Tibet

The current situation in Liaodong is extremely tense. Although the Tang Army has not yet launched the Northern Expedition to Liaodong, the Tang Army's garrison in the Western Liaoning Corridor has put tremendous pressure on the Khitans.

In order to obtain war resources and strategic space, the Khitan teamed up with Silla and Heishui Mohe to launch an attack on the Bohai Kingdom.

The Bohai Navy was unable to fight against the three coalition forces and was defeated in three battles. Fuyu, Zhengjie and Changling in the west were captured by the Khitans, Nanhai and Yalu in the south were captured by Silla, and Huaiyuan, Tieli and Changling in the north were captured. Anyuan Mansion was captured by Heishui Mohe.

The Bohai Kingdom had lost more than half of its territory. In extreme panic, King Daqinmao sent an envoy to ask for help from Japan and the Tang Dynasty.

This afternoon, on an official road south of Xiande Mansion of Bohai State, an ox cart was hurriedly driving.

Sitting in the oxcart were a family of five, a middle-aged couple and their three children. The Central Plains man was named Gao Hongyuan, who was the governor of Longyuan Prefecture. After the Japanese army landed in Longyuan Prefecture, they burned, killed, and looted wantonly. , Gao Hongyuan's father was also killed by the Japanese army. He, his wife and their three children escaped from the city under the desperate protection of their men.

Gao Hongyuan is a Han Chinese, and his ancestor is a branch of the Bohai Gao family in Yingzhou. He did not dare to go to Beijing and fled directly to his hometown in Yingzhou with his family.

In addition to the family of five, there was also an old servant who drove the cattle cart. Several of his men went to resist the pursuers, but they did not come back and probably died at the hands of the pursuers.

At this time, a caravan appeared in front, a middle-aged businessman, with five or six guys and a dozen donkeys. The donkeys were loaded with goods. Judging from their direction, they were heading towards Longyuan Mansion.

Gao Hongyuan couldn't bear it and shouted quickly: "Stop!"

The bullock cart stopped slowly, and his wife was startled, "Husband, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to say hello to them, otherwise they will be killed by the Japanese army."

Gao Hongyuan jumped out of the bullock cart, waved and shouted: "Wait a minute!"

The caravan came over, and the leading merchant looked at Gao Hongyuan and said in surprise: "Brother, are you Han?"

"Exactly, you are also Han Chinese!"

The appearance of Gao Hongyuan and the others did not look like Donghu people.

The leading merchant nodded and said with a smile: "We are coming from Yingzhou to do some small business in Longyuan Mansion!"

Gao Hongyuan waved his hand quickly, "You can't go, you can't go. The Japanese army burned, killed and looted in Longyuan Mansion. They were extremely cruel and killed countless people. If you go, you will definitely be killed and raped."

The businessman smiled and said, "Could it be that my brother escaped from Longyuan Mansion?"

Gao Hongyuan's youngest son shouted: "My father is the governor of Longyuan Prefecture."

The businessman quickly clasped his fists and said, "It turns out to be the governor, disrespect! Disrespect!"

Gao Hongyuan smiled bitterly and said: "I have abandoned my official position and fled. I am no longer the governor."

At this time, a waiter suddenly said: "Manager, just ask him directly. We don't need to take risks in Longyuan Mansion."

Gao Hongyuan was shocked, why do you call him the manager?

The middle-aged businessman then took out a silver medal and said with a smile: "To be honest, brother, we are scouts of the Tang Army. I, Jia Yun, have been ordered to go to Longyuan Mansion to find out information. I wonder if the governor is willing to provide us with information?"

Gao Hongyuan was stunned. How could he meet Tang Jun here?

He said after a while: "Of course I am willing, but why are you here? Has the Tang army already captured Yingzhou?"

"The Tang army has not yet made its Northern Expedition, and Yingzhou is still occupied by the Khitan army. The investigation there is very strict, so we came here through another route."

At this time, Gao Hongyuan's wife said: "Husband, ask them if they can go to Pingzhou?"

Gao Hongyuan quickly clasped his fists and said, "My wife is from Pingzhou. I wonder if you can take us to Pingzhou?"

Gao Hongyuan also had doubts. After all, the Khitans were at war with Bohai State and Yingzhou was occupied by the Khitans. It was not safe for them to go to Yingzhou.

Jia Yun smiled slightly and said: "Brother, can you prove that you are the governor of Longyuan Mansion?"

Gao Hongyuan nodded and took out his governor's official seal, as well as his tooth wand and silver fish from the oxcart. He was a fourth-rank official of the Bohai State.

Jia Yun was overjoyed. He really couldn't find anything after running through iron shoes. It took no effort to get here. He quickly said: "It's not safe here. There will be Khitan sentries. Let's go to the woods to rest for a while before leaving at night."

Gao Hongyuan went back to discuss with his wife. The couple both believed that since they were Han Chinese, it would be safer to go to the Tang Dynasty. They had two daughters, one fifteen and one thirteen years old, who were easily violated by the Khitan army.

Gao Hongyuan quickly clasped his fists and said, "Then I'll bother Manager Lao Jia!"

Jia Yun was overjoyed and immediately led everyone away from the official road and went to a pine forest not far away to take shelter temporarily.

Sure enough, not long after entering the pine forest, a group of more than 20 Khitan sentries galloped past the official road on horseback, scaring Gao Hongyuan into a cold sweat.

Jia Yun whispered: "This is very close to Changling Mansion. There are three thousand Khitan troops stationed in Changling Mansion. They will attack Xiande Mansion next, so they will definitely send out sentries to check the situation of the garrison and other situations."

Gao Hongyuan said with lingering fear: "Fortunately I met Manager Jia, otherwise I would have encountered the Khitan cavalry a little later. These Khitan people are very cruel and have no military discipline. My wife and daughter will definitely not be able to escape the clutches of the devil. It is God's will!"

Jia Yun smiled and said: "We are the Guan Long Army, not the ordinary Tang Army. Please don't worry, Governor Gao!"

Jia Yun turned around and ordered his men to distribute dry food and water to Gao Hongyuan's family.

Gao Hongyuan thanked him again and again, and asked in confusion: "When we go to Pingzhou, do we still have to pass through Yingzhou?"

Jia Yun shook his head, "The Liaoxi Corridor has been blocked by the Khitans. We can't go back by land. We actually came by water."

"Ah! Do you have a boat?"

Jia Yun smiled slightly, "When we reach the Liaohe River, Governor Gao will see it!"

Hope ignited in Gao Hongyuan's heart. Although it is still far from the Liaohe River, at least he doesn't have to go to Yingzhou.

As night fell, Jia Yun's men found a local farmer. They used a bullock cart and a dozen donkeys as a reward. The farmer called his son, and the father and son led everyone to an abandoned official road. This official road was very hidden and completely covered with weeds. If you are not familiar with it, you can't find it at all. The bullock cart and the goods have been left at the farmer's home. Gao Hongyuan and his wife and children rode donkeys, and the team went all the way west.

This path was indeed secret. They didn't meet any Khitans along the way. They even saw the brightly lit camp of the Khitan army from a distance, but they still bypassed the north of the Khitan camp without any danger.

After the team had walked for two full days, a wide river suddenly appeared in front of everyone. This was the Liao River.

Jia Yun asked people to give more than a dozen donkeys to the father and son. The father and son thanked him profusely and led the donkeys away.

After everyone rested for about an hour, two men found a large ship to meet them and guided the ship to their resting place.

The Tang army's ship was a 3,000-stone ship. The paddles were turning and it was sailing quickly in the middle of the wide Liao River. Even if the Khitans found them, they could not do anything to them.

There were more than 30 soldiers on the ship, all holding craftsmen in their hands, standing vigilantly on both sides of the ship.

Gao Hongyuan's wife, children and two daughters were placed in the cabin, and the old servant was also with the boatmen. Everyone had been fleeing for more than ten days and had long been a frightened bird. It was not until this moment that they found a sense of security.

In the cabin, Gao Hongyuan slowly told Jia Yun about the situation of the Japanese army. Longyuan Prefecture was the estuary of the Tumen River and the port of the Bohai Kingdom.

The Japanese army chose Longyuan Prefecture to land, and their intention was obvious, to control the seaports and ships of Bohai.

"They had about 30,000 troops, nominally under the banner of supporting Bohai, and pretended to have strict military discipline at the beginning, but when they tricked the gates of Qingzhou open under the pretext that the soldiers were sick and wanted to be sent to the city for treatment, their brutality was exposed. 30,000 troops rushed into the city, raped, burned and killed, and the entire Qingzhou city became a hell. I had dozens of men who tried their best to protect me and my wife and children to escape from the city, and they probably died too."

"Why didn't Governor Gao go to Shangjing?" Jia Yun asked puzzled.

Gao Hongyuan sighed, "The Bohai court believed that the Japanese army was coming to rescue. If I told them that the Japanese army was burning, killing and looting, they would never believe it. Instead, they would execute me for spreading rumors and misleading the people."

"Is it that serious?"

Gao Hongyuan sighed, "There are Japanese envoys in Shangjing. They will never allow me to disrupt their plans. I am originally from Yang Chengqing's faction. Those ministers who are hostile to him will certainly not miss this opportunity to kill me."

Jia Yun nodded and said, "We have a logistics base on Juehua Island. My ship is currently returning to Juehua Island. Your family will temporarily live in the temple on the island. I will guarantee your safety and life. When our army marches north, I am afraid there will be many things to trouble Governor Gao."

Gao Hongyuan nodded silently. He also hoped that he could play a role so that his wife and children would be safe and sheltered.

"I will do my best to help the Tang army!"