Chapter 152 Kept in the Dark (6k)

Qiongying was so startled that she let out a soft moan, but when Yang Chang held her down with his long hands, she lay quietly on the horse.

There were constant shouts and sounds of horse hooves in her ears, but at this moment Qiongying's soul was wandering away, recalling the quick defeat just now.

He is so strong! And he is so handsome.

With such an opponent, Tian Hu may not be able to sit firmly on the throne. Maybe he can help me get revenge?

It's a pity that Yang Chang has already married. The woman is pretty, but not as young as me, and her martial arts are not as good as mine.
"Madam, I'll leave her in your care for now. I'll take people to rescue Hechuan."

"Okay, sir, go ahead."

It was not until she was dismounted from the horse by Yang Chang and saw the tall figure of the person she had been criticizing that Qiong Ying came back to her senses from her wild thoughts.

Looking at Hu Sanniang again at this time, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

So tall, so straight, and so big.

Looking down at myself, a sense of inferiority welled up in my heart.

She comforted herself that she was young and would be able to catch up when she got older.

It must be like this.

Ta-da-da, the sound of horse hooves is urgent.

Looking at Yang Changyuan's back, Qiongying couldn't help but sigh: "What a majestic white horse."

"Do you really need to praise this?"

Hu Sanniang smiled contemptuously and added with a hint of boasting: "This is the Jade Lion of Zhaoye. It only recognizes my husband. Outsiders cannot ride it at all."

"Jade Lion Shining in the Night"

Qiongying repeated in a low voice, thinking that it really was a jade lion.

Jade-like appearance and lion-like dominance.

Absolutely!

The commander was captured alive on the battlefield, and his soldiers were thrown into chaos. Yang Chang took advantage of the situation and led his troops to kill them all the way, and before noon they reached the outskirts of Hechuan City.

At that time, Wu Li was besieging the city fiercely, and the Hechuan defenders had been resisting for many days and were exhausted. They were under tremendous pressure both physically and mentally. The old members of Liangshan were tenacious, but the newly surrendered soldiers were on the verge of collapse.

At the critical moment, loud shouts came from the south.

The defeated soldiers and the reinforcements roared towards the north like a mountain torrent.

When the defenders of Hechuan saw the reinforcements, they shot arrows and threw stones as if they were injected with chicken blood, while the soldiers of Wuli who were besieging the city had their formation disrupted by the defeated army and were swept away to flee to the north.

For a moment, people were crowded together and horses were close to each other.

From Qinshui to Hechuan County, the entire river valley area suddenly opens up, and the original long snake formation is adjusted to a square formation here.

The three big beasts, Yang Chang, Sun An and Lu Zhishen, led the charge and attacked like killing gods.

The northern troops were in a state of disarray, and in an instant their ranks collapsed like walls and houses, with almost no power to fight back.

Countless people trampled on each other and fell into the water, and the Southern Army did not stop until they escaped to Caijialing, ten miles away.

Wu Li retreated more than ten miles to set up camp. After taking inventory, he found that after only two or three hours of fighting, his troops had suffered more than five thousand casualties, which was higher than the casualties in the previous few days of siege. Moreover, his daughter Qiongying had been captured alive by the enemy.

Where to go? A dilemma.

When the Southern Army chased to the foot of Caijialing, they found that the terrain was like an overlapping gourd, which was a good place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was also not far from Hechuan County, making it very convenient to transport supplies.

Yang Changsui left 3,000 soldiers to Sun An, ordering him to set up camp on the road to prevent Wu Li from making a comeback. He himself would take the rest of the troops back to the county town first to cheer up the defenders.

The two county towns of Hechuan and Jishi are suspended in the valley east of Pingyang, seemingly in two different worlds from the Fenshui city. Due to terrain restrictions, the two counties have a population of only tens of thousands.

After nearly ten days of hard defense of the city, most of Hechuan's supply stocks were consumed and several parts of the city walls were severely damaged. However, this vital city could not be abandoned.

Yang Chang entered the city to meet Zhu Tong and Cao Zheng. After a brief greeting, he began to inspect the city’s defenses, and then went outside the city to check the conditions of the farmland.

The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the western hills, revealing a landscape of golden mountains in the sun.

With the remaining light of the sun, Yang Chang stood on the edge of the field, looking out, holding a piece of mud and talking to himself.

"Fortunately, the summer wheat has already been harvested. If a war breaks out during the harvest, this Hechuan will probably be lost. The land around the county is flat and fertile, and we cannot let the war affect our livelihood. We have to move the battlefield northward."

"They plant winter wheat in September here, maybe they have already entered Qinzhou by then?"

"Don't be so optimistic. Tian Hu still has more than 200,000 soldiers in Qinzhou. If we don't defeat the prefectures and counties outside first, how can we advance straight in? At least we have no chance of winning by ourselves. Let's retreat from Wuli first and talk about it later."

"Thank you for coming just in time, Sanlang. With the 15,000 troops you brought with you, our force is no less than Wu Li's. Victory should be a piece of cake."

Zhu Tong stroked his beautiful beard with a confident look on his face, but was quickly poured cold water on by Yang Chang with words.

"I'm afraid that Wu Li will confront us. If Hechuan County has 20,000 to 30,000 garrisons, the military rations will definitely be insufficient. We can't transport food as conveniently as they do, so we will suffer a great loss if we fight with them."

"What Sanlang meant."

"It all depends on what Wu Li plans to do. Logically, he should retreat when he sees the reinforcements. But if he doesn't retreat and continues to send more troops, we have to build fortifications at Caijialing and place the battlefield at the pass below the ridge for defense. This will not affect the production of local people and allow soldiers to rest at any time. I've had someone roughly calculate that the garrison here cannot exceed 15,000, and Ji's help will be needed to provide supplies."

"That makes sense. Anyway, I'll follow your instructions. It's getting dark, shall we go back to the city? It's rare for us brothers to meet, so we can get together today."

"it is good."

Yang Changsui and Zhu Tong rode into the city. Since supplies in Hechuan were relatively scarce at that time, they simply set up two tables for celebration.

Considering that Wu Li had not retreated, the generals only tried a little and went back to rest early.

After drinking, Yang Chang returned to his residence. At that time, Hu Sanniang had already made the bed and considerately boiled hot water for him to wash his feet.

It was a hot summer night and there was no one else in the dormitory.

The couple took off their armor and put on light, loose-fitting shorts.

At this time, Hu Sanniang was squatting in front of him, rubbing her man's feet to relieve his fatigue. There was a long groove under her chin embedded in the snow-white hair, which made Yang Chang's heart flutter.

Perhaps because she had been enjoying herself so much after marriage, Hu Sanniang already had the proud figure of Pan Jinlian.

Yang Chang shook his head and thought, why should I compete with her?
When I think of Pan Jinlian, I think of Wu Dalang, and his instructions before his death, asking Yang Chang to take care of Wu Song.

Yes, how could you forget about 'little sister-in-law'?
"Madam, have you settled Qiongying?"

"Don't worry, sir. Although she was violent on the battlefield, she became quiet after being captured. She is still too young after all."

"I just thought about it carefully. Since we are going to marry her to my second brother, she should not be imprisoned in Hechuan at this time. You should take her back to Hongdong early tomorrow morning and do a good job on the way."

"We have already surrendered, will it be possible to forcibly seize the women?"

Hu Sanniang thought of her own experience. When she was captured, she was sent to Liangshan overnight and became a tool for Song Jiang to win people's hearts.

Fortunately, by some strange coincidence, the ending was good.

And now Yang Chang's "random matchmaking" seems to have the shadow of Song Jiang at that time, so the words come to an abrupt end.

Yang Chang heard the hidden meaning and explained with a smile: "Don't worry, my lady. First of all, Qiongying is a rebel, and it won't be a loss for her to marry my second brother. Secondly, we won't force her. If she doesn't want to, the marriage will be cancelled. This girl is very good at martial arts. It would be a pity for her to be killed by the court as a rebel. You can make a second choice and persuade her to surrender to the court and kill the enemy and make meritorious service."

"I can save that."

Hu Sanniang nodded and asked, "There are two more questions. First, I haven't discussed this with my second brother. Will he not appreciate it? Second, Qiongying's parents are still alive. I'm afraid it will be difficult to persuade her to get married."

"My second brother is a hero of his time, he should like women who are good at martial arts. If you try to persuade him after you get to Hongdong, I don't think he will refuse. Besides, Qiongying is not Wu Li's biological daughter, her parents should have passed away many years ago."

Yang Chang had just finished explaining when he suddenly had a good idea and asked anxiously, "Why don't you just recognize her as your sister?"

"It turns out that she is also a miserable woman. I already know what to do."

Hu Sanniang nodded slightly, and later helped Yang Chang to go to bed to rest, and they went on a romantic and affectionate night.

The next morning, Hu Sanniang led 200 people from her unit to escort Qiongying to Hongdong.

Yang Chang personally sent her out of the city. The girl cooperated without making any noise. After she got on the horse, she kept looking back, as if she was reluctant to leave.

Hu Sanniang saw all of this, but Yang Changze didn't think too much about it.

Because as soon as he waved his hand, scouts from the city came to report that there was a battle going on at the foot of Caijialing.

Wu Li makes a comeback?

Trouble!
He returned to the city, selected five thousand infantry and cavalry, and took Lu Zhishen and Zhu Tong to Caijialing to help in the battle.

In less than half an hour, Yang Chang and Zhu Tong arrived with the cavalry, but no sound of fighting was heard.

The two were looking at each other in surprise when Sun An came over with a smile.

"Just now, Wu Li led his troops to fight. I challenged him to a one-on-one fight for twenty rounds. He retreated after I stabbed him twice. I guess he won't come again until he recovers from his injuries. He may also retreat to Qinyuan to recuperate. I have sent scouts to follow him to monitor him. There should be news later."

"General Sun is really amazing." Zhu Tong immediately clasped his fists in compliment, then looked at Yang Chang and asked, "Has the crisis in Hechuan been resolved?"

"Soldiers who, deception also."

Yang Chang frowned and shook his head, saying: "We must be on guard against Wu Li's tricks. In any case, whether he retreats for real or not, it is best to build fortifications here. If Tian Hu replaces someone to attack, we will have something to rely on."

"That makes sense." Sun An nodded, and then reminded Zhu Tong, "Now is the off-season for farming, we can recruit the people nearby to help and build a sentry post here as soon as possible."

"I told you not to disturb the people."

Yang Chang interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said in a deep voice: "There are 20,000 to 30,000 troops stationed in Hechuan now. Why do we need to recruit civilians to build outposts? The people provide food and drink and work. How can we bully them like this? We can just do it ourselves. I will take the lead tomorrow."

Sun An was not angry at being scolded, but looked at Yang Chang with admiration and praised him: "The general loves the people so much, it is really a blessing for the people."

Yang Chang was not a man of words. In order to withdraw half of the garrison as soon as possible and thus reduce the supply pressure on Hechuan County, he ordered his men to cut down trees and mine stones to prepare for the construction of the Caijialing outpost that day.

After all, field work was very hard during the midsummer, so Commander Yang divided the soldiers into several teams, which took five shifts a day to carry out the work.

Fortunately, Wu Lizhen returned to Qinyuan and did not disturb the construction of the outpost.

By July 26, the materials for the wooden and stone defense post had been fully prepared, and half of the work had been completed on site. It would be completed in about three days.

Yang Chang did not go to supervise that day, but came to inspect each camp and asked the small and medium-sized leaders to select the garrison personnel. He wanted to take away those who were physically weaker and give them to Lin Chong to continue training in Hongdong.

After patrolling for half a day, I felt drowsy.

Cao Zheng suddenly brought a familiar figure to find him, and when he looked closely it turned out to be the Speedy Dai Zong.

"Yang Xianfeng, I finally found you."

"Is there something wrong, Dean Dai?"

"It's good news. Our Liangshan army has recaptured Zezhou and Pingyang. The court has sent General Chen to reward the troops. I believe they will arrive at the front line soon. Brother Gongming has sent a message to the Weizhou navy. When they receive the imperial wine and other reward supplies, they will be sent to Linfen as soon as possible, and then they will be rewarded with vanguards."

"no problem."

Song Jiang suddenly showed his kindness for no reason, and Yang Chang guessed that he had no good intentions, so he answered very cautiously.

Seeing that Yang Chang was not very excited, Dai Zong lowered his voice and whispered: "Yang Xianfeng, you don't know that we are fighting well here, but Tong Guan was defeated in Yanjing, and His Majesty was so angry that he ordered the troops to withdraw."

"I'm not surprised." Yang Chang still responded calmly.

Tong Guan couldn’t even defeat Liangshan, so it would be strange if he could defeat the Liao Kingdom.

It was difficult to respond to Yang Chang's answer, but Dai Zong had to pretend to be enthusiastic when he wanted something.

"Although Tong Guan knows nothing about military affairs, God is protecting our Song Dynasty at this time. His Majesty recently issued a new decree, ordering Tong Guan and Cai You to re-command the army, and letting Liu Yanqing take over from Zhong Shidao."

"What do you mean?"

Yang Chang's interest was finally piqued. He was not familiar with the history of the Song Dynasty and did not know how complicated it would be to recapture Yanjing.

In fact, the Song, Jin and Liao dynasties had been constantly competing in diplomacy and military, and the outcome was not determined by one war.

"On the 24th of last month, the Liao emperor Yelu Chun passed away. Now Yanjing is leaderless, and many people are willing to surrender to the Song Dynasty. It is estimated that Tong Guan will be able to recapture Yanjing soon."

"I see."

Although Dai Zong spoke confidently and Yang Chang pretended to be taught a lesson, he remembered that Yanjing was bought back with money, so even though the Liao Kingdom was in danger, Tong Guan still failed to seize the opportunity.

What Yang Chang didn't know was that most of the important officials in the court and former generals wanted to use the Jin people to recapture Yanjing.

Because the Song and Jin countries had negotiated several times, the Northern Song Dynasty had promised to pay annual tribute to the Jin Dynasty. Since they had to pay money, they did not want to contribute any more effort. Even the general Liu Yanqing held such a negative attitude.

Later, it was Liu Yanqing's mistakes in judgment and command that led to the disastrous defeat of the 500,000 Song troops in Yanjing.

This battle not only caused huge casualties, but also completely destroyed a large amount of military supplies that had been stored on the border from the period of Song Shenzong to Song Huizong, completely losing the trump card of regaining Yanjing by force.

Yang Chang and Dai Zong were not familiar with each other, so when they suddenly chatted so much about gossip, Yang Chang thought that he must have other things to do.

As expected, Dai Zong saw that the foreshadowing was almost complete, and suddenly pretended to be surprised and asked: "Remember the last time in Linfen, there was a nine-foot-tall general named Sun An by your side? Is he also in Hechuan now?"

"Here, what's wrong?"

Yang Chang frowned and looked at Dai Zong, thinking, you took such a long detour, could it be that you came here for Sun An?

Dai Zong's expression became serious, and he said solemnly: "Brother Gongming attacked Huguan and Shangdang, and was advancing all the way. However, when he attacked Xiangyuan, he was blocked by the demon Qiao Daoqing. This guy's magic is very powerful. He successively captured Bao Xu, Xiang Chong, and Li Gun. I heard that Sun An is from the same hometown as this guy, so I want to ask him to help persuade him to surrender."

"When we encounter a demon, shouldn't we let Mr. Yiqing take action? I'm worried that Sun An might not be able to do that."

Seeing Yang Chang evading the question, Dai Zong hurriedly interrupted him and took over the conversation.

"Mr. Yiqing has already gone north, but Brother Gongming values ​​talents. If Sun An can persuade Qiao Daoqing to surrender, he may be able to defeat Tian Hu more quickly. Of course, this is my personal opinion. I also know that you are short of manpower. I hope Yang Xianfeng will put the overall situation first."

"Well, let him go."

"That's not appropriate."

Dai Zong looked very anxious. Yang Chang saw that he took on a lot of responsibilities for Song Jiang and thought to himself that Dai Zong is indeed a die-hard supporter of Hei Sanlang.

Qiao Daoqing will learn Taoism from Luo Zhenren in the future, and it seems to be a very safe approach for him to find another way besides Gongsun Sheng.

What's more, as long as we can hold on to Hechuan, it doesn't matter if we don't have Sun An to help.

Yang Chang readily agreed to Dai Zong's request and immediately sent someone to Caijialing to call back Sun An. This was originally a favor to be done, not to mention that Hei Sanlang also took the initiative to ask for credit.

But in fact, the so-called request for merit was the merit of Zezhou reported by Song Jiang before. The original reward was also for the meritorious personnel in Zezhou. A part of the reward was given to Pingyang, which was a secondary distribution made by Hei Sanlang.

Of course, Yang Chang did not think the reward was sacred, but thought that capturing Qiongying this time was more meaningful.

Half an hour later, Sun An was ordered to rush back to Hechuan County, bringing back a stranger.

"General, are you looking for me?"

"Well, this is..."

"The sentinels ahead captured a spy. He is Ye Qing, the general manager under Wu Li. He said he came for Princess Qiongying. This person..."

"No need to introduce myself, I will handle it."

Yang Chang already knew the details of the visitor, so he interrupted and took Sun An aside, briefly explaining Qiao Daoqing's situation, and finally reminded him in a low voice: "Gongsun Yiqing is well versed in Taoism, and your fellow countryman's unique skills are no match for him. Besides, Tian Hu's defeat is a foregone conclusion, General Sun can go with Dai Zong to persuade him to surrender."

"But here, General."

"It doesn't matter. The outpost will be built soon. I don't think Wu Li can attack us."

When Yang Chang mentioned Wu Li, his voice suddenly became louder, as if he wanted Ye Qing to hear him on purpose. He then added in a low voice, "I have always admired masters who know immortal arts. If General Sun can persuade Mr. Qiao to surrender this time, he can introduce him to me later."

"Okay, then Ye Qing."

"I'll take care of this matter myself. Dean Dai is waiting anxiously. You should go with him."

"I'll take my leave, General. Take care."

Sun An clasped his fists and strode away.

Dai Zong was very tactful and was waiting not far away. When he saw Yang Chang finished explaining things to Sun An, he immediately rushed forward.

Yang Chang followed closely and came to Ye Qing. He first looked the newcomer up and down, and then deliberately asked: "The officials and the thieves are at loggerheads. You are so brave that you dare to come here to ask for help? Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to go back?"

"General, I have a big secret to tell you. The princess you captured was originally named Chou. She actually has a blood feud with Tian Hu."

While Ye Qing was telling the story of Qiongying's life, he was observing whether there was anyone eavesdropping.

Yang Chang had known the general idea, and was deeply moved by what he heard. Ye Qing suddenly knelt down and said, "What I said is absolutely true. I beg you to have mercy on my daughter. If you can release her to Wu Li, we can help you defeat Tian Hu. If you are worried, I can stay as a hostage."

"You're late."

"Miss, I will kill you."

Ye Qing mistakenly thought that something had happened to Qiu Qiongying, so he suddenly stood up and rushed towards Yang Chang, ready to fight him to the death.

Yang Chang couldn't bear to hurt him, so he easily took him down with sumo skills, and joked: "Manager Ye is really loyal. Miss Qiu didn't get hurt, she was just taken to Hongdong."

"Hongdong, really?"

"Why did I lie to you?"

"That villain's suggestion just now."

Ye Qing whispered about the past again. After listening, Yang Chang just smiled leisurely, looked at him meaningfully, and replied: "Miss Qiu wants revenge, and we have the mission to wipe out Tian Hu. Our goals are actually the same. I have a better proposal, and I hope that Ye Changguan can support it."

"You say."

"Miss Qiu is a skilled martial artist, and an ordinary man is definitely not worthy of her. How about I introduce a good man to her?"

"This can't be it"

"Have you heard of Wu Song who killed the tiger? He is now in Hongdong, and he is also my sworn brother. He is tall, strong, and handsome, and he is definitely a good match for Miss Qiu."

It was not until Yang Chang said this that Ye Qing was pulled back from his wrong thoughts. He thought to himself, you have already sent the person over, is it still up to me to agree or not?

"I have heard from Wu Dutou. Since Yang Xianfeng has made a decision, there seems to be no need to ask further."

"Don't get me wrong, Steward Ye. We have been recruited by the imperial court. It's not like the previous fight for the wife of the leader of a group. If Miss Qiu doesn't want to, we will definitely not force her. But my second brother is really good. I hope you can help mediate."

"What does this little guy want?"

"It would be best if Manager Ye went to Hongdong. If it is not convenient, you can write a letter. After all, your family is still in Qinzhou, and we need you to go back to act as an insider. I am afraid that returning too late will arouse suspicion."

"Let me think."

Under Yang Chang's persuasion, Ye Qing finally wrote a letter to Qiu Qiongying to persuade her to marry him, and then he was sent back to Qinyuan to report.

Before leaving, Yang Chang offered a message to Wu Li when he reported back.

Yang Chang asked Wu Li to exchange Tian Hu's head for the princess, so as to clear Ye Qing of the suspicion of treason.

With Ye Qing's letter of persuasion to marry, Yang Chang could no longer stay in Hechuan.

He left early with more than a thousand troops, and the rest of the troops who were going back to Hongdong would be taken away by Lu Zhishen after the outpost was completed.

At the end of July, Hongdong County Government Office.

When Yang Chang didn't find Wu Song in the front yard, he went straight to the bedroom in the back to look for Hu Sanniang, but met Qiu Qiongying on the way.

She was sitting in the corridor to enjoy the cool air, and there was no guard watching her, which obviously meant that her personal restrictions had been lifted.

Sanniang has completed the mission?
It seems that the letter of persuasion to marry is no longer useful?
"Ms. Qiu."

"what?"

Qiu Qiongying was lost in thought, and when she was woken up she was like a frightened bird, and she trotted away with a red face.

Ok?
Is the sister-in-law shy when she sees her uncle?
Reasonable!

Just as this guy was secretly rejoicing, Hu Sanniang appeared in the yard.

"Sir? You're back?"

"Madam, I just saw Qiu"

Yang Changying stepped forward and started talking incessantly, expressing his guesses.

After listening to her story, Hu Sanniang nodded and replied, "I have already recognized her as my sister. After I have wiped out Tian Hu and avenged her family, I will marry her off."

"Tian Hu won't be around for long. Second brother, there's no need to wait for a few months. It seems like this advice to get married is no longer credible."

"A letter persuading marriage?"

Hu Sanniang took it with a puzzled look on her face. Yang Chang explained for a while and then asked curiously, "By the way, where is the second brother?"

"Master Lin went to the dock with him. It seems that Mr. Lu sent someone here by boat. I guess something went wrong in Fenzhou."

"Will Mr. Lu ask for help? I'll go over and take a look too."

After Yang Chang finished speaking, he turned and left. Hu Sanniang looked at his back and smiled, then took the letter of persuasion to marry her to seek revenge on Qiongying.

On the way back to Hongdong, Hu Sanniang kept hinting to Qiu Qiongying and found out that the girl really fell in love with her man. Afterwards, she went to Hongdong to find Wu Song and mentioned the matter, but was strongly rejected by the tiger-fighting hero.

Wu Song used the excuse that Qiu Qiongying was too young and that he was not considering getting married now.

Hu Sanniang thought about her inability to bear children, so she wanted to marry a child for Yang Chang to continue his bloodline, and she also asked Wu Song for his opinion.

Wu Song didn't want to marry Qiu Qiongying, and seeing that Hu Sanniang was so magnanimous, it was even less likely that he would have any objection.

The two hit it off and arranged the marriage for Yang Chang.

Hu Sanniang was afraid that Yang Chang would not agree, so she agreed with Wu Song to keep it secret for the time being, and would notify the groom who was kept in the dark before the wedding after Tian Hu was defeated.

When the returning groom-to-be rode his horse to Fenshui Wharf, he saw a man in front of Lin Chong and Wu Song, who looked a bit like Bai Sheng in height.

Bai Sheng saw Yang Chang through the gap, pushed the two of them aside, rushed over and bowed down.

"Brother, help me!"

(End of this chapter)