Chapter 9 The King

Cui Qigao did not see any Khitan troops responding. He was worried that the Jin reinforcements would not be able to escape, so he led everyone to plunder some armor, weapons and supplies in the fortress, cut dozens of heads, and then evacuated them with the hard-working prisoners.

As dawn came, Cui Qigao saw a Khitan noble Da He Lu on the territory where the Khitan activity was. A few days ago, he agreed to lead troops to support Cui Qigao's troops. As a result, he didn't even see a person last night. The only two Khitan soldiers who participated in the matter were going to monitor them.

Dahe Lu had a beard with two cheeks, but at this moment he was full of smiles. He reached out and patted Cui Qigao on his shoulders and said: Congratulations to Brother Cui for his victory, good looks!Oh, it was too dark last night. My soldiers got lost halfway and found the way back only at dawn. I am really sorry.

This guy said sorry in fluent Chinese words, but he didn't see any guilty expression on his face.

Cui Qigao observed that the number of herders in the camp was not large and they were not armed to fight. He thought to himself that He Lu probably did not intend to send troops from the beginning.

Most of the Khitan tribes make a living by hunting nomadicly, and very few engage in farming. They are usually herders, scattered everywhere to grazle to reduce the logistical pressure on the army's assembly. They will only gather together to form an army before the war is about to fight. Dahelu's tribe has not assembled men, so why are they talking about sending troops?

But of course Cui Qigao won’t point it out. Can you still blame him if you are under the roof?

Cui Qigao pretended to be at a loss: We were about to dig up the Heishan Fort, but the troops of the leader Dahe did not come, but hundreds of Jin soldiers came.Fortunately, we ran fast and it was dark that the Jin soldiers did not chase me far away, otherwise the leader would not be able to see me!

It’s all because the sky is too dark and the road cannot be seen.Dahe Lu said hurriedly.

Cui Qigao sighed: Unfortunately, Ah finally broke through the Black Mountain Fort but failed to destroy it.The leader of Dahe knew that the Jin soldiers operated Yingzhou and continued to build large and small castles. This time, the Heishan Fort was not destroyed and the construction would be completed soon. By then, the pastures around the Heishan Fort were under the control of the Jin soldiers, so you dare not approach it easily.

Dahe Lu couldn't help but say: Isn't Brother Cui also a Han Chinese?How can we remember it everywhere?

Cui Qigao was stunned and thought to himself, of course it was to please you, don’t you ask for the Khitan?

But he said: Now the Jin soldiers occupy Yingzhou are no longer the Tang soldiers.I am now an exiled and fugitive from the Jin Dynasty, and I am in danger of peace. In the Tang Dynasty, I was a child of a gentry, and I could still be an official with high houses and fertile land.If this situation becomes like this, why should I be loyal to the Jin Dynasty?

That's right.If we can kill Jin soldiers, we are our own people!Dahe Lu smiled and said, "There is one more thing today. I want to take you to see our prince."

Cui Qigao was so flattered: It’s so lucky to see the king in three lives!

The prince mentioned by Dahelu was Li Fuhu, the leader of the Khitan, who should have had a surname of He Dahe. Later, the eight Khitan tribes alliance changed their surname to Dahe and depended on the Turkic Khan. Later, the Turkic Khitan resigned to the Tang Dynasty, and the leader was also given the surname of Li Tang, so he simply changed his surname to Li.

The Tang court gave Li Huo a gift of iron certificates for alchemy, and granted the title of Prince Songmo County and General Zuo Jinwu Guard. In name, he won over and abolished several states controlled by the Khitan outside the pass, but he never actually controlled the Khitan since then.

After the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, it was announced that all the official titles inside and outside were the same, and Li Duhuo became the prince of the Jin Dynasty again.

Now that Li Duhuo is going to summon Cui Qigao in person, he is obviously interested in him.

Cui Qigao should indeed be happy. As long as Xiaozhi's pros and cons convinced Li Dehuo, it would not be difficult to get the support of the Khitan.

So last night, the Khitan troops did not come, and Cui Qigao still insisted on attacking the Heishan Fort, which was also to prove the value of his own people to the Khitans.

Cui Qigao prepared before setting out, but in fact he just told his subordinates a few words to give them the armor and good weapons seized from the Black Mountain Fort to Dahelu, thinking that the Khitans might give back some cattle, sheep and livestock, so that his group of people could temporarily solve the food problem.

After getting ready, Cui Qigao took Cui Mingxuan and Li Si to Songmo Governor's Office with Dahelu's horse team.

Songmo Prefecture is the name set up by the Tang Dynasty and is also the central government of the Eight Khitan tribes, where Li Duhuo was.

The Khitan itself is a nomadic people and is also not good at building cities and farming techniques, but has made some progress in iron smelting and making weapons. It is common for nations outside the pass to build a foothold in war.

There is a city in Songmo Mansion, but it is a rammed earth wall. Its defense and ornamentality are very backward, and it is even less than that of the Liucheng in Yingzhou, because Liucheng has changed hands many times by the Han people, and the fortifications of the city wall have begun to take shape after many transformations.

There were eight Khitans in total. During the war, they could gather tens of thousands of cavalry who could fight well. They were a very powerful force in the Northeast. However, even if they had the ambition to go south, they would not have the strength to enter the Central Plains. They did not even have the luxury of competing for Hebei for the time being, and they were determined to regain Yingzhou.

Yingzhou not only has pastures, but its main interest is the transportation key of the Northern Silk Road, which can make a lot of profits from business.

There are many tribes further north of Liaodong. Among them, the Bohai Kingdom, the largest territory, has been engaged in silk trade with the Central Plains for a long time. The road traffic connecting Silla and the Central Plains must also operate states, which is a strategic location.

At the same time, it is adjacent to the Khitan and has been occupied by the Khitans for a long time. Their intention to take it back is very obvious.

Under the leadership of Dahe Lu, Cui Qigao and the other two entered Li Duhuo's mansion to meet. They saw that there were several animal furs hanging at the door of the house. They lifted them and burned charcoal inside to keep warm. It was indeed much warmer.

There were not many people in the house, probably Li Duhuo's relatives, and most of the tribe leaders were not here, and they usually stayed in their own territory.

The interior layout here looks very rough and messy, with some animal heads hanging on the wall, including a colorful tiger head, and some gold objects are placed on a wooden table above.

Li Shihuo sat on a couch covered with tiger skin on it. He looked about 40 or 50 years old, but he didn't have a beard like Da He Lu. Li Shihuo looked more lean, with a angular contour on his face and a sharp look.

Cui Qigao did not dare to look around, so he bowed to Li Fuhuo when he came in, and Cui Qigao from Huazhou paid homage to the king.

Li Fuhuo looked at Cui Qigao without saying a word, and his bright eyes made him feel uncomfortable all over.

After a while, Li Fuhuo spoke in Chinese. He had been to Chang'an and had contact with Han people. Although his accent was not very correct, it was understandable.

Are you very connected among the Han people?Insiders can be found in Montenegro Fort within a short time.Li Duhuo spoke.

It just so happened that the Cui family was exiled to work in Heishan Fort. Our Cui family offended the Emperor of Jin Dynasty and was exiled to Yingzhou for more than 1,000 people. My connections are not here.

Cui Qigao intercepted the things that the local people said that Li was interested in. The real foundation was in Huazhou. The Cui family was the largest clan in Huazhou. If the family resisted the government there, the Huazhou Prefecture Office would be helpless.If the king did not know the Cui family in Huazhou, had the Cui family in Luling ever heard of it?

Li Duhuo nodded: I heard something.

Cui Qigao said: The ancestral home of Huazhou people is in Luling. We can still contact the Cui family in Luling, and our strength is extraordinary.

Li Duhuo pondered for a moment and asked: You said that the Cui family was exiled to Yingzhou only after offending the Emperor of Jin Dynasty. What happened?

This has to start with the Tang Dynasty. Princess Taiping and the prince competed for power. Cui Riyong, the Huangmen Assistant Minister, was the prince's member. Later, the Taiping Party won. Xue once burned hundreds of people to death on the excuse that Mr. Cui colluded with the remnants of the prince.This year, the official Jia Huan, who was in charge of a teahouse, said that the court should not launch the Yingzhou battle. In order to attract customers, he also said that the Xue family used troops in the Northeast to loot beauties of all races...

As soon as he said this, Cui Qigao noticed that the corners of Li Dehuo's mouth twitched slightly, obviously he was a little stimulating.

War and women are the eternal themes of men. It would not be a good idea to hear that women of their own tribe were abused by lion even if they were inactive. Women under their rule could not be protected. Any man with blood would regard them as a shame.

So Cui Qigao did not specifically say that he was robbing Goguryeo beauty, but only said that he was robbing women in the Northeast. At that time, the Jin army was fighting against Khitan and Xi, and Li Fuhuo could easily mistakenly think that it was to rob their Khitan beauty.

Cui Qigao continued: Actually, it was just something that was casually told in the teahouse. Unexpectedly, Xue was furious and ordered Jia Huan to be executed. Because Jia Huan was the clerk of his father Cui Mingshan, the Cui family had already had a grudge against Xue, so Xue took his anger on his father, killed him, and exiled more than a thousand people from Huazhou to Yingzhou to work as a hard laborer... I was originally a minister of the Tang Dynasty, but now I am a burden to the country's destruction and the hatred of killing my father, and I am irreconcilable with Xue!This is absolutely true, so the king can send someone to inquire.

Li Duhuo asked: How do you want to take revenge?

As soon as the spring of next year, the Jin people will build the Great Wall in Hebei in a large-scale manner, with the purpose of defending against the king's troops and then step by step to merge with Liaodong.The government has now begun to recruit large numbers of people from Hedong, Hebei, Henan and other places, causing public grievances. This is an opportunity.As long as the king helps me and some subordinates return to China, I will start a rebellion in Huazhou and then develop into Hebei.At that time, the Jin army in the Northeast will fight on both sides, and the left and right will be in trouble. Wouldn’t the king recover Yingzhou be taken from his pocket?If you go south from Rao Yuefu to attack Youji to restrain the Jin army, it will be even more difficult for them to destroy the rebel army in the rear of Hebei.We all have a common enemy, and the king observes it.

Li Fuhuo said coldly: Only tens of thousands of people can go to war with my eight troops, and it is difficult for me to join forces with Xi soldiers to exceed 100,000 cavalry. I am not an ambitious person. I know that I have no strength to compete for the Central Plains and just want to regain Yingzhou.Aren’t you afraid that I will not help you if I take Yingzhou at that time?

Cui Qigao smiled and said: If the king is such a visionless person, how can I say more?There is a ferocious hungry tiger beside the king's couch. Can you really feel at ease?The Xue family expanded its military forces from all sides, including Tubo, Turks, Liuzhao, and Yingzhou. Where did the Jin soldiers have never had a great war?If there is no problem in the country, the court will use troops to the outside world. I believe the king will be very happy that we are in trouble in Hebei and Henan?

You will stay in Songmo Mansion for a while.Li Fuhuo glanced at him, then turned to Dahe Lu and said, "Go on, give Cui Qigao's people some cattle and sheep tents so that they can settle down."

Cui Qigao bowed again to end the conversation: Thank you for your hospitality, I heard that those who are willing to share food on the grassland are friends.

Li Dehuo should find someone to get more information and then ventilate with the Chief of the Eight Tribes before he can help Cui Qigao in substantial way, so he has to wait for a while.

Cui Qigao was not idle either and asked Songmo Mansion to return to his own troops.

On Dahelu's territory, Cui Qigao's people got tents, cattle, sheep, food and other supplies, and built a camp. After attacking the Black Mountain Fort, he took over hundreds of strong men. Now there are seven or eight hundred people in his hands, most of whom are physically strong and strong, and they are a group of people who have begun to take shape.

Cui Qigao is knowledgeable, knowledgeable, smart and independent, and does things one by one, and he is not idle in Dahelu's territory.

He said to his subordinates: If there is no military law, no matter how many people there are, they will be a mob.If it weren't for the surprise attack when fighting Heishan Fort and the Jin soldiers did not have time to form a formation, it is still unknown if the hundreds of us beat them and they will win and lose.Why?We have no system or rules. Once we encounter setbacks, everyone does not know what they should do. As a result, they can only run around with the crowd, which is very easy to fail.

So he selected strong men to form three infantry legions because there were no war horses.

He also appointed officers at all levels, including the lieutenant, brigade commander, team commander, etc., and began to practice regardless of the cold weather.

As military followers, the others were responsible for monitoring livestock to raise fire and make rice and build weapons. These Han people had their own skills, and the blacksmith workshop was quickly built.

Not long after, the Khitans wanted to order armor from Cui Qigao with cattle, sheep and livestock for exchange.

After Cui Qigao's governance, his subordinates knew what he should do; then he drafted twenty military laws with his advisers, and repeatedly instilled them in the ministries every day, and everyone knew what he shouldn't do.

The Han people were hardworking and abiding by the rules. Once they established themselves, they became very popular. There was no criminal or slave style at all. The Khitans soon became more and more impressed...

If Cui Qigao and others wanted to live here for a long time, they would probably be able to find seeds to cultivate military farms.

Once when Da Helu came to watch Cui Qigao's camp, he couldn't help but exclaim: No wonder the Han people are so powerful, and there are tens of millions of such people.

Cui Qigao said: Hundreds and tens of millions of people are different. Can hundreds of people perform their duties and relatives be like family members, but can tens of millions of people still be like family members?Dahe Lu blurted out: Internal fighting.

Cui Qigao said thoughtfully: What we Han people are best at is to build relationships and infighting.

Dahe Lu Haha, I laughed, probably because I thought Cui Qigao was more funny to reveal his own shortcomings.

After a while, Songmo County Prince Li Fuhuo summoned Cui Qigao again and promised to help him return to the country to revolt, and was willing to fund his money. He treated him very well.

But Cui Qigao knew that Li Duhuo had no close relationship with him, and he treated this way just to help the internal struggle of the Central Plains.

In fact, the Jin Dynasty court also often did this trick, and constantly thought about splitting the country around them, hoping to balance the situation. As long as the interests conflict, checks and balances are not exclusive to the Han people.

Li Fuhuo handed over this matter to his ally Xiren. The Xiren's method was to escort those who Cui Qigao wanted to return to the country.

Although there were mountains and rivers in the north of Hebei at this time, there were no continuous Great Wall fortifications, so it was not difficult for a small number of people to pass through the border; in addition, the Xi people also brought Cui Qigao's people through the Ma City.

Sometimes the form of war does not necessarily mean that the two armies are fighting in confrontation, and various means may also achieve the results achieved on the battlefield.

Unexpectedly, something went wrong in the progress. Two people were found to be fugitives in Yingzhou at Hebei Pass and were arrested.

After torture, they shook all the plans they knew to the government and said they would start a rebellion in Huazhou.

It happened that the interview with Hebei Road made Yang Sidao send people to inspect the people's situation everywhere in Youzhou. He was also a faction that catered to the political affairs hall's proposal to postpone the Great Wall project and was looking for arguments everywhere. The local officials knew his political proposition, so out of a flattery, he hurriedly wrote a detailed confession and handed it to Yang Sidao.

Based on this confession, Yang Sidao sent someone to contact Zhang Wulang, who was guarding Yingzhou, to inform him of him and send him a copy of Cui Qigao's information.

Zhang Wulang arranged the matter to his aides. When the aides investigated Cui Qigao's exile in the jurisdiction of Ruluo City, they asked Ruluo City to report the report.

This matter has been repeated several times, but fortunately, the government and laws at all levels of the Jin Dynasty government were unobstructed at this time, and it was not delayed after several times.

The guard of Ruluo City had to write down Cui Qigao's incidents in the mine accident, leading the crowd to flee, defect to the Khitan, and attack the Heishan Fort.

Zhang Wulang's aides sent someone to send the official documents to Youzhou, and Yang Sidao added another basis.

He was unwilling to miss this opportunity, so he immediately wrote a memorial to Chang'an with the confession and Yingzhou official documents as evidence.

This memorial is well-founded and has sufficient reason to argue that the building of the Great Wall may lead to rebellion.

Yang Sidao was confident that he had made another contribution in Hebei.