Chapter 161: Fighting for Hetao (26)

After receiving the orders, the Lion Camp immediately began to gather urgently. Lingzhou City was like a hornet stabbed in an old nest. Various urgent and short sounds such as horse hooves, horns, and commands sounded.

Lingzhou is a major border town. For hundreds of years, the uninterrupted war has already trained the nerves of the people of Lingzhou to be extremely strong. After hearing these familiar voices, the people in the city thought that the Hu cavalry came to attack the city again, so many people picked up kitchen knives, wooden sticks and other things rushed to the streets. Liang Shouheng, the governor of Lingzhou, was worried that Lingzhou would be in chaos before the war, so he sent all the officials of the governor of Lingzhou to maintain order. When the people heard that it was the Black Eagle Army's Lion Camp, they were not the Hu people who fought, so they felt relieved and dispersed one after another.

The camps of the Lion Camp and the Tiger Camp were in Lingzhou City. After the Lion Camp and Tiger Camp were dispatched urgently, only Hou Dayong's five hundred personal guards were left in the city. The common people carried their swords and sticks and rushed to the streets. The momentum was quite spectacular. This stance made the money in the south a little nervous. He felt that some of the troops garrisoned outside the city should be transferred into the city, so he seized the time to arrange the military camp and hurried to the Jiedushi Mansion.

The bright spring sunshine brings infinite vitality. Several "Flashes" and "Zheng He" are croaking in the cage. The bead grass at the corner of the yard is quite lush, and the tender yellow covers the corner of the yard.

"Zheng He No. 3" had just passed a long journey and sent Fu Ying's secret letter from Daliang City. For Hou Dayong, Fu Ying's secret letter was just a letter written in Chinese Pinyin. For others, Fu Ying's letter was a heavenly book. Hou Dayong stood next to the pigeon cage in the middle courtyard, reading Fu Ying's letter while basking in the sun.

The first time he used "Zheng He No. 1" to deliver a letter, Hou Dayong thought for a long time and didn't know what to write, so he wrote a secret letter to Li Shangyin's untitled poem. As Hou Dayong expected, after Fu Ying received the untitled poem, he did not think much at all, but was moved by the artistic conception of Li Shangyin's poem. So Fu Ying became fascinated by "Zheng He" and was looking forward to "Zheng He" flying in order to bring love poems to the husband of Lingzhou. Later, he felt that there were too few pigeons, so he personally arranged funds to buy sixteen high-quality carrier pigeons from the Southern Tang Dynasty. In this way, Fu Ying was enthusiastically carrying out a thousand-mile love poem activity, and went back and forth. Fu Ying also gave Hou Dayong a love poem enlightenment class, effectively improving Hou Dayong's ability to read ancient poems.

Fu Ying's love poems are just as good as their true feelings, which makes Hou Dayong feel a little ashamed. He has raised a mistress outside and is pregnant with a child. Every time "Zheng He" falls from the sky with love poems, Fu Ying's love poems are like a small bamboo strip. He intentionally or unintentionally hits Hou Dayong's palm, making his palms numb and itchy.

Guo Jiong, Qian Xiangnan and Liang Shouheng had just left, "Zhenghe No. 2" fell from the sky. Hou Dayong originally thought that a love poem flew over from the sky again, but this time Fu Ying was talking about the main business. Because the capacity of the secret letter "Zhenghe No. 2" was limited, the main content of the secret letter was very short: according to the previous proposal, the Qin family shop was established, and Qin family served as the shopkeeper.

After the Fu Family Store became a giant, Fu Gong learned from the lesson. Although Meng Shu was always loyal, Fu Ying was still worried that Meng Shu was holding the Fu Family Store alone and was secretly looking for an opportunity to set up another shop. This time, taking advantage of the opportunity of the Imperial Guards to capture Shouzhou, he took the opportunity to set up a new shop - Qin Family Store, which called some of the funds and a small number of personnel of the Fu Family Store, and basically operated according to the Fu Family Store floor model. Qin Family Store was soon on the road.

When he was in Daliang that day, Hou Dayong knew that Fu Ying had the idea of ​​establishing a new shop. He chose the opportunity to establish a Qin family shop very well this time, and Hou Dayong secretly praised in his heart.

After reading the secret letter, Hou Dayong was bathed in the spring sunshine, suddenly, he thought of his capable and beautiful wife Fu Ying who was guarding Daliang. Since Daliang parted, he has been separated for a year. Hou Dayong suddenly remembered: In modern society, men and women after getting married for three months, they have been called inhumane after having sex. I don’t know if Fu Ying complains in her heart.

After thinking about Fu Ying, Hou Dayong began to think of his naughty son Hou Zonglin. He stood in the yard and was stunned for a while. Hou Dayong's thoughts were out of control. He couldn't help but think of Xiao Lin and his daughter in another world. The sun shone on Hou Dayong's face, warm and comfortable. Hou Dayong suddenly had a whim. If another strange light came out of the sky and he returned to an unknown dynasty, what would happen to the wife and children, Black Eagle Army, Lingzhou, and Tongxin in this world? Hou Dayong said with some self-deprecating self-deprecation: Everyone will turn around the same after leaving this Great Zhou Dynasty. If I leave this Zhou Dynasty in a daze, no one will remember me in a long time.

Thinking of Fu Ying crying for her husband, Qiu Ju Chunlan crying for her husband, Zong Lin, Xiaolu crying for her father, Hou Dayong's nose was so sour, and suddenly thought of Shi Gaoyueming's own children in her belly, and Northeast Ajige and Hou Hu were also their relatives. Hou Dayong thought: He accidentally came to the Great Zhou Dynasty and unknowingly planted such fruitful results. If in modern society, one would commit bigamy crimes and would be judged justly by the people, the other would be despised as Chen Shimei by the world. Chen Shimei just found a mistress, not only had a mistress, but also a third, fourth and fifth breasts. Alas, it seems that he would only stay in the Great Zhou Dynasty in this life, work hard to create a career and create a safe living environment, otherwise how could he be worthy of these women and children who depend on him.

Just as Hou Dayong was thinking about everything in the courtyard, Qian Xiangnan hurriedly walked into the intermediate courtyard.

Hou Dayong withdrew his thoughts from his random thoughts and smiled: "Why is Qian Lang always in a hurry today? What's the urgent matter?"

Qian Xiangnan slowed down when he heard this and said with a smile: "I have lived in the Black Eagle Army for so many years and walk like a hot wheel, and I can't slow down. It seems that I can't be a high-ranking official in the future and go to the court. Look at the prime ministers who walk steadily and have so much authority."

The literati in the Great Zhou court all took the right foot to walk slowly and sway as their official power. When Qian Xiangnan was working in Zhengzhou, he imitated his superiors to walk in a straight line. Just when his great achievements were about to be completed, Hou Dayong came to Zhengzhou. From then on, Qian Xiangnan followed Hou Dayong to climb up the hill and crossed the river and drilled into the forest. He got used to running around and around. The local official power disappeared from the past.

Hou Dayong waved his hand and said, "What's the use of that set of official power? They are all pretending to entertain themselves. We will lead troops to fight and not learn that set of things."

Qian Xiangnan's little eyes turned around and said, "When the Lion Camp left the city just now, the people in the city thought that the Hu cavalry was attacking the city again, and many men carrying swords and sticks were poured out on the streets. There are only 500 guards in Lingzhou City now, and the troops are too small. Not to mention that the Hu cavalry is attacking. Even if the people in the city gather together to cause trouble, it will be very difficult to suppress them."

"Qian Lang is too careful. The people of Lingzhou have food and drink. Why do they gather people to cause trouble for no reason?"

As he was speaking, a pigeon emerged from the sky and landed straight on the pigeon cage. Hou Dayong was about to see the "Flash" and "Zheng He" every day, and the pigeon was still flying in the air. Hou Dayong had already judged that the "Flash" was flying from the pigeon's figure. As soon as the "Flash" landed on the pigeon cage, the guards on the side skillfully caught the "Flash", took off the secret letter, and quickly took it to the sealed sand room.

Hou Dayong asked, "Guess what news the Flash brings back?"

"The Flash only has two places in Tongxin City and Lian County. Either Tongxin City flew over or Lian County." Qian Xiangnan said this and realized that what he said was equivalent to not saying it. He added: "Tongxin City and Lian County currently have three Flashes. General Shi sent the Flash to send a secret letter in the morning. If there were no special circumstances, he would not let the Flash fly back. I guess this Flash flew over from Lian County."

Because Xihui Prefecture is within reach, Hou Dayong was in a good mood and smiled and said, "After the Black Eagle Army occupied Xihui Prefecture, Qingshui River was completely controlled by us, which means that the threat of Dangxiangfang as a human and local area has been completely resolved. The north of Lian County is the Khitan sphere of influence. Could it be that one wave has just settled and the Khitans have come to join in the fun."

Qian Xiangnan's purpose of going to Hou Mansion was to suggest that Hou Dayong strengthen the city defense. At this time, Hou Dayong talked about the Khitans. Qian Xiangnan immediately followed Hou Dayong's words and said: "There are only two thousand troops in Xiong Camp in Lian County. If the Khitan army goes south along the Yellow River and crosses Lian County, it will be possible to approach Lingzhou in less than a day. At this time, there are only 500 guards in Lingzhou City. It is better to transfer Long Army Kuang Cao into the city and strengthen the city defense force."

Qian Xiangnan described the reactions of the people in Lingzhou City when the Lion Camp was out of the city.

While Qian Xiangnan was talking, Feng Sha came to Hou Dayong with a note with a serious expression and said, "Jiang Hui, the commander of Xiong Camp, sent a secret letter. They met a large number of Khitan horse thieves, and surrounded the fortifications and did not retreat."

Hou Dayong frowned and read the secret letter, handed it to Qian Xiangnan, and said, "The Khitans are here to join in the fun."

After reading the note, Qian Xiangnan said with some concern: "The Khitan horse thieves actually dare to siege Xiong Camp. There are two thousand people in the Xiong Camp. It is expected that there are a large number of Khitan horse thieves. Will we provide reinforcements immediately?"

Hou Dayong did not answer Qian Xiangnan's question immediately. He walked to a corner of the yard, picked a tender yellow bead grass leaf, put it in his mouth and chewed it. He felt that the tip of his tongue was numb and spicy. Hou Dayong quickly spit out the bead grass and asked: "I wonder how many Khitans are in the Hetao area? It seems that the military strength is average."

Hou Dayong suddenly asked about the situation in the Hetao area, and Qian Xiangnan was shocked. Since leaving Zhengzhou, he has been following Hou Dayong. After taking over the military intelligence camp, his understanding of Hou Dayong has deepened. What Hou Dayong asked the military intelligence camp to do far exceed the power of a military governor.

Qian Xiangnan said cautiously: "The military information camp sent fifteen people to Hetao. Judging from the information they sent back, the Khitans did not have many troops in Hetao, but only ten thousand people, and their military supplies were insufficient."

"Now the Emperor of Liao is Yelu Shulu. I lived in the Sumo and Mohe tribe for a while and had fought with the tribe army in Yelu Shulu. The sword I used first was the spoils I received after defeating Yelu Shulu, which was given to me by Yelu Shulu.

"The Jiedushi once fought with the Khitans?"

"I not only fought with the Khitan army, but also fought with the Khitan horse thieves. When I followed Liu San's caravan back to Cangzhou, I encountered the Khitan horse thieves. The leader was named Xiduguan, which was very powerful. I was almost killed by him. The Khitan people occupied a wide land, a large population, and a strong military force. It is not comparable to the Uighur tribes. However, in terms of combat effectiveness, the Khitan army is not as strong as Fangdangjun." Hou Dayong said in a bit fascinated, "The Hetao area is a rich place. After the Han army occupied this place, Emperor Wu of Han once cultivated farms here. Hetao was prosperous for a while, but the glory of the past has been obscured in the vast yellow sand."

Hou Dayong's expression and tone made Qian Xiangnan sensitively realize what Hou Dayong wanted to do. He reminded carefully: "Hetao was occupied by the Khitan in Tang Wei. Although the Khitans did not have many troops in Hetao, the Khitan had been established for a long time and was the strongest opponent of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If they wanted to start a war with the Khitan, the court would blame him."

Hou Dayong knew that Qian Xiangnan was very reasonable: Chai Rong's strategic policy was basically implemented in accordance with the "Pingborder Strategy" and conquered the four prefectures of Western Shu Feng, Jie, Cheng and Qin. The south of the Yangtze River became Chai Rong's inevitable goal. Chai Rong sent Hou Dayong to guard the northwest to maintain the current situation so that the court could concentrate its efforts to attack the Southern Tang Dynasty.

When Hou Dayong went from Daliang to the northwest, Shi Ying and him were in charge of the imperial edict. Shi Ying was very familiar with the situation of the Khitans, so he told Hou Dayong in detail. From this, Hou Dayong knew that the Liao Emperor was the famous "sleeping king" Yelu Shulu, and the Liao Dynasty was in a deserted state. His strength was greatly reduced, which was a good time to conquer Hetao. If time passes, it will be much more difficult to recover Hetao when the Khitan national strength revives.

Hou Dayong weighed the pros and cons, saying: "After Yizhou, Xiaocang Pass and the decisive battle on the banks of the Yellow River, Fangdang people could no longer pose a threat to the Great Zhou. The Khitans' main military forces were concentrated in the north of Yizhou, namely the five capitals of Liao Shangjing, Zhongjing, Tokyo, Nanjing, and Xijing. In the Hetao area, the Khitans' forces could not stop the attack of the Black Eagle Army. If the main force of the Black Eagle Army was concentrated, the Khitans could drive the Khitans out of the Yellow River shape in one battle."

Qian Xiangnan was about to open his mouth, Hou Dayong waved his hand and said unquestionably: "The opportunity should not be missed, and you will never come again. Since the Khitan horse thieves surrounded the Xiong Camp, the Black Eagle Army swept the Khitans north of the Yellow River in the name of attacking the horse thieves."

Seeing that Hou Dayong had made up his mind, Qian Xiangnan was not willing to persuade him again, and said, "Now the Black Eagle Army Lion Camp and Jiao Camp have all gone to Xihuizhou. There are 500 guards in Lingzhou City and 5,000 garrisons outside the city. If you want to wipe out the Khitans, your strength will be insufficient."

Hou Dayong did not discuss with Qian Xiangnan anymore. He said to Feng Sha who had been following him: "Order the guards to go to the station to gather immediately; order Kuang Cao, the wolf army outside the city to gather urgently. After an hour, he went outside the north gate to wait for the order; order Chen Renyi, the Leopard Army, immediately leads troops into Lingzhou City and strengthens the alertness of Lingzhou City."

Feng Sha quickly repeated the order. Just as he was about to walk away, Hou Dayong said again: "Call Liang Envoy and Bai Shuangwu of the Academy."

After Feng Sha hurriedly left, Hou Dayong turned to Qian Xiangnan and said, "I want to personally lead troops to Lian County. You will be the one who will guard Lingzhou City. Liang Envoy and Bai Shuangwu will come together to guard Lingzhou City. You just mentioned that Lingzhou men carried their swords and rods and rushed to the streets. It seems that the people in Lingzhou are very strong and can be used well. After I leave, you and Liang Envoys will collect some Lingzhou men in the city, so that they can temporarily act as united soldiers and help guard Lingzhou City."

"There are now 40,000 households in Lingzhou City. Each adult male student can draw one for two, and it is estimated that thousands of people can be recruited. In addition, there are nearly two hundred merchants in Lingzhou City. These merchants have servants, big merchants draw ten servants, and small merchants draw two to five servants. In this way, the Unity Soldiers in the city alone can recruit thousands of people. The Unity Soldiers are commanded by Bai Shuangwu. In addition, there should be no problem in guarding Lingzhou City with two thousand soldiers in the Leopard Army."

When Hou Dayong came out of the inner courtyard wearing armor, Bai Shuangwu was already standing in the middle courtyard waiting. When he saw the governor coming out, Bai Shuangwu raised his head and held a standard military salute, which was full of military flavor.

"Did Judge Qian tell you the matter?"

Bai Shuangwu was born in a military family. His father Bai Chongzan has always ruled his family by military law. Therefore, Bai Shuangwu has a very military temperament and is very capable of governing the army. When he arrived in Lingzhou, Chai Rong gradually reduced the use of human rights of the Jiedushi land, Bai Shuangwu was forced to come to the academy to be the vice president. After Bai Shuangwu became a scholar, he mingled with several Confucian scholars every day. Seeing the Black Eagle Army fighting in the east and west, the house was full of people looking for teeth. Bai Shuangwu felt like he was trapped in quicksand, but he couldn't use it. When he received the order to summon the Jiedushi land, he immediately stepped on the war horse and rushed to the scene.

Bai Shuangwu stood straight and replied, "Please rest assured that if you have the last general here, even a mouse cannot enter Lingzhou City."

The personal guard Luo Qingsong took out the war horse "Son of Wind". "Son of Wind" was an extremely spiritual war horse. When he saw his master dressed neatly, he knew that he could go out of the city to stroll. He kept sniffing excitedly, and rubbed Hou Dayong with his head affectionately. Hou Dayong patted the neck of "Son of Wind" with his hand and turned around and told him: "The people in Lingzhou are brave and brave. With a little training, they will be elite soldiers who can fight. I will give you these united soldiers and take them well. If you bring out combat power, you will be their commander."

Bai Shuangwu's eyes shone and said, "Please rest assured by the Jiedushi. Give me three months to the united soldiers and dare to fight against the Dangxiang Cavalry."

When Hou Dayong led 500 personal soldiers out of the north gate, Kuang Cao and two thousand soldiers of the Wolf Camp also rushed to the north gate. The 2,500 cavalrymen did not stop at all and ran towards Lian County without stopping.

Jiang Hui, the commander of Xiong Camp, guarded the newly built fortifications in Lian County. Outside the fortifications were thousands of Khitan cavalry. The costumes and weapons of these cavalry were relatively messy and the flags were varied. Jiang Hui thus determined that they were horse thieves.

These horse thieves fought very well, and their formations were scattered very well, attacking the simple fortifications of Lian County one after another. The two thousand soldiers in Xiong Camp were all equipped with crossbows. According to the tactics of the Black Eagle Army, the two thousand soldiers were divided into two groups, one rested, and one defended behind the fortifications. The thousand soldiers were divided into three groups, and used crossbows to shoot at the Khitans in turn. The Khitans did not expect that the Zhou army in Lian County was so difficult to fight. They left hundreds of corpses but did not take any advantage, so they retreated beyond the range of the crossbows and surrounded without attacking.
Chapter completed!