Fenghou

The firewood room was full of rotten rags, and there were many dead rats, emitting a stench, but there was a stone slab hidden under the rags, and a tunnel under the slab led directly to the outside of the city.

……

Night finally fell. After marching for nearly ten days, the exhausted Xixia soldiers all lived in the homes of the common people and rested early.

There were [-] soldiers patrolling the city at night. In the hall of the county government office, Xia Lian was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his hands, his eyes full of anxiety.

Until this time, he was able to calm down and think carefully about the serious consequences he was about to face. How could he explain to the emperor?Explain to the court?

Although he can despise Cao Baozong and laugh at Cao Baozong, Cao Baozong did perform poorly on the battlefield, but he is like a fish in water in the court.

When Cao Baozong returned to the court, how would he sue the emperor?He could completely shirk the responsibility for the defeat to himself and several other commanders, because the defeat caused by the discord between the generals was a perfect excuse.

Coupled with the influence of the Cao family in the court, he has almost no chance of winning this lawsuit. He will not be able to get rid of this crime if he commits the crime next time. The emperor will definitely kill the five of them to rectify the military regulations.

If Cao Baozong had been decisively killed at the beginning, there would be no troubles in the future, and Xia Lian was full of remorse.

"It's better to surrender to the Jurchen!" Xia Lian raised his head and sighed softly.

But will the Jurchens return them to Xixia?

It was already very late at night, and Xia Lian was still pacing back and forth in the lobby, sighing.

……

Chen Qing's army had arrived in Egan County and stopped ten miles away. He had sent two thousand troops to escort more than 1 people from Egan County to Lanzhou City for temporary residence.

Sure enough, as Chen Qing expected, the Xixia people still turned Agan County into a pure military city. This is inevitable, not just for housing, but more for safety and elimination of hidden dangers. They will definitely drive all the people out of the city .

The reason why Chen Qing wanted to give the Xixia army some food was because he was worried that the Xixia army would plunder and slaughter several counties in Lanzhou after they had nothing to do.

It's like fishing, using a little grain to make a nest, and attracting the Xixia army to Agan County for centralized annihilation.

In a marching account, Chen Qing spread out the scouts to draw a map of Agan County, and said to Liu Cui and Niu Gao: "The county is too small to open up a isolation zone, which creates the conditions for us to attack the county with fire, and the buildings in the city It is mainly made of brick and wood, and the buildings are very dense. Once it burns, the whole city will be burned, but the Xixia army is not stone, they will definitely put out the fire with all their strength, and there are [-] defenders on the top of the city, with sharp bows and crossbows. Arrows prevented Song soldiers from getting close to the city wall, so I considered setting fire from inside the city first."

Liu Cui and Niu Gao looked at each other, and they both laughed, "It seems that both of them are ready to attack first!"

Chen Qing nodded, and said solemnly: "Yang Zaixing's scouts have already dug a tunnel in the city, leading directly to the outside of the east city, and waited for the enemy soldiers to fall asleep before going in and setting fire, but we must arrange on the outside, how to deal with the enemy's breakout. "

……

At two o'clock, fifty soldiers of the Song army wearing Xixia army armor stooped and rushed along a ravine. They were only [-] steps away from the city wall. There were Xixia soldiers patrolling back and forth on the top of the city, but the Xixia soldiers could not see inside the ravine. situation.

Several soldiers pushed away a boulder, revealing a cave, which was a tunnel they dug in five days, and everyone got into the tunnel one by one.

More than [-] Xixia soldiers lived in the mansion of the air traffic control. The stone slabs in the firewood room were slowly pushed away, and a Song army soldier came out. He opened the firewood room door and looked into the yard. The yard was very quiet. , there was no movement, and there were no soldiers on the top of the city.

There is a small gate in the yard, and a very long alley outside. The key to the small gate is in the hands of the soldiers.

He opened the small door, and with a wave of his hand, one by one soldiers came out of the firewood room and ran towards the small door. Two soldiers stayed behind. This was their escape route, and someone had to stay behind.

At the same time, Chen Qing's army had surrounded the county from all directions. Chen Qing personally led [-] elite troops to ambush outside the north city gate. Agan County is a small county with only one city gate in the north.

There are four Xixia soldiers patrolling back and forth in the city, but they are mainly distributed on the two main roads, east-west and north-south, so there is no need to patrol the cobweb alleys.

Fifty soldiers carried fifty bags of kerosene on their backs. They mainly set fires in the east city. Firstly, it was convenient for them to retreat, and secondly, they would not be discovered by patrol soldiers. Many, relatively old, and the houses are very dense, once a fire catches fire, it will burn in pieces.

They actually acted as an introduction to attract the defenders on the top of the city to fight the fire. The real igniters were the [-] Song soldiers outside the city.

Fifty soldiers ran in the alleys. Each of them carried a leather bag filled with [-] catties of kerosene, and sprayed kerosene on the roofs and wooden walls of houses. Start the fire.

Not long after, a wooden house in the southeast caught fire first, followed by several nearby wooden houses, and almost at the same time, several fires in the northeast also ignited.

The Xixia soldiers on the head of Dongcheng immediately noticed the abnormality and sounded the alarm, 'Dang!when!when!when! '

Many soldiers woke up from their dreams and ran out one after another. At this time, the fire points in the east of the city began to connect together, thick smoke billowed, and the fire was raging. The soldiers on the top of the east city ran down to fight the fire.

Xia Lian fell asleep lying on the table, and the harsh alarm bell suddenly woke him up. He heard the shouts outside, quickly pushed the table away, stood up and came to the door, his eyes widened suddenly, the fire in the east city was blazing, thick Smoke billows.

Xia Lian suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Could it be that Song Jun... set fire to the city?

He immediately realized the greatest risk in Egan County, which was the enemy's fire attack. With sweat dripping down his forehead, Xia Lian hurriedly shouted: "Order the whole army to put out the fire!"

The entire city began to become chaotic. At this time, countless gunpowder arrows were shot from outside the city, and more and more places were on fire, and fires were also burning on the four walls. When they reached the top of the city, they set it on fire, so that the soldiers of the Xixia Army could not escape to the top of the city.

The entire east city was engulfed in flames and thick smoke, and it began to spread rapidly to the west city, and the west city was also on fire everywhere. The Xixia soldiers in the city could no longer put out the fire, and ran around in panic. Many people fled to the city gate, and the soldiers scrambled for their lives. , trampled on each other, countless casualties, screams, cries resounded throughout the city.

Outside the city gate, Chen Qing led three thousand crossbowmen ready, and the three thousand crossbowmen coldly aimed at the city gate...

Chapter 471

It was getting brighter, and the fire in the city of Agan County was still burning. The three sides of the city walls were covered with corpses of Xixia soldiers in disorder.

But the most shocking thing was the gate of the city, densely packed with thousands of corpses, the Xixia soldiers in the city were desperately fleeing, but [-] Song soldiers shot and killed them mercilessly with their crossbows.

The city gate has been destroyed by the fire, and only half of the charcoal-burnt wooden frame is still hanging on the city wall. Through the city gate, you can see that the fire in the city is still burning, but the smoke has subsided a little, and you can clearly see the street The corpses of Xixia soldiers who died of smoke were lying on the bed.

In the end, none of the [-] Xixia troops could leave the county alive.

War is so cruel, it's either you die or I live, especially the war between different races, it is even more merciless.

Chen Qing left [-] soldiers to deal with the funeral, mainly responsible for burying the corpses and cleaning up the ruins. He led the army to Lanzhou City and joined Yang Zaixing's [-] cavalry.

Lanzhou City was called Jincheng County in the Tang Dynasty. It is now called Lanzhou County. It is a large county with tall and thick walls, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

After Yang Zaixing entered the city, he had executed all Xixia officials and some party members and bullies, confiscated the property of the people that the government and bullies had seized, and returned all the property to the original owners.

Chen Qing led the army to Lanzhou City, Yang Zaixing and Liu Qiong took Yu Shaoyou and other officials out of the city to welcome Chen Qing's arrival.

Chen Qing smiled at Yang Zaixing: "My soldiers haven't had a good rest these few nights, so you arrange them to camp quickly. I'll just ask the magistrate Yu about the situation in the county."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Yang Zaixing and Liu Qiong hurried to arrange accommodation for the army.

Chen Qing asked Yu Shaoyou again with concern: "How are the people in Agan County resettled?"

Yu Shaoyou heard that all the [-] Xixia troops were burned to death in Agan County, and none of them survived.

He didn't dare to be negligent, and said respectfully: "Reporting to the Jiedu envoy, some old and weak people are housed in vacant houses and temples. There are not enough vacant houses, and the humble officials set up hundreds of large tents in several vacant lands to house them temporarily."

Chen Qing thought for a while and asked again: "How much military rations are there for Xixia people in the city?"

"About [-] shi."

Chen Qing was startled, "There are so many?"

"The Jiedu envoy didn't know that there was only [-] shi of military rations in Lanzhou. Later, when General Yang arrived, he brought [-] shi of grain from Dingxi County, Gongzhou with a camel team."

Chen Qing was a little confused, three thousand camels were following his main force!Where did Yang Zaixing get the camel team from?

He hurriedly said to his soldiers: "Go and find General Yang!"

After a while, Yang Zaixing rushed over, clasped his fists and said, "See Dutong!"

"Let me ask you, what happened to your camel caravan?"

Yang Zaixing bowed and said, "It was captured by the humble officer in Dingxi County. A total of [-] camels were transported from Xingqing Mansion to deliver salt, tea, cheese and other supplies. They were stopped in Dingxi County, and the camels were seized by the humble officer."

"There are five thousand camels!" Chen Qing was really surprised.

Yang Zaixing said with a smile: "I was surprised at the beginning, but later I realized that camels are very common livestock in Xixia, just like our mules and donkeys. There are tens of thousands of camels in the government of Xixia alone, and the larger caravans usually have them. A thousand camels."

Chen Qing chuckled, "It seems that I am ignorant."

"This time we cleared up the five warehouse cities, and gained a lot. I'm sending people to make a clean list, and I will submit it to the capital as soon as possible!"

War is like this, the winner will get countless dividends, including land occupation, huge booty, ransom for prisoners of war, etc., while the loser often cannot recover for several years.

This time the Xixia and Song armies competed for Xihe Road. The various military supplies and food prepared by Xixia alone consumed nearly 30% of the national power of the Xixia Kingdom. For example, in the Battle of Xuanhe, the Xixia Army defeated [-] Tongguan troops , Captured millions of spears from the Song army, and now more than half of them are paid for in this battle.

Needless to say, the previous 2 prisoners of war had to be redeemed. Chen Qing would definitely raise the price. Twenty sheepskins were not enough, and a soldier needed at least thirty sheepskins. This would be a huge expense.

It is foreseeable that this war will make the Xixia Kingdom unable to recover for several years.

There were a lot of things to do in the military camp, and Yang Zaixing temporarily resigned. Chen Qing rode a horse on the bustling Jincheng Street.

"Now caravans from all over the world gather in Lanzhou, waiting for the Yellow River to completely thaw, so this time is very lively. In summer, merchants from the Western Regions, Xixia, and Hexi Corridor will gather in Lanzhou again. This place has been a prosperous business since ancient times. big city!"

"How many people are there in Lanzhou County now?"

"Humble jobs now only have a tentative population estimate."

Chen Qing glanced at him, "You are the Lanzhou Sihu, and you don't have exact data on the population yet?"

Yu Shaoyou hurriedly said: "Jiedu envoys don't know, the lowly position is Lanzhou Sihu before Jingkang. After the Jin soldiers invaded, the population changed a lot. Xixia later took control of Lanzhou and moved many Han people to Lanzhou. The key is that the Xixia government's population statistics are not correct, and a large number of slaves are missing."

"Then how many people do you estimate?"

"It is estimated that there are 5 households with a population of 5 or [-], but according to the Xixia government's statistics, there are only [-] households, a total of [-] households are missing, and the population is [-] or [-]. They should all be slaves, not civilians."

"Why are there slaves?" Chen Qing asked puzzled.

Yu Shaoyou sighed and said, "It is the Han slaves plundered from other prefectures who were planted in Lanzhou to grow wheat in the Hehuang Valley. Half of the land over there was occupied by Xixia. These slaves are responsible for farming and spend the winter in Lanzhou. After the beginning of spring, I will go to the Hehuang Valley to plant wheat, and the Yellow River will pass after it thaws."

"Do you need military escort?"

"Generally not necessary. Their family is in Lanzhou. Don't be afraid of them running away. Seventy percent of the grain has to be handed over every year, and I keep [-] percent to support the family. It's been several years. Please look at the Jiedu envoy, that's over there!"

Yu Shaoyou pointed to the northwest direction, and Chen Qing immediately saw a large number of thatched huts and mud houses, all of which were rammed with mud. The roofs were covered with thatch or wheat straw.

"This is the residential area of ​​the serfs, and it is also the lowest level of the people in Lanzhou. Every family is so poor that they can barely make ends meet."

Chen Qing looked towards the shantytown, only to see that it was pitch black, there was no one to be seen, and there was a dead silence.

"Look at it!"

Chen Qing turned his horse's head and headed towards the shanty town, and all the soldiers followed immediately.

The shantytowns are filled with rotten alleys, smelly, and many houses have no doors, only a piece of rag is hung on them, it is dark, and nothing can be seen.

After walking around, Chen Qing felt really uncomfortable. This is not a living environment for people, it is not even as good as a pigsty.

He immediately said to Yu Shaoyou: "Immediately select twenty or thirty elders from the shantytowns, come to the county government office, and I will talk to them!"

"now?"

Chen Qing nodded, "Right now!"

……

Half an hour later, a county magistrate led more than twenty old men in shabby clothes into the county government meeting hall, where Chen Qing was waiting for them.

All the old people knelt down and saluted, "Mr. Jiedu Envoy!"

"You don't need to be too polite, old men, please get up quickly!"

Chen Qing asked the soldiers to arrange seats, and invited more than [-] elderly people to sit down.

Chen Qing said slowly: "Everyone, please come here. There are a few important things to announce. Let me tell you the first thing. From today onwards, slavery status will be abolished. There will be no more serfs. You are all civilians. The county government will give you a new one. Fabricate household registration."

Everyone was very excited, and many old people couldn't help covering their faces and crying. There were no slaves in the Song Dynasty, but Xixia made them slaves, which was an unforgettable shame for them.

Chen Qing and the others stabilized their emotions a bit, and continued: "Changing the household registration is only the first step, and the next step is to improve everyone's life.

I don't want to wait until next year to talk about it. It will be implemented now. I consider returning half of the food that each family turned in last year. First of all, we must ensure that everyone can have enough food.

Then I thought about distributing the land cultivated by each household to everyone, as the private property of each family, and tax-free for ten years. "

Everyone was stunned. They couldn't believe their ears. There was no sound in the meeting hall. After a while, an old man said timidly: "Jedushi is not joking! Are you really going to give us the land or exempt from tax for ten years? "

Chen Qing nodded, "It's not a joke. I will give each family a small tent. In the cold weather, I will give each family three sheepskins. The whole family can live on their own land together."

All the elders finally understood that it was not a joke, and the lobby suddenly burst into joy.

Chapter 472 Information

Of course, Chen Qing understands that the most important resource of Jinglue Xihe Road is the population, to be precise, the Han people. To the Xixia people, these serfs are just foreign slaves, and party talents are the precious resources of the Xixia Kingdom, so the Xixia people don’t care. The life and death of these serfs.

But for Chen Qing, it was just the opposite. He didn't care about the life and death of the party members at all. The Han serfs were his precious resources. The self-cultivating farmers in the Hehuang area no longer need to live in dirty and dilapidated mud huts.

Not long after he publicly announced the plan to divide the land and return grain, the shantytowns began to beat gongs and drums, and all the people rushed out of their homes to cheer, men, women and children jumped and danced, and it was even more joyful than New Year's Eve.

Chen Qing's promise was immediately effective. Soon, the soldiers began to distribute sheepskins door-to-door, three for each family. On cold spring nights, they are very effective in keeping warm, especially for the elderly and children. They are simply life-saving fetishes.

Chen Qing also ordered three sheepskins for each household in Egan County. There were about [-] households and more than [-] people in Egan County. Twenty-five thousand Xixia soldiers were burned to death in Egan County. No one wants to go back to this fierce place.

So Chen Qing considered relocating them to the Tao River Valley. There were too few Han people there, and large tracts of land were barren. He had recruited thousands of households from Bashu before, plus these two thousand Han households, each household was allocated There is still no problem with one hundred acres of land, and the tax will be exempted for another ten years, and the Taohe Valley should be able to gradually develop.

Chen Qing is inspecting the situation of the people in Egan County. Most of the people in Egan County are housed in some empty houses and temples. Only a few people live in tents. On the ground.

Several old people gathered together to bask in the sun. Chen Qing sat on the big rock next to him and asked with a smile, "Listen to the accent, the old people don't seem to be from Egan County?"

"We are from Longzhou, and we came to Egan County many years ago."