Muzhou, northwest of Qingxi County, Bangyuan Cave.
Bangyuan Cave, also known as Bangyuan Cave, is about forty miles wide and deep and spans dozens of miles.
There are many mountains outside, the roads are twists and turns, there are many cliffs on both sides, and the terrain is dangerous and steep.
The caves inside are connected, some are large and some are small, some are deep and some are shallow, and they are all interconnected. It is unknown where the exit is. Most outsiders will get lost when they enter.
There is a small mountain in front of Bangyuan Cave called Jianmen Ridge, which is the barrier to Bangyuan. There are two more mountains to the north of Jianmen Ridge. There is a mountain pass where the two mountains meet, called Beishan Pass, which is the main entrance to Bangyuan. way.
To the south of Jianmen Ridge, there is a hidden trail on the mountainside, which is the secret way in and out of Bangyuan. It is called Nanshan Pass. From here, you can take the rugged mountain road directly to Bangyuan.
Nanshan Pass is covered by lush bamboo jungle and is very hidden. It is extremely difficult for people who are not familiar with the terrain to find it.
It was now more than ten days after the Battle of Muzhou. Liu Yanqing led his headquarters with more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, and he could lead 10,000 soldiers. Yao Pingzhong led 10,000 soldiers, and Zhao Yu sent Du Bo to lead another 10,000 soldiers, for a total of five There are more than 10,000 people, attacking the source.
Because the terrain was unfamiliar, the soldiers and horses were stationed at Jianmen Ridge, and then sent out scouts to explore inside.
But for two or three days in a row, none of the scouts sent out came back. I don't know whether they got lost in the mountains and were eaten by wolves, insects, tigers and leopards, or whether they were captured and killed by bandit troops who were ambushing them everywhere in the Bangyuan area. .
Liu Yanqing hurriedly discussed the matter, frowning and folding in half, Ke Cun and others said: "We have always used more troops to suppress fewer troops when encircling the mountains, using the number of troops to make up for the disadvantages of the terrain. Based on the previous calculations of Fang La's troops, there are at least a dozen or so of these Yuandong groups now. There are 200,000 thieves, and now we only have more than 50,000 troops. Exploration is laborious, so how can we attack?"
All the generals were silent. These things were obvious and no one could think of a good way.
At this moment, suddenly a report came from the primary school outside the tent: "Commander, there are countless black crows in the distance, flying the royal flag, and an outpost general came to deliver the order, saying that His Royal Highness Prince Yun has arrived!"
Liu Yanqing was stunned when he heard this, and stood up quickly: "Prince Yun is here to help Yuan?"
Zhe Kecun and Yao Pingzhong next to them looked at each other and said that it was true. After the capture of Muzhou, they returned to Hangzhou to reorganize their troops. Zhao Tong once said that King Yun would probably come to pick peaches and steal military glory, so he asked them to act more cautiously.
Yao Pingzhong glanced at Liu Yanqing secretly and frowned secretly when he saw his stunned look.
At this moment, King Yun's outpost generals arrived. When the generals saw it, everyone except Du Bo recognized him. It turned out to be Liu Guangshi.
Yao Pingzhong couldn't help curling his lips, thinking that the father and son had tipped off the news and pretended to be surprised. The Liu family was too shameless.
Obviously it was Liu Yanqing who sent a secret message to Zhao Kai to report the military situation. Even if he didn't want to curry favor with King Yun Zhao Kai, he still had to consider his son.
Liu Yanqing had a total of fourteen children, the most outstanding of whom were the eldest son Liu Guangguo and the second son Liu Guangshi. Liu Guangguo was in the tent at the moment. Once he captured Fang La with the army, his military achievements would be appropriate, but Liu Guangshi followed Zhao Kai in Hongzhou. , if Zhao Kai never sends troops, he will get nothing in the end.
So Liu Yanqing wrote a letter. Naturally, this letter could not be written directly to Liu Guangshi, but to Zhao Kai, reporting the current situation of the war. He said that almost all of Zhejiang and Zhejiang had been recovered. The thieves were now surrounding Bangyuan, and the war was about to end. As for the Whether he comes or not is up to Zhao Kai himself. He didn't take the initiative to invite the three kings to send troops in his letter, but he estimated that 100% of the time he would come and compete for credit.
At this time, Liu Guangshi saw the ceremony and said: "Commander, King Yun has mobilized his troops to suppress the bandits and has arrived not far from the tent. Please come and greet him, Commander-in-Chief."
Liu Yanqing suddenly said "Ah!" and hurriedly stretched out his hand to pat his forehead and said: "It is actually King Yun who is coming for reinforcements. All generals, please follow me to meet him."
Zhe Ke could not help but twitch his mouth because he was embarrassed to watch his performance, while Yao Pingzhong raised his eyebrows disdainfully, and the two of them followed him out of the tent.
After a while, Zhao Kai walked in surrounded by a group of people. The wild road was rugged. He was wearing a long robe, his shoes and robe were dirty, and there were straw sticks and thorns hanging on them. He looked dusty.
He was so excited at the moment that he didn't care about these trivial matters. If he couldn't stand such filth and filth on weekdays, he would take a shower and change clothes immediately.
He was anxious about military merit at the moment, and military merit was more important than anything else. With military merit, he would have the confidence to completely fight with Zhao Huan.
Emperor Daojun had already had the idea of replacing the crown prince, and had also mentioned it to him in private. Not only did all the ministers in the court support him, but 78% of them supported him, and the remaining 10% or 20% were neutralists.
As long as he has sufficient military exploits, it will be a matter of course for him to be crown prince!
Zhao Kai sat down on the commander's chair, exchanged a few words of greetings, and then listened to Liu Yanqing's report on the military situation. When he heard Liu Yanqing said that none of the scouts he sent had returned, and he was suspected of being captured and killed by the bandit army, he couldn't help but said: "That bandit leader Fang La Starting from the mountains, most of the villages below this group of sources were invaded by the bandit army. If these people are killed, the bandit army will have no place to stay outside and can only rush back to the cave, and the army will be able to march straight in."
Liu Yanqing said: "King Yun's plan is very good. The leader of the thieves started an uprising in the name of the Demon Cult. This group of people is involved in every village. As long as he is killed, there will be no mistake."
He then said that the Gangyuan was deep and vast, and the mountains were densely forested and rugged, making it difficult to march troops to find the entrance to the cave. It was rumored that the cave was connected by nine twists and turns, and since he had few soldiers, he had no plan for the time being.
Zhao Kai raised his head and thought for a while, then suddenly remembered the book on the Art of War he had brought with him before setting off, which recorded such situations, and he couldn't help but said: "This is not simple. Just set fire to the mountain. All the grass and trees on the mountain will be burned, and there will be no forest left." It’s so dense and rugged that all the cave entrances will be exposed!”
Liu Yanqing hurriedly clapped his hands and praised it. Zhao Kai continued: "It is difficult to make a chain in the cave. It is too wide and deep, and the mountain smoke may not be able to reach it. As for the small number of soldiers, it will not be a problem. You can test it first. If it fails, wait for Tong Guan to come and attack together." kill."
There is no big use for blowing smoke in Bangyuan Cave. Not to mention that the inside is connected in all directions for dozens of miles, but the direction of the mountain wind is changeable. And this kind of breathable cave always blows from the inside out. I am afraid that if the smoke is not fanned in, the smoke will be released. The Song army was all smoked down.
What Zhao Kai said was not something he knew originally. In fact, he did a lot of homework during this expedition. In Hongzhou, he not only drank and had fun, listened to beauties singing and dancing, but also read a lot of military books.
Sharpening a gun in the face of battle is not fun, even if you know it but don't know why, you can still use it reluctantly.
As for not going to Jiangning to take charge after coming here, but to go to Hongzhou, I also learned from military books, such as avoiding the enemy's sharp edges, and then learned to wait for the oriole behind, waiting for the bandit suppression to be over, and come immediately to harvest.
Liu Yanqing couldn't help praising and complimenting him, so Zhao Kai felt a little complacent and ordered: "Have a rest for the night. Tomorrow we will capture and kill all the thieves hiding in the nearby villages, then we can march to Bangyuan and set the mountain on fire!"
In Hangzhou, Zhao Yu was sitting in the government office, laughing at the secret letter sent back by Yao Pingzhong. Zhao Kai had indeed come to pick peaches, but the timing was not very good. It seemed... a bit too early.
Zhao Kai's strategy of killing villages and burning mountains was too brutal and was suspected of killing innocent people indiscriminately. As for whether there were rebels hiding in the countryside, the answer was of course yes, but it was impossible to even think about whether they were all rebels.
However, Bangyuan was the place where Fangla started the uprising. Neighbors from all over the country had long been united in fighting against each other. Many people believed in the Ming religion, but they did not join the army in the uprising.
Are these people guilty? According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, there must be a crime, and it can be counted as an accomplice of the rebels.
Based on Fang La's behavior and actions of rebelling and proclaiming himself emperor, once these people are caught, they will basically face death penalty.
But there must be some among them who do not believe in the Ming religion and have not colluded with the rebels. After Zhao Kai's order is passed, they will probably die.
Zhao Tan let out a long sigh. He couldn't stop this matter. He could at most restrain Yao Pingzhong from doing it, but that was it. Zhao Kai had 30,000 soldiers under his own command. He couldn't give orders, and he couldn't command Zhao Kai.
Sitting in the government office, he asked Zhang Xian to lead people to take General Lu up. General Lu was imprisoned in the state prison after the previous war. He was interrogated twice, but General Lu kept silent and was not like the city. Zhao Tong was a bit confused about his identity as he was cursing like that at first and didn't say anything even when asked.
Later, he called Fang Gu. At this moment, Fang Gu's so-called "worm poison" had been eliminated. Zhao Tao gave him a merit. He said that the official position would be granted after he returned to the court. Fang Gu had betrayed Fang La, so how could he dare to say half of it? No word.
Fang Gu recognized General Lu and revealed General Lu's identity. Now General Lu couldn't bear it anymore and sprayed Fang Gu bloody.
Zhao Zhu asked Fang Gu to go down, and then looked at General Lu up and down. General Lu was Fang La's military advisor and the most strategic person under Fang La's command. Moreover, General Lu was a former imperial student and was considered the most educated person under Fang La.
General Lu stared at Zhao Tong with anger on his face.
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "General Lu, I have heard that you were punished and never hired because you wrote to the court to punish Zhu Meng, right?"
General Lu snorted coldly: "Dog King, if you want to kill or behead me, just come, why bother to say more!"
Zhao Tong shook his head: "If I want to kill you, I can kill you right at the top of Hangzhou City. Why wait until now?"
General Lu was stunned when he heard this. Zhao Tong was telling the truth. He woke up once when he was in the city of Hangzhou and saw corpses everywhere. Not only Wang Gong and Lao Buddha were dead, but Pang Wanchun and Deng Yuanjue also died on the city.
Zhao Tong said again: "General Lu, seeing that you are young, who else is in your family?"
General Lu didn't answer. He was a little confused about Zhao Tong's intentions. He didn't kill anyone in the city, and he still won't kill him now. He thought to himself that there was nothing worthy of Zhao Tong's use.
He is neither the nephew of the Holy Duke, nor a direct follower of the Holy Duke. He can hold the position of military advisor just because he has read a lot of books. Both the Ming Sect and the Holy Dynasty need such a learned scholar.
He is not belittling himself, he sees all this clearly, but this does not stop him from hating the corruption of the imperial court, hating Zhu Meng's common people who have thrown Jiangnan into darkness, nor does it stop him from believing in Mingzun and using light For the most sacred goal in your heart.
Zhao Tong saw that he was speechless, and then said: "You are a scholar, so I will talk to you as a scholar."
General Lu frowned: "I stopped reading those pedantic books a long time ago."
Zhao Tong ignored his words and just continued: "You are both a student and an imperial student. You are familiar with ancient times and history. I would like to ask you, do you think Fang La and others can achieve great things?"
General Lu didn't expect Zhao Tong to ask such a question. He thought he was going to use the great principles in the book to suppress him, but he didn't know that he actually looked down on the Holy Duke in his words, and said angrily: "How can you despise the Holy Duke!"
Zhao Tong said: "I just want to ask you, do you think he can become something big?"
General Lu took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said, "It's a pity that the Holy Duke didn't listen to me. If he had listened to me and gone straight to Jiangning, how could we be in today's situation!"
Zhao Tong shook his head: "So what? Even if Jiangning falls temporarily, how can you hold it? You and other rebels have no control over things, no laws and orders, and the internal chaos is in chaos. How can we last long in the army?"
General Lu said angrily: "Whatever you say is nothing. Since we haven't gone to Jiangning, it doesn't matter what you say! If we go to Jiangning to seize the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, we can attack Zhongzhou and Tokyo directly, and retreat with a natural chasm to confront us. How can we not last long?" ? It will not be too late to legislate by then! Your Zhao and Song Dynasties were extravagant and corrupt, and your foolish emperor relied on treacherous people. You wasted money and money on the people, and made the south of the Yangtze River a mess. The people are in dire straits. Our holy religion holds high the banner of righteousness and has the support of all the people. Sooner or later it will be overthrown Your Zhao family’s court!”
Zhao Tong saw him excited, stretched out his hand to touch his chin, and said in a different way: "General Lu, then why do you think Fang La didn't listen to you and went straight to Jiangning?"
General Lu paused when he heard the words, and his emotions suddenly weakened as if he had been given a shot of chicken blood. He said angrily: "The Holy Duke is not ignorant, but he wants to capture Zhu Meng first and avenge the common people in the south of the Yangtze River, so he doesn't listen to me. It is said that the Holy Duke is a benevolent and righteous king!"
Zhao Tong said: "How can we rely on our will in military affairs? Fang La has such a temper. If he makes a mistake once, he will make a mistake twice. If he doesn't listen to you once, he will make a mistake twice or three times."
General Lu glared at Zhao Tong and turned his head without saying a word.
Zhao Tong smiled: "It's enough to be a leader, that's all I can do, but what kind of rebellion and what kind of trouble can he cause? I see that he has neither the virtue nor the image of a king!"
"You!" General Lu turned his head angrily: "Don't be complacent. Sooner or later, the Holy Duke will fight back to Hangzhou, then go down to the Yangtze River, capture the Hunjun, and overthrow your court!"
Zhao Tong smiled slightly and waved his hand in front of him. Zhang Xian immediately came over and picked up General Lu and walked out.
When he arrived in front of the door, Zhao Tong suddenly spoke again: "Now that the two Zhezhou counties have been recovered, Fang La has retreated, and his gang has shrunk. Our Song Dynasty's Heavenly Army has been besieged layer by layer, and the rebels will be destroyed in a matter of days. What about Jiangshan Sheji? Chasing deer in the Central Plains is just a thing of yesterday, a good dream..."
"What did you say?" Lu Jiang turned around and shouted desperately when he heard this: "You are lying to me, this is impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"
He tried to turn around, but Zhang Xian grabbed the rope behind him and pushed him out...
The next day, Zhao Tong received the report of Tong Guan's battle. He defeated Xianyou Lu Shinang's bandit army and killed 50,000 to 60,000 enemies. Lu Shinang and dozens of his followers jumped into the sea and fled without a trace. So far, the whole city has been destroyed. East Zhejiang has been completely recovered, and Tong Guan's army has begun its return journey since it reported.
The next day, Liu Yanqing received a secret letter from Yao Pingzhong. According to King Yun's plan, Liu Yanqing massacred the villages around Bangyuan. It went smoothly at first, but later he was ambushed by the bandit army and lost five to six thousand people. I can't even put it down...
(End of chapter)
