Yelu Chongyuan supported his face with his hand, tilted his face on the desk and watched the beautiful woman dance, very fascinated. There are all kinds of secret foods on the case, most of which are famous products of the Great Song Dynasty, and they are all his favorite tastes. Although the Khitan also has these, it has entered his eyes, and he always feels that it is less interesting than that produced in the Great Song Dynasty.

Just as he was watching, one of his own soldiers came in quickly, and the dancer screamed in fright and hid aside.

Yelu Chongyuan felt that he was in the middle of the nine nights, and countless beautiful pictures were all disrupted at once. With a crooked arm, he almost collapsed on the table. Furious in his heart, he stood up suddenly, and shouted: "Break into my handsome tent, don't get through, don't sing promises, drag it out and cut it!" ”

Two guards came in from outside, and they couldn't help but say that they had caught the soldier and were about to drag him out and cut off his head.

The soldier was so frightened that he said loudly: "King, I have an important military report!" Reinforcements from the Song army have arrived! ”

Yelu Chongyuan said with a dark face: "Dozens of rangers, you report back and forth all day long, what is the interest!" ”

The pro-soldier hurriedly said: "This time it's not a ranger, it's the army of the Song Dynasty, and it's more than ten miles south of Tanglong Town!" ”

Yelu Chongyuan turned around, looked at the pro-soldier, and said with a calm face: "What you said is the truth?" If there is the slightest falsehood, you will be punished! ”

The pro-soldier hurriedly said: "Back to the king, the little one saw it with his own eyes, because the matter was important, he trespassed into the handsome tent, and I hope the king will forgive his sins!" ”

Yelu Chongyuan waved his hand: "Let him go and see what he says." ”

The guard released the pro-soldier, and the pro-soldier hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on the ground, crossed his hands and said: "Great king, the little one led people to inspect the south, and when it was dark, I saw a large number of Song troops arriving there. Roughly speaking, there were about 10,000 horses, all cavalry. This is what you have seen with your own eyes, and there is no falsehood! ”

The Khitan are nomadic people, mainly cavalry, and the estimate of the number of cavalry is generally not too far apart.

Yelu Chongyuan listened, did not speak for a while, and closed his eyes and thought after the case. After a long while, he waved his hand and said, "You are loyal to your ministry, when the military situation is urgent, what is the crime of trespassing on the commander's tent?" Fifty horses of silk were to be appreciated, and they stood aside for inquiry. ”

The soldier was overjoyed, hurriedly thanked him, and got up to stand aside.

Yelu Chongyuan said again: "Go and invite King Xiao to come." This matter is not trivial, so I said that the military situation was urgent and consulted with him. ”

The guards sang a promise and walked out of the tent quickly. Yelu Chongyuan waved his hand and ordered the singers and dancers in the tent to go out.

After a short time, Xiao Ge walked quickly into the military tent and saluted Yelu Chongyuan.

Yelu Chongyuan said: "The king doesn't need to be polite. Only when it is appropriate to report to me is that the reinforcements from the south are not far away, and the strength of the troops is not small. This matter is of great importance, and it must not be delayed, so that the king may come and counsel. ”

Xiao Ge said: "I don't know who is coming?" Who is the manager? How many troops are there? ”

Yelu Chongyuan said to the soldiers who were standing on the side: "Did you hear what the king asked?" ”

The pro-soldier hurriedly crossed his hands: "Go back to the king, because it's night, I can't see clearly." However, as far as I know, it should not be the nearby soldiers and horses. Discipline was extremely strict, about nearly 10,000 people, and the whole army had horses. By the way, most of them carried muskets, and they wore cotton clothes instead of leather armor? Because it was in the night, it was not real, but there was no Song army in such a costume on Hedong Road. ”

Xiao Ge couldn't help frowning when he heard this: "Don't wear leather armor, hold more muskets, and wear cotton clothes?" How can there be such a Song army? ”

Yelu Chongyuan suddenly said: "Could it be the Yingtianxiang army from Jingxi Road?" In the past, I heard people from Nanguo talk about the customs there, saying that there was a battalion field army on Jingxi Road, and that was it. Because it's different, it's weird, and I've always remembered it. I heard that this army does not use swords and guns, but all muskets and cannons, which is different from other Song troops. In winter, they had cotton clothes uniformly issued by the army, which were used to keep out the cold, but they did not listen to the clothes and fight. ”

Xiao Ge said: "Cotton clothes? Is it the kind that we also sell in Khitan? ”

Yelu Chongyuan nodded: "Yes, the southern country has introduced grass cotton from the Western Regions, which can be woven into cloth, and can be made into a jacket to protect against the cold." Some merchants sold it to this dynasty, and the price was not cheap. However, I heard that in Jingxi Road, it is actually not expensive, and the people can afford it. ”

Xiao Ge said: "If you talk about this kind of cotton clothes, I have also bought them, and I have worn a few pieces." However, this thing is not as good as a light fur, and the price is really not worth it. Although this clothing is heavy, it can be worn in battle, how can it resist swords, guns and arrows? ”

Of course, the cotton clothes of the Yingtianxiang army were either worn for combat, or to protect against the cold. When fighting, they will naturally change into armor, not only leather armor, but also ironclad troops in the army. At this time, it was customary to wear armor when facing battle, and some did not even take it off when sleeping, which caused an illusion to the pro-soldiers, thinking that what they saw was the Song army in a state of war.

Yelu Chongyuan and Xiao Ge discussed for a while, and they both felt that the cotton clothes were not special compared to the iron armor, and wearing this, it should be that the battalion Tianxiang army was urgently summoned, and the armor without a standard was issued to them.

Sitting opposite each other on the side of the case, Xiao Ge said: "It's strange, according to what the king said, the Yingtianxiang army is stationed on Jingxi Road, and it is southern, how can it appear here?" Even if Nanguo didn't want to lose Tanglong Town, he only needed to draw troops from nearby, but he had transferred such an army thousands of miles away? ”

Yelu Chongyuan said: "Yes, what kind of railway has been built in the south over the years, I heard that there are coal-burning trains running on it, which is extremely fast. I've heard that as long as you add coal and water, you can travel thousands of miles a day without stopping. If they had come by train, these days would have come too. ”

Xiao Ge nodded: "I've also heard that this is really an artifact, and it can mobilize a large army in thousands of miles and days." It's a pity that the Southern Dynasty values this thing, and this dynasty can't make it, and it doesn't sell it. We can only listen to people's words, and I don't know how amazing it is. - Still, it's puzzling why this army was brought in? There are large armies stationed on Shaanxi Road and Hebei Road nearby, and most of them are elites. ”

Yelu Chongyuan said: "A few months ago, Nanguo Guangnan Road heard that there was a barbarian king, named Nong Zhigao, who led the troops to rise up and broke through countless states and counties, which is extremely powerful. The southern court was terrified, and asked the privy deputy envoy Di Taiwei to lead a large army to the south and quell the chaos. Most of the elite soldiers on the Shaanxi Road were taken away by Captain Di, and there were no soldiers to adjust, so such an army was sent. The southern country is poor, so don't worry too much. ”

Xiao Ge said: "Even though there are no soldiers on Shaanxi Road, there are a lot of soldiers and horses in Hebei and Hedong, why don't you move?" ”

Yelu Chongyuan thought for a while and said: "Yes, the Southern Dynasty sent troops to help, to prevent this dynasty from capturing Tanglong Town and fighting them." The soldiers and horses of Hedong Road are in parallel with each other, guarding Yanmen Pass, how dare they be transferred? The army of this dynasty is moving south from Datong Mansion, how can they stop it? Not to mention the Hebei Road, a flat, this dynasty can ride the Yellow River for a few days, and the Song people have always been very afraid. ”

Xiao Ge thought about it, nodded and said, "I think so." King, what should we do when such a support army comes? ”

Yelu Chongyuan said: "Tomorrow, Xuan Xiao will bring two thousand cavalry, and fight with them to see how it goes." The Xiang army in the south is not good, and this Xiang army is a camp, what kind of battle can it fight? If it fails, we will destroy the reinforcements first, and then attack the city with all our might. ”

Xiao Ge said: "King, it's better to be cautious. The enemy is new, and we don't know the details, so it's not appropriate to engage us suddenly. It's better to send more rangers, inquire about their details first, and then decide how to deal with them. The art of war, knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, can not be defeated in a hundred battles! ”