Naturally, it was not good for the princess to live in an ordinary guest room, so Mei Zhenyi gave up her bedroom, and the pillow quilt and curtain were replaced with new ones. His bedroom is an ensuite, and there is a warm pavilion outside, which is where Gu'er and Sui'er sleep, so that they can serve at any time. Out of the warm pavilion is a small living room, and on the other side of the living room is the study.

The study has two entrances, the front is separated by a screen out of a small front hall, and the door is outward, in the middle is the place where the bookshelf and the table are placed, and there is a sleeping couch in the back, which is the place to rest when you are tired of reading, and there is a door to communicate with the small living room here.

With Mei Zhenyi's identity, naturally there will not be only two personal maids to take care of, this is an independent small courtyard in the east courtyard of Qiyun Guan, and the maids and mothers-in-law live in the wings on both sides at any time to listen to orders and take care of their relatives. Mei Zhenyi has no internal dependents, and these people usually listen to Gu'er and Sui'er's calls.

Beyond the small courtyard is a large courtyard, with a main hall for guests, guest rooms, wings for servants, a special stable, and a kitchen. Mei Zhenyi lived in the guest room, vacated the entire small courtyard where she usually lived to Princess Yuzhen, and specially told Gu'er and Sui'er to stay in the same place and take good care of this distinguished guest.

How can anyone from a big family not look at their eyes, and when they see the young master receiving him so carefully, they all know that the origin of this guest is not simple. Although the young master ordered that no questions should be asked or discussed about the identity of the guests, there was always something else to ask, for example, the servant in charge of the kitchen asked: "What kind of courtesy is treated?" means what kind of specifications are used to entertain and serve, and most of the wealthy families in ancient times had this kind of exquisiteness.

Mei Zhenyi instructed: "Chang'an Jiaoke, treat it as a gift to the master's mother." "It means that this guest is from Chang'an, and his status is very delicate, and all the subordinates should not slack off, and treat it as a gift to see the master and mother - this is already the highest standard.

As Princess Yuzhen, there is naturally no problem with such hospitality, but it has caused a very interesting misunderstanding. Princess Yuzhen is a young woman. At a glance, you can see that the background is definitely not ordinary. Could it be that she is...... The young master's fiancée, the future mother of the Mei family, and the family affair that the master set for the young master in Luoyang? Almost everyone, including Gu'er and Sui'er, speculated in private.

Before passing the door, I went to my husband's house to be a guest, although it is not very common, but it is not impossible for the people to open up during the Tang Dynasty. She came to the door alone, and she was a little embarrassed when she came, maybe something happened on the way. Or did he sneak out of the house to see what the future husband would be like?

Liu Zhi recognized Gu'er and Sui'er as daughters, and gave them a status and identity according to Mei Zhenyi's meaning, so that they would be good wives in the future. The two maids also understood that the young master was the future Duke of Nanlu, and the wife still had to be found among the wealthy nobles who were in the right household, and the young master himself could not make the decision.

It's good now, the future "eldest wife" in the family has come to the door. Not only knowledgeable but also gentle and obedient, he is a very good person to get along with, and the two girls are happy for the young master. They are already smart and clever, and now they "know it in their hearts", and of course they take good care of Princess Yuzhen. Within a few days, they were already getting along like sisters.

As for the other subordinates in the family, they also have the same thoughts, and everyone is very good to Princess Yuzhen. It's not just respectful, it's also a heartfelt passion.

And Princess Yuzhen herself also has a special and indescribable feeling.

She was originally the daughter of the crown prince, and she was clothed and fed since she was a child, but she was still young and not sensible at that time. When she was just an adult, her family suddenly changed, her father Li Xiandi was deposed as the crown prince, and the family was exiled to Bazhou. As the saying goes, a down-and-out phoenix is not as good as a chicken. Over the years, Li Xian's family has lived a semi-solitary life under surveillance, and many people around them dare not approach them as if they were hiding from the plague.

After her father's death, Empress Wu issued an order to restore her title, and she was also crowned a princess, but her situation did not improve much, and she was immediately taken away by Zuo Youxian. To be honest, although she is a princess. But life is far worse than Mei Zhenyi's "little grandfather". Li Jingye rebelled in the name of Li Xian. also falsely passed on the edict in the name of Princess Yuzhen, she thought that she had no physiology. was already like ashes, but unexpectedly, he was desperate and was rescued by Mei Zhenyi, who he didn't know.

Salvation is secondary, and what is even more rare is that in the Mei family, she feels the warmth that she has not seen for a long time, and she is cared for and cared for from the heart. It's all because of Mei Zhenyi, a handsome young man, who always has a very friendly smile, which makes people feel good involuntarily. In the past few days, I often met Mei Zhenyi in the study, he is not very old to talk and insightful, and his attitude is also gentle and polite. ——A noble man in times of trouble, a confidant in the dust!

Is there really such a thing as love at first sight in the world? Yes, often things happen for a reason, for example, when Yuzhen saw Mei Zhenyi, she was in a deep mood. It's a pity that she can't say it, with her identity, many things are involuntary, she really hopes to be the best man in the future, and it feels like two words here - happiness.

However, Mei Zhenyi has no other thoughts about Princess Yuzhen, let alone the love between men and women, "sending" to rescue her is just a misunderstanding, as for treating her well, on the one hand, because the other party is a princess after all, on the other hand, it is also pity for her life experience. In addition to being held hostage by Zuo Youxian and sympathizing with each other, there is also an unspeakable reason.

Ming Chongyan, the demon of the Left Dao, was designed and killed by Mei Zhenyi back then, and it was also Mei Zhenyi's idea to throw the corpse outside Luoyang City. Pei Yan and others figured out the thoughts of Empress Wu, and they used this as an excuse to frame the crown prince Li Xian, and even the emperor Li Zhi at that time was blinded. Although these are not Mei Zhenyi's fault, when he saw Princess Yuzhen, he always felt a little guilty and sympathetic.

On the day when Princess Yuzhen's foot injury happened, Li Jingye's rebels came to the city of Wuzhou.

As Mei Xiaolang and Mei Yi expected, after Li Jingye raised his troops, he sent a partial division to take Wuzhou, with a total of 6,000 infantry and 500 light cavalry, led by Li Jingye's general Wang Naxiang.

More than 6,000 people? It doesn't sound like much, but let's not forget that this is a regular field army. The local garrison in the entire territory of Wuzhou had less than 2,000 men, and it was too late to practice for a long time. In Wang Naxiang's heart, he didn't take Wuzhou seriously at all, the area south of the Yangtze River has indeed been sparse for a long time, since Li Jingye raised his army, even a big town like Runzhou (now Zhenjiang) was easily captured, and it was natural to take Wuzhou.

Wang Naxiang thought he was picking a soft egg. It turned out to be kicked to an iron plate!

The news of the arrival of the rebels had already been reported to Wuzhou Mansion, and Mei Yi ordered the defenders to bravely enter the city, lie down behind the pheasants, and prepare for the battle. Wang Naxiang led the army to the city of Wuzhou, only to see that the city gate was closed, the city wall was empty, and only a big flag fluttered in the wind. There is a column of small characters on the belt "Protecting the South Lu Gong of the Country", and there is a big "Mei" character in the middle of the flag.

Mei Yi showed the banner of Mei Xiaolang, which not only showed the attitude of the Mei family, but also strengthened the morale and military might. This is somewhat rude in peacetime, but it is also a means on the battlefield of counterinsurgency.

There is a general in armor under the banner, standing majestically by the sword, there is no one on the left and right, but the city is full of murderous intent. When you see him, you will have an illusion, as if this one person can block thousands of soldiers and horses under the city.

Wang Naxiang and his men were astonished when they saw the banner of the city, and their hearts were suspicious. The army did not approach immediately. Forming a formation a hundred paces away, Wang Naxiang stepped forward and shouted at the city: "Who is in the city? I am Admiral Kuang Fu's British Minister, and Wang Naxiang, the chief of Yulin. Feng Zhao stationed in Wuzhou, and he didn't open the city to welcome Wang Shi!"

The man in the city shouted: "I should shoot at the right servant under the command of Nanlu Gong, the guerrilla general Mei Yi, the whole army is here, and the rebellious ministers and thieves such as Zhu'er are here!"

As soon as the words fell, he didn't say much, let alone wait for Wang Naxiang to say more nonsense, Mei Yi took out a command flag and waved it in the air. There was a dense sound of bangs on the city walls, followed by a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. There was no other person on the wall from the city, and the three thousand crossbowmen were divided into thirty teams, and the good strings were all lying behind the pheasants. Mei Yi ordered in the flag language, and 1,500 crossbow arrows were fired out at the same time, and the landing points were concentrated in the densest place of the enemy's forward formation.

In a crossbow formation in a large army, the crossbowmen do not aim at a specific target, but are grouped and fired in a uniform direction and angle. Covers the designated area with the drop point. Dense lethality is formed. This is a "fool's" attack, a bit like a modern heavy artillery unit. When the gunner fires the gun, he cannot see the target, but only adjusts the elevation angle and direction to shoot according to the coordinates and wind data provided by the commander.

Mei Yi gave Wang Naxiang a slap in the face, because the forward position of the military formation under the city was a hundred paces away, and the one that left the range of ordinary archers and shot back in the crossbow array in the city, and the farthest killing range could reach two hundred steps.

Can't blame Wang for being too stupid, but he didn't expect that the thousand crossbow salvo could only be encountered when the army was fighting, and the county towns that the march passed along the way were all in the wind, and there was no decent resistance, but he encountered this one under the city of Wuzhou. And Mei Yi is very desperate, he doesn't listen to what he says in the city at all, and he kills the killer without nonsense when he meets.

The 1,500 arrows fired from the crossbow rained down on the rebels' forward line, and the rebels lost more than 200 people on the spot. Wang Naxiang was also hit by two arrows, and was blocked by the thick cuirass and was not injured, but the horse under the crotch was shot over, and he was wearing heavy armor and fell to the ground with difficulty moving, so he still raised his shield and rescued him back into the formation.

The three thousand crossbowmen in the city were in small groups of two, and after a round of salvo fire, the shooter handed the empty crossbow to his companion behind him, took another crossbow with good arrows, and fired in groups again according to the captain's order, and the arrows were still concentrated within the range and in the densest place of the enemy's formation. The captain of the command ground leaned close behind the pheasant and observed the enemy through the hole in the female wall.

The rebels rang out with a gong, the cavalry turned their horses back, the infantry raised their shields to cover the retreat, and after three rounds of arrows on the city, the rebels had retreated beyond the range of the crossbows and re-arrayed, leaving hundreds of corpses of men and horses with arrows in front of the battle.

Mei Yi saw clearly in the city, and couldn't help but feel a little sorry in his heart, when the rebels retreated just now, the formation was very chaotic, if he was given 800 well-trained iron cavalry to open the city and kill, he was sure to break the enemy formation in one fell swoop. It's a pity that almost all the tens of thousands of defenders in the city are scattered guerrillas who have temporarily assembled and practiced, and it is unlikely that the battle will be opened.

Wang Naxiang was frightened for a while, and almost had the idea of escaping, looking at the crossbow array in the city, it was by no means like a rabble. When the ten thousand arrows were fired, not even a single head appeared in the city, and after the sneak attack was successful, no cheers were heard, which shows that the command was strict and commanding. Thinking of the banner of Nanlu Gong in the city, is it really that Nanlu Gongshi has led a large army to Jiangnan? If so, these people and horses are not enough to stuff their teeth!

When he retreated and re-arrayed, he was relieved to find that there were no soldiers and horses in the city to take advantage of the situation, and it seemed that there was no army of Nanlu Gong in the city. Just now, the man in the city claimed to be the general of the Nanlu Gong, and it should be the general of the Mei family who temporarily drilled the troops to resist in the city. The heavy crossbow from the armory was removed. He recalled the crossbow array just now, although it was powerful, but when the arrows were fired, the front and back were not completely neat, and the arrows were scattered, not like a skillful army.

Thinking of this, Wang Naxiang was shocked and calm, and seeing that it was getting late, he ordered to camp outside the west gate of Wuzhou. Divide the troops to guard the four gates, and the rangers go back and forth to patrol the city. ordered people to cut down trees overnight to build shield cars, and the offensive and defensive battle of Wuzhou City began.

The shield cart is a cart with a high shield erected in front to resist arrows, and a crossbowman wearing heavy armor shoots from the back in the cart to cover the attack. The infantry followed behind, and when they rushed to the bottom of the city, they set up ladders and could raise their shields to rush up the walls and occupy a bridgehead.

The next day. When the rebel ground shield car rushed to the city with arrows, and just erected the ladder, only to hear the sound of brushing the ground, the entire Wuzhou city was suddenly overgrown with sharp "thorns", like a huge hedgehog. Countless warriors armed with bamboo spears more than four feet long appeared in the city. Every group of three guards the mouth of the pheasant battlement.

Their equipment is very peculiar, wearing helmets and only hanging the front half of the upper body breastplate, and the cooperation with each other is also very special, with three stabs in the upper, middle and lower ways. Three long poles are crossed and twisted, and only one action can pick off the opponent with a shield. This is not a conventional tactic, but it is very effective in this particular situation.

The shield soldiers besieging the city were obviously at a disadvantage, the opponent's bamboo spears were long and light, and they could directly stab the city, they couldn't reach the opponent at all, and they were unable to dodge with heavy shields when they rushed up. The shield was supposed to prevent the crossbow arrows from firing, but at this time, the crossbowman did not pay attention to the siege shield soldiers, and still fired a volley behind the shield cart to form a suppression. Cut off the follow-up troops that are pouring in from afar.

The siege failed on this day, and the next Seven Heavenly Kings stepped up their offensive, but they still couldn't attack the city wall of Wuzhou, he didn't know how many defenders there were in Wuzhou City, and how many bamboo guns there were, giving people the feeling that it was almost endless. Wang Naxiang also realized that he had underestimated the city too much at the beginning, and wanted to ask Li Jingye to send reinforcements, but at this time, Li Xiaoyi's army in the imperial court had already arrived in Gaoyou. Engage the main rebel forces. Li Jingye couldn't draw reinforcements.

Wang Naxiang was in a dilemma, and he could only stop the offensive for the time being. Let the army rest for two days, no longer use the ladder, and step up the construction of shield carts and trestle bridges. The siege trestle is a large machine, a bit like the gangway of modern airplanes to get on and off passengers, set up on a shield cart and pushed directly to the city, the bridge head reaches the city wall, and even the cavalry can directly rush up.

The city wall of Wuzhou is three feet and six feet, not too high, Wang Naxiang is ready to advance the train array, build a trestle bridge straight up the city wall, and use cavalry to charge, if this is not possible, then Wuzhou City really cannot be captured.

Mei Yi saw that the rebels' offensive was slowing down a little, and when he looked far away from the high ground in the city, he saw that the enemy camp was constantly cutting down giant trees and transporting them back, so he knew what they wanted to do, and he couldn't help but be a little worried. He ordered the collection of fire oil and flammable materials from all over the city to be transported to the city walls, ready to counterattack with fire, and at the same time several large bed crossbows in the armory were also carried up the walls.

The bed crossbow is also a siege machine, mounted on a bed frame, wound by several people with a winch, and a special arrow like a spear, with a maximum range of 1,000 paces, and its power can shoot through a wall. But this kind of thing is very troublesome to launch once, the accuracy is not very accurate, the arrows are limited, it has little effect on the charge of the soldiers, and it will block the road to and from the city when it is placed on the city, so it has been useless for the past few days, and now in order to stop the advance of the trestle, it has also been moved out.

Mei Yi knew in his heart that whether Wuzhou City could be defended or not, in this last battle, both the offensive and defensive sides inside and outside the city were exhausted, and the imperial army was approaching Jiangnan, and Wang Naxiang would definitely fight to the death to take Wuzhou. Mei Yi also knew in his heart that once the rebels rushed to the city wall, the soldiers and civilians in the city would definitely suffer heavy casualties! But until now, he was alone in Wuzhou, and he had not received any news of reinforcements nearby.

The only thing that comforted Mei Yi was that the soldiers in the city were in high spirits. Many of them had never fought before, and they were inevitably scared when they first saw the rebels. However, after several days of fighting, the enemy was successfully repelled from the city, and everyone's excitement was high, and the fighting spirit became stronger and stronger. The Wuzhou government has issued a notice that all those who have participated in the war will be rewarded, and if they are unfortunately killed or injured, the government will also give generous compensation and take care of their families.

The decisive battle between the offensive and defensive sides of Wuzhou City is imminent, and Mei Zhenyi, who is far away in Qiyunguan, also encountered problems. Princess Yuzhen's daughter's body, kneeling in front of her and tearfully asking for one thing, knowing the danger, but it was difficult for him to refuse.

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