On the other end of the Dingnan Army, a medical monk took a detour to Yanzhou and entered the Dingnan Army from the south under the protection of a team of cavalry who were dressed up as herders.

Although the Khitans surrounded Xiazhou City, the Dangxiang people had mixed forces in the Dingnan Army and still blessed more than ten strongholds. The medical monk Wuzhen sent by Tiance was a monk from the Jokhang Temple. He came to Xiazhou since the time of Li Yichao to treat Li Yichao. Li Yichao's last day was Wuzhen to see him off. In addition to Li Yichao, many people from the Dangxiang tribe also used Wuzhen's medicine to cure the disease. Therefore, Wuzhen was very prestigious among the Dangxiang people, and Xu *** nobles worshiped him under his disciples.

At this time, he detoured and had already been secretly protected by the Dangxiang people. They grasped the opportunity for the Khitan siege and calculated that the Khitan siege would be relatively loose in the evening. At this time, he sent Wuzhen to the southwest of Xiazhou City and sent a signal to the city to immediately put a few large baskets in the city to pick them up.

When Li Yiyin heard that Wuzhen was coming, he came to greet him in person. This time Wuzhen and his accompanying people brought a lot of medicine for epidemics, which was very useful to the Dangxiang people who were in the besieged city. After entering the city, he distributed it to the Dangxiang people. All Dangxiangs were grateful. Li Yiyin's second son was also ill, and there was no need to say the joy in his heart when he saw Wuzhen.

Li Yiyin welcomed Wu Zhen into the mansion and said, "The master has brought life-saving medicine. This kind of kindness really makes my clan not know how to repay it!"

Wuzhen smiled softly and said, "My Buddha is merciful, this is the duty of our monks. Moreover, our China is a country of benevolence and righteousness. When friendly troops are in trouble, they will naturally devote their efforts to rescue them. The marshal just returned from 20,000 miles away, but when he heard that Xia, Ling was surrounded, and immediately all the troops in Liangzhou came to save the two states."

Li Yiyin happily said: "I have also heard that the marshal has led the army to the east. Now, we are saved in Xiazhou!"

Wu Zhen smiled and said, "Let me go and see the second young master before talking about it."

After Wuzhen left, a former Dangxiang clan, Li Zhuangheng, said: "The general is too showing weakness. In fact, it is not difficult for us to block the Khitans without Marshal Zhang to help. We don't have to rescue them. It is now cold autumn, as long as two months, as little as one month, it is cold winter. The south is poor, and the outside of the Dingnan army is also hard to bear the cold wind. It is impossible for the Khitans to attack before winter. Can they still spend the winter outside the city? If they must retreat, why should they accept the favor of Zhang Mai!"

Another tribe's elder Li Yixiu smiled and said, "Uncle, the general said this on purpose. It's nothing to accept Marshal Zhang's favor. Since Khitan entered Taonan, our Dangxiang has never fought any tough battles. Although the tribe members feel frustrated, don't you understand the general's painstaking efforts? Now it's Tiance, the Khitan heroes are fighting for the world. We are stuck in it, why do you have to be a front guard for one of them and fight with the other? In this situation, the most important thing is to preserve our Dangxiang's strength. When we see their victory and defeat, we will attack the weak again."

Li Yiyin shouted: "Yixiu! You can't say this!"

Li Yixiu bowed his head and should be so.

Li Zhuangheng said: "I'm afraid I'll make a mistake. That Zhang Mai is like a ghost and will not have such a good thing."

Li Yixiu said: "In short, you can pretend to be confused and casual."

After Li Zhuangheng left, Li Yixiu stayed. Li Yiyin blamed him: "Yixiu, although you are smart, you are not steady enough. You can only do things that are foolish and preserve your strength. You can only do things that can't be said! Even if you are to your own people, you can't say it! There are no airtight walls in the world. What's more, there are so many doctors in the Tiance Army who are active in our city and walk through the doors. If you are not careful, you may be heard by them even if you are at home."

Li Yixiu said, "Yes, yes." He said, "Brother, now Zhang Mai is back, he is really fierce. He actually ordered the army to fight the east as soon as he returned to Liangzhou. Didn't my brother say that even if Zhang Mai returns east, the Tiance army will have to be at least a year or two before he can get back? Why can Zhang Mai order 60,000 troops so quickly?"

Li Yiyin pondered and said, "This matter is hard to tell. Xiazhou and Lingzhou are the gateway to the northeast of Liangzhou. It is understandable that he was surrounded by two cities and rushed to rescue him. However, he could use tens of thousands of troops so quickly. There are only two explanations. The first is that Marshal Zhang was bluffing, and the second is that the power within the Tiance Army far exceeded our expectations - that is to say, Liangzhou still retained a powerful army while they were expeditioning the west."

Li Yixiu said: "If this is the case, then Zhang... Marshal Zhang would be too terrible. But I think he should be bluffing."

Li Yiyin said: "The Tiance Army can destroy the Uighurs and defeat the Khitan in the past few years. Naturally, the strength cannot be underestimated. No matter what, we should guard the city and observe the changes. I heard that Yelu Shuogu has already attacked Ulanbao. As long as they fight a battle, the Tiance Army will know whether it is strong or weak, whether it is virtual or real."

Li Yixiu said: "Yes, if the Tiance Army wins, then we will dispatch a large army to make contributions, but... what if the Tiance Army is actually internally empty? If Yelu Shuogu's thunder strike this time, if he cannot resist and lose his battle, his undefeated myth will be shattered. The Khitans took this opportunity to sweep the west, but I am afraid that Liangzhou will be lost, then..."

"If the Tiance Army is empty inside..." Li Yiyin said leisurely: "Our party Xiang has been able to survive the competition among heroes for the past hundred years, and we will know our survival. If the victory or defeat is decided by then, I will naturally make a choice! Now there are some things that cannot be spoken!"

Li Yixiu understood what Li Yiyin meant and said to himself: "Brother sees farther than me, and something happens more steadily."

Monk Wuzhen's medical skills have become more and more effective in recent years, and the medicines he brought are excellent. That night, he gave Li Yiyin's second son, and it improved the next day. Everyone in the Li family was grateful.

Li Yiyin was about to hold a banquet to thank him, but Li Zhuangheng suddenly came and quietly said, "The Khitan sent an envoy!" Li Yiyin felt a stern and said, "I'll come." First talked to Wuzhen about the situation of the disease in the city of the military and civilians. Wuzhen answered one by one. Li Yiyin said, "I was supposed to hold a banquet for the master, but the master worked hard for the dog's illness one night, so I would rather rest for the rest and hold a vegetarian banquet to invite the master tomorrow."

Wuzhen smiled and said, "I have come to Xiazhou for no time or twice, so the general doesn't have to be so polite."

Li Yiyin left Wuzhen and then came to see the Khitan envoy. The person who came was sent by Yelu Lihu, named Yelu Hulu. Li Yiyin crossed his hands and saluted. Yelu Hulu said, "You are the one with the surname Li, you have resisted stubbornly and have not surrendered yet. Are you really planning to come to the city like Linzhou, the prefecture, and the people are destroyed?"

Li Zhuangheng and others were furious when they heard this, but Li Yiyin smiled and said, "When all the emperors of Zhongyuan were eyeing Xiazhou, they all wanted to pull out this edge thorn and quickly. But so many emperors from Central Plains have changed, and Xiazhou still supported it. It is not without reason that our party Xiang can stand here for decades. Whether he can defend Xiazhou is clear."

Yelu Hulu sneered: "How can the poor emperor of the Central Plains Han'er be compared with my Khitan's confidant?"

Li Yiyin smiled and said, "The Central Plains have declined, but there are also times when they are strong. When the Black Crow Army swept across the Northern Frontier, I'm afraid there are times when the heart of the heart is in a mess."

Yelu Hulu said furiously: "What did you say!"

Li Yixiu hurriedly fought and said, "The Khitan is naturally invincible today, but the Tiance army is also the hero of the world. Now Marshal Zhang is known as the Tiankhan in the Western Regions. After returning to the east, he has raised troops to fight the east. The Khitan's confidant was entangled with my little Dangxiang under the city of Xiazhou. As the saying goes, it is said that if you win, you will not be able to make you laugh. It is better to advance westward and fight Zhang Longxiang in a dignified battle. If the Khitan can defeat Tiance, then the northwest vassals will naturally be subdued."

Yelu Hulu sneered: "Of course we want to fight the Tiance Army, but your Dangxiang should also express his attitude! I am here today to bring you good news!"

Li Yiyin said respectfully: "Please come and listen to the envoy of the country."

Yelu Hulu said: "Our prince asked me to bring you a kind decree, and you Dangxiang immediately declare that for generations, surrender to my Khitan, and send out the legitimate sons of the clan as the lord. In this way, the prince can report to the Queen Mother and confer General Li as the Marquis of Dingnan, so that Dangxiang can establish his own country for thousands of years, and will always be the barriers to the south of my Khitan."

The older generation Li Zhuangheng and others looked at each other, their eyes very complicated.

Yelu Hulu said again: "This is the prince's kindness and it is also your last chance. It is limited to three days to reply. If you obey, the Dangxiang clan will have a great backer from now on. If you don't obey, hehe, on the day the city is broken, Dangxiang will inevitably die! There is only one chance, where can you go? You can think about it!"

This is a surrender, but it is a naked threat! Li Zhuangheng and others were angry, but Li Yiyin had not yet expressed their opinions, so they did not dare to rush to say anything. Li Yixiu didn't know how to react. When looking at Li Yiyin, he smiled and said, "It's rare that the prince valued it so much. Thank you, thank you."

Yelu Hulu said: "What about your reply?"

Li Yiyin smiled and said, "Isn't there still three days left? No hurry, no hurry." Then he sent someone to send Yelu Hulu to rest.

Li Zhuangheng and others all came to ask: "General, do you really want to agree to them?"

Li Yiyin sneered: "The Khitans do not have a deep foundation in Guanlong Dao. If they cannot defeat Tiance, then today's surrender will be just a joke. Even if they win Tiance, it will be difficult for them to build a foundation here in a short period of time. We can still take advantage of the situation. Regardless of him, we just deal with it with kind words. We will not surrender or leave the city. As long as we guard Xiazhou City, even if the Khitans have the upper hand in the future, we will use our position. Let's first see how they and Tiance army win and lose."

Everyone said yes, only Li Zhuangheng said: "If the Khitan wins, we can still take advantage of the situation, if the Tiance wins... Then... the situation in Guanlong is probably not something we can control."

Li Yiyin fell silent. During this period, the friendship between the Dangxiang people and the Tiance Army was relatively deep, and they had established a relatively large degree of trust between them. They had already established a master-slave relationship, but it had not been made public. Dangxiang and the Khitan were relatively weak. Even if Yelu Li Hu made a promise, Li Yiyin could not guarantee that the promise could be fulfilled in the future.

But the reason why Li Yiyin has not been working hard to fight is that he considers that the Tiance Army is close at hand, once Zhang Mai gains power, he is afraid that the entire Dangxiang will be annexed by him. He just wants him to resist Zhang Mai but he dares not. After all, the Tiance Army has been invincible in recent years, and all the people who oppose Zhang Mai have no good ending except the Khitan. The Dangxiang people are not as strong as the Khitan, so Li Yiyin dares not publicly betray Zhang Mai.

At this time, he nodded and said, "The incident of the Khitan envoy entering the city will not be mentioned when he invites Wuzhen tomorrow. If anyone misses his words, the military order will be served!"

Everyone took their lives and said, "Yes!"

On the next day, Li Yiyin set up a vegetarian banquet, and together with a few confidants, he only invited Wuzhen, thanked him for bringing medicine, and cured his son.

After three rounds of wine, Li Zhuangheng and others praised the true medical skills. It turned out that his wife had also benefited from Wu Zhen's medical skills, so she put aside the national affairs and was sincere in this gratitude.

Wu Zhen's face showed a faint sadness and said, "You are all good men from the Northwest Road. I have been with you for several years and it is very happy. But after this, I am afraid it will be difficult to meet again in the future. Although it is not a perfect match, it will be a long time since then."

Li Yiyin, Li Zhuangheng and others were all surprised and said, "What are the words of Master?" Li Yiyin said, "The master has been between Liangzhou and Xiazhou, and he is in his prime. Why do you say such words? Is anyone in my clan neglecting the master?"

Wuzhen said: "It's not that I don't want to come, but the marshal said to me: 'I heard that you have a good relationship with Dangxiang and others. This time I took advantage of going to Xiazhou to end this fate."

Li Yiyin was shocked and said, "What does the marshal mean?"

Wuzhen said: "I am a monk and I don't know much about military and political affairs. I just occasionally tell the marshal, his wife and Mrs. Lu. However, this time I can see that the marshal is quite angry with the Dingnan Army."

The elders of Dangxiang clans looked at each other, and Li Zhuangheng hurriedly said, "Master, is it the marshal who has any misunderstandings about our clan? Or is there anyone who has made any slander in front of the marshal?"

Wuzhen said: "I don't know if there is any slander, but the marshal said to me: 'My Tiance Army is determined to be brothers with Dangxiang people. If Dangxiang people want medicine, we will give medicine. If we ask for money and food, we will give money and food. How could there be a word of ruling? Dangxiang people think I, Zhang Mai, are fools! They are rushing to do things lightly, but when they encounter great enemies, they retreat into the city and refuse to work. They want to preserve their strength and be fences. This is not the duty of being brothers, but playing calculating. Since they want to play calculating with me, I will no longer think they are their own people in the future.' The marshal said: '

Although my Tiance Army has some difficulties at the moment, no matter whether Dangxiang is helped or not, I have confidence in overcoming this difficulty. Even if Dangxiang people want to join forces with the Khitan, I will not be able to defeat me Zhang Mai! But after this difficulty, when I swept eastward, how to deal with Hetao states in the season will have to be reconsidered.’ The Marshal said that we and Dangxiang have been good friends after all, so we have to be together and separated without breaking up. Therefore, this is the last time I came to Xiazhou. When I leave, I will bring back all the medical monks and scholars I brought before, so as not to fall into war in the future.”

Wu Zhen is not a very professional diplomatic talent. These words are plain but not intimidating. However, it is this plainness that is not clever that expresses Zhang Mai's meaning more and more. Li Yiyin heard a face change color several times. Li Yixiu's eyes were gloomy and clear, and Li Zhuangheng lowered his head and looked ashamed.

After Wuzhen said that, he was about to stand up. Li Yiyin slapped the table suddenly and said angrily: "Master, who is the one who has made such a vicious slander against our clan in front of the marshal!"

Wu Zhen said in surprise: "General..."

Li Yiyin looked west and knelt down, gritted his teeth and bleeding, and said sternly: "I, Li Yiyin, had promised my heart to Tian Khan! The people of our tribe have long been willing to incorporate into the Tang Dynasty! Those who were trapped before were not to preserve their strength, but because of the great power of the Khitan, if they rashly left the city without any big help, they would be just to die in vain! Now that we have heard of the Marshal's expedition in the east, our tribe is happy and we have long wanted to fight hard. However, no one can express his intention to express his love to the marshal's throne on his behalf, and even the villain took the opportunity to enter and slander it!" At this point, the tiger's eyes shed tears.

Wuzhen said: "Is General Li's words true?"

Li Yiyin said: "The heaven is above! If my Li Yiyin's words are false, I would like to die under the sword!"

Li Zhuangheng, Li Yixiu and others all followed Li Yiyin and knelt down, saying, "We are all loyal to the Khan of Heaven! This ambition is expressive! I hope the master can reply to the Khan of Heaven. Never listen to slander, and cut off the friendship between our two families for a long time."

Wuzhen said: "I don't understand military and political affairs either. However, I still have a little understanding of the marshal's character."

Li Yiyin urgently asked Master Wuzhen to sit down and said, "Please give me advice!"

Wuzhen said: "The marshal is clear in character. He will do his best and promises. As long as he thinks it is his own people, wealth and honor will be shared, and disasters will be shared! But for those who are facing each other, the marshal will fight with swords and those who are conspiring to plot, and the marshal will also retaliate with conspiracy! Since the army started in the west of the Ridge, the east and west have been like this! Among the countries attached to him, Khotan is closest to me, because the lord of Khotan never had a scheming mind. Therefore, under the command of the Tang Dynasty, no matter whether there is no civil or military person enters Khotan to invade his power, Tubo attacks, and Khotan seeks help, the soldiers of the Tiance retreated after entering the defeat of the enemy and never stayed in the territory to disturb the people. On the contrary, many people in Khotan entered the Tiance army and were valued and were not regarded as outsiders at all, such as General Ma Jirong, which is an example."

Li Yiyin and others hurriedly said, "Yes, yes. I've heard of this for a long time."

Wuzhen said again: "As for those who do not sincerely submit to others, but rely on calculating, the marshal also responds to them with calculating hearts. However, the marshal is kind-hearted and will be favored as long as his clan and his people are still worthy of it. However, for those traitors who have evil intentions, such as the traitor named Zhang Huaizhong, even if he fled thousands of miles away, the marshal will never let him go! He will not return east without owing his head! This is the wrath of the Buddhist Vajra, and it is also Confucius' way of revenge for straightforward revenge! The marshal is a human being, which can be seen here!"

Li Yiyin said: "Then ask the master, how can our clan make the marshal believe in the loyalty of our clan?"

Wuzhen said: "Justice is in the hearts of the people. What does not matter. What matters is how the general and the Dangxiang tribe do in the current war. I don't think there is much to say, and everything is clear on the battlefield!"

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I am often tired without ***, but I can write with my heart.

Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, but I am still writing lonely. It’s a pity that I’m busy and no one applauds.

Sigh.
Chapter completed!