Volume 1 Battle in the Sand Garden Chapter 13 Past Events on the Frontier
Qin Zhong was eager to know the results of the interrogation, after all, the picture was too tempting.
Now he has learned that the people who covet the picture are not only Liu Zihao's road, but also another road in Weizhou. How attractive is this to make people follow them all the way? Therefore, Qin Chong couldn't wait until dawn.
I rushed to the military camp late at night just to know the secret as soon as possible.
The old ghost was not in a hurry. He took a sip of wine and said something else slowly. "Yesterday afternoon, Chang Wanli sent his personal entourage to the capital." As he said that, the old ghost glanced at Qin with a half-smile.
Take another look.
"Huh?" Just go, what does it have to do with me? Qin Chong didn't know why.
"With the confessions of Liu Zihao and others, and the evidence of poisoning and killing officials and horses." The old ghost added.
"Hiss?" Qin Zhong finally understood that the matter was serious.
Liu Zihao is not a tough guy. After being severely beaten, the young master's arrogance was completely gone. He said whatever he was told, and did not cooperate too much. After recording a confession and setting a bond, and with the poisonous fern found at the scene as evidence, Liu Zihao went into hiding.
He was admitted to Shayuan Prison with the intention of poisoning an official horse. He was considered to have been convicted. He would have to shed his skin even if he did not die.
"Chang Wanli is going to cause trouble." The old ghost sighed softly and said.
"What's going on?" Qin Chong couldn't understand due to his age and experience.
"Did you forget that token?" The old ghost asked Qin Chong.
"The handsome commander card?" Qin Zhong was surprised and guessed, "He wants to recruit the handsome commander?"
"Chang Wanli doesn't have this ability, but the Chang family in the capital does." The old ghost narrowed his eyes slightly.
Obviously, the old ghost knew a lot of things. Qin Zhong became interested, and temporarily put aside the plot and pestered the old ghost to explain the secrets. It turned out that the Chang family in the capital was not an ordinary family, but the residence of Earl Zhongyong.
The old earl Chang Shide grew up with the Cao family since he was a child, and he and Cao Wei were brothers.
By the way, the Cao family is amazing, one of the first in the capital.
In the unification war of the early Song Dynasty, General Cao Bin destroyed the four kingdoms of Hou Shu, Southern Tang, Hunan, and Southern Han, attacked the Northern Han, and conquered Khitan. He was promoted to the Grand Master of the inspection school, the Jiedushi of Pinglu Army, and Tongping Zhangshi.
Privy envoy, granted the title of Duke of Lu. After his death, he was given the title of Zhongshu Ling, the prince of Jiyang County, and he accompanied him to the temple of Taizu of the Song Dynasty.
Cao Wei is the fourth son of Cao Bin, the Duke of Wuwei. Such a family background is certainly prestigious enough.
Cao Wei, like his father, was also a fierce man. He had guarded Shaanxi for nearly forty years and never lost a battle. During the reign of Zhenzong Dazhong Xiangfu, he annihilated hundreds of thousands of Tibetans in the Battle of Sandu Valley, which made the Tibetans who were ready to attack
, He dared not invade the border again for more than thirty years. Officials were supreme in Zhuguo, Zhangwu Jun Jiedushi was appointed, and he signed letters on Privy Council affairs.
Moreover, Cao Wei's niece is now the current queen.
The Chang family has such a tough backstage, what else can't be done?
"We're going to camp in Jingyuan, I'm afraid someone will be in trouble." The old ghost laughed dryly.
The token came from the Jingyuan camp. The old ghost couldn't guess who would be unlucky, but he was confident that the official position would not be low. If the official position was too low, it would not interest the Chang family at all. As for Liu Zihao's uncle Liu Liang, the old ghost sneered.
A handsome driver is good at writing, but it is just a secret service, and it is not yet high enough to reach the level of elegance.
Is this the legendary court battle? Qin put his chin in his hands, thinking secretly in his heart. One can almost imagine what kind of waves Liu Zihao's confession and evidence will cause once they are sent to the court. Now the court is preparing for war in the northwest
, war horses are a top priority. If someone attempts to kill a horse, it is tantamount to treason.
He had an idea to frame Liu Zihao, but he did it casually, and actually caused a huge stir?
Qin Chong was a little scared, because of the unknown results in the future.
"Are you scared?" The old ghost glanced at Qin Zhong, grinned and said, "It's too late."
Qin Chong giggled and scratched his head in embarrassment. At that moment, he was indeed frightened. In his two lifetimes, he had never experienced anything like this, let alone one that he personally led? Just think about it, in the near future,
, there may be a great boss, because his little wings flap, and thunder and wind rise from the ground.
But in the blink of an eye, Qin Chong figured it out again. After all, he had thousands of years of experience in his mind. In power struggles in the past dynasties, many times, the wind started at the end of Qingping. When he really reached the court, there was no
People care about the cause of an incident. What the court boss needs is an excuse, not the facts.
Things that are thousands of miles away are beyond your control, so why worry about it in vain? Besides, Liu Zihao acted cruelly, killed people and set fires, and was lawless. He deserved this retribution. He should regard himself as a chivalrous man and avenge the Cui family.
The little bit of guilt I felt just now disappeared immediately.
"What is that picture? Have you asked?" Qin Chong thought of his own affairs.
"Working in vain?" Qin Zhong was a little discouraged, but he had to believe it. If the old ghost said that Liu Zihao didn't lie, then he really didn't lie. Anyway, Qin Zhong had never seen anyone who could deceive the old ghost.
"It's not in vain." The old ghost suddenly said again, "The boy told me a story."
"Telling a story?" Qin Chong was surprised, so he sat down cross-legged and listened to the old ghost's talk.
The story happened in the fourth year of Jingyou's reign, that is, three years ago.
In November, Jingzhou, located in the northwest border, saw heavy snowfall, howling cold wind, and white fields. The military camps outside Jingzhou City stretched for dozens of miles. The weather was so bad that the soldiers were exempted from training and all hunkered down.
In the tent, only the Lianyun flag was left, flapping in the biting northwest wind.
Every winter, the Dangxiang would be ready to move. Therefore, the Song Dynasty guarded the border every year to be wary of the Dangxiang coming. North of Hengshan Mountain was the defense line of the Xixia Dangxiang people. The border area had never been stable. From time to time, there would be Dangxiang.
People crossed the border, burned, killed and looted. There were no big battles. Small battles were fought every now and then.
In September, intelligence came in, saying that Dangxiang was preparing for war with the intention of invading the Song Dynasty.
The entire northwest military camp suddenly became tense. The army was mobilized, food and grass were mobilized, soldiers and armor were mobilized, and it was extremely busy. Unexpectedly, two months had passed, but there was no one or one horse in the party.
Entering November, a blanket of heavy snow enveloped the entire northwest.
Continuous heavy snow blocked the road to Hengshan. The party members would not come again. The military camp breathed a sigh of relief. From the generals to the ordinary soldiers, everyone relaxed. Countless people sighed and said that the heavy snow prevented a military disaster.
.In the border areas, no matter whether the Song Dynasty lost or won, it was the common people who suffered.
The northwest defense line stretches for thousands of miles and is divided into four major camps: Jingyuan, Huanqing, Fuyan, and Qinfeng. Each has a deployment department to handle the northwest military. In terms of Jingyuan, Jingzhou, Yuanzhou, and Weizhou are like a huge triangle.
, firmly grasping the Dangxiang's southward advance, and forming the northwest Jingyuan defense line.
Wang Yan, a Privy Councilor and a doctor in the right department, was the economic and strategic envoy to Jingyuan and knew Weizhou. He was the highest military officer in Jingyuan. However, the person who actually commanded the troops and handled daily affairs was Ge Huaimin, the deputy capital commander.
This is also a characteristic of the Song Dynasty. The commanders and ministers were all civil servants, and they used civil servants to control military affairs.
Two hundred thousand troops were scattered and stationed at more than a thousand forts, dangerous passes, and cities.
The Dudu Deployment Department is located in Jingzhou City. It is snowing heavily and the sky is freezing. The Dudu Deployment Department office is also extremely cold. The soldiers on duty in front of the door have already hid in the house to keep warm. The door is open and there is no one. Looking from the door
Entering, the courtyard is very large, with scattered houses, and it is quiet as if there is no one around.
Suddenly, two fast horses broke through the snow curtain and broke into Jingzhou City. The sound of stamping hooves shattered the tranquility of Jingzhou.
"Urgent military situation, urgent military situation." The soldiers on horseback shouted all the way.
Arriving in front of the gate of De Shuai Si, two soldiers dismounted from their saddles, shouted an urgent military situation, and ran straight into the gate.
Their shouts alerted the officer on duty. The thick curtains opened quickly, revealing faces of astonishment. The officer on duty shouted, "Where is the military information?"
"Dang Xiang Tiejiao was found in Changwu Town."
“Dangxiang Iron Kite was discovered in Pengyang County.”
The Iron Kites are Xixia's elite cavalry, covered in iron armor, fierce and domineering, and superb in force. The army of the Song Dynasty has never won a battle with the Iron Kites, which can be said to be prestigious. However, the Iron Kites belong to the royal guards and are never dispatched easily. Therefore, listen
Upon discovering the iron kite, the officer on duty was immediately stunned.
His first reaction was that important figures from the Xixia Li family were coming to kill him.
At this moment, the person in charge of the commander-in-chief was the deputy capital officer Ge Huaimin. After asking about the military situation in detail, Ge Huaimin was somewhat convinced. The enemy did not invade the border in large groups, but discovered two groups in Changwu Town and Pengyang County.
There were only a dozen people in total. The question was, what would such a small number of people do across the border?
"Send the order." Ge Huaimin immediately ordered to mobilize troops to encircle and suppress Tie Yaozi.
However, the subsequent encirclement and suppression battle became extremely weird. Tie Yao's whereabouts were erratic, which made the encirclement and suppression troops exhausted for a while. They finally collided with Tie Yao, but before they could start their battle, Tie Yao fled far away.
The cavalry of the Song Dynasty were far different from the iron kites, and they couldn't even catch up with their horse tails.
The Song army was encircling and suppressing them on all sides, but Tie Yaozi refused to fight and retreated. He circled around and inserted himself into the cracks between the Song army.
"What is this going on?" A few days later, Ge Huaimin noticed something strange.
"Iron Harrier is trapped by our army and is in a dilemma." A general said to please him.
"Fart." Ge Huaimin cursed.
"They are just here to cause trouble." Another general said angrily.
"More than a dozen people? What kind of trouble can they make? Are you tired of living like an iron kite?" someone retorted.
The room full of more than a dozen generals suddenly became a quarrel. It was really snowy and they were dragged out to search for iron kites all over the mountains and fields, but they couldn't catch up with the elite cavalry. Everyone was very angry. After a few days, not only did they lose their achievements,
It was found, but many soldiers were killed and injured, and no one would be happy.
"I have an idea, but I don't know whether to talk about it or not." Jiyi Liu Liang said.
"Say." Ge Huaimin glanced at Liu Liang and patted the table.
"Commander, I humbly believe that since the enemy's intentions are unclear." Liu Liang took a step forward and said, "It is better to withdraw the army temporarily and let them come and go." After saying this, Liu Liang raised his head and looked at Ge Huaimin.
"Go on." Ge Huaimin said calmly without getting angry.
"Spies can be sent secretly to follow the iron kite to detect its intentions."
"Yes." Ge Huaimin nodded slightly and said, "This matter is under the supervision of Chang Ming, and we will find out as soon as possible."
"I humbly obey my orders." Liu Liang bowed and responded.
As a Jiyi text, Liu Liang is in charge of military intelligence. He has hundreds of secret spies under his command, hiding in Xixia under various identities and regularly sending back all kinds of news. Liu Liang is a scholar with a gloomy personality and ruthless methods.
The general's fiery temper seemed out of place. The generals looked at his figure with secret fear.
Liu Liang sent a large number of secret spies to keep an eye on Tie Yaozi.
Tie Yaozi suddenly crossed the border, which was weird in itself. Taking into account Tie Yaozi's behavior in the past few days, Liu Liang felt sensitively that Tie Yaozi seemed to be looking for someone. The question is what kind of person and what kind of value is worth Tie Yaozi's risk?
What about crossing the border? Liu Liang had too few clues and was at a loss for what to do.
On the third day, the secret spies really got something. They discovered that Tie Yaozi seemed to be chasing someone. It was just that the person being chased was very smart and could always escape in advance, allowing Tie Yaozi to miss him. As for the person being chased,
The secret agent has not yet discovered his identity. Three more days have passed and the secret agent has made a major discovery.
A carcass of an iron kite was found in a farmhouse in Changwu Town. The farmer's family of four did not leave a single person alive. They all had their throats sealed with a knife. The blade was smooth, shallow on both sides and deep in the middle. This kind of knife wound can only be caused by
Only a Western Xia scimitar could be used to cut it out. The iron kite's throat was shattered, and the iron arrow penetrated from the back of the neck and was nailed to the door frame.
At this time, Liu Liang received a secret report.
More than ten days ago, martial law was suddenly imposed in Xingqing Prefecture in Xixia. Iron kites searched the streets for a fugitive slave. Rumor has it that this fugitive slave was originally a Han Chinese. He was kidnapped by the Party members and came to Xixia more than ten years ago. Because he was a craftsman and was good at
He made bows, so he was assigned to work in the Bow and Arrow Yard. Over the years, the craftsman had married a local woman and had children.
But for some unknown reason, the craftsman suddenly ran away with his child. What is even stranger is that for a runaway slave, iron kites were dispatched to hunt him down. For a time, rumors spread in Xingqing Mansion. The secret agents felt that this matter was fishy, so they specially reported the news.
It was passed back to the Song Dynasty. He judged that the craftsmen might have stolen something and touched the secrets of Xixia.
"Archery? Secret?" Liu Liang muttered to himself, his eyes flashing.