The winter of the first year of Jianwen was extremely cold. In fact, it was the coldest winter in mainland China in the past century.

This winter in Peiping is not only cold, but also comes earlier than in previous years. The howling northwest wind blows from the distant Mongolian grassland, as if the Golden Family is looking back at their past glory for the last time, causing the first snow that fell early in October to fall here.

In the old capital of the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, which they could never return to.

The auspicious snow heralds a good year, and the first snowfall is not only an auspicious omen, but also a happy event. If it were in previous years, the residents of Beiping City would have been packed with people, going to various scenic spots inside and outside the city to enjoy the snow and enjoy the scenery, creating a lively and auspicious atmosphere in the peaceful and prosperous times.

This year's first snow also caused men, women, and children in Beiping City to rush out of their homes. However, what is different from previous years is that they did not take to the streets, but to the top of the city. What they faced at their feet was not the frozen Yongding River, but the frozen Yongding River.

An army of 500,000 people led by Cao Guogong Li Jinglong.

After Geng Bingwen's defeat in the Northern Expedition, Cao Guogong Li Jinglong took over as general. In September, he stationed in Dezhou, reorganized a total of 500,000 soldiers and horses, and began to advance towards Beiping. On October 10th, Li Jinglong captured Marco Polo Bridge and his troops reached the gates of Peiping City. It happened to be that King Zhu Di of Yan went to Da Da

The Ning Mansion met with Ning Wang Zhu Quan, and only Zhu Gaochi, the crown prince of Yan, was left stationed in Peiping, which was extremely dangerous.

Li Jinglong led 500,000 Southern troops to besiege the city of Beiping, and built strong fortresses outside the nine gates of Beiping. At the same time, he also set up nine camps in Zhengba Village as the basis for the attack. Not only did he form infantry

It is fully equipped with dozens of artillery pieces to cooperate with the siege. After several days of siege fighting, the city wall is in dilapidated state.

Facing the Confederate army who set up ladders and rushed towards the city wall like ants, the Yan army fought desperately with the Confederate army on the top of the city, causing heavy casualties. At this critical moment, tens of thousands of people in Beiping City spontaneously swarmed out.

On the top of the city, out of love for King Yan, they rolled up their patched sleeves in the wind and snow, brandished kitchen knives and bricks, and fought with the Southern troops who climbed up the city wall and were clearly well-trained in armor.

There were even women and children among the common people who helped in the battle. Some of them ran up and down the city walls to transport the wounded and transporting wood and rocks, while others simply went into battle themselves and fought the enemy to the same point - among them, Zhu Qingxiao was naturally included.

After several months of practice, Zhu Qingxiao became very familiar with operating the four-wheeled vehicle given to her by Lan Feng. She was able to move forward and backward on the city wall with extraordinary agility.

This was the first time she had seen such a large battle. She was surrounded by blood splattering everywhere and the deafening roar of artillery. Comrades or enemies were falling beside her at any time, and human lives were as worthless as grass. She

Suppressing the fear and tension in his heart, he held a Zhuge crossbow and shuttled among the defense lines at the top of the city. When he saw any omissions that were about to be broken through, he would make up for them and use the crossbow arrows to attack the enemy. Wait until the five arrows in the crossbow were finished.

Regardless of whether the shot is hit or not, immediately retreat behind the friendly troops to reload, and then return to the front and be busy.

The famous doctor at Prince Yan's Mansion had told her that the injury on her leg bone had healed and she could try to walk on the ground. Although she might still have a slight limp and might not be able to walk as usual, her daily activities were no longer hindered. But she was too accustomed to and too dependent on this four-wheel drive.

She was not willing or daring to try to stand up with her own strength. Lan Feng laughed at her lack of courage, but she laughed at herself: "What's the use of courage? What can you do if you stand up? Not in this distant city of Beiping."

Here, just eat and wait to die."

Not far away, Zhang Fu wielded a spear two feet long and was surrounded by five Confederate soldiers. The battle was in full swing. Zhang Fu wore a dark silver willow leaf armor, and a bright red cloak behind him was fluttering in the biting west wind.

Lao Gao. The Yan army soldiers beside him have all fallen, and he is the only one left to hold on to this section of the city wall. Without saying a word, he dances his spear up and down, sometimes like a dragon out of the sea, sometimes like a flying dragon.

In heaven, even though one is against five, they still do not retreat an inch.

However, no matter how brave Zhang Fu was, his two fists were ultimately no match for his four hands. With the flash of the sword, he was accidentally slashed on his left arm by a junior high school student. The blood spilled on his cloak, which was even brighter red than the cloak.

Zhang Fu roared wildly and swept his spear across the ground, knocking the schoolmaster who had injured him to the ground. Zhu Qingxiao bit his silver teeth and pulled the trigger, and the crossbow arrow flew out, but it missed.

A few minutes, it fell on the ears of the primary school.

Only then did the Southern Army realize that there was someone beside them, and they saw that it was a girl. The leader of the corps commander said with a ferocious smile: "So has Yan Ni been so weak that he sent his girls to fight? She is still a cripple. Brothers, I caught her.

, I will have some fun when I go back." As soon as he said these words, the primary school student who was rolling on the ground immediately abandoned Zhang Fu and rushed towards Zhu Qingxiao.

"Hurry up!" Zhang Fu shouted, and the shadows of his spears moved towards the corps commander. Seeing Zhang Fu's attack, the other three junior colonels attacked him on both sides from the left and right, while another one slashed his lower back with a short knife.

, and the corps commander formed a situation of encirclement from all sides, firmly restraining Zhang Fu in place and unable to move.

When Zhu Qingxiao saw someone rushing toward him, it was too late to shake the four-wheeled vehicle and retreat, so he scolded: "Don't come over here! I'm going to shoot an arrow!"

The schoolmaster bullied her for being a timid girl. Instead of retreating, he leaped towards her with a loud cry. Zhu Qingxiao closed his eyes in desperation and shot the remaining four arrows on Zhuge's crossbow. Three of them were

Falling in the air, only the last arrow shot upwards because she was holding the crossbow unsteadily, and hit the young principal's shoulder. The young principal staggered immediately, bleeding profusely.

On the other side, the corps leader saw that the primary school teacher was injured, and ordered the other three primary school students to fight with Zhang Fu, and then walked to Zhu Qingxiao's place.

Zhu Qingxiao turned pale with fright and shouted urgently: "Don't come here, go away!"

"You stinky bitches still dare to hurt people?" The Wu Commander first looked at the primary school's injuries, and after confirming that there were no serious injuries, he cautiously took a step closer to Zhu Qingxiao, then suddenly raised his sword and slashed at Zhu Qingxiao's face.

"Oh my God!" Zhu Qingxiao screamed and suddenly fell off the four-wheeled vehicle and rolled to the ground. Then she heard a "crash" and her four-wheeled vehicle was chopped to pieces by the team leader.

At this time, there was no corps commander beside Zhang Fu, and the pressure suddenly eased. He showed his power with one against three, and shot away a small school nearby, then kicked him on the chest and kicked him off the city wall.

The other two primary schools were stunned at first, and then they all raised their knives and slashed at Zhang Fu. Zhang Fu took a step back, inserted the long | spear in place, and flew up with the whole body holding the gun barrel, flying in a whirlwind.

His legs kicked on the wrists of the two principals, knocking out the knives in their hands.

After Zhang Fu landed on the ground, he picked up the spear with his backhand and swept through the entire army with one strike, knocking the two men to the ground and killing them both.

The junior colonel who had just been hit by an arrow in the shoulder took the opportunity to slash Zhang Fu's right hip with a knife. If he hadn't been injured and couldn't use his strength, the knife would have killed Zhang Fu. Zhang Fu shouted loudly, and swung his spear with a scorpion tail.

The tail swiped at Xiao Xiao's temple. Xiao Xiao's brain immediately burst and he collapsed to the ground.

Immediately, Zhang Fu felt dizzy, staggered a step, and almost couldn't hold the gun.

The Wu Commander could no longer take care of Zhu Qingxiao at this time and turned around to pounce on Zhang Fu.

Zhang Fu was exhausted due to too much blood loss. He was thrown against the city wall by the captain, and the spear was released. The captain swung his knife and slashed at Zhang Fu's throat. Zhang Fu grabbed the captain's wrist. The tip of the captain's knife and the

Zhang Fu's throat was very close, but Zhang Fu's big hands were as if they were made of iron, preventing the captain's knife from making any further progress.

The two of them were in a stalemate. The captain was unable to stab Zhang Fu's throat with the knife, and Zhang Fu was unable to push the captain away. But with the blood flowing out of Zhang Fu's wound, how long could he hold on?

Zhang Fu turned around and suddenly saw Zhu Qingxiao still stunned on the ground, looking blankly at everything in front of him.

"Little princess, help me!" Zhang Fu's words shocked Zhu Qingxiao, and he looked at Zhang Fu in disbelief, who was getting closer and closer to the gate of hell.

"Little Princess, stand up." Seeing that Zhu Qingxiao didn't respond, Zhang Fu shouted anxiously: "There is a knife on the ground next to you. Pick up the knife and kill him!"

"But I can't stand up." Zhu Qingxiao said in frustration, almost giving up on himself and slapping the ground with his delicate hands.

"You can do it! Stand up!" Zhang Fu stared at the tip of the knife that was getting closer and closer to him, and said loudly: "I need you, Beiping City needs you, this wall cannot be breached, otherwise we will all die.

"

"I..." After hearing Zhang Fu's last words, Zhu Qingxiao felt a surge of blood, and his legs seemed to suddenly gain strength, and he stood up unsteadily.

When Zhang Fu saw this, he said in surprise: "Kill him! Good girl, kill him!"

Zhu Qingxiao picked up the daggers scattered aside. Although his steps were a little staggering, he finally walked behind the team leader.

The team leader instinctively wanted to shrink back, but Zhang Fu's hand was tightly clamped and he could not break free.

"Cut the back of his neck, just once, just close your eyes!" Zhang Fu's eyes widened and turned red, "Don't hesitate, kill him, and we will defend the city of Beiping!"

Zhu Qingxiao felt that her head was about to burst, her throat was dry, and the blood in her body was almost boiling. She gritted her teeth and swung the short knife and slashed hard.

The captain didn't even hum, and settled the bill immediately.

Zhu Qingxiao's face was spattered with blood. She stared at the body that had been overturned by Zhang Fu. She felt nauseated and almost vomited.

Zhang Fu stood up and hugged her, crying with joy: "Good girl, you did it! You are the hero of Beiping City!"

Footsteps were heard in the distance, and Lan Feng slowly walked up to the top of the city, supporting a big fat man dressed in majestic and luxurious clothes. The fat man was luxuriously dressed, but his body was stained with a lot of dirt and blood. He was none other than Zhu Gaochi, the eldest son of King Yan.

He also seemed to have trouble with one of his legs. When walking, he could only step out with his left leg first, and then slowly drag his right leg to follow him. Even though he was supported by Lan Feng, he was still panting from exhaustion as he walked up the stone steps to the city wall step by step.

.

Zhang Fu cupped his fists and saluted: "The general will pay homage to the Crown Prince."

As the eldest son of Queen Xu, Zhu Gaochi served as the commander-in-chief of Beiping City while Zhu Di was away. Although he was disabled, he had clear ideas and used people appropriately. He organized the defense of Beiping City in an orderly manner and served as Li Jinglong's half-million-strong army.

After besieging the city for four days, they were still able to keep the gate intact.

It was almost dusk, and the Southern Army retreated to the city like ebbing water after launching the last round of offensive of the day. Zhu Gaochi looked at the devastated city wall and the corpses of soldiers who could not be cleaned up everywhere on the wall, and said with a sigh: "Li Jinglong has fifty."

Ten thousand people will attack in groups of 100,000 in turns, and the rest can get some rest." He looked at a young Yan army commander who was sleeping tiredly with his back against the battlements from a distance and said, "For four days of continuous fierce fighting, they have been eating and drinking.

Sleeping on the city, even a strong man cannot withstand such a sleepless attack."

Zhu Gaochi was supported by Lan Feng and walked little by little to the city wall. He patted the wall stacks with his hands and said worriedly: "They have artillery transferred from the capital. They can't be more powerful for attacking the city. This city wall was bombarded four times."

Even if I send people to repair it, it will not be destroyed as fast as it was. If Li Jinglong comes to attack the city again tonight, what should I do?"

Zhang Fu said solemnly: "In the end, I will definitely use all my strength to protect the city!"

"It's useless." Zhu Gaochi shook his head thoughtfully and said, "After all, people are not made of iron. Li Jinglong calculated that our troops were outnumbered, so he deliberately used this tactic of taking turns to attack the city in order to consume me.

The army's physical strength and fighting spirit. Look at the soldiers on top of our city. Every one of them is not extremely exhausted. If Li Jinglong comes again tonight, I'm afraid..."

Before he finished speaking, Lan Feng suddenly said: "I have a plan to retreat Li Jinglong."

Zhu Gaochi's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "Come and tell me."

"Although we cannot defend tonight, we can attack." Lan Feng said calmly, "We fought hard for four days and were pinned to the city wall to take turns fighting. In fact, our morale was damaged more than the limit of human body function. They saw

He is unable to do anything while his comrades beside him fall, and has to wait helplessly for the enemy's next wave of attacks. This hopeless mood is very fatal, and only taking the initiative to attack can reverse this situation."

Zhang Fu wondered: "Our available military strength in the whole city is only 40,000 to 50,000. If we go out to attack Li Jinglong's 500,000, isn't it just an egg against a stone?"

Lan Feng said in a deep voice: "Li Jinglong has been attacking me for four days. Our army is afraid to go out. He is a dandy who doesn't know the art of war. He would never have thought that our army would dare to turn back from defense to attack. If he is caught off guard, there will be chaos. Your Majesty, please send more rations to the soldiers."

Let them have a full stomach and head out at night. Remember to bluff and pretend that King Yan has returned to Peiping to attack us from both inside and outside. Li Jinglong could not distinguish the situation in the dark, so he must have retreated in panic and gave the prince a beautiful show.

victory."

"Okay!" A firm light flashed in Zhu Gaochi's eyes, "Zhang Fu, we will attack Li Jinglong tonight. Do you dare to be the vanguard?"

Zhang Fu cupped his fists and said loudly: "The momentum will live up to your destiny!"

Zhu Qingxiao couldn't help but remind him: "But you are still injured."

Zhang Fu laughed naively and said, "It's just a minor injury, nothing worth mentioning."

"Let me bandage it for you." Zhu Qingxiao bit her lips and lowered her head shyly, "That's all I can do."

Zhang Fu turned to look at Zhu Gaochi, seeing the latter smiling and nodding, and said with joy: "Zhang Fu is honored."

That night, Zhang Fu led the Yan army in Beiping City to attack Li Jinglong's camp directly, shouting the slogan "Come out of the city to meet the King of Yan and capture Li Jinglong alive." Li Jinglong was caught off guard. He didn't know how bold the Yan army was to dare to attack, let alone

How many enemy troops came in this darkness? He was greedy for life and afraid of death by nature, and he did not recognize the enemy's situation, so he had to order the entire army to retreat ten miles, and did not dare to attack the city overnight.

Zhang Fu returned victorious, and the Yan army's morale was greatly boosted. Lan Feng took the opportunity to propose another plan, asking the soldiers and civilians in the city to water the damaged walls all night.

The winter nights in Peiping were so cold that water almost turned into ice under the howling northwest wind. When Li Jinglong finally realized that he had been tricked and attacked the city again the next day, he found that the originally breakable walls of Peiping had turned into a sheet of ice overnight.
Chapter completed!