Ice and snow cover the world and block mountains, rivers and valleys, but sometimes it is also a convenience.
After Taiyuan was besieged by the Japanese soldiers, if Xu Huai and others wanted to leave Fuzhou and go south during normal times, they could only borrow the Linyan Road in the west, pass through the mountains of the northern Shaanxi Plateau, enter Guanzhong, and then pass Tongguan and Hangu Pass.
Only by traveling eastward along the river can you reach Bianliang City.
Even if we don’t use enough power and travel day and night, we can’t reach Bianjing in less than ten days and a half.
After deciding to go south to Bianliang to join Wang Zhen, Xu Huairu left Xu Wuqi, Guo Junpan, Tang Pan, Tang Qing, Han Qi, Wang Jun, Fan Zongqi and others to stay with the victorious army and wait for orders. He, Wang Ju and Shi
Zhen, Yin Peng, Xu Xin'an, Zheng Tu, Zhou Jing, Wang Xian, Yan Xiaoyi and others led a small number of troops to escort Zhu Hang, Zhu Zhi and his son and Lu Xiong in advance, walking on the frozen Yellow River ice in the cold winter.
Gai went all the way south, and finally arrived at Bianliang City on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month without stopping.
Bianliang City has a radius of more than forty miles. The city's Hao is called Hulong River, which is more than ten feet wide. Willows are planted inside and outside the Hao. However, at this time, Hulong River, like the Yellow River, is frozen solid and covered with white snow.
, as if a white ribbon surrounds Bianliang City.
There are a total of seventeen water and land gates in the outer city of Bianliang. Xu Huaile's horse stopped in front of Guzi Gate in the northwest of Bianliang.
The urn in front of the city gate tower is more than a hundred steps deep, like a strong fortress. Every hundred steps of the city wall, there are horse stalls and war tents. Behind the dense crenellations are soldiers wearing strong armor and strong soldiers, but there is no way to bring Xu Huai a trace of it.
Even if it's a false sense of security.
At this moment, a memory appeared in his mind again:
"I followed my ancestors to travel north and south, and arrived at the capital at the end of Chongning. It was a long time of peace, and there were many people in Fufu. I was a young boy, but he was good at encouraging people. He was a grizzled old man who didn't know how to fight. When he raised his eyes, he painted brothels and pavilions and embroidered beaded curtains for households.
Carved carriages competed in Tianjie, BMWs competed in imperial roads. Gold and jade were dazzling, Luoqi was fragrant, new voices laughed in Liumo Flower Street, strings were tuned in teahouses and wine shops, the roads were filled with flowers, but suddenly the war came,
Smoke and dust are rising in the sky, gold is stirring on the ground, the northern army camp is under the city, millions of people in the city are unable to go south, food and grass are exhausted, and those who see fat women compete to eat..."
However, this memory, apart from giving Xu Huai an uncontrollable tingling sensation, could not bring any more warning or omen.
Because this was the situation that he had long expected that Bianjing would suddenly fall from extreme prosperity to a tragic hell on earth. With his experience at this time, as well as his ability to deduce and predict wars, he even imagined Bianliang City more concretely.
How tragic it would be.
On their way south, Xu Huai and the others had already received the exact news that the Red Guards' 100,000 soldiers and horses, under the command of the third prince, Tu Ge, King of Pingyan, had officially marched southward from Juyong Pass and Yuguan Pass to attack Yanjing half a month ago.
Under the city of (Xijin), the remnants of the Khitan clan surrendered to Yanjing's newly appointed Minister of War, Xiao Churu, together with the Xijin defender Fu Xindi, who surrendered to the city.
At this moment, the Chihu East Route Army not only completed preparations to move south from Hebei, but the second prince and Zhennan King Wululie also led the West Route Army to attack the city of Taiyuan and launch a strong attack on Taiyuan.
At this moment, the Chihu people had almost completely established a strategic advantage.
Even if they are a little slow in moving and fail to go south before the Yellow River thaws in March, they will be postponed due to the crisscrossing rivers in the Hehuai area, which is not conducive to cavalry galloping, but they can still clear out the cities and towns in Hebei and northeast of Hebei one by one first.
Resistance forces.
Even if Vietnam fights
Trying our best, we might be able to build a defense in the southeast of Hebei by taking advantage of the favorable mountains and rivers, but there is no way to solve the defense problem in Hebei.
Hebei Road is opposite the Khitan Nanjing Road. Apart from small-scale infiltration and plunder, Dai Viet and Khitan have not broken out into large-scale wars for more than a hundred years, and their armaments are even more lax than those in Hedong.
At present, there are some strong cities built in northern Hebei. Because of the second northern expedition against Yan, nearly ten soldiers and horses are stationed in the cities in northern Hebei.
However, outside these cities, Hebei is a plain terrain with vast plains.
In the cold winter, the rivers that originate from the Taihang Mountains and flow eastward to the sea, like the Yellow River, are frozen solid. For the Chihu people's cavalry, if the garrison in Hebei is unable to fight with them in the field, the defense in northern Hebei will be
It was full of loopholes and completely unable to stop the Red Husband Cavalry from going south.
If Dai Viet had not been in the Hehuai area and had no military force to restrain it in the field, the Red Husband Cavalry would have been able to ravage the Hehuai area in a flat plain.
"Let's go into the city. We rushed all the way back to Bianjing without sending a message in advance. We still don't know whether Mr. Wang is doing official business in the capital hall or resting in his house at this time," Zhu Hang said.
You go to my place to rest first and let Mr. Lu go and send the message to Mr. Wang. I still have to pack up and rush to the palace to reply to the order."
Everyone entered Bianliang City through Guzi Gate.
Although all the palaces and pavilions in the world pale in comparison to the high-rise buildings that occasionally flashed in Xu Huai's dreams, Bianliang, as the capital of Dayue and the most prosperous and wealthy city in the world, still made Niu Er and others look straight at it.
"Hey, dear Longli Dong, have we entered a fairyland?" Niu Er sat on the horse with his mouth open for a long time.
"This is Bianliang City! I have been to Taiyuan, and I thought there was no more majestic city in the world than this. I never thought that the capital city is the capital city after all..." Zheng Tu wanted to say a few sour words, but found that besides a few words of "wow", he also searched
He didn't say too many elegant words, so he only raised his head and pretended to smack his lips in a profound manner.
"You are just a country rat who fell into a jar of honey. Are you dumbfounded?" Yan Xiaoyi and Zhu Shicong laughed and said, "When you settle down at Mr. Zhu Kang's house, we will take you to the city to have a long experience."
…”
Before Zhu Chengjun was in trouble, Zhu Shicong followed him to sell horses in Bianjing.
When Yan Xiaoyi and Shen Zhene followed the exiled Wang Kong to Lanzhou, they also wandered around Bianjing for a while.
They are all familiar with Bianjing, and they also cherish the prosperity of Bianjing in their hearts.
Xu Huai still wanted everyone to remain optimistic about the war as much as possible, but he did not elaborate on the intricacies and powerlessness other than military matters.
Even though Yan Xiaoyi, Zhu Shicong and other entourage members were full of worries when they set off from Fuzhou, they reined in their horses and stopped in front of Guzi Gate. Seeing that Bianliang City had strong walls and tight defenses, they intuitively became optimistic.
I wanted to experience it first and relive the splendor of the capital.
Xu Huai just smiled slightly and had no intention of hindering their good spirits.
Bianjing City is connected to the land gate by main streets, and there are bridges that intersect with the streams and rivers flowing into the city. Bianliang also has a special street department, staffed by veterans of the Xiang Army, who are responsible for clearing snow from the main streets.
and garbage accumulation, the entire city also has a very developed drainage system.
When they came in from Guzimen, they saw that the snow on the main street had been swept away and paved with a layer of fine sand. It was cleaner and tidier than the towns they had walked through before; the ordinary people in Bianliang City had not yet felt the
fighting
The atmosphere of urgency is approaching, and it is also the New Year. The shops along the street are decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and the pedestrians on the street who are rushing to buy new year's goods are also beaming with joy.
However, Xu Huai and the others had to sleep in the open air all the way. In order to travel, they did not have proper food and accommodation. Their clothes and armor and the horses under their crotches were stained with mud, dust and blood, and their yellow and thin faces were stained by the cold wind of the north.
It was so cracked by the blowing that it was so out of tune with the people of Bianliang City.
And their unintentional display of bravery and habitual killing momentum also frightened ordinary people.
Although Wang Zhen was in power, he had no money in his life. When he was in trouble in Tongbai Mountain, he had to supplement the money with Xu Huai. The Wang family's house in the capital was also small and could not accommodate the hundreds of people who rushed to Bianjing with Xu Huai, so
Everyone went directly to Zhu Hang's house to rest for a while.
Zhu Hang first sent an entourage back to the mansion to report the news. Everyone rode their horses and walked to Zhu's mansion near Longjin Bridge in the southwest city. Zhu Tong had already led dozens of slaves and maids waiting at the gate. When they saw Zhu Hang and Zhu Zhi, they came over to greet him.
He called out: "Dad, brother, please go to the big house quickly. Mom and grandma are looking forward to your return, but they are so distracted that I invite Xu Huai and the others to take a break in the side courtyard."
Although filial piety is the first priority among all good deeds, how could Zhu Hang neglect Xu Huai, Wang Ju and others?
"I'm not busy. I'll accompany Xu Huai and the others to the side courtyard to put down their bags, and then we can go to the courtyard for a banquet together. Are there any arrangements?" Zhu Hang asked.
"Dad took Zhu Gui back to the house first. He had only just burned incense early. How could he prepare a banquet in the rush? But he was already preparing. After Xu Huai and the others put down their bags, washed up, and put on the smelly robes
If you change it, you should almost be ready." Zhu Tong said.
Zhu Hang is the son of a servant, and he is marrying the daughter of a county prince. The luxury of Zhu Mansion can be seen from the fine cotton and brocade silk worn by Zhu Tong's servants.
Walking into the house, the branches of the garden with withered leaves are also tied with colorful silk, like a cluster of flowers, and the paths in the yard are paved with brick doors.
The Zhu Mansion occupies a vast area with many courtyards. Even if someone rushes back just a stick of incense in advance to report, there is still room for more than a hundred people to gather for food and lodging. Dozens of servants are busy helping out.
Then I brought in a brand new bedding and some daily necessities.
As a scholar, Zhu Hang had to travel all the way, which was much harder and more tiring than Xu Huai and others. He personally led Xu Huai and others into the side courtyard, and Zhu Tong urged them to go back to the main courtyard to wash up first.
Xu Huai had nothing to deal with. It was unrealistic for so many people to take a hot bath. And on such a cold day, Xu Huai strictly prohibited everyone from washing themselves with cold water directly.
Xu Huai himself just took a copper basin of warm water and went back to the house to wash his face and hands. However, he took off his outer robe and cloak that were stained with mud and dust, opened the package, and found it difficult to find a clean-looking robe.
.
In the last one or two months of fighting, the conditions were extremely difficult. With frequent fighting, the robes deteriorated very quickly. They had to be mended and mended. The blood stains could not be cleaned away, making them look mottled.
Xu Huai was not so particular. He put on a robe outside his armor and walked out of the house. He saw that everyone else was still in the house. There was no one else in the yard. Only three girls stood in front of the corridor and looked around. They thought Zhu Mansion
The maidservant returned to the house and gave the robe and cloak she had changed to a young girl: "The clothes are damaged in some places, please ask some sisters to help mend them..."
"You are so bold and rude. Who is your sister? She actually sent my princess here!" a young girl yelled.
