The county lieutenant of Lintong City put all the "officers and soldiers" who had escaped from Gaoling City and Yueyang City into the city, and asked about the previous battle in detail. Those "officers and soldiers" all said that Shi Jin had an army of 100,000, and the incoming force was unusual. It was so fast and violent that it made the officers and soldiers in Lintong City jump and jump, and the county lieutenant guarding the city believed it, completely unaware that these listless defeated soldiers were all members of the Green Leader Army, so he settled this man When interest rates were lowered in the city, the county captain became a little worried.
The Green Forest Army has already captured Gaoling City and Yueyang City. If they capture Weiqiao Town on the second day, Lintong City will be next. At the same time, Lintong City's scouts learned that except for Shi Jin's 100,000-strong army, In addition, there is also a group of soldiers and horses that have crossed the river and captured Lingkou Town. Both sides are watching with eager eyes. The county magistrate thinks that Lintong City is like meat in someone's bowl. However, he cannot surrender. Lintong is. If he surrenders the gate of Chang'an, then the gate to the east of Chang'an will be wide open. He has six thousand soldiers and horses under his command. The imperial court also placed two thousand forbidden troops here. This forces him to take the lead in the battle, and he will not be able to escape even if he wants to. .
Just when the county magistrate was looking sad, an "officer and soldier" who had escaped from Gaoling City came to the ear of the magistrate. He didn't say much, just a few words. The magistrate suddenly smiled and quickly took thirty taels of silver. He gave it to the "officer and soldier" and repeatedly urged the officer and soldier to speak quickly.
The officer and soldier sold a clever plan to the county magistrate for a high price of thirty taels. It is said that this strategy was proposed to the local magistrate by an expert in the folk in Gaoling City. However, the county magistrate did not have time to use it, and the city was destroyed. It was broken through by Shi Jin with lightning speed.
Lintong County Magistrate came up with this clever plan. The more he thought about it in his heart, the more profound he felt about this plan. His empty heart felt reassured at this time. He couldn't help but feel a little high-spirited and put on a posture of abandoning his pen and joining the army. He takes this battle very seriously, and in his words, it is simply "If you don't do justice, take justice."
Anyway, it is a man who lives and dies with the city. Instead of leaving a bad reputation, it is better to bite the bullet and be heroic once. However, given that the Green Forest Army is coming too fiercely, if the strategy fails, it will definitely be a disaster. For this reason, this The county captain listened to the advice of his personal entourage, and immediately packed up his family and sent them to relatives in the countryside to take refuge. As for himself, he packed up his clothes and moved out of the government office and lived on the tower of the city. He simply risked his life. However, Before he allowed the magistrate to show off his heroic spirit, the magistrate received a letter that night. It was unknown how this letter was placed on his desk. He only saw it when he was resting after he returned from inspecting the city defense.
There is no unnecessary nonsense in this letter, it is concise and to the point, "The ladies and nobles are all at my place. I would like to entertain you. Please comfort me. I hope you will become a great man and open the door to the city as soon as possible."
These few words were polite and not threatening at all. However, the county magistrate's eyes were full of flashes of swords. He had just finally made up his mind to risk his life, but now he couldn't. The county magistrate immediately said: The person who proposed to send the family members out of the city came to see him, but the officer and soldier who sent the message did not see him for a long time. In the end, the officer and soldier who sent the order came back alone, saying that the person who had sent the message had run away long ago.
But in fact, it was the person who said that, and while the county magistrate was away, the "officers and soldiers" handed over thirty taels of silver to the person. For this guy, this was not a small amount. He could earn thirty taels of silver just by talking, so why not do it? Besides, he didn't think that he could stop the Green Forest Army with just the skills of his officers and soldiers. As soon as he got the money, he wanted to run away, but he had to run. There is a special point, that boy got the guidance of the "officers and soldiers", and because he had been around the county magistrate in the past few years, he became a familiar face in all parts of the city, and the officials, big and small, also bought him some face. Through this, that guy I lied to you that I was escorting your family members out of the city, but in fact it was to facilitate my escape from Lintong. By the way, I sent your family members to a group of green forest troops, and took the other thirty taels of silver, which I had already patted on my butt. I got rich on the side.
Naturally, the county magistrate was kept in the dark about all this. Just after listening to the words of the officer and soldier who was delivering the order, the magistrate screamed in his heart that he had been deceived. He was so angry that he gritted his teeth, burst into anger, and slammed his fist on the table. The pens and inkstones on the table all jumped. He was so angry and energetic, but his hand was his own after all. After this punch, the painful county magistrate retracted his hand and rubbed it carefully.
At this time, the county captain who happened to be here happened to hear the noise inside and hurried in. The county magistrate saw the county captain coming in and was about to put the letter away, but he didn't want to but a gust of wind blew from nowhere and rolled up the letter. It fell at the feet of the county lieutenant. The county lieutenant picked it up and wanted to exchange it with the county lieutenant. However, in the process of bending down to pick it up and hand it over, he accidentally saw some words on it that were very dazzling, and he was driven by curiosity. After the next glance, his expression suddenly changed. Before the county magistrate could speak, he said: "Sir, the more you are on the cusp of such a storm, the more careful you must be. If you are not careful, you will become a sinner."
How could the county magistrate, a scholar, not know what the county captain said? He squeezed his red fist, which was still a little painful. He couldn't help but relax for a moment and said: "I know this, but it hurts me..."
"Sir, a wife and a child are not as good as the common people, old and young, and a family's gains and losses are not as good as the comfort of the world." The county captain didn't know if he had any grudge against the county magistrate, but he spoke so bluntly that he became mute. I was speechless, so I had to keep saying yes.
At the moment, the county lieutenant and the county magistrate gathered together to discuss how to defeat the thief. The two of them were just talking on paper and did not have any information about the Green Forest Army. And the county magistrate who was supposed to make suggestions was not in the mood at this time. He was worried and worried. There was anger in their stomachs and an inexplicable sense of cowardice. If the county lieutenant hadn't been there, they would have started to curse. The two of them stared at the map of Lintong all night. The county lieutenant thought hard and made many suggestions. , However, the county lieutenant secretly made a comparison in his heart, and it was not as perfect as the bought plan. At that time, he was very critical and found the flaws in the county lieutenant's plan, but the two had not yet reached the conclusion. When they reached a consensus, suddenly a spy from outside quickly came in and reported that a group of Green Forest soldiers were coming from the east.
As soon as the county captain heard this, he quickly ran to the city tower in three steps and then two steps. He stood on the tooth-shaped arrow stack of the city gate and looked into the distance. Sure enough, there were dots of torches all over the mountains and plains.
And the county magistrate knew in his heart that since the soldiers and horses of the Green Forest Army had arrived, the family members must have broken up with each other. At that moment, he couldn't help but feel an indescribable anger. Even if he didn't want to risk it this time, he had to risk it. The county magistrate hurriedly hurriedly He put on his armor and came out, and when he looked at the city, the fire all over the mountains and plains was like a will-o'-the-wisp, floating in the mountains and fields in the distance. The overwhelming formation, I'm afraid there were no less than 50,000 men and horses, maybe there were really 100,000. Everyone, thinking of this, the county magistrate secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said firmly to the county captain: "The thief is coming with great force. I'm afraid a fierce battle is inevitable. If we insist on defending, you and I will die in the line of duty." Even death can't stop you, you still need to design to have a chance of winning."
The county lieutenant felt that this was right, so he nodded and asked, "Do you have any clever ideas?"
"The clever plan has been here for a long time," the county magistrate said: "Now you can sneak out from the south city with the two thousand forbidden troops, detour behind the enemy army, and then send two generals with thousands of troops each to ambush in the east gate city. Behind the hillside on the left and right sides, when the bandit army attacks the city, they will all come out with my red flag as a signal, catching the bandits off guard. I will lead my troops to fight out from here. The bandits will not be able to withstand it, and they will inevitably fall behind. Change the front team and retreat after hearing the news. At that time, you let their front team pass and cut off the retreat. Together with me, we can reasonably trap the general of the Green Forest Army in the encirclement. In the chaos of the army, no matter whether he is a random sword or a knife. Hidden arrows, as long as the leader of the thief is killed, the victory or defeat will be determined. When the time comes, it will definitely be a great achievement."
"Yes, yes, with this feat, I'm afraid I can be transferred to the capital and join the military department to avoid the suffering of this place." The county captain felt that the county magistrate was still very reliable at the critical moment, so he immediately I kept this plan in my heart and held it tightly not only as a last-ditch straw, but also as a cash cow.
The county magistrate naturally knew who the county captain was talking about, and he laughed at himself and said: "They have a backer behind them, but we have something behind us. Okay, let's go quickly. It will be too late if we worry about it any longer."
"Don't worry, sir," the county captain said and took the two generals down to the city. In just one cup of tea, they quietly flew out of the north and south cities respectively.
The county lieutenant looked at the dots of torches in the distance and felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. He could say it was pain but there was also a hint of joy. He could say it was self-confidence but there was also an inexplicable sadness. He couldn't tell whether he was looking forward to it or feeling sad. Fear, just like he can't tell whether he is bleeding or quietly excited in his heart, "Every big thing has to pay a price, as long as it can succeed, everything will be worth it," the county magistrate comforted himself in this way, and he deeply felt that He swallowed deeply, as if to give himself a reassurance, and pretended to be calm as he was used to big scenes, but his hands that were rubbing back and forth uncontrollably betrayed his inner worries.
Because, in the distance, those firelights were getting closer and closer. In the end, the firelights stayed in place and gathered more and more densely. They stayed in one place and stopped moving. The county magistrate did not know that the Green Forest Army was playing tricks. It doesn't make sense to set up a position so far away. The county magistrate didn't understand, so he just waited patiently. However, just watching eagerly, he heard a thunderous sound coming from a distance close to the ground. As they came over, under the sound of horses neighing, there was the rapid sound of thundering horse hooves, coming vigorously from a distance accompanied by war drums.
The county magistrate looked at it and felt nervous. Seeing that the Green Forest Army was about to launch a general attack, he immediately led the lieutenant left by the county captain and two thousand troops to rush out from the main gate.