Chapter 1 The Filature of the Song

Yelü Yu Du was, after all, a man who had once dominated the world. Even in his current state, he retained some of the qualities of a tyrant. After much deliberation, he gritted his teeth and continued westward with two or three hundred followers under the banner of comforting the troops, passing Yan'an Prefecture and heading straight for the northwest Hengshan border.

After all, as 'Yelü Mawa' had said, defecting to Western Xia was the best solution for a remnant of the Khitan like him.

This wasn't to say that Western Xia was the most friendly to the Khitans. Kindness depended on who it was shown to... Putting aside everything else, the empress of Liao descent and the crown prince with Yelü blood had both died mysteriously. What made Yelü Yu Du think that the Western Xia ruler, Li Ganshun, would offend the Jin people for his sake?

The real reason was that Yelü Yu Du had no choice.

In the long run, the northwest of Western Xia was the only place where he, with nowhere else to go, could truly settle down. And to reach that place, Western Xia was the safest passage.

Just think about it. Two or three hundred fugitives, without livestock, without food, without guides, in a state of total war, would have to worry not only about diplomatic and political risks but also about how to avoid the chaotic armies and how to obtain supplies... Therefore, finding a reliable political environment as soon as possible and obtaining supplies to appease his subordinates' hearts were Yelü Yu Du's top priorities at this time.

Of course, defecting south to the Great Song seemed to be another way out. But the problem was that the southern battlefront was fierce, with large armies gathered. With Yelü Yu Du's awkward identity and his mere two or three hundred confidants, he would likely be eliminated by anyone in a proper army.

Oh, in the chaos of war, you lead two or three hundred riders here uninvited and claim to be surrendering. What if I say you're feigning surrender? Accepting you may not bring merit, but killing your two or three hundred Jurchen cavalry will definitely bring great merit!

Besides, what could he offer as a pledge of allegiance to the Song people? On the other hand, it seemed that there was something to offer to Western Xia. Moreover, as he had already said, the real final destination was behind Western Xia, and the road to the Song might not be accessible.

In this way, Yelü Yu Du gathered a few confidants, and taking advantage of the plump horses in late autumn and the fact that his identity had not yet been exposed, he used the banner of inspecting the border to travel day and night. He led his mere two or three hundred men westward in a hurry, arriving directly at the famous Pingrong Fortress. Knowing that the news was unlikely to have been leaked, he boldly entered the fortress, revealed his identity, demanded supplies, and then directly ordered the garrison officer to contact the Western Xia military commander on the opposite side, saying that he was fighting the Song people and wanted to appease the Western Xia people, and would meet with him at the border, under Hengshan, for a hunt.

What he said was reasonable and should have been the work of Yelü Yu Du's current awkward identity. So the officer in the fortress did not suspect him and openly followed his orders. The Western Xia commander of Hongzhou on the opposite side also readily agreed, and things went smoothly beyond expectations.

Then, on the last day of October, which was the appointed day, Yelü Yu Du knew that the crucial moment was approaching. Early in the morning, he bestowed official titles and promised rewards to his confidants, and after finally stabilizing the situation internally, he took some supplies and set off early in the morning to the northwest for the 'hunt'. The Western Xia general indeed came as agreed.

The two sides met in the afternoon, and they were shooting rabbits at the foot of Hengshan. However, after only one arrow, Yelü Yu Du, knowing that he couldn't delay any longer, reined in his horse and shouted to the other party:

"General Weiming, please wait, I have something to ask."

Weiming was a Western Xia surname, just like Li, Zhao, and Tuoba were all Western Xia surnames... Their ancestors were the Tuoba clan, one of the eight Dangxiang tribes. Then they were given the surname Li by the Great Tang and the surname Zhao by the Great Song. Finally, when they rose up in arms, they used Weiming again, taking the meaning of 'close to the Dangxiang' in the Dangxiang language, a typical means of arousing nationalism.

In fact, it was because of this surname that Yelü Yu Du came here instead of Longzhou, which was a little further north... This young Hongzhou commander, named Weiming Yunge, who was about twenty years old, was not only a distant cousin of the current Western Xia ruler, Li Ganshun, from his paternal clan, but also Li Ganshun's nephew from his maternal clan. His maternal grandmother was none other than a Western Xia princess of a generation higher than Li Ganshun, who married Lin Bupi, the eldest son of Dong Zhan, the great chieftain of Xifan. It was only later that Dong Zhan's adopted son, Ali Gu, seized power and forced the Western Xia princess to return to Lingzhou with her daughter. Then her daughter also became a tool for marriage.

In any case, this young Western Xia general was a core Western Xia general who probably knew Li Ganshun's intentions and was absolutely able to make decisions.

"General Yelü, please speak." Weiming Yunge naturally had to give face to a general from a great power, especially since the other party was still a Khitan noble. So he reined in his horse, turned back, and smiled in response.

"The Jin Dynasty cannot tolerate me. Can I enter the Great White High Kingdom to take refuge temporarily?" Yelü Yu Du stroked his bow and held his horse, acting as if he were at ease.

Weiming Yunge was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized... Given the other party's awkward identity, this was likely the truth. In fact, similar rumors about this person had been circulating more than once... However, although he clearly knew what the other party meant, Yunge still said nothing, only smiled and looked at the surrounding scenery, not knowing what he was thinking.

It is said that at the foot of Hengshan, autumn weeds covered the ground. Rather than being lush, they were somewhat robust. It must have been because the Song and Xia dynasties had fought here for a hundred years, and countless corpses had been scattered everywhere, enriching the soil here. Only in the last two years, with the arrival of the Jin people, had there been a semblance of peace, although there was no alliance in name between them and Western Xia, there was an alliance in reality.

Yelü Yu Du had no choice but to rein in his horse and move forward a few steps, standing side by side with the other party, and then leaning over and pleading earnestly: "General Weiming, the Jurchens are really too oppressive... In the past, the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty appointed me as marshal, but after Nianhan came to power, he was narrow-minded and gradually took away my military power. Now that the Wanyan clan is fighting among themselves, killing Nianhan is not enough, and Wushu wants to use my life to establish his authority. I didn't even have time to retrieve my family before rushing here... I hope the Great White High Kingdom will remember the several generations of marriage between the Yelü and Weiming clans and allow me to take temporary refuge."

Weiming Yunge finally reacted, but after opening his mouth to speak, he closed it again, and then continued to smile and look around.

Yelü Yu Du looked at the afternoon sun gradually slanting, and his heart panicked. He could only further lower his voice and directly plead: "General Weiming, please help... You must know that if you don't agree, this general's life will be in danger right before your eyes. But if you agree, I won't make things difficult for the Great White High Kingdom. I'll just borrow the road to take refuge in the desert north."

"How many riders can you bring over?" Yunge finally asked seriously.

Yu Du hesitated for a moment, and then pointed to the front with his hand.

Yunge instinctively turned his head to look, but only saw the Yu Du's guards who were surrounding and killing rabbits. After a long time, he realized and said with disbelief in his words: "Only these two or three hundred riders?"

Yu Du was too embarrassed to answer.

"The Khitan and Xi cavalry in the Western Route Army total more than a dozen Meng'an, and you personally led them to surrender to Aguda on that day. Two or three years ago, you were still their commander. Now, only so many are willing to follow you?" Yunge asked relentlessly, without any regard for the other party's feelings.

"The tribal cavalry was captured by Yelü Mawa, and the Xi cavalry were divided up long ago and are all in Hedong." Yu Du became even more embarrassed, but could only bow his head and respond. "Only these two hundred and fifty riders are by my side."

Yunge sneered and immediately reined in his horse and turned his head, putting his fingers in his mouth and whistling... The Western Xia cavalry, who were chasing rabbits with the Khitan cavalry, heard the sound and whistled back, then directly turned to their general's side.

Yunge whistled twice, but still kept riding his horse, seemingly about to turn back north from the Hengshan pass.

Seeing this, Yelü Yu Du felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He couldn't care about anything and could only quickly rein in his horse and catch up: "General Weiming, if you don't save me today, you'll be killing me! And you must be careful that Yelü Dashi will resent the Great White High Kingdom for this!"

Yunge heard the words, stopped his horse, and looked at him. For a moment, he smiled and shook his head: "General Yelü, I respect you as a Khitan noble... You are indeed a Yelü noble, but you are also the first general and famous minister to surrender to the Jin with the imperial surname... And since you have become a defector, isn't it normal to be gradually suspected and then eliminated? How can you blame me? If it were me, even if the enemy country was powerful, I would die to repay my country. How could I be as disgraceful as you!"

This was almost a direct mockery and rebuke, forming a stark contrast to the cautiousness he had shown when they first met. Yelü Yu Du's face stiffened from the scolding, and then a flush surged up, but he was speechless and unable to respond. Even the Khitan confidants who had followed him, sensing the situation, looked at each other, unable to lift their heads.

"Taking a step back, even if you are so不堪, as long as you still have a few thousand soldiers in hand to use as capital, it would be worth our Great White High Kingdom to negotiate with the Jin for you for the sake of those soldiers... Two hundred and fifty riders, are they enough to fill the teeth of the tribes north of Yinshan? Do you want our ruler to add three hundred more riders to escort you on your journey?" Weiming Yunge continued to sneer. "You're using Yelü Dashi as a threat. I suppose you're ultimately going to Qatun City?"

Yelü Yu Du was filled with shame and indignation, but he could only bow his head: "Yes!"

"I ask you, do you know why our ruler didn't move his troops during the Battle of Yaoshan last year?"

"I know." Yelü Yu Du replied in a low voice. "Yelü Dashi killed a blue ox and white horse in Qatun City to swear an oath, uniting the eighteen tribes to the west. Although the Jin people felt a little safer because of this, because Dashi's marching route was all behind the Great White High Kingdom, your ruler and the Great White High Kingdom did not dare to act rashly."

"It's good that you know." Weiming Yunge shook his head and sighed. "Then let me tell you something you may not know. Yelü Dashi is different from you. He is indomitable. In our ruler's words, he is almost as厉害as the Song Dynasty's official. He went to Qatun City with only 10,000 people, and united the eighteen tribes to the west with only 20,000 people. As a result, in just one and a half years of the Western Expedition, he conquered the Uyghurs and Gaochang along the way, swallowed Yemili (the area around Tacheng in later generations) and Alima (the area around Yining in later generations), and occupied the north and south of Luyuan Mountain (the Altai Mountains). That place is suitable for farming and grazing, and as fertile as the Hetao Plain. For Yelü Dashi, it's almost like having a foundation for his kingdom, and his army has gradually reached tens of thousands of soldiers. His power is already not weaker than our Great White High Kingdom..."

Yelü Yu Du was dumbfounded, and the Khitan cavalry who were gradually surrounding him also breathed heavily.

"But it's a pity." Weiming Yunge shook his head even more when he saw this. "Since Yelü Dashi has established his kingdom there, although Qatun City is still under his control, it's just a Qatun City. From Yinshan northward, there are 3,000 miles of desert, plus the Mongols are gradually migrating there to encroach on the land around Qatun City... You two hundred and fifty people are on a path to certain death... As a member of the Great White High Kingdom's imperial family, I will never allow a mere dead person to cause our country to fall out with the Great Jin."

Yelü Yu Du was filled with shame and anger. Looking back, the surrounding Khitan cavalry were also mostly dispirited.

Speaking of which, it was impossible for Yelü Yu Du and the others not to be so shocked. Yelü Dashi's Western Expedition could be called a miracle of long-distance expeditions in world history, because his starting point, Qatun City, was actually directly north of Western Xia and directly north of Lanzhou, the former site of the Great Liao's Northwest Expeditionary Command, near Ulaanbaatar in later generations.

This was the fortress where the Khitans suppressed the northern desert in the past. After the founding of the Khitan state, there was an ancestral law to garrison 20,000 troops in Qatun City, and no matter what state the country was in, it was not allowed to move them... Of course, in reality, the place was still in a state of ruin. When Yelü Dashi arrived there, he only saw a little over 10,000 soldiers. It took him several years to unite the surrounding eighteen tribes who were friendly to the Khitans to get 20,000 troops. But in the end, he felt that the place was too remote and could not establish a kingdom, so he turned to the Western Expedition.

And where was Alima that Weiming Yunge mentioned? It was actually at the westernmost end of China's territory in later generations.

In other words, in just one and a half years, Yelü Dashi led the eighteen tribes to the west for three or four thousand miles. Considering the deserts and mountains in the middle, the actual distance traveled was likely tens of thousands of miles.

A Western Expedition of tens of thousands of miles, conquering all and winning all battles, and with famous countries bowing their heads in submission, and then establishing a foundation, how could Yelü Yu Du, these defectors and acquaintances of Yelü Dashi, not be shocked?

Of course, neither Weiming Yunge nor Yelü Yu Du would have thought at this time that in another space-time, Yelü Dashi would then go south and north, and continue to march west, showing both kindness and power along the way, and finally directly attack the Hezhong region, with his military might reaching the Aral Sea, a journey of nearly 30,000 miles!

And after Yelü Dashi dominated the Hezhong region, he officially proclaimed himself emperor, establishing a Central Asian power that was several times larger than Western Xia in area and whose actual controlled population far exceeded that of Western Xia, and then continued the Liao Dynasty's national destiny there for nearly eighty or ninety years.

Compared to this person, Yelü Yu Du's current situation was truly as Yunge ridiculed - he deserved it.

"General Weiming!"

Recovering from the shock, Yelü Yu Du, watching the Western Xia people maintain a defensive posture while escorting Yunge to the north, disregarded his shame and sighed. He pleaded again, "Can't you give me a way out?"

This time, Yunge didn't even turn his head, as if he had made up his mind.

"I'm not asking the Great White High Kingdom to take me in. I'm only asking you to pretend you didn't see us and let us cross Hengshan tonight and take refuge in Qatun City, how about that?" Yelü Yu Du reluctantly said again.

Weiming Yunge finally turned back impatiently: "Isn't that the same as accepting you?"

"I'm only asking to pass through the north side of Hengshan, and how about using Hengshan to shield us from crossing the river?" Yelü Yu Du dismounted directly and bowed his head to the ground. "I beg General Weiming to give me a way out."

Seeing this, Yunge finally sighed: "If I don't even allow you to do this, it would be a bit disrespectful to the Yelü surname... Alright, you can pass through Hengshan from Hongzhou, but you're not allowed to enter the city, and you're not allowed to go west into the hinterland of the Great White High Kingdom. Just go northeast along the border of Hengshan, and finally cross the river from your Jin territory and go through Yinshan... This is the last condition. Come or not, it's up to you."

With that, Yunge didn't say anything more, and directly left Yu Du on the ground and rode his horse north, but he left the hundreds of personal guards he had brought with him to seal off the pass.

The autumn sky was clear for thousands of miles, and Hengshan blocked the north wind, making the southern foothills very comfortable, but the two or three hundred Khitans were suffering under the surveillance of the Western Xia people, especially after Yelü Yu Du, who had finally managed to get up, publicly announced his plan to go north to Qatun City to find Yelü Dashi.

The news was sudden, and many of the lower-level Khitans who heard the truth for the first time were clearly shocked and fearful of leaving the Great Jin Kingdom.

Yu Du felt sad in his heart, but he was helpless. After a little comfort and encouragement, he could only climb a small hill to watch the sunset to dispel his mood. However, he couldn't suppress the anxiety in his heart. Standing on the small hill, he looked west, then north, then south, then east. Even when a confidant brought him roasted field mice, he just waved his hand and refused.

Yelü Yu Du couldn't help but be so anxious. After all, although Yunge had given him an opening, it was almost equivalent to a dead end... Why had he defected to Western Xia before? Wasn't it because he had already thought that since Yelü Dashi had made a Western Expedition and taken away the eighteen tribes who were friendly to the Khitans, the area around Qatun City must now be occupied by the Mongols. And although the Mongols had a Khan King, their core control area was in the eastern part, so the area around Qatun City must be a chaotic mess. If his two hundred or so people went there, they would probably be swallowed up directly.

What's more, there was the thousands of miles of desert.

This desert was not comparable to the mere hundreds of miles of the Sea of Sand between Western Xia and the Great Song. Since ancient times, the southern and northern deserts had been discussed in this way, and it was the most proper great desert in relation to the Central Plains.

Yelü Dashi had only set off from Qatun City last year for the Western Expedition. In the years before that, he had used it as a base to harass the Jin people, but because this desert made it impossible to effectively send troops, and the Mongols were gradually rising, he turned to the Western Expedition. And Nianhan had stopped in front of this desert several times when he wanted to conquer it.

It was hard to say whether the Mongol Qabul Khan's final rebellion against the Jin people, including Nianhan's unwillingness to hand over the desert south land promised to the Western Xia people, was directly related to Yelü Dashi and this desert.

But these were not what Yelü Yu Du should be thinking about at this time. He should only be thinking about one thing... That was, without the Western Xia people's guides and supplies, how would he cross that desert? Even if he was only north of Hengshan and not allowed to enter the city, how would he control his subordinates so that they wouldn't scatter? After leaving Hengshan, how would he successfully cross the river to the north in the face of the pursuers who were sure to be waiting with a trap?

Frankly speaking, Yu Du himself felt that, not to mention Qatun City, he would probably be killed on the road before crossing the Yellow River.

But if he didn't go to Qatun City and didn't go to find Yelü Dashi, where could he go? Even if he went to Yunnei Jiedushi, his fellow clansman Yelü Nuge, wouldn't he have to go north?

In a daze, the sunset arrived, and the Western Xia people, according to the agreement, directly left the pass. Yelü Yu Du also forcibly gathered his thoughts and came down to gather his subordinates.

However, at this time, a piece of news that was like a bolt from the blue fell on his head again.

"General..." The confidant guard in charge of counting the number of people came forward to report, his lips trembling. "Ten people are missing! The entire squad of Taishi Nu is gone."

Yelü Yu Du was in a daze, and instinctively fled into the Hengshan pass. The subsequent confidants hurriedly followed, but after passing the Hengshan pass, the confidants counted the number of people again, but found that another ten or so people were missing. They probably didn't follow at all.

At this point, the Khitan people's morale became even lower. It was conceivable that if Yelü Yu Du didn't cheer up, this team would soon disintegrate.

"General!"

Things came even faster than expected. Before the sun had completely set, on the north side of the Hengshan pass, facing the cold wind that was obviously colder, someone took the initiative to question Yu Du, and this time the leader was surprisingly a mid-level officer in the team. "Our families are all in Hedong, and we followed you here in a daze..."

Yelü Yu Du stared blankly at this person in the afterglow, but didn't say anything.

The person seemed to feel a little embarrassed, so he put this aside and continued, "But it's not your fault. I heard what Yelü Mawa's confidant said at the ferry that day. I only blame us for having bad luck. Only going to Qatun City to find King Dashi is so far away, with such a wide desert in the middle, and the Western Xia people won't let us pass. How can we go? Besides, Taishi Nu is most likely going to find the Jurchens to inform them. Where do we have the chance to go northeast? I'm afraid we'll be directly blocked by the Jurchens at the Yellow River, right?"

This question hit the nail on the head. Yelü Yu Du came back to his senses and couldn't argue, so he could only avoid the question and not talk about it: "Saba, what do you mean? Can't you be more straightforward?"

"What I mean is, since things have come to this point, it's better to break up. Let us go to find the Western Xia people to join them. Anyway, the Western Xia people are worried about you, General, but not about us subordinates. We are all good cavalrymen. Why wouldn't the Western Xia people let us be Iron Hawks and eat military food?" Saba said, looking around behind him.

And seeing Saba's signal, his ten or so accomplices clamored together, and slowly, seventy or eighty people gradually responded, and then stood behind Saba, directly confronting Yu Du's subordinates.

The light gradually dimmed, and both sides were worried that the situation would be unclear after dark, so the atmosphere gradually became uneasy. Some people even started drawing their knives, and then cursing. The two sides directly faced each other with blades, and the atmosphere was tense and uneasy.

Yelü Yu Du stood in the middle of the two teams, thought for a while, and suddenly sighed. He raised his hand to stop his confidants, and then, with his hands empty, went forward and directly said to Saba, who was holding his knife, "In that case, you can go! Take half of the supplies you brought from Pingrong Fortress... But please remember our years of being together, go directly north to Hongzhou Prefecture, don't spy on our route, and don't reveal our itinerary."

Saba and the other rebelling soldiers only wanted to live. Hearing this, they were surprised, but since things had reached this point, and Yu Du had promised not to fight, why would they stay? So several rebelling leaders discussed for a while, and only took a few supplies. Then they bowed respectfully to Yu Du from afar, and gathered their one hundred and eighty people and went due north.

Not only that, but next, Yu Du sat motionless at the pass, simply not lighting a bonfire, but allowing the remaining subordinates to imitate Saba and the others and flee. It wasn't until two or three o'clock in the middle of the night that a confidant came to tell him that there were only twenty or thirty riders left, and no one had fled for a long time... He asked the general to decide whether to light a bonfire and rest for a while, otherwise the cold wind in the north of the mountain would be too harsh, and they would probably get sick.

Yu Du seemed to come back to life at this time, and finally responded to the wind in the night: "Things have come to this point, what is there to decide? Puda, don't light a bonfire, let everyone gather together. Surround the outside with horses, and the inside with people. Just say that I have something to discuss with all my brothers."

The confidant heard Yu Du's words were serious and dared not neglect. He quickly gathered the remaining people together, and after the people and horses were surrounded, Yu Du spoke again: "Even at this time, there are still so many brothers who have not abandoned me. Yu Du is grateful to the point of tears. Even if I should have died long ago, I must risk my life to seek a place to settle down for all my brothers before I can die... Moreover, we have not reached the end of the road."

These words were a bit abrupt. Even though the remaining people were all loyal to Yu Du, there was some commotion around the circle.

"Brothers, I have been frightened since I crossed the Yellow River. It wasn't until the situation was hopeless just now that I let go of my thoughts and understood some things... You say, Yelü Mawa has long been extremely disgusted with me because of military power, and he is also loyal to the Jurchens. How could he be so kind as to send me across the river and persuade me to defect to Western Xia?"

There was a roar all around, and Puda couldn't help but ask on the spot, "Is Yelü Mawa deceiving us? The Fourth Prince doesn't want to kill us?"

"Yes and no." Yu Du's voice was low and slow, but gradually became powerful. "How could Yelü Mawa alone have the courage to frame me like this? Don't forget, in Hedong these years, our daily lives are under surveillance. First it was Xiyin, then Balisu... If it was just Mawa who was deceiving me to harm me, how could he hide it from Balisu? How could Taiyuan allow me to cross the river under the banner of comforting the troops without asking or stopping me?"

The surrounding people were all low-level officers, and they didn't understand these things. Hearing this, they felt that it made sense, but they also felt confused like a paste in their brains, and they still couldn't figure out the benefits and harms.

And Yu Du was really about to open his heart at this time. He didn't hesitate, and continued to face them openly in the cold wind: "I can't figure out the specifics for a while, but the only one who can instruct Balisu and Mawa is probably Wanyan Wushu, who should be in Taiyuan at this time. And Wanyan Wushu went to so much trouble, perhaps he wanted to use me as a stepping stone to test Western Xia or Huo Nu, or perhaps he just wanted to force me away in a legitimate way... But it doesn't matter, because he sent the instructions from Yanjing, and it was impossible for him to know all the details here, so he definitely couldn't have imagined that we just got the specific news that King Dashi has established himself in the west of Western Xia."

"Even if we know, so what?" Puda still didn't understand, but it didn't stop him from taking the initiative to speak for his general.

"If we know this news, we have the capital to negotiate with the Song people, because if that's the case, we can also go to King Dashi's location through the Song people's Hehuang." Yelü Yu Du slowly replied, and there was no longer any of the fear he had had in the past half-day in his voice. "Regardless of whether Wanyan Wushu wants to use me to test Western Xia, we will insist that this is his intention, and that he is fundamentally preparing to lure Western Xia into the Yan'an battle. With the Song people's centuries of blood feud with Western Xia, they will have to believe it even if they don't believe it. Then we will tell the Song people that Wushu doesn't know about King Dashi's establishment, and that we can be messengers for the Song people to go west from Hehuang to Hami to meet King Dashi, and invite the Khitan army to come east and attack Western Xia and even the Jin people! The Song people will definitely agree!"

The surrounding area gradually quieted down, but it was obvious that a few people were breathing heavily. Obviously, a few smart people realized that this move did have some feasibility in terms of logic and theory.

After all, in the current hopeless situation, even a glimmer of hope is worth gambling on at this time!

However, there was still one problem.

"General, the Song and Jin are fighting fiercely in front, and Taishi Nu has gone to inform them. How can we easily cross the front line to find the Song people? And how can we guarantee that we will find suitable and knowledgeable Song people? And what about the Western Xia people? We are on this side of Hengshan. If the Jurchens of Pingrong Fortress arrive and ask the Western Xia people for us, and the Western Xia people can't resist, and then go back on their word and capture us, what should we do?"

"This is going to be a gamble." Yu Du's tone was sonorous. "I remember that Gu Hao, a general of the Western Army, is located at Kaolao Fortress in Bao'an Army. I bet he hasn't been captured by Huo Nu! And I bet he is a person who knows my identity and understands the overall situation of the country! Then we have few people. Now, we abandon our supplies, and while the Western Xia people and the Jurchens both think we are only wandering around north of Hengshan, we quickly lead our horses back the way we came, and go west and south from the south side of Hengshan to Kaolao Fortress!"

Everyone finally realized why Yu Du had been sitting motionless at the cold pass, and why he had been unwilling to light a fire, and had allowed everyone to scatter. It turned out that he wanted to hide his tracks, and use a small force to return.

Moreover, only a small force would be accepted by the Song people's fortresses!

In this way, since Yelü Yu Du had explained everything, and there was a glimmer of hope, these last twenty or thirty people were indeed reliable, so they didn't delay any longer. They first drove all the livestock carrying supplies away, and then connected everyone and all the remaining warhorses with ropes. Then, they ignored everything and walked through the pass at night to return south.

Perhaps it was God's will that this person would not be cut off. The group returned in the dark, and only one person sprained their foot, but they were still able to ride a horse carefully and follow along... They managed to successfully cross the pass again.

After crossing the pass again, the group still didn't dare to be careless, and still didn't dare to light a fire. They just rode their horses slightly and gently along the mountain. They didn't know how long it took, but before dawn, they finally heard the sound of water in front of them... Everyone knew that they had arrived at the Hunzhou River, so they dismounted to rest for a while, used some dry food and river water. After a while, the sky brightened a little, and they couldn't wait to find a shallow place to cross the river.

It wasn't until this time that everyone took a breath, because the sky was already bright, and there was a river to hinder the pursuers. Next, they only needed to gallop towards Kaolao Fortress with all their strength.

What's more, they were so careful that they shouldn't have revealed their tracks. So everyone, no matter who it was, was probably still thinking that they were still north of Hengshan.

Everyone finished reorganizing and mounted their horses.

Only Yelü Yu Du, just as he was about to raise his whip, couldn't help but restrain himself and turned his horse's head, facing northeast, and took a look.

The confidant Puda realized and was about to have everyone take a blood oath, saying that they must seek revenge on those traitors, Taishi Nu and Saba, in the future.

However, just as everyone pulled out their daggers, Yu Du sighed and shook his head: "Today, twenty-three brothers have not abandoned me, and I, Yu Du, will never forget it. As for Taishi Nu and those people, they were forced by the situation, and I can't say I'm resentful. Even Balisu and Mawa are just acting on orders, and I can't even hate them."

This time, Puda and the others looked at each other, all of them a little confused.

"Two people!" Yu Du also pulled out his dagger. "One is Wanyan Wushu, who easily threw me out as a stepping stone; the other is that Weiming Yunge today, who wantonly humiliated me and regarded me as dung... Yu Du's mortal heart will never forget it! Today, I swear that one day, I must let today's brothers enjoy wealth and honor, and also let these two regret treating me as nothing!"

After saying that, Yu Du picked up the dagger and cut a bloody path in the palm of his other hand. Then, without waiting for the twenty-three followers to imitate him one by one, he didn't say any more, but spurred his horse and galloped southwest.

October 2nd.

At noon, Yu Du led twenty-three riders straight to the not tightly surrounded Kaolao Fortress, empty-handed, and reported his name at the door, claiming to be an old friend of Guo Hao's late father, Guo Cheng. After Guo Hao ascended the city and asked questions, he heard that it was the former Eastern Route Marshal of the Liao Kingdom, the Right Deputy Supervisor of the Jin Kingdom's Marshal, Yelü Yu Du. He also heard the other party mention Western Xia and Northern Liao, and talk about Wushu and Dashi. He really knew that the other party was a rare treasure, so he immediately overruled the objections and took Yu Du into the city.

At this time, Wushu was still waiting for news in Taiyuan.