Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 555: The Khitan Tribe is in Difficulty

"Yelü Erlang, why are you here?"

After meeting, they exchanged a few pleasantries before Liu Huai immediately questioned, "And why are you so embarrassed? Did you offend Jiedu Geng?"

Yelu Xingge was indeed in a rather disheveled state. He had grown his hair and beard, the golden ring on his head had disappeared, he was dressed in black cloth, and even his face looked much thinner.

Upon hearing this, Yelu Xingge only gave a bitter smile twice, then he saluted and said seriously, "Liu Dalang, I have come to join the Loyalty Army. I hope you can take me in."

This time, Liu Huai was truly shocked. "No, don't you still have a tribe? Why are you in such a miserable situation?"

Yelu Xingge sighed repeatedly, drank a cup of tea, and then talked about what had happened in the past few days.

The Khitan tribe, or the northern ethnic minority tribes, had a major characteristic, that is, both young and old could ride horses, and could even be considered relatively qualified cavalrymen.

For them, horseback riding and archery is just a way of life, just like the farmers in the Central Plains swinging their hoes.

This way of life allowed them to acquire a relatively strong military force at an extremely small cost. Although farmers in the Central Plains had martial arts exercises in the autumn and prepared for bandits and Japanese invaders, and archery clubs were everywhere, they still had to train after the busy farming season. The Khitan tribe, on the other hand, could naturally train their kung fu by herding sheep and hunting.

But now we are in the Central Plains, aren’t we?

The previous production method naturally could no longer be carried out, and there was not enough space for them to graze cattle and sheep, so the production method had to be changed from animal husbandry to farming.

It's not that the Khitans didn't know how to farm. In fact, the Mongols also farmed today, but they just had less arable land. However, as the production method changes, the lifestyle will also change, and ultimately the production relations will undergo a dramatic change.

To put it bluntly, if you want to accept Chinese localization, you have to accept everything about Chinese localization, whether it is good or bad.

Therefore, the previous relationship between the leader and the tribesmen of the Khitan tribe could no longer be maintained, and they could only follow the Central Plains method of sending officials and accepting the jurisdiction of officials.

But this is not a simple matter.

The simplest first step, replacing war horses with oxen, almost caused a huge mess.

If they didn't switch to oxen, they wouldn't be able to pull the plow and cultivate the land quickly. If they switched to oxen, the Khitans' fighting power would drop rapidly.

As for how many war horses to exchange for oxen, that was a matter of considerable debate. During this period, there was even a terrible incident where someone tried to get something for nothing.

These chaos inevitably delayed spring plowing.

The Tianping Army's management of the local areas was not as strict as that of the Zhongyi Army. Most places were under the co-governance of local elites, and there were even some rudiments of the tax farming system. These local tyrants did not care at all about what would happen to a group of Khitans.

Whose son is he if he dies or not!
To put it bluntly, if the Khitan tribe had not still possessed some military power, the surrounding small forces would have pounced on them and wiped them out long ago.

After hearing the end, Liu Huai finally came to a secret conclusion in his heart that the biggest problem facing Yelu Xingge was not that someone wanted to harm the Khitan tribe, but the pain caused by the transformation of the production mode.

If this continues, the Khitan tribe will really have nothing to eat.

"Liu Dalang." After Yelu Xingge finished speaking, he pretended to kneel on the ground. Liu Huai hurriedly stepped forward to help him up. "Now we are really desperate. I hope Liu Dalang can take us in."

As he said this, Yelu Xingge was about to kneel down again.

What is this thing called?
Faced with such a plea from his former comrade, Liu Huai was somewhat flustered. After a long silence, he said to Yelu Xingge seriously, "Didn't you ask Geng Jiedu for help? What did he say?"

Hearing this, Yelu Xingge gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, I begged Geng Jiedu at the beginning, but Geng Jiedu said he had already distributed food and land to us. He was also short of food and could not provide any more support."

"But he's been hosting banquets all day, with wine and meat to entertain his distinguished guests. How come he has no food? Does he just want to watch us starve to death?"

By the end of his speech, Yelu Xingge's eyes turned red.

Liu Huai had an even bigger headache.

If they were enemies, there would be no need to waste time talking, just draw your knife and chop them down. But the key point is that Geng Jiedu of the Tianping Army is a staunch ally of the Zhongyi Army, so how can you use force?
Although it was Liu Huai who stepped forward to save the Tianping Army that night in Mengshan and was very kind to Geng Jing, Geng Jing was also very considerate later and sent elite troops to follow Liu Huai in his battles across the country.

Since the fight against the Wuxing Army, the Tianping Army has never been absent in several major battles and has maintained a very firm position.

Xin Qiji, Jia Rui, Li Tieqiang and others followed Liu Huai south and fought bravely in the Lianghuai area.

Regardless of whether Geng Jing had political considerations, were the Tianping Army’s sacrifices fake?

Yelu Xingge, however, had also been a longtime comrade of Liu Huai's. On that day at Mount Meng, he had already obeyed Liu Huai's orders and participated in the subsequent battle to relieve Juzhou and the direct defeat of Wuxing's army at Yishui. Even though he had tribal ties and did not follow Liu Huai south, he still dispatched his deputy, Xiao Pennu, as Liu Huai's personal guard.

Isn’t this a great favor?

However, these two people are in a superior-subordinate relationship, and it is the most complicated "external pattern" among superior-subordinate relationships, which makes Liu Huai unable to intervene directly.

If you are not careful, it is possible to offend both parties at the same time.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Huai laid the matter out in the open: "Yelü Erlang, this matter is really too taboo, but I can't watch your tribe die. How about this? I will send a letter to Geng Jiedu and ask him to give you more food.

If Jiedu Geng truly refuses to provide food, or if he truly has difficulties, how about you, the Khitan tribe, move to the eastern part of Shandong Province and nominally serve as my guest troops? I will then allocate a piece of land for you to grow alfalfa and raise cattle and sheep, allowing you to develop your livestock skills. Later, I will employ you as warhorses in the name of the Jiedufu, and exchange grain for cattle and sheep. How do you do that?

Yelu Xingge knew his request was a bit embarrassing, but when he heard that Liu Huai had some complete plans, he was relieved: "Liu Dalang, I know this is indeed troublesome, but if we weren't really desperate, I wouldn't bother you."

Liu Huai smiled and said, "Erlang, you're too kind. Let's not talk about the friendship we once had fighting side by side. Now that the Jin bandits are still around, if we can't work together to overcome this difficult time, we'll all be defeated by them individually sooner or later. The so-called "being in the same boat" is nothing more than this."

Yelu Xingge also completely relaxed. After having a simple meal with Liu Huai, he took the letter back.

After this departure, there was no further news of Yelu Xingge.

Liu Huai thought that the matter had been resolved, and then continued to inspect various places, constantly dismissing or promoting officials. At the same time, he sent documents to various places, asking officials to prepare for the upcoming autumn harvest.

Time flew forward, and at this time, as the corn and beans in the fields gradually turned yellow, the whole world gradually became peaceful.

This is not to say that the princes have become gentle and polite, but the autumn harvest is the top priority in an agricultural society and cannot be taken lightly.

Of course, everyone knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

After experiencing Wanyan Liang's turmoil over the past few years, both Song and Jin were severely damaged, and everyone was preparing to rely on this autumn harvest to catch their breath.

After the autumn harvest, those who have food will organize troops to expand, while those who have no food will find ways to grab food and immediately start a war.

As August arrived, the weather finally broke free from the previous heat and gradually became cooler.

The so-called clear and crisp autumn weather refers to this season.

The millet in Shandong is ripe, and it is time to harvest it. Liu Huai has finally finished his inspection and returned to Yizhou to cut the ribbon for the completion of the medical school.

Yang Neng stood on the high platform, looking at the row of blue brick and tile houses in front of him, and a sense of pride arose in his heart.

He had participated in the construction of this place. When he thought about how countless doctors would learn and become doctors from it in the future, Yang Neng was so excited that he trembled all over.

In this way, having students all over the world is no longer a dream.

Liu Huai watched the hundred or so newly recruited young men walk into the various courtyards. He was just about to offer a few words of encouragement to Li Tong beside him when Liang Su hurried over. He leaned in close and whispered, "General, some refugees have arrived and are seeking asylum."

Today, the eastern part of Shandong is considered a pure land. The strong combat effectiveness of the rebel army is one aspect, but more importantly, it is relatively rare in the north to have a force that focuses on developing people's livelihood.

As a result, there was an endless stream of refugees fleeing the area, and the Shandong Marshal's Office also had a complete set of procedures to accommodate these people.

But now seeing Liang Su's appearance, Liu Huai knew that something might be wrong. He took him to a corner and asked, "What's going on? Are there too many people here?"

Liang Su shook his head: "Not too many, but they are fleeing from the west of Fei County."

Liu Huai nodded and was about to say something when he froze. "What did you say? Fei County? Isn't Yanzhou to the west of Fei County? Did something go wrong with the Tianping Army?"

Liang Su's expression turned grim. "Something did go wrong, but it wasn't what you thought it was. Alas, I can't explain it clearly. You'll know once you go to Fei County."

"That matter should not be delayed any longer." Liu Huai said to Li Tong, "Mr. Li, please go to the Flying Tigers camp and make some preparations first."

Li Tong had been looking at Liang Su, thinking that Liang Su was jealous because he presided over the completion of the medical school and was deliberately trying to interfere. But when he heard Liu Huai say this, Li Tong was also stunned and couldn't help but whispered, "Does the eldest son think that something is wrong?"

Liu Huai shook his head solemnly: "I just have a bad feeling... The Tianping Army must not cause any trouble."

(End of this chapter)