Chapter 228: Bad News [Supplementary Update 22/40]
The time goes back to around June 13th again. On this day, Han general Baoyuan had just returned to Julu City from Linzi. He told Le Yi and Yan Kui that "the Wei Huling navy is suspected of heading north along the coast to attack Jicheng."
of bad news.
At this time, the Huling Navy of Wei State mentioned by Bao Yuan, including a fleet led by three generals, Li Huo, Cai Qinhu, and Chen Si, had gone upstream along the river, invaded the Haihe River, and on that day
In the evening, we arrived at "Jin Port".
As for Li Qian and Zhou Kui, they landed on both sides of the Haihe River estuary and ordered their soldiers to cut down trees nearby and build water forts as a retreat.
After all, South Korea also has a naval force led by Julu Shou Yanju. Li Qian guessed that after learning that "Jicheng was attacked", the former would definitely go to sea along the river, but then go north to the estuary of Haihe River - Li Qian guessed
We are ready to intercept Yanfu in this area and defeat this Korean naval force once and for all.
Jingang (Tianjin), as its name suggests, is a river port. It is located at the intersection of "Bathing Water" and the river.
According to the explanation given by the 'guide' Yajiu to the three Wei generals Li Huo, Cai Qinhu, and Chen Si, the bathing water bifurcated about ten miles west of Jicheng, and the tributary flowing to Jicheng was called by locals
It is called Jishui, and the tributary flowing to "Fangcheng (Gu'an)" is called Jishui. These two tributaries reunite about thirty miles northwest of Jinggang, and then flow through Jinggang and merge into
The river finally flows into the North Sea.
Regrettably, the rivers of these two tributaries, whether it is Shuishui or Jishui, are not very wide. Although they can barely accommodate the Tiger warships of the Huling Navy, they cannot turn the bows arbitrarily on the river, especially
Dozens of Tiger warships and nearly a hundred guard ships were crowded in this river.
Therefore, Yajiu suggested that Li Huo and other generals take Tianjin Port as a stronghold first and not rush to launch an attack on Jicheng.
Li Huo and other generals thought for a while and listened to Yajiu's suggestion.
After all, the attack on Jicheng was different from the attack on Linzi a while ago - in the attack on Linzi, their Huling naval forces were just pretending, at most they would create some chaos in Linzi City, and had no intention of actually conquering the capital of the King of Qi.
But attacking Jicheng is different. I still remember that when we were in Jishui, the warships under Zhou Kui's command were the ones that helped Shao Hu's Wei Wu army cross the river. Although Yi Hu did not reveal to Zhou Kui at that time that they "joined forces with the Yanling army to attack
"South Korea" strategic mission, but Zhou Kui could roughly guess it - it is impossible for the Tiance Mansion to transfer Wei Wujun to Hebei with nothing to do? It must be to fight against South Korea.
After realizing this, generals like Li Qian, Zhou Kui, Li Huo, etc. also secretly speculated: Maybe Wei State is going to launch a full-scale attack on South Korea.
Since it is a full-scale attack, it must not be as simple as causing some trouble for Jicheng, not to mention that Tiance Mansion also clearly stated the word "attack Ji" in the secret letter to the Huling Navy.
It is completely different from Qi Guo’s "feint attack on Linzi".
In view of this situation, several generals of the Huling Navy unanimously decided to establish a foothold in the Tianjin and Hong Kong area first.
On June 14, Wei generals Cai Qinhu, Li Huo, and Chen Si led a fleet to Tianjin Port and captured the river port without any difficulty.
It’s no wonder, after all, Jingang is really just a river port. Although South Korea has considered building a city in Jingang area after moving its capital to Jicheng, the construction speed of this city has been very slow due to various problems such as expense and consumption.
, so far we have only managed to build city walls in two directions.
How could a county that had not yet been completed resist the Wei army? Even if the county had been alerted half a day ago that "the Wei navy invaded the territory", it could not resist the Wei army.
There is no way, it is because there are too few troops in the hinterland of South Korea. As Julu Shou Yanju said, 90% of South Korea's troops are deployed in Yanmen County, Taiyuan County, Handan County, Julu County, etc., which border the Wei State.
Among the border counties, there was only one Qin Kai Yuyang Army left in the Jicheng area. At the beginning of this year, it was transferred to the west to conquer the rebellious Yuanyi Marquis Han Pu, so there were no other troops left.
Therefore, there is no need for the Huling Navy to be anxious. Even if the Yanling Army and the Wei Wu Army attack Shanggu County, it will not be too late to attack South Korea together.
In this case, even if the Wei army guessed that after they appeared in Tianjin Port, there would be soldiers or Koreans in this area reporting to Jicheng, they would not be worried at all - anyway, as long as the Le soldiers stationed on the Wei-Korean border
Yi, Sima Shang, Xu Li, Jin Mao and others have not yet returned to Jicheng to aid. The few troops left behind in Jicheng alone are simply not enough to expel his Huling navy.
Even if Qin Kai's Yuyang Army immediately appeared in the Jicheng area, the Huling navy was not afraid.
From around June 14th to June 20th, the Huling Navy of the Wei State built water forts and consolidated defense facilities near the waters between "Jin Port and the Haihe River Estuary". At the same time, they targeted nearby counties according to the situation.
, villages, and manors collected food and grass, and pretended to stay here and not leave.
Just as they were consolidating their defense, some Korean soldiers who had maintained law and order in Tianjin Port fled to Jicheng after being defeated by the Wei army, and reported the bad news to the Ji Palace.
At this time in Jicheng, after the two brothers Han Wangran and Lihou Hanwu reached an agreement, the palace had followed the former's instructions and established the young prince "Han Ji" as the new king, and conferred Lihou Hanwu as the Taiwei.
Major events at home and abroad.
On this day, when Han Wu, Marquis of Li, was handling state affairs at his residence, soldiers from his residence came to report: "Marquis of Li, General Yan Ju asked to see you, saying that there are urgent matters."
Li Hou Han Wu was stunned when he heard this, because Yan Ju was the general responsible for the defense and public security of Jicheng. What urgent matters could he have?
Could it be about the Wei spies in Jicheng?
After thinking about it, Li Hou Han Wu ordered the soldier to take Yan Ju to the study.
A moment later, Yan Jufeng, dressed in armor, rushed to Lihou Hanwu's study. He ignored the salute and said to the latter: "Lihou, something bad happened. The Wei army attacked Jingang!"
"..." Li Hou Han Wu glanced at Yan Ju with a strange expression and said slowly: "On the other side of Julu, Handan, there are Le Yi, Sima Shang, Xu Li, Jin Mao and others guarding the border, telling the Wei army not to advance.
Where did the Wei army attack Tianjin Port?" As he spoke, he sniffed, then frowned and said: "General Yan, are you drunk and confused?"
Yan Ju's face turned red when he heard this. After all, he had been caught drinking several times while on duty.
Including this time, when the defeated soldiers of Jinggang fled to Jicheng, Yan Ju was drinking on the tower with nothing to do. When he learned the bad news that "Jingang was captured by the Wei army", he was shocked and crushed it in his hands.
He was wearing a porcelain wine flask and the wine was spilled all over him, so Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, could smell the smell of alcohol all over his body.
"No, no." Seeing that Li Hou Han Wu didn't believe him, Yan Ju said with a blushing face: "This matter is absolutely true. Even if the general is drunk and talks nonsense, he would not dare to joke about such a thing!"
"..."
Li Hou Han Wu frowned and glanced at Yan Ju, and asked suspiciously: "Seriously?"
"I will pledge your head as a guarantee!" Yan Ju said decisively.
Seeing this, Li Hou Han Wu's face gradually became serious, and he frowned and asked: "How many Wei troops are there?"
"According to the defeated soldiers who fled back to Jicheng, they were countless, probably at least over 10,000."
"This is impossible!"
Li Hou Han Wu finished Yan Ju's words with a look of surprise and uncertainty on his face.
In his opinion, the Wei-Korean border was heavily guarded by Le Yi, Sima Shang, Xu Li, Jin Pao and others, and these generals had not heard any news of their defeat so far. In this case, how could the Wei army run to his side of Korea? Coming from the hinterland? Even approaching Jicheng.
This is absolutely impossible!
"The Wei army has warships! Countless warships!"
As if he had guessed what Li Hou Han Wu was thinking, Yan Ju said eagerly: "According to what the defeated soldiers said, this Wei army invaded the Haihe River from the North Sea by boat and went straight to Tianjin Port..."
"..."
Li Hou Han Wu opened his mouth, and soon, a look of horror gradually appeared on his face.
Suddenly, he shouted sharply: "Come here, tell Han Hou to come see me!"
After a while, Han Hou, the confidant of Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, came to the study. Before he could salute, Han Hou said urgently: "Han Hou, take your people to Jinggang immediately and see if there are any Wei troops stationed in Jinggang area! ... …Come and report immediately!”
"yes!"
Han Hou clasped his fists and left.
Looking at Han Hou's leaving figure, Li Hou Han Wu turned to look at Yan Ju and asked in a deep voice: "How many people know about this?"
As if he had guessed Li Hou Han Wu's thoughts, Yan Ju lowered his voice and said: "Those defeated soldiers have been detained by the general, and the general has ordered all doors in the city to be sealed, so the news should not be leaked..."
"Okay!" Li Hou Han Wu nodded, and then said: "But this is not enough. You immediately send troops to the city. Remember, you are not allowed to let the city talk about anything about the Wei army and Jingang."
"I will understand!" Yan Ju nodded.
At this time, Li Hou Han Wu suddenly thought of something, and immediately added: "By the way, you immediately send someone to inform Wei Qing Ma Kuo, tell him about the matter, and ask him to strengthen the guards of the palace so as not to disturb... the palace. .”
"Yes!" Yan Ju cupped his fists and left.
About half an hour later, Yan Ju found Ma Kuo, the Qing of Wei, and told Ma Kuo the news of the "Wei army's sneak attack on Tianjin" and the instructions of Han Wu, the Marquis of Li. Ma Kuo was horrified.
While he was shocked, he also understood Li Hou Han Wu's intention: he was obviously asking him to keep Han Wangran a secret, lest the bad news worsen the latter's condition.
So he immediately sent troops to impose martial law on the palace.
At this time, Han Wangran was resting in a palace deep inside the palace. Not long after, he saw a group of guards surrounding the entire palace, and he felt puzzled in his heart.
So, he asked the chamberlain in the palace: "What happened?"
Those servants who knew the situation said truthfully: "Your Majesty, it was Lord Ma Kuo who ordered the sealing of the palace."
"Ma Kuo?"
Of course, Han Wangran would not doubt his beloved general, but he was a little puzzled by the latter's unusual behavior, so he sent someone to summon Ma Kuo to the palace and asked: "Ma Kuo, why did you order the blockade of the palace? Could it be that this happened? What happened?"
Ma Kuo forced out a smile and said, "Your Majesty, everything is fine and nothing has happened."
The more he concealed it, the more Han Wangran wanted to know. After several inquiries failed, Han Ran angrily scolded: "Ma Kuo, do you still see me as a monarch in your eyes?"
Ma Kuo was forced to tell the truth: "Your Majesty, please calm down. It is true that a Wei army attacked Tianjin Port from the sea. Marquis Li is worried that when your Majesty learns about this..."
Hearing Ma Kuo's words, Han Wangran turned pale in shock.
"The Wei army... actually took the sea route to attack the hinterland of Korea? How could it be possible?! The Wei army deployed hundreds of thousands of troops in Handan County, but in the end they actually made a full circle and attacked our country of Korea by sea?"
Han Wangran clutched his chest, feeling uncomfortable in his chest.
"Zhao Run him...Zhao Run him..."
"Cough, cough, cough..." He covered his mouth with his hand and coughed violently.
"Your Majesty?" Ma Kuo looked at the excited Han Wangran in horror.
Han Wangran was seen coughing, and he felt as if some liquid was pouring into his throat. Immediately, he coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood, staining his entire right hand red.
The bright red blood trickled down between his fingers and dyed the quilt covering him red.
When he felt like the world was spinning, he vaguely heard Ma Kuo's panicked shouts.
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty!... Someone is coming! Someone is coming! Call the palace doctor quickly!"