In April of the fourth year of Jianwu in the Song Dynasty, Baozhou, Hebei was under the rule of Mongolia.
It was a bright spring day. Zhang Rou, the guard general of Baozhou in Mongolia and a member of the Han army, was sitting on a chair on the city wall, drinking tea slowly while looking at the situation inside and outside the city.
Looking at the "Snow Fragrance Garden" in the south of the city, Zhang Rou couldn't help but smile proudly.
Bamboos and trees are lush, rockeries, rocks, trees and lotus ponds are interspersed with pavilions and pavilions, and the water is rippling. The scenery of "Snow Fragrance Garden" makes people feel relaxed and happy.
It's a pity that it's not summer time, when the lotus flowers in the lotus pond are in full bloom, it's a unique scene.
As the former central capital of the Jin Kingdom, he also served as the Yin of Daxing Prefecture and the envoy of this road, performing marshal affairs. Zhang Rou fought with the Mongolian army at Langya Ridge and was defeated and surrendered to Mongolia. She still retained her old post and was in charge of Baozhou.
After Zhang Rou returned to Mongolia, she rebuilt Baozhou City, planned markets, built residential buildings, built city walls, diverted moat water into the city, dredged rivers, drained water and prevented drought, built lotus ponds, built academies, moved temples and schools, and facilitated transportation. Agriculture, commerce and industry improved production conditions and residents' living environment, allowing Baozhou City to be revitalized and become "a metropolis in Yannan".
And Zhang Rou himself became a local nobleman with tens of thousands of troops in his hands and combined military and political power, just like the local emperor in Baozhou.
Baozhou is located in a plain, at the crossroads between the north and the south, and its strategic location is very important. Zhang Rou built four gardens in Baozhou, named "Shuchun Garden", "Zhongchun Garden", "Xuexiang Garden" and "Fangrun Garden" respectively. Among them, the Xuexiang Garden has a lotus pond excavated, which is full of flowers. Planting lotus flowers, known as "Lotus Pond", is a scenic spot in Baozhou City.
Turning my eyes to the outside of the city, I don't know when many refugees have gathered by the river. The ground is dirty, garbage is everywhere, and human and animal feces are scattered. If you are not careful, you will be hit. Women in tattered clothes were doing laundry and vegetables by the murky river, while naked children were playing and swimming by the river, their bodies covered in dirt.
Zhang Rou's brows immediately wrinkled.
"It's dirty, no matter how disgusting it is! I'll drive them all away!"
Zhang Rou said angrily, and the guard quickly agreed and walked towards the city wall.
Zhang Rou turned her head and glanced at the newspaper in front of her. The wind blew a corner and the words "Northern Expedition" came into view.
"Come back! Get some sesame seeds and go down and have a look!"
Zhang Rou put down the tea cup, picked up the newspaper and read it, frowning. He glanced up and saw the guard still staying where he was, his eyes widening.
"Why don't you go quickly? Get more and go outside the city!"
The guard woke up from a dream and hurried down to prepare.
Zhang Rou looked at the newspaper and suddenly sneered.
"...send troops to the north to drive away the barbarians, save the people from ruin, and restore the dignity of Han officials...poof!"
In the autumn of the year before last, when the Mongolian army went south, he attacked Jinan Prefecture with the Han Chijin Division of the East Route Army and killed countless Jin troops. However, the Tuolei Division of the Mongolian West Route Army suffered heavy casualties and had to return without success.
Unexpectedly, the Song army was about to embark on the Northern Expedition before the army went south.
Those who return to me will be safe in China forever, and those who carry me will flee beyond the Great Wall!
Who gave Song Jun the confidence? When autumn comes, the Mongolian army will move south.
It wasn't until the guards came up to report that they were ready that Zhang Rou put down the newspaper, stood up, and walked slowly towards the city.
"General, it's a mess outside the city, so don't go there."
The guard had a smile on his face and cautiously advised from the side.
The general loves to show off his authority and do honorable projects. The refugees gather outside the city, and there is a mixture of dragons and snakes. I don't know if there are any rioters.
"What are you afraid of? It's just a bunch of bitter people! Besides, with you guys, I'm still afraid of a ball!"
Zhang Rou stepped forward, but the guards had no choice but to follow him quickly.
No need to ask, the general is trying to win people's hearts and think he can use them for himself.
He manages the place in an orderly manner, so how can he let the outside of the city be in chaos and have a lot of refugees? Isn't this a slap in his face?
"Brother, where are you from? Why are you alone?"
Zhang Rou walked to the edge of the homeless pile and asked a sturdy middle-aged man with a sad face in a gentle voice.
"Reply quickly, this is Marshal Zhang from Baozhou!"
Zhang Rou's guards shouted loudly from the side.
"What are you yelling about? Don't scare this brother!"
Zhang Rou scolded the guard, turned around, smiled and continued to ask:
"Brother, can you still have enough to eat?"
"The villain pays homage to Marshal Zhang!"
The rough man quickly knelt down, kowtowed in fear and replied.
Marshal Zhang from Baozhou was so famous that he didn't care to reply, so as not to offend the marshal and endanger his life.
"Back to Marshal Zhang, I am a native of Daming Prefecture and have been living here. I heard that the Song Army is about to attack. There are bandits along the way. The whole family died of starvation and illness. Natural and man-made disasters. Now only the villain and his son are left. .”
He pointed to the distance and said: "My son went to the city to beg for some food. I will wait here for him to come back."
Zhang Rou nodded gently and said warmly:
"Brother, the world is not good, so take care of yourself. If you are willing, you can become a soldier and you will have enough food and drink!"
Zhang Rou took the sesame seed cake from the guard and stuffed it into the man's hand.
"Take it, at least you can afford a few meals."
Zhang Rou stood up, turned around and left. After taking a few steps, she stopped again and waved her hand.
The guard quickly handed over a few sesame seed cakes, and Zhang Rou smiled happily and handed them to a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Go and pass out all the sesame cakes!"
Zhang Rou passed out to several men and was already a little impatient. He waved his hand and the guards handed out the sesame cakes one after another.
"Folks, the world is bad and there is no way! If anyone wants to join the army, come to the city gate and take care of food and drink tomorrow. No one will starve to death!"
Zhang Rou shouted loudly, and the refugees knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Rou to express their gratitude.
Zhang Rou nodded with satisfaction. Maybe tomorrow, there will be a lot of people joining the army, and we will be more confident about defending the city or going into battle.
Zhang Rou was meditating. A dozen men in ragged clothes and gloomy faces had gathered around Zhang Rou from all directions without even realizing it.
"What are you going to do?"
As soon as the guard watching the horse outside the crowd asked a question, two men suddenly jumped up. The two guards were caught off guard and were immediately stabbed in the throat with a spear, bleeding for five steps. The other guards were frightened and immediately threw away the sesame cakes and chased them back. The two sides quickly fought together, and blood was dripping everywhere in an instant.
The assassins were all ruthless characters. They stabbed with spears repeatedly and were extremely ferocious. Zhang Rou's guards were dripping with blood. Several of them fell down in an instant. The refugees fled one after another, not forgetting to snatch the sesame cakes on the ground.
"Don't worry about others, kill Zhang Rou first!"
Someone among the assassins spoke, and the assassins stepped forward one after another, holding sharp blades and heading straight towards Zhang Rou.
Zhang Rou was taken aback, screamed inwardly that something was wrong, and ran forward.
The other party was obviously prepared. If he fled towards Baozhou City, he would probably be intercepted and killed on the spot soon.
He really couldn't figure out why these people wanted to kill him? Who is it?
Seeing Zhang Rou running away, several strong men shouted and followed closely.
After years of fighting, Zhang Rou is skilled with bow and horse. Although Zhang Rou is no longer young, he is still agile. He ran here and there, dodging in all directions. The few idle men who were chasing him were unable to catch up with him for a while.
A few more idle men sprang out from the refugee pile. They came from all directions, armed with knives, guns, or sticks, and headed straight for Zhang Rou.
Zhang Rou looked solemn, running and watching among the refugees, and received a few blows. These people are strong and capable, with a measured advance and retreat. At first glance, they look like soldiers. It seemed that someone had ulterior motives and wanted to harm him.
Fortunately, the local inspection was tight and the other party could not bring bows and arrows. Otherwise, he would have been shot into a hedgehog.
Two men came towards me with long spears in their hands. They thrust their spears and stabbed them. Zhang Rou rolled and dodged the two attacks, stretched out her legs to sweep one of them over, and then knocked another idler away with her shoulder.
He blended in with the crowd of refugees and ran faster. The idlers followed closely behind him in silence. Everyone was chasing after each other among the astonished refugees. Everywhere they went, there was chaos and chaos.
A bare-chested, muscular man waited for Zhang Rou to escape, stood up suddenly, and stabbed Zhang Rou in the heart with a spear.
The spear came suddenly, and soon it reached the chest. There was no way to avoid it. Zhang Rou had no choice but to take a hard hit. The spear pierced the dark armor on Zhang Rou's chest. The pain was so deep that Zhang Rou almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
Zhang Rou had a waist knife in her hand, and when the man was in a daze, she slashed the man's neck with the knife.
Blood spurted out and penetrated three-thirds of his flesh. The man screamed and fell to the ground. Zhang Rou didn't stop and hurried forward, already out of breath.
The idle men were chasing after him, but no one checked the injury of the man who had been stabbed. The others continued to chase Zhang Rou, fighting to the death.
Looking at Zhang Rou's dozen guards, they had all been killed and no one survived. The assassin also fell to the ground, killing and injuring several people.
However, the horses of Zhang Rou's guards have been captured by idle men.
Zhang Rou ran, panting, and shouted loudly:
"I... am Zhang Rou. Go quickly... to Baozhou City to report. I will receive... a big thank you!"
These men were so ferocious that they seemed to want to kill them all and insist on taking his life.
Zhang Rou shouted loudly, and the man behind could hear it clearly and chased him even more urgently.
The refugees didn't dare to interfere, so they all avoided. Zhang Rou ran hundreds of steps, and couldn't help but secretly complain. It turned out that she panicked and ran straight to the river.
Zhang Rou secretly complained, and ran back along the shore. Sixty-seven idle men holding swords and guns, densely packed, formed a semicircle and surrounded them.
The idle men had ferocious expressions on their faces, holding sharp knives in their hands, and slowly pressed forward.
Zhang Rou's face turned livid, she took off her shirt, gripped the long knife tightly, and stopped running.
The opponent had just shot him. If it weren't for the armor on his chest, he would have met the King of Hell.
There is no way to retreat, today we can only fight to the death.
Looking at Baozhou City again, the west and south city gates were wide open, and countless Mongolian troops rushed out on foot and horse, heading straight for the refugee camp outside the city.
Obviously, the Mongolian army in the city had discovered the changes outside the city, opened the city gates, and sent troops to rescue Zhang Rou.
Seeing that the situation was not good, several assassins came over on horseback and shouted urgently:
"Brother Six, leave quickly! If you don't leave, it will be too late!"
"You go first! Don't worry about me!"
Brother Six remained unmoved and did not look back. He stared at Zhang Rou with ferocious eyes and murderous intent.
Another man was holding a spear, and he was also calm. He and Sixth Brother formed an angle of horns, blocking Zhang Rou's escape route.
"Brother Six, Brother Twelve, I'm sorry!"
The assassins who besieged Zhang Rou abandoned Zhang Rou one after another. They immediately mounted their horses and fled as fast as they could. Only Brother Six was left at the scene.
The man named Sixth Brother and the man named Twelfth Brother looked at each other and nodded slightly.
"Song people?"
"Song people!"
"Do it!"
"Do it!"
The two of them said a few words, one on the left and the other on the right, holding a spear, and went straight to Zhang Rou.
"Two heroes, wait!"
Zhang Rou Dao was standing in front of him, and he quickly stretched out his left hand to stop him.
"As long as you let me go, I, Zhang Rou, swear to God, I guarantee that you will be rich and prosperous, and I will never pursue what happened today! You two think carefully!"
Reinforcements are coming, and if you delay just a little longer, you may be able to escape.
"Zhang Rou, just give up! You are the one who will be killed!"
After the sixth brother finished speaking, the spear came first. The twelfth brother followed and stabbed with the spear. Zhang Rou rolled and rolled back a few steps.
The two men stepped forward together, stabbing with their spears sharply and accurately, like poisonous snakes attacking. They were both masters of spear skills.
All this looked familiar, as if I had seen it before somewhere. Zhang Rou was so frightened that she didn't hide for a few rounds, her reaction was a little slow, and she was already shot in the lower abdomen.
"You are... Song Jun!"
Zhang Rou was sweating profusely and blurted out in a hurry.
The movements of these two men were all in military style. I heard that the Song Army's stabbing skills were world-famous, but the Jin soldiers and bandits did not have such tricks.
The moment she spoke, Zhang Rou's leg suffered another blow. She could no longer stand steadily and fell to the ground with a plop.
"Don't kill me! You can't escape even if you kill me!"
Seeing that the opponent was full of murderous intent and was about to come forward with a gun, Zhang Rou was frightened and was still making the final struggle.
"Zhang Rou, you are right, we are from the Song Dynasty, and we are here to assassinate you, a traitor, today! It's a pity that we, the King of the Song Dynasty, are going to the Northern Expedition, and we won't be able to see it!"
The man named Sixth Brother stabbed with a spear, Zhang Rou couldn't dodge, and the spear pierced Zhang Rou's throat. Zhang Rou's next words were all stuck in her throat.
Sixth Brother and Twelfth Brother shot Zhang Rou a few more times, and then they felt relieved when they saw Zhang Rou dying.
"Mom and Dad, please excuse me for not being able to fulfill your filial piety for your two elders!"
"Your Majesty, my Song Dynasty, farewell forever!"
The sixth brother and the twelfth brother knelt down together towards the south and kowtowed three times. The two stood up and wiped away their tears.
"Brother Twelve, you and I, brothers, let's go to hell together!"
"Brother Six, it's a pity that I don't know your name until now!"
"Song people, Intelligence Department, Chuzhou Liu Liu!"
"Song people, Intelligence Department, Gaoyou Chen Twelve!"
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"Brother Six, see you in the next life!"
"Brother Twelve, see you in the next life!"
The two men clasped their fists in salute, each held their spears tightly, and ran straight towards the surging Mongolian army for reinforcements.
The sound of "swishing" arrows was endless. The sixth brother and the twelfth brother were shot to the ground by the galloping Mongolian cavalry. They were covered with arrows and turned into hedgehogs.
"father!"
"General!"
Hundreds of horses galloped over. The knights on the horses dismounted one after another and knelt in front of Zhang Rou. Some cried loudly and some shed tears.
Looking again, Zhang Rou was covered in blood, her eyes were wide open, and she was no longer alive.
