Song Heng galloped to the army with Wei Xun. Wei Xun took the lead to dismount his horse and salute the people with clasped fists. He said loudly: "Commander Jie, the evening before yesterday, Prince Yelulishi of Khitan led five thousand cavalry to raid Guizhou southward and looted the city. Nearly two thousand soldiers and civilians were killed or injured, and more than three thousand cattle, sheep, and horses were looted.”
After Wei Xun finished speaking, he saw a gloomy look in Song Heng's eyes, and immediately ordered three thousand cavalry to leave the city at night and pursue pursuit all the way to the northeast.
Just four days later, the two groups of troops met at the foot of Yinshan Mountain. Song Heng drew his sword and went straight for Prince Li Shi. Yelu Lishi was defeated by Song Heng and hurriedly screamed for help. In an instant, there were more than a dozen Khitan cavalry. Responding to the call, they rushed to help and surrounded Song Heng to cover Yelvlishi's departure.
Song Heng clenched the sword in his hand and rode his horse to kill several people one after another, carving a bloody path.
At that time, Wei Xun was outflanking Yelvlishi from behind, forcing Yelvlishi to have no way out. Song Heng tightened the reins, sat firmly on the horse's back, looked at Yelvlishi as if looking at a humble ant, and said coldly: "Capture the people and bring them back to Taiyuan, and kill the rest."
After finishing speaking, he turned his horse's head and was about to leave. Suddenly he remembered something, so he looked back and pointed at a Khitan cavalryman, and said in a loud voice: "Go back and tell King Khitan, Prince Lishi, Hedong Jiedu Commander Song Heng to take care of him."
It's called custody, but it's actually prison. Yelulishi naturally knew what was waiting for him next. Unfortunately, he had already crossed Yinshan Mountain and returned to the royal court. He never thought that Song Heng's marching speed would be so fast. It could be said that he was like a divine soldier descending from heaven. It only took three or four days. He chased after him.
At this time, he regretted that he had underestimated the enemy and it was too late for not listening to Brother Wang's advice. Since ancient times, he has been a king and a loser. His life is in Song Heng's hands, just like the fish on the chopping board, he can only be slaughtered by others.
Yelvlishi was considered the proud son of the Khitan, and he was also the favored prince of the Khitan king. He had always been proud and arrogant. How could he have suffered such humiliation? Even with all his brute force, he wanted to break away from Wei Xun. He was restrained, holding his neck and shouting in broken Northern Chinese:
"You Han people have a saying since ancient times: 'A scholar can be killed but not humiliated.' Today, the prince of Japan falls into your hands, Song Heng. I think this is his fate. I can die with my head held high at the foot of Yinshan Mountain. I must not let it go." You Han captives were imprisoned in Taiyuan and humiliated! But I hope I can die here. If you want to kill or cut into pieces, I will never even blink an eyebrow!"
"A good soldier can be killed and not humiliated!" Song Heng sneered, turned over and dismounted with a quick step, drew his sword and swung it at Yeluli Stone among the lightning and flint stones. The blade of the sword touched his neck, and the undried blood stained Yelu along the blade. Li Shi's clothes were particularly bright red and eye-catching.
Although Yelulishi never blinked, when the cold sword edge was close to his neck and he met Song Heng's deep and cold eyes for a moment, he was still frightened by its aura. He couldn't help but feel his heart tremble and his back felt raw. Cold, hands and feet trembled, and a dense layer of sweat broke out on the forehead.
"The Han people also have a saying, which is to kill without giving the head and the ground. Killing you with a sword will not be an advantage for you. The days to come will definitely make you more miserable than death. When you went south to kill the soldiers and civilians of Guizhou, you should have thought of it. It will end like this!"
After finishing speaking, after all the captured Khitan cavalry were killed by swords, Song Heng personally led the troops and sent all the livestock, gold, silver, money, and other things that the Khitan people had robbed back to Guizhou; without taking a break, he went to visit again. The injured soldiers and civilians waited until all arrangements were made and arrived at the Governor's Mansion to bathe and go to bed after three o'clock.
At Maozheng, the morning light first appeared, and the sky was dim.
Song Heng clenched his hands into fists and placed them in the middle of his forehead. He suppressed the dull pain caused by the lack of sleep for the past few days. He got up and went to bed, washed and changed clothes. After ordering troops on the battlefield, he set off back to Taiyuan.
The people in the city lined the streets to see each other off, crossed their hands to salute, raised their arms and shouted, and some even knelt down to pay tribute to Song Heng and the Hedong Army, which was a huge momentum. When facing Yelulishi in the prison car, he cursed continuously.
After leaving the city, the noise gradually dissipated, and what came into view was the endless wilderness and sparse low trees. Song Heng sat firmly on the back of the horse, whipping the horse, listening to the whistling wind in his ears, he I just want to go faster.
In addition to wanting to see Mrs. Xue and others as soon as possible, he also wanted to see someone.
In the afternoon of the next day, Song Heng marched to Yuzhou and saw a group of people galloping on the official road. Song Heng looked intently and saw that the person coming was Song Yu, walking in a hurry.
"Second brother!" Song Yu shouted loudly, tightened the reins and stopped in front of Song Heng's horse. He didn't bother to cross his hands to greet others, and gasped: "On the evening of the second day after the second brother left Taiyuan, Jiang Chao joined forces with Yicheng to attack Wei Bo has now defeated Weizhou and Chanzhou. The situation in Weizhou is critical. Jiedushi Luo Xin sent Zhang Gong to ask for help. I leave it to my second brother to decide whether to send troops to rescue him."
Jiang Chao has been plotting Wei Bo for a long time, but because Luo Xin was wavering between Xuanwu and Hedong, he never took any action. At the end of last year, Song Heng defeated the Xi tribe, and later broke through Jinzhou and captured Hezhong. Luo Xin since This preference for Hedong caused Jiang Chao's dissatisfaction.
After hearing this, Wei Xun thought deeply and said: The Commander-in-Chief left Taiyuan the night before, and the next day Jiang Chao sent troops to Weibo. How could such a coincidence happen in the world? It was thought that there was a spy in the Hedong army... But due to the emergency, another There is no evidence, so I have to put it aside for the time being.
Song Heng naturally thought of this. However, the most urgent thing now was to rescue Wei Bo, so he put the matter on hold and said in a deep voice: "Wei Bo has his back to Hedong, how can we not save him."
*
Let's say that when Mrs. Xue learned that Song Heng led three thousand cavalry to chase the Khitan prince alive in Yinshan, Song Heng had already led his troops to Wei Bo, because this time he was going to face Jiang Chao, the mortal enemy of his late father Song Jie, and she also heard that Xuanwu The soldiers were strong and strong, and they couldn't help but feel anxious. They hadn't slept well for several days, and they looked very haggard.
The master of the house was in a bad mood, so the servants and maids were inevitably careful to serve him. Even the ladies who usually loved to eat, drink, and be lazy also restrained themselves a lot. After serving the master every night, they went to bed early. I no longer dare to go to the garden to gamble and drink with others.
Until March 20th, good news came from Wei Bo. The Hedong Army won a complete victory. The Xuanwu Army was defeated and withdrew, and was defeated in Puzhou.
Mrs.
Three days later, Song Heng returned to the house. Mrs. Xue went to greet him outside the house. With red eyes, she patted the black iron armor on his body and murmured: "It will be good to come back, it will be good to come back..."
Song Heng took two steps back, bowed his hands in a military salute towards Mrs.
Mrs. Xue hurriedly stepped forward to help him up and said warmly: "You are tired after days of marching. Come to the house for a meal quickly."
Song Heng straightened his back and looked into the crowd. Song Ming, Madam Gao, Song Qingyin, Song Qinghe and others were all there, but the person he wanted to see the most was not there.
The thick and beautiful sword eyebrows were slightly frowned, then unfolded again in just a moment, and he stepped over the threshold.
Having not bathed for several days, the armor had already accumulated stinking sweat. Moreover, at this time, Mrs. Xue and others had already had their dinner, so they ordered the meals to be delivered to the Han Retreat.
With his thoughts on his mind and the heat in his body, Song Heng drank three cups of herbal tea in succession and asked Feng Gui to prepare cold water.
Not long after, Feng Gui came over and asked him to take a bath.
Song Heng took off his sweat-soaked clothes and got into the bathtub. After scrubbing himself, he put his two slender arms on the edge of the bathtub and closed his eyes to relax.
After a long time, Song Heng came out of the bathroom wearing a moon-white coat and a black robe.
When Feng Gui saw him coming to the upper room, he asked Jubai and Shanglu to prepare a meal for him.
Song Heng lowered his eyes and said calmly: "Everyone leave, Feng Gui stays."
The two said yes, looked at each other, and retreated.
"In the evening, why is Madam Yang not here, but there is something wrong?" He asked, but he felt ridiculous. How could Feng Gui know why she didn't come?
Feng Gui secretly thought: Fortunately, he paid more attention. When the head of the family returned home, he saw that Mrs. Yang was not there and ordered someone to inquire about it. Otherwise, how could he be able to answer the question now.
After thinking for a few breaths, he said: "I didn't see Madam Yang just now. I was surprised, so I sent someone to inquire about it. It was said that Madam Yang was unwell. She only sat in the sewing room for a while at noon, and then went back to rest at noon. It’s burning.”
Song Heng nodded his chin, hummed, and after thinking for a moment, he slowly said: "Ms. Yang is a distinguished guest in the house, and she is also the sister of Sanlang's savior. If you neglect me, I'm afraid it will be true. You tomorrow Remember to send someone to ask again, and if she doesn’t feel better, ask the doctor in the house to come and take a look at her."
I have never seen the master of the house care so much about the guests in his house before. Feng Gui cursed secretly and stood quietly by the table to serve him.
The night is getting darker, the bright moon is shining in the sky outside the window, and the garden is full of flowers. Because Shan'er was worried about Shi Yanwei, she specially made brown sugar and ginger tea to see her. Shi Yanwei stood up and took the bowl with both hands. He smiled and said, "It's hard for you to come here at this time. I'm much better. I can go back tomorrow." Dining room.”
After hearing this, Shan'er frowned and said, "I don't feel well, so I'd better go and ask a doctor to come over and take a look."
Shi Yanwei heard the words, was silent for a while, and nodded. The two chatted for a while, and Shi Yanwei asked her to go back early.
The next day, Feng Gui sent Shang Lu to the dining room to deliver the meal. When Shang Lu came back, he asked her if Mrs. Yang was in the dining room. Shang Ludao didn't see her. Maybe she went to the sewing room to help draw patterns. It can be known.
That night, Feng Gui returned to Ming Dynasty and Song Heng, left Tuihan Residence and walked out of the house through the corner door.
That night, Song Heng came out of the execution room. Because he had just captured the spies in the army, he interrogated him in a rage and cut one of them alive with a knife.
The murderous aura around his body has not dissipated, and bright red blood stains that have not yet dried can be seen on his right hand and the side of his face. The night wind blows, and a bloody aura hits his face.
Feng Gui had always been bold, so when he saw his terrifying and fierce look, he was startled and asked tremblingly: "Master, do you want to wash your hands and face?"
When Song Heng heard this, he probably guessed that his current appearance was really scary, and nodded slightly.
Because Feng Gui often waited beside Song Heng when he came to the official office, all the disciples knew him and treated him very cordially. When he heard him say that Jiedushi wanted hot water and towels, they naturally did not dare to delay.
The doorman came over with a copper basin. Feng Gui took it with both hands and asked the doorman to open the door and step into the room.
Song Heng's face was slightly condensed, he slowly cleaned his hands and face, took a towel to wipe away the water stains, left the official office, got on his horse and headed towards the Song Mansion.
After entering the house, Feng Gui silently followed Song Heng and followed him deep into the garden.
It was still early at that time, and Song Hengli stood under the shade of the flowers for a while, trying to get rid of the smell of blood on his body.
Suddenly, he saw Shi Yanwei walking with Yin Zhu, carrying a plain gauze lantern. Song Heng had not seen her for more than twenty days. If he missed her again today, he would not know where he would be next time. Time passed, and after thinking about it again and again, I finally walked out from the shade of the flowers.
Yin Zhu's sharp eyes were the first to see Song Heng, and he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to salute. Shi Yan followed suit silently, folded his hands and knees, opened his mouth slightly, and said in a calm voice: "Long blessings, Master of the family."
Song Heng lowered his eyes to look at her, and unconsciously clenched his right hand into a fist behind his back. It was the knife he had held when killing people... Although he cleaned his hands later, thinking about the look on Feng Gui's face at that time, he was afraid that The girl in front of him saw something and was afraid of him.
"You two ladies have been busy all day. Why did you come to the garden instead of going back to take a rest?" Song Heng seemed to ask casually, walking towards the railing, slightly separated from Shi Yan, looking forward to his body. The faint smell of blood should dissipate as soon as possible, so as not to let her smell any bad smell.
