In early December, a strong cold wave swept across the land of Guanzhong, followed by heavy snowfall, and the world became a vast expanse. It snowed heavily for two days and two nights. The snow on the official road was waist deep, making transportation very difficult.
Chen Qing's army is temporarily stationed in Zhongnan County. Zhongnan County is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Prefecture. It is a small county located at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain. It has a population of only a few thousand people. The mountains are high and the roads are far away and the roads are difficult and dangerous. After a heavy snowfall, they finally
Nan County was completely isolated from the rest of the world.
Chen Qing chose Zhongnan County because, on the one hand, it has difficult roads and is easy to defend and difficult to attack. On the other hand, it is also very close to Luo Tang Road. Once Zhongnan Mountain cannot be defended, they can quickly pass through a secret mountain road and start from Luo Tang Road.
Withdrew to Hanzhong.
On top of the city, Chen Qing stared at the gray sky while listening to the report from Yan Jun who had just arrived.
"Before he left, Beizi repeatedly told him not to expose his wealth to the prying eyes of thieves. He and his wife were very moved and decided to give Beizi a fine fox skin. It was probably the treasure at the bottom of their family's safe. Beizi couldn't put it off, so he had no choice but to give it away.
I brought it back and put it on the commander’s table.”
"Then what? Did they say what to do next?"
"The humble position persuaded them to go to Zheng County to buy some land, but the couple said Zheng County was not safe and still wanted to stay in the village. It seems that their intention was to buy some land and then hire a gentleman to teach their three children to read."
"What do you think of them?"
Yan Jun nodded, "It can be seen that both the couple are very kind and honest, and the folk customs in that area are like this. The couple regards the two children as their own, and they feel that they are humble. The woman seems to love the little lady more, and specially gives them to her.
The young lady brought back a small silk flower."
"Did they say give some to the mother?"
"Chen Chongyang had this idea, but his wife disagreed. She was very dissatisfied with the child's mother. It seemed that she had taken away all Chen Shangyuan's property and left nothing to the child. I estimate that I would give her a little in the end and give her half of the pension.
."
"How do you feel about those two kids?"
"They are all well-behaved and sensible, especially the little boys. If they are well educated, they may have some potential in the future."
After a pause, Yan Jun whispered: "If the commander cares about them, I will visit them from time to time in the future."
Chen Qing shook his head, "They have their own lives, don't disturb them."
The two children are Chen Shangyuan's children, not his children Chen Qing. Chen Shangyuan is dead. He has arranged the funeral arrangements for Chen Shangyuan and given his children enough wealth. Even if he has settled one of his worries, the boy will be good in the future.
, no matter how secretly he helps, if he achieves this step, he has done his utmost to be benevolent and righteous.
As for letting a child into his life, that would be a big trouble and an impossibility.
Chen Qing looked at the mountains in the distance that were gradually turning gray, and said calmly: "It's going to snow again!"
At this time, Chen Qing suddenly discovered that a camel team below, loaded with medicinal materials, was about to leave the city, but was stopped by soldiers and was not allowed to leave. The proprietor was so anxious that he jumped up and down.
Chen Qing leaned forward and asked, "What's going on?"
"Commander, this man said there is an emergency at home and must leave."
The proprietor stepped forward and knelt down and kowtowed: "General Qi, my father is terminally ill. The doctor said he will not survive this year. I must rush back to see my father for the last time."
Liu Cui stepped forward and begged Chen Qing: "Although I cannot leave the city in principle, this person is out of filial piety. Can I take special care of him?"
Chen Qing saw that there were more than thirty camels owned by merchants, and each camel was fully loaded. At first glance, he looked like a merchant in the fur business.
Chen Qing said calmly: "People can go back to fulfill their filial piety, but the goods and workers will stay behind and we will leave in the spring!"
The businessman was stunned. For a moment, he did not leave. He could only lead the camel back to the city with his head downcast.
Liu Cui was stunned, scratched his head and asked: "How does the commander know that he is lying?"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "If his father really has a problem, he will not come to buy goods and will definitely stay at home. No doctor can guarantee that he will die at the end of the year. In addition, other businessmen use mules and donkeys to transport goods.
The fact that he is a camel means that he is well prepared. You see that his goods are all loaded. Is this because he rushes back to show his filial piety? He obviously wants to go back first and sell it at a better price."
Liu Cui suddenly realized, "When the commander said this, it seems like this is really the case!"
"Of course it could be true, you're a businessman! Usually you don't separate people and goods easily, after all, there is so much capital."
Chen Qing thought about it and said: "Although we don't want to expose our hiding place, we are not disrespectful of human ethics. If his father is really seriously ill, I can let him go. In this way, you can send someone to the merchants to find out more about it."
The truth, if what he says is true, let him go; if it is not true, give him twenty sticks as a warning to other businessmen!"
"I understand the humble position!"
Liu Cui left in a hurry. Chen Qing looked into the distance and said to himself: "The snowstorm is coming again!"
An hour later, the biting cold wind roared in, and the distance once again became blurry. There was a gray blizzard between the sky and the earth, and soon nothing could be seen.
...........
This heavy snowfall didn't last long, and it ended after one day. The sun shone into the county again, and the entire Zhongnan County turned into a world covered in silver.
Groups of children were building snowmen and having snowball fights in the streets and alleys of the county town, and laughter resounded throughout the county town.
Although the county town is built on the mountain, it is not small. The city has a circumference of fifteen miles, and the area is considered a medium-sized county town. However, the permanent population is only a few thousand people. However, as winter approaches, many people living outside the city have also moved in.
They moved into the city for the winter, bringing the county's population to more than 10,000 people.
Zhongnan County relies on mountains to eat mountains and water to eat water. Zhongnan County is backed by Zhongnan Mountain. Naturally, it is mainly mountainous products. It is rich in various medicinal materials, furs, timber, mushrooms, game, especially medicinal materials and furs. It has always been the largest distribution center in Jingzhao Prefecture.
Every autumn and winter, a large number of medicinal materials and fur traders gather in Zhongnan County and do not leave until spring.
Chen Qing's army was stationed in the Chenghuang Temple and Laojun Temple. The two temples were next to each other and occupied a large area. Two thousand cavalry were stationed there.
In the two ambush battles in Lintong County and Zheng County, although they annihilated 6,000 Qi troops, they also paid the price of more than 500 people being killed, and the number of troops was also reduced sharply to more than 1,900 people.
In the past few days, Chen Qing discovered that most of the men in Zhongnan County are strong in martial arts, very good at living in the mountains and forests, and have a high level of bow and arrow. This is related to the martial arts among the people, who have trained in martial arts and bow and arrow since childhood, and it is also convenient for them to make a living in the mountains.
Chen Qing had the idea of recruiting soldiers in the county.
In the morning, Zhang Xiao, an aide, hurriedly walked into Chen Qing's temporary official room, saluted Chen Qing and said: "Commander, I have asked the county magistrate about my humble position. Half of the men in Zhongnan County have military experience. This place has always been the occasion of the war between Song and Xia.
There have long been rumors that the Qi Army is recruiting troops here, which is a key area for the Song Army to recruit soldiers. If we take the lead, we may have a good harvest."
Chen Qing turned around and asked Yuhou Zhou Kuan and Zhang Miaodao: "How much property do we have?"
"Does the commander want to know about food and grass?"
"Let's talk about it together!"
"The supplies and grain have been counted. Now there are 5,000 shi of grain, 2,000 shi of black beans, and 30,000 dan of fodder. This is the grain and grass shipped from Zheng County. The inventory of the captured soldiers and armor has not yet been completed...
"
Chen Qing waved his hand, "Let's not talk about soldiers for now. Let's talk about money. Recruiting soldiers costs money."
"We seized a total of 180,000 taels of official silver, 17,000 taels of gold, 20 boxes of jewelry, 50,000 taels of copper coins, and 50,000 taels of copper coins from the five counties of Xianyang County, Zheng County, Fengyi County, Lintong County and Weinan County.
There are more than 300 vehicles, and the property captured on the battlefield has been rewarded to the soldiers and is not included in them."
Chen Qing nodded and said to the deputy general Yang Yuanqing: "When we withdraw in the spring, we must move lightly. We can only take away silver, gold and jewelry. The remaining food and supplies must be left to the people in the county. This time we
The compensation for recruitment is simply higher. Soldiers who are willing to join the army will be given double settlement money, twenty guan of money per person, and one stone of food. The initial recruitment is 1,000 people, and those who can ride a horse will be given priority."
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Chen Qing then said to Zhang Xiao and the two Yu Hous: "You three will also go and help!"
The three of them bowed and went out with Yang Yuanqing.
Chen Qing came to the map with his hands behind his hands and stared at the Jinbing camp that the monk had previously marked with a small triangular flag. He was really worried. I wonder if Fatty Zheng is safe now?
.........
Zheng Ping still served as the commander of the Xie Cong Army, but his ranking of military commanders rose from the previous eleventh to seventh.
The reason was that Zhang Zhongfu, the emperor and the courtiers, failed to catch the spy Zheng Ping and did not wipe out Chen Qing. He was demoted by Wanyan Wushu to the military envoy of Pingliang Prefecture. However, the deputy commander-in-chief Zhang Linghui did not take up the position, but another one.
Zhao Bin, the deputy commander-in-chief, took over the post of commander-in-chief of Xie Congjun.
After Zhao Bin became the commander-in-chief of the Xie Cong Army, he demoted several of Zhang Zhongfu's confidants and promoted his own confidants to higher positions. In this way, Zheng Ping, who belonged to the neutral faction, was naturally attracted, and his ranking of commanders also rose several positions, ranking seventh.
At noon that day, Zhao Bin was drinking with several commanders in the tent. Because it was snowing and it was too cold, Wanyan Wushu allowed Xie Congjun to drink to keep out the cold.
"Old Zhao, what did the Fourth Prince ask you for this morning?" Zheng Ping asked Zhao Bin, filling a glass of wine.
Zhao Bin sighed and said, "Isn't it about Chen Qing?"
"Is there any news about Chen Qing?" everyone asked together.
Zhao Bin nodded, "I got the news before. The fourth prince didn't say it. It is said that Chen Qing led his army to run rampant in Jingzhao Mansion and led more than 2,000 cavalry to kill 13,000 Qi troops. The Qi troops called him Chen
The devil took no prisoners, killed all 13,000 people, and even built the capital. The 50,000 Qi troops were as fearful as tigers. I heard from the fourth prince that Qi Emperor Liu Yu asked the Wolf Lord for help.
As a result, the Wolf Lord was alarmed. In addition, Chen Qing's previous bloodbath in Pingliang Mansion made the Wolf Lord extremely angry. He personally gave an order to the fourth prince, saying that he would rather seize Da San Pass later than capture Chen Qing's head first."
Li Nong drank the wine in one gulp, "Although Chen Qing is a Song general, his courage is admirable!"
Zheng Ping applauded loudly, "Old Li is right. If the Song Dynasty had more Chen Qing, would the two emperors be kidnapped?"
Everyone was a little embarrassed. Fatty Zheng's mouth was so hateful. They were all once Song generals!
Another general asked cautiously: "Zhao Dutong, won't you ask us to encircle and suppress Chen Qing?"
Zhao Bin shook his head, "Our mission is to find Chen Qing. As for the encirclement and suppression, the commander Wanyan Huonv will be in charge. He has led 5,000 cavalry from Taiyuan. In addition, Wanyan Alupu will also lead 5,000 Jurchen cavalry to cooperate.
."
Zheng Ping frowned and said, "But it's snowing so heavily in Guanzhong and it's difficult to walk. How can we find Chen Qing?"
"You can't walk on foot, but the cavalry can. I'm thinking of dividing our 10,000 cavalry into ten teams and going to various places in Guanzhong to find Chen Qing's whereabouts."
