The new era of chaos begins in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 337

The task of opening them up can be said to be simple or difficult.

They need to build a semi-permanent military fortress at the other end of the canyon portal and clear out any potentially hostile presence for hundreds of miles around.

Of course, the existences around the exit of the canyon that are more hostile and dangerous to humans are basically centaur tribes, groups of violent black goats, and some tigers, leopards, and wolves.

In addition to Zhang Kai and Mei Zhan, Xu Jing's Ministry, Xiang Yuanzhen's Ministry, Wang Wende's Ministry, etc. also successively escorted heavy materials and civilians, craftsmen and other personnel into Shenyang Realm.

Only Wang Huan, Yang Wen, Han Cunbao, Jia Gan and other four people did not move lightly. They are responsible for protecting everyone's escape route and continuously sending people and materials into the Shenyang Realm.

Except for Jia Gan, he and the other three people began to desperately write letters to their families or old friends to recruit people.

Among them, Wang Huan was the most egregious. He wrote a letter to his father, who was appointed as Xihe's economic and strategic envoy. He did not say anything very important, but only said some irritating and sarcastic remarks to deliberately provoke the grumpy old man. General.

After receiving the letter, Old General Wang Hou was really furious. Although he was the Xihe Economic and Strategic Envoy and was in charge of the military power of the four states and one army, he did not have the power to mobilize troops eastward on his own. Of course, he did not Dare to move the garrison of various states away.

So Wang Hou took hundreds of his own troops and generals and rushed to Qinfeng Road in a hurry, vowing to kidnap the treacherous son back and present him to the court for disposal.

Wang Hou believed that this was the only way to save the life of his stupid son with a broken brain.

Just because he showed a noble style of exterminating relatives for justice, how dare officials ignore the merits of two generations of the Wang family and insist on killing the descendants of erring officials!
What Wang Hou didn't expect was that when he rushed to Fengxiang Mansion (affiliated to Qinfeng Road, the prefecture where Qishan is located) and was still thirty miles away from Qishan, he was ambushed by an elite rebel army, claiming to have ten thousand enemies. The graceful Wang Hou was captured alive after only one encounter, and the rest of his troops also surrendered one after another.

The one who captured Wang Hou was naturally Ergou, the ultimate master.

This sudden and tragic defeat directly knocked away the anger in Wang Hou's heart. He only felt a chill in his heart. He thought that not only could his son not be saved this time, but his life would also be lost here. ,

In fact, Wang Hou did not regard the people who ambushed him as the Zhao'an Rebel Army. Even though Wang Hou had never had real contact with the Rebel Army, he knew almost every leader of the Rebel Army very well.

He didn't think that among those thieves there would be such a terrifying master as Zang Ergou.

In Wang Hou's view, only the Song Dynasty could have such a master hiding.

His actions against Wang Hou meant that the imperial court had no intention of pardoning these rebels, including the descendants of his Wang family.

This made Wang Houpo feel a little hopeless.

But soon numerous doubts arose in Wang Hou's mind. For example, the imperial soldiers who ambushed Wang Hou did not kill Wang Hou's generals. There is no doubt that this is very abnormal.

From ancient times to the present, for military generals like Wang Hou, personal ability is one aspect, and the bodyguards (family generals) around him are also part of their overall strength.

Even for the vast majority of generals, without their own bodyguards, their military command capabilities may not be able to exert even one-tenth of the ability.

Why Yang Liulang wanted to publicly disseminate the Yang family's marksmanship in the army back then was partly because of his broad mind, and the other reason was to select generals for his bodyguards.

When Yang Ye died in battle at the entrance of the Chenjia Valley, the loss was not only the head of the Yang family, but also the Yang family's personal guards. They were all veterans of hundreds of battles accumulated by Yang Ye and his son after decades of fierce fighting with the Northern Liao Dynasty. , each one of them is a true elite capable of serving as a general of a hundred or even a thousand people.

If the court wants to deal with the Wang family, or marginalize Wang Hou, cutting off the family of guards around him will definitely be the best choice.

So Wang Hou began to become suspicious.

Although he was captured, his clothes, armor and equipment were only removed. He was neither tied up nor completely restricted in his freedom. He even had a horse to take his place.

And his personal guards were not even stripped of their armor, only their weapons and horses were confiscated, and they marched in formation on foot, escorted by a group of ambushers.

Originally this was nothing, but Wang Hou noticed that several senior generals did not have any sorrow or anxiety on their faces. On the contrary, the expressions on their faces seemed quite relaxed, as if they were not worried about the ambush. They will harm each other.

Wang Hou has been fighting on the battlefield with his father Wang Shao since he was a child. It has been nearly forty years now. What kind of storms have he not seen?

He immediately judged that these generals were probably insiders who were trying to steal everything from others.

Wang Hou suddenly realized that when he was attacked by that terrifying guy, it was these bastards who deliberately delayed the other guards' rescue; and after Wang Hou was captured by mistake, it was he who clamored to abandon his weapons and surrender.

Once I thought this through. The anger in Wang Hou's heart couldn't help but rush to his forehead.

Wang Hou secretly controlled the speed of his mount with his feet. When one of the "rebellious generals" approached, he shouted in a low voice: "Xue Zong! I ask myself that I have treated you well, why did you betray me?!"

Xue Zong was once Wang Hou's most trusted family general.

Both generations of Xue Ju's father and grandfather followed Wang Shao and Wang Hou's father and son on the battlefield and shed blood and died for the country. Xue Zong and his brother Xue Ju have been taught by Wang Hou since they were young, and were given military strategies by Wen Tao, who treated them like sons and nephews.

After the two grew up, the more steady Xue Ju became the companion of Wang Huan, the third generation of the Wang family, while the more impulsive Xue Zong was taken by Wang Hou to continue teaching by words and deeds.

Xue Zong followed Wang Hou on the battlefield for more than ten years. The two were called master and servant. In fact, they were as loving as father and son, and as loving as master and apprentice. Their relationship was so deep that it was by no means easy.

Therefore, the betrayal of other generals would not have a greater impact on Wang Hou than Xue Zong's betrayal.

Wang Hou thought that Xue Zong would be ashamed if he asked him like this.

Who would have thought that this guy just twitched his lips in embarrassment, looked around with twinkling eyes and said, "General, I... I have a stomachache!"

Then Xue Zong covered his face and squatted down.

Wang Hou's doubts became even worse.

Wang Hou watched Xue Zong grow up and knew his character very well. Xue Zong was a temperamental person and could rarely hide things in his heart.

Although this guy seems a little guilty, it's definitely not the guilt after betrayal, but more like the shame after making a small mistake.

Straight bitch! Is it just a small mistake to betray me? !

What does it mean to be an old man...
wrong! What if Xue Zong doesn’t think he is betraying me?
A seemingly incredible idea suddenly came to Wang Hou's mind.

After the idea came to him, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, sighing that he was getting old after all, and he couldn't help but find excuses for the rebellious younger generations.

But as a veteran military strategist, what Wang Hou is best at is exploring those impossible possibilities.

Then he began to deduce what was wrong with this incident, assuming that Xue Zong had not betrayed him.

Soon he found a lot of supporting evidence.

For example, he discovered that there were not many casualties among his bodyguards and generals. It should be said that there were some injured, but none died.

This was a doubtful point that he had been too immersed in thinking before and subconsciously ignored. After all, there are no immortals on the battlefield.

This is obviously suspicious.

Then there were several family generals who were similar to Xue Zong and seemed to be suspected of betrayal. They exchanged a few words with each other, and then they all deliberately distanced themselves from Wang Hou.

And the sergeants in charge of the escort were a little too friendly to them.

Several of Wang Hou's soldiers were thirsty and asked for water from them, but he and others politely gave them water bags.

Etc., etc!

Straight bitch! Are these arrogant people treating me like a fool? !
Wang Hou sighed in his heart, then approached Xue Zong again, and asked seemingly casually: "The person who came to Xihe to deliver a message a few days ago was your eldest brother Xue Ju, right? I haven't seen him for many years, is he still okay? ?”

Xue Zongzheng was worried, but he was stunned when he heard Wang Hou's question, and subconsciously replied: "I'm thinking of you, my brother, everything is well..."

After saying only a few words, Xue Zong hurriedly stopped, like a child who was caught by his parents stealing words. He blinked at Wang Hou with seemingly innocent eyes and said with a flattering smile: "I said some nonsense and cut the master into pieces." Don’t take it seriously!”

Wang Hou snorted coldly and shouted angrily: "What a disgrace! That evil obstacle has given you so many benefits, but you have turned your back on me as the general!"

At this time, Wang Hou could not guess that the things these rogues did were instigated by his rebellious good son Wang Huan.

In the fight between me and my son, no matter who the family generals and bodyguards helped, it was not considered betrayal, so naturally there was no real guilt.

At this time, Wang Hou guessed the truth, and he finally felt relieved, but his liver ached with anger.

He was about to ask Xue Zong about the inside story. Ergou, who had been watching the excitement with a smile not far away, laughed loudly and said: "Why should General Wang be impatient? Everything will be clear when we get the place. The home of the old general The generals don’t know much more than the old generals, and even if you press me repeatedly, you can’t find out anything.”

Wang Hou glanced sideways at Ergou. He was deeply impressed by this hateful boy.

It was this guy who broke through the obstruction of Wang Hou's personal guards as soon as he came up and made a surprise attack on him.

And this kid's strength is so high that it's simply terrifying.

Wang Hou himself is considered a well-known warrior in the northwest. Although his physical strength is no longer at the peak of his prime, his martial arts and marksmanship are more sophisticated. Even Wang Huan is reluctant to stand up to him.

However, Ergou fought with him for only one round. First, he shot away Wang Hou's filigree silver spear, and then with the second shot, he knocked the frightened old general off his horse, and then Wang Hou was captured alive.

The whole process is so smooth that it feels like acting.

Ergou's face was so young that Wang Hou thought from the beginning that he was the pillar of the country trained by the Zhao Song royal family. Such people were decisive and cold-hearted, so Wang Hou did not dare to pry more.

But now the situation is reversed, these rogues are actually his own subordinates, so Wang Hou becomes more courageous.

He shouted with a cold face: "Which family are you a young man from? With such good martial arts skills, if you can be loyal to the country and perform some meritorious deeds on the battlefield, you will surely enjoy glory and a wife in the future. Why bother to follow? That evil boy has become a thief and bandit, bringing shame to our ancestors!"

Ergou laughed and said: "What the old general said is absolutely true. But I don't know if I join the Song Dynasty army and fight for the country, what high-ranking official can I achieve?"

Wang Hou only thought that the two dogs were moved, but he said happily: "If the military generals in our dynasty are considered to have the best official positions, Di Xiangwu should be the leader. Because of his many meritorious services, he once worshiped the Privy Council twice, and later served as a disciple of Tong Zhongshu. Pingzhang affairs are the powers and duties of the prime minister in power. Since ancient times, the so-called generals and prime ministers are nothing more than this."

Ergou said, "I once heard someone say that when Di Wuxiang was the Privy Councilor, he was accused of treason every day, so that he lived in fear and fear three times a day. He finally resigned and hid in his hometown, but he still couldn't live in peace. In the end, he was so worried that he developed sores on the corners of his mouth and died."

Wang Hou was a little dumbfounded, but he was willing to see such a rare warrior miss out, so he insisted: "Who is this bastard who started the rumor? Di Wuxiang has the trust and favor of the officials. Even if some villains slander you for no reason, how can you be worried! This is nonsense!"

Ergou laughed and said, "I once heard someone say that Wen Yanbo, a famous minister of the Renzong Dynasty, once told the officials, 'Isn't Taizu a loyal minister of Zhou Shizong? But he won the military's heart, so there was the Chen Qiao Incident.' Can the old general tell me? , Why did Mr. Wen Yanbo say this?"

Wang Hou was really embarrassed this time. He thought that the young man in front of him was easy to fool, but he didn't expect that he was actually a subtle ghost who pretended to be a pig and eat the tiger.

He couldn't say anything, so he could only wave his sleeves and snort coldly, pretending to be arrogant: "You are not a fool! I am too lazy to pay attention to you!"

However, the two dogs couldn't help laughing a few times. The laughter made Wang Houmian feel embarrassed, so he had to cover his face with his sleeves and lay on the horse's back pretending to be a dead dog.

The group of people walked in a meandering way, and soon arrived at the Qishan Rebel Camp.

Compared with not long ago, the Qishan Rebel Camp is now much deserted. For example, most of the tens of thousands of civilians who were once bustling had already gone to Shenyang Realm.

Everyone only rested in the camp for one night, and except for Wang Hou clamoring to see Wang Huan, there were no twists and turns.

The general guarding the camp this time was Yang Wen, but he met Wang Hou as his nephew, and then told the old general about the rebel army's plans.

When Wang Hou heard that they had discovered a cave called Shenyang Realm and were going there to split the earth and seal the territory, he couldn't help but be shocked.

Wang Hou shouted anxiously: "From all over the world, is it the king's land? Is it the king's ministers who lead the land? You have expanded the land and opened up the territory. This is a great achievement! Why don't you repay it to the imperial court and get an honorable reward?" How can we give and receive privately and separate ourselves?"

Ergou sneered on the side and said: "In the whole world, is it the king's land? Why didn't the old general ask the officials of the Zhao and Song dynasties if they dared to recognize this? Yanyun, Liaodong, Mobei, Annan, Dali, Tubo, The Zhao and Song officials cannot control this place so close, so how dare they peek into the cave! You must know that there is also great cause and effect there, how can the Zhao and Song officials dare to accept it?!"

When Wang Hou saw Ergou speaking, he felt a little headache, but he couldn't ignore it, so he had to ask in a whisper: "But I don't know what the big cause and effect is in Shenyang Realm?"

Ergou said: "In the days of Yu, Shun, Zhu Xia, Yin and Shang, China had great enemies called ghosts, such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turks in later generations, and the Khitan today. They often attacked and harassed them. There are virtuous queens and good wives. He led the Yin and Shang armies to defeat the Gui Fang and chased them into the Shenyang Realm. Thousands of years later, although the Yin and Shang Dynasties left, the Gui Fang continued to thrive in the Shenyang Realm and continues to this day."

Wang Hou was surprised and even more horrified when he heard this, but he said: "How dare you provoke such a formidable enemy of the Xia Dynasty?!"

Ergou laughed and said: "Old general, don't be anxious, just listen to what the boy has to say. Don't you think the sages have said that one is born in sorrow and dies in happiness?"

The Shenyang realm is vast, fertile, rich in products, and has few disasters. The ghosts lived and multiplied there, and they were so comfortable that they had long forgotten what military and strategic disputes were.

To us, they are just like fat pigs kept in captivity, which can be killed by a butcher. "

Wang Hou sighed: "With such a cave, you will eat up some territory, but how will you divide it, and who will be the co-owner?"

Ergou said: "The people in Guifang are often vicious, greedy and ill-educated. They cannot practice the way we govern China today. We must learn from the Shang, Zhou and Spring and Autumn Periods, practice the etiquette of enfeoffment among princes, and then practice the way of kings and tyrants to govern chaos!"

When Wang Hou heard this, he immediately understood the plan of Ergou and others.

At the same time, he also understood why Xue Zong and others were bribed by that little bastard Wang Huan.

Straight bitch! Who can refuse the opportunity to be the local emperor in an upright and upright manner?

I am also greedy!

(End of this chapter)