Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Xiao Siwen sat in the Xingyuan hall of Yingzhou, pondered for a long time, and said, "There must be something strange in it!"

Fan Zhongyi said: "The lower officials boldly speculate that Xu Guo's court has set up a trap for Yang Ye, just like Luo Yanhuan; but this trap has only just begun, and Yang Ye is more vigilant than Luo Yanhuan, and he decisively returned to Hedong's own territory ahead of time..."

Yang Gun asked bluntly: "What trap?"

Fan Zhongyi spread his hands and said, "We don't know anything now, I just assume there is a trap."

Yang Gun asked again: "Guo Tiejiang has a lot of trust in Yang Ye, so Yang Ye, as a general of the Eastern Han (Northern Han), still leads the troops in Hedong. If this is the case, why did Guo Tiejiang set a trap for Yang Ye?"

Fan Zhongyi said: "If the poison in Guo Tiejiang's body has entered the five internal organs, what if he knows that time is short? Can Yang Ye recognize Guo Tiejiang, can he recognize Guo Tiejiang's son?"

Yang Gun couldn't argue, but refused to admit defeat and said: "The speculation about Fan's affairs has no basis."

At this time Xiao Siwen patted the chair and said: "It's time to go back to Beijing."

Yang Gun said: "Mr. Xiao, is this the end of our situation in western Liaoning?"

Xiao Siwen was a little displeased immediately, and said earnestly: "Your vision is still a little narrow, no matter Liaoxi or Hedong, there is only one enemy of Daliao: Xu Guo."

After finishing speaking, he let out a breath, stood up from the chair, and said: "I have to send someone to meet Yang Ye in Hedong, and see what's going on."

Yelu Xiezhen asked: "Who does Duke Xiao think is suitable?"

Xiao Siwen's gaze swept across the faces of Yang Dagon and Fan Zhongyi, and Yang Dagon's expression suddenly changed, becoming very ugly, and the lobby suddenly fell silent. Unexpectedly, Xiao Siwen pointed to Fan Zhongyi and said, "Go to Fan's residence."

"Mr. Xiao." Fan Zhongyi hurriedly said, "Our subordinate officials are in charge of our fine work in Xu Country, in case something unexpected happens to the subordinate officials..."

Xiao Siwen said: "Avoid the trivial and focus on the important. This kind of thing must be done by someone I trust. Fan's family wants to be recognized by the nobles as Khitan nobles. I am also thinking of a way. I have to convince the public, right?"

"Yes, I will obey." Fan Zhongyi said helplessly.

Xiao Siwen said: "If you are ready, you don't have to go to Beijing with us."

...Fan Zhongyi left the Xingyuan Hall and returned to his residence to pack his things. The place where he lived in Yingzhou was turned into a mess by him at this moment, just like his mood at the moment.

The last time Xiao Siwen sent someone to contact Da Xu general Li Chuyun, he was killed directly, and it was only two or three months ago. Can Fan Zhongyi not worry about his fate?

He walked back and forth in front of the window twice, looked up at the scene outside the window, took a deep breath and fell into thought.

Whether Hedong Yangye fell out with Xu Guo's court or not is related to Fan Zhongyi's life and death. If the guess is wrong, Fan Zhongyi will definitely be clicked when he comes to the door as an envoy of Daliao!

The point is that now Daliao is not sure what Yang Ye's behavior means.

But Xiao Siwen didn't need to be sure before reacting, as long as he had the opportunity, he would want to try; just like the last time he sent someone to talk to Li Chuyun. Anyway, separating Xu Guojun and his ministers is a no-cost business.

Fan Zhongyi felt that he was probably the one who understood Xiao Siwen's mind best... What Xiao Siwen most wanted to see was the collapse of Xu's domestic turmoil. In this way, it would not only eliminate the external pressure of Daliao, but also have a chance to regain Youyun Sixteen Prefectures! After Xiao Siwen became the privy envoy of the North Court, he has actually become the ruler of Daliao. This is his ambition to govern!

When the Sixteen States of Youyun were lost that year, in the end Xiao Siwen threw all the blame on the "tyrant" Yelujing, but he himself couldn't get away with it. If Xiao Siwen could take back the Youyun Sixteen States when he was in charge of the state affairs, the prestige and status of Yeluxian's power circle at that time could be stabilized to the greatest extent, and Xiao Siwen himself could become a famous minister who will go down in history.

...Fan Zhongyi packed up his luggage and mood, and finally embarked on his itinerary with his two attendants and a few horses, because he had no other choice.

Half a month later, under the guidance of Tatar guides, Fan Zhongyi and others approached the territory under the jurisdiction of Yunzhou (near Datong today).

Yunzhou was originally an important border town in the southern border of the Great Liao Dynasty, but after the Youzhou War, the first emperor of the Liao Kingdom, Yelujing, was assassinated to death, and the civil strife in Shangjing caused panic everywhere; the Khitan guard of Yunzhou gave up the city when threatened by Xuzhou, and has been controlled by Xu since then.

Standing at the foot of the continuous Great Wall, Fan Zhongyi looked up at the old buildings with mottled walls, feeling very strange in his heart. He was originally a Han, but looking at the wall now, he didn't feel close to comfort at all, because the Han people inside the wall were no longer his backing, let alone accepted him, only the Khitans were.

The Great Wall has been in disrepair for many years, and there is not a single soldier stationed there. Xu Guo has been fighting for many years, and after recapturing Yunzhou, it seems that there is no room to repair the old Great Wall, let alone deploy troops to garrison; but the main reason is probably that Xu Guo is implementing a national policy of attack and development at this time, and its defensive strength is limited.

Fan Zhongyi easily found a gap that had collapsed, and easily crossed the Great Wall.

They had just come down from the ruins of the Great Wall when they heard the sound of horseshoes. Fan Zhongyi hurriedly followed the sound and saw three horsemen galloping towards them. He looked left and right, and two more riders rushed up a hillside on the right flank.

The entourage turned around and ran in fright, and hurriedly climbed up the hillside along the way. The sudden incident made Fan Zhongyi a little panicked and couldn't help taking two steps back.

"Da da da..." Amidst the rapid sound of horseshoes, Fan Zhongyi felt suffocated in his chest. As soon as he came down from the mountain, he felt nervous, and suddenly heard his heavy breathing sound like pulling a bellows.

But soon he saw the helmet worn by the horseman. The semi-circular helmet had a short narrow brim and was tied with red tassels. It was the dress of a Han cavalry... At least it was a soldier. The inside of the Great Wall already belonged to the territory of Yunzhou.

"Papa!" Two strong strings sounded in the wind. Before Fan Zhongyi could react, he felt a gust of wind blowing across his face, and the arrow pierced into the soil not far away, and the tail and wings of the arrow were still shaking rapidly left and right.

Fan Zhongyi's eyes widened, he was stunned for a moment and quickly turned around and shouted: "Don't shoot the arrow! One of our own!"

Xu Jun scouted the cavalry and rushed towards them, aiming arrows at the two men on the slope, and the two followers had to come down by themselves while begging for mercy.

A knight raised his bow on the horse and pointed at Fan Zhongyi: "Where did he come from, what do you want to do?"

Fan Zhongyi said: "Caomin is Zhu Mofu, a Chinese craftsman from Shangjing. We were plundered by the Khitan people. Caomin was entrusted by the people of the tribe. He wants to see Marshal Yang!"

After hearing this, the knight was skeptical, and immediately said: "Take it back to Yunzhou!"

Several people were tied up with ropes, the horses and luggage were confiscated, and they followed the small cavalry to Yunzhou on foot. After arriving in Yunzhou, he was thrown into a dilapidated low-rise house. No one cared about him for two days, only some small rice and white water were sent.

Two days later, a general came and asked some questions.

Fan Zhongyi insisted that he had something important to see Yang Ye. The general left without much questioning.

The next day, several soldiers opened the door and threw the luggage to Fan Zhongyi and others, but the horses and others disappeared. After a little inspection, Fan Zhongyi found that the contents of the package had been rummaged in a mess, and the copper coins inside were missing.

They set off again, and followed the soldiers on horseback to the south on foot. Several days later, we arrived at Yanmen Pass, the first time Fan Zhongyi had visited this place, but there were three big Chinese characters engraved on the top of the pass: Yanmen Pass.

The road was very difficult, and the group passed through an earthen wall town before arriving at another city: Daizhou.

After entering the city, there were three waves of people who came to talk about it. Later, a civil servant came and said to the young general escorting Fan Zhongyi: "The commander is busy with work these days, let's take them to the government office next to the military mansion to settle down temporarily, and wait for Marshal Yang to summon him when he is free."

At this time, Fan Zhongyi was hungry and thirsty, exhausted all over, and hadn't showered for many days, he was very embarrassed and looked like a prisoner. He said nothing, just watched and listened without speaking.

So the civil official led them to walk in the city for a while, and when they passed a yamen, they saw noises at the gate. Fan Zhongyi's small eyes glanced at the words on the door through his messy hair: "Hedong Army Qianying Military Mansion".

Several people in official uniforms wearing Wusha were shouting at the gate, and a group of soldiers stopped them with cherry guns. Amid the commotion, someone said: "Call Marshal Yang! Why don't you let us go out?"

Someone behind the soldiers said: "All of you discuss matters in the lobby first, and don't be impatient. The commander will come and talk to you later."

At this moment, Fan Zhongyi's civil servant from Mali said, "Stand aside, step aside!"

Everyone hurried along the street, and saw a large group of soldiers in strong and sharp clothes coming towards them, all of them were infantry, trotting forward in formation, looking like they were in a hurry.

Fan Zhongyi came all the way, feeling that although this Daizhou is a frontier city, it looks too withered now. I saw ten people along the way, eight or nine of them were soldiers! No matter the civilians or the soldiers, they were all in a hurry as if something urgent had happened.

Fan Zhongyi immediately judged in his heart: something must have happened in Daizhou!

Finally arrived at the place, Fan Zhongyi said: "Tang Zun, we are not spies, we are Han Chinese."

The official was called Tang Zun, and he immediately looked very useful, and he spoke more politely: "I know, please stay calm and don't be impatient, just wait for now."

Fan Zhongyi took the opportunity to look dazed again: "What... what's going on in the street?"

The official said: "It is reported that the Liao people took advantage of Daxu's domestic affairs and sent troops to the south to threaten Hedong. It's okay, the commander guarding Hedong is as stable as a rock!"

"Oh..." Fan Zhongyi was stunned.

Fan Zhongyi is an official of the Privy Council of Daliao. He was by Xiao Siwen's side before leaving Daliao. When is Daliao going to attack Hedong?

He calmly entered the gate of a courtyard. Unexpectedly, before he could go inside, a young military general came suddenly, and said in a deep voice beside the civil servant: "The commander said that these people can't be placed here, bring them with you in the future."

When Fan Zhongyi heard it, he felt that the wait in Daizhou would not be too long. Yang Ye already knew of his existence, and he seemed to take him very seriously.

"You are leaving with this general. I am on a mission." said the official just now.

Fan Zhongyi clasped his fists and said, "I am following the arrangement."