Great Zhou Empress

Xiao Liege's tower-like attendants carried Xiao Liege on their backs, while Xue Zhijing walked near her, someone in the front led the way, and someone in the rear was in the rear.

But the road in the mountain forest is difficult to walk, especially some rotting plants, it always makes people feel like they are stepping on the slippery mud.The attendants who looked like iron towers were a bit overwhelmed, and after several times of reciting Xiao Lie's songs, the crowd finally walked into a valley.

Xiao Liege's overall condition is much better, and his whole body is full of vigor and energy. If you don't look at her back, you probably don't know that she is a person who has suffered such serious injuries.

Xue Zhijing, Xiao Liege, Zhen Yuan, Chen He and others sat around a fire and discussed their next plan.

According to their current footsteps, it is estimated that tomorrow they will be able to reach the outskirts of the mountain range where they used to hunt before. When they get there, the terrain will naturally be more familiar, and they no longer need to follow the river to avoid getting lost.

It's just that in this way, they may suddenly bump into people from Yelv Mengnan's side.

After deciding on a few sets of plans, everyone started to eat. Except for cooking some mush for Xiao Liege, the others ate dried meat and other dry food. We are approaching the outer edge of the mountain range, so it's better to be careful.

But tonight's rest was not so comfortable, a few attendants swiftly went to cut some branches, preparing to build a shed for Xiao Liege.

When they were building, Xiao Liege was teaching Xue Zhijing, "This is what we Khitan people have learned since childhood. If we must rest in the forest, we can build a shed. Of course, this is when there are no trees to rest on." Under the premise of building a shed, after all, there are still risks.”

"Like wolves and bears."

"correct."

"They built the simplest shed, probably in the shape of a cone. The place where you build the shed is very important. You have to observe it. It can't be the path of some small animals, that is, there should be no traces of them passing by on the ground, otherwise you will sleep at night. It's time for them to come and play with you."

Xue Zhijing thought of the two days when he was harassed by spiders and mosquitoes, and he really had lingering fears. There are all kinds of weird creatures in this forest.

It was not like this when I was in the court of the Liao king. It seems that even in the grassland area, the residence of the royal court is a comfortable area.

Xiao Liege continued to speak enthusiastically, "And after choosing an open space, we must clean it up, no ants or anything can be left, and it is best to expose the dry soil below, so that we can start building the shed gone."

Xue Zhi nodded, and listened to Xiao Liege like a serious student, Xiao Liege was greatly benefited, she continued, "Usually, skilled hands like us can build such a shed in half an hour. "

When he fell asleep at night, Xue Zhijing was still quite fresh.

The size of this shed is the same as that of a small tent in later generations, and there is a strong smell of fresh wood inside, because there are gaps between the wood, and if you look closely, you can see the clear sky through the gaps.

Xue Zhijing lay down and said with a smile, "It's very interesting."

Xiao Liege was lying on her side. She is now in a better state of mind, but it is better not to touch the wound on her back, so she can only sleep miserably on her stomach, at most she can sleep on her side .

"Why do you feel that you are in such a good mood? It doesn't seem like we are in a difficult situation, but rather like the two of us have time to go out and relax." Xiao Liege asked.

Xue Zhijing also simply turned over, facing Xiao Liege, Xiao Liege's eyes looked particularly bright in the dark night.

"Anyway, I'm glad to have found you."

Xiao Liege approached slowly, leaned his head against Xue Zhijing's chest, and rubbed against it.

Xue Zhijing didn't dare to touch her back, so he could only pat her on the shoulder and said, "Go to sleep."

After sleeping until midnight, she was suddenly awakened by the sound of swordsmen outside, and then Zhen Yuan patted their shed violently, "Princess, Mr. Jing, get up quickly, we are under attack."

The two slept together, but they quickly got up at this moment. Xue Zhijing went out of the shed first, and saw the crowd fighting together in the forest outside.

Xiao Liege also came out of the shed with a cold face.

Some people including Zhen Yuan and Chen He escorted the two to leave, while the rest stayed where they were and killed the attackers.

"It was the night watchmen on the outermost perimeter who met the people first, and soon the two sides fought. It seems that Yelumengnan and the others have already arranged a lot of people around here. We may have bumped into a small group of people by accident."

Xue Zhijing also thought so.

The crowd is now equivalent to being divided into two teams again, and they have to move forward more cautiously.

Moving forward at night will be more difficult than during the day. They walked carefully until dawn, and only then did they feel that they had already left the mountain range and the surrounding area was very flat.

After waiting for a while, finally the group of people who were separated from them arrived, all of them had a strong smell of blood on their bodies. It seemed that after they left last night, they had experienced a fierce battle.

Xue Zhijing's face darkened.

On the way, they found some herdsmen, finally determined their location, and even touched the location of Yelu Mengnan and others.

Xiao Liege's injury was almost healed, and this time was the moment to completely wipe out Yelu Mengnan and the others.

They sent out to the previous station to search for Xiao Liege's large army and Xue Zhijing's large army, while observing the situation of Yelu Mengnan's people.

This area should be the main residence of Yelumengnan, with flat terrain, surrounded by rivers, and forests a little further away.Xiao Liege said that she was taken captive here at that time.

Zhen Yuan and the others said that when they went to rescue Xiao Liege, they found that the senior officials of the Shiwei tribe and other tribes also lived here.Yelu Mengnan probably wanted to establish this area as his independent kingdom.

They observed for a long time, and waited until the people of the Shiwei tribe went out before following up. Chen He followed with a few people for a long time before following the leader of the Shiwei tribe.

The leader of the Shiwei tribe naturally knew Chen He, and when he saw Chen He and the others, his expression was a little weird, but he also invited them to grill fish together at noon.

Chen He was from Dazhou who had sold weapons to them, so the Shiwei tribe would naturally not neglect them.

Both sides can say a little bit of each other's words, barely make do with communication.

The leader of the Shiwei tribe said, "Now, the leader of Yelu said that if he becomes the emperor of the Liao Kingdom, he will assign the entire area here to our Shiwei tribe, and we can also annex several small tribes. Our Shiwei tribe can have a population of 10,000+."

The leader grew up in the mountains and forests, and the tribe he led was only tens of thousands of people. He had dark skin and spoke with a rather simple and honest taste.

Chen He said, "Do you think that if Chief Yelu really became the emperor of the Liao Kingdom, would he really fulfill the agreement?"

"Why didn't he fulfill the agreement?" The leader said, "The king must keep his word, just like when I did business with you, I said I would lease the land to you, and I would never bother."

Chen He laughed and said, "Yeah, that's why I came here to tell you about this, the leader, because we are all honest and trustworthy people, so I can't watch you fall into a trap." Yelu Mengnan I am more familiar with this man than you, he is not an honest and trustworthy man."

Talking to the leader of the Shiwei tribe, they all use very simple vernacular. His tribe is still in the Stone Age, and the nation has no written language. All their experience is passed on by word of mouth. They know about hunting in the forest Animals and plants seem to have natural advantages, but they seem a little inexperienced in dealing with some conspiracies and tricks.

"I have fought against Yelu Mengnan. He is a person who wants to grab everything in his hands. In his hands, all tribes must be integrated into his hands."

When the leader of the Shiwei tribe heard this, his expression became tense.

"Look, now, does he require all of you leaders to be by his side? As long as you control you, can all the soldiers under your hands be controlled? Now he still needs you, as long as he kills you If the princess and emperor of the Liao Kingdom are lost, then you are useless, and you will be recruited directly by him."

For the leaders of these tribes, their control over the tribe is the most important. Even if their tribe is very primitive, even if they live a simple life, he is not willing to hand over the power in his hands to others.

"Who is this Yelu Mengnan? He is a minister of the Liao court," Chen He said earnestly, "He also has a niece named Yelu Yan, who is the queen of Emperor Xiao Derui. Think about it, this Yelu Meng Nan is equivalent to the uncle of your wife’s family, who is the leader. He is a very powerful person. However, this Yelu Mengnan has united with the queen Yeluyan to kill the emperor. In comparison, it is equivalent to your wife and you The wife’s natal family rebelled together and wanted to kill you as the leader and take your position as the leader.”

People are more sensitive to their own affairs, which is called a sense of substitution.

When Chen He contacted the leader of the Shiwei tribe one by one, he felt numb all over his body, as if his head was about to move.

"How can such a person be trusted?"

That's right, how can such an unfaithful and unfilial person be trustworthy.The leader of the Shiwei tribe thinks for a moment, if such a person appears around him, he must be careful and guard against it. If he makes a deal with him, will he really fulfill his promise after he succeeds?

The leader is a little uncertain.

What Chen He wanted was his hesitation.

"As for us, you have dealt with each other before. The emperor of our Great Zhou is a monarch who keeps his promise. Because she is a friend with the emperor and princess of the Liao court, she agreed to help them out of friendship. Our Emperor of Great Zhou Your Majesty promises you that if you help us and the emperor and princess of the Liao court, we will support some of your iron farming tools and arrange agricultural personnel to come and guide you in farming."

The leader of the Shiwei tribe's eyes lit up immediately. If there was anything he cared about more than more territory, it was agriculture.The life of nomadic fishing and hunting is too hard. He yearns for a settled life, and envies that the Han people in the south can cultivate the land. Many years ago, he bought some slaves to farm for him, including Xue Zhijing, ahem!

Chen He continued, "Boss, your children can also go to Bianjing to study abroad for free, and His Majesty the Emperor will bear all the expenses. They will learn Chinese and Chinese characters in our country's bustling city like a fairyland, and they will become family members. The first group of people in the Wei tribe who can write. Our Bianjing city has a population of one million, and your children can make a lot of friends."

million people?Can read and write?

For a tribal leader still living in the Stone Age, this has the same huge attraction as the development of agriculture.

When Chen He and the others came back, Xue Zhijing had never imagined that all the people he had cultivated over the years could now be on their own. His negotiating ability was as good as that of Zhang Yi in the Warring States Period.

And they got the commitment of the Shiwei tribe to undertake the internal response, so they can naturally plan a plan for internal response and external cooperation.

Xue Zhijing and the others were camping on a small hill at this time. Compared with the mountains they had walked through before, this hill could only be regarded as a place to climb and play, but it was better than the steep peak. big camp.

After the distance was extended, the appearance of the camp became more abstract, and the movement of their army could be seen.

Xue Zhijing and Xiao Liege stood on a big rock on the highest peak, surrounded by trees, there was a risk of falling, but Xiao Liege, who was a little afraid of heights, took a deep breath and sat down cautiously.

At this time, the sun was very good, or it was still a little bit dry, and when it shone on the two of them, they both felt a little hot.

"Aren't you very familiar with this land?" Xue Zhijing asked.

Xiao Liege nodded, "This area in the east is not suitable for grazing. Wang Ting always comes here in spring, but it's only in the Yazihe area, and I rarely come to wider areas."

"But I remember that this area is your land of prosperity." Xue Zhijing looked at her and asked with a smile.

"That's right." Xiao Liege said, "At that time, our Khitan tribe didn't have our own written language, only language, and the records in our history books were vague. It seems that we have been fishing and hunting in this area for thousands of years. The tribes at that time should also be relatively loose, and they should all live in the form of small settlements with hundreds or thousands of people."

"Then how did it develop later?" Xue Zhijing asked.

"It is said in the history books that there was a great and talented ancestor in our Xiao family. He realized that our tribe was so backward and he couldn't stand it. He was very intelligent and could speak the languages ​​of many ethnic groups. He even spoke Chinese very well. It was not an easy thing at that time. He united our loose tribes, trained warriors, integrated the surrounding nations, formed a large tribe of 10,000+ people, and then fought all the way, finally in Rooted in the vast grassland. In the next hundred years, the ancestors of each generation continued to expand the borders of our Liao Kingdom, and finally formed such a vast country as it is today." When Xiao Liege talked about these things, he had a strong feeling The reverence for ancestors, the more only a few words are left in the history books, the more people can make up the magnificence of the time in their hearts.

"It is also a country that has been formed through a lot of hard work, so we must protect it well!" Xue Zhijing said frankly.

"Yes, I must take good care of it!" Xiao Liege said in a deep voice.

"Jing, I don't seem to have asked you before, don't you have the idea of ​​annexing our country? If you don't consider the relationship between the two of us?" Xiao Liege asked suddenly, such an idea has been on her mind for a long time.

Xue Zhijing laughed, "Why is there such a problem?"

"Isn't it the essence of every country to annex other countries? I also remembered that when my ancestors first established the Khitan tribe, they also devoured other tribes piece by piece."

Xue Zhijing shook his head, "First, I have always been willing to regard myself as a guardian, and I don't want to be an invader. I can protect a territory, but I don't want to expand it for my own selfish desires."

"Selfish desires?"

"Yes, the desire for a vast territory, in fact, is mainly the emperor's personal desire, it is his medals, his achievements, and his things that are worthy of his name in history. It’s not big, but they have to pay for it with their lives. And I won’t be blinded by such vain desires.”

Xue Zhijing smiled, "Secondly, from the actual situation, I can't annex your Liao Kingdom, and you can't annex Da Zhou either."

"Why?"

"It's easier to conquer the country than it is to defend the country. The territory of your Liao Kingdom is twice the size of my Zhou Dynasty, and most of them are vast grasslands. After I conquered it, I couldn't find anyone to guard it. I can't let me raise another million. The big army just circles around the grassland every day to guard it? In the same way, Dazhou is densely populated and has always been managed by sophisticated administrative methods. Once your tribal alliance system in the Liao Kingdom is copied to the Han Dynasty, it will also Unaccustomed."

Looking at the sun in the sky, Xue Zhijing said, "It's time for us to go down. Going down now, it's just the time to act tonight."

Xiao Liege seemed to be thinking about what Xue Zhijing said, so he nodded.

After going to the station in the back mountain, everyone ate some dry food together and prepared to go down the mountain.

According to their footsteps, it happened to be dark when they reached the foot of the mountain, and it happened to be the middle of the night when they touched the place.

Running in the mountains and forests these days, Xue Zhijing felt that his ability to survive in the wild had improved a lot, and such a half-day trek was no longer a strenuous task.

Man, indeed, is a highly adaptable creature.

At this time, in Yelu Mengnan's big tent, he and Yelu Yan were drinking and eating meat.

For Yelu Mengnan, he didn't like his niece from this clan very much either, she was too strong and naturally made him uncomfortable.

"I haven't found Xiao Liege yet, so I still feel a little uneasy."

Yeluyan's hatred for Xiao Liege is stronger than Yelu Mengnan's. After all, she seems to have "loved" Xiao Liege, but for a proud noblewoman like her, that "love" should be a desire to possess more , just like her desire to control everything.

Even without Xue Zhijing, Xiao Liege would never have liked Yeluyan. Yeluyan was pitiful but also hateful. Although she had no choice but to accept the marriage contract with the emperor, she vented her anger by destroying everything.

If she had the chance, she would probably hope that she could confine Xiao Liege by her side and torture her wantonly to vent her anger.