The night is black and the blood is red.
After Xu Zongwen led Zhu Xu, Xu Yuanxi and other Jin troops into the city, everywhere he looked were broken walls and ruins, thick smoke rising from the burning houses of the people, countless collapsed houses, and the whole city was filled with blood. The smell, the streets were desolate, and there were no common people. After the Jin army entered the city, they immediately poured into the streets and alleys and began to slowly control every corner of Pengcheng.
Pingnan general Zhang Ju was captured alive, and Xuzhou governor Zhao Qian had already fled to Chang'an before the Jin army besieged the city. The captured Zhang Ju was ordered by Zhu Xu to be escorted to Jiankang to await the court's disposal.
Zhu Xu rode in front of the generals. He looked back and said: "Zongwen should be the first to win this battle. If it weren't for Zongwen's clever plan, we wouldn't be able to capture Zhang Ju so easily. Moreover, Zongwen also defeated Pengcheng. Otherwise, we These people are afraid of drinking the northwest wind outside the city tonight!"
"Hahaha……"
"General Xu has outstanding resourcefulness and should take the first credit for attacking the city and defeating the enemy. We have no objection at all!"
"It's all thanks to General Xu that we were able to enter Pengcheng so easily. Now that Pengcheng is broken, it will be easy to regain the entire Xuzhou."
Everyone praised Xu Zongwen.
"General Xu has indeed made great achievements this time. I can't imagine the ladder formation."
Several lieutenants ridiculed: "With your reckless temperament, you still dare to show off your wisdom and axe?"
"Hahaha..." There was another burst of laughter.
"You are so ridiculous!" Xu Zongwen said hurriedly: "Although this battle was planned by me, it was Mr. Auxiliary Machine who came up with the plan. Furthermore, without your full cooperation, how could such a victory be possible?"
The generals were all very satisfied when they heard that Xu Zongwen was so humble. After all, they had all tried their best. No one would be comfortable if one person took all the credit.
While the generals of the Jin army were rejoicing, Xu Zongwen turned his attention to the ruins in the city and sighed: "In prosperity, the people are suffering; in death, the people are suffering!"
Xu Zongwen felt very uncomfortable when he saw piles of corpses in front of him, shouts of killing everywhere, scattered crossbow arrows in the air, and intermittent smoke rising from the fire.
Zhu Xu rode his horse forward and heard Xu Zongwen's emotion. He reined in his horse slightly and waited for Xu Zongwen to catch up. "Zongwen, I just heard you say that the people are suffering, dying, and the people are suffering. It hits the point and makes sense. I didn't expect it." Not only are you capable of fighting on the battlefield, you also have some talent."
"Your Majesty Muzan, most of these people are Han people. We defeated the Qin army and drove away the Di people, but in the end it was our own family who suffered. Some of my subordinates can't accept it."
"Zong Wen, you are still young after all." Zhu Xu continued to move forward. He pointed with his horsewhip at the three or two prisoners of the Qin army who were being taken away on the street and said: "The Hu people have occupied our country of Han for decades, and they have done nothing but harm. Qian, when our king's division goes north to regain the old territory, it is bound to have a battle with the Qin army. It is impossible to rely on surrender. Maybe the people will suffer some losses now, but they will be saved from the harm of the barbarians. This is more gain than loss. !”
Xu Zongwen did not answer, but kept nodding, looking at the raindrops that had almost disappeared in the sky. The rain came at the right time and went away at the right time. Without this rain, the Cloud Staircase Formation would have been burned down by the Qin army, Xu Zongwen's army would not have been able to attack the North City, and there would have been a great battle in Pengcheng. Without this rain, countless civilians and soldiers in the city would have perished in the sea of fire...
After the great victory, more than 40,000 Jin troops held a grand celebration banquet inside and outside Pengcheng and celebrated all night long. It was very joyful.
In the governor's office of Xuzhou, lanterns were decorated and laughter continued. The troops who were chasing the Qin army returned to the city one after another and reported their victories to Zhu Xu. The victory reports continued and the seizures were plentiful. All the generals reported the good news to Zhu Xu, who was sitting on the throne. Position, face full of red light, full of contentment.
"Congratulations on your recovery of Xuzhou."
"Congratulations on your recovery of Xuzhou."
The generals came forward to propose a toast one by one, and Zhu Xu accepted everyone who came. They all drank the whole bowl, which was a hearty experience!
Pei Qing reminded him softly from the side: "General, you should also come forward and offer a bowl of wine."
"Yes, it should be." Xu Zongwen held up the wine and strode forward to Zhu Xu: "I would like to congratulate you on regaining Xuzhou!"
As soon as Xu Zongwen appeared on the stage, all the generals focused their attention on Zhu Xu and Xu Zongwen. Zhu Xu was not only a friend in times of need for Xu Zongwen, but also had a recommendation relationship.
Naturally, Xu Zongwen also admired Zhu Xu in his heart and always wanted to repay his kindness.
Two months ago, before Xu Zongwen captured Xiapi, it was Zhu Xu who personally handed Xu Zongwen the intelligence from Wang Xian, the prefect of Xiapi. It was precisely because of the intelligence given by Zhu Xu that Xu Zongwen was able to use bluff to surrender without spending a single soldier. Wang Xian surrendered to Kaicheng.
It was precisely because of the victory in Xiapi that Xu Zongwen was able to gather people's hearts and win consecutive battles all the way. He attacked Tancheng and regained Donghai County, swept across Xiangbi, Wuyuan, Guangqi, and Fuyang, pacified the northern part of Pengcheng County, and finally captured Pengcheng. These things were in Xu Zongwen's heart There are several.
Xu Zongwen's bowl of wine was filled with sincerity and gratitude. Zhu Xu could also tell it from Xu Zongwen's slightly red eyes. He stood up, filled the bowl of wine himself and touched it with Xu Zongwen. The two looked at each other and drank. But in the end, no matter how much affection there is, it’s all in the wine.
Zhu Xu said loudly: "Since our army began to attack Xuzhou, Zongwen has attacked the most cities and recovered the most land. If any of you thinks that his contribution is greater than Zongwen, stand up and I will personally go to Shu. Let’s ask the Taifu and Your Majesty for your merits!”
"I see Xu Xiaoqi's contribution in my eyes. The general believes that no one in the entire army can equal the contribution of General Xu. Do you think so?"
Xu Zongwen did not expect that the first person to stand up would be Xu Yuanxi, the Zhendong general who had a dispute with him.
"General Xu is right. Without Xu Xiaoqi's plan, how could today's celebration banquet be possible?"
Zhu Xu stood up, walked out of the main seat, took Xu Zongwen's hand and raised it high, shouting loudly: "Xu Xiao, Xu Xiao!"
"Xu Xiao, Xu Xiao..."
With Zhu Xu taking the lead, all the soldiers stood up and shouted Xu Zongwen's name. Xu Zongwen's cheeks were slightly red, and he was embarrassed to be called.
"Bring Zhang Ju up!" After the cheers ended, Zhu Xu ordered people to bring in Zhang Ju, the Pingnan general of the Qin army who was defending Pengcheng.
"Kill him, kill him!"
"Password to Jiankang!"
"Kill this Huru!"
"Why is this Hulu still here? Waiting for the New Year?"
…
Zhu Xu waved his hand, and then the generals stopped shouting.
"If you want to kill, then kill, if you want to cut, then cut into pieces. If I, Zhang Zhi, frown, I am not Da Qin Erlang! What are you talking about?"
Zhang Ju's hair was disheveled, and the armor on his body was in pieces. There were holes in the boots on his feet. His hands were tied behind his back. There was a penetrating wound three inches below his chest. It was probably caused by Xu Yuanxi's use of a long spear before he was captured alive. That's it. With a miserable look on his face, Zhang Zhu was still a tough talker, without a word of begging for mercy.
"Are you willing to demote me to the Jin Dynasty?" Zhu Xu asked.
Zhang Zhi sneered, with a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and said disdainfully: "If you are defeated today and I, the general, persuade you to surrender, will you be willing to surrender to our great Qin?"
Zhu Xu paused and thought to himself: You have the guts!
"The defeated general is uttering arrogant words." Xu Yuanxi put down the fragrant half of the leg of lamb in his hand, pointed at Zhang Zhi and shouted angrily.
When Zhang Ju saw Xu Yuanxi, his eyes turned red. He pushed away the two escorting Jin soldiers and rushed towards Xu Yuanxi. He was extremely jealous when he saw his true enemies!
"Bang! Bang -" The wine and meat on Xu Yuanxi's case were poured all over the floor. Several adjacent lieutenants couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward one after another. The two of them first kicked Zhang Zhi's legs and bent them towards Zhang Zhi. He gave a fatal blow to the injured chest, then pulled out his sword and put it on Zhang Ju's neck, and then subdued Zhang Ju.
"Don't stop me, I'm going to kill this Hulu!" Xu Yuanxi drew his sword and came angrily, but was stopped by several other captains.
Zhu Xu hurriedly ordered: "That's enough!" He drank half a bowl of wine and said slowly: "Send him back to the capital and leave it to your majesty."
After Zhu Xu made up his mind, Xu Yuanxi threw down his sword. At this time, soldiers brought a new case and served him wine and meat. The interrupted celebration party began again.
After returning to the camp, Xu Zongwen called Pei Qing, Shen Yu, Zheng Lue, Zhuge Kan, Tian Luo, and Zhang Gui into the tent.
"Meet the general!"
"Everyone, sit down!" Xu Zongwen said with a smile: "We have almost eaten at Zhu Shijun's place, so I won't prepare anything for you."
"Hahaha..." Zheng Lue smiled naively, "Actually, those wines are soft and weak. I won't be afraid if you give me another two jars!"
"Just brag!" Zhuge Kan laughed.
After more than a month of running in, several people under Xu Zongwen's command are familiar with each other, and sometimes they will make jokes and tell dirty jokes to relieve boredom.
"I, Xu Xiao, have come to this day only because of all of you who dedicated yourselves to killing the enemy and working for me. I will never forget this kindness!" Xu Zongwen took out the dagger from his boots, held it in his hand, and made a sharp slash!
"General, what are you doing?" Pei Qing stood up and opened Xu Zongwen's hand, then carefully took away the dagger.
Seeing this, all the generals took out their daggers and greeted each other. Pei Qing was about to apply medicine to Xu Zongwen, but he stood up and grabbed everyone with his injured palm, "From now on, you are all I, Xu Xiao’s brother, share hardships, share blessings, and share life and death!”
"We share hardships, we share blessings, we live and die together!" The generals stood up and formed a circle, folding their injured palms together and saying an oath.
Pei Qing watched silently from the side. Xu Zongwen quietly turned around, looked at him and nodded to each other. At this moment, a tacit understanding was formed quietly and unconsciously.
After the generals took their seats, Xu Zongwen looked at everyone and said: "There is no major war in Xuzhou at the moment. Your military report has not yet been sent to Jiankang, and your official positions will not be promoted for the time being..."
"Brother, what you said is wrong!" Shen Yu interrupted Xu Zongwen: "We only want to kill the enemy happily when we follow you, how can we care about military positions?"
"Shen Yu is right. I, Zhuge Kan, am just a small team leader in the Beifu Army. Even if I have made so many meritorious deeds, I am at most a cavalry commander. But now that I have become a captain under the general, what more can I ask for? Woolen cloth?"
"Don't say you are a team leader. Shen Yu and I were just big soldiers at that time. Didn't the eldest brother just start his career as a military commander?" Zheng Lue said in a rough voice, almost roaring: "How are you now? After more than ten battles, My eldest brother has become a general, and I have two thousand people under my command, so just follow him, why do you think so much?"
"We all owe it to the general to promote him!" Tian Luo and Zhang Gui clasped their fists at Xu Zongwen.
Xu Zongwen raised his hand and said: "It's not because of me, but because of your own efforts to kill the enemy to get the official position you have today. I believe that in a few years, all of you will be generals!"
"Thank you General for your kind words!" Everyone responded with a smile.
Next, Xu Zongwen discussed with everyone the rectification of the 20,000 men and horses under his command, military supplies, food supplies, baggage, as well as the candidates for the captains of each battalion and other official positions. This discussion came to an end...
On the second day, the Jin army began to clean up the mess in Pengcheng, disposing of the corpses of the enemy and our soldiers, cleaning up the city walls, strengthening the city defenses, and at the same time dismantling the continuous ladder formations that allowed Xu Zongwen's troops to attack the city as if they were walking on flat ground. Less than two days later, Today, Pengcheng is in order and prosperous as before!
