May 13 of the third year of Yongli in the Southern Ming Dynasty, and May 13 of the fifth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty, on this day, outside the city of Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, there was an overwhelming crowd of people.

The crowd is chaotic and chaotic, and the black and oppressive heads of the people all over the mountains are like the flooding waters of the Fen River, crowding out the woods, hills and fields, scattered across the land, boundless.

These people were ragged, tired-faced, and disheveled, each with a yin and yang head, and the part of the top of the head near the forehead was bare and blue, but the back of the head had shoulder-length hair, which looked very strange, as if it were ...... Someone used a knife to cut off something that was originally left on the back of the head.

They were armed with sticks, rusty kitchen knives, guillotines, sickles, and other weapons, and occasionally sturdy men with long knives and spears sharpened with sharp edges, and some of the tough-looking men even wore armor, although the armor was very old and scattered, but the people who wore them were obviously a head higher than the others, showing off their might and majesty.

If you distinguish carefully, you can find that these chaotic crowds are actually different, under the leadership of various flags that seem to be made of bed sheets, people consciously belong to their own banners, there are leading armorers in front to lead the way, and there are strong armor soldiers in the back, so the seemingly chaotic and disorderly team is actually not what outsiders see, those who lead the way, obviously have their own marching routes and goals, they lead the flow of people who follow closely behind, Like the Juanjuan stream that flows into the sea, it swarms towards the gates of various places in Taiyuan.

The Taiyuan city wall is tall and magnificent, the wide moat is turbulent, like a rich and huge treasure that highlights the land in Jinzhong, deeply attracts this group of people who gather from all directions of Shanxi, among the crowd, from the moment when they see the Taiyuan city wall from a distance, there are people shouting loudly and seductively.

"Fellow villagers, there is Taiyuan City in front, and the food treasures collected by the Tartars from all over our Shanxi are all placed in it, as long as you rush in, you can snatch everything back!"

"Hou Ye said, the Son of Heaven has a life, and anyone who has merit in killing the Tartars will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver and sealed ten thousand households!"

"Let's work together, and the treasures of the city are piled up into mountains! If the city is broken, everything you grab will be your own, and you will never have to suffer again for the rest of your life! ”

"The Tartars robbed us of our things, and it is only natural that we take them back, even if we die, we are fighting for our ancestors! When you go underground, you won't be ashamed to face your parents! ”

With these bewitching sounds, the eyes of the people with vegetables in their faces brightened, and the dark light of rage and greed burned fiercely inside, and immediately someone responded, shouting, and the roar of all people rose in the wind under the sky.

"Kill the Tartars! Kill the Tartars! ”

Like bursts of rolling thunder passing through the sky, the roar of nearly 100,000 people could make everyone standing on the opposite side of them lose their courage, and the Mongolian cavalry that used to be rampant outside Taiyuan City disappeared at this moment, and there was not a single figure.

All the markets and villages outside the city seemed to have turned into ghost towns overnight, and the vendors and merchants who had gathered on both sides of the bustling official roads were no longer to be seen, and the frenzied wind blew through them, lifting the rags and paper left on the ground, and the surging rebel army rushed into these empty houses and shops with wild shouts that pierced the sky, searching for everything that could be used as trophies.

When the accompanying soldiers saw this situation, they would unceremoniously wave the leather whips in their hands, and while raining down on the rebels who had become bandits, they scolded angrily: "Are they all poor and crazy? It's not time to grab something yet! It's all rags that others don't want, what do you want to do when you pick it up? When the city is broken, there is time for you to pick it up, and I will be put in place, and the Tartars in the city are not dead, so I am not afraid that they will come out and kill you alive!? Something that doesn't fight for it, still pick it up? ”

The sound of whips accompanied by cries of pain was inconspicuous in the shouts like a storm, and no one could even hear them, so Zhu Shichang and A Lai and other Qing generals and officials standing at the head of the city were not attracted the slightest attention.

Similar to the rebel army under the city that seems to cover every inch of land, the head of Taiyuan City, the same ant-like fortified soldiers, behind each battlement, there are hidden soldiers with weapons, under every female wall, there are piles of rolling wood and stones, the archer's quiver is filled with arrows, the iron cannon is prepared with iron bullets, the arrow shield is placed above the head, the iron spear and long rod stand at the lookout, every city wall is waiting for each other, and everyone is waiting for him.

However, even so, when the defenders saw the wave of rebels like the ocean outside, their legs still trembled slightly, in their memory, they didn't seem to have seen so many enemies, oh no, they had seen it, when they were still the Ming army, when Li Zicheng's army of thieves passed through Taiyuan, there was also such a scale that seemed to be able to flood the city.

Perhaps, if each of these people spits on a spit, a flood will be raised.

Ah Lai stood at the head of the city with his helmet and armor, a bull horn strong bow clenched in his right hand, his face was already pale, his Adam's apple moved up and down, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then asked in a dumb voice: "Is the thief transferring the entire Shanxi people?" How can there be so many people? ”

Zhu Shichang had already changed into a stainless steel chain mail, the silver shining keyhole was dazzling, a rhino belt around his waist hung a sword rewarded by Dolgon, and a blue gem on the handle of the knife was faintly glowing, and the sharpness of his body could not hide the fear shown by the slightly trembling muscles on his face.

"It's really unexpected, watching this scene, I'm afraid there are more than 100,000 people." Zhu Shichang's voice was bitter, as if he was struggling to swallow an unpalatable thorn: "I didn't expect this gang of thieves to be so united, but it was unpredictable." ”

Alai's left hand, which did not hold a bow, subconsciously helped up an iron cannon mounted at the head of the city, this cannon was as big as a beam, and the black cannon body and heavy gun carriage could bring him a rare sense of security, and he asked worriedly: "Do you want to fire a cannon to extinguish their arrogance?" This gang of thieves roared loudly, and the soldiers below were afraid to be afraid. ”

Zhu Shichang shook his head and denied his proposal: "No, the anti-thief is still five miles away, although the red-clothed cannon can shoot seven or eight miles, it is inaccurate, the cannon is useless, and the cannonball will be one less shot, so there is no need to waste it." ”

He looked at Alai with a solemn face and comforted: "Don't worry too much, although there are many anti-thieves, they are a rabble, there is no discipline, a swarm of bees is up, a swarm of bees is retreating, the first moment is a wolf and the next moment is a dog, Taiyuan Chengjian is not a thief with a hoe can break through." What's more, so many people have to spend a lot of money on eating and drinking every day, and if they drag it out, they won't be able to hold on to it, and when the time comes, the internal strife and strife will disappear if we don't do it. ”

Ah Lai tightened his face and exhaled softly: "I hope so, but in any case, it is impossible for us to go out of the city to meet the battle with the troops at hand, and the only way to do this now is to hold on and wait for a long time." ”

Zhu Shichang nodded, stroked his beard and said, "That's right, Lord Alai has a plan for old age." ”

The two of them silently froze, staring into the distance together, each observing the new wave of people rising on the horizon with their own hearts, calculating how many enemies they would face in the upcoming battle.

At this moment, a commotion-like sound came from the city wall not far to the south, and the voices of the Mongols and the Han Chinese were terrifying.

Zhu Shichang and A Lai were furious when they heard this, when defending the city, during the war, they were most afraid of panic and chaos, which could easily cause panic and collapse, and it was strictly forbidden in the army.

The two rushed over in unison, and shouted angrily as they scurried: "Who is making noise, aren't you afraid of military law?" ”

The commotion is not far away, very close to the south gate tower where the two are located, and they can walk a little way to it, and when they look up, they see that a group of soldiers who are in charge of guarding here are pointing out of the city, and they are talking about it with fear.

When a guard saw the two coming, he hurriedly greeted them, and without waiting for the two to open his mouth to punish him, he shouted first: "Two adults, look outside the city!" ”

Its sound is fearful, and its shape is fearful.

Zhu Shichang recognized at a glance that this was an officer in his army who was usually quite filial, and he was extremely courteous in giving gifts and bribes, and scolded secretly in his heart, and looked out of the city along the hand of the garrison.

It didn't matter what he saw, and suddenly his eyes were sucked to him, so that his whole person shook suddenly, broke off the garrison, and lay on the city wall, his hands tightly clenched the wall tiles, almost wanting to enter the flesh.

"Cannon! Red Cannon! He muttered, his eyes full of incredulity: "It's really a red-clad cannon!" ”

(End of chapter)