The Villain's Counterattack

Murong Fu sacrificed nearly half of the foundation of the Song Dynasty with the Murong Commercial Bank, dispatched the Beggar Gang, Murong's secret guards, and the seventy-two island masters, attracted the attention of the Song Dynasty court and the wealthy families of the Song Dynasty for five months, and then set fire to nearly half of the Song Dynasty navy, burning half of the Taihu Lake red.

At the same time, Murong Bo spent three days secretly capturing the capital of Liao and beheading the Liao's top masters. Xiao Feng and Murong's secret guards mingled with the Liao Emperor Yelu Hongji, the Crown Prince, and the King of Chu, causing the Liao army of 600,000 to fight for a full half month. Recently, they were exhausted and the remaining troops were still 300,000.

Among these 300,000 exhausted soldiers, the Liao Emperor, the Crown Prince and the King of Chu each accounted for half, and their strength was roughly equal. On the way, Xiao Feng unexpectedly rescued the Empress Dowager, the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, the Princes, the Princesses and most of the officials' families, and sent them to the Liao Emperor, thus resolving the Liao Emperor Yelu Hongji's embarrassment of not daring to confront the Crown Prince and the King of Chu head-on. After that, he repeatedly charged into battle and was highly appreciated by the Liao Emperor.

Both the Liao Emperor and the rebels received a steady supply of food and grass, but their military strength continued to decline. Most of the injured were sent away and fell into Murong Bo's hands. Half a month later, seeing that they could not win, both sides moved closer to Shangjing. Only then did they discover that the entire Liao Kingdom, except for the wilderness where they were fighting, had fallen into the hands of unknown enemies.

The two sides immediately stopped fighting and negotiated peace, attacking Shangjing from the front and back, and agreed that whoever entered Shangjing first would become emperor. Murong Bo personally led the army to defeat the Crown Prince and the King of Chu. The King of Chu was beheaded, and nearly 10,000 of the Crown Prince's 150,000 troops were killed, 50,000 were captured, and the rest were defeated.

Then they fought against the Liao Emperor. The Dragon Elephant Army galloped across the land and was invincible. Yelu Hongji was experienced and fought to the death with a large number of people. Murong Bo's grassland cavalry was dispatched. Both sides fought and blood flowed like a river. When the outcome was uncertain, Xiao Feng and Murong's secret guards took down the Liao Emperor and all the civil and military officials, and the Liao army was in chaos.

More than 600,000 people participated in this battle, and nearly 100,000 were killed or wounded. The last uncontrolled army of the Liao Kingdom was defeated, the Liao emperor and all civil and military officials were captured, 100,000 elite Liao soldiers were captured, and more than 100,000 were scattered outside. The King of Chu was killed in the battle, and the Crown Prince fled to the northwest.

Yelu Hongji was also a tough guy, and Murong Bo admired him very much. Seeing that he would rather die than surrender, he released him and all the ministers and nobles who refused to surrender, and ordered Xiao Feng to lead an army of 50,000 to escort them all the way to the Western Regions, with endless supplies along the way but no stopping.

Murong Bo told him very directly that the Great Yan Kingdom was determined to revive the greatness of the Tang Empire. The area from the sea in the east to the Protectorate of the Western Regions in the west was within its hunting range. Therefore, Xixia, Tubo, Uighurs, and Heihan could not become the footholds of the remnants of the Liao Kingdom. They needed to go west to find a new habitat.

Murong Bo presented Yelü Hongji with a rough map of Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, and Europe. It was hand-drawn by Murong Fu, incorporating intelligence gathered from Song Dynasty merchants (both along the sea routes). Murong Bo presented the map to Yelü Hongji, lamenting the vastness of the world. Even the Tang Dynasty at its peak couldn't encompass it all, occupying less than one-tenth of its territory. He aspired to revive the Great Yan and establish world dominance, but the territory he could truly control was no more than that of the Tang Dynasty at its peak. Any more would be unmanageable.

In the future, the Great Yan Kingdom will grant fiefs to other countries and encourage its people to go out. The Great Yan Kingdom will not be divided internally, but if someone splits off the territory and establishes new borders outside the country, the Great Yan Kingdom will recognize its legitimacy and even strongly support it. Trade and diplomacy will be the most basic.

Yelu Hongji was in his prime, surrounded by his family, tens of thousands of loyal soldiers, and dozens of civil and military ministers. Naturally, he was unwilling to be imprisoned until his death. He also admired Murong Bo's ambition and vision, and took the initiative to cooperate with him to control the Liao Kingdom. In the process, he also received great feedback from Murong Bo, including a large number of weapons, armor, and food, as well as a lot of food, clothing, housing, transportation, and craftsmen.

Murong Bo didn't feel bad at all about giving the Liao Kingdom's weapons, armor and food to Yelu Hongji. His own son had better ones, and most of these outdated things needed to be recycled. Giving them away would actually be of greater use.

Yelu Hongji appeared openly in the territory of Liao and helped Murong Bo control Liao. Although there were some twists and turns in the process, he was safe and sound, and even the Murong family was not exposed. The Song Dynasty, Western Xia, Tubo and other countries received intelligence that the Crown Prince and the King of Chu were rebelling. The Liao Emperor won a great victory and appeased the people all the way.

Only the upper echelons of the Liao Dynasty knew that the Liao Dynasty no longer existed. The ruling family had changed from the Yelu clan of the Khitan ethnic group to the Murong clan of the Xianbei ethnic group. It was precisely because of their Xianbei origin that they were more likely to make the Khitan people submit. After all, according to historical records, the Khitan people were originally separated from the Xianbei. Murong Bo's slogan was to revive the Great Yan Kingdom and recreate the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. It should be noted that the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Li Tang was also a naturalized Han Chinese with Xianbei blood. In the eyes of outsiders, especially the Xianbei and Khitan people, the Tang Dynasty was also their dynasty.

Along the way, Yelu Hongji and Xiao Feng gradually fell in love. Xiao Feng's strength, Xiao Feng's heroism, Xiao Feng's bearing, Xiao Feng's wisdom, and Xiao Feng's drinking capacity all made Yelu Hongji admire him very much. When they were no longer superiors and subordinates, and no longer enemies, the two actually became good friends.

The benefit of being friends with Xiao Feng was that Yelu Hongji had a deeper understanding of the Murong family. He knew that besides Murong Bo, there was also a younger and more powerful Murong Fu. The maps he had in his hands and all the equipment he used during the march were all made by him. Even the fall of the Liao Dynasty to the Great Yan Kingdom was due to the contribution of that young master Murong. He was the mastermind behind the conquests of Jeju Island, Goryeo, and Mobei, trained the troops, and even commanded the hidden guards.

During the Murong family's invasion of Liao, Young Master Murong single-handedly withstood the pressure from most of the Song Dynasty's aristocratic families, fighting them back and forth, earning Yelu Hongji's admiration. Yelu Hongji had witnessed Xiao Feng's martial arts prowess on the road; a supreme master was no match for him. Not only were Yelu Hongji's imperial guards, but even the guardians of the imperial temples were no match for him. According to Xiao Feng, he had never defeated Young Master Murong in a fight.

"Before, I was the leader of the Beggars' Sect. Qiao Feng in the north and Murong in the south were equally famous. We would openly fight every three or two years. At that time, the Murong family was quietly developing and gathering strength, unwilling to make a big splash. You must know that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Young Master Murong would not fight me with all his strength, and even if he did, I would not be able to defeat him. Later, my identity was exposed, and I was forced to leave the Beggars' Sect. The Murong family, which had become a towering tree, took the initiative to find me. Now, when I fought Young Master Murong again, I was no match for him."

Xiao Feng drank from his bowls and ate meat with big mouthfuls, while Yelu Hongji opposite him was full of longing: "I wish I could be his friend. Losing to such a hero is not a loss!"

Xiao Feng laughed heartily and said, "Young Master Murong is truly a remarkable hero. You'll feel comfortable spending time with him for a short time, but not if you're with him constantly. He's a man of both civil and military talents, and exudes an air of nobility. Ordinary people are easily outmatched in front of him. You can still withstand him for a short time, but after a while, you'll unconsciously feel a sense of fear."

"Brother Xiao and he are known as the north and south, is that not possible?" Yelu Hongji couldn't help but be curious.

Xiao Feng shook his head and smiled bitterly, "If we're talking purely about martial arts, even if I'm not as good as Young Master Murong, I'm confident I can fight him in a duel and not be defeated within three hundred moves. But martial arts are only one part of his strengths. His literary and political strategies are equally astonishing, unmatched today. To outsiders, he only displays his erudition and talent. After all, he's a Jinshi, proficient in all arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. As for martial arts, there's even a saying that Murong is the best martial artist in the world. But that's just superficial. When he sits at the head of the army, directing the affairs of state, he's truly astonishing."

Xiao Feng smiled bitterly. Wasn't that when he finally surrendered? Qiao Feng to the north, Murong to the south. From that moment on, he realized how shallow and ignorant he had been. Since he came to power, the Beggars' Sect had been slowly being eroded and infiltrated by the Murong family, with Deputy Leader Ma being the biggest accomplice.

Yelu Hongji was even more curious after hearing this. After asking in detail, he said with relief, "I was defeated by such a hero who spent twenty years planning. My defeat was not unfair, and I am even more happy. I am willing to submit to such a man, and even more willing to be his friend."

Xiao Feng laughed heartily and said, "If Brother Yelu can expand your territory outside the domain, he will definitely give you strong support and even take the initiative to become your friend, but you must be mentally prepared."

"What kind of mental preparation?"

"Be mentally prepared to be influenced by the culture of Gusu Academy. Young Master Murong's greatest pride isn't his martial arts, but rather the fact that he founded Gusu Academy, providing the Great Yan Kingdom with a steady stream of talented individuals and spreading his own ideas."

"There's actually such a saying. Brother Xiao, can you explain it to me in detail?"

"Speaking of Gusu College, that's..."