Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

In the mountain to the east of Niangziguan, the Youzhou army camp was ablaze like stars. Xiao Siwen stared blankly at the night sky, but he still didn't feel lively at this moment, because apart from a military camp winding among the mountains, the large area of ​​the mountains was pitch black and almost uninhabited.

He looked to the west, and there was a late night mountain wind whistling in front of him, but he couldn't see anything; it was just that the scouts from yesterday and past spread the message that there was Niangziguan in front of him, and there were a large number of Zhou troops. At this moment, Xiao Siwen had an intuition that he was trekking in the desert and was about to approach the oasis town, but he could not move forward.

The swaying bonfire shone on Xiao Abudi's face. The fire was bright but weak, and the light and darkness were obvious from far and near, forming a sense of hierarchy. His face was very clear to the firelight, with sharp edges and corners. There was dirt and black mud between the weathered texture of his skin, and weeds on his light, disheveled beard;

Xiao Abu shook his head and made a helpless expression: "I remembered something. A brother in the tribe said that there was a tiger in the nearby mountain, and we made an appointment to go hunting together the next morning. But when I got up the next day and was ready to go out, I ran into that brother; he told me that he had already killed it and carried it back..."

The few people sitting around the fire wanted to laugh, but couldn't, so they immediately looked at each other.

Someone said in a deep voice: "I heard that Blacksmith Guo is a monster. Thinking about how many headless corpses were left in the battle of Zhuozhou is really appalling..."

After Xiao Siwen heard this, he suddenly felt a gust of cold wind blowing on his face, and he almost shivered. When I listened to it again, I could not see clearly the sound of the wind in the black shadow of the heavy mountain, "wuwuwuwu", as if there were some monsters screaming in the mountains.

He immediately said: "It's an ignorant fool who believes such nonsense. Blacksmith Guo is just a human being."

Sitting next to you are all people with status in Youzhou, and they all nodded in agreement after hearing this.

Xiao Siwen said: "It's just that this person should not be underestimated..." He immediately remembered the battle of Zhuozhou, the incredible and sudden fall of Jinyang, etc., and continued, "I'm afraid this is a powerful figure who has only appeared in the Central Plains for hundreds of years. Once such a person appears, and now he is in power again, the world will definitely be turned upside down. It's time for the entire Great Khitan family to raise their utmost vigilance."

Xiao A asked incredulously: "Is it really that powerful?"

Xiao Siwen frowned and said, "What you do is something that ordinary people can't imagine, just like now, who can take Jinyang, which is heavily defended in half a month? We didn't even think about it."

"Yes." "That's..." Everyone murmured in Khitan for a while.

Xiao Siwen pondered for a long time, as if he saw a group of wild beasts on the grassland surrounding a leader, and he thought Guo Shao was the leader of Han'er. There are many people in Han'er, and there are all kinds of people. Every once in a while, there will always be a person who is different from ordinary people.

"Order, the troops will be withdrawn tomorrow." Xiao Siwen looked back and said, "Now Jinyang has been lost, and the Northern Han Kingdom has no possibility of contesting it. We need to prepare early and prepare to protect Youzhou!"

A general frowned and said, "Your Majesty thinks that Blacksmith Guo is going to attack Youzhou?"

Xiao Siwen nodded vigorously: "Northern Han is a small country, but not a weak country. Blacksmith Guo will take it like a bag, and he will definitely be more confident because of it! In addition, the sixteen prefectures of Youyun have always been the scars of the Central Plains, and their greatest wish is to regain them. Blacksmith Guo will definitely think about this place day and night!"

Xiao Siwen frowned, and said seriously: "Daliao must do its best to protect Youzhou, and Youzhou is also very important to Daliao.

First of all, the sixteen prefectures of Youyun have a warmer climate than the grasslands, and the land is fertile, providing Daliao with a large amount of food, salt, tea, cloth, utensils, etc. Without this place, Daliao will have a shortage of supplies, which will cause turmoil.

Secondly, the east of the river has been lost, and the land of Youyun is the only outpost for Daliao to enter the Central Plains. Once Youzhou is lost, the attack and defense will change, causing extremely long-term impact. The grassland will lose its active advantage over the Central Plains, and will easily be at a disadvantage.

There are also some reasons. Some Khitan nobles are too arrogant and unwilling to admit it, but people of insight have accepted it; otherwise, Daliao would not have appointed Han officials to change the official system, and Shangjing would not have a south city dedicated to Han children. The Central Plains surpasses all ethnic groups in many aspects such as laws and regulations, craftsman skills, etc.; we have Youzhou, not only can use Youzhou Haner, but also opened up easier contacts with the Central Plains, which is convenient for the Liao Dynasty to learn the strengths of the Central Plains. "

Xiao Siwen looked around, the faces of the generals were a little dazed. He didn't care too much, in this world, people with real knowledge and wisdom are not everywhere!

But he firmly believed in his own knowledge, and immediately said firmly: "Anyone with a public heart should recognize that Youzhou is extremely important! It is worth the power of the whole country to keep!"

Abudi looked at him reverently, and then complained: "Your Majesty only cares about the country, so others may not be grateful to you."

Xiao Siwen stared at Abudi's face, and said sternly: "We are Khitan people and nobles of Daliao. This matter is related to the fate of the country! Under the collapse of the nest, will there be any eggs?"

Xiao Siwen is not only thinking about the future of the Liao Kingdom, but also about his own future... how can people not think about themselves? But some things can be put on the table and said openly, such as worrying about the country; some things can't be said, but can only be thought of by oneself.

The first thing he thought of was the threat posed to him by Emperor Yelvjing of the Liao Kingdom. Xiao Siwen and Yelvjing have objective contradictions, which is why Yelvjing often sends people to observe him. The emperor dared not touch him casually, and the conflict had not yet intensified. However, Xiao Siwen had to consider: he is the king of the South Courtyard, the highest person in charge of the Youyun area, if he really loses the Sixteen States of Youyun, Yelvjing will definitely take the opportunity to get rid of him in a legitimate way!

The fundamental conflict between Xiao Siwen and Yelvjing is the faction of the previous generation.

Liao Taizu Yelu Abaoji's eldest son Liao Yizong (who was not actually enthroned but was posthumously emperor) and his second son Liao Taizong, and the grievances between the two factions are the root of today's factions and chaos in the Liao Kingdom.

Xiao Siwen belonged to the Xiao family, and the Xiao family was not the royal family of the Liao country, but the most important noble surname in the Liao country. It is the marriage family designated by the royal family of the Liao Kingdom, and it is the family court of the prime ministers of the Liao Kingdom; the successive prime ministers of the Northern Court of Shangjing are all surnamed Xiao.

The Xiao family and the Yelu family are mainly in an alliance relationship, and the Xiao family itself has little to do with the factional conflicts of the Yelu family. But when it comes to specific people, it is inevitable that it will be involved, so Xiao Siwen can't get rid of it.

His uncle was the prime minister of the Liao Kingdom during the Taizu period, and he was on the side of Liao Yizong, the eldest son of Liao Taizu... Later, Taizong's descendants and Yizong's descendants repeatedly competed for power, and Xiao Siwen fell into it; now, Yelujing, who sits on the throne, is the eldest son of Liao Taizong, and Xiao Siwen's factional position (Yizong's line) will obviously be questioned.

In order to express his position and ease the conflict, Xiao Siwen married his eldest daughter, Xiao Hunian, to the younger brother of the current emperor, King Taiping; and as a gesture of not participating in the power struggle of the Yelu family, he then married his second daughter to King Zhao, the younger brother of Yeluxian (Yizong's grandson), as a balance...but this action intensified the current emperor's concern for him.

He still has a daughter who is not married and has not yet grown up. Her name is Xiao Chuo, with small characters Yanyan.

Xiao Siwen knew it well, after the two sides made a bet, they used the marriage to stabilize their position, but the conflict did not intensify... But once a major event happened, Yelvjing's suspicion and violence would put him in great danger.

He pondered for a long time, rubbed his hand on his chin for a while, and sighed "ah".

...

The good news has spread to Tokyo quickly, and there is not much celebration in the world in Tokyo, because the emperor is still on the front line. However, the congratulatory memorials in the court and the enthusiastic discussions in the government are the changes brought about by victory. There are also rumors in the market. After all, Jinyang is not far from Tokyo, and it is a famous place that has posed a huge threat to Tokyo for many years. The people are also very concerned about this matter.

Dragon City's reputation has the greatest influence on Tokyo; in the past, if people from Dragon City wanted to rule the Central Plains, they would come to Tokyo.

"Dragon City under the half moon!" On the wooden building of the tea shop, a round-bellied man said these words in a heavy tone, with all kinds of strong emotions in his tone.

Another man put down the nuts in his hand and said: "In addition to half a month to go down to Dragon City, there are two more months to destroy the entire territory of Shu, and a few months to destroy the whole of Southern Tang! It is said that since the beginning of the war, he has never been defeated! The ancient God of War is nothing more than this..."

The round-bellied man said: "Today, in the Forbidden Army, he has long been on par with the God of War."

"Odd!" The man just now frowned and shook his head, "Have you ever thought that this might not be a mortal, but a god reincarnated?"

Immediately, expressions of awe and mystery appeared on the faces of several people present. In fact, everyone has never seen ghosts and gods with their own eyes, but no one forced them not to believe in ghosts and gods. Even the sacrifices on various occasions and Taoist priests calling ghosts in funerals did not deny the existence of gods. Almost everyone has the mentality of "there is a god in the sky" and "it is better to believe what is there than to believe what is not".

The round-bellied man seems to have practiced martial arts, and he is more knowledgeable about military affairs. (The fat people at this time were all from well-to-do families, otherwise they couldn’t afford to raise fat; people from well-to-do families in troubled times love to practice martial arts.) He mused, "I heard that when I was a general of the imperial army, I became famous for shooting Zhang Yuanhui, the number one fierce general of the Northern Han Dynasty. Now I am good at archery. I can open a huge bow of twelve stones, and I can shoot leaves three hundred steps away!"

Everyone stared at him with rounded eyes, and no one didn't believe it. Everyone doesn't even know what a twelve-stone bow looks like, but in the eyes of everyone, such things as killing a famous general with one arrow are very miraculous and important in the eyes of everyone!

The round-bellied man said in a deep voice: "Ordinary people are not so good at archery. Could it be Hou Yi reincarnated today?"

"Ah!" Everyone was in an uproar. The people in the four seats of the tea shop were attracted by the attention, and they all looked sideways, and some simply gathered around to listen curiously.

A man in the seat said: "Hou Yi can shoot down nine suns."

The round-bellied man said disapprovingly: "Houyi was originally the god of war, and the real god is of course even more powerful. Today, the real god reincarnated and cast himself into the mortal world, how can he have all the mana?"

Everyone felt reasonable when they heard it, and nodded in agreement: "It makes sense." "It makes sense..."

!!