Became a feudal lord in the late Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 148 Sorry, I’m an undercover agent

When an army begins to run out of food, it means that there is no food within a few dozen miles.

Liu Ling was like this in the desert at the beginning. He did not hesitate to throw away the previous orders prohibiting plunder and marched all the way in the desert, plundering the party tribes along the way to maintain supplies.

However, it is understandable that Liu Ling's base is Yan Yun, so in order to maintain his image in his own place, he still puts a layer of chains on the army as much as possible.

In this regard, many officers and soldiers in the army have already experienced Liu Ling's tireless cultural brainwashing over and over again, and have long recognized this approach.

As for Xixia and other places besides Yanyun, these Qiu Ba naturally don't care.

"Most of the army members are Liao and Xia people. It cannot be said that they are accustomed to robbing Song people, but many people must have heard of it."

The Xia Kingdom's Grass-Drawing Valley is notorious. The Xia Lord originally had a lot of captured soldiers with him, which were the elite troops of the Xia Kingdom specifically for plundering. Later, most of these captured soldiers surrendered to Liu Ling's tent.

After only a few months of relief, the atmosphere in Yanyun suddenly became tense again. Most of the high-level generals had taken the hint and began to secretly mobilize their troops and prepare for war. The people below were accustomed to it.

After all, Yanyun is caught between the Three Kingdoms and can be called a "place of four wars."

Han Fang looked at Liu Ling and said, "Your Majesty was relatively friendly with the Song people before, but now if a war breaks out, looting will be inevitable. Please be prepared."

"I know this clearly."

Liu Ling was writing in his diary with his head down, and replied without raising his head: "It's just that on the surface, we still have to issue an explicit order to prohibit it, and to restrain each department. Unless the Song army takes the initiative to attack, our department will never be able to attack."

"I understand."

Sometimes you can just talk about the excuses for starting a war, but sometimes you have to find a reason that is justifiable on the surface.

Moreover, different excuses represent different political purposes and war goals.

The Song people were preparing their troops, and the large-scale troop mobilization in the Hebei and Hedong areas could not be concealed at all. Liu Ling's eyes and ears were everywhere, constantly relaying news for him.

Tong Guan once petitioned the court to set up four general managers in Hebei: Xin Xingzong of Zhongshan, Wang Yuan of Zhending, Yang Weizhong of Hezhong, and Wang Yu. Xin Xingzong and Liu Yanqing died in the northwest, and their bodies have not been found yet. The other three general managers are all Tong Guan. The confidant generals, chief among them Yang Weizhong, have now been mobilized to lead troops in the north of Hebei and Hedong.

In the capital, King Yun received bribes from Liu Ling every month. This time he wrote a stern letter to Liu Ling, warning him that the imperial court had mobilized more than 150,000 soldiers and horses, and planned to use Tong Guan, Prince of Guangyang County, as its commander. , went up from Baigou Hebei a month later, taking the old road of conquering Liao three years ago, and at the same time sent cavalry to attack Yanjing, so that Liu Ling should not think about resisting.

Although he had some friendship with Liu Ling in the past, this letter was their "letter of severance."

Therefore, Liu Ling now knows all about the strength and march route of the Song army.

There are currently five armies in Yan: Zhenyuan, Yongqing, Shengjie, Weixing, and Ningyuan. Among them, Zhao Heshou's Ningyuan Army has the most ordinary equipment and average soldiers. It was temporarily transferred to Yunzhong for solid defense. Han Shizhong's Yongqing Army He was transferred to Yanjing to guard against the Jin people.

There are many Liao and Xia people in Liu Ling's army, and most of them have fought against the Song people, so they now have ready-made experience that can be used to formulate tactics and train the army specifically for the Song army.

The clerks were leaving the office with handwritten orders. After Liu Ling issued the last order, he stood up and stretched.

"Let the people of Song Dynasty remember this battle forever."

"Is the imperial court planning to conduct the Northern Expedition?"

Master Zhong suddenly stood up when he was halfway through the letter, wishing he could grab the old gelding and beat him up.

After he came to Yunzhong, he paid great attention to collecting the geographical conditions of Yanyun and the strength of the troops stationed in various places, and he gained something.

Among all the five armies currently in Yanyun, the Zhenyuan Army is naturally the strongest, followed by the Yongqing and Shengjie armies. These two armies have the most cavalry, and most of them are heavy cavalry. Previously, when these two armies entered the grassland, they were all the same. They advanced with great success, and the Wanggu tribe and the grassland coalition forces who were directly attacked had to surrender.

As for Gao Feng's Wei Xingjun and Zhao Heshou's Ningyuan Army, they are more inclined to local defenders, and the quality and equipment of their soldiers are very average.

It's just that the three armies in front alone have a total of more than 40,000 soldiers, not to mention the Xixia who are eyeing them eagerly, and the grassland tribes who have just surrendered.

If the latter two heard that Liu Ling was at war with the Song Dynasty, they would be happy to send troops to support them, especially Xixia. For the Queen Mother Yelu, the Song people simply gave her a perfect opportunity to compete for power.

"No, I have to"

Zhong Shidao was stunned as soon as he reached the door, remembering that he was in the clouds now, and Liu Ling's troops were stationed around him.

He still has four thousand Western troops in his hand. If he doesn't take them away quickly, if a war really breaks out, these four thousand Western troops will definitely be killed here.

"Afu."

Ah Fu is a thin, middle-aged domestic servant, an old butler with a good taste as a teacher, and a confidant who has always been by his side to serve him.

"Owner."

"You go and invite Yang Keshi, Qu Duan, and these generals over for me. You must do it quietly and try not to let others notice."

The old housekeeper nodded and immediately left to do things.

Zhong Shidao sat in the government office and waited anxiously. He felt that his behavior was too risky and that he acted too late.

"Hey, more than 30,000 troops are stationed in the clouds. Now you are thinking of turning against Liu Ling. Tong Guan, you old dog, don't you even care about the lives of more than 30,000 men?"

In the evening, the old housekeeper came back, followed by several generals.

"General, I've seen you." "Okay, okay, please sit down quickly," Zhong Shidao waved to the old butler, "Close the door. If anyone comes outside, knock on the door immediately."

The old housekeeper bowed and saluted, and closed the door when he left.

Yang Keshi looked at Zhong Shidao and asked in a deep voice on behalf of the others: "Commander, why did you come to us specifically?"

"You must have heard about Yan Yun, right?"

Zhong Shidao looked at everyone's expressions carefully, Qu Duan smiled and replied: "When the Song Dynasty is about to start fighting, the people above are pressing hard, and the people below are fighting hard. Yanyun's side is different from the Liao Kingdom three years ago. But it’s different, I’ve probably been prepared for it.”

Three years ago, most of the troops of the Liao Kingdom were fighting against the Jin Kingdom in the north. Only the "small court" of the Liao Kingdom was stationed in Yan. In this way, the entire Song Dynasty's 100,000 soldiers and horses were defeated.

Now, the military and civilian forces of the Yanyun Land have been fully integrated, not to mention the help of the Yinshan Grassland and the Xia Kingdom. It is more like the Liao Kingdom decades ago. Although there are still shortcomings, it went to war with the Song Dynasty. It's more than enough.

"Commander, please be precise and we will all listen to you!" someone said immediately.

"Um"

Master Zhong nodded slightly, "Liu Ling is a smart man. He dispersed all 30,000 forbidden troops and placed them in various places to defend the city. We no longer have the time to contact the generals of the forbidden troops. Therefore, we still have to do our best at the moment. To protect the four thousand Western troops in their hands.

I plan to bypass Yunzhongfu from Fengshengzhou and go all the way south. In this way, I only need to go south along Fanshan to reach Yuzhou smoothly. "

Weizhou is now the land of the Song Dynasty, and the Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty is stationed there. Although it may not be able to withstand it, at least it is fighting in one's own home.

Seeing everyone nodding in agreement, Zhong Shidao smiled happily and said, "Also, the guard general of Feng Sheng Prefecture is named Han Minyi. This man was originally a lieutenant general of the Ever Victorious Army, and then followed Liu Ling, and was considered his confidant. Tonight, we can lure him and kill him, so that when we leave, there will be no soldiers chasing him."

Zhong Shidao turned around and wanted to get the map. Suddenly he heard a slight sound in his ears. His heart tightened and he recognized that it was the friction of the sword blade and the scabbard.

He turned his head slightly and saw Yang Keshi pressing the sword blade against his back.

"Commander Yang, 伱"

"Mr. Zhong, we are all responsible for our own masters." Yang Keshi said calmly. Behind him, two generals stood up with their swords drawn, and without hesitation pointed their swords at the confused colleagues next to them.

"Don't move!"

Zhong Shidao sighed slightly. Just when Yang Keshi thought he had given in, Zhong Shidao's old body suddenly showed the opposite sensitivity. Taking advantage of the moment when Yang Keshi was distracted, he suddenly turned around and clamped his right hand like a pliers. Holding Yang Keshi's wrist, he immediately took away his sword with his left hand.

Yang Keshi slowly took a step back and stood up straight at Zhong Shidao's signal.

"Why are you betraying me? Song Dynasty has never treated you badly!" Zhong Shidao shouted sternly.

Seeing that Yang Keshi was controlled, the other two generals hesitated and did not sheath their swords, but continued to stand in a stalemate with Zhong Shidao.

Here, Qu Duan stood up and came to the side of Zhongshidao, and whispered: "Commander, let me hold him hostage."

"Hold it tight." Just now Qu Duan didn't stand up with the other two, so Master Zhong believed Qu Duan and handed him the sword.

Qu Duan took the sword and looked at it, then placed the blade across Zhong Shidao's neck.

Master Zhong said: "_?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhongshuai."

Zhong Shidao roared: "Thief! Thief!"

Yang Keshi rubbed his wrists, sat back on the chair, and looked at Master Zhong calmly.

"I also ask Mr. Zhong to understand me, and don't think of messing around. If Mr. Zhong is willing to surrender, my King of Han will definitely be overjoyed."

"What if I don't surrender?"

Master Zhongdao felt cold when he saw that they were all on guard and that he could no longer seize the sword.

"Then I will have no choice but to ask Commander-in-Chief to die."

Looking at Mr. Zhong's wide eyes, Yang Keshi smiled: "But the king said that he is willing to raise Mr. Zhong regardless of whether he surrenders or not. He also asked Mr. Zhong to rest in Fengshengzhou and wait for my king. Triumph, when that time comes, you can think of how to tell him."

Zhong Shidao was still cursing, and the other generals who had not surrendered looked desperate.

Yang Keshi clapped his hands, the door outside opened, and several soldiers let go of the old housekeeper and sent in a dozen beauties.

For a moment, the room was filled with the fragrance of makeup. The beauties each had their own styles and enchanting postures, looking at Master Zhong with a smile.

"The king has ordered us to entertain Xianggong Zhong and all our colleagues well," Yang Keshi stood up, casually hugged a beautiful woman, and smiled at them: "The Song Dynasty does not want you, the court has forgotten you, and only the King of Han pities you.

These days, with them accompanying Mr. Zhong and all of you, I think you won't be too lonely. Maybe, Mr. Zhong’s treasured sword is still young, and he might have another one, hahaha.”

(End of this chapter)