Chapter 923
Find Another Way Out Tonight
Chapter 923 Find Another Way Out Tonight
In the sky,
The moon was half-hidden by dark clouds, like a solitary lamp that could go out at any time. Occasionally, a ray of moonlight squeezed out from the clouds, but was blocked by the trees in the dense forest.
As Lu Sima's cold words came over, the scouts who had led the way earlier actually walked in with torches and lit the sulfur fire starter. The weather was dry and the east wind was blowing. The smoke from the fire rose with the wind. After a few moments, the fire suddenly grew stronger, like a fire dragon piercing the darkness in the night, and spread rapidly in the dense forest.
The flames around could be seen from a long distance away. Zhang Jinyu had already led his troops to stand in the upwind position. The flames were extremely bright and also illuminated the cavalry he brought with him, revealing their shapes.
Looking at the dense forest again, Zhou Xiu's face was ashen, and thick smoke was rolling in. The choking smoke instantly penetrated the gaps in the forest. The officers and soldiers set fire to the forest. As expected, their whereabouts were exposed. He shouted;
"Quickly retreat. There is a cliff behind the cliff. There is a pool of water below the cliff. The fire cannot reach that side."
"Quick retreat,"
"Run."
Shouts of people fleeing in the forest rose and fell. Ten thousand Taiping sect members appeared in the firelight and retreated. They were seen by Zhang Jinyu and others. Zhu Wu and others were even more frightened. The enemy army had already reached the city of Tongzhou. If it weren't for the Marquis, they would have been remembered by the enemy.
Lu Kang didn't waste any words, and immediately led Zhu Wu and others to the east flank. When they arrived in front of the battle, they immediately bowed.
"My Lord, you have made a brilliant plan. There are indeed enemy troops ambushing in the forest. The fire is raging. Do you have any other instructions?"
Looking at the panicked figures in the forest, many of the slow runners were engulfed by the fire and screamed miserably. This burning meant the end of the forest.
"Don't worry. You lead the troops. After the fire is out, search the surroundings and do not leave Tongzhou City. As for the remaining bandits, it is unknown how many will be left after this battle. I will notify General Han who is staying in the Beijing camp to lead the troops to wipe them out. The two of you must defend this place to the death. Without my order, you must not move troops out of the city."
"Yes, Lord Marquis, I will obey the order."
Zhu Wu's eyes were firm, and he clasped his fists and said, "Seeing that there was nothing to finish, Zhang Jinyu did not delay any longer. He immediately arranged for Ningbian to send someone to pass the message to Anhu Camp, and then he waved his hand and left with 5,000 cavalrymen.
The rumbling sound of horse hooves gradually faded away, and Zhu Wu dared to ask;
"Sima, wait until the fire is out, Sima will lead the troops back to the city first, and give your 5,000 men and horses to chase after them and wipe out these thieves!"
With so many military achievements before our eyes, who wouldn't be tempted?
But the Eagle Strike Sima Lu Kang shook his head.
"No need. Pass the order. All troops return to the city and defend it tightly. No one is allowed to leave the city without an order."
"Why, Sima?"
Zhu Wu was dumbfounded. The enemy troops had lost 90% of their courage when they were set on fire. If he had led his troops to attack them, he would have surely succeeded. So why were they retreating now?
"You kid, don't you think about it? There were so many figures in the forest just now, and I don't know how many people came. The Marquis has already given instructions before he led the army away. Even if you have made great contributions, it is better to defend Tongzhou City. If there is any trouble in the city, our heads will be moved."
I am so disappointed. I stayed here because it was comfortable. If I wanted to fight in the battlefield, I should have followed the general to the south.
"Uh, yes, Sima, let's go back. It would be good to burn down this forest so that the south of the city can be seen clearly."
After the two men had discussed, they led their troops back, and the army slowly turned and retreated to Tongzhou City.
Little did they know that the situation here was strange, and even the troops marching south had noticed it, and someone came to report it immediately.
"Report, Your Majesty, a fire has broken out in the dense forest outside Tongzhou City. It can be seen clearly from ten miles away. The fire is extremely fierce and came suddenly. Judging from the direction, it seems to be where Your Majesty went."
The messenger spoke urgently, but also expressed clearly. King Zhou Ding of Jin was shocked and wondered what was going on. How could there be such a big fire?
The people in Tongzhou City, an important grain and fodder base, suddenly raised their heads and seemed to hear a fire in the dense forest outside the city. Could it be that bandits were ambushing them? No way, could the Taiping Sect have the guts to do that?
"Did you see it clearly? Did you inform General Duan about this? Do you want to send reinforcements to check it out?"
"Your Highness, I have already informed General Duan of this matter. General Duan said that your Highness's safety is the most important thing. Since the Marquis has already led the troops there, there will be no trouble."
The commander of the imperial guards outside approached the car window and immediately replied, "Seeing that General Duan didn't care, it shouldn't be a big deal.
Zhou Ding was also very surprised in the car. He was not in a hurry at all. Could it be that Marquis Luo Yun knew about this in advance? He remembered that the Marquis had just got off the car and led the army to Tongzhou City. It should not be that he let it go for no reason. He thought that he had received accurate information. However, Tongzhou City was related to the safety of the entire capital. This fire made many people sweat.
Then he looked up and saw Miss Lan Yue sitting quietly opposite him, still looking calm, a woman is as good as a man.
"Okay, since General Duan has said so, let's move on."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The commander of the imperial guards outside the car responded and then fell silent. Xia Yu inside the car couldn't help but feel a little worried. Swords and knives have no eyes, and it was night time. How could the marquis be so reckless? She clutched her skirt tightly with both hands, with a look of anxiety. Maybe Lan Yue'er saw it, and her expression looked a little strange. She couldn't be worried about the marquis, right? The people in the palace, really are!
"Sister Xia Yu, don't worry. The Marquis never fights a battle without preparation. Since the Marquis has discovered something strange and led the troops to the city, he must have a foolproof plan. The fire in the dense forest outside the city should not be an accident."
When two armies fight, each serves their own leader and any means can be used. Flooding and fire are normal, especially since the White Lotus Sect is well versed in this. I think Langjun discovered an ambush in the dense forest and attacked it with fire. It seems that the people of the Taiping Sect are no ordinary people. They bypassed Daliang City and headed north so quickly to threaten the important place of Tongzhou. I don't know whether the White Lotus Sect leader went to Jiangnan.
Hearing Lan Yue'er's explanation, the people in the carriage seemed to be relieved. Xia Yu's tightly clenched hands gradually loosened, and Jin Wang Zhou Ding's tense body also leaned back and said;
"That's good. I am a little worried about the Marquis's safety, but I can't help him."
Sighing,
Outside the car, there was a burst of hearty laughter.
Zhang Jinyu had already returned with his troops. He approached the carriage, jumped over, and jumped onto the front of the carriage. He lifted the curtain and walked in. The royal carriage was large enough to accommodate several people. He smiled and said;
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. There is indeed an ambush in the dense forest outside Tongzhou City. If we use fire to attack it, we should be able to kill most of the enemy, which means we have defeated the enemy army first."
While talking, she lifted up her skirt, as if talking about something unimportant, and sat down quietly. However, King Jin Zhou Ding's face turned slightly pale. If the enemy army really had arrived, why didn't they kill them all?
"My Lord, since you set it on fire, why don't you lead the troops to wipe it out, but let the remaining troops go back to the mountains? What if they come to attack again?"
I have a question in my heart. It is said that if you don't kill the tiger, you will suffer from it. If I don't wipe out the villain, what will happen if he comes back again?
After Zhang Jinyu sat down, he put the knife behind him, looked at the prince's anxious expression, and spoke to comfort him.
"Your Highness, the most urgent task is to go south to quell the rebellion. Even if there are rebel troops sneaking in, they are only a small group. We only need to control the key points and send troops to encircle and suppress them.
Tonight, most of the rebel troops were burned to death by the fire, and there is not much strength left. I have sent someone to inform the general Han Zhiwei who stayed behind in the Beijing camp and ordered him to wipe out the rebels. There is no harm. "
Zhang Jinyu answered truthfully. He also wanted to get rid of those people in one battle, but in the dense forests of the mountains, if people wanted to hide, they could not be found at all, so doing more would be useless.
"Your Majesty is right. It is I who am anxious. However, Your Majesty, although those ambush troops are few in number, they cannot be underestimated. The manors around Anhu Lake in the heart of the capital are all owned by the city's noble families and military heroes. There are also many imperial manors in the palace. If those bandit troops attack these places, I am afraid it will disrupt the capital."
Zhou Ding's words were somewhat worried and hesitant. Even his Jinwang Mansion had two imperial farms south of Anhu Lake, with excellent paddy fields. One imperial farm could produce 60,000 taels of silver a year. If the Taiping Cult's thieves got cholera, the income of the palace would be gone. There were so many official residences in the capital, and by then, they would not be enough for them to submit memorials.
How could Zhang Jinyu not know these things? Although it was a small group of soldiers, according to the nature of the Taiping Cult, they would definitely ambush with superior forces. At least there were 10,000 people. Even if most of them died, there would still be 20% to 30% left. Although there were fewer people, they could move faster and more covertly. After all, without any burden, they could only rob and loot.
It is indeed a trouble, but it may not be a bad thing. There are so many officials in the capital who are just sitting there doing nothing but taking office. They should be more honest, less corrupt, and do more good things for the court.
"Your Highness, there is a threat, but there are still 50,000 troops left in the Anhu camp. General Han Zhiyong of Changning and General He Yongyi of Liu'an are still the generals defending the city. 50,000 soldiers are enough. Besides, those manors should be plundered so that Your Majesty can do better. What do you think?"
The mystery can only be experienced by oneself. There are many useless people in the military families. They live a life of drunkenness and debauchery every day. It would be fine if they were law-abiding, but they are involved in conspiracy and submit reports every day for trivial matters. Not to mention other things, the cost of pens, ink, paper and inkstone, as well as the expenses of the reports, is not a small amount. Even they themselves are often criticized.
"My Lord, you mean to kill someone with a borrowed knife."
King Zhou Ding of Jin opened his eyes wide, full of disbelief, but there was also some excitement in his eyes. It was not impossible, but he didn't know how to make those bandits obey.
"Your Highness, look at what you said. How can it be called killing someone with a borrowed knife? Isn't this called, just go with the flow? Who knows where the thief will go?"
Zhang Jinyu talked for a long time and felt a little thirsty. He picked up the tea bowl and drank it all. He felt happy. Maybe he could do something. Then let the officers and soldiers left behind in the Beijing camp not move for the time being? "Then how can the marquis ensure that the bandit army can rob and rob houses and escape with precision?"
Zhou Ding became interested, but he didn't know that Luo Yun shook his head with a smile, the secret cannot be revealed!
"Hurry, run!"
"The fire is coming, Hall Master, run quickly, the wind is too strong."
"Master, I see the cliff. There is water underneath."
In front, the fleeing Taiping sect members were frantically running through the forest in an attempt to avoid the fire behind them. However, the fire was so fierce that it engulfed everything in front of them in an instant. Many brothers in the sect died tragically in the fire. Zhou Xiu led his men to the edge of the forest, far away, so they had a chance to escape.
As the fire spread all over the mountain, the remaining Taiping sect members reached the edge of the cliff. Regardless of whether they could swim or not, they all jumped down. Zhou Xiu's face turned pale and he shouted,
"Is God going to kill me?"
There was water flowing on the cliff, but the pool was not big. If everyone jumped in, they would hit others and die. However, the frightened followers around them could not care about these things. They jumped off the cliff one after another, and there was no telling whether they would live or die.
Just as Zhou Xiu stood there motionless, the guard suddenly shouted in surprise,
"Master, there are vines here. We can follow them down."
A shout instantly gave Zhou Xiu strength. He called the soldiers around him and followed the hillside to the edge of the cliff. There were indeed large vines growing all over the mountain. He pulled hard with his hands, but they didn't move at all. He was able to get down.
"Quick, call someone over here, jump off the cliff and you will die, hurry up."
"Yes, Hall Master,"
Although it was extremely urgent, the soldiers in the personal camp still organized their manpower and went back to gather soldiers and horses to calm down the panicked believers. They slid down from the top of the hill along the vines. Zhou Xiu was the last one to slide down. Not long after, a heat wave came from above his head, and the fire rolled over, but he was determined not to lose an inch here. Gradually, the fire became much smaller.
Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Zhou Xiu shouted with a gloomy face;
"Masters, those who are still alive, count the number of people and see how many are left?"
"Yes, Hall Master."
There were incense masters and altar masters everywhere. They took orders and went to call their men. Not long after, the area around the lake was filled with Taiping Sect followers. After counting, there were 10,000 men when they came, but now there were less than 3,000 men left. Seventy percent of the men from the ten pavilions had gone.
Zhou Xiu was so angry that he felt choked up in his chest. If he had fought in the battlefield, he would have died. It was a pity that these more than 7,000 brothers didn't even have a chance to fight back and died in vain. It was so cowardly and hateful. It was really hateful.
Who on earth revealed their whereabouts? Could it be that during the days they were waiting in the dense forest, someone secretly sent a letter to the city, or someone sneaked out at night to pass on the message? He glanced around with a cold gaze, buried the suspicion in his heart, and wrote it down for the time being.
The lake was still surging with water, and the surroundings were dead silent. After checking his own men, the incense master only found that there were still about 20 men and horses left. Not to mention turning back to fight, he didn't even know where to throw the food. So he came over to ask,
"Master, what should we do next? Many of our brothers' dry food has been lost. They only have enough to eat for one day. We are afraid that we will run out of food the day after tomorrow."
Where can we find food in such a desolate mountain and wilderness?
Zhou Xiu looked at the people around him, all of whom looked dejected. He frowned and thought about a way out. According to the original agreement, within three days, he would look for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Tongzhou City at midnight or dawn. If the surprise attack failed, he would immediately withdraw.
Never thought,
The imperial army assembled and marched south so quickly, and the retreat route was blocked. Now they were defeated before the battle, and they were in a desperate situation. In this case, they would go back to their old ways and do the work of robbing and looting.
"Brothers, why panic? Since the government troops didn't follow us, they probably thought we were all burned to death. Since there is no food, let's go and rob. To the northwest of Tongzhou is Anhu Lake. We just need to be careful of the soldiers of the Beijing camp. If we go to the south of Anhu Lake, there are so many farms, enough for us to eat. We should also show the court a little bit of our power."
"Okay, good idea, let's listen to the hall master and rob him."
"That's right, I've been annoyed for a few days,"
The people around immediately responded, and their low morale was relieved and lifted. Suddenly, a incense master shouted,
"Everyone, Hall Master, I do have a place to go. There is a large hunting farm to the west of this forest. I heard it is the palace of Prince Zhongshun of the capital. I think there should be good things there."
A incense master licked his lips. He had just forgotten about this because of panic. When the hall master said this, he remembered it.
"Are you sure?"
Seeing that the way out was just around the corner, Zhou Xiu asked again cautiously. The incense master nodded and replied with a fist.
"Master, you are absolutely right. At that time, I was just a handyman in the palace. I couldn't stand the bullying of the managers, so I escaped. That place is good. It's called a palace, but it's just a manor built with tents. Not only us, but also tens of thousands of troops can stay there."
"Oh, there is such a good place. Although I can't read many characters, I have been with the left protector for many years. I haven't read military books, but I have heard that war is a matter of life and death. When the enemy is numerous and we are few, we should win by wits. In this case, let's do it."
Although they still had some doubts in their hearts, they had no other choice but to take this risky move.
"Then, Master, since you want to do this, the brothers will follow your lead. I don't know when you will start. The defenders of Tongzhou City are still outside. I don't know if they have left. If the fire is extinguished and they rush in, we will definitely not be able to resist them with our limited number of troops."
Although the idea was good, there were only a group of defeated remnants here. How could they resist? Several incense masters looked at each other. Some had just climbed out of the pool and were soaking wet. Some were covered in dust and their clothes were torn. They had pieces of cloth on their backs. The vines left scratches on their bodies. They looked miserable, not much better than the refugees.
Zhou Xiu's eyes turned red, and he felt guilty for trusting the Left Protector. He was so careless that he fell into the trap of the officers and soldiers. He didn't know who was leading the army today. If he knew, he would skin him alive in the future. His face turned cold and he said sternly;
"Then what are we waiting for? Since we have already said it, we are afraid that the soldiers will come to investigate again. There is no time to delay. Tonight, we will go around the bottom of the cliff to the west, sneak in at night, and kill them all. If we can meet the young lady who stayed behind, I will not be stingy and share the spoils."
"Okay, thank you, Master."
"The master is generous, we brothers did it,"
"Master, please give the order. The brothers will not hesitate."
After another round of encouragement, the momentum was obviously boosted. Zhou Xiu felt relieved. It was indeed women who boosted morale. Looking at the fire on the top of the cliff, which was still burning fiercely, the officers and soldiers could not get in for a while, so they left without anyone noticing.
Looking at the brothers in the church around him, he no longer waited;
"Okay, in that case, let's assign our men to each other and march from the bottom of the cliff, moving faster."
"Yes, listen to the master, let's go."
After a commotion, the members of the Taiping Sect packed up their weapons, put on their remaining armor, and then headed east along the bottom of the cliff. Zhou Xiu led his personal soldiers in the front, looking at the winding path at the bottom of the cliff. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, wondering if the Left Protector had taken down Daliang City and used it as a barrier to stop the imperial army and buy time for the leader of Chu! Alas!
(End of this chapter)