The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 114 Difficult to stretch
On the 29th, it was only one night away from the New Year. More than 50,000 royal troops surrounded Dali and dug the ground to attack. The city is just like that. The old city was destroyed by the An-Shi Rebellion. After the establishment of the new city, in the second year of Dali, Zhou Zhiguang, the governor of Tonghua, rebelled, and his generals rebelled, killing Zhiguang and burning the city. Later, the rebellion of Zhu Ci and Li Huaiguang spread. After Huang Chao entered the pass, Zhu Wen defended Tongzhou and rebuilt the city. It is strong, but not big. There are brick and earth walls on the east, west and south sides, and the gap in the north is a stockade city connected by stone forts and wooden fences. Look familiar? Yes, it is the military city that is widely popular at this time-but the number of Tongzhou troops is too small to effectively use the advantage.

In the second half of the year, Li Sizhou and Li Yanzhen dug more than ten parallel trenches outside the northern gap during the siege operation. In addition, they built a chain of camps and stationed 5,000 soldiers. This blocked the only way for the rebels to break out. Only a few camps were set up on the other three walls to monitor and capture small groups of scouts, messengers, and refugees. It would be better if the enemy was willing to come out and fight to decide the outcome. But unfortunately, the Tongzhou army was completely deployed. In the past few months, except for the occasional late-night attacks to try to steal the camp and burn the camp, they were too lazy to move at other times.

The saint inspected the area and thought it was a standard siege. If he were in charge now, he would be able to arrange it properly.

The people who received the mission of siege and were responsible for the specific command of the front line were Li Sizhou, the commander of Yaowu Army, Gao Hanhong, the commander of Huorui Army, and Liu Zhijun, who was temporarily the commander of the Evil Army.

The saint didn't like Liu Zhijun. He looked like a bandit and his eyes were cunning. He had secretly observed his expression many times when he wasn't paying attention. The saint knew all about his little tricks. If you want to get into the court, show your sincerity. You can get an official title with just a touch of your mouth. Is that so beautiful?

"Boom, boom, boom..." The beat of the marching drums continued to sound.

Outside the gap, a dense crowd of civilians were sweating profusely, digging fiercely at the wall of the stockade. When one group of people got tired, another group would take over. And so on and so forth. Ugh, it's very eye-catching. First, the siege technology was limited, and second, the Tang Dynasty had its own national conditions. Offensive work is different from field battles. Many times, the martial arts and tactics that soldiers have honed for more than ten years are completely useless, and they rely entirely on piling up people. In order to reduce meaningless casualties as much as possible and avoid rebellion by the army; therefore, this trick is very popular. Liu Rengong, the famous Overlord of Fanyang in later generations, was an expert in tunnel warfare in Youzhou Town before the festival, and was nicknamed Liu Dadong. Are you afraid of earthworks blasting the mighty city of Yizhou?
Now it seems that Liu Zhijun is also very good at it. Don't say that although his character is not good, his work attitude is worthy of recognition and he is very hardworking; no wonder he was able to get the opportunity to lead the army after changing four bosses in later generations. Xiao Liu's employment was not smooth. Xu, Bian, Qi, Shu, he went all the way from Xuzhou to Chengdu to find a job.

Difficult to stretch.

……

Like other villains who had retained some physical strength after suffering hard labor, Qin Tai was assigned to the vanguard team that was responsible for seizing the stronghold and setting fire to it.

But he fell into the trench and pretended to be dead under the first wave of arrows.

He was already very familiar with this skill, lying in the corner motionless like a corpse.

Everyone was busy working at the moment and no one paid attention to him.

The narrow trench where Qin Tai curled up was six feet deep and relatively safe.

Occasionally he would open his eyes slightly to observe the battle situation.

If other villains managed to occupy the trench within a hundred steps of the outermost Black Stone Fort and a certain number of them survived, Qin Tai would jump up without hesitation and rush up again.

Unfortunately, I'm still anxious.

"Kill!" A large group of ragged bald men carrying wooden signs and cowhide round shields rushed in quickly. As expected of the villains who had been killing for many years, they were temporarily equipped with equipment other than armor. Their expressions were ferocious and cruel, as if they wanted to vent all their anger on the rebels. Although they had been treated like cattle and horses for half a year, driven by instinct and conditioned reflex, they still fought in a methodical manner.

There is no need for officers to command at all.

The villains gestured and shouted to each other, forming groups of three or five people and moving forward alternately. The archers, sword and shield soldiers, and gunners were reasonably matched and each performed their duties.

The thin archer ran with his head down. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and he knelt on one knee. The shieldman beside him naturally put his shield in front of him. The archer shot an arrow and hit the stone fort gate. Then he pulled out the arrowhead and drew a horizontal groove of about an inch under his feet, and then took out lime and sprinkled it on it. This is the best archery distance.

The other teams also covered each other, making full use of the reverse slope of the trench and the blind spots for archery, and steadily advancing towards the stone fort, and the speed was not slow. There were already villains holding the kerosene jars and leaning against the trench wall, breathing slowly, ready to go. They only waited until the distance was closer to rush up and burn the wooden gate, and then waited for the Huo Rui army that was reorganizing behind to force the attack.

"It would be great if I could have a solid armor to protect my body." The villain sighed.

"This bunch of thieves!" Someone on the stone fortress cursed. Why would they be so active when they were shaved and tattooed as bad guys? There were a thousand soldiers guarding the stone fortress. Many of their officers died in the previous internal strife. Fei Zhongkang, Shi Cong, Xie Jun and several other captains directly climbed over the wall and fled overnight. The civil servants of the shogunate also died or fled. During the siege, nearly a thousand samurai left one after another. The vitality was still damaged. If a fight breaks out, the various divisions will not be able to be unified and coordinated, and it will almost entirely depend on the quality of the samurai themselves.

Qin Tai frowned. What's the point of fighting like this? Maybe that's the way the world is. The Chaos Bandits besieged Chenzhou for nearly a year, attacking day and night, and the defenders were only a few thousand. Li Quanzhong attacked Wang Chucun, and the 60,000 troops surrounded the 3,000 Yiwu troops. In the Battle of Yecheng, An Qingxu led the newly recruited peasants to resist Guo Ziyi's nine troops. Shi Pu was surrounded by the Bian army and was exhausted. Why didn't the arrogant Xu Zu kill the commander and surrender the city? There are countless such things. God knows why they are fighting so stubbornly.

Just like in the Southern Ming Dynasty, when a Qing soldier encountered nearly 50 Ming soldiers, Jian Nu drew his sword and shouted, "Barbarians are coming, barbarians are coming." Then these people lowered their heads and brows and no one dared to move. This Jian Nu took them to the slaughterhouse, and no one dared to resist, not even one dared to cry. When they arrived at the slaughterhouse, Jian Nu shouted, "Kneel!" and they all knelt down and let him slaughter them; such a thing will not be found now.

"We Qi people are still aware of the current situation." Qin Tai laughed. After the defeat of Meibize, the main force immediately knelt down.

To be on the safe side, he decided to pretend to be dead for a while.

He was not prepared to engage in the brutal battle for the village gate until the outcome of the battle became clear.

It was their business to care about life and death, but Qin Tai didn't want to die in vain. He was shot to death and burned to death without even touching the enemy. How cowardly!
Playing dead, playing dead.

If we pretend for a while longer, someone will seize the gate of the village.

Suddenly, a dozen villains who came up from behind jumped into the trench where he was hiding and lay down, pointing at the stone fort to discuss attack tactics. Qin Tai opened his eyes and said, "Wait, wait until the vanguard breaks through the gate, I will lead you to charge."

"Go away, go away!"

Crimson water spurted out, and the heads of several warriors rolled to the ground.

"Swoosh! Kill this coward."

"We have a long history of bad deeds, how can we turn back?"

"The saint has the virtue of loving life. What serious crime did those evil people in the towns under the city commit? The saint neither exterminated their three clans nor killed them. Where can we find such a benevolent general?"

"Wu Qilang! Do you think the isolated city of Dali can be defended? You also know that even Zhu Wen could not defeat the sage himself, so how can we, with only a few thousand soldiers, defend it? Besides, tens of thousands of royal troops are surrounding the city from all sides, and the food in the city is about to run out. Ask yourself, how long can we hold out? Wu Qilang, you are a smart man, give yourself and your wife and children a way out, give everyone else a way out, and give everyone in the city a way out."

"You can surrender without tattoos or shaving your hair."

"Stop making so much noise, I'm going to kill you for the saint first!"

"..."

Ding, ding, ding. Seeing that they could not reach an agreement, the warriors clashed with their swords and spears, stabbing each other; whoever wins gets to decide!
Amid the deafening noise, men, women, old and young, all ran away in panic.

The white-haired palace maid was pierced by arrows and turned into an iron hedgehog and fell to the ground.

The child who was running with his back bent was nailed to the wall by a spear that flew from nowhere, without even a cry.

The petty official rushed to escape with his children in his arms and jumped into a dry well.

"I just want to live a peaceful life!" The soldier who was fleeing with the young nun on his back cursed, but suddenly he felt a wetness on his back, and when he touched it, it was sticky and full of blood. He didn't know when, several sharp arrows had been stuck in the back of the nun, and saliva and sticky foam flowed out from the corners of her mouth unconsciously.

The street in front of the official residence was filled with smoke and a sea of fire. The soldiers from the same state who formed gangs were engaging in a samurai duel.

Just this morning, while the army was defending the city, the Tenth General Qiu Xian suddenly rebelled, announcing that the Tongzhou army was plotting a rebellion and wanted to kill the governor and surrender the city. Upon hearing the news, Wu Qilang and other guards started to make a fuss and called 300 soldiers to attack the commander's mansion, trying to take back the governor and the officials of the shogunate.

Qiu Xian was also a murderer. He took the Ryuhou couple and the shogunate as hostages, rushed out of the commander's mansion and fought with Wu Qilang.

The Dali commander ordered the streets to be blocked and other troops were prohibited from joining the battle.

But the wolves in the city were leaderless, and the puppets who stayed behind were also held hostage, so there was no authoritative center to lead the overall situation. The rebels who were fighting against the king's army learned of the disaster and were in a turmoil. Warriors kept rushing back to quell the rebellion, cursing loudly. As a result, the scale of the duel became larger and larger. By noon, thousands of warriors had been involved.

The warriors who were still defending the city were at a loss. In this mess, should we fight or surrender?

Someone waved and shouted to the royal army, reporting the battle situation in the city and requesting the saint to send troops to suppress it.

Some people hurried to the official residence to fire arrows, stones and other weapons to defend the city, but came back stunned.

Someone went to the county government office and ordered more civilians to help defend the city. As a result, the county government office was empty, and all the petty officials had fled.

Some people lost their parents, wives and children in the chaos, and were furious, wanting to be the culprit. The northern city was attacked by more than 10,000 troops, and the stone fort was in danger. The defenders sent more than ten people to ask for help, and the shogunate was silent.

Difficult to stretch.

"Puff, puff, puff..." On the streets, hundreds of long spears were fiercely fighting in the air, and dozens of warriors were hung up and died under another wave of fierce spears. The soldiers who rushed back to suppress the rebellion could not figure out who was rebelling for a while. So they stood at a distance, either silently observing, or whispering to each other, or sighing.

"Bang!" The spear hit the door panel like lightning, only seven or eight inches away from Liu Hou. Liu Hou's body softened like noodles in a pot, and red-yellow urine flowed out of his trouser legs.

Around him, several bodies of shogunate officials were lying in disorder.

An arrow pierced through the right eye of Jiedushi Chief Secretary Diwu Yun, and the arrow came out from the back of his skull, with his gray-white brain soaking through his black hair.

The head of Pan Hong, the judge of the Ministry of Revenue, disappeared. No one knew who had chopped him off with some murderous warrior.

His wife, Xue, who was beside him, vomited blood and looked down at the arrow that pierced her big belly that was carrying life.

This bunch of killers!!!
The one left behind stared blankly at the mess on the ground, completely dumbfounded.

Qiu Xian kept talking about being a saint, but in fact, he had no respect for etiquette and rules. He wanted to kill him just now, and now he is using him as a tool to defend the town. Although he is half a puppet, he is still a town defender, right?
Wu Qilang's group of soldiers are also a bunch of bastards. They shouted for help but didn't care about his life or death when they started fighting.

Is there any difference between the kings, princes, generals and ministers of our dynasty and the common people who die suddenly in the world?

"Report! There's an emergency in the North City!" A soldier in the distance threw a stone and shouted.

"The stone fort is lost! The king's army has piled up a large amount of firewood, kerosene, and cypress branches under the remaining wooden walls of the fort, trying to burn down the fort. The fire has already started, and the defenders have been forced to retreat and prepare for street fighting!" The warrior, whose face was blackened by the smoke, was choked to tears and reminded at the street entrance.

"Stop fighting!"

"The soldiers guarding the East City have rebelled and want to serve as guides for the royal army." Various noises of noise and ridicule were heard at the street corner.

Left speechless.

The day before yesterday, Li Sizhou shot a letter into the city to persuade them to surrender. The officers and soldiers fought each other and reluctantly reached a consensus - defend. Today, as soon as the war started, Qiu Xian rebelled... If everyone is united, maybe they can hold on until the food is completely cut off. But asking this bunch of killers to be united is nothing but a pipe dream. The saint did not attack in large numbers, and the superficial harmony could still be maintained. The saint squeezed hard and immediately revealed his true colors. The queen sighed secretly, and suddenly felt that they were just playing house. Rebellion... is this it?
On the street, the samurai duel that had lasted all morning seemed to have come to a conclusion.

"Waste, waste! You can't take down Wu Qilang for such a long time." Qiu Xian threw away his long spear and turned to run, spitting at the soldiers around him. The surrender of the city has failed! The saints are wise, how can I be a rebel? I am loyal to the court, but I have nowhere to serve.

Opposite him, Wu Qillang and others burst into laughter.

The latter sat on the doorstep with a blank expression.

"Captain, please quickly select men to reinforce the North City. The royal army has captured the stone fort and burned three camps. If it continues like this, we will only have street fighting." A warrior waved his hand and shouted.

late!

……

"Great!" Qin Tai stripped off the helmet on the neck of the warm corpse, bit it and sucked it, then searched for some dry food in the warrior's sheepskin bag and swallowed it. He was so hungry that he vomited the coarse bread.

When his belly was full, Qin Tai wiped his bloody mouth, put on the warrior's armor skillfully, picked up the sword and hung it on his waist, kicked the wooden spear away, picked up the iron lance and swung it a few times. It was like meeting an old friend, quite cordial. A real man must strike the lance. After putting on the armor, Qin Tai seemed to have regained his previous confidence.

The Stone Fortress had only a thousand soldiers. After the gate was burned, they could not resist and retreated! I don't know what the rebels are doing. Why don't they increase the defense of such an important place? Well, there are only 6,000 or 7,000 rebels in total. If they are distributed to different places, there won't be enough extra soldiers. Focus on defending the north city, and do we need to defend the east, south and west sides? With fewer people, the king's army directly set up ladders to attack like ants.

The remaining wooden forts were very simple. After the army gained a foothold in the stone fort, the civilians, under the cover of the soldier Peng Pai, brought a large amount of firewood and other flammable materials and piled them under the wall of the fort to set fire. There were also many cypress branches, which were filled with white smoke when they burned. The rebels were choked and coughed all the time, and they could not stay there at all. The Yaowu Army, the Huorui Army, and the Longxiang Army, nearly 20,000 people, took the opportunity to attack fiercely and easily captured three villages.

The two sides are about to engage in street fighting.

Soldiers from Tongzhou covered their faces and rushed out of the thick smoke and fire one after another, retreating towards the inner city.

Qin Tai was too lazy to think about it anymore. He pointed at the iron spear and shouted, "Capture the city!"

More than 3,000 villains who had suddenly arrived nearby shouted in unison: "Capture the city!!!"

In the rear, the troops who were rushing across the trenches and pouring in continuously also shouted: "Kill him!"

……

Golden Dragon Temple Buddhist Hall.

It was very empty, with nothing else except a bronze statue covered with red cloth.

Listening to the fierce fighting outside, Zheng Zhaoyi slowly wandered in the house, looking at the beam above her from time to time. After several twists and turns, she fell into the hands of a lieutenant; her bulging belly at this moment showed that she was pregnant with a bastard whose father was unknown... This has always been the case in troubled times since ancient times. When disaster strikes, the emperor's women will also suffer the same fate.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the Bingzhou army entered the capital, broke into houses, raped women, and looted property, which was called a prison search. They raped princesses and married palace maids. When Empress Dowager He was buried, Wenling was opened...

During the Su Jun Rebellion in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, soldiers captured Jiankang and rushed into the harem. The servants on the left and right were all looted. The men and women were stripped naked and made to cover themselves with broken mats. Those who had no grass sat on the ground and covered themselves with dirt. The sound of wailing shook the inside and outside. It is easy to imagine what the fate of the queen mother Yu Wenjun, who was kind, beautiful and respected, was like. Of course, the name of the queen mother was kept secret for the sake of the respected person. The historian recorded that she "died of sorrow."

Shi Siming invaded Luoyang, and Emperor Dezong's biological mother, Empress Ruizhen, Shen Zhenzhu, fell into the war. The historians dared not record her final outcome, only saying vaguely that she disappeared. When the enemy captured Chang'an, Emperor Yizong's concubine Guo was captured and taken to the military camp - "then she wandered around the country, and no one knew where she ended up."

Except for the concubines Meng Cairen and Zheng Zhaoyi who became nuns in Changchun Palace, the whereabouts of the other concubines of the sage are unknown... Maybe they were eaten, or maybe they were beaten to death. Meng and Zheng Ersao still could not escape the bad fate... But compared with the above concubines, they are relatively a little luckier.

boom.

The door was violently kicked open, and a group of disheveled soldiers rushed in, with the leader holding the colonel's head in his hand.

Zheng Zhaoyi looked at the head of the lieutenant who had been lying on her and biting her, and laughed crazily.

But now it seems that this man has become the new loser, and she will be snatched away by a new warrior.

However, to her surprise, the soldiers bowed to her and said hastily, "Dali can no longer be defended. The vanguard of the royal army has already entered the streets from the north city. So we killed the rapist and came to rescue the lady."

"Master Royal?" Zheng Zhaoyi was isolated in the Buddhist temple and had no idea that the saint was coming to ask for help.

"Yes. The saint personally led the expedition." The soldier answered immediately. With such a merit, he should be pardoned or even rewarded. It can also be regarded as a way out after defeat. In order to compete for this concubine in the temple, they killed no less than five competitors outside.

saint……

The blurry, immature face of Prince Shou appeared in his mind.

The last time they met was when he was sent to Changchun Palace to become a monk after the death of Emperor Wende.
Four years have passed in a flash, and I am now 32 years old.

Unexpectedly, the one who came to save her was the previously inconspicuous Qi Lang. Zheng Zhaoyi's dull and lifeless face seemed to have regained some luster, but a layer of fine goose bumps also appeared on her neck.

Goodbye, how should we meet again? I am dirty, too dirty... I have brought shame to the ancestors, but I have not even committed suicide. Zheng Zhaoyi closed her eyes, her heart was broken, and she felt a mixture of emotions.

　I failed the college entrance exam and decided to become a homeless person. Anyone who has been homeless before, please share your experience.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)