Chen Qing looked calmly at the vaguely visible gangsters outside the city. They were not riding horses and were rushing towards the city gate. This reminded him of the puppet Qi army he encountered in Guanzhong, guided by greed and greed.
They go to death.
More than 4,000 bandits shouted wildly, leading hundreds of people to rush onto the suspension bridge and rush into the city gate. The moment they rushed into the city gate, Chen Qing shouted, "Fire arrows!"
'Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!'
Fierce banging sounds were heard, and soldiers above and below the city fired arrows at the same time. More than a hundred bandits who had just rushed into the city were shot by dense crossbow arrows, and fell down one by one screaming.
The two thousand soldiers on the top of the city also fired arrows at the bottom of the city at the same time. The arrows were as dense as rain, and they shot at the fierce bandits below the city. Especially the 500 officers and soldiers on the front of the city holding city bows and 500 thick soldiers.
Arrows shot into the dense crowd,
This round of arrows caught the gangsters off guard. Hundreds of people fell down after being hit by the arrows, lying on the ground wailing in pain. Perhaps because of the dark night, many gangsters did not react and continued to attack the city.
At this time, the second round of arrows was fired. If everyone was a little panicked in the first round of arrows, many crossbow arrows were missed, but in the second round of arrows, everyone was much calmer.
A thousand crossbow arrows were fired like a storm at the hundreds of ruthless bandits who rushed into the city. Amidst the screams and wails, countless ruthless bandits fell to the ground. At this moment, the sound of gongs to withdraw troops was heard outside.
‘Dang! Dang! Dang!’ The gong sounded urgently, urging the bandits to retreat immediately.
Zhang Kui finally realized later that they had fallen into a trap, and the officers and soldiers had already laid a dragnet.
"Retreat! Retreat!" Zhang Kui shouted.
The bandits reacted one after another, and at the same time they heard the gong for withdrawal. They turned around and fled in panic. They were excited when they came, but they were embarrassed when they retreated.
The soldiers fired a third round, and the arrows were like a rapid rain. One or two hundred fleeing soldiers were hit by arrows in the back and fell down one after another.
The bandit fled in panic. Chen Qing waved his hand and said, "I changed my weapons and came with me!"
A thousand soldiers picked up spears and swords and followed the general out of the city. When Chen Qing stabbed an injured bandit to death with a green dragon halberd, the soldiers reacted and drew their swords to deal with the injured bandits.
Chen Qing's heart was as hard as iron and he showed no mercy to the injured gangsters. No matter how much they begged for their lives, he would stab them to death with a halberd. He knew in his heart that what were these gangsters trying to come to the city for? To be merciful to them was to be cruel to innocent people.
.
Not long after, more than 200 wounded soldiers were killed and all kinds of trophies were collected. Chen Qing ordered his troops to return to the city, raised the drawbridge again, closed the city gate, and the bodies of more than a thousand people killed in battle will be disposed of tomorrow.
This battle had a major impact on two thousand officers and soldiers. This was basically the first battle in their lives. They achieved a brilliant victory. They wiped out more than a thousand people, but not one of them was killed or injured. It was simply a miracle.
.
The morale of the two thousand soldiers was high. The soldiers petitioned to fight Zhang Kui's bandits. Even Hu Yantong was tempted and persuaded Chen Qing to take advantage of the victory to pursue the enemy and annihilate Zhang Kui's bandits in one go.
But Chen Qing was unmoved and ordered the soldiers to cut off more than 1,200 heads and hang them on the city wall to warn the whole of Muzhou that anyone who dared to follow Zhang Kui and join the bandits again would be killed without mercy!
As for the two thousand soldiers, they started running again early the next morning to train their physical strength, practiced marksmanship and bow and arrow in the morning, squatted on horseback in the afternoon, and practiced night fighting in the evening.
The soldiers undergo devilish training every day...
After the time entered May, the weather became hotter day by day. It had been a month since Chen Qing came to Muzhou. Except for setting up an ambush and defeating the sneak attack of the bandits, he never launched an attack on Zhang Kui again, but focused on training his troops.
But this does not mean that Chen Qing does not pay attention to Zhang Kui's movements. On the contrary, he uses various channels to pay close attention to Zhang Kui's every move and patiently waits for the opportunity to suppress the bandits.
Lin'an.
That afternoon, a guest came to the residence of Qin Hui, the counselor and political minister. It was Wang Bo, a martial arts student. When Wang Bo came to visit the prime minister's house, he didn't need to hand in a post like other officials. To make an appointment, his aunt was Qin Hui's.
His wife Wang, Wang Bo was able to enter martial arts because of Qin Hui's recommendation.
Wang Bo's task was also to train the Xiang army, but he had no intention of training the army. He had never even entered the gate of the military camp. This month, he and several yamen were hanging out in various romantic places, living a carefree life.
But Wang Bo was also paying attention to Chen Qing's situation in Muzhou. In the past few days, he heard a news that the bandit-suppressing officers and soldiers killed more than a thousand prisoners of war in Muzhou and used their heads to build a Jingguan. This caused a lot of stir in the court.
Big controversy.
Wang Bo then saw an opportunity to add insult to injury.
At this time, there was a clear sound of ringing in the inner hall, and then there was a sound of footsteps. This was the arrival of his aunt, and Wang Bo quickly stood up.
Soon, a large group of maids walked out of the inner hall surrounded by a lady, and the hall was immediately filled with fragrance.
The noble lady is Qin Hui's wife, Wang. She is about forty years old. She has high cheekbones, thin lips, and slender eyes. She may have been pretty when she was young, but as she gets older, her mean face becomes more obvious.
Wang Bo quickly knelt down and saluted, "My nephew, please say hello to my aunt!"
Wang Bo is the youngest son of the second brother of the Wang family. He has been sweet-talking and good at pleasing people since he was a child, and has won the favor of the Wang family.
Wang laughed and said: "You little monkey has entered martial arts, so you should be very busy. How can you have time to come and see me?"
"My nephew is indeed very busy, but no matter how busy he is, he can't forget his aunt. This is a snack from Shijintang that my nephew specially bought for my aunt. My aunt will definitely like the hibiscus and double cakes in it."
With that said, he presented an exquisite brocade box to Mr. Wang.
How can I say that Wang Bo has a high emotional intelligence? He knows that his aunt likes sweet and salty tastes. She used to like Shijintang snacks the most when she was in Bianliang, Tokyo. Her aunt must have missed Shijintang for half a month after living in the Kingdom of Jin.
It reopened in Lin'an some time ago, and my aunt must not know about it yet.
The item was not expensive, but Wang Bo knew it would surely touch his aunt's heart.
Mrs. Wang took the snack box and immediately had mixed feelings. She seemed to have returned to her youth. After a long while, she sighed and said, "Bo'er is interested, sit down!"
"Thank you, aunt!"
Wang Bo sat down and Wang asked again: "How are your parents doing?"
"Reporting to my aunt, my parents are in good health. My father will soon be transferred to Xuanzhou and serve as the defense envoy of Xuanzhou."
Wang Bo's parents were officials in other places. He lived with his grandfather in Lin'an and was doted on by his grandfather.
Mrs. Wang nodded and said with a smile: "You have been like this since you were a child. Whenever something happens, you come to please your aunt. Tell me! What happened this time? Are you running out of money again?"
Wang Bo glanced at the maids next to him, and Wang said with a smile: "They are all my confidants, just say what you say!"
"It's like this. My nephew is determined to excel in martial arts and seize the top spot in martial arts. Facts have proved that my nephew also has this ability. My nephew met an opponent in martial arts. He believed that he had some merit, so he suppressed his nephew in every possible way.
Last month, my nephew finally managed to get the task of going to Muzhou to counter the rebellion. However, he used his connections to snatch the task away. The nephew could only go to train troops. Alas! I won’t talk about these trivial matters. I heard that he was in Muzhou.
The state has committed a crime, and the Yushitai is going to investigate. He will definitely find connections to bribe him, and my nephew is really angry and unjust."
"What background does he have?" Wang asked coldly.
"He advertised everywhere in the martial arts school that he was Zhang Jun's confidant, and all the martial arts officials fawned over him."
"Zhang Jun?"
Mrs. Wang snorted, "Just a local official, not a high-ranking official!"
"The key is that Zhang Jun has connections in Lin'an!"
"Then what do you mean?"
"My nephew is just wondering, since it is the Yushitai investigation, can I let my clan brother Wang Huan go? At least my clan brother will not be bribed by him."
Mrs. Wang understood what her nephew meant and nodded, "I understand. I will tell your uncle later."
.........
At night, after listening to his wife's pillow talk, Qin Hui laughed and said, "Your nephew is not a fuel-efficient lamp! I guess the rumors in the court were spread by him through various connections!"
Wang said angrily: "Isn't it bad that Bo'er has both skills and brains? Didn't you arrange for him to go to martial arts school just because you hope he can become your assistant? Do you want him to be stupid and stupid and act like a fool?"
"Hey! That's not what I meant. It's a good thing that Bo'er has scheming and skill, but Fan Zongyin personally handled the Muzhou matter. It's best for him not to get involved too deeply, lest he be involved, and I won't be able to escape from it in the end.
.”
Wang nodded, "I understand. I will tell Bo'er not to get involved in this matter again."
"Also, I found that the officials seem to be a little interested in this Chen Qing."
"Why?"
"Zhang Jun boasted about how powerful Chen Qing was and attracted the attention of the officials. Now the officials attach great importance to these capable young generals. He promoted Yue Fei in an unusual way. I guess he also trained Chen Qing.
Come up with ideas!”
"Then if Bo'er goes against this Chen Qing, will it be detrimental to him?" Ms. Wang became a little worried.
"This is nothing. There are no grudges between students. They are all trivial matters. In fact, it is also a kind of training for Bo'er. Let him go. Besides, Chen Qing is not the only young general the emperor pays attention to. Zhang Jun also recommended Yang Yi before.
Among them, Liu Guangshi recommended Cao De, and Han Shizhong recommended Hu Yantong, so Chen Qing is just one of many rookies. It does not necessarily mean that he will be successful in the future. Success is only a handful, and more people are unknown."
"Then, do you still want to interfere in the affairs of Muzhou?"
"Let's not talk about intervening! Wang Huan was originally the supervisor of the censor, so he was asked to go to Muzhou and it was just a little effort. Besides, who knows about the grudges between Wang Huan and Chen Qing?"
Qin Hui looked at the tent ceiling, but he was thinking about the secret letter sent to him by Wan Yanchang. The name Chen Qing was actually mentioned in the letter.