Yang Xuanying stood in front of the steps outside Jinyang Palace and curiously looked at the three buildings in front of Jinyang Palace. There was a symmetrical two-story long building on the left and right. Directly in front was a horizontal government office, which was three hundred steps long.
The sign seems to say 'Official Office', which literally means the place where things are done.
On both sides are the government offices of various ministries, and in the middle is a very empty square with more than a dozen carriages parked, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter.
This place is simply like a small imperial court. If you think about it carefully, how can it be that it is not a small imperial court? In addition to the more than twenty states in Hedong, Guannaidao, Shuofang, Hexi, Longyou, Beiting, and Anxi are all under its rule.
The territory is more than ten thousand miles.
Just when Yang Xuanying was thinking wildly, a manager stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Yang who came here with Xue Shaoqing?"
Yang Xuanying nodded, "I am exactly that!"
"Please come with me! His Highness Prince Jin wants to see you."
Yang Xuanying was startled and quickly followed the manager to the palace.
When he arrived at the official residence, he reported at the door, "Your Highness, Young Master Yang has been brought here!"
"Invite him in!"
From the sound of Yang Xuanying's voice, it seemed that he was not very old. He was about thirty years old. He had already heard about Guo Song's name for a long time. It was said that Guo Song's martial arts were extraordinary and his archery skills were unmatched in the world. Yang Xuanying admired him very much.
"Master Yang, please come!"
Yang Xuanying quickly tidied up her clothes, and then quickly walked into the official room. He saw a man about thirty years old, wearing a black gauze hat, a robe, and a leather belt around his waist.
Xue Yong sat aside.
Yang Xuanying quickly knelt down on one knee, clasped her fists and saluted, "Young man Yang Xuanying is here to see His Highness the King of Jin!"
"Master Yang, please wake up!"
Guo Song saw that he was performing a standard military salute, and also saw that he had a majestic figure and long and powerful arms, so he smiled and asked: "Master Yang, is he a soldier?"
"Xiaomin trains in the Guozhou regiment and serves as a school captain."
A regimental training lieutenant is equivalent to a militia company commander and a mid- to low-level reserve general.
Guo Song raised the letter and asked: "Your father said in the letter that the Jin army could occupy Guozhou without a bloody blow. What is the basis for it?"
It was normal for Guo Song to ask this question. In fact, the strategic location of Guozhou was extremely important. Zhu Si stationed 10,000 troops here. Can the Yang family command these 10,000 troops?
Guozhou belongs to Hedong Road, but it is south of the Yellow River and borders Puzhou in the north. This section of the border is very narrow, only thirty miles wide.
Coming out of Tongguan, you will reach Enxiang County in Guozhou. After walking for thirty miles, you will enter Yongle County in Shaanzhou. This thirty-mile road is very dangerous. Next to it is the fast-flowing Yellow River, and on the other side are steep mountains. In the canyon
There is only one narrow path in the middle, which is dozens of miles long, and finally reaches Tongguan.
At that time, Ge Shuhan led an army of 200,000 people out of Tongguan to fight against Anlushan's army. He was ambushed by Anlushan's army on this narrow path that was dozens of miles long. As a result, the entire army of 200,000 was destroyed, and Anlushan's army was completely destroyed.
The Lushan rebels were able to advance into Guanzhong.
This kind of terrain is the most dangerous, because the army cannot assemble and cannot open the battlefield. Due to the restrictions of the terrain, the team can only be forced to stretch very long when marching, and it is easy to be cut off by the enemy. The same is true for the road into Shu.
Why is Yan's surrender important? If Yan Yan had not surrendered at the passes along the way, it would have been difficult for Zhang Fei's army to invade Bashu.
Yang Xuanying said calmly: "Your Highness does not know something. Most of the Guozhou defenders are locals. They are former militia soldiers who have been converted into regular troops. Three of the four generals are from Hongnong County. The Yang family can influence their attitude."
.”
Guo Song pondered for a moment and decided to believe in the ability of the Yang family. After all, the Hongnong Yang family is a world-famous family. If they can't even influence their hometown, they will really be ridiculed by the world.
........
In Puzhou, amid the falling snow, a cavalry force of 20,000 people was marching south quickly along the official road. The leader of this army was the commander Yao Jin. On the orders of Guo Song, he went south to capture Guozhou.
Guozhou belongs to Hedong Road, and its strategic location in the north is extremely important. Once the northern channel is blocked, Zhu Si will be blocked in Guanzhong.
Of course, Guo Song can also let Zhu Si go to Luoyang. This requires negotiation between the two parties. Guo Song has the final say on what can and cannot be done.
Guo Song originally wanted to seize Guozhou after the beginning of next spring, but Hongnong Yang's surrender made Guo Song advance his action.
Yang Xuanying also traveled with Yao Jin. He had sent his entourage to deliver important letters to his father in advance.
Along the way, Yang Xuanying introduced the basic situation of Guozhou to Yao Jin, "The most important city in Guozhou is Laxiang County. It is twenty miles away from Tongguan, which just blocks the only way to Tongguan. Moreover, the road is narrow and there are many obstacles."
Without a battlefield, attacking this county is no less difficult than Tongguan."
"How many troops are there in the county town of Nangxiang?"
"The county is not big, and there are at most five thousand troops stationed there. When I went to Taiyuan, I passed by Nexiang County. At that time, there were five thousand troops garrisoned in the county. The other five thousand troops were in Hongnong County. The leader was Qiu Jingcheng. His brother was Qiu Jingzhong, who was Zhu Si.
One of the Eight Great Vajras under his command."
"Where is this Qiu Jingcheng?"
"He is in Nexiang County. This is a garrison regulation. The commander-in-chief of the Guozhou garrison must stay in Nexiang County."
Yao Jin pondered for a moment and then asked: "I heard from His Highness the King of Jin that your father will convince the garrison of Nexiang County, right?"
Yang Xuanying nodded, "I will tell you nothing from General Yao. Yang Shan, one of the two lieutenant generals in Ranxiang County, is a general from the Yang family and has served the Yang family for generations. With him as an internal agent, it will be easy to seize the town of Ranxiang County.
"
At this time, the wind and snow became even worse, and the 20,000 cavalrymen speeded up and headed south in the wind and snow.
.........
While the 20,000 Jin troops were rapidly moving south, the head of the Yang family, Yang Hongwei, also arrived in Nexiang County.
Yang Hongwei received Guo Song's handwritten letter to him. He was greatly inspired and immediately began to take action. He had already convinced the five thousand garrison troops in Hongnong County.
The key is Enxiang County. Its strategic location is extremely important. It is located at an intersection. To the southeast, you can go to Hongnong County, to the due east, to Shaanzhou, and to the south, you can enter the Qinling Mountains.
By this time, the fighting on Hedong Road had long since subsided, and Ranxiang County was in a non-war state. Businessmen and travelers could enter and leave the county, and Yang Hongwei's carriage also entered the county.
The Yang family also had a house in Ranxiang County. Yang Hongwei went back to his house to stay, and then sent someone to deliver a message to Yang Shan.
Raising generals and soldiers has always been a tradition of the Guanlong nobles. It started in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Its genes came from the grassland tribes. After entering the Central Plains, it was changed to the tribe system. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, the tribe system was abolished by Yang Jian, and the family system was
The soldiers became the soldiers of the world, but the Guanlong nobles also changed accordingly. They turned to cultivate family generals, and then used their connections in the army to place family generals into the army, and then consolidated their power in the military.
This method of cultivating talents is no longer limited to the Guanlong nobles. It is the same for all the major families in the Central Plains. However, most of the Central Plains families cultivate literati, while the Guanlong nobles cultivate generals.
The Hongnong Yang family is quite special. It has both civil and military skills. There is Yang Xuangan, who dominates the world in martial arts, and Yang Wan, who has both political integrity and talent.
They not only cultivate civil servants like Wang Zhihe, but also family generals. General Yang Shan, the general of the Yang family, is a family general trained by the Yang family. He has been a general of the Yang family for generations and is loyal to the Yang family. He was originally the deputy envoy of Guozhou regiment training.
He led two thousand regiments to train troops to defend Guozhou. After the Guozhou regiment was recruited by Zhu Si, he was promoted to Zhonglang General and continued to command his men.
Hearing that the master of the family had arrived, Yang Shan hurriedly came to see him. Yang Shan was about thirty years old. His father, Yang Dazhi, was also a general and a subordinate of Li Baozhen. He was killed in the battle with Tianyue five years ago.
"Yang Shan meets the head of the family!" Yang Shan knelt down on one knee and saluted.
Yang Hong smiled and said: "Let's get up and talk."
Yang Shan stood in front of the head of the house with his hands down, obeying the head of the house's instructions.
"What do you think of Zhu Si?" Yang Hong asked with a smile.
Yang Shan hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say. Yang Hong chuckled slightly and said, "Don't have any scruples, just tell the truth."
Yang Shan thought for a while and said: "Zhu Si is a good person. He is generous and generous to his subordinates and takes good care of the soldiers. He is a very good governor. But if he becomes emperor, it will definitely be a disaster for the people of the world. I
I don’t think highly of him.”
"What about Guo Song?" Yang Hong asked with another smile.
Yang Shan hesitated for a moment and said: "I'm humble... I don't know much about him, but my subordinates all think highly of him."
Yang Hong smiled, "Actually, you are very optimistic about him, right?"
Yang Shan nodded sheepishly, and Yang Hong pondered for a moment, "I came to Ranxiang County just to discuss matters with you about Guo Song."
"Please give me the master's orders!"
"The Yang family has decided to surrender to Guo Song, but compared to the major families in Hedong, our surrender is a little late, which is a bit of an icing on the cake, so we need to submit a certificate of surrender, you understand what I mean!"
"The name certificate mentioned by the head of the family refers to Guozhou?"
Yang Hong nodded slightly, "To be precise, it's Ranxiang County. That's why I came to find you!"
Yang Shan suddenly understood, and quickly bowed and said: "Please give specific instructions, head of the family!"