The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 588: Respecting the Elderly

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the spring is chilly.

South of Wuchang City, there are overgrown weeds.

The skinny old horse was carrying an old soldier, walking slowly forward on the new grass that covered the horse's hooves.

The moonlight was like water. The old soldier raised his wine gourd and gulped down two mouthfuls. When he was happy, he hummed a few local tunes.

"In winter, there are wintersweet flowers; in summer, there are pomegranate flowers. On sunny days, there are people everywhere; on rainy days, there are children everywhere. Passersby enjoy the scenery, and those who live there sell tea!"

The old horse was not interested in the ballad. He just buried his head, hummed in the grass as he walked, and secretly dozed off with his owner.

Only when the horse's hooves scraped against rocks or tree trunks, making a rustling sound, or when its nose hung on a branch and dew sprinkled on its face, would it shake its neck and wake up in a startle.

In a moment, he fell asleep again.

"A sleeping man rides a horse in his dream and rushes to the battlefield in the middle of the night." This is roughly true.

The grass beside the path suddenly moved, and two black shadows flashed out. The old horse was startled by the shadows, raised its hooves and neighed, all sleepiness gone.

The old soldier quickly reached out to draw his sword, but before his fingers touched the scabbard, he was knocked off his horse by a force like a wild bull, rolling into the grass and spilling his wine all over the ground.

"Good wine!"

"what?"

When he opened his eyes, he saw a short and strong man pressing down on him. In the moonlight, his accomplice, a tall man, was leading an old horse to graze by the roadside.

"Please spare my life! I don't have any money with me, but the wine is good. You can take it, there is still a lot left..."

The short, strong man used his free hand to grab the wine gourd. The tall man saw it and cursed:
"Xu Jing, you, hurry up and get down to business!"

Xu Jing threw away the wine gourd, snatched the saber from the old soldier's waist, and pulled the collar of his mandarin duck jacket, angrily saying:

"Who the hell are you trying to kill with that broken knife? Just answer whatever I ask. Tell me! Who are you, where are you from, and where are you going?!"

The old soldier was about 70% sober now. Looking at the two men, they did not look like the scoundrels who robbed people on the road. He was still hesitating whether to tell the truth. Xu Shao punched him in the face, causing the old man's skin to be torn and blood to flow from his mouth and nose.

"We brothers are doing a life-threatening business. We don't have time to waste. Hurry up!"

The tall man leading the horse came over, took a look, and said lightly:

"Xu Jing, you are such a stern immortal. What do you think the instructor said all the time? You should respect the old and love the young. If he doesn't behave, you can just chop him off with a knife. Why hit the old man?"

The old soldier shuddered and spoke faster:
"Don't kill me, I'm just delivering a letter."

"Deliver a message?"

Xu Jing loosened the blade slightly:
"Tell the truth and I won't kill you! Tell me!"

"Speak, speak, speak. I am the head of Zhifang Street in the prefectural city. The Tartars have been attacking the city fiercely these days. Judge Guo sent us to the surrounding prefectures and counties to transport grain. I was sent to Chongyang..."

"Tatars?"

"It's Liu Ze, the bandit soldier from Qi."

The old soldier had probably guessed the identities of the two men in front of him by now, and spoke cautiously.

The two night guards looked at each other, and Xu Jing continued to interrogate:

"How many Ming troops are there in Jiangxia and Wuchang? Who is the commander defending the city? Are there any reinforcements nearby? Where is the food stored?"

The old soldier cried, "My lord, my lord! I am just a small-time village head, responsible for a few dozen households in the Lijiaxiangfang. How could I know about these big events? My lord, please spare my life. This BMW is for you two. I will pretend that I have never met you..."

Xu Jing picked up the old soldier and stared at him with wide eyes:

"Who wants your broken horse!"

"You're just kidding me with your bullshit! My father, your uncle, was also a village headman! He collected taxes, apprehended thieves, and was well-informed about all the affairs of the prefecture and county. How dare you say you don't know? Believe it or not, I'll cut off your tongue."

With a clang, Wan Shao drew out his shining white sword, the blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight:
"Stop talking nonsense! I told you to respect the elderly and love the young!"

The Sichuan soldiers raised their swords at night and chopped down without saying a word.

"I said, I said!"

"Say it!!"

"Jiangxia has over 30,000 soldiers, Wuchang 50,000 to 60,000. Jiangxia is guarded by General Ma, General Jin, Ma Jinzhong, and Jin Shenghuan. Wuchang is guarded by Hui Dengxiang, Wang Yuncheng, and Li Cheng. These five generals are called the 'Outer Five Battalions Colonels' and are all trusted aides to Marshal Zuo..."

"Where is Zuo Liangyu?"

"In Chongyang. Originally, he was stationed in Wuchang. He heard that the Tartar...Qi army was powerful, so the Left General stayed in Chongyang. Young master, I heard this from the servants of Pan Guo Tong. I don't know if it's true or not." Xu Jing nodded and waved to his companions. Wan Shao came over and interrogated him again. The old soldier said the same thing before and after. When he asked about food and reinforcements, the old man couldn't say anything.

The two Yebushou walked a few steps away, stood in the moonlight, and discussed in low voices.

The old soldier was tied up and couldn't escape. Looking at the gleaming knife, he gave up hope and just wanted the two Tartars to kill him with a single blow.

After a while, the two Tartars finished their discussion, and the short man with a Beijing accent came over and said:
"Old man, since you are in our hands today, you should respect the elderly and love the young..."

"Do not kill me."

Xu Jing untied the ropes on the old man and said with a smile:
"do not kill."

"Please take us to Chongyang. I want to kill Zuo Liangyu and earn military merit. As long as you don't play tricks, I will not only let you go but also give you money when we get to Chongyang."

~~~~~~
In the middle of the night, more than 800 warriors selected from 10,000 refugees secretly sneaked to the front of the moat of the south city.

Outside the north gate and west gate, the Qi army's artillery was in place, with the muzzles aimed at the city walls.

Before the night attack begins, the two northwest parties will launch a feint attack at the same time to distract the defenders.

On the way to the South Gate, the instructors had already explained to the refugees the rewards for this night raid:

Anyone who participated in the night attack, regardless of life or death, would be allocated 50 mu of good farmland. Those who reached the top of the city wall could also join the Sixth Corps and enjoy the treatment of combat soldiers.

Most of the refugees who climbed the city walls brought their children with them and left their families alone.

In troubled times, a man whose life was worthless decided to risk his life at the last moment to buy a chance to survive for his wife and children.

The refugees were divided into teams of ten people, and each team had one ladder.

There were eighty ladders, and eight hundred cannon fodder carried them into the night.

A group of ragged children suddenly ran out of the Qi army camp, falling down as they ran, crying and scrambling to catch up with the adults who had escaped into the night, calling out "Daddy, Daddy".

Xing Zhongyi wiped his tears and sighed.

Pu Gang comforted the instructor by saying that in war, there will always be casualties. We have fought together for so many years, why is he still crying like a woman?

Xing Zhongyi's eyes are slightly red:
"Yes, we've been fighting for more than ten years. Lao Pu, we should stop fighting and let the people live a good life."

~~~~~
It was already three quarters past midnight when they sent away the assassins who were climbing the city wall.

Floating clouds covered the stars and the moon, and no lights could be lit anywhere.

Xing Zhongyi shuddered when he thought of the verses from "Song of the Yi River".

He was about to move closer when he was stopped by the guards.

"Master Xing, be careful of stray bullets. The fighting is about to start. You can't be outside."

So he returned to his tent, sitting there restlessly, reading over and over again the "Minutes of Military Training Manual" compiled by the retired emperor by the light of a whale oil lamp covered with black cloth.

Just as the sky was getting light, earth-shaking cannon fire suddenly rang out outside the tent.

"here we go."

The sound of cannons continued for a while and then died down. Then, sparse sounds of muskets were heard from the direction of the south gate.

Finally, everything fell into silence.

The plan for a night attack obviously failed.

The guards ran in in panic and said that the refugees stepped on a landmine after crossing the moat. The Ming army was prepared. Zuo Liangyu lowered the northwest gate and dispatched heavy troops to guard the south.

At this time, the sky was getting light, and the sound of cannons started again. The artillery of both sides bombarded each other, and then the musketeers began to shoot at the top of the city.

Soon, the soldiers who were hit by stray bullets were carried to the tents at the back.

Behind the central army tent, under a huge white tent, there were dozens of camp beds. A group of student soldiers who had just graduated from school were pressing hard on the wounds of the wounded, and the surrounding area was filled with the howling of the wounded.

Xing Zhongyi walked out of his tent and headed south for a while. He raised his telescope and could vaguely see enemy soldiers in Xiaochundi and on the city wall east of Tongxiang Gate.

There were some short ladders hanging by the side of the road, which were obviously not tied tightly last night and had come loose on the way.

In order to avoid the artillery fire on the front line, the residents of the Fuguo area in the Binyang Gate area fled to the countryside with their belongings.

Men and women were walking along the ridges of the fields.

(End of this chapter)