Chapter 51: The Ambition of the Southern Expedition

Lei Gongkou was the key to Yunzhou's outbound border. After Shi Jingtang was ordered to attack Khitan in the north, he led 40,000 troops and dispatched Yun, Ying, Shuo and Wei to accompany the troops, and 80,000 to 90,000 people were in and out here. Now the camps gathered here, and the daily food and grass consumed were astronomical. After Shi Jingtang arrived here, he brought some military rations in Taiyuan and searched all the grains in the four prefectures. Therefore, the war was not started and northern Jin was exhausted.

From here to the south is the important land in northern Shanxi, from here to the north is outside the southern border of desert, which is the division between farming and nomadism. However, as soon as you exit the Leigongkou, you feel that the world is vast, and a snow falls down, and it is even hard to find people in the north. Liu Zhiyuan led his troops to fight several times, but he retreated after walking hundreds or dozens of miles.

But this time when he came back, he obviously found that the atmosphere in the army was not right!

"What's wrong?" Liu Zhiyuan asked.

Most of the soldiers dared not say it, and finally a personal soldier said, "General, Your Majesty has sent someone to take over Taiyuan."

"What!" Liu Zhiyuan was shocked and quickly rushed into the camp to ask for a meeting with Shi Jingtang.

Inside the big tent, Shi Jingtang, with wide face and big ears, leaned on the tiger-skin chair. Liu Zhiyuan had never seen him look so depressed! Next to the tiger-skin chair, Sang Weihan's face was ashamed.

"The prince-consort!" Liu Zhiyuan knelt down and saluted: "Taiyuan..."

Sanvihan shook his head and hinted that he would not say anything more.

Shi Jingtang opened his eyes and saw Liu Zhiyuan. He smiled bitterly, saying, "Zhiyuan, you are here." He moved the wine glasses on the side of him and said, "You must have fun in life... Hey, I guard the border and guard Jin, govern the government and love the people. In order to avoid delaying national affairs, I have been trembling for many years and have been very restrained in wine and sex... But now there is no need."

He poured a glass of wine and murmured, "After returning to Dongdu, if Your Majesty does not kill me, he can drink mellow wine to support the beauty in the future... After many years of war, it is time to rest..."

Liu Zhiyuan knelt down again in horror and shouted, "Mr. Concubine, are you going to go back to Dongdu?"

Shi Jingtang smiled bitterly and said, "Taiyuan has been taken by Zhang Jingda. I think the transfer order will come down soon. Even if I go to another town first, I will not go there for a while. I will definitely go to Dongdu."

Liu Zhiyuan said angrily: "Today, the emperor started his family by usurping the rebellion. If the prince consort is acquiesced, how can he sit on the dragon throne? Now that the throne has just been stable, he is going to plan to enthrone the ministers. Such ruthless methods are really heartbreaking! Prince consort, let's go against it!"

When Sang Weihan heard this, he knelt down and said, "General Liu is right! Prince Consort, let's go against it!"

Shi Jingtang was not relieved and sighed: "If we were in Taiyuan...ah! Now we are in a border area, and the army has only been stocked for three months. Seeing that the cold is approaching, it is difficult to use troops. The city of Taiyuan has now been taken over by Zhang Jingda. He doesn't have to fight with me. As long as we are firmly cleared and the fields are closed, we can exhaust us to death if we drag it away!"

Sang Weihan said: "Son-in-law, Zhang Jingda won by surprise this time, otherwise it would be impossible to do such a secret. Since it is surprising, there will definitely not be many troops. We will take advantage of the situation and go south, and we may not be able to retake Taiyuan!"

Shi Jingtang shook his head repeatedly and said, "Hundreds of miles of raids attack on the city, but this battle cannot be fought. Once the surprise attack fails, he will be in a dilemma at that time." Liu Zhiyuan also felt that this matter was extremely difficult to succeed.

Sanweihan said again: "We can invite Khitan to help again!"

Shi Jingtang smiled bitterly and said, "The Khitan is fighting with Tiance in Beiting, and now he is too busy to take care of himself. Where can there be a large army to support me?"

Sang Weihan was very hesitant, and Liu Zhiyuan said: "Mr. Concubine, are you really planning to just wait for death?"

Shi Jingtang pondered and said, "It's not that I'm willing to surrender, but... If I have to survive this winter, and wait for the situation of the battle in Beiting, Khitan and Tiance soldiers return east, we may still have a chance, but Li Congke will not give me this opportunity. I expect the imperial edict will arrive soon, and I will be dead at that time, and there will be a glimmer of life if I don't." He sighed at this point and said, "The soldiers of the three armies have followed me for a long time. They regard me as my father, and I love them as my son. Now the situation is over, why bother to accompany me to die? If the creatures are ruined, I feel uneasy. It's better to surrender. I have a relative of Your Majesty as my uncle, and the princess is in the capital. If I hand over the military power, he may not be able to kill me."

Liu Zhiyuan snorted and said, "The prince-consor pretended to be sick and showed weakness. He tricked Li Congke into Dongdu. After that, he regretted it very much. Now that he is sent to the door, how can he be more polite? Even if he is lucky enough to die, a real man will survive, and it is worse than death! As his subordinates only see, he may not die if he raises an army. Please think twice!"

Shi Jingtang hesitated and said, "If there were Khitans as aid, they might still have a 50% chance of winning, but now they have to be in danger to help me, which is not a good opportunity to raise an army."

Liu Zhiyuan said: "Since it is not a good opportunity now, let's try to delay it first."

Shi Jingtang said: "As long as Li Congke is not confused, the imperial edict will be delivered soon! I was pretending to be sick and could not refuse!"

"The general is outside, and the king will not accept the order!" Liu Zhiyuan said: "If the prince-consort is in the army, the imperial edict must be accepted. However, if the prince-consort sends troops to Khitan and fights against Hu in the snow, and the Luoyang envoy cannot find the prince-consort, then we still have room for evasion."

When Shi Jingtang heard this idea, he was excited, and Sang Weihan also said, "Miscellaneous, great!" Shi Jingtang said, "It's just that leading troops out of the frontier in the severe winter is very dangerous."

Sang Weihan said: "If we really are enemies with the Khitan, it will be natural and dangerous. But if we lie to the prestige of expedition and avoid the order, and borrow a city from the Khitan for a temporary residence, even if we go out of the south of the desert, there will be a conquest without any danger."

Shi Jingtang suddenly threw down his wine glass, sprinkled the wine all over the ground, and said decisively: "Okay, I will carry my troops north today! Zhiyuan, please search all the people in Yunweizhou to store grain, and then come." He said to Sang Weihan: "Weihan held my letters and sent me to the Khitan to borrow a place to avoid winter. As long as we survive this winter, things in the world may change!"

Sang Weihan rode a fast horse on the same day and took several followers straight to the Huangshui River Basin. It was not the first time he had been on the Khitan envoy. The road was familiar. Soon after leaving Lei Gongkou, he encountered the Khitan reconnaissance cavalry. He explained that he was an envoy, so he took it to the south bank of Huangshui by the Khitan cavalry.

Han Yanhui defected to the Khitan, and taught Yelu Abaoji to plunder the Han people, but did not kill them, but farmed. He had already opened one ridge after another in the Huangshui River Basin. This year, Beiting was drought without snow, but auspicious snow fell in Hexi and northeast, covering all the wheat fields.

Sang Weihan knew about these wheat fields after being in the north for a long time. He rushed into the Khitan palace tent and soon took him out. It turned out that Yelu Deguang was not in the tent, so he went hunting.

After walking for another half a day, she arrived at Yelu Deguang's hunting place. Sang Weihan saw Yelu Deguang from afar and jumped off the horse, knelt on the ground, crawled all the way, kowtowed on the frozen ground, and shouted: "Long live the Khitan Emperor!"

A group of cavalry drove some wild deer over. Yelu Deguangli ignored Sang Weihan and was aiming at him. Han Yanhui advised: "Your Majesty, sow seeds in spring, harvest and store them in autumn. Hunting in winter is just a pleasure, which is not in line with God's virtue of living, and it will lead to the famine in the coming year!"

Yelu Deguang's face darkened and he said, "You dare to curse the Khitan!"

Han Yanhui knelt down and Sang Weihan shouted, "Foreign ministers have been walking all the way, but they see auspicious snow everywhere. Huanghe will surely have a good harvest in the coming year!" Han Yanhui said, "The snow is heavy, but it is a bit over. In this unfavorable season, it is better to close mountains and cultivate forests, to accumulate energy, and to be quiet rather than moving."

Yelu Deguang hummed coldly and still opened his bow!

With a sudden sound, the arrow fell to nothing. The trusted confidants of the surrounding soldiers drove the deer again. Yelu Deguang set his bow three times, shot three times and lost three times. He was secretly annoyed and threw the bow and arrow, and asked Sang Weihan angrily: "What are you here to do!"

Sang Weihan secretly shouted something wrong and kowtowed, "My chief, Prince Shi, is the general who leads his troops out of the frontier and comes to join His Majesty, so he sends his ministers as the frontier..."

Yelu Deguang said before he could finish his sentence: "How much food and grass did he bring?"

"this……"

Yelu Deguang asked again: "How many people did he bring?"

San Weihan hurriedly said, "I have many soldiers and horses, but there are 100,000 troops!"

"A hundred thousand army?" Yelu Deguang sneered: "My Khitan is not enough for me now, so I still have to help Shi Jingtang raise a hundred thousand army?"

Sang Weihan was trembling in fear, thinking that he had said something wrong now. Yelu Deguang said again: "I heard that Li Congke had just sent someone to take over Taiyuan and Youzhou, huh, Zhao Dejun had just sent someone to beg me, did Shi Jingtang also want to find a place to avoid disaster?"

Sang Weihan kowtowed repeatedly and shouted: "The world is wise, nothing is better than my Great Khitan Emperor!"

Yelu Deguang laughed and said, "Li Congke is coming this time. If I, the Khitan, have worked hard to help Shi Jingtang pass this level, what are the benefits I have!"

Sang Weihan said: "Although the north and south of the desert are beautiful, they are also bitter and cold places. You can train your soldiers here. If you talk about enjoying the honor of the emperor, how can you be as prosperous as the Central Plains!"

Yelu Deguang smiled and said, "The prosperity of the Central Plains? Unfortunately, the prosperity of the Central Plains is from Li Congke, not from Shi Jingtang, nor from mine!"

Sang Weihan said: "Although the prosperity of the Central Plains is temporarily owned by Li Congke, the prince-consort can present it to His Majesty!"

"Dedicated to me? Haha!" Yelu Deguang said: "Now Shi Jingtang has become a betrayed dog, what will he offer to me!"

"The cold winter is the season of freezing and killing." Sang Weihan pointed to a sick dog curled up beside the tent not far away and said, "But if you survive this winter and keep your fangs, the despaired dog can turn into a wolf mastiff! He will hunt for deer and hunt for His Majesty's father and emperor, and will die forever, and will be the vanguard of His Majesty!"

"Father Emperor?"

Sang Weihan kowtowed again and said, "The Prince Shi is willing to regard Your Majesty as his father, and be willing to be a son of a different surname. I hope Your Majesty will accept it."

Thinking about the three words "Father Emperor", Yelu Deguang touched his beard and said, "Let Shi Jingtang go to Heicheng (near Hohhot) to spend the winter. As for the food and grass for winter, let him find a way!"

Sanvihan was overjoyed and bowed again.

After he retreated, Han Yanhui stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty! Heicheng is the fertile place of Chilechuan, how can Shi Jingtang be occupied!"

"I know what you are going to say," Yelu Deguang said: "But Shi and Zhao are my south-facing swords! If you want to maintain a good knife, it will naturally cost some."

Han Yanhui knelt down again and said, "Your Majesty, are you still thinking about going south to conquer the Central Plains?"

Yelu Deguang tightened his hands holding the bow and arrow, suddenly turned around and shouted, "What do you mean!"

Han Yanhui looked at the servants around him without saying a word, and Yelu Deguang said, "You retreat." Han Yanhui then said, "If you fight in Beiting, what if you can't win..."

"You are bold!" The bow in Yelu Deguang's hand suddenly hit Han Yanhui's forehead with a bang. The bow string cut off half of Han Yanhui's ear. The cold wind was bleeding, and it was especially painful as if it was cut by a knife.

Han Yanhui is a civil servant. Although he is well-educated, he can't stand the pain. He can't help but moan and cry. Yelu Deguang sneered: "It's useless! You Han people are so weak. I, a Khitan man, have a strong horse, so why worry about it!"

Han Yanhui touched tears, covered his broken ear with one hand, stabilized his tone and said, "But what if I can't win?"

He really had a sense of being able to continue saying such things at this moment. However, Yelu Deguang did not make a fuss on the fire this time, but instead calmed down and said, "If I can't win, then I will even fight the Central Plains in the south!"

Han Yanhui was stunned for a moment and lowered his head and said, "I understand, I understand."

Yelu Deguang said again: "If I want to conquer the Central Plains in the south, do you have any plans?"

Han Yanhui hesitated and finally said: "If Beiting wins, you can defeat Anlong first. If Beiting cannot win, you can learn from Shi Jingtang, and you can serve Zhang Mai..."

Yelu Deguang was furious and almost pulled out his knife. Then he sneered: "This is the 'ploy' that you Han people can come up with in their broken heads?"

Han Yanhui said: "Beiting is thousands of miles away, and it is difficult for the army to come back in time, no matter whether it wins or loses, it is difficult for our army to come back in time, and the same is true for Zhang Mai. Even if we come back, according to the news that has been sent back now, the battle in Beiting will definitely be tragic. After the fierce battle and long-distance rush, the troops will not be able to be put into the battlefield again. Therefore, in the next year, the soldiers in the east of Anlong will be weak. When I and Tiance are both weak, Li Congke will gain power. The weak should unite the crowd to resist the strong. This is a principle that has not been changed throughout the ages."

Yelu Deguang said: "Will Zhang Mai join forces with us?"

"Not necessarily." Han Yanhui said: "But he will definitely not let Li Congke grow up smoothly."

Yelu Deguang nodded and said, "You go down and greet Sang Weihan first. Shi Jingtang is Li Congke's confidant. If Shi is not dead, Li Congke will not sleep or eat. If Shi dies..." He said leisurely: "I will have another great enemy!"

After leaving the hunting place, a boy ran over and was shocked to see that half of Han Yanhui's head was covered in blood, and shouted, "Dad, you..." It was Han Yanhui's son Han Deshu.

Han Yanhui pulled his son into the tent and asked him to bandage him. His face turned blue. When the pain stopped a little, he asked, "Is there any news from Beiting?"

"Not yet..." Han Deshu said: "Where is your Majesty? I heard that he allowed Shi Jingtang to enter Heicheng?"

"No," Han Yanhui said: "If we win the Battle of Beiting, your Majesty will naturally be very powerful, but if you lose..."

"What will happen?"

Han Yanhui lowered his voice and said, "The Empress Dowager called Li Hu to accompany her again."

Yelu Lihu is Abaoji's third son, Yelu Deguang's younger brother, who is more favored by the Empress Dowager Shuluping than Yelu Deguang.

Han Deshu said in shock: "Is it possible!"

Han Yanhui quickly covered his mouth and stopped him from speaking. After letting go, he touched his ears. He screamed in pain and sighed in a low voice: "We father and son are here, and we are called Xianhuan, but in fact... we are just slaves..."
Chapter completed!