A letter of arrow was shot into the city, and when Lei Xiang received it, the tears in the corners of his eyes had not yet dried, and his wife and maid were guarding outside the city gate, blocking the most obvious target of the thief.

God was so kind to him that he sent such a loyal wife to him, but God was so unfair to him, that he and his wife had just been married...... No, no, I Lei Xiang has been reading the sages for many years, and now I am eating the court, how can I care about the love of my children.

Hurriedly twisted his mind, Lei Xiang opened the letter, and his heart was definitely a letter of persuasion, waiting for me to write an article with righteous words and scolding it, this article had better be passed down through the ages...... Pulling his head up and down a few times, Lei Xiang was stunned, what does this mean?

The gentry and eunuchs in the city were also stunned when they read the letter, "What does this mean?" ”

Xueyu's surname is Lou, and he snorted: "Sure enough, it's a thief!" Human-faced beast-hearted man! I'm thinking about what daughter incense! ”

The trembling old man, who was estimated to be almost seventy years old, also echoed: "Human flesh is sour, where is the fragrance? ”

The sound of coughing sounded, and everyone pretended not to hear this, this old man's name is Yu Mingfu, and he is the father of Yu Xijue, the general manager of Xinhui County, and he is quite famous in this county. The people around him quietly took a step away, and they still held their breath, and they felt their stomachs churning, and it seemed that a disgusting breath was emanating from the old man.

This letter is indeed very strange, it says, you use women and children to stop us from attacking the city, then we have to surround you, let's re-enact the old things from more than 60 years ago. But I think that you want to cook and eat all the fragrant and sweet daughter's house, you are willing to do it, but we are reluctant to do it. In this way, our heavenly king is benevolent, more benevolent than the king of Jin, so I will exchange grain with you for my daughter's family, lest you want to take them into the pot, this business is good, right? In addition, when you run out of food, and you don't have a daughter's family to eat, then you must also think about the elderly and children.

The city guard Xun Qian's general surname is Wei, who is in charge of specific military affairs, he mechanically read this letter to everyone, and when he heard the word "grain", not only Lei Xiang's heart trembled, but everyone else was also panicked.

The new will be besieged, tens of thousands of people trapped in the city, not more than more than 60 years ago, when there were preparations, and there are not as many people as today, they are still surrounded to eat people, now...... Can it last two months?

"Did the thieves treat us like three-year-olds? When the women and children go out, they will go straight to the city and bombard the city!? ”

When President Yu Xijue heard this, he sneered, which also caused everyone to nod their heads again and again, and some people even swallowed their saliva, and a wisp of thought floated through the dark corner of their hearts.

"It's not over yet......"

Wei Qian licked his chapped lips and continued to read the letter.

Why do you say that this letter is weird, because they are still helping them to come up with ideas, saying that you must be afraid that there will be no women and children, and we will shoot them. Our Heavenly King is also very kind to scholars, as long as scholars come to replace women and children, we will never open fire, even if one is injured, we are unwilling.

"Good! My generation of scholars, reading the books of sages, for the sake of education, full of righteousness, happened to reprimand those thieves who had no king and no father at the head of the city! ”

Lou Xueyu shook his beard and excitedly took the initiative to ask.

Lei Xiang was even more moved, Xinhui is really a county loyalty! Scholars are also so vigorous! It's just that...... is really in a desperate situation, does he want to learn from Zhang Xun to kill his concubine, kill his wife, and cook it for the generals to eat? No, no...... He was absolutely unwilling, not only because he was reluctant, but also because he always felt that he couldn't become Zhang Xun. There was always a knot in his heart that made him ashamed of himself in front of this name.

"It must be some kind of trick! Anyway, now that I see it, the women and children are in front, the thieves don't dare to open fire, so they wait for the change! Yang Zhitai is in Gaozhou, and he will soon be able to fight back with the imperial army! ”

Not paying attention to the complicated look of the young magistrate, Wei Qian finished reading the letter, gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, he didn't want to spoil the current situation.

"That's right! Our Xinhui people have stabilized the entire Guangdong and the entire Lingnan for the imperial court! This time, let the court see the loyalty of our Xinhui people again! ”

Yu Lian was always full of energy, as if he believed in twelve points.

"Let the women and children scatter outside the city, and listen to the faint rumors, sooner or later they will all be astigmatized, it is better to take the old and weak and the women in exchange for food, also in case of contingency."

"Yes, yes, anyway, there are tens of thousands of people in the city, even if he collapses the city wall, let the people learn from the same as sixty years ago, and just plug it! If the thieves dare to break through the gap, let the people stand there! ”

"Didn't Lou Xueyu say that he would take the scholars to the city? Most of the Li Shi won't be able to open fire! ”

There are still sensible people who spoke, thinking that the ballad is turning in their ears, and no matter how hard the heart is, it will be softened, and it is true that women and children can no longer be allowed to stay under the city, but when they go up to the city, they will mess up the garrison again, and it is better to throw it out for food, which can be regarded as making the best use of people.

At that moment, everyone discussed it properly, and they all felt that as long as the food was in hand and the people were in the city, this new meeting would be like an iron bucket, and they could hold on. Lei Xiang also threw away the distracting thoughts in his heart, thinking that the Li thief was just rampant for a while, when the three feudal clans occupied most of the country, and Galdan was close to a few hundred miles away from Yanjing, didn't the emperor and the court also stick to it?

But not everyone thinks so, of course Lei Xiang will not give his wife away, and many people are unwilling to do so, but the reasons are different.

"Daddy! Our family has enough food, why do we let the women in our family go out of the city to change food? Doesn't that send them into the mouth of thieves? ”

In a mansion in the city, Yu Xijue, the head of Lian, was arguing with his father.

"You know what!? That Li Shi is still benevolent and righteous, let them go out of the city, there is always a way to live. ”

His father Yu Mingfu is no longer old and faint in the county government hall, and the whole person exudes a kind of indifference that sees through the world, "What kind of life?" Those thieves are talking nonsense, Dad, are you still serious? ”

Speaking of the "Xinhui Daughter Xiang" sung outside the city, Yu Xijue sneered.

"The thief only knows a general idea, but he doesn't know the truth. It wasn't our Xinhui people who ate people back then, but the soldiers who defended the city! Our Xinhui people were also killed by the soldiers of the imperial court, how did they know the suffering of the Xinhui people at that time!? ”

He was very puzzled: "Dad, you have told our juniors about these things, why are you still frightened by those faint words!?" ”

Yu Mingfu shook his head bitterly: "What the thief said in the post is true, not only the officers and soldiers are eating people, but the Xinhui people themselves are also eating people." ”

Yu Xijue froze, and his father's words rang in his ears.

Yu Mingfu said with a sense of relief: "Your father and I were only three years old at the time, I can't remember things, and I don't know if I have eaten or not. But when I was young, I once asked your grandfather, and he didn't speak, he just pointed to the ancestral hall and wept. I asked my uncle and uncle to find out that your grandfather was also guarding the city with the officers and soldiers at that time, and when the selection was cast, he was selected. The officers and soldiers said that since it was Ding Zhuang, he would be exempted, but he had to choose another person in the family, and the whole family was staring at your aunt, who was only twelve years old when she went......"

Speaking of this, the father and son shuddered at the same time.

Yu Mingfu continued: "Uncle told me very clearly, when Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, attacked Xinhui, our Xinhui people had no intention of sticking to it, and there were not many officers and soldiers who came to help, but the officers and soldiers said one sentence: Think about Guangzhou and Zhaoqing three or four years ago, the whole city was frightened. The city of Guangzhou broke that meeting, and the corpse capital floated to the Enping River, from Foshan to Xinhui, all of them surrendered without a fight. ”

When Li Dingguo came to attack, he initially blasted open the city wall, and the Xinhui people had to be driven away by officers and soldiers, so they had to move stones to plug the gap, and later found that Li Dingguo did not want to hurt the people, so he didn't need to be driven away by officers and soldiers, and they all helped to defend the city together. The old and weak women and children also took the initiative to climb out of the gap and dismantle the trunk of the sunflower tree that Li Dingguo used to build a ladder, forcing him to besiege but not attack. ”

"When the food is exhausted, the officers and soldiers begin to eat people, the Xinhui people dig rats and birds to eat grass, and Ding Zhuang, who guards the city, also follows the officers and soldiers to eat people, your grandfather...... Alas! Anyway, later, everyone started to eat, and even a few Xiucai couldn't avoid disaster. In the entire county, human flesh has been cooked in every pot, and more than 10,000 people have been eaten. The bones were still buried at the foot of the mountain outside the north gate, and no one dared to bury them with the rest of their families as usual, because no one dared to worship them......"

Yu Xijue's eyes straightened when he heard this, and Yu Mingfu sighed loudly.

"When the thief's slang is sung, you are still just churning, and those of us who know the root cause are eager to take out a knife and cut ourselves! Son, we Xinhui people, no one is innocent! ”

After being silent for a while, Yu Xijue smiled firmly, and he asked, "Dad, you also know the details of Li Xi, do you think he is a Jinwang-style character?" ”

Yu Mingfu did not hesitate, and nodded directly, Xinhui is so close to Guangzhou, he is a county famous, and he has dealt too much with the people of Qingtian Company. What kind of person Li Shi is, most of the people in Xinhui know it, and it is precisely because of this that such a method is used. But his son, who has been idle in Fujian and Zhejiang, does not know that Yu Xijue did not return to his hometown until the rebellion in Guangdong, and took over the position of the general practice of a county in the clan, full of thoughts about seeking merit and wealth in this chaos.

Yu Xijue said coldly: "Then he will be defeated!" How can you cherish the kindness of a woman in the world!? Isn't it still a disaster for my father to send away his daughters and even the wives and daughters of his children? ”

Yu Mingfu took a cool breath, as if he didn't know his son anymore, he frowned and asked, "Stay in the city, if you go to such a field again, what should I do?" ”

Yu Xijue gritted his teeth and resolutely said Yu Mingfu's familiar and unfamiliar words: "Even if the thieves treat them well, but after the defeat of the Li thieves, aren't they even worse than dead?" Stay in the city, and at that moment, you can still get a reputation! ”

Yu Mingfu coughed suddenly, he wanted to refute, but he couldn't open his mouth, at that moment, he seemed to see his father more than sixty years ago, who was making a difficult choice.

At this time, he finally came back to his senses, the reason why he wanted to let the women and children go out of the city to block the artillery was that everyone thought that Li Xi could not beat the imperial court, and was afraid that when the imperial court came back, he would slaughter Xinhui as an enemy city? And why did Li Shi have to lose? As his son said, because Li Xi is a good person.

They Xinhui people all know that good people are losers, Li Dingguo is a good person, so he failed, Li Xi is also a good person, with their Xinhui people's experience, Li Xi will also fail, victory belongs to the imperial court, and their loyalty is to be given to the winner.

"O iniquity...... It's been more than 60 years, and this sin has finally surfaced, and it will be repeated in our Xinhui people, God, why can't you bear to treat us Xinhui people so badly!? ”

Waiting for his son to leave, Yu Mingfu was teary-eyed, pounding the table weakly, for him, an old man who was about to die, victory and defeat, life and death, had been looked down upon, he only felt that himself, along with all the Xinhui people, were getting farther and farther away from the ancestors and ancestors under Jiuquan, and his soul sank into the abyss of unknowable sin.

"Women and children are no longer guarding the base of the wall, and there are scholars at the head of the city, why do I feel very uncomfortable?"

In the big tent of the Chinese army of Longxiang Army outside the city, Yang Junli, who joined the army, congratulated Yuan Tieban on the perfect ending of the second scene, but he was depressed.

"Because I still can't shoot!"

Zhang Hanwan understands the reason for his depression very well, Xinhui people have pushed out thousands of women and children, and the human flesh is calculated according to the price of pork, and one person is roughly exchanged for half a stone to one stone of rice, "I really can't think about it, Xinhui people have thick skin to this extent." ”

Zheng Yong was also emotional, and the trace of sympathy he still had for the Xinhui people also disappeared, and even he was thinking that if Zhang Hanwan really couldn't help but order the artillery to attack the city, he would also share the responsibility with Zhang Hanwan. In Zheng Yong's opinion, the Xinhui people are probably broken jars, anyway, the predecessors have even eaten people, and it is nothing to use women and children as bargaining chips to save their lives.

"Yuan Tieban, what about your third play?"

Zhang Hanwan gasped and asked, although the women and children were scattered, the scholars stood on the head of the city, and there were thousands of stone meters more in the city, and the Xinhui people were more determined to defend the city, but he still couldn't move.

As long as there is no official status, the scholars are also ordinary people, not to mention that Li Xi has also specially explained that he can't embarrass the scholars, sometimes he is thinking, the fourth brother is so wise, he should also know about Li Dingguo, how can he not follow in his footsteps?

"The third scene, I have to wait for the people from the Ministry of Infrastructure to arrive."

Yuan Yinggang was not in a hurry.

"Ministry of Infrastructure?"

Everyone was confused, until the next day, a large number of people from the Ministry of Infrastructure arrived, and they started to dry up in a hurry, and the confusion had not yet dissipated, they were just digging a pit, just two or three hundred steps outside the south gate of Xinhui County, digging a deep pit.

On the third day, a huge log, which was supposed to be the mast of a sea ship, arrived, and after two huge rolls were hung on the beams at the top of the mast, hundreds of people shouted trumpets and erected the giant tree, which was more than ten feet high.

"I thought I was going to build a fort......

Zhang Hanwan didn't understand it, at this time, the giant wood had already been erected, and the foreman gave an order, and two huge rolls of canvas stretched down, with four big characters on each scarlet background, which could be seen clearly two or three miles away.

"It's a road sign."

Looking at the eight big characters on the left and right, everyone was relieved, the giant sail swayed slightly with the wind, and they all felt that the previous depression was also swept away layer by layer, and their hearts were refreshed.

"What to see!? How can I let external objects shake my mind! At this time, it is the time to relax the spirit of my scholar, read! Read it out loud! The so-called ruler must first unite his family......"

At the head of the city at the south gate of Xinhui County, Lou Xueyu is leading a group of county schoolchildren to "defend the city". The mast stood up, which also caused the children to shake, Lou Xueyu couldn't take his eyes off it, and shouted in a deep voice, and the children also subconsciously held their backs and chests, and recited loudly, as if they wanted to press down the big mast with their own words.

"The so-called ruler must first gather his family, and his family cannot be taught but can teach others, there is none, so the gentleman does not leave home to teach the country. The filial piety, so the king, the younger brother, so the chief, the merciful, so the people are also ......"

This paragraph is the most basic content of "University", and for these children, they are already familiar with the neural reflex of their tongues, and they come straight to gush.

Lei Xiang, the magistrate, was also watching the movement on the side, the eight words under the big mast were impressive, and the recitation of the children also entered his ears at the same time, at that moment, he only felt a trance in front of him, and his breathing was suddenly suffocated.

The eight characters on the mast are, "Yashan to the south, Xinhui to the north." ”

These eight words are like the two hands of the giant spirit god, one holding his body and the other holding his soul, violently tearing towards the north and south of the mast that is like a road signpost.

(To be continued)