I was living in the Five Dynasties period, just after crossing the Zhongdu Bridge.

The name Du Chongwei is a touchstone in the Central Plains right now.

This man, as the brother-in-law of the Later Jin emperor, commanded 100,000 troops, yet he surrendered to the Khitan without firing a single arrow on the banks of the Hutuo River, causing the land to sink and the people to suffer devastation.

Although Yelü Deguang has now appointed him to a high-ranking position and stationed him in Weizhou, in the hearts of the Han people, he is still considered a traitor.

Shen Lie's words, "I want to personally cut off Du Chongwei's head," sound like the arrogant words of a young man, but in fact they carry great weight.

For someone like Zhao Kuangyin, who harbored ambitions for a better future, these words were more pleasing to the ear than any high-ranking official position or generous salary.

Therefore, by the end, this drinking session was no longer just about guests and hosts having a good time, but also about a tacit understanding of serving the country and its people.

Of course, even with a tacit understanding, we still have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

Now that Zhangjiawu has fallen, the remaining question is how to digest this piece of fat meat.

It must be said that although Zhang Heng deserved to die, the possessions he left behind truly relieved Shen Lie's urgent need.

In the cellar of the fortified village's backyard, there was a full five hundred bushels of grain stored up.

Five hundred shi (a unit of dry measure) in a peaceful year is only enough for a wealthy household to eat for two or three years.

But on this Guanzhong Road, where starvation was rampant, this was the hard currency that could buy lives.

According to Shen Lie's meticulous calculations, even if the entire army only ate one dry meal a day, it would be enough to support the team until they reached Yaozhou.

Not to mention the cloth and salt looted from passing merchants in the warehouse, and even the dozens of leather armors that, although tattered, could still be repaired and used.

This can be considered a windfall.

With grain in hand, we have the confidence to recruit soldiers and horses.

Shen Lie did not accept all the henchmen who knelt down and surrendered. Since he had established the rule of not eating people, it was an ironclad rule.

After a thorough screening, only about two hundred relatively clean-looking young men remained, and they were incorporated into the ranks of those who helped the needy.

The problem is now that we have new recruits, who will train them?

Yang Ting was, after all, just an old soldier who was good at bullying and fighting, but when it came to training soldiers and arranging troops, he was completely clueless.

Not to mention Liu Qing, that big oaf; he's got the makings of a vanguard.

As for Shen Lie's own training skills?

Let's not talk about it!

Thus, this responsibility naturally fell on Zhao Kuangyin's shoulders, and the latter did not refuse.

As for whether Zhao Kuangyin could suppress these bandits,

Is it a joke to say that a single dragon-patterned staff can conquer all four hundred prefectures and counties under heaven?

With his baton in front of him, his imposing presence made the bandits gasp for breath.

After a few quick blows and a few beatings, these originally unruly henchmen actually started to resemble soldiers.

Supplies are plentiful, and troops are ready.

Only one final problem remained for Shen Lie.

Which way should I go?

The group is currently in Fenzhou, which is the area around Fenyang in Shanxi Province in later generations.

If you want to go south to Yaozhou, there are only two routes on the map on your desk.

The first route is by water.

If you were to unfold this map of the Central Plains, the smoothest way to get from Fenzhou and Jiexiu to Yaozhou would be to go south along the Fen River, directly into the Yellow River, and then turn west at Hezhong Prefecture to reach Yaozhou.

This is a smooth route with gentle waterways, saving both time and effort and speed.

Find a few boats, and take a few hundred bushels of grain and supplies downstream—that would be the most pleasant thing ever.

However, Hezhong Prefecture is not an easy place to go. At present, Hezhong Prefecture is still Liao territory, and the person in charge is Li Shouzhen, who has just been appointed as the Jiedushi of Tianping.

Of course, it was Yelü Deguang who bestowed the title.

Now that Liu Zhiyuan has declared himself emperor, Li Shouzhen has not yet submitted his memorial, but it is only a matter of time.

But the words "sooner or later" are crucial!

Although Yelü Deguang has already led the troops to rebel in the north, Li Shouzhen's banner has not yet been changed.

He was in a wait-and-see period, wanting to leave himself an escape route with the Khitans while also hoping to get a good price from Liu Zhiyuan.

At a time like this, if Shen Lie were to lead these hundreds of people and swagger past right under his nose...

That's like a child carrying gold through a bustling market.

If Li Shouzhen wanted to curry favor with Liu Zhiyuan, he might let them pass, but what if he wanted to use Shen Lie's head to curry favor with the Khitans who had not yet finished withdrawing?

Or perhaps he simply coveted the grain and warhorses and wanted to steal them from them?

Putting one's head in someone else's lap doesn't fit Shen Lie's logic.

"This waterway is not safe to travel."

Shen Lie turned his gaze away from the Fen River and towards the Lüliang Mountains to the west.

"Brother Shen, do you intend to take the mountain path?"

Zhao Kuangyin stood to the side, seemingly lost in thought.

"Starting from Fenzhou, heading west, passing through Xizhou, traversing Danzhou, then through Tongzhou, and directly heading towards Yaozhou?"

This road was incredibly difficult.

"What do you think, Brother Zhao?" Shen Lie asked in return.

"It's tough, but it's stable."

Zhao Kuangyin grabbed half a flatbread from the table, took a bite, and mumbled, "That Li Shouzhen is shameless; he's up to no good right now."

If we were to deliver ourselves to their doorstep, we'd probably be left with nothing but bones and scraps, but this mountain path is different.

"The areas of Xizhou and other places are now mostly unclaimed lands, or occupied by small groups of garrison troops."

"Danzhou has already submitted a memorial to the emperor; unless we encounter a large contingent of Khitan cavalry, no one will dare to stop us."

This is what it means for great minds to think alike.

I'd rather travel for an extra half month than gamble on Li Shouzhen's character.

That thing doesn't exist at all.

"Then it's settled."

······

Shen Lie led his troops to turn southwest.

Passing through Xizhou, traversing Lüliang, and passing through Cizhou, this journey, though fraught with towering mountains and steep ridges, was remarkably safe.

Most of the prefectures and counties along the way were either too busy to take care of themselves or had already secretly pledged allegiance to Taiyuan. They mostly turned a blind eye to this army that was flying the banner of the Han Dynasty, and some even offered to send them firewood and water.

As for the grain... forget about it. If Zhao Kuangyin hadn't stopped him, Shen Lie would have distributed at least half of the 500 shi of grain.

"My lord,"

The soldiers who were on the outpost returned on horseback, looking slightly flustered.

"There is a group of Khitans at the mountain pass ahead."

"There were about a hundred men, all cavalry. They were driving away the civilians."

"Khitans?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lie reined in the horses.

Logically speaking, since Yelü Deguang had already retreated north, there shouldn't be a large number of Khitan troops in Danzhou.

unless......

"Are they defeated soldiers? Or are they the rearguard?" Zhao Kuangyin rode forward and asked.

"They seem like... raiders," the scout replied. "They didn't attack the city, they just looted the villages and towns, and captured a lot of civilians. It looks like they want to take them all and flee north."

Shen Lie understood.

News had come a few days ago that Gao Yan, the commander of Danzhou, was a tough guy. Taking advantage of the fact that the Khitans had not yet established a firm foothold, he killed the fake governor who was using the prestige of the Khitans and set up his own independent operation.

However, Gao Yan's forces were limited, and he was already struggling to defend Danzhou City. He was likely powerless to deal with the swarms of Khitan cavalry outside the city.

These Khitans had obviously heard the news and knew that the main force had left, leaving them alone. So they thought they could make one last quick buck before leaving.

They robbed money, food, and people.

This is an old tradition of the Khitan people.

"About a hundred people."

If it were a regular main force of the Liao army, Shen Lie would have turned around and disappeared into the ravine without saying a word.

But these trailing riders...

That's a different matter.

Firstly, these people have horses.

Shen Lie's biggest need right now is horses; most of these hundreds of people still have to walk.

Secondly, this group was isolated.

Without the support of a large army, the Khitans were like rootless duckweed in this land inhabited entirely by Han Chinese.

"What does Brother Zhao think?" Shen Lie asked Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhao Kuangyin grinned.

"If we don't take this business that's been offered to us, wouldn't it be a waste of all our strength?"

He pointed to the surrendered soldiers behind him.

"Besides, these soldiers have just had two good meals. If they haven't seen blood, they'll be cowards when they get to Yaozhou. It's a good opportunity to practice on these Khitan barbarians."

Shen Lie nodded, his gaze sweeping over the group behind him.

"Then let's eat them."