Fenghou

Chen Qing and Brother Li Cha have the same thinking, and at this critical moment, there must be no mistakes.

Without any interrogation, Hu Yanlei led his men into Xingqing City. They went to pay the food, and then drove an empty car to an alley in the south of the city. At the end of the alley was a small courtyard. Xiao Yuan looked at the door lock of the military scout's residence and said with a smile: "The mark I made when I stepped forward is still there, no one lives there."

He took out the key and opened the door. There was indeed no one living there, the ground was messy, and some sundries were still piled up in the yard. This place belongs to a poor area, there is no oil and water, and Xixia soldiers did not come in to loot it.

Xiao Yuan led the crowd to tidy up the yard and room, while Hu Yanlei went out to do errands alone.

Not long after, Hu Yanlei came to a magnificent mansion. On the plaque was written the party item, if translated into Chinese, it would be 'Cao Mansion'.

Chapter 693

Cao Baozong never dreamed that Chen Qing would send someone to look for him. He was nervous and afraid. At this critical moment, if someone found out, he would be finished. But in the gap between nervousness and fear, there was a faint thread Hope, he himself doesn't know what the thread of hope is?

Fortunately, only he can understand what the other party said, old friend of Chilizhai, where is Chilizhai?It was the place where he was held after being captured in Gongzhou. It was called Chilizhai. There was a big sign in the room with the words 'Chilizhai' written on it. He was very impressed.

Cao Baozong hurriedly asked his confidants to invite Hu Yanlei to the living room of the inner house.

Hu Yanlei clasped his fists and laughed, "General Cao, long time no see."

Cao Baozong knew Hu Yanlei, he nodded, "So it's General Hu Yan, please sit down!"

The two sat down as guests and hosts, and Hu Yanlei took out a letter and handed it to him, "This is a handwritten letter from my family to General Cao, please read it."

When Cao Baozong opened the letter, he saw that it said, Jingzhao Chen Qing to the Cao family in Lingzhou. Cao Baozong was stunned for a while.

Of course, he knew why Chen Qing wrote it like this. He was obviously planning to separate him from Xixia. Cao Baozong was not a member of the party. His ancestor was Cao Xian, the king of Guazhou, the last leader of the Hexi Guiyi Army. He surrendered to Li Yuanhao a hundred years ago. Dedicated to Guazhou and Shazhou, Cao Xian entered Xixia with his descendants.

And Cao Baozong is the sixth grandson of Cao Xian. Because of his contribution to Dunhuang, the Cao family has always been the nobles of Xixia, and they are rare non-party nobles. However, the Cao family is not Han, their ancestors are Sogdians of the Cao family.

The Sogdians of the Cao family migrated to the Western Regions and established the Cao Kingdom, and the ancestors of Cao Baozong were the offshoot of the Sogdians who stayed in Ganzhou.

Historically, the famous An Lushan and Shi Siming in the Tang Dynasty were actually Sogdians from Ganzhou.

Cao Baozong opened Chen Qing's letter and read it carefully. He didn't express his opinion, but asked again: "Chen Xuan Fu envoy, what else do you need to tell me?"

Hu Yanlei said slowly: "The governor asked me to remind General Cao that once the Jurchen withdraws, Brother Li Cha will definitely return to Xingqing City to seize the heir, and will definitely start killing. General Cao had better transfer his wife, children and mother away Go to Jingzhou or Shunzhou."

Cao Baozong frowned, "Will this happen?" He obviously didn't believe it.

"Everyone in my family said that it will definitely happen!"

Cao Baozong's heart beat a little, "But...why did he kill me?"

Hu Yanlei smiled slightly and said: "General Cao is not dead, how to explain the disappearance of the wealth of those dignitaries? Brother Li Cha always finds someone to take the blame, isn't General Cao the most suitable?"

Cao Baozong was terrified for a while, he didn't expect Chen Qing to see it so thoroughly, he nodded, "I understand, let me think about it, and I will reply to the general tomorrow!"

Hu Yanlei said goodbye and left. Cao Baozong was in a state of confusion. It was already dark and he had no intention of eating dinner. He went back to his study and hid the letter. But after a while, he couldn't help but turn out the letter and read it again. , Until he memorized the whole letter, he threw the letter into the censer again and burned it to ashes.

Cao Baozong paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. He was very aware of the current situation in Xixia. Chen Qing's army was defeated, what hope would they have?

However, Chen Qing played calmly and steadily, how could they defeat such an opponent, not to mention the civil strife in Xixia and brother Li Cha, Cao Baozong suddenly realized that Chen Qing was not in a hurry to attack Xixia, I am afraid Chen Qing was waiting This civil unrest happened.

At this time, a maid said outside the door: "Master, the old lady is here to invite you!"

"I know, let's go!"

Cao Baozong sorted out his thoughts and left the study to see his mother.

……

Cao Baozong's mother's surname is An, and she was born in the An family of the Hexi family. The Cao family has been married to the Hexi family for generations, including Cao Baozong's wife, also surnamed An, who is the niece of Mrs. An's family.

Since the death of Cao Baozong's father five years ago, Mrs. An has converted to Buddhism, chanting Buddha and eating fast all day long. Her greatest wish is to enshrine a Buddha statue in Dunhuang Thousand Buddha Caves.

Cao Baozong walked into the room and knelt down to salute, "The child sees the mother!"

An Shi said slowly: "Your wife told me that you have been very anxious these days, and you can't sleep well at night. You even didn't eat dinner today. She is very worried, Zong'er, what happened?"

Cao Baozong spent this month in anxiety. The wealth of the rich and powerful was missing. He was worried that others would doubt him. The defeat of the Jin soldiers to the Song army made his hopes dashed.

Cao Baozong smiled wryly, "Mother, it's not only the child who is anxious in Xixia, the entire court is anxious, and the emperor's condition even worsens. The situation is very unfavorable for Xixia."

"How bad is it?" An Shi asked again.

Cao Baozong hesitated, but told his mother the truth, "Xixia may be in danger of destroying the country!"

An Shi was stunned for a long time, then she sighed in a low voice: "Your father really hit the mark."

"What did father say?"

"Your father said that the significance of Xixia's existence is to contain the Song Dynasty. Once the Jin soldiers capture Sichuan and Shaanxi, the Jin Kingdom will not allow Xixia to exist any longer."

"Then did father say, if Xixia is destroyed, what should our Cao family do?"

An Shi said slowly: "Your father did say that our Cao family came from the Hexi Corridor, and we will eventually return to Hexi."

Cao Baozong suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Chen Qing called him the Cao family of Lingzhou in his letter. He had already thought of it for himself.

Cao Baozong kowtowed heavily and said, "Mother, do you know what to do now?"

……

At noon the next day, Hu Yanlei saw Cao Baozong again, and Cao Baozong took out a thick letter and handed it to him, "General Huyan, please give this letter to the Xuanfu envoy."

Hu Yanlei took the letter, and quickly glanced at the cover, which read, 'The Cao family of Lingzhou to the Chen Xuanfu envoy of Sichuan and Shanxi'.

Hu Yanlei received the letter, and asked again: "Is there anything else I need to tell?"

"What I want to say is in the letter, but I have another matter with General Huyan."

Hu Yanlei smiled slightly and said, "General Cao, please tell me!"

"Will General Huyan always Xingqing Mansion?" Cao Baozong asked.

"It should be, I still have a lot of tasks to perform."

Cao Baozong sighed and said: "I was worried all night last night. I have a wife, children, and mother. I was really afraid that Brother Li Cha would kill my whole family. I would definitely send them away. It's just that if I leave early, the court will suspect it. Is it feasible for Brother Li Cha to send them away before making a move?"

Hu Yanlei nodded, "That's fine, if you leave early, you will be suspected."

"But I'm afraid I won't be able to grasp the fire, so I want to implore General Huyan to inform us to evacuate."

"of course can!"

Hu Yanlei agreed, "One of my important people in Xingqing Mansion is to protect General Cao's safety."

"Thank you so much, General Huyan!"

Cao Baozong took out a silver medal and handed it to Hu Yanlei, "Soon the imperial court will restore the control of the city gate, but there are three signs that can enter and exit the city gate, the gold medal of the emperor, the silver medal of the grand marshal and the privy envoy, this is the silver medal of the privy envoy, General Huyan Use it to get out of town and into town at any time."

Hu Yanlei accepted the silver medal happily, and he smiled again: "It's better to arrange for me to be the general's confidant, so that I will have no doubts when I enter and leave Cao's mansion."

Cao Baozong was overjoyed, "Of course, I can fill in the vacancy of a proton army general for you. This is my job, and it is also my personal guard."

Hu Yanlei wrote a name 'Hu Yanqing' and handed it to Cao Baozong, "This is my alias. In addition, we all judge that Brother Li Cha has eyes and ears in Xingqing Mansion, but we don't know where to start. Can General Cao give me a clue? ?”

Cao Baozong thought for a while and said, "It is rumored that Li Ji's mule and horse shop in Zhongshi is one of Li Cha's eyes and ears. The people in Heijintang told me before, but I'm not sure."

Hu Yanlei nodded, "Thank you, General, for your timely notification!"

Chapter 694

The harvesting of wheat was over in one month, and the Song and Xia armies resumed their combat confrontation again. The Xingqing Mansion closed the city gate again, and no one was allowed to enter or leave in violation of the regulations.

Of course, as long as you follow the rules, you can also enter and exit the city gate normally.

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-November, the weather was very cold, Xixia had already entered winter, and there was light snow in the sky, which was the first snow in winter.

That evening, Hu Yanlei came to Liji's mule and horse shop as usual, and shouted: "Take the horse, it's getting cold, add more black beans to it tonight!"

"Master Hu, don't worry! Make sure to feed him fat and strong."

This month Huyanlei rented a horse, and came to lead the horse almost every morning and return the horse in the afternoon, and he was very familiar with the people in the mule and horse shop.

Huyanlei's current identity is Cao Baozong's confidant, and this was revealed by him inadvertently once. The shopkeeper and staff of the Luoma shop immediately paid attention to him, especially the proprietor Tuoba Shi Changshi, who deliberately made friends with Huyanlei , asked him to drink a few times.

Hu Yanlei also slowly exposed his insecure lips, especially after drinking, he leaked many things about Cao Baozong.

Especially a few days ago, Hu Yanlei leaked a sentence after drinking, Cao Baozong suspected that the missing property case was related to his brother Cao Baohui, and the two had turned against each other.

This sentence was immediately remembered by Tuoba Shi Changshi, and he immediately told Brother Li Cha the news with Eagle Letter.

Brother Li Cha immediately wrote back, asking Tuoba Changshi to spend more money to win over this soldier named Hu Yanqing.

The first capital that Tuoba Changshi made was to give the rented horse to Hu Yanlei, which really touched Hu Yanlei.

Tuoba Changshi came out and said with a smile: "It's snowing, it's very cold, why don't we go have a glass of wine to warm up."

"Of course, but today I'm treating you!"

"Brother, don't be polite to me, let's go! Go to Ganzhou Restaurant."

Ganzhou Restaurant is diagonally opposite Luomadian, which is also owned by Brother Li Cha. The two of them went up to the second floor and sat down at their old seats by the window.

Tuoba Changshi ordered food and wine, and the two drank a few glasses of wine. Tuoba Changshi asked, "I heard a news that the imperial court will give the Jurchen 100 million taels of silver. Is it true?"

Hu Yanlei was surprised and said: "How could elder brother know that the privy envoy also said that this news is very secret!"

"Good things don't go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles. How can this kind of news be hidden? Didn't I just hear about it?"

"It makes sense. The condition for the Jurchens to send troops back then was 100 million taels of silver. In addition, they suffered heavy losses. How could they let the court go? The money cannot escape."

"How to send the money away?"

Tuoba Changshi quickly explained: "I am afraid that they will requisition my livestock."

"I won't requisition your livestock and use camels to transport them. With thousands of camels, my brother won't want to intercept them halfway!"

"Intercept?"

Tuoba Changshi smiled wryly: "I don't want to court death!"

"It is indeed courting death. Ten thousand Jurchen cavalry escorted the money to Taiyuan, and then transferred it to Beijing from Taiyuan. It is said that it was dedicated to the emperor of the Kingdom of Jin."

"when are we leaving?"

"Just a few days! The exact date has not been decided yet."

……

Brother Li Cha had already received a reply from Wan Yanchang, and Wanyan Tarlan clearly expressed his support for his ascension to the throne, which undoubtedly gave Brother Li Cha a reassurance.

During this period of time, Brother Li Cha followed every move of the imperial court. Of course, he is the King of Jin after all. He has been in power for decades, and there are many officials serving him in the court. He has many channels to get news. Tuoba Changshi It's just one of the humble intelligence channels.

He has received conclusive news that the Son of Heaven and the Kingdom of Jin have reached a secret treaty, and the Son of Heaven agrees to transfer 100 million taels of silver to the Kingdom of Jin for preservation. The price was sold to Xixia as the temporary capital of Xixia.

This is the real information, not rumors from the outside world. The 100 million silver is used as compensation for the Jin soldiers to send troops. This is actually a kind of deposit, and the Jin Kingdom guarantees that Xixia can continue.

There is another piece of information that is more accurate. Ten thousand Jurchen cavalry will escort the batch of silver to Taiyuan Mansion, and then transport it to Shangjing from Taiyuan Mansion.

Brother Li Cha is now quite confused about whether he should leak this information to Chen Qing. Once Chen Qing intercepts this batch of silver and wipes out [-] Jurchen cavalry, Jin Guo will definitely give up Li Qianshun, and his chance will come.

But Brother Li Cha was also worried, if the 100 million taels of silver were gone, would Wanyan Tarlan give him the Datong Mansion?

It's hard to have both!

Brother Li Cha suffered all night. At dawn, he finally thought it over clearly. He couldn't leak this news to Chen Qing. If he didn't get 100 million taels of silver, the Jin Kingdom's court would never give him the Datong Mansion, even if it was over. Yan Talan agreed, and the other nobles of the Kingdom of Jin would not agree either.

……

The Yellow River froze in early November, and a large number of siege supplies were sent from Lanzhou to Xixia along the ice of the Yellow River by sledge.

In Yingli County, Chen Qing finally got the siege baggage that had been waiting for nearly four months. Thousands of camels dragged it on the ice for ten days.

Although thousands of camels had thick coats, they were still froze by the cold air on the ice of the Yellow River. More than 100 camels were frozen to death on the road.

The soldiers took thousands of camels to the county for recuperation, and tens of thousands of soldiers began to carry them by relay. There were 25 large siege ladders, [-] heavy trebuchets, and one giant battering ram.

Standing on the hill, Chen Qing watched tens of thousands of soldiers chanting slogans and dragging with all their might, and slowly transported various parts of giant beast siege ladders, trebuchets and battering rams back to the county seat. It is a complete weapon, and it cannot enter the county seat at all. The rack of the battering ram alone is five feet high. How can it be moved into the county seat?

"Everyone is there!"

Chen Qing suddenly heard a soldier seeming to identify him, and when he turned his head, he saw Zhang Xiao hurriedly walking towards this side.

"Zhang Sima, what's the hurry?" Chen Qingying went up and asked with a smile.

"Xuanfu envoy, urgent information from Xingqing Mansion!"

Zhang Xiao handed a volume of Eagle Letter to Chen Qing, Chen Qing opened the Eagle Letter, and there was a sentence in it, "[-] Jurchen cavalry escorted a million taels of silver to Taiyuan, leaving on November [-]th." '

Chen Qing's eyes widened. It wasn't because of the 100 million taels of silver, but because of the [-] Jurchen cavalry.

"Today is November [-]th, so we will leave the day after tomorrow."