Chapter eight hundred and fifty seventh Jingxing change
Although Guo Song did not demote Wu Zhiyuan's military position, he weakened his military power. He ordered Wu Zhiyuan to lead an army of 5,000 to guard Xingzhou, and Gan Xin to lead an army of 5,000 to guard Zhaozhou. He himself led an army of 35,000
Head towards Jingxing.
At the same time, Yao Jin also led 30,000 troops through Xingzhou and marched towards Jizhou.
The war in Jizhou was very fierce. Zhu Tao led 50,000 troops to attack Xindu City in turns. However, the soldiers and civilians of Xindu City did not want Xindu to fall into Zhu Tao's hands. They rose up to resist under the leadership of general Huo Weiran.
The originally low morale of the soldiers became high-spirited. The entire city's soldiers and civilians participated in the defense. Even businessmen donated money and materials. Hundreds of thousands of people and tens of thousands of soldiers shared the same hatred. The city of Xindu was almost captured, but again
It was recaptured by the army and civilians and the enemy troops were driven out of the city. Although both sides suffered heavy casualties, Xindu City still stood tall and the Youzhou Army was never able to capture it.
At this time, news came that Yao Jin had led 30,000 troops into Jizhou. Zhu Tao was worried that the Jin army would take advantage of him, so he had to lead his troops to retreat twenty miles to reorganize the army.
Yao Jin also stopped twenty miles away from Xindu City and began to set up camp.
The arrival of the Jin army gave Xindu City a breather. The area near the north city gate was in a mess. Shops and houses near the city gate were burned down. As far as you could see, there were ruins. The corpses of enemy soldiers were piled on both sides of the city gate. The remains of soldiers and civilians in the city
The bodies were taken away by their families, white flags were hung in front of many houses, and the mourning could be faintly heard at home.
Li Wujun disappeared again these days. He arranged for his only son to escape from the south gate at night. Unexpectedly, he encountered a patrol of the Youzhou Army. His son was shot in the vital part by an arrow during the melee and died unfortunately.
When the news came, Li Wujun lost all his thoughts and locked himself in the palace all day long, drinking and having fun with dozens of wives and concubines. No matter how brutal the siege was, it could not affect his drunken life and death.
That afternoon, Liu Kun, the military officer of the Bing Cao, found Huo Weiran, the chief general of the city guard. Huo Weiran was about forty years old. He was actually a civilian officer and served as the Sima of the Jizhou Army Envoy. The Jizhou Army Envoy was Li Wujun himself.
concurrently.
The Huo family is a wealthy family in Xindu. They usually help the poor and the weak, and they will also actively provide relief to the victims in disaster years, which makes the Huo family highly prestigious among the people. Li Wujun no longer cares about the life and death of Xindu. Huo Weiran stepped forward and raised his arms.
Immediately, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians responded to his call, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were willing to listen to his command.
"You want me to surrender to the Jin army?" Huo Weiran looked at Liu Kun calmly. There have been many such voices in the army recently, but Liu Kun was the first official to persuade him, and Huo Weiran expected it.
.
"Sima, it's not surrender, it's choice!"
Liu Kun persuaded: "Jizhou is an anointed land. Millions of people have lived here for generations. It should not be ruled by cruel people. However, since the Anlu Mountain Rebellion, it has been devastated by war and ruled by warlords.
I thought it would be better if Li Wujun overthrew Li Baochen and his son, but it turned out that he was also the same. Under his rule, taxes became heavier and the people became more miserable. I heard that a bucket of salt in Mingzhou only costs 140 copper.
There are no other taxes, and Guo Song even announced that Mingzhou will be allowed to rest and recuperate for ten years. Isn’t this what the people want? Does Sima still want to go against the will of the people and continue to support the cruel and ungrateful Li Wujun? "
Huo Weiran sighed and said: "Although Li Wujun has many shortcomings, he does treat my Huo family well. If I surrender to the Jin army, it will be equivalent to killing him. I don't want to do that yet."
Liu Kun had no choice but to say to Huo Weiran: "I have said what I should say, Sima can think about it himself!"
Huo Weiran glanced at Liu Kun and said coldly: "Liu Canjun chose to surrender to the Jin army. I understand and I don't object to it, but I hope you will not do anything that will harm Xindu. If you dare to surrender the city, then don't blame me.
I have fallen out of favor."
Liu Kun looked back at him, shook his head, and walked away quickly.
Huo Weiran did not turn a deaf ear to Liu Kun's words. In fact, he was very tempted, but he had no choice. Li Wujun's direct guards used the pretext of protecting his family's safety, but actually kept his family under tight control.
If he made the slightest move, his family would be massacred, and Huo Weiran felt extremely helpless.
.........
In the guest room of Gaosheng Inn, Liu Kun told Shopkeeper Yue about his conversation with Huo Weiran this morning. He smiled bitterly and said: "In fact, it's not surprising. The Huo family rose slowly after the Anshi Rebellion. They had no interaction with the imperial court.
, they are not used to dealing with Chang'an."
Shopkeeper Yue smiled and said: "Actually, this also shows that the Huo family is cautious. However, the people's will and the general trend are not something that the Huo family can stop. You don't need to persuade him. Let's just wait for it to change!"
"The shopkeeper is right, I am a little too eager, I am too eager for the Jin army to enter Xindu..."
Liu Kun paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said: "You and I have been cooperating for several years. Do you think, Shopkeeper Yue, that His Highness King Jin will know about my existence?"
Shopkeeper Yue smiled slightly and said: "His Royal Highness King Jin knows, especially this time you informed us of the Iron Fire Thunder incident in time. His Highness King Jin is full of praise for you and praises you for being able to play a role at critical moments. I believe in your efforts over the years.
There will definitely be rewards.”
Liu Kun was very excited. He dragged a big leather bag on the ground and said to shopkeeper Yue: "This is the two thousand taels of silver I have collected over the years. In fact, I have never dared to use it. My wife also criticized me for doing things for money, which is unethical."
, I decided to return the money to Shopkeeper Yue!"
Shopkeeper Yue laughed, "These are two different things. Credit is credit, and reward is reward. If no one is willing to accept the reward, we will not be able to do anything. Besides, you provided us with a lot of important information without taking any money.
It shows that you are not doing it entirely for money, but also hope to find a future for yourself, don’t worry! Based on your performance in the Iron Fire Thunder incident, you will not be disappointed."
Liu Kun wanted to pay back the money, but he was unwilling to do so. Shopkeeper Yue's words finally made his heart drop. He was overjoyed and said, "Then I have to ask Shopkeeper Yue to say some kind words for me."
........
There is also a pass at the entrance to the east section of Jingxing, called Tumen Pass, which is a long and narrow mountain road with steep mountains on one side and cliffs on the other. This mountain road is about ten miles long, and the narrowest point is only forty steps.
The widest point is one mile, and at the end of the mountain road is a solid pass.
Due to terrain restrictions, Tumen Pass, like other passes, cannot accommodate too many troops. There are only 500 people stationed at the pass permanently, but there are 10,000 troops supporting it behind the scenes.
Tumen Pass is the last pass to guard against Hedong. Once Tumen Pass is lost, the Hedong army can directly enter Hebei.
Zhu Tao attached great importance to Jingxing. Even though the strategic focus of the Jin army had obviously shifted to Fukou Pass, he still did not dare to take it lightly and still deployed 10,000 heavy troops to guard Tumen Pass.
But Zhu Tao was also worried that the Jin army in Mingzhou would march north to Jingxing, so he sent General Lu Jinsuo with an army of 10,000 to occupy Zhaozhou, making Zhaozhou a natural barrier to Jingxing.
After Lu Jinsuo was defeated from Tumen Pass, he did not retreat to Jingxing, but directly took a detour and returned to Youzhou.
The military camp at Tumen Pass is located on a highland more than ten miles away, which is also the entrance to the Mid-Mountain Road. The reason why the military camp is located more than ten miles away from Tumen Pass is that the Mid-Mountain Road is too narrow to station 10,000 troops.
However, in order to support Tumen Pass in a timely manner, the Youzhou Army built a small military camp less than a mile away from Tumen Pass and stationed more than a thousand people. This actually formed two military support points, high and low.
The chief general of the Youzhou army stationed at Tumen Pass is called Li Wanquan. He is also the Hengzhou military envoy appointed by Zhu Tao. He is from Jixian County, Youzhou. He is about forty years old. He is extremely majestic and tall. He has been in the army for nearly twenty years.
Youzhou's military qualifications are very senior.
Although the war in Jizhou is fierce and the Jin army continues to increase its troops in Mingzhou, and a war is imminent, the Jingxing Pass is very quiet. At least so far, no trace of the Jin army has been found in Jingxing Pass.
Li Wanquan was also relatively relaxed and could still find time to go back to Luquan County to spend time with his concubine.
Before dawn, Li Wanquan returned to the military camp with dozens of soldiers. He went to Luquan County last night. Luquan County is not far from the camp, just more than ten miles away. He rented a house there.
To live with his two concubines.
As soon as he returned to the entrance of the big tent, a soldier came up to him nervously and said: "General, please report from Tumen Pass that the Meishan beacon was lit last night."
Li Wanquan was immediately surprised. Meishan was located in Jingxing, about thirty miles away from Tumen Pass. A beacon was built on the top of the mountain. If there were more than a thousand enemies, the beacon would be lit.
"When did the news arrive?"
"Just half an hour ago."
A chill rose up Li Wanquan's back. It was still dark half an hour ago. The Meishan beacon could not be seen far away. It was usually only found at the foot of the mountain. This meant that the enemy in Jingxing was only thirty miles away from Tumen Pass.
, and there will never be an army of a thousand people, at least thousands of people. Will the Jin army also come from Tumenguan?
"General, do you want to send a message to the prince?" the soldier asked.
Li completely shook his head, "Wait a minute and confirm the situation before we talk!"
At this time, the war in Xindu City was busy. If it was not a big deal and ruined the prince's strategy, he would not be able to afford it.