Chapter 242: Fighting to Defend Yangzhou
Xiao Yan then remembered the important matter, and imitating the Phoenix's moves, hooked down Zhao Yulin's head and slapped him on the face, then quickly went out to make arrangements.
Zhao Yulin touched his face in a daze, turned around and went into the house to take a shower and change clothes, ate something simple, and went to sit under the big ginkgo tree in the yard to drink tea.
Geng Feihu happily brought the victory report of the new Third Column. They had already entered Hangu Pass and were about to return with the Third Column.
Zhao Yulin ordered the defenders of Song County to inform them that the enemy was likely to counterattack, and if they judged that they were unsure of defending the city, they could abandon the city and go to Luanchuan.
He felt that this was a misjudgment. Although the brothers had won a great victory after running hundreds of miles back and forth, they had consumed too much physical energy. He could not drive the already exhausted brothers to provide long-distance support to Song County.
In Yangzhou of Jiangdong, the King of Lu, under the coordination of the eldest prince and Hubili, mobilized 200,000 troops to launch a massive attack the State of Song.
Since the Mongolian army used improved Huihui cannons and thunder bombs, the power of their firearms had surpassed that of the Song army. The 300-mile battle line collapsed at the first touch. Yu Jie fought desperately to defend Yangzhou, but received a report that the Mongolian army had taken a detour and crossed the river.
He sighed and slumped down on the city wall.
Zhang Rou, a Han general under Mu Huali's grandson Prince Lu, organized 300 large ships to sail south along the canal, across the river and head straight for Hangzhou. The Lin'an court was in danger.
At this time, Zhao Yulin was still drinking tea in Neixiang. How could he know the battle situation in Yangzhou?
Yang Xingyun came back and excitedly reported to Tachaer that his entire army had retreated, and the Southern Group had recovered the lost territory and was approaching Nanyang. However, Zhao Yulin said that it was better not to pursue the desperate enemy and to maintain the status quo. The Mongolian and Song armies quickly confronted each other along the actual control line, and each was strengthening the border passes in preparation for defense.
However, in Jiangdong, the 50,000 Mongolian troops that crossed Yangzhou split into two groups. One group went straight to Jiankang and crossed the river, while the other group attacked Zhenjiang Prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River and occupied Changzhou before heading straight for Pingjiang. When Lin'an received the news, the government and the public were shocked and immediately planned to flee to the sea.
The emperor also looked helpless. The army had all gone to the north of the Yangtze River for defense, and the nearest troops in the south of the Yangtze River were more than three hundred miles away.
He felt that the empire was about to collapse, so he urgently issued three imperial edicts. The first was to send troops from all over the country to the capital to defend the king. The second was to confer the title of King of Han on Zhao Yulin. The third was to marry the emperor's daughter Zhao Feiyan as the Princess of Han.
After doing all this, the military report arrived again, saying that the Mongolian troops that had crossed the river from Jiankang had passed Liyang and were rushing towards Lin'an.
The emperor had no choice but to get on a carriage and drive straight to Hangzhou Bay to board a ship and escape to the sea.
It was already dark. The Imperial Guards were escorting the emperor out to sea, but they saw cannonballs and arrows raining down from the navy's ships in the distance. The large ship loaded with gold, silver and national treasures was immediately hit and sank. The guards nervously reported that the navy had rebelled and surrendered to the enemy, blocking the passage to the sea.
The emperor's dragon boat was hit and caught fire, and everyone jumped into the sea in panic to escape.
Under the protection of his guards, the emperor went ashore and intended to go to Fuzhou by land, but he was caught by the Mongolian army on the shore. The royal family of the Song Dynasty was once again captured without knowing why.
Hubili was overjoyed after capturing the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, but he was disappointed that the jade seal fell into the bay. After burning, killing and looting in Lin'an City, he immediately returned north as planned.
Three days later, Zhao Yulin was still basking in the sun when Zhang Qi brought him an urgent report: General Meng was a step too slow in leading his troops eastward to fight the enemy, and the Mongolian army had captured the emperor and was returning north.
The Song army in Liangzhe had to hold its territory, and troops from various places had already arrived to support the king. However, the Mongolian army had destroyed the granaries in the south of the Yangtze River, and the logistics could not support the daily expenses of the various armies. General Meng had no choice but to lead his troops back along the original route.
Zhao Yulin immediately sat up and told the Shenwei Army to hold on and wait for help. If General Meng came back, they would give up Zaoyang and return it to the Jingzhou Army. However, Meng Gong did not come back after all.
He had no choice but to order Yang Xingyun to set up defenses along the area controlled by the Shenwei Army and never give the Mongolian army another chance to invade.
Cao Youwen received a military report from Miao Gui in Luochuan: he personally led the team, with Cao Yong as the main general, and the Western Group dispatched 30,000 soldiers and 20,000 civilian workers to march out of Xining Prefecture to the core area of the Eastern Women's Kingdom. The army has already occupied Kangyanchuan.
This is great news, and Lao Cao is very happy.
However, Cao Cao soon received information that the Emperor Lin'an had died, and it was as if he had fallen into an ice cellar in an instant.
The imperial court was destroyed and the emperor was captured. This man was extremely anxious and immediately ordered Lu Huacai to guard Luochuan and not to move rashly. After returning to Chang'an and instructing Ma Ling and Wu Yuqi to guard Guanzhong, he rode to Xixia to find Zhao Yulin.
At this time, the ancient Xiaohan Road had been completely controlled by the Shenwei Army. Lai Chuanfang led the Third Column and the Guanzhong garrison to advance eastward with great momentum, and had already joined forces with the new Third Column that had entered Hangu Pass.
When Cao Youwen arrived in Lingbao, Lai Chuanfang led the main generals to greet him joyfully and reported to him the miraculous effect of using new tactics to defeat the Mongolian army. The Shenwei Army used new large carts to transport supplies and build horse-blocking fortifications, the red cannon was indestructible, and so on.
All the generals knew that Lin'an had suffered and the emperor had been captured, and they were all excited and asked him to order an attack on Luoyang for revenge.
After drinking a cup of tea, Cao said with a heavy heart: This is what he is most worried about. Don't act rashly. The Third Column and the New Third Column have suffered casualties in the fierce battle for half a month. The team needs to rest. How to use the troops depends on Commander Zhao.
The generals gradually calmed down. After Lao Cao gave instructions to deploy the defenses on the spot, he got up and rushed to Xixia.
Three days later, when Cao Youwen arrived Zhao Yulin had just returned from Neixiang.
Seeing his unhappy expression, Zhao Yulin smiled and asked what was wrong.
Do you really lose your appetite and sleep when the emperor is gone? Didn’t I say this in Gulugou: The sky won’t fall.
Lao Cao glanced at Xiao Yan beside him. This woman had changed her usual cheerful expression and served them tea and water without any sadness or joy.
Zhao Yulin smiled and told them not to worry, the Khan of the grassland would not treat the official badly in order to use the emperor to do things, and might even make him a king. In short, he would have no worries about food and clothing, and be accompanied by beautiful women. But the royal children would suffer, and each of them would become the prey of the princes and generals.
Lao Cao saw that Xiao Yan looked unhappy, so he asked her to go and see how the food was. He was hungry.
When Zhao Yulin saw Xiao Yan leaving, he asked Lao Cao if he had anything to say, saying it was okay as he didn't care about anything now.
Lao Cao said that the official is gone, what should we do?
What shall I do from now on?
Zhao Yulin smiled and told him not to worry, he would not split the land to become king, he would continue to reorganize the troops, work hard to fight the Mongolian army, and realize the dream of the Shenwei Army to restore the glory of China.
He suggested that Lao Cao go to Ezhou to talk to Meng Gong and listen to his ideas.
The next day, Lao Cao was indeed going to Ezhou. Zhao Yulin asked Zhou Ping to personally drive the boat and lead twenty new ships to send Lao Cao east to find General Meng.
After sending Lao Cao away, he pulled Xiao Yan over to look at her. The little girl frowned slightly, as if she was worried. Zhao Yulin kissed her forehead lightly , and the little girl's body trembled immediately, and she leaned weakly on him.
Zhao Yulin picked her up and carried her to the recliner, then found a thin blanket to cover her. Soon the little girl began to snore softly.
Luo Mingqiu said happily, "Thank you, Third Young Master, for your love and care. The little princess will be very happy with the young master protecting her."
Zhao Yulin signaled him to take a few more steps and talk to Xiao Yan away from her.
He said, "Shunfeng is already taking the families of those coming from Lin'an to Shu. Mingqiu will take the trouble to go to Jiangdong to find his relatives and bring Yan Zi's mother over as well."
Luo Mingqiu immediately looked at him with gratitude and thanked him repeatedly. Zhao Yulin waved his hand and told him to go find Zhang Qi and leave as soon as possible.
Luo Mingqiu immediately went to Shunfeng, and Zhang Qi told him that the young master had already made arrangements when he learned that the Mongolian army was heading south in large numbers, and the people at Shunfeng took Lin'an's family to Hongzhou. Luo Mingqiu was delighted, thinking that the young master was really good at predicting things, and he took the token and the money and went straight to the dock.
Zhao Yulin was watching over Xiao Yan while she took a short rest. When the girl woke up and saw him sitting next to her, she was delighted. He told Xiao Yan that Eunuch Luo had gone to pick up the family in Lin'an, and her mother was also there, so they would be able to meet soon.
Xiao Yan was delighted to hear this and pulled Zhao Yulin over to stamp his face.
He smiled and said that they are getting bolder and bolder, and it made my heart beat fast just watching them in the past.
The little girl made a face and lay down to continue dozing off.
Zhao Yulin went into the study room. He thought it was time to write something. The imperial court was gone, and the old emperor was kidnapped. People must be in a state of panic, and stability must be maintained.
He thought about the last time he wrote an article in Gulugou to answer the question of what the Shenwei Army is, so this time he would talk about why and how to do it.
Zhao Yulin picked up the pen and started writing with great enthusiasm.
Xiao Yan came to the study and saw manuscripts scattered around Zhao Yulin. She picked them up and read them carefully. Zhao Yulin's passionate words made her blood boil, as if she was galloping on a fierce battlefield.
He smiled and said that it still needed further revisions.
Zhao Yulin worked all night and asked Xiao Yan to edit and copy the article and send it to Hanshui Morning News for publication. His article was published in a few days. The newspaper not only published the two articles, but also reprinted the article "The Sky Will Not Fall" on the front page, which fully explained what the Shenwei Army is, for whom, and how to do it.
Zhao Yulin's three articles were immediately circulated in the Shenwei Army, and newspapers in Guanzhong, Cuiping Mountain and Chengdu all rushed to reprint them, reprinting them again and again.
The common people were no longer panicked after seeing this, and they all said that as long as the Shenwei Army was there, they could live in peace and stability, defeat the northern barbarians, welcome back the emperor, and recover all the lost territories.
Military generals and local officials have become accustomed to Zhao Yulin's way of doing ideological work. They are no longer at a loss and can calm down and do their current tasks well.
The commander will call the soldier over and point at the newspaper and ask if he has seen it. The third young master has another deliberate instruction. Let's hold a meeting to discuss it. There is pen and ink on the table. You must take notes.
The local officials under the control of the Shenwei Army will immediately summon the government officials to collectively study the Third Young Master's articles, so that everyone's hearts will be more open.
Zhao Yulin called Yang Xingyun and asked him to give instructions to Zhang Qi and to inform Cao Youliang in Jincheng to return to Nanzheng immediately as he had urgent matters to arrange.
He told Yang Xingyun that he was about to go back and planned to go directly to Hanzhong.
