At midnight, at the head of Xipingmen City in Luzhou, a small crescent moon hung diagonally in the sky.
Zhao Tong was wearing armor, his eyes were deep, and he was looking at the distance below the city with his hands behind his hands.
It was quiet and dark in the distance, with not much light and no sound. Even the wind and insects seemed to be asleep, and the water in the moat seemed to have stopped flowing.
At this time, Lianaza came up from the city, followed by a group of soldiers.
The soldiers were dressed similarly to the defenders at the top of the city. The difference was that their arms were tied with white linen broadbands. Even in the dark, the white color was vaguely discernible.
Zhao Tong did not look back, his eyes were still staring into the distance.
The defenders at the top of the city turned around and looked around when they heard the sound. They were all shocked when they saw many people coming up.
Although the security in the West City is slightly worse than that in the North City, one more general is being added every day and night. At this moment, the general who was originally resting in the city tower heard the sound and came out.
He looked at Liyanaza and the soldiers behind her, and said blankly: "General Shangguan, this is..."
Liyanaza said calmly: "His Majesty's secret order is to increase the number of military orders in the West City tonight."
The general blurted out: "Why didn't I know?"
Liyana said: "I said it was a secret order. I have the king's handwriting here."
The general was confused and looked at the soldiers behind her and said, "Where do these people come from? What does the white cloth on their arms mean?"
Liyana said: "General Wu can refer to the king's handwriting for the specific details of what the king ordered."
The general said: "Please bring it to me, General Shangguan."
Liyanaza took out a piece of paper, folded it, and handed it over.
The general took it and was about to open it when he looked at the sky and shook his head: "It's too dark here. I'll go to the tower to watch."
Liyanaza nodded and said: "The king has a few more words to say, let's talk about them together."
A few breaths later, Liyanaza walked out of the tower, came to Zhao Tong, and whispered: "It's solved."
Zhao Tong nodded imperceptibly and said softly: "Here he is..."
After hearing this, Lianaza looked into the distance, and with all her eyesight, she could see that far away, there seemed to be a large shadow moving slowly towards this side.
She said: "I know."
After speaking, he turned around, walked in front of the soldiers with white linen on their arms, and gave the order: "Your Majesty has ordered that Xiping Gate change its defenses. All soldiers should be replaced and go to the palace to guard."
The soldiers behind the city battlements and those who were patrolling back and forth couldn't help but be stunned when they heard this. They secretly thought about what kind of defense they were using in the middle of the night.
Liyanaza said coldly: "The king ordered to change the defense. I don't know the reason. General Wu has already seen Wang Yu in the city tower. The commander-in-chief sent by the king is waiting at the bottom of the city. Please obey the order quickly. Act.”
Most of the soldiers guarding the city were a little hesitant, and only a few shouted "obey" with slight hesitation.
At this time, the soldiers with their arms wrapped in white linen quickly stepped forward, almost holding one by one, sandwiching the defenders.
Some soldiers who reacted quickly felt that something was wrong. Just when they wanted to shout, their mouths were covered, and then a knife was inserted into their chests.
In just a moment, all the soldiers on the Xipingmen Urn City were eliminated and replaced by Mingjiao believers with white cloth wrapped around their arms.
However, after all, there were more soldiers on the city, so it was inevitable that some noise would spread. In the distance, someone on the Shuiximen Urn City shouted, "What's going on?"
Lianaza responded: "It's okay, someone is seriously ill and needs to be carried down to the city."
There was no more movement over there. Lianaza walked to the city wall, looked into the distance, and said, "How long will it take?"
Zhao Tong said: "After a few dozen breaths, ordinary soldiers will notice the anomaly ahead. The Song Army should launch a charge. Just act according to the situation. How is Yao Meng prepared down there?"
Liyana said: "The soldiers in the city gate and the wall of the urn city have been dealt with, and there are no mistakes."
Zhao Tong nodded, said "Okay" and said no more.
A moment later, suddenly over there on the waterside urn city, someone shouted: "Be alert, be alert, something is wrong ahead."
The distance between Xipingmen and Shuiximen is not close. If you shout during the day, you may not be able to hear it here. But at this moment, the night is deep and everything is silent. Even the slightest sound will be amplified loudly.
Zhao Tong squinted his eyes and saw that the Song army in the distance no longer moved cautiously. The cavalry in front began to accelerate and headed straight for the moat in front of Xiping Gate.
There is a moat around Luzhou City. Not all cities have moats. Generally, only cities with abundant water sources around them will dig moats. Otherwise, there will be no running water. If you dig a moat, it will be in vain. You can't draw water and it will only be filled by rainwater. It didn't take long before he did it again.
The cavalry of the Song Army were rushing forward desperately. There was more than one gate in the West City. Even if Xiping Gate had an internal response, Shuixi Gate did not. If the defenders of Shuixi Gate found out, they would not pretend not to see it.
At this time, there was a lot of noise above Shuixi Gate. Although the guards on the city could not really see the specific scene below the city, the rumbling sound of horse hooves could not be faked. It was just that for a while it was not possible to tell whether they were coming towards Shuixi Gate or Xiping Gate. .
However, there is a moat below the city, and the defenders of Shuiximen are not that scared. The front of the moat is already within the range of bows and arrows. The leader of Shuiximen directed the soldiers to start shooting arrows under the city. Rounds of arrows rained down, and the whistling sound continued, but The sky was too dark, and it was not known whether Song Jun was hit.
Just when Shuiximen was in a hurry, the suspension bridge of the Xipingmen moat was lowered with a roar, and then a rude voice was heard from the other side of Shuiximen: "I, Yao Pingzhong, be careful, don't hurt me!"
The soldiers at Shuiximen were puzzled. They didn't even know Yao Pingzhong, but someone who reacted quickly heard something wrong in the voice over there and immediately shouted: "Xipingmen seems to have a suspension bridge!"
As soon as these words came out, there was a moment of silence above Shuiximen City, and then there was a roar like a boiling pot. The general on Shuiximen City was also stunned. He walked a few steps quickly and leaned on the wall to look under the Xiping Gate.
Although there is only a pale crescent moon in the sky, and the real thing cannot be seen, the large shadows moving under the Xiping Gate in the distance can be seen. The general of Shuixi Gate couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. After crossing the moat, he began to move into the city. Did you get in?
There were also two generals on Shuiximen City. One of them said in a panic: "No, is this Xipingmen rebellion?"
Another general said: "It seems that all the suspension bridge gates have been opened, and the Song army has entered the city!"
"Hurry up and send someone to deliver a message to the Prime Minister and Manager Qiu. I hope it's not too late!"
"All the soldiers on the city listened to the order and went down to the city to block all the entrances to the Wengcheng. We can't let the Song soldiers come to seize the west gate of the water!"
The general of Shuiximen is not stupid. It is absolutely impossible for the tens of thousands of Song troops to enter the city through one gate. Shuiximen is the closest to Xipingmen, and they will definitely come to fight for it next.
But even if they thought about it, it was of no use. After the Song army entered Xiping Gate, they followed the outer city wall and went straight to Shuixi Gate.
At this time, the military camps stationed in the city did not react at all. There were soldiers patrolling the streets in Luzhou City. Suddenly, they saw a large group of cavalry running wildly. They had no idea what was going on. Before they could ask, they were stabbed to death with swords and spears. .
It only took a quarter of an hour for the Shuixi Gate to be breached. A large number of Song troops from outside the city entered along the Shuixi Gate. The entire west city of Luzhou was declared lost. Then the Song army was divided into three groups, one to attack the military camp in the city and the other to seize the north. City Gate, the other branch went towards Wang Qing's palace.
Zhao Tong was still on the Xipingmen Urn City at this moment. Huang Gu had already rushed over and lowered his head and said, "The prince is frightened."
Zhao Tong glanced at him and said, "Where is the Zong Supervisor Army?"
Huang Gu said: "The Zongjian army is divided into three groups. He entered the city through Shuixi Gate and should be heading towards Wang Qing's palace at this moment."
Zhao Tong said: "If we can capture and kill Wang Qing, the bandits in the city will be defeated without a fight, but this will not be easy."
Huang Gu asked doubtfully: "How can Wang Qing escape under the huge army?"
Zhao Tong said: "Don't forget Li Zhu. Although his personal martial arts can't change the situation of the war, it may not be impossible to save Wang Qing. Wang Qing still has five states outside. Once he escapes from Luzhou, I'm afraid It’s going to take a lot of effort again.”
Huang Gu said: "What the prince means is..."
Zhao Tong said: "Since Zongze is going to the palace, he naturally wants to help. These people behind me are all disciples of the Ming Cult. You and Yao Pingzhong should protect you and don't be misunderstood and killed."
Yao Pingzhong said from the side: "Your Majesty, if it is convenient, I will send these people to Tiefo Temple in a while. There is no need for them to contribute anymore."
Zhao Tong nodded and said, "That's fine. The palace is not far from Tiefo Temple. Just send it over there to General Shangguan."
Liyanaza had already gone to the Iron Buddha Temple first. Although Zhao Tong didn't know what her intention was, he didn't stop her.
After leading the people down to the top of the city, there were already loud shouts of killing in front of them, and fires were everywhere. It became easy to see in the originally dark city.
Zhao Tong couldn't help but frowned when he saw the fire. Huang Gu said from the side: "Many of the fires were set by the rebel army. Before setting off, the Zong Supervisor repeatedly said that they were not allowed to enter people's houses and harass them. Those who disobeyed the order would be beheaded."
Zhao Tong was silent for a few moments and then said, "Did you see with your own eyes that the rebels set the fire?"
Huang Gujue realized that Zhao Tong's tone was unkind, so he said bravely: "I did see several places where the bandits threw torches randomly, setting trees on fire, and... there were also common people's houses."
Zhao Tong sneered, said nothing, urged the yellow horse, and galloped towards Wang Qing's Palace in the north of the city.
In front of Wang Qing's palace, a fighting had just ended. Broken guns and broken blades were all over the ground, corpses were everywhere, and blood was gurgling like a stream.
The Song army had surrounded the entire palace and was about to rush in when Zhao Tong arrived.
Zongze hurriedly dismounted, cupped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, my subordinates are wearing armor and are unable to perform the ceremony properly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Zhao Tong had already returned to his true self and said with a smile: "What crime? What did the Zong Supervisor Army say? The first achievement was to capture the Luzhou City Zong Supervisor Army."
Zongze shook his head and said: "Of course my subordinates are guilty. The prince went deep into the wolf's den, but his subordinates were free outside the city. Isn't it a big crime? What's more, what's the credit for taking down Luzhou City? It's not all about the prince's ingenuity, so that he can cooperate inside and outside. If you achieve great success in one fell swoop, how can your subordinates dare to take the credit for themselves?"
Zhao Tong said: "Okay, okay, let's just talk about the officialdom of the Zong Supervisor Army. What we need to do now is to capture Wang Qing."
Zongze's face turned red and he said, "I will send someone to the palace to get it now."
After that, he immediately gave the order, and the Song army rushed into the palace one after another after receiving the order.
Zhao Tong glanced at it for a few times, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Has Li Zhu sent anyone?"
Zongze said: "General Lu led a group of troops to go."
Zhao Tong frowned and said, "How many people did he take with him?"
Zongze said: "I originally wanted to bring five hundred people, but I heard from the prince that this man was very skilled in martial arts, so I gave him a thousand people."
Zhao Tong thought about it and felt that something was wrong. Although Li Zhu could not kill a thousand people, there was no problem if he wanted to kill just one person among the thousand people, even if that person was Lu Junyi.
Moreover, if Li Zhu wants to escape, it is not impossible. After all, he is a master. He can climb over walls and ridges, and he still has the skills to go up and down. How can ordinary soldiers catch up.
Zhao Tong said: "The Zong Supervisor Army is here to watch. We must capture Wang Qing, regardless of life or death. I will go to General Lu to have a look."
Zongze heard this and said hurriedly: "Li Zhu is very skilled in martial arts, please be careful, Your Highness!"
Zhao Tong narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "It doesn't matter."
After saying that, he called Huang Gu, and Yao Pingzhong led a group of Ming disciples to the Iron Buddha Temple.
Li Zhu's residence was not too far away from Wang Qing's palace. Although Zhao Tao had never been inside, he inspected it every day and often rode by on horseback, so he looked familiar.
When Zhao Tong arrived in front of Li Zhu's mansion, he saw that soldiers had surrounded the place, but Lu Junyi was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't help but look at a deputy general and said, "Where is General Lu?"
The deputy general said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, General Lu has brought a hundred people into the mansion to capture Li Zhu."
"A hundred people?" Zhao Tong took a breath of cold air when he heard this. Li Zhu would definitely not be able to defeat a thousand people, but a hundred people...
His face instantly darkened: "Why did you bring so few people?"
The deputy general said: "General Lu asked me to wait for the siege of the mansion. He said that Li Zhu was very skilled in martial arts and would inevitably escape over the wall. He said that there were too few people to stop him."
Zhao Tong said: "It's just nonsense!"
He turned to look at Huang Gu: "Where is my gun?"
Huang Gu was stunned for a moment: "Your Majesty, isn't your Black Sun-killing Spear always carried by Yao Pingzhong?"
Zhao Tong's mouth twitched when he heard this. He had indeed forgotten about this and did not get the gun back from Yao Pingzhong. At this moment, Lu Junyi was so bold that he led a hundred people to capture Li Zhu. It was too late to send people to Yao Pingzhong to get the gun.
Zhao Tong took off the iron gun with some cracks on the tip from the yellow horse, looked at Huang Gu and said: "Lu Junyi is no match for Li Zhu. Bringing a hundred people in is looking for death!"
Huang Gu was shocked when he saw Zhao Tong holding the gun. He knew Zhao Tong's martial arts to some extent, and he was probably not a master. When he saw Zhao Tong's movements, he immediately dissuaded him: "No, Your Majesty!"
Zhao Tong sat on the yellow horse, closed his eyes slightly and opened them again, saying: "I am going to save people, not to compete in a duel. Where does all this nonsense come from!"
Huang Gu's face was ugly. When he saw Zhao Tong riding the yellow horse and heading into the mansion, he hurriedly shouted to the deputy general behind him: "Call five hundred people and let's go into the mansion together to protect the prince!"
(End of chapter)
