The battle in the Central Plains took a dramatic turn. Li Heng led 20,000 Song troops to pretend to attack Ruzhou, but sent 10,000 troops to march for three days straight to Xuchang. The puppet Qi army was caught off guard and defeated the Forbidden Army general Li Min in the suburbs of Xuchang.
of thirty thousand troops.
At this time, the Song Army's temporary armistice agreement expired, and Yue Fei, Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong simultaneously sent troops across the Yangtze River to attack Jianghuai.
Yue Fei led an army of 20,000 across the river from Tongling and entered Anqing Prefecture, Zhang Jun led an army of 50,000 across the river from Kangkang Prefecture and entered Zhenzhou, and Han Shizhong led an army of 30,000 across the river from Jiangyin and entered Taizhou.
Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong prepared to encircle the important town of Yangzhou from the east and west sides.
This Northern Expedition received the full support of Emperor Zhao Gou, with the purpose of seizing the Jianghuai region and pushing the Song-Jin dividing line to the Huaihe River and Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain, so that the Jiangnan region would receive a valuable strategic buffer.
In the imperial study, Lu Yihao and Zhao Ding were persuading the emperor Zhao Gou to recall Li Heng. Perhaps because of the stimulation of the three major commanders, Li Heng took the initiative. He led an army of 20,000 people from Xuzhou into Kaifeng Mansion and attacked directly.
Bianliang, defeated the puppet Qi army who blocked him one after another, and had reached the outskirts of Bianliang.
"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to take back Bianliang, but I definitely don't agree with going so far alone without logistical supplies or military support. It's easy for the enemy to cut off the retreat and destroy the entire army. There are many such battles in history.
There are few successes, so I beg your Majesty to put 20,000 soldiers first and recall Li Heng quickly!"
The minister who urged the emperor to persuade the emperor was naturally Lu Yihao. It was he who proposed the plan to send troops from Xiangyang to the north. Now that the situation was getting a little out of control, he was a little anxious. Now, rather than trying to persuade the emperor to withdraw his troops, it is better to say that he wanted to abdicate responsibility.
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"Your Majesty, Bianliang is the place where the traitor Liu Yu is entrenched. Once his base feels in danger, he will definitely ask for help from the Jin soldiers. The Jin soldiers sending troops too early will destroy our Northern Expedition plan. Weichen once again implores your majesty to recall Li immediately
horizontal."
Lu Yihao tried to persuade him again and again, but Zhao Gou was hesitant. Although Lu Yihao was right, this was the first time he was so close to capturing Bianliang. Even if he captured Bianliang for two or three days, all the ancestors in the ancestral temple would be wiped out.
Zhao Gou was satisfied that Zong Ling was invited back.
This was the reason why he didn't reply to Lu Yihao immediately. Zhao Gou was a little tempted. He actually didn't care about the life and death of the 20,000 soldiers. He was more concerned about whether he could capture Bianliang.
Judging from Li Heng's record in the Northern Expedition, he has not lost a battle so far. It can be seen that the combat effectiveness of the puppet Qi army is extremely weak and vulnerable. No wonder Chen Qing was able to repeatedly defeat the puppet Qi army in the northwest and Jingxiang.
Thinking too hard.
Lu Yihao wanted to persuade him again, but Zhao Gou waved his hand to stop him, "I understand Xianggong Lu's worries. Although Xianggong Lu was the first to propose the plan, I don't need Xianggong Lu to bear any responsibility for it, so I let Li Heng try it."
Try, even if we fail, we can learn from our experience."
At this time, Zhang Jun, who had been silent, said: "Your Majesty's idea is not unreasonable. Since we have already captured Bianliang, we might as well test the defense of Bianliang. If we can capture Bianliang, it would be great to even behead Liu Yu. Even if we capture
The failure of Bianliang can also deter the puppet Qi state and those who work for the puppet Qi. Even if it fails, we can quickly retreat southward without much loss. Even the humble minister has a bold idea."
"What do you think?" Zhao Gou asked with great interest.
"Yue Fei's army has entered Anqing Prefecture. As far as Wei Chen knows, the puppet Qi troops on Jianghuai East Road have been mobilized to Caizhou's Queshan line to confront the Song army in Tangzhou. If Yue Fei can quickly reach Caizhou, what will happen before and after?
After defeating the puppet Qi army in a flanking attack, and then moving north to join Li Heng, the situation in the Central Plains may be completely reversed."
Lu Yihao secretly sighed, Zhang Jun is still a scholar! He always thinks of things so beautifully, Liu Yu must ask for help from the Kingdom of Jin, and the Kingdom of Jin will never tolerate losses in the Central Plains, and will definitely send a large army southward. Then the situation will be completely different.
But Lu Yihao also knew that the officials liked to hear such words, which were very pleasant and reasonable. If he continued to say it, the officials would be disgusted. Fortunately, the officials had already stated that it had nothing to do with him, and he was no longer necessarily a villain.
Lu Yihao fell silent in time.
Seeing that Lu Yihao no longer objected, Zhao Gou was overjoyed and immediately ordered: "Pass on my decree and ask Yue Fei to destroy the puppet Qi army in Caizhou as soon as possible and go north to join Li Heng's army!"
Zhao Gou also decreed that Li Heng be conferred the title of Duke of Chenliu County, commending him for the Northern Expedition to Bianliang. At the same time, Zhao Gou also appointed Zhang Jun, the Prime Minister, as the Jianghuai Observation Envoy, in charge of the military and political affairs of the Northern Expedition.
...........
There was also chaos in the Bianliang Palace at this time. Li Heng's troops came to the city. The pseudo-Qi Emperor Liu Yu's face turned pale with fright. He was anxious to abandon Bianliang and move the capital to Jinan, but was dissuaded by the ministers.
In the imperial study, Prime Minister Zhang Xiaochun and Prince Liu Lin were persuading Liu Yu to seek help from the Kingdom of Jin.
Liu Yu was silent for a moment. Although he was very afraid of Li Heng's troops approaching the city, asking for help from the Kingdom of Jin did not work out. The reason was very simple. The Kingdom of Jin entrusted the Central Plains to him, but he could not hold it, and the meaning of his existence was lost.
, he was very worried that the Jin Congress would depose him.
Prince Liu Lin did not think so much. He said anxiously: "The Song army launched a large-scale northern expedition and annexed the Jianghuai River. I am afraid that they will be greedy and continue to go north to the Central Plains. It can be seen from Li Heng's army heading north that they will not stop.
Yu Huaihe, father, we alone cannot withstand the three armies of the Song Dynasty, we must ask for help from the Kingdom of Jin."
Zhang Xiaochun also advised: "Your Majesty, we have spent a lot of resources to support the Jin State's Sichuan-Shaanxi strategy, but insufficient investment in the Central Plains. The Jin State also knows this. If we cannot resist the Song army's attack, we can only withdraw all our troops."
Shaanxi and the Kingdom of Jin will definitely not agree, so the Kingdom of Jin has the obligation to support us. Make this stake clear to them, and they will definitely come to the rescue. Others may not come, but Wan Yanchang will definitely come."
"All right!"
Liu Yu finally made up his mind, "I will send someone to find Wan Yanchang for help right now!"
...........
Most of Chengji County in Qinzhou has been repaired, and 70% of the official houses have been built. There are still a small number of official houses and private houses that have not been completed. At this time, the autumn harvest has begun.
Last year, Deshun Prefecture suffered a drought, which reduced production by 30%. This year, grain production has returned to previous years, and Qinzhou has sufficient water resources. As long as there is no military disaster, normal farming will not reduce production.
At this time, the civilians went home to harvest wheat. At the same time, the Song army also began to recruit troops. The conditions were very favorable. The military salary was 1,500 copper coins per month. There were rewards for winning the battle. If you were disabled, you would be given 20 copper coins.
The pension will be plus fifteen acres of farmland. If he is killed in battle, he will be given thirty thousand dollars of pension and an additional thirty acres of farmland.
The conditions were extremely tempting, and six thousand people were recruited in just a few days. Chen Qing handed over the training to Niu Gao, who had just been transferred back from Chengji County.
Chen Qing appointed Hu Yantong as the military envoy of Gongzhou and led 3,000 troops to garrison Huaixi County. He Zongshen was appointed as the military envoy of Deshun Prefecture, and also led 3,000 troops to garrison Longgan County.
Chen Qing's total number of troops has reached 30,000, and he raises his own food, but his monthly military salary of 50,000 guan is borne by the Sichuan and Shaanxi Xuanfu Envoys.
Immediately after most of the projects in Chengji County were completed, Chen Qing finally had an official residence that matched his status. The official residence occupied an area of about twelve acres and was divided into three courtyards.
Lu Xiu was five months pregnant and was starting to show her pregnancy. This morning she brought a group of women to see her new house.
The person who acted as their guide was the county magistrate Lu Wei. He led everyone to the gate of the mansion and said with a smile: "Actually, it's not completely done yet. The streets have just been paved with stone slabs and trees are being planted. The exterior walls still need to be painted. The mansion has to be repainted."
The interior of the house has not been fully completed, mainly the back garden. I just took a look today. If we really move, we may have to wait another month."
Lu Xiu pursed her lips and smiled and said: "Second brother, we just came to take a look. If we really want to move, it will take half a month to clean up!"
"Okay! I'll take everyone into the mansion to have a look."
Lu Wei led everyone into the mansion. He smiled at everyone and said: "The layout of this mansion is very regular. I won't introduce it to everyone. Everyone knows that the entrance is through the screen wall, and the walkway leading to the atrium in the back. There are doors on both sides to enter, and the servants are on the left.
There are dozens of buildings, and on the right are kitchens, warehouses, stables, etc., but the stables must be entered through another door from the outside, so let’s go to the atrium now.”
Lu Wei led everyone to the atrium. There was a large flower bed in the middle. A big tree should be planted, but it has not been planted yet. It was very spacious in the front, back, left and right, just like the square in front of the main hall of the temple.
"The front of the atrium is the main hall, and on both sides are the living room and various living rooms, dining halls, etc. There are more than a dozen rooms, and the focus is on the yards on both sides."
Lu Wei pointed to the side doors on both sides in the distance and smiled: "There is a courtyard on each side, usually the Military Courtyard and the Staff Courtyard. They all say that he has no staff. The East Staff Courtyard is for layman Yi An to live, and there will be a meeting inside.
A small door leads to the back garden."
Lu Xiu suddenly remembered the most important thing and asked hurriedly: "Second brother, is there a well in the house?"