The military leader responsible for guarding the city gate outside Kaifeng's west gate is called Tian Hu. He is leading the guards and She Yong to separate the crowd and welcome the official cavalry into the city, but the section from the suspension bridge to the city gate is blocked.
, in addition to the crowd, there were also bags and carrying poles that crowded the place.
He loudly called to the group of cavalry outside Xiguan to wait a moment before they could separate the crowd and let them enter the city.
But even if he screamed at the top of his lungs, it was so far away and so noisy, how could he be heard over there?
Fortunately, Li Jia, who was maintaining order outside Xiguan, separated the crowd in time, got together, and started chatting with the group of officers and cavalry.
He first called to the surrounding tea stalls to quickly boil water and serve tea to the military master to quench his thirst, and then apologized repeatedly: "What a coincidence, there are so many refugees and thieves these days, and they are blocked at the city gate by the sky. Please wait for a moment, military master."
It will take some time before we can enter the city."
A young general got off his horse and came forward and said hurriedly: "Damn it, grandpa has urgent military affairs. Open the road quickly. Grandpa is going into the city right now."
Li Jia was an old man who was nearly fifty years old. After all, he had seen some things. He greeted him with a smile: "Master, don't be anxious, don't be anxious. I will clear the way for you."
He ordered a few strong men to come forward with sticks to clear the way, and then asked with a smile: "May I ask which general the military master is under? But coming from Luoyang, how is the situation there? Have you encountered any bandits?
"
There was an expression of impatience on the young general's face. He looked to the west and replied casually: "I am from the Fubiao Camp under the governor. I was ordered to return to Kaifeng to convey important military information."
Li Jia saw that he was quite flustered and anxious, so he couldn't help but feel suspicious. He hurriedly approached and asked: "May I ask what you call the military master? My nephew is also in the governor's Fubiao camp. I wonder if the military master is familiar with him?"
"
The young general was looking to the west. When he heard this, he became a little unhappy and said: "Go away, go and clear the way for grandpa, it will delay the military situation, be careful with your head!"
Seeing that he was a little angry, Na A didn't dare to say anything more. He turned back and urged the crowd to get out of the way quickly, but he muttered to himself: "What a weird guy, his accent is a little different..."
…………
This group of more than 300 official cavalrymen were disguised as thieves under the command of King Chuang, and the leader was Zhang Nai, a young general in the Chuang army.
Early this morning, they separated from the large group of cavalry near Zhongmu County, more than 60 miles away from Kaifeng City. Zhang Nai was ordered to lead these 300 elite cavalrymen to disguise themselves as official troops, hoping to take advantage of Ximen's unpreparedness and sneak up.
Enter Kaifeng and seize the west gate to welcome the army into the city.
Song Xiance and Li Yan both knew that the city of Kaifeng was high and strong and difficult to capture by force, so they both suggested that King Chuang adopt a strategy of surprise attack to capture the city, and Zhang Nai's troops were the key to the success of this strategy.
Zhang Nai led his troops to the outside of Kaifeng's Xiguan in time. He originally wanted to go straight into the west gate and take advantage of the unpreparedness of the defenders to seize the city gate and open the passage for the army to enter the city.
Unexpectedly, he was blocked outside the suspension bridge by refugees who were eager to escape into the city. Although he tried to remain calm and tried his best to deal with Li Jia who came to talk to him, he was extremely anxious in his heart and looked towards the west road from time to time.
He knew in his heart that the army might appear on the west avenue in the next moment. Once the smoke and dust rolled in from the west, the west gate was closed for city defense and the drawbridge was raised, and his mission of sneak attack on the west gate would not be completed.
Having grown up next to King Chuang since he was a child, he valued King Chuang's military orders more than anything else. Especially this time, he alone led the army as the vanguard and was responsible for the success or failure of the entire army.
But he waited and waited, and dense crowds of refugees were still blocking the passage into the city. He was even more anxious, and Zhang Nai's hair was about to turn white.
His unnatural behavior also aroused the suspicion of Old Li Jia. Zhang Nai looked at Old Li Jia with cold eyes as he turned to leave. Although he kept scolding the overcrowded refugees, he secretly chatted with some of them.
, those people kept looking towards him.
After waiting like this for half an hour, when the sky was almost noon, a passage was opened at Xiguan, but it could only allow one horse to pass through, while the suspension bridge was still crowded with people.
At this time, several cavalrymen also got up from the ground, hurried to Zhang Nai and reported softly: "The army is four or five miles away, I don't have to wait any longer..."
Zhang Nai also knew that if he didn't enter the city to seize the gate, his trip would be in vain. He hurriedly turned to everyone and whispered: "We can't wait any longer. Everyone mounted their horses, rushed in, occupied the west gate cave and the tower, and welcomed the intruders."
Wang’s army enters the city.”
After he mounted his horse, he glanced back at the official road to the west and said to several petty leaders: "King Chuang sent us to seize the west gate and open the way for the army to enter the city. Now the west gate is right in front of us. When the officers and soldiers are unprepared, we rush
Cross the suspension bridge, fight in and seize the city gate, and welcome King Chuang into the city!"
After saying that, he rode his horse and rushed towards the suspension bridge, shouting loudly, "Get out of my way, the knife in my hand doesn't recognize anyone!"
Zhang Nai rushed to the suspension bridge. In order to rush over to seize the city gate and prevent the guards from closing the west gate, he ignored the fact that the suspension bridge was full of refugees and rushed forward on horseback.
"Ah...ah...ah...ah..."
Immediately, an old man was trampled to the ground, and several more people were squeezed off the suspension bridge by the refugees who were fleeing in all directions. For a while, there were cries, curses, and wailings, interspersed with screams.
At this time, the city gate was no longer crowded, and only the suspension bridge was still full of refugees. The guards at the west gate were also anxious. They also hoped to open a channel as soon as possible to allow the officers and soldiers returning from Xiguan to enter the city.
.
A few guards came to the suspension bridge to guide the refugees off the suspension bridge first, making way for a passage so that the officers and cavalry could enter the city to rest. At this moment, wailing and screaming could be heard.
Then I saw several cavalry officers and soldiers, regardless of the fact that the suspension bridge was full of refugees, they rushed their horses onto the suspension bridge. What was even more outrageous was that they actually brandished their swords and guns to kill the refugees blocking the front.
"...killing people..."
"...Help me quickly..."
"... officers and soldiers are killing people... killing people..."
Tian Hu was responsible for guarding the west gate. Although he also wanted to welcome the official cavalry into the city, the chaos on the suspension bridge frightened him. In order to prevent the west gate from being lost, he hurriedly shouted: "Quickly
retreat!"
He turned around and shouted again: "Close the city gate quickly and close the suspension bridge... close the suspension bridge quickly..."
…………
Zhang Nai rode his horse and was the first to rush onto the suspension bridge, but could not make any progress. He was so worried that he swung his sword and chopped down two people one after another. However, he had only gone forward less than two steps when he was killed by another man holding a child.
The woman stands in front of the horse.
He roared with eyes wide open and slashed at the woman with his knife. The knife slashed across the woman's neck. She didn't even have time to scream and fell down on the suspension bridge with a thud.
The baby in the woman's arms rolled out of her arms, and was severely trampled by Zhang Nai's charging horse. The young body immediately burst open, and its condition was horrific.
The stout man carrying the pole in front looked back and saw all this. His eyes were red with tears. He roared heartbreakingly: "I will fight with you!", then threw off the packages on both sides and waved the pole vigorously.
Hit Zhang Nai.
Although Zhang Nai is young, he is also a man who has been on the battlefield for a long time. How could he be hit by him? He just swung the sword in his hand and cut the pole in half, but the man didn't care. He rushed up and stabbed hard, and he was about to be killed.
The sharpened pole penetrated deeply into the horse's neck.
After the war horse was in pain, it neighed and jumped up high, knocking Zhang Nai off the horse. Then it rushed forward with all its strength, knocking over several refugees in a row, and then fell into the deep trench under the suspension bridge with the strong man.