The Beacon of Kyushu

Yelu Xiuguo did not speak, but he was full of disdain for him. However, as a minister of the Liao Kingdom, even if he could not stand Xiao Duli's cowardice, he had to protect his commander with his sword. "Swoosh!" Yelu Xiuguo drew out the hard bow behind him, put a wolf tooth arrow on it, and shot it at Yang Yanzhao viciously. The arrow came at a very fast speed, and it flashed in the air and hit Yang Yanzhao's throat.

Yang Yanzhao was slightly surprised and quickly blocked the arrow with his gun. When he was about to see who had such extraordinary archery skills, Yelu Xiu'ge had already ridden his horse to kill him. Yelu Xiu'ge was not a talkative person. Since he knew Yang Yanzhao's name, he would not argue with him again. He swung his sword towards Yang Yanzhao's forehead. Yang Yanzhao raised his gun to meet the arrow. The sword and the gun collided in an instant. It seemed that thunder rang in the ears of both of them, and countless sparks appeared.

Yelu Xiuguo was already an extraordinary martial artist when he was young. After being humiliated by Murong Yanyun and others in the past, he practiced swordsmanship even more desperately. In recent years, he asked himself that even if he could not be the best in the world with a big sword in his hand, there were very few people in the world who could take his sword. Unexpectedly, Yang Yanzhao, who was only a young man, could take his moves effortlessly, which surprised him a little.

Yang Yanzhao reined in his horse and urged sternly: "General Yelu, I heard that you are both civil and military, and a rare general in Liao. Why do you want to achieve your master's selfish interests and become an accomplice to the tiger and start a war? Why don't you listen to me and lead the army back to Linhuang Prefecture? If so, the three of you can still survive. Otherwise, don't blame me, Yang Yanzhao, for being ruthless!"

Yelu Xiu Ge snorted coldly and said, "General Yang, what you said is unreasonable! If you and I were in the same situation, would you lead your army to leave?"

Yang Yanzhao smiled and said, "General Yelu is right. I was rash. But since you insist on attacking Yanmen, I have no choice but to offend you!"

"Stop talking nonsense, look at the sword!" Yelu Xiu'ge shouted, like the roar of a dragon or a tiger, and the long sword in his hand emitted a cold light, like a violent storm or heavy snow. Seeing this, Yang Yanzhao was not weak at all, and the long spear in his hand emitted a glittering light, like a spirit snake spitting out its tongue, or like rain hitting pear blossoms. The sword and the spear went back and forth, the sound of metal clashing was endless, and the cold murderous aura rushed straight to the bullfight.

Seeing that he could not win for the time being, Yelu Xiuguo shouted loudly, and each time he made a sword move, the force on it was a little stronger than the previous one. Yang Yanzhao was able to parry calmly at first, but after a while, his strength was a little insufficient. He had to change his fighting style and no longer fight Yelu Xiuguo head-on. The long spear in his hand pointed east and west, pointed south and north, and every move was beyond Yelu Xiuguo's expectations. If Yelu Xiuguo had not been so skilled in swordsmanship and had great physical strength, he would have been defeated by Yang Yanzhao's spear in just a few rounds.

While the two were fighting fiercely, Pan Mei and Yang Ye had already rushed to Xiao Duli and Li Chonghui. Xiao Duli had been frightened to death, and now seeing Pan Mei and Yang Ye in front of him, he forgot to run. "You are so qualified to lead troops to fight with me? Die!" Yang Ye sneered, raised the big knife in his hand, and mercilessly cut off Xiao Duli's head.

Seeing that his commander was dead, Li Chonghui tried to flee to Linhuang as soon as he got on his horse. Pan Mei would never let him escape, so he drew out his longbow and shot an arrow at Li Chonghui's right leg. "Ah!" Li Chonghui felt a sharp pain in his leg and fell off his horse. Pan Mei smiled, rode his horse closer, and gently pulled Li Chonghui up from the ground with his arms, and put him in front of his horse.

Yelu Xiuguo heard something wrong behind him, and quickly took a peek, only to see Xiao Duli was beheaded, Li Chonghui was captured, and only 100,000 soldiers were left. He could not help but sigh, and slashed a few times to force Yang Yanzhao to retreat. He took the opportunity to lead his people to flee to the northeast. Yang Yanzhao raised his spear and was about to chase him, but Pan Mei ordered: "Young General Yang, don't chase the desperate enemy! Now that the Liao army has retreated, they have left behind a lot of armor, leather and horses. You can return to the pass!" He took the opportunity to lead his people to flee to the northeast. Yang Yanzhao raised his spear and was about to chase him, but Pan Mei ordered: "Young General Yang, don't chase the desperate enemy! Now that the Liao army has retreated, they have left behind a lot of armor, leather and horses. You can return to the pass!"

After a few days, it was the Chuigong Palace.

As the morning sun rose, Zhao Guangyi sat on the dragon throne, holding the news from Yanmen Pass in his hand, his face full of pride. "My dear ministers, Pan Mei and Yang Ye sent me a news report a few days ago. Our army defeated 100,000 Liao troops with 3,000 troops outside Yanmen Pass. Now the commander of the Liao army, the imperial attendant Xiao Duli, was beheaded, and the commander of the cavalry and infantry Li Chonghui surrendered. It's a pity that the Privy Councilor Yelu Xiuge led his people to flee to Linhuang Prefecture and was not captured alive by our army. Otherwise, even if I borrowed ten courage from Yelu Xian, he would never dare to invade the Central Plains again!"

All the ministers were delighted and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Liao Kingdom will no longer dare to attack the Song Dynasty. The people of the Song Dynasty can live in peace. This is all thanks to the great fortune of the emperor and the dedication of Generals Pan and Yang!"

Zhao Guangyi smiled, then turned his gaze to the northwest, and said with a hint of uneasiness: "It is reported that Li Huan, the leader of Qu Yue, is unpopular. There have been civil unrest in many places in the country, and the situation is getting worse and worse. I think Li Huan has been too busy to send troops to invade the border in recent years. Now the Liao Kingdom has suffered another setback in Yanmen, and its 100,000-strong army has been wiped out. I don't think they will dare to resort to force for the time being. But the Dangxiang people in the northwest are still ready to move. If we don't find a way to restrain their strength and allow them to expand at will, they will sooner or later become a serious threat!" "This..." Many people looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

Cao Bin hesitated for a moment, then stepped out of the ranks and said, "Your Majesty, I think the Dangxiang are not strong enough yet, so we should send a general to lead the army to annihilate them and put an end to their future troubles. Otherwise, once the Dangxiang regain their strength, our Song Dynasty will be attacked from three sides, and the consequences will be disastrous!"

Lu Duoxun shook his head and said, "No! General Cao, you know that the Dangxiang people are not yet fully developed, but don't the Dangxiang people know this themselves? If you attack rashly now, it will be tantamount to forcing the Dangxiang people to unite with the Liao Kingdom and jointly fight against our Song Dynasty. Just imagine, the Liao Kingdom was defeated at Yanmen Pass a few days ago, and soon they have the Dangxiang as an ally. Wouldn't they send the Dangxiang people to harass the northwest, and send their own army from the northeast to unite and attack the Song Dynasty together?"

Cao Bin nodded slightly and said, "Lord Lu is a man of both civil and military talents, and what he said is not without reason. However, if we do not send troops to seize the five states, it will be like raising a tiger to harm us. If we send troops to seize it, the Tanguts and Khitans will unite to deal with our Song Dynasty. I wonder if Lord Lu has a good plan to deal with this dilemma?"

Lu Dosun pondered for a while, and finally shook his head, "Hmm... I don't know about this."

Zhao Guangyi felt that what Lu Duosun said made sense, but he could not get a corresponding strategy, so he turned his attention to Xue Juzheng, the head of the literary class, and said, "Mr. Xue, you have heard what the two of you said just now, right? I wonder what you think about this matter, and do you have any good ideas to teach me?"

Xue Juzheng was very good at handling government affairs and was well-known for his good relationships with people in the Song Dynasty. However, when it came to military affairs, he was somewhat incapable. When Xue Juzheng heard Zhao Guangyi call on him for his opinion, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for not knowing border affairs and not being able to come up with a good plan. I am guilty of the death penalty, the death penalty!"

Zhao Guangyi expected Xue Juzheng to not give very good advice, so his face did not change when he heard this, but he secretly sighed in his heart, "Alas, now when it comes to handling government affairs and leading the army, I have ministers I can trust. But when it comes to planning and winning battles thousands of miles away, there is no one who can do it. If Yun Zixiao or Zhao Zeping were here, how could I be helpless against the Dangxiang!"

Seeing Zhao Guangyi so worried, Shen Lun couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, I have an idea. I wonder if you are willing to listen to it?"

Since Emperor Taizu, Shen Lun has been in charge of the court's economy. The prosperity and development of many places in the Song Dynasty over the past few decades are inseparable from Shen Lun's contributions. But he, like Xue Juzheng, is a man of one-track mind and has made few achievements in military affairs. At this moment, he suddenly spoke, which not only surprised Zhao Guangyi, but also Cao Bin, Lu Duoxun and others.

Zhao Guangyi looked at Shen Lun expectantly and said, "Mr. Shen, if you have any ideas, just tell me."

Shen Lun said calmly, "Your Majesty, I am not as well versed in military affairs as General Cao, nor as far-sighted as Lord Lu, who can predict the relationship between the three countries at a glance. However, I have been in charge of the economy for many years, and I think I have some expertise in the economy. Naturally, the strategies I come up with are inseparable from the word "economy". Think about the Dangxiang people in the far northwest. Not to mention that their people are nomadic, even the Han people who are good at farming cannot develop the economy in that wild land. It is said that there are many natural salt fields in the Five States, and most of the grain and rice used by the Dangxiang people are exchanged for salt in the market. If the emperor orders the closure of the market, prohibiting the entry of Dangxiang salt and the exit of Han people, it will not take long for the Dangxiang people to surrender to our Song Dynasty. What do you think of this plan?"

Zhao Guangyi thought for a moment, clapped his hands and laughed, "Haha, conquering the enemy without fighting, what a brilliant plan! I will order the closure of the border markets and wait for the Tanguts to run out of rice and food. I will see whether Li Jiqian, the traitor, will surrender to the Song Dynasty!" (End of this chapter)