Chapter 303 Stealing a Home
Sending spies as internal support to capture the city is Wu Yong's best strategy, but it is not that Song Jiang does not want to send them, but mainly because there is no suitable candidate.

If he is capable and smart, he is either his close confidant or he is afraid that he is not loyal enough and will never come back. But if he is a mediocre person like Bai Sheng, he is worried that he will sell himself out.

After thinking it over, Song Jiang gave up the idea of ​​being a spy and changed the subject, saying, "We'll discuss the matter of being a spy later. Li Kui's death was exposed, but it was not Yang Chang who pointed it out, but Lu Junyi and others. When facing the questioning of Yang Zhi and Suo Chao, Si Lang improvised and said that Tie Niu was still alive and active in his hometown. What if the brothers ask about him later? Is there any way to cover it up?"

"Li Kui?"

Wu Yong was stunned when he heard this.

He has forgotten about Li Kui over the years and thought that Yang Chang had never mentioned him and had forgotten him. Now he suddenly brings him up to make a fuss. What is his intention?
Thinking of Yang Zhi's betrayal, Wu Yong, who was originally relaxed, immediately became nervous and reminded him seriously: "Since Yang Chang has mentioned it, we can't cover it up. We can't find a living Li Kui. We can only find a dead Li Kui to make up the number, otherwise the brothers under our command will be shaken."

"Dead Li Kui? Now there's only a pile of bones left, what's the use?" Song Jiang's face was full of confusion.

Wu Yong frowned and said, "It's not Li Kui's real corpse, but a fake one."

"Fake corpse, I am getting more and more confused."

"Does the commander remember Li Kui? We can find someone who looks like Li Kui, go to Yizhou and create some injustices, then kill him and deliberately mutilate his face to make it look like someone is seeking revenge. This way, the matter can be solved perfectly."

"feasible."

Song Jiang had been an official in Yuncheng for many years. Such deliberate plots to solve cases occasionally occurred in grassroots government offices. On the one hand, it was to help local tyrants to settle disputes, and on the other hand, it was to accumulate political achievements for promotion.

As for the truth, as long as the court officials don't care, the local officials won't care either.

Can a few words from the common people compare to the real money given by local tyrants? Can they compare to the greater power brought by political achievements?
Who wouldn’t want to become a high-ranking official and have his wife and children blessed with wealth if they were exposed to that kind of environment?
Thinking of the years when he was a bailiff, Song Jiang’s thoughts were temporarily drawn into memories, but he quickly returned to the real world.

"What if Yang Chang holds on to it? He personally went with Zhang Shun to deal with it back then, and many officials, including Su Yuanjing, have seen Tie Niu's head. Will this backfire?"

"If this matter had been brought up a few years earlier, it would have been difficult for us to deal with it, but now everyone has different positions. Whether it's Yang Chang or Su Yuanjing, if they point fingers at someone unfavorably, it can be considered slander. As long as the general denies it, who will care except for the brothers who have a good relationship with Li Kui?"

"That's true. If we talk about the people that this black guy has a crush on, Yan Xiaoyi might be one of them. The other is the deceased Bao Xu, and the leopard Tang Long. But Tang Long doesn't need to be worried at all."

"Isn't this right?"

When Wu Yong responded to Song Jiang with a smile, his right hand that was stroking his beard suddenly stopped moving, and he reminded him in a deep voice: "Yang Changneng can instigate Yang Zhi to rebel. I don't believe he didn't do it to Suo Chao. It's better for the commander to observe and test him. If the news of Wu Song marrying Di Ji and Tie Niu spreads, it will definitely affect the morale of the army."

"That makes sense. I will transfer him to the Recruiting Envoy and keep him under my watch."

Song Jiang was halfway through his words when he remembered the farming situation Song Qing had seen along the way, and immediately added, "By the way, Commander Yang has been busy planting crops since he conquered Taiyuan, and all the states under his rule have also attached importance to production. Since we are going to 'sneak through Chencang', we should make relevant preparations in advance and try to enter during the summer harvest season, so that we can get grain supplies locally."

"Well, Chief Yang grows the crops and we harvest them. That makes sense."

Wu Yong nodded in joking affirmation, replied and continued to make suggestions: "I will arrange for supplies and secretly send them to Xiangzhou for assembly. In addition, Xiangzhou is flat and easy to march. It seems that each state has artillery. The commander may ask the emperor for some. Yang Changneng has been successful with artillery many times, so we should try it as well."

"Cannon? What a pity Ling Zhen is gone."

"He's not the only one who knows how to use artillery?"

"I know."

Song Jiang said seriously, "I will write the memorial tonight and ask Silang to bring it to Your Majesty tomorrow. As for inviting Elder Zhizhen to come out of seclusion, I will trouble the military advisor to write a letter for you and give it to Dai Zong tomorrow morning. He can go directly north when he arrives in Yingtian. You can stay here tonight."

"Alright."

Although Wu Yong had a residence in Ji County, his family was settled in Yingtian, so he could sleep anywhere at this time.

After a while, the two sat opposite each other in the study.

One person writes memorials and the other writes letters.

The oil lamp casts shadows on people, filling the entire room.

Night insects are chirping outside the window, and writing is moving inside the house.

The scene at that time was like two colleagues sitting opposite each other at work, working overtime late into the night to prepare materials.

The next morning, Song Qing and Dai Zong took the "two pieces of information" and headed straight to the ferry crossing in the east of Ji County.

Fan Zhixu was defeated in Huaizhou this time, and the Western Court's remaining warships were consumed, and the water control power of the Yellow River was completely lost. The ferry crossings and ferries on both sides of the river were controlled by Song Jiang.

Even if Zhao Huan dispatched more troops to suppress the rebellion, he would be trapped on the south bank because he could not cross the river, and would have to fight with Zhao Gou's other imperial camp troops. In this way, Song Jiang's only opponent would be Yang Chang.

Dai Zong crossed the Yellow River in the morning, then took the route through Huazhou and Xingren Prefecture, and arrived at his destination that night.

Since he had to rush to Zhending, he once again treated his home in Yingtian as a hotel, stayed there for one night and then left, still maintaining his original intention of giving up everything to do great things with Song Jiang.

The third year of Jingkang, early May. (The second year of Yan in Zhao Gou's reign, the sixth year of Tianhui in Jin)

Dai Zong hurried to Zhending, but did not wait for Erlido at the Marshal's Mansion. Instead, the military supervisor Talan came out to receive him.

"Commander Dai? Is there something wrong?"

"some."

Seeing Talai so cold, Dai Zong guessed that he was in a bad mood after the defeat, so he quickly took out the letter and presented it with both hands, "I am here to deliver the letter under the order of the Grand Marshal. I wonder if Marshal Erliduo is here?"

"The Marshal is not in Zhending, he is back in Shangjing to bury Liu Shumi. What does Song Taiwei want to say by being so flowery?"

Even though Song Jiang spoke eloquently, he just stood by and watched the whole process. As the commander on the front line, Talai was naturally angry and his tone showed impatience.

Dai Zong's hands froze in place, thinking of the Talai brothers who died in the battle of Fenzhou, and Puluhu who was beheaded by Liu Tang. He thought to himself that he would not argue with you, and then he smiled and explained:

"Last time, your army was blocked by a demon woman, and our mage Fan Rui was also captured, which resulted in failure in the end. It is not easy to invite the masters from Erxian Mountain, but it is too difficult to find masters from a certain place, so the commander wrote a letter to recommend them."

"What? You guys are only lip service to Yang Chang every time you want to deal with him?"

Talan glanced at the envelope with a look of contempt, and added: "We don't have any battle plans recently, Commander Dai should take the letter back, and Commander Song's recommendation will be useless."

"no."

Dai Zong smiled awkwardly, put the letter back to his chest, and explained softly: "According to the Taiwei's speculation, Yang Chang will not stop after taking Taiyuan, and will continue to expand to Xinzhou and other places. The master recommended by the Taiwei is in Wenshu Temple in Wutai Mountain, Xinzhou. If your army does not invite him..." "Hmm?"

Although Talai was unhappy, he was an experienced and steady general. He thought that with Yang Chang's might and the suppression of "Little Dragon Girl"'s magic, as long as he wanted to fight, not to mention taking down the small Xinzhou, it would be possible for him to break through the Great Wall.

So after listening to Dai Zong's explanation, he immediately changed his previous indifference, took the letter and asked, "Can this person really deal with Xiao Longnu? Will it be difficult to invite him?"

"Elder Zhizhen is a highly accomplished monk. It should be no problem for him to deal with Xiao Longnu. As for how to ask him to come down the mountain to help, the commander has already written it clearly in the letter."

"is it?"

"No mistake at all. In addition, the general is preparing to help your army to divert the attack as an apology. If Yang Chang dares to continue the attack, we will immediately send troops to make him unable to take care of both ends."

Dai Zong stated his intention straightforwardly, and hearing Talai nodding his head repeatedly, he thought to himself that although Song Jiang was cunning and shameless, and always attracted the attention of the Jin army, he had finally done something humane.

"I will pass on this letter from General Song to the Marshal."

Talan shook the envelope, then said solemnly, "Please tell Commander Song that if Commander Yang makes any new moves, our army will inform you in time. Don't just talk and don't do anything."

"No, absolutely not."

"That's good. Commander Dai has worked hard on the journey, and the intelligence he provided was very helpful. But I left in a hurry last time and didn't have time to thank you. This time, please stay in Zhending for a few more days. I will do my best to be a good host on behalf of the Marshal."

"General, you are welcome. I will have to rush back tomorrow. Let's wait until we win before celebrating."

Without Shi Xiu to accompany him this time, Dai Zong did not want to stay alone in Zhending for long. Talan was just being polite subconsciously, so he did not force it when he saw the other party's refusal.

The next morning, Dai Zong left Zhending.

Talai originally thought that Song Jiang's speculation would not happen until after the summer harvest at the earliest, but he was slapped in the face by reality that day. He sent back an emergency military notice to the garrison, stating bluntly that they had been attacked by Yang Chang's army.

The Pingding Army was located between Taiyuan and Zhending. In order to capture this place and open up the main communication route between the Eastern and Western Jin armies, General Lou Shi had lost 20,000 men in a fierce attack.

It is said that the current Pingding Army has more Jin garrisons than the Song Army at that time, and the quality of individual soldiers is also better than that of the Song Army. However, after reading the military letter, Talai's brows immediately raised several mountains and rivers, and he immediately organized his troops and prepared to dispatch troops for support.

The general stationed in Pingding at this time was none other than Yelu Yudu, the main general responsible for attacking Liaozhou. He was originally confronting Sun An in Liaozhou, but later received a warning letter from Pucha Shijianu, so he retreated to Taiyuan to prepare for a joint attack on Yang Chang.

Yelu Yudu was still afraid of Yang Chang, and kept sending cavalry scouts on the way back. As a result, he learned that Yangqu had fallen, so he decisively changed his route and retreated to Pingding Army.

Pucha Shi Jianu, who was also retreating, learned that Yangqu had fallen and wanted to withdraw his troops to Pingding. However, 80% of his soldiers were infantry, and because they marched slowly, they were caught up and caught up by Li Yanxian. Finally, by chance, they retreated to Shaxiongling.

Pucha Shijianu once asked Yelu Yudu for help, but Yelu Yudu refused on the grounds that the soldiers were tired, resulting in the near-complete annihilation of the Jin army at Shaxiongling.

Not long after Yang Changping conquered Taiyuan, Pucha Shijianu led a few cavalrymen to escape back to Zhending and denounced Yelu Yudu to Erlido for not sending troops. Yelu Yudu also sent people to appeal for his grievances.

Both of them were under the command of Wushi of the Western Army. As the marshal of the Eastern Army, Erlido could not do anything about it. Instead, he was pleased to see the infighting among the Western Army. However, he felt that Yelu Yudu was more and more afraid of fighting and believed that he was deliberately conserving his strength.

Since the surrendered generals of the Liao Kingdom were unreliable and losing the Pingding Army would threaten Zhending, Talai personally led 30,000 troops to rescue it.

The army set out early the next morning and arrived outside Jingxing in the afternoon, where they encountered a group of soldiers.

Seeing Gao Qingyi coming on horseback, Talai immediately waved his hand to stop the enemy. He had a bad feeling in his heart, so he asked, "Gao Tongshi, why are you here? Did the Pingding Army get lost?"

"Reporting to the military inspector, Yang Changjun's attack was too fierce and we could not resist it." Gao Qingyi answered with a bitter look on his face, then lowered his head like a defeated rooster.

Talai was just joking, but he didn't expect Pingding to be lost. Who could bear this? He immediately asked a barrage of questions: "Before Pingding, 10,000 Song soldiers could hold off 60,000 Jin soldiers for 20 days. Now there are 20,000 strong soldiers. Can you tell me how many days they held out? Is Yang Chang so terrifying? Did he have Xiao Longnu's magic to help him?"

"Little Dragon Girl? No one is using magic, and Yang Chang is not in the army. Their main general this time is their old rival Sun An."

As soon as Gao Qingyi finished speaking, Talan was so angry that he wanted to whip him with a horsewhip, but he forced himself to hold back and shouted: "What do you Khitan soldiers do for? You are not as good as the weak Song army? Sun An? That Liaozhou Army General? He is just a thief general, how can he not defend the city? Is it true that as Pucha Shijianu said, Yelu Yudu and Yang Chang are secretly in collusion?"

"That's really not the case, please calm down, General." Gao Qingyi shook his head and explained with a sad face, "If it was only Sun An, we would not have been defeated so quickly. The key is that his deputy general is too powerful. If it weren't for the heavy casualties, General Yelu would have defended to the death. If he defended knowing that he couldn't, it would be better to retreat and preserve his strength. You shouldn't bring troops to fill in."

"Fill? Haha"

Talan snorted coldly and asked with empty eyes: "What kind of deputy general is so powerful?"

"The name Li Yanxian should have been mentioned by the slave of Puchashi. This time there are also Lu Junyi, Wu Song, and Lu Zhishen. The big monk Lu Zhishen can also throw stones and shells at the city."

"Cough cough."

As Gao Qingyi mentioned the name, Talai immediately coughed to cover up his shock. These people had long been famous in the Jin army, so he lowered his posture and replied: "I misunderstood just now. General Yelu's defeat is understandable. You should hurry back to Zhending first. Is there anything else important?"

"It is to remind the military supervisor not to lead his troops to Pingding Army, otherwise they will collide with General Yelu and block Jingxing, causing more casualties."

"You have considered it very carefully. If we bring in these 30,000 people, we will have a chaotic scene."

Talai's brows were furrowed more and more, thinking about the agreement he had made with Dai Zong yesterday, he couldn't help feeling bitter in his heart. If the battle was going to be like this in the future, it would be useless no matter who helped to contain the enemy, as Yang Chang and Xiao Longnu hadn't made a move yet.

We cannot go on like this. We must immediately send someone to Shangjing to inform the Marshal and His Majesty of the situation.

At this time, Wushi, Erlido and others had returned to the court, and the news of the death of Puluhu, Wanyan Pucha, Saili and others, as well as some of their bodies, had also been delivered to the rear.

Not only did Wuqimai lose his beloved son, but many Jin nobles also lost their relatives, such as Saili Sikong's father Pu Jianu (Wanyan Yu). Under the instigation of Nianhan, these nobles forced Emperor Wuqimai to hold the emperor accountable for the defeat.

The "commander-in-chief" Erlido became the scapegoat, Wuqimai was forced to take up his post as the right deputy marshal, while the new left deputy marshal of the Western Route Army, Wushi, was only fined half a year's salary.

The Eastern Jin Army was the "private territory" of Aguda's faction. Nianhan knew very well that he could not intervene directly, so he instigated his confidant to propose that Erluguan be the right deputy marshal. (Eluguan, whose Chinese name was Wanyan Zongjun, was the sixth son of Aguda and had no outstanding military ability)
Wu Qimei and his faction would certainly not agree to promote a mediocre person with no prestige to a high position.

After several days of discussion, the two factions finally decided that Talai would take over the Eastern Route Army, and Xieye, the commander-in-chief of the rear, was also sent to the front to take charge of the overall situation. (Xieye, whose Chinese name is Wanyan Gao, is the younger brother of Aguda and Wuqimai)

Wu Qimai's son died and he suffered a similar abdication, so he had no way to vent his anger.

Later, when he heard that Song Jiang was pretending to obey his orders but actually disobeying them, he took out all his resentment on Zhao Gou, and his mother Wei was sent to the laundry house to entertain guests.

In late June, the internal turmoil in the Jin Dynasty gradually subsided, and Xie Ye and others went south to the front line one after another.

At the same time, the disguised wizard Fan Rui, after months of trekking through mountains and rivers, finally arrived at Shangjing City.

(End of this chapter)