Tens of thousands of people suddenly panicked. Children were crying, women were screaming, all their belongings and luggage were thrown away, and carts were speeding up. Everyone was scrambling to escape.
A thousand Western cavalrymen were like a solid rock, blocking the movement of the nomadic cavalry. They fought hard to kill the enemy with the determination to die, and killed the nomadic cavalry with heavy casualties.
The 20,000 nomadic cavalry were angry, gave up chasing the people, and surrounded and suppressed this lone army with all their strength. Arrows were like a rapid rain, swords and spears were like a forest, and the shouts of killing were loud.
The Western Army's cavalry became less and less as the battle progressed. Li Mai and the last three hundred cavalrymen who were seriously injured were finally swallowed up by the tide of 20,000 cavalry, and all one thousand Song Army cavalry were killed.
When they bought the fleeing people half an hour, tens of thousands of fleeing people were getting closer and closer to Datong City.
At this time, General Zhe Yanzhi, the leader of Datong Palace, received the news and immediately led five thousand cavalry out of the city to greet the people.
The cavalrymen helped the old man and the children enter the city first, but Zhe Yanzhi did not see the Yingzhou Song army. He suddenly saw Yingxian County Lieutenant Qi Yuan, urged his horse forward and asked: "Qi County Lieutenant, where are Li Mai and his army?"
Qi Yun pointed to the east and said, "General Li Mai led a thousand cavalry to cover our retreat and went to fight the enemy!"
Zhe Yanzhi quickly looked to the east and saw an overwhelming number of nomadic cavalry heading towards him ten miles away. There were no traces of Song Army cavalry anywhere.
He felt pain in his heart, Li Mai's army must have all been killed.
"Hurry into the city!"
Tens of thousands of people rushed into Datong City, and five thousand cavalry also retreated. The city gates were slammed shut, and the drawbridge was pulled up.
Not long after, a rescue letter was carried by a flying eagle and flew towards Jingzhao City.
What Chen Qing was most worried about came true. The grassland nomadic cavalry began to raid the northern border. Datong Prefecture was the first to be attacked, followed by Lingxia Road.
He immediately ordered Taiyuan Governor Niu Gao to send 20,000 troops to the north to aid Datong Prefecture, and ordered Commander Li Zun to lead 30,000 troops to Lingzhou. Currently, Lingxia's defense is led by Cheng Huan, who has just been promoted to deputy capital commander, leading 20,000 permanent troops.
With 30,000 civilian regiments responsible for guarding, Li Zun's 30,000 troops rushed to Lingzhou, which will inevitably greatly strengthen Lingzhou's defense.
But this was not enough. He had to strengthen the permanent troops in Datong Mansion. In the Huben Army camp in Baqiao, Commander Yan Jun walked into the Chinese army tent, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See you, Your Highness!"
"General Yan, please get up!"
Yan Jun has served as the commander of Chen Qing's personal soldiers for many years. He is one of Chen Qing's closest confidants. Even his wife was introduced by the princess. She is Zhang Yan, the leader of the princess's personal bodyguard.
Chen Qingxiao asked: "How is the situation at home?"
Yan Jun has a son and a daughter. His son Yan Enping is seven years old this year, and his daughter Yan Xiaojiao is four years old. Every time he comes to the palace to play, he will become the little follower of Chen Qing's eldest daughter Chen Bing'er. Their home is a small official residence covering an area of three acres. Yan Jun
's parents also live with them.
"Reporting to Your Highness, my son is in school at Yanqing Elementary School."
Yanqing Primary School is a private school run by Yanqing, the great Confucian king of Guanzhong. It is very famous in Jingzhao. There are thirty children studying there, all aged seven to nine. The annual tuition is 100 guan. It is a place to cultivate outstanding talents.
, Wang Yanqing’s disciples have already produced seven Jinshi.
Yan Jun himself was a martial artist. Of course he wanted to train his son to become a civil servant. Of course, with his income, there was no problem for his son to attend Yanqing Elementary School. The key was to be able to get in. Wang Yanqing only accepted prodigies with extremely high talents. Yan Jun
His son is talented and intelligent, and the princess intercedes with him. Of course, Wang Yanqing must give the princess face.
Chen Qing nodded, "Are you mentally prepared for what I told you last time?"
Yan Jun immediately said: "I am humbled by my position and would like to guard the border!"
Chen Qing nodded, "You are not asked to guard the border all the time. You will be guarding the border for five years. In the winter, the grassland is covered with heavy snow. If there are no border troubles, you can go home to visit relatives and explain it to your parents, wife and children."
"They all support me!"
Chen Qing pondered for a moment and then said: "Zhe Yanzhi gave birth to a son, but he never reported it to the military as required. Of course, I also understand his feelings about having a son after old age, and I will try my best to continue to trust him. Not long ago, he told the military
I asked for help, hoping to increase the garrison of Datong Prefecture. I approved his request, but after careful consideration, I decided to let you lead 20,000 troops to support Datong Prefecture, and at the same time serve as Zheyanzhi's deputy general. The 20,000 troops are actually controlled by
In your hands, do you understand what I mean?"
Yan Jun nodded, "I understand!"
Chen Qing sighed and said: "Zhe Yanzhi violated the rules and concealed the fact that he gave birth to a son from me. There is always a shadow in my heart. Given the importance of Datong Prefecture, once Datong Prefecture is lost, the entire Hebei Road will be lost.
Hedong Road, Shaanxi Road and Lingxia Road all pose a huge threat, so I have to be cautious. After you arrive at Datong Mansion, you must stick to your principles. If you find that Zheyanzhi's order is not good for the defense, you must resolutely dissuade and dissuade him.
If not, please report to me in time."
"His Royal Highness's teachings, please bear in mind your humiliation!"
Chen Qing pondered for a moment and then said: "Zhe Yanzhi is a veteran who has experienced hundreds of battles and ups and downs. I believe in his loyalty. I am worried that someone around him is slandering him. His ears are soft and he has listened to the slander. He walked out of coma.
Zhao, in the end he was sent to Taiyuan Prefecture."
"Your Highness, do you have any clues?"
Chen Qing said slowly: "Datong Mansion has spies from the Intelligence Department. News came a few months ago that Zhe Yanzhi trusted two confidants, one was his staff and the other was his brother-in-law, who gave birth to his son.
The concubine’s brother, the background of these two people cannot be found, it can be said that their origins are unknown. If you go to Datong Mansion, be sure to pay attention to these two people. In addition, Datong Mansion General Magistrate Yelu Qi has a good appearance. I don’t know what’s going on.
, you can ask him."
Yan Jun bowed and said: "I remember my humble position!"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "That's it! Go back and say goodbye to your family, and lead the army to set off early tomorrow morning!"
"I resign from my humble position!"
Before dawn the next day, Yan Jun set out with a mighty force of 20,000 troops. Although the 20,000 troops were all infantry, everyone rode north. At the same time, there were 30,000 camels loaded with supplies and food and grass accompanying the army.
Although Chen Qing sent all his troops to deploy northward, the Mongol-Ughur coalition forces that invaded south this time were not fully prepared. The city of Datong was tall and broad, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. The nomadic cavalry only stayed under the city for ten days.
The north retreated to the grassland.
Although it is not yet a large-scale southward invasion, it has still sounded a defensive alarm for the northern border. It is very likely that next year, the grassland nomadic cavalry, with the support of the Jin Kingdom, will invade the south on a large scale, and the Western Army has another hanging weapon on its head.
With the sword, the strategic pattern developed in a direction that was not conducive to the Western Army.
This morning, the harvest of crops in Chen Qinghou's garden finally arrived. More than 400 corn plants were planted in one field, and nearly 800 corn cobs were broken off, weighing several hundred kilograms. If the corn cobs were removed, the net harvest would be
The weight of the corn kernels is about ninety kilograms, which is what Chen Qing expected. Although the weight may drop again after the water evaporates, Chen Qing believes that after continuous improvement, the yield per mu will definitely exceed one thousand kilograms, and it will become the most important in the north.
One of the food crops.
Chen Qing then handed over all the harvested corn to the Agriculture Department and asked them to plant at least ten acres of corn in official fields outside the city next year.
Pumpkins were also harvested at the same time. Aunt Wen planted a total of twelve vines in three places, and finally harvested twenty large pumpkins. They need to be left for a period of time to fully mature, and then the seeds are taken out and dried. They will be planted in the city next year.
A large number of plants should be planted outside, and they should also be planted in front of and behind people's houses.
The successful cultivation of two high-yielding crops will undoubtedly lay a solid foundation for the growth of the northern population.