Fenghou

Yao Mei asked urgently: "Your Highness, do I want to go tomorrow?"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "Tomorrow you spend New Year's Eve with your family, and you won't have many chances in the future. I might get drunk, so you come to take care of me early the day after tomorrow."

Yao Mei nodded, "I remember that too."

When Chen Qing walked into the big tent, he remembered something, and handed the box to Yao Mei, "For you?"

"For me?"

Yao Mei took the box in surprise and opened it, and was stunned. Inside were three pieces of glittering gold jewellery, treasures she had never seen before.

"Your Highness! I can't ask for it, it's too expensive."

Chen Qing smiled and said: "You are King Yong's personal servant girl, will the most powerful King Yong in the world give you some copper jewelry?"

"I... I never dared to think that I would have gold jewelry."

"Accept it! Work hard, and the princess will reward you in the future."

Yao Mei hesitated and said: "Your Highness, I...can I give it to my mother, her only silver hairpin was sold by me and my brother in Shanyang County, she has never seen gold jewelry in her whole life."

Chen Qing secretly praised Yao Mei for her filial piety, and said with a smile: "The thing is already yours, and it is your business if you want to give it to anyone, and it is not a peerless treasure. I usually don't ask."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Chen Qing sat down and said with a smile: "Just saying thank you is not sincere, you have to express your gratitude with actions!"

Yao Mei flushed with shame, turned around and ran out of the tent, Chen Qing shouted from behind: "I'm thirsty, hurry up and make tea!"

"Understood!" Yao Mei agreed crisply outside the tent, her voice seemed to be mixed with honey.

……

In the afternoon, Yan Jun hurried to the barracks, and he wanted to report an extremely important piece of information to Chen Qing.

"We found a secret from the information we snatched from the stove. In Daihai, about 150 miles northwest, the Jurchen is called Ang'a, and there is a small tribe of the Tata tribe. There are about a hundred people. Hundreds of thousands of sheep came with the army this autumn, but did not return, most likely to provide logistical supplies for the nomadic army invading south."

Chen Qing suddenly remembered the suggestion Liu Dajiang had given himself, and it seemed that this was the case, so he immediately asked, "Has your guide, Liu Dajiang, come?"

"Didn't follow!"

Chen Qing immediately ordered: "You send someone to find him now, he knows about it."

Yan Jun hurried out of the account, and sent his soldiers and entourage back to the barracks to find Liu Dajiang.

Not long after, Liu Dajiang rushed over and met his niece Yao Mei at the door of the tent. He asked in a low voice, "Are you going home to worship tomorrow New Year's Eve?"

Yao Mei nodded, "Your Highness asked me to go home for New Year's Eve!"

"I see, I'll go back and tell your parents to prepare."

At this time, the soldiers shouted: "Liu Canjun, Your Highness will let you in!"

Liu Dajiang hurried into the big tent, bowed and saluted, "Humble Liu Dajiang, see Your Highness!"

Chen Qing said to Yan Jun: "General Yan, tell Liu Canjun the important information just now!"

……

After listening to Yan Jun's introduction, Liu Dajiang nodded and said: "This is the logistics tribe I told His Highness. Generally speaking, there will never be ordinary herdsmen on the route of the army going south. Their cattle and sheep will be forcibly conscripted by the army. Therefore, ordinary tribes will leave far away to ensure safety. Ang'a's launching into the water is the only way for the nomadic army to go south. There are grazing tribes there. There is only one possibility. They are the logistics tribe of the army, but the logistics tribe of the Tata department alone must Not enough, I guess there is another tribe in Baishuibo, it should be the logistics tribe of the Kelei Ministry."

As expected of a guide, he really has experience, Chen Qing asked again: "At this time, can the army go to A'ang to enter the water?"

Liu Dajiang thought for a while and said: "I went to Baishuibo at this time last year, but last year it snowed heavily, and it was very difficult for me to ride a horse. This year's snow is obviously not as heavy as last year. I think it is feasible, but we have to make a quick decision. Avoid encountering heavy snow in the first month."

"Does it snow every year during the first lunar month?"

"Almost, around the middle of every year, there will be a heavy snowfall, so Datong has always had the custom of watching lanterns in the snow to celebrate Shangyuan, which refers to the heavy snowfall in the first month."

Chen Qing nodded and said to Yan Jun: "We must pull out these two supply points, send 6000 troops, take a day off on the first day of the first lunar month, and send troops on the second day of the first lunar month. According to Liu Canjun's statement, we will fight quickly! "

"Humble post obeys orders!"

The first thousand and seventy-seven chapters to eliminate troubles

The next day is New Year's Eve, which is a day for every family to have a New Year's Eve dinner and worship their ancestors. Chen Qing chose to come to Datong for inspection in December. One of the important purposes is to have a New Year's Eve dinner with the frontier soldiers. This is a tribute to the frontier soldiers This kind of attention is also to boost morale.

The army's New Year's Eve dinner is to light a bonfire, roast mutton and drink alcohol. Thirty thousand soldiers gathered in an open space of several hundred acres outside the city, lit hundreds of bonfires, slaughtered more than 1 sheep, opened thousands of jars of wine, and the soldiers gulped Eat meat, drink to your heart's content, and laugh.

Chen Qing and the generals sat together. In addition to Zhe Yanzhi and Yan Jun, local officials represented the prefect Yelu Qiyan, the judge Huang Zongyuan, the county magistrate Ding Kuang, etc., also participated in the bonfire night banquet.

Chen Qing guessed right. The generals came to toast one after another. Although each of them only had a sip, they couldn't stand the crowd. They drank more than [-] bowls of wine in just a moment. Before eating a piece of roast mutton, they got drunk , Personnel unknown, was sent back to the barracks tent in a carriage by the soldiers.

At four o'clock, Yao Mei returned to the barracks. She hurried back to the barracks after offering sacrifices to her ancestors. She was a little worried. His Highness had only been ill for a few days. He was prone to cold when he was drunk, so don't fall ill again.

The soldiers stood guard outside the tent, Yao Mei asked, "Is Your Highness drunk?"

The soldiers nodded slightly, and Yao Mei hurriedly entered the big tent, which was full of the smell of alcohol. When she entered the inner tent, she saw His Highness lying on a thick blanket, covered with a quilt, sleeping soundly, not even wearing shoes. None of them took off.

Yao Mei sighed, took off her shoes, put the quilt back on, touched His Highness's body again, her hands were cold, she took off her dress, put on only a thin underwear, got into the quilt and hugged Chen Qing.

Yao Mei said to herself, "Let me warm your body tonight! Don't get sick again."

……

On the second day of the first lunar month, the weather was fine, the sky was blue and cloudless.

The [-] cavalry were divided into two teams, each with two horses, carrying dry food and fodder for ten days, and dispatched troops to Daihai and Baishuibo respectively. In order to prevent accidents, Chen Qing organized another thousand carts full of food and grass. , also divided into two teams, as a logistical support.

The [-] troops were led by Yan Jun and Sun Liang respectively. This time, Chen Qing issued an order to exterminate all young and strong men except for the elderly, women and children. Although it is a bit cruel, this is war. If you can't live in harmony , then there is only elimination.

The [-] soldiers set off in two directions. In the distance was the vast snow world, and I saw a long black line moving on the snow, gradually going away.

Orihiko asked: "Your Highness, if the enemy's logistics supply tribe is wiped out this time, will it affect Kaichun's actions?"

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "According to the information I got, the nomadic army may invade Hetao in the spring and establish a foundation in Hetao. I guess the original plan of these two logistics tribes is to migrate to the Hetao area after the spring. Elimination will definitely affect the opponent's plan, and it is very likely that the invasion plan in spring will be cancelled."

Orihiko was a little disappointed, "Your Highness, they won't come in spring?"

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "Maybe there will be no large-scale invasions, but there will still be small-scale harassment. The governor must always be vigilant and must not be careless."

"The humble job understands."

Chen Qing looked at the soldiers of the refugee militia who were training in the open space again, and said to Zheyan: "I originally wanted to move the people to Taiyuan in February, but considering the spring plowing, I decided that they would go south on the tenth day of the Lunar New Year. Ten thousand soldiers helped them go south along the way."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Orihiko sighed and said: "Tens of thousands of people have left their hometowns and moved south, and the relatively prosperous frontier has become deserted again. The best way is for us to take the initiative to eliminate hidden dangers from the source. Does Your Highness have any plans for this? "

Chen Qing nodded, "I have this idea. The time may be next year. This year's task is to unify the south of the Yellow River. This is also an important reason why I came to Datong. I need to stabilize the border defense before I can fight in the Central Plains with all my strength."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, Datong Mansion will be fine!"

……

Yan Jun led [-] cavalry on two horses and marched hard in the snow field. Just as Liu Dajiang judged, although the march was difficult, it was still possible to walk. The depth of the snow was only as deep as the horse's leg joints, not very deep.

Of course, they can’t gallop on horseback, and the marching speed is very slow. Daihai is located 150 miles away. A normal march would only take one day, but now they have to walk for at least three days. The main reason is that the night is very cold, and the soldiers need to wrap themselves in thick blankets. Sleep huddled with war horses.

Daihai is called Ang'a Xiashui in the Liao Kingdom. It is a pasture with rich water and grass. A few years ago, several small Mughal tribes lived and grazed here. However, since the nomadic cavalry invaded the south last year, these small tribes have moved away one after another. Not only the property of the Han people was plundered, but the cattle and sheep of other small tribes would also be forcibly confiscated by the army.

The tribe beside Daihai belongs to the Tata tribe, with about 220 households and 30 sheep. They are indeed the logistics tribe of the Tata army. Last fall, the Tata tribe and the Kelie tribe attacked Yingzhou and Datong. , the logistics tribe provided more than [-] sheep.

At this time, it is ice and snow, and the lake is frozen. The herdsmen live in dome tents, and the sheep live in hundreds of large tents. Every day, the herdsmen have to feed the sheep with hay, water, and milk the sheep to make cheese, even though it is winter. , but still very busy.

This morning, a low-pitched horn sounded suddenly from a distance, and the herdsmen walked out of the dome tent one after another. They thought it was their own army marching south, but unexpectedly the army in the distance came from the south.

At this time, a herdsman cavalry came running wildly, shouting, "Run! It's the Western Army, the Western Army from Datong Mansion is here!"

The herdsmen were thrown into chaos. The man carried the child and his wife onto the horse, grabbed a piece of cheese, ignored the tent, and fled westward on the horse. Of course, they would not go far, which would be a dead end, but to the other side of the lake.

At this time, thousands of Western troops swept along the lake, and dozens of young herdsmen ran to stop them. They were shot and killed on the spot, and none of them survived.

The Song army broke into the tent living area, and many herdsmen were still packing up their belongings. It was too late to escape. The man shouted and rushed forward with a knife, but was immediately knocked over by the Western army and fell into a pool of blood.

Many women were also very tough, fighting desperately with the Western Army with spears, even though King Yong ordered not to kill women and children, but in this case, the Western Army still mercilessly executed them.

More than [-] families were dealt with in less than a quarter of an hour. Nearly a hundred young and strong men were killed, and more than [-] old people, women and children were captured, but many families escaped.

The Song army seized more than 1000 war horses and 37 sheep, and took away the large tents for raising sheep. They also accidentally seized a lot of gold, but it was not cast gold, but natural gold, that is, dog head gold. The herdsmen picked it up from nowhere, and it weighed more than 300 catties.

"General, do you want to burn all the tents?" a general asked for instructions.

Yan Jun hesitated and said: "Burn the fodder tent, and don't care about the big living tent!"

Yan Jun was still relatively generous, he knew that if he didn't leave something behind, those herdsmen who fled would surely die.

Large tents filled with fodder were set on fire, and thick smoke billowed, which could be seen dozens of miles away.

Seeing that the originally clear sky had turned gloomy, Yan Jun was really worried, and immediately ordered: "Prepare to return!"

The Western Army did not spend the night by the lake. They adhered to the principle of a quick battle and returned to Datong City with the prisoners, sheep and horses on the same day.

It was faster to come back, mainly because the three thousand cavalry and six thousand war horses had stepped out of a snowy path, so they didn't have to walk in the snow, and even the sheep could follow them.

It took only two days, and the army saw Datong City in the evening of the second day.

At the same time, Sun Liang also wiped out the logistics tribes by Baishuibo, seized nearly 50 sheep, [-] horses, captured more than [-] old people, women and children, and executed hundreds of young and strong men.

Sun Liang's army is also returning to Datong City in mighty force.

The heavy snow in the first month came on the [-]th day of the first lunar month, and the wind was engulfing the snowballs, covering the sky and covering the earth. For two consecutive days, the sky and the earth were vast.

The first thousand and 170 eight chapters return to the south

Chen Qing set off for the south the next day after Yan Jun's army returned. He had made an arrangement beforehand. The captured horses would go to the army, and the captured sheep would be divided into four equal parts. One part goes to the Taiyuan garrison and one part goes to the Taiyuan government government. The natural gold and other jewelry wealth seized are transported back to Jingzhao and handed over to the government treasury.

After finishing his inspection of Datong Mansion, Chen Qing left Datong Mansion and headed south after being sent off by the officials of Datong Mansion and the generals of the army. There were hundreds of carts with him, full of treasures such as jewels, gold and silver, and they followed the army. Go south.

Because of Chen Qing's illness in Datong, when he returned to Jingzhao this time, the soldiers didn't allow him to ride a horse anymore. They had prepared a large and comfortable carriage long ago. This was Qin Huairen's newly built carriage. He hadn't had a chance to sit on the toilet yet. When he was arrested, Chen Qing just sat in a cart and headed south.

The carriage is indeed very spacious, mainly because it is relatively long, about a dozen square meters, and divided into two rooms inside and outside.

Of course, Chen Qing didn't bring a tea boy with him, but only Yao Mei, a personal maid. In fact, there was a small space in the back, and there was a toilet in it.

The car is covered with thick carpet, which is so soft that people can sit directly on the carpet, and of course, they need to sleep with a layer of bedding.

There was a small table in front of the car window. Chen Qing leaned on the cushion to read a book, and his eyes fell on Yao Mei on the other side from time to time. Yao Mei was concentrating on practicing writing. This little lady is very smart. She has only been serving herself for a month, and she has already learned all the thousand-character prose. Yesterday, she started to learn hundreds of surnames, and the tadpole prose that she just started writing is getting more and more neat now.

Chen Qing admired her seriousness, she devoted herself wholeheartedly, her energy was very concentrated, and she was not influenced by the outside world at all.

"The carriage is so bumpy, can you keep writing?" Chen Qing couldn't help asking.

Yao Mei put down her pen, rubbed her hands together and said with a smile, "I'm not only writing, but also tasting poems?"

"Have you tasted the charm of the poem?"

"Of course there are. These two sentences, the cicada noise forest is more quiet, and the bird singing mountain is more secluded. It seems incomprehensible, but when I think about it carefully, it really is like this. It means that there are no other passers-by, and this Jingheyou refers to myself alone."

"What else?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

"There is also the poem His Highness taught me yesterday. Birds fly away in thousands of mountains, people disappear in thousands of paths, a lonely boat and a hat, fishing in the cold river and snow alone. Your Highness asked me to appreciate the artistic conception. I closed my eyes and imagined those pictures. Every painting is very sad, boundless and uninhabited, but there are people fishing on the river, and it feels like there is a glimmer of life in the sadness."

"Not bad!"

Chen Qing praised: "Today, I will feel the artistic conception of 'the old man left the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, the fireworks will go down to Yangzhou in March, the lonely sail is far away, the blue sky is gone, and only the Yangtze River is flowing in the sky'. Read it yourself, and there is this poem below."

Yao Mei said happily, "I'll finish writing the words first, and then read the poems!"

Chen Qing smiled lazily: "You should make me a pot of tea first, from morning till now..."

"Oops! I forgot."

Yao Mei let out a cry, and hurriedly got up to make tea.

……

This afternoon, the team arrived in Taiyuan. The team rested in Taiyuan for two days before continuing south.

Niu Gao rushed to meet Chen Qing and brought a piece of news that surprised Chen Qing.

"Does Your Highness know Wanyan Digunai?"

How could Chen Qing not know that Wanyan Digunai, whose Chinese name is Wanyanliang, is the next Jin Kingdom Emperor Hailing King in history.

"I know him, Wanyan Wushu subordinate Wan Fuchang, what's wrong with him?"

"For some reason, he led [-] cavalry to the south, probably wanting to plunder Yangzhou, but as a result, he fell into the trap of the Song army after crossing the Huaihe River. Surrounded by a [-]-strong army, the entire [-] Jurchen cavalry was wiped out, and Wanyan Digunai was captured alive by Liu Qi in the Huaihe River, and sent to Lin'an, where the court is said to be elated."

Chen Qing sneered and said: "This Wanyan Digunai originally planned to sneak attack Xuzhou, but Xuzhou was impeccable, and he was unwilling to return without success, so he led the army to the south. This person came to the Central Plains last year, and he doesn't know much about the situation in the Central Plains. Maybe I still have the impression of the Northern Song army, thinking that my 10,000 cavalry can easily defeat the [-]+ Song army, so underestimating the enemy, it is normal for the entire army to be wiped out."

"Your Highness, I heard that the court changed the reign name to Shaoding, probably because of this victory."

Chen Qing laughed dumbly. Shao Ding was the reign title of Song Lizong in history, and it was used in advance. However, he also understood that the imperial court raised 50 troops. Except for the troops of Yue Fei and Wu Jie, it was almost impossible to wipe out [-] Jurchens. The battle of the cavalry, whether it is the Jurchen cavalry in the broad sense or the Jurchen cavalry in the narrow sense, such brilliant results are really rare for the court, and it is reasonable to celebrate the victory with a new year.