Four hundred and twentieth chapters the end of the road
At the beginning of March, Gongsun Qi came back quickly.
He came back alone. Song Yang asked him to pick up anyone, but he didn't pick up anyone.
But Song Yang was still happy from ear to ear.
Because Gongsun Qi brought good news, Shen Xiaowan was pregnant, and she was three months old.
Counting the days, weren't these the days before I left?
Shen Xiaowan is pregnant and cannot travel long distances, and Tong Qian cannot abandon her little sister to find Song Yang on her own.
Of course, steamed buns cannot be separated from my mother.
So Gongsun Qi's trip was a round trip in vain.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Concubine Shen is pregnant again, she is really lucky!" The old master said with a smile on his face.
The more stable Song Yang's regime is, the more stable his position will be.
Everyone else also congratulated Song Yang.
Song Yang grinned happily all morning.
It wasn't until after noon that Jiang Gong came.
The affairs of Taiyuan were left to Liu Huairen, and Jiang Gong led more than 3,000 soldiers eastward to Kaifeng.
While meeting Song Yang, I also came to hear Song Yang's follow-up arrangements.
"The guilty minister Jiang Gong pays homage to the prince!" When Jiang Gong saw Song Yang, he saluted and knelt down directly.
"Get up. Acknowledging your mistakes can make a lot of improvements. You can lead more than 40,000 soldiers to turn things around, which is considered a great achievement."
Song Yang personally helped Jiang Gong up and was not worried at all about Jiang Gong's movement.
Jiang Gong's eyes turned red because he was touched by Song Yang's courtesy, and he secretly made up his mind to work hard to be a good worker for Song Yang.
"Your Majesty! Please tell me when to go to Japan. We can leave at any time!" Jiang Gong said, cupping his fists.
Song Yang smiled and waved his hands and said: "No hurry, no rush! The affairs of the Central Plains have not been fully understood, the Japanese pirates along the coast have not been wiped out, and the ships to the Japanese country have not been prepared."
"Let's do this. You will continue the Northern Expedition with me first. After destroying Luo Xin, we will go to the east road to help Uncle Seventh King eliminate the Japanese pirates. Then we will talk about your adaptation."
Song Yang arranged temporary tasks for Jiang Gong and others.
Jiang Gong stood up straight and clasped his fists and said, "I will obey your prince's instructions. I will lead the charge and fight!"
Song Yang patted Jiang Gong on the shoulder and said, "Hey! You have just come here, there is no need for you to rush into battle."
"The latest task is to study and learn how our Renaissance Army fights."
"If you learn this skill, you will be able to use it when you go to Japan in the future."
Jiang Gong was moved again. He thought that his three thousand brothers had become cannon fodder, but he didn't expect that they were just observing and learning.
And if you study the Renaissance Army, doesn’t that mean you study artillery?
Can I also have artillery in the future?
Jiang Gong was excited and eager for artillery.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!" Jiang Gong kowtowed again.
This is a complete return to my heart.
…
In early March, Kaifeng's Renaissance Army began to gradually cross the river.
By mid-March, the Yellow River could no longer carry luggage.
After Song Yang and others crossed the river on the ice, all the main forces of the Central Route Army moved to the north of the Yellow River.
In three or four days at most, the Yellow River will completely thaw.
This year the Yellow River thawed late due to weather reasons, and there was a heavy snowfall a few days ago, which also gave the remnants of Luo Xin more time to breathe.
After crossing the river, the Renaissance Army immediately moved north.
Wei Nan had already moved to Hengzhou at this time, and Song Yang went north to compress the living space of Luo Xin's remnants.
Tangyin, Yaocheng, and Anyang north of Liyang were all defended by Luo Xin's troops.
But as soon as the Renaissance Army comes.
The defenders of these small towns all surrendered in defiance of the wind.
Song Yang led the Renaissance Army in the middle route unimpeded.
Even Jiang Gong had no chance to show up to persuade him to surrender.
"Alas! Xin... Luo Xin is indeed at the end of his rope."
Looking at the defenders who surrendered without hesitation, Jiang Gong sighed with emotion.
When Song Yang approached Handan, Luo Xin made the decision to escape again.
In mid-March, Song Yang arrived in Anyang, and Luo Xin took the main force to abandon Handan and ran all the way to Jizhou.
When Song Yang arrived in Handan, he found another empty city.
"Luo Paopao's reputation is well-deserved!" Song Yang grinned and said contemptuously.
"Tell Wei Nan to pursue the remnants of Luo Xin's troops. They will take the north road to pursue them, and we will take the south road to pursue them."
"Before May, completely eliminate them!"
Song Yang didn't want to waste time with Luo Xin, so he gave Wei Nan an order to attack with all his strength.
He wanted to end all this as soon as possible and return to Jiangzhou to see Shen Xiaowan.
Luo Xin was furious in Jizhou City.
"Where's Jiang Gong! I asked him to give up Taiyuan and march eastward during the Spring Festival!"
“I haven’t seen anyone yet!”
"All the messengers sent out were intercepted?"
"Why doesn't this bitch come and join me?"
Luo Xin didn't let Jiang Gong stick to Taiyuan!
That's right, Jiang Gong never wanted to join forces with Luo Xin.
He is also leaving a way out for himself, and Luo Xin's defeat is a foregone conclusion.
If he joins forces with Luo Xin, his more than 40,000 brothers will definitely become cannon fodder.
When the cannon fires, it's unclear how many people will be left behind.
It's better to stay in Taiyuan and wait for the opportunity to change the flag.
Jiang Gong didn't mention this matter to anyone, not even his cousin Jiang Cai knew about it.
Only the first of Luo Xin's messengers arrived in Taiyuan, and the rest were intercepted and killed outside the city by Jiang Gong's close guards.
Not only that, the crony sent by Luo Xin to check and balance him did not die from the cold.
Instead, he was killed.
Jiang Gong has the strength and means, and is not willing to die with Luo Xin.
So I started planning early.
The result was that he successfully changed his banner and Luo Xin perished.
"Jiang Gong may have surrendered." Zhang Lei said with a calm face.
In fact, this is already inevitable.
Otherwise, the West Route Army would not have abandoned Taiyuan and gone to Hengzhou to block their northern route.
But Luo Xin didn't want to believe this reality.
"Impossible! Jiang Gong was promoted by this king!"
"If it weren't for me, he would still be just a little thief! How could he be a great general!"
"I have been kind to him! How could he betray me!"
Luo Xin is now looking crazy, with disheveled hair, disheveled face, and no trace of King Xin at all.
Zhang Lei didn't dare to persuade him. Now Luo Xin was moody and would kill people at every turn.
Zhang Lei didn't want to touch this brow either.
This was especially true for Zhao Wenbin, who was hiding in the corner. He didn't dare to take a breath for fear of showing his presence.
He wanted to escape, but Luo Xin sent many people to watch him. If Zhao Wenbin dared to step out of the camp, he would be chopped into pieces.
"Damn! This lunatic! Why isn't he dead?" Zhao Wenbin cursed in his heart.
"Prime Minister Zhao!" Luo Xin howled.
"Here! The minister is here!" Zhao Wenbin cried out in his heart, but he had to agree.
"The artillery hasn't been built yet? It hasn't been built yet!" Luo Xin grabbed Zhao Wenbin's collar and shouted.
"Right away! It'll be ready soon!" Zhao Wenbin said hurriedly.
"Right away? How many are right now! You loser!" Luo Xin pushed Zhao Wenbin away and pushed him directly.
"Come here!" Luo Xin shouted, and two warriors came in immediately.
"Drag Zhao Wenbin down and chop him down..."
Before Luo Xin could finish his words, a guard rushed in from the turbulent outside.
"King Xin! Oh no! The troops from the north have arrived in Shenzhou!"
"What! How come they are so fast! Damn they are so haunting!"
"No! I have to go!"
"Zhang Lei! I will hold them back since Jizhou is handed over to you! I will go first! I will wait for you in the capital!"
After Luo Xin finished speaking, he ran out in a panic.
Zhao Wenbin, who fell to the ground, shouted crazily in his heart: "You can't see me, you can't see me!"
Luo Xin's words made Zhao Wenbin completely lose his temper.
"Take Prime Minister Zhao with you!"
…
Luo Xin ran away again, taking with him 10,000 die-hard loyalists, and left the remaining 20,000 people to Zhang Lei.
He asked Zhang Lei to stay in Jizhou to delay the Fuxing Army and buy him time to escape.
Zhang Lei felt helpless as he watched Luo Xin leave in a hurry.
I moved the black man down and became the first general, so what?
Now we've reached a dead end.
He is already a little envious of Jiang Gong now.
"I wonder how Lao Jiang is doing now?"
"Is he a prisoner or..."
Three days later, Song Yang's army arrived at Jizhou City.
Wei Nan was already chasing Luo Xin to the north.
Luo Xin was also confused. He thought Jizhou could stop the pursuing troops.
In fact, there were two armies on Song Yang's side, and he couldn't even escape.
Jizhou City did not look down on the wind, Song Yang knew that there might be some big fish in the city.
After a few shouts to persuade them to surrender, the artillery was set up.
"Your Majesty, I would like to give my humble position a try." Jiang Gong came over.
After all, they were former colleagues in the city, and Jiang Gong wanted to persuade them to surrender.
Of course, this guy also has selfish motives. If the people in the city surrender, they will most likely come directly under his command.
Jiang Gong came out and shouted towards the city: "Who is the general guarding the city? Please come out and see me. I am Jiang Gong!"
As soon as he shouted, there was movement at the top of the city, and several heads stretched out to look over.
"It's really General Jiang Gong!"
"General Jiang Gong also surrendered?"
"Go and report!"
After a commotion, a thief general wearing armor appeared at the top of the city.
Jiang Gong knew he had made a mistake as soon as he saw this man!
It turned out to be Zhang Lei.
It's not that he couldn't persuade Zhang Lei to surrender, but his attempt to recruit the city's defenders failed.
Zhang Lei's status was higher than him. Even if he surrendered, most of the people in the city would still be under Zhang Lei's control.
"Long time no see, Brother Jiang!" Zhang Lei was the first to speak.
He saw Jiang Gong wearing a brand new armor, with an envious expression in his eyes.
Not only did Jiang Gong not become a prisoner, he also became a general of the Southern Army!
"Brother Zhang, I didn't expect you to be here. He really gave up on you?" Jiang Gong said loudly.
"What does Brother Jiang mean?" Zhang Lei asked knowingly.
Brother Jiang smiled and said: "Haha! Brother Zhang, Luo Xin is at the end of his rope, and will be defeated in an instant. We brothers are lucky enough to meet each other. It is really because my prince is generous and kind, and cannot bear to do such an act that will bring ruin to all lives."
"You and I have known each other for many years, and we don't speak secretly. Brother Zhang, please surrender. All my more than 40,000 brothers have been given land and have returned to their hometowns to live a stable life!"
Jiang Gong's words immediately made the defenders at the top of the city agitated.
People in Jianggong can allocate their land and return to their hometowns, so of course they want to.
I stayed with Luo Xin for three days and nine meals.
Almost everyone is tired of the war and wants to go back to their hometowns to live a stable life.
In fact, if Zhang Lei's prestige in the army was not low, the defenders in the city would have spontaneously surrendered long ago.
Now that Jiang Gong had come forward to speak out, several of Zhang Lei's cronies immediately stood up to persuade him.
After all, Zhang Lei did not betray public opinion and chose to surrender.
He is still different from Jiang Gong.
Jiang Gong also put forward conditions.
And he surrendered unconditionally.
Of course, Song Yang also met with Zhang Lei in person, and was treated the same as Jiang Gong, allowing them to choose where to go.
There are only more than 20,000 defenders in Jizhou, and more than half of them are old, weak, sick and disabled.
The final statistics showed no surprise at all. Except for Zhang Lei's six to seven hundred soldiers, all the others chose to transform themselves into civilians and return to their hometowns.
"Leave this matter to Liu Huairen. After handling this, it will be time for him and Mao Ping to go north to Jiuyuan to help the border army reform."
Song Yang said in a very good mood.
The four generals of the border army returned to Hedong Road a few days ago.
Song Yang did not let them march eastward to fight, and directly asked them to wait in Yinzhou.
When the border troops returned to the north, Song Yang would send Liu Huairen to help them carry out reforms.
"General Zhang, you should team up with Jiang Gong first, observe and learn with the army for a period of time, and then make achievements when fighting against Japanese pirates."
Song Yang's arrangements for Zhang Lei were the same as Jiang Gong's. They didn't need them in the battle against Luo Xin, they were just learning.
I also don’t want them to fight against their old master.
This is to preserve the last trace of loyalty for them.
Zhang Lei naturally thanked Song Yang.
Zhang Lei originally chose to return to his hometown, but Jiang Gong went to persuade him.
Jiang Gong was going to the Japanese country. He was unfamiliar with the place and would be bored to death by himself, so he asked Zhang Lei to go with him so that he would have someone to talk to.
Zhang Lei was also capable and quite loyal. Song Yang also hoped that he could go to the Japanese country.
With Zhang Lei and Jiang Gong, there would be Kochi Camp and Sapporo Camp.
They were Dagan people and would never seek refuge with Japan.
Their presence also acts as a check on the Tokyo and Nagasaki battalions.
In mid-March, Song Yang captured Jizhou and continued northward to pursue Luo Xin.
On March 18, Wei Nan took the lead in catching up with Luo Xin.
In Mozhou, they eliminated and captured five thousand surrendered troops.
Luo Xin escaped again.
Song Yang pursued him to Mozhou, merged with Wei Nan, and continued his pursuit north.
On March 25, Luo Xin abandoned the capital and continued to flee north.
On the twenty-seventh, Song Yang arrived in the capital.
This is where he was born.
Now it is in ruins.
There are less than 3,000 people in the city, and they have not returned to the life before the natural disaster for so many years.
"Your Majesty, you have finally returned to the capital."
The old master followed Song Yang all the way to the imperial city.
The size of the imperial city in the capital was actually not as good as that of Chang'an and Luoyang. As the capital, the capital was only established in the Daqian period and was less than eighty years old.
This new city was destroyed by natural disasters before it was even built.
Standing on the ruins, Song Yang searched for the memories in his mind. He didn't have a deep impression of this imperial city, only a few important palaces had some memories.
After all, he was young back then and had to take over his body, so he couldn't remember many things clearly.
"Old Master, do you think there is still a need for construction in the capital?" Song Yang turned back and looked at Old Master.
The capital was ruined and had it been rebuilt after the natural disaster. To rebuild again, the manpower and material resources required are staggering.
The old master was silent for a moment and said: "My lord, I think that from a long-term perspective, the capital still needs to be retained. It can be used as a reserve for the construction of the northern capital."
"For the people of the Northern Territory, Emperor Taizu chose to build the capital in the capital in order to suppress the various ethnic groups in the north. With the capital here, there will be no chaos in the Northern Territory."
Song Yang listened, nodded and said, "Is this the emperor guarding the country?"
"Your Majesty's words are indeed more accurate." The old master nodded in admiration.
"Okay. Then build it bit by bit. First build a fortress on the ruins, and then build a settlement next to it."
"We are currently short of manpower, so let's not talk about building the city for the time being. Let's build the settlements first. There are still two to three thousand people in the capital. We must let them live a good life first."
"Luo Xin is about to be defeated. He also controls some people. When the time comes, some of them will be moved here to expand the population of the capital to about 5,000."
Song Yang looked at the ruins of the capital and walked two steps forward. It was really difficult to start.
"The ruins here will be abandoned and rebuilt in the open space next to it." Song Yang added.
The capital, an important town in the North, began to gradually regain its vitality under Song Yang's decision.
In Yuyang, the capital city of Jizhou, Luo Xin has reached the point of no return.
To the north we reach areas with more ethnic minorities.
But if you don't leave, there will only be a dead end.
Luo Xin now only has more than 5,000 troops left.
There was no way it could withstand the attack of hundreds of thousands of Renaissance troops.
"Prime Minister, do you think this king is going to die?" Luo Xin looked at Zhao Wenbin and asked.
"Your Majesty, with all his blessings, he will definitely be able to turn danger into safety!" Zhao Wenbin said bravely.
"Great blessings to the sky? Turn danger into safety? Then tell me where I should go!" Luo Xin stared at Zhao Wenbin.
Zhao Wenbin swallowed and spat and said: "Your Majesty, let's go to Liaodong! There are many ethnic minorities there, and the imperial court has never gone deep into it. Let's go there to recuperate for a few years. As long as we incorporate those ethnic minorities, we will definitely be able to make a comeback."
"Are you telling the truth?" Luo Xin was a little moved.
Zhao Wenbin hurriedly said: "It's true! As long as we can escape to Liaodong, the Southern Army will definitely not chase us!"
"Okay! Let's go to Liaodong!" Zhao Wenbin made up his mind.
At the end of the month, Song Yang's light cavalry caught up with Luo Xin's remaining soldiers.
After a battle, more than two thousand people were captured.
Luo Xin's remnants only have the last thousand or so left.
These surrendered soldiers also asked about Luo Xin's whereabouts. He was going to Liaodong.
Song Yang frowned slightly.
This guy can run really well.
"Your Majesty, actually we don't need to pursue Liaodong."
"Oh? What can the old master do?"
"The Sumo tribe in Liaodong is not in harmony with Luo Xin. Their last leader Boye died at the hands of Luo Xin. I want us to contact the Sumo tribe. They should be very willing to help intercept Luo Xin."
The old master's words made Song Yang suddenly enlightened, and he immediately sent a fast horse to the north of Su Mo.
At the same time, Su Mobu had received news that Luo Xin was heading north.
Without Song Yang's contact at all, the Su Mo tribe planned to take action against Luo Xin.
The Sumo tribe was originally coerced by Luo Xin to go south to fight. After Luo Xin's three armies failed one after another, the warriors of the Sumo tribe took the opportunity to escape back to Liaodong.
The new leader Jin Han is Boye's younger brother, and he has always wanted to avenge his brother.
Luo Xin is now a lost dog, so of course Jin Han wants to beat him up.
By killing Luo Xin and avenging Boye, Jin Han's position in the Sumo tribe can be stabilized.
As for Luo Xin, who had no idea, the matter had already plunged into the territory of the Sumo tribe.
It's the end of the road and there's no possibility of turning around.