After capturing Changzhou and Xuanzhou, Song Jiang and Lu Junyi each led their troops and continued southward to regain Suzhou and Huzhou occupied by Fang La.
There are two flowers in bloom, so naturally there is still one branch on each side.
Let’s talk about the situation on Song Jiang’s side first.
At that time, Song Jiang led the army and urged the horses to go south. Within a day, they arrived outside Suzhou City.
Suzhou is a beautiful city in the south of the Yangtze River. The city defense is very strong. It is surrounded by water ports. The city wall is strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Song Jiang's army and horses have lived in the north for a long time and are accustomed to land battles. Naturally, they are helpless when encountering water battles. Fortunately, the Liangshan brothers are full of talents and have many generals with excellent water skills, such as Zhang Shun, Li Jun, Ruan brothers, etc.
Song Jiang led his army to the city of Suzhou, and saw that it was surrounded by a water port and could not be broken except by the navy. Therefore, he hurriedly sent Dai Zong to Taihu Lake to send an order to recover Li Jun and others who were spying on intelligence in Taihu Lake. He wanted to attack Suzhou by concealing the truth from the sea. city.
Dai Zong's legs helped his vest, and he started to practice Fengxing Dharma. In a short time, he arrived at Taihu Lake and conveyed the order of the pioneer officer General Song Jiang to Li Jun and others. Li Jun received the order and immediately led several sailors and generals back to Song Jiang's army.
After Song Jiang waited for the arrival of Li Jun and other naval generals, he advanced both by water and land. For a time, both the navy and the land army gathered under the city of Suzhou.
The person guarding Suzhou City in Fang La Kingdom was General Fang Maang.
Fang Maang was Fang La's third younger brother, commonly known as the Three Great Kings. He wielded a Fangtian painted halberd and looked very majestic. Seeing the Song army forming an array outside the city, Fang Ming opened the city gate and drove the troops out of the city. On land, the army and horses faced off against the Song River.
Fang Maang was riding on a horse, surrounded by many generals.
Fang Maang raised the riding whip in his hand, pointed at Song Jiang and cursed: "You nigger! I think you are just a gang of thieves in Liangshanbo who robbed homes. The Song Dynasty lost the war and banned you from being a vanguard. You dare to lead troops into our land of Wu. You are simply overestimating your capabilities. A mad dog wants to bite the stars! I will only stop the army after I kill you all!"
Song Jiang was so angry that he was scolded. He scolded Fang Maang and said, "You Nanbarbarian! You are just a group of villagers in Muzhou. No matter how lucky you are, you want to dominate the world. You don't know the heights of the world. An ant wants to shake a big tree!" If you had surrendered as soon as possible, you could have been spared your death! Now, the heavenly soldiers are here, and you, a villager, are still resisting! If I don't kill you, I swear you will not return to the army!"
Hearing this, Fang Maang cursed angrily: "Bah! You nigger! You are bragging about your mother! I won't fight with you. If you have the ability, I have eight generals here. If you dare to call eight Are they coming out to fight?!"
Song Jiang was furious when he saw this. He also sneered at Fang Mang and cursed: "Bah! You flathead! You fart your grandma! You call your eight-member general to come out. If I are two and you are one, it doesn't count." Hero, I am going to compete with you on my skills. Anyone who has been killed and dismounted must be carried back to their own formation. No hidden arrows are allowed, and no corpses are allowed to be snatched. If there is no winner or lose, no melee is allowed. We will make an appointment to fight tomorrow!"
Fang Maang said: "Okay! I will have a fight with you, a nigger, and I will punish you, a bunch of thieves!"
While he was talking, eight generals were released from the Fangmao formation, majestic and heroic, all galloping to the front of the formation.
Song Xianfeng did not show any weakness. He rushed out of the eight generals, caught the eight generals in Fangmao, and started fighting against each other.
The eight generals who rushed out from Song Jiang's side were: Guan Sheng, Hua Rong, Xu Ning, Qin Ming, Zhu Tong, Huang Xin, Sun Li and Hao Siwen, all of whom were top-notch heroes.
In the formations on both sides, war drums were beating, and the sound was loud. This battle turned the world upside down, fierce and impassioned. In the formation, there were swords and guns raised, war horses galloping, dust flying, covering the sky and the sun. The sixteen generals each showed their abilities and fought to the death.
In the battle, Zhu Tong was the first to win, knocking Gou Zheng off his horse with one shot.
Seeing that his integrity had been compromised, Fang Mao hurriedly called for gold. The other seven generals of the Confederate Army rode back to the formation. The eight generals in Song Jiang's army did not pursue him and returned to their own formation.
Several soldiers from the Southern Army came over, carried Gou Zheng's body, and retreated to the formation.
On that day, both sides stopped drumming, lowered their flags, and stopped their troops.
The next day, the two armies beat drums and fought again.
On this day, the most outstanding person was not the other Tiangang stars, but the 43rd ranked Dijiexing, Choujun Ma Xuanzan.
Xuanzan was originally a military general under Cai Jing. He was born with a face like the bottom of a pot, nostrils pointing upward, curly hair and a red beard. He was eight feet tall and tall. In terms of appearance, he looked like a foreigner from outside the Great Wall.
This praise was attributed to a steel sword and outstanding martial arts. During the war against Liao Dynasty, he fought bravely and defeated several generals with consecutive arrows. The prince liked him so much that he recruited him as a county horse. Therefore, people called him "Ugly". County Horse".
Unfortunately, it was the princess instead of the prince who lived with the county horse. The prince loved its bravery, but the princess thought it was ugly, so he was depressed all day long, and later died out of hatred.
It is precisely for this reason that although Jun Ma Xuanzan has great talents, he has never been reused. He only served as a soldier and horse protector under Cai Jing.
When Liang Shanbo attacked Daming Mansion, the situation was critical. Liang Zhongshu Shijie urgently sought help from Taishan's father-in-law, Cai Jing. Cai Jing was also afraid that his son-in-law would be lost, and he was eager to send troops and generals to rescue Daming Mansion, but he had no idea of the situation and was running around in panic.
Ma Xuanzan, Chou Commandery, who was standing by, saw this scene and thought that the time was ripe, so he stepped forward and said to Cai Jingbing: "Don't be impatient, I recommend a general who is unstoppable. If he leads a large army, he will take advantage of the Liangshan bandit army." When we go out to attack Daming Mansion, we can directly attack Liangshan and break his stronghold. The Liangshan bandits will inevitably withdraw their troops, and Daming Mansion can be protected."
Cai Jing was overjoyed when he heard this and asked hurriedly: "Xuanjun Ma's plan is very clever. Who do you want to recommend to me?"
Xuan Zan said: "Your Majesty, the name of the person I recommend is Guan Sheng. He is a descendant of Guan Yu, the Marquis of Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. He is accustomed to wielding a Qinglong Yanyue Sword. Everyone calls him 'Dadao Guan Sheng'. This person is skilled in martial arts and is proficient in martial arts." The art of war includes the strategies to stabilize a country and the ability to surrender troops and kill generals. If you worship this person as a general, you will be able to clear out the water strongholds, exterminate the madmen, protect the country and the people, and expand the territory."
Cai Jing was even more delighted when he heard this and asked urgently: "Where is this person now?"
Xuan Zan said: "This person is now in Pudong and serves as a patrol inspector."
Cai Jing said excitedly: "Great, let's quickly transfer this person to Beijing."
Immediately, Cai Jing ordered Xuanzan to go to Pudong and announced that Guan Sheng would enter Beijing.
Xuan Zan traveled under the stars and night to rush to Pudong to Xuan Tiao Guan Sheng. After Guan Sheng received the declaration, he followed the declaration to Beijing and met with the Grand Master Cai Jing.
When Cai Jing met Guan Sheng, he was indeed a talented person. He was tall and tall, with a tall body of eight feet and sixty-five feet, a thin three-willow moustache, eyebrows on the temples, phoenix eyes facing the sky, a face as heavy as a jujube, and lips as if painted with vermilion. He was really like the reincarnation of Yunchang in the late Han Dynasty.
Cai Jing was overjoyed, so he appointed Guan Sheng as a general to conquer the Liangshan bandits, and Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen as deputy generals. He led an army of 20,000 people and went to Liangshan to attack Dazhai. He planned to encircle Wei and save Zhao, forcing Song Jiang to withdraw his troops and break the siege of Daming Mansion.
Guan Sheng, Xuan Zan, and Hao Siwen were ordered to lead troops to conquer Liangshan. As a result, all three of them were captured by Liangshan Bo. The three of them also returned to Liangshan together and became bandits.
This time, Ma Xuanzan of Chou County followed Song Jiang to the Suzhou City and attacked the Suzhou City occupied by Fang La. He happened to encounter the opponent's general Guo Shiguang.
Xuan Zan and Guo Shiguang were both highly skilled in martial arts. When the two met each other, they did not speak to each other. They raised their swords and guns at the same time, creating a fierce fight.
I saw the two people looking at each other angrily, one looking down on the other, holding swords and guns at the same time, they were fighting each other, both were injured, and neither one refused to bypass the other. As a result, the two hugged each other, fell under the Yinma Bridge, and died together.
There are also Shi En and Shi Liang, who have lived in the north since childhood and did not know the nature of water, but they followed the navy generals Ruan brothers to fight in the water. The boat rocked on the water, making Shi En and Shi Liang dizzy. Dizzy, unsteady on his feet, weak on his feet, he fell into the water, plopped a few times, sank into the water, and drowned.
Seeing that these are all unlucky people.
It is said that under the attack of Song Jiang's land and water advance, Fang Mao could not defend Suzhou and abandoned the city overnight and fled.
Song Jiang urged troops into the city to wipe out the remaining enemies, and sent people to report to the envoy Zhang Shuye, who entered the city to appease the people. He continued to lead troops and horses, and rushed southward, approaching the outside of Hangzhou, in preparation for the capture of Hangzhou.
Speaking of Hangzhou, it is not a simple city.
Therefore, before the Song Dynasty, this place was called Qinghe Town, with green mountains on three sides, a lake of green water, solid city walls, and prosperous scenery. In the hands of King Qian, Qinghe Town was renamed Hangzhou Ninghai Haijun, and the four city gates were changed into ten city gates. After Gaozong's chariots and horses crossed south, he established his capital here and called it "Huahua Lin'an Mansion".
When Fangla was occupied today, it was still the old capital of King Qian. The city had an area of eighty miles. Although it was not as prosperous as it was after Gaozong's southern crossing, it was very rich and luxurious. The country had always been beautiful and the people were luxurious, so there is a saying: "There is heaven above. There are Suzhou and Hangzhou below.”
Scholar Su Dongpo also wrote a poem praising:
I prefer the lake to be clear and clear, and the mountains to be empty and rainy are also strange.
If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, it is always better to put on light makeup and heavy makeup.
This shows how elegant and luxurious the city of Hangzhou is!
When Song Jiang led his army to the city of Hangzhou, he saw that the city was fortified, the waterways were crisscrossed, and everything was filled with sorrow. How could he enjoy the elegance and splendor of Hangzhou? !
When Song Jiang was melancholy, Li Jun reported from the front that Zhang Shun would be arranged to sneak into the city of Hangzhou overnight and set fire to it. At that time, they could swarm up and attack the city.
This is Song Jiang's specialty and has proven successful time and time again. Song Jiang was overjoyed when he saw the news and hurriedly arranged for his generals to make preparations according to the plan.
It's night, the stars are bright, the wind is clear and the moon is white, the water and sky are blue, it's refreshing.
Song Jiang led his troops to wait in the night, and waited all night, but did not see any fire rising in the city of Hangzhou.
Song Jiang was very puzzled, and suddenly received a report from Li Junxin, saying that Zhang Shun crossed Yongjin Gate at night, and was beaten to death under the Yongjin Gate by a barrage of arrows, bitter bamboos, and pebbles from the soldiers guarding the city.
When Song Jiang heard the report, he secretly thought that after waiting all night in the strange road, no fire was set. It turns out that the Zhang Shun brother who went to set the fire was beaten to death.
What is this scenario?
It turned out that last night, after Zhang Shun had a good meal, he took off his clothes and became familiar with the water. Wearing only shorts and shorts, he swam all the way to the Yongjin Gate with a sharp knife in his mouth and prepared to get in from the water. Set fire to the city of Hangzhou.
Zhang Shun swam to the foot of Yongjin Gate and came out of the water. He heard the drum beat on the city at four o'clock. Everything was quiet except for four or five people on the female wall looking around.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Shun hurriedly dived into the water again. After a while, Zhang Shun came out of the water. When he looked again, there was no one on the wall. Zhang Shun secretly said: The Nanmans couldn't stand it any longer and went to sleep. I took the opportunity to sneak into the city gate.
So, Zhang took the opportunity to crawl inside the Yongjin Gate, but he never thought that the Yongjin Gate was equipped with window lattice-like partitions, which were extremely strong.
Zhang Shun shrank his body and looked for a slightly wider place to drill. Unexpectedly, he came across a rope with copper bells tied to it, which tinkled in the night sky. The sound was beautiful and sweet, like a piece of music.
The people on the city wall broke out and shouted. Zhang Shun was afraid of being discovered, so he hurriedly got into the water again.
The people on duty on the city wall came down to see the situation, but when no one was seen, they returned to the city wall. Several people on duty discussed: "The bell rings strangely. Could it be that a big fish has touched the door?"
After some discussion, seeing no movement, they staggered back to sleep.
Seeing that there was no movement above, Zhang Shun got out of the water and came to the land not far from the door. Zhang Shun thought to himself, since I can't get in through the water, I will climb up along the door. Anyway, I have to go into the city. Otherwise, if I talk big but can't do it, I will be embarrassed and let brother Gongming see it. Will not get up.
However, Zhang Shun was afraid that the people above him were not asleep, so he went up rashly. He was discovered by the people on duty and shot down with random arrows, and his life was in vain.
Zhang Shun sat on the ground, pondered for a while, picked up a clod of soil from the ground, and threw it up the city wall, trying to test whether the people above were asleep.
When the soldiers who were not sleeping on the city wall heard the noise, they all called to the generals and went down to the city wall to check.
Zhang Shun hurriedly leaned to the ground, held his breath and remained motionless.
The soldier checked and saw that there was no movement under Yongjin Gate or in the water, and he was very puzzled.
The soldiers climbed back up the city wall and looked further into the distance. The moonlight made the surrounding area very clear and clear. The lake was dimly lit, but no ship could be seen.
After some muttering, several soldiers guarding the city said loudly: "It's very strange! Maybe it's a wandering ghost. It's so idle that it hurts. Let's just sleep and don't pay attention to him."
He said this, but he didn't go to sleep. He hid quietly, opened his eyes wide, and looked specifically at what the hell was underneath, making strange noises at every turn.
When Zhang Shun heard this, he cursed in his heart: "Who is the wandering ghost?! Your grandfather and I are Zhang Shun. When your grandfather and I enter the city, they will set it on fire. My brother Gongming will lead the heavenly army to attack In the city, some of you will become wandering ghosts!"
Therefore, Zhang Shun waited patiently for a while and saw that there was no movement above. Zhang Shun wanted to climb the city wall, but he was afraid that the higher-ups would deceive him, so he picked up another clod of soil and threw it against the city wall. This time, there was no movement at all on the city wall.
Zhang Shun was happy in his heart, laughed, and thought to himself, these idiots really thought they were wandering ghosts, they were so idle that they were harassing them! At this moment, I finally fell asleep and passed away. I don’t want to go to the city at this time. Go, when will we stay? !
So Zhang Shun stood up and climbed up the wall.
At this time, it was the fourth watch, and the bright moon illuminated the earth with a green light. A black shadow gradually climbed up on the city wall. When it was about to reach the gap in the female wall, more than ten soldiers suddenly appeared and shouted: "Ah! , the wild ghost is climbing up! Fight quickly!"
Upon seeing this, Zhang Shun fell into the trap secretly and jumped into the water under the city wall.
On the city wall, crossbows, hard bows, bamboo spears, and pebbles were all shot down together early, hitting Zhang Shun before he entered the water.
Poor hero Zhang Shun rushed into the pool outside Jinmen and was shot to death by random arrows.
