In the back hall of the Marshal's Mansion, Chen Qing gently pulled out a sword. As soon as it showed its edge, he felt a cold air blowing towards his face. The blade was so sharp that it could break hair with a blow. Chen Qing flicked the sword again with his fingers and made a clang sound.
The sound is melodious and crisp, without any dull feeling.
"What a sword!" Chen Qing praised.
Zhang Lu smiled and said: "This is the last sword Wang Yan made. It took three years to make it. It was left to his son as a family heirloom. Wang Fuyuan is willing to dedicate it to His Highness."
"How can I keep this family heirloom?"
Although he said this, Chen Qing was reluctant to return the sword. The quality of this sword was too high. It was just not as famous as the ancient sword, but the quality was even better.
Zhang Lu added: "He still has more than a dozen swords left by his father. It is enough to pass them down to the family. Rather than being unknown, this superb sword should be presented to His Highness and become the sword of King Yong. It is a kind of memorial to his father."
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Chen Qing smiled happily and said: "Okay! This sword will be named Yong Wang Sword. I accepted it and arranged for the four of them to leave as soon as possible to live in Xianyang County, Jingzhao. Tell them that they will be well treated and will never treat them badly.
them."
"I understand the humble position!"
Zhang Lu bowed and left.
Chen Qing looked at the iron fire thunder shell on the ground again. Thanks to the efforts of Zhang Lu and others, this top secret did not spread to the Jurchens.
Some people may wonder, how can they be sent out when both Hulao Pass and Mengjin Pass are blocked?
That's not how things work. The soldier who sent the package could have buried the items first. He himself was hiding in the county below. Zhe Keqiu would definitely send local people. Luoyang Prefecture could not keep the blockade on forever. After a few months or half a year, the military blockade would begin.
When it is over and normalcy returns, it will be easy to send it away.
Therefore, Zhang Lu and the others first cut off the pigeon letter to prevent the key technology from being leaked. Then they exchanged the civet cat for the prince and replaced Zhen, and then assassinated Zhe Keqiu, leaving Zhe Keqiu unable to make arrangements. Without these efforts, even if the city was destroyed,
Zhe Keqiu will also send people to take away the iron fire thunder shell and hide it, and the consequences will be disastrous.
At this time, Chen Qing came to another table. There were also two iron fire thunder shells on this table. They were exactly the same as the shells on the other table. If you didn't tell them in advance, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two.
The two casings were of course different. The other one on the table was a real casing, while the Iron Fire Thunder casing in front of him was imitated by Wang Fuyuan. What surprised Chen Qing was that the molding technology was so high that it was cast in one piece.
You must know that Jingzhao repeatedly failed to achieve one-piece casting. In the end, it had to cast half of the shell, and then the dissolved lead made them into one piece.
One-piece casting, which Jingzhao craftsmen have not successfully developed for many years, actually appeared in Luoyang. This is probably a unique technology in the world, and perhaps even the craftsman himself did not realize its value.
But Chen Qing thought of the gun barrel.
Wang Fuyuan's family is also packing up things. They will leave by boat tomorrow morning, but his wife Jia doesn't want to move. She is a local and her parents and brothers are in Luoyang. Of course she doesn't want to move.
"Can't the officials tell the superiors? Others can stay in Luoyang, why can't we?"
Wang Fuyuan sighed and said: "Our situation is special. Not only me, but also my three apprentices have to move together. We know the top secret of the Western Army and must move away. Otherwise, once the Jin Kingdom keeps an eye on us, our family will be
There is fear for one’s life.”
"What exactly is top secret?"
"Don't ask me. I can't tell you, and you don't want to know how Meng Xiaodong died. You don't know."
"But my parents are old. Will I be able to see them again after I leave?" Jia said sadly.
Wang Fuyuan comforted his wife and said: "I heard that the residence in Xianyang is good, with an acre of land and more than 20 houses. After we settle in, we can take my parents here to live for a while. I have been designated as a senior master craftsman.
With a salary of fifty guan a month, it will not be a problem to support them."
Thinking that her husband can get a salary of 50 guan a month is the only good thing that comforts Jia. They only had 5 guan a month before. Prices in Luoyang have soared. With two sons, life is really tight. Now the salary has increased.
The price is ten times higher, and prices in Jingzhao are said to be much lower than in Luoyang. Their family will live a good life from now on.
Mrs. Jia nodded and said: "Thanks to King Yong for thinking so highly of us, we have to show our appreciation. I think there are more than twenty swords made by my father in your study. Leave two for your son and give the rest to King Yong."
!I’m always a little wary of keeping them.”
Although Wang Fuyuan was a little reluctant, he still agreed. In fact, he also figured out that the sword made by his father would be more meaningful in the hands of a famous general than in his own hands.
"I will give one to Zhang Lu later, as he is my benefactor, and ask him to offer the rest to His Highness King Yong for me!
In Dengzhou, news was leaked that the Song army had captured Rang County, which allowed Zhang Zhongxiong to lead more than a thousand troops to escape before the Song army arrived in Nanyang County. The Song army missed the target.
In the next few days, Liu Qiong sent the army commander Li Changgong to lead 5,000 troops into Tangzhou. Tangzhou had no enemy troops stationed and was easily occupied.
After capturing Dengzhou and Tangzhou, Liu Qiong was not in a hurry to go north. On the one hand, he was actively training the more than 8,000 surrendered troops, and on the other hand, he was also waiting for supplies from Jingzhao.
Seven days later, Jingzhao's supply team arrived at Rang County. In addition to 10,000 camels loaded with grain, grass and military supplies, there were also 20,000 horses. Fighting in the Central Plains cannot be without cavalry. Among the 30,000 troops he carried, originally
There are 20,000 cavalry. Previously, because it was inconvenient to cross mountains and ridges, the war horses were stored in Shangzhou. Now that Dengzhou and Tangzhou have been captured, the war horses will naturally be sent.
In addition, two thousand soldiers from Longju Village also arrived together. Longju Village has been handed over to the defenders of Wuguan, so of course the two thousand defenders will return to the main force.
In the blink of an eye, it has been ten days since they captured Rangxian County, but there was no movement from the Song army in Xiangyang, and no one was sent to inquire about the situation, as if it had nothing to do with them.
Liu Qiong also received two warrants from Luoyang sent by Chen Qing. One warrant commended him and his army for capturing Dengzhou and Tangzhou, and the other required them to understand the movements of the Xiangyang army.
What directly borders Dengzhou is not Xiangyang Prefecture, but the Guanghua Army. The army is also an administrative division, smaller than the state, and governs two or three counties. It usually sets up troops in important military areas. In addition, if it is a mining area, it will set up supervision.
Therefore, the army and the prison are at the same level as the state, but they are smaller and more professional than the state. The officers are called Zhijun and Zhijian.
The Guanghua Army is the gateway to Xiangyang Prefecture. It is equivalent to when Liu Bei stationed in Xinye to defend Xiangyang. Its military status is very important. The Guanghua Army has eight thousand troops stationed and is led by Yue Fei's general Zhang Xian.
After passing Guanghua Army, we reach Dengcheng County, which belongs to the boundary of Xiangyang Prefecture. To the south is the Han River, and on the other side of the Han River is Xiangyang City.
That morning, a caravan of fifty mules came to the North Ferry of Han River. Except for the leader Xu Zhifu, who was a businessman from Rang County, the other ten guys were all dressed as Western Army scouts. The leader was Tang Qian.
They went to Xiangyang City to gather information.
Liu Qiong also received some information about Xiangyang from many businessmen before, but they were all incomplete and had different opinions. There were three opinions on the number of troops stationed in Xiangyang City. Liu Qiong also received an order from King Yong at the same time, asking him to pay attention to the situation in Xiangyang.
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Liu Qiong and Tang Qian discussed it and decided that Tang Qian would personally lead the team to Xiangyang City to collect information.
"Brother Lao Fu, I feel that Xiangyang is much more prosperous than Dengzhou!"
Tang Qian couldn't help but sigh when he saw that the Han River was full of ships, the goods were piled up, and the people were flowing.
Xu Zhifu chuckled and said: "That's for sure. Although there were wars in Xiangyang, the damage was not great. It's not like Dengzhou. In recent years, tug-of-wars have broken out in Dengzhou, and many people have fled to Xiangyang.
But as long as Dengzhou regains stability, the people will go home. Working outside to make a living is not as good as at home!"
Xu Zhifu saw that Tang Qian's men were a little nervous, so he smiled slightly and said: "Tang Dongzhu told his men not to worry. This is the boundary of the Song Army. Even if you are discovered, you will not be embarrassed. You will only be sent out with gifts. And even I know that.
Yue Dutong has a transit agreement with His Highness King Yong. Not all Sichuan-Shaanxi troops going to Jinghu South Road transit through here, so there is no need to worry."
Tang Qian turned around and saw that his men were indeed nervous, so he smiled and said: "Don't be nervous, this is not the Kingdom of Jin, we are also the Song Army after all!"
Everyone was obviously relieved. They were a little nervous out of habit. It was right to think about it. This was the territory of the imperial court and there was really no need to worry about the danger to their lives.
