"Meng Jian, you coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death! I will chop you alive!" Cao Shili's eyes were about to burst, and he picked up Meng Jian like a chicken, wishing to tear him in half.
"That's enough!" Cao Shixiong suppressed the overwhelming hatred in his heart and gritted his teeth. He patted the table and asked Cao Shili to put Meng Jian down.
"It was my incompetence that prevented the Tongbaishan bandits from attacking the city, nor did I lead people to the government office in time to rescue the old lady and the others. Meng Jian really deserves death. The second general wanted to kill Meng Jian, but Meng Jian did not dare to do anything.
Complaints, Meng Jian indeed deserves to die, but even if Meng Jian dies, he still has to advise the commander: The Tongbai Mountain bandits kidnapped the three young masters into Guanjuan Mountain, but in fact they are just bait, to lure the commander to rush to rescue them. The commander must not
Fooled!" Meng Jian cried as he lay on the ground.
"You bitch, how dare you talk nonsense!" Cao Shili raised his foot and kicked Meng Jian.
Meng Jian's hands were weak and he was too thin. Cao Shili kicked his right arm hard, and his whole body flew sideways for more than a foot. He hit hard against a thick pillar and fell to the ground.
, I felt that all the bones in my body were going to be broken into pieces, my chest was so tight that I couldn't breathe out, and my voice was hoarse and I couldn't say a word. I just struggled hard and continued to kneel on the ground.
The mountains were covered with heavy snow. When Cao Shixiong and Cao Shili learned about the attack on Kelan City in the west of Guangwu, they almost fainted. However, it was already past midnight and more than two hours had passed since Kelan was breached.
They immediately followed General Meng Pingping and led their troops to retreat to Langu County and Yangkou Village. The two brothers gathered their only more than 800 cavalry and galloped back to Kelan without stopping. It was already late at night.
At this time, Xu Huai and others were covering over a thousand Lanzhou officials and their families, and they had already fled into the mountains in the southern section of Guanlui Mountain. There were tens of thousands of people in the city who took the opportunity to escape from the city, and fled to the surrounding mountains and Loufan County.
Go and escape the war.
Although Xu Huai also hoped to guide more people to flee to Fuzhou and Linzhou first, he did not have the ability to take care of too many things, nor did he have time to fully mobilize and organize. He could only open the city gates and let the households in the city escape at will.
Among the people rescued from the state prison, many people were unwilling to leave far away. They had a lucky idea and thought of escaping to Loufan or Taiyuan first.
Xu Huai didn't have time to argue with these people. Forcing these people on the road would only be a burden.
He was completely obedient to these people, Xu Huai, and allowed them to escape from Nancheng and Dongcheng; he would not bear the tragic fate of everyone destined to be hard on himself. He could not afford to carry so many, so heavy
.
Cao Shixiong, Cao Shixiong led the cavalry back, killing hundreds of horses along the way. I don't know how many soldiers were thrown because the road was frozen and slippery, their horses lost their front hooves, and their noses were bruised and their eyes were swollen.
However, when they returned to Kelan City, among the prefectural government offices, only the bodies of their mother, Chen Cao, and Cao Shili's wife, An Cao, were placed in the garden of the back house.
There is a verdict that the godson and husband have neglected their duties and are guilty of death.
When Cao Shixiong and Cao Shili saw the verdict written on the corpse, their hearts and lungs almost exploded with anger.
However, Cao Xuanwen, Cao Xuanwu, and Cao Xuanxing, many female relatives, and Cao Shixiong's infant grandson were nowhere to be seen.
Meng Jian made a rough calculation of the casualties in the city. A total of more than 900 people were killed in the attack. Sixty percent of the soldiers and armed servants accounted for it. About 300 people were accompanied by Cao's brother.
When the two brothers surrendered to Shuozhou in the south and surrendered to the enemy, more than 60 of their sons who were captured by the rebel generals who failed to evacuate to the military camp in time were directly executed in the name of the Lanzhou Siliyuan.
The Qing Shun Army moved to the south and participated in the first northern expedition against Yan. It can be said that their vitality was severely damaged. But this time the injury occurred when they had an absolute advantage in Lanzhou. Cao Shixiong was so filled with hatred that he wanted to destroy everything in front of him.
Only by tearing them all apart can the overwhelming hatred in my chest be relieved.
But can he say that Meng Jian did something wrong?
If Meng Jian hadn't stopped him in time, Cao Cheng would have been carried away by the fire of hatred, and he might have put all the last guards in the city into the alleys, causing the Qing Shun army's generals and their families to be stewed in a pot, and they were all reduced to nothing.
Prisoners of Tongbai Mountain soldiers.
Then how will they attack Xishan next?
But can we say that Cao Cheng did something wrong?
For any seventeen-year-old boy, standing in Cao Cheng's position and not blinded by anger and hatred at that time, it can be said to be cowardly.
After all, the people in Tongbai Mountain are too cruel.
No matter how stupid Cao Shixiong was, he knew that Xu Huai did not execute Xuan Wen and the three of them, but abducted them without bothering them. His intention should be to lure them to rush to Guan Laishan, but he could think clearly about the hatred in his heart.
, the anger, but there is no way to extinguish it!
"Commander Commander, we have found out the whereabouts of the young master!" An old man ran out crawling and rolling to report.
"Where is Yi'er? Wasn't he kidnapped by that thief Xu Huai? Who rescued him? Tell me quickly, whoever can save Yi'er will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold!" Cao Shixiong asked in a trembling voice.
Xuan Wen, Xuan Wu, and Xuan Xing fell into the hands of Xu Huai. If they couldn't be rescued in time, they were destined to die. The child was the last surviving member of his Cao family. Isn't he nervous if he could handle it?
"When the young lady was kidnapped, someone saw that the young lady was not carrying the young master in her arms," the old man said. "So I went to ask all the slaves who were captured in the house and found out that when the young lady was holding the young master and was being interrogated, there were
A maid happened to hear the thief Xu Huai threaten the young master, saying that he would be executed together with the young master. The young lady begged hard, and the thief Xu Huai agreed to find an ordinary family in the city and send the young master up for adoption.
But which family it is, and whether it has escaped from the city with other refugees before, the maid does not know..."
There were many people in the hall who were still surviving the disaster. When they heard the old man's words, they couldn't help but take a breath. They thought that there was a panic everywhere now. If this family carried the young master out of the city and fled, what would happen directly?
What difference does it make if you kill him?
Cao Shixiong was so angry that he fainted and screamed: "Xu Huai is a thief, you bullied me too much!"
…………
…………
In the morning light, several fast horses galloped through the snow in the gentle slopes and valleys of the southern section of Guanjuan Mountain.
Xu Huai was wrapped in a felt blanket and slept on a dry mountain cliff. He woke up listening to the sound of horse hoofbeats and opened his eyes to see Xu Xin leading several people galloping back. He lifted up the felt blanket, stood up and moved his hands and feet a few times before facing the people who were tied up.
The three brothers Cao Xuanwen, Cao Xuanwu and Cao Xuanying who were thrown aside gave each of them a kick to see if the ropes on their bodies were loose.
"After Cao Shixiong and Cao Shili led more than 800 cavalry back to Kelan City, they dispersed their troops everywhere to search for the Cao family's young grandson. They did not dare to send troops to unscrupulously chase and kill the people who fled to Loufan and Taiyuan!"
Xu Xin dismounted and reported.
Three hundred men riding
Almost everyone in the team is responsible for extremely heavy combat tasks and has no rest for days. Each team takes turns to perform the scouting work. The three hundred horsemen around Xu Huai are all the best among the best. Any team can do it.
Independently undertake scouting and reconnaissance missions.
As a descendant of the Xu family, Xu Xin did not get any preferential treatment. Last night, he led his troops to lurk outside Kelan City all night, keeping an eye on Cao Shixiong. Only by keeping an eye on the movements of the rebels, could they
Know what to do next.
Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui came over dragging their tired bodies.
Their status and status are different from ordinary officials, and Xu Huai leads them forward and retreat together.
The two of them were usually pampered and pampered. At this time, there was no one around to take care of them, and they were worried about the safety of the family. They didn't sleep well all night. At this time, they heard Xu Xin talk about Cao Shixiong and Cao Shili, who rushed to rescue Kelan. They were really surprised by the whereabouts of a young child.
The people who were fleeing in the direction of Taiyuan breathed a real sigh of relief as they were unable to send troops to chase after them, nor did they dare to send people to massacre people heading towards Loufan.
Calculating this, more than a thousand families fled to Linzhou, and the time in Fuzhou was barely enough.
The terrain of Guanchuan Mountain is not too dangerous. During the Tang and Han Dynasties, the grassland on this mountain was used to breed military horses on a large scale. This made it easier for families to flee westward over the mountains. However, if Cao Shixiong and Cao Shili led their cavalry to pursue them into Guanchuan Mountain overnight,
The three hundred cavalry around Xu Huai alone were unable to kill and intercept all the pursuers.
At that time, as long as an enemy cavalry catches up with the family team, the casualties will be unpredictable.
It was impossible for Xu Huai to disperse the three hundred most precious cavalry around him to personally protect the huge team of family members. He was even mentally prepared for the team of family members to be overtaken and slaughtered by enemy soldiers.
The young children of Wang Gaoxing, Qian Zerui and others, surrounded by servants and boys, also walked with the family members.
"Yi'er is still an infant, just a toddler. You are cruel and ruthless, taking advantage of the baby, regardless of his life or death. Doesn't your heart hurt?" Cao Xuanwen spat out the rag in his mouth and cursed ferociously.
Wang Gaoxing and Qian Zerui usually talked about the teachings of saints, but Cao Xuanwen scolded them until they were speechless.
"You, the Cao family, rebelled against the Red Husbands and let your soldiers plunder Kelan City. Thousands of people were killed or injured in the city in two days. Among them were countless babies who were crying for feeding. Have you ever felt sad?"
Xu Huai stepped on Cao Xuanwen's face with his muddy leather boots, spat into his eye sockets, and cursed,
"You have the **** shame to scold me, so I'll just tell you about it and make you understand before you die. The couple I sent the Cao family's baby to are honest and kind, have had no children for many years, and their family is well off.
If the world is peaceful, the children of the Cao family will be treated well. Even if they escape from Kelan City, they will try their best to protect the children. But if they die in a war, have you, my grandson, ever thought about who caused this war?
, have you ever thought that your Cao family has the responsibility to protect the people of Lanzhou? You may call my plan ruthless, but I am also using the Cao family's sword to kill the son of the Cao family. I have never been afraid of ruthlessness.
This tactic was also used to call Cao Shixiong. When Cao Shili and the two old men were used as dogs for the Red Husbands, and they killed without fear, they would think for a moment that the women and children who died under their butcher knives might be the Cao family.
