In the territory of Lizhou, on the city of Liyang (now Changde Li County, Hunan).

Duan Yanmo, the deputy envoy of Jingnan Jiedu, who had just won an encouraging victory, did not see much joy and excitement at all, but looked at the barbarian army encamped under the city with some vigilance. They were eating and drinking chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep looted from the neighborhood, and there were weeping and crying women.

Because all his previous efforts and schemes have come to naught, and now he is in a desperate situation. At the beginning, the three-way partial division planned by the Shannan Jiedu envoy and the two-way march, and finally in front of the returning Taiping thief, the demon monk, it was like a hasty joke.

Not only were the partial divisions attacking from the three directions, except for the fast-running Shimen barbarian Xiang Help, but even Liu Jurong's Shannan army was defeated out of control, and even Xiangyang City had been lost.

Only the Jingnan army succeeded in seizing the land of the gorge and returning to the three states along the way, but he listened to Song Hao's suggestion in a daze, and on the grounds that the people in the gorge and the river were poor, he divided his troops to go south to seize Lizhou, which was Xiangzhu, and thought it was a place to eat.

As a result, when he went south to seize Liyang, he collided head-on with the retreating barbarian army of Xiang Zhusuo, and just when he was in a dilemma, he was shocked to learn that Song Hao had already taken the main force of the Jingnan army, so he fled and retreated into the mountain (south) and west (road).

Then he easily defeated the remnants of Musuke, and he suddenly found himself surrounded by enemies. Whether it is Xiazhou in the south, Jingzhou in the east, or Langzhou in the south, they are already the sphere of influence of the Taiping thieves.

Although it has the most populous and wealthiest state city of Liyang as a foothold; However, the two counties of Shimen and Amway in the upper reaches of Lishui are still in the hands of the barbarian army under the assistants. And the Taiping thieves who occupied Anxiang County in the east came even more aggressively, and they became the barrier to bear the brunt of Xiang Suke.

Moreover, he wanted to lead his troops westward to climb over the mountains, and retreated to Enzhou or Shizhou in the middle of the Qianzhong Road. Because by occupying the brutal territory of Shimen and Amway counties, there is naturally no way to do good.

So he can only stick to the spot, wanting to wait for a turnaround and change. However, the so-called turnaround did not wait, but waited for the Taiping thieves guarding Anxiang County to press Qu Chengyu step by step.

The other party did not directly confront him, but sent people to continuously build stockades and fortifications along the river. and then rely on this and base to continuously transport and hoard materials; Then he sent troops to suppress and clear the fortress village of the nearby wealthy families, and collected the people, food, and goods obtained after the break into the fortress.

Then they will advance to the next crossing and the folding node, and build a new fortification; After advancing back and forth to Qinghua Town, which is less than twenty miles away from Liyang, Duan Yanmo in Liyang City only learned about this thing when the local surname who fled came to cry.

Then, the hastily organized counterattack and armed test in Liyang were also quickly frustrated outside Qinghua Town; Because of the convenience of water transportation, those Taiping thieves brought several boatloads of sacks and bundles from downstream. These empty sacks were then dug up on the spot and filled with earth, and overnight they were stacked into a wall to form the prototype of a makeshift fortress.

This is much more convenient and faster than the traditional soil logging tree fence. Therefore, even if the newly piled wall was not high, but under the bows and crossbows of the thief army that happened to be in time to shoot in turn, the first few groups of Tutuan soldiers who were the first to rush under the wall had already broken back with many casualties.

And the people who work in it can still be used as cover several times, and their hands and feet are constantly further strengthened and added; Therefore, even if the later batches of Jingnan troops had successfully rushed to the earthen fortress, they were blocked by new walls and obstacles, and had to retreat because of the momentum that was interrupted.

And when the ships with the Taiping Thief flag appeared again on the surface of Lishui the next day, the counterattack troops sent from Liyang City also lost their fighting spirit and confidence, and began to retreat spontaneously without a fight.

Therefore, when Duan Yanmo personally led the tooth soldiers to the front line to observe the enemy's situation, he found that the entire Qinghua Town within a radius of half a mile was almost surrounded by the walls made of these dirt bags.

Inside the walls, too, there is a lot of construction going on, but more wood and stone fortifications are being built. On the water, there were still many horses, materials, grain and grass arriving one after another.

As a result, the war with the Taiping thieves suddenly descended into rather lengthy confrontations, as well as frequent and smaller-scale rural conflicts and encounters; Because among these rural dock forts that were "attacked" and "plundered" by Taiping thieves, the Jingnan Army also set up ambushes and counterattacks, and gained the upper hand several times.

However, as more and more Taiping thieves gathered, these outlying strongholds were uprooted and destroyed one by one; The accumulated losses gradually reduced the range of activities of the Jingnan army to the vicinity of the city wall.

In the end, under the imminent threat, Duan Yanmo could only put down his skin and dignity, and sent someone to pay for Xiang Zhu based on Shimen, knowing that he had made great gains and losses together and promised many conditions, so he borrowed this way of soldiers and horses and foreign aid.

However, the cost of defeating the Taiping thieves this time is somewhat outweighed by the gains; Because he had to hand over this Liyang City afterwards, and then lead his troops to the west to borrow Shimen, and Amway counties to retreat into Qianzhong Road to make plans again.

Therefore, here he secretly made another arrangement and plan, and now he is waiting for the corresponding reply in his heart full of worry.

In Qinghua Town, more than ten miles away, Qu Chengyu, the general of the Seventh Army, who came by boat overnight, was also hating the words of the school in front of several generals who were hanging on their arms and bandaging their heads.

"Look at what you're doing, it's all my old brother who I brought out from Annan, and I've experienced a lot of things, so why haven't I made much progress. How could I be easily lured out by someone? ”

"The war has reached our level and to the point, and the battle is no longer a temporary victory or defeat, but a means to survive and last a while. If you can't learn like this.,Then please go back to the ridge and reflect.。。 ”

"Please also ask Lang to give me another chance to be ashamed. Avenge the dead and wounded brothers. ”

One of the generals couldn't help but say in a whisper.

"Something that doesn't open the mind. Do you join the army and fight only for revenge or selfishness? ”

Qu Chengyu scolded more and more angrily.

"The ambition of our rebels is to save the people of the world, not to fight for personal courage and revenge. Then it's better to go back to Annan and join the barbarian hunting team. ”

At this time, a small colonel leaned over and whispered:

"An envoy from Liyang City has arrived."

- I'm the dividing line -

And in Fangzhou, in the largest Zhuangzi polder in Fengcheng Township, Yu Niancheng, as one of the elders of the clan, is the youngest, and he is also walking around in the Zhuangzi like a trapped beast and agitating loudly.

"Cheer me up, it's a matter of everyone's family."

"As long as you are the one who can stick to the fence, you will kill the pig and stew the meat soup tonight, and the dough and cakes will be enough."

"After holding the fence, no matter how many dead or wounded, the rent for three years will be forgiven, and the old debts accumulated for years will be exempted without rent. The wife and children are all raised for you. ”

"What's the panic, it's not that I haven't seen such a scene, don't say that I have encountered thieves and robbers, even if it is a chaotic crossing, don't want to rush in."

It's just that in the face of the silent formation outside Zhuangzi and the army that has gathered one after another, most people can't see any confidence and confidence on their faces. It was only under the intimidation and coercion of those strong men wielding blades, iron rods, bows and arrows that they would not immediately abandon the bamboo spears, board knives, fork handles, and so on in their hands and flee home.

And in the ancestral hall where the patriarchs deliberated, there was even more gloom and gloom in the discussion.

"How is this good?,Suddenly I was surrounded by people.,There's no news in the county at all.。。 Those few have just taken the benefits of their own family.,Pat your chest and say it's foolproof.。。 ”

"We still have many strong men and servants, who are scattered in the neighboring villages, and there is no news to arouse them; Where did these centaurs come out of thin air? ”

"The people who went out to negotiate were driven back before they got close, and they directly shouted to everyone in the Zhuangzi to go out obediently to receive the disposal. Especially the elders of the house. ”

"It's all that little beast in Eshui, who has brought back all the great disasters. He also led people to block a few trails to go out, and arrested all the people who ran out to report the news. ”

"I knew that I would sink his wife into the pool back then, instead of raising him and now it has become a scourge. And Jiulang's broken heart and want to eat the bastard stuff inside and out.,I can't spare it easily.。。 ”

Obviously, for them, these people, who are accustomed to extreme self-interest and giving from above, do not consider any antecedents and consequences. I just care about what I have done is the root of everything and right and wrong.

but only from their own point of view, wishful thinking that others should follow their own wishes; No matter what you do, it is for the good of everyone, and how you are wronged and well-intentioned is the biggest and most important truth in the world.

"I'm afraid this matter has something to do with the unfamiliar dog in Yu Donglou. Isn't Gui still back? ”

"I heard that he didn't vote for the Taiping thief, if he had explained and said that he was one and the same, maybe there would have been no such disaster."

Then someone stomped their feet and began to regret and complain.

And the patriarch Yu Nianzong, who was sitting at the top, did not make a sound, still looking confident and at ease.

(End of chapter)