Li Chengdong's army launched an attack on Fan Jingcheng under the slogan of "Protect the Emperor and Save the Driver", while Du Yonghe divided his troops to guard the passages on all sides of Fan Jingcheng to prevent anyone in the city from escaping. Li Chengdong intended to launch an offensive from the Dongcheng Zhengshuo Gate, where the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Hongguang was held. With a few rumbling cannons, the battle in Fanjingcheng, which had been peaceful for a long time, broke out instantly.

After several years of repeated repairs, today's Fanjing City is no longer comparable to the thin walls of the original low walls. Hao Shangjiu, as the vanguard, led the troops to the moat on the periphery of the city wall, and first sent the soldiers to smash the antlers of the arch guarding the river with big axes and hammers to resist the horses. Li Chengdong, who personally supervised the formation in the back row, had already prepared, and urgently ordered Li Yuanyin to take the bird's gun to line up and shoot back at the city. For a time, arrows and bullets shuttled back and forth, the earth and rocks under the city head and city flew out, and the moat water also splashed with waves.

"Fire!"

The city wall was sheltered by pheasant moats, and Li Chengdong's soldiers could not take advantage of the shooting below, and there were many injuries. The general Yan Keyi gathered the only three No. 2 Hongyi cannons in the army and bombarded them one after another to cover the front. However, after all, the training time of the united soldiers was too short, and they were not very familiar with the operation of the Hongyi cannon, and several cannons were fired, and only one hit the city wall, and was blocked by solid bricks, except for laying some gravel, there was no other result.

The defenders of the city also began to counterattack. At the head of the city, there was a row of seven or eight Hongyi cannons fixed along the wall dedicated to attacking and defending the city, all of which were operated at this time. Li Benshen carried a knife and patrolled back and forth in the city, shouting loudly. Not long after, several No. 1 Hongyi cannons made a loud noise at the same time, and the momentum shook the earth, and they were smashing the antlers to resist the horse Hao Shangjiu and a group of soldiers were caught off guard and almost rolled into the river. Looking back at Li Chengdong, Li Yuanyin, Yan Keyi, and other units in the back row, they were all anxious - although Li Benshen's soldiers were also undertrained and their heads were greatly offset, the power of the No. 1 Hongyi Cannon was far superior to that of the No. 2 Hongyi Cannon used in field battles, and the oppressive force caused by condescending was not trivial.

Li Chengdong's offensive was blocked, anger rose from his heart, regardless of Li Yuanyin's obstruction, he crossed his horse and leaped to the river, and scolded with his halberd finger: "Li Benshen, who has forgotten his ancestors, has he forgotten the humiliation of Nanyang!" ”

Unexpectedly, Li Benshen replied in a stiff voice: "Gao Jie thief, he is innocent of death." The Ming Dynasty treats you well, but you will take revenge and besiege the capital. Forget your ancestors, you are what you say! ”

Li Chengdong was furious and was about to refute, when a soldier on the enemy tower at the head of the city secretly sniped him, but he didn't fight. Iron Maru swept past his shoulder, startling the warhorse. Li Chengdong grabbed the reins, didn't dare to stay for a long time, glared at Li Benshen angrily, turned his horse and left.

Returning to the main formation, Li Yuanyin also retreated to the back row with his bird's hand, found Li Chengdong and said: "Fan Jingcheng is extremely strong, the artillery is stacked like a mountain, although we have many soldiers, but there are few siege equipment, I am afraid it will be difficult to win." ”

Li Chengdong said hatefully: "If it weren't for Li Benshen's kid who was stunned, the city would have been in my pocket!" Then he asked, "Has there been an answer to the letter that has been shot into the city?" In order to recruit Li Benshen and the defenders in the city, he had previously let the crossbowmen scatter a lot of letters into the city.

"Yes." Li Yuanyin said embarrassedly, "Li Benshen shot back a letter, and scolded his father from above, just don't read it." ”

"Good boy, it's comfortable to be a dog for Zhao Dangshi!" Li Chengdong clenched his fists tightly, and his knuckles exploded, "Order Hao Shangjiu and Yan Keyi to go all out to open up the path, and within half an hour, they will definitely cross the river!" ”

Li Chengdong's soldiers and horses in the distance made a comeback, Li Benshen frowned, and was ordering the defenders to prepare to block the attack, but he didn't expect that at this time, a soldier crawled to the front and said a few words to him. Li Benshen was immediately startled, and hurriedly turned around and ran in the direction of the horse road, but he had not yet arrived, but he saw that on the horse road that connected the city, several dragons jumped over,

Li Benshen was frightened, staggered a few steps to the horse, knelt down on one knee and said loudly: "Subordinate Li Benshen, I have seen the princess and the eldest lady!" "Anyway, raise your eyes carefully, but when you see the white horse of the divine horse, the plain clothes are fluttering, and the woman with a bunch of hair is dressed in a row, and her posture is sassy, and then you look at the eyebrows and eyes, it is actually the color of the country.

He knew that this was the wife of Zhao Dangshi, the king of Ningnan in the Ming Dynasty, and the lord of Huaqing County. After Emperor Hongguang ascended the throne, Huaqing also became a princess, and from the rank of husband, she was crowned as a first-class lady.

Liu Ru, who was following behind Hua Qing, also finished his uniform, jumped off the horse first and said, "How is the battle going?" "She comes from the folk and travels with light warriors and wanderers, and she is more bold than Huaqing.

"Thanks to the blessing of the saint and the prince, although the traitors are rampant, they are powerless in the face of the fortified city!"

"Officer Li, I heard about you. Without your knowledge of righteousness, the city may not be able to be protected, and your loyalty can be seen every day! Li Benshen originally wanted to help Huaqing, but he didn't expect Huaqing to be very agile and landed gently.

At that time, there was a thunderstorm outside the city, and the cannons rang out again and again, but Hua Qing was not afraid, and listened for a moment and said, "What are you shouting outside the city?" ”

Li Benshen lowered his eyes and replied: "Li Chengdong is a traitor, in order to drive the soldiers to serve him, he lied that his subordinates seized the city and murdered the saint. Since the beginning of the war, the traitors have kept saying that they are all 'protecting the king and saving the driver'. ”

"How can this work?" Hua Qingxiu frowned slightly, "Follow me to the city." ”

When Li Benshen heard this, he suddenly raised his head and exclaimed: "Don't do it, the city is dangerous, and the princess has golden branches and jade leaves, how can she take risks." ”

Hua Qing said: "I came here to relieve the fighting, and I don't go to the city, how can I solve it?" ”

"Unraveling?"

"Exactly. I heard from Mr. Chang that the soldiers outside the city were all newly recruited villagers. The reason why they enthusiastically joined the army was because they wanted to serve the country. Li Chengdong is treacherous, and his clever words incite the soldiers, but how can we sit back and watch his treacherous plan succeed, causing our comrades to kill each other? ”

"But my subordinates tried to explain several times before, but the traitors outside the city only regarded it as a lie and didn't believe it at all." Li Benshen stood in front of Hua Qing, his expression was very cramped.

"You are the target of their attack, of course it is useless to defend yourself, let me come." The current Huaqing is no longer the childish girl she was back then, and being a wife and mother has made her more mature and majestic.

Where did Li Benshen dare to respond, he only felt that he was not as hesitant as he was to go out of the city to fight. Hua Qingfu said to him: "Don't worry, I have already written the letter at home." If there are three long and two short, it is not on your head. ”

The two sides were holding each other, and suddenly there was another ride on the road. The person on the horse has a wide robe and big sleeves, and his hair is fluttering, and he is actually the great governor of the Chengxuan Zhizheng Yuan, and the big governor is Chang Zeyu. He was helped off the horse by the soldiers, approached, panted slightly, first saluted Hua Qing, and then said: "It is my idea to ask the princess to go on this trip." ”

Li Benshen was stunned, and Chang Zeyu continued: "You immediately gather more than ten soldiers with loud voices and full of energy, and set up the head of the city. When the princess passes, she immediately stops the cannon and reports from my voice. I said it once, and the soldier shouted it three times. ”

"Is that possible?" Li Benshen still has scruples.

"You have to try it if it doesn't work. Outside the city, I am also a son of the Ming Dynasty, and I can't die in vain. Chang Zeyu said solemnly.

Hua Qing also said: "General Li go, for the sake of Jiangshan Sheji, what does it matter if I take some risks." ”

Li Benshen listened to the fierce sound of the golden drum not far away, his heart sank, and he nodded: "Okay, there is Princess Lao!" ”

Outside the city, under the constant urging of Li Chengdong, the rebel soldiers sacrificed their lives to march together, braving the fierce artillery bombardment from the city, and struggling to break through the barrier by the river. Just as the wooden bridge was about to be erected to cross the river, the defenders' firepower that was expected to be hit by the heavy rain did not arrive as scheduled, and the city, which was originally quite powerful, was silent for a moment.

The situation was so unusual that even the rebel soldiers who were attacking could not help but slow down. Fan Jingcheng Zhengshuo inside and outside the gate seems to be about an appointment, and at the same time it is as quiet as an empty mountain.

The rebel soldiers under the city looked up suspiciously, and before they could see it, they suddenly heard the majestic shouts of the city—

"Princess Ningnan was ordered by the emperor to tell the soldiers of the three armies. Li Chengdong was cunning and sinister, colluded with foreign thieves, and tried in vain to infringe on the emperor, which was a heinous crime. The soldiers must not be deceived by it, kill their comrades, and take revenge on the contrary. Wake up quickly, abandon darkness and turn to light, and all are forgiven and innocent. The first evil Li Chengdong should be punished, the crime is not as good as others, and those who can capture him will be rewarded with a reward of 100 taels and a knighthood! ”

"What? What the? Many of the rebel soldiers who had built the wooden bridge looked at each other blankly, asking each other questions. And the shouting of the city stopped, and began again. It's just this time, sentence by sentence, word by word.

"King Ningnan...... The princess ......"

"Emperor's Edict ......"

Li Chengdong...... Vainly attempting to infringe on the emperor......"

"The evil Li Chengdong should be punished, and the crime is not as good as others......"

The rebel soldiers exchanged their ears and exchanged the information they heard, and when it was, someone suddenly shouted excitedly: "Look, look! Is that...... That's the princess! That's the princess! ”

A thousand waves were stirred, and thousands of eyes of the rebel soldiers looked at the city. I saw that on the other side, the sunlight swept through the eaves of the enemy building and spread out into a veil, and a woman walked calmly, facing the battlefield in disarray. In Xiangyang, especially in Fanjing, everyone knows that Princess Ningnan is approachable, kind and generous, and never has the arrogance of the usual princely eunuchs, and often goes out of the house to show her face to comfort the army and the people. I don't know how many people who were once poor and reluctant have regained their faith in continuing their lives with her help, and I don't know how many soldiers who were once confused and desperate have gained the courage to persevere because of her guidance and encouragement. If Zhao Dangshi is a strong and powerful arm that can be relied on in the hearts of the military and the people, then Huaqing is like the gentle and reassuring mind under the hard arm.

There are not a few people in Fan Jing's military and civilians who have seen Hua Qing's true face, and there are even more people who have been favored by Hua Qing among the rebel soldiers at present. Hua Qing's face still had that comforting smile. As soon as she came forward, the rumors were self-defeating.

An important reason why Huguang was able to recruit a large number of soldiers in a short period of time was that the people of Huguang had been influenced by "Hengyan of the World" for a long time and had a very strong sense of belonging to Zhao Ying. Zhao Ying gave them the guarantee of living and working in peace and contentment, and in turn, they were willing to dedicate their strength to Zhao Ying. Everyone in the Liang family was proud to be able to serve the Zhao Ying, and when Hu Guang led the yamen to recruit soldiers in various places, people from everywhere flocked to sign up.

When Li Chengdong mobilized his army to attack Fan Jingcheng, the main reason for incitement was that there were thieves who intended to murder the emperor and Zhao Dangshi's family. This is the only one, which immediately aroused the enthusiasm of the crowd. Li Chengdong was able to drive these soldiers, who had not received long-term training, to grit their teeth in the face of relentless artillery fire.

"Arrest the traitor Li Chengdong!" Thousands of soldiers defending the city at the head of the city shook the ground.

"Arrest the traitor Li Chengdong!" Angry echoes began among the soldiers of the city.

Anger spread rapidly outside the city. By the time Hao Shangjiu, Yan Keyi and others felt that something was wrong and hurriedly pressed it, it was too late. The enraged soldiers threw down their wooden ladders, sandbags, birds, spears, etc., and turned around and rushed to the stunned officers.

"For Zhao Ying, for the prince, for the princess!"

Hao Shangjiu, who was in front of the battle, was full of heart and gall, and he threw his knife and left, but the soldiers from all sides surrounded him layer upon layer, and his fists fell to the ground like hail, hitting endlessly. After only a short while, Hao Shangjiu fell to the ground as soft as cotton, bleeding from his seven orifices and being beaten to death.

Yan Keyi's soul was scattered, and he subconsciously retreated, not daring to tripped over the frame of the gun carriage under his feet and fell to the ground. Almost in the blink of an eye, he was also overwhelmed by the sea of people.

"For Zhao Ying, for the prince, for the princess!"

"Arrest the traitor Li Chengdong!"

The roar came into his ears, Li Yuanyin looked at the crazy soldier, and said in a trembling voice: "Dad, it's all, it's all over!" ”

Li Chengdong soaked his clothes and armor in cold sweat, flew on the horse and said, "Go, go, go!" He didn't expect things to come to this point. The effect of Hua Qing's appearance was beyond his imagination, or rather, the pamphlet that he had scoffed at and was still on the side of his hand finally led to his failure.

"Take your own soldiers and retreat with me!" As soon as Li Chengdong's words fell, he beat his horse and galloped away. Li Yuanyin didn't have time to catch up, staring at his back that gradually disappeared into the smoke and dust, and sighed slowly.