novelonline Chapter 555 Without further ado, it's now!
Chapter 555 Without further ado, it's now!
Chapter 555 Without further ado, it's now!
After Xia Houying came over, Jia Heng and Jia's mother hadtily finished their lunch in Rongqing Hall. Before they could say a few more words to everyone, a nun suddenly announced that the army of the Beijing camp had assembled, and asked Jia Heng when he would leave. So without further delay, he and Princess Xianning left Rongguo Mansion under the escort of Xia Houying and the guards of Jinyi Mansion.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they were destined not to be able to say goodbye to Yuan Chun, Baochai, Yuanyang, Qingwen, Xichun, etc. In the end, they only said a few words to Qin Keqing as a farewell.
After Jia Heng left in a hurry, Rongqing Hall, which was noisy before, was now in a lot of depression.
Xiang Yun's eyes were lost, and he murmured, "Brother Heng left just like that?"
"The military situation is like a fire. There is a rush in Henan. Brother Heng can't delay." Tanchun said in a clear voice, thinking of Princess Xianning and that Xia Houying, and then thinking of the previous proposal to go to Luoyang. He frowned, and finally sighed.
Mother Jia said with relief: "King, don't worry too much, Brother Heng, when has he not won a battle outside?"
Qin Keqing nodded and said, "Old lady, I know about this."
It's just that she couldn't go to Henan with her husband like that Xianning princess after all, and the husband didn't know how long he went, and in the end, she didn't have time to say goodbye.
The current husband is not only her husband, but also the reliance of the entire Jia family, and he will never go back to when he was in Liutiaoer Alley.
Xiang Yun pouted her pink lips, and said regretfully, "Third Sister, I also want to go to Henan, and Brother Heng didn't ask me, I'm not afraid of bumps and hardships."
Tanchun: "???"
"Sister Yun, fighting is not a joke. Brother Heng will take you there and take care of you." Daiyu glanced at Xiangyun and said.
"What about the third sister?" Xiangyun Pingguo showed some dissatisfaction on his face.
"Third sister will follow, and I can help Brother Heng." Daiyu said softly.
Listening to the laughter of the little girls, Jia Mu and Qin Keqing's worries gradually dissipated.
Yuan Chun took a sip of the fragrant tea lightly, a trace of worry crept up between his brows and eyes, and he sighed in his heart.
I hope brother Heng is all right and returns home soon.
Baochai's face was also covered with a layer of worry.
Not to mention that everyone in the Jia family was worried about Jia Heng's expedition, but said that Jia Heng, Princess Xianning, and Xia Houying rode fast horses to the Beijing camp under the guard of Jinyi Mansion. The sound of horseshoes sounded in the foothills.
Jia Heng led a group of dozens of horsemen to catch up with the front row, and merged under the banner of the Chinese army.
"Jie Shuai." At this time, Pang Shili, the general of the Yangwei Battalion, greeted him with fists and called out.
Jia Heng asked: "The Sentinels have been dispatched."
When the army is approaching, they will report before and after, and often a large number of scouts will spread out first, and respond to the news at any time.
Pang Shili clasped his hands and said: "Report to Marshal Jie, General Xie has led [-] horsemen and scattered them out in batches."
"It shouldn't be too late, the army is going!" Jia Heng pulled out the Tianzi Sword from his waist, and following an order, the endless cavalry behind him rode their horses and raised their whips, and marched in the direction of Luoyang.
In the evening, in the Kunning Palace, the quiet and soft golden sunset shone into the palace. Groups of maids and eunuchs stood beside the beams, pillars and curtains with their hands down, not daring to let out the atmosphere.
Ever since the emperor was surprised by the bad news in Henan, he vomited blood and fainted, the entire Kunning Palace was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. replaced by murder.
Even after lunch, the Supreme Emperor and Empress Dowager Feng brought their concubines over to visit Emperor Chongping, but it still didn't ease much.
"Your Majesty, the decoction is ready." Dai Quan had a white cloth wrapped around his head at this time, and the blood was still red, holding a bowl of decoction in his hand, he came close and whispered.
At this time, Empress Song's chief female officer took the medicine bowl, tasted it first, and then handed it to Empress Song.
Empress Song stirred it with a spoon, and said softly, "The imperial doctor said this is a medicine for nourishing blood, Your Majesty, please use it."
While speaking, he scooped up a spoonful of decoction, pursed his pink lips of rose petals, blew on it, and handed it over.
Emperor Chongping did not continue like this, but took the medicine bowl, picked up the spoon to stir it, and asked: "Concubine Rong is still angry with me?"
Princess Xianning followed Jia Heng to Henan. This move was strongly opposed by Xianning's mother concubine Duanrong. When Jia Heng left the palace and went to the Beijing camp to dispatch troops, she was still trying to persuade Emperor Chongping to withdraw Fate.
Song Empress Yurong was slightly stunned, and sighed quietly: "Your Majesty, Jinyang has already gone to persuade her, and also sent Xia Houying from the mansion to escort Zhi'er. Zhi'er's trip should be foolproof. Figured it out."
The spoon in Emperor Chongping's hand paused slightly, staring at Dai Quan, and said, "Has the Beijing army set out yet?"
"Just now Jinyi Mansion came to report, and the Jingying cavalry went to Luoyang first, and now Jia Ziyu is also leading the army." Dai Quan said quickly and respectfully.
The Prime Minister of the Daming Palace, who sent the good news by mistake before, causing the emperor to vomit blood and faint, is still in a state of lingering fear at this moment.
Emperor Chongping nodded, and murmured: "Soldiers are expensive and fast. If the imperial court does not screen the victory and postpone it for another three to five days, I am afraid that Luoyang will be in danger. If Ziyu goes here, at least Luoyang will be saved. As for Kaifeng It will take some time for the civil unrest over there."
Dai Quan's heart trembled, and he dared not respond.
Empress Song turned to look at Emperor Chongping, who was frowning. Her voice was as soft as water, trying to calm the anxiety in the emperor's heart, and said: "Since Jia Ziyu has sent troops to Henan, I hope His Majesty can relax. Didn't Jia Ziyu say it before, Your Majesty The dragon body is the most important thing, and he can calm down the others."
"Zitong, why don't I know? It's just that it's inevitable." Xu Shi was plagued by illnesses, and it was rare for the emperor, who had always been determined and resolute, to reveal some true thoughts.
"But your Majesty's dorm room is not safe, and it doesn't help. Since Jia Ziyu has deduced the situation early, the chaos in Henan will soon be quelled by him." Empress Song took Emperor Chongping's hand, and said in relief .
Emperor Chongping sighed, then looked at Dai Quan, and said: "Let the internal supervisor keep an eye on Henan's movements at all times, so nothing can go wrong this time."
Hearing this, Dai Quan's face paused, and he cupped his hands in response: "Yes, Your Majesty."
……
……
Henan, Kaifeng Prefecture
This capital city in the Song Dynasty was once bustling and crowded, but it has only been in the hands of bandits for a day, and it has been shrouded in a terrifying atmosphere.
The streets were sparsely populated, corpses and bloodstains had not been cleaned up from time to time, except for Gao Yue's soldiers with red turbans on their heads, there was not a single commoner coming and going, and there was a deathly silence.
From time to time, women's screams and screams came from the houses, occasionally breaking the silence.
Some Jiangyang robbers and death row prisoners who were originally sent out from the prisons of various counties mixed into Gao Yue's troops. Naturally, there was no military discipline at all, and they raped and plundered in Kaifeng City.
Gao Yue, the self-proclaimed "Marshal of Fengtian Advocacy of Righteousness", since he set up an anti-banner of "anti-Han and restoration of Ming Dynasty", he naturally knew that the former Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang used the red scarf army to start the uprising, so all the thieves under his command wore red scarves around their heads, which was in line with the previous Ming Dynasty. thing.
The former Ming Dynasty enjoyed the country for more than 100 years and died in Jiajing. Some folks and scholars still miss the former dynasty.
At this moment, the twilight is falling and the sky is vast. Lanterns have been hung in the front porch of the mansion. The newly released "Generalissimo" Gao Yue is covered with a mountain armor and a black cloak. Surrounded by the guard general Ma Liang and others, Stride into the official office.
During the gathering in front of the Kaifeng government office at noon, Gao Yue used the head of Zhou Dezhen, the governor of Henan Province, to sacrifice the flag, and made an alliance with the generals of the rebel army. He proclaimed himself a grand marshal. The small leaders of three to five hundred people were named school lieutenants. At this moment, Gao Yue's subordinates are more gathered in the form of loose alliances, with about thirteen or four groups of large and small.
Shao Yingchen, who was directing the civil servants stationed in Kaifeng to count the government treasury in the yamen hall, saw Gao Yue coming in, and said, "Marshal."
"How is it? How is the storage in Kaifeng Fuzhong's treasury?" Gao Yue didn't talk nonsense, sitting on a chair beside him, and asked in a low voice.
Shao Yingchen frowned and said: "Marshal, after an overnight inventory, the Kaifeng government treasury has about 30 shi of grain, 370 taels of gold, and 600 taels of silver. There is not much silver and grain in the treasury. , recruit refugees, and finally barely enough for us to support for a month."
Even though Kaifeng Mansion is the government of Henan Province, its financial situation is quite bad. The annual tax is only 80 million shi, and it has to accept the transfer payment from Shenjing. The book silver is even less than 10 taels. To distribute officials' salaries and military salaries.
Shao Yingchen's previous expectation of opening up the treasury to help the poor, and then the effect of the people from the prefectures and counties around Kaifeng Mansion gathering to respond has been greatly reduced.
Gao Yue said in a deep voice: "Most of the wealthy households in the provincial government are rich and unkind. I have just ordered Wei Song to lead people to start to torture the wealthy merchants in Kaifeng Prefecture, confiscating all their money, recruiting heroes, and some corrupt officials. If they want to kill them all, they will also confiscate their family property and use it for military use."
Shao Yingchen frowned, and said: "If this is the case, if it continues to spread, I'm afraid that the gentry and merchants in other provinces will hate the Marshal to the bone."
"Now I can't control that much. Besides, I waited for the army to advocate righteousness. If I don't kill these corrupt officials who are rich and unkind, and use their money to help the poor, no one will follow us." Gao Yue's eyes were burning. talking.
Shao Yingchen said: "Every family and village in the city is killing and setting fire. The Marshal should send someone to restrain the military discipline, otherwise we will lose the support of the people."
"Sir, let them enjoy themselves first, and wait to resist the encirclement and suppression of the government army." Gao Yue frowned, and said: "The brothers under his command hate these evil big families, so they must let them out. .”
If he didn't feed these people enough, how could they be willing to go through life and death with him, and after the looting, it would be reasonable to restrain the military discipline tomorrow and kill a few unlucky ones.
Shao Yingchen wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Gao Yue stretching out his hand, then walked to the map, pointed to the land of Luoyang, and said: "Sir, what if I use all my light cavalry to attack Luoyang?"
Shao Yingchen's face changed suddenly when he heard the words, and he said anxiously: "Luoyang is a big city, and now Kaifeng will be in the next day, and it is time to recruit heroes. We still need to accumulate power. After the heroes from all over the world respond, we will have a short battle with the imperial army. After the confrontation, we should go south to Huaiyang to seek the foundation of the king and hegemony."
This was also Shao Yingchen's strategy for Gao Yue. After making trouble in Henan for a while, after shaking Chen Han's center, he smashed the south.
"The opportunity must not be missed, and it will never come again." Gao Yue looked solemn, and explained: "Sir, the imperial court does not know that the Kaifeng Mansion has fallen into our hands. We can take Luoyang with lightning speed. Sir, look at the map. The distance between us is similar to the distance between Shenjing and Luoyang, and when the imperial court sends troops to help, we will have taken Luoyang long ago."
Shao Yingchen said: "Marshal, we are long-weary troops. We only use two or three thousand light cavalry to attack day and night. Luoyang Mansion has Luoyang Guards, Henan Mansion also has the guards of the vassal kings, and we are bound to be discouraged. The Sishui Pass is in the way."
"Sir, you overestimated the officers and soldiers of Henan Guard and Luoyang Guard. Judging from the past few encounters, the officers and soldiers have been sparsely engaged in battle for a long time, and most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled. They are totally vulnerable!" Gao Yue pondered for a moment, then said: " As for the Sishui Pass, sir, I don’t know, it has been in disrepair for a long time, and there are only a thousand veterans guarding it, and it can go straight to Luoyang after a little rush."
This is not the first time he has disagreed with Mr. Shao. The previous few times have proved him right. For example, this time, although the attack on Kaifeng Mansion was rushed, it turned out that it swept Henan and gathered nearly [-] people.
It's the same now, if you don't take Luoyang, just break through Kaifeng, the so-called idea of messing up the hinterland of Chen Han is just wishful thinking.
Moreover, before the arrival of the officers and soldiers, they avoided their sharp edge and went south to Runing and rushed to Huainan, not to mention whether the poor people who had recently gathered for righteousness would follow them. Just running back and forth like this, the brothers under him would not be able to breathe for a moment, and they would definitely suffer. unspeakable.
In fact, since Gao Yue and his subordinates raised their troops, most of them have been entrenched in Huguang, and they have not been chased and intercepted by the officers and soldiers until they were destroyed. , and its subordinates, in fact, they are not yet mentally prepared to move to other places.
In particular, after gathering crowds to capture Kaifeng Mansion, the situation is very good, and of course they don't want to rush south.
Even Li Chuang of the late Ming Dynasty thought of moving to other places because of the situation of heavy encirclement and suppression by the government and army.
"Sir, the day before yesterday, the Zhao family brothers in Mangshan, Luoyang sent someone to deliver a letter quickly. Their people have sneaked into Luoyang secretly. As soon as we arrive, we can cooperate from inside to take down Luoyang City!" Zhen Xing said: "If we take Luoyang and the two great cities in the Central Plains fall into our hands, then the world will be truly shaken. Then, according to Mr.'s words, we will go straight to Huaiyang and look south to Jinling."
At this moment, several generals who came in from the outside, Gao Yue's subordinates Li Zimin, Lai Haiyuan, Wei Bochuan and other generals, entered the yamen hall, applauded and said: "Brother is right, the Han Dynasty just occupied Jinling. world."
Shao Yingchen looked at the few people who came in, and sighed inwardly.
Gao Yue laughed loudly, and said, "The brothers came back at just the right time, so we brothers have figured out how to take down Luoyang."
Li Zimin smiled and said: "Brother, the surrounding counties haven't been captured yet, should we wait until they are captured? I see that the counties of Lanyang and Tongxu haven't been captured yet."
Doubts arose in my heart, didn't I just say that I wanted to take Jinling, why did it change to Luoyang?
"It's too late. There is not much oil and water to fish for in Kaifeng Prefecture, and the storage in these counties' treasuries is also limited. Even if we win it or not, it's just a bit of momentum." Gao Yue said, explaining: "We are now using the Hurry up and fight slowly, before the imperial court reacts, it is important to take down Luoyang first."
Lai Haiyuan's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Brother wants to take Luoyang?"
Wei Bochuan's face was purple. Hearing this, he said with a smile: "I'll take Luoyang as soon as I see it. Although Kaifeng is a provincial capital, it's just that. Luoyang is a big city. If it falls into our hands, hey-hey."
Gao Yue smiled and said, "I'm making total calculations, and I need to hear Mr. Shao's opinion."
With that said, everyone looked at Shao Yingchen in unison.
Shao Yingchen pondered for a moment, walked to the map, and said in a deep voice: "If you want to take Luoyang, you still need a fast word."
Seeing this, Gao Yue was overjoyed, knowing that Mr. Shao had approved his idea.
The two had previously agreed that if Luoyang was desirable, they would make a decisive decision.
Shao Yingchen stared at Kaifeng Mansion and Luoyang City, and said in a deep voice: "The so-called soldiers are precious and fast. Now that Kaifeng City is broken, the news can't be suppressed. It is impossible for the Henan Mansion in Luoyang to be vigilant and stay behind." We don't have much time, just two or three days, and it depends on the defensive strength of Sishuiguan. Of course, as the marshal thought, Luoyang is the place where grain is transshipped in Shenjing. For a month, Shenjing will also be shaken by it."
"Sir, that's exactly what I mean. Just taking Kaifeng is no pain for the court. If Luoyang is taken and the water transportation is cut off, then the Chen Han court is bound to be in great embarrassment. If they use heavy troops to suppress, we will wait If the people of Henan fight against them, even if they are defeated, they will be able to retreat to Runing Mansion and go south to Huaiyang, this is how to lock their throats and cut their stomachs." Gao Yue said, smashing his fists heavily on the land of Luoyang, saying: "Sir, this Luoyang is the throat where Chen Han uses Shenjing to clamp down on the north and the south. This move is precisely to lock the throat. Take a step back and say that even if you lose, you will return to Runing Mansion at worst and go to Huainan."
Shao Yingchen frowned, his eyes were full of thought, and he said: "It's just that if the commander-in-chief rushes with light cavalry, he will not be strong enough. If he gathers a crowd to attack, the court will definitely respond in advance."
This is why Mr. Shao thinks that Luoyang is not desirable from beginning to end. If Gao Yue's current cavalry rushes to attack, if there is any leak, the halberd may be smashed on the way to Luoyang. Frustrated, but hurt morale.
"Mr. Shao, don't worry. I will charge with three thousand light cavalry. I will watch the police along the way and act according to circumstances. If there is anything wrong, I will return the teacher immediately." Gao Yue said with bright eyes.
Shao Yingchen was silent for a while, suppressing the unease in his heart, and asked, "When will the commander-in-chief leave?"
"It's not too late, it's now." Gao Yue looked at the night outside and said, "If everything goes well, we can reach the city of Luoyang as early as tomorrow night."
But judging from the current situation, even if the imperial court got the news yesterday, it will take some time to dispatch troops.
(End of this chapter)