The Red Mansions

Chapter 963 King Qi County: After this battle, who can control the child?

In Taiyuan Fucheng, the night shrouded the land, only a round of bright moon hanging in the sky, the city wall built of blue bricks and strips of stone was towering and towering, like a squatting gluttonous monster, and the lanterns hanging on the city gate Swaying with the wind, groups of orange lights and shadows of different sizes fainted.

The general yamen and the official office are brightly lit, as bright as day, and the hall is crowded with people.

Lin Ruhai, the servant of the household department, wore a crimson official robe and a black black gauze hat, and sat on a grand teacher's chair. The hustle and bustle these days made this elegant and dignified former salt censor look a little more dignified and solemn.

At this moment, accompanied by a doctor from the household department and a Yuanwailang, he is discussing matters with Jiang Yan, the prefect of Taiyuan, Gu Binghe, the governor of Shanxi, and Luo Jingwen, the chief envoy.

Also seated were Chen Cheng, king of Qi County, and six Shanxi merchants including Jiexiu Cao's family, Yuci Chang's family, Qixian Qu's family, Jiexiu Fan's family and Taigu Kong's family.

What everyone is discussing today is mainly about urging Shanxi to transfer, purchase grain and fodder, and send them to the front line.

Because not long ago, the Kang family in Xuanhua City was investigated for colluding with Jurchen, and even Qiao's family was involved. The lying down gesture of "nonviolent non-cooperation".

Of course, the Shanxi merchants dared to act so recklessly, and it was also related to getting through the joints of the King of Qi.

During this period of time, the Shanxi merchants were not idle either, and they had a fierce fight with the Qi County King Chen Cheng who came to escort the army rations these days, which made Lin Ruhai feel like a mouse.

King Qi Jun picked up the teacup, took a sip, and cast his eyes on Lin Ruhai from the small mung bean eyes squeezed out of his chubby face.

This servant Lin is also in the party of Jia Heng's children.

After Xiao'er won the first battle in Datong, Xuanhua won another game. It is conceivable that his father has become more and more fond of him.

Lin Ruhai said in a deep voice: "Food, fruits and vegetables, fish meat, and fodder must be supplied to Xuanda's soldiers in a timely manner. Recently, except for grain and rice, everything else is not as good as it is."

There were 30 to [-] soldiers stationed in Xuanda and Dayuan, and they wereted a lot of food, fruits, vegetables, and fish every day, and these had to be transported through the government in Taiyuan.

Therefore, Huang Taiji's strategy of attacking Ping'an Prefecture (Shuozhou) and reaching Taiyuan directly to cut off the military and food roads of the two towns of Xuanda and wait for the enemy's collapse was not wrong.

If it hadn't been for Jia Heng, it would probably have been recorded in the history of the war like the battle of Liaodong and the battle of Caizhou on a snowy night.

But, if only if.

Lin Ruhai said with an indifferent expression, turned his eyes, and looked aggressively at Cao Sheng, the head of Jiexiu's Cao family, and asked, "What does Patriarch Cao think?"

Cao Sheng said with a bitter face, "Lord Lin, the government has sold out all the rice, grain, and fruit trees in Shanxi. We really can't afford it. It will take time to buy from other places."

Hou Jie, the head of the Hou family, the turbidity in the sunken eye sockets under the gray eyebrows faded away, and the light shone brightly, and sighed: "Master Lin, the court and the Jurchen have been confronting each other for a long time, and there is a lot of rice consumed. Son, it is not easy to buy grain from the whole north, if you buy grain from Bashu, Huguang, and Jiangnan, it is better to send grain trucks to transfer these things."

Because grain and rice are purchased at a [-]% discount that has not been raised, there is no profit to be made. The eight major Shanxi merchants were not very active in purchasing rice and grain supply.

Not long ago, Kang Yisheng's son, Kang Zexing, was arrested in Xuanhua. The Kang family and the Qiao family were implicated in the collusion with the Eastern Captives and were investigated. The entire Shanxi merchants were inexplicably terrified.

Of course, without the support of King Qi Jun, the remaining six Shanxi merchants would not dare to operate "You have a mace, I have Tianling Gai". confidence.

Lin Ruhai glanced over the faces of the merchants, and said sharply: "The imperial court's military affairs are urgent. If the supply of food and fodder is not continuous, and the imperial court asks for crimes, how many heads do you have?"

As soon as these words came out, the originally noisy atmosphere in the hall suddenly fell into a stalemate.

The head of the Qu family, Qu Zonglian, looked at Lin Ruhai and said, "Master Lin, we were originally businessmen with our own duties, but we can't afford such a big relationship."

At this time, the head of the Confucius family in Taigu said: "Master Lin, it will not take much time for the imperial court to transfer the grain and fodder from the Hubu. The prince of Qi is also here. Didn't the Hubu warehouse just transported 80 stones of grain and fodder?"

Because he is a descendant of the Confucian family and has some kinship with Duke Yansheng in Qufu, Shandong, he has no fear in front of Lin Ruhai, who was born as a civil servant.

Lin Ruhai glanced at the several merchants present, and said, "The imperial court has its own rules and regulations for the transfer of grain and fodder."

In fact, the Kang family could also be raided, but without Jia Heng's order from Datong, although Kang Yisheng was sent to prison by Jinyi Mansion for interrogation, he did not seal up or confiscate the Kang family's property, rice and grain.

It's not that Jia Heng forgot about it, but because he lacked an opportunity to break out, he didn't want to look too ugly, and suddenly forced the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants, or it could be said that the front line was affected by the incident in the rear.

At this moment, the great victory in Ping'an Prefecture has not yet spread to Taiyuan Fucheng. If it spreads to this place, no matter whether it is a Shanxi merchant or a king of Qi, they will be frightened by the news, and there will be no such thing as tonight.

Chen Cheng, king of Qi County, smiled and said, "Lord Lin, calm down, the current shortage of food and fodder is still not big, let them think of a way, didn't the Ministry of Households just dispatch a batch from Shenjing? Let's talk about Datong There is no war, and the consumption is not so severe."

Lin Ruhai said: "How can we change what was agreed at the beginning?"

Transshipping grain and fodder from Shenjing consumes a lot on the long journey. It is better to buy rice grain on the spot, and some fruits, vegetables and melons are not easy to transport long distances.

Chen Cheng laughed dryly, and said: "Lord Lin, although Xiao Wang is not familiar with political affairs, he also knows how to raise food and fodder, so don't act too hastily."

Seeing the tense atmosphere of the conversation in the hall, the chief executive, Luo Jingwen, smoothed things over, smiled awkwardly but politely, and said in a low voice: "Master Lin, the feudal secretary and the government offices can still get together, and it won't hinder the army. provided with food and fodder."

Governor Gu Binghe put down the teacup in his hand, and said: "The imperial court has already transferred from Shenjing, but the army can't hold it back. Master Lin, I don't think it's better than this. How many of their chambers of commerce can recruit."

Lin Ruhai's face was calm, but there was not much joy in his eyes.

In fact, even though he was in charge of supervising the rations of the army, he was neglected and despised by them because he did not have the title of Grand Bachelor.

Suddenly at this time, there was a burst of cheers outside the city, which spread to the entire Taiyuan City, and gradually spread to the halls in the city.

As for the officials who were discussing matters, their expressions were slightly startled.

Lin Ruhai frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

At this time, a small official stumbled into the hall, and said with a happy face: "Master Lin, the guard of the Jinyi Mansion has reported from the outside, saying that General Pinglu has won a great victory in Ping'an Prefecture, annihilating nearly ten thousand enemies, and the chieftain has conferred the title on the victory." The courier has gone to Shenjing."

As soon as this remark came out, the faces of the Shanxi merchants in the hall suddenly changed.

Victory in Ping'an Prefecture?The captive chieftain confers the head?

A group of Shanxi merchants looked at each other in blank dismay, with a faint feeling in their hearts.

Governor Gu Binghe's complexion also changed suddenly, and he secretly said, what a Marquis of Yongning, he is really good at fighting.

Suddenly, his heart moved slightly, and he turned his eyes to the Shanxi merchants sitting next to each other. His eyes caught a trace of astonishment on that face, and he sneered in his heart. I'm afraid that it won't be too long before these merchants will bring sacrifice flags for that Yongninghou.

This is the old fritters in the officialdom. The investigation of the Qiao family and the Kang family has already smelled the approaching winter.

Every husband is not guilty, and he is guilty of his crime.

The merchants are so rich that they can rival the country, which is the original sin in the eyes of the imperial court.

The chief envoy, Luo Jingwen, also looked surprised, and couldn't help but glance at the king of Qi, Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng, king of Qi County, was full of surprise on his chubby fair face, and murmured, "What's going on? Why did the slave chief go to Ping'an Prefecture?"

Nearly ten thousand enemies were wiped out, and the slave chieftain was awarded the head?This... this child, after this battle, who can control him?

The long Shi Dourong behind him had a dignified expression on his face.

A few days ago, he had persuaded the prince that Shanxi merchants could learn from Yangzhou salt merchants at any time, but the prince still had contact with these merchants.

Lin Ruhai was stunned for a moment, and his heart felt excited, and his cheeks flushed.

As Jia Heng's father-in-law, he is a body of honor and disgrace.

In fact, if Lin Ruhai didn't feel aggrieved because her daughter was young, that's impossible.

But it was Jia Heng who suppressed him with the power of the young Marquis Wu and the Minister of Military Aircraft, and the idea of ​​inheriting the Lin family.

Moreover, Daiyu and Jia Heng were holding hands that day, as if they were intimate couples, Lin Ruhai could only acquiesce in the fait accompli.

However, the greater the prestige of Jia Heng's achievements, the less strange it would be for his own daughter to marry a married man and be judged by others.

It is an unprecedented great achievement since the founding of the country, and it has been recorded in the annals of history. It is a good story for the daughter to tie the knot with such a contemporary hero, plus the heir inherits the incense of the Lin family.

This world is full of double standards. Marrying a concubine is an honor for a heavenly family, but for a scholar-bureaucrat, it is undoubtedly a shame for his own daughter to be a concubine, even if he is also a Jinshi.

Lin Ruhai calmed his rippling thoughts, thought for a while, and said, "Xu Shinu chief thought that I was defenseless in Ping'an Prefecture, and was approaching Taiyuan, planning to cut off my food road."

Ping'an Prefecture was called Shuozhou and Mayi in ancient times. It was originally a military important place that military strategists must contend for, and it was the gateway to the land of Jinzhong.

At this moment, a mansion guard entered the hall, bowed and cupped his fists and said, "My lords, people from Jinyi Mansion are here."

The faces of the people present changed suddenly, and they all turned to look at Lin Ruhai, thinking to themselves, what are the people from Jinyi Mansion doing here?
Lin Ruhai paused, and called out, "Go and invite someone over."

Not long after, a large group of guards in Jinyi Mansion surrounded a young man in a flying fish suit. It was Qu Lang, commander of Jinyi, who was in the army. He clasped his fists at Lin Ruhai and said, "Lord Lin, Commander Qu Lang in Fusi of Xiabei Town."

Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "Where did Commander Qu come from?"

"Xuanhua." Qu Lang said.

"After interrogating Kang Zexing, the son of Kang Yisheng, and members of Qiao's family, the two families confessed that the Kang family had smuggled various kinds of prohibited iron objects to the grassland in recent years for illegal profits, while the Cao family of Taigu, the Chang family of Yuci, Jie Xiuhou’s family, Qixian Qu’s family, Linfen’s Kang’s family, Jiexiu’s Fan’s family, and Taigu’s Kong’s family also secretly communicated with Jurchen, and the evidence of the crime is convincing, Jinyi Mansion must all interrogate them together.” Under Qu Lang’s sword-browed, His eyes flicked coldly to several Shanxi merchants who were wearing official uniforms.

Cao Sheng, Qu Zonglian, Chang Chen: "..."

Chief envoy Luo Jingwen, Jiang Yan and the others had expressions of surprise on their faces.

Is this a one-pot deal with Shanxi merchants?

Chen Cheng's face was not very good-looking, he was frightened, he was about to stand up to speak, but he pulled his clothes for the palace chief Shi Fengci behind him.

Since the Jinyi Mansion dared to arrest people, it presumably had conclusive evidence, and if there was another conflict with that little Jia Heng, he would be the one to suffer.

Qu Lang didn't say much, and said, "Take them down."

The Jinyi Tiqi behind him obeyed, and then rushed towards the group of Shanxi merchants wearing official uniforms.

……

……

The story was divided into two parts, when the Jinyi Mansion sent guards to Taiyuan City and Datong City to investigate the Shanxi merchants' collusion with the enemy country, they were hundreds of miles away in Ji Town.

At this moment, a large number of Jurchen soldiers are heading towards Qinglong Pass. After Daishan's son Adali is determined, he is the son of Shuotuo, and Shuotuo is the envoy of the Han who was detained together with Zhang Shang.

Adali, King of Jurchen Doro County, wore red foam nail armor and filial piety on his head. He was riding on a steed with a rein in his hand and a saber curved like a crescent moon in his other hand. A thin layer of sweat has been seen.

It was already a sunny day in March, the grass was overgrown, and as far as the eye could see, there was no one on the vast grassland stretching as far as the eye could see.

Adali pulled the rein and said in a cold voice, "Let's go, it seems that the Han dog doesn't dare to chase after him."

A Jurchen leader said: "My lord, when did the Han people dare to go out to pursue them? They are a group of cowardly mice, and they only dare to shrink in the city like a tortoise shell."

Adali looked proud and said, "Let's go!"

But at this moment, "Da da..."

Accompanied by the chaotic sound of horseshoes, a torrent of cavalry appeared in Liao Kuo's grassland, with flags like forests, and the leader was flying a red embroidered "Han" flag.

The faces of Adali and everyone present changed slightly, and they stared at the torrent of iron cavalry rolling in.

"These Han dogs really dare to chase them out?" Adali was stunned for a moment, then said with a sneer: "The army obeys the order and defeats them. It will be a great shame for Ping'an Prefecture!"

At this moment, the Jurchens riding on the horses shouted in unison, and the cavalry, wearing white filial robes and filial belts on their heads, rushed towards the Han army in the distance like a torrent.

Under the sunlight, the sabers were shining brightly, piercing the eyes.

And what Adali left behind was only [-] Nuzhenjing cavalry, and [-] soldiers and horses from Horqin Mongolia who went out with the army.

The momentum is like a rainbow, invincible.

At this moment, Cao Bianjiao was riding on a group of maroon horses, holding a rein in his hand. Behind him, on the left and right flanks were cavalry troops from the capital of Beiping and Baoding, Hebei. There were about [-] cavalry, divided into three teams.

At this time, seeing a group of cavalry in red armor and filial piety coming in a mighty way, the military academy accompanying Cao Bianjiao was a little restless, with suspicion and fear on their faces.

Even if the soldiers and horses under him seem to be more numerous than Jurchen.

If it was the Beijing camp, the Jurchen iron cavalry had already been disenchanted, but Cao Bianjiao's Hebei soldiers and horses had not yet completely shaken off the impression that the Jurchen were invincible.

Cao Bianjiao's subordinates used to lead a thousand riders, and they usually practice a lot. At this moment, he said loudly: "Brothers, the general has won a big victory in Ping'an Prefecture, and Jurchen is now panicked like a bereaved dog. They have made great achievements and sealed their wives and Yinzi at this moment. !"

As he spoke, he raised his spear and shouted, "Kill!"

The cavalry behind him also shouted at this moment, "Make meritorious deeds, seal your wife and son", and for a while, the momentum was not inferior to the mighty Jurchen cavalry who came rushing forward.

At this moment, if you look down from the sky, you can see that Chen Han's army is like a "herringbone" arrow array, piercing towards a large number of Jurchen cavalry.

"boom……"

With the collision of the army formations, the soldiers and horses of both sides collided violently like two tides.

The "dangdang" sound of weapons colliding, as well as the muffled sound of sharp knives piercing into flesh, seemed to be as chaotic as a symphony at this moment.

Adali saw at a glance Cao Bianjiao who was riding a horse holding a long spear and piercing through it. With a cold and arrogant expression, he raised the long knife in his hand and slashed towards Cao Bianjiao.

Cao Bianjiao stabbed sharply with the long spear in his hand, a little cold light arrived first, and then the spear came out like a dragon, stabbing towards Adali's neck.

Adali's heart trembled, he blocked with the long knife, and there was a "ding", the clear and clear sound was particularly penetrating on the battlefield.

As soon as the two fought against each other, they both felt that the opponent's force was not inferior to their own.

Cao Bianjiao let out a cold snort, and the spear in his palm was like a violent storm, advancing steeply like the wind, stabbing sharply at Adali's chest.

One wields a long spear and the other uses a short knife. When the swords and guns intersect, the short weapon obviously suffers.

At this time, Ma Bian, the personal guard next to Adali, saw that Adali was losing the horse, so two of them rushed towards Cao Bianjiao with fierce faces.

However, with a few "puffs", the two of them paused immediately, and there were blood holes on their chests and necks, and blood was gurgling.

Cao Bianjiao and Adali were fighting, with spears like dragons, stalking several vital points on Adali's body, Adali's heart tightened, and he wanted to drive his horse away.

Because the cavalry charged back and forth, it undoubtedly seemed to be as fast as lightning, piercing and fighting back and forth.

At this moment, a large number of Han troops were fighting with the Jurchen fine cavalry. The Han army's strength was twice that of the Jurchen's. At this moment, the two sides were fighting together, dripping with blood, and there were many casualties.

Cao Bianjiao chased after him and fought with Adali to the same place.

Just go back and forth like this.

After noon, the Jurchen soldiers and horses fought to the death under the leadership of Adali, but after all, there were few people, and the army line gradually became chaotic.

And Adali fought Cao Bianjiao again with guns, and it was only about a dozen rounds. Adali, who had fewer and fewer soldiers around him, was about to flee with a saber that had already seen a gap, when he suddenly felt a bad wind in the back of his head. With a heartache, the spear pierced through the chest.

"Pfft!"

The corpse fell to the ground from the horse, and Cao Bianjiao rode his horse and leaned over to cut off Adali's head.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the rest of the cavalry, led by a Jurchen deputy commander, rushed to Qinglong Pass to escape.

While Cao Bianjiao ordered the lieutenant general to pursue, he gathered the cavalry, raised his eyes to look at the sky, and saw that it was dusk, and the twilight fell on the land of Liao Kuo.

There were also many casualties among the officers and soldiers in this battle. They had no food to eat, lacked horsepower, and had almost no ability to pursue them.

Cao Bianjiao ordered his soldiers to report victory to Li Zan in Beiping City, and at the same time sent people to clean up the battlefield and count the casualties.

……

……

(End of this chapter)