In the early hours of the morning, the besieging troops had quietly entered the starting positions in batches.

"Listen to the damn ×, after the city wall collapsed, they all rushed forward for Lao Tzu. No matter who is in front of you, the one who stands in the way kills, kills, kills! Retreater, slash! Those who hesitate to advance will be cut ......" At the starting position, several generals shouted at their officers about the same thing.

Time was short, and the officers who had returned began to yell at their soldiers again: "Only advance and not retreat, forward, forward!" Those who stand in the way are killed, those who retreat are killed! Those who hesitate to enter, slash! ”

The pre-war mobilization was carried out in the midst of such shouting and reprimands, but it is not known how effective it was.

After all, such a battle has not been fought before, and there is some practical experience from top to bottom.

From the rise of the rebel army, to now, it has been several years of fighting, and the rebel army is also progressing from a rabble to an organized and combat-effective army.

Learning war in war, this sentence applies not only to soldiers, but also to those generals who come from the grassroots in the righteous army.

I haven't learned military books and battle strategies, and some don't even know a few words, but in the fight of life and death, those who survive have the opportunity to grow and have more experience.

Of course, from the current point of view, there is still a big gap between the righteous army and the regular Jin army, especially against the cavalry, and there is no certainty of victory.

However, it is undeniable that after the stages of defeat, escape, gathering, and re-fighting, the quality and combat effectiveness of the rebel army have been significantly improved.

Although the opportunity to learn from the pain and learn the lesson came at the cost of blood and lives, the Jin army could not cut the grass and eradicate the roots, and still gave the righteous army a chance to grow.

The order to start the attack had been passed down, and the soldiers who had entered the attack positions checked their equipment, unloaded all the debris that hindered the battle, and waited quietly.

Although they didn't know what they were waiting for, and they didn't see the siege equipment such as the ladder, they were somewhat puzzled and puzzled in their hearts.

Li Quan had never seen the Red Turban Army's methods of breaking the city, but after receiving the reports of the heralds one by one, he knew that all the departments were ready, and he was extremely anxious at this time, so he just forced his composure.

Time was passing minute by minute, Liu Qingfu seemed a little impatient, and turned his head sideways to ask.

"Marshal ......" As soon as Liu Qingfu opened his mouth, he felt the ground under his feet suddenly shake, followed by a deafening explosion, cutting off the words that he had not had time to spit out.

Liu Qingfu turned his head to look at the city, and there was no city wall in sight, only smoke in the sky and a pillar of smoke and dust in the air.

The soldiers of the rebel army who were preparing to attack the city did not see what was going on, and some of them had a particularly good eyesight and felt that they seemed to see the city wall of Qingzhou burst open from the inside out, and the dust rose into the air, as if a monster had come out of the belly of the city wall.

In the field of vision, the Qingzhou city wall burst open from the inside out, and the smoke and dust covered this section of the city wall tightly, and nothing could be seen.

Soon, some of the smoke and dust were dispersed by the wind, and people saw that a large gap in the city wall had been blown up, and broken bricks and rubble were scattered all over the ground, and the scene was in shambles.

The assault began to the sound of drums and trumpets. The swords and guns were shining, and the rebels were stunned at first, and then ran forward and charged under the shouting command of the officers.

"Our army has won!" Li Quan put down the binoculars.

As the smoke cleared, he could already see the red flags on both sides of the collapsed walls, and the army was pouring into the city from the breach, and the fighting might continue for a while, but victory was only a matter of time.

The destruction of the city meant victory, and there were not many tragic street battles at that time.

The walls were both a physical barrier and a guarantee of the confidence of the defenders. Once destroyed, the psychological blow to the defenders was heavy and enormous.

"Break the city in three days! Credit to that - hehe. Liu Qingfu couldn't say whether he was excited or emotional, raised the monocular again, and continued to observe.

The resistance of the rebels who broke through the city defense was very slight at first, first, because the focus of the defenders' defense was not here, and secondly, when they were still sleeping in the early hours of the morning, the sudden breach of the city caught the defenders by surprise and did not organize effective resistance in a short time.

The rebel soldiers who rushed through the sloping gap, under the command of their respective officers, quickly seized the breaches of the city walls on both sides, covering the follow-up troops to swarm into the city.

The troops entering the city were deployed according to the plan, advancing the attack in the west, south, and north directions, expanding the occupied area and enabling more troops to enter the city to participate in the battle.

Zhang Lin was woken up in his sleep by the guards, and he couldn't help but be surprised when he heard the news of the city breaking.

"How is that possible?" Zhang Lin muttered to himself in a daze, and couldn't move for a long time.

The city was breached, and suddenly it was unbelievable. But the bell in the city was already ringing, and it was so loud that anyone could hear the panic in it.

One can imagine the panic of the golden soldiers who rang the bell - they must have been sweating profusely and were frantically ringing the bell to alarm the whole city.

But - is it too late?

Zhang Lin sighed, he also knew that the big thing was gone, and it was time to make a choice, although it was a little late.

Rebellion was perhaps a common phenomenon in that era. Song Jinmeng competed among the three parties, which side was strong, or directly posed a threat, which side would fall, it seems to be the principle of Zhang Lin, Yan Shi and others.

And the commander of the rebel army like Li Quan, although he is very resolute in resisting Jin, he has become accustomed to the surrender of troops and generals.

It took only two hours to storm the city, and there were few fierce battles and desperate resistance, and Qingzhou City was basically mastered, and there were as many as 20,000 captives who surrendered.

As soon as Qingzhou was in Qingzhou, Li Quan's department opened up the situation. Based on Qingzhou, Zizhou can be attacked in the west, Binzhou can be plundered in the north, and the surrounding counties and towns can also be swept across and around, and the dilemma of Muling Pass can be freed from at once.

People are in good spirits on happy occasions, Li Quan smiled and invited him warmly, "General Han, General Wang, please lead the army into the city to rest." ”

Han Shouzhong hurriedly surrendered his hand, his attitude was relatively modest, "It will take time to rectify in the city, and it is very troublesome for our army to move the camp, so let's camp outside the city for the time being!" ”

"That-" Li Quan was not strong, he pondered for a while, and then said: "General Yihan." Please also send someone into the city with me to check the seizures. ”

"It doesn't have to be." Han Shouzhong said with a smile: "Is Marshal Li the villain who forgets his righteousness when he sees profit?" ”

Li Quan laughed and said, "Since you believe in Li, then please wait a while, and the inventory will be completed tomorrow at the latest." In the meantime, I will send someone to transport the supplies to your military camp, okay? ”

"It's all up to Li Shuai's arrangement." Han Shouzhong smiled and agreed.

Then Li went into the city to check first, and set up a banquet in the city tonight to celebrate the victory. Two generals, don't refuse! After Li Quan received Han Shouzhong's affirmative answer, he arched his hand and turned his horse's head and ran towards Qingzhou City.

When Liu Qingfu walked past Han Shouzhong and Wang Xian, he was also very humble and polite, bowed his hand, and rode away.

To say that the Red Turban Army is completely selfless in helping the war, of course, it is impossible. In addition to Muling Pass, according to the agreement, the capture of the battle was also to be divided equally between the two families.

Guns, knives, weapons, armor, food and grass, and prisoners, all of which were needed by the Red Turban Army.

Even if the regular army cannot use weapons and equipment, the militia can be armed. And the captives are coolies. Using them to open mines, build roads, and even cultivate wasteland and farm land, as long as they take care of food, they can save a lot of wages.

"After receiving the capture tomorrow, we can withdraw our troops and return, right?" Wang Xian felt that this time the troops were like an armed parade, there was no battle at all, and he was already a little tired of relying on artillery and engineers.

Han Shouzhong's gaze withdrew from the backs of Li Quan, Liu Qingfu and the others, smiled, and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple." Li Quan may want us to help in the war and go to attack Zizhou! ”

Wang Xian thought for a while and said: "Meng Shuai as long as we act cheaply, but he also said that he values artillery, obviously because he doesn't want the artillery to be too far away, in case there is a loss." ”

The bronze cannon was heavy and inconvenient to transport. Meng Jiucheng was really worried about what the enemy would gain, and he was even more worried about the losses of the artillery that had been trained with great difficulty.

Han Shouzhong nodded and said, "I mean only keep some artillery, carry light artillery, and bring some sappers just in case." If there is danger, you and I will send troops to strictly protect it, and there should be no problems, right? ”

After a pause, Han Shouzhong smiled and said, "Besides, Li Quan may not do this. Half of the seizure is also a big price for them. ”

"yes, they're going to be heartbroken." Wang Xian smiled and agreed.

…………

In fact, when Li Quan saw the list of seizures, he did feel heartache.

As the governor of Yidu Prefecture, there are still a lot of materials in Qingzhou City. Otherwise, Zhang Lin would not have collected his troops and retreated, which was more than 20,000 horses. The daily consumption, food alone is a large number.

The treasury is intact and has not suffered losses, which is of course good news for Li Quan. Even with it, they were also open to the surrender of troops and generals, and were not prepared to severely punish them, although they ignored the first persuasion to surrender.

But the battle was fought by its own army, and the Red Turban Army only used the kind of weapons called artillery and the siege method of blasting.

Although it was said that it greatly reduced the casualties of his army and broke the city as quickly as possible, Li Quan's heart was always uncomfortable when he handed over this large number of materials to others.

Li Fu saw Li Quan's reluctance, and couldn't help but say on the side: "Give them thirty percent, it's a lot, they can't see it, right?" ”

Li Quan thought for a while, shook his head and said: "If people don't have faith and don't stand, how can they see profit and forget righteousness?" Just do what you say, so as not to make people laugh. ”

Heartache is heartache, Li Quan still figured it out. There is no impermeable wall in the world, and it is unlikely that this matter will be kept secret for a long time.

In the long run, the cooperation with the Red Turbans will not be the only one. It would be too short-sighted to make a plan to buy and sell.

Of course, Li Quan also decided that this cooperation would end temporarily, and the rest of the siege and land would be done by himself, and the seizure would be his own monopoly.

"Zhang Lin, what else to do with those generals?" Guoan grabbed the main merit of the siege, and the battle was relatively easy, and a lot of prisoners were captured.

Li Quan thought for a while and said, "Then they give it to the Red Turban Army, we don't want anyone who is an official, just a soldier." ”

Keeping troops but not generals is a good way to win over the hearts and minds of the people and reorganize the troops. You must know that those who can provoke soldiers have some prestige and have been officials. How much appeal can a big-headed soldier have if he wants to incite a rebellion?

Qingzhou not only occupies a big city, but also the surrounding counties and towns are also at your fingertips. Coupled with the nearly 10,000 captives distributed, Li Quan's men and horses swelled up all of a sudden, followed by an explosion of self-confidence.

"Let's fight Binzhou next." Li Quan patted the map and said quite arrogantly: "Zizhou, let it go first." The Jin army is attacking Liu Erzu, and when it turns to us, our foundation is solid, and we are not afraid of him. ”

After a pause, Li Quan said again: "Besides, if the Red Turban Army wins the Muling Pass, it will definitely expand westward and pose a threat to the Jin Army. Whether to beat him or us, Jin Jun is afraid that it will be difficult to decide, right? ”

Liu Qingfu rolled his eyes and said, "The marshal said that it is reasonable. The last general felt that the Red Turban Army relied on nothing more than sharp firearms. If we can buy some from them, our army's combat power will also increase greatly, and we will have a great chance of winning against the Jin army. ”

Li Quan nodded and said, "I also have this intention." It's just that I don't know if they are willing to sell it, and whether we can afford this price. Well, it's just time to celebrate tonight's banquet, inquire about it, and then make a decision. ”

"The marshal is wise." Liu Qingfu complimented him and stopped talking.

This battle was very shocking to Liu Qingfu and the generals of Li Quan's department. The power of the artillery and the ferocity of the explosion are not enviable and amazing.

Even Li Quan is the same, if there is such a weapon, plus the men and horses in his hands, is it not as good as the Red Turban Army, can't he also seize a large piece of foundation?

Of course, they only know the surface and do not go deep. The weapon is dead, the key is still the person who uses it. Even if the Red Turbans sell them weapons, will they be able to exert their power?

"In addition—" Li Quan remembered one more thing and said: "They all talk about martial arts, and a certain family seems to understand a lot from the Red Turban Army. To lay down the territory, you have to manage it well, but this civil official is very important. The literati in the captives all stayed behind to help us govern. ”

"Marshal, this is to learn from Liu Bei, Corporal Lixian." Li Fu smiled: "There are indeed too few literati under our command, and they don't play any role. ”

"If you really have the assistance of Zhuge Liang's high talent, why worry about the great cause?" Li Quan said with emotion: "Although Yang An'er was defeated, it can be said that when the king was established, he also had a hundred officials, both civil and military; Liu Erzu also had military advisors and bureaucrats under him. Let's also learn and use more readers, this reputation is also good. ”

Qingzhou City finally settled down completely before dusk, and the soldiers were taken to the camp outside the city to be guarded, and the corpses were transported out of the city and buried in large mounds. Only the walls of the gap, and the dried blood stains everywhere, can still show that there was a fight here.

It was only at the beginning of the war that the people's morale was unstable, and the city imposed a curfew, and there were no pedestrians on the streets, only patrols that passed by from time to time.