Fenghou

Jiang Huanyong hesitated and asked, "How far is the road to Longzhou?"

"It's about 40 miles, and it can be crossed in one morning or one night."

"Then walk this way at night!"

Jiang Huanyong urged his horse, and sped up to the east...

At night, Jiang Huanyong and [-] of his subordinates entered the official road of Longzhou, the surroundings were silent, several villages were abandoned, and there were no people living within dozens of miles.

After running for about ten miles, a team of several hundred suddenly appeared in front of them. Seeing that the armor was the puppet Qi army, someone shouted: "Stop!"

Jiang Huanyong was taken aback, how could he meet the puppet Qi army at night?

He wanted to turn around and run away, but he was a little unwilling. Seeing that the opponents were all infantry and he was a cavalry, he gritted his teeth and ordered, "Rush over!"

The crowd speeded up their horses and rushed towards the puppet Qi army. A sneer appeared in the eyes of the leading puppet Qi army general. This Jiang Huanyong really didn't know what to do.

He shouted sharply: "Fire the arrow!"

Hundreds of puppet Qi soldiers squatted down and fired arrows together. The dense crossbow arrows rained down on Jiang Huanyong and his men. Jiang Huanyong, who was running in the front, was unable to dodge. He was hit by dozens of arrows and killed on the spot. Halfway down, the rest of the cavalry turned around and fled for their lives.

The general of the Puppet Qi Army waved his hands and laughed, "Let them go!"

He whispered to a soldier: "Go and inform the puppet Qi army to patrol and let them come to receive the reward!"

Hundreds of 'Pseudo-Qi Army' soldiers then disappeared into the night.

A few days later, Longzhou guard Zhao Yong sent someone to send a human head to Jingzhao, and boasted of his military exploits. He defeated the Song army who invaded Longzhou, killed hundreds of enemies, and killed the leader of the Song army Jiang Huanyong. Li Cheng immediately issued an order The three armies, in order to boost the morale of the army, Zhao Yong was also promoted to deputy commander.

The news did not reach Zhu Shengfei's ears until a month later. Zhu Shengfei was so angry that he cursed, but there was nothing he could do. He finally understood that even if he sent ten generals to Fort Ganquan, these ten generals would all die. Either they would be eaten by tigers or Being kidnapped by bandits, Zhu Shengfei had no choice but to give up his heart in the face of the other party's despicability and shamelessness.

He began to write letters to his former court contacts, trying to make Chen Qing never return to the Western Army.

……

After Chen Qing and his party arrived in Chengdu, they rented a two-thousand-shi two-story passenger ship and a three-thousand-shi horse boat to go to the Yangtze River and take the Yangtze River waterway to Lin'an.

His 1 soldiers are elites selected from more than [-] troops. They belong to the elite among the elite.

Although there are only elite hundred cavalry, if you add the combat effectiveness of Chen Qinghou, the number one general of the Western Army, it will be no less than an army of 3000 men.

Just after dawn, Yu Lian and Yu Ying entered the cabin with hot water. They lived with Chen Qing on the upper deck of the big ship, and Yang Liu and two maids also lived on the second floor.

The two young ladies combed Chen Qing's hair and tidied up the room with quick hands and feet. Yu Lian brought breakfast and made a pot of tea.

These things were done by soldiers before, but now they are changed to two little maids. It feels completely different. They are attentive and thoughtful, and the service is appropriate. Even the tea is served only when the water temperature is just right.

It is not as rough as the soldiers. Once the soldiers overturned the boiling tea and scalded Chen Qing's arms with blisters.

"Where are you?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

"Speaking of Jianli County, we have to dock at the Jianli County Wharf at noon."

Chen Qing nodded. The speed of the boat was quite fast. It only arrived at Jiangling City yesterday afternoon, but it actually arrived at Jianli County today.

At noon, the big ship arrived at Jianli County, Jiangling Prefecture. The ship docked for supplies. There were many ships on the pier, and they were all waiting in line for supplies. It would take at least half a day for their turn.

There are many shops and restaurants on the pier, and many vendors are selling various items to the boatmen.

"Young master, let's go down for a walk!"

After sitting on the boat for half a month, the two little ladies couldn't bear the temptation of land.

"Alright, you can go have a drink with me."

Chen Qing got off the boat with two young ladies and a few soldiers, and came to the largest restaurant. It was not time for dinner yet, the restaurant had just opened, and there were no customers on the first and second floors.

The bartender walked forward with a smile on his face and said, "It's a coincidence that the guest officer came, the shop just opened!"

Chen Qing glanced at the lobby, then asked with a smile, "How many people can you accommodate for dinner?"

"There is no problem with more than 100 people!"

"I've booked the restaurant for lunch today!"

Chen Qing turned his head and said to one of his subordinates: "Go and call all the brothers over for dinner!"

His subordinates rushed away, and after a while, a large group of soldiers came down from the boat. The bartender was startled, and hurried to tell the shopkeeper that the restaurant was in a hurry to welcome hundreds of diners, and put up a sign that it was full.

Chen Qing went up to the second floor and sat down at a table by the window. The shopkeeper personally came to order for him.

"The shop is most famous for its grilled fish. There are more than a dozen cooking methods with different tastes."

Chen Qing ate fish every day on the boat, and he was already tired of eating it. He asked with a smile, "Is there any wild game?"

"Yes! Roast venison, mutton, roe deer meat, as well as rare mushrooms, pine mushrooms, and beggar pheasants. You can even have a bowl of deer blood."

"The deer blood is free, but is there any sake?"

The shopkeeper was a bit embarrassed: "There is no small store, but you can buy it, and it may be more expensive." Chen Qing waved his hand and said, "It's expensive! Each of my subordinates has a bowl of sake. Calculate how much you need to buy, and then give it to the shopkeeper." I'll bring you two pots of sake, eight dishes, five meat and three vegetables, all game and mountain products, you can figure it out yourself!"

"Little man understands!"

The shopkeeper walked away quickly, he arranged for the bartender to buy wine, and arranged for the kitchen to serve food.

Not long after, the dishes began to be served one after another, and the restaurant suddenly became lively.

At this time, Yan Jun came over and said in a low voice: "Beizhi heard someone at the door saying that Yuezhou was at war, should you go and inquire about it?"

"After the meal, you go and get the county magistrate."

Yan Jun saluted and went on, but Chen Qing fell into deep thought. The war in Yuezhou probably had something to do with Yang Yao. He didn't want to pay attention to Yang Yao at first, but his old boss Wang Yan was the governor of Yuezhou, so he had to intervene!

All eight dishes were brought to him, and the shopkeeper personally brought a jug of hot wine to him, and said with a smile, "Guards, try our most famous sake in Jianli County, and the other jug ​​is still hot."

"Delay the shopkeeper a little bit!"

Chen Qingxiao asked: "Does the shopkeeper understand the situation in Yuezhou?"

"I heard some rumors that tens of thousands of water thieves defeated the officers and soldiers three times. It seems that they are besieging Baling County recently. I don't know the result."

"Yang Yao actually defeated the officers and soldiers three times?"

Chen Qing was a little surprised. He knew that the leader of the bandit suppression was Li Gang, who was then Huguang Propaganda Envoy.

"Is Yang Yao so powerful?"

"What's so great about him as a water thief? It's just that Puppet Qi is supporting him! Everyone knows that."

Chen Qing nodded. Seeing that the two young ladies were fascinated, he smiled and said, "Eat quickly! It's time to leave after eating."

Chapter 249 Baling

In the afternoon, Yan Jun hurried over with Wang Shu, the magistrate of Jianli County.

Of course, Chen Qing would not decide his next move just after listening to a few words from the shopkeeper of the restaurant.

At this time, Chen Qing was well-known all over the world, and even the county magistrates in small places like Jianli County had heard of Chen Qing's reputation.

"Wang Shu, the magistrate of Li County, the next official prison, has a meeting with General Chen!"

"Wangzhi County, you are welcome, please sit down!"

Chen Qing asked the magistrate to sit down, and soon, Yu Lian and Yu Ying came in and served them tea.

Wang Shu looked at the twin sisters in surprise. Why do they look exactly the same?

Chen Qing smiled and said: "I invited Wang Zhixian to come here, just to ask for advice!"

"Just ask the general, the humble officer knows everything!"

"The first thing is about the situation in Yuezhou. I heard that Yang Yao led tens of thousands of people to besiege Baling County. Is it true?"

"The siege happened last month. Because the county seat was not captured, Yang Yao changed to besiege Baling County instead of fighting. It has been a month. They wanted to wait for the food in the city to run out, so as to seize the Xuanfu envoys in the city. Li Gang and Wang Zhizhou."

This is almost the same, how is it possible to keep attacking, it is more logical to surround and not attack, but when Yang Yao became so clever, he actually knew how to attack the mind first.

Chen Qing put aside the matter of siege for the time being, and asked again: "From Jianli County to the south, is the Yangtze River waterway safe?"

Wang Shu shook his head, "There is no safety at all, basically controlled by Yang Yao's navy, every ship must be inspected, if it is a merchant ship, half of the cargo will be confiscated, forcing many cargo owners to go overland and bypass Dongting Lake. "

"Where's our passenger ship? Do you want to investigate too?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Passenger ships generally collect taxes, five hundred shi for five guan, and two thousand shi for twenty guan. In fact, it's nothing more than collecting money. I'm afraid that the female relatives will be taken in by them, like the general's two little maids. They must pass. Can’t pass this level.”

Chen Qing got up and cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Wangzhi County, for your advice!"

Chen Qing asked the county magistrate only after he had experience. Last year, Yang Yao was not considered strong, but he was already very rampant. This year, he defeated the officers and soldiers three times, and he would only become more rampant. He knew what he should do now.

With the magistrate's reminder, Chen Qing naturally did not let the passenger and horse boats continue to set off, but temporarily left the two young ladies and Yang Liu in Jianli County, and asked Yan Jun to lead [-] soldiers to protect them.

Chen Qing led [-] soldiers to put on armor, and pulled out the horses from the horse boat. They got on the horses and headed for Yuezhou by land.

……

Baling County is today's Yueyang. Decades ago, Fan Zhongyan once wrote here the famous sentence of "worry about the world first".

But at this time, Baling County encountered an unprecedented crisis. Thirty thousand Dongting water bandits surrounded the gate of Baling City from four directions, and there were only a few thousand officers and soldiers in the city, and tens of thousands of people. If it is breached, the people of the whole city will face a tragic catastrophe.

On the city wall, Huguang Xuanfu made Li Gang very worried. He was only in his early 50s, but his hair was all white. The shame of Jingkang became a mountain on him, making him breathless.

Although Jin Bing's second attack on Bianliang has nothing to do with him, but after all he is the prime minister of Jingkang, the two emperors were captured and the court was destroyed, so he couldn't pass the test in his heart.

Li Gang hoped that the Song army could regain Bianliang and welcome back the second emperor all the time, but the reality is so cruel, and this dream has become so out of reach.

Looking at the vastness of the waves in the distance, Li Gang couldn't help but heaved a long sigh.

At this time, Zhizhou Wang Yan walked over quickly and said: "Xuanfu envoy, the food has been rearranged, please take a look!"

Baling County has been under siege for a month, and the court reinforcements don't know when they will arrive?

The army's food was about to be exhausted, and he had no choice but to implement a food rationing system, concentrating all the food in the county in the hands of the government to ensure the minimum survival food for each commoner and the minimum food guarantee for each soldier.

"After redistribution, how long can it last?"

"Each soldier can only give half a catty a day, and the common people can reduce it to two taels. It is estimated that they can last for half a month."

Li Gang was startled, "Only half a month?"

Wang Yan sighed and said, "There is no way. The grain transport fleet was robbed by the enemy. The military grain has long been exhausted. We have been getting food from the people, and now the grain from the people is almost gone."

Li Gang was silent. They failed in the third battle with Yang Yao's army because the logistics camp was attacked, and hundreds of large ships full of food were robbed. Tens of thousands of troops withdrew to Baling County without any food. , They basically ransacked all the merchants in the entire Baling County for food, so they could barely maintain the food for the army.

Yang Yao also saw this, and adopted the strategy of siege, forcing himself to leave the city and surrender.

The majestic Xuan Fu envoy surrendered to the thieves. He would rather kill himself than take that step and cause the court to suffer great humiliation.

Li Gang sighed slightly, "Let's see when the reinforcements will arrive?"

He turned around and went to the dungeon with heavy steps, his back already a little bent.

……

It only took Chen Qing one day and one night to lead eighty of his men to Baling County, Yuezhou on horseback. The surrounding villages in Baling County were empty, and traces of being smashed and burned could be seen everywhere.

Chen Qing led the crowd into a village, and he seemed to see lights in the village from a distance. This is a small village with only more than 100 households.

At this time, Chen Qing saw that there was indeed a faint light in the house at the westernmost part of the village.

"Go and see, who is it?"

The two men got off their horses and galloped away.

Not long after, two of his subordinates came running over, "Qizhengzhi, that is a big family's house, and there are more than a dozen bandit soldiers digging the yard inside, they may think that there is a treasure buried underneath!"

I was about to catch some thieves and ask about the situation, but I didn't expect them to be sent to my door.

Chen Qing ordered Zhuang Quan, the vice capital, "Go and catch them all, be careful not to slip through the net!"

"Follow the order!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhuang Quan led dozens of soldiers to the place where the lights were lit. Soon, there were several screams, and then the lights went out, and there was no sound.

It only took a cup of tea time for Zhuang Quan to lead his men to arrest seven or eight bandit soldiers, and the rest of the bandit soldiers were killed.

The bandit soldiers knelt on the ground and begged for mercy. Zhuang Quan said in a low voice, "There are two naked women in the room. They died not long ago. They must have ruined them to death."

Chen Qing nodded, and asked one of the leading bandit soldiers, "How many bandit soldiers do you surround Baling County?"

The leader of the bandits tremblingly said: "There are about 2 people in their early years, and they pretended to be 3 people."

"Is the leader Yang Yao?"

"Your Majesty is in the water stronghold. The general who besieged Baling County is Zhong Ziyi, the son of Prime Minister Zhong."

"Which city gate is his tent at?"