Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 906: Three Urgent Reports in One Day
"Get out of the way, get out of the way, quick, Ru'nan City, six hundred miles, six hundred miles, quick,"

"Gee, gee, six hundred miles a day, get out of the way!"

Outside the South Gate of Beijing,

On the official road,
There was a sound of hurried horse hooves. Three messengers were approaching from afar, carrying tricolor flags and crouching on their horses. The garrison commander Han Ling happened to be patrolling under the city, and he shouted loudly.
"Quick, let people clear the way, disperse, disperse."

The captain behind him was waving his whip, whipping the disobedient people. Amid the wailing, just after the city gate was evacuated, several messengers came galloping on horseback. When the messengers passed by, the atmosphere suddenly became a little depressing.
"Ru'nan City is rushing 600 miles away. Could it be that the Taiping Sect's thieves have left Ru'nan City to the east?"

No matter how Han Ling thought about it, he felt something was wrong. If this was really the case, the Taiping Sect was no better than this. They would lose the watermelon and pick up sesame seeds, and it would not last long. If they could not deal with Marshal Wang Jie's army heading south, everything would be nothing but a passing cloud.

"Sir, that's not right. As I recall, the imperial army went to Linshan County. How come there is an urgent report from Runan City? It doesn't make sense."

The trusted lieutenant beside him was puzzled. After all, they had been on duty at the city gate and were the most informed about the news inside and outside the capital. However, because they were so well-informed, this urgent report could not be explained.

"You kid, you just like to ask about these things. What does it have to do with you? Can you help or fight on the battlefield? Just watch the city gate carefully."

Han Ling grumbled in annoyance. Most of the soldiers guarding the city gates were bored and had nothing to do. Many of them were nagging. If they had the ability, they would have been in the military department and would have joined the Beijing camp long ago.
"Uh, yes, General. With my body, I can only stay and serve you. If I go to the battlefield, I will be a hindrance."

The captain quickly lowered his head. In the southern part of Beijing, human life is the cheapest. Even a powerful tiger will take a nap. Besides, he just relied on his connections to sneak into the military department and followed the general to bully others. How could he have the courage to kill the enemy?

"Hmph, it's good to know."

Han Ling also knew what his men looked like, so he raised his foot and kicked the people at the city gate to clear the way and let the convoy go quickly.

The people around were still discussing when the city gate captain led his men to quickly scold them and send them away, venting all the anger they had just felt.

"Whatever you say, get out of here now. Don't block the city gate. Those of you who are slow on foot, don't enter the capital. Get out of here, hurry up."

The soldiers at the city gate shouted everywhere, and the people at the city gate walked much faster.

at the same time,

On the official road south of the city, another cloud of dust appeared, like a yellow dragon, galloping. This time there were quite a few people, almost a cavalry squad, and no one knew where they came from. People along the way were attracted by the sound of horse hooves and stopped to watch. Many young men, who had not yet finished discussing the urgent news just now, saw cavalry coming here, and gathered around excitedly to watch. The captain of the city gate was quick-eyed and quick-handed, and scolded them;

"Quick, stand in two rows and get out of the way,"

The soldiers behind him also had a look, and two teams stood on both sides of the road, blocking the onlookers behind them. Only some children playing around were weaving in and out of the crowd, but they were found by their parents and quickly caught by their side. Someone whispered;

"What's going on? Didn't a group of people just pass by? Why are there still some here?"

"Who knows? Judging from the situation, something big has happened in the south."

"Isn't it? Two teams of soldiers and horses rushed into Beijing in just a quarter of an hour. By the way, what was the urgent news just now?"

"Runan City"

Han Ling also felt that something was unusual at this moment, and ordered his deputy general to lead the troops down to clear the road. He saw a large group of cavalry approaching, and the leader was carrying a tricolor red flag behind him and shouted;

"Get out of the way, Daliang City is 800 miles away, hurry!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the person appeared in front of him, rushing into the city almost non-stop. Han Ling smelled a bloody smell at the tip of his nose. This was a person coming down from the battlefield. Could it be that the imperial army had encountered difficulties?
As for defeat, there was no thought of it. Even if they sent hundreds of thousands of elite troops into his mouth, they would still break their teeth.
"My lord, something is wrong. This is clearly a message between two parties. Could it be that the Taiping Cult is marching from the east and west at the same time? If so, there must be some urgent news."

The captain of the city gate came over again in surprise, unable to control his mouth. Han Ling's eyes were a little complicated at this moment.
"You kid, you have a bad mouth, you report three times a day, when have you ever seen those thieves of the Taiping Sect, they are really good at tricks, "

Since there is an urgent report from Runan City, there must be a reason. There is also an urgent report from Daliang City. In this way, the east and the west are responding to each other. I am afraid that something is wrong in Jingnan. The messenger just now carried a red blood flag, a symbol of a fight to the death. Where is the imperial army fighting to the death?
Looking back,
Looking towards the direction of the imperial palace, there is no peace in the capital today, inside and outside the palace.

Just when everyone thought that nothing was wrong, a speedboat arrived at the Jingying Wharf. As soon as it docked, several messengers jumped on their horses from the deck and rode directly ashore. They prepared the flags behind them, and then waved their whips and started whipping them violently.
"Jinling City in the south of the Yangtze River is six hundred miles away. Get out of the way. Open the camp gate. Go."

Seeing that there were still soldiers coming to ask questions, the messenger shouted loudly and rode towards the south gate of the capital city, his face anxious and urgent.

How dare the soldiers stop them? They opened the gate and several messengers rushed out of the camp.

Just when Han Ling was thinking about the affairs in Jingnan, he looked up vigilantly. How could there be another messenger? The captain behind him had a pale face. He thought he was really a phoenix mouth. He was afraid that he had never seen such a scene in his life.

"grown ups,"

"Shut up."

"Yes, my lord."

Han Ling had a serious expression on his face. This was a time of great trouble. If General Wang Jie was defeated by the Taiping Sect, then only Marquis Luo Yun would be the one to lead his troops to attack the south of the capital.
"Gee, gee, Jiangnan Jinling City is 600 miles away, get out of the way,"

"Drive, drive."

There was a sound of whips being whipped, and the group of people disappeared. The people who were originally watching the excitement felt uneasy and hurried their steps. Some people even thought too much and ran to the grain store to buy rice. I don't know how the rumor spread, and this matter gradually spread.

Some vendors were well-informed and knew that a big problem had occurred in the south. Although it would not affect the capital, they still had to make necessary preparations, such as food and drink. Although the sun was setting early, they told their waiters to close their shops.

"Hurry up, clean up the house, the store will not be open today,"

"Uh, shopkeeper, are you okay or are you feeling unwell?"

The guy looked confused, he was fine just now, why did he close the door?

"You kid, take the monthly salary from these few months and go to the rice shop to buy more food. It seems that the capital will be idle for a few days."

The waiter suddenly remembered the discussion in the crowd just now, and realized that it was the shopkeeper who took care of him, so he bowed and thanked him.
There was more than one smart person. In a short while, a long line formed in front of the rice shop. A clerk in the rice shop adjusted the price of grain, which immediately caused a lot of complaints, but no one dared to leave.

Luoyunhou Mansion,

Zhang Jinyu was still sitting in the west room sipping tea, and by chance, Li Dajia from the Taoyuan Opera Troupe came to visit, and Yang Hanyu sent someone to pick him up. Zhang Jinyu asked someone to invite Li Dajia to come and sing the songs that were sung on the day of the poetry meeting in the room. After all, he didn't hear the songs sung on the day of the poetry meeting, and he didn't know how the selection of the courtesans went.
After the song was finished, the aftertaste was long, "It is indeed Mr. Li's voice, which is becoming more and more mature. Now, many famous actors in the whole capital have come to you for advice."

Li Ji, who was dressed in red, wiped the sweat from her forehead and leaned back.
"It's all because of the support from the Marquis, otherwise I wouldn't be where I am today. The four major brothels in the capital, as well as the head of the Music Bureau, all sent musicians to Taoyuan to learn music. My father got a lot of money from them, and I have no words to thank him for!"

The tone of his words was full of gratitude. These were all good things on the surface. In secret, those who often came to the courtyard to cause trouble also disappeared. It was known that they were afraid of the majesty of the Marquis' Mansion.

Zhang Jinyu waved his hands. This was really an unintentional act. It was because of the time when Prime Minister Li went to the court that a person who could sing a tune was so valuable. This showed that the noble families all liked this tune. If he didn't have one in his own house, it would be meaningless. That's why he thought of looking for someone from a big family. He never thought that he would get what he wanted and unexpectedly surpass Jiangnan. This was a pleasant surprise.

"It's alright. I'm not a stingy person. If you do your job well, no one in the capital will dare to touch you. Teach more people, take in some apprentices, and let the capital sing Luanshanyin first to boost its momentum!"

"Yes, sir, I can do it."

Li Ji's face was full of joy and she bowed to agree.

When he was about to sing another song, there was a hurried knock on the door, and then the door opened. Ning Bian walked in quickly, leaned beside him, and whispered;
"My Lord, urgent news has arrived from the capital. One is from the south of the capital, another is from Runan, and another is from the south of the capital. The messenger from Daliang, south of the capital, is carrying a three-color blood-stained flag! He is fighting to the death."

"Pfft."

Almost instantly, Zhang Jinyu, who was drinking tea, spat out the tea in his mouth upon hearing this, which frightened Li Ji in front of him. She almost threw away the zither in her hand. Knowing that the Marquis had something important to discuss, she stood up and left.
Zhang Jinyu ignored her, put the tea bowl aside, shook off the water in his hand, and was still a little shocked. It made sense that there was an urgent report from Daliang City in the south of Beijing, but why would there be a three-color blood flag and a fight to the death?

That means the prince has a problem.
The urgent report from Runan City could also be a feint attack by the Taiping Cult. As for Jiangnan, I don't understand. There is Tang County across the canal. The Taiping Cult people can't fly over there.

"Ningbian, you heard it right, Jingnan has urgent news, that's as it should be, Wang Ziteng has received news from now on, regardless of victory or defeat,
But why are there also bandits in Jiangnan? This doesn't make sense. Jiangnan has been peaceful for a long time. Even if there is a bandit problem, there are the guards of the Canal Transport Office on the water and the elite troops of the Jiangnan Camp on the land. I don't understand."

Zhang Jinyu still didn't understand. After returning from Jiangnan, although there were many forces in that place, they checked and balanced each other, and no one could do anything to anyone else. Therefore, no one dared to make any big moves.

"My Lord, I haven't found out everything here yet, but the time has come for your disciples. Even if there is something wrong, there will be a secret letter. I have already instructed that the ship I left will not come back. If there is anything, it will be used to send the message as soon as possible."

When Ning Bian sent a few people to the dock, he also specially arranged a lot of people to go there for their convenience. In this way, if there is any disturbance in the officialdom of Jiangnan, Lord Shen and others can immediately send a message to the capital.

"Okay, okay. Go and get your official uniforms in and get ready to change. We don't know what's going on in the palace yet."

"Yes, Lord, I will go right away."

After muttering a few words, Zhang Jinyu realized that he would not stay in the capital for long, but he didn't know what was going on with Wang Ziteng.

Runan City,
The South City Gate could no longer hold out. When the White Lotus Sect's Left Protector Qin Linsheng's subordinate, the Hall Master Zhu Yunsheng, saw that the battle had made a breakthrough, he immediately shouted:
"Lü Yangming led the elite White Lotus guards to break through the city wall and take down the city gate in one fell swoop."

"Yes, Master, I will leave now."

Lu Yangming was dressed in armor, with a resolute face and a long sword in his hand. He shouted loudly and tragically at the elite troops in the rear army.
"Archers, cover us. Guards, follow me and charge forward."

"Kill."

A murderous aura suddenly emerged. When the slave soldiers in front had not yet died, the White Lotus Sect's guards, under the cover of the rain of arrows, had already swarmed up the ladders. The defenders had already been exhausted, and the rolling logs and gold juice used to defend the city had long been used up. They only had sporadic arrows and their weapons were all used up. Seeing the enemy rushing up endlessly, they were terrified and shouted miserably;

"The enemy's elite troops are coming. Where are the reinforcements? If they don't come, we won't be able to hold on."

On the city wall, defending general Duan Kaiping had a pale face. During the days of siege, the White Lotus Sect had been attacking the city fearlessly. Even those who were unarmed would rush forward desperately until they died in battle. This was rarely seen and unheard of in the world. When did the White Lotus Sect hide so deeply? And!

When will it reappear in the world?
"Quickly, pull up the new troops under the city to hold out, and send someone to report to the governor. We may not be able to hold out. The soldiers in the inner city are elite. Should we reinforce or break out? Please decide, go quickly."

"Yes, General."

The captain, with a bloody face, agreed at the top of his lungs, and with a few of his personal soldiers, he cut a bloody path on the city wall, rushed down the wall, and ran towards the inner city, leaving behind the sound of fierce fighting.
On the south tower of the inner city, the governor Wei Xiangping had a grim expression on his face. The fierce battle at the south gate of the outer city had lasted for four hours, and the fighting had been going on for a long time. The city wall defense line was even more shaky. At this moment, there were only 10,000 elite troops and 10,000 new troops available, but the three fronts were in a tight spot. Did he really have to take that step?
Abandon the outer city, guard the north and east gates alone, concentrate troops to guard the inner city, or lead the army to break out. If you really want to leave, then Runan City will fall into the hands of thieves, and all the years of hard work will be gone. The opportunity for advancement will become the source of guilt. How can you be willing to accept this?

"Report, Governor, General Duan is about to collapse in the South City. The White Lotus Sect has sent out its elite troops to attack the city. The brothers have suffered heavy casualties, and the rest are exhausted and may not be able to fight again, sir."

The captain who ran over from the city was covered in blood and almost collapsed to the ground, as if he had used up his last bit of strength to shout out,

The generals on the tower had bleak faces and fear in their hearts. They wanted to speak but dared not. The governor Wei Xiangping tightly grasped the long sword in his hand. He had already set off a huge wave of fear in his heart. He could not even hold on for three days. The White Lotus Sect lived up to its reputation.
"Sir, should we continue to defend or break out, at least there is a rule. The situation is not favorable, General Duan has tried his best, we must think of a way out."

Tongzhi Liu Jiang reminded them that they had seen the White Lotus bandits acting like madmen in the past few days, and the people in the city let them escape only out of kindness. Fortunately, the White Lotus did not care about the fleeing people, and let the rich gentry and the families of officials in the city escape the city early, leaving those who could not leave to stay in the city.

"Sir, if we can't defend the outer city, we still have the inner city to defend, plus the remaining soldiers at the north and east gates. At least withdraw the soldiers at the other two city walls to rest, otherwise, tens of thousands of soldiers may not be able to hold on."

Seeing that the governor was indifferent, the prefect Song Hui had to speak up again. There were 30,000 defenders in the city, plus 30,000 young and strong men, and 20,000 new soldiers. Now, after three days of fighting, there are only more than 40,000 left. If you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences.
He raised his head for Wei Xiangping, staring with bloodshot eyes, and ordered;

"Prefect Song, there are more than 40,000 young and strong laborers in the city. You are responsible for training them all to defend the city. The new army will help with the training, and the prefectural army will supervise the battle. As for the outer city, abandon the west gate and the south gate, withdraw the soldiers in the city back to the inner city, and fight while retreating. The soldiers on the city wall will follow the plan and return to the north gate and the east gate. The houses there have been demolished as barriers. Stay there and hold your ground. The barracks on the city wall must be defended to stop the pursuing troops. Hold on for another three days and wait for the imperial messenger to blow the horn."

"Yes, Governor."

Liu Jiang shouted in response. It seemed that Lord Wei was determined to defend Runan City to the death. If he didn't leave today, would he ever be able to get out?
"Blow the trumpet,"

"Ohh Ohh ohh!"

The desolate sound of the horn was immediately heard over Runan City. Duan Kaiping, who was still fighting in the south city, was overjoyed when he heard the sound, and his hoarse voice rang out;

"Brothers, follow the plan. We will retreat. Those below the city will return to the inner city, and those above the city will return to the north gate. Retreat and cut off the Qianjin Gate Lock. Quickly."

With a loud shout, he led his men to cut the ropes that lifted the city gate, and filled the inner gate with stones. Even if the city wall was breached, the city gate could not be opened for a while.

In just one stick of incense, the elite guards of the White Lotus suddenly felt a sense of relief in front of them, and they rushed up the city wall in one go, while the officers and soldiers retreated in a hurry. In an instant, everyone cheered and rushed down the city wall, trying to open the city gate, but they saw a pile of rocks blocking the back and could not open it. They could only send someone back to deliver a message.
But the leader of the White Lotus Sect, Bai Shuiyue, who was outside the East City, had a look of admiration in his eyes. It took only three days to capture the South City Gate. He was indeed a fierce general under the Left Protector. However, more than 50,000 slave soldiers were almost all killed or wounded. What a pity!

"Send the order, step up the attack on the city and take down the city gate,"

"Yes, Master, the Red Sun is over, the White Sun is rising, the white lotus is blooming, the Ming clan will be restored, kill!"

Below the city, almost all members of the White Lotus Sect rushed madly to the top of the city walls!
The city is broken!
(End of this chapter)