Fenghou

Chapter 441

Under the repeated pleas of Liu Yu, the puppet Qi emperor, the Jurchens finally sent troops. Wanyan Wushu led [-] cavalry to the south and defeated Li Heng's army at Yangchigang, the eastern suburb of Bianliang.

Li Heng and his deputy Zhai Cong led thousands of remnants and fled south in panic, but were surrounded by Li Cheng's [-] troops in the south of Xuchang County.

Li Heng led his army to break out of the siege. In the end, only less than 1000 people succeeded in breaking through under the leadership of Lieutenant General Zhai Cong. The rest of the soldiers were wiped out, and Li Heng also died in battle.

The Song Army's first Northern Expedition ended in a disastrous defeat.

At this time, Yue Fei also defeated Kong Yanzhou's army at Queshan in Caizhou, and Kong Yanzhou packed up the remnants and retreated northward.

Yue Fei didn't chase after him. At this time, Zhai Cong led more than a thousand remnant troops back to Xiangyang, and brought back news that Li Heng's entire army had been destroyed.

Yue Fei then took over the 1 extra troops left by Li Heng, as well as generals such as Dong Xian and Peng Qi. Yue Fei realized that the Jin soldiers were not coming well, so he began to shrink his defense line, abandoned Nanyang, and defended the front line from Rangcheng to Qinyang.

Wanyan Wushu led [-] cavalry and more than [-] puppet Qi troops to start a full-scale counterattack. He led the army to the Jianghuai River.

The [-] Song army was once again defeated by Wanyan Wushu's [-] kidnapped horses and Tiefutu. The Song army was defeated and fled south in panic. The Jianghuai land they captured before was lost again. Less than half of the [-] troops fled back to the south bank of the Yangtze River.

Wanyan Wushu, who had been defeated repeatedly in Sichuan and Shaanxi, regained his bravery that swept the world in the Central Plains. After defeating the Song Army on the Eastern Front, he turned around and went to Jingxiang, and successively captured Caizhou, Guangzhou, and Dengzhou. Cheng and Yue Fei's army fought fiercely for several days, and both sides won and lost.

At this time, the Jin soldiers fought for nearly ten days in a row, and their bodies were very tired, and their stamina was not going to continue. Wanyan Wushu finally realized that he could not attack Jingxiang, so he stopped attacking. military.

Yue Fei ordered Dong Xian and Peng Qi to lead [-] troops to guard Rangcheng. He led [-] troops to march south, defeated Li Cheng's general Jiang Yuan in Gwangju, and regained Gwangju. He then sent his general Wang Gui to Anqing Mansion. Order Tang Huai to be stationed in Huangzhou, and Yao Zheng to be stationed in Qizhou.

In this battle, the [-] Jurchen elite once again killed the Song army, and the eastern Jianghuai line was wiped out, but the Jingxiang peripheral state capitals on the western Jianghuai line were saved, which is also a major achievement.

The Song army failed to recover the Jianghuai River, and the court's main peace faction revived. Prime Minister Qin Hui strongly demanded that the blind advance be held accountable. At the beginning of October, Zhao Ding, the backbone of the main combat faction, was dismissed from office.

……

Just when the Song Army was defeated in Jianghuai, Chen Qing led the [-] Xihe Army to occupy Hezhou silently, and the army stationed in Fanghan County.

There are not many Han people in Hezhou. They are mainly Qiang people and Tubo people. They are basically pastoral areas. The Han people are mainly concentrated in Han County and Ninghe County. In the territory of the Tubo people, there are not many party members.

This is also the characteristic of the west since the Han and Tang Dynasties. The government only manages the county seat, and the army is stationed in the county seat and military village.

The Song army captured Hezhou without any battle. After they entered Hezhou, the [-] Xixia troops withdrew from Hezhou and returned to Lanzhou.

Fanghan County is a middle-level county. The county seat is quite large, but its population is small. There are only more than 2000 households, half of which are Han Chinese. The rest are Qiang, Tubo and Dangxiang people. There are no ethnic conflicts, the atmosphere in the city is calm, and there is no such fierce struggle in Didao County.

The main reason is that the Taoshui River Valley has an important position and is a major grain-producing area. Naturally, the Xixia people also value Didao County very much and immigrated in large numbers.

On the third day after Chen Qing led his army to enter Fanghan County, Hu Yanlei also rushed from Huangzhou to Fanghan County.

"Beizhi bought a restaurant and an inn in the city of Huangzhou. There are many Han people there, almost all of whom escaped from Shaanxi Road. There are 10,000+ people who live by growing wheat. Ren Dejing is very capable. , Huangzhou, Xi'an Prefecture, and Kuozhou were well managed. There were 8000 troops, including [-] cavalry, and the food and grass were all settled by the army.

However, I heard that the puppet Qi army only had 1000 soldiers in Huangzhou and Xi'an, and the remaining 6000 were Ren Dejing's private army. He was the local emperor of Huangzhou, Xi'an, and Kuozhou, and his wife was Tubo people, so he got the support of the Tubo people. "

"Have you found Ren Zhongqun?" Chen Qing asked again.

"I heard about Ren Zhongqun. He is indeed in Huangzhou, but I haven't seen him. I guess he is hiding somewhere to refine silver, but it's just a guess. There is no evidence. I will find out his whereabouts as soon as possible."

Chen Qing nodded, "Be careful not to be discovered by the enemy."

"Humble job understands!"

Hu Yanlei only stayed in Hezhou for half a day, bought a batch of goods, and hurried back.

At this time, Chen Qing got the news that the envoy sent by Li Qianshun, son of Xixia, had arrived in Chengji County.

Chen Qing appointed Wang Lun, the commanding envoy, as the military envoy of Hezhou, and led an army of [-] troops to station in Yuhan County, while he led the army back to Qinzhou.

It was already mid-October at this time, the new wind was rising, and the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains suffered a disastrous defeat, but Chen Qing, who was thousands of miles away, knew nothing about it. He led the army to march on the endless grassland, and in the distance was the snow-capped mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In the north is the Loess Plateau, which is full of gullies, with majestic momentum and magnificent mountains and rivers.

In the distance, a herdsman blew the melodious flute, which aroused the homesickness of the soldiers. Above their heads, several eagles circled in the blue sky.

……

The construction of Chengji County has been completed, and the people outside the city have also moved back to their new homes. After all, Chengji County has a large population, with more than 20 people, plus tens of thousands of military dependents, the population is close to [-], far exceeding Ganquan Fort. , with the support of a huge population, the county quickly recovered its prosperity.

Of course, Lu Xiu also moved into his new home. His new house covers an area of ​​[-] acres and is the largest of the official houses, which fits Chen Qing's status as a Jiedushi.

Lu Xiu showed compassion and kindness when interviewing servants, and hired all the servants introduced by the housekeeper Tian Wenli, so that the number of servants and servants in her mansion reached 45. Lu Xiu also realized that there were too many servants, but she also There is no way, since they have signed the contract, they can't go back on their promises, and can only wait until the contract is over.

Lu Xiu has been pregnant for seven months, and she walks in the mansion all day long with a big belly. Two midwives come to understand the situation every day and accompany her for a walk. Yu Lian and Yu Ying follow behind the mistress, and beside her is the tall Tao Qiniang and Tao Baniang, with four maidservants behind them, walked in a mighty group in the mansion.

"Yes! Keep your steps steady, and follow your breathing with your steps. Just like that, try to look at the flowers and plants around you, and keep your heart peaceful and happy."

The two midwives are indeed professionals. How to take a walk, how much water to drink, what to eat, every detail has been carefully considered. Otherwise, is it so easy to earn [-] Wen a day?

Lu Xiu walked along the inner circle of the mansion's wall, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and walked a thousand steps each time. She also felt good. The child was very naughty and lively in her stomach. In the words of the midwife, the child must be healthy because he is full of energy.

Lv Xiu moved into the East Courtyard. The East Courtyard is where Li Qingzhao and Zhao Qiaoyun live. It consists of two very elegant small courtyards. Zhao Qiaoyun also has two maids, both of whom are fifteen or sixteen years old. She didn't want it at first, but Lu Xiu put When her husband moved out, Zhao Qiaoyun had no choice but to accept it.

With two maids, Zhao Qiaoyun was freed from the complicated chores, and she began to devote herself to literature and painting. She has the excellent genes left by her father, and her literary and painting attainments have surpassed those who have never been attentive in reading. Senior sister Lu Xiu became Li Qingzhao's most proud closed disciple.

"Qiaoyun, where is Master?" Lu Xiu didn't see Li Qingzhao.

Zhao Qiaoyun greeted her with a smile and said, "Master has gone to the teahouse."

"Hey! Didn't you say you don't need to go?"

"Master said that she must experience the atmosphere of the market, and she will be inspired."

"She went alone?"

"Of course Xiaoman and Chunniang are with her."

"Did you say when you'll be back?"

Zhao Qiaoyun shook her head, "I guess she won't come back until dinner, she said she still needs to meet some poetry friends."

"Then what are you doing here alone? Chat with me."

Zhao Qiaoyun hesitated and said, "Then I'll find some more books by the way."

"Whatever, let's go!"

Lu Xiu married thousands of books, but she didn't bother to read any of them, which made Zhao Qiaoyun cheaper.

Zhao Qiaoyun stepped forward to support Lu Xiu, and the group walked through the small gate to the back house.

Chapter 442 Return

Yi'an Teahouse opened as scheduled, and immediately caused a sensation in Chengji County. Soon, the news spread like wings, and the whole Northwest knew that Li Qingzhao, a world-famous poetess, was actually in Qinzhou.

First of all, literati from Qinzhou came to the teahouse one after another, and many literati came from Jingzhao just to see this poetess who fascinated the world.

At first, Li Qingzhao was very happy and frequently received literati and inkmen who came to visit her in the teahouse, but after a long time, she was a little bit overwhelmed.

She simply wrote a poem in front of the teahouse, "Yongle Yu·Sunset Melting Gold".

The setting sun melts gold, the evening clouds merge, where are people?Dyeing the willows is thick with smoke, blowing the plum flute to resent, you know how much spring is.During the Lantern Festival, the weather is harmonious, and there is no wind and rain next time.Come to call, sweet car and BMW, thank him for drinking, friends and poets.

Zhongzhou’s prosperous day, the girls are too busy, remember that they tend to be three-five-five.Pave the Cuiguaner, twist the golden snow willows, the clusters and belts compete for the support of Chu.Now I am haggard and windy, afraid of going out at night.It is better to listen to laughter under Xiang and Lian'er.

She used this word to express her feelings implicitly. She is old and wants to live in peace. She hopes that poetry lovers from all over the world will stop disturbing her.

This poem once again spread all over the Northwest. Perhaps everyone understood her mood, and the number of people who came to visit her was indeed much less.

But Li Qingzhao also has a few regular poetry friends, mainly a few professors of Qinzhou School, Zhang Xuan, Zhu Sui, Zheng Chu and Wang Linhai.

These four people were former Song Dynasty officials who fled from Hebei, Hedong, and Shaanxi to the Northwest. They lived in misery in various states and counties. After seeing the recruitment notice posted by Qinzhou, they all realized that this was Chen Qing. When recruiting talents, they rushed to Chengji County from all over the country to apply.

Of course, there are far more than the four of them. In this recruitment, a total of 35 officials from various prefectures and counties in the Song Dynasty who were unwilling to serve the Kingdom of Jin were recruited. Almost all of them were Jinshi-born, young and powerful, and they still had ideals. live.

Qinzhou State School definitely wouldn't need 35 professors, but Chen Qing used Qinzhou State School as a recruiting center in a disguised form, giving these officials a place to live and support, and then slowly use them later.

The teahouse is very large, the first floor is the lobby, the second floor and the backyard are elegant rooms, and in an elegant room on the second floor, Li Qingzhao and several poet friends are chatting about the current situation.

"I heard that the Northern Expedition of the Song Army suffered a disastrous defeat. Mr. Zhao was dismissed as prime minister, and the court's peace-seeking faction gained the upper hand. Life in Sichuan and Shaanxi will be difficult again in the future."

The person who spoke was Zhang Xuan, a native of Jingzhao, a Jinshi in the sixth year of Xuanhe. Acres of land farming for a living.

He was just a scholar, and he really couldn't bear the hard life of farming. After his youngest son died, he was about to leave Deshun Prefecture for Bashu. He happened to see that Qinzhou was recruiting professors of state studies. Those who had been officials were given priority. It was just for him. He came to Chengji County without hesitation.

He was allocated a yard covering an area of ​​one mu, with a monthly subsidy of six pennies and one stone of rice. In the cheap Northwest, this is a high income, enough for his family to have no worries about food and clothing.

Zhu Sui stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Brother Xianya, don't be too anxious. The Central Plains War is over. I'm afraid the Puppet Qi will not pay too much attention to Shaanxi!"

This Zhu Sui was the former magistrate of Didao County. Chen Qing couldn't find him in Didao County, but unexpectedly he went to Chengji County to apply for a professor of state studies.

Li Qingzhao took a sip of tea, and asked with a slight smile, "What do you think Brother Zhu said?"

Zhu Sui said with a chuckle: "Before, it was because the puppet Qi put too much resources on Shaanxi Road, which caused the battle in the Central Plains to be fought so badly. It is a painful experience. Liu Yu will definitely put his energy and money in the Central Plains. Xiao, Shaanxi Road will not be taken seriously by the false Qi Tai, after all, this is the territory of the Jin people, you can see that they don't take Xihe Road seriously at all."

Everyone heard that Zhu Sui had a point, and all turned their attention to him.

"What about the Kingdom of Jin?"

Zhang Xuan said again: "Jin Guo won't just watch Shaanxi Road get lost!"

Zhu Sui smiled and said, "The internal power struggle and factional struggle in the Kingdom of Jin are very fierce. It is said that the emperor of the Kingdom of Jin will not be able to last long. It is related to the ownership of the throne, so everyone ran back.

In fact, this time the Northern Expedition of the Song Army was originally an excellent opportunity, but they were greedy and went to attack Bianliang, endangering the survival of the Puppet Qi. This touched the major interests of the Kingdom of Jin, so the Kingdom of Jin sent troops.

But if they only took the Jianghuai River and did not threaten the Central Plains or the survival of the puppet Qi, the Jin soldiers would definitely not send troops. At this time, the northern border of the Song Dynasty should be pushed to the Huaihe River. "

Seeing that everyone was fascinated, Zhu Sui stroked his beard and said with a smile: "In this regard, Chen Dutong is smarter than the imperial court, and there are no garrisons in Pingliang Mansion and Longzhou, so he is determined not to take a step east. Turn around and march westward, and compete with Xixia for Xihe Road. Jin Guo and Puppet Qi saw that Xixia was coming to deal with us, so they didn't take us seriously. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Seize this opportunity to grow rapidly. It's too late for the puppet Qi to wake up and deal with us."

Everyone applauded together, "It's a pity that Brother Zhu Xian won't be Chen Dutong's aide!"

"Hehe! I'm just talking nonsense, everyone, drink tea! Drink tea!"

The tea was a bit cold, Zhang Xuan quickly raised his head and shouted, "Heat the water!"

A shrewd guy came in immediately with a hot water bottle, and said with a smile, "This is the mountain spring water that was just delivered in the morning. It has been boiled twice and is perfect for tea!"

"Okay! You put it down!"

The man put down the teapot and retreated knowingly.

Zhu Sui laughed and said, "Lady Yi An is really good at recruiting people. Even a waiter knows how to order tea when the water boils twice."

Li Qingzhao said with a chuckle: "I didn't recruit this, the shopkeeper Liu recruited it. I can only say that the shopkeeper has a good eye. Everyone, the mountain spring water in Longshan is good, much better than the water quality in Tokyo back then. Let's order tea and see Let's see who has the highest tea skill!"

……

The guy who delivered the water put down the kettle and went out through the back door. He went around and entered Xuechuan Restaurant through the back door. He immediately went to the shopkeeper's room.

Needless to say, this guy is naturally Xue Chuan Restaurant's undercover agent in Yi'an Teahouse, looking for information sources from Yi'an Teahouse.

In addition, Yi'an Tea House was opened by Mrs. Jiedushi. Of course, the shopkeeper wanted to find an opportunity to kidnap Mrs. Jiedushi, but after the restaurant opened, Mrs. Jiedushi never came again, which really disappointed the restaurant manager.

The owner of the restaurant is called Tuoba Qingtu and his Chinese name is Dou Qing. He was sent to Chengji County five years ago and has always been Xixia's intelligence chief in Qinzhou.

After listening to the report, Dou Qing shook his head and said: "These are all rotten talk, without the slightest practical significance. You need to get information from the officials. Last time Zheng Ping complained about the lack of food, Jiang Yanxian said that the tax revenue could not support the expansion of the army. Is it good information? Why is there no such information now?"

"The main reason is that shopkeeper Liu transferred me to Xueting, and most of the officials went to the elegant rooms of Yuxuan and Platform."

"Then you have to find a way to transfer it back. If you want money, I will give you, but I want information!"

"I understand that Xiao Wu on the platform is applying for a transfer. I'll see if I can be transferred to the platform. There may be hope."

Dou Qing was dissatisfied and said: "Then as soon as possible, the envoy from Xingqing Mansion criticized our ineffective intelligence collection, and the tea drinking season is coming soon, you pay attention to me."

The buddy nodded quickly, "Humble job must do its best to collect information!"

……

On the last day of October, Chen Qing finally returned to Chengji County with an army of [-]. They also returned with [-] large leather rafts, transporting [-] shi of grain to Chengji County.

The Song army used [-] camels and [-] mule carts to transport the grain from Didao County to Gong County, and then used leather rafts to transport the grain to Chengji County by using the Weihe River.

The food that came with the army this time is the first batch, and it will be delivered continuously in the future. Yang Yuanqing and Jiang Yanxian went outside the city to welcome the return of Du Tong.

"Where's Zheng Ping?"

Chen Qing didn't see Zheng Ping, so he couldn't help asking strangely.

"He went to Bashu with Zhou Kuan to recruit people, and by the way, to recruit troops. He has been away for more than a month, and he will be back soon."

"Is there any news from the Central Plains?" Chen Qing asked again.

He was in Lintao and Hezhou, almost isolated from the world, and had no idea about the situation of the imperial court.

"I heard that the Kingdom of Jin sent troops, and Wanyan Wushu led [-] Jurchen cavalry to the south, sweeping the Song army all the way, and the Song army was defeated. Almost all of Li Heng's army was wiped out, and half of Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun's [-] troops were also wiped out. They were driven back to the south of the Yangtze River, and only Yue Fei's army kept Jing Xiang, and there is news that Zhao Ding was dismissed, and the imperial court was again dominated by the faction that negotiated peace."

Chen Qing nodded. This was within his expectation. The time for the Northern Expedition was immature, and the court was still a little aggressive.

"Okay! Arrange the army, Lao Jiang, and I will give you the food. I'll go home and have a look. We'll talk about it another day!"

Calculated according to the time, his wife was about to give birth in more than a month, and Chen Qing really wanted to return home.