Chapter 17: Trying every possible means to recruit deserters and unite to fight against foreign enemies
Last time, we mentioned that Xiangyang City had lost its backbone because the entire city's soldiers and civilians believed that Guo Jing had been unjustly killed, causing the army to become disorganized. When Xiangyang's defenders approached the city, internal strife broke out. Not only were the southern and northern armies at odds with each other, but Lu Wenhuan's trusted general Wang Min was beaten with a military stick when he defended Guo Jing. In anger, the rebels surrendered to the enemy, opened the city gates, and led to the attack. The Mongol army entered the city. The Mongolian army occupied Xiangyang City, and Lu Wenhuan had to flee.
The news that the Mongolian army occupied Xiangyang City quickly spread to the village. When Guo Jing heard about it, he fell down and beat his chest, feeling very depressed. Anxious to organize the troops in the village and recapture Xiangyang. Only after being persuaded by Huang Rong, Yelu Qi and others to stop him could he give up.
Let's talk about Huang Rong discussing with the heroes:
"Today, relying on the children of the Beggar Gang and the soldiers from the cottage to counterattack Xiangyang City is like a sheep entering the tiger's mouth. If the Mongolian army knows that there is a resistance force here, they will definitely attack the cottage. It is difficult for the cottage to protect itself, let alone attack the Mongolian army. , to recapture Xiangyang. For the current plan, we can only succeed in one fell swoop by gathering together the martial arts heroes, recruiting Xiangyang deserters, and waiting for the opportunity."
Everyone said good things in unison.
That night, Huang Rong felt uncomfortable when she thought about the fall of Xiangyang City that her husband and wife had worked so hard to defend in one day. She thought about how her family worked so hard to defend Xiangyang, but in the end her husband was imprisoned and her father was angry. She felt as if she had knocked over a five-flavor bottle. Thinking that when I said goodbye to Master Yideng, I was so angry that I made a move to drive a wedge between the north and south defenders of Xiangyang City, which led to discord among the defenders of Xiangyang City, the morale of the troops was disorganized, and the city fell. I blamed myself endlessly. She was also worried that her husband, who served the country and the people and did not recognize any of his relatives, would blame her if he found out that she had stirred up trouble before the city fell, and she felt even more confused and uneasy. One night, I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.
Suddenly, she heard someone jumping up onto the roof softly, seeming to be sneaking towards the Juyi Hall. She turned around and looked at Guo Jing, who was snoring like thunder. Without disturbing her, he stood up alone and jumped up to the roof. I saw a night traveler more than ten feet away in front of me, quickly crossing the Juyi Hall and running down the mountain stronghold. The figure and the martial arts skills looked very familiar.
Huang Rong thought to herself: Okay, I want to see which elf is playing tricks. Without saying a word, he quickly followed up. Several of the night walkers in front jumped into the forest. Huang Rong was brave and cautious. After hesitating for a while, she jumped up and followed. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the forest, there was no trace of the person running in front.
Huang Rong concentrated on alert and looked around. In the midst of fear, she saw a silver bell-like laughter behind her, saying:
"Mom, are you so happy to come out to admire the moon in the middle of the night?"
Huang Rong couldn't help crying or laughing, and cursed angrily:
"Why are you appreciating the moon? If I don't let you torment me to death, everything will be fine. I knew it was you, a ghost and elf again, who is as mysterious as a nocturnal god, and what tricks are you trying to play?"
Guo Xiang whispered:
"Xiangyang City fell, and the defenders either left or surrendered. Among the defenders of Xiangyang City, there were quite a few like-minded soldiers in Xiang'er. I want to visit them and see those loyal and brave men who are usually heroic and courageous. When the city of Xiangyang is destroyed, should we also rebel and surrender?"
Huang Rong sighed and said:
"The city fell, and the commander-in-chief found it difficult to deal with himself. The other generals had no choice but to take charge of their own affairs. It's hard to force yourself to change your ways. Being able to survive by chance may be a blessing in misfortune."
Guo Xiang said anxiously:
"That's because they are leaderless. As long as they know that my father is still alive, Xiang'er will think that they will all risk their lives to surrender."
Huang Rong advised:
"This place is only a few hundred miles away from Xiangyang City. How can we not expose our traces while going back and forth? If you, Miss Guo Er, who is famous all over the world, make such a fuss, the Mongolian soldiers will definitely know about it. By then, the village will become It’s in danger.”
When Guo Xiang heard this, he was very frightened and apologized:
"Xian'er was reckless and didn't think carefully. He just wanted to invite a group of loyal people to conspire to regain Xiangyang."
Huang Rong nodded appreciatively and said with a smile:
"Judging from the current situation, Qingfeng Village has regarded your father as the leader of the village. Now your father's injury has not fully recovered, and the village is leaderless. Some of the defenders of Xiangyang City must have surrendered to Mongolia as a last resort. It's just that people are separated from each other. You can’t fully understand their thoughts, and by that time, it will endanger you. It may not be a good idea to harm the copycat!"
As soon as Huang Rong finished speaking, a rough voice laughed:
"I'm afraid they won't come! Since Xiang'er has this intention, why not let her go?"
Guo Xiang clapped her hands and smiled:
"Daddy agrees for me to go to Xiangyang!"
Huang Rong secretly felt ashamed because she only talked to Guo Xiang and was not prepared for Guo Jing who had already heard the news and came over. Not only was he afraid that his old injury would relapse, but he was also afraid that he would have a bad temper and wanted to sneak into Xiangyang City.
Huang Rong advised:
"Brother Jing, your injury is not healed yet, so you shouldn't move around. You'd better go back to recuperate!"
Guo Jing patted his chest hard. smiled and said:
"I followed the healing method in the "Nine Yin Manual" and the injury has been more than half healed. I remember that when my master was injured by an old poison and lost all his martial arts, I used this method to heal the injury and fully recovered in less than a year. I am now A little injury is nothing!"
Huang Rong said anxiously:
"None of you take my words to heart. One of you is arguing that you don't need to heal your wounds, and the other is arguing that you have to go to Xiangyang. It's useless for me to stay here. I might as well go back to Peach Blossom Island and accompany your master."
Guo Jing was stunned and didn't know how to answer. Guo Xiang whispered:
"Everyone of us here can't do without you. I started to want to discuss with you and go to Xiangyang City with you. But then I thought that my father couldn't do without your care, so I planned to go there by myself at night. Tomorrow Came back in the morning."
Guo Jing just nodded, regardless of whether nodding in the dark was of any use. Hearing what Guo Xiang said was true, he also interjected:
"Rong'er, ask Xiang'er to accompany you to Xiangyang, and I'll go back to the village alone to practice my martial arts and heal my injuries."
Before he finished speaking, he heard the sound of horse hooves. Guo Polu rode the fire dragon pony out of the stronghold. He rushed in front of him in an instant, rolled his saddle and dismounted, saying:
"Mom and sister, don't worry, go to Xiangyang City to investigate. I will take care of dad."
Huang Rong smiled bitterly and said:
"In order to regain Xiangyang, the Guo family became night owls."
It turned out that Guo Polu was also following his father. Hearing their conversation, he immediately went to bring the BMW to his mother and sister. While the four of them were discussing, Yeluqi, Guo Fu, Wu Xiuwen, Wu Dunru and others also quietly came over.
Guo Xiang took the reins from her younger brother and jumped onto the horse. Huang Rong followed and sat behind. Mother and daughter didn't answer. Huang Rong clamped her legs lightly, and the fire dragon colt flew away.
Huang Rong and her daughter arrived at Xiangyang City in less than two hours. The guards in Xiangyang City are no longer what they used to be. They are heavily guarded, with one post every three steps and one sentry every five steps. No matter how good the guards were, there was nothing they could do about Huang Rong and her daughter. They went around to the west gate again, and during the break between shifts, the mother and daughter jumped in from the parapet in a familiar way.
Huang Rong and her daughter did not dare to be careless, so they found a set of peasant women's clothes and put them on, pretending to be a refugee mother and daughter, begging and snooping around. The mother and daughter wanted to go back to Guo Mansion to find out what was going on, but they were afraid of exposing their whereabouts, so they had to give up. I searched several military camps where troops were stationed in the past, and all I saw were strange faces wearing Mongolian uniforms, and I didn't dare to pry for information easily.
At around noon, when the mother and daughter arrived at the north gate, they saw a few familiar soldiers in a secluded place next to the military camp. These were surrendered by the Xiangyang garrison to the Mongolian army, and the Mongols allowed them to temporarily station here.
Huang Rong saw that the soldiers guarding the camp here were depressed and weak, and their interrogation was lax. He gently pulled Guo Xiang's hand and pouted toward the military camp. Guo Xiang understood, and the mother and daughter started the Qinggong of "Happy Wandering", and instantly flew into the military camp from under the eyes of the soldiers guarding the camp. The soldiers guarding the camp gate only felt that their vision was dazzled. How could they have expected that there would be martial arts masters rushing into the military camp?
The mother and daughter arrived at the military camp, but no one noticed. The military camp was deserted, with swords, guns, swords, halberds and other weapons piled messily on the ground. The soldiers were in groups of three or five, with their armors unevenly sitting together. Some were sitting on the ground, holding spears and burying their heads in their knees. Big sleep. Huang Rong sighed and was about to go forward to inquire about the commander of the military camp. However, a chaotic sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and after a while, the team of people came to the gate of the military camp. A gruff voice shouted:
"Hurry and report to General Fan. General Zhang will arrive soon. Please be sure to line up at the camp gate to greet him."
This loud shout was like a thunderclap, and all the soldiers in the battalion suddenly lost their sleep. They all stood up, hurriedly arranged their armor, weapons, weapons and weapons, and put the weapons scattered on the ground back into the weapon racks. Then, a soldier guarding the camp gate ran in with a long gun, lifted the curtain and walked into a large camp in the middle. After a while, a drum sounded, and all the soldiers in the battalion unsheathed their swords, strung their bows, and lined up in two rows majestically. Fan Wenbin and the generals of the battalion were seen filing out. Facing the scorching sun, they stood neatly and quietly at the entrance of the camp. Although they were sweating profusely, they did not complain at all, and they did not dare to express their anger. After about half a stick of incense, a group of people came slowly from a distance. The leading general has a silver helmet and silver armor, a face like a full moon, eyes like shooting stars, and a majestic aura, but he is a young general who is mature and commanding with determination. Huang Rong couldn't help but secretly marvel, thinking that this young general was even better than Guo Polu in terms of magnanimity and talents.
Fan Wenbin led the generals to bow and salute, and sang loudly:
"Welcome General Zhang!"
The young general glanced at the generals and waved his whip in return. He said to Fan Wenbin arrogantly:
"General Fan, my father has asked me to inspect the situation in your camp. You should lead the way!"
The young general did not dismount, but urged his horse to break into the military camp. Fan Wenbin had no choice but to drag his fat body and trot all the way to the front of the young general, and humbly led the horse for him. The young general turned around, and when he saw that the army's appearance was slightly adjusted, but found nothing wrong, he turned the horse's head, whipped up the whip, made several "crack" sounds, and said loudly:
"Your troops are in good order, which is very much to my liking. I ask General Fan not to relax at all in the near future, and to train his troops day and night. Your troops will soon be incorporated into the vanguard of the Mongolian army, and will be used as the main force to attack Suizhou City."
When the soldiers heard this, they were shocked, but they did not show any dissatisfaction. They all agreed calmly. The young general comforted everyone a few more words, then whipped up his horse and rode away. Fan Wenbin led everyone to escort Zuo to the gate of the camp. It was not until he walked away and disappeared to the end of the road that they all returned to the camp dejectedly.
Huang Rong was not very familiar with Fan Wenbin and other Northern Army generals. When she thought that obese people were afraid of death, she did not want to talk to him anymore. He was planning to take the opportunity to withdraw with Guo Xiang. However, Guo Xiang knew that several loyal generals were among them. While the camp was cooking pots and preparing for lunch, he accompanied Huang Rong to their tent.
These soldiers were all shocked when they saw a pair of fleeing mother goddesses breaking into the military camp without anyone noticing. When they saw clearly that it was Qiao Huang Rong and Mei Guo Xiang who were like magic soldiers descending from the sky, their eyes lit up. They couldn't help being surprised and happy, and they all begged Huang Rong and her daughter to save them from the sea of misery.
From here, Huang Rong and her daughter found out that the Xiangyang City defenders were leaderless and had surrendered countless enemies, while the rest fled in all directions. The Mongolian soldiers easily occupied Xiangyang City. Since Xiangyang City surrendered, the Mongolian soldiers did not massacre the city as usual. Zhang Rou led his army into the city to pacify the people in the city. The surrendered troops in Xiangyang City were adapted and entered various military camps of the Mongolian army. After Fan Wenbin's garrison surrendered to Mongolia, it was reorganized into the camp of Zhang Hongfan, Zhang Rou's son, and became part of the Pioneer Battalion. The young general who came to inspect just now is Zhang Hongfan, son of Zhang Rou.
Huang Rong instructed:
"Xiangyang City is an important town in the north. The Zhao and Song Dynasties will not sit back and watch Xiangyang City be occupied by the Mongolian army. They will definitely send troops to seize it soon. At that time, you can disguise yourself as refugees and escape south, where you will meet the Song Dynasty army. . If you are in a hurry and cannot find a chance to escape, you must endure it. When the Song army comes to attack Xiangyang City, you can contact some loyal and brave men to serve as internal agents, wait and act, and make meritorious deeds!"
All the soldiers thanked him.
Huang Rong said again:
"This can only be done with the utmost confidentiality. If the Mongolian army discovers it, they will be executed by Lingchi. You can quietly contact like-minded brothers in other battalions to act together, and you must not act recklessly."
All the soldiers said in unison:
"Having been with the Mongolian soldiers for a few days, I was frightened by their strict discipline. Being in Xiangyang City means death, and attacking Suizhou is also a dead end. It is better to escape and have more hope of survival."
Seeing that her goal was achieved, Huang Rong was unwilling to stay for a long time and led Guo Xiangfei to leave Xiangyang City.
Huang Rong returned to Qingfeng Village and ordered Yeluqi to tell the disciples of the Beggar Clan to spread the word and set up recruitment flags in the village. He also sent people to sneak into Xiangyang, Fangzhou and other cities that had been captured by the Mongolian soldiers, and spread the news. The imperial court immediately sent troops to recover Xiangyang. , Guo Jing did not die unjustly, but was rescued and was actively preparing to mobilize his troops to counterattack Xiangyang City.
Soon, tens of thousands of people gathered in Qingfeng Village. Guo Polu and a group of young generals such as Xiaowu and Xiaowu practiced diligently day and night. Fortunately, the mountain stronghold was relatively spacious and could accommodate tens of thousands of people marching and forming formations together. The three Zhang brothers also incorporated their former brothers into the army, and Qingfeng Village suddenly became prosperous.
Seeing the village in full swing, the three Zhang brothers secretly rejoiced: they were able to let Guo Jing and Huang Rong lead them, and Qingfeng Village was welcomed by the public, and this rare and prosperous situation emerged.
A few days later, news came that Zhang Rou sent his son Zhang Hongfan to lead an army to attack Suizhou; he also sent Mongolian general Wen Buhua and Chahan's army to march westward. Soon, the Mongolian soldiers captured Guangzhou, Qizhou, and Suizhou. We made rafts in the Zhijiang and Jianli areas and prepared to cross the river to the south.
The Mongolian troops were victorious and victorious. The Zhao and Song court had just received the battle report, and they began to be anxious, busy, and actively preparing for the war. News came from the Lin'an Beggar Clan that the imperial court appointed Meng Xian as the Jinghu envoy to lead the army to attack the Mongolian army. It also appointed Jia Sidao as the right prime minister and privy envoy to Hanyang to supervise the war. When Guo Jing, Huang Rong and others heard the news, they raised their hands and foreheads to congratulate each other.
It turns out that this Meng Xian, also known as Puyu, was originally from Jiangzhou and was a very talented general in military affairs. He was born into a family of generals, and four generations of his ancestors and grandchildren were heroes in the fight against the Jin Dynasty.
After Guo Jing heard that Meng Xian's army was about to arrive at the south bank of the Yangtze River, he was eager to go south alone to serve. Huang Rong and others repeatedly dissuaded him on the grounds that Guo Jing's body had not yet fully recovered.
One morning when he got up, Guo Jing finished practicing the healing martial arts contained in the "Nine Yin Manual". Thinking of the injustice he had suffered and the cruel suppression of the people in the Central Plains by the Mongolian soldiers, on a whim, he performed "Eighteen Subduing the Dragon" with each hand. The two moves of "Seeing the Dragon in the Field" and "The Dragon Regrets" in the "Palm", followed by the roar of the dragon and the roar of the tiger, sand and rocks flew on the flat ground, and a tree as thick as the mouth of a bowl rose up from the ground, caught by the strong wind, It shot straight into a stone wall of the village like a sharp arrow. Huang Rong heard the sound and hurriedly ran out to take a look. She saw that the trees stuck on the stone wall were shaking. She clapped her hands and said with a smile:
"Brother Jing, congratulations on your recovery from all internal injuries and your internal strength has improved to another level."
Guo Jing smiled and said:
"Rong'er, do you agree to charge me now?"
Huang Rong said seriously:
"You can go, but you must change your disguise, change your name, and you must bring our mother and daughter with you."
Guo Jing smiled and said:
"As long as you promise me to assist the Song army in fighting the Mongols, I can agree to any of your conditions."
Huang Rong knew that Guo Jing had made up his mind and could not stay, so he had no choice but to summon everyone from the Guo family to discuss it. Unexpectedly, this group of people was even more enthusiastic than Guo Jing, and they expressed their unwillingness to stay in the village and were willing to fight against the Mongolian army. After the discussion was settled, Guo Jing summoned everyone in Qingfeng Village and ordered:
"Now the Mongolian soldiers are rampant. As a citizen of the Song Dynasty, I should serve the people of the Song Dynasty. Those who are willing to go with me to meet Meng Xian's army and fight the Mongolian soldiers together should stand on the left. Those who are unwilling can stay in the stronghold. , you can also take some money back home, I won’t force you.”
After hearing this, everyone stood on the left side, willing to follow Guo Jing to fight against the Mongolian army.
After careful discussion, Guo Jing decided to order the three Zhang brothers to lead the original team to stay at the mountain stronghold. He and Huang Rong led the heroes of the Beggar Clan to meet Meng Xian's army and assist the Song army in fighting the Mongolian soldiers.
Exactly: a leopard joins a group of tigers to add wings to a tiger, and a dragon returns to the dragon's lair to stir up trouble. If you want to know the result, please listen to the breakdown next time.
