Chapter 6 Internal and External Concerns

One night of wind and snow, but by dawn, it had cleared up, and a round of red sun slowly rose from the horizon. As the sun rose, Xu Jinghong and other people who had rested in the middle of the night also came out of their houses. Their spirits have recovered to the best, and the wounds on their bodies have been completely treated, and they can embark on the journey to Youzhou again.

Out of the house, everyone's eyes fell on the road in the village. More than a dozen people were tied to their hands and feet and removed their clothes. The barnade was still there at this time. However, their bodies have been covered with thick snow, and their bodies have completely become stiff. Although their eyes are open, there is no brilliance. They have been frozen to death in the middle of the night.

"Humph, it's too cheap for them to die like this!" Xiong Geng said angrily. Thinking about the tragic situation of those innocent people who died at their hands, he really couldn't wait to kill them himself. But this indirect method was used because Xu Jinghong said that he would not kill them again.

"Old bear, you don't have to be indignant. They are more tortured by freezing in the cold wind than killing you with a knife. I was blown by the cold wind for a long time and waited for death little by little. The pain is much more difficult than suffering from that knife. Mao Shun observed the bodies of these barren and said, "They are all dead, and none of them can be rescued."

"I finally avenge these dead people!" Everyone's mood is a little better.

But Xu Jinghong shook his head and said, "No, it's not enough to do this. Don't forget that 30,000 Hu people have been scattered to our Song Dynasty, so at least there are more than 100 such people who are harming our people in the Song Dynasty, but we don't know where they are now.

Everyone thought of this question, and their faces became very heavy: "What about this? Team Zheng, should we change the established policy to find these barons and eliminate them?

"This is also unrealistic." Xu Jinghong shook his head and said, "We don't even know their respective goals. How can we find them? Moreover, the fighting power of the Hu people is still very strong. If it is a fair battle, how can we achieve such a victory when the troops are at a disadvantage?

At this time, others no longer propose to find the Hu people. Indeed, this annihilation battle can be so smooth. In the final analysis, there is still some luck. The time and place are on your side. Naturally, you can annihilate the enemy without great losses on your side. But once it falls, it's hard to say who will destroy it.

"Therefore, our top priority now is to rush to Youzhou and report our findings to the generals there. Then use their hands to annihilate the Hu people who are still outside Youzhou City, and the harm of the Hu people scattered everywhere will be minimized. Xu Jinghong gave the final countermeasures.

"Okay, let's go now. If the Hu people outside Youzhou can be annihilated as soon as possible, the people here will be safer!" Everyone shouted, then quickly prepared everything and then started.

Although the sky has cleared up, the snow on the road is extremely thick. If they hadn't got a lot of short-legged horses from the Hu people this time and could ride in the snow, the speed of going to Youzhou would have been much slower this time. But even so, Xu Jinghong and his entourage took more than two days to complete the remaining hundred miles, and it was not until the afternoon of November 15 that they finally came to Youzhou City.

Just like Wang Chong and others first arrived in Youzhou City, Xu Jinghong and others were able to enter the city after handing over the official documents of the Ministry of War. However, because they have already understood the situation here, it is understandable to see that there are no barracks and horses at the south gate.

Entering the gate, Jiang Zhou, the garrison, still saw them. After asking their intentions, he sent someone to take them to the governor's office in the city. Xu Jinghong and others naturally have no opinion on this. Now they are all about meeting Wang Chong, and then change today's war situation through him.

After hearing that Xu Jinghong had arrived, Wang Chong was really happy and came out to welcome him in person. He still esteems this young man who has made a lot of contributions under his command. Wang Chong was greatly gratified that he could help him fight against the barren this time. At least there were more people he could use.

"Jinghong, I heard that you have done a lot of things in the capital. Why do you want to come to northern Xinjiang again?" After a few words of greeting, Wang Chong couldn't help asking. Although he was in the southwest, he was still very concerned about the situation of Daliang. Later, because of the matter in the north, he did not pay much attention to Xu Jinghong's matter.

So, Xu Jinghong talked about all the things in Daliang City in detail, except for the cooperation between him and the emperor. Even so, after listening to his story, Wang Chong still praised: "It's really a newborn calf that is not afraid of tigers. How dare you be the enemy of the family like this, and you actually came here safely."

"Well, in fact, the so-called family is just like this. As long as I find their flaws, I can defeat them." Xu Jinghong said confidently. After a pause, he looked solemn: "It's the big enemy of the Hu people that really makes us feel brains."

"Oh? Did you hear any news all the way from Jinghong? Wang Chong immediately recognized the meaning of his words.

"It's not what I heard, but what I found." Xu Jinghong once again said that he was equivalent to the war with the barren in the past few days, especially emphasizing the movements of the barren he forced to ask. Then he said very seriously, "So, general, I think we must no longer stick to Youzhou now, but should take the initiative to attack! Only in this way will the plot of the Hu people's invasion of northern Xinjiang will not be reached.

Wang Chong smiled bitterly: "It seems that what I have been worried about these days has come true. As expected, they have already divided his troops. It's ridiculous, but we are still here and dare not go out!"

Huh? What, the general knew that the barbarians outside the city were different? Xu Jinghong asked strangely.

"The general saw the strangeness of the Hu people outside the city, and there are also many things that are wrong in this city." Wang Junqing saw that there were no outsiders here, so he told the truth: "Because of this, although we see that there is a problem, we can't take the initiative to attack." With that, he said all the unreasonable problems he found.

"What? Does it mean that... there is collusion inside and outside the city? Xu Jinghong was so shocked that he couldn't speak: "How can this... be possible? This is the frontier, and we are facing the continuous enemy, the Hu people!"

"This matter is indeed very strange, and I can't understand the problem. But this is true. The generals below are hiding something, and there are also contradictions between the context, which makes it impossible for me to send troops to fight against the barbarians. The only thing you can do now is to stick to Youzhou..."

"This...how about this? Now the main force of the Hu people has turned to zero and raged in our northern Xinjiang. And I'm worried that the smashing of our villages and towns is not their real purpose. They will soon make bigger moves. If we don't want to deal with it, I'm afraid that the northern Xinjiang area will be dangerous. Xu Jinghong is really a little anxious now.

"If you are outside, you must first settle inside. For today's plan, only by solving internal problems first and digging out those who have colluded with the Hu people or have unannounced purposes, can we use troops externally. Previously, we didn't know how to start because there was no credible person to investigate this matter. Now that you are here, I'll leave it to you. Wang Chong looked at Xu Jinghong.

Xu Jinghong was stunned, but soon nodded and agreed: "Since the general trusts me so much, I will do my best to get it done. But after hearing what you said, I also came up with an idea. I don't know if I should say it or not.

"But it doesn't matter. There are no outsiders here." Wang Chong laughed.

"Does the general think that these low-ranking civil and military officials really have the courage to do such a big thing? Not to mention collusion with the Hu people and the combination of things inside and outside. No one dares to make this decision just against the former commander Peng Ziming. If there is no strong backer and no absolute guarantee, how can they dare to do this?

"Well, you're right. We did ignore this. So in your opinion, what kind of conspiracy is hidden in it? Wang Chongsi asked after thinking for a while.

"It's hard to say now, but if I have to guess, I'm afraid it should be related to some people in the court. Although those families have held the power of the government, they have never been able to do so in terms of military power. And the general's previous victory in the southwest obviously made them feel threatened. Will they take this opportunity to put their hands into the army?

Wang Chong was stunned. Although this speculation was very bold, it was not unreasonable. He couldn't think of any rebuttal for a moment, and he could only fall into meditation. After a long time, he said, "If it's really like what Jinghong said, there will be more people involved in this matter in northern Xinjiang. However, for the safety of my Song Dynasty, no matter what the road behind him is, I will fight with him to the end!" Speaking of this, the old handsome man suddenly became heroic.

"Mangchi, I will definitely do my best to help you and let these guys who only like to use conspiracy and tricks know how powerful we are!" Xu Jinghong also took a sentence.

"Well, from today on, you don't have to worry about anything else, just check these secrets in my city with your brothers. No matter who the other party is, as long as solid evidence is found, I will never tolerate it!"

Outside Youzhou City, in the Hu people's camp, as the sky darkened, some of their leaders also came to the edge of the bonfire, drinking horse milk wine and eating roast mutton while talking about the current situation.

A black man who was obviously taller than an ordinary barbarian gnawed the leg of the sheep in his hand, and then said to his companions, "Do you think we can really do something by cooperating with those people this time? What benefits will we have after it is done?

"What, Hu Linyang, do you have any ideas?" A solid man smiled and said, "Isn't it enough to cooperate with those Han people this time and agree that we will take all the property in several states in northern Xinjiang after the event?"

"If this is counted, it is naturally enough. But Song people have always been changeable, and we can't help it. Hu Linyang was a little worried and said, "Now we only have 20,000 horses. If nearly 100,000 Song troops in the city come out to fight with all our strength, I'm afraid we will lose a lot. I even doubt whether this is a conspiracy of the Song people.

"Impossible. Don't forget who sent us a letter this time and asked us to send troops to Songdi. He asked us to send troops to Song Di 30 years ago, and as a result, he let us kill the God of War of Song Army. Of course, he will not deceive us this time. Otherwise, as long as we send these two letters to the people of Song, he will be completely finished!"

"When it comes to what happened back then, I feel even more uneasy. In that battle, our losses were actually greater. In this way, tens of thousands of elites were defeated by the Song army, making our three clan unable to recover over the years.

"This is just an accident. And there is always a price to pay for killing a storm. In the past 30 years, haven't the Song people been in harmony with us as agreed before? So, this guy's words are still credible.

"Moreover, we don't all have to follow the will of the Song people." Just as they were happy, a white man who was very different from their clothes but had a little Han demeanor also came over. Seeing him appear, everyone was obviously a little restrained and quickly moved away from the place closest to the bonfire and let him sit down.

"Head Xiao, what do you mean by this? Do we have any other plans?" Hu Linyang quickly asked.

After Xiao's leader picked up a bag of horse milk wine and drank it, he continued, "Yes, since the Song people gave us such a good opportunity, how can we easily let it go? In fact, if we only take those two Chen soldiers for less than 50,000, the city defense is far from Youzhou, and the city is not prepared at all, we don't need to send 30,000 elites like this, and it's enough to spend 10,000 elite horses.

"Then our real intention is..." Several people stared at the leader Xiao with anticipation, hoping to hear more important news from his mouth. But this time, Chief Xiao stopped talking, but picked up a golden roasted sheep leg and nibbled it.

"Lead Xiao, just tell me what the strategy is. We won't betray our tribe." Obviously, the Hu people were not as patient as the Han people. When they saw that he didn't say anything, they urged them to ask more urgently.

Leader Xiao smiled faintly and said a few words in a low voice. After listening to his words, everyone's faces were full of surprise, and then they smiled surprise: "So, no wonder our three ethnic groups came out at the same time this time. It turns out that they still have such a goal!"

"Thirty years ago, Song people actually calculated us. So this time, we have to take back ten times what we lost in the past. Leader Xiao's face was solemn: "But this matter is absolutely confidential. You can't let outsiders know, otherwise we will not only fail to do it this time, but we will suffer great losses!"

"Don't worry, we won't betray our country like the Song people!" The words of the Hu people were full of contempt and disdain for some Song people.

At the same time, in Daliang City, the capital of the Song Dynasty, several gorgeous and elegant people are also talking about the same topic. In the middle, there are Ye Mingyang, the head of the Ye family, and Wu Jingzi, the head of the Wu family.

"We are taking such a big risk this time, but we must not lose it again. As long as this plan succeeds, it can not only remove stumbling stones such as Wang Chong and Peng Ziming, but also allow our two families to truly seize power in the army. At that time, the Song Dynasty will be completely up to our two families. Wu Jingzi laughed.

"The more things are at the last minute, the more careful you will be." Ye Mingyang shook his head and said, "We can't show any flaws, otherwise once that person knows something, the situation will change again."

"Well, I didn't plan to do such a thing yet. But who would have thought that as the king of a country, he had a wide range of eyeliners and was so fierce that we had to do something extraordinary!" Hearing the other party talk about this, Wu Jingzi became angry.

Ye Mingyang shook his head: "To be honest, as important ministers of the imperial court, it is indeed inappropriate for us to do this. But for the future of our two families, we can only sacrifice some people.

"Two adults, do you really believe in the Hu people so much?" An official next to him who knew the cause asked uneasily, "Hu is greedy. If they really take down the northern frontier portals such as Youzhou, our Central Plains can..."

"We are naturally prepared for this, and the 100,000 elites in Youzhou are prepared for this. If they take something as planned, it's fine. If they really have any other ideas, we won't be able to come back!" Ye Mingyang said murderously.

"The only thing to worry about now is what Wang Chong will do in Youzhou. After all, he is the commander of the three armies. If he sees something wrong and makes us act unexpectedly, the situation will change." Wu Jingzi said.

"Wang Chong is the most old-fashioned. Even if he finds something wrong, he will wait and see what happens with his usual style. And when he wanted to do something, I was afraid that the two states had fallen into the hands of the Hu people. At that time, we can impeach Wang Chong, saying that since he is the commander-in-chief, he not only did nothing, but also made my border defense center become an enemy. No matter how old Wang Chong's qualifications are, I'm afraid he can't stay in the army anymore, right?

"Yes, although Wang Chong is threatened, he is still under their control, so this time, we will succeed!" Wu Jingzi nodded repeatedly, as if he were talking to others and cheering himself up.

In this cold winter, the northern border defense of the Song Dynasty was facing an unprecedented crisis, and people inside and outside were calculating about it. At this time, Xu Jinghong, who was in it, had just sensed the smell of conspiracy and began to take action!