In the autumn and September of the first year of Jian'an, Jingzhou, Nanjun, Xiangyang.
Although the world of the Han family has turned into a mess, the Central Plains is full of wars and bones. However, Xiangyang, the seat of Liu Biao and Liu Jingsheng, was a rare paradise on earth in this era. A large number of gentry and common people came from Sili Qijun, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and from Nanyang County, "the best county in the world" near Xiangyang, to cause trouble. , this county town, located between the Han River and the Xianshan Mountains and surrounded by mountains and rivers, is packed to the brim. Even outside Xiangyang City, at the foot of Xian Mountain, there are now contiguous manors. Dozens of scholars who came to seek refuge and were former high-ranking officials of 2,000 kilograms live in it, giving this area a "Guangeli". "Another name for.
As for the markets in Xiangyang City, they are even more bustling to the extreme. This is to squeeze part of the prosperity of Luoyang and Nanyang into the small Xiangyang City. You can imagine how concentrated the prosperity of Xiangyang is.
Nowadays, in Xiangyang’s market, shops are lined up in rows, and pedestrians are crowded with each other. From time to time, you can see a few young talents wearing turbans and cranes. They are all disciples of Xuetang, the “first higher education institution in the Three Kingdoms” founded by Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao. !
However, during this period of time, a war cloud drifting from Xiliang also appeared in this paradise land that was content with the troubled times!
Zhang Ji, the leader of the Xiliang army who was originally stationed in Hongnong County, is now leading his group of murderous Xiliang soldiers to storm Rangxian County, one hundred and fifty miles north of Xiangyang. The battle has already begun. A month has passed, and military reports from the front line have been delivered back to Xiangyang City by the Jingzhou Army's fast horses like running water. Whenever the horseshoe bells rang, the people in the Xiangyang market would dodge and cast worried glances at the knights on horseback - Liu Jingsheng, who was guarding the peace of Jingxiang, had already dropped heavy troops on the front line of Rangcheng. Even Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia, led the Huang family's crossbowmen from Jiangxia County to reinforce Rangcheng!
Even Huang Zu, who was guarding Jiangxia, was dispatched. This shows that Liu Jingzhou has used all his elites. If he cannot win again... Jingxiang Paradise, I am afraid that it will follow the footsteps of the Seven Counties of Sili!
Beside the street, a group of disciples from the Academy were holding their hands in their wide sleeves, holding their heads high, looking worriedly at a group of knights passing by. One of the young men with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks also poked a handsome schoolmate next to him and whispered: "Ah Liang, today's ride is faster than yesterday's. It seems that the front line is tight! What do you think?"
The young man who was called "A Liang" had a calm look and said with a smile: "Xiliang thieves do many unjust things, and Liu Jingzhou is the master of benevolence and righteousness. Everyone in Jingzhou will definitely help Liu Yi." Refuse Zhang. And Huang Taiwei, the previous head of the Huang family in Jiangxia, was killed by Jue, Fan, Ji and other thieves. If Huang Gongyuan wanted to secure his position as the head of the Huang family, how could he not fight hard to defeat the Ji thieves? Besides, the court was not Sent Zhou Weiwei to Xiangyang? Atong, guess why this Zhou Weiwei came?"
The young man known as "A Tong" held his chin and thought for a while: "I heard that Cao Mengde has led his troops to Luo, and he has also recorded affairs with the three ministers in the court. And General Cao and Liu Jingzhou are allies... ..The princes in the court must hate Zhang Ji deeply! Whether it was to vent the anger of the princes in the court or to establish an alliance with Liu Jingzhou, General Cao had to stab Zhang Ji! Ah Liang, am I right?"
"A Liang" glanced at his classmate and friend, and said with a smile: "Whether it's right or not, you'll find out once you go to Zhennan General's Mansion!"
"A Tong" smiled and said: "A Liang, you are Liu Zhennan's junior, you should know how to get in and out of General Zhennan's mansion?"
"A Liang" chuckled: "Come with me!"
The two young scholars then smiled at each other and went to Liu Biao's Zhennan General's Mansion one after another.
The students who could enter Liu Biao's yamen were certainly extraordinary students. The young man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks was from the Pang family of the seven major families of "Cai Kuai Pang, Huang Ma Xiang Xi" in Jingzhou, and his name was "Tong", who would become the famous Feng in the future. Chu Pangtong. And that handsome boy is Fulong Zhuge Liang, who "was a commoner and worked hard in Nanyang"! They are not yet old enough to be crowned or given names, so they can only call each other "A Liang" and "A Tong".
Although Zhuge Liang was a commoner who "farmed Nanyang", his uncle Zhuge Xuan was Liu Biao's confidant. One of his two sisters was married to Pang Tong's brother, Pang Shanmin, the young master of the Pang family, and the other was married to the Kuai family. The young master Kuai Qi is engaged to the daughter of Huang Chengyan (Liu Biao's brother-in-law), a famous scholar of the Huang family in Jiangxia... A young nobleman from Xuzhou Langya Kingdom who lives in Jingzhou can marry one of the seven top noblemen in Jingzhou. The marriage of the three families was unthinkable without the support of Liu Biao, the leader of Jingzhou.
Therefore, it is basically true that Pang Tong called "Zhuge Buyi" Liu Zhennan's junior, and Zhuge Liang's entry and exit from Liu Biao's official residence was almost the same as returning to his own "thatched cottage".
When the young Zhuge Liang led the young Pang Tongyi into the Zhennan General's mansion, Liu Biao was holding a banquet in the mansion to welcome the "Archangel" Zhou Zhong and Zhou Weiwei who had just arrived yesterday.
Jingzhou Mu, Zhennan General Liu Biao was a tall man, eight feet tall, equivalent to 1.84 meters in later generations! He has a gentle and majestic appearance, and he is a sturdy man with an elegant and easy-going appearance. He is in his fifties this year. Although he is a bit older, he is still full of energy and high-spirited. You can tell at a glance that he is very proud of his life!
During this period, although he was being attacked by Zhang Ji, the leader of the Xiliang army, and people inside and outside Xiangyang City were a little panicked, Liu Biao himself showed himself to be confident. At this moment, in front of a group of celebrities who came to the general's mansion to accompany him, he patted his chest and assured Zhou Zhong that when Zhang Ji was defeated, he would definitely pay tribute to the emperor of Luoyang!
Seeing the troubled look on Zhou Zhong's face, he asked with a smile: "Jiamou, are the Tian family worried that the Ji thieves will go north to threaten Luoyang after they become big in Nanyang County?"
But Zhou Zhong shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Jing Sheng, to be honest, this Tianjia... is not worried about helping the thieves get to Nanyang, but... the Tianjia Guess Zhang Ji's death is coming! Will he die in Rang County or be shot by the Jingzhou Army?"
"What?" Liu Biao was startled, "The Tian family really thought that Zhang Ji was shot dead by our army?"
Zhou Zhong nodded and sighed: "The Tian family said that he dreamed of Emperor Gao, the son of the Red Emperor. Emperor Gao passed on his heavenly book, so the emperor learned the art of divination by observing the sky and predicting the future. Zhang Ji's death, It was calculated by the Heavenly Family."
"Can this... be calculated?" Liu Biao frowned, secretly frightened. Because he knew that Zhang Ji might be killed in the near future!
Huang Zu, under Liu Biao, was a master at killing enemy generals with crossbows. He had previously set up an ambush in Xian Mountain outside Xiangyang City and killed Sun Jian.
And this time Liu Biao and Huang Zu planned to repeat their old plan, setting up an ambush with powerful crossbows to kill Zhang Ji who liked to advance unexpectedly... But at the moment, only Liu Biao, Liu Qi, Cai Hao, Kuai Yue and Huang were involved in this matter. Zu, Wenpin and others knew that the emperor had arrived, so how could he calculate it? Is there really an ancestor who passed down the heavenly book in a dream?
But don't let this matter reach Zhang Ji's ears, otherwise he may be on guard. Thinking of this, Liu Biao frowned again and said, "How can the things in the dream be taken seriously?"
Zhou Zhong echoed: "Isn't it true? How can things in dreams be taken seriously? But the emperor just took it seriously... Not only does he now believe that Zhang Ji's death is imminent, he also believes that Yuan Jiujiu will arrogantly proclaim himself emperor next year! "
"What? Yuan Jiujiu proclaimed himself emperor? How is this possible?"
"That's right, the fourth and third princes of Yuan Gongdao have been favored by the emperors of the Han family for many generations, how could they do such a thing?"
"Impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible..."
Before Liu Biao said anything, a group of celebrities who came to accompany him began to defend Yuan Shu. It's not that these people are close to Yuan Shu, but that Yuan Shu proclaiming himself emperor is simply impossible in their view.
Although there have been many rebels who claim to be emperor over the years, they are all low-level thieves. Who is Yuan Shu? The fourth generation and the third prince came from a top-notch family and had been favored by the Han Dynasty for many generations. How could he do such a thing? Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, and Guo Fan have not yet proclaimed themselves emperors. How could the Yuan family be worse than them?
Seeing that everyone's attention was attracted by Yuan Shu's "prophecy" of becoming emperor, Liu Biao finally breathed a sigh of relief. But I still felt that it was necessary to urge Huang Zu and send Zhang Ji "on his way" as soon as possible!
At this time, outside the hall of General Liu Biao's mansion, two young scholars watching the excitement were whispering.
"A Liang, what do you think about the emperor's calculation that Zhang Ji died and Yuan Gongli proclaimed himself emperor?"
"Hmm, it's interesting... It may not be impossible! If it can be fulfilled, it will be even more interesting!"
"This...can it really be calculated?"
"Why not? Zhang Ji's army has no food and raises troops. He can only win but not lose. If he loses, he will perish! Besides, Sun Wentai has learned from the past. And Yuan Gongdao has been arrogant for more than a day or two. Who among Xiangyang scholars doesn't know this? Such arrogant people What’s so impossible about overstepping his bounds and proclaiming himself emperor? The emperor may still have a way to provoke him!"
...
Nanyang County, outside Rangxian County.
The harsh golden sound echoed in the dusk, announcing the failure of another round of Xiliang Army's attack.
Tall mounds of earth have been built outside the city of Rangxian County. Even though the war is still going on, the common people captured by the Xiliang army from the countryside are still struggling to transport bags of straw bags filled with soil. mound. On the mound, the Xiliang archers who climbed up continued to shoot arrows into Rangxian City. But the arrow firepower of the defenders was even stronger. Under the mound, there were corpses of civilians and Xiliang soldiers everywhere!
However, compared with the corpses scattered under the walls of Rangcheng and in the trenches outside the city, the losses on the mound were nothing.
Rangcheng's defense greatly exceeded the expectations of Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu's uncle and nephew.
They seemed to have forgotten that Liu Biao was the ruthless man who killed Sun Jian and defeated Yuan Shu! I also forgot that Nanyang once produced the most powerful crossbow machine in the world! We have even forgotten how much hatred they have against the most powerful Jiangxia Huang family in Jingzhou! They also forgot that Rangcheng was close to the turbulent water, and the light warships of the Jingzhou navy could take the waterway to the bottom of Rangcheng, so the Xiliang army could not stop them at all.
Therefore, although Zhang Jijun came with great force and ravaged the surrounding areas of Rangcheng, he was still unable to conquer it for a long time and was already in trouble!
Now Zhang Ji is running out of food, it is difficult to break the city, and there is no way to retreat - there is no food even if we return to Hongnong! Moreover, Zhang Ji's original territory in Hongnong has been controlled by Duan Yan and Zhang Baiqi, and Zhang Ji has become homeless!
And capturing Rang County and grabbing Liu Biao's military rations seems to be Zhang Ji's only way to survive! If you can't defeat it, then...
"Uncle, uncle..."
Zhang Ji, who was working anxiously under a mound, suddenly heard the voice of his eldest nephew Zhang Xiu. He hurriedly turned around and asked, "Gongshu, did you get food this time?"
Zhang Xiu, who was about the same age as Zhang Ji, both in his thirties, was riding a Xiliang horse. Under the protection of several tall and burly soldiers, he had arrived behind Zhang Xiu. Hearing Zhang Ji's question, he did not answer directly. , but waved to himself and Zhang Ji's soldiers, asking them to move away, and then took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to his uncle Zhang Ji.
"This is..." Zhang Ji was stunned when he saw the piece of paper. Paper was not popular in this era. Under normal circumstances, people were still used to writing on bamboo slips and wooden slips. There is only one situation where a letter is written on paper, and that is a secret letter that needs to be destroyed after reading.
Zhang Ji took the piece of paper and unfolded it. The handwriting on it was quite vigorous and powerful. At a glance, he knew it was the handwriting of Zhong Yao and Zhong Yuanchang, a great calligrapher.
Zhong Yao had been in power for many years, and had served as Cao Cao's representative to the Xiliang generals, so he was very familiar with Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu's uncle and nephew, and the two sides even maintained communication channels through several horse traders.
"What? The emperor dreamed of Emperor Gao, what kind of heavenly book did he get, and based on the method in the heavenly book, he calculated that my death was about to happen?" Zhang Ji was already angry before he read Zhong Yao's letter, "What does this little emperor mean?" ? Are you cursing me to die early?"
"Uncle," Zhang Xiu said, "Although divination in dreams should not be taken lightly, it is always good to be more careful. Our soldiers have been fighting fiercely in Rangcheng for many days, and we have lost our troops and generals, but the city cannot be taken out and the food is exhausted. And Liu Jingzhou Reinforcements are also constantly being sent by waterways... It would be better to retreat temporarily and camp in Champagne, and negotiate peace with Jingzhou in order to obtain food."
"Then I'm no longer a beggar?" Zhang Ji glared at his nephew and said, "If I retreat to Champion County and Liu Jingzhou doesn't negotiate peace with me, what will I do? I am a general, how can I withdraw because of the emperor's dream? ? Besides, Zhong Yuanchang doesn’t have much friendship with me. What does it have to do with him if I’m in great trouble? Why bother sending an envoy to tell me? There must be fraud in this, and you can’t be credulous! Gongshu, you are too honest. In troubled times, You will suffer a loss!"
Hearing what Zhang Ji said, Zhang Xiu and "Zhang Laoshi" also felt that it made sense. He nodded and said: "Uncle is still wise."
As soon as he finished his flattery, Zhang's soldiers around him suddenly shouted: "General, look, there's a fire in Rangcheng!"
Zhang Ji turned around and saw that there was a fire somewhere in Rangcheng City. The fire was quite fast. After a while, thick smoke billowed and the flames reached the sky!
"This is..." Zhang Ji thought for a moment and understood what was happening, "It must be the Jingzhou soldiers in Rangcheng who are setting fire to the grain... The Jingzhou soldiers are trying to run away! Haha. , I knew that the Jingzhou soldiers were at the end of their strength and could not hold on any longer!"
Because Rangcheng is close to the Tuanhe River, has waterways available, and is on the second line of the western defense line of Nanyang County, it has always been a place for Liu Biao's army to collect grain. The purpose of Zhang Ji's fierce attack on Rang County was also to seize the grain reserves of Liu Biao's army.
Now that there was such a huge fire in the city, it goes without saying that the Jingzhou soldiers must have burned their food and left. As if to prove Zhang Ji's prediction, soon another flying cavalry came to report that on the pier outside the north gate of Rangcheng, a large number of soldiers and civilians were crowding to board the ship and leave!
That's right, Rangcheng is about to be captured!
Zhang Ji didn't hesitate at this time. Now was the time to win, so he immediately gave the order, "Send my order to the general, beat the drums and advance the troops! The first to climb the city will be rewarded with a million coins and be granted the title of Sima!"
When they found out that the Jingzhou army was about to run away, saw a fire in the city, and learned about the huge reward of "one million yuan and the army's commander", the Xiliang soldiers who had had enough of the cowardice under the city of Rangcheng were immediately boosted in morale and started to roll like thunder. Amidst the sound of drums, it surged towards the head of Rangxian County like a tide.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Ji also got a little carried away. Regardless of the "divine calculation of the emperor" mentioned in Zhong Yao's letter, under the protection of his own soldiers, he rode forward with his own general's flag, and soon approached Rangcheng. Near the trench that has been filled in in the south of the city.
But before his soldiers could lift up the big shield to protect him, more than a hundred powerful crossbows suddenly appeared from behind the crenellations of the opposite city wall, all aimed at Zhang Ji. Just hearing a soft "tense" sound, more than a hundred crossbow arrows came out of the bowstring and shot at Zhang Ji at extremely fast speeds!
Zhang Ji didn't even have time to react before he was shot into a hedgehog! Although most of the sharp arrows were blocked by Zhang Ji's black iron armor, there was still a fatal arrow that hit Zhang Ji squarely in the face!
Zhang Ji, who had been "judged" by the emperor to die, just screamed with regret, fell off his horse, and died with an "unexpected" expression on his face!
Zhang Xiu, who was following him, had a look of fear on his face.
