Yelu Deguang stepped forward and helped Lu Wanli up and sighed: "You are worthy of being the prince of Liang State. You know the principles of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and forgiveness. I and you must be ashamed of yourself!"

Lu Wanli burst into tears and said respectfully: "The emperor has ruined his evil ministers. He is just a person who has lost his country and has no relatives in the Central Plains. Only by being taken in and promoted by the emperor can he have the status today. I always want to serve the Khitan. As a Khitan minister, I die as a Khitan ghost."

Yelu Deguang patted his hand and said heartily: "I am very pleased that I am so loyal to you! Nanzheng is not a joke, I have a sense of responsibility in my heart. You can let go."

After Lu Wanli left, Yelu Deguang thought about it repeatedly and decided not to confront the Jin army head-on, and ordered the temporary retreat to Yingzhou and temporarily stationed there, and then dispatched troops after rectifying military affairs.

Yelu Ruan originally thought that Yelu Deguang would ask the commander of the Central Camp Yelu Wuzhi to come to support him. He waited for the imperial edict to be sent, but found that it was an order to withdraw the army.

Yelu Ruan was unwilling to accept it and thought to himself: "Since the emperor's uncle sent troops to fight south, why did he return halfway? Even if the reinforcements from Jin State arrived, our Khitan soldiers were numerous and they were all in the battlefield for a long time, and there was still a chance of victory. Now that we have not fought the decisive battle with the Jin army, we have to withdraw our troops. I really don't know what the emperor's uncle thought!"

The soldiers had already heard the content of the imperial edict and had been talking about the emperor's decision. The generals in the front camp were worried that the soldiers would mutiny, so they gathered in the golden tent, but found that the commander was sitting on the commander's platform with a serious expression and said nothing.

The general who was speaking just now was Yelu Ruan's confidant, named Chamuhe. He was only twenty-seven years old this year. He was tall and strong and overwhelmed everyone. When Chamuhe was fifteen years old, he encountered a tiger in the mountains and forests. He actually tore the tiger into several pieces with his bare hands, and was known as the first warrior of the Khitan.

Chamuhe's father participated in supporting Yelu Bei as the emperor. After the incident was exposed, he was ordered to be executed by the Empress Dowager Shuluping. Therefore, Chamuhe was resentful of Shuluping and had a grudge against the successor Emperor Yelu Deguang. He was ill with Yelu Ruan, and the two were similar in age, so they had a great time. After Yelu Ruan became the commander of the front camp of the Southern Expedition, he immediately appointed General Chamuhe to attack Jin together.

After hearing this, the generals were very unwilling to accept it. Another person stood up and said angrily: "Prince, we are fighting to the death on the battlefield. There are three thousand soldiers in the wilderness. Now we have finally attacked Hengzhou. As long as we attack a few more times, Hengzhou will be broken. At that time, the tens of thousands of troops from the rear camp will meet us and then drive down to the capital of Jin. Who knows that the emperor suddenly issued an order to withdraw to Yingzhou. At present, we cannot move forward and cannot retreat, and we can only curl up in this wilderness. What will we face the family of the dead brothers in the future!"

The man's name was Xiao Yejin, who was the nephew of the Xiao family of the Empress Yelu Abaoji. At this time, he served as the right general in the army. He and Yelu Ruan grew up together and were like brothers and sisters. Xiao Yejin spoke in tears, and all the generals present were deeply touched.

After hearing this, Yelu Ruan sighed and said after a long time, "Dear generals, we are just doing our duties according to the order. The emperor asked us to attack Hengzhou, so I will attack Hengzhou. The emperor asked us to withdraw our troops, so we will withdraw our troops immediately. There is no choice! Since the emperor asked us to rectify military affairs, we must not be slackened at all. You each take care of the soldiers under your command, and I will inspect them in person in a few days."

The generals said "promise" and turned around and walked out of the golden tent.

Yelu Ruan called Chamuhe and Xiao Yejin at the door and whispered: "There are many people in the army, and their ears are complicated. Be careful when speaking in the future. If the handle is caught by a villain and passed to the emperor's ears, you will be in danger."

Chamuhe and Xiao Yejin looked at each other, looked at each other and said, "Prince, there is a saying we have always kept in our hearts, and we don't know whether to say it or not?"

Yelu Ruan signaled the two to return to the tent to speak. The three walked to the center of the tent. Yelu Ruan said, "Muhe, it is also a metal, we are the relationship between the upper and lower levels of the outside world. If no one else is present, we will be the three brothers. If you have anything to say, just listen to me."

Chamuhe said first, "Prince, I think the emperor's withdrawal of troops this time will not be so simple." Yelu Ruan asked, "In your opinion, what is the reason?" Chamuhe said softly, "Our front camp is invincible all the way, and it was blocked in Hengzhou for a month. At that time, the reinforcements of Jin State had not arrived yet. If the emperor asked the central camp's army to support us, we would have captured Hengzhou long ago. Now Du Chongwei has arrived, and it will be difficult to attack Hengzhou again. After thinking about it, I finally figured out that the emperor deliberately did not let the prince make great contributions."

Yelu Ruan Ran said, "Muhe, what you said makes sense. Although the army retreated to the north by the emperor's will, the reason was that my attack on the front camp was blocked. Now not only the soldiers in the front camp were talking about it, but I am afraid that the soldiers in the middle camp and the back camp all complained about me."

Xiao Yejin comforted: "Your Majesty, don't blame yourself too much. If the emperor issues an order to pursue the matter, we are willing to share the responsibility with you."

Yelu Ruan waved his hand and said with a wry smile: "Muhe, it's also Jin. This is a matter within the royal family, and you don't have to participate. I have been accustomed to intrigues for so many years. Since I have mastered the military power of the former camp, many people have been wary of me everywhere. Now I have returned without me, which is just what they criticized. I can't wait long before someone goes to the emperor to say bad things about me."

Chamuhe and Xiao Yejin stepped forward and held Yelu Ruan's hand, and said in a low voice: "Prince, it's really hard for you over the years. No matter what happens in the future, we will both stand on your side."

Yelu Ruan looked at the two of them and thought to herself: "Now I am weak in the royal family, and they can still treat me as always. They are indeed my good brother!" So she said sincerely: "Muhe, Ye Jin, thank you for your support along the way, so I can persevere until today."

Chamuhe and Xiao Yejin smiled slightly, said some irrelevant words, and then left the Jinding tent.

Yelu Ruan saw the two of them away, sat alone on the coaching platform, pressed his hands against his forehead, closed his eyes, and recalled carefully what had happened recently.

Yelu Ruan had never been scruples in using troops, so he was able to quickly capture Dingzhou of Jin. When the Khitan Front Camp army arrived in Hengzhou, he could have set up a battle calmly and siege the city of Hengzhou. Over time, the Jin defenders would naturally be exhausted and surrender. However, Yelu Ruan was determined to avenge his father, but he did not want to delay the time at this time, so he hurriedly let the army attack, which led to the tenacious resistance of the Jin defenders, and the Khitan army suffered heavy casualties.

Before Hengzhou could not be conquered, the Khitan southern expedition came to an abrupt end. Yelu Ruan was worried that the emperor would punish him, so he was extremely careful in his actions these days.
Chapter completed!