novelAbuy Chapter 1371: Front and Back
Chapter 1371: Front and Back
Chapter 1371: Front and Back
One nine twenty nine did not make a move, three nine four nine walked on the ice.
But a certain country bumpkin time traveler expressed dissatisfaction:
Not only do I have to take action, but I also have to walk on the ice!
So in the coldest days of winter, while General Zhendong led his troops out of the border, in Luoyang in the south, Jiang Wei also led his troops on a river covered with thick ice.
Over the years, the elite troops of the Han army have always had a winter training program.
Of course, it is impossible that all the defenders of Luoyang are elite troops.
But the Tiger Infantry Army led by Jiang Wei was one of the eight armies within the Great Wall and was definitely considered elite.
A woolen hat with thick earmuffs on both sides was put on his head, and then a thick cloth mask was put on. Except for the eyes and eyebrows exposed, the mouth, nose and ears were all protected.
You definitely can't wear armor. Otherwise, if you wear such thick clothes and then cover yourself with armor, even if you can stand up, it will still be a question whether you can take a step.
At most, I wore leather armor, which at least provided some protection.
Some of the soldiers crossing the river had indifferent eyes and focused on getting on with their journey.
Some people, however, looked at the vaguely visible other side of the river with shining eyes, full of longing:
“Finally we’re crossing the river!”
The leader of the team who was concentrating on the journey heard this and blew out a mouthful of white mist, saying:
"Focus on the march and don't think about those trivial things?"
After a pause, he glanced ahead and couldn't help muttering, "Maybe it's just a training exercise across the river?"
"what?"
The soldiers around him were his fellow villagers, and now they were eating from the same horse trough. He was also well taken care of by his team leader on a daily basis.
He knew that the captain in front of him, who was from the same hometown, did not hold a high position in the army, but he had actually been in the army for more than ten years.
If he hadn't been unable to keep up with literacy, he would probably have become a captain or something like that.
Hearing what the other party said, he subconsciously looked at his own armor and found that he had everything he needed.
Looking at the colleagues around him, they saw spears and halberds like a forest.
That’s right, everything is very standard preparation before the battle.
And is this direction going to the other side?
Is Hanoi on the other side?
Hanoi...is occupied by thieves, right?
Who would say we are going to conduct training in the territory occupied by bandits?
As if he could see the young fellow's confusion, the captain looked up ahead and said, half answering and half muttering to himself:
"In this weather, even if a god came, he couldn't attack the city!"
Unless the bandits are willing to abandon violence and return to good deeds, they will open the city gates and welcome the royal army.
Otherwise, if the army crossed the river so brazenly, the enemy would be able to close the city gates directly, and the army would most likely be left staring blankly outside the city.
Of course, the general may have other ideas?
Or maybe have other ideas?
That is not something that people like us can figure out.
The Han army even considered the issue of team leadership, so Jiang Ji, who led the troops defending Hanoi, could naturally think of it.
But he didn't dare to gamble.
Because the Han army crossed the river from Mengjin to the north to capture cities and territories, the first county that would be affected would most likely be Wen County.
Where is Wen County?
That is Sima Taifu’s hometown.
Hebei is the base of the Sima family, which was nominated by the Wei aristocratic families.
If anything unexpected really happened due to his negligence, he would have committed suicide without Sima Taifu saying anything.
The old man, who was almost sixty years old, received urgent news that the Han army in Luoyang had made a move. He was so anxious in the middle of winter that his mouth was full of blisters.
He cried out "Ouch!" and hurriedly sent an urgent report to Yecheng, while rushing from Chenguan to Wenxian.
Although there was movement at the other end of Chenguan, he knew it was not a big problem.
Because the thief Feng has already moved from Hedong to Taiyuan.
The Han army without the traitor Feng and the Han army with the traitor Feng are two different concepts.
What he feared was not the Han army, but the Han army with Feng thieves.
Otherwise, in the dead of winter, would he be afraid that his opponents would cross the mountains and sneak through Chenguan?
In the last month of the ninth year of Yan Xi, the Han army divided into five groups to attack the bandits.
The Luoyang army led by General Zhennan Jiang Wei was the first to make a breakthrough and headed straight for Wen County in Henei.
The first battle report of this campaign against bandits was sent back to Chang'an, which greatly encouraged some people.
"Jiang Boyao is really amazing. Whether it was the battle in Guanzhong or the recovery of Luoyang, he could be said to be swift as the wind in commanding troops. This time, he was the first to engage the enemy in battle."
"That's right. This man was the general that the Prime Minister valued the most during his lifetime. He once said that he was good at military affairs. When has the Prime Minister ever been wrong?"
"What a joke! Wasn't it Grand Marshal who was the most valued by the Prime Minister during his lifetime? How did it become Jiang Zhennan?"
After being scolded by someone, someone immediately became anxious:
"Grand Sima... Can Grand Sima be the same? The generals I mentioned naturally do not include Grand Sima."
Comparing the Great Sima with the generals of the Han Dynasty, isn't that bullying?
It was said before that Sima Feng was a disciple of the mountain gate. Later, news came from somewhere that there were people in the mountains. It was not a mountain gate at all, but an immortal gate.
Does Wei Boyang know?
Yes, yes, yes, he is the immortal who wrote "Zhouyi Cantongqi" and finally became an immortal in Fengming Cave on Fengming Mountain in Shangyu.
Back then, he led three disciples to cultivate immortality. One of them became an immortal, but the other two gave up halfway because they were not determined enough to cultivate and returned to their hometown.
Among the two disciples who failed to become immortals, one was named Feng Liang.
It is said that after Feng Liang returned from Fengming Mountain, he received a letter from his master one day and learned that his master had become an immortal. He regretted it deeply.
Got it?
Sima Feng also has the surname Feng!
Can you guess what the relationship is between Sima Feng and Wei Boyang’s disciple named Feng?
Feng Dasima went mad and went into the mountains. After he came out of the mountains, he behaved strangely and people at that time thought he was suffering from hysteria.
In fact, it was because he met his sect’s ancestor, the Immortal Wei, in the mountains and received his enlightenment.
So that is not hysteria at all, that is called strange speech, which must be different from ordinary people.
Do you understand what it means that there are people in the mountains?
How can ordinary people be compared with the descendants of immortals?
Of course, there are also rumors that this rumor actually came from Wu and is not credible at all.
The people of Wu wanted to flatter themselves, so they found a divine master from Wu for Sima Feng.
(Note: Wei Boyang was from Shangyu, Kuaiji)
But no matter what, the fact that Mr. Feng was related to the legendary immortal did not surprise people, but instead made many people feel it was reasonable.
This is enough to show that Feng's identity as a descendant of the mountain (immortal) sect has been deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Of course, although General Zhennan is not as powerful as General Feng, it must be admitted that he is also very powerful.
At least after the news reached Chang'an, the people and even some middle and low-level officials were all excited.
The big man wins again!
The "think tanks" and "folk masters" of the people are all in the market, after dinner, they give advice on the state of affairs and write inspiring articles:
Wen County is the base of the old thief Sima. General Zhennan led his troops to besiege Wen County, which was like a knife stabbing into the heart of the thief.
Not only did it greatly deter the bandits, but it also strategically mobilized their forces, making them run around in a hurry, which created opportunities for other armies.
Wonderful!
After hearing the high opinions of these "civilian think tanks", the people all followed suit:
How wonderful!
……
Compared with the excitement of the common people, the reaction of the court was somewhat indifferent.
After hearing the news, the officials in the outer court with an official salary below 600 stones were still thinking about whether they should think about their speeches or memorials for the court meeting, join in the fun, and follow the big boss to say a congratulatory speech or something.
Who would have thought that the bigwigs would have almost no reaction to this good news. It cannot be said that they had no reaction at all, but at least they had almost no big reaction.
This made the middle and lower-level officials who had already thought of their own arguments feel puzzled:
Could it be that all the big guys have some opinions about General Zhennan?
Otherwise, why is the reaction so cold?
The bosses certainly have no problem with Jiang Wei.
In this war-torn era, who has not seen a few storms and waves if he can stand inside the palace during the court meeting instead of standing on the corridor outside the palace?
Even though Liu Yan had gained a high position due to his intellectual ability and royal family status, he still followed Emperor Zhaolie on expeditions and battles in his early years.
He has witnessed or heard of major battles such as the Battle of Chibi, the Battle of Hanzhong, the Battle of Yiling, and the Northern Expedition of Longyou.
His knowledge must not be too bad.
Have you never eaten pork or seen a pig running?
During the coldest time of the year, Hanoi is not Shu.
The snow was so heavy and thick that no matter how elite the Han soldiers were or how good they were at fighting, it was impossible for them to attack the city at this time.
At most, it would scare the thieves, warm up the scene for the fight against the thieves, and create a good atmosphere.
Although Wen County was the Sima family's hometown, Sima Yi was no fool and had already moved the core members of the Sima family away from Wen County.
How could he allow his clan to stay there?
The few people with the surname Sima who remain in Wen County are mostly from the side branches.
According to information from various channels, although the current capital of Henei County is Huai County, when it comes to the height and thickness of the city walls, Huai County may not necessarily be able to compare with Wen County.
When it was decided to abandon Luoyang, or when Hangu Pass was lost and Luoyang could not be defended, Wen County, as a possible front line and Sima family's hometown, had been continuously raising and thickening the city walls.
I heard that the people in charge of the expansion were the famous craftsmen Ma Jun and Ma Deheng of the Wei State.
After unremitting expansion in recent years, it is said that the city wall of Wen County is now higher and thicker than that of Huai County.
On July 9th, the river opens, and on August 9th, the swallows come.
The period from the 39th day to the 79th day is only about a month at most.
By the seventh day of the seventh month, the rivers begin to thaw.
During the thaw period, the river is half ice and half water, making it impossible to walk on the river and boats cannot pass through.
At that time, if Jiang Zhennan could not take Wen County or other footholds, and the army did not retreat to Henan in time, with no way forward or backward, it would be very dangerous.
But how difficult is it to take over a big city in a month in winter?
So let alone the bigwigs in the court, even Fatty Liu, who didn't want to take care of state affairs all day long and only thought about eating, drinking and having fun, knew that Jiang Boyao's troops were approaching the city of Wen County. Although they looked very powerful, they were actually just trying to make a big show.
Even if he threw the government affairs to the Secretariat, he knew that most of the various materials transported from Shu and Liangzhou to Guanzhong this year were transferred to Bingzhou.
Luoyang didn't get much at all.
Therefore, my brother-in-law’s intention is very clear. Luoyang is not the main attack direction.
Even if there was a Wang family from Hongnong who came out to lick their boots, the money and food they could provide would not be enough to support the Luoyang army in a battle that would never end.
Otherwise, Wang Jun would not have been taken away by his brother-in-law, but would have been sent directly to Luoyang to serve as a middleman between the Hongnong Wang family and the Luoyang army.
"We still have to wait for Mingwen to take action!"
Fatty Liu was half lying in a recliner. He threw the battle report in his hand onto the table and said something with some boredom.
It's meaningless if my brother-in-law doesn't help.
It's almost the end of the year, and apart from the Eastern Expedition, there is basically nothing major happening.
If he had not been afraid of the criticism from the ministers in the court, Adou would even have wanted to cancel the last few court meetings of the year.
There was a shiny copper stove with clean coal burning inside. Above the stove, there was a thick iron pipe that led the gas to the outside.
The heat coming out of the copper stove and iron pipes made the whole house warm as spring, making people feel so warm that they didn't want to move.
"It is still of some use." The queen, who was sitting next to him, took a look at the document and said with a smile, "I heard that Jiang Boyue led his troops to surround Wen County, and the people and officials were all very excited. It can be regarded as a boost to the morale of the court and the people."
Although the Queen was forced to leave the Weiyang Palace a few years ago and live in the Gui Palace.
But the emperor and empress were so deeply in love that Fatty Liu did not mind the trouble and often went to the empress's side.
Especially when he was criticized by Dong Yun and others, he always looked for comfort from the Queen.
Therefore, although the queen could no longer interfere in state affairs, she still had eyes and ears.
"That's right." Ah Dou smiled meaningfully when he heard this, "It always helps to shut some people up."
As the Han Dynasty continued to recover its old territories, the competition among various forces became increasingly fierce, both in the court and at the local level.
Even if the Han Dynasty only had Yizhou and the prime minister was still alive, there would be people like Liao Li who would jump out to point fingers.
Not to mention that the Han Dynasty has now recovered nearly half of its old territory.
Instruct the prime ministers to govern the country, instruct the generals to conquer the country, instruct the court to negotiate with other countries...
The Han Dynasty has produced too much grain in recent years, allowing those so-called think tanks to eat too much.
His achievements were similar to those of his father-in-law, but he was also dissatisfied with Li Miao and even wanted to accuse him of the crimes of the barbarians.
Not to mention his brother-in-law, who has been stained with the blood of countless noble families over the years.
They always make up stories and smear things even when they don't exist.
It goes against common sense to send troops in the middle of winter. I wonder how many people are waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves.
If there really is no movement throughout the entire winter, I am afraid that the rumor that "Feng does not know how to fight the military and is wasting people's time and money" will spread.
Jiang Boyue's current move might not be out of his brother-in-law's calculations.
Seeing the emperor's full confidence in Feng, the queen felt a little helpless.
Nowadays, people are not afraid of the concubines in the palace competing for favors, but they are afraid of men outside the palace taking away the emperor's heart. Who can they blame?
The Queen's attitude towards her brother-in-law Feng Mingwen was extremely complicated.
There is love, but there is also resentment - it can't really be called hate.
The two investments that he was most proud of in his life were both made in Feng Mingwen.
One was that he gave strong support when Feng Mingwen started his business.
This investment brought the royal family extremely rich dividends.
The wealth was so abundant that he even overestimated his own capabilities and wanted to use the inner court to rebuild the Northern and Southern armies, and even an armored cavalry army.
Although the plan was abandoned halfway, one can imagine how rich the imperial court was to have such an idea in mind.
The second investment is to try every possible means to send Si Niang to Feng Mingwen's bed.
This move tied Feng Mingwen firmly to the royal family - it was a pity that His Majesty had no sisters or daughters of the right age at the time, otherwise the bond could have been even stronger.
Why did she dare to be so provocative a few years ago?
It was because she knew that with this relationship, Feng Mingwen would never do anything to her.
The worst case scenario is to admit defeat.
Of course, if she won, she wouldn't let Feng Mingwen do anything - slightly changing the system of "the palace and the government are one" would not be a bad thing for the royal family, right?
Anyway, the prime minister is gone.
Unfortunately, I lost...
The situation of "nominal ruler but real ruler" in the Han Dynasty did not change at all, but instead became more and more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Thinking of this, the queen looked at the emperor who was lying there lazily, not wanting to move, and looked unambitious, and she felt more helpless.
The battle of Hebei is imminent, but the palace and the government are calm.
(End of this chapter)