"If you take the canal, you won't get half a cent!" Han Qing thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth, "The last time I went to Licheng, I disguised myself and sneaked in. The total number of people was only about twenty, so I wouldn't be discovered by the Liao army.
If it was a fleet, I am afraid that before reaching Damingfu, it would be intercepted by heavy troops of the Liao army. The canal is only a few feet wide. Even if the Liao army is not good at boating, they can pull several iron ropes on the east and west banks.
You can also immobilize the fleet!"
"Yes, but senior brother also led troops to sneak into Gaotang and killed Xiao Moke and ten other Liao generals?" Yang Wenguang felt a chill in his heart after hearing this, and struggled to remind him.
"I led my troops to sneak into Gaotang, using the Xiaoqing River. The cities and roads on both sides of the Xiaoqing River are now under the control of the Liao army. If I want to transport troops and horses to the Yongjing army by waterway, I must at least capture Dezhou first.
, and then open up more than 150 miles to the north, but we have to be careful not to be cut off by the Liao army."
"This..." Yang Wenguang felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his face turned gray.
His grandfather Yang Yanzhao led the Liao Suppressing Army and had been defending Hejian for more than seven months, and the imperial court was still unable to send a single soldier for reinforcements.
Some time ago, Yang Si led the Dingbian army to share half of the pressure. Now that Ding has been defeated by the Liao army, his grandfather Yang Yanzhao's side has become a completely isolated army.
Now the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and winter is about to begin. After the snow falls, if no support is sent, even if there is no shortage of food in the city, the morale of the army will be shaken.
If the morale of the army is shaken, another traitor like Wang Jizhong appears as an internal response. No matter how good his grandfather Yang Yanzhao is at using troops, he will not be able to make a comeback.
When Zhen Ding fell, at least his grandfather could still send troops to meet Yang Si. But when Hejian fell, there were enemy troops everywhere. Who would stand up for his grandfather?
Therefore, when he heard that Han Qing had brought back Yang Xu and Liu Sanxia from Hebei, Yang Wenguang immediately put his hope of rescue on the waterway. But now, his idea was rejected by Han Qing on the spot, so how could he not be disappointed?
Just when he was so desperate that he almost shed tears, he saw Han Qing stand up and leave the table, broke off a branch, and quickly sketched on the ground, "Some time ago, I tried to send people to sneak to Zhending and Hehe.
During the period, they contacted Ling's grandfather and the old general Yang Si. As a result, before they could reach their destination, Zhending City had fallen into the hands of Yelu Longxu, and all the roads leading to Hejian were cut off by the Liao army.
They had no choice but to turn around and go back. But I received the imperial edict to return to Bianliang, so the matter was settled."
He moved quickly, and while he was talking, a map of the east and west routes of Hebei appeared on the "paper". He pointed at several winding rivers with branches, and he continued to explain, "This is the Yellow River, and here,
The one that runs almost parallel to the Yellow River and is less than fifty miles away from each other is the Xiaoqing River. The one that goes from south to north and all the way into Youzhou is the canal. And the one that goes straight from Yongjingjun to the sea is the canal.
It’s Fuyang River…”
"Could it be that Jiajun said that there is no way to do it from the inland river, but there is still hope to go to the sea and support the Liao Army through the Fuyang River?" Zhe Weizhong reacted quickly and immediately drew an inference from Han Qing's words.
Han Qing thought for a moment and shook his head slightly, "I don't know much about the hydrology of Fuyang River. I don't know how many ships can carry it. I don't know if a temporary port can be opened at the entrance of Fuyang River.
I don’t even know how much of the territory of Cangzhou is in the hands of the Liao Army..."
"The Fuyang River is very wide, at least as wide as Jishui. There is a large swamp at the mouth of the sea, which is twenty or thirty miles from east to west and a hundred miles from north to south. When the tide is high, the water is very deep. When the tide is low, it is large and small.
A small mud pit. Today, everything north of the Fuyang River and south of the Lu River, including Qingchi City, the seat of Cangzhou, is still in the hands of the Liao Army!" Yang Wenguang immediately interrupted hoarsely as if he had been granted amnesty. (Note:
The area of ancient Cangzhou was very large, from the mouth of the Yellow River to the north to today's Tianjin, and the area east of the Grand Canal was the territory of Cangzhou.)
Suddenly realizing that he had lost his composure, he apologetically extended his hand to Han Qing, "I'm very worried. Please forgive me for being rude."
"It's okay, just keep talking!" Han Qing shook his head and comforted with a smile. "If it were me, I would be more anxious than you."
"Thank you, senior brother!" Yang Wenguang walked quickly to the map that Han Qing had just drawn, and used his finger to pick out a black spot on the Fuyang River. "The Qingchi of Cangzhou's administrative center is here. It is only two hundred meters away from the sea.
Fifty miles away. The Liao army detoured in the south and captured half of Cangzhou. But the north of Fuyang River is still controlled by the Liao Army. The Fuyang Hebei area has been painted a lot by my brother. This area is actually
A large swamp is not land. It is more than a hundred miles long from north to south and twenty to thirty miles wide from east to west. No one lives in it. It is full of mud pits poured out by sea water. When the weather is hot, the sea water is dried up, and large swamps will appear.
Salt crystals. Therefore, the locals call it Luze. The Liao Army collected salt crystals to subsidize military supplies and knew some roads. If anyone from outside breaks in rashly, they will definitely get stuck in the mud and suffocate to death!"
He was really too worried about the safety of his grandfather, so he accidentally revealed the secret of the strong army of Liao Suppression. Han Qing was not surprised at all when he heard this. He thought about it and asked in a low voice, "What if the imperial court sends a ship?"
, send the food and reinforcements to Luze near the sea, is there a way for your grandfather to pick up all the food and men and bring them back to Qingchi?"
"Yes, there must be? There is no fixed waterway in Luze, but you can use sampans and small boats. Food is placed on sampans and small boats, and people use secret passages. In addition, I can send someone to inform me at the entrance of Fuyang River.
Grandpa, dig a temporary harbor. In this way, you may be able to change your boat and go directly upstream." Yang Wenguang nodded eagerly and answered confidently.
"This is much easier. With hundreds of miles of coastline, you can always find a place where ships can temporarily berth." Han Qing heard this and said with a smile, "The Prime Minister has already sent a letter to the officials, requesting that the Quanzhou Navy be transferred northward. You
It's just time to report to the officials together and ask the Quanzhou Navy to go to Luze."
"Can I make a copy of this map and hand it over to the officials along with the memorial?" Yang Wenguang finally saw the hope of rescuing his grandfather, and his face gradually gained a little more color. He cupped his hands and asked in a low voice.
"Just ask someone to bring paper and pen, and I will draw a copy for you." Han Qing respected the Yang family for serving the country and the people, and had guarded the border for three generations, and promised with a smile.
After that, he added in a low voice, "If you need to send a message to Grandfather Ling, I can also send someone to help. I happen to have a few captured ships on hand. Send someone to take them to Dengzhou, and then from Dengzhou
It takes two days to go to the sea and reach the Fuyang River. Then put down the escape boat and go up the river. You don't have to worry about being intercepted by the Liao army along the way."
"Thank you, senior brother!" Yang Wenguang was overjoyed and immediately raised his hands in salute.
Since Han Qing can send a ship to send messengers to Cangzhou by sea, he can pick up many people back.
Yang Wenguang could not guarantee whether the imperial court would have enough energy to transport soldiers, horses, money and food to Cangzhou. However, with Han Qing's promise, at least in the future, if the situation was completely irreversible, his grandfather and a small number of elite Suppression Liao troops could sail from the sea.
Withdraw to Denglai.
"Since the sea route is so convenient, why didn't Judge Han report to the court and send troops to attack the Liao army behind him?" Wang Yan thought further and stepped forward, pointing on the map with his finger, "In this way, even if you can't take it,
Returning to the cities near the coast and rivers in Hebei will at least make some of the Liao army exhausted and unable to continue to attack Puzhou with Yelu Longxu?"
This question was a bit embarrassing to ask. Han Qing was immediately speechless.
The method was not unexpected to him. He attacked the plains by waterway and achieved the greatest result for the Song army since the war between the two countries.
However, before he could sort out a specific idea and make persistent efforts, the imperial court had sent Wang Shu to Jingdong East Road to convey the order and transferred him back to Bianliang.
Among other civil servants and generals, who is as familiar with water warfare as he is, and whose ideas are not subject to any limitations?
"Ding said that Jiajun's strategy in Yucheng has been reported to the officials." Zhe Weizhong was a calm man. He noticed Wang Yan's words and accidentally touched someone else's scar, so he immediately made up for it with a smile, "It's just that now the officials
We must do our best to ensure that Puzhou is not lost, but we really can't spare the energy to discuss with Kou Xiang and Ding Wei about the strategy of attacking the Liao army through waterways. But..."
Looking at Han Qing's face, he continued: "However, General Han has been ordered to set up a camp in Henan, so he can try Jiajun's strategy. Yanggu is close to the Yellow River and not far from Daming Mansion. Send troops and horses, and ride
The boats split up and cross the river, and they can move away with one strike, which will definitely make the Liao army overwhelmed."
"Yes, this is a good idea. Although senior brother has returned to Kaifeng Mansion, General Han can still implement his previous strategy." Yang Wenguang immediately moved his finger to another place on the map, close to the bifurcation of the Yellow River and Xiaoqing River.
Smiling and encouraging, "From here, you can also take a boat to the old city, Tangyi. Under Yelu Longxu's eyes, attack the Liao army's food road, making Yelu Longxu very busy every day..."
However, no matter how he encouraged and explained, Han Qing's expression did not ease at all, and his eyes became more and more solemn.
"Senior brother, senior brother..." Yang Wenguang was worried and comforted in a low voice, "Senior brother, if you want to lead the army, there is actually no chance. Kou Xiang and Wang Xiang both admire senior brother very much, as long as they..."
"That's not the problem!" Han Qing didn't even look at him, frowning and waving his hands, "Wang Yan just said that the Liao army must be exhausted. Judge Zhe said that the officials can't spare their energy. And you said, let Yelu
Longxu is extremely busy..."
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Yang Wenguang was so confused by the question that he blinked and asked.
"I understand!" A cold light suddenly flashed across Han Qing's eyes. He punched the ground with his fist. "Judge Zhe, Junior Brother, Inspector Wang, I also need your help here. Someone wants to
It involves my energy, but I have no time to take care of them. I simply obeyed their wishes and built a plank road for them to spend their time secretly in Chencang!"
