There was fire all around.

The flames have enveloped the Yongzhou Prefecture. Six before and after, there are partial courtyards on the left and right, there are pavilions, there are gardens, it is the largest building complex in Yongzhou City, and at this time, it turns into a sea of fire.

Su Mian was wearing a public uniform and a long foothead, and he was surrounded by the raging fire step by step, measuring the ground with the thick-soled official boots on his feet. The upright appearance is meticulous, even if he goes to meet the Son of Heaven immediately, he will not be rude.

Step over the threshold and step through the door. The lobby behind him was engulfed in flames, and the fire snakes swam on the roof tiles, and every door and window was spewing flames outward.

Su Mian still remembers that after he came to Yongzhou, the first case was tried in the lobby. He has rarely come up with a murder case in all the places he has served. In order to try that case, Su Mian did not work hard, just going back and forth with the state, the county and Guizhou The official documents weighed more than a dozen pounds, and it took a year to submit the verdict of the verdict to Tokyo, so that the Son of Heaven ticked his name. Now that I think about it, I relied on this case to establish my prestige in Yongzhou.

In the years that followed, whether it was the trial of important cases or the holding of the New Year's banquet, it was held in the lobby. The familiar building will soon cease to exist, but Su Mian finds that he doesn't have much sadness.

Stepping through the side door, the second hall also burst into flames, and the hall was lit with fire. At a few o'clock, Mars jumped out and climbed up to the thorn tree in the front corner of the court. The thorn tree has already bloomed, and on the trees that condense blood and fire, the red flowers are like flames. Legend has it that if this tree blooms out of season, Yongzhou will be burned. Many people believe it, but today we know the falsity of the legend. At the beginning of February, it is the time when the tung trees are in full bloom.

There was a shout of killing from outside the state office, which was the best effort of the soldiers guarding the state office, but it soon fell silent.

Wang Kang was also martyred. ’

Just like this Yongzhou city, it held on for nearly two months, but after all, it did not hold out until the arrival of reinforcements.

Su Mian walked slowly in the empty courtyard.

In the past, in this courtyard, there would always be hundreds of officials running back and forth, and the hustle and bustle was endless. From morning to night, from night to day. But at the end of the day, he was the only one left among the civil and military officials in Yongzhou.

Tang Zizheng died in battle last night, and after killing a number of Jiaozhi thieves who had invaded the city, he shed the last drop of blood at the foot of the city wall. 'It's just one death,' his lieutenant said.

When the military camp in the south of the city was breached this morning, the camp immediately caught fire, and they all chose to commit suicide.

Metropolitan Supervisor Xue Ju was the first to die in battle, in order to prevent the Jiaozhi people from building a high platform in the city, he led the army out of the city, the first success, the second success, and the third time was ambushed by Li Changjie. On that day, Liu Shigu, another capital eunuch and Xitou worship official, also died in the other direction outside the city.

In the next few days of the battle for the city wall, Gao Bian was killed by an arrow, and Zhou Yan, the lieutenant of Xuanhua County, died from the spear of the Jiaozhi army in Shangcheng. Chen Qi, Ding Qi, Shao Xian, Liang Xuan, Li Xiang, He Mi, Liu Gongxuan, and the military attaches of all sizes in the state city have also died one after another in these days.

After the city was broken, the capital eunuch Liu Xifu returned to guard the military camp in the south of the city, and today he was martyred with Tan Bi and Zhou Cheng. Ouyang Yan, the magistrate of Xuanhua County, threw himself into the fire with his county government last night. His second son, Su Zizheng, was unable to be treated after his right arm was cut off at the head of the city two days ago. The eldest grandson, Su Zhiwen, was hung with a military position because of the shadow, and he was hit by an arrow shortly after going into battle, and he was not able to save him.

Today's last line of defense outside the state government is guarded by Wang Kang of Wuyuan Zhixian County. Because when he came to attack Jiaozhi, he gave up his duty and fled into Yongzhou City. After being reprimanded by Su Mian, he made up his mind to die. will let him guard the state government, also because he has been seriously injured on the city wall before, and he can't go into battle.

At the last moment, none of his subordinates were cowards, and none of them flinched.

A heat wave swept up with the wind, and Su Mian's vision blurred. The heat swept across his cheeks, and he wiped it with his hand, but it was wet that fell into his fingertips. Wet touch.

It's really hot.

Outside the state office, it was already full of human voices, and they didn't know what they were talking about. Su Mian couldn't understand the local dialect of Jiaozhi, but he couldn't mishear his name in the local dialect.

Presumably he was going to capture himself alive.

Su Mian seemed to have thought of something funny, and grinned: "I am a Great Song Shouchen, how can I die at the hands of thieves?" ”

A violent roar rang out, and a gust of wind blew from behind him. Su Mian slowly turned around. It's the lobby that collapsed. The roof collapsed, and the fire dimmed, but in a blink of an eye, the flames rushed straight up, rising more than ten zhang high, and then fell back again, flashing up and down a few times before it began to burn steadily.

The lobby collapsed, the second hall was also swallowed by Zhurong, and the front yard had become a sea of fire, reflecting the sky in the night with red colors. The heat of the melted stone and gold emitted to the four corners of the heavens and the earth, and the lush trees were making the sound of the crackling sound of dry wood burning in the hearth.

The back garden and firewood house were also burned, and there was no shortage of loyal servants in Su Yan's house. During the days of the defense of the city, many took up bows and swords and went up to the wall. And the rest of the old and weak women and children, Su Mian let them escape from the state government after the city was broken, and whether he can escape this catastrophe can only depend on his fate.

"Sir."

After passing through the door of the house, the old servant who had served Su Mian since he was a child greeted him.

And someone to greet you." Su Mian walked up and blamed, "Didn't you let you go?" ”

"The villain has followed the master all his life, and wherever the master goes, the villain will follow."

Su Mian looked at the face in front of him that had been in front of him for decades, sighed, and stopped persuading. asked, "Third brother, are they all gone?" ”

"Hmm." The old servant lowered his head and wiped his eyes to prevent the tears from flowing from his eyes.

The third son, Su Ziming, knew a little medical skills, and Su Mian let him learn to manage the medical emergency in the city. Day and night, he fell ill after failing to survive to the worst, and he could only lie at home for the last few days.

"The second brother's family is also gone?"

"Hmm."

"What about the eldest brother's house?"

The old servant turned his face, looked down at the ground, and said in a small voice: "We all drank together." ”

Su Mian got a little older in an instant, even more haggard, and there was only a bleak smile on the corner of his mouth, "They don't fit the Su family." ”

"It's none of the master's business!" The old servant raised his head violently and shouted at Su Mu for the first time in decades: "It's all Shen Qi and Liu Yi's iniquity!" ”

"There's no need to say anything more at this point." Su Mian walked forward slowly, and the old servant helped him up, "I still remember when I was a child, when we went to the sea together, only you dared to accompany me." ”

"When I came back, the old man was beaten by the old lady and couldn't leave." The old servant smiled and thought back to the year together, "At that time, I didn't expect the master to be able to do Zhizhou, and at that time, I didn't even know if I could pass the Jinshi exam." ”

"It's been almost fifty years. It's going by so fast. Su Mian sighed as time changed, and the memories of the old days passed by in his mind like a marquee.

"Isn't it...... The villain never thought that he would live to sixty. Helping Su Mian to the front of the main hall, the old servant let go, "Master, the little one has to take a step first, and then serve the master in the next life." ”

He knelt down and kowtowed, got up and staggered into the burning backyard.

Looking at the door sealed by the flames, Su Mu sighed: "I don't know how big the sin is that I failed to save the people of the city...... Your reincarnation in your next life will definitely be better than mine. ”

Outside, it was even more noisy, and there was a dull hammering sound, as if someone was hitting the courtyard wall with a piece of wood or a heavy hammer.

Su Mian frowned and looked in the direction where the voice came from. I shouldn't be able to attract so many people to work hard, probably because I am afraid that the property accumulated in the house will be burned clean. They must be disappointed, the official and private wealth has been dispersed in the days of defending the city, and where is there anything left for their group of robbers.

Su Mian was about to die, as the fire got bigger and bigger, the air became more and more stuffy, and all he breathed into his lungs was scorching heat. He walked into the main hall with great difficulty, and slowly sat down in his familiar position.

The surrounding flames gradually rose, and the flames that flew up had already licked up to the beams of the house. The paint on the beams and pillars was quickly ignited and crackled. When the paintings on the pillars and ceilings were heated, the pieces peeled off and fell off, burning on the ground.

When this small building was rebuilt in the Ming and Dao years, the ceiling of the beams and pillars was painted with colorful paintings, and the exquisiteness was far better than other buildings in the Yazhong. It's just that after decades of no repair, when Su came to office, these paintings were already mottled. Someone once proposed to Su Mian to repair it, otherwise it would be too ugly. But after Su Lu calculated the expenses, he threw the proposal aside. There is also the pavilion in the backyard, which was also smashed open by fallen trees in the wind and rain two years ago, and Su Mian did not let anyone repair it. I don't want to spend money indiscriminately.

The corners of the official robe were licked by the tongue of fire, and in the blink of an eye, they burned up. Su Mian ignored it, picked up the wine jug that had already been placed on the table, and poured himself a glass of wine.

Picking up the glass full of wine, the flames jumped a little more, but Su Mian couldn't feel the heat around him anymore.

Some struggled to turn his head to look at his old wife who had been with him all his life across a table, with his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep. Forty-five years of companionship, I originally wanted to go back to my hometown to study and spend my days behind closed doors, and the husband and wife lived the most difficult days, who would have thought that they would live and die together here.

As soon as I drank it, the heat seeped from my throat into my stomach. Su Mian couldn't imagine that the taste of this wine was not bad, but he could only drink it once. There are thirty-seven members of the family, except for the eldest son Su Ziyuan, and two children and grandchildren who died in the war, and everyone else drank the same wine in this state office. They didn't cooperate with the family of Yongzhou Zhizhou, otherwise they wouldn't have caused this disaster.

The stomach was hotter, the color of the flame filled his eyes, and Su Mian's guilt for his family gradually dissipated, and only one thought lingered in his heart.

I just hate that I didn't save the people of the city!