In the dark night, all the people in Xiangwu County were busy like crazy. The old, weak, women and children were either helping to treat those who were injured because of the defense, or they were busy in the kitchen. All the dishes prepared for the New Year were used.
Make sure that the people on the tower are not hungry and that there is hot water to drink.
"Miss, drink some water." He Nuan handed over the bowl of hot water, not caring about being particular at this time.
After half a bowl of hot water was consumed, he felt completely comfortable. Zhan Feiyu handed the bowl back and said, "Nuan, you should take the time to rest and don't worry about me."
He Nuan smiled and nodded, but after drinking the water, he still rubbed Zhan Feiyu's sore right wrist. The lady's hand was supposed to hold a pen, but tonight she picked up a knife and swung it too many times.
If you rub it more, you may not be able to lift it up for a while.
In the marching formation, there were Qiu Zongxi and Tie Laobo, and several masters such as He Sheng were scattered on the tower, playing a role of watching over and helping each other. If anything went wrong, they would immediately rush over to help.
"Will we attack the city soon? Go check on that girl first." Qiu Zongxi waved his hand generously. He had asked Zhan Feiyu to leave before. She is a little girl and a scholar. Even if she stays on the tower, it will not be of much use.
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Qiu Zongxi also had some selfish motives. If the city was destroyed, He Nuan would be there to protect him. At least he could ensure that the little girl could escape safely.
But Zhan Feiyu stubbornly stayed, and her "role model" role also inspired the people of Xiangwu County. A little girl can stand on the city tower with a knife, and the elders of every household
Are you qualified to be greedy for life and afraid of death?
Once the barbarians broke into the city, the ones who were killed were their parents, wives and children. So except for a few selfish people who hid at home, the rest rushed to the tower, whether they had the strength or not.
He helped boil water for cooking and took care of the injured.
He Sheng glanced at the barbarians downstairs, then strode towards Zhan Feiyu and He Nuan in the corner, "Miss, it's almost dawn, and the barbarians will definitely launch a second wave of siege."
Compared with the previous siege, this siege will definitely be more crazy.
Because once dawn breaks and reinforcements from the Weizhou Battalion arrive, these barbarians will be like turtles in a urn with no way of survival, so He Shengcai dares to say that they will attack the city at all costs and evacuate before the reinforcements dare to arrive.
Zhan Feiyu looked down at the city tower by the light of the torch. Although the flour explosion just injured only a few people, many people were frightened and fled in all directions, which greatly damaged the morale of the barbarians.
As the saying goes, the morale of the barbarians dropped sharply, and the morale of the barbarians fell sharply. The soldiers and people of Xiangwu County who defended the territory naturally had high morale and fighting spirit.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to deliver the news." Zhan Feiyu's little face, stained with blood and dirt, was more solemn and serious than ever before, without any trace of relaxation or smile. "If the barbarians can bypass the Weizhou camp, they must be soldiers."
There are people among them who cooperate with each other inside and outside, and open the door of convenience for them."
Only then did Zhan Feiyu have time to think about what the purpose of the people in the army was? Was it to let the barbarians come in and massacre the people of Xiangwu County?
He Sheng and He Nuan looked at each other. In terms of skill, they were far superior to Zhan Feiyu, but in terms of strategy and layout, both of them combined could not compare to Zhan Feiyu.
"Let Mr. Qiu and Mr. Tie come over." Zhan Feiyu spoke again, but an ominous premonition arose in his heart.
The morale on the city tower was high, the injured were all lifted up, and many people went up to the city tower again. Although the five people sent by Old Man Tie to ask for help never sent a signal, they thought that there was a forbidden dragon in Xiangwu County.
Wei and Qiu Zongxi are not worried that the news will not spread.
"Women should not let men down." Qiu Zongxi said loudly and patted Zhan Feiyu on the shoulder.
Normally, this girl was very squeamish, holding a hand stove whenever she went out, but this time she stayed on the tower in the biting cold wind for more than an hour, and even killed several barbarians who climbed up.
This courage, this spirit, really doesn't look like a little girl from the countryside, or an heir carefully cultivated by a wealthy family.
Old Man Tie looked at Zhan Feiyu with the same admiration. He was a military commander and had always disliked those sour scholars who had no power to restrain chickens. But at this moment, Old Man Tie finally understood why Yang Shoucheng valued Zhan Feiyu so much, even treating him as an equal.
Come on, this little girl is not simple.
"Uncle Tie, I wonder where Yang Xu is now?" Zhan Feiyu asked. She had been worried about Yang Xu whose whereabouts were unknown.
"Master Xu should be able to return to Xiangwu County tomorrow." As Yang Shoucheng's most trusted subordinate, Mr. Tie arranged for Zhang Yiyi to be kidnapped from the county jail that day, so he knew Yang Xu's itinerary.
Zhan Feiyu's expression darkened, which made Qiu Zongxi startled, "Little girl, are you worried that someone will attack Yang Xu?"
As Yang Shoucheng's only son and the future heir to the General's Mansion, Yang Xu naturally has protective people around him. If there are too many enemies, these people will naturally send out a signal, and the old Yang family members will immediately go to support them after receiving the news.
"If the barbarians massacre Xiangwu County, it will only make the Holy Emperor angry. It is estimated that he will issue an imperial edict to revive the Yang family before the end of the year." Zhan Feiyu had received a letter from Gu Qingzhou before.
Although the letter was written in a very cryptic way, it also revealed the time for the Yang family's resumption. According to the Lord's plan, it was estimated to be around the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. There were still some things that the Lord had not arranged properly.
If the barbarians can appear outside Xiangwu County, it must be a traitor in the army. With their cover, the barbarians can reach the outside of Xiangwu County without anyone noticing. But what is the purpose of this person in the army?
Looking at Qiu Zongxi and Old Man Tie who were deep in thought, Zhan Feiyu hurriedly said: "It's definitely not for me."
Behind Zhan Feiyu is a bachelor of the cabinet. Not only does he have a high position and power, but he is also a civil servant. All forces in Longyou Road are competing for military power, so no one dares to attack Zhan Feiyu.
Then the only one with value is Yang Xu. As for General Yang and Yang Shoucheng, the people in the dark want to take action, but they don't have the ability.
"It's okay, old general." Old Man Tie replied with an ugly look on his face.
After the news of Old General Yang's revolt in Shitou Village spread, a team was stationed in the mountains behind Shitou Village. These were the personal guards of the Yang family. Now they have gathered together after receiving the news from Yang Shoucheng.
Although there are only more than a hundred people, they are all the best among the best. In the future, the lowest number in the army will be a hundred households. With them here, there is no need to worry about the safety of Old General Yang.
"Shou Cheng left Xiangwu County." Qiu Zongxi had a favor to protect the Yang family. Although he and General Yang were life and death friends, Qiu Zongxi never interfered with the military power of the Yang family.
It was only when Yang Shoucheng came to say goodbye that Qiu Zongxi knew something about it.
As for where Yang Shoucheng went, Old Man Tie didn't know, nor did the secret enemies, but it was certain that the number of people around Yang Shoucheng was no less than that of General Yang.
Therefore, Yang Xu was in the most dangerous situation. He had gone to Linzhou Mansion before and left Zhang at Zhang Minxian's place. Yang Xu was accompanied by only twenty people.
Under normal circumstances, these twenty people can definitely ensure that Yang Xu escapes unscathed when he encounters danger.
But if the people in the dark are determined to kill Yang Xu, and even let the barbarians enter Xiangwu County, just to hold back Old Man Tie and other old members of the Yang family, then Yang Xu will be really in danger.
In the darkness, Zhan Feiyu clenched his hands and spoke word by word: "So if someone deliberately spreads the news, once Yang Xu knows that Xiangwu County is besieged by the barbarian army, he will definitely come to the rescue at all costs.
.”
If Yang Xu continues to hide, he can still ensure safety, but once he rushes over to save people, he will definitely fall into the enemy's trap.
"I'm afraid Xiaoxu is already on his way here." Qiu Zongxi knew Yang Xu's character best. Although he usually scolded Yang Xu for being stupid and ignorant, Qiu Zongxi knew that Yang Xu was deeply attached to love and justice.
Old Man Tie was anxious and punched the wall with his fist. If he led people to fight out of the city at this time, he might be able to save Yang Xu, but without Old Man Tie's more than two hundred elite men, the tower would probably be destroyed.
If we can't hold on anymore, when the barbarians massacre the city, Old Man Tie won't be able to bear the crime even if he has to die to apologize. In the end, not only Yang Xu but also the Yang family will be implicated.
But if Old Man Tie continues to defend the city with his men, he can only watch helplessly as something happens to Yang Xu. Not to mention whether the old General Yang can accept it, even Yang Shoucheng may not be able to bear the loss of his son.
the pain.
The most difficult thing is that if Yang Xu is captured alive, the secret enemy will definitely use Yang Xu to blackmail General Yang and Yang Shoucheng in the future.
No matter what the outcome is, it is unacceptable to Old Man Tie.
He Nuan, who was standing quietly by the side, roughly understood after hearing this, so even if the Forbidden Dragon Guards spread the news and brought reinforcements from Weizhou Camp, it would be of no avail. The enemy's real target was Yang Xu.
Of course, if reinforcements did not arrive in time, Xiangwu County would be massacred, and Old Man Tie and other old members of the Yang family would suffer numerous casualties, which would also be a heavy blow to the Yang family. The secret enemy would be invincible.
"There are still nearly two thousand barbarians outside the city." Old Man Tie put his hands on the city wall and looked sharply at the barbarian army repairing below. Although the barbarians were severely injured in the previous siege, at least seven or eight hundred people were killed and seriously injured.
.
Those slightly injured barbarians could still continue fighting. If they stayed in the county town and did not leave, Old Man Tie and the others could hold on until dawn. This was the advantage of the terrain.
But if Old Man Tie leads his men to fight out and confront the barbarians, with less than 300 people on his side, he will definitely lose in the face of 2,000 barbarian enemy troops. Therefore, if he wants to go out and defeat the barbarians before rescuing Yang Xu, there is no way
impossible.
Qiu Zongxi couldn't calm down when he thought that Yang Xu was now in danger, even his life was in danger. His wrinkled face showed sadness, frustration and anxiety.
"There is another way." When Zhan Feiyu opened her mouth, everyone's eyes turned to her.
Previously, Qiu Zongxi and Old Man Tie only thought about defending the city, and no one thought about Yang Xu. So now, when Zhan Feiyu speaks, no one will treat her as an insignificant little girl.
Looking down the city tower, half of Zhan Feiyu's body was in the light of the fire, and the other half was plunged into darkness, "Old man Tie and I led the people to fight out, while Mr. Zhan continued to lead the county government's soldiers and people to guard the city tower.
, we can kill as many people as we can in a quarter of an hour."
"At that time, Old Man Tie will take the remaining people back to the tower to continue to defend the city. I will take the people to rescue Yang Xu." This is the only way Zhan Feiyu can think of at the moment.
Kill some barbarians first to reduce the burden of defending the city. In this way, even if more than ten masters like He Sheng are missing, Xiangwu County will not be destroyed.
As for Yang Xu, once Zhan Feiyu and the others pass by, even though there are only about a dozen of them, they are all masters. They don't want to rescue Yang Xu, they just want to delay the time and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
"No!" Almost at the same time, He Sheng and He Nuan spoke at the same time. The two brothers and sisters looked at Zhan Feiyu with disapproval. There was absolutely no way they would let Zhan Feiyu go into danger to save Yang Xu.
Qiu Zongxi also didn't expect Zhan Feiyu to be able to do this. At this moment, he said in a deep voice: "You stay here!"
It was too dangerous to fight out. Although Zhan Feiyu had some self-protection skills, she was still a little girl after all. Facing an army of two thousand barbarians, if anything happened, the consequences would be disastrous.
Old man Tie also disagreed with Zhan Feiyu's risk. He was so grateful that they could save Yang Xu. Besides, Zhan Feiyu was just a little girl. To save Yang Xu, it was not right for her to take the risk.
Ya so exchanged one life for another.
Facing everyone's disapproving looks, Zhan Feiyu grinned, "Actually, as long as I can break out and not die under the sword of the barbarians, no one else will dare to kill me."
The barbarians don't care about Gu Qingzhou or the cabinet bachelor. Once on the battlefield, let alone a little girl, even a baby in swaddling clothes, the bloodthirsty barbarians will not be soft-hearted.
But the people who are secretly ambushing Yang Xu are different. No matter they are from Longyou Dao or whichever force in the court, as long as they are afraid of Bachelor Gu and as long as they are afraid of the Forbidden Dragon Guard, no one dares to attack Zhan Fei.
The fish attacked, so she went to have a chance of winning.
Zhan Feiyu can be said to be Yang Xu's life-saving talisman. As long as she protects Yang Xu and delays as much time as possible, she might be able to wait for reinforcements.
Of course, this is only a possibility. If the enemy in the dark doesn't care about Zhan Feiyu's life or death, then her past would be equivalent to giving her life away.
Seeing that He Nuan wanted to stop him, Zhan Feiyu shook his head and made up his mind, "If I die, I will just die as a scholar; if Yang Xu dies, Longyou Road will be in turmoil, and the foundation of the Daqing Dynasty will be unstable.
I don’t know how many innocent people will be killed or injured.”
"Miss!" He Nuan's voice was sharper than ever before, and his eyes that were always gentle suddenly became extremely angry.
A quarter of an hour later, before the barbarians had recovered, suddenly, the closed city gate opened. He Sheng and others galloped towards the barbarians on horseback, with Old Man Tie leading two hundred of the Yang family's old men following closely behind.
The opened city gate was closed again. On top of the city tower, Qiu Zongxi looked at Zhan Feiyu and others who were instantly swallowed up by the barbarians like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth. He clenched the drumstick in one hand and beat the war drum.
The wind rustles and the water becomes cold. A strong man will never return once he is gone...