Chapter 208: Arrows Shoot Loushi
After Yang Chang settled everything in Linfen, he took Chou Qiongying and Lu Zhishen north the next day.

Silver magic can be used to invade, massacre and plunder. Although it caused great damage to Pingyang, great order can only be achieved after great chaos.

The power structure was destroyed, land and wealth were disrupted and reorganized, all of which paved the way for greater governance.

Less than half of the property confiscated by the Qinzhou army was claimed, and the rest of the ownerless property was used as reconstruction funds.

Pingyang survived the disaster, and Liu Tang, Shi Qian and others had stabilized the order. When Xiao Rang brought the people-friendly policies to Qinzhou, the people would be able to resume production soon.

When Yang Chang came, he had 14,000 men, but when he left, he had only 3,000 cavalrymen following him.

They successfully annihilated the Jin soldiers, but at the cost of 30% casualties. The Jin soldiers were indeed very strong.

Therefore, it is necessary to leave more garrisons for Zhu Tong so that Yang Chang can return to Qinzhou with peace of mind.

On February 12, three thousand soldiers rested in Hongdong.

Yang Chang and Zhao Fujin left the team halfway and rushed to Yangliang North Gate to meet Zhu Tong that day, planning to meet up in Hongdong the next day.

During his time in Qinzhou, Zhu Tong was one of the five commanders under Yang Chang (Wu Song, Zhu Tong, Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, and Sun An). Although his martial arts skills ranked last among the five, he was the most capable person.

Yang Chang replaced him with Cao Zheng at that time with the intention of entrusting him with an important task.

Zhu Tong was sitting in the northern gate of Yangliang. Without knowing that he was the commander-in-chief of the army, he detained a special guest, who was the general of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Loushi.

Nianhan had been attacking Yangqu for a long time but failed. He wanted to wait for Yinshu to take Pingyang, so he attacked Yang Chang from two fronts.

As long as they could successfully capture Qinzhou, the route to the south of Bianliang would be opened. At that time, they could leave some troops garrisoned in Taiyuan and bypass the Yellow River.

Full of expectations, we received the bad news from Pingyang that the North and South passes had been lost.

The news was passed to the Jin army camp in Taiyuan via Fenzhou, and Nianhan, Loushi, Yelu Yudu, Wushi and others were all shocked.

Although Nianhan was shocked, he immediately comforted everyone that Yin Shu had experienced many battles and brought 20,000 to 30,000 elite Jin soldiers with him, so Yang Chang would not be his match in the wild.

Having said that, I am not at peace inside.

If Yang Chang led his troops to rescue Pingyang, Yin Shu might really encounter difficulties, but Qinzhou's defense would be greatly weakened, which would also be an opportunity for the Jin army.

After understanding this logic, Nianhan ordered Loushi and Yelu Yudu to lead 20,000 troops each to Yangliang North Gate and Taigu Gorge.

According to intelligence obtained from various channels, Qinzhou has only about 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers and horses in total. No matter which side Yang Chang appears on, the other side will inevitably have weak defensive capabilities.

Wanyan Huonu was detained in Qinzhou. In order to avoid being restrained by his relatives during the war, Lou Shi was destined to have no chance to go to Taigu Gorge. Instead, Yelu Yudu, a surrendered general of the Liao Dynasty, took over the task, while he himself led his troops to the northern gate of Yangliang.

Lou Shi knew that speed was of the essence in war, so he personally led 5,000 cavalrymen and marched day and night. He arrived at the northern gate of Yangliang at noon on February 12. At that time, Yang Chang and Zhao Fujin had not arrived yet.

Seeing the gate in front closed and the defenders on the city wall drawing their bows and arrows, Lou Shi frowned in his heart, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he got closer.

Analyzing from his years of combat experience, he saw that most of the troops at Yangliangbei Pass were new recruits who had never been on the battlefield.

Since they are just a group of new soldiers, how can they defend this pass?

Even if the Jin soldiers did not have the city walls as a shield, and even if shooting arrows from the bottom up was more difficult, Lou Shi was confident in his own archery skills. However, a storm attack required not only bows and arrows, but also ramming down doors and climbing walls. He did not have enough time to bring siege equipment, and a direct storm attack would result in heavy casualties.

After careful consideration, Lou Shi decisively urged his horse forward and shouted to the gate tower: "Hey, Song people behind the gate, listen up, I am Lou Shi, the vanguard of the left marshal of the Jin Kingdom. Please ask the general guarding the gate to come out and answer me."

"Are you Lou Shi? What do you want from me?"

Zhu Tong stroked his beautiful beard with one hand, looking down at Lou Shi with sidelong glances, his behavior and movements were exactly the same as Guan Gong's.

Lou Shi heard Zhu Tong's voice like a bell and guessed that he must be a brave warrior, so he clasped his fists and asked with a smile: "I see that the general has a dignified appearance. What is your name? Which general do you serve under?"

"I am Zhu Tong from Yuncheng, nicknamed the Man with Beautiful Beard. I am currently serving as a commander under the command of Yang Guancha from Qinzhou."

"Mr. Beautiful Beard? I've heard of your name for a long time."

"Now that you know my name, how dare you violate my territory?"

Zhu Tong's answer was quite arrogant, which made Lou Shi's face change suddenly. He thought to himself, I was just being polite to you, why are you taking advantage of me?
"Since you are the commander of Qinzhou, why would you come to guard this pass? Fenzhou has surrendered to the Jin Kingdom. This pass is under the jurisdiction of Lingshi County and should belong to the Jin Kingdom. Commander Zhu should not be here."

"You are a barbarian from outside the Great Wall, why are you coming to my land?"

"It is said that the southerners are well-educated and polite, but today I see that they are no different. This vanguard has always treated them with courtesy. Why is Commander Zhu so aggressive? As the saying goes, a man who knows the times is a hero. Li Siben and He Quan have higher positions than you, right? They both surrendered to my marshal, but Sun Yi died under the city of Yangqu. The difference between choosing to be friends or enemies is quite large."

Lou Shi's voice was not loud, but the threat in his words was like an arrow piercing his throat.

Zhu Tong responded with a sneer: "You are talking a lot, but you are just trying to persuade us to surrender. If you want to be friends with me, you can, but take your people and get out of the Great Wall first. I am from Liangshan Marsh, and men compete with each other with fists."

"it is good!"

Lou Shi was not angry but delighted after hearing this. He pointed his whip at Zhu Tong and said solemnly, "I am happy to have a man like you. Come on, come down and let me try your skills."

"Did you get kicked in the head by a donkey? I have a strong pass as a defense, why would I go down to the pass to fight you? Really."

"Hello, hello."

I didn't expect that Zhu Tong, who looked honest, actually had a sharp tongue.

Lou Shi suppressed his anger, drew his sword and pointed it at the gate tower, and shouted: "My men, since the Song army likes to talk nonsense, let's show them our skills. All soldiers, prepare to shoot, start!"

Da da da.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Teams of Jurchen cavalrymen marched toward the pass in order. Each of them shot an arrow on horseback and then ran away like a greedy snake.

"Fire arrows!"

"Damn it, shoot more accurately!"

"Be careful!"

"Hide! Hide quickly, are the battlements just for show?"

The Jurchen cavalry moved around and shot calmly, while the defenders seemed panic-stricken.

Zhu Tong's commanding voice continued to be heard, and Lou Shi below the city laughed out loud: "General Zhu, how are my soldiers? It's not easy to be the enemy, right? If you continue to be stubborn, I will shoot down as many people as you dare to send to the city."

"Stop making noise! ​​If you have the ability, come to the city and I will feed you golden juice myself!"

"What did Yang Chang give me that was worth risking my life for?"

After Lou Shi responded sternly, he suddenly reminded him playfully, "Oh, I forgot to tell you just now that Yelu Yudu has led tens of thousands of troops to take Qinzhou. Now that Yang Chang has sent troops to rescue Pingyang, his Qinzhou will be lost. Your family is also in Qinzhou, right?"

"Yang Guancha's defense is tight, you can't take Qinzhou!"

"Who can tell? Yelu Yudu will not only attack head-on, but will also send troops from the Mianshan trail. Yang Chang may be able to hold Qinzhou if he stays there, but what if he also comes to Pingyang? What can Qinzhou use to defend? And if he stays in Qinzhou at this time, you will definitely not be able to hold the North and South Gates. It's not too late to surrender now."

"Who said we can't defend it?"

Zhu Tong was filled with worry when he heard this. Suddenly, a shout from behind startled him and he felt relieved.

"observe."

"Ah."

Yang Chang nodded slightly in greeting, then walked to the city wall and looked down at the pass, sizing up the Jin Dynasty's number one general.

Lou Shi was nearly fifty years old, his dark face was full of vicissitudes, his beard and temples were already mottled, but his eyes were shining like a tiger's, and he was obviously a general who had experienced many battles.

"Captain Yang?" "You have a good eye, but how dare you raise an army to attack us? Don't you plan to redeem your son?"

Yang Chang thought that threatening Wanyan Loushi with a live girl would make him hesitate.

But this man had the demeanor of a great general. He didn't panic at all after hearing this. He just frowned and replied calmly: "My son has pledged his life to the country. Whether he is redeemed or not has nothing to do with me. But you are the governor of Qinzhou. Instead of staying in Qinzhou to serve as an official, you bring troops to garrison this pass. In the words of you Han people, isn't this called overstepping one's authority?"

"Heh." Yang Chang smiled contemptuously, raised his head and replied: "You went to someone else's house to do evil, and you still care about other people's family affairs? You have the nerve to say that you are meddling in other people's business?"

"Humph."

Lou Shi snorted coldly: "Your Great Song Emperor has broken the alliance many times, doesn't he have to pay the price? I advise Guancha not to meddle in other people's business. If you insist on blocking my way, Qinzhou will be lost."

"Since the emperor has broken his promise, you can ask the emperor for the price. Anyway, you are not allowed to pass by my door. As for whether I am meddling in other people's business or whether Qinzhou is lost or not, what does it have to do with you?"

"Yang Observation!"

Seeing Yang Chang's sharp lips and teeth, Lou Shi's tone could not help but become stronger, and he said in a deep voice: "I will remind you again that Pingzhou is not under your jurisdiction, and the Marshal and I did not take the initiative to provoke you. I hope you will not be ungrateful, otherwise..."

As soon as Lou Shi finished speaking, he waved his hand again to signal the troops to form a formation and fire.

Yang Chang noticed his intention and asked sharply, "What else? Are you the only ones who can shoot arrows? Bring me bows and arrows!"

"okay."

"Wait a minute!"

Zhu Tong signaled the guards to get bows and arrows, while Lou Shi stopped the cavalry in formation, saying that he wanted to see what Yang Chang could do.

Yang Chang took the bow and pulled it, but felt that he couldn't use too much force, otherwise it would break again.

Lou Shi frowned and looked at him from the bottom of the pass. His mentality at this moment was a bit like Guan Gong watching people show off their swords, thinking, you are showing off your bow and arrow in front of the Jurchens? Even if you have the skills of Ma Kuo, you can only be considered ordinary in the Jin Kingdom.

You are still a little inexperienced when it comes to playing with bows and arrows.

While Lou Shi was complaining in his heart, Yang Chang suddenly drew his bow and arrow and shot it out without aiming.

That's it?

not good!

A master can tell a person’s character with just one move.

The moment Yang Chang shot the feather arrow, Lou Shi immediately changed his mind of contempt.

This arrow is too fast.

Moreover, the direction from which the arrow came seemed to be directed at him.

With a whoosh, the feather arrow hit the guard on the left, and immediately people were startled and horses neighed.

Lou Shi was horrified when he saw this. The shot hit the neck so accurately from such a distance. The strength and accuracy must have been from a master.

There was no time to think about it. He instinctively realized that something was wrong and turned around to see the second arrow flying towards him.

So fast?
After Yang Chang shot the second arrow, the bow in his hand was broken. He saw Lou Shi bending down in response to the bowstring and thought that if he could just shoot the general, the siege of Beiguan would be lifted.

Use Yin Shuke's special move to shoot and kill his comrades.

With his way, he also gave his body.

"Observation, shot?"

"should."

Yang Chang stopped talking abruptly because he saw Lou Shi bending over and suddenly straightened up.

Lou Shi held the arrow in his hand, and responded with a complicated but arrogant look: "Yang's archery skills are amazing, and the speed of shooting arrows is so fast, which is very similar to a friend of mine. But you want to kill me with a bow and arrow alone? You are still a little naive!"

"Could that friend of yours be Yin Shuke?"

If your equipment is better, and you shoot an arrow with all your strength, I don’t believe you can catch it.

Although Yang Chang was complaining in his heart, he did not continue to argue with Lou Shi. Instead, he took the opportunity to bring up a new topic.

"Have you heard of him? Or..."

"Yes, I have fought him and performed archery, but he is far worse than me."

"Talking about others' faults behind their backs is not what a hero would do!"

"The person is dead, and you still can't talk about it?"

"what?"

Lou Shi was shocked when he heard this, but after swallowing his saliva, he quickly adjusted his mentality and said coldly: "Impossible, absolutely impossible, Yin Shu will not die."

“Not only is he dead”

Yang Chang smiled playfully and replied in a long and unruly tone: "All the Jin soldiers who traveled with him died in Pingyang without a single one left. He is not alone on the road to the underworld, otherwise why would I come here?"

"No, absolutely not. Don't even think about messing with my mind!"

"I didn't intend to ask you to believe me. I just heard you invite a general to fight? I usually don't like fighting, but for the sake of your son, I can satisfy you today and capture him to join in the fun."

"Hehe, your words are useless. My army will arrive tomorrow, and we will see the real outcome on the battlefield!"

Lou Shi's eyes seemed to be emitting fire, but reason told him not to be impulsive, so he suppressed his anger and calmed down, leaving these words before withdrawing his troops and garrisoning in Lingshi.

With Yang Chang stationed at the northern gate of Yangliang, it would be too costly to attack both gates by force.

Besides, Yin Shuke's life or death is uncertain. If he breaks through the defense line and reaches Pingyang, he will find that their entire army has been wiped out. There will be no point in forcing his way through the North and South Gates.

After repeated consideration, Lou Shi decided to make up for his loss and try to keep Yang Chang in Beiguan to buy time for Yelu Yudu.

To this end, the Jurchen cavalry would go to the pass every morning and evening as if it were their daily task, and would attack the city as soon as ladders, battering rams and other equipment were sent to them.

However, Lou Shi did not stay in Lingshi for long. He returned to Taiyuan camp after two days.

The north and south passes are easy to defend but difficult to attack, so there is no chance of taking a detour to the south. If Yelu Yudu fails to capture Qinzhou, the Jin army on the left will be trapped in Taiyuan and unable to form a joint force with Walibu on the right.

Regardless of whether Yang Chang's information was true or false, Lou Shi had to go back and discuss it with Nianhan. He would suggest sending more troops to Qinzhou.

Lou Shi asked his men to play the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". After watching it for a while, Yang Chang felt something was wrong. He was also worried that the Qinzhou defenders were under great pressure and did not dare to stay there for long.

The next morning, Yang Chang and Zhao Fujin left.

Before leaving, Yang Chang held Zhu Tong's hand and told him earnestly, "I see that the Jin soldiers are only making feint attacks sooner or later, and have no intention of forcing an attack. I am afraid that they will only make things more obvious if they try to cover up their intentions. I am worried about the brothers in Qinzhou, so I have to leave this place in advance. I will leave the defense of Pingyang to you, brother. Han Tao, Liu Tang and the Ruan brothers will all stay in Pingyang to assist you. I have made arrangements in advance."

"I will do my best, but Lou Shi is a famous veteran of the Jin army. He sent cavalry to attack because he was afraid of Sanlang's presence. I'm afraid that as soon as you leave, he will..."

"Don't worry, brother. Have you forgotten that I can disguise myself? I have already found someone and disguised him. He shows his face on the tower every day. Lou Shi may not be able to see through him. Even if he finds out my plan later, I will come here to inspect in a few days as long as Qinzhou is safe. Anyway, it is convenient to go to various places."

"Wonderful."

(End of this chapter)