Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Standing on Longshan Mountain, you can overlook Liaoxi Fort and the whole area, because Xu Jun's fort was built on a flat place near the sea.

Xiao Siwen faced the wind and watched the scene in front of him. The sea stretched as far as the eye can see. On the gray coast, the Liaoxi Fort lying on the ground seemed to be a pattern engraved on the earth.

The sound of the wind was faintly mixed with the noise of the crowd. On the flat ground, there were groups of people one mile away from Liaoxi Fort. They were all Xi soldiers and Jurchen soldiers, surrounded by ladders. Looking from a high place, they looked like groups of ants carrying insects. At first glance, the crowd didn't seem to be moving, but after staring for a while, they could be found to be approaching Liaoxi Fort.

All of a sudden, I saw flames shining on the fortress, and a string of white smoke came out! After a while, I heard "Boom..." The sound of the cannon came from the wind.

There was the most commotion on Liaoxi Fort. There was no battle between Xi Bing and Jurchen soldiers, only a ladder collapsed. The thick smoke on the fort was sprayed several times in a row, and the ladders in the distance kept breaking and collapsing, and the crowd gradually spread to the surroundings, as if they had been harassed and frightened. Not long after, almost all the troops retreated away from Liaoxi Fort one after another.

Seeing this, Xiao Siwen turned around and left the mountain, and said to a Khitan man: "There is no need to attack again, withdraw troops! Wait until the afternoon, and then send people to persuade them to surrender."

Yang Dagon stepped forward and said, "Mr. Xiao, if you persuade him to surrender like this, Xu Jun will not surrender."

Xiao Siwen said: "It's okay to try, tell them that the emperor of Xu Kingdom, Guo Blacksmith, is about to die, and he can't care about them anymore."

Yang Gun pondered: "The person we went to persuade to surrender was killed last time. The general Xu Jun here is very firm. The general feels that as long as there are military supplies and food supplies, Xu Jun will definitely not surrender... There is a canal in the southwest of Liaoxi Fort. It has not been completed, but it can accommodate small boats. We must first find a way to cut off this canal and prevent Xu Jun from the grain road from the sea before forcing the Liaoxi Fort guards to surrender."

Xiao Siwen said: "Liaoxi Fort is one mile away from the sea, and the whole section of the canal is within the bombardment, how to cut it off?"

Yang Gun said: "We must start to find a way from this place."

Xiao Siwen snorted, noncommittal, surrounded Liaoxi Fort for so long, if he could think of a way, why think about it now?

Xiao Siwen said: "Look, old man, don't just stare at the earthen castle. You have to look at the bigger picture. If the Xu people want to build a fort to occupy my vast land of Bohai Sea (Northeast), it will take ten or eight years and it will be fruitless! Their strategy is not like this, otherwise why did Li Chuyun lead the army to the Northwest before?"

Yang Gun nodded and said, "The people of Xu Guo still want to rely on cavalry, and the reason for expanding westward is for war horses."

Xiao Siwen said: "That's right. Damn it, he doesn't want to occupy so many lands in the south of Xu country, he must focus on our fertile land."

Yang Gun said calmly: "If Guo Tiejiang can't survive the death gate, these threats are nothing."

The two looked at each other.

They stopped talking, came down from the mountain, took a team of fine cavalry, and went back to Yingzhou.

...When they arrived at Yingzhou Xingyuan, someone immediately said to Xiao Siwen: "Fan's family has something important to report."

Facing a pair of bronze mirrors, Xiao Siwen adjusted his hat and collar first, and said without turning his head: "Let him wait in the lobby, and I will be there soon."

After saying that, he took the hot towel from the attendant, wiped the dust off his face, and smoothed the beard on his lips with his fingers, before heading to the lobby. In the hall, Yelu Xiezhen, Yang Gun, and Fan Zhongyi were already arguing there.

Yelu Xiezhen said, "Why did Yang Ye run away?!"

After hearing this, Xiao Siwen immediately felt that he was very interested in this matter. At this time someone said: "Duke Xiao is here." Everyone put their hands on their chests and bowed, Fan Zhongyi still clasped his fists and bowed, but he didn't speak, it was dumb.

Xiao Siwen first sat down firmly in the upper position, no matter what, he still had to pay attention to his demeanor and status at all times, even the general Yelu Xiezhen was a head shorter in front of him.

Fan Zhongyi went up to pay homage respectfully: "The lower officials got the news that on the first day of August, Yang Ye, who was ordered to go to Beijing, suddenly left Beijing and fled. This matter is quite strange."

Xiao Siwen asked: "How do you know that he is trying to escape?"

Fan Zhongyi said: "Before he left Beijing, he rented a horse from a chariot and horse dealer with only one entourage, which happened to be seen by our people. The secret agent tried to go to the chariot dealer to find out, but Yang Ye didn't even bring enough money when he rented the horse, so he put the jade pendant on the chariot dealer, which shows that the itinerary was very hasty. The eyeliner near the city gate also confirmed that Yang Ye left Tokyo in a panic.

In addition, three small officials from Kaifeng Prefecture and Xuzhou Prefecture survived the investigation by the Xu State court. Kaifeng Prefecture officials secretly reported that Yang Ye's entourage in Tokyo was detained on the first day of August.

The three little officials told the scout outpost that they hoped to move their family to live in Liao. "

Yelu Xiezhen said calmly: "Fan's family is highly valued by Duke Xiao, and he holds an important position. The Khitan nobles are already dissatisfied."

Fan Zhongyi said softly: "Xiao Gongyan, as long as he can poison|kill Guo Tiejiang, he will ask the Great Khan to give him the surname Xiao, a hereditary noble in Khitan..."

Xiao Siwen immediately interrupted him, and said: "Let's talk about Guo Tiejiang after he's dead... those few people have a lot to do in Xu State, what's the use of coming to Liao State?"

Fan Zhongyi hurriedly said: "Xiao Gong and Marshal Yelu are right. However, so many people were killed a while ago, they must have been scared out of their wits."

Fan Zhongyi paused and continued, "On the day of Yang Ye's escape on the first day of August, two other things happened. Governor Xu Zhouduan was convicted of treason and escorted back to Tokyo. Xu Guo's puppet emperor Guo Shao fainted in front of hundreds of people. Not long after that, Lord Protector Luo Yanhuan committed suicide in Dali Temple. Guo Shao seemed to have never looked at the court again, and Dafu still supervised the country."

Xiao Siwen stroked the soft mink fur earmuffs on the hat, and pondered: "It's interesting..."

Yang Gun said: "Could it be that Yang Ye also colluded with Zhou Duan and fled temporarily when he learned that Zhou Duan had committed a serious crime?"

Fan Zhongyi shook his head and said bluntly: "No. Yang Ye is a general of the Eastern Han Dynasty (Northern Han Dynasty). How long has it been since he surrendered to the Tokyo Puppet Dynasty? He doesn't even have any connections in Tokyo, so what does he have to do with Xuzhou Zhouduan? Besides, if Guo Tiejiang wants to do this to Yang Ye, Yang Ye probably has no chance to run away."

Yang Gun was still white, and was a little dissatisfied with Fan Zhongyi's tone, but he didn't say anything.

But Yelu Xiezhen agreed very much: "Fan's affairs are reasonable."

Xiao Siwen thought for a long time, frowned and said: "After Guo Blacksmith was poisoned, what happened to Xu Guo's court?" After finishing speaking, he looked at Fan Zhongyi. Although this guy is from Youzhou, he is also a Han Chinese after all. Maybe he has a better understanding of the Han people.

But Fan Zhongyi was also a little troubled, and said: "Let's look at the results, two princes and a prime minister died, as well as Zheng Wang Guo Zongxun (Chai Zongxun), Shouzhou defense envoy Guo Jin, Xu Governor Shi Zhouduan is almost dead, and thousands of people were implicated.

Governor Xu Zhouduan, and a large group of people, because they were implicated in the poisoning case of the false emperor Guo Shao, they were very clear about it. Prime Minister Fan Zhi and other henchmen want to fish in troubled waters and support |Guo Zongxun to restore the Great Zhou Dynasty, which is not surprising... The official of Xu State said that those people colluded together to conspire against each other, but Fan Zhi and Zhongli have nothing to do with our Daliao, and they have nothing to do with the Zhao family, so the court report of Xu State is not credible.

The most strange thing is how did the confidants of the two princes and Guo Tiejiang die? "

Xiao Siwen took a look at Fan Zhongyi, and couldn't help nodding: "Fan's family affairs are indeed real and learned, and what he said is very reasonable."

Fan Zhongyi was greatly encouraged, he clasped his fists and bowed and said: "Li Chuyun killed Daliao's messenger, and he didn't seem to rebel. But he was killed by his close staff, why did that staff Zhongli kill Li Chuyun?"

Yelu Xiezhen asked, "Isn't that person our arrangement?"

Fan Zhongyi said: "It's only been a few years since the appointment of the lower officials. How can they arrange such an important chess piece in the state? This person's origin is very strange. He used to be a subordinate of the traitor general Li Yun, but after interrogation by Xu Guo's government, there was no problem, so he let him go. Li Chuyun dared to use him, and he probably checked and found no problems."

Xiao Siwen thoughtfully said: "Could it be to avenge the old master Li Yun? There is someone in Han'er's book...the one who ruined his face and plotted to assassinate the old master."

Fan Zhongyi said calmly: "The pre-Qin Yurang."

"Yes, yes!" Xiao Siwen suddenly said.

Fan Zhongyi said: "Back to Duke Xiao, due to the different dynasties and different folk customs, there were concessions in the pre-Qin period, but now there is no concession. Besides, Li Yun's death has nothing to do with Li Chuyun."

Yang Gun and Yelu Xiezhen scratched their foreheads at the same time.

Xiao Siwen said: "Could it be that Blacksmith Guo wants to kill Li Chuyun?"

Fan Zhongyi pondered: "It's very possible...there are not many people who can kill the Duke, but it's easy for Blacksmith Guo."

Xiao Siwen stood up and took a few steps, then turned around and said, "Besides the tyrant Yelujing, my biggest opponent is Guo Tiejiang. I always think about this person, but I always feel that killing Li Chuyun like this doesn't seem like Guo Tiejiang's style."

Fan Zhongyi said: "It's hard to say, the Han'er fights among themselves, all of them are unscrupulous."

Xiao Siwen asked again: "What's the matter with Luo Yanhuan, Duke Protector?"

Fan Zhongyi thought for a while: "Luo Yanhuan and Li Chuyun are life and death friends..."

"Oh!" Xiao Siwen was stunned at first, then thought carefully, and was at a loss again.

At this time, Fan Zhongyixiang said: "On the first day of August, Luo Yanhuan admitted to colluding with Governor Xu Zhou Duan. The whole court knew about it, and soon all the yamen heard about it. Zhou Duan was convicted of treason after that.

The officials thought that Luo Yanhuan had fallen into the trap of Guo Tiejiang, who wanted him to die. Rather than saying that Luo Yanhuan died in collusion with Zhou Duan, it is better to say that he was related to Li Chuyun.

Because Luo Yanhuan and Li Chuyun were good friends, they had nothing to do with Zhou Duanyi. "

After hearing this, Xiao Siwen sighed: "The court of the Central Plains has always been complicated, and it is really difficult to understand the way..."

Fan Zhongyi said: "It is difficult to say that it is difficult, and it is not difficult to say that it is not difficult. It's just that we don't have important contacts in the court of the Xu Kingdom, so we can only look at the flowers and the moon in the mist. Because since ancient times, the Han Emperor | Dynasty has been inconsistent with what it looks like, with internal law and foreign Confucianism.