Fenghou

Chapter 311 Crisis

Thirty thousand puppet Qi troops and sixty warships crossed the Han River from Qingshanji and raided Hanyang County. Ten warships were captured by the puppet Qi army.

The puppet Qi army did not continue to attack Hanyang Cangcheng, but left [-] troops to guard Hanyang, and the remaining [-] troops crossed the Yangtze River and captured Jiangxia County.

At present, [-] troops are paralleling by land and water, and are marching toward Baling County in mighty force.

Chen Qing immediately stopped the martial arts competition, and summoned his generals to urgently discuss the countermeasures. The family members of the generals were all in Baling County. When they heard the news, they felt as if they were blown up. The crowd became furious and demanded to go to Baling County immediately.

Chen Qing shouted: "Quiet!"

There was a sudden silence in the big tent, and Chen Qing said to everyone: "Baling County is our old nest, it is facing a crisis, and I am also very anxious, but I believe Commander Yang will not put your family members in danger, and will definitely transfer them in time , Now not only Baling County is facing a crisis, but the entire Huguang is facing a crisis from both sides, how we should deal with it is the key, everyone calm down and talk about useful suggestions."

Counselor Zhang Xiaodao: "The puppet Qi army now has a hundred warships. Fortunately, they did not enter the Hanshui River. They must immediately order General Zheng and Niu to withdraw from the Hanshui River. It is best to retake Jiangxia. They are all Yue E. As the eunuch, Jiang Xia's fall is a heavy responsibility, and he must be recaptured.

In addition, all officials must immediately notify the Xuanfu envoys and suggest that they withdraw to Hanyang. If we withdraw our troops, the Puppet Qi army in Xiangyang will inevitably attack Changshou County on a large scale, and the main force of the Xuanfu envoys will be in danger. "

Chen Qing nodded, "Joining the army makes sense!"

At this time, Yang Zaixing also said: "I am humble and recommend sending [-] cavalry to Baling first, and then the main force will rush back!"

This suggestion was also very timely. Chen Qing immediately appointed Yang Zaixing as the chief general and Gao Ding as the deputy general. The two led [-] cavalry across the river to Baling County.

Chen Qing then sent two eagle letters, one to Zheng Ping, asking him and Niu Gao to withdraw from Hanshui immediately, counterattack Jiangxia, and take back Jiangxia County.

The other eagle letter was to Li Gang, suggesting that he immediately abandon Changshou County and retreat to Hanyang. Chen Qing had been stationed in Changshou County. The army was wiped out.

After arranging a few things, Chen Qing finally settled down a little. The reason why he didn't lead his army back to Baling immediately was because he had to consider the overall situation. Immediately kill Changshou County, the consequences are very serious.

Moreover, he withdrew the army without Li Gang's consent, which was a serious crime, and no one could protect him.

"You really don't have to worry about it."

Zhang Xiao persuaded him with a smile: "The goal of the puppet Qi army is not to seize Baling County, I think their intention is more to put pressure on Dutong, forcing Dutong to withdraw his troops and return to Baling."

"How did you meet?"

"It's very simple. If they want to attack Baling in a hurry, they will not attack Jiangxia first. They will definitely take a boat and go west along the Yangtze River. Without anyone noticing, they will suddenly land in Baling County and attack the city. Commander Yang has no time to guard against it." .

But they didn't do that. Instead, they attacked Jiangxia first, and then advanced both land and water to create momentum. They were afraid that Baling County would not know about it. Isn't this just reminding Yang Yuanqing that you should quickly ask Chen Dutong for help. Tong is not necessarily in a hurry to go back, so when they attacked Baling, there must have been loud thunder and little rain. "

Chen Qing laughed, this is really the case, Zhang Xiao is still calm and sees clearly.

At this time, a soldier outside the tent reported, "Report to Dutong, Changshou County sent an urgent eagle letter!"

This eagle letter came too timely, Chen Qing immediately ordered the soldiers to submit the eagle letter, he took the eagle letter and slowly unfolded it, it was written by Li Gang himself, Li Gang already knew that [-] puppet Qi troops crossed the Han River, Huguang army was attacked by the enemy , the situation was critical, he had already decided to abandon Ying Prefecture and retreat to Hanyang, asking Chen Qing to also abandon Jiangling Mansion and rush back to Baling for rescue.

It seems that Li Gang is also very clear-headed, knowing that the current situation is dangerous, and Li Gang understands Chen Qing's difficulties very much, so he offered to let him rescue Baling County.

But Chen Qing understood in his heart that Li Gang actually hoped that he could defend Jiangling. He pondered for a long time and said to Zhang Xiao: "Although the Xuan Fu envoy told me to give up Jiangling, if we can't really give up, I decided to keep [-] new troops to guard Jiangling County. I personally Then join the army and go to Baling under my banner with Liu Qiong, and Yang Zaixing will lead the cavalry, I believe he will be able to defeat the enemy and keep Baling County safe."

Zhang Xiao thought for a while and said: "It's not impossible, but I don't think it's okay for all the recruits to guard Jiangling. We must keep [-] cavalry and don't need Liu Qiong to follow. Hu Yanyun and I rushed to meet Yang Zaixing with [-] cavalry. The generals are coming together, but they need to make a fake crossing of the river."

Chen Qing understood immediately, and said with a smile, "Show it to the puppet Qi army spies in Jiangling City, and then I will hide on the other side of the Yangtze River."

Zhang Xiao gave a thumbs up, "Both are brilliant!"

Chen Qing immediately found Liu Cui and ordered him to command [-] recruits to guard Jiangling City. At the same time, he told him about his arrangement and ordered him to keep the secret and not reveal it to his subordinates.

The news that the Huguang Song army was attacked by the enemy spread throughout the city of Jiangling. Chen Qing led [-] cavalry to rush back to Baling to rescue, and Liu Cui led [-] recruits to guard Jiangling County. Cargo ships, seven thousand cavalrymen boarded and crossed the Yangtze River...

Just as there were spies from Chen Qing in Xiangyang City, of course there were spies from Wanyanchang in Jiangling Mansion.

The Old Shunchang Teahouse located in the south of the city was the intelligence point of the Puppet Qi Army. The teahouse, like the restaurant, was a place where customers gathered. There were tea customers coming in and out every day, bringing a lot of information, so it was very suitable as an intelligence point.

Shopkeeper Yang quickly came to the backyard, knocked on a door, and someone inside agreed, "Please come in!"

Shopkeeper Yang opened the door and entered. Inside was a man in his thirties. His name was Wang Guan. He was the intelligence leader specially selected by Wan Yanchang. He was unsmiling, very smart and capable.

"What news?" Wang Guan asked.

"Commander Wang, I just got the news that Chen Qing personally led the cavalry to retreat, and the army is crossing the river!"

Wang Guan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked: "Then who will guard Jiangling City?"

"I heard that it was Liu Cui who led [-] recruits to guard Jiangling City."

Wang Guan couldn't bear the excitement in his heart, stood up and said: "Get me a bullock cart immediately, I'm going to the riverside to have a look!"

Wang Guan got on an ox cart and headed for the riverside wharf...

Jiangling City is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, close to the Yangtze River, and the Yangtze River is just outside the city. There are nearly a hundred three-thousand-stone cargo ships moored at the docks of the Yangtze River. These large ships were all seized from Yang Yao's navy. , These hundred cargo ships have also become the assets of Chen Qing's army, and they are needed to carry grain, grass and war horses.

Thousands of cavalrymen lined up neatly on the wharf. Groups of cavalrymen were boarding the boat. On the river, there was already a large ship sailing to the south bank. Of course, the cavalrymen would not go to Baling by boat. The speed was too slow, and it would take at least three to four days to sail. The cavalry can reach Baling in two days.

Chen Qing is riding on the horse, what is he explaining to Liu Cui, the left-behind general?

Behind him is a huge red-bottomed black dragon flag with a black border. On the other side is a big "Chen" character. This is Chen Qing's handsome flag. Where the handsome flag appears, it means that Chen Qing is there !

Chen Qing and Liu Cui saluted each other with fists in their hands. Chen Qing turned his horse's head, and under the guard of dozens of soldiers, he urged the horse to walk towards a huge cargo ship. Shuai Qi followed closely behind him.

Wang Guan was among the crowd in the distance, and he could see clearly that Chen Qingzong got on the big boat immediately, the big boat untied the cable, left the pier and sailed towards the middle of the Yangtze River, and Chen Qing stood at the stern, waving goodbye to Liu Cui and others.

Wang Guan turned around and squeezed out of the crowd. He got on the bullock cart and said, "Go back to the city!"

Wang Guan rushed back to the teahouse in a hurry. He went back to his room and wrote a pigeon letter, handed it to shopkeeper Yang and said, "Immediately go out of the city and send the pigeon letter to Xiangyang!"

Chapter 312 The Midline

Opposite the gate of Hanshui Inn, at some point, a cake vendor came. He yelled every day and didn’t have much business, but he still came early and left late. Not far away, there were a few more idlers on the Erxian Bridge, who stood on the bridge all day chatting and standing. The back door of the inn can be seen from the bridge.

On the other side of the river, there were more than a dozen idlers squatting day and night, staring at the back door of the inn. In fact, the entire street was under surveillance, and there were as many as a hundred people involved in surveillance.

The shopkeeper of the inn quickly came to the backyard, and said to Hu Yanlei worriedly: "There are two more vegetable sellers next to the cake seller. They don't seem to know the cake seller, but they are exchanging glances!"

Hu Yanlei was also really helpless, of course he knew that the inn had been targeted by the puppet Qi army, but he couldn't figure it out, the inn had nothing to do with Jingzhou, and the distance was so far, how could the other party find out?Where is the problem?

He couldn't think of an answer, but fortunately, the mule and horse line was not found, and it was operating normally, without any signs of being targeted.

Of course, Hu Yanlei didn't expect that Hanshui Inn and Jingzhou Restaurant are the only two shops in Xiangyang City that have replaced the proprietor and all the staff in the past month. They were discovered by Jiang Yanxian and stared at them, while Luomaxing did not replace the proprietor. And dude, just didn't get caught.

Including Hu Yanlei, there are a total of nine Song army scouts hiding in the inn. Now how to safely transfer out of the inn has become a top priority.

"Proprietor, I've thought about it, we actually still have a way to leave."

"any solution?"

"You can borrow the shop next door."

The shop next door is a rice shop. Due to the closure of the city, rice cannot come in. It has been closed for more than ten days. There is a wall between the rice shop and the inn, and the rice shop is past the wall.

Hu Yanlei frowned, "But the whole street is under surveillance, and it's useless to go to the rice shop."

"Humble job means diving away from the river."

Hu Yanlei nodded. The idea of ​​taking the water route was correct. There were no ships in the city, and the surveillance was a shortcoming of the river surface. But the other party also knew this, so dozens of monitors were arranged on the opposite bank.

"However, there are also a large number of people monitoring day and night on the other side, and we will definitely be found when we launch from the dock."

"The proprietor doesn't know that half of the Mipu warehouse is built on the water, and the bottom is supported by wooden piles. We pried open the floor of the warehouse, and the river is below. There is a baffle outside, so we can't see it from the other side. We launched the water from the warehouse. , then dive to the opposite bank and leave along the revetment."

"That's a good idea!"

Hu Yanlei gave a thumbs up, and the watchers squatted on the shore. They never dreamed that the people being watched would leave from under their feet. This is the darkness under the lights, the most dangerous but also the safest.

"Inform everyone, first hide in the courtyard of Sanmen Lane for two days, and then I will find a way to arrange everyone to leave the city."

Hu Yanlei's mobility is very high, and all his subordinates are good at swimming. They divided them into two groups, one group at the second watch, and another group at the third watch. Breathe underwater.

That night, Hu Yantong led eight of his subordinates and left the inn silently under the eyes of a hundred watchers.

……

Two days later, the leader in charge of monitoring finally found out that something was wrong, and rushed to report to Jiang Yanxian.

Half an hour later, Jiang Yanxian rushed to the inn with a large number of soldiers, and broke into the inn directly. The inn was already empty, and the other party erased all the clues, and it was impossible to see when they left.

Jiang Yanxian's face was livid, and he secretly scolded Yan Chang for being easy to think about the problem, and always wanted to use the other party to send wrong messages, but the other party was under surveillance, how could he be used?

It's a pity that the opportunity to catch them was missed in vain.

"How did they escape?" Jiang Yanxian glared at the leader in charge of surveillance.

The leader was speechless, how could he know how the other party escaped?

At this time, a leader came to report, "We found the clue of the other party's escape, in the rice shop next door!"

Jiang Yanxian brought a large number of soldiers to the rice shop next door. He followed Dutou into the warehouse. There were several soldiers searching the warehouse, and they found clues.

Pointing his head at the wet floor, he said, "One of our brothers stepped here and accidentally fell down. There is actually a small river underneath."

"Pull the floor off!"

The soldiers took down the wooden boards, and a big hole three feet wide and five feet long appeared on the ground, with the river below, and a long baffle in front, so that the watchers on the opposite side could not see what was going on below.

"No wonder!"

Jiang Yan first clenched his fists, and then let go of them helplessly. The other party fled for at least two or three days. Xiangyang City is so big, where can we find them?

At this time, a soldier ran over and said, "Jiang Dutong, the Marshal's Mansion has sent an urgent order, please go there."

Jiang Yanxian had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the Marshal's Mansion. He really didn't know how to explain to Dong Xian?

……

After listening to Jiang Yanxian's report, Dong Xian said for a while: "Although this matter is very regrettable, you are not responsible for it. Many things are beyond your control, and I am the same. Since I have escaped, just search again. At the city gate, you can always find it.”

Dong Xian said it very implicitly, and he also implied that the responsibility lies with Wan Yanchang. It's easy to think, but he doesn't know how difficult it is to do it. How can he not be able to see through this little trick if he can be sent by Chen Qing to be the intelligence chief? In the end, it is still a manifestation of Wan Yanchang's contempt for the Han people.

"Xiaozhi will continue to work hard to find Chen Qing's spies as soon as possible!"

Dong Xian smiled and waved his hands, "I didn't ask you to come here for this matter. We just received a pigeon letter from Jiangling. Chen Qing left Jiangling this morning and led his cavalry to Baling County. Our opportunity has come. The supervising army asked us to send troops immediately, and I will personally lead an army of [-] to attack Yingzhou, and the supervising army will arrange for you to lead an army of [-] to attack Xiazhou, and try to capture Yiling and Zigui within half a month."

Jiang Yan nodded his head first. This is actually continuing to implement the second step of the plan. Although he had some complaints about Wan Yanchang, he had to admit that Wan Yanchang's overall situation was well deployed, and a beautiful flank attack completely changed the situation. The situation, they have the initiative.

"Then who will take the lead in arresting the Song army's scouts? I don't want to leave this matter to Kong Yanzhou."

"I won't give it to him. He also has tasks. I'll let Zhang Qing take over."

Zhang Qing's ability is a bit weak, but he can't interfere too much, so Jiang Yanxian can only nod his head and give the order to leave.

……

Just when the news of Chen Qing's cavalry crossing the Yellow River reached Xiangyang, Wan Yanchang, who had been waiting for the news for a long time, immediately divided his troops into two groups. One was led by Marshal Dong Xian as the main general, and Kong Yanzhou as the deputy general, leading an army of [-] to attack Yingzhou. Along the way, Jiang Yanxian, whom Wan Yanchang valued very much, led an army of [-] to attack Xiazhou.

This hides a major strategic plan of Wanyan Chang, to open up the Shu road from the east, and take down Bashu before Wanyan Wushu.

What valued Chen Qing and came to sit in Xiangyang in person? These are all excuses for Wan Yanchang. A small Song army is in control, and it is not enough for Wan Yanchang to pay such attention to it. He just doesn't want Wan Yanwu Shu saw his true intentions, so he used Chen Qing as a cover.

The failure of Wanyan Salijiu in Hanzhong also made Wanyanchang out of the Sichuan-Shanxi Campaign, and Wanyan Wushu once again dominated the Sichuan-Shanxi War. Qing tuned away from Shaanxi Road, but these are all based on the overall situation of the Jin Dynasty.

The conflict between Wanyan Chang and Wanyan Wushu has a long history within the Jurchens, involving power struggles among the top Jurchens.

Fighting for the dominance of Sichuan and Shaanxi is a manifestation of their internal conflicts. Regaining the dominance of Sichuan and Shaanxi is what Wan Yanchang really cares about.

Now that Wanyan Wushu has changed his previous strategy of attacking and attacking fiercely, and changed it to step by step, using time to exchange space, the possibility of capturing Hanzhong has greatly increased. Wanyanchang is really a little worried that Wanyan Wushu will really capture Bashu and unify Sichuan and Shaanxi. That means that he will completely lose the right to speak in front of the wolf lord.

Under the pressure of the situation, Wanyan Chang decided to open the Shu road from the east and seize Bashu before Wanyan Wushu.

Of course, what he did obviously violated the wolf lord's decision to let him withdraw from the Sichuan-Shaanxi war. Once Wanyan Wushu found out and sued him in front of the wolf lord, he wouldn't be able to afford it.

So he can only do it secretly, before Wanyan Wushu finds out, he can get through the Bashu Eastern Route, maybe then the wolf lord will change his mind.

It can be said that Jiang Yanxian bears the huge expectations and scapegoat of Wan Yanchang on his shoulders, and if he succeeds, he will be successful;

Chapter 313 Return to Teacher

In the Jiangling City barracks, a sergeant entered the barracks and trotted all the way to a large tent in the left camp. The sergeant said loudly: "Report, there are important discoveries!"

"Come in!"

The sergeant opened the curtain and walked in. The lights inside were bright, and several generals of the Song Army stood at the table discussing something in a low voice.

This large tent is the main tent of the internal affairs battalion, which is also called the third scout battalion. It belongs to the general Chen Qing, who is in charge of finding and arresting enemy spies, and the commander is Wang Hao.

At this time, Wang Hao was standing in front of the table, staring at the map of Jiangling City on the table, and he and several deputies were discussing the hiding place of the enemy spies.

They were under a lot of pressure, and Chen Qing asked them to find out the enemy spies in Jiangling City within three days and eliminate them.

It was already the second night, and they found a lot of clues, but these clues were rather messy, without a clear direction, which really annoyed them.

They didn't care too much about the sergeants who entered the tent. All kinds of clues were reported by the sergeants at any time. This might be another clue.

"What clue?" Wang Hao raised his head and asked.