The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Yingzui Cliff is in the southwest of Jiezhou. It is the only way for the capital to reach the hinterland of the two roads. There are mountains on the left and right.

The food transport team moved forward slowly, and arrived at Yingzui Cliff two days later. The team drove into the canyon under the cliff, and everyone was amazed. Here, due to the sedimentation and compaction of gravel, the horseshoes stepped on the sand, leaving only shallow traces, without sinking in the slightest; the entire valley bottom of Yingzui Cliff is like a huge square. The olecranon is curved and can almost see through the end at a glance.

These two days, Di Qing kept a low profile. He asked Su Jin for three sets of military uniforms for the Ma Jun guards. The two who followed him both disguised themselves as Ma Jun entourages and were caught in the team. They also painted their faces with charcoal ashes to cover up. The whale scar on his face, if not for Su Jin's inquiry, he would try not to open his mouth.

Su Jin secretly admired him. He was indeed an old fritter who had been with the West Thief for several years. Di Qing tried his best to cover up his whereabouts. However, there may be people around. Once Di Qing is recognized, his intentions will be exposed, and the whole matter will be in vain.

After the large group of people entered Yingzui Cliff, the scouts sent out quickly reported that there seemed to be something strange about the official road fifteen miles ahead, and there was a cloud of smoke and dust.

Su Jin and Di Qing glanced at each other in shock, the thief came so fast, and it was only six days after receiving the news that they had already arrived here; Yingzui Cliff is considered to be a hinterland more than two hundred miles away from the border , The western thief came so fast, it can almost be concluded that they immediately raised their troops to come after receiving the report, without the slightest hesitation. It also shows that they are extremely interested in looting and looting supplies.

Xixia pursues war to support war. Since Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi reached a consensus and implemented the strategy of solid defense with strong walls and clear fields, the vast land is almost uninhabited except for the city.

Di Qing personally went out on horseback and acted as a scout to verify it. According to his experience, the flying dust was a sign of the arrival of a large group of cavalry, and he dismounted to listen to the ground, and the ground shook endlessly, so there was no doubt about it.

That night, Su Jin quietly issued an order and made some arrangements. He arranged for people with agility to go up to the top of the cliff to watch the police. It was not to warn against the movements of the bandit cavalry, but to deter the possible entourage on the mountains on both sides of Yingzui Cliff. Be careful, the arrangements for the evening must not be known to them, once the news is leaked, all previous efforts will be wasted.

What Su Jin is most concerned about is the position of Fan Zhongyan's army. Now that he has encountered the enemy, everything is ready and only owes Dongfeng. Fan Zhongyan's soldiers and horses are Dongfeng. Only when he knows his specific location can Su Jin proceed to the next step. plan of.

Asked about Di Qing, Di Qing said confidently: "There will be news tonight, Mr. Su can rest assured."

Su Jin said: "How did the news come in? The outside of the valley must have been monitored by bandit scouts. I'm afraid it's not easy to get in."

Di Qing said with a smile: "When dealing with the western thieves, how can we not make thorough preparations. There are dozens of military pigeons in Yanzhou. What is happening now is not a message but a message from military pigeons. Tonight, military pigeons will come to deliver letters; I will tell you the truth." Said, the Feng Dutou who accompanied me is the head of the military pigeon team deployed by me in Yanzhou, and I have released the pigeons today for inquiries, and the military pigeons will return in the evening."

Su Jin applauded and laughed loudly: "It's amazing, thank you for thinking it out."

Di Qing laughed and said: "It's not something I came up with from a lowly position. Flying pigeons already existed in the Sui and Tang dynasties, but they were not very useful. Western thieves are very cunning, and there are also hawks in the army, which specialize in catching our troops. Zhongxin Pigeon, to obtain information, so important military information can no longer be sent by carrier pigeons, but this time it is flying pigeons at night, only the pigeon 'Black Feather' carried by Feng Dutou can do it. Yu is extremely alert, but Feng Dutou regards it as a treasure, this time I hope it can live up to expectations."

Su Jin was stunned. After a long time of arguing, he still didn't have an accurate score. Are wars these days always based on guesswork?There is no confirmation, which is really depressing.

Su Jin's depression didn't last long. In the second half of the night, footsteps shook outside the tent. Di Qing and Feng Dutou rushed in without notification, and said in a series of voices: "Master Su, the news has arrived, the news has arrived."

Su Jinben was lying in his clothes, but when he heard the words, he got up and let Di Qing and Feng Dutou into the tent. Feng Dutou was holding a black carrier pigeon in his hand, and a bamboo tube was tied to the pigeon's leg. .

Su Jin was overjoyed and said: "This animal is indeed a steed, and I will give it a credit in the future, and I will serve it well."

That Feng Dutou said sadly: "Master Su, I'm afraid there is no need, hey..."

Su Jin said: "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Feng Du lowered his head, and held the pigeon under the light with both hands. Su Jin took a closer look, but saw that the back of the pigeon was wet and reflective. He stretched out his hand to wipe it lightly, and his fingers were covered with blood. It turned out that the pigeon was injured.

"The dove lived up to its mission. Needless to say, it met the enemy's hawk on the way. It must have escaped from the hawk's capture with all its might, and finally escaped to complete its mission. It is really a good soldier who is dedicated to his duty." Di Qing sighed.

Su Jin is in awe of this pigeon. A small pigeon is much better than many people in the world. In the world of pigeons, completing tasks and flying back to the owner is its only belief, but in the world of people , When encountering a strong enemy, emotions such as betrayal, greed, suspicion, and humility will become dominant. It may be a bit extreme to say that people are not as good as this flat-haired beast, but it cannot be said to be unreasonable.

While talking, the pigeon turned its head on its side and died of blood, Feng Du's head was full of tears, and he began to wail like a child.

Di Qing shouted: "Why are you crying? I told you a long time ago that when you go out to fight, you must always be ready to kill this life. You will die in a hundred battles in the yellow sand, and you will be shrouded in horse leather. If you can die on the battlefield, you will be our soldiers." Glory; this pigeon died fighting hard, and died in the right place, so why should I act like a child? If I, Di Qing, died in battle, and if you shed a tear, we will not be brothers when we meet in the underworld."

Feng Du hurriedly wiped away his tears, puffed up his chest and said yes.

Hearing Di Qing's words, Su Jin's heart was agitated. After all, the world is not full of corrupt officials. People like Di Qing who serve the country and the people are the mainstream. Only in this way can the building be stabilized and not overturned.

Without time to express his feelings, Su Jin untied the bamboo tube, and unfolded the note in the bamboo tube under the light, which read in a few words: "5000 troops will be stationed in Liu Tunzhai, forty miles behind the enemy's rear. , we can rush to help within an hour."

Su Jin said: "Is this Master Fan's writing?"

Di Qing picked up the note and baked it over a candle, and the inscription appeared immediately, and the word "Zhu Shuo" appeared in lower case under the blank.

"There is no doubt that it is Mr. Fan's handwriting." Di Qing said.

Su Jin hurriedly asked: "Who is the inscriber?"

Di Qing said with a smile: "Duke Fan remarried with his mother to Zhu Wenhan, Zizhou Prefecture, Shandong Province when he was young. He was named Zhu Shuo. After passing the imperial examination, his father's surname will be restored. How did the western thief know this name, so you can rest assured."

Su Jin said: "That's how it is. It's only forty miles behind the enemy, and it's fifty or sixty miles away from us. It's too far away."

Di Qing said: "Forty miles behind the enemy, I was afraid of being known by the enemy scouts. The range of the cavalry scouts' search is huge. Fan Gong's consideration is not unreasonable."

Su Jin nodded and said: "That is to say, once the war starts, I need to wait for at least an hour, and this requires more arrangements."

Di Qing nodded and said: "It's quite difficult. I looked at the weapon configuration of our more than 1000 people. There are only [-] bows and arrows, and there are not many arrows. We need to think about it carefully."

Su Jin's face was solemn, and he immediately proposed to hold a meeting of generals to discuss, so everyone was called into the account, after a short discussion, they came up with a plan, and each took action with his subordinates.

……

At daybreak, in a dense forest ten miles northwest of Yingzui Cliff, three thousand Xixia cavalry were ready. The main offensive force of the East Road Xia Army on the state front.

The leading general was a young man in his twenties. He was riding on a horse, holding a whip in his hand and staring at the official road to the south, with a mature and cold face that was not commensurate with his age.

This person's identity is not trivial, but Li Ningming, the eldest son of the founding emperor Li Yuanhao of the Great Xia Kingdom, and the newly established prince of the Great Xia Kingdom; But it was not easy at all, he had to make some achievements in order to stabilize his position, so that his younger brothers would have no chance to get their hands on the crown prince again.

Because of this, Li Ningming came to the front line of Yanzhou last fall and served as a military supervisor under the tent of his uncle Li Jiqian, who was in command of the Jianing Army. Naturally, Li Jiqian did not dare to send him to the front line to fight , just arrange for him to do some logistics and military affairs, which is actually no big deal, but even though safety is guaranteed in this way, it does not achieve anything.

After the Song army pursued the strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the wilderness, the Xia army looted less and less supplies. The annual battles seriously depleted the national power of Daxia, and the people were no longer able to afford it. Very furious, Li Ningming saw all this.

What made him even more unbearable was that at this time, brother Li Ningling, the younger brother of the West Road who accompanied the Baoshou Army Division, led four thousand cavalry to flatten a Song army camp, and captured the people's mules, horses, food and grass. Countless, the news made Li Ningming feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Fortunately, a good opportunity came from the sky, and news came from the secret work of buying in the Song Dynasty, saying that a group of Song soldiers escorting food, grass, weapons and other supplies were heading north along the official road. Li Jiqian only told the news, and Li Ningming immediately stepped forward to lead the troops Come and plunder.

Li Jiqian was very hesitant. Li Ningming is the crown prince, and such a dangerous matter is definitely beyond his competence. Although Li Ningming is also very smart and studious, and has read a lot of military books, he is a bit of a Confucian general when he talks about it on weekdays. He has a strong spirit, but he has never commanded a battle, so there is no way to consider the actual combat.

But Li Ningming insisted on leading the troops, and Li Jiqian also understood his situation. Thinking about the enemy's army huddled in the fortified city and not fighting, he once led a large army to wander in the Song Dynasty, and the Song army had no desire to fight. , perhaps not too dangerous, so they arranged for two seasoned and prudent lieutenants to follow and assist, and carefully told Li Ningming to act according to the camera and know how to give up, and never put himself in danger for these materials, Li Ningming agreed one by one .

Li Ningming is not a fool. Although he is eager to make meritorious service, he is not a reckless person. Since entering the Song Dynasty, he has spread scouts to inquire about the camps of the Song Army. He has made up his mind to give up immediately if there is any change. Joking about his life; the Song army's villages did not change, which greatly boosted his confidence. When he arrived outside Yingzui Cliff yesterday evening, the scouts reported that the Song army's escort team had camped in the valley. Li Ningming was excited, he knew This big piece of fat is about to reach the mouth.

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