Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

"Is the King of Linchuan still here? Please report quickly that it is Hou Andu who has come to plead guilty!"

Hou Andu had been waiting south of the Qiantang River for a long time, but it turned out that what was waiting was not Chen Qian and his party, but the sergeants stationed in Qiantang. After learning that there was such a conflict and misunderstanding between them, Hou Andu naturally did not dare to neglect. Dang even took a boat to the north in person, ready to eliminate misunderstandings and settle disputes in person.

Hou Andu's troops were not the only ones stationed in Qiantang City, there was also a group of troops from Wu County led by Chen Qian's general Lu Zilong who arrived here first.

Now Chen Qian felt that she was being despised and made things difficult by Hou Andu's tribe, and she still suspected that it might be because of Hou Andu's instructions. After all, after he evacuated here, although he joined Hou Andu, he faced A question of who is the master and who is the slave. If Hou An is unwilling to hand over the military power of the General Secretary, then it is very normal for the Arrangement Department to attack and make things difficult for Chen Qian.

Therefore, Chen Qian refused to cross the river to argue with Hou Andu, and asked Hou Andu to cross the river to see her. At the same time, when Xiao Maha was under control and there was no one in charge in the city, he ordered Lu Zilong outside the city to lead the army. The troops forced their way into the city and guarded him around his temporary residence in the city.

After Hou Andu arrived at this time, he was blocked by the armored soldiers. He could only stand outside the house and wait for the gatekeepers to come in. After getting permission, he was able to enter the mansion and see Chen Qian.

"The lower officials are not strict with their subordinates, causing the generals to take matters into their own hands and offend the king. They really deserve to be punished! But now that a powerful enemy is approaching and a war is imminent, it is especially necessary to work together to overcome the difficulties. I also ask the king to temporarily put aside the past grudges and defeat the enemy again. If you ask more questions, the subordinates will definitely accept the instructions and not dare to quibble."

After entering the hall, Hou Andu bowed his head deeply to Chen Qian and said with a respectful posture and humble tone.

After a period of calm thinking, Chen Qian was no longer as angry as she was at the beginning. He also realized that although Xiao Mohe's previous words were somewhat offensive and rude, the reason why he was so irritable was also due to his newfound frustration and sensitivity.

The most important thing in the current situation is to cooperate sincerely with Hou Andu and defeat the Tang army. It is not appropriate to dwell on small issues.

After having such an idea, Chen Qian saw Hou Andu's posture so low, and the little anger left in her heart dissipated. She stood up and pulled Hou Andu into position together, and then sighed and said: " The Tang army is approaching with great ferocity, and although the people of Wuzhong are strong, it is still difficult to stop their troops from invading south. Now I have no choice but to retreat here. If I still cannot defeat the enemy here, I am afraid that there will no longer be a place for me and Hou Gong in the vast Jiangdong. When I first arrived in Qiantang, I didn’t know if Mr. Hou had any good plans to deal with the enemy.”

In such a difficult external situation, some minor internal disputes can naturally be ignored. Hearing that King Linchuan no longer dwelled on the past, but instead asked about his preparations for facing the enemy, Hou Andu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately cheered up and recounted all the preparations Kuaiji had made during this period. Fan.

Thanks to the fact that Wuxing intercepted the Tang Army in the north, or that the Tang Army did not launch an attack south immediately after crossing the river, Kuaiji had to have a relatively sufficient time to prepare for the war.

Although Hou Andu was not a good official who was good at governing the local area, he had followed the former lord Chen Baxian for many years and fought in the north and south, so he had very rich military experience. Now he was directly targeted by the Tang army. When raising resistance forces within the territory, he did everything he could. He gathered a large number of personnel forces in the territory and invested them on the front line of the Qiantang River. The momentum he created was also far away. Chen Qian's personnel situation in Wuxing is comparable.

At present, the number of soldiers gathered on the south bank of the Qiantang River alone has reached more than 50,000. Almost all the adult men who can be found in Dongyangzhou have been collected by Hou Andu and driven here. There are thousands of large and small warships. If they were all launched into the main channel, they would be enough to fill several miles of Qiantang River.

When she heard that Hou Andu had gathered such a strong personnel force in the south bank, Chen Qian couldn't help but sigh: "Hou Gong is worthy of being a veteran general who has fought in the world for a long time. No wonder the former lord often lamented that Hou Gong should be the first hero. ! To gather such a huge force in just a few months, and with the Qiantang River in danger, the Tang army will definitely be defeated here!"

"Your Majesty, you are ridiculous! When fighting a strong enemy, you may not be able to win with a large number of people. If you gather a crowd here, you will be brave. To truly defeat the enemy, you still need to defend the river defense line without losing it. The thieves have been here for a long time, and their efforts are in vain. If they succeed, they will be discouraged and exhausted. If they have any intention of retreating and they attack again, the thieves will be defeated like a mountain!"

Hou Andu did not feel proud of this compliment, but said quickly: "Now a group of disciples gathered on the south bank of the Qiantang River. They heard that the king was coming south to lead the armies to fight against the powerful enemy. The people above and below were all waiting with eager anticipation. I am waiting for your Majesty’s instructions, so I have come here in a hurry to ask you to cross the river and gather everyone to discuss the plan!”

His brutal conquest in Dongyangzhou was not without cost. Nowadays, there is a lot of resentment among the people in Dongyangzhou. Not only the ordinary people are complaining, but even the powerful people in the countryside are also resentful. Many people even secretly discussed that this time the Tang army came south only for Hou Andu, so why did everyone in the county pay such a heavy price?

Although Hou Andu did not hesitate to suppress such noises and resentment, but even if he adhered to iron-blooded methods, public resentment continued to gather.

Especially when a large number of young people in the government were gathered along the river bank, this kind of resentment was even more fertile and amplified. Hou Andu had only a few thousand trusted followers, but he had to control these disciples who were more than ten times his own number. It is also very difficult for the masses, not to mention forcing them to face the enemy with their lives during the actual battle.

Therefore, Hou Andu also urgently needs Chen Qian's prestige to control the human situation in Nan'an, so he maintains such a low profile. Otherwise, according to his usual temperament, he would not be so groveling when facing Chen Qian who came to her in a desperate situation, even if the other party was a prince of the clan.

Chen Qian was very satisfied with Hou Andu's attitude, so she naturally ignored the previous disagreements. In addition, she wanted to see the huge crowd gathered on the south bank with her own eyes, regardless of the fact that it was already dark and late at night. Still have to take the ferry south at night to meet the disciples.

Both parties have their own needs, so naturally they hit it off. Hou Andu quickly asked someone to arrange a ferry, and before boarding the boat, Chen Qian also released Xiao Mohe who had been captured before.

Because Chen Qian and her confidants were deeply annoyed by Xiao Maha's unrestrained speech, while they were arresting him and waiting for Hou Andu to arrive, Han Zigao and others also beat and humiliated Xiao Maha. So when he was released, there were scars all over his head and face, and his beard and hair were even more messy.

"Mr. Hou, I really don't mean to offend the King of Linchuan, but I am just considering the needs of the war..."

After Xiao Mohe saw Hou Andu, he knelt on the ground with a plop and said in a sad voice with aggrieved face.

"Presumptuous! Before I ask, who is allowed to speak out and quibble first? You didn't mean to offend. Could it be that the king is deliberately causing harm? The survival of the country today depends on the king. It is a big plan. Even if the king wants to take my life, I will do it. You are ready to be killed, let alone a man like you!"

Before Xiao Mohe could finish speaking, Hou Andu kicked him over with another kick, and with the knife in his hand, he looked back at Chen Qian and said: "This disciple has always been reckless and cannot be close to him. He is the only one who kills the enemy in battle and is not brave enough." He is fearful of death, and has the reputation of being the bravest of the three armies, so he is used here. If his crime deserves death, there is no need to humiliate the warrior if he is killed by the king. "

Although Xiao Maha was slow to speak, his bravery was deeply loved by Hou Andu, so when he saw him being humiliated, Hou Andu was still a little unhappy.

Chen Qian naturally heard Hou Andu's dissatisfaction. She looked around among her cronies, then looked past Han Zigao, pointed at the people behind and said, "I only ask you to imprison this disciple for the time being, and wait for Hou Gong to arrive before you deal with it." , who allowed you to use lynching? Why don’t you quickly plead guilty to the Duke and receive the punishment?”

Several people hurriedly came out to pray to Hou Andu, but Hou Andu pulled Xiao Maha in front of him, raised his hand to pat the dirt on his robe, and even took off his cloak and wrapped it around him. On the body, he coldly snorted: "The war is about to begin, and it is the time to hire people. I appreciate your bravery, so I will keep it for now. After defeating the enemy in the future, I will sing your name and praise you for your merits. If you don't have your name, I will kill him!"

Xiao Mohe also heard that this was Hou Andu's special encouragement and comfort to him, and he quickly bowed his head and said: "When we fight in the future, the general will fight bravely to kill the enemy and live up to Duke Hou's expectations!"

A small dispute was ignored, and Chen Qian and her entourage crossed the river with Hou Andu. After meeting the Kuaiji disciples, they naturally encouraged and encouraged them, and made various promises, waiting to be defeated. Tang Jun later fulfilled it. As the king of Nanchen Zong, Chen Qian naturally has a greater say in giving political promises to these Kuaiji powerful men to motivate them. This is beyond the reach of Hou Andu, unless he wants to directly seek to usurp the throne.

Not long after Chen Qian and her party crossed the Qiantang River, the troops led by Yu Wenxin, after detouring to Wukang and fighting a battle, also changed their route and headed straight for Qiantang.

Perhaps because the previous advance was too smooth, and they were eager to fight and make meritorious deeds, the group was ambushed by the Chen army led by Xiao Mohe in Zeye, north of Qiantang, resulting in the loss of dozens of troops.

After suffering this small setback, Yu Wenxin also stopped being careless and did not dare to continue to advance towards Qiantang. Instead, he temporarily retreated backwards and waited until the main army led by Shi Ning arrived here before launching another mighty attack together. Coming to Qiantang in a dangling way.

The Qiantang River is much wider than the Songjiang River, and Kuaiji spared no effort in preparing for the war, so this line of defense was also managed very securely. After Shi Ning arrived at the north of the Qiantang River, he patrolled upstream and downstream, and then he had no choice but to capture Qiantang City on the north bank first, and then choose a suitable location to launch the cross-river operation.