lady, please calm down

Chapter 388 Who dares to fight with a sword?

The second year of Xuanqing, the first day of the first lunar month.

Heavy fog fell from the sky, and chaos reigned ten steps away.

On that day, three thousand civilians who had been forcibly recruited from Hejian Prefecture on the north bank arrived in Fucheng. Before they could rest, they turned into dozens of teams and were driven by the Jin army to demolish houses and demolish houses in various villages to collect equipment that could be used to build siege equipment. wood.

But in just one morning, the Jin army suffered hundreds of casualties.

A team of 100 people belonging to Guo An's department even mysteriously disappeared in Beiwan Village, ten miles east of Fucheng. It was not until the afternoon that they escaped back. The civilians stumbled and said, "There are ghosts in the fog."

After crossing the river for several days, the Jin army had already discovered that there were no living creatures in the villages within dozens of miles.

Walking in the countryside, except for the sound of your own footsteps and the whistling wind, there is no movement, like a dead ghost land.

Today another incident occurred where a whole group of brothers disappeared mysteriously. Combined with the horrific phenomenon that occurred on the boundary river on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, people were panicked for a while.

The deputy general of the Jin Army, Wanyan Xiebao, did not believe in evil and immediately asked for orders to lead a thousand elite Jin troops to search near Beiwan Village.

Wanyan Zongbi had been able to dominate the world for more than twenty years, so he was certainly not a reckless man, so he stopped Xie Bao.

His judgment this time was extremely accurate. The missing Bo Jin army had already been killed in Beiwan Village.

Because the tunnels in Beiwan Village were the most complete and developed, Zhang Wuluan, who commanded the people outside the city, deployed heavy troops here. After luring the Jin army into the village, he ambushed and killed them without any effort by relying on the favorable location and hand-held crossbows. In the village.

Zhang Wuluan guessed that the Jin army had lost a whole team of 100 men and would definitely come to retaliate, so he specifically contacted the horse army of Brigadier Yao who was wandering outside.

On that day, the eldest son hid in the heavy fog outside the village, waiting for the Jin army to come, and then planned to kill the enemy by surprise.

After all, the dense fog that made it impossible to see anything ten steps away was a great obstacle to the Jin army, but the Huaibei horse army, which was familiar with the local terrain, could rely on the protection of the fog to launch a sudden attack and quickly leave the battlefield.

Unfortunately, Zongbi stopped Wanyan Xiebao, and the eldest son, Zhou Liang, waited in ambush outside the village until dusk. No Jin came, so he had no choice but to retreat temporarily.

They didn't get a fight here, but in the calm Cangzhou City, Xiao Xin couldn't sit still.

Since he had no choice but to move south more than ten years ago, Xiao Xin has made great ambitions, vowing to drive the Jin captives out of the Central Plains and restore China to the Han Dynasty.

However, this goal was far away in the past, and Xiao Xin was ready to fight for it for the rest of his life.

It wasn't until the ninth year of Fuchang, when Fanjiazhuang in Yingshang County was in crisis, that he met the young general who was only a few months older than him, that this goal suddenly became clear.

But now, the Kingdom of Jin was on the north bank of the Jiehe River more than twenty miles away. When he learned that Zongbi's main force had been firmly attracted to Fucheng, he could no longer hold back.

It's almost dusk on the first day of the lunar month.

After standing in the city for a day, Xiao Xin came to the Cangzhou government office and met with Chen Yinglang.

In November last year, thirteen officials from Cangzhou Prefecture, subordinate to the prefect Hong Tuoye, were questioned and escorted to Beijing. There was no time to re-appoint officials in a short time. At this time, official affairs were temporarily handled by Chen Yinglang, Lu Yuanke and others.

The various forces in Cangzhou Prefecture are complicated, including Xiaoxin's 8th Regiment from Huaibei, Wuhe and Wusu's two old Xiang armies who are short of officers, and Pan Xiong, who has more than a thousand people with the Laocheng Battalion as the backbone.

Chen Yinglang, perhaps worried that he was young and lacked official experience, would be dissatisfied by all parties, so he no longer concealed his relationship with Ayu, and even intentionally or unintentionally revealed the fact that Zhu Chun and Guo Lin were disciples of the King of Chu.

Sometimes, personal abilities are far less convincing than in-law relationships.

Sure enough, after learning that his cousin was the concubine of the King of Chu, officials at all levels, including Pan Xiong, treated Chen Yinglang with great respect, even to the point of obeying his orders.

Nowadays, he and Xiao Xin are the ones who have the most say in Cangzhou City.

To show respect, Xiao Xin specifically informed Chen Yinglang before taking action.

"Crossing the river tonight? Isn't it a little early?"

Xiao Xin's mission originally focused on taking the opportunity to cross the river and harass the Jin army's rear, but the initial agreement at that time was to wait for Fucheng to achieve certain results before taking action. The current situation was unclear, and Chen Yinglang couldn't help but worry.

"Brother Chen, during the meeting last month, the King of Chu repeatedly asked us to make decisions when the opportunity arises. Now that there is heavy fog, it is a God-given opportunity!"

Xiao Xin is very determined!

The confidence is also related to Chen Chu. At that time, Chen Chu said personally that after the Jin army entered the country, it would be inconvenient to communicate with various places. If there was a fighter opportunity, they could decide on their own whether to fight or retreat.

Such orders gave soldiers everywhere great autonomy.

With autonomy, there is an opportunity to exert the subjective initiative of officers at all levels. Of course, the premise is that everyone clearly understands the purpose of this battle.

For example, right now, although Cangzhou is far away from the battlefield, if Xiao Xin's move is successful, it will definitely reduce the pressure on Fucheng.

Chen Yinglang also understood this, and after thinking for a moment, he said: "Brother Xin is naturally more skilled than me in the military field. But entering the country alone is very dangerous."

"Haha." Xiao Xin smiled heartily, but said: "Since ancient times, how can there be a foolproof strategy for military affairs? Brother Yu believes that the war situation is delicate at this time, and it is necessary to take risks. A little risk is worth it."

Seeing that he was determined, Chen Yinglang also made up his mind, "Okay! The King of Chu often said that Jiaxuan has the talent of a marshal. Brother Xin gave it a try, maybe it can open up the current situation!"

After getting Chen Yinglang's consent, the resolute Xiao Xin transferred one thousand elites from the Eighth Regiment that night, supported by Pan Xiong's five hundred elites, and then gathered the horses of Wu He and Wu Su to form a five hundred horse army and one army. Thousands of horsemen and infantry crossed the river at midnight that night.

The Eighth Regiment adapted from the original Flying Tiger Army is mainly composed of the sons of Xin and Fan and their villagers.

Among the soldiers, there are many brothers, uncles and nephews, and their cohesion is extraordinary.

Over the past few years, Xiao Xin recruited many veterans from Huaibei from Chen Chu to serve as middle and lower-level officers, and the training methods were exactly the same as those in Huaibei.

Moreover, all food, wages, and weapons were supplied by Huaibei, so there were no logistical worries. He could concentrate on training, and Chen Chu rarely interfered.

With this superior officer, Xiao Xin felt very happy, but after years of eating military rations, he tried his best to prove that the Eighth Regiment was not just a bunch of show-offs.

Xiao Xin knew that his eighth regiment was very powerful!

But the outside world doesn't know about this little-known team that was born out of a militia.

He has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

However, although Xiao Xin is docile on the surface and seems to be able to be friends with everyone, in fact he is very high-spirited and not many people can catch his eye.

Pan Xiong, who was full of gangsterism, was not Xiao Xin's favorite temperament, but the former had extensive contacts. Not only was he familiar with the geographical situation of Hejian Prefecture in the Kingdom of Jin, but he also had many brothers who lived in the underworld of the Kingdom of Jin.

Therefore, Xiao Xin decisively abandoned his personal likes and dislikes and took Pan Xiong with him.

Pan Xiong was looking for an opportunity to make meritorious deeds, so he readily accepted the call.

Lang was in love with his concubine, and in just one night, the two became like long-lost brothers.

On the second day of the first lunar month, after a night of urgent travel, Xiaoxin's troops arrived ten miles east of Shucheng Town, Hejian Prefecture, where they met the "heroes" of the North who had been contacted by Pan Xiong.

The so-called heroes come from three religions and nine streams, and among them there are even small officials and servants from Hejian.

On the occasion of employing people, Xiao Xin did not show any disdain on his face. After some compliments and promises, he asked Pan Xiong to lead dozens of people in casual clothes and sneak into the city with Dai Fang, the jailer of Hejian Prefecture.

The two sides parted for the time being, and Xiao Xin led his army to lurk outside Shucheng until late at night.

Shucheng is called a city, but it is actually a town, with only three soldiers stationed there. At midnight, Xiao Xin led two companies to attack the town. Sergeant Sanshi was unable to resist, and the battle ended in less than a hundred breaths.

But even though there was a disparity in military strength, there were still some 'lucky' soldiers who fled to Hejian Fucheng, thirty miles away.

Hejian Mansion was the place where the Jin army's grain and grass were transferred. Half of the five thousand sergeants left on the north bank were stationed at the Leshou Camp next to the boundary river, and another thousand were stationed scattered in various counties and passes.

Hejian Prefecture, which belongs to the rear area, has more than 1,500 Jin troops stationed in it. Knowing that Shuhe Town, thirty miles away, was attacked by the Qi army, Ruan Xianfang, the prefect of Hejian, hurriedly sent a battalion of Jin troops east to recover Shucheng.

According to the soldiers who escaped from our side, the Qi army only had more than 200 men. This small number of troops could only serve as a harassment.

Sure enough, on the early morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year, when a battalion of the Jin army rushed to Shucheng, the Qi army had already retreated and probably fled back to Qi State.

But what caught Ruan Xianfang off guard was that night, the Qi cavalry army actually appeared in Taicheng County, 120 miles north of Shucheng. Taicheng was more than 200 miles away from the front line. No one could have imagined that the Qi army would appear overnight. here.

Firstly, there was no defense, and secondly, the defense force with only a few hundred old and weak people was vulnerable to a single blow.

Taicheng County was actually lost.

Not to mention the cowardice of the Qi army, even when the Zhou Kingdom was strong and prosperous, they never touched the northern cities!

In the past two hundred years, for the first time in the Liao and Jin dynasties, a city fell.

Ruan Xianfang was furious, and then he was horrified. Zong Bi was on the front line. If he learned that he had lost a city, not to mention his official hat, he would be in doubt whether he could keep his meal.

But he didn't dare to conceal military information, so he had to order people to move slowly and report the matter to Zong Bi, while organizing forces to prepare to recapture Taicheng.

He hoped that the best result would be that when Zong Bi knew about this, he would have recaptured Taicheng so that he could make up for his mistakes.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Ruan Xianfang, as a civilian official, led two battalions of sergeants, servants, and civilians, a total of two thousand people. He hurriedly traveled for a day and night and finally arrived at Taicheng in the afternoon of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

However, all the officers, magistrates and other civil and military personnel stationed in the city were dead, but the Qi army voluntarily abandoned the city three hours ago.

Through interrogation of the people in the city, it was learned that this Qi army was not only 200 strong, but perhaps more than a thousand.

At this point, Ruan Xianfang suddenly had an ominous premonition.

On the fifth night of the Lunar New Year, Xiao Xin, who had made a comeback, suddenly appeared at the gate of Hejian Mansion. Under the guidance of the jailer Dai Fang, Pan Xiong and others seized the east gate.

Welcome!

There were only a few hundred defenders left, and under the combined efforts of the inside and outside, they resisted for less than half an hour and were completely defeated.

Hejian Mansion changes owner.

The significance of Hejian Mansion is far beyond that of Shucheng and Taicheng.

This place was the place where tens of thousands of Jin troops on the front line were transported for food and grass. That night, after Xiaoxin killed all the officials in Hejian, he left a line of large characters on the screen wall of the yamen: "I am willing to be the driver of the Jin captives, and I swear to kill them!" '

Later, Xiao Xin ordered people to open the warehouse where the military rations were stored and moved tens of thousands of tons of military rations to the streets and outside the city gate.

The Jin army did not have the habit of carrying food with them in battle. They originally planned to occupy the Hebei Road of Qi State and eat locally. However, the northern part of the Hebei Road had already been fortified and cleared, and not a single grain of food could be found.

So Zongbi issued a military order and strictly asked Ruan Xianfang to collect grain from the river. All these military grains were taken out of the people's mouths one by one.

Therefore, when the army rations were placed on the streets and outside the city as if they were ownerless, many people who were worried that they would starve to death this winter gradually couldn't resist the temptation.

During the military chaos, no one dared to take food privately while hiding at home in the first half of the night, but in the second half of the night

Anyway, early the next morning, the food on the streets and outside the city magically disappeared.

Even the road has been swept, and the grain scattered in the cracks between the bricks and in the dust has not been missed.

In the bitter cold and unproductive winter days, every grain of food is precious.

Here, Xiao Xin even took the eighth regiment to rest in the city for a whole day.

On the sixth day of the lunar month, Ruan Xianfang reacted and led his troops to fight back for reinforcements. At the same time, after receiving the news, the Le Shou Camp also divided a thousand troops and rushed towards Hejian Fucheng.

On the evening of the sixth day of the lunar month, Xiaoxin led his troops to withdraw from Hejian Fucheng again.

Fan Rushan, the battalion commander of Ma Jun Camp of the Eighth Regiment and Xiao Xin's brother-in-law, was still a little unsatisfied and suggested: "Jia Xuan, we have fought several times. The Jin Army that is said to be invincible in the world is nothing more than this. We might as well wait for an opportunity to ambush outside the city." , eat one of the two returning Jin armies!"

Xiao Xin turned around and looked at the Hejian Fucheng with the city gate open, and said with a smile: "We only have so many people, even if we eat one of them, it won't be very interesting."

The deputy of the Eighth Regiment, Hao Siliang, who was born in the Huaibei Army, was mature and prudent, and nodded in agreement, "Commander Xin came north this time and turned Hejian Mansion upside down. He has made a great contribution by retreating now."

Hearing this, Fan Rushan said with a hint of regret: "Hey, it's a pity that I couldn't have a good fight with Jin Jun. I'm afraid I won't have another chance when I return to Cangzhou."

Xiao Xin tightened her waist and turned to face north, but said: "Who said we have to withdraw?"

"Ah? If we don't fight or retreat, what are we going to do?" Fan Rushan asked curiously.

Xiao Xin, who was sitting on the horse, raised his arm and pointed northward, "Go north! Keep going north. Now the Jin Kingdom's Nanjing Road is weakly defended. If the Jin Army in Fucheng doesn't come back, we will keep going north! I want to Let's see if we hit Han Qixian and Guo An's home base, can they still stay in Fucheng!"

"." Hao Siliang looked at Xiao Xin dumbfounded, as if he was shocked by his bold idea.

"Hahaha!"

Fan Rushan was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Okay! Continue heading north!"

On the morning of the seventh day of the lunar month, Ruan Xianfang, the prefect of Hejian, took the lead in rushing back to Hejian Fucheng. However, when he saw the heads of his colleagues in the government office and the arrogant words left on the screen wall, he wanted to cry but had no tears.

After being played by this elusive Qi army for several days, Ruan Xianfang's mentality collapsed. The frustration of being played by his opponent and the huge pressure of how Zong Bi would deal with him in the future made Ruan Xianfang's mentality collapse.

At this moment, another news brought by the staff completely overwhelmed Ruan Xianfang. The army rations were gone, not a single grain was left.

There is still a chance of losing the city, but there is no military food. Considering how harsh the Jin people were to the Han officials, the Yi tribe was already taking it easy.

When everything was despairing, his staff, who were all at risk, reminded him: "My lord! At this time of life and death, you need to be decisive!"

Ruan Xianfang had a nervous breakdown and glanced at his staff in bewilderment. The latter looked left and right and whispered again: "The only solution for now is to go south!"

"!"

Ruan Xianfang looked shocked, but then he thought carefully and realized that this was indeed the only way to survive.

A true man, when it is time to cut it off, cut it off!

On the eighth day of the lunar month, a Qi cavalry army suddenly captured the Mozhou Changchuan Army Village in the north of Hejian Prefecture. After a little supply, it headed north and passed by Xiongzhou City.

The next day, Qi's cavalry army fell into Baigou Station for half an hour and crossed the Juma River.

The next day, the troops arrived at Guiyi City. This was already the hinterland of the Jin Kingdom. After Guiyi City, there were Fanyang and Liangxiang. Further north, there was the Nanjing City of the Jin Kingdom, which was called Yanjing in ancient times.

This land has not seen an army of the Han Dynasty for more than 300 years since the Jin Dynasty Shi Jingtang surrendered it to the Liao Dynasty after the Five Dynasties.

Although the cavalry army of the Qi Kingdom was unable to capture the city due to their limited strength, their arrogant attitude as if they were entering an uninhabited land caused the entire Nanjing Road of the Jin Kingdom to tremble with fear.

Urgent letters for help from all over the country flew to Zongbi's desk like snowflakes.

The ninth day of the lunar month.

Ruan Xianfang, the prefect of Hejian Prefecture in the Kingdom of Jin, led his troops, secretly crossed the river, and surrendered to Qi in Jiaohe County.

This is another piece of news that can shock the world.

On that day, Chen Chu received the detailed battle report of the Eighth Regiment in Jin Kingdom for the first time.

In my excitement, I wrote this: "Who dares to draw a sword and stand on horseback, but I am General Xin!" '

(End of this chapter)