Chapter 850: Return to the South
Yang Yuan swung his spear and attacked from the north to the south, while the Shandong Road had heavy troops in the north.

When the Jin people were shocked to find that the rebels had abandoned the new Jin reinforcements that were right in front of them and marched south, they hurriedly chased after them.

But by the time they were chasing after them, due to the icy and snowy environment, the cavalry advantage was no longer there and it was difficult to catch up.

Shangguan Luo only got the accurate information on the fifth day of Yang Yuan’s journey south.

His scouts noticed that most of the main forces of the Jin army lurking nearby had withdrawn, and the Jin navy in the direction of Ninghaizhou was accelerating westward to cut off his retreat.

Shangguan Luo finally understood what had happened.

“go!”

Shangguan Luo gave the order immediately.

Yang Yuan has already left, why bother fighting?

Shangguan Luo knew that the only reason why the Jin army left on land did not attack him in time was that they were waiting for the Jin navy from Ninghaizhou to arrive.

They wanted to wait for the navy to cut off his retreat before launching an attack.

So Shangguan Luo immediately made the decision to retreat.

When all the naval officers and soldiers boarded the ship and sailed in a zigzag pattern towards the other side of the sea, a thin layer of ice had already formed in some waters.

So when a large ship passes by, the sound coming from under the ship is the crisp and pleasant sound of ice breaking.

“Hahahaha, Yang Jia Erlang is indeed cunning.”

Shangguan Luo stood at the bow and laughed heartily: “If all the talents in the world share one dou, Yang Ziyue will have eight dou, I will have one dou, and everyone in the world will share one dou!”

“No, why?”

Li Qinglu was feeling very conflicted at the moment.

On the one hand, the teacher was not fooled by the golden man, and she was very happy.

But the teacher didn’t come. After he left, I didn’t know when we would see each other again, and I felt a little sad.

The girl was feeling sad, and then she heard Shangguan Luo’s smiling words.

Li Qinglu immediately became dissatisfied: “Why should I share a bowl of rice with everyone in the world, while you take it all for yourself? Lord Shangguan, are you worthy?”

Shangguan Luo was dumbfounded, and after a while he became extremely angry: “No, you didn’t even mention Yang Ziyue’s unique ability, right?

What’s wrong with me fighting? Isn’t it okay for me to fight?”

“Of course not. It makes you sound like the person you are talking about is inferior to you.”

“Then you and Yang Yuan can share Badou, okay?”

“Is that so?”

Li Qinglu felt sweet in her heart. My teacher and I shared eight dou, so rounding it off would be equivalent to my teacher and I eating from the same bowl.

Li Qinglu’s anger immediately turned into joy: “That’s pretty good.”

……

Yang Yuan led the rebel army and successfully reached Langya County.

At that time, Langya was called Yizhou, which is Linyi.

It is also possible to go out to sea from Linyi. After the Jin army in Linyi Prefecture learned that the rebel army was heading south, they panicked and burned all the merchant ships and fishing boats at the Yizhou wharf.

To this end, the Jin army forced local fishermen and merchants to rebel, and a small-scale fierce conflict broke out.

In fact, there were 6,000 Jin troops stationed in Yizhou, while the rebel army at that time had only more than 3,000 people, a gap of twice. The Jin army in Yizhou was also on the defensive, so there was no need to panic.

It is really the reputation of a man and the shadow of a tree. Before this, Yang Yuan and Xin Qiji, with only more than 4,000 volunteers, led 70,000 to 80,000 Jin troops to wander around in Qi and Lu.

Generals Edu and Yang Tang were in a state of panic, which made the Jin army in Yizhou deeply afraid.

They were afraid that the rebel army would sail out to sea from Yizhou, so they burned all the ships to take precautionary measures.

The billowing smoke from the burning ships attracted the attention of the Luxi fleet which was returning to the Song Dynasty from Jimo.

Luxi waited for Yang Yuan in Jimo for a long time but he did not show up. Their fleet was isolated on the sea. Although they had enough supplies on board, they were unable to obtain any effective intelligence.

When the supplies could no longer support them to continue waiting off the coast of Jimo, Luxi was forced to issue an order to return south.

Their fleet was composed of ocean-going ships, and they could have gone in a straight line, returned to the waters of the Song Dynasty, and then approached the coastline.

But Luxi held on to a glimmer of hope and ordered the fleet to sail south along the coastline from the very beginning.

She felt that her second brother could not reach Jimo Port as planned because the Jin army had deployed heavy troops in Jimo to prevent him from reaching the sea.

But my second brother will eventually go south, and maybe he will find another outlet to the sea.

If she didn’t go to support him, even if her second brother reached the harbor, he could only rob fishing boats. In that case, he probably wouldn’t be able to lead the entire rebel army to the sea.

Because she was traveling along the coast, she was able to see the billowing smoke from dozens of miles away.

Ya Ge immediately launched several light boats into the sea, and led by Chiya Mikami, they took several light boats close to the coast to investigate the situation.

As a result, they rescued several fishermen who had fallen into the sea and received the news that the rebel army had arrived in Langya.

Lu Xi was surprised and delighted, and immediately ordered the fleet to move closer and try to provide support.

However, the water near the dock in this sea area was not too deep, and the ships burned by the Jin army sank into the sea, preventing the Luxi fleet from approaching further.

They could only wait near the coast.

Soon, they discovered that the number of Jin soldiers at the dock had increased significantly.

Luxi sent people in a small boat to the shore at night and captured the “tongue” to ask for details.

Only then did they realize that the rebel army did not stay in the Langya area for long. After a short rest, they continued to move south.

The pursuing Jin soldiers arrived in batches, some stayed behind to strengthen the defense of the Yizhou area, and some continued to chase.

Yang Yuan’s several counterattacks left a serious psychological trauma on the Jin army.

Therefore, they dared not to leave any men behind. Who knew if Yang Yuan would make a surprise attack?

Besides, the Song fleet on the sea had already been discovered by them.

Since there was a Song fleet waiting for an opportunity to pick them up, they had to suspect that this was another pick-up location for Yang Yuan after Jimo.

As the Jin soldiers chased southwards, they themselves were already in a state of chaos.

It was difficult for the various Jin soldiers to communicate effectively, and they could only fight on their own.

The Jin soldiers who were caught in advance had to leave people to defend along the way to guard against a surprise attack.

Therefore, the military forces that can chase after them are limited.

This also gave the rebels more room to maneuver and time to rest, allowing them to move all the way south.

……

The end of the year is approaching and the war is still raging.

Deng Yue, the head of the Pu Nian Bureau of the Jin Dynasty’s “Beacon Bureau”, once again made great contributions.

He intercepted an important intelligence from the State of Song.

Moreover, perhaps because the matter was urgent and the content to be explained was too detailed, the task could not be explained using overly obscure and simple language.

Therefore, the important information transmitted by the State of Song this time was actually written in a code that was very easy to decipher.

Deng Yue quickly deciphered the contents of the secret letter and immediately rode on horseback to report to Yang Tang, the commander-in-chief of the Nanjing Road Army.

Yang Tang was shocked when he saw the secret letter.

However, the Song people’s secret letter and spies were right in front of him, and the 3,000 lingering Song soldiers were indeed acting according to the route stated in the secret letter, so Yang Tang had to believe it.

So Yang Tang immediately started making arrangements.

……

On the Song side, Zhong Hui, deputy chief secretary of the Privy Council’s Mechanical Department, and Cao Yiran, an official in charge of the State Information Office, were talking to their servants and were also hurriedly making plans.

A new emperor appoints his own ministers. After Zhao Yuan ascended the throne, even though he was well aware of Yang Cunzhong’s loyalty, he still transferred him from the position of Privy Councilor.

After the young emperor Zhao Kai ascended the throne, he also employed a large number of his confidants.

Especially in some important positions.

However, the young emperor Zhao Qi had only been the crown prince for a short time when he hastily became the emperor. His group of officials in the Eastern Palace were still inexperienced and it was difficult for them to take over the high position in one go.

Therefore, he could only place his trusted confidants in some important government offices as much as possible.

Temporarily hold more important power as a deputy or subordinate official.

It was he who arranged Zhong Hui to work in the speed room.

Zheng Yuandong has been sidelined and will leave the machine room completely as soon as Zhong Hui has gained enough experience.

As for Cao Yiran, the government reopened the Guoxin Institute, which had long been in name only, and handed it over to Cao Yiran.

However, with the change of power between Song and Jin, the functions of the National Information Office also changed greatly. If the Imperial City Bureau was the official Jinyiwei, then the National Information Office is now equivalent to the official East Factory.

“Is it certain that the message has been intercepted by the Jin people?”

Yan Shen asked calmly while roasting his teeth on the brazier.

The weather in Lin’an is not very cold even in winter.

But Yan Shen has lived in the north for decades and is not used to this damp and cold weather.

Moreover, during his stay in the north, he suffered from chronic rheumatoid arthritis, so he felt more comfortable by warming himself by the brazier.

Zhong Hui and Cao Yiran could already smell the faint smell of burnt robes.

The two of them were a little further away from the brazier.

Zhong Hui said: “Rest assured, Mr. Yan, the secret letter has been intercepted and should be completely deciphered by them.”

Yan Shen nodded slightly, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Zhong Hui hesitated for a moment and said, “Sheren Yan, let’s forget about the Jin generals who are trying to return to the right path, but there is no need to bury our 3,000 light cavalry in the Jin Kingdom, right?
Why don’t we find a reason to order them to return south immediately…”

Before he could finish his words, he was stopped by a sinister gaze.

He said coldly: “Those who plan for great things do not pay attention to small details.

If these 3,000 light cavalry were not killed in the Jin Kingdom, how could it prove Yang Yuan’s stupidity?

These three thousand light cavalrymen are returning south at this time, and Yang Yuan’s path to the south is cut off at this time. Aren’t you afraid of criticism from both the government and the public?”

Zhong Hui pursed his lips and said nothing.

Cao Yiran glanced at Zhong Hui and said with a smile, “Mr. Yan, don’t be angry.

Three thousand cavalrymen are not thirty people. Zhong Chengzhi just felt sorry for them. “

Zhong Hui was the deputy chief secretary of the Mechanical and Electrical Bureau, but in fact he was not a secretary of the Secretariat, but just a secretary.

In terms of position alone, Zhong Hui is still better than Yan Shen.

But now they all know that Yan Shen is the emperor’s teacher and is trusted by the emperor, so naturally they dare not take him lightly.

After all, Yan Shen was once the crown prince and had also served as regent.

Now he has gradually regained his lost confidence, and he becomes majestic when he gets a little angry.

“If you can’t bear the little things, you will ruin the big plans. In the defeat in Shaanxi, 90,000 soldiers died. What are the mere 3,000 light cavalry?”

“No stains can be left on the official’s body!
Yang Yuan must die in a reasonable and flawless way!”

He made the conclusion with great finality.

He said to Cao Yiran: “The aftermath of this matter will be handled by your Guoxin Office.

All those involved in the transportation of this secret letter must be dealt with!
It must be done cleanly, leaving no beginning or end.”

Cao Yiran became serious: “Yes!”

The skin on his knees was a little sore from being roasted.

He reached out and touched the hot sleeve of his robe, then turned slightly to warm his thighs.

“There are only two people who prevent the official family from becoming the true master of the world.

If they don’t die, how can the government exercise its power?
The government cannot make decisions on its own, so how can you and I, the old officials of the Eastern Palace, make a name for ourselves?
Zhong Chengzhi, Cao Goudang, your womanly kindness will harm you.”

Zhong Hui and Cao Yiran stood up at the same time with a solemn look and bowed deeply to Yan Shen.

“Thank you for your advice, Mr. Yan. We can save ourselves the trouble.”

……

The commander-in-chief of Haizhou was called Wang Shilong.

There were 7,000 troops stationed in Haizhou, of which 5,000 were Han soldiers.

The number of Jin Dynasty’s troops stationed in Haizhou, their military branches, and their nationality composition changed constantly in different historical periods, as well as as the relationship between Song and Jin became increasingly tight and loose.

When the Jin army first occupied the Central Plains, most of the Jin troops stationed in Haizhou were Jurchen soldiers, and they implemented the Meng’an Mouke system.

Starting from the fourth year of Shaoxing, the number of Han Jin soldiers stationed in Jiaoxi and Jiaonan areas began to increase.

Since the Battle of Lingbi, the main force of the Jin army suffered heavy losses and lost the Northeast, the only source of Jurchen soldiers. The Jurchen soldiers were mainly responsible for garrisoning Zhongdu, and the proportion of Han troops in Jiaonan area further increased.

Today, the Haizhou Army has 7,000 soldiers, and except for 2,000 Jurchen veterans, all others are Han troops.

This is why Wang Shilong was able to become the commander-in-chief of an army.

The Jin Kingdom could not treat the Jurchen soldiers harshly, as their treatment was far better than that of the Han soldiers. So they had no choice but to promote a Han general to the position of a senior official in order to balance the conflict between the two sides.

Wang Shilong was gradually bought over by the Song State during the process of the Song State’s military aid to the New Jin Dynasty.

Although those responsible for military aid at the time were under the guise of civilians and were mainly led by Yang Yuan’s people, it was the imperial court that controlled the matter behind the scenes after all.

Therefore, the attempt to win over Wang Shilong, a Jin general, could not be concealed from the imperial court.

At that time, Yang Yuan had never thought of hiding it from the court.

What’s more, if Yang Yuan wanted to win over Wang Shilong, he had to do it in the name of the Song Empire. It was impossible for him to win over an important general of the enemy country in his private capacity.

However, this matter is of course absolutely confidential, so only the Machine Speed ​​Office of the Privy Council of the Great Song Dynasty has access to this information.

Wang Shilong now has absolute control over the Haizhou soldiers.

When Yang Yuan sneaked into the Jin Kingdom, he originally planned to retreat by sea.

The “Six Thousand Meeting” in Jinan Prefecture had been fully exposed at this point, and he did not want to expose the fact that the commander-in-chief of the Jin army in Haizhou had secretly become a minister of the Song Dynasty.

However, the land escape route to the south was also one of his backup routes.

Therefore, the harassment along the border by 3,000 light cavalry was not just a decoy.

Three thousand light cavalry were not enough to support Yang Yuan, but with the help of Wang Shilong who suddenly defected, it would be completely possible.

With Wang Shilong, the commander-in-chief of Haizhou, and three thousand Song light cavalry, the two sides can work together to produce miraculous effects.

After Yang Yuan had sneaked into the Jin Kingdom, Wang Shilong also received news from Yang Yuan, asking him to keep an eye on the movements of the Shandong rebel army at all times.

Once the Shandong rebel army chooses to return south by land, they will inevitably choose Haizhou as a breakthrough point.

At that time, Wang Shilong will be responsible for being the person who opens the door.

To this end, during this period, Wang Shilong not only paid close attention to the war in Shandong, but also strengthened his control over the Han soldiers and generals under his command.

He was sure that when necessary, he could reveal his identity and take advantage of the fierce conflict between the Han and Jurchen soldiers to persuade all the Han army generals, kill two thousand Jurchen soldiers by surprise, and lead their troops to return to the right path.

Today, one of his generals took a concubine.

Wang Shilong was at the stage of intentionally winning over his subordinates, so he not only went to the general’s outer residence to attend the wedding banquet, but also prepared a generous gift.

After having a good meal and a good drink, Wang Shilong generously granted the Han general three days off so that he could spend some time with his wife, while he himself rode his warhorse back to the barracks.

Snowflakes were floating, the wind was not strong, and Wang Shilong’s body was hot after drinking. He opened his arms slightly, revealing his strong chest.

Humming a little tune, Wang Shilong passed the gate and arrived in front of his own mansion, but he didn’t notice anything unusual.

He went in through the front gate, with the yamen in front and the house behind, and after passing the front yamen he reached his family’s residential area.

But after passing the ceremonial gate, it slammed shut behind him.

The six black painted doors of the main hall of the General’s Mansion were suddenly pushed open. Wang Shilong suddenly found that the doors of the hall were wide open, and teams of Jin soldiers holding red tasseled spears swarmed out from the six doors.

Inside the open door, there is a person sitting behind the desk in front of the plaque with the words “泽甫７爾” and the screen with the pattern of a sea qilin.

It turned out to be the Nanjing Road Army Commander-in-Chief, Yang Tang!
(End of this chapter)