Since mid-August, garment factories on both sides of the Huaihe River have gradually gathered cotton-padded clothes in Pingyang City, and newly recruited troops from Yong, Si, Yan and other places have also gathered in Pingyang City.
On the official road, a long convoy was escorted by groups of Yong troops to Chang'an. In addition to cotton-padded clothes, a large amount of baggage was continuously transported northward. In Mianzhu City, Zhang Feng told the soldiers escorting the gunpowder to be careful along the way. This batch of gunpowder weighed eight thousand kilograms.
After the supplies arrived in Chang'an, they were distributed from Chang'an to Anding, Lueyang, Puban and other places. On the official road in North Yongzhou, Yong troops kept coming and going, and even the merchants who came and went felt the atmosphere of an impending war.
After signing a temporary alliance with Yang Anxuan, Qifu Chipan stepped up his attack on Juquliang and personally led an army of 30,000 to attack (north) Liang Huanghe County (now Hualong Hui Autonomous County in Qinghai Province).
(North) Juqu Hanping, the governor of Huanghe River in Liang, was the younger brother of Juqu Mengxun, the king of Liang. He defended the city and begged Chipan to attack for several days without success. Sima Kairen requested orders from Hanping in Juqu and took advantage of the fatigue and slackness of the Qin army's troops to attack the Qin camp at night.
Sure enough, the (west) Qin army was unprepared and was rushed into the camp by more than a thousand soldiers and horses of Kai Ren, causing a rout. Qifu Chipan fled to Huanghe City ten miles away to gather the defeated troops and prepare to return to Wuhan.
At this time, Huangcheng Chief Shi Jiaochang and Yangwei General Duan Jing secretly sent a letter to Qifu Chipan, saying that there were only three thousand defenders in Huanghe City and the food and grass could only last a few days. They were willing to act as internal agents and persuade Juqu Hanping surrendered.
So Qifu Chipan led his army to attack the city again, and Jiao Chang and Duan Jing persuaded Juqu Hanping to leave the city and surrender. After Sima Weiren heard the news, he led more than a hundred people under his command to guard the south city gate tower and vowed not to surrender. .
(West) The Qin army besieged the gate tower for three days. Wei Ren's men were killed one after another, and he himself was captured after exhaustion.
Qifu Chipan was furious and wanted to kill Weiren, but was dissuaded by Duan Hui (the same name as Duan Hui of Nanyan) who was a regular servant of Sanqi. He said that Weiren was a loyal minister and a brave general who could serve as an example for those who serve the emperor. It would be unlucky to kill Qifu Chipan. So Wei Ren was imprisoned.
After capturing Huanghe, Qifu Chipan ordered the left guard general Qifu Pida to guard the area. He led his army to the north to attack the Yifu and Kugan tribes, capturing more than 3,000 households and returning.
In order to stabilize the acquired territory, Qifu Chipan took Shangshu's right servant Lian Qian as the governor of Liangzhou, and commanded all the military forces in the north of Lingzhou (in the Hongchiling area in Wuwei, Gansu Province). The general of the town army, Qifu Qiantun, was appointed the governor of Hezhou.
Immediately afterwards Qifu Chipan sent his younger brother Qinzhou Governor (Western Qin), Zhendong General Qifu Tanda, Ministry of Civil Affairs Minister, Guanglu Qing, Pingdong General Wang Songshou and others to attack the Southern Qiang Mi sister Kangbo and force Mi to surrender. Sister Kangbo later turned to attack Lianglichuan (North).
Juqu Mengxun couldn't bear the disturbance, so he sent an envoy to Qifu Chipan to recruit him, hoping to get married and the two countries would cease war. Qifu Chipan decided to concentrate his forces to attack Tuyuhun, so he agreed to Juqu Mengxun's request, married his daughter Princess Xingping to Juqu Mengxun, and temporarily established a truce with the (Northern) Liang.
After the truce with the (Northern) Liang, Qifu Chipan ordered Anton general Mu Yiqian to lead seven thousand light cavalry out of the fortress and attack Tuyuhun tree Luo Gan. Luo Gan retreated to Bailan Mountain and died in battle, while Mu Luan Gan captured more than 5,000 people and returned.
After attacking for most of half a year, the Qin army in the (west) was invincible, and its territory expanded nearly twice. General.
After the former lord of the (Southern) Liang Kingdom, Tufa Litan, surrendered, he was appointed by Qifu Chipan as Zuonangong and General Huqi. A large number of the surrendered ministers of the (Southern) Liang were re-employed. These ministers often went to visit Tufa everywhere. Latan, Qifu Chipan was deeply disturbed and ordered people to poison Bald Latan to death. His son Bald Hutai was also killed at the same time.
In August, King Qinfu Chipan promoted Qifu Tanda, the former governor of Qinzhou, to the rank of Shangshuling. The post of governor of Qinzhou was awarded to Pingdong General Wang Songshou. Wang Songshou was stationed in Yuandaocheng, Nan'an County (now in Santai, Longxi County, Gansu Province), connected with Zhongtao and Xinxing cities, and was in a stalemate with Cen Minghu, who was stationed in Ji County, Tianshui County.
In the main hall, the ministers were discussing matters. He was a little uneasy when he was begging for help on the throne. After executing Bald Latan, the queen and concubines cried day and night. The harem was uneasy, which gave him a slight headache.
"...The detective cavalry discovered that Yong's army transported a large number of vehicles from Chencang to Ji County, and the number of troops stationed in Ji County has exceeded 10,000."
Qifu Chipan's somewhat dazed thoughts immediately came together and asked, "Do you know what Yong Jun is transporting?"
"These vehicles are escorted by a large number of Yong troops and cannot be approached.
"
Qifu Chipan's expression became solemn and he said: "After careful investigation, we found that the Jin people planted a large amount of cotton on both sides of the Huaihe River to make cotton clothes to resist the cold weather. If these vehicles were transporting cotton clothes, then the Yong army would probably launch an offensive in winter. "
Shangshu ordered Qu Jing to say: "Your Majesty made a five-year non-fighting agreement with Yang Anxuan last year. Yong's army should not break the agreement and launch an offensive."
Qifu Tanda said coldly: "The minister is too pedantic. What are the constraints of the alliance between the two countries? When Yang Anxuanping destroyed Yao Qin, Yao Qin and Jin still had an alliance."
Qifu Chipan stood up and said, "Tanda, lead 6,000 troops to Yuandao City and guard the eastern front with Wang Songshou."
Qifu Tanda bowed and responded. Qifu Chipan continued: "Zhai Pushe, go to the Xia Kingdom and invite the Xia Army to attack Anding County together, and strive to open a passage to the east as soon as possible to coordinate with the Xia Army."
A month later, Qin Shangshu's left servant She Zhai Shao came to the Xia king's tent and met with the Xia Lord Helian Bobo.
On the tiger-skin seat, Helian Bobo glared at Zhai Shao like a vicious wolf and let out bursts of cold laughter. After a while, Helian Bobo shouted and asked: "The leader of your country sent an envoy to form an alliance with me to jointly fight against the Yong army. Before the ink on the alliance was dry, you broke the alliance and formed an alliance with Yang Anxuan. Are you treating me as a joke?"
Zhai Shao knew that the Xia Lord was cruel and easy to kill, so he had already put his life and death aside during this trip. He calmly faced Helian Bobo's fierce gaze and said: "My Lord was forced to negotiate peace with the Yong army due to the situation, but the Qin-Xia alliance has always been there. I came here on my Lord’s orders this time to tell the king the hidden truth so as to avoid any misunderstanding between us.”
Helian Bobo rubbed the handle of the Dragon Bird Sword at his waist and looked at Zhai Shao coldly. Zhai Shao stood calmly and looked at Helian Bobo. Helian Bobo finally said coldly: "Tell me, if you are deceived, don't blame me for feeding you to the wolves."
Zhai Shaolang said: "Qin and Xia made an alliance to jointly fight against the Yong army. Our lord sent troops to attack Tianshui and Lueyang. The king should have led his army south to attack Chang'an, forming a pincer attack. But the king held his troops and did not move. Yong was strong and Qin was weak. Our army We had no choice but to retreat to Nan'an County and exchange Kuai En for Yong's army to retreat."
Helianbobo stroked his beard and sneered: "So, it's my fault that your lord betrayed the covenant."
Zhai Shao said: "The Han people have a saying, 'He who knows the current affairs is a hero. When the Qin State is facing the disaster of national destruction, it can only avoid disasters and survive.' Even Xia cannot defeat Qiang Yong alone. Only by joining forces can we resist Yong."
Helian Bobo did receive the tip, and Yong's army went to Chang'an to increase troops and transport supplies. Helianbo fought several battles with the Yong army. Helianbo lost his troops and lost generals. He was deeply afraid of the Yong army and sent reconnaissance cavalry to patrol around. Once the Yong army had the tendency to march north, he planned to escape far north.
The Qin State sent envoys to join forces, which played into Helian Bobo's plan. He was just pretending to be pretentious just to get more benefits from the Qin State. As Zhai Shao said, Yong is strong while Qin and Xia are weak. The weak can only survive if they want to avoid it. Compared with the Qin State, the Xia State was in an even worse situation. It was surrounded by the Yong Army in the south and the powerful Wei State in the east, so it had no choice but to flee north.
Winter is coming, and the sky is full of wind and snow. If no shelter is found, the horses, cattle and sheep will freeze to death, and the tribes will flee. The strength finally gathered will disappear with the wind and snow. At this time, Helian is booming. I'm a little annoyed that I didn't build Tongwan City earlier, otherwise I could have defended the city.
"... To strike first is to be stronger. My Lord invites the king to hunt for Anding City."
Helian Bobo laughed and said: "Okay, you go back and tell Qifu Chipan that I will have a drink with him in Anding City before twelve months."...
September, Jiankang. Shangshu Zuopushe Xie Yu passed away, and Liu Yu returned to the capital where he had been away for half a year to preside over the court meeting. In the name of the emperor, Liu Muzhi was appointed as Shangshu Zuopushe, and Zhongshu ordered Yuan Zhan to move to Shangshu Youpushe. The government was more firmly in his hands.
In the Duke's Mansion of the Song Dynasty, Liu Yu held a banquet to entertain his ministers. Everyone chatted while eating, and the atmosphere was relaxed. Liu Yu took the opportunity to listen to Liu Muzhi's report on the situation in the capital.
After half a year of military training, Liu Yu's sharpness became more and more obvious, and his movements were full of power, which made Liu Muzhi feel slightly uncomfortable.
When he learned that King Langya was suffering from recurring illness and was often absent from court meetings in the East Hall, Liu Yu's eyes narrowed. Although he had already thought of replacing him with the Jin Dynasty, Yang Anxuan was still alive and he still needed the royal family as a puppet.
.
"Medical officer Lu returned to Jiankang with Yu. He has been invited to diagnose King Langya's pulse in the past few days." Liu Yu said, "Before leaving the capital, Yu will go to the palace to check on the disease in person."
During the banquet, Xie Huizheng was discussing with Fu Liang and others the matter of selecting scholars by examination in Xiangyang. Liu Yu asked: "How is the court's arrangement for selecting scholars by examination in Xiangyang?"
"Taichang Sima Zhenzhi took officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Temple to Xiangyang to preside over the matter. I heard that Yang Anxuan received them warmly, but Duke Yong refused to let go of the specific matters of the examination, and Sima Zhenzhi and others did not dare to argue with him. , the specific arrangements are controlled by the officials of Yonggong Mansion." Liu Mu said.
Liu Yu snorted coldly and said, "Yang Anxuan pushed the exam date to October 8th because he wants more people to take the exam and expand the impact."
Liu Muzhi nodded and said: "My lord is right. It is found that there will be no less than 3,000 students going to Xiangyang to take the exam, and more than 80% of them will be scholars or common people from poor families."
Liu Yu sighed: "How many people are blocked from the official career when selecting scholars of the ninth rank? Yang Anxuan's move has given hope to scholars all over the world who have no way to enter. The number of people who come to take the exam shows that those students from poor families and ordinary people have no relationship with each other." He supports it, and in time, scholars all over the world will make full use of it."
Liu Muzhi said: "My lord must not allow Yang Anxuan to attract talents. He should implement examination-based talent recruitment in the capital as soon as possible."
Liu Yu glanced at Xie Hui, Wang Hong and others who were chatting and laughing. More than half of his close ministers were from noble families, and the proportion of children from noble families in the court was larger. If he wanted to take food from the noble families, there would be resistance. One can imagine.
If you want to change all this, you can only rely on your own sword. As long as Yang Anxuan can be eliminated as soon as possible, all problems will be solved. Jingkou has recruited 40,000 new soldiers and horses, and should be able to recruit 20,000 to 40,000 more before the end of the year. Perhaps next year, he will be able to lead his army on the Northern Expedition.
Raising his wine glass high, Liu Yu shouted: "Masters, drink to win."
Amid cheers, Liu Yu drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.
