Early the next morning, the two of them woke up, put on their clothes, packed their luggage, and prepared to leave the Shaolin Temple.
"Where are we going today?" Li Shishi asked Qiao Feng.
"Of course we'll go to Beggar's Sect's Black Tortoise Sect. The fighting there is the most intense!”Qiao Feng replied.
It turned out that the headquarters of Beggar's Sect was in Luoyang. Beggar's Sect originated in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. At first, it was mainly made up of beggars who mingled in Luoyang. There were only a few dozen of them. Later on, it grew and became powerful throughout the country. Now, other than the headquarters, there were also four branches in the country: Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise. The Black Tortoise Tribe in the north was stationed in Xiongzhou, which unified the Beggar's Sect members in Xiongzhou and Bazhou. In fact, it was originally located in Beijing, which unified Beijing, Datong, Youzhou, Xiongzhou, and Bazhou. However, in the early years, Beijing, Datong, and Youzhou were conquered by the Liao Dynasty, so they retreated south to Xiongzhou. The Vermilion Bird Tribe in the south was stationed in Guangzhou, the Azure Dragon Tribe in the east was stationed in Hangzhou, and the White Tiger Tribe in the west was stationed in Chengdu.
"Is that far from here?" Li Shishi asked again.
"About 1,300 li." Qiao Feng replied.
"I don't think we'll be able to reach that day."
"We'll go to Handan today, and tomorrow we'll leave Handan to the Black Tortoise Tribe's base in Xiongzhou.”
"Okay, then let's go!" Li Shishi said.
Qiao Feng helped Li Shishi onto the horse, then put the luggage on the horse and started to ride.
They arrived at Handan on horseback at around 10 o'clock in the evening and found an inn to stay in. After Qiao Feng tied up the horse, the two of them put their luggage into the guest room and sat down to rest. Teacher Li boiled some tea.
"Brother Qiao, do you want to do it with Shishi tonight?”Li Shishi asked Qiao Feng.
"How about this, on the first, sixth, eleventh, sixteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-sixth of every month, I'll do it with you. The rest of the time, you can cultivate and refine Qi.”Qiao Feng said.
"Mm, okay. Shishi will do it with Brother Qiao on this day.”Li Shishi replied.
Today was the 28th of May, the second year of Shaosheng. The day after tomorrow, which was the first day of June, he would meet Qiao Feng again.
Thus, Teacher Li took a pill and began to cultivate and refine Qi. Qiao Feng was a little tired from the day's journey, so he lay down in bed and slept.
The next day, the two of them continued their journey. In the evening, they arrived at Xiongzhou and found an inn to stay in.
"Our inn only accepts Khitans. What are you two Han people doing here?”It turned out that the innkeeper was a Khitan. He said to Qiao Feng and Li Shishi impatiently.
"I'm sorry, we're going to find an inn run by the Han people!”Qiao Feng replied.
They found another inn run by a Han Chinese. Qiao Feng tied up the horse, and then they put the luggage into the guest's room.
"Sigh, it seems that Xiongzhou City has also been invaded by the Great Liao. There are already inns opened by the Khitans, but they still don't welcome us Han people!”Qiao Feng said emotionally.
"Yes, we can't allow the Khitans to behave atrociously in the territory of our Great Song. When are we going to fight back, Brother Qiao?”Li Shishi said.
"We're organizing the corresponding members of Beggar's Sect to join forces with the soldiers stationed in Great Song to attack Great Liao. Unfortunately, the soldiers of Great Song are not very strong. According to the report from the Black Tortoise Tribe, many people in Great Song have surrendered to Great Liao.”Qiao Feng said angrily.
Li Shishi boiled some water and brewed some tea. Qiao Feng said,""Continue cultivating and refining Qi. We'll go to Beggar's Sect's Black Turtle Sect tomorrow to ask the chief of Black Turtle Sect about the situation here.”
"Yes, alright." Shishi replied. Then, she took a pill and began to cultivate and refine Qi.
The next day, Qiao Feng brought Shishi Li to Beggar's Sect's Black Tortoise Clan and found Ma Tenghua, the chief of the Black Tortoise Clan.
"Brother Tenghua, how's the battle situation in Xiongzhou City? We came to stay in an inn yesterday, and there's actually an inn opened by the Khitans.”Qiao Feng asked Ma Tenghua.
" Sigh, I won't hide it from you, Chief Qiao. The situation in the north is getting worse by the day. There are about 3,000 people from Beggar's Sect who can fight against the Liao army in the north. There are also about 5,000 people from Xiongzhou's prefectural army and the Imperial Army sent by the imperial court. Most of them are the Imperial Army sent by the imperial court. They claim to have 100,000 people. The prefectural army is mainly managed by Governor Wang Yunzhi.”Ma Tenghua replied.
Local prefects generally had more power and were in charge of various matters in their jurisdiction, so Qiao Feng decided to visit Wang Yunzhi first.
"Then let's go find Wang Yunzhi to understand the local situation first, and then come back to discuss how to deal with the Liao Dynasty.”Qiao Feng said to Ma Tenghua.
"Alright, Chief Qiao. I heard that not long after, in a month and a half, the Liao Dynasty will raise an army to attack Xiongzhou City again. The Liao Dynasty even wants to attack the Central Plains and destroy our Great Song.”Ma Tenghua said anxiously.
Then, Qiao Feng led Li Shishi to the prefect's mansion in Xiongzhou.
He entered the prefect's residence and met the prefect, Wang Yunzhi.
"Lord Wang, I'm Qiao Feng, the Sect Master of Beggar's Sect. I've come to visit you mainly because of the common resistance against Liao. I heard that in another month and a half, Great Liao will attack Xiongzhou City again.”Qiao Feng said to Wang Yunzhi.
"That's right. Great Liao is now recuperating and gathering troops everywhere to prepare for the attack on Great Song. It's said that they plan to send 50,000 elite soldiers to attack Xiongzhou City in a month and a half. I'm also unable to do so. In this war, other than the 5,000 prefectural soldiers of our region and the 2,000 to 3,000 people of Beggar's Sect who are more hardworking, because they are basically locals, they work especially hard to protect their homeland. The 100,000 imperial guards sent by the imperial court are not good at fighting."They came from people gathered by the imperial court from all over the world. They had all left their homes. In addition, Xiongzhou City was not their homeland, so they could not resist the attacks of the Great Liao Dynasty, causing the Great Song Dynasty to retreat. In the past, Beijing, Youzhou, and Datong were the territory of the Great Song Dynasty. Later, they were all conquered by the Great Liao Dynasty and became the territory of the Khitans. Our prefectural army and Beggar's Sect had less than 10,000 people. We definitely could not defeat the Great Liao's army. The key lies in the imperial court's Imperial Army. They have the most numbers." I'm afraid that if Xiongzhou falls, I'll also become a prisoner! Originally, the main function of our prefectural army was to protect the safety of the region. Now, we have to go into battle to contend with foreign enemies. Originally, the prefectural army had only five hundred people. In order to fight, we expanded to five thousand people, an increase of ten times. The Imperial Court still allocated so much money. Now, the funds are somewhat tight.”Wang Yunzhi said dejectedly.
"Ai, that's indeed the case. We still have to rely on the Imperial Army in battle! Beggar's Sect and the Xiang Army have too few people. The Imperial Army has the most people. They have 100,000 people, twice the number of the Liao army. They also have the pay from the imperial court, so it shouldn't be a problem for them to supply them. They should be able to defeat the Liao army!”Qiao Feng said.
"Lord Wang, although I can't go to the front lines to fight, I'm willing to donate a hundred taels of silver to support the prefectural army. I heard from Lord Wang that the funds are tight and the prefectural army can't even eat.”After Li Shishi finished speaking, she took out two hundred taels of silver and handed it to Wang Yunzhi.
"Thank you, chivalrous lady. May I ask your name?”Wang Yunzhi asked as he took the notes.
"I'm Li Shishi!" Li Shishi replied.
"Oh, Miss Li, you're really beautiful and generous. Your husband is also a good-looking talent!”Wang Yunzhi praised.
"Hehe, we're not husband and wife. She's my sister!”Qiao Feng said, then continued," Who is in charge of the Imperial Guards? I want to contact him. The Liao Dynasty is about to attack Xiongzhou. We really have to prepare for war and fight to repel the Liao soldiers. I want to discuss with him the plan to resist the Liao Dynasty!”
"The leader of Xiongzhou's Imperial Army is called Li Huanming, the descendant of the founding general Li Chuyun. They are stationed in the Imperial Army camp 50 miles outside Xiongzhou. I have a map here. It's a little late today, so you can go find him tomorrow.”Wang Yunzhi said, then picked up a map and handed it to Qiao Feng.
"Alright, we'll go find him tomorrow. Lord Wang, thank you for your guidance. We'll take our leave!”Qiao Feng took the map and said.
"Alright, I won't send you off. Please take care!”Wang Yunzhi replied.
Qiao Feng and Li Shishi left Xiongzhou Prefecture.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。