?He said happily, but suddenly felt a silence in the hall, and the laughing and clinking glasses were silent. Then he realized that something was wrong, scratching his head and said, "Why are you silent? Sa Lan..."

He suddenly heard Xiao Feng sternly shouted, "Don't mention him!"

With a loud bang, Xiao Feng slammed his palm on the long table in front of him, straight as a sharp sword, and instantly split the table in two.In the northern part of the Liao Kingdom, rosewood, red sandalwood and other wood materials are not easy to come by. Most of the wooden utensils in this palace are made of Liaodong iron birch, which is very hard.At this moment, the sound of cracking and cracking was shocking, the two halves of the case and the utensils on the case crashed and shattered, sawdust and ceramics burst up for half a day, and the wine flowed away and dripped all over the floor.All the generals stood up at once, held their breath with their hands down, and no one dared to make another sound.

In the dead silence, suddenly a crisp voice giggled and said: "Brother-in-law, who dares to make you angry? Why did you lose your temper?" A purple-clothed girl jumped into the hall, rushed to Xiao Feng's side and held her He raised his arms and called, "Long time no see, brother-in-law, do you think I don't?"

Xiao Feng saw her pair of black eyes shining brightly, he was both surprised and happy, and blurted out: "Ah Zi, your eyes are alright?" Ah Zi blinked, and said with a smile: "It's that little monk...it's your two eyes. Brother healed it for me, do you think it’s okay?" Xiao Feng raised his hand to support her shoulder to look carefully, he suddenly froze and felt an indescribable sadness in her eyes, he thought: "Could it be that she is on the road What wronged you?" But it was inconvenient to ask.Brother Yelumo hurriedly said: "The princess is coming back, it's a great joy. Please go talk to the king, my brother also needs to make some preparations to welcome the palace guards into the city." The princess is here, I'm afraid that the king will not have much time to think about the old things, just to turn things around.

Xiao Feng also guessed the meaning, seeing that everyone hesitated to speak, with worried expressions on their faces, he sighed in his heart, so AZi joyfully took his hand and turned them in.As soon as the curtain fell behind him, Ah Zi rushed forward and hugged his neck, looked into his eyes and said, "Brother-in-law, why do you still look unhappy? Are you not happy that I am back?"

Xiao Feng shook his head, held her arms lightly, helped her to sit on a big tiger leather chair, and said: "I am very happy. Ah Zi, the only one I miss in this world is you. Now you are doing well Damn, my eyes are healed again, so I have nothing to worry about."

AhZi pursed her lips, kicked the tiger's skin with her toe, and said: "Come to perfuse me again! I think about you all the time when I'm outside, it's fine if you don't come to me, but now you are so absent-minded... ...Hmph, where are you really happy?"

Xiao Feng sighed: "You are young, you know how to be mischievous and mischievous, and you don't understand the business of adults. I was thinking that the emperor came to Nanjing suddenly, but I don't know why?"

AhZi said angrily: "Your Majesty is your sworn brother, come to see you, what's the big deal? You say I'm young, I, I'm not a child anymore! You promised my sister to take care of me, just take care of me to have food Do you have any clothes to wear? How often have you looked at me when I grow up? And when have you asked me what I think? You never pay attention to my... my thoughts!"

The more Xiao Feng heard it, the more startled he became, he said: "Ah Zi?"

Ah Zi turned her body away from looking at him, and said: "At that time I was blind, and I knew you were not happy, so it was fine if you didn't come to see me. But now that your eyes are healed, you are still like this. I... Do I want to On that day, when you were beaten to death with one palm, you were willing to miss me a little bit, and... just like you did to Ah Zhu, thinking of me all the time..."

The more she talked, the more sad she became, suddenly she turned around, threw herself into Xiao Feng's arms and burst into tears.Xiao Feng made her stunned and didn't know how to deal with it.After staying for a moment, he whispered: "Children's words..."

AhZi jumped up and shouted: "It's a child again! I told you earlier that AZhu is gone, and I will stay by your side. If you want to drink and fight, whether you die or live, I always Stay with you. You, you just don't take me to heart!"

When Xiao Feng heard the words "drinking and fighting", his heart shook violently, it wasn't sour, but it was like a few sharp knives pierced in, dripping with blood and excruciatingly painful.With a long sigh, he said, "Then why bother? Your brother-in-law is a rough man, and he is used to being alone, so he didn't need anyone to accompany him."

Ah Zi exclaimed: "Why can't it be used? What's the joy in being alone? You just want Ah Zhu to be with you, don't you?"

Xiao Feng whispered: "Yes."

Ah Zi suddenly didn't respond, her eyes widened, she stared at him, as if she saw something very weird and terrifying.He raised his hand and pointed at his face, step by step, and slowly backed away, his eyes were dark, against that snow-white face, it was pitiful and terrifying at the same time.He murmured: "No...no..." With a sudden scream, he said: "No! When you miss Sister Azhu, the look on your face is not like this! Do you think I'm still blind? Can't you see? You...you think about others, don't you! Say you don't want me to accompany you, but in fact, you think about others, don't you!!!"

There was a bang, thunder and lightning flashed, how brave Xiao Feng was, but at this moment he vaguely had an answer, he didn't dare to think about it.Suddenly, his back felt cold, and he broke out in a cold sweat.I only said in my heart: "Who is it? What I thought in my heart at that time, who is it?!"

With the sound of footsteps, the two soldiers came rushing over. Suddenly seeing this appearance, they were suffocated in shock and did not dare to make a sound.Xiao Feng felt something was wrong, let out a long breath, and said in a deep voice: "...what's the matter?"

The soldier hurriedly said: "Go back to Your Majesty, Your Majesty is about to arrive outside the city of Nanjing, and now all the servants have arrived, King Xuan will see you." He glanced at Ah Zi, swallowed dryly, and said: "Your Majesty, listen Said that the princess was very happy when she came back, and issued an order to add the title of Her Royal Highness to the princess, and bestowed the title 'Pingnan'. The servant said, I want to call Princess Pingnan and you to go with the king."

Xiao Feng was startled suddenly, and thought: "Why did the emperor come so fast? It was only half an hour before and after AhZi's return, and he even made an order... Ping Nan? Ping Nan? Could it be that he came today, Are you going to send troops to the Southern Dynasty?"

==================

Duan Yu cried out: "Pingnan? Yelu Hongji...is he going to send troops to the south?"

Xu Zhu's knowledge is sloppy, his reaction is not as fast as Duan Yu's, he said in surprise: "What? The elder brother...!"

All the officials in Dali changed their colors together.The military power of the Liao army was so strong that if the imperial conquest was fought in person, it would be a repeat of Chanyuan more than [-] years ago.The military preparations of the Song Dynasty have been abandoned for a long time, and the foundation of the country must be shaken, so Dali is far away in the southern border, and this chaos in the world may not be escaped.All of them stood up abruptly, Ba Tianshi said urgently: "Miss, did you hear Hong Ji's words with your own ears? What exactly... is he going to do?"

Ah Zi whimpered and said: "I don't know. Yelu Hongji asked someone to take me to his tent to try on the honor guard of a princess when he met him that day. He asked his brother-in-law himself, and only said that he was going hunting in the countryside... ..."

==================

Xiao Feng and Yelu Hongji rode side by side, they had already traveled more than ten li in a short while, all the imperial guards were far behind because they did not have enough horsepower.It was already early winter, and the wilderness outside the city was gloomy and empty, all of which were grayish-yellow, with only a few residual frost on the dead branches reflecting the sunlight, which was really dazzling.Yelu Hongji stopped his horse and looked around, and suddenly said: "Brother, you came back from the south, where the population is at its peak, and the prosperity is tight? My Daliao has tens of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, but there is only such a desolate scene."

Xiao Feng's heart tightened, and he said: "No matter where people are, there are always rich and poor, and the Southern Dynasty was not rich everywhere. This land has been abandoned for a long time, and no one takes care of it. The minister has issued an order that no grass and valleys are allowed in the Southern Courtyard Well, it will not be like this when there is plowing in the spring next year. Your Majesty can rest assured."

Yelu Hongji frowned and said: "Brothers are not allowed to go hunting grass valley, the weather is cold, but there is no prey. Let's make an exception for me today, will it work?"

Xiao Feng was inconvenient to refute him, so he replied: "Yes." Yelu Hongji glanced at him, then smiled again: "I know that changing orders from day to day is not the way of a general, and I don't make things difficult for you brother, I don't want you to order. When coming from the south, this prey has already been prepared!"

Before he could say a word, a cannon shot from the northeast direction, followed by the sound of bugles, Yelu Hongji laughed loudly and said, "Here we come! We come!" He galloped on his horse.Xiao Feng followed behind, he was puzzled, he felt that the sound of trumpets and cannons didn't sound like hunting, but it seemed like he was participating in a ceremony when he went to Beijing.Two riders, one in front and the other in the back, went up to a flat hillock, and saw a group of leather warriors in white robes and plain hats, brass bells around their waists, and longbows in their hands, standing guard there.Xiao Feng recognized that this attire was worn by Chun Ri when offering sacrifices to the mountain gods, at this time the beginning of winter has already passed, where did the sacrifices come from?But I saw the bows and arrows of all the troops were stringed, pointing at the northeast sky in the distance, when I turned my head to look, the distant mountain shadows overlapped and could be seen faintly, and in front of the mountain shadows, there were several wooden stakes lined up under the flat hillock .There is one person tied to each pile, who looks like a commoner in Song Dynasty.He was far away, and couldn't see the expression on his face clearly, only heard the sound of crying and crying, which shook the sky and the earth.

Xiao Feng was shocked and called out: "Your Majesty?"

Yelu Hongji raised his whip and pointed forward, laughing and said: "Over there is the sacred tree leaf mountain of my Khitan ancestors. I have never been able to experience this sacrificial ceremony performed by Emperor Taizu. Today, I am lucky, but I want to imitate my ancestors and do it with my own hands. Come and give it a try!"

Xiao Feng knew that the Liao people were fierce, but he had never seen such a murderous living sacrifice. He was taken aback suddenly, and an officer from the imperial battalion approached and said in a low voice: "King Xiao, you have not been back in Liao Kingdom for a long time. I don't know if you want to come. As a ceremony of "shooting ghost arrows". When Emperor Taizu went out to fight, he would shoot and kill Xizuo with random arrows in the direction of Muye Mountain. To dispel evil spirits and ward off evil spirits, he would surely win. Those who are tied up there are all captured. The detailed work of Song Dynasty..."

"History of Liao Dynasty" says: A Baoji chased Ge in the north, and heard that his younger brothers shot ghost arrows at Muye Mountain.That is to say.

What else this person said, Xiao Feng could not hear a word.It was like a raging fire in his chest, his throat and eyes were almost burnt to pieces.Suddenly remembered the emperor's probing by the palace guard rebels that day, the one who was tied up there was really the work of the Song people? "Going...going! Do you want me to watch the blood of living people and use it to sacrifice the flag?"

I saw Yelu Hongji drew his golden bow, chi chi chi chi several times, one arrow at a time, and had already hit six people.Some pierced the chest with an arrow, while others hit the belly of the front door. They were choked by the blood flow, unable to scream, and twitched and writhed on the stake.Pi Shijun shouted at the same time: "Long live! Long live!" The mountains shook, and they fired their bows.The arrows rained down, and immediately turned those people into blood corpses like hedgehogs.

Xiao Feng is close at hand, if the person who shoots the arrow is not the emperor, or even the emperor is not his sworn brother, he can shoot down those feathered arrows just by raising his hand.But at this moment, the eyes are watching, and the person can't move.Seeing that Dongshou was the only person left on the stake, Yelu Hongji let out a long laugh, handed over the bow and said, "Brother, you come! I, the Khitan God of War, draw the bow and pray for victory, so I have really received the protection of the Holy Mountain."

Amid the shouts of all the soldiers, Xiao Feng slowly took the bow over.He didn't use this bow just once, but this time it was fully drawn, the creaking sound of the bowstring pierced the eardrum, it was even more frightening than shouting.The north wind was blowing, and the smell of blood was fishy and salty, and it hit the nose.In an instant, his arms shook violently, and with a piercing click, he forcefully pulled the hard bow of the iron body and golden bow into two halves!

Yelu Hongji was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that he did it on purpose, and suddenly changed color, and shouted: "...Xiao Feng!"

Xiao Feng threw down the golden bow, got off his horse and knelt down on the ground, and said: "Xiao Feng is punishable by death!"

Yelu Hongji looked down at him, raised his hand, all the soldiers fired arrows, and shot the remaining man to death.Seeing Xiao Feng turned his head and couldn't bear to look, the expression on his face changed for a while, but he didn't make a sound.After a while, he sighed again, jumped off the horse and patted Xiao Feng's shoulder, saying: "That's all, you get up."

Xiao Feng stood up, saw Yelu Hongji waving his hands and ordered all the troops to retreat, he said: "Brother, follow me." He went south by himself.Xiao Feng didn't dare to speak, and silently followed him for a while.Yelu Hongji stepped up a small hill, looked around, took something from his sleeve and handed it back, saying: "Look at it."

When Xiao Feng took it to read, it was a volume of memorials.The officials of the Liao Dynasty all played in Chinese, although they were very polite, they understood that what they were talking about was the private indulgence of the captives by the king of the Southern Academy, Xiao Feng, which violated the ancestral system.The end of the year is the time when I have not yet returned from the Northern Expedition.Immediately startled, said: "Your Majesty, this is..."

Yelu Hongji said: "Brother, you don't know how many of these things you sent before you returned to court. Hmph, the knowledge of a rotten scholar is ridiculous!" He stretched out his hand and threw the memorial far into the grass, saying: "I will burn it all up with a fire." gone."

In a blink of an eye, Xiao Feng looked at him in amazement, shook his head and said: "Brother, do you still remember the matter just now? A bow is nothing, it's nothing. You first quelled the rebellion of the king of Chu for me, and then settled the northern border, if it wasn't for you, I can't make it to today either. This country originally belonged to our two brothers!"

No matter how dare Xiao Feng respond, hearing his heavy tone, it was indeed from the sincerity, and he didn't know what it was like in his heart.After a long while Fang lowered his head and said: "Brother treats me with great kindness, Xiao Feng... feel ashamed!"

Yelu Hongji waved his hands, raised his eyes to look at the south and said, "Brother, it is to your benefit to act cautiously. If not, I would not rest assured that I will hand over this army to you. The achievements of the northern border have never been discussed. When I came to Nanjing, I came here just to seal my brother."

Xiao Feng was taken aback, and said: "I have received a lot of kindness, let alone the Northern Expedition, the emperor has rewarded my brothers, I dare not..."

Yelu Hongji turned around abruptly, and said in a loud voice: "Xiao Feng, the great king of the Southern Courtyard, listens!"

Xiao Feng had no choice but to prostrate himself on the ground.Hearing Yelu Hongji say: "Master Xiao Feng of the Southern Academy is loyal to the country and is my arm. I am hereby promoted to be the king of Song Dynasty. Marshal Pingnan will lead the three armies. I respect you!"

The word "Ping Nan" came into his ears again, Xiao Feng's whole body shook, he paused for a long time, before he kowtowed and said: "Mr. Xiao Feng, thank you. I just have one more thing to ask, but I hope the emperor will agree."

Yelu Hongji laughed loudly, stretched out his hand to help him and said, "Brother is always so polite. You just say, as a brother, you will do anything within your power."

Xiao Feng bowed his head to the ground, and said in a hoarse voice: "I have commanded the three armies, if any foreign enemy invades the border, no matter whether it is Song, Xixia or the northern border, they will definitely go through fire and water for Daliao, and will not hesitate to die. But if the emperor wants to use weapons , to pacify the land of the Southern Dynasty, I begged His Majesty to consider for the sake of thousands of souls, absolutely...not to go south!"

Yelu Hongji's smile disappeared suddenly, and the extended hand froze in the air, and after a long moment, he slowly retracted it.After another long moment of silence, he suddenly shouted: "Xiao Feng! Are you from Liao or Song Dynasty? Which country are those thousands of creatures you are talking about?"

Xiao Feng prostrated himself on the ground, he didn't raise his head.Yelu Hongji stared at him, walked back and forth for a few steps, and said: "I know you grew up in the Southern Dynasty, you should know that the Southern Dynasty is not full of prosperity, the weather is warm and comfortable, and it is far better than that in the Southern Dynasty. Liao's bitter cold land. You keep saying that you are loyal to the country, don't you want my people in Daliao to live a better life!"

Xiao Feng said: "Because I have been to both countries, I know how good the outsider's land is, and it can't compare to my own hometown. Southerners are not used to living in the north, but northerners don't love the south either. God has already decided this way, Your Majesty , why do you want to change him?"

Yelu Hongji said solemnly: "But you are going to disobey? In your heart, the country of your parents, my sworn brother, is more important than those southern barbarians?"

Xiao Feng's body shook, and he said in a loud voice: "I only know that there is no sure way to win with unarmed soldiers. When two countries fight each other, the dead and wounded will be devastated, and no one can escape. The emperor is so kind, the safety of the country and the lives of Khitan sons are all at stake. Handing it over to Xiao Feng, I can't just ignore the danger ahead, Your Majesty, brother Yelu, the idea of ​​the Southern Expedition... please take it back!"

When Yelu Hongji heard this, his eyes were a little more shocked.After pondering for a while, he suddenly smiled and said, "Brother Xiao's intentions, I know all about it. But if I tell you that I decided to send troops this time, it is because I... already have the way to win?"

==================

Ah Zi said: "Yelu Hongji said that the guard of the Yanmen Gate of the Song State did not know what method, and all the guards of the Yanmen Gate went to the Liao State. As long as the Liao army goes south, they will open the gate and let it go. It is his... The way to victory."

The Liao ruled the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, and the cavalry was the most prosperous. When raising troops, they always galloped down from the Yanzhao Plain.Although there was no battle after the Chanyuan alliance, the main force of the Song army was still stationed in the Waqiao, Yijin, and Yukou passes.However, the Yanmen Gate in Daizhou is backed by the mountains and has natural dangers. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The number of garrisons is far inferior, and even the surrounding roads are not prepared for battle.If there is a hole here and the Liao army enters directly, then the way to victory is really not a lie!Ba Tianshi said in shock: "Master Song is not alone, he is very strict with military generals. No matter how powerful Yelu Hongji is, he will not be able to use General Song. Who else can shut down this building under the eyes of Song State?" Is it all calculated?"

AhZi said bitterly: "I lived in his house for a few days, and I knew then that I should give him all my Bliss Piercing Heart Nails! Hmph, hum, it's the same name as my brother-in-law, what's the name Bei?" Qiao Feng, Nan Murong's..."

The expressions of everyone in Dali changed drastically, and they shouted in unison: "...Murong Fu!!!"