The Rise of the Cold Gate in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Chapter 163
The term Lanling first appeared in the Chu State in the pre-Qin period. It is bordered by hilly mountains in the north and Jianghuai Plain in the south. Area.

After Yongjia crossed to the south, this area began to wither, and the famous families moved south, and the common people also moved south to avoid the war disaster. It was during this period that the Xiao family moved south to Jinling County.

But not everyone moved to the south. There are many people who have a strong sense of nostalgia and are unwilling to stay away from their homeland, so they stay and still live in this land with difficulty.

Since Yongjia, the Hulu regime in the north has alternated. After Zhao, Ranwei, and Yao Xiang, Lanling has changed hands several times.

Originally, Lanling City was surrounded by three miles, and the city was more than one foot high. It was made of rammed earth. Below is the moat, which is more than one foot wide and half a foot deep, surrounded by water all the year round.

This is the basic defense facility of Lanling City.

The next day, Xiao Qinzhi found the former residence of the Xiao family. After 40 years of absence, the fireworks were no longer in full swing. Pieces of houses collapsed, and the ancestral hall was damaged.

Standing in front of the former residence, Xiao Qinzhi felt melancholy. He still remembered that when he was a child, the patriarch often talked about the grand occasion of his hometown in Lanling, but now the contrast is huge. He also remembered that when the patriarch once said that when his grandfather Xiao Zheng moved south, some members of the clan did not leave. How's it going?

In the distance, a gaunt old man, in scantily-clothed clothes and with a walking stick, walked out of the ruined wall, stretched out a withered hand and put it on his forehead, looking at the fluttering "Xiao" flag, but saw A young gentleman in white clothes stood under the banner, staring at the ruins.

"May I ask Mr. Xiaolang's surname?" the old man asked in his Lanling dialect.

Because uncles in the family often spoke Lanling dialect, Xiao Qin was fascinated by it, although he couldn't speak, he could understand, so he looked around and replied in "Luoyin", "Xiao family of Lanling!"

"Luoyin" is a common language, which is understood by both the north and the south. The old man's face was full of gullies, showing surprise, and his cloudy eyes glistened. He walked over with a cane, looked at Xiao Qinzhi, and hurriedly asked: " But came from Jiangzuo Jinling?"

"Yes!" Xiao Qinzhi nodded.

The old man tremblingly said: "Extremely! Extremly! Who is the patriarch of the Jinling Xiao clan?"

"Xiao Qing!"

Hearing the patriarch's name, the old man smiled and said: "So it's him!" Looking at Xiao Qinzhi, he asked again: "Who are you?"

"He is my second uncle, my name is Xiao Qinzhi."

The old man was taken aback for a moment, and said happily, "You are Shiro Xiao?"

"Exactly!"

"Don't bully young people and be poor. I have already heard the reputation of my Xiao family's talents in Lanling. It is very fortunate to see you now."

This old man, named Xiao Yu, is considered to be Xiao Qinzhi's distant clan uncle. He is of the same generation as the patriarch, and older than the patriarch. There are more than a dozen clan members living with him, most of them are elderly.

This weak blood relationship quickly shortened the distance between them, even if they were two people who had never met before, there was no sense of abruptness at all.

Zu Boxiao led Xiao Qinzhi around the former residence, and came to a row of thatched huts not far away. The shabby room was empty. Here, Xiao Qinzhi saw the rest of the clan. The girl and the child came arm in arm. Not far away stood a young man who was studying.

Xiao Qinzhi was in front of the thatched hut, and after drinking some water, the clan uncle Xiaoyu invited all the clansmen, introduced them grandly, and asked everyone to prepare some food. When the clansmen heard about it, the Xiao clan in Jinling was very talented and searched for their ancestors, and a great commotion erupted. enthusiasm.

This made Xiao Qinzhi feel ashamed, their life was already like this, and they must not make things worse, and hurriedly sent someone to tell Xiao Shu to send some food to help.

Xiao Shu came very quickly, Uncle Seven and Uncle Nine also came after hearing the news, Haohao Tangtang and his party brought a cart of food, and the clansman secretly slaughtered the only two remaining chickens for entertainment.

After dinner, when parting, Zu Bo Xiao took out an old genealogy, solemnly handed it to Uncle Qi, and said: "I have been idle for two or three years, and there is another military disaster. Unfortunately, the continuation of the genealogy cannot be broken, please bring it back to Jinling and rebuild the genealogy."

They also recruited two young children and the young man, and begged: "The military disaster is approaching. I hope that I will take the three of them with me, slaves or maidservants, as long as they live."

The two children and teenagers knelt down immediately, weeping, unwilling to leave, and the rest of the tribe also covered their noses and runny noses, their flesh and blood were alienated, and they were most hurt.

Xiao Qinzhi said: "Uncle Xiao, when the Yan people disperse, I will order people to send the brothers and sisters of the family to Jinling, where the head of the family will arrange them. I will definitely treat them badly."

"That's good!" Xiao You said gratefully, feeling sick.

The Yan army came very quickly, but within a day or two, in front of Chen Bingcheng, there were more than [-] infantry and [-] cavalry. The leader was Sima Yueming, the general under Murong Chen's tent. It was Xun Xian who lost the battle and lost Mount Tai. The one in the county, but the Yan army did not attack the city immediately, but settled the bill and set up camp, waiting.

Lanling County did not set up a prefect, and Langya County was under the management of Donghai County. The prefect was Zhuge You. The guard in Lanling City, Zhao Yu, led [-] troops, plus the Xuzhou Northern Army who came from Xiapi, a total of [-]. The rest of the soldiers are all dispatched by Captain Zhao.

This time the Yan army took Qingzhou, the general was Murong Chen, who sent Sima Yueming to Lanling, and with such a small force, he obviously did not come to attack the city. Xiao Qinzhi guessed that this army was only here to cut off the two sides between Lanling and Langya. ground connection.

Xu Miao came up with a hypothesis, whether Sima Yueming and Murong Chen were suspicious soldiers.

From the map, we can see that Yishui runs from southwest to northeast, with Yimeng mountainous area in the northwest and coastal hills in the south. From Yishui downstream, there are Dong'an, Dongguan, Langya and Donghai in sequence.

And Lanling is in the northwest of Langya, and can send troops to attack Murong Chen's back at any time, so it needs troops to involve, and the East China Sea is below Langya, Zhuge You can't just sit idly by.

Therefore, the ultimate goal is for Murong Chen and Zhuge You to confront each other in Langya and cut off the Jin army's support to Dong'an and Dongguan counties.

"The real target is Dongguan and Dong'an." Xu Miao said.

"A good strategy, Murong Chen attacked Langya with great fanfare and attracted all the troops, but in fact he was attacking west and east." Xiao Qin said.

"Then what should we do?" Xu Miao asked.

"With [-] cavalry, we can't do anything." Xiao Qinzhi said helplessly, leaning on the recliner, looking at the top of the military tent.

"Brother Qin, you are stupid. The situation in Langya is tense. These [-] cavalry will definitely go to Langya to help out. How can they be willing to stay in Lanling? Besides, he only has [-] infantry, and he doesn't attack the city. Isn't [-] cavalry It's wasted."

"That's right!" Xiao Qinzhi sat up suddenly, as if he heard the sound of blood flowing, if the five thousand cavalry were not there, then the opportunity would come, and he said again: "Brother Xianmin, go and find the seventh and ninth uncles, I will Think hard about it."

"Yeah!" Say it, Xu Miao opened the tent door and went out to find someone.

(End of this chapter)