When Yan Sikong returned to Qianzhou, Xu Yong welcomed him warmly, lamented the hardships he had gone through, and praised him for his contribution in surrendering the enemy. However, he never mentioned the rumors he had heard about him and Feng Ye. After all, rumors were just rumors and should not be believed. Moreover, even if they were true, few people would dare to embarrass him in person like Shen Hexuan.

During the banquet, they discussed the conditions for Feng Ye to accept the imperial edict. Yan Sikong shook his head repeatedly, saying that Feng Ye's demands were too high and it would be difficult to reach an agreement at the moment. He asked Wu Mang to strengthen the city's defenses and not to relax.

The conditions for Feng Ye really angered everyone. They had originally thought that he had taken the initiative to withdraw his troops, indicating his willingness for peace. But now it seemed that they could not take it lightly at all.

Yan Sikong sighed: "Now whether it is peace or war, I have no idea. Although the court wants to issue an amnesty, if Feng Ye persists in his wrong ways, we are not afraid of him. We must be prepared to fight him, but with the current military strength and city defense of Qianzhou, I am afraid..."

Xu Yong said worriedly, "The seven counties of Qianzhou, plus the 10,000 troops transferred from Datong Prefecture, have a total force of no more than 30,000, and nearly half of them are scattered in other cities. Although Qianzhou has natural barriers, and we are in a superior position to defend while they attack, if Fengye captures Maoren, our food supply will be cut off. Even if Fengye fails to capture the city, the food and grass in Qianzhou City can only support it for one year."

Wu Mang said: "Feng Ye will definitely not last a year. As long as we defend the city, we can wear him down."

Yu Shenglang whispered: "If we can hold on..."

Wu Mang snorted coldly: "General Yu is from Datong. Maybe he has heard too many legends about Feng's army and scared himself."

Yu Shenglang frowned, "I have indeed heard many rumors about the Feng Family Army, but the Feng Family Army is brave and good at fighting, and is invincible. Everyone in the world knows it. Did I tell you that I was telling you a lie? It is better to be alert than to underestimate the enemy."

"You are not alert at all, you are clearly afraid."

"Generals, please stop arguing." Xu Yong tried to smooth things over. "Both generals have their reasons, but let's listen to what Lord Yu Shi has to say."

Everyone looked at Yan Sikong again.

Yan Sikong's face was filled with worry. "To be honest, I once fought side by side with Feng Ye in Jingzhou. I used to not believe the rumors that he was wearing armor at the age of eleven and leading troops at the age of fourteen, but the battle of Jingzhou really shocked me. This boy is not only brave, but also as ferocious as a wolf in the use of troops. He is familiar with military books but does not follow the rules. His behavior is unpredictable and he dares to fight to the death. I have been observing his camp for many days. He has strict military discipline and high morale. He was frustrated in Maoren, but he will win the next battle. Judging from the current situation, if we really have to fight, I think Maoren cannot be defended."

The officials will be silent for a while.

Feng thought: "Lord Yan, whether the pacification edict is successful or not, we can delay it until winter. When the northwest is extremely cold, he may withdraw his troops early."

Yan Sikong said solemnly: "I have already submitted a letter to His Majesty requesting this matter. On the one hand, if His Majesty can clear the name of the Feng family, or hand over Xie Zhongren to Feng Ye for disposal, then this matter will have a lot of room for maneuver. On the other hand, as you said, it can delay Feng Ye's opportunity to fight. But Feng Ye will know that winter is coming, and I am worried that he will do something desperate."

"In this case, Maoren is in great danger." Xu Yong's face turned pale. "Sir, do you have a good plan to save Maoren? If Maoren is lost, the food supply to Qianzhou will not be transported here."

Yan Sikong pondered for a moment and looked at Yu Shenglang: "I think that in order to resolve the crisis in Qianzhou, we must transfer troops from Datong."

Everyone looked at Yu Shenglang.

Yu Shenglang was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "Since the defeat of the Oirat, many Mongolian tribes that were previously gathered or suppressed by the Oirat have become independent and have invaded the border from time to time. Although it is difficult to cause a big situation, they are fighting guerrilla warfare. Our troops are limited and we can't catch them at all. The people on the border are suffering. Datong is no longer what it used to be. It is not easy to mobilize 10,000 troops."

"In my memorial, I also pleaded with Your Majesty to send more troops to Datong, but Datong borders Qianzhou. If Qianzhou is lost, Datong's food supply will also be restricted. If one loses the other, the other will suffer."

Yu Shenglang sighed: "Of course I don't know, but General Xue... also has his difficulties."

Xue Ronggui is now the general of Datong. He has taken over the Datong army for three years, but he has neither made any achievements nor made any mistakes. He has not been able to completely wipe out the Mongolian soldiers. It is not because he is incompetent, but because he has the will but not the strength. The court has been trying to negotiate with the Mongolian soldiers for the past three years, but due to the decline of the largest Mongolian tribe, the Oirat, Mongolia has been divided, and there are many hostilities between tribes. Today, they negotiate with one tribe, and tomorrow another tribe will come to burn, kill and plunder, and it will never end.

If Feng Jianping were still alive, he would follow his strategy back then, pursue the victory, attack the scattered Mongolian tribes, build a stronger Datong defense line, and at the same time support a new Mongolian king who is pro-China, unify the scattered tribes, open up trade, and make peace with the Chinese. That would be the perfect plan.

Unfortunately, Feng Jianping died unjustly in the imperial prison with his unfulfilled ambitions and the only hope for peace in the northwest border in a hundred years.

Yan Sikong knew that in order to mobilize the Datong Army, peace must be restored to the Datong border. Otherwise, if they competed for the Central Plains and the barbarians took advantage of the situation to invade, it would be the end of them. He said, "I want to meet General Xue."

"This……"

"It only takes two or three days to get to Datong by fast horse. Only if I report the situation in Datong to Your Majesty will Your Majesty take it seriously. I will ask Your Majesty to send another envoy to Mongolia. After the split of the Oirat, the Chahar tribe is now the strongest. If we support the Chahar tribe to unify other tribes and open the horse market to them, at least we can solve the harassment of those stragglers on the border."

Xu Yong said: "But a few years ago, the ministers in the court debated whether to open the horse market, but in the end it was left unresolved."

"A few years ago, the eunuch party was still in power. Now it is naturally different. I will write a letter to General Zhao and Lord Tingwei respectively, urging them to make a joint appeal to His Majesty." Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes. "The court does not agree to open the horse market, mainly because they are afraid of raising a tiger to cause trouble. But now we can see clearly that Chahar is not yet powerful, but Zhuoletai and Fengye are about to swing their swords to their necks."

"Lord Yan is right." Wu Mang slapped his thigh, "We have already discussed that if we open the horse market, the Hetao area will be able to regain its vitality. When Dasheng becomes strong, even if Chahar gradually grows stronger, it will not dare to attack easily. On the contrary, the border guards will continue to burn and plunder endlessly, and leaving the beautiful and fertile land of Hetao uncultivated and unraised is not a long-term solution."

Yu Shenglang also agreed: "General Xue also has this intention, but he has submitted several petitions to the court but the court has not approved it. If Lord Yan can make this happen, it will be a blessing for the soldiers and civilians in the northwest."

"In that case, General Yu, please accompany me to Datong and introduce me to General Xue."

"Okay, there's no time to lose, let's set off tomorrow!"

Yan Sikong smiled faintly, with a gleam in his eyes.

——

Before leaving, Yan Sikong made arrangements with all the officials and generals in Qianzhou. Qianzhou was a poor and remote place that could not compare to the rich places with abundant resources. Yan Sikong's move made these people more convinced of him.

On the way to Datong, Yan Sikong bribed Yu Shenglang heavily again. Yu Shenglang was an old man from Datong and he had always been obsessed with Feng's army. However, now that Feng's army had become a rebel army, he dared not express these thoughts on the surface.

After receiving the money from Yan Sikong, Yu Shenglang naturally told Yan Sikong everything he knew, including the open and covert positions of all the officials and generals in Datong. Yan Sikong immediately understood that as long as he could deal with Xue Ronggui and feed the soldiers below, the Datong Army could be transformed into the Feng Family Army at any time. After all, the court even defaulted on salaries from time to time. Which old Datong resident would not miss the glory and power of Datong when Feng Jianping was in power?

As for Xue Ronggui, he was originally recommended by Xie Zhongren. Now that the eunuch party has fallen, if he knows how to deal with it, he can do so. If he cannot, he can get rid of him, and it will be done cleanly and efficiently.

——

Yan Sikong, escorted by the 800 men he brought with him when he left Beijing, came to Datong with Yu Shenglang.

The situation in Datong is exactly the same as what Yu Shenglang said. Although it occupies the solid defense line built by its predecessors, it does not have the ability to eliminate the Mongolian guerrillas. The morale of the soldiers has plummeted. Today's Datong is absolutely unable to resist the Wala of the past. The reason why it can barely hold on is because Chahar is still weak.

Xue Ronggui came in person to welcome Yan Sikong and prepared a banquet, but compared to the enthusiasm and flattery of Xu Yong and others, he seemed much more reserved and cold. After all, although he was not a member of the eunuch party, he was recommended by Xie Zhongren, and he was afraid that Yan Sikong would find some reason to report him.

Yan Sikong was respectful and gentle, never mentioning his sensational death bomb. During the dinner, he just wanted to know about the situation in Datong like Xue Ronggui, although he had already learned most of it from Yu Shenglang.

The next morning, Yan Sikong and Yu Shenglang went to Xue Ronggui's house in person to discuss the opening of the horse market, and brought a box of generous gifts.

Although Xue Ronggui was the general of Datong, the military of Datong was now greatly weakened. He, like the officers and generals of Qianzhou, could not gain much benefit. He was really shocked by Yan Sikong's generosity, but he knew that there was no reward without merit. He didn't know what Yan Sikong wanted, so he didn't dare to accept it.

Yan Sikong smiled and comforted him, saying that he gave this small gift only in the hope that the horse market would be really opened in the future, and he should not forget his benefits. Everyone knows that if the horse market is opened, the Hetao area will be able to come back to life in a few years, and by then this barren land will become a gold and silver mountain. Who would not want to have a piece of the pie?

Only then did Xue Ronggui feel relieved to accept it and became much warmer towards Yan Sikong.

During the few days in Datong, Yan Sikong had been making arrangements with Datong officials and generals, and also testing Xue Ronggui, trying to find the right opportunity to reveal his true intentions to Xue Ronggui. However, he acted cautiously and careful. He could not just throw out such a big thing as rebellion. Before he was sure, he always patiently dealt with it.

During this period, he also did several things that seemed very puzzling to outsiders.

"Now is the autumn harvest season. I heard that the apricots in Datong are sweet, especially those in Dayuan County, which are the freshest and most juicy. The mutton noodles are also very delicious. Brother Yu is from Datong. Can you take me to Cunfeng Mutton Restaurant to try it?"

Yu Shenglang was surprised and asked, "Brother Yan, have you been to Datong? How do you know so much?"

Yan Sikong smiled sadly: "A friend once told me this, and I have remembered this for many years..."

Seventeen years.

Sometimes he even blamed himself for having a very good memory. He could actually remember 80% to 90% of what he had said to Feng Ye when they were young. It is said that extreme wisdom leads to injuries. Perhaps it was because others could heal their pain by forgetting, but he could not even forget.

"That Cunfeng Restaurant is a time-honored brand in Datong, right in the city. I will take Brother Yan there to try it today. As for the apricots from Dayuan, they have just been harvested in autumn. I will send someone to deliver them to Brother Yan quickly so that Brother Yan can have a good taste of our Datong delicacies."

Yan Sikong smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Yu."

Yu Shenglang brought Yan Sikong, and Yan Sikong brought his personal bodyguard Feng Xiang. The three of them left the posthouse in plain clothes, not riding horses or taking a car, but walking towards the south of the city.

It was dusk at this time. From a distance, I could see a two-story building at the end of the street. The upstairs, downstairs and in front of the shop were all full of people. On the roof was a yellowed flag with the words "Cunfeng Lamb" written in large letters. The aroma could be smelled from half a mile away.

When they arrived at the mutton restaurant, Yu Shenglang rewarded the waiter with a few coins and said, "Find us a good place."

"Hey, General Yu, why are you back? Come on, please take a seat, everyone."

The waiter welcomed them into the restaurant, found a seat by the window on the second floor, and attentively served them tea and water, and quickly brought over three bowls of mutton noodles.

The bowl of noodles was bigger than a human face. The flat, white and tender noodles lay in a soup with golden oil, covered with fresh green onions and several paper-thin slices of mutton, each half the size of a bowl. It was mouth-watering just by looking at it.

In addition to the noodles, the waiter also served them large pieces of braised mutton, stewed mutton offal and a pound of liquor.

Yu Shenglang filled the glasses for both of them and said with a smile, "Come on, have a taste of our mutton noodles and our good wine, it's very strong."

Yan Sikong stared at the bowl of noodles for a long while, then picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

Yu Shenglang and Feng Xiang were both stunned. Feng Xiang whispered, "Lord Yan is so hungry."

Yan Sikong swallowed several mouthfuls before stopping, grabbing the wine glass in front of him and drinking it all in one gulp.

It was the first time he drank Northwestern wine. The taste was very sharp and spicy, and he was not used to it. It choked him so much that tears came to his eyes immediately.

Yu Shenglang burst into laughter: "Well, I told you this wine is very strong."

Yan Sikong wiped away his tears and laughed, "Good wine, good noodles."

Feng Ye had eaten the best steamed buns in Guangning, and he had also eaten the best mutton noodles in Datong, but they would never have the chance to go to the south where it never snows, eat fat fish, admire the sweet osmanthus flowers that fill the city, and watch the waves that roll several feet high.

Completing half of the agreement, what does that count as?

It doesn’t count.