Outside the city, tens of thousands of Yan soldiers camped and buried pots to cook. Outside the camp, a wooden fence was set up to block horses, and Huailai City was besieged with the momentum of encirclement.

Although the defenders in the city were angered by Song Zhong's lies, and their morale was available, they were defeated first, and then fled all the way, and the shadow of being chased and killed by the Yan army still lingered.

The situation became even more serious after the news of the breaking of the Juyong Pass.

I don't know whether to say that Yu Yao's life is big or too lucky, the Yan army captured Juyong Pass, and there was not one of the five thousand defenders, Yu Yao was unscathed, and was escorted by his own soldiers all the way to Huailai.

Seeing Yu Yao, Song Zhong's face was very bad.

Yu Yao also knew that he should have died in the battle at Juyong Pass, who knew that the Yan soldiers attacked too fiercely, and the five thousand defenders were defeated in less than two days. He wanted to repay the court with death, but his own soldiers were too powerful, and before Yu Yao rushed to the battlefield with a long knife, he was put on a horse by several personal soldiers and ran all the way to Huailai.

The Yan army did not stop these defeated troops.

First, the number of defeated troops was small, and it was not a threat at all. Second, the entry of a defeated army into the city can undermine the morale of the defenders. Why bother to stop it, isn't it better to end it in one pot?

Song Zhong could guess what King Yan was thinking. Knowing that it was King Yan himself who led his troops to attack Huailai, Song Dudu knew that his time had come, and there was no second choice except to fight to the death.

Surrender is absolutely impossible, and the Song Dudu has many shortcomings, but there is one point, his loyalty to the imperial court and Emperor Jianwen is not discounted at all.

It's not okay to escape, and none of the nine vassal kings in the north are good at stubble. In addition to the acting king Zhou who was abolished by Emperor Jianwen, the king of Gu who ran to Nanjing at night, the king of Yan who rebelled, and the rest of the King of Liao, King Ning, King Qin, King Qing, and King Su, all of them deal with their grassland neighbors all year round, and they also personally kill each other at every turn, which one is easy to deal with?

While the imperial court aimed its main firepower at King Yan, it also made trouble for these vassal kings, who knows what these people thought in their hearts. In case he also wants to fight with King Yan and rebel together, he will not only be unable to escape death, but also bear the charge of escaping from the battle.

Fight to the death till you die in battle.

This is Song Zhong's only and best choice.

Yu Yao knelt in front of Song Zhong, originally he didn't have to do this, but he had a weak heart, and when Song Zhong looked at him without saying a word, his knees immediately softened.

Song Zhong didn't blame Yu Yao, he didn't even have the strength to be angry. For Yu Yao, Song Dudu only had a deep disappointment. He gave the other party a chance to die for the country and be loyal to the court, but Yu Yao was blindly greedy for life and afraid of death, how could he not be disappointed?

"Yu Yao."

"Yes, Governor."

"The last time." Song Zhong looked away, outside the window, the sun was rising, the night was receding, a new day was also a day that decided everyone's fate, "Don't let Ben Du down again." ”

"Yes!"

Yu Yao didn't say much, he knew that the "most relatable" in Song Zhong's mouth was not only his, but also Song Zhong himself.

The siege but not the attack is only temporary, and the Yan army will launch an attack on Huailai City sooner or later, just like the capture of the Nine Gates of Beiping and the capture of Juyong Pass.

Unlike Song Zhong, Yanwang Zhu Di is in a very good mood at the moment.

After he raised his army, the commander of Tongzhou, Fang Sheng, immediately sent people to surrender, and won Tongzhou without a single soldier.

As soon as Tongzhou arrived, Zhu Di immediately ordered Zhang Yu to lead his troops to attack Jizhou.

Jizhou is an important town in the north, and if Jizhou is uncertain, it will become a trouble!

Outside the city of Jizhou, Zhang Yu was not in a hurry to attack the city, sent a messenger, saluted first and then soldiers, hoping that everyone could sit down and talk, and it hurt too much to use knives and guns without meeting.

I don't want Jizhou to command Ma Xuan to be a diehard, so he doesn't give face at all, so he directly says: "Let someone surrender to the thief, don't think about it!" ”

Zhang Yu listened to the envoy reprimand Ma Xuan for how unreasonable and ignorant of current affairs, and sneered, even so, it is no wonder that a certain family is in this way!

Immediately ordered, siege the city!

The Yan army began to attack the city, and Ma Xuan personally went to battle.

It's a pity that Commander Ma's hand work is not as good as his lip service, and he was captured alive by Yan Jun in a few rounds. was brought to Zhang Yu, but he still scolded and resolutely refused to surrender. Zhang Yu didn't talk much nonsense, clicked a knife, and it was over.

Commander Mao Sui was a smart man, and immediately after Ma Xuan's death, Kaicheng surrendered. Zhang Yu ordered the soldiers not to kill indiscriminately, which relieved Mao Sui and the remaining defenders in the city.

Now that he has become a rebel, he is bound to contribute to King Yan's rebellion.

Mao then offered advice to Zhang Yu, only to take Jizhou is not enough, if you want to completely avoid future troubles, you must also lay down Zunhua. He has an internal response in Zunhua and can help Zhang Yu succeed.

Zhang Yu pondered for a long time, did not say agree, nor did he say disagree.

Mao Sui knew Zhang Yu's concerns, handed over the city defense of Jizhou to Zhang Yu's subordinates, and led part of the defenders to attack Zunhua at night with Zhang Yu.

Compared with the surrender of Kaesong, helping the Yan army to defeat Zunhua is the real surrender.

After prior arrangement, the Yan army took advantage of the city's internal response, climbed the city tower at night, and opened the city gate.

When the sound of killing was everywhere in the city, and the flames were soaring, the Zunhua defenders knew that the Yan army had entered the city. Zunhuawei commanded Jiang Yu not to be as stubborn as Ma Xuan, and when he saw that he couldn't do anything, he simply defected to the Yan army, tied up one commander and two commanders who swore allegiance to the imperial court, and handed them over to the Yan army.

Don't forget to keep your mouth shut when handing over people. Tie it up and gag it, calm down, and figure it out if you can't say it. Everyone has worked together for so long, and it's always good to be able to survive.

Mao Sui and Jiang Yu are both smart people, but there are smarter people than them.

Miyunwei commander Zheng Heng and Tongzhou Wei commander Fang Kuan had a personal relationship, received a letter from Fang Kuan, and ordered the city gate to be opened without waiting for the arrival of the Yan army, and personally went out of the city for five miles.

Seeing Zhang Yu, Zheng Heng looked quite excited, and held Zhang Yu's big hand, "Commander Zhang, I finally saw you!" Mi Yunwei has been looking forward to this day for a long time! ”

The corners of Zhang Yu's eyes twitched, and he heard Fang Kuan say that Zheng Heng was very good at fighting, and now it seems that this person can not only fight.

Future facts proved that Zhang Yu's idea was right. After Zheng Heng defected to King Yan, he repeatedly made military exploits. After King Yan ascended the throne, he was crowned an official and a knight. Emperor Yongle went out of the fortress five times, and Zheng Heng was in the team. was reused by Zhu Di, and his status was second only to Zhu Neng and Shen Xuan.

After connecting Tongzhou, Jizhou, and Zunhua, Zhang Yubing pointed to Yongping, and the battle reports were constantly sent to King Yan, and it was no wonder that King Yan was in a bad mood.

"Shimei is the lone champion Hou!"

Shimei is Zhang Yu's character, Emperor Hongwu once compared Lanyu to Li Jing and Zhang Liang in excitement after Lanyu broke the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and as a result, the entire Lanyu clan was wiped out. Emperor Yongle compared Zhang Yu to Huo Quai, and before Jingnan was victorious, Zhang Yu died at the hands of the Southern Army.

It can be seen that being praised by others, especially by the Zhu family, father and son, is not necessarily a good thing.

Zhang Yu led his army to attack Yongping, and Meng also arrived at Huailai with his team.

At this time, it was the height of summer in July, and when I entered the barracks, in addition to the smell of gunpowder and slaughter in the air, there was also a lingering manly smell.

All kinds of masculinity.

Standing in front of Zhu Di's tent, Meng took a deep breath, and after the report, he walked into the tent, "I've seen the prince in my humble position!" ”

Although there was a lot of space in the tent, the taste was really not good.

More than 30 strong men full of manliness are gathered together so densely...... It is impossible to take a bath, wash your feet...... Eighty percent is not possible.

Compared with King Yan's camp, the team of the prince entering Beijing and returning is simply small and fresh.

In order to get out of the city as soon as possible, Meng tried his best to report to King Yan in the shortest language and the most concise words. Even if Shen Xuan was also standing in the tent, he didn't have the heart to stay longer. With such a strong masculinity, Meng Shishilang said that no matter how much he likes beauties, he can't bear it.

"Meng Yi is hard."

Treating his own people, King Yan is still very easy-going most of the time, although only relatively.

Seeing that Zhu Di was in a good mood, Meng had the courage to ask for his life, could he participate in the work of these people shouting under the city? If you can't be in charge of the main work, it's good to get involved.

Yan Wang is holding the iron horn presented by Meng, which is quite shoddy, like two funnels connected together, one large and one small, but the effect is not bad.

"This matter has been handed over to Commander Shen, and you can participate." Putting down the horn, Yan Wang Zhengse said, "Shen Xuan." ”

"Humble duty."

"Tomorrow morning bring people to the city."

"Yes!"

Shen Xuan clenched his fists to receive the order, Meng rolled his eyes, and said: "Lord Wang, instead of waiting until tomorrow, it is better to act according to the plan this evening, and the effect should be better." ”

"Why?"

King Yan sat up straight, and both he and Dao Yan thought that Meng was a talent. It's just that he's too young to act safely, and he still needs to be honed. However, compared to Emperor Hongwu's polishing of Fang Xiaoru, Meng Shishilang's treatment is already quite good.

"Back to the prince, it's good to run away at night."

Yan Wang: "......"

Shen Xuan: "......"

Men in the tent: "......"

"The humble man proposed that a few more cauldrons could be set up while shouting, and the humble duty brought a lot of jerky this time, which was boiled into a thick soup, which tasted quite good. Huailai City was besieged for several days, and 30,000 troops suddenly poured in, and there was not much food in the city, and the taste of hunger was very uncomfortable. Coupled with the summoning of relatives, maybe the defenders in the city will tie up Song Zhong and send him to the prince. ”

There was silence again in the tent.

In other words, did Song Zhong offend him?

Sure enough, don't mess with anyone who wants to mess with readers, especially those who hold grudges.

Zhu Neng, a general with a Chinese face, patted Shen Xuan's shoulder with a big hand like a fan, "Ziyu, this person is good, his brothers are all reckless men, and he just lacks such a person who can come up with ideas, how about giving it to his brother?" ”

Shen Xuan tilted his head and took away Zhu Neng's big hand on his shoulder, "No." ”

"Really?"

"Not really."

"Fifty cavalry in exchange?"

"Five hundred won't do."

“……”

Although the two of them lowered their voices, Zhu Neng's loud voice was like thunder no matter how much he pressed it. King Yan coughed and glared at the two of them, Zhu Neng stopped talking, and Shen Xuan was still expressionless.

As the protagonist of the topic, Meng Shishilang told himself that he must be calm, he must be calm!

Commander Shen didn't mean anything else.

But it's really hard for him not to bend his brain!

After Zhu Neng's interruption, King Yan agreed to Meng's suggestion.

In the evening of the same day, the Yan army opened the camp and set up a few large cauldrons under the city, and the firewood under the pot burned very vigorously, and after a while, the water in the pot was bubbling and boiling, and those who had a fire poured large pieces of dried meat into the pot, and according to Meng's request, a large amount of sorghum noodles and dried vegetables were added.

A gust of wind blew, and suddenly the fragrance wafted for ten miles.

It's not a delicacy, but it's really fragrant, especially for people who can't eat enough all day, it's an irresistible temptation.

The defenders at the head of the city were a little untenable, knowing that there was not much food in the city and still doing this, was this bullying or bullying?

The meat was boiled in a cauldron as an appetizer, and after the broth had been boiled twice, some men in cloth shirts walked a few miles from the city, and under the astonished gaze of the defenders of the city, they held up large signs made of wood and linen, on which were written many names, and at the same time someone held up something strange, put it to his lips, and the sound spread far and wide, all the way to the city.

"Zhang San, your father is here!"

"Li Si, I'm your mother!"

"Zhao Wu, I am your mother-in-law, and our two babies!"

"Pillar, I'm the eldest brother, are you in the city?"

Everyone lined up, felt the signs, took turns passing the horn, and shouted over and over again.

The morale of the army in the city immediately floated, didn't the upper authorities tell them that the family had been killed by King Yan, and the corpses were piled up on the street?

Now what's going on? Aren't their families still alive and well, and the boss is lying to them?!

When Song Zhong heard the situation, he knew that things were going to be bad, and before he could come up with a way, there was another burst of scolding from the city, and the leader scolded the most, and the loudest one was Meng Shishilang.

"Brothers in the city, don't be deceived by this old man Song Zhong! Everyone's loved ones are living well! The prince is the concubine of Emperor Tai-Zu Gao and Empress Xiaoci Gao, benevolent and kind, how can he do anything to the people under his rule? Brothers, keep your eyes open, don't listen to lies, be deceived by a shameless old puppet, send him to death, achieve his fame, and get nothing for yourself! The prince is merciful, and he is not to blame for the past, brothers, don't do anything wrong, one mistake will become a thousand years of hatred! ”

"Baby!"

"Master!"

"Daddy!"

The cries of the city have risen again, and the hearts of the people in the city have become even more chaotic.

When Song Zhong heard the report, he sat in the hall in a daze, and there was no other way than to order the southern army he brought to guard the city gate.

The general trend has gone, and there is no way back.

Song Zhong sighed, and slowly drew out the long knife, the Yan army, tomorrow will definitely attack the city!

Under the city, Meng handed the horn to the people around him, and let out a bad breath, so cool!

"Meng Yanshi." Shen Xuan walked to Meng's side and looked at him sideways, his black eyes clearly reflected the shadow of the other party, "Fight with me tomorrow." ”

"Yes!" Meng couldn't ask for it, and then frowned, "Commander, Song Zhong, what does the prince plan to do with this person?" ”

Kill or stay?

"The prince has his own plans." Shen Xuan was not angry at Meng's words, but lowered his voice, whispered in Meng's ear, and turned to leave.

Meng stood in place, covering his ears, would he let him get his wish?

Squinted his eyes and smiled.

Shen Xuan, sure enough, holds a grudge like him.

Night—When night falls, the shouters are called back to the camp to rest.

Patrols were also stepped up in the city, and in the first half of the night, both sides were uneventful.

Just after the ugly hour, the east gate of Huailai City suddenly moved, and the southern army guarding this gate was attacked by the border army behind them, and the big hand with the smell of earth tightly choked the throat of the southern army, and the southern army struggled twice, and soon there was no movement.

"Succeed, tell the pillars to go!"

The east gate was opened, and the border troops in the city, led by a few hundred households, fled one after another.

The movement out of the city alarmed the patrolling defenders, and they were just about to give a warning, but they were surrounded by another group of border troops, and the snow knife was out of the body, with murderous intent in the voice, "Everyone has killed the Tartars together, and now I just want to find a way to live, don't force my brother to do it!" ”

The expressions of the patrolling soldiers changed, and the first general flag simply said: "Brother's family is also outside the city, so, let's go together!" ”

Trapped in the city is death, take refuge in King Yan, what if it's the other way around? Didn't the ancestor also rebelled with Emperor Tai-Zu?

At three o'clock, the defenders in the city were completely in chaos. Needless to say, those who fled were still hesitant, seeing so many people running out, they also had the courage to follow, and there were many southern troops among them.

Song Zhong sent people to bomb and press, but they couldn't hold it down at all.

The Yan military camp was brightly lit, and the sergeants were brightly dressed and armored, and they saw the chaos in the city, but they did not take the opportunity to attack the city.

King Yan pressed the long knife in his hand, stood in the camp, and stroked the short mustache under his chin with one hand, "Lonely Naitai - Emperor Zugao, the concubine of Empress Gao of filial piety, is merciful, and does not want to commit more killings." Order, the defenders of the city, but whoever votes for me, Lone will not be treated badly. ”

"Yes!"

Everyone looked at King Yan, whose expression was very "detached", and then turned their gaze to Meng, who could itch King Yan when he scolded people, was really a talent, no wonder Commander Shen valued it so much!

The ugly time had passed, and there were still defenders rushing out of the city, and the king of Yan ordered Shen Xuan and Zhu Neng to gather the soldiers together, and Meng reminded Shen to beware of Song Zhong's spies among them.

Shen Xuan understood, and after careful investigation, he really caught a big fish, and it turned out to be Yu Yao!

Looking at Yu Yao, who was tied up by five flowers, Meng smiled. Just thinking about revenge, the opportunity came immediately.

Yu Yao did not come to surrender, but waited for an opportunity to infiltrate the Yan army and assassinate the king of Yan. was held by Shen Xuan, knowing that there must be no way out, but he played a tough guy style and scolded King Yan for being a thief.

King Yan didn't have much interest in him, and if he was replaced by Song Zhong, he might still recruit one or two, but he was only one of the commanders, and he still didn't have much level to fight, so he didn't have to spend effort at all.

At the sound of an order, Commander Yu was beheaded, and hung on the wooden pole in front of the camp along with several other small works that had been pulled out.

At sunrise, Song Zhong in the city gathered his own soldiers and the defenders who did not leave the city, and said in front of everyone: "The Yan thief is powerful, and Zhong can only fight to the death!" As soon as the army of the king army arrives, the thief army will be shattered! Come out of the city with me, kill the thief! ”

"Kill the thief!"

The defenders of less than 3,000 troops, under the leadership of the governor Song Zhong and the commanders Peng Ju and Sun Tai, beat the drums of war and went out of the city to meet the enemy.

Like the defenders of the Xizhimen of Beiping City, what they seek is not success or failure, but only for a loyal word.

In the middle of summer in July, the wind blowing from the northern grasslands is still cool.

The Yan army put out a formation and waited for the battle, which was a tribute to the brave people.

"Kill!"

Du commanded Peng Ju to take the lead, and the spear in his hand picked off a Yan army's foot soldier, but the crotch-lower horse was cut off by another Yan army. The horse screamed, Peng Ju fell off the horse, several Yan soldiers rushed up together, spears came out, but Peng Ju blocked them one by one, after Peng Ju killed and injured several Yan soldiers, a spear suddenly penetrated from his back, blood gushed out of his mouth, several spears pierced into his body at the same time, Peng Ju roared, the spear in his hand was swung out at the last time, killing a Yan army who attacked him, and died of exhaustion.

Blood dripped down the spears and armor, pooling into streams that stained the ground beneath his feet.

After Peng Ju's death, Sun Tai was also cut off by Shen Xuan's arm, fell off his horse, unwilling to be captured, and killed himself.

Most of Song Zhong's men were killed in battle, and only a very few were wounded and captured, and few took the initiative to surrender. Song Zhong was captured alive, and when he was brought to King Yan, he was already embarrassed and covered in blood.

"Song Dudu, don't come unharmed?"

"Traitor!" Song Zhong struggled to stand up, but was pressed to his knees by two soldiers, "I hate to slash you!" When the king arrives, you traitor will not die well! ”

King Yan was not angry, and since the army, he had heard a lot of such insults.

If he doesn't rebel, will he be able to live in peace?

Zhu Yunwen's knives are all on his neck, and he has to wait honestly!

King Zhou is a lesson from the past, Zhu Di is unwilling to sit still, and he will not do this!

He obeys his father and respects his brother, but why should the yellow-mouthed boy who talks with rotten Confucianism all day long, convince him? Why should he be made to kneel?!

He is the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, born in troubled times and grew up in the army. What he is most familiar with is not the way of Confucius and Mencius, but the fight on the battlefield. For Zhu Di, strength is everything!

It is this kind of life experience and such a character that made the Yongle Emperor and created the prosperity of the early Ming Dynasty.

There are many enemies in front of him, and Song Zhong is not the first, let alone the last.

Zhu Di smiled, with the heroism of the king in his smile, and embarked on this road, he would not look back, and he could not look back!

"Song Dudu Gaoyi, you will be fulfilled alone!"

"Traitor!"

Song Zhong was still shouting and scolding, but Zhu Di stopped looking at him, "Xuan'er, you personally send Song Dudu a ride." ”

"Obey!"

Song Zhong was pulled out of the tent, and in front of the camp gate, Shen Xuan held the knife with his own hand, and Song Zhong hated: "At the beginning, the old man should have killed you with his own hands!" ”

The sword flashed, and the body that had lost its head fell to the ground, blood still gushing out from its broken neck.

Meng looked at the dead Song Zhong, and he was not as happy as he imagined, and he was not even as happy as he was scolding people under the city.

He didn't want to think about anything, and he couldn't think about it.

Just looked at Shen Xuan, met those black eyes, and his heart suddenly became calm.

It was his own choice to embark on this path.

Now that you have chosen, you can't regret it!

When the news of Song Zhong's defeat reached Nanjing, the imperial court shook again.

No one thought that Song Zhong would be able to defeat King Yan, but they didn't expect him to lose so quickly.

Along with the news of Song Zhong's death, there is also news that Tongzhou, Jizhou, Zunhua, and Yongping have fallen one after another.

Emperor Jianwen immediately ordered that the army of King Yan should set off immediately. I can't wait, I'm burning my eyebrows, and I'm going to fight King Yan to Nanjing.

The army has not yet been fully assembled, and the concentration of grain, grass, mules and horses is also limited, but the emperor ordered that Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, who wore the seal of the general, could not have a second word.

In order to boost morale, Emperor Jianwen personally sent Geng Bingwen on the expedition. But for Geng Bingwen and the generals in the army, he came, it was better not to come!

In front of everyone, the emperor actually said, "Don't let me bear the name of killing my relatives." ”

Listen, what is this called?

If you don't kill your relatives, you don't kill King Yan.

The emperor personally ordered that the opposing commander should not be harmed, how can this battle be fought?

Geng Bingwen was speechless, he began to regret why he didn't retire earlier, and he wanted to do such a thing!

But the emperor Chrysostom said that he couldn't help but listen.

The Marquis of Changxing could only sigh, and in the ardent expectation of Emperor Jianwen, he led the imperial army that claimed to be 300,000, but in fact there were only 130,000, and set off with a lot of heart.