In late November, it was already extremely cold weather in Jinan Prefecture.
In the southwest of Jinan City, around the first watch, the dirt road on the east bank of the Yufu River was frozen solid by the cold air after nightfall. The color was slightly lighter than the dark night in the surrounding areas, as if a light yellow burlap stretched out, and it could not extend for long.
It felt like there was a bottomless abyss in front of me, and the dirt road in front of me was like bait tempting me to fall into a trap.
Only the frozen surface of the Yufu River had a faint reflection in the dark night, making people believe that they were walking on solid ground.
A group of cavalry, about sixty people, came on the road from Jing'er Lake in Wohu Mountain to Licheng County. The horses' hooves trampled on the frozen mud road like a dull drumbeat. The native dogs from the nearby villages reacted to the sudden intrusion of the horse's hooves.
The barking continued, and occasionally oil lamps were lit in a few cottages. The dim light coming out of the paper-covered windows was like a will-o'-the-wisp, which was quickly blown out.
Lin Fu rode his horse and was surrounded by other riders, feeling heavy in his heart.
In mid-October, when he left Jiangning to go north to Qinwang, he had already missed his one-month appointment, and less than two-thirds of the journey had been completed. He was not worried about the responsibility for missing the deadline. Cheng Yuqian, the commander of Jiangdong Qinwang Division, led the two armies on the right.
The main force was stationed in Linqing, two hundred miles away, and a letter was sent to him ordering him to stop going north and to move to Liaocheng to join him.
Liaocheng is more than a hundred miles south of Linqing and more than 150 miles away from Licheng.
Lin Fu thought that Cheng Yuqian already felt that Linqing was not that safe, and wanted to withdraw King Jiang Dongqin's division to Liaocheng to avoid the front of Donglu's cavalry.
Since the beginning of October when the Donglu invaded the border, nearly 100,000 King Qin's troops from the counties of Jinzhong, Shandong, Zhongzhou, and Datong and Xuanhua towns have arrived in the capital. However, few dared to fight in the field with the Donglu. Watching the main force of the Donglu attack.
After Yanjing failed to achieve results, they swept through the three prefectures of Yannan and crossed southward. The Donglu outpost has entered the territory of Dezhou, Pingyuan Prefecture...
King Qin's army from other counties came all the way to see that the road into Gyeonggi had been blocked, so they did not dare to cross the inner line rashly. They all stationed on the outside to wait and see the situation in Linqing. King Qin's army in Dezhou and other places also gathered tens of thousands of people, but they were not under each other's control.
The imperial court also did not send envoys to govern the world's Qinwang soldiers. Seeing the Donglu cavalry sweeping over, the various Qinwang troops gathered in Dezhou, Pingyuan Prefecture and other places began to evacuate to the outside, and they had no consciousness of guarding the door for Shandong.
Lin Fu led the fifth battalion of Jiangdong Qinwang Division's Zuo Army from Weiyang to Suyu, then departed from the direction of the Cao Road, crossed the Yishui Valley Road to the north, crossed the mountains in central Shandong, and entered the territory of Jinan Prefecture. The whole army followed the Yufu
River, Wohu Mountain will be stationed for seven or eight days. Caozhuang in front is where the Fourth Battalion of the Left Army led by Zhao Qingshan is stationed.
More than sixty horsemen stalked silently in the dark night. Apart from the sound of horse hooves, there was only the endless barking of dogs that woke them up. Arriving at Caozhuang and in front of the farmyard where the main tent of the fifth camp was located, Lin Fu and Cao Ziang
, Zhou Pu turned over and dismounted. Ning Zechen, Zhao Qingshan, Lin Mengde, Wu Qi and others who had arrived earlier were standing at the entrance of the yard waiting for them.
Lin Mengde said: "The night wind was blowing like a knife, you guys came very quickly..."
Lin Fu took off his gloves, stuffed them into the side pocket next to the saddle, and asked the guards to lead the horse away. He breathed on his frozen hands, hoping to warm them up a little, and said, "I was about to come over when I received a message saying
You and Lord Crow are here...what news is there from the Northern Front?"
"Let's talk inside." Zhao Qingshan, who was wearing military armor and had a clear face, greeted.
The temporarily requisitioned farmhouse has a very crudely furnished house. In the middle of the main room is a wooden pillar that is blackened by smoke. The stone foundation is rugged. Next to the pillar is a simple table with gaps that can fit a finger into it.
There are elm wooden stools and a stove in the corner. The fire is burning, making the room much warmer than the outside.
Lin Fu untied his cloak, placed it on a bench, asked everyone to sit down, and asked Wu Qi directly: "The river in the north hasn't frozen yet?"
"Not only the river water, but also the Xiaoqing River is frozen solid," Wu Qi blew his nose and said in a loud voice, "This is still a small matter. Yang Zhaoqi died in the battle in Gaoyang County..."
"What!" When Lin Fu heard Wu Qi's news, he felt as if his back had been whipped coldly by a whip.
Yang Xiangqi was the Xuanfu envoy and admiral of Jinzhong County and had the title of Left Minister of the Military Department. In fact, his duties and powers were not weaker than those of ordinary governors. However, the position of governor was not taken lightly, so Yang Xiangqi could not go further.
After the Donglu broke the border, Yang Zhaoqi was the first to lead 20,000 Jinzhong troops to King Qin's army in the capital. He was one of the few generals among King Qin's army who arrived in the capital early and actively fought.
On his way north, Lin Fu heard that the imperial court intended to have Yang Zhaoqi, the governor of various areas, and Wang Qin's army fight against the invading Donglu. He did not know what had happened. After he led the left army of Jiangdong Qin's division to Jinan Prefecture, he did not hear that the imperial court had officially appointed Yang Zhaoqi.
After the appointment of the governor-general Qin Wangjun, he suddenly heard the sad news that Yang Zhaoqi had died in the battlefield.
Cao Ziang was also surprised. He looked at the map unfolded on the table. Gaoyang County is located southeast of Baozhou Prefecture (today's Baoding City) and in the heart of the three prefectures of Yannan. Yang Zhaoqi died in battle here, indicating that he was leading the Jin Dynasty King Qin.
The main force of the division fought against the Donglu cavalry in Gaoyang.
"What were the casualties of Yang Zhaoqi's troops? Why didn't the battle of Gaoyang be mentioned in the Tang transcript from Jinan Prefecture?" Cao Ziang asked two key points.
Even if the post roads in the three prefectures of Yannan are blocked, it is unreasonable that Jinan Prefecture does not know any news about a battle involving more than ten thousand people.
"I don't know why it wasn't mentioned in Tangchao," Wu Qi wiped his face and said, "I have personally been to the Gaoyang battlefield. Thousands of Donglu cavalry also died. The Jinzhong soldiers should have died for all.
were wiped out, and only a small number of soldiers escaped. The battle took place on the night of the 16th. About 30,000 Donglu cavalry gathered in Gaoyang to participate. It should be the 19th that the Jinzhong soldiers were completely wiped out. At that time, Hao Zongcheng led 20,000 Ji
The Northern Cavalry is at Tongkou, fifty miles northwest of Gaoyang..."
"The dead eunuch of the dog/day!" Lin Fu cursed. Jibei cavalry was one of the few elite cavalry that the imperial court preserved after the defeat of Chentangyi. It is known as Jibei cavalry, and it is also one of the few capable of fighting with Donglu cavalry.
In order to control the elite of the field, the emperor did not hesitate to violate the ancestral system and directly sent his internal minister Hao Zongcheng to serve as the military supervisor to control this elite. Who would have thought that Hao Zongcheng, who had elite soldiers, sat back fifty miles away and watched Jinzhong Qinwang's soldiers encircle the entire country.
Annihilate...
"I'm afraid there is something dirty that we don't know about in the capital," Cao Ziang frowned. Hao Zongcheng was a minister and just the military supervisor sent by the emperor to the Jibei Army. There was no need to preserve the strength of the Jibei Army, especially openly.
Sitting back and watching Yang Zhaoqi's troops being completely wiped out, unable to explain himself to his superiors, he asked Wu Qi, "Are there any noteworthy rumors circulating in Yanjing?"
"Rumors," Wu Qi thought for a while and said, "Rumors say that the emperor intends to negotiate peace with the Donglu invaders. Second Prime Minister Zhang Xie and others all agree with the peace negotiation. They believe that Chen Xinbo and Yang Zhaoqi are the main fighting faction, and that Hao Zongcheng is responsible for the war.
Negotiating peace with Donglu..."
"The DPRK has been slow to send envoys and governors to the Qinwang army to fight against the Eastern invaders. I'm afraid the peace talks are not groundless," Cao Zi'ang said. "It's easy to understand why Uncle Chen Xin is fighting - although he is the prime minister, he is on the sidelines.
Whether it is the main battle or the peace negotiation, he cannot play a decisive role, and of course he is not willing to bear the crime of surrendering to the peace negotiation for them..."
Lin Fu frowned deeply and said nothing.
In this dynasty, Shangshu Zuopushe and his servants are the prime ministers, Shangshu Youpushe and Zhongshu's assistants are the secondary prime ministers, and they are involved in political affairs. Shangshu Zuo, Youcheng, etc. are the deputy prime ministers. Those who decide the world's military and political affairs are all except the prime ministers.
Outside, there is the emperor and the eunuchs and ministers who surround him all day long.
If Yang Zhaoqi's death in battle was related to the dispute between the DPRK-Chinese peace talks and the initiative faction, it would be easy to understand that the Tang newspaper deliberately did not mention the Yanghui battle, but Yang Zhaoqi and more than 20,000 Jinzhong soldiers also died unjustly.
Zhao Qingshan, Ning Zechen, Zhou Pu and others were silent. Fortunately, they had no intention of dying for the Dai Viet Dynasty, but they didn't know what other civil and military officials would think when such news reached their ears.
Wu Qi smiled and wanted to relieve the current lifelessness, and said: "Currently, in addition to the outpost cavalry entering Pingyuan Mansion, there are also a large number of rangers heading west into Jinzhong, especially after Yang Zhaoqi died in the battle.
The morale of the defenders in Jinzhong will be seriously damaged, and Yan Jing is worried that the main force of the Donglu will take advantage of the situation and enter Jinzhong."
"Impossible," Lin Fu shook his head and said with certainty, "Both sides of the Donglu are bluffing, but what's the benefit of the main force of the Donglu going west to attack Jinzhong? Get Yannan out of the way, so that the Qinwang troops from all over the country can continue to attack.
Enter the Gyeonggi Province and block their retreat? With the main force of the Donglu forces heading south, they can cut off the water routes and threaten Jinan Prefecture. If not, they can seize ships from Dengzhou and sail back to Liaodong..."
Lin Fu's conclusion made everyone here feel great pressure. They were in the territory of Jinan Prefecture, only more than fifty miles away from Jinan City. If the main force of the Donglu was directed towards Jinan Prefecture, they would move and retreat.
At this moment, there was a faint sound of rapid horse hoofbeats. Lin Fu and the others pricked up their ears and listened for a while. After a while, they saw the sentry on duty leading several officers and soldiers outside the door. Because it was a small school, they did not wait for the announcement.
, he walked directly in, glanced at everyone's faces, and said: "Which of you is in charge? Which one of you can lead me to your Supervisor Lin? My master has something to call him to meet in Jinan City."
"I am Lin Fu, who is your master?" Lin Fu turned around and sat down, looking at the person coming.
"Sir Lin," the colonel saluted Lin Fu and said, "I am the messenger soldier in front of the tent of the Governor of Eastern Fujian, Mr. Yue. Mr. Yue has just arrived in Jinan City and knew that Mr. Lin led his army to be stationed here, so he specially asked me to invite him.
Lord Lin went to the city to discuss important matters..." He took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Lin Fu.
Lin Fu did not expect that Yue Lengqiu, the governor-general of the East Minqin King's Division, would personally lead the alliance. Yue Lengqiu was one of the core figures of the Chu Party. Yue Lengqiu invited him to the city, but he ignored it. Lin Fu opened the door to Yue Lengqiu.
After reading the letter to him, he said to the schoolmaster who came to deliver the letter: "I have read the letter from Commander Yue. You go back and report to Commander Yue. I will go to Jinan City to see Commander Yue before noon tomorrow."