Fenghou

Zigui County, like Yiling County, was also built on topography. At the same time, it was built on the mountainside, guarding the Three Gorges Road going west. If the army wanted to enter Bashu, they could not get around Zigui County.

The guard is called Zhang Ziliang, he is the envoy of Xia and Gui Liangzhou, and also the governor of Xiazhou. He was ordered to lead [-] troops to guard the Three Gorges Road. Li Gang is very clear-headed. garrison support.

In fact, the puppet Qi army's attack on Xiazhou was no less than that of Hanyang and Jiangling. It was the third time that the puppet Qi army attacked the Three Gorges Road. The first two failed. At that time, he was wiped out by Chen Qing's cavalry.

Jiang Yanxian's army was the third time the puppet Qi army attacked Xiazhou. This time the puppet Qi army had a remarkable effect and captured Yiling County and more than a dozen passes along the way. Zigui County was the most important pass and the last one. Pass, once Guizhou is seized, the puppet Qi army will substantially enter Bashu.

Jiang Yanxian's army still had 5000 people. They carried medium-sized trebuchets and named them Flying Cannons. They also threw heavy fire oil and burned the county town. But this time the attack on Zigui County was not so smooth. The terrain of Zigui County is too high. The trebuchet is not capable of firing upwards and cannot throw fire oil into the county.

But Jiang Yan first had a way to solve this problem. He ordered the army to build a platform, and built a four-foot-high earth-rock platform at the foot of the county seat, so that the earth-stone platform would be directly at the same height as the county seat.

This is indeed a good way, but it takes time. After three days of failure in attacking Zigui, the puppet Qi army stopped attacking, and [-] soldiers chiseled stones from all directions to build a platform.

Today is the fifth day, and the earth-stone platform has been gradually completed. Hundreds of soldiers stood on the top of the platform and rammed the earth with giant logs to make the top of the platform firm, and then laid a layer of big stones to complete the work.

Under the high platform, more than a dozen flying cannons are ready. They can shoot a 120-jin kerosene ball [-] steps away, and the high platform is only a hundred steps away from the county wall, so it can be used for fire attack.

Once the fire covered the top of the city and the defenders were forced to withdraw from the city, it was their chance to seize the city.

Jiang Yanxian stood on a high place, looking at the giant logs rammed earth in the distance to build a platform. He saw that victory was imminent, but he was not happy at all. He knew very well the consequences of seizing the Three Gorges Road. But in fact, it is to make wedding dresses for Jin Bing. Wan Yanchang sits in Xiangyang, isn’t it just for this east route?

Once with the backing of the wealthy Bashu, and then go down the river to capture Jingxiang Huguang, the Song Dynasty will really be in jeopardy.

After all, Jiang Yanxian is a Han Chinese and a former minister of the Song Dynasty. At a critical moment, he had to face the choice between a nation's peril and personal prosperity.

It is actually quite normal for Jiang Yanxian to have such thoughts. Now it is the early Jin Dynasty, and the gentry and scholars of the Song Dynasty are unwilling to surrender to the Kingdom of Jin.

The Kingdom of Jin had no choice but to support a puppet Qi State, so that the gentry in the Central Plains of Hebei had an object of allegiance. In fact, this was a kind of self-deception, but at least the gentry in the Central Plains could give their ancestors an explanation, and they did not He did not surrender to the foreign race, but he was still loyal to the Han regime.

It was not until the middle and late Jin Dynasty, after several generations, that the Han people in the north really regarded themselves as subjects of the Jin Dynasty.

At this time, a general rushed over, clasped his fists and said, "Report to Dutong, the earthen platform has been built and needs to be tested. Can we use flying artillery to attack Zigui County once?"

Jiang Yan waved his hand first, "Don't rush to attack the city, let's rest for a few days!"

He went back to the camp in a dispirited manner, and the generals looked at each other in dismay. Before thinking of the strategy of building a tower to attack the city after racking their brains, now that the tower was finally built, but he didn't want to do it anymore. What kind of medicine was sold in the gourd of Dutong? ?

Everyone looked at the lieutenant general Li Chi, who snorted, "It seems that he doesn't want to carry out the order of the supervising army!"

……

At night, Jiang Yanxian was drinking alone in the big tent, when there was a commotion when he went out, he saw Li Chi, the deputy general, holding a sword, rushing in angrily. His mother was a Khitan, and he himself grew up in Liaodong. From the outside, his face was no different from that of a Han, but he regarded himself as a Khitan, and he was loyal to the Kingdom of Jin. Wanyanchang won the trust of him.

This time, he was named Deputy Commander, and led hundreds of Jurchen soldiers to follow Jiang Yanxian to attack the Eastern Front. He was Jiang Yanxian's deputy general in name, but in fact he was sent by Wan Yanchang to supervise Jiang Yanxian.

Wan Yanchang didn't trust the Han people at all. Although he wanted to use the puppet Qi army to clear the way for him, there must be no lack of supervision. Once Jiang Yanxian refused to work hard, Li Chi could kill him and take over the military power to personally lead the army to attack Shu.

Li Chi originally planned to take over the military power after seizing Guizhou, but now it seems that his plan has to be advanced.

Jiang Yan asked in astonishment, "General Li, what does this mean?"

Li Chi pointed at Jiang Yanxian with his sword and asked, "The stone platform has been built, why didn't Du Tong give the order to attack the city?"

Jiang Yanxian said angrily: "Put down the sword, what do you mean by pointing at me with the sword? Do you want to commit the following crime?"

Li Chi sneered, "Is the next crime worthy of you, a Chinese dog?"

Li Chi took out a silver wolf's head token, "This is the commander's talisman given to me by the supervising army. From now on, I will lead the army. You have been dismissed, so let me take it!"

A dozen Jurchen soldiers rushed up.

Jiang Yanxian was well aware of Li Chi's ferocity, once he fell into his hands, he would surely die.

He took a few steps back and drew out his sword and shouted, "Who dares to touch me!"

More than a dozen of his personal soldiers rushed forward to protect him, and the surrounding soldiers also rushed over.

Li Chi only brought a dozen people over, and it would be a disadvantage in a fight. He snorted coldly, turned around and left with his men.

Not long after, a general rushed over and said anxiously: "Dutong, the situation is not good!"

"what happened?"

"I have just learned that the four governors have signed Wan Yanchang's letter of allegiance, and Li Chi is convening an emergency meeting with them. I am afraid it will be detrimental to the governors."

Jiang Yanxian felt a chill in his heart, and only then did he understand Wan Yanchang's true intentions. Li Chi is the real commander in chief. Wan Yanchang just used himself to seize the Three Gorges Road. Once he enters Sichuan, Li Chi will take away the military power.

In order to ensure the collection of power, the four rulers signed a letter of allegiance in advance, and they were kept in the dark, knowing nothing.

He immediately made a decision, got on his horse, and shouted: "Go to Xiazhou!"

He led more than a dozen personal soldiers out of the barracks and rushed towards Xiazhou...

When Li Chi heard that Jiang Yan had escaped first, he led his army to catch up, so he could only look at the night and said bitterly, "Siege the city early tomorrow morning!"

Chapter 327 Surrender

At dawn, Jiang Yanxian fled to Xintan Town, dozens of miles away, with a dozen of his own soldiers. The people in the town had already run away, and finally found a roadside tea shed set up by an old couple. They ordered some pancakes for tea and rice. Fill the stomach.

Jiang Yanxian was worried, this time he had offended Wan Yanchang, not to mention Marshal Dong Xian, even Emperor Liu Yu couldn't protect him, so what should he do?

At this moment, yellow dust billowed in the distance, as if an army was approaching.

Jiang Yan looked at it for a while, then said to a soldier, "Whose army is it to go and see?"

The soldiers galloped away on horseback, came back after a while and said, "It's the army commanding Wang Bin, it seems that Yiling has fallen!"

Jiang Yanxian was taken aback, and hurried up the official road. After a while, Wang Bin led more than 1000 people and ran over. , please rule over sin!"

Jiang Yanxian quickly asked, "Who captured Yiling County?"

"Report to Dutong, it's Chen Qing's army!"

"Chen Qing?"

A wry smile appeared on Jiang Yanxian's face, and it really was him again.

At this time, Wang Bin asked a little strangely, "Why is Dutong here?"

Wang Bin is Jiang Yanxian's confidant general, so he let Wang Bin guard Xiazhou.

"Go sit down over there and talk!"

The two sat down in the tea shed, and Jiang Yanxian told Wang Bin what happened last night. He sighed and said, "Wan Yanchang doesn't trust me at all. He decided long ago to let Li Chi replace me after entering Sichuan, and we need four more The government has written a letter of loyalty, and my military power has been deprived. If I hadn't escaped quickly, I would be dead now. If Li Chi wants to take power completely, he will definitely kill me to avoid future troubles."

Wang Bin asked for a long while, "What about the Dutong?"

Jiang Yanxian smiled wryly, "What else can I do? Both sides are blocked, so I can only try if Chen Qing can tolerate me."

"Will Chen Qing accept Dutong?"

"I'm not Kong Yanzhou, at least he doesn't hate me."

Wang Bin bit his lip and said, "I would like to follow Dutong and surrender to Chen Qing. I was promoted by Dutong, and Li Chi will not tolerate me either!"

Jiang Yan thought for a while and asked, "How many people do you have under your command?"

"There are 700 more."

"Has there been burning, killing and looting on the road?"

Wang Bin shook his head hastily, "I don't dare to act recklessly in a lowly position!"

"I was thinking, if there is a nomination certificate, it will be easier for Chen Qing to talk."

"What do you think?"

Jiang Yanxian pondered for a moment and said: "Today Li Chi is going to attack Zigui with fire, and I'm afraid Zigui will not be able to keep it. I might as well draw the bottom line and keep Zigui so that Li Chi can't enter Sichuan. At least I can make meritorious service and atone for my crime."

"I'm afraid Li Chi won't give us a chance."

Jiang Yanxian laughed, "I arranged everything. I know whether there is a chance. If there is no army, I am really not sure, but with more than 1000 troops, I am sure."

A soldier next to him worried: "Dutong, it will be dawn soon, will it be too late?"

"It's too late!"

Jiang Yan smiled faintly, "They still have one important thing to do!"

……

On the high platform outside Zigui County, the soldiers chanted and pulled twelve medium-sized trebuchets onto the high platform one by one. Logically, they should be dismantled and transported up for reassembly, but that would take at least three days. Li Chi couldn't wait any longer, so he only removed the throwing pole, and the trebuchet was pulled up with a rope as a whole. In this way, only one throwing pole was installed, and half a day was enough.

At noon, the twelve trebuchets were pulled up to the high platform, and the craftsmen began to install the throwing poles.

"Can you pack it up today?" Li Chi asked eagerly.

"The artisans didn't wait until they were all pulled up before starting to install them. In fact, five racks have already been installed, and the other seven racks are guaranteed to be installed before dark."

When Li Chi heard that five planes had already been installed, he immediately took out the token and handed it to a general, saying, "Go to the warehouse and bring in ten kerosene balls!"

The management rules of the fire oil balls were set by Jiang Yanxian. They carried a total of 240 fire oil balls, and now there are [-] more. Each fire oil ball is packed in a wooden box and numbered. The management is very strict. Strictly, you must have the token of the chief general to call, and you can only go to the warehouse to pick it up when you use it. After use, the remaining fire oil balls must be sent back to the warehouse immediately.

A general took the token and immediately led a group of soldiers to the warehouse in the northeast corner of the camp.

Li Chi looked at Zigui County with his hands behind his back and smiled triumphantly at the four commanders: "Once we capture Zigui County and enter Kuizhou, the Metropolitan Army will personally come to command the battle. Once Sichuan is captured, everyone's glory and wealth will be entrusted to me." body."

The four commanders bowed together and saluted, "Thank you Dutong for your kindness!"

At this moment, a shout of killing suddenly came from a distance, Li Chi was startled, "Where is the shout of killing coming from?"

"Dutong, it seems to be the voice from the barracks!"

Li Chi immediately turned around and looked towards the barracks. Sure enough, it came from the barracks. He saw a sergeant galloping towards him on horseback. The sergeant shouted from under the high platform: "Report to Dutong, Jiang Yanxian led an army to attack storehouse!"

Li Chi was startled, and then furious, he quickly stepped off the high platform, got on his horse, and led thousands of troops towards the barracks two miles away.

But after only running for a mile, I saw that the warehouse was ablaze, with thick smoke billowing, and the fire had already ignited. The general who was ordered to fetch the fire oil ball just stumbled back and said, "Dutong, it's Jiang Yanxian, he... The oil balls all ignited."

Li Chi was stunned for a moment, the fire oil ball was ignited, so... what did he use to attack the city?

……

Jiang Yanxian led more than a thousand soldiers to retreat to Xintan Town, just in time to meet the mighty Chen Qing's army.

Jiang Yan first wrote a letter and asked the soldiers to deliver it to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing really did not expect that Jiang Yanxian would come to surrender. Judging from the letter, he should have been robbed of military power by Wan Yanchang's confidant and had nowhere to go, so he surrendered himself.

Chen Qing was deeply impressed by Jiang Yanxian, especially when he falsely spread the news of the plague, mobilized the people of Changshou County to flee the city, and successfully covered the withdrawal of tens of thousands of troops from Changshou, which made him fall short.

This person is a great talent, quite strategic, if he sincerely surrenders himself, he can accept it.

Chen Qing then ordered Yang Zaixing to accept the surrender of Wang Bin and more than [-] people, and then he received Jiang Yanxian in the temporary tent.

Jiang Yanxian was ashamed and said: "Mengdu will not give up and accept his surrender. Jiang Yanxian is very grateful!"

Chen Qing asked Jiang Yan to sit down first with a smile, and served hot tea to the soldiers, and asked with a smile: "Why did Jiang Dutong have internal strife?"

"It's because Wan Yanchang didn't trust me at all. He sent a confidant named Li Chi to be my deputy general. At the same time, he asked four of my subordinates to sign a letter of loyalty. It is estimated that after I led the army into Bashu, Li Chi Instead of me, it was just that I hesitated in the fire attack on Zigui County, and they couldn't wait to start, so I saw their true colors."

"Siege the city with fire? How?"

"Use fire oil balls to burn the city. Zigui County is not big, and sixty fire oil balls are enough to cover the entire east city, and the soldiers can carry the water-soaked quilts to the city."

Chen Qing was taken aback, "Then they are already attacking the city!"

"Please rest assured that I will never do anything to shame the people of Bashu. At noon today, I led an army to attack the warehouse and ignited all the fire oil balls and fire oil. They can no longer use fire to attack. They just rely on throwing stones." , Zigui City is not so easy to capture."

Chen Qing was overjoyed, "It's the greatest sincerity that Dutong can burn the kerosene!"

After a pause, Chen Qing asked again: "The battle of Hanyang Mansion is over, Dong Xian fled back to Xiangyang, why don't I write you a letter, and you take the letter to find Li Gang, the envoy of Xuan Fu, and it would be more appropriate for him to accept your surrender." , after all, you are also the governor."

Jiang Yanxian shook his head, "You have been dismissed, you are no longer the governor of the puppet Qi army, and you don't even have a civil position. You are originally a Song official, and you are really ashamed of the court, and you have no face to see your old colleagues. Regardless of the previous accusations that the record is lowly, I am willing to be an aide for Dutong, if it is not convenient for him, then I will be a small citizen and go home to serve my mother."

Chapter 328 Contribute

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and asked, "Where is Mr. Jiang from?"

"People from Xiacaizhou have wives, children, and mothers at home."

"How about it! When you go back, sir, transfer your wife, children, and mother first, and then come to the army to find me. I can arrange a post for him as an aide in the army."

"Thank you Dutong for giving me a chance. I will go back to my hometown overnight and move my family to the Song Dynasty."

Jiang Yan stood up and saluted first, then he took out a letter and handed it to Chen Qing, "This is a plan for the humble official to destroy Li Chi and seize Xiangyang, and it can be used as a reference for Du Tong!"

Chen Qing was overjoyed, "Thank you sir!"

He immediately took a pass and ordered his soldiers to give 500 taels of silver to Jiang Yanxian for moving expenses. Jiang Yanxian fled in a hurry without any luggage. He rushed to his hometown Caizhou.

Yang Zaixing hurried over to Chen Qing and said, "The governor wants to use Jiang Yanxian?"

Chen Qing nodded, "This person's conscience is not lost. He didn't want to help the Jurchens attack Bashu and become a sinner through the ages, which led to internal strife. That's why I decided to use him."