In the distant city of Changsha, there is a solemn and dull atmosphere.

Although the grass thieves outside the city had only tried to attack twice, they had already made the soldiers and civilians in the city feel a certain great pressure and threat. After all, no one likes the rocks and mud balls flying above their heads, and the risk of being killed and injured from time to time. Not to mention the terrifying momentum shown by those super thieves outside the city.

It is necessary to know that the configuration of all battles and battles throughout the ages is nothing more than a combination of spearmen, knife rows, and bows and crossbows, and they are all tried and tested, and they are versatile, such as the art of war: it is short in the mountains and forests, and it is long in the wilderness, and both offense and defense are shot. Coupled with the cavalry, which is used to harass, contain and even charge the battle at a critical time, it has almost run through most of the course of warfare throughout history.

But the camp of grass thieves under the city has obviously greatly exceeded these basic expectations; Not only did they have these armies from near and far, but they also had a very high proportion of armor soldiers and uniform equipment; There are even decent naval troops and armed warships, swimming on the Hunan River to cut off the battlefield outside the siege. Not to mention the siege engines that stand tall on the outskirts of the city, and there are many more in the works.

The peak of its lineup and the complexity and completeness of its equipment make people shudder just to look at it; And who is the master of the imperial court system in the end, or is this still the ragged and unkempt mud legs in the previous Di Wen, who will only attach themselves to the chaotic and unkempt mud legs of the city and bravely sacrifice their lives, and so on.

And this is only the result of their lapse around the land beyond the mountains, and they have been dormant for months; Therefore, all kinds of urgent letters and documents asking for help have long been sent away like snowflakes on the blockade line that has not yet been completely bridged on the Hunan River.

And in a makeshift camp near the north gate,

"Take them all. This is a kindness of the envoy.。。 ”

An official from the Observation Embassy knocked down a basket of copper coins from the cart and poured it in front of the sergeants and soldiers who were lined up in an uproar. Then the batches of silk loaded on the car were also thrown in front of them.

It's just that the number of these soldiers seems to be somewhat uneven, and all of them have blood-soaked blood on their armor, or bandaged wounds. They were all siege equipment that went out from the side gate to sneak into the grass thieves, but they fell short under the trap and siege preset by the other party, and the Yunzhou soldiers who fled back with nine deaths.

Seeing that there was still not much change and anger in the team in front of him, the magistrate shouted loudly outside the camp gate as if he had just woken up from a dream;

"Why don't you bring people in quickly."

Then, I saw a group of women with miserable and panicked expressions, pushed and driven by more than a dozen Tsing Yi military officials, and they were deliberately pushed into the array of these soldiers.

At this moment, the solemn and gloomy atmosphere in front of the army relaxed somewhat, and turned into the exclamations and screams of all kinds of women, as well as the dull roars of men.

"This is what appeases (deals with) the past. It's not easy. ”

The officer touched the beads of sweat on his head, but he didn't notice the malicious eyes of the few sergeants who cast resentment and resentment on him, and still muttered to himself.

"This group of thieves imprisoned and killed a thousand knives, if it weren't for the grass thieves who had to exert their strength at the moment, why would Lao Tzu have to whisper to you."

Now the weather is still hot and unbearable after July when the fire is everywhere, especially in this damp and stuffy Jianghan land, it is also very difficult to endure during the day, and even the soldiers and civilians in the city have many people who have fallen ill; On the contrary, the grass thieves outside the city did not seem to be affected by anything, but still gathered to benefit the people and attacked continuously.

So he had only stood here for a while, and he was already soaked in sweat and fine silk; Seeing that he could get rid of this errand immediately, he couldn't wait to return to his shady house and enjoy the cool melons and fruits of Jingzhen and the fan of his concubine.

However, in this rush to cope with the past, he seemed to have forgotten another incidental matter. However, the officials in charge of the observation envoy were listed in the list of rewards that had already been issued.

As a result, on the second day, the strange atmosphere that began to diffuse in this Yunzhou army.

"A certain family has already inquired. The festival government did raise thousands of carts of labor and military supplies from the city. There are melons, fruits, silks, silk and cold medicines"

A raw, dark, thick soldier squeezed a sound out between his teeth

"But the first to be rewarded and supported are still the tooth soldiers and the Shence athletes, as well as the local unity officers."

"They picked out the remaining miscellaneous items, and it was their turn to listen to the various guest troops under their command."

"First the Jiangling soldiers, then the Qingzhou soldiers, as well as the Nanyang soldiers and the Yicheng army... Even those newly replenished soil balls have eaten the seasonal melons and fruits. There is no share of our Yunzhou children. ”

"Could it be that our Yunzhou children are all forced to be raised by the little mother? Desperately working hard, did you end up with such preferential treatment? . . ”

"Then I might as well be more comfortable with being a thief."

"Shut up ... How can this be said nonsense, don't you want to die, it's not enough. ”

At this time, the Yunzhou army will be full of color.

"Don't drag this Black Friday down for me... Confinement has been thought. ”

However, when he returned to the camp to inspect and appease the soldiers, he looked at the large vat of drinking water that was so turbid that it needed to be precipitated before he could drink, but this Yunzhou general couldn't help but feel a little angry and bored;

I also thought of those township party robes who were still lying outside the city, and the number of 3,000 that came out at the beginning was now less than half; There are also those grass thieves who are waiting on the side of the giant weapons and hold crossbows and armor, and are so good that they can defeat most of the officers and soldiers and shoot arrows like a rain; I felt that my heart was even more depressed and unbearable, and I panicked.

Then he saw in his barracks piles of motley, coarse and jagged thin, blackened strings of money, and the woman with thick hands and eyes like dead fish; Thinking of those in the inner city who approve silk and hang silk all day long and give money and goods at every turn, and repeatedly call prostitutes in groups to the city, I can't help but smash my head down in anger, smashing into countless fragments and splashes.

"Bring the Black Friday guy here."

He almost gritted his teeth.

That night, Li Xian, who had just been writing hard overnight, once again wrote a letter boasting that he "calmly sat in the city to kill hundreds of thousands of thieves, and also cried blood again and asked for help"; I just drank ginseng and teased with my concubine before falling asleep. But he was awakened by the sound of hurried footsteps and the sound of announcements.

"Why are you making a loud noise, aren't you afraid to turn around?"

He was half-propped up in the flower tent bare-chested, and scolded impatiently

"Isn't there a charter for night duty already arranged?

"Observation, something is wrong."

A voice in a hurry said

"I've heard that the grass thieves have invaded the city. It's fighting outside the Dongxiang Gate. ”

"What..."

At this time, Li was like being doused with a bucket of ice water from head to toe, and suddenly came to his senses and was at a loss.

"How can this be ... Are the gatekeepers all-eaters?。。 ”

"What about the generals on duty?"

"Return to the envoys."

After a while, before Li Tie hurriedly put on his robe again, another hurried figure ran over and said

"It is rumored that the Yunzhou army seized the door in chaos and led thieves into the city."

"Damn, these unworthy thieves."

Li suddenly cursed loudly.

"Why don't you send troops to kill them yet...

"Back to the envoys, the Yicheng Army and the Qingzhou Army have rushed to intercept and kill them nearby."

Only then did Li Xian breathe a sigh of relief, and his heart was a little relieved, and finally the means of collecting the whole city and rewarding the army as much as possible these days were not in vain; Thinking of this, he became more and more resentful of the Yunzhou army who turned to thieves, but he was a jackal who could not be raised, and he must settle the account in the future, even their old masters should not want to have a good time.

"Report."

Then another general shouted

"The armies of the inner city have risen up and set up camp. Just wait for the envoy to go and announce the decree. ”

However, as if the heavens did not fulfill people's wishes, the bad news that the situation had taken a turn for the worse also followed.

"Report, the Nanyang army said that the thieves were very powerful, and the main and deputy capital Yu Hou were all on the spot, and the rest of the troops retreated to the Jilufang to wait for help."

"Report, the left wing of the Jiangling soldiers has broken away, and the grass thieves have invaded outside the store gate bridge...

At this time, if you look far away from the city tower, the fire and the noise of fighting in the east of the city are getting closer and closer; The light of the various open fire canes flickered, almost illuminating the night sky of the small half of the outer Guo.

When Li led the crowd to the wall of Yacheng, hoping to make this movement, he only felt more panicked and frightened in his heart; Fortunately, the 1,000 tooth soldiers in the city where they were rightfully located, as well as the 3,000 Shence troops who rushed to the nearest place, were already standing by in a column under the city with their armor on.

This also gave him some basic confidence and peace of mind; It's just that the local solidarity soldiers, who he has been paying favorably, have not arrived in time for a long time, which also makes him somewhat disappointed and disappointed.

"All the soldiers obey the order."

It was rare for the Li family to be calm and calm, and a group of relatives gathered under the stairs to help the way.

"But the envoys kill the thieves."

"Only the envoy obeys."

"The envoy commands."

These well-dressed pro-subordinate generals couldn't help but respond awe-inspiringly.

"Bring all the people and armor, and quickly follow me out of the door to shoot the thief."

Li Department's next decisive sentence made them look at each other in shock, and then they suddenly responded to the order and left. Then I saw a man and horse in full armor and sparkling out of the inner city in a hurry, and galloped away in the direction of the north gate.

After a while, the generals who were still staying in the inner city and the tooth city and looking forward to it, only then did they have some aftertaste and reaction; Why did this observer not lead his troops outside the East City Gate, where the battle was raging, but led the team straight to the north gate, where there was no movement. So, in the panic of shouting and screaming, these people who felt hopeless began to open the door and fled one after another.

(End of chapter)