A fire attack and ambush did not end until dusk.
Zhao Tong stood at the top of the city with a gloomy face. He was shaped like a gun. The light of the setting sun shone through, making his white robe red as blood.
The air was filled with the unpleasant smell of various burning things, as well as the smell of burnt corpses. Even if the black smoke dissipated at this moment, it still made people dizzy and nauseated.
There was no one alive in the large area under the city. Water and fire were merciless. There was no luck. Human ability and the sharpness of swords had never been able to compete with this force born from nature.
There was no compassion or any unnecessary expressions on Zhao Tong's face. Fighting was not a treat, and his compassion was clearly shown at this moment.
But his heart was still a little confused. After all, it was not a fight on the battlefield, but a victory won by trickery. The soldiers on the other side all died here without even using a sword or a gun.
He sighed softly. Among the tens of thousands of people who entered the city, only three survived, two escaped, and one was unconscious at his feet.
Fang La and Fang Baihua ran away, and it was General Lu who was unconscious. At first, the soldier wanted to make a last-ditch attack, but he suddenly remembered that Fang La had brought this person to the city without Fang Baihua. He didn't know who this important person was, so he ordered Leave him alive.
Just now, General Lu woke up once, opened his eyes and cursed loudly, calling him the King of Qin, the King of Birds. Zhao Tong saw that he was crazy and stepped on him, causing him to continue to coma.
The next thing is to clean the fire scene, search for the belongings of the dead bandits, and then bury the bodies. The bandits all have money on them, and Fang La also wants to pay his subordinates military pay and reward them with gold and silver. These bandits are fighting outside, so naturally they bring them with them. On the body.
It took a full night to finish the work. In the morning, Zhe Kecun and Du Bo returned from outside the city. Du Bo led the cavalry to harass and chase, while Zhe Kecun set up several ambushes on the only way to the south. It was a great victory, and tens of thousands of traitors were killed.
Zhao Tong directly rewarded the six armies, distributing all the collected money without leaving any behind. The army couldn't help but cheered and shouted that the two kings were thousands and thousands of years old. Even if they were tired all night, they were still in high spirits.
Zhao Tong returned to the magistrate's office to rest until noon. At this time, someone came to report that Tong Guan had led troops outside Hangzhou.
Zhao Tong sent someone to pass the order and ordered Tong Guan to march the army to the south and bring the generals of the Western Army to meet him.
It didn't take long before soldiers outside reported that Tong Guan had arrived. Zhao Tong nodded and called in.
After a while, I heard the sound of rapid footsteps. I just looked outside the door and saw a burly man wearing a golden helmet, golden armor, and a red cloak. His face was like brass, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a lion's nose and a wide mouth, and a few scattered steel whiskers. Be the first to walk in.
Zhao Tong saw that it was Tong Guan and couldn't help but squint his eyes. Tong Guan was also in his sixties and almost seventy, but he was full of energy, with bulging temples on both sides and few wrinkles on his face. Such age.
Especially those few beards, which are simply unparalleled. Although eunuchs have only a few beards, they are unique in history.
Zhao Tong might not be sure of Tong Guan's martial arts level before, but as his own skills continue to increase, he can now vaguely surmise that Tong Guan is a master!
How powerful must a master who has practiced Sun-turning Needle be? How weird and difficult to prevent the Grandmaster-level Sun-Transfer Needle?
Can you resist the six-way sky transformation? I'm afraid it will take a master-level six-way sky transformation to fight against it, right?
Zhao Tong is not yet a grandmaster at the moment, but he feels that it is not far away. It may only take one opportunity and one step to step into this threshold.
The so-called masters in the world of martial arts are less than the number of masters in two hands. It refers to the capable people in the world of martial arts who appear on the surface and remain hidden from the world. They are experts in the game market. There are still other masters in the court or the army.
Zhao Tong thought of Mi Zhenting at this time. Where is this old man who has lived for nearly a hundred years? Although it is said that young people are afraid of fists, but they are also afraid of sticks. As the old man said, this Mi Zhenting has been playing with sticks all his life...
At this time, Tong Guan had already walked into the door, followed by Liu Yanqing, the commander of the Han and Tibetan soldiers.
Behind them are Xin Xingzong and Yang Weizhong of the Xihe Army, Liu Zhen of the Jingyuan Army, Yang Keshi and Zhao Ming of the Huanqing Army, Huang Di of the Yanyan Army, Wang Huan and Ma Gongzhi of the Qin Feng Army, and Yi Jing of the Hedong Army. .
All of them were wearing armor, their robes were worn out, and their faces were covered with dust.
Everyone was greeted together, and Zhao Tong asked them to sit down, then served tea and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Tong Guan hurriedly stood up: "How can I work harder than the prince? I have received the report from the imperial court. The prince broke through ten with one in Jiangning, creating an unparalleled feat that shocked the past and the present. He returned to Hangzhou with only a few soldiers before, and now it is even more impressive." The defeat of Fang La is like the reincarnation of Marquis Wu, the reincarnation of the military god, all the ministers admire him and fall to the ground, how can I dare to claim my hard work!"
Zhao Tong waved his hands and smiled, then sighed and said: "Although I have made some military exploits in Jiangning, I also made some mistakes. The gentry who were forced to flee to Jiangning by Fang La's rebel army, as well as the local gentry in Jiangning, were all mixed into the city. Killed by thieves, it was really a huge mistake, and I cannot absolve myself of the blame!"
Everyone was speechless after hearing this. Although the news was not reported to the army with the residence, how could they not know about such a major event given their status?
But there is no way to say this. Except for Tong Guan, these people are all generals of the Western Army, but they are not the kind of lone generals with no foundation. They are either from their own family, or they are inextricably linked to the generals. relation.
Generals are a type of aristocratic family. Although they are different from the Jiangnan nobles, they are somewhat similar in nature, so they dare not talk about it, accept it, or start a conversation.
This is a big deal, and if you don't say it well, it may bring disaster to your family. None of these generals are stupid, knowing that they cannot get involved in this matter.
After a slight silence, Tong Guangqian laughed twice: "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. How can you blame Your Majesty for this matter? He was killed by Fang La's bandit army. If Your Majesty was not in Jiangning at that time, I am afraid that the whole city would have been massacred by the bandit army." Well, the prince fought against ten, defeated hundreds of thousands of thieves, killed countless enemies, and saved Jiangning. Where has this ever happened before? It is clearly merit upon merit!"
Zhao Tong thought for a while and said with a smile: "But it is also the same reason. What's more, I gave those who died a grand burial and found people to be saved and ascended to heaven. During this period, I spent countless hours and exhausted all my efforts. I don't expect Yan Yan to go up. All the gentlemen are grateful for this, as long as they don’t blame me, that’s all.”
Tong Guandao: "How can this be the case? You are not ignorant people, how can you have such a rebellious idea."
Zhao Tong picked up the tea bowl and took a sip. His face turned sad. He looked at the people below and said slowly: "What makes me sad the most is that my father-in-law also died in the hands of the bandits."
All the generals, including Tong Guan, were stunned and looked at Zhao Tong. Tong Guan knew about Zhao Tong's family affairs, and the only one he married was the wife of the Zhang family. How could he start talking about his father-in-law?
Zhao Tong said: "After I entered Jiangning, I made friends with the gentry in the palace. I often had banquets with everyone and discussed poetry and articles. During this period, I met Zhu Wuniang, the daughter of the great gentry Zhu Que in Shezhou. Wuniang was known as the most talented woman in Shezhou. She said that she fell in love with the king at first sight and felt happy. The king also liked her talent and embroidery, so he proposed marriage to Taigong Zhu. The Taigong agreed. They agreed that only after the war was over, they would return to Beijing together to report to the officials and marry Wu Niang. Unexpectedly, …”
Everyone's expression changed after hearing this. They didn't expect such a thing to happen. In this case, wouldn't King Qin also be a victim of this chaos?
Zhao Tong added: "Thankfully, Wu Niang was studying in the Xuan Mansion that night and escaped this disaster. But everyone else in the Zhu family in the city... alas, they were all massacred by the bandit army!"
Everyone was relieved after hearing this. It turned out that Zhu Xiuniang was not dead, which was a blessing in the misfortune, but the whole family was killed by the bandits. It was really too tragic.
If something like this hadn't happened, the Zhu family would have been the in-laws of the royal family and would have been even richer in the future. However, no one expected this kind of thing to happen. It is said that the sky has unpredictable events, and people have misfortunes and misfortunes. Everyone is fighting on the battlefield. Being used to the fragility of human life, they couldn't help but persuade with emotion: "Please express my condolences, Your Majesty."
Zhao Tong was not willing to listen to the persuasion. He lamented for a long time and then said: "I only talked about family affairs and did not talk about military matters. It hurts me too much. I hope you can forgive me."
Everyone stood up together, clasped their fists and said, "Your Majesty bows humbly, but I don't dare."
Zhao Tong shook his head and said, "Let's talk about business."
He then recounted what happened yesterday when the bandits entered the city to ambush, Fan La jumped over the city to escape, and tens of thousands of troops and generals, including Wang Laofu, all died in the city.
Everyone in the front was shocked when they heard this. Although they learned from the soldiers at the city gate that Zhao Tong had won the sniper attack on Fang La in Hangzhou, they did not know that the result of the battle was so brilliant. It simply wiped out half of Fang La's family fortune.
This is because Zhao Tong didn't say that he would cut off Fang La's arm. If he did, Tong Guan and others would be even more shocked.
But this kind of thing related to his own martial arts, naturally he can't talk about it. Zhao Tao said: "Now Fang La has returned south to Muzhou, and several states in eastern Zhejiang are still in his hands, and Lu Shinang is echoing over there in Xianju. , how to deal with it next, do you have any good ideas in mind?"
Tong Guan thought: "I think it's better to strike while the iron is hot and chase them all the way. The thief chief is in panic at this moment. If we don't take this opportunity to annihilate him in one fell swoop, I'm afraid that the thief chief will recruit troops and make a comeback in the name of the demon sect, but... …”
Zhao Tong said: "What Privy Tong said makes sense, but what?"
Tong Guan clasped his fists and lowered his head and said: "I am ashamed. Although the siege of Suzhou has been resolved and the bandit chief Fangla led his troops to flee south, there are still bandits entrenched above Taihu Lake and they have not been eliminated. They are always worried."
Zhao Tong wondered: "There is a water camp in Taihu Lake, where did the thieves come from?"
Tong Guandao: "My lord, I don't know. After Fang La's uprising, there was a big bandit from Suzhou, Shisheng, who called himself the Taihu Man. He led the demon sect to rebel and responded. He killed all the soldiers in the Taihu water camp, occupied the land of Taihu, and cooperated with Fang La." , Now although Fang La has left, Shi Sheng has not followed, and is still lingering in Taihu Lake, waiting for Fang La to call again to provide support, and at the same time, he is also eyeing Suzhou."
"Are all the soldiers in the Taihu water camp dead?" Zhao Tong pondered for a moment. These Taihu soldiers are not good things.
Normally, the local imperial guards are timid and incompetent at best, and they bully the people on a daily basis, but these Taihu soldiers are all those who turn good girls into prostitutes, work for tigers, and do all kinds of evil.
The reason is naturally that the Taihu Water Camp is a direct descendant of Zhu Meng. Zhu Meng promoted the Jiangnan Yingfeng Bureau. At first, he mainly focused on salvaging and searching for Taihu stones, and he also had to use rivers and waterways, so the Taihu Water Camp was placed under the Yingfeng Bureau. Under the name, it is used under the command of Zhu Meng.
Zhu Meng probably ordered the Taihu Water Camp to take care of many bad things. Later, the Taihu Water Camp gradually became famous and became so powerful that no one dared to offend him, so he began to do some ugly things in private. Anyway, half of the benefits were shared with Zhu Meng. , Zhu Meng turned a blind eye and didn't know what to do.
As for what bad things he did under Zhu Meng's orders, and what evil deeds he did in his own family, Zhao Tong didn't want to think about it in detail. In short, these people died, and they all deserved their death.
"Yes, Your Majesty, Shi Sheng led the Demon Cult members to kill all of them. Thousands of them were killed, not a single one was left!" Tong Guan looked heartbroken.
Looking at Tong Guan's expression, Zhao Tong wanted to laugh in his heart. Tong Guan and Zhu Meng had a good relationship. It goes without saying that there was a lot of nastiness between the two of them as they met each other up and down.
Zhao Tong nodded and said: "Then the Taihu Lake is now allowed to be rampant with stone creatures?"
Tong Guandao: "That's not the case. Zhu Ruli, the second son of Zhu Meng's family, led his troops to defend the bank of Taihu Lake. He also fought several times with no success, but he just managed to survive. I left him three thousand soldiers before I left. I don't know if he can hold on. live."
Zhao Tong wondered: "If the official family dismissed Zhu Meng from their posts, how could his son still lead the army?"
Tong Guan hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, there is really no one available. We are chasing Fang La here. The generals in Suzhou City over there are as timid as mice, incompetent and cowardly. They can't take it seriously. This Erlang of the Zhu family is proficient in martial arts and bold." He is careful, so I sent him there, but it was a bit of a violation of the rules, so please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "What's so forgivable about this? Extraordinary measures should be used in emergency situations. But with Zhu Erlang's ability, didn't Privy Tong think of accepting him as a disciple? I remember that Privy Tong has been looking for a successor!" "
Tong Guan laughed when he heard this: "Your Majesty, you are kidding me. Zhu Meng had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son was assassinated and died in a boat in Taihu Lake some time ago. Only the second son is left waiting to carry on the family line and take care of him until he is old. If I accept him as a disciple, what can I do?" Are you going to end his family’s incense?”
Zhao Tong burst out laughing and said: "Young Privy Councilor, please hurry up. Jiangnan is a land of outstanding people. Why don't you quickly find a disciple? I know that Minai Jian has even great disciples and grandsons. You are so perfect." With martial arts, there are few enemies in the world, so don’t interrupt Li Xuanshi’s legacy.”
When Tong Guan heard about Mi Zhenting, he got angry and said to himself, "Your Majesty, you really don't know how to open the pot." But when he heard that the other party even had great disciples and grandchildren, he couldn't help but feel even more depressed. He sighed: "Your Majesty, this is what I ask of my disciples. It’s too high. Even if I can’t find anyone I like in Jiangnan this time, I will step up my search after returning to Beijing and I will never lose my mantle of godfather.”
Zhao Tong thought for a moment and suddenly said: "Since the Taihu Hero Shisheng is fierce, I'm afraid it will be unstable if you only leave 3,000 people for Zhu Erlang, and then he has to go south. There can't be too many worries. I think it's better to send him again." Three thousand soldiers and horses, let the other side stand firm, wait until this side has defeated Fang La, and then go back and clean it up."
Tong Guan was overjoyed when he heard this. He originally wanted to keep more troops for Zhu Ruli. Although Zhu Meng was dismissed from his post, he knew Emperor Daojun. If the rebel army was destroyed here, it would not take long for him to be reinstated.
So he left three thousand troops for Zhu Ruli, but he didn't dare to give more. After all, the Zhu family was indeed in vain. Although nothing major could happen, they had to avoid Luo chaos. Now that Zhao Tong had spoken, he naturally had the courage to continue sending troops. , couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, I will send three thousand people back to Taihu in a moment."
Zhao Tong nodded, chatted some more about going south, and then left.
Then he stretched, thought for a while, and went straight to the guest room at the back of the house.
(End of chapter)
