The Han River is like a belt and the water is clear. Fancheng is in the north and Xiangyang is in the south.
It is a pity that the Tang army's offensive broke the tranquility of the Han River Basin.
The artillery hit the top of Fancheng from the north of the Yangtze River, creating a large hole in the city wall.
Rocks and earth flew up, hitting the defenders on the city wall, and their faces were covered with blood.
At the same time, there was another loud noise, and the tower behind him suddenly collapsed, knocking several soldiers down under the big tree.
In panic, many soldiers hurriedly held their heads and lay down, forgetting to shoot arrows at the bottom of the city.
"Move away! Get them out!"
Niu Fu, the guard of Fancheng, caught up with him and worked hard with his soldiers to move away the wooden beam that was pressing on the wounded soldier.
When I turned around again, I heard shouting from below the city, but the rebels were already approaching.
At this time, arrows were fired along with the artillery, and the Tang army was also roaring loudly.
Niu Fu fell to the ground due to the violent shaking. He picked up his shield to block the arrows. Suddenly, he heard the Tang army shouting among various life-threatening sounds.
"The official refuses to surrender for the sake of his family property, but he wants you to die. Why don't you surrender?!"
This is not the first time that the Tang Army has surrendered. In fact, since the siege of Xiangfan, the Tang Army has made much more efforts to recruit surrender than to fight. Various reasons have been given before, but today is a little different.
At this time, Niu Fu stood guard at the top of the city. Hearing the shouts that filled the sky, he was very confused...
"I really can't understand."
When the Tang army stopped attacking the city, Niu Fu was bandaging his wounds and humming.
Wang Fu, the general, asked, "What doesn't the general understand?"
"I never thought about surrendering. Didn't I listen to what they said a while ago? The Song Dynasty is probably going to be exhausted. Li Ni has become a descendant of Li Tang again. He is more orthodox than the official family, not to mention that he has recovered the Central Plains...
I sent someone to shoot the book to Xiangyang City to ask Marshal Lu. Marshal Lu came back to me and waited for his order. Soon after, the Tang army's offensive stopped, and I thought Marshal Lu was going to surrender."
"Then what?"
"Looking at it today, it looks like Marshal Lu won't surrender again."
Wang Fudao: "What can't the general understand?"
Niu Fu couldn't say anything. He turned around and looked at the soldiers around him, his whole face wrinkled.
Today's situation is a test for everyone. Some people think that surrender is due to fear of death, while others agree with Li Tang's orthodoxy.
When Niu Fu had the idea of surrender in his mind, he couldn't explain why.
At the same time, there is a very strong idea in my mind that we cannot treason or treason.
The stories he had heard since childhood all praised loyalty and courage, and he had already made up his mind to fight to the death for his country. However, looking around, he felt that it was not worth it for his soldiers and generals to die like this. It was no longer the time to fight against Mongolia.
"I can't tell you, mother. There's no one to tell me what to do is right or wrong."
When Niu Fu said this, soldiers suddenly ran over in front of him, shouting.
"General, a message has arrived from Xiangyang!"
Niu Fu stood up quickly, caught up two steps, grabbed an arrow letter from the soldier, opened it and read it. It was a message from Fan Tianshun, the governor of Jinghu, and it only had one sentence.
"Be born as a minister of the Song Dynasty, and die as a ghost of the Song Dynasty."
Seeing Niu Fu standing there in a daze, Wang Fu stepped forward to take a look and asked: "General, what are you talking about in Xiangyang?"
"Let us defend the city with our lives." Niu Fu said.
He felt for a moment that this was God's will, and then he said that he hoped someone could tell him what to do rightly, and he immediately got this letter.
It’s just that the confused feeling in my heart still hasn’t dissipated.
In the following days, the Tang army attacked the city more violently.
In comparison, Xiangyang was located on the south bank and had a wide moat surrounding it, making it difficult for the Tang army to capture. Fancheng, located on the north bank, was much easier to attack.
Obviously, Gao Changshou was so angry that he decided to break Fancheng first as a springboard to attack Xiangyang.
Faced with such an offensive, Niu Fu gradually felt that he could no longer hold on.
On February 23, he was hit by a fireball from the Tang Army, leaving a large burn on his arm. He fainted from the pain while the military doctor was treating the wound.
Waking up in a daze, Niu Fu murmured: "Wang Fu..."
"The general is awake, and General Pi has gone to inspect the city."
Niu Fu opened his eyes wide and looked at the face with three long beards in front of him, and asked: "Doctor, why do I feel...so weak?"
"It's okay, General, just take a rest for the night."
"What's the sound? Have the rebels entered the city?"
The military officer listened for a while, then stroked his beard and said, "There was no sound. The general was too worried."
"I clearly heard the cry of killing." Niu Fu said: "Help me up... I have to go to the top of the city to take a look."
"In the army, the general has the final say, but on the sickbed, I have the final say. General, just lie down and rest assured, everything will be fine."
Niu Fu was so anxious that he tried hard to remember, but he couldn't do it at all.
Fortunately, the faint shouting of murder in his ears gradually stopped.
I must have been too worried in the dream.
Thinking like this, Niu Fu could finally close his eyes and rest for a while.
Then I heard the military officer humming something.
He couldn't quite understand it, but he could tell it was a very majestic melody.
Turning around to look, the military doctor raised his head and patted his knees. Although he didn't drink, he was a little drunk.
"Doctor, what are you singing?"
"A new word, can the general recognize what word it is?"
Niu Fu shook his head and said, "I don't understand poetry... It's not easy for a rough person to be able to read."
"This is a poem about reciting snow. The words are quite straightforward and easy to understand. General, listen to it again."
"good."
The doctor cleared his throat and sang louder this time.
As he said, the words were indeed straightforward and easy to understand.
Niu Fu had learned to read and asked after listening to two sentences: "This sentence means that the snow in the north is as wide as thousands of miles...is it?"
"Yes, the general really understands."
"Did I hear it correctly? Inside and outside the Great Wall? Is it really the Great Wall?"
"Of course it's the Great Wall. If it weren't for the Great Wall, how could it be covered with snow both inside and outside? I've never seen it, but has the general seen it?"
Niu Fu said: "Damn, how many people in the Song Dynasty have seen the Great Wall?"
"The Song Dynasty did not have it, but the Tang Dynasty did."
Niu Fu was stunned and stared at the military officer, already having a premonition that something bad was going to happen.
"You...you..." Qiao
"General, do you want to hear me finish singing?"
The old doctor obviously liked the lyrics very much, and he started singing again while waving his hands slightly.
"On a clear day, look at the red clothes and plain clothes..."
"This is a word passed down among the rebels!"
Niu Fu sat up suddenly, stared at the military doctor, his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and shouted: "You rebelled? You rebelled!"
"What is opposition?"
The military officer raised his hand and turned it over.
"Those who disobey orthodoxy are rebels. What is orthodoxy? When Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty rebelled against Chen Qiao and wore imperial robes, did he rebel? Correct? Today, as a descendant of Li and Tang Dynasty, he drove the barbarians north and unified the Central Plains. How did he rebel? Correct.
yeah?"
Niu Fu was stunned.
By the time he came to his senses, the shouts had already reached the door.
There was a "bang" sound as someone knocked on the door and came in.
"General! You rebelled, they all rebelled." Wang Fu, covered in blood, shouted: "The soldiers have opened the city gate to welcome the rebels, let's go..."
Niu Fu did not move, and still looked at the military officer blankly.
"General?"
"Where to go?" Niu Fu asked.
Wang Fudao: "Leave Shuiguan and go to Xiangyang..."
"Xiangyang is surrounded."
Wang Fu was stunned, followed Niu Fu's gaze, and said in surprise: "Doctor Tong? What are you laughing at?"
"Tonight Fancheng surrenders, and the people are no longer trapped by the disasters of war. I am happy, so I laugh."
"Are you rebelling too?" Wang Fu was startled and raised his sword in his hand, "Do you want to harm the general?!"
"The soldiers and people of Fancheng no longer want to die for those high-ranking officials and generals, and they don't want to die for the Zhao family anymore. They want to open the city gate and welcome the king's troops. I think the general has always been loyal and loyal, so I trapped the general here to avoid being killed."
"Wang Fu, don't kill him..."
"Come on, General, I'll take you to break out."
"General, why should you be anxious? You can't leave now. Why don't you just listen to me finish singing the words?"
Niu Fu shook his head and said, "I told you, I don't understand poetry."
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand poetry. It's enough to understand the ambition of a Han man. The heroic spirit of the Central Plains has spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River. How can the general not know about it?"