Chapter 307: The Dark Clouds of War Begin

Although the three letters in his hand arrived at about the same time, from the way they were delivered. Chen Heng judged that the first letter to be sent was from his father-in-law, because his messenger was the servant of the Lin family.

And the wording of Lin Ruhai in the letter was also in the tone of a family letter. Obviously, when Lin Ruhai wrote this letter, he just had a premonition that something bad was going to happen, and there should be no obvious changes in the capital. That's why his father-in-law, as an elder, told Chen Heng to protect himself.

As for the letters between Li Zhi and Wei Yinghong, they should have been sent in the past few days. Although there was no explicit mention between the lines of the former, the request to Chen Heng was very obvious. The latter's letter was delivered 800 miles in an expedited manner in the name of the new cabinet deputy assistant.

In terms of officialdom, Chen Heng was half a disciple of Wei Yinghong. In terms of relationship, Chen Heng had to call him "uncle" when he met him privately. Therefore, Wei Yinghong did not hide anything in the letter, and directly stated that the court was in some difficulties now. The statement of "wanting both" really made Chen Heng very embarrassed.

It is true that Ping'an Prefecture is a dangerous place. Whether it is going north, south, west or east, it is an important place in the world. Wei Yinghong has many requirements. He is in a stable mentality of not wanting unrest in various places, and he also hopes that Chen Heng can rely on the troops at hand to hold Shui Rong, Shi Ding and others in Ping'an Prefecture.

But no matter how accurate and unique Wei Yinghong's vision is, how could he not think that the troops at hand are mainly civilians? Chen Heng was very puzzled and had to sit in his seat and think carefully.

Seeing that he was thinking deeply, Lu Yingxiong, Liu Xianglian and others did not dare to discuss too much loudly. Only after waiting for a while, he spoke carefully to ask the adults what they meant.

Seeing Chen Heng finally come back to his senses, Lu Yingxiong asked, "Sir, are they really going to rebel?"

At the moment, the other party has not raised the banner of rebellion, and Lu Yingxiong is concerned about Wei Yinghong's judgment in the letter. On the one hand, he feels that this news is too shocking and a little unbelievable. On the other hand, he feels that such a big thing, the judgment of the superiors will definitely not be wrong.

In his heart, it was like two villains fighting, and Lu Yingxiong had to ask Chen Heng in front of him for advice.

"I'm afraid it's almost certain." Chen Heng nodded slowly. He knew that at this moment, it was a matter of fighting or running, and he should also make a decision to appease people's hearts.

"Sir, what should we do then?" Liu Xianglian was impatient, and he didn't care about Lu Yingxiong's shock, and hurriedly came up to ask.

Chen Heng was also troubled by this problem. To be honest, relying on these civilians at hand, it would be best to run as far as possible. But Wei Yinghong is the leader of the civil officials, and now he has issued a clear order. If he refused to execute it, he would undoubtedly push his father-in-law and himself to the opposite side of the new party in the court.

In addition, once the rebels were allowed to roam around and plunder, they would inevitably kill many people in the world. Chen Heng knew that he had few choices, so he made up his mind and said immediately: "Fight!"

No matter how hard or difficult the prospect was, he was afraid that the leader would lose sight of the big picture and he had no idea. Hearing that Chen Heng finally made the decision, although Lu Yingxiong and others showed fear on their faces, the hesitation between their brows dissipated a lot.

"It may be that Wei Ge Lao made a mistake in his judgment. If we wait for a few days, we may hear the news that the general has succeeded in suppressing the bandits." Lu Yingxiong laughed dryly and said something gossiping, trying to ease the sudden solemn atmosphere in the tent.

Chen Heng did not have the good attitude of Lord Lu, and he stood up directly in front of the sand table with his hands folded. After a period of production, the original simple sand table has become very fine. There are marks on various checkpoints, official roads, mountains and rivers.

The top priority is to seize the initiative between the two sides. Whoever holds the initiative on the battlefield will have a greater strategic buffer. So how to seize this initiative?

I am not a worm in the other party's stomach, how can I know the movements in the deep mountains and old forests? How to judge when the other party will rebel, whether to send troops now or not? Chen Heng thought about it for a long time, and he really thought of a barely reliable method.

Food and grass!!

Before the army was trapped, they only brought more than ten days of food and grass. Thinking of this, Chen Heng's spirit immediately became excited. He carefully calculated the time, and it has been ten days since Shi Ding was trapped.

In this way, if Shi Ding and others really want to start a rebellion, it should be in the next two days. Chen Heng frowned and thought about the next move in front of the sand table.

Over Wumeng Mountain, going west is a continuous mountain. After passing it, and then rushing along the official road for a few days, it is Shandong. There are only one or two official roads that can be used by the army, and the most important one is the old road when Qin conquered Qi. The repairs of the subsequent dynasties were all carried out on the old road of the Qin Dynasty.

Shandong is one of the granaries of the world. In addition to this key point, it is now an important node for maritime trade. To be honest, it is connected to the capital area above and the famous Huaibei below. The importance of this place is even higher than that of the capital.

Since ancient times, Shandong and Huaibei have been full of heroes and have produced countless kings, princes, generals and ministers. Once Shui Rong and Shi Ding broke into Shandong and were supplemented by the people of Huaibei, it would definitely lead to chaos in the world.

Compared with Shandong, the Jiangnan area, where Shi Ding had already withdrawn civilians and soldiers. Although it is empty inside, it is his hometown and seat of government, but it cannot be compared.

Among the traitors and bandits from ancient times to the present, there is only one person who can finally compete for the throne after going south, Zhu Chongba.

Moreover, the waterways in the south are densely covered. The more troops Shi Ding and Shui Rong have, the less likely they are to go south. Once the army lacks supplies and has no suitable warships, being trapped in the southern water town is a dead end, and will only get further and further away from the king's ambitions.

Thinking in this way, the situation in Jiangnan is actually the safest one. The important thing now is to block the other party's steps to the west and east. As for the other party's determination to go north?

Madhu, the world is going to be in chaos. Do the 200,000 soldiers and horses in the capital still have their graves planted with grass? If you should go out of the city to meet the enemy, then go out to meet the enemy. The two sides fight decisively at the mouth of the Yellow River. Who will win will be known in one battle. Chen Heng thought angrily, and cast his eyes on Jiannan Pass on the sand table.

Xin Suzhao and other troops who have quietly detoured to Jiannanguan can complete the two-sided attack as long as they integrate the king's divisions from various places and insert themselves directly behind the rebels heading north. If the rebels really want to go north, it may be the best outcome.

After understanding the terrain, Chen Heng immediately decided on a strategy of holding on to Shandong and allowing the rebels to move west and north.

The strategy is clear, but we still need to create some obstacles for the rebels. Thinking of the biggest card in his hand, Chen Heng immediately turned to Liu Xianglian and ordered: "Go and find Baoyu."

Why call him at this time? Liu Xianglian was a little surprised, but it didn't delay the Lord's errand. After some back and forth, when the confused Jia Baoyu walked into the tent, he saw Chen Heng standing in front of everyone under the bright lights with a calm expression and his hands behind his back.

"Sister...Mr. Chen, I wonder why you called me here." Jia Baoyu saw that the atmosphere was very serious, and hurriedly bowed carefully, lowered his head and asked quietly.

"Baoyu, I have something important that I need you to do." Chen Heng was not polite and looked a little confused when he saw the other party. He raised his hand to call the other person forward, and then said softly: "When you were in the Chinese Army, how was your relationship with Chang'an Jiedushi Master Yun?"

Jia Baoyu already felt something bad after listening to the questioning. But his mind was pure after all, and the words on his lips were faster than the reactions of his brain, and he said directly: "The prince has arranged several banquets, and I was lucky enough to have a drink with Mr. Yun once. Unfortunately, Mr. Yun is busy with official duties, and the following banquets are all He often sends his messengers out."

As long as Yun Guang recognized Jia Baoyu, Chen Heng felt at ease. He quickly grabbed Jia Baoyu's arm and whispered to Jia Baoyu. After hearing this, the latter waved his hands repeatedly and said urgently: "No, no. How can I talk to him? I only drank with him once."

"No, you can tell." Chen Heng said with certainty. The title of his own provincial examination is still a metaphor, "Wang Xifeng took power in Tiejian Temple, Master Yun ruined other people's families."

Even Wang Xifeng in the Shenzhai compound can rely on the Jia family's golden face to make the Chang'an Jiedushi obedient, not to mention that you, Jia Baoyu, are the second-in-law and direct grandson of Rong Guogong.

"Then...then...I won't say it either." Jia Baoyu was extremely embarrassed and had no choice but to tell the truth. If you ask him to appreciate paintings and recite poems, there are some merits. But when it came to making friends and running errands, Jia Baoyu asked himself that he was helpless and only wanted to enjoy himself.

How could Chen Heng not know? He hurriedly said: "You don't have to worry about this. I'll teach you a few sentences and give you a letter. When you see him then, just say it and hand it over. Do you want to listen?" It’s all up to him, and then you can just ride your horse back with peace of mind.”

With such a proper arrangement, Jia Baoyu could no longer find any excuse. I had no choice but to ask about Chen Heng's arrangements, and the latter even said frankly: "If he asks you how you came here, just say that you have been ordered by your uncle to see Mr. Yun. If he asks you what you are here for, just say... Deliver a message for His Majesty."

Jia Baoyu broke into cold sweat on his forehead when he heard this. Brother-in-law Chen, you are so brave, you actually allowed yourself to fake the names of two lords.

Jia Baoyu was timid, and when he heard that this matter would involve His Majesty, he couldn't help but panicked and said: "You really want me to go, sir, how about you change someone else?!"

"If you don't go, the entire capital and the Jia family in Jinling will be ransacked and beheaded."

Hearing Chen Heng's threat, Jia Baoyu did not dare to refuse. Now that Xue Pan and Jia Lian were no longer around to discuss with him, Baoyu accepted the letter written by Chen Heng in confusion amid several hesitations.

"Xianglian."

"Sir, I'm here." After hearing Chen Heng's instructions, Liu Xianglian jumped out of the crowd.

"You escort Baoyu." Seeing that the other party couldn't help nodding, Chen Heng added, "No matter what Master Yun says, you only need to accompany Baoyu to deliver the things, and then set off to come back to us immediately. Remember, hurry up Go back quickly."

The card Baoyu must be kept by your side. His role goes far beyond this one matter.

"Where will we find you?" Liu Xianglian asked hurriedly.

Chen Heng thought carefully and finally raised his voice: "Wuzhan Mountain."

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Just after seeing off Jia Baoyu and Liu Xianglian who were riding fast horses at Yingkou, Chen Heng saw Lu Yingxiong leading four thousand men up. The soldiers who were ready to go were all holding torches. Such a large-scale movement naturally attracted the attention of civilians in the camp.

Under the thick night, whispers came from time to time. Folks from all over the south of the Yangtze River saw that something was not right in the atmosphere and did not dare to rush forward. They only hid in the darkness from a distance and cast very worried glances.

Lu Yingxiong rode a military horse to Chen Heng's side and confirmed him again: "Master Chen, do you really want me to leave?"

"Yes." Chen Heng nodded heavily, and then ordered: "I have given you your majesty's token. After we go to Wusheng Pass, I don't care what method Mr. Lu uses, we must seize this pass and prevent the traitors from going south. Looting from both lakes.”

Shandong is a strategically important place, and the two lakes are the tactical winner. Once the latter was lost, although Shi Ding and Shuirong lost the possibility of going north to become kings, the world would be in turmoil for at least twenty years.

As long as Lu Yingxiong can rely on natural dangers, always stick to Wusheng Pass, and relieve the danger of the two lakes, it will be a great achievement.

Chen Heng had already said the cake that should be painted long before Lu Yingxiong took over the task.

When they parted, Chen Heng could only remind him again and again: "Remember, except for the imperial edict with the imperial seal of His Majesty, even if the governor of Yongxing comes in person, the city gates are not allowed to be opened."

"I save it." Lu Yingxiong nodded hurriedly, raised his hand and squeezed the imperial token in his arms. With this, he knew that he had an 80% to 90% chance of taking Wusheng Pass. He added, "Except for the personal letters from His Majesty and you, sir, no one else can ask me to open the door."

"Okay." Chen Heng nodded heavily, and after hesitating for a moment, he said, "Please be careful along the way, sir. I look forward to seeing the day when sir Lu returns to the capital and is promoted to a marquis."

This made Lu Yingxiong happy, and he said seriously, "Sir Chen, you must also take care of your own safety. I have left another 500 guards here. If you have anything, just tell them. The leading killer is called Wang Er, who is quite brave and can help."

After listening silently, Chen Heng did not say anything more, but stepped back and signaled the soldiers on both sides to lower the camp gate. Seeing this, Lu Yingxiong clasped his fists on the horse, and then led the four thousand men out of the camp with rumbling steps.

Thousands of torches formed a long dragon and disappeared in the night. Until he could no longer see the other party's figure, Chen Heng retracted his worried gaze and turned back with his hands behind his back.

So many people left overnight. When Chen Heng returned to the central army camp, the civil officials sent from various places to assist in the military supplies were already waiting here anxiously.

"Master Chen, has anything important happened in the camp?"

"The grain transport officer was dispatched late at night, but he received the general's order. Is there any news about the soldiers trapped in the mountains?"

This group of people subconsciously surrounded him, and their attitude and words were a bit fierce, which scared the guards such as Yan Xiaoer. Before leaving, Liu Bantou repeatedly told them to protect Master Chen. The guards had to form a human wall to protect Chen Heng firmly in the middle.

Seeing that a group of civil officials were blocked on the outside, Chen Heng hurriedly raised his hand and pressed twice, and said with a smile: "It was the secret order from His Majesty. Please sit down first, and let me explain this matter slowly."

When Chen Heng sat in the upper seat, he took Wei Yinghong's letter and finished telling everything one by one. Everyone was speechless at the moment. From suppressing bandits to suppressing rebellion, the span was so big. For a moment, how can people adapt to this change?

Fortunately, Chen Heng did not expect them to help much. He had already made all the arrangements that needed to be made. What he should say at this moment was all words of comfort, such as "the court has been prepared for a long time, and the king's army to suppress the rebellion is on the way."

Everyone could not tell whether what Chen Heng said was true or false, so they had to stand up and say, "I am willing to obey the orders of the adults."

Seeing that these people were willing to cooperate, Chen Heng was relieved. He immediately ordered, "My lords, listen to my orders, quickly prepare the baggage and military supplies, and take away all that can be taken away. For those that cannot be taken away, order people to move to the parade ground to assemble."

"My lord, what are you going to do?" Someone asked curiously.

Chen Heng stood up and slapped the table, raised his eyebrows and said sternly, "Burn them all."

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The first ray of sunlight in the morning sprinkled on the earth. The camp, which had been busy all night, had divided the baggage and military supplies into two piles according to Chen Heng's instructions. One is the military supplies that are difficult to carry, and the other is the gold and silver mountains that are left as stumbling blocks.

The important things that can be taken away have been moved to the wheelbarrows that have been built before. These are food, fodder, and arrows. The armor and swords that can still be worn are distributed to the civilians.

The supplies here are accumulated by the prefectures and cities in Jiangnan for several years. Even if the 30,000 civilians work all night, they can only take away a part. More supplies are gathered in the center of the parade ground at this moment.

Seeing Yan Xiaoer holding a torch and coming forward, many civil officials are still persuading Chen Heng to think twice before acting.

"Sir, even if the rebels come in person. We can wait for the arrival of reinforcements by guarding the solid camp. Why burn all these supplies?"

"Yes, sir! These are all the family belongings of the people in Jiangnan. Burn them all in one fire. Really...really..."

How could Chen Heng not know? But he knew that the central army camp was built on a flat land. Once the rebels arrive, they will be attacked from three sides. With only a river that is not too turbulent, how can they resist the rebels that are several times their number in the wilderness?

"I have given up." Chen Heng also deliberately put on the mountain armor today, a red robe and a long sword. Although he is a civil official, Chen Heng exudes a bit of murderous aura in such a dress.

Chen Heng waved his hand, Yan Xiaoer and Xinda no longer hesitated, and directly surrounded the baggage as high as a small mountain and poured oil on it and set it on fire. Seeing the raging black smoke rising, Chen Heng led a group of civil officials with sad faces to turn around and came to the militia who had changed their jobs halfway, signaling everyone to dress up and line up, and follow him out of the camp into the mountains.

The thousands of wounded soldiers who were originally stranded in the camp heard the news of Shi Ding's rebellion in the morning. They were all wounded, and they were Shi Ding's subordinates before, so Chen Heng naturally would not take them on the road. Thousands of people waited on both sides in a daze, not knowing where to go for a while.

Chen Heng knew that it would take three days to walk from the Central Army Camp to Jiannan Pass. Apart from asking this group of people to flee south quickly, he could not afford to preach more.

When he led a group of makeshift teams on the mountain road, he happened to run into a spy report. These people were all the personal guards left by Lu Yingxiong. The leader Wang Er directly reported: "Sir, you are really amazing. The brothers walked around the mountain road twice and didn't see a single bandit."

It seems that Shi Ding and his men are about to start a rebellion, and they have been secretly organizing the three armies in the dark. Chen Heng's mind sank, and he dared not hesitate, and hurriedly ordered everyone to speed up the march.

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Qingfeng Village was the base of Mao Daqing and others. Until it was abandoned by the bandits, it still had complete defense facilities. This place was originally the base camp of the bandits. It was surrounded by mountains and had high terrain. There were several running waters inside, which were enough to meet the daily needs of 10,000 people.

Following the mountain road excavated by the predecessors, the vanguard arrived here in the early morning of the next day. When the frightened civilians rushed into the mountain village, they were dumbfounded to see a group of unarmed old, weak, women and children.

They thought there would be a hard battle, but who would have thought that the opponents were the families of the bandits. The group of old, weak, women and children were also frightened. They only dared to hold some knives and hide in the lobby of the mountain village, closing the door to meet the enemy.

Chen Heng, who came after hearing the news, persuaded the women and children inside with kind words under the protection of Yan Xiaoer and others, and threatened to set fire to make the other party open the closed door.

It was just a group of old, weak, women and children stranded here, and Chen Heng didn't want to make it too difficult for them. He only ordered people to take good care of him, and ordered the civilians to clean up the remnants of the mountain stronghold.

The previous offensive and defensive battles had already damaged many facilities in the mountain stronghold. But Chen Heng was more and more satisfied, and felt that this dangerous place was much better than the wide central army camp.

In any case, from the terrain, a situation of high attack and low attack has been formed. Fortunately, the previous bandits used the strategy of "luring the enemy deep into the ground", and Shi Ding's deliberate cooperation left a relatively complete mountain stronghold for him.

The vanguard controlled the situation, and the subsequent civilians pushed a row of wheelbarrows and rushed into the mountain stronghold. The 30,000 militiamen relied on the guidance of their superiors to repair what needed to be repaired and cook what needed to be cooked.

Taking advantage of the night, Chen Heng led the guards to patrol various parts of the mountain stronghold, trying to ensure that nothing could go wrong.

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In ancient times, the transmission of information was blocked, Chen Heng was not aware of the changes in the mountains, and Shi Ding naturally did not know the situation outside. He and Shui Rong had just integrated the soldiers and bandits, and they were on their way around Wumeng Mountain. Shui Rong was left with a large army to slowly clear the piles of stones blocking the road. Shi Ding, who had gone ahead, was now leading 8,000 soldiers to rush to the central army camp.

October was about to pass, and without the supplies in Chen Heng's hands, their rebellion would be very passive.

The situation was stronger than the people, and everyone followed him to rebel for wealth and glory. Who could believe that they could achieve great things when they were hungry before they even started?

After rushing out of the mountain in such a hurry, Shi Ding finally led his men to kill not far from the camp after more than a day's journey. Seeing the smoke rising to the sky, Shi Ding cried out in his heart that it was not good. He drove his horse for another half a mile, and the scout who reported back was already waiting by the roadside, anxiously saying: "General, the camp is on fire, and there is no one inside."

Shi Ding's mind was confused, and he drove his horse into the camp in a hurry. When he arrived at the parade ground, he saw a raging fire.

With such a fire, how could they save any military supplies?

Shi Ding was so angry that his eyes turned black, and he cursed to the sky: "Chen's son, I swear to kill you."

After venting his anger, Shi Ding's anger had not yet subsided. He saw several bandits who had just been recruited, secretly circling around the gold and silver mountains left by Chen Heng.

The "General of Suppressing Bandits", who was already in a bad mood, ordered in a cold voice: "Cut all these people! Hang their heads on the camp gate so that the new brothers can have a good look."

"Yes."

Dozens of guards took the order and rushed out, like vicious tigers, to the stunned soldiers. Shi Ding, who intended to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, ignored the pleas for mercy of these people. He asked the spies to identify the axle footprints on the ground, and saw that Chen Heng's people were actually sitting in two groups. One team went to the direction of Wumeng Mountain, and the other team went to the direction of Jiannan Pass.

Thinking that there were still tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Wumeng Mountain, Shi Ding was not worried about the suspicious soldiers entering the mountain. He ordered all the soldiers to continue riding fast horses, and it took another half a day to finally catch up with the wounded soldiers who left first.

After questioning, it was found that Chen Heng did not go with them, but led a group of civilians into Wumeng Mountain. Shi Ding's mood was much better.

"Some cleverness, but unfortunately not much."

After a brief comment, Shi Ding waved his hand to the guards. The latter understood and winked at the soldiers around him.

The wounded soldiers who knelt on the ground and begged for mercy died under the swords and guns in a blink of an eye.