Fenghou

The fire burned until the morning of the next day before it gradually extinguished, but the palace, which cost tens of thousands of guan, was also burned to the ground. Thousands of Plum Blossom Guard soldiers sealed off the surroundings of the palace, and they were carefully checking all kinds of clues.

At this time, a carriage was escorted by dozens of cavalry and drove quickly, until it came to the gate of the palace, the carriage stopped, and Qin Hui walked out of the carriage.

He walked up the steps and looked at the burning palace that was left with only ruined walls. He was really annoyed. Everyone in the palace was packing up and preparing to move here, but unexpectedly it was destroyed by the fire.

But there was still a trace of uneasiness in his eyes, Xiaoshan Zhifang was destroyed by fire the night before, and the palace was also destroyed by fire last night.Is there a connection between the two?

At this time, Yan Xin, the commander of the Plum Blossom Guard, stepped forward quickly, bowed and saluted, "See Mr. Qin!"

"Are there any casualties?"

"Reporting to my lord, the [-] craftsmen and more than a dozen patrolling soldiers who lived in the palace at night all escaped smoothly, but four Plum Blossom Guard soldiers were crushed by the collapsed wall while fighting the fire and died in their line of duty.

"That's unfortunate. Has the cause of the fire been found?"

Yan Xin nodded, "Master, please follow me!"

He took Qin Hui to the side, pointed to a dozen leather bags on the ground and said, "I found these around, and I can still pour out a little kerosene, and there are more than a dozen torches, so I threw them on the ground. Mr. Qin understands." Someone set the fire with kerosene and deliberately threw the evidence on the ground for us to see, as for who it is, Qin Xianggong should be very clear."

Qin Hui's expression turned very ugly. Except for the intelligence spies of the Western Army, no one knew how to use kerosene, and they were the only ones who had this kind of kerosene. Sure enough, as he feared, the Western Army was retaliating.

He pondered for a moment and said: "Destroy the kerosene bag immediately. The news of this matter is blocked, and no one is allowed to leak it, understand?"

"Understandable!"

Qin Hui then got into the carriage and rushed back to the palace to report...

Zhao Gou only found out about the fire in the palace this morning, and he immediately ordered Xiangguo Qin Hui to investigate.

In the imperial study room, Zhao Gou paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. In fact, he also vaguely guessed that this was the Western Army's revenge. If this was the case, it would be a bit scary. Xinggong, what if I ordered the newspaper to be burned down again?Will the other party directly burn the palace?

Zhao Gou shuddered. He felt that if the other party wanted to do this, there was nothing he couldn't do.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Qin is here!"

Zhao Gou hurriedly said, "Show him in!"

Soon, Qin Hui hurried into the imperial study, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I have been to the palace!"

"How's it going?"

Qin Hui shook his head, "It's not very good, the entire palace was burned down, and four soldiers who put out the fire died."

Zhao Gou gritted his teeth and said, "Who did it, can you find out?"

"Your Majesty, there is no need to investigate. There were more than a dozen skin bags lost at the scene. There was still kerosene and torches in them. There is only one family that can use kerosene."

Zhao Gou's face turned livid immediately, and he said slowly for a while, "Go and question them. The agreement signed at the beginning was clear, and their people were not allowed to destroy Lin'an again. Now they openly set fire to it. What do they want to do? If the agreement is useless, then I will Just take back Jiangnan West Road!"

"Your Majesty, I just went to see Hu Yun!"

When Zhao Gou turned his head, he saw Xu Xiantu standing at the door. Xu Xiantu bowed and said, "I'm rude, I should inform you first!"

Zhao Gou allowed Xu Xiantu to come in without notification, he waved his hand, "What did Xu Aiqing just say?"

"I went to question Hu Yun. I also went to the palace early in the morning and saw the kerosene skin, so I went directly to the special envoy's mansion and asked Hu Yun why he wanted to break the agreement?"

"Then what did he say?" Zhao Gou asked anxiously.

"He said that we have insufficient evidence, so let's not make random accusations. If they did it, they wouldn't throw away the skins. This is obviously a very low-level planting!"

Zhao Gou frowned and asked, "Perhaps what he said made sense, but how did he explain the source of the kerosene?"

"He said that kerosene was sold in the pharmacies in Yan'an Prefecture. You couldn't buy a lot of it, but you could still buy one or two barrels. He also said that Zhang Jun's warehouse management was not strict before, and thousands of barrels of kerosene were sold. The warehouse was stolen and sold, and their whereabouts are unknown, so it is ridiculous to identify them with just a few kerosene bags!"

Zhao Gou was at a loss for words, he looked at Qin Hui again, Qin Hui said coldly: "They did it, it's just that they don't admit it, there are eight torches in Xiaoshan Zhifang, and there are also eight torches in the palace, it's not a coincidence. "

"If they don't admit it, is there nothing we can do?" Zhao Gou said angrily.

Qin Hui sneered, "They just don't admit it, and we can just don't admit it. In Wei Chen's opinion, it's easy to burn down the "Beijing News" newspaper."

Xu Xiantu immediately said anxiously: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten how Xiangyang was lost? Chen Qing sent [-] troops to Quanzhou. Your Majesty, Chen Qing is waiting for me to strike first!"

Zhao Gou sat down slumped, and after a while, he waved his hands, "You all step back!"

At this moment, he felt a little timid in his heart. He really couldn't afford to lose Fujian Road for a newspaper office. Zhao Gou suddenly realized that Chen Qing's next goal must be Fujian Road.

The first thousand 290 eight chapters debriefing

Chen Qing's fleet sailed across the river outside Zhenjiang Mansion. The river was full of waves, only sporadic fishing boats, and occasionally a merchant fleet appeared, but there were no court warships or patrol boats, nor the Western Army's patrol boats. It also did not appear on the river, this is also to avoid irritating the court, maintain a peaceful atmosphere, or create an illusion of peace, so that the south bank of the Yangtze River does not feel threatened, and naturally there is no pressure to build ships. and motivation.

Chen Qing's fleet turned north again and slowly sailed into the canal. After more than an hour, the fleet arrived in Yangzhou.

At this time, Zhang Jiayun, the commander of the Western Army stationed in Yangzhou, and Luo Ji, the prefect of Yangzhou, rushed to the dock to welcome the arrival of King Yong. Chen Qing will rest in Yangzhou for two days, inspect Yangzhou by the way, and then continue north to Haizhou.

After meeting with the crowd, accompanied by officials, Chen Qing entered the city in a carriage.

"My lord, this city is very prosperous!"

Through the window of the car, Yao Mei could see the bustling traffic on the street outside, the flow of people like weaving, and the sound of hawking one after another, a scene of steaming.

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "This city was also devastated in the past, and now it is gradually recovering. This is the frontier of the south of the Yangtze River, and the business transfer is very prosperous. Many merchants open stores here, and transfer at the same time. If there is demand, it will develop quickly."

"Has your lord been here before?" Yao Mei turned around and asked with a smile.

Chen Qing shook his head, "Actually, it's also my first time here."

"Can we go for a walk?" Yao Mei asked expectantly.

Chen Qing apologized: "Walking around the street is the same as now. Sitting in a carriage, you have to wait for the guards to deploy and investigate which store you want to go to, and then enter after ensuring safety!"

"let it go!"

Yao Mei is very smart, she knew that going to the streets would cause a lot of trouble for the guards, so she gave up.

Seeing a look of disappointment in her eyes, Chen Qing smiled slightly and said, "Take a rest! It's actually quite tiring after sitting on the boat for so long. I'll ask some female guards to accompany you out for a walk later, to buy some makeup or something." , if I don’t follow, there won’t be so many troubles.”

Yao Mei was overjoyed, "That's great! I'll go out with Sister Zhang and the others."

……

Chen Qing's residence is in the expensive hotel, and there is no one living there at present. The guards have packed up. Yao Mei took two female guards out for shopping. Chen Qing was about to go out when the guards came to report, "The king's office of Lin'an "Beijing News" See you, Lord!"

It turned out that it was Wang Mu who came, Chen Qing smiled and said, "Please wait in the living room!"

Wang Mu went to Jingzhao the year before last, and Chen Qing met him. Hu Yun and Wang Mu have done very well in the past two years, fighting the court with wits and courage, and won Chen Qing's appreciation. Chen Qing has already listed Hu Yun as a backup Counselor, of course, Wang Mu is also good, and he can completely handle it alone.

When Chen Qing came to the living room, Wang Mu quickly stepped forward to salute, "See Your Highness!"

"Why is the owner of the palace in Yangzhou?"

Wang Mu smiled wryly and said, "Something happened in Lin'an, I came to Yangzhou to contact Zhizhi."

"Sit down and talk!"

Chen Qing asked Wang Mu to sit down, and asked with concern, "What happened in Lin'an?"

"After we published His Royal Highness's call to crusade against Hebei, it aroused strong reactions from Lin'an and even Jiangnan. The people came to the newspaper to donate 33 guan, but it aroused the jealousy of the imperial court. They did not dare to attack the newspaper, so they set it on fire. Our largest paper supply workshop, the paper workshop in Xiaoshan, attempted to cut off the raw materials of newspapers by cutting off the bottom line. This move was indeed vicious, and our paper suppliers in Lin’an were gone.”

"There is such a thing!"

Chen Qing said displeased: "Then how should Hu Yun deal with it?"

"Hu Yun arranged for intelligence spies to burn down the Palace of the Son of Heaven by the West Lake the next night. It is said that it was burnt to ashes. He also threw the kerosene skin on the spot and told the other party clearly that it was we who burned it."

"and then?"

"I don't know what happened later, I don't know, I left Lin'an to find papers!"

"did you find it?"

"Beizhi first found a batch of paper in Pingjiang Mansion, enough for us to use for five days, plus our inventory, it can last for about [-] days, and then came to Yangzhou, where there are several large paper-making workshops, consider In the future, I will buy paper from Yangzhou and Pingjiangfu."

Chen Qing nodded, "Is the paper resolved?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, it is basically resolved. The combined paper supply of Pingjiang Mansion in Yangzhou can increase the daily printing volume of our newspapers by another [-]%, but this [-]% is considered to be printed and sold in Pingjiang Mansion and Yangzhou."

Chen Qing said lightly: "Yangzhou can be let go, and Changzhou, Zhenjiang Mansion and Jiangning Mansion are given priority."

"Humble job understands!"

Chen Qing said again: "Go back and tell Hu Yun that the imperial court can't pay the salary, which has a great influence. He should pay attention to those officials and civil servants who live in distress and help them. Many times, it's not that they don't want to come to Jingzhao to seek jobs, but they have Don't discriminate against them, but help them when they are in trouble."

"Remember the humble job, I will definitely tell Hu Yun!"

"In addition, the 30 yuan donated by the people is used to give back to the people of Lin'an. I suggest that you build a few porridge sheds in Lin'an and other cities to help the elderly, weak and orphans. These things are small things, but they will subtly change people's thinking. "

"The humble job must do it!"

Wang Mu immediately got up to say goodbye and left.

……

After resting for two days, Chen Qing's fleet set off again, continuing northward, sailing from Chuzhou to the New Yellow River, and then northward to Donghai Island.

The original role of Donghai Island was to attack the Shandong Peninsula from the sea route. Now that the Shandong Road Peninsula has been taken, the role of Donghai Island has changed. Its current role is a transit supply station. Sea ships going north from Quanzhou and Guangzhou cannot After receiving supplies in Mingzhou and Lin'an Prefecture, they can only continue northward to replenish supplies on Donghai Island. Many seagoing ships will unload the goods on Donghai Island for distribution, and then other ships will transport them to Shandong Road, from the New Yellow River to the Central Plains, Or take the Yangtze River to transport to the hinterland.

Chen Qing only stayed in Donghai Island for half a day. After inspecting Donghai Island, he continued to go north. Five days later, the fleet arrived at the destination of the trip—Penglai County, Dengzhou.

Dengzhou Penglai County was an extremely important port in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Both the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty envoys landed in Penglai County and headed for Chang'an in Guanzhong. The commercially developed Song Dynasty maritime merchants also set off from Penglai to go to Korea and Japan to do business. .

Just last month, Zheng Tongquan and Ryukyu envoy Chao Kun led [-] Wanshi ships loaded with pig iron and armor to Japan for silver trade, and they also departed from Penglai Port.

Now, Penglai Port has become a naval base again, where hundreds of warships and [-] naval troops gathered here, preparing to launch an offensive against Hejian Mansion.

Chen Qing's trip is to inspect the combat readiness of the navy, and then go to Licheng County, Jinan Prefecture. This time, the king's tent for attacking Hebei is located in Jinan Prefecture. Chen Qing will lead an army of 20 to contain the [-] Jurchens in Daming Prefecture. military.

The first thousand 290 nine chapters ambition

At present, the chief general of the [-] navy is Tang Huai, the deputy governor, and Zhang Gongyu, the deputy general. After seizing Donghai Island and Shandong Peninsula, Liu Qiong discovered that Tang Huai was very talented in the navy. Both the fleet and the drills of the navy were well organized and organized.

Afterwards, Chen Qing inquired about Yue Yun and found out that the Yue family army once formed the Huai River navy, and the commander was Tang Huai. However, this navy was later transferred to Zhang Jun by the court, and Tang Huai was no longer the commander of the navy.

Since Tang Huai was talented in the navy, Chen Qingxin appointed Tang Huai as the governor of the Yangtze River Navy and was promoted to the deputy commander. At the same time, the generals who were promoted to the deputy commander also included Wang Duo, Li Fuxing, Hu Yanlei, Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, Xu Qing and a group of generals.

Lieutenant General Zhang Gongyu was originally Han Shizhong's deputy general of the navy. He is a veteran. He has been a general of the navy in Mingzhou for a long time. It can be said that he has been depressed. It was also accepted by Chen Qing.

Dozens of generals at the commanding level and above welcomed His Royal Highness King Yong at the pier in Penglai County. When Chen Qing walked ashore from the big ship, everyone knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See Your Highness!"

"Generals, please stand up!"

Chen Qing hurriedly asked the generals to stand up, and smiled at them, "I came to Dengzhou by boat from Jingzhao, and now I close my eyes and see ships and the sea. I feel like I am also a member of the navy."

Tang Huai said with a smile: "Your Highness is of course a member of the Navy, and Your Highness is the supreme commander of our Navy!"

"That's a good point. I am indeed the supreme commander of the navy. I hope that everyone can make new achievements in this attack on Hebei. Not only that, but in the future when we attack the old nest of the Jin Kingdom in Liaodong, the navy will also be the absolute main force. That's where you will show your power. when."

His Royal Highness King Yong's words made everyone's blood boil, and they wished that the war would start tomorrow.

Chen Qing asked Yao Mei to continue resting on the boat, and there was no suitable accommodation in the county, so it would be better to live comfortably on the boat.

Surrounded by all the generals, Chen Qing came down to the navy camp, which covered an area of ​​[-] mu, and built [-] large tents, where [-] sailors were stationed.

The big tent of the Chinese army is brightly lit, and in the middle is a sand table, which is the sand table in the east of Hebei Road, including Bohai Sea and Shandong Peninsula.

Chen Qing went to the sand table and carefully checked the current situation. All the generals returned their accounts, and only Tang Huai, Zhang Gongyu and Sima Baoyun remained in the big account.

Tang Huai explained to Chen Qing what they knew about the garrison in Hebei, "We got news from the spies that there is currently no garrison in Cangzhou, which is near the sea, but there are [-] signed troops stationed in Hejian Mansion. Once a war breaks out, we don't know Will they be transferred, they think about the worst, if they won't be transferred, then we will attack Hejian Mansion, and there will be a battle with the [-] signed troops."

Chen Qing nodded and asked, "Where are you going to put your foundation after landing in Cangzhou?"

"There are two important places, one is Huichuan County in Qingzhou, and the other is Qingchi County in Cangzhou. We plan to use Qingchi County in Cangzhou as the foundation first. The floating water flows into the Bohai Sea through Qingchi County, and our fleet can follow Fushui entered the hinterland of Cangzhou and went straight to Qingchi County, and after defeating the signing army of Hejian Mansion, we will station part of the army in Huichuan County of Qingzhou, where we can cut off the canal going south from Yanshan Mansion."

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "Actually, what I'm more worried about is that once the war breaks out, the [-] Jurchen reinforcements stationed in Yanshan Mansion will definitely go south, they will walk along the canal, and all kinds of logistics supplies will be provided by rafts." Transporting south, I am worried that if you send troops too early, you will definitely encounter [-] Jurchen cavalry, so I suggest that you wait patiently for information, and you must grasp the movements of these [-] cavalry. You will not be able to land until the [-] army goes south. Otherwise, the entire navy and warships will be wiped out."

Zhang Gongyu next to him said: "Your Highness is right, we really can't fight against the Jurchen cavalry, so collecting information about this army is the most important thing, Bo Sima, can we send scouts to Yanshan Mansion?"

Bo Yun smiled slightly and said, "You didn't understand what His Highness meant. Your Highness didn't ask us to collect information about this army."

Both Tang Huai and Zhang Gongyu looked at Chen Qing, and Chen Qing said calmly: "Bo Sima is right, I have already sent scouts to monitor this cavalry, and I will monitor the movement of this cavalry, so you have to wait for my order , After receiving my order, your fleet can set off."

Tang Huai and Zhang Gongyu saluted together, "Follow the order!"

Chen Qing nodded, walked out of the handsome tent, looked at the sea in the distance, and said in a deep voice, "General Zhang!"

Zhang Gongyu hurried forward, bowed and said: "The humble job is here!"

Chen Qing said lightly: "How old is the old general?"

"Two out of [-] people in humble jobs this year."

Chen Qing said slowly again: "There is a big island in the south of Goryeo, called Tamna Island. Originally there was a Tamna Kingdom, which was destroyed by Goryeo 40 years ago. Now it is called Tamna County. I have been thinking about it. Emperor Yangdi conquered Goguryeo and transported food to Liaodong with the power of the whole country. Later, because the logistics could not keep up, hundreds of thousands of troops were wiped out. Establish a logistics center on Tamna Island, and then send 20 troops to Tamna Island. With Tamna Island as the foundation, attack from south to north, destroy Baekje and Silla first, and support war with war. Emperor Sui Yang finally Is it possible to completely conquer Goguryeo?"

Bo Yun is a civil servant and knows this history. He interjected: "Back then, Hu'er set off from our feet and led the navy to conquer Goguryeo. Unfortunately, at that time, I didn't know that there was a large island of Tamna in the south!"