Some people were still dubious at first, but within a day, those bad boys who had been doing nothing and causing trouble in Jinling City came back in full force. They kept talking about those rebellious civilians who saw their shabby appearance, and asked questions. I just let them go without asking.
When we come back this time, if anyone wants to run away, you can follow them, but there is a fee for the tunnel they dug, and the fee is not low.
People who were initially hesitant began to believe it when they heard that these bad Helu delinquents who had never learned well were charging fees.
The Helv delinquents said that the rebels were about to invade, and if they didn't run away, they would have no chance. The rebels were riding taller horses than two people. Once Jinling City was broken, those people would kill without blinking an eye. Youzhou I heard that the people in the north are all people who drink blood from their hair, and if they don’t escape, they will have no chance.
Rumors spread in Jinling City one after another. After one family successfully escaped with their belongings, like an avalanche, more and more people escaped in the city. Some people were even dissatisfied with the bad guys' behavior of collecting money and found another damaged one. Escaped from the hole.
Seeing that the rebels really didn't care about them, some clever people ran back to the city and persuaded their relatives and friends to leave together.
When the prefect of Jinling learned the news, he immediately captured a group of people who escaped and executed them. As a result, they fled even more crazily.
After executing another group of people, the Jinling prefect paced restlessly at the top of the city. The rebel reinforcements under the city increased again. It was very conspicuous that they were about to make a big move.
This time, can he still defend the city?
The prefect of Jinling looked at the young prince who had been guarding the city. To his surprise, this young prince who had always been arrogant and arrogant actually persisted, but what was the use? Several prefectures and counties in Zhejiang and Zhejiang watched helplessly as they were besieged by the rebels. Thinking of this, the prefect of Jinling was filled with hatred.
The adjutant brought in another group of people, all of whom wanted to escape. As soon as they saw the official, these men with patched clothes knelt down. They dragged their families with them, their eyes full of fear, and they kept begging for mercy.
"Why are you running away? There are rebels outside. Do you think the rebels will be kind enough to let you go? Maybe those fools who escaped from the city are dead by now!" Jinling Prefect shouted.
The cowardly people huddled together, and one of the men protected his wife and children. He stood up angrily and said, "Even if you are killed by the rebels, it is better than starving to death in the city."
"There is plenty of food in the city, so how can we talk about starving to death?" The Jinling prefect's eyes widened angrily: "The unruly people are deceiving the public with their evil words. Someone will come and take them down and chop them down."
There are endless calls for mercy.
Wei Wuji looked at this scene and said, "Put them in prison."
The prefect of Jinling looked at the young prince angrily. The pressure of defending the city made him extremely nervous. He glanced at the palace officials on the wall and waved his hands to take these unruly people away.
"Now the price of food in the city is skyrocketing. I killed a group of people yesterday, but I still haven't curbed this trend. It's my fault, not theirs." Wei Wuji put the Qianqiu Sword next to him and slowly leaned against the city wall. His armor was stained with blood, his hair was messy, and he no longer looked like before.
The prefect of Jinling roared: "Little prince, your temporary kindness will only bring greater disasters. Today those unruly people escaped. Believe it or not, soldiers immediately threw away their weapons and civilians disguised as beggars also fled. The army is collapsing like a mountain. If you don't stop it today, tomorrow the city will be destroyed!"
"This is a conspiracy by the rebels. How can I let him succeed?"
"The rebels deliberately released those civilians just to disturb the morale of our military. Do you understand?!"
Wei Wuji raised his head and looked at the Jinling Prefect who was working hard for Jinling City. When his father was here, the Jinling Prefect often followed his father. In Wei Wuji's past memories, the short and thin Jinling Prefect only knew how to agree with his father. If it hadn't been for this crisis, Wei Wuji never knew that the Jinling Prefect was so determined to defend the city.
"I know, but you, Governor, can't kill all their attempts to escape." Wei Wuji looked at the gray sun in the sky: "Instead of holding on to them, it's better to kill the wealthy families in the city who want to escape. They are more harmful than those people. Take advantage of them. They made a fortune during the war in Jinling, and after making a fortune, they want to escape. They want to take advantage of all the benefits in this world."
"This..." The prefect of Jinling hesitated. There are not enough defenders in the city, and the big families still need to contribute people and money. If you kill one of them, this group will immediately counterattack. If the killing is brutal, they will directly join the rebels and start a fight. The inside should be coordinated with the outside, the Jinling prefect has seen many such lessons.
The young prince's rash act of killing people yesterday has aroused public outrage.
Seeing that the eunuch didn't speak, Wei Wuji stopped saying anything. Only now did he realize how hateful the family he had been friends with was. Unfortunately, he understood it too late.
There is no way around it.
Wei Wuji thought of this word.
In the eighth year of Yongxing, the year of Guimao, on the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, there was heavy snow.
The rebels attacked the city again for three consecutive days. Countless people fled in the city. Even though the Jinling prefect killed batch after batch, they were still unable to stop it. There was even a centurion leading his troops to escape. After learning that he had successfully escaped, it triggered A large number of soldiers abandoned the city and fled.
The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.
Wei Wuji gathered the troops in the city and the palace soldiers to resist desperately.
That night.
The governor of Jinling hanged himself in his home.
On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the city of Jinling was destroyed.
Wei Wuji watched the soldiers swarming towards the southwest corner of Jinling. His orders to stop them were ineffective, and he was forced back to the tower by the soldiers.
"If you take that road now, you will only end up dead. That road is not for you." Wei Wuji looked at the soldiers, there were many, many, but they didn't have any spirit to resist the enemy.
"Shut up. If you officials hadn't kept saying "defend the city, defend the city," I would have left a long time ago. My mother and father are waiting for me outside. If it weren't for this, I would have killed you. If you kidnap him and give it to the rebels, you might even get a reward." One of the soldiers said, their commander wanted to die but could not escape, and they also wanted to live.
"Go, go, go quickly." A captain urged.
Wei Wuji also saw a school captain from Jinling City in the crowd. After the eunuch died, the man immediately wanted to escape.
Everyone abandoned the city.
Wei Wuji lowered his head helplessly, sat on the city wall, and repeated: "Don't take the swamp road, that road is a dead end. The rebels will let the civilians go, not you."
No one listened to him.
The captain actually listened. He organized his men and prepared to rush out. These people who followed him were his shields. As soon as the rebels entered the city, they strictly controlled the key points of the city gates. Trying to rush through those passes was simply a dream. , it’s better to give it a try.
Wei Wuji watched them leave. Because the swamp route was deeply rooted in people's hearts, almost all the soldiers were rushing that way.
Heading towards a path of no return.
Wei Wuji felt pain in his eyes. He raised his sword and tried to stand up. The long battle left him covered with bruises. In the end, he stood up. All the royal officials who were guarding him were killed, and their corpses were all under his feet.
Wei Wuji looked at the Qianqiu Sword in his hand, and took one last look at Jinling City. Then he drew the sword out of its sheath, and the sharp blade sliced his own throat accurately.
Blood mist emerged.
Wei Wuji closed his eyes, swayed, and finally fell on the Jinling Tower.
Qianqiu's sword clattered to the ground.
At the same time, a beautiful concubine in the palace committed suicide.
After an unknown amount of time, the sword was finally picked up by one hand.
Zhou Xu looked at King Chu Ling who committed suicide and said to Lian Dalang behind him: "Send someone to bury him alive."
Xiao Qingxue followed her father and looked at the dead Wei Wuji, unable to express her feelings.
After taking control of Jinling City, Zhou Xu asked his Beifu troops not to disturb the people, and then went to the swamps southwest of Jinling.
In winter, the swamp is frozen to the bone.
The infantry of Jinling City were like wolves hunting lambs against the light cavalry of Northland. When Zhou Xu came, those infantry who were not aware of the situation in the swamp were still running away in this direction, shooting at the path they must pass. Lay an ambush, and now the ambush officially begins.
Zhou Xu rode a horse and stood on a high slope, listening to the news in the city reported by his subordinates.
Xiao Qingxue looked blankly at the fighting below. Wasn't she already victorious? Why do dad and the others still kill people? She saw people escaping from the city running into the knife's edge without any choice, not one or two, not hundreds, like a black line, and then turned into a bloody line.
She stood at a high place and could see clearly.
These infantrymen were no match for them. They were so distraught that they could only kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.
Xiao Qingxue closed her eyes, her eyelids trembling, the sounds of begging for mercy, screams, and wails echoed in her ears.
Lian Dalang couldn't help but said: "Miss Xiao, the blood here is too strong, why don't we go back first."
Xiao Qingxue opened her eyes and happened to see a foot soldier fall. He was very young, so young that Xiao Qingxue felt that he was only about fifteen or sixteen years old. His childish face was covered with blood. He was very scared before he died, and his face was frightened. to the twist.
More and more people fell, and they all seemed to be looking at her.
Xiao Qingxue took a step back, her face was pale, her whole body was shaking, her voice was inaudible, and finally her voice became louder and louder.
"Dad, forget it, let them go." Xiao Qingxue said loudly. She looked at the only person who had the right to give orders here, with tears on her face.
Her voice was so loud that everyone present fell silent. Even Hu Dali, who was talking to Yang Dong, stopped talking and looked at Mrs. Xiao.
The only sounds left were the sound of wind and the begging for mercy from the remaining soldiers.
Zhou Xu looked at his daughter.
Lian Dalang was shocked and quickly whispered to Madam Xiao: "The general has already issued a kill order in Jianghuai. Madam, please admit your mistake quickly."
"Kill and surrender order?" It was the first time Xiao Qingxue heard this word and the first time she knew about it. She looked at the soldiers kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy: "But we have already won, haven't we? They Surrendering."
Xiao Qingxue didn't understand how her father could do this.
Should I be killed even if I surrender? Dad's military order was so cruel and unreasonable, and Xiao Qingxue couldn't accept this one-sided massacre.
Xiao Qingxue looked at her father. Without his order, the killing below would not stop.
"Abba, don't kill anymore." Xiao Qingxue choked. She ran to Abba's horse and looked at him: "Just think of it as a birthday gift to me. Don't kill anymore."
"Okay?" Xiao Qingxue begged.
Hu Dali was about to say something nice for the little lady, but the motherless boy was pitiful. If the general was angry and wanted to punish the little lady, he would have to help the little lady no matter what.
Zhou Xu's jaw tightened. In his memory, this was the first time his daughter had cried in front of him.
"You promised me that after Jinling City is destroyed, I will do whatever I want." Xiao Qingxue wiped her tears fiercely: "You are not allowed to go back on your word."
Zhou Xu looked down at his sad daughter, and thought of his wife in a daze.
Zhou Xu finally raised his hand.
The herald immediately gave the order.
Hu Dali was stunned. No, General, where did your heart go?
"Stop crying." Zhou Xu looked at the madam's only daughter and spoke in a low tone.
Xiao Qingxue still couldn't help crying, like a lonely little beast.
Zhou Xu asked Lian Dalang to come over and accompany her.
"Is it worth contradicting the general for those people?" Hu Dali's mood was actually a bit complicated. Among these people, the most courageous one was Mrs. Xiao. The order to kill and surrender had always been a stain on the lord's criticism in the Jianghuai area.
But they were all prepared to persuade her slowly, but they didn't expect Mrs. Xiao to be so reckless.
Xiao Qingxue looked at the people Hu Dali was talking about, and tears burst into her eyes again. She felt that she would never fit in here.
"Hey, hey, don't cry." Hu Dali comforted him hurriedly.
Zhou Xu returned to Jinling City and went to Dajue Temple.
It's winter now, so the peach blossoms in Dajue Temple are naturally not in bloom.
After wandering around the back mountain, Zhou Xu returned to the front hall of Dajue Temple, where the solemn Buddha statue overlooked all living beings.
Zhou Xu, who had never believed in Buddhism, looked at the Buddha statue for a long time.
Long enough for him to put down the knife.
I made a wish to the Buddha statue.
