Chapter 169: Attacking Xihe County
The minions soon found the owners of these vegetable fields and orchards.
Two middle-aged men with sallow faces, three old men who have passed the age of sixties, and five people stood in front of the Li brothers, looking frightened and their legs trembling.
One of the oldest looking old men had weak legs and knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Ying...... Heroes spare their lives...... Whatever you want, go and take it, just to let us live. ”
As soon as he knelt, the others also knelt down, shouting in their mouths: "Heroes spare their lives, heroes spare their lives......"
Li Shimin frowned and looked at the soldiers who were looking for people, and asked sharply: "Did you scare them?" ”
"Nope." The little soldiers shook their heads in unison, their faces full of innocence: "We all politely invited them to come according to Erlang's instructions." ”
It's really please, not "please" with fists and feet.
Li Shimin retracted his gaze, went to help the old man, and said softly: "My husband misunderstood, we didn't want to rob your things, but the soldiers under my command stole your vegetables, vegetables and fruits, and I want to apologize to you." ”
Then he said to the others, "Rise up, all of you." ”
Li Jiancheng motioned for the soldiers to help support.
Who knew that this overture not only failed to appease several dealers, but made them even more panicked.
The old man took a step back in fear, trembled his lips and said, "Hero...... Don't ...... Polite...... Albeit...... Go and pick it up. ”
finally finished saying this, but the old man felt that he had exhausted the courage of his life, and there was a strong sense of prostrations from his body, and he almost couldn't stand steadily.
He was born with misfortune, and when he was old, he had to endure the flames of war.
Those so-called righteous people, each holding the banner of opposition to tyranny and wearing the skin of a righteous army, are in fact engaged in banditry acts of raiding homes and robbing houses.
The most pitiful thing is that they are ordinary people, who are powerless to resist and can only be slaughtered by others.
If you are lucky, you will only lose some food and property, and if you are unlucky, you will not even be able to save your life.
What's more, after the food and belongings of the family are robbed, they cannot eat, so they can only join the ranks of bandits, or go to rob other people's food.
Yesterday, he witnessed two brothers killing each other for a bowl of gruel, and out of self-preservation, he just glanced at it and ran away.
Early this morning he had heard that the elder brother had killed his brother and had chopped off his brother's hand and roasted him to eat.
He was so scared that he hadn't eaten for a day, and as soon as he ate, he would think about it and get sick to his stomach.
He didn't want to die, and neither did everyone else.
Li Shimin was well aware of their fears, and while signaling the guards to hand the money bag to the old man, he patiently explained: "Don't be afraid, old man, we are not bandits, and we will not steal the people's things for no reason.
"This time, I didn't take care of my soldiers and let them steal your vegetables and fruits, I'm really sorry. You take the money, and I will buy you these vegetables and fruits. ”
Several people took the money bag, opened it and looked at it, and were immediately stunned.
A bag full of copper coins was far more valuable than the vegetables and fruits they had stolen.
The old man uneasily held the money bag and hesitated: "This ...... It's too much, and those things aren't worth that much. ”
Li Shimin said with a smile: "The extra is compensation for you, and please bear with me, I will restrain the soldiers under my command in the future." ”
After saying that, he hugged his fist at them, and then announced that he would continue on his way.
The old man and the others stood in place, staring blankly at the tens of thousands of soldiers in front of them quickly lined up and marched forward in a neat line.
After more than half of the procession, they finally believed that the army in front of them was not bandits, but a real rebel army.
Seeing that the team was about to finish in front of them, the old man rushed over, stopped a soldier and asked, "This big man, who was that young man just now?" Whose army are you? ”
Xiao Bing had a very good attitude and said softly: "The young man just now is the son of Li Yuan, who stayed in Taiyuan, and he is the second in line, named Li Shimin. The young man standing next to him was his elder brother, named Li Jiancheng.
"We are the subordinates of Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang who stayed behind in Taiyuan."
The soldier clenched his fists and left.
The old man looked at the backs of the soldiers with deep eyes, and muttered in his mouth: "Taiyuan stays behind...... Tang Guogong Li Yuan...... Li Dalang...... Li Erlang ......"
A middle-aged man next to him couldn't help but sigh: "After so many years, a teacher of benevolence and righteousness has finally appeared. ”
————
The next time he took a break, Li Jiancheng once again emphasized to everyone: "Everyone listen to me, the purpose of our army is to overthrow tyranny and save the common people."
"We are not bandits, let alone bandits, and from now on, anyone who steals and robs the people's food and property will be dealt with in accordance with military law."
As a result, the soldiers no longer dared to make mistakes.
After this incident, the "benevolence and righteousness" of the Li brothers gradually spread, and the speed of the spread was even faster than the speed of their march.
Since then, along the way, from time to time, there have been fathers and villagers who donated food to the Li brothers, and the Li brothers accepted it with gratitude and shared it with the soldiers.
There were also people who were particularly attentive in offering them cattle and sheep wine, etc., but they politely refused.
The Li brothers' incorruptibility, self-discipline and generosity soon won the support of the soldiers and the hearts of the people.
After three days, the Li brothers led their army to finally arrive in Xihe County.
After a short rest, they set up and prepared to attack the city.
Before the Li brothers arrived, the county had ordered the gates to be closed and convened officials to discuss countermeasures.
Before the Li brothers arrived in Xihe County, the soldiers and civilians of Xihe County had already heard their name of "righteous teacher" and admired them very much.
At this time, seeing that the Li brothers were approaching the city, most of the officials had no intention of starting a war, and persuaded Gao Deru to surrender.
When Gao Deru heard this, he was furious: "Okay, you guys, if you don't seek political power in your position, are you worthy of Your Majesty's trust?" ”
When they heard this, they lowered their heads and stopped trying to persuade him.
Gao Deru gathered all his soldiers and waited at the gates of the city.
Li Jiancheng looked at the city in front of him and shouted, "Attack." ”
The flag bearer raised the yellow flag high and moved forward.
The drums of war immediately sounded.
All the soldiers shouted in unison: "Woohoo, woohoo." ”
Qi forward, to the middle boundary.
The team flag went to Qianya, and all the soldiers sang in unison:
"Kill!"
Then they swarmed up.
It was the first battle, and many people were participating in the war for the first time, but the hearts and minds gained these days made the morale of this army soar and full of strength.
Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin took the lead and had already rushed to the bottom of the city wall.
The soldiers had just set up the ladder when suddenly someone shouted, "The gates are open." ”
The soldiers who were about to go up the ladder were stunned for a moment, and then rushed to the city gate.
The gates were opened from the inside.
Gao Deru looked at the open city gate and the soldiers and civilians blocking him angrily, and he couldn't help but scold: "Reckless, erector, it's not enough to plan, I must tell Your Majesty and kill you all." ”
"Really?"
A calm and magnetic male voice sounded: "The villain's complaint also requires ability."
"Do you have one?"
vertex