"Both the King and Xun are contentious people, and Liu Shizhong is also timid and incompetent. However, Xu Huai, the Yaksha fox, is not a female, and is also unruly and untamable. Xu Huai must have a plan to attack Xishan Fan Hu this time. No matter what his plan is, Xu Huai must have a plan.

We should categorically order him to guard the city and prevent his plans from succeeding. How can we leave this matter to Wang, Xun and Liu Shizhong for adjudication?"

Cao Shili rode on horseback and glanced at Wang Gaoxing, Xun Yannian and other state officials who were riding in front of him, frowning and talking to his brother Cao Shixiong.

In the battle of Datong, Xu Huai's bravery and resourcefulness were all witnessed by him, and he felt the most profoundly. Just like this, Cao Shili felt that the first thing they had to do was to suppress the people in Tongbai Mountain and prevent them from becoming their control of the Tianxiong Army.

obstacle.

"Nine times out of ten, Xu Huai is Wang Xiaocheng's son. My father is sure that people like Liu Shizhong will be deeply jealous of him, so everything will not go as he wishes." Cao Xuanwen, Cao Shixiong's eldest son, followed him on horseback and said in a self-righteous way, guessing Cao Shixiong's thoughts.

Cao Shixiong frowned, looked at the city wall in the distance in the dusk, shook his head and said: "When we raised the southern border of Shuozhou, we thought it would be easy to send troops from Hedong to capture Yun Shuo. Never thought that the Vietnamese Imperial Army was so weak.

Do you think Liu Shizhong, Cai Yuanyou, Ge Boyi and other generals were so cowardly?

Shri, what you said makes sense, but we may have made a big mistake once, will we still have the chance to make a mistake next time? Whether the Yaksha fox is unwilling to give in or rebellious, it doesn’t matter how suspicious people like Liu Shizhong are.

We all have to wait and see how they change for a while!"

Cao Shili frowned and asked: "Brother, how do you think Liu Shizhong will respond to this matter? Before Wang Fan left Lanzhou, he handed over the military roster of the remnants of the Tianxiong Army, and did not hide the fact that the soldiers of Tongbai Mountain gathered in Shuozhou.

However, Liu Shizhong and Cai Yuanyou were both in Yanmen at that time. They turned a blind eye to this and wanted to protect Shuozhou first. I’m afraid they may not refuse Shuozhou’s request this time!”

"Yes, it is one thing for Liu Shizhong and other Cai officials to suspect that the people in Tongbai Mountain have ulterior motives. But when the Tianxiong Army was defeated in Datong, the blame was not placed on Yue Hailou. Cai Qing relied on the favor of the officials.

, self-imposed punishment of three to five years’ salary will be enough to completely

It has been exposed. In order to resist the attacks of political enemies in the court, they tried every means to protect Shuozhou to show that this attack on Yan was not in vain. Even if they allowed the enemy's sons to gather troops in Shuozhou, they would not hesitate. So this time Liu Shizhong

How will you reply? It’s true.

It's hard to predict," Cao Shixiong sighed slightly, "However, Liu Shizhong and others are extremely suspicious of Xu Huai, and Xu Huai also harbors a violent hatred for Cai's generals. Wang Gaoxing, Xun Yannian and other sloppy people are all playing tricks, so why should we rush at this time?

To be a villain?

?Let it be left to Liu Shizhong to decide - Liu Shizhong feels that Shanhu needs to be attacked, and we can also apply some oil while going along with the current; Liu Shizhong feels that Shuozhou should not act rashly, so we will act in accordance with the edicts and no one can say anything about us

no!"

At this time, several fast horses galloped towards the foot of the mountain, and the soldiers and horses guarding Cao Shixiong and the generals who were ascending to take charge of Luan Mountain also stopped advancing.

The rear team gathered in the middle, and the front team separated and rode forward to intercept: "Who is coming?"

"Here is a letter from the envoy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. It is specially presented to Cao Shixiong, the commander of the Tianxiong army in Lanzhou, in front of General Cao!" The leader reined in his horse, and after notifying his name, he was quickly brought to Cao Shixiong and handed over the letter.

Wang Gaoxing and Xun Yannian also came to Cao Shixiong. They didn't know if Liu Shizhong had something important to do, so he would bypass the post and send a message directly to Cao Shixiong.

Cao Shixiong read the letter, frowned and handed it to King Gao Xing, Xun Yannian and others for circulation, and said: "A month ago, the Red Husband Cavalry successively captured Linhuang Mansion and Dading Mansion, the heart of Yan State, and on the 19th, they captured

Heimao Mountain south of Dading Prefecture captured the Yan Emperor Xiao Yichun who was trying to flee south surrounded by his remnants. The Yan Kingdom was destroyed, and the military affairs department sent me and Shili to Taiyuan to discuss matters!"

Khitan's Shangjing, Zhongjing fell like this, and Khitan Emperor Xiao Yichun did this to make the Red Husbands prisoners?

Wang Gaoxing and Xun Yannian were both shocked when they heard the news.

Although Wang Gaoxing and Xun Yannian had served in the border states for many years, they were not familiar with the Tibetan people in the northwest, the Chihu people, or the progress of the war between the Chihu and the Khitans at the eastern foot of the Xianbei Mountains.

Deep down in their hearts, they even believe that the Khitan Empire, which is thousands of miles away from the east and west wings of Yanyun and Daxianbei Mountains, and has tens of millions of brave people, is confronting Dai Viet for more than 150 years. Most of the time, it is at an advantage, even if it declines again.

, even if nothing happens, he shouldn’t die suddenly like this!

Isn't this too fast?

Even though Cao Shili, Cao Xuanwen and Meng Pingping, the surrendered generals of Shuozhou, had long expected that the Khitan would not escape this disaster and decided to move south, they were still in a daze at this time.

Although they expected that the Khitan would be destroyed by the Chihu people sooner or later, they did not expect that it would be so soon.

At this moment, they thought of what Cao Shixiong had just said that "may have been completely wrong", and their hearts became filled with mixed emotions:

The Chihu people's military front was so strong, and the Vietnamese generals were raging, and the forbidden army was so old, weak, sick and disabled that they couldn't even take a bite of Xijing, which they had a chance to win, and they had a mouth full of broken teeth. They were at this juncture.

Isn't it a big mistake to surrender to the Yue court?

Why can't they hold on to Shuozhou for another two or three months?

"The envoy of Jinglue has summoned us. Shixiong can't be delayed, so he will go directly to Taiyuan to see the envoy of Jinglue, and will not accompany the princes back to the city!" Cao Shixiong's face was gloomy, and he walked towards the king. Xun Yannian and others cupped their hands and said.

He then ordered General Meng Pingping to rush to Ningwu immediately to strengthen the guard. Then he and Cao Shili took their eldest son Cao Xuanwen, counselor Meng Jian and others, surrounded by more than a hundred horsemen, directly to Jinyang Ferry south of Kelan City.

Go, prepare to cross the Fen River from there, cross the Luliang Mountains and rush to Taiyuan.

…………

…………

"My dynasty made an appointment with Chihu to send troops to attack Yan, and Chihu took the central capital and northern areas of Khitan. However, the states of Yanyun and Yun have always been Han lands in the Central Plains and should be returned to our dynasty. So there was the Northern Expedition to Yunshuo, and Chihu Shu

At the same time, ten thousand cavalrymen also left the Xianbei Mountains to kill Linhuang and Dading as promised. However, Chi Hu captured them as scheduled.

In Linhuang and Dading, after capturing the Khitan Emperor Xiao Yichun, we also sent troops and horses to attack Liaoyang. However, our army was defeated in Datong because of traitors who secretly collaborated with the enemy. The officials favored us and did not hold us responsible for our crimes, but we are ashamed.

For your kindness to the king, Prime Minister Cai has trouble sleeping and eating in the court! You gentlemen should do your best!"

Taiyuan Jinglue appeases the envoy's mansion. Dozens of high-ranking generals from Hedong are sitting high in the hall. Jinglue envoy Liu Shizhong, whose hair is already frosty white, sits in the middle. His old and hoarse voice mentions the urgent summons of all the generals to Taiyuan Mansion.

The reason for the discussion.

The Liu family also served as generals in the Western Army for several generations.

Liu Shizhong grew up in the army since he was a child. He attacked and defended with his father and brother and the party members, and made many military exploits. He once knew the affairs of Huan, Qin and other states. He also served as the deputy commander of the infantry army and the military envoy of Qin Feng. In terms of prestige, he was the military commander.

One of the few handsome men in China.

However, at this time, Liu Shizhong was already old and lacked the vigor of the past. However, relying on the political acumen developed over the years, he speculated that the imperial court was likely to have the intention to attack Yan again in the near future. He urgently summoned the generals to Taiyuan to convey the message

information, and secondly, I hope the generals will be prepared as soon as possible.

In this way, when the imperial court decides to attack Yan again, they will be able to get praise from their superiors based on their preliminary preparations.

"If it weren't for the Tianxiong Army being too cowardly, they couldn't survive three to five days in Datong City. Why do they need to go through such twists and turns?"

Although it was unanimously claimed that Yue Hailou's secret conspiracy with the enemy was the fundamental reason for the Tianxiong army's setback, how could the generals Xiao Sheng and Xuan Wu not complain about Ge Boyi and other Tianxiong troops, who had not returned home after traveling all the way to Hedong?

The incompetence and cowardice of the heroic general?

Of course, the Tianxiong Army could not last more than five days in Datong City. It was destroyed because Ge Huaicong and other generals abandoned the army and fled. No one can blame the East Route Army for delaying reinforcements; the Xiaosheng and Xuanwu armies that formed the East Route Army

The generals are even less likely to think that they bear any responsibility for the collapse of the Tianxiong Army.

"Okay, the Tianxiong army was defeated in Datong. It has been concluded for a long time. Don't talk about it anymore!" Liu Shizhong said in a deep voice to stop his generals from starting the topic. He turned to Cao Shixiong and asked, "Cao Tongzhi, the officials want you to regain Tianxiong."

Army, it has been almost two months now, how come the defense of Shuozhou and Langu has not been finalized yet?"

"Shixiong came to Taiyuan here and was about to report this matter to the economic envoy," Cao Shixiong said thoughtfully. "I originally wanted Jie Zhong, Zhu Run, and Lei Teng to each have one general, but Yin and Wen often had objections.

Yan Jie Zhong et al.

The people who did not know the military battle formation map were embarrassed and the matter was left unresolved. The soldiers and horses of Shuozhou could have been compiled into a general, but when the military roster was determined, it was found that most of the soldiers who stayed in Shuozhou were soldiers from Tongbai Mountain. If they were compiled into a general,

Ma, it is against the military system of Vietnam, and there are all kinds of rumors outside, and Shi Xiong also feels that this matter is very difficult to handle. In addition to these two things that need to be consulted by the strategic envoy, there is another thing, which is that Shi Xiong is here this time.

At the time of Taiyuan, Pan Chenghu, the former commander of the Imperial Military Commission, sent people from Shuozhou to deliver a message. Shuozhou soldiers and horses and the troops stationed in Langu went to suppress the Fan Hu in Xishan. Shixiong felt that this matter was of great importance and needed to be decided by the military envoy himself.

…”

"Since it is a rumor, there is no need to pay attention to it. Is it possible that we rely on catching winds and shadows to do things all day long?" Liu Shizhong frowned and said, "Then Xu Huai, Xu Wuqi, Xu Wukun and others helped Wang Xiang to eliminate them when they were in Tangzhou.

The banditry was meritorious; he had previously helped Zhu Langjun lead the remnants of Tianxiong's army to withdraw from Datong, and he was even more rewarded for his great merit - I think Quan and

However, Xu Huai directly served as the Marquis of Duyu and commanded the soldiers and horses of Shuozhou. They wanted to cooperate with the troops stationed in Langu to clear out the Xishan Fanhu. This was also a good thing. Lanzhou immediately made plans. The capital of Chihu was captured in Linhuang. It was decided.

We, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, cannot do anything in the east of the river. We can start by clearing out the barbarians in the west mountains to appease your kindness!"

Although he heard his father and uncle discuss this possibility when he was in Guan Chuishan, he heard that Liu Shizhong actually made such an arrangement. Cao Xuanwen, who was sitting behind his father Cao Shixiong, could not hide his shock and asked Meng Jian in a low voice: "

What's going on? Liu Shizhong is really not afraid of the dangers of raising tigers?"

"Liu Shizhong expected that the imperial court would be interested in attacking Yan again. Xu Huaijin's success in suppressing the Tibetan tribes in the Western Mountains was a result of Hedong's contribution. It was Liu Shizhong who was proactive in Hedong. If Xu Huaijin failed to suppress the Tibetan tribes in the Western Mountains and lost troops and generals, wouldn't it have further fulfilled their purpose? Liu Shizhong

Why stop it?" Meng Jian whispered.

Said, "And Liu Shizhong kept insisting that Xu Huai helped the Wang family and his son perform meritorious deeds several times. At this time, he also used this as an excuse to recommend him to command Shuozhou's troops and horses as Du Yuhou. This was also to prevent the Wang family and his son from getting rid of this scourge. Liu Shizhong had already led the troops to fight.
Chapter completed!