Fenghou

After running for about fifteen or six miles, there was a rumbling sound of thunder from behind, and the ground trembled slightly. The soldiers looked back in horror. .

"Western cavalry are coming!"

Someone shouted, and the entire army was in a commotion, and the soldiers shouted in panic: "The cavalry of the Western Army are coming!"

"Stop the whole army and line up for me!"

Zhang Zhongxiong yelled desperately, but unfortunately he is not Li Cheng, and he has no prestige in the army. His voice was drowned out by the fearful shouts of the soldiers, and even the dozen or so horn players who had followed him ran away without a trace. .

The [-] signed soldiers dispersed like a flood bursting a bank, and ran wildly. Some soldiers took off their armor, threw away their weapons and dry food, and threw away everything that hindered their escape.

The soldiers hurriedly said: "Dutong, let's go! The Western Army is coming."

The overwhelming cavalry of the Western Army had already killed a mile away, and the horses were galloping in the wilderness. The momentum of sweeping across the earth, as if the sky and the earth were collapsing, made the signing army soldiers lose their will to resist. As long as one person escapes, thousands of people will flee. Thousands of people fleeing will drive tens of thousands of people to flee for their lives.

Especially during the march, tens of thousands of people stretched for more than ten miles, even if they assembled into an formation, it would take more than half an hour at the fastest. Once they encountered a surprise attack by the enemy, they would basically be defeated.If you are lucky, most of them can escape and regroup the soldiers. If you are not lucky, the whole army will be wiped out.

Zhang Zhongxiong's Laixi army was coming fiercely, so he had to sigh a long time, turned his horse's head and galloped as fast as he could, and dozens of his personal soldiers followed closely on horseback.

Soon they overtook most of the fleeing soldiers. Zhang Zhongxiong couldn't help but look back, only to hear the cavalry of the Western Army shouting: "The surrender will not be killed! The surrender will not be killed!"

Countless soldiers knelt on the ground and surrendered, even before the cavalry of the Western Army came, there were groups of soldiers knelt down and raised their hands to surrender.

Zhang Zhongxiong suddenly saw the commander Feng Lin and Zhang Bao leading tens of thousands of soldiers kneeling and surrendering.

"These two bastards!"

Zhang Zhongxiong gritted his teeth with hatred, but there was nothing he could do, so he beat his horse and galloped in the dark night.

An hour later, Chen Qing arrived with the main force, and the fierce battle was over. In fact, the signed army was not that bad. Commander Sun Yue led 5000 men and [-] cavalry from the Western Army to fight. The fierce battle lasted for nearly half an hour. The entire army of the Thousand Signature Army was wiped out, and the main general Sun Yue was also captured alive by Yang Zaixing.

However, Sun Yue's resistance also covered the escape of many soldiers, which made the Western Army's hope of capturing all the signing troops alive. The Western Army only captured more than [-] people and escaped more than [-] signing troops.

When Chen Qing arrived at the battlefield, Yang Zaixing stepped forward to give orders. Seeing that Yang Zaixing was covered in blood and smelled blood, Chen Qing couldn't help but frowned and said, "Are you fighting the enemy?"

Yang Zaixing smiled wryly and said, "An army assembled, about 5000 people, fought desperately against us, and finally wiped out this enemy army, and the brothers suffered more than [-] casualties."

"What about the resisting army, all of them died in battle?"

"Of course not. We killed more than 500 people and captured [-] people. The enemy general was a commander. He singled out the humble officer. After ten tricks, he was captured alive by the humble officer."

"Bring me this lord!"

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

After a while, the soldiers brought up Sun Yue, the enemy commander who had been kidnapped.

When he saw Chen Qing, he couldn't help but startled, then lowered his head.

Seeing a scar on his left jaw, Chen Qing vaguely felt that this person looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember it.

"Have I seen you?" Chen Qing asked.

Sun Yue sighed, "Your Highness, do you still remember the ambush in Chunhua County?"

Chen Qing thought for a moment and said, "You mean Zhang Zhongyan, the commander of the Huanqing Army?"

Sun Yue nodded, "Exactly! I was the one who chopped off Zhang Zhongyan's head on the top of the city back then. I was just a capital leader at that time."

Chen Qing remembered that there was this person among the generals in Chunhua County back then.

"Untie him!"

The soldiers untied Sun Yue, and Chen Qing asked again: "You used to be a member of the Western Army, why did you surrender to the Kingdom of Jin again?"

Sun Yue said ashamedly: "Xiaozhi was Yao Ling's subordinate back then. Later, Yao Ling killed the general Li Hua and led his troops to surrender Wanyan Wushu, and Xiaozhi followed Yao Ling all the time."

"Yao Ling is still there?"

"He's still here! He's been serving as the military envoy of the Shandong Road signing army, and he is highly regarded by Wanyan Wushu. He is currently one of the three governors of the Shandong Road signing army."

Chen Qing nodded, "Give him a horse and let him go!"

Sun Yue stood there blankly, without any response, Chen Qing sneered, "Could it be that you still want to take the army back?"

Sun Yue suddenly knelt down on one knee, weeping and said: "Xiaozhi didn't follow His Highness back then, and I have always regretted it in my heart, please Your Highness, please give Xiaozhi another chance."

Chen Qing looked at him, and asked lightly: "In that case, why didn't you surrender on the battlefield?"

Sun Yue said for a while: "You can surrender at any time, except on the battlefield!"

Yang Zaixing said to Chen Qing in a low voice: "This man is a tough one on the battlefield, it's quite rare that he won't surrender in a deadly battle, it's because of his humble position that he didn't kill him."

Chen Qing saw that Yang Zaixing was moved by his love for talent, so he nodded, "Forget it, according to the Western Army's rules, I will demote you to the rank of deputy commander, and you will follow Yang Dutong from now on!"

"Thank you Your Highness for not killing me, thank you Yang Dutong for your generosity!"

Chen Qing ordered people to take him down, and all the more than [-] soldiers under him were also released, transferred to the Western Army, continued to follow him, and became Yang Zaixing's generals.

Almost all of the more than [-] people who surrendered were young and strong from Shandong Road. Chen Qing ordered all of them to be released back to their hometowns, and the prisoners of war captured in Haizhou were also released.

Shandong Road as a whole is not bad. It has not been ravaged as badly as Henan Road. It will take ten years to slowly recover. As long as Shandong Road is kept young and strong, it will only take a year or two to recover.

Wanyan Wushu played up that he was a monster in the signing army, killing people like hemp, and he had to fight to survive. Chen Qing told the signing army with practical actions that there is no future for being a traitor, and he will be right when he turns back.

When the news came out, more than 3 prisoners of war cheered, and the Western Army immediately registered, and each person was given [-] yuan and two buckets of rice, and they were released to return to their hometowns. If they were willing to join the Western Army, the strong ones were selected to stay.

After screening, the Western Army added another [-] strong soldiers.

Chen Qing's army immediately captured Jeju, Tengzhou and Yanzhou, and Liu Cui also led [-] troops northward from Xuzhou to occupy Yizhou.

A total of 10 troops retreated from the two signed armies. The Jin soldiers lost the southern part of Shandong Road, but Li Cheng's troops did not hurt the root cause, but Zhang Zhongxiong's troops were defeated very badly. The [-] army was almost wiped out, and only [-] people were gathered in the remnant army. , although many soldiers escaped, they were unwilling to return to the team and chose to flee home directly.

Zhang Zhongxiong was terrified in his heart, he didn't dare to see Wanyan Wushu, but fled back to Jinan Mansion, trying to take his family away, but he was immediately discovered by the spies monitoring his mansion, who informed Wanyan Wushu, and returned home In less than an hour, Zhang Zhongxiong was arrested immediately.

Zhang Zhongxiong was escorted to Prince Liang's mansion. He knelt down on the steps and begged for mercy. Wanyan Wushu slapped the table angrily and said, "I gave you fifty thousand troops, but the whole army was wiped out. Let me ask you, what number are you?" time?"

Zhang Zhongxiong quickly explained: "It was because the army was cut off that they couldn't hold on, so they had to abandon the city and evacuate. Before the retreat, the humble officials also sent spies and found that the main force of the enemy army was fifty miles away, so they dared to evacuate. I didn't expect Chen Qing to be too cunning to ambush nearby. , the humble job is indeed not Chen Qing's opponent, and he has failed the prince's great trust!"

Wanyan Wushu sneered and said: "You think that if you admit your mistake and say a few good words, I will forgive you, because you lost fifty thousand troops because of your incompetence and stupidity, and if you can get away with such a serious crime, then it is unreasonable. Come, drag me down and behead me!"

Several Jurchen soldiers rushed up like wolves and tigers, grabbed Zhang Zhongxiong and dragged them away. Zhang Zhongxiong was frightened and shouted: "Your Majesty, spare your life! Please spare your life!"

At this time, Fan Gong stepped forward to persuade him: "Although Zhang Zhongxiong is incompetent, there are not many generals who are as loyal to the prince as he is!"

"Is he faithful to me?"

Wanyan Wushu sneered and said: "If he is loyal to me, he should come to see me in an upright manner, instead of absconding and trying to escape with his family. I don't think he has the word loyalty in his heart."

Fan Gong was speechless for a while, Wanyan Wushu sighed again: "He should be killed in Bianliang, and the entire army of 5 people will not be wiped out this time."

Several soldiers came in, holding a tray, in which was Zhang Zhongxiong's head.

Wanyan Wushu waved his hand, "Take it out together with the body and give it to his family, let them bury themselves."

After Zhang Zhongxiong was executed, Wanyan Wushu's pent-up anger finally came out.

He took two steps with his hands behind his back, walked to the sand table again, looked at the sand table and asked, "What does the military adviser think we should do next?"

Fan Gong said slowly: "I feel that the prince needs to make two-handed preparations. On the one hand, he must try his best to urge the imperial reinforcements to arrive, and on the other hand, he must make preparations for retreat."

"retreat!"

Wanyan Wushu said dissatisfied: "I have lost Henan Road, does the military advisor think I still have room to retreat?"

But Fan Gong knew Wanyan Wushu very well, and knew that if he didn't say something earlier, once the situation was irreversible, the prince would blame him for not deploying it earlier.

"My lord, the humble suggestion may be a little out of date, but my lord is not absolutely sure of victory, and even slightly inferior to the Western Army in terms of financial and material resources, and the firearms are far less powerful than the Western Army, not to mention the Western Army also has a navy. We are indeed at a disadvantage, unless the lord has decided to live and die with Shandong Road, we will not say anything about it!"

Of course Wanyan Wushu will not live and die with Shandong Road, he is a Jurchen, and will only live and die with Jurchen. Although Fan Gong's words are a bit harsh, Wanyan Wushu finally agrees.

He nodded and said, "I'm here to urge the imperial court to reinforce the army, and I will ask the military adviser to arrange the rear road!"

……

After defeating Zhang Zhongxiong's 20 signing army, Chen Qing led an army of [-] troops to go north to Dongping Mansion and directly attacked Xucheng County, which was governed by the mansion. Dongping Mansion was Yunzhou in the Northern Song Dynasty. One of the three important prefectures.

To the east is Dongping Prefecture, in the middle is Jinan Prefecture, and to the west is Yidu Prefecture. These three prefectures are also the economic center with the most concentrated cultivated land and the most densely populated population on Shandong Road. Rencheng County is the prefecture of Jeju, which is the division of Dongping Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture. The loss of the southern gate and Rencheng County will undoubtedly make Dongping Mansion lose its southern barrier, and it will have to face the attack of the Western Army.

At the same moment when Chen Qing's army entered Dongping Mansion northward, Liu Cui led an army of [-] troops into Tai'an Prefecture. Tai'an Prefecture is located in the south of Jinan Mansion. The Wan cavalry did not stop, and continued to enter Jinan Mansion, stopping between Jinan Mansion and Dongping Mansion.

Liu Cui's intentions are also obvious. Once Jinan Prefecture Jinbing rescues Dongping Prefecture, Liu Cui's army will immediately attack Licheng County.

Conversely, once the Dongping Mansion's army retreats eastward, Liu Cui's army will also intercept it.

As for the supplies of Liu Cui's [-] cavalry, there is no need to worry at all. The Jiaolong camp has hundreds of ships full of food and supplies, and they are only less than a hundred miles away from Liu Cui's army.

At this time, Wanyan Wushu also faced an extremely difficult choice, should he withdraw the [-] Donghu troops guarding Dongping Mansion back to Jinan Mansion?If you want to withdraw, how to withdraw?

The first thousand and 210 chapters of Sucheng

Wanyan Wushu was hesitant. In the end, he did not order the 13 gold soldiers of the Dongping Army to be transferred back. Instead, he ordered Li Cheng's [-] signed troops to be transferred back from Yidu Prefecture, bringing the garrison of Jinan Prefecture to [-].

The reason why Wanyan Wushu didn't call back the Dongping Mansion's army was not because of Liu Cui's [-] cavalry, if he really decided to call back the [-] army, he would definitely send a large army to support it.

The main reason is that Wanyan Wushu takes time, and the western army's attack speed is too fast. It took only two days for the main force of the western army to capture Rencheng County, and the army entered Dongping Mansion.

If this continues, I am afraid that the main force of the Western Army will already be approaching the city before the reinforcements from the imperial court arrive.

Wanyan Wushu needed Dongping Mansion to slow down the pace of the Western Army's eastward advance and buy him eight to ten days.

It's a pity that his opponent is Chen Qing, and Chen Qing doesn't give him any chance. Two days after the [-]th army entered Dongping Mansion, they came to Xucheng County together and surrounded Xucheng County from east, west, north, three directions.

To the south of Xucheng is Shuibo Liangshan, and Jishui is only three miles away from the county seat. Of course, the [-] Eastern Hu troops can break through from the south city, and then retreat to the east in the direction of Jinan Prefecture.

The problem is, this retreat route is specially reserved for them by Chen Qing. Chen Qing just hopes that the Donghu army will abandon the city and flee, so that they can surround them in the wild, instead of entering the city to fight street battles, which is beneficial to the safety of the people.

Surrounded by hundreds of generals, Chen Qing came to Xucheng County, looking up at this tall and majestic building, even taller and stronger than Rencheng County, mainly because Rencheng County is slightly higher, so the city wall looks extraordinarily high .

This may be the confidence of the [-] Eastern Hu troops to defend the city without retreating. The city wall is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Food supplies are sufficient to support an army of [-] for at least five months.

In particular, when Zhang Zhongxiong's army retreated to the east, it was chased by tens of thousands of cavalry from the Western Army, so that the entire army was wiped out. This sounded the alarm for the defenders and made them dare not retreat easily.

Chen Qing stared at the top of the city for a moment and smiled: "Everything has two sides, and this city is no exception. On the one hand, it is tall and majestic, easy to defend and difficult to attack, but on the other hand, its weakness is too obvious, and its foundation is not stable. , do you understand what I mean?"

Everyone immediately understood, and Yang Zaixing immediately said: "Give me three days, and I will guarantee that the army will enter the city!"

……

For two days in a row, the Western Army did not attack Xucheng County, and the chief general of Xucheng County on the top of the city couldn't help but become suspicious.

The chief general of Xucheng County is a famous Jurchen general named Chizhanhui. He is about fifty years old. He was granted the title of Meng'an Wanhu. After Wanyan Wushu was defeated and retreated to Shandong Road, he captured [-] Jurchen troops under Chizhanhui's command, and appointed him as the defense envoy of the East and West Roads in Shandong, and took command of [-] Donghu troops in Dongping Mansion.

Chi Zhanhui is also experienced in many battles and has rich combat experience. He knows that the Western Army is rushing to kill Xucheng County as soon as possible, but now it is unreasonable to stand still in Xucheng County.

On the morning of the third day, Chizhanhui received a report that he found something abnormal outside the west city. He rushed to the head of the west city and looked out of the city. He saw a wooden house built a hundred steps away, standing alone on the open space. What's the meaning?

A commander asked for instructions: "Let the humble officials burn down the wooden house with rockets, and see what they want to do?"

"Yes!" Chi Zhanhui immediately approved his subordinate's challenge.

Not long after, hundreds of soldiers came rushing to shoot rockets at the wooden house a hundred steps away. Unexpectedly, hundreds of rockets hit the wooden house, but the wooden house did not burn, and almost all the rockets fell to the ground by the wooden house.

Chi Zhanhui was stunned. Hundreds of rockets were fired, and even hardwoods that were not easy to ignite should catch fire. This wooden house not only does not burn, but also cannot be nailed by arrows, just like iron plates.

At this time, another Qianfu noticed the clue. He pointed to the distance and said: "Please look, Mr. Wan, there is a trench 150 steps away. I seem to have seen a figure just now."

Chi Zhanhui stared at it for a long time, nodded and said: "It seems that there is a figure, so what?"

"Hasn't Mr. Wan thought of it? There is actually a transit station under this wooden house, leading to a trench in the distance. In this way, the Western Army enters the tunnel from the trench and then enters the wooden house. We can't see it." And what the Western Army is doing in a wooden house, you can actually guess."

Chi Zhanhui thought about it, and took a breath, "You mean, they are digging a tunnel into the city?"

The commander nodded, "There is no moat in Xucheng County, and the terrain is high. Digging tunnels is indeed a very good plan."

Chi Zhanhui sneered, "If you want to be a smothered groundhog, I'll make it happen for them!"

He turned around and walked down the city until he reached the base of the city wall. He turned his head and said to Lieutenant General Gao Qianshi, "General Gao can prepare dozens of water tanks, put them upside down in the soil, and then arrange for soldiers with keen hearing to stick the big tanks for me to listen to them." If you hear any movement underground, report it to me immediately!"

……

After discovering the Western Army's attempt, Chi Zhanhui didn't want to expose the other party. He pretended not to know that he could use a trebuchet to destroy the wooden house. Tunneling plans.

At two o'clock in the middle of the night, Chi Zhanhui was pushed awake in his sleep, and the soldiers said to him: "Brothers heard the movement underground!"

Chizhanhui was refreshed, and quickly got up and came to the city wall, only to see a group of soldiers gathered around a large tank, taking turns to listen.

"Master Wan is here!"

Someone yelled, and everyone moved away. Chi Zhanhui stepped forward quickly, and a centurion pointed to a tank and said, "Captain Wan, it's here!"

Chi Zhanhui stepped forward to listen, and there was a faint sound of digging. Chi Zhanhui immediately ordered: "Dig a hole here and prepare poisonous smoke balls!"

The soldiers got busy and started digging tunnels.