The autumn is clear and the weather is refreshing. It is the harvest season of the year. Li Zhang came to the city gate in a carriage and looked at the official road from time to time. When he saw a team of soldiers and horses escorting a carriage, he immediately showed an excited expression and jumped out of the carriage and went forward to greet him. The people in the carriage also saw Li Zhang and stopped the carriage.

"Brother An Ren, I haven't seen you for many years, are you okay?" Li Zhang couldn't help laughing when he saw the person walking down from the carriage. This person was Zhao Anren who came to the capital from Yanyun.

"Envoy Li... is wrong. He should be called Dingbei Hou. I have seen it..."

Zhao Anren saw that Li Zhang was a little restrained and even wanted to salute him seriously, but Li Zhang grabbed his arm and smiled: "Brother An Ren, you are a native of Song now, and you have made great contributions to the state. In the future, you will be my brother of Li Zhang. Let's have a banquet at home. Let's stop drunk today!"

Although Li Zhang and Zhao Anren had only met a few times, they often had letters. Moreover, Zhao Anren made great contributions in the Liao Kingdom. If it weren't for his words, Xiao Nojin and Yelu Zongzhen would not have both suffered losses, let alone when he was sent to Liao Kingdom last time, Zhao Anren helped him a lot, so he always regarded the other party as a friend.

When Zhao Anren was flattered, he also showed a touching expression when he heard that Li Zhang was actually entertaining him at home. After all, he was a eunuch. Even if he had done something before, how many people could really look down on him? However, Li Zhang was an exception. Since the first meeting, he has always put himself in an equal position, which made Zhao Anren feel the long-lost respect.

Now Li Zhang invited Zhao Anren to his carriage, and then the two returned to Li Zhang's house together. The house had already prepared a banquet, and many of them were local dishes in the capital that Zhao Anren liked. Although he was from Hebei, his mother was from the capital, so he grew up eating the Beijing dishes made by his mother since he was a child.

"Brother Zhao, have you ever seen the old lady when you go home?" Li Zhang personally poured a glass of wine for Zhao Anren, and then asked.

"I've seen it. My mother's health is fine, but she has the back of her ears. When I knew that I came to the capital, I specially asked me to thank Brother Li for your rescue on her behalf!" Zhao Anren also bowed to Li Zhang and said.

"Brother Zhao, you are polite. This is what I deserve!" Li Zhang immediately said politely again, and then asked about the situation at Zhao Anren's home, and the other party also answered one by one.

"Brother Li, I have something I have always wanted to ask you." At this moment, Zhao Anren suddenly hesitated for a moment and spoke again.

Li Zhang ate tea at this time, pondered for a moment before speaking, "Brother Zhao, do you want to ask me if our Song Dynasty will come out to rescue Empress Xiao this time?"

"Yes, the Empress Dowager must have fallen into the hands of Yelu Zongzhen now. Although they are mother and son, Yelu Zongzhen has long hated the Empress Dowager to the core. I am really worried that he will be unfavorable to the Empress Dowager!" Zhao Anren nodded. He was loyal to Xiao Nojin, and even at this time he still hoped that the Song Dynasty could send troops to rescue her.

"I don't hide it from Brother Zhao. It's basically impossible for the Song Dynasty to send troops in a short period of time!" Li Zhang put down his chopsticks and sighed. He didn't want to lie to Zhao Anren, so he told the truth directly.

Hearing Li Zhang's answer, Zhao Anren also showed a look of disappointment on his face, and then he sighed and said, "Actually, I guessed that Song Dynasty would not send troops easily, but he still had hope in his heart."

Seeing Zhao Anren's disappointed look, Li Zhang felt a little reluctant, and immediately said again: "Actually, you don't have to worry about Empress Dowager Xiao's safety. After all, she is Yelu Zongzhen's mother. No matter how much he hates his mother, he will not openly commit murder. So I guess Empress Dowager Xiao may be placed under house arrest in the end and exiled to somewhere, so that their mother and son will never meet each other."

Zhao Anren was also concerned and was confused. He immediately woke up when he heard Li Zhang's words. With his understanding of the political situation of the Liao Kingdom, Yelu Zong really couldn't kill Xiao Nojin, which made him feel relieved.

"Brother Zhao, you are a native of Song. You have fled back from Liao Kingdom and have made great contributions to the country. I wonder what your plans will be in the future?" Li Zhang asked again at this time.

"This..." Zhao Anren also showed a deep expression when he heard Li Zhang's inquiry. After a moment, he spoke, "Actually, I'm not hiding it from Brother Li, after I returned to the Song Dynasty, my greatest wish was to serve my mother and serve her in the old age and see her off. There was no other idea!"

"Brother Zhao, you have made great contributions to the country. If you want, Your Majesty can appoint you as an official. I wonder what you think?" Li Zhang said again. In fact, in addition to greeting him today, he also wanted to ask Zhao Zhen about Zhao Anren's thoughts for Zhao Zhen, because the Song Dynasty also prepared a reward for Zhao Anren, including one of them.

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Li, but I have been wandering outside for so many years. Although I seem to be glorious in the Liao Dynasty Palace, I am actually facing countless invisible swords and swords every day. I am already tired, and my mother is old and in good health. I, an unfilial son, have never been able to be filial to her before, so I want to spend more time with my mother!" Zhao Anren shook his head at this time, with a tired expression on his face.

Li Zhang nodded understandingly when he heard this. Zhao Anren was like a wanderer who had been wandering outside for many years. He finally had to go home now, but he was already disabled and his heart was already tired. What's more, he had been in the Liao Dynasty Palace for so many years. Even if he was awarded an official in the Song Dynasty, he would probably not be used more. What's more, he was a eunuch, and even if he became an official, he was discriminated against. It would be better to stay in his hometown to accompany his mother.

"Okay, since you don't want to be an official, the imperial court's rewards are still indispensable. At that time, not only will there be property, but also titles. I hope Brother Zhao will not refuse!" Li Zhang nodded and said.

"Brother Li is polite. I am not willing to ask for the rewards from the court. There is no reason to refuse. I just want to ask for something. I hope Brother Li agrees!" Zhao Anren smiled when he heard the rewards from the court and said, "He is not greedy for those rewards, but this represents the acceptance of the Song Dynasty, which is exactly what he wants most."

"Brother Zhao, you don't have to be polite. As long as I can do it, I will never refuse!" Li Zhang immediately patted his chest and promised.

"This..." Zhao Anren showed a bit of entanglement at this time, and then he said, "In fact, it's not a big deal. It's just that I want to be with my mother in the future, but I'm worried that my identity will cause some problems to my mother and other family members, so..."

When Li Zhang heard this, he immediately understood that Zhao Anren was an eunuch. Although he had made contributions to the country, the Song and Liao dynasties were not very friendly to eunuchs, and ordinary people also looked down upon eunuchs. Therefore, if people from his hometown knew Zhao Anren's identity, it would probably have an impact on his family.

"Brother Zhao, don't worry, I will let someone keep your identity confidential and will never affect your family!" Li Zhang immediately promised that Zhao Anren's identity was very special, and there were very few people who knew his true identity. As long as he asked Zhao Zhen to order it to keep it confidential, it should not affect the normal life of Zhao Anren's family.

Seeing Li Zhang agreeing, Zhao Anren also thanked him again. Li Zhang made an exception and drank a few drinks with him. By the way, he also inquired about the current situation in the Liao Kingdom. Although there had been huge changes in the Liao Kingdom after Zhao Anren escaped from Liao Kingdom, especially now that Xiao Nojin was arrested and Yelu Zongzhen was in power, his understanding of Liao was still unparalleled.

According to Zhao Anren, although Yelu Zongzhen has taken over Zhongjing and even captured Xiao Nojin, the nobles in various parts of the Liao Kingdom also have military power. They have surrendered to Xiao Nojin before, but now Xiao Nojin has fallen, these people will definitely worry that Yelu Zongzhen will liquidate. These are hidden dangers in Liao. If Yelu Zongzhen cannot solve these hidden dangers in a short period of time, it will definitely cause greater chaos.

"Brother An Ren, if Yelu Zongzhen sent troops to Yan Yun, would you think the Liao Dynasty would be in chaos?" Li Zhang pondered for a moment after hearing this, then then stared at Zhao Anren and asked.

"This... is a bit hard to say." Zhao Anren hesitated for a moment, as if he was a little worried.

"Anren, please boldly say, don't have any worries. Today's matter will never be passed on to a third person!" Li Zhang also saw Zhao Anren's concerns and said again immediately.

After hearing Li Zhang say this, Zhao Anren hesitated for a moment and finally spoke: "Since Brother Li wants to hear it, I will talk about my foolish opinions. With Yelu Zongzhen's impulsive and stubborn nature, it is indeed very likely that he will send troops to Yan Yun. If he can win, even if he does not completely regain Yan Yun, he only has an advantage on the surface. Then with the power of great victory, he will soon stabilize the situation of the Liao Kingdom and establish his prestige. Moreover, he will definitely continue to invade the south in the future, and the Song Dynasty will be exhausted by then."

"But if Yelu Zongzhen is not good at his job or even returns in a big defeat, it will be a fatal blow to Yelu Zongzhen. At that time, his prestige will be ruined and nobles from all over the country will disobey him. Even his government orders may be limited to Zhongjing and Shangjing areas, and even civil strife will occur, it is not completely impossible." Zhao Anren analyzed at the end.
Chapter completed!