When Chen Qing returned to the mansion, his newlywed wife Lu Xiu greeted him, "Are the officials going to send your husband to go on an expedition?"
Chen Qing put his wife in his arms, kissed her forehead, and said apologetically: "I originally wanted to take you with me, but now it seems I have to take the first step."
A trace of sadness flashed in Lu Xiu's eyes, and she forced a smile and said: "When the country is in trouble, your husband should put state affairs first. I will reunite with my husband when he stabilizes!"
Chen Qing was pressed for time. He could not take a boat, so he had to rush to Baling on horseback. He could not carry Lu Xiu with him.
He thought for a while and said: "After the second brother's wedding is over, go to Chengdu by boat with them. I will leave Yan Jun and fifteen personal guards to protect you. Zheng Ping's wife and children will also go with you."
"Don't worry, husband! Li Mei's father has been appointed as the general magistrate of Chengdu Prefecture. After attending his daughter's wedding, he will go to Chengdu to take up the post. Maybe we can go together. I will take the master with me when the time comes, and she will be alone.
It’s so pitiful for people to live in Lin’an.”
"It's up to you to decide, but you have to spend the New Year on the road."
Lu Xiu smiled and shook her head, saying it didn't matter. She asked again: "Can your husband attend the second brother's wedding tomorrow?"
Tomorrow is not only Lu Wei's wedding, but also the day when Chen Qing and his wife return home. Chen Qing had to apologize: "The emperor asked me to set off overnight tonight. He even gave me the gold medal for leaving the city, but I can set off before dawn. Tomorrow my father-in-law
Over there, you can only go alone."
Chen Qing immediately called Yan Jun and arranged the mission for them. He left with fourteen people to protect his wife, while Chen Qing took Zhuang Quan and five other soldiers and set off.
That night, the young couple was so affectionate and affectionate that they almost didn't sleep all night.
Before dawn, Chen Qing and five of his soldiers set out on two horses. They took the Muzhou official road and galloped westward.
...........
In the study, Qin Hui paced back and forth with deep thoughts. After all, he was the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty. Is it appropriate to pass such important military aircraft battle reports to the Kingdom of Jin?
But this time it was Chen Qing who led the troops, and Wan Yanchang would definitely blame him for not informing him in advance.
Moreover, Wan Yanchang's plan to prevent Chen Qing from returning to Sichuan and Shaanxi failed. How could he explain to Wan Yanchang if he didn't provide some compensation?
At this time, a black-clothed attendant appeared at the door of the study, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See you, Master!"
Qin Hui pondered for a moment, and finally made up his mind. He took out a wax pill and put it in the box, and handed it to the man in black together with the box, "You rush to the Jinguo Pavilion immediately and give it to Wanyan Qianhu. You must hand it to him personally."
On hand!"
"Follow the order!"
The man in black took the box, bowed and hurried away.
Qin Hui breathed a sigh of relief. Now that he had taken this step, he could not look back no matter what.
...........
In Ziwu Valley, a force of ten thousand gold soldiers was marching rapidly under the personal leadership of Marshal Wanyan Wushu. In addition to carrying grain carts and baggage, they also brought hundreds of craftsmen. Chen Qing took the opportunity to go north through Ziwu Valley.
, destroying all the temporary plank roads and bridges he built.
But for the 10,000 gold soldiers and hundreds of craftsmen, repairing these plank roads and bridges was a piece of cake. In just two days, the two-mile long plank road and three bridges were repaired, and the army continued to move south along the plank road.
Three days later, Wanyan Wushu led his army to Ziwu Pass. At this time, Wanyan Wushu sent someone to call Fu Xuan forward. He pointed at Ziwu Pass in front of him with his riding whip and said, "Go and ask your men to surrender. I will give him a promotion."
!”
"Follow the order!"
Fu Xuan urged him to go up. There were a thousand defenders at Ziwu Pass, half of whom were Fu Xuan's troops. The leader, Wang Chun, was one of Fu Xuan's four great kings.
After Fu Xuan surrendered to the Jin Kingdom, Zhu Shengfei did not take any action to eliminate the risk of Fu Xuan's surrender except for cursing Fu Xuan. For example, the commanders of the two important passes of Ziwu Pass and Raofeng Pass were still Fu Xuan's confidants.
, even Lu Fayuan, the deputy envoy of Xuanfu, asked him to change the general as soon as possible, but Zhu Shengfei said that the crime was not as bad as that of his family and did not agree to change the general.
Now he slapped his butt and ran back to Chengdu, but he left behind a legacy of disaster.
Not long after, Wang Chun led his army to surrender, and Wanyan Wushu was overjoyed. He immediately promoted Wang Chun to the position of commander and ordered him to change his banner and continue to guard Ziwu Pass.
But Wang Chun's deputy general Li Wei refused to surrender and led hundreds of soldiers to retreat towards Hanzhong!
Wanyan Wushu passed Ziwu Ridge and led an army of 10,000 into Xingyuan Mansion in Hanzhong...
The battle at Xianren Pass was extremely fierce. Arrows rained down on the top and bottom of the city, making the sky darken. War drums rumbled incessantly. Wanyan drank Lisa himself and led an army of 20,000 to attack the city. Jin
Soldiers carrying siege ladders surged towards the city head like a tide, and the rolling logs and boulders from the city head fell like hailstones.
At the corner of the city, the dark and thin Wu Jie looked at the surging golden soldiers below the city with stern eyes. This was a war that could not be lost. If the Immortal Pass was lost, Hanzhong would fall. It is very likely that Bashu would not be able to survive either. Once Bashu falls,
, how many years can the Song Dynasty last?
"General, the northwest corner has been breached and the enemy has entered the city!" a soldier reported in horror.
Wu Jie drew his long sword and shouted to a thousand reserve troops: "Follow me to the northwest corner to fight!"
He led a thousand soldiers like a dragon and ran toward the northwest corner...
A defensive loophole appeared in the northwest corner. Commander Wang Lian was shot dead by the enemy's powerful crossbow. The deputy commander and two others were killed one after another. The soldiers lost their command and began to fall into chaos.
The Jurchen soldiers on the two siege ladders successively broke through the city's defense line, and two to three hundred Jurchens attacked the city.
At this moment, Wu Jie led a thousand soldiers to attack. The Song army soldiers squeezed towards the Jurchen soldiers like a tide. The force was so powerful that more than a hundred soldiers could not stand and were pushed outside the city one after another. Many girls
The real soldiers screamed and fell from the top of the city.
The Song army went all out and used their absolute numerical superiority to kill more than a hundred Jurchens who rushed to the city. The siege ladder was also pushed out of the city. Dozens of Jin soldiers on the ladder screamed and fell down the city.
Wanyan and Lisha saw that it was getting late and the enemy's defenses were tight and impeccable. Their casualties were too heavy, so he ordered: "Take the troops back to camp!"
"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!" The bell rang, and the Jurchen soldiers who had been fighting fiercely for a day were already exhausted. Finally, they heard the bell ringing for withdrawal. The 20,000-strong army retreated like a tide, leaving behind thousands of corpses.
The day's fierce fighting finally stopped. The exhausted Song soldiers did not even have the energy to cheer. They sat down one after another and leaned directly on the city top.
Two thousand reserve soldiers began to go up to the city and carried down the dead and injured soldiers. A hundred soldiers carried food burdens to deliver meals to the soldiers at the top of the city. Each person had two large meat buns and a bowl of hot soup.
Soon, night fell, and Wu Jie stood at the top of the city without saying a word for a long time. At this time, Wu Ga walked over quickly and said in a deep voice: "Brother, are you worried that you won't be able to defend this time?"
Wu Jie nodded, "This time is different from before. Wanyan Wushu is well prepared, and Fu Xuan surrendered. I feel a sense of crisis like never before. I'm really worried that I won't be able to hold on!"
"Brother, are you worried that Fu Xuan will lead the Jin soldiers to Ziwu Valley?"
"Have you thought about this loophole too?"
Wu Gao nodded, "Wang Chun, the guard of Ziwu Pass, and Luo Yi, the guard of Raofeng Pass, are both Fu Xuan's trusted generals. This Zhu Shengfei has sinned deeply!"
Wu Jie shook his head and said: "We fought bravely against the Jin not because of Zhu Shengfei, but to protect our country and protect the Song Dynasty from completely falling under the iron heel of the Jin.
"Brother is right!"
At this moment, a soldier rushed over and reported: "To report to the capital, Magistrate Liu sent someone to deliver the message urgently!"
Wu Jie and Wu Gao looked at each other, and they suddenly felt something bad in their hearts. Wu Jie asked urgently: "Where is the messenger?"
After a while, a messenger soldier was brought up, knelt down on one knee, saluted, and presented a letter, "Please take a look at it!"
Wu Jie quickly opened the letter and read it under the torch. His heart suddenly went cold. Wanyan Wushu's cavalry had already entered Raofeng Pass.