The people of the Patrol Division were originally near Xu's house, and after receiving the order, they began to urgently assemble and drive to the four city gates of Zhenyuan.

The sudden increase in the number of defenders of the city alarmed He Qi, the prefect of Zhenyuan.

He Zhixian and county Cheng, Dianshi and other officials heard that it was the meaning of Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, so they found Xu's house, and after seeing Xu Liang in military uniform, He Zhixian felt that the situation was a little serious, looked at Xu Liang nervously, and asked: "My lord, what's wrong?" ”

Xu Liang said as he walked outside.

"The people's army has been killed under Pingliang City."

“…… So we're going to help? He Zhixian asked.

Xu Liang glanced back at him and said, "The cavalry of the People's Army is gone, and the official is worried that they will come to the granary in Zhenyuan. ”

He Zhixian sighed lightly, and hurriedly stomped his feet and said to the county Cheng and Dian Shi beside him: "Don't follow the two of you, go and gather the militia and prepare materials to defend the city." ”

Xu Liang watched with appreciation as He Zhixian arranged for his two officials to go, nodded and said, "He Zhixian is good, he is not surprised when he encounters trouble, and he is quite orderly." ”

He Zhixian smiled and said modestly: "Since the last time Wang Pu, the chief soldier of the Beijing camp, led people to break through the gate of Zhenyuan, the lower officials learned from the pain, and agreed with the county Cheng and Dianshi on this set of emergency methods. ”

Xu Liang nodded. The two of them went out of the gate of Xu's house, and the accompanying Tsing Yi guards had already assembled outside the door, and when they saw Xu Liang coming, they led the big black horse over.

Xu Liang turned over his horse and asked He Zhixian instead: "Do you know how to ride a horse?" ”

He Zhixian patted his chest and said loudly: "Of course." ”

So Xu Liang asked Tsing Yi Wei to arrange a horse for He Zhi County, and the two of them rushed to the city gate with Tsing Yi Wei.

Halfway through. Tietou chased after him with a team of men and horses from the Patrol Division, and asked Xu Liang, "My lord." The artillery battalion has also been assembled, whether to transfer it or not. ”

Xu Liang shook his head and said, "I don't even see the shadow of the people's army right now. What are you doing with the artillery battalion coming over ?! He Zhixian also asked: "If the people's army launches a sneak attack, according to Lord He's opinion, which city gate will they attack?" ”

He Zhixian thought for a while and said, "The outside of the East City Gate is open, which is very suitable for cavalry charges. Moreover, there is a forest two miles outside the east city gate, which is also convenient for the enemy to hide his whereabouts. ”

Xu Liang waved his hand and said, "Go to the East Gate." ”

The patrol division and the Tsing Yi guard gathered into a group of people and horses to rush to the east city gate, Xu Liang and others climbed the city tower, looked outside the city, and saw more than a dozen people waiting to enter the city under the city tower. In the distance, there are few pedestrians in the wilderness, and the woods mentioned by He Zhixian are two miles away, standing green and quiet on the right side of the official road.

At this time, the gates were closed, and it was not yet time to open them.

Xu Liang asked, "How much time is there to leave the city gate?" ”

He Zhixian said: "There are still about two quarters of an hour. ”

"Tell me that the four gates will be postponed for an hour today to open the gates."

"Yes." He Zhixian immediately beckoned a few soldiers on the city tower to come over and asked them to go to the other three city gates to give orders.

The 5,000 men and horses of the patrol division on the city tower have all been arranged, and the defenders on the city tower seem to be much more than usual. He Zhixian and Tietou accompanied Xu Liang to stand on the city tower and looked out of the city.

The official road outside the city is quiet.

A quarter of an hour later. Zhenyuan County Cheng brought two carts of steaming steamed buns with more than a dozen militiamen, and distributed them on the city tower as breakfast for the defenders.

He Zhixian took a few for Xu Liang and Tietou, and smiled at the county Cheng: "The county Cheng is quite well prepared." ”

The county Cheng smiled and said, "Xia Guan guessed that there would probably be a tough battle for a while." So I moved all the steamed buns from the breakfast shop that had just opened on the street. The lower official will send it to the east gate first, and then go to the other city gates later. ”

He Zhixian nodded.

Xu Liang took two steamed buns in his hand and ate them one bite at a time. Watching Zhenyuan County Cheng finish distributing two carts of steamed buns, he hurriedly left with the empty car. Then he said to He Zhixian: "Your subordinates are good in this county." You can let him take over your shift. ”

He Zhixian was stunned for a moment, and then overjoyed. "What do you mean? Do you want to promote me to a higher position? ”

Xu Liang scolded with a smile: "If He Qi still wants to continue to be the magistrate of Zhenyuan, then the official has no opinion. ”

He Zhixian rubbed his hands together and said curtly: "The governor has misunderstood the meaning of the lower official. The lower officials were very willing to wait for the dispatch of the governor in a higher position. ”

Xu Liang laughed, patted He Zhixian on the shoulder, and encouraged: "Don't worry, this official will arrange a more suitable position for you." ”

"Thank you, sir."

After laughing and laughing on the castle tower, another quarter of an hour passed, and it was time to open the city gates.

Outside the city gate, more than a dozen people waiting to enter the city looked at the city gate that was still closed, and when they saw that there was no sign of opening, they began to talk in a whisper.

The people outside the city knew He Qi, the county governor of Zhenyuan, and when they looked up and saw that He Zhixian was on the city tower, they craned their necks and shouted: "Lord He, when the time comes, why don't you open the city gate?" ”

He Zhixian poked his head out from the battlements, looked down at the group of people waiting to enter the city below, and responded loudly: "Fathers and fellow villagers, this official has received news that nearly 100,000 people's troops are besieging Pingliang City, in order to ensure the safety of the town, the opening time of the city gate today will be delayed by one hour. If you want to enter the city, please be patient. ”

"Huh? The people's army actually attacked Pingliang City? The questioning people exclaimed, and then whispered to the surrounding people. Xu Liang and the others stood on the city tower, far away, and they couldn't really hear it.

The people outside the city gate talked for a while, and seemed to have reached a consensus, and one of them raised his head and shouted to the tower, "In that case, let us wait patiently for an hour before entering the city." ”

He Zhixian responded: "Thank you for your understanding. ”

Most of the people who entered the city had brought parcels, and when they heard that they would have to wait an hour before entering the city, they scattered out to the grass on both sides of the avenue, put their things on the ground, and sat on the spot to rest or gather together to gossip.

Among them, two men in blue shirts exchanged glances in the crowd, and then slowly walked out, and after a dozen steps away from the crowd entering the city, they quickened their pace. Walk into the distance.

Xu Liang and the others saw it clearly from the city tower, and Xu Liang pointed to the two men. sneered: "The two people who are going back must be spies of the people's army!" Archers, leave these two behind! ”

The archers of the Patrol Division drew their bows and arrows. Aim for two men.

He Zhixian exclaimed, "Slow. Governor, what if I kill the wrong person? ”

Xu Liang snorted coldly: "In extraordinary times, I'd rather kill by mistake than let go!" ”

He Zhixian was stunned, and then stopped talking.

The two archers of the Patrol Division let go at the same time, and two sharp arrows flew out with a whistling eye, hitting the two men accurately. Then he heard two men screaming and fell to the ground.

The sudden shooting of two men startled the people outside the city. All the people stood up in horror and looked up at the tower.

He Zhixian shouted loudly: "You don't need to panic, the two people who died just now are the spies of the thieves. ”

He Zhixian's words comforted the people downstairs a lot.

"It turned out to be a spy, and he deserved to die." Some of the people said.

Suddenly, some people pointed to the man who was shot and shouted, "Lord He, look, that man is about to run away!" ”

Xu Liang and the others on the city tower looked around, and sure enough, they saw one of the men struggling to stand up, with an arrow stuck obliquely in his back, and ran forward limping forward.

"Hey. This man's life is really big! Xu Liang smiled in surprise.

The two archers with the best archery skills in the patrol division will still miss! Ironhead's face suddenly darkened, snatched the bow and arrow from one of his men, and fired another arrow at the man. Right in the back of the man's back.

The man snorted, shook twice, and finally fell to the ground. After a few struggles on the ground, there was no movement.

Xu Liang saw that the people downstairs in the city were inquiringly walking towards the place where the man was shot. couldn't help frowning, and said to He Qi: "The spies of the People's Army appear here. Presumably, the large army is not far from here. Staying outside the city will only increase the unnecessary casualties, so let them go! ”

When He Zhixian heard this, he raised his voice and shouted to the people under the city!

"Folks! There's going to be a war here, get out of here! Get out of here! ”

The people outside the city listened to He Zhixian's words, and they all looked up at the city tower, and some people beckoned to the people around them: "Since Lord He has said so, folks, let's go quickly!" ”

"Yes, what Lord He said is not wrong!"

The rest of the people nodded in agreement, and then turned around and left.

Not long after the dozen or so people left the city gate, the sound of heavy horses' hooves suddenly sounded at the end of the official road. A cavalry team of black pressure roared towards the east gate of Zhenyuan City!

Xu Liang couldn't help but shrink his pupils when he saw it, although the uniforms and weapons of this cavalry were not uniform, and the mounts were not the same, there were donkeys and horses, and even two big buffaloes! However, thousands of horsemen ran, and it was suspected that there was the momentum of thousands of horses.

The vanished cavalry of the People's Army is indeed coming towards Zhenyuan City!

Xu Liang immediately made a decision, ordered some people to be transferred from the other three city gates, and ordered the artillery battalion to hurry to the east gate. On the tower of the east gate, the commander of the patrol division shouted and ordered the defenders on the tower of the city to be armed.

The Tsing Yi guard beside Xu Liang pointed to one of the cavalrymen and said to Xu Liang: "My lord, the person in front of you with a towel on his head and leather armor on his front bra is Shen Yikui's subordinate, a friend of the Red Army!" ”

Xu Liang and He Zhixian were very surprised that the Red Army friends actually led the troops to attack the town in person!

Outside the city gate, the Red Army friends shouted and shouted that the patchwork cavalry team rushed to the place outside the city and did not dare to come forward. The Red Army friends have been fighting with Shen Yikui for so many years, and they have some eyesight. Looking at the deployment of troops on the tower of this city, it is too far from the statement that the guards in the intelligence are lax! Moreover, the young general in armor on the castle tower was surrounded by guards in green clothes and blue hats, and the Zhenyuan Zhixian surnamed He stood beside the young general with a humble face, faintly centering on the young general.

This kind of pomp and circumstance is not something that ordinary city defenders can put on!

The point is that the time to open the city gate has long passed, and the east gate is still tightly closed, and there are two corpses lying not far away, both with arrows stuck in their backs, and most of the clothes are the two spies sent to inquire about the news!

The Red Army friend frowned and looked at the city tower, and said to a cavalry leader next to him: "Chai Laosi, this situation is a little wrong!" Do you look at this town and city, as if the defense is lax? ”

Chai Laosi was the cavalry leader under his Red Army friends. Chai Laosi looked up at the upper part of the city tower for a long time, and saw that the battlements were full of Ming soldiers on guard, and there were Ming soldiers constantly shuttling back and forth on the city tower! The archers lined up, with their bows and arrows half-open, aimed at the cavalry of the Nationalist Army below the castle.

Chai Laosi couldn't tell what the situation was in Zhenyuan City, but thinking of the purpose of this trip, he had the courage to say to his Red Army friends: "General Hong, my subordinates feel that the Ming army in Pingliang has been attracted to Pingliang City, and there must not be many troops in this Zhenyuan City." The officials of the court are the most cunning and bluffing! Don't look at the number of soldiers standing on the city tower, the subordinates estimate that the number of soldiers in the original city of this town will not exceed 1,000! ”

The Red Army Companion frowned and looked at the castle tower suspiciously.

Chai Laosi was anxious and persuaded: "General Hong, we can't put it on our side!" Hundreds of thousands of brothers are still confronting the Ming army outside Pingliang City, attracting the forces of the court! As long as we take Zhenyuan City here and obtain the grain and grass in the city, our joint operation will be considered complete! General, we can't hesitate any longer, let's take care of the delay here for a while, and there will be many more dead and wounded brothers outside Pingliang City! ”

The Red Army friends thought about it, and finally relented, gritted their teeth, and said, "You are right! No matter what the situation in Zhenyuan City is, this Zhenyuan City, we are bound to win! The order goes down, the second battalion covers, and the third battalion attacks the city! ”

After that, the machete in the hands of the Red Army friends pointed at the gate of Zhenyuan, and the civilian army behind them shouted, and the cavalry of the two phalanxes rushed out, brandishing their weapons, and screaming towards the city!

In just one stone's throw away, the cavalry of the people's army arrived in a blink of an eye, and the running people's army opened their bows on horseback and shot arrows at the city tower! More cavalry shouted as they approached the gate, and several horsemen dragged two bucket-sized logs together towards the gate.

"Shoot the arrow!!" On the tower of the city, the commander of the patrol division pointed at the city with a knife and shouted loudly.

Duh! Duh! Duh!

The archers on the castle tower returned fire as ordered! It was like a rain of arrows under the city tower, and the civilian cavalry under the city was under the hood, and suddenly the screams outside the city rang out, and the cavalry of the civilian army who were hit by the arrow rolled down from the running horse like a dumpling.

Boom! The bucket-thick log slammed heavily against the gate, shaking the thick gate a few times. Immediately, dozens or hundreds of head-sized stones were thrown down from the city tower, and smashed down among the cavalry of the People's Army who were pulling logs. The two logs that hit the gate were almost buried by the stones that fell from the tower.

"Dismount!" One of the cavalry leaders of the People's Army roared, turned over and dismounted, and ran towards the logs. Behind him, countless cavalry of the People's Army turned over and dismounted, abandoned their identity as cavalrymen, and rushed to the city gate, together with the cavalry leader, trying to lift the log again and break through the city gate.

"Put !!" On the tower of the city, the soldiers of the Ming army shouted, bows and arrows, rolling wood, stones, and hot oil were thrown outside the city.

Outside the city, countless civilian soldiers were wounded and fell to the ground, and countless frightened horses and donkeys neighed like headless flies and fled in all directions. The bows and arrows of the people's army were sparse and returned fire towards the city tower, looking pale and weak.

Xu Liang's eyes straightened, and he sighed again and again at He Zhixian: "A good cavalry was actually called by the Red Army friends as infantry!" (To be continued.) )