Chapter 9 Sleepless
The sentry on the night watch on the city wall stared at what was happening in front of him with his mouth open: a dozen people who did not know life or death were sitting on the ground around the fire. Several broken pottery bowls were passed around between pairs of rough hands, and you drank one mouthful at a time. They were talking and laughing loudly and unscrupulously, completely ignoring the enemy fire outside the city that seemed to be boundless and spread to the end of the world!
Is it a death anyway?
After thinking about it, I let it go.
Like all wine bars, when they got tipsy, someone started to brag: "Mr. Shi Qian was the first one that day, so of course he took advantage! I was in the back row and only picked up two of your remaining ones. Next time I attack, I want to be the leader, Mr. Shi, I may not lose to you!"
Another one followed up: "What are you talking about, you thief! Look, today I issued a military order in front of the commander-in-chief. Next time I attack, I will chop eight off my forehead - at least six!"
The third one said: "Don't! Marshal, you must not let him rush forward. Look at how ugly this guy is. He will scare away all the thieves! Then they won't even be able to chase him away..."
Hahaha……
The laughter spread far in the night sky.
Unknowingly, the rough laughter dispelled the fear in everyone's hearts, and also dispelled the dark clouds hanging over the city.
The night sky is clear and the stars are particularly brilliant!
The prefect Song Mingyi was full of worries. Although he lay down early, he tossed and turned in bed for a long time and could not fall asleep. As soon as I got over the confusion, I heard my family banging on the window and shouting that something bad happened to me and that the handsome man was crazy. He hurriedly adjusted his clothes and hurried over without even ordering the sedan.
He stepped up to the top of the city in three or two steps. When he saw this scene, he said anxiously: "Brother! The enemy is in front of you, how can you..." He stamped his feet and couldn't go on.
Sun Jie squinted his half-drunk eyes at Song Mingyi and asked, "In my brother's opinion, what should I do?"
Song Mingyi: "This... we should prepare our troops for war!"
Sun Jie: "The enemy is surrounding us but not attacking us. We have more than half a month to go and we will be out of food, right? How to prepare for war?"
Song Mingyi was furious: "Dear brother! Commander! You... How can you believe such nonsense about military affairs... You, you..."
Sun Jie smiled self-deprecatingly: "Brother, please save your words! Following the order of the governor, most of the autumn grain has been delivered to the provincial government. When the bandits were approaching, the eldest brother opened four more doors and took in all the tens of thousands of people, old and young, in the suburbs of the city. The unharvested crops were all burned to prevent them from falling into the hands of thieves. It was my brother who personally led the people to set the fire. Does anyone in the city know about this?"
Song Mingyi distinguished: "We save food, eat dry food for the warriors, and eat thin food for the idlers, so we can always persevere."
Sun Jie: "I dare to ask, brother, if we eat porridge every day, we can hold on for a month if the enemy surrounds us. What about two months? Three months? What about half a year? The men are too hungry to lift their knives. How about we?" What should we do? When the grass roots, bark, rats, and birds are all eaten, and people eat each other, what should you and I do?"
Without waiting for Song Mingyi's reply, Sun Jie continued to press forward: "You and I can fight to the death in the face of the enemy and beg for mercy. Look at the view outside the west gate. Do you think the thieves will let the young and old in this city go?"
Sun Jie's words were like an awl, piercing people's hearts.
Song Mingyi's angry eyes gradually dimmed and he became silent.
With the power of wine, Sun Jie simply gave the order: "Go down and open the grain depot! Let's add wine and food tonight! From now on, we will have a full meal! When the food is gone, we men will open the city to meet the enemy and kill him." Damn it!”
The prefect of Song Dynasty lowered his head and said nothing. After a long while, he sighed and said sadly: "My dear brother is right. Forget it, I want to get drunk today!" Then, he regained his energy and looked directly at Sun Jie: "When facing the enemy, I will never You are looking for shortcomings, and you should fight the enemy side by side with your virtuous brother, but if you don’t have this skin, you have to make him a half-backed person no matter what!"
Sun Jie slapped Song Mingyi heavily on the shoulder and laughed loudly: "Brother is so brave! Sun respects heroes. My eldest brother has read the books of sages. He is naturally upright and upright. It is a comfort to him to die side by side with him." Life! Brother, please give me a bowl, please!"
The dull pain in his shoulder made Song Mingyi understand life and death in an instant, and he completely put down the dignity of a Han official. He lifted the hem of his red official robe, sat side by side with Sun Jie on the ground, took the wine bowl, and drank... …
When the wine is full, anxiety, fear, care...all are thrown out of the sky.
Sun Jie, who never stopped doing anything, simply asked the veterans and officers to organize a wine party separately, tell more battle stories, and eliminate everyone's fear - he was not afraid of bragging. .
In less than half an hour, the city woke up!
Seeing the prefect and the commander-in-chief laughing and chatting and drinking one cup at a time, everyone no longer had any scruples. Some officers and veterans relied on their years of friendship with Sun Jie and simply ran to the city wall from their tents under the wall to join in the fun. At first there were three or five people, and then seven or eight people. When the food and wine were delivered, more and more people simply ran from the barracks to the city wall and lit piles of bonfires in order to have a good time. Song Mingyi's family members also gathered closely.
In addition to the west gate, east gate, south gate, and north gate, generals such as Shen Chenggang, Shi Jingsheng, and Shangguan Fei on each section of the city wall also organized wine bureaus separately according to Sun Jie's order. Without the two top civil and military officials present, everyone had no scruples, and the excitement was no less lively than Sun Jie's place.
Like running water, a large amount of rice wine was poured into the throats one after another, and then it turned into a series of unscrupulous laughter and burst out...
The prefect's ministers were awakened by the noise in the middle of the night. They rubbed their sleepy eyes and walked out of the door to see what happened. As soon as they reached the top of the city, they were dragged to the fire by the soldiers and poured down several bowls of wine in a daze. Despite the fact that these eunuchs usually waver every step of the way, they were a little bit reluctant to let go at first. After a few bowls of wine, some people began to shake their heads and compose poems to wish for a great victory:
Beacon smoke spreads all over the sky
The armored dragon spring reflects the frost
Scholars also have great ambitions
Draw a long bow and shoot at the wolf
"good!"
Although I have no idea what the goatee is talking about while shaking his head, the literate masters are all great people! Besides, it sounds like it rhymes when you read it. Let’s say it first and then talk! The master vaguely remembered that the soldiers cheered loudly, and then a circle of wine bowls were saluted, oh, no, the pestles came over, and in the blink of an eye, he was holding on to the battlements and vomiting... and then... he couldn't remember anything. Got it!
What? Can you write poetry? Are you the only one who can? If you are not talented, let me sing a song too!
The setting sun in the lonely city and the battle between soldiers and hope
Why fear the wild flags everywhere?
A man can live up to the three-foot sword
The laughing general will stain his clothes with blood
"OK"!
A louder sound erupted from the fire here than there...
Huh? Why does this colorful sound sound provocative?
Well, it's a provocation - Master Xing Ming over there was just indoctrinated, Master Qiangu here has collapsed beside the fire...
The scholars in the city also poked their heads under the city wall to see what happened.
Someone hesitated: "Why are they so happy?"
Someone with a sharp eye said: "Look, the prefect is here too! Hey, the goatee holding the battlement and vomiting is your Xingming Shiye!"
"Oh, isn't the one who was pinched by Master Shang's nose and stuffed by Master Shang, Master Shu Qi from the government office? Oh my god! What's going on, adults?"
A smart person had an idea: "Could it be that the adults got the news and reinforcements are coming?"
It must be!
The lips of the people next to me trembled with excitement: "Reinforcement...reinforcement, reinforcements are coming!"
"Reinforcements are coming?"
"Reinforcements are coming!"
Someone shouted and ran all the way to spread the news quickly.
Reinforcements are coming!
The whole city is boiling!
In desperation, men, women, old and young finally came up with the news they wanted to hear most, added their own judgments, guesses, and fantasies, and then spread it with a louder voice!
"Good news" spread its wings and flew to every corner of Luzhou City.
When it was almost dawn, even the beggars who usually huddled under the corridor of Tugu Temple were running down the street with broken bowls and shouting excitedly: "Master Jinglue has sent an army of fifty thousand. Humph, this is the vanguard! Holy Lord, sir!" Purpose, mobilize the elites from nine sides to come back for reinforcements, a total of 150,000 troops! These little thieves in front of me are about to die, the deadline has come! Hahaha..." That excited look, as if the king's master has arrived and he doesn't need to stop anymore. As if begging for food.
Hahaha!
Everyone was so stimulated by the sudden surge of blood in their hearts that they could no longer stay at home. Everyone was so excited that they walked around the streets. Regardless of whether they knew each other or not, when they met, they would first laugh for no reason, celebrate with their foreheads and hands, and then exchange words. Think of the "latest news" that you hear and think of...
Well, not everyone – there were a few people who weren’t part of the fun.
Commander-in-Chief Sun Jie, Magistrate Song Mingyi, and the soldiers who were supposed to be on guard.
When it was daylight, the people who had the courage to climb the city wall found that they were all leaning on the wall and sleeping soundly on the wall.
