Chapter 1000
It's really Yu the old thief
Chapter 1000 It's really Yu the old thief
Jingnan,
In front of the county governor's mansion,
Ji Yunhui's face was slightly red, and he was walking in a hurry, with a little sweat on his forehead. Zhang Jinyu touched his chin, looked at the back mountain not far ahead, and said;
"Alright, bring more people to search thoroughly. At noon, the Marquis and Your Highness will have dinner in the pavilion behind the county governor's mansion. You go and inform Mr. Song to make the arrangements. Your Highness, please."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
Zhang Jinyu ignored the others and made a gesture of invitation to King Jin. Since the thieves were not found, if they could leave the city at this time, they would have run away long ago, so there was no need to look for them anymore.
The County Magistrate's Mansion was a nice place with a gentle breeze and cool weather. That old thief Yu Shiyuan really knew how to choose a place. The County Magistrate's Mansion, wow,
"Someone, come and smash the sign in front of the mansion. What kind of county governor's mansion is this? From now on, this is where I and His Highness drink tea."
Then, he and the King of Jin entered the mansion, one in front and one behind, surrounded by the imperial guards. The personal guards behind him took the spears and smashed them directly at the plaque of the county governor's mansion. There were a series of sporadic noises, and the plaque was smashed to pieces and fell to the ground.
The front yard of the mansion,
There is a different world.
It was a long corridor that connected to the main hall, but Zhang Jinyu and King Jin did not go through it. They led their men directly to the backyard, bypassing a pond and taking a small path into the back mountain. The first thing they saw was a bamboo forest. After the bamboo forest, there was a mountain-viewing pavilion halfway up the mountain.
At this moment, the pavilion had already been cleaned up. The servants around Song Da had come here first and prepared tea and snacks. It seemed that they were not just ordered to do so. They were really considerate in their service.
Seeing this, the King of Jin was also a little surprised. Thinking of what the Marquis had said before, that little bit of prejudice disappeared.
When the two of them sat down,
The waiter immediately knelt on the ground and said;
"I greet your Highness and the Marquis. Manager Song asked me to serve here."
"Well, Mr. Song is thoughtful. Who are you?"
This man looked thin, but his eyes were bright and impressive. He couldn't help but ask,
"My Lord, I am the adopted son of Master Song. You can just call me Xiao Song. There is a kitchen in the backyard of the mansion. I brought a cart of dishes and seasonings from the camp and changed the pots in the back kitchen. All the expenses are from the camp. It will take another half an hour for the food to be ready. Please forgive me, my Lord."
This explanation made Zhang Jinyu and Zhou Chong's eyes light up. He was indeed a thoughtful person. He was able to exchange all the food and daily necessities from the camp. It was obvious that he was attentive and careful. Who knew if the items left in the mansion were poisoned.
"You are thoughtful. You can stay here to serve in the big tent. After all, Song Da is too busy. Get up."
As soon as he said this, Xiao Song's face was overjoyed, and he immediately kowtowed and thanked him;
"Thank you for your kindness, Lord. I will serve you carefully."
He kowtowed again, then slowly stood up and poured tea for His Highness and the Marquis. Smelling the fragrance of the tea, Zhang Jinyu took the tea bowl and took a sip. It must be said that sitting on the hillside drinking tea and looking at the scenery was really a pleasure.
"Your Highness, have a taste. No wonder the old thief Yu built a pavilion here to drink tea. Look at this place. You can see the scenery from far and near. Wow."
He tutted his tongue and instantly relaxed. It would be really nice if he could bring some of his friends from the capital with him.
The King of Jin picked up the tea bowl and looked around. Half of the county town was in sight. The sky was blue and the land was vast. It was indeed a good place to go. However, the Marquis kept calling him an old thief. It was not very appropriate.
"Your Majesty is right. With the pine and bamboo trees by the side and the clouds and seas all around, there is a special artistic conception in it. Unfortunately, Lord Yu did not appreciate the emperor's grace and caused resentment among the people. He cannot escape the blame."
"Your Highness, don't worry. If people who are well-read in poetry and books all have the compassion of saints, then the world will never be peaceful. Unfortunately, as far as I know, most of those who are righteous are butchers, and most of those who are ruthless are scholars. Therefore, I think that the more knowledge you have, the more you can accomplish. On the contrary, you will do more bad things. The world is in chaos. Although it is difficult for the younger generation of military meritorious officials to achieve great success, as long as they are loyal, it will be fine. Although civil officials are beneficial, there may be people who can help your Highness in the chaos of the world."
Zhang Jinyu slowly sipped the tea in his hand, finally feeling emotional. Until today, most of those who died in suppressing the rebellion were sons of military heroes. Hundreds of officers and soldiers shed their blood on the battlefield, but not one of them deserted. It was obvious that the Beijing camp was not as cowardly as rumored. Although most of them were mediocre, those who could fight and not retreat needed great courage. It was the terror between life and death.
Zhou Ding listened silently, brought the tea bowl to his mouth, tasted it, and finally did not drink it. Thinking about what the Marquis said, his mind suddenly became clear, but also a little confused. Could it be that the Marquis did not think highly of the civil officials?
"Most of the righteous are butchers, and most of the ruthless are scholars. What the Marquis said is thought-provoking. So, the Marquis means that the court should rely on military merits rather than civil officials?"
"Wrong, Your Highness. Civil officials and military officials must all be used. How to use them is what Your Highness needs to learn. I cannot grasp it either. But this time when I led the army south, I was moved. In the three major battles, although the soldiers of the Beijing camp were afraid, no one retreated. There were countless casualties, including many officers and civil officials. But there were still scum among them. These are the ones Your Highness wants to kill."
Merits should be rewarded and mistakes should be punished. This is the ultimate truth between heaven and earth. If this is violated, treacherous ministers will be in power, the world will be turned upside down, the court will be in chaos, and the world will be in chaos.
"My Lord, I have learned your lesson."
King Jin's face straightened, he stood up and bowed, Zhang Jinyu accepted it calmly, and when the two sat down again, there was always a feeling of being both a teacher and a friend.
Outside the pavilion,
There were footsteps, and Ji Yunhui turned back again and reported;
"My Lord, Your Highness, we have discovered a cave in the pine forest east of the bamboo forest in the back mountain. It is very well hidden. In addition, the cave is located deep inside the ground and has a very long corridor. I have carefully checked and found traces of human intervention. There are also side halls in the corridor and the number of weapons is extremely shocking."
Ji Yunhui's face was solemn this time. These tunnels were obviously not something that could be dug out in a short time. Moreover, the tunnels were extremely spacious, like an underground palace. The project was extremely huge, and it must have taken a large number of manpower to dig them out.
"Haha, oh my, Your Highness, I was right to call you old thief, right? Can you check where this place leads to?"
Zhang Jinyu smiled, the old thief has revealed his true colors. The King of Jin smiled awkwardly and shook his head, the Marquis is right to scold him, the old thief Yu, he spent so much effort just to communicate with the traitor, if it is true, the Yu family in the capital will be executed.
"My Lord, I have asked Captain He to lead the elite soldiers of the Imperial City Department, fully armored, into the passage. We checked the direction and it is to the west. However, the passage is very long and it will take at least five years to dig, so I am not sure where it leads to."
Ji Yunhui was also a little hesitant at this moment. It was hard to see such a project except the imperial mausoleum. He dared not speak rashly.
"Well, continue to send people in to find out the whole story. If my guess is correct,"
Zhang Jinyu kept the secret, then stood up, walked outside the pavilion, and came to a dirt slope. He drew out his long knife and fiercely stabbed the ground, then stabbed several times around. This action confused the King of Jin, who also stood up and walked over. He looked down and saw nothing unusual, so he asked in confusion;
"My Lord, why do you want to pierce the ground? Is there a secret passage here?"
"No, I am testing the hardness of this mountain. Your Highness, please look, the bluestone road surface is needless to say. The earth slope here is obviously compacted by humans. Further down, the soil is softer. I even think that this mountain is the earth mountain piled up by Lord Yu. If the secret passage really leads to the outside of the city, it will not take five years to dig it out. Your Highness, this secret hidden by Lord Yu is too big."
Zhang Jinyu lost his smile and looked solemnly at the top of the mountain. If the mountain was really made of earth, then Lord Yu was planning something big. Or, the master behind him, the former prince, could be said to be a great man of the time.
After hearing this, the King of Jin took a deep breath, turned around immediately, pulled out a long knife from the waist of the imperial guard behind him, and stabbed it hard at the slope. Sure enough, the soil was a bit soft, and there was nothing hard inside. Only at the bottom of the slope were there some rocks and gravel, which should be used for reinforcement.
Looking back at the hills here, such a high mountain, if it is really piled up by the soil dug out from the tunnel, it is not something that ordinary people can do. Then who is behind Yu Shiyuan? Is it the Taiping Sect? It seems not. The other vassal kings seem to be a little unreasonable. Or maybe they have joined forces.
Although he had a lot of thoughts, he had no clue, and his face looked even uglier. Such a big thing, no one in the whole Jingnan reported it. Could it be that the Jingnan general Gu Ping also had problems?
"Your Majesty's guess is not without reason. Perhaps some officials in the entire Jingnan were wrongly accused. However, such a big thing was not reported by the court or the Imperial City Department. This means that the entire Jingnan is still nominally under the court, but it is unknown who is under its control. Does your Majesty have any doubts about the Jingnan general?"
"Of course there are, but the suspicion is not great, or most officials are unaware of it. It's just that people are extremely greedy. Corrupt officials on the same ship are naturally related to each other. It's a pity that the high-ranking officials of the Taiping Sect ran away and failed to complete the mission. However, the battle report here can be sent back to the capital. It will say that in Linshan County, the Taiping Sect was defeated and the city was massacred, and no one escaped. It will shock the world."
Zhang Jinyu curled his lips. There were almost no ordinary people in the entire county town. They were all bandits and slave soldiers who were taken with them. No matter what, they could not be left behind, so they were all killed. This was also considered a massacre. The city was mainly plundered. The supplies in the county town greatly supplemented the needs of the army.
"Okay, as the Marquis said, let the news spread throughout the world. I wonder what the Marquis will do next?"
The King of Jin also came back to his senses. After defeating the enemy army in succession, the soldiers were exhausted and he didn't know what the Marquis would do.
"No hurry. There are many good things in the county city. Let the brothers plunder it. After a day of rest, leave 50,000 soldiers to guard the county city. The army will go to Weizhou first, and then divide the troops to investigate Qinzhou and Linzhou to see the movements of the White Lotus Sect. I can't understand what the White Lotus Sect is doing."
Youyou sighed. Even if the Taiping Sect and the people behind the scenes reorganized their army, they would have no chance of turning the tables. However, the White Lotus Sect never showed up, and even no reinforcements came. It was really weird.
Could it be that the Prince of Beijing used his military prowess to hold back the main force of the White Lotus Sect, so that the White Lotus Sect had no time to take care of the situation in southern Beijing? How could this be possible?
After thinking for a while, Zhang Jinyu's eyes were a little strange. Perhaps he really underestimated Beijing Prince Shui Rong. As for East Prince Mu Shi, the Jiangnan area was even more complicated. There were military meritorious families, gentry and powerful people. It was a mess. He didn't know if he could sort it out. Fortunately, there was a natural barrier of the canal, and the White Lotus Sect couldn't fly over.
"My Lord, don't worry. The Prince of Beijing must be from the Northern Palace and is well-versed in military tactics. In addition, the 20,000 vanguard troops of Qi Yun, the governor of Ping'an Province, are the elite troops of the Northern Palace. If they can be integrated with the Xihe Prefecture army, defending the city will not be a problem. If the Prince of the East can mobilize soldiers from the Jiangnan camp for reinforcement, perhaps they can win."
After all, Xihe County has a strong underworld atmosphere, with many disciples from various sects, and the terrain is complex, with many mountains and rivers. It should not be difficult to stop the rapid advance of the bandit army. As long as the important places in the county are guarded, the White Lotus Sect will be nothing but a floating duckweed.
Seeing how lightly the King of Jin said it, even so, the White Lotus Sect is known as the world's largest sect, it can't be that it doesn't even have the ability of the Taiping Sect,
"I hope so. Come, Your Highness, have some tea."
"A toast to the Marquis!"
Xihe County,
Yangping South Gate,
now,
There were corpses everywhere under the city, blood-stained city walls, and the rubble on the towers was full of arrows. Jiao Ke's eyes were empty and his face was pale. In just one day, the city defense was in danger. He originally thought that with nearly 70,000 soldiers and horses, even if there were some new troops, they could resist a few with the 30,000 elite troops of the Jiangnan camp, with the old and the new.
never thought,
Within a day, the White Lotus Sect repeatedly attacked the South City Gate. If Wu Kuang had not led his troops to resist, the city gate might have been lost.
"Quick, archers, get ready, 150 steps, shoot, and release."
On top of the city,
Many generals and lieutenants were running back and forth, shouting. They had just killed a group of bandits when another wave of attacks came, leaving no time for the soldiers defending the city to rest. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers on the top of the city had already been replaced.
"Major General, Major General, the west gate is in danger. General Duan has led his troops to support us, but our brothers have suffered heavy casualties. Those bandits are simply crazy and fearless. They will never retreat until all of them are dead. It's weird."
Gui Qing wiped the blood off her face, the long sword in her hand trembled slightly, and she looked at the densely packed bandit army under the city with a look of disbelief. Aren't they afraid of death?
"Got it. Bring up all the government troops under the city, and then our people will go down to rest and serve as the supervisory team. Anyone who retreats will be killed."
Jiao Ke's eyes turned red. He didn't know how many of his soldiers had died in this fight. Don't even mention whether they were new troops or not. As long as they were under his command, they were soldiers.
"Yes, Major General, I will pass on the order right away."
After saying that, Gui Qing led a group of soldiers down the tower. Then, he saw a large number of soldiers wearing armor from the city climbed up to the top of the city wall, replaced the soldiers who had fought before, and only left some officers and soldiers under the city, and all the rest retreated back to the city.
The actions on the city wall were clearly seen by the left guard at the foot of the city. It seemed that reinforcements had arrived. In that case, there was no need to be polite.
"Send an order, have Hall Master Lu prepare the supervisory team, and then, send 30,000 slave soldiers to each city gate, and attack without stopping. Also, form a crossbow formation, and have Hall Master An lead the team to provide cover. Also, have the religious army be ready, and if there is a chance, they will charge forward."
"Yes, Protector, I will pass on the order right away."
The incense master behind him saluted. After a day of fighting, both armies were exhausted, but the White Lotus Sect did not use its elite religious troops. Instead, it consumed a large number of slave troops, which could reduce casualties and save food. Why not do it?
Seeing that the military order had been issued, outside Yangping City, at the South Gate, West Gate, and North Gate, the White Lotus Sect had 40,000 troops each rushing into the battlefield frantically, swarming the city, leaving the newly arrived troops in a panic to meet the enemy. They barely managed to hold on by relying on their numerical advantage until the evening.
The two armies stopped fighting. The corpses under the city were almost two people tall. Stepping on the corpses made the already low city wall look a little shaky.
The Right Protector smiled slightly, and then ordered the troops to withdraw.
And inside the city,
The atmosphere was almost gloomy. The people who were so confident yesterday now gathered together as if they had lost their parents. Even the prefect, Lord Li, no longer had the words he had before.
"Report, Major General, the enemy troops have withdrawn, withdrawn,"
As the messenger on the city wall reported the battle, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, in just one day, more than 20,000 people were killed in the battle, and half of them were injured. At this rate, the defenders would be gone in a few days.
"My Lords, I have defended until today, and I have done my best. The Jiangnan camp suffered heavy casualties. Three thousand elite soldiers were killed in this morning, not to mention the wounded. The new troops fought bravely in the afternoon, but they will not hold out for a few more days. Therefore, I have decided to break out to the north."
Jiao Ke's face turned red with anger. He had thought that the bandits were so powerful that he could easily capture them with just a little skill. He had never expected that they were so fierce. This was not a war, but a hunt.
Fortunately, I am not in Jiangnan. Thinking of the government troops in Jiangnan, no, what government troops, they are just the soldiers of the masters. There are not many elite troops in the whole of Jiangnan. If I stay, I will be trapped and die here. So I have to leave. As for how to leave,
Jiao Ke gritted his teeth and decided to leave now without delay.
"Okay, since the major general has made the decision, then we will listen to him. However, there are still many civilians in the city. I wonder how you gentlemen will arrange it."
The prefect Li Ran nodded and said that it was better to leave, but there were still many supplies in the city, which would be difficult to transport.
"Sir Li, the army can still take some with them when they go out. Of course, they have to transport some valuables to the dock. As for the people in the city, they can follow the army and go as far as they can. But there are many places to store food in the city. When you leave, light one of them. The enemy army will definitely put out the fire before they can escape."
Jiao Ke immediately spoke up. What the White Lotus Sect lacked was food. Therefore, if they wanted the enemy army not to chase them, they could only burn the food. Of course, they couldn't burn all of it. If they burned it all, the enemy army would definitely not give up.
"Okay, everything is up to the Major General!"
(End of this chapter)