The two of them trotted north along the street, and soon there were suddenly more people on the road ahead. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info many people with burdens, ox carts, and baskets on their backs filled the streets like tricks. All of a sudden, the streets were noisy and bustling.

"The gates of the city were opened, and these were the people of the country who had entered the city. Every morning, tens of thousands of people enter the city to sell vegetables and firewood, and some come to the city docks to work as coolies to earn money to support their families. This is true at the North Gate, as well as at several other gates. Cui Ruoyu explained to Wang Yuan in a low voice.

Wang Yuan nodded slightly, although Yangzhou City is prosperous like a dream, these dreams are all established under the hard work of these people. In the eyes of outsiders, living in Yangzhou City is like paradise, but the excitement here may have little to do with these ordinary citizens and ordinary people. In the end, this is a paradise for the rich and noble, and a dream for a few.

The long street gradually moved closer to the canal, and finally at the entrance of the northern city, the long street and the embankment of the canal formed a whole. The vast canal penetrates into the city from outside the city like a dragon, dividing Yangzhou City into two. On the canal, boats slowly enter the city from the middle of the river, and these boats are piled with goods and goods. Some of them are parked directly on the wharf below the river, and the boatmen who emerge from the cabins beckon the men on the shore to carry their goods. Some drove straight into the rest of the wharves in the center of Yangzhou City to unload their cargo.

Witnessing all this, Wang Yuan finally understood the reason for the prosperity of Yangzhou City. Located at the intersection of the Yangtze River and the canal, in this era when the waterway transportation is far more convenient than the road transportation, the unique geographical location is enough to prosper a city early. Yangzhou City, where the north-south thoroughfare meets the east and west, has this unique geographical advantage, thus achieving Yangzhou City.

What made Wang Yuan curious was that many of these ships entering the city were huge ships, some of which were as high as two or three zhang high and more than ten zhang long. So how did they drive into the city, but I don't know what kind of pattern the northern city wall of Yangzhou is. The Jingyao Gate in the north of the capital Chang'an is also the pattern of the Yong'an Canal passing through the city, but it is a culvert built under the city gate for ships to enter and exit. However, a city gate as tall as Jingyao Gate, the culvert under the city gate can actually only pass small boats. Ships taller than five or six feet could only be unloaded at the pier outside the city. And here, large ships several feet high can enter, this obviously cannot be a culvert passage in the city wall, the only possibility is that the north city wall is not closed, opening a gap for ships to enter and exit. If that's the case, it's a big problem for the enemy.

With such doubts, Wang Yuan and Cui Ruoyu rode together to the north gate of Yangzhou. But seeing the bustling people at the city gate, the soldiers guarding the city shouted loudly to maintain order. Faced with the influx of many people, Wang Yuan and Cui Ruoyu had to dismount and walk. The two men led their horses along the edge of the street towards the city walls, and soon reached the stone steps of the upper city next to the city gates.

"What for? No stops here, walk fast. One of the defenders waved his hand.

Cui Ruoyu stepped forward and handed over a name post, the soldier glanced at it and hurriedly bowed.

"It turned out to be the eldest lady of the Cui family, the villain should be damned, the villain didn't recognize it."

"We're going up to the city and see, so do whatever you want." Cui Ruoyu waved her hand.

The soldier hurriedly got out of the way, Cui Ruoyu turned his head to Wang Yuan and smiled, "Go up to the city wall." ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "Sure enough, the name of the Cui family works, otherwise I am afraid that I will not be able to go up if I wear out my mouth." ”

Cui Ruoyu smiled and said: "Don't be sour, this world is like this, no matter what you say, it's useless." ”

Wang Yuan smiled and didn't answer, and walked along the stone steps of the city wall to the head of the city. Soon after, Wang Yuan and Cui Ruoyu were at the top of the city wall. Wang Yuan silently counted the number of steps in the upper city and visually measured the width of the city wall, and found that the city wall of Yangzhou City was still tall and strong. The height of the city wall is more than two zhang, and the width of the city head is also a few zhang, and this kind of city defense is much thicker than the city defense of most cities. Even compared with the Tongzhou City where he was located when he refused to defend Shi Siming's 180,000 army, it was not much inferior.

At the beginning, the city wall of Tongzhou was very low, and he mobilized the people to strengthen a lot in Jiannan in a few years, and it reached a height of more than two zhang. From this point of view, the walls of Yangzhou may be defensive, and only need to slightly increase the battlements with sandbags to strengthen the weak points.

Standing on the city wall, Wang Yuan looked out of the city and saw the avenue outside the city where he and Cui Ruoyu rode horses last night. Outside the city, the terrain is very low, and the Grand Canal comes from the north, and the river is open and the water flow is calm. White sails dotted on the river, dozens of boats are slowly entering the city from far and near, from somewhere in the east.

"This wall and terrain may be resistant to the enemy?" Cui Ruoyu asked in a low voice beside her.

Wang Yuan said: "In terms of the city wall alone, it can still be used to defend the palace. But that's not what worries me the most, what I'm worried about is how these ships get into the city, doesn't it mean that there are no walls over the river? Is there a gap in the city wall? ”

Cui Ruoyu said: "Won't you understand if you go and take a look?" ”

Wang Yuan nodded, and the two of them walked east along the city wall, a hundred steps east of the city gate, where the canal entered the city. When Wang Yuan saw the pattern here at a glance, his face suddenly became gloomy.

As Wang Yuan feared, the canal was too wide to build arched culverts or bridges over the canal to connect the eastern and western walls. As a result, both sides of the canal came to an abrupt halt. In order to facilitate the tour of the city, the top of the walls on both sides of the canal were connected with ropes and planks to build bridges similar to suspension bridges. But this is only for the convenience of the passage of the walls on both sides, and it is not a city wall at all. It's no wonder that the big boats, which are several feet high, can easily enter the city, because they don't even need to think about the height of the hull, and go directly to the city through the river below the suspension bridge. The suspension bridge at the top of the city wall is more than two feet high, and it is easy for ordinary large ships to pass through without any obstacles.

However, this pattern was a disaster in Wang Yuan's view, and with this huge passage through the canal, Yangzhou City was actually an undefended city, and rebel ships could rush into the city unimpeded.

Wang Yuan frowned and walked onto the head of the suspension bridge that hung in mid-air to connect the east and west banks of the canal, and the swaying suspension bridge made a creaking sound. The wind blows and staggers. There are still many damages on the bridge, and it is clear that the drawbridge has not been reinforced for many years, and it is said that it is full of defensive equipment or wooden rolling stones and other things, and it is all standing with archers, and I am afraid that it will also collapse.

"You're worried that this place won't be defended, are you?" Cui Ruoyu asked in a low voice.

Wang Yuan nodded and said in a deep voice: "Yes, what I was most worried about happened. I thought there would be a sluice gate or something to block it. However, it is only now that I realize that there is nothing here. I'm wondering, what else does the city gate do with such a pattern in Yangzhou City? Anyone can go directly to the city by water. ”

Cui Ruoyu said: "That's not it, there are 1,000 sailors in Yangzhou, and more than a dozen warships are specially used to block the water surface and check the ships." They are to be examined before they enter the city. ”

Cui Ruoyu pointed to several flag-bearing ships on the water and said, "See, that's the warship, they are responsible for checking the ships entering the city on the water, and they are not allowed to sail into the city without the permission of the warship." ”

Wang Yuan frowned and said, "That's a fart!" ”

Cui Ruoyu frowned and was silent, Wang Yuan was shocked and speechless, and hurriedly said: "I'm sorry, I'm not angry at you, I'm anxious about the current situation." With such a city defense, trying to stop the rebels is probably an empty talk. The defenders of Yangzhou City are not many, and once the rebels enter the city, everything will be over. ”

Cui Ruoying comforted in a low voice: "There should be defensive measures, as far as I know, Yangzhou City officials still have countermeasures for the defense of the entrance to the river, but I don't care much about this, and I don't know what else to do." Don't worry, there will be a way. Besides, my grandfather and Shen Taishou will definitely come up with a way to deal with it. ”

Wang Yuan sighed and said, "I hope so." If Miss Yu is waiting here, I'll go and have a look on the other side. ”

Cui Ruoyu hurriedly said: "This suspension bridge is very dangerous, don't go up." ”

Wang Yuan smiled: "Don't worry, this won't bother me." ”

Cui Ruoyu was about to stop it, but saw that Wang Yuan had already stepped on the dangling suspension bridge and walked towards the opposite side. Cui Ruoyu was nervous, she didn't dare to walk on this shaking suspension bridge, so she had to stand on the west bank city wall and watch Wang Yuan's shaking back nervously. The wind was very strong, Wang Yuan's hair bun was flying in the wind, and the whole person was swinging with the suspension bridge, as if walking on a suspended rope. Cui Ruoyu didn't dare to shout anymore, for fear that he would accidentally distract Wang Yuan and cause him to fall.

It was only at this time that Cui Ruoyu suddenly realized that she was so concerned about this Captain Wang. She suddenly discovered that this Captain Wang's words, smiles, and actions actually touched her heart so much. When Captain Wang frowned, she Cui Ruoyu's heart also felt sorrow and anxiety. When Captain Wang laughed, he also felt happy. It's a little strange to say, I've only known this person for a few days, and I don't know why I have this inexplicable feeling.

……

Wang Yuan walked and stopped on the suspension bridge, observing the surrounding terrain and conditions, and checking the solidity of the suspension bridge. The more this is the case, the more Wang Yuan feels that the river under the suspension bridge is difficult to defend, and measures must be taken to completely block the channel here, otherwise this will be a breakthrough.

I don't know how long it took, but there seemed to be shouts in the whirring wind. Wang Yuan looked up and followed the sound, and saw that on the city wall on the west side, Cui Ruoyu was waving his arms and shouting at him. In the distance, in the direction of the castle tower, a large group of people appeared at some point, walking briskly towards the gap in the city wall.

Wang Yuan hurriedly walked back from the rickety suspension bridge, and the moment he stepped on the city wall, Cui Ruoyu patted his chest and whispered, "Thank God." ”

Wang Yuan smiled gratefully at her. Cui Ruoyu pointed to a group of people coming from behind: "Grandpa and Shen Taishou are here." ”

Wang Yuan looked at the group of people who were coming on, and he saw Cui Daoyuan, who was surrounded by everyone, Cui Daoyuan, who was surrounded by everyone, and Cui Daoyuan's three sons. There are also a bunch of officials in official uniforms. Everyone followed Cui Daoyuan respectfully, talking with smiling faces.

"Grandpa, you're here." Cui Ruoyu hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Cui Daoyuan smiled: "Girl, why did you come out early in the morning and run away?" ”

Cui Ruoyu said with a smile: "Captain Wang is anxious and wants to come to see the city defense." I was afraid that he would not know the way, so I came to him as a guide. ”

Cui Yuanbo said in a deep voice: "It's just nonsense, you are willful." Wouldn't it be enough to find someone to accompany you at home? But you run along. Your mother sent someone to talk to you early in the morning, but you are no longer at home. ”

Cui Ruoyu lowered her head and said softly: "Daddy, don't be angry, my daughter knows it's wrong." ”

Cui Daoyuan waved his hand and said, "What did you reprimand her again?" Ruo Ying didn't do a bad thing, and led the way for Captain Wang, wasn't it also for Yangzhou's rejection of the enemy? ”

Cui Yuanbao bowed and said, "Father taught me a lesson." ”

Cui Daoyuan nodded and turned to Wang Yuan. Wang Yuan stepped forward and saluted. Cui Daoyuan laughed and said, "Captain Wang, it seems that you are also an anxious person. The old man prepared morning tea and wanted to drink tea with you, but I didn't expect you to be gone. The old man didn't even drink morning tea. ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "Cui Weng forgives his sins, he is really anxious, so he will take the first step." I was going to meet at the state government for a while, but I didn't expect Cui Weng to come in person. ”

Cui Daoyuan said: "Of course, you have to come to the city defense department to discuss on the spot, otherwise wouldn't it be just talk on paper?" Captain Wang, let me introduce you, this one is Yangzhou Shen Taishou, you haven't met yet. As soon as you left with your front foot, Shen Taishou went to my house with your back foot, and just happened to go to the city together. ”

Wang Yuan looked at the slightly fat official standing next to Cui Daoyuan, although the official was slightly fat, he was handsome, beautiful and flowing, and he also had some grace.

"Shen is too guarded, he is humble and polite."

Shen Taishou bowed his hand and said, "Captain Wang is polite." I heard that Captain Wang is from the Shence Army? Traveled thousands of miles to deliver a letter? It's been a lot of work. ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "It's not hard, it's all for the purpose of counterinsurgency." The rebels rushed to the southeast, so my family, Wang Xiangguo, ordered me to come and cooperate with officials from all over the southeast to do a good job of defense. ”

Shen Taishou stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Wang Xiangguo didn't send a large army to come, but only sent you Captain Wang to come, which is also interesting." ”

Wang Yuan said in a deep voice: "The Shence Army is exterminating the 60,000 rebels of Linghu Chao who are attacking Suiyang. Wang Dashuai said that after the extermination of Linghu Chao, the Shence army will move south. I have already clarified this matter with Cui Weng. ”

Shen Taishou said lightly: "I see." ”

Wang Yuan felt a trace of dissatisfaction and disdain from Shen Taishou's words, this Shen Taishou obviously didn't take himself seriously. Of course, from his point of view, he is a small Shence military captain, and he doesn't need to value himself.

But I heard Cui Daoyuan say in a deep voice: "Captain Wang, you came early in the morning, can you see any clues?" Can the city defense of Yangzhou Beicheng be used for defense? ”

Wang Yuan arched his hand and said: "Cui Weng, with all due respect, the urban defense pattern of Yangzhou City is beyond my expectations. I was full of confidence last night, but now, I have to say that the situation in Yangzhou City's city defense is extremely dangerous. ”

"Oh? What do you think? Cui Daoyuan frowned and asked.

Wang Yuan pointed to the hanging bridge not far away and said: "I didn't expect that the city wall of Yangzhou Beicheng was not closed, and there were no measures to defend the canal from the invasion of ships. The rebel armies had come by boat, and in such a situation they could storm the city. I am deeply concerned about this. ”

Cui Daoyuan stroked his beard and was silent in thought.

Shen Taishou suddenly spoke: "Captain Wang, what you said is not right, we have defensive measures on the canal. You are new to Yangzhou, and you don't know about my Yangzhou's defense. It is not appropriate to jump to such conclusions. ”

Wang Yuan was surprised: "Oh? I would like to hear about it. ”

Shen Taishou seemed to disdain to explain to Wang Yuan, turned his head to Cui Daoyuan and said, "Cui Weng, although this canal leads directly into the city, we have defensive means in wartime. We have installed a huge gate under the city wall, and we do not use the gate on weekdays, but only send sailors and ships to cruise and check, which is also to facilitate the entry and exit of merchant ships. But at this point, the gates on both sides of the river can be used to block the entire river. ”

Cui Daoyuan said with a smile: "The old man has heard Yuanbo say that Yangzhou Shen Taishou designed and installed a giant gate for the canal, which cost a lot of money and was magnificent, but the old man has been in Jiangnan for a long time and has not seen it with his own eyes. Today is a good time to open your eyes and see what kind of impregnable wall it is. ”

Shen Taishou bowed down and said, "Cui Weng smiled. It turned out that Cui Beijia had already informed Cui Weng about this matter, so there was no need to bother with the officials. This gate is not the idea of Xia Guan alone, it is a method that my Yangzhou officials jointly came up with, and Cui Beijia also put forward a lot of good opinions. ”

"Oh? Really? It has been less than two months since Yuanbo came to Yangzhou as a farewell, and he actually came up with an idea for this gate? Cui Daoyuan lightly pierced Shen Taishou's ass.

Shen Taishou smiled awkwardly: "It's not Brother Yuanbo's business in other drivers. Brother Yuanbo has lived in Yangzhou for a long time, and we have had a lot of contacts in recent years, so we naturally talked about this matter. ”

"I see. Then Shen Taishou will open our eyes, and let this anxious captain Wang not be so anxious. Cui Daoyuan smiled.

"The subordinate obeys! Someone came, and ordered the naval army General Wei to immediately activate the sluice, close the river, and from now on, prohibit all ships from entering and leaving Yangzhou. Shen Taishou ordered in a deep voice.

The order was quickly conveyed, and soon after, the surface of the canal immediately became lively, and more than a dozen ships of the Yangzhou Navy quickly assembled on both sides of the riverbank. The ships threw down the thick cables and tied a few buckles to the wall on one side of the river, and soon all the boats pulled together into the middle of the river, and more than 100 soldiers on the shore pushed hard. In the stunned gaze of everyone, a wall was pulled out from both sides of the city wall like a bellows.

Shen Taishou pointed proudly and explained: "Cui Weng, this is the gate blocking the river, which is usually disguised as a city wall and retracted by the city wall. When you want to use it, you can pull it directly by hand and boat, and you can slide out of the chute below. There is one on the east and west sides of the inner and outer walls, and each gate is more than 20 zhang long. It is one foot and six feet high. Four wooden gates are pulled out, and the middle is interlocked with chain twisting rings, just forming two inner and outer gates. There is a log cross brace behind the inside of the gate, and after all of them are fixed, it is solid. Xia Guan asked people to try, and the five-zhang boat loaded with earth and stone quickly hit the gate, and the gate did not move. With this sluice gate, are you still afraid that the rebels will enter the city through the canal? At the time of the battle, the drawbridge above, with a large number of archers on both sides of the walls, could be used to kill rebel ships with bows and arrows if they tried to break through from here. It seems to be a weak point, but it is a place where the enemy army is killed. ”

As he spoke, the four gates below slowly closed with the pull of the ship. After the grommets were fastened, two tall barriers were formed, completely blocking the river. The river was rushing and tumbling under the gates, but the gaps between the gates and the river were free to be several inches high, and it was impossible to enter under any circumstances. Soon after, the sailors began to climb from the ladder on the ship to the top of the gate, and began to use a noose to hang logs one by one, and prop them horizontally between the two gates as reinforcement.

"It's so magnificent, such an iron lock across the river, the rebel ships are beyond the reach of the dust." Cui Yuanping stroked his beard and praised loudly.

Shen Taishou and a group of officials were humble again and again, but their expressions were proud. This is a means they racked their brains to block the Yangzhou Canal and strengthen the city's defense. Such a large-scale and exquisite design, in the eyes of Shen Taishou and them, thought it was a clever move. Today, it was displayed in front of Cui Daoyuan and thousands of soldiers and civilians, and his pride can be imagined.

Cui Daoyuan's face had a funny expression, and he looked at the busy soldiers below installing this large gate across the canal, and suddenly turned his head and squinted at Cui Yuanbo and said softly: "Yuanbo, is this the canal gate that you boast of in front of me?" Are you involved? ”

Cui Yuanbo thought that his father was praising him, and bowed down and said humbly: "Yes, my son did participate in the design discussion of the gate. But the main thing is that Shen Taishou has a good idea, and his son actually didn't help much. ”

Cui Daoyuan shook his head slowly, sighed lightly and turned to Wang Yuandao: "Captain Wang, with this gate, what do you think?" ”

Wang Yuan smiled bitterly, and when he was pulled out of this gate, Wang Yuan was speechless. He thought it was some kind of trick before, but it turned out to be such a thing. He was really helpless, didn't this Shen Taishou know the obvious flaws of this huge gate?

"Cui Weng, with all due respect, this floodgate is useless. In this way, the people have made such a floodgate, I am afraid that it can only block the ships that sneak into the city. Wang Yuan said in a deep voice.

"What words? How dare you, a little lieutenant, speak so loudly? ”

"Don't think that you are the captain of the Shence Army under Wang Xiangguo, so you think you are sorry. This floodgate is impregnable, and it took a lot of money and manpower to build, and it is so unbearable for you to say. ”

"This lieutenant thinks of himself as a general, and he is rude to speak. Neither up nor down. What about the Divine Army? Could it be that anyone in the Divine Army could point fingers and talk nonsense? Outrageous. ”

“……”

Wang Yuan's words immediately attracted a burst of rebuke, and the officials all looked at Wang Yuan angrily.