Li Guang picked up the portrait again and looked at it carefully.
This portrait was probably painted recently. The person in the painting is a Taoist priest, who appears to be around fifty years old.
Could this Taoist priest be the Second Prince Yelü Han, who was not killed by Yelü Wu but fled and disguised himself as a Taoist priest to escape Yelü Wu's pursuit?
Li Guang pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution. The fact that the Taoist priest had come to see him this time specifically to bring these two items indicated that they were of extraordinary significance.
As Dao Ye once said, the three northern kingdoms would be a major factor in the instability of the Great Northern Dynasty, and the first to be affected would be the Fan Kingdom. Once the Fan Kingdom was dealt with, the problems of the Jin Kingdom and the Luo Kingdom would be easier to solve.
The two things the Taoist priest gave him were not for him to send troops to conquer the foreign kingdom, but to take advantage of the conflicts among the foreign royal family to eliminate the current emperor, Yelü Wu, and find the exiled second prince, Yelü Han, so that he could become the emperor of the foreign kingdom.
As a result, Yelü Khan felt grateful to the Northern Dynasty and would no longer be its enemy. Thus, the relationship between the Northern Dynasty and the North stabilized.
These were all Li Guang's guesses, without any basis. He planned to go to Zhao Xian and Li Xue to discuss the matter.
The next day, Li Guang found Zhao Xian and Li Xue, told them about the matter, and shared his speculations.
After listening, Zhao Xian and Li Xue felt that Li Guang's analysis made some sense. The fact that the Taoist priest sent these two items when he was in such a bad state must mean that they were very important.
Of course, they couldn't directly interfere in the politics of the foreign states; they could only look for opportunities to lend Yelü Khan a helping hand at crucial moments.
What we need to do now is look for opportunities and see if there's any possibility of participation.
Thinking of this, Li Guang immediately wrote a letter and sent it to Marshal Han at the border.
In his letter, Li Guang proposed his idea, suggesting that Marshal Han arrange for spies to go to the foreign country to gather information and see if there was an opportunity for infiltration.
Next came the waiting. Li Guang waited until the end of the year, but he didn't receive any valuable news.
Although a reply was received from Marshal Han, the feedback indicated that the foreign country was very peaceful and no major events had occurred.
Li Guang knew that he couldn't rush this matter and had to wait patiently. Since the Taoist priest had given him these two important items, they must have an important purpose.
Winter passed and spring came, but Li Guang did not receive any news from the foreign kingdom. Instead, the busy season of spring plowing arrived. Li Guang planned to go to the border after the spring plowing to see if he could find any clues.
We've been waiting for months, and just waiting like this isn't going to work. Sometimes we have to take the initiative; maybe we can find clues faster.
As the saying goes, "The year's plan starts in spring." After a long winter, as the weather warms up, farmers begin to renovate their fields.
At this time, farming tools such as plows, harrows, and hoes come in handy. The oxen work very hard, plowing and harrowing the fields and leveling the land.
At this time, it is important to focus on fertilizing the soil. In ancient times, there were no chemical fertilizers, so the main way to fertilize the soil was by using human and animal excrement.
Fertilizer cannot be added to the soil by manure alone, so people came up with a solution: they cleaned out the silt from the rivers and ponds. This silt has a certain fertility and is a very good fertilizer.
Some villagers dig a large pit next to their houses and dump the garbage they sweep out of their homes into it.
Over the course of a year, the garbage pit has become overflowing with trash, which also serves as excellent fertilizer.
After fertilizing and leveling the land, it is ready for sowing.
Li Guang had a lot of fields to cultivate in the spring, so all the soldiers in the army camp were mobilized to participate in the spring plowing.
That day, Li Guang was busy in the fields when someone came to report that someone wanted to see him.
Li Guang was digging ditches in the paddy field, and his clothes were covered in mud. It was definitely not appropriate for him to meet the visitors like this, so he had to change his clothes.
"What kind of person is visiting?" Li Guang asked.
"He was wearing a straw hat, and judging from his clothes, he must have been a farmer."
It turned out he was a farmer, probably a villager from nearby, coming to ask about farming matters. So there was no need for him to change his clothes; he could just let him come over. Thinking this, Li Guang said:
"Alright, bring him here."
After Li Guang finished speaking, he plopped down on the edge of the field, taking the opportunity to rest.
Soon, the man who was looking for Li Guang was brought over. He came before Li Guang, looked him up and down, and then bowed.
"I have met Marshal Li."
Li Guang sensed something was wrong, quickly stood up, sized up the newcomer, and asked:
Who are you?
The newcomer took off his straw hat, smiled, and looked at Li Guang.
Li Guang took a closer look and saw that the man was tall, broad-shouldered, and thick-waisted. He was clearly a fierce general. Li Guang felt that he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.
"Marshal Li, you don't recognize me? I am Ge Kaishan."
Li Guang suddenly remembered that when he led his troops to the border, Marshal Han fell ill, and he himself assumed the position of Marshal. On the battlefield, Gu Huai captured Ge Kaishan.
Because Li Guang took great care of him, Ge Kaishan provided Li Guang with important intelligence. Later, after the war ended, Li Guang asked Marshal Han to release Ge Kaishan.
Li Guang clearly remembered that when he talked with Ge Kaishan, Ge Kaishan told him that he was a foreigner and would not surrender. He said that the foreigners were waging an unjust war and that he did not approve of it.
He also stated that after the war ends, regardless of victory or defeat, as long as he is still alive, he will leave the battlefield, return home to farm, and stay far away from the battlefield.
"So it's General Ge. My apologies, my apologies."
Li Guang felt embarrassed that he was being impolite by receiving Ge Kaishan dressed like that.
When Ge Kaishan saw Li Guang working in the fields, he found it incredible and was filled with admiration for Li Guang.
Li Guang had previously told Ge Kaishan that after the war, he would go home and continue farming. At the time, I thought it was just Li Guang making excuses, but I didn't expect that Li Guang was telling the truth and that he really did go home and farm.
“General Ge, this is not the place to talk. Let’s go back to the camp to discuss this,” Li Guang said.
Ge Kaishan looked around and realized that this was not a suitable place to talk, so he said, "Thank you for your trouble, Marshal Li."
Normally, if the other party were a true friend, Li Guang would bring them back to the farm. However, Ge Kaishan was a barbarian and a barbarian general, so he had to be wary of him.
Soon, Li Guang brought Ge Kaishan to the military camp. In the main tent, Li Guang asked Ge Kaishan to wait a moment while he went to change his clothes.
A short while later, Li Guang changed his clothes and led Ge Kaishan to a small barracks behind the main tent.
After the two men sat down in the barracks, soldiers served them tea.
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