When the fleet passed Baling County, another 4,000 people were transferred from the 5,000 defenders, bringing Chen Qing's army to 15,000 people, including 7,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry. The fleet and shore cavalry continued to move toward
Heading west, we arrived at Yiling five days later.
At this time, Xiazhou had been captured by Jiang Yanxian. Thousands of Song troops in Xiazhou retreated to Baidi City and Zigui County to continue to hold on. Jiang Yanxian firmly implemented Wan Yanchang's strategic intention and continued to lead his army to attack Guizhou.
The key to Xiazhou lies in Yiling County, which is today's Yichang. Capturing Yiling County will also open the door to the east line of Bashu, and you can enter Sichuan along the Three Gorges Road.
The guard general of Yiling County was called Wang Bin, a commander under Jiang Yanxian, who led 3,000 people to guard Yiling County.
Yiling County is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It is a middle county. It just blocks the only way to enter the Three Gorges Road. It also has a wharf on the Yangtze River. It is the first stop after Bashu leaves Sichuan. Business has been prosperous here since ancient times. From the wharf to
The county seat is about one mile, with large and small restaurants, inns, teahouses, brothels and shops densely distributed on both sides of the road. Once a passenger ship docks, a large group of waiters and bartenders will come up to warmly invite guests, and many prostitutes will look at them with flirtatious looks.
ogle.
Since Yang Yao was annihilated, the number of cargo ships on the Yangtze River waterway has increased significantly, leaving and entering Sichuan. Yiling County has become more prosperous and lively. Even though the county seat has just been captured by the puppet Qi army, it is still busy with business and extremely lively.
That afternoon, a cargo ship slowly docked. A middle-aged businessman stepped off the ship, followed by a dozen guys, carrying heavy cargo boxes.
As usual, a group of bartenders came forward to solicit customers enthusiastically, "Proprietor, come to our store for a drink! Authentic Yiling sake."
"Come and stay at our inn! Our inn's dedicated warehouse."
"Why did you come here, sir? I want to kill my slave!"
The businessman chuckled and pointed to the county town. When everyone saw that he had a clear destination, they had no choice but to leave angrily, preparing to haul a cargo ship behind him.
The merchant and his men came to the city gate. The puppet Qi army had replaced the city gate, but they did not close the city gate, but the interrogation was very strict.
A Dutou stepped forward and asked: "Where are you coming from? Where are you going?"
The businessman clasped his fists and said with a smile: "I am from this county. My surname is Jiang and my name is Jiang Ming. I am responsible for running errands and delivering goods for others!"
"What kind of goods do you have in these dozens of boxes?"
“It’s all spice!”
"Spices? There is a tax when entering the city!"
There is no need for taxation here, it is clearly for benefits.
The businessman took a handful of money and gave it to Dutou, who shook his head and said, "You are sending beggars away!"
The businessman had no choice but to take a piece of money and give it to him. He said coldly: "A piece of money needs to be opened and inspected. If there is any loss, we will not be responsible!"
The businessman had no choice but to take out an ingot of silver from his arms, weighing about two ounces. "Any more will be gone!"
They all weighed their heads and were finally satisfied. They waved their hands and said, "Let them enter the city!"
The businessman then entered the city with more than a dozen men.
The leader of the porters is Yang Zaixing, and his second-in-command is Gao Ding. Although there are only thirteen people in total, they are all generals with high martial arts skills.
Yang Zaixing asked the businessman in a low voice, "Why don't they search?"
The merchant smiled bitterly and said: "No merchant wants to be searched. Once searched, at least 20% of the goods will be lost. This is a common practice. These soldiers use this to extort merchants. If they don't want to be searched, they have to pay a high price to buy the way."
"
"What if you carry weapons or something?"
"How can you not carry self-defense weapons when you go out? You can definitely find short knives, long swords, bows and arrows, etc., but as long as you don't carry crossbows and long weapons, you will be fine. Besides, they can be purchased in the city, and no one will carry them.
Planting contraband, so the soldiers guarding the city are too lazy to search, collecting money is the key."
The businessman's name was indeed Jiang Ming, and he was also a native of Yiling. He opened a large shop in Jiangling County. The county government specially introduced it to Chen Qing, and Jiang Ming agreed to help Chen Qing's men sneak into the city.
He smiled and added: "Actually, the goods I brought are not valuable, so I'm not afraid of them searching. I just wanted to find an excuse to pay him a bribe. If I gave him money, he wouldn't cause trouble."
Yang Zaixing nodded, "We also want to buy some weapons, can the proprietor buy them?"
"No need to buy it, I have it at home, for a dozen of you, everything from armor to spears and crossbows."
Everyone came to Jiang Ming's house. Jiang Ming's house is not small, covering more than ten acres. His parents, wife and children all live here. He also has a manor outside the city with several hundred acres of land.
Jiang Ming asked the housekeeper to arrange for Yang Zaixing and others to stay in the east courtyard, and told the housekeeper that they were not servants, but samurai guards whom he hired at a high price. They were there to save their lives at critical times, so they had to have good food and accommodation, and they must not neglect it.
The housekeeper agreed and took Yang Zaixing and others to the east courtyard.
The thirteen people only brought their daggers and no other weapons. They ate and rested for a while. Jiang Ming came over and said with a smile: "Mr. Yang, come with me."
Yang Zaixing gave Gao Ding and Liu Qiong a hint. They led several of their subordinates to follow Jiang Ming to the west courtyard and walked into a large windowless room. It was a warehouse filled with all kinds of goods, from furs to cloth to silks.
, as well as fillers such as duck down and goose down.
Jiang Ming moved the goods away, revealing a small door. He opened the door and invited everyone in.
Everyone's eyes lit up, and there was a small arsenal inside, including spears, armor, swords, shields, and crossbows, with dozens of items each.
"Basically every household in Yiling has weapons. We have a total of fifty sets here. They are prepared for my men and villagers, and also to defend their homeland. You can take as many as you need."
Everyone took thirteen sets of armor. In addition, Yang Zaixing and the other three each found an iron spear. Although the workmanship was a bit rough, it was of good weight, and then they returned to the east courtyard.
In addition to the three generals Yang Zaixing, Gao Ding, and Liu Qiong, among the thirteen people, there are ten others who are commanders and heads, including the powerful Liang Gui. Jiang Ming specially found him a forty-pound iron from the blacksmith shop.
hammer.
Without the help of Jiang Ming, a big local businessman, Chen Qing would not have dared to be so careless. If he was taken over, he would have suffered heavy losses.
According to the agreement, they will seize the East City Gate at the third watch tonight.
There is no moat in Yiling, but it is built on the mountainside. To get to the city, you need to climb a relatively steep long slope. It is very difficult to attack the city. Jiang Yan first suffered nearly 4,000 casualties before he captured Yiling.
Chen Qing didn't want to pay such a heavy price, so it was inevitable to take Yiling.
As night fell, Jiang Ming brought an official who was the custodian of the county government. After the puppet Qi army attacked the city, the magistrate and other officials followed the defenders and retreated. The county government was immediately put under military control, and Wang Bin was ordered to control the entire county.
, he still continues to use several custodial officials, otherwise many things will not be possible.
This escort is called Jiang Yun, and he is Jiang Ming's cousin. The Jiang family is considered a local leader in Yiling, with a relatively prosperous population and people from all walks of life in the county.
"Jiang Yanxian set a very strict set of rules before. In fact, Wang Bin did not strictly abide by them. If you follow Jiang Yanxian's rules, you will not be able to enter the city at all. Jiang Yanxian stipulated that no young and strong men who speak with foreign accents are allowed to enter the city. Locals
No more than three men could enter the city at a time. Before entering the city, they had to identify their place of residence, and the defenders were required to conduct inspections every two hours. Wang Bin thought this rule was too cumbersome, so he did not implement it.
Then, the number of people guarding and patrolling the city at night must not be less than 1,000, and the number of people at the east city gate must not be less than 500. All soldiers must wear armor to sleep, and they cannot even take off their shoes. Wang Bin enforced this well, and there were all at night.
One thousand people patrolled and defended, three hundred at the east gate, and one hundred on each side of the city."
"How to take the patrol route?" Yang Zaixing asked.
"There are just two patrol teams, one goes from east to west, and the other goes from south to north. Each team has 200 people."
The east-west street is about five miles long, and the north-south street is four miles long. The patrol team can reach the east city gate in about three miles at most.
Everyone felt a little confused. Jiang Yanxian was really powerful. The defense measures at night were so strict. It was really not easy to seize the city gate.
"How do you open the city gate? Do you need to go to the city?" Yang Zaixing asked again.
He knew that a suspension bridge to protect the city was usually needed to go up to the city, but there was no suspension bridge in Yiling County.
"You have to go to the city. The city gate has three iron bolts as thick as arms. The switch is at the top of the city and cannot be opened from below."
After everyone asked about various details in detail, Jiang Yun took his leave and left.
