inspire-indiana Chapter 574 Kaifeng City at Night
Chapter 574 Kaifeng City at Night
Chapter 574 Kaifeng City at Night
As night falls and the moon rises in the east, the city of Kaifeng is like a winding and undulating dragon, faintly hidden under the sky. The old willow trees planted on the banks of the Bian River under the city wall are luxuriant and lush. Dancing with the wind in the hazy night.
The torches and tall stoves above the city gate are blazing with charcoal fire for lighting, while on the long and tall city walls, the crenels and turrets of the city walls, you can see sporadic lights and soldiers walking back and forth, chatting and laughing in low voices.
In the city of Kaifeng, from the governor's yamen to the magistrate's yamen, all have fallen into a sea of joy. Nearly ten thousand bandits are celebrating the first attack of repelling the government army.
No matter how insightful people such as He Guosheng and Li Yanqing feel that the official army is different from the previous imperial army, at least the lower-level subordinates feel hopeful to defend Kaifeng because of "victory in the first battle".
It seems that the imperial court is not so difficult to resist?
Seeing the high morale, He Guosheng, Li Yanqing and others couldn't remind their subordinates to dampen the morale, and even intentionally fueled the flames, creating an atmosphere that the officers and soldiers are not to be feared.
The governor's yamen, the five official halls and the front and rear courtyards, with high hanging lanterns and torches, illuminated as brightly as day.
Tables and tables of banquets have been set up inside and out, with wine, meat and dishes on them. On the lacquered wooden chairs are the leaders of bandits, big and small, talking, laughing and drinking.
At this moment, in the official hall consisting of five main rooms, Wang Sishun, He Guosheng, Li Yanqing, Luo Jinzhong and others gathered at a table, discussing the combat power of the officers and soldiers.
Surrounded by several people's cronies and generals, they gathered around a table.
He Guosheng put down the wine cup and said in a low voice: "These officers and soldiers are different from the soldiers encountered in the previous prefectures and counties. harder to fight."
"Brother He, this should be the elite of the imperial court." Luo Jinzhong twisted a peanut bean, raised a full glass of Fenjiu, and drank it with his neck back.
Li Yanqing frowned into the word "Chuan", and said: "Brother Luo, don't be careless, let the brothers have dinner later, divide into several groups to watch the night, and be careful not to make any mistakes at night."
Even if the thieves gathered here to celebrate the retreat of the official army and attack, they still sent some people to guard the city wall to prevent the official army from attacking.
"Brother Yanqing's words are correct. A proud soldier will be defeated. Don't be careless." He Guosheng nodded and said, "It's hard to defend the city today. Let's talk about it now. After dinner, let's redeploy our troops and redeploy them. , and save the fuss tomorrow."
At this moment, this middle-aged man, when Gao Yue is not around, looks like a leading brother.
Luo Jinzhong said with a smile: "I don't have any troops on the east side, and my brothers can stop them, except that the north side is next to the Yellow River, and the army has no navy, so we don't have to worry too much. Besides, there is no brother Wang. .”
Wang Sishun glanced at Luo Jinzhong, he was talking about the fact that he sent people to collect ships.
Li Yanqing asked: "Brother Wang, I heard from my brothers that the horns lying on the south wall were touched by the officers and soldiers several times, what happened?"
Wang Sishun put down the wine cup in his hand, waved his hands and said: "It's nothing, the officers and soldiers rushed up the city wall several times, and there are a few who have never seen such a big battle. At first, they panicked, but later it was nothing serious. Even the officers and soldiers failed to gain a firm foothold, so they were blasted down by my subordinates."
Li Yanqing nodded, turned to look at He Guosheng, and said: "Brother He, the officers and soldiers who came this time were all cavalry, I am afraid that as time goes by, there will be more and more gatherings of soldiers and horses. Win a game, but if this continues, you will lose if you defend for a long time, I want to organize a thousand or two thousand martyrs who dare to die, collect horses, wait for two or three days of stalemate, and take advantage of the night to attack the officers and soldiers."
Previously, the officers and soldiers lined up with cavalry pawns, and then attacked from the edge of the city. The whole process was orderly. I am afraid that this offensive and defensive battle will still have to be fought. It is very necessary to prepare a cavalry mobile attack in advance.
He Guosheng frowned, and said: "But there are not many military horses in the city. It's not that Brother Li doesn't know it. It would be great if we can gather seven or eight hundred horses now."
The Henan Dusi sent a large army to Runing Mansion to suppress the bandits. It can be said that a large number of troops from the Dusi were dispatched. After the first battle, all the troops and horses fell into the hands of Gao Yue.
"It's as much as you can get together. In the next two days, my younger brother is willing to personally lead the cavalry and attack the army at night. Otherwise, if you defend passively, you will lose if you defend for a long time." Li Yanqing said in a low voice with a solemn expression.
Luo Jinzhong raised his wine cup, bowed his head and took a breath, his face became strange, and he thought to himself, does this Li Yanqing collect war horses, is he trying to escape?
Even if it wasn't for the purpose of escaping, it was...for the convenience of escaping.
Luo Jinzhong thought about this, and said: "Brother Li, facing the charge of the army today, the brothers under him are not less tired, but my brothers under Lao Luo have been resting all the time, so Yu Li should be the one who led the brothers to do this. .”
Li Yanqing said: "Brother Luo is going to do this?"
He Guosheng and Wang Sishun also looked at Luo Jinzhong in surprise, not knowing what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd for a while.
Luo Jinzhong said with a smile: "A lot of my brothers used to be thieves, and they did a lot of things like robbing houses at night, so I've been doing this for the past two days."
Li Yanqing did not doubt him, said: "Then Brother Luo will handle this matter."
Wang Sishun frowned, his eyes flickered, but he suddenly woke up with a sneer in his heart.
This is to get on the horse in advance, seeing that the situation is not good, so as to escape from Fengfu City.
He Guosheng took the look of several people into his eyes, and didn't take it seriously, as long as these people can keep Kaifeng Fucheng, then they can be integrated at that time.
"The Master Gao is here."
Just when several people had different thoughts, Gao Yue came out from the inside surrounded by Wei Bochuan, Lai Haiyuan, Li Zimin and other trusted subordinates.
The leaders of the bandits at the tables next to each other got up one after another, calling out in unison: "Great master."
Of course, not everyone respected this Generalissimo who "advocated for righteousness". Some people even felt that Gao Yue was a little foolish. His brothers lost so much and they all made wedding dresses for others.
He Guosheng stood up, and asked with concern: "Master Gao, how is brother Ma Liang?"
This is asking about Ma Liang before, the earth and rocks blasted by the gunpowder splashed into his eyes, and he was rushed to the hospital later.
Gao Yue's already slightly dark face was as black as the bottom of a pot, under the thick eyebrows, the tiger's eyes flickered coldly, and he said in a low voice, "Thank you Brother He for your concern, I have already sought treatment from a doctor, but I can't keep a trick."
Ma Liang was one of Gao Yue's subordinates brought out from the northwest. He had been guarding Gao Yue's side, and he had sacrificed his life for Gao Yue several times.
The problem is not only Ma Liang, he has more than a thousand brothers, but less than a thousand are left after the day's big loss, and these people in front of him are still complacent about repelling the attack of the official army. Was it in exchange for the blood of his brothers?
The leaders of the thieves inside and outside the hall, seeing Gao Yue's face is not good-looking, and some of the thin-skinned people feel a little guilty. In the eyes of everyone.
There is nothing to say about the righteousness of Yuntian.
Of course, not everyone understands Gao Yue. For example, although Luo Jinzhong's face is full of deep grief, he sneers in his heart. Your brother died, and our brothers today have suffered a lot. Who is watching?
If you hadn't underestimated the enemy and rushed forward, as Brother Yanqing said, how much damage could these three thousand soldiers and horses have caused to the officers and soldiers in a sneak attack?
He Guosheng stretched out his hand to invite him, and said, "Brother Gao, sit down, have dinner first, and then we'll figure it out later, how to fight tomorrow's battle."
Everyone echoed Ying Shi, no matter how much they slandered, at least they were on Gao Yue's side.
Gao Yue sat down sullenly, behind him were Bo Chuan, Lai Haiyuan, and Li Zimin standing behind him, with the appearance that no one should enter.
"Several brothers also hurry up and sit down to eat." He Guosheng looked at Li Zimin and the others beside Gao Yue who were looking unhappy, and stretched out his hand to say hello, but they didn't move.
Until Gao Yue gave an order, several people sat down at the nearest table, but their eyes were mostly concentrated on Gao Yue.
He Guosheng's face was calm, and he said in a questioning tone: "The tall master, you have always been resourceful, and you have fought many times with the officers and soldiers. What do you think now?"
As soon as this statement came out, all the bandit leaders in the government hall looked at Gao Yue.
"Soldiers come to block, water comes to cover it." Gao Yue shook his head, and said in a deep voice: "However, Gao Mou heard that the emperor of Shenjing City reused the descendants of Ning Guogong, and a man called Jia Heng personally organized the army. It’s not what it used to be, it’s different from the officers and soldiers we usually meet, I think Brother He and Brother Yanqing also saw each other during the day.”
"Jia Heng?" He Guosheng frowned and repeated the name.
Li Yanqing and Luo Jinzhong looked at each other and looked at each other.
Gao Yue looked at the few people who didn't know, and couldn't help but feel even more disappointed.
Secretly, after fighting for a long time, I don't even know who the commander-in-chief is, so why fight?
In fact, Gao Yue didn't know much about Jia Heng. He knew about the rectification of the Beijing camp, but Gao Yue had just found out who the leader was.
When Gao Yue went to visit Ma Liang's injury, he saw a doctor surnamed Qin who treated Ma Liang. Helmsman, informed Gao Yue of the intelligence information of this group of officers and soldiers.
"This Jia Heng is a descendant of the Ning Kingdom. He is a son of a general. I heard that he is not very old. He has been familiar with military books since he was a child. He has a lot of strategy. He is also a trusted and important minister of the emperor's old man. Gao Mou previously thought he was a son of that dandy family. , But thinking of the big fight with him these days, I found that it is really not to be underestimated! Brothers, the officers and soldiers brought nearly [-] cavalry from the Beijing camp, and now they are only forward cavalry." Gao Yue's face was frozen like ice, and In the end, he said it loudly, and broke out a big news in public.
As soon as this statement came out, from the government hall to the courtyard, the faces of all the bandit leaders gathered around the table for a feast changed in shock, and everyone was in an uproar.
"10 million people..."
"One hundred thousand steps and rides?"
"How many people do we have, can Kaifeng City be defended?" A leader with a red turban on his head shouted loudly at a table in the southwest corner.
Immediately attracted one after another echoed, chattering, noisy endlessly.
Wang Sishun rolled his eyes, got up, and said righteously: "As long as the city of Kaifeng is defended properly, why can't it be defended? It's not said in the military book that if we work together, the court wants to succeed. I'm afraid that 20 soldiers and horses are enough, so what is a mere [-]?"
When everyone heard this, several bandit leaders with flushed faces applauded loudly.
He Guosheng frowned, and cast a glance at Wang Sishun, clearly displeased with Wang Sishun's "stunning", but sometimes with so many people, such a thing that hurts Gao Yue is really indispensable.
The so-called, the first rafter rots first, and the high black tower is this rafter.
He Guosheng ignored Wang Sishun, but looked at Gao Yue aggressively, and asked, "Gao Da is in charge, and the follow-up officers and soldiers will come in large numbers. Was the news ever true?"
Seeing that the noise around him was really unbearable, Luo Jinzhong shouted loudly, "Brothers, be quiet! Listen to what Master Gao has to say!"
There was a lot of bluffing in the front and back of the hall, hearing Luo Jinzhong stop drinking, muttering a few words, his voice gradually lowered.
Gao Yue said in a deep voice: There is no doubt about it!The imperial court was terrified when they heard that we were waiting for an incident in Henan. The sad news that the city of Kaifeng was breached spread to Miyagi. It was heard that the son of the emperor's old son was holding a concubine ceremony. Hearing that Kaifeng had been destroyed, the emperor was shocked and angry Fainted out on the spot, Jia Heng, commander of the Jingying Festival, led his troops out, traveling day and night, vowing to wipe us out! "
Mentioning the emperor's illness, Gao Yue's gloom dissipated, his eyes flashed coldly, he picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
In any case, breaking through the city of Kaifeng can be said to be his most proud hand in confronting the imperial government and army in recent years, and he still used such a clever trick of deceiving the sky by pretending to be an official and army.
In fact, Gao Yue didn't know that there were similar things in another time and space.
In the 14th year of Chongzhen, on the ninth day of February, Li Zicheng fell into Luoyang and killed Zhu Changxun, the king of fortune. At that time, Henan governor Li Xianfeng led the guerrilla general Gao Qian to suppress the peasant army in Huaiqing Mansion north of the Yellow River. Li Zicheng felt that Kaifeng's defense was empty, so he traveled day and night. He planned to attack Kaifeng, and the first [-] riders pretended to be the Ming army, but because the villagers on the official road were congested, and his subordinates cut down the people to fight for the road, they were discovered by the Ming army on the top of the city. In the end, the sneak attack was unsuccessful.
Earlier, in the first month of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong also intercepted and killed Yang Sichang's messenger, seized the military amulet, pretended to be an imperial envoy, entered Xiangyang, and seized Xiangyang City with internal and external cooperation.
Under the decadent bureaucratic system, it is not uncommon for people to pretend to be imperial messengers and imperial envoys to deceive local officials.
When everyone heard that the emperor had fainted, they were overjoyed and applauded in unison.
"The emperor and the elders have fainted, it shows that the man is exhausted." Li Yanqing said loudly with an excited face.
This master Li, who is good at riding and archery, was originally the postman of the post station under the jurisdiction of Caozhou. Later, because of his wife's beauty, he fell in love with the younger brother of the Zhizhou Zhizhou because of his wife's beauty, so he killed the Zhizhou's son. .
Gao Yue said: "Gao and the imperial court are at odds. You all know that the three thousand brothers are all in the imperial court's hands. But no matter how resentful you are, you know yourself and the enemy, and you will win every battle. Now the imperial army is powerful. We will guard Kaifeng and look forward to you all." Together."
Everyone agrees to say yes.
And when the governor's yamen was celebrating the repulsion of the official army, at the wall at the southwest corner of the Daimen Tower in Kaifeng Fucheng, Qu Lang led twenty or thirty brothers to patrol the defense of the city wall, and released a figure along a rope, The cat bent its waist and disappeared into the moonlight.
Three miles away from Fengfu City, in the barracks built with antlers and fences on all sides, there are lanterns hanging in all directions and swaying in the wind. Groups of Jingying soldiers holding torches, holding spears and wearing goose feather knives on their waists, Patrol in the patchwork military tent.
"Sir." At this time, Princess Xianning opened the curtain to enter the brightly lit tent, looked at the young man standing in front of the city defense map, and said, "It's past Xu time, sir, let's have something to eat."
As she spoke, she was holding a tray of food and placed it on a small lacquered wooden table. The girl was slim and slim, her arms stretched out like willows, and even the flying fish suit still couldn't hide her exquisite and graceful figure.
Jia Heng looked away, turned around, looked at Princess Xianning, and called out, "Your Highness."
While talking, he was so close that he was about to pick up his chopsticks.
Princess Xianning's bright eyes sparkled, and she said angrily, "Mister hasn't washed his hands yet."
"Almost forgot." Jia Heng said with a self-conscious smile, and put down his chopsticks.
With the sound of footsteps, Xia Houying came over with a basin of clean water and put it on the wooden shelf aside, and Jia Heng washed her hands.
"Sir, have you thought of a strategy to defeat the enemy?" Princess Xianning approached, took the towel in her hand, and handed it over, Yurong looked at the boy with concern.
Jia Heng took the towel from Princess Xianning, wiped his hands, and said thoughtfully, "There are some clues."
"Oh?" Princess Xianning asked in surprise.
Jia Heng said: "We will be under the cover of night later, our army will dispatch troops and horses to go to the city wall in the south, and at the same time launch a fierce attack from the front to attract the attention of the bandits, and then attack from the south to take advantage of the situation to seize the city gate."
After the previous summary of Cai Quan and Qu Guang, the troops were properly allocated to the southern city wall.
It is better to wait for the internal response. If the internal response cannot be waited for, although there will be casualties in the storm, it is still within the tolerable range.
Otherwise, the more time is given to the thieves to integrate the interior, the easier it will be to fall into a protracted offensive and defensive battle, causing greater war trauma to Kaifeng City.
Not to mention other things, if the bandits force the people in the city Ding Zhuang to help defend the city and rely on the city, the officers and soldiers will find it difficult.
"Siege the city at night, I'm afraid it's inconvenient to see." Princess Xianning took the chopsticks at this time and passed them over, her voice was like melting ice and snow, cool and sweet.
Jia Heng accepted it naturally, and said in a low voice: "It's not good for me, and it's even more bad for the enemy. Our army can get support from cavalry, but the bandits can only be exhausted, and the enemy bandits are not as good as our army in training."
Soldiers in this era often suffer from night blindness, and the cavalry soldiers of the Beijing camp need to travel long distances and travel day and night. When selecting the number of troops, soldiers with night blindness are screened, and there are also night raids during normal training.
Li Yanxue's night in Caizhou is a classic case of night battles.
Princess Xianning nodded, and said softly: "Sir, just make a plan."
Jia Heng didn't say anything else, and began to eat the food with his head down.
However, at this moment, the sound of heavy and hasty footsteps came from outside the military tent, and Liu Jixian, a thousand households in brocade clothes, walked in through the curtain, stood still, and clasped his fists and said, "General, Qu Zhenfu has sent someone over."
Jia Heng was stunned when he heard the words, then he was overjoyed and asked, "Where is the man? Bring him here."
Liu Jixian responded, "It's just outside."
As they spoke, two captains in Jinyi led a young man into the military tent.
"Ding Jing, a low-ranking brocade-clothed hundred-family, I have met the governor." The person who came was Ding Jing, a brocade-clothed hundred-family next to Qu Lang.
Jia Heng stared at Ding Jing aggressively, and asked, "Ding Baihu, how is the situation in Kaifeng City? Where is Qu Zhenfu now?"
Ding Jingdao: "Reporting to the governor, Kaifeng city is celebrating to block the officers and soldiers, and the defense has become lax. Mr. Qu is now patrolling the Daimen Tower in the south city, and he has sent a special low-level post to report to the governor. The door answers."
Jia Heng asked, "How many people are there?"
"There are two hundred people, but most of them are rebels. We have four or fifty Jinyi brothers, but it is enough to put down the suspension bridge and welcome the cavalry into the city." Tomorrow there will be a large-scale attack from the south, and my lord can respond with three trumpets. At that time, my lord will know that the governor is ready and will respond at a critical moment. "
Jia Heng nodded and said: "Okay, the original attack on Nancheng tonight, Liu Qianhu, let someone lead Ding Baihu to rest."
It would be very risky to go back and report the letter, and Qu Lang also realized this, so he responded with three blasts of the horn as a means of communication.
Ding Jing clasped his fists and went as ordered.
After Ding Jing left, the tent fell into a brief silence.
Princess Xianning's face was filled with joy, and she couldn't hide her joy in her voice: "Sir, now that I have obtained internal support, I should be able to go down to the city easily."
Jia Heng nodded his head and said: "Your Highness, don't eat the food first, and deploy troops immediately, otherwise changes will happen later."
Otherwise, after a long delay, who knows if the thieves will immediately adjust their deployment and reinforce the defense of Nancheng.
Jia Heng turned to look at Liu Jixian who was at the side and ordered: "Let Qu Cai and the generals come over to discuss matters."
After a while, Qu Guang, Cai Quan and several guerrilla generals entered the small military tent, and they all looked at the young man in surprise.
Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "Tonight our army will attack the bandits from the Dai Lou Gate in the south of the city wall. This commander immediately gathers his troops and horses, and attacks from the west of Kaifeng Fucheng to attract the attention of the bandits. Cai Gueran, this commander will give you another three thousand dollars." Soldiers and horses, without lighting torches, turned into the southern city wall in the dark, and after half an hour, you attacked through the Dailou Gate of the southern city, and there will be a response from the southern city gate."
Then, he told Cai Quan about the agreement with Qu Lang.
Even if there is support from the city, they can't rush to the south city in one go. At that time, the bandits will know to support the south city in an instant.
Cai Quan's eyes lighted up, and he clapped his hands.
Jia Heng looked at Qu Guang and said, "General Qu, you return to Dongcheng, and after half an hour, make a big feint."
Qu Guang clasped his fists and said yes, then took his orders and left.
When the two generals were dispatched, Jia Heng looked at the remaining generals and said in a deep voice: "The remaining generals have [-] troops and [-] strong men, and they will attack the west city immediately."
As time passed, the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp after resting and eating fully moved, taking advantage of the night to besiege Kaifeng Fucheng again.
(End of this chapter)