Fenghou

Seeing no one around, Qiao Lin said to a tall, black and thin man behind him: "Tangtou, there is no problem with the inn. My nephew is in charge of it. You can ask other brothers in the city to move here."

This Tang head is Tang Qian, the scout leader of the Song Army. He made great contributions in the later period of the Xixia War and has resumed his original position. County lurks.

Tang Qian nodded, "I see, let's stay here first!"

The key person Guan Shigu introduced to Chen Qing was not Qiao Lin. Qiao Lin was just a businessman.

Next to Tang Qian was a scribe in his thirties. His name was Yang Jin, and he was Guan Shigu's aide. Guan Shigu recommended him to Chen Qing.

The biggest tycoon in Shanzhou is called Yang Gongran. The Yang family is a branch of the Hongnong Yang family. It moved to Shanzhou at the end of the Tang Dynasty. He also served as the magistrate of Shanxian County and Sima of Henan Prefecture.

And Yang Jin is Yang Gongran's second son, so Guan Shigu dared to pat his chest to Chen Qing and promise to win Shan County.

After everyone stayed in the inn, Tang Qian went to the city to find the twenty or so brothers who had infiltrated earlier, while Yang Jin went back to the Yang Mansion to meet his father.

Chapter 725 The Yang Family

Yang Gongran is about 60 years old, and he is well maintained. He looks like he is in his forties, and there is no wrinkle on his face.

Although he seldom goes out, he is very concerned about the changes in the general situation of the world, which is related to the vital interests of his Yang family.

In the study, Yang Gong was a little dissatisfied and said: "Erlang, what's the matter with you, aren't you working as an aide for Guan Shigu in Jingzhao?"

When Guan Shigu was idle, Yang Gongran wrote several times asking his son to come back, but Yang Jin would not come back, and he would not listen to his father's advice at all.

Now that Guan Shigu has been reused as one of the Five Pavilions, but his son has returned, how can Yang Gongran be happy?

Yang Jin smiled and said, "Can't I come back and visit my father and mother?"

"You really just came back to visit relatives?" Yang Gongran really didn't believe it.

"Actually, the king of the county sent the child back."

"Chen Qing?"

Yang Jin nodded, "The boy shoulders the important task entrusted by the county king."

Yang Gongran changed his mind, and immediately realized, "Could it be that King Jin wants to attack Shanzhou?"

"Not only Shanzhou, but also Guozhou."

"Of course, Shanzhou and Guozhou are one. He asked you to come back. Could it be that he wants our Yang family to contribute?"

"Father, this is an opportunity for our Yang family. The county king clearly told me that if the Yang family can help win Shanzhou, father can be appointed as the governor of Guozhou, and the elder brother will be the magistrate of Shanxian county."

Yang Gongran shook his head, "First, he thinks too highly of my Yang family, and the Yang family doesn't have the ability; second, Liu Yu promised me to know the affairs of Shanzhou, but he was still the emperor of Qi, so he talked like farting .”

Yang Jin secretly sighed in his heart, his father is good in every aspect, but he is too philistine, there is no real benefit, don't want him to contribute.

Yang Jin took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to his father, "This is a letter written by the king of the county, father, please read it!"

There was Chen Qing's handwritten letter, Yang Gongran was overjoyed, he quickly took the letter, and complained to his son: "There is a letter written by the county king, why didn't you show it earlier?"

"Didn't I just say that? The county king made a clear promise..."

"Don't say such useless words, hurry up and find your eldest brother, and then close the courtyard door, and no one is allowed to enter the courtyard to eavesdrop."

Yang Gong really didn't believe in verbal promises, but he believed in written promises, especially in Chen Qing's position, being able to use written promises was basically a promise.

Yang Jin hurriedly got up to look for his brother, Yang Gongran opened the letter and began to read it carefully.

……

Not long after, Yang Jin and his elder brother Yang Chu returned to the study together. Yang Chu was only one year older than Yang Jin. The two had studied together in Tokyo Taixue and had a very deep relationship.

Yang Chu was the eldest son, and his family found a relationship to find him an official position in Guozhou. He worked as the chief secretary of Lushi County for two years. After the war broke out, he resigned and stayed at home.

The second child, Yang Jin, also found a relationship and recommended him to Guan Shigu as an aide. Yang Jin's handwriting is very beautiful, and Guan Shigu likes it very much.

"Da Lang, your brother told you!"

Yang Chu nodded, "Father, I also think this is an opportunity for the Yang family."

"You read the letter before you talk."

Yang Gongran handed the letter to the eldest son, Yang Chu read the letter, hesitantly said: "The inside and outside should cooperate to seize Shan County, I'm afraid we have too few manpower to accomplish anything!"

"No! No! No!"

Yang Jin hurriedly said: "We don't need to send anyone out, there are already [-] elites lurking in the city, led by Tang Qian, the chief scout of the Western Army, but they will trip over the defenders at critical moments!"

Yang Gongran said slowly: "Actually, I have an idea!"

……

Outside Tongguan, the camp where the 5000 troops were stationed could not be seen at a glance. The large tent of the Chinese army was brightly lit, and the generals stood in front of a sand table in deep thought. They had just received the latest information. people, so that the strength of Hangu Pass reached 8000, and an additional 2000 troops were added to Yanxiang County. The intention of defending Guanzhong is very strong.

Yang Zaixing pondered for a moment and said: "Kong Yanzhou probably didn't know our intention to attack Shanzhou, he was only nervous because the king of the county appeared in Tongzhou. After all, Kong Yanzhou was defeated by the king of the county, and all the confidants died in the hands of the king of the county. , It's normal for him to react strongly to the county king."

"That is to say, there are Kong Yanzhou's spies in Tongzhou?" Chen Qing asked slowly.

"This should be!"

"Then we're gathering troops outside Tongguan, doesn't he know about it?"

Yang Zaixing thought for a while and said, "Maybe he knows, but maybe he doesn't know."

Everyone realized that this problem was serious. If Kong Yanzhou found out about the Song army's plan and reported it to the puppet Qi court, Generalissimo Zhe Keqiu of the Henan Prefecture would definitely lead an army to rescue them, and their plan to attack Shanzhou would fail.

Intelligence chief Hu Yanlei said: "As far as I know, Zhe Keqiu has a bad relationship with Liu Yu, and also has conflicts with Kong Yanzhou. Liu Yu may not be able to persuade him to go to support Shanzhou."

Chen Qing shook his head, "Liu Yu has been abolished, Wanyan Wushu is the one who really decides, Kong Yanzhou also reported to him, he will definitely order Zhe Keshi to support Shanzhou, Zhe Keshi dare not not come, I am most worried that even if we attack Going down to Hangu Pass, the reinforcements will also arrive in Shan County, that is not the result I want."

Everyone was silent, everyone understood the meaning of the king of the county, although the capture of Hangu Pass already had a double defense, but if Shan County was captured again, it would switch to both offense and defense, defending the pass in the west, and exploring Luoyang in the east, the strategic intention changed greatly.

But now who doesn't know the details of the enemy army, whether Kong Yanzhou found out their intentions, Kong Yanzhou's spies must have found out, the key is whether they passed the news of their garrison in Tongguan to Kong Yanzhou by flying pigeons?

At this time, Liu Qiong, who had been silent all this time, raised his hand and said, "Young King, I have a plan for this humble official!"

Chen Qing was refreshed, he knew that Liu Qiong would never lie, so he quickly said, "Please tell Liu Tongzhi!"

Liu Qiong picked up the wooden pole and pointed to Guozhou on the sand table and said: "Beizhi has a deputy commander named Wei Ping. He was originally a hunter in Guozhou. Yesterday he told Beizhi that there is a way to get to Hangu Pass. Back, straight to Lingbao County, this is it!"

Liu Qiong's wooden pole pointed to a river in the east of Guolue County: "This river is called Zhushui. It passes through the mountains and flows into the Yellow River. The mouth of the river is in Lingbao County. The army can pass along the valley, but the cavalry can't go, and the cavalry can't go. Without supplies, the infantry can go east to Shan County."

This news is very exciting, and it really is a road that never ends.

Yang Zaixing studied for a while and said, "Now there is a problem. Kong Yanzhou has 2000 troops each stationed in Yanxiang County and Hucheng County. To go to Guozhou, he must go south from Hucheng. These two counties are not easy to attack, and it will take time."

Liu Qiong said with a smile: "Yanxiang County and Hucheng County just cut off the official road of the baggage and cavalry, but we are infantry, light soldiers and easy to walk, we can go around Yanxiang County and Hucheng County, and we can choose to march at night, So that the head of the city can't find us."

"Is it feasible?" Chen Qing asked the scout commander Zhang Hua. He is from Hucheng County and is very familiar with the Weihan Ancient Road. He will serve as the guide this time.

Zhang Hua thought for a while and said, "It's okay not to ride a horse or bring luggage, but you must have a guide who is familiar with the terrain, otherwise it's easy to get lost and enter the ravine."

Liu Qiong quickly said: "My Commander Wei is from Orion, he is very familiar with the road."

Chen Qing took a few steps with his hands behind his back, and said decisively to Liu Qiong: "Time is running out, you will set off tonight with [-] elite infantry, and rush to Shan County according to your plan. Take Shan County first, and you must hold on to Shan County."

Yang Zaixing asked anxiously, "Your Majesty, isn't [-] troops too small?"

Chen Qing shook his head, "There can't be more troops. If there are more troops, they will be discovered. Kong Yanzhou is very cunning, and he will see through our intentions."

Liu Qiong clasped his fists and said: "Soldiers are good but not many. Three thousand troops are enough, but I want each soldier to carry a bag of ten catties of kerosene."

"Ten catties of kerosene, what about marching? What if you attack the city?"

"There is no problem in marching. I will select tall and strong soldiers. After arriving in Shan County, I will temporarily store the fire oil outside the city. After capturing the city, I will transport the fire oil into the city."

"That's okay, do you know how to contact Tang Qian?"

"The humble official knows, please don't worry, the king of the county, he must seize Shan County and keep Shan County."

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "If you can keep your promise, I will promote you to be the governor of the capital afterwards!"

Liu Qiong was overjoyed, and quickly knelt down on one knee and said, "The humble staff will never miss this opportunity!"

Chapter 726 Candle Road

On the north side of the Xiaohan Ancient Road is the surging Yellow River, and on the south side are lofty mountains, which are full of high platforms and ravines, where hunters and herbal gatherers live in this area all year round.

There is only one way for the carts and horses and livestock, but if you are a strong soldier, you can pass the mountains and mountains.

An army of 3000 people was speeding through a ravine, occasionally seeing animal bones from the White Forest in the bushes or crevices of stones on both sides of the ravine.

"There are a lot of mountain leopards in this area. They climb mountains and ridges like flattened ground, and even old and weak goats can't escape their sharp claws." Guide officer Wei Ping pointed to the goat bones on both sides.

Wei Pingnian was about 30 years old, and he was born as a hunter in Lushi County, Guozhou. He joined the Western Army five years ago.

Liu Qiong nodded and asked, "Where does this mountain pass go?"

"It will soon come to the end, and then climb up, and pass through a forest of more than [-] miles, and then pass Yanxiang County."

"How far is it from Yanxiang County?"

"About twenty miles, it's impossible to pass."

The army walked for a few miles, and it turned out that the valley was at the end of the valley. There was a slope going up, and there were a few big rocks on the top of the slope. Soldiers had tied rope ladders to the big rocks, and the rest of the soldiers dragged the rope ladders to climb up.

These soldiers are all tall and strong, with short spears and crossbow arrows on their backs, long knives on their waists, and a bag of ten catties of kerosene and dry food bags on their backs. Almost every soldier carries a weight of more than thirty catties.

Climbing up the hill, there is an endless pine forest in front of him. Liu Qiong looked to the north, and he could vaguely see the big flag on the city wall more than [-] miles away.

Liu Qiong waved his hand and said: "Speed ​​up!"

He led the soldiers into the woods and continued to rush north...

The governor of Shanzhou was Kong Yanzhou, the rebellious Song general in the Battle of Jingxiang. He suffered a disastrous defeat in Jiangling and nearly wiped out his entire army. He was then treated coldly by Wanyan Chang, but Wanyan Wushu admired him more and named him the capital. Controlling, served as the envoy of the Shanzhou system, and commanded [-] puppet Qi soldiers.

Although Kong Yanzhou's character is despicable, he has his own merits, otherwise he would not be reused by Wanyan Wushu. When others thought that Chen Qing was going to attack Hedong next time, Kong Yanzhou wrote to Wanyanwushu twice. Before attacking Hedong, we will definitely capture Shanzhou and Guozhou first to ensure the absolute safety of Guanzhong.

It's just that his idea was not approved by Wanyan Wushu's counselors. They all agreed that it was impossible for Chen Qing to fight on two fronts at the same time, but Wanyan Wushu still ordered him to be on high alert and observe every move of the Song army.

Kong Yanzhou sent more than a dozen spies to Tongzhou. When Chen Qing appeared in Tongzhou, Kong Yanzhou became nervous. Two days later in the afternoon, he received a letter from the spies Feige. Song Jun moved to Tongguan.

Kong Yanzhou immediately became nervous. The Song army moved towards Tongguan, not to attack Hedong. There was only one possibility. The Song army was going to attack Shanzhou and Guozhou, which he guessed right.

Kong Yanzhou immediately wrote an urgent letter of [-] Li, and ordered people to ride a fast horse to Bianliang.

At the same time, he added 7000 troops to Yanxiang County, Hucheng County, and Hangu Pass. The garrisons in Yanxiang County and Hucheng County were to delay the Song army's eastward advance and buy time for Luoyang's reinforcements. The core of the defense was Hangu Pass. Hangu Pass has 8000 troops, and Kong Yanzhou personally supervised the battle here.

In terms of time, the Luoyang reinforcements could reach Shan County in about five days at the earliest. Kong Yanzhou certainly believed that he could hold out in five days.

In addition, Kong Yanzhou also deployed [-] troops on the North Bank of the Yellow River. Although there were not many troops, he just didn't want the Song Army to take the North Bank of the Yellow River smoothly.

As for Guozhou, Kong Yanzhou's military strength is really limited, so he can't take care of it.

Early in the morning, the sky was gloomy, and Hangu Pass was shrouded in a thin layer of morning mist. Kong Yanzhou was wearing armor and staring into the distance, his eyes were full of worry. I don't know what happened to the situation in Yanxiang County.

At this time, two cavalry came rushing from a distance, very embarrassed, one of them saw an arrow stuck in his shoulder, and the two cavalry rushed to the Hangu Pass in a moment, and shouted: "We came from Yanxiang County, There is a military emergency!"

Kong Yanzhou hastily shouted: "Open the city gate!"

The closed gate was opened, and the cavalry rushed into the Guancheng. Soon, some soldiers led the messenger to Kong Yanzhou. Kong Yanzhou asked anxiously, "How is the county?"

The messenger knelt down on one knee and cried: "I report to Kong Dutong that the county of Yanxiang has been conquered by the Song army."

"Ah!" Kong Yanzhou was stunned. Why was he captured by the Song army in just one night?

"What about General Song and the other soldiers?" Kong Yanzhou asked hastily.

"General Song didn't escape. He didn't know if he was alive or dead. Only a few hundred brothers escaped from the east gate, but they still couldn't escape the cavalry of the Western Army. They died or surrendered. Only the two of us rode horses and escaped the pursuit. "

A few generals next to him yelled at Song Jun, Kong Yanzhou quickly waved his hand to keep them quiet, and he asked again: "Tell me in detail, how did the Western Army break through the gate of the county?"

"Reporting to Kong Dutong, the Western Army used battering rams, but at the beginning, they sprayed kerosene on the top of the city with a heavy oil fire cabinet, and the whole top of the city turned into a sea of ​​flames. The battering ram came and smashed open the city gate."

The general next to him yelled, "A group of idiots, why do you let the oil fire cabinet spray kerosene, can't you shoot them with random arrows?"

"General, their fierce oil and kerosene are placed in the cart, and the walls of the cart are thick boards, and the arrows cannot be shot inside."

Kong Yanzhou squinted his eyes. The powerful siege method was exactly the same as Wanyan Loushi's method of attacking Shan County. Back then, the Jin soldiers used giant trebuchets to project kerosene, set all the heads of Shan County on fire, and then hit them with battering rams. Open the city gate and enter the city.

This kind of siege method is useful for the county seat, but it is useless for Hangu Pass. There are several pass cities in Hangu Pass. Even if you break through the outer city gate, you have to face another pass city after you get in. The left and right sides are also pass cities. , this structure is very similar to the urn city in the big city. There is also a lot of fire oil and gunpowder in Hangu Pass. Once the Song army enters the outer city, they will fall into a desperate situation. live in a raging fire.

Kong Yanzhou was not worried at all about Song Jun's attack. On the contrary, he had been waiting for this day for a long time.

……

Three thousand soldiers rushed all the way in Guozhou, bypassed Guolue County, and entered the Zhushui River Valley in the east of the county. The water had just begun to melt, and the current was swift, and the army encountered low waterfalls from time to time. The soldiers climbed down the cliff with ropes, and the march was very difficult.

At this time, the army came to a river beach. In front of it was a big mountain. Candle water passed through the mountain. There were cliffs on both sides of the river. They had no way to go.

Wei Ping pointed to the river: "The river ahead is very deep, so we can only float on a sheepskin raft."