Song Dynasty

Chapter 195 Entering the City ([-])

As soon as the long-lost rain fell, the heat of the hot day disappeared immediately.

Wang Shen and the others were taken aback and looked up at the same time.

There was already a white rain curtain in front of him, and the violent water column hit the helmet and armor, causing layers of water splashes.

The fire in the city made a puffing sound when it was poured by the rain, bigger white clouds rose into the sky, and the whole city was shrouded in boundless mist.

"Military envoy, go down!" Hu Yantong and others shouted repeatedly.

Wang Shen nodded: "Let's go into the city."

They were all covered in iron armor, and standing on a high place was undoubtedly a human-shaped lightning rod, and if they were not good enough, they would be hacked.

After going down the city wall, someone brought an umbrella to cover Wang Shen's head.But the wind is so strong that it blows people to and fro, how can it be blocked.

Wang Shen pushed him away, and shouted: "The officers and men are all drenched in the rain, so I'm not a Bodhisattva in the temple, I'm afraid I'll be soaked, so go away!" He eased his tone again, and said with a smile: "It's been so hot for so many days. , today can be regarded as cooler and more comfortable.”

All the generals laughed, and an officer sighed and said loudly: "Military envoy, it's a pity that the rain came too late. The crops in the field have already died of drought. It would have been better if it had been half a month earlier."

While speaking, there was another thunderclap, and the whole city trembled slightly in the thunder.

Wang Shen shook his head: "Not too late, not too late, just right. Think about it, if the rain had come down an hour earlier and the Qi River swelled, it would not be so easy for us to enter Qichun City."

"Yes, yes, yes." Feng Changqing replied: "It rains in the morning and in the evening, and the envoys fall as soon as they enter the city. Doesn't this mean that the general is a man favored by heaven?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Everyone nodded.

Wang Shen's heart trembled: Yes, this rain is really a coincidence!I heard that there has been a great plague in the city. The rain will wash the streets and the weather will cool down, which can greatly alleviate the epidemic. God really takes care of me, Mr. Wang!

He was originally a materialist, but even when things like time travel fell on him, he believed in his heart that there was a so-called God somewhere.

The materialistic belief in the heart of a modern person is still shaken by the power of nature, let alone the ancients.

He laughed loudly and said: "After two months of severe drought, the crops in the field have died of drought, and the people have all fled. We can't stay in Qi and Huang anymore. After Kong Yanzhou is solved, I will take you to a good place for a few days." Happy birthday to Tianan."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they asked in unison: "Is the military envoy going west?"

Seeing him nodding, everyone cheered loudly.

The same cheers resounded from all over the city, and shouts came one after another amidst the sound of wind, rain, and thunder: "The treasury has been taken down!"

"Taking down the state government!"

"My Sizhou army - mighty!"

……

Team after team of Kong Yanzhou's descendants were driven out by the soldiers, and they knelt neatly by the side of the street.

The murderous soldiers of the Sizhou Army held up the barrels of their guns and whipped the captives to scream. When they saw someone who couldn't move, they stabbed them with a spear and killed them on the spot.

Thanks to the backward urban drainage system in ancient times, the accumulated water on the street has reached people's ankles, and there are blood rippling in the water, torn into strands by the current.

Those ragged captives lay their bodies deep in the muddy water, trembling non-stop.

Seeing their emaciated appearances, Wang Shen felt pity in his heart, sighed, and said, "Pass down our military order to take in captives and refugees, give them food, clothing and medicine, and don't kill or abuse them. Kong Yanzhou is like a beast, we are not."

The ancient army did not have the so-called humanitarian moral concept of modern people. These days, it is normal to abuse captives, rob and slaughter civilians.Not only the Jurchens and bandit armies did this, but also the imperial court's officers and soldiers.

After two months of besieging the city, they have experienced countless bloody battles. Once the city is broken, it is understandable that they will unleash the beastly behavior they have been holding back for so many days at this moment.Wang Shen didn't want to pursue too much, but he couldn't go too far, he didn't want his army to completely collapse into a violent army.

There is no suspense about the outcome of the battle, and now it is time to restore order.

Compared with seeing Kong Yanzhou's head, he was more concerned about the military discipline of the troops in the city.

Dripping with water, he walked slowly on the street with his guards.

It was still raining, and the water was rushing down the street.Suddenly, a thatched hut next to it was washed away by the water, and countless rotting corpses were scattered everywhere in the splash of water.

A layer of white maggots with big tails spread instantly on the water surface, wriggling and spreading in all directions.

Seeing this situation, everyone had goosebumps, and felt a chill rushing to the top of their heads.

This is the first time Wang Shen has taken down a heavily guarded fortified city. After this battle, the troops have been thoroughly familiar with the tactics of attacking a fortified city.The first time is always good, and he felt joy in his heart, as if he had won a big city like Luoyang and Kaifeng.

But at this moment, his expression was gloomy, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

When Kong Yanzhou defended Qichun City to the death, he had 5000 to 2000 troops under his command, plus the people who threatened to enter the city, there must have been [-].Now, there are only [-] prisoners kneeling on the street.

The city was completely destroyed, and Qizhou was also destroyed.

The Huang, Ma, and Qi areas are mountainous and poor, with a small population and fierce folk customs. They are also important transportation routes connecting the Huaihe River and Jianghan, and have always been battlegrounds for military strategists.

In history, this region has experienced many brutal wars.Every time there is a war, the population here will be exhausted.In fact, most of the people in Huang and Ma areas in modern society are descendants of immigrants from other places.
Going forward again, the terrain is higher, it is a small highland in the city, finally there is no water on the ground, and walking is much more refreshing, but the situation in front of me makes people feel chills.

It turned out that there were several small hills here, and there were vegetation growing on the hills before.During the two-month siege, the defenders cut down all the grass and trees as fuel, exposing the yellow soil below.When the rain came, there were no trees to bind the soil, so Huang Tangzi went down the river and turned out the buried bones.

Tens of thousands of people died in the city, but wherever the soil could be seen, the corpses were buried layer upon layer until they could no longer be buried. The top was only covered with a shallow layer of soil.

As soon as the soil was washed away, there were all white human bones in front of him, it was simply a mountain of bones.

With the bones exposed in the wild, the hell on earth is probably the situation in front of you!

Wang Shen let out a long sigh, raised his head, and greeted the cold rain.

Prosperity, people suffer; death, people suffer.

I, a warrior, want to end this troubled world by brandishing the sword in my hand!

After a long time, he shook his head: "Order to all ministries to deal with Kong Yanzhou as soon as possible, that's enough, enough!"

As he was talking, suddenly a team of fast horses rushed forward, shouting from a distance: "Where is the military envoy, where is the military envoy? There is an urgent military report!"

***********************************************
At the estuary where the Yangtze River and the Qishui confluence, twenty miles away from Qichun City, the turbid waves emptied.

The two official ships had lowered their sails, and a few soldiers quickly threw the big anchors into the water.

The big boat paused and stopped.

On the leading ship, the deck was full of rainwater, and someone was carrying a wooden basin to scoop up water quickly.

"The rain can be considered to have stopped, it was just so loud that it frightened people to death!"

"Yes, yes, our boat was sailing in the middle of the river just now, and suddenly there was such a heavy storm. If we hadn't lowered our sails, we might have capsized the boat today."

"The rain seems to be moving to the north, let's rest here first, and then go later."

"Let's go, what are you going for? Zhang Xianggong said he was going to Qichun, it looks like we have to stay here for a while."

Hearing this, some soldiers complained: "Going to Qichun, I heard that the Qishui has been dry for a while. Although it rained heavily today, it didn't last for a long time. Naturally, we can't sail. I heard that Wang Daosi and Kong Yanzhou over there The brains of the two soldiers are like dogs, how many people are there, and we will not be killed by the rebels if we walk over like this."

"They dare, who is Zhang Xiang in our family, who dares to make a mistake?" Sneered: "You probably don't know, Wang Shen is from Zhang Xiang's family, and Kong Yanzhou has sent someone to bring a letter to accept the court's recruitment through Zhang Xianggong .As soon as we pass by, both Wang Shen and Kong Yanzhou will treat us as guests of honour, so you just have to be careful."

Just as he was talking, someone shouted: "You lowly soldiers are talking nonsense, why don't you hurry up and do something?"

Hearing this voice, everyone was startled, and said repeatedly: "Yes, Mr. Xiang." They all lowered their heads.

The person who spoke was an official in his early fifties wearing a red robe. This man had a face shaped like a Chinese character with a sullen look on his face. He was Li Heng, the new magistrate of Xiangyang.

Li Heng looked at the soldiers on the deck with contempt on his face: "You are used to sitting on the boat all day, and you are used to it. Why, tell you to walk dozens of miles but refuse? A certain person received the imperial decree. Jianghan came here to fight, to recover the six counties of Xiangyang that fell under the hands of the Jurchen Tartars. You don’t want to serve your country, but you are complaining to the sky. If you are slacking off, don’t blame me for being ruthless in military law.”

Li Heng, courtesy name Yanping, was born in Jiangdu, that is, from Yangzhou, and was born as a Jinshi.A few days ago, I got the imperial decree, signed a contract with the Privy Council, and served as the magistrate of Xiangyang. He controlled the soldiers and horses of Jianghan and Ezhou. .

However, today's Xiangyang has been taken by Jurchen, and Jianghan is occupied by a hundred thousand bandits, and the situation is corrupt.This time when he came to Jianghan, the imperial court did not allocate a penny or a grain of rice, but sent two official ships to transfer more than a hundred sick and disabled veterans, and sent him on the road.

Yes, on the road, no soldiers and no money, this is an errand to die.

Li Heng didn't want to, so he kept procrastinating.Until Zhang Jun came to make an appointment, saying that he was going to explore Shaanxi, and everyone could go up the river as a company, and they would not be lonely.

Being urged by Zhang Jun, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and walked for a month on the road, and finally reached the ground.

During this month, Li Heng has been in a bad mood. He is a person who likes to be quiet, and when he hears the commotion on the deck, he wants to have a fit.

Seeing the sternness he said, it looked like he was going to have bad luck today. A soldier boldly raised his head and was begging for mercy.Suddenly he called out: "Msanggong, there seems to be a fight over there... Qichun."

Li Heng snorted coldly: "A fight started? Wang Shen and Kong Yanzhou have been fighting for more than two months, and people are dying every day, so what's so strange?"

"No, no, sir, there seems to be a big commotion today, and Qichun City is about to be taken down by Wang Daosi's Sizhou Army."

(End of this chapter)