Since Lao Cao sent troops across the sea, he has been victorious all the way, but he didn't know that the situation in Hebei was getting worse.
Previously, the Liao soldiers invaded the territory and started an undeclared war. They attacked Xiong and Qing prefectures. Fortunately, the "old romantic" Wang Huan and "Kaishan Hu" opened two major military envoys. With the help of generals Yuan Lang and Mu Hongzhong, Defend Hejian Mansion.
Although the army and generals of Liao were not as large as those of Liao, they could still remain undefeated due to the favorable location and people.
When Lao Cao Fang went to Dengzhou, the reinforcement army from Bianjing finally set off, and the situation in Hebei suddenly changed again.
The Zhao Guan family wanted to be a generation of heroes and complete their achievements in one battle. After thinking hard, they decided to attack the Liao Dynasty in two directions and destroy the Liao Dynasty in one fell swoop.
The first route was the Song Army on the East Route. They appointed Prime Minister Tong Guan as the East Route Army's Grand Marshal to sweep the North, and appointed the eunuch Tan Zhen as the Propaganda Envoy to Hebei. They selected a total of 150,000 people for the Western Army and the Tokyo Forbidden Army, and handed them over to these two The commander-in-chief of a birdless man.
All the generals in the army are talented people, including Liu Yanqing, the "Arrow of the Fate", Liu Guangshi, the "Magic Horse on the Battlefield", Wang Zhen, the "Bianliang Magic Sword", Wang Yuan, the "Qizhen Northwest", and Yang Ke, the "General Bailu". Shi, "Iron Gun Master" Yang Kesheng, "Xihe Gun King" Yang Weizhong, "White-faced Qin Qiong" Ma Gongzhi, "Hedong Ax Demon" Ji Jing, "Jade-faced Flying Dragon" Yao Xing, etc. are all fierce generals in their own right.
These people were all old troops who had followed Tong Guan to Pinggla. They returned to Tokyo and each had been rewarded and promoted. It was a time when they were satisfied with their ambitions. They followed Tong Guan to sweep Beiping and Liao Dynasties this time, and they all wanted to achieve great feats again.
Tong Guan wanted to take credit, so he specially asked for an imperial edict to recruit 50,000 officers and soldiers from various states and governments who were good at fighting, forming an army of 200,000.
Although these 50,000 officers and soldiers are all local Xiang troops, they are local soldiers, archers, etc., and there are also many fierce generals, including three of the ten Jiedu in the past, Langya Pengcheng Jiedushi Xiang Yuanzhen, Yingzhou Runan Jiedushi There are three generals, Mei Zhan and Jiangxia Lingling Jiedushi Yang Wen, as well as the famous Shandong generals "Double Spear General" Dong Ping and "No Feather Arrow" Zhang Qing.
Zhang Qing also had two deputies, named "Hua Xianghu" Gong Wang and "Zhongjianhu" Ding Desun, who also led the army to conquer.
The second route is the Song Army on the West Route. The famous "Old Zhong Xianggong" Zhong Shidao was appointed as commander in the Western Army. He was promoted to the commander of the capital and the governor of the Baojing Army. He was granted the title of Marshal of the North and ordered to select warriors for the Western Army. Eighty thousand, combined with the 70,000 Shanxi frontier troops, formed an army of 150,000, which went straight out of Yanmen Pass to attack the nine states behind the mountains of the Liao Kingdom.
Han Cunbao, the governor of Yanmen in Yunzhong, Wang Wende, the governor of Hongnong in Jingzhao, Jing Zhong, the governor of Tianshui in Qinghe, Li Congji, the governor of Hanyang in Longxi, and Zongze, who was promoted to the military commander of Taiyuan for his merits in destroying Tianhu. , all obey orders under Lao Zhong.
Regardless of these famous veteran generals, let’s just say that Lao Zhong had a favorite general under his command during this expedition. He was only in his early thirties and was extremely heroic.
This man's surname was Wang Mingyan, and his courtesy name was Zicai. He was a member of the Shangdang family in Hedong. He was fond of studying military art since he was a child, and he liked to practice guns and sticks. His father saw his son's ambition and sent him to the Bianjing Yuquan Hall on Menlu Road, where he learned all the arts and martial arts. He was personally appointed Qinghe Lieutenant and sent to serve in the Western Army.
When Wang Yan went to seize the Western Army, he was like a fish swimming in water. He quickly became famous. He accompanied Lao Zhong in two expeditions to Xixia and made many military exploits. He was promoted to the position of commander and was the deputy to Liu Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the Jingyuan Army.
The previous imperial court mobilized the Jingyuan army to fight Fangla, but Wang Yan did not go on the expedition due to illness. Later, Liu Zhen died in Hangzhou, and his troops were leaderless. He could not take the credit from anyone with a general. After the war, he was sent back to Jingyuan. Wang Yan took over the jurisdiction of the road.
Some readers couldn't help but ask - how could this Wang Yan be so good? Ten Jiedu can only be mentioned in one stroke, so a lot of pen and ink was spent on him?
If he were just Wang Yan, there would be no need to elaborate. Although his martial arts skills were high and his reputation was famous, he might not be able to surpass Yao Pingzhong, the "little Taiwei" who is currently cultivating immortality in Liangshan.
But why mention this in particular? It was because before he set off, a few young men suddenly came, claiming that they had followed the master's orders and came to work in front of his tent.
The master of those people was very kind to Wang Yan. He once taught him a sword technique in the imperial boxing gym, and he still uses it today.
From the point of view of this sword technique, if he calls someone "master", that person will also receive it. Therefore, it is difficult to disobey the master's order. As expected, he will be kept in the tent, treated as a younger brother, and used as a personal soldier.
Among these young people, there is a shocking hero!
Who is this person? Let’s not press the table for now.
So far, the east and west routes, with a total of nearly 400,000 troops, are ready to go!
As the saying goes, before the troops and horses are moved, food and grass go first. In such an overwhelming battle, money and food are consumed like water. Zhao Guan's family has exhausted their efforts in order to be the hero. The construction of Genyue has not been completed, but they still endured tears and ordered it to stop——
One is to save money and food to supply the army;
Secondly, Zhu Meng died, and the flower and stone outline sent by his successor was difficult to get into the eyes of the dragon. The official was a fastidious artist, how could he be willing to make do with it? After thinking about it for a while, we decided to conquer the Liao Kingdom and then select famous ministers. Then we would collect all the beautiful rocks and trees from the north and the south and fill them with everything in order to achieve perfection and immortalize it in history. Wouldn’t it be wonderful?
Of course, only the first reason is publicized to the outside world.
As an eunuch, Tong Guan was regarded as a servant of the emperor, so his filial piety was naturally even greater than that of the foreign ministers.
Therefore, every time when it was mentioned that the emperor was frugal in food and clothing in order to conquer the Liao Dynasty, Marshal Tong would praise his virtues and shed tears generously. He would also always say to others: "Although the world belongs to the emperor, it also belongs to the people of the world. Now, A hundred years of humiliation, repaid to one dynasty, is not just the emperor's business. It is also the people of the world's business. The waste of money and food is not only the emperor's responsibility, but also the people of the world!"
With this simple idea of sharing the emperor's worries, Marshal Tong marched all the way and confiscated more than 80 wealthy households along the way. They were all well-known rich people in Hebei and Shandong areas - and they had no foothold in the court.
The proceeds from the confiscation were huge, and half of them were accepted by my family. The other half was divided into two parts. One part was distributed to the generals, and the other part was reported to Zhao Guan's family, and there was a letter saying:
"The Liao army has a huge force, and there are many timid rats in the Heshuo area. They secretly have an affair with the Liao people and discuss dedicating land and cities. When the ministers heard about it, they were furious. They were good at killing people first and then reporting them. They exterminated their clans and ransacked their homes to avoid future troubles. As a result, I obtained millions of money and hundreds of various treasures, all of which were sent to the imperial court with the letter. The money can be used to support your majesty's army, and the treasures can be used to please your majesty. If your majesty can have a little leisure time after worrying about the war, I will My heart is enough.”
The officials were overjoyed to receive the letter, and were moved to tears: "It will make all the ministers and workers like children, and the world will be at peace for a long time."
On September 12th, Tong Guan arrived in Lingzhou, which was dozens of miles away from Hejian Prefecture and Cangzhou. He stopped moving and sent messengers to summon Wang Huan, Zhang Kai and other future officials to meet with him to discuss strategies to defeat the enemy. He specifically asked to see Chai by name. Enter.
Chai Jin was filled with joy, knowing that the imperial court knew about his achievements and wanted to use him more. He specially bathed in incense, rode a good horse, and together with the four generals Xiao Jiasui, Zhu Jing, Shi Xiu and Mu Hong, led a hundred people and came to Ling. state.
When they arrived outside Lingzhou City, they saw the Song Army's barracks stretching from the distance to the sky. Everyone cheered when they saw it. Just as they were about to move forward, suddenly a fast horse jumped out of the thorns. On the horse was a man with a broad face, thick eyebrows, and red hair. With blue eyes, he looks like a foreigner.
When Shi Xiu saw it, he shouted: "Brother Li Yun, if you don't do business in Zengtou City, how did you get here?"
When everyone heard this, they knew it was Lao Cao's brother, "Green Eyed Tiger" Li Yun. He, Zheng Tianshou, and Yang Lin had held the post of Lingzhou general and were stationed in Zengtou City, dealing with things such as buying horses. Many of them arrived late. None of the brothers have ever met.
Li Yun was overjoyed when he saw Shi Xiu and said quickly: "Brother Shi, where is the official Chai Jinchai now?"
Shi Xiu smiled and pointed: "Well, isn't this the official Chai?"
After Li Yun heard this, he dismounted from his horse and cut his horse, and said anxiously: "Master Chai, yesterday Huang Wenbing, the magistrate of Gaotang Prefecture, sent his confidants to Zengtou City and asked our brothers to go to Cangzhou to report to you as soon as possible. It was said two days ago The army of the Liao Kingdom passed through the border, and the army confiscated your uncle’s belongings in Chaihuangcheng!”
After hearing this, Chai Jin was shocked. He got off his horse in a hurry and asked with trembling hands: "Brother, is it possible that I made a mistake? My uncle is the most honest. Although his family is rich, he never bullies others and is timid. How can a person who is afraid of breaking his head even if a leaf falls off cause a house raid?"
After hearing this, Shi Xiu's face turned livid and he said coldly: "I'm afraid this disaster is caused by his 'family is rich'."
Xiao Jiasui had a calm temperament. He took Chai Jin's hand and said, "Officials, please don't be impatient. You will know the clues after listening to Brother Li Yun."
After hearing this, everyone said: "Brother Xiao is absolutely right. Senior officials should listen to what that guy does, so that they can decide what to do next."
After hearing this, Chai Jin gritted his teeth, nodded his head, and listened to what Li Yun said. It didn't matter if he didn't say these words. Once he said them, great changes would happen in Hebei!
This is exactly what happened: the old eunuch was motivated by wealth, and the high-ranking official committed suicide for the sake of righteousness. The Great Wall hates the destruction of its own hands, and the heroes are angry and complaining!
(End of chapter)
