Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

"Wow!" With the sound of an iron chain being pulled, the wooden door of Shangjing Dungeon was opened, and dazzling light immediately shone into this dark place. The shadows inside wriggled, as if countless earth ghosts had been awakened.

A bald old man limped down carrying two wooden barrels. The prison fences on both sides were quickly pasted with many people who were so dirty that even their skin could not be seen. "Fan...Fan..." Khitan with various accents came, and they seemed to only know this one Khitan word.

Unmoved, the old man scooped a spoonful of the sticky substance into each protruding tile bowl.

The bald old man walked to the side of a cell and couldn't help but poked his head into it, because there were many people in other cells, and there was only one person in this cell. It was a man with disheveled hair that seemed to have been combed in a bun instead of shaved. He sat there in a daze and didn't take out the bowl.

"Eat?" the old man called out.

The man came back to his senses and stared blankly at the contents of the wooden barrel. There was also a stale stench, and Han'er's throat twitched. He sighed, stretched out a bowl weakly, and said in skillful Khitan words: "Give me some water, thank you."

After hearing this, the old man gave him a cold look, and without speaking, he poured a spoonful of muddy water into the bowl.

At this moment, the bright hole above dimmed slightly, and several people appeared there. The old man turned around and looked over: "Who?"

The Khitan warrior guarding the door said: "King Song (Yelü Xiyin) and King Yue (Yelü Bishe) are here!"

After hearing this, the old man dropped the spoon and bent down to face that side.

"Where is it?" asked a big man with a bristling beard, who was Yelu Xiyin, one of Yelu Abaoji's grandsons. Walking behind him was Yelu Bishe, King of Yue, whose face and robes were much gentler.

"My lord, come here." An official said.

A group of people walked over, and the Han'er inside was putting down the bowl containing the muddy water. The official outside said again: "This person is Fan Zhongyi."

Fan Zhongyi sat on the ground in a daze for a moment, then suddenly got up, slapped the wood with his hand, his expression was agitated, and his eyes were red. The guards were startled, and quickly stood in front of the nobles, shouting: "Why are you crazy?"

Fan Zhongyi shouted in a hoarse voice: "King Song and King Yue, I have something important to confess. Yang Gun is a traitor! Don't believe him, Khitan people are not more trustworthy than Han'er..."

Yelu Xiyin pushed away the guards in front, and looked at Fan Zhongyi with a sneer. Fan Zhongyi stared again and said: "I want to see Duke Xiao, let me see Duke Xiao!"

Unexpectedly, Yelu Xiyin ignored him at all, and turned to King Yue, "Why do you keep this traitor?"

The King of Yue thought for a while and said: "It is said that people like Fan Zhongyi could not bear the heavy responsibility of the defeat in Hedong, and they were not executed in time after they were imprisoned. I am afraid that there will be messengers."

Yelu hid his displeasure and said, "Get him out, and his whole family, and strip him alive for public display!"

The King of Yue hurriedly persuaded: "The King of Song had better not engage in such a big battle. There are many Han sons living in the southern city of Shangjing, and they all serve the Daliao..."

Fan Zhongyi also knelt down on the ground suddenly, and said urgently: "Your Majesty, spare your life! Forgive my sons and daughters, let me do whatever you want, I am still useful!"

"Dogs are worse, what's the use? At least dogs won't harm the master." Yelu Xiyin was angry and contemptuous at the same time.

Fan Zhongyi hurriedly said: "Please let me see Duke Xiao!"

The King of Yue also persuaded in a deep voice: "Let's not worry about this matter yet, we should prepare to deal with the people from Wang's account. I heard that Xiao Siwen has gone to the Xu country to negotiate a peace. Once they are free, they will definitely return to Beijing to deal with us."

"Skinned!" Yelu Xiyin said, "Find experienced sheep skinners, don't let them die too quickly." After saying that, he shook his hands and left.

King Yue stayed for a while, and said to Fan Zhongyi: "The king of Song has broken with the king's tent, how can we see it?"

Fan Zhongyi desperately hit the wooden fence with his emaciated body, shouted and cried bitterly, his voice echoed in the dark dungeon, like ghosts crying and gods howling.

...

Chanzhou City on the south bank of the Yellow River. Xiao Siwen and other envoys from the Liao Kingdom were not formally summoned immediately, and they were received by Lu Duoxun, an official from the Ministry of Rites. Lu Duoxun first negotiated terms with Xiao Siwen and others in private.

At this moment, Xiao Siwen was very dissatisfied. He picked up a piece of paper, pointed to it and asked Lu Duoxun: "What is the meaning of a country of brothers? Why did the emperor of Daliao become his younger brother?"

"Be safe and don't be impatient, Mr. Xiao, be safe and don't be impatient." Lu Duoxun was very calm, looked sideways and said in a calm tone: "Da Xu's withdrawal of troops at this time will obviously put Koryo at a disadvantage. If Xu and Liao don't turn their enemies into friends and treat each other as brothers, how will Daxu's court explain to Koryo?"

Lu Duoxun's tone gradually increased, and his expression became serious: "The two countries do not call father and son monarchs or ministers, or uncles and nephews (the Liao Kingdom and the Northern Han Kingdom), but brothers of the same generation. Xiao Gong and the Liao Kingdom's monarchs and ministers should put down old ideas and look at the current strength and weakness. Who is attacking and who is painstakingly supporting? The Liao Kingdom is not called a brother, dare to continue to be a big brother?"

Xiao Siwen stood up suddenly, "I dare not agree to such a covenant!"

Lu Duoxun stopped his sharp gaze, and persuaded: "Duke Xiao should weigh it carefully before expressing his stance. The Liao Kingdom is only suffering a small loss in the name, and Daxu did not ask the Liao Kingdom to pay tribute... At this time, the Liao Kingdom still wants to take advantage of it, so what is there to talk about, Xiao Gong should take the letter back and tell the Lord of Liao to continue to gather troops to fight!"

Xiao Siwen took a deep breath, as if suppressing his anger, and said, "Let us discuss it."

"See off!" Ludoxun shouted decisively.

When Xiao Siwen returned to the hotel, he immediately said angrily: "If this old man agrees to the covenant, wouldn't he be a sinner?"

Yang Gun said calmly: "Lu Duoxun's words are right. The situation is such that it seems unreasonable for Daliao not to suffer at all. Of course, we would rather send some goods, but what is the difference between paying tribute and acknowledging the status of the two countries?"

Xiao Siwen still didn't let go, he fully understood what responsibility he would take... In fact, he was the culprit! Peace is not his idea.

The four of them didn't even bother to eat dinner in the hotel, arguing until midnight. Tired of talking later, several of them leaned on their chairs and remained silent.

At this moment, there was a sudden "ah" from outside! Xiao Siwen and the others were startled, and sat up straight to listen to the movement outside. The shouting continued, and it seemed that there was still fighting.

One got up and said, "I'm going to see what's going on."

Xiao Siwen said: "Beware of fraud."

As soon as the words fell, there was a "bang bang bang..." knock on the door outside. Then there was a loud bang, the door latch broke, and a warrior in a strong coat holding a cherry gun staggered in, and then two more people came in.

Yang Gun has already picked up a waist stool, held it in his hand, and called out in Chinese: "Who is here?"

The martial artist with the cherry gun came in backwards, turned his head and said: "There are assassins! Let's guard the gate, you wait and watch the window!"

Xiao Siwen was observing the sudden event suspiciously, when suddenly there was a "bang", and he saw the warrior who spoke just now fell on his back, with a crossbow arrow stuck in his forehead, the feather tail was still shaking due to the force, and a pool of blood soaked out from under the warrior's helmet. The remaining two warriors hastily closed the door, ready to fight.

Xiao Siwen stared at the corpse and forgot to close his mouth. He thought it was some kind of trick at first, but Xu Guo's guard was killed alive! Xiao Siwen realized the seriousness of the matter.

At this moment, Yang Dagon rushed up, pulled out the single knife from the waist of the corpse, and threw it back in front of Xiao Siwen. Then he took out a shuttle gun from the man's back and threw it to another messenger, who himself took the cherry gun in his hand.

"Crackling|cracking..." A short crossbow suddenly pierced through the window! Except for a few pieces of wood, the window was pasted with paper.

Before Xiao Siwen could react, his face was burning hot, and a crossbow flew past his face. Xiao Siwen's expression changed, and he overturned the coffee table with a "Kang Dang" and hid behind. Seeing this, Yang Dagon and the others followed suit and quickly overturned the coffee table.

"Bang!" An ax was swung across the window, and the wooden strips and window paper were swept everywhere. Then a big man in black came out from half his body.

"Drink!" Yang Dagon yelled, and he jumped up and grabbed the cherry gun and stabbed it. Unexpectedly, with a "ding", the cherry spear pierced the armor. The man was wearing plate armor under his black robe! The metal of the collar flickered in the light.

Yang Gun stared angrily, spread his legs to stand on the lower body, and stabbed again with a sharp shot. The man swung the axe, a beat later, this time the cherry gun pierced into the big man's armor, the man screamed in pain, the ax fell down, and the wooden handle of the cherry gun was broken with a "bang"!

At this time, the remaining two guards rushed over, and the strong man swung it again, and slammed on an iron round wooden shield with a "bang", one of the guards was beaten back a few steps, and the other guard swung a single knife and slashed over. At this time, other black-robed assassins also climbed in through the window.

The guards retreated to protect Xiao Siwen and the others, and said angrily to the two people on the other side of the window: "You wait for the soldiers of Daxu to kill the generals of Daxu!"

The strong man said: "You are actually protecting the bandits!"

The guard said: "The responsibility lies. Where do you put the government's will?"

Yang Dagon had already abandoned the wooden handle, picked up a round waist stool, and shouted: "Go to the bedroom!" After saying that, he and Xiao Siwen turned around and ran away. The two guards also turned around and ran over, turning around and fighting with their swords and shields.

"Dang!" There was a violent metal impact at the door, sparks flashed, and then there was another loud roar, "Kangdang... ah!"

There was a hurried sound of "da da da..." outside, it was the sound of many horseshoes stepping on the brick floor. Yang Gun said: "The cavalry is coming! Hold the door and wait for help."

This bedroom has only one rear window, which opens very high and has a small opening. The gap is almost only this small door, which can be guarded by a few people. The armored soldiers at the door are wearing plate armor, so it is not difficult to delay a little.

Xiao Siwen was still in shock when he ran here, and then he came back to his senses a little. Yang Dagon is really good at using troops when he is in a hurry. No matter what, Yang Gun did turn around and saved his life tonight!