Chapter 87: Promise of Rescue
Zhao Yulin smiled and told them not to talk about this for now.
At this time, drums were beating in the central army tent, and all the generals quickly entered the tent to receive orders.
Gui Ruyuan stood on top and roared indignantly: The northern barbarians have gone too far. I have made up my mind to fight Ture with all my strength and sacrifice my life for the cause, and I will never let him set foot in Hanzhong.
Then he asked the generals to express their opinions one by one.
It was Zhao Yulin's turn. He said that he trained soldiers day and night, and was ready to fight at any time, determined to defend Yangzhou and Jinzhou, and establish a solid rear for Qingyeyuan.
Gui Ruyuan wanted to hear his promise to help, but he only heard these words, which made him feel unhappy. Why does this guy only care about his own little piece of land?
Zhao Yulin thought that his promise was enough. What if the Jin people took advantage of the situation to rob?
He must ensure the safety of the rear of Hanzhong before he can support the Qingyeyuan battlefield.
Lao Gui glanced at the generals in the big tent and ordered them to go back immediately and intensify preparations for battle.
When they came out, Cao Youwen was riding side by side with him. Old Cao asked him why he didn't express his intention to rush to help Qingyeyuan?
He said it was just a matter of a word, it would be of no use, and by then you might just run away.
Cao Youwen was displeased and said: "Why bother to criticize your superiors? Your Excellency is a man of high righteousness and will surely join us in resisting the enemy."
Zhao Yulin looked at the towering peaks of Qinling Mountains and said, "Let's wait and see. There are many people in Qingyeyuan who are afraid of death, and there are also spies from the Mongolian army. General, if you have any problems, just call me directly."
The two then parted ways, and Zhao Yulin rode his horse quickly to Yangzhou.
When she returned home, Wu Yuqi asked why the Mongolian envoy was killed?
Toure has a strong desire for revenge and will definitely block the pass and start a killing spree.
Zhao Yulin said that this matter was no longer under his control and asked Fan Zheng to call Hao Xiaoming over.
Wu Yuqi told him that Yibin had sent another 3,000 people and a large amount of supplies and weapons. How should they be distributed?
Zhao Yulin said that he was doing this very thing.
When Hao Xiaoming arrived, Zhao Yulin asked him to lead a team of 2,000 soldiers to Jinniu Town in Mianzhou to select a location to build a military station and store the military equipment and supplies. All future supplies would be temporarily stored in Mianzhou.
Hao Xiaoming set off immediately.
He asked Wu Yuqi to arrange an operation to eliminate traitors, eradicate Mongolian and Jin spies in the country, and keep military secrets.
At this time, news came from Ziwu Road Crossing that the Mongolian army suddenly burned down the market and sent reinforcements to Ziwu Road Crossing.
Zhao Yulin knew that Tu Lei was furious after killing their envoy. He immediately ordered strict precautions and patrolled Jinzhou.
When he arrived at Raofeng Pass, Lu Hua reported that they were still strengthening the pass and wanted to connect the weak parts outside the pass like building the Great Wall.
He was very satisfied listening to his brothers' reports and told them to sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in war, that is, to use their brains to think of ways to make the defense line more and more solid.
He rushed to Xunyang without stopping. Han Yongchao said that the Jin people were quite well-behaved and that business was still going on the same recently, with exports doubling that of last month.
Zhao Yulin felt strange. Perhaps the Jin Kingdom knew that Qingyeyuan had killed the Mongolian envoy, and the rear was safe. He still warned Han Yongchao not to be careless. The Jin people were like ants on a hot pot, and they were very anxious. It was hard to say when they would change their minds again.
Zhao Yulin required that bulk, low value-added goods could be traded in Gushan, while expensive products such as glass cups and perfumes must be bought and sold in Jiahe.
He asked Han Yongchao to mobilize civilians to strengthen the construction of the pass and to send him the newly produced earth and cement from Yangzhou.
The two brothers were drinking together. Zhao Yulin said that the Mongolian army would soon move south, and he would lead his troops to Xingyuan Prefecture. If the situation was critical, Han Yongchao might be the only one guarding Yangzhou and Jinzhou, so they must be careful.
When he returned to Yangzhou, he unexpectedly met Zhou Ping. It turned out that this guy had been pestering Zhu Congwen all day long, so Zhu let him come to Hanzhong.
Zhao Yulin was very happy and asked Fan Zheng to prepare some wine and food so that they could have a good drink.
Zhou Ping told him that two more people had come from Yibin.
Later, Wu Yuqi led Chen Chen and his second brother Zhao Yujiang out. Zhao Yulin was pleasantly surprised and pulled them over to sit down, but the two were not as enthusiastic as if they were meeting again after a long separation.
When Zhao Yulin asked about the situation of his family in Yibin, Chen Chen only mentioned Ma Ling, his fourth sister and several mothers, but did not mention Chen Xiaomin and the children.
He pointed at his second brother Zhao Yujiang and asked Xiaomin, "How is the child?"
Zhao Yujiang put down the cup and said Xiaomin was gone.
Zhao Yulin was stunned and looked at them with his eyes wide open. Only then did Zhou Ping slowly tell him: Mrs. Chen died of dystocia during childbirth.
The crystal glass Zhao Yulin was holding fell to the ground with a thud. He seemed to be drained out of his wits, and fell into a daze on the chair.
Chen Chen couldn't help crying and said that her sister had been trying to give birth for half a day but the baby just wouldn't come out. The doctor suggested that she shouldn't have the baby anymore, but she still wanted to give birth. In the end, she saved the baby, but her sister died.
Zhao Yujiang looked at his death and said, Xiaomin left with a smile, so don't be too sad, third brother.
Zhao Yulin couldn't eat anymore and said he would go back to calm down. Wu Yuqi went with him, and the woman's unique touch made him feel much calmer. He said that he was the one who harmed Xiaomin, she was just a little girl, and she was gone.
Wu Yuqi said this was fate, and it was everyone's destiny. Mr. Zhu wrote to me, and Xiaomin's belly was getting bigger day by day. His father Chen Zhongshun took Xiaomin to protect the fetus. Xiaomin had someone to take care of her, ate nutritious food, and had fun. She gradually forgot Zhao Yulin's instructions. With the arrival of the cold weather, she didn't want to get out of bed, and she actually stayed in bed.
Ma Ling'er went to urge her to walk, but was nagged by Chen Zhongshun. By the time the child was born with difficulty, it was too late to regret.
Zhu Congwen wanted to have a caesarean section, but her father disagreed, saying that it would be murder to take the baby. Zhu Congwen then told the midwife that the surgery would dilate the cervix, but the midwife accused him of being a rapist and scolded him, making him feel like a nobody.
Finally, a female military doctor was asked to perform a cervical surgery to take the baby out. However, Xiaomin had lost too much blood and the imperial doctors were unable to save her.
After reading the letter, Zhao Yulin's tears wet half of his pillow.
The next day, Wu Yuqi helped him to dress up, and after the family had dinner, he asked Zhao Yujiang to preside over Yangzhou Academy and introduce the good knowledge of Cuiping Mountain to the students.
He asked Chen Chen to manage the provincial government for him, focusing on taxation and livelihood.
Zhou Ping was left behind to discuss expanding the fleet on the Han River and establishing the Hanzhong Navy.
Zhao Yulin said that the Mongolian army would soon move south, and that the navy had too few ships and they were too small, so he asked him to find a way to buy some from downstream, build them himself, and rush out a batch to join the battle.
Zhou Ping took the order and left.
The summer in Hanzhong was still very hot. Zhao Yulin was in a bad mood and was lying lazily under a tree to enjoy the cool air. Fan Zheng led two burly men in.
He immediately sat up and looked, and found that it was Qingye's original owner, Cao Youwen and Wang Hancheng who had arrived.
Zhao Yulin hurriedly asked someone to make tea.
As soon as the three of them sat down, Cao Youwen said, "As you expected, some people have already fled before the battle even started." Wang Hancheng said that Tu Lei set up a Huihui cannon at Dasan Pass and fired it, and the prefect of Xingyuan Prefecture and Mr. Gui moved to Lizhou together.
Lao Cao asked him to go to Nanzheng to guard the city. Now Qingyeyuan is guarded by Zhao Yan's deputy envoy. Lord Your Excellency asked them to hold on and fulfill their promise to defend the territory.
Zhao Yulin said that he had stationed 5,000 troops on Jinniu Road.
Lao Cao said that was just a drop in the bucket. Ture set up a hundred Hui cannons outside Dasan Pass, and a thousand people died in one day after the pass was closed.
Wang Hancheng said that most people in Qingyeyuan were watching and waiting, and asked for reinforcements to Dasanguan, and everyone was pushing for it. Brother, come to Nanzheng and help us. We must resist the northern barbarians no matter what.
Zhao Yulin did not expect that the situation would change so quickly. He picked up his wine glass and said that he would go to Nanzheng the next day and his two brothers would take care of him first.
Lao Cao and Wang Hancheng didn't waste any time and said goodbye and left.
Wu Yuqi told him that according to her understanding of Shunfeng, these two people were truly resisting Mongolia.
Zhao Yulin knew of course, and he asked Gao Jin to come back immediately. He told Yuqi that the baby was growing up and she was not able to move around easily, so Shunfeng Office prepared a team and he would take them to Nanzheng.
In the evening, Gao came in.
He said that the Nanzheng prefect had run away, and asked him to lead the Fourth Column to Nanzheng immediately to take over the defense of the city, and hand over the defense of Xixiang to Hao Xiaoming's garrison.
Gao Jin immediately stood at attention and saluted, assuring him that he would complete the task.
Zhao Yulin waved his hand and said that he was just pretending to fight. If a real enemy came, the correct thing to do would be to knock him down.
Gao Jin immediately led his men and ran away.
The next day, after Zhao Yulin instructed Yu Fuming to secretly transport the baggage to Nanzheng, he set out with the personnel from the Hanzhong tent and arrived at Nanzheng County late at night.
Cao Youliang told him that his brother had burned down the Lianyun plank road and left him to wait for the commander-in-chief to arrive.
Zhao Yulin told him that the Mongolian army had a small path to march into Nanzheng, which could bypass Wuxiu Pass directly. He asked his subordinates to look for possible hunters' paths, and when the Shenwei Army arrived, they would assist in the defense.
In the afternoon, Gao Jin led his First Corps and rushed to Nanzheng. After Zhao Yulin gave him brief instructions, he asked him to go to Wuwuxiu Pass in person to take over the change of guard.
Zhao Yulin found a judge named You Xianzhong in the city and asked him to take charge of the city's security first. The troops that were heading into the city were dispersed and controlled, and Nanzheng soon stabilized.
You Xianzhong did a good job. He supported Shunfeng in clearing out bandits, tyrants and traitors in the city. The Shenwei Army immediately arrested a large number of criminals, and he even went to the vegetable market to supervise the execution in person.
After killing a group of prisoners, order was immediately restored in the city. The vigorous and powerful Shenwei Army impressed the people. Zhao Yulin asked them to register the assets of the prisoners and collect them all from the government, and urged the business to supply goods at a fair price. The people gradually returned to their previous lives.
After Zhao Yulin dealt with Nanzheng, he went to Mianzhou to find Cao Youwen. The two met at Lianghekou, and Cao Youwen hugged him tightly in his arms to thank him for his help.
He said they were all troops from the Song Dynasty, and it would be awkward if we were to be polite.
Cao Youwen told him that only Deputy Envoy Zhao Yan was left behind at Qingyeyuan, but before leaving, the noble Lord had instructed everyone to perform their duties and hold their ground. The soldiers at the pass were now leaderless and were all waiting and watching.
Zhao Yulin said that this situation was very dangerous. The general had burned the plank road, and the main force of the Mongolian army would have to pass through Liangdang and Tongqing Prefecture. They had to be ordered to move and clear the fields.
