"Haha, you've met a benefactor today! Alright, I won't talk to you anymore, quickly get lost! "
Yu Fu saw that these people really didn't have much to gain, and with Yang Fan putting in a good word for them, he generously agreed.
As if they had been granted amnesty, the workers hurriedly bowed and expressed their gratitude. However, the Khitan army was crossing the road, so they couldn't leave for a while.
At this time, Fei Mo lazily opened his eyes. He had heard everyone's conversation just now, but he was still half-asleep and a little sleepy, so he was too lazy to respond.
At this time, he looked at the charcoal caravan and lazily ordered, "The people can leave, don't make it difficult for them, but leave the carriages and horses behind! Push all the junk on the carriages down. Yu Fu, move the things on the carriages that are about to fall apart over here! "
"Yes, Uncle!"
Yu Fu answered, waved the long knife in his hand, and glared at the workers, "Did you all hear that? Quickly move the charcoal and jars off the carriages, hurry up!"
The goods on the carriages all belonged to Gu Zhuting, the big merchant. The workers only wanted to live, so how could they be reluctant? They hurriedly worked hard to move the goods off the carriages. However, they remembered that they had received money from Gu Zhuting, so they couldn't really push the jars down and break them. Thus, they moved the goods carefully.
The drivers, on the other hand, had bitter expressions. The carriages and animals were their tools to make a living. If they were taken away, how could they live in the future? But in front of the Khitan swords, how could they have the courage to say anything?
A 'Nu stood there and stared at Yang Fan in a daze. She didn't even blink. Tears quickly blurred her eyes, and then large teardrops flowed down her cheeks and gathered on her pointed chin.
She didn't think that Yang Fan was still alive. He really was still alive. Seeing Yang Fan sitting in the carriage, A 'Nu was so happy that her heart was about to explode. For a moment, she didn't know where she was, but she let the tears flow freely, venting her longing and infinite joy.
Fortunately, Ah Nu was now dressed as a servant. Once a woman dressed as a man, her age immediately seemed to be much younger, so at this time, she looked like a half-grown boy. Therefore, when her tears were seen by others, they only thought that she was shocked and scared, and did not have much suspicion.
The car that Yang Fan was in did not stop. When he called out to Yu Fu, the car was crossing the main road. When Fei Mo finished, the car had already gone down the wilderness. Although Yang Fan wanted to save these pitiful passers-by, he couldn't say anything since Fei Mo had given the order.
Even if the disguised A 'Nu stood in front of him at this time, if she did not take the initiative to reveal her identity, he would at most feel a strange sense of familiarity from her, but he would never recognize that she was A' Nu. Not to mention that he did not seriously look at A 'Nu from the beginning to the end.
However, A 'Nu's eyes seemed to be pulled by a pair of invisible threads, constantly chasing after his figure. When the car that Yang Fan was in left the main road, A' Nu subconsciously wanted to chase after it, but her arm was immediately grabbed by Gu Zhuting.
A 'Nu raised her blurred and teary eyes. Gu Zhuting shook her head at her with a solemn expression, and said in a low voice, "Sovereign is still alive, this is a joyous occasion! It will be easier for us if we know where he went, but at this time, we must not act rashly! "
A 'Nu also knew that this was not the time to go forward and recognize him. Now it seemed that Yang Fan's life was not in danger, and his relationship with the Khitan people was quite good. She did not know how he formed a friendship with the enemy of life and death. However, if she wanted to act rashly, she was afraid that she would harm him. At least, the Khitan people would raise their vigilance, and it would not be easy to rescue him again. She could only suppress her anxiety and stand still.
The carriage rumbled. Sitting in the carriage, Yang Fan secretly sighed in his heart. He estimated that in another half a month's time, his leg injury would be completely healed, but by that time, he would definitely be deep in the mountains.
Yang Fan thought to himself, The road into the mountains took a total of three days. When I recover from my injury, as long as I bring enough food, I may not be unable to walk out. Although it is easy to get lost in the mountains, it will not be easy for them to chase after me.
On the main road, the charcoal and jars on the carriage were all moved down. Under the orders of the Khitan people, the workers used all their strength to move the grain and cloth from the carriages that were about to fall apart from the long journey onto these carriages. They could only watch helplessly as the Khitan people drove the carriages and quickly chased after the main group of people.
The chief steward and the other carriage handlers made some calculations and walked together to Gu Zhuting's side. The chief steward rubbed his hands and said with an embarrassed expression, "Boss, look at this mess. They have thousands of men and horses, and they have sabers and swords in their hands. We don't dare to resist, but in the end …"
Gu Zhuting coldly watched the Khitan troops leave into the distance. She casually said to the chief steward, "Don't worry, this matter cannot be blamed on you. I won't mind."
The chief steward's expression stiffened. He was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say.
One of the handlers was impatient. Seeing the chief steward's embarrassment, he couldn't help but say, "Boss, your things are all on the ground. When we moved them, we were very careful and didn't damage much. Later on, we can find some more carriages to move them away. But our carriages, and our horses … Boss, what do you think? "
Another handler also said with a sullen face, "That's right, boss. Those are our livelihood. We were transported goods for boss, and that's why we were robbed by the Khitan people. We poor people all have parents, wives, and children to support. What should we do now … "
He also knew that there was no reason for them to be responsible for his losses. He just felt that this boss was very generous. Moreover, he was doing good deeds in Thousand Gold Smelting City. Since he was so rich, he might as well say that he was pitiful and maybe he could get some compensation.
Only then did Gu Zhuting understand what they meant. She quickly took out a money pouch from her bosom. Without counting, she stuffed the money pouch into the chief steward's hand and said, "You guys split it. The jars and charcoal on the ground are also yours. Ah Nu, let's catch up! "
After saying that, Gu Zhuting pressed her hand on the horse's back. Her whole body became as light as a feather, and she floated onto the horse's back. The horse lowered its head to eat the grass and didn't notice anything. This kind of skill was really brilliant.
Ah Nu was also startled awake by her call. She immediately leaped onto the war horse, pulled the reins, and rushed down the main road.
Gu Zhuting said anxiously, "Ah Nu, slow down. Stay far away, don't let them find out!" After saying that, she put her legs on the stirrups and followed after her. In the wilderness, thousands of soldiers and horses passed by, the ruts and hoof prints were clear. She wasn't afraid of losing them.
The chief steward turned pale with fright. He held the money pouch and shouted, "Boss, boss! If it's up to me, forget it. Boss, don't chase after them. Boss … "
Gu Zhuting and Ah Nu turned a deaf ear to him. In a short while, they were already far away.
The chief steward stamped his feet and sighed, "Boss is a good person! But how can you give up your life and not your wealth … "
…
After Li Jinzhong died of illness, Sun Wanrong knew that his prestige and unity among the people was far from Li Jinzhong's. He was afraid that the news would leak out and the morale of the army would be out of control. And once the army returned to the mountains, it would be impossible to keep this secret.
At this time, the Khitan people were far from having a strict class and system like the Han people. They couldn't isolate a ruler from his people for a long time and let everyone believe that he was still alive.
Therefore, Sun Wanrong decided to hide the news of Li Jinzhong's death first and then order the light cavalry to go out to battle in the name of Li Jinzhong. Therefore, after he released the news that he had seized the grain and returned to the mountains, he only led the light cavalry to quickly travel south day and night and took down Jizhou as fast as lightning.
After conquering Jizhou, in order to expand his influence, he ordered a massacre. Lu Baoji, the provincial governor of Jizhou, and thousands of officers and soldiers were killed. The provisions could not be transported away, so they were all burned. Then without stopping, he went to attack Hejian County. The whole of Hebei was shocked. The news was quickly reported to the capital. Wu Zetian was also shocked when she heard the news.
At this time, the court and the Turks were negotiating for peace. In fact, the Turks were not optimistic about the Khitan people. Now that the court was fighting in the north, they couldn't keep up with the latest battle reports. Therefore, they didn't dare to push the court too hard and were anxious to complete the peace negotiations.
With both sides having their own concerns, the basic conditions for the peace negotiations had been agreed. Wu Zetian agreed that Prince Wuzhou would marry Moche's daughter as his princess consort. Moche would be given the title of Great General of the Left Guards and Qianshan Khan. In addition, he would be given gold, jewels, jade, silk, grain, and farming tools. However, he would never agree to the condition of ceding land to the abandoned people. Now, the two sides were only divided on the amount of gifts.
When the news that Sun Wanrong had taken down Jizhou came, Wu Zetian panicked. She quickly instructed the Office of the Grand Herald and the Turks to discuss again. At the same time, she tightly sealed off the news that the court had suffered another defeat.
The officer from the Office of the Grand Herald knew that if he suddenly changed his attitude and agreed to the Turks' conditions, it would arouse their suspicions. These Hu barbarians were cunning and not easy to deceive. Thus, he patiently negotiated with the Turks for two more days, slowly making concessions before finally agreeing to the other side's conditions.
The court agreed to the terms of the truce: forty thousand dendrograms of grain, fifty thousand bolts of silk, three thousand farming tools, forty thousand jin of iron, a batch of agricultural and medical books, twenty carts of medicinal herbs, a thousand taels of gold and ten buckets of pearls as betrothal gifts.
The Turk envoy obtained his wish and the two sides signed a letter of credence. Soon after, the envoy gleefully accompanied Wu Yanxiu, who was preparing to become the Turks' son-in-law, back to the Turks with all the gifts.
After the Turk envoy was sent away, the court immediately began to discuss the matter of sending more troops to Hebei. The news of the Khitan's constant invasion of the south made the entire court feel threatened. The Turks and Tibetans, in particular, were constantly using the carrot and stick to extort benefits from the court, causing the court to be greatly troubled. All the factions believed that the Khitan rebellion should be swiftly quelled.
In these circumstances, the entire Wuzhou Imperial Court could be said to be of one mind, unprecedentedly united. Wu Zetian appointed the new Minister of War and Prime Minister Wang Xiaojie, whom she had originally intended to send back to the Four Garrisons of Anxi to deal with the Tibetans, as the Marshal of the Northern Expedition. General Su Honghui of the Featherwood Guard was appointed as the Deputy Marshal, and she began to mobilize troops against the Khitans.
This time, because the Imperial Court had made peace with the Turks, Wu Zetian believed that there was no more fighting on the western front. As a result, she transferred nearly eighty thousand soldiers from the various regions of Helong, as well as from the prefectural army and another portion of soldiers. In the end, she assembled an army of 180,000 soldiers.
Wang Xiaojie's army was the third army the Wuzhou Imperial Court had dispatched to the northern frontier. In order to quell the rebellion of the tiny Khitan, the first army, Cao Renshi, had been completely wiped out, and the second army, Wu Youyi, had closed the city walls. The Imperial Court could only place its hopes on this famous general who had reclaimed the Four Garrisons of Anxi.
Wang Xiaojie, with his 180,000 soldiers and the hopes of the empress and all the officials of the court, raised the war banner and set off for Hebei.
At this time, the geese were returning to the south, the golden wind was refreshing, and the chill of autumn was beginning to set in …
… …
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