Volume 3 Chapter 20 Yanggu
The weather was hot, and there were green trees along the way. The sick Emperor Zhao and his wife Wu slowly returned eastward from Dengfeng. However, Yang Yi, who was the commander of the Central Army, set out early and returned to Tokyo first. Then he led two thousand imperial guards to Jingdong for assistance.
Since the main attack direction of the Pseudo-Qi was Dongping Prefecture, the two thousand squadrons did not go through Nanjing and then return to the front line, but went directly along the Yellow River through Huazhou and Puzhou to Dongping Prefecture.
Of course, in addition to the convenience of marching, Yang Yi Zhong's move also has two military benefits, one public and one private... From a public point of view, the troops passing by the other side of Puyang City under Daming Prefecture can further test and determine the movements of the Jin army; and from a private point of view, facing the pseudo-Qi troops, the Song army generals generally have no psychological pressure, but he is worried that he will not be able to get the soup if he rushes from Nanjing, it is better to directly insert into the gap between Jinan and Dongping from here to see if he can achieve great success.
However, on this day, two thousand squads of soldiers marched quickly into Dongping Prefecture. When they arrived at Yanggu County in the northwest corner of Dongping in the evening, they suddenly encountered an unexpected incident.
"Why aren't we allowed to enter the city for preparation?"
Yang Yizhong frowned slightly. "Don't the city guards know that we are the imperial army from Tokyo? Or is it that Yanggu is located on the front line and has encountered large armies several times and doesn't know the benefits and disadvantages of military affairs, so the wealthy families in the city are afraid of being harassed by us when the battle is about to begin?"
"Reporting to the commander, the garrison in the city definitely knows the commander's origins." Among the wealthy merchants who were ordered to go out of the city to negotiate, a middle-aged man who was obviously the leader walked past the others and looked at them carefully with a bitter face. "And we have experienced several times when the Jin army marched south, how could we not know the dangers of war? Naturally, we know that in such a war, it is a good thing to have the royal army in the city..."
"Then why did it end up like this?"
Yang Yizhong kept asking questions, but his tone suddenly dropped. It was obvious that with his cleverness, he immediately guessed a possibility.
"Reporting to the commander." The rich businessman said bluntly, and it was just as Yang Yi had expected. "The people guarding the city are appointed by Zhang Rong of Liangshan Lake, and they have always been wary of the government troops."
Behind Yang Yizhong, a group of squad officers were all angry, and some even drew their swords and shouted.
It is said that since ancient times, arrogant soldiers and brave generals have always been dissatisfied with each other, not to mention that the imperial guards are the highest-level organization in the world, and are the so-called confidants of the emperor? In fact, even Zhao Jiu is not immune to some issues. Not only did he give the guards the highest treatment, but he also took advantage of this major reorganization to stuff some officers who were familiar to the emperor everywhere, and transferred some elite soldiers from various departments to strengthen the guards... This made the imperial guards still an unquestionable fast priority promotion channel.
Besides, from Xiacai to Nanyang and then to Changsha, the imperial guards had never failed to perform well in life-and-death battles, which made this army arrogant to a certain extent from inside to outside.
To put it bluntly, they were supposed to bully and exclude other troops, but they didn't expect to be bullied by a group of bandits in Yanggu County.
No wonder Zhai Biao was ready to attack the city with his knife brandished.
"And be quiet!"
In the noise, several wealthy businessmen from Yanggu were already trembling like sieves, but unexpectedly, Yang Yizhong suddenly spoke softly, and the crowd behind him suddenly became quiet.
The wealthy businessmen were so frightened that they looked at each other in bewilderment... The meaning was very clear, although this officer was young, he had great authority and was actually someone who could really make useful decisions!
However, this is the limitation of people from small places.
Little did they know that this 'young general' was not only a very useful person, but also a key figure in the court of the Song Dynasty... In front of Emperor Zhao, Yang Yizhong became more and more cautious. In front of Lu Haowen, Han Shizhong and others, he was always respectful and never made any mistakes.
Of course, even so, he was still often attacked and killed by others.
However, when it comes down to it, how many Emperor Zhaos, how many Prime Minister Lu, and how many General Han are there in the world?
Besides, Yang Yi Zhong himself was the most senior leader of the Imperial Guard and the founder of this Imperial Army from the very beginning. It was not until Kang Lu was hacked to death by someone and Liu Yan led the Red Heart Team to join that there were certain restrictions.
"What is the name of this garrison in the city and what is its origin?" After Yang Yizhong stopped them, he asked several wealthy businessmen in a serious tone.
Several wealthy merchants were apprehensive and became more cautious. Then the leader came forward and bowed to them, saying, "Let the commander know that the garrison commander in the city is called Xiao En, a local fisherman from Liangshan Lake. He is considered a confidant of the Liangshan Lake lord... After the battle in Jinan, the Liangshan Lake lord organized his subordinates and used local fishermen as garrisons in various places. So he was randomly appointed as the commander and county magistrate, and that's how he took control of our Yanggu County!"
Yang Yizhong seemed to be thinking about something, but then asked again: "How many soldiers does he have? How many of them are armored?"
"Five or six hundred people and forty or fifty sets of armor." The man answered without hesitation.
When Yang Yizhong heard this, he suddenly smiled and said, "What are you calling me? What's your origin?"
"My name is Zhang Maode, I am from Yanggu, and I have always been a good family." The man felt a sense of tension in his heart, but also a sense of anticipation. "General, you can just call me Zhang Erguan."
Yang Yizhong didn't take it seriously, and just asked again: "You said at the beginning that Xiao En was 'the garrison commander', but you didn't use honorifics, and you knew exactly how many soldiers he had. And you took the lead in making this awkward contact, and you were determined to incite... Do you have a grudge against him?"
Zhang Erguan was startled when he heard this, but he gritted his teeth and said, "It's not that we have a grudge, but I really can't stand it anymore... Taiwei, you don't know, since Xiao En took control of the county affairs, every time there is a lawsuit, no matter the district, the rich lose and the poor win. In just half a year, all the so-called middle-class families in Yanggu have gone bankrupt, and families like mine, who have accumulated good deeds, have had 80% of their property squeezed out by those market scoundrels. It seems that we can't survive."
Of course Yang Yizhong knew that the other party was exaggerating. If it really came to this, he would just run away. Why would he still stay here?
However, he was too lazy to care and just continued to ask: "Did Xiao En refuse the government troops to enter? Was it his personal decision or was it a special order from Zhang Zhenfu of Liangshanpo?"
"Well……"
"to be honest!"
"It should be that Governor Zhang specifically ordered it." Zhang Erguan said carefully. "Because there was a rumor before that General Yue of Jeju in the south had already led a hundred thousand troops to Zhongdu County south of the Wenshui River, but suddenly stopped. It was Governor Zhang who said across the Wenshui River that if General Yue crossed the river, he would break off the friendship with him... and that he would repay the old grudge with all his strength."
Yang Yizhong was silent for a moment, he knew that things were going to be difficult.
You must know that Zhang Rong has made great contributions. No matter how you look at it, this man has made tremendous contributions to the great victory of Liangshanpo. And as a confidant of the emperor, Yang Yizhong is also very clear that Emperor Zhao also has a clear attitude towards this man - he is a friend, not an enemy, and he admires him very much.
However, at the same time, anyone with a little bit of insight could notice that Zhang Rong was wary of the imperial court. Although he had been appointed as a pacification envoy by the imperial court, he did not take it seriously at all and issued official positions without restraint, treating the imperial court's prestigious positions as playthings... That would have been fine, but the key point was that later, when the government returned to the old capital and wrote a special letter to summon him, he turned a deaf ear to it and even privately spread the word that he was happy in Liangshanpo and was not under the control of the government.
To put it bluntly, it’s just four words - the thief never changes!
The only thing is that this thief is the one that the government is concerned about.
However, even so, Yang Yi Zhong only hesitated for a moment before making up his mind... After all, he knew on the way that there had been a large-scale battle on the other side of the Jishui River, near Pingyin County. During the war, since he was close to the front line and it was a matter of military importance, how could he hesitate?
"Zhang Erguan," Yang Yizhong asked softly when he thought of this. "Since you are so bold as to come and instigate me, let me ask you, can you open the city gate when you go back?"
"No need to go through the city gate." Zhang Maode responded quickly. "There is a warehouse next to my herbal medicine store on the west side of the city wall. The captain on the wall was a regular captain in charge of catching thieves in the county. He has always been on good terms with me... I will go back and prepare for the battle. The commander can send his soldiers to climb over the wall and gather at my warehouse. But..."
Without waiting for the other party to hint, Yang Yizhong nodded directly: "I know that the city's attitude has angered me. I have detained all these people and only let you return to the city. Prepare cattle, wine, gold and silver to exchange for people!"
Zhang Maode could not help but be overjoyed, secretly praising the officer for being a capable man despite his young age. So he only said a few more words, then left a group of stunned wealthy people from the same county, quickly put on a sad face, and hurriedly said goodbye and went back.
However, Zhang Maode returned to the city alone with a sad face. After a moment, he turned back with a sad face. He was accompanied by dozens of soldiers. The leader was dressed strangely. When he got closer, he was unforgettable at first sight.
It turned out that this man had a dark and red face and a short and strong build. He was obviously a poor man who made a living on the water. However, he was wearing an ill-fitting green robe of a county magistrate, a stiff-winged hat, and only a hemp rope tied around his waist. When he took a big step, a pair of open-toed hemp shoes were exposed... He came over like a duck that had come ashore, swaying towards him.
The generals behind Yang Yi Zhong saw this from afar and couldn't help laughing, except Yang Yi Zhong, whose expression became serious.
"How dare you, a bunch of officials and soldiers from Tokyo, detain our envoys from Yanggu County?" The man came a few dozen steps away, gesticulating and shouting . "It's been so many years, but you are still as arrogant as Emperor Daojun back then? You are the ones who have brought disaster to our country and the people. You are also the ones who caused the Jin and Qi people to appear. Now that we won't let you into the city, what else can we do?"
Zhai Biao and others behind him got angry after hearing this, but Yang Yizhong remained calm and bowed from a distance: "But County Magistrate Xiao? We are the imperial guards, and we came to Dongping to fight against the Pseudo-Qi by imperial decree. May I ask County Magistrate Xiao, the military situation is serious. I heard on the way that the Pseudo-Qi troops seem to be fighting with Zhang Zhenfu near Pingyin County. It is only a few dozen miles away from here. If the cavalry comes, they will arrive overnight. Why do you want to expose us in the wild?"
The man who came was Xiao En, the leader of Liangshanpo. He was also stunned when he heard the words, but he gritted his teeth and said: "If that's what you say, you can withdraw your troops. I will send someone to escort you back to Puzhou to settle down!"
"I'm here on the orders of the emperor!" Yang Yizhong put down his hand and looked at him coldly. "The emperor has personally ordered two thousand squads to go to the front to help. How can we retreat without a fight?"
"You keep calling me the emperor, but do you know that the emperor Zhao promised my brother the land of Dongping Prefecture when he appointed him as the governor?" Xiao En heard this and threw off his hat and grabbed it in his hand, confronting him directly. "And today my brother is trying to avenge his previous humiliation, and he even refused to allow someone as close as Yue Zhenfu to come over to help. Even if you were sent by the emperor, how could I tolerate you? Today, I don't have enough troops and horses to stop you, otherwise I wouldn't even let you pass, how can you enter the city?!"
"Are you really not allowed to enter the city?" Yang Yizhong sounded a little impatient.
“No!”
"What if the Jin army or the pseudo-Qi army really comes?" Yang Yi Zhong asked without delay.
"If you refuse to withdraw, I will come out of the city to help you!" Xiao En answered straightforwardly. "But you must return the messengers in the city first... Although they are rich and unkind bastards, they should not be detained by you guys from Tokyo for no reason!"
Yang Yizhong nodded, but calmly turned back and ordered: "Use the city wall as a support, set up camp under the city, and then release these people."
After these words were spoken, everyone in the imperial guards was indignant, Xiao En was also stunned. As for the wealthy businessmen who were sold out by Zhang Erguan, they were naturally ecstatic. Only Zhang Maode opposite was dumbfounded - it turned out that this officer was just a figurehead and he had made a wrong bet.
But at this moment, Yang Yizhong, who knew what these people were thinking, turned around, holding the knife in one hand and pointing at Xiao En with the other, and said sternly:
"Xiao Zhixian, Xiao Tongzhi! Although I'm giving you a leg today, I also want you to know that it's not that I, Yang Yizhong, am afraid of you. I just don't care about your three or five hundred soldiers. I respect you today because you are wearing an official robe and are seeking justice for the people under your rule. Since I'm an official appointed by the court, even if I look down on you, a traitor from Water Margin, I still have to respect you as the governor of Yanggu. That's all!"
