The audience was in an uproar.
Hundreds of people turned back at the same time to look at the reed shed where the arrows were shot, and because of their uniform movements, they made a roar.
In the reed shed, a heroic young man held a long bow and faced everyone's gaze without wavering. In front of the young man, the old man in a large robe looked back with some annoyance, said a few words, then turned back and nodded slightly to apologize to the troupe on the high platform.
"Zhao Fang?"
Yin Chang frowned and immediately recognized the old man.
A few years ago, Zhao Fang took advantage of the internal strife between the Jin and Jin families and led his army all the way to Kaifeng City. At that time, Yin Chang was in the Zhou army's formation and had seen Zhao Fang from a distance. Later, when the Zhou Dynasty was established, Yin Chang was in charge of Kaifeng and served as the deputy guard in Nanjing, while Zhao Fang was always the border defense commander of the Southern Song Dynasty in Jinghu.
The confrontation between the Zhou Dynasty and the Song Dynasty generally continued the pattern of the Jin and Song Dynasties. The Northern Kingdom had the military advantage, but the Southern Dynasty also had its own inherent resilience and did not give in easily. Although the two families did not go to war, large troops were mobilized frequently as the Zhou army gradually restored the border defenses that had been neglected for a long time in the last years of the Jin Kingdom. On the long border, the Song army's response, even targeting dispatch and deterrence, was not uncommon.
Zhao Fang was the person who led many responses during this period. To a certain extent, the Jingxi and Jinghu roads where he was located also formed a strong support for Lianghuai. Because of a series of hard work, just last year, in the 10th year of Jiading in the Southern Dynasty, he was promoted to the rank of bachelor of Xianmo Pavilion, doctor of Taizhong, and minister of the Ministry of Power and Punishment. His status and authority were the same as those of Nanjing left behind in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Marshal Guo Zhongyuan was evenly matched.
Regarding Zhao Fang's movements, both the Remaining Department and the Unified Military Department paid close attention to them, and gathered information from time to time to Yin Chang's desk. Who would have thought that this person would sneak into Kaifeng City?
Yin Chang's face turned ugly.
Guo Zhongyuan was busy with the armament of the entire Nanjing Road. Yin Chang was always responsible for the internal and external affairs of Kaifeng Mansion. He is conscientious in his official duties and is not slack or negligent.
But look at the situation today!
It's okay for people from the left and right departments to go in and out of the official office without restraint. They are the emperor's eyes and ears. Even if Yin Chang wants to pursue them, he is not qualified. However, even a general from an enemy country like Zhao Fang came to Kaifeng?
Where does he think Kaifeng is? If this person can come, he must first have used bribes, threats and other means to seize the border checkpoint, and then he must find a powerful person in Kaifeng City to act as a protective umbrella. This has penetrated the military layout of the Great Zhou Dynasty into holes! Treat Kaifeng City as a no-man’s land where you can come and go at any time!
Zhao Fang can come and go at will, where are Song's spies? Nanjing Road borders the Song Dynasty, and the border is 1,800 miles from east to west. If Kaifeng is like this, what will happen to the border?
What's even more frightening is, what is there in Kaifeng city that can make a commander like Zhao Fang come in person? Could it be that someone was colluding with the Song Dynasty to... Yin Chang didn't dare to think about it anymore. He had suffered a loss in the previous fight and was already feeling unwell. Now he felt that his energy and blood were surging, and he almost wanted to vomit blood.
This move clearly shows that the Southern Song Dynasty had ulterior motives!
How can such an enemy country stay?
Yin Chang immediately thought that the relevant officials must be severely punished. Then he realized that the catastrophic trouble that was surrounding him at this time was, after all, the crime of disrupting water transportation and affecting the military affairs of the north. He subconsciously turned sideways and instantly wanted to use this as a reason to explain to Li Yun why he insisted on going south.
Just then he opened his mouth, but heard Li Yun say: "Old Yin, don't panic. That's the guest I invited."
"What?"
Yin Chang swallowed and felt unbelievable: "Li Langzhong, you mean that you invited the Jinghu Zhizhi Ambassador of the Southern Song Dynasty to visit our Nanjing city?"
"If we have serious matters to discuss, why don't we meet face-to-face? In the past two years, the contacts between the Zhou and Song families have become a hundred times closer than before. Many matters do not go through the small court in Lin'an, and there is no need to worry too much about the rituals of the two countries... In the final analysis, those things are just words of literati; those who really do practical things do not need to be restricted."
Li Yun responded, raised his hand and pointed again: "Old Yin, look, the young man who shot the arrow just now is called Meng Gong. He is a very trustworthy general under Zhao Fang."
"Don't you have to have credit?" Yin
Chang said coldly.
"Oh? How do you say it?"
Although the Left and Right Division is in charge of internal and external intelligence exploration and collection, Yin Chang is not a freeloader. He immediately said:
"This Meng Gong is the son of Meng Zongzheng, a local tycoon in Zaoyang. Meng Zongzheng's father, Meng Lin, claims to be a descendant of the Yue family army. He is very famous in the local area. Meng Zongzheng is also known as a brave man. During the Taihe period, the Jin Dynasty invaded the Song Dynasty. When Meng Zongzheng was the magistrate of Zaoyang County, he led a guerrilla attack in a dangerous position and captured the gold army's baggage. He was recommended by Zhao Fang and transferred to the jurisdiction of Jingxi Road. Three years ago, Meng Zongzheng followed Zhao Fang to the gates of Kaifeng City. After returning, he returned to Kaifeng City. Quan is the envoy of Zaoyang Army."
After thinking for a while, Yin Chang continued:
"Ten thousand people under Meng Zongzheng's command were all selected from the poor people in Zaoyang, Xiangyang and other places. They were called the Zhongshun Army. They were an elite army of the Song Dynasty that stood at my waist on the Nanjing Road. Although there has been no war between the two families in these years, , but they have a lot of respect for each other in private. The Zhongshun Army and Yan Ning stationed in Caizhou once drove the bandits separately across Tongbai Mountain. They competed three or five times, and it was difficult to distinguish. They have a foundation for this. Zhao Fang naturally wants to win over his general, and it is natural for him to keep his son by his side as a personal general."
To be able to talk about the origins and experiences of Zhao Fang's generals so casually, Yin Chang has really worked hard. Li Yun also had to nod.
He immediately asked:
"The Zhongshun Army is just a local army on the Nanchao Jingxi Road, which can compete with our Caizhou Zhennan Army. I heard that under Zhao Fang, just in the north near the border, there are new troops such as Shenjin, Baojie, and Zhongyi. Jiangling also has a large army stationed there, so we should not underestimate it. Old Yin, do you see the weakness of the Song people from this?"
"Ha ha……"
Yin Chang burst into laughter: "Why did I underestimate them? The Loyal and Submissive Army was a name given by the Southern Dynasty to appease the border refugees. They held the empty status of various envoys and functions, but never got much. The army is a complete poor man. With their bravery, they can take a few or dozens of people to fight with our army in the mountains. But when the army fights, they have no decent weapons, no sufficient food, and they have no money at all. no!"
"The Shenjin, Victory, and Loyalty armies are not as good as the Zhongshun Army. As for the so-called imperial armies stationed in Jiangling Mansion... Li Langzhong, if you send someone to Jiangling, you should know that this army has been stationed there for a long time. It is desolate, with less than 30% of the registered soldiers on the books, and most of them are driven to work and work hard, which is tantamount to slavery."
Yin Chang glanced at Li Yun: "The Jinghu and Jingxi roads are all filled with this kind of troops. They are either poor or useless. I heard that Li Langzhong was familiar with Lianghuai, Zhejiang, Jiangnan and other places. How could he see what he saw? Different from me? Are all the powerful generals and soldiers of the Southern Dynasties there?"
"Not really."
"Then, what can I see when Mr. Li brings me here? To see this young man's archery skills?"
Yin Chang glanced at Meng Gong in the reed shed and shook his head disdainfully: "Such archery skills are indeed not bad. But they are not as good as him. I can mobilize more than a hundred people at any time; the entire Nanjing Road army has 40,000 people. Here, at least two thousand people can be mobilized! What does this prove? Does it prove that the Song people are not weak and that our army cannot go south to fight?"
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