Under the repeated requests of the puppet Qi Emperor Liu Yu, the Jurchens finally sent troops. Wanyan Wushu led 50,000 cavalry and marched southward, defeating Li Heng's army at Yangchigang in the eastern suburbs of Bianliang.
Li Heng and his deputy Zhai Cong led thousands of remnant troops to flee south in panic, but were surrounded by Li Cheng and 30,000 troops in the south of Xuchang County.
Li Heng led his army to break through desperately, but in the end, less than a thousand men succeeded in breaking through under the leadership of deputy general Zhai Cong. The rest of the army was destroyed, and Li Heng also unfortunately died on the battlefield.
The Song Army's first Northern Expedition ended in a disastrous defeat.
At this time, Yue Fei also defeated Kong Yanzhou's army at Queshan in Caizhou. Kong Yanzhou gathered up the remaining troops and retreated north.
Yue Fei did not pursue him. At this time, Zhai Cong led more than a thousand remaining troops back to Xiangyang and brought back the news that Li Heng's entire army had been destroyed.
Yue Fei immediately took over the more than 10,000 troops left by Li Heng, as well as generals such as Dong Xian and Peng Qi. Yue Fei realized that the Jin soldiers were coming with bad intentions, so he began to shrink his defense line, abandoned Nanyang, and defended the line from Rangcheng to Qinyang.
Wanyan Wushu led 50,000 cavalry and more than 100,000 puppet Qi troops to begin a full-scale counterattack and led his army towards Jianghuai. The 50,000 cavalry fought against the 100,000 troops of Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong on the north bank of the Huaihe River.
The 100,000 Song army was once again defeated by Wanyan Wushu's 20,000 Guaizima and Tiefutu. The Song army was defeated like a mountain and fled south in panic. The Jianghuai land they had previously captured was again lost. The Jurchen cavalry pursued and killed them all the way.
In the end, less than half of the 100,000-strong army fled back to the south bank of the Yangtze River.
Wanyan Wushu, who had been repeatedly defeated in Sichuan and Shaanxi, regained his world-sweeping bravery in the Central Plains. After defeating the Song army on the eastern front, he turned around and attacked Jingxiang, and successively captured Caizhou, Guangzhou, Dengzhou, and Zai Rang.
Cheng and Yue Fei's army fought fiercely for several days, with both sides winning or losing.
At this time, the Jin soldiers had been fighting for nearly ten days. They were very tired and had no stamina. Wanyan Wushu finally realized that he could not capture Jingxiang, so he stopped attacking and withdrew his troops to the north of Bianliang, leaving the follow-up battle to the puppet Qi.
military.
Yue Fei ordered Dong Xian and Peng Qi to lead 10,000 troops to guard Rangcheng. He led 20,000 troops to march south, defeated Li Cheng's general Jiang Yuan in Guangzhou, and recaptured Guangzhou. He then sent general Wang Gui to garrison Anqing Prefecture.
Tang Huai was ordered to garrison Huangzhou, and Yao Zheng was ordered to garrison Qizhou.
In this battle, the 50,000 Jurchen elites were once again killed and the Song army was frightened. The eastern front of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River was completely exhausted, but the prefectural capitals outside Jingxiang and the western front of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River were saved, which can be regarded as a great achievement.
The Song army failed to recapture the Jianghuai River, and the peace faction in the imperial court once again became vocal. Prime Minister Qin Hui strongly demanded that those responsible for blind advancement be held accountable. In early October, Zhao Ding, the backbone of the war faction, was dismissed as prime minister. Xu Xiantu, a scholar, paid homage to the prime minister and took over the post of privy minister.
Just when the Song army suffered a disastrous defeat in Jianghuai, Chen Qing led the 10,000 Xihe army to occupy Hezhou silently and stationed the army in Pohan County.
There are not many Han people in Hezhou anymore. They are mainly Qiang and Tubo people. They are basically pastoral areas. Han people are mainly concentrated in the two counties of Han County and Ninghe County, while the vast land outside the county is inhabited by Qiang people.
In the territory of the Tubo people, there were not even many Dangxiang people.
This has also been a characteristic of the west since the Han and Tang dynasties. The government only manages the county towns, and the army is stationed in the county towns and military villages. The rest of the places are borderland ethnic autonomy, and everyone lives in peace.
The Song army captured Hezhou without any fighting. After they entered Hezhou, the three thousand Xixia troops immediately withdrew from Hezhou and returned to Lanzhou.
Panhan County is a medium-sized county with a large county seat, but a small population. There are only more than 2,000 households, half of which are Han people. The rest are Qiang, Tubo and Party people. There are no new Party immigrants, and there are basically no immigrants.
There are no ethnic conflicts in the city, and the atmosphere in the city is calm. There is no fierce struggle like in Didao County.
The main reason is that the Taoshui River Valley is important as it is a major grain-producing area. Naturally, the Xixia people also attach great importance to Didao County and immigrate in large numbers.
On the third day when Chen Qing led his army to go to Gohan County, Hu Yanlei also rushed to Gohan County from Huangzhou.
"Bizhi bought a restaurant and an inn in Huangzhou City. There are many Han people there, almost all of whom fled from Shaanxi Road. There are hundreds of thousands of people who make a living by growing wheat. Ren Dejing is a very capable person.
He was strong and managed Huangzhou, Xi'an and Kuozhou well. He had an army of 8,000 people, including 5,000 cavalry, and all the food and fodder were provided by military garrison.
But I heard that the puppet Qi army only has one thousand people in Huangzhou and Xi'an Prefecture each, and the remaining 6,000 people are Ren Dejing's private soldiers. He is completely the local emperor of Huangzhou, Xi'an Prefecture and Kuozhou. His wife
He is a Tibetan, so he has the support of the Tibetan people."
"Have you found Ren Zhongqun?" Chen Qing asked again.
"Bizun inquired about Ren Zhongqun. He is indeed in Huangzhou, but I didn't see him. I guess he is hiding somewhere to refine silver, but it is just a guess without evidence. I will find his whereabouts as soon as possible."
Chen Qing nodded, "You must be careful not to be discovered by the enemy."
"I understand the humble position!"
Hu Yanlei only stayed in Hezhou for half a day, bought a batch of goods, and hurried back.
At this time, Chen Qing received news that the envoy sent by Li Qianshun, the emperor of Western Xia Dynasty, had arrived in Chengji County.
Chen Qing appointed Wang Lun, the commander of the envoy, as the military envoy of Hezhou, and led two thousand troops to station in Pohan County. He then led the army back to Qinzhou.
It was already mid-October, the new wind was beginning to pick up, and the Northern Expedition in the Central Plains had suffered a disastrous defeat. However, Chen Qing, who was thousands of miles away, knew nothing about it. He led his army to march on the endless grassland, with the snow-capped mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the distance.
To the north is the Loess Plateau full of ravines, majestic and magnificent mountains and rivers.
In the distance, herdsmen played melodious flutes, arousing the homesickness of the soldiers. Above their heads, several eagles circled in the blue sky.
The construction of Chengji County has been completed, and the people outside the city have moved back to their new homes. After all, Chengji County has a large population, with more than 100,000 people, plus tens of thousands of military dependents, the population is close to 200,000, far exceeding Ganquan.
With the support of a huge population, the county quickly regained its prosperity.
Of course, Lu Xiu also moved into his new home. His new house covers an area of twelve acres and is the largest official residence, which is in line with Chen Qing's status as a military governor.
Lu Xiu showed compassion when interviewing servants and hired all the servants introduced by the housekeeper Tian Wenli, bringing the number of servants and women in her house to forty-five. Lu Xiu also realized that there were too many people, but
She had no choice. Since she had signed the contract, she couldn't go back on her promise. She could only wait until the contract was over.
Lu Xiu was seven months pregnant, and she walked around the house all day long with a big belly. Two midwives came every day to understand the situation and accompany her for walks. Yu Lian and Yu Ying followed their mistress, and next to them was the tall Tao.
Qiniang and Tao Baniang, with four maids behind them, formed a large group of people walking in the mansion.
"Yes! The steps should be steady, and the breathing should follow the steps. Just like this, try to look at the flowers and plants around you, and keep your heart peaceful and happy."
The two midwives were indeed professionals. They considered every detail carefully, including how to walk, how much water to drink, and what to eat. Otherwise, would it be so easy to earn five hundred coins a day?
Lu Xiu walked along the inner circle of the mansion wall, once in the morning and afternoon, walking a thousand steps each time. She felt good about it. The child was very naughty and lively in her belly. In the words of the midwife, the child was full of energy and must be very healthy.
Lu Xiu entered the east courtyard. The east courtyard was where Li Qingzhao and Zhao Qiaoyun lived. It consisted of two very elegant small courtyards. Zhao Qiaoyun also had two maids, both fifteen or sixteen years old. She didn't want them at first, but Lu Xiu took them.
When her husband moved out, Zhao Qiaoyun had no choice but to accept it.
Having two maids freed Zhao Qiaoyun from the complicated chores, and she began to devote herself wholeheartedly to literature and painting. She has excellent genes left to her by her father, and her literary and painting attainments have surpassed those who had never been attentive to reading.
Senior sister Lu Xiu became Li Qingzhao's most proud disciple.
"Qiaoyun, where is the master?" Lu Xiu didn't see Li Qingzhao.
Zhao Qiaoyun came out and said with a smile: "Master has gone to the teahouse."
"Hey! Didn't you say you don't have to go?"
"Master said that she needs to experience the atmosphere of the market before she can be inspired."
"Did she go alone?"
"Of course Xiaoman and Chunniang will accompany her."
"Did you say when you would come back?"
Zhao Qiaoyun shook his head, "I guess she won't be back until dinner. She said she would like to meet some poetry friends."
"Then what are you doing here alone? Go chat with me."
Zhao Qiaoyun hesitated and said, "Then I'll go find some more books."
"Whatever, let's go!"
Lu Xiu was given thousands of books as a dowry, but she didn't bother to read any of them, which was an advantage to Zhao Qiaoyun.
Zhao Qiaoyun stepped forward to help Lu Xiu, and the group walked through the small door and walked toward the back house.
