Xinhui City, the scorching sun is like a blazing fire, countless young and strong but bare-chested shoulders to carry the burden, looking from afar, the high city wall is full of dense human heads, like ants will be a load of soil, a piece of boulder city bricks to fill in the gap that is more than ten zhang wide.

The dense crowd was allowed to be baked by the scorching sun, but no one dared to speak, let alone snort, only mechanically repeating the work that had been numb, everyone's bodies were tanned, and the shoulders that carried the burden were even more peeled off a layer of skin, revealing red and Yin Yin's skin, and the burden was pressed up to make people feel distressed. Rao is like this, and no one dares to pause for half a minute, let alone cry out in pain, because they know that no one will come to sympathize with them, let alone pity them, and begging for mercy can only be exchanged for more cruel whipping, and they will even be dragged out and beheaded in public!

The pain in the body is nothing compared to life, and the physical and mental torture is even less worth mentioning.

Finally, the crisp gong sounded, and the coolies who had been working for a long time waited for the short rest they had been looking forward to for a long time, although the rest time was only a small half-pillar of incense, and the food they could get was only a bowl of rice soaked in salt water, but for these coolies who were already tired to the limit of their bodies, this rest time was the most comfortable and happiest time in their lives. Unfortunately, happy times are always short-lived, and when they devour their meals, the gong for work sounds.

After greedily licking up a little bit of oil and water from the bowl, the coolies straightened up and marched towards the construction site. Behind them, most of the breaches in the wall that had been blown down had been filled. On the complete city wall on both sides of the gap, some Taiping soldiers were trying to lift the artillery that had fallen off the city wall, and many young men who were requisitioned from the city laboriously carried the sassal wood one by one to the city. The air was filled with the stench of oil, but it was the golden juice mixed with feces boiling in hundreds of cauldrons.

"One, two, up!"

In the sound of neat trumpets, more than 100 Qing soldiers with blue flags who were captured by the Taiping army were using their strength to carry boulders longer than people onto the city wall, each piece of which was moved. Their strength seemed to disappear out of thin air, and it took a long time to catch before they could carry the next piece again. Since the start of construction, dozens of prisoners have been killed and wounded. Most of them were injured by the boulders that were lifted, now. There was still a lot of plasma mixed with dirt under the walls, and God knows if there were any corpses buried under the dirt.

"Dare to be lazy!"

The whip of the "horn" sounded, and a green battalion soldier covered his face and wailed, but his legs and feet did not dare to slow down, and he endured great pain and picked up the empty basket and trotted back, not daring to look at the Taiping army that beat him.

The sound of whipping and shouting and scolding came and went, driven by the swords of the Taiping army. Hundreds of Qing prisoners, along with officials and young men requisitioned from the city, braved the scorching sun to repair the gaps in the city walls that had been blown open by the Taiping army.

Day and night without stopping, more than a dozen people have died of exhaustion, and dozens of others have been injured by falling rocks or beaten to death. Several Qing captives with blue flags were used by the Taiping army to set an example for the monkeys, and their bloody heads with rat tails hung on both sides of the gaps to remind those who had illusions not to act rashly.

"Qi Lao Er fainted, Qi Lao Er fainted!"

Someone suddenly screamed in the crowd picking up soil under the city, but it did not cause a commotion in the surrounding crowd, and they continued to hold the men in their hands calmly, and no one went to see Qi Lao Er, who was dragged away by the Taiping army.

After panting and stacking a city brick on the cornerstone, the errand officer Huang Si finally couldn't help but let out a "phew". Then he cursed in a low voice: "Zhou Xiucai is really fucking ruthless, he is a fellow villager in the township, and he can do it!" ”

The companions on the side listened to this. couldn't help sneering: "Which one is a folk with us?" Don't you forget, we are not Xinhui people, how many Zhou Xiucai's folks are left in this city? ”

"We're not his fellow villagers, but he can't find us if he wants revenge, and his wife and children are not for us to eat!" Huang Si was indignant and felt very unhappy about what happened to him.

"You didn't eat his wife and children, there is always someone else in your stomach, right?" The companion did not raise his head and threw out a sentence.

Hearing this, Huang Si was speechless, and immediately blushed. When the old thieves besieged the city, it was not for nothing that these servants survived.

The official on the side saw that Huang Si was still standing stupidly. couldn't help urging: "Let's work quickly, and block this wall as soon as possible." We can rest early, or we will be really tired to death. After speaking, he pouted at the banner soldiers who were stacking bricks on the city wall, "The soldiers of the imperial court are all working there, what are we?" Let's do it. ”

"Alas"

Huang Sichang sighed, silently put the bamboo basket full of mud on his shoulders, I don't know whether he was thinking about what was in his stomach, or thinking about Zhou Xiucai, his movements were very slow, and he sneered at the companion just now, and couldn't help but sneer: "What, Huang Tou is bitter?" If you are bitter, why don't the thieves go with the county when they break the city? ”

"You!"

Huang Siqi doesn't fight in one place, Huang Xianzun is a family. It's burned, what does this guy mean by letting him go with Huang Xianzun!

Seeing that Huang Si was about to be guts, others looked at it and hurriedly said: "Okay, let's not say a word, what does it mean to say this, so that the thieves will cut off your heads when they hear it!" ”

Hearing the cutting off of his head, Huang Si suddenly shuddered, and couldn't help but look at the head hanging on the city wall, the human heads that were pigtailed by rat tails and gasped in the city were really chilling under the sun, so that he could no longer afford to have the slightest anger, and he never dared to say a word more

On the city wall, Zhou Shixiang stood at the battlement and silently looked at the prisoners who were working below, Song Xianggong nodded with satisfaction after listening to the reports of several subordinates on the progress of the project, and then walked to Zhou Shixiang's side and said: "Qianhu, if you can't pass tonight, this gap can be blocked, and when the time comes, the Qing army will have no way to take us." After speaking, he hesitated for a moment and said: "After days of driving, although it is not a pity for the prisoners to die, the people in the city have also suffered in vain, and it is expected that there will be many dead and wounded."

"Mr. Song doesn't have to say this."

Zhou Shixiang retracted his gaze, waved his hand, slowly faced Song Xianggong, and said: "If one person dies can save ten people, if a hundred people die can save ten people, if one family can be damaged, ten households can be saved if one is damaged, and ten thousand households can be saved if one is damaged, then there is no pity." ”

"But after all, the people in the city escaped death, and our army will inevitably be suspected of tyranny if they are so served, isn't it a thousand households?"

Governor Song Xianggong has come to this, in order to protect the Taiping army, he can only do it regardless of manpower, but after all, he was born as a scholar, and he still has a little benevolence in his heart, thinking about whether he can persuade Zhou Shixiang to say a few words, and be a little sympathetic to the remnants of Xinhui, but before he finished speaking, Zhou Shixiang interrupted him again and said coldly: "The people of Xinhui should have died a long time ago, and my Zhou Shixiang should have died a long time ago. Today's drive to them is only to make them atone for their sins, but before I had the kindness of a woman, but today's situation is a matter of life and death, if you don't sacrifice them, you have to sacrifice the whole camp, who is lighter and who is heavier, Sir should know. (To be continued)