Fenghou

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay. That time when Cao Changchun came to Jingzhao, there were so many behind-the-scenes incidents that they knew nothing about.

Chen Qing smiled slightly, and continued: "Everyone, this is politics. We attacked Xixia, and seeing that Xixia was about to be destroyed, Cao Changchun was afraid, afraid that my next goal would be to recover the Hexi Corridor.

So he sent envoys to Xizhou to negotiate, asking the Uighur brothers to unite to keep the Hexi Corridor. I believe that the consensus they reached included driving us out of Liangzhou and completely tearing up the Hexi division agreement I reached with Cao Changchun. It was just Cao Changchun's dream Unexpectedly, his brother Cao Yuan actually betrayed him, that's why Cao Changchun's generals surrendered to Xizhou Uighurs one after another. These generals were actually his brother Cao Yuan's people.

Cao Changchun didn't realize this until he was dying, and then asked his son Cao An to come to Jingzhao as a hostage, begging me to send troops to save the Yellow-headed Uighurs, and he agreed that the Yellow-headed Uighurs would submit to us. "

Speaking of this, Chen Qing took out a letter and said to everyone: "This is the letter I found on Cao An's body. It was the last personal letter Cao Changchun wrote to me. Only then did I understand the cause and effect. Everyone, this is politics. Politics is all about politics. Such a compromise, but it is a pity that Cao Changchun's compromise came too late, his son died, and the yellow-headed Uighur also destroyed the country."

"I ask the king of the county for instructions, what is our westward strategy this time?" Liu Cui asked.

Chen Qing glanced at everyone, and said slowly: "I have always had a dream to restore the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties in my hands. Today is just the first step we have taken, but we must take a solid step in this step.

This time we want to occupy the Hexi Corridor, we must completely subdue the Xizhou Uighurs, let it become our vassal state, become our western barrier, and prevent the West Liao army from attacking our Lingxia Road, but one day, our iron cavalry will be restored. Embark on the journey of the Western Regions, let the Han and Tang Dynasties Protectorate of the Western Regions be re-established in the hands of our generation. "

Chapter 819 Trying the Knife

In the night, Chen Qing rode on a horse and stood on a high place, watching Liangzhou City several miles away. Since Liangzhou City was captured by Xixia, it has not been overhauled for nearly a hundred years. It was just replaced, and the moat was excavated together the year before last, but the city gate is not important. What Chen Qing cares about is the city wall. They have just successfully developed the Iron Fire Thunder, which happens to be a test knife in Liangzhou City.

"Gao Dutong!" Chen Qing turned around and ordered.

Gao Ding stepped out, "The end is here!"

"Immediately lead [-] cavalry in an ambush ten miles to the north. When the enemy retreats here, they will all be wiped out. Those who surrender will not die!"

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Gao Ding took the arrow and urged the horse to run down the hill.

Chen Qing said to Liu Qiong again: "You will be in charge of trying to blow up the city with iron fire and thunder. I will give you [-] troops and [-] firearms soldiers. At the third watch, attack the east and leave the west, and let the enemy escape from the west city."

"Humble job understands!"

……

The Xizhou Army on the top of the city was extremely nervous. Two thousand soldiers were deployed on the east and west of the city. The general of the Xizhou Army was called Pu Gumi. , unable to sleep at night, simply came to the top of the city to watch the movement of Song Jun.

At this time, it was the third watch, and the Song army was very quiet without any movement. He estimated that the Song army would not attack the city tonight. The Song army just arrived today, so it should be enough energy tonight to start attacking the city tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Pu Gu secretly ordered: "Leave [-] soldiers on each side of the east and west walls to defend the city, and everyone else should go back to the barracks to rest!"

When the military order was issued, the defenders at the top of the city withdrew one after another, and Pu Gumi felt a little sleepy, so he turned and went down the city.

Just after Pu Gumi left the city, more than a dozen black shadows appeared in Nancheng, carrying boxes, hugging long wooden planks, bent down and quickly approached the city wall.

There are also defenders on the head of Nancheng, but the number is very small, only 50, mainly because the ground outside Nancheng is uneven and full of rocks, which is not suitable for large-scale operations.

But the uneven ground gave a lot of convenience to a dozen soldiers. Using the terrain as a cover, they kept moving closer to the city wall, and soon came to the moat.

The moat was not wide, only three feet long, and it was paved with long planks to form a convenient small bridge. More than a dozen people rushed across the moat, leaned against the city wall, and moved eastward along the city wall.

This time the Song Army tested two iron fire mines, a hedgehog with five catties of medicine, and a wild dog with thirty catties of medicine, to test the explosive power in actual combat.

A dozen people were quickly divided into two groups, one group was on the south side of the city gate, and the other group was on the north side of the city gate. They began to look for a place to place Tie Huo Lei. The most standard place is to place it inside the city wall, of course it also depends on the city wall itself In some cases, some city walls are built so tightly that a knife cannot be inserted into the gap, so there is no chance.

But the city of Liangzhou is dilapidated, and there are many opportunities. The city wall is full of cracks. Everyone worked together and pried off a few city bricks without any effort, revealing a large black hole filled with sand. stuffed into their respective holes.

At this moment, a rapid alarm bell sounded from above their heads, which startled everyone. When they turned their heads, they saw countless soldiers appearing in the dark in the distance. Liu Qiong only gave them a quarter of an hour, and now the quarter of an hour is up.

"ignition!"

The two groups lit the fire rope with fire pockets at the same time, and ran north-south at the same time...

Pu Gumi had just arrived at the gate of the barracks at this time, and suddenly there was a rapid siren sound from the head of Dongcheng, "Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!"

Pu Gumi was terrified that the Song army had attacked at this time, and he shouted sharply: "Order the whole army to go to the city to fight!"

The alarm bells in the barracks also sounded, and thousands of Xizhou troops stood up one after another.

Just before Pu Gumi arrived in the east city, he heard two dull bangs, "Boom! Boom!"

Immediately afterwards, the ground shook, as if the earth was shaking and the mountains were shaking. The soldiers around him squatted down in fright, and the horses were startled like "Xi Liu! 'Called violently, raising its front hooves high.

Pu Gumi fell off his horse, and felt the world spinning, a strong smell of earth came to his face, and bricks, stones and mud fell from the sky.

After a while, he sat up, the ground was covered with mud and sand, and so was his body, his ears were buzzing, and he couldn't hear anything.

"Captain Wan, look!" The soldier pointed at the city wall.

Pu Gumi was startled, only to see a large gap in the shape of a 'V' in the city wall, and the mud, sand and bricks all over the ground were thrown out from this gap.

At this time, a soldier pointed to the other side of the city wall and trembled, "Master Wan, the city wall over there... the city wall has collapsed!"

When Pu Gumi turned his head, he was stunned and saw that a full mile of the city wall to the north of the east city wall had disappeared. He suspected that he had misread it, so he shook his head and looked again. Yes, it had collapsed, just like the one here. , but the north side is much more serious.

"Ugh-"

The horns on the city wall blew, and the earth-shattering war drums rumbled. Some soldiers rushed down the city and shouted: "Master Wan, the main force of the Song army has come."

Pu Gumi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly shouted: "Order the whole army to retreat to the west city, retreat immediately!"

He didn't care about spraining his foot when he fell, so he stood up vigorously, got on his horse, and led hundreds of cavalry towards the west city gate.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

The bell of Pu Gumi's order to retreat spread throughout the city, and teams of cavalry from the Xizhou Army rushed towards the direction of Xicheng.

……

On the high ground in the distance, Chen Qing looked at the progress of the battle. The explosion effect of the five-jin iron fire made Chen Qing shake his head. The Liangzhou City in front of him was not a solid city wall, but a dilapidated city wall that had not been repaired for a century. The siege, such a city wall only blasts a gap, so it will hardly be effective when encountering a strong city wall.

The five-jin iron fire mine was vetoed by Chen Qing, and it could not be used for bombing cities, but could be used for water warfare.

However, a thirty-pound mad dog is not bad, causing chain collapse and blowing down a mile-long city wall. If it is a solid city wall, it can at least open a gap several feet wide.

The mad dog is similar to the explosion effect of the box-type rhino before, except that the former is [-] catties, and the latter is [-] catties. The biggest advantage is that the cost is reduced. This is especially important, which means that it can be widely equipped in the army. .

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The sound of war drums was like thunder, and Chen Qing watched silently as Liu Qiong led the tide-like army across the moat and into Liangzhou City...

At this time, thousands of Xizhou army cavalry who fled were also ambushed by [-] Song army cavalry. The sound of killing is loud, and the master and servant Gu Mi has rich experience. He knows that the Song army is encircling. There is a gap.

In the darkness, at the last moment when the Song army was closing in, Pugumi led a dozen of his men to rush out of the gap, and fled in a panic to a forest several miles away.

The Xizhou army in the encirclement had no chance to escape. Some soldiers were mercilessly killed by the Song army in their desperate efforts, and some soldiers chose to surrender in desperation. After half a time, thousands of Xizhou troops disappeared. Two thousand and three hundred people were captured, and the rest died in the siege of the Song army.

……

As the sky gradually dawned, [-] troops entered Liangzhou City. Tens of thousands of Han people who were oppressed and exploited in the city found out that it was the Song Army who had entered the city.

Dozens of old men knelt down in front of Chen Qing, presented the pot containing Liangzhou clay to Chen Qing, and said tearfully, "Your Majesty, take it! Don't lose it again."

Chen Qing took the earthen jar, held it up high, and said loudly: "I assure all my fathers and villagers that as long as I, Chen Qing, are still there, Liangzhou City will always belong to our Han land and will never be lost again!"

8 Chapter Twenty

Three days later, Yang Zaixing led an army of more than [-] people to Liangzhou, along with [-] camels led by Zhao Xiaoyi, loaded with food and supplies.

At this time, Wang Lun, the former general of Liangzhou, also came from Dadou Bagu to plead guilty to Chen Qing.

Inside the big tent, Wang Lun knelt down on one knee and cupped his fists and said, "Dereliction of duty, lost Liangzhou City, please punish the county king!"

The loss of Liangzhou City can’t be blamed on Wang Lun. The Yellow-headed Uighurs were destroyed without warning, and the situation in the Hexi Corridor fell into chaos. The city escaped from the snowstorm and deceived the city gate. The guard Zhang Qu was killed in the battle, and Lingzhou fell. More than 1000 Song soldiers were killed in battle, and the remaining more than [-] soldiers withdrew to Dadouba Valley.

Chen Qing supported Wang Lun and said: "I am very clear about the cause and effect. It is not easy for you to seize the big fight in time in the chaos, and it is not Zhang Qu's responsibility. He was benevolent and generous, and he died in battle, which is worthy of our memory."

"Ashamed of my humble position!"

Chen Qing patted his arm and asked with concern: "I heard that your concubine and son were captured in the city, are they all right?"

Wang Lun married a concubine in the city and gave birth to a son for him. Before he could retreat, he fell into the city. After taking Liangzhou City, Chen Qingrang looked for it, but he couldn't find it.

Wang Lun was moved, and quickly said: "Thank you for your concern, the king of the county. When the city fell, their mother and son disguised themselves as civilians and hid in ordinary houses in the city. Later, I sent people to find them and find a chance to take their mother and son to Dadouba Valley. They're safe and sound."

"As long as it's safe and sound, let Song Xinping continue guarding Dadou Bagu. You can go back to Liangzhou! How about rebuilding the city wall of Liangzhou? Can it be completed?"

Wang Lun thought for a while and said, "Liangzhou is mainly due to the lack of manpower. It is really not easy to build the city, but I can build it well, but it only takes time. I implore the county king to give me a year."

Chen Qing nodded with a smile, "I don't limit your time. The day the new city is completed is the day when you will be promoted to the capital."

"Thank you for your kindness!"

Chen Qing appeased Wang Lun's men, and then handed Wang Lun [-] troops to continue to sit in Liangzhou. Chen Qing personally led a [-] army to kill Ganzhou.

……

Appointed by Emperor Zhao Gou, Prime Minister Zhao Ding and Deputy Prime Minister Lu Qingshan, who came to welcome the coffin of the Supreme Emperor, finally arrived in Jingzhao.

Jiang Yanxian and Guan Shigu came to welcome them outside the city, and when everyone greeted them, Zhao Ding asked with a smile, "I don't know if your county king is here?"

Jiang Yanxian handed him a newspaper and said with a smile: "This is today's "Beijing News", and Mr. Wang will know it at a glance!"

Zhao Ding took the newspaper, only to see the headline on the front page read, "Jun Wang broke Liangzhou city at night, Hexi won the first battle." '

Zhao Ding was startled, "The king of the county has gone on an expedition to Hexi?"

Guan Shigu nodded and said with a smile: "My county king wants to restore the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties, this time he wants to recover the Hexi Corridor."

Zhao Ding sighed and said, "It's a blessing for the Son of Heaven to have such a pillar of the Song Dynasty!"

Jiang Yanxian said with a smile: "It is the duty of the courtiers to open up the frontier and open up the land. Please enter the city, Mr. Zhao, and please enter the city, Mr. Lu!"

When everyone entered Jingzhao City, there was a bustling and noisy atmosphere, the streets were full of people, and the goods in various shops were laid out, which was a prosperous scene.

Zhao Ding suddenly found that a long section of the city wall was gone. He asked in confusion, "Mr. Jiang, is the city wall being rebuilt?"

Jiang Yanxian smiled and said: "Mr. Zhao doesn't know that the population of Jingzhao has skyrocketed. When we captured Jingzhao, there were less than 30 people, but now it has soared to 58. If it has doubled, the city will become crowded. Expand the city by five miles."

Zhao Ding asked in surprise, "Why is the population increasing so rapidly?"

"When the Jin soldiers invaded, a large number of Jingzhao people fled to Bashu, and then began to return one after another. This is a part, and then migrated from various places. For example, 30 Jianghuai people, we resettled half of them in Jingzhao Mansion, distributed in Jingzhao City and In other counties, there are scattered people who have migrated from various places one after another. Although they are scattered, they add up to more than [-]. This is what is meant by the so-called gathering sand to form a tower."

"There's also the tax factor!"

Guan Shigu next to him said with a smile: "For the purpose of recuperating and recuperating, the king of the county promised that the Guanzhong area will be tax-free for ten years, land tax and commercial tax will be exempted, and it will not harm or disturb the people, so it has attracted a large number of people and businessmen."

After hearing this, Zhao Ding was quite moved. His political philosophy is to govern by doing nothing and recuperate. Unfortunately, it is difficult to implement in the court.

He asked puzzledly: "If there is a ten-year tax exemption, where will the military salary and military funds come from?"

Lu Qingshan next to him said lightly: "Guanzhong is exempt from tax, but Bashu is not exempt from tax."

Jiang Yan shook his head first, "Bashu taxes alone are not enough. Bashu taxes are only part of it. There are also salt tax, wine tax, and business. We have established an official firm to transport and sell bulk goods, as well as profit from spoils of war."

Mentioning the gains from the loot, Zhao Ding lifted his spirits and asked quickly: "You should have obtained countless wealth by conquering Xixia!"

Jiang Yanxian smiled wryly and said: "Many people think this way. In fact, Xixia has been fighting civil wars. The country has long been impoverished and the people are poor. The population has dropped sharply. The wealth of the Xixia nobles is quite large, but they have all moved to Jin Kingdom in advance. When we took Xixia, the treasury only had copper, iron, sheepskin, medicinal materials, food, etc., and there were no other valuable materials. We spent more than 1000 million yuan to fight Xixia, and the final income was just the same, and it was a little bit worse. The main It is the overspending of pensions, of course, we have wiped out the big trouble in the north, and the safety is guaranteed, which is the most important thing."

Zhao Ding frowned, "How did Xixia become so sleepy, it's unexpected!"

"Because of the civil war, Xixia's military strength and wealth have been exhausted. Otherwise, how could we destroy Xixia, didn't Mr. Zhao say?"

Zhao Ding shook his head and nodded, he felt strange, Xixia and Song Dynasty had confronted each other for a hundred years, they were definitely not weak, Chen Qing was just a local warlord, how could he destroy Xixia, it seems that civil war is the root of Xixia's demise.

Lu Qingshan smiled and said nothing, but he saw Lu Wei's family letter at his eldest brother's house. Chen Qing had gained a lot in Xixia, and it was by no means as pitiful as Jiang Yanxian said. The subsequent battle for Hedong was all based on the destruction of Xixia The wealth obtained is supported.

"The county king is not in Jingzhao, how do government affairs make decisions?" Zhao Ding asked curiously again.

"We have an internal affairs hall. Generally, the county king does not ask about government affairs. The power is delegated to the internal affairs hall. If it is a major government affairs, it needs to be reviewed by the prince. Because the prince is young, the princess will act as the prince. That is to say, it must be approved by the princess. .”

"How to distinguish general government affairs from major government affairs?"

"There is a secretary office under the king of the county, and the secretary office decides whether it is general government affairs or major government affairs."

Zhao Ding nodded secretly, it is really strict, but what is the difference between this and the imperial court?

……

Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan lived in the VIP Court. In the afternoon, Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan went to Tianlong Temple to pay homage to the coffin of the Supreme Emperor Zhao Ji, and then met the late emperor Zhao Huan who was recuperating in Tianlong Temple.

Both Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan were Zhao Huan's former ministers. When they saw the first emperor, they became emotional and their voices choked up.

"Your Majesty Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan pay their respects."

Zhao Huan couldn't help crying, he said with tears in his eyes, "You two lovers, I haven't seen each other for many years, you are both in good health!"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, we are all in good health, and I hope Your Majesty will take good care of the dragon's body."

After Zhao Huan came back to recuperate for a period of time, his health did improve a lot, the sickness on his face disappeared, and he returned to his original thin appearance.

Zhao Huan waved his hand, "The country has no two monarchs, so don't call me Your Majesty anymore."

"If you don't call him His Majesty, what else should you call him?"