Seeing that Hou Shen was hesitant to speak, he waved his hand and said, "Master Hou, don't worry about anything. We Khitan people are all warriors. They are just a few horse thieves. Let's talk while eating. Don't worry about it."
Hou Shenxian praised: "Master Xiao is indeed full of courage."
His pronunciation of the word "bili" was very strong, almost reaching the fourth tone. However, Xiao Luan did not pay attention to the slight difference in syllables. Although he spoke Chinese fluently, he was not proficient in specific vocabulary.
After sorting out his words, Hou Shen said: "Mr. Xiao, we left Taiyuan Mansion on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month to welcome you. It's only about two hundred miles away, but it took twelve days."
Xiao Luan wondered: "Why is this?"
"oh!"
Without waiting for Shen to speak, Xiao Luan said "Oh" again. He remembered that he had walked very slowly along the way, so he understood Hou Shen. After all, there are advantages to being slower. Besides, it's not too late to welcome him. Officials are all
Same thing, and after all, Hou Shen is still the Minister of Rites, the head of the six ministries in name. It is understandable that he walks slower and collects more money along the way.
Seeing the "I understand" expression on Xiao Luan's face, Hou Shen knew what he was thinking.
After coughing, Hou Shen explained in a low voice: "Master Xiao may have misunderstood Xiaguan. It took twelve days to walk such a short distance. It was not because Xianguan deliberately delayed it, but because the road was really not peaceful. Although bandits were everywhere,
, but they are all a mob. With the three thousand fine armors under King Zhong, no amount of bandits can stop them, but..."
Xiao Luan said with some displeasure: "Sir, if you have something to say, just say it. We Khitan people are always straightforward and don't make so many twists and turns. Don't worry, I won't care what you say."
Hou Shen cupped his fists and said, "Thank you for your sympathy."
He glanced at the military attache and said, "This is General Zhao Er, the beloved general under King Zhong. He was the first to discover the strange things that happened on the road. Let General Zhao tell Master Xiao."
Zhao Er quickly saluted Xiao Luan and said, "That's it. Our team went a hundred and thirty miles out of Taiyuan and encountered a group of horse thieves with a total of 1,500 people. Sir, you know that although the bandits
They were rampant, but they were all a team of poor beauties. They didn’t even have decent weapons, let alone horses. Not only did everyone in the team of horse thieves have strong skills, but what was even more strange was that everyone in the team was armed with two horses, and that
The war horses are very impressive, tall and mighty, and they are obviously not from the Central Plains."
Xiao Luan was shocked and finally reacted: "Are you saying that the team of fifteen hundred horse thieves are not the local people of your Han country?"
Seeing that Xiao Luan was finally led to the topic by him, Zhao Er quickly explained: "The general has been in the army for many years and has been commanding the cavalry under King Zhong. I can recognize the horses of those horse thieves at a glance. They are clearly good horses from the Western Regions!"
Xiao Luan's heart felt like a layer of dark clouds had been separated by two huge palms, revealing the light. The truth gradually emerged like the sun. The war horses of the Western Regions? Most of the Western Regions are now controlled by party members who refuse to surrender.
All the tribes at the feet of Weiming Xiaoxiao were crippled by him. Those small tribes would never be able to produce 3,000 war horses and 1,500 capable knights. Based on this analysis, is it possible that those who robbed in the Northern Han Dynasty
Are they the Xixia cavalry?
Xiao Luan was impressed by his own wisdom. He couldn't help but slap the table and shouted: "Is it a Dangxiang person?!"
Hou Shen and Zhao Er both made expressions as if they were indeed smart adults, which once again greatly satisfied Xiao Luan's self-esteem. He said proudly: "I can see something fishy from just a few words of yours.
Now that the Western Region is controlled by the Dangxiang people, Wei Mingxiao established the Xixia Kingdom. He would never allow such a powerful cavalry team in his own country. It can be seen that this horse thief is obviously a Xixia cavalry disguised
!”
Xiao Luan was very confident in his reasoning, because it was the only reasonable answer.
Hou Shen and Zhao Er admired Xiao Luan's intelligence very much and even praised him.
"Sir, you are indeed very smart. Although I recognized that it was a war horse from the Western Regions, I did not expect it to be a horse thief disguised as a Xixia cavalry at first. Later, Master Hou analyzed the truth. Master Xiao only said a few words from the last general.
From his words, I guessed that those horse thieves were Xixia cavalry in disguise, your wisdom is simply deeper than the water of Moon Lake."
Zhao Er's flattery is very good.
Xiao Luan smiled proudly and said: "Don't you Han people have a saying that those who look on are clear and those in authority are confused? I'm just standing outside, so I can see it more clearly than you."
He turned to greet Shen and said: "Why do the Xixia cavalry come to your Han country? I saw it along the way. Your Han country is suffering from a drought. The people don't even have enough to eat. The party's cavalry can grab it from here."
What are you going to do?"
Hou Shen said angrily: "They are not here to rob! They are here to destroy!"
Speaking of excitement, Hou Shen stood up and pointed to the west and cursed: "That damn Xixia leader Wei Mingxiao sent troops to sneak attack Zhou when we were at war with Zhou, and took away Zhou's most vast territory.
Three counties. With the support of the great Emperor of Daliao, our Han army defeated the Zhou army. But the leader of the Xixia Kingdom, Wei Mingxiao, actually sent envoys to ask for benefits from my Majesty! They said they would help us.
If we drive away the Zhou people, we have to pay them!"
Hou Shen walked back and forth and said angrily: "Master Xiao, you know that there is a drought in the Han Kingdom now, and the crops in the fields have been harvested for two consecutive years. But the people of the Han Kingdom are grateful to His Majesty the Liao Kingdom.
Ende, even though he had no food to eat, he still collected enough gifts for His Majesty the Liao Dynasty. However, after collecting enough gifts for His Majesty, the rice jars in the homes of the Han people could no longer sweep out a grain of rice, and those who
The damn Dangxiang people actually said that instead of giving gifts to the insidious Khitans, it would be better to give them as filial piety to the great Majesty Weiming Xiaoxiao!"
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Xiao Luan's face. Sure enough, Xiao Luan's face gradually turned pale due to the sarcasm implied in his words and the anger towards the party members.
Snapped!
Xiao Luan slammed the table. Because the force was too great, not only did the dishes, drinks, and juices on the table fly, it even made his own palms burn with pain.
"Damn Dangxiang people, does Wei Mingxiao think he has the strength to stop Daliao's millions of cavalry now!"
"that is!"
Zhao Er said with a face full of righteous indignation: "Our country of Han is a vassal state of Daliao. We can develop steadily thanks to the protection of Daliao. My Majesty, my Majesty, and the common people are grateful for Daliao's kindness. And those party items
A man of wolfish ambition, he holds a grudge after being sternly rejected by His Majesty, the Emperor, for his rude request!"
Xiao Luan slapped his thigh and said: "So the leader of the Xixia Kingdom, Wei Mingxiao, sent a cavalry to the Han Kingdom to burn, kill and loot!"
Hou Shen clasped his fists and said, "Your Excellency, you are wise!"
He said in a very angry tone: "The most intolerable thing is that in the first half of the month, the Sigong was transported from Ganzhou in the northwest to Taiyuan and was robbed by horse thieves on the way. The team escorting the Sigong was killed.
Jing. Now it seems that this thing was also done by the Xixia people!"
Xiao Luan was furious when he heard that even the annual tribute paid by the Northern Han Dynasty to the Liao Dynasty had been robbed. It was okay to bully a weak country like the Northern Han Dynasty, but to offend the Liao Dynasty was a bit too much.
The Liao Dynasty dominated the north and had millions of troops. The little Xixia was simply too rampant!
Seeing that he was angry, Hou Shen took the opportunity to say: "Please Sir Xiao, please report to the Emperor of Liao after you return and make decisions for me and other subjects!"
"Uh...this..."
Xiao Luan was stunned for a moment, and then felt a little embarrassed. Not to mention that he was just a small staff member of the Nanmian Palace King Yelu Ji, and there was no hope of meeting His Majesty Yelu Abaoji in this life. Even if he could.
So what? For a small loss, for the sake of a vassal state like the Northern Han Dynasty that exists like a useless weapon, is Your Majesty willing to go to war with Xixia, which has hundreds of thousands of troops? This is obviously impossible, but he can't say that.
After all, the Northern Han Dynasty was still a vassal state of the Liao Dynasty. After all, the Northern Han Dynasty could still send the annual tribute to the Liao Dynasty in full no matter how it was pieced together.
In order not to chill the people of the Northern Han Dynasty, he, the imperial envoy who came here for free, had to give some words of comfort.
"This... Lord Hou, don't worry. I will tell your Majesty the truth after I return. The kings and ministers of Han are all my subjects of Daliao, and the people of Han are also the people of Daliao. Naturally, they cannot be bullied by outsiders.
"
Officials such as Hou Shen and Zhao quickly stood up and clasped their fists, saying, "Thank you so much, Mr. Xiao!"
At this time, a general ran in and said: "General Zhao, the horse thieves have been repulsed, but the brothers have been injured a lot. I recognize that they are still those party Tatars!"
He seemed to be focusing only on reporting military information and forgetting about the existence of the angels from the Kingdom of Heaven. He said with an angry face: "Those dog Tatars are still clamoring to intercept us on the way. They also said that not to mention your weak army of the Northern Han Dynasty, they are the Khitan cavalry.
They are still no match for them. Kill one by one, kill one hundred thousand by one hundred thousand! General Zhao, do you think you are irritating or not?"
Xiao Luan, who had just been forced to suppress his anger, slapped the table and shouted: "Infuriating!"
Then he added another sentence: "And arrogant!"
Hou Shen said quickly: "Master Xiao, please calm down. Don't argue with those thieves who talk openly. They have been rampant for a long time relying on the sharpness of their horses and swords. Our Han army really has nothing to do with them. Besides, the thieves are not helpless."
Did you know you were here?"
Xiao Luan's face turned pale with anger and said: "My Daliao cavalry roams across the grassland, let alone the party members who are as weak as sheep, how powerful are the Turkic wolf cavalry? They were still killed by my Khitan cavalry! This time I
When you get back, you must tell your Majesty to send troops to conquer Xixia!"
Hou Shen persuaded: "Sir, please calm down. Xixia has just defeated the Zhou Kingdom. It has a powerful army with no less than a million soldiers. The leader of the Xixia Kingdom, Wei Mingxiao, is also a talented and strategic monarch. He also has people like Li Hunu and Li Yuanting under his command.
For such a brave general, it is better not to engage in war rashly for the time being. Xianguan and others naturally know that the Liao cavalry is unparalleled in the world, but now that Xixia is arrogant, it would be a good idea to temporarily avoid its limelight. "
Zhao Er secretly gave a thumbs up, Mr. Hou is really good at persuading people.
Only now did he understand why the prince said that Lord Hou Shen, the Minister of Rites, should be the one to receive the imperial envoy from Liao this time. Now it seems that the prince is really far-sighted and knows how to make good use of people.
Sure enough, after listening to Hou Shen's persuasion, the expression on the face of Xiao Luan, the imperial envoy of the Liao Kingdom, became more frequent, white turned to red, red turned to black, black turned to green...
