Xie Ming

Chapter 448 Arrival in Beijing, Shangyuan Gate

Chapter 448 Arrival in Beijing, Shangyuan Gate
[Excerpt from the urgent edict:]

[At the beginning of autumn, you led the troops to the northern border. Despite the raging wind and rain, you led the troops with great effort and were able to secure Shandong. I am very pleased.

Whenever I think of you, I wish we could fight on the battlefield together!
But the new dynasty had just been established and there were so many complicated things to do that it was hard to handle them all!
It has been more than a month since the Yubei Campaign began, and it has been difficult for us to meet. Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, and I hope you will come back soon to enjoy the autumn moon together and talk about the future! Fu Jingchuan! 】

It is August 12th, the eve of midnight!

Xiao Jingchuan mounted his horse at the gate outside the yamen, followed by Gu Changting, Sang Menxing, Liu Erye, and more than a hundred garrison cavalry. With a shout, they rushed to the South City Gate!

It has been raining heavily for days, but now it has finally subsided!

After Xiao Lang's cavalry galloped out of the city, the night rain was falling!
While galloping, a group of people wearing straw hats and raincoats rushed into the line, with Jingchuan riding alone at the beginning!

Ride your horse to the capital!

Count it!

During July and August, on the north bank of the Yellow River in Shandong, Xiao's army fought with the enemy army that invaded from the south in Dezhou, Pingyuan, Yucheng, Jihe, Gaotang and other places!
The enemy and our side have been attacking each other for days, and both sides have suffered losses, and the losses in military horses are not much different!
During this period, Xiao's troops relied on the geographical advantage and took advantage of the defense!
As for Bahana and Shi Tingzhu, they relied on the bravery of the Yiding cavalry and the power of their firearms and artillery!

As a result, the balance of power between the two sides offset each other, and after a fierce fight, no one could gain any advantage, that's it!
With the overall defense of Shandong, the first phase of the strategic stalemate and conservation situation has taken shape in this battle!

Not only did they not collapse at the first blow, but their defeat was like a landslide!
It is also difficult to hold on to an inch of territory and counterattack the capital!
Although this situation is not completely satisfactory, considering the current military situation in Shandong and the actual expectations of the Southern Court, it can be considered acceptable!
Furthermore, the autumn flood of the Yellow River has arrived. If the court did not urgently summon Xiao Lang to return south at this moment, according to his original plan, the combined army would cross the river to the south bank, regroup and prepare for war!
Then, relying on the remaining tribes in Shandong, the vast north-south and east-west extensions of each prefecture, the reinforced city defenses, and the greater source of troops, we should be able to resist the southward invasion of 70,000 troops from Bahana and Shi Tingzhu.
But times have changed and it is hard to defy fate!

Upon receiving the imperial edict, he hastily withdrew.
It’s hard to say what Shandong will be like in the future!
Only God knows whether those veteran soldiers from Jiangbei who are still stranded in the three cities of Shandong can hold on!
August 15th, at the beginning of the afternoon ( p.m.).

After running for two days and one night, Xiao Lang and his team had already left the southern end of Shandong border and reached Suining County, more than 40 miles southeast of Xuzhou!

Along the way, the Chidao Post Station has already visited many places, and there is no obstruction everywhere!
Xiao Lang had originally planned to pursue the enemy and cross the Huai River on the night of the 14th, in order to gain more time for the last leg of the journey!

Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the mountains near this inconspicuous small county of Suining, they were suddenly intercepted by a group of bandits and robbed!
That place is narrow and picturesque, with mountains on the left and water on the right. It's not easy to change the route!
The bandit blocking the road has an awkward appearance. A group of people are poking there, and it is difficult for you to tell whether he is a soldier or a bandit!

Seeing that the situation was not good, although Xiao Jingchuan was suspicious, he felt that their team was disguised as a group of miscellaneous soldiers from Liu Liangzuo's unit, who were deliberately causing chaos!

But after all, the time limit of the imperial edict is limited, so Xiao Lang does not want to cause trouble or create complications, so he quickly shows off his identity as the official commander!
but!

You are willing to turn a blind eye and let things go, without any interference from each other!
But the miscellaneous soldiers pretending to be bandits were not grateful at all. They were determined not to show mercy to the government troops! There was no way!
Since talking is useless, then I'll just have to fight back!

As a result, the two sides could not agree on anything, and they started fighting on this narrow road!
The mountains and rivers on both sides are difficult to cross, and the narrow mouth will cause many delays!
It took no less than two hours for Xiao Jingchuan's garrison cavalry to remove the miscellaneous soldiers pretending to be bandits blocking the gap and fight their way out!
Seeing that they had escaped, Xiao led his team to continue rushing south and quickly escape from the battle!
This was an accidental incident. Although the enemy was a motley crowd, Xiao's troops did not lose many soldiers just by relying on the terrain!
But due to the late hour in the mountains, visibility was poor and the road was narrow and difficult to travel!
As a result, a lot of time is wasted!

The evening of August 15th!

Xiao led the garrison and chased the stars and the moon for three days before they finally saw the Nanjing City of Yingtian Prefecture!
After crossing the Yangtze River, you will arrive at the outer city of Beiguan - Shangyuan Gate in the north!

After reporting the details, the city gate was opened, and Xiao Lang led the team on horseback!

Once I entered the cave, I jumped on my horse and was about to run fast again!
But when he went to the side, the gatekeeper suddenly dodged and rode his horse to intercept him!
"Go slowly! Go slowly!"

"Whoa--" The gate officer stepped straight to the front of Xiao's team, rode his horse sideways, bowed and spoke!
"May I ask all the generals, is Xiao Jingchuan, Commander Xiao, in the team?!"

"Who is this?!" he asked urgently.

Xiao Jingchuan was also forced to rein in his horse and stop!

"Whoa--" The fierce horse under his crotch was shaking with all four hooves and snorting loudly.

"I am Xiao Jingchuan!"

"Who are you?!"

"Damn it! I rushed for three days to get here from Jinan!" "Tonight is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I am here to see the emperor!"

"What on earth is wrong with you?!"

"If you stop me without reason, I will not let you go!"

At this moment, Xiao Jingchuan really couldn't afford to delay any longer. Seeing the people blocking the way, he became furious.

Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper nodded and lowered his head.

But after glancing around, he still forced himself to move closer to General Xiao Lang and continued speaking in a low voice.

"Ah! I dare not! I dare not!"

"General Xiao! I am under orders from Commander Qiu Ti!"

"I have been waiting for you here at Shangyuan Gate for many days!"

"I didn't expect you to arrive at such a late hour!" The doorman suddenly said to Qiu Zhizhong.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yinhui had a look of surprise on his face.

But after all, he had just arrived in Nanjing, and he didn't know how deep the water was under the emperor's feet. But before he actually met Qiu Zhizhong, how could he be willing to get himself involved for the order of the commander of the army, and such a stranger? !

So he just said nothing, Xiao Lang did not agree with the gatekeeper's intention!
"Who?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Anything wrong?!"

"It's okay, get out of the way as soon as possible!" Xiao Zuoba said.

Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper was not surprised.

"hehe!"

"It's right for the Overseer to be cautious!"

"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not!"

"I'm just doing my part, that's all!"

As he spoke, he turned around and pointed quickly towards the southeast.

"kindness"

"It's too late to prepare for changing clothes, shaving, and etiquette!"