When I passed through the city gate, I saw corpses scattered all over the city gate.
Looking around, there were about three hundred corpses, all wearing the blue military uniforms of the Ximen Army. Counting the corpses on the city wall, there were about four to five hundred people.
It was already Xu hour, and the sky was pitch black.
Shen Qianqian quickly walked through the city wall and returned to Shen Ji Inn.
There was a commotion in the lobby of the inn. It turned out that all the passengers in the inn were gathered in the lobby, talking among themselves and looking worried.
When everyone saw Shen Qianqian returning from abroad, they all asked about the situation in the city and asked if the Ximen Army was still looting?
Shen Qianqian was at a loss as to how he could answer. He returned to his room, summoned the shopkeeper, and asked, "What's the situation in the city now?"
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged fat man. He said with a grimace: "Girl, Zhang Mingjian is looting in the west of the city. I'm afraid it won't be long before he robs the north of the city! The evil thief didn't know how to seize the four city gates and closed them tightly. Gate, don’t let anyone out!”
Shen Qianqian snorted and said: "Li Er has already entered, Zhang Mingjian will not be proud for long!"
The shopkeeper lost his voice and said: "Sesame plum?"
Shen Qianqian nodded and said with some annoyance: "That stupid ass Zhang Yangquan, who is obviously not weak in strength, went to fight with the Nanmen Army outside the city, allowing a traitor like Zhang Mingjian to benefit! Now we can only rely on Sesame Li. Alas, I don’t know if he can stop Yuan Bing!"
The shopkeeper said in shock: "Yuan Bing is here too?"
Shen Qianqian sighed: "Brother Wang Meng is here again. You immediately send people to the south of the city to keep an eye on it. As soon as the city gate is breached, we will immediately flee to Taizhou!"
The shopkeeper said anxiously: "Taizhou has also been occupied by bandits!"
Shen Qianqian said: "I have sent someone to inquire. Zhang Jiusi has managed Taizhou City well. Moreover, this man can fight and has defeated Yuan soldiers several times, so he can rely on him."
"Does the girl want to take refuge with him?"
Shen Qianqian sighed quietly and said: "If we businessmen don't find a backer, the wealth in our hands will bring disaster to ourselves. It's better to make plans early!"
The shopkeeper hesitated and said: "Zhang Jiusi is famous now, and there are many people who have taken refuge with him, and most of them are like the Bian family, who have taken refuge early. I'm afraid they may not like us."
Shen Qianqian held the tea cup and sighed: "Bian Ying was betting on both ends and did not gain Zhang Yangquan's trust. I used to laugh at him secretly. Only now do I realize that what he did was the right thing to do!"
……
"Dad, make a decision quickly, Zhang Mingjian is coming to kill you soon!" In Bian's house, Bian Yuantong urged Bian Ying.
Bian Ying stood in the middle of the courtyard, silently looking at the house where she had lived all her life, her heart filled with hesitation and reluctance.
They had just received news that Zhang Mingjian was looting in the west of the city, and both the North Gate Army and the South Gate Army had disappeared without a trace. A disaster was imminent, and both sons persuaded him to leave Jiangdu at night and flee to Taizhou.
But Bian Ying has been unable to make up his mind.
Although the eldest son and Zhang Jiusi have a close relationship, Bian Ying has been there and knows how difficult it is to take root in one place from scratch.
Relationships between people will change. Bian Yuanheng has a close relationship with Zhang Jiusi now. Who can guarantee that this friendship will not fade in the future?
"Second brother, where did the Beimen Army go? How could they watch Zhang Mingjian snatch Jiangdu?" Bian Ying asked suddenly.
Bian Yuantong snorted: "Who knows? They have been secretive recently and don't tell us anything. Maybe they have joined forces with Zhang Mingjian! After all, they were bandits before!"
He was rejected several times, and his impression of Zhang Yangquan plummeted.
Bian Ying was silent for a while, and then asked: "Why hasn't your brother come back since he went out to inquire about information?"
"My brother is very skilled in martial arts, so father doesn't have to worry."
As soon as he finished speaking, Bian Yuanheng came back with a team of guards and said loudly: "Father, there is another army coming from the north gate. There is no one guarding the city gate. You can leave!"
Bian Ying said happily: "Is it the Beimen Army?"
"No, it's the Red Scarf Army from Zhenzhou!"
Bian Ying was stunned for a moment and said: "How could they appear in Jiangdu?"
Bian Yuanheng said: "He must have noticed the situation in Jiangdu and took the opportunity to fight! Sesame Li is a powerful person. With him here, Zhang Mingjian will never get involved in Jiangdu!"
Bian Ying heard a lot about the Red Scarf Army's actions and said worriedly: "I heard that the Red Scarf Army is very hostile to rich households. They won't raid our house, right?"
Bian Yuanheng was silent for a while, but he was not very sure, and said: "If father is worried, let's escape to Taizhou at night!"
Bian Yuantong said hurriedly: "Yes, we have no friendship with Li Er. It is better to go to Taizhou than to stay in Jiangdu!"
Bian Ying weighed it for a moment, waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, let's take a look at the situation before talking!"
……
Zhang Mingjian planned a plan to rob Jiangdu all night last night, but when it was actually implemented, it didn't go well at all.
The first problem is insufficient troops.
Huang Boyan left 500 men at the South Gate. In order to capture the South Gate, Zhang Mingjian had no choice but to send a team of 1,000 men.
Although there were only fifty people at the north gate, Zhang Mingjian did not dare to be careless and sent five hundred people. If Zhang Yangquan led his troops back to Jiangdu, they could at least stop them for a few hours.
Five hundred people were also left at the east gate and west gate to guard the city gates.
As a result, he only had more than 4,000 troops at his disposal, and Jiangdu City was too big to be able to loot the entire city in a short period of time.
After robbing the west of the city for an hour, he realized that he had to modify his plan, so he decided not to waste his energy on the poor people, but only to attack the wealthy gentry.
The richest household in Jiangdu City is none other than Zhennan Wangfu.
According to Kang Lian, tens of thousands of taels of gold were hidden in Zhennan Palace. Zhang Mingjian loved gold most in his life, so he immediately led his army straight to Zhennan Palace.
There were 800 guards in the palace, but Zhang Mingjian did not want to waste time, so he only left more than 2,000 people to attack the palace, and sent two other teams of 1,000 to plunder the Cai family and the Xue family.
Not long after the troops were divided, I heard a report from my subordinates. Red scarf troops appeared outside the north gate, flying a flag with the word "Li". It seemed that Li Er from Zhenzhou was coming.
"Brother, the Red Scarf Army is not easy to mess with. Li Er is a world-famous leader of the rebel army. We can't defeat him. Run away!" one of the hundred households advised.
In a flash of white light, Zhang Mingjian slashed his knife across the neck of the man from the household, and a few drops of blood splashed onto Kang Lian's face.
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"Who else wants to escape?" Zhang Mingjian's murderous eyes swept over everyone one by one.
Everyone was as silent as a cicada, no one dared to say a word.
Kang Lian wiped the blood on his face and said: "Brothers, Jiangdu City has high walls and thick walls. It is not easy to defeat it. The gold is right in front of you. You should step up your offensive immediately and seize the gold before Li Er attacks the city gate!"
”
He was a man who knew current affairs. After learning that Zhang Mingjian had plundered the west of the city, he took the initiative to defect with his wealth. Zhang Mingjian was very happy and appointed him as a military advisor.
After hearing what he said, Zhang Mingjian said loudly: "The military advisor is right. No matter how capable Li Er is, he can't fly into the city. We have five hundred brothers guarding the city gate. What are you afraid of!"
A member of the household named Wang said: "Brother, there is no need to say more. I am willing to lead fifty brothers as vanguards. I will attack the palace and dedicate it to my brother!"
"Okay, this is a good brother!"
So the army continued to attack the palace. Wang Baihu was indeed brave. He forced his way through and broke through to the second hall of the palace.
At this moment, the messenger came again, saying that the city gate had been breached by Li Er in less than a quarter of an hour.
Zhang Mingjian's face was ashen and he asked Kang Lian: "Where do you think Polo Buhua hid the gold?"
Kang Lian hurriedly said: "There is a rockery in the back garden of the palace, and there is a large secret room in the rockery. Polo Buhua should hide all the gold in the secret room!"
Wang Baihu said: "Brother, give me another two quarters of an hour, and I will hit the back garden!"
Zhang Mingjian was silent. It was easy to reach the garden, but difficult to break into the secret passage. At the current speed, it would be difficult to capture the gold before Li Er arrived.
And it’s very likely that Li Er arrived right after the secret tunnel was laid. Isn’t that a wedding dress for others?
If he divided his troops to stop Li Er, the attack on the secret passage would be slower. Thinking of this, he decided to make a desperate move.
"Zhaolong, send an order immediately to call all the soldiers guarding the gate. Only fifty people will be left. Let Liu Ju and Xiao Ba's two thousand-man troops come over as well."
Zhang Zhaolong took his life.
Kang Lian reminded: "General, Li Er may come faster than them, so we still need to send someone to stop him!"
Zhang Mingjian's eyes swept over the people under his command. Most of them knew that this was a job that would lead to death, and they all looked away, not daring to look into his eyes.
Only Wang Baihu laughed and said: "Brother, there is no need to say more. I have made enough money by drinking and eating meat with you all my life! Damn it, others say that the Red Scarf Army is an Arhat descended from the earth and is invulnerable. I am just right.
Go try them out!"
Zhang Mingjian patted him on the shoulder, ordered 500 people for him, and then continued to attack the palace.