Zhang Facun and Huang Ren, together with five hundred brave men, quietly climbed up the Duanbi Rock along the gentle slope of the left slope at night. Although the Duanbi Rock is not very high, the mountain is dangerous and the terrain is not very familiar. Soon after dinner, we climbed the mountain and arrived.
I just climbed to the top of the mountain at midnight and looked down from the top of the mountain. I saw thousands of lights in the city, densely packed and dotted. It can be seen that during the war, the residents in the city were frightened and their sleep was not as good as in the past. This cliff was like a knife and axe, going straight up and down. No wonder the city
Without fortification here, what other bird would dare to fly over such a high cliff except hawks?
During the day, they had done reconnaissance. The back wall of the city wall was close to the base of the mountain. It was about three feet wide. The marshal, who could move his horse during the day, did not let them act rashly. He was afraid that if the target was exposed, he would miss the big event. Although it was safe at night, it was more difficult.
Much older. Just now when we were climbing a mountain, a brother fell down and saw that it was very dangerous. I waited until daybreak to look for him, but he still might not be able to find him.
The commander made it clear that the brothers who were hanging down from the mountain with ropes should immediately set off rockets into the city. No matter whether it was private houses, barracks, public buildings or private houses, they should lead one place at a time. Do not release arrows in one direction, but set off more fire arrows.
Point, make it inconvenient for the enemy to fight. Don't get entangled with the enemy soldiers who come to stop them. The main task is to set fire.
Zhang Facun and Huang Ren were eager to perform meritorious service, and when they wanted to go down, a soldier commander said: "General, you both go down, I am here! I will ensure that the brothers are transported safely one by one."
The two men were overjoyed and patted the corps commander on the shoulder and said: "Once you successfully set the fire, it will be a miracle. We will tell the marshal then that you will be promoted to three levels in a row."
The corps commander was naturally very happy and urged: "Without further delay, two generals, please exit!"
There are ten people in each team. After going down, they shake the rope as a signal. The top pulls up the empty rope and continues to get down.
Zhang Facun was the first group. After getting down, several people quickly untied the rope to prepare for the second group. Zhang Facun took nine brothers. The rope just put them directly on the parapet wall at the top of the city. The enemy soldiers thought that this place was safe and secure.
How could there be soldiers from heaven on the hundred-foot high cliff? Zhang Facun, who was slack and did not send troops to patrol, was overjoyed. He immediately took off the bow and arrow on his back, tied flammable objects to the arrows, lit them with fire, and divided them into ten for ten people.
Shooting in the direction, a fire suddenly broke out in the city. There are also mud houses in this city, most of which are bamboo buildings and wooden houses, and they are very old. How can they withstand this man-made arson?
The panicked crowd called their father and mother, and when the enemy soldiers who were fleeing and patrolling the city heard the news, Huang Ren's second group of brothers had just arrived and Huang Ren said:
"Brother Zhang, you have made your first contribution. It's time to show your face. You stop the enemy soldiers and continue to fire arrows. I will take a few brothers to open the city gate."
Zhang Facun and others killed several soldiers who came to patrol the city, and while firing arrows, he said: "Brother Huang, the commander-in-chief did not give me the task of opening the city gate!"
Huang Ren said: "You don't understand this. If the city gate is not opened, how can the army come in? The army cannot enter the city, and our arrows will be in vain."
At this time, the fire became more and more fierce. The enemy soldiers who came to stop the attack saw that the third group of brothers was about to come down to reinforce. Zhang Facun said: "Brother, be careful!"
"It doesn't matter!" Huang Ren and others hid themselves in the firelight.
The young eunuch led the soldiers of the three armies. Seeing the fire in the city, he urgently issued an order to attack the city. Suddenly the city gate opened to the sky. Marshal Pan was overjoyed, and the three armies filed in.
In his dream, Daling Wushang heard the sergeant report that someone had set fire and that fires were breaking out in the city. While dressing and scolding his mother, he looked towards the fire outside the door and muttered through gritted teeth:
"Catch this arsonist and cut his bloody corpse into thousands of pieces!"
Before Dalingwu could put on his trousers, another soldier came to report:
"General, something bad happened. The officers and soldiers have already entered the city!"
"No, did they fly down from the sky?" He said so, but Dalingwu already knew the seriousness of the matter and hurriedly ordered the team to assemble to retreat from the south gate.
The young eunuch urgently ordered the soldiers to put out the fire. Seeing Zhang Facun and others still standing at the top of the city firing rockets, he laughed and stopped him:
"General Zhang, setting the fire just now was a meritorious service, but setting the fire now is a crime. Come down quickly!"
Only then did Zhang Facun stop.
The officers and soldiers put out the fire. It was already daybreak. The little eunuch made a rough count. The fire destroyed more than 2,000 private houses. The official houses were in ruins. An unknown number of people were burned to death. Most of the dead were old and weak. The homeless people kept wailing.
, most of them had fled elsewhere. Dalingwu led a small number of anti-king troops, leaving behind their wives and children, and fled from the south gate. The rest either surrendered or dispersed.
The little eunuch stood on a pile of ruins and sighed: "Since ancient times, all the unlucky people in wars have been the common people. Not only us, but also the saints had no choice but to do it. This time I attacked with fire and soldiers, and almost burned the city to the ground."
A piece of white land has become an empty city, a sin!"
All the generals advised: "The commander-in-chief raises the king's army to attack the unjust, what crime is there?"
The young eunuch added: "Back then, Zhuge Wuhou made good use of fire attacks and burned Xinye for the first time. It was understandable that he burned Teng Jia's army the second time, and burned Hulu Valley for the third time. It rained heavily, and it was only the second time that Sima and his son were saved.
A race was almost exterminated, and my husband was in tears at that time. Emperor Tian was so angry that he lost ten years of his life and died at only fifty-three years old. Do you know this?"
All the generals were amazed, shaking their heads and saying, "I don't know."
Since then, Jieyang Ridge has been uninhabited, and the surrounding city walls have collapsed year by year, so the name Yecheng has no longer been mentioned in history.
The young eunuch remembered Zhang Facun, and Huang Renqigong ordered the troops to make repairs for a while. They set off on the same day and missed Chenzhou, forcing them to surrender to Shaocheng. They saw Sanyang City, and the anti-king imperial capital's nest was far away.
After Dalingwu fled to Yangcheng with a small group of defeated soldiers, he did not dare to go directly to see King Fu. Instead, he ran to his brother and Dalingwen comforted him:
"Brother, don't worry, victory or defeat is a common thing for military officers. Your failure this time was mainly due to the trick of the young eunuch. He set fire to attack the city, which is really rare. The emperor also blames you. Don't say anymore. Emperor Tianle is hiring people.
What will happen to you? One day, when my brother is in the battle, he will catch that damn little eunuch and vent his anger on you."
When Dalingwu saw what his brother said, he was very happy. He agreed that the two brothers would meet the Holy Father in court the next day and he would wait outside the court. The brother agreed that he would come back to the court. If he didn't see any news from his brother for half a day, he would run away first.
The little eunuch was so powerful that he broke through several passes, and the army pressed on the border. King Fu, who was approaching the capital, heard the news. He didn't show his face, so he summoned the ministers to discuss what good strategy could be used to defeat the enemy?
The second brother Ning Wang said: "The little eunuch is powerful, and that kid is insidious and cunning. If I don't see it, why don't I run away from Yunnan and Guangxi, hide in Shiwan Mountain and deal with him again?"
Yao Qi, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "What do you mean by the Second Prince? The young eunuch only recaptured a few small cities. Our army has not yet fought a decisive battle with him and his vitality is not damaged. How can we just make this plan to escape? Oh my god.
Emperor Le has strong soldiers and brave generals. How can an army of more than 100,000 be afraid of a lottery man?"
Whether to stay or to go, King Fu was left without a master for a while. When he looked at the military advisor, Hua Shixiong said:
"Yao Shangshu's words are reasonable, but in my humble opinion, it is better to open the city gates in the future, set up the formation, and fight to the death with the young eunuch."
Hua Shixiong got the news that the young eunuch had recently obtained several fierce generals, all of whom were brave enough to conquer several cities. They were coming with great momentum. He thought that the moment of decisive battle had come and he also thought about it. What if King Fu really wanted to hide?
Entering the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the officers and soldiers will not be able to do anything to him for a while, fearing that it will become a chronic disease and will lead to endless troubles in the long run.
Emperor Tianle sighed: "I caught a eunuch the day before yesterday. He said he was Pan You'an. Who knew he was a fake? If I had known that the eunuch was patrolling South China, I should not have acted rashly. Now I am riding on a donkey, unable to walk, retreating and retreating."
No, how can I make a decision?"
Dalingwen, the commander of the march of the general Zhenguo, suddenly left his duty. He choked with tears and fell to the ground.
Emperor Tianle was surprised and asked: "General, why is this?"
"Your Majesty, my brother Dalingwu was set on fire by a young eunuch and burned down the city. He is at the end of his rope and dare not face the saint. Now in my place, the young general dare not hide it and beg for mercy from your majesty."
Emperor Tianle laughed loudly and said: "How can a defeat in a battle be considered a defeat? I know that your General Di Da has tried his best. You summoned him to see me. Instead of making things difficult for him, you even wanted to be promoted.
Give him a bigger official position"
Dalingwen burst into tears with gratitude, kowtowed and said: "The emperor's kindness is so great. Daling will die to repay His Majesty. Even if he has to go through fire and water, he will be loyal to the Emperor."
Emperor Tianle ordered the deacons and eunuchs to help him up and said with joy in his heart: "Although General Da is a surrendered general, he is actually a man of few people who will win the country in the future. I will give you the title of king."
Dalingwen kowtowed to the ground again and made a bang bang sound, crying: "I only need to follow your majesty to conquer the country. It doesn't matter if you are king or not. I am outside the court now."
"Hurry up and tell him to come in!"
When Dalingwu entered the court, King Fu really comforted him.
Everyone discussed for a long time, but finally reached no consensus. However, King Fu had already made an idea in his mind. He vowed to fight the little eunuch to determine the outcome. He interrupted and said:
"I have decided that I will compete with the little eunuch, but having said that, it is up to you to decide how to fight. If the little eunuch comes to the city tomorrow, should you go out of the city to fight with him, or should you hold on and let him attack?
"
The civil servants talked about defending, and the generals talked about attacking. There were different opinions, and they argued for half a day. Emperor Tianle still consulted Hua Shixiong at the critical moment, and Hua Shixiong said:
"Your Majesty has countless brave generals, why are you afraid of his little eunuch? Go out of the city and talk to him, so that you can find out what he is and what he is."
Emperor Tianle agreed
The young eunuch came all the way and saw that it was not far from the city, so he set up camp ten miles away from the city and ordered the soldiers of the three armies to bury pots and make rice. Early tomorrow morning, he would drive troops to attack the city.