After experiencing Fu Zhengyang, wearing a large cotton robe over his body, he arrived at the ceremony gate of the Yamen Office when he heard the sound of rapid hooves in the distance.
He came to the door and took a look. In the distance, it was Governor Gao Mingheng, wearing a bright red cloak and running toward him in the wind and snow, with seven or eight cavalry escorts behind him.
Fu Zhengyang waved to the guard at the door to come forward and take Gao Mingheng's mount. He also stepped forward and whispered softly: "Sir, Tongzhi Guan Hesang is leading three strong men who look like thieves and are waiting in the East Nuan Pavilion of the second hall.
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Gao Mingheng didn't say much, and only said: "You stay here and wait for the chief envoy Liang Fanbo."
After he finished speaking, he strode into the ceremonial gate. Four guards followed him in. The rest went to the concierge to rest and did not follow him in. Fu Zhengyang blinked and stared at the ceremonial gate.
Not knowing why, he shook his head and slowly walked into the concierge to wait for Liang Jing.
Gao Mingheng was concerned about Su Zhuang's reply. After entering Zhensi Yamen, he went directly to the East Nuan Pavilion of the Second Hall.
Sang Kaidi was waiting a little anxiously when he heard footsteps coming from outside the pavilion. At first he thought it was Fu Zhengyang leaving and returning, but as he got closer he knew that the footsteps were not coming from one person, so he guessed it was the patrol commander Gao Mingheng or the feudal lord.
When Liang Jing arrived, he quickly stood up and prepared to greet him.
The door of Dongnuan Pavilion was pushed open, and Gao Mingheng stepped into the pavilion. He had no time to take off his cloak, so he walked up to Sang Kaidi and said, "No need to be polite. What did Su Zhuang say in his reply?"
Although he was asking Sang Kaidi, his eyes were looking at the strong man standing behind him.
Sang Kaidi replied: "Returning to the observation sir, this is the soldier next to General Zhang of Xuanzang Town. Here is the handwritten letter he sent to Su Shoudao."
As he spoke, he handed over the letter he had received at the North Gate, which had not yet been opened. Gao Mingheng did not say much, took the letter, opened it, and read it carefully.
After a while, Gao Mingheng had read Su Zhuang's letter. He turned to Fang Han and asked, "What is your position in Zhang Cheng's army?"
"The last general is Fang Han, the commander-in-chief of Zhang Shuai's personal army."
Gao Mingheng looked at Fang Han and asked: "Su Shoudao said in the letter that your Zhang Shuai will wait for General Chen from the Beijing camp to join forces before coming to rescue Kaifeng. Is it possible to confirm the time?"
"Replying to your lord, what my commander-in-chief said has been written in the letter. As for Chen Shuai's troops in the Beijing camp, they may be transferred to the south bank of the river tomorrow. My commander-in-chief said that as long as Kaifeng City can be defended for two or three days, there will be no worries!
"
Gao Mingheng said to himself: "On the second or third day, it won't be a big problem."
At this moment, the door of Dongnuan Pavilion opened again. It was Fu Zhengyang who led Master Liang Yiliang of Fantai into Dongnuan Pavilion. Gao Mingheng didn't have time to call his servants to serve tea, so he simply told Liang Yi about Su Zhuang's letter.
The people then prepared to go to King Zhou's palace to report the matter, so that King Zhou would feel at ease.
Before leaving, Liang Bing reminded: "It's better to take this squadron from the north with you. If His Highness has any questions, he can be summoned in time."
Gao Mingheng felt that his reminder made sense, so they took Fang Han and left the Yamen of Zhensi together with him and rushed to the Prince of Zhou's Mansion.
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The King of Zhou was very sensible and did not ask too many questions. He just asked Gao Mingheng and others to stick to Kaifeng for more than five days no matter what, so as not to tire out the soldiers and civilians defending the city.
He asked Gao Mingheng and Liang Jing to use various methods to boost the morale of the army and the people. All expenses for defending the city should not be squandered. If the Kaifeng treasury is insufficient, the money can be withdrawn from the palace.
He also asked Gao Mingheng to tell Zhang Cheng of the Xuanzang Town that if he rescued Kaifeng within two days, drove back the army of thieves, and saved all the people from fire and water, he would personally appeal to the court and not hesitate to give a reward. He himself could also reward one hundred thousand taels of silver with the royal palace's funds.
Used to reward troops.
Gao Minghengce said to Fang Han behind him on the horse: "The general of the square team will go back to the Si Yamen first to have wine and food, and rest for a while. When the fourth watch is approaching, he will take advantage of the sleeping soldiers to sneak back to the Xuanzhen Army camp and report
As General Zhang knows, His Royal Highness the King of Zhou has promised that if General Zhang can come to Kaifeng within two days to drive out the thieves and save the people, he will receive a reward of 100,000 silver to reward the army."
Fang Han continued in a deep voice: "Please rest assured, Sir, Fang Han will definitely carry out the decree of His Highness King Zhou."
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On December 26, the 13th year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, about four o'clock in the morning, the cold wind blowing from the Yellow River stung the faces and ears of the soldiers like sharp knives.
My nose was numb from the cold.
Although the light snowflakes that had been falling for half the night stopped, the sky was still filled with dense dark clouds, and it seemed like it would snow again.
However, the clouds that move at any time will occasionally show a few gaps, and a few pale cold stars will suddenly appear, and then disappear soon after.
In the dim and unclear night, the numerous torches and lanterns on the top of the city are also looming, because it is still dark and the appearance of the city wall cannot be seen. The endless lanterns and torches seem to be hanging in the air, which is very mysterious.
smell.
Under the cover of the hazy night, two groups of bandits, each consisting of a thousand men, quietly came outside the trenches on the north and south sides of Kaifeng's west gate and waited more than 200 steps away.
They carried axes, hammers, shovels and iron drills and stood there motionless. Although the wind was as cold as a knife, they forgot the severe cold and felt very excited and nervous, waiting for the command slogan of the bandit leader.
After a while, a rocket was seen shooting out from a distance, piercing the dark night sky. The two men and horses galloped forward at the same time. They quickly crossed the trench, and then raised the door panels they were carrying high.
Covering the top of his head, he quickly ran towards the base of the city wall.
As soon as they reached the base of the city wall, they quickly used hammers to drive the iron drills into the gaps between the city bricks. After hitting the top, bottom, left, and right of each city brick, they used the iron drills again.
Push hard to move outward.
The bricks on the Kaifeng city wall have been squeezed together for hundreds of years. During the construction, plant ash mixed with eggs and other substances were used to wipe the brick joints. The joints are as strong as solid rocks and are very difficult to dig.
Most of the two thieves in charge of the cave city were mining soldiers recruited by the bandits in the Funiu Mountains, and some were poor people from Shaanxi who were good at digging kilns. However, mining and kiln digging were not the same as today's cave cities.
There is a difference.
Just when they started excavating the city, the soldiers and civilians stationed on the city wall had already discovered that although they had no time to stop them from approaching, bricks, stones and large trees continued to fall down.
Bricks, stones, and large logs fell high against the city wall. Although the rebels were protected by door panels, many fell directly on their bodies and heads, causing screams and screams. Many of the rebels were injured and bleeding.
There were also some who were hit in the vital parts of the head and died on the spot.
As the white fish belly gradually appeared in the east, the city outside Kaifeng's west gate was shouting wildly. Among the four gates, only the bandits outside the west gate were the first to launch their attack. On the other three sides, hungry people were only driven to dig out the city bricks after the sky had dimmed.
Since the Ximen side was the main direction of the rebel army's attack, they directly took advantage of the darkness to dispatch a more professional cave city army, and the hungry people were the main force of the second batch of cave cities.
At this time, nearly 5,000 hungry people were driven out of the rebel camp and formed into teams more than 800 steps away from the trench, preparing to rush to the city wall and dig out city bricks.
This is a common tactic used by the rebels to attack the city. The hungry people rush under the city wall and dig down the city wall, or they dig a big hole and fill it with gunpowder to blow up the city wall. Then a large number of rebel soldiers pour into the city and then capture the city. This is commonly known as