Chapter 1047
: First Kill
Chapter 1047: Start a Big Kill
South City Post Station,
West of the official road,
After the first round of javelin throwing by the imperial guards, the elite troops on the left wing had suffered heavy casualties. As Kang Mengyu shouted for the second round,
Another round of javelins, fast as lightning, the short spears were thrown along with the speed of the horses, and then fell heavily into the crowd, breaking through the armor, and then the sound of broken bones was heard, a large number of soldiers were slaughtered, and even other soldiers of the royal palace who were nearby were also affected, and inevitably suffered casualties.
Such a bloody and tragic scene made the soldiers look cold and terrified. The princes were even more frightened. The King of Han screamed loudly,
"Thief, thief, how dare you do this."
These heavily armored soldiers were the ones he had raised with great effort. Now most of them were dead or wounded. How could he not feel pain in his heart? He immediately shouted;
"Fight back, fight back."
A sad roar was heard, and the remaining elite soldiers of the palace immediately dispersed and formed many circles. Then they took out their crossbows and began to shoot intensively. When the arrows fell, Kang Mengyu's imperial guards suffered a lot of losses.
This time, not only was Kang Mengyu, the commander of the army, anxious, but even the imperial guards were also a little bloodthirsty.
Needless to say, they also began to separate and form a circular formation, one to dodge arrows, the other to continuously throw spears.
"One last round of javelin throwing. Take out your spears and prepare to charge."
Following Kang Mengyu's order, the imperial cavalry threw out the short spears in their hands, immediately formed an arrow formation, took out their spears, and rushed forward in almost the blink of an eye.
The horses' hooves were clattering, and the soldiers of both armies flashed bloodthirsty grins on one side and fear on the other. It was almost as if there was no suspense. When the weapons clashed, the sound of broken bones could be heard.
moment,
The remaining thousand or so shield-and-armored soldiers were almost overwhelmed by the cavalry. Even Han Ling, the South City Gate guard who had just come from behind, was frightened out of his wits. How did the fighting start? The prince and the others were still there.
"Listen, stop and guard."
"The general has ordered us to stop and garrison."
Following the shout of the messenger, three thousand heavily armored soldiers immediately stopped and formed a battle array on the official road, ready to fight. The captain of the city gate was so frightened that his thighs were shaking, and he asked tremblingly:
"General, what should we do now? Should we retreat and guard the city gate? The situation ahead is so bad."
It was hard to see what was going on, but the two armies on the left wing were fighting, and the screams were ringing around my ears. It was obvious that they had already started fighting.
"We have to wait for the two adults to come. We can't leave. If the princes die here, what will we have left to survive?"
Han Ling's face darkened. This time they actually started a fight. Not to mention what the court would think, I'm afraid the whole world would be in an uproar.
In the southern army,
Zhang Jinyu's face was also somewhat gloomy. They were indeed the elite soldiers of the palace. With only 5,000 soldiers against 3,000, and a quick surprise attack, equipped with short spears and javelins, many people died. If there were more than 10,000 elite soldiers ahead, I'm afraid the people I brought would not be enough.
Even if it is enough, these turtle shells cannot be broken in a short time. The bright armor and iron shields for defense all cost money.
There is another thing. The "Jingguan" on this official road seems to be the captives of the Taiping Sect. But in such a short time, the bandits who were presented here should at least be paraded for public display, or the court may use it to interrogate them to deter the world. How could they be killed so quickly?
But seeing the action ahead, he immediately gave the order;
"Order Kang Mengyu to retreat immediately after killing the left wing."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
Ning Bian received the order and then sent someone away to pass on the message, but it was already wrong and no one could say anything now. He didn't know how many people the Marquis planned to kill, after all, the heavy armored cavalry outside the pass behind him did not move a single soldier.
"My Lord, should we retreat?"
Keep your distance, so that if you want to fight, you will have an acceleration distance. If you don't fight, you will dodge the opponent's crossbow range and advance and retreat in moderation.
"Don't be in a hurry. Let's see how the other side reacts. I want to take the King of Han to the capital. Get ready."
Not finished yet,
Zhang Jinyu shouted,
"Hand over the traitor King Han,"
Then, almost the entire central army, with great momentum, shouted;
"Hand over the traitor King Han,"
"Hand over the traitor King Han,"
"Kill, kill, kill!"
The roar was deafening and murderous, especially the last sentence. Even the left-wing imperial guards and the right-wing cavalry of the Beijing Camp all roared with red faces.
When the shouts and cries of killing were heard in the capital, many people's faces changed, knowing that something might have happened outside the city, and they quickened their pace, hoping to avoid the disaster.
"Hurry up, hurry up, the people behind you should catch up. Also, go to the Imperial City Department, no, go to the palace to pass on the news that there is a riot outside."
At the South Gate,
Two carriages rushed out in a hurry. He Yongxi, the commander of the military department, and Fu Yuancheng, the deputy governor of the military department of Nancheng, rushed out no matter how hard they tried, but they were still a step too late. The two armies in front of them were facing each other, and the flanks were full of corpses. The smell of blood was carried by the wind. They were already scared to the point of their hands and feet being cold.
"Why are you so impatient, so impatient?"
"Sir, now that things have come to this, what should we do? You and I are alone and have few soldiers. If something happens to us, it will be a loss for the court."
Fu Yuancheng knew that the situation ahead was dangerous. If he didn't handle it well, he would lose his life and property. If he handled it well, he would also be punished. It was a matter of personal concern, and he was in a dilemma.
"Then what do you say we should do? If we had not seen it before, it would have been fine. But now that we are here, if we do nothing, any harm to the princes will be our fault. Well, let Han Ling lead the troops forward and insert them between the two armies. Then, you follow me into the palace."
He Yongxi's face almost fell, he knew there was no way to avoid it, he had to go ahead despite his fear. However, the three thousand heavily armored soldiers were maintained by the Bingmasi at a huge cost, and as the saying goes, you raise soldiers for a thousand days and deploy them for a moment, even if they all died, they had to be kept safe.
"Yes, sir, I understand. Han Ling, lead the army forward and do not stop."
outside the car,
Han Ling had already assembled his troops and was on standby, waiting for the Lord's order. Three thousand heavily-armored soldiers formed a circular formation to protect the carriage as it moved forward.
As the troops marched forward,
Zhang Jinyu was getting impatient and wondering if he should have another round. When he was about to destroy the right wing, he heard movement behind him. Jin Wang Zhou Ding, under the protection of the imperial guards holding large shields, came to the front.
"My Lord, where is the army blocking our way?"
Zhang Jinyu turned around and saw that Prince Jin was standing behind him. He was so frightened that his face changed and he glared at Jiang Zongyue, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards.
"Your Highness, this place is dangerous. Let's go back for now. The soldiers blocking the road ahead are actually from the princes. I find it strange. How could there be elite soldiers from the princes on the official road of the capital? I don't understand why. In addition, the thieves were the first to use crossbows to shoot and kill the left wing of the imperial guards. I counterattacked and killed them. Your Highness, do the princes need to bring elite armored troops to the capital?"
This was what Zhang Jinyu wanted to ask. He didn't know what the ancestral system of the imperial court was like, but there were clear records of the personal guards of the capital according to their titles. Even the princes only had a quota of 1,500 soldiers, and only the crown prince had 2,000 guards. The troops in front, even if they were from the five royal palaces, would mean that each person brought more than 4,000 soldiers. If there were enough war horses and no city walls to block them, they could rush all the way to the palace. Thinking of the palace, could there be changes in the palace?
Zhang Jinyu was shocked when he thought of this. Something has happened in the capital! Then the King of Jin seemed to have thought of a lot. The princes were not allowed to return to the capital without an imperial edict, and the guards could not exceed one thousand people, and more than one thousand people were not allowed to wear armor. This was an iron rule. The Marquis might not know it, but how could he not know it?
Especially at this time,
The army blocked his way, obviously not wanting him to return to the capital, and there was only one purpose, that is, his father and mother were in trouble in the palace, perhaps they were fighting for the throne. Almost in an instant, his hands and feet were numb from thinking about it, but there was only one position, this time, he could only rely on Luo Yunhou,
"My Lord, no matter what happens in the capital, please protect me. If you don't withdraw your troops, I will let you deal with me."
The words were so decisive that Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but take a closer look. It seemed that His Highness understood.
No matter what happens in the city, if we cannot get His Highness in, we will lose the initiative and the consequences will be unpredictable. We will turn our heads back and look at the tortoise shell in front of us. We will use a living formation to fight a dead formation. This is a living target.
"Your Highness, please be at ease. A small obstruction is nothing but a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Just wait and see how I can break this turtle shell."
His face hardened.
Herald, Tao;
"Separate them into four sections, throw spears and shoot, move those ten crossbows over, aim at the center of the army, and shoot them."
The reason why Zhang Jinyu took these crossbows and let them be towed by the carriage was that he couldn't bear to part with them. Most of these seized from Runan and Shizhou City were 80% new and were powerful weapons for defending and attacking cities. If he took them with him, it would be considered as embezzlement.
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
Following the order from the Marquis, the 20,000-odd cavalrymen instantly dispersed, and pushed out ten crossbows from the middle, arranged in a row, right in front of the two armies, with bows strung and huge arrows more than a person's length placed on the chariots. Following Duan Hong's order,
"shoot."
Ten giant arrows were shot out almost at the same time and reached the opposite shield formation in the blink of an eye. The seemingly indestructible heavy armored military shields were like paper in front of the giant arrows from the crossbows. Not only were the shields broken, but even three or four soldiers wearing heavy armor were broken into pieces, and blood was flowing everywhere, which was shocking to watch.
One of the giant arrows in particular pierced several soldiers' chests and abdomens. Red, yellow, and white blood scattered all over the ground. Blood splashed out and splashed on the faces of several princes. Although King Zheng was frightened, he was still calm.
"Let's retreat and let the infantry counterattack. We can't just sit there and wait to be killed. It seems that Marquis Luo Yun has received a secret order. Could it be that the emperor has already arranged assassins?"
I didn't want to say these words, but now that we have come to a critical moment of life and death, not only will we all prosper together and suffer together, but if I lose these soldiers, I won't be able to stay safe even if I return to my fiefdom.
But the other princes, except for the King of Han who laughed out loud, felt a sudden shock in their hearts, feeling that something was wrong. What did he mean by having had this idea in mind for a long time? It was the King of Han who took action first. They were confused about the situation, but now they were forced to do so, and even if he was really killed, they could not argue, so they all nodded in agreement.
Just like that, dense rain of arrows was shot out from the army formations of everyone. Unfortunately, the men under Luo Yunhou's command were all heavily armored cavalry, and the arrows were almost useless, especially the crossbow arrows, which actually passed through the gaps in the shields, landed on their golden armor, and were nailed on their brocade leather armor. There were also a few arrows that were blocked by the precious armor and landed on their hands. They were really persistent.
After a flurry of shots, a gap was opened in front, but it was closed by the infantry behind. Then came the second round of bloody storm. He Yongxi, who came from behind, looked pale.
"Stop, stop, raise the flag, and let the soldiers shout, stop, stop."
"Yes, my lord."
As the rear army approached, the three thousand soldiers began to roar;
"Stop,"
Although there were not many people, the sound could still be heard. I don't know if it was the tragic battlefield that awakened the soldiers on both sides. After Zhang Jinyu gave the order, after the third round of projectiles, both sides stopped fighting. Only a few vassal kings' army formations had the first three layers of the front army cut off.
"Why did you stop, sir?"
The Prince of Jin kept his eyes fixed on the front. Although the Marquis's three rounds of projectiles broke the enemy's shield formation, they only broke the first three layers and did not reach the root. The Marquis did not have many sharp short spears, javelins, and giant arrows. You know, in the past month or so, the Marquis had fought in military campaigns and was not unaware of everything going on in the army. The enemy still had too many people.
"It's not about stopping, but there is news coming from behind. I think the capital has heard the noise and has sent troops over. I don't know who they are."
Zhang Jinyu raised his hand and the entire army stopped, then began to retreat slowly, keeping some distance. After all, they were still within the range of the opponent's crossbows, so they stopped at about the same distance and then gathered their troops.
He Yongxi saw all these movements, and then he hurriedly ordered the army to move forward and stand horizontally between the two armies. Others did not understand this move, but Zhang Jinyu thought a lot about it. It was possible that they were wrong, or it might be a misunderstanding.
Looking behind him, the King of Jin had already mounted his warhorse and was surrounded by a group of imperial guards. Zhang Jinyu went over immediately.
"Your Highness, something must have happened, but we still need to cover it up."
After he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to push aside the army formation, walked forward, then took out a few crossbow arrows that he had just caught from his horse bag, and stabbed them at the gold-thread soft armor on King Jin's body. Arrows landed in his chest and abdomen, and scattered all over King Jin's body. Seeing this, the people around him were silent. Although they understood what was going on, no one dared to speak.
"My Lord, this is..."
King Jin looked at his body in confusion, and then saw the Marquis's golden armor and leather shoulders, which were also pierced with many crossbows. He understood something in an instant, and wanted to say more, but Zhang Jinyu had already turned and left.
"Your Highness, please wait until you see His Majesty before speaking. No matter what, the behavior of these princes is not what a prince would do."
Just as the evil spirit was rising outside the city, some people from the Imperial City Bureau hurried back to the government office.
"Report, sir, sir, something bad has happened. Something terrible has happened."
A centurion from the Imperial City Department, with sweat on his forehead and a look of fear, rushed straight into the main hall of the Commander-in-Chief's Office from outside the yamen.
"What's the matter? Why are you so flustered?"
Ma Mengquan had just returned from an inspection of the city, investigating the Taiping Sect and the White Lotus Sect, and their spy bases in the city. Now all the suspicious places that were in the open had already been cleared out, leaving only those that were hiding deeply, especially the White Lotus Sect, which were elusive and difficult to track down.
"My lord, my lord, the soldiers brought by the princes have already fought with the cavalry of Marquis Luo Yun who returned to the capital first. A large number of soldiers have been killed. The commander of the military department, Lord He, has led 3,000 heavy armored soldiers. What should we do?"
The centurion was almost exhausted. These things happened in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Southern Pacification Office, and they were in no way unrelated.
Ma Mengquan, who was holding a pen and thinking about writing something, was a little hesitant at the moment. Marquis Luo Yun and the princes who came to Beijing had a fight. Was it the order of His Majesty, or did the princes want to test it, or was there a change in the palace? He thought of many things in an instant.
It was not until the fragrant ink at the tip of the brush dripped onto the rice paper that I came back to my senses.
"Order the Southern Pacification Guards to gather their troops, and then order ten capable personnel to follow me into the palace."
"Yes, my lord."
The centurion reacted quickly too, guessing that the lord must be worried about changes in the palace, which was why he asked the commander-in-chief to gather his troops.
There was no wasting time. With the sound of whistles, the Southern Pacification Army had begun to assemble the Guards. This move seemed to be contagious. The military commanders of various departments also began to assemble their soldiers. Even the imperial guards in the South City camp began to assemble and stand by.
"Hurry, hurry, keep up,"
There was a shout, and Ma Mengquan whipped his horse desperately, running straight to the Meridian Gate. When he arrived in front of the palace gate, he called for the token, and then took ten good men from the Imperial City Department and ran quickly to the direction of the Yangxin Palace. On the way, he looked around from time to time, but did not find any ambushing soldiers and imperial guards.
As soon as they entered the courtyard of the Yangxin Palace and were stopped by the imperial guards and presented their badges, Xiao Yunzi came over with several eunuchs and asked;
"I wonder if Commander Ma has anything important to discuss with you today. Why do I feel like Commander Ma is in a hurry?"
It seemed like he had something to ask, and it was a little unusual, especially the ten people from the Imperial City Department outside the courtyard, who looked a little strange. It was almost noon, and His Majesty still had to eat.
This question,
But Ma Mengquan relaxed a bit, took a breath and replied;
"Eunuch Yun, I have an important matter to discuss with the Governor and His Majesty. May I ask if the Governor and His Majesty are well?"
Although he knew that the situation in the palace was not as he had guessed, he had to ask. However, after asking this question, Xiao Yunzi was suspicious. Today, the commander of the horse was different from usual.
"Of course he is fine. Godfather is also in there with the emperor, but I don't know if Lord Ma is here for something else."
"My Lord, don't think too much. Something big happened outside the South City Gate. Marquis Luo Yun led his troops back to the capital first and ran into the convoy of the princes entering the capital. The two armies faced each other outside the city and fought, and many people died."
That’s all I have to say. As for how many people died, we don’t know yet.
"What? They fought. What you said is true. This matter cannot be false."
Xiao Yunzi frowned, somewhat unconvinced. The news of the prince's entry into the capital had already been announced. Even if Luo Yunhou returned to the capital first, it would not be a big deal. Why did several families start fighting outside the city? This was a big deal.
"Oh, my Lord Yun, how dare I spread a false rumor about this matter? Lord He from the Military Department has already led 3,000 heavily armored soldiers out of the South City Gate. Upon receiving the news, I immediately ordered the Southern Pacification Office's guards to assemble and wait for orders."
Ma Mengquan clasped his fists and told the truth. The situation was extremely urgent. If any prince was really killed by Marquis Luo Yun, it would be troublesome.
"How could this be?"
(End of this chapter)