In the first battle at Zhending City, Tian Kai's side had a small victory. But this still failed to alleviate the fear of the local tycoons near Zhending.
As the fighting became more frequent, these local tycoons began to drag their families with them to prepare to cross the Hutuo River and flee to the north of Changshan County.
The Hutuo River is the most important river in Changshan and the longest and widest river in the land of Youji. From west to east, it passes through the four counties of Changshan, Zhongshan, Hejian, and Bohai, irrigating countless fertile fields along the coast.
In the past, the northern people of Changshan State did not regard themselves as border people. They believed that only the area north of the Hutuo River was the border. The land there was sparsely populated and they would be attacked by barbarians at all times. On the contrary, in the
To the south of the Hutuo River is the outback, a place of real prosperity.
Therefore, the Hutuo River has become the dividing line between China and the outside world in the minds of Changshan people. To the north is the outside, and to the south is the inside. Those living south of the Hutuo River are naturally more popular.
But now the world has changed. Nowadays, the people south of the Hutuo River have to flee to the north, which used to be regarded as borderland. How can we not make people feel sad?
In the past, Jizhou, as a major money and food state in the north, had to bear 80% of the defense expenditures of Youzhou and Northern Xinjiang in the north. Therefore, in order to facilitate transportation, Jizhou established a series of ferries and pontoon bridges on the Hutuo River.
The largest one is located between Zhending and Jiumen. The roads here are denser, there are more business trips, and the scale of the natural ferry is also larger.
Originally, this pontoon bridge was made up of a chain of twenty giant boats. Each boat was fixed with ten stone anchors. The boats were one foot six feet wide and about one foot apart. They were paved with wooden boards in the middle and covered with hay. On weekdays,
, dragging the cart and leading the horse by, as if walking on flat ground.
On weekdays, a patrol pavilion is set up every five boats on this pontoon bridge, which carries bells and patrols at night, and is tightly guarded.
But all this is in the past.
As the Taishan bandits in the south began their northern expedition, the gentry from the counties south of Changshan packed up their belongings, drove their cattle and horses, and followed the dark flow of people to cross the river here and head north.
For a time, men and women cried out and begged in low voices. Children cried, and river officials angrily scolded. It was a scene of the end of the world.
Despite the chaos, the pontoon bridge was still open at this time. Many gentry and officials finally squeezed through the pontoon bridge and reached the north bank where they temporarily gained safety.
After all, with the Hutuo River as a barrier, the south bank is the battle zone and the north bank is the rear area.
But things are not so easy on the home front.
As Zhen decided to order Sun Jin to send a message to the Prime Minister of Jiumen, strictly ordering that no one on the south bank was allowed to cross the river, the situation became increasingly tense.
Feng Xun, the Prime Minister of Changshan, issued a strict river ban, which contained only one sentence:
"South of Hutuo, swarms of thieves have sprung up. To prevent enemy spies and lawless people from spying, anyone coming from the south without official credentials will not be allowed to cross."
From here we can see Feng Xun's cunning as an old official.
He did not cut it across the board, but released a so-called public certificate. In other words, whoever has a public certificate can cross the river, and who will have it? Of course it is an influential family.
In order to prevent mobs from breaking through the bridge defenses, Feng Xun directly ordered the pontoon bridges to be removed, and all river crossings to be carried out by boat.
As a result, the river patrolmen guarding the river defense took the opportunity to extort money, and the once wealthy family was willing to lose everything in exchange for a public certificate to cross the river alone.
Perhaps, even if Taishan's army came north, these ordinary wealthy households would not be reduced to this situation. Unfortunately, these people are deaf and blind and cannot see the situation clearly. They only thought that the nobles were running away, so they ran away with them.
Who knows, if others are successful, they will have a way out, and if you are successful, you will become their solution.
But compared to the ordinary wealthy people who had their marrows and skins ripped out, there was a group of people that Feng Xun had to take to the north no matter what, and that was the many kings surnamed Liu in Changshan.
This dynasty is quite generous in its treatment of clans. Not only does it grant more princes than the previous dynasty, but it also manages to start well and end well.
The Liu clan of Changshan were one of the few rich and noble clans that could span two dynasties because they followed Guang to conquer the world in their early years.
At this moment, the royal family members surnamed Liu, who were preparing to cross north, gathered in groups according to their respective royal families. They brought their families with them and looked at the low-income people in the distance with a slight hatred, but there was no joy on their faces.
angry.
Of course they were unwilling to go north. They had huge manors and fields in the south, and hundreds of slaves worked hard to support their comfortable and comfortable life. How could they be willing to give it up?
But it was impossible not to leave. They had all heard about the fate of King Zhao and his family. The servants who used to be like pigs and dogs in the family suddenly became the masters, and even entered the house and occupied their fields.
After knowing this, these royal families in Changshan no longer trust their disciples. And those disciples saw that the situation was getting more and more chaotic, and their eyes became more and more untamed.
Therefore, when people from the north came with official certificates and wanted to take them northward with all their families, they gathered their clansmen and discussed it, and finally went northward.
Because they know that even if they move to the north, they will not be disadvantaged. They will still have fields, docks and servants. After all, who made them a royal family?
In this way, all the people named Liu from Changshan went north together and rushed to the ferry on June 15th, waiting for the boat from the north to take them across the river.
…
"My lord, there is only one piece of cake today."
At this time, on an ox cart at the very edge of the camp of the kings named Liu, a maidservant with a dirty face was saying these words to a girl with an equally dirty face.
The hostess is none other than Liu Hui's sister, Liu Qian.
After her brother defected, the remaining land of King Zhending was also taken back. Later, Liu Qian took refuge with her aunt's house with her only remaining servant and maid.
Looking at the pancake handed over by the maid, Liu Qian felt a little sad. She broke it in half and handed it to the maid.
Even though the maid said she had used it, Liu Qian still insisted on giving half of the cake to the maid.
Because she knew that in their current situation, a piece of bread from her aunt was all that was needed. If she didn't give it to her maid, she would have to starve.
On the oxcart without a roof, Liu Qian chewed half a piece of cake in her hand, while the maid over there tore up most of the cake and put it in her arms, only taking a small piece to bite.
Even after fleeing, the Liu family's masters and servants maintained the family tradition of saying nothing when eating and saying nothing when sleeping.
Soon, the old servant came back.
Unlike the old man who most people think is about to die, even though this old servant has a dusty face, it can't hide his toughness and strength.
The old man's name was Zhao Tong, and he was a general from the Zhending King lineage. Liu Hui's martial arts skills were trained by him since he was a child.
This time they fled north, and it was only because of Zhao Tong's protection that Liu Qian and the two maidservants were safe. Otherwise, even if the two men deliberately smeared their faces, they would still be harassed by the captives in the team.
When Zhao Tong came back, his mouth was still a little oily. When he saw Liu Qian eating cakes, he quickly took out a package from his arms, which contained several grilled fishes.
Zhao Tong said warmly:
"My lord, please eat some grilled fish, your body can't stand it without flesh."
Yes, if a person who has eaten meat continues to eat cakes, she will not be able to bear it, both mentally and physically.
Liu Qian smiled, thanked her first, and then placed the bag of fish under the grass, obviously intending to save it for later rations.
After cleaning up, Liu Qian asked something again:
"Uncle Zhao, can the secret message we left in the old house really enable my brother to find us?"
Zhao Tong opened his mouth and hesitated, but finally said:
"Well, as long as we settle down in the north and send someone back to our old house to deliver another letter from home, Mr. Lang will definitely be able to find us."
Liu Qian was filled with longing and nodded.
Looking at his master's expression, Zhao Tong could only lament in his heart.
My husband has been missing since he brazenly attacked and killed Liu Hao in March of this year. Although before he left, he asked his subordinates to come back and take their family members into the mountains, but in the end he was oversimplifying the matter.
As soon as these Bubu arrived outside the residence of King Zhending, they were captured by the Changshan King Bubu, who was determined to take revenge. In the chaos, Liu Tong could only escape with Liu Qian and a maid. Even Lang Jun
His little wife was never taken away.
Later, he and Wengzhu escaped all the way to Guo's house and stopped in an outer house. Later, he learned that all the famous people in Changshan were heading north together. Zhao Tong was also worried about Wengzhu's safety, so he got involved.
As for what the princess said, I'm afraid it will be difficult to reunite with Lang Jun. In this chaotic world, we may never see each other again in our lifetime.
Seeing that Liu Qian was still immersed in the expectation of being reunited with her brother, Zhao Tong quickly changed the topic. He patted the oxcart and pointed to the north:
"I heard that the ship is coming, and then this ox cart will not be able to be brought on the ship. My lord, you have a choice and see what you want to bring."
When Liu Qian heard this, she didn't care to lament and started to pick up the ones she could use.
You must bring food, and then some clothes. I heard that Youzhou is much colder than Jizhou. You also need to bring some gold. Although it is useless now, you can still buy it when you get to Youzhou later.
Of a manor.
Even though she has only been suffering for two months, Liu Qian is already quite a housekeeper. Sure enough, suffering is the most "tempering" person.
Liu Qian and the other three were cleaning up here, when they suddenly felt something was wrong.
On the periphery of them are those rich people who were beaten to the bone by river officials and then deceived. They are the worst off and are also on the outermost periphery.
There, people were running everywhere, and countless voices came:
"The Taishan thieves are coming."
"dying!"
"Fight with those people!"
Seeing that the chaos in the periphery was about to spread here soon, Zhao Tong's expression changed and he hurriedly pulled Liu Qian and the maidservant to lie under the oxcart. He also got in with a short knife and said to the two women seriously.
:
"Be sure not to move around. In this case, the more you run, the more likely you are to die."
Liu Qian and her maidservant nodded hurriedly, lying obediently under the bullock cart, watching the chaotic scene carefully.
Sure enough, chaos was like a tornado, quickly sweeping through the inner circle, and more and more people began to run, even though they had not yet seen the so-called Taishan bandits.
As for why they are so afraid? They don't know, but they are right to be afraid.
The little maidservant had been trembling there, and suddenly she took out the remaining pancakes from her arms and started to devour them.
Liu Qian didn't say anything, she just hugged her tightly.
Yes, if you are going to die, it is also good to be a dead ghost.
Just like that, listening to the crying and wailing outside, Liu Qian and the little maid suddenly felt that time was so long.
Gradually, the chaos began to dissipate, and the originally crazy crowd regained its calm under the control of some knights in yellow armor.
Obviously, the so-called Taishan Army really came, and without any accidents, they captured the ferry.
This also means that their way north is cut off.
But at this moment, the little maid tried hard to grab Liu Qian's sleeve and opened her mouth to speak.
Liu Qian thought she was eating the pancake too hastily, so she patted her on the back and encouraged her to eat it, while scolding:
"Let you eat slower."
Liu Qian's food was also effective, and the maid really felt relieved. Then she opened her mouth and said:
"My lord, do you think that is Mr. Lang?"
Liu Qian was shocked. Following the direction pointed by the maid, she saw her brother wearing iron armor, standing on a horse majestically, looking coldly at the Liu family members gathered around.
At this time, Liu Qian could no longer restrain herself and cried loudly:
"Brother, Akane is here, here!"
…
On June 15, the first year of Taiwu, the Zhending ferry was finally closed.
From then on, the rich, the poor, the warriors and the literati were divided into the north and the south because of the Hutuo River, and their destinies took completely different directions.
Those who can cross the Hutuo River will not necessarily enter the Paradise. Those who are blocked in the south and cannot cross the north will not fall into the abyss.
But no matter in the north or south, compared to the people in Zhending City at this time, their fate is always better than countless others.
Because this town has become a military-controlled area, everyone in the city will have to shed their blood to protect this deadly place.
After Tian Kai led his troops to a small victory over the Taishan Army outside the city on June 13, he did not feel any joy. On the contrary, he discovered more loopholes.
It turns out that these soldiers in the city were almost all people from the city's urban and rural areas. They were cunning and cunning, had little desire to die, and were generally not used to fighting.
So Tian Kai dispersed his own troops and used violence to drive others to their deaths. On the city wall, there was a northern soldier guarding every four or five battlements. Anyone who dared to lower the city to escape would be beheaded.
He also personally led the able county officials in the city to patrol the city morning and evening. Anyone who dared to slack off would be killed. When soldiers went to the city, in addition to going up to the peak to give them talismans, they also had to go together. If two people sit together, one person dares to do so.
He ran away and was killed by another man.
It was precisely by relying on such iron-blooded violence that Tian Kai really captured Zhending City. Field battles cannot be fought, but at least they are not a rabble that collapses upon hearing the news.
Afterwards, Tian Kai asked Sun Jin to supervise a team to carry out assassinations in the city.
Tian Kai believed that the southern part of Changshan Kingdom was lost so quickly because the enemy had spies in the city who were cooperating with the enemy. He believed that there were also collaborators in Zhending City, so he asked Sun Jin to take charge of the matter.
He said to Sun Jin:
"Inside the king, and outside my lord. If the inside and outside are harmonious, thieves will not be able to take advantage of it."
So, on the one hand, Sun Jin dispatched military supplies, and on the other hand, he began to clear the city.
Those who speak evil words should be killed; those who speak evil words should be killed; those who disturb people's hearts should be killed!
After some tactics, Zhending City seemed to be impregnable, at least on the surface.
Finally, on the day of June 16th, Zhang Chong, who came all the way, with an army of 20,000 and countless accompanying troops, finally arrived at Zhending City.
A bloody battle will test everyone.
Another heroine is online, and then a bloody battle is about to begin. Family members, aren’t your monthly tickets starting yet?