Yi Song

Chapter 230 The Fire at Shendui Station
The Shendui Inn is not big, just a courtyard, which is no bigger than the courtyards of ordinary landlords in the Central Plains.

Around it, a radius of twenty miles were densely packed with camps, filled with vehicles, as well as packhorses, cattle and camels, which were penned together to feed hay.

It's already two o'clock in the morning, and the night is quiet and deep.

The camp was pitch dark, except for the occasional sound of horses neighing and cows, and it was as quiet as the Gobi wilderness.

The snowflakes fell gently, falling on the ground, tents, vehicles, stables and cowsheds, quietly, for fear of disturbing the quiet night.

Covered in snow and carrying a bowl of steaming soup, he entered the innermost and warmest room of the inn.

Henan transit envoy Li Renli was sitting in the room, reading a book under the light of six thick candles.

"My lord (Note 1), it's late at night, why don't you take a rest?" The attendant put the soup in front of the table and said softly.

"I can't sleep." Li Renli closed the book. It was the seventh volume of "Zizhi Tongjian" published by Zhongxin Book Company.

"Sir, haven't the grain, grass and weapons needed by King Jin been collected and neatly collected? They will be sent to Yin and Longzhou starting tomorrow. What else are you worried about?"

"Yes, yes, sir, I am just a villain who loves profit and doesn't understand the righteousness of a gentleman." He said with a smile.

A dozen black shadows quickly crossed the river and came to the middle of the black shadows on the south bank, whispering something.

Li Renli glanced at his entourage and agreed with what the old servant said, but he was still a little unhappy.

It's like a pack of wolves coming from the wilderness, staring at their prey in the dark night, waiting for the wolf king's final command.

Li Renli scolded righteously.

The Wuding River at this time was shallow and narrow, no different from a stream. If you rode a horse across it, the water splashing across it would not wet the horse's belly.

The follower smiled and said, "My lord, you can't see clearly. Yes, even if you win a big victory, the country will be exhausted, the people will be tired, and the place will be in ruins, so what? The king of Jin has made great achievements, and my lord will share in the military merits with the generals. It is also a good thing to go back to Xingqing Mansion as soon as possible and enter the Hanlin Academy and the Chinese Academy of Sciences."

"Shenduiyi's grain, grass and weapons were collected locally from Yin, Xia, Shi and other prefectures, and were transferred from Xingqing Prefecture from far away. They were piled up like mountains. But all the people's fat and anointing in Henan's prefectures and counties were looted. Even if this war After a great victory, the country is exhausted and the people are tired, the place is in ruins, and the gains outweigh the losses.”

After crossing the Wuding River, a black shadow appeared on the hills on the south bank. They stood still and looked at Shenduiyi not far away.

"Soldiers are a dangerous weapon! If you use dangerous soldiers without permission, the people will be uneasy and the country will be in trouble. It was obviously just a small border war, but it was turned into a national war by the King of Jin. It is not a blessing for the country to be so happy for success and go to war."

"Yes." The personal attendant came forward and took Li Renli's arm, helped him stand up, and muttered: "It's the second watch, adults should rest early."

After a while, he said: "Call me tomorrow morning. I will hold a morning meeting to arrange the matters. Food, grass and weapons will be transported to Yinzhou and Longzhou as soon as possible."

We will not interfere in the affairs between their brothers, and we will only abide by our duties. Your Excellency has gathered all the grain, grass and weapons ordered by the military, and will transport them away one after another tomorrow, which is considered a job. "

At midnight, the snow in the sky alternated between heavy and thin, and a cavalry quietly appeared in the Wuding River five miles north of Shenduiyi. After standing on the north bank for a while, several black images emerged from the ground and appeared in front of the cavalry team.

Li Renli let out a long sigh, his face full of concern for the country and the people.

Li Renli placed his right hand on the cover of the seventh volume of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" on the table and stroked it gently.

"Absurd! How can I let the people of the seven states of Henan fall into trouble because of my gains and losses?"

After waiting for a while, one of the cavalrymen raised his hand high and waved to the rear. On the hills on the north bank of the river, a dense black shadow quickly appeared, like wild grass growing wildly on the grassland in spring, appearing in the sky and earth in an instant.

The personal attendant stood aside, holding up his sleeves and sniffing his nose: "Sir, it doesn't matter whether he is overjoyed or militaristic. Anyway, your Excellency and him are not on the same line. The Lord of the Kingdom sent your Excellency to Xiazhou as the transfer envoy to Henan. I think you all know his intention. .

After a while, the black shadow on the south bank divided into two torrents, surrounding Shendui Station from the left and right. At the same time, further away on the south bank, another black torrent headed east of Shenduiyi.

Beside a bonfire at the outermost part of the Shenduiyi camp, several Xia army soldiers were dozing around the fire.

This place is located in the rear area of ​​Xixia. Apart from worrying about thieves coming to steal food, there is no need to worry about other problems. Suddenly, a veteran woke up from his sleep. He listened carefully and heard a dull sound rolling in from a distance.

Was it thundering?

Impossible, it’s winter now, how can there be thunder!
The veteran stood up suddenly and looked around. When he saw the direction of the Wuding River to the north, his eyes almost popped out of his head. The boundless black shadow seemed to be able to swallow everything and was moving quickly towards this side.

From the dull sound and the fast-moving boundless black shadow, the veteran quickly concluded that the cavalry, at least tens of thousands of cavalry, was rushing towards Shenduiyi.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" the veteran shouted at the top of his lungs.

Just after shouting a few times, there was a whooshing sound on the wind, and the veteran was hit by five arrows and fell to the ground.

The veteran's shouts awakened some sentries, but it was too late. When they stood up in panic and looked around, countless arrows emerged from the dark night and flew towards them.

Then one after another, like demons emerging from hell, the cavalry flew over the fire, waving their sabers and spears, and came like a tide.

"The great victory of Yinzhou and Longzhou, killing and injuring 100,000 Song troops, greatly promoting the country's prestige"

An angel stood at the top and read the edict loudly.

"Li Renli, the transfer envoy to Henan, raised grain, grass and weapons, and made strategic plans. He was very thorough and made great contributions. He was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War, became a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and entered the Zhongshu Province."

Li Renli was very excited when he heard the edict. When the edict was finished, he stood up and prepared to receive the edict, but was held back and unable to move.

When he turned around, he saw that he was holding on to him tightly.

Li Renli was immediately furious, "Damn slave, you have been a slave in my family for four generations in vain. I treat you like a family member and treat you generously, but you act recklessly, forget your identity, and dare to block my future!"
See if I don't kick you to death.

Li Renli was about to lift his legs when he felt his body shaking. He suddenly opened his eyes and found that he was lying on the bed, and he was standing beside the bed, shaking himself nervously.

Li Renli asked in a daze: "Has an angel come?"

"My second brother, what an angel, it was the Song Army who came to kill him."

As if a basin of cold water had been poured on him by Tian Ling Gai, Li Renli woke up with a jolt.

"What? Song Army? How could Song Army fly to Shenduiyi?"

"I don't know whether they flew over from the sky or came from the ground. Anyway, there were tens of thousands of cavalry. They burned all the food and grass in Shendui Station."

"Burned?" Li Renli felt like he was suffocating. He wanted to get up, but his whole body was so weak that he had no strength at all.

"Quick, quick, help me up." Li Renli roared.

The personal attendants hugged and helped Li Renli get out of bed. He didn't bother to put on clothes and shoes, and ran out barefoot. What greeted him was a blaze of red.

The whole sky was red, and Li Renli rolled onto the roof. When he looked up, his eyes were about to burst.

There were fires everywhere, and mountains of food and grass turned into big bonfires one after another, with flames reaching into the sky and howling crazily.

The Xixia civilian husband and soldiers screamed and struggled in the firelight. The black cavalry came out of the fire, waving their swords and guns, harvesting one life after another, and then suddenly disappeared into the fire.

God, what happened!

Note 1: The Tangxiang people of Xixia were also influenced by the Khitan people and other grassland peoples, and they called noble people “sir.”

(End of this chapter)