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

Chapter 856 Hu Ge Returns to the City (Part 1)
"Xiao Ping, what are you doing here?"

"Chen family, you're back alive? When did you get back?"

"Who is this?"

"Xiao Ping, have you become a market official?"

The four arrived at a quiet courtyard one after the other. Almost simultaneously, they all asked questions, causing a momentary commotion, but then they all fell silent.

After a moment, the Khitan man named Xiao Ping spoke with difficulty: "Chen family, when did you return? Why don't you dare to go back to your tribe to see us?"

Yelü Chenjia felt an urge to cover his face upon hearing this, but he also knew that this was a critical moment and dared not hide anything: "I also just arrived in Linhuang Prefecture, following the caravan... Alas, I am now working for the Prince of Han, you know the Prince of Han, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ping deflated like a punctured balloon and sat sprawled on the ground in the cold wind: "King Han, King Han, of course I know him. After the Battle of Daming Prefecture, not only did the name of the man-eating flying tiger spread in Yanjing, but even the grasslands knew of such a person."

It is said that the King of Han has wings on his back, a tiger's head, three heads and six arms, is three zhang tall, and has a waist circumference of three zhang. He eats one hundred children's hearts every day.

At this point, Xiao Ping gave a self-deprecating laugh: "I just never imagined that the Chen family would even include you... sigh..."

Yelü Chenjia said with shame, "Aping, we suffered heavy losses in Daming Prefecture, and many of our fine young men were captured. At present, there are still thousands of people undergoing labor reform and mining iron ore in Xuzhou."

I...I also wanted to earn merit as soon as possible, atone for my sins, and let my sons live an upright life.

Xiao Ping simply lay down on the ground, looked up at the sky, and said with a bitter laugh, "I know, I know, you big shots all have your own thoughts, and the big shots above you are even more so. They only know how to use us Khitans, but they won't give us a way out."

"Tell me, what orders does that damned King Han have given you this time? Are you going to drag our entire clan to the battlefield?"

Yelü Chenjia shook his head in response, but before he could speak, he heard Liu Ba take two steps forward and enter Xiao Ping's field of vision: "Aping, it's not that there's no way out. Prince Han has given us a way out."

Xiao Ping remained sprawled on the ground, but upon hearing this, he slightly raised his head and sneered, "You idiot, is this the way out the King of Han gave you?"

Liu Ba nodded and said, "That's exactly right."

Xiao Ping sat up, looked at Liu Ba's beautiful hairstyle, and couldn't help but sneer again: "Aren't you afraid of getting fleas?"

Liu Ba shook his head: "Life is the most important thing. Being able to live is the most important thing. What does it matter if you get fleas?"

"Since the King of Han has asked us Khitans to change our surnames and customs and become Han people, it means that he is willing to accept us as his subjects, to treat us equally, and to find ways to make our lives better. Do you understand this?"

Xiao Ping finally stood up, brushed the dust off his body, making the whole courtyard swirl with dust, before continuing, "I don't understand what you're saying. All I know is that my brother was killed by the Jin invaders, and my commander betrayed his oath with King Saba and surrendered to the Jin invaders."

Then the military governor led his Khitan men to Hebei to fight against the Han King you mentioned, and many of his comrades did not return.

I know all this, but I have no idea who to hate. I'm completely helpless as I watch our tribe decline.

Let you intelligent people decide what to do.

Liu Ba and Yelü Chenjia breathed a sigh of relief almost simultaneously. Hou Anyuan, who had been hiding his figure to the side, also slowly put the wrist-cutting dagger back into the leather handguard.

It seems we can get things done today without resorting to violence.

"Your Majesty... Governor... Duke... Has my elder brother returned?" After trying several different forms of address, Yelü Chenjia finally decided to use "elder brother": "I remember that my elder brother was taken to Hejian Prefecture by Cao Zhuowo."

Xiao Ping shook his head: "The military governor initially went to Hejian Prefecture, but later followed the patron back to Yanjing. I heard that he drinks every day and gets completely drunk, and is in no condition at all."

Yelü Chenjia sighed slightly upon hearing this. In fact, after the battle of Daming Prefecture that day, Yelü Wowo had already become completely demoralized. When he broke through the siege, he only managed to escape with his life thanks to the desperate fighting of his general Cao Zhuwo.

However, at this moment, a thought suddenly appeared in Yelü Chenjia's mind.

If Yelü Wowo had surrendered with the Khitan troops that day, wouldn't the situation be clear now?
However, this thought only passed through my mind for a moment.

If Yelü Wowo had surrendered directly that day, then once the Jin Dynasty had recovered, the first thing they would have done would have been to send troops to sweep through Linhuang Prefecture, causing a bloodbath!
"So who's in charge now?"

“It’s Cao Zhuowo, he’s back.”

At this point, Xiao Ping's expression turned somewhat resentful.

Although it was expected, after hearing it, both Yelü Chenjia and Liu Ba shook their heads and smiled bitterly.

The reason is quite simple.

If there was any Khitan general who wasn't forced by circumstances and genuinely felt a sense of belonging to the Jin Dynasty, it would be Yelü Wowo and Cao Zhuowo. Yelü Wowo was a sworn brother personally recruited by Wanyan Yong, so there's no need to elaborate.

Cao Zhuowo's Khitan tribe originally lived in Liaoyang Prefecture. Several years ago, Liaoyang was flooded, and their tribe suffered greatly. Wanyan Yong, who was then the governor of Tokyo, personally went to provide disaster relief, which was a timely help to Cao Zhuowo.

According to Cao Zhuowo, his mother survived only because of the large carts of grain that Wanyan Yong personally supervised the transport of.

Given this relationship, Cao Zhuowo would very well be willing to risk his life to maintain it for Wanyan Yong.

How can one not sigh when comrades who once fought side by side and were inseparable are now on opposite sides, even facing each other with swords drawn?
Hou Anyuan listened to the three Khitans talk for a long time, then finally lost patience and got to the point: "Well, Xiao Ping, did you know that the Jurchens are going to form an alliance with the Mongols?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ping jumped up immediately: "What? A Mongol? Is it Yesugei from the Qiyan tribe?"

Hou Anyuan frowned: "This matter has almost spread throughout the Central Plains, but hasn't Linhuang Prefecture heard a word about it?"

Xiao Ping's eyes immediately turned bloodshot: "If I had known this earlier, I would never have had the heart to eat mutton soup! The Jin traitors are so ruthless; they really want to sell us off, skin and all!"

Hou Anyuan pressed on, "What is the current situation of the Mongols?"

Xiao Ping stamped his foot and said anxiously, "Their Qiyan tribe's Yesugei has already proclaimed himself the Mongol Khan. After Yesugei annexed the Tatar tribe a few years ago, his power grew greatly. He then joined forces with the Hongjila tribe and the Merkit tribe. During the Hebei war last year, taking advantage of the fact that the Jin invaders had no time to pay attention to the grasslands, he directly annexed the Taichiwu tribe."

The eastern half of the grasslands has already been occupied by this fellow! Even if he doesn't have the same power and influence as his grandfather, the King of Khabul Mongols, he's not far off.

Because there was still some distance between the north and south, the central command of the Han army was unaware of this news.

Unlike the historical period when various tribes of the grasslands fought each other and could not achieve unity.

Three years ago, due to the butterfly effect, the Qiyan tribe annexed the Tatar tribe early on, allowing Yesugei to successfully snowball his power to the point that it is now difficult to control.

It can be said that the Mongol Empire is now only one real war away from formally establishing itself as a nation.

"No, I have to inform Cao Zhuowo and tell him to make preparations as soon as possible. If the Mongols really have a king, their first move will definitely be to attack Linhuang Prefecture. Can we really expect the Jurchens to come to our aid then?"

Just as Xiao Ping was about to leave, Liu Ba grabbed his arm: "Come back. What's wrong with you? We know nothing about the Qiyan tribe, yet we still guessed that the Jin bandits and the Mongols had made peace. Cao Zhuowo isn't stupid; how could he not know?"

Yelü Chenjia responded with equal seriousness: "Indeed, this matter is too strange. The Jin bandits are sending envoys to the Mongols, and they will definitely pass through Linhuang Prefecture. It's normal that you don't know, but how could that scoundrel Cao Zhuwo not know?"

The two men surprisingly expressed their doubts about Cao Zhuowo in unison.

Xiao Ping was in a state of panic. After struggling for a while and finding that he couldn't break free, he asked anxiously, "Then what other methods do you have?"

Just as Liu Ba was about to utter his wild and daring words, Yelü Chenjia preempted him, saying, "We will be staying here for some more days. Go and keep a close eye on Cao Zhuowo, see if he makes any unusual moves, and whether he has many or few people around him. Report back to us when the time comes."

Xiao Ping stopped struggling, but turned around and stared at the Yelü Chen family: "Chen family, can I still trust you now?"

Yelü Chenjia pointed to the braid on his head: "Of course I am still a Khitan, how could I not think of our Khitan tribe?"

Xiao Ping stood there for a moment, and finally a sinister smile appeared on his face: "Chen family, I will trust you this once. But if I find out that you have ulterior motives and want to betray our Khitan tribe for your Han King, I will definitely kill you!"

After saying that, Xiao Ping turned and left without stopping for a moment.

The three exchanged glances: "Let's go too. The situation is strange right now, so we should stay hidden in the shadows."

Hou Anyuan's proposal was unanimously approved.

After all, they were in enemy territory. If the Jin Kingdom noticed something was wrong at this time, not only would Xiao Ping be doomed, but even Hou Anyuan and his hundred or so men would definitely not be able to escape.

However, just as the three returned to the caravan, a fellow merchant rushed over and said, "Do you gentlemen have any money? I'd like to borrow some to tide you over."

It seemed absurd for a merchant to borrow money from a nominal guard, but Hou Anyuan readily agreed, saying, "Of course, I have some money here. But Manager Cui, you must tell me what kind of profit you want."

Manager Cui knew that Hou Anyuan was worried that he would lose all the money he had invested, so he quickly said, "It's furs. A nobleman from the grasslands is coming with a large quantity of furs. He has already informed the tax collector."

The brokers I know well here also said that the furs this time are very beautiful, and that I should prepare the money as soon as possible.

Hou Anyuan narrowed his eyes, then smiled and said, "Manager Cui has made quite a haul."

(End of this chapter)