Chapter 263: Using smoke to defeat the enemy

Style: Historical Author: Yu ShiliuWords: 3287Update Time: 24/01/11 14:02:53
Thirteen miles southeast of Xiayi City is Zhujiazhuang. The two-foot-wide river flows through the north of the village, nourishing the pear forest with a radius of more than ten miles.

A wooden bridge leads from the Liyuan to the village. Zhujiazhuang is a small village with more than 200 households. Except for the children of more than 40 families, most of the others are tenant farmers who depend on the Zhu family.

Zhu Mingshi, the owner of Zhujiazhuang, is nearly thirty years old and is of the same generation as Zhu Lingshi and Zhu Chaoshi. His grandfather and Zhu Lingshi's grandfather are brothers and they separated here sixty years ago.

The Zhu family's residence covers an area of ​​nearly ten acres, and the family's prosperity continues to expand to the side. The doctor's pear tree is on the southeast side of the house, and a courtyard has been set up to accommodate it.

The crown of this Dafu pear tree covers an area of ​​seven to eight feet, and its body is two feet thick. It is protected by a wooden fence below.

The villagers regard the tree as a god. Zhu Mingshi, the owner of the village, leads his tribe and villagers to worship in front of the tree at all times, praying for good health and a good harvest.

At this time, under the Dafu pear tree, Zhu Mingshi pointed to the pear tree and said to Yang Anxuan: "Yang Hou, our ancestors were attracted by this Dafu pear tree back then, thinking it could provide shade for the family, so they settled here. Although this tree is too old, Six hundred years later, it can still produce more than 2,000 catties of pears every year."

As he spoke, Zhu Mingshi reached out and picked a few from the low branches and handed them to Yang Anxuan and Hu Fan.

Yang Anxuan took a bite, it was crispy and sweet, and praised: "It's sweet and crispy, it can be called the king of pear trees."

Zhu Mingshi sighed with emotion: "When the Wei people invaded, this pear king tree was afraid that it would be stained with fishy smell. If Yang Hou had not intended to use this tree to attack the Wei army, Zhu would rather cut down the pear tree than let Suo Nu enjoy it."

Two days ago, Yang Anxuan came to Zhujiazhuang, revealed his identity to Zhu Mingshi, and asked him to help set up an ambush to attack the Wei army.

Zhu Mingshi graciously agreed and asked Yang Anxuan to take the accompanying 200 soldiers to live in the village. He also said that he would launch the central song of the village and the young and strong men to cooperate with him to kill the enemy.

Yang Anxuan was moved and felt heavy in his heart. With the war, this paradise-like Zhujiazhuang would probably be reduced to ashes, and countless people would have their families destroyed.

However, Ci is not in charge of troops. If the villagers were told to evade and leave in advance, the Wei army would definitely notice something unusual and would only alert the enemy. Long-term pain is not as good as short-term pain, so Yang Anxuan can only harden his heart.

Accompanied by Zhu Mingshi, Yang Anxuan carefully inspected the environment around Zhujiazhuang. It was also a flat land with no place to hide troops.

Zhujiazhuang is surrounded by pear trees, and a little further away are wheat fields. The wheat fields have been harvested, and farmers piled wheat straw in the pear forest to feed the cattle and sheep that roamed in the forest.

Looking at the golden wheat straw, Yang Anxuan made a plan in his mind. It is said that water and fire are ruthless. In fact, not many people were burned to death in the fire, but they were easily killed by smoke. With so many straws, there was a smoke battle. …

Five miles south of Xiayi City, the Wei army is stationed.

Changsun Fei was enjoying breakfast when Dai Mang returned from patrolling the camp. He stroked his chest and reported, "Mr. Lu Xiang, half of the soldiers in the army have diarrhea."

"What?" Changsun Fei stood up in shock and asked, "Can you find out the reason?"

"The doctor who accompanied the army said that the soldiers ate too much pears. Yesterday, they also ate pigs and goats as a reward, so they had diarrhea. We have sent people to the city to buy herbs. After drinking two doses, they will be fine."

Changsun Fei sat back in his chair angrily and amusedly, and said, "You guys are really careless. Here is the order: no more than two pears will be distributed per person in the army per day."

At the end of the morning, Hua Lian and He Qian came to the camp and asked eldest son Fei to go to Zhujiazhuang to pick pears.

Changsun Fei ordered Dai Mang to lead 500 light cavalry as the advance guard, and he took 600 infantry and drove to Zhujiazhuang in a mighty manner.

The army passed through the pear forest path. The sheep, chickens and ducks feeding in the forest were frightened and ran around. A few farmers in the distance looked timidly behind the trees.

He Qiancheng apologized in fear and said: "Mr. Lu, the people here are ignorant and do not know the power of the army. If you want to forgive me, I will send people to drive them away."

Changsun Fei laughed and said: "It doesn't matter, I have already issued an order that sons and daughters are not allowed to harass the place. My emperor aspires to unify the world, and these people will also be the subjects of the Wei Dynasty in the future."

Hua Lian greeted him at the side and said, "Master Wang has done nothing wrong wherever he went. Duke Lu Xiang even ordered half of the taxes in Suiyang County to be reduced or exempted. The gentry and the common people are all grateful."

The more preferential treatment the Wei army gives to the people, the greater their plans will be. After all, the south of the Yellow River was once controlled by the Hu people, and it has not yet returned to the Jin state.

By the 20th year, the people's hearts were not yet stable. Changsun Fei treated the people well and appeased the place in order to make the people happy and agree with him.

He Qian felt cold in his heart, and said with a smile: "Gong Luxiang is kind and kind, and I hope he can also comfort the people in Xiayi."

Changsun Fei said: "If Xiayi Suli can please my emperor, don't even think about reducing the tax by half. Even for three years, it is just a decree of our emperor."

"I will definitely not disappoint Mr. Lu Xiang." He Qian responded with a humble smile, while Hua Lian's eyes flashed with envy.

Before the wooden bridge, Zhu Mingshi accompanied Dai Mang and brought the whole village to greet him.

Half an hour ago, Zhujiazhuang was surrounded by Wei troops. Dai Mang led his army to search without any politeness. Except for the terrified people, nothing unusual was found.

Seeing the black flag of the Wei army fluttering in the wind, Zhu Mingshi's eyes flashed with anger, and he hurriedly bowed and lowered his head, saluting the Wei general on the horse.

Changsun Fei jumped off his horse, stepped forward to hold Zhu Mingshi in his arms, and said with a smile: "Master Zhu, I'm here to trouble you, so don't be surprised. Come and give me a gift."

Zhu Mingshi said he didn't dare, so he asked Changsun Fei to get on the horse and took the reins with his own hands to lead him to the village.

Changsun Fei looked at Dai Mang, and Dai Mang nodded slightly, arranged for the accompanying soldiers to guard all parts of the village, and brought a hundred personal guards to follow Changsun Fei for protection.

After coming to the house and sitting for a while, Changsun Fei proposed to go and see Doctor Li.

Zhu Mingshi led him to the pear garden. Changsun Fei admired the pear tree when he saw the pear trees hanging on the branches.

One of the guards picked a few pears from the tree, cut them with a silver knife and presented them. Changsun Fei took a piece and tasted it, and praised: "This pear is better than the pears eaten in Xiayi. I should take this pear as an offering to my emperor."

Zhu Mingshi said: "Mr. Lu Xiang, I will ask you to pick pears, put them in a basket, and offer them to the emperor."

After lunch, twenty-four baskets of pears were loaded onto three oxcarts. Zhu Mingshi picked another 40 baskets of pears. The ten oxcarts were driven by the villagers and set off back to Xiayi.

Changsun Fei was very satisfied with Zhu Mingshi's respect. After Zhu Mingshi was sent across the bridge, he reined in his horse and raised his whip and said with a smile, "Master Zhu Zhuang, I appreciate it. After the pear tribute is given to my emperor, my emperor will definitely give me a reward."

Zhu Mingshi bowed to the ground and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Lu Xiang."

Changsun Fei laughed loudly, whipped his horse and whip, and led more than a thousand Wei troops in a long queue towards Xiayi City.

Zhu Mingshi waited until Wei Jun's figure disappeared into the pear forest, then hurriedly turned around to cross the bridge and ordered: "Hurry and tear down the wooden bridge."

The tribesmen around him didn't know what was going on and looked at the family leader blankly.

The wooden bridge was made of more than ten thick straight logs laid side by side. Meng Long Fuwen, who was protecting Zhu Mingshi, stepped forward, leaned down and grabbed the bridge deck and shook it vigorously. The bridge body was shaken until the sand and stones rustled.

Zhu Mingshi shouted loudly: "The imperial army ambushed the Wei army in the pear forest. Yu has cooperated with the imperial army and stopped Suonu here."

At this time, the soldiers around Meng Longfu stepped forward to help, cutting open the iron nails that fixed the bridge body, and pushing the wooden pillars into the water one by one.

Zhu Mingshi shouted: "The Wei people invaded our territory for no reason and demanded property by force. We cannot be slaves and we must fight to the death with them."

Meng Longfu raised his arms and shouted: "Guangwei General Yang Anxuan led his army to lurk in the pear forest to destroy the Hu thieves and regain the lost territory. As a Jin man, I should serve my country with my life."

The Zhu family members brought swords and guns, and Yang Anxuan left Meng Longfu and 80 soldiers in the village to help guard Zhu Mingshi.

At this time, thick smoke billowed from the distance and spread in the direction of the wind. In a moment, the entire pear forest was shrouded in black smoke.

Yang Anxuan pulled out the steel knife from the wheat straw and watched the soldiers throw the burning torches into the wheat straw piles. The straws were filled with sulfur, reeds, fire salt and other tinders, and added with grassroots, croton, etc. Arsenic and other substances were burned when a torch was lit, and the flames stood up, followed by thick smoke.

The fire broke out from the wheat straw, ignited the grass under the trees, and burned the branches of the pear trees. The smoke became more and more intense.

The wind was blowing to the southeast, which was exactly the direction of Zhujiazhuang. Yang Anxuan and others were prepared in advance and wrapped the soaked cloth around their mouths and noses. They heard the sound of people shouting and horses neighing from inside and outside.

When the smoke started to rise, Dai Mang reined in his horse, but he thought it was a farmer who had accidentally started the fire, so he sent someone to check it out.

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The reconnaissance horse galloped for half a mile, and his sight was blocked by thick smoke. The pear forest was so dense that the horses could not find the road and could only flee randomly.

After finally spinning around, he immediately returned and came to Dai Mang. When Dai Mang saw several scouts bleeding from their noses and mouths, he exclaimed: "The smoke is poisonous, return to Zhujiazhuang quickly."

The billowing black smoke spread quickly and quickly caught up with the Wei army. The Wei army coughed violently, and many people fell to the ground. .

"Return to Zhujiazhuang along the way. Where is He Qian?" Changsun Fei shouted loudly.

He looked for He Qian again, but there was no trace. Changsun Fei knew that he had been tricked, so he galloped towards Zhujiazhuang. When he came to the wooden bridge, he saw that the wooden bridge was gone, and the river was surging, cutting off Zhujiazhuang.

Most of the Wei troops who were fleeing due to the smoke gathered near the wooden bridge. The original wooden bridge that was about a foot wide disappeared, leaving only a ditch as deep as one and a half feet.

Changsun Fei looked at Erlang who were crowding beside the river, his eyes were burning with anxiety. Seeing the thick smoke getting closer and closer, he couldn't delay any longer.

Jumping off his horse, Changsun Fei shouted: "Wade across the river and massacre Zhujiazhuang."

Those Wei soldiers who were choked by the smoke and coughed continuously jumped into the ditch one after another, wading unsteadily towards the other side.

Meng Longfu and others wrapped their mouths and noses with wet wipes and took spears to guard the other side. When they saw the Wei army emerging, they stabbed them with their spears, causing screams one after another.

Under the protection of his personal guards, Changsun Fei also went down to the river. He took a few deep breaths and said, "Spread out, there aren't many people on the other side."

I could only hear the surging sound of the water upstream, and Changsun Fei yelled, "Hurry up and hold on to the debris on the shore."

As soon as he finished speaking, the rapids surged down, threatening the Wei army in the river.

Under the protection of his personal guards, Zhang Sunfei clung to the small tree beside him, feeling the torrent rushing past him, and it was almost difficult to hold it with his hands.

Downstream, Yang Anxuan had already ordered people to put down spiked fences in the ditch. The Wei army, who was threatened by the water, was directly pierced by the spikes, and the blood dyed the river red.

The ditch, which was more than two miles long, was covered with more than 20 spikes, leaving more than 200 corpses of Wei soldiers.

Those Wei soldiers who were lucky enough to survive walked towards the river in a daze. They saw that Hu Fan had already taken sixty soldiers to wait for work. He slashed at them with his sword, and the river turned red again.

Yang Anxuan and sixty soldiers were guarding outside the forest. When they saw the Wei army fleeing from the forest, they stepped forward to kill them, and soon killed more than a hundred people.

Seeing that no one was escaping in the forest, Yang Anxuan ordered the Wei army to peel off their leather armor and replace it with them, and led these people towards Xiayi City.