The Red Mansions

Chapter 806

Above the Chongming Sands

The pine oil torches were already lit around, making a crackling sound in the air, the Han army made way for a passage, and the Korean navy also dropped their weapons one after another, and surrendered to Chen Han's army.

Jia Heng looked at Duo Duo with a cold look in his eyes.

At this moment, Duoduo also stared at the young man closely, and the saber in his hand couldn't help but clenched a little bit, and said: "Jia Heng, take your life!"

Jia Heng dragged the knife in his hand and rushed towards Duoduo quickly.

Going closer, a pair of training blades suddenly appeared, slashing in the air.

Accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of gold and iron clashing, sparks splashed everywhere, Duoduo's figure staggered as if he had been struck by lightning, and felt an overwhelming force coming from the opponent's knife, and quickly moved towards the distance Backed away, and the saber in his hand had already flown into the sky.

"Master, take the knife!"

Deng Biao, who was fighting with several Jurchen guards and the Han army, threw the knife in his hand towards Dodo. At this time, the small school of the Han army saw this and stabbed Deng Biao with a spear.

"Puff, puff, puff!!!"

Deng Biao froze on the spot, looking down at the spear on his abdomen, wanting to say something, but he said "ho ho" and finally fell to the ground, blood gurgling.

Duoduo took the knife again, and slashed fiercely at Jia Heng's leg with all his strength.

"Dang!" Jia Heng's face remained unchanged, the big knife in his hand collided with the knife in Duoduo's hand, and made a piercing scream. This time, Duoduo's knife did not fly away again.

It's back and forth like that, after about five rounds.

At this moment, the back of the knife swept towards Doduo's ribs, and with a muffled groan, Doduo spat out a mouthful of blood, and immediately fell to the ground.

Just as he was about to stand up with his arms up, he felt the cold blade approaching his neck, and he felt a bucket of cold water splashed all over his body. He looked at the boy in the python suit with bloodshot eyes.

"Duo Duo, did you expect this day?" Jia Heng said.

Doduo's helmet has been swept aside by Jia Heng, and the hair in front of the braid is disheveled, his face is gray and his pupils are bloodshot.

There was a look of cruelty in the eyes staring at Jia Heng, roaring again and again, and slammed into the blade of the precious knife in Jia Heng's hand, but suddenly heard a "snap", and felt a sharp pain in his cheek, accompanied by the front teeth in his mouth. Spit out together with blood and water, and then lay down on the ground, did not get up for a long time.

Jia Heng put away the knife and stood up, with a calm face, looked at Duo Duo indifferently, and said in a deep voice: "Come here, tie up Duo Duo, Liu Jixian, take him down for safe guard!"

Duoduo regained some sanity, and cursed angrily: "Son Jia Heng, you killed me!"

Jia Heng ignored Duoduo, looked at Ye Kai and Jia Fang, and asked, "Accept the surrender of the North Korean navy."

Then, a few tied up Duoduo with ropes, shouting, "Be honest."

The North Korean sailors who were still sporadically resisting in all directions watched Doduo being captured alive by Jia Heng, and completely stopped resisting, dropped their weapons, and surrendered to the officers and soldiers.

At this time, after hearing Jia Heng's question, Jia Fang saw reverence in her eyes, stepped forward quickly, and clasped her fists and said: "Jie Shuai, Li Daoshun and the Korean navy general want to see Jie Shuai."

Jia Heng nodded and asked, "Where's the person?"

At this moment, the Korean navy generals not far away, headed by Li Daoshun, handed over their weapons and came over with bare hands.

"General Li Daoshun from Xiaoguo has met Uncle Yongning of Shangguo." Li Daoshun and several generals knelt down with a "plop" and kowtowed to Jia Heng.

Under the torch swaying in the wind, the boy in the python suit looked frosty, and asked: "You are a vassal of my Han Dynasty, and you have been granted by my dynasty for generations, why did you invade the country as a captive?"

Li Daoshun said with a low eyebrow, "North Korea faces each other across the sea. We will recover from Master Wang. For the sake of the survival of the Korean people, we dare not fight to the death with Jurchen. I hope the general of the Shang Kingdom will forgive me."

The answer is honest.

Jia Heng was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Jia Fang, help General Li up."

Obviously, these North Korean sailors cannot be put back. They can be used as a leading party, or even as a puppet army to instigate North Korea again.

Looking at Li Daoshun and others, Jia Heng said in a cold voice: "Liaodong fell, and the fertile land outside the pass did not see our Han army's king division. North Korea, as a vassal country, cannot stand on its own. You can be forgiven, but today I was captured by our Han army. Serve me as a big man, and make meritorious deeds."

Seeing this, Li Daoshun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The great powers of the Central Plains have always treated them with gentleness and care.

"The big man is our suzerain. Our country has bowed down to serve the thieves and has been looking south to the master for many years." Li Daoshun said loudly.

Apparently, the Lee family in Jeolla Province was deeply influenced by Chinese culture, and they answered each other fluently at the moment, and in the end, even their voices were a little choked up.

Jia Heng didn't take it seriously, and said: "Jia Fang, lead some generals down to rest, and wait for tomorrow to leave for Jinling."

Sad to say, these are the targets of the United Front.

Then, Jia Heng looked at the Han army with torches like dragons and spears and halberds like a forest, and said in a deep voice: "All generals obey the order and camp on the island tonight."

"Yes." The voice of responding to the order resounded in the four fields, and the sound shook the mountains and forests.

Zhen Shao, Zhen Zhu, Cai Quan and other generals have not yet returned from chasing and suppressing the enemy, and they have to wait for the follow-up generals to report the results of the battle.

In the barracks of the Chinese army built with reeds, oil lamps were lit, and two figures appeared inside.

Jia Heng entered the military tent, sat behind the handsome table, picked up the map and looked at it, there was also the direction of Jurchen's troops on it, and he could see Duoduo's military operations.

Chen Ling looked at the young man and said softly, "This battle is almost over now."

Jia Heng put down the map in his hand, looked at the girl, and said: "Tomorrow we will be in Jinling, after this time, the navy will have to reorganize and reorganize, and the Hongyi cannon also needs to be built more to prepare for the captives. "

After this battle, in Jinling, he has the same reputation in the army, and the generals who have meritorious service can be promoted appropriately.

Come to think of it, the Jingzhong Garden should also be repaired.

Chen Xiao nodded and said: "It is necessary to make more Hongyi cannons and firearms, and there will be more chances of winning in the future."

After this battle, the cousin who wanted to come was more and more dependent on that person.

Jia Heng said, "I'll write a memorial to the success of the first seal."

How to write this memorial also needs to be considered.

However, just as he was writing, the voice of Colonel Jinyi came from outside the military tent, saying loudly: "Captain, General Zhen, General Cai is here."

Zhen Shao, Zhen Zhu, and Cai Quan went to hunt down the fleeing Four Seas Gang, Nujiao Gang, and other thirteen pirate forces, but now it was getting late, and they all led their troops back to Chongmingsha.

Jia Heng just wrote a few words, put down the brush, and said, "Let them in."

After a while, Cai Quan, Zhen Zhu and Zhen Shao opened the tent from the outside, and there was a strong smell of blood pouring in along with the autumn wind.

After all, Zhen Zhu had no chance to fight desperately, although he fought hard to kill the enemy while chasing the pirate's ship and suffered serious injuries.

"The last general has seen Uncle Yongning." The three generals said in unison.

Jia Heng left the book case, and stretched out his hands to help, with a look of appreciation in his eyes, he said: "The three generals have worked hard, please hurry up."

The three generals thanked each other, and Jia Heng asked: "The three generals are chasing the other fugitive pirates. How is the battle going?"

Cai Quan said in a deep voice: "Marshal Jie, all the leaders of the Four Seas Gang have been beheaded by our army, Qin Dong has fallen into our hands, and the last general has already taken the head of this beast."

Jia Heng nodded and asked, "Where is General Zhen?"

Zhen Shao's face was slightly shaken, and he replied: "The Nujiao Gang has been defeated and captured two thousand pirates. Ju Xiao and his gang fled towards the sea in a fast boat."

During the Battle of Haimen, Shangguan Rui, the leader of the Nujiao Clan, was the first to escape, and now seeing the situation is not good, he fled back to Jiangkou by boat.

Under Jia Heng's sharp gaze, Zhen Zhu's expression was a little unnatural, and he said in a deep voice: "The Jinsha Gang and the thirteen groups of pirates were also defeated by our army and captured three thousand pirates. Run away."

Jia Heng's face was indifferent, and he said: "They can't escape, wait until the officers and soldiers are dispatched, and then catch them all in one go."

As he spoke, he looked at the three generals and said: "Three generals, go to dinner first, and put the prisoner in prison, and wait for this commander to ask for credit for the generals later."

Zhen Shao was overjoyed when he heard that he was asking for merit, but his face remained calm, and Zhen Zhu looked at Jia Heng with a little bit less of the previous annoyance.

After the three generals left the army tent, Chen Xiao said in a low voice: "The rest is to send the navy to hunt down the pirates."

Jia Heng nodded and said, "Yes."

After speaking, after coming to the book case, he picked up the brush and prepared to continue writing the memorial.

Chen Xiao picked up the inkstone and grinded it lightly, and said softly: "It's not too late to write tomorrow morning, I'm tired all day."

"It's okay, strike while the iron is hot." Jia Heng smiled and said in a low voice.

After writing for a while, and briefly describing the report of this battle, Li Shu, a hundred personal guards, brought the food and said, "Commander, dinner is here."

Jia Heng put down the brush, stared at Chen Xiao, and said softly, "Xiaoxiao, eat first."

Chen Xiao said "um", and as Jia Heng sat down, she raised her eyes and asked, "When do you plan to return to Beijing?"

Jia Heng thought for a while, then said in a gentle voice: "After half a month, there is still the matter of the Lianghuai salt tax that needs to be dealt with. Let's see what's going on in the north. If there are no bandits, stay longer in Jinling a period of time."

Chen Xiaodao: "The Jurchen originally looked for opportunities in the north with the chaos in the southeast, but now that Duoduo has been captured alive, I think they will not start the war lightly when they come to the north."

"It's hard to say." Jia Heng picked up the chopsticks and picked up a chopsticks dish and put it in Chen Ling's bowl, saying: "There is not much time left for the Jurchen, but they should not be out of anger. If it is next spring, maybe Come with the soldiers of the whole country.”

The defeat of Doduo and the Korean navy must have shocked Jurchen. According to Huang Taiji's temperament, he might have to play it safe, and the season is coming to winter.

Chen Ling pursed her moist pink lips, a warm current surged in her heart, picked up the chopsticks, put them in her mouth, and chewed them lightly.

After the two of them finished eating, Jia Heng poured two cups of tea, passed them over, and said, "Have a sip of tea."

Ever since he kissed Xiaoxiao that day, in his heart, this is already his.

At this moment, Li Shu, who was guarding hundreds of households in Jinyi, entered the army tent, cupped his hands and said, "Captain, the subordinates and prisoners around Duoduo want to see you."

Jia Heng said, "Oh? Dodo's servant?"

"The people said that we are old friends with the governor." Li Shu replied.

At this moment, Wei Guang, a young novice from the Gourd Temple, accompanied by two guards from the Jinyi Mansion, looked at the military tent with orange lights, feeling uneasy in his heart.

During the meal just now, I heard some prisoners talking. If they were prisoners of the North Korean navy, they would be sent to the mines for "labour reform".

Rather than doing this, it would be better to vote for Uncle Heng, who has a lot of connections with the Jia family.

Jia Heng paused, put down his chopsticks, looked at Chen Xiao, and said softly, "Let me see what's going on."

While speaking, the two guards of the Jinyi Mansion escorted the young novice from the Gourd Temple into the military tent, "Putong" knelt down, and said: "The little one has seen the old man."

Jia Heng paused, looking at the subordinate, his forehead was naturally shaved, and the back turned into a pig's tail, which looked a bit funny.

Wei Guang, a novice from the Gourd Temple, said with a flattering smile, "Maybe I don't know me, but I am an old friend with Jia Yucun, Yin of Jinling Mansion, and Jia Yucun is a student of your mansion."

Jia Heng looked at Wei Guang, and said: "Jia Yucun used to be a student of Jia's family, but because of his greedy and cruel officials, he has been alienated and expelled by me. Who are you? How can you call him an old friend of Jia Yucun? ?”

Since the downfall of King Zhongshun, Jia Yucun has now followed Qi County King Chen Cheng, who has not paid attention to Jia Yucun for a while.

Wei Guangdao: "Master, the younger one met Jia Yucun when he was in the Gourd Temple, and the younger one went to Jinling later."

Jia Heng narrowed his eyes and said, "Gourd Temple?"

According to the setting of the grass snake and gray line in the original book of the Red Chamber, this sect will become a Jurchen official in the future, and after the Qing army entered the pass, he avenged Jia Yucun.

Jia Heng pondered for a moment, then said: "Get up first, since you are a Han, why did you vote for Duoduo?"

Wei Guang said with a bitter face: "I have no choice but to be young. I was dispatched to Ji Town at the beginning to do the work of dumping chamber pots and digging trenches for the soldiers. Later, the Jurchen called and the officers and soldiers lost the battlements. Some of our prisoners Vote for Jurchen."

Jia Heng frowned, and said coldly: "That's not why you treason."

Seeing the unfriendly expression of the boy in the python suit, Wei Guang hurriedly said: "Master Heng, the younger one has something to say back. Then Duoduo told the younger one to tell the Jurchen about the power of the official army's firearms."

Hearing this, Jia Heng squinted his eyes and said, "How do you say that?"

"The little one has Duoduo's Eight Banners card on his body, and there is a blood book as evidence." Wei Guang said in a low voice: "It is said that the little one went to Liaodong to find Prince Dorgon, the Jurchen prince, and reminded the officers and soldiers of the power of firearms."

Chen Xiao frowned, thinking to himself, this man is really a servile and capricious villain.

Jia Heng winked at the guard, and found a token and a blood book from his body.

Wei Guang was worried that if this thing was discovered, it would lead to a dead end, so he decided to vote for the official army.

Jia Heng took the blood cloth and looked at it by the light. He couldn't understand the Jurchen language on it, but he believed Wei Guang's words [-]% to [-]%.

"What do you mean by dedicating this thing to me?"

Wei Guang knelt down again, and said: "Brother Heng, please give me a way to live. My life experience is miserable, I am displaced, and I have no choice but to lose myself to a thief. Now that I have returned to Han soil, I hope the uncle will let me live."

Jia Heng pondered for a moment, then said, "Get up first."

This Wei Guang is indeed a bit clever, and if he puts the Jurchen back to serve as eyeliner, it may be able to achieve certain effects.

But this person is capricious and cannot be trusted.

"You can be spared the death penalty, but you can't escape the death penalty. If someone comes, you should detain him first and wait to be released." Jia Heng's heart moved slightly, and he made up his mind.

Wei Guang felt his heart tremble when he heard this, and said, "Brother Heng, little one..."

But without saying a word, he was dragged out of the Chinese army barracks by the guards of the Jinyi Mansion.

"You want to use this person as an excuse?" Chen Xiao frowned and said softly.

"I know I can't hide it from Xiaoxiao." Jia Heng said softly, put down the token and the blood cloth in his hand, and pulled the girl's bare hand naturally.

Chen Xiao snorted coldly, but broke free from Jia Heng's hand, her snow-white cheeks blushed lightly, picked up the flag charm and blood cloth that Jia Heng put on the table, and said, "But if this person goes After losing the Jurchen, it might happen again, and at that time, the Jurchen sent you false information in turn, misleading your judgment in the future battle."

Jia Heng said: "Xiaoxiao really knows the art of war, so I'm still hesitating and thinking of other ways."

Even if he has time, he will not only listen to one piece of news, but send a few spies that do not cross each other, and then confirm the news with each other.

Chen Xiao nodded and said, "You just need to know what's in your head."

No more words for one night.

The next day, Jia Heng left [-] sailors stationed in Chongmingsha to support the sailors from Denglai and Fuzhou, and then led the sailors from Jiangnan Jiangbei Camp to escort the prisoners back to the camp in Weigang, Tongzhou , stopped for a while, and headed towards Yangzhou.

……

……

Jinling
Overcast and cloudy, I don't know when, the sky has started to rain, and it fell on the bluestone road on the streets of Jinling City, splashing dust everywhere, and the autumn wind blew the sign of the restaurant, making "squeaks" and "squeaks" one after another. Squeak" sound.

There are few pedestrians on the street in front of the row upon row of houses, and occasionally there are people pushing wheelbarrows passing by in the rain.

Yamen of the Governor's Department of Liangjiang
In the courtyard, rainwater flowed down along the roof tiles with green eaves, and thousands of threads hung like bead curtains, while the front hall was full of officials from the Six Ministries of Nanjing.

As Jia Heng led the troops to Chongmingsha, all the officials in Jinling City focused their attention on the battle at Haimen, and as time passed, various rumors were heard in the streets and alleys of Jinling City.

What, Yongningbo has been defeated, fled to Jiangbei, and all the navy was destroyed.

What, Duoduo has led his troops to Tongzhou Weigang, and Tongzhou Weigang is in flames.

Rumors like this permeated Jinling City, causing the gentry in the city to be startled three times overnight!
It is conservatively estimated that in the past two days, [-] or [-] wealthy businessmen and officials have traveled to Xiangyang Mansion in Huguang by boat to avoid disaster.

The governor of Liangjiang, Shen Fang, was wearing a scarlet official robe. He was sitting in the reception room on the west side of the official hall. Under the candlelight, he said in a deep voice, "My lords, you have come to my governor's office early in the morning. I don't know why. ?”

At this time, Lin Yingqi, the minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry, cleared his throat, and said in a blue voice: "Everyone, this Yongning Bo is too young to send troops so rashly. If he is defeated, our old capital of Jinling will be in danger. Such unknown interests are worthy of military power. Heavy?"

It was said before that Jia Heng was sitting on the navy, and it was still this group of officials who avoided fighting, and it is still these officials now.

"Uncle Yongning has more than 1 sailors, and the enemy's [-] sailors, how can he beat this?" Fang Yaochun, the gray-haired Guozijian Jijiu, shook his head and sighed.

Yuan Tu, Minister of the Ministry of Rites of Nanjing, said: "It doesn't mean that the naval reinforcements from Fuzhou and Denglai are already on the way, and they will be dispatched in a few days. It will be safer then."

Fang Yaochun said: "My lord Yuan, the reinforcements from the former Zhejiang capital were defeated by the captives, and the naval forces in these two places may not be able to help."

Shen Fang said: "Everyone, I still have tens of thousands of troops in Jinling. Even if Uncle Yongning is defeated, Jinling City will still be as safe as a rock. What's more, there are elite soldiers from various provinces coming to help, so don't worry."

Military affairs are inherently dangerous. If Yongning Bo was defeated and the captives approached Jinling, he would just stick to Jinling and die with the city.

The wind knows the strong grass, and the board swings know the loyal ministers.

However, Shen Fang's words did not comfort these old bureaucrats who had been up and down for many years. They all sighed and looked gloomy.

At this moment, a loud voice suddenly came from outside, saying: "Great victory, great victory!"

Everyone in the official hall looked at each other, looking at each other in blank dismay, at first they didn't understand why, and then they seemed to see ghosts.

Shen Fang's expression was calm and prestige, and he said in a deep voice: "What's going on, Master Bai will go and have a look."

The chief secretary, Bai Sixing, led the order to leave the official hall, and ordered an officer to ask questions in the street, but a red-feathered messenger came riding a fast horse in the rain, and said loudly: "Uncle Yongning defeated the North Korean Navy at Chongmingsha. , Great victory for the officers and soldiers! Great victory!"

But the guard had just arrived under the eaves of the corridor, and when he heard this, he was startled, and quickly turned over to report, but because of panic, he almost tripped when he passed the threshold of the governor's yamen, which was as high as his calf, while the other guards were already facing the inside. Shouted: "Great victory! Great victory for the officers and soldiers!"

But at this moment, the news of Jia Heng's victory was like a whirlwind in the entire Jinling City, blowing towards the bustling teahouses and restaurants.

Jinling is the economic and cultural center of the southern province. It was originally an open atmosphere. Not only are there many high-ranking officials and dignitaries, but also many scholars. At this moment, many people are paying attention to the water battle between the Han army and the captives. During the meeting, the matter was discussed, and even the number of Jiangnan and Jiangbei Daying naval divisions was well known.

5000 people against 5 people, how to fight this battle?
At this moment, above the restaurant with the plaque of "Yiranju", there are three-story boxes facing the street. The tables and chairs inside are elegantly arranged, and the cups, bowls, chopsticks and dishes are full.

Fang Kuang, the son of Fang Yaochun, the son of Guozijian offering wine, was talking with Du Ding, Ruan Yin, Xiang Shizhang, Wang Guo and others among the six horses in Jinling.

Ruan Yin put down the teacup in his hand, with thoughts on his flushed cheeks, he asked with emotion: "The sailors from Jiangnan Jiangbei Daying went to Tongzhou Weigang, and they don't know how to fight this battle. It's been two or three days. No news."

Du Ding pondered: "Fifteen thousand versus fifty thousand, Yongning Bo is young after all, influenced by some public opinion in Jinling."

"The memorials of Jinling's impeachment were delivered to the capital like snowflakes, and there is no need to send troops." Xiang Shizhang smiled slightly, and said: "Otherwise, if we stick to Jinling, the enemy and the enemy will run out of food and grass, and the troops in Denglai and Fuzhou will be defeated." It will be safer for the navy to help."

Xiang Shizhang said, looked at Fang Kuang, and asked, "Brother Fang, I heard that the second and fourth masters of the Zhen family have gone to Jiangbei camp."

Everyone else stopped the wine cups in their hands, and turned their curious eyes to Fang Kuang.

The Zhen family is indeed a first-class family in Jinling, with two concubines, and the four brothers of the Zhen family straddle the political, business, and military circles, and the four sisters of the Zhen family, except for the two concubines, are the talented daughters of the official family in the south of the Yangtze River. .

Fang Kuang looked indifferent, and said: "Since Bo Yongning went to Tongzhou Weigang, there is no letter yet, and now there are rumors in the city that this Bo Yongning will suffer a defeat."

It is not easy for the Zhen family to turn around through this war, and the signs of decline are already showing.

According to what my father said, it is best to get rid of the previous marriage, but if Zhen Lan is willing to be his concubine...

Fang Kuang suppressed some secret thoughts in his heart, shook his head and said: "This Yongning Bo was clearly dazed by the last Haimen victory. It is not that easy to win more with less. Now Jinling is exposed Under the enemy's soldiers."

Xiang Shizhang nodded and said, "Uncle Yongning couldn't stand up to the public opinion in Jinling's prefecture, so he came out rashly. This time, Jinling is in danger of losing his eggs."

"Don't worry about that. There are still 5 to [-] people in the Jinling Jiangnan camp, and the guards from all over the two rivers will rush to help Jinling City." Seeing that the expressions of the few people were not very good, Du Ding said comfortingly.

However, while everyone was discussing, there were bursts of cheers from downstairs.

Several people in the private room looked at each other, and Du Ding instructed the servant, "Go and ask the buddy what's going on."

Not long after, the servant went back and said with a smile on his face: "Young masters, I heard that Yongning Bo defeated the captives in Chongmingsha and captured the Jurchen Prince Duoduo, a complete victory."

Fang Kuang's face changed slightly, and he murmured: "How is it possible? Fifteen thousand sailors, how can we win a big victory?"

However, at this moment, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, but no one responded to Fang Kuang's doubts. Instead, they sent someone to inquire about the details of the battle.

Not only the Six Horses of Jinling, but also the bureaucrats and gentry in Jinling City who had been discussing for a few days and paid close attention to the war, all sent people to inquire about the details of the victory of the officers and soldiers.

Fifteen thousand sailors defeated Jurchen's fifty thousand sailors, how is this possible?Could it be a fake military newspaper?Or did the reinforcements from Fuzhou and Denglai come, and the Jurchen retreated and fled to the sea?
However, as time passed, the details were gradually revealed, and the news of the capture of the Jurchen Prince Dodo undoubtedly further proved the authenticity of the news of Dasheng.

Capture the Jurchen prince alive, this can't be faked.

(End of this chapter)