Pang Yu ignored Yang Erming's presence and walked out of the tower first.
The city was pitch black at night, but the surrounding city walls were bright, like a luminous necklace brought to Tongcheng.
There are three fires in the northwest of the city, which are very bright in the dark night. Bangs are everywhere in the city, the soldiers on the city tower are looking around, and the people taking turns to rest in the grass factory also get up one after another.
Pang Yu yelled at the soldiers, "There are people in the city to put out the fire and guard your battlements. You are not allowed to go down to the city wall even if the city is burned down."
After saying that, he turned to a tall, dark man next to him and said, "On Tuesday, there will be a small team guarding the city ladder. No one is allowed to go down to the city."
Tuesday carried two javelins on his back, and said, "Follow your orders!"
Pang Yu looked at him and said, "The Third Squadron suffered more than ten casualties, and Captain Yao was injured again, but the Third Squadron fought tooth and nail and saved tens of thousands of people in Tongcheng.
As the acting captain, you must keep the momentum of the Third Squadron."
"Don't worry, sir. I will guard Xiangyang Gate even if I die."
Pang Yu nodded, and when he looked back towards the city, there were two more fires near the base of Ximen City.
Yang Erming's voice was trembling a little, "It must be the rogue bandits. I don't know how many people are already in the city. Does Pang Bantou want to mobilize some strong squads?"
Pang Yu bowed to Yang Erming and said, "Sir, don't be alarmed. Every house in the city has a hemp basket and three houses have a big vat. They are already prepared for arson. They have already told the old gentry in each village to restrain the residents and no one is allowed to go out to put out the fire."
, to avoid chaos in the city, residents rescued themselves, and emergency crews rushed to rescue, so the fire was not serious.
On that day, Your Excellency had a foresighted vision and ordered all departments to conduct strict investigations. The number of spies who could escape the investigation must be a small number, and a few spies are not a big concern.
All six gates of Tongcheng have been blocked. No matter how hard they burn, they can't destroy the city wall. As long as the city wall remains intact, the rogues can't do anything to us."
After Yang Erming finished listening, there was still a trace of sadness on his young face. He looked up at Pang Yu and whispered, "Do you need me to go to the fire spot to check and stabilize the people in the city?"
"That's naturally best."
Pang Yu pointed to the city wall and said, "Your Excellency, you can patrol all the way from the north city wall. When the soldiers along the way saw that you were patrolling the city in person, they were convinced. When they arrived at Yimin Gate, they went down the city ladder to check the fire situation. Your Majesty, please go there."
I can handle two trips, and after finishing the work, I will go back to the county office to have a rest, so that I can have the energy to command the defense of the city tomorrow."
"It's quite cheap."
Yang Erming gave a rare smile, and then regained his composure, "I hope the rogue bandits will come as a separate force. It will be cheaper to retreat to Lu'an Prefecture as soon as possible."
After that, he took a few Zaoli and walked north along the city wall. On the way, he occasionally talked with the soldiers he saw. Although the fire in the city was still there, after he passed by, the soldiers did become much more stable.
Pang Yu leaned against the pillar, feeling sleepy.
He quickly shook his head. It was only the first day of defending the city, and he felt so tired.
If the rogue bandits were the main force, how could they hold on?
Since he was like this, the people in the city were in panic, and the common people were probably in a similar state.
"Master, these bandits are so fierce, shall we..." Pang Ding's voice came from behind. He came close to Pang Yu's ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "I prepared a long rope and let it go."
In the medicine shop, if the bandits break through the city, let's hang down from Yimin Gate and escape into the mountains."
"I am the commander of the city defense. How could I abandon the city and flee?"
Pang Yu slapped Pang Ding on the head and said, "You greedy bitch who is afraid of death, how could you do this despite what the young master taught you?"
Pang Ding covered his head and did not dare to argue with Pang Yu.
After Pang Yu slapped him two more times, he looked around and saw that there was no one around. He pulled Pang Ding over and whispered, "This is for your own use only. Don't let others see it. Hide the rope well and prepare some dry food."
"
Pang Ding rubbed his scalp and said, "Master, do you think the bandits really just divided their forces and all the troops went to Shucheng?"
Pang Yu shook his head, "I'm afraid not. If the troops were divided, they wouldn't have sent cavalry to the south to cut off the official road. The bandits came from Henan, and there might be official troops chasing them behind. It's unlikely that they would turn around and go back, but... I do hope that Yang
The magistrate is right."
...Before noon on the 27th of the first lunar month in the eighth year of Chongzhen, Pang Yu and Yang Erming stood on the Dongzuomen Gate Tower, looking at the scene in front of them with dry throats.
The sound of hoofbeats roared outside Tongcheng City, and horses surged on the official road. The dense cavalry advanced rapidly along the official road, like a raging mountain torrent. The vanguard of the rogue bandits who arrived yesterday met outside the Zilai Bridge, and the cavalry split up near the city wing in the east of the city.
The outside of Tongcheng City was filled with red-clad horse soldiers.
Suddenly, the figures of rogue bandits flashed everywhere between the houses near the official road, the cavalry quickly filled the fields, and the six-mile city wall seemed to be wrapped in red.
The cavalry was followed by a procession of people and oxen and carriages, which continued to arrive throughout the morning. The total number was no less than 30,000, and there was still no end in sight for the flow of people on the official road.
They left the official road one after another two miles away from Tongcheng and looked for a place to camp outside the city. A motley crowd of people filled the mountains and plains.
Mr. Sun stood next to Yang Erming, breathing rapidly all the time. Only then did he say, "May I ask Bantou Pang, is this a group of rogue bandits coming?"
"It should be so."
Pang Yu licked his dry tongue. He had watched a football match in a stadium full of 100,000 spectators. There were definitely not 100,000 people outside the city, but the shock it gave him was far beyond what the stadium could compare to.
"Then...which bandit is it that has so many people?"
"It is said that there are eight kings and a sky full of stars."
Mr. Sun said angrily, "What do you mean it is said? Since you are in charge of the defense of Tongcheng, how can you be ambiguous?"
Pang Yuzheng felt chills in his heart. The arson last night did not spread and was quickly extinguished. One of the two arsonists was killed and the other was injured. The injured was seriously injured. The quick team was thinking of ways to interrogate the injured. The city had stabilized.
But the strength of the bandits outside the city has far exceeded his expectations.
I don't know if Tongcheng's small city wall can block so many bandits. When I was a little confused, I heard Mr. Sun's cold words, and Pang Yu couldn't help but turn around and glare at him.
Normally he was quite respectful to Mr. Sun, but now that he was faced with a powerful enemy and it was unclear whether he could save his life, he suddenly felt like he was not afraid of anything, let alone a secret friend.
Seeing Pang Yu's unkind expression, Mr. Sun wanted to scold him angrily, but thinking of Yang Erming's presence, he just glared back at Pang Yu and said nothing.
At this time, a group of cavalry, surrounded by one yellow flag and two red flags, stopped opposite the Zilai Bridge. This group of cavalry did not disperse, but remained on alert to prevent a surprise attack in the city.
Zilai Bridge is right opposite Dongzuo Gate, and Pang Yu and others can clearly see the group of riders.
The people under the yellow banner are quite tall, and the horses are stronger than others. A big man wearing a purple arrow coat is in the center, and there are two red riders next to him pointing in the direction of the city wall and Xiangyang Gate, seeming to follow Huang
Several people under the banner introduced city defense.
Huang Qi only paused for a moment. The man in the purple arrow-coat at the head waved his hand, and the cavalry left the Zilai Bridge and rode north, walking leisurely around the city.
Pointing at the top of the city casually along the way, the big man in purple and the other two people under the red flag kept talking, looking at the defenders on the city as if they were nothing.
Somehow, Pang Yu saw the bandits under the yellow banner and knew that they must be a big leader. He was observing the nearby terrain and city defenses, and discussing how to attack Tongcheng. The tension in his heart intensified. The nearby Zhuangban and She soldiers were silent, probably following
Pang Yu was even more nervous.
The number of rogue bandits far exceeded Pang Yu's expectation. The only thing that reassured him was that he had not seen any siege equipment so far. It was impossible to conquer the city wall with cavalry alone.
"calm down."
Pang Yu grabbed his thigh and said, "Stabilize people's hearts, eliminate traitors, strengthen the city wall, the city wall, as long as we hold on to the city wall..."
Before I could finish thinking about it, a group of bandits on horseback had already passed the Zilai Bridge, and they were roaring along the Zilai Street.
Some people were throwing bows and arrows far away from the city, but they were not very accurate, but they still caused a panic in the city.
After galloping for a while, some of the bandits began to dismount, broke into various stores on Zilai Street, and rummaged for supplies, but they did not go near the city walls to prevent the city from being killed.
Pang Yu calmed down and observed carefully. This group of bandit riders crossing the bridge had excellent riding skills. They were riding like flying but still sitting calmly as usual. There were men and women among them, and there were quite a few women. Half of the men were teenagers, all wearing red clothes.
, the bun is also different from Tongcheng, the women are also skilled in riding, but some women ride mules.
This kind of personnel composition is completely different from the striker he saw yesterday. Pang Yu didn't know what was going on, so he could only keep it in mind.
The number of cavalry that had appeared was about four thousand, and the largest number of people in the wilderness outside the city were all coming on foot. I wonder if they were also combat troops, and they couldn't see clearly from too far away. Only then did Pang Yu know.
Not all bandits are on horseback.
Pang Yu was analyzing in his mind. There was a commotion around him and the soldiers were talking about it. Pang Yu withdrew his attention and looked around.
I saw a rider coming alone from Dongzuomenmen downstairs. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a woman riding a mule.
The other bandits were on Zilai Street far away from the city wall, but she rode a mule towards the city gate. She dismounted outside the city gate and came to a shop. She picked up a stone on the ground and placed it on the city wall.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, he started banging on the door.
On the empty street outside Dongzuo Gate, this female thief was breaking down the door alone. She could hit it with a stone from this distance, and even more with a bow and arrow. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what kind of skill this woman was capable of.
This scene was quite strange. Pang Yu was stunned for a moment and muttered, "There is something wrong with Gouri's brain."
Just as he was about to order the strong squad to throw the javelin, he heard someone on the wall on the left curse, "Are you a female thief here to die?"
After hearing this, the female thief stopped banging on the door and looked up at the city wall for a while. She actually dropped the stone and took a few steps towards the gate tower. She raised her head and stared straight at the top of the city.
This woman has a short stature, a large round face, a flat nose and a wide mouth. Her face is red and full of anger.
The man on the wall on the left cursed again, "If it weren't for the fact that you are a woman, I would have shot you to death with one arrow, so why don't you get out of here."
There was no emotion in the woman's slender eyes. She looked at Chengtou for a moment, then suddenly pointed at her thigh and screamed, "Can you hit here?"
The city was quiet for a moment, then suddenly there was a loud bang, and a light arrow came out of the string and hit the woman's thigh.
The light arrow was not heavy, but it shocked the female thief and she almost fell down. She took two steps back, her legs were bleeding profusely, and there were cheers and cheers on the top of the city.
The female thief howled twice on the spot, calmed her breathing and then raised her head.
She looked fiercely at the archer on the left, raised her right hand and pointed at her face and said, "Can you hit here?"
(Note 1)...Note 1: This woman and her operation were real people, but they were shot dead by members of the armed forces in Taihe County.