Fenghou

Chapter 19 Military Fortress

The battlefield was almost cleared, and the sky was gradually getting brighter. They lost more than 100 soldiers in this battle, and more than [-] Jurchen cavalrymen also died in battle, plus more than [-] Jin soldiers and Han troops.

The result of one to four is already a brilliant victory.

But Chen Qing couldn't be happy. They would often encounter this kind of battle, losing 80 to 500 people at a time. How many times can his [-] people fight?

Lieutenant General Yang Yuanqing understood his feelings and comforted him: "The Jurchen cavalry are indeed very powerful. The Song army has no chance of winning if the cavalry alone fights one-on-one. If it is not a night battle, if it is not a half-way attack, they will be caught off guard. If it is not for the general to kill them If the opponent's leader is lost, the Jin soldiers will lose their command. We will lose this battle. It will not be the casualties of 80 or [-] people. As long as the other Song troops have [-]% of our victory, the Song Dynasty will not be captured by the second emperor, and the country will almost perish. gone."

Chen Qing nodded, "Actually, I also understand, but... I can do better, forget it, let's take it step by step!"

The corpses of hundreds of golden soldiers were stripped of their armor, piled up naked, and burned with piles of dry firewood underneath. For a while, the fire was raging, and the smoke rose into the sky, which could be clearly seen dozens of miles away.

At this time, Yang Hua led the soldiers to arrest several officials.

"General, the soldiers in the city have all escaped, and I found these officials in a humble position."

The leading county magistrate, Wang Miao, kowtowed and begged, "General, there is nothing we can do. The Jin soldiers came too fast, and the defenders surrendered. If we don't compromise, what will the people of the city do?"

Chen Qing said indifferently: "Your performance will be liquidated by the imperial court. It has nothing to do with me. I just went to Dasan Pass by Liu Dutong's order and passed through Qishan County. You prepare fifty carts for me. The rest has nothing to do with you Already!"

"Willing to serve the general!"

Several officials ran back to prepare the carts. Chen Qing filled the carts with Jin Bing's armor and food. The army left Qishan County and headed south. After walking for more than [-] li, they took another small road and turned north. Go to Linyou County.

No trace of Jin Bing's spies was found along the way. It is estimated that the intelligence error caused Jin Bing's defeat, and they also ran away in fright.

In the afternoon, Wanyan Meili, the head coach of Fengxiang Mansion, led more than [-] people to Qishan County.

The county magistrate Wang Miao was caught in front of Wanyan Meili, and Wanyan Meili was holding a whip, half sitting on a stool and asked coldly, "Where is that Song army?"

"Reporting to Commander Wan, they headed south with food and weapons!"

"Who are they?"

"It seems... It seems that Liu Kai's army was ordered to go to Dasan Pass and pass through Qishan County!"

"Bullshit!"

Wanyan Meili stared, "Liu Kai's army is in Jingzhou, how could it be possible?"

The county magistrate Wang Miao was so frightened that he hurriedly said, "They themselves said that. How can a lowly official know the truth?"

"It's just nonsense. What are they going to Dasanguan and Qishan County for? Isn't this a big detour?"

A general next to him pretended to be clever and explained: "The Weihe River is heavily guarded. Although the detour to Qishan County is a bit farther, there is no obstacle. If they were not discovered and Wanyan Keli led the army to intercept them, they would have been unimpeded all the way."

Wanyan Meili gave him a hard look, and the talkative general lowered his head in fright, not daring to say anything.

Wanyan didn't know in his heart that it was indeed possible to cross mountains and ridges from Jingzhou to Fengxiang Mansion, but the opponent was a cavalry, so obviously this possibility did not exist.

There are a lot of doubts here, which must be treated with caution.

Wanyan thought for a moment before asking, "Where are the bones of the soldiers who died in battle?"

The county magistrate Wang Miao said tremblingly: "The Song army burned it into black charcoal, and the humble officials led the people to dig a deep pit and buried it. The bones and heads are all intact."

The Jurchens always advocated cremation, Wanyan Meili was only worried that the heads would be cut off, he was relieved to hear that the heads were all there, and turned to the lieutenant general, "Send one thousand troops each to Linyou County and Pu Run County to investigate."

There were only a few Han troops stationed in Linyou County and Purun County to maintain order. Although there were some rebels, it was not a good thing, but Wanyan did not believe the words of the county magistrate at all.

He has no trust in these Han officials from the bottom of his heart, no matter how servile they are, he will be wary.

In particular, this Song army cavalry was very strong. They actually defeated a thousand golden soldiers with 500 men, including [-] Jurchen cavalry. The leader of the opponent killed Wanyan Keli, the commander-in-chief. Could the cavalry be the same cavalry that attacked Jingzhao and beheaded Marshal Wanyan Loushi?

If this cavalry slipped through the net due to his carelessness, and the fourth prince pursued him, his life might be in danger.

After thinking for a while, Wanyan gave another order: "Pass on my order, double the number of spies in Fengxiang Mansion, and offer a reward of [-] yuan to find the whereabouts of this Song Army cavalry."

……

Linyou County is a well-known Fengshui treasure land in Guanzhong. Zhantong Mountain is in the east and Phoenix Mountain is in the west. The two mountains surround Linyou County like two wings of a phoenix. There are green mountains and green waters, beautiful scenery, and large wheat fields in the south. Very developed.

The most famous Renshou Palace in the Sui Dynasty is located on Tiantai Mountain between Tongshan Mountain and Fenghuang Mountain. Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, died in Renshou Palace.

It’s just that hundreds of years have passed, and the once magnificent Renshou Palace has been destroyed by floods in the Tang Dynasty, and there is nothing left. Only a military village was built on the original site of Renshou Palace in Tiantai Mountain, called Qilin Village, and there were thousands of soldiers at most. Garrison.

The reason why the army camp was built on the mountain was because there were many secret mountain roads leading directly to the Jingyuan Road hundreds of miles away. However, these small roads were very dangerous, and neither grain carts nor cavalry could be used, so the Jin soldiers were not interested. There were no Jurchen soldiers stationed in Linyou County, only [-] surrendered Han soldiers were stationed to maintain order in the county.

Chen Qing didn't go directly to the county seat, but bypassed the county seat and came to Qilin Village in Tiantai Mountain. The army passed through a long valley.

There are towering trees on both sides with luxuriant vines. After walking for several miles, they came to the end of the valley. Qilin Military Village on the mountainside.

The climate here is cool, the highest temperature in summer is only about [-] degrees, it is a summer resort, but now it is early winter, Guanzhong is extremely humid and cold this year, and Qilin Village is also very cold.

Yang Hua brought an old man guarding the village, and the old man knelt down and kowtowed, "Young man Yang San, see the general!"

"Don't be too polite, old man, please get up and talk!"

The soldier helped the old man up, and the old man sighed and said, "Ever since the rebel army left, I have been worried that the Jin soldiers would come to burn the village. I have been worried for five or six days, but I didn't expect the Song army to come first. Fortunately!"

"How many people are there in the rebel army? Why did they leave?"

"There are more than a hundred people in the rebel army, and the leader is Yang Guo, who is actually the little old man's distant nephew. He heard that Liu Dutong was recruiting scattered troops, so he took his brothers across the mountains to Jingzhou."

Chen Qing's heart moved, "Can I go to Jingzhou from here?"

Pointing to the high mountain in the distance, the old man said: "Crossing this mountain range is Jingzhou, which is about tens of miles away, and there are several mountain roads."

Chen Qing looked at the fog-shrouded mountaintop in the distance, and it was beyond his imagination that he could go to Jingzhou by climbing the mountain.

Without showing any signs of expression, he asked again: "What did the rebels do for a living before?"

"The folks supported some of them, and then hunted in the mountains. There are a lot of prey in this area, such as deer, goats, roe deer, and wild boars. The key is that they have not been established for a long time, only a few months, so food is not a big problem, but they just want to find a future. I just went to Jingzhou."

"What about the fodder?"

"They don't have horses or livestock, and they don't need any fodder."

"Oh! That's the way it is. I beg you to show me the military village first!"

Mount Tiantai is located on the mountainside of the Phoenix Mountains, forming a large and gentle land, hence the name Tiantai. This open space is hundreds of acres in size. The Renshou Palace of the Sui Dynasty was built on this open space. Disappeared in the long river of history, the open land became an alpine pasture, where more than a dozen families of farmers lived and lived by raising sheep.

The army village occupies only a small part of the small plain in the middle of the mountain, about 50 acres, and more than [-] houses and training grounds have been built.

When the garrison was the most, tiles were even opened in the military village, that is, the commercial area, with taverns, brothels, foot shops, and grocery stores. Now the military village is empty.

The soldiers were busy packing up the barracks, and Yang Hua took dozens of soldiers out to hunt while checking the terrain.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, Chen Qing could see the county town twenty miles away, and the endless wheat fields to the south.

Yang San pointed to the county town in the distance and said, "General, today is the second day of November, and it is already winter. In another month, the whole Guanzhong will start to snow heavily. We have a lot of snowfall here, and the roads are blocked by ice and snow. Yes, the general needs something, hurry up and send someone to the county to buy it back."

"When does the river freeze?"

"It's usually mid-November, but it will be a few days earlier here. It is estimated that there will be thin ice on the river in two days, and it will not be completely frozen until mid-November."

Yang Yuanqing smiled and said: "Commander, why don't you take a few brothers to the county seat tomorrow to buy some oil, salt and lamp oil!"

"There's also fodder. We don't have much fodder, and it won't last for a few days."

"Commander, if you buy fodder, it may be easy to expose."

Chen Qing said indifferently: "We are not 50 people, we are [-] cavalry, and we are carrying dozens of carts. I don't know how many people have seen us on this way north. How could the Jinbing spies not find it? Since we chose this route If there is no way, then don’t take any chances, the golden soldiers will come soon, and we must prepare adequately as soon as possible.”

Yang Yuanqing said ashamedly: "The humble job thinks the problem is simple!"

Chen Qing smiled and said: "So let me go, I also want to visit the county town by the way!"

Although he led his army into Jingzhao City, it was midnight, and he left at dawn. He had never been to a city in the Song Dynasty, so he was looking forward to it.

Chapter 20 Buying Grain

That night, Chen Qing ordered the killing of more than a dozen cows to reward the soldiers. Although the Northern Song Dynasty required government approval to kill cows, it is now a time of war, and everything is under the authority.

Early the next morning, Chen Qing led a few soldiers down the mountain to the county town on foot, and naturally Zhao Xiaoyi, a local, acted as their guide.

"Xiao Yi, where is your home?"

"Cuimo Town to the west is about twenty miles away from here."

Chen Qing remembered what Liu Wu asked him to do before he died, and he asked curiously: "Why did Liu Wu insist that I tell his son that he died for the country?"

"Hey! Liu Wu is my uncle. He has been a rascal since he was a child. After he got married, he never changed his temperament. He was idle all day long. Later, my grandfather asked someone to let him join the Xiang army. He still eats and gambles. For several years, I have not received a single penny from my family.

His son looked down on him very much, and even didn't recognize his father. Once he was scolded by his son, saying that he couldn't serve the country at the top, and couldn't support the family at the bottom, so he was a useless waste.

Liu Wu was greatly stimulated, so he ran to join the Huanqing Army, and he wanted to fight the Xixia people, but the Xixia people were nowhere to be seen. His only wish was to let his son know that he can serve the country and kill the enemy, isn't it? waste. "

Chen Qing nodded, "In two days, let's go to Liu Wu's house!"

……

Linyou County is a middle county with a population of about tens of thousands. The key is that it is far away from the battlefield and has not been destroyed by the Jin soldiers. It basically maintains the style of the Song Dynasty.

The Jin soldiers fought against the Song army in Heshangyuan, and all the counties in the south were affected. A large number of people fled to Linyou County, and Linyou County was crowded with tens of thousands of refugees who fled. The county town was noisy and messy. .

There were several soldiers standing at the gate of the city, staring at every passerby, Zhao Xiaoyi was very clever, stepped forward and stuffed each person with a handful of money, the leading soldier weighed the money, and let them in with a wave of his hand.

Entering the county town, a warm and stinky smell blows over us, the cries of children, the screams of women, the roars of impatient men, and the yelling of small vendors come and go.

Inside the city gate seemed to be a market, crowded with farmers from nearby villages who came to sell vegetables. The ground was covered with mud, trampled vegetable leaves and chicken and duck manure, and the stench was suffocating.

Zhao Xiaoyi nudged Chen Qing with his elbow and pouted to the side. Only then did Chen Qing notice that there was a reward notice posted on the wall next to him.

"Whoever wants to arrest [-] cavalrymen of the Song Army and knows their whereabouts should immediately report to the government. '

Chen Qing snorted, and led the crowd away quickly, leaving the city gate for more than a hundred steps. Only then did Chen Qing take a long breath of fresh air. The air at the county gate was too dirty.

"Proprietor, where are we going next?" Zhao Xiaoyi asked.

Chen Qing thought for a while, and said to the two soldiers: "Go and buy four mules, which will be used to transport oil and salt later. By the way, buy oil, salt and lamp oil together!"

"we know!"

The two soldiers walked away quickly, and Chen Qing said to Zhao Xiaoyi: "I want to buy fodder, where should I go?"

They have [-] war horses, and they consume an astonishing amount of forage every day. The forage brought from Chencang is enough for the war horses to last for ten days at most. What should they do next?

The fodder for war horses was Chen Qing's biggest concern.

Zhao Xiaoyi scratched his head, "I remember that there is a store next to Wazi that sells fodder, I wonder if it is still open?"

"Take me to see!"

Wazi is the commercial complex of the Great Song Dynasty. There are all kinds of shops for eating, drinking, entertainment and goods. Brothels and inns are also distributed in it. Basically, every county has them.

Wazi in Linyou County is located in the middle of the county seat, covering an area of ​​nearly [-] mu. There are [-] or [-] shops, large and small. It looks like a small commodity wholesale market in a small county town in later generations.

In front of the gate of Wazi is a square, paved with stone slabs, surrounded by several large restaurants, and the houses of the rich families are also good. It seems that it is indeed the commercial center of the county, but the square is full of refugee tents, beggars and Small vendors crowded around and yelled, making the road very congested.

On the left side of the gate is a row of grain shops, there are about seven or eight, and the one on the far side has a big sign with black characters on a white background, 'Qiao Ji Livestock Grain! '

This is the shop that specializes in livestock grain.

Chen Qing took Zhao Xiaoyi into the shop. The shop was quite large, but the light was dim. There were two rows of baskets by the wall. Several men who looked like refugees were chipping in to buy black beans. The shop assistant was very impatient and looked contemptuous.

The skinny shopkeeper glanced at Chen Qing, and said in a rough voice, "We don't accept money from meetings, Shaanxi money, or Sichuan money!"

Chen Qing was taken aback, what did he not understand?

Zhao Xiaoyi snorted, "We use Xuanhe money and silver, what do you think?"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he immediately stepped forward with a smile, "Guest officer, don't blame me, there are too many refugees coming to the store, I can't bear to disturb you, please sit in the back room!"

Zhao Xiaoyi explained to Chen Qing in a low voice, "Huizi is paper money issued by the imperial court, which has become waste paper. Shaanxi money and Sichuan money are both iron money. Only five Wen coins are worth one Wenxuan and copper coins. Big shops don't accept them." of."

So that's the case, Chen Qing understands now.

The back room can be regarded as a VIP reception room, with tables and chairs, and the large table is also filled with small dustpans.

The shopkeeper poured them two cups of hot tea, and said with a smile, "My surname is Wang, and I am the shopkeeper of the small shop. Let's see what the guest officers need and how much they need. We will try our best to meet it."

Chen Qing glanced at the livestock grains in the small dustpan. There were coarse grains, fine grains, dried alfalfa, black beans, barley, and some unknown things. Chen Qing grabbed a handful of pea-shaped beans and asked, "What is this?" ?”

"This is wild vegetable bean, which grows all over the river. It is the cheapest. You can buy a bucket with a few pennies. The small shop originally had a few hundred stones, but the refugees bought them all."

"Where are the black beans?"

"Black beans are thirty cents a bucket, and barley is also the same price, but they are basically bought up by the refugees. These people are like locusts, and they will be wiped out wherever they go."

"Then buy fodder!" Chen Qing was very disgusted with his attitude towards refugees, so he didn't bother to talk to him, and went directly to the topic.

"There are both fine and coarse materials. The dried alfalfa is guaranteed to be Hexi alfalfa. The price can be negotiated. Let's see how much the guest officer wants to buy?"

"I plan to ask for [-] tons of fine materials, and you will be responsible for the delivery!"