Emperor Renzong of the Great Song Dynasty

There was a slight commotion outside the camp, and Yelu Lund, Privy Councilor of the North Court, walked in.

Yelu Longde is a cousin of Liao Shengzong and a descendant of Liao Tai Zu Yelu Abaoji.

When Emperor Jingzong of Liao Dynasty passed away and Yelu Longxu, the Sacred Emperor of Liao Dynasty, came to the throne as a young man, Yelu Longde's branch had unreservedly supported the new emperor.

Therefore, after the new emperor and the queen mother eliminated dissidents and secured the throne, they were rewarded generously.

One of the rewards is the position of Privy Envoy of Yelu Lund's North Court.

The state affairs of the Liao Kingdom are divided into the North Court and the South Court.The North Court handles Khitan affairs and uses Khitan officials.The South Court handles Han affairs and employs Han officials.

The northern and southern courts each have a post of privy envoy, and the northern court's privy envoy is the head of the group of ministers, still above the prime minister.

That's right, the Liao State copied the position of the Privy Envoy from the Song State. However, although the official name is the same, the specific powers are quite different. prime minister.

Giving this honor to Yelu Longde shows the trust that Liao Shengzong has in this cousin.

Seeing that Yelu Longde broke into his tent without notification, Liao Shengzong did not get angry, but smiled and said: "Hu Dugu, why do you look sad?"

Hu Dugu was the Khitan name of Yelu Longde, and Shengzong of Liao Dynasty called him by this, which was very affectionate.

Yelulunde looked solemn, and after saluting, he said, "Your Majesty, things are a little strange."

Liao Shengzong asked Yelu Longde to sit down and talk, and ordered the female slave who was accompanying him to pour tea for him: "What's so weird?"

Yelu Lund drank the thick tea in one gulp.

Tea is the main source of trade between the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty. Every year they exchange a large amount of fur, cattle and sheep with the Song Dynasty for tea.

Even so, tea is also a very precious resource in the Liao Kingdom. Herdsmen boil tea and milk together, and then mix it with spirits. A pot of hot tea like this is enough to survive a long night of howling cold winds.

Commoners can only get very little tea, and they often have to boil it six or seven times until the tea from the tea leaves becomes clear and weak before discarding the residue.

For the nobles of the Liao Kingdom, the best way to entertain guests is to boil a pot of rich brown tea for the guests, and then pour out the tea leaves in the pot face to face, to show their wealth and generosity.

However, some stingy families store the tea leaves that have been boiled six or seven times. When a visitor comes, they will cook a pot of strong tea in advance, filter out the tea leaves, pour the prepared tea leaves into the tea, and wait for a visit. Throwing away "tea leaves that can make strong tea" in front of the guests, to show off the boldness and generosity that one does not have.

In the camp of Liao Shengzong, there are some of the best tea leaves, which are the teas obtained from the exchange of gifts with the emperor of Song Dynasty these years. The imperial treasures of Song Dynasty are quite popular among Han people. Liao Shengzong likes this fresh and timeless taste very much. An envoy was once sent to discuss with the emperor of the Song Dynasty whether it is possible to exchange some of the old coins for this kind of tea.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty agreed, so the year coin in the second year was reduced by 5 taels of silver. Liao Shengzong got a celadon jar the size of a palm, coated with a warm and crystal glaze, and the jar contained six taels of fragrant tea.

Liao Shengzong looked at Yelu Longde's teacup, and estimated how many tea leaves could make such a cup of strong tea, how much silver these tea leaves could be exchanged for, and how many cups of tea could be brewed from the remaining tea leaves at the bottom of the cup. ——

After a while of pain, Liao Shengzong gave up the conversion.

Yelu Lund said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, we have not seen a single commoner from the Song Kingdom during our journey."

Liao Shengzong said softly: "It may be that they are afraid of Khitan's magic soldiers and hid."

Yelu Lund shook his head: "When going south in previous years, Song people would also hide. If they wanted to look for them, they could always find them. But this year there was none. The crops in the farmlands we passed by have been harvested, which means that they are in the There were still farmers here a day or two ago. But when we went to nearby villages, we saw only empty houses, not to mention people, not even a chicken or a dog."

Liao Shengzong's complexion also gradually became serious: "With so many people, it is impossible to disappear overnight, they must still be hiding nearby."

"The most important thing is that they just harvested, where did so much grain go?" Yelu Lund said with a serious expression, "It's not just a village, but all the villages we passed by. Song people knew we were coming, so they all Hidden."

Liao Shengzong pondered for a while, and told Yelu Longde: "Go to the army and look for the veterans who have gone south several times. They must know the nearby villages, and maybe they can also know where the Song people are hiding. They must be found."

The Song people had a big crossbow, which could shoot and kill the enemy commander on the city wall.

Today's Yingzhou City may not be easier to break than it was ten years ago.

They had to be prepared for a long-term confrontation with the Song people. It would cost too much to transport grain and grass from the Liao Kingdom, so they could only feed on the enemy.

Sun Tzu has a saying in the art of war, eat the enemy for one minute, and fight for twenty minutes.

Liao Shengzong deeply thought so.

That's why he chose to send troops around the autumn harvest.

It was too early, the crops did not grow, and the Song people themselves were still green and yellow, so there was no surplus food for them to grab.

It was too late, the Song people had already paid their taxes, and there was not much food left in their families. Even if they were robbed, they would not be able to feed the army.

Only by dispatching troops during the few days when the autumn harvest is stuck, can it be possible to grab enough military rations.

Considering the large number of soldiers and horses he brought this time, Liao Shengzong also deliberately postponed the day of crossing the border for two days, just to give the Song people time to harvest grain.

It's not that they can go to the fields to collect grain by themselves, but there's no need for this. Wouldn't it be good to just rob the people of Song Dynasty and receive it in the granary?

The Song people had more experience collecting grain than they did. If they went to collect a large grain field, they would probably only receive three or four shi, while the Song people could receive five or six shi.

That being the case, why waste it, he brought a large army this time, what if there is not enough food.

Even if they can't eat it in the end, it won't be cheap for the people of Song Dynasty if they burn it up with a fire.

Unexpectedly, the plan was well planned, but the Song people changed their minds midway.

So much food, all gone overnight?

So what does my army eat?

Liao Shengzong was angry.

Yelulunde was a little uneasy.

He has experienced the battlefield for a long time, and he has a much more accurate grasp of the ever-changing situation on the battlefield than Liao Shengzong, the emperor who was born in a deep palace.

More than ten years ago, he also followed the Queen Mother and the Emperor to the south, and he stationed troops not far from here.

Song people at that time were a tough nut to crack.

The giant crossbow shot and killed their commander-in-chief, and they had no choice but to make peace with the Song people.

At that time, Yelu Longde was full of enthusiasm. He wanted to fight to the death with the generals of the Song Dynasty, and he wanted to use Khitan's iron hooves to smash the dream of Song Rentian and Chaoshang Kingdom.

But the queen mother chose to negotiate a peace agreement, and obtained Song's annual tribute of 30 silver by way of negotiation.

Although Yelu Lund felt that the deal was a good deal, he still had some regrets.

He always felt that if the Empress Dowager had chosen to change coaches and fight to the death with the Song people, the ending would have been different.

With such regrets, more than ten years later, he took the initiative to invite Ying, and followed the emperor to his hometown.

But looking at the city of Yingzhou in the distance, Yelulongde was not excited about his long-cherished wish, but felt deeply disturbed.

Not right.

So wrong.

He felt that the emperor was right. How could so many Song people disappear overnight? They must be hiding somewhere with their food, treasures, and women.And all he has to do is find them out.

Find them and...

Yelu Lund suddenly turned around, only to find that there was no one behind him.

Cold sweat instantly wet his back, he gasped for breath, and his heart was pounding.

For a moment, he suddenly felt that those Song people who were hiding were not curled up like lambs in the shadows waiting for his butcher knife, but turned into wolves, hiding in the dark, staring at him, clicking Grinding the claws and teeth...

The noon sun was shining brightly overhead, and the sun's light dazzled the eyes almost blind.Beads of sweat flowed from his forehead into his eyes, stinging sharply.

Yelu Lund wiped his eyes and murmured, "I'm dazed."

He returned to his camp, called his cronies, and asked him to find a few veterans who had traveled south several times, preferably those who could speak Chinese well, and it would be best if they were Han themselves.

The confidant led the order to go out. He poured himself a cup of tea, thought for a while, and then asked the soldiers guarding the tent at the door to roll up the curtain door.

For some reason, he just felt that even letting the scorching autumn sun shine directly on his skin was better than being alone in a tent.

His heart was still pounding, and after drinking a cup of tea, he gradually calmed down.

The person standing on the top of the opposite tent gritted his teeth resentfully: "What a cunning dog! Let me save your dog's life first!"

He is tall and tall, with a purple face and a big beard. He is in his thirties and is in his prime.

Logically speaking, for such a valiant man standing on top of a tent in broad daylight, someone should have noticed him from the Khitan soldiers coming and going.

But he followed Yelu Lund all the way from the imperial tent to this place, but no one noticed.

His skill is evident.

Seeing that it was not a good time to take the life of this Khitan dog thief, this man no longer misses it, just like when he came here, he performed lightness kung fu and stepped out of the Khitan barracks on the tent.

Five miles away from the barracks, he whistled, and a bay red horse heard the sound. The man stepped on the horse, clamped the horse's belly, and went straight to the gate of Yingzhou city.

When they got outside the city gate, they announced their names, and the officers and soldiers guarding the city put down the drawbridge and let one man and one horse enter the city.

After entering the city, the man went straight to the government office.

When they arrived at the gate of the official mansion, people had been looking forward to him for a long time. Seeing him coming on horseback, they rushed forward to greet him: "Martyr Ouyang, please enter the mansion quickly. The Prime Minister has been waiting for a long time."

Ouyang Chun hurriedly got off his horse: "It's a sin to keep Xiangye waiting for a long time. Ouyang Chun will report to Xiangye right now."

The horse was taken down, Ouyang Chun followed him into the mansion, walked around the courtroom, and went straight to the backyard, where Kou Zhun was discussing with several people dressed as generals, with a map and a sand table in front of him.

On the sand table, there are mountains and rivers made of mud, Yingzhou City, several counties, several villages, and most importantly, the Khitan barracks temporarily replaced by a single mace.

Seeing Ouyang Chun come in, Kou Zhun clapped his palms and smiled: "The righteous soldier Ouyang returned in victory, he must have figured out the setup of the Khitan barracks, and the last corner of my sand table is complete."