It was difficult for the former bandit leaders to decide whether to rebel again, so they all turned their attention to a tall middle-aged man, none other than the famous Zhang Cunmeng.
Zhang Cunmeng, nicknamed "Bu Tie Mu Mu" by others, was once one of the three leaders of the bandits in northern Shaanxi. He led tens of thousands of his tribesmen to kill officials in rebellion and attack cities and plunder territory. He was a very fierce figure.
Later, when he was defeated and surrounded, Zhang Cunmeng did not resist to the end, but chose to surrender to Tianwei's army. He wanted nothing more than to save the lives of his men.
Qin Feng kept his word and not only forgave the surrendered bandits, he also did not kill Zhang Cunmeng or sentence him, but settled him in Baichengzi with his family.
After arriving in Baichengzi, Zhang Cunmeng received grain, clothing, cattle, fields, seeds and other supplies. Then he and his family made a living by plowing fields and fishing. They worked at sunrise and rested at sunset. They had no worries about eating and drinking and lived a comfortable life. !
Although he is no longer the big leader, Zhang Cunmeng is generous with money, fair and just, and helpful to others. Therefore, he enjoys high prestige in Anlefang, and people are very convinced of him!
Now that it was a critical moment of life and death, everyone naturally wanted to take a look at the attitude of the former leader.
Facing the expectant gazes of everyone, Zhang Cunmeng was about to speak when a slutty one-eyed man in his thirties came over.
"Chief Zhang, brother, I have something to say!"
"If you have anything to say, say it!"
The one-eyed man's name was Guo Qing, and he was given the nickname: One-eyed Wolf. He used to be the leader of Wang Zuogui, one of the three major bandits in northern Shaanxi. Later, he was defeated and captured. Since his crime was not too serious, he was not punished and was placed in Baichengzi. And arranged a blacksmithing job for him.
Guo Qing was naturally indolent and did not want to make a living by working hard all day long. He tried to escape twice, but because the Tianwei Army was closely guarding him, he failed and was whipped twice. Everyone in Anlefang was shocked by this incident. Know.
Now that Guo Qing has stepped forward, what will he say?
"Chief Zhang, we used to be rebels. We were defeated and captured, so we came to Baichengzi. They said they were properly resettled, but in fact it was almost like being in prison. There was no freedom at all. Not only did we work hard every day, but we couldn't gamble. , can’t play, can’t have fun, it’s almost frustrating.
In my opinion, now that Baichengzi is in danger, we should take the opportunity to leave here, either return to our hometown, or go to King Gao Chuang, and then pull up a group of people to continue to kill officials and rebel and attack the city and seize territory!
With our abilities, we will surely make a name for ourselves. When the time comes, we will drink heavily every day, eat large amounts of meat, gamble when we want, and play with women when we want. How carefree and happy it will be! "
"Well, what Brother Guo said makes sense. Raising an army to rebel, eating, drinking and having fun is indeed a happy and carefree life. But, I know a place that is even happier than eating, drinking and having fun every day. Do you want to go?"
"Oh, there is such a good place?"
"Of course, it's the Western Paradise. I'll send you to it right now... to brush... Plop!"
While talking, Zhang Cunmeng raised a golden-backed sword that he took from the warehouse and slashed the one-eyed wolf Guo Qing's neck. The head immediately flew out, blood spurted out from the neck more than four feet high, and the body exploded. He fell to the ground with a sound.
After beheading the people, Zhang Cunmeng raised his voice and said to the people around him: "Brothers, we have indeed killed officials and rebelled, and attacked cities and plundered land, but we were forced to have no choice but to have a full meal. Rice, I have to resist!
Later, when we were defeated and captured, General Qin not only did not kill us, but also gave us proper arrangements. We cannot forget this kindness of not killing us.
After arriving in Baichengzi, we were allotted fields and were self-sufficient. There was no pressure from the government, heavy taxes or corvee work. We had enough food and clothing every day, and were happy with our wives and children. This is something no one could ask for. What a great day!
Everyone, remember, Baichengzi is not a prison cell, but our home. Now that our home is in trouble, we must not stand idly by. It belongs to men. Come with me to kill the gang and protect our home! "
…
"Brother Zhang is right, General Qin is kind to us, we can't be ungrateful!"
"Such
I haven't had enough of the peaceful days. I will fight to the death of anyone who destroys my home! "
Zhang Cunmeng's words instantly ignited everyone's emotions, and then they all raised their weapons and roared towards the east gate where the fighting was the fiercest.
At the east gate, the soldiers of the Tianwei Army could no longer hold on. Many Jurchen soldiers rushed in and were about to occupy the city gate and wall.
"Brothers from the Tianwei Army, we are here to help, kill the ***!"
"kill***!"
Although the Jurchen army rushed into the city, they were already very tired after fighting all night and day.
Zhang Cunmeng led a new force, and they were all former bandit leaders. All of them had fought and killed people, and were not only experienced, but also had a few tricks up their sleeves.
As a result, during the confrontation, many of the Jurchen soldiers were cut down, and then they retreated steadily and were quickly driven out.
Some of the people were left behind to help the Tianwei Army reorganize their defense line, while Zhang Cunmeng led the rest of the people and rushed to the west gate, slashing and killing them, and drove out the Mongols who rushed in!
Baichengzi, the crisis has been turned into safety!
…
"You bastard, don't retreat, don't retreat... Damn it, reorganize your team immediately and fight back for Lord Ben Beile. We must capture Baichengzi today!"
The soldiers who had just rushed in were driven out again. This made Sanbeile Manggurtai, who was supervising the battle in front of the formation, very angry. He immediately drew his sword and chopped down a few soldiers who retreated first, forcing the rest to retreat. Fight back again.
However, after fighting continuously for a whole night and a day, the Jurchen soldiers were extremely exhausted and could no longer fight. No matter how much they yelled or cursed, it was useless.
In desperation, we had to let the soldiers rest for a while, eat some solid food and drink some water, and then continue to attack the city after they regained their energy.
Unexpectedly, while we were resting, the weather changed. The heavy snow turned into moderate snow, the moderate snow turned into light snow... and finally stopped.
As soon as the snowflakes stopped, the firearms were usable again.
"Boom...boom!"
Soon, the invincible general's cannon, which had been silent for a night and a day, roared again, and projectiles fell one after another, causing heavy casualties to the Jurchen army and the Mongolian army, and their limbs flying everywhere!
Unwilling to accept defeat, Mang Gurtai pulled out his saber and was about to charge into the battle himself, but was stopped by Ning Wanwo with force.
"Master Beile, although the heavy snow has stopped falling, the clouds in the sky have not completely dissipated. I estimate that there will definitely be another heavy snow within three to five days.
Why don't we retreat for the time being, go back and recuperate, let the soldiers regain their strength, and when it snows again, it won't be too late to attack Baichengzi again! "
"Well...that's all we have to do!"
Although Mang Gurtai was furious, he did not lose his mind. He knew that what Ning Wan and I said made sense. It was impossible to conquer Baichengzi today. If we continue to fight forcefully, it would only increase casualties in vain. It is better to endure it for the time being and fight again next time. .
So he suppressed his anger and issued an order to retreat.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
The low horn sound sounded, and the Jurchen army and the Mongolian army immediately turned around and quickly returned to their respective camps as if they had been granted amnesty.
On Baichengzi's side, there were bursts of cheers for the survivors!
………………
Ning Wan's prediction was very accurate. On the third day after the war, it snowed again. It was very heavy. It continued to snow for two days and one night, and it still had no intention of stopping. The thickness of the snow on the ground exceeded two and a half feet.
Rain and snow are very detrimental to the weapons of Tianwei Army!
Logically speaking, the Jurchen Army and the Mongolian Army should seize the opportunity, launch a massive attack again, and capture Baichengzi in one fell swoop.
In fact, both the Jurchen Army and the Mongolian Army stood still and stayed in the military camps for two reasons: First, they were sick.
It's not just one or two people who are sick, nor one or two hundred people who are sick, but the whole army is sick, not just the people, but also the horses, cattle and sheep.
It can range from fatigue and listlessness to severe vomiting and diarrhea and high fever. Even senior executives like Mang Gurtai, Derge Lei, Ning Wan and I were not lucky.
No, they all fell ill.
After diagnosis, the doctors accompanying the army unanimously determined that this was a large-scale plague, and it was directly related to diet.
After inspection, it was found that there was nothing wrong with the food in the army. The only problem was the drinking water. Someone had tampered with the water and spread the plague, and most likely it was someone from the Tianwei Army who did it.
After learning about the situation, Mang Gurtai was furious again. Then he ordered his doctors to make a decoction to treat the plague in the army. At the same time, he strictly ordered all the soldiers not to draw water from the long canal.
As for drinking water in the army, isn’t it snowing heavily? Collect the snowflakes and burn them in a big pot to drink!
Even so, the number of sick people in the army continued to increase, and some even died of constant vomiting and dehydration!
Under this situation, the Jurchen army and the Mongolian army were too busy to take care of themselves, and naturally they were unable to attack the city again!
…………
The second reason: there are not enough military supplies.
Two consecutive large-scale sieges consume a lot of military supplies, and replenishment is urgently needed!
For this matter, Mang Gurtai sent three envoys in succession to Huang Taiji to ask for supplies. However, a few days passed, and the team escorting the supplies had not yet arrived at the camp. Without supplies, it was naturally impossible to attack the city. !
Why haven't the supplies arrived? Could something have happened?
