Chapter 471 Shengjing, Mobei

As the old saying goes, the New Year comes after Laba Festival.

After Laba Festival, the Chinese New Year officially begins. People start to slaughter pigs, make bacon, buy New Year goods, worship the kitchen god on the Little New Year, clean up, fry rice cakes, steam buns, slaughter chickens, etc., until the family reunion on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the New Year.

The Jurchens retreated back to Liaodong from the interior, bringing back the customs of the Han people from the interior. In addition, there were many Han people in Liaodong, so the New Year atmosphere was no worse than that in the interior.

The city of Shengjing is bustling, and the palace is even more bustling.

The weather is exceptional today, with bright sunshine and clear blue sky.

Qian Xiaosi’s laughter came from the upper study room, and his laughter was full of pride.

In the upper study, all the princes, dukes, nobles and military ministers came and stood there silently watching Qian Xiaosi who was writing with a brush.

Prince Kang also came and stood in the front row with the other princes.

A trace of disdain quickly flashed across King Kang’s eyes, and in an instant he smiled again, but he snorted in his heart, his handwriting is ugly, his poems are stinky, and he likes to make trouble, isn’t he ashamed!
After writing the last word, Qian Xiaosi nodded with satisfaction.

The princes, dukes, nobles and military ministers all flattered him.

After hearing this, Qian Xiaosi felt so relieved that he burst into laughter.

After laughing, Qian Xiaosi put down his pen and looked at King Kang: “You are a master of calligraphy. Take a look at how I write these words.”

King Kang pretended to read it carefully, and after a while he said, “Good!”

Qian Xiaosi asked with a smile: “What’s the best way?”

King Kang: “All good.”

Qian Xiaosi: “.”

Seeing this, King Kang could only praise against his will: “This calligraphy is well written, has a good meaning, and is suitable for the occasion.”

Qian Xiaosi was happy again. He washed his hands in the copper basin beside him and said as he wiped them, “Did you all know that Hong Zhou had another small victory in Guangning?”

Everyone nodded.

Qian Xiaosi: “I have another piece of good news for you. There is also good news from Mobei.”

King Kang’s heart skipped a beat. Duke Xiu was defeated? Impossible? The imperial court had an absolute advantage in Mobei!
Qian Xiaosi: “With the cooperation of the White Lotus Sect, our warriors took advantage of the snowy night to burn the food and weapons stored by the Han people in the six towns of Yinshan, and successfully broke through! Our food and fodder has just been delivered to the front-line camp, and now it is the turn of the Han people to worry!”

The princes, dukes, nobles and military ministers immediately became excited and started to flatter him.

Qian Xiaosi had been keeping an eye on King Kang. Seeing that he also joined in praising the emperor and had no other reaction, he couldn’t help but relax his vigilance a little.

Thinking of the huge loss, he felt a pang of pain again, and in his heart he cut the White Lotus Sect into pieces again! The White Lotus Sect members lurking in the six towns of Yinshan did not act together as agreed, but hid on the sidelines, watching the Eight Banners warriors who sneaked into the city rushing forward with the Han people’s muskets, until the two sides came into close combat and even started a fire, and then the White Lotus Sect members appeared.

This made him very angry. A group of stray dogs dared to play tricks on them and even wanted to reap the benefits. They really didn’t know how to live or die!

Thinking of this, Qian Xiaosi sneered in his heart: When Agui defeats the main force of the Han army, all these White Lotus bugs will be killed! No, this is too easy for them, send them all to Ningguta and make them slaves with the armored men!

Prince Kang watched the reactions of Qian Xiaosi and the other princes without showing any expression, and sneered in his heart: Laugh, laugh, your good days will not last long!

Dai Quan’s reply really surprised him. With the help of the Northern Pacification Office and the list, he had a bolder idea. Not only did he want to kill the princes who mocked him, he also wanted to kill Qian Xiaosi, forge an imperial edict to kill Yongyan in Mobei, support a small Tartar, and take control of the Tartar court.

With the help of the Jurchen Tartars, he could fight back to the capital, seize the chair in the Fengtian Hall, and finally grind all the Jurchen Tartars to dust to relieve his hatred!

At this time, Qian Xiaosi took out a stack of written “Fu” characters and said in a loud voice: “These “Fu” characters were written by me personally and are given to you. You should also share in my blessings. King Kang, this one is yours.” King Kang took it and looked at it. It was so ugly!

Qian Xiaosi was right. Now it was the turn of Xiuguogong Hou Xiaokang and others to be anxious.

The snow is falling heavily.

Inside the central military tent, Hou Xiaokang, the governor of the Beijing camp and Duke of Xiuguo, was sitting in front of a low table in the middle.

Xie Jing and his generals sat in front of a row of low tables on the left.

Wang Ziteng and some generals of the Beijing Camp sat in front of a row of low tables on the right.

Wang Ziteng was no longer Xie Jing’s deputy general. First, Wang Li died in the battle of Xishan, and then Wang Ziteng won another victory. Emperor Yongxing promoted him to the general of the five military camps to assist Hou Xiaokang in commanding the battle.

After many twists and turns, Wang Ziteng returned to the Beijing Camp. However, his status had changed drastically. He was a military governor of the Beijing Camp and a general. There was a huge difference between them.

Several large pots of open fire were burning fiercely. The sound of the wind outside the tent and the heat inside the tent made everyone look like frost but with flushed faces.

There was silence, and the air seemed to have frozen.

Wang Ziteng could no longer hold back and said, “General, we must make a decision. With such heavy snow, the Baidao Road on Yinshan Mountain is at least a foot deep. No matter how much food and weapons Suiyuan City has, it can’t be transported. While there is still enough food and grass, we should either retreat to the vicinity of Wuchuan Town, or take the initiative to attack and force the Jurchen Tartars to fight!”

That being said, everyone knew that they could not retreat. The difference in strength between the two sides was not big, and the Jurchens had more cavalry. If they retreated, the Jurchen cavalry would surely follow and kill them, which would be a disaster. But now Agui was like a turtle in the Yongding River, hiding in his shell and refusing to fight, which clearly meant to wear them out.

Xie Jing started to curse: “Don’t let me catch you, you bunch of bastards from the White Lotus Sect, or I will burn them all to death!”

The generals all started shouting.

At this moment, Liu Xianglian rushed in angrily and shouted, “Marshal, it’s bad. That bastard Fu Kang’an ran away!”

Everyone’s expression changed and they all looked at Hou Xiaokang.

Hou Xiaokang spoke up: “The Shenjiying artillery will move forward a thousand steps, smash Ah Gui’s turtle shell and tear it open!”

Everyone was shocked. Moving the artillery forward would mean danger. Once the Jurchen Tatar cavalry came out in full force, they would likely rush into the artillery position. That would be too dangerous!

Hou Xiaokang continued, “We will move after dusk, and take our positions before dawn tomorrow, bombard the enemy camp, and fight to the death!” At this point, his eyes swept across everyone’s faces, “You all find it incredible, and Ah Gui would never have thought of it.

Tomorrow morning, give Agui a big surprise while he’s eating. After tearing open the door, the three thousand cavalry will go out, and Xie Jing’s cavalry will follow closely behind. Don’t worry about Agui’s central army camp, go straight to the Tartar’s horse farm, and drive all their horses out. Kill him while he’s sick. The five army camps will attack with all their troops, and the soldiers and horses of the six towns of Yinshan will support them. The musketeers and archers will provide cover in the middle, and we will wipe out the Jurchen Tartars in one fell swoop.”

After a pause, he said, “This is our only chance. Success or failure depends on this one move.”

Xie Jing, Wang Ziteng and all the generals stood up and answered loudly: “Yes!”

Hou Xiaokang: “Okay, let’s go back and prepare.”

“Yes.” Everyone walked out.

Xie Jing walked to the door and stopped, thought for a moment, then walked back and said to Hou Xiaokang: “Should we keep some troops to guard against Fu Kangan? That kid is nothing!”

After a pause, he said, “We are also his enemies!”

Hou Xiaokang: “No need, Yulinwei will be here soon.”

Xie Jing nodded, turned and walked out.

(End of this chapter)