Fenghou

Two hundred soldiers with large shields guarded a battering ram and walked quickly towards the suspension bridge. Their goal was the gate of the Weng City, and the outer gate was handed over to the Firearms Battalion.

The soldiers pressed a 120-jin iron rhino fire thunder on the gate, and used two pieces of wood to hold it firmly. A soldier lit the match with a torch. own ears.

For a moment, there was an earth-shattering muffled sound, "Boom!" The city wall was shaking, the ground was shaking, thick smoke was rising into the sky, dust was flying, and gravel and sawdust were crackling and falling.

Before the dust fell to the ground, Liu Cui swung his saber, "The Giant Shield Army will enter the city!"

Two thousand giant shield troops rushed into the city with large shields and short spears, and behind them was the battering ram army.

Although Luoyang's city gate is very thick, a large hole nine feet high and one foot or two feet wide was blasted out by a large iron fire thunder, and two thousand giant shield troops rushed into the Urn City directly from the hole...

The huge explosion shocked the entire Luoyang City, and the soldiers began to panic. The looting soldiers stopped their looting and rushed to the street, looking in the direction of the west city in horror.

At this time, many soldiers rushed down from the urn city and shouted: "The Song army has entered the city! The Song army has entered the city!"

Countless soldiers scrambled to escape to the east city. The gate of the east city had been opened, the drawbridge was lowered, and the soldiers rushed out of the city carrying big bags and small bags.

There was a raging fire inside the Wengcheng, but the thousand-step artillery had stopped attacking, and the fire gradually diminished. Two thousand soldiers rushed into the city and put out all the fire. There were still one or two hundred soldiers. When the outer city gate was blown open, countless soldiers of the Song Army rushed into the Wengcheng with large shields in their hands. The last two hundred soldiers also collapsed and fled one after another. There was no more soldier in the Wengcheng.

Hundreds of Song Army soldiers shouted, and sixty soldiers held battering rams and slammed into the last inner city gate, 'Boom! With a muffled sound, the inner city gate burst open, and two thousand soldiers rushed into the city shouting.

Liu Cui also gave an order, and [-] cavalry rushed into the city first, followed by [-] infantry...

All the enemy troops in the city were running towards the east gate, but the [-] soldiers guarding Cangcheng did not escape and remained standing on Cangcheng.

Several generals stepped forward and said to Deputy General Wu Jincheng: "General, they have all escaped, should we also evacuate quickly, or it will be too late."

"What are you afraid of?"

Wu Jincheng said coldly: "We didn't burn, kill and loot, let alone rape women. Why did you escape? Do you think that you will be fine if you escape? It's too simple. Chen Qing's 15 troops besieged the city, and no one can escape. , we are finally on our duty, so we will be safe and sound!"

What Wu Jincheng said was not wrong at all. The defeated army who escaped from Dongcheng was surrounded by an army of [-] led by Gao Ding and Li Fuxing. None of them escaped. They all became prisoners of war of the Song army. Chen Qing will be severely punished for the crime of looting the common people.

9 Chapter Eighty Rewards and Punishments

An army of [-] troops marched into Luoyang City, and Chen Qing, surrounded by thousands of cavalry, also entered the city. At this time, Liu Cui led his deputy Wu Jincheng to pay a visit. Chen Qing had received the news in advance, and Wu Jincheng led three thousand soldiers to stand firm. Cangcheng did not lead the army to surrender until the main force of the Song army entered the city, ensuring the safety of the entire Cangcheng.

"The humble Wu Jincheng pays homage to His Royal Highness King Yong!"

Chen Qing asked with a smile: "General Wu is the deputy general you can ask for?"

Wu Jincheng smiled wryly and said, "Nominally, I'm a lieutenant general, but in fact he's the chief logistics officer, in charge of Cangcheng, and has no military authority."

"Zhe Keqiu doesn't trust you?"

"No, Zhe Keqiu doesn't trust anyone. He holds the entire army firmly in his hands, and all military affairs, large and small, are decided by him."

Chen Qing nodded, "General Wu can be loyal to his duties and ensure that Cangcheng is safe and sound. This is the greatest achievement. From now on, I will appoint you as the commander of the Western Army."

Wu Jincheng was overjoyed, and knelt down on one knee and said, "I am willing to do my best for His Highness!"

Wu Jincheng is the deputy capital commander. It is very good for Chen Qing to be downgraded to the commander. He is older, in his 50s, and he can be regarded as an old man in the officialdom. He is very familiar with the situation in the Central Plains. Chen Qing needs this A man who knows the situation.

"I heard that before the Song army entered the city, looting of people's property broke out in the city?"

"Exactly! Zhe Keqiu died unexpectedly, and the generals in the city lost control. They mainly controlled the army of Sun Rong and Wang Youting. About 1 people participated in the looting of people's property. , you can only restrain your own army and not allow them to participate.”

"What about the other armies? Didn't they participate?" Chen Qing asked again.

"The other two armies were in the defense of the city. After the Song army entered the city, they fled directly to the city and did not participate in the looting."

At this time, the soldiers escorted Sun Rong and Wang Youting up. Both of them were wearing the military uniforms of ordinary soldiers. They tried to get away with it, but they were still identified by the soldiers and arrested.

"Your Highness, spare your life! Forgive your life!"

The two knelt on the ground and begged bitterly. Chen Qing sneered and said: "I didn't want to kill you at first. If you can restrain military discipline, you can at least get a commander in the army. It's a pity that you have lost your chance. I came here to save the people, if I let you go, it will ruin my reputation, Chen Qing, come here, drag down and behead me!"

The two regretted it and cried, "Your Highness, please forgive me! We knew we were wrong."

The two were framed by the wolf-like soldiers, and their heads were cut off in a moment. The soldiers put the heads on the plate and served them. Chen Qingling said: "The announcement of Anmin has been posted, and the general who signed the army to rob the people's wealth has been killed." Beheaded, hang the head at the city gate for public display!"

After a pause, Chen Qing ordered again: "Go and identify all the prisoners of war. The subordinates of Sun Rong and Wang Youting will all be arrested and interrogated strictly. Anyone who robs people's property will be convicted as an enemy prisoner and sent to the mine for three years of hard labor. Anyone who rapes women Beheaded everywhere!"

……

In this Luoyang siege battle, there were not many dead soldiers on both sides, especially the [-] defenders basically had no casualties, but the Song army suffered hundreds of casualties during the siege of Luoshui.

Except for Wu Jincheng's 4000 soldiers, the rest of the soldiers became prisoners of war. The 3000 men who commanded Li Maosheng and the [-] men who commanded Li Hua were more fortunate. They were restrained by the general and did not participate in the looting of the people.

However, the 1 soldiers of Sun Rong and Wang Youting were more miserable. They were taken to the camp outside the city for interrogation one by one, and the prisoners were encouraged to report meritorious deeds. A soldier who raped a woman was granted amnesty.

All of a sudden, the soldiers reported one after another, and more than 270 soldiers who participated in the murder and rape of women were quickly found out and escorted to the Luoshui River to behead them for public display. Hundreds of thousands of people watched the execution on the other side of the Luoshui River.

A group of 200 people knelt by the Luoshui River with their hands tied behind their backs, their heads covered by black bags and their necks exposed, and behind each of them stood a burly man with a machete in his hand.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The drum sounded, and the sharp machete was raised high. Many people covered their eyes and dared not look at it. They only heard an order, and the sharp machete swung down, and two hundred heads were chopped off at the same time. Hundreds of thousands of people rejoiced.

Beheaded six times in a row, 270 prisoners of war were beheaded, and all the looted money was returned to the people. The 30 people immediately cheered. The execution of the Song army completely won the hearts of the people. The big shock frightened the signatories all over the country. If you want to save yourself a way out, don't do evil, otherwise you will die.

……

In the handsome mansion, Chen Qing met Zhang Lu and Yu Shouzhong, and Chen Qing appreciated their performance in Luoyang.

"What is the name of the soldier who assassinated Zhe Keqiu? What is his job?"

Zhang Lu bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, the assassin soldier is called Huang Dong. He used to be a scout soldier and has no position."

Chen Qing nodded, turned his head and said to Zhang Fan, the commander of the army, "Huang Dong will be rewarded with 200 taels of silver, and he will be promoted to the head of the scout capital."

"The humble job has been written down!"

Chen Qing smiled at Zhang Lu again: "According to the usual practice, after recovering a city, the local intelligence chief will be appointed as the county magistrate. I don't dare to say that Director Zhang has performed really well this time. I will promote you to a level and give you the title of Henan Prefecture." General judge, in charge of the government affairs of the Henan government, there will be a formal appointment from the Ministry of Officials, and now you will take over the post of general judge!"

Zhang Lu was really touched, and quickly bowed to salute, her voice choked with sobs: "Thank you for your kindness, I must work hard in my humble position, and manage the Henan Mansion well for Your Highness!"

"The current Luoyang magistrate Zhou Huang, what do you think of him?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, although Zhou Zhixian was appointed by Wanyan Wushu, he is indeed a good official, very dedicated, and very familiar with the situation in Luoyang. He risked his life to stop the soldiers from doing evil, but was injured by the soldiers. lost his life."

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "It is the authority of the Ministry of Officials to appoint the magistrate. I can't do it for me. However, Zhou Huang can temporarily act as the magistrate. After the Department of Officials and the Supervision Department send people to jointly review, if he passes the review, he can continue Serve as magistrate, or be transferred elsewhere."

After a pause, Chen Qing asked Zhang Lu again: "What does Zhang Tong think is the most urgent thing now?"

Zhang Lu immediately interjected: "The most urgent thing for me is to appease the people and find out the family background, so I first need to open a shed to provide porridge, and then take stock of the warehouse. It's just that I need manpower to assist."

"What's the situation in the original government office?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Reporting to Your Highness, if you can ask for it, he will concurrently serve as the magistrate of Henan. Several of his staff are in charge of state affairs. These staff have fled to the people and their whereabouts are unknown. However, I don't want to use them for humble positions. The government officials are all good. , I intend to promote several capable civil servants."

Chen Qing didn't respond to him directly, but turned to Yu Shouzhong, and said with a smile: "If I remember correctly, Manager Yu was transferred from Datong Mansion, or I asked you to come to Luoyang, right?"

"Your Highness is right!"

"What is your current military position?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Humble job in the army as the deputy commander of the scout."

Chen Qing nodded and said, "From now on, I will appoint you as the commander of the Huben Army's scout battalion..."

Yu Shouzhong was overjoyed, and hurriedly knelt down on one knee to salute, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness!"

Chen Qing waved his hands and laughed, "Just now Zhang Tongpan said that there is a shortage of manpower. I will allocate [-] soldiers to you. You will assist Zhang Tongpan first. After the situation in Luoyang stabilizes, you will go to Huben Army to report to Lu Tongzhi."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Chen Qing asked again: "I heard that there is Yan Xiaowei in Yanshi who wants to marry King Yong wholeheartedly? He also helped you a lot, is that so?"

Yu Shouzhong scratched his head in embarrassment, "His Royal Highness, Xiaowei Yan is an old woman in her forties, she weighs at least two hundred catties, and she is surprisingly fat. Nonsense, I implore Your Highness not to argue with her!"

Chen Qing laughed, "Although I won't marry her, I like this kind of person. Since she has made meritorious service to the Song Army, I can reward her with a thousand coins and make her a captain of Xiaoqi, so that she can truly become a school lieutenant!"

After explaining these things, Chen Qing said to Zhang Lu: "I want to know now, where is the shell of that iron fire thunder now?"

Zhang Lu hurriedly said: "Reporting to Your Highness, it is currently in the hands of the humble staff."

"You send someone to fetch it, and then bring the craftsman Wang Fuyuan to meet me!"

Chapter 981 Xiangyang

In the back hall of the Marshal's Mansion, Chen Qing gently pulled out a sword. Just as he showed his sharpness, he felt a gust of cold air rushing towards his face. The sound is melodious and crisp, without the slightest feeling of dullness.

"Good sword!" Chen Qing blurted out praise.

Zhang Lu smiled and said, "This is the last sword Wang Yan forged. It took three years to pass it on to his son and pass it on to his family. Wang Fuyuan is willing to dedicate it to His Highness."

"How can I collect a family heirloom?"

Even though he said that, Chen Qing was reluctant to return the sword. The quality of this sword is too high, but the reputation is not as good as the ancient sword, but the quality is as good as it is.

Zhang Lu said again: "He still has more than a dozen swords left by his father, heirlooms are enough, this superb sword, rather than being unknown, it is better to dedicate it to His Highness, become the sword of King Yong, and it is a kind of commemoration for his father .”

Chen Qing happily said with a smile: "Okay! This sword is named King Yongjian, I accept it, and arrange for the four of them to leave as soon as possible to live in Xianyang County, Jingzhao, and tell them that they will be treated well and will never treat you badly." them."

"Humble job understands!"

Zhang Lu saluted and left.

Chen Qing looked at the Iron Fire Thunder shell on the ground again, and thanks to the efforts of Zhang Lu and the others, this top secret was not passed on to the Jurchens.

Some people may wonder, Hulao Pass and Mengjin Pass are blocked, how can they be sent out?

This is not how things are done. The soldiers who sent the parcels could have buried their things first. He himself hid in the county below. If he could ask for it, he would definitely send local people. It is impossible for Luoyang Mansion to be blocked all the time. It's over, normality is restored, and it's easy to send out then.

So Zhang Lu and the others first cut off the pigeon letter to avoid spreading the key technology, then exchanged the civet cat for the prince, replaced the real one, and then assassinated Zhe Keqiu, so that Zhe Keqiu could not make arrangements in time. Without these efforts, the city would be destroyed. If you can ask for it, you will also send someone to take away the iron fire thunder shell and hide it, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

At this time, Chen Qing came to another table. There were also two Tie Huo Lei shells on this table, which were exactly the same as the shells on the other table. If you didn't mention it in advance, you wouldn't be able to see the difference between the two.

The two casings are of course different, the other table is a real casing, and the Tiehuolei casing in front of him was imitated by Wang Fuyuan. What surprised Chen Qing was that it was cast in one piece due to the high molding technology.

You must know that Jingzhao has repeatedly failed to conquer the one-piece casting, and finally had to cast half of the shell, and then melted lead to put them together.

The one-piece casting that Jingzhao craftsmen have not successfully developed for many years has actually appeared in Luoyang. This is probably a unique technology in the world, and perhaps even the craftsman himself is not aware of its value.

But Chen Qing thought of the barrel.

……

Wang Fuyuan's family is also packing up their things. They will leave by boat tomorrow morning, but his wife, Jia Shi, does not want to move. She is a local, and her parents and brothers are all in Luoyang. Of course, she does not want to move.

"Can't the officials tell the superiors? Others can stay in Luoyang, why can't we?"

Wang Fuyuan sighed and said: "We are in a special situation, not only me, but also my three apprentices will move together, we know the top secret of the Western Army, we must move, otherwise, if Jin Guo keeps an eye on us, our family will There is a fear of life."

"What is the top secret?"

"Don't ask me, I can't tell, and you don't know how Meng Xiaodong died, you don't know."

"But... my parents are getting old, will I see them again after I leave?" Jia Shi said sadly.

Wang Fuyuan comforted his wife and said: "I heard that the residence in Xianyang is good. There is an acre of land and more than [-] houses. After we settle down, we can bring your parents to live for a while. I have been designated as a senior master. With a monthly salary of fifty guan, it is not a problem to support them."

Thinking that her husband can get a salary of [-] guan a month, this is the only good thing that Jia can comfort, they only had [-] guan a month before, Luoyang's prices are soaring, raising two sons, life is really tight, now the salary has increased It is ten times higher than that in Jingzhao, and it is said that the prices in Jingzhao are much lower than in Luoyang. Their family will live a good life from now on.

Mrs. Jia nodded and said, "Thanks to the fact that King Yong thinks highly of us, we have to express that, I think there are more than [-] swords made by your father in your study, keep two for your son, and dedicate the rest to King Yong." I’m always a little on the fence about keeping them.”

Although Wang Fuyuan was a little bit reluctant, he still agreed. In fact, he also figured it out. Putting the sword forged by his father in the hands of a famous general is much more meaningful than putting it in his own hands.

"I'll give it to Zhang Lu in the future, he is my benefactor, and I ask him to dedicate it to His Royal Highness King Yong for me!"

……

In Dengzhou, the news that the Song Army had seized Rang County was leaked, so that Zhang Zhongxiong led more than 1000 troops to flee before the Song Army arrived in Nanyang County, and the Song Army was in vain.

In the next few days, Liu Qiong sent Li Changgong, the commander of the upper army, to lead 5000 troops into Tangzhou. Tangzhou had no enemy troops stationed and was easily occupied.

After winning Dengzhou and Tangzhou, Liu Qiong was not in a hurry to go north. On the one hand, he was actively training the more than 8000 troops who surrendered, and on the other hand, he was also waiting for supplies from Jingzhao.

Seven days later, Jingzhao's supply team arrived in Rang County. In addition to the [-] camels full of food and military supplies, there were also [-] horses. In the Central Plains, cavalry is indispensable. Among the [-] troops he brought, originally There were [-] cavalry. Before, because it was inconvenient to cross the mountains, the horses were stored in Shangzhou. Now that Dengzhou and Tangzhou have been captured, the horses will naturally be sent.

In addition, there are also two thousand soldiers from Longju Village. Longju Village has been handed over to the defenders of Wuguan. Of course, the two thousand defenders will return to the main force.

In a blink of an eye, it has been ten days since the capture of Rang County, but the Song Army in Xiangyang has not moved at all, and has not sent anyone to inquire about the situation, as if it has nothing to do with them.

Liu Qiong also received two warrants from Luoyang sent by Chen Qing. One warrant was to praise him and his army for capturing Dengzhou and Tangzhou, and the other warrant required them to be aware of the movements of the Xiangyang army.

The direct border with Dengzhou is not Xiangyang Prefecture, but the Guanghua Army. The army is also an administrative division, smaller than the state, and manages two or three counties. Generally, the army is set up in important military areas. In addition, if it is a mining area, a prison is set up. Therefore, both the army and the prison are at the same level as the state, but they are smaller and more specialized than the state. The chief is called Zhijun and Zhijian.

The Guanghua Army is the gateway to Xiangyang Prefecture. It is the same as Liu Bei stationed in Xinye to defend Xiangyang. Its military status is very important. The Guanghua Army stationed [-] troops, led by Yue Fei's general Zhang Xian.

After passing the Guanghua Army, it is Dengcheng County, which belongs to the boundary of Xiangyang Prefecture. To the south is the Han River, and on the other side of the Han River is Xiangyang City.

This morning, a caravan consisting of fifty mules came towards the North Ferry of the Han River. Except for the leader Xu Zhifu, who was a businessman from Rang County, the other ten men were dressed as scouts from the Western Army. The leader of the caravan was Tang Qian. They were going to Xiangyang City to inquire about information.

Liu Qiong also got some information about Xiangyang from many businessmen before, but they were incomplete and there were different opinions. There were three opinions about the number of troops stationed in Xiangyang City. At the same time, Liu Qiong received an order from King Yong, asking him to pay attention to the situation in Xiangyang. .