Chapter 458: Huaiyuan Prefecture
At this moment, the guard came in and reported that a large group of people wanted to see him.
Ke Zhenxie didn't let him meet him, fearing that there might be spies among them and it would be a serious crime if he hurt him.
Zhao Yulin smiled and asked where so many spies came from.
It’s better to meet some respected people.
He changed his clothes and came to the reception room, where five old men were already standing, all looking around anxiously. When they saw Zhao Yulin coming out, they immediately went to greet him, and the three in front even knelt down to salute.
Zhao Yulin took two quick steps and stopped them, telling them that the Shenwei Army could not kneel, that the New Song Kingdom believed in equality for all and that kneeling was not a custom.
Several old men asked the commander with concern whether he was injured and whether he was okay.
He patted his chest and said he was fine, in good health and nothing was wrong.
The old men touched their chests, let out a long sigh and said: It is a blessing for all the people in the city that the commander is safe and sound.
Zhao Yulin smiled and asked them: Are you worried that he will vent his anger on innocent people after he gets injured?
Several old men immediately quieted down. An old man with a white beard said that the Shenwei Army did not harm innocent people and was truly a benevolent and righteous army. They were angry that Tuoba Guisun was determined to defect to the Northern Barbarians and actually wanted to kill the commander of the Shenwei Army. He was so hateful and abominable that he should be cut into pieces.
Zhao Yulin knew their concerns and told them that the Shenwei Army was not like the army of the grassland empire. It would not do unorganized and undisciplined things, would not wantonly burn, kill, loot, or do things that were against the will of heaven and earth. The Shenwei Army was the army of all the people in the world. It must protect the people and only kill enemies and evil people.
The old people were delighted after hearing this, and their tense faces began to relax.
Zhao Yulin told them to put their minds at ease. There were only so many ordinary people in this city, and they knew who was a good person and who was a bad person. The Shenwei Army gave the power of judgment to the people, and let the people decide what to do.
The old men were stunned and couldn't believe their ears.
It was the first time that Shenwei Military Law had to listen to the opinions of the people when handling murder. In the past, when the Mongolian army was here, the people of the Mongolian Empire were the gods and the kings here, and they were all lambs to be slaughtered.
It was strange that the Shenwei Army not only did not burn, kill, or plunder, but also let them be the masters of the house. Zhao Yulin asked the old man to relax and recommend some young people to help the Shenwei Army and plan for a better future.
The old men were even more surprised and left with doubtful steps .
Zhao Yulin was tired after being busy for three consecutive days, so he went back to his room, lay down and fell asleep.
However, after three fierce attacks on Hajiadu, the Mongolian commander Androu found that he could not take the ferry in a short time. Fearing that he would be surrounded and killed by the Shenwei Army again, he abandoned his defeated soldiers and fled northward along the bank of the Yellow River with his three hundred followers.
There were paths all along the river , and some parts were wetlands and mudflats. He could not ride his horse after walking only five miles.
This fellow displayed the spirit of endurance and hard work, abandoned his horse and walked, and finally arrived at Lijiatan. He personally captured a man and asked him about it, and found out that there were also 300 Shenwei soldiers stationed here, and that the Shenwei soldiers already knew that the Mongolian army was defeated and were fleeing in all directions. The ferry had strengthened its defenses and checks yesterday, and the sentries had withdrawn two miles away.
When Android's guards heard this, they immediately lost their composure.
These generals usually followed him and enjoyed themselves eating delicious food and drinking spicy drinks. After a day and a night of fighting and fleeing without food or water, they were already exhausted and had long wanted to stop running. When they heard that they couldn't stay here, they became discouraged.
His captain of the guards said that the eldest son was injured and could not run away anymore. Let's fight, kill the Shenwei soldiers at the ferry and steal the boat to cross the river. Otherwise, we will have to walk dozens of miles to find the next ferry.
But Andro was unwilling to take any more risks. His guards were all dying of hunger. How could they fight the high-spirited Shenwei Army? Even if it was a one-on-one fight, they would all be killed in the end. He said to the captain of the guard: No, we have to go and find the next ferry. If there is no food, we can just eat two-legged sheep. He glanced the relatively strong man and made a gesture of wiping his neck.
The man thought these people were going to kill him immediately, and he was so scared that he fell to his knees and begged for mercy, crying and shouting that he was still useful and that he could lead the way to a ferry thirty miles downstream.
Oh, this is exactly what he wants.
Android smiled knowingly at the guards and shouted, "Let's go, there are delicious fat sheep ahead, let's go." As soon as the group of people appeared, they were hit by fierce arrows from the crossbow, and they were so scared that they ran as fast as they could.
It turned out that the child of the family was playing hide-and-seek in the woods and saw his father being knocked unconscious and captured. He immediately ran to the ferry to ask the soldiers to save his father. When the guard at the ferry heard the report, he immediately realized that it was the defeated Mongolian army approaching. The captain led a hundred soldiers to search for them and happened to run into them.
Both sides quickly started fighting for their lives.
Andu'er shouted in Mongolian: "They are few in number, don't be afraid, just kill them all and have a good meal." Although the Mongolian army was tired, they had accumulated strength after a short rest. In addition, these guards were all desperate men carefully selected by Andu'er. After a short panic, they immediately organized themselves into three groups to encircle and kill all the Shenwei soldiers at once.
The captain of the river-guarding squad of the Shenwei Army didn't take it seriously at first, but soon he realized that this group of defeated soldiers were not in panic in the face of battle, had amazing archery skills, and began to encircle them. He quickly ordered his men to throw out a few hand-me-down grenades to kill these bastards.
The explosion of the hand grenade was heard at the distant ferry. The soldiers who stayed behind knew that the situation there was critical, so they immediately dispatched a team of 100 people to reinforce.
Android's guards would definitely not be able to withstand the explosion, but that didn't matter. When he heard the rumbling sound of the explosion, he immediately understood that it was the Divine Might Army calling for reinforcements.
He then remembered that the firearms of the Shenwei Army were very powerful, and he had to be careful, this was no joke. Just now, a hand grenade was thrown at him, and more than 20 of his men fell down.
Damn, we must open a way.
He ordered the captain of the guard to lead two hundred brothers to hold him off, and he himself took thirty uninjured guards and escorted the man who led the way and ran away.
By the time the Shenwei Army dealt with the group of assassins led by Captain Android, the guy had already run away. The old man at the ferry said that there was a small ferry with a few families downstream. In case of emergency , the brave ones would put down the sheepskin raft and float dozens of miles down the river to the shore.
The squad leader guarding the ferry had learned from the surviving prisoners that the one who escaped was actually Androule. That was unacceptable. He heard that there was a ferry downstream where one could launch a sheepskin raft, and he immediately thought that Androule was very likely to go there and risk crossing the river.
This guy immediately led a hundred brothers to chase after him.
In Lingzhou, Wang Gui continued to fight desperately after being shot by an arrow. His injuries worsened, so Gao Jin asked him to lead a cavalry back.
When Zhao Yulin saw Wang Gui, who looked pale in the carriage, he told him not to say anything and to rest for a night. Then he asked the medical officer to clean the wound thoroughly and provide careful treatment.
In the morning, he went to visit Wang Gui again, and he looked much better.
Wang Gui coughed and told him: It’s a pity that we didn’t catch that guy Android, but we brothers tried our best.
Zhao Yulin held Wang Gui's hand tightly and said: "He knows everything. The brothers fought very well in the Lingzhou Campaign this time. They are all true heroes."
A smile appeared on Wang Gui's face, and he said happily that the third young master did not treat the Jin people as outsiders, and he did not bring shame to the Qin Gong family, so he had no regrets in his life.
Zhao Yulin laughed loudly and told him that China was one family and they were all good brothers. They would always be his good brothers. He told Wang Gui to take good care of his wounds and not to go to the front line again after he recovered. He would report to the Central Government in Chengdu to set up Lingzhou Prefecture here, and his brother would be the first garrison commander.
Wang Gui is still not done. After his injury heals, he wants to lead the troops and continue to follow the third young master in the battle.
Zhao Yulin shook his head and told him that the task of governing Lingzhou was more difficult. It was not a safe place yet and it would only be peaceful if his brother could guard it.
Wang Gui's eyes became moist and he nodded in agreement.
Three days later, Gao Jin sent a military report that the Shenwei Army had occupied Xingqing Prefecture, completing the established goals of the Lingzhou Campaign and began to hold the dangerous position.
Xingqing Prefecture is located on the west bank of the Yellow River and was the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom. More than ten years ago, the Mongolian army launched a massive invasion. The Western Xia people fought hard and angered the great emperor, who ordered a massacre in the city. The Mongolian army burned, killed, and looted along the way, and finally even the city was razed to the ground.
However, that place had been the capital after all, so he wrote back to Gao Jin, ordering him to rebuild the city on the spot and gradually restore the old city of Xingqing Prefecture. The name would no longer be Xingqing Prefecture, but would be changed back to the name of the Song Dynasty, Huaiyuan Prefecture.
In the past, the Song Dynasty set up Huaiyuan Town there. He wanted to strengthen the border defense and upgrade Huaiyuan Town to Huaiyuan Prefecture.
Lu Huacai deployed the northern border defense to Lingzhou to meet him. After seeing Wang Gui, the three of them had tea together.
Zhao Yulin criticized Hua Cai for taking such a risk this time. Why did he only bring such a small number of troops to Shuidonggou? Wang Gui was seriously injured.
Wang Gui immediately said that it was not Commander Lu’s fault, but that he was just unlucky and was bitten by the enemy’s arrow. He got so excited that he started coughing again.
Hua Cai hurried over to pat Wang Gui on the back, apologizing profusely and saying that he had indeed underestimated the enemy.
Zhao Yulin blamed him for fighting too risky a battle. If the Mongolian reinforcements had rushed in later, his brothers would have lost their lives in Shuidonggou. They were all generals guarding the border, so how could they take such risks?
Hua Cai muttered that they were always criticized, but the young master was still taking risks. Once the fight started, who could predict what would happen next?
Zhao Yulin was speechless, he knew Huacai was worried about his safety. After a while, he reminded Huacai to be careful, Kuaduan would definitely take revenge after suffering such a big loss, so he must be careful.
Hua Cai nodded repeatedly, then asked for leave and went back.
Android was still fleeing. This guy grew up from a slave to become a general. He was very familiar with all kinds of hunting and trapping techniques. He now used them to set up roadblocks to stop the pursuers. However, he caused a lot of losses to the garrison team of Lijiatan, and even sacrificed three soldiers.
But the more this happened, the more it aroused the fighting spirit of the pursuit team, and they chased after them desperately.
