After traveling through time, I became Han Zhang’s grandson?

Chapter 219: The Killing Intent at Qigou Pass

Xiao Chu, a well-deserved protagonist in literary works, also has a profound historical background and unique characteristics in this world.

He was a descendant of the famous Xiao family in the Khitan ethnic group, and was from the same clan as Empress Dowager Xiao, Xiao Guanyin and other royal family members.

If you ask the difference between Xiao Chu and other Xiao families, it is that his branch moved away from the power center of Khitan early on, so that after several generations, it never prospered again.

This is exactly the same as Yelu Liang, who came from a poor family. However, compared to Yelu Liang's luck in meeting Yelu Hongji, Xiao Chu never had the opportunity to be promoted within the Liao Kingdom.

A thousand years ago, he was similar to Liu Bei, who only had the imperial surname. He had a title but no wealth or background.

Coincidentally, after struggling in the quagmire of Xijin Prefecture for many years, he developed some cleverness and keen eyes.

So much so that when Yelu Liang was on a business trip, he happened to take a liking to this interesting young man. After being incorporated into the Liao intelligence organization, Xiao Chu repeatedly played a huge role in the spy war between Liao and Song.

After gaining the trust and reuse of Yelu Liang, Xiao Chu nominally became the highest-ranking intelligence officer from the south of Xijin Prefecture to the border of Song Dynasty.

Most of the information about the Song Dynasty delegation's visit to Liao came from Xiao Chu.

On the border between Liao and Song, there is a part of "dual-belonging land". Simply put, it serves as a buffer zone between the two countries, and at the same time pays taxes and serves the Song and the surrounding minority regimes.

Xiao Chu attached great importance to the assassination mission assigned by his superiors, and chose the location of Qi Gou Pass in the two territories.

This place is only a few kilometers away from Liaoxin City. At the same time, the terrain here is relatively rugged. Before the Treaty of Chanyuan, it was the place where the Liao border army was stationed.

After the Liao and Song dynasties reached peace, the Liao's sphere of influence expanded southward, and Qiugou Pass became its rear area.

Since the Treaty of Chanyuan, the relationship between Liao and Song has become increasingly stable. In order not to provoke each other, both sides formed a military buffer zone and established many territories between Xiongzhou and Yizhou.

Xincheng and Qiugouguan were also included. In name, these territories were under the jurisdiction of the Liao Kingdom, but in reality, these two territories needed to pay taxes and serve both countries.

Looking at the steep terrain of Qigou Pass, a hint of coldness flashed across Xiao Chu's eyes.

"Where is the delegation heading?"

The black-clad man behind him heard the leader's question and immediately bowed and replied, "We are ten miles outside the new city and will arrive in Yuzhong at 9:00 PM."

Xiao Chu narrowed his eyes slightly, and his fingers under his linen sleeves kept moving, as if he was calculating something.

"Tell the surveillance personnel to identify every member of the delegation. If anyone escapes, the superiors and I will kill you!"

Xiao Chusen's cold words made the man in black tremble, and he immediately bent deeper. "Please rest assured, sir. I will definitely not let anyone from the delegation escape."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man in black disappeared behind Xiao Chu in a flash. Judging from his direction, it seemed that he was going to deliver a message.

"Han Ming... no matter how powerful you are in Song, once you enter Liao, you will be like a fish on the chopping board, at our mercy!"

Xiao Chu looked with a cold gaze towards the direction of Xincheng south of Qigou Pass, which was the route Han Ming's delegation took to the north.

As for the Song Dynasty delegation that set out from Xincheng, they did not know that a big net had been woven for them in the Qigou Pass, and they would be buried there.

. . . . . .

As time goes by, the sun in the north becomes more and more dazzling, and judging from the weather, today seems to be a sunny day.

After nearly a month of arduous journey, the Song Dynasty delegation finally reached the border from Tokyo Prefecture. They also spent a lot of time presenting the credentials, arranging personnel inspections, etc., and arrived in Xincheng for rest around October 8th.

According to the dates of the diplomatic missions in previous years, it would take less than five days to reach Zhuozhou from Xincheng, and about seven days to reach Xijin Prefecture from Zhuozhou.

The Song Dynasty delegation estimated that they would be able to enter Xijin Prefecture in Liaonan Circuit around October 20th.

If both sides communicate faster, maybe they can make it back home in time for the New Year. Of course, if the communication isn't smooth, it's probably just another holiday in a foreign country.

Just as they were each immersed in their own thoughts, the team slowly drove into Qigou Pass.

Suddenly, a sharp sound rang out throughout the convoy, bringing everyone's wandering thoughts back to their senses.

"alert--!"

"Om-!"

"Om-!"

"..."

With a shout, the imperial guards surrounding the delegation immediately drew their swords and began to carefully observe their surroundings.

"What's wrong? General Zhou! Is there something wrong?!"

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a middle-aged man with a long beard asked in confusion.

"Master He, please wait until I have finished my inspection and are done with the rest of the process."

Hearing General Zhou's words, Lord He was a little confused. Just as he was about to ask a few more questions, his eyes suddenly swept to the direction of Qigou Pass not far ahead. There were many corpses there, and his face couldn't help but tighten.

"Master He, please quickly close the carriage curtain."

General Zhou's words rang in his ears again, and 'Lord He' immediately did as he was told, lowered the curtains, and sat back in the car with some fear.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know why, but it seems to be related to those Khitans."

General Zhou's answer made Lord He feel very complicated.

"It seems like this trip really didn't start off well!"

"Master He, please rest assured. I am here to protect your safety."

General Zhou's serious voice echoed through the team, calming everyone's somewhat nervous mood.

Soon, the accompanying imperial guards collected all the corpses in front and piled them on the side of the road, waiting for their general to inspect them.

Zhou Qian was a lieutenant general of the Central Imperial Guards, affiliated with the Gongsheng Army, and came from the cavalry. This time, he was ordered by the emperor to escort the diplomatic envoys to the Liao Kingdom.

In addition to Anyang Hou Han Ming, the delegation also included the newly appointed Deputy Envoy of the Three Departments He Zhengru, the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple Du Jiyang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites Peng Yi and other relevant envoys.

After all, the Song Dynasty had seen relations with Liao for a hundred years, and this was always of utmost importance.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong, there were "ministers" such as the Three Envoys who were sent as envoys to the Liao Kingdom, which shows how much importance the Song Dynasty attached to the Liao Kingdom.

"General, I have examined their characteristics. These people include both southerners and northerners, and a mix of Song and Liao factions. It is difficult to determine which faction they belong to."

A young general came out to report on the inspection.

"Any other discoveries?" Zhou Qian frowned slightly, trying to find other clues among the pile of corpses.

"Yes, they all wear the same token. General, please take a look."

The young general presented the token engraved with the words "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World" to Zhou Qian for review.

"This is?!"

Zhou Qian's pupils shrank, and he felt a chill running from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"Collect all the tokens immediately. No one is allowed to move without the order of this general."

After Zhou Qian gave the instructions, he immediately turned around and walked to He Zhengru's carriage, carefully presenting the token.

"Sir, we seem to be in trouble."

He Zhengru lifted the car curtain, glanced at the token Zhou Qian was holding, and a look of understanding flashed across his heart.

"Trouble? It's more than just trouble!"

He Zhengru thought of Han Ming's instructions before leaving and couldn't help but sigh.

"Master He is saying..."

"These people are assassins who came to kill the delegation!!!"

He Zhengru narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a hint of coldness.

"The Liao Kingdom can't hold back any longer... General Zhou, find a few killers with obvious characteristics and take care of them. We'll take the bodies to Xijin Prefecture to file a complaint—!"

He Zhengru's words made Zhou Qian's expression startled. He immediately clasped his fists and replied, "Yes, I'll do it right away."

"Also, you should know where the 'assassin' from the Border Pacification Division is. Once they arrive in Zhuozhou, immediately have them spread the news of the assassination throughout the world—!"

The Border Pacification Office mentioned by He Zhengru is an agency that governs the most frontier areas of confrontation with Liao. Its responsibilities are to consolidate border defense and resolve border conflicts.

After the Treaty of Chanyuan, although the two sides were in a relatively peaceful state, the Song Dynasty was very concerned about the threat posed by the Liao Kingdom, and the contest between the two sides turned into a spy war.

At this time, the Border Pacification Office became the main agency responsible for espionage affairs.

In order to ensure the smooth development of espionage activities, the Hebei Border Pacification Office gradually established a series of related systems such as spy selection and rewards in its espionage work.

The most important of these is the "assassin" system, which simply means "spies" who spy on various military movements.

"Yes, I will immediately arrange for people to go to Zhuozhou to deliver the information." Zhou Qian immediately understood and nodded.

"Humph! These foreigners are not even worthy enough to play a spy war with our Great Song!"

He Zhengru thought of Han Ming's words, and couldn't help but smile. He closed his eyes and began to rest...