In the tenth year of Dading's reign, the imperial court decided to use Lugou to connect water transport to the capital, so that all road goods could reach the capital.
So we mobilized people from thousands of miles away and hundreds of officials to help, and channeled the Lugou Water from Jinkou to the north of Zhongdu City, and then east to the north of Tongzhou, where it entered the Lu River. However, due to the high terrain of Jinkou, the Lugou Water was blocked After it was directed to the east, the current rushed and swirled along the way, and the banks collapsed. When it reached the lower reaches, it was blocked by mud and accumulated in shallow water, making it impossible for a boat to sail.
In the twenty-seventh year of Dading, the Jinkou Gate outside Tongxuanmen was re-closed. In order to prevent the river from swelling, fortifications were built around the gate, and grain troops were deployed to guard it. Soldiers.
For decades after that, Jinkou Gate remained safe and sound. However, with the increasing military pressure from the north, the fortresses in this area were transferred to the subordinates of the Armed Guards for garrisoning troops.
At this time, the person leading the armed guard stationed here was Deputy Marshal Quan You, Hu Shahu.
In the past few years, Hu Shahu has had ups and downs, and his official career has been unsatisfactory. Because of his reputation for violence, many people regard him as a rude warrior. In fact, he entered the official position very early and had very deep qualifications in the court. In the eighth year of Dading, Emperor Shizong The emperor's crown prince Yun Gong was still alive, so Hu Shahu became the crown prince's bodyguard when he was only ten years old, and was later promoted to the crown prince's servant. At that time, Tu Shanyi was just a poor man, and Wanyan Gang had not yet been born.
To put it bluntly, Xu Chiguo, a powerful official in the Zhang Zong Dynasty, once served as Prince Sicang, and his qualifications were almost the same as Hu Shahu's.
However, the prince died young, and Emperor Zhangzong who later ascended the throne was his grandson. Although the old ministers who treated his father were still close to each other, they were separated by one layer after all. Xu Zhiguo was good at running the country and rose rapidly, while Hu Shahu was always troubled by various reasons. He was impeached for a long time.
But Hu Shahu's temperament is really stubborn. The more he is hostile to others because of his violent and flamboyant style, the more he wants to show you how violent and flamboyant he is.
At this moment, he nominally leads the five thousand armed guards stationed here. In fact, including his own private soldiers and the followers he recruited during this period, the number of troops is fully ten thousand.
Hearing that the emperor had sent envoys to the military camp to spread the message, Hu Shahu immediately mobilized these ten thousand people and showed great majesty.
At this time, on the entire winding road from the hall at the top of the slope to the camp gate, two tall warriors wearing armor and holding bows and swords were facing each other every ten feet. The total number of warriors was nearly a thousand. Surrounded by soldiers, there are also dozens of generals, generals, lieutenants and other officers, wearing bright armor, accompanying them on the left and right.
This majestic appearance was exactly what Hu Shahu wanted the emperor's envoy to see.
According to Hu Shahu's guess, now that the Jinshan side has suffered a series of disastrous defeats and Juyong Pass has been lost, then Wanyan Gang, who is in charge of military affairs in the province of Jinshan, will definitely not be happy. Shuhu Gaoqi will only follow Wanyan Gang closely. , and will inevitably become disgraced.
If we follow the rules of the ups and downs of the central government officials over the years, Wan Yan Gang will definitely be responsible for his resignation, and the veteran general Hu Shahu, whose status is second only to Wan Yan Gang, is very qualified to take over the entire war against Mongolia.
I heard two days ago that the DPRK and the Central Government were discussing to mobilize local strong troops to return to the capital to help King Qin. However, Marshal Youdu Superintendent Pucha Ali on the other side of Hedong personally led 5,000 cavalry and rushed to the aid of Zhongdu, but they bumped into the Mongolian army on the way. The main force was easy to kill, leaving corpses everywhere.
As a result, the only people left in the discussion between the DPRK and the central government were the troops of Shandong Commander-in-Chief Wanyan Salara.
Wanyan Sala was an old acquaintance of Hu Shahu. When Hu Shahu was the commander of the two armies of Shandong and raised troops to attack the Song Dynasty, Wanyan Sala, as the military governor of the Dinghai Navy, was Hu Shahu's deputy.
His relationship with Hu Shahu is like that between Shuhu Gao Qizhi and Wanyan Gang. If Wanyan Sala enters the court, Hu Shahu's status will definitely rise.
Perhaps the key to this discussion is not Wanyan Sala, but me, Hu Shahu?
Every time he thinks of this, Hu Shahu always feels itchy.
Wanyan Gang recruited Hu Shahu that day in order to rely on Hu Shahu to fight against the leading military officers of various departments in Zhongdu who were close to the right Prime Minister Shan Yi. But Hu Shahu never regarded himself as Wanyan Gang's subordinate. If there was a chance to rise to the top,
, how can you let it go?
If Wanyan Gang wants to block a stone, he can just kick it away.
In the past few days, Hu Shahu had put a lot of effort into this, and also sent people to visit familiar nobles in Zhongdu City.
As the war situation continued to worsen, Hu Shahu's mood became better and better. He hoped that the emperor's special envoy could bring him good news and make him feel better.
So Hu Shahu put up a grand posture to welcome the emperor's envoy.
When the emperor's envoy left, Hu Shahu returned to the hall, his face ashen, as if he was a beast about to devour people.
The difference between expectations and reality is so drastic that it is really unbearable; the reason behind it is even more incomprehensible.
"Did you all hear it?" he asked through gritted teeth.
All the generals bowed their heads, and no one dared to answer.
"Wanyan Anhe, how dare you scold me like this? If you are just a close servant, how can you stand in front of me and speak if you don't rely on Wanyan Gang? He, a noble boy, can't even ride a horse.
How dare you say that I only care about business and hunting, but do not care about the military?"
It turns out that the special envoy sent by the emperor this time turned out to be Wanyan Gang's eldest son Wanyan Anhe, and the message he brought from the emperor was not a promotion or promotion, nor was it a consolation, but an merciless rebuke.
.
When Wanyan Anhe stated the emperor's message, his contemptuous demeanor and derogatory tone were like a knife, stabbing into Hu Shahu's heart.
What's even more frightening is that the emperor's message actually urged Hu Shahu to rush to the front line as soon as possible and face the Mongolian army head-on?
How did this happen? This is against the rules!
Hu Shahu walked back and forth in the hall for an unknown number of times.
Dozens of generals followed him with their heads bowed, not daring to speak.
After more than half an hour, someone came running in panting from outside the hall.
The visitor was dressed as a servant. Some close acquaintances recognized that the owner of this servant was Li Sizhong, the eunuch who had recently been secretly recruited by Hu Shahu and given generous gifts of gold, mountains and silver.
Hu Shahu reluctantly nodded and asked, "What's going on?"
The servant kowtowed and said: "Today, Wanyan Zuocheng was discussing the military situation with the emperor. Nothing happened. It happened that Tudan Youcheng came in and brought a memorial. He said that the military situation on the front line is such that the senior generals must be gathered together to brainstorm.
You can never depend on one person for your life or death. As a result, Wanyan Zuocheng was furious, and the two argued for a while... ahem... for some reason, Marshal He Shilie was mentioned. As a result, the emperor was furious and threw away Dan Youcheng.
The memorial... After his disciple Shan Youcheng left, Wanyan Zuocheng told the emperor that Shuhu Gaoqi's troops had suffered consecutive defeats, and it would be better for an important general like Marshal He Shilie to go to the front enemy. The emperor immediately agreed,
He also said that it was ridiculous for Marshal He Shilie to always fly like a stooge, and it was time to do something for the imperial court!"
As he rambled on, the veins on Hu Shahu's forehead slowly sprouted, and his entire face slowly turned purple.
"I know!" He waved his hand: "Go ahead!"
The servant kowtowed again and retreated.
Hu Shahu continued to circle in the hall.
Next to the hall, there is a gilt and jade scaffolding. On the scaffold is a Haidongqing with pure white tail feathers and golden wings. It is extremely handsome. This is Hu Shahu's favorite. No matter where he goes, he trains him.
The eagle men all carried their scaffoldings and followed beside them.
Hu Shahu reached over and stroked Haidongqing slowly. The bird of prey was well trained and it cooed twice without evading it.
The next moment, Hu Shahu suddenly exerted force on his palms and tightly strangled Hai Dongqing's throat. Hai Dongqing screamed, his huge wings suddenly opened, and he fluttered wildly, while his sharp claws tore hard, and in a few blows, he
The leather arm guard was torn, and deep scars were pierced on Hu Shahu's arm.
White and golden feathers flew in the air, and bright red blood flowed down Hu Shahu's arms, to his elbows, and then dripped to the ground.
Hu Shahu's face was as solid as iron, and he neither let go nor evaded.
It wasn't until Hai Dongqing stopped moving and his wings and claws hung down feebly that Hu Shahu threw it to the ground.
He shook his injured arm as if nothing had happened, turned back and sat down, and sneered: "Wanyan Gang, this bitch lost the battle and didn't give up the throne! The emperor actually believed him... He's also a fool!"
