Cao Yong led everyone to the gate and saw a high-spirited general wearing golden armor and red robes, surrounded by thousands of soldiers and horses. Cao Yong frowned. He recognized the person coming. It was Lu Jinzhong, deputy envoy of the Privy Council. The large group of people came to the gate, Cao Yong clasped his fists and bowed: "Marshal Cao Yong of Zhenbei pays homage to the imperial envoy!" Lu Jinzhong sat on his horse, glanced at Cao Yong, and asked: "Cao Yong, do you understand your guilt?"
Cao Yong was stunned and felt confused, and asked: "What is my crime?" Lu Jinzhong smiled coldly and made a gesture. An accompanying officer immediately took out a yellow silk imperial edict and said loudly: "By imperial edict, , Kneel down!" Cao Yong frowned and knelt down. All the soldiers around him also knelt down. The officer opened the imperial edict and read: "By God's blessing, the emperor's edict says: I have been very kind and righteous to you, and entrusted you with the peace of the important town in the north and the Song Dynasty. How dare you be ungrateful, collude with the rebels, and intend to carry out the heaven-defying punishment?" An act of the heart!..."
When Cao Yong heard this, he couldn't help being shocked. He immediately understood that someone above the court must be slandering him. He was angry and puzzled. He didn't understand why the ministers in the court wanted to frame him in such a critical situation. , do they hope that Yan Yun's army will sweep across Jiangnan?
Then I heard the officer continue to read: "You can't atone for your great treason and crime even if you die. However, because of the merits you have made for the Song Dynasty court in the past, I will not execute you for the time being and order you to be imprisoned." Go to Jinling and let me personally decide! Lu Jinzhong will take over the post of Marshal of Zhenbei. I appreciate this!" Cao Yong frowned and said nothing. When Lu Jinzhong saw that Cao Yong did not accept the order, he immediately wanted to use the topic as an excuse and shouted sternly: "Cao Yong, why don't you accept the order to thank me? Do you want to resist the order?"
Cao Yong came to his senses and glared at Lu Jinzhong angrily. Lu Jinzhong was shocked and shouted hurriedly: "Come on, take down this traitor!" The accompanying soldiers and horses immediately agreed and stepped forward. All the soldiers around Cao Yong immediately stood up and drew their weapons to fight.
When Lu Jinzhong saw that there were few people on the other side, he smiled coldly and said surreptitiously: "Since you are seeking death, no wonder I am ruthless!" As soon as he thought of this, he wanted to order the massacre. However, at this moment, rumbling footsteps came from the street on one side, and at the same time, a thunderous voice roared: "Who dares to touch the commander-in-chief!"
Lu Jinzhong was startled, and hurriedly followed the sound, and suddenly saw a strong-looking general wearing heavy armor leading an army of tens of thousands rushing towards him. Lu Jinzhong was shocked when he saw this scene. The person who came was none other than Cao Yong's most powerful general, Yao Ping.
Yao Ping led his soldiers and horses to surround Lu Jinzhong and his soldiers and horses from the outside. Yao Ping pointed at Lu Jinzhong with a big knife and shouted: "Traitor, if you want to harm the commander, I will kill you first!"
When Lu Jinzhong was actually photographed by Yao Ping, his expression changed drastically, and he shouted sternly and restrainedly: "I have come to arrest the rebels by imperial decree! Are you doing this to rebel?" Yao Ping cursed angrily: " Damn it! The commander-in-chief led us to do our best to resist the invasion of the Yanyun Army. The commander-in-chief almost escaped death, but he actually said that the commander-in-chief was a traitor! In this case, I will fucking rebel!" The soldiers under his command shouted in unison: "Rebellion, rebellion!" Everyone was furious, their voices rising into the sky. Seeing such a momentum, Lu Jinzhong and his soldiers were all frightened and at a loss.
Cao Yong shouted: "Don't talk nonsense!" The soldiers stopped shouting, and everyone's face still looked indignant. Yao Ping said anxiously to Cao Yong: "Commander, the court and the emperor are so stupid, why do you have to be loyal to them! They said that the commander intends to collude with the King of Yan. This is not only an insult to the commander, but also an insult to the many who died in the bloody battle. Soldiers! It’s not worth it to fight for such a court and such an emperor!"
Cao Yong said angrily: "If you say rebellious words again, don't blame me for dealing with you with military law!" Yao Ping was depressed and angry, but he had to shut his mouth. Cao Yong's expression softened a little and said: "Your Majesty was just temporarily deceived. I believe that Your Majesty will eventually return my innocence!" Yao Ping wanted to say something, but in the end he held back.
At this time, Liu Feng and other generals also rushed to the scene one after another. Cao Yong's troops at the scene reached almost 30,000. Looking around, he saw a sea of people. Lu Jinzhong and others couldn't help but tremble with fear and lost their atmosphere. Dare to go out, for fear that if you accidentally anger the other party, people like you will be chopped into pieces in an instant!
Liu Feng glanced at Lu Jinzhong and said to Cao Yong: "Commander, now is the time to reconsider your subordinate's previous proposal!"
Cao Yong knew what Liu Feng meant. Liu Feng wanted him to reconsider surrendering to King Yan. He slowly shook his head and said, "How can a loyal minister serve two masters? Even if Your Majesty is unjust to me, I cannot be unfaithful to him." !" Then he gave his subordinates a stern look and said: "Here, I give the last order. You must help the new commander wholeheartedly and guard Xiangyang! Otherwise, you will be sorry for me. Even if I go to the underworld, I will not do it. I forgive you!" Everyone's hearts trembled, and they had no choice but to clasp their fists and agree. Seeing this, Lu Jinzhong couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and became proud again. Said to Cao Yong: "Commander Cao, the emperor's order is difficult, let's hand it over now!"
Cao Yong nodded, ordered the captain of the soldiers beside him to get the commander's seal, and then walked to Lu Jinzhong's horse holding the commander's seal. Lu Jinzhong got off his horse, stretched out his hands to take it, and looked at the handsome seal in his hands with an extremely excited look in his eyes.
When Cao Yong saw Lu Jinzhong's expression, he couldn't help but feel worried. He frowned and said, "Now Marshal Lu is the Marshal of Zhenbei! I have a few words to say to the Marshal!" Lu Jinzhong played with the commander's seal and said casually: "Just say what you have to say." Cao Yong frowned slightly and said: "The Yanyun Army is a warrior of tigers and wolves. They are the most elite in the world and their combat power is invincible! The commander must not be careless! He can only defend the fortified city. , don’t go into battle rashly!”
Lu Jinzhong couldn't help but secretly thought: "You are a coward, am I also a coward like you?" The strength of our army is not less than that of the other side. If we can only retreat, wouldn't it greatly damage the prestige of the King's division? With this thought in his mind, he nodded casually and said, "The commander-in-chief understands." Cao Yong saw that his expression clearly did not take his words to heart, and he couldn't help but feel anxious, and said anxiously: "The commander-in-chief must not take it seriously." Treat my words as deaf ears, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous!" Lu Jinzhong couldn't help but said angrily: "Now, are you the commander-in-chief, or am I the commander-in-chief? I naturally have my own opinions, and you don't need to come. Don’t worry, you should think more about yourself!”
When Cao Yong saw this, he was very angry, but for a moment he didn't know what to do. Lu Jinzhong said: "If Marshal Cao has nothing to do, it's better to get on the road as soon as possible. Delaying for too long would be a great disrespect to His Majesty!"
Cao Yong couldn't help but sigh. Lu Jinzhong immediately said to the Forbidden Army officer next to him: "General Lao Deng, please escort Marshal Cao back to Beijing!" The Forbidden Army officer clasped his fists in agreement, then clasped his fists towards Cao Yong and said: "Marshal Cao, please!" Cao Yong turned his head and looked at his face. The reluctant subordinates called out one after another: "Commander..." Cao Yong sighed, turned his head, got on his horse, and left under the escort of General Deng.
When Lu Jinzhong saw that Cao Yong was gone, he immediately ordered the drums to be beaten to gather the generals and raise the tent to discuss matters. The generals didn't want to pay attention to it, but remembering the commander's instructions before leaving, they had no choice but to go to the camp hall to discuss the matter.
The large tent of Yanyun Army. Yang Peng couldn't help but sigh after reading the report he just received. He raised his head and said to everyone: "I just received a detailed report that Cao Yong has been dismissed from office by Song Ting!" Everyone felt incredible, Xiao Duoli said : "I didn't expect that just a few rumors would allow the Zhao Song court to remove Cao Yong from his official position! Emperor Zhao Song was just too stupid!" Duan Zhixian said: "Emperor Zhao Song was so stupid to begin with! The Sa family has seen it before! "Xiang Danian excitedly clasped his fists towards Yang Peng and said: "King Yan, if the opponent changes commander before the battle, the morale of the army must be unstable. It is a great time to attack Xiangyang! The last general is willing to be the vanguard and attack Xiangyang!" The generals hurriedly responded. They all asked for a fight.
Yang Peng smiled, looked at Yeqi Guanyin, who was sitting next to her with a big belly, and asked: "Guanyin, what do you think?"
Ye Qi Guanyin thought: "I heard that this Lu Jinzhong is an arrogant person. I don't think we are in a hurry to attack Xiangyang. We can let this person be powerful first!..."
As soon as Lu Jinzhong took office, he ordered all the people in Xiangyang to be forcibly recruited to help defend the city. At the same time, he ordered soldiers and horses from Junzhou, Gucheng, and Yicheng to rush to Xiangyang. He wanted to fight Yanyun's army to the death. Liu Feng and others tried to resist, but to no avail.
Just at this time, the scout came to report: "Commander, the Yanyun Army is very frightened when they heard that the commander has replaced Marshal Cao in Xiangyang!" When Lu Jinzhong heard this, he laughed proudly. Liu Feng and Yao Ping were very surprised.
A few days later, nearly 200,000 troops from the three cities gathered at the foot of Xiangyang City. Lu Jinzhong immediately opened the city gates and rushed out, leading an army of 2.67 million soldiers and 200,000 people who had been forcibly recruited to launch a counterattack against Yan Yun's army. Liu Feng and others tried their best to dissuade him, but Lu Jinzhong insisted on going his own way. However, the development of the matter was far beyond the expectations of Liu Feng and others. The army was killed, and Yan Yun's army collapsed at the first touch. In an instant, the camp was taken away by Lu Jinzhong, along with a lot of food, grass and baggage. The Yanyun Army retreated sharply towards Niushou Town.
Lu Jinzhong was very excited and proud when he saw that Yan Yun's army was defeated in one battle. He immediately sent people to Jinling to claim victory. At the same time, he led a large army to pursue Yan Yun's army, showing a posture that he would not give up until Yan Yun's army was completely annihilated. The Song Army continued to pursue, and the Yan Yun Army continued to retreat. The situation was very favorable for the Song Army. It only took one battle to completely defeat the Yan Yun Army!
Two days later, the Yanyun army retreated to Niushou Town, and the Song army immediately caught up. The soldiers of the Song Army expected to see Yan Yun's army panicking, but were surprised to see Yan Yun's army forming a military formation with its back to the Han River. Lu Jinzhong laughed loudly, pointed his riding whip at the Yanyun army formation in the distance and said proudly: "They are desperate and want to fight the trapped beasts!" Liu Feng's expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly said to Lu Jinzhong: "Commander, the situation is No, retreat quickly!"
Lu Jinzhong was stunned for a moment, and then cursed: "That's nonsense! If you dare to talk nonsense again and shake the morale of the army, I will punish you with military law!"
Liu Feng frowned and said nothing more. I glanced at the Yanyun Army in front and saw that the opponent's army was as strong as a mountain. Among the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, except for the sound of banners and hunting and the occasional neighing of horses, there was no sound. Palpitations. How could such an army be a desperate one? Besides, Yan Yun's army has always been fierce and tenacious in combat, so why has it collapsed in the past two days and been defeated like a mountain? This must be true. Yan Yun's army was not defeated. They clearly deliberately faked defeat and lured you into a trap! Liu Feng was frightened and prepared to speak to Lu Jinzhong again.
At this moment, Lu Jinzhong pulled out his sword, pointed it at the sky, and shouted sternly: "The whole army attacks!" The war drums rang loudly. Liu Feng's expression changed and he secretly said: It's too late!
When the soldiers of the Song Army heard the roar of war drums, their blood boiled immediately. Even the 200,000 people who were forcibly recruited couldn't help but feel excited about fighting! The entire army shouted loudly and rushed towards Yanyun's army formation like a tide! The thunder was rolling and the earth was shaking. It was so powerful that it seemed like it could destroy everything! Seeing such a scene, Liu Feng couldn't help but pray in his heart: I hope I was wrong, I hope such a landslide and tsunami-like offensive can destroy the enemy in one fell swoop! Lu Jinzhong looked at the scene in front of him with excitement. In his mind, he was already imagining that he would lead an army to regain Bianliang and then sweep the entire Central Plains! Thinking of the proud place, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The Song army's nearly 500,000 horses surged towards Yan Yun's army like a rolling wave, three hundred steps, two hundred steps, one hundred and fifty steps, one hundred steps.
At this moment, a loud buzzing sound suddenly came from Yan Yun's army, and at the same time, a black cloud flew up into the sky and blocked the sun. In the blink of an eye, a dense rain of arrows fell into the middle of the Song army, and suddenly it was hit by a huge Countless ripples arose in the wave, and screams echoed one after another amidst the rumbling footsteps! When the people who were forcibly conscripted saw someone around them falling to the ground after being hit by arrows, their enthusiasm immediately subsided, and fear surged into their hearts. Many people stopped charging, but they huddled together with those who rushed up after them. Obstructions appeared in many places. It was as if countless rocks suddenly appeared in the surging waves.
The Song Army's crossbowmen fought back one after another, and arrows fell into the Yanyun Army, causing some casualties. However, after the arrow rain passed, the entire Yanyun Army formation seemed not to be affected at all.
Both sides exchanged arrows, and Yan Yun clearly had the upper hand. When the two sides were thirty steps apart, Yan Yun's crossbowmen unleashed their power together, and the dense rain of arrows whizzed away, airtight. The Song soldiers in front fell down one after another, and the surging waves seemed to have encountered a huge wave. It seems like an obstacle, but it is still approaching Yanyun's military formation!
Suddenly, the frontal defense line of the Yanyun Army suddenly withdrew, and more than ten thousand sturdy Yanyun War Cavalry suddenly appeared in front of the Song Army soldiers, rushing towards them. The huge roar seemed to overwhelm the footsteps of the Song Army.
At a distance of twenty or thirty steps, the war cavalry arrived in a blink of an eye. More than ten thousand Yanyun war cavalry suddenly collided with the wave of the Song army, and instantly rushed into the depth of the Song army! Trampled by iron hoofs, attacked with swords and guns, the Song army fell down one after another screaming, blood and flesh flying everywhere! At the same time, the Yanyun Army launched a full-scale counterattack, with the Modao Army as the vanguard, and rushed into the middle of the Song Army, killing them step by step, and the bloody battle continued! The Song army desperately resisted, but they felt that the opponent's offensive was like a landslide or a tsunami, which was impossible to resist. The army gradually retreated backwards uncontrollably!
The people who had been forcibly conquered could not bear it at first and completely collapsed. Then the Song army also lost one after another and retreated. Nearly 500,000 men and horses were defeated like a mountain.
When Lu Jinzhong saw this situation, he couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't understand why his own army was far more numerous than the opponent's, and they were clearly desperate. How could they kill him in such a short period of time? The army collapsed like a mountain? !
Liu Feng said urgently: "Commander, order the heavy armored troops to resist the enemy. The army will retreat immediately!" Only then did Lu Jinzhong realize and hurriedly sent the order. …
More than 300,000 Song troops successfully retreated. However, the figure of Yan Yun's cavalry appeared on the way back. The Song troops were frightened and quickly retreated toward the northwest, preparing to retreat to Gucheng. However, they saw that they had not gone far. There are also Yanyun warriors on the road ahead. The Song army had nowhere to escape and had to retreat to a desolate mountain. Soon after, Yan Yun's army encircled them. The soldiers of the Song Army on the mountain looked at the cloud-like banners and the mountain-like camps at the foot of the mountain, and they couldn't help but feel frightened.
Lu Jinzhong urgently summoned the generals to discuss countermeasures. Liu Feng sighed and said: "We have fallen into the Yanyun Army's trap from the beginning! With the Yanyun Army's combat power, how could it be possible for them to be defeated and defeated again at the first touch! That is clearly a strategy to lure the enemy!"
Lu Jinzhong's face became very ugly, and he said angrily: "What's the use of talking about this now? Just think of a way to break out of the encirclement!" Liu Feng sighed and said: "Our army has been killed so much that we want to break out of the encirclement. It’s hard to reach heaven!”
Lu Jinzhong stood up and said angrily: "I don't believe that I can't break out! They have more than 300,000 troops, and we still have more than 300,000 troops now!" Then he rushed to Yao Zhong and said: "Yao Zhong, you Lead your troops as the vanguard and break out to the south!" Yao Zhong frowned and promised with clasped fists.
The war drums sounded loudly on the mountain, and Yao Ping personally led 30,000 troops and horses as the vanguard and rushed down. As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, arrows as dense as migratory locusts were fired towards them. The soldiers of the Song Army fell to the ground one after another, and screams were heard! The courage they had just mustered up was instantly wiped out, and they all ran back towards the mountain! When Lu Jinzhong saw such a scene on the mountain, he was furious and kept cursing trash! Liu Feng said angrily: "If the commander thinks that General Yao did not do well, why not personally lead the army to break out?" Lu Jinzhong was stunned, and then shouted hysterically: "I will let you see how powerful I am. !" Then he summoned 60,000 soldiers and horses and rushed down the mountain with a roar. As a result, they were first hit head-on by Yan Yun's strong bows and crossbows, and then were charged and killed by Yan Yun's cavalry. They suffered heavy losses, and the remaining defeated soldiers ran up the mountain in panic. When Lu Jinzhong saw Liu Feng and others, he felt ashamed and helpless. Liu Feng and others had no intention of making fun of him. Now the army is surrounded and the situation is very serious!
In the tent, Lu Jinzhong frowned with fear and said: "In this situation, it is impossible for us to escape by ourselves! We can only ask the imperial court for help and ask them to send troops to rescue!"
Liu Feng shook his head and said: "I'm afraid this won't work! There is no water source on this mountain, and the food and grass carried by the army can only last three days! Within three days, if we cannot break through the encirclement, even if the Yanyun army does not attack, we ourselves will I'll die of thirst and starvation!" Lu Jinzhong's expression changed, he was panic-stricken, and he couldn't help but said: "This, what should I do?"
Everyone couldn't help but despise the commander when they saw that he was so arrogant not long ago but now looked panic-stricken.
Liu Feng frowned and said: "For the current plan, we can only use all our strength to break out of the encirclement in the middle of the night to see if we can break through the encirclement! If the Yan Yun army is careless in the middle of the night, then we still have hope!" Lu Jinzhong suddenly seemed like a The drowning man saw a life-saving straw and shouted excitedly: "Yes, we will definitely succeed in breaking out at night!"
That night, far away in the Jinling Palace, a banquet was being held. Zhao Heng and all the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty drank and drank to celebrate the victory of Xiangyang. Zhao Heng was so happy that he ignored the etiquette and ordered all the concubines and princesses in the harem to attend. It was also a banquet. A beautiful scenery.
Zhao Heng raised his wine glass and said to Huang Cong, the Grand Master: "Only by recommending virtuous ministers can we achieve such a great victory! The Grand Master has made great contributions! I would like to pay a toast to the Grand Master!" Huang Cong picked up the wine glass and stood up, with an old face like a spring flower in full bloom. , said: "This is the result of His Majesty's holy virtues and enlightenment, how dare I bow!" Then he said to all the ministers: "My lords, let's come together to pay homage to the Holy Lord!" All the ministers stood up with their cups and raised their voices. He said: "Your Majesty's Holy Virtue has come to the world, I would like to offer you a drink!" Zhao Heng was overjoyed, laughed, raised his head, and drank the wine in the glass. All the ministers also drank their wine. The king and his ministers had the same idea and laughed together.
Zhao Heng invited singing and dancing, and the dancers with slim figures and beautiful faces flew into the hall like colorful butterflies and danced gracefully to the accompaniment of the music. Everyone was laughing and chatting while enjoying the singing and dancing. It was such a prosperous scene of singing and dancing!
Zhao Heng asked Huang Cong: "Grand Master, Marshal Lu should have completely defeated Yan Yun's army by now, right?" Huang Cong cupped his fists and said: "It takes two or three days for the military information to be transmitted. The military report received today should be from two days ago. At this time, By that time, Wang Shi must have swept across the Yanyun Army, and may have crossed the Han River and invaded the hinterland of Henan! If nothing goes unexpectedly, my emperor and the emperor will be able to return to the Bianliang Palace before this summer! "
Zhao Heng couldn't help but show an expression of reminiscence. Zhao Heng couldn't help but murmured: "I really miss every plant and tree in Bianliang Palace! And Genyue! And Shenxiao Wanshou Palace! I wonder what those places look like now?" Huang Cong said with a smile: "When Marshal Lu completely defeats the Yanyun rebels, the emperor can return to his old place! I believe everything is fine and waiting for the emperor's blessing!" Zhao Heng smiled slightly and then said: "If Marshal Lu can stand up For performing such extraordinary feats, I will make him king!"
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
