Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty-Seven
Xiao Feng was watching, when suddenly he heard someone shout loudly: "Is that Mr. Xiao over there?" Xiao Feng thought to himself: "Who recognizes me?" Turning his head around, he saw a horse galloping out of the green-robed team, heading straight for him It was in the captain's room that Yeluji sent to give gifts a few months ago.
He galloped over ten zhang ahead of Xiao Feng, got off his horse, led the horse forward quickly, knelt down on his right knee, and said: "My master is not far ahead. The master often talks about Uncle Xiao and misses him very much. What do you do today The wind blows Uncle Xiao to come? Please go and meet the master." Xiao Feng was very happy when he heard that Yeluji was nearby, and said: "I was just wandering around, I didn't expect my righteous brother to be nearby, it's so good There are no more. Well, please lead the way, and I will meet him."
In the room, lips were pressed together to whistle, and two cavalry came galloping on horseback.The room said: "Go and report that Uncle Xiao from Changbai Mountain is coming!" Two cavalry bowed to receive the order and galloped away.The others continued to shoot deer, but the room led a team of green-robed cavalry, guarding behind Xiao Feng and Ah Zi, heading westward.
When Yeluji sent a large amount of gold, silver, cattle and sheep, Xiao Feng knew that he must be a nobleman from Khitan, now seeing such momentum, he guessed that this brother-in-law was probably some general or high official of Liao Kingdom.
Riders come and go in the grassland in an endless stream, all of them with distinctive armor.The room said: "It's a coincidence that Uncle Xiao came today, it will be a few days, we will have a fun here." Xiao Feng glanced at Ah Zi, saw her face was happy, and asked: "What's the fun?" Said: "In a few days it will be the day of martial arts. Yongchang, Taihe and the two palace guards are vacant. Our Khitan officers and soldiers each show their martial arts skills. Let's see which one is lucky and wins the commander."
As soon as Xiao Feng heard about the martial arts contest, he naturally beamed with joy and high spirits, he said with a smile: "It's really a coincidence, I happened to see the Khitan people's martial arts." Ah Zi smiled and said: "Captain, you have shown your skills, congratulations on winning a commander " He stuck out his tongue in the room, and said: "How can a villain be so bold?" Ah Zi smiled and said, "What's the big deal about winning a commander? As long as my brother-in-law is willing to teach you a few kung fu, maybe you will I can win the command." The room said happily: "Uncle Xiao is willing to give advice to the villain, I really wish for it. As for the command or something, the villain does not have this blessing, but he doesn't want to."
A group of people talked and talked, and after traveling for more than ten miles, they saw a group of cavalry galloping ahead.The room said: "It's the Flying Bear Squad of the Big Tent Leather Army that has arrived." The officers and soldiers of that team all wore bearskin coats and hats, black bearskin coats, and white bearskin high hats, and they looked mighty.This group of soldiers approached, yelled in unison, dismounted at the same time, separated on both sides, and shouted: "Welcome Uncle Xiao!" Xiao Feng said: "Don't dare, dare not!" Follow it.
After traveling for more than ten miles, another group of flying tiger soldiers wearing tiger skin coats and hats came to meet them.Xiao Feng thought to himself: "My elder brother Yelu doesn't know what kind of high official he is, to have such a pomp." However, he didn't say anything in the room, and when they met last time, Yeluji resolutely refused to reveal his identity, so Xiao Feng didn't ask.
In the evening, they came to a big tent, a team of flying leopards wearing leopard fur coats welcomed Xiao Feng and Ah Zi into the central big tent.Xiao Feng only said that once he enters the tent, he can meet Yeluji, he didn't know that the carpets and utensils in the tent are very gorgeous, the low tables are full of dishes and fruits, but there is no owner in the tent.The captain of the Flying Leopards team said: "Master invites Uncle Xiao to stay here for a night, and we will see each other soon." Xiao Feng supported Ah Zi, sat on a few sides, picked up the wine bowl and drank.The four sergeants poured wine and cut the meat, and served them respectfully.
I got up the next morning and walked again. I walked westward for more than 200 li that day, and slept in a big tent again in the evening.
At noon on the third day, he said in the room: "After passing the hillside in front, we will be there." Xiao Feng saw the majestic appearance of this big mountain, and a big river rushing south from the side of the hillside.A group of people turned around the hillside, with flags flying in front of them, a prairie densely packed with tents everywhere, thousands of cavalry and infantry surrounded a large open space in the middle.The officers and soldiers of the Feixiong, Feihu, and Feibao teams escorting Xiao Feng took out their horns and blew them loudly.
All of a sudden, the sound of drums and the sound of trumpets and cannons sounded. All the officers and soldiers in the open space separated to the left and right. A tall yellow horse rushed out. On the horse's back was a big man with a beard, which was Yeluji.He galloped towards Xiao Feng on horseback and shouted: "Brother Xiao, I want to kill my brother!" Xiao Feng galloped his horse to meet him, the two jumped off the horse at the same time, they clasped their hands, they were all overjoyed.
All the soldiers around could be heard shouting in unison: "Long live! Long live! Long live!"
Xiao Feng was shocked: "How come all the soldiers are shouting Long Live!" You looked around, but saw the officers and soldiers all bowed and drew their knives on the ground, Yeluji stood in the middle holding his hand, looking around, his expression was very complacent.Xiao Feng said in astonishment: "Brother, you...you are..." Yeluji laughed loudly, and said: "If you had known that I was the current emperor of the Daliao Kingdom, you would probably not be sworn brothers with me. Brother Xiao , my real name is Yelu Hongji. I will never forget the grace of your life."
Although Xiao Feng is open-minded and heroic, he has never seen an emperor before in his life, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when he saw this kind of ostentation, he said: "The villain doesn't know His Majesty, what an offense, he deserves death!" He knelt down after speaking.He is a Khitan citizen, and when he sees his own emperor, he should kneel down and worship him.
Yelu Hongji hurriedly stretched out his hand to help him up, and said with a smile: "Those who don't know are not guilty, brother, you and I are Jinlan brothers, today I only express my loyalty, and tomorrow it will not be too late to perform the ceremony of a monarch and minister." With a wave of his left hand, drums were played in the team , welcome guests.Yelu Hongji took Xiao Feng's hand and entered the big tent together.
The tents where the emperors of the Liao Kingdom lived were made of several layers of cowhide, painted with gold, and they were brilliant, so they were called leather tents.Yelu Hongji sat in the middle, and ordered Xiao Feng to sit at the head of the Hengtou. Not long after, all civil and military officials came in to see him, the King of the North Court, the Privy Envoy of the North Court, Yu Yue, the Privy Envoy of the South Court, the General Pi Shi, and the Junior General , Horse Army Commander, Infantry Commander, etc., Xiao Feng couldn't remember all these for a while.
That night there was a big banquet in the tent, Khitan people respect women, so AhZi also had to have the banquet in the big leather tent.The wine was like a pool, and the meat was like a mountain, AhZi could only look at it happily, smiling brightly.
When the wine was in full swing, more than a dozen Khitan warriors pounced on the emperor in front of the emperor, each of them was naked from the upper body, and they fought fiercely.Xiao Feng saw that these Khitan warriors are vigorous and strong in physical strength, they have another set of martial arts in their gestures, although they are not as clever as the Central Plains warriors, but straight forward and direct strikes, if used in battles, it seems to be more concise and effective than the Central Plains martial arts.
Civil and military officials of the Liao Kingdom came up one by one to toast Xiao Feng.Xiao Feng did not refuse anyone who came, the wine was dry until the glass was dry, after drinking more than 300 glasses, he still looked calm, everyone was shocked.
Yelu Hongji always prided himself on his strength, this time he was captured by Xiao Feng, the whole country knew that he wanted Xiao Feng to show his superhuman ability to cover up the humiliation of being captured.Unexpectedly Xiao Feng didn't have to show his skills in the next day's martial arts competition, as soon as he showed his capacity for alcohol at this moment, he already overwhelmed all the heroes, everyone admired him.Yelu Hongji was overjoyed and said, "Brother, you are the first hero in our Liao Kingdom!"
Ah Zi suddenly interrupted: "No, he is the second!" Yelu Hongji smiled and said: "Little girl, why is he the second? Then who is the first hero?" A Zi said: "The first hero is a good man Of course, it is Your Majesty! Although my brother-in-law has great abilities, he must obey you and dare not disobey you. Aren't you number one?" She is a member of the Xingxiu sect and is proficient in flattery, saying this is just a small test.
Yelu Hongji laughed loudly, and said: "Well said, well said. Brother Xiao, I want to confer you a great official title, let me think about it, what should I confer?" At this time, he was drunk enough In all likelihood, he stretched out his fingers and flicked a few times on his forehead.Xiao Feng hurriedly said: "No, no, the petty person has a rough temper, it is difficult to enjoy wealth and honor, he has always roamed around, coming and going, and he really does not want to be an official." Yelu Hongji smiled and said: "Okay, I will make you one. A senior official who drinks and doesn't have to do anything..." Before finishing his sentence, he suddenly heard a sharp and rapid sound of a horn in the distance.
All the Liao people were sitting on the ground, drinking wine and eating meat. When they heard the sound of the horn, they suddenly bang and stood up at the same time, with panic on their faces.The sound of the horn came very quickly. When I heard it for the first time, it was still more than ten miles away. When it sounded for the second time, it was several miles away, and for the third time it sounded for several miles.Xiao Feng thought to himself: "No matter how fast a horse is in the world, and the best lightness skill, it can never be so swift. That's right, there must be a messenger station that transmits urgent news about the military situation. Come to the next stop." The sound of the horn came flying, and when it reached outside the tent of the leather room, it stopped suddenly.The officers and soldiers in the hundreds of tents were cheering and drinking, but suddenly they were all silent.
With a calm expression, Yelu Hongji slowly raised the golden cup, drank the wine, and said: "There are traitors in Shangjing, let's go back and break the camp!"
The marching general immediately turned around and went out of the camp to issue an order, but when he heard an order to "strike the camp", it became ten sentences, ten sentences became a hundred sentences, and a hundred sentences became a thousand sentences. Panic messy.Xiao Feng pondered: "My Daliao state has been established for two hundred years, and the country's prestige has shaken the world. Although there is civil strife at this moment, there is no disturbance. It can be seen that the Liao rulers in the past have commanded the army well."
But hearing the sound of horseshoes, the vanguard scouts galloped out first, followed the left and right vanguards, and the front army, left army, and right army marched south and returned to Beijing.
Yelu Hongji took Xiao Feng's hand, the two walked out of the tent, AhZi followed behind.Xiao Feng saw that in the dark night, a lantern was lit on each military flag, red, yellow, blue, green, and white colors shone brightly, more than a hundred thousand troops marched southward, but they heard the neighing of horses' hooves, but they couldn't hear a single word Voice.Xiao Feng was greatly admired, and thought: "If you manage the army like this, who in the world can defeat it? That day the emperor went hunting bravely alone, and he was captured by me. If the army continues, although the Jurchens are brave, they will eventually be outnumbered."
As soon as the two of them left the big tent, all the guards immediately pulled out the camp, tidied it up in a short while, and loaded all the luggage and luggage into the camel-horse cart.The marshal of the Chinese army issued an order, and the Chinese army set off immediately.The Great King of the Northern Academy, Yu Yue, Taishi, Taifu and others were accompanying Yelu Hongji, all of them looked solemn, but they didn't say a word.Although the news of the chaos in Beijing has been spread, who is the leader of the chaos and how the chaos is, it is not clear at the moment, and no one in the army dares to speculate casually.
The brigade marched southward for three days. After setting up camp at night, the first reporter galloped up and reported to the emperor: "The king of the Southern Court made a rebellion and occupied the palace. From the empress dowager and the empress down, the princes, princesses, and the families of all officials are all detained."
Yelu Hongji was taken aback, his expression changed drastically.
Liao's military and state affairs are now divided between the North and the South.This time, the King of the North Court went hunting with the emperor, while the King of the South Court stayed in Beijing.Yelu Nielugu, the Great King of the Southern Court, was named the King of Chu, but he himself was fine. His father, Yelu Chongyuan, is now the emperor's uncle, and he was officially named the Grand Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses, but it is no small matter.Originally, the Liao Kingdom used to rule the army in the north and the people in the south, but the emperor's grand uncle respected authority and managed both military affairs and civil affairs. Yelu Hongji's grandfather, Yelu Longxu, was called Shengzong in Liao history.Zongzhen, the eldest son of Shengzong, and Chongyuan, the second son.Zongzhen is kind and generous, while Chongyuan is very brave.When Shengzong died, the eldest son Zongzhen passed on the will, but the queen of Shengzong loved the second son and conspired to establish Chongyuan as emperor.As usual in the Liao Kingdom, the empress dowager had great power, and at that time Zongzhen's throne was in jeopardy, and his life was in danger.But Zhongyuan told his elder brother about his mother's plan, and Zongzhen deployed it early, so that the empress dowager's plot failed.Zongzhen was very grateful to this brother, and made him the emperor's younger brother, declaring that he would pass on to him in the future as a reward for his kindness. Yeluzong was called Xingzong in the history of Zhenliao, but after his death, the throne was not passed on to the emperor's younger brother Chongyuan, but to his son Hongji. After Yelu Hongji took over the throne, he felt very sorry, and made Chongyuan the emperor's uncle, which showed that he was still the crown prince of the Daliao Kingdom. , two-color robe, respected and favored, the first in the dynasty; he also made his son Nerugu the king of Chu, in charge of the military and political affairs of the South Court, and was called the King of the South Court. Back then Yelu Zhongyuan could be the emperor, but he gave it up to his elder brother, which shows that he valued loyalty and was very retiring.Yelu Hongji went north to hunt in a big way, and entrusted all important military and state affairs in Beijing to the emperor's uncle, without any suspicion.At this time, the news came that it was Yelu Nerugu, the great king of the Southern Court who conspired against him. Yelu Hongji was unavoidably shocked and worried. He knew that Nerugu had a vicious temper and was ruthless in dealing with things. The principle of hand. The King of the North Court said: "Your Majesty, let me be lenient. I think the Emperor Taishu understands the situation and will not allow his rebellious son to rebel and commit crimes. Maybe he has already led troops to quell the chaos at this moment." Yelu Hongji said: "I hope so." After everyone had dinner, the second batch of newspapers rushed to report: "The Great King of the Southern Court established the emperor's uncle as the emperor, and he has issued an edict to the world." He did not dare to say the following words, and offered the new emperor's edict with both hands.Hongji took it and took a look, and saw that the edict denounced Yelu Hongji as a usurper and a false emperor, saying that the first emperor made Yelu Chongyuan the emperor's younger brother. It was well known in the world that the late emperor passed away. They were all angry, and now the emperor's younger brother is on the throne, and he supervises and leads the army and horses of the world. Yelu Hongji was furious. He threw the edict into the fire and burned it to ashes. He was anxious and thought: "This false edict is plausible. After reading it, the soldiers and people of the Liao Kingdom will probably be overwhelmed. Marshal of the army and horses in the world, with military talismans in his hands, he can mobilize more than 800,000 soldiers and horses, not to mention the soldiers and horses under the jurisdiction of his son Chuwang Nanyuan. I have only more than 100,000 people driving here, and I am outnumbered. What should I do?" I tossed and turned all night and couldn't sleep well. Xiao Feng heard that Emperor Liao wanted to make him an official, originally he wanted to take Ah Zi with him, and left without saying goodbye in the dark, seeing his brother-in-law was in danger, it was inconvenient to just leave, at least he had to do his best for him, and the marriage was not in vain field.That night when he was strolling outside the camp, he could only hear the officers and soldiers talking quietly, saying that his parents and wife were both in the capital, so they were all detained by the emperor's uncle, fearing that their lives might be lost.Some thought of their family members and couldn't help crying.The cry touched people's hearts, and the rest of the officers and soldiers in the battalion were in the same situation and cried one after another.Although the commanding officers tried their best to stop them and cut off a few of them who were crying loudly, they couldn't stop them. Yelu Hongji heard the crying loudly, and knew that the army's morale was weakened, which made him even more troubled. Early the next morning, the spies came to report that the emperor's uncle and the king of Chu led more than 500,000 soldiers and horses, and they came from the north to commit crimes.Hong Ji pondered: "Today's matter, there is no retreat, even if the army is defeated, there is only a fight to the death." Immediately convened a hundred officials to discuss.All the ministers are extremely loyal to Yelu Hongji and are willing to fight to the death, but they are all worried about the morale of the army. Yelu Hongji issued an order: "All the officers and soldiers will fight against the rebels. After the disaster is over, in addition to being promoted, they will be rewarded more." Putting on the golden armor, he personally led the three armies to meet the emperor's uncle's army and horses.When all the officers and soldiers saw that the emperor came to the front enemy in person, they were so courageous that they shouted long live and pledged their allegiance to the death.More than 100,000 soldiers and horses were divided into four groups: the front army, the left army, the right army, and the middle army. With his bow and spear drawn, Xiao Feng followed Yelu Hongji as his personal bodyguard.He leads the green-robed soldiers in the room, plus a group of flying bear soldiers to protect Ah Zi, and stay in the rear.Xiao Feng saw Yelu Hongji frowning deeply, he knew that he was not sure about this battle. At noon, I suddenly heard the sound of horns in front of me.The general of the Chinese army issued an order: "Get off your horse!" All the cavalry jumped off their horses, led the reins and walked on foot, only Yelu Hongji and other ministers were still on the horses. Xiao Feng didn't understand why the cavalry got off their horses, he was quite puzzled.Hong Ji said with a smile: "Brother, you have been in the Central Plains for a long time, so you don't know how the Khitan people march and fight?" Xiao Feng said: "I just want to ask Your Majesty for advice." Hong Ji said with a smile: "Hey, my Majesty, I wonder if I can The sun goes down today. You and I are brothers, so why call him Your Majesty?" Xiao Feng heard the bitterness in his laughter, and said, "Your Majesty don't need to worry if the two armies have not handed over." Hong Ji said: "On the plain In a confrontation, the most important thing is the horsepower, and the manpower is second." Xiao Feng suddenly realized, and said: "Ah, yes! The reason for the cavalry to dismount is to avoid the fatigue of the mount." Hong Ji nodded, and said: "With enough horsepower, when facing the enemy If you charge forward, you will be able to move forward. The Khitan people have conquered east and west, and they are victorious in every battle. This is a very important secret." When he said this, dust heads rose up in the distance in front of him, rising more than ten feet high, like yellow clouds pouring over the ground.Hongji pointed his horsewhip, and said: "Both Emperor Taishu and the King of Chu have been in battle for a long time, and they are the brave generals of our Liao Kingdom. Why did they rush in without horsepower? Well, they have nothing to worry about, and they are confident that they will win. Before he finished speaking, the left and right soldiers sounded their horns at the same time.Xiao Feng looked far into the distance, he saw that the enemy had two army horses to the east and two army horses to the west, it was a siege of five enemies to one. Yelu Hongji's face changed color, and he issued an order: "Form an array and set up a stronghold!" The general of the central army rode out and gave the order, and immediately the front army, the left army, and the right army all turned back, and a group of soldiers sent dozens of soldiers. The big wooden pillar was nailed into the ground with a big iron hammer, the leather tent was opened, and antlers were erected around it. In a short while, a huge wooden city was formed on the grassland. After hiding in the big tree, he tightened the bowstring, only waiting to shoot the arrow. Xiao Feng frowned, thinking: "After this great battle, no matter who wins or loses, countless Khitan members of my family will have their corpses scattered all over the place. The best thing is of course that my brother-in-law wins. If unfortunately I lose, I will try to get rid of it." Brother Yi and Ah Zi were rescued to a safe place. As the emperor, he can do whatever he wants." Not long after the Liao Emperor's camp was established, the vanguard of the rebel army arrived, but they did not step forward to challenge.But when the sound of drums and horns continued, teams of rebels surrounded them, forming formations from all directions.Xiao Feng looked around, but he saw enemy troops all over the field, he couldn't see the end, he thought: "Brother Yi's army is too far away, outnumbered, I'm afraid he must lose. It's not easy to break out and escape during the day, as long as I support him until the night, I can try to rescue him "But I saw the shadow of the big trees in the camp briefly reflected on the ground, and the sun was in the sky, it was not long after noon. Only a few yells were heard, and a group of wild geese flew across the sky in formation.Hong Ji raised his head and stared at it for a while, then said with a wry smile, "Unless you turn into a wild goose, it's hard to fly." The king of the North Court and the general of the Chinese army looked at each other and their faces changed, knowing that the emperor was timid after seeing the appearance of the rebel army. Drums were beating in the enemy's formation, and hundreds of skin drums rang loudly.The general of the Chinese army shouted loudly: "Drumming!" Hundreds of drums in the imperial camp also sounded.Suddenly, the sound of drums in the army on the opposite side stopped, and the shouts of tens of thousands of cavalry shook the world, and they rushed forward with spears. Seeing the enemy's forwards approaching, the general of the Chinese army waved his flag downward, the sound of drums in the imperial camp stopped immediately, tens of thousands of feathered arrows were shot, and the enemy's forwards fell to the ground one after another.However, the enemy army rushed forward one after another, and the fallen army and horses in front became the shields of the rear army.The enemy infantry archers rushed forward with shields to protect themselves, and shot arrows at the imperial camp. Yelu Hongji was quite frightened at the beginning, but when he came to the battle, he became more courageous, stood on a high place, held a long knife, and gave orders.Seeing the emperor personally supervising the battle, the soldiers of the imperial camp shouted: "Long live! Long live! Long live!" Hearing the sound of "Long live", the enemy army looked up and saw Yelu Hongji standing on a high platform in the imperial camp, in yellow robe and gold armor, Under his prestige, he couldn't help hesitating.Seeing a good opportunity, Hong Ji shouted: "The cavalry of the left army outflanks, go!" The left army was led by the privy envoy of the North Court. Upon hearing the emperor's order, 30,000 cavalry surrounded them from the side.As soon as the rebels hesitated, the army and horses of the imperial battalion had already rushed over.The rebels were in chaos and retreated one after another.Drums and thunder were heard in the imperial camp, and the rebels retreated as soon as they fought.The army and horses of the imperial battalion chased forward with great momentum. Xiao Feng was overjoyed and shouted: "Brother, this time we have won a big victory!" Yelu Hongji stepped down from the stage, stepped on his horse, and led the army to help.Suddenly the horn sounded, the main force of the rebel army arrived, and the rebel forward turned back to fight again. In an instant, feather arrows and spears were flying back and forth in the air, the sound of killing was loud, and flesh and blood flew everywhere.Xiao Feng was only secretly startled: "I have never seen such a fierce fight in my life. You can let your martial arts be invincible in the world by yourself, but it is useless in the midst of thousands of troops. At most, you can only protect your own life. Compared with the group fights in the martial arts world, this kind of battle between armies is insignificant." Suddenly I heard the loud sound of gongs behind the rebels' formation, and they called gold to withdraw their troops.The rebel cavalry retreated, and arrows rained down, shooting their positions.The general of the Chinese army and the privy envoy of the North Court led the army to charge three times in a row, but they couldn't disrupt the opponent's formation, but shot and killed more than a thousand soldiers.Yelu Hongji ordered: "There are too many casualties, so we will withdraw for now." The imperial camp also called for gold to withdraw. The rebels sent two teams of cavalry to attack. The Chinese army was already prepared and pretended to be defeated. The two wings encircled and wiped out all 3,000 officers and soldiers of the two teams of rebels. The remaining hundreds dismounted and surrendered.With a wave of Yelu Hongji's left hand, the imperial sergeant swung his spear away, stabbing hundreds of people to death.This vicious fight lasted less than an hour, but the killing was extremely brutal. The main forces of both sides retreated several tens of feet, the open space in the middle was covered with corpses, the wounded moaned and wailed, it was unbearable to hear.I saw a group of 300 black-clothed soldiers on each side of the formation, the imperial battalion wore yellow caps, and the enemy soldiers wore white caps, going to the middle area to inspect the wounded.Xiao Feng only thought that these people were carrying the wounded back for treatment, but he didn't know that these black-clothed officers and soldiers drew out their long knives and hacked each other's wounded soldiers to death one by one.After all the wounded were hacked to death, six hundred people shouted in unison and fought fiercely with each other. The 600 black-clothed soldiers are not weak in martial arts, their long knives flashing, and they fight bravely.Not long after, more than two hundred people were cut down to the ground.The yellow-capped and black-clothed soldiers of the imperial camp were relatively strong in martial arts, and only a few dozen were hacked to death. It immediately became a situation of two or three fighting with one man.After fighting for a while, it became three or four people fighting with one person.But officers and soldiers on both sides only shouted and cheered, while hundreds of thousands of rebels stood by and did not send more troops to rescue.Finally, all 300 white-capped and black-clothed soldiers of the rebel army were wiped out, and about 200 black-clothed soldiers from the imperial battalion returned to the formation.Xiao Feng thought to himself: "I think the rules of the Liao people are like this." Although the scale of this vicious fight to clean up the battlefield is not as large as before, it is still more thrilling. Yelu Hongji held up his long sword and shouted loudly: "Although there are many rebels, they have no fighting spirit. One more battle and they will be defeated!" The officers and soldiers of the imperial camp shouted together: "Long live, long live, long live!" Suddenly they heard horns blowing from the rebel formation, five horsemen came out slowly, one of them held a sheepskin in both hands, and read aloud, what he read was the imperial edict promulgated by the emperor's uncle: "Yelu Hongji usurped the throne, it was Hypocrites, the Emperor Taishu is right now, and all loyal officers and soldiers of our Liao Kingdom must return to Beijing immediately and return to serve, and they will all be promoted to three ranks." More than a dozen archers in the imperial camp fired arrows, swishing, and shot at the man. shoot.The four people around the man raised their shields to protect each other. The man continued to chant, and suddenly five horses were shot down. The five people hid behind the shields, and finally finished reading the imperial uncle's "edict" and turned to leave. The king of the North Court saw that the officers and soldiers of his subordinates were moved after hearing the false edict, and shouted: "Go out and scold!" Thirty officers and soldiers stepped forward for more than ten feet.Twenty officers and soldiers held up shields to protect them, and the other ten were "swearers", with loud voices and thick throats, and articulate. The first "swearer" cursed, "Traitors, traitors, there is no place to die" Wait, follow the second "swearer" and curse again, until the end of the curse, it is full of all kinds of swear words.Xiao Feng's knowledge of Khitan language is limited, he doesn't understand most of these "swearers" words, but Yelu Hongji nodded repeatedly, expressing his approval, these "swearers" scolded really wonderfully. Xiao Feng looked into the enemy formation, he saw in the distance covered by a large yellow banner, there were two people riding on horses, pointing with whips in their hands.One is wearing a yellow robe, a sky-high crown, and a long gray beard under his chin. The other is wearing a golden armor, with a thin face and a fierce expression.Xiao Feng pondered: "Look at this appearance, these two people are Huang Taishu and Prince Chu father and son." All of a sudden, the ten "swearers" discussed in low voices for a while, and they all amplified their throats, revealing the secrets of the emperor's uncle and the king of Chu.Uncle Huang seems to be upright and has nothing to scold. The scolding of the ten people is mainly aimed at the King of Chu, saying that he raped his father and concubine and did evil by taking advantage of his father's power.These words were obviously trying to provoke his father and son's feelings, ten people shouted in unison, the curse words were the same, the sound was transmitted for several miles, hundreds of thousands of soldiers could hear quite a few clearly. The king of Chu waved his whip, and the rebels made a loud noise in unison, most of them shouted and shouted, and immediately drowned out the scolding of ten people. After a while of chaos, the enemy army suddenly separated and pushed out dozens of vehicles. Before they came to the imperial camp, the vehicles stopped, and the sergeants with them pulled out dozens of women from the vehicles, some with white hair, some young , the clothes are very luxurious.As soon as these women got out of the car, the cursing from both sides stopped immediately. Hong Ji yelled: "Mother, mother! My son caught the traitor, cut his body into pieces, and vented his anger on your old man." The white-haired old woman is the current Empress Dowager, Yelu Hongji's mother, Empress Dowager Xiao, and the rest are Empress Xiao, concubines and princesses.Uncle Huang and the King of Chu took advantage of Yelu Hongji's outing to hunt, surrounded the Forbidden Palace, and captured the Empress Dowager and others. The empress dowager said loudly: "Your Majesty, don't think of the old woman, his wife and children, and do your best to destroy bandits and thieves!" Dozens of soldiers drew out their long knives and put them on the necks of all the concubines.The young concubine cried out in panic. Hong Ji was furious, and shouted: "Shoot all the crying women to death!" There was a swishing sound, more than ten feathered arrows shot out, and the crying concubines were shot to death one after another. The queen shouted: "Your Majesty shot well, shot well! The foundation of our ancestors must not be destroyed in the hands of traitors." Seeing that the empress dowager and empress were so stubborn, the king of Chu not only failed to intimidate Yelu Hongji, but also shook the morale of his own army. Push into the car and push to the back of the formation.The king of Chu ordered: "Take the family members of the enemy army into battle!" Suddenly, the bamboo whistle was blowing, the sound was desolate, the army and horses separated to the two sides, the iron chains rattled endlessly, and rows of men, women, old and young were led out from behind the formation.In an instant, there were two bursts of crying.It turned out that these people were the family members of the officers and soldiers of the imperial camp.The officers and soldiers of the imperial battalion were the pro-army of the Liao Emperor. Yelu Hongji gave him special treatment and allowed his family members to live in Shangjing. When the teacher went out to fight, he didn't dare to be rebellious, but this time he went hunting, he turned his elbow and armpit.There are no less than two hundred thousand family members of the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Battalion, and only twenty to thirty thousand people were sent to the front of the battle. Many of them were caught indiscriminately and wrongly caught. group. A general under the command of the King of Chu galloped out of the battle and shouted loudly: "Listen, all the officers and soldiers of the imperial camp: You and your family have been arrested, and those who surrendered will be reunited with their families, and they will be promoted to three ranks, and there will be rewards. If you don't Surrender, the new emperor has an order to kill all family members together." Khitan people are always cruel and easy to kill, saying "kill all together", it is definitely not a threatening word, they really want to kill all together.Some officers and soldiers in the imperial camp have already recognized their relatives, "Father, mother, child, husband, wife!" The voices of calling from the two groups rang together. Drums sounded in the rebel army, and two thousand swordsmen strode out, their swords shining brightly.As soon as the drumbeat stopped, the two thousand swords were lifted up and aimed at the heads of the family members.The general shouted: "Surrender to the new emperor, there will be a lot of rewards, if you don't surrender, all the family members will be killed together!" He waved his left hand, and the drum sounded again. The soldiers of the imperial camp knew that he waved his left hand again, the drum beat stopped, and the two thousand shining swords were chopped down.These relatives have always been loyal to Yelu Hongji, the emperor's uncle and the king of Chu offered "promotion" and "big reward" to recruit each other, it was hard to seduce, but seeing his parents and children waiting to be killed, how could he not be surprised? The drums were rumbling continuously, and the hearts of the officers and soldiers of the imperial camp were also beating rapidly.Suddenly, someone in the imperial camp shouted: "Mom, mother, you can't kill my mother!" He dropped his spear and ran towards an old woman in front of the enemy line. Following that, an arrow shot out from the imperial camp and hit the man's back heart.The man didn't die for a while, and crawled towards his mother.Only the cries of "Father, Mother, Baby" could be heard, and hundreds of people in the imperial camp rushed out one after another.Yelu Hongji's trusted general drew his sword and slashed wildly, but how could he stop?As soon as these hundreds of people rushed out, thousands followed.After thousands of people, there was a great chaos, and out of the 150,000 pro-army, 60,000 to 70,000 people rushed away. Yelu Hongji let out a long sigh, knowing that the general situation was over, he took advantage of his relatives and family members to recognize each other with their heads in their arms, forming a chaotic mess, separating the rebels from the middle, and immediately ordered: "Retreat to Cangmang Mountain in the northwest." The general of the Chinese army quietly An order was issued, and there were still more than 80,000 people who had not surrendered. The rear army turned into the front army and galloped northwest. The king of Chu ordered his cavalry to chase after him, but the battlefield was full of old and weak women and children, and the cavalry could not gallop away. They had to push the crowd away, and Yelu Hongji had already led the imperial army far away. More than 80,000 relatives rushed to the foot of Cangmang Mountain, it was dusk, all the soldiers were hungry and tired, rushed to build a camp on the hillside, condescending, set up an array to defend.As soon as the camp was set up, the king of Chu rushed to the foot of the mountain with his elite before cooking, and immediately charged towards the hillside.The soldiers of the Imperial Battalion sent arrows and stones like rain, repelling the rebels.Seeing that the upward attack was not good, the Chu army immediately withdrew their troops and set up camp at the foot of the mountain.
That night, Yelu Hongji stood beside the cliff, looking south.However, the campfire in the rebel camp was like stars, and three fire dragons meandered in the distance, but it was the follow-up troops of the rebel army who came to participate in the siege.Hong Ji felt sad and was about to enter the account when the Privy Councilor of the North Court came to report: "The 15,000 soldiers and horses under my subordinates rushed down the mountain to join the rebellion. I have no way to govern the army, and I deserve death." Hong Ji Ji waved his hand, shook his head and said, "It's not your fault, go down and rest!" He turned his head and saw Xiao Feng staring into the distance, he said: "As soon as dawn comes, the rebels will attack in a large scale, and I will be captured for the rest of my life. I am the king, I cannot be humiliated by traitors, I should kill myself to repay the country. Brother, you rushed out by yourself in the night. You are very skilled in martial arts, and the rebels can't stop you." Speaking of this, he looked sad, and said: "I wanted to give you a lot of wealth, but I didn't know that as an older brother If you can't protect yourself, you will be tired." Xiao Feng said: "Brother, a man can bend and stretch, today's battle is unfavorable, I will guarantee you to retreat, recruit the old troops, Xu Tu will do it again." Hong Ji shook his head and said: "I can't even protect my mother and wife, so how can I be a man? In the eyes of the Khitan people, the winner is a hero, and the loser is guilty. How can I get better after a complete defeat? Go yourself!" Knowing that what he said was the truth, Xiao Feng said with emotion: "Since that is the case, then I will accompany my brother and fight the rebels to the death tomorrow. You and I are bound together in Jinlan, whether you are the emperor or a commoner, Xiao will be the one You are a righteous brother. Brother is in trouble, and a brother should live and die with you, how can you run away by yourself?" With tears in his eyes, Hong Ji held his hands and said, "My dear brother, thank you very much." Xiao Feng returned to the tent, he saw Ah Zi curled up in a corner of the tent, with big round eyes open, still awake.AhZi asked: "Brother-in-law, do you blame me?" Xiao Feng wondered: "What are you blaming?" AhZi said: "It's all my fault, if it wasn't for the fact that I decided to go to the prairie to play, I wouldn't have Will get you stuck here. Brother-in-law, we're going to die here, aren't we?" The red light from the torches outside the tent reflected on her face, a blush appeared in her pale complexion, making her look even more petite and immature.Xiao Feng felt pity in his heart, and said softly: "How could I blame you? If I hadn't injured you, we wouldn't have come here." Ah Zi smiled slightly, and said: "If I hadn't shot poison at you Needle, you won't hurt me." Xiao Feng stretched out his big hand and stroked her hair.Besides AhZi's serious injury, most of her hair fell out, it was yellow and thin.Xiao Feng sighed lightly, and said: "You are young, but you suffer with me." Ah Zi said: "Brother-in-law. I didn't understand why my sister likes you so much, but I finally understood." Xiao Feng thought to himself: "Your sister treats me with infinite affection, what do you little girl know. In fact, I don't even understand why Ah Zhu fell in love with a rude man like me, so how can you know?" Thinking of this , shaking his head sadly. AhZi turned her head and said, "Because you treat others wholeheartedly, so I like you like an older sister." After a pause, she continued: "Brother-in-law, did you guess why I asked you that day?" Shooting poisonous needles? I don't want to shoot you to death, I just want you to be immobile and let me serve you." Xiao Feng wondered, "Why?" Ah Zi smiled and said, "If you can't move, you will never be able to leave me. Otherwise, you will look down on me in your heart, and leave me at any time and ignore me." Xiao Feng heard that although what she said was childish, he knew it wasn't just nonsense, he couldn't help being startled secretly, and thought: "Anyway, everyone will die tomorrow, so it's enough to comfort her." He said: "You really like to follow me, Even if you tell me yes, I won't refuse." Azi's eyes suddenly shone brightly, and she said happily: "Brother-in-law, after I recover from my injury, I will still follow you and never go back to Master Xingxiu School. Don't leave me alone." Xiao Feng knew that the troubles she caused in Xingxiu Sect were really not small, he expected that she would not dare to go back, he said with a smile: "You are the elder sister of Xingxiu Sect, if you don't go back, there will be no leader in the group, so what should I do?" AZi Gege With a smile, he said: "Let them go and make a mess. I don't care about it!" 她低头沉思，突然一本正经地道：“姊夫，我不是怕回去受师父责罚，他最多不过杀了我，杀就好了。我是舍不得离开你，我要永永远远陪在你身边。在你心里，将来也要像爱惜阿朱那样爱惜我。”萧峰知道这也是孩子话，况且明天陪着义兄死了，又有什么将来，此时不忍拂她心意，便点了点头。阿紫双目登时灿然生光，欢喜无限。 萧峰拉上毛毡，盖到她颈下，替她轻轻拢好，轻拍她背脊，哄她安睡。展开毛毡，自行在营帐的另一角睡下。帐外火光时明时灭，闪烁不定，但听得哭声隐隐，知是御营官兵思念家人，大家均知明晨这一仗性命难保，不过各人忠于皇上，不肯背叛。
次晨萧峰一早便醒了，嘱咐室里队长备好马匹，照料阿紫，自己结束停当，吃了一斤羊肉，喝了三斤酒，走到山边。其时四下里尚一片黑暗，过不多时，东方曙光初现，御营中号角呜呜吹起，但听得铿铿锵锵，兵甲军刃相撞之声不绝于耳。营中一队队兵马开出，于各处冲要之处守御。萧峰居高临下地望将出去，只见东、南、东南方三面人头涌涌，尽是叛军。一阵白雾罩着远处，军阵不见尽头。 霎时间太阳于草原边上露出一弧，金光万道，射入白雾之中，浓露渐消，显出雾中也都是军马。蓦地里鼓声大作，敌阵中两队黄旗军驰了出来，跟着皇太叔和楚王乘马驰到山下，举起马鞭，向山上指点商议。 耶律洪基领着侍卫站在山边，见到这等情景，怒从心起，从侍卫手下接过弓箭，弯弓搭箭，发箭向楚王射去。从山上望将下去，似乎相隔不远，其实相距尚有数箭之地。这一箭没到半途，便力尽跌落。 楚王哈哈大笑，大声叫道：“洪基，你篡了我爹爹之位，做了这许多时候的伪君，也该让位了。你快快投诚，我爹爹便饶你一死，还假仁义地封你为皇太侄如何？哈哈哈！”这几句话，显然讽刺耶律洪基封耶律重元为皇太叔乃假仁假义。 耶律洪基大怒，骂道：“无耻叛贼，还在逞这口舌之利。” 北院枢密使叫道：“主辱臣死！主上待我等恩重如山，今日正是我等报主之时。”率领三千名亲兵，齐声发喊，从山上冲了下去。这三千人都是契丹部中的勇士，此番抱了必死之心，无不以一当十，大喊冲杀，登时将敌军冲退里许。但楚王令旗挥处，数万军马围了上来，刀矛齐施，只听得喊声震动天地，血肉横飞。三千人越战越少，斗到后来，尽数死节。北院枢密使力杀数人，自刎而死。耶律洪基、众将军大臣和萧峰等在山峰上看得明白，却无力相救，心感北院枢密使的忠义，尽皆垂泪。 楚王又驰到山边，笑道：“洪基，到底降不降？你这一点儿军马，还济得甚事？你手下这些人都是大辽勇士，又何必要他们陪你送命？是男儿汉大丈夫，爽爽快快，降就降，战就战，倘若自知气数已尽，不如自刎以谢天下，也免得多伤士卒。” 耶律洪基长叹一声，虎目含泪，擎刀在手，说道：“这锦绣江山，便让了你父子吧。你说得不错，咱们叔侄兄弟，骨肉相残，何必多伤契丹勇士的性命？”说着举起刀来，便往颈上勒去。 萧峰猿臂伸出，夺过刀子，说道：“大哥，是英雄好汉，便当死于战场，如何能自尽而死？” 洪基叹道：“兄弟，这许多将士跟随我日久，我反正是死，不忍他们尽都跟着我送了性命。” 楚王大叫：“洪基，你还不自刎，更待何时？”手中马鞭直指其面，嚣张已极。 萧峰见他越走越近，心念一动，低声道：“大哥，你跟他信口敷衍，我悄悄掩近身去，射他一箭。” 洪基知他了得，喜道：“如此甚好，若能先将他射死，我死也瞑目。”当即提高嗓子，叫道：“楚王，我待你父子不薄，你父亲要做皇帝，也无不可，何必杀伤本国这许多军士百姓，害得我辽国大伤元气？” 萧峰执了一张硬弓，十枝狼牙长箭，牵过一匹骏马，慢慢拉到山边，矮身转到马腹之下，身藏马下，双足钩住马背，手指一戳马腹，那马便冲了下去。山下叛军见一匹空马奔将下来，马背上并无骑者，只道是军马断缰奔逸，此事甚为寻常，谁也没加留神。但不久叛军军士便见到马腹之下有人，登时大呼起来。 萧峰以指尖戳马，纵马向楚王直冲过去，眼见离他约有二百步之遥，在马腹之下拉开强弓，发箭向他射去。楚王身旁卫士举起盾牌，将箭挡开。萧峰纵马疾驰，连珠箭发，第一箭射倒卫士，第二箭直射楚王胸膛。 楚王眼明手快，马鞭挥出，往箭上击来。这以鞭击箭之术，原是他拿手本领，却不知射箭之人不但膂力雄强，且箭上附有内劲，马鞭虽击到了箭杆，却只将羽箭拨得准头稍歪，噗的一声，插入他左肩。楚王叫声“啊哟！”痛得伏在鞍上。 萧峰羽箭又到，这一次相距更近，一箭从他左胁穿进，透胸而过。楚王身子一晃，从马背上溜了下来。 萧峰一举成功，心想：“我何不趁机更去射死了皇太叔！” 楚王中箭堕马，敌阵中人人大呼，几百枝羽箭都向萧峰所藏身的马匹射到，霎时之间，那马中了二百多枝羽箭，变成了一匹刺猬马。 萧峰在地下几个打滚，溜到了一名军官的坐骑之下，展开小巧绵软功夫，随即从这匹马腹底下钻到那一匹马之下，一个打滚，又钻到另一匹马底下。众官兵无法放箭，纷纷以长矛来刺。但萧峰东一钻，西一滚，尽是在马肚子底下做功夫。敌军官兵乱成一团，数千人马你推我挤，自相残踏，却哪里刺得着他？ 萧峰所使的，只不过是中原武林中平平无奇的地堂功夫。不论是地堂拳、地堂刀，还是地堂剑，都是在地下翻滚腾挪，俟机攻敌下盘。这时他用于战阵，眼明手快，躲过了千百只马蹄的践踏。他看准皇太叔的所在，直滚过去，嗖嗖嗖连珠三箭，向皇太叔射去。 皇太叔的卫士先前见楚王中箭，已然有备，三十余人各举盾牌，密密层层地挡在皇太叔身前，只听得铮铮铮三响，三枝箭都在盾牌上撞落。萧峰所携的十枝箭已射出了七枝，这时只剩下三枝，眼见敌人三十几面盾牌相互掩护，这三枝箭便要射死三名卫士也难，更不用说射皇太叔了。这时他已深入敌阵，身后数千军士挺矛追来，面前更是千军万马，实已陷入了绝境。当日他独斗中原群雄，对方不过数百人，便已凶险万分，幸得有人挥长索相救，方能脱身，今日困于数十万人的重围之中，却如何逃命？ 这当儿情急拚命，蓦地一声大吼，纵身而起，从那三十几面盾牌之上纵跃而前，当提气已尽落下时，在一人盾牌上再一蹬足，又跃了过去，终于落在皇太叔马前。皇太叔大惊，举马鞭往他脸上击落。萧峰斜身跃起，落上皇太叔的马鞍，左手抓住他后心，挺臂将他高高举起，叫道：“快叫众人放下兵刃！”皇太叔吓得呆了，说不出话来。 这时叛军中的扰攘之声震耳欲聋，成千成万的官兵弯弓搭箭，对准了萧峰，但皇太叔遭他擒获高举，谁也不敢轻举妄动。 萧峰叫道：“皇太叔有令，众三军放下兵刃，听宣圣旨。皇帝宽宏大量，已赦免皇太叔和全体叛军官兵，不论是谁，皇帝都不追究造反之罪。”他内力强劲，这几句话盖过了十余万人的喧哗纷扰，声闻数里，令得山前山后十余万官兵至少有半数人听得清清楚楚。 萧峰有过丐帮帮众背叛自己的经历，明白叛众心思，一处逆境之后，最要紧的便是求免罪，只须对方保证不追究，叛军斗志便失。此刻叛军势大，耶律洪基身边不过七八万余人马，众寡悬殊，决非叛军之敌。其时局面紧急，不及向耶律洪基请旨，便大声宣示免罪，好令叛军安心，不再顽抗。 这几句话朗朗传出，众叛军的喧哗声登时静了下来，你看看我，我看看你，人人均感惶惑无主。 萧峰情知此刻局势极是危险，叛军中只须有人呼叫不服，数十万没头苍蝇般的叛军立时就会酿成巨变，当真片刻也延缓不得，又大声叫道：“皇帝有旨：众叛军中官兵不论官职大小，一概无罪，皇帝开恩，决不追究。军官士兵各就原职，大家快快放下兵刃，不放兵刃的便即斩首！” 一片寂静之中，忽然呛啷啷、呛啷啷几声响，有几人掷下手中长矛。这掷下兵刃的声音互相感染，霎时间呛啷啷之声大作，倒有一半人掷下兵刃。余下的兀自踌躇不决。 萧峰左臂将皇太叔身子高高举起，纵马缓缓上山，众叛军谁也不敢拦阻，他马头到处，前面便让出一条空路来。 萧峰骑马来到山腰，御营中两队兵马下来迎接，山峰上奏起鼓乐。 萧峰道：“皇太叔，你快下令，叫部属放下兵刃投降，便可饶你性命。” 皇太叔颤声道：“你担保饶我性命？” 萧峰向山下望去，见无数叛军手中还执着弓箭长矛，军心未定，凶险未过，寻思：“眼下以安定军心为第一要务。皇太叔一人的生死何足道哉，只须派人严加监守，谅他以后再也不能为非作歹。”便道：“你戴罪立功，眼下正是良机。陛下明白都是你儿子不好，定可赦你性命。” 皇太叔原无争夺帝位之念，都是因他儿子楚王野心勃勃而起祸，这时他身落人手，但求免于一死，便道：“好，我依你之言便了！” 萧峰让他安坐马鞍，朗声说道：“众三军听着，皇太叔有言吩咐。” 皇太叔大声道：“楚王挑动祸乱，现已伏法。皇上宽宏大量，饶了大家的罪过。各人快快放下兵刃，向皇上请罪！” 叛军长官将他的话传了下去，皇太叔既这么说，众叛军谁也不敢违抗，但听得呛啷啷之声响成一片，众叛军都投下了兵刃。 萧峰押着皇太叔上得苍茫山来。耶律洪基喜不自胜，如在梦中，抢到萧峰身边，握着他双手，说道：“兄弟，兄弟，哥哥这江山，以后和你共享之。”说到这里，心神激荡，不由得流下泪来。 皇太叔跪伏在地，说道：“乱臣向陛下请罪，求陛下哀怜。” 耶律洪基此时心境好极，向萧峰道：“兄弟，你说该当如何？”萧峰道：“叛军人多势众，须当安定军心，求陛下赦免皇太叔死罪，好让大家放心。” 耶律洪基笑道：“很好，很好，一切依你，一切依你！”转头向北院大王道：“你传下圣旨，皇太叔免罪。封萧峰为楚王，官居南院大王，督率叛军，回归上京。” 萧峰大惊。他杀楚王，擒皇太叔，全是为了要救义兄之命，决无贪图爵禄之意，耶律洪基封他这样的大官，倒令他手足无措，一时说不出话来。北院大王向萧峰拱手道：“恭喜，恭喜！楚王的爵位向来不封外姓，萧大王快向皇上谢恩。”萧峰向耶律洪基道：“哥哥，今日之事，全仗你洪福齐天，众官兵对你输心归诚，叛乱方得平定，做兄弟的只不过出一点蛮力，实在算不得什么功劳。何况兄弟不会做官，也不愿做官，请哥哥收回成命。” 耶律洪基哈哈大笑，伸右手揽着他肩头，说道：“这楚王之封、南院大王的官位，在我辽国已是最高的爵禄。兄弟倘若还嫌不够，一定不肯臣服于我，做哥哥的除了以皇位相让，更无别法了。” 萧峰一惊，心想：“哥哥大喜之余，说话有些忘形了，眼下乱成一团，一切事情须当明快果决，不能有丝毫犹豫，我推来推去，只怕更生祸变。”只得屈膝跪下，说道：“臣萧峰领旨，多谢万岁恩典。”耶律洪基笑着双手扶起。萧峰道：“臣不敢违旨，只得领受官爵。只是草野鄙人，不明朝廷法度，若有差失，还请皇上原宥。” 洪基在他肩头轻拍几下，笑道：“决无干系！”转头向左军将军耶律莫哥道：“耶律莫哥，我任你为南院枢密使，佐辅萧大王，勾当军国重事。”耶律莫哥大喜，忙跪下谢恩，又向萧峰参拜，道：“参见大王！”洪基道：“莫哥，你禀受萧大王号令，督率叛军回归上京。咱们向皇太后请安去。” 山峰上奏起鼓乐，耶律洪基一行向山下走去。叛军的领兵将军已将皇太后、皇后等请出，恭恭敬敬地在营中安置。洪基进得帐去，母子夫妻相见，死里逃生，恍如隔世，自是人人称赞萧峰的大功。 耶律莫哥先行，引导萧峰去和南院诸部属相见。适才萧峰在千军万马中一进一出，勇不可当，众人俱是亲见。南院诸属官军虽均是楚王旧部，但一来萧峰神威凛凛，各人一见便怕，不敢不服，又都敬他英雄了得；二来自己作乱犯上，这是杀头灭族的大罪，心中都好生惶恐；三来楚王平素脾气暴躁，无恩于众，是以萧峰一到军中，众叛军肃然敬服，齐听号令。 萧峰说道：“皇上已赦免各人从逆反叛之罪，此后大伙儿该当痛改前非，再也不可稍起贰心。” 一名白须将军上前说道：“禀告大王：皇太叔和世子扣押我等家属，胁迫我等附逆，我等倘若不从，世子便将我等家属斩首，事出无奈，还祈大王奏明万岁。” 萧峰点头：“既是如此，以往之事，那也不用说了。”转头向耶律莫哥道：“众军就地休息，饱餐之后，拔营回京。” 当下南院部属一个个依着官职大小，上来参见。萧峰虽然从来没做过官，但他久为丐帮帮主，统率群豪，自有一番威严。带领丐帮豪杰和契丹大军，其间也无太大差别。只辽军中另有一套规矩，萧峰英明精干，小心在意，另由耶律莫哥分派处理，一切井井有条。
萧峰带领大军出发不久，皇太后和皇后分别派了使者，到军中赐给袍带金银。萧峰谢恩甫毕，室里护着阿紫到了。她身披锦衣，骑着骏马，说道均是皇太后所赐。萧峰见她小小身体裹在宽大的锦袍之中，一张小脸倒给衣领遮去了一半，不禁好笑。 阿紫没亲眼见到萧峰射杀楚王、生擒皇太叔，只从室里等人口中转述而知。大凡述说往事，总不免加油添酱，将萧峰的功绩更说得神乎其神，加了三分。阿紫一见到他，便埋怨道：“姊夫，你立了这样大功，怎么事先也不跟我说一声，否则我站在山边，亲眼瞧着你杀进杀出，岂不开心？这下却让我为你担心得要命。”萧峰道：“这是侥幸立下的功劳，事先我怎知道？你一见面便来说孩子话。”阿紫道：“姊夫，你过来。” 萧峰纵马驰近她身边，见她苍白的脸上发着兴奋的红光，经她身上的锦绣衣裳一衬，倒像是个玩偶娃娃一般，又滑稽，又可爱，忍不住哈哈大笑。 阿紫脸有愠色，嗔道：“我跟你说正经话，有什么好笑？”萧峰笑道：“我见你穿着这样的衣服，像是个玩偶娃娃一般，很是有趣。”阿紫嗔道：“你老当我是小孩子，却来取笑我。”萧峰笑道：“不是，不是！阿紫，这一次我只道咱二人都要死了，哪知竟能死里逃生，我自然欢喜。什么南院大王、楚王的封爵，我才不放在心上，能够活着不死，那就好得很了。” 阿紫道：“姊夫，
Liao's military and state affairs are now divided between the North and the South.This time, the King of the North Court went hunting with the emperor, while the King of the South Court stayed in Beijing.Yelu Nielugu, the Great King of the Southern Court, was named the King of Chu, but he himself was fine. His father, Yelu Chongyuan, is now the emperor's uncle, and he was officially named the Grand Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses, but it is no small matter.Originally, the Liao Kingdom used to rule the army in the north and the people in the south, but the emperor's grand uncle respected authority and managed both military affairs and civil affairs. Yelu Hongji's grandfather, Yelu Longxu, was called Shengzong in Liao history.Zongzhen, the eldest son of Shengzong, and Chongyuan, the second son.Zongzhen is kind and generous, while Chongyuan is very brave.When Shengzong died, the eldest son Zongzhen passed on the will, but the queen of Shengzong loved the second son and conspired to establish Chongyuan as emperor.As usual in the Liao Kingdom, the empress dowager had great power, and at that time Zongzhen's throne was in jeopardy, and his life was in danger.But Zhongyuan told his elder brother about his mother's plan, and Zongzhen deployed it early, so that the empress dowager's plot failed.Zongzhen was very grateful to this brother, and made him the emperor's younger brother, declaring that he would pass on to him in the future as a reward for his kindness. Yeluzong was called Xingzong in the history of Zhenliao, but after his death, the throne was not passed on to the emperor's younger brother Chongyuan, but to his son Hongji. After Yelu Hongji took over the throne, he felt very sorry, and made Chongyuan the emperor's uncle, which showed that he was still the crown prince of the Daliao Kingdom. , two-color robe, respected and favored, the first in the dynasty; he also made his son Nerugu the king of Chu, in charge of the military and political affairs of the South Court, and was called the King of the South Court. Back then Yelu Zhongyuan could be the emperor, but he gave it up to his elder brother, which shows that he valued loyalty and was very retiring.Yelu Hongji went north to hunt in a big way, and entrusted all important military and state affairs in Beijing to the emperor's uncle, without any suspicion.At this time, the news came that it was Yelu Nerugu, the great king of the Southern Court who conspired against him. Yelu Hongji was unavoidably shocked and worried. He knew that Nerugu had a vicious temper and was ruthless in dealing with things. The principle of hand. The King of the North Court said: "Your Majesty, let me be lenient. I think the Emperor Taishu understands the situation and will not allow his rebellious son to rebel and commit crimes. Maybe he has already led troops to quell the chaos at this moment." Yelu Hongji said: "I hope so." After everyone had dinner, the second batch of newspapers rushed to report: "The Great King of the Southern Court established the emperor's uncle as the emperor, and he has issued an edict to the world." He did not dare to say the following words, and offered the new emperor's edict with both hands.Hongji took it and took a look, and saw that the edict denounced Yelu Hongji as a usurper and a false emperor, saying that the first emperor made Yelu Chongyuan the emperor's younger brother. It was well known in the world that the late emperor passed away. They were all angry, and now the emperor's younger brother is on the throne, and he supervises and leads the army and horses of the world. Yelu Hongji was furious. He threw the edict into the fire and burned it to ashes. He was anxious and thought: "This false edict is plausible. After reading it, the soldiers and people of the Liao Kingdom will probably be overwhelmed. Marshal of the army and horses in the world, with military talismans in his hands, he can mobilize more than 800,000 soldiers and horses, not to mention the soldiers and horses under the jurisdiction of his son Chuwang Nanyuan. I have only more than 100,000 people driving here, and I am outnumbered. What should I do?" I tossed and turned all night and couldn't sleep well. Xiao Feng heard that Emperor Liao wanted to make him an official, originally he wanted to take Ah Zi with him, and left without saying goodbye in the dark, seeing his brother-in-law was in danger, it was inconvenient to just leave, at least he had to do his best for him, and the marriage was not in vain field.That night when he was strolling outside the camp, he could only hear the officers and soldiers talking quietly, saying that his parents and wife were both in the capital, so they were all detained by the emperor's uncle, fearing that their lives might be lost.Some thought of their family members and couldn't help crying.The cry touched people's hearts, and the rest of the officers and soldiers in the battalion were in the same situation and cried one after another.Although the commanding officers tried their best to stop them and cut off a few of them who were crying loudly, they couldn't stop them. Yelu Hongji heard the crying loudly, and knew that the army's morale was weakened, which made him even more troubled. Early the next morning, the spies came to report that the emperor's uncle and the king of Chu led more than 500,000 soldiers and horses, and they came from the north to commit crimes.Hong Ji pondered: "Today's matter, there is no retreat, even if the army is defeated, there is only a fight to the death." Immediately convened a hundred officials to discuss.All the ministers are extremely loyal to Yelu Hongji and are willing to fight to the death, but they are all worried about the morale of the army. Yelu Hongji issued an order: "All the officers and soldiers will fight against the rebels. After the disaster is over, in addition to being promoted, they will be rewarded more." Putting on the golden armor, he personally led the three armies to meet the emperor's uncle's army and horses.When all the officers and soldiers saw that the emperor came to the front enemy in person, they were so courageous that they shouted long live and pledged their allegiance to the death.More than 100,000 soldiers and horses were divided into four groups: the front army, the left army, the right army, and the middle army. With his bow and spear drawn, Xiao Feng followed Yelu Hongji as his personal bodyguard.He leads the green-robed soldiers in the room, plus a group of flying bear soldiers to protect Ah Zi, and stay in the rear.Xiao Feng saw Yelu Hongji frowning deeply, he knew that he was not sure about this battle. At noon, I suddenly heard the sound of horns in front of me.The general of the Chinese army issued an order: "Get off your horse!" All the cavalry jumped off their horses, led the reins and walked on foot, only Yelu Hongji and other ministers were still on the horses. Xiao Feng didn't understand why the cavalry got off their horses, he was quite puzzled.Hong Ji said with a smile: "Brother, you have been in the Central Plains for a long time, so you don't know how the Khitan people march and fight?" Xiao Feng said: "I just want to ask Your Majesty for advice." Hong Ji said with a smile: "Hey, my Majesty, I wonder if I can The sun goes down today. You and I are brothers, so why call him Your Majesty?" Xiao Feng heard the bitterness in his laughter, and said, "Your Majesty don't need to worry if the two armies have not handed over." Hong Ji said: "On the plain In a confrontation, the most important thing is the horsepower, and the manpower is second." Xiao Feng suddenly realized, and said: "Ah, yes! The reason for the cavalry to dismount is to avoid the fatigue of the mount." Hong Ji nodded, and said: "With enough horsepower, when facing the enemy If you charge forward, you will be able to move forward. The Khitan people have conquered east and west, and they are victorious in every battle. This is a very important secret." When he said this, dust heads rose up in the distance in front of him, rising more than ten feet high, like yellow clouds pouring over the ground.Hongji pointed his horsewhip, and said: "Both Emperor Taishu and the King of Chu have been in battle for a long time, and they are the brave generals of our Liao Kingdom. Why did they rush in without horsepower? Well, they have nothing to worry about, and they are confident that they will win. Before he finished speaking, the left and right soldiers sounded their horns at the same time.Xiao Feng looked far into the distance, he saw that the enemy had two army horses to the east and two army horses to the west, it was a siege of five enemies to one. Yelu Hongji's face changed color, and he issued an order: "Form an array and set up a stronghold!" The general of the central army rode out and gave the order, and immediately the front army, the left army, and the right army all turned back, and a group of soldiers sent dozens of soldiers. The big wooden pillar was nailed into the ground with a big iron hammer, the leather tent was opened, and antlers were erected around it. In a short while, a huge wooden city was formed on the grassland. After hiding in the big tree, he tightened the bowstring, only waiting to shoot the arrow. Xiao Feng frowned, thinking: "After this great battle, no matter who wins or loses, countless Khitan members of my family will have their corpses scattered all over the place. The best thing is of course that my brother-in-law wins. If unfortunately I lose, I will try to get rid of it." Brother Yi and Ah Zi were rescued to a safe place. As the emperor, he can do whatever he wants." Not long after the Liao Emperor's camp was established, the vanguard of the rebel army arrived, but they did not step forward to challenge.But when the sound of drums and horns continued, teams of rebels surrounded them, forming formations from all directions.Xiao Feng looked around, but he saw enemy troops all over the field, he couldn't see the end, he thought: "Brother Yi's army is too far away, outnumbered, I'm afraid he must lose. It's not easy to break out and escape during the day, as long as I support him until the night, I can try to rescue him "But I saw the shadow of the big trees in the camp briefly reflected on the ground, and the sun was in the sky, it was not long after noon. Only a few yells were heard, and a group of wild geese flew across the sky in formation.Hong Ji raised his head and stared at it for a while, then said with a wry smile, "Unless you turn into a wild goose, it's hard to fly." The king of the North Court and the general of the Chinese army looked at each other and their faces changed, knowing that the emperor was timid after seeing the appearance of the rebel army. Drums were beating in the enemy's formation, and hundreds of skin drums rang loudly.The general of the Chinese army shouted loudly: "Drumming!" Hundreds of drums in the imperial camp also sounded.Suddenly, the sound of drums in the army on the opposite side stopped, and the shouts of tens of thousands of cavalry shook the world, and they rushed forward with spears. Seeing the enemy's forwards approaching, the general of the Chinese army waved his flag downward, the sound of drums in the imperial camp stopped immediately, tens of thousands of feathered arrows were shot, and the enemy's forwards fell to the ground one after another.However, the enemy army rushed forward one after another, and the fallen army and horses in front became the shields of the rear army.The enemy infantry archers rushed forward with shields to protect themselves, and shot arrows at the imperial camp. Yelu Hongji was quite frightened at the beginning, but when he came to the battle, he became more courageous, stood on a high place, held a long knife, and gave orders.Seeing the emperor personally supervising the battle, the soldiers of the imperial camp shouted: "Long live! Long live! Long live!" Hearing the sound of "Long live", the enemy army looked up and saw Yelu Hongji standing on a high platform in the imperial camp, in yellow robe and gold armor, Under his prestige, he couldn't help hesitating.Seeing a good opportunity, Hong Ji shouted: "The cavalry of the left army outflanks, go!" The left army was led by the privy envoy of the North Court. Upon hearing the emperor's order, 30,000 cavalry surrounded them from the side.As soon as the rebels hesitated, the army and horses of the imperial battalion had already rushed over.The rebels were in chaos and retreated one after another.Drums and thunder were heard in the imperial camp, and the rebels retreated as soon as they fought.The army and horses of the imperial battalion chased forward with great momentum. Xiao Feng was overjoyed and shouted: "Brother, this time we have won a big victory!" Yelu Hongji stepped down from the stage, stepped on his horse, and led the army to help.Suddenly the horn sounded, the main force of the rebel army arrived, and the rebel forward turned back to fight again. In an instant, feather arrows and spears were flying back and forth in the air, the sound of killing was loud, and flesh and blood flew everywhere.Xiao Feng was only secretly startled: "I have never seen such a fierce fight in my life. You can let your martial arts be invincible in the world by yourself, but it is useless in the midst of thousands of troops. At most, you can only protect your own life. Compared with the group fights in the martial arts world, this kind of battle between armies is insignificant." Suddenly I heard the loud sound of gongs behind the rebels' formation, and they called gold to withdraw their troops.The rebel cavalry retreated, and arrows rained down, shooting their positions.The general of the Chinese army and the privy envoy of the North Court led the army to charge three times in a row, but they couldn't disrupt the opponent's formation, but shot and killed more than a thousand soldiers.Yelu Hongji ordered: "There are too many casualties, so we will withdraw for now." The imperial camp also called for gold to withdraw. The rebels sent two teams of cavalry to attack. The Chinese army was already prepared and pretended to be defeated. The two wings encircled and wiped out all 3,000 officers and soldiers of the two teams of rebels. The remaining hundreds dismounted and surrendered.With a wave of Yelu Hongji's left hand, the imperial sergeant swung his spear away, stabbing hundreds of people to death.This vicious fight lasted less than an hour, but the killing was extremely brutal. The main forces of both sides retreated several tens of feet, the open space in the middle was covered with corpses, the wounded moaned and wailed, it was unbearable to hear.I saw a group of 300 black-clothed soldiers on each side of the formation, the imperial battalion wore yellow caps, and the enemy soldiers wore white caps, going to the middle area to inspect the wounded.Xiao Feng only thought that these people were carrying the wounded back for treatment, but he didn't know that these black-clothed officers and soldiers drew out their long knives and hacked each other's wounded soldiers to death one by one.After all the wounded were hacked to death, six hundred people shouted in unison and fought fiercely with each other. The 600 black-clothed soldiers are not weak in martial arts, their long knives flashing, and they fight bravely.Not long after, more than two hundred people were cut down to the ground.The yellow-capped and black-clothed soldiers of the imperial camp were relatively strong in martial arts, and only a few dozen were hacked to death. It immediately became a situation of two or three fighting with one man.After fighting for a while, it became three or four people fighting with one person.But officers and soldiers on both sides only shouted and cheered, while hundreds of thousands of rebels stood by and did not send more troops to rescue.Finally, all 300 white-capped and black-clothed soldiers of the rebel army were wiped out, and about 200 black-clothed soldiers from the imperial battalion returned to the formation.Xiao Feng thought to himself: "I think the rules of the Liao people are like this." Although the scale of this vicious fight to clean up the battlefield is not as large as before, it is still more thrilling. Yelu Hongji held up his long sword and shouted loudly: "Although there are many rebels, they have no fighting spirit. One more battle and they will be defeated!" The officers and soldiers of the imperial camp shouted together: "Long live, long live, long live!" Suddenly they heard horns blowing from the rebel formation, five horsemen came out slowly, one of them held a sheepskin in both hands, and read aloud, what he read was the imperial edict promulgated by the emperor's uncle: "Yelu Hongji usurped the throne, it was Hypocrites, the Emperor Taishu is right now, and all loyal officers and soldiers of our Liao Kingdom must return to Beijing immediately and return to serve, and they will all be promoted to three ranks." More than a dozen archers in the imperial camp fired arrows, swishing, and shot at the man. shoot.The four people around the man raised their shields to protect each other. The man continued to chant, and suddenly five horses were shot down. The five people hid behind the shields, and finally finished reading the imperial uncle's "edict" and turned to leave. The king of the North Court saw that the officers and soldiers of his subordinates were moved after hearing the false edict, and shouted: "Go out and scold!" Thirty officers and soldiers stepped forward for more than ten feet.Twenty officers and soldiers held up shields to protect them, and the other ten were "swearers", with loud voices and thick throats, and articulate. The first "swearer" cursed, "Traitors, traitors, there is no place to die" Wait, follow the second "swearer" and curse again, until the end of the curse, it is full of all kinds of swear words.Xiao Feng's knowledge of Khitan language is limited, he doesn't understand most of these "swearers" words, but Yelu Hongji nodded repeatedly, expressing his approval, these "swearers" scolded really wonderfully. Xiao Feng looked into the enemy formation, he saw in the distance covered by a large yellow banner, there were two people riding on horses, pointing with whips in their hands.One is wearing a yellow robe, a sky-high crown, and a long gray beard under his chin. The other is wearing a golden armor, with a thin face and a fierce expression.Xiao Feng pondered: "Look at this appearance, these two people are Huang Taishu and Prince Chu father and son." All of a sudden, the ten "swearers" discussed in low voices for a while, and they all amplified their throats, revealing the secrets of the emperor's uncle and the king of Chu.Uncle Huang seems to be upright and has nothing to scold. The scolding of the ten people is mainly aimed at the King of Chu, saying that he raped his father and concubine and did evil by taking advantage of his father's power.These words were obviously trying to provoke his father and son's feelings, ten people shouted in unison, the curse words were the same, the sound was transmitted for several miles, hundreds of thousands of soldiers could hear quite a few clearly. The king of Chu waved his whip, and the rebels made a loud noise in unison, most of them shouted and shouted, and immediately drowned out the scolding of ten people. After a while of chaos, the enemy army suddenly separated and pushed out dozens of vehicles. Before they came to the imperial camp, the vehicles stopped, and the sergeants with them pulled out dozens of women from the vehicles, some with white hair, some young , the clothes are very luxurious.As soon as these women got out of the car, the cursing from both sides stopped immediately. Hong Ji yelled: "Mother, mother! My son caught the traitor, cut his body into pieces, and vented his anger on your old man." The white-haired old woman is the current Empress Dowager, Yelu Hongji's mother, Empress Dowager Xiao, and the rest are Empress Xiao, concubines and princesses.Uncle Huang and the King of Chu took advantage of Yelu Hongji's outing to hunt, surrounded the Forbidden Palace, and captured the Empress Dowager and others. The empress dowager said loudly: "Your Majesty, don't think of the old woman, his wife and children, and do your best to destroy bandits and thieves!" Dozens of soldiers drew out their long knives and put them on the necks of all the concubines.The young concubine cried out in panic. Hong Ji was furious, and shouted: "Shoot all the crying women to death!" There was a swishing sound, more than ten feathered arrows shot out, and the crying concubines were shot to death one after another. The queen shouted: "Your Majesty shot well, shot well! The foundation of our ancestors must not be destroyed in the hands of traitors." Seeing that the empress dowager and empress were so stubborn, the king of Chu not only failed to intimidate Yelu Hongji, but also shook the morale of his own army. Push into the car and push to the back of the formation.The king of Chu ordered: "Take the family members of the enemy army into battle!" Suddenly, the bamboo whistle was blowing, the sound was desolate, the army and horses separated to the two sides, the iron chains rattled endlessly, and rows of men, women, old and young were led out from behind the formation.In an instant, there were two bursts of crying.It turned out that these people were the family members of the officers and soldiers of the imperial camp.The officers and soldiers of the imperial battalion were the pro-army of the Liao Emperor. Yelu Hongji gave him special treatment and allowed his family members to live in Shangjing. When the teacher went out to fight, he didn't dare to be rebellious, but this time he went hunting, he turned his elbow and armpit.There are no less than two hundred thousand family members of the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Battalion, and only twenty to thirty thousand people were sent to the front of the battle. Many of them were caught indiscriminately and wrongly caught. group. A general under the command of the King of Chu galloped out of the battle and shouted loudly: "Listen, all the officers and soldiers of the imperial camp: You and your family have been arrested, and those who surrendered will be reunited with their families, and they will be promoted to three ranks, and there will be rewards. If you don't Surrender, the new emperor has an order to kill all family members together." Khitan people are always cruel and easy to kill, saying "kill all together", it is definitely not a threatening word, they really want to kill all together.Some officers and soldiers in the imperial camp have already recognized their relatives, "Father, mother, child, husband, wife!" The voices of calling from the two groups rang together. Drums sounded in the rebel army, and two thousand swordsmen strode out, their swords shining brightly.As soon as the drumbeat stopped, the two thousand swords were lifted up and aimed at the heads of the family members.The general shouted: "Surrender to the new emperor, there will be a lot of rewards, if you don't surrender, all the family members will be killed together!" He waved his left hand, and the drum sounded again. The soldiers of the imperial camp knew that he waved his left hand again, the drum beat stopped, and the two thousand shining swords were chopped down.These relatives have always been loyal to Yelu Hongji, the emperor's uncle and the king of Chu offered "promotion" and "big reward" to recruit each other, it was hard to seduce, but seeing his parents and children waiting to be killed, how could he not be surprised? The drums were rumbling continuously, and the hearts of the officers and soldiers of the imperial camp were also beating rapidly.Suddenly, someone in the imperial camp shouted: "Mom, mother, you can't kill my mother!" He dropped his spear and ran towards an old woman in front of the enemy line. Following that, an arrow shot out from the imperial camp and hit the man's back heart.The man didn't die for a while, and crawled towards his mother.Only the cries of "Father, Mother, Baby" could be heard, and hundreds of people in the imperial camp rushed out one after another.Yelu Hongji's trusted general drew his sword and slashed wildly, but how could he stop?As soon as these hundreds of people rushed out, thousands followed.After thousands of people, there was a great chaos, and out of the 150,000 pro-army, 60,000 to 70,000 people rushed away. Yelu Hongji let out a long sigh, knowing that the general situation was over, he took advantage of his relatives and family members to recognize each other with their heads in their arms, forming a chaotic mess, separating the rebels from the middle, and immediately ordered: "Retreat to Cangmang Mountain in the northwest." The general of the Chinese army quietly An order was issued, and there were still more than 80,000 people who had not surrendered. The rear army turned into the front army and galloped northwest. The king of Chu ordered his cavalry to chase after him, but the battlefield was full of old and weak women and children, and the cavalry could not gallop away. They had to push the crowd away, and Yelu Hongji had already led the imperial army far away. More than 80,000 relatives rushed to the foot of Cangmang Mountain, it was dusk, all the soldiers were hungry and tired, rushed to build a camp on the hillside, condescending, set up an array to defend.As soon as the camp was set up, the king of Chu rushed to the foot of the mountain with his elite before cooking, and immediately charged towards the hillside.The soldiers of the Imperial Battalion sent arrows and stones like rain, repelling the rebels.Seeing that the upward attack was not good, the Chu army immediately withdrew their troops and set up camp at the foot of the mountain.
That night, Yelu Hongji stood beside the cliff, looking south.However, the campfire in the rebel camp was like stars, and three fire dragons meandered in the distance, but it was the follow-up troops of the rebel army who came to participate in the siege.Hong Ji felt sad and was about to enter the account when the Privy Councilor of the North Court came to report: "The 15,000 soldiers and horses under my subordinates rushed down the mountain to join the rebellion. I have no way to govern the army, and I deserve death." Hong Ji Ji waved his hand, shook his head and said, "It's not your fault, go down and rest!" He turned his head and saw Xiao Feng staring into the distance, he said: "As soon as dawn comes, the rebels will attack in a large scale, and I will be captured for the rest of my life. I am the king, I cannot be humiliated by traitors, I should kill myself to repay the country. Brother, you rushed out by yourself in the night. You are very skilled in martial arts, and the rebels can't stop you." Speaking of this, he looked sad, and said: "I wanted to give you a lot of wealth, but I didn't know that as an older brother If you can't protect yourself, you will be tired." Xiao Feng said: "Brother, a man can bend and stretch, today's battle is unfavorable, I will guarantee you to retreat, recruit the old troops, Xu Tu will do it again." Hong Ji shook his head and said: "I can't even protect my mother and wife, so how can I be a man? In the eyes of the Khitan people, the winner is a hero, and the loser is guilty. How can I get better after a complete defeat? Go yourself!" Knowing that what he said was the truth, Xiao Feng said with emotion: "Since that is the case, then I will accompany my brother and fight the rebels to the death tomorrow. You and I are bound together in Jinlan, whether you are the emperor or a commoner, Xiao will be the one You are a righteous brother. Brother is in trouble, and a brother should live and die with you, how can you run away by yourself?" With tears in his eyes, Hong Ji held his hands and said, "My dear brother, thank you very much." Xiao Feng returned to the tent, he saw Ah Zi curled up in a corner of the tent, with big round eyes open, still awake.AhZi asked: "Brother-in-law, do you blame me?" Xiao Feng wondered: "What are you blaming?" AhZi said: "It's all my fault, if it wasn't for the fact that I decided to go to the prairie to play, I wouldn't have Will get you stuck here. Brother-in-law, we're going to die here, aren't we?" The red light from the torches outside the tent reflected on her face, a blush appeared in her pale complexion, making her look even more petite and immature.Xiao Feng felt pity in his heart, and said softly: "How could I blame you? If I hadn't injured you, we wouldn't have come here." Ah Zi smiled slightly, and said: "If I hadn't shot poison at you Needle, you won't hurt me." Xiao Feng stretched out his big hand and stroked her hair.Besides AhZi's serious injury, most of her hair fell out, it was yellow and thin.Xiao Feng sighed lightly, and said: "You are young, but you suffer with me." Ah Zi said: "Brother-in-law. I didn't understand why my sister likes you so much, but I finally understood." Xiao Feng thought to himself: "Your sister treats me with infinite affection, what do you little girl know. In fact, I don't even understand why Ah Zhu fell in love with a rude man like me, so how can you know?" Thinking of this , shaking his head sadly. AhZi turned her head and said, "Because you treat others wholeheartedly, so I like you like an older sister." After a pause, she continued: "Brother-in-law, did you guess why I asked you that day?" Shooting poisonous needles? I don't want to shoot you to death, I just want you to be immobile and let me serve you." Xiao Feng wondered, "Why?" Ah Zi smiled and said, "If you can't move, you will never be able to leave me. Otherwise, you will look down on me in your heart, and leave me at any time and ignore me." Xiao Feng heard that although what she said was childish, he knew it wasn't just nonsense, he couldn't help being startled secretly, and thought: "Anyway, everyone will die tomorrow, so it's enough to comfort her." He said: "You really like to follow me, Even if you tell me yes, I won't refuse." Azi's eyes suddenly shone brightly, and she said happily: "Brother-in-law, after I recover from my injury, I will still follow you and never go back to Master Xingxiu School. Don't leave me alone." Xiao Feng knew that the troubles she caused in Xingxiu Sect were really not small, he expected that she would not dare to go back, he said with a smile: "You are the elder sister of Xingxiu Sect, if you don't go back, there will be no leader in the group, so what should I do?" AZi Gege With a smile, he said: "Let them go and make a mess. I don't care about it!" 她低头沉思，突然一本正经地道：“姊夫，我不是怕回去受师父责罚，他最多不过杀了我，杀就好了。我是舍不得离开你，我要永永远远陪在你身边。在你心里，将来也要像爱惜阿朱那样爱惜我。”萧峰知道这也是孩子话，况且明天陪着义兄死了，又有什么将来，此时不忍拂她心意，便点了点头。阿紫双目登时灿然生光，欢喜无限。 萧峰拉上毛毡，盖到她颈下，替她轻轻拢好，轻拍她背脊，哄她安睡。展开毛毡，自行在营帐的另一角睡下。帐外火光时明时灭，闪烁不定，但听得哭声隐隐，知是御营官兵思念家人，大家均知明晨这一仗性命难保，不过各人忠于皇上，不肯背叛。
次晨萧峰一早便醒了，嘱咐室里队长备好马匹，照料阿紫，自己结束停当，吃了一斤羊肉，喝了三斤酒，走到山边。其时四下里尚一片黑暗，过不多时，东方曙光初现，御营中号角呜呜吹起，但听得铿铿锵锵，兵甲军刃相撞之声不绝于耳。营中一队队兵马开出，于各处冲要之处守御。萧峰居高临下地望将出去，只见东、南、东南方三面人头涌涌，尽是叛军。一阵白雾罩着远处，军阵不见尽头。 霎时间太阳于草原边上露出一弧，金光万道，射入白雾之中，浓露渐消，显出雾中也都是军马。蓦地里鼓声大作，敌阵中两队黄旗军驰了出来，跟着皇太叔和楚王乘马驰到山下，举起马鞭，向山上指点商议。 耶律洪基领着侍卫站在山边，见到这等情景，怒从心起，从侍卫手下接过弓箭，弯弓搭箭，发箭向楚王射去。从山上望将下去，似乎相隔不远，其实相距尚有数箭之地。这一箭没到半途，便力尽跌落。 楚王哈哈大笑，大声叫道：“洪基，你篡了我爹爹之位，做了这许多时候的伪君，也该让位了。你快快投诚，我爹爹便饶你一死，还假仁义地封你为皇太侄如何？哈哈哈！”这几句话，显然讽刺耶律洪基封耶律重元为皇太叔乃假仁假义。 耶律洪基大怒，骂道：“无耻叛贼，还在逞这口舌之利。” 北院枢密使叫道：“主辱臣死！主上待我等恩重如山，今日正是我等报主之时。”率领三千名亲兵，齐声发喊，从山上冲了下去。这三千人都是契丹部中的勇士，此番抱了必死之心，无不以一当十，大喊冲杀，登时将敌军冲退里许。但楚王令旗挥处，数万军马围了上来，刀矛齐施，只听得喊声震动天地，血肉横飞。三千人越战越少，斗到后来，尽数死节。北院枢密使力杀数人，自刎而死。耶律洪基、众将军大臣和萧峰等在山峰上看得明白，却无力相救，心感北院枢密使的忠义，尽皆垂泪。 楚王又驰到山边，笑道：“洪基，到底降不降？你这一点儿军马，还济得甚事？你手下这些人都是大辽勇士，又何必要他们陪你送命？是男儿汉大丈夫，爽爽快快，降就降，战就战，倘若自知气数已尽，不如自刎以谢天下，也免得多伤士卒。” 耶律洪基长叹一声，虎目含泪，擎刀在手，说道：“这锦绣江山，便让了你父子吧。你说得不错，咱们叔侄兄弟，骨肉相残，何必多伤契丹勇士的性命？”说着举起刀来，便往颈上勒去。 萧峰猿臂伸出，夺过刀子，说道：“大哥，是英雄好汉，便当死于战场，如何能自尽而死？” 洪基叹道：“兄弟，这许多将士跟随我日久，我反正是死，不忍他们尽都跟着我送了性命。” 楚王大叫：“洪基，你还不自刎，更待何时？”手中马鞭直指其面，嚣张已极。 萧峰见他越走越近，心念一动，低声道：“大哥，你跟他信口敷衍，我悄悄掩近身去，射他一箭。” 洪基知他了得，喜道：“如此甚好，若能先将他射死，我死也瞑目。”当即提高嗓子，叫道：“楚王，我待你父子不薄，你父亲要做皇帝，也无不可，何必杀伤本国这许多军士百姓，害得我辽国大伤元气？” 萧峰执了一张硬弓，十枝狼牙长箭，牵过一匹骏马，慢慢拉到山边，矮身转到马腹之下，身藏马下，双足钩住马背，手指一戳马腹，那马便冲了下去。山下叛军见一匹空马奔将下来，马背上并无骑者，只道是军马断缰奔逸，此事甚为寻常，谁也没加留神。但不久叛军军士便见到马腹之下有人，登时大呼起来。 萧峰以指尖戳马，纵马向楚王直冲过去，眼见离他约有二百步之遥，在马腹之下拉开强弓，发箭向他射去。楚王身旁卫士举起盾牌，将箭挡开。萧峰纵马疾驰，连珠箭发，第一箭射倒卫士，第二箭直射楚王胸膛。 楚王眼明手快，马鞭挥出，往箭上击来。这以鞭击箭之术，原是他拿手本领，却不知射箭之人不但膂力雄强，且箭上附有内劲，马鞭虽击到了箭杆，却只将羽箭拨得准头稍歪，噗的一声，插入他左肩。楚王叫声“啊哟！”痛得伏在鞍上。 萧峰羽箭又到，这一次相距更近，一箭从他左胁穿进，透胸而过。楚王身子一晃，从马背上溜了下来。 萧峰一举成功，心想：“我何不趁机更去射死了皇太叔！” 楚王中箭堕马，敌阵中人人大呼，几百枝羽箭都向萧峰所藏身的马匹射到，霎时之间，那马中了二百多枝羽箭，变成了一匹刺猬马。 萧峰在地下几个打滚，溜到了一名军官的坐骑之下，展开小巧绵软功夫，随即从这匹马腹底下钻到那一匹马之下，一个打滚，又钻到另一匹马底下。众官兵无法放箭，纷纷以长矛来刺。但萧峰东一钻，西一滚，尽是在马肚子底下做功夫。敌军官兵乱成一团，数千人马你推我挤，自相残踏，却哪里刺得着他？ 萧峰所使的，只不过是中原武林中平平无奇的地堂功夫。不论是地堂拳、地堂刀，还是地堂剑，都是在地下翻滚腾挪，俟机攻敌下盘。这时他用于战阵，眼明手快，躲过了千百只马蹄的践踏。他看准皇太叔的所在，直滚过去，嗖嗖嗖连珠三箭，向皇太叔射去。 皇太叔的卫士先前见楚王中箭，已然有备，三十余人各举盾牌，密密层层地挡在皇太叔身前，只听得铮铮铮三响，三枝箭都在盾牌上撞落。萧峰所携的十枝箭已射出了七枝，这时只剩下三枝，眼见敌人三十几面盾牌相互掩护，这三枝箭便要射死三名卫士也难，更不用说射皇太叔了。这时他已深入敌阵，身后数千军士挺矛追来，面前更是千军万马，实已陷入了绝境。当日他独斗中原群雄，对方不过数百人，便已凶险万分，幸得有人挥长索相救，方能脱身，今日困于数十万人的重围之中，却如何逃命？ 这当儿情急拚命，蓦地一声大吼，纵身而起，从那三十几面盾牌之上纵跃而前，当提气已尽落下时，在一人盾牌上再一蹬足，又跃了过去，终于落在皇太叔马前。皇太叔大惊，举马鞭往他脸上击落。萧峰斜身跃起，落上皇太叔的马鞍，左手抓住他后心，挺臂将他高高举起，叫道：“快叫众人放下兵刃！”皇太叔吓得呆了，说不出话来。 这时叛军中的扰攘之声震耳欲聋，成千成万的官兵弯弓搭箭，对准了萧峰，但皇太叔遭他擒获高举，谁也不敢轻举妄动。 萧峰叫道：“皇太叔有令，众三军放下兵刃，听宣圣旨。皇帝宽宏大量，已赦免皇太叔和全体叛军官兵，不论是谁，皇帝都不追究造反之罪。”他内力强劲，这几句话盖过了十余万人的喧哗纷扰，声闻数里，令得山前山后十余万官兵至少有半数人听得清清楚楚。 萧峰有过丐帮帮众背叛自己的经历，明白叛众心思，一处逆境之后，最要紧的便是求免罪，只须对方保证不追究，叛军斗志便失。此刻叛军势大，耶律洪基身边不过七八万余人马，众寡悬殊，决非叛军之敌。其时局面紧急，不及向耶律洪基请旨，便大声宣示免罪，好令叛军安心，不再顽抗。 这几句话朗朗传出，众叛军的喧哗声登时静了下来，你看看我，我看看你，人人均感惶惑无主。 萧峰情知此刻局势极是危险，叛军中只须有人呼叫不服，数十万没头苍蝇般的叛军立时就会酿成巨变，当真片刻也延缓不得，又大声叫道：“皇帝有旨：众叛军中官兵不论官职大小，一概无罪，皇帝开恩，决不追究。军官士兵各就原职，大家快快放下兵刃，不放兵刃的便即斩首！” 一片寂静之中，忽然呛啷啷、呛啷啷几声响，有几人掷下手中长矛。这掷下兵刃的声音互相感染，霎时间呛啷啷之声大作，倒有一半人掷下兵刃。余下的兀自踌躇不决。 萧峰左臂将皇太叔身子高高举起，纵马缓缓上山，众叛军谁也不敢拦阻，他马头到处，前面便让出一条空路来。 萧峰骑马来到山腰，御营中两队兵马下来迎接，山峰上奏起鼓乐。 萧峰道：“皇太叔，你快下令，叫部属放下兵刃投降，便可饶你性命。” 皇太叔颤声道：“你担保饶我性命？” 萧峰向山下望去，见无数叛军手中还执着弓箭长矛，军心未定，凶险未过，寻思：“眼下以安定军心为第一要务。皇太叔一人的生死何足道哉，只须派人严加监守，谅他以后再也不能为非作歹。”便道：“你戴罪立功，眼下正是良机。陛下明白都是你儿子不好，定可赦你性命。” 皇太叔原无争夺帝位之念，都是因他儿子楚王野心勃勃而起祸，这时他身落人手，但求免于一死，便道：“好，我依你之言便了！” 萧峰让他安坐马鞍，朗声说道：“众三军听着，皇太叔有言吩咐。” 皇太叔大声道：“楚王挑动祸乱，现已伏法。皇上宽宏大量，饶了大家的罪过。各人快快放下兵刃，向皇上请罪！” 叛军长官将他的话传了下去，皇太叔既这么说，众叛军谁也不敢违抗，但听得呛啷啷之声响成一片，众叛军都投下了兵刃。 萧峰押着皇太叔上得苍茫山来。耶律洪基喜不自胜，如在梦中，抢到萧峰身边，握着他双手，说道：“兄弟，兄弟，哥哥这江山，以后和你共享之。”说到这里，心神激荡，不由得流下泪来。 皇太叔跪伏在地，说道：“乱臣向陛下请罪，求陛下哀怜。” 耶律洪基此时心境好极，向萧峰道：“兄弟，你说该当如何？”萧峰道：“叛军人多势众，须当安定军心，求陛下赦免皇太叔死罪，好让大家放心。” 耶律洪基笑道：“很好，很好，一切依你，一切依你！”转头向北院大王道：“你传下圣旨，皇太叔免罪。封萧峰为楚王，官居南院大王，督率叛军，回归上京。” 萧峰大惊。他杀楚王，擒皇太叔，全是为了要救义兄之命，决无贪图爵禄之意，耶律洪基封他这样的大官，倒令他手足无措，一时说不出话来。北院大王向萧峰拱手道：“恭喜，恭喜！楚王的爵位向来不封外姓，萧大王快向皇上谢恩。”萧峰向耶律洪基道：“哥哥，今日之事，全仗你洪福齐天，众官兵对你输心归诚，叛乱方得平定，做兄弟的只不过出一点蛮力，实在算不得什么功劳。何况兄弟不会做官，也不愿做官，请哥哥收回成命。” 耶律洪基哈哈大笑，伸右手揽着他肩头，说道：“这楚王之封、南院大王的官位，在我辽国已是最高的爵禄。兄弟倘若还嫌不够，一定不肯臣服于我，做哥哥的除了以皇位相让，更无别法了。” 萧峰一惊，心想：“哥哥大喜之余，说话有些忘形了，眼下乱成一团，一切事情须当明快果决，不能有丝毫犹豫，我推来推去，只怕更生祸变。”只得屈膝跪下，说道：“臣萧峰领旨，多谢万岁恩典。”耶律洪基笑着双手扶起。萧峰道：“臣不敢违旨，只得领受官爵。只是草野鄙人，不明朝廷法度，若有差失，还请皇上原宥。” 洪基在他肩头轻拍几下，笑道：“决无干系！”转头向左军将军耶律莫哥道：“耶律莫哥，我任你为南院枢密使，佐辅萧大王，勾当军国重事。”耶律莫哥大喜，忙跪下谢恩，又向萧峰参拜，道：“参见大王！”洪基道：“莫哥，你禀受萧大王号令，督率叛军回归上京。咱们向皇太后请安去。” 山峰上奏起鼓乐，耶律洪基一行向山下走去。叛军的领兵将军已将皇太后、皇后等请出，恭恭敬敬地在营中安置。洪基进得帐去，母子夫妻相见，死里逃生，恍如隔世，自是人人称赞萧峰的大功。 耶律莫哥先行，引导萧峰去和南院诸部属相见。适才萧峰在千军万马中一进一出，勇不可当，众人俱是亲见。南院诸属官军虽均是楚王旧部，但一来萧峰神威凛凛，各人一见便怕，不敢不服，又都敬他英雄了得；二来自己作乱犯上，这是杀头灭族的大罪，心中都好生惶恐；三来楚王平素脾气暴躁，无恩于众，是以萧峰一到军中，众叛军肃然敬服，齐听号令。 萧峰说道：“皇上已赦免各人从逆反叛之罪，此后大伙儿该当痛改前非，再也不可稍起贰心。” 一名白须将军上前说道：“禀告大王：皇太叔和世子扣押我等家属，胁迫我等附逆，我等倘若不从，世子便将我等家属斩首，事出无奈，还祈大王奏明万岁。” 萧峰点头：“既是如此，以往之事，那也不用说了。”转头向耶律莫哥道：“众军就地休息，饱餐之后，拔营回京。” 当下南院部属一个个依着官职大小，上来参见。萧峰虽然从来没做过官，但他久为丐帮帮主，统率群豪，自有一番威严。带领丐帮豪杰和契丹大军，其间也无太大差别。只辽军中另有一套规矩，萧峰英明精干，小心在意，另由耶律莫哥分派处理，一切井井有条。
萧峰带领大军出发不久，皇太后和皇后分别派了使者，到军中赐给袍带金银。萧峰谢恩甫毕，室里护着阿紫到了。她身披锦衣，骑着骏马，说道均是皇太后所赐。萧峰见她小小身体裹在宽大的锦袍之中，一张小脸倒给衣领遮去了一半，不禁好笑。 阿紫没亲眼见到萧峰射杀楚王、生擒皇太叔，只从室里等人口中转述而知。大凡述说往事，总不免加油添酱，将萧峰的功绩更说得神乎其神，加了三分。阿紫一见到他，便埋怨道：“姊夫，你立了这样大功，怎么事先也不跟我说一声，否则我站在山边，亲眼瞧着你杀进杀出，岂不开心？这下却让我为你担心得要命。”萧峰道：“这是侥幸立下的功劳，事先我怎知道？你一见面便来说孩子话。”阿紫道：“姊夫，你过来。” 萧峰纵马驰近她身边，见她苍白的脸上发着兴奋的红光，经她身上的锦绣衣裳一衬，倒像是个玩偶娃娃一般，又滑稽，又可爱，忍不住哈哈大笑。 阿紫脸有愠色，嗔道：“我跟你说正经话，有什么好笑？”萧峰笑道：“我见你穿着这样的衣服，像是个玩偶娃娃一般，很是有趣。”阿紫嗔道：“你老当我是小孩子，却来取笑我。”萧峰笑道：“不是，不是！阿紫，这一次我只道咱二人都要死了，哪知竟能死里逃生，我自然欢喜。什么南院大王、楚王的封爵，我才不放在心上，能够活着不死，那就好得很了。” 阿紫道：“姊夫，