Three or four days have passed. The brick walls above the entire city are covered with bloodstains. There are also traces of arrows and swords slashing on the green bricks. There are already corpses in the moat, and there are masses of blood flowing across the moat.
Along with the stench, it floated into the air.
As the season gradually enters summer, the weather has become much warmer, and some mosquitoes and flies are hovering around the corpse, making buzzing sounds from time to time.
During this period of time, the troops of both sides quickly attacked and defended. After several rounds of fighting, some brave Jurchen soldiers and White Lotus cultists even climbed to the top of the city wall and almost gained a foothold. The situation was once very critical.
However, Zhang Dai led his soldiers and quickly destroyed them all.
It can be said that in the past few days, the treasury of the vassal government has been greatly opened. Under the heavy rewards, many brave men and many soldiers, young and strong, have died in the service of the city.
The direction of the city gate has been completely blocked, and many young men have been transferred to the city head under Zhao Qi's organization to help defend the city.
Zhang Dai was leading a large number of soldiers and horses to patrol the city. He looked at the corpses scattered in the ditch below, frowned, and asked a general on the side: "Brother Zhou, what are the casualties of the soldiers in the city?"
That military commander happened to be Zhang Dai's immediate boss, but at this moment he was working under Zhang Dai.
Because Zhang Dai is quite popular on weekdays, he doesn't have any backlash or resentment.
Zhou Qi sighed: "In the past two days, there were more than 4,000 military and civilian casualties. The battle was extremely tragic. Jinan Fucheng has not seen such tragic casualties for many years. Almost every family is mourning."
There are only hundreds of thousands of people in a city, and the casualties of more than 4,000 people are already a large casualty ratio.
Zhang Dai said: "If you persist for two more days, the day after tomorrow at the latest, the soldiers and horses of Denglai Guards Mansion will arrive."
Zhou Qi worriedly said: "It's just that Denglai's navy can't deal with these people. I don't see that there are not only the extremely vicious Jurchens, but also the White Lotus cult bandits who are being encouraged among them."
Zhang Dai said firmly: "The Denglai Navy is only here to resolve the crisis. With the ability of public troops to defend the country, reinforcements should arrive within six or seven days."
When Zhou Qi heard this, his face showed joy and he said: "Duke Wei is the minister of the Zhuguo of my Han Dynasty. If he can lead the troops here in person, these people will naturally be nothing."
"If Duke Wei's reinforcements arrive, Henan's soldiers and horses will also attack Caozhou Prefecture, and the rebels will retreat to Yanzhou Prefecture." Zhang Daihu's eyes flashed with wisdom, obviously he was worried about the rebels' next move.
The movement is as clear as watching a fire.
At this time, a soldier quickly came to the city head, his face paused slightly, and he clasped his fists and said: "Sir Zhang, the governor please come over."
Zhang Dai said: "Brother Zhou is watching from the top of the city. I will be back later."
Zhou Qi responded enthusiastically: "Brother Zhang, go ahead and leave this place to me."
Zhang Dai nodded and went down to the city without saying much.
…
…
At this moment, in the governor's yamen, in the official hall——
Zhang Dai, wearing maroon armor, quickly entered the Yamen Hall, bowed to Zhao Qi who was standing behind the case, and said, "I have met Mr. Zhongcheng."
Zhao Qi asked: "General Zhang, how is the situation at the top of the city?"
As the casualties continued to increase, the governor also felt the pressure of public opinion brought about by some tragic casualties.
Zhang Dai knew what Zhao Qi was worried about, and with a serious look on his face, he replied: "Sir, the recent casualties are actually not bad, but the first few days were a bit more tragic. According to the general's estimation, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow the rebel army's attack on the city will be weakened.
Slow down, and there will be fewer casualties in the city."
Zhao Qi nodded and warned: "General Zhang has made a good arrangement. A group of young men will be selected from the city and assigned to the top of the city to defend the city with all their strength. No matter what, Jinan Fucheng must be defended."
Zhang Dai's eyes showed firmness and he said in a clear voice: "My lord, if your guess is correct, the soldiers and horses of the guards from Denglai and Denglai are already on their way, and they will arrive at Fucheng the day after tomorrow at the latest?"
"Is this true?" When Zhao Qi heard this, his eyes moved slightly, his heart was overjoyed, and he exclaimed in shock.
At this moment, Jinan Fucheng is so isolated that not even a homing pigeon can fly out. There are specialized Jurchen archers to hunt and kill them.
Therefore, the so-called posture of a famous general is to calculate the dynamics of the troops and horses of all parties in the fog of the battlefield, guess the marching posture of the enemy and our generals, and then make targeted adjustments to respond.
But even so, there are still many unexpected factors on the battlefield, and there are even more factors that can affect the decisive victory.
Therefore, luck is also an important step in becoming a famous general.
Zhang Dai pondered for a moment and said: "Sir, as long as you grit your teeth and hold on for three more days, there will definitely be a turn for the better."
Zhao Qidao: "With General Zhang's words, I have peace of mind."
It only lasts three days, no matter how heavy the casualties are, we can still bear it, otherwise once the city is defeated, the entire city will be buried.
Zhang Dai said: "Sir, are there sufficient grain and fodder reserves in the city?"
The consumption of food during wartime and peacetime is naturally different. With so many strong men helping to defend the city, more food is consumed than in the past.
"It's only been a few days, and I can still hold on. Even if it takes another ten days and a half, I can still hold on." Zhao Qi said confidently.
However, before he finished speaking, the chief envoy Peng Bingyu came from outside, out of breath, and said urgently: "Sir, it's not good, the spies in the city set fire to the grain and grass, and the grain in the Dongshan warehouse was on fire.
Already."
Zhao Qi: "..."
After being stunned for a moment, he said urgently: "Go and save, go and save, as many as you can save!"
Originally, Shandong suffered from a snowstorm last year, and even "begged" hundreds of thousands of stones from the Kong family. It can be said that the food was not very rich before, and now it is even worse.
At this moment, Zhang Dai frowned, his eyes were calm, and his expression became serious.
If all the grain in Dongshan Granary is burned, then there will only be... a little bit of grain in the city.
Maybe we can plunder it from big players and redeploy it.
Not long after, Zhang Dai and Shandong Governor Zhao Qi went to the place where the incident occurred. At this moment, the granary located in the southeast of the city was filled with thick smoke and flames ignited. The entire granary was engulfed in flames.
Many soldiers and civilians pushed water trucks and buckets in their hands to put out the fire at the burning granary.
Not long after, when the billowing smoke dissipated, the leader, Wen Daichun, the prefect of Jinan, walked over with a bitter look on his face and said: "Master Zhongcheng, the granary is on fire."
"How much grain has been burned?" Zhao Qi didn't have the bearing of a border official at this moment. He grabbed Wen Daichun's sleeve and said urgently: "How much grain is left?"
Wen Daichun hesitated and said: "Nearly 500,000 stones and grains were burned, Mr. Zhongcheng."
Zhao Qi felt his eyes go dark. Five hundred thousand stones of food had been burned. How long could the soldiers and civilians in the city cope with it?
Thinking like this, he turned to look at Zhang Dai aside, saw a solemn look on his face, and asked: "General Zhang, what should we do?"
Zhang Dai frowned and asked, "Master Zhao, how much grain is left in the city?"
Zhao Qi thought for a while and said: "The Jiafeng warehouse contains one hundred thousand stones of grain, which can last for three to five days."
Zhang Dai was silent for a while and then said: "Master Zhao, let's collect grain from the big families in the city. From today on, we will ration grain in the city. As long as we hold on for three days, reinforcements will arrive, and then we will be saved."
Zhao Qi took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "This is the only way."
Zhang Dai thought for a moment, lowered his voice, and whispered: "Your Excellency, you can spread the news to the city. As long as the soldiers and horses of the Denglai Guards come, the outer walls of the city can be cleared. In this way, the people in the city will be relieved of their resentment. As for the big households, promise them
, when the siege of Jinan recedes, it will naturally be doubled."
Zhao Qi thought for a moment and said, "Just follow General Zhang's words."
After saying that, he looked at the Jinan magistrate on the side and shouted: "Hurry up and go."
"Yes, yes." The prefect of Jinan responded loudly.
Zhang Dai expressed relief and said, "Sir, collect more food from the city and hold on for a few more days."
Zhao Qi nodded and said, "I will go to the governor's office right now to raise supplies. General Zhang, you go to the city head first to stabilize the morale of the army."
Once the grain and fodder are burned, the people in the city will inevitably become frightened.
…
…
At this moment, in the military tent not far from Jinan Fucheng, Jurchen Prince Hauge and Chen Yuan were also looking gloomy. They did not know that the granary had been burned in the city.
There was a solemn look on Hauge's face. He pondered for a moment and said in a low tone: "There have been a lot of casualties in the past few days, and there is still no sign of the city of Jinan being destroyed."
Chen Yuan thought for a while and suggested: "How about digging a tunnel into the city at night?"
"It's too late, it may be too late." Hauge shook his head, but his eyes were a little solemn.
Jinan Fucheng suffered heavy casualties, and Hauge and Chen Yuan had been racking their brains in the past few days, thinking of ways to break the city.
At this moment, Elder Pei entered the military tent and said: "Sir, news just came from the city. Our religious priests burned down the granary in the city. Almost half a million stones of food in the city were burned to the ground!"
When Chen Yuan heard this, he was very happy and said softly: "Okay!"
Hauge also had joy on his face and said: "In the past two days, we have stepped up our offensive and taken advantage of the chaos in the city to capture the city in one fell swoop!"
At this moment, a Jurchen leader wearing leather armor walked in quickly, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the scouts have come to report that a large number of Han troops have been discovered seventy miles east of Jinan Fucheng."
Under Hauge's thick eyebrows, a sharp light flashed in his eyes, and he said: "The soldiers and horses of Denglai Mansion are here."
Chen Yuan said in a deep voice: "Ask Li Yanqing to send people to meet the enemy and snipe Denglai's troops."
Hauge said: "We don't have much time left. It won't be long before Jia Heng's army will rush to Jinan Prefecture."
Mentioning Jia Heng, resentment gradually appeared on the face of the one-armed feudal king.
Chen Yuan looked a little solemn, pondered for a moment, and said: "If we can't attack Jinan Prefecture, we will divide our troops into Tai'an and Yanzhou Prefectures. The terrain there is steep and we can deal with the Han army. The rest will be more difficult to defeat."
From the beginning, the various defense offices were victorious, sweeping across the entire Shandong prefecture and county. The situation was not a small one, but a great one. However, as time passed, it seemed that after the setback of Jinan Prefecture, it suddenly flourished and then declined, and then quickly declined.
Like a downhill road.
In fact, this means that the overall situation of being surrounded has not changed.
At this moment, not only Denglai, but also Henan and Baoding Prefectures are quickly sending troops and horses to support Shandong and prepare to encircle and suppress the rebels.
Eighty miles away from Jinan Fucheng, in a wilderness full of grass and wild flowers, Mu Sheng, the crown prince of Dongping County, ordered his soldiers to set up camp.
Mu Sheng was surprised and said: "The city of Jinan is still in ruins? Who is the general who defends the city? How can he be so capable?"
In fact, the prince of Dongping County had already thought about the possibility of breaking through Jinan Fucheng, but he did not expect that he could hold out for so many days.
Mu Chen said: "When the prince arrives in Jinan Fucheng, he should know the general who will defend the city."
Mu Sheng was about to speak when suddenly, at this moment, a scout came from a distance, clasped his fists and said, "General, rebel movements have been spotted ten miles away."
Mu Sheng's eyes lit up and he said: "The rebels are coming?"
Then, he shouted loudly: "The entire army is on alert and ready to meet the enemy!"
At this time, the soldiers and horses of both sides were quite close, almost as if the cavalry were charging forward, they could charge and fight together.
At this moment, Li Yanqing led the cavalry troops to rush towards them. The smoke and dust were billowing in such a mighty force that they almost rolled up a huge cloud of smoke and dust on the official road. Not long after, the scouts in front came on horseback and said loudly: "Not far ahead is the official road.
military."
Li Yanqing raised his hands, looked solemn, and said loudly: "The whole army dismounts and rests. Brother Miao, you lead two thousand of your men over to check the situation of the enemy in front, and do not engage in combat with the enemy."
Miao Chongjin looked solemn, clasped his fists and said, "Brother, wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon."
Li Yanqing frowned slightly, watched Miao Zhong go away, and took a deep breath.
Not long after, there were sounds of fighting from the front, and it was clear that the enemy's forwards had taken over.
At this moment, Mu Chen, under Mu Sheng, was waving a spear in his hand to kill the rebels, and met Miao Chongjin, under Li Yanqing, head on.
The two sides quickly started fighting on horseback like a revolving lantern, but the sound of "clang-clang" kept coming, and the sound of the clash of weapons was deafening.
The spear in Mu Chen's palm was like a ray of cold electricity, stirring like a dragon waving its tail, like a chain wrapping around Miao Chongjin, its movements were as dense as water, surrounding Miao Chongjin almost in an instant.
At this moment, Miao Chongjin was clumsy on his horse. It didn't take long for his men to move in a panic. He only heard a "puff" sound, felt a sharp pain in his chest, groaned in pain, and was knocked off the horse.
Another cold light flashed through his body, and he felt a slight pain in his throat. Blood spurted out, and his consciousness gradually fell into darkness.
Mu Chen's eyes were stern and he said coldly: "Kill!"
Not long after, many soldiers and horses were seen attacking Li Yanqing's large number of rebels like a tide.
It has to be said that the combat effectiveness of the Denglai Navy's well-drilled troops is far superior to that of Li Yanqing's troops.
When Li Yanqing heard the news from the scouts, his face was slightly shaken and he said sadly: "Brother Miao died in the battle?"
My brother's force value is not bad, but he can't defeat the enemy general. It can be seen that the Denglai navy that comes is not easy to deal with.
At this time, as the iron hooves of war horses trampled the official road, making a rumbling sound, it was like a ball of red flames pressing over, as if it was going to burn everything, and all the vegetation was gone.
Li Yanqing hung a long knife on the saddle, loosened his grip on the horse's reins, took off a three-stone hard bow, took an arrow from his back, drew the bow and nocked an arrow, and aimed at the man on the horse.
Mu Chen's face was shot.
Just listen…
“Whoosh!!!”
An arrow shot through the sky almost like a meteor, and seemed to send out a piercing scream in the air. It seemed to be astonishingly powerful.
Mu Chen was riding a horse and galloping quickly at this moment. Suddenly, he felt a warning sign in his heart. He felt that he was completely targeted by a fierce murderous intention. He couldn't help being frightened, and he immediately leaned his tall body on the horse's back.
Almost in an instant, a harsh and sharp sound was heard above the head, because the murderous intent was like a waterfall, and the cold wind it brought was even chilling in the May weather.
Seeing that the young general had escaped being shot, Li Yanqing's eyes narrowed and he secretly screamed a pity.
After the battle in Henan, he was seriously injured and jumped into the river. Although he gradually recovered, he also felt that his archery was gradually becoming less than his ability, and he was not as able as before to snipe and kill enemy generals freely.
The person in front of me could not possibly be Mu Sheng, the crown prince of Dongping County.
In fact, Li Yanqing didn't know that Mu Dongping County Prince's Palace was in Yunnan, and he had many powerful generals at his command, and that a powerful general like Mu Chen who could occupy a place in the Beijing camp was to protect Mu Sheng, the future King of Dongping County.
At this moment, Mu Sheng also led the follow-up Denglai navy to collide with Li Yanqing. The two torrents of cavalry collided together, and the sound of clanking and killing sounded, as if they were about to annihilate everything.
Soldiers from both sides were holding swords in their hands, slashing and clashing with each other, but they could hear the sound of the swords entering flesh, followed by the muffled grunts of the sergeants.
Both sides were caught off guard, and an encounter ensued in the blink of an eye.
Li Yanqing's troops numbered in the thousands, all of which were elites accumulated by Li Yanqing in the past two years, while the Denglai Navy rushed to the battlefield with more than 10,000 troops. At this moment, the two sides were fighting together. Although Li Yanqing's troops were
Few, but mostly cavalry.
For a time, the two groups of soldiers and horses were fighting, but they were evenly matched.
Mu Sheng was holding the horse's reins, and he was fighting fiercely with a big knife in his hand. He was fighting with Li Yanqing. One had a family background in martial arts, and the other was a rough man. At the moment, the two were fighting each other on horseback, with swords and spears clashing.
There was a collision, and sparks were seen popping and piercing screams were heard.
The two sides fought for no less than thirty rounds.
Li Yanqing stared at the general in python uniform opposite him, but he didn't know that the person opposite him was Mu Sheng, the crown prince of Dongping County, the general of Denglai Navy - Governor of Denglai.
But Mu Sheng didn't know who the visitor was, so he held the horse's reins in his hands, turned the horse aside, and shouted: "Come and give me your name!"
Li Yanqing said loudly: "A certain Li Yanqing."
When Mu Sheng heard this, his pupils shrank and he thought to himself, it turned out to be this guy. He shouted coldly: "It turns out he is the bandit leader. You have gathered a crowd to rebel. Do you know the power of the swords and axes of the heavenly weapons?"
Li Yanqing said loudly: "The court is unjust and the officials are forcing the people to rebel. If Prince Mu and Wang Shizhen of Dongping County in Yunnan raise the flag of rebellion in this way, the heroes of the world will surely follow closely."
Mu Sheng's face was full of ferociousness, he shouted coldly and said: "You are deceiving the public with your evil words!"
At this moment, the surrounding Denglai Navy, relying on their elite soldiers and armor, had gradually gained the upper hand.
The sound of fighting gradually subsided.
When Li Yanqing saw this scene where he was gradually losing ground, he felt secretly anxious, but despite his eagerness, he still couldn't defeat Mu Sheng.
The fighting between the two sides lasted until noon, and the entire battlefield was full of blood. Wherever you looked, broken knives and broken guns could be seen everywhere.
…
…
Shenjing City, Daming Palace, inner study room
Four or five days have passed since Jia Heng led his troops to leave. Civil and military officials and ordinary people in the entire Shenjing City have also turned their attention to this anxious war in Qilu.
It was almost noon, and the bright sunlight in the sky filtered through the carved windows and shone on a lacquered wooden desk. A row of brushes on the pen stand cast dark shadows of varying lengths on the blue-yellow memorial.
The middle-aged emperor put down the memorial in his hand, raised his slightly bloodshot eyes, stared at Dai Quan, and asked: "How many days has it been since Duke Wei left?"
Dai Quan said cautiously: "It's been five days since I reported back to Your Majesty. I'm fully prepared."
Emperor Chongping frowned and said in a deep voice: "In five days, with the speed of the cavalry, we should have reached the border of Shandong by now."
Dai Quan said: "Your Majesty, I estimate the distance and it's almost the same."
"Is there any urgent military information from Duke Wei at the Military Aircraft Department and Jinyi Mansion?" Emperor Chongping cast his sharp eyes on Dai Quan and asked.
Dai Quan cupped his hands and said, "I have sent someone to keep an eye on you."
Emperor Chongping was silent for a moment and said worriedly: "I don't know if Jinan Mansion has been destroyed or not."
Dai Quan said: "Your Majesty, if the city is destroyed, military information should have been sent urgently. If there is no news at this time, there should be nothing wrong with the city."
Under his thin and pine eyebrows, Emperor Chongping glanced at the sunlight outside and felt it was somewhat dazzling. He muttered: "Show me in Kunning Palace."
Dai Quan's expression paused slightly, and then he followed Emperor Chongping to Kunning Palace.