At the end of June, there is only a small tail of summer left. The sun is still releasing its heat vigorously. Along the way, the heat wave is still rolling and the breeze is blowing, but it is not as fierce and vicious as it was half a month ago.
When the brigade traveled south and passed Anyang, Xiangzhou, Liu Chengyou led the entire army to hold another public memorial ceremony to commemorate the dead people and soldiers. It has been almost three months since the Anyang Massacre, and the smell of blood has long since dissipated, but there are still a lot of traces of war left in the city walls, as if telling endless sorrow. Without a generation, Anyang and even Xiangzhou would not be able to return to their original state.
Under the guard of a group of powerful soldiers, the chariot drove south slowly. Liu Chengyou's car is not luxurious. It can even be described as simple. It can be seen at a glance. There are not many shock absorption measures. Although the bumps are not particularly severe, they are still unbearable.
Fortunately, Liu Chengyou is young and can tolerate it once he gets used to it. On the other hand, Tao Gu, who was lecturing Liu Chengyou in the car, was a little embarrassed. After all, when people reach middle age, their immunity declines... He only saw a sad face, and his body swayed as the carriage moved. He had to maintain a certain sitting posture to maintain his Confucian demeanor, and his voice was a little shaky when he spoke.
Liu Chengyou handed him a soft cushion behind him and said, "Mr. Tao, you don't have to be so restrained. Use this cushion to relax."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Upon seeing this, Tao Gu immediately thanked him. Instead of holding on and suffering, he took the soft cushion, put it behind his back, and leaned against the carriage. This made him feel much better.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing Liu Chengyou straightening his body and sitting on the opposite side, he felt a little embarrassed and wanted to return the cushion to Liu Chengyou.
Liu Chengyou raised his hand to stop him, handed him a bag of water to soothe his throat, and said, "Keep talking, I'll listen..."
At this time, Liu Chengyou's image suddenly rose in Tao Gu's eyes.
During the long journey south, when the road was boring, Liu Chengyou liked to ask Tao Gu and Wei Renpu to teach him, and today it was Tao Gu's turn. Tao Gu was a man who had a strong memory and was fond of learning. He was well versed in the classics and history, and had dabbled in them all. He was more than capable of being a lecturer.
This person is definitely good at maneuvering and is used to flattering people. He secretly figured out Liu Chengyou's preferences and knew that he liked to listen to historical records and biographies, especially recent and contemporary historical figures, so he stopped talking about classics and focused on historical records. I noticed that Liu Chengyou was paying attention to Wei Bo's affairs, so I told him about Du Chongwei today, and Liu Chengyou was indeed very interested in it.
The first half of Du Chongwei's life can be said to have been smooth sailing. The first half of his life may have been a little dull, but in the later Jin Dynasty, he was a very popular minister and was extremely honored and favored. The army is kept under guard all the year round, and when it comes out it serves as a commander, calming down the state and carrying out conquests.
With Du Chongwei's despicable appearance, he occupies a powerful position and is even responsible for the danger of the country and the country, just because he is Shi Jingtang's brother-in-law. People, if you don’t have a good background and don’t want to work hard, if you have the opportunity to make a living, you must seize it...
Looking at Du Chongwei's resume, we found that there are only two shining points. One was to demote Yanguang in Yecheng, and the other was to kill An Chongrong in Changshan. However, it is questionable how much effort and credit Du Chongwei had in these two incidents. of. However, this is Du Chongwei's "qualification for advancement."
For the rest, Du Chongwei did some bad things. Zhongdu Bridge threatened the entire army to surrender, and the later Jin Dynasty was destroyed. This will not be discussed in detail. This person also has the common characteristics of martial artists of this era, greed and swindler.
When he killed An Chongrong, he got all his family property and Changshan's public money. He neither rewarded the soldiers nor turned it over to the national treasury, but kept it all for himself. In order to achieve moral integrity, the people were heavily taxed and taxes were added, which made the officials and people suffer greatly, causing all industries to wither and nine houses to be empty.
After the disaster in Zhenzhou was almost done, and seeing that there was really no money to be made, he petitioned to return to the court, and then transferred to Wei Bo, whose bad governance remained as before.
Yelu Deguang once concluded that he made three mistakes that caused China to gain and lose again. One of them was to include people's money and silk. However, Du Chongwei often did this when he was still in the Jiedu period of the Later Jin Dynasty, borrowing money and silk from officials and people, borrowing people's money to enrich himself and use it as a home. Maybe the Khitan people got inspiration from Du Chongwei.
The Later Jin Dynasty broke off diplomatic relations with the Khitan, and the Khitan repeatedly invaded the south. There was a shortage of military supplies for border defense and a shortage of food and grass. Hearing that Du Chongwei had 100,000 hu of grain in his private residence, the imperial court traded tens of thousands of pieces of silk for the grain and did not treat him badly. However, afterwards he felt that his family property had been "taken away" and he was quite unhappy.
He was responsible for guarding the capital to resist the Khitan invasion, but he only defended Yingcheng and watched the Hu cavalry raid and rule the people without doing anything. There were often dozens of Hu cavalry driving thousands or thousands of Han people past the city. They turned a blind eye and had no intention of attacking.
The Battle of Yangcheng turned defeat into victory and was a rare victory for the Later Jin Dynasty against the Khitan. Although Du Chongwei was the commander-in-chief, he relied on Li Shouzhen, Fu Yanqing, Zhang Yanze and other generals to seize the opportunity and rush forward to attack and defeat the enemy in a bloody battle. There is a saying that although Li Shouzhen is not much stronger than Du Zhongwei, at least in the battle of Yangcheng, Li Shouzhen was still somewhat bloody. The same goes for Zhang Yanze. Although he later became a leader, he still led the Khitan army to take Kaifeng.
As for Du Zhongwei, he stretched his hips from the beginning to the end. After the victory in the Battle of Yangcheng, there were opportunities to expand the victory. The generals took advantage of the situation to pursue, but were stopped by Du Zhongwei and withdrew their troops halfway. In his opinion, it is rare to be able to survive the Khitan troops, so there is no way to pursue excessive pursuits...
Tao Gu's narration was quite detailed and lasted for more than half an hour. His mouth felt dry, so he picked up the water bottle again and took two swigs while paying attention to Liu Chengyou's expression.
As for Liu Chengyou's expression, he was expressionless.
After listening to Tao Gu's introduction, the image of Du Chongwei suddenly became "full" in Liu Chengyou's mind.
"It's true as Xue Huairang said, compared with Du Chongwei, his crimes are 'little in comparison'..."
After sighing, Liu Chengyou asked Tao Gu: "As the saying goes, people's words make gold, but their bones are destroyed. The poem says that people's words are to be feared. This Du Chongwei behaved like this and suffered all the resentment and curses. How can he not have any sense of shame and awe?"
Putting down the water bag, Tao Gu stroked his beard and chuckled: "Your Highness, I will tell you two more stories..."
"When Du Chongwei was in Zhenzhou, the rebellion was so fierce that many people fled. One day when he was passing through the market, he called his left and right people and said: People say that I have driven out all the people. How can there be so many people in this city?"
"This question does make some sense! Why?" Liu Chengyou said, his tone full of sarcasm and contempt.
"The other thing I heard was when I was still in Daliang. After the entire army surrendered and entered Tokyo, every time Du Chongwei went out and left the thoroughfare, the citizens often criticized him. However, Du Chongwei just bowed his head and passed by. After that, his expression remained as usual, calm and composed. ....."
"There are many strange people and strange things in the world, but this Du Chongwei is one of the strange ones. He is extremely thick-skinned!" Liu Chengyou said: "Shi Chonggui relies on such people to serve as ministers of the country and provide them with elites to protect the country. How can the country survive!" "
"Your Highness is right!" Tao Gu immediately flattered him: "Du Chongwei's greed and cowardice have reached the extreme, but the young emperor still entrusts his confidants with the responsibility, and the military and state are too important. The fall of Jin is not God's will. , It’s also human, and it’s your own fault.”
Nodding, Liu Chengyou asked again: "You just said that Feng Dao and Li Song jointly recommended Du Chongwei as commander. This man despises him so much. Why do these two men recommend him so highly? It is intriguing."
Upon hearing the question, Tao Gu rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, but then changed his words temporarily and said: "You two husbands have their own ideas, but they are not something that the lower officials can explore. Maybe there are other considerations?"
"When we get to Kaifeng, I'm going to ask the second master about this matter." Liu Chengyou said a little casually.
Feng Dao and Li Songna were the Jin ministers who were recaptured from the Khitans by Liu Chengyou. They had gone south to Tokyo with Liu Chengxun, hoping to meet the new emperor of the Han Dynasty.
"I have benefited a lot from listening to Sir's explanation. Thank you for your hard work, Sir, please go down and rest." Seeing that the sun was setting in the west, Liu Chengyou ordered Tao Gu.
"I'm resigning," Tao Gu responded promptly.
When the car stopped, Liu Chengyou yawned and lay down on his side, looking at Tao Gu who was getting out of the car. But the report he received that day came to mind. When he ransacked Xue Huairang's house, Tao Gu's hands and feet were a little dirty. Liu Chengyou knew about this but didn't ask, just kept it in his mind.
Holding his head, Liu Chengyou continued to think about Du Chongwei. Sometimes, some things are indeed difficult to understand. A person with a notorious reputation and no talent like Du Chongwei can be the envoy and prime minister and command the three armies. But if you think about it carefully, it's not completely incomprehensible. After all, they are relatives of the emperor. Maybe Jin Ting is the taller one among the short ones?
During Zhending's inspection tour, Liu Chengyou also heard a rumor. It is said that the Jin Emperor was in the dust and went northward, and the journey was bleak. When he passed the Zhongdu Bridge, his eyes were blurred with tears and he cursed Du Chongwei. But there is also some irony.
Thinking about it now, people like Du Chongwei, even if they occupy Weibo and have tens of thousands of troops, even if they have millions, what should they fear? They are nothing more than withered bones in the grave.
I bumped my elbow and it hurt a little, so I simply put it down. Feeling sleepy, I told Li Chongju, the guard, to take a nap.
When Liu Chengyou woke up, it was already dark, and the army was still driving south, but at a very slow speed. The sound of wheels and footsteps could be heard in his ears, accompanied by the sound of insects coming from the field on one side. Lifting the curtain, Liu Chengyou looked out and saw the hazy dusk around him, and asked, "Where are you?"
Hearing the sound, Li Chongju hurriedly rode forward and reported: "Your Highness, we have arrived at Liyang. The commander has been ordered to go to the ferry to set up camp first, just waiting for the Chinese army to move in."
"Yeah!" Liu Chengyou responded. With these capable subordinates, it is indeed possible to worry less.
At night, the weather became much cooler and the breeze blew, making it very comfortable. Two candles were lit in the car, and the flames flickered, illuminating Liu Chengyou's figure as he read at night.
By the time they arrived at Liyang Village, it was completely dark, but Guo Rong and Xiang Xun had already made arrangements for the camp, and they could "check in" with their bags. When I got off the bus, I saw that the camp was busy in an orderly manner. Under Xiang Xun's arrangement, each battalion entered the camp in an orderly manner.
Dinner was already prepared. In addition to the Huotou Army of his own army, the Liyang County Magistrate also recruited some cooks and women to help. Liu Chengyou briefly met with Li Yangling and learned from him that the material transport fleet of Ma Quanyi and Sun Li had come south of Yongji Canal, entered the river, and headed for Kaifeng. It had been more than three days and it was estimated that it had reached its destination. .
In terms of time, it is not much faster than Liu Chengyou. After all, it requires a detour. Water transportation in the north is not as developed as in the south. The rivers and channels have not been dredged for a long time. It is also difficult to be prepared for any unexpected situations on the road. It is difficult to go faster. However, it saves a lot of manpower.
Hearing that it had passed Liyang, Liu Chengyou also breathed a sigh of relief. After passing here, it had reached the point covered by the central strength, and it was basically impossible for any more "accidents" to happen.
After a simple meal, Liu Chengyou called Guo Rong and Wei Renpu and asked them to accompany them to Liyangdu.
Liyang Ferry is right at your feet. This important canal hub on the riverside is not small in scale but slightly deserted. However, as the Central Plains was settled, the place became a little more lively. There were some private boats docked beside the ferry, and there were some inns for lodging on the shore. There are always people, but when the army comes, they are all very low-key and honest.
Walking on the tidal flat, it was dark in the distance of the canal. Only the lights on the table were reflected in the near distance. The light was very weak, but the sound of flowing water was very clear.
"Your Highness, ten miles southwest of the ferry is where the river divides." Wei Renpu followed him and introduced him: "When the Lord of Liao returned to the north, he crossed north here. The Hu people did not know how to use boats and came here by force. Many people drowned..."
"I heard something." Liu Chengyou said.
Guo Rong, who was standing by, also pointed in one direction and said: "From here, go northeast, directly to the main section of Yongji Canal, to the north to the Haihe River, and take the waterway, and the farthest north can reach Zhuozhou. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the country has sent troops northward. This is the way to transport money, food and weapons."
"It's just that over the years, there have been frequent wars and turmoil, but the country is not prosperous, the money is empty, and no one has the financial and material resources to dredge it. As a result, the rivers are blocked, water transportation is not smooth, and the transportation capacity is greatly reduced." Wei Renpu added.
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou said: "You are reminding me that I need to improve the river channels in the future."
Wei Renpu chuckled and said: "But we can't rush it. When the country is stable, people's livelihood is restored, and the national treasury is full, we can only act according to our time and ability."
"That's natural. River control is a luxury project." Liu Chengyou nodded.
Looking up at Liyangdu under the night sky, he felt a little lost. After a brief silence, Liu Chengyou sighed: "I don't know when I will be able to see the scene of hundreds of teams competing against each other and thousands of sails racing across the river from here."
"As long as the country is peaceful, there will naturally be..." Guo Rong said.
The conditions don't seem difficult, but it's not that easy to do it.
"The south side of Henan is Huazhou, right?" Liu Chengyou asked suddenly, looking to the south.
Wei Renpu replied: "Yes, it belongs to the same Yicheng Army as Weizhou and defends Tokyo."
"According to the map, when we get here, it's not far from Tokyo!"
"The distance of more than two hundred miles can be reached in two days after crossing the river if there is no delay. It will be faster if we take the waterway!" Wei Renpu explained.
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou pondered for a while, and then gave instructions: "Cross the river early tomorrow morning and take the land route. Send someone across the river to inform Huazhou and ask the other side to prepare for it!"
"yes!"
