After Li Tongren finished speaking, he stood up. Aodaochong quickly stood up, and the nobles naturally stood up as well. Ao Daochong said apologetically: "I really neglected your envoy!" Li Tongren nodded and said: "Prime Minister, you don't have to be polite. Take my leave." Ao Daochong said quickly: "I will see your envoy off!" Then he led the nobles to send Li Tongren out. After entering the gate, Li Tongren didn't lead the nobles back to the hall until Li Tongren got in the car and was far away.
A young noble couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, we can't surrender to Yan Yun, otherwise all of us would be equal to the untouchables, which would really be an insult to our ancestors, what a shame!" Most of the nobles agreed one after another, saying that they couldn't. Everyone's reasons for surrendering to Yanyun were naturally very high-sounding, but to put it bluntly, they were actually unwilling to give up the privileges they currently enjoyed. In their imagination, being a commoner who lost all their privileges was really intolerable.
An old man frowned and said: "Even if we don't surrender to Yan Yun, we can't refuse so straightforwardly. Wouldn't that directly refute King Yan's face, and it will inevitably make King Yan angry! We might as well push this matter to the people, just It is said that the people miss their homeland and are unwilling to surrender, so we have no choice but to ask the King of Yan for forgiveness! Then we will profess our vassalage to Yanyun and send envoys to pay tribute to Yanyun! In this way, as long as Yanyun accepts our profession, then We will be safe, after all, even if you are as powerful as Yan Yun, you can't attack your own country!"
Everyone nodded and praised the good deeds, and the mediator rushed: "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true, let's do it like this!" It turned out that this old man was the Prime Minister he had conferred not long ago, named Shan Li. He had not entered the Xixia court before, and was the The largest aristocratic landowner in Liang was a Dangxiang person. Ao Daochong canonized him as prime minister. Naturally, he also considered wooing the local forces in Xiliang.
Brother Wei Mingxiu ran in from outside, and everyone's eyes fell on him. Brother Wei Mingxiu hurriedly saluted Aodaochong and said: "Your Majesty, it seems that the ones who came to attack were not the Tubo people, but the Yanyun Army!"
When everyone heard the three words 'Yan Yunjun', they were all shocked, and the scene suddenly became silent. O Daochong said in disbelief: "How could it be the Yan Yun Army? How could the Yan Yun Army appear there? They don't have wings. How can they not fly?"
Brother Wei Mingxiu shook his head and said: "The news is a bit confusing, the situation is not very clear yet!" Odao said urgently: "Go to the city wall and take care of it, send more scouts, and be sure to find out what is going on! "Brother Wei Mingxiu responded and ran down.
Ao Daochong frowned, and the nobles discussed in low voices. Everyone looked fearful and uneasy. Li Tongren returned to the hotel. Li Qian, a close confidant and deputy, said angrily: "These Xixia people really don't know how to show appreciation. They actually resisted King Yan's offer of grace! If Yan Yun's army comes to the city, huh, I'm afraid it will be too late to surrender!" This Li Qian He is an ordinary-looking young man who has been following Li Tongren for many years. The tone of his speech at this time is definitely that of an official from Yanyun, and there is no hint of a party member.
Li Tongren smiled on his fat face, walked to the side table and sat down, and said: "It is human nature that they are unwilling to give up the privileges and honor of being nobles. In fact, in this situation, I I have expected it a long time ago." Li Qian said worriedly: "If you can't persuade Xixia to surrender, how can you return your life to King Yan!" Li Tongren waved his hand and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." After all, Li Qian It's not Li Tongren. He is very puzzled by Li Tongren's words. He doesn't understand why it's okay if he can't complete King Yan's mission? Although I had this question in my mind, I didn't ask it.
At this moment, the captain of the secret guard team who was ordered to protect Li Tongren rushed in, clasped his fists at Li Tongren and said: "Sir, we have just received an uncertain news, saying that the troops appearing in the direction of Jisang in the southeast do not seem to be the Tibetan army. But our army!”
Li Tongren and Li Qian were both surprised when they heard the news. They looked at each other and saw the look of disbelief in each other's eyes. They naturally knew how powerful Yan Yunjun was, but they couldn't believe Yan Yun no matter what. The Yanyun Army actually appeared so close to Xiliang Mansion. Although the Yanyun Army was powerful, they were humans and not gods after all. How could they leap over the Xishou Baotai Military Division, Zhuoluo and Nan Military Division controlled by the Tubo people and appear here? ? ! Li Qian said excitedly: "No matter what, when our army comes, the Xixia people will be scared out of their wits. Maybe they will surrender to us soon!"
Li Tongren's fat face wrinkled up and he said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid that the people who are coming later will not surrender to us but capture us!" Li Qian was startled: "How could that be?"
Li Tongren said solemnly: "It's human nature to get angry and jump over the wall in a hurry!" Li Qian suddenly realized the danger, and his expression changed involuntarily. Li Tongren said anxiously: "No, no, no! If it is really Yan Yun's army, we will be in danger! I don't think that Aodaochong will go crazy out of fear and use us to sacrifice the flag! We have to get out of here quickly!" Then he clasped his fists at the secret guard team leader and said, "General, hurry up and get ready. We have to leave here right away!" The secret guard team leader responded and ran down.
After a while, the secret guard team leader came back and said: "Everything is ready!" Li Tongren couldn't wait to leave the room. Immediately, the group left the hotel and ran towards the north city gate. At this time, the entire Xiliang Mansion was under martial law. There were no pedestrians on the streets, only groups of patrols. When they saw Li Tongren's group dressed in Yanyun, they all looked sideways with strange expressions.
When Li Tongren and others arrived at the North City Gate, the city gate captain stopped them. He recognized the envoy Yanyun and his party and came forward and asked, "Where are you going?" Li Tongren rode on his horse and said angrily: "Of course It’s time to go back!” The captain frowned and said, “The whole city is under martial law and no one is allowed to leave!” Li Tongren stared at his goldfish eyes and shouted: “Bold! I want to convey your attitude and thoughts to King Yan. , you, a little captain, dare to obstruct it, what are your intentions!" When the captain heard this, he immediately panicked and said quickly: "I have no intention of obstructing you, it's just the military order!"
Li Tongren asked: "Is it your general who calls the shots here, or your king?"
The officer thought to himself: 'These envoys from Yanyun want to bring the king's words to King Yan. How can I stop them? What's more, even if the two countries are at war, envoys from both sides should have unimpeded access! As soon as he thought of this, he shouted to his men: "Open the city gate!" Upon hearing the order, the sergeants immediately rushed up, picked up the huge door bolt, and opened the city gate. Li Tongren did not dare to delay at all, and quickly led the team out of the city gate. Once out of the city gate, he galloped towards the east, intending to return to Xingqing Mansion along the southern edge of the Tengger Desert along the way.
The captain let Li Tongren and his party go, still feeling uneasy, so he sent someone to report the news to Wodaochong. Ao Daochong heard that Li Tongren and his party left in a hurry, and he couldn't help but feel suspicious. At this moment, Brother Wei Mingxiu rushed over and reported urgently: "Your Majesty, it's not good, it is indeed the Yan Yun Army!"
Ao Daochong was startled and panicked. Ao Daochong had been beaten to death by Yan Yunjun a long time ago. Now when he heard that it was indeed Yan Yunjun who was coming, the first thought in his mind was to run for his life. .
After calming down, he hurriedly asked: "Are you sure? Why are you so sure it's the Yanyun Army and not the Tubo Army?"
Brother Wei Mingxiu said: "Many scouts have confirmed that they saw the Yanyun battle cavalry wearing a black cloak and black Pixiu armor, riding a huge war horse! Except for Yan Yun, there is no cavalry with this appearance in the world. Besides the Xuanjia Army, who else is there? In addition, some defeated Tubo soldiers have fled to us. It turns out that the Yanyun War Cavalry raided Roulang Mountain a few days ago, and then advanced furiously, defeating the Tubo Army one after another. Now the Tubo people have The Xishou Baotai Army Division, Zhuoluo and Nan Army Divisions were all lost, so it is not surprising that the Yanyun War Cavalry appeared here! However, the Yanyun War Cavalry surged forward, spanning eight hundred miles, which was really hard to find. Believe it!"
Ao Daochong's expression changed, he was confused and he murmured: "The Tubo people are really useless!" Then he quickly raised his head and asked: "Do you have any countermeasures?" Brother Wei Mingxiu said a little at a loss: "Soldiers When they heard that Yan Yun's army was coming, they were all very frightened, and the generals didn't know what to do!" The implication was that he wanted to escape.
Ao Daochong murmured: "Are we going to give up on Xiliang Mansion?" He paused, tried his best to calm down, and said: "We still don't know what the situation is at the moment. We can't mess up!" He turned to Wei Ming and asked Brother Xiu asked: "How many soldiers and horses have come from Yanyun's army?" Brother Xiu of Weiming said: "At present, only more than ten thousand war cavalry have been found, and they are less than thirty miles away from our Xiliang Mansion. As for the rest of the army, How many troops there are is unknown!" Odaochong said hurriedly: "Didn't you say that some defeated Tibetan soldiers fled to us? What did they say?"
Brother Weimingxiu swallowed his saliva and said, "According to what they said, the Yanyun Army dispatched more than ten or two hundred thousand troops!" When Aodaochong heard this, his head suddenly exploded, and he almost fainted on the spot, and then He wanted to escape immediately. I forced myself to calm down, thinking that if I just ran away without a fight, I'm afraid Xuanhua Mansion wouldn't be able to defend it, and in that case, I would really become a lost dog! I decided in my heart not to give up Xiliang Mansion easily. If the Yanyun Army's army presses the border and it is really unstoppable, then I will have no choice but to abandon the city and run away! Thinking of this, he quickly said to brother Wei Mingxiu: "We must guard against death. We have no retreat. We must defend Xiliang Mansion no matter what! Otherwise, even if you and I save our lives, we will become extremely lowly slaves!"
Brother Wei Mingxiu's heart trembled, he quickly agreed and ran down. O Daochong shouted urgently: "Wait a minute!" Brother Wei Mingxiu stopped, turned around, bowed and asked, "What else does the king have to say?" O Daochong stepped forward and said, "I Go with you!"
The two of them left the mansion together and hurried to the tower. I saw many defeated Tubo soldiers gathered under the city gate, shouting at the top. Although I couldn't understand what they were shouting, they obviously wanted to enter the city. O Daochong looked away and looked far into the distance. Under the howling west wind, the sky and the earth were vast. Fear could not help but rise in O Daochong's heart.
Not long after, the scene that had been in his nightmares for a while suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Countless black cavalry appeared among the flying yellow sand. The scene was like the cavalry from hell suddenly appearing in the human world. ! Odaochong couldn't help but his breathing was stagnant, and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably. For a moment, he couldn't figure out whether this was a real scene or another nightmare?
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Ao Daochong suddenly came back to his senses when he heard Brother Wei Mingxiu's call, and asked: "What?" Brother Wei Mingxiu had already seen the look of fear on Ao Daochong's face, and was surprised. It was not strange, because even he himself was panic-stricken and frightened. At this time, when he heard O Daochong's question, he quickly said: "The enemy cavalry will attack soon. Your Majesty, who has a body of ten thousand gold, it is too late to stay here." It’s dangerous, so go back first!”
Aodaochong wanted to escape, but he knew that once he left, the morale of the army would be shaken immediately. In that case, how could he withstand Yan Yun's army's attack? If Xiliang Mansion is breached, the consequences will be disastrous! After thinking this, he slowly shook his head and said decisively: "I will stay and defend the enemy with the soldiers!" When the soldiers around him heard this, they were very moved and their morale was boosted. Brother Weimingxiu turned his head and shouted to the soldiers on the city wall: "The king is on the city wall, and he will fight the enemy with the soldiers and live and die together!" When the soldiers heard this, their morale was greatly boosted. , couldn't help shouting: "Long live! Long live!!"
In fact, at this moment, Odaochong's inner fear reached the extreme, and he was praying to the gods and Buddhas all over the sky. He could not even think that his own army could defeat Yan Yun's army. He only hoped that the heavenly generals would miraculously help Daxia survive this disaster.
At this time, the wind became stronger. The strong west wind howled and roared, stirring up dust all over the sky. The sky and the earth were dim and confused. It was obviously noon, but it felt like dusk. Yan Yunjun's figure was hazy and unreal, but he could definitely feel that they were approaching. Under such a situation, it made people even more frightened.
Soon after, Yan Yunjun arrived not far outside the city. They were surrounded by flying sand, making it difficult for them to see clearly. To the Xixia people, they were just like the monsters in myths and legends that came to the world with wind and sand in the sky, and everyone was extremely nervous.
Suddenly, an astonishing shout came from the howling wind and sand, and the Xixia soldiers were startled. Then they saw hundreds of majestic warriors in black clothes and black armor rushing out of the wind and sand and running towards them! The Xixia soldiers were horrified. Brother Wei Mingxiu, who was the first to react, shouted at the top of his lungs: "Crossbowmen, prepare!" The archers hurriedly bent their bows and nocked arrows, and the crossbowmen quickly raised their crossbows. At this moment, the galloping black cavalry raised their cavalry steel crossbows and fired an arrow at the city wall. A black shadow flew through the wind and sand towards the city wall. Dozens of Xixia soldiers were caught off guard and were hit. The arrow fell, and the crossbowmen were startled, and without waiting for orders, they fired arrows one after another! At this moment, those terrifying black warriors had turned their horses and ran back. The arrows flying from the city wall hit their backs, but did not cause any harm to them. Seeing this scene, the Xixia people could only I feel that they are really monsters, otherwise why can’t arrows hurt them? In fact, what blocked their arrows was not the magic of demons and ghosts, but the cloaks on their backs.
The cloak that flutters in the wind during the speed is not just to show off the momentum, but the more important reason is actually to defend against the enemy's arrows. That kind of long and thick cloak is not easy to be pierced by arrows even in a stationary state. When running away, the cloak will fly and shake violently in the wind. If an arrow is shot up, it will be shaken by the force of the flying and shaking. Therefore, most of the arrows shot from the city wall just had no time to penetrate the cloak, and were blown away by the cloak.
The Xuanjia Army returned to the middle of the wind and sand, just like the demon retreated into the wind and sand after a blow. The Xixia people widened their eyes and clenched their weapons, waiting for their opponents to attack more powerfully. After a while, the black shadows in the wind and sand gradually faded away. They seemed to be disappearing? The Xixia soldiers were puzzled, but they did not dare to be careless at all. They stared wide-eyed, for fear that those terrible enemies would suddenly rush out from somewhere.
Time passed slowly, half an hour, an hour, two hours, it was already dusk, but due to the wind and sand in the sky, the sky was as dark as night, and the lights in the city could not be seen clearly, bright and dim , simply like a will-o'-the-wisp. There was no sound outside the city except for the roaring and strange sounds of wind and sand. The Yan Yun army seemed to have disappeared, but the Xixia people did not dare to be careless at all. Brother Wei Mingxiu was afraid that the Yan Yun army would take advantage of such weather. A sneak attack on the city was carried out, and garrison forces were increased everywhere. At the same time, all troops not on the city wall were ordered to assemble and stand ready to fight at any time. The tense atmosphere of the army has also infected the residents in the city. Everyone has no taste for food, has restless sleep, and is frightened because they are afraid that Yan Yun's army will suddenly attack the city. A loud noise suddenly coming from outside the door will always make people nervous. He was shocked and his expression changed drastically!
The whole city's soldiers and civilians were on tenterhooks and suffering, and one night finally passed. To everyone, it felt like a year was so long.
The strong wind and sand that had been blowing all night finally stopped, and the sun rose from the eastern horizon. When the soldiers and civilians in the city saw the sunshine, they couldn't help but feel like they were reincarnated. Immediately, the scouts galloped in, and while galloping on their horses, they shouted in a voice of great surprise: "The Yanyun Army has withdrawn! The Yanyun Army has withdrawn!..." Regardless of whether they were soldiers or commoners, nobles or civilians in the city, When they heard the news, they couldn't help but be overjoyed. Many people couldn't help but kneel on the ground and thank God devoutly. They believed that the reason why the Yanyun Army retreated was because of the strong wind and sand blowing all night yesterday. The strong wind and sand came sooner or later, and they came just when they were in the most critical moment. If it wasn't the gods appearing to save them, what else could it be? Woolen cloth? Suddenly, the city was filled with pious chants of thanks to the gods.
After Ao Daochong breathed a sigh of relief, he still did not dare to neglect, and immediately ordered Brother Wei Mingxiu to send out all the scouts to investigate the movements of Yan Yun's army.
At noon, the scouts reported that the Yanyun Army did not stop at Jisang. After passing Jisang, they retreated towards Zhuoluo City. The report also said that the Yanyun Army only had more than 10,000 warriors and no large follow-up troops. . Ao Daochong and others were finally relieved at this point. After this crisis, Aodaochong immediately appointed General Erpang as the envoy and ordered him to carry generous gifts to Xingqing Mansion.
Just after finishing this, the messenger who went to Daxue Mountain came back and reported: "King Qi, Daxue Mountain is fine. Tubo sent an envoy and came back with Wei Chen." Aodaochong was eager to understand the situation in Tubo. At this moment, I heard that the Tibetan envoy had arrived, and hurriedly said: "Summon him in quickly!" The general Xiu Ge immediately shouted outside: "Summon the Tibetan envoy to come to the palace to see him!" The guards outside kept saying this all the way. As the words passed on, the Tibetan envoy who was waiting for the summons outside the gate heard the words, straightened his clothes immediately, then quickly walked into the gate, and came to the main hall without any obstruction.
He raised his head and saw Ao Daochong sitting high on the throne. He knew that although there was an emperor in Xixia now, Ao Daochong was actually in charge of everything, so he met Ao Daochong in a big bow and said: "General Zanbu sent an envoy to pay homage to the king!"
When Aodaochong heard that the other party claimed to be the envoy of Zanbutai instead of the envoy of Tibet, he couldn't help but frowned slightly and asked: "Isn't the envoy sent by His Majesty the Emperor of your country?"
The envoy immediately understood what the other party meant and bowed: "My general has sent someone to report the situation here to His Majesty the Emperor of our country. The imperial envoy will arrive soon. But what my general means is , before that, it is necessary to coordinate with the king on some matters!"
Odao said secretly: What does this mean? Could it be that Zanbutai wanted to do something behind their emperor's back? Or are they trying to play some tricks? Now we in Daxia are not as good as before. We are afraid that Tubo will add insult to injury. Fortunately, the Tubo army was severely damaged by our army before. If they really want to take action, we are not completely defenseless! Let’s listen to what they say!
As soon as he thought about this, he asked: "I wonder what General Zanbu wants to coordinate with me? This is really confusing!" Seeing many people in the hall, the envoy bowed and said: "Your Majesty , please stay away!"
Ao Daochong murmured in his heart and became more curious. After thinking about it, he felt that even if this guy had any bad intentions, there was no need to worry. There were guards with helmets and armor and sharp weapons just a few steps away. All he had to do was summon him. , the guards can arrive as soon as possible and capture him. As soon as he thought this, he said to the civil and military people on both sides: "You all retreat!" Everyone responded and retreated.
The envoy waited for everyone to leave, then hurriedly stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, for the sake of Xixia, our general has some things that we want to coordinate with you. Regarding the previous peace treaty, I hope your Majesty will not ask us. His Majesty's envoy mentioned that it was our general who seized the Xishou Baotai Military Division, Zhuoluo and Nan Military Division from your country. It was the Yanyun Army who ignored the agreement with our country and sent troops brazenly. Our army was caught off guard. Only then will they be defeated, and they will take away the Xishou Baotai Military Division, Zhuo Luo and Nan Military Division!"
After hearing such words, Aodaochong was really confused. He couldn't figure out what Zanbutai wanted to do. But after thinking about it for a while, I understood.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
