Heavy fog is rolling in the foothills, the grass blades are covered with white frost, the rapid "ta-ta-ta" sound of horse hooves breaks through the loneliness of the morning, and sparrows fly in the bushes like arrows leaving their strings.
On the wall of Liu Wangzhai at the eastern foot of Tongguan Mountain, Liu Zhuangfei woke up from his sleep, pushed away the thatch wrapped around him to keep out the cold, stood up and looked outside.
Liuwang Village was built on a slope beam in a dangerous terrain.
In the early morning, thick fog rolled in the valley to the west of Poliang, and no trace of vegetation could be seen. But strangely, just after passing a slope, the fog on the eastern slope of Tongguan Mountain suddenly faded, as if there was only one slope.
A layer of snow-white gauze covers the sparse forest.
Soon, a dozen red cavalry emerged from the heavy fog on the west side of Poliang. Their fur robes were bent and their bows were bent, and tall felt blankets and other sundries were tied behind their saddles.
Liu Zhuangfei didn't panic. He checked the swords, weapons and crossbows at hand. Everything was as before. He patiently watched the movements of dozens of soldiers in the distance without even kicking his companions who were still sleeping soundly beside him to wake up.
Since the Japanese soldiers crossed the river, Chihu scouts have often appeared around Tongguan Mountain. It’s just that the Japanese soldiers on the south bank have not yet been able to attack the city and take out the stronghold. These
Chihu scouts generally would not come to provoke a closed village.
Besides, they are from Liuwang Village. How can they be so ignorant as ordinary villagers and panic when something happens?
Although dozens of red cavalrymen had stopped and were taking the time to rest on the hill, the rapid sound of horse hooves did not stop, and even became more rapid in the valley to the west.
Liu Zhuangfei's face became more and more surprised.
Tongguan Mountain is the end point of the Huangshan Mountains. The mountains run from northeast to southwest and are close to the Yangtze River. Liuwang Village, located on the slope of the eastern slope of Tongguan Mountain, is only twelve miles away from the bank of the Yangtze River - Xuanchi Post Road
, passing through the foot of the mountain to the north of Liuwang Village.
If any large group of enemies rides overland and heads west from Jianye, it will basically not be hidden from the eyes and ears of the villagers in Liuwang Village.
Liu Zhuangfei did not remember seeing large groups of captives riding westward through the post road north of Liu Wangzhai these days. What was the reason for such dense sound of horse hooves in the valley to the west?
But there were dozens of Red Hussars parked on the slope. They heard the sound of horse hooves getting closer and closer. They gritted their teeth and drove away to the east. Their faces were full of unwillingness and surprise. They had been like cats and mice in the past years going south.
Generally speaking, when you are chasing Southern soldiers with your cavalry, have you ever been caught and pursued by the Southern cavalry?
However, they were now outnumbered, with hundreds of cavalry from the Beijing and Xiangzhou reinforcements chasing them behind them. No matter how unwilling and arrogant they were, they could only retreat temporarily.
After dozens of captives fled on horseback, more and more cavalry soon emerged from the thick fog and soon spread all over the slopes north of Liu Wangzhai.
"Yang Gou'er, go and call the clan leader over to see if reinforcements from Beijing and Xiangzhou have arrived?"
Liu Zhuangfei saw that the hundreds of cavalry who appeared in the foothills at this time were all wearing blue and black armor, which was the uniform of the Dai Viet Imperial Army. Besides, the faces of the cavalry who were closer could be seen clearly, and they did not look like wild dogs.
He hurriedly kicked Yang Gou'er who was still sleeping soundly next to him to wake up, and urged him to call the clan leader Liu Li.
Although the number of Han troops who surrendered to the Red Husbands over the years and acted as the vanguard of the Red Husbands, burning, killing, and looting was definitely not a small number, the size of the cavalry that surrendered to the Han troops was very limited.
Liu Zhuangfei had not seen any captured soldiers or surrendered Han troops heading west on a large scale before, but now he saw a large group of cavalry coming from west to east. He immediately guessed that it was probably King Qin's troops from the west.
coming.
Besides, to the east of Liuwang Village are Fanchang County, Wuhu County, and Dangtu County, which are only 200 miles away from the western foothills of Niushou Mountain.
Liu Zhuangfei just heard from the tribesmen who went to Xuancheng to inquire about the news two days ago that they came back and said that Marquis Jingsheng had appeared in Dangtu County six days ago under the protection of 500 elite guards, like a heavenly soldier and a general, and even dealt with him as soon as he appeared.
He gave a meal to Hugouzi who came across the river.
Liu Zhuangfei was feeling faintly excited, and someone beside him couldn't hold it back any longer. He raised his voice and asked in the distance:
"Hey, these military masters in front of you, are you the reinforcements of King Qin who came from Beijing and Xiangxiang?"
Although it is strictly forbidden to harass places during the march, and under normal circumstances it is forbidden to leak information about the establishment and march, etc., but when I heard the greetings coming from here, two cavalrymen came out.
He drove his horse against the wall of the village, smiled and greeted Minzhuang on the wall, and said: "We can't say who we are. We are being punished for violating military disciplines - the wild dogs that have been seen in Tongguan Mountain these days.
Do you have many children?”
When Ding Zhuang on the wall saw the friendly appearance of the two Jingxiang cavalry, he looked like "I understand you". He lay on the wall and said: "Jingshenghou and the Jingxiang army are like heavenly soldiers and generals.
Hu Gouzi would be considered bold if he wasn’t scared to the point of losing his temper – Hu Gouzi has rarely been seen wandering around Tongguan Mountain in the past two days!”
At this time, dozens of riders galloped out from behind the valley, without stopping on the slope below, and galloped straight towards this side.
The two cavalrymen who were joking with Zhai Yong were startled when they saw the visitor, and hurriedly said to Min Zhuang on the wall: "We didn't say anything..."
Han Gui, who followed the vanguard troops and horses to Tongling County overnight, got off his horse with difficulty, walked to the wall of the village, and said in a loud voice: "I'd like to bother the guy on the wall to tell me, I'm from Jingxiang Road.
The appeasement envoy Han Gui, who joined the army in the Secretary's Office, came to visit, and he also asked the owner of Liu Wangzhai to come and see him!"
"..." Shi Hu did not dismount, but reined in the horse beside Han Gui, watching the sun rise from behind the distant horizon, but it looked extremely pale in the mist.
In the last years of Tianxuan, when Emperor Jianji was still King Jing, he listened to the advice of Xu Huai, Marquis of Jingsheng, and went to Gongyi to take over the tomb-defense army to resist the barbarians. At that time, Liu Shiwang accompanied him in his humble capacity as a prison officer in Gongyi County. From then on, he and Yu Gong,
Yu Zheng, Ling Jian and others are praised by the world as the Six Generals of Gongyi.
Liu Shiwang was once in charge of the Imperial City Department and was regarded as the most trusted person by the late emperor.
As a member of the Liu clan, Liu Zhuangfei did not have the opportunity to witness it, but he often heard people talk about the ups and downs of that year.
Although the leader of Liuwang Village is Liu Li, the head of the Liu clan, and the eldest son Liu Renmei is now responsible for guarding the village, Liu Zhuangfei responded when Han Gui introduced himself by name, quickly walked down the wall and ran away.
Rush to the southeast corner of the village.
When he came to a courtyard surrounded by earthen walls and covered with thatch, he saw the patriarch Liu Li and the eldest son Liu Renmei moving faster than him and had already entered the courtyard in front of him. However, he saw that the main door of the courtyard was closed.
, the eldest son Liu Renmei knelt in front of the gate, kowtowed and shouted: "Dad, when the late emperor passed away, his heart was for the peace of the country and the people. At this time, people from Beijing and Xiangxi came to invite me, and they must have invited me to gather the righteous people from all over the world to drive out the barbarians.
Why did my father shut up the door to restore our Han territory? Didn't he want to inherit the late emperor's legacy and regain the Central Plains? Furthermore, if it hadn't been recommended by Marquis Jingsheng, how would he have had the chance to make a living? Dad often talks about the past events in front of his children.
, why do you want to reject your old friend thousands of miles away at this time?"
The elderly Liu Li of the Liu family was Liu Shiwang's cousin. At this time, he was over seventy years old and his beard and hair were all white. It was difficult to stand in the courtyard. He pulled up a stool in the courtyard and sat down, saying:
"Some time ago, Han Gui asked you to come out and summon the people to prevent the barbarians from peeking into the south of the Yangtze River. You didn't respond at that time. I think it makes sense. After all, the water here is deep, and the people in the palace are also suspicious of you. Let's take a moment.
If you are not careful, it will lead to a fatal disaster, and maybe the clan will be implicated. But what is the situation now? All the captive soldiers have crossed the river. What kind of wealth did the late emperor finally accumulate????????
????????? Almost everything was destroyed in one day, and the survival of the Liu family hangs on a thread. Who stood up to turn the tide, and who else can stand up to turn the tide? Isn't it obvious? I'm old.
, and I don’t have much experience. I have been the biggest official in my life, that is, commanding more than a hundred sword archers in the county captain’s department to catch thieves, but some truths are obviously not as complicated as you think.”
After a while, seeing that there was still no movement in the room, Liu Li stood up with support on his waist and said: "Since I am still the head of the Liu clan and the master of Liuwang Village, I cannot turn away guests. As for whether you want to show up or not,
You decide for yourself!"
Liu Li and Liu Shiwang's eldest son Liu Renmei came out of the camp to greet him, and Han Gui knew what was going on.
Although Liu Shiwang and others were the key to whether Jingxiang could replace them and truly control the Suwei Forbidden Army, he did not expect to be able to really invite Liu Shiwang to come out this time.
If you don't see me, see you. The work must be done slowly and not too hastily, nor can outsiders think that Beijing and Xiangzhou are too hasty.
Han Gui took Shi Hu, Liu Li, and Liu Renmei to discuss that the forward troops and horses would rely on Liu Wangzhai and set up a camp at the eastern foot of Tongguan Mountain to wait for subsequent reinforcements to arrive and assemble.
The Liu family is not from Tongling County, Chizhou. In fact, Emperor Jian ascended the throne in Xiangyang and later moved the capital to Jianye. Liu Shiwang specially arranged for Liu Shiwang to move his clan members to Tongguan Mountain to build a stronghold and settle down.
Tongguan Mountain is the end point of the Huangshan Mountains. To the east and southeast are the plains and low mountains of Fanchang, Wuhu, Dangtu, Lishui and other counties. To the south is the majestic and steep Huangshan Mountains, and to the north is the surging river.
The site of Liuwangzhai built in Tongguan Mountain is only twelve miles away from the Yangtze River in the north. Tongling County is on its northwest side, and its strategic position is extremely important.
The Liu clan moved to Tongguan Mountain, and before Emperor Jianji's death, they began to move some of the Taiyuan survivors to Niushou Mountain, Maoshan and other places around Jianye City to form villages and live there, which was intended to defend the capital...
The geographical location of Liuwang Village is extremely critical. Not to mention other things, the soldiers crossing the river are currently gathering in Dangtu County to the west of Caochang River. The forward troops of the Beijing-Xiang Reinforcement Division will rely on Liuwang Village to build camps and then plan later.
