Su Zhang, who was thirty miles away, heard the thunder rolling in the north of Wuhu City very clearly, and in addition to being shocked and puzzled, he ordered the scouts to investigate the situation. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

When the scout returned, he was shocked and incoherent, and his mouth was full of words such as "fire", "hell on earth", "severed limbs", and "countless casualties".

Su Zhang then ordered the gate to be closed, and the soldiers of the whole army lined up to prepare for battle, because the last words of the scout scout were: "The elite cavalry of the Tang army has rushed to this place!" ”

Su Zhang, who climbed the corner tower, saw the torrent of iron armor rushing on the official road not long after. The smoke and dust are billowing, the armor is bright and the soldiers are cold, the banner is clear, not to mention there are three thousand horses, and the iron hooves are so trembling that the ground trembles, which makes people's hearts feel stuffy.

"You can't go so far!" Su Zhang suddenly lost his mind, and when the Tang army's elite cavalry rushed to the front of the camp, the smooth array of formations, the extraordinary war horses of the divine horses were a head taller than the Lingnan horses, and the heroic and fierce cavalry were more than one level more murderous than the Lingnan soldiers.

There are 3,000 scales in the cold-forged armor, the long lance is all one color and one zhang eight, the soldier carries a horizontal knife on his waist, carries a strong bow on his back, and has a saddle hanging crossbow, the quiver has thirty arrows, there is a spare long lance under the round shield, and there are 3,000 war horses behind the military formation!

They held a lance in front of the camp as if no one was around, strolling leisurely like playing in the mountains and rivers, and staring at them like a pack of wolves descending the mountain.

"With such sophisticated armaments, how powerful is the Tang Dynasty? With such a strong bearing, how much blood and fire do you have to go through? Su Zhang's heart trembled, he was a good general in Lingnan, and because of this, he could see at a glance what kind of combat power this Tang elite cavalry had, and how difficult it was to train such an elite soldier.

Now Su Zhang is very lucky, glad that he did not rush out of the army to fight the Tang army.

Just such an elite cavalry is enough to break through his military formation, not to mention the elite soldiers of the Hundred Battles who have never shown up?

Mo said that he has 30,000 soldiers, even if he really has 100,000 soldiers and horses, once he is broken through the formation by the Tang army's elite cavalry and killed by the opponent's elite soldiers, there is no force in the army that can compete with it, and 30,000 or 100,000 soldiers can only be defeated by the wind, not to mention being chased and killed by the Tang army, it is a great disaster just to trample on each other!

"I think of Su Zhangrong for half my life, although I have many military exploits, but the soldiers and horses under my command have never been full of 10,000...... If you can lead such a heroic division to fight a battle, even if you die on the battlefield after success, what regrets do you have in this life? Su Zhang's heart swelled with waves.

Just when Su Zhang was jealous and uneasy to watch the Tang army's elite cavalry, three of the opponent's cavalry left the battle formation and slowly moved forward, and even rode their horses directly to the land of a stone's throw in front of the Yuanmen, and one of them shouted to the Yuanmen: "The Tang Dynasty has come to this point, and the people have not opened the door to greet each other, do you want to fight with my army?!" ”

When the soldiers of the Southern Han Dynasty heard such arrogant and domineering words, they did not look at each other angrily, but involuntarily clenched the blades in their hands, as if this was the only way to alleviate the uneasiness in their hearts.

"The Tang Army doesn't have the intention of going to war with me." When Su Zhang heard this, he was at ease, and hurriedly walked down the corner tower, and only brought two personal soldiers out of the gate to talk to Tang Jun.

"This general is ......" Su Zhang hugged his fist at one of the three horsemen of the Tang Army, although the other party looked no more than thirty years old, but Su Zhang did not dare to despise it.

"General Su? I have heard of it. The Tang Army cavalry general hugged his fist slightly, "This general Meng Ping, politeness will be exempted, this will be here, only ask General Su." ”

Su Zhang accepted the etiquette, "It turned out to be General Meng, and I admired it for a long time...... General Meng, excuse me. ”

"General Su is fighting or not?" Meng Ping asked bluntly.

Su Zhang was stunned, "General Meng...... What does this mean? ”

Meng Ping calmed down, "If there is a war, please lead the general out of the camp immediately, it doesn't hurt to wait here for a while; If you don't fight, please pull out the camp immediately! ”

Su Zhang's face was slightly gloomy, he was also a veteran of the battlefield, a bloody person, "General Meng doesn't think it's too aggressive?" ”

Meng Ping sneered, "Now that I'm in the Tang Dynasty, I'm sending 200,000 Wang Shi to besiege Jinling City, and it's just that the people leave Lingnan without permission, instead of destroying the thieves with me, they help the people to abuse and embarrass the Wang Shi, is it to deceive me that the Tang Dynasty can't make a move?" Now I will destroy Zhu Kuangye, 30,000 thieves will not be able to stop me for a day, if General Su feels angry, can he dare to fight with me?! ”

Su Zhang was speechless. With Zhu Kuangye in the past, he couldn't fight with the Tang army, but now that Zhu Kuangye is gone, where does he still have the strength and need to go to war with the Tang army?

"Ben will be today's class teacher!" Su Zhang hugged his fists angrily and wanted to return to the camp.

"General Su." Meng Ping suddenly stopped him, and when he turned around, he only heard Meng Ping continue, "You will come when you say you will come, and you will leave when you say you, what kind of place do you think of this place?" Since General Ben has led his troops here today, how can General Su not work for the army? The general was not embarrassed by General Su, except for the rations of the Erbu department, all the baggage in the camp should be left! ”

Su Zhang was furious, "General Meng! Don't deceive people too much! You know, Jinling hasn't been breached by you yet! ”

Meng Ping sneered, "The general's intention, you want to fight with me?" ”

Su Zhang's face was gloomy, and his facial muscles twitched, and he couldn't help but be angry.

But Meng Ping's next sentence made him lose half of his temper, so he had to go back to the camp and retreat.

Meng Ping raised his chin slightly, and his heroic spirit as a general of the Tang Dynasty burst out in an instant, he looked at Su Zhang, and said calmly and irrefutably with a supreme momentum unique to the people of the Tang Dynasty: "There are not many years since the people returned, eating and drinking raw, and indulging in pleasure." After all, this world belongs to my Datang, and if you say unification, you will be unified! ”

......

When Meng Ping led his troops back to Jinling, he learned that Li Congjing had arrived.

Originally, Li Congjing did not plan to come to Jinling, but Li Siyuan's attitude was very resolute, "Yang Wu has dominated Jiangnan for a long time, and he once possessed Jianghuai in the past, and also captured the eight states of Chu, and his power is the head of the princes in Jiangnan. And now to destroy Yang Wu, it is a great achievement, and it is also the cause of the Tang Emperor, as the crown prince, the future king of the Tang Dynasty, how can you fake this merit to others? ”

In the final analysis, Li Siyuan, who is a minister and a king, is still not very at ease with the hearts of the people in the world, and he has to prevent the future of great achievements and rebirth of power, although the current military and political affairs of the Tang Dynasty have undergone many reforms, which are already different from the Zhuangzong period.

But as a relative, Xia Luqi has a noble status, very comparable, and once led the army to Chu, if he is allowed to destroy Wu again, it is enough to make Li Siyuan worried. A king's heart may not be hard, and a king's blood may not be cold, but a king's heart of defense must not be without.

Therefore, Li Congjing didn't say much, put on the Mingguang armor again, held the long lance and horizontal knife, and led the gentlemen to rush to the south of the Yangtze River.

came to Jinling with Li Congjing, as well as Mo Li and others. Wu dominates the south of the Yangtze River, and the Tang Dynasty is a southern and northern power, and the credit for destroying Wu is too great, enough for everyone to share it.

After Meng Ping returned to Jinling, Li Congjing sent someone to deliver a message and asked him to visit him immediately.

In the army, Li Congjing did not put the prince's guard of honor, and he was still the specification of the commander in the army, and when Meng Ping entered the account, Li Congjing was discussing with Xia Luqi, Guo Wei, Li Congke, Xixi Ye, Gao Congzhou, Huang Fulin, Wang Sitong, Li Congzhang and others.

"This time you fought with Zhu Kuangye in Wuhu, it was the capital that used hand-grenades in the battle array, and achieved great results, you can tell everyone about it." Li Congjing saw Meng Ping enter the tent, motioned for him to sit down, and then said with a smile.

The people in the tent are all senior generals of the Tang Army and Li Congjing's senior staff, and people like Qian Yuanjun are not qualified to come in.

Listening to Meng Ping's account, all the generals were greatly excited, and at the same time showed a look of fascination, these days, they have led their troops to go to 30 miles away many times, familiar with the use of artillery, hand grenades, and now they are full of anticipation and confidence in the next day's siege decisive battle.

After the generals dispersed, Li Congjing also left the big tent and took Meng Ping and others to walk in the camp to breathe.

Coming to the corner tower and looking at Jinling City from afar, Li Congjing was always more emotional than ordinary people, "In the past, when you and I were still the young men of the King of Jin, did you ever think that one day, you would sit on thousands of troops and horses and compete with the world's heroes?" ”

Meng Ping smiled brightly, it was hard to imagine that he was almost thirty years old, and he still had such a smile, "At that time, Meng Ping followed the prince every day, and he knew that the prince would definitely achieve something great in the future. ”

Li Congjing showed a hearty smile, if such words were said by others, he would not feel how true they were, how could he have received less flattery over the years? But Meng Ping is different.

Li Congjing said to Meng Ping: "You didn't disappoint me, how big the world is, and your achievements in the future will be enough for future generations to admire." ”

Meng Ping clenched his fists and said seriously: "Leaving a name in history is not the wish of Ping, and it lives up to the prince's expectations and Ping's requests." ”

Li Congjing patted Meng Ping's shoulder, needless to say.

When Xu Zhihe got the news of Zhu Kuangye's defeat and Su Zhang's retreat, he didn't show much abnormality. At that time, he was eating, and he didn't even pause to pick up the vegetables, but just replied: "Got it." ”

After Xu Zhihe finished eating, Song Qiqiu entered the house and said worriedly: "Li Congjing has arrived outside the city, and it seems that the northern thieves are ready to attack the city." ”

Xu Zhihe rinsed his mouth unhurriedly, and said calmly while cleaning his hands: "How could there be less when the Northern Thieves were attacking the city? The soldiers will block the water and cover the earth, I have the unity of the army and the people in Jinling, what can the northern thieves do to me? ”

At present, Xu Zhihe is only in his forties, it is the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period, in recent years, he has had the merits of Chu and the eight states, and he has also failed in Jianghuai and Hunan, all say that what really makes people grow is experience, Xu Zhihe has not stopped growing, Mo said that he is only in his forties, that is, he is really old, and he will not stop getting stronger.

The Tang army besieged Jinling, and Wu was in danger, but Xu Zhihe became more and more calm and calm, which made Song Qiqiu and others have to admire. It is precisely because of this that they, Xu Zhihe's henchmen and cronies, have no intention of turning their backs on him, otherwise, if Xu Zhihe messes up first, or his temperament changes drastically, he is afraid that everyone will be disappointed and scatter.

At present, Song Qiqiu believes that as long as there is still a glimmer of hope, even if it is only one in 10 million, Xu Zhihe can firmly grasp it, if he can really block the siege of the Tang Dynasty this time, once the Tang army retreats in the future, with Xu Zhihe's more calm temperament, long-term vision, and careful thinking, Wu will be able to quickly regain its strength in the future.

Song Qiqiu secretly said in his heart: If the prime minister only had the posture of a man and a master before, now he has the posture of a male master. At the moment, the difference is just an opportunity, as long as there is still this opportunity, it will be able to soar in the future.

"Let's go to the city with my prime minister." Xu Zhihe got up and said to Song Qiqiu, "Since Li Congjing is here, the Northern Thief is bound to be greatly boosted, and Jinling can't show weakness, let Your Majesty go to the city again...... This time, let His Majesty change into armor. In addition, the order was sent to the head of the city to send all the guards and young servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion to the city, leaving only 100 people to protect the courtyard, in order to prove the determination of the prime minister and Jinling to live and die together! ”

"The prime minister is wise!" Song Qiqiu said from the bottom of his heart.

When he arrived at the city, Xu Zhihe personally bandaged the wounds of the wounded, encouraged the soldiers to fight, and when he met the brave in battle, he took off the jade pendant he carried and gave it to him, and after Xu Zhihe rewarded his saber, jade pendant and even his coat, Yang Pu's honor guard arrived.

Different from last year's appearance of walking into the city, Yang Pu today is wearing armor and holding a sword, looking energetic and radiant, Xu Zhihe only looked at it at a glance, and knew that it was not only because of the robe foil, but also because of Yang Pu's change in mind.

didn't wait to meet Xu Zhihe, let alone be coerced by Xu Zhihe, Yang Pu took the initiative to comfort the soldiers and reward utensils, just like a Ming Jun, which made Xu Zhihe a little shocked in his heart. Although I don't know why Yang Pu is like this, Xu Zhihe is very satisfied with this scene.

"Your Majesty." Xu Zhihe saluted Yang Pu.

Yang Pu took the initiative to put his arms around Xu Zhihe, helped him up, and said with a sincere face: "The prime minister has worked hard, so there is no need to be polite." ”

"Be loyal to Your Majesty, swear to defend Jinling to the death, and be willing to do so." Xu Zhihe said.

Yang Pu nodded seriously, and then took Xu Zhihe's hand and said loudly to the Jinling military and civilians: "I am very relieved that there is the prime minister and the Qing and others guarding the city, and I hope that the Qing and others will work together to live up to my high expectations!" ”

When these words came out, Song Qiqiu and the others behind Xu Zhihe looked at each other, and they didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Yang Pu's gourd.

After a pause, Yang Pu said again: "The northern thieves are coming, killing my people, taking my city, this enmity is not shared, how can I not share the joys and sorrows with Qing?" From now on, I will have one meal a day, the northern thief will not retreat a day, I will not add food a day, and I will not eat meat! ”

With a wave of his big hand, Yang Pu said angrily: "Come here, reward all the things of the palace to the meritorious soldiers!" ”

When the words fell, the eunuchs and palace maids came out, all holding trays, and there were all kinds of gold and silver utensils on the plates, including purple robes and jade belts, Yang Pu personally handed them to Xu Zhihe, "The prime minister has worked hard and made great achievements, I hereby have a purple robe and jade belt, and I hope that the prime minister will continue to be loyal to the country!" ”

Xu Zhihe hurriedly bowed down and thanked him.

After doing this, Yang Pu said loudly to the Jinling army and people: "Now the battle to defend the city is the first thing for the country, and my palace guards, eunuchs, and palace maids have no reason to steal their lives, and from today on, they will all go out of the palace to help defend the city!" ”

After that, he looked at Xu Zhihe and waited for him to agree.

At this time, not only Song Qiqiu, Zhou Zong and others, but also Xu Zhihe, were shocked in their hearts.

Yang Pu has the attitude of giving everything he has, and he must play with his life!

Xu Zhihe bowed down and thanked him, but Yang Pu didn't seem to be playing, and insisted on asking so, "I am the Emperor of Great Wu, if Jinling is broken, if Great Wu is dead, how can I survive the disaster?" Today, we will go to the difficult times with you, although I have not regretted nine deaths, I just want to lose each other! ”

In the end, Xu Zhihe was "moved" to tears, and bowed to the ground and said: "Da Wu has His Majesty as Your Majesty, which is really a blessing from God!" Now that His Majesty and Jinling are coexisting and dying, don't say that the Northern Thieves only have 200,000 soldiers and horses, that is, there are millions of heroes, so why be afraid? ! In this battle, my Da Wu will win! ”

"Da Wu will win!" Song Qiqiu lost no time in raising his arms and shouting.

"Da Wu will win!" Zhou Zong, Lin Renzhao and others immediately raised their arms and shouted.

"Da Wu will win!" From time to time, at the head of the city and inside the city, 100,000 soldiers and civilians shouted in unison, and the sound was like a tide, and it was endless for a long time.

Since ancient times, kings can take the risk of going to the city to boost morale when a strong enemy is pressing, and the city is difficult to break.

Since ancient times, when a strong enemy is pressing, the king is willing to wear armor and hold a sharp sword to express that he will live and die with the soldiers and people of the whole city, and the city is rarely broken.

Since ancient times, kings have been able to give all the things they have to the palace to the soldiers and civilians who defend the city, and send eunuchs and palace maids to assist in the defense of the city—although these people may not be of much use, but the soldiers and civilians see that they are tired and dirty, and there is no reason why they don't need to die—they are rarely heard.

And now, Yang Pu has done everything he can.

Xu Zhihe's "moved" words are not all lies. It is not difficult for Xu Zhihe to imagine that after today, hundreds of thousands of people in Jinling will be all warriors! Even though the Tang Dynasty is at its peak, even though it has strong bows and crossbows, and even if it has 200,000 victorious troops, it is difficult to break through Jinling in this situation.

When sending Yang Pu back to the palace, Xu Zhihe said with emotion: "What Your Majesty has done today will surely be remembered for generations to come." ”

There are no "outsiders" around, and Yang Pu doesn't have to hide it, so he let out a faint sigh.

Of course, Yang Pu knew what he was doing today and what his true intentions were, and Xu Zhihe should have reacted at this time.

In a word: build prestige and win over people's hearts.

The Battle of Jinling, with countless casualties, is also the time for the reshuffle of the forces of all parties.

Yang Pu gave everything he had at this time, living and dying with the army and the people, which would inevitably win him great prestige and win great popularity. If Dawu survives in the future, Yang Pu may no longer be the puppet emperor, and he will most likely take the opportunity to cultivate his own power to compete with Xu Zhihe.

However, Yang Pu's various actions at this time, Xu Zhihe could not object.

Because the Tang army is strong, Xu Zhihe needs Yang Pu to improve the morale of the Jinling army and civilians, there is no upper limit to this requirement, as long as the Tang army does not retreat for a day, Xu Zhihe will not dare to restrict Yang Pu's activities.

"After today, I will set up a high platform curtain on the street in the city, and I will come to the tent every day in the future, so that the soldiers and civilians defending the city can see me, so as to inspire the fighting spirit of the soldiers and civilians to defend the city." Before Yang Pu sat on the throne, he said to Xu Zhihe, "Presumably the prime minister will not refuse?" ”

Xu Zhihe leaned over and saluted, "Your Majesty has the determination to defend the land, how dare the minister refuse?" ”

Yang Pu smiled and walked away with a grand guard of honor.

Xu Zhihe stood on the street and watched for a moment, Song Qiqiu wanted to speak and stopped, Xu Zhihe waved his hand, "It's okay, and no matter what happens in the future, it's important to get through the current difficulties first." ”

Xu Zhihe was right. No matter how great the opposition between him and Yang Pu was before and in the future, at least during the period when the Tang army was besieging the city, their positions were the same—if Yang Pu still had a glimmer of hope for returning to power and did not want to perish with Xu Zhihe.

The king and the powerful minister have always been a pair of contradictions, and it will not be beneficial to consume national strength by fighting infighting on weekdays. However, at the moment when the Tang army was attacking the city, the state-owned kings and ministers were of one heart and one mind, but they could gather all their forces to resist the foreign enemy.

- Even in a sense, because of the rivalry between kings and ministers, when each has no way out, they will do much better than when there is no opponent.

And this is exactly what the besieging Tang army does not want to see.

......

On March 19, the fourth year of Changxing, the Tang army gathered all its combat forces and launched the final onslaught on Jinling City.

This is a day destined to go down in history.