The messenger from Luxia County looked at the flag with the word "Lu" stained with dried blood and half of it still standing blackened. After dismounting, he walked quickly for a few steps. Ignoring the dirt on the ground, he fell to his knees with a dull sound.
It makes your knees hurt.
His eyes were red and tears could no longer stop flowing out.
He saluted at the city wall.
In my heart, I also thank God for His mercy.
Luxia County held on and successfully delayed the arrival of reinforcements.
He sobbed and cried with emotion, but no one around him laughed at him - if you think about it, they were probably more excited than the messenger, because before arriving at the government office, they all thought that the Luxia County government office had fallen.
If it falls, haha.
As the actions of these refugees and grass bandits spread everywhere, who still doesn’t know the fate of being targeted by these locusts?
Nine of the ten rooms were empty, and corpses lay everywhere.
The bloody methods of massacring the city were no less than those of Zheng Qiao back then, or even worse.
You know, in the eyes of some outsiders, Zheng Qiao's methods are not ruthless - because Zheng Qiao's fellow only allowed the soldiers to loot and make money in the first seven days after the city was broken.
After these seven days, no more evil deeds are allowed.
As for the massacre after the city was broken...
In order to keep their money, the people will do whatever they can to hide it in places you can't think of, and there is nothing they dare to hide. After conquering the city, the victorious party will force the people to spit out their money and use blood and heads to scare the people in the city into buying their lives with money.
"Kill the chicken to scare the monkey", see if they think the things outside the body are more important, or the head on the neck is more important.
Robbing women and children for pleasure can only be considered an "add-on".
Euphemistically called——
"Reward" his brothers who accompanied him in the Northern and Southern War.
Only the lord who leads his brothers to make a fortune and become successful together can win the support of thousands of soldiers and the loyalty of soldiers.
This is basically an unspoken rule that has been agreed upon - brothers stay away from home, follow the wars in the north and south to work for you, and fight without regard for life and death. There must be something to do.
Who is willing to fight and sacrifice his life without getting benefits?
Soldiers are human beings too and have to support their families.
Is the military pay sufficient?
Or is the status and reputation enough?
The meager military pay was not enough for the soldiers to feed themselves, let alone send them home to support their parents, wives and children.
The largest source of income for soldiers is the "extra money" after conquering cities and plundering territory! Furthermore - blocking someone's way of making money is like killing one's parents. This is how other soldiers get rich. The so-called "not disturbing the people, not robbing" is very rare.
few.
This is true for the "regular army" who have military pay and food supply, let alone those homeless grass bandits who have nothing but food and mouth. In order to force money and food from the people's homes, their methods will only become more thorough, ruthless and decisive!
The common people who were lucky enough to pick up a piece of people did not want to starve to death, so they had no choice but to join them and plunder other places.
It's like a snowball getting bigger and bigger.
If Luxia County was captured, not only would there be no living people left in the city, not even a live chicken, duck, or earthworm would be left alive, and the eggs laid by the old hens would be taken away in their pockets. The survivors who could survive would basically be
Good luck and well hidden.
The messenger's relatives and relatives are all in the city.
The rule has not been broken down, and the family is still alive.
Isn't this worth getting excited and crying?
There is no shame in this matter.
The messenger's voice became hoarse from crying. The guards on the city wall also saw the crowd of people and horses, and thought that the refugees and bandits were coming to attack the city again, so they hurriedly sent a message. Regardless of the pain in his throat and the luck of the Dan family, the messenger extended his voice to the entire city wall.
"It's not the enemy!"
"It's reinforcements!"
"The four counties of Heyin, Tianhai, Shangnan, and Yiru are coming to help! Fortunately, the hunter has fulfilled his mission. I sincerely ask Mr. Lu to come out of the city to see you!"
Squeak——
Not long after, the dilapidated and patched city gate opened.
A guard ran out.
The guard carefully observed the messenger, took Governor Lu's token from the messenger, and immediately turned around and returned to the city. After waiting for nearly a quarter of an hour, Governor Lu hurriedly rode out of the city under the escort of two teams. However, the other party's face looked a little expressionless. black.
Shen Tang rides on the back of a motorcycle.
Holding fists: "Mr. Lu, we meet again. We said goodbye to Sibao County last year, and I didn't expect that the meeting would be like this. How is the city? After receiving the news, we rushed over quickly, but we encountered tens of thousands of thieves ambushing us on the way and were delayed. It’s been a while.”
Shen Tang couldn't stop talking.
In addition, she didn't like making useless small talk with others, so she spoke first and got straight to the point.
Sheriff Lu is also a tall, middle-aged man.
He has a thick beard.
It's just that his eyes are slender, the corners of his eyes are downward, and he has a rather mean and sinister face, which makes people dislike him.
Shen Tang really didn't like it, and he even had trouble with the Governor Lu during the alliance. The other party favored tough guys with a masculine atmosphere, but Shen Tang was short and beautiful at that time, which was exactly what he disliked the least. type.
I won’t talk about these grievances at this moment.
Sheriff Lu carefully identified Shen Tang, and reluctantly matched Shen Tang's number with the one from a year ago, and asked: "Why did you arrive now?"
His tone was full of dissatisfaction and questioning.
Shen Tang: "???"
Shaochong said dissatisfied: "Why are you talking?"
The people in charge, Tianhai and Yiru, also had dark faces.
The most embarrassing thing among them is the messenger from Luxia County.
More than 10,000 troops rushed to rescue the siege. Not only were they crying with gratitude, but they were grateful, but at least they didn't look like this. It was as if someone owed him something. Was it because they thought the homeless bandits were not attacking fast enough and wanted to find another opponent?
When the subordinates heard this, their expressions suddenly changed, and they hurriedly jumped out to smooth things over, apologizing repeatedly to Shen Tang.
"Don't blame me, Commander Shen. Don't blame me, Commander Shen. My lord didn't mean to offend. It's just that I lost my young son in front of the battle today, and I was so sad that I talked nonsense. My lord, Commander Shen ignored the past grudges and sent troops to help. It's Lu Xiajun Wan A great benefactor to thousands of common people... How could you, how could you say such a thing? If word got out, you would be ridiculed by the heroes of the world..."
The subordinate who spoke was of high status.
He is probably a relative of Governor Lu or something.
Being criticized by his subordinates in front of outsiders, Sheriff Lu's face only turned darker. He pursed his thick, dry and curled lips, as if anger was brewing in his chest, and his cheeks were tense. However, in the end, he still suppressed the excess. mood.
He exhaled a thick breath.
He apologized bluntly to Shen Tang: "There is nothing more tragic in life than a white-haired person giving a black-haired person. Today, my youngest son lost his life. I am really... devastated, and my heart is filled with tears... I couldn't help but say something for a moment, but Please forgive me, Commander Shen. Someday, I will hold a banquet and solemnly apologize to Commander Shen..."
Then?
Then there was nothing more. They didn't ask Shen Tang to come into the city to meet the wind and entertain the reinforcements from afar... Are they planning to let the army spend the night outside the city???
Shen Tang prides herself on being a "good person" and a "good old man", but she is kind-hearted, which does not mean she is someone who can be kneaded into pieces! She has gone through a lot of hardships to help - although she is doing this just to save the family. The refugees and thieves were blocked from Heyin, so she could free her hands and feet to start a war on their territory, so she wouldn't feel bad if they were damaged. But no matter what, she had good intentions.
My surname is Lu, I am your boss!
Shen Tang cursed inwardly.
Just as he was about to spray back, the staff member crossed over to Governor Lu and said cautiously: "It's getting late. Governor Shen and the generals have worked hard to eliminate harm to the people. If you don't mind it, why not take a good rest in the city? It's just that Luxia County has been suffering from plunder by bandits, and there is nothing good to entertain everyone... Please don't blame me, Commander Shen..."
Shen Tang chuckled in his heart.
She curled her lips inwardly, with a bit of displeasure on her lips: "That's all, we don't lack this meal. Now that the bandits have retreated and the crisis in the prison has been resolved, we are going to stay outside the city overnight. Tomorrow Search for traces of bandits. If they have changed their route to go elsewhere, we have to go back home."
When the staff heard this, they immediately became anxious and kept winking at the gloomy-looking Sheriff Lu.
Gu Xiu
He stepped on his foot and said angrily: "Lord!"
Sheriff Lu said: "Slow down!"
Shen Tang looked at him coldly.
Sheriff Lu took a deep breath, lowered his posture very low, and invited Shen Tang to enter the city in a tone that was mixed with pleading but reluctant. Shen Tang was puzzled, a little wary, and said: "Since That’s it, good work.”
After that, the tense and stiff atmosphere suddenly eased.
Sheriff Lu personally led Shen Tang into the city.
Shen Tang secretly exchanged glances with Chu Yaokang.
I always feel a little strange.
But I'm not sure.
Because when Sibao County formed an alliance, Sheriff Lu thought that Shen Tang's eyes were not eyes and his nose was not a nose - well, it was not just Sheriff Lu, but most of them had this bad attitude. It is said that it was related to Shen Tang causing trouble after drinking. .
Shen Tang said that he was wronged.
She is not a good drinker, but she is not a bad person.
How can you kill him with one shot?
Besides, how does the bad things the drunk Shen Tang did have to do with her sober Shen Tang? I don’t want to get into trouble!
Just looking at the traces of the city wall, I couldn't imagine the intensity of the battle. Until I entered the city, I saw corpses lying in the caves that had not yet been collected. Most of them were bandits wearing tattered Gebu, and some were broken. The gate-blocking stones and gate-blocking wooden pillars lay quietly... It can be seen that the thieves once broke through the city gate and entered the outer city... The city was in danger several times!
At a quick glance, there are hundreds of them.
This is already the case in the city cave, and even worse in the outer city.
Seeing Shen Tang frowning and looking pitiful, the staff members said: "We will stop after a fierce battle. We haven't had time to send someone to deal with it."
Shen Tang waved his hand to indicate that he didn't mind.
It's just a pity that these people died in an unknown manner. If it weren't for the hard times, they wouldn't have been forced to become bandits and die here. This scene also strengthened Shen Tang's determination to protect the people of Heyin. As long as she was still the master of Heyin. , she would not allow these things to come to her territory and overturn her stall.
Wherever he found it, he was killed there!
He was found in the latrine and drowned on the spot!
The governor of Lu County hosted a banquet to entertain several envoys.
In addition, he brought wine and food to entertain more than ten thousand soldiers. Shen Tang secretly ordered Bai Su to pay attention to the wine and food to see if they had been tampered with. Bai Su was puzzled: "My lord, you mean, this surname is Are you going to harm us?"
But why?
They are reinforcements and not here to attack the city.
If they are killed, the returning bandits and bandits turn around and attack the Luxia County government office. Judging from the current defense, the government office cannot withstand the next attack. At this time, using conspiracy to deal with the alliance is tantamount to giving yourself a red crown. !
Shen Tang said: "Be careful when you go out."
Be careful when sailing the ship of ten thousand years.
Although Bai Su was puzzled, he still took the order.
Chu Yao said: "Master, have you also discovered the problem?"
Shen Tang nodded: "There is indeed a problem. Tell me, where is the city gate and city cave? That is the key point of the city! Once the enemy invaded the outer city, in such a crisis situation, why are you confident that the defeated enemy will not Taking advantage of their fatigue to attack a second time? The right way is to clean up the corpses in the cave immediately, then move stones, or even block the door with corpses..."
But apart from this problem, everything else is fine.
Sheriff Lu indeed had no motive to harm anyone.
Come here, if you leave because of this reason, one is to scare the snake. Second, if there is no problem, it is just to kill people without any extra manpower to clean the city caves and deploy defenses. Shen Tang will get a bad name if he does this.
The grace of previous rescue was also erased.
I have many enemies for no reason.
This information was also passed on to the other three companies.
You have to tighten your nerves tonight and don't take it lightly. If there is no problem with the food, you can eat and drink as long as you mean it, and don't let others see the flaws. Wait until the sky is completely bright before making plans. No one has any objections.
For safety reasons, Kang Shi, Xian Yujian, Gong Shuwu and others did not attend the banquet and found excuses to keep them behind.
Zhao Feng and Chu Yao followed.
The mother Gu in Shaochong had just been suppressed, so it was not appropriate to appear on such an occasion, so he only sent an official as his representative. Tianhai and Yiru families also made similar arrangements. Luxia County did not know the strength of the four families, and did not Not aware.
It is said that the life was difficult and poor, but the banquet for entertaining the wind was still decent, including wine and wine, and meat and meat. Sheriff Lu also arranged simple songs and dances, but he had just lost his son and was not in the mood to eat meat and drink, so he served vegetarian dishes and tea instead .
Shen Tang also expressed his understanding.
After all, her drinking capacity isn't great either.
Both of them drank tea, and not long after, news came from Bai Su - the rice and food for more than 10,000 soldiers and horses were fine, and there were no suspicious people watching the temporary camp where they were stationed. Shen Tang digested this information calmly... …
Is she too suspicious?
As the atmosphere at the banquet heated up, the others gradually started eating and drinking. Compared to Governor Lu's stinky face, the staff member was very enthusiastic. He personally came down to persuade everyone to drink. He had a loud mouth and was good at talking. Nice to hear.
Shen Tang was toasted the most.
I drank a full pot of tea.
By the light of the candles in the room, she saw other officials working under the governor of Lu County, and asked casually: "Hey, Mr. Lu, when the alliance was formed in Sibao County last time, where was your staff?"
Sheriff Lu asked: "Who is it?"
Shen Tang gestured: "Short, with a goatee, a strategist in his forties..."
Sheriff Lu said with a dark face: "I don't have such a person around me. I'm afraid Mr. Shen may have remembered it wrong..."
He most admires tall and powerful masculine men, such as his type, a real man. Anyone who is not as tall as his neck and as thin as a bamboo pole, in his opinion, is a incomplete fake man. He will not do it at all. Let alone take him to participate in such an important alliance. Shen Tang's description happened to be so clear, so she must have forgotten it.
Shen Tang smiled awkwardly and apologized to the other party.
I muttered in my heart: [This is not fake...]
The so-called "Goatbeard Strategist" was naturally Shen Tang's casual lie to deceive Governor Lu. The other party reacted naturally, and it was obvious that he was the real person and not some pretense. Just when Shen Tang was about to gradually let down her guard, she discovered that there were officials from County Lu In the middle, there is a middle-aged man with a different identity, dressed in the attire of a strategist, with a figure...
It doesn’t quite fit in with Governor Lu’s aesthetics.
Tsk tsk tsk——
Shen Tang's wariness rose.
By drinking tea, he gave Chu Yao and Zhao Feng a "you know what I mean" look, and the two understood it. The rest of the people were coaxed by the well-spoken staff member to drink one glass of wine after another, but this one In that era, the alcohol content was not high, and one person would not feel drunk even after drinking three to five cups, not to mention that most of them were literary scholars and courageous warriors.
After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.
No matter how good a drinker is, there is still a certain level.
With a bang, someone fell down on the food table. Shen Tang was still talking to Sheriff Lu. Specifically, it was Shen Tang who was talking. Sheriff Lu patiently listened. When she heard the noise, she turned her head. It was funny. Authentic: "Oh, with this amount of alcohol, tsk tsk tsk!"
Sheriff Lu: "..."
Although he didn't say anything, his expression and eyes revealed everything.
Shen Tang's drinking capacity is well known. He only drinks one glass and laughs at how many jars he can drink?
Shen Tang didn't blush at all.
When the conversation was almost over, she suddenly asked Governor Lu: "Hey, you look strange to me. I have never seen him before... You can tell he is a talent just by his appearance..."
Sheriff Lu: "..."
He knew that Shen Tang was a carefree person, but he didn't know that this guy would talk nonsense like this in a serious situation. He followed Shen Tang's line of sight and said, "Of course you haven't seen him before. He didn't go to Sibao County with him before..."
Shen Tang smiled and asked, "I wonder who your surname is sir?"
