After receiving Yang Anxuan's order, Zhu Chaoshi led 6,000 troops down the Danqu River, while Zhang Feng led 2,000 troops down the Fu River. The two armies agreed to attack at Dianjiang (now Hechuan District, Chongqing, formerly known as Fujiang). The confluence of the Jia and Fu rivers means that the water overlaps like a piece of clothing, because "Hanshu Geography" mistakenly recorded it as the Dianjiang River, which was later followed).
Guanghan is close to Dianjiang. When Zhang Feng arrived at Dianjiang by boat with 5,000 kilograms of gunpowder, Zhu Chaoshi had just arrived at Shi'an City (now Guang'an City, Sichuan), which was still a day's journey from Dianjiang.
In Jiangzhou City, Li Qiang has received an official letter from Zhu Chaoshi, asking him to prepare food, fodder, camps and other supplies so that reinforcements can move in when they arrive.
If, as Gao Jinzhi expected, Zhu Chaoshi led his army to come to the rescue, Li Qiang could not help but murmur in his heart. Thinking of his usual official correspondence, Zhu Chaoshi did not have a good tone.
Just when he was hesitating, he came to report that Jingzhou Navy had captured Yufucheng. More than 200 warships had passed Linjiang County and were heading towards Zhi County. Immediately afterwards, the imperial soldiers and horses who had explored Jiangyang City and reported to Jiangyang City also went down the river and passed through Fu County towards Jiangzhou City.
When Jiangzhou City was in turmoil, Zhu Chaoshi sent another official letter, asking Li Qiang to prepare two thousand sheep within two days and send them to Dianjiang City to reward the army.
This letter made Li Qiang furious. Jiangzhou City could barely scrape together two thousand sheep, but Zhu Chaoshi sent several official letters a day either asking for this or that. It was obvious that he was deliberately embarrassing himself. He hadn't even entered Jiangzhou City yet. If Zhu Chaoshi enters Jiangzhou City, will he still have a way to survive?
Moreover, there have been rumors in the city these days that Yang Anxuan was injured in the land of Qiang and Hu. His injuries were serious and his life was in danger. Li Qiang thought again and again and decided to surrender to the court. At the beginning of Hai, in the dead of night, he brought several personal guards to see Gao Jinzhi.
Gao Jinzhi was put under house arrest by him in a large house in Tongyuanmen. This house was given to him by wealthy businessmen in the city after he took office. Li Qiang raised several beauties in the house, and the treasures he received were also hidden in the house. .
The house was managed secretly by his clan brother Li Shao and more than twenty clan members, and no one else knew about it. Gao Jinzhi was placed under house arrest in Xikuoyuan. Li Shao sent six servants to serve him day and night and watch over Gao Jinzhi.
Gao Jinzhi was very calm and never left the hospital. He only read and painted in his house, and occasionally talked to his servants during meals. With seemingly unintentional words, Gao Jinzhi learned that the gates of Jiangzhou City were closed, and it seemed that a war was coming.
During lunch, he learned from his servant Li Ming that sheep were being collected in the city. Gao Jinzhi pretended to be casual and said, "My servant heard that sheep are raised in the Yonglong Mountain area on the south bank of Jiangzhou City. Why are they collecting sheep?"
Li Ming was already quarrelsome, but two days ago Gao Jinzhi gave him a jade pendant that he carried with him, which made him even more aware of everything.
"I heard that Zhu Sima led an army to come to the rescue, and asked Prefect Li to prepare two thousand sheep and send them to Dianjiang. The imperial navy captured Yufucheng, and when Jiangyang's troops were about to attack Jiangzhou, the waterway was blocked. We can’t transport sheep from the south bank..."
Gao Jinzhi was secretly happy. The situation was as expected. It seemed that Li Qiang would be looking for him soon.
At the time of Haizheng, Gao Jinzhi was preparing to take a rest when his servants reported that Prefect Li was visiting. When Gao Jinzhi came to visit at this time, he knew the result and welcomed Li Qiang into the hall with a smile on his face.
Sure enough, Li Qiang exchanged some pleasantries and said, "Senior Brother Gao, I am determined to submit to the imperial court."
Gao Jinzhi clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Those who know the current affairs are heroes. Prefect Li will definitely not regret his choice today."
Li Qiang made a decision and no longer hesitated. He said to Gao Jin: "Zhu Chaoshi's reinforcements are coming to Dianjiang. Zhang Feng's two thousand men have already arrived in Dianjiang. It only takes half a day's journey to Jiangzhou. At present, Jiangyang Navy and Jingzhou Navy The division is still one day away from Jiangzhou City. Please leave the city quickly, General Gao, to urge the imperial troops to arrive before the reinforcements of the Yong Army."
Gao Jinzhi asked: "What position have the imperial navy reached?"
Li Qiang responded: "I received a report at Youshi that Jiangyang Navy is still more than 200 miles away from Jiangzhou City, and Jingzhou Navy is only more than 100 miles away."
Gao Jin made an estimate in his mind and said: "Calculating the itinerary, we should be able to reach Jiangzhou City tomorrow. Can Governor Li guarantee that the city gate will be opened to let the imperial troops in?"
Li Qiang hesitated for a moment. Not many of the defenders in the city were willing to follow him and submit to the court. He gritted his teeth and said, "Tomorrow at 2:00 pm, General Gao will lead his troops to attack the city. Yu Hui will lead his troops out of the Golden Purple Gate to meet the enemy." , you take the opportunity to rush into the city, and Yuhui will order the defenders to surrender."
Two people discuss
It was time to discuss the details, and Li Qiang asked Gao Jinzhi to disguise himself as a Yong soldier and follow him around the city. When there is no one around, let Gao Jinzhi pull the rope out of the city. Li Qiang toured the city until Chou came in before returning to the government office outside Taiping Gate to rest.
Li Qiang thought he was doing it secretly, but he didn't know that his actions had been secretly noticed by the secret guards of the Department of Commercial Affairs. Jiangzhou is an important town, and of course there are secret guards lurking in the city. Li Qiang's foreign residence cannot be hidden from anyone who cares. Although Yang Anxuan had said that the Department of Commercial Affairs was closed to the outside world, the secret guards still recorded the matter in a book for emergencies.
Gao Jinzhi was sent to an outer house by Li Qiang, which attracted the attention of the secret guards as to what kind of guests would be sent to live in his secret private residence by Prefect Li. With the war going on, the secret guards had to be more careful.
The leader of Jiangzhou City's secret guards was Dian Shi Jiang Tao. He sent people to guard the house in the dark. Li Qiang arrived quietly at night, bringing five followers with him. When he went out, there were seven people. The secret guards followed Li Qiang from a distance and saw Li Qiang ascending to the top of the city. When he returned, there were six people again.
The following secret guard reported the situation to Jiang Tao. Jiang Tao was shocked and confused. Who was the missing person? What was Li Qiang's plan? The imperial navy was about to besiege the city soon. At this time, Li Qiang, the prefect, behaved abnormally and had to think more.
After thinking hard all night, Jiang Tao decided to send a letter to Zhu Sima, who was about to arrive, and let Zhu Sima decide how to treat Li Taishou.
Jiang Tao told the secret guard to wait for Zhu Sima in Dianjiang. If Zhu Sima has not arrived yet, he can present the secret letter to Zhang Taishou first. Guanghan Taishou Zhang Feng is a close confidant of the lord, so he can handle the matter.
Although the city gate was closed, Linjiang Gate was opened at Chenshi, and flocks of sheep were driven out of the city, loaded onto Linjiangmen Wharf and relied on ships carrying baggage, ready to go to Dianjiang.
The number plate of the Commercial Information Department allows free entry and exit, and the secret guard Qiao Hua who delivered the message went out with the sheep. There were naval ships at Linjiangmen Pier. They crossed the river with their license plates, went to the other side to pick up the horses from the post house, and galloped towards Dianjiang.
The secret guards would go out of the city every day to inquire about information and send the intelligence they obtained to Li Qiang, so Li Qiang did not pay attention and was prepared to open the city gate at night to lure the imperial troops into the city.
Li Qiang served as the governor of Bajun for more than a year. When he first came here, he suffered a defeat at Bulang Mountain. The commander of the county, Baoze, did not agree with him very much. Li Qiang knew very well that in troubled times, without military power, he had no right to speak, so he treated his subordinates very well, never withheld military pay, and generously rewarded his generals. On the surface, everyone seemed to support him very much.
However, Yang Anxuan had a very high prestige in the army. If he had declared his surrender to the imperial court in advance, Li Qiang estimated that the soldiers would have to kill him, so he thought that when the imperial soldiers and horses entered the city, the rice was cooked, and the swords and guns were used, maybe those soldiers would Follow your orders and surrender.
The ships transporting cattle and sheep set off from the Jialing River in time. At noon, one hundred and fifty warships of the Jiangyang Navy first appeared on the river and docked at Ba County (today's Banan District) on the south bank of Jiangyang City. Jiangzhou Prefecture suddenly became nervous. , the colonel shouted loudly on the city wall, and the soldiers ran back and forth.
Li Qiang came to the Jinzimen city wall and looked at the imperial navy. Next to him, Captain Hong Tao looked at more than a hundred warships and sneered: "It's just a dream to seize Jiangzhou City with these few troops. General Li, take advantage of this opportunity." The imperial troops have not yet gained a firm foothold, so I asked for orders to lead the troops to charge and kill for a while, thus dampening the vigor of the imperial navy."
The soldiers on the city wall were high in fighting spirit, but Li Qiang felt bitter in his heart and said with a dry smile: "Hong Tao, there will be a battle, don't be anxious, beware of the Jingzhou Navy."
At Shenshi, 400 warships from the Jingzhou Navy arrived, stretching for seven or eight miles on the river. They were so powerful that the number of imperial soldiers and horses should have exceeded tens of thousands.
Li Qiang inspected the south city wall and saw that the morale of the soldiers was very high, and he did not take the imperial warships parked on the river to heart.
Firstly, the terrain of Jiangzhou City is difficult to defend and difficult to attack; secondly, there are more than 6,000 soldiers and horses in the city, and it would be difficult for the court to shake the city with 350,000 soldiers and horses; not to mention that everyone knows that Zhu Sima's reinforcements are coming, so this battle No matter how you look at it, you won’t lose.
Li Qiang was a little annoyed. If Zhu Chaoshi hadn't forced him, he would never have made such a hasty decision. However, it was too late now. Gao Jinzhi had brought out his intention to surrender. Even if it was a false surrender, it would inevitably lead to trouble.
Qiao Hua galloped all the way and arrived at Dianjiang after noon. Zhu Chaoshi's fleet had not yet arrived. Zhang Feng's ship was docked on the north bank. Qiao Hua came to the camp to see Zhang Feng first.
Check the number plate, Joe
Hua was led aboard Zhang Feng's ship and met the young general.
There are many rumors about Zhang Feng, and Qiao Hua has heard them all: he was taken in by his lord as a beggar when he was young, and he was rewarded for serving his lord. He is smart and studious, has made many military exploits in all directions, and has been appointed as a prefect at a young age. The fact that a beggar is what he is today is nothing short of a legend, and he is talked about and envied by others.
Zhang Feng invited Qiao Hua to sit down with a smile on his face, poured tea for him with his own hands, and said: "The people in the Department of Commercial Affairs have worked hard and made great achievements. My lord often mentioned to Yu that you are unsung heroes, and I offer tea instead of wine to show my respect."
Qiao Hua felt warm in his heart. He had heard Jiang Dianshi mention the term "unsung hero" before. It seemed that his lord really valued his brothers from the Commercial Affairs Department. He raised his glass and drank the tea in one gulp. He actually drank some strong alcohol. taste.
After receiving the secret letter from Qiao Hua, Zhang Feng started to read it. Under Yang Anxuan's supervision, he was able to study, which was much better than Shen Qingzhi.
Reading the letter, the smile on Zhang Feng's face gradually faded. The enemy troops were approaching, but Li Qiang's intentions were unknown. If he really surrendered to Liu Yu, the entire Yangtze River waterway would fall into the hands of the imperial court, and the war would be extremely detrimental to Yong's army.
Zhang Feng said with a heavy expression: "Zhu Sima will not arrive in Dianjiang until evening. We cannot delay this matter. We must leave for Jiangzhou as soon as possible."
Asking Qiao Hua to wait for Zhu Chaoshi in Dianjiang, Zhang Feng immediately led 16 warships and 600 soldiers down the river, and arrived at Jiangzhou City at the end of the year.
When Li Qiang heard the report from the soldiers, Zhang Feng, the prefect of Guanghan, arrived with reinforcements. He was shocked. Could it be that the news of his surrender to the court was leaked?
It was already the Youshi hour, and Li Qiang was preparing to gather his close friends to have dinner together and tell them his plans during the meal. When Zhang Feng arrived at this time, there might be twists and turns in the city dedication in the evening.
Li Qiang raised his eyebrows and kept doing nothing. Since Zhang Feng came to die, he simply used his head to make a contribution first. Thinking of this, Li Qiang ordered: "Welcome General Zhang into the city."
"Note: Chongqing is known as "nine open and eight closed". The seventeen city gates were built successively from the beginning of Qin Zhangyi's city construction (316 BC) to the fourth year of Hongwu (1371 AD). The author does not know how many were built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The city gates described in the article are all imaginary. "
