"General Sun, since we are all near Huzhou, why not fight against Huzhou with us!"
Zhang Zhi looked at Sun Lei and invited.
"Thank you General Zhang for your kindness, but I still have military orders!"
Sun Lei still refused. Although he disguised himself, it was best not to have too much contact with the officers and soldiers.
"Yes, then I'll leave first."
Zhang Zhi smiled, hugged his fists and led the people away.
"Brother, this is too simple. Doesn't this person even check the documents and seals?"
Fei Bao's face was full of disbelief when he saw that Sun Lei sent the officers and soldiers away with just a few words.
"How hard can it be? Who would have thought that someone would dare to pretend to be an officer? And there are corpses of thieves here. How can you not believe it?"
Sun Lei said with a smile.
"Let's continue going south, to Chongde!"
Sun Lei looked at the crowd and said, Han Shizhong and Wang Yuan should be the ones attacking Xiuzhou, so it's best not to go there to meet them.
Since they are pretending to be an official army, there is no need to cover up, the army marches directly on the official road.
Maybe it was because many Mingjiao believers were killed in the battle just now, and the people from the Mingjiao around them were all hiding.
The journey went smoothly and we arrived at Chongde. Chongde is located between Hangzhou and Xiuzhou. There is a canal connecting Hangzhou and Xiuzhou, passing through Chongde.
Chongde is a small city, with a wall no more than one foot long and only a thousand Mingjiao believers guarding it.
"The officers and soldiers are coming!"
When the Mingjiao believers on the city saw the official troops coming, they roared in terror. Soon there were hundreds of Mingjiao believers on the city wall, holding various weapons and preparing to defend the city.
"Get them!"
When Sun Lei saw this small town, he waved his hand and ordered.
Pang Wanchun immediately stepped forward with two hundred crossbowmen, arrows flying, and the Mingjiao believers on the city wall were immediately killed and injured.
"kill!"
Lu Zhishen and Wu Song led the army and rushed directly to the city wall. They climbed the ten-foot-high city wall with just one leap.
"I am coming too!"
Yue Fei wanted to go up as soon as he saw it.
"Don't go, what's the point of a bunch of rabble?"
Sun Lei shook his head.
The battle ended in just a moment, and the ragtag crowd was no match for the Liangshan army.
Entering Chongde City, it was already full of smoke and smoke, and the streets were dilapidated. If it weren't for some people, I would have thought it was an abandoned city.
"Plant our flag! This place has been recovered!"
Sun Lei pointed to the city wall and said that it would take more than a month for the army to reach here. During this period, they would be safe in Chongde.
"Erlang, where is Master Lu?"
Sun Lei looked at Wu Song who came back and asked.
"The people in the city are in trouble, and Master Lu is comforting them."
Wu Song sighed and said, thieves are like a comb, soldiers are like a grate. These people of the Ming Cult are more cruel than thieves and soldiers. They force people to join the religion, and those who don't follow are directly labeled as heretics. They use all kinds of methods. In the extreme, burning, killing, looting, etc. are all considered light.
"well!"
Sun Lei sighed and didn't say much. It wouldn't be surprising if these people from Mingjiao did anything evil.
When the Liangshan army arrived at Chongde, they immediately began to reinforce the city walls and prepare defense equipment. The Mingjiao would never abandon the Chongde and Xiuzhou lines. This was the acropolis of Hangzhou. Without these cities, Hangzhou would have to face the enemy directly.
Lu Zhishen came back after a long time. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Looking at the captured Mingjiao believers, murderous intent emanated from his body instantly.
"Stop staring at them, go and kill them! To calm the public's anger!"
Sun Lei didn't ask what kind of hell the city was like, and just waved his hand and said, he didn't have any extra food to feed these evil thieves of the Ming Cult.
Lu Zhishen looked at the Mingjiao believers and waved his hand to the soldiers to pull them away. He was really murderous. These evil thieves were raping, plundering and killing the people in the city. Their crimes were unforgivable.
With the Chongde matter settled and the army finally having a foothold, Sun Lei led a small group of people towards Xiuzhou without hesitation.
"The defenders of Xiuzhou were Duan Kai, and later Changzhou's Qian Zhenpeng, Jin Jie, and Xu Ding. Coupled with the dense waterways around Xiuzhou, it can be regarded as a self-protection force."
Sun Lei walked and looked at the information in his hand.
"Qian Zhenpeng?"
Wu Song became interested. The last time he came to Jiangnan with Sun Lei, Qian Zhenpeng had appeared. He was a figure.
"What a pity, he met Han Shizhong!"
Sun Lei shook his head. Qian Zhenpeng was somewhat capable, but when it came to Han Shizhong, he was a bit lacking.
"Brother, let's fight from the front!"
Ou Peng got up and ran back to report.
"Let's go and have a look!"
Sun Lei nodded.
Not long after walking forward, Sun Lei led his people to stop on a high slope. There happened to be woods hiding here. Under Xiuzhou City, the shouts of killing were loud, and the army was constantly attacking the city.
"This city in Jiangnan is really... alas!"
Everyone shook their heads when they looked at the city in Xiuzhou, which was more than one foot high. The city wall in the north must be at least two feet high. The city wall in front of them, which was only half as high as the north, was really awkward. It felt like a courtyard wall. Climb up and turn over. Just jump over.
Han Shizhong was in front of the formation at this time, commanding the army to attack the city. The imperial army's cooperation was far better than that of the Mingjiao. Although it was an siege, it suppressed the defenders.
"No, we can't break the city if we fight like this!"
Yue Fei looked at the battle formation in the distance and shook his head. Han Shizhong seemed to be fighting fiercely, but in fact the army still couldn't get up to the city wall. In this way, no matter how fierce the fighting was, it would still be a waste and the city could not be broken for a while.
"Then how do you think we should fight?"
Sun Lei looked at Yue Fei and asked.
"We should attack a small part of it. The city wall is so short that as long as we attack it fiercely, it can always be broken. Besieging it from all sides like this is a waste of energy. Those people in the Mingjiao are taking advantage of it while waiting for work."
Yue Fei said.
"If we attack one of them, the Mingjiao people will definitely escape before the city is broken. After the battles between Runzhou and Changzhou, the officers and soldiers knew very well that to deal with the Mingjiao people, they must kill them all. If they are allowed to escape, it will be a disaster later."
Sun Lei shook his head and said, the imperial court is now sending troops everywhere to besiege and kill the Mingjiao people. It is obvious that they want to weaken the power of the Mingjiao and fight like ants. At this time, the main purpose is to kill the enemy, not to attack the city.
"Withdraw!"
Ou Peng said, and the officers and soldiers under Xiuzhou City in the distance slowly withdrew.
"If we continue fighting like this, I'm afraid it will take more than half a month to break the city!"
Lin Chong said.
"Let's take a look and hide in the woods first!"
Sun Lei said, and the soldiers quickly set up some covert action tents in the woods. As long as no one enters the woods, they cannot be discovered.
"General Han, thank you for your hard work. We killed the thieves in today's battle! If we keep going like this, we will be able to destroy the city soon."
Wang Yuan looked at Han Shizhong with a smile and said.
"There's no progress, it's too slow!"
Han Shizhong was not very satisfied. In his opinion, such a small town should be captured in three to five days, and then besieged Suzhou, which was the key to this battle.
"We only have an army of 10,000, so we can't attack by force! This is not a bad idea, fight steadily!"
Wang Yuan said with a smile.
Han Shizhong did not respond. He was a little impatient. The situation in Yangzhou was unclear now, and their advance was too slow. They should end the battle quickly and return to Yangzhou to support them.
