Some sparse snowflakes began to fall in the gloomy sky. Although it was already early spring, the climate was still cold.
Pang Yu stared at the rogue bandits far away from the city wall in the southern suburbs with red eyes.
Corpses half as tall as a man were piled up under the city wall. Hundreds of people died between the attacking and defending sides. The remaining people were escorted back to the camp.
"The bandits in the eastern suburbs have moved their camps."
Zhuang Chaozheng reported to Pang Yuhui in a low voice, "According to the information obtained from the interrogation of the elder yesterday, there are people from the Eastern Suburbs."
"I've seen it, they've already reached the official level."
Pang Yu nodded and said, "Those who plant heads and drive the people to attack the city are all under the command of King Sweeper. This whole area in the southern suburbs belongs to him."
"Squad leader, Ge Liyan has left, and I'm afraid the other bandits won't stay for long. Why don't we give chase?"
Pang Yu looked back at Zhuang Chaozheng. This farmer from Tongcheng had a simple and honest face. Even though he became the captain, he still shrank when talking to him, his eyes flickered, and his self-confidence was not very strong.
"It's good for Captain Zhuang to think about pursuit. This is how war should be fought."
Pang Yu sighed, "But we don't have many people in the strong squad, so we can't pursue them easily."
Zhuang Chaozheng was praised and his chest puffed up a little. However, he was speechless and couldn't think of anything to say to persuade Pang Yu. He couldn't think of any way to increase the number of people in the strong class, so he had to remain silent.
At this time, a small group of people drove out from King Sweeper's camp, followed by a big red flag, and walked towards the city wall. Although it was still far away, Pang Yu could already see a strong man in Qingyi among them.
More than a dozen strong men in Tsing Yi were being escorted by hundreds of prominent bandits. It seemed that they had been captured in the night raid last night.
There was a lot of discussion in the city, and Pang Yu glanced at Pang Yu from time to time. His eyes were not as respectful as they were after guarding the city yesterday, but they were a little more fearful.
The strong men were tied up with large flowers and ordered to stop a hundred steps away from the city. Next to each of them stood a bandit, holding various knives in his hands.
The big red flag stopped in front of the young man. Under the banner was a big man wearing a red arrow coat. He gave a few words to a follower beside him, and the follower immediately dismounted and ran towards the city wall.
The follower approached the city wall, propped up his shield, and stopped outside the attack range of the stone. With only his head exposed, he shouted, "My master, sweeper king, calls you Tongcheng County Magistrate Yang Erming. Pang Yu, the leader of the second shift, knows that I will not defeat you today."
The city will be destroyed one day. If you sacrifice the city now, you and others can still be saved. Otherwise, if the city is destroyed in the future, you and others will be cut into pieces."
There was no reply from the city, but a bow and arrow shot out. The attendant raised his shield to protect his body and hurriedly fled out of the range of the shot.
With a shout from the red flag, more than a dozen celebrity bandits took action together. The heads of more than a dozen strong men fell to the ground almost at the same time, followed by their corpses, and the blood on their necks flowed all over the ground like a fountain.
There was no disturbance in the city. Two days ago, everyone would have been so frightened that their legs were weak. Now seeing such a scene, even the soldiers are used to it.
Pang Yu stared at the big man under the red flag, he must be the sweeper.
Pang Yu looked at the Sweeping King for a long time and said harshly: "One day, I will behead you here."
...On the second day of February in the eighth year of Chongzhen, countless smoke pillars rose from the four villages of Tongcheng. Fires flashed on Zilai Street and thick smoke billowed. The official road opposite the city moat was also blazing with fire. A large number of residential buildings were burning. Rogue bandits on horseback were marching to various places.
Throwing torches everywhere, the bandits on foot were more careful and lit the torches before leaving.
During the siege, a small number of Zhang Xianzhong's troops lived in Zilai Street, and they began to burn down their houses when they evacuated.
The rogue bandits gave up their plan to continue attacking the city. It was not that they lacked the ability to attack the city, but that they were unwilling to accept heavy losses.
The rogues evacuated, but no one on the city wall cheered, and the defenders showed no joy. Nearly a thousand houses were burned outside the city, and the number of people killed was even harder to count. From the range of the smoke column, it appeared that the rogues had destroyed at least twenty to thirty miles around.
The damage to people and property within this range is difficult to estimate.
Since the early Ming Dynasty, Tongcheng has not encountered major chaos. After a hundred years of gathering, most of it was destroyed in two days, and the official road was in ruins along the way.
All Ge Liyan's men and horses have left, and the vanguard has easily broken through Qianshan without a city wall. All 3,700 households in Qianshan are occupied by his troops.
Then Zhang Xianzhong's troops began to pull out the camp. The queue in the western camp was endless. From morning to dusk, the banners of Zhang Xianzhong and King Sweeper went up the official road one after another. Some of King Sweeper's cavalry had already set off, leaving only one camp.
, there are about hundreds of cavalry on guard, used to cover the remaining servants and carriages.
This official road can carry two large vehicles in parallel, and the transportation capacity is very strong. Each head of the family and the master leader lead their servants and march south with their own carriages. At this time, the state of the rogue bandits is more like
For those who moved, each family's servants provided logistics for their elder family, and the materials obtained from looting were transported on oxen and horse frames.
A swaying bullock cart cleared half of the space. The little kid lay on his back on the cart, slightly opening his eyes and looking at the gloomy sky. Occasionally, snowflakes fell near his cheeks, and the little kid opened his mouth to catch them. It was so cold.
It makes him feel better.
His ankle was highly swollen, and every time the bullock cart bumped, he felt a sharp pain. Although he jumped from the city wall that day, he saved his life, but he didn't know if this foot would still be used in the future.
Can it be used?
Since he failed to break the city, his first expedition was in vain. However, the Eight Kings did not abandon him and ordered the general on the fifth post to continue to raise him. The general gave the order to Gao Zhao, who was at the post, and Gao Zhao gave the order again.
The little boy was in charge of the business. What the business owner could do was to clear out half of the bullock cart to take him there, and arranged for a woman to deliver food to him.
Starting yesterday, the baby's whole body began to feel hot. The area where the nail was injured on his arm became red and swollen, and the friction on the cotton-padded clothes caused burning pain.
He had been in a daze, and he didn't even know when he went to the official road, let alone where the army was going.
At this time, his consciousness had slightly recovered, but his whole body was still hot, and he felt dry and hungry. His body was lying directly on the frame of the carriage, which was cold and hard. The little kid's back was sore. There were piles of cloth and grain bags next to him.
But the waiter was unwilling to give him a cushion.
The little boy tilted his head slightly, the wheels were turning sideways, and a long series of carriages on the official road merged into a sound of creaking and rattling, as well as the neighing of cattle and horses, and the sound of cavalry's hooves.
At this time, after passing a small bump in the rut, the bullock cart shook violently, and the little kid screamed out in pain all over his body.
No one heard him in the noisy official road, and even the woman who arranged to deliver the meal was nowhere to be found. His pain seemed not important at all.
The pain subsided slightly, and the little kid slowly opened his eyes a crack. The gloomy sky was shaking. What he was most afraid of now was that if the injury could not be recovered, once an officer or army chased him, the commander would definitely abandon him.
Whether it falls into the hands of officers and soldiers or local people, it will end in a very miserable way.
I moved my ankle, but the pain was still unbearable.
The little kid gritted his teeth and prepared to adjust his sleeping position. His back also hurt badly.
At this time, an old face appeared in the field of vision. The little boy took a closer look and found out that it was an old man driving the car. He looked a bit sad.
He was raised by a servant from Henan Province. He had only been here for a short time. Although he was older, he knew how to take care of animals and hitch a cart, so he took care of the dishes. The little boy saw him often recently, but he never asked the old man his last name.
"This future life will suffer."
The old man shook his head and said to the little boy, "Young man, would you like some food and drink?"
The little boy nodded weakly, and the old man took out a water bag, removed the seal and moved it to the little boy's mouth. The water flowed into his dry mouth, and it was as sweet as sugar juice.
The little kid let out a breath of comfort, and the old man took out half a black bun from his arms, broke it into two halves, and fed the smaller one into the little kid's mouth.
Seeing the little kid chewing it in big mouths, the old man's naturally sad face actually smiled. He looked down at the remaining small pieces of steamed buns in his hands, carefully separated some more, and fed them into the little kid's mouth.
When the little kid was eating, the old man put the last bit into his mouth, chewed it repeatedly, and was reluctant to swallow it.
"Master."
The little kid asked in a hoarse voice, "Where are we going?"
The old man swallowed the food in his mouth and replied, "I heard that Tang Gaozhao just told the boss Pan to go to Qianshan."
The little boy said oh and closed his eyes to recall. When he was ordered to go out to lurk, it was the direction Bao Hongqi told him. He remembered it very well and could still remember it. He murmured, "Beyond Qianshan is Taihu Lake."
, and beyond is Susong, which are all easy to fight places, it would be nice to be able to recuperate in the city."