This sentence sounded just polite, but from Chen Ran's mouth, Hou Zhongxin heard more than just politeness.
That was not just humility, but an emperor who really didn't care about Dajin. Hou Zhongxin even saw a hint of contempt at the corner of Chen Ran's mouth.
Hou Zhongxin couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
Chen Ran then waved his hand and said with a smile: "The emperor is too far away from us! We are soldiers of the Ding Navy. All we need is an order from our envoy... that's enough."
Of course, these words are meant to cover up, but when the two sentences are combined, the unscrupulous contempt cannot be concealed. Moreover, this is in line with the literati of the Southern Song Dynasty who frequently called the captives "thief Liang" and "Ge Liang".
"Chiefs" and the like are different. This contempt is based on their strong confidence in their own force.
"Yes, yes, that's true." Hou Zhongxin laughed.
The two continued to chat for a few words.
Ding Haijun had to arrange camping for the night, and it was inconvenient for Hou Zhongxin to keep disturbing him. He had various thoughts in his mind and was anxious to discuss it with Ding Zhan, so he took his leave.
As soon as he left the fleet, he heard the sound of gongs.
This was to inform the people that the enemy troops trying to approach had been driven away, and the construction of Miaoyin County could be continued as soon as possible.
Hou Zhongxin slowed down, took two more steps toward the county seat, and looked up.
Lianyin County was originally a wild land to the south of Luxian County, with a large area of water and dense reed ponds nearby. In the early years when the Liao Kingdom was strong, Khitan nobles hunted here every spring in the Yanfang Lake, where the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty stayed.
The residents then gathered into cities and towns and settled in Dadingfu, the capital of the Jurchens. In order to ensure the water transportation of Lushui, this place was promoted to Miaoyin County.
Spring has just begun, and there are already flocks of migratory birds that have distinguished themselves from the cold and summer, resting here, and hunting. And with the sound of gongs, geese and swans are alarmed by the flocks, and the Miaoyin County town that was just burned and destroyed not long ago
Inside, there were thousands of people rushing past, carrying iron catalpas or timber, and they were all sweating from the running.
Miaoyin County is located to the west of Jigou, Yanfangdian is east of Yongnusu in the Han Dynasty, and south of Lushui. The terrain surrounded by water on three sides is actually very suitable for defense. I don’t know how it was conquered by the Mongolian army before.
The fleet of the Ding Navy arrived at this time. They first sent men to the north to fight with the small group of Hu Qi who had been following the nuisance and drove them back. The ministries then quickly gathered building materials and built temporary military camps and fortresses.
Planks were erected one after another to form wooden walls, wooden piles were driven into the ground, and then a watchtower was built. A lot of the wood and iron materials left in Zhigu Village had been requisitioned by Chen Ran before, and they also played a role at this time.
The fortress facilities are very complete. The outermost part is based on the ruins of the county town, and there is also a strong and convex fence. The outer extension of the fence is close to the pier. However, the scale of the entire camp is not large. It looks like it can only station one or two hundred people, so it was built very quickly.
.
Hundreds of naval officers and nearly a thousand civilians are busy together, and the sky has not yet reached dusk, and the general appearance has been taken. We will work hard tonight and early tomorrow morning, leaving one general here to lead the troops, and the fleet can continue
Heading towards Lu County.
According to Chen Ran, the Ding Navy planned to maintain a supply channel to Zhongdu along the Lu River, so in the past five days, every time the fleet camped, a military camp was set up.
The first military stronghold was located at the confluence of Lugou River and Lushui River. It was the former residence of the Wuqing Inspection Department. Later, a stronghold was set up every thirty or forty miles. This is the fifth and last one in Miaoyin County. This
The five military villages are not only the foothold for the fleet to park and repair, but also play a warning role, and can serve as the outpost of military defense in the direction of Zhigu Village.
At this time, there was also a group of civilians carrying supplies from the cabin and filling them into the newly built wooden city in the military camp.
In the middle of the wooden city, there is a thick felt cloth to prevent moisture. More than a hundred stones of food and ordnance supplies are stored here. Firstly, it can be used by the Ding navy fleet. Secondly, in case of a certain moment, if Zhongdu City
The people here are gradually withdrawing, and they can also get supplies along the way.
It is obvious that Ding Haijun is very serious about King Qin. They have thought of various possibilities and made sufficient preparations to deal with it.
The significance of this kind of preparation is not understood by people who are not from the army. But Hou Zhongxin knows that it represents the superb level of military management and abundant material reserves, and represents that Shandong's Dinghai Navy can travel hundreds of miles across the sea.
Make extremely large-scale mobilization of troops and materials, and have a stable political power that can support such mobilization.
Is this what the Jurchens can do?
Don't talk nonsense, don't talk about the Jurchens who are in chaos now. Even when the Jurchen Emperor Shizong, who was known as Xiao Yao and Shun, was alive, they didn't have this ability. Even the current Song Dynasty... The navy of the Song Dynasty is naturally stronger than that of the Shandong people.
There are many, but the coastal system establishment department... Well, in short, the Great Song Dynasty had the same difficulties as the Great Song Dynasty.
According to what Chen Ran said during the conversation just now, he only has tax-free acres in Shandong, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers under the command of Guo Ning. The navy also has a large territory in Liaodong, and it drives foreigners to die for it. In this way
The power may be enough to affect the overall situation!
The decline of the Jin Kingdom was indeed as expected by the imperial court. If the Song Dynasty wanted to take advantage of the decline of the Jin Kingdom, it could focus on more than just the title of exchange and reward the army with gold and silk. As an envoy, we need to pay attention to it.
places, obviously not just Zhongdu!
Hou Zhongxin thought over it several times, changed to a small boat, and rushed back to his fleet.
The Song envoy's fleet is located in a small port branch on the west bank of Lushui. In terms of scale, it is smaller than the Ding Navy, but there are more than 30 large and small ships. Among them, the main cargo is silk and silk that Ding Yan prepared in advance.
Tea, ginger, lacquerware, paper and pen, books, etc.
Over the years, the envoys sent by the Song and Jin Dynasties to each other also enjoyed the trade privilege of carrying materials without going through the market. This privilege is a secret unspoken rule and cannot be exposed openly, but most envoys count on relying on
This will make a fortune.
That's why when the Jin Kingdom was in turmoil earlier, several waves of Song envoys claimed that they were too delayed to reach Zhongdu and turned back halfway.
In fact, no matter how chaotic the situation in the Kingdom of Jin is, a small number of envoys can always arrive if they think of a way; it is just that it is extremely difficult for the goods to overcome the obstacles along the way and be transported to Zhongdu. The problem is that if the goods cannot arrive, the envoys will miss this sum.
It is natural to be happy about wealth, so why take such a big risk to visit the enemy's territory?
The goods Ding Yan prepared this time were according to the specifications of previous years.
After the land route was blocked and turned into a sea route, he felt that the group of governors, gift officers, guides, and ceremonial officers in the mission were not enough to ensure safety, so he used acquaintances to travel to the Song and Jin border areas between Chuzhou and Haizhou.
, contacted maritime merchants and recruited a group of strong men.
At this moment, the young men were resting scatteredly on various boats. When they saw Hou Zhongxin approaching, some stood up and saluted, while others remained lying down, not caring at all.
These are the people of the mountains, and etiquette cannot be forced. I heard that these strong men had the experience of joining the army in the Jin Kingdom earlier, and later they lived among the people for various reasons. Some of them were also involved with the Red Coat Army. They were old.
A ruthless person who fights.
However, according to the merchant who arranged the sea route, these people were entrusted by others, loyal to their people, and very reliable in their work. At least, they must do their best to protect the mission's property.
Hou Zhongxin looked at the calluses on their hands and shoulders and the way they walked, and he knew that all of them were outstanding in skills, and they were not inferior to others in the army of the Song Dynasty. Such heroes were living in the Jianghu, which shows that the Jin Kingdom
The national government is really bad.
With Ding Zhan's status, of course he wouldn't have much dealings with these strong men.
Hou Zhongxin was a military attache and had some ideas on this matter, so in the past ten months, he treated several young leaders very favorably. He also asked them several times if they were interested in following him to serve in the Southern Dynasty and promised them food and salary.
The superiors must pay generously.
At this moment, seeing the laziness of the strong men, he was not annoyed. He stepped forward with a smile, raised his hand and patted a young leader on the shoulder: "Stop falling asleep and come drink with me."
The little boss was sleeping comfortably. He opened his eyes blankly and looked at Hou Zhongxin, not awake at all.
Hou Zhongxin smiled and was about to say something else when he suddenly saw the little leader jump up suddenly and said sternly: "Be on guard!"
Following his call, nearly two hundred strong men were like boiling water in a pot, all drawing their swords and stringing their bows. Immediately, a solemn murderous aura filled the fleet.
This reaction was so sudden that in the mission, the governor from Xingzai and the sixty soldiers were shocked for a moment. The officials were even more excited. Some people didn't know what they were thinking, and they immediately rolled and crawled on the ground.
After getting off the boat, we walked into the waist-deep water and ran towards the distance. Some people fell to their knees on the boat.
Hou Zhongxin was also startled by the reaction of this group of strong men, thinking that they finally showed their true colors as gangsters and planned to kill people and steal money here. Then he saw them facing the east bank of Lushui with vigilant expressions, so he hurriedly stood on the boat
Turn your head and look over there.
It turned out that at this time, a cavalry with bright armor galloped from the direction of Tongzhou upstream of Lushui River, and unceremoniously crashed into the camp of Ding Haijun. Chen Ran, the commander of Ding Haijun, was leading a group of troops.
A group of people confronted him.
Every time the envoys of the Southern Song Dynasty went to the Jin Kingdom, they brought a large amount of smuggled materials with them, and these materials were purchased by the Southern Song Dynasty court for the envoys with public funds as special benefits...