After traveling westward for several more days, the caravan arrived at Datong Mansion in Xijing, Liao State. There, Sun Tu finally learned something about the final results of the Youzhou Incident. Yelv Sibuda and Xiao Jinde, who had rebelled against each other, had been defeated and killed. , and Yelu Dashi, who put down the rebellion, was regarded by many Liao people as a great hero who turned the tide.
Originally, with the speed of news transmission in this era, it would be impossible for Xijing to receive the exact news from Nanjing within a month. But this matter was too big after all, and it also involved the internal stability of the Liao Kingdom, so the news naturally spread much faster than usual.
In addition, Yelv Sibuda and Xiao Jinde were killed early, but many people were implicated by them. The Khitan people were no more merciful than the Han people in dealing with rebellion. Anyone who had a close relationship with these two people, whether they were relatives or old friends, had no good results this time. Even some officials in Xijing were directly seized of their posts and arrested. , and then was escorted to Beijing and handed over to the court for disposal.
When Sun Tu and others entered the city, they saw many officials being held captive and escorted by Liao soldiers. They shouted that they were wronged from time to time, but they were helpless. Naturally, he could not have any sympathy for these Liao officials who suffered from Chi Yu. However, after hearing that the Song envoy was not killed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was really worried that Tong Guan would be killed by Xiao Jinde and the others, and then Song and Liao would probably start a war immediately, which would not be a blessing to the Song Dynasty. In addition, he also felt a little worried and fearful about this great stone that was used to quell the chaos in Yelv.
Regarding Yelu Dashi, although Sun Tu didn't know much about history before crossing over, he had heard of his name and knew that he was a rare and powerful figure in the late Liao Dynasty. It was because of him that the Liao Dynasty was still alive. For a period of time, it blocked several attacks that the Song Dynasty was bound to win. It can be said that if it had not been for his perseverance, the weak side of the Song State's military might not have been exposed to the Jin State, and perhaps there would not have been the rapid collapse of the country later.
But now this person actually came to the forefront through this rebellion, which naturally made Sun Tu wary. At the same time, he also had a doubt, whether Yelu Dashi had always been in Youzhou City. If so, maybe even this rebellion happened under his attention or even connivance. Then this person's city government The methods are really scary.
In fact, Sun Tu still doesn't know that the pillar of Liao Dynasty, Yelu Dashi, whom he is afraid of, is actually Yelu Jian, who had spent a few days with him in Tokyo. Otherwise, he would definitely regret it even more, regretting why he didn't take the opportunity to tell this person earlier. The important ministers of the Liao Kingdom were eliminated.
Of course, it is useless to mention these now. For Sun Tu at this time, the best result is to recover from his injuries as soon as possible and then look for opportunities to leave Liao and return to the Song Dynasty safely. As for what kind of changes will happen within Daliao now, and which heroes will emerge from this, it is not his control.
In this matter, Huangfu Duan was quite generous. Sun Tu was now penniless, so he really paid and helped to treat his injuries along the way. After entering Xijing, he also deliberately helped Sun Tu find a doctor. The doctor came for treatment and bought some herbs and other things. This made Sun Tu feel even more grateful to him. As a result, the relationship between the two became closer. Although they were not close friends of life and death, they were still friends. Brothers are worthy of each other.
The caravan stayed in Xijing
The time is not short, because if we go further, the road ahead will not be easy. In addition to having to climb some difficult and dangerous mountain roads, the more important thing is that going west from Xijing is an even more empty and desolate no-man's land, and even a large area of Gobi wilderness.
In the era a thousand years ago, even the most populous and prosperous Song State still had large areas of wilderness and no-man's land, not to mention the even more vast and sparsely populated Liao and Xia. As for the junction between the two countries, it was even more There may be no human habitation for hundreds of miles. Therefore, merchants at this time were actually risking their lives when reselling goods to distant places. The difficulties and obstacles on the road were one after another. The provision of food and water was only the basics. They also had to have the strength to fight against wild beasts, bandits, and even sudden natural disasters. These must be prepared before traveling, especially before leaving Xijing. The caravan must arrange everything properly, and there must be no oversight.
The caravan entered Xijing City in early June, and it was not until the middle of June that everything was arranged and ready to go. After these days of recuperation and treatment, Sun Tu's injuries were much better. However, he did not propose to leave, but instead became a member of the caravan.
This was not only because he wanted to use the identity of this caravan to leave Liaoning more easily, but also because he wanted to repay these life-savers. After all, going westward was bound to be difficult, so he asked himself if he still had some skills that might help him out when he encountered danger. After Sun Tu showed his skills in public, everyone in the caravan happily agreed to hire him as the team's bodyguard, and then together with a team of twenty guards hired from Xijing, they truly embarked on the journey. the road heading west.
Another important reason for Sun Tu to go to Xixia with everyone was that after recovering, he gradually saw something different from the previous chaos in Nanjing.
Si Wuda's sudden rebellion that day is a bit suspicious in itself. Why did he, a Liao official, insist on provoking a war between Song and Liao? The risks and rewards here are actually completely disproportionate. The only explanation is that he was bewitched by some people and was used by others.
It becomes even more problematic when we consider that after his death, a guy who looked like a Han official jumped out in an attempt to get his troops to fight again. Maybe it was this person who was behind everything, and he was afraid that the world would be unstable and wanted to cause Song and Liao to turn against each other and start a war.
As for what else is hidden behind this person... Sun Tu unconsciously remembered what Yelu Xiongge said that day when he was hunting. When two tigers fight, the one who wins in the end is often the evil wolf hiding not far away!
If the Liao and Song dynasties are considered tigers, then who is the wolf? Of course, the Kingdom of Jin is one, and even in Sun Tu's opinion, it is a more powerful tiger, but at this time, neither Song nor Liao know its true strength, and there is only one side of Xixia that can make Yelu Xiongge feel afraid!
Sun Tu's first impression of this country, which had only been established for a few decades and whose national strength was not too strong, was that of a grassroots. Since the founding of Xixia, it has been oscillating between the two great kingdoms of Song and Liao. Song Qiang surrendered to Song, while Liao Qiang professed vassalage to Liao. It was a true double-dealing between Qin and Chu. However, because the two countries have a mutual restraint relationship, they are always unable to devote all their efforts to deal with Xixia. Therefore, decades later, Xixia's national power is booming.
Although the Song Dynasty had sent troops several times before,
He won the victory against Xia, but to this day, he still feels depressed about not being able to do anything against them. Now it seems that even the Liao Kingdom feels the same way about Xixia. They want to destroy it, but they are also worried that this will give the Song Kingdom an opportunity to take advantage of it.
And Xixia also knows how disgusting it is, so it has been trying every means to prompt Song and Liao to have a big fight, so that they can take advantage of the fire and fish in troubled waters. They had attacked members of the Liao mission in Tokyo before, so the changes that occurred after the Song mission arrived in Nanjing were probably also caused by them.
The more he thought about it, the more Sun Tu felt that his judgment was good. Xixia was the real mastermind behind the previous Nanjing rebellion. And this also reminded him that he should not just focus on the Liao and Jin countries. The Xia people in the northwest were the most insidious ones. As the saying goes, biting dogs never bark.
Therefore, if the Song Dynasty really wants to let go and start a war with the Liao Kingdom, suppressing Xixia is a necessary prerequisite. You must know that once the two countries fight, the elite Western Army of the Song Army will inevitably be mobilized. In this way, The western frontier of the Song Dynasty was empty, and maybe the Xia people would take advantage of it and sneak in.
How to suppress Xixia? When the court comes, someone will naturally come up with a plan. Whether it is promising benefits or sending troops first to hurt them, they can use it. But in Sun Tu's view, these are not as good as the method he thought of to disrupt the situation. They caused civil strife within Xixia.
So this time Sun Tu went to Xixia with the caravan with the idea of disrupting the place. As for how to do this, he can't have a clue for the time being, but as long as he finds a chance, he can let the Xixia people have a taste of killing each other!
With these goals in mind, Sun Tu and the caravan embarked on the westward journey to Xia.
After leaving Xijing and walking forward for a few days, the surrounding environment became completely desolate and withered. Not to mention villages and towns, sometimes there are not even a few trees to be seen, and some are just the desert Gobi that cannot be seen at a glance.
Originally, the team could still move forward along the river, but soon after entering the Gobi, the river quickly disappeared, making everyone's journey more difficult and dangerous. You must know that it is midsummer now, and people's metabolism is already fast outside. Coupled with the scorching sun, water loss has become the biggest problem.
Therefore, after traveling for several days, the team could only choose to hurry up in the morning and evening, and find a shady place to camp and rest during the day. Sometimes they had to use the light of the stars and the moon to travel even at night.
When others talked about businessmen, they always valued profit over farewell, with a hint of jealousy and disdain in their tone, but at this time, Sun Tu finally understood their hardships and hardships. Although businessmen can obtain huge profits by buying low and selling high, for the vast majority of businessmen in this era, every amount of money they earn is earned through countless efforts and even lives.
As we head west this time, the dangers we encounter along the way are not just the bad weather and environment. The real threats emerge after we enter the Liao-Xia border, a truly desolate land where no one controls us. Out...
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