Twenty-five Histories · Kuma Luotian

The servant over there galloped away, but the hunting ground here was still full of joy.After counting the prey, all the troops set up camp and held a banquet on the wild river beach.Dozens of large iron pots were set up beside the camp, the bonfire was raging, and the newly hunted wild animals were immediately put into the pot for cooking. The cowhide bags were filled with spirits, and the running water seemed to be brought up.The Khitan people did not distinguish between dignitaries, officials and soldiers, they all drank heavily with their bags and chewed freely.In front of the banquet, a couple of warriors were naked and bare-legged, and their corners were used as a show.The noise of the soldiers on the sidelines shook the sky, and they couldn't help cheering up their own people.For a while, someone won a move and knocked the opponent to the ground.The victor was triumphant, raised his hand as a signal, and cheered loudly in response.The loser got up, but saw that the cowhide chest protector had also fallen off, and his breasts were exposed. He was ashamed, covered his face and ran away.When everyone saw it, they couldn't help laughing together, which only made the trees outside rustle, and even the falling yellow leaves seemed to be extraordinarily large.

Less than an hour later, the servant flew back and came to Yelu Hongji and said: "Your Majesty, Murong's return to work has been announced, and now we are waiting outside the camp."

Yelu Hongji looked up and saw a young man in Han costume standing leaning on a horse by the side of the camp, with long hair facing the wind and dressed in white clothes, he couldn't help blurting out: "He looks so weak! Brother Xiao, you just said that he is all-round in civil and military affairs. How can such a southerner have any good skills?"

Xiao Feng smiled slightly, before answering, someone in the group of officials interjected: "Southern people are always weak, how can there be good martial arts casually? If you want to come to King Xiao to see your friends, there are some kind words." This is The aristocrat who was not used to seeing Xiao Feng on weekdays sneered implicitly.Another person said: "How capable is King Xiao, how could the person he praised go wrong?" This is the general who respects Xiao Feng couldn't help but speak out in defense.Immediately, you talked to each other twice, holding guns and sticks, almost arguing.Xiao Feng listened, but he didn't defend himself, he just smiled with the wine bag in his hand.

Yelu Hongji also didn't believe that Murong Fu was really good at martial arts, the audience shouted and was pondering, a gorgeous lady sitting behind him suddenly smiled and said: "The emperor is always wise, why is this so difficult?" ? Let the Han people try their skills in the next stage, whether they are high or low, won’t they be obvious?”

This lady's surname is Xiao and her name is Guanyin. She is the queen of Yelu Hongji's palace. According to historical records, she is "excellent in appearance, skilled in poetry, and good at talking." She is the most talented and beautiful woman in the Liao territory.Xiao Guanyin is usually elegant and good at Sinology, when he saw Murong Fu's elegant demeanor, he was very happy in his heart, so he said this.Yelu Hongji has always loved this empress, and when she heard her say this, he felt quite satisfied, and said with a smile: "If that's the case, let him try it out. What does the empress want to see?"

Xiao Guanyin said with a smile: "Our horns need a lot of strength, I'm afraid the southerners won't be able to play with them. Why don't you ask him to shoot willows and have a look, that's all."

Shooting willows, a horse racing technique, was popular in Song, Liao and Xia countries at that time.When shooting, insert two rows of willow branches on the field, and peel them to make them white.The shooter rides a horse and shoots it with a horizontal arrowhead without feathers. The one who breaks the shoot and grafts it in his hand is the winner, the one who breaks it and cannot catch it is the next best, and the one who breaks the green spot or fails to hit it is the loser.When the Liao Emperor was hunting in autumn, all the troops had to compete with each other. At this time, the willow branches had already been planted on the side of the empty camp, just waiting for the competition.

Yelu Hongji nodded, passed the order, and ordered Murong Fu to shoot willows.As soon as the order was issued, the audience was in awe, and a row of cowhide drums began to beat like raindrops.

Half of Murong Fu's trip last night was for today's Liao Lord's announcement.At this time, he heard the order, smiled slightly, took the carved bow and arrow pot from the hand of the messenger, jumped on the horse's back, tapped his left leg lightly, the horse started to trot, faster and faster, spread its hooves, Go straight to the two rows of willow branches swaying gently in the wind.

At this moment, Murong Fu's thoughts suddenly changed: "These Khitan people grew up on horseback since they were young, and they are good at bows and arrows. Even if I can shoot and catch them, I'm just like them, I don't see you Ability! Yes, it is necessary!"

At this time, the noise of the soldiers stopped early, the drinkers put down their leather bags, the meat eaters stopped their sabers, amidst the sound of drums, tens of thousands of eyes were fixed on Murong Fu.I saw him galloping a hundred paces away from the willow branch, his legs clamped lightly, the horse stopped abruptly after sitting down, the man stood up, stretched his bow and pressed the string, loosened his fingers, and three arrows flew towards the willow branch at the same time.

As soon as the three arrows were fired, contempt appeared in the eyes of many Khitan soldiers.I saw that the three arrows were moving very slowly, weak and powerless, it was obvious that they would fall to the ground before reaching the willow branches.The noble officials who just refuted Xiao Feng stroked their mustaches, they couldn't help but look pale.

It was strange to say that the three arrows were dangling in the air, flying slowly and flatly, but there was no sign of landing.Murong Fu probed his waist and drew out three more arrows, when the bowstring rang, this time the wind sounded like a knife, howling and piercing the air.The army was startled suddenly, and saw the last three arrows flying straight forward like lightning, and caught up with the first three arrows in a blink of an eye, but suddenly the arrow hit the tail of the arrow, and the whistle sounded, the six arrows were in no particular order. At the same time, it shot towards the willow branch!

In an instant, six arrows flew above the willow branch, and here Murong Fu fired three more arrows with one bow.Hearing the sound of the wind, this time the three arrows were moving more quickly, they shot into the group of six arrows before, and suddenly scattered in three directions, colliding with the six arrows.When the nine arrows collided with each other, they all changed direction, flying in the sky like flowers scattered by a celestial maiden, flying obliquely and sideways, striking forward and then swaying, but the pointing was exactly the same. .With a few soft sounds, the two rows of 36 willow branches were broken at the same time.

Murong Fu smiled slightly, and put the last arrow in the pot on the string.At this time, everyone was dazzled, they all thought that he would gallop on horseback to catch the fallen willow branch, but unexpectedly he was not in a hurry, and wanted to shoot the last arrow, they couldn't help being stunned.As soon as the arrow left the string, Murong Fu's feet touched, and he got up from the horse's back, his white clothes fluttered, and he flew towards the willow branch.

Xiao Guanyin covered her mouth lightly, and couldn't help but let out an exclamation.She went with the emperor to go to the spring bowl, hunted swans on the shore of the Bohai Sea, and saw a lot of the big bird with white feathers flying like a fetish, flying in the air.Every time I see it, I am very envious, I wish I could learn such a light and delicate dance.However, what you see before your eyes is a living person, not a flying bird. How can the figure in the sky be the same as that handsome bird?

Murong Fu was in mid-air, with his long sleeves rolled up, he had already held 36 broken willows in his hands; his body sank down, the last arrow he fired a moment ago was shot at this moment.Murong Fu put his toes on the arrow shaft, borrowing only this part of his strength, he jumped into the air, really like a feather in the wind, unable to land; he hovered lightly, and he was already sitting on the saddle, supported by the willow branches firmly In the palm of his hand, he is dressed in white clothes that are spotless. It is the skill of "Turn the Stars" passed down by his Murong family.

The sound of the drums stopped at some point, and in the silence, all the Liao soldiers looked at Murong Fu and were shocked on the spot.

Suddenly they heard several crisp clapping sounds, and everyone turned their heads to look, only to see Xiao Guanyin clasping his palms together with a smile, whispering in Yelu Hongji's ear.The queen took the lead, and there was thunderous applause on the field. Liao Bing was straightforward, and many people shouted loudly.

Amidst the applause, Murong Fu got off his horse, straightened his clothes, and came to pay respects in front of Yelu Hongji.Yelu Hongji nodded, glanced at Xiao Feng, and said with a smile: "Good arrow! No wonder my brother praised him so much, it really is better than Yang Youji."

Murong Fu bowed slightly, and replied with a smile: "Don't dare. If His Majesty overwhelms Nanbang with might and prestige for thousands of miles, let the tiger not surrender!"

Yelu Hongji was slightly taken aback, stroked his beard with his hands, raised his head and laughed loudly.

It turns out that these two lines of poems were written by Empress Xiao Guanyin. Thirteen years ago, Yelu Hongji also shot a tiger while hunting in the Fuhu Forest. Xiao Guanyin wrote a poem in response: "The majesty and prestige overwhelms Nanbang, and if you go east, you can overturn the Yalu River. There are thousands of spirits and monsters. How dare you teach fierce tigers?" Don't surrender." At this time Murong Fu used it casually, according to the time and situation, with a soft word, he praised both the emperor and the empress at the same time.

At that moment, Xiao Guanyin was very happy to see Yelu Hongji, and said in a sweet voice, "Look, Your Majesty, we have a heroic King of the Southern Courtyard, even his friends are so outstanding, this is really His Majesty's favor." The feeling of prestige is far-reaching."

Yelu Hongji was complacent, and laughed loudly: "That's a good point! Come and give me some wine!"

The attendant held a cup inlaid with gold horns, Murong Fu thanked him and took it, and drank it down in one gulp.

Xiao Feng kept smiling and remained silent, at this moment he stood up, shook Murong Fu's hand, and said loudly: "Your Majesty still doesn't know that when I was in the Song Dynasty, there was a saying in the rivers and lakes that 'Murong in the south, Qiaofeng in the north', It’s none other than me, Murong Xiandi!”

These few words were spoken loudly, everyone in the four people heard them, at this moment no one dared to look down on Murong Fu.Those noble officials lowered their heads in embarrassment, while the generals suddenly applauded, they all stood up, holding up their wine glasses, they spoke to each other, and they praised each other endlessly.

Yelu Hongji was even more happy, and said with a smile: "So, today is a grand gathering of heroes here! Everyone, let's have a good drink together!"

Everyone suddenly said yes.For a while, there were people fighting wine, talking and laughing, wrestling, and archery. There were a lot of dramas and cheers, and they went straight to the sky.

Xiao Guanyin loves poems the most, but there are few people in Liao Kingdom to talk to them, just now when he heard Murong Fu quote his poems, he felt like a close friend, seeing Murong Fu sitting beside Xiao Feng, he couldn't help but asked with a smile: "Mr. Murong has lived in the south for a long time, Is it rare that you also know about the old works of this palace?"

Murong Fu knew what it meant, and responded with a smile: "Poetry has the beauty of words, and it has no difference in region. With the embellishment of the empress, the whole world has heard about it, so how can I not know." Followed by Qingqiaoqiao , when talking about the poets of modern times, he talked about Du Shenweiya, Wenqi Lixie, the gentleness of Liu Yun, and the beauty of Yan's voice. nod.Yelu Hongji was also quite fond of this way, when it came to the beauty, Murong Fu praised it without any trace, and the emperor couldn't stop laughing when he said it.Xiao Feng's writing is very careless, although he couldn't get it into his mouth, but seeing Murong Fu's expression is dazzling and eloquent, he smiled and looked at it, feeling very happy in his heart.

While the banquet was in full swing, Xiao Guanyin suddenly remembered something, and smiled at Xiao Feng: "King Xiao, it's rare to go to Beijing, why don't you bring your little girl here, and let's all have a lively and lively time together?"

Xiao Feng was taken aback for a moment, and replied: "Ah Zi?"

As early as two days before Murong Fu arrived in Liao, Xiao Feng asked about Ah Zi in the mansion, the maid said: "The princess brought the iron head man who paid tribute from Gaochang Kingdom, and went out to play in the city." Zhao went to Beijing and still hasn't returned.At this moment, remembering that if the little girl returned to the mansion and saw that she was not there, she would not know what kind of trouble the city of Nanjing would be turned upside down, so she couldn't help but sighed secretly.

Yelu Hongji was already three points drunk, seeing his hesitation, he smiled and said: "Brother Xiao is thinking about it? This is easy, I will send someone to Nanjing to fetch Ah Zi, and be with the Queen. You Just stay in Beijing for a few more days, so we brothers can get together, how about it?"

Xiao Feng smiled, cupped his hands and was about to thank him, suddenly he heard the sound of a horn in the distance, going straight up to the sky, it was strangely high-pitched and hurried, he was shocked immediately.When he first met Yelu Hongji, he had heard the sound of horns in Changbai Mountain military camp, it was an urgent military signal!

The sound of the horn came like flying, the higher it was blown, the more urgent it was blown, the whistling only hurt people's ears.The feast stopped in an instant, everyone's face was serious, and their eyes widened, staring at the direction from which the sound of the horn came.

In a moment, the sound of the horn reached the gate of the camp and stopped abruptly, only to hear a loud hiss: "Northwest Army Situation! Northwest Army Situation!" A horse overturned the dust and rushed straight into the camp, until Yelu Hongji rolled his saddle and fell off his horse. , Kneeling two steps in, loudly said: "Your Majesty! The big thing is not good! The Northwest Road has turned against the King of Blocking Bu. Now that Zhenzhou City has fallen, Yelu Tabu, the recruiter of the Northwest Road, also died in front of the battle!"

With a whoosh, Yelu Hongji stood up abruptly, his face ashen.The Liao army all around immediately stood with their hands down, everything was so silent that one could hear even a needle being dropped.

Zubu, which is called "Tatar" by people today, during the Liao Dynasty, there were North Zubu, West Zubu, and Northwest Zubu, all of which were nomadic tribes on the northwest border of the Liao Kingdom.The Liao court ordered its leader to be the king, and set up the Northwest Road to recruit and rule it; and built three cities called Zhen, Fang, and Weizhou, garrisoned troops, and opened up farmland.The people who resisted divination were fierce and brave, and they refused to accept the rule of Liao. They had rebelled continuously for hundreds of years, which was the trouble of Liao.Since Yelu Hongji ascended the throne, there have been two small disturbances, but they subsided immediately. Unexpectedly, this change happened in a hurry, and even the Northwest Road recruiter who lived in the first rank of the official residence was killed, and the border city fell. Government and opposition!

The messenger's armor was torn, his face was covered in blood and mud, his eyes were red and his lips were dry and chapped. He seemed to have rushed here without sleep for an unknown number of days. At this time, he took out the military letter from his arms and held it with both hands, his voice hoarse. Said: "Your Majesty, this time the blocking army has united the eight divisions of the enemy and divided them into two groups. The army is very powerful. Our army is fighting along the Tula River and retreating. Seeing that we are about to be unable to resist the enemy, I beg the emperor to send reinforcements quickly." !"

Yelu Hongji took the military letter from the servant, read every word, and threw it on the table, his face became more and more stern, but he didn't say a word.He only turned his hands behind his back, looked at the sky, pondered for a long time, then suddenly turned his head, his eyes were shining brightly, and it was falling on Xiao Feng.

Note: Yelvta did not die in battle to prevent the Bu rebellion. The history of the Liao Dynasty is true.However, it happened in the ninth year of Da'an of Daozong, that is, twenty-three years after this article, and the novel was used in advance, which has nothing to do with history.