Fenghou

Chapter 499 Clamping
Longzhou is divided into two by the vast mountains. Jiandao Pass is undoubtedly the most important channel connecting the north and the south of Longzhou. This is also the place where Chen Qing rose. But now, the pass has basically been demolished and abandoned. You can still see a little shadow of the pass.

After crossing the valley and walking for more than ten miles, we arrived at Siyang County, the state government of Longzhou.

This morning, a caravan of mules and horses entered Siyang County. They were the spies of the second scout battalion of the Xihe Army. Unlike Zhao Xiaoyi's first scout battalion, the second scout battalion had a much richer composition of members There are young people, middle-aged men, women, and even teenagers and old people.

They dressed up as various characters and went to various big cities to spy on intelligence.

Siyang County was not within the scope of the second scout battalion's investigation, so a temporary caravan was formed to come to the county seat.

The information they need to investigate is actually not much, the situation of the main city wall and the number of troops stationed, Siyang County is not a strategic place, neither the Song Army nor the Jin Bing pay much attention to it.

However, after the Battle of Jiandaoguan broke out that year, Jin Bing also learned from the painful experience and organized hundreds of thousands of civilians to spend half a year dredging the Sishui, which rejuvenated the Sishui, which had lost its shipping value due to silting, and allowed thousands of stone cargo ships to sail in the river. , The army can also enter Longzhou from Fengxiang along the banks of the Lishui River.

Therefore, for Chen Qing, Longzhou and Pingliang Mansion were not so much a strategic buffer as a springboard to enter Shaanxi and Guanzhong.

The leader of the caravan is Wu Dequn. He is about forty years old. He was also a businessman before. He joined the Xihe Army half a year ago. This is the first time he has come out to perform a mission.

No one would regard Wu Dequn as a soldier. He is short, fat, and very old. His small mung bean-sized eyes are very flexible, and he looks shrewd.

After paying the tax at the city gate, they entered the county seat.

Siyang County is barely considered a large county, including about [-] people in the city and the outskirts, because Sishui can enter Fengxiang, the business in the city is not bad, there are bustling mules and horses everywhere, and many shops specialize in buying furs from the west. , medicinal materials and other goods.

Wu Dequn brought a thousand pieces of high-quality old sheepskins this time, which can only be sold for two pieces in Chengji County, but they can be sold for three pieces in Fengxiang and Jingzhao, increasing the profit by [-]%.

When a group of people came to an inn, the staff warmly received them, and the shopkeeper arranged for them to stay.

At this moment, the shopkeeper walked into the room and asked, "Are you all from Xihe Road?"

"Is there any problem coming from Xihe Road?"

"There was a notice just two days ago. If you are a businessman coming from Xihe Road, you must go to the county government to register."

Everyone looked at each other, and Wu Dequn smiled and said, "We didn't come from Xihe Road, but from Zhenrong Prefecture in the north, and there is the official seal of Zhenrong Prefecture."

"That's good. The grass and trees are full of soldiers these days. It is rumored that Chen Qing's army is going to attack Longzhou, and the county government is very nervous."

"Aren't there any defenders in the city? So scared!"

"Hey! There used to be a thousand defenders in the city, but in the past two days, another thousand defenders have been added, but there are only two thousand troops! If the opponent comes with an army of tens of thousands, how can they hold it?"

"It's the Song army who can't defend the opponent! Are we not the people of the Song Dynasty?"

'Da Song Zimin? '

The shopkeeper smiled wryly, this title was already a bit far away.

After everyone settled down, Wu Dequn immediately sent his men to search for information in various parts of the county. After collecting information at night, the information they wanted was basically clarified.

There are two thousand defenders in the city, and the barracks is in the northwest corner. The city wall is not high, only two feet and three feet, and the moat is not wide, only two feet.

These intelligences were collected and relatively comprehensive information was obtained. Early the next morning, Wu Dequn sent the pigeon letter to Chengji County with the carrier pigeon they carried.

In Nanzheng County's Sichuan-Shanxi Xuanfu Division official office, Xuanfu envoy Lu Fayuan did not express his opinion on Wu Jie's report for a long time. Wu Jie asked to send troops to Monk Yuan, but Lu Fayuan did not agree. Jin soldiers no longer attacked Dashan Pass , the two sides are in peace, he doesn't want to cause trouble again.

Lu Fayuan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. As the Xuanfu envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi, he always wanted to bring Xihe Road back under his command. When Zhang Jun was in charge of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Xihe Road was under the jurisdiction of the Xuanfu Department of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Here, Xihe Road has gone out independently, which is not in compliance with the regulations and is not reasonable.

Lu Fayuan was really annoyed by the court's decision to make Chen Qing independent. Of course, Lu Fayuan also knew that this was a bait for Chen Qing from the court, and he would go to work if he was given enough temptation. Recover Xihe Road.

But what made Lu Fayuan unacceptable was that now that Xihe Road was taken back, the imperial court did not hand over Xihe Road to him, but sent an eunuch to supervise the army. With such an obvious weakness, what if Chen Qing agrees with him and buys him off?
Thinking of Chen Qing repatriating several spies he had planted in Chengji County some time ago, Lu Fayuan felt unspeakable worries.

In case Chen Qing betrays the imperial court, the officials will definitely not spare him, and will say that he is responsible for not investigating!
But I can't blame myself for this, and who made Xihe Road separate from the Xuanfu Department of Sichuan and Shaanxi?

Lu Fayuan was very confused, and he saw the report on the table, sending troops to monk Yuan, this Wu Jie is really confused, he didn't know he was being used.

When he was not needed, he kicked himself out, and now he asked for himself, and asked the Sichuan-Shanxi Army to send troops to Monk Yuan. How could there be such a good thing in the world?

With a livid face, Lu Fayuan took up a pen and wrote two words on the report, 'No! '

After receiving Lu Fayuan's approval, Wu Jie actually did not agree to send troops, which was really beyond his expectation. This time is such a good opportunity. If he does not move, the Xihe Army will definitely be under tremendous pressure. The plan to send troops to Longzhou will also fail.

Wu Jie rushed to Hanzhong immediately and found Lu Fayuan.

"Report to the Xuan Fu envoy, the Jin soldiers are not strong enough now, and they are no longer as strong as before. This is the opportunity for us to counterattack step by step. I sent troops to the south to contain the Jin soldiers and the puppet Qi army, and Chen Qing's army went to the north. , Gradually regain the north of Shaanxi Road, and finally the two sides cooperated to capture Guanzhong, Xuan Fushi, this is an opportunity that we have fought hard for many years, we can't just let it go!"

In front of a civil official like Lu Fayuan who is proficient in officialdom struggles, Wu Jie is obviously not an opponent. Lu Fayuan said lightly: "The strategic change is not something that you and I can decide. We must ask the officials for instructions. If the officials agree, then we will Sending troops, monk Yuan, if the officials object, it means that the time is not yet ripe."

"However, the time is not ripe. Only we know best. A few years ago, the Kingdom of Jin attacked Dashanguan, which cost a lot of financial and material resources. Now that they are exhausted, it is time for us to fight back."

"General Wu!"

Lu Fayuan elongated his voice impatiently, "The battle against the Kingdom of Jin is under the overall command of the officials. We can't just think about what is going on on the western front. We must think about it as a whole. The current confrontation is an argument set by the officials. We must To overthrow it and launch a counterattack, of course, the government must agree, I will send someone to report to the government, just wait patiently!"

Lu Fayuan pushed the decision-making power to the emperor with one stroke, which really made Wu Jie depressed. He could no longer object, so he had to get up and leave.

Leaving the office of the Xuanfu Division, I was deeply moved. Lu Fayuan was only slightly better than Zhu Shengfei, but he still refused to delegate power when it comes to major military decisions. In the end, it was actually vetoed. Wasn't it always his own decision to send troops to Monk Yuan?Why should he object?

At this moment, Wu Jie deeply felt the pain of being restrained by the civil servants. No wonder Chen Qing refused to join the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Division. From this point of view, how lucky and wise Chen Qing is.

(End of this chapter)