Emperor Sui Yang

Just as Xue Shou worried, it was more cloudy than sunny, and half of the northern Henan Province was frozen in places where it had snowed. The infantry were fine and could walk with a stagger, but the war horses and baggage were in great difficulty.

Later, an unknown person in the army took off his cotton smock and wrapped it around the horses' hooves, which had a very good anti-slip effect, so people followed suit.

Linen products and silk fabrics are not anti-slip, only cotton is.

Moreover, no one can ride a horse when marching, because the four legs of the horse are too thin, the hooves are small, and the force-bearing area is limited. At this time, it is lucky to be able to hold the horse without falling.

There are no asphalt roads here, and no one is clearing the snow on the official road. As more and more people step on it, the road will only become more and more slippery.

It originally took three or four days to arrive at the dock, but Tu Wanxu's troops walked for six days, followed by Li Jing and Huangfu Wuyi. The three armies totaled 3 people, and they had to cross the Yellow River and enter Ji in the middle of the first month. The county deployed its defenses.

On the way, the knight returning from the direction of Dongjun brought back the latest battle situation. Because Li Jing was the prince's right-hand man, he could stop the knight and ask about the battle.

Some rangers can report to him, some can't.

"Li Deyi is finished. Xuan Zong has captured him alive and sent people to escort him to Luoyang. Now Xuan Zong has arrived at Fengqiu. As long as the last rebel group is eliminated, Dongjun is in my hands, and the northern expedition will be worry-free." Li Jing was discussing with his generals under a big tree beside the road.

Cousin Han Xiaoji said: "Then Duke Huainan, can you move some guards to go north with us?"

Li Jing pondered for a moment and said: "I can't say for sure, it depends on His Highness's arrangements. Dongjun is now a strategic location to prevent Shandong rebels from entering Henan, but Dongjun has Xuanzong and Xingyang has Qututong. It is indeed a waste. "

"Forget it, Qu Tutong. I'm more used to dealing with Xuanzang. Won't Xuanting and Xu Shiji also go north with us?" Han Qinhu's heir, Han Shi'e, said.

Li Jing was the commander-in-chief, and he had a cousin under his command, as well as Pei Xingyan, Qiao Chunji, and Liu Hongji.

Li Jing said: "Xuan Ting is a heavy cavalry. In such weather, the cavalry has no effect. They will not move until the ice and snow melt."

At this time, a message came from the front, and Tu Wanxu had already accelerated his march. The reason was that Shi Huaiyi sent a message that the Wagang rebels were approaching Wei County, and Shi Huaiyi needed to determine the timing of the landing of reinforcements in order to support the Wei County. County preparations.

The main force in the rear could not cross the river, so Shi Huaiyi did not dare to leave Liyangcang.

After Li Jing finished reading the military report, he said in a deep voice: "The conditions are so bad that we may not be able to speed up our march. With 3 people crossing the river, it will take a lot of time just to mobilize the boats. We will go eastward and pass through Dongjun." , then cross the river from Dongping County, enter Wuyang County, and cut off the Wagang bandits' retreat."

Dongjun and Dongpingjun, one in Henan and the other in Shandong, are neighbors.

"The prince did not arrange it this way," Pei Xingyan frowned.

Li Jing nodded: "Send someone to quickly report the prince's whereabouts and our whereabouts. The military situation waits for no one. Send an order to the army to turn and head east immediately."

Others did not stop him. After all, everyone knew that Li Jing was the prince's absolute confidant.

There were many ships on the pier, but the number of sailors operating the oars was limited. At the beginning of the chaos, most of them had been mobilized. Moreover, just mobilizing the ships was extremely time-consuming. Taking a boat will inevitably lead to a situation where the army is crowded on the river bank, waiting for the boat.

This took a lot of time. Li Jing saw this clearly and would rather go far away than waste time here. When he arrived at Dongping County, the terrain was gentle and he could ferry directly. As for the boats, there were many boats along the way. There are them in villages on both sides of the river.

1 people left the official road to the north and began to march towards Dongjun at a high speed. They were lightly armed and simple, and all their horses were thrown to Huangfu Wuyi and were no longer needed.

On the East County side, Fengqiu City was finally breached after seven days of defense. Brother Yuan Zheng was also a tough guy. He started a street fight with the rebels in the city. He himself carved the words "Serve the country with death and serve generously" under the city wall. The word righteousness means risking everything.

It was at this time that Xuan Zong's army arrived, and Li Deyi's final family fortune was completely revealed in Fengqiu County.

"As a good brother and a righteous man, I have raised the city in Fengqiu to serve the country. I will report it to the prince and ask for merit for you." Yang Xuanzang stepped forward to help the injured Yuan Zheng up. The latter was already in tears. Two uncles were dead, and three One of his younger brothers also died. He himself was slashed on the arm and was probably disabled.

Yuan Zheng cried bitterly: "The general saved the people from fire and water, and the people of Fengqiu have nothing to repay. Please accept Yuan Zheng's worship."

Yang Xuanzang sighed with a look on his face. There were many dead people and few living people in the entire city. All he could see were ruins and broken walls, with wailing women and children.

I didn't save much either.
The confidant General You Shanhe said: "General, we should quickly go to Baima County to set up defenses. We should not stay here."

There was not much food left. Looking at Fengqiu's condition, don't expect to be able to replenish it from here, so Yang Xuanzang needed to leave as soon as possible and go to Baima County, the capital of Dongjun.

Because Baima County is close to the Yellow River, the reinforcements heading east from Banzhu Pier must pass through here before landing on the other side. Xuanzong must ensure the safety of the army crossing the river.

"Fengqiu City will be handed over to you. When the chaos is calmed down, you and I will see each other again," Yang Xuanzang patted Yuan Zheng on the shoulder and led his troops away from the dilapidated county town.

He had already sent a small group of food-seeking troops to nearby villages to ask for food from the landlords. Anyone who refused to give them would be killed directly.

In the past, officers and soldiers would also rob the food from people's homes, but Xuan Zong did not dare to do this because he knew that the prince was very taboo about this.

No matter how great his achievements were, if he dared to rob civilians, the prince would not spare him.

Xiao Mian has entered the territory of Qinghe County. Gao Shida does not dare to attack the county town, but he dares to do it. If there is no food, there is nothing he dare not do.Lao Cui's family didn't want to be tough with Xiao Mian, so they had no choice but to hand over [-] shi of grain.

After Xiao Mian obtained the food, he immediately withdrew his troops and took secluded roads, bypassing various counties and heading to Wuyang County. From here, he planned to cross the Yellow River eastward, enter Shandong, and then go south.

As for the cake Zhai let him draw, he didn't pay any attention to it.

Li Yangcang gives me half?If you really want to fight it down, you won’t be able to let it go.

In Qinghe County, a group of big shots from the Cui family are currently at the home of Prefect Xie Wen. They want to say good things.

"In order to protect the city and provide peace to the people, we have no choice but to provide food to the rebels. The prefect is my father-in-law, Qinghe. You will understand, right?" Cui Fuli, the head of the family, said.

You understand, I'm sorry, the rebels are going south, and I'm going to borrow food from you to recruit troops. If I can't borrow it, you take the initiative to give it to them as soon as they lay siege to the city.

People are so mean, they take hard things but not soft things.

Xie Wen smiled and said: "Don't worry, sir, no one will know about this. If the court asks about it in the future, I will say that the rebels robbed it themselves and have nothing to do with your family."

In his heart, he looked down on what the Cui family had done, but out of consideration for the overall situation, he had to choose to cover it up.

The old Cui family is in the center, and there are two big bosses, Cui Junsu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Cui Junchuo, the minister of Taipu Temple. Although Xie Wen is from Yang Guang and has a close relationship with the prince, he will not provoke the Cui family casually.

Cui Junzhou, the prime minister of Qinghe County, said with a smile: "Now that Qinghe County has not been ravaged by rebels, it is the prefect who has made the greatest contribution to protecting our rivers and mountains."

In fact, Lao Cui's family usually doesn't give Xie Wen a good look, but now they are like this because they have been caught.

Xie Wen smiled and said: "There is still a group of rebel thieves in Gaojibo, with more than [-] people gathered. How can we say that there are no thieves in the territory?"

"There is nothing to worry about as a thief like Gao Shida," Cui Junshi said: "The rebels in Gaojibo have always robbed merchant ships and have not invaded counties. Now I heard that they are heading north, so I think they want to fight with the thieves. Let us unite our troops with humility to fight against Duke Rong."

Cui Junzhou is the third brother of Cui Junsu and Cui Junchuo, but Cui Junshi is just a cousin to them, both of whom are of the Jun generation. This person had a great-granddaughter in history who married a man named Du Xian and gave birth to a son named Du Fu, that is to say, Du Fu's mother was born in the Cui family of Qinghe.

Cui Junshi's family was quite powerful, and his descendants produced three prime ministers in the Tang Dynasty.

Xie Wen smiled and said: "I know that the thief has the tendency to go north, but you know this, why don't you help me destroy this thief?"

"It's not enough," Cui Junshi said: "We have more than enough to defend, but we don't have the power to counter the rebellion. It's a great blessing that the county is now stable. Qinghe is the key to the Yongji Canal water transportation hub. It's extraordinary that we can maintain the current situation." Not easy."

Xie Wen sighed inwardly. He had no choice. He had already tried all the methods he could think of. But in Qinghe, only Cui had the final say. As a prefect, he had a false reputation.

Even though his backstage is already tough enough, he still has no tricks.

Not to mention him, it would be the same even if a royal family member were placed here.

The power of the Cui family is too great. If there are rebels in the territory and they don't suppress them, they just keep raising tigers. In this way, if the court borrows food from them, it will have an excuse to shirk it.

Gao Shida did not dare to provoke the Cui family. He just plundered the ships along the Yellow River and subdued the bandit deserters who went south. Now that he had become powerful, he still did not dare to challenge the Cui family and only dared to develop northward.

Therefore, Qinghe County is the most peaceful place in Hebei right now.

You can scold him, he has managed his own one-third of an acre of land well, but don't scold him, just ignore the overall situation.

In fact, the Cui family is not to blame. When there was trouble in Hebei in the past, it was not that they didn't help, but if you come here every one or two years, they can't handle it.

Especially the current turmoil in Hebei is the worst since the founding of the People's Republic of China. At this time, the Cui family only wants to preserve their strength and wait and see the situation.

This is why Yang Ming feels that Hebei needs to quell the rebellion in time and quickly. Once the wealthy families here abandon the imperial court, it will be difficult to do so.

"The nobles have had dealings with the prince. Now that the prince has personally arrived in Luoyang to take charge, it will only take a few months for the army to go north," Xie Wen said: "By then, you princes should no longer be stingy."

This has been made clear. I know you have strength, but if you don't contribute, I don't care. I can't handle you. The prince is here, so you have to be mean, right?

Cui Fuli said with a smile: "Don't worry, Governor. The day when the army moves north will be the day when the Cui family will serve. They will be on the hills and only move for one day."

Xie Wen smiled and cursed in his heart.

You are just waiting for someone to order the dishes.