The cold wind blows on the face, under the stars, and the cold light shines on the iron clothes.

Huang Peng, the official of Kaifeng Mansion, only felt unprecedentedly cold, and couldn't help but tighten his body.

The time has come to the middle of September of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, and the summer heat has long disappeared. In the morning and evening, the weather suddenly cooled down, and the cold air hit the muscles and bones.

Looking at the dark and dreary field outside, Huang Peng couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Since Emperor Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, this day has been as cold as a day every year, thinking that during the Apocalypse, the sun is still shining at the end of September every year, and he only needs to wear a single coat

。 However, in recent years, winter has come very early, with snow falling at the end of September every year, and it will not warm up until the end of March of the following year, and then the heat will be fierce. There are no such four seasons anymore, the whole year, except for the summer, which is cold.

In this climate, it would be a lie for the crops in the field to grow well.

In particular, in Henan, there was a three-year drought, followed by a locust plague. Now it's freezing so fast that I don't know how many people will starve to death in the coming year.

This Central Plains is completely erosive.

State affairs are like this, and the north of the Ming Dynasty is hopeless.

Natural disasters are usually accompanied by man-made disasters, and it is precisely because the disaster is so serious that after Li Chuang entered Henan, his forces could not help but be greatly opened, and hundreds of thousands of thieves swept across the Central Plains, and the imperial court had no strength to rescue the siege of Kaifeng after the battle of Zhuxian Town.

Nowadays, the military food in Kaifeng City is already scarce, and it has reached the point of cannibalism.

If there are no more reinforcements, the fall of Kaifeng City will only be a matter of time.

……

Huang Peng's position as the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture is mainly responsible for the execution of criminal prisons, which is equivalent to the president of the court and the president of the procuratorate in modern society, and controls the violent organs of the entire Kaifeng Prefecture. Therefore, together with the Kaifeng War, he was responsible for the city defense of the entire Kaifeng Mansion together with the governor and the king of Zhou.

After the defeat of Zhuxian Town, the imperial army, the morale of the soldiers defending the city has been exhausted, and the city defense has been in danger several times. There was no way, Huang Peng could only take his own soldiers, hold a big flag, and rush wherever there was a situation. Relying on his best efforts to maintain, he finally barely held Kaifeng. But he hadn't closed his eyes for two days and three nights, and had eaten something hot.

Last night, under his auspices, he sent a team of men and horses out of the city to sneak into the Yellow River embankment in Zhujiazhai, trying to blow up the embankment and release water to flood the army. It's a pity that the matter is not secret, the team out of the city was discovered by the thief army, and after a slash, the troops out of the city were almost wiped out, and even the great eunuch Shi Gonggong of the Zhou Palace's palace fell into the hands of the enemy.

Even this method was discovered by the enemy, and Huang Tuiguan was no longer able to think of it.

Exhaustion and hunger, blown by the dawn wind, felt exceptionally cold.

A small official came over silently: "Master, why don't you go down to the city to rest for a while, if you go on like this, your old body will not be able to stand it."

。 ”

Huang Peng shook his head with difficulty to refuse, he didn't even have the strength to speak now.

Little official: "Don't worry, sir, the thief army shouldn't attack the city in the next two days." ”

Huang Peng was taken aback: "What do you say?" ”

The little official said in a low voice: "Master Huang, the thief army besieging the city has retreated this afternoon, and it is said that Li Zicheng has moved the old camp to the west. Today, there are few thieves in the eastern part of the city. Previously, the city was still discussing whether to send people out to collect firewood and raise some grain and grass. It's just that because the enemy situation is unclear and afraid of accidents, King Zhou and the governor said to wait and see. ”

"What, there are no thieves outside the city?" Huang Peng was even more shocked, today's thief army is attacking particularly fiercely, as if there is a posture to take Kaifeng in one go, how to say that he will retreat, it makes no sense.

The behavior is abnormal, so he can't help but be vigilant.

Official: "The eldest lord has been on duty at the head of the city before, and His Royal Highness the King of Zhou and the governor have not discussed it properly, so they have not told the eldest lord for the time being." However, according to them, it should be the imperial court that has sent reinforcements again, and it is very likely that they have already entered Kaifeng Mansion. When he said this, his face was full of excitement.

Huang Peng smiled bitterly: "Reinforcements, where are there still reinforcements in the imperial court now?" ”

The excitement on the little official's face became even stronger, and his voice trembled: "Master, that's right, the Nine-Sided Town Army has been wiped out in the past two years, but there is not only the Nine Sides Town Army in this world. You forgot, we still have a strong army in the southeast! ”

"Ah, you're talking about the Yangzhou Zhen Army, the Nanjing Army and the Lufeng Army." Huang Peng suddenly thought of Sun Yuan, with ecstasy on his face: "God is pitiful, it should be the Ningxiang Army that has arrived." Otherwise, the thieves would not have withdrawn from the siege, presumably to retreat from the enemy. ”

Official: "Amitabha, it should be like this, we are saved in Kaifeng." As he spoke, two tears gleamed in his eyes.

At this moment, there was a sudden rumbling sound from the north, and it roared, so loud in the darkness of dawn, that it was like ten thousand wild beasts rushing across the earth.

"What is this?" Huang Peng was stunned.

The voice was so loud that not only Huang Peng, but even the defenders on the entire city wall fell silent and listened attentively

。

I don't know how long it took, but the sound got louder and louder, and in the end, it was overwhelming, and the city wall seemed to tremble slightly.

"Ahh At last someone shouted loudly, but the mouth was open, but it was muffled by the roar, and only the big round mouth was seen.

The little official beside Huang Peng suddenly jumped up, pointed ahead and shouted incessantly.

Huang Peng fixed his eyes on the past, and at this moment, the morning light was faint, and he could already dimly see the situation in the distance. But I saw a line of white things shining silver under the rising sun, pushing across the entire surface of the earth.

The fences, lookouts, and breakouts built by the thieves in the past were like building blocks, and when they collided with this line of silver light, they immediately fell apart and disappeared.

"The water is coming, the water is coming, the Yellow River is bursting!" Everyone shouted at the same time, as people on the edge of the Yellow River, the soldiers and civilians of Kaifeng Mansion had a natural awe of this big river.

Huang Peng's mind was suddenly confused, and Ji'er was confused: digging up the Yellow River and flooding the thief army was the strategy of him, the king of Zhou and the governor, wasn't the team that broke the river defeated by the thief army, why did the Yellow River still break the mouth one day later?

However, Huang Peng is still very confident in the Kaifeng City Wall, but he is not afraid in his heart. It's just a little disappointed, how did this army of thieves withdraw from the siege in advance, otherwise this flood alone would have caused hundreds of thousands of thieves to die in the belly of the fish.

It was too late, but in a few moments, the water of the Yellow River that burst the embankment rushed to the edge of the Caomen city wall, and the moat that had dried up in the past was filled in an instant.

The sound of the yellow soup raised high on the city wall fiercely, as if it was suddenly hit by 100,000 buffaloes, the city wall suddenly trembled, and it seemed that the creaking sound of the green bricks could still be heard.

Huang Peng was taken aback and couldn't help but exclaim: "Why is the river so big?" ”

After the city wall was hit by the torrent very much, the waves immediately rolled upward, and the turbid waves kept surging upward, whirling and rushing below, and the faces of everyone in the city changed.

The little official shouted: "Master Tuiguan, the water is so big, can the city wall withstand it, don't be washed away." ”

Hearing his shout, everyone was also in chaos.

Kaifeng City is low-lying and the reason why the city has become the core of the Central Plains is because of the advantages of water transportation and is at the hub of river transportation

。 This is also the reason why Taizu of the Northern Song Dynasty chose this place as the capital, rather than Luoyang, which has better geographical conditions.

It is good for good and harmful, and because of the low terrain, it can be flooded if you are not careful. Now that the Yellow River has burst, if the water enters the city, it will immediately be out of control.

Huang Peng calmed down and shouted: "Don't worry, the Kaifeng city wall is extremely strong, and it is absolutely impossible for the river to rush into the city." The roar was like a thunderbolt, and it spread far away.

He led his soldiers to supervise the battle on the city wall all day long, and his prestige was very high, and everyone trusted him very much.

Hearing the shout of Huang Tuiguan, the soldiers and civilians in the commotion at the head of the city quieted down.

Someone shouted: "Yes, Master Huang is right, everyone is from the local area, what is going on with this Kaifeng city wall, I still don't know." Not to mention the bricks on the outside, the rammed earth inside is also very strong, and you can sharpen the knife. ”

"Yes, what are you afraid of, you have to believe the master. After so many days of bloody battles, is it so difficult that I am still afraid of death? Death in battle and drowning is not still a death. ”

"In my opinion, this water is good, it is better to be bigger, and it is better to wash away the thieves. Straight thief, there is no thief army outside the city now, let's not take this opportunity to go out of the city to get some food, I have been hungry for a few days, and I am almost unable to lift my energy. ”

"Eat, eat, you know how to eat, it's all yellow soup outside, where can you get food."

"Even if we can't get food, we can't get some firewood, damn it, even the firewood and grass for cooking in the city have been burned."

"Yes, yes, it's important to get some firewood first." Everyone nodded at the same time. Indeed, Li Zicheng has surrounded Kaifeng three times. Not to mention that there is no food in the city, and even if there is food, there is nothing to do. Because there was a shortage of fuel in the city, the trees had long been cut down, and even the door panels of the people had been torn down and burned.

If this continues, everyone will be drinking blood.

So, someone on the city wall got a few long bamboo poles from somewhere, tied a hook to the front end, and leaned down the city to hook the wood that floated down the river.

This busy, everyone forgot about worrying and got busy in unison.

Along with the flood, more and more things floated down the river, including trees, dead grass, and even intact furniture

。

After being busy for a long time, everyone's harvest was not small, and some people even quarreled in a low voice over the salvage of the family in the city.

Seeing that everyone was in good spirits, Huang Peng's heart was relieved, and he couldn't help but smile.

But after another half an hour, the smile on his face began to condense.

The water below grew larger and higher, gradually filling no more than six or seven feet from the wall. At this time, it is easy to salvage objects that have drifted down the river. But if the thief army suddenly sits on a boat and kills down the water at this time, this six-foot height can jump up, and who can stop it.

What's even more terrifying is that the water level is so high that looking back, the entire Kaifeng City is already below the water level. If the city walls suddenly collapse at this time......

Huang Peng's heart was cold, and his hands trembled slightly.

At that moment, a loud creaking cracking sound came from beneath his feet, as if the building was about to fall apart.

Huang Peng was startled, hurriedly rushed to the back, lowered his head and shouted at the city gate: "What's the matter? ”

In order to resist the thieves' rushing car and crashing on the door, as early as half a month ago, all the gates of Kaifeng City were blocked with sandbags, and the same was true of the Cao Gate under his feet.

A soldier ran out from under the hole in the city gate with a panicked face, raised his head and shouted: "Master Huituiguan, the water outside is too big, and the city gate is so pressed by the water that it can't bear it, and it has begun to leak." ”

Huang Peng was taken aback: "Isn't it blocked below?" ”

Gatekeeper: "It's blocked, but today's water level is too big to bear!" ”

Huang Peng hurriedly turned around and ordered: "Someone, someone, go down to the city for me, prepare some dirt bags to strengthen the city gate!" He felt a strong uneasiness in his heart, and the reason why he had discussed with the governor and the king of Zhou the night before to dig up the embankment of the Yellow River and prepare to flood the army was because he had strong confidence in the walls of Kaifeng. Last night, the Yellow River inexplicably said nothing, the water was still so big, and the matter seemed to be out of his grasp.

Hearing Huang Peng's order, the defenders of the city realized the seriousness of the problem, hurriedly ran down the city wall, and went to find sacks filled with sand and stuffed them into the city gates.

But just after stuffing more than two burlap buns, suddenly, Huang Peng heard a thunderclap, and a violent shock came from under his feet, almost knocking him down the city

。

I saw a huge column of water mark out of the hole in the city gate, and hit a soldier fiercely, instantly rushing him out about two feet.

At this moment, Mount Tai really collapsed, and the turbid water surged in, carrying mud and sand and messy things in an instant, and the dozen or so soldiers who were busy below were unable to see the figures.

"Ahh Everyone on the walls screamed in despair.

From above, a mighty flood rushed down the street like a wild beast.

In a few moments, the city was full of the noise of the people, the gong sounded, and on the side of the bell tower, the panicked bells rippled in the sky.

Huang Peng seemed to be stunned, so he stood dumbfounded, unable to say a word.

I don't know how long it was, but there was an alarm in the city, and two more gates were washed open.

There were more floods pouring into Bianliang City, and when I looked down, I could clearly see the surging yellow water and the people struggling floating on the water.

The water came so fast, the water level became higher and higher, and gradually, the houses of the people in the city were flooded to the point that they could not be seen.

From here, you can only vaguely see the second floor of the bell and drum, the roofs of the palaces and the temple tower above.

"Kaifeng is finished, the Central Plains is finished!" Despair rose from the bottom of his heart, and Huang Peng gritted his teeth and looked at the city with red eyes.

"Push the official, push the official, Kaifeng can't hold it, let's run away quickly!" A pro-soldier grabbed Huang Peng and yelled loudly.

"Run, run, where else can you go?" Huang Peng suddenly burst into tears: "If Kaifeng is lost, the Central Plains will not be protected, and the world will die." In the vast world, where is a certain place? 100,000 people, all buried in the belly of the fish, what face does Huang still have to live in the world. ”

As soon as the words fell, Huang Peng suddenly rushed towards the city, and was instantly swept away by the torrent below.

"Ahh The soldier reached forward and grabbed it, but it was empty.

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