The state government of Lanzhou is Yifang County. It is located in a mountainous area, but it is also the main transportation artery of Lanzhou and the only place to go to Loufan County.
Zhe Yanzhi's army was still more than ten miles away from Yifang County, when they heard the thunderous sound of drums in the direction of the county in front, just like the muffled thunder in the sky.
Zhe Yanzhi quickly ordered the army to stop and wait for news from the scouts ahead.
Not long after, several scouts galloped back on horseback, clasping their fists and shouting loudly: "Reporting to the capital, the Dangxiang army in front was ambushed and is coming towards us in rout."
Zhe Yanzhi asked in surprise: "Who ambushed him?"
"We don't know yet."
Zhe Yanzhi immediately ordered the troops to hide in the woods on both sides, preparing to encircle the defeated army of the party.
Not long after, more than two thousand Dangxiang soldiers fled in panic. Zhe Yanzhi immediately understood that the force in front of them to defeat the Dangxiang army was not strong enough and was too bluffing, otherwise so many Dangxiang soldiers would not have retreated.
As soon as more than two thousand Dangxiang soldiers retreated into the encirclement of the Western Army, Zhe Yanzhi shouted, "Shoot an arrow!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
There was a loud bang, and the Song army in the woods on both sides fired thousands of arrows. Suddenly, groups of party soldiers fell to the ground screaming and wailing.
"Cavalry attacks!"
Zheyan gave an order, and five thousand cavalrymen rushed out from behind the woods on both sides. Hundreds of fleeing party soldiers were killed by the cavalry like melons and vegetables.
At this time, Zhe Yanzhi suddenly saw an army appearing a mile away. It should be an army, with armor and spears, but it was not a party army. There were about five or six hundred people.
Zhe Yanzhi immediately realized that this army should be ambushing the Dangxiang people. At this time, the army one mile away also discovered the Song army and turned around and withdrew.
Zheyan ordered the cavalry, "Surround them and don't make a move!"
The five thousand cavalry immediately galloped away like arrows, catching up with the opponent in a moment and surrounding five to six hundred people.
Dang Xiang's army had been killed, and Zhe Yanzhi rode up to meet them. He saw that although these five or six hundred people were in ragged clothes, they all had their backs straight and showed no fear.
The leader was a man in his forties, and beside him stood a tall boy of seventeen or eighteen years old, holding two large copper hammers, which was quite eye-catching.
"Whose army are you from?" The middle-aged man saw that Zhe Yanzhi was the leader and asked loudly.
"From the armor, can't you tell what kind of army we are?"
The middle-aged man shook his head, "Song Army, Xie Cong Army, and Puppet Qi Army all have the same equipment and armor, I can't tell!"
Zheyanzhi smiled slightly and said: "I am the Xuanfu envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi, the marshal of the Western Army, and I am in charge of Zheyanzhi under General Chen, King of Yong. Are you satisfied with this answer?"
The middle-aged Han man stared at Zhe Yanzhi again and again, "Are you really Zhe Yanzhi? Aren't you a high-ranking official in the imperial court?"
"Birds choose good trees to rest on. I will return to Sichuan and Shaanxi to serve King Yong. There is nothing wrong with me!"
The middle-aged man was obviously hit. After a while, he sighed and ordered his men: "It's one of our own, put down your weapons!"
Five to six hundred people put down their weapons one after another. At this time, a large number of people came to the hillside, thousands of them, holding hoes, wooden sticks and axes, standing on the hillside in darkness.
The middle-aged man cupped his hands and said, "Commander Zhedu, please wait a moment, I will let them disperse and go back."
The middle-aged man ran up the hillside. Zheyan confronted the young man holding a bronze hammer and asked with a smile: "Is that your father?"
The young man nodded, and Zhe Yanzhi's eyes fell on his copper hammer again, and he praised: "What a big copper hammer, how many pounds does this pair weigh?"
The young man said with some pride: "This pair of bronze hammers weighs eighty pounds. No fewer than a hundred Jurchen Tatars have died under these pair of bronze hammers."
"That's right! Are you the Lanzhou Rebels?"
"We are the eight-character army!"
The young man moved his hair, and eight black characters appeared on his forehead: "Serve the country with all my heart and swear to kill the gold thief."
Zhe Yanzhi was stunned. The Eight-Character Army, isn't that the army where Chen Qing started?
"Jichun!"
Someone shouted that the middle-aged man was back. Zheyan turned around and saw that thousands of people had dispersed. It seemed that this middle-aged man had a high prestige among the people and was a man with a story.
Zheyan smiled and said: "General, why don't we have a talk?"
The middle-aged man was a little hesitant, but thinking that the other party was Orihiko, he nodded.
Zhe Yanzhi sat on the ground by the roadside. The soldiers brought them saddles as a table and brought them two jugs of wine.
Seeing that the other party was a little surprised, Zheyanzhi smiled and said: "It's colder in the north. Every soldier will carry a bottle of wine when he goes out. If he is injured, he can also use wine to clean the wound. Therefore, alcohol is prohibited in our army during normal times, but when we go on an expedition, we do not prohibit alcohol.
Already."
The middle-aged man took a sip of wine and said, "Chen Qing is very pragmatic. No wonder he has made it this far."
Zheyan asked with a smile: "I heard from your son that you are the Eight-Character Army. Are you Wang Yan's subordinates?"
The middle-aged man nodded, "I am Shao Long, one of the four commanders under Wang Yan. I had a very good relationship with Fu Xuan back then. When Wang Yan was transferred and the Eight-Character Army was split up, I did not choose Chen Qing.
, but I chose Fu Xuan. At that time, I was bewitched by Fu Xuan and was a little jealous of Chen Qing’s rise. It wasn’t until Fu Xuan surrendered to Wanyan Wushu that I finally woke up.”
Speaking of this, Shao Long looked up to the sky and sighed. The sigh was full of bitterness. He continued: "In order to protect my men, I had to pretend to be obedient. Soon I was assigned to Lanzhou by the Jin Kingdom. The leader of Lanzhou was a Jurchen centurion.
, there were more than a hundred Jurchen guards below, and then I led a thousand Eight-Character Army soldiers. Soon I led my men to fight against the Jin, killed the general and more than a hundred Jurchens, and raised the banner of the Eight-Character Army again.
."
"Now that you have woken up, why don't you go to Chen Qing?"
Shao Long sighed, "I feel guilty! After all, I have been a member of the Jin Guoxie Army for a few months, and I have already tarnished the Eight-Character Army. I dare not face Chen Qing again."
"Actually, you're still a little unconvinced by Chen Qing, right?"
Shao Long shook his head, "I just have an arrogant personality. Chen Qing has developed today, destroyed Xixia, conquered Hexi, and monopolized Sichuan and Shaanxi. He has become the king of the world. How could I not be self-aware? I just can't let go of this face."
Speaking of this, Shao Long looked at Zhe Yanzhi and said: "But even an old general, a second-rank high-ranking official in the imperial court, can put down his status and willingly become Chen Qing's general. What qualifications do I have to be unable to let go?"
Zhe Yanzhi said calmly: "If I take the wrong path, no matter how high I stand, I will never be able to realize my dreams and long-cherished wishes. So I chose the right path again, but King Yong did not let me start from the beginning.
It gave me the opportunity to realize my long-cherished wish, how can I not be grateful."
Zhe Yanzhi refers to the position of Commander-in-Chief. Others were promoted to Commander-in-Chief after many battles and meritorious service. However, he had made no contribution to the Western Army and had no merit. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief as soon as he came.
I feel ashamed and full of gratitude to Chen Qing.
Shao Long nodded silently. The appearance of Zheyanzhi gave him too much shock. He seemed to see himself in Zheyanzhi who had also taken the wrong path.
Zhe Yanzhi looked at Shao Long's army with ragged uniforms and said with a smile: "General Shao seems to be unsatisfied in Lanzhou!"
Shao Long smiled bitterly and said: "A few months after I killed the Jinbing general, Wanyan Huonu, who was in Taiyuan, personally led an army of 10,000 to attack. I didn't want to harm the people, so I led the army up the mountain. Over the years and
The Jurchen army fought more than ten times, killing thousands of enemy troops, and losing more than half of my army. Fortunately, the Western Army captured Taiyuan Prefecture last year, and the pressure on us suddenly disappeared."
"Although the Jurchen army is gone, the party members are here again."
Shao Long nodded, "A few months ago, we deliberately released the news that we went to Taiyuan Prefecture and then hid in the mountains. Brother Richard also believed it. This time he sent troops to grab food, so he didn't guard against us.
, although we only have 500 people, we set up a trap in Yifang City and mobilized the people to join the battle. This morning, the Dangxiang army entered the trap. We came out when they were unprepared and killed nearly a thousand of them in one go.
, their general also died under my son’s bronze hammer.”
Zhe Yanzhi stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Now I am leading an army of 30,000 to wipe out the remnants of the party, and prepare to regain the northern part of Hedong Road with the main army of 70,000. General Shao, is he willing to work with me to expel the Tatars and restore the mountains and rivers of the Han family?"
Shao Long pondered for a moment and finally said decisively: "Even the old general has returned to the right path. I am only in my early forties and can fight for another twenty years. I am willing to follow the old general and serve King Yong!"