Chapter 112 Riding to Xihe
Gao Jin immediately perked up, stood up again and saluted everyone, promising to lead the cavalry well.
Zhao Yulin said that the infantry could not be relaxed either, and that a column would only need 20,000 men, and that the first step was to reach a strength of 15,000. He told Yang Xingyun that Li Dagui's men and himself had been trained, and he was promoted to captain, and his team was handed over to Lai Chuanfang to take to Yangzhou.
"Do you know how to use it?" he asked Lai Chuanfang.
Chuanfang immediately stood up and saluted, and reported in full force, "Understood, I will ensure that the task is completed."
He then told Yang Xingyun that the Second Column must first reach a strength of 20,000 people and be stationed in Gucheng and Jinzhou. The pressure is not small. The Third Column will temporarily stay in Gucheng and will be reorganized after the Jin army goes south and is annihilated by General Meng. Then he added that Gao Jin should take the musket team with him and let them ride to Xihe.
The generals were amused and began to joke that the Musketeers had become the treasures of our Divine Mighty Army and that they even marched on horseback.
He smiled without comment and said only one sentence: Gold will always shine.
Zhao Yulin and his brothers celebrated their success with a drink, and after resting for two days in Wudang, they finally left. Huo Fenghuang was reluctant to let him go, and the couple tortured the carved bed crazily again...
When the smoke cleared, Phoenix rested her head on him, patted her belly and muttered: I'm not pregnant?
He hugged the woman and said that this was fate, and it would come when .
There will always be children.
He returned to Nanzheng by boat that day.
With the beginning of spring, the flow of the Han River has increased, and vehicles and ships are moving rapidly on the river.
Zhao Yulin and Zhou Ping were drinking together, and Zhao Yulin asked Zhou Ping what he thought about the growing size of his navy.
Zhou Ping said that other people's columns were all 10,000-man columns , and his was less than 8,000. This time, more than 200 warships were captured, and he planned to strengthen the various corps.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that the navy should focus on training for now. The big lake belongs to us, so it is no problem to accommodate 10,000 large ships in it.
The key is to build new ships, equip new weapons, and train new navy.
However, the main force should not go there often, let alone show off in front of the people of Jingzhou. Even when running transportation drills back and forth, they must abide by the rules and regulations.
Zhou Ping wrote them all down.
The boat was stopped in Xunyang. After the guards asked him about it, they told him that General Cao had come to Xunyang. As soon as the boat reached the shore, General Cao jumped on his boat, saying that the military situation was urgent and they talked while walking.
Zhao Yulin smiled and told Zhou Ping to keep the boat steady and not to rush, and to make some good tea for them to drink together.
After taking a sip of tea, Lao Cao said that his people were already fighting fiercely with the Jin people in Gongchang Prefecture in the west, so if there was no hurry, how could they be in a hurry?
Zhao Yulin said that the grass in the river valley has not turned green yet, and Gongchang Prefecture will not be able to be taken over for a while. The Mongolian army is busy attacking Caizhou and needs our help, so they will not care about the gains and losses.
Lao Cao put down his tea bowl, pointed at the horses running on the shore and asked: How many horses did you get by defeating Wuxian?
Zhao Yulin said happily that it was not too much, just enough, and this time he would equip all the teams that needed horses.
Lao Cao asked him with a bit of regret: Why don't you eat Wuxian in one bite?
He said that his military strength was limited, and it would be enough to give him a head-on blow and shatter Wu Xian's fantasy of marching into Hanzhong. General Meng was still waiting in Jingzhou with his mouth wide open.
Lao Cao immediately laughed out loud and said that he was really good at comparing things. He stepped on the boats and said that the Ship Management Department didn't have many, but the Shenwei Army had thirty, so how about borrowing them?
Zhao Yulin said happily that they were all the general's men and could be deployed at any time.
Lao Cao said with concern that the expenses were not small. The Ministry of Finance issued an additional 300,000 strings of cash to support the navy. From now on, Xingyuan Prefecture will be under the control of the young man, so he must repay the emperor's kindness.
Zhao Yulin thanked him immediately. He knew what Lao Cao meant. The Shenwei Army was now strong and powerful, and was one of the few military groups in the Song Dynasty. Their loyalty to the emperor was particularly important.
Lao Cao happily told him that the camp had received his 3,000 war horses, which were well-fed and none of them had lost weight. The Administration Office had also selected officials from various prefectures and counties for Yangzhou and Jinzhou and sent them there the same day.
The court was delighted to receive the report that Hanzhong was stable, and the officials would certainly reward him.
Zhao Yulin smiled slightly and said that what he was most concerned about was the reform in Hanzhong and he was afraid that the government would ask him to change it back.
Lao Cao told him not to worry. Hanzhong had been through several wars and the people had been living in poverty for a long time. The reforms of the Shenwei Army promoted tax revenue and increased the people's lives, which made the government happy.
Zhao Yulin listened and felt relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He then made another request to Lao Cao: the officials who were about to take office should be examined by the Shenwei Army's subordinates.
Lao Cao said generously, "Go ahead and investigate, we'll investigate." He also didn't want those evildoers to come to the border areas to cause trouble.
Zhao Yulin offered tea instead of wine to thank him for his support, and said that he would go to Hanzhong to fulfill a wish for him, so he used the 300,000 yuan given by the Administration Office to repair the Lianyun Plank Road.
Lao Cao stared at him with wide eyes, then suddenly became cheerful and said that he would go back and ask for some money from the Governor Ding Fuding to support him.
Zhao Yulin said that without the plank road, people's lives would be inconvenient and business would be impossible. He wanted to use reinforced concrete prefabricated beams to build a permanent plank road.
Lao Cao was surprised and asked him what reinforced concrete was.
Or is it permanent? Aren’t you afraid that the Mongolian army will attack from the south?
He said that he would just leave a section of it made of wood in front of Wuxiu Pass, and he would not let the Mongolian army set foot in Hanzhong again.
Cao Youwen sighed and said it was difficult.
Zhao Yulin accompanied him for tea and said that with General Cao guarding Qingyeyuan, the Mongolian army would definitely not be able to enter Hanzhong, so let's work together.
Lao Cao was very proud. He drank the tea in the bowl and said he would drink wine. He was also hungry. So, let's eat and talk at the same time. Let's talk about what to do next.
Zhou Ping reported that they were almost in Yangzhou. Why not try Yangzhou's Yibin yanmian or Dali rice noodles? They were all made by the chef the young master brought from Yibin. There was one dish, cold chicken slices, that tasted absolutely amazing.
Lao Cao was happy and said that he had eaten the yanmian in Nanzheng and it was indeed delicious. The two of them stood on the bow of the boat to enjoy the breeze. As the sun set, a magnificent picture of a fiery sunset appeared before their eyes.
The scene moved Cao Cao and he was in poetic mood, so he recited Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong".
The two of them went ashore and ate Dali rice noodles before continuing westward. Zhou Ping placed some side dishes in the cabin and opened a jar of Wu Gu Feng for them to drink.
He told Lao Cao: The people on the grassland will not move until the grass grows because there is no fodder.
Lao Cao laughed and said that although he had not been in Hanzhong for long, he also understood this principle.
Zhao Yulin judged that it would take at least two months for Gongchang Prefecture to move east to cause trouble. Although Kuoduan was in Fengxiang Prefecture, he had just suffered a loss and wanted to form an alliance with us, so he would not come down. That lame Wuxian was dealt with by General Meng.
Therefore, during this period we can drink without worrying about anything else.
This analysis made Lao Cao laugh.
He ate a piece of beef and said with affection that Tianshui was his first stop when he became a scholar and took office.
Zhao Yulin understood and said with emotion that the general rode alone into the battle and entered the county town with only a long spear. I admire him. Then he raised his glass to toast him.
Lao Cao became emotional and said with deep emotion that his hometown was outside the Great Wall. It had suffered from wars for years and he felt distressed when he saw the ragged people fleeing shoulder to shoulder.
"If Wang Xian dares to come, we will beat him up severely and have a decisive battle. The people of Tianshui will never suffer from war again, and it will also avenge the general."
Lao Cao was a little excited when he first heard it, but then he became confused. Why was it revenge for him?
Zhao Yulin suddenly woke up when he saw his expression. The General Cao in front of him was not surrounded by Wang Shixian's crippled horses and had nowhere to go.
Historical records show that Cao Youwen fought against the Mongols at Yangping Pass and had a fierce battle with enemies that were several times his number, including Wang Shixian's troops. They surrounded Cao Youwen with their crooked horses, and Cao Youwen was shot with countless arrows and died on the spot.
Zhao Yulin burst out laughing, raised his glass to invite Lao Cao to drink, and said, "Let's work together to defeat Wang Shixian's men."
It was late at night, so he asked Lao Cao to take a break, and they both went to take a nap on the soft couch.
In Zhending Prefecture, Hebei Province, Ogedei has returned to the Central Plains. He is in a very good mood upon learning that the Shenwei Army has defeated Wuxian's Jin Army. This is the best gift given to him by the little southern barbarian. The alliance between Song and Mongolia has been settled, and the destruction of Jin this year is a foregone conclusion.
However, Prime Minister Yelu Chucai believed that Zhao Qier's Shenwei Army would definitely be a strong enemy for the grassland people in the future. This guy acted steadily and always took advantage of opportunities to strike, and his territory was still expanding.
Ogedei said gloomily: When we capture the Song emperor someday, that abandoned child will be like a stray dog, won't he just bow down at my feet and submit to me?
Then, he gulped down a glass of Wu Gu Feng and said that the most important thing now was to destroy the Jin Dynasty, destroy the Jin Dynasty, destroy the Jin Dynasty. Important things should be said three times.
Tell me, how to do it?
The Khan was very excited when he thought of the mountains of gold and silver treasures in Caizhou City and the numerous beautiful women in the harem of the Jin emperor. With red eyes, he asked for advice from the officials in front of the tent.
Su Butai said that our people did not have enough and were only concerned with reckless fighting. They needed to be pulled out for rotation and training.
The Khan chewed his beef and nodded, indicating that he should continue speaking...
In Hangzhou, the Song Emperor in the Lin'an Palace was as excited as the Khan of the grassland. This was a good omen this year. Not only did the Shenwei Army defeat Wuxian, but Meng Gong also won another big victory against Wuxian at Luyan Station.
The emperor was in a good mood and wanted to go out for a tryst with the charming Kuang Sisi. The queens and concubines in the palace were too boring because they were timid and cautious in doing things. All they could think about was palace fighting and they were looking for opportunities to reward them.
The emperor seized the opportunity and rushed out of the palace to hug Kuang Sisi.
The new prime minister Zheng Qingzhi was sitting on the imperial chair, worrying about what to do when the emperor wanted to reward the soldiers on the front line. Meng Gong was old and had not been promoted for a long time, so any reward would do.
But Zhao Qi'er won battles every year, constantly recovered lost territories, and was promoted all the time, so no one knew how to reward him.
Strip him of his military power and transfer him to Lin'an? After thinking about it, these people decided that it was not a good idea. Zhao Qi'er was like a troublemaker. Wherever he went, he would make some trouble. Even the old prime minister who had just died could not defeat him. It would be a lifelong regret.
This method is not feasible. Zheng Qingzhi firmly disagrees. It will affect the entire body and cause the Shenwei Army to split.
The Sichuan-Shaanxi region is becoming increasingly stable. Nearly half of the court's expenses come from there, so we can't let things get chaotic.
