Chapter Eighty-Seven: When the City Breaks
"The divine soldiers have attacked the camp of the Jin Army!"
"The banner of the Golden Army Camp Gate has changed!"
"The divine soldiers have captured thousands of golden army horses!"
"The divine soldiers are slashing and killing the Jurchens on horseback, and victory is in sight!" …
The news of the victory blew all over the inside and outside of Bianjing City, Zhao Huan was overjoyed, it seemed that his prayers had worked, God finally heard his voice, but just as he was so excited that he couldn't help himself, a more explosive news came into the palace, and the Jurchens captured the outer city!
The contrast between the two news is too great, the 'Divine Soldier War Jurchen Live Broadcast' just now is just Guo Jing's means to confuse everyone, and the people who were stunned by the sudden victory have long been in chaos, and they don't have time to care about the truth of these rumors, they only saw the divine soldiers flocking out of the city, and their hearts were full of envy...
But on the other side of the tall city wall, there is a scene, the Liujia divine soldiers have just rushed across the suspension bridge, after crossing the moat, the fast legs and feet of the divine soldiers are eager to make meritorious contributions, and are colliding with the Jurchen iron cavalry that is coming to the noisy, and the divine soldiers who have been moving forward bravely soon found that the invisible method that Guo Shenxian said does not seem to be bright, and the soldiers above the Jurchen iron cavalry are wielding cold light flashing and slashing at them with swords and guns in their hands, where are there no signs to follow.
Thousands of divine soldiers, the front army was slaughtered by hundreds of Jurchen iron horsemen with a single charge, and the rear army just left the city and collided with the front army, and most of them fell into the moat outside the city. Guo Shenxian came directly to escape, he understood that this time the cowhide was blown too big, it was blown to the sky, and now the cowhide is broken, and the city is also broken, and it is estimated that he will be eaten alive by people if he stays there. He rushed down to the city to exert his magical powers with himself, but the soles of his feet slipped with oil. Except for a few who escaped tightly around the commanders with the gods as the core, thousands of people turned into ghosts in a moment...
The Jurchen army attacking the city outside the city was slightly stunned. and continued to launch a round of charge to the city, because these Jurchen soldiers who were besieging the city also felt that today was different from the past, with the opening of the city gate, the city head was still like a rain of arrows just now, and for a while the flags and drums were silent, they didn't care what kind of immortals, but those who knew that the road was the first to climb had a heavy reward, and took this opportunity to quickly set up siege equipment to the city.
Seeing the Jurchens swarming towards the city gate. The city has long put aside Guo Shenxian's ban. Uncle Zhang was frightened at night and immediately shouted loudly to the sergeant to close the city gate and go up to the city to defend against the enemy. The soldiers in the city hurriedly pulled the drawbridge, only to find that it was easy to put down, but it was difficult to pull up. There were dead bodies on the suspension bridge, and there was no way to put the suspension bridge away. The soldiers hurriedly closed the city gates, which turned the Jurchens away.
At this moment, the Jurchens were already surrounded by siege equipment such as ladders, bridges, and goose carts. At the head of the city there was already a dense crowd of Jurchen soldiers on the left. The general in charge of the defense of the south of the city was Guo Zhongxun, who was in charge of the guard Ma Junsi, and when he saw that the Jurchens were about to rush into the city through the city gate, he personally led his elite soldiers and strong generals, and it took great difficulty to close the city gate.
Wheezing is undecided. Seeing that the guards in the city fled in a blink of an eye, Guo Zhongxun couldn't help but be angry and anxious, others could run away. But because of his duty, he did not dare to flee for his life. So he led his retinue to rush to the city, wanting to recapture the city. When the Jurchen soldiers saw this, instead of running, they wanted to recapture the city defense. I was also very puzzled in my heart, and without waiting for the commander's orders, they drew their bows and arrows one after another, and the arrows rained down on the attacking Song soldiers.
In an instant, the attack and defense changed, and he was a besieger just now, but at this time he had become a staunch defender of the city. The Song people's defense was still overwhelming, so they let them attack on their backs at this time, and they were even more reluctant, and they retreated in embarrassment after rushing a few steps before they were shot by a burst of arrows. As they ran, they shouted, "The people hurry up to the city, we will go to the palace to rescue them." Uncle Zhang hurriedly stopped the soldiers from fleeing, but his arm was slashed three times by this group of rebels, and more than 10,000 defenders here actually turned around and fled down the city, even the most elite squad did not dare to come forward to resist the enemy, where were the people willing to go to the city, and they all left!
In the chaos, rumors spread on the four walls of the capital, some said that the Jin soldiers had broken into the city from the city gate; Some say that Guo Jing is a spy and has let people enter the city; The defenders of Nancheng wanted to flee for their lives, so they shouted: "Fan Tongzhi sacrificed Dademen"; The defenders of Caomen wanted to flee for their lives, so they shouted: "Captain Lu has dedicated Fengqiu Gate." The shouting made people panic everywhere, the sergeants abandoned their armor, and the people fled in all directions in fear.
The Jin soldiers first broke through the Chenzhou Gate, and immediately set fire to the city gate, and then the East Water Gate was also breached, and the residents who lived in the inner side of the city near the city gate saw that the Jin soldiers were killed, and hurriedly helped the old and the young to flee to the inner city, and those who moved slower were killed by the Jin soldiers. The commanders He Qingyan and Chen Keli died in battle; Huang Jing, the eunuch of the Dongcheng Prison Army, wept bitterly and bowed to the imperial city a few times, and jumped into the fire; The commander Yao Youzhong led his own soldiers to suppress the rumors, but was cut down by the rebels.
Liu Yanqing, who was the envoy of the four walls at that time, saw that the city could not enter, and took his son Liu Guangguo to lead the troops from the Wansheng Gate in the west of the city to escape, most of the troops were infantry, he just ran out of the short distance, the cavalry of the Jin State quickly chased up, launched a cavalry slaughter of the infantry, Liu Yanqing was driven into the Jin Ming Pond by the Jin soldiers, drowned and trampled to death. When his son Liu Guangguo fled, he also took the concubine of former Prime Minister Wang Huang. Although he had a horse, when he fled more than ten miles outside the city, he was still chased by the Jin soldiers. Seeing that he couldn't escape, Liu Guangguo first killed the beautiful concubine and then committed suicide.
In contrast, a commander, Qin Yuan, rushed out with some security guards, that is, security guards who were not even militiamen, and encountered the Iron Harrier heavy armored cavalry unit of the Jin army outside the city. looked at the disparity between the two and died, but he fought bravely and escaped from the level. At this moment, the only ones in the city who can keep fighting and survive are Zhang Shuye and his son, who fought against the Jin army after the "miracle" was shattered, and then fought against the Song army, retreating while fighting, and retreating to the edge of the inner city, becoming the only hope of the military...
Han Li, who attacked the city, didn't want to fight for so many days, so he should go down to the city and be happy first, but his suggestion was stopped by Zong Han. Zong Han thought that there were a million inhabitants in the city of Tokyo, and there were tens of thousands of soldiers. If the army washes the city, once the emperor of the Southern Dynasty leads the residents to fight desperately in the streets, I am afraid that their 100,000 horses will be ten thousand in the city.
Han couldn't think about it, and felt that Zong Han had some truth in what he said, and the rabbit was in a hurry and bit people. really forced the Song people to be anxious, and they would definitely fight with themselves. So the two jointly ordered. Tell the whole army to 'strictly order all the soldiers to return to the city, and those who dare to go down to the city to kill the people of the Southern Dynasty.' Extermination! When the Jin soldiers heard the order, they immediately retreated to the city.
The Jin people at the head of the city were only firmly guarding the city, lest the rebellious army and people rush out. Rao is so, the Song army and people who were frightened for no reason killed each other and trampled to death are still countless, the snow is bright red everywhere, the officials at this time have changed their appearance, and they hide in the houses of the small people with their wives and children, and the desperate rout soldiers and the scoundrels in the city take the opportunity to make trouble.
Although the Jin soldiers did not leave the city, the chaos in Tokyo did not lessen in the slightest. The soldiers and civilians of the outer city rushed to flee to the inner city, and the soldiers guarding the inner city were afraid that the golden soldiers would take advantage of the situation to attack. He also didn't care about the lives and deaths of the soldiers and civilians in the outer city, and forcibly closed the city gates one by one. The soldiers and civilians outside the city gate slapped the city gate and shouted hoarsely, and the sound of weeping shook the sky.
At this time, it has long been impossible to control the order in the city, it is the Jin people who set fire to the south of the city, and it is the Song soldiers who set fire to the city, and the city and the outside are in full swing, but they can't give the people in the city a warm feeling, and the Jin army at the head of the city looks down on the bustling city, although they did not rashly go down the city. But the shiny knives and guns are terrifying. The soldiers of the Song army, who were supposed to fight the enemy in a bloody battle on the city, were no different from bandits at this time, and the defeated army wandered around and robbed the rich. Killing people and selling goods is chilling!
The military discipline of the Song people was corrupted, and it was not a matter of one or two days that the rewards and punishments were unknown. It is often the people who risk their lives to fight and kill on the battlefield and are not rewarded, while those who do not risk the arrows and stones are rewarded and high-ranking officials. Those who are seriously wounded on the battlefield are often rewarded lightly. but he that is wounded by the flesh is rewarded heavily. Those who died in battle are often punished as fleeing without compensation. There are many drawbacks to this. It was already difficult to make the soldiers use their lives, but now that the army is defeated, they have vented their past hatred on the former magnates, and the happiest ones are the troops who have suffered the most casualties in the city.
In recent years, the shortage of the forbidden army in Bianjing City has been relatively serious, and we have to select hardcover from the army from all over the country to fill the position, and these soldiers are the same as the four armies of the upper four armies to guard the four walls of the city. However, most of those generals are from the former Southeast Yingfeng Bureau, most of these people are relatives of powerful people, and they have no ability and skills at all.
Therefore, the officers and soldiers defending the city are not all so willing to go into battle, and this is okay on weekdays, but now the situation is critical, and it is a big deal if the soldiers do not fight, but the disadvantages of loose military discipline in the past have appeared, often the generals cannot manage the soldiers, and the soldiers do not put the generals in their eyes, and it is Wang Zongmi, a fool, who does stupid things.
In the past few days, Wang Zongmao saw that the siege was tight, and the Jurchens flocked to the city and ordered the troops to go to the city to defend, but these soldiers were passive confrontation, and they were also anxious and wise, and he actually deceived these soldiers: If they have meritorious service in helping the war, each person will be rewarded with five bowls, and those without officials will be promoted, and those with officials will be promoted to three levels. These soldiers were overjoyed when they heard this, and there must be brave men under the heavy reward, so everyone fought bravely, one by one, and everyone bravely killed the enemy, and even killed thousands of Jurchen soldiers besieging the city.
After the battle, he went down to the city to rest, but he didn't know that the reward he hoped for when he was fighting with the Jurchens just now was all in vain, the appointment letter for promotion was not seen, and the golden bowl was nowhere to be seen, and the soldiers all scolded Wang Zongmi, and there was anger and complaints in their hearts.
Even an honest person is only half a beat slower in his reaction to things. How could they go to work hard again after being fooled just now, and one by one they excused themselves and said that they would eat dry food first. The emperor can't send hungry soldiers to sell his life! Not to mention your little palace commander. When the Jin army went to the city, they slipped away first, and took advantage of the chaos in the city to loot on a large scale, and the officials did not give it, they took it themselves...
………
Emperor Zhao Huan heard that the outer city had been breached, and he cried bitterly, and shouted with regret: "Regret not listening to the words of the master...... "Unfortunately, the good general has passed away, and the good minister is far away, so he can only sigh in vain, and regret is out of reach.
After venting for a while, Zhao Huan cleared his mind for a few points, and sent his guards to invite the Taishang Emperor and his wife who lived in Longde Palace into the Ouchi and let them move to Jiuzhong, and this was not entirely for their personal safety, but to guard against courtiers and Jin people with ulterior motives from taking this "Taishang Emperor" from captive.
Although he has long lost power, he is still a disease in Zhao Huan's heart, and at this time he is even more of a strange commodity to live in, let him escape from another court, his efforts are not in vain, and putting him under his nose is not only easy to control, but also convenient to fulfill filial piety. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Zhao Huan's behavior once again confirmed that the royal court of heaven has no vein, warmth and family affection to speak of. Everything is based on interests, which is the moment when this kind of country is ruined. Don't forget to place the Emperor Taishang properly
Subsequently, Zhao Huan urgently announced that the ministers would enter the palace to discuss how to face the current danger of destroying the country, but most of the officials and ministers did not come, and at dusk, even most of the eunuchs in the palace fled. He looked around him, and there were only four people, including King Jing Zhao Qi, Hubu Shangshumei, Yu Shi Zhongcheng Qin Hui, and the official servant Xie Ke's family. Fortunately, when the country was destroyed, there was no such horror as Ming Chongzhen, and there were really a few courtiers who risked death to enter the palace and serve as servants.
Subsequently. Prime Minister He Li, Privy Council Secretary Sun Fu, and Military Department Shangshu Lu Hao asked not to rush to come, and Zhang Shu, a member of the Privy Council, also entered the palace with his injuries in the night. The civil and military officials of the imperial court, who usually eat the imperial court, have disappeared one by one at the critical moment of the country's survival, and only these individuals are willing to share the hardships with him, the emperor, at this time. "Bandang knows loyal ministers", at this time, the monarchs and ministers are speechless, only a thousand lines of tears!
It was late at night, but no one in the temple could have a trace of sleep. Everyone wants to ask, "What to do?" ”
"Your Majesty, if there are no courtiers and important ministers to take the lead at this time, and inspire the army and the people to fight a bloody battle with the gold thieves, the Zongmiao Sheji will definitely become ashes and rubble. The minister is the prime minister. It is incumbent upon me to leave the palace immediately and lead the army and civilians to fight in the streets..."He Li knelt down in front of Zhao Huan with a "plop" and said.
Zhao Huan looked at this powerless prime minister. He knew that He Li was timid by nature, at this time. This weak scholar also has to be stimulated by the righteousness of the country and go to meet the tiger and wolf division of the Jin country. Zhao Huan had a different taste in his heart. I didn't know what to say for a while.
He Li got up from the ground and was about to summon the four armies guarding the palace. Suddenly, someone came to report: "Your Majesty, the palace guards used an axe to split the left door, saying that they asked to see the Son of Heaven." ”
"How can the palace break in?!" He Li was shocked, he and Sun Fu hurriedly ran to the door of the main hall, and saw hundreds of people standing outside in the dark, all holding sharp blades, led by Jiang Xuan and Li Fu, the commanders of the palace class.
"The country has reached this point today because Zai believes in Ren traitorous ministers and does not accept outspokenness." After that, he drew his sword, rushed forward and pushed He Li away, and Li Fu and a few people broke into the hall directly, Zhao Huan was so frightened that his face was like earth.
Jiang Xuan and Li Fu may also want to make a peerless achievement at this moment, ignoring the scolding of several rulers in the palace, they waved their knives and cut down a few servants who came to block, and pulled Zhao Huan's sleeve and insisted on asking the officials to get on the horse, and they escorted them out of the city. The problem is that Zhao Huan is not familiar with them, and he doesn't know what his brothers and sisters are thinking, if they coerce and send them to the Jurchens, it wouldn't be a bad thing, of course they refused to go with them, and the two were deadlocked.
"Are you going to escort or hijack?" He Li asked loudly again, at this time he couldn't stand out anymore.
"Bold!" Someone took the lead, and Sun Fu also stepped forward to ask, signaling a few chamberlains to quickly take the official family away and push them out.
"Sun Fu, if the official family doesn't use incompetent people like you to defend the city, Tokyo City will not be breached." Jiang Xuan was not afraid, but now that the Son of Heaven himself had pulled people and killed them, he also let go and scolded loudly.
This sentence hit Sun Fu and He Li's heart disease, and they were choked up and couldn't answer. Both of them are scholars who have read "Zi Yue Siyun" since childhood, and they talk about scriptures, reasoning and righteousness, but they don't know anything about governing the country and using soldiers. When the strong soldiers approached the city, they entrusted the two of them with important tasks, and they were indeed perverse and repeatedly failed in their plans. Especially trusting Guo Jing, let Jin Bing take advantage of the situation to break through the outer city. The military and people of Tokyo have grown from resentment to hatred against them, and they will regard them as sinners who have misled the country!
At the critical moment, it was Qin Hui who stepped forward and stopped the angry two, easing the atmosphere on the grounds that the Son of Heaven still needed to prepare for his patrol, and the inner servants also took the opportunity to help the weak-legged official escape from the attack range of Jiang Xuan and the others. At this time, Lu Haowen stepped forward again to explain the reason, and only then did he temporarily bluff the two and invite the two great gods out of the main hall. Then Qin Hui asked Zhao Huan to promote the two of them, at this time, Zhao Huan had no reason to be inaccurate, so he ordered King Jing Zhao Qi to pass on the decree to promote Jiang Xuan to the defense envoy.
This side has just been done, the sergeant in the palace split the door of the meeting, robbed the inner warehouse utensils, or Qin Hui had a trick, and immediately asked Jiang Xuan, who had just been promoted, to go to suppress, and this Jiang Xuan may have achieved his goal, went to quell the rebellion, and pacified the robbed sergeants, and the palace was calm...
In fact, the Jurchens only actually occupied the city in the southeast corner of Bianliang City at this time, and did not completely control Bianliang City.
In the evening, under the clamor of the people, a group of gathered routs cut out, as for the way forward, no one can say clearly, and who rushed out of the city and escaped with their lives, especially when the country is broken and people are in chaos, who can tell clearly? But this also illustrates a truth, what will not escape will never escape, and waste will always be waste... (To be continued......)