Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 609: Taking Chongzhou
On December 3, after investigating the defenses of Qiongdan County on the border of Chongzhou, they officially attacked Chongzhou. In order to ensure the "legality" of the procedure, Chen Mo also had someone draft a manifesto to attack King Chong.

He repeatedly emphasized that King Chong was a rebel and that he was a loyal subject of the Song Dynasty, and hoped that the defenders of Qiongdan County would surrender.

However, the one stationed in Qiongdan County was a trusted confidant sent by King Chong, a fifth-rank warrior.

He was indeed loyal to King Chong. Even though the situation was so clear and he knew he was no match for the Chen army, he still defended the city and refused to surrender.

Chen Mo sighed and let Yue Ruyan be the vanguard. In less than half an hour, they broke through the city gate.

Chu Ge, the defender of Qiongdan County, personally put on armor and fought to the death to defend the city gate that was breached by Yue Ruyan herself. He was captured alive by Yue Ruyan and the defenders were completely defeated.

Afterwards, Chu Ge was brought to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo planned to persuade him to surrender in person.

To be honest, the more Chen Mo appreciates this kind of tough guy.

As a result, Chu Ge not only refused to surrender, but instead cursed Chen Mo as a traitor and a villain, saying that he must not die a good death. His eyes were glaring like copper bells in anger, and he kept spitting blood at Chen Mo.

"General Chu, isn't it good to be alive?" Chen Mo sighed and said.

"Pooh."

Chu Ge made a pooh sound and then told him about the kindness King Chong had shown him.

When King Chong was still a prince and not yet an adult, Chu Ge's father followed King Chong.

At that time, Chu Ge was Chong Wang's study partner, and they ate and lived in the same courtyard.

Later, King Chong went to another place to be a fief, and took him with him, and gave him the royal surname "Chu".

Even Chu Ge's wife was given by King Chong.

Later, Chu Ge's daughter also gave Chong Wang a son who was not born of a legitimate wife to be his concubine.
When Chen Mo heard this, he knew that he could not persuade him to surrender, as he was obviously a diehard.

"Drag him away." Chen Mo waved his hand and gave Chu Ge a quick death.

That afternoon, Chen Jun continued to move south.

They arrived at Wanshan County on December 4. There were only a few hundred garrison troops in the county. The local county magistrate and garrison general waited for Chen's army to arrive and then opened the city to surrender.

On December 6, they captured two more cities without bloodshed.

On December 10th, we arrived at Wanfu Pass.

Wanfu Pass is as its name suggests, it is a canyon with a narrow strip of sky. It is rumored that as long as a small force is stationed at the pass of the canyon, even an army of ten thousand people cannot pass through.

This pass is also a very important strategic location in Chongzhou. If Qiongdan County is compared to the gateway to Chongzhou, this pass is the last line of defense of Chongzhou. If this pass is lost, Chongzhou will have no defenses.

If Chen Mo wanted to bypass this pass, he would have to walk for a few more days before reaching the capital of Chongzhou.

Of course, no matter how dangerous the pass is, it is not without flaws.

The flaws of Chongjun are obvious.

Too weak.

The gap between him and Chen Jun is too huge.

Chen Mo, Yue Ruyan, Xiao Jing and Wu Yanqing personally took action, leading two elite troops to attack the pass of the canyon.

King Chong's troops were basically destroyed in Huaizhou, and there were not many main troops left in Chongzhou.

Some more troops could be sent to guard the provincial city. There aren't that many soldiers left to defend Wanfu Pass.

They didn't hold out for long; some retreated, some surrendered.

The main force of Chen’s army advanced to Wanfu Pass.

It took another five days for the army to arrive at the city of Chongzhou.

The Chongwang Palace is inside.

As long as Chongzhou City is captured, Chongzhou will be taken by Chen Mo.

Nalan Yiren had been following Chen Mo and witnessed it all.

Of course, she didn't help, she was just a bystander.

She watched Chen Mo command thousands of troops, watched the enemy generals surrender to him and submit to him, watched him comfort the people in the city, watched him give orders and curse the treacherous officials and rebels in the court, and watched him swear to keep the area safe.

What a heroic spirit it was, it also made Nalan Yiren feel a little strange in her heart.

That is to say, she is not a man, otherwise she would have said, "A real man should be like this."

Several points that attract men to women.

It's nothing more than beauty, status and money.

And there are several points that men attract women.

Strictly speaking, it's the same as women.

And Chen Mo has all of these.

An outstanding man can naturally attract women.

Those stories where a beautiful, rich girl falls in love with a poor guy are mostly just the author's fantasy.

Of course, this does not mean that Nalan Yiren is attracted to Chen Mo.

Rather, if Nalan Yiren really wants to get married in the future, she will definitely choose someone like Chen Mo.

December 12th.

It was just two days after Chen Mo took over Wanfu Pass.

Chongzhou City.

When the news of the coalition's defeat in Huaizhou, which led to the annihilation of the entire army, reached Chongzhou City, the city was already in chaos, and countless noblemen fled with their families.

This time Wanfu Pass was lost, and even the common people in the city were a little panicked.

Chongzhou implemented a "confinement" policy on the people of Chongzhou.

In other words, the people of County A could not go to County B without a pass issued personally by the county magistrate.

In addition, due to the lack of information circulation in feudal society, the lower-class people had few ways to learn about the outside world.

Just two points.

Go see for yourself or listen to others.

King Chong regards Chen Mo as an enemy.

Naturally, they will try every means to discredit Chen Mo.

This made the lower-class people feel that once Chen’s army broke into the city, they would massacre the entire city.

Chongwangfu.

study.

King Chong, almost all the garrison generals, officials, and counselors in the city gathered here, with panic on their faces.

"Your Highness, the Chen army is advancing too fast. It's only been a few days and they've already broken through Wanfu Pass. If they continue like this, they'll be at the city in less than five days. When will Lu Sheng's reinforcements arrive?" asked a general of King Chong.

Prince Chong Chu Yan, who was sitting behind the desk, had a gloomy face and was holding a letter from Lu Sheng in his hand.

Chu Yan was about to twist the letter into a dough twist.

After a long while, Chu Yan said dejectedly: "There is no reinforcement at all. I lied to you about the reinforcement."

"what?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the study, and everyone looked shocked. Although they didn't dare to say anything, they wished they could kill King Chong's mother in their hearts.

With Lu Sheng's reinforcements, we can still fight.

No, you are definitely going to lose.

If we had known this, we would have run away earlier.

“Your Highness, if there is no reinforcement, how should we resist Chen’s army? The soldiers and horses in the city, including the logistics, are less than 5,000. We are definitely no match for Chen’s army.” A general said dejectedly, with a hint of crying in his voice.

"Your Highness, why don't we surrender?" an official bravely asked.

But Chu Yan soon glared at him, then sent someone in to drag the official away and behead him.

The news of the murder of Prince Huai has spread, so he is asked to surrender? What is the difference between this and walking into a trap?
Well, although the news that Chen Mo spread was that Prince Huai decided to make his own decision at Suolong Mountain.

But in the eyes of a group of smart people, they thought that Chen Mo was just making excuses.

Seeing that Chu Yan refused to surrender, everyone in the study became even more panicked.

In other words, they cannot defeat Chu Yan. If they could, these people would think of kidnapping Chu Yan and presenting him to Chen Mo.

"You are a bunch of cowards. Are you qualified to be officials of the Song Dynasty? The court supports you with high positions and generous salaries, but now you hear that the rebels are coming and you are all so scared."

When Chu Yan saw them like this, he slammed the table in anger, angry at them for not fighting back.

Everyone was so frightened that they lowered their heads and dared not speak.

Of course, Chu Yan had no intention of killing them, he just wanted to vent his anger.

After venting his anger, Chu Yan sighed and said, "I have decided to abandon Chongzhou and retreat to Luonan."

Chu Yan asked Lu Sheng for reinforcements.

But Lu Sheng declined.

He said he had carefully investigated the situation of the Songjiapo battle.

Gongsun Yan and Luo Qingyang were indeed shot to death by Chen Mo.

Therefore, Lu Sheng suspected that Chen Mo might have already entered the second level.

Then, Chongzhou cannot be defended.

Even if he personally led his troops to help, they would not be as fast as Chen's army.

Let King Chong preserve his strength and come to Luonan to discuss countermeasures against Chen Mo, and do not confront Chen Jun head-on.

Although King Chong was extremely reluctant, he had no choice but to do so.

Fortunately, in the current situation, Lu Sheng also needs him, so even if he goes to Luonan, Lu Sheng will not do anything to him.

……

December 16th.

in the afternoon.

Under the city of Chongzhou.

"Report." Sun Meng rode his horse to Chen Mo and said, "My Lord, the scouts ahead reported that Chongzhou City seems to be an empty city. King Chong has already run away."

"Ran?"

Chen Mo raised his eyebrows and immediately ordered, "Sun Meng."

"The end will be here."

"Pass on my order to have the Xianzhen Guard send a battalion into the city to investigate and confirm the situation."

"promise."

Less than half an hour.

Then news came back.

Chongzhou City is truly an "empty city". Except for the lower-class common people, all the defenders, nobles and gentry in the city who could escape have fled. Three days have passed.

"Chongzhou is the base camp of King Chong. If he runs away, he will be regarded as abandoning the nobles and people of Hexi. This is a serious matter. Where can he run to?" Jiang Li said.

"Where else could he go? Apart from Luo Nan, he has nowhere else to go." Xiao Jing said.

"Congratulations to Duke Anguo for taking Chongzhou. Luonan is just around the corner. Eradicating the rebels and cleaning up the court is just around the corner." Liu Ji could not hide his excitement. After taking Chongzhou, he would own the whole world. He was only one step away.

The remaining princes and forces are just small fry and are not worth worrying about.

Chen Mo was also a little excited, but in front of so many subordinates, he acted very calmly. He looked down at the hem of his robe that was blown up by the cold wind and said, "It's winter now."

After that, he kicked his horse's belly and shouted, "Enter the city!"

……

The news that Chen Mo had captured Chongzhou spread throughout the world like a flying bird.

The story about Chen Mo was also made to be so miraculous that it gave rise to various vernacular novels for people to pass on and admire.

A light snow fell in Yanzhou. In a tavern in Yuan County, ruffians gathered in the hall. Under each table, there was a brazier.

The storyteller was talking eloquently, telling the story reported from the front of Chongzhou: "The last book said that Chen Mo, the Duke of Anguo of our dynasty, took a horse and a bow at Songjiapo in Huaizhou. He shot and killed Gongsun Yan, a third-rank general under the command of the King of Chong, and Luo Qingyang, a general under the command of the King of Huai, with one arrow. He killed millions of enemy soldiers, and there was a river of blood and corpses everywhere. Who is Luo Qingyang? Can you guess?"

"How can we, the common people at the bottom of society, know about the affairs of such important people?"

"Say it quickly."

A group of people obeyed the anxious urging.

The storyteller kept the audience in suspense before speaking with great interest: "Everyone knows the seven famous families. Luo Qingyang is the head of the Luo family, one of the seven famous families. Not only that, but even the head of the Liang family, Liang Mu, was captured by Duke Anguo. As for why Duke Anguo killed Luo Qingyang but spared Liang Mu, I don't know. But what I want to talk about today is related to this matter.

It is said that after the great defeat, the King of Chong was frightened by the Duke of Anguo. When the Duke of Anguo led his army to Chongzhou, some surrendered, some fled, and no one dared to defend. Even the King of Chong was so frightened that he abandoned the city and fled when he learned that the Duke of Anguo was approaching, like a dog that had lost its home. "

"Ah? What about Princess Chong? Did Princess Chong escape as well?"

These are obviously not what the audience wants to hear. What they want to hear is the story of Chen Mo bullying men and women after he took over Chongzhou.

After all, Chen Mo has a criminal record.

The second wife of Liang Song, the former prefect of Yuzhou.

The wife of Prince Huai and several of his concubines.

But they were all laughed at by Chen Mo.

Chen Mo's reputation as a good wife is also known throughout the world.

Therefore, what they wanted to hear more was the scenes in which Chen Mo teased Princess Chong after he took over Chongzhou.

Storyteller: “…”

Is this something he dares to say?

The storyteller coughed twice and changed the subject, "What I want to say is that Duke Anguo is from the same family as us, and is also a country bumpkin. Outside, he went north to drive out foreign invaders, recover lost territory, and spread the prestige of our Song Dynasty. Inside, he eliminated the rebels, pacified the two kings, and kept the people safe.

Do you know how old Duke Anguo was when he conquered Chongzhou? He was only 23 years old! This has never happened before.”

"Twenty-three?"

"How can it be!"

Everyone was in an uproar, and soon someone said, "Duke An is already a first-class duke. If he wipes out the rebels this time, what official title should he be given?"

"Being higher than a first-class duke, he must be a prince, a king of a different surname!"

"A king with a different surname? Who are you looking down on? Now in the north, Yuzhou, Linzhou, Huaizhou, Fengzhou, Yanzhou, Jiangdong, Jiangnan, and Chongzhou are all in the hands of Duke Anguo. At least he can sit on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace."

I don't know if it was because he was too excited, but someone said something extremely blasphemous.

However, the people around him did not react to this statement with shock. Instead, they moved away from this person and nodded in agreement.

There are rumors among the people that Duke Anguo was born with the destiny of heaven and is the new true dragon emperor.

Dai Ling was the only one in the tavern who was afraid of getting into trouble, so he quickly left the tavern when the man uttered those treasonous words.

Dai Ling had actually arrived in the south of Huaizhou a long time ago.

However, because Chen Jun was still in Yanzhou and the ban on travel had not been lifted, Dai Ling rushed back to Yuan County only now.

And he was from Taoyuan County, Yanzhou.

Taoyuan County is less than a hundred miles away from Yuan County.

As a traveling merchant, he had a poor horse to pull his goods.

That night, he rushed back to Taoyuan County.

After returning home, he did not bother to stay any longer. After unloading the goods, he hurried to Dai Tu's house and knocked on the door.

"Is Dai Tu home?" Dai Ling shouted while knocking on the door. He couldn't wait to confirm that.

(End of this chapter)