The battle raged from dusk until late at night, and the battlefield in the south of the city had turned into a Shura field. There were broken limbs and broken bodies everywhere, and the wails of the injured could be seen everywhere. In short, the earth was bleeding and the sky was weeping. The bloody field had just been covered by heavy snow.
, dyed red by another layer of blood.
On the enemy's side, a steady stream of reinforcements gathered outside the city and joined the battle. As for the defenders, the elder brother died in the battle, the younger brother died in the battle, the son died in the battle, and the husband died in the battle, the wife died in the battle.
The surname is constantly transfusing blood to this battlefield.
Tragic is no longer enough to describe the situation on the battlefield. The enemy and the defenders were like two unstoppable ferocious beasts, wrestling crazily and fighting to the death on this small battlefield in the south of the city.
The first to be overwhelmed was the Tatar army. These Tatars came to attack Ming Dynasty, but they just wanted to steal some gold, silver and soft goods. Therefore, they did not have the spirit of the defenders to regard death as home. Even after nearly a thousand casualties, they failed to achieve any result.
Under such circumstances, they continued to watch from the sidelines without any interest in admiration.
However, the Yan army finally stayed on the battlefield under the terrifying order to kill those who retreated. However, their courage became weaker and weaker, because they were not facing an ordinary army, but a crazy army. These people
Like a lunatic, they have a tendency to regard death as their own. Some wounded soldiers will even hug each other and hit the head of the gun, desperately trying to trade one life for another.
Obviously, in terms of risking their lives, there is a big gap between the Yan army and the defenders who are determined to defend the city. Facing such a life-threatening army, they have long been on the verge of collapse. Dao Yan, who was also fighting outside the city, saw
He shook his head in pain. He knew that if he continued to fight, he would not be able to capture Beiping City, and it would only increase casualties.
"Your Highness, it will be fruitless to continue fighting. Please retreat."
"The city is about to be destroyed, I am not willing to give in..." Zhu Gaoxu clenched his fists and his eyes were bloodshot. This was the first time he saw the defenders who refused to abandon the city and surrender even after the city wall was dug through.
Not to mention, the two armies were fighting non-stop at the top of the city, but behind, you could actually see many ordinary people carrying bricks and starting to fill the gaps in the city wall!
What kind of scene is this?! The people in the front are still fighting, but the people behind them turn a blind eye and build the wall on their own. This shows how tenacious the people in the entire city of Beiping are. Zhu Gaoxu can even predict: Even if they are forced to
If the city is destroyed, he can only get an empty city because no one will surrender.
What Zhu Gaoxu didn't know was that the city of Beiping, which had been violently attacked by Wan Lei, had been endowed with a spirit, that is, to be honest and to be strict in death. From the elders to the children, from the women to the strong people, they all had to be humbled by words.
He was ashamed and proud to die in battle. However, he still knew one thing. If he continued to fight, he might lose all his troops.
With ten thousand unwillingness, Zhu Gaoxu finally ordered the troops to retreat, because the army he had managed to raise with great difficulty was his only capital. If he failed to fight for it, he would have no capital to fight against the imperial court.
The Yan army retreated, but the defenders did not pursue the victory. It was not that they didn't want to but that they couldn't. After three or four hours of hard fighting, they were severely overdrawn, both mentally and physically. Being able to hold on until now is considered a victory.
What a miracle.
The soldiers retreated into the city to rest one after another. While Wan Lei sent people to rescue the wounded, he directed thousands of young and old to start repairing the city. Because the city was missing four large openings and there was insufficient bricks and stones in the city, Wan Lei had to order the demolition of the paving stones.
The bluestone slabs of the street are used to build walls.
In addition to building the wall, Wan Lei also had to send people to count battle losses and register military achievements. In short, he was very busy. At this moment, Zhao Xueer suddenly came to him and said that the sloppy Taoist priest had something important to do and wanted to see him soon.
Wan Lei was naturally very unhappy and said angrily: "Go, go, don't come here to cause trouble. If you have anything to do, wait until tomorrow."
To be honest, Wan Lei was very dissatisfied with the sloppy Taoist priest. This old guy was so calm. Seeing that the city was about to fall, he refused to make any effort. Wan Lei was a little suspicious of this old guy's heart.
Is it made of iron stone?
"Master Tai said that you should go see him immediately, otherwise you won't regret it." Zhao Xueer said again.
"Is your Grand Master the Jade Emperor or the Tathagata Buddha? Is he more important than the people in the city? I am needed here now. Even if the Jade Emperor comes, I can't leave." Wan Lei ignored the other party and instead helped a wounded person to go there.
The military doctor sent him to him and helped him treat his wounds while returning him. This move attracted the attention of more people, and Wan Lei's image became even taller in their eyes.
"I brought what I should have brought. Don't regret it if you don't go." Zhao Xueer was ignored and walked away angrily. But as soon as she left, a voice came from behind Wan Lei: "Little layman, I have something to do with you."
I came out of town to report back."
The person who came was none other than the slovenly Taoist priest. Rarely, he actually put on clean Taoist robes, brought a whisk and wore a Taoist crown. However, with his big belly, he did not look like a Taoist master.
Instead, he looks like a funny Maitreya Buddha.
"You want to go out and surrender, right? Then go by yourself. No one here can stop you anyway." Wan Lei rolled his eyes at him and said angrily.
"It's not a surrender, I'm just going out of the city to meet old friends for a while, and I'll be back before dawn." The sloppy Taoist priest was still not angry.
"Old friend? There are enemies outside the city. How can you be a friend? If you leave the city, don't come back. Otherwise, I will regard you as a spy and imprison you."
"Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, as the saying goes, words can never be said and deeds cannot be done, otherwise the fate will end early. I am here just to meet friends, nothing else, little layman, don't worry." The sloppy Taoist arched his hands, turned around and drifted away.
go.
Watching the sloppy Taoist priest leaving, Wan Lei frowned. How could he have imagined that this old guy was actually having an affair with a Yan thief? The last time he rescued the Yan gangster named Ma Sanbao, Wan Lei thought it was him.
Due to his hard-to-kill nature, it seems that this old guy is probably an accomplice of Thief Yan.
"Since he is an accomplice of Thief Yan, why didn't he attack me?" When Wan Lei thought about this again, he couldn't figure out whether this old man was righteous or evil.
Since he couldn't figure out the identity of the other party, Wan Lei threw the matter behind him with a shake of his head. After all, he had a lot to do now, and it was not easy to be the lord of a city. In addition to glory, there was also
More is still responsibility.
In fact, Wan Lei was not overly concerned. Because Emperor Jianwen valued civil servants and underestimated military generals, he eliminated vassals and also took advantage of many people. Now in the vast world, only the Confucian power represented by the civil servant group dominates, and many interest groups
His power was severely damaged. To put it bluntly, King Yan was not the only one who was forced to rebel.
Forget about suppressing the forces of nobles and eunuchs, which is absolutely unacceptable. The imperial court also targeted Buddhism and Taoism. Don’t underestimate the power of Buddhism and Taoism. You must know that Buddhism and Taoism have been active in the political arena for a long time.
This is not without reason, because they have a strong mass base and strong public opinion power.
Offending these religious people will definitely lead to no good fruit. Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born as a monk (beggar), knew this very well. Therefore, at the beginning of the founding of the country, he gave preferential treatment to Buddhism and Taoism and gave them both
Buddhists have many privileges, which ultimately play a role in calming people's hearts.
However, his grandson Zhu Yunwen was a stupid young man. When he saw a letter from the court officials saying that monks and Taoists had invaded people's fields and enslaved people and many other evil deeds, he ordered to limit the amount of monks' (Taoists') farm property and asked Buddhists and Taoists to control it.
The "excessive occupation" of civilian land was returned to the people.
This time, a hornet's nest was stirred. Those Buddhist and Taoist people whose interests were harmed all turned to the side of King Zhu Di of Yan. They not only created public opinion for him, but also participated in instigating rebellion activities, and even directly participated in the rebellion.
The monk Yan is just a representative of this group of people.
As for the old friend mentioned by the sloppy Taoist priest, Wan Lei could guess it without even thinking, it was Dao Yan. Not to mention, Wan Lei really guessed it right. No, the sloppy Taoist priest jumped off the tower and ran towards the Yan army.
Gone to the camp.
"Who is coming?" The Yan army was newly defeated, and although its morale was low, there were still people on patrol at night. They spotted the sloppy Taoist priest at a glance.
"Please pass on the message and tolerate Sanfengzi's request for an audience." The sloppy Taoist still looked calm.
"It turns out it's Master Zhang. I'm disrespectful and disrespectful. I'll get off my horse and go to congratulate the military advisor." A general on patrol at night said happily.
Not long after the general left, a disheveled Dao Yan appeared in front of the slovenly Taoist Priest. He bowed his hands and said, "Zhenzhen Zhang came here late at night. It's really rude for the poor monk not to greet you from afar. It's rude. Hurry, we're coming soon."
Sit down in the tent and let the poor monks do what is appropriate for the landlord."
"Master, there is no need to be polite. I am here just to tell you something. I will leave after that."
"It's freezing cold right now, so I'd better go into the tent and have a cup of warm tea to drive away the cold air."
"No need." The dirty Taoist waved his hand and said: "For many days, I have been observing the stars at night and found that the stars are changing, the purple is dim and the white is taking away the light. This is a sign that the king is weak and the minister is strong. And this sign should not be there.
"Yan, your power is gone. I would like to boldly advise you to stop fighting as soon as possible and stop fighting in vain, so as to protect your life."
"Where did you come from? How dare you talk nonsense here to disturb the morale of the army? Come on, take it down and torture it for interrogation." Zhu Gaoxu also came out. Because he had just been defeated, he was in a very unhappy mood. Now he heard that this was not good for him.
His remarks immediately made him furious.
"Your Highness." Dao Yan pulled Zhu Gaoxu's sleeve and whispered: "Zhenzhen Zhang is a Taoist elder, so you can't neglect him."
"Oh, it turns out to be Master Zhang. I am disrespectful and disrespectful. My father has mentioned this person to Xiao Wang many times. It is truly a blessing to meet him today. Please invite Master Zhang to sit in the military tent and let Xiao Wang do his best to be a landlord.
"Zhu Gaoxu's attitude made a 180-degree turn, but the sloppy Taoist priest just glanced at him and said: "What needs to be said has been said, I will say goodbye here."
"Master, don't leave in a hurry. Xiao Wang will keep the agreement between the late king and Master in mind and dare not forget it." Zhu Gaoxu caught up and said.
"It's okay not to mention these old things." The sloppy Taoist priest was unmoved and strode away as usual.
"If I get help from the real person, Xiao Wangyuan will confer the real person as the real king, fund the reconstruction of the Zhenwu Hall, and use gold to reshape the true body of the Heavenly Lord." Zhu Gaoxu was still unwilling to give in.
"My Taoist ambition is to revitalize Taoism, not to seek fame and fortune. You and I have different Taoisms, so we don't want to work together." As soon as he said this, the sloppy Taoist priest had already left.
At this time, Ma Sanbao whispered in Zhu Gaoxu's ear: "Your Highness, as far as I know, this person has a close relationship with Wan Lei and that fellow. You cannot stay here to avoid future trouble."
"This poor monk has heard about this a long time ago. Alas, it's a pity, a great master." Dao Yan just shook his head and turned back to the camp. Zhu Gaoxu looked at the sloppy Taoist priest's back and shook his head. In Ma Sanbao's ears
Bian said: "Leave this matter to you, find some trustworthy people, and do it more secretly."