Jiaopi City, which is only 1,200 paces square, originally had only one city wall standing on the plains on the right bank of Yingshui River. However, since Fan Zongqi presided over the siege of Quanhe and Jiaopi cities, the foundation of the company camp outside Jiaopi City was established.
On top, a long wall of rammed earth was built.
The long wall surrounding Jiaopi City is two feet high and three feet thick at the base. It is thicker than ordinary state and county city walls.
In order to show his determination to completely besiege Jiaopi City, Fan Zongqi did not allow the labor camp to leave any opening in the long wall for the siege troops and horses to enter and exit.
The long wall is like an earth-yellow iron hoop, tightly enclosing Jiaopi City without leaving a single gap.
The terrain chosen for the construction of the Jiaopi City was relatively high, and was still some distance from the flood plain on the west wing. However, heavy and moderate rains had continued for months, and the waterlogging could not be drained away. Except for a few government offices built on high places outside the city,
, most houses, including large areas of barracks, were immersed in two to three feet of water.
If the remaining soldiers in the city wanted to surrender, they not only had to sneak out of Jiaopi City, but also had to wade through the flooded water outside the city and reach the foot of the long wall before a rope ladder would pick them up and climb up the long wall.
Of course, out of the benevolence and dignity of the court, Fan Zongqi would arrange for people to submit letters of surrender every now and then, and he would first lower the boat from the long wall.
Then we crossed the flood water to the foot of Jiaopi City.
On this day, the long wall lowered three small boats one after another, which quickly attracted the attention of the defenders at the head of Jiaopi City.
Nowadays, in addition to the excrement of people and animals outside the city, it is directly mixed in the flooded water. There is no place to dispose of the bodies of people and animals who have died of injuries and illnesses. They are also soaked in the water. The stench is overwhelming, and diseases are rampant.
At this time, being able to go on duty at the top of the city became a good job that everyone was vying for - Yue Hailou could only try his best to arrange the remaining soldiers on the city wall that was more than two feet high.
At present, this city wall, which is ten miles in circumference and only one and a half feet wide at the top, has become the main garrison of the defenders. It is crowded with soldiers, and all food and accommodation are at the top of the city. At the same time, people from Yuehai Tower are also building stilt bamboos on the inside of the city wall.
Sheds and wooden sheds are used to facilitate more soldiers to live in them and avoid the suffering of flooding.
Since there was also two or three feet of water between the outside of the city and the surrounding long wall, and the distance was more than five or six hundred paces, there was no expectation that the southern soldiers would suddenly launch an attack.
Therefore, the garrison at the head of the city crowded in front of the crenellation and watched the three small boats slowly pole-poling this way without much panic. Soon they saw clearly that the three small boats except for each other
In addition to a boatman holding a pole and military officials from Sikong Prefecture of the Southern Dynasty, a total of ten women and children sat crowded together in the boat. There were also a dozen wooden boxes piled neatly on the narrow deck.
The defenders looked at each other in confusion, wondering what kind of drama the Southern Dynasty Sikong Mansion was trying to play with them.
Although the water outside the city was two to three feet deep and could not be drained, in order to ensure the mobilization of troops and horses as much as possible, Yue Hailou still ordered his strong men to build several causeways in the city connecting the government hall, granary and the four cities;
As the flooding deepened, the causeway was gradually raised to ensure that it would not be submerged by the accumulated water.
Yue Hailou and Gao Xiangzhong also had to report and rush to the South City Gate Tower at this time.
But when he saw clearly the women and children on the three boats parked dozens of steps away, Yue Hailou's face suddenly became so gloomy that he could squeeze out water, and his heart couldn't help but feel a dull pain. His triangular old eyes were like poisonous snakes, staring at the station with his head raised.
The military official on the bow shouted in a sharp voice:
"Fair and peaceful
Duke Liang can replace the Zhao family at any time, but he still resorts to this despicable method of threatening women and children?"
The first northern expedition to Yan was defeated. Yue Hailou wanted to assassinate Ge Boyi to frame Xu Huai for colluding with the Khitan, but he did not want Xu Huai to use his plan to defeat Yue Hailou's assassination plot. At that time, Cai Qing and Cai Yuanyou ruthlessly attacked Yue Hai.
Yue Hailou abandoned him, and Yue Hailou was accused of collaborating with the enemy, causing his entire family to be beheaded.
Until the establishment of the general administration of the military and horse capital, Yue Hailou not only adopted an adopted son from the remaining clan members, but also married three wives and concubines in Wanqiu. Unexpectedly, at the age of over fifty, he gave birth to two more sons and one daughter.
The dozen women and children detained in the three boats were none other than his adopted son Yue Tingyuan, his three wives, concubines, and three children.
"How can you imagine how ambitious the Prime Minister is? Besides, how much blood has been stained on your hands over the years, traitor Yue? How can you accuse others of their deeds?"
The military official laughed loudly and said,
"Today I have specially sent your wife and children here. Firstly, I want you to understand that King Uluru Lie and Brother Tu are nothing more than that. The so-called invincible Red Guard cavalry are as simple as ????????????
???The grass is generally harvested by us, and we can only drink our hatred and flee from the banks of Yingshui River. At this time, Wanqiu, Xuchang, Shenqiu and other cities have returned to Dayue. These women and children are the best proof, so as to save you from Yue thieves.
Say we are deceiving you. Secondly, let me tell you, whether you surrender or not, the Sikong Mansion does not care at all, let alone threaten the women and children. However, since these women and children came from a thieves' family, they have not enjoyed less glory in the past.
Wealth and honor often lord it over the children of the Han people. We sent Jiaopi at this time to let them taste what it is like to be trapped in an isolated city with you. Dai Viet does not kill women and children, but it does not have that much spare food.
Go and raise them! In addition, these wooden boxes contain the heads of Meng Jie, Jiang Zhaode and others. You can take them and enjoy them. If you wait for three days, if you don't surrender after three days, you will suffer any consequences.
It’s your own fault!”
The military officials drove dozens of women and children off the boat, leaving them to step in the filthy flooded water while they waited for Yue Hai Tower to pick them up at the top of the city.
Dozens of wooden boxes were well sealed and were thrown directly into the water, waiting for Yue Hailou to pick them up.
After doing these things, the three small boats floated away with their bamboo poles.
Yue Hailou held on to the wall with both hands, forcing his body to tremble less obviously. Gao Xiangzhong and other generals' faces were pale as they looked at dozens of women and children standing alone in the water outside the city.
, for a moment no one thought of setting up a rope ladder to take them up to the top of the city.
After a while, a primary school student next to him took the initiative and arranged for people to lower the rope ladder to bring Yue Hailou's wife and children up to the tower. At the same time, he fished out the dozens of wooden boxes.
The guards opened the wooden box, but they found the heads of Meng Jie, Jiang Zhaode and others sealed in lime, which was indescribably ferocious.
In the past more than a month, Jiaopi City was completely besieged, and contact with the outside world continued. Fan Zongqi sent letters to the city several times, saying that the Lu troops were defeated, Wanqiu and other cities had fallen, and urged the Jiaopi defenders to surrender, but Yue Hailou insisted that all this was a trick by the Southern soldiers to shake their minds, claiming that as long as they stayed until the end of the autumn, they would have an opportunity to turn defeat into victory.
Gao Xiangzhong and other generals also convinced themselves in the same way, thinking that although Jiaopi was surrounded to the south of Yingshui River, it was less than a hundred miles away from Taihe. As long as the reinforcements from the two provinces arrived, the Southern Dynasty
The soldiers and horses did not dare to guard Ruyin, and the siege of Jiaopi was solved accordingly.
They also thought that Xu Wei, Wen Hengyue and others could defend Taiyuan for a year with their weak troops. Han Shiliang and his troops were besieged twice by Shouchun and persisted. They had 12,000 tiger and wolf troops in their hands. , Jiaopi City has strong walls and thick walls, and there is no shortage of food and fodder, so how can it not be able to defend it for four or five months?
What they saw in front of them completely shattered their delusions.
Quanhe fell, Wanqiu, Xiangcheng, Shenqiu, Taihe, and Xuchang also fell. This also proves that the elite cavalry deployed by the two prefectures also suffered a heavy setback north of Yingshui. Otherwise, the Zhennan Sect would There is no way that the palace could not protect Yue Hailou's wife and children and let them fall into the hands of the Southern soldiers.
The iron cavalry of the two governments that swept across the world without encountering an opponent was defeated by the southern soldiers?
At this moment, Gao Xiangzhong and other generals felt as if their spines had been ripped out, their whole bodies were so weak that they could hardly stand on the top of the city.
"Could it be that Madam and the others just accidentally fell into the hands of the Southern thieves, and it happened that General Meng and the others failed to hold Quanhe? Maybe the situation is not so bad, and the Southern soldiers are still using deception?" There are still people who are fantasizing at this moment???? ????????????All this is a trick by the Southern soldiers to shake their morale, he opened his mouth and asked.
Yue Hailou didn't say a word, and walked towards the city with a somewhat shaky figure.
Dozens of women and children, whose faces were filled with panic, hurriedly bowed to Gao Xiangzhong and other generals. Without caring about getting soaked, they followed Yue Hailou and walked from the flooded earth embankment to the government office compound in the city.
Gao Xiangzhong and other generals were also panicked. They looked at the wooden box containing the heads of Meng Jie and others at the top of the city. They didn't know what to do with it. They didn't say anything and went back to their residences.
After all, the flooding in Jiaopi was not as deep as the Quanhe River. There were still some courtyards in the city that were not submerged by the water. At this time, they were used as granaries and camps for generals and elite guards.
Gao Xiangzhong returned to his residence and got very drunk. He woke up in the middle of the night and heard the guard report that the Nan soldiers had opened the culvert of the long wall. The water outside the city had begun to recede little by little at dusk. The Nan soldiers were probably going to die in the next two days. They will start organizing troops to attack Jiaopi.
Gao Xiangzhong, who felt that he was at the end of his rope, was very drunk. Such news could no longer wake him up from his drunkenness. He sent the guard away rudely, picked up the wine jar and drank another gulp of wine.
At dawn, listening to the noise in the yard, Gao Xiangzhong called the guards and yelled: "At worst, the city will fall, and the southern soldiers will come to take my head, why are you so panicked? If you are greedy for life and afraid of death, take my head and surrender!"
"Shuai Yue moved hundreds of bags of dry grain into his mansion last night. Others don't know what Marshal Yue means, but they don't expect that Marshal Yue set fire to himself early in the morning!" the guard shouted in panic.
"Ah!" Gao Xiangzhong shuddered and was stunned for a long time. He didn't even bother to put on his boots and ran barefoot to Yue Hailou's residence. However, he saw that Du Shuailou, who had only entered the courtyard three times, was already engulfed in a sea of fire.
The guards opened the door and saw Yue Hailou sitting in front of the porch holding a knife. He waved the knife to prevent the guards from breaking into the sea of fire to save him. Around him were the women and children sent by the soldiers yesterday, including Yue Hailou's adopted son Yue Tingyuan.
Including Yue Hailou's young son and daughter who were under ten years old, but at this time, all of them fell in a pool of blood.
Looking closely at Yue Hailou holding a blade with blood flowing backwards, Gao Xiangzhong was dumbfounded. He did not expect that Yue Hailou would eventually kill his wife and children with his own hands and then set himself on fire...
