***
The road surface of Xianxia Ancient Road is mainly made of granite, with 24 bends. It is said to have been opened by Huang Chao's army in the late Tang Dynasty.
There are four gates in Xianxia Pass, two in the northeast and two in the southwest, all built with stone slabs. They are all built in the narrow pass of dangerous cliffs sandwiched between two mountains. The narrowest part can only allow one horse to pass through. It can be said that one man can guard the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it.
This ancient road is the throat of transportation between Fujian and Zhejiang. It is connected to two docks, one is the Qinghu Dock in Jiangshan County in western Zhejiang, and the other is the Pucheng Dock in northern Fujian.
In the past, the ancient road was bustling with merchants coming and going. Goods imported from overseas to Fujian were transported inland via Xianxia Pass, while ceramics, silk fabrics, and tea from Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places were transported overseas via Xianxialing Road.
Qinghu Wharf, as the southernmost starting point of the upper reaches of Qiantang River, is the southeastern terminus of ships from the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It has as many as 17 loading and unloading docks and 14 shipyards. Nearly a thousand ships and hundreds of shops berth at Qinghu Wharf every day, making it an important place where merchants gather.
However, ever since the confrontation between the Qin and Zheng armies at Xianxia Ridge, the Xianxia Ancient Road has been blocked, with no business or travel, and no pedestrians on the road, making it appear extremely desolate and deserted.
The merchants lamented endlessly, hoping day and night that the Qin army could open up this vital throat as soon as possible.
When the news of the great victory in the East China Sea came, the merchants at Qinghu Wharf were like chicken blood. They ran around in ecstasy and set off firecrackers all day long.
Sure enough, a few days later, a team of fast horses came galloping and rushed into Jiangshan County. Soon afterwards, military drums boomed and the Qin army in black clothes and black armor began to assemble.
The next day, 10,000 Qin troops, led by Liu Fangliang and Liao Shifan, set out from Jiangshan and marched towards Xianxialing. On both sides of the road, people came with pots and drinks to see the soldiers off. The atmosphere was extremely warm.
Seeing this scene, Hong Xu couldn't help but sigh. As the saying goes, those who are righteous will have many supporters, while those who are unrighteous will have few. The Zheng family caused the death of Emperor Longwu and lost the support of the people.
In addition, the Qin Dynasty had mastered the world situation, and the people were all on the side of the Qin Dynasty. Hong Xu believed that even the merchants in Fujian did not expect the Zheng army to open up these throats. In order to end the losses caused by the military confrontation as soon as possible, he believed that the merchants in Fujian also supported the Qin army to enter Fujian as soon as possible.
***
On Xianxia Mountain, rumors were already spreading.
Some say that Zheng Zhilong's entire army was wiped out and he himself died in the battle.
Some say that after the Qin navy defeated the Zheng navy, it went south to attack Fuzhou.
Some say that Zheng Zhilong surrendered to Qin after his defeat.
In short, there are all kinds of rumors, but none of them are good. They all say that Zheng Zhilong was defeated.
You know, the Zheng family's strongest force is the navy, and now even the navy has been defeated. What else can the Zheng family rely on
There were deserters in Zheng's army. Zheng Fei, the commander stationed at Xianxia Pass, was furious and killed several captured deserters. However, this move not only failed to deter the soldiers, but made them even more panicked.
"Brother, do you think the Duke was really defeated?" Zheng Hong asked in a low voice. He is Zheng Fei's younger brother and Zheng Zhilong's cousin.
Zheng Fei sat down on the commander's chair. He felt as if he had lost all his strength. He glanced at his brother and snorted, "This news must be a rumor spread by Qin's spies. Think about it. How could an ordinary person spread the news of something happening in the East China Sea so quickly to Xianxia Pass?"
"But brother, as the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Even if this news was spread by Qin Jun's spies, if it is not true, it will be exposed soon. Qin Jun will not be stupid enough to spread such news, right?"
"Why is this impossible? This has caused great confusion among our troops. They have already achieved their goal."
Zheng Hong always felt that things were not that simple, but Xianxia Pass was located in the northwest of Fujian, and he could not verify it with Fuzhou for the time being. He was afraid that even Fuzhou might not know whether it was true or not.
"Brother, if... I mean if, in case the Duke really loses the war, what should we do?" Zheng Hong asked cautiously.
Zheng Fei replied unhappily: "If the Duke is really defeated, what can we do? The Qin army can then take the sea route and attack Fuzhou and Quanzhou directly. Even if we defend Xianxia Pass to the death, is there any point?"
"this... ... ... "
"Don't let your imagination run wild. The most urgent thing is to stabilize the morale of the troops first."
From Zheng Fei's tone, Zheng Hong clearly felt that he lacked confidence. It was obvious that his brother was probably also full of doubts.
At this moment, a sentry stumbled in and said in panic: "General, General, it's bad, the Qin army is coming."
"The Qin army is coming? How many troops are coming?" Zheng Fei stood up suddenly and asked anxiously.
"General, the Qin army is nowhere to be seen, and there are probably tens of thousands of troops. It is said that the commander is Liu Fangliang."
Brothers Zheng Fei and Zheng Hong, with their personal soldiers, hurried to the top of the wall and looked down from a high place. They saw the black flags of the Qin army flying on the winding mountain road. The soldiers and horses were like ants, with no end in sight.
"Prepare for battle, prepare for battle!" Zheng Fei shouted loudly without thinking too much.
Xianxia Pass is built entirely of stone slabs, with double gates and arched roofs. The wall is more than ten feet thick and nearly two feet high, built along the gorge, with a neat and solid foundation stone. In the middle is a semi-circular gate, which looks like the Great Wall, very majestic. Standing on the pass, the ancient road below is clearly visible.
Zheng Fei believed that with such a dangerous pass, the Qin army would be defeated.
But the soldiers of Zheng army did not have such confidence as he did. There were many dangerous passes in this world. Was there any dangerous pass that had not been breached
Dangerous passes are important, but what is more important is the soldiers' mental defense.
Now rumors are spreading among Zheng’s army, and people are in panic. Before the battle even starts, their defenses have already been broken.
Under Zheng Fei's scolding, the soldiers reluctantly stood under the battlements, but most of them had nervous eyes and looked uneasy.
The Qin army's vanguard stopped when it was still more than a mile away from the city wall. Then, several people were seen holding up a large flag with the word "Zheng" on it and walking towards the city wall.
This move made the Zheng army on the city wall extremely confused. Why did the Qin army raise the flag of the Zheng army? There was a constant buzz of discussion.
"Erhei, what do you think is going on?"
"How should I know?"
"I'm afraid these people are here to negotiate."
"Do you even need to tell me that? Otherwise, why are there only a few people here?"
"I'm afraid he's here to persuade us to surrender..."
After hearing the soldiers' comments, Zheng Fei was furious and said, "If anyone dares to talk nonsense again, I will chop off his head."
Zheng Hong asked, "Brother, do you want to fire?"
Before Zheng Fei could answer, a loud shout was heard from the mountain path. In this valley, the sound was blocked by the mountains on all sides and seemed particularly loud. It was heard far away in the city gate and everyone could hear it clearly.
"Brother Guan, I am Hong Xu, the Earl of Zhongzhen appointed by Emperor Longwu. I come here on the orders of Duke Ping. Brother Guan, please allow me to come forward."
Hong Xu was one of Zheng Zhilong's most trusted generals. In the first year of Longwu, Zhu Youjian promoted him to the title of Earl of Zhongzhen. Almost everyone in Zheng's army knew him.
The fact that he suddenly appeared at the gate of the pass, and came with the Qin army, instantly caused an uproar among the Zheng army at the gate.
The brothers Zheng Fei and Zheng Hong were also stunned. Hong Xu held up the flag and quickly came to the pass, shouting to Zheng Fei: "General Zheng, Duke Ping asked me to come here so that the brothers at Xianxia Pass don't have to put up any more unnecessary resistance. The King of Qin is a holy and benevolent monarch, and the unification of the Qin Empire is unstoppable. Duke Ping feels the King of Qin's benevolence and has already submitted to the Qin Empire."
Zheng Fei asked in surprise: "What did you say? The Duke has already surrendered to the Qin State?"
"That's right. The King of Qin has forgiven the past and granted Duke Ping an official title. Duke Ping is now a minister of the Qin Empire. General Zheng and the brothers in Guan Shang must not be enemies of the King's army anymore. Give up resistance immediately and open the gates to welcome the King's army. The King of Qin has issued an order that as long as everyone submits, he will not treat you unfairly."
Zheng Fei murmured, "This is impossible. How could this be possible? How could the Duke suddenly submit to the Qin State..."
Hong Xu took out a letter and said, "General Zheng, this is a letter from Duke Ping to you. The cause and effect are clearly stated in the letter. General Zheng will understand everything after reading the letter."
The Zheng army in Guan was almost in a state of panic, and the buzzing sound was like thousands of bees flying around. Zheng Fei's face changed, and he asked someone to hang Zheng Zhilong's letter up with a rope.
All the soldiers watched him open the letter, and many of them were so nervous that their hearts were pounding. Would Zheng Fei agree to surrender after reading the letter? Would he? Would he still fight the Qin army to the death
**********************
ps: It’s already the 13th, brothers, please give me your monthly votes!
.(To be continued..)
...