readx; The light snow that fell at the beginning of Hebei has frozen, and some of the melted snow water has soaked into the surface and re-frozen, making the road very slippery, there are rumors that the fleeing carriage has overturned, killing and wounding dozens of people, and some people have frozen to death on the way to escape, and An Lushan's army occupied Yizhou as scheduled, and there was no large-scale massacre, the difficulty of traveling and the attachment to home made the escape tide in Hebei Province quickly cooled down, and even some people who fled to the mountainous areas went home one after another because they could not bear the cold in the mountains, and the efforts of Hebei officials were frustrated. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

At night, Zhending County, Hengzhou, dozens of people on horseback galloped in, the horse's hooves were tied with straw, which greatly reduced the danger of slippery roads, they were all wearing thick jackets, sweat soaked jackets, and frozen, making them look like they were wearing armor, a group of people rushed to the city gate and turned over and dismounted, patted the hard winter clothes on the head of the officials, and rubbed their hands that were red from the cold, and scolded in a low voice: "Shit weather, damn it!" ”

The gates were closed, and someone on the tower asked, "Who is down there?" ”

"We are from Yizhou, I am Yizhou Sima Jiang Xiaotong, may I ask if Mrs. Yan is in the city?"

The city gate rumbled open, the drawbridge was put down, more than a dozen people led the horses into the city, the soldiers guarding the city were the regimental training of Hengzhou, equivalent to the armed police of later generations, not belonging to the regular army, the number is not much, generally a county is one or two hundred people, mainly responsible for guarding the city gate, but Zhending County has a thousand regiments of training, commanded by a Guoyi captain, Jiang Xiaotong and others walked into the city gate, the captain of the city guard stepped forward and said: "Yan Taishou just arrived in the afternoon, in the county ya." ”

After a pause, the lieutenant asked in a low voice, "Sima Jiang, where is An Lushan's army?" ”

"Alas! The striker has arrived in Wangdu County, Dingzhou, much faster than I expected, and time waits for no one! ”

The lieutenant nodded, feeling heavy in his heart, Jiang Xiaotong turned over and rode towards the county government with a group of people

Hengzhou Taishou Yan Gaoqing is Yan Zhenqing's brother, he also got the news of An Lushan's rebellion, and rushed to Zhending County with the long history Yuan Luqian, the reason why he came to Zhending County is because Zhending County has a thousand regiments of soldiers, this is after the last Jingcheng massacre, Guo Ziyi left a local army in Hengzhou, mainly for the evacuation of ordinary people, but for Yan Gaoqing and the magistrates of Hengzhou, this thousand regiments of training is a reassuring needle for them.

The lights in the county council hall were bright, and more than a dozen officials such as Taishou Yan Gaoqing, Changshi Yuan Luqian, Zhending County Commander Jia Shen, and Zhang Jiliang, Commander of the Regiment Training Guoyi, were discussing strategies to deal with An Lushan's rebellion, at this time, all eyes were focused on Zhang Jiliang, the commander of the regimental training Guoyi, who had a thousand soldiers under his command, if he did not have the will to resist, then their meeting tonight would be meaningless.

The meeting had been going on for half an hour, and everyone had expressed their attitude, only Guoyi Lieutenant Zhang Jiliang did not say a word from beginning to end, Yan Gaoqing was dissatisfied with his silence, so he asked: "What is General Zhang's attitude?" Speak up. ”

Zhang Jiliang sighed and said, "What else can I say? It's not enough for me to fill in the gaps between the teeth of others, do you still expect me to fight against An Lushan's 500,000 army? ”

"General Zhang, you can't say that, it's one thing to be able to resist, and it's another thing to want to resist or not, if you can't fight, we can withdraw, but if you don't even have the courage to resist, then we have nothing to say, General Zhang, whether to fight or not, you first show your attitude."

"This.... The stakes are high, so let me go and discuss it with the brethren. ”

Zhang Jiliang obviously didn't want to make any promises, and he knew that once he made a promise, if he couldn't do it, these literati would erect him as an example of betrayal.

Zhang Jiliang is not a general under Guo Ziyi, he was originally the Guoyi lieutenant of the Hengzhou Military Mansion, after the Hengzhou Military Mansion died naturally due to the flight of the soldiers, he was reappointed as Dingzhou Sima because of someone in the court, and after five or six years in the officialdom, Zhang Jiliang has changed from a soldier to an official oil, and he does not charge forward in everything, leaving room for himself in everything, which has become his officialdom motto.

This time, Guo Ziyi appointed him as the lieutenant of Guoyi for regimental training because he was familiar with the local situation, Zhang Jiliang was not happy, and he would undoubtedly be pushed to the forefront of leading the troops at this time.

Zhang Jiliang's non-statement made everyone feel disappointed, and Yan Gaoqing asked unwillingly: "When will General Zhang give him an answer, is it okay tonight?" ”

"Today... At night? ”

"Yes! The matter is urgent, and you must give him a clear answer as soon as possible. ”

"Okay, I'll go back and discuss."

Zhang Jiliang bowed his hand to everyone, and quickly left the lobby, looking at his departure, Yuan Luqian shook his head and sighed: "I'm afraid this person will surrender to An Lushan." ”

Jia Shen frowned and said, "This person may be possible, but his troops are all Guo Ziyi's soldiers, will they also defect to the enemy?" ”

"Forget it, let's not talk about him yet." Yan Gaoqing said to everyone: "Let's discuss how to protect the people, this is the meaning of the imperial court, to protect the people from being slaughtered as much as possible." ”

At this time, someone outside the door suddenly reported: "Yan Taishou, Jiang Xiaotong and others from Yizhou ask to see you." ”

"Ahh

Yan Gaoqing exclaimed, and hurriedly said, "Quick! Invite them in. ”

After a while, three people walked in from the outside, and the leader was Yizhou Sima Jiang Xiaotong, and behind him were Ma Jun who had escaped from Youzhou and a subordinate with a baby face.

"See Yan Envoy Jun for his humble duties!" Jiang Xiaotong stepped forward and bowed deeply to Yan Gaoqing.

"Don't be polite, sit down!"

The situation is critical, Yan Gaoqing can't care about any officialdom etiquette, he also knows Ma Jun, so he nodded to him, but he didn't know another young man with a baby face and looked very honest, Yan Gaoqing didn't care, this may be Jiang Xiaotong's nephew.

Aren't his eldest son Quan Ming and youngest son Ji Ming also here?

"Jiang Sima, let's talk about the situation in Yizhou first."

Jiang Xiaotong sighed and said: "An Lushan sent the general Shi Siming to the west to attack Hedong, and the vanguard Li Qincao has already arrived in Wangdu County, Dingzhou, and I heard that the vanguard has 20,000 thieves, and Wangdu County ordered Qi Rong to surrender. ”

"Was there a massacre?" Yuan Luqian asked on the side.

Jiang Xiaotong nodded and shook his head again, "There is no county seat, but I heard that all three townships and towns were slaughtered, women were rushed into the barracks, and men, old and young were all killed. ”

"It's strange, Shi Siming didn't slaughter the city?"

Everyone was surprised, Shi Siming was known as the Shi Butcher, and it was he who slaughtered more than 20,000 immigrants who fled to Hedong a few months ago, how could he be merciful again?

Ma Jun explained to everyone: "This pioneer Li Qincuo is An Lushan's righteous son, and his 20,000 troops are not Shi Siming's subordinates. ”

Having said that, An Lushan and Shi Siming are both good all the way, and the massacre of Jingcheng immigrants was still an order from An Lushan, there is no difference between them, and everyone is still puzzled.

"You are wrong, Shi Siming is not not not killed, but he wants to kill behind closed doors, if he does it in Dingzhou, I am afraid that the people of Hebei will run out, so he must confuse everyone first, and then plunder after occupying Jingcheng, otherwise how can the Hu soldiers under his command be willing to give up."

It was the baby-faced young man sitting behind Jiang Xiaotong who spoke, he didn't say a word, but after this speech, he suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention.

Yan Gaoqing noticed him at this time, and he suddenly felt that this young man didn't seem to be more than sixteen or seventeen years old, so he hurriedly asked Jiang Xiaodao: "Jiang Sima, this is .....?"

Jiang Xiaotong smiled bitterly, turned back to the young man and said, "General Ji, introduce yourself!" ”

The young man stood up and bowed to everyone and said with a smile: "In the next Ji Sheng, General Lang of the First Falcon Battalion of the Anxi Army, on the order of the general of my family, led dozens of brothers to Hebei to support you. ”

When everyone heard that he was actually a Zhonglang general sent by Li Qing'an, they were all overjoyed, and they all got up to salute, Yan Gaoqing's brows furrowed, and he seemed to be trying to recall something.

'First Falcon Battalion....'

He muttered twice, and suddenly realized, isn't the first falcon battalion of the Anxi Army the scout of the Anxi Army that caused the explosion in Youzhou? He blurted out, "General Ji, how many of you came?" ”

Ji Sheng smiled apologetically: "Maybe I disappointed Yan Yuanjun, there are not many people sent by the general this time, including me, there are only twenty-one people, mainly to help everyone evacuate the people, An Lushan's 500,000 army is really difficult to resist." ”

Everyone heard that even the people sent by Li Qingan admitted that An Lushan's army was difficult to resist, and everyone's hearts couldn't help but cool a little, but Yan Gaoqing was not too disappointed, the original intention of the imperial court was to withdraw the people as much as possible, preserve the strength of Hebei as much as possible, and not be too devastated by the war, this Ji Sheng is very pragmatic, and he has some hope for this person.

"General Ji, it's not easy to evacuate the people! The key is that the people are reluctant to leave their hometowns in the background, as General Ji said, An Lushan is very strategic, first confuse the people, I am worried that by the time everyone understands, it will be too late. ”

Ji Sheng nodded, and said to everyone: "I have taken this into account, if the people are really unwilling to go, then there is no way, but for us, it is not only to evacuate the people, but also to buy time for the deployment of General Guo, I just got the news, General Guo has sent troops from Taiyuan and rushed to Jingcheng, what we have to do is to try to drag down An Lushan's army and buy time for General Guo to enter Hengzhou, what do you think?" ”

Ji Sheng is really extraordinary, as soon as he speaks, he firmly grasps the topic, making him the center of the meeting, Yan Gaoqing has become a foil, but Yan Gaoqing doesn't care, as long as Ji Sheng is willing to lead everyone to fight against An Lushan, it doesn't matter if he is a foil.

"What does General Ji mean, are we defending Zhending County to fight against An Lushan?"

Ji Sheng nodded again, "Actually, it's best to be Dingzhou City, but it is estimated that Dingzhou City has been occupied now, so you can only retreat to the next best thing and rely on Zhending County to resist....."

Speaking of this, he slowly looked around at everyone, and saw that everyone had a solemn expression, quite a sense of tragedy, so he smiled slightly: "I'm not talking about the enemy, but outwitting!" ”

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The regimental training camp is located near the east gate of the county, consisting of a school field and dozens of rows of houses, which was originally the camp of the Hengzhou Military Government, which was deserted after the military government was destroyed, and it was not renovated here until a few months ago. It became the station of a thousand regiments of training soldiers.

At this time, there was a quarrel in the regimental training camp, and more than a dozen officers refused to give in to each other, and some wanted to surrender An Lushan and seek glory and wealth; There are those who must resolutely resist and advocate fighting to the death without surrendering; There are also those who want to withdraw from Hengzhou and return to Hedong.

Everyone has their own opinions, do not give in to each other, the leader Zhang Jiliang strongly demanded the surrender of An Lushan, his reason is very simple, An Lushan came with 500,000 troops, under his heavy army, everything is powder, resistance is meaningless, and if he retreats to Hedong, it is an unauthorized retreat, Guo Ziyi also can't spare everyone, so he insists on surrendering.

It stands to reason that as long as the main officer of an army is about to surrender, the subordinates below will not dare to disobey, but after all, Zhang Jiliang has mastered the training of this regiment for a short time, and it is too late to establish his prestige, plus he is not a border army system, but a government army, so a large part of the people in this regiment training army composed of Shuofang Army as the main backbone do not buy his account.

Zhang Jiliang said dryly, but the officers were still arguing, at this time, a soldier hurriedly walked into the room, whispered a few words in Zhang Jiliang's ear, Zhang Jiliang was stunned, and then said to everyone: "I'll go out for a while, and talk about it when I come back!" ”

He got up and hurriedly left the room, and walked outside the barracks with five personal soldiers, Yan Gaoqing asked him to discuss urgent matters, and his first reaction was that An Lushan's vanguard was about to arrive in Zhending County, and it was probably Jiang Xiaotong who brought the latest news just now.

At this time, the night was already very deep, the street was empty, there was no pedestrian, only a carriage parked diagonally opposite the barracks, about 100 steps away, Zhang Jiliang recognized it as Yan Gaoqing's carriage, he walked forward quickly, when he approached, he saw Yan Gaoqing standing next to the carriage, and when he saw Zhang Jiliang coming out, Yan Gaoqing hurriedly arched his hand and said: "General Zhang, there is an urgent matter to discuss with you." ”

"Yan Yuanjun, what's the matter?"

Zhang Jiliang was unguarded, walked quickly across the street, just when he was still a dozen steps away from the carriage, Yan Gaoqing suddenly coughed heavily, only to hear the sound of a bowstring, dozens of powerful short arrows from the tree, from the carriage, Zhang Jiliang and his five soldiers were defenseless, poisonous arrows pierced their heads and throats, several people screamed, killed on the spot.

Ji Sheng jumped down from the tree, chopped off Zhang Jiliang's head with a knife, and said to Yan Gaoqing: "Envoy, let's go!" ”

Yan Gaoqing took a deep breath and walked quickly towards the barracks, Zhang Jiliang's death was far away from the barracks, and did not attract the attention of the barracks sentry, when Yan Gaoqing approached, the two sleepy sentry posts woke up and hurriedly said: "Yan Taishou, what's the matter with you?" ”

Ji Sheng, who was behind Yan Gaoqing, strode forward, held up a silver medal and said, "This is General Guo's token, so that all the officers will come out to listen to the order." ”

The silver medal in Ji Sheng's hand is real, at that time when they last carried out the gunpowder field explosion mission, Guo Ziyi specially gave them the silver medal in order to assist them, with this silver medal can mobilize an army of less than 3,000 people, although the task has been completed, but the silver medal has not had time to return to Guo Ziyi, just at this time it was used.

The guards recognized the silver medal, so frightened that they hurriedly went back to report, and after a while, more than a dozen officers in the room came out one after another, and Yan Gaoqing introduced Ji Sheng to everyone: "This is General Ji, the secret military supervisor under General Guo's account, and he has important things to explain to everyone." ”

Although everyone didn't know Ji Sheng, they trusted the upright Taishou Yan Gaoqing, and Ji Sheng had Guo Ziyi's Tiger Silver Medal in his hand, which couldn't be faked, and his identity was a secret military envoy. Everyone had no doubts, and bowed down together and said, "See Ji Jian Jun!" ”

At this time, Ji Sheng raised Zhang Jiliang's head, which immediately caused a wave of confusion among the officers, they were all shocked, Zhang Jiliang was talking with them just now, did his head fall to the ground in a blink of an eye?

Ji Sheng raised Zhang Jiliang's head and said sharply: "Zhang Jiliang wants to surrender An Lushan, military law does not allow it, I am the military envoy, I have the right to behead first and then play, Zhang Jiliang has been executed, if there are still those who surrender, they will all be guilty of the same crime and be beheaded!" ”

Everyone's faces changed, and they bowed down and said, "Don't dare to surrender." ”

"Very good, Zhang Jiliang is dead, and I will temporarily replace the lieutenant of the regiment, do you have anything to say?"

A captain stepped forward and bowed down tremblingly and asked, "May I ask General Ji, are we fighting or retreating?" ”

"General Guo Lao said that he must try his best to resist, and if he really can't resist the enemy, he can withdraw his troops at Tumen Pass."

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(To be continued)