Standing on top of the high city tower, watching the Shanyang army outside the city set up the military camp step by step, Liang Jun let out a long sigh, feeling a burst of weakness and paleness.

"My lord, the rich gentry of the big families in the city want to go through the north gate. Now they are all assembled inside the gates and ask us to open them and let them go. "The north gate ordered someone to come and report it.

"Let's go? A group of fools, now that all the counties in all directions have been taken by the Shanyang Army, where can they run? Besides, there are thousands of cavalry outside the city, and when the army arrives, can they run? Captain Meng Dao said coldly, "This group of damn bastards, it is better to clean them all up, clear their property, and use it for the army to defend the city." ”

Liang Jun said in a deep voice: "We are parents and officials in the city, how can we do this. Meng Dao, you go to the north gate in person, and let these rich gentry who want to escape for their lives stay except for some money and materials used on the road. Those who dare to disobey will be shocked with human heads. "Although the words are nice, the decisions made are not weak at all.

For Liang Jun, these wealthy gentry and people who want to escape are no longer the people under his rule, since they don't want to stay, they should make some contributions to defending the city, after all, it is better to give it to themselves outside the city.

As for where these people are going, Liang Jun doesn't know and doesn't want to pay attention to it. He knew that in Songzhou Mansion and Jiyin Mansion, there was no place for them to stay. Of course, if they are willing to be an ordinary person, there should be no problem in saving their lives, after all, the Shanyang Army treats ordinary people very well, unless the people deliberately attack, otherwise, the Shanyang Army will not deliberately slaughter the people.

The panic of these people who wanted to leave the city also spread to other people, not only the rich gentry of the big clans, but also some people who also wanted to leave. For these people, Meng Dao naturally would not let them go.

The north city gate ordered Lin Qiubai Meng to be fully armed, walked over anxiously, and said to Meng Dao above the city tower: "My lord, we can't let the rich gentry in the city go out of the city anymore, we have to close the city gate immediately, the people in the city are now panicking, because the rich gentry of the big family abandoned their property and left the city, so that the people of the whole city are also scrambling to get out of the city." If you continue to let it go like this, the city gate will not be able to control it. ”

"When the time comes, the people of the city will be gone, and without these people, what kind of city will we defend? Moreover, because of the hurried departure from the city, the whole city was in turmoil, and there were already rioters in the city who took advantage of the fire to loot. In addition, some of the soldiers were also affected. Our regular soldiers are better, and those young and strong temporary defenders are already panicking, and they have no confidence in defending the city. If it weren't for the fact that there were our soldiers by their side, intimidating them, I am afraid that these young men would also start to flee. ”

Meng Dao lowered his head, looked at the bottom of the city tower, the rich gentry in the city gate, and scolded and let the city gate guards detain his belongings, put them aside, and let them out of the city. I also saw that more and more people not far away were rushing out of the city, and my heart was clouded. What does it mean that the army outside the city is attacking and riots are raging inside the city? It shows that someone in the city deliberately publicized the news of the attack of the Sanyang army. Otherwise, they don't know the situation outside the city, and with the blockade of the defenders in the city, how can these people flee in flocks. You must know that in Kangfu County, the life of the people is still good. In addition, Liang Jun didn't make too much of a fuss about what would happen to the Shanyang soldiers after they broke the city, how could they let these people run out regardless of it.

"Close the gates of the city, let everyone return home at once, and tell them that there are thousands of enemy cavalry outside the city, and those who go out will have no way out." The situation under the city will be in a mess, Meng Dao said coldly.

"Obey!" The city gate order was commanded. Subsequently, under his military orders, the north gate was slowly closed, cutting off the escape route of the wealthy gentry of the city. Later, under the persecution of the soldiers, they drove the people to their homes.

"Captain Meng, what's the situation?" Returning Meng Dao to Nancheng, Liang Jun asked slowly.

Meng Dao said in a deep voice: "It's not good, the people in the city don't know who spread the news, and they have asked to leave the city, in addition, there are even rioters in the city who take advantage of the fire to rob, burn, kill and loot. I have had the gates of the city closed by the city gates, driven the people home, and increased patrols in the city. ”

Liang Jun nodded and said with a smile: "It's good, speaking of which, now you are already better than many people." You should be among the Governor's regular troops, leading the army to fight. Now, it's a pity ......"

"Why, the general is not optimistic about the comfort of Kangfu County?"

Liang Jun sighed and said, "Optimistic? Captain Meng, are you really optimistic about this place? Before the war began, the people of the city were in chaos. The advance of the Shanyang army has been killed, but there is no trace of the governor's reinforcements. The cavalry outside the city should be aimed at the reinforcements of the Luzhou Mansion. As for the remaining 5,000 people, they should be the main striker baggage team, and they are just here to build a military camp. What does this mean, that they don't take us seriously at all. If it weren't for the fact that the city here is strong and thick, I'm afraid that they would come directly to attack the city. ”

After Liang Jun finished speaking, he looked at the Shanyang Army camp that was gradually completed in the distance, and did not continue to say anything. He had some disagreement with Xu Jie's reorganization of the army, but it was not that he disagreed with Xu Jie's approach. It's just that he thinks that Xu Jie's alliance with the other princes and the Wuwei army are too hasty. He also knew that changing from a leading lieutenant to a county commander was also a kind of protection for Xu Jie. He managed the place properly, trained his troops hard, and hoped to lead the army again in the future, but now, the people in the city who he treated well wanted to run. Can you let them run? If all the people in the city run away and they stay, who will they turn to collect taxes, collect food and grass, and build equipment and armor? When defending the city, who will you find to help defend the city? But the people had lost faith in the city, so what could he do?

"My lord, there are rumors in the city, do we take action and clean up these guys who stir up trouble in the city first, so that our army will not defend the city and worry about the instability of the rear." Meng Dao said coldly, his face surging with murderous aura. At such a moment, he didn't want anything unexpected to happen.

Liang Jun's face was unwavering, and he said lightly: "Oh, do you know who is spreading rumors in the city? ”

Meng Dao said hatefully: "Now in the city, all kinds of rumors are flying all over the sky, and the people are panicking. I'm afraid that when the cavalry of the Shanyang Army just arrived, or even before, some people deliberately spread rumors and stirred up trouble in our rear. The subordinates believe that these people are all related to the Shanyang Army, and even the internal response of the Shanyang Army. The subordinates are willing to lead the army to arrest those who spread rumors and clear the hidden dangers. ”

Liang Jun smiled indifferently and said calmly: "Meng Dao, if you do this, what will be the result, and the command will make the city even more riotous." In the case of rumors, you can only send someone to announce the truth and appease, how can you arrest at such a time? ”

"By the way, Meng Dao, do you think we can hold this city?" Liang Jun paused and suddenly asked.

Meng Dao was slightly stunned and said, "My lord has already asked the governor for help, as long as the governor's reinforcements arrive, there should be no problem." ”

"Yes, I hope so!" Liang Jun said slowly.

"Report!" A soldier hurried over and reported to Liang Junyu.

"Say!" Seeing the visitor, Liang Jun was slightly stunned and said in a deep voice.

"Lord Qiyu, twenty miles to the west, the Shanyang Army's army of 20,000 has already come straight to it. Among them, Li Feng, the commander of the Shanyang Army, is also among them. The scout reported in a deep voice.

"Let's go down!" Liang Jun took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "They came so quickly, if only the Governor's reinforcements could be so fast." Captain Meng, now, do you still have the confidence to defend this city? ”

Meng Dao's face changed slightly, and he said, "Impossible, how could they let nearly 30,000 troops come here?" Even if there were 5,000 heavy soldiers among them, it would be 25,000 people, which was basically equal to the total strength of the Shanyang Army in the three southern counties to resist the Wuwei army. This is impossible, will the Shanyang Army go out with the whole army? He is not afraid of a counterattack by the Armed Guards? ”

Liang Jun said in a deep voice: "Captain Meng, you are wrong, they are not attacking with the whole army. It's just that more than 5,000 soldiers were collected in Rencheng, and more than 10,000 soldiers and local clans were collected in the rest of the counties. I think that among the total of 30,000 troops, there are not many of them from the Shanyang Army, and most of them should be miscellaneous soldiers. ”

"Miscellaneous soldiers? What does the Sanyo Army want to do? Do they think that they can take this city with the help of miscellaneous soldiers? Meng Dao said in a deep voice. There was also a look of embarrassment on his face that he had reacted too violently just now.

Liang Jun said: "There are 30,000 troops, among which the leading officers should be from the Shanyang Army, and the main general has been changed, and it is still possible for this close to 20,000 foot soldiers to rush to the death." And here we are, there are only 5,000 defenders. Do you really think they can't take it? In addition,......"

"Report ...... General Qiyu, on the east side of the city, twenty miles away, 10,000 Shanyang troops camped here. Before Liang Jun finished speaking, another spy reported.

Liang Jun smiled bitterly and said, "Captain Meng, see it, 10,000 Shanyang Army, from the east." This is the elite of the Shanyang Army, they are in order to prevent my Kangfu County from fleeing eastward, and to prevent the arrival of reinforcements from Lord Governor. Now, then, do you want us to hold this city with 5,000 men? ”

Meng Dao shook his head and said bitterly, "What do you mean?" Surrender? Abandon the city and flee? ”

Liang Jun smiled slightly and said, "Descend? If he had surrendered, he had surrendered two days ago, and now he would have surrendered no more than he had two days ago. If you surrender the enemy two days ago, you can still get the attention of the Shanyang army. Now, if you and I surrender to the past, you don't have to think about reuse. Whether he can save his life or not, is still two words. This Kangfu County is related to the defense line on the east side of Luzhou Mansion. And I fooled the Shanyang Army for two days, and today, it's the third day. You say, can they make us better off like that? ”

"As for abandoning the city and fleeing? Now, whether it is Jiyin Mansion in the north, west and south, all of them are in the hands of the Shanyang Army, and the east is the place where the Shanyang Army intercepts, where can I flee to? Even if we dodge the Shanyang Army, do you think Lord Du Du will let us go of the defeated army who abandoned the city and fled? What awaits you and me is the sacrificial flag of killing, with the heart of a soldier. "Liang Jun doesn't want to leave, in addition to the above reasons, he also has a large family in the city, he has sons and daughters who have not yet grown up, he doesn't want them to die at such a young age.

Meng Dao said in a deep voice: "My lord, the Shanyang Army is not bad, it shouldn't kill me." The soldiers have no longer the heart to fight, if they know that they are surrounded on three sides, the soldiers in the city are only afraid...... In addition to some of the former government troops, and some of them were recruited from the young and strong when the Governor was reorganized, they were all ordinary people, so why let them die in this battle. Wouldn't it be nice to let them surrender to the Shanyang Army and return to the field from now on? ”

Liang Jun smiled bitterly: "Captain Meng, in Songzhou Mansion, the life of the people in our Kangfu County is the best, and the people here are also loyal to our Yanzhou Mansion Army. The Shanyang Army wants to subdue this place and completely bring this place under its command, so he doesn't want people like us to exist here. In addition, we agreed to surrender two days ago, but we contacted the Governor, and you said that they would let us go. Even if you want to surrender, you have to fight until you have to fight. ”

"By the way, Captain Meng, you should have a connection with the Shanyang Army, otherwise, you wouldn't have made me surrender one after another. Is that right? Liang Jun asked in a loud voice.

Meng Dao was shocked, his right hand couldn't help but hold on the hilt of the long sword at his waist, and finally let go silently, and sighed: "My lord's guess is good, I do have a connection with the Shanyang Army." Now that the Shanyang Army has taken the entire territory of Songzhou Mansion, most of the Jiyin Mansion is the remainder, and it is not a problem. More importantly, the people under the rule of the Shanyang Army will live a better life than under the rule of the Governor. In my second uncle's family, there were four of my cousins, all three of whom had been transferred to the army after the Governor had reorganized the army, but now, the dead and the wounded, had not received a little pension, but they had to bear heavy taxes and almost starved to death. Liang County Order, you say, should I continue to support such an official government? ”

Liang Jun sighed and said, "Now, you don't have to command the guards of the city anymore, go home and slack off." Maybe what you say is right, but I still have to fight for the Yanzhou army. ”

"What then? The camp is all ready? What happened to the defenders of the city? After coming to the south gate, Zhao Xun looked at Guan Lin, who had nothing to do, and asked in a deep voice.

Guan Lin shook his head and said, "The camp tent has been built, and as for the defenders in the city, there is no movement at all. Come to think of it, the appearance of my tens of thousands of troops has also overwhelmed the defenders. Besides, our people are afraid that they have caused them a little trouble in the city, and they are busy dealing with it. It's a pity, if only they could get out of the city and fight. ”

Zhao Xun said in a deep voice: "Take here, your cavalry will wave your army north, enter the western counties of Jiyin Mansion, and clear out the bandits and rebels in the territory. Knowing that Guan Lin couldn't be idle, Zhao Xun gave him a task. Of course, if the cavalry soldiers want to grow, training alone is not enough, and Zhao Xun also hopes to let them grow up in the killing and become a real cavalry elite. You must know that compared to the cavalry of the Xiaoguo Army, they are still far behind.

"Really, that's just great! The general can rest assured that his subordinates will definitely sweep away the bandits and rebels in various places at that time. Guan Lin laughed. If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to prevent reinforcements from the Luzhou Mansion in the east, he would now want to ask Zhao Xun to lead the army north, such as Jiyin Mansion to lead the army.

"Go, ask General Su to come and persuade the defenders of the city to surrender without blood, that is naturally the best. In addition, this Liang Jun, although he is a fellow villager of Xu Jie, is also a talent. It's a good idea to be able to take it away. Zhao Xun ordered in a deep voice.

"My lord, the Shanyang Army outside the city is here!" Liang Jun, who was arranging the affairs of defending the city on the city wall, received a report from his subordinates. When Liang Jun arrived at the Nancheng Tower, he found that more than ten people in the Shanyang army were approaching on horseback.

"Solvay? It's really him......" Seeing the visitor, Liang Jun frowned secretly. Su Wei is the envoy of the garrison of Songzhou Mansion, and speaking of which, he is also the highest commander of the garrison in various places.

When Liang Jun saw Su Wei, Su Wei naturally also saw Liang Jun on the city wall. He straddled his horse and shouted to the top of the city tower: "Liang County Order, you must have understood the current situation. Jiyin Mansion and Songzhou Mansion have been occupied by our army, and you, Kangfu County, are just the last remaining county in Songzhou Mansion. The envoy of this town has surrendered to the Shanyang army, and now he is specially pointing out a clear road for the Liang County Order. How does my Shanyang Army treat the people and the soldiers? Presumably, the Liang County Order is very clear, and the reinforcements from the Luzhou Mansion that the Liang County Order is waiting for are only hopeless. Could it be that in order to be loyal to Xu Jie, Liang County ordered to take these 5,000 good men with him? ”

"Liang County Order, it is better to surrender the city to my lord. In this way, there is no longer the suffering of war in Songzhou Prefecture, and the people can also enjoy the blessing of tax-free land distribution. And the soldiers in the city can also go home to reunite with their families, so why not? Isn't it better than letting him die all the battles for the defense of the city? ”

"Besides, does the Liang County Commander still think that you, the five thousand corporal under your command, can desperately defend the city? Now, the general trend has been decided, could it be that Liang County Order, for the sake of his own false name, wants to let thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of people in the city suffer with you? My lord respects you as a talent, so I specially recruit you this time, hoping that you can choose wisely. ”

"Liang County order, Xu Jie, for his ambition to dominate the land of Yanzhou, privately ceded Liangzhou Mansion and Shanyang Mansion to the Tang Army, and betrayed tens of thousands of brothers in Shanyang Mansion and sent them to the mouth of the Tang Army. If it weren't for me living in Yingming, I'm afraid that there would be no new Shanyang Army, and I'm afraid that it would not be Xu Jie, but Tang Xian, who is in charge of the land of Yanzhou now. In order to defeat the Wuwei Army, he wantonly conscripted troops and raised taxes on a large scale, and Liang County's order was the clearest. Now, Xu Jie has lost the land of Jiyin Mansion and Songzhou Mansion, and the land of Luzhou Mansion, and has a big battle with the Wuwei Army, what can he do under the loss of soldiers? ”

"Nowadays, the people in Yanzhou bear a heavy tax, and if it goes on like this, sooner or later it will be full of displaced people and dry bones. When the time comes, how much will the people of Yanzhou still be able to live? Now the Shanyang army is attacking from the north and south, wanting to pacify the land of Yanzhou, and return the people of the world to peace and stability, live in their houses and cultivate their fields, so that all the people can have food and clothing, and can live well. Does the Liang County Order continue to fight against my Shanyang Army? Don't you think about the people of the city? ”

Su Wei's words immediately spread throughout the city wall, and the guards on the city wall began to riot a little, and some of the information made them even more frightened. The Shanyang army has already taken the entire territory of Jiyin Mansion and Songzhou Mansion, how can they fight it?

"General Su, I have to be used by Governor Xu, and I don't dare to turn my back on it lightly and be a villain. For subordinates, they should be loyal. The Shanyang army is willing to attack, so let's attack. If you really want to be good for the people, you shouldn't ask for my Jiyin Mansion and Songzhou Mansion. General Su dared to say that in this conquest, there were no casualties among the people? After a while, Liang Jun said in a loud voice.

Su Wei smiled faintly and said, "Loyalty? For the people, for the world, how much is the loyalty you say? Yes, there were casualties between the attacks of our Shanyang army, but after the attack of our army, we relieved the victims who were abandoned by the Yanzhou army, reduced taxes, distributed winter clothes, distributed fields to the people, and raised their winter needs. Dare to ask Liang County Order, can Xu Jie do it? Isn't it for the good of the people that a moment of suffering, followed by a hundred years of happiness? ”

"General Su, you don't have to say it again. You and I have different obsessions in our hearts, and our thoughts are also different. Today, if the Shanyang Army wants to take this place, it can only break through the city. And I, Liang Jun, will not surrender the city. Liang Jun waved his hand to interrupt Su Wei's words to continue to persuade him to surrender, and said coldly.

Liang Jun knows his own situation, he and Xu Jie are fellow countrymen, they are small, he can be an official, and Xu Jie's actions are also what Xu Jie. Otherwise, according to his upright temperament, he can only be a pawn forever, let alone a captain. The position of lieutenant is already a mid-level official, but it is not something that can be done casually. Even if he has merit, he will not become a powerful captain who leads a thousand troops.

Even if he surrendered, he couldn't surrender the city directly. Otherwise, his reputation will not be very good. If you surrender the city directly, even if it's okay now, when you get promoted and get along with your colleagues in the future, this bad reputation will be turned over. Betraying the Lord, especially being betrayed by Xu Jie's great favor. It is somewhat unreasonable to surrender to the enemy directly without even having a war. Even if you surrender to the enemy, you have to fight hard to defeat the enemy.

Of course, by now, he had no intention of sticking to it. Originally, I hoped that Xu Jie could send reinforcements to help, but ...... Regardless of whether he is willing or not, even the soldiers under his command are afraid and don't want to defend it. Liang Jun believes that once the siege begins, he is only afraid of this defense

Seeing Liang Jun like this, Su Wei had no choice but to shake his head secretly, turn around silently, and turn to leave.

"Lord Governor, it's been two days, why don't you see reinforcements arrive? It's not that his subordinates are unwilling to wait for help, but they can't defend anymore. Watching Su Wei leave, Liang Jun sighed secretly.