On Hebei West Road, ten miles outside Zhending City, there are endless camps as far as the eye can see.
The terrain in this area is open, with flat plains in all directions, and a gentle breeze blows in the sky from morning to night. However, there is always a pungent smell of corpses floating in the camp.
"Push it out and kill it! You are an incompetent person. I gave you a secret recipe and you couldn't copy it. Why should I keep you?" In the most majestic tent in the north of the center of the camp, Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty was stricken by the smell of corpses.
The smell made him dizzy and he shouted loudly, pointing at the head of the chief prison officer Ma Dingxing.
"Yes!" Immediately, two strong-backed Khitan warriors pounced on him, picked up Ma Dingxing's arm and dragged him out.
The latter was so frightened that he dragged his legs on the carpet and screamed, "You are wronged, Your Majesty. I have tried my best, I really tried my best. The ingredients in the secret recipe are not of the right weight. You just chop me into minced meat, and you will not be able to do it."
It can’t be turned into gunpowder!”
"Your Majesty, think about it again. Ma Dingxing was already the best craftsman in prison twenty years ago." Privy Councilor Han Dechang couldn't bear to hear this. He stepped forward and bowed to intercede on his behalf.
"Your Majesty, think twice. If even Ma Dingxing can't match the gunpowder, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Daliao to find a second suitable candidate!" Yelu Keli, the commander of the Ma Army, always had a good relationship with Ma Dingxing. After thinking about it,
He also stood up to dissuade him.
"Your Majesty, Ma Dingxing has made great achievements in building powerful crossbows and chariots for our army. Killing him will probably upset the craftsmen who will be in charge!"
"Your Majesty, the matter of gunpowder cannot be rushed. According to the confession of the surrendered general Wang Jizhong, there are only three places in the entire Song Dynasty that can prepare gunpowder by themselves."
"His Majesty……"
Yelu Longxing, the Privy Councilor of the North Court, Ma Wen, the deputy stay-at-large in Zhongjing, Pu Nujia, the Superintendent of the South Court, and other civil and military officials, fearing that Chi Yu would be harmed, also stepped forward to speak for Ma Dingxing.
"Hmm -" Yelu Longxu frowned and looked at everyone's faces as he pondered.
The long period of holding troops under the fortified city made him extremely irritable. So when he heard that the gunpowder imitated by the general and assistant supervisor was not very powerful, he immediately wanted to chop off the head of the general and supervisor, Ma Dingxing.
However, as a qualified emperor, he knew that he could not displease so many ministers at the same time. Otherwise, once the Queen Mother Xiao Chuo learned about it, she would inevitably write another letter to teach him a lesson.
However, if he backed down as soon as the ministers tried to stop him, it would appear that he was too weak as an emperor. Therefore, even if he did not kill Ma Dingxing, he would still have to put up an end.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager Chengtian is here, and the driver has already entered the back gate of the camp!" Some people just didn't think about it. Before Yelu Longxu could get enough of the imperial airs, the flying dragon envoy Han Qi was already in a hurry.
He ran into the Chinese military tent and reported loudly without even taking a breath.
"Send your head first! So as not to disturb the queen mother!" Yelu Longxu immediately stepped down the steps, raised his hand, and pointed at Ma Dingxing's head again. Then he flicked his sleeves and shouted loudly, "Come, follow me.
Go and greet your mother!"
"I obey the order!" "The general obeys the order!" "I thank you for not killing me!" All the ministers breathed a sigh of relief, agreed in a noisy manner, and followed Yelu Longxu in formation.
This southern expedition, which they thought would be overwhelming, was blocked by Zhending City. They were also extremely agitated.
Therefore, if the monarch and his ministers can be harmonious and harmonious, it is better to be harmonious and harmonious. Otherwise, if the stalemate continues, it is difficult to predict whether the conflict will rapidly expand.
You must know that the Khitan was not the Song Dynasty, and it had never engaged in the practice of "releasing military power over a glass of wine". Each of the generals who commanded the army had a group of unbeatable direct descendants under their command.
If the conflict between the monarch and his ministers intensifies, causing someone to suddenly raise an army to rebel, or lead his troops to return north on their own, the southern expedition will be completely defeated.
The difference in strength between the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty was originally very small. The reason why the Liao Kingdom has been able to suppress the Song Dynasty in recent years is because it has the confidence to win every battle since the great victory at Gaoliang River.
If this carefully prepared southern expedition fails, the consequences for Daliao may not be as simple as withdrawing from the Song Dynasty. It is difficult to say how many of the Sixteen States of Yanyun can be saved.
The prestige of Queen Mother Xiao Chuo in Daliao was much higher than that of Emperor Yelu Longxu. Her arrival immediately filled the originally depressing military camp with laughter.
Some elders of the grassland tribes who cooperated with the Liao army and some generals surnamed Xiao came forward without anyone mobilizing. They surrounded the gold-covered cart specially designed for the Queen Mother and kept asking her.
And Xiao Chuo did not behave like the Empress Dowager, and took the initiative to open the car door and wave to the elders. Occasionally, when he saw a few familiar faces, he immediately called out their names and origins, which made the latter feel deeply in his heart.
Warmth and pride.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty, who took the initiative to greet Xiao Chuo, saw all this and felt mixed emotions in his heart.
However, his attitude became more and more respectful.
Xiao Chuo is his biological mother. The mother has stolen the limelight from her son, so the son must not harbor resentment.
What's more, as a mother, in all these years, has there ever been a time or a year when Xiao Chuo didn't steal the limelight from her son?
My son has been robbed many times, and he has become accustomed to it and can no longer resent it.
As a result, the Emperor of Liao and the Empress Dowager Chengtian behaved like mothers and sons in front of the entire army.
However, after returning to the Chinese military tent and seeing off the irrelevant people, it was a different scene.
"It's such a hot day, why didn't the queen mother go to Nanjing (now Beijing) to escape the summer heat, but instead came to Zhending under the sun?" Yelu Longxu asked with a smile as he poured a cup of tea for Xiao Chuo with his own hands.
He is a Khitan, and although he can write quite good Chinese poems, he does not like the red tape of the Han family. Therefore, when he has confusion in his heart, he naturally goes straight to the point.
"Why, do you think your mother is interfering with your command of the entire army?" As the saying goes, a child is better than a mother. Xiao Chuo didn't need to think carefully to understand the meaning behind Yelu Longxu's words. He smiled and asked softly.
"No, no, don't get me wrong, mother!" Yelu Longxu heard this and quickly waved with a smile, "My child is really looking forward to you coming to teach these arrogant soldiers a lesson for me. You don't know, they can easily disappoint me.
.It’s just that the child always felt that the mother was over fifty years old, so the child could not rely on you for everything. But during the Southern Expedition, the mother also deliberately gave the child a chance to experience alone. That’s why I didn’t send anyone to complain to you!”
"My son is the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty. Whoever disappoints you, you just punish him. There is really no need to work for me, an old woman, to support you!" Xiao Chuo heard this and nodded lightly with a smile.
She could understand her son's disapproval of her for taking too much care.
It was a long-standing agreement between mother and son to allow her son to lead the expedition in person, and to be responsible for sitting in Nanjing and arranging food, grass and supplies for him. She suddenly rushed from Nanjing to Zhending, so it was no wonder that her son kept talking to other people, reminding him that he had broken his promise.
However, the changes in the situation have far exceeded the pre-estimates, and she can no longer stick to the original agreement between mother and son.
Even doing so would cause misunderstanding and displeasure to his son.
"I was just about to punish Ma Dingxing, but I was stopped by Han Dechang and others!" Two consecutive complaints were resolved by his mother's gentle words. Yelu Longxu felt much better. After thinking about it, he took the initiative to change the subject.
"Why punish him? He hasn't created gunpowder yet? This idiot should have been driven home to retire!" Xiao Chuo immediately took over the conversation and supported his son with a smile, "Han Dechang is also an old fool.
My heart is getting softer and softer, and I still care too much."
"It's not built! There are a lot of reasons!" Yelu Longxu was in a better mood and added with a smile, "Is there a suitable candidate in the Queen Mother's pocket? If so, I will replace him immediately!"
"It's not urgent!" Seeing that the atmosphere had almost relaxed, Xiao Chuo shook his head with a smile, "The Queen Mother is here because she has more important things to do. The Goryeo Navy lost the battle and didn't even hurt the Song Dynasty.
The east and west of Beijing and the Huaihe River areas are no longer threatened by Goryeo. The Song Dynasty Forbidden Army originally stationed in the Gunzhou area can be transferred to Hebei to participate in the war at any time!"
