After the court session ended.

Yelü Xian returned to the Southern Courtyard King's residence in a carriage.

"Where is Hongyan?" King Yelü Xian of the Southern Court asked loudly after returning to his residence.

"Your Majesty, the young lady is in the back garden."

Yelü Xian went straight to the back garden.

In the vast back garden, birds sang and danced.

The red and green flowers and plants are vying for attention.

The little girl, Yelü Hongyan, sat in the pavilion, resting her chin on her hands, staring blankly at the birds in the trees.

"Hongyan..." Yelü Qi called out to Yelü Hongyan, who was in a daze, "What are you daydreaming about?"

Yelü Hongyan quickly stood up: "Father, what brings you here?"

The little girl quickly went to greet her.

"You visited Daxia and Longcheng five months ago. Is that bastard Jiang Tian still in Longcheng?" Yelü Qi asked knowingly.

"Father, Jiang Tian has already led his troops into the capital. He's ignoring me now, and I don't know how I offended him."

"Just ignore us. Empress Dowager Xiao is always wary of us. If you continue to have any dealings with Jiang Tian, ​​that heartless woman Empress Dowager Xiao will have our whole family executed."

Upon hearing this, Yelü Hongyan's eyes flashed with a fierce light. She said to the maids and servants around her, "You may all leave. I need to be alone with my father for a while."

All the servants and maids left.

In the empty garden, only the Southern King and his daughter were present.

The two walked to the pavilion and sat down. "Daughter, tell me the truth, Jiang Tian, ​​is this person reliable or not? Your father can already feel the Empress Dowager's murderous intent towards me in the palace."

Yelü Hongyan shook her head. She didn't know what was wrong with this young girl; Jiang Tian didn't seem as enthusiastic towards her as he had been at the beginning.

"My daughter doesn't know."

"The Xiao family has always been wary of our Yelü family; they want to kill us. The Empress Dowager no longer pretends; she no longer rules from behind the curtain and directly handles state affairs from the dragon throne."

Yelü Hongyan: "This vicious woman will get her comeuppance sooner or later."

"Don't talk about retribution or not. If Heaven really has eyes, it wouldn't have allowed a woman like Empress Dowager Xiao to hold power." Yelü Xian sighed. "In court, I pretended to compromise with Empress Dowager Xiao, but I knew that compromise alone wouldn't bring any hope of survival."

Yelü Hongyan: "Father, Jiang Tian is actually not that hard to figure out. As long as we go along with him, he can protect our family and keep us safe."

Yelü Qi: "Today in the court, Empress Dowager Xiao has already set her mind on attacking the Great Xia Dynasty."

Yelü Hongyan: "Empress Dowager, this is like throwing an egg against a rock. When I returned from Longcheng last time, there were 500,000 troops stationed near the three cities of Longcheng."

Moreover, these 500,000 soldiers are all elite troops.

Their combat capabilities far surpassed those of the Khitan cavalry.

If the Empress Dowager insists on sending troops to attack Longcheng, she will be courting disaster. Father, you must not get involved in this mess.”

Yelü Qi sighed: "I don't know what Jiang Tian did, but now he has transferred 30% of the troops in Longcheng and all the troops in Jizhou to Qingzhou."

"Ji Province probably doesn't have many troops left. And the Empress Dowager is preparing to mobilize other countries to besiege Great Xia. I'm afraid that if we conquer it this time, we won't be able to escape our fate."

Yelü Hongyan was somewhat shocked: "My daughter has learned that the Xiongnu Chanyu has led 70,000 cavalry to attack Qingzhou. Why is Jiang Tian still concentrating so many troops to Qingzhou?"

"Father, is your information incorrect?"

“There is not a single problem. Jiang Tian transferred all his troops to Qingzhou, not for any other reason, but to cross the ocean and destroy Japan.”

Yelü Hongyan's face immediately showed worry.

The Japanese are ruthless and fearless in battle.

Jiang Tian's plan to mobilize 500,000 troops to launch a war of annihilation against Japan was, in Yelü Hongyan's view, utterly impossible.

"What on earth is Jiang Tian thinking? He's transferring the main force to the East Camp. In the end, he'll not only fail to gain an advantage but also lose everything."

Both father and daughter felt that Jiang Tian's actions were too reckless.

If we fail to conquer Japan, the Great Xia Dynasty will be lost again.

That would be killing two birds with one stone.

“No, I have to go to Jizhou,” Yelü Hongyan said, standing up.

"Absolutely not!" Yelü Qi grabbed his daughter's sleeve. "The Empress Dowager has already dispatched a large number of troops near our residence. Any rash move you make will become her pretext to kill our whole family."

Yelü Hongyan was extremely anxious: "Father, what should we do? If Jiang Tian is gone, our family's situation will become even more difficult."

No matter how obedient you pretend to be to the Empress Dowager, this old woman will still make a move against us sooner or later.

The sooner Jiang Tian dies, the sooner this old woman will make her move against us.

Yelü Qi let out a long sigh.

“I remember now,” Hongyan said, glancing at the white falcon beside her. This falcon had been given to her by Chen Lian, a member of the Imperial Guard.

With this falcon, she could communicate with Chen Lian, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Shen Lian knowing the news is the same as Jiang Tian knowing the news.

...

The Liao Dynasty Imperial Palace.

Empress Xiao's bedroom.

A woman's laughter came from inside the room.

"Very good, very good..." Although the Empress Dowager was over 50 years old, her voice was like that of a young girl. "I am very satisfied that you Xianbei people have such a heart."

Xianbei Murong Chui stood respectfully beside Empress Xiao's bed: "Empress Dowager, do you mean that Jiang Tianzhen is planning to attack Japan?"

"How could it be false? Our Khitan intelligence is absolutely foolproof."

Upon hearing this, Murong Chui clapped his hands with delight: "From our Xianbei to Dongying, we only need to cross a narrow strait."

"Our Xianbei now occupy a larger territory than your Liao Dynasty. Starting from the Han Sea, we could reach Japan in a single day."

Empress Dowager Xiao lay on her side on the dragon bed.

Murong Chui quickly stepped forward and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Empress Dowager Xiao gave a wink to the eunuchs and palace maids beside her, and all of them withdrew.

Empress Xiao removed her gauze robe, leaving her wearing only a pink bodice on her upper body.

Empress Xiao, who is over 50 years old, is very well-maintained, with no excess fat on her stomach.

Bathed in the glow of the bright red candlelight, Empress Xiao's skin appeared as white as snow, exuding the charm of a mature woman.

Empress Dowager Xiao crossed her legs and rested one foot on Murong Chui's arm: "Murong Chui, this time I am preparing to unite with the 16 kingdoms of the grasslands and start another Five Barbarian Invasions."

Murong Chui's hands immediately became restless; Empress Dowager Xiao's action was all too obvious.

We're all old foxes, who doesn't know how to act out a story from a ghost story?

It's all just a charade, a mutual exchange for personal gain.

“Our Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarian Tribes experienced a period of chaos 500 years ago, and we almost destroyed the Great Xia.” Murong Chui was definitely an old hand; his hands moved rhythmically.