Fenghou

Two thousand Xixia soldiers fired arrows into the gap together, and the arrows rained down. Dozens of people in the city were shot and fell down one after another.

Hu Yanlei shouted, "The Xixia people are here, everyone stay away!"

At this time, Wu Nanshan led his men to shoot arrows at the Xixia people on the top of the city. The Xixia people were caught off guard and the arrow formation stopped temporarily.

Seizing this opportunity, Hu Yanlei led his men to quickly carry the bodies of the dead people outside, and the injured people also fled down to treat their injuries.

Hu Yanlei said to the county Wei Ma Wucai: "Leave a hundred state soldiers to guard the two city gates, and the others rush to the top of the gap to shoot arrows. Call Li's Zhuang Ding to come over, hurry up!"

Ma Wucai got on his horse and ran towards the west gate.

At this time, arrows from Xixia soldiers rained down on the city again, and Hu Yanlei led his men to charge up with shields and spears...

The sandbags were still being brought in continuously, and the people did not dare to approach the gap, so they just built a semicircular mudbag wall around the gap, which was a foot high.

At this time, two hundred Zhuang Ding from the Li family came, and they shot arrows at Xixia soldiers on the left side of the city, and a hundred state soldiers also arrived, and they shot arrows on the right side of the city with bows and arrows.

Wu Nanshan ran down the city with fifty men, and came to join Hu Yanlei.

At the same time, Xixia soldiers also brought two ladders and dozens of wooden boards from the village. The ladder was placed on the moat, and the wooden boards were laid on it to form a temporary bridge.

More than 800 Xixia soldiers held their shields, rushed across the moat, and began to attack the gap frantically...

4 Chapter [-] Rescue

Chen Qing led an army of [-] people on the northern official road to the south. He was very cautious all the way and marched carefully. He knew the way the Xixia army invaded and occupied the land. To the north, if the Kingdom of Jin is dissatisfied, they can quickly withdraw. If the Kingdom of Jin acquiesces, the army will immediately go south.

Chen Qing had every reason to suspect that the Xixia Army must have stationed a large army in the north, either in Dingxi County or Anxi County.

At this time, a county wall appeared in front of it, which should be Tongxi County in the middle of the country. A scout cavalry rushed towards him, clasped his fists and said: "There is no Xixia army in the city, and there is no trace of the army stationed. The residents in the city said that there are already I haven't seen the army in seven or eight years."

"How many residents are there in the city?"

"Reporting to Dutong, there are less than a thousand residents in the city."

Chen Qing frowned. In a county with less than a thousand people, he jumped off his horse, grabbed a handful of soil from the side of the road, rubbed it carefully, and smelled it. There was basically no fertility and the land was barren. He looked around again Go, there are bare loess hills in the distance, it is early summer, and there is not much green seen.

The scout said to Chen Qing: "Dutong, the main reason is that drinking water is inconvenient here. We have to fetch water from more than ten miles away, and the residents in the city spend most of their time fetching water every day."

"Look at it!"

Chen Qing got on his horse and led the army to the county seat.

The army was waiting outside the city, and Chen Qing led dozens of soldiers into the county.

The county town is very deserted. There is not a single pedestrian on the street. There are empty houses everywhere. Many houses have collapsed. Because of the lack of water, there are not even weeds. Several scouts stepped forward to salute. The head said: "The residents in the city are very timid. Most of them are old and weak, and they all hide at home and dare not come out."

"Is there a government?"

The scouts shook their heads, "The county government has collapsed."

It's really dilapidated, no wonder Tongxi County is no longer regarded as the county seat.

Chen Qing lost interest, and urged the horse to turn around and leave, but saw two boys brought out by the scout cavalry, the older one was eleven or twelve years old, and the younger one was about seven or eight years old.

"what happened?"

"Qi Dutou, the father of these two children has just passed away. They both passed out from hunger on the street. Let's give them some water and something to eat."

Chen Qing saw that although the two were sallow and thin, they had a good temperament, and they both had a refined and bookish air.

"What are their names?"

"The older one is called Li Songnian, and the younger one is called Li Songshi."

The ordinary people that Chen Qing met were usually called 'Shun, Fu, Ping, Ying, Xiaoer, Xiaosan' and so on. These two boys' names were very impressive.

Chen became a little interested, stepped forward and asked, "Who is your father?"

The older boy saluted and said: "My father's name is Jingwei. He was originally the county magistrate of Fengtian. The family fled westward and encountered thieves on the way. The mother and maid were taken away, and all the money was robbed. The three of us, father and son, had to flee here. I live in Susukita, my father is a scholar, after a few years of hard work, he finally became sick from overwork, unfortunately passed away a few days ago, but we are unable to bury my father, I implore the general to bury my father for us, our brothers will definitely repay each other!"

After speaking, the two brothers knelt on the ground and wept endlessly.

Chen Qing felt quite sympathetic, the dignified Fengtian magistrate had fallen to this point, so he nodded and asked the scouts, "Is there a shop selling coffins in the city?"

"There is one!"

Chen Qing then said to the soldiers: "Go buy a coffin and bury their father. Take these two children back to Chengji County and hand them over to Zhizhou Jiang so that they can continue to study."

"Follow the order!"

Chen Qing left three soldiers to attend to the funeral for the two children, and he led the army to continue southward. After walking a long distance, he still saw the two children kneeling at the city gate.

……

In Longxi County, the Xixia army is still madly attacking the gap. On the top of the city, a hundred state soldiers and two hundred Lijiazhuang soldiers shot arrows at the Xixia army at the top of the city. The panic at the beginning gradually stabilized, and they used the cover of the battlements to keep shooting at the Xixia soldiers on the pontoon bridge.

Although Zhou Bing and Zhuang Ding lack actual combat experience, the crossbows in their hands are genuine killing weapons, just like a child who does not know martial arts can kill a master of martial arts with one shot. No matter who is using the crossbow, as long as it is used One arrow hit, either death or injury.

The Xixia soldiers on the pontoon bridge were continuously shot by arrows and fell into the water, causing two to three hundred casualties. However, a large number of soldiers still rushed through the moat and fought fiercely with the Song Army scouts.

Half of the sandbags blocking the gap had been removed by the Xixia army, leaving only eight feet high sandbags, which was not easy to move, but the Xixia soldiers could also jump into the gap.

But what is strange is that just as a group of dozens of Xixia soldiers rushed up, they were blocked by the dense spears in the city. After a while, the soldiers who rushed up were pierced through their bodies one after another, turned over and fell to the ground, and a group of Xixia soldiers rushed up again. .

The hundred Song army scouts guarding the gap are the elite among the elite. All of them have experienced many battles and are highly skilled in martial arts. The Xixia soldiers who rushed up were killed by the Song army in a short while, and the corpses piled up higher and higher.

Xia Hu was really depressed. He could see the defenders on the top of the wall clearly. They were all immature beginners. They had to find a standard posture even when shooting arrows. Obviously they had no experience in actual combat. But the defenders on the gap were different. There are many, but they are extremely powerful. My subordinates are all the elites of the capture and life army. No matter how many waves they go up, they will be wiped out one after another.

At this time, a general offered advice in a low voice: "General, the defenders in the city seem to have gathered at the gap, and there must be emptiness elsewhere. We might as well send hundreds of soldiers to find a deserted place to take a ladder to the city and attack the enemy from above. !"

One sentence reminded Xia Hu, he cursed himself for being confused, and immediately said: "You quickly lead 500 people to the city from the south, first kill the soldiers holding crossbows at the top of the city, and then we release arrows down, let me see how long they can last?"

"Follow the order!"

The general ran to the south with 500 people. Li Ziheng saw a Xixia army running to the south carrying a ladder. , Zhuang Ding may not be able to resist."

Hu Yanlei said to Wu Zhongnan, the head of the capital, "You lead forty brothers to the city and help them resist Xixia soldiers!"

Wu Zhongnan waved his hand, "Follow me for the second part!"

He took 40 of his men and rushed to the top of the city. As soon as he got to the top of the city, he found that Xixia soldiers were coming to the city a mile away.

The Xixia soldiers never ran to the south of the city. They only ran two miles and found that there was no one on the top of the city, so they immediately took the ladder to the city. There is no problem.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were not many enemy troops going to the city, Wu Zhongnan led his troops to rush over, shooting arrows while running, and a dozen Xixia soldiers who had just entered the city fell down one after another.

The forty or fifty Xixia soldiers who had already gone to the city shouted and brandished their spears to kill them. The two sides fought fiercely on the top of the city. Fighting head-to-head, the Xixia soldiers under the city accelerated their speed to the city, and more and more Xixia soldiers went to the city, and soon exceeded a hundred.

At this time, Wu Zhongnan felt pain in his left arm, and he was shot by a cold arrow from the city. Not only him, but several soldiers of the Song Army were also shot by the cold arrow.

The Song army began to struggle, and gradually retreated. More and more Xixia soldiers went to the city, and they immediately went into battle. In less than a quarter of an hour, there were more than 30 Xixia soldiers on the top of the city. [-] people began to be unable to withstand the crazy attack of Xixia soldiers.

At this critical moment, there was a sudden scream from Xixia soldiers in the distance. A Song army cavalry arrived, and two thousand cavalry led by Yang Zaixing finally arrived.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

The Xixia general under the city shouted, and the Xixia soldiers at the top of the city began to retreat again. One ladder was not enough, and many Xixia soldiers jumped directly from the top of the city into the moat.

The morale of the scouts of the Song army was greatly boosted, and they started a sharp counterattack again, killing the Xixia soldiers and retreating steadily...

Yang Zaixing should have arrived at noon. He was worried that Longxi County would be lost, so he led two thousand cavalry to rush on the road, and finally arrived at Longxi County an hour earlier, and rescued Hu Yanlei's men at the most critical moment.

Yang Zaixing saw the enemy general Xia Hu at a glance. Seeing that he was leading the army to flee, Yang Zaixing made a decisive decision, took off the star shooting bow, drew out a spiked arrow, drew the bow like a full moon, and shot it. The arrow was extremely accurate. It hit the back of Xia Hu's neck. Although Xia Hu was extremely fierce, his flesh and blood could not stop Yang Zaixing's spiked arrow.

'puff! An arrow shot through the back of the neck, the tip of the arrow protruded from the throat, and the bloody throat tissue was still hanging on the tip of the arrow. Xia Hu clutched his throat and fell off the horse. He didn't want to die, but his life was passing by quickly. Thus ended his sinful life.

Yang Zaixing shouted, "Kill the enemy army and leave no one alive!"

This was the first time Yang Zaixing issued an order to kill. Two thousand Song soldiers galloped on horseback, wielding spears and swords, and killed the fleeing Xixia soldiers.

Chapter 411 Fortune Telling

Chen Qing's [-] troops arrived in Longxi County at dusk, and when he learned that Huyanlei led the army and civilians to resist the attack of the [-] Xixia Army, Chen Qing immediately ordered all the soldiers to be promoted to a higher level, with a reward of [-] guan. For the general commander.

Hu Yanlei felt elated for the first time since being chased and killed by Jiang Yanxian in Xiangyang.

Chen Qing is also bound to win Longxi County. If he can't win Gongzhou, his westward advance will encounter great obstacles. The gate to the Hexi Corridor.

If you want to control Xihe Road, you must capture Lanzhou. A decisive battle with the Xixia Army is inevitable, but now is not the time.

In addition, Gongzhou also has an important product, that is, the saltpeter mine, which is located eighty miles south of Longxi County, where the imperial court once opened a mine.

Not long after entering Longxi County, Chen Qing couldn't take a break, so he first visited Li Qiao. This was the experience and lessons Chen Qing had learned in Qinzhou. If he wanted to control the states and counties, he must have the support of the famous local gentry.

In fact, not only Chen Qing understood this point, but also the puppet Qi army, but the puppet Qi wooed the No. [-] prominent family Wu family, and this was the reason why Wu Shangang, the county magistrate, was unwilling to surrender to the Song army at first.

Li Qiao personally greeted Chen Qing in front of the gate, and said with a smile on his face, "Warmly welcome the Jiedu envoy to come to the door, and make the Li family flourish!"

"It's right to come to thank you. Without the help of everyone in the Li family, my scout battalion may suffer heavy losses. Thank you Patriarch for your full help."

"The Jiedu Envoy is too polite, as it should be, Jiedu Envoy, please sit in the mansion and rest for a while!"

"Patriarch please!"

The two entered Li's mansion humbly, came to the VIP hall where the guests and the host were seated, and the maid came in to serve tea.

Li Qiao said happily: "The best news I heard today is that General Yang Zaixing shot and killed the bandit Xia Baihu. The city was full of joy. How many families in the city were killed by him and lost their relatives. He was full of evil, and finally got his retribution! "

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "This Xia Baihu actually led two thousand Xixia troops to lurk in Gongzhou. It was really beyond my expectation. I wonder if the Patriarch is aware of the situation of the Xixia people in Gongzhou? Besides this Xia Baihu, there are others The army?"

"Does the Jiedushi think there will be?"

Chen Qing nodded, "I think there should be, otherwise where will the supplies for the two thousand troops come from?"

Li Qiao sighed and said: "Jiedu Envoy's guess is correct. There is also a Xixia army in Dingxi County, with about ten thousand people. They have come a long time ago, and one is stationed in Dingxi County. Xia Baihu's army is just their vanguard. military."

"How many people are there in Dingxi County?"

"There are not many people, 2000 families, about [-] people. I think the reason why the Xixia Army chose Dingxi County has nothing to do with the people. The main reason is that it is close to Lanzhou and the supply is convenient. The second is that the city is relatively strong. They have been waiting for the opportunity to occupy Longxi. County, but in the end the Jiedu Envoy took the lead."

Chen Qing nodded with a smile and said, "I may have a rather strange question. After I entered the city, I only knew that there was a county government office and a county magistrate. Why didn't there be a state government office and a prefectural magistrate?"

Li Qiao laughed and said: "Originally there were. The county government and the state government were together, half of the family. After the Jin soldiers occupied Gongzhou, they felt that there was no need to set up a state government in Gongzhou, so they abolished the state government. Stay in the county government."

"So that's the case, but I still want to restore the state government and let my nephew Wang Huai be the magistrate. Does the Patriarch think there will be any problems?"

Li Qiao pondered for a while and said: "To be honest with the Jiedushi, Gongzhou has always been the balance between the Li and Wu families. I used to be the prefect. After the Jinbing abolished the state, the puppet Qi supported the Wu family. If the Jiedushi wanted to keep Gong If the state is stable, then the Wu family's relationship must be handled well."

"How about Wu Shan?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Wu Shan is a very good magistrate. He is kind. He does not increase taxes on the people, does not harass the people. He has done a good job in building roads and bridges and running schools. Five of the seven schools in the city are newly run by him. I suggest that he continue As the county magistrate, the Wu family will be stable."

Chen Qing nodded, he exchanged some pleasantries, and got up to leave.

He rode slowly on the main street of Longxi County. Longxi County is indeed very lively. There are shops on both sides of the street, people come and go, shouting and hawking constantly, every restaurant is full of guests, and the lights are bright, even though it is night , but business is still good, business prosperity can be seen.

Chen Qing didn't eat dinner, he suddenly felt very hungry, so he smiled to the dozens of soldiers behind him: "Let's go have dinner!"

When everyone came to a big restaurant, the waiter warmly greeted them, "Masters, welcome to the restaurant. This small restaurant is the largest restaurant in Gongzhou. All kinds of dishes are authentic, and satisfaction is guaranteed!"

Just as a soldier was about to report Chen Qing's identity, Chen Qing glared at him, then asked with a smile, "Is there any good sake?"

"Yes! Yes! Both sake and wine are available. Please come upstairs, military lords!"

The guards sat downstairs to eat, so that they could watch the horses. Chen Qing and several guards went up to the second floor and found two tables by the window. The guards sat at one table, and Chen Qing sat at the other table alone.

He ordered a pot of hot sake and some hot tea. Gongzhou is famous for its mutton, so he ordered some more mutton pies.

Chen Qing sat alone at the small table and poured himself a drink. At this moment, a Taoist fortune-teller came up from downstairs, shaking a copper bell and said slowly: "Looking at the hexagrams by face to face, revealing the secrets of heaven, twenty words and one hexagram."

The Taoist walked up to Chen Qing and said with a smile: "The small way is for the sake of cultivating Taoism, so the general should be counted as a hexagram?"

Chen Qing wore the armor of an ordinary general without any identity characteristics, so he smiled slightly and said: "If you can tell me my military position, I will give you a high price to calculate!"

The Taoist smiled slightly and said: "Those who can lead soldiers will not be inferior to commanders. Although there are several Qinzhou army commanders, there are not many who can leave the barracks to drink here. How can I not guess who you are? Change the subject!"

"No need to change!"

Chen Qing took out ten taels of silver and put it on the table, "I'll count my face, let me tell you about my origin first!"

The Taoist carefully looked at Chen Qing's face, and said, "My words may be a little unpleasant, don't blame the general!"

"You say whatever you want, and I will listen whatever you want!"

"There are hundreds of human faces, and 37 generals have damaged foreheads and missing right eyebrows. The generals may have lost their parents early and their relatives have withered."

There is always something in Chen Qing's mind that puzzles him. It is reasonable that he just borrowed someone else's skin, but in the past two years, he found that his appearance is more and more like the appearance of his previous life, and even the scar on his forehead that he had since childhood also appeared. .

He had always thought that looks were born from the heart, but now the face of this Taoist priest surprised him, the other party actually saw his own destiny from his appearance.

"go on!"

"The general Yintang has a small cross pattern, which was originally the appearance of a young man who died young, but the general's sky is wide and full, his ears are over his eyebrows, and his eyebrows are colored. "