"Is there really no hope?" Yuan Feng looked at his father pleadingly.
If he just came to Guo County alone, he would naturally think about how to protect himself first like his father, but he is not alone. His father-in-law and his family are all in Guo County, and he is still the county magistrate of Guo County. Even if he can escape, , it is difficult for the father-in-law's family to escape under the watchful eyes of the thieves.
Yuan Chaoju shook his head slightly.
Seeing this, Yuan Feng showed bitterness on his face and said: "Father, take care, the child can only wait until the next life to fulfill his filial piety."
Yuan Chaoju's expression changed when he heard this.
Although he knew Yuan Feng's difficulties, Yuan Feng's choice of his father-in-law's family still made his father feel dissatisfied.
Zhao Xing, who was standing next to him, saw that Yuan Chao was determined to give up defending the city, so he had to say: "Commander Yuan, I have to inform the county magistrate of the situation in the city, so I will take the first step."
After saying that, he walked away without waiting for Yuan Chaoju to say anything else.
As for going back to defend the city, he never thought that the sound of cannons outside the city had already made him understand that the city was not so easy to defend, especially the commander who came from Zhenwu Guard was scared, which was enough to show that Guoxian County Yi was already in danger. .
"Father, the child is gone too." Yuan Feng knelt down and kowtowed to Yuan Chaoju, got up, mounted his horse, and rode away.
In the blink of an eye, only Yuan Chaoju was left.
"well!"
Yuan Chaoju looked at Yuan Feng's leaving figure and sighed helplessly.
The city would soon be in chaos. He, an old man over sixty years old, could easily kill him if he ran into two ruffians on the street.
In desperation, he had no choice but to chase Yuan Feng on horseback.
boom! boom! boom!
The sound of artillery fire continued in the north city of Guo County, and the sound spread throughout the county.
The streets have long been deserted, and the most bustling archways in the past are no longer around, leaving only the closed doors of every house.
On the city wall that suffered shelling, corpses and broken arms were scattered on the ground, and the blue brick wall was dyed with a layer of bright red blood.
After a round of shelling, there was no living person on the city wall except corpses. When the defenders on the city wall were shelled again, they all fled immediately.
The first tiger-character flag soldier to climb up the city wall was stunned when he saw that there was no one on the city wall.
Compared with the attack on Daizhou City, the defenders in Guoxian City showed no resistance at all.
Soon, more and more soldiers outside the city climbed onto the city wall through ladders.
A large flag with a tiger character was planted at the top of the city.
The city gate opened, and the armies waiting outside the city began to enter the city in an orderly manner.
The layout and important locations in the city had already been marked by the Secret Service's secret spy drawings. As soon as the army entered the city, they began to clean up the defenders on other sections of the city wall, and at the same time sent large troops to occupy important locations in the city.
"The county magistrate is in trouble, the thieves have entered the city." Zhao Xing stumbled into the back office of the county government office.
Not long after he separated from the Yuan family and his son, he met the guards who had escaped from the northern city wall and learned that the bandits had captured the northern city wall.
Zhou Shouchi, who was sitting in the back office, changed his expression and asked eagerly: "How could the traitors enter the city so quickly if not for Commander Yuan's command?"
"Forget about Commander Yuan, he only went around the city to the north, took one look at the army of bandits outside the city, said he couldn't hold it anymore, and then ran away." Zhao Xing said angrily.
The other party's dignified Zhenwu Guard commander had not fought with the bandits outside the city, so he fled without a fight. From the bottom of his heart, he looked down on the other party.
"How could this happen?" Zhou Shouchi's face turned pale.
With a military commander like Zhenwuwei Commander stationed in Nao County, he thought he would be able to defend Nao County and use the walls of Nao County to resist the invading bandits, but he never expected that Zhenwuwei Commander would be such a fool.
"Your Highness, please run away. You can leave the green mountains without fear of running out of firewood. Although the thieves have entered the city, they won't be able to reach the county government office for a while. Your Highness, why don't you change your clothes and escape from the city with your subordinates?" Yangqu asks for help." Zhao Xing advised Zhou Shouchi to escape.
He knew what he was thinking.
As a small inspector, even if he escapes to Yangqu, he will not be taken seriously, and he may become the scapegoat for the fall of Guo County. But if he can escape to Yangqu with the magistrate of Guo County, You can also get some credit and be taken seriously by the senior officials in Yangqu, and maybe you can be a blessing in disguise.
"No, I won't leave." Zhou Shouchi looked serious and asked immediately, "How many more people can you gather?"
"Your Majesty, the County Master?" Zhao Xing was stunned and looked at Zhou Shouchi who had regained his composure in front of him in surprise.
Zhou Shouchi said: "Go and bring all the people you can find to the Yamen. I will lead you to fight to the death against the bandits here in the Yamen."
"Then, I'll take care of it now," Zhao Xing said hesitantly, turned around and left the back office neatly.
Zhou Shouchi looked at his leaving back with a wry smile.
The bandits entered the city and the fall of Guoxian County was inevitable. He knew that even if he escaped from Guoxian County, his fate would not be good. It was better to die in Guoxian County and save his family.
"Go get my sword." Zhou Shouchi told Chang Sui, who had been following him.
Changsui left the yamen to get the sword in the study for Zhou Shouchi.
In the Yamen, the news of the bandits entering the city had already spread because of Zhao Xing's arrival. At this moment, the Yamen was in chaos, and the people in the Yamen rushed to escape from the Yamen.
Zhou Shouchi picked up the tureen on the table, touched the side of the cup that had cooled down, put it to his mouth and took a sip of the cold tea.
What was brewed in the tureen was his favorite tea, but this time he took several sips of the tea, but couldn't taste anything.
"Master, your sword." Chang Sui returned to the back office with a long sword.
Zhou Shouchi took it, grabbed the hilt of the sword with his right hand and pulled out a section of the sword from the scabbard. Looking at the cold light on it, he felt calmer.
"Sir, I think what the patrol inspector said makes sense. Since the thieves have entered the city, there is no need for you to stay. Why not take advantage of the chaos in the city and escape from the city as soon as possible." Chang Sui advised.
Changsui came from Zhou Shouchi's hometown, and it can be said that he and Zhou Shouchi were both prosperous and devastated. At this time, he did not want to see Zhou Shouchi die in Guo County.
Zhou Shouchi said with a wry smile: "Do you think I have left? Nowadays, except for the northern city gate, several other city gates in Nao County are blocked. If you want to leave the city, you can only go north, but the bandits enter the city from the north. I have no chance to escape even if I want to, so I might as well save my last bit of strength and fight with my life against that bandit, which will be my last bit of loyalty to the Ming Dynasty."
Chang Sui rolled his eyes.
The order to leave only the north gate and block the other gates came from you, the county magistrate. Who can blame you for not being able to escape now?
"Why hasn't Zhao Xing come back yet? Are you going to take a look outside?" Zhou Shouchi said to Chang Sui in front of him.
Chang Sui said: "Inspector Zhao may want to find more manpower, and those who come back may be slower."
