In February, Youzhou is already in spring, flowers bloom, everything is reviving, and a thriving snow melts and flourishes.

But in the northern grasslands, there is still a scene of ice and snow, and the north wind whistles.

Among the towering trees that no one could hold, the Khitan forest in deer-skinned people held large wooden sticks wrapped in stone and chiseled ice on the edge of the lake to catch fish.

Suddenly the sound of horse hooves sounded in the forest, and a large group of Khitan men wearing roe deer skins appeared in the forest. The snow on the treetops shook the sound of horse hooves and tilted down from a high place.

The Khitan forest man looked up at the running cavalry team, but he didn't care and continued to use stones to chisel ice.

The cavalry team left the forest and came to a vast land where the Khitan Fufuyu tribe was tied.

Hundreds of slanted columns are put together. The so-called slanted columns are supported by 20 or 30 wooden poles of five or six meters long, and are then built with animal skin or birch bark. The slanted columns are said to protect against rain in summer and keep cold in winter. In an umbrella-shaped house, the roof is open to facilitate lighting, and fire and smoke excretion.

People in the Khitan forest living in the dense forest have lived like this for hundreds of years, and have survived the severe winters.

The running cavalry team came to a gate with a large flag tilted in front of the slanted pillar and dismounted. The leading Khitan man went straight into the tent and shouted: "Brother Qulie, I'm here."

A man walked out of the door with a knife in his hand and wearing a bear's leather waistcoat. This person was Fufuyubu Yili Jinquli.

Qu Lie glanced at the other party, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hold the horse and go into the house to drink."

After saying that, the Khitan man immediately asked his subordinates to tie the horses and entered the wooden house.

A bonfire was growing in the wooden house, driving away the severe cold outside. The man took a stone bowl from Qu Lie's hand and drank a few sips. He sat down and stretched out his hands to warm his hands in front of the bonfire.

"How is your troops doing this winter?" Qu Lie asked casually with his legs inserted.

The Khitan man shook his head and said, "It's a big wind and snow. The tribesmen have eaten and used it almost as much as they have. The old and children in the tribe are half broken. Now it's easy for the wind and snow to stop. I took the fur I used last year to go to the Goguryeo people in the south to replace it with some iron tools. Otherwise, once the skin is rotten in summer, it will be worthless. The Goguryeo people are all killed by heaven, but they actually ask for such a harsh price. Three good marten furs are replaced with one marten fur. In the past, one marten fur could be replaced with a good marten knife."

Qu Lie asked, "If you don't go to Yuyi Town, you can only go to the Goguryeo people to cause trouble. Who will blame me? It's just that you exchange fur for some food, how can you exchange iron tools?"

After hearing this, the Khitan man said, "Brother Qu Lie, do you know? Yan Yelei in the south is dead!"

Qu Lieben was cutting a piece of half-cooked and bloody lamb with a knife. He stopped when he heard this. He put the sheep blood on the knife and licked it beside his tongue, and asked, "How did you die?"

"I heard that he was fighting for the Sui people in the south, but he died in the battle. Khan asked me to bring you a message and ask if it was interesting to rob him."

"So you changed the iron tools to rob the south," Qu Lie said with a sharp look in his eyes. "Why did you forget the miserable defeat of our Khitans at the foot of Bailang Mountain two years ago, and five years ago, Wuhou Qinshui, five years ago. Do you still dare to provoke the Sui people at this time?"

I heard Qu Lie mention the White Wolf Water and the Wuhou Qin Water. The Khitan man showed a slight look of fear on his face, but then he said, "Brother. We are not going to fight the Sui people, but to those lackeys. They betrayed Tengri and attached to the Sui people. Khan said they are ten times more hateful than the Sui people."

Qu Lie thought for a while and said, "Although Yan Yelei was dead, his tribes stationed on the north bank of the Qin River in Wuhou have 20,000 to 30,000 tents. I heard that they have followed the Khan of the Sui people in recent years and have gained a lot of money every year, so they are strong and powerful. There is also an old man from Qiuli staring at him. This old guy is an old dog guarding the house. Don't think about it if you are with him."

The Khitan man said, "You don't know this. The old man from Qiuli is seriously ill now. I wonder if he can survive this winter, and there is also a stir in Yan Yeliu's tribe."

"Why?" Qu Lie stopped his subordinates and asked.

The Khitan man said, "Yan Yeli's eldest son was sent to the Han area as a hostage Borhan, and learned a lot of Chinese and Han people's knowledge. Now he is unstable when he comes back. Many of the former tribes did not accept his rule and are causing trouble now, so this is a great opportunity."

Qu Lie felt his heart moved and said, "This is an opportunity, but the horses cannot be without horses. The last time Khan was defeated by the Han people, he was now embarrassed. If he took the lead, I would not accept it."

Qu Lie thought that his tribe was strong and powerful, and he seemed to be able to take this opportunity to establish his reputation among the eight Khitan tribes and replace the Dahe family in the future. He wanted to hear the other party's opinions and see if the other party would echo him.

Qu Lie asked deliberately: "Who did you say that the eight Khitan tribes raised their flags to attack Yan Yelei tribe this time? They can't be the Xi people, right?"

Speaking of this, the Khitan man got closer and said, "No, although the three tribes of the Xi tribes have this meaning, the real lead is Zhao Yande, the Turkic Sui man. He told several tribes to attack, otherwise they would not have the courage."

"It's Zhao Yande again," Qu Lie threw the stone bowl to the ground and said, "The last time it was this person's idea. As a result, we Khitans died tens of thousands of people in Bailang Mountain, while the Turks did not even fall off their horse hair. This time I said I wouldn't go anything."

The Khitan man said, "Brother Qu Lie, you must not go. Last time, our seven tribes in Bailang Mountain lost a lot of cattle and sheep tribes. Only your tribe did not suffer much loss. Some people all rumored that you secretly surrendered to the Khan of the Han people."

"This is not true! If this is true, my soul cannot return to Tengri after death." Although Qu Liei shouted loudly, his three sons are now hostage in Youzhou. However, the Khitans are indifferent, and Qu Liei has twelve sons, so he doesn't care.

The Khitan man said, "I can trust you, Brother Qu Lie, but Khan and others don't. Your tribe has been growing in the past two years, which has long made the Dahe family unhappy. Maybe if you don't send troops this time, they will attack you first and use your tribe blood to sacrifice the battle's big flag."

Qu Lie's eyes rolled and he smiled and said, "Brother just now, why wouldn't I go to attack Yan Yelie's tribe? I just wanted to ask for more cattle and sheep. When you go back, tell Khan, just say that attack Yan Yelie's tribe will be included in my share."

"Then it's great. Let's go to grab the south together and find a few beautiful Sui girls to give birth to their babies."

After saying that, the two laughed, but Qu Li's eyes showed a stern meaning.

Yuyi Town, Ruoshui Prefecture Protectorate.

Today, Yuyi Town has long become the capital of the Fortress after five years of development.

There were more than 10,000 Han people settled in the town, and there were also equal members of the people. This spring, the ice and snow had just melted, the road was not muddy, and the camel bells rang out outside the Yuyi Town.

Before the gates of the north and south were opened, there were caravans of all sizes outside the gate, including Han merchants from the south and Hu merchants from the north, chatting with each other while waiting to enter the city.

On both sides of the city gateway, someone was holding baskets of Hu cakes with his head and selling them to the merchants beside the road.

In the dozen temporary straw huts next to the road, more than a dozen Hu masters were cooking cakes, and the white air was steaming. The child beside him was still shouting: "The city gate will be open for two more minutes. Take advantage of the cold weather, and a bowl of hot porridge will be brought to you by three in a bowl. Please keep you warm from the beginning to your feet, and enter the city happily and make a lot of money!"

Many Han merchants could not withstand the temptation of hot porridge. They immediately removed the goods on their bodies, tied the horses, paid for the children to ask for hot porridge, and then squatted on the ground and drank the porridge in a hot gulp.

The businessmen who did not have this skill sat directly in the straw hut, and they set up tables in the straw hut to sit. While drinking porridge, they ate cakes and communicated business information with their business partners.

Everyone was busy and noisy. Before going to work, they spent this rest time first. After the drums sounded loudly at the city gate, all the merchants immediately returned to the queue and lined up to enter the city in order.

The Ruoshui Prefecture Protectorate, which has only been built for two months.

The newly appointed guardian Wang Junkuo frowned at the documents sent from the north.
Chapter completed!