Chapter 171 Kaifeng
Yan Dai, the governor of Henan, is a smart man. The last time Guan Shengyun came across the border, he pretended to attack Luoyang and deceived everyone. At that time, Mr. Yan happened to be in Guide Mansion and was not in the provincial capital. After receiving an urgent report from the chief envoy Lu Shen and rushing back to Kaifeng, Guan Shengyun had already sent his troops south. Master Yan thought about it for a few days and predicted that he was about to face a hurdle that was difficult to overcome: Guan went straight south to Huguang, and he might disturb Chengtian Mansion. If he destroyed the Xianling Mausoleum, he would Even if their lives are almost given, even if Emperor Gong Ruixian appears, and the thieves are beaten back in Huguang, won't they still have to continue to cause harm to Henan? No matter what, I can't get rid of it. So without saying a word, he gave a memorial to the Holy Emperor: I am old and sick, begging for my bones, and I want to retire!
At this time, all the reports the court received were reports of "great victories". Everyone felt that Yan Fuzun was just giving up when things got better, and no one thought much about it. The Holy Emperor gave him the title of Minister of Household Affairs in Nanzhili and sent him to Nanjing to retire. Lu Shen took over the post of governor as a matter of course. In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, there was an unwritten custom: in the struggle for power, Lu Shen If one party asks for an official position, it means admitting defeat, and the other party is unlikely to kill everyone, so you can go home and retire. If a senior official repeatedly begs for retirement without participating in a life-and-death power struggle, the court will think that you may I'm really tired. I think that after serving the empire for most of my life, my hard work will often be assigned to the decoration team in Nanzhili. With the same official rank or half a rank, you can just drink tea in peace and watch. Let the newspapers pass the time by scolding people in leisurely streets and enjoying peace and happiness.
Lu Shen was very happy for a while. Although Nanyang Mansion was almost slaughtered to pieces by Guan Shengyun, it was finally "promoted" in Huguang. On the surface, no one would ever reveal what he did in Henan Province. This governor's black gauze hat was simply dropped from the sky. down. Hearing that Zhang Hu was making trouble in Shaanxi again, in order to avoid making the same mistake, Mr. Lu set up heavy troops to intercept the mountain road at Jiuguan in Hangu, Shaanxi. He never expected that this time the thieves would come out of southern Shaanxi via Huguang. When he suddenly appeared in Henan Province and attacked Kaifeng with great force within a few days, Mr. Lu regretted it so much that he scolded the eighteen generations of the old fox Yan Dai's ancestors over and over again in his heart.
Zhang Hu, Niu Youtian, Fang Ge and other generals were all born in the army, and everyone had an account in their mind. They knew very well that although they had hundreds of thousands of people, the speed of marching along this road would definitely exceed that of the officers and soldiers going to Kaifeng to aid: the Ming Dynasty's management of various military towns was not generally strict, from receiving the police in Kaifeng Mansion to issuing orders It would take five or six days to let the local guardsmen rescue them, then assemble and depart, no matter how fast they were. Those guys were usually hungry and bullied. Who would really want to work for the dog officers at this time of year? The slow marching speed could not exceed twenty miles per day! Therefore, the troops in Kaifeng Mansion must be very limited now. If they can raid quickly, they may be able to attack them with lightning speed!
Niu Youtian decided to follow Zhang Hu's example of leading a cavalry raid on Guangyuan, and led more than 400 cavalry to Kaifeng. The person riding the horse at the front was the cavalry guerrilla Wang Biao - he happened to be sick when Ma Qiancheng and Sun Jie attacked Baoning Mansion. Li Song helped him get on the horse and ran wildly. Unexpectedly, many doctors were shocked. There was no improvement, he was sweating profusely, but his condition became much lighter. By the time he arrived at Chaotian Pass, he was completely recovered. Now he has become a guerrilla general, and Li Song has become President Qian.
Indeed, as Zhang Hu and others expected, in addition to the more than a thousand Zhou Palace guards in Kaifeng Mansion at this time, there were less than three thousand Xuanwu guards guarding the city - several city walls and grain depots, arsenals and government offices were guarded. There really weren't many people everywhere. Although it is impossible for Niu Youtian's cavalry to capture all of Kaifeng Mansion, there will certainly be no suspense in capturing a city gate. Wang Biao and Li Song are experts at things like grabbing doors. The only thing left to do is to guard the city gate and wait for Zhang Hu's infantry battalion to drive up and enter the city... Well, if there hadn't been that accident If something unexpected happens.
To be precise, the other thing is not the event, but the date of the day: the eighth day of September.
Kaifeng Mansion is a little to the north and east of Weishi. There is a town called Xinghuaying right next to the provincial capital. Whether you are going from Weishi in the south or Luoyang and Zhengzhou in the west, to Kaifeng Mansion, Xinghuaying is the only way to go.
There is a market in Xinghua Camp, which is held on the eighth day of every month!
The news that a large group of thieves had captured the Wei family had spread long ago. The farmers in the surrounding areas who were preparing to flee did not expect that the thieves would arrive so quickly. They were all eager to take away the temporarily useless things at home. They even exchanged some cash or food and ran away, so there were unprecedentedly many people going to the market today, seven or eight thousand people. When they heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves, they suddenly exploded into chaos. Of course, most people wanted to escape to Kaifeng Mansion, which was just around the corner. But many people were even more reluctant to part with their own things. Those carrying carts carrying sacks and holding baskets huddled together, blocking the official road! Wang Biao, Li Song and others tried to cut their way out of the crowd with half-truths, half-false threats and threats. How easy was it? The more anxious they became, the more they became trapped in the crowd, making it difficult to move. The high-speed impact of the cavalry was suddenly blocked.
In a little more than two sticks of incense, Kaifeng City learned the news of the bandit's attack. Lu Shen took Wei Buqun and ran to the Zhou Palace to deliver the message. Tao Dechang, the prefect of Kaifeng, Ji Shu, the commander-in-chief, Yang Zhongguo, the commander-in-chief of Henan Province, and Jiang Shide, all rushed to the west wall. Closing the city gate is of course the first priority. However, no matter how anxious the adults are, the city gate cannot be closed - it is very close from the easternmost end of Xinghuaying Market to the west wall of Kaifeng, only four or five miles. , there were also many people in Kaifeng who went out to the market to buy some food for storage. Those who ran very fast bumped into people who were leaving the city one after another, and the city gate was destroyed again!
It took Niu Youtian, Wang Biao and others more than half an hour to get out of the market. When they turned back to reorganize the team, they found that all the armored cavalry were wearing crooked armor, panting, and exhausted. We had to rush to Kaifeng, so we mustered up all our energy and continued to rush forward... Then we were forced to go more than half a mile outside the city, and we were completely dumbfounded: the crowd at the gate of the city was already packed into a dead mass. Niu Youtian's eyes widened and he stared at the scholar-looking guy at the end of the crowd who was wearing a blue cloth gown and a scribe's turban that was torn off. He stared at it for a full cup of tea - even though that The guy was so anxious that he couldn't help but jump to his feet, but he didn't move at all! Thousands of armored soldiers have gathered on the wall. Although it is not clear, there are more unarmored civilians who are busy like ants. They must be preparing bows, crossbows, masonry, gold, juice, etc... Okay Well, don't worry about anything, just wait for Zhang Hu to lead a large force to come and besiege the city. Niu Youtian waved his hand to stop the guys in the cavalry who wanted to rush forward and kill a few cheap people: rushing over would cause more chaos, but they would definitely not be able to touch the city gate, and the crossbows on the wall would also kill many brothers. , It’s not worth trading your precious armor and cavalry for your life with the common people. One for ten. The crowd was so crowded that Lao Niu reined in his horse and looked at the chaos at the entrance of the city. He thought to himself, even if they could pull all five of Gao Tengdou's squatting tiger cannons over and load them with the largest iron balls, they could fire them one after another. The ground blasts in a straight line, and when the last shot is fired, the guys in front may not be hurt!
The officials on the wall were not as relieved as Niu Youtian who had completely given up. The armored cavalry more than half a mile away and the smoke and dust rising from the large and medium-sized bandits approaching from more than ten miles away frightened the adults. Looking at the people under their feet who had not moved at all for a long time, everyone was wondering what was going on. Ji Shu ran down to the city to take a look, only to find that the city gate guards were in a hurry to close the door, and the people outside the wall were trying their best to squeeze in. The city gate could not be closed after it was halfway closed! A few frightened spearmen stabbed those people crowded in the crack of the door in desperation, but the ones in front were dead, and the ones behind were still rushing forward vigorously, so the city door was stuck tightly! Seeing that the thieves' armored cavalry had no intention of charging forward, Jiang Shide mobilized all the archers to be on guard, and sent all the soldiers down the wall to the city gate. He ordered the city gate officials not to stop the people from entering the city, so all the soldiers They formed a column and dragged the people outside the door toward the door one by one... After struggling for a long time, finally, under the gaze of everyone on the wall, the crowd at their feet began to show signs of loosening.
The scribe who Niu Youtian had been staring at for a long time was almost exhausted. He turned back to look at the group of armored cavalry, and simply sat down with his head in his hands, pretending to be resigned to his fate. After a long time, the people in front entered the city one after another. The blue-shirted scribe got up, cast another fearful glance at Niu Youtian, and hurriedly followed the people in front into the city. The two heavy city gates slammed shut.
If Niu Youtian could predict what was going to happen in a few days, he would rather kill half of his men than chop this seemingly powerless scholar to death at the city gate.
Zhang Hu finally arrived.
Originally, using a cavalry team to grab the goal was just a matter of luck. King Zhang didn't care at all that Niu Youtian failed. As is the old rule, surround yourself first and then talk. To the north of the city is the Yellow River, so there is no need to block it. Zhang Hu is eager to see the dog officers and soldiers abandon the city and run to the river. There is no need to release too many people to the east of the city. Fang Ge is leading a hundred thousand people to sweep Chenliuqi County. Even if some of them are missed, Zhang Hu also made a serious mistake by focusing his siege on the west and south of the city. The difference is that Niu Youtian never knew the important role that the scholar who almost became the ghost downstream of the sword would play in the near future, while Zhang Hu regretted his carelessness for a long time.
Facing an isolated city, the old method is still the same: use human lives to fill it. There is plenty of cannon fodder anyway. Zhang Hu explained to Niu Youtian and asked him to fight step by step. He took five combat battalions and 5,000 auxiliary troops and headed west to Zhongmou: there was no need to worry about the reinforcements from Zhengzhou and Xingyang, but he had to beware of Henan Prefecture and Huaihe Prefecture. With the reinforcements sent by the Qing Mansion, King Zhang was ready to lay siege to the city for reinforcements.
Niu Youtian was also not in a hurry. While watching the army set up camp around most of Kaifeng Mansion, he arranged for manpower to collect cannon fodder to fill the trenches. The old rule is to clean the Veterinary Hospital, Xinghua Camp, and Xincheng first. Niu Youtian was very angry at the Xinghua Camp that blocked his raid, so he ordered that the people there would not even be recruited, but would be rounded up and made to make the first batch of consumables to fill the trenches tomorrow.
In the evening, Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen, accompanied by Lu Shen and others, climbed to the Western Wall. In the sky, the setting sun is like blood, the ground is also red, and villages and towns in the distance are burning. Although they could not hear the dying cries of the people, everyone knew that outside the city was already a hell on earth.
King Zhou shed tears.
Not far outside the city, there were densely packed camps and shacks of thieves. Smoke was rising one after another as the thieves had their dinner. The plumes of smoke were so dense that they could not be counted. The entire sky above Kaifeng Mansion was shrouded in smoke and dust. The gray smoke clouds pressed down on Kaifeng Mansion and on everyone's heart. The soldiers on the wall were so horrified that their faces turned pale and silent. After a long time, a voice full of fear and crying sounded nearby: "My mother, the thieves have more stoves than us..."
"A dog is bold!" Lu Shen, Yang Zhongguo and other civil and military officials cursed in unison.
Jiang Shide shouted: "Shake the morale of the army! Come on, take it!"
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Zhu Gongzhen waved his hand to stop the officials. Following the sound, several soldiers in sight lowered their heads and bowed their backs in fear, and quietly took a step back, leaving a young soldier exposed alone.
Zhu Gongzhen took two steps forward, and the soldier knelt down, kowtowed and cried out: "Your Majesty, please spare my life. I have confessed my sin."
Zhu Gongzhu stared at the rising and falling of the back of his head at his feet, and after a moment he said, "Get up and speak."
"You dare not, little man. Please spare my life, my lord!"
"Get up when I tell you to."
"Yes. I obey the king's orders." The soldier kowtowed again and got up. His head hung deeply and he did not dare to raise it.
"May I have your name?"
"Your Majesty is a thousand years old, and my name is Li Jinzhu." The voice was almost inaudible.
"How old are you?"
"Almost eighteen, oh no, the villain is seventeen." Li Jinzhu lowered his head and muttered softly.
"Well, don't be afraid. Let me tell you a story. Come, all of you." As he spoke, Zhu Gongzhen stretched out his hand and said, "Come all, come all."
