Since the Tang Dynasty, Guangling is an important town in the south of the Yangtze River, and its prosperity and wealth are the best in the world, and even Luoyang and Chang'an are incomparable. After the Huangchao riot - chaos, a fire burned down Chang'an, Chang'an since ancient prosperity is no more, since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the world is in turmoil, first Liang King Zhu Wen dominated the Central Plains, controlled the Tang Dynasty, coerced the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and even called the emperor, Luoyang is called the Western Capital, in fact, it has lost its due status, even less than the Eastern Capital Liang, and can not be compared with Guangling.

The Central Plains has been a place of war since ancient times, when the Wuhu Rebellion in China, there were scholars who moved south, since the Anshi Rebellion, the people who moved south were even more, and when the Liang and Jin Dynasty fought for hegemony, because the south of the Yangtze River was stable, from the dignitaries to the untouchables, all of them rushed into Wu. With the economic development of the land south of the Yangtze River, the prosperity of Guangling and Jinling has been unmatched by the land.

There is a Guogong Mansion in the Jiming Fang of Guangling City, and it is not enough to describe its appearance if it is luxurious and majestic, because it is not much worse than the palace of Yang Pu, the king of Wu, which is the mansion of Xu Wen, the Duke of Qi. Speaking of Xu Wen, the Duke of Qi, not only the officials and people of Guangling, but also the people of the entire Wu State, who doesn't give a thumbs up and praise a true hero? At that time, the thief of Huangchao was bold, violent and chaotic, causing the world to be full of smoke, although he himself did not get a good death, but he made countless reckless heroes to rise up and achieve outstanding achievements.

At that time, Wu Wang Yang Xingmi started between the ridges of the field, Qi Guogong was one of his entourage, known as the "Thirty-six Heroes", conquered the Yangtze River and Huai River Valley, invincible, and was able to establish the great feat of Wu State, even Zhu Wen could not wave his army to the south half a step, which of the world's heroes did not admire! After the death of Yang Xingmi, the king of Wu, the Duke of Qi was the backbone of the Wu country, after several wars, the defeat of the father and son of the king of Wu Yue, so that the Wu country could enjoy a stability in this troubled era, without this, how can there be the prosperity of today's Guangling, Jinling and even the entire Wu country?

However, because Xu Wen, the Duke of Qi, is sitting in Runzhou on weekdays, the Guogong Mansion is not too lively, except for Xu Zhihe, the adopted son of the Duke of Qi, who is now the prime minister, who regularly goes to the mansion to greet a few old people, the Guogong Mansion rarely entertains guests. But today is different, the Guogong Mansion, which is so quiet and almost depressed on weekdays, that the servants and maids inside and outside today are all in a hurry, and everyone has a lot of joy on their faces.

Xu Wen, the Duke of Qi, is indeed in the east study of the mansion at this time, and there are only two people in the study, and the other is the adopted son who is now controlling the government of Wu in Guangling for the Duke of Qi, Xu Zhihe.

Qi Guogong is now past the age of Ershun, full of gray hair, but Prime Minister Xu Zhihe is less than forty, which is the most golden stage of a man. The father and son sat opposite each other, Xu Wen wore a white hexagram, and Xu Zhi wore a white shirt.

"Liang Guo, this is dead?"

"Dead."

Xu Wen fanned the wind with a pu fan, and his face had the vicissitudes of life unique to the old man, "When Zhu Wen stole Tang and established the Liang Kingdom, how invincible it was, there were many heroes in the world, but in front of him, they were all like mice, barely seeking self-preservation." Unexpectedly, the country will die out in less than the second generation, which is embarrassing. ”

Xu Zhihe said respectfully: "Li Yazi of Hedong is a capable person, since he succeeded to the throne of King Jin, he has conquered the east and west to expand the territory, and it is stronger than another year, and it is not surprising that there is a change in today's fortune." ”

"Li Yazi is much stronger than Li Keyong." Xu Wen nodded in recognition of Xu Zhihe's concept, his old and more energetic eyes flickered, and his voice slowed down, "The reason why Li Yazi was able to destroy Liang with lightning speed this time is that Li Siyuan's father and son are the first to be promoted?" ”

"The Tang army went out to fight, with Li Siyuan and his son as the vanguard army, all the way unstoppable, there was almost no enemy in front of him, and the siege of the city was like a backhand. Li Yazi did not go through a big battle, but won the world with his hands, and the only one he relied on was these two people. Xu Zhihe sorted out simple and profound information from the latest military newspaper, paused, and seemed to be thinking about what to say next, "When the Tang army captured Daliang, with Li Congjing's hundred battle army as the main force, an army of more than 20,000 people, it only took three days to defeat Zhu Youzhen's temporary patchwork of 20,000 or 30,000 troops. ”

"Li Congjing, Hundred Battles Army?" Xu Wen repeated these three words, as if chewing.

Xu Zhihe further explained to Xu Wen: "Li Congjing, the eldest son of Li Siyuan, and before the age of the crown, the hundred battle army led by him has been in the army for less than a year. This time to destroy Liang, it seems that Li Siyuan relied on him, the eldest son, to make a great contribution. ”

"Under Li Yazi, there are many talents." Xu Wen felt that "when the world comes to work, the world will work together, and the heroes of the world can not compete with it, and Li Yazi is also." ”

Xu Zhihe nodded silently.

"Tiger father and tiger son, a beautiful thing in the world." Xu Wen said again, and then his voice became a little weirder, "But the father and son are both noble and have outstanding achievements, so they are not afraid of high merit and shocking the master?" ”

"Li Yazi, judging by his past actions, is not like a master who is jealous of meritorious heroes." Xu Zhihe pondered for a while and said.

Xu Wen sneered, "That was the undestroyed Liang, before he became the lord of the world, and now he is respected in the south and sits in the Central Plains, how can he not have a little thought?" ”

Xu Zhihe felt reasonable, and asked tentatively: "In that case, father, what should Wu Guo do?" ”

"Since the defeat of Zhu Wen by the first king, Wu and the Central Plains have always been well water does not interfere with river water, and now although the Central Plains has changed owners, the national policy of Wu has not changed. You and I congratulate him, and find out Li Yazi's attitude. Xu Wen had a posture of not moving, "As for Li Siyuan's father and son, wait and see what happens, if Li Yazi really doesn't suspect the heroes, it's okay, if you have that thought, what if you and I add a fire to it?" After a pause, he added: "Li Siyuan is already a famous general, and now there is another Li Congjing, if Li Yazi has the intention of annexing the countries and dominating the world, once the Central Plains uses troops against Huainan, this father and son will be sharp blades, and it is a big trouble for you and me, so we must pay attention to it." ”

"Father Takami."

"In addition, uniting the grassland Khitan to balance the Central Plains is a great plan that we have been pursuing, since the situation in the Central Plains has changed, it is necessary to send envoys to the Khitan to explore the tone of Yelu Abaoji." Xu Wen smiled unpredictably, "After all, Li Yazi and Abaoji have a feud." ”

"Yes, father."

Xu Wen stared for a moment, and suddenly spoke: "Remember, the State of Wu can recognize the fact of Li Yazi's throne, but King Wu does not call him a vassal!" ”

……

The steppe people naturally worship the strong and worship heroes.

The living environment of the grassland is much worse than that of the Central Plains, and it is much more difficult to survive, and the grassland is vast, and there is no basis for the territory to be governed by big cities, so most of the time the various departments of the grassland are in their own ways, and they are constantly fighting with each other for the pastures and cattle and sheep with abundant water and grass. Compared with the Central Plains, the killings were more frequent for the steppe people. Because of this, if there is a hero in the tribe, the tribe can lead the tribe to victory in battle, annex other tribes, and grab more pastures, cattle, sheep, and slaves, and the tribe can grow. Even, if there is a once-in-a-century hero, there will be partial unification of the grassland, or even a situation of total unification. The Qin, Han, Xiongnu, and Sui and Tang Turks are all such large tribes.

Now, if you ask who is the great hero of the grassland, at least the men on the grassland in the east will tell you the same name with burning eyes: the great emperor of the Khitan Kingdom, Yelu Abaoji.

At this time, in the palace of the imperial capital Xilou City, Yelu Abaoji, the first hero of the Khitan, Yelu Deguang, the young first warrior of the Khitan, and the intelligent and wise Queen Shulu, the three of them were sitting together, listening to the courtiers tell them about the general changes in the Central Plains.

Fifty-year-old Yelu Abaoji sat on a tiger skin chair, and after listening to the report of his courtiers, he leaned back and sneered: "Zhu Wen is also a character, I can't imagine that his son would be so incompetent, so easily let that Li Yazi destroy the country, I really feel sorry for him." ”

Empress Shulu covered her mouth and chuckled, although she has reached the age of forty, but it is rare that she does not look old, as the most beautiful woman of the Uighur Shulu Department, she was also the most dazzling pearl on the grassland, and she is the goddess in the minds of countless grassland men, now although the years have passed quietly, but it has not left too many traces for her, she is smiling at this time, like a girl, maybe all the people who see her, will not think that she is more than thirty years old.

"Yueliduo, what are you laughing at?" Abaoji curiously asked Queen Shulu, Yueliduo is her name.

"Concubine, this is congratulations to the emperor, now that the Central Plains is in turmoil, it is the time to take advantage of it, hasn't the emperor always wanted to send troops to the Central Plains? Now is the right time to take advantage of Li Yazi's unstable foothold in the Central Plains. Yueliduo said half-truthfully.

Abaoji said a little sourly: "Since I succeeded to the throne, I have sent troops to attack Youyun and Jizhou several times, but they have not reaped much benefit, so Li Cunxian, who is in Youzhou, is old and does not die, Li Yazi remembers that I have lost my trust in Li Keyong's revenge before, and every time I lead troops north, it seems like I want to fight with me, which is a headache." ”

Yelu Deguang got up at this time and said loudly: "Father, if you send troops to the Central Plains, your son is willing to be the vanguard, capture Li Yazi for you, and send him to your saddle!" ”

Yue Liduo smiled: "My son is loyal and brave. ”

Abaoji shook his head and smiled, and said to Yelu Deguang: "I know that you are extraordinary in bravery, and you are the first warrior in my Great Khitan Kingdom, and you are more proficient in the art of war. But when it comes to capturing Li Yazi, it's a big deal. ”

"Father doesn't believe in his son?!" Jerod said unhappily.

Abaoji straightened his waist, the smile on his face disappeared, and he said: "Let me ask you, how much have you studied and how much have you understood in the battle of the Tang Army's annihilation of Liang?" ”

Yelu Deguang did not explain or say that he did not understand, but asked wisely: "What does the father mean?" ”

Abaoji said solemnly: "Li Yazi's battle to destroy Liang has vividly demonstrated the combat power of the Tang Army. In this war, the long-established generals of the Tang Army are lackluster, but the newly emerging group of young forces in the army should not be underestimated. It can be seen from this battle that the generals of the younger generation of the Tang Army also have the appearance of swallowing the wind and clouds, and they have a tendency to rise. Do you know who I'm talking about? ”

After being silent for a while, Yelu Deguang asked: "Father is talking about Li Congjing, who went thousands of miles deep and conquered Daliang City?" ”

"What do you think of Li Congjing?"

"If you can fight well, it is not easy to fight with your generation, but your sons want to meet them on the battlefield and divide the victory and defeat!" Yerod said with a lot of fighting spirit.

Abaoji nodded approvingly, "Li Cunxian, Li Siyuan, these veterans, those are my old opponents who have fought for many years, and no one can help anyone, the Tang Dynasty is still the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan is still the Khitan." The battle of our generation is coming to an end, and the reins of the war horse will also be handed over to your next generation, and in the future, you will face each other on the battlefield, each fighting for the country and the people behind you. If you win, the country wins, do you understand what I mean? ”

"Erchen will attach importance to Li Congjing, and will defeat Li Congjing on the battlefield, and the Great Khitan will definitely be able to enter the Central Plains!" Yerod gritted his teeth.

"Good." Abaoji had a pleased smile on his face, "If the jade is not cut, in order for the Khitan to dominate the world in your hands in the future, it is indispensable for your tempering, and now that Li Yazi has entered the Central Plains, I have to give out a congratulatory gift." Deguang, I order you to be the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses, gather the army, and choose the day to send the soldiers to Jizhou! ”

"Thank you, Father!" Jerod couldn't hide his excitement.

Yue Liduo looked at the pair of "dragon father and dragon son" from the side, with a happy and proud smile on his face.