On the first day of November, Lin'an, Houchaomen Wharf.
Amid the sound of drum music, a large flag "State Affairs of the Pingzhang Army of the Great Song Dynasty" was fluttered at the bow of the ship.
The armored soldiers lined up to board the warships, their footsteps sounded in unison, and matched with the sound of the waves of the Qiantang River, it was quite majestic.
Hundreds of officials on the shore were already lining up to pay homage to the marquis, wearing red and green official robes, and the scene was lively.
It was still early, and there were quite a few officials whispering to each other.
"Why hasn't Mr. Pingzhang come yet? This might have delayed the time."
"Shhh, what do you know? Today the officials are coming to see Mr. Pingzhang off. The official sedan from the palace has not set off yet. If Mr. Pingzhang comes too early, wouldn't it mean that the officials deliberately kept him waiting for a long time?
.”
An official covered his face with his sleeves and whispered: "But before Pingzhang Gong arrives, it's hard for the officials to get up, right? What if the officials arrive but Pingzhang hasn't arrived yet..."
Maybe he said this as a joke, but others didn't dare to join in the fun, and they all stopped laughing and turned to other topics.
"If I go to Sichuan and Sichuan, I don't know how many bumps I have to go through."
"Only the bluestone road in Lin'an is smooth and the carriage ride is not bumpy. Where else in the world can it be found?"
"So I had to travel in a sedan chair. People in Shu mostly ride in chariots."
"Back then, when I was rushing to take the exam, all my internal organs were knocked out. When I arrived in Lin'an, I never wanted to return to my hometown."
"Yes, there is no place better than Lin'an in the world..."
Chen Yizhong listened to the discussions of the officials behind him, and felt a little embarrassed, secretly thinking that these officials really had never experienced hardship.
Although he also came from a family of officials, he was different from them. When he was young, his father was dismissed from office and imprisoned for accepting bribes, and he lived a poor life for a period of time.
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Later, he married the daughter of a merchant family and was able to continue his studies and enter the Imperial Academy. Who would have thought that he would be exiled again because of the impeachment of Ding Daquan.
This experience allowed him to quickly stand out from the unexperienced peers and gain the respect of Jia Sidao.
Chen Yizhong is from Yongjia, Wenzhou. In his heart, he has the hard-working and hardworking Wenzhou people, the courage to be the first, and the ability to bend and stretch.
He was able to bear hardships and stand hard work, so he was able to become an official after falling behind in his family. He dared to be the first, so he wrote a letter to impeach Ding Daquan. He was able to bend and stretch, so he was willing to join Jia Sidao, whose official reputation was getting worse.
At this time, Chen Yizhong looked around and saw that the wind was blowing, the warship was swaying, and the springboard between the deck and the dock fell into the Qiantang River.
After waiting for a while, no one came back with the springboard. Chen Yizhong thought about it and walked over.
The person guarding the side of the boat was a military commander next to Jia Sidao. They were also familiar with each other, so he reminded: "General Wu, springboard."
Wu Zai stepped from the boat to the pier in one step and said with a smile: "Chen Yushi, look, this is less than half a step wide, so there is no need for a springboard."
"Let's lay another piece."
"No, no, no, Ping Zhanggong didn't go through mountains of swords and seas of fire when he followed Meng Shaobao to kill the enemy in Jinghu. How can he still fall with this small step?"
Chen Yizhong took a step forward and whispered: "Look how many people are watching. If Ping Zhanggong stumbles a little during this step, can you and I afford it?"
Wu Zai was stunned, turned around and looked at the sea of people in the distance, feeling suddenly uneasy.
"I'm going to add a springboard right now."
He stepped back onto the deck. Although he was still steady, he already understood that if Jia Pingzhang really stumbled here, it would be a big blow to his prestige.
At this time, Jia Sidao had already put on his military uniform and arrived at the dock.
The official's official chariot will arrive soon...
~~
Jia Sidao didn't come late on purpose.
After the First World War in Ezhou, it had been nearly six years since he returned to the imperial court. Today, when he put on his armor, he found that his thighs had regenerated and the original armor could no longer be worn.
If he only looked in the mirror, he would have thought he had lost weight.
He asked someone to change his armor before going out. If it was later, I'm afraid Zhao Fu would have to wait for him again.
"May Duke Pingzhang defeat the Mongolian and Yuan barbarians and return in triumph..."
Officials came up one after another to chat, but Jia Sidao just nodded indifferently.
He personally took command of the expedition this time, and the name was not to defeat Li Xia, but to fight against the Yuan Dynasty.
Although he had contacts and cooperation with Yuan Ting, it was in private.
In private, Jia Sidao dared to deceive Kublai Khan and detain the envoy Hao Jing, but he was also able to let Hao Jing go and talk about cooperation with Kublai Khan. He did not put it on the table, but in the end he did not lose his righteousness.
We certainly cannot talk about this openly, as it will chill the hearts of the patriots who have resisted the Japanese invaders for many years.
In the past month or so, there have been reports of battles. Li Xia, the king of Qin who was entrusted to Guanzhong by the imperial court, died, and the Yuan army invaded the south again.
The pillars collapsed and the southwest half of the wall was in danger. The imperial court was bound to send a commander who could replace King Qin to lead the Sichuan and Shu soldiers and civilians to continue fighting against the foreign invaders.
Whether it was out of righteousness or forced by the situation, it was a matter of course for the civil and military generals in Sichuan to obey orders from Jia Ping Zhang Gong.
If someone refuses to obey orders, it can only be said that they have colluded with Yuan Meng and are trying to suppress the rebellion.
For example, Lu Wende has led his troops to fight.
The reason why we were able to send troops so quickly... is actually not so fast. It was November when we first suspected that Li Xia was not in Chang'an in May, and half a year has passed.
The reason why we decided to send troops this time was because we had already missed an opportunity to take back the power of the vassal town.
Last year, when the Mongolian army was attacking, the imperial court not only failed to decisively send troops into Sichuan, but also helped Li Xia resist. Later, Li Xia proclaimed himself king, and the whole court deeply regretted the danger of raising tigers.
Then there was another opportunity, so I couldn't miss it.
…
"I wish Master Xiang great success."
Zhao Fu tied the red cloak on Jia Sidao with his own hands, and held a glass of wine in both hands.
Jia Sidao took the wine and drank it in one gulp.
"I will work with all my heart and soul to protect the Song Dynasty forever!"
The officials personally gave him wine, which pushed the farewell atmosphere to the highest point today, and the soldiers on the deck started to drink.
"Wonderful victory! Wonderful victory!"
"..."
Chen Yizhong squinted his eyes and watched Jia Sidao step onto the springboard and onto the deck. There was no stumbling and everything went smoothly.
At this moment, someone squeezed in from behind.
"Has Mr. Ping Zhang boarded the ship?"
Chen Yizhong turned around and saw that he was an official from the Privy Council, so he walked towards him and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Another urgent message has come from Xiangyang. The messenger did not take a boat for the last part of the journey, but rode a horse and ran away. Before he passed out, he said that General Lu had an urgent message of 100,000 yuan to be delivered to Ping Zhanggong."
"Where are the people?"
"Brought over from the Privy Council."
"Send the letter on board, and I'll go see the messenger."
Chen Yizhong did not dare to read Jia Sidao's letter, but walked in the direction of Houchaomen, intending to ask the messenger for Jia Sidao first.
He is measured as an official, but he is also bold and shrewd.
The news from Xiangyang is basically sent once every ten days, and the last one was only delivered two days ago, which means that the time between the two messages is only a few days at most.
What will happen in a few days?
Did the Yuan army conquer Tongguan so quickly?
Thinking of this, Chen Yizhong's footsteps also accelerated a lot, thinking that if this was really the case, Wang Shi must rush to control Hanzhong before the Yuan army destroyed the main force in Guanzhong and entered the Shu road.
I just hope that those people in Sichuan and Shu will put the national justice first and go north to fight against the Yuan Dynasty as soon as possible. At the same time, they will worry less about their personal interests and surrender to the imperial court.
"Chen Yushi, the messenger is right there... put him down quickly."
Chen Yizhong hurried to the stretcher and saw a man with dull eyes and traces of dried saliva on his mouth.
Turning his eyes, he could still see that the soles of the messenger's shoes had been worn out, revealing a pair of calloused and scarred soles.
"I am a disciple of Duke Jia Pingzhang. I am the supervisory censor Chen Yizhong. What important news does General Lu ask you to bring?"
Chen Yizhong first reported his identity as a member of Jia Sidao's party, and then reported his official position in the imperial court. If not, the other party would really ignore an official.
"Li...Li Xia..."
"I know. It was already stated in the letter two days ago that Li Xia's death is confirmed. He died at the hands of a woman. She was the daughter of Brother Meng, right?"
Chen Yizhong was curious about who brought this news to Luoyang.
The messenger was asked a question, but he seemed a little confused and didn't speak for a while.
"Tell me, go on, was Tongguan captured by the bandits?"
"No...no...Li Xia has arrived in Tongguan."
"What are you talking about? Li Xia didn't arrive at Tongguan. He died and didn't arrive at Tongguan?"
"No... he's not dead... General Lu said... Li Xia arrived at Tongguan, and Pingzhang Gongbie was... deceived by Dong Wenbing..."
Chen Yizhong was stunned for a while, then muttered and repeated the last sentence.
"Dong Wenbing? Cheating?"
His mind suddenly buzzed, and he realized that the Great Song Dynasty might have fallen into Dong Wenbing's trap this time.
"Has Lu Wende sent out troops? Has he sent out troops?"
When asked this question, Chen Yizhong was a little flustered.
The information was wrong.
A great country, which has been fighting with Liao, Jin, and Xixia for more than three hundred years, and has an excellent spy agency, actually made such a big mistake in its intelligence.
The smart people of the entire dynasty were fooled around by a Hebei villager...
But soon, Chen Yizhong calmed down.
There was still time for everything and there was still time to stop. Fortunately, Li Xia arrived at Tongguan in time. Later in the evening, the battle really started and it got out of hand.
What we should be thinking about is what to do now? If we really stop, where will the court lose its face?
With these questions in his mind, Chen Yizhong turned back and walked back to the pier. He knew that Jia Sidao was reading Lu Wenhuan's long letter at this time.
He had to guess what Jia Ping Zhang Gong was thinking, respond in time, and please Ping Zhang Gong.
What should Pingzhang Guild do? Continue the expedition, or find a way to get off the ship and come back?