Wei Tairan stood up and frowned: "What happened? Why are you so panicked?"
"The south gate...the south gate has been breached." Liang Jiangyuan looked frightened and gestured: "They rushed in, everyone...all rushed in."
Qian Guanghan and Wei Tairan both changed their colors.
“That’s nonsense.” Wei Tairan couldn’t help but said: “The South Gate was breached? What are you talking about? How could Suzhou City be breached?”
"No...!" Liang Jiangyuan gasped, obviously coming over in a hurry to report: "It was not a breach, the city gate... the city gate was deceived... deceived into opening it!"
Qian Guanghan's face was gloomy and he said coldly: "The gates of Suzhou must not be opened without my permission. How could Song Jiande dare to disobey?"
"Someone is pretending to be the Second Young Master...!" Liang Jiangyuan made the situation clear: "He brought hundreds of cavalry at the city gate, saying there was an urgent military situation...!"
Qian Guanghan and Wei Tairan looked at each other, feeling a little weird. Wei Tairan asked anxiously: "Someone is pretending to be the second young master? Who dares to do so?"
"I don't know." Liang Jiangyuan said: "But they were all wearing armor, which was the armor of the Suzhou Battalion cavalry. When the gatekeeper saw the cavalry and saw the second young master in the team, he did not dare to stop him and opened the city gate...
..!”
"Wait a minute." Qian Guanghan stopped and said, "Wearing the Suzhou Battalion cavalry armor? Is there anything wrong?"
It is well known that the cavalry of the Suzhou Battalion is well equipped.
They not only have the sharpest sabers, but also the best armor.
In fact, the value of a set of armor is much higher than that of a war horse. The process of making armor is very complicated, and the requirements for the material of armor are also very strict. In the entire Tang Empire, only Gong can truly achieve full-body armor.
Dragonscale Guards in .
Although the Shence Army's equipment is also very good, except for the generals, only some soldiers have armor, and most of the soldiers have simple leather protective gear.
Among the eighteen states of the Tang Dynasty, there are only a handful of places where the cavalry is equipped with exquisite armor like the three states of Jiangnan.
A set of armor is expensive to make and requires frequent maintenance. Maintaining a set of armor is far more expensive than feeding a war horse. Therefore, not to mention the private sector, even many local state armies have very limited refined armor.
The three states in the south of the Yangtze River belong to She Yue's sphere of influence. She Yue will naturally take more care of the local state troops in the three states in the south of the Yangtze River. The Jiangnan family has figured out the princess's thoughts well and donated a large sum of gold and silver.
The court spent this money on the soldiers and horses of the three local states, so compared with other states, the soldiers and horses of the three states in the south of the Yangtze River have always been treated very well, and their equipment is far from comparable to other states.
Suzhou Camp has three thousand troops and eight hundred cavalry, all of which are equipped with refined armor.
Other than the Suzhou camp, Qian Guanghan certainly knew that there could not be anyone else on the ground in Suzhou who had such armor.
The imperial court has long issued a sword-hunting order, and citizens are not allowed to hide weapons and armor privately, otherwise they will be punished with the crime of treason. Even if someone is bold enough to hide weapons and armor privately, it is even more difficult to obtain expensive armor.
To impersonate the Suzhou Battalion cavalry would require not only a large number of horses, but also a large amount of armor. Qian Guanghan simply did not believe that anyone in Suzhou could do this.
Although the Taihu Army has always been a serious concern, Qian Guanghan did not believe that the Taihu Army had such strength.
Although the Taihu King controls the Taihu Islands and has many craftsmen, the entire Jiangnan is under the control of the aristocratic family. For so many years, the Jiangnan aristocratic family has actually been in a state of blockade against the Taihu Pirates, and many supplies cannot enter.
Taihu Lake.
The materials for making armor are strictly prohibited from being circulated among the people. The Jiangnan family also blocked Taihu Lake. It was naturally impossible for the Taihu Army to obtain the materials to make refined armor on their own. Even horses were very rare in Taihu Lake, so Qian Guanghan naturally ruled out that he was a fake cavalryman from the Taihu Army.
What's more, the main force of the Taihu Army, led by Linghu Xuan, has gone to Shuning County to reinforce She Yue. How could it appear outside Suzhou City?
"Xiaoguan saw with his own eyes that the cavalry who rushed into the city were all wearing fine armor." Liang Jiangyuan said: "After the city gate was opened, they immediately rushed in like a tide. When they saw the guards raising their swords, they slashed. Soon they
Controlled the south gate, and then...!"
“What happens next?” Wei Tairan’s face was also extremely ugly.
“Then a large number of Taihu bandits rushed into the city from outside the city.” Liang Jiangyuan was shocked: “They were overwhelming and dense, and I don’t know how many there were...!”
Qian Guanghan was shocked, stood up suddenly, and said in silence: "Taihu bandits? How is that possible? Linghu Xuan went to Shuning County, he...how could they appear in Suzhou City?"
Wei Tairan was also horrified: "You really see clearly, are they Taihu bandits?"
"That's right." Liang Jiangyuan said: "Many of them are still dressed as fishermen. At first glance, they are Taihu pirates."
“No, where did the Taihu pirates get their war horses and armor?” Qian Guanghan couldn’t believe it: “Where did they get the hundreds of cavalry?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard faint shouts of killing coming from the city. Qian Guanghan sat down and his pupils shrank.
"It's impossible for the imperial court's reinforcements to arrive in Suzhou so quickly." Wei Tairan heard the faint sound of killing outside, and was a little panicked for a moment: "Old man, let's leave quickly. The Taihu bandits will definitely kill them directly if they enter the city.
When you arrive at the Governor's Mansion, it is not advisable to stay here for a long time...!"
Since the Taihu Army has entered the city, there are two places that they cannot miss. One is Qian's Mansion, and the other is of course the Governor's Mansion.
"How could this happen?" Qian Guanghan felt that this was really unbelievable, and murmured: "How could this happen?"
The cavalry suddenly appeared, the Taihu Army in Shuning County...!
“Old Master, the sound is getting closer and closer, we can’t stay any longer.” Wei Tairan came forward, helped Qian Guanghan up, and shouted: “Someone is coming, someone is coming quickly...!”
Several guards rushed in immediately, and Wei Tairan ordered: "Escort the old man out of here quickly."
"Where to go?" Qian Guanghan finally came to his senses: "The Taihu thieves will definitely attack the mansion over there...!" But in his heart, he thought that although he was in the Governor's Mansion these days, his family members
But they are all in the Qian Mansion. Once the Taihu bandits surround the Qian Mansion, the Qian family will face disaster.
The Jiangnan family regarded the Taihu pirates as a thorn in their side, but the Taihu bandits did not regard the Jiangnan family as a thorn in their flesh.
At this moment, another person rushed to the door and shouted: "Old Master, the bandits have rushed into the city and will soon reach the Governor's Mansion. Old Master, leave quickly...!"
"Where did Song Jiande go?" After the Suzhou Battalion was transferred, the defense of Suzhou City was handed over to Song Jiande. Now the Taihu Army easily entered the city from the south gate. Qian Guanghan was horrified and even more furious: "His soldiers
Where is the horse?"
Even if the Taihu Army rushes into the city, Song Jiande still has thousands of troops in his hands. Even if there is a head-on confrontation, he will not necessarily lose to the Taihu Army.
"Old Master, let's find a place to avoid the Taihu Army first." Wei Tairan was calm in the chaos: "I will send someone to contact Song Jiande later. He knows that the Taihu Bandits have entered the city and will definitely organize soldiers and horses to fight to the death with the Taihu Army.
"
Qian Guanghan thought that Song Jiande still had soldiers and horses in his hands, and the Taihu Army might not be able to control Suzhou City. At the moment, the war was in chaos, so it was really a good idea to find a place to take shelter temporarily.
The group of people protected Qian Guanghan and left from the back door of the Governor's Mansion. They naturally knew the roads in the city very well, and they could identify their positions by listening to the sounds. They knew that the Taihu Army was still on the south side of the city, so they fled in a hurry to the north of the city.
After running a few streets and the sound getting farther away, Liang Jiangyuan finally said: "Old Master, should we go to the North Gate? There are guards at the North Gate. If we leave the city now, we can ensure the safety of the Old Master by heading to Yangzhou."
“Going to Yangzhou?” Qian Guanghan glanced at Liang Jiangyuan and thought, you can really think of it.
At present, the outcome of both sides is uncertain, and it is not yet known who will win. If Song Jiande organized his troops in time to fight a bloody battle with the Taihu Army, he might not be able to drive the Taihu Army out of the city.
The Qian family is the largest family in Suzhou. The fruits of generations of hard work are all in Suzhou. If you leave everything and go to Yangzhou to avoid disaster at this time, the hard work of several generations will be completely destroyed. Even if you die here, Qian
There is absolutely no way Guanghan would abandon everything just to escape.
"Go to Linghui Temple!" Qian Guanghan thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "I am the biggest pilgrim in Linghui Temple. I have donated a lot of incense to Linghui Temple over the years. The old monk who presides over the Dharma Ming in Linghui Temple is a loyal man.
I have a good relationship with you, so we went to Linghui Temple to get away for a while."
Wei Tairan's eyes lit up and he said: "Yes, Linghui Temple is a place of Buddhism. Even if the Taihu bandits are lawless, they will not attack Linghui Temple."
Linghui Temple is located in the northwest corner of Suzhou City. Since the current saint ascended the throne, he has worshiped Taoism and practiced it from top to bottom. The local government has also vigorously promoted Taoism. On the contrary, Buddhism has gradually declined, and the incense in the temple has long ceased to be prosperous.
Several temples in Suzhou were once popular with incense, but with the number of pilgrims, there are now only two temples left, and Linghui Temple is one of them.
The survival of Linghui Temple is closely related to the Qian family’s annual donation of incense.
More than a dozen guards escorted Qian Guanghan and others to Linghui Temple. For safety reasons, they did not go in through the main door, but went around to the back door. Liang Jiangyuan personally knocked on the door and gave a few instructions to the young monk who opened the door. The young monk went immediately.
Report, not long after, the presiding monk Faming came in a hurry, welcomed everyone into the temple, told the monks around him not to spread the word, and then personally took Qian Guanghan and others into a Zen courtyard.
“I’m sorry for bothering you, Master.” Qian Guanghan sighed and said, “The thieves have entered the city, so they can only stay here for a while and disturb your temple. Please forgive me!”
"Amitabha." Monk Faming put his hands together and said: "The donor has a kind heart and is a benefactor of this temple. Please rest here in peace. I will send someone to inquire about the situation in the city. If there is any situation, I will come to tell you in person."
Qian Guanghan thought to himself that his donation to Linghui Temple was really a blessing, but when he thought that all the family members, old and young, were in the Qian Mansion, his face became solemn.