In October of the first year of Jianwu in the Song Dynasty, Huainan East Road, Chuzhou City.
Chuzhou, the borderland of the Song Dynasty, the throat between the north and the south, was a battleground for military strategists. The Huai River is more than 2,000 miles long, and the canal goes south. It can only pass through a section of the Chuzhou Canal, otherwise it cannot enter the Yangtze River and Jiangnan. Chuzhou has strong battlements and is known as "Silver Cast City". It is the first fortified city in the Huaihe River Basin.
After more than ten years of war, Chuzhou City is no longer what it used to be. Outside the city, there is wind and grass, fertile fields are barren, and broken walls and ruins can be seen everywhere. The city walls were stained with blood and smoke, and the city walls were covered with human heads. It was bloody and terrifying, just like the end of the world.
In September of the second year of Xingqing in the Song Dynasty, the Mongolian general Bo Lu led his army into Shandong and recruited Li Quan, who had been defending Qingzhou for more than half a year, to surrender. Li Quan became the province of Huainan and Chuzhou in Shandong.
The east, south and north sides of Chuzhou City are flat and there is no danger to defend. Only Guanjia Lake in the west of the city is deep and wide and can be used for military training. It is a strategic location of Chuzhou City and can be entered by boat from the west gate of the city.
On Guanjia Lake, there were sparkling waves and dozens of warships were moored. On a warship, Li Quan, the Mongolian general and the province of Shandong, Huainan, and Chuzhou, was standing on the bow of the ship, frowning and looking south.
The distance from Chuzhou to Jinling south of the Yangtze River is only 300 miles. The cavalry will arrive in two days, but on the way south, there are countless Song troops waiting for them.
"En Mansion, the Song army has strong soldiers, strong horses, and sharp firearms. We must not underestimate the enemy. We should take a long-term approach and do not use troops against the Song court lightly!"
The fierce general Tian Shirong frowned and gave advice to Li Quan.
The provinces of Shandong, Huainan, and Chuzhou sounded good, but to use troops against the Song Dynasty, it seemed that they were overestimating their capabilities.
"En Mansion, the Song army captured Xixia from the Tatar army. It can be seen that the fighting strength is not weak, and it is no longer what it used to be. If we really use troops against the Song court, I am afraid that both sides will lose, and the gain will not be worth the loss. If the brothers are defeated, where will the Tatars be? , but it has no status.”
Deputy General Zheng Yande also felt guilty.
Today's Song army has strong soldiers and strong horses, and they are not even afraid of the Mongolian cavalry, which really makes him uneasy.
"What, are you all scared?"
Li Quan withdrew his eyes from the canal, glanced coldly at the soldiers around him, and said harshly:
"It was because of Song Ting's instigation that my second brother, my two sons, and Liu Qingfu died unexpectedly. Song Ting and I have a blood feud and we are sworn in. I must kill the people of Song Dynasty and shed their blood in rivers, in order to relieve the pain in my heart. hatred!"
There were several civil strife in Chuzhou, and his family was destroyed. Song Ting was the chief culprit for fanning the flames. If a man does not avenge this, he will not be a human being.
"If you ask me, the Song Dynasty's soldiers and horses are not as strong as they used to be. It's better to surrender to the Song Dynasty, and all the brothers will have food to eat. Today's Emperor Song is not an ordinary person. As long as we surrender, we will definitely be able to... ah!"
Before another general, Guoan Yong, had finished speaking, Li Quan's expression changed, and he suddenly pulled out his knife and chopped down the unprepared Guoan Yong with a sharp blow.
"If it weren't for you guys who eat the inside out, could my second brother die? Could my two sons die? Hack them to death, you bastard! You bastard!"
Li Quan slashed several times until Guoan's body was bruised with blood. Then he stopped slashing and threw the bloody knife on the deck angrily.
During the civil strife in Chuzhou, Guoan Yong and five others killed Li Fu and Li Quan's two sons and surrendered to the Song Dynasty. Guoan Yong was only forced to obey and was not the culprit. Moreover, Guoan had already killed Zhang Lin and Xing De to atone for Li Quan's sins, which was regarded as meritorious service.
But even so, Li Quan still killed Guoan.
Li's face was ferocious, with blood stains all over his body. Zheng Yande and Tian Shirong looked at each other, both shocked.
Since his two sons were killed and since he defected to Mongolia, Li Quan has become more and more violent.
The generals around him were all stunned and stood up straight.
Li Quan has always been kind and righteous to his subordinates, but he actually brutally killed the think tank Guoan, which shows his inner rage.
"Drag it down!"
Zheng Yande quickly waved his hand, and the sergeant immediately dragged the national security weapon down and cleaned the hatch with water. Even the bloody knife that Li Quan threw on the hatch was cleaned and shiny.
"Who else is dissatisfied? Stand up for me!"
Li Quan's face was gloomy and he roared angrily. All the generals around him bowed their heads, but no one responded.
"En Mansion, first capture Tong and Taizhou, then cross the river to capture Jinling City and Lin'an Mansion. The south of the Yangtze River is prosperous and wealthy, but the Song army is weak, so it is a good time to attack. By then, you will have gold, silver, jewelry, food, women, and all your brothers will listen to you. Just give the order!"
Tian Shirong quickly spoke loudly, echoing Li Quan's suggestion.
Having lost his brother, two sons, and two beautiful concubines, at this time, it was better not to offend Li Quan, who was in a bad mood.
"Enfu, the Song army has occupied Xixia and is facing the Tatar army. I'm afraid the Song army will not have a good life! Brothers, follow you and fight into the south of the Yangtze River. You should also be the king of the south!"
Zheng Yande observed his words and continued.
The new Mongolian Great Khan Ogedai issued a military order, and the Mongolian army was about to go south to attack the Jin Dynasty and conquer the Song Dynasty. The Song court's acceptance of Xixia's surrender was tantamount to asking for trouble. And all Li Huaidong were the vanguards in attacking Song Dynasty.
"That's the order from Enfu! We will follow Enfu's lead!"
"En Mansion, give the order! There are so many beauties in the south of the Yangtze River, and mountains of gold, silver and jewels. We will go south with En Mansion and plunder them!"
The generals made noises one after another, and Li Quan's face looked better now.
"Officer, what are you doing?"
Yang Miaozhen, who had just left the cabin, was shocked when he saw the body dragged down.
"I've seen Endang!"
All the generals saluted Yang Miaozhen together.
Yang Miaozhen observed his words and immediately changed his tone when facing Li Quan, whose face was ashen.
"Ms. sir, my second brother and two children died for many reasons that had nothing to do with the generals. Think about it, how can we make them feel at ease if they don't even have enough to eat? Guoan has been following us, even if he doesn't have any merit. It’s hard work, let’s bury him properly.”
Li Quan glanced at Yang Miaozhen and immediately understood what was going on.
"Brothers, I was too sad, in a daze, and did stupid things. Guoan used his brothers to follow me for more than ten years. Although he betrayed me and killed my second brother and two sons, he was forced. I You shouldn’t kill him! Bury him properly and I will take care of his wife and children!”
Li Quan stamped his feet fiercely, his face full of regret.
We are about to send our troops south, and the war is imminent, but we cannot let the soldiers feel cold.
"Enfu, Guoan is capricious, he deserves to die! You are so kind-hearted, we are convinced!"
Tian Shirong said quickly, flattering Li Quan.
"Enfu is loyal and loyal. We are willing to follow Enfu through fire and water, even to the death!"
Zheng Yande said impassionedly, cupping his fists.
"Follow Enfu, go through fire and water, and fight to the death!"
The other generals said in unison, clasping their fists together.
"Brothers, thank you! I promise my brothers that I will defeat the Song Army and share the blessings with my brothers, and we will never let each other down!"
Li Quan returned the salute and said solemnly.
Most of these generals were from Shandong's old corps, and they were all brothers who fought with him. Some of them rebelled and defected. Too many people had died and they could no longer stand the torment.
"My husband, now that we are at odds with Song Ting, there is no room for maneuver. There is no way to retreat, so we can only give it a go and seize Yangzhou and Tongzhou, and occupy Huainan, in order to gain a firm foothold."
Seeing that Li Quan had regained his composure, Liu Weicheng continued.
"You are right! The Tatars don't give us money or food, so we can only rob it ourselves. Since Song Ting has cut off our salary and food, we will take back what belongs to us!"
Li Quan nodded and said loudly.
Chuzhou and Shandong alone cannot support the supply of food and fodder for nearly 100,000 troops for the time being. They have to find a way on their own.
The Mongolian army had no military pay, money or food, so all its income depended on looting. Shandong and Hebei are both dilapidated and unable to provide supplies. Henan is not rich either, and the Jin soldiers are stationed along the coast and are waiting for battle, so it is not easy to succeed.
After some thought, going south to attack the wealthy Song Dynasty seemed to be the best choice.
Li Quan looked at the generals behind him and raised his voice.
"Brothers, what do you think?"
"Enfu, of course it's you who said the word! We will just follow you!"
Zheng Yande, Li Quan's confidant, immediately expressed his support.
"Yangzhou, Jinling, and the colorful world of Lin'an Prefecture are definitely going south!"
"En Mansion, in my opinion, you should take Emperor Song's seat! Those big headscarves are all useless, none of them are useful! They are robbing food, robbing money, robbing women, they have everything!"
Tian Shirong and other generals spoke one after another, all excited.
The flowery world in the south of the Yangtze River is full of gold, silver, jewelry, silk and food. It would be great to plunder it.
"Okay! Pass the order and review the three armies in three days. Prepare to go south and capture Yangzhou!"
Li Quan generously issued a military order.
He had already coveted Jiangnan's wealth. It’s time for Emperor Song’s splendid mountains and rivers to be worked hard on.
The Jinling City alone was enough for him to raid.
"En Mansion, the Song Dynasty people sent an envoy. They are waiting at the state government office."
The sergeant's report stunned Li Quan. He and the generals looked at each other and laughed.
"Did you see that as soon as I heard that we were going to launch troops against them, we immediately became afraid! These useless cowards!"
Li Quan laughed and waved his hand casually.
"Go and call Ambassador Song here! I want to see him here!"
"Ms. sir, do you want to go back and look better?"
Yang Miaozhen persuaded in a low voice from the side.
It was a good thing that Song Ting sent an envoy here, which showed that there was still room for maneuver. The loyal army was dealing with Mongolia, the Jin Kingdom and the Song Dynasty, and they must not act on their own initiative.
"Madam, the Song Dynasty has cut off our money and food. At this time, we must deceive and deceive to strive for greater benefits. If the Song Dynasty is here to recruit peace, wait until the money and food are obtained before going south to attack the Song Dynasty. If the Song Dynasty is hesitant, Just in time to go south and catch them off guard."
Yang Miaozhen still wanted to speak, but Li Quan waved his hand and the sergeant retreated.
Yang Miaozhen remained silent. Li Quan is the leader of an army. It is not appropriate for her to repeatedly contradict Li Quan, but she still has to maintain Li Quan's prestige in the army.
Everyone was waiting on the deck, and soon the Song envoy came up and saluted Li Quan.
"Your Majesty, Emperor Song asked you to come here. Why?"
Li Quan looked at the Song court envoy with a careless look on his face, full of arrogance and disgust.
"General Li, this is a letter written by me, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. I would like to ask General Li to read it."
Ambassador Song took out a letter and handed it over.
"The Song Emperor's personal letter!"
Li Quan couldn't help being stunned, took the letter, opened it and read it.
"Brother Quan, I came down south to surrender that day and fought for the country against thieves. I have gone through life and death. I am very grateful. Shi Miyuan was in power. Later, all kinds of misunderstandings led to separation and fighting. I feel very sorry. I heard that my brother defected to the Tatars. I have no choice but to do it. I hope that my brother will abandon the secret and join the bright side and come to Jinling to teach martial arts. I will sweep the court to greet you. I can't wait to see you. Song Dynasty, written by Zhao Hong, on the sixth day of August in the first year of Jianwu in the Song Dynasty."
Zhao Hong's letter was simple and direct. After reading it, Li Quan felt suspicious and gave the letter to Yang Miaozhen.
After Yang Miaozhen read it, he subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty, please tell me directly what Emperor Song means."
There seems to be room for maneuver between the Zhongyi Army and Song Ting.
"Madam, general, your majesty is telling you that the enemy is at hand, and all the grievances between the loyal army and the imperial court have been wiped out. Your majesty invites the general and his wife to take the generals to the Jinling Martial Arts Hall to meet the saint. Your majesty wants to interview the general's wife and protect the general's wife and others' wealth for the rest of their lives. The general's troops stayed in Chuzhou, and the imperial court paid them money and food. When the king's army went north to restore Shandong, all the troops returned to their hometowns, cultivated land and bought properties. Shandong was exempted from taxes for five years, and they stopped fighting forever and enjoyed peace."
The Song envoy said loudly and gave another salute.
Li Quan, his wife and the generals were silent. After a moment, Li Quan glanced at the silent generals around him, suddenly raised his foot and kicked the Song envoy who was caught off guard.
"Emperor Song is so ambitious that he wants us to be sent to his door automatically, and then he will kill us! You are such a thief, you are so clever with your tongue, I almost fell into your trap!"
Yang Miaozhen and others were stunned, and Li Quan shouted angrily.
"Cut off this thief's head and bring it back to Emperor Song! Tell Emperor Song to let him wash his neck and wait to be chopped off!"
"Officials, you must not do this! If you break up with Emperor Song and kill the envoy, the loyal army will have no way out!"
Yang Miaozhen was shocked and quickly persuaded him.
"What's the way out? My second brother, my two sons, and my woman all died because of Song Ting. Song Ting and I are sworn in! If anyone wants to persuade me again, don't blame me for not giving face!"
Li Quan's eyes were ferocious and he waved his hand.
"Quickly pull it down and chop it!"
Yang Miaozhen wanted to persuade him, but when he saw Li Quan's fierce eyes, he hesitated for a moment, and the sergeant had already dragged Ambassador Song off.
"Li Quan, resist the imperial court and refuse to repent. You will not die a good death!"
Ambassador Song struggled and cursed, his voice gradually fading away.
"Don't try to persuade me! Don't you see that when Emperor Song asked me to go to Jinling, I was throwing myself into a trap? You don't even think about it, will you be able to come back after you go?"
Li Quan's words were so cold that everyone on the deck looked awe-inspiring, and some felt a chill in their hearts.
After killing the Song envoy, all options are cut off. We can only fight to the death with the Song army. Whether it is a blessing or a disaster, we have to leave it to fate.
"Send the order and prepare the whole army to capture Yangzhou in the near future!"
Li Quan looked at the rolling river water and coldly issued the military order.
Yang Miaozhen shook her head gently, sighing secretly in her heart.
He killed the envoy and sent his troops south to attack the Song Dynasty, but there was no way out.
