Song Jia was the daughter of Song Fu, the uncle of Yongtai, and the wife of She Feihu, the second son of Shewenzhuang, the Marquis of Jin'an. She was not an insignificant person, and of course she could not disappear without reason.
Now that She and Song are raising the flag of rebellion again in Eastern Fujian, and their troops are sweeping across both Zhejiang and Zhejiang provinces, wouldn't it become a laughing stock if rumors spread that even one of their female relatives was snatched away? It may damage the morale of the children of She and Song.
Jin'an had long claimed that Song Jia died of illness due to excessive grief when she left Jiangning and returned home to visit her mother. They even selected a girl of suitable age from a nearby branch of the Song family to be married to She Feihu.
The matter was covered up.
Although Song Jia is a female relative, many people in Jiang Ning know her, and Zhang Yubo has met her.
Zhang Yubo was really surprised when he first saw Song Jia in Green Willow Garden, but when he saw that Lin Fu and Song Jia had the same look on their faces, Song Jia stood up and gave up her seat in a respectful manner, handed the water and tea, and then stood in front of Lin Fu.
Fu stood beside her and waited on her, thinking that Lin Fu, the new concubine, looked exactly like Song Jia.
Of course, Lin Fu refused to admit it, and no one could do anything to him.
Zhang Yubo felt suspicious in his heart, but his mind was not on this. Liu Tingzhou wanted to die generously, and he gradually lost his patience and said: "There are so many people kneeling outside the garden, asking you to send troops. I know there are people behind this.
But some people have already fainted from the sun, how many people do you really want to die from the sun?"
"They are also bullying me as a weakling," Lin Fu said calmly, his eyes falling on the unfinished game between him and Song Jia, moving the chess pieces, intending to play another game with Zhang Yubo, "Send troops or not,
I can't act on impulse, I have my own considerations. Let's not talk about Liu Tingzhou, but these people outside the garden use this method to force me to send troops, but in fact they have sinister intentions..."
How could Zhang Yubo be in the mood to play chess? Lin Fu pushed the chess pieces away and cleared the chess board. He did not reach into the chess box to take the chess pieces and said, "We can't really let Liu Tingzhou and Deng Wei cross the Huai River and die!"
"What can I do," Lin Fu spread his hands and smiled bitterly and said, "I am an envoy appointed by the Jingkou bandit, and it is just a temporary dispatch. Liu Tingzhou is determined to recruit brave people to form an army to cross the Huaihe River to aid Xuzhou. I can't help it.
Stop him... He was generous and moved out two hundred thousand taels of silver. Probably next, he will use the excuse that the treasury is short of silver to weaken the supplies to the Jiangdong Left Army."
Zhang Yubo didn't know the details. There has always been a big controversy in Huai'an about whether to aid Xuzhou, not to mention Jiangning. He himself was also hesitating between whether to aid Xuzhou. There are dangers in aiding, and there are dangers in not aiding.
Harm.
Zhang Yubo did not interfere with Lin Fu's military deployment, but he never wanted Lin Fu to sit back and watch Liu Tingzhou cross the Huaihe River and die.
"Liu Tingzhou generously recruited martyrs to cross the Huaihe River, which is very similar to when you led a lone army into Yannan," Zhang Yubo said. "If you stand aside and watch Liu Tingzhou today, how are you different from Yue Lengqiu who abandoned Jinan and ignored him?"
"Then please tell me, Uncle Yu, what should I do?" Lin Fu asked.
"Liu Tingzhou also focused on defending Huai'an at the beginning, and did not agree with the one-two punch. First, the defense situation in Huai'an was worrying, and second, he did not know enough about the Jiangdong Left Army. However, after you came to Huai'an, you not only built a strong defense at Shukou
Walled cities, Shanyang, Huai'an, Tinghu and other cities have also been repaired and strengthened; rural soldiers have been organized into the Huai'an government army, military supplies and equipment have been allocated, the weak have been eliminated and the strong have been eliminated, generals have been selected and trained, and the government offices can also mobilize them. The time is also the time.
, The situation of guarding the Huai River has greatly improved, and it is not surprising that Liu Tingzhou has changed his attitude," Zhang Yubo said, "Since you think that you do not have the conditions to aid Xuzhou, you must also make a move to cross the Huai River and go north to prevent Liu Tingzhou from crossing the Huai River to die.
…”
"Okay, okay, there are still ten battalions of new soldiers in the Guards Battalion here, and the training will be completed. They will be transferred to the north bank tomorrow..." Lin Fu said, "Watching Liu Tingzhou die will really not do me any good.
."
Lin Fu did not tell Zhang Yubo clearly that Liu Tingzhou's change of attitude was actually due to his wariness and Yue Lengqiu's three secret books.
The more they stood still here, the more wary Liu Tingzhou became, making the rift between the two sides even bigger.
"Then I'll go and persuade Liu Tingzhou to go..." Zhang Yubo saw that Lin Fu's tone relaxed, so he stood up and left, going to the city to meet Liu Tingzhou.
Looking at Zhang Yubo's departure, Song Jia sighed slightly and said, "Is it possible that Mr. Gu has always refused to use him? He is too straightforward. Even if you agree to send troops, if Zhang Yubo goes over to persuade him, Liu Tingzhou will be more convinced that you will send new soldiers."
Crossing the Huai River is also an idea of holding back and refusing to save us until death."
"Being straight has the advantage of being straight. Anyone else would not be able to perform this play well." Lin Fu said.
"Do you still want to urge Liu Tingzhou to lead those rabble across the Huaihe River?" Song Jia asked.
"Chen Hansan is not weak in military affairs, how can he be so easily deceived?" Lin Fu said, "Liu Tingzhou wants to devote himself to the imperial court and die for himself, why should I hold him back?" At that moment, someone brought in pen and ink and mentioned it.
He drafted an order and sent it to Zhao Hu, asking him to immediately send troops to the ferry on the north bank of the Huai River to prepare for crossing the Huai River tomorrow.
*************
Recruiting the brave refugees, the Guards Battalion in Huai'an suddenly expanded from 200 soldiers to 10 battalions with 6,000 soldiers.
Starting at noon on June 28, these six thousand soldiers braved the scorching sun and set out from the north beach of Qingjiangpu to the ferry at the east entrance of Shanyang Bay on the Huaihe River, preparing to cross the Huaihe River tomorrow and arrive at the Jiangdong Zuojun
Go to the Shukou camp built on the north bank.
Liu Tingzhou got the news from Zhang Yubo, so he went out to the city with Tao Chun, Zhang Yubo, Liang Wenbo and Deng Wei, the special envoy from the capital, and saw that Lin Fu was not among the queue that was winding for several miles.
Deputy Lieutenant Zhao Hu: "Colonel Zhao, where is Master Zhizhi?"
"My lord is in the south of the city. I am delayed by something. I have to wait for two days before going to the north bank." Zhao Hu replied.
Liu Tingzhou's face immediately darkened, he waved Zhao Hu away, and continued to lead the army north to the ferry.
Liu Tingzhou said mercilessly in front of Zhang Yubo: "You really treat me like a kid. Since the mission is to protect the Huaihe River, it is not a pity for me to die with an old and disabled body. Can I help Xuzhou and do all the personnel?"
Just follow fate... Huai'an is counting on Mr. Zhang." He immediately left Zhang Yubo there and took a carriage back to the city with Deng Wei, Liang Wenzhan, Tao Chun and others.
Lin Fu, the envoy appointed by the Jingkou system, was a temporary dispatch and had very limited power to interfere with the local area. Liu Tingzhou led his army to the north, and the Huai'an Prefecture naturally took charge of it, headed by General Judge Zhang Yubo.
Zhang Yubo did not expect that Liu Tingzhou would be so determined. Seeing Lin Fu's intention to delay, he stopped arguing and resolutely decided to organize his army to cross the Huaihe River.
Seeing Liu Tingzhou's retreating figure, Zhang Yubo felt bitter in his heart. He sent someone to inform Lin Fu of the result, and he followed him into the city. Since Liu Tingzhou was determined to cross the Huaihe River to aid Xuzhou, he could only cooperate and do more.
matter.
Lin Fu heard the message sent by Zhang Yubo in the Green Willow Garden. There was no message to send to Zhang Yubo. He sent the people back and looked leisurely at the weeping willows scorched by the scorching sun. The long willow branches hung in the clear water.
There was smoke curling up on the lake, and I didn't know how many lives would need to be taken before this battle could finally come to an end.
Song Jia held a round fan in her hand, covering her smooth forehead under the scorching sun, and asked: "When will you go to the North Bank?"
"Tomorrow," Lin Fu said, "I have to go to Shanyang to take a look first before I can decide when to send troops. After I leave, you can live in the city first..."
"..." Song Jia nodded silently, with some worries about separation hidden among the complicated emotions.
*************
Lin Fu rushed to Shanyang County overnight, and only Zhou Pu led hundreds of light-armored cavalry to accompany him.
The section of the Huai River from Shanyang County to the east of Huai'an City is called Shanyang Bay. It is a large river meandering to the north. The waves are rapid, the beach is dangerous and rocks are messy, and it is difficult to sail a boat. It is also the time of the year, and it is even more difficult to cross the Huai River.
, only the east and west ends of Shanyang Bay are good places to cross the Huaihe River.
The west entrance of Shanyang Bay is also the north side of Shanyang County, facing the entrance of Sishui River to Huaihe River. It is a key point for guarding Huaihe River. In the early years, a walled city was built. The south of the water is yin and the north is yang. Sikou Village is also called Sikou Village.
Yangzhai. After the refugee army captured Siyang, they were afraid that officers and soldiers would come to fight for it. There were six to seven thousand soldiers and horses guarding the small village with a perimeter of four to five hundred paces. The ferry on the north bank was also under the control of the refugee army.
Liu Tingzhou had already asked the magistrate of Shanyang County to collect two to three hundred civilian boats at the South Bank Ferry. Lin Fu rushed to the South Bank Ferry in Shanyang County. It was already dawn, and the ferry and the docked civilian ships were vaguely visible in the weak morning breeze.
shadow.
Lin Fu stood on the embankment of the ferry and looked around.
Lin Fu led the left army from Jiangdong to the north to guard Huaihe. The third water camp of Jinghai was stationed in several water villages along the Shanyang Bay to protect the south bank from enemy ships. It was not surprising that so many civilian ships gathered at Shanyang Ferry.
They were worried that the refugee army on the other side would be able to cross the river and attack. Even if there was no defense on the north bank, it would not be easy to cross the river with more than 10,000 new soldiers.
"Yes, yes, yes" the sound of horse hooves sounded, and a group of cavalry came from the east, reporting flags to each other. Only then did they realize that Liu Tingzhou and the others, escorted by cavalry, had also come to Shanyang overnight to prepare for the crossing of the Huaihe River.
Liu Tingzhou sent someone over, saying that he was not feeling well and was unwilling to come to see Lin Fu, so he led the cavalry directly to Shanyang County.
Zhang Yubo came over to see Lin Fu and saw Lin Fu standing on the river embankment. He climbed up and looked at the dark river under the faint morning light. He sighed and said, "No one can defeat Liu Tingzhou. The reinforcements crossing the Huaihe River came here first. Liu Tingzhou
We plan to cross the Huaihe River from here and attack Siyang Village on the other side first!"
"What are the chances of winning?" Lin Fu asked.
"I'm afraid even crossing the river will be a problem..." Zhang Yubo said.
"He is not afraid of being defeated and dying, so that he can force me to send troops to aid Xuzhou." Lin Fu sighed slightly, looked at the dark water of the Huaihe River and the faint silhouette on the other side, and said, "Uncle Yu, go and follow
Liu Tingzhou said, although I don't agree with him crossing the Huaihe River to the north, he insists on it. I will contain Chen Hansan's main force at Shukou and send a water camp to escort them across the Huaihe River..."
"This is very good. As long as we can cross the river, more than ten thousand soldiers and horses may be able to play some role..." Zhang Yubo said.
Lin Fu didn't say a word. In troubled times, human life is as cheap as grass. If you really want to stand by and do nothing, Liu Tingzhou's death can fulfill the righteousness. How many of these more than 10,000 newly recruited soldiers can escape? Pointing to the faint shore on the other side
Ying said to Zhang Yubo: "The best route to cross the Huaihe River to aid Xuzhou is to go upstream along the Sishui River. Otherwise, we can only cross the Huaihe River and continue westward, go north along the Bian River, and enter Xuzhou..."
From east to west, there are three main tributaries that merge into the Huaihe River in Huai'an Prefecture, one is the Shushui River, the second is the Yishui River, and the third is the Sishui River.
The most special situation is the Yishui River flowing through Linyi.
In the early years, the imperial court dug a new river between Yishui and Surabaya, and built a diversion dam on the old river course of Yishui, so as to force Yishui to flow through the new river and merge into Surabaya, strengthen the water potential of Surabaya, and improve the navigation capacity of the Surabaya river.
The opening where Yishui River flows into Si is at the southeast corner of Xuzhou City.
The old river channel of Yishui River has been deliberately shallowed by the diversion dam built in the river channel in recent decades, and can only be used as a main flood channel during the spring season. Even if the refugee army does not block the river, the fleet of the Jinghai No. 3 Water Battalion will
It is impossible to pass through the old Yishui river channel, so go directly to Linyi.
The army goes upstream along the Si River to the north and west, which is the best route to relieve the siege of Xuzhou. However, going north from Sikou, Siyang, Suyu, Suining and other dangerous cities are all under the control of the refugee army.
, rushed to Xuzhou, which was the siege camp of the main force of the refugee army.
Although the refugee army did not have a strong fleet, in Suyu and Suining near the city, they used methods such as burying hidden piles, forming ship formations, sinking ships, pulling iron chains, etc. to block the rivers. They also built a river on each side of the river.
Fortify the camp and defend it.
Zhang Yubo was really not optimistic about the role Liu Tingzhou could play in crossing the Huaihe River with more than 10,000 newly recruited soldiers.