Chapter 188 The Road Ahead in Mobei (Part )

"Liu Yi..."

Behind the commander's desk in the commander's tent, Liu Rengong was holding a copper wine jar, looking a bit drunk, but still smiling with dignity: "I heard you are a Bohai Han?"

"King Yan, I was indeed born in Tieli Prefecture in Bohai. However, the grassland has been turbulent in the past two years. Mobei has repeatedly invaded Bohai from the east. The King of Bohai is incompetent and even gave up most of Tieli Prefecture to Mobei. I have some Han blood in my body, so naturally I don't want to work for Mobei."

"Oh? Then why did you come to me?"

Under the tent, the tall and strong Yelu Abaoji half-knelt on the ground, speaking in a neither humble nor arrogant voice: "Last year, I heard that there was unrest in Yan, and all the forces in the Central Plains were invading the north. I guessed that the King of Yan would need men at that time, so I led my brave men to the south, but I heard that Youzhou had lost its army halfway. I originally intended to stay in Liaodong and wait and see, but I happened to hear that the King of Yan had risen again, so I rushed to Tanzhou to surrender."

Liu Rengong nodded slowly: "Good."

At the same time, some scholars in the tent nodded involuntarily.

It should be noted that when they first met this "Liu Yi", they were actually a little confused, because it was easy to tell from Abaoji's face that he was not a pure Han Chinese, but after his explanation, they were able to clear up their confusion. According to his own words, this Liu Yi should be a mixed race of Han and Hu. However, there were so many Hu people in Yan that it was not a rare thing. This also shows that the reputation of the "Yan Army" has spread far and wide.

At one side, Tian Daocheng, the commander of the Lulong Army, knelt with his sword in hand. His face remained calm and he seemed to have no intention of interrupting.

Beside him were several generals of the Lulong Army, guarding the so-called King of Yan on the left and right. Then there were some fort owners who could only sit at the entrance of the tent.

At a glance, there are not many scholars in the tent, but it is worth noting that in a corner of the tent there is an old Taoist in a purple robe, meditating with his eyes closed.

With just one glance, Yelu Abaoji understood all the inside stories of the big tent, and also determined who was the actual helmsman of the big tent.

But he just clasped his fists and pretended not to know what was going on. He said to Liu Rengong in fluent Chinese: "I want to see the King of Yan in order to seize Hengshan City. King of Yan, Hengshan City is an isolated city. I..."

Liu Rengong stroked his beard drunkenly and interrupted by waving his hand: "General Liu is brave, I can see that, but it is not appropriate to attack Hengshan City now... Uh, let me explain it all, and I would like Commander Tian to discuss it with you in detail."

Yelu Abaoji deliberately ignored him, stood up directly and patted his chest, saying: "Why should King Yan hesitate? Hengshan City is indeed a stronghold, but tens of thousands of Yan troops are blocking the city. Why should we be afraid of the thousands of Liang troops in the city?"

"Although there are only a thousand Liang troops in the city, they are not ordinary people. Most of them are from the Longxiang Army, whose commander is Wang Yanzhang." Tian Daocheng finally spoke up: "If General Liu doesn't know about the Longxiang Army, or who Wang Yanzhang is, you can go and ask him yourself."

"How could I not know?"

Yelu Abaoji laughed loudly, waved his hand, and said, "The rumored Xiao Junshi led 800 cavalrymen to conquer Hebei, wasn't he leading 800 Longxiang troops? This so-called Wang Yanzhang is the most important general under Xiao Junshi's command? I have heard so many stories these days that my ears are callused."

"General Liu, I'm glad you understand." Tian Daocheng said calmly, "Most of the Lulong troops are newly recruited from Yandi half a year ago. They really shouldn't attack such a strong fortress. Most of the warriors who came here to rely on them are refugees. They don't have siege equipment, so how can they attack by force? Moreover, the prince (Liu Shouwen) had already decided on a military strategy before he went south. He surrounded Hengshan City but didn't attack it. After Youzhou in the south was recovered, he could take it down in one fell swoop."

"I understand the truth."

Yelu Abaoji touched his clean-shaven chin, clasped his fists towards Liu Rengong, and said, "Please forgive me for speaking frankly, King Yan. I have brought hundreds of brave men to join you, King Yan, to gain fame on horseback, not just to wait here! Moreover, as far as I know, there is no food in the camp.

I don't understand. If we just sit there and wait, many people will starve to death every day. Why not just attack?"

Liu Rengong laughed dryly and was just drinking.

Tian Daocheng laughed out loud: "The hundreds of warriors brought by General Liu are indeed the best heroes of Bohai State, but taking Hengshan City by force will only increase casualties. There is no food in the camp, but there is no food in Hengshan City either, so why take it? If General Liu is eager to gain fame and honor on horseback, I can send you south to Youzhou to serve under the dead prince. What do you think?"

Yelu Abaoji just shook his head and said, "I know the situation in Youzhou, but it's just a siege. There is no hard battle to fight before the Liang army from the Central Plains goes north. Let me start with Hengshan City..."

After that, he groaned for a moment, knelt on one knee again, and said: "If the King of Yan and Commander Tian are worried about casualties, why not let me lead a few hundred men under my command to test the waters. If I am lucky enough to capture it, Hengshan City will belong to the King of Yan. If I fail, it is all my fault!"

Liu Rengong was tempted for a moment, but ultimately he had no decision-making power, so he subconsciously looked at Tian Daocheng.

Several scholars nearby were discussing the idea, and apparently they all thought it was feasible.

Tian Daocheng was unmoved and said firmly: "No means no."

Liu Rengong laughed dryly again and raised his hand and said, "General Liu, just..."

"King Yan!"

Yelu Abaoji suddenly stiffened his neck and said, "It's only my men who died, why should the King of Yan hesitate! Can't the King of Yan make a decision on the great cause of the Yan Kingdom with just one word?!"

The tent was quiet for a moment.

Several scholars held their breath, lowered their heads and dared not utter a word.

A trace of panic flashed across Tian Daocheng's young face, and then he pressed the hilt of the sword heavily.

As for some fortress lords and marshals and generals sitting at the entrance of the tent, they just looked at each other and glanced at Tian Daocheng out of the corner of their eyes without making any expression.

After the so-called Yan army started the uprising, anyone with a little bit of brains could see that the so-called Yan Wang Liu Rengong was just a mascot used to raise a flag to recruit Yan people. Tian Daocheng actually controlled the Lulong Army, which was the strongest among all the Yan troops under Hengshan City. He was the real boss.

However, ever since Yuan Xingqin, Li Mang and Liu Shouwen went south to Youzhou, the camp outside Hengshan City has always been calm, and everyone just sees the truth but does not say anything.

But then again, although Liu Rengong was just a mascot, he was at least the nominal King of Yan, and most of the troops who surrendered to him recognized him, otherwise Tian Daocheng would not have put Liu Rengong out at every military meeting. No one dared to say anything in the past, but now that they encountered Yelu Abaoji, this "young man", everyone was a little unprepared.

For a moment, everyone looked at Yelu Abaoji, not knowing whether he was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. But seeing him stiffening his neck and looking like a rough man, it was hard to tell.

However, although the scholars in the account did not mention it, the fort owners and others who had surrendered were indeed happy to see it happen. Although they looked serious on the surface, they were all exchanging glances with each other in private.

Liu Rengong himself was even more stunned, as if he was a little sober.

"presumptuous!"

A Lulong Army general stood up, holding the hilt of his sword and glaring at Abaoji: "What do you mean by that?!"

"May I ask, General, did I say anything wrong?" Yelu Abaoji narrowed his eyes and refused to give in.

"Humph!" The Lulong Army general was not in a position to refute, so he just snorted coldly and pointed at him and said, "The military strategy has already been decided. If you have any questions, go to Youzhou and ask the prince!"

"Since the King of Yan is here, why ask the Crown Prince? Does that mean the King of Yan cannot make decisions about the affairs of Great Yan?" Yelu Abaoji looked at Tian Daocheng again and said loudly, "Commander Tian, ​​do you think so too!?"

Suddenly, all the Lulong soldiers held down the hilts of the swords at their waists and stared at Abaoji unkindly.

Most of them were newly recruited officers promoted by Xiao Yan in Yuyang, or generals of the Yichang Army that were split off. Their actions this time were not only to protect Tian Daocheng, but also to control the overall situation for Xiao Yan who was behind Tian Daocheng.

But what Yelu Abaoji said was true, and there were a group of fortress owners watching in the tent, so they could not move rashly, so they looked at Tian Daocheng.

Liu Rengong's eyes also twitched, but he didn't dare to say anything.

In fact, he was still a little panicked. How did the situation in this big tent suddenly get to the point where he had to draw his sword...

"General Liu is right."

After a long time, Tian Daocheng, with a slightly stern face, glanced at the masters of the fortresses and finally felt the pressure.

As a young man in his twenties, he was promoted almost directly from a commoner to the commander-in-chief of the Lulong Army. Although most of the officers and soldiers in the Lulong Army were like this, he had received too much favor from Xiao Yan and did not dare to easily ruin Xiao Yan's plans because of his careless decision.

It is true that Liu Rengong is a puppet, but he is also the "King of Yan" who stabilizes a group of ambitious people in Yan. Without him, the so-called Yan army will inevitably collapse one day. At that time, each ambitious person will set up his own faction and cause trouble in Yan. It would be better to gather them together now to deal with them.

In the past, everyone knew it and nothing would happen, but before Xiao Yan fully understood this "Great Yan", as a general of the Yan army, he had to at least keep this layer of paper going.

So, Tian Daocheng finally laughed out loud, and then he waved his hand to the generals of the Lulong Army: "What do you want to do? The King of Yan can certainly make decisions about the affairs of Great Yan. Since General Liu wants to show his bravery, why should I stop him... King of Yan, what do you think?"

Liu Rengong laughed dryly and looked at Yelu Abaoji: "General Liu is brave and valiant. How can I be so cold-blooded? But does General Liu really want to attack the city alone?"

Yelu Abaoji stopped looking at Tian Daocheng and looked around the tent with pride, and said in a loud voice: "Everyone, do you dare to follow me to attack the city?" The fort owners naturally refused. It is true that they were just watching the show, but since Commander Tian Du had expressed his position, how could they, who were just a few insignificant people, attack the city without the Lulong Army?

Even if this 'Liu Yi' is really a brave general, Hengshan City is extremely poor. It would be a waste of effort to send a bunch of heads. Not only will you get nothing, but you will also not please Tian Daocheng and will weaken your own strength. Only a fool would go there!

How can it be more fun to sit on a mountain and watch tigers fight?

"Haha, General Liu has brave generals and brave soldiers. We are no match for them. We can only support General Liu from the foot of the city."

"Well, everyone, just wait and see as I go meet the Longxiong Army."

Yelu Abaoji sneered, turned around and half-knelt before Liu Rengong as if he had no emotional intelligence: "Prince of Yan, I will attack the city alone!"

Liu Rengong glanced at Tian Daocheng, and seeing that the latter did not react, he waved his hand and said thoughtfully: "In this case... General Liu, do you need any siege equipment?"

Yelu Abaoji bowed again.

"I am grateful for the kindness of the King of Yan. However, the King of Yan only needs to give me a few wooden ladders. Apart from that, I do not ask for anything else. I only ask the King of Yan to lend me 100 sets of armor. Although the men under my command are brave, they are still short of armor. With 100 sets of armor, I can equip 100 first-line warriors to take Hengshan City and present it to the King of Yan!"

"This……"

Liu Rengong hesitated. Wooden ladders were not rare, and they were not ladder trucks. He could decide how many he wanted, but armor...

He looked at Tian Daocheng.

Some of the fortress lords under their command also began to whisper. After all, among these surrendered troops, those who had some leather armor were considered wealthy, and at most their personal guards only had a few pieces of iron armor.

The only Yan army that can be equipped with a large number of armors is the Lulong Army. Although the Lulong Army has nearly 2,000 sets of armor for 7,000 people, why must you be given 100 sets for nothing?
Tian Daocheng said nothing, sitting like an old monk.

Liu Rengong laughed dryly: "General Liu, you also know..."

"King Yan!"

Yelu Abaoji seemed to have made up his mind, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Thirty sets! I will lend you thirty sets. If you don't climb to the top of Hengshan City, I will bring my head to you! If you don't believe me, I can issue a military order!"

Suddenly, Tian Daocheng turned his head and looked at him: "General Liu, are you telling the truth?"

“Of course it’s true!”

"Okay, I'll give you thirty sets."

A Baoji then crossed his hands and saluted: "Thank you, King Yan, and thank you, Commander Tiandu."

……

After the military meeting ended, Tian Daocheng led several Lulong Army officers out of the tent, preparing to return to the parade ground to watch the Lulong Army's training.

"General Tian."

There was a shout from behind.

Tian Daocheng stopped preparing to climb onto the horse and turned around to look, only to see the nominal national teacher of Great Yan, the Taoist Wang Rone.

"What's the matter with the National Preceptor's Institute?"

There were two bad guys following closely behind Wang Ruone. He glanced around and waved his hand hidden in his wide Taoist robe: "General Tian, ​​can you find a quiet place to talk with me?"

Tian Daocheng glanced at the two bad guys and seeing that they had no objection, he followed them to a tent. Several of his subordinates and the bad guys were on guard outside the tent to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.

"General Tian, ​​you are from Xiao Junshi's side, right?"

As soon as the money came in, Wang Ruone asked nervously.

Tian Daocheng remained calm, neither nodding nor shaking his head, and said, "Whatever the Imperial Master wants to say, just say it directly."

"Well, I will just be General Tian."

The old Taoist raised his hand and covered his mouth with his wide Taoist robe: "To be honest with you, General Tian, ​​although I didn't say anything in the tent just now, I was actually observing secretly..."

"Please tell me the key points, Imperial Master."

"The old Taoist priest said, could you please ask General Tian to say a few good words for me when he meets General Xiao in the future..." The old Taoist priest brought up the topic again.

Tian Daocheng turned around and left without saying a word.

"Wait, wait, I won't keep you in suspense any longer." The old Taoist priest was very anxious. He rushed forward and said in a mysterious voice, "General Tian, ​​according to my observation just now, Liu Yi is not a simple person..."

"Why did the Imperial Master say that?"

"Look, this person has big black eyes, and a look of authority without being angry, a sign of nobility. His nose is straight, reaching up to his forehead, and his forehead is square... He has dragon eyes, phoenix eyes, a prominent nose, and a sign of the sun horns..."

The old Taoist paused and whispered, "This is the appearance of an emperor."

Tian Daocheng's face froze.

Then, he laughed ridiculously: "Why does the Imperial Master have to tease me?"

"How could I tease you!" The old Taoist priest was immediately furious, but he still covered his mouth with his sleeves and said in a hurry: "I am telling you this under the punishment of heaven, how could I lie to you? When you were the envoy of the Xiao army, why did you regard me as the national teacher of Dayan? I am a disciple of the Tianshi Mansion of Xuanwu Mountain!"

Tian Daocheng's eyes narrowed for a moment, and then he walked out without saying a word, holding his sword.

"Hey hey hey, what the old Taoist said..." The old Taoist hurriedly stretched out his hand and shouted, but the next moment he suddenly raised his sleeves to continue covering his face, then looked up at his head, cursed inwardly, and followed out.

------

"What's the situation in Youzhou to the south?"

In a camp next to the main camp, Yelu Abaoji stood in the tent with his hands behind his back, eyes narrowed.

"The news has not yet been reported back, but according to the news two days ago, Youzhou should have been broken..." A Mobei general wearing a fur hat answered respectfully.

"Then we can't wait."

A Baoji shook his head and asked again: "Where are Xiao Dilu and Yelu Helu?"

"We have already stationed in Yanshan!"

A Baoji narrowed his eyes, hesitated for a moment, and suddenly shouted loudly: "A Gunai!"

On the left side of the tent, a short and strong man suddenly stood up from his cross-legged sitting position and slammed his forearm into his chest: "Respected Great Khan, the Wanyan tribe has also made preparations in Yanshan!"

"it is good."

Yelu Abaoji raised his right hand, looked at his severed finger with empty eyes, then turned around and looked at his subordinates in the tent.

"Tonight, everything turns upside down!"

(End of this chapter)