The soldier who was accused of peeing his pants in battle shouted dissatisfied: "You guys usually say that you are envious of the hundreds of acres of land owned by the navy officers, but you still keep your mouth shut. Even if I, Li Dongmai, lack a little courage, twenty Aren’t you even worth it? You guys are looking down on people!"
"Shut up! Shut up!" Several soldiers came up and dragged Li Dongmai away.
A junior officer pretended to glance at Hou Zhongxin unintentionally, but Hou Zhongxin still looked ahead expressionlessly.
The junior officers and their companions whispered, and they all felt that this official from Song Dynasty was very calm, and maybe he was really a big shot.
In fact, this kind of facial expression was the basic quality of an official in the Southern Dynasties. Hou Zhongxin's heart was filled with shock. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a stormy sea.
Although Hou Zhongxin is an envoy, the situation in the Kingdom of Jin has been too chaotic in the past few years. Zhen Dexiu only walked around the border and dared to brag about the situation in Jin when he came back. In fact, Lin'an was traveling up and down, and no one could figure out what happened. What. Hou Zhongxin could only speculate on the situation of the Jin Kingdom in the Northern Dynasty based on his understanding of the Song Kingdom in the Southern Dynasties. Therefore, he originally did not take Shandong's King Qin's troops seriously.
The so-called imperial court summons soldiers from all over the world to work hard, which sounds majestic.
In fact, the officials of the Southern Song Dynasty knew very well how embarrassed a court would be if it fell to this point. Everyone has not forgotten what the Kaifeng court was like during the Jingkang period, and what Emperor Gaozong and his officials were like when they moved around Yangzhou, Jiankang, Hangzhou, Yuezhou and other places during the Jianyan period.
At that time, the armies of the King of Qin seemed to be huge, and most of them collapsed in the face of powerful enemies. Even though there were heroes, they were subject to many difficulties and were unable to save the day. As a result, some of King Qin's troops got into trouble and suddenly became rebels and rebels. Hou Zhongxin also knew those things.
At that time, the Great Jin Dynasty, with unimaginable bravery and cruelty, killed the Great Song Dynasty and threw away its armor, thousands of miles of country and billions of people. Now that the heavens are circulating, Dajin has also been threatened by powerful enemies in the north. The capital of the country has been exposed to the enemy's troops, and it has begun to seek medical treatment urgently, counting on the diligent kings from all over the country.
This situation, in Hou Zhongxin's eyes, even made him feel a little secretly happy, so much so that the hardships he experienced bumping around on the sea were nothing compared to it.
But now, Hou Zhongxin suddenly discovered something special.
The Shandong Ding Navy under the rule of Da Jin was powerful enough to repeatedly defeat powerful enemies in the north; and this army was obviously different from any army in the Jin or Song Dynasties.
Even the Jin people here in Zhigu Village know that these officers and soldiers of Shandong Dinghai Navy actually have land! Each of these soldiers has land! Moreover, it is as much as one hundred acres! They also have a shade house! This is a serious and proud warrior!
No wonder they could rival the Mongols and defeat hundreds of thousands of red-coated troops with such ease.
No wonder these soldiers looked arrogant.
I'm afraid they are not comparable to the humble Qiu Bake of the Song Dynasty, nor are they the shaved-head soldiers of the Jin Kingdom who were forced by the Jurchens to fill ravines.
These people all have permanent property, and their status is obviously higher than ordinary people. They are the soldiers from the Western Wei, Northern Zhou and Tang dynasties! Maybe even those fanzhen tooth soldiers in the late Tang Dynasty!
If his subordinates are like this, what kind of person will Guo Ning be? How many soldiers and horses like this do he have under his command? How much territory does he have to support such soldiers and horses? How much authority does he have to implement a completely different strategy for raising troops on his own territory than that of Dai Jin?
When Hou Zhongxin heard Guo Ning's name before, he thought he might be Wang Bolong or Han Chang or Li Qiong. Now that he thinks about it, he might be more than an ordinary brave general... Maybe he has to rely on Handerang?
Good guy, a group of us set out from Huaidong and traveled along the sea. We had little contact with places, but we almost missed such an important person!
In Hou Zhongxin's sight, the Jin Kingdom's Zhigu Village was all joined by Gu Alihe, nodding and bending to accompany an officer, walking around from the camp.
The officer was about thirty years old, with dark complexion, but a very calm demeanor. He wore two straight knives at his waist. Jiagu Alihe chatted with him for a few words, saw Hou Zhongxin's figure, pointed at Hou Zhongxin, and said a few words to the officer.
The officer's gaze came over, neither humble nor overbearing, and he bowed his hand. The distance between the two was not far away. Hou Zhongxin noticed that there was a huge and terrifying scar on the back of his right hand. He was obviously a soldier who had been in the army and had fought hard battles.
Hou Zhongxin subconsciously nodded slightly in return.
Jiagu Alihe shook his head full of sweat and ran over with his two fat legs swung like windmills: "Deputy Envoy Hou, this is Chen Ran, the commander of the army under the command of Ambassador Guo Xuan of Shandong. He is Ding Haijun. The big shot! Do you two want to meet?"
Hou Zhongxin walked all the way here because he originally wanted to meet the leader of Ding Haijun.
In his perception, he was an outstanding military attaché, who had led troops in Sichuan and Lianghuai, and even fought against the Jin Army during the Kaixi Year. In addition to serving in the army, he also read books and was considered a capable scholar in both civil and military affairs. Now, with the false title of Lizhou Observer, he was able to carry out orders in front of the Deputy Privy Council, and he was regarded as one of the talents of the Song Dynasty. If you work hard for a few years, you may not be able to become the commander-in-chief of a party... With such experience and talent, it is easy to find out the background of several local military officials of the Jin Kingdom.
But at this moment, he suddenly hesitated.
He felt that he didn't understand the details of the Ding Navy at all, and would it show cowardice if he talked about it rashly? Will the people in Ding Haijun look down on the Song Dynasty?
He had rich military experience, but because of this, he even had the absurd idea that the majesty of the Song Dynasty would be of little use in front of such a true warrior.
Such soldiers, and even such an army, will only respect the truly strong.
Just look at the eyes of those soldiers and you will know it!
Hou Zhongxin felt that he needed to adjust his emotions, and it was best to discuss it with Ding Zhan to avoid any mistakes.
"Uh... let's not do it for now. Just go and tell this Chen Qianjie that you are tired from crossing the sea, so I can't bother you. You might as well see me tomorrow or the day after tomorrow when we go together."
Hou Zhongxin no longer dared to underestimate the Ding Navy. When the two armies set off the next day, the performance of the Ding Navy continued to shock the Song envoys.
Their total strength was no more than a thousand, and the military supplies shipped by ship were as large as an army of five thousand men. But they moved forward by land and water, and their speed along the Lu River was astonishingly fast, as if they were moving from top to bottom without any scruples or fear.
The team moved further and further north. After passing through the destroyed Wuqing County, they encountered the Mongolian army more and more often.
In the large deserts east of Lushui, a large number of rangers try to approach the fleet every day. With Ding Yan's literary eyes, he could only see that all the enemies were extremely fierce. But Hou Zhongxin understood that they were not only fierce and fierce, but also a well-trained army.
The officers of the Ding Navy said that these were not serious Mongolian troops, but grassland tribes that relied on Mongolia, or the Jin Kingdom's northern frontier defenders who surrendered to Mongolia.
Facing the enemy's attack, Ding Haijun continued to move away from the river with roughly the same size of troops, went deep into the deserted beaches, and launched a crisscross battle with the enemy.
On several occasions, the enemy troops with nearly a thousand men broke through to the vicinity of the fleet. On several occasions, enemy troops in large areas were wiped out. The Dinghai navy, which had returned from withdrawing its troops, placed the refugees it had recruited on boats and piled the heads of the killed enemies on the river bank, forming a pile in the capital.
This kind of continuous and repeated fighting can easily make people tired and relaxed, but the officers and soldiers of the Ding Navy seem to be accustomed to the intensity of the war. Their skilled infantry and cavalry coordination, bow loss of cover, and never behave abnormally, showing Full of tenacity and fighting spirit.
The two armies fighting along the way were all strong soldiers. When they were about to reach Lu County in Tongzhou, even Ding Yan clearly felt that such an army was probably not comparable to the troops of the Song Dynasty's Huaidong system.
So he became more and more cautious. Every day he urged the three sections of the regiment to strengthen their defenses, and also urged the commander-in-chief to prepare the soldiers and the strong men recruited along the way. The purpose was still the same as before, which was to be on guard. The Mongols must also be on guard against the arrogant generals of the Ding Navy.
Hou Zhongxin, on the other hand, was frequently sent out to investigate:
How many of the troops in the northern frontier of the Jin Kingdom defected to the Mongols? Are the Mongols more vicious than these armies? How many elite soldiers and horses are there in the Ding Navy? What is the status of your ambassador Guo Ningguo in the Jin Dynasty?
"Haha..." Chen Ran wiped the dust from his face and said, "Brother Hou, this cannot be explained clearly in a few words."
Hou Zhongxin has become quite familiar with Chen Ran in the past few days. Neither of them talked about their respective official positions, only their age.
"You see, the county seat and Shuiguan in Miaoyin County have also been destroyed. The imperial garrison has shrunk to Lu County, Tongzhou. We are still thirty miles away from Lu County, Tongzhou. Only when we get there can we join the imperial people."
"That's good!" Hou Zhongxin said: "Your army has helped us a lot. When we get there, well, after arriving in Zhongdu, we will definitely thank you in front of the Emperor of Daijin."
"Haha... It doesn't have to be like this."
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