Before sunset, Hong Shaobao's army finally arrived at the border of Xiangyang. For the troops mainly composed of infantry and gunners, the marching speed was already very fast. 】98】98】9 reading】9 books, 2≧3o↗
Hong Chengchou could also abandon the large army and lead hundreds of light cavalry first, but if the fighting is still fierce here, this move will be tantamount to giving Zhang Xianzhong a gift.
The generals still had a lot of cavalry in their hands, but Hong Chengchou did not dare to mobilize all of them. Once the rebels and light cavalry really appeared behind them, they would not be able to pursue them with just a large number of infantry.
He asked Luo Dai to lead five thousand horsemen to rush to Xiangyang quickly, in order to temporarily delay the rebel army that might launch an attack on the city, and wait until the counter-rebellion army arrived, so that they could fight to the death.
Luo Dai did not need to fight to the death with Zhang Ni's main force. As long as he could charge in all directions on the battlefield, it was enough to stir up trouble. This was the task Hong Chengchou gave Luo Dai.
If Xiangyang City is still in the hands of the official army, Luo Dai can follow Hong Shaobao's instructions to advance. Otherwise, he will have to wait quietly on the outskirts of the city and join the army before launching an attack on the rebels.
After Hong Chengchou led the main force of the army to Gucheng north to defeat the enemy, he felt that something was wrong and felt vaguely that he had been deceived. After seeing through Zhang Ni's trick of seducing the east and attacking the west, he quickly ordered Luo Dai to return to Xiangyang first.
After meeting Luo Dai outside the city, Hong Chengchou did not take the opportunity to enter the city. Instead, he looked around the surrounding battlefields and felt relieved when he saw the corpses of thousands of thieves. Thinking about it, he felt a little Afraid.
If the prince hadn't already warned him, and he had left thousands of people to defend the city, he might have easily succeeded in a sneak attack by Zhang Ni, as the immortal military advisor Liu Bowen had calculated.
Through this battle, Hong Chengchou once again realized that what the prince said was true, and every word was accurate. Commander Liu still had a miraculous plan and could win the battle thousands of miles away.
Since the situation did develop as the prince predicted, and the rebel army failed to attack the city again, and thousands of people were killed and injured by the official army, then Zhang Ni would have no choice but to flee elsewhere.
The results of the various generals who participated in the war were also presented, and Hong Chengchou also browsed them briefly. Luo Dai's troops served as the vanguard and fought against the enemy three times, killing a total of 4,000 thieves.
Yang Shien and Jiang Mingwu defended Xiangyang. During the defense of the city, the former's troops killed 2,000 enemies and captured 200, while the latter's troops killed 3,000 enemies and captured 400.
There were relatively few prisoners because many of the soldiers who were injured by artillery fire or arrows during the siege did not receive treatment for too long and died of excessive bleeding. Many of the remaining soldiers were about to die. Those who really pretended to be dead Not much actually.
Yang Yufan's troops were in Wanshan, and Mou Wenshou's troops were fighting in Xianshan. Both troops wounded and killed more than a thousand rebels.
After the war, Hong Shaobao would send people to count the results of the battle, or personally verify the situation, so the generals did not dare to make false reports to the superiors.
As a court official with extensive experience in suppressing bandits, Hong Chengchou basically knew what was happening after surveying the battlefields along the river and outside the city, and did not go on patrol in the mountains.
Including prisoners, the total number of battles of each unit was approximately 13,000. According to accounts from some senior prisoners who knew the inside story, the total strength of the bandit army before this sneak attack on Xiangyang was only around 25,000.
Based on this calculation, after the battle of Xiangyang, Zhang Ni had only 12,000 troops left in his hands, and Zhang Kewang and Zhang Dingguo's 6,000 men who divided their forces to carry out a feint have not yet been captured.
According to the information about the escape direction of the rebels sent back by Tan Ma, Zhang Ni may advance to the southwest in the next step, or he may turn northwest halfway and join the troops of his two adopted sons before heading to the Xunxi area. ∷八∷八∷Read ∷book, ≮※o
Luo Rucai and many other bandit leaders were there. If they were to gather together, their scale would be quite large. Their determination should not be underestimated. They must be encircled carefully to prevent the main force of the bandits from escaping from the encirclement of the official army first.
"Bring the prisoners up!"
Many of these prisoners were injured and had weak legs or feet, or were afraid of being discovered and intercepted by the officers and soldiers on the way, so they simply lay down and pretended to be dead. However, when the officers and soldiers were cleaning up the bodies, they could no longer pretend.
There are many people who are really injured and the pain is unbearable and they shout for help. However, those who are too seriously injured are basically sent to death for free by the officials. Otherwise, they will have to suffer for a while longer. This is also for their sake. .
You come to attack the city, and after breaking it, you will burn, kill, and loot. The whole city will not end well. Now that you are injured and about to die, the city has no obligation to treat you. Even if there are enough herbs, they are still reserved for the officers and soldiers.
The total number of thieves who were slightly injured and would not die immediately was about 600. Among them were many stubborn guys who regarded death as home, but most of them hoped that Hong Shaobao would be able to spare their lives.
It is better to die than to live. Even if they work as oxen and horses for Hong Shaobao, pulling carts and plowing the fields, they are willing to do so. It is still living, but the way of living is different. No matter how you say it, it is much better than death.
A group of prisoners of war were escorted to the open space in front of the city. The walls were lined with archers from the army. They were unarmed and did not dare to speak easily. They could only glare at Hong Shaobao opposite...
There were not many people below, and most of the words spoken loudly could be heard clearly. Hong Chengchou cleared his throat and said, "You followed Zhang Nifu to rebel against the imperial court and massacred the people of Gucheng. Your crime was extremely heinous. Now, now He came to attack Xiangyang again. He should have committed two crimes and be executed immediately!"
"Have mercy~!"
"grown ups!"
"This is what the Eight Kings did!"
"It has nothing to do with anything..."
When they heard that Hong Chengchou was going to kill everyone, the prisoners knelt down and kowtowed one after another. They kept bowing to Hong Shaobao on the city wall, hoping to gain the other party's understanding and tolerance by begging for mercy.
"quiet!"
"No noise!"
"Anyone who makes noise without permission will be killed immediately!"
Yang Shien next to him yelled, causing hundreds of people below to gradually calm down, otherwise the matter would not come to a conclusion until sunset.
When the noise subsided, Hong Chengchou continued: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has ordered me to punish the rebels as appropriate. I also feel that we should not generalize to you. Those who provide valuable information will be exempted from death. For those who donate one hundred taels of silver, People can also avoid death."
This move was given to Hong Chengchou by a certain prince, but he didn't dare to say in front of so many people that it was Master Qiansui's idea, otherwise it would appear how cunning the prince was?
A wise minister should know that he has to take the blame for the Mingjun when necessary. But don’t carry it often, otherwise you will easily strain your lumbar muscles...
An emperor like a certain emperor who always shirks the blame will turn his officials and military commanders away from him in the end, leaving him alone in the end.
The prince was only ten years old and still in his prime. If he said it was ordered by Lord Qiantose, no one would believe it. It would be better to say it directly from his own mouth.
Of course, there is a third type of person who can receive amnesty without having to speak or pay, but this will not be announced in public for a while.
After Hong Chengchou finished speaking, he asked the prisoners who knew the information to find a group of nearby clerks responsible for recording. The clerks did not even have a grade and could only be regarded as handymen accompanying the army. Because they could read and write, they did not need to do manual labor.
A clerk sat every ten steps to ensure that the contents of his conversation would not be heard by the prisoners next to him. After the clerk recorded what the other party said, he presented it to Hong Shaobao.
This is also limited to middle- and high-level rebel prisoners who have relatively more information. As for the lower-level soldiers, unless they are the personal soldiers of a certain general, they will not know as much as what Hong Chengchou heard.
There are also many people who pay to redeem their lives. For example, Li Heizi, who pretended to be dead under Chenggen. After killing Zhang Shacai, he stopped touching the corpse for a while, carrying one hundred, sixty-seven taels of silver in his arms. .
If Hong Shaobao kept his word, he would not only be able to buy back a dog's life, but he would also be able to keep a small change, which made him overjoyed.
"Master! Master! Go and pay the money!"
Li Heizi jumped out of the crowd. Even if he didn't know who tripped him up, he didn't mind at all if he had eaten a dog chew. He would soon be pardoned and let the poor ghosts behind him die.
"……go there!"
The officer and soldier first looked up and down at Li Heizi, who was smiling with a flattering face. He still felt a little disgusted with the thieves who had attacked Xiangyang, but he still pointed out the location where the enemy was going in a cold voice.
"Thank you, sir!"
Li Heizi cupped his fists and saluted, then walked over in a hurry. Under the astonished gazes of his companions, he proudly took out his amulet - his money bag.
The clerk counted one hundred taels and didn't charge more than one tael. Even if he wanted to keep the balance as his own, Li Heizi didn't dare to complain, but Hong Shaobao above would not be indifferent.
Now that the officers and soldiers have money, they are much stricter about things like enriching their own pockets than when they had no money. Even the general soldiers have no chance to eat empty pay.
If the people below dare to take dozens of taels of silver privately, they must first see if their necks are strong enough. Compassion does not control soldiers. Hong Shaobao has always been unkind to his enemies and himself.
"Press fingerprints! Here! Here! And here! All ten fingers must press it!"
After the expressionless clerk almost passed the money, he began to instruct Li Heizi to press his fingerprints. It was a big joke to ask these illiterate soldiers to sign. The only proof was their fingerprints.
A Donglu head is worth one hundred taels of silver, and now a rogue head is also worth a hundred taels of silver. This business is not a loss.
If all of these prisoners could afford this money, they would be able to collect as much as 60,000 taels at a time. However, not everyone has money, and about half of them are poor.
There are only three types of rich captive soldiers. The first is the general's personal soldiers. These people have a very high monthly salary, and they will bring the general's belongings with them when fighting, which can be used as their own buying money at critical moments.
Next are the guys who looted Gucheng. After they had done their job, they had no place or time to spend money, so they had to follow the Eight Kings to attack Xiangyang.
The last category is "gold masters" like Li Heizi. He can't beat the living, but there is no such obstacle for the dead. If the time is longer, he can touch two hundred taels of silver.
If you don't have enough 100 taels of silver, everyone can collect it, but only one life can be redeemed for every 100 taels of silver. If you are jealous, then don't make up the numbers and wait for the third piece of good news from Hong Shaobao.
There were only 113 people who provided valuable information and paid enough money, and the remaining nearly 500 people were all guys who could not meet Hong Shaobao's requirements.
When his subordinates took all the prisoners who met the conditions away from here, Hong Chengchou, who had already cared about this, said to everyone cheerfully: "It doesn't matter if you can't meet the above conditions. In view of what you have done before, I thought that as long as you kill If someone close to you is killed and you offer his head, you will be pardoned. If you offer two heads, I will give him a hundred taels of silver as a settlement fee! The time limit is one stick of incense. Stop after the time. If no one takes action, I will order the bows and arrows to be fired, and you will all be shot! If someone catches you before the deadline, it is against the regulations, and I will order that person to be shot!"
Since Hong Chengchou could follow the prince's order and let the three northern troops join forces to besiege Zuo Liangyu, he could naturally make the five hundred prisoners in front of him kill each other. This method was much easier than killing the prisoners, and even the arrows might You can save a lot.
Whether it was the civil servants such as Wang Chengzeng, the prefect of Xiangyang, and Wang Ruinan, the military commander of Xiangyang, who were watching on the top of the city, or the military generals such as Yang Guozhu, Liu Guoneng, Luo Dai, Yang Shien, etc., they all felt that Hong Shaobao's move was too vicious...
When officers and soldiers threw 300 knives from the top of the city, they would certainly not throw them in numbers. It would be first come, first served, and those who arrived later wouldn't even be able to catch the knives.
The number of thrown knives is also important. If one knife corresponds to one person, then there must be two hundred people without knives to hold, and most of them will be hacked to death.
After killing all the guys without knives, there are still a hundred people with knives who have no heads to take. In order to survive, they have to attack those who have knives and heads.
So until the end of the fight, there should be only a hundred or even fewer people who can survive.
Whether they can survive or not depends on their own abilities. At this time, there is no room for hesitation.
Anyway, Hong Chengchou was holding on to the crenel, happy to be able to watch the fun without having anything to do with himself...
"Grab the knife quickly!"
I don’t know which guy yelled. Many prisoners who were still hesitating immediately rushed to the bottom of the city. They had to grab a knife to save their lives. Those who couldn’t grab the weapon would probably die. .
The scene suddenly became extremely chaotic. The person who grabbed the knife first didn't wait to turn around and start slashing, but several guys rushed up from behind and directly carried his butt with their shoulders, and directly pushed his head against the city wall to death. .
According to Hong Shaobao's order, thirty knives were thrown into one crenel, making a total of ten crenels. One was thrown into every crenel, and the number was very even.
However, the number of prisoners rushing past each crenel was not the same. There were as many as fifty or sixty at the nearest position, and less than thirty at the far distance.
At this time, there is no distinction between superior and inferior at all. Regardless of whether you are a general or a boss, whoever has the sword in his hand is the boss.
"Well..."
Before a guy with a clueless mind could finish his threatening words, he was stabbed in the back and gouged out. He was immediately dead and had no chance to fight back. .
Chopping off hands, chopping off feet, chopping off heads, poking eyes, strangling necks, kicking crotch, everyone will do anything as long as they can quickly make the opponent lose their fighting ability.
Moreover, the battlefields are all in a narrow strip near the city root. Since the opponent must be killed quickly, the chance of everyone trying to escape is very slim.
Instead of grabbing the knife, just turn around and run. The archers at the top of the city and the officers and soldiers on guard outside will help others kill some opportunistic guys.
In this game, participants must obtain the head level and survive until one stick of incense is reached before success is considered successful. All other methods will be considered violations, and the final right of interpretation belongs to Hong Shaobao... 11
