Fenghou

The disappearance of the supervising army Wang Mi shocked the court. More than 100 people who were not seen in their lives or died were mysteriously disappeared.

Of course, it is impossible for more than 100 people to disappear inexplicably. They must have been killed and silenced, and someone rushed ahead of them.

In the official room, Jiang Yanxian smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry about it, the officials of the Ministry of Punishment also said that when Wang Mi left by boat in Chengdu, the officials of the Chengdu government went to see him off. They just came to us to understand the situation."

Chen Qing sneered and said: "Actually, this is a very obvious thing. There will be no one else except Liu Guangshi. If I were him, I would definitely change the boatman, and then start in the Three Gorges Road. It is more complicated there, and it is out of Liu Guangshi's control." Limitation of Liability."

Zhang Xiao said from the side: "I guess the people in the Ministry of Punishment knew about it, but they didn't have any evidence. It's normal for them to suspect the envoy. For example, Wang Mi had some evidence in his hands, and the envoy silenced him."

Chen Qing walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said, "Between Liu Guangshi and I, my suspicion is even greater. After all, Liu Guangshi has no direct relationship with Wang Mi. He is a majestic Xuanfu envoy. It is estimated that the emperor and the ministers will not believe it, if I am not wrong, the emperor has actually confirmed that I did it, so he called me back to report on my work in March next year, after this time, I probably will never come back."

Zhang Xiao shook his head, "Jing Lue made a mistake. The emperor summoned you back and has nothing to do with Wang Mi. As I said before, the appointment of you as the Xuanfu envoy of Longyou was just to confuse you. In fact, when you defeated Xixia and Ren De Respect, when you capture Hehuang, your task will be solved, and the emperor will call you back, and the appointment of Liu Guangshi as the Xuanfu envoy of Sichuan and Shanxi is also to let him take over Xihe Road."

Chen Qing nodded, "Sima is right. In fact, I have thought about it carefully. As long as I am on Xihe Road, it is impossible for the imperial court to control Xihe Road like it controls Sichuan and Shaanxi. This is something that neither the emperor nor the imperial court can tolerate. Therefore, I must be transferred away from Xihe Road, so that the imperial court can take control smoothly. But the problem is, once the imperial court determines that I killed Wang Mi, I will not report my duties when I return to Lin'an, but go directly to prison to extract a confession. How can I surrender myself? snare?"

Jiang Yanxian's eyes became worried, "Actually, I want to remind the envoy that you do not represent yourself, but represent the interests of a group, including the generals who have followed you for many years, the officials you appointed, and Zhang Xiao and I. , once you have an accident, the whole group will be implicated, I hope that the manager will carefully consider it."

Chen Qing sighed, "You're right!"

At this time, a soldier saluted at the door, and Chen Qing asked, "What's the matter?"

"Report to Dutong, Madam sent someone to send news that Lin'an has a fast letter delivered to my home."

Chen Qing immediately understood that it must be Lu Yihao's letter, so he said to the two of them: "I'll stop here for today, if there is any situation, I will discuss it with you two!"

……

Lu Xiu walked into her husband's study with a cup of tea, and saw her husband standing in front of the window thinking, the letter from his grandfather had been opened and placed on the table.

Lu Xiu put the teacup on the table, "Husband, what happened?"

Chen Qing turned around and walked back to the table to sit down, smiled and said: "It's nothing serious, grandpa told me not to return to Lin'an tomorrow spring?"

"But the official called you back to report on your work, so you don't go back, okay?" Lu Xiu asked worriedly.

"Calling me back is actually not a job report, it's just tricking me back."

Lu Xiu's face changed greatly, "What happened?"

"It's really not a big deal, it's just that the officials don't want me to stay on Xihe Road, and they're afraid they won't be able to transfer me, so they used the job report as an excuse to trick me back."

"But if the protest order is not followed, isn't that a rebellion?"

"Of course not. How could my grandfather teach me to rebel? He just asked me to find an excuse not to go back. This kind of excuse is easy to find, such as the outbreak of war, and the government has nothing to do."

Seeing his wife's worried face, Chen Qing took her hand, let her sit on his lap, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, the general is outside, and the emperor's fate is not acceptable. It has been like this since ancient times. Let's see how everyone compromises in the end?"

Lu Xiu sighed and said, "How can you beat the imperial court by yourself?"

"I am not alone. So many generals, officials, and soldiers entrust their lives to me. If something happens to me, what will they do? Do you understand what I mean? I am no longer alone, but a group. It’s called the Xihe Road Group.”

"I understand, just like my grandfather, he often said that he is not alone. If he falls, many people will be liquidated."

"That's the reason. If I fall, I will definitely implicate your grandfather. If I ignore the court, the emperor really dare not touch your grandfather. He is afraid of provoking me to rebel. That's why my grandfather told me not to go back."

"I understand. My grandfather also said in the letter to me, let me remind you to protect your son and don't be taken as a threat!"

One sentence reminded Chen Qing that once Zhao Gou had no choice but to attack his son, he had to strengthen his family's security.

Chapter 519 Preparing for War

Ziwu Pass was silent in the snowy night, and Ziwu Pass was relatively safe in winter. Heavy snow blocked Ziwu Valley. The snow was so deep that even war horses could hardly walk, and it was basically impossible for the enemy troops to pass through.

So after winter, most of the defenders withdrew from the Guancheng and lived in sheepskin tents in the camp. The Guancheng was too cold, and they would freeze to death if they stayed overnight.

Usually there are only two or three soldiers on duty at night on Guancheng, lighting a fire, and a few people sit around the fire overnight.

In the middle of the night, hundreds of small white dots were moving on the snow in the distance. When they gradually approached, they turned out to be hundreds of Jurchen soldiers riding camels.

The Jurchens have lived in the ice and snow in the Northeast for a long time, and they are very familiar with snow warfare. They know that although war horses cannot travel long distances in the snow, camels can. As long as they have enough supplies, the army can pass through the Meridian Valley.

The Jurchen soldiers jumped off the camels one after another. The leading general was Wanyanliao, a commander of a thousand soldiers. He was ordered by Wanyan to drink and leave the village to capture Ziwu Pass and open up the strategic passage to Raofengling.

Ziwuguan was built in a dangerous place, easy to defend and difficult to attack, 300 people can block the attack of tens of thousands of people, if it is normal, it is difficult to attack.

But winter is different, especially after heavy snow falls, the defense of Ziwu Pass will definitely be relaxed, and that is the opportunity to seize Ziwu Pass.

The Jin soldiers changed into white cloaks one after another, and began to climb halfway up the mountain. It was midnight, and the three Song soldiers were already sleepy. They were sitting by the fire, leaning against the city wall.

Suddenly, the dog on the top of the city barked loudly. It seemed to have found something?

"Little Six, take a look."

"I'm not going, it must be that the beast is approaching the city wall again."

The three soldiers didn't want to move, thinking that it would only be harassed by wild animals. It was midnight when all kinds of wild animals came out to look for food.

At this time, the dog stopped barking, and the three of them closed their eyes again. Suddenly, the three of them felt something, and opened their eyes together, only to see countless spears in front of them against their throats.

……

Three days later, a thousand-strong Jurchen cavalry escorted Wanyan Chang and Wanyan Helisa were marching in Ziwu Valley.

Unlike Wanyan Wushu who likes to attack Dashan Pass, Wanyan Helisa prefers to attack on the eastern front. The first time he attacked Hanzhong was Shangluo Road.

This time going to Meridian Valley was Wan Yanchang's suggestion to him two months ago. Chen Qing was able to go to Ziwu Valley twice to enter Guanzhong. Why couldn't Jin Bing enter Hanzhong via Ziwu Valley?

Wanyan Drinking Lisa immediately accepted this suggestion.

"Beizhi started to repair the plank road in more than a month, and established a logistics point in the middle of Meridian Valley to stock up on food and supplies!"

Wanyan and Lisa reported his plan to Wanyanchang, "I found out that the biggest problem with the difficulty of marching in Ziwu Valley is food security. The team has to walk for seven or eight days, and many places are too heavy to pass. Soldiers must prepare dry food for at least ten days. , It’s okay if we can conquer the Ziwu Pass, but if we can’t, there will be a big problem with the food supply, so it is necessary to establish a food supply point, which is the top priority.”

"Is there any news from Ziwu Pass?" Wan Yanchang asked.

"not yet!"

At this time, a military camp appeared in front of it, surrounded by camp fences, and there were hundreds of large tents inside the camp fence. This was the temporary logistics transfer point established by Jin Bing. He hoarded three thousand shi of grain.

Just before the team arrived at the barracks, a general ran to report excitedly: "Report to the Supervising Army and Marshal, there is news from Ziwu Pass, and it has been captured the night before yesterday."

Wanyan and Lisa were overjoyed immediately, and couldn't even close their mouths with a smile.

Wan Yanchang asked calmly, "Have any soldiers of the Song Army escaped?"

"It is said that none of them escaped, and the beacon fire was not lit."

Wanyan Chang breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Wanyan Lisa: "From now on, we will block the news and continue to stockpile food, not only here, but also at Ziwuguan, and we will take down Raofengling before the spring of next year."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

……

At the same moment when Jin Bing began to march into Meridian Valley, tens of thousands of Xihe troops started winter training. The main event of winter training was long-distance running and training, running from Chengji County to Longxi County, and then back to Chengji County from Longxi County. Running hundreds of miles in a few days is a great test of the soldiers' physical strength and will.

As for digging ice into the river to bathe, that is the training homework that every soldier has to do every morning, which is already pediatrics.

The second major training subject in winter training is night combat, especially night siege training is the top priority.

The place of training was in Qingshui County. The city wall of Qingshui County was relatively low, and the ground was covered with snow. Even if soldiers fell from the siege ladder, they would not lose their lives.

At night, the drums and drums on the walls of Qingshui City were like thunder, and the shouts shook the sky. The people in the city knew that the army was practicing, and everyone slept well without being affected.

Yang Zaixing led 3000 people to act as the defender, while Gao Ding, Liu Cui, and Zheng Pingping took turns to lead the army to attack the city. The two sides agreed that with a limit of half an hour, if the attacker had 50 people on the city, it would be considered a victory. Otherwise, the defender would be victorious. win.

Twenty siege ladders were erected on the top of the city, holding shields and spears in both hands, and fought fiercely, but all the weapons were made of wood, and even using wooden weapons was just as dangerous. Soldiers kept screaming from the top of the city Falling into the thick snow, but even so, more than 20 people were injured in the first three days of night combat training, and the most seriously injured person broke his leg.

Chen Qing stood on the viewing platform at the top of the city, silently watching the fierce battle between the attacker and the defender, and Hu Yantong stood next to him. He has a bye tonight, and he will lead the army to fight tomorrow night.

"Compared with the actual siege, it seems to be missing a lot!" Hu Yantong sighed.

Chen Qing said indifferently: "You need to understand what training is for night combat. It's not training weapons, but training soldiers' night combat capabilities. If they can reach [-]% of the daytime level, then it's considered a success. As for the bows and arrows, rolling logs, stones, etc. that you are worried about. , it doesn't really matter."

"I heard that there will be fire oil training?"

"The fire oil training will be in January, and the Huo Huanjia is still being processed, and the quantity is insufficient."

At this time, a bell rang in the distance, and there was cheering from the top of the city. When the time came, Gaoding's army only attacked 23 people, and the siege failed. They rested for half an hour, and then Liu Cui led the army to attack the city.

Chen Qing didn't read any more, he rushed back to Chengji County overnight.

In the afternoon, he received news that Liu Zan had arrived in Chengji County, and it was said that he had come to join him.

Liu Zan is the eldest son of Liu Ziyu and the elder brother of Liu Cui. He is one of the Four King Kong under Wu Jie.

It is of course a good thing that a celebrity like Liu Zan will join him in the future, but it also puts Chen Qing in a dilemma. Knowing that Liu Zan has already been appointed as an official, how can he arrange for him?

Unexpectedly, Chen Qing had no choice but to meet the person first, and the two sides discussed it first.

In the morning, Chen Qing returned to Jinglue Mansion.

At this time, Zhu Sui, his official enlisted in the army, came up quickly and said, "General Liu Zan is studying engineering!"

Engineering is a school for training young craftsmen. It was established at the beginning of the year and has 360 students. They learn technologies such as crossbow making, forging, wood, gunpowder, papermaking, wine making, and agricultural tools. In fact, it is not only military technology, but also civil technology, such as papermaking, wine making, and agricultural tools. all these are.

The engineering school is very close to the Jinglue Mansion, and it is only two hundred steps away. When Chen Qing walked into the gate, he saw several trebuchets placed on the square, and Shi Ze, a military craftsman, was explaining the essentials of trebuchets to dozens of students.

Chen Qing saw Liu Zan in casual clothes at a glance.

"Why is General Liu here?" Chen Qing stepped forward and asked with a smile.

5 Twenty chapters walkthrough

Liu Zan turned around and saw that it was Chen Qing, and hurriedly saluted, "Chen Dutong, we haven't seen each other for a long time."

Chen Qing said with a smile: "It seems that General Liu is very interested in engineering?"

"I'm really interested. Back then, my father also set up a craftsman school on Xihe Road, and I specially learned how to make bows for a few months."

"Oh?"

Chen Qingrao asked with interest: "Where is this craftsman school on Xihe Road?"

"It's in Didao County, but it has been abolished long ago. It's a pity that the court doesn't support it."

"Does General Liu have any good suggestions and opinions on running engineering schools?" Chen Qingxiao asked.

Liu Zan smiled slightly and said, "I really have a few ideas, since everyone wants to hear them, I'll talk about them."

"General, please speak!"

"I think the current scale is still too small. To produce excellent craftsmen, there must be enough ordinary craftsmen as the foundation. I asked just now, and it seems that ordinary people don't want to send their children here to study, but prefer to study scriptures, so We have to find a way to attract more students.”

"What's the best way?"

"To get rid of the brand of military craftsman, I heard that making bows, crossbows, and casting knives, ordinary people don't want their children to learn, so change them to practical skills, such as bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, papermaking, wine making, planting, and breeding. Animals, etc., there will definitely be a large number of people sending their children here, and then select the outstanding ones to continue their studies and learn various weapon technologies."

"But it needs a lot of gentlemen who have both read books and technology!"

Liu Zan smiled and said, "Don't worry, as long as the salary is high enough, there will be a large number of talents coming from all over the country, and maybe many famous master craftsmen will be recruited."

Chen Qing laughed, "It makes sense, if you plant a sycamore tree, you might not be able to attract a golden phoenix!"

The two came to the school living room and sat down. Chen Qing said again: "I know Liu Guangshi has done something to you. How are you doing?"

"Actually, Dutong should know that Wu Ling took the commander Wang Jun to Tongchuan Prefecture to train the militia. I, Yang Zheng, and Tian Sheng are out of work. In name, they are military staff officers. In fact, nothing happened. A few days ago, Liu Guangshi told us that we can choose our own way out, and he didn’t stop him, so Yang Zheng and Tian Sheng went to join Wu Jie. I originally wanted to join my father, but my father didn’t allow me to write a letter asking me to come to Qinzhou to join Dutong. Are you willing to include it?"

Chen Qing hurriedly said: "My father and son think highly of me, Chen Qing, as long as I have one day, I will definitely have the glory and wealth of your family!"

Liu Zan was moved, knelt down on one knee and cupped his fists and said, "If Dutong is in trouble, I'm willing to start as a conductor!"

Chen Qing quickly helped him up, and said with a smile: "If you don't dislike it, then go and guard Lanzhou for me. I will appoint you as the commander, the envoy of the Lanzhou system, and in charge of Lanzhou's military affairs."

Liu Zan nodded, "Lanzhou, that's where I was born!"

Lanzhou is the bridgehead for Xixia to attack Xihe Road. It is even more important than Baochuan County in Huizhou. To win Lanzhou, you can capture Hehuang in the west, attack Lintao and Gongzhou in the south, and attack Huizhou in the east. This is an extremely important strategy. important place.

At present, Lanzhou is guarded by Cheng Heng, the commander of the general, with 6000 troops, and there are also [-] new troops, actually [-] people.

But Chen Qing still felt that Cheng Heng lacked a little bit of experience. He was not very relieved, but he couldn't find a suitable candidate for a while. This time Liu Zan came to join him, and Chen Qing suddenly realized that he was the best candidate.

Liu Zan is both civil and military. He has guarded the Beixianren Pass for many years. He is stable and experienced. He is the most suitable guard for Lanzhou City.

In the afternoon of Chen Qing, he appointed Liu Zan as the commander and envoy of the Lanzhou system, and led [-] troops to Lanzhou to replace Cheng Heng.

……

Time gradually approached the end of December. This morning, Chen Qing brought a group of generals to the firearms testing site in Chigu Town as usual.

Xu Chunlai, who participated in the military affairs of Kai Cao, took everyone to inspect the warehouse where the heavy trebuchets were placed, and saw that heavy trebuchets were dismantled into parts, and some soldiers were binding them with straw mats.

Chen Qing came to a copper wheel. The wheel was half the height of a person, and it was a little oxidized and blackened. It should be a zinc-copper alloy, very strong, and there was an alloy shaft that was two feet long.

The axles and wheels made Chen Qing a little dazed, completely out of this era, feeling that this is something that will only appear in later generations.