The rain has stopped, and the sun is shining on the roof that was repaired a few days ago, gradually drying up the water stains on the tiles.
Hao Erfu stood in front of the granary and couldn't help but burped again.
He had eaten very full just now, the fullest he had ever eaten in his life. But at this moment, his expression was not happy, but rather filled with deep regret.
His lips parted, and he slowly spoke out the words he had been saying.
"It can't be burned, hiccup, it can't be burned." But someone was already walking over with a torch.
"Brother Hao, what are you still doing standing here? It's time to work."
"Do you really want to burn it?" Hao Erfu turned around, with tears already in his eyes, "They are all food and grass grown with so much hard work, how can they be burned?!"
"If you don't burn it, will it be left to the Yuan army? Hurry up and follow the general to withdraw later."
While talking, the torch was placed in front of the granary and a sack was lit. The fire quickly spread.
Hao Erfu closed his eyes and couldn't bear to look.
The wind brought the crackling sound to his ears, and he recalled the scene of working in the fields with hoe after hoe countless times in his life. He felt as if his whole life was being burned, and he felt extremely distressed.
So the honest old farmer finally cursed angrily.
"Damn it!"~~
"Let's go back to Zhengzhou City."
Following the words of the commander of the Tang army, groups of remaining soldiers began to gather towards the north of the city.
In Fan Xueyi's team, Hao Gou'er was already standing among them wearing a suit of armor, with a spear in his hand and a crossbow hanging on his waist.
When Hao Erfu and others came over, Hao Gouer quickly stopped playing with weapons.
"Dad, this is extra military supplies. I am no longer in the army, and the general has not agreed yet."
"Any more?"
To Hao Gou'er's surprise, Hao Erfu's attitude today was not as afraid of him joining the army as usual.
"No, no more dad, you go in the middle, General Fan will lead the people behind to cut off the rear."
"well."
Hao Erfu took a deep look at his son, picked up the pole, and walked with the team of civilian husbands, while Hao Gou'er followed Fan Xueyi's team.
The killing cries from the front haven't stopped yet, it's the Tang army that is breaking out of the encirclement.
There is a river to the north of the small town of Zhongmu. It was called Honggou in the Warring States Period, Langdangqu in the Han Dynasty, and now it is called Cai River.
The Cai River often floods and people call it the "Little Yellow River". Especially since it has not been controlled for many years since the war, it often gets silted up and overflows.
The Yuan army was originally just a small group of soldiers and horses making a sneak attack. Now that Boyan's main force came from the east, the Yuan army mainly prevented the Tang army from breaking through from the west.
But they were actually walking to the north, because there were too many civilians in the team and they couldn't outrun the Yuan army's cavalry, so they simply walked along the river and used the muddy terrain to escape.
"We can break out! Let's go!" "Go north!"
The team walked north for a while, and the ground beneath their feet gradually softened until it was very muddy.
However, some villagers lamented: "What a pity for a place like this."
After walking for a while, they finally reached the Cai River and began to trek westward along the river.
Hao Gou'er turned around and saw that there were already many fewer people. They were all killed during the breakout.
~~
The fire in Zhongmou City is still burning.
Countless Yuan army cavalry were already galloping this way, some entering the city and others camping outside the city.
Boyan raised his head, looked at the thick smoke floating high in front of him, and murmured: "It seems that the Tang army still has plenty of food and grass, so it will be burned."
"Since the Prime Minister has personally led the army here, the little Tang Army commander is like an ant under his feet. If he doesn't burn the food and escape quickly, how can he resist the Prime Minister?"
"In addition to resisting, they have another option, which is to surrender to us with food and grass." Boyan said: "Have you discovered it? Since the Great Mongolia destroyed the Jin Dynasty and attacked the Song Dynasty, generals have often surrendered. But when fighting the Tang army, they rarely surrendered.
.”
Ali Hague was stunned for a moment, thinking that what the Prime Minister said was nonsense. The overall situation now was that the Tang army had the upper hand, and of course fewer people surrendered.
But he still responded: "Is it because we haven't raised the butcher knife for so long that those people are not afraid of us anymore?"
"I'm definitely thinking about it."
Boyance immediately stepped forward, stared at the fire in the distance, pondered, and said: "In the past, the Great Khan told me to implement benevolent government. Before I set out to take charge of Henan, the Great Khan once told me as an example of Cao Bin not being bloodthirsty to level Jiangnan.
I, I have always done this. But"
But when the situation reached this point, Boyan had to do some introspection.
He turned to look at Ali Hague and said, "Maybe we should kill some people and beat the Han people."
No matter how many articles and etiquette he learns, no matter how Han-like his words and deeds are, none of these will change Boyan's stance. His interests come from the Golden Family. So when necessary, he can still throw away those "benevolence" without hesitation.
Ali Hague understood this, recruited his soldiers, and ordered: "Go and tell Baizhen that these Tang soldiers dare to burn food but are unwilling to surrender to the prime minister. Kill them all. Kill all the civilians as well."
It was just a small baggage team brought by the Tang army, and it was enough to hand over the thousands of households under its command.
The army ignored these trivial matters and continued to set up camp.
It was not until dark that Qianhu came back to pay his respects, but he reported to Ali Hague with some fear.
"What?" Ali Hague was greatly surprised. "The enemy was just a bunch of soldiers, and you were still defeated?"
"It's not that they were defeated, but they were walking along the swamp beside the river. It was difficult for our horses to get through. I have sent cavalry to the front to block them."
Ali Hague was very unhappy, but it was already dark, so he said: "The Prime Minister will see a lot of heads before noon tomorrow."
"Don't worry, manager, I will kill them all when the time comes."~~
At first light, Boyan saw a Han man in the tent.
The other party was in his forties, handsome and elegant in manners. He was a confidant sent by Jia Sidao, named Huang Gongshao.
Boyan also looked elegant at this time. He first had morning tea with Huang Gongshao and then talked about poetry and poetry for a while.
If it were Li Xia, he would definitely not meet the Song envoy with such courtesy. Therefore, it can be said that Boyan is more elegant and more like a Han Chinese than Li Xia.
"When I saw him today, I realized that the Prime Minister is a noble and noble person, and he is a true hero."
"Mr. Huang is overly praised. Today, the Yuan and Song Dynasties are in the same spirit. We should jointly attack the unrighteous people, but people often accuse us of being barbarians. This is really ridiculous. My Majesty, the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, is praised for his old clothes.
Zai Kuan Pi Tu, the successor to the Central Plains orthodoxy, was recognized by the emperor of your country, wasn’t it?”
Huang Gongshao listened to Boyan's words and couldn't help but be surprised by the other person's Sinology level. Later he realized what he said with a smile: "What the Prime Minister said is true. Li Xia was originally a minister of the Song Dynasty. He was deeply favored by the emperor and rebelled. He was a rebellious minister and a traitor."
.The Yuan Dynasty succeeded the orthodoxy of the Liao Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty. Therefore, the so-called thieves and bandits or barbarians are based on the legal system rather than the clan they come from."
"Well said!" Boyan stroked his palms and praised highly: "Mr. Huang has such a great bearing and good structure!"
Huang Gongshao quickly handed over his hand.
The more elegant the prime minister of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty was, the less likely it would be for the Song Dynasty to form an alliance with him.
Therefore, even if it took some time, both parties patiently set the tone first.
Then let’s get down to business.
Not long after, Boyan's loud laughter rang out in the tent. "Hahaha, Mr. Jia Pingzhang and I have an idea."
"This is exactly what heroes think alike." Huang Gongshao said: "I came all the way and saw that the prime minister's army had almost counterattacked to the gates of Zhengzhou. I was really surprised and admired."
"But." Boyan suddenly changed the topic and said, stroking his beard: "Song and Yuan agreed to send troops from Xiangyang to attack Li Xia, but up to now there has been no movement."
"It's not that there is no movement." Huang Gongshao waved his hand quickly and said: "The imperial court has already issued an edict to Lu Wenhuan, ordering him to send troops from Xiangyang to Mengjin Crossing to cut off Li Xia's retreat."
Boyan smiled and shook his head, saying: "Mr. Huang, don't you lie to me? How can Lu Wenhuan be real?"
Is it like fighting?"
"Prime Minister, please listen to my explanation." "I won't listen anymore."
When it came to this crucial point, Boyan finally darkened his face and stopped chatting with Huang Gongshao. Instead, he said bluntly: "The fact is that Lu Wenhuan has selfish motives and is afraid to move forward."
"Perhaps we were delayed on the way. Fighting is not a trivial matter after all." Huang Gongshao said.
Boyan didn't listen at all, and said: "Before, I took care of the alliance between the Yuan Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. When the road was stranded and the food was exhausted, I never went south to ask for compensation from the Song Dynasty. Now my army has approached Zhengzhou, and if you are still unwilling to abide by the alliance,
If you act unjustly in the first place, don’t blame me for being unkind in the back!"
Huang Gongshao was shocked and said quickly: "Don't worry, Prime Minister, I will go to Lu Wenhuan's army to urge him to start the war as soon as possible."
~~
After Huang Gongshao left the tent, Boyan saw that Ali Hague had not come yet, so he sent someone to call him.
When Ali Hague rushed into the tent, Boyan glanced at him and said: "Now you have put on your armor? Get ready to set up camp."
"yes."
"How many were killed last night? Three thousand including civilian husbands, right? Before Huang Gongshao leaves later, you take him over to have a look, as a warning to Lu Wenhuan."
Ali Hague looked embarrassed and said: "Prime Minister, that group of people broke through and escaped."
Boyan paused while packing up the map, then turned around and asked, "Is it the Tang Army's elite cavalry who disguised themselves as baggage trains to attract our cavalry to attack?"
Ali Hague was even more outrageous: "No, no, it's just a small group of people leading some civilians transporting supplies, breaking out from the Cai River."
Boyan opened the tent curtain, summoned a soldier, and ordered: "Let Huang Gongshao set off."
"Yes, take him from the west?" "South."
After arranging this matter, Boyan threw down the curtain, turned to Ali Hague and asked: "In the past, it was enough to say that the Tang army was all elite soldiers, but now they can't even defeat the civilians?!"
"It's not that we can't defeat them, it's that they escaped too quickly. Don't worry, Prime Minister, we will kill them all before evening!"
Because of this incident, Boyan's eyes inevitably showed some worry again.
Before arriving in Zhengzhou, he had already felt the tenacity of the Tang army.
But if he is defeated again, Dayuan will not even have the last chance to fight back.