There is also a long canyon to the south of Jianxiao Pass, but the canyon is wider, up to a hundred feet wide. A hundred steps away is a turning point, a 70-degree turn. The canyon turns to the southwest, and after walking for several miles, it turns to the southeast. The entire canyon
It's an 'S' shaped route.
At this time, more than a thousand Song troops were standing against the cliff at the bend of the canyon. Chen Qing stood behind a large stone and watched the negotiations at the city gate.
Yang Yuanqing's heart was in suspense, "Why is the other party's general here? This may be bad."
Chen Qing waved his hand, "Calm down, things haven't reached that point yet, let the crossbowmen prepare!"
Yang Yuanqing turned around and shouted in a low voice: "The crossbowmen are ready!"
Three hundred crossbowmen holding military crossbows were ready, waiting for the final order.
At the edge of the city, General Wang Lian pointed at the big stone and said angrily: "What is this thing that is being transported?"
Dutou quickly stepped forward to report: "General, this is a strange stone. The old man of the Jiang family sent people to get it from Bianliang. It was used by the emperor in the past."
Of course Wang Lian knew that Mr. Wang loved stones and called himself a stone madman, but he was not as ignorant as Du Tou. He said angrily: "The emperor is playing with Taihu stones. You are a fucking Taihu stone. Do you think I don't understand?"
The fat and black steward is dressed up as Dutou Zheng Ping. His father and grandfather are both businessmen, and he has been influenced since he was a child. He dresses up as a steward and businessman, and it can be said that he is very realistic.
Zheng Ping hurriedly stepped forward and said: "General, this is not the Taihu Stone, this is the Lingbi Stone. It resembles Fan Kuan's Xishan Traveling Picture, so it is called the Xishan Traveling Stone. It caused a sensation in Bianliang in the second year of Xuanhe. It is
We spent 2,000 guan to buy the emperor's treasure at that time. It is worth at least tens of thousands of guan. Next month, the old man will celebrate his 70th birthday, so this is his birthday gift."
This is also bullying soldiers who have no education and knowledge. How can such square boulders be related to the Xishan Travel Map?
Wang Lian also received an invitation for Mr. Jiang's birthday next month. Normally, he could give him some face and just let the stone pass, but as a general, he was under great pressure. He had to find salaries for three hundred soldiers.
Other Han troops could plunder the county town and make a fortune, but his army had no chance. They guarded this bare pass with thirty Jurchen soldiers watching them.
The materials in the warehouse can't even be sold.
There is no way to make soldiers rich, and without salary, soldiers will flee. Once a soldier flees too much, his head will not be saved.
Therefore, Wang Lian will not let go of any opportunity to make money, even if it is Mr. Jiang who he is very familiar with.
Wang Lian looked at Du head and said coldly: "A famous stone worth tens of thousands of guan, but you only tax it at 2,000 guan. Do you think it is appropriate?"
Sweat was streaming down his forehead. He secretly cursed Wang Lian for having a nose as sharp as a dog. He hurriedly said: "Beizhi is a big boss and doesn't understand the value of this stone. In Beizhi's view, it is worthless."
!”
"Don't do this to me. How much benefit do you get, do you think I don't know? I tell you, this stone must be taxed at the highest level. If you don't tax it, you will pay the difference yourself!"
"I understand the humble position!"
Everyone was sweating profusely and ran over to Zheng Ping and said: "Manager Wang, I'm so sorry. The general said that you must pay a tax of fifty guan, otherwise you will not be able to enter the customs!"
Isn’t it hard to ask for money? I’m afraid they won’t accept the money.
Zheng Ping pretended to be extremely reluctant and spent thirty thousand dollars to pay the tax. It had to be copper coins, not iron coins.
Wang Lian finally let them go and shouted: "Slow down when entering the gate, be careful not to break the city gate!"
The guys were driving the donkey in front, and Zheng Ping also ran to the front to lead the way, shouting: "Go in the middle, be careful not to hit the city gate!"
The wooden trailer pulled the boulder weighing several kilograms forward little by little, and slowly entered the city gate. But at this moment, there was a loud bang, the two axles broke almost at the same time, and the boulder sat heavily on the ground.
Immediately afterwards, the five men pulled out their daggers and stabbed the donkey in the head. More than a dozen donkeys were killed at the same time, and the five men ran towards Guancheng.
This series of changes happened so suddenly, almost at the same time, that everyone was stunned. At this moment, hundreds of Song soldiers suddenly appeared around the corner, raising their crossbows and firing them together.
The dense crossbow bolts were fired at the city gate. The soldiers were unable to dodge and fell down one after another. Wang Lian was also hit by an arrow in the shoulder. He staggered and fell to the ground.
Wang Lian lay on the ground and shouted in pain: "Close the city gate quickly!"
"General, the city gate is blocked and cannot be closed!"
Wang Lian finally understood what nonsense these strange rocks were. They were clearly ordinary rocks used to block doors. These bastards!
He punched the ground hard, struggled to get up and fled into the city.
The cavalry of the Song Army appeared, and three hundred cavalry rushed towards them like lightning, stirring up billowing yellow dust. Chen Qing brandished his big iron spear and led the way. For the horses, the distance of a hundred steps was only an instant.
Chen Qing shouted loudly, opened the gate with an iron spear, and rushed into the city first. Three hundred cavalry also rushed into the city from both sides of the boulder like a strong wind.
Behind, 700 infantrymen also ran quickly with spears in hand. Although they were small in number, their momentum was terrifying. They were not much behind the cavalry, and they soon entered Guancheng.
As soon as the Song Army cavalry entered Guancheng, dozens of arrows were fired at them at high speed. Several Song Army cavalrymen were unable to dodge and were hit by arrows and fell off their horses.
Chen Qing shot away a few spike arrows that were shot at him, and then he realized that thirty Jurchen cavalry were coming towards him.
Chen Qing roared and went forward to fight. The iron spears stabbed like a storm, and four or five Jurchen cavalry were knocked off their horses by him.
Chen Qing did not find Zheng Ping and others. He glanced around and found an enemy general leading dozens of soldiers trying to rush up the corridor of the city wall. Zheng Ping and five of his men used spears to hold up the corridor.
They were all wearing civilian clothes and no armor. Two of their companions had been shot by arrows and fell to the ground. Their lives and deaths were unknown. The situation was very critical.
"You guys go up!"
Chen Qing asked his cavalry to rush up to resist the Jin soldiers. He took off his bow, drew an arrow, drew the bow and fired quickly, and a wolf-tooth arrow shot at the enemy general like lightning.
The enemy general Wang Lian heard the wind behind his head, but it was too late as the arrow was moving too fast.
'puff!'
An arrow shot through his helmet, and the tip of the arrow came out from his forehead. Wang Lian was killed on the spot and fell down on his back.
Only then did the soldiers on the corridor realize that a large number of Song troops had entered the city, and they turned around and fled down the city.
All one thousand Song soldiers rushed into Guancheng, and all thirty Jurchen cavalry were killed. The remaining Han soldiers threw off their helmets and armor and ran wildly towards the north city to escape for their lives.
But they were soon overtaken by the cavalry, and it was useless to kneel down and beg for mercy. They were killed one by one by the cavalry, and not one of the more than 300 defenders was able to escape.
Two of Zheng Ping's men were killed in the battle. They were wearing men's cloth clothes and could not withstand the enemy's bows and arrows. Zheng Ping was also hit by an arrow, but it did not hurt his vitals. He bandaged it a little and rushed to the warehouse.
.........
Yang Yuanqing was responsible for leading the soldiers to clean up the enemy corpses, but Chen Qing led a dozen of his men to the warehouse.
The warehouse is made of bluestone and consists of more than twenty rooms. It is divided into two rows, the front row is the grain and grass warehouse, and the back row is the material warehouse.
A ten-foot-high wall was built around it using logs and bricks, which shows the importance of the warehouse. Even the barracks do not have this treatment.
The soldiers opened a dozen grain and grass warehouses in the first row and pulled out one person from the haystack.
"Spare my life...ah!"
The captured man was kneeling on the ground. Judging from his clothes, he must have been a civil servant. He kowtowed desperately and begged for mercy, his voice filled with tears. The Song army killed all the defenders without leaving any survivors, which really frightened this man.
Chen Qing took a look at him and saw that he was about thirty years old, with a thin build and a long face. He looked like a scholar at first glance, and his eyes were full of panic.
"who are you?"
"The villain is the treasurer. He manages these warehouses, keeps accounts and takes inventory, etc."
"What's your name? Where are you from?"
"The villain's name is Du Min, and he is from Qianyang County. The villain is not a Han army, nor did he surrender to the Jin soldiers. The original treasurer was killed by the Jin soldiers, and the villain was captured by them."
The man was shaking with fear and was about to cry.
Chen Qing pointed his spear at him and said coldly: "You'd better tell the truth. I'll know your details by randomly interrogating a few people."
"The villain didn't lie. He was captured by them ten days ago. He still has a wife and children at home. I dare not disobey him!"
"Get up! I have something to ask you."
The man stood up tremblingly. Chen Qing pointed to the warehouse and asked, "How much grain and how much fodder is there?"
"Reporting back to the general, there are 1,200 shi of wheat, 300 shi of rice, 100,000 dans of fodder, 3,000 jins of cured meat and several hundred dans of pickled vegetables."
One stone of grain is enough to feed a soldier for two months, and fifteen hundred stone of grain is enough to feed them for three months. There is also enough fodder.
"There should be some food in the cellar!" Dutou Zheng Ping couldn't help but said.
He had done his homework beforehand and had a good understanding of the situation in the city.
"There is frozen mutton and wine in the cellar. The Jurchens do not eat cured meat. They want to eat fresh mutton. The wine is also theirs. The Han army is not eligible to enjoy it."
Chen Qing felt that he had missed something extremely important, but his mind was stuck for a moment and he couldn't remember it.