On July 23, the sky was cloudy, and on the north bank of the Wei River, the rangers of the Jin army were still patrolling along the river as usual, and from time to time they visited the Song army camp on the opposite bank. In the water near the south bank, dozens of small boats with small hulls are parked, which is the instrument used to cross the Yellow River by the Jurchen army in the first place. Of course, I don't expect it to cross the Weishui now, it's really going to be closed, and the pontoon bridge will be erected, who will still take the boat? The group of cavalry cruised back and forth, always feeling that something was wrong today, except for the change in weather, there was something different from the past.

After a while, someone discovered the strange place, why didn't the Western Army see the military training on the other side of the strait today? At this time, they lined up early, and the trumpet roared loudly, as if no one could hear it. Looking at the military camp of the Song army on the other side, the camp is standing upright, but why don't you see anyone?

The suspicious Jurchens got off their horses one after another and ran to the river to look, but because the distance was too far, they couldn't see clearly. But I can't see it clearly, a military camp has less than thousands of people, so it won't be like this, right? This simply sees anything going on! Later, the officer picked a few brave ones, summoned the boatmen, and took the boat to the opposite shore. But he still didn't dare to be careless, holding the bowstring in his hand, taking the feather arrow, and ready to respond at any time. When the boat reached the middle of the river, the Jurchens stopped, and looked carefully towards the Song camp, but they did not see a human figure. What's going on? Song Jun doesn't want river defense? Isn't he afraid that we will steal across the river?

Although it was confirmed that the Song military camp was empty, these golden soldiers still did not dare to go over. After discussion, it was decided to escalate.

When stationed in Tongzhou, Jin Jiang, who guarded the Pujin pontoon bridge, was 19 years old. Don't look at his age, this person is ruthless and poisonous, especially to suppress the Shaanxi Righteous Army, he spared no effort, once used 700 soldiers, entered the mountains of Danzhou, met 3,000 righteous troops, and was defeated. He also broke the rebel army with 4,000 people, captured its leader alive, and executed it with his own hands. The rebel army Zhang Zongge, who defected to Xu Wei, suffered losses under him.

When he learned the news that the Song military camp on the other side was empty, he immediately sent people to explore again. The Jin army took more than 10 boats, landed on the north bank, and entered the camp of the river defense unit of the Shaanxi-Chinese Army to see, and it was really empty. He also spied on the two Hu'er army camps in Dingrong, but the results surprised the Jin army, but there was still no one. Then go to Dingrong City...... In the city of Dunzhou, the cool weather relieved almost all the soldiers of the Jin Army. It can only be said that Shaanxi is too hot, and it is said that it is still the western part of the Great Song Dynasty, so what is the heat in the south? Isn't it the same as baking on the stove? You say that this kind of bird place, how did the Song people get used to it?

As for whether to fight Guanzhong or Huanqing, the generals of the Jin Army were at loggerheads. Yelu Ma Wu strongly advocated the capture of Huanqing, and continued to adhere to his strategy of "first attacking the edge of the three roads". The sick Wanyan Lousu advocated capturing the rich land in Guanzhong and striking at the command hub of the Western Army. Although Mu Han was inclined to take Guanzhong in his heart, because of Ma Wu's words, he said that Chang'an was a big city, and the Western Route Army did not have the experience of attacking large cities like the Eastern Route Army, so he was a little hesitant.

In the marshal's mansion, Mu Han was listening to Li Zhi, who had just arrived in Shaanxi, report on the battle situation in Hedong. After he led the elite of the Jin army southward, he almost wiped out most of the rebels in Hedong, and those who slipped through the net were transferred to the mountains. When entering Shaanxi, only Zezhou and Pingyang were left unconquered. In his plan, no matter how incompetent Li Zhi is, he should be able to capture it.

But the result disappointed him, Li Zhi defeated Zezhou and defeated the two brothers Shao Xing and Shao Yi, who were known as "Uncle Shao". But he was at a loss for Binh Duong. Staying in Pingyang was Yang Jinbu under Xu Wei. Yang Jin was the "hornless cow" who had a holiday with Xu Jiu in Xiajin County, the Jin army invaded the south, he pulled up a team of rebels, and later took advantage of Hujie to recruit troops and buy horses, and Xu Wei released his previous suspicions. The Hujie army withdrew to Shaanxi, and he stayed in Pingyang, with only 2,000 Hujie troops and a part of the rebel army that defected.

But this is such a small number of people, relying on the "two trenches and three walls" city defense system set up by Wang Yu at the beginning, he repeatedly repelled the attacks of Li Jun. When the remnants of the rebels in Hedong heard the news, they rushed to defect, leaving Li Zhi helpless.

"Are you trying to tell me that Pingyang is indestructible?" Sticky Han looked directly at Li Zhi, and his tone was not quite right.

Li Zhi coughed dryly, and said stubbornly: "The minister of the country is angry, and the lowly position has set up camps all over the periphery of Pingyang to trap each other, and the city is broken, but it is only a matter of time." ”

Sticky Han glanced at him disdainfully, the troops of the two rivers in the south are really far inferior to the western army, what kind of goods are these?

This time, he transferred Li Zhi to come, and he didn't expect him to attack the city, but he just defended the city for the Jin army and swept away the righteous army. So that the Jin army can free up their hands to attack the western army.

"Prime Minister! Xi has no urgent news! The Jurchen general Wanyan Huonu rushed into the hall and said loudly.

His sentence attracted the attention of the generals in the hall, what emergency can the same state have? Don't believe that the Hu'er Army still dares to cross the Wei River?

"What?" Sticky Han asked.

"According to investigation, in the area of Dingrong on the south bank of the Wei River, all the Song troops have withdrawn! Even the people ran away! As soon as Wanyan Huonu said this, the whole hall was shocked!

After being stunned for a moment, Mu Han suddenly got up and ran to the map, followed by Yelu Mawu, pointing out the location of the Dingrong army on the map. From Dingrong to Chang'an, about 200 miles away, a horse Pingchuan, the Song army went, and it was bound to run to Jingzhao Mansion. In this way, the Purple Gold Tiger is going to defend Chang'an? In other words, he is short of troops, and he still needs to evacuate the troops on the front line of Dingrong to reinforce?

"Prime Minister! The Purple Gold Tiger gathered its forces to defend Chang'an, and our army could take the opportunity to capture Huanqing! Jeruma said in a loud voice.

Sticky Han didn't say anything, his fingers slid across the map that Zhang Shen had offered, sliding from Dingrong to Chang'an. At a distance of 200 miles, the Ma army could arrive in one day.

Wanyan Lousu saw that Mu Han did not speak, and said prudently: "Prime Minister of State, from Dingrong to Chang'an, the terrain is conducive to our army's galloping. The withdrawal of the Hu'er Army, our army can drive straight in, I suggest, go straight to Guanzhong! ”

How many times am I going to say that? Chang'an is a big city, and the Purple Gold Tiger has gathered troops again, and you can't eat it without hundreds of thousands of horses! Yes, it is indeed of great significance to defeat Chang'an, but not to mention whether you can beat it or not, even if you let you win it, how heavy will it be to pay?

"You have attacked Pingyang, you should know that Xu Wei is also good at defending! With our troops, how can we take Chang'an? ”

Wanyan Lousu did not answer him, but said to Mu Han: "The capture of Yan'an has accumulated considerable experience for our army, and if we detain Chang'an, we will definitely be able to learn from it." When we first attacked Pingyang, our army repeatedly fought unfavorable battles, all because the Song army built a new city defense in Pingyang. However, since the city of Chang'an is large, it is impossible to strengthen the city defense on a large scale in a short period of time. Our army should advance quickly, and launch a fierce attack while Xu Wei's defense is not fully deployed! ”

Speaking of this, he looked at Yelu Ma Wu: "As for the strength of the army, our army's own soldiers can be transferred out of 110,000, Zhang Shenbu can be transferred out of 10,000, and the thieves who surrendered are more than 30,000, and Li Zhi can be transferred out of 40,000, adding up before and after, 200,000 is not a problem." ”

"Even if the army is sufficient, how can the grain and grass be organized? With so many mouths, the daily consumption is huge! Fighting Chang'an is not a matter of ten days and a half months, when will it take? When the time comes, if the city is not taken, our army will retreat due to the lack of food! Jeruma was furious. Ever since the Dingrong fiasco, he has been deeply skeptical of Lou Su's strategic vision and command level. Listening to him advocate attacking Guanzhong again, how can you not be angry?

Lou Su was not in a hurry, and replied calmly: "The grain and grass brought by our army could have been supported for several months, but when we conquered the thieves in Hedong, we seized another batch, entered Shaanxi, and cut new wheat, and another batch. Even if the grain and grass are not good, Yan Yan has been obtained by me, and Guanzhong will soon be under the rule of our army, people will have to eat, and if they want to eat, they have to farm, and if they have land, are they afraid that there will be no food? What if you surround him for a year? ”

Jerumawu almost didn't jump, and was about to refute it with all his might, when Muhan, who had not spoken, raised his hand to stop their heated argument. Lang said: "To take Huanqing, you must make a detour to Yaozhou and advance layer by layer, which is the shortcoming of our army." The Purple Gold Tiger gathered its troops, and if it fought Chang'an, our army could drive directly to the city. Comparison of the two phases......"

Jerema's five hearts are in a hurry! Leaning forward, and when he was about to speak, Sticky Han waved his right hand: "I have made up my mind!" Wave the teacher Chang'an! Gather troops on the same day and approach the city of Chang'an in the shortest possible time! ”

Chang'an, Shaanxi Xuanfu Division.

It was lunch time, and the officials of the various departments and offices were supposed to eat. But the Xuanfu Division was very lively, and a group of officials represented by Wan Qiaowei of the Criminal Department had arrived at the Xuanfu Division since the morning, blocking Li Gang's request for permission.

In the second hall, the adjutants of the Xuanfu Division, who were originally working here, were unbearable and had already run away. Li Gang sat behind the desk, his head placed next to him, and he was writing like a fly, giving instructions on various articles, most of which were related to military supplies. He turned a deaf ear to the noise around him.

"Xuanxiang, the gold thief is coming, all the divisions in Shaanxi are in Chang'an City, how to get it in case of loss? We are not for our own safety, but for the overall situation of Shaanxi! Wan Qiao's saliva was dry all morning, but Li Gang was stunned as if nothing happened.

This made Wan Qian very unhappy, during this time, he enjoyed high prestige in the hearts of the military and people of Chang'an! Why? It was because he strongly opposed the retreat to Qin Long! But now it's strange, the army is not retreating, but he is retreating.

"Xu Jingluo has fought viciously with the Jin army over the years and has never retreated, Chang'an has him in charge of defense, and your colleagues don't need to worry too much." Li Gang didn't raise his head, and the pen walked away from the dragon and snake.

"It's not that we don't believe Xu Wei, I'm just afraid of what happens." Someone whispered.

Li Gang still didn't look up, and laughed, just after finishing his criticism at this time. He put down the pen, looked up and said, "Do you remember what happened to Tong Guan at the beginning?" ”

Tong Guan was the Xuanfu envoy of Hedong at the beginning, and the people below reported to him several times, saying that the Jin army was going to invade the Song Dynasty and was already assembling a large army. But this old thief who was crowned king as a eunuch didn't believe it. When Jin Junzhen came, he was about to flee, but the civil and military officials in Taiyuan City stopped him and said that you are the highest governor of Hedong, how can you escape at this time?

Tong Guan said, I am the minister of Xuanfu, and I am not the commander of the Economic Strategy Division, if I stay to fight, what are you going to do? As a result, he not only escaped with oil on the soles of his feet, but also took away tens of thousands of Changjie elites, which directly led to the emptiness of Hedong's defense!

When Li Gang told the story, a group of officials were silent. Li Xuanfu said this, which is tantamount to showing that he will live and die with Chang'an and will never leave. If you run, you're Tongguan! What happened to Tong Guan? Hanging their heads on the walls of Tokyo!

Yes, Li Xuanfu has this attitude, what else can we say? Let's go, let's eat, in case the Purple Gold Tiger can't bear it, we don't know how many more meals we can eat. A group of officials looked at each other with big eyes, and finally everyone had the same eyes, and they began to leave.

Wan Qianyu gave Li Gang a salute, turned around and walked outside the hall, and as soon as he arrived at the door, he saw an official coming from the atrium. Xu Wei, dressed in a new purple uniform, wore a shiny gold belt, carried his hands behind his back, and carried a horsewhip, and walked over leisurely. This scene made them very worried, very worried.

When has this been? I said that Xiao Xu Jing is a little fair, are you visiting the garden? At this time, as a marshal, you should transfer the generals everywhere, fill the city wall with it, and set up crossbows wherever you can set up crossbows, so that the Jurchens will not dare to fight Chang'an again. You're good, you're more leisurely than Li Xuanfu.

Xu Wei walked over, sang a big fat promise, made a quartet, and said loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen, be polite." ”

Wan Qiyu squinted at him, frowned, and said, "Xu Jingluo, the military situation is urgent, you should be wearing a military uniform." ”

"What? Ben Shuai wears a military uniform, can he make Wan Qian feel more at ease? Xu Wei asked with a smile.

When he told him the central matter, Wan Qiaoyu stopped answering, coughed, bypassed him, and went straight out. Most of the rest of the people ignored the Purple Gold Tiger, and only a few said hello to him. Xu Wei watched the group of officials leave, shook his head and smiled. Then he stepped into the hall and saw that Li Gang was sorting out the plan, so he called out "Xuanfu Xianggong" and stepped forward to salute.

"Oh! It's just in time, you have already been instructed on the article, so take it. Li Gang got up and moved his muscles and bones.

Xu Wei glanced at the case and asked casually: "Xuan Xiang, Wan Qian and the others are still asking for the division to be moved out of Chang'an?" ”

Li Gang chuckled lightly and said with relief: "You don't have to worry, I swear to stick to the city with you and never retreat!" I won't return, what reason do they have? ”

Xu Wei praised a few words, and secretly said in his heart that it was Wan Qiao who jumped up and down at the beginning, and even incited the people. Okay, now I won't retreat, I'll defend Chang'an, but I can't pull their bunch of birds together! We are just a string of grasshoppers on a rope, and no one can run!

"Xuan Xiang, there are a few things that I hope to make clear in advance. If there is a collision, please also face the sea. After a while, Xu Wei's opening remarks were a bit of a doorway.

Li Gang knew that he had always been cool, and if there was no reason, he would never have said these words. Then he said: "But it doesn't hurt to talk about it, as long as it can be done, it will be accurate." ”

"Since the lowly post has been ordered to guard Chang'an, he deserves to die. But before the war, I hope that Xuan Xiang can agree to a few lowly positions, a few requests. Xu Wei paused at this point.

Seeing that Li Gang was listening, he continued: "The first priority is that for all military affairs, I should report to the prime minister, but please ask the prime minister to ......."

Having said this, Li Gang had already understood, and said truncatedly: "You can rest assured of this, fighting a war is your business, and the prime minister will never interfere with the command!" Not only that, the officials of all departments in Shaanxi are not allowed to meddle in military affairs! This point will be explained later by the convening of all the divisions! ”

Xu Wei nodded, and said, "Secondly, please ask Prime Minister Xuan to temporarily assign the Jingzhao Mansion Capital to the jurisdiction of the lowly office." "Once the battle to defend the city begins, firearms will inevitably be used, although the whole class of the Shaanxi Huadu Courtyard has been transferred, how can the scale be compared with the Jingzhao Mansion's Courtyard? Without this support, how can the manufacture of firearms be guaranteed?

Li Gang was unequivocal and waved his hand: "It should be like this, why bother to say it again?" ”

"Furthermore, please do your best to allocate the food and ordnance needed for your humble duties." Xu Wei said as he paid attention to the other party's reaction.

Li Gang thought for a while and agreed: "You are the prefect of Jingzhao, in times of war, you can do things first and report later, Ziang is relieved, and this minister will grant you full power." ”

As soon as his voice fell, Xu Wei took three steps back, bowed his head and said: "If this is the case, I dare to say that the city is in the people, and the city is dead!" ”

Li Gang stepped forward to hold his hand, sighed without saying a word, and then said: "Ziang, when I was in Tokyo, I knew that you were extraordinary. Sure enough, the prestige of the Purple Gold Tiger shook the two rivers of Shaanxi. I know that the background of your dispatch in Tokyo has brought you convenience and constraints. Others can ignore the moderation of the Xuanfu Division, and the yang is against the yin, but you can't. Seeing that he was fighting in front of him, but he was watching from the wall, some emotions were of course. But, Ziang, the national disaster is at the head, if everyone wants to protect themselves, who will protect the people? Who will guard the territory of the Son of Heaven? ”

Xu Wei Zhengse said: "The lesson of Xuanxiang is yes, and the humble duty should be kept in mind. ”

Li Gang patted him on the shoulder and said with concern: "Didn't you have lunch?" ”

"Haha, people in the army, the most taboo is an empty stomach! The humble position has been used, so he will not fight and declare his minister, and take his leave. Xu Wei said with a smile. Li Gang gave a few more instructions, and Xu Wei withdrew from the hall.

It goes without saying that it is my duty to preserve the people. Defending the territory for the Son of Heaven? Pull it down, he doesn't care about it himself, why should I eat salty radishes and worry about it? I guard Chang'an, not for the official family, how can Xuan Xiang know it?

Out of the Xuanfu Division, to the market, at this time Chang'an City has become a sabre-rattling fortress. Everywhere you can see the troops hurrying forward, and on the four walls of the wall, the armor soldiers are like a tide, all nervously preparing their weapons to wait for the golden people.

Xu Wei didn't take a few steps on the horse, but he saw Yang Yan leading a team of soldiers over, so he stepped forward, took out a Chen note written by Li Gang from his side, and called: "Yang Yan! ”

Yang Yan saw him, strode forward and said, "Handsome! ”

"Take the article of the Xuanxiang Minister's instructions, go to the arsenal, but if you can use it, you will move it out." Xu Weilang said.

"Order!" Yang Yan shouted, took a note of Chen, waved his hand and said, "Brothers, come with me!" ”