The soldiers went into the kitchen, but couldn't find any hiding place, so they hid behind several bundles of firewood.
Not long after, I heard the door outside banging, and then someone came in, followed by an incomprehensible chattering voice. The woman's voice said: We are a common people. Then I heard the woman scream, and I didn't know what happened.
When the soldiers behind the firewood heard the Khitans' voices, their hearts were hanging in the air and they dared not move.
Soon the door of the kitchen was pushed open and the woman was pushed in. A Khitan followed in, who laughed obscenely and said a few words that were incomprehensible.
The man hiding in the firewood quietly watched the situation in the room. He saw that the woman tried to run out of the door, but was grabbed by the Khitan man's arm. The Khitan man opened his mouth full of yellow teeth, laughed loudly, and hugged the woman in his arms. The woman struggled desperately, and the two of them were entangled together. It was difficult for the man to succeed despite the woman's resistance.
The Khitan man got angry and punched the woman, knocking her to the ground with a bang, leaving her with a black eye and swollen face. He then raised his foot and kicked her in the abdomen. After a while of punching and kicking, the woman gradually became unable to resist.
The man in the firewood pile looked at the door and watched the woman being bullied. He hesitated for a long time. This unknown woman saved his life. If she hadn't opened the door and let him in, she would have been killed by the enemy soldiers.
The woman's mouth was full of blood, and she looked miserable. The man finally couldn't bear it anymore, and he saw the firewood stick beside the stove, and carefully moved his body out of the firewood. In a flash, he rushed over and grabbed the firewood stick. The Khitan man looked up in surprise.
Without saying a word, the soldier swung his stick with both hands and swept it over, hitting the Khitan man on the head with a bang. The man fainted with a scream.
The man hurriedly pulled the woman up and dragged her behind him, then searched the Khitan soldier. This man did not bring any weapons. The woman said anxiously: There are people outside, they will kill you.
As soon as he finished speaking, the door was opened and two Khitan soldiers rushed in, shouting and brandishing swords and spears to kill. The spear immediately pierced the man's abdomen, and he took two steps back and was blocked by the stove. A moment later, another Khitan soldier swung an iron sword and stabbed him in the chest. The man let out a scream of fear and grabbed the iron sword with his unarmed hands. His palm was immediately cut and blood flowed. He ignored the severe pain and grabbed the hilt of the enemy soldier's sword with both hands.
But the Khitan soldier shouted and pressed down desperately, and the iron sword slowly pierced into the man's heart. His eyes widened, his strength gradually disappeared, and blood flowed from his mouth and nose.
Seeing this, another Khitan man pressed the woman on the stove with red eyes. The woman was so frightened that she couldn't speak. She lay on the stove and trembled, watching the dead soldier staring at her with lifeless eyes. With a rustling sound, she felt a chill behind her, and a large piece of her clothes was torn. Tears rolled out of the woman's eyes.
In a dilapidated village outside Yizhou City, a group of young and old stood at the entrance of the village. The village was in chaos, and the barking of local dogs was noisy. Some Khitan soldiers were rummaging through the village, while others were carrying sacks of food out of the village, and the horses on the road were loaded with things.
An old farmer with wrinkles all over his face watched those people carrying away the grain from his home, took a half step forward with a trembling hand, and then stood still, his eyes full of pain.
The peasant woman next to her fell to her knees and finally cried out to the sky: All the food for my family to survive for a year has been taken away. How can I survive? Oh my God!
The old farmer said nothing, but his hands, as rough and black as old trees, witnessed the difficulty of growing crops. He had to dig for food in the fields like cattle and horses, and he had to rely on God's favor to harvest. After working hard for a year, I'm afraid everyone can only go out to beg for food.
Then a working ox from the village was also led out. The farmers were all indignant, but no one dared to stop them. There were several corpses hanging on the trees not far away for people to see.
The cavalrymen galloped on the road as if they were in an empty space.
A young Khitan man with sharp features on horseback reined in his horse and looked coldly at the smoke rising from the city in the distance. He twisted his head hard, and his neck made a slight click.
This person was Yelu Xiu'ge. He snorted and said: Xiao Siwen is a fussy person and does not know how to command troops. Let me teach him how to govern the south.
Yang Gun, the Privy Councilor of the Southern Court, said: “This time we have used it without permission and did not report it to the capital, so the Khan may not blame us, but we are afraid of slander from treacherous people.”
Yelu Xiuguo sneered: "The traitor is Xiao Siwen. He went to the position of the King of the Southern Courtyard. I'm afraid he is really unhappy. But how can you criticize me? This time I broke Yizhou in one fell swoop and reaped a lot of rewards. A group of sheep on the grassland have long hair, and the shepherds go up to harvest the wool. Is there anything wrong with that?"
The generals around him all agreed. Since they made a lot of money this time, everyone supported Yelu Xiu'ge.
Yang Gun said: I am afraid that the people of Zhou are not sheep. Now the Liao Dynasty is still not at peace. If we anger Zhou, it will only cause trouble.
Haha! Yelu Xiuguo suddenly raised his head and laughed so hard that he fell forward and backward, as if there was no joke funnier than this in the world. All the soldiers looked at him sideways.
A noble asked: Why is the Marshal laughing
Yelu Xiuguo's laughter became quieter, and he kept shaking his head, still laughing. His smile suddenly disappeared from his face, and the people around him all changed color. He said: At the beginning of the year, Zhou Guoren came to provoke us, but we couldn't touch him. You guys are so timid, do you really think that the world is upside down, and the sheep are going to eat the wolves
Yang Gun said calmly: At the beginning of the year, during the battle in Youzhou, the commander-in-chief did not say that Guo the blacksmith was difficult to deal with.
Yelu Xiu'ge said coldly: So what? No matter what, the Zhou army has only 50,000 elite cavalry at most.
Yang Gun said no more and nodded thoughtfully.
Yelu Xiuguo said: It would be great if he came to Youzhou again, I can just play with him again.
In the Jinxiang Palace in Tokyo, the wind was strong, blowing the leaves in the imperial city all over the sky.
The cities in Hebei reported nothing more than being on full alert to strengthen their city defenses and requesting reinforcements. Several important cities near the Juma River were strong in defense but weak in offense, and no one was able to send troops to drive out the large number of Liao troops.
There was also an estimate of the losses in Yizhou, with a large number of people, mostly young women, being looted, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians killed or injured. These were all cold data reports, but Guo Shao could imagine the blood and tears in these numbers. Even modern wars are accompanied by crimes, let alone this barbaric era. No organization can stop barbaric rape and looting except force.
Guo Shao opened another memorial and read it for a long time before he understood that someone had actually written a letter to propose peace talks.
The reason was very clear, and he advised the emperor to work hard to accumulate national strength and first deal with the remaining territory in the south. He pointed out that the country was just starting to rise, and the people suffered a lot from years of war. He said that enduring anger for a while would protect the country in the long run. He also did some calculations, saying that the long-term tug-of-war on the border would cost a lot, so it would be better to negotiate with the Liao Kingdom for the time being, which would save expenses and protect the country and the people.
Guo Shao's face was so hot that he couldn't help but admire the thick skin of some scholars who still had the nerve to ask for peace in such a situation. The more he looked at it, the angrier he got. He grabbed the memorial and crumpled it into a ball, wishing he could tear it to pieces.
This action immediately attracted the attention of several people in the cabinet and the eunuchs on duty. They all turned their heads and quietly observed Guo Shao.
Guo Shao held the paper ball in his hands with both hands, but finally did not tear it. He swallowed hard and unfolded it to look at the cover. It turned out to be a memorial from Prime Minister Fan Zhi. No wonder someone was so bold.
I've been putting up with you for a long time.
The visitor, Guo Shao, coldly slammed the memorial on the imperial desk.
The burly eunuch Yang Shiliang immediately walked to the table and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"
At this moment, Guo Shao was burning with rage. If it were his mood, he would have wanted to drag Fan Zhi out and chop off his head as a sacrifice, and then lead his troops north immediately. But he was still a rational man and sat there in silence for a long time.
Yang Shiliang bent his waist even lower and dared not say another word.
Guo Shao spoke after a long time: Return the memorial to Fan Zhi and ask him to hand over his official hat and keep it with me first. You should quit your job as prime minister, go home and reflect on yourself, and wait to be summoned.
Yang Shiliang clasped his fists and said, "Yes." Then he carefully stepped forward and picked up the wrinkled memorial.
In an instant, with just one word from Guo Shao, he lost his position as prime minister, which was also his power.
Yang Shiliang bowed and left the West Hall. When he walked out of the door, he straightened up and called a few eunuchs to go straight to the Council Hall.
There were hundreds of officials in the government hall. When Yang Shiliang walked in, he shouted, "The emperor has issued an edict. Ask Mr. Fan to come out and receive it."
This immediately attracted the attention of almost everyone. The surroundings gradually became quiet, some looked over here, and some pretended to write and watched the situation calmly.
Not long after, Fan Zhi strode out with his head held high.
Yang Shiliang said coldly: Imperial edict.
Fan Zhi bowed and said: I, your honorable minister, accept your order.
Yang Shiliang then said: The emperor has issued an edict that Fan Zhi should put his official hat in the palace first and no longer work in the government hall. He should go home and reflect on himself first, and then come to see His Majesty when he has thought it through.
Yang Shiliang's words were relatively polite, because the imperial edict seemed to indicate that Fan Zhi still had a chance to reform, which meant he was not dead yet, so he had to leave some wiggle room.
Fan Zhi immediately raised his head and sighed: "Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear.
Yang Shiliang said calmly: "Mr. Fan, there is no need to say more. From now on, you are no longer the prime minister. You can only hold an official position if His Majesty allows you to hold it. You must understand this."
Fan Zhi glared at him with disdain, then turned and walked inside.
Yang Shiliang had no choice but to follow him. Fan Zhi took off his robes and folded them on the table, then put his black gauze hat and seal on his clothes. He put on a white lining, then changed into a gray cloth robe, and went out with a wave of his sleeves.
Several people in the hall even clasped their fists and said goodbye to him, with much reluctance in their words. Yang Shiliang saw that it was no wonder that the emperor was so angry that his face turned red, but he did not really do anything to him, but only temporarily dismissed him from his position as prime minister.