On the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, a guest came to Brother Hua’s house.
"Dielit, you have made a lot of achievements in the past few years." Brother Hua asked his wife Hua Gu to come out to meet him, and personally cooked tea and entertained the guests.
The person who came was Yeludelit, the son of Haidi. He was originally in charge of a group of soldiers and horses in the Fengguo army. In the fourteenth year of Jianji, he was rewarded by the saint for his merits in defeating the Tatars.
In the fifteenth year, he attacked the Tatars again, and then conquered the Western Regions, making many military exploits.
However, the Fengguo Army may not be able to preserve its organizational structure. It is difficult to say where Delit will go.
Recently there have been rumors that because of his great contribution, Dielit was given the name "Yelu Yongzhen" by the saint, and he is very likely to join the Forbidden Army. This is also an important reason why Hua Ge warmly entertained him - not just because he is a "fellow countryman"
friendship.
"You are not bad, Ji County Magistrate." Yelu Yongzhen said: "Going further up, you will reach the Zuoguan of Shangzhou. If you make some merits, the governor of Xiazhou is not out of reach."
Yongzhen's words had some meaning. Brother Hua was surprised and asked: "What did you hear?"
"Brother Hua, why are you doing this?" Yelu Yongzhen said with a smile: "You and I are both from the Yelv family. What you can know, I can't know? Is there someone from Abaoji who went south to join you?"
Brother Yelu Hua was startled, then suddenly smiled and said: "Someone came to see me. Following Abaoji, life is very difficult. It is normal to want to abandon the darkness and turn to the light, right?"
"Yes." Yelu Yongzhen nodded and said: "There are not many of the eight Khitan tribes who have made a name for themselves in Daxia. There are only a few people like you and me, A Guzhi, Xiao Dilu, etc. The ones under Abaoji are
Don’t be afraid when people come to you, you are helping them.”
"What am I afraid of?" Now that the words had been spoken, Brother Hua stopped hiding it and said, "The imperial court already knew about this and asked me to recruit more people secretly, find Abaoji's pasture, and raid it.
"
In fact, the imperial court still knew the general scope of Abaoji's activities. But "roughly" is useless. The grassland is vast, and he often travels thousands of miles. Looking for people is like finding a needle in a haystack. Not to mention that they are still nomadic, and the pastures are often
What changed was that if Abaoji had not defeated and annexed several small tribes in the north, contacted Shiwei at the same time, and invaded the border many times, the court would not have been able to catch him.
During the prince's eastward tour, Wang's army defeated the Khitan in the Daxianbei Mountains and beheaded more than 3,000 people, which made Abaoji suffer a heavy loss.
Over the past few years, the number of Khitan soldiers killed by Abaoji tribe was probably 20,000 to 30,000. The population of the eight Khitan tribes he took away at that time was only more than 200,000. Even though he later annexed some Tatars and Ugu people, after going north,
He also annexed small tribes and increased his strength, but after repeated defeats, some people must have abandoned him.
Three thousand men and women are not a small loss to him. If he can accurately detect his location and give the crumbling house a hard kick, the tribal alliance he has worked so hard to manage will surely be torn apart.
Turn into ashes and disappear into smoke.
If Abaoji had known the opportunity, he would have run away now.
With the construction of the three cities in Mobei, Lifanyuan, and Beiya's control over the grassland has become increasingly in-depth. The originally swaying tribes may gradually lean toward the imperial court. Abaoji's scope of activities will be greatly restricted, and defeat is inevitable.
"If Abaoji is defeated, the imperial court's last enemy in the north will be gone." Yelu Yongzhen said this with a slight melancholy.
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan Great He Clan Alliance was also beaten to ashes. Finally, the remaining members were cleared up and the Yaonan Clan Alliance was established. After more than a hundred years of development, it gradually grew stronger.
Abaoji, can we still have this opportunity?
Did the Khitan disappear forever? Just like the countless tribes that swirled and perished on the grassland?
"Actually, it doesn't matter whether Abaoji is defeated or not." Brother Hua said seriously: "A few days ago, I went to a banquet at the palace of the prince, the minister under my command, and met many people. Today's Daxia is prosperous, and inside the court hall
, even if they have different political views, they are mostly doing practical things. This court may have a long reign."
"I've heard something too, and it's nothing to complain about." Yelu Yongzhen laughed and said, "The prince returned with a great victory during his eastward tour. I listened to the discussions in the army and felt that the prince knew how to fight. When he defeated Li Maozhen and others,
The prince charged into the battle, was brave and formidable, and finally won a complete victory, which the warriors all thought was good."
"Then I'll be relieved." Brother Yelu Hua smiled and said, "If the warrior recognizes the prince, the world will be stable."
"Actually, when I first came to the Central Plains, it was an eye-opener. The warriors were actually more domineering and fierce than the grassland herdsmen." Yelu Yongzhen said with a smile: "But someone told me that twenty years earlier, even more
Domineering, haha. Now that ten years have passed, the army is actually much more honest. The prince will be able to control the people for another generation, and that will be enough."
"When you say that, I'm even more motivated." Hua Gu brought the tea at the right time. Brother Hua personally brought a bowl to Yelu Yongzhen and said, "You and I are already rich, so we look forward to a happy new life."
I don't want to live those days in the Khitan tribe. Even a Yili Jin can't compare to a county magistrate in Jingzhao Prefecture. I didn't know it before, and I was just sitting on the grassland having fun, but now I'm living a good life.
I don’t want to go back to those days. What I fear most is that this new dynasty will fall apart. I heard you say that the prince’s ability is acceptable, so I don’t have to worry about it. Just work hard to climb up, which is more practical than anything else.”
Yelu Yongzhen thanked him, took the tea bowl, took a sip, and praised: "You can't get this kind of tea in the Western Regions."
"Then drink more, Sinong Temple is still cultivating new tea varieties." Hua Ge said implicitly, already treating himself as a person in the agronomy lineage.
"Sinong Temple should send more people to the Western Region. There are many deserts there, but there are also many oases. The weather is very different from the Central Plains. Maybe we can come up with something new." Yelu Yongzhen said: "If we can't enter this time,
Forbidden troops, I will join the Western Regions Trading Company to do business, specializing in the Central Plains and the Western Regions."
"It seems that all warriors like to do business..." Brother Yelu Hua said.
Yelu Yongzhen smiled mysteriously and said: "In places like Annan, Liaodong, Yunnan, the Western Regions, and the grasslands, the warriors either work in groups themselves or hire warriors to protect them. If you don't have any skills, you won't be able to make some money. On the other hand, you think it's
Are all traders so honest? What would you do if you met another group of people in the desert?"
"Kill people and steal money?"
Yelu Yongzhen nodded and said: "The same is true at sea. If you kill someone, throw them into the sea, and bury them in the desert, the body will not be found. Let's not talk about it anymore, let's get down to business. If there is anyone over there at Abaoji
Come and vote, don’t refuse, it’s good if you can save one more person from suffering.”
"Am I qualified to refuse? During the meeting, people from the Privy Council were the ones doing the talking, so I just pulled the strings." Brother Hua said with a bitter smile.
"This is considered a meritorious deed of yours." Yelu Yongzhen nodded and said, "You can live a good life by working hard in Daxia. Even if you have nothing, as long as you dare to go into battle and fight for your life, you will have the opportunity to live a good life. That's it.
Speaking of Brother Hua, when you ran away with Hua Gu, did you think of today?"
Hua Gu was standing nearby. Hearing this, she laughed and scolded Yelu Yongzhen.
Yongzhen also laughed, but there was nothing embarrassing about it.
"Actually, I've figured it out recently." Brother Hua said: "The new dynasty's elegant administration is still very good. Most of our Khitan people live in Liaodong Road. Even if the imperial examinations are divided into Jinshi according to the road, we can't beat the Han people and the Bohai people.
But there are many ways in the new dynasty that allow people like us to have opportunities. To be honest, many officials with Jinshi background are not as diligent as me, and their achievements are not as great as mine. When they get up straight, they just bury their heads in writing, and sometimes they even
No one was seen, and when I inquired about it, I went to travel around and write poems. If officials are so easy to do, I will persuade all the people who came to vote to go back and let them run far away. Then I will have children and occupy more
They are training their soldiers in the pasture to wait for the right time. But if they can, I advise them to abandon Abaoji and come fight for the saints."
"That's the truth." Yelu Yongzhen said: "This time Chen Cheng is dismissed as prime minister, and Wang Yong is replaced, which is very good. The warrior Han Jian can also enter the political affairs hall. After the military heard about it, they all said that since the Anshi Rebellion in the former Tang Dynasty, this
This is an unprecedented first time, and morale is greatly boosted."
Some things are just weird.
There are only a few prime ministers, but there are thousands of warriors, and most of them are still illiterate. Those who have the ability to enter the political hall by chance are rare among warriors. They are destined to have nothing to do with 99% of people——
I wonder how many warriors there are in the world who can study hard, be good at governing the place, and achieve results like Han Jian for decades?
But after the news of Han Jian's appointment as prime minister spread, even the illiterate soldiers felt honored and their morale was boosted.
Identity is such a wonderful thing.
"Okay, I've been bothering you for so long. It's time for me to say goodbye." After drinking tea, Yelu Yongzhen stood up and said.
Hua Ge and his wife were polite and sent it outside the door before returning it.
"There are still ten days until the Zhengdan Dynasty Meeting. This time, most of the saints will once again declare their determination to implement the new dynasty's elegant government in front of all the officials." Brother Yelu Hua looked at his wife and said.
"The warrior returns to his heart."
"Confucian scholars dare not make trouble."
"All subjects and miscellaneous subjects are delighted."
“The nations from all over the world are intimidated by Daxia’s illustrious prestige.”
"The prince can hold his own."
"This world is very stable."
"The next step depends on how far the saint can go."
Hua Gu was speechless.
She is a woman, so she doesn't know much about these things. But she also knows that the world is now at peace, and for the people of the world, regardless of Han or Han, it is a rare era of peace and quiet. As long as they work hard, they can realize their original dreams.
The cold wind suddenly picked up, making the trees roar.
The two turned around and saw a loquat tree that was almost broken by the strong wind, with dead branches and leaves falling all over the courtyard.
In fact, cold winds occur every year and will tear off some dead branches and leaves, so that the trees can go back to work lightly and regain their vitality in the next spring.
But this year's cold wind was particularly severe, and even a branch that seemed to be strong was blown off.
Brother Hua picked it up and saw a few insect eggs.
He looked up at the tree again.
The wind is still blowing and the trees are still swaying, as if they will never stop.
Next spring, will it grow even more vigorously? Until one day it takes root deeply in the earth and is no longer afraid of the cold wind.
