Chapter Thirty-Nine Return Journey

  "Lord Han!" At this time, the old man sitting next to Xiao Puxian interrupted Han Xiaochu's words. Seeing that this person was already nearly sixty years old, compared to Xiao Puxian beside him, it was truly a case of "red face and white hair". Zhou Ping felt quite surprised in his heart, thinking that Xiao Puxian was Yelü Chong's legitimate wife, and the two people's ages should be similar. But he didn't expect that Yelü Chong was an old man nearly sixty years old.

  "I heard the wonderful Dharma today, and it's really a blessing for three lifetimes. However, I, Xiaowang, have been restless and troubled these days, and even if I try to get rid of them, they will come back after a while. May I ask for your guidance, sir?" Looking closely at Ye Rutong, although he is extremely wealthy and noble, his eyebrows are filled with worry and sorrow, obviously due to worrying about national affairs.

  "In the past, I occasionally gained some insights from reading scriptures, how dare I claim to be a master!" Han Xiaoqu smiled and said: "However, I think that the troubles of King Qin of Jin should be sought in the word 'nothing'?"

  "Nothing?"

  "Not bad, King Qin of Jin has seen the newborn baby, is there any trouble?"

  Yelü Chún said with a start: "A newborn baby is ignorant and unknowing, so naturally it has no worries."

  "That's it, King Qin of Jin State, you are in a position of power, with great wealth and prestige, second only to the Emperor. Within this vast territory of Liaodong, there is probably no one who has more than you. Even if you recite scriptures, burn incense, and cultivate yourself, I'm afraid it's still impossible to eliminate all troubles! Is what this humble minister says correct?"

  Yelü Chong heard this, and couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. Indeed, just as Han Xiaocong said, if he were an ordinary person, he could have taken his family and fled to the Song Dynasty, leaving behind the crumbling Liao Dynasty to start anew; but as a member of the Liao imperial family, how could he abandon the ancestral temple and the people in this time of crisis, and escape alone? Even knowing that ahead was a fiery pit, he had no choice but to leap into it with his eyes open.

  Yelü Chong stood up and bowed deeply to Han Xiao, saying: "I am already nearly sixty years old, like a withered tree branch, soon to break. Your excellent theory is no longer applicable!"

  Han Xiaocong hastily stood up and stepped aside, not daring to accept Yelü Chong's courtesy, and smiled: "The King of Qin and Jin is the pillar of the country, and foreign ministers only have a share of admiration!"

  Yelü Chong sighed, didn't say much, stretched out his right hand, and Xiao Puxian hurriedly supported it. The two of them walked towards the outer room. Zhou Ping watched clearly from the side, Yelü Chong's face was pale, his fingertips trembling slightly, his spirit depressed, looking like he was about to die. This formed a stark contrast with Xiao Puxian beside him.

  After Yelü Chong and his wife left, the remaining Liao officials also resigned one after another. Only the Song envoys were left in the house. Zhou Ping stepped forward, cupped his hands together in respect and smiled: "Your Excellency has defeated the Liao general Qin Jin with just a few words, a feat rarely seen throughout history! I am deeply impressed!"

  "Never mind, I've made it clear what's good and bad for them. Whether they listen or not is up to themselves!" Han Xiaoqu took a sip of his drink, walked over to the couch and sat down, smiling: "Aping, how many more days do you need?"

  "Sir, please take a look!" Zhou Ping took out the map he had drawn today from his bosom and presented it to him. Han Xiao Chu received it and examined it carefully, his face involuntarily changing color, praising: "Good, good! Just these are enough to make this trip worthwhile, not to mention Zhang Guan Yu. And that Yan Zao also said he wanted to conquer Yan, and Yan Wan also said he wanted to conquer Yan, and even presented a 'Map of Conquering Yan' to deceive the Emperor's heart. How can it compare to your map, Ah Ping? You have done a good job, I won't bury your merits!"

  "Thank you, sir, for your cultivation!" Zhou Ping bowed and said in a low voice: "If it's the outer city, it'll probably take two or three more days. The inner city is not convenient to enter and exit, so it can't be painted."

  "Alright, alright!" Han Xiaoqiang laughed and said: "Aping, you're also confused. If the main army enters the outer city, the inner city will naturally collapse, what's there to fear that they can turn things around?"

  "I was confused, thanks to your reminder, sir!"

  "Hmm!" Han Xiao Chu nodded with a confident expression, as if the city of Youzhou was already under his feet: "Then I'll preach and discuss Buddhism here for a few more days!"

  Four days later, when Zhou Ping completed the last part of the map, Han Xiao led the delegation on their way back. Although the mission of the delegation was not completed on the surface, the Song Dynasty's request was rejected by the Liao people, and the Liao side agreed to reduce the annual tribute of 500,000 silver silks by half, but they absolutely refused to retreat from returning the land of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. However, the departure of the Song delegation received a grand farewell, and the upper class of Youzhou sent off Han Xiao with an almost reluctant attitude at Lugou. Qin Jingguo Wang Ye Lüchun, the defender of Nanjing, was bedridden due to illness but still dispatched his son to bid farewell on his behalf and presented a generous gift. In this way, the delegation set out on their journey back, and everyone had high hopes for the future.

  Due to the melting of spring snow, the flood washed away the road, causing the team to return and take another route, which would not pass through Xincheng again. This also made Zhou Pingsong breathe a sigh of relief, without worrying that Ye Luyuancheng would mention this matter to Han Xiaochou, bringing trouble. As they journeyed south, the snow on the side of the road grew thinner, and they drew closer to the Song border. Thinking of their families' expectations and the imperial court's rewards, the mood of the team also became more cheerful.

  "A white horse with a golden bridle, galloping west and north. Who's child is this, a wandering knight from You and Bing? From a young age, he left his hometown, his name echoing in the desert. Last night, he held a fine bow, how did the arrows differ? He drew the string and broke the left target, shooting to the right, destroying the moon-shaped one. He reached up with his hand to catch flying birds, bent down to scatter horse hooves..."

  The most proud one is Xue Liangyu, who sits on the horseback, loudly reciting Cao Zhi's "White Horse Ode" which Zhou Ping taught him two days ago. Perhaps it was because this poem depicted an image closest to his ideals that this 17-year-old youth would memorize and recite whenever he had nothing to do. With only a rough understanding of literature, he could recite fluently in just one day's work. Leaning against the carriage wall, Zhou Ping smiled like a tolerant elder brother, watching the young rider's shadow.

  "Waaaah——!"

  Suddenly, a prolonged horn sound came from the front, causing everyone in the team to tense up immediately. This meant that the scouts in front of the main force had discovered an unusual situation. Zhou Ping jumped off the carriage and saw the Khitan cavalry forming a battle formation under the command of the school lieutenant. A moment later, a horse rushed over from the front, shouting something loudly in the Khitan language. Zhou Ping immediately felt the atmosphere relax.

  "There are quite a few corpses ahead, it seems like they just had a battle!" A voice came from behind, Zhou Ping turned his head around and saw that Wen Cheng's face was solemn.

  "It seems that the situation is getting more and more serious. There are battles happening so close to the Song territory, alas, the people's lives are full of sorrow!"

  Zhou Ping didn't say a word, he just nodded silently. He walked to his horse, jumped on and whipped it hard, galloping forward. Xue Liangyu was taken aback, but quickly followed suit.

  "It should not have been dead for long, the corpses haven't even started to rot yet!" Xue Liangyu said in a low voice. On the empty land on the right side of the road, forty or fifty corpses were scattered all over the place, the cold wind from Yanzhidi had turned the skin of the dead into an eerie dark green color that made people feel sick. Flocks of crows were circling and pecking at the corpses, for these scavenging birds, human self-destruction provided them with a rich source of food.

  "These should be the Han rebels or bandits, who were defeated by the Liao cavalry." Xue Liangyu pulled out a feathered arrow from the corpse and handed it to Zhou Ping. He pointed to the trampled snow ground around them and the hoof prints and corpses extending westward, continuing: "The bandits encountered the Khitan cavalry here, they were surrounded and quickly defeated, then came the pursuit. There shouldn't be many survivors!"

  Zhou Ping didn't answer, he threw the arrow aside and walked to the pile of corpses. These corpses were extremely dense, and most of the wounds were on their chests. It was clear that they had been killed in a desperate battle, and there were also several people wearing leather armor, who should be the leaders.

  "Good jade, these people are not simple! The leader didn't even escape first!" Zhou Ping said to Xue Liangyu in a low voice.

  "Hmm!" Xue Liangyu nodded, compared to the thieves in Song territory, the fighting will of these dead people when they were alive was undoubtedly much stronger. The two just got on their horses and were about to leave when a groan came from the wind, Zhou Ping was stunned, his eyes turned to Xue Liangyu, and found that the other person's expression was also different, only then did he confirm that it was not his own hallucination.

  "Is anyone else alive?" Zhou Ping jumped off his horse and walked towards the pile of corpses. At this moment, a second groan came. This time, Zhou Ping was even more certain. He quickly ran to the source of the sound, turned over two corpses, and underneath, a child of no more than 14 or 15 years old appeared, struggling to pull his right leg out from under a dead horse.

  "Good jade, come and help!" Zhou Ping shouted, and the two of them worked together to lift the horse's leg slightly. The young man took advantage of the opportunity to pull his leg out. Zhou Ping carefully pinched a few times on the leg, and the young man was also sensible, knowing that the other party was helping him check, and endured the pain without shouting.

  "It's okay, the bones are fine!" After confirming, Zhou Ping helped the young man up and looked him up and down for a while. He had to admit that this young man was very lucky. After going through such a life-and-death ordeal, he was surprisingly normal except for a few bruises and sprains all over his body.

  "What should we do with this kid?" Xue Liangyu asked.

  "Take him away and let Master Zhou see him, then decide what to do with him!" Zhou Ping handed the wine pouch at his waist to the young man, letting him take two sips, and then carried him onto the horse.

  In the carriage, Han Xiao looked up and down at the young man, and after a moment asked: "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

  "I'm also a Han, I can naturally understand!" The young man's tone was somewhat strange, but it was indeed Chinese. He looked at Han Xiao's attire for a while and suddenly asked: "Are you officials of the Song Dynasty?"

  "Not bad, how did you know?"

  "My father said that the Han official's robe was just like this, but I've never seen it with my own eyes." The young man said this and lowered his head, clearly recalling his father's experience.

  "Where are you from? What's your name? How did you get surrounded?"

  "I am a Liao Dong person, my surname is Luo and others call me Luo She Er. My hometown of Liao people fought against the Jin people, so our fellow villagers could only escape to Yan land." When he said this, the young man suddenly gritted his teeth and cursed: "The Khitan dogs used us to attack Liuzhou, but didn't give us food or clothing, it's clear they wanted to borrow a knife to kill people, and wipe out my brothers in arms!" I've noticed that so far, the ones who have been rewarding me are always 'dadadadadada', 'marsken', 'yxonline' and a few other book friends. How can I put this... as an author, of course, I hope the reward money is more the better, but if the total amount of rewards is fixed, I'd rather it be spread out among more people, not just those ten or so individuals. This way, I'll feel like more people are supporting me with real actions!