Chapter 324: in Beijing
General Tang Ran of the Dingbei Army headed by saw the familiar Xie Ziqi, and hurriedly patted his horse to identify it carefully.
Finding that the person busy here is indeed Li Jing, who he had met once, Tang Ran enthusiastically waved at Li Jing, "Brother Li Xian!"
Li Jing looked up gently, "Brother Tang?"
After a little thought, he understood why Tang Ran appeared here. He walked over to Tang Ran to greet each other, and then said to Tang Ran straightforwardly: "Miss Ye's personal guards have sent news that there are barbarian officers mountains into the north."
While speaking, he pointed to Swallow Valley, "We are not familiar with the northern border, but fortunately General Song is in our team. After asking General Song, we chose Swallow Valley as the ambush location."
Tang Ran was greatly relieved when he heard the words, and he said to Li Jing: "Thanks to you, otherwise I don't know when I will be able to completely wipe out this group of turtles."
As long as the Hu people pass through the Swallow Valley and come to the east where there are villages and towns, the Hu people can plunder mules and horses from various villages and towns as mounts.
At that time, they will rely on their mobility and the Dingbei Army to fight guerrilla attacks. The Dingbei Army will certainly be able to eliminate them bit by bit, but in the process, the people in the northern border will inevitably suffer heavy losses, and Juyongguan will inevitably not get timely and effective control. Military support.
If Juyong Pass falls because of this, the entire northern border will fall completely. At that time, the Hu people will step into the pass with iron hoofs, and the number of people who will suffer will be untold.
As soon as he thought of that scene, Tang Ran couldn't help but shudder.
He solemnly thanked Li Jing and Ye Anlan before returning to Youzhou City with his soldiers.
After sending Tang Ran and his soldiers away, Li Jing reorganized the team and continued to march towards Juyongguan.
After going here, the journey went smoothly, and I didn’t encounter any unexpected situations.
When they sent the things to Juyongguan, the battle at Juyongguan finally came to an end for the time being.
It failed, and the Hu people who suffered a lot of losses chose to withdraw their troops temporarily, but almost 70% of the Dingbei Army in Juyongguan were injured with varying degrees of severity.
There are also soldiers of the Dingbei Army who died under the attack of the Hu people in order to defend the city. Bai Qingzhi has ordered them all to be transferred to Youzhou City, which is the closest to Juyongguan.
They will receive posthumous honor there, and their families will also receive compensation for their sacrifices, but Ye Anlan thinks that if given a choice, those people in the north who have lost their sons, husbands, and fathers will probably choose to let themselves die. Important relatives live, instead of choosing a cold lump of silver.
Bai Qingzhi's spirit is much worse than when Ye Anlan left. The soldiers of the Dingbei Army who died and could no longer undertake the duty of guarding the border due to their disabilities are one of the sources of pressure in Bai Qingzhi's heart.
But even if he was full of grief, Bai Qingzhi still had to do what his commander should do.
The Hu people have retreated, but this retreat is temporary. Soon, they will make a comeback again, and risk their lives to attack the city in order to enter the hinterland of the Central Plains to burn, kill and loot.
Bai Qingzhi didn't have time to heal the pain in his heart. Not only did he have to watch the craftsmen repair and strengthen the Guancheng, but he also dispatched uninjured Dingbei Army soldiers from Youzhou and other places to defend the city.
After Ye Anlan and Li Jing came over, Bai Qingzhi took the time to arrange a banquet and specially entertained them two.
He solemnly thanked Li Jing and Ye Anlan. First, he thanked Ye and Xie for sending supplies to the Northern Army. Second, he thanked Ye Anlan for leaving Ye's personal guards behind to guard the city and imparted first aid knowledge on the battlefield. Third, he thanked them for their help. Intercept and kill the Hu soldiers who sneaked into the northern border.
Thanks to Ye Anlan's personal guards, the proportion of disabled and dead soldiers of the Dingbei Army dropped by 70% and 50% respectively compared with before.
The people in the northern border were able to suffer less from the war, thanks to Li Jing and Ye Anlan's help in intercepting and killing the Hu soldiers.
If it weren’t for the rational strings still functioning normally, Bai Qingzhi would have directly recruited them to join the Dingbei Army_(:з」∠)_
"You don't have to be polite." Li Jing toasted Bai Qingzhi with tea instead of wine, "The soldiers of the Dingbei Army have been guarding the northern border all year round. I don't know how many good men have sacrificed to prevent the barbarians from entering the pass. You, Lord Hou, are even more important to disperse the soldiers who guard the pass." Wealth, compared to you guys, I'm just spending some money and things to do my best, and I really can't thank you enough."
He spoke from the bottom of his heart, just like Ye Anlan before, he won by relying on his true feelings.
Bai Qingzhi was so touched by the two people's sincere expressions and tone that his eyes turned red. He raised his glass and toasted the two of them again with tea instead of wine.
After he calmed down a bit, Ye Anlan asked Bai Qingzhi abruptly, "Hou Ye's family is still in the capital right now?"
Bai Qingzhi's body stiffened slightly, and he answered "Yes" in an erratic tone.
The question Ye Anlan raised was another important reason why Bai Qingzhi was so preoccupied.
Many of the Bai clan's children are natives of the northern region. In order to protect the land that gave birth to them, they did not hesitate to go to the battlefield, throw their heads, and shed blood.
But for every Dingbei Army commander and Wei Pinghou, their family members must stay in the capital as hostages.
The current commander-in-chief of the Dingbei Army and Weiping Hou Bai Qingzhi, his wife, daughter and youngest son are now trapped in Beijing by the royal family.
In the past, when Bai Qingzhi was only devoted to guarding Juyongguan, the royal family and powerful officials who could only huddle around the capital might not treat his family well.
But not long ago, Bai Qingzhi resolutely "betrayed" and accepted the military supplies donated by the "rebels" for the sake of more than 100,000 Dingbei Army soldiers. This situation is very different from before.
When this news reaches the capital, the members of the royal family and dignitaries in the capital will definitely hate Bai Qingzhi, the "rebellious minister and traitor who colluded with the rebellious party" by the way.
At that time, how will this group of guys who are blindfolded and ignore the situation in the world and only want to enjoy this last carnival deal with Bai Qingzhi's old mother, wife, daughter and youngest son?
Ye Anlan didn't know what kind of pain and suffering Bai Qingzhi had gone through to make such a dilemma, but she felt that people like Bai Qingzhi deserved more preferential treatment from this world.
She said to Bai Qingzhi: "I just plan to go to the capital to rob the rich and help the poor. Why don't you give me a token to prove that I was sent by the Hou Ye to transfer your relatives."
Bai Qingzhi's eyes widened, and he once suspected that he was hallucinating.
You must know that Ye Anlan is one of the leaders of the "rebel party" in the eyes of the court. She went to the capital in person. How is this different from throwing herself into a trap?
Ye Anlan seemed to have seen what Bai Qingzhi was thinking, and she said to Bai Qingzhi, "Don't worry, I will definitely not announce to the world that I have entered Beijing with gongs and drums. The token you gave is the same, it is best to be as different as possible." It is so inconspicuous at first glance, the ideal state is that others treat it as an insignificant little thing, but your family can rely on tokens to confirm that I am a friend rather than an enemy."