The fox minister in the late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 294 Traveling north to Taihang, all plans in mind

"Hurry up"

"Quicken your pace and catch up with the luggage—"

At the foot of the Taihang Mountains, there are stretches of mountains, and teams of soldiers marched with flags unfurled, quickly passed through the hills and valleys, and headed further north.

The lightly drinking cavalry passed through the 'long dragon' and rushed forward. During the rapid advance, someone staggered and nearly fell down. Li Siyuan caught him in time.

"Be careful."

The sound of rustling footsteps spread, and Shi Jingtang, who was being supported, groaned in pain. He took off his armor and was only wearing open single clothes, which faintly smelled of herbs and blood.

"My son, don't worry about the humble position, I can go. I can go."

His voice was weak and feeble. Shi Jingtang was whipped three times yesterday, his back was bruised, and he was dragged into the marching team before dawn. He went north to the Taihang Mountains, and the mountain road was rugged. Just like Huangquan Road, he accidentally fell into the mountain stream due to injuries.

The army passed through the mountains, and not long after, a voice from a cavalier in front shouted: "Stay where you are, rest for half an hour, and continue on your way."

The 'Long Dragon' who was going forward sat down on the spot, and at a glance, it was full of crowded shoulders and heads.Li Siyuan wiped the sweat stains on his forehead, helped Shi Jingtang to sit under the tree next to him, and was pushed out by a few soldiers as soon as he stepped into the shade of the tree. He got up in embarrassment, lowered his head without daring to speak out, and stepped aside to find a random place to sit down.

The two of them only had dry food in their hands and no water bags, so they could only chew and swallow it dry. The weather was fine today, and the sun was exposed to the sun. After a while, they felt uncomfortable as if their throats were on fire. Looking at the soldiers around them, they took off the water bags and poured them into their mouths. The two couldn't help it. He licked his lips.

"If you don't look, you won't feel thirsty if you don't look."

Li Siyuan turned his face away, and also pulled Shi Jingtang away from looking at them, they were used to high status, it was impossible for the two of them to lower their faces and beg these rough men to give them some water.

Just thinking about the current situation, Li Siyuan closed his eyes and couldn't help but sigh.

"After so many years, I'm afraid I won't have the chance to go back."

Shi Jingtang on the side was a little younger after all, so he didn't listen to his sighing words at all. He lowered his head and glanced at the water bag in other people's hands from time to time, swallowing saliva non-stop.

"Respect Tang."

Seeing his expression, Li Siyuan pushed his elbow. When calling him, a knight came from the front of the army, and hooked his fingers at the two of them on horseback.

"Get up quickly, the supervisor will let you two pass."

"Yes."

Li Siyuan propped himself up and arched his hands, and then supported Shi Jingtang. The two leaned on each other, and followed the knight staggeringly. At a certain section of the "long dragon" that stopped, the field of vision suddenly widened, and the mountain outside the cliff was soaked in thin mist. It unfolds from north to south, and the winding and majestic side of it makes the two of them lose their minds for a moment.

"come on."

Not far away, under the old pine tree on the cliff, Geng Qing stood on the edge of the cliff with his hands behind his back and looked out at the scenery outside the mountain. Next to him was the eunuch Jiuyu in green shirt and white robe.

Li Siyuan stopped after counting the number of steps, and arched his hands towards the back in front of him: "Li Siyuan pays his respects, sir."

Shi Jingtang next to him almost at the same time followed suit.

"Both of you are used to marching and fighting, so this distance shouldn't be a problem for you?" Geng Qing smiled and turned around, "The difficult road is not necessarily tormenting, and those who can persevere will have the fortitude of tempering their minds. , You can’t say that someday in the future, you will thank me when you think back to today’s suffering.”

"Yes."

Li Siyuan bowed his head in response, and out of his corner of his vision, a water bag was thrown over. Shi Jingtang hurriedly reached out to catch it, and when it fell into his hand, he was about to unscrew the cork, but was hit by a stone thrown by Jiuyu. The back of his hand.

"You can drink if you want."

In the voice, Geng Qing came over, passed the two of them, got on the big green horse, and signaled the guard to hand over the reins, "Who will lead the horse for me."

Li Siyuan looked at the rein spread out in the guard's hand, his face flushed red, but before he could speak, a hand stretched out from the side, and Shi Jingtang snatched the rein into his hand.

"Supervisor, Jing Tang will lead you the horse, can I drink water?"

"can."

Geng Qing smiled and nodded. Shi Jingtang endured the severe pain in his back, pulled out the cork, and poured it into his mouth. The cold water flowed through his smoldering throat and burning chest, and he breathed out comfortably after drinking it. Come in one go.

Immediately, he handed it to Li Siyuan: "My son, here, you drink too!"

The latter looked at the water bag in front of him, hesitantly, Shi Jingtang probably thought that he didn't want to drink it, so he took it back, hung it on his belt, and the army who happened to be resting started again, and smiled at the figure on horseback.

"Supervisor, you can sit down."

After finishing speaking, he straightened the reins and held the reins in his hands, and walked to the front to lead the way.Geng Qing smiled: "Like a dog barking twice."

The figure leading the way froze his smile, looked back at Geng Qing on horseback, and then at Li Siyuan, who shook his head at him.Over there, Shi Jingtang's pale face slowly turned red.

"Call." Jiuyu's voice was cold.

The boy leading the horse blushed and opened his lips.

"Wow~Wow~~"

"That's right, I like obedient people." Geng Qing stroked the horse's mane, nodded to indicate that he could lead the rein and move forward slowly, he beckoned for Li Siyuan to follow and walk aside.

"You should be familiar with Khitan, what kind of person is Yelu Abaoji?"

Tread
The army marched, and the sound of horseshoes filled the road. Li Siyuan didn't dare to lie. After all, he often accompanied Li Keyong. Mr. Fox on the horse knew about it, and the other party should also have some information. Come to kill yourself.

He looked at the weeds on the ground, thought for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Mr. Hui, that Yelu Abaoji, also known as Yelu Yi, I met him with my adoptive father. He is thirty-three this year. He has a majestic figure and strong martial arts. , worked under his uncle Yelv Shilu, and later attacked small neighboring tribes such as Xiaohuang Shiwei, Yuewu, Wugu, Liuxi, Bishajian, etc., and rose rapidly. After Yelv Shilu was assassinated, he succeeded Yu Yue (second only to Khan), in the past few years, the Central Plains was chaotic, and he attacked everywhere. In the second year of Tianfu, Yelu Abaoji led 40 troops to attack Hedong and Beijun, and captured nine counties in total. Move to Longhua City."

Speaking of this, Li Siyuan sighed. In fact, Li Keyong was with the Khitan. He had persuaded him to build a private city according to the other party and move the Han people to Longhua. In a few years, it will be a huge threat to the border.

It's a pity that Li Keyong didn't listen to persuasion at all. He was also a barbarian, so he naturally felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

Over there, Geng Qing closed his eyes, followed the ups and downs of the horse's back, and swayed slightly. Seeing him stop his voice, he opened his mouth and said, "Continue talking."

".The following year, Yelu Abaoji attacked Jurchen in the north, captured [-] households to replenish the army, and hunted the Huaiyuan army in the east of the river south, plundered Jibei, and still only took people, animals and property. Shi Wei set up an ambush on the way, and beat Lu Long Jiedu so that Liu Rengong was caught off guard, and Liu Rengong's adopted son Zhao Ba was captured alive."

"That happened last year. It's too far away. You can't hear such news from Chang'an." Geng Qing closed his eyes and couldn't help sighing. This Yelu Abaoji is really shrewd. Through the temperament of the Han people, as long as the land is still there, people and animals will slowly fill it up again, and he will come to plunder at that time, and he will use the border land as a cash machine.

"What about this year? Yelu Abaoji responded to your family's King Jin going south, how many soldiers and horses did he bring with him?"

"Fifty thousand cavalry, all Khitan elites"

hiss~~
Geng Qing took a deep breath between clenched teeth, 1 cavalry. Back then when he attacked Chang'an, Longyou's family was emptied to gather more than [-] people.

"Khitan has not yet established a state, and it has been winning battles year after year. When the army is at its peak, it is not wise to confront them head-on. '

'The fundamental solution is to find a way to weaken Khitan, plague? '

This word popped into my mind, and was immediately rejected by Geng Qing. Don't get Khitan by then, and you will be infected. The risk is too great.

Conspiracy?

A man who marches and fights and wants to be the emperor in the future has a lot of plans.

The only thing is, you can only take what you have and beat what the other party doesn't have.

Beside the slow-moving war horse, Li Siyuan didn't get the order, so he didn't continue to talk. Looking at the gentleman on the horse who was lost in thought, he also weighed the pros and cons of Liang Jun and Khitan in his heart, and most of them were not optimistic.

'hehe.'

Suddenly, on the big horse beside him, Geng Qing smiled softly, the corners of his mouth curled up like a fox.

"It's a good way to delay this battle and then destroy the Khitan economy. At this time, the Khitan tribe should not be so familiar with economic warfare at all."

"Sir, what are you laughing at?"

Li Siyuan asked softly, seeing Geng Qing's expression, he somehow knew that the other party had a way to deal with Khitan.

"I didn't laugh at anything, I just thought of a 'person', and it won't be of great help in the future."

"Who is that person?"

The shade of the tree was mottled across his face, Geng Qing turned his head to look at Li Siyuan who was walking beside him, looking eagerly like a student, he stroked the shallow stubble of his chin.

"Well, a 'person' surnamed Pang is very good at cheating money."

Looking at the sky, the light wandered among the clouds, and went far to the north. Between the clouds, the mighty Khitan cavalry marching south defeated the soldiers and horses of Liu Rengong, the Lulong Jiedu envoy who had intercepted several times, and rushed south for a long distance. The state hit a hard bone.

The soldiers and horses on both sides fought two battles in the field, both of which ended with small Khitan victories.

In the next few days, the scouts sent by the Khitan army roamed around to search for information, only to find out that the army on the opposite side was not Liu Rengong's soldiers, but Liang Jun from Weibo, coming through Jingzhou.

"It seems that the south of Hebei has fallen into the hands of Zhu Wen, the king of Liang among the Han Jiedu envoys."

The information of the scouts was transferred from the big tent to the generals. In the middle, there was a big sheepskin seat, a man in cowhide hard armor, and a man in a fox wool felt hat was drinking wine, looking majestically at the tribal leaders in the tent, or Generals around.

"Do you want to fight with them again? I haven't met such an opponent for a long time, and it makes my hands a little itchy."

(End of this chapter)