There were constant noises in Yunnei City, including the tramping of horses, the clash of swords and armor, the rumbling of collapsed buildings, scoldings, shouts, and cries, all coming one after another, along with the whistling and crashing sounds of arrows coming from outside the city. , shouting to kill, forming an indescribable background sound.
Under this sound, some people are frightened, some are excited, some are confused, some are thinking, and some are sleeping and eating.
The person sleeping was Fulong Wei who was on duty at night. He was snoring constantly in the wing of the governor's mansion. However, the usually harsh snoring had already been drowned out by the noise from the outside world. It was under this circumstance that Zhang Xing took Qin Bao with him. , Wang Zhen, Xiao Zhou and other seven or eight Fulong guards, plus a dozen Jinwu guards, squatted on the corridor outside the Datongpu wing to eat.
A bowl of millet porridge with soy sauce, two baked pancakes, and a piece of dried meat. The millet porridge was very rotten, the pancakes were crispy, and the dried meat was oily. Deputy Changjian tasted it very delicious.
Of course, not everyone has dried meat... Fulongwei has it, but only General Ding Quan from Jinwuwei has it, and the rest only have millet porridge and pancakes.
But this is not the worst treatment here. In the corner of the courtyard of this wing, next to the well, a high-ranking Mr. Beiya took two palace maids and two young eunuchs to look after a stove. A broken earthenware jar, inside the earthenware jar is a jar of millet porridge... I made the water with my own hands, and the millet was scraped together. This is the ration for the five of them plus eight other palace residents for the whole day today. A bowl will be served later. We have to ask these Fulong Guards to borrow them.
What's more, according to the decree, the father-in-law can still receive a large bowl of millet porridge, because they can use the sword when necessary, while the maids only have half a bowl.
The porridge was ready, but Fulongwei and Jinwuwei had not yet finished their meal and cleared out their bowls, so they could only stand there in a daze, and then took the only remaining bowl and let the father-in-law named Yu serve the porridge first. .
Eunuch Yu was holding the porridge, and sat down next to Zhang Xing with some caution, and began to drink it slowly. However, after a few sips, he was probably not used to drinking porridge with soy sauce added directly. Holding the bowl, he asked seriously: "Zhang Changjian, they say you escaped back during the Second Conquest of Dongyi... Were you still in this mess at that time? Or is this already settled?"
As soon as these words came out, the people around him, whether they were Fulong Guards, Jinwu Guards, or the palace people who were farther away, all looked up to see.
"Almost." Zhang Xing took a bite of the pancake, thoughtfully. "It was quite good at the beginning. It could make a fire, and the helmet could be used as a pot, so we had hot porridge to drink and hot pancakes to eat."
"Then why didn't many people escape?" Eunuch Yu couldn't help but be curious.
"Because it's just the same at the beginning." Zhang Xing shook his head. "Then it started to rain. When it rained, the fire couldn't be started. All we could do was make pancakes and cold water... At this time, people began to die directly. Some people got sick from drinking rainwater and couldn't get up after sleeping; some were too tired. Some of them rolled into the river ditch as they walked without even making a sound; some of them fought desperately for a few pancakes... Thinking about it now, it's fortunate that it's early spring, otherwise the weather would be hotter or colder, I'm afraid it would be... They were all going to die of illness or freezing on the road, but luckily they were defeated so quickly and still had enough food stored on them, otherwise they would have had to eat people."
Eunuch Yu, who had always been involved in the management of Beiya's writing and always had great authority, was fascinated by what he heard. He sprinkled a little porridge on his hand and licked it quickly. After licking it, he asked seriously: "But it's winter now... in case it snows." , will something happen too?"
"In case it snows or the temperature suddenly drops, it will be a good thing." Zhang Xing swallowed the last bite of the pancake and consoled him sincerely. "Because once it snows, the Wu clan people are outside the city, and there are so many people. They can't stand it anymore, so they will definitely retreat directly."
"Oh!" Eunuch Yu was shocked and quickly lowered his head to drink the porridge.
"Master Zhang." At this moment, Ding Quanfu, the general of the Jinwu Guards, spoke carefully again. "I heard that there are only seventeen or eighteen days of food left in the city?"
The ears of the people around him stood up straighter.
"In fifteen or sixteen days, the Wu tribe will retreat." Zhang Xing had no intention of scaring these people, nor did he have the intention of verifying things that he really didn't know, so he just told the truth. "Otherwise, we will definitely be blocked by reinforcements from the North, and no one will be left alive."
Ding Quan nodded. With this person's intelligence, of course he would not continue to ask, "What should I do if I can't hold on on the 15th or 16th?"
Seeing that no one said anything, Zhang Xing was too lazy to say anything. He just continued to drink porridge. After finishing the meal, he actually washed the bowl by the well and handed it to a palace maid next to him. Then he sat back, but he didn't know that this was the case. What to do now.
Speaking of which, the arrow on the city gate tower yesterday seemed to have changed something, but it seemed that nothing had changed.
After the saint returned to the county government that day, he stopped going out to interfere in military affairs at all. He only hugged the queen and several young princes and princesses and cried bitterly. It is said that his eyes were swollen from crying last night, and he even said that they, father and son, would die from heaven... The attendants Being so cautious and pessimistic is most likely due to the fact that there was no way to avoid the movement last night, and it was infected.
However, according to Zhang Xing, it doesn't matter just to cry. Anyway, leave the matter to the outside ministers and generals. He doesn't need a saint like him to point his fingers, and the situation will be worry-free... The generals are experienced and the soldiers are all forbidden troops. The elite, the so-called best generals, the best soldiers, the best armor, as well as complete city walls and the residents of the city acting as civilian husbands, where can't they defend for half a month?
The Wu clan people came over in a hurry, obviously not prepared to attack the city... As for myself, as a Fulongwei, I can quietly be a handsome man in front of the emperor and pretend to be rolled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. I can survive no matter what. Live this life.
Just as he was thinking about it, another father-in-law suddenly came over there and shouted from a distance: "Zhang Changjian, please come and take a trip. Duke Niu asked you to go to the city to call two ministers to discuss matters in front of the emperor."
Extremely polite.
Of course, Zhang Xing also knew that this was not the time to complain, so he quickly stood up and answered, and immediately called Qin Bao to divide into two teams to search for the person... When the city admirals Wei Chi and Duan Wei easily found him, by the way After observing the situation in the city for a while, he went to the hall in a dignified manner, stood inside the door and watched.
Looking at it now, the saint's eyes may have been swollen from crying last night, but he should have used some method to reduce some of the swelling, but the marks could not be completely covered, but there were two red marks left, which seemed to be trying to hide them.
When the two ministers saw this scene, they were also stunned, but they could only pretend to be ignorant together with their husbands who entered in advance.
"When we saw it yesterday, the Wu clan's troops and horses were in great danger." When the saint saw everyone gathered, he forced his eyes to open and asked. "The situation is tense. Do you have any strategies?"
Everyone remained silent, and Zhang Xing naturally looked on with cold eyes.
"I want to ask you about your family!" The saint couldn't rush him enough and was obviously a little anxious. "What can I do?"
"I still discussed it the day before yesterday." Sima Changying looked serious and stood in line to face each other. "Once the city is defeated, everything will be destroyed. Instead of doing this, it is better to gather the elite and break out as soon as possible!"
"No." Prime Minister Su Wei immediately refuted. "The Wu clan has more cavalry. Once they go out, His Majesty's safety will be in danger. Didn't you see the arrow yesterday?"
The emperor immediately nodded: "Not bad."
Sima Changying let out a long sigh, without even looking at Su Wei, but sincerely raised his hands towards the saint: "Your Majesty, the loyalty of my ministers can be learned from the sun. It is because I saw that arrow that I felt that the city may not be safe..."
The saint hesitated for a moment.
"As long as the city is defended tightly, why can't it be guaranteed?" Wei Chi, the Minister of Punishment, interrupted the other party coldly. "Soldiers come to cover up the water and the earth. They have to form a formation, which always takes time. We have more practitioners in the army. We just need to gather together to deal with it. There is no reason to abandon the city just because they have that arrow..."
"What Wei Shangshu said makes sense." Duan Wei, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, also spoke with force. "What's more, we still have Niu Dugong, Bai Changjian, Fulongwei and Fulongyin. We really have no intention of being afraid of that arrow. According to me, there are only two important things to do at this time. One One is to boost the morale in the city, and the other is to work hard to summon reinforcements... As long as the city is secure, Dulan will definitely retreat once the army from outside arrives."
The two ministers expressed their opinions together, plus Prime Minister Su Wei, three to one, and the saint was obviously afraid... If there was worry about losing face before, now he definitely did not dare to go out... So, stick to it The strategy of waiting for assistance was once again strengthened, and everyone from top to bottom naturally spoke out to express their agreement.
Unexpectedly, Sima Changying also nodded: "It would be great if we could inspire morale, but don't forget that when crossing the river from Pujin, the soldiers rushed to bribe their superiors in order to stay in Guanzhong. There were many people in Taiyuan before. People didn’t want to go north, so many people fled just after encountering Qiu Yu in the building... It can be seen that the morale in the city is not necessarily high, and some soldiers are even resentful... Your Majesty, you must do your best to boost morale before you can defend it. "
No one can refute what he said, and everyone from Su Wei on down just went to see the saint.
On the other hand, Zhang Xing, who was stuck inside the door, stood solemnly with his knife in hand, his heart moved slightly.
"I understand." The saint responded quickly. "How can I pity the officers and nobles now? I have made up my mind. I will personally inspect the soldiers who were rotated out last night in the city later, and offer them officers and titles in public... All those who defend the city with strong armor and tenacity have merit. When you reach the sixth level, if you have more gains and meritorious deeds, you will be rewarded more."
The people in the hall seemed more and more relieved.
But soon, Prime Minister Su Wei reacted like everyone else and raised his head in astonishment: "Did the sage say that the level of flat land will be increased to the sixth level?"
Zhang Xing couldn't help but glance at the black ribbon on his waist, and was speechless. He had already realized what Sima Changying meant by what he just said... This old boy obviously became not only cautious after that day, but also had bad intentions. Yes, it's a bit dark... Playing hard to get is nothing better than this.
Just think about it. There are nearly 30,000 pure combatants, directly added to the sixth grade. How many people are there in the world? Ten million? There are three sixth-grade people among ten thousand people? What's that? Is it still considered an official? Is it really possible?
"Yes." The saint responded seriously. "I thought about it for a moment. It concerns the survival of the Wei Dynasty, the continuation of the country's surname, and the increase of Pingdi to the sixth rank. It's not too much!"
Su Wei was about to speak but stopped.
"Ms. Su." Sima Changying suddenly spoke. "It doesn't matter, whether it's sixth grade or seventh grade, they're all in the military and don't care about things... The so-called plain land plus sixth grade, as long as it's bound to the army, it's just a sixty thousand person who will spend an extra 30,000 people in the future. It’s just rank and salary... Besides, the world belongs to His Majesty, and if there is a slight hesitation at this time, if the military morale is slightly weakened, talking about six ranks and five ranks will seem ridiculous... If you ask me, even the pillar country can also be added, let alone Sixth grade? Sixth grade, His Majesty has already thought carefully about it. Considering that fifth grade is the threshold for entering the palace, he has specially left room for it. "
The saint nodded repeatedly.
Su Wei was completely speechless.
Zhang Xingze was speechless - are these people lying here to deceive themselves? Names and implements cannot be faked by others! If you really want to spend more money to give six-grade salaries to 30,000 people, how about you directly agree with the soldiers to reward you as much as you want as soon as you go out? Why do we have to use the sixth-grade official title to express it?
If this matter could be implemented, Da Wei would be half dead.
On the other hand, if it couldn't be implemented, Da Wei would have to kick half of his legs... But just kick. After yesterday's scene, Zhang Xing had a calmness of staying out of the matter, and he could see more clearly. It's just that the saint's mentality suddenly collapsed. What's the point of being reasonable with a person who's mentality has collapsed?
Just as they were thinking about it, the two ministers looked at each other. Duan Wei obviously dodged for a moment, but Wei Chi responded seriously: "Your Majesty, we don't understand this kind of thing... But since I have said this, I must win the trust of the army in the future, otherwise sooner or later we will return the favor. It will change.”
"Got it!" The saint looked a little anxious. "Do you still have words?"
"After this battle, the three counties of Yanmen, Loufan and Mayi will definitely be exhausted... Please exempt the three counties from rent and taxes for one year, pardon all the criminals in the three counties, and allow them to contribute with the army." Duan Wei quickly said no. Loose or not tight nonsense.
"This is natural." The saint became more and more anxious.
"I thought it would be a good idea to pardon Dongyi... and promise not to march eastward again." In theory, he became the father-in-law, but in fact he knew that he was just a temporary worker. Suddenly he came out and offered his advice. "The people suffered terribly during the two Eastern Expeditions, and the soldiers were all afraid that they would die in vain... If Your Majesty can publicly pardon Dongyi, the morale of the army will surely be boosted."
To be honest, Zhang Xing doesn't really care about this issue. Because he felt that Dongyi would still fight sooner or later, but on the other hand, after what happened now, the Wu clan had openly rebelled, and it was impossible to fight Dongyi immediately. Therefore, public commitment to pardon is optional.
But how to say it?
Considering the sage’s troubles, which began with the Eastern Conquest of Dongyi, it is normal for some peace-loving people in the court to be dissatisfied... In fact, there are indeed a large number of people who oppose Dongyi in the Eastern Territory and Jianghuai area. With the voice of conquest, the upper echelons of the army also tended to march eastwards, while the lower echelons were generally afraid.
Therefore, this person may not necessarily be considered a private person. Even if he is, he is a private person who has something to say and makes sense.
"Then forgive me!" The saint hesitated for a while, but as if his mentality had completely collapsed, even 30,000 sixth-grade officials came out, let alone this kind of thing, so he finally agreed. "Is there any more?"
"Your Majesty also asks you to pardon the Wu clan and Dulan Khan." Xiao Yu continued to speak seriously. "And please send a letter to Princess Chengyi and Tuli Khan, asking them to persuade Dulan Khan to turn back."
The hall became increasingly silent.
But soon, there was a loud noise outside, which made many people in the hall startled. The saint took the initiative to speak: "Is it too late?"
"I object!" Wei Chi suddenly said. "This is definitely not feasible..."
At the same time, before Zhang Xing had time to hear what was going on, he saw Duke Niu on the opposite side raising his hand towards him. He immediately understood and then turned out of the hall with an expressionless face.
When I asked outside, they all said that the movement just now was from the direction of West City. I ran to West City and found out that it was not a big deal. It was just that the Wu clan started to hit the wood with wood, and it had been poured with oil and burned.
In this way, when he returned, he found that the meeting in the church had already dispersed, because the saints had begun to go out to give lectures, so he simply took the opportunity to be lazy, far away from the saints' ceremonial guards, and walked around the bare city by himself, and then listened to While looking for Li Ding, he went to look for Li Ding while cheering like a tsunami from the mountains everywhere.
After walking around for a long time and asking around for a long time, I met Li Ding head-on in a bare alley behind a street intersection. The latter was actually keeping accounts there at this time, holding out his hand a pile of various hastily gathered grains and a bunch of food. Heap Lifu.
"Are you in charge of distributing military rations?" Zhang Xingxing stepped forward, somewhat speechless.
"Yes." Li Ding behind the table looked a little embarrassed. He didn't know whether he was embarrassed about what happened yesterday or the current scene.
"Pretty good." Zhang Xing clasped his hands and sighed. "Safety."
Li Ding nodded immediately: "Indeed..."
Zhang Xing was slightly surprised.
"Don't you understand yet?" Li Ding continued to pretend to keep accounts while trying his best to laugh. "The saint only wants the royal family to be protected. In this case, there is no way to use troops and danger. What if we go up to the city wall?"
Zhang Xing thought for a moment and seemed to have nothing to say about this matter. Didn't you see that he himself was prepared to fish until the end? Only then did he think of the foundation of his trip, so he became a little solemn, leaned over and whispered: "I have something to ask Fourth Brother, about practice. After yesterday, I feel..."
Li Ding put down his pen and looked up, and realized almost instantly: "Do you feel that you suddenly have a channel? This is true for all the eight meridians, don't worry... which channel it is?"
"Qi and blood surge from the top of the skull to the soles of the feet... I didn't dare to ask other people in Fulongwei, but I feel it should be the Chongmai." Zhang Xing blurted out.
This Chongmai is called Chongmai, not movement. One of the eight extraordinary meridians is called Chongmai.
"That's right." Li Ding thought for a moment and nodded immediately. "The Chongmai corresponds to the sea of blood. It must be what you saw yesterday. It surged naturally on a whim... It can be seen that what happened yesterday touched you greatly."
Zhang Xing was embarrassed for a moment, then quickly handed over his hand: "I haven't thanked Brother Li for worrying about yesterday."
"It doesn't matter." Li Ding shook his head repeatedly. "You have to be careful yourself... Don't tell others first, otherwise they will just watch the sunset and the river or something. It's always a saying that you lose your temper when you watch the saint... Even if you say it, you can also say that the blood surges after watching the military formation. .”
"Understood." Zhang Xing nodded and continued to ask. "Actually, there is one more thing..."
"Do you want to ask, since you have access to the Qi Meridian, why don't you understand the Qi skills like others?"
"yes."
"This is a common thing." Li Ding continued to sit there and explain. "The zhenqi skills corresponding to Chongmai are often revealed after the Qi and blood surge up... Often the more you fight, the braver you become, or you are less likely to get tired... If you go into battle and kill a few people, you may not notice anything strange immediately, but Sitting in the city, naturally you can't notice it."
Zhang Xing suddenly realized that this was still a passive skill based on emotions, and he felt relieved instantly.
And just when he was about to ask again, he suddenly heard cheers like a tsunami from the mountains behind him again, but he finally laughed: "From the ground to the sixth rank, Li Silang originally started from the fifth rank, this time I am afraid he will finally enter the palace, right?"
"What's the point of Wei's invasion?" Li Ding picked up the pen again, sighed quietly, and then immediately became alert. "Be careful... Everything is like this. Just when you think it is stable, it will fall down unstoppably. You think it can't stand at all, but there are still many things holding it up... To put it bluntly, The general trend is difficult, and in the current situation you and I are in, we can’t do anything about the general trend, we are just drifting with the trend for the time being!”
It's quite philosophical.
But Zhang Xing was just speechless: "I'm just here to make fun of you. We have to wait until this time to resolve the situation, right?"
Li Ding was startled for a moment, then laughed dryly, then threw the pen on the table, and then went to wait for the next wave of mountains and tsunamis with Zhang Xing.
Of course, you must also pay attention to the basic laws when fishing, especially when the city is surrounded outside.
In the evening, Zhang Xing returned to the Sheriff's Mansion and immediately received unexpected news from an unexpected person.
"You applied for a job this afternoon and want to go out of the city?" Zhang Xing looked at Qin Bao in front of him, speechless. "Being a messenger to meet the Youzhou army on the edge of the Bitter Sea in the northeast? But if you leave the city at this time, won't you risk your life in vain?"
"Duke Niu personally sent us messengers out!" Qin Bao responded calmly, as if he was confident. "A group of twenty or thirty people will disperse to seven or eight places in all directions. There is no need to worry about the siege army outside."
"But in addition to the army outside the city, there must be countless tribes attacking the city and occupying territory. If you hit any one, you will die." Zhang Xing became more and more speechless. "What kind of dizzy medicine did you take? If something happens to you, what will your mother and Yueniang do?"
As he said this, Zhang Xing had already realized on his own: "It's because His Majesty promised to raise the sixth grade from the ground, and then this messenger's errand specifically added a reward for special honors, right? Do you want to win a big one? Just become a Senior official?"
Qin Bao's face turned slightly red, but he still managed to speak: "I was ready to fight for my life to get ahead... This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Zhang Xing was completely helpless and could only lower his voice and said angrily: "Do you still feel that you have some ability and you can't die anyway? But who told you that the saint will keep his promise?"
Qin Bao asked back: "In broad daylight, the saint personally spoke out, how could he not keep his promise?"
Zhang Xing didn't know how to explain it... Li Ding knew what was going on as soon as he heard it, but Qin Bao couldn't explain it at all.
Qin Bao also realized something, immediately gave up the argument, and said in a low voice: "This time I made my own decision behind Third Brother's back... But I already agreed in front of Governor Niu, and was listed on the list. I won’t be rewarded with gold and silver, so I can’t go back on my word... Otherwise, I don’t have to worry about the Wu cavalry, and I’d have to die at Duke Niu’s place first.”
This is what the deal is. If he really goes back on his words, military law will really not care about a little white ribbon.
"I'll go with you." Zhang Xing thought for a moment and touched the compass behind his waist, looking a little weak. "I will never let you die in an unknown way."
Qin Bao immediately wanted to speak.
"Shut up!" Zhang Xing was furious for a moment and stamped his feet on the spot. Then he felt a stream of true energy running directly from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and then spread out, causing a sudden chill to flow around him. "Take me to see Lord Niu!"
Qin Bao was just surprised to see the cold air around him, and was stunned for a moment.
ps: Good night everyone.
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