On October 20, the Yong Army's light cavalry led by Cen Minghu went straight to Chencang City. One person and two riders traveled more than two hundred miles a day and arrived at Chencang in three days.
The weather was dripping with ice, but fortunately it didn't snow. The horses ran faster on the frozen hard ground. The four thousand soldiers accompanying them were all wearing cotton-padded clothes and trousers, and no one suffered frostbite along the way.
Cen Minghu saw that although his face was flushed by the cold wind, there was steam coming out of his head. During the past few days of patrolling the camp at night, he specially observed whether the soldiers had frostbite. Except for a few people who had frostbite on their hands and feet, most of them were fine. It seemed that Cotton-padded clothes are very effective in keeping out the cold.
As time went by, all the men in the army wore cotton-padded clothes, and they no longer feared the severe cold in the north. The generals of Qin, Liang, Xia and Wei all surrendered to the lord's horse. The cold north wind blew in the face, but it could not extinguish the pride in Cen Minghu's heart.
Wang Zun led a thousand light cavalry and seven thousand infantry far behind Cen Minghu. When Cen Minghu arrived at Chencang, Wang Zun and his army had just arrived at Huaili City and had only walked one-fifth of the way.
Wang Zun understood in his heart that his second brother allowed him to take credit for this expedition. He did not need to charge into the battle. He only had to wait for Cen Minghu to drive away the Qin army, and he only had to rush on time to share the fruits.
Looking at Wang Yi who was dressed as his personal attendant in the car, Wang Zun felt that the cold wind howling outside was as gentle as the spring breeze in March.
In May, Master Mingjing was moved by his sincerity and moved into the house to practice. Wang Zun set up a small courtyard to build a Buddhist hall and asked several maids to serve him. Wang Zun soaked in the Buddhist hall all day long.
After Wang Zhene returned to Chang'an, he learned about this and called Wang Zun to give him a severe lesson. Wang Zun burst into tears and refused to expel Mingjing. Wang Zhene had no choice but to give a warning and let him go. Wang Zunhao takes care of himself.
During the Qin army's eastward invasion, Wang Zhene thought of sending Wang Zun out and letting him serve in Tianshui or Lueyang in the future. He would then find a way to send Mingjing out of Chang'an City. Wang Zun couldn't find anyone, so he gave up naturally.
After Mingjing came to Wang Zun's house, her attitude towards Wang Zun gradually changed. Now after reciting sutras every day, she would chat with Wang Zun who was accompanying him for a while. Wang Zun was secretly happy, maybe next year Master Mingjing would be able to return to secular life. , became my own concubine.
After reciting the sutra, Mingjing saw Wang Zun silent and asked, "Donor Wang just went to the Governor's Mansion, but was reprimanded by the Governor Wang again?"
Wang Zundao said: "The Qin army invaded Tianshui and Lueyang, and the second brother asked Yu Tong's troops to go to rescue them."
Mingjing remained silent.
Wang Zun said with a smile: "Don't worry, Yu will return in March or April next year at most."
Mingjing said with a hint of sadness: "If Donor Wang leaves, there will be no room for the poor monk in the mansion. I'm afraid your brother intends to let you go. Maybe he will let you take up a post in Tianshui and other places in the future. When Donor Wang comes back, maybe the poor monk will already be there." Missing."
Wang Zun's face turned ugly, and Ming Jing's worry was justified. I only heard Mingjing say sadly: "The poor monk didn't want to come at first, but now it's difficult to go back to Jianjing Temple. There is probably no safe place in the world."
Seeing Ming Jing's sad face, Wang Zun felt his heart tightening and throbbing, and he immediately said loudly: "Master, don't worry, I will take you to Tianshui with me. I will find a job in Tianshui and stay with my master forever." .”
Ming Jing's lowered eyes flashed coldly. Wang Zhene was extremely wary of him. Even if he captured Wang Zun's heart, it would be difficult for him to do anything. It would be better to follow Wang Zun to Tianshui, maybe he would have a better chance.
Thinking of this, Mingjing raised her head, with a hint of joy in her water-like eyes, and said, "Thank you so much, Donor Wang."
When Wang Zun saw Ming Jing's happy expression, he couldn't help but stretched out his hand to grab Ming Jing's catkins, and said with a hearty smile: "Master is willing to follow the fool, I am very happy."
Mingjing let Wang Zun hold his hand for a while, then gently broke away, with a red cloud on her face, and said softly: "Donor Wang, please respect yourself."
Wang Zun felt the smoothness and tenderness coming from his fingers, and he was already distracted. He stammered: "I'm here, don't worry."
Mingjing was not shaved, so Wang Zun asked her to tie up her hair and put on armor, and she became a handsome and heroic soldier. Mingjing had fought with her father and brother in the past. She stroked the leather armor on her body and thought of the past. She couldn't help but feel sad and gritted her teeth in secret regret.
Taking Wang Yi on an expedition, Wang Zun was reluctant to let the beauty freeze to death. He put on his cotton coat over his leather armor and found a carriage. The two of them sat in the carriage, chatting and laughing, and walked slowly.
…………
It had been nearly twenty days since the attack on Hechi, and the city was heavily defended. After Pingnan General Yang Fu arrived at Hechi City, he took over the city's defense.
At a critical moment of life and death, Yang Fu mobilized all the young men in the city to defend the city. There were people patrolling the city twelve hours a day, and Yang Fu also led his troops to attack the camp at night.
In Yongjun's camp, the flags were blown by the strong wind, and some flagpoles were broken by the wind, and the flags were blown far away by the wind.
Zhu Chaoshi walked into the cowhide tent where Kuai En was holding his helmet, spit out the sand in his mouth, and cursed: "In this damn weather, even if you go out and urinate, it will freeze into ice. When you open your mouth, your mouth will be filled with sand."
There was a basin of charcoal fire in the middle of the tent. Zhu Chaoshi stretched out his hand on it to warm himself up and said: "Brother Dao'en, it's too cold today. I just inspected the camp and found dozens of frostbitten soldiers. When will the cold-proof baggage of the Governor Wang be available?" arrive?"
Kuai En's one eye looked a bit ferocious. He leaned over and looked at the map on the case, and said in a muffled voice: "It's freezing cold and the soldiers' hands and feet are stiff. They can't attack Qiuchi City for a while, and the supplies don't come. It's a stupid plan." Let’s go back to Fengzhou City for the winter and wait until the weather gets warmer next year.”
Zhu Chaoshi thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. The soldiers are tired after fighting for so long. It's better to go back to the city than to be exposed to the cold here."
Fengzhou City is located on the main ridge of Qinling Mountains in the north and Zibai Mountain in the south. It has been known as the "throat of Qin and Shu and the key to northern Han Dynasty" since ancient times. Liu Bang's allusion of "building a plank road in the open and crossing Chencang secretly" comes from this.
On October 9, Yong's army left Hechi City and returned to Fengzhou City. Yang Fusheng was afraid of an ambush and did not attack.
On October 12, Yong's army arrived in Fengzhou City. Quin learned that the grain, grass and materials transported from Chencang had been robbed on the way and the road was dug. Therefore, Daocheng was urging Chencang to transport the baggage and prepare for another transfer.
On October 16, heavy snow fell, with snow accumulation of three feet, blocking roads, and more than 10,000 Yong troops were trapped in Fengzhou City.
More than 10,000 people needed 700 shi of food per day, and there were 1,000 horses accompanying them who needed 200 shi of beans and 1,000 shi of fodder. Kuai En summoned quartermaster He Chao to inquire about the army's grain reserves.
After learning that there were 50,000 shi of grain, 20,000 shi of beans, 100,000 shi of fodder, and some other dried meats and pickles, Zhu Chaoshi on the side smiled and said: "The food is enough to last for two months. The forage is slightly insufficient, so we might as well collect some fodder from everywhere."
With no worries about food, Quin was relieved and ordered: "Let the people near Simen vacate their residences, let the soldiers live in their houses to avoid the cold, and wait for the weather to clear before going out to cut firewood."
There were more than 5,000 households in Fengzhou City, and more than 1,000 households had to vacate their houses under the coercion of the army. Quin arranged these people in inns, restaurants and the homes of wealthy families in the city, so naturally there were complaints.
Zhu Chaoshi suggested to Kuai En that when the supplies of food and grass arrived, he might as well subsidize some corn to appease the people.
On October 27th, the weather cleared up, and the people in the city and Yong's army went out to cut fuel and wood. When they returned to the city, more than a dozen soldiers sent by Yang Fu had already mixed into the city.
These people carried firewood to a house in the east of the city, knocked on the corner door and handed a token to the doorman, who took the token and informed the owner of the house. The head of the family, Lu Qiao, was from Di and a powerful man in Fengzhou City. After taking the short blade, he was startled when he saw the pattern of silver wire on the handle. This knife once belonged to him.
Three years ago, Pingnan General Yang Fu passed through Fengzhou City. He personally came to receive him. He had a pleasant conversation with Yang Fu and gave him this bone-shaving knife purchased from Tangxi, Jin State. The visitor used this knife as a token. , no need to ask whether Yang Fu sent someone here.
After pondering for a while, Lu Qiao smiled and said: "These are people from my uncle's family. Don't they have a place to live? Let's bring them in."
For five days in a row, Fengzhou City opened its gates to allow people to collect firewood, and more than a hundred people quietly settled in the Lu Mansion. The residents in the city are chaotic, and there are more than a hundred people in the Bai Mansion. Even few people in their own house are aware of it.
…………
On October 17, the Qin army launched an offensive against Linwei City.
Linwei City is not big. It faces the Weishui River in the south and Longshan Mountain in the north. The city is just between the mountains and rivers. The city was small and built of rammed earth. It had only two gates on the east and west sides, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The Qin army came from the west, and the more than 2,000 defenders only had to guard the west city. In addition, Wang Huan mobilized the young and strong people in the city to defend the city. The Qin army continued to attack for five days with little effect. They only took out more than a dozen soldiers on the wall. hole.
In the evening, Sima Renqia sat in Luokang and went down to the city to check. He saw that the existing cave was five feet high and more than three feet deep. If the Qin army hides in the cave and keeps digging, it is really possible to dig through the city wall.
Wang Huan smiled and said: "It was cold at night, and the dripping water turned into ice. I ordered the men to water the city from the top of the city, and water it every half an hour. By tomorrow, there will be an extra layer of ice armor."
The next day, the Qin army came out of the camp and pushed the charging troops and mounted ladders to the west city of Linwei. Qifu Tanda was stunned by the sight in front of him.
Linwei West City has become a shining city of ice. The area under the city wall is covered with slippery ice. If the ice is not removed first, let alone attacking the city, I am afraid that I will not even be able to stand firmly.
The Qin army had no warships and could not pass through the Wei River. If they took a detour to the north, they would not only worry about being taken back, but also beware of the Yong army taking back Tianshui County. Qifu Chipan had no choice but to order his soldiers to dig ice.
The arrows on the top of the city were just like rain. The Qin army was not hit by the arrows, but the blood was flowing on the solid ice, which was particularly eye-catching.
It was only after noon that the passage was cleared from the ground. The Qin army rushed to the bottom of the city and saw that even the city gate was wrapped in ice. The bottom layer of ice was five or six feet thick, and even a siege truck would hit it instantly. Can't be broken.
The rocks and wood thrown down from the top of the city increased in power with the help of the ice, and they were so slippery that they knocked down several people. Qifu Tanda had no choice but to sound the horn and retreat. Wait until the next day to see if there is a thick layer of ice under the city. How can we fight this battle?
After discussing with his generals, Qifu Tanda decided to retreat. He had made great achievements in capturing Tianshui County this time, so he could simply go north to capture Anding County after a rest.
The army was ready to leave, but God was not in his favor. Heavy snowfalls fell one after another. In less than an hour, the sky and the earth were covered in white, making it impossible to walk.
The army had sufficient food and grass, so Qifu Tanda was not in a hurry to return to the army, and simply waited for the snow to stop in the camp. In such weather, the Qin army could not move, and the Yong army was even more difficult to move.
To the east of Linwei City, Cen Minghu and his four thousand Qingqi were blocked by the wind and snow. The world was confused and they could not move forward at all.
It had been more than a year since the capture of Chang'an. The soldiers gradually became familiar with the climate and environment of the North. Wang Zhene specially invited General Qin Jiang to the camp to teach the soldiers how to deal with various environments and climate changes. During the march, they encountered wind and snow. It is a must.
After looking for shelter from the wind and stopping, the soldiers set up tents in the wind and snow. Cen Minghu looked at the falling snow and wondered how long it would last.
At dawn the next day, the snow had not stopped, and the tent was completely white and filled with feet of snow. Cen Minghu patrolled the camp and asked the soldiers to sweep the snow off the tents. The snow on the ground piled up into walls, which could also block the strong wind.
After walking around, I found that the cotton clothes were very effective in keeping out the cold, and none of the four thousand soldiers died of the cold. War horses change their down in winter and are not afraid of the cold. Yesterday when we were stationed in the camp, some of the war horses did not wipe off the sweat on their bodies and froze to death.
Seeing the weather, Cen Minghu definitely couldn't leave, so he ordered the frozen war horses to be deboned and cut into pieces, and everyone drank porridge and meat in the heavy snow, which was considered a rest.
It snowed intermittently for three days before it cleared up. The snow on the ground had reached three feet. The sky and the earth were all white, and it was impossible to tell the direction.
Cen Minghu doesn’t have to worry. The sun rises in the sky and rises in the east and sets in the west. The Lord once said that you should stand facing the sun and stretch your arms. The left is north and the right is south.
In fact, there is no need to go to such trouble. The army is heading west along the Wei River. As long as you go against the Wei River, you will definitely see Linwei City.
Unable to wait for the snow to melt, Cen Minghu ordered more than a hundred war horses to be driven forward, and the army followed the horses and headed west.
On October 28th, Linwei City appeared in front of us.
Some people died, but not completely...
