Under the scorching sun of midsummer, the beacon fire soared into the sky.
Countless rioters were shouting noises that they themselves could not understand, holding various weapons and simple long ladders and rushing towards the city wall.
The moat has long been filled in, with countless amounts of soil and countless dead bodies.
The defenders are numb, and the attackers are also numb.
No one would have thought that the small Laiyang would now become the focus of Dengzhou.
Xu Yaqing stood on the high hill, watching with anticipation as the rebels rushed towards the city wall again. Dozens of long ladders were erected, and people began to climb up.
Suddenly, someone stuck his head out from the city, and rocks the size of watermelons were thrown down on his head, causing the attackers to scream and fall down.
But the man who threw the stone was shot to death by the archers under the city and fell down.
Not long after, thick smoke suddenly appeared from the top of the city, and then several blank lines visible to the naked eye appeared among the charging rebels.
The rebel army that had been charging forward immediately retreated with shouts and screams, and the siege battle calmed down.
"It's rubbish, it's all rubbish. Such a small county town doesn't even have a county magistrate. It took five days to attack and it didn't even fall."
Facing her rebuke, Li Mengming looked ugly.
"Holy aunt, our army is newly formed and without training, it will be difficult for us to attack a fortified city. In my opinion, we might as well abandon Laiyang and attack all the way to the east. I have already inquired about Fushan, Rushan, and Ninghai to the east.
The state is undefended and can be attacked at any time. When our team becomes stronger, we can fight back again."
Xu Yaqing's face was ashen and she shouted: "Zuo Mengeng's army has entered Qingzhou Mansion and will rush over soon. If we go further east, will he be driven into the sea by him?"
Dong Dacheng didn't take it seriously.
"My subordinates have already inquired. The number of officers and soldiers coming here is only 3,000. Even if they join forces with Zhang Keda, they are only more than 8,000. We have tens of thousands of troops. Are we really afraid of him?"
Xu Yaqing sneered.
"Do you really think you chickens and dogs can serve as an army?"
Several leaders were furious after being scolded, but they obviously didn't take Xu Yaqing's words seriously. In addition, the various ministries had suffered heavy losses in the past few days, and resentment had already formed in their hearts.
Xu Yaqing looked at it, looking arrogant on the outside, but sighing inwardly.
Since the death of my father, the White Lotus Sect has been in disarray.
Is it true that all the painstaking planning this time will fall short?
In the moment of distress, the maid came over and whispered: "Holy aunt, that person is awake."
Xu Yaqing's spirit was shaken, and she went straight to the back tent regardless of the leaders.
Seeing that she was gone, the leaders were all relieved and quickly signaled Ming Jin to withdraw his troops.
Is there peace in Laiyang today?
Xu Yaqing returned to her commander's tent and saw that the man she rescued in Dongchang Mansion had already sat up.
This man is quite majestic. Looking up close, he looks like a vicious tiger. Even if he walks around the world, he is probably a well-known hero.
"you're awake?"
The man looked over, his eyes full of indifference.
"Did the saintly aunt save me?"
Xu Yaqing walked to the stool in front of him and sat down, and said proudly: "When I was using people, I saw that you were brave, so I was kind enough to bring you back. You must know that your life is
I saved him. From now on, you must repay him well, you know?"
The man smiled coldly and his tone was sarcastic.
"What's the repayment? Are you going to follow you guys who are pretending to be a fool?"
The maid behind Xu Yaqing was furious when she heard this and scolded: "You bastard, what did you say?"
The man laughed even louder.
"It's impossible for you pretentious people to succeed. Give up as soon as possible and be your gophers."
Xu Yaqing stopped the maid who was about to take action, and said harshly: "Since you think my holy religion can't accomplish anything, why did you sneak in?"
Seeing that the man had a cold face and said nothing, Xu Yaqing's eyes narrowed.
"What's your relationship with Zuo Mengeng?"
As soon as this name appeared, the man was immediately possessed by an evil tiger, and his whole person was filled with the aura of blood evil.
"That's grandpa's private matter, what does it have to do with you? What's the matter, do you want to hand grandpa to Zuo Mengeng in exchange for a chance to live?"
Xu Yaqing chuckled, her voice charming again.
"You have a grudge against Zuo Mengeng, right? It just so happens that our Holy Cult also has a grudge against him. How about... how about we cooperate?"
The man was indifferent.
"You ground rats want to deal with Zuo Mengeng? Hum, his fire musket soldiers, do you really think you are invulnerable?"
Xu Yaqing was also angry and cursed: "You are such a slut, can you possibly get revenge? With your own strength, you can't even get close to Zuo Mengeng."
That man was very bitter.
"You earth rats can't do it either. Zuo Menggeng has become a powerful force. If you want to deal with him, you must have a large army."
Xu Yaqing found this person more and more interesting and said seductively: "I have tens of thousands of troops under my command now. As long as you are loyal to me, how about I make you a general and help you get revenge?"
The man laughed wildly.
"Tens of thousands of troops? Are they all from Dongchang Mansion?"
It's okay not to mention this matter, but when it is mentioned, Xu Yaqing can't help but blush and become angry with embarrassment.
With a sway, he threw himself in front of the man and slashed towards the other man's throat.
The man sat on the bed, crossed his arms, flicked her palm away, then turned his fist into tiger claws and grabbed her back.
Xu Yaqing was a little careless. She didn't expect that this man was so good at martial arts that he would actually grab her throat.
However, the man groaned and did not dare to use his fingers.
It turned out that Xu Yaqing's other hand held a dagger at some point, and it was already pressed against the man's ribs.
The edge of the dagger was blue and obviously poisonous.
"Hmph, indeed there is nothing more poisonous than a woman's heart."
Xu Yaqing did not feel dissatisfied, her laughter became even more seductive, she twisted her head, freed herself from the man's fingers, and at the same time withdrew the dagger.
"Now, can we have a good talk?"
………………………………
The new army advanced very quickly and appeared at the foot of Linzi City that night.
The White Lotus cult bandits in Linzi City did not even respond at all, and were attacked by the new army. They had to rush out of the city and flee south.
Zuo Menggeng intended to train the new army's capabilities and ordered the third regiment to pursue it overnight.
The next morning, the third regiment sent back news that the remaining White Lotus cult bandits had been trapped in a town near Zichuan County.
"Uncle, let's go over and take a look?"
Sun Yuanhua's journey was like a dream.
The White Lotus banditry in Shandong was helpless, but in Zuo Menggeng's case, it was like boiling water and cutting tofu, marching and annihilating them all the way. No bandit was an enemy of the new army.
Sun Yuanhua compared the New Army with the Ming Army, and sadly found that there were countless areas where the Ming Army was inferior.
The more you know, the more balanced your mentality will be.
"Then let's go."
The first regiment was left to sweep around Linzi. Zuo Mengeng, Sun Yuanhua and others came to Zichuan under the protection of the security company.
Unlike Linzi, Zichuan County has not been lost. However, the surrounding countryside has been severely harmed by the White Lotus Sect. Wherever you go, you can only see fields barren and villages destroyed.
Occasionally there are rotting corpses on the road, which may become the source of the plague.
Zuo Menggeng asked the doctors accompanying the army to bury all the corpses they saw. It was a good thing to avoid the outbreak of the plague at all.
In the afternoon, they rushed to the place and found that the town where the White Lotus Sect was trapped was surrounded by mountains on the east and west sides. In addition, there was a horizontal hill on the south side of the town, which was connected with the mountains on the east side.
A very narrow opening was formed.
The 7th Battalion of the 3rd Regiment has blocked this opening and the hillside on the south side, leaving the White Lotus Cult bandits in the town with nowhere to escape.
Zuo Mengeng stood on a high place, used a telescope to observe the situation in the town, and found something different.
"Is this town a mining area?"
He saw that there were dug holes everywhere inside and outside the town, and there were smelting furnaces standing everywhere in the town.
Lou Fu, political commissar of the Third Regiment, had already learned about the situation and reported: "Come on, this is called Yanshen Town. It is said that the entire town makes porcelain and materials as its main livelihood."
Zuo Mengeng knew it as soon as he heard it.
The famous Yanshen Town was a glass production center in the north during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
I didn't expect that after suppressing bandits all the way, I would end up here.
But when he thought of so many skilled glass craftsmen, Zuo Mengeng couldn't help but feel his heart beat.
"Give me the order. Be careful when attacking. Don't hurt civilians. Also, find all the craftsmen in the town and protect them."
Nowadays, the glass industry in Linqing is developing rapidly, and what is most lacking is skilled craftsmen.
Since it took no effort this time, Zuo Mengeng certainly didn't intend to let it go.