On January 20, the second year of Xianping, after the Shangyuan Festival, the post of governor of Cangzhou, which had been vacant for a month, finally had a candidate - Zha Dengbei of Cangzhou Bingbei Road, who had made great achievements in the victory of Tianjing New City, was promoted to Minister of War. You are the censor of Qiandu and serve as the governor of Cangzhou. Hearing this news, the official circles in Cangzhou were either happy or worried. Some people are envious of Chaden's promotion and jealous that he was promoted too quickly. But more people are happy: if a local official who is familiar with Cangzhou's situation serves as governor, he will most likely respect the existing interest structure and will not snatch other people's cakes. If a strong governor is brought in from outside, who knows how many fires will be made? How much benefit can be snatched?
When a new governor takes office, there is an endless stream of people coming to his door to give gifts, one by one according to his official position. On January 25, Yang Peng secretly thought that it was his turn, so he brought his banknotes to visit Cha Dengbei. Yang Peng walked to the door of the familiar county government office and secretly thought that the government office was still so dilapidated, but the owner inside had changed. Speaking of which, Yang Peng missed the days when Xu Nan was the governor. Xu Nan is greedy for money, but he is still happy to take the money to do things.
Yang Peng and his disciples presented the name cards and after waiting for two minutes, they were taken into the second hall by the disciples. There is a heater and incense burning in the second hall, and the fragrance is fragrant. There is no cold and depression outside. This Chadenbei is a person who knows how to enjoy. Seeing Yang Peng come in, Chaden first picked up the tea cup and took a sip of water, and then smiled at Yang Peng. It was obvious that he had been very busy these days, greeting visitors one by one, and talking to them until his throat went dry.
Yang Peng went up to salute, but was supported by Cha Dengbei: "Why does the city lord need such a big gift?" Yang Peng stood up and handed over a thousand taels of silver notes. Chadenbei took the banknote, nodded, and said, "Thank you, City Lord." Yang Peng felt happy when he heard that Chadenbei was so polite in accepting the money and thanked himself. It seems that his reputation has increased after defeating Luo Zhen. Now he gives money to Shangguan, and Shangguan starts to appreciate him, instead of taking it for granted like before. The so-called fear of power and virtue, only with power can one have virtue.
Yang Peng cupped his hands and said: "I don't dare!" Zha Denbei said: "City Lord, please sit down!" Yang Peng sat on the chair and heard Cha Dengbei ask: "If it weren't for the City Lord's victory in Tianjing New City, Qian Hongguang, I can't be the governor! Speaking of which, this position is all due to the city lord general." After a pause, Zha Denbei said: "I saw so many Khitan heads that day, I was really scared. One jump!"
Yang Peng cupped his hands and said, "My lord, you were a soldier at that time and had great strategizing skills. Your promotion to governor is worthy of your name! Is it the credit of your subordinates?" Cha Denbei smiled, and then said: "I heard that the city lord, the general, was reclaiming land. Military land? How many acres are there?" Yang Peng raised his hand and said, "I have bought 90,000 acres of wasteland, and plan to reclaim it all into dry farmland and lease it to 10,000 disaster victims.
Chadenbei rubbed his palms with satisfaction. Nowadays, military households are fleeing seriously, and the number of farm crops in Cangzhou is decreasing every year. His political achievements are much better. If every military attache in Cangzhou develops new fields like Yang Peng, he will probably be promoted. Thinking of this, Chadenbei looked at Yang Peng with a more friendly look.
This Yang Peng is generous with his actions and can make great achievements in politics. As a neighbor, he is really good. "The city lord general has done a good job. Now that there is a serious food shortage in various places, the city lord general has taken the worry out of the country." "Thank you, the governor!" Yang Peng had just defeated Luo Zhending and was now in the limelight. Cha Dengbei had just been promoted and was cautious, so Cha Denbei was very polite to Yang Peng. Even if Cha Deng prepares three things for the new official to take office, it is impossible to put the fire on someone as powerful as Yang Peng. Yang Peng had nothing to ask Chadenbei for. Seeing that Chadenbei was so polite, he secretly thought that Chadenbei knew the current situation. The two chatted for a few words, and then Yang Peng said goodbye and went back.
Back in Tianjing New City, Zheng Hui came to report that a family in Deyuan Village outside the city suddenly disappeared. Zheng Hui was a little nervous and explained the matter in detail: The missing people were a family of five, refugees who Yang Peng rescued from the Khitans last year. These days, farmers in Deyuan Village build canals during the day and stay at home at night. But the missing family doesn't want to be idle. They like to go out at night to cut pigweed, and the five members of the family work together. The five members of the family were absent when the canal was being repaired the day before yesterday. As a result, the construction official went to his house and knocked on the door, only to find that the house was empty. To this day, the five members of this family have not returned.
The house of these five people was not robbed. Everything in the house was well preserved, and no one even touched the five taels of silver in the box. This family had nothing of value, so no one would have any evil intentions towards them, but the five members of the family just disappeared from Tianjing New City.
Yang Peng was stunned when he heard Zheng Hui's words. Could it be that this family feels that Tianjing New City is not good enough to return to their hometown? The things in the house should also be taken away! But the cotton-padded clothes and quilts are not taken away now. Yang Peng sat on the chair and thought for a while. After thinking for a few minutes, Yang Peng slapped his thigh and said loudly: "Oops, a Khitan expert has entered the city!"
This family went to cut hogweed with a basket at night. They had nothing of value, the only thing of value was their waistband. The sudden disappearance of these five people could not be due to any other reason. They must have been taken away by gangsters. The gangsters seize the badge and enter the city for the sole purpose of spying on intelligence. These gangsters must have wanted to use their badges to enter the city, gather information and then climb out from the city wall at night. Zheng Hui was stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted and said: "Yes, sir, these five people have no money on them. It must be a Khitan agent who entered the city and killed these five people and took away their waistbands." !" After a pause, Zheng Hui asked: "Lord City Lord, who would send a spy to spy on the intelligence of Tianjing New City and do such a cruel thing?"
The Khitan stood up and said, "I guess it's the Khitan!" Basically, the only person who can organize and conduct detailed intelligence gathering and kill people to seize the belt is the Khitan. The Khitans were the best at meticulous work. Their spies were spread all over the Northern Territory of the Song Dynasty. There was no major event in the Song Dynasty that the Khitan did not know. Therefore, every time the bandits were in trouble, Khitan would be able to plunder the enemy at the right time and save the bandits.
Yang Peng defeated the Northern Envoy, and it was impossible for Empress Dowager Xiao not to send someone to spy on the information. These five people must have fallen into the Khitan ways. Yang Peng said loudly: "Zheng Hui! Send the order to close the city gates on all sides and send soldiers to patrol the city walls. Then organize soldiers to search the city, one by one, until they find the lost waist badge of that household!"
Zheng Hui heard the order and hurried down to deliver it. Yang Peng paced back and forth in the main room, thinking about this matter. It's not that easy for Khitan's secret agent to go into the city to gather information: he has strictly controlled the security of Tianjing New City since last year, and he will not be allowed to enter the city without a waist card or a guarantee from the residents of the city. Children's waist tags cannot be used by adults, and women's waist tags cannot be used by men. Even if Khitan Xizuo kills a family and takes away the waist tags, he can only use the waist tags of two adults, and can only mix two adults. People enter the city.
Moreover, the number on the waist tag has hidden rules. It is impossible to forge the waist tag without knowing the details. This incident is not a big deal, and the Khitan's methods are not very clever either. Now that he is paying attention, the Khitan's spying will definitely fail. What worried Yang Peng more was that Empress Dowager Xiao noticed him.
As a small city lord, he had crippled the Northern Recruitment Envoy, which had attracted the attention of the Khitan people. This was not a good thing. For example, Yang Peng's security work will need to be stricter in the future.
Yang Peng gave the order, and soldiers all over the city took action, searching everywhere in the city. Yang Peng waited anxiously in the official hall. But he got the result quickly. At noon, Zhan Jinguo escorted two men who were tied up into the official hall. "Brother! Xizuo has been caught! He's from the Khitan!"
In Uiju, north of the Koryo Peninsula, a huge marching team was marching north. This is the Khitan army that conquered Goryeo and returned to the dynasty. The long queue could not be seen at a glance, and there were Khitan soldiers in bright armor and riding military horses everywhere. In the middle of the procession was Empress Dowager Xiao's guard of honor.
The first to walk over were the six hundred "Gebushixianchaoha" from the Khitan emperor's personal camp. They were all wearing black armor and black tassels, and they were riding horses. Gebusixianchaoha only selected two from each centurion, both of whom were the most powerful Khitan warriors, and were selected as the emperor's personal guard camp. Behind the "Gebushixianchaoha" who opened the way, at the front of the honor guard was a team holding ten silk umbrellas. The satin umbrellas, each dyed in five colors, were very gorgeous and followed the cavalry who opened the way.
Behind the satin umbrella is a ten-pin gold dragon banner held high. The golden pinned gold dragon's silk is much higher than the ordinary official and woven gold dragon's silk, and only the strongest warriors can lift it. At this time, the dragon's robe drooped its long tail, and gradually moved forward with the strong man holding it. Behind them are ten small golden dragon flags, and behind them are six double-dragon fans and four single-dragon fans, all held by warriors in colorful uniforms. Behind the flags and fans are teams holding various weapons, including leopard-tailed spears, big horses, bows and arrows, golden axes, stars, imperial staffs, staffs and other weapons. There are ten of each type, each held by ten strong men.
Behind these more than a hundred powerful men is the canopy chariot of Empress Dowager Xiao. The canopy is entirely made of silk and satin, embroidered with auspicious clouds, waves, peonies, cranes, dragons and tigers, which is very gorgeous. The slender Queen Mother Xiao sat on a chariot pulled by six horses and walked under the canopy.
On both sides and behind the canopy were a group of Khitan military officers guarding the palace with swords. Behind them, there are musical instruments such as gold, sheng, clouds, pipes, gold cymbals, bronze cymbals, drums, suonas, trumpets, etc., beating non-stop all the way, playing the music of the North. Empress Dowager Xiao learned this outfit from the surrendered ministers of the Song Dynasty. She has been wearing this outfit since he was proclaimed to show the emperor's majesty. The vast team drove all the way to the north.
This time, Empress Dowager Xiao personally conquered Goryeo and accused the Chongqing Alliance of aiding the Song Dynasty. The Khitan army defeated Yizhou and Anzhou with overwhelming force, approaching the capital Pyongyang. King Yi Ho of Goryeo led his eldest son and hundreds of officials to escape to Nanhan Mountain, and ordered his second son and his family to take refuge in Ganghwa Island and seek help from the Song Dynasty. The Khitan army crossed the Han River and arrived at the camp west of Nanhan Mountain City. Empress Dowager Xiao sent an envoy to surrender. Not long after, Li Wei learned that Jianghua Island had fallen and all the reinforcements were defeated. In February, he offered his imperial seal and surrendered to Daliao.
This was the second attack by the Khitan army, or the Liao Kingdom, on Goryeo. But this time, during the second conquest of Goryeo, the Khitan troops arrived and destroyed everything. Empress Dowager Xiao completely defeated Goryeo. Goryeo surrendered, knelt down and professed its vassalship, and no longer dared to have anything to do with the Song Dynasty. From then on, there was no military force on the eastern flank of Khitan to contain the Liao Dynasty, and the Liao Kingdom could concentrate on dealing with the Song Dynasty.
At this time, among the troops returning to the court, Empress Dowager Xiao held up a guard of honor and returned in triumph. Han Derang, a bachelor of the Domestic Secretariat, rode beside the Empress Dowager Xiao's chariot and spoke to the Empress Dowager Xiao with his tall body hunched over. The academician of the Internal Secretariat was in charge of writing correspondence with foreign countries, recording memorials to various yamen, pleadings for grievances, the emperor's edicts, edicts of civil and military officials, as well as edicts to commemorate temples and memorials to civil and military officials. He could be said to be the head of civil servants. Han Derang was originally from Youzhou, but now he finally reached a high position and took charge of the Internal Secretariat.
Handerang looked at the mighty honor guard and said to Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom: "Queen Mother, now that Korea has surrendered, we can let go of our hands if there is no more eastward side!"
Empress Dowager Xiao said: "I don't know why, I conquered Goryeo this time, but I can't be happy!" Handerang rolled his eyes and said, "Is the Empress Dowager worried about recruiting envoys from the north?" Empress Dowager Xiao did not answer Han Derang's words. Handerang took a breath and said: "Last year, the Northern Rebellion sent out more than a hundred and ten centurions, but the entire army was defeated under the new city of Tianjing in the Song Dynasty. Only more than a thousand soldiers escaped. Ye Qi died in the red light battle. , the Xi army's elite, horse armor and infantry were almost completely wiped out, which was shocking. Later, a detailed report revealed that the person who defeated Ye Qi Hongguang was just a city lord named Yang Peng from the Song Dynasty. Queen Mother, this Yang Peng has something What kind of ability is it that can actually defeat Yeli Hongguang with 12,000 people in a single battle?"
When the soldiers of the Khitan army faced off against the armies of the Song Dynasty and Goryeo Dynasty, they were often defeated by one enemy. However, they were annihilated by the outnumbered Yang Peng at the foot of Dagou City. The battle last August still makes many people in the Khitan Army find it unbelievable. Empress Dowager Xiao said calmly: "Ye Yi Hongguang has made outstanding achievements in his life. I didn't expect that he would lose his security at the end of the year and lose the entire Northern Recruitment Envoy in one battle."
Han Derang said: "I don't know how many years it will take for the Northern Recruiting Envoy to recover. Fortunately, Ye Qian Deguang on the West Road plundered tens of thousands of livestock and supplemented our manpower in Daliao. Otherwise, the gains outweighed the losses this time. Your Majesty last year To say that Ye Qi’s attack on Song Dynasty was unsuccessful is to hit the nail on the head.”
Queen Mother Xiao sat in the car and thought for a while, then asked: "Is there any reward for the spy sent to Tianjing New City?" Han Derang shook his head and said: "Queen Mother, for some reason, Yang Peng was very wary of spying on me. The defense of Tianjing New City is as good as an iron barrel. Without the guarantee of the people in Tianjing New City, outsiders cannot enter Tianjing New City. And the residents of Tianjing New City are grateful to Yang Peng, and no one is willing to cooperate with us. Carefully crafted.”
"We have sent three batches of agents to Tianjing New City. The strategy of buying off the locals is completely unworkable. The warriors who sneaked into the city to seize the waist cards were directly caught by Yang Peng and killed." Empress Dowager Xiao closed her eyes. Eyes, he didn't speak for a long time. After a long time, he opened his eyes and said: "This Yang Peng is really a monster!" After a pause, Queen Mother Xiao slowly said: "I feel that sooner or later, this person will become our number one enemy in Daliao and stop us in Daliao. Warriors ahead.”
Handerang lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "But this man defended Tianjing New City like an iron barrel, and our warriors couldn't assassinate him!" Empress Dowager Xiao thought for a while and said, "If we send detailed work again, we will definitely Find out the details of Tianjing New City." After saying this, Queen Mother Xiao said no more, just holding the railing on the car and looking into the distance. "The slave knows!"
Handrang knew that Queen Mother Xiao didn't want to say more, so he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He just hunched over and moved to the side, guarding the side of Queen Mother Xiao.
In mid-February, the spring breeze has warmed the earth, and the thick cotton clothes can be taken off. At this time, the irrigation facilities for the 90,000 acres of new farmland under Yang Peng's name had all been repaired, and the wasteland had been turned into dry farmland that could be irrigated. Spring wheat sowing is not far away. New farmers in Tianjing Xincheng, Dagou and Yanshan counties put harnesses on their cattle and began to plow the fields.
Spring wheat is sown at the end of February and harvested in June. The growing season is short. It was originally the wheat cultivation method in the cold area north of the Great Wall. In the Cangzhou area south of the Great Wall, farmers generally plant winter wheat that is sown in August and matures in April the following year. The wheat growth period lasts for one winter, and the yield is relatively high. But because Yang Peng hadn't built the irrigation canal last winter, he had to wait until spring to plant spring wheat. Although they were planting spring wheat, the farmers were still very enthusiastic because the city lord really repaired all the water trucks and irrigation canals, and really gave each farmer twenty acres of dry land. In early February, Zheng Ting sent people to distribute wheat seeds to every household. Once the land was plowed and the soil was irrigated, the seeds could be sown.
The farmers survived the catastrophe at the hands of the Khitans. Now they have fields to cultivate, and their lives will be secure in the future. What could make them more heartbroken than this? And this year is different from the past, this year there are still cattle working. With the plowing cattle, dry land can be plowed deeply to loosen the soil, allowing the wheat roots to grow deeper into the soil to increase the wheat harvest. There is one plowing ox for every five farmers. If one cow plows six acres of land every day, it can plow all five people's 100 acres of land in half a month.
The farmers were full of joy, driving their cattle to plow the fields, and were busy in the fields. Some farmers even sang folk songs about spring plowing while driving their cattle:
"Looking at the misty mountains in the distance, the clear streams flowing around the farms, the sound of cuckoo urging spring to come early, the villages are busy preparing for plowing, busy preparing for plowing!"
Boss Ma is a disabled veteran. Last August, during a battle with the Khitan, Boss Ma was shot in the right hand by a poisonous arrow from the Khitan, and the wound festered. The military doctor in the wounded barracks had no way to treat him at the time, so he had to cut off Boss Ma's right hand. Boss Ma has since become a one-armed man with only his left hand.
At that time, Boss Ma thought that he was finished, that he would no longer be able to fight or even work. His mother and two children would starve to death, and the family's life would be over. But things soon changed. When the Lord of the City inspected the wounded barracks, he told Boss Ma to learn to write with his left hand and become a clerk in the government office in six months. The General said that as long as Mr. Ma can learn to write with his left hand, he will give Mr. Ma two months' money every month and provide him with meat for three meals. In addition, in the past six months, Boss Ma will be given a monthly allowance of one to two to five yuan for the injured, and a bucket of rice.
Boss Ma didn't believe it at first, thinking that the city lord was just talking about it when he was visiting the wounded. But later, the officials in the government office actually sent Boss Ma a one-two-five-yuan subsidy and rice noodles. Only then did Boss Ma realize that the city lord meant what he said. From then on, Boss Ma entered a state of full study. He found a literate scholar as his teacher and got up early every day to learn literacy. He learns fifteen words a day and hopes to learn two thousand words in six months to be able to read documents. He dipped a brush in water to practice writing with his left hand. He practiced from morning to night and lit an oil lamp until late at night. He did not know how many brushes he broke.
Boss Ma doesn't feel bad about the money he spent to buy a pen. He knows that as long as he can learn to write with his left hand within half a year, he can get a position as a government clerk and support his family. He had doubts - the general asked him to learn to read in six months. If he couldn't learn it in six months, the general might stop doing things by himself.
However, his doubts were dispelled by the General's medal awarding ceremony. In late December, before the Chinese New Year, the Lord of the City held a grand awarding ceremony in front of the official hall. The soldiers who had made meritorious service in the August battle, the injured soldiers, and the families of the soldiers who died in the battle were all invited to the stage, and the Lord of the City personally awarded the medals.
On the day when the honor was awarded, thousands of people gathered in front of the official hall, and everyone wanted to see clearly the heroes who defended Dagou City. There are four types of medals: the Special Hero Medal, which is awarded to heroes who have outstanding performance in battle and changed the situation of the war; the First-class Hero Medal, which is awarded to heroes who have outstanding performance in battle and affected the situation of the war, as well as soldiers who died in battle, and are awarded by their families. It is held on behalf of others; the second-class Warrior Medal is awarded to warriors who laid the foundation for the battle without hesitation in the face of danger, as well as soldiers who were seriously injured; the third-class Warrior Medal is awarded to individuals with outstanding performance on the battlefield.
Under the watchful eyes of thousands of people, Boss Ma walked up to the awarding stage and was personally awarded a medal of bravery by the city lord, who pinned it on his left chest. The medal was made of copper, with two beautiful steel knives engraved on it. The two characters "Warrior" were engraved on the steel knives. After Boss Ma received the medal, the city lord asked him to turn around and say hello to the onlookers. Boss Ma was very nervous at the time. He waved to the people with his left hand and heard cheers from the crowd. Thousands of people in the same city have known Boss Ma since then and know that he is a warrior who kills enemies for the people.
Boss Ma's face turned red from suppressing his emotions and he was very excited. As a disabled veteran, when had he ever thought that he would receive such courtesy? The city lord asked Boss Ma how he was doing with his left hand writing, and said that as long as he could master his writing skills within three years, the allowance for wounded soldiers would not stop! Only then did Boss Ma know that the city lord said six months just casually, meaning that the sooner he could learn to read, the better. He was not forcing him to learn to write within six months. Boss Ma burst into tears at that time.
After receiving the medal, Boss Ma pins the medal on his chest every day when he goes out. When the people of Tianjing New City saw Boss Ma's medal, not only did they not discriminate against him for having only one left hand, but they also respected him extraordinarily - even the general respected the injured veterans so much, who would dare to be disrespectful to a veteran with medals? No matter where Mr. Ma goes, people will be polite to him as long as they see Mr. Ma's medal. When he went to buy vegetables, the vegetable sellers helped him put the vegetables into the basket one by one without letting him do anything. When he went to buy a brush, the merchant selling brushes helped him put the brushes into his arms. He went to buy a quilt, and the merchant who sold the quilt tied the quilt to his back for him. He tied it tightly before letting him go back.
When everyone saw Boss Ma's medal helping him, they all regarded Boss Ma as a hero. Boss Ma knew that the emotion was really respect, not pity. Everyone is grateful to Boss Ma for his efforts in defending Dagou City. But Boss Ma is not willing to stay at home and receive the wounded soldier's allowance. He hopes to continue to contribute to Tianjing New City. Boss Ma still worked hard at practicing calligraphy. By late February of the second year of Xianping, he had learned 2,000 characters and could understand simple documents.
On this day, he walked into the official hall and found Zheng Ting. "Sir, I was ordered by the city lord to apply for the position of clerk!" Zheng Ting was particularly enthusiastic when he saw the warrior medal on Boss Ma's left chest. He asked Boss Ma to sit down, and then said: "We do have a care policy for the wounded who have been injured in meritorious service! Can you write with your left hand?"
Boss Ma said proudly: "I can write with my left hand, and I now know two thousand words!" Zheng Hui nodded and said: "Then you can come to me to be a clerk in the archives. I usually review various documents. Classified storage, as long as you can read and distinguish the types of documents, you can do it!" After a pause, Zheng Hui said: "Two taels a month, three meals with meat! Are you willing to do it?" Boss Ma heard that Zheng Hui He felt happy and said happily: "I am willing to do it! I am very willing to do it!"
If you want to know what happens next, let’s look at the breakdown in the next chapter.
