Fenghou

Therefore, Chen Qing's tens of thousands of troops marched west all the way, and they did not see the grand occasion of the Han people at the bottom level kneeling to welcome the king's teacher, and the rice pots and food. Some Khitan people and Xi people bowed their hands on the side of the road to express their gratitude to the Western Army.

The first thousand and 370 chapters of Yanshan

The general who accompanied Chen Qing to Pingzhou was Vice Commander Wang Duo, who was nearly fifty years old and a veteran of the Western Army. He was the brother of Wang Yan, the leader of the Eight Character Army, and he had been Niu Gao's deputy for these years. , his personal martial arts skills are not high, but he is cautious and tough, good at defense, and loyal to Chen Qing. This time, he was appointed by Chen Qing as the governor of Pingzhou and will lead [-] troops to garrison Pingzhou.

After entering Pingzhou, both sides of the official road became colder and colder, and ordinary people could not be seen at all, and the common people hid one after another.

"Your Highness, I feel that the people in Pingzhou seem to be more hostile to us, even more hostile than those in Yanshan Mansion. I really don't understand. They are also Han people. Why do they treat us like this?"

Chen Qing said lightly: "If you understand history, you won't be surprised."

"Please enlighten me, Your Highness, I am willing to listen to you!"

"It's a long story, so let's just talk about it briefly! Thousands of years ago, the Six Towns of the Northern Wei Dynasty rebelled. After the rebel army was suppressed, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and their families were resettled to Hebei and Guanlong. Although these soldiers were Han They did not become obedient citizens in the Central Plains, but instead formed two major military groups, the Hebei Military Group and the Guanlong Military Group.

Later they established the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou respectively, and finally the Guanlong Military Group defeated the Hebei Military Group, and both the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty were established by the Guanlong Military Group.

During the mid-Tang Dynasty, the Anshi Rebellion was also related to the Hebei military group. After the Anshi Rebellion, Yanshan Mansion became the old nest of separatist regimes. Since then, the Han people in Yanshan Mansion and the Han people in the Central Plains have not burned a stick of incense. It has been two to three hundred years. By the way, most of the wealthy families in Yanshan Mansion are descendants of the Hebei military group, and their low recognition of the Central Plains Dynasty is actually not entirely the result of the century-old rule of the Liao people, and they themselves do not recognize the Central Plains Dynasty. "

Wang Duo nodded silently, "I understand!"

"So after we seize Yanshan Road, we will send a large number of internal guards to monitor the movements of the wealthy families on Yanshan Road, and prevent them from colluding with Jin Guo, especially Pingzhou!"

Chen Qing said to Wang Duo: "Pingzhou is the bridgehead for Jin Guo to retake Yanshan Road. They will definitely infiltrate Pingzhou, form an army secretly in Pingzhou, and cooperate with Jin soldiers to seize Yuguan. This is what I am most worried about. You As the governor of Pingzhou, you must be highly vigilant, fully cooperate with the internal guards, and immediately send troops to suppress any signs of it, and be sure to kill all the wealthy families that participated in the rebellion, and you must not be lenient."

"His Royal Highness' warning, I will bear in mind my humble position!"

The army came to Yuguan, and Tang Huai was in Yuguan at this time, and went out of the city to welcome the arrival of King Yong.

Chen Qingxiao asked: "Have you received the military order I sent a few days ago?"

Tang Huai bowed and said: "I have received it, I have sent three hundred Wanshi ships to the mouth of the Juma River to transfer the supplies of Daxing City."

Chen Qing asked again: "Are the remaining ships still on Juehua Island?"

Tang Huai nodded and said: "Juehua Island has established a base on the base, with a garrison of 2000 troops, [-] of the remaining [-] Wanshi warships are moored there, and the rest are moored at the seaside of Pingzhou. "

Tang Huai met with Wang Duo again. He knew that Wang Duo was here to replace him. After all, they were naval forces, and they couldn't stay in Pingzhou all the time.

When everyone entered Yuguan, they saw that Yuguan was under construction. Tang Huai quickly explained: "After the humble guards of Yuguan fought fiercely with the Jurchen army, they also discovered some weaknesses in the pass. First, the city wall of Nanguan is relatively low, so it is easy Climbing, the second is that Beiguan City needs to be heightened and widened, and the defense capability will be even greater."

"Not bad!"

Chen Qinglian claimed to praise: "General Tang is not only a city guard, but also a well digger, which is admirable!"

"His Royal Highness, I have another plan, and it is currently being implemented. Please Your Highness and General Wang come with me!"

Tang Huai took Chen Qing and Wang Duo to the north city wall. On the north city wall, soldiers and craftsmen were building the wall. The ground outside was scorched black, and the large bloodstains were still very clear, showing the intensity of the battle.

Tang Huai pointed to a river faintly visible in the distance: "There is Yushui over there, about five miles away from us. I want to draw a tributary to form a moat. What do you think, Your Highness?"

Chen Qing smiled faintly: "This question is not up to you or me to decide, you should ask General Wang!"

Chen Qing glanced at Wang Duo, "What does General Wang think?"

Wang Duo bowed and said, "Your Highness, please give me half an hour to let me go and have a look."

Chen Qing said happily: "Yes!"

Wang Duo saluted and went down to the city with a few soldiers. Tang Huai praised: "It is said that General Wang is a cautious man, but now it seems that his reputation is indeed well-deserved. Let him be the general of Pingzhou, and Yuguan will be fine!"

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "Take me to see the situation in Guancheng!"

"Your Highness, this way please!"

……

Half an hour later, Wang Duo came back. He bowed to Chen Qing and said, "General Tang's idea is feasible, but I have a new idea!"

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "Why don't we go and see that river together!"

The crowd rode to the edge of Yushui. This river is not big, only seven or eight feet wide. It flows from the north and should pass through Yuguan, but turns eastward at the north of Yuguan and flows into the sea.

Wang Duo said to Chen Qing: "If a tributary is led from here to Yuguan to build a moat, it is feasible and feasible, but there is a flaw in it, that is, it is easy to be cut off by the enemy's direct filling, and this tributary will be useless."

Tang Huai's face turned hot, he cupped his fists and said, "It's still General Wang who is thoughtful, I really didn't think of this."

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said, "General Wang continues!"

Wang Duo continued: "But General Tang's idea of ​​using the river water as a defense is very good. I think about building another pass city by the river as the front line of defense for Yuguan. With the addition of Yushui, there will be three lines of defense for the entire Yuguan. .”

"Fantastic!"

Tang Huai immediately praised: "General Wang Duo's method is very practical and effective, and it is ten times better than the humble job of diverting water to create a moat!"

Chen Qing looked at the two sides. The width of this place is about the same as that of Yuguan, which is also about three miles. There are mountains on one side and the sea on the other. It should be feasible to build a three-mile-long pass city.

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said, "But General Wang, have you ever thought about how our defenders will retreat if Jurchen breaks through this pass?"

This is indeed a big problem. Once the enemy breaks through the pass, the cavalry must rush in. The soldiers of the Western Army are infantry, and they are five miles away from the main pass. The infantry may be chased by the Jurchen cavalry if they fail to reach the main pass. If it goes up, the whole army will be wiped out.

Wang Duo thought for a while, his eyes looked towards the sea in the east, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly said: "Report to Your Highness, you can run into the sea!"

Chen Qing nodded, "Tell me in detail!"

"You can build a pier plank road by the sea, which is full of boats. Once the western army can't hold the pass, you can go down the city from the easternmost corridor and go directly to the plank road to board the ship. To be safe, you need to make two deployments. !"

"go on!"

"The humble officer is considering the first deployment. Dig a few north-south ditches in the pass city and sprinkle them with barbed caltrops. This is to prevent the cavalry from rushing to the plank road wharf after entering the pass city, and buy time for the soldiers to retreat."

"can!"

Chen Qing agreed, "Let's talk about the second deployment!"

"The second deployment that I consider is to arrange a few navy ships on the sea to prevent the enemy from sneaking behind us from the water, especially at night!"

Chen Qing smiled and asked Tang Huai, "How about this arrangement?"

"very necessary!"

Tang Huai hurriedly said: "Actually, this is how we captured Yuguan!"

Chen Qing nodded, and said happily: "Then deploy a small-scale naval force, more than 1000 warships, and [-] people are enough."

Wang Duo was overjoyed, and bowed to salute, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your fulfillment!"

The first thousand and 370 chapters and three reversals

In the early morning, countless cavalry squads rushed out of the gate of Daxing City with notices and rushed to the states and counties.

At the same time, notices were posted in front of the gates of Daxing City, "Yong Wangling No. [-] on Yanshan Road", and countless people stood in front of the notices to watch.

The news spread throughout the city in an instant like an explosion of iron fire and thunder. King Yong ordered that all taxes in Yanshan Mansion be exempted for three years. Of course, the price of salt and wine will not be reduced. It is a government monopoly and is a relatively hidden tax.

In the territory of the Kingdom of Yong, all salt is priced at 120 ren per catty, which is a unified price across the country. Even coarse salt in Changping stores is canceled. Its existence impacts the salt tax, which is already the first in the Kingdom of Yong. A big financial income.

It supports the operation of Jingzhao and local governments, and it also supports the military expenditure of 60 million per month for the 180 troops of the Western Army.

Cracking down on illicit salt has become the top priority of local salt and iron bureaus, and the punishment is extremely severe. Almost all salt merchants who cook salt privately and traffic in illicit salt are killed by their families. Shops selling illicit salt are also punished, and their families are exiled in Hexi.

Far away, the three-year tax-free notice on Yanshan Road was announced in all states and counties, and the three-year tax-free decree was announced, which set off a huge upsurge in the entire land of Yanshan Road. celebrate.

As soon as the King Yong's decree came out, Yanshan Road's resistance to the Western Army was immediately reversed. There were smiles on the faces of the people, and Han people began to comfort the patrolling Western Army soldiers.

Tax exemption is the most powerful way to win the hearts and minds of the people. The bottom-level people have to pay taxes on half of their income, and farmers have to pay half of their harvest. Now the sudden tax exemption is equivalent to doubling their income. , Popular sentiment began to reverse.

As for the salt tax, Yanshan Road used to charge 120 renminbi per catty for salt, but now it has been directly reduced to [-] renminbi per catty, and Changping stores that sell coarse cloth and coarse grains have appeared. It made countless low-level people living in poverty see life, and also made the people at the bottom of Yanshan Road deeply feel the difference between the Western Army and the Jurchen Army.

When Chen Qing led the army to leave, hundreds of thousands of people bowed down along the way, sincerely grateful for the hope the Western Army brought to them.

At this time, Yanshan Road has been taken over by a large number of officials brought by Lu Qingshan. Except for the governor and long history who were appointed by Chen Qing, other middle-level and county government officials were appointed by the Ministry of Officials. Although Niu Gao served as the Yanshan Road A little envoy, but he can't interfere in politics, not just Niu Gao, all areas are separated from the military and the government, with clear divisions.

Chen Qing left Yanshan Mansion and returned to Jingzhao with an army of [-].

……

At noon, the people in Lin'an were eating and drinking tea leisurely. Many people looked at the street from time to time. At this time, the newspaper sellers should have appeared.

When the newspapers rose back then, all the heroes came together. There were more than a dozen newspapers in Lin'an City. After a few years, there are only three newspapers left to rule the roost. The old one is the "Beijing News". Ranked at the top of each newspaper, other newspapers can only rely on it.

The second is "Wuyue Commercial Daily", a newspaper jointly founded by a group of Jiangnan gentry, mainly publishing various business information, and is very popular among businessmen and dentists. The third is "Anecdote News", this It is a tabloid that specializes in publishing all kinds of romantic affairs. Although it is very vulgar, it is very popular among the people in Lin'an.

Interestingly, many readers buy all three newspapers, and the daily newspaper money is worth dozens of articles.

At this time, the clear and crisp shout of the newspaper seller came from the street, "Extremely good news, the Western Army has recovered Yanshan Road!"

The drinkers and tea drinkers got up and ran towards the door, and quickly surrounded the newspaper seller. After a while, the newspaper seller was robbed of all the newspapers in his hand.

The headline on the front page was "Master Wang Enters Yanshan on a Spring Night". This news really shocked everyone. You must know that "Fengzhou Bloody Battle Prairie Wolf" was still published more than a month ago. The news about the grassland nomadic cavalry, just over a month ago, the Western Army captured Yanshan Road, fulfilling the century-old dream of the Song Dynasty.

This news shocked the people of the whole city, and also made countless people ecstatic. This was not only the joy of regaining the lost ground, but also the fact that the Han army had begun to counterattack.

The whole city began to beat gongs and drums to celebrate the victory. This was another ecstasy for the whole people after the recovery of Hebei Road last year. The whole Lin'an City was like a festival, and the joy of victory filled everyone's heart.

But for many people who are well versed in the current situation, what they see is something deeper. The Kingdom of Jin has really declined. The interests of the site can not be defended.

For such a major event as the recovery of Yanshan Mansion, the court unexpectedly remained silent, as if nothing happened, or the recovery of Yanshan Mansion had nothing to do with them.

Even the emperor Zhao Gou remained silent, and no one dared to mention this matter in front of him, lest it arouse his monstrous anger.

……

At night, in a tavern in Xiwazi, three officials were sitting drinking together. One official was Shen Jiangnan, a member of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, the other was Bo Lu Zhenxing, the head of Dali Temple, and the third was Fan, the head of Taichang Temple. Jun.

Shen Jiangnan took a sip of wine and said, "I received a letter today from Xu Hongzhi. He has just been appointed as the governor of Yizhou, and he took his wife and children to Yizhou to take office."

Lu Zhenxing was surprised and said: "He did a good job, and he actually became the chief historian. This is a general judge in the past, but he is from the sixth rank! I remember that he was only an eighth rank official in Lin'an before!"

Shen Jiangnan said indifferently: "Xu Hongzhi has enough qualifications, but he is not good at drilling, and he keeps improving opportunities. In Jingzhao, he doesn't look at these things. If he comes from a Jinshi background and has enough qualifications, he can take up a corresponding official position. A new court like Jingzhao, They have not yet formed cliques, they are basically meritocracy, and there are many opportunities, which is the gospel for officials from poor families."

"Now the court officials are half gone!"

"It should be. A few days ago, Zhang Jun wrote to the Son of Heaven, requesting to increase the number of Jinshi admissions. He mentioned the increase and decrease of court officials. He said that the number of court officials is less than half of what it was three years ago, which has affected the normal operation of the court."

Shen Jiangnan glanced at Fan Jun, who had been drinking all the time, and said, "Brother Wu Liang seems to have something on his mind?"

Fan Jun shook his head, "I don't have anything on my mind. I'm just thinking that this time when the Western Army captured Yanshan Road, the Kingdom of Jin was so easily defeated. Is this still the powerful Kingdom of Jin in our mind?"

Lu Zhenxing smiled and said, "It should be that the Western Army is stronger!"

"The strength of the Western Army should only be one aspect!"

Shen Jiangnan said slowly: "The key is the decline of the Jin Kingdom. Its national strength can't keep up. The Jurchens have only 200 million people. How many young and strong people have died in the past 20 years, and how many soldiers can they have? There is also pig iron. It is said that the Western Army After capturing the Daming Mansion, there was no pig iron in the warehouse. I guess Yanshan Mansion is the same. The source of soldiers and pig iron related to the military strength are gone. The weakness of Jin Guo’s small country and few people has been exposed. Now it seems that it has been wiped out. It's just a matter of time."

"Is it so serious?" Lu Zhenxing couldn't believe it.

Fan Jun said with a smile: "Actually Jiangnan is right. The loss of Yanshan Road is of great significance to Jin. They will not have the advanced technology of the Han people, and they will not have excellent weapon craftsmen. This is actually the key to the strength of Liao and Jin. The reason is, without the craftsmen of Yanshan Mansion, I am afraid they would not even be able to make a trebuchet."

At this time, the shopkeeper ran over nervously and said, "Plum Blossom Guard is here again!"

"Bah! Those dogs have really good noses."

A few Plum Blossom Guard soldiers walked into the shop, and the topic of the three changed.

"Li Yanyan in Yanyu Pavilion can't do it, Amei from Yanzilou can be regarded as the oiran, at least she is much more talented than Li Yanyan."

"Nonsense! Li Yanyan's tea ordering is the best in the world, why can't it compare to Amei, Amei just plays the piano better."

"You're the one talking nonsense, how can Ami not be good at piano, chess, calligraphy and painting?"

Several Plum Blossom Guard soldiers glanced at them, turned and left.

Shen Jiangnan sighed, "Everything else is fine. I really can't stand this kind of low-level means of monitoring officials. If I go to Jingzhao tomorrow, don't be surprised."

Lu Zhenxing and Fan Jun glanced at each other, they both knew that the Shen family had made a decision.

The first thousand and 370 chapter four handover

Lu Gang has already arrived in Lin'an and handed over to Hu Yun.

Lu Gangnian was about 35 or [-] years old. He was born as a Jinshi. He had a stable and generous personality, and he had quite the legacy of his ancestors. He started as a master, served as a master, a county magistrate, and a county magistrate. , when the sentence was less than two years old, he was once again reduced to magistrate.

Chen Qing attached great importance to Lu Gang, and after he came to Jingzhao, he appointed him as the governor of Ezhou. He was promoted to the special envoy of King Yong after only one year in office, and he was stationed in Lin'an. He took office directly from Ezhou to Lin'an.

In Changfeng Teahouse, Hu Yun is drinking tea with Wang Mu. After the handover, Hu Yun will assist Lu Gang for another ten days to fully familiarize him with the situation before leaving.

But today is the eighth day, that is to say, the day after tomorrow is the last day, and Hu Yun will leave for Jingzhao the day after tomorrow.

"Do you think Lu Gang is competent?" Wang Mu asked worriedly.

Hu Yun smiled slightly and said, "You don't have to worry, Your Highness has a good eye for seeing people, Special Envoy Lu is a needle in the needle, much more difficult to deal with than me."