Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

Page 310

It turned out that Xu Wen was from Ye County, Laizhou. Later, his family moved to Jiaoshui County, Laizhou, which is close to Mizhou.Xu Wen is strong and strong. He has practiced water skills at the seaside since he was a child, and he has also learned martial arts. He is good at wielding a sword weighing fifty catties. , A well-known figure in the rivers and lakes of several states by the sea.

Because Xu Wen has learned martial arts well and is a man of faith, he gradually gathers around a hundred brothers who are like-minded.Relying on his bravery, Xu Wen led these brothers to sell illicit salt for a living.130 miles southeast of Zhucheng County, Mizhou, there are nine halogen lakes in the coastal area, which produce sea salt, and the seaside people charge more for it.Xu Wen took his brothers to sell the sea salt to Jingdong East Road or Hebei Road, and they also made a lot of money.

In the northeast of Halize, there is a port, Banqiao Port, in Banqiao Town, Mizhou.Banqiao Port faces Jiaozhou Bay. The waters are deep and wide, the waves are calm, there is no extreme heat in summer, no severe cold in winter, no freezing and less silting. Since the Yuanfeng year, it has gradually become the largest port in the north of the Song Dynasty, and there are many sea merchants.Because of this, it also attracted a lot of pirates.

Just in the sea to the east of Jiaozhou Bay, there is a deserted island called Sea Snake Island, which is occupied by a group of pirates.The leader of those pirates was Wang Yuan, who was vicious and cruel, and nicknamed "Crocodile Whale". He had more than a thousand men and dozens of ships under his command, and they roamed the seas southeast of Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Mizhou. Even the army can't stop him.

Of course, Wang Yuan usually only wreaks havoc at sea, and rarely goes ashore to go deep into the interior.It is heard that when he led a crowd to attack and plunder Dengzhou in his early years, he was defeated by Sun Li, the "sick Weichi" who was then the prefect of Dengzhou.Since then, Wang Yuan has become more cautious.

Xu Wen sells smuggled salt all by land, so he doesn't cross the river with that "big crocodile whale" Wang Yuanjing.I don't want to go to the seaside to collect salt in Luze once, and I met Wang Yuan's pirates who came ashore to rob the people who were drying salt in Luze.

Seeing the pirates killing innocent people indiscriminately, Xu Wen was filled with righteous indignation, brandished a big knife, beheaded dozens of pirates, and drove them back into the sea.

Since then, "Crocodile Whale" Wang Yuan has hated his meddling "Xu Dadao".The pirates were not Xu Wen's opponents when they went ashore. Xu Wen didn't have a big warship, and he didn't dare to go to sea to fight that Wang Yuan.

After several fights, the pirates failed to get a bargain in the salt field of the sea, so they sailed away and disappeared without a trace, and they did not show up for a long time.

Xu Wen mistakenly believed that Wang Yuan, the "big crocodile whale", suffered a loss in his hands, just like losing to Sun Li in Dengzhou, and would never come to Mizhou to show his strength, so he gradually relaxed his vigilance.Unexpectedly, Wang Yuan didn't give up, but secretly sent people ashore to find out the way Xu Wen and the others came and went from the salt trader, and set up an ambush by the Yi'anze Lake on the way, taking advantage of Xu Wen and the others. Sneaked them on the way back to the Brine Saltworks.

This time Xu Wen only brought more than a dozen brothers with him, and they were all killed off guard. Only Xu Wen fought against the pirates with superhuman courage and outstanding swordsmanship, and supported until Ximenqing and others arrived.

Xu Wen knew in his heart that he was outnumbered today, and when his physical strength was exhausted, life and death would hang by a thread.If Ximen Qing hadn't brought someone to kill him suddenly, he would definitely have escaped death, let alone easily beheaded the two bosses of Wang Yuan's subordinates.

Xu Wenwen is a brave and loyal person. He said to Ximenqing and the others that he would never thank them for their great kindness, and that the three of them should repay their life-saving grace by forming a knot!In the future, if the three brothers have errands, he, Xu Wen, will go through fire and water without hesitation.

Chapter 494 The Great Northern Port

"Brother Xu Wen doesn't have to do this with little effort. I just hate that I was one step too late and failed to save your brothers. Brother Xu Wen, please identify for us who are your brothers." Ximen Qing pulled Xu Wen's hand pointed to the scattered corpses not far away.

With tears in his eyes, Xu Wen took a dozen of his brothers out of the crowd one by one, and arranged them in a row on the grass.Immediately afterwards, he knelt down in front of the corpses of his brothers, wept bitterly, and vowed to kill Wang Yuan to avenge his brothers.

Ximenqing, Shi Jin, and Yanqing were moved by Xu Wen's true feelings, and shed a few tears with him.

Under the command of Ximen Qing, dozens of cavalrymen worked together to dig more than a dozen graves on the ground with knives, and helped Xu Wen bury his brothers hastily.After Xu Wen returned to Jiaoshui County, he would bring his brothers and the families of these brothers to move the graves, and take them back to their hometowns for a beautiful burial.

After he piled up the soil and kowtowed goodbye to his brothers one by one, Xu Wen stood up to bid farewell to Ximen Qing and others, and returned to Laizhou through glue.

"Brother Xu Wen, don't be in a hurry, and change your bloody clothes with me first. After eating some dry food, it's not too late to leave." Ximen Qing pointed to Xu Wen's wet and blood-stained clothes.

There was a bloody battle just now, not only Xu Wen, but also Ximen Qing and others were covered in blood?Everyone washed off their blood stains by the lake, changed into spare dry clothes, sat around the lake and ate dry food to restore their strength.

Ximen Qing had just heard Xu Wen swear to take revenge, so he asked him what his future plans were.

Xu Wen told Ximen Qing that the "big crocodile whale" Wang Yuan was defeated by Sun Li on land. After suffering, he became more cunning and cautious. Michigan landed.To kill this thief, one must confront him at sea.

Xu Wen said that he and a group of brothers under him were from the sea, so they are not afraid of sea battles, but because they have no warships, it is difficult to compete with the pirates on Sea Snake Island at sea.

In order to take revenge, Xu Wen deliberately took his brothers to join the army in Banqiao Town, Mizhou, and joined the court's navy, and then waited for an opportunity to fight the pirates to the death.

Ximenqing listened to Xu Wen's words and persuaded Xu Wen that joining the army is not the best move.The navy of the Great Song Dynasty was neglected in the battle formation, and the soldiers were cowardly and cowardly, so it was embarrassing to use them.Most of the local officials are greedy for life and afraid of death, so how dare they send troops to a decisive battle with the pirates?If the officers and soldiers of several states in Denglai were capable, why did bandits and pirates openly attack Dengzhou City many times, and Wang Yuan also ran rampant outside Jiaozhou Bay?

Ximenqing said that although Xu Wen was good at martial arts, he would be a lowly military officer at the lower level if he went to Banqiao Town to join the army, and it would be difficult for him to be promoted without military exploits.Only after Xu Wen became a general who could command an army in the army would he have the opportunity to call the shots and lead the army to wipe out the pirates entrenched on Sea Snake Island.It's just that until then, I don't know how many years have been wasted.

Hearing that Ximen Qing's analysis was reasonable, Xu Wen couldn't help frowning, feeling really troubled.After he sighed a few times, he suddenly remembered that the one sitting in front of him was not the brother Ximen Qing who broke the Liangshan bandit?Xu Wen secretly scolded himself for being so stupid. There is an expert in front of him, but he doesn't know how to ask him for advice!

"Brother is an idiot, I don't think carefully. I hope Brother Ximen can show you a clear way!" Xu Wen clasped his fists and pleaded.

"Brother Xu Wen, brother, I am building a warship in Dengzhou, training a private navy, and using it to destroy coastal pirates and escort my caravan at sea. Brother Xu Wen, would you like to join?" Ximen Qing made no secret of his interest in Xu Wen. Wen's appreciation, directly sent an invitation to him.

Talent is rare!For Ximen Qing who is building a navy, Xu Wen is a good navy general.

Although Hu Yanqing of Dengzhou is also the target of Ximen Qing's win over, but he is now the commander of the Ping Navy of the imperial court after all, and it is impossible for him to join Ximen Qing for the time being.

"Brother Ximen is willing to help me avenge?" Xu Wen's eyes lit up.When Xu Wen was selling smuggled salt, he crossed the state and ran into the mansion, and traveled all over Hebei and Shandong. Naturally, he heard many rumors about Ximen Qing in the Jianghu.

This brother Ximenqing is a local tycoon who can defeat tens of thousands of Liangshan troops.If he was willing to make a move, it would not be difficult to defeat Wang Yuan who only had a thousand pirates.

"Brother Xu Wen, as long as you join my Dengzhou navy, I will let you be the leader of the navy. As long as you train the navy well, you can launch an attack on Sea Snake Island at any time." Ximen Qing said solemnly.

"Little brother Xu Wen, I would like to follow Brother Ximen!" Xu Wen is a straightforward person, and immediately decided to join the Shandong tycoon Ximen Qing.

"Okay! Brother Xu Wen is really a cheerful person! I will wait for my brother to find a village hotel in front, have a few glasses of water and wine, and celebrate Brother Xu Wen's joining! I will lend another pair of pens and inks to the director of Ximen Village in Dengzhou Write a letter, Brother Xu Wen can take the letter to Dengzhou first, and take care of the training of the navy for my brother and me."

After Xu Wen joined Ximen Qing's team, he was familiar with geography and took Ximen Qing and his party to the nearest village hotel.On the way, he explained a lot of Mizhou's customs and geography to Ximen Qing and the others.

Today, the state government of Mizhou is located in Zhucheng County.Dongwu County was established here in the early Western Han Dynasty, and it was renamed Zhucheng in the Sui Dynasty. According to the local people, Zhucheng was named after the ancient emperor Shun Emperor who was born in Zhufeng Village in the north of the city.

The Deng, Lai, and Mizhou peninsulas in Shandong have developed transportation at home and abroad due to their geographical advantages near the sea. The coastal ports have also developed rapidly due to business and cultural exchanges with overseas countries, especially since the Tang and Song Dynasties.

The coastal ports of Shandong Peninsula can be divided into northern ports and southern ports according to geographical classification.

Dengzhou Penglai Port is the most famous port in the north. Dengzhou Port has a long history. By the Tang Dynasty, it had developed into the most important port in the north and even in the whole country.

The southern port is the busiest port in Banqiao Town, Mizhou that Xu Wen mentioned.

Banqiao Town in Mizhou was first established in the period of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty. Its formation period was much later than that of Dengzhou Port, and its reputation is far less than that of Dengzhou Port.

However, after the Great Song Dynasty and the Khitan became hostile, and the Koryo State also changed the Khitan and Liao Kingdom as the suzerain state, the imperial court once closed Penglai Port in Dengzhou, which was closer to the Liao Kingdom, in order to guard against the Khitan people.

Because of the human intervention of the imperial court, the port of Banqiao Town in Mizhou, which is not as geographically located as Penglai Port in Dengzhou, became famous for a time. It surpassed Penglai Port in Dengzhou during the Yuanfeng period and became the largest port in the north.The imperial court coveted the benefits of maritime trade, and set up a special department of shipping there to levy taxes on merchants' cross-sea trade.

With the decline of Khitan in the Liao Kingdom, Koryo also recognized Song as its suzerain.In order to establish maritime ties with Jin and Koryo, the imperial court reopened Penglai Port in Dengzhou just now.

After Ximenqing heard Xu Wenzhi's words, he realized that Penglai Port in Dengzhou had always been the largest port in northern China in his memory, why Xu Wen said it was the port of Banqiao Town, Mizhou.

Chapter 495 Dongpo Restaurant

After eating wine with Xu Wen and others in the village hotel, Ximen Qing asked the store for paper and ink, and wrote a letter to Ximen Zhong, Shi Yong, and Tao Zongwang, explaining that Xu Wen was the new brother and asked him to go to the boarding house. The state is responsible for training the navy.

After writing the letter and handing it over to Xu Wen, Ximen Qing and others separated from Xu Wen outside the small village and went their separate ways.Ximenqing and his party continued to go to the south of the Yangtze River, and Xu Wen would first return to his home in Jiaoshui County, Laizhou, summon his brothers, and return to Gaomi County to relocate the graves of the brothers who died in battle.After finishing this matter, he will first recruit a group of seaside people who are proficient in water skills and aggressive in Laizhou and Mizhou, and take them to Dengzhou Ximenzhuang to build a private navy for Ximenqing.

After watching Xu Wen leave, Ximenqing and his entourage continued to head southwest, passed through Gaomi County, and arrived at the edge of Weishui River.After crossing the Weishui River, you will be able to reach Zhucheng County, where the capital city of Mizhou is located.

The banks of the Weishui River in Mizhou used to be a famous ancient battlefield. Han Xin, the military god in the early Western Han Dynasty, once defeated the Chu general Longqi here and pacified the Qi State.

At the turn of Qin and Han in the past, when Chu and Han were fighting for hegemony, the Han general Han Xin was ordered to attack Qi, from Lixia to Linzi, which is now Licheng and Zizhou in Qizhou.

Qi Wang Tianguang was terrified. After he fled to Gaomi, he sent someone to ask for help from the state of Chu.When Han Xin attacked Linzi, Xiang Yu, King of Chu, heard the news and sent Grand Sima Longqie to lead troops and horses to join forces with Qi Wang Tianguang to fight against Han, claiming 20 people.

Some people came to offer advice to Long Qie: The Han army is invincible in expeditions and battles, and Qi, the Chu native soldiers are easy to scatter, it is better to use deep ditches and high fortifications to attack with defense, while recruiting the fallen cities, so that the soldiers and people of Qi can know Qi. Wang Shangcun, Chu State came to rescue.This will definitely prevent the Han army from getting food, and they will be defeated without a fight.

Chu General Long looked down on Han Xin and was eager for military exploits. He didn't use this strategy of sticking to it, but led his troops to form a formation across the Weishui River from east to west.

Han Xin sent people to make more than 1 bags overnight, filled with sand, and blocked the upper reaches of the Wei River.Then, Han Xin led half of the army to wade into the east bank and attack the Longqi formation.

When Long Qie sent troops to meet him, Han Xin pretended to be defeated and used a trick to lure the enemy.Long Qi thought that Han Xin was cowardly, so he personally led his army across the Weishui River to attack the Han army.

At this time, Han Xin ordered people to break open the sandbags that blocked the Weihe River, and the accumulated river water rushed in and dispersed the Chu army who were crossing the river.Most of Long Qie's army did not cross the river, only the brave and foolish general Long Qie was trapped on the west bank of the river with a small number of former troops.