Song Dynasty

Chapter 84 Du Chong
"Qi Fang, how did you fight this battle? I stayed behind with [-] elite soldiers, but I couldn't win a mere [-] gold captives. You have betrayed someone's trust, and the crime is unforgivable. Someone is here, drag him out and chop him up. Show the owl's head to the public and circulate it to the three armies."

Si Jiankang, the Right Minister of the Great Song Dynasty, Jianghuai Xuanfu, stayed behind in the Xingyuan tent of the left-behind Si Xingyuan. Anger erupted instantly.

Since Du Chong stayed behind in Jiankang, he only handed over all the front-line warfare to Qi Fang, while he hid in Jiankang City and didn't care about anything.Anyway, as long as the Yangtze River is guarded, the Jin army has neither ships nor wings. In the end, Wushu will return to the north and retreat to the north when he is tired of fighting enough in the north of the river.

Therefore, during this month, he traveled around the mountains and rivers all day long, held wine and high parties, and lived a happy life.

Just yesterday, Du Chong received an urgent report from Qi Fang, saying that a Hebei signing army had arrived on the other side of Majiadu.The numbers were low and morale was low.

After getting the news, Du Chong was suddenly a little moved and thought of taking the initiative to attack.

On the surface, he now has the trust of officials.Not only was he promoted to the right chancellor, but he was only one step away from being able to enter the political affairs hall and take charge of the world, and he was in charge of all the troops in the Jianghuai area.

But I know my own affairs best. The so-called high places are too cold, and the Song Dynasty has always had a climate of party struggle.There are only a few seats in the political affairs hall. If you occupy it, others will have no place to sit.

Just some time ago, there were rumors in the ruling and opposition parties that Zhang Jun and Zhang Deyuan intended to preside over the Jianghuai military affairs and seize the military power of the left-behind division.He also contacted some officials, wanting to impeach himself for the crime of losing Tokyo.

Speaking of the internal strife in Tokyo, Du Chong was very guilty, even though he was backed by officials.But he stayed in Jiankang, unable to accompany the servants, and unable to grasp the court's movements.There is no guarantee that the emperor will not have opinions on himself.

Everything I have, Du Chong, is given by the government. I have a bad reputation and have no foundation in the court.If I am not careful, my current scenery of flowers and brocades will immediately become a mirror image.

If I am afraid of the enemy and do not move forward, there is no guarantee that I will be carefully impeached for being passive and timid.

No matter what, at least I have to make some military exploits and block the mouths of the people in the world in order to keep the wealth in front of me.

Thinking that the enemy is only five thousand tired enemies, but Hebei signed troops, not the chilling Jurchen Tartars, Du Chong felt that this is a soft persimmon, and it would be shameful not to squeeze it.

"Okay, let's go to one battle, even if you get the heads of dozens of enemies, it will be an explanation to the officials. I have to take a risk, just this time."

Therefore, he ordered Qi Fang to lead the main force of the former army and the Chinese army across the river to fight the enemy decisively.

But I don't want to, this seemingly soft persimmon is a hard bone.With [-] against [-], not only did they fail to win, but they were driven back.The troops lost a lot, and the corpses of the dead soldiers filled the two boats. It is said that they were left on the north bank, and there were more corpses that could not be brought back.

Up to now, the elite backbone of the army has been completely defeated, and the morale is extremely low, and it will not recover after a month or two of rest.

After finally plucking up the courage to order the troops to fight fiercely, it ended like this. After receiving the news of the disastrous defeat of the army, Du Chong was devastated.Early this morning, he rode a fast horse and rushed over.

At this moment, the anger in his chest has turned into boundless killing intent, which makes his rather handsome features look extraordinarily ferocious.

Today he was going to kill someone, to vent his disappointment and anger.

"Yes!" Two guards rushed in, grabbed Qi Fang's arms, and were about to drag him out of the tent.

Qi Fang, the former military commander, struggled violently, threw two guards away, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and cried out in a sad voice: "Enxiang, Enxiang, it's not that the last general refuses to fight to the death, it's that Yelu Mawu is too capable!" We fought. Those Khitan dogs rushed forward as if they were crazy when they saw us. The soldiers really couldn't resist! Enxiang, Enxiang, the last general was just a small general before, it was you The old man single-handedly promoted me to the current position. If I fail to meet the expectations of my benefactor, I will be punished with death. However, for the sake of serving you in the past, please spare my life! I can’t die , I can't die."

The head was kowtowed so hard, in a blink of an eye, hot blood dripped from his forehead.

"Shut up, Qi Fang, you also know that you were selected by someone. Without someone, you can have today. This is how you repay my kindness. Why can't you die? The person who died on the battlefield in the battle yesterday There are too many. Commanders Wang Min and Zhang Chao who have the same official position as you will not die in battle, but you have to come back with a cheeky face. Don't talk too much, drag it out and chop it." Du Chong shouted sharply.

Du Chong is harsh, ruthless and moody.If he likes you, it doesn't matter who you are or how capable you are, as long as you are obedient, you don't hesitate to be a high official or rich salary.If I hate you, no matter what your identity is, I will immediately turn my face and be ruthless, and kill as soon as I say.

When he was in Tokyo, Ma Gao was considered a commanding officer. The senior generals of the army were immediately pushed out of the tent and beheaded by him just because they were defeated. Today, if they kill Qi Fang again, they will not even bat an eye.

Qi Fang cried loudly: "Enxiang, please forgive me, Enxiang, please forgive me!" While crying, he knelt forward for a few steps, and kept bowing his hands to other generals in his army: "Generals, please persuade Enxiang, please! you!"

It was so miserable to see him that someone finally couldn't bear it.A general came forward, cupped his hands and said, "Du Xianggong, our army has just been defeated, and the morale of the army is not stable. It is not appropriate to kill a general before the battle. It is better to let General Qi take the blame and do meritorious service."

The person speaking was none other than Guo Zhongxun, the deputy commander in front of the palace. He was in command of the Imperial Guard and had a high status.Du Chong usually gives some face to what he said.

Du Chong snorted coldly: "A crime is a meritorious deed, and a crime is a meritorious service. If you lose the battle, you will not be held accountable if you just say this. If anyone is willing to fight hard, won't a certain military law become a display. Guo Tongzhi, you don't want to intercede for this dog."

"In yesterday's battle, our army did not expect to encounter such a fierce enemy, and the responsibility does not lie on General Qi Fang alone. To be honest, we are all guilty."

"Yes, yes, please be kind to me." With Guo Zhongxun as the leader, other officers in the tent also stood up at the same time and bowed to the ground.

"Hehe, you really are united as one. Is this going to be reversed?" Du Chong sneered loudly: "It seems that if you don't want to do this today, you won't get up. You were able to kill Ma Gao back then, and it's the same today." You can kill Qi Fang. Well, for your sake, please spare Qi Fang's life. However, the death penalty can be avoided, but the living penalty cannot be escaped. Come and beat him with fifty army sticks."

"Thank you Enxiang, thank you Enxiang!" Qi Fang shouted loudly.

There was a crisp "crack", and when fifty sticks came down, Qi Fang, who was as strong as an ox, was covered in blood, without an inch of good flesh.Looking at him in the pool of blood, he was already so angry that he passed out completely.

At this moment, suddenly, there was a faint shout in the distance.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

"Failed, defeated!"

……

"What's going on?" Du Chong was startled.

At the moment, he didn't care about Qi Fang on the ground, and rushed to the door of the Jiezhang in three steps and two steps. At this time, the shouts of killing in the distance became louder.

Look up and look north.

But I saw, everywhere in front of my eyes were soldiers fleeing in panic.The frightened war horses and big animals rushed around, trampling the soldiers standing in front of them fiercely, until their ears were filled with miserable screams.

Another buffalo used to pull the cart lost control, and the cart behind it swung violently, breaking a stake hanging from a lantern, and the lantern fell directly into a tent.

I don't know what was stored in the tent, probably something like kerosene or saltpeter. With a "huh", an orange-red flame burst out instantly.Two soldiers rushed out covered in flames, screaming and rolling on the ground.

As soon as the fire started, it was out of control. In a blink of an eye, the barn and the tent next to it were set ablaze.

The heat wave hits the face, which is unbearably hot.

The few people who had just left the tent took a step back at the same time, dripping with cold sweat.

"The camp is bombed!" Du Chong woke up suddenly, and cursed: "Qi Fang, look at the good soldiers you brought, why don't you bring someone to suppress them?"

After shouting this, he remembered that Qi Fang had been beaten unconscious by his army stick, stomped his feet repeatedly, and shouted to the commanders behind him: "What are you guys doing here, why don't you go back and control the troops. Otherwise, before the Jinmen come to fight, the army of X will be dispersed. Within an hour, within an hour, you must stabilize the order. Otherwise, come and see me."

He was angry and anxious, and his voice became extremely sharp, as if a knife was scraping on a glazed tile, and goose bumps appeared on his body.

Although Du Chong is fatuous and incompetent, he still has basic military knowledge after being the commander-in-chief for this year.It is natural to know that the camp roar is the most feared thing for the army to stay overnight.Especially after yesterday's disastrous defeat, seeing so many former comrades die tragically by the enemy's knife, many people's spirits have collapsed.At night, if there was any disturbance, it would be suspected that the Jurchens had come to steal the camp.As a result, tens of thousands of people would get out of the tents in a daze, wielding knives in their hands and hacking indiscriminately.It will not recover until dawn.

In such a situation, even if you have hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers on hand, you will run away clean overnight.

"Yes." Several commanders were also in a hurry and were about to leave.

Suddenly, there was another roar, and a crowd of people who didn't know where it came from suddenly rushed in, engulfing everyone in an instant.

How poor the group of generals who stayed at the decision-making center of the department resisted this overwhelming force, they were suddenly engulfed in it, staggered, and moved backwards involuntarily.

Du Chong is a civil official. When he saw such a terrible situation, he was completely dumbfounded.He didn't know how long it took before he woke up and found that his hat had also been squeezed out and his hair was loose.

It felt like there was a salty taste in my mouth, and I didn't know when someone knocked my teeth out.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, I'm Du Chong, aren't you afraid of my military law?" However, the army has been completely in chaos, thousands of people are pushing each other, just like fish in a dry pond scrambling for their lives , who knows who this disheveled man is.

The people around were shouting in confusion: "I lost, I lost, Yelu Mawu has already been killed, I'm about to escape, and I won't be able to escape any later."

"Fart, fart!" Du Chong screamed angrily, "The enemy doesn't have wings, how could they fly over?"

The commanders around Du Chong were also shocked. A general named Liu Jing was so strong that he pushed away the broken soldiers in front of him with a loud shout.At this time, the generals came to their senses, and at the same time drew out their weapons and slashed wildly, finally clearing an open space.

Guo Zhongxun reached out and grabbed a soldier, and asked, "Guan Qi, what's going on, aren't you stationed at the pier, why are you here?"

The soldier was Guan Qi, who was one of Guo Zhongxun's subordinates, so he wailed, "Commander, just now, Yelu Mawu took the boat we left behind yesterday and crossed the river to attack at night. Brothers were unprepared, and they would collapse at the first touch. Now, the Liao dog is about to kill him, and the three armies are all scattered. You should hurry up, or it will be too late."

"Ah, the Khitan soldiers of Yeluma Wu... come by boat, and the three armies are all scattered?" Du Chong's eyes were straightened when he heard this, and blood flowed from his mouth: "Impossible, impossible."

Guo Zhongxun raised his voice: "How many people are there in Yelumawu?"

Guan Qi cried: "I don't know, I don't know, they are everywhere, at least two or three thousand, all of them are Khitan elites."

All the generals also took a deep breath, as if they fell into a hole in the ice.Unexpectedly, the enemy came so fast.I thought that after yesterday's battle, I would have to rest for a few days before fighting again.But he didn't want Yelu Ma Wu to kill him just one day later, without giving people a chance to breathe.

In such a dark night, it can be said that Xinbai, the left-behind division, has been defeated by the enemy. Now that the army has fallen into chaos, it is no longer possible to organize an effective defense.

It's over, the left-behind division is over.

In an instant, everyone's faces were pale.

Suddenly, Du Chong yelled: "Qi Fang, what about Qi Fang, let him take someone over there to snatch the pier back for someone."

All the generals smiled wryly in their hearts, don't say that Qi Fang has been beaten unconscious now, even if he is fine now.What can you do without soldiers?
Guo Zhongxun has the oldest seniority and the highest position among the generals.He raised his spirits and shouted to everyone: "Masters, it's urgent, everyone don't stay here anymore, we have to do something. Go back immediately to rectify the soldiers and horses, let's grab the pier."

Everyone just woke up like a dream, and at the same time, they bowed their hands to Du Chong, drew out their waist knives, and rushed out, shouting at the broken soldiers while running: "Follow me, follow me!"

Du Chong was still standing there with a pale face.

Guo Zhongxun saw that he looked helpless, and sighed: "Du Xiang... hey..." He pulled him and said, "Mr. Xiang, hurry back to the festival account. The situation is urgent. Please raise the account to take charge of this chaos."

(End of this chapter)