Fu Song

Chapter 481 Taunt
It seems that there are countless people in the sky who are holding a big water ladle, desperately scooping up water from the Milky Way and pouring it on the world.

There are only continuous water pillars connecting the sky and the earth in front of him, and it is impossible to see three steps away.

The oil-paper umbrella has long been out of shape, crooked, tattered, and has lost its function as a tool for sheltering from the rain. Even the bamboo hat and coir raincoat are trembling under the power of the rainstorm.

It was already soaked through.

But Ma Xing still stubbornly walked forward.

The horses had already gone on strike. The heavy rain and thunder frightened the animals, and they refused to move any more.

Ma Yun, who is Guan Goujiyi's character and Ma Xing's son, has tried to persuade him several times, but each time he was stared back by Ma Xing's fierce eyes.

I can no longer see the road clearly. Wherever the eyes can see, there are rolling muddy water, which looks really scary.

The appeasement envoy wanted to move forward, and the guard soldiers could only carefully explore the way ahead.

A group of people moved forward with great difficulty.

"Futai, with such a heavy rain, the water on the Juma River must be soaring, and their pace of arresting the people of Song Dynasty will definitely slow down. This is also a good thing." I was beaten by my father several times, Ma Yun was also angry in his heart.

"So we have to go to Bazhou as soon as possible." Ma Xing said: "God, I'm sorry, if we rush there earlier, we can stop their actions earlier."

"Futai, if you go, they won't do it?" Ma Yun snorted coldly: "I can't see it. The behavior of the Liao people this time is weird, and it is obviously not a temporary intention, but It was premeditated, otherwise, how could it be carried out so orderly and quickly?"

Ma Xing froze for a moment, staggered, and almost fell into the rain.

That's right, the whole thing revealed weirdness, but he couldn't tell where the weirdness was at all.

Ma Xing had this feeling ever since Lin Ping, the great king of the Southern Academy of the Liao Kingdom, entered Beijing and discussed with the imperial court to jointly destroy Xiao Ding of the Western Army.

No proof, just a hunch.

This matter is not simple.

Ma Xing made a note, of course, he can only say that the Liao people's intentions are unclear, and the court should be cautious.

In fact, Ma Xing, who has been rolling around in the frontier, did not agree with the imperial court and the Liao people joining forces to destroy Xiao Ding's Western Army at all.

Although Xiao Ding once defeated the [-] troops of the Great Song Dynasty on the Shaanxi Road, beheading a group of generals and senior generals including Li Du and Zhang Chao.

But apart from these few battles, Xiao Ding's army never crossed the Hengshan line.

They had almost no contact with Song Jun.

On the contrary, there are frequent business and travel exchanges between the two countries.

But the Western Army did not give up its attack on the Liao Army for a moment.

From Xijing Road, to Shangjing Road, and then to the northern prairie, Xiao Ding's Western Army posed a threat to the Liao Army all the time, making the Liao people hate him deeply.

But whatever the enemy hates, we should like.

This is Ma Xing's purest feeling as a frontier commander.

Does Ma Xing hate Xiao Ding?
Hate!

I'm afraid he hates him more than those bigwigs in the Dutang and the Privy Council in the capital.

Because Xiao Ding grew up in his hands,
It was he who single-handedly fed the tiger up and made it strong.

It is a real problem of breeding tigers.

The hatred that must be eliminated and then quickly lingered in Ma Xing's mind.

But this is just his ordinary emotion as an ordinary person.

However, as the commander-in-chief of the Great Song Dynasty, his reason told him that the existence of Xiao Ding had greatly reduced the pressure on the Liao Kingdom on the Great Song Dynasty. Over the years, if Xiao Ding hadn't stopped harassing the Liao Kingdom, he would have been in Hebei. It won't be so easy on the road.

And the Liao Kingdom is willing to pay such a high price this time, and they will also unite with the Song Dynasty to destroy Xiao Ding. It can only be said that Xiao Ding has hit their pain point.

Undoubtedly, the losses Xiao Ding caused to them were far greater than the benefits they gained on the frontiers of Song State.

Therefore, there will be a chance to withdraw to the north bank of the Juma River in exchange for an alliance with Song.

Compared with Xiao Ding, the Liao people are naturally more ferocious enemies.

It is a more reliable policy to unite with Xiao Ding and control the Liao people.

Ma Xing had an in-depth discussion with Xia Jie and Chen Gui on this issue.

But the letter to Xia Jie was like sinking into the sea.

Chen Gui replied to the letter, but in the letter he was trying to persuade him to stop talking about this matter.

So Ma Xing understood.

It's not that Xia Jie and Chen Gui don't know the benefits of uniting with Xiao Ding, but the obstacles come from the past.

It's not the first time Xiao Ding slapped Jinshang in the face.

He hit it again and again.

It is absolutely unbearable for someone like Xiao Ding to flaunt his power and point fingers in front of him. The existence of Xiao Ding is a huge scar on Jinshang's face, and he must get rid of it quickly.

The Liao people also grasped the thoughts of the officials of the Song Dynasty, and then offered huge benefits. In this way, they not only favored the officials, but also blocked the mouths of the subjects of the world.

Even if Ma Xing is as straightforward as Ma Xing, he dare not directly say that the officials and the court should reject this proposal, because this is undoubtedly telling the world that we have given up the hundreds of thousands of Song people on the south bank of the Juma River.

This will immediately make Ma Xing's reputation notorious in Song Dynasty.

The deal was finally done.

The Liao people also kept their promises and began to evacuate the lands they had occupied for several years.

But Ma Xing never expected that when the Liao people evacuated, they would forcefully evacuate all the people on the land.

Of course it is compulsory, no one would be willing to leave their hometown.

He rushed to Bazhou in such heavy rain, just to find Lu Ben'an, the Minister of Liao who was in charge of the evacuation, to make a theory.

He wants to prevent this from happening.

Arrive a quarter earlier, maybe more people can be left behind.

The torrential rain may be due to the pity of the heavens. As Ma Yun said, with such heavy rain, the Juma River will inevitably rise sharply, and the Liao people's organization of crossing the river will inevitably stop.

The rain finally stopped.

The road was finally revealed in the eyes of everyone.

Although there are bumps and holes, everyone finally has a clear goal.

When it was almost dark, everyone finally saw Bazhou City.

But, is that Bazhou City?
Bazhou used to be the most critical city in the Song Dynasty to resist the Liao people. Horses can be raced on the three-foot-high city wall. The loess rammed the wall, and the cone could not be inserted. , if it wasn't for Cui Ang's messing around back then, how could the Liao people win such a powerful city.

But now, Xiongcheng is not there.

It's literally gone.

You can't see a piece of green brick, nor can you see the polished stones that each weigh hundreds of catties.

The loess rammed city wall is full of pits and pits, with obvious signs of man-made damage, and under the impact of such heavy rain, the yellow muddy water cut deep cracks on the wall.

Looking left and right, some places even collapsed.

Bazhou has long been destroyed.

All the people stared blankly at Bazhou not far away.

This is not something that can be done in a day or two, it is a long-term and continuous damage.

"Why did the Liao people do this? Did they already know that they were going to evacuate today?" Ma Yun, who widened his eyes, was a little puzzled.

After hearing this, Ma Xing shuddered.

A group of people came running towards them in the distance. Looking at the flag, it should be Lu Ben'an.

Ma Xing closed his eyes for a moment, and then he walked forward slowly.

Lu Ben'an bowed his hands in salute: "Scholar Ma, I heard that you came in person, but I was taken aback. You really deserve the reputation of being bold? Are you afraid that I will take the opportunity to arrest you? You are the king of the Song Dynasty. Where are the pillars!"

Ma Xing let out a foul breath, shook his head and said, "An Shi, will you arrest me now? Do you dare to arrest me? You really dare to do this, are you afraid that your emperor will take your skin?"

Lu Benan smiled awkwardly and did not refute.

This attitude made Ma Xing's heart sink again.

"It's such a good city, what is this for? An Shi, how long have you been demolishing it?" Ma Xing pointed his whip at the dilapidated city in the distance.

Lu Ben'an rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Scholar Ma, to tell you the truth, it has been demolished for almost two years. There is no way, we are poor, and we are not as rich as Song Dynasty. The Queen needs a lot of bricks and tiles to build Zhongjing. Stone and wood materials are apportioned in various places, and we have no choice but to dismantle the materials in these cities and send them to Zhongjing."

"Is it for the construction of Zhongjing?" Ma Xing was noncommittal.

"Of course." Lu Ben'an nodded again and again: "If it weren't for the large amount of ready-made bricks and stones in Xiongzhou and Bazhou, Zhongjing would not have been built so quickly. Bricks are good, but these polished stones are rare. Still There are so many good woods, and it is not easy to find them!"

Lu Ben'an spoke happily, while Ma Yun and other civil servants and military generals of the Song Dynasty had hot faces, as if they were being grabbed and slapped across the face.

Ma Xing didn't want to talk nonsense anymore.

It has been dismantled, but can people return it?

"An Shi should know why I came here?"

"Just want to ask for advice!" Lu Ben'an looked confused. "I'm really puzzled to hear that you have braved the heavy rain to come here, Bachelor."

"Song and Liao have reached an agreement that Liao will return all the occupied Song territory on the south bank of the Juma River. Why did General Lu violate the contract and coax the people of the Song Dynasty to cross the river? Are you trying to break the Song-Liao agreement?" Ma Yun on one side Unable to hold back any longer, he reprimanded loudly.

Lu Ben'an glanced at Ma Yun, smiled, cupped his hands and said, "Ma Jiyi, this is a misunderstanding. I can't stand up to this big hat of breaking the agreement."

"Since that's the case, why do you want to do it again?" Ma Xing said: "An Shi, Ma is known by the world as bold, reckless, and beheaded. It's not unreasonable. If you really want to annoy me, you will turn your back. "

Lu Ben'an waved his hands again and again: "Bachelor, you can't blame me. You should have read the agreement, right?"

"Of course!"

Lu Ben'an coughed a few times, and said: "Scholar, it is clearly and plainly written that Daliao will return all the original territory of the Song Dynasty on the south bank of the Juma River, right?"

"Correct!"

"It's not written on it, people must stay!" Lu Ben'an spread his hands: "We have to return the land, people, we have to take it away. We are keeping the contract! These people are so poor that they don't even have overnight food. We couldn’t even find a decent piece of clothes on us. We really couldn’t bear to keep them here to cause trouble for you, bachelor, so we took the initiative to take them away. Although raising these people cost us countless money and food, who made us ask for it now? Where is Yu Dasong!"

Lu Ben'an smiled like a flower, but Song Guo kept shouting and cursing, and some even had a temper and were already drawing knives.

The Liao soldier on the opposite side also touched the handle of the knife.

At this moment, Ma Xing suddenly fell silent.

He looked deeply at Lu Ben'an on the opposite side, and said: "Okay, okay, good calculation, good skills, I really have nothing to say."

Luban smiled.

"Anshi, can I go in this Bazhou now?"

"I was going to leave!" Lu Ben'an nodded and said, "I just heard that the bachelor is coming, so I stayed and waited for you. Now that the bachelor has come, I will leave here, which can be regarded as handing over to the bachelor."

"Please go ahead!" Ma Xing waved his whip and rode his horse towards Bazhou City.

"Bachelor, then goodbye!" Lu Ben'an laughed loudly, slapped his horse's ass, and galloped away amidst loud laughter.

The gates of the city walls have long since been destroyed, and the thick gates must have been transported by the Liao people to build the capital!

Ma Xing believed that the bricks and stones here were transported to the capital city of Xiuzhong.

But do we have to tear down the city walls here?I'm afraid it's not simple here.

Climbing up the severely damaged city wall with hands and feet, Ma Xing raised his head and looked at the Juma River in the distance while caressing the dish that was riddled with holes from the rain.

In his eyes at this moment, the meandering river is nothing more than a white line.

"You said, why did the Liao people demolish these cities in the frontier?" He asked.

"The Liao people are destructive and greedy. They don't want to leave us a good city." Someone said: "Scholar, there is no one in the city, and they have all been taken away. This city has no value anymore."

Is it just for money?
Ma Xing shook his head.

"The Liao people think far ahead! They are preparing for the future!" Ma Xing sighed, "If they cross the river again in the future, without these strong cities, it will be even more difficult for us to fight against them. And without these frontier people, it would be even more difficult for us to rebuild the defense line. The Liao people have never been at ease!"

"Bachelor, what shall we do?"

"I want to write a letter to the officials." Ma Xing resolutely said: "We can't fight Xiao Ding together with the Liao people, we have to join hands with Xiao Ding to resist the Liao army!"

"Futai!" All the people around them exclaimed in unison.

"The south bank of the Juma River has been obtained." Ma Xingshen said: "The Futai Council ordered all the troops in Hebei to immediately enter a state of combat readiness. The Liao people abducted my people from the Great Song Dynasty, which happened to be the reason for the war."

"I'm afraid the court won't allow it!" Ma Yun shook his head and said, "They will definitely not allow it."

"Then let me do something first." Ma Xing roared, "Even if he is convicted by the court, Ma will never regret it!"

(End of this chapter)