After reading the letter, Xin Guangyun took out a match, burned the letter in front of Wu Sihe and Liu Luoqu, and said at the same time: "The epidemic in Xingang has been controlled, and the ban on the old city has also been lifted, but it is inconvenient to go out of the city, not to mention that you have to hide it from others, so I will arrange for you to go out of the city tonight." ”

After Xin Guangyun finished speaking, he was leaving, and Liu Luoqu came to the door of the cell and stopped him: "Secretary Xin, is what Mr. Cai said in his letter true?" ”

Xin Guangyun hesitated: "I don't know, but you have also seen Mr. Cai's talent." ”

Liu Luoqu still didn't believe it: "Can the earth really be so accurate?" ”

Xin Guangyun said: "It's probably to know yourself and your opponent." ”

The dungeon was quiet, because the uneasiness that spread from the words "know yourself and know your enemy" affected everyone.

If that's the case, then what's the use of speculating with each other? Isn't it just a matter of providence?

Could it be that people are not as good as heaven?

●

At the gate of Xingang Hospital, Ban Lu sat there in a daze, looking at the dozens of corpses covered with white cloth in front of him, these people were all found from the burned hospital, according to the coast guards who participated in the search and rescue, none of them survived, even if they were not infected, they all died in the fire that followed.

The corpse was charred black, and apart from being able to distinguish between men and women, it was impossible to see its original physical features.

Ban Lu couldn't help but think of the charred corpses he saw on the side of the road on the day he first entered Xingang.

Perhaps, that day, God put the answer in front of his eyes.

Gao Dejiu in the distance looked at Ban Lu's appearance, thought for a long time, and finally walked over.

"Condolences." Gao Dejiu really didn't know what to say.

Ban Lu nodded: "Thank you." ”

Gao De sighed: "There is nothing left, and the new port is ruined." ”

"The poor people in Xingang are ruined, but most of the rich people are safe and sound." Ban Lu said coldly, "When I passed by Zhang's Mansion, there were fortifications at the gate, and those fortifications were not temporarily erected at first glance. ”

Gao De knew what Ban Lu wanted to say, but he still pretended to be stupid and said: "The last time there was a rumor of corpses, Zhang Ye should have been prepared, after all, he was far-sighted. ”

Ban Lu looked at Gao Dejiu: "Inspector Gao, did you know in advance?" ”

Gao Dejiu also looked at Ban Lu: "What do you know?" ”

Ban Lu asked, "Know that you are going to go crazy." ”

Gao Dejiu stood up: "How would I know? ”

Ban Lu looked up at him: "Then why is your family all right?" ”

Gaode was on fire: "What do you mean? Are you cursing me? Why do I have to have something to do in my family? ”

The expression on Ban Lu's face was relaxed: "I'm just wondering, why did my father and mother have to be burned alive." ”

Gao Dejiu sat down and said, "Maybe your father and mother will ...... before the fire."

Gao De was halfway through his old words, and when he realized that there was something wrong with this sentence, he quickly shut up.

Ban Lu asked, "What's it?" ”

Gao De changed the topic from the past: "Officer Ban, people can't be resurrected after death, mourn, if there is anything I need to do, you just ask." ”

Ban Lu said: "Then can you help me check, why are the rich and foreigners in Xingang okay?" ”

"Ban Lu! Aren't you raising the bar!? Gao De's old eyes widened, "On the day of the incident, the old city sent troops to block the new port, so did you know in advance?" After the blockade, you don't care about our life or death, so what do you mean? ”

Ban Lu replied numbly: "Xingang is a concession for foreigners, you also do things for foreigners, foreigners don't care about you, how can we take care of it?" ”

Gao De was angry: "Even if it is a concession, it is rented by foreigners from the Chinese, and this is still a place for Chinese, isn't it?" Fu Dashuai is the governor of Yongcheng, why doesn't he care about our life or death? Watching the people of Newport die tragically? ”

Ban Lu got up: "Yes, why? ”

After saying that, Ban Lu smiled silly at Gao De and slowly left with heavy steps.

Gao Dejiu looked at Ban Lu's back, he was still angry, but finally sighed.

Gao Dejiu looked at the dozens of corpses on the ground and muttered to himself, "Heaven and earth are not kind." ”

●

In the command post of Xicheng Tower, the parrot in the birdcage on the table was very uneasy about the unfamiliar environment and kept jumping around in the cage.

Qiu Gubo next to the birdcage thought with his hands on his forehead.

Xionghuang ate steamed buns and drank porridge with pickles on the opposite side, and raised his eyes to see Qiu Gubo from time to time.

"It's late, it's too late to bring back any information now." Qiu Gubo finally straightened up, "Actually, when the call from Snake Heart Island came, it was already late. ”

Xionghuang said: "Listen to what you mean, it's better to say that from the beginning, we lost." ”

Qiu Gubo shook his head: "What we do is nothing more than to change from passive to active. ”

At this moment, there was an explosion outside, and the two looked out of the door at the same time, and when Qiu Gubo got up and was about to walk out, a soldier rushed in with a disgraced face: "Report!" The enemy is shooting at us! ”

Qiu Gubo immediately followed the soldier out, and Xionghuang also quickly put down his chopsticks.

After the two walked out of the city tower, they saw a hole in a wall on the city tower, and a bloody corpse of a soldier was lying behind it.

Qiu Gubo immediately took out his binoculars and searched down: "Where did the cannon come from?" ”

An officer stepped forward and pointed to a hill below: "Over there, they fired a cannon, and then they dragged that cannon down, and we couldn't fight back." ”

"How do you fight back at this distance?" Qiu Gubo shook his head, although he knew guns, he had no concept of guns.

"Unless they drag the cannon up again, we will waste shells if we shoot back." Xionghuang observed with a telescope, "As long as they hide on the back of the mountain, if they want to hit, it depends on luck to a large extent, although the mortar does not shoot dead ends, but this distance is too far." ”

Qiu Gubo looked at Xionghuang: "Then how did they get up?" ”

Xionghuang explained: "At this distance, even if the high and low firing boundaries of mountain artillery and field artillery are insufficient, they can also borrow terrain to make up for it." ”

Qiu Gubo frowned: "Then we can only be beaten in vain?" ”

"If we pull the artillery up the city wall, the position of the cannon body is lower than the city wall bunker, and the depression angle is not enough, even if the gun body is raised, it will form a blind spot for artillery firing at a distance of a thousand meters or even more below the city, and we can't always raise the back of the cannon and shoot downward, right?" Xionghuang looked at the position under the city, "That's why Mr. Cai didn't agree to pull the artillery up, the right position to have mortars to deal with their siege infantry is enough, if they fire again, they can let the artillery in the city return fire." ”

At this time, two soldiers carried the corpse of the dead soldier slowly past, Qiu Gubo gritted his teeth and said, "You must fight back!" Even if it's a show! Otherwise, it will have an impact on morale! ”

Xionghuang nodded: "Herald!" Flagman! ”

The herald immediately arrived: "Here! Sir! ”

Xionghuang looked down with a telescope: "Send a signal to the artillery, target the hillside outside the west city, the distance is 4500, 35 to the right, one shot of the base gun!" ”

The herald immediately repeated the old way to the banner-bearer on the heights, who then signaled the flag to the artillery in the city.

At the same time, Xionghuang took out his pocket watch and put it to his ear, and looked at it with a telescope in his other hand.

Soon after, a shell landed on the side of the hillside, and the telescope faintly saw people running there.

Xionghuang listened to the second hand of the pocket watch in his ear beating for a while, estimated that the cannonball was almost loaded, and said: "Correct the distance 4600, 15 to the left, and fire a salvo of six cannons!" ”

Soon, six shells landed on the hillside, which suddenly became a sea of fire, and after the smoke of gunfire, there was no movement around the hillside.

"Okay, they give us a greeting gift, and we'll give them a dismount." Xionghuang returned the telescope to Qiu Gubo, "Almost, their black cannon is just testing us, maybe it's a blind cat meeting a dead mouse." ”

Qiu Gubo looked at it with a telescope, and after making sure that there was no movement in the distance, he asked, "Why do you say that the blind cat met a dead mouse?" ”

"Chen Bozhong just had artillery, before that, he was just the head of the militia armed forces, where did the militia get the artillery? Do you think that when artillery is the same as ordinary infantry, you can put a gun at the point? Xionghuang shook his head, "It's not that simple, and the geographers don't know how to shoot artillery, Hu Shen can't point, the previous cannon is not only a test, maybe it's also a test shot, rest assured, the city wall of Yongcheng is not so easy to blow up." ”

Qiu Gubo looked outside the city and remembered something: "I suddenly found out now that whether it is the corpse wind or madness, it is just Hu Shen's false tricks. ”

Xionghuang asked, "So what is the real trick?" Siege? ”

Qiu Gubo shook his head: "Weaken our strength and influence, so that the original owner of Dashuai will lose confidence in him and switch to Chen Bozhong." ”

Xionghuang said: "It seems that the three families of Yongcheng and the foreigners will soon have a showdown with Dashuai." ”

"The handsome has been invited by Zhang Fuzhi." Qiu Gubo turned around and walked towards the command post, "Whether it is war or peace, it will be decided soon." ”

Xionghuang followed him: "It should be, whether it is a battle or a surrender." ”

Qiu Gubo stopped: "According to the temper of the handsome, he will make peace, and he will definitely not descend." ”

Xionghuang remembered something: "By the way, what about Mr. Cai?" ”

Qiu Gubo looked at the city and said: "Back to the Governor's Mansion, he said that this battle can no longer be fought, at best, they will greet each other like just now, so he doesn't need to make any more suggestions, just go back and wait for a result." ”

Xionghuang was puzzled: "Wait for the result?" ”

Qiu Gubo said: "Yes, wait for the result, as far as he is concerned, the matter is a foregone conclusion, and he has no power to return to the sky." ”

Xionghuang also looked at the city, not knowing what Cai Qianqing meant.

●

Looking at the night pearl, Cai Qianqing forgot that she was in the mansion of the Governor's Mansion.

The light emitted by the Night Pearl was so warm to him, just like the concerned gaze of Xia Yulan back then.

"Yulan, in fact, I lost at the beginning, even if I didn't notice it at the time, but when I saw Miss Shen, I should have thought of it." Cai Qianqing looked at the night pearl in the box on the table, "Hu Shen ostensibly used Miss Shen to separate himself from me Qiu Gubo, but in fact, he just used this person to tell me that even if I won't lose this battle, I will definitely not be able to win against him." ”

Cai Qianqing paused for a while after speaking, as if listening to Ye Mingzhu's words: "Yes, the eight-armed Arhat is not in vain, it seems to be attacking the heart, but in fact it is peeling." Although I can walk away now, what about Tang Anshu? If I betray him, I will uncover his scars and pour salt on them, and this friend can accept everything, but not betrayal. ”