Fenghou

This time he fought with Dong Xian and was assigned to attack Yiling and was responsible for opening the Xiazhou passage, but Jing Chao's abilities were indeed relatively mediocre. Facing the strong and tall city of Yiling, he did not carry a siege weapon, so he was helpless for a while. He waited for the logistics to transport the siege weapons, but did not consider cutting wood to make siege ladders.

Fortunately, Wan Yanchang came and canceled the plan to attack Yiling, which made Jing Chao heave a long sigh of relief.

In the transfer order given to him by Dong Xian, he was clearly required to arrange defenses at night to prevent the enemy from sneaking at night.

What Dong Xian meant was that he was required to set up a large camp at night, surround the camp fence, build a sentry tower, set up a large tent, and send out patrols.

But it's easy to say, but it's not the same thing in practice. The soldiers marched for more than forty miles at a stretch with forty or fifty catties of luggage on their backs. They were so exhausted that they couldn't move when they fell down. , Where do you still have the energy to set up a camp? It's like standing and talking without back pain.

However, Jing Chao still sent more than 100 sentries to watch around.

At the second watch, all the soldiers fell into a deep sleep state, even the chief general Jing Chao fell asleep.

At this time, a few miles to the south, a cavalry army is moving here silently. As long as the soldiers slow down, the ground will basically not shake, and there will be no thunder-like noise, but there will be The chaotic sound of war horses can be heard at most about one or two hundred steps.

There are more than [-] sentry posts in the south. At this time, they were all killed by the Song army scouts one by one, and the puppet Qi army had lost their peripheral vigilance.

The cavalry was getting closer and closer to the camp, only two hundred steps away, and Chen Qing had even seen enemy soldiers all over the ground two hundred steps away.

He straightened up slowly, and suddenly shouted: "Kill me!"

Ten thousand cavalry suddenly mobilized and charged towards the puppet Qi army's camp two hundred away.

The spear pierced the chest, the war knife broke the neck, and the iron hoof crushed the bones. There were screams and screams everywhere in the wilderness. The soldiers who were sleeping were finally awakened. They got up and ran wildly in fright. Can't resist the fear of death.

The puppet soldiers of the Qi army were fleeing everywhere in the field. They shouted in fear and ran wildly. The cavalry chased and killed them, mercilessly sending their bodies and fear into the hell of death.

If you are afraid of death, don't become a soldier. Death on the battlefield has always been the destination of a soldier.

This is the battlefield where you live and die, only killing, compassion and tolerance basically don't exist, just like the army they slaughtered Wang Yan before, they also slaughtered without mercy, but now it's their turn.

The screams and cries resounded throughout the night. By dawn, most of the eight thousand puppet Qi troops had disappeared, and only a few smart people fled into the northwest forest and escaped with their lives.

The Song army cleaned up the battlefield, burned the corpses and luggage, and seized the enemy's supplies. After resting for half a day and one night, in the early morning of the third day, [-] Song army cavalry rushed towards Changlin County.

Chapter 298 Commitment

At noon the next day, the cavalry led by Chen Qing arrived in Changlin County, but to his surprise, the tens of thousands of puppet Qi troops who besieged Changlin County had already retreated.

Li Gang went out of the city to greet him in person, Chen Qing stepped forward and bowed in salute: "The humble official came late, let Xuanfu envoy wait for a long time!"

Li Gang sighed, "I'm very lucky now that Huguang has General Chen here, otherwise Huguang is really in danger this time."

"Xuan Fu envoy has won the prize!"

Li Gang ordered the gates of the city to be opened wide, and personally accompanied Chen Qing's army into Changlin County.

When they came to the barracks, Li Gang ordered Sima to arrange [-] troops to live there so that they could feed the horses.

At this time, Li Gang discovered that Chen Qing's cavalry was actually carrying thousands of sets of armor from the puppet Qi army. He laughed and said, "I believe Chen Dutong must have good news to tell me!"

"There is indeed good news. The [-] puppet Qi troops in Yiling were completely wiped out by the humble officials at midnight the night before yesterday."

Li Gang was overjoyed, this was their first big victory against the puppet Qi army, it was so difficult for them, but it was so easy for Chen Qing, Li Gang was happy, but also somewhat confused.

"Chen Dutong, why can't my army destroy the enemy so easily?"

Chen Qing thought for a while and said: "The cavalry plays a key role here. For example, the puppet Qi army, we are about [-] miles away from them, so that the spies sent by the other party cannot find our existence. It is very difficult to maintain sufficient physical strength. The cavalry is different. They can run fifty miles in half an hour, and then surprise the opponent in the middle of the night, and they can kill the opponent by surprise. Secondly, the army of the Xuanfu envoy has already been targeted by the opponent. Hold on, every time the troops are dispatched, the opponent will send someone to watch them, so that they can also guess the Xuanfu envoy's intentions, so it will be difficult to attack the opponent."

Li Gang nodded, "I understand what you mean. There must be an army that is separated from the main force. The so-called combination of Zhengqi and Qi will be effective."

"That's exactly what it means. In the northwest, Wu Dutong arranged for humble officials to wander outside the Dasan Pass, appear and disappear, and constantly harass and sneak attack the enemy army, making it impossible for the Jin soldiers to defend themselves."

"Very good, it seems that I have to keep Chen Dutong's army on the periphery, using the high-speed and long-distance cavalry to attack the enemy continuously."

"In this way, the Xuanfu envoy will rely on the city as soon as possible. In fact, the Xuanfu envoy is the bait, and the humble post is the striking force."

Li Gang stroked his beard and said, "Let me think about it again."

"There is another thing. The humble official will probably want to say sorry to the envoy."

Li Gang was startled, "What's the matter?"

"It's about Yang Yao, the humble job should be handed over to the Xuanfu envoy, but the humble job..."

Li Gang smiled and waved his hands, "I'm not Zhu Shengfei, I'm not that narrow-minded. Besides, when you captured Yang Yao, I had already led the army to leave Hanyang. Even if you sent it to Hanyang, no one would accept it. I thought you knew I wasn't there. Hanyang, and then sent directly to Lin'an."

"The humble job is just because I am afraid that the night will be long and dreamy, so I sent it directly to Lin'an. I really have no other ideas, but I feel a little wrong afterwards."

Li Gang said indifferently: "You don't need to explain, I know you are used to it and don't like being suppressed by others, but Chen Dutong, this habit is not good, it is easy to make your boss disgusted, most of Zhu Shengfei's hatred for you stems from this. "

"Thank you for your teaching!"

Li Gang narrowed his eyes and said: "Chen Dutong, why don't we make another deal! I know you don't like being suppressed by others, and you don't like being ordered by civilian officials. You can make independent judgments and send troops independently. I won't interfere with you, but I have condition."

Chen Qing laughed dryly, "How embarrassing!"

"Let's talk nonsense. Although I am not Zhu Shengfei, I am definitely not Zhang Jun. I will completely delegate power to my subordinates. Otherwise, I will sit in Hanyang and will not lead the army to Changlin County. I promise you that I will only consider the overall situation and have Conditions, if you can't do it, don't let me delegate power."

"Xuan Fu envoy, please state the conditions!"

"There are four conditions. First, your army is not allowed to harass the people, and you are not allowed to plunder the landlords and big households under the pretext of catching spies; second, no matter which city you capture, the local officials must be dealt with by me; Third, I just delegated the right to fight to me, but I didn't give you the right to dispose of it after the war."

"Xuan Fu envoy is actually talking about the disposal of prisoners of war and the captured spoils, right?"

Li Gang nodded, "It's good that you understand, I will arrange and distribute all the trophies, and I will give you what should be given to you."

Chen Qing pondered for a while, "I agree to Xuan Fushi, but can we make an exception?"

Li Gang smiled and said, "It's limited to grass and black beans."

"What about the fourth condition of the envoy?"

Li Gang gave Chen Qing a hard look and said: "I told you before that you are not allowed to issue an order to kill, you must change it to surrender and not to kill, but the night before yesterday, when you attacked the puppet Qi army in Yiling, you still issued an order. There's a kill order, isn't it? I don't see a single prisoner."

Chen Qing was silent for a moment and said: "I am not a cruel person. There was a reason why I issued the killing order last night. I hope the envoy can understand."

"You want to avenge Wang Yan?"

Chen Qing nodded slowly, with uncontrollable hatred flickering in his eyes, "There are two armies surrounding Wang Yan, one is the puppet Qi army in Yiling, and the other is Kong Yanzhou's army. Kong Yanzhou pretended to retreat from Xiangyang, He cheated Wang Yan's trust, and finally attacked Wang Yan's [-] troops in the middle of the night. Kong Yanzhou shot Wang Yan in the left chest with an arrow.

Not only that, but Kong Yanzhou also beheaded all the captured Jiangling soldiers. He also dug up Wang Yan's body, and the owl's head gave credit to the Jin soldiers. I didn't know these things until I interrogated the puppet Qi army. . "

After a pause, Chen Qing continued: "I have always regarded Wang Yan as my teacher and father. I swore yesterday morning that I would definitely kill Kong Yanzhou and his army. If the envoy does not agree, I would rather give up the right to fight independently. .”

Li Gang took two steps with his hands behind his back, nodded and said, "It's limited to Kong Yanzhou and his subordinates, the crime is not as good as their family members!"

"can!"

"Then we will make a decision. Apart from Kong Yanzhou, you are not allowed to issue an extermination order. There are three other conditions. If you dare not keep your promise, even if the envoy does not do it, I will never do it." Forgive you!"

Chen Qing nodded silently, "It's a deal!"

……

There are two Hanyang cities, one is Hanyang County, and the other is Hanyang Cangcheng. Hanyang Cangcheng was built after Li Gang took office, and it was completed two months ago. It is tall and strong, and there is only one water gate in the whole city. Ships first go to the Han River, and then sail into the city through a mile-long Cao River from the Han River. The largest cargo ship can pass three thousand stones.

More than 200 warehouses have been built in Cangcheng, and most of them are full of warehouses, ranging from money and food to military supplies, from medicinal materials to fuel oil and gunpowder.

This is the logistics center of the entire Huguang Song army. When Li Gang led his army westward, only [-] troops were left to guard Cangcheng. Later, he also felt that it was inappropriate, so he sent people to Yingzhou and ordered Kong Yanzhou, the governor of Yingzhou, to divide a part of the army. The troops went to defend Hanyang Cangcheng.

It's just that Li Gang didn't expect Kong Yanzhou to surrender to the puppet Qi army. He immediately sent an army to Hanyang, but was intercepted by the enemy army not long after, and returned to Changlin County.

Only then did Li Gang realize that Hanyang City was in extreme danger.

But what Li Gang didn't expect was that Chen Qing also sent an army with more than 100 warships to Hanyang for support.

In fact, Zhang Ying, the governor of Ezhou, was ordered by Chen Qing to lead a thousand local state soldiers to Hanyang and defend Hanyang County. You must know that Hanyang County is the seat of the official office of the Xuanfu envoy. If Hanyang County is captured, the bandits will slaughter Hanyang. The consequences were equally unimaginable.

Commander Zheng Ping's huge fleet arrived in Hanyang, and the sentinel ship that arrived first reported that some small boats of unknown origin were found on the Han River, which looked like enemy exploration ships, but the main force of the enemy fleet was not found.

Zheng Ping immediately invited Niu Gao and Li Feng, the commander of the navy, to discuss.

Niu Gao looked at the map and suggested: "The humble officer thinks that we should hide in Jiangxia first. Once the enemy arrives, when they are about to attack Cangcheng, we will attack their ships again, cut off their retreat, and wipe them all out on the river. superior."

Li Feng nodded, "This method is good. It is only about ten miles from Jiangxia to Cangcheng. The speed of vehicles and boats is fast, and they can quickly grab the north and cut off their retreat. The warships attack from the south, and the two fleets will attack from north to south. No ship can escape."

Zheng Ping thought for a while and said, "Two thousand crossbowmen are also deployed on the land next to Hanyang Cangcheng to prevent them from abandoning their boats and going ashore!"

Niu Gao was a little worried and said: "But if the opponent's army is large, breaking through by force may cause heavy casualties to the crossbowmen!"

"It's okay! If that step is really reached, the crossbowmen can retreat to Hanyang County!"

Chapter 299 Han Yang

The more than 200 large ships that came from Xiangyang arrived half a day later than the Song Army, and arrived at the mouth of the Han River in the early morning. Of course, the fleet of the Puppet Qi Army was not a warship, but more than [-] ships that were forcibly confiscated from various places in the Han River. Most of the large cargo ships were [-] stone cargo ships, and the speed of the cargo ships was relatively slow. It took five days to reach Hanyang carrying [-] troops.

The general who commanded this sneak attack army was called Li Xiu, who was also Dong Xian's confidant general, and the official held the position of control.

The logistics of attacking the Song army is definitely poor. Even if you don’t need copper coins, you can eat a lot of gold and silver. What’s more, there is Hanyang City. If you plunder it, everyone can make a fortune. , There are countless women who can let them enjoy themselves.

So along the way, everyone's heart was full of longing, and they wished to grow their wings and fly into Hanyang City immediately.

At this time, just before the fifth watch, the fleet was moored on the bank of the Han River, and Li Xiu was still waiting for news.

At this time, the leader of the early spies came to report, "Qi report control, there are a thousand soldiers guarding the city of Hanyang!"

Li Xiu was stunned, and then said angrily: "Didn't you say that Hanyang County has no soldiers to guard it?"

"It is true that there is no army. It is a thousand state soldiers who came from Jiangxia a few days ago, and the governor of Ezhou personally leads them."

"boom!"

Li Xiu kicked the little stool into the river, he was extremely annoyed, how could they attack Hanyang City without siege weapons?

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

There was a rapid alarm bell in the distance, which came from Hanyang County, indicating that they had been discovered by Hanyang County.

At just a moment ago, Li Xiu wanted to sneak attack Hanyang at night, but the alarm bell shattered his idea in the blink of an eye.

In desperation, Li Xiu had no choice but to turn his attention back to Cangcheng. He looked at Cangcheng for a long time and asked, "Is there a way to attack Cangcheng?"

The leader of the spies bowed and said: "General Qi, Cangcheng is three feet high and very strong. The only gate is the water gate, but the water gate has two iron gates inside and outside. It is even more difficult to conquer. The only way is to capture Hanyang County and force The army from Cangcheng came to rescue, I heard that most of the soldiers in Cangcheng are locals, maybe their relatives are all in Hanyang County."

Li Xiu nodded, "Is there a forest nearby?"

"There are large forests around the county seat, and there are even taller trees on the other side, which can be used to make battering rams!"

Li Xiu turned his head and looked towards the other bank of the Han River. The other bank was pitch black. At this moment, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound, which was very clear in the still night.

Li Xiu was stunned, "What's that sound?"

He looked at the leader of the spies, who also looked blank, and they had never heard this voice before.

"Quickly investigate!" Li Xiu said angrily.

"Follow the order!"

The leader of the spies got off the boat in a hurry, and the boat quickly sailed to the opposite bank.

At this time, the deputy general Ma Wen stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, the commander, do you want the brothers to disembark?"

Li Xiu looked at the other side in the darkness, shook her head and said, "Wait a minute, let's talk about the news from the scout post!"

After about an incense stick, the Tanshao boat rushed back, and the leader of the Tanshao shouted: "It's a Song Army warship! It's a Song Army warship!"

Li Xiu was frightened and froze, he suddenly shouted: "Order to retreat, the fleet returns!"

He finally realized that the other party was prepared. This was a trap. They fell into the trap. Now he only had one thought, to retreat quickly.

The ships pulled up their sails one after another, and the wind was still southeast. The wind on the river was strong, and the sails bulged. The boatman propped the boats open with pennies, and the cargo ships began to sail northwest.

After walking for more than half an hour, the sky gradually dawned. More than 100 vehicles and boats launched an attack on the river. Gunpowder arrows ignited the sails. Those under the water jumped into the water and escaped for their lives.

Without sails and boatmen, the cargo ship completely lost its power, and the Song army on the vehicle and boat began to use fire oil balls to attack, and more than 200 cargo ships became fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

One after another warships were set on fire. At this time, it was impossible to escape from the shore. The sky was divided between water and fire. The soldiers on board were terrified. Most of them could not swim. They either burned to death or died in the river drowned.

Many soldiers were so frightened that they cried bitterly and knelt on the bow of the boat begging to surrender. Li Xiu had no choice but to order a white flag to surrender. The main fleet of the Song army also came to block the river.

Zheng Ping stared at the warship for a while and said, "Surrender is allowed!"

This is Chen Qing's order to Zheng Ping, there is no need to offend Li Gang in the matter of killing and surrendering, and the prisoners of war can be exchanged with the enemy for the captured Song army.

Moreover, there are copper mines in Jiangxia, if there is no exchange, they can use prisoners of war to mine copper mines.

The Song army put boards on the cargo ships and ordered the enemy soldiers to put down their weapons and take off their armor. Groups of prisoners of war ran along the boards to the vehicles and boats, crying and knelt down with excitement, raising their hands.

An hour later, two hundred cargo ships disappeared on the river, all of which were burned and sunk without leaving any traces. Only a few sentry ships escaped by chance and rushed back to Xiangyang to report the situation.

Chen Qing's army has a set of rules for the management of prisoners of war. Generally, prisoners of war and generals are separated and held in different cities. This can effectively prevent prisoners of war from rioting. There will be no resistance.

Dozens of generals of the puppet Qi army above the capital, including the chief general Li Xiu and the deputy general Ma Wen, were sent to Hanyang County to be imprisoned, and the other [-] soldiers and prisoners of war were sent to Jiangxia for custody, waiting for the disposition of Xuan Fu envoy Li Gang.