Chapter 207 Scene 28: The Red Armor Starts a Prairie Fire - Part 1
In the second year of Zhaoxi, it was May 29th.
A heavy rain in the early morning quickly drove away the sultry heat of early summer. The rain showed no sign of weakening, but became heavier and heavier. The big raindrops reflected the gray-white sunlight shining through the dark clouds.
A thick rain curtain was woven in front of people's eyes, and nothing could be seen fifty steps away.
Changzhou is bordered by a plateau to the north, with many high mountains in the southeast, and the climate is cool. The two high mountains, Tongyan and Qingying, block most of the warm water vapor from the south, causing the summer time to be delayed by at least half a month every year. Nowadays,
After the cold rain, the temperature in the mountains dropped sharply, as if it had returned to the chilly early spring overnight.
In Suoyang Pass, which is located between two high mountains, most of the defenders hid in their warm barracks and tents. The remaining more than a hundred soldiers on guard duty were either crowded under the raised eaves at the top of the city, or
Standing short behind the thick and towering parapet, they all raised their shields above their heads to prevent the pouring cold rain from pouring into their bodies through the gaps in their armors.
Soon, the captain who led the army ordered a pile of bonfires to be lit on the top of the city. A large group of soldiers quickly gathered around the fire. It seemed that at the moment, everyone among them was unrealistically trying to save the soldiers who had been destroyed by the heavy rain.
Dry the soaked armor to slightly relieve the cold that has penetrated your bones.
Guard Zhu Yan, who had just gotten up from the couch, opened the window next to him through a narrow crack. He only glanced at the crowd of people gathered on the top of the city, and then quickly closed the window again:
"Tell the brothers to withdraw first. The weather has suddenly become so cold. Don't freeze your body and lose your combat power in vain."
"General Zhu doesn't plan to send people to guard the city anymore? But if an enemy army takes the opportunity to invade at this time-"
The general standing next to him was a little worried, wondering if the other party just said that. Unexpectedly, Zhu Run shook his head, and his words were full of affirmation: "Isn't it the king's land in the whole world! Now where our brothers are?"
This place can be said to be the most stable place for Da Sheng Chao. If we can encounter enemy soldiers even here, then Da Sheng Chao's strength will be exhausted."
"General Zhu is busy with affairs on weekdays. I'm afraid I haven't heard yet that the group of envoys sent by Yu Jing to Wei Liang have been killed by the daring Lu Qiu Borong!"
"This matter is so important, why didn't you report it to me immediately? That Luqiu is also a member of the royal family, and now he has committed such a treasonous act. Isn't it obvious that he is treasonous?"
Zhu Rong has been stationed at Suoyang Pass all year round, and he has long been tired. Previously, he captured Ning Yue alive and gave it to Gao Li to thank him, and returned with a lot of silver rewards for himself and his subordinates. It was not until yesterday that he returned from Dannan Province.
, fell back and fell asleep. Now that he heard what the deputy general said, he immediately opened the window in front of him, but his expression had already changed.
The bonfire on the top of the city was doused by rain, and billowing black smoke rose up. However, it took hold at Cynomorium Pass and refused to disperse easily, making the field of vision increasingly hazy. The soldiers gathered around the bonfire.
But they still performed their duties faithfully. From time to time, a dozen people would leave spontaneously and patrol around the city wall, which was more than ten miles long.
"Then - let's do this for now."
Zhu Run shook his head and kept quiet about the withdrawal. Originally, he had complained about the closure because he could no longer freely go south to feed the people, but he had not yet had time to write a letter to Gao Li. Now, although he felt that
Some people are not sure what Wei Liang wants, but they still don’t believe that the Luqiu family will really launch an army to rebel. Moreover, a batch of new weapons were just distributed in the customs not long ago, and there are enough soldiers to guard them. Even if there is any accident, it will not be a big deal to the superiors.
There can be an explanation.
However, before he finished speaking, he heard a burst of noise coming from the top of the city. When he turned around to look, he saw that the sergeants who had previously gathered in groups around the bonfire had all stood up and were facing the dark gray
They pointed their middle fingers in the rain curtain and whispered to each other.
Soon, more and more sergeants became restless and even lit the lights and beat the war drums, actually issuing a warning to their colleagues in the pass. Only then did Zhu Rong finally realize that things had become serious.
It became difficult. And the vague shouts and shouts from the top of the city, which came from the wind and rain, gradually connected into one sentence intermittently in his ears:
"It's the Wei Liang Army! Wei Liang's Guan Ning soldiers have arrived at the city!"
Zhu Run never expected that he had only been away for less than half a month, and when he woke up, it seemed that the world had changed after so many years. This caused cold sweat to break out on his forehead and back in an instant, and even more so.
Changing from his previous laziness, he grabbed the armor on the shelf and hurried into the storm outside.
At the same time, Wei Liang's army marching north from Hongzhu had already formed a formation below Suoyang Pass. Tens of thousands of Guan Ning soldiers in silver armor and helmets stood silently under the torrential rain, as if they were in the mountains.
The room is covered with an airtight iron plate, boundless.
The armors on the soldiers reflected dim light, but it was more dazzling than the gloomy sky. In the central army formation, on a banner several feet high, a golden coat of arms was painted in the wind.
There is a small flag on each side with the word Luqiu written on it, which is as big as a silver basin.
The defenders in the pass never imagined that the Guan Ning soldiers in front of them, who were armed to the teeth, were actually led by Lu Qiu Borong, the lord of Wei Liang Kingdom. Under the flag, there was a chariot drawn by eight strong white horses.
The female monarch in military uniform tied her long hair behind her head, her eyes were bright and she was full of heroic spirit.
"Your Majesty, the swords and arrows in front of the battle have no eyes. It is better for me to negotiate on your behalf——"
Fu Zaiyin, who was sitting on the carriage with him, bowed respectfully, and then got up and walked towards the carriage beside the carriage. At this time, he still had a neat short beard and a silk scarf on his head, looking like a civil servant.
Dress up. However, the silk folding fan embroidered with "Splendid Mountains" in his hand was replaced by a painting pole that is more than nine feet long.
On the stem made of ebony, there is a complicated cloud pattern wrapped with sterling silver inlay. There is also a horned dragon spiraling out of the cloud pattern. Four strong dragon claws extend the head of the stem which is nearly two feet long.
Securely attached to the top of the long pole.
Luqiu Borong, however, reached out and held the general in his hand, his tone firm and decisive:
"No need. No matter who one of you or I goes, it is just to completely dispel the doubts in the minds of the tens of thousands of soldiers here. If I go there in person, no matter what happens, it will only make them more loyal and unhesitating!"
Fu Zaiyin stared at the other party for a long time. What he saw in his eyes at this moment was no longer a weak woman, but a contemporary hero who could be compared with the previous heroes of the Luqiu family and could look down upon all the heroes in the world!
"Got the order!"
The general no longer tried to dissuade him, but instead raised his long sword in his hand and pointed directly at the Suoyang Pass city wall in front of the military formation, where only a silhouette could be vaguely seen behind the rain curtain, swaying with dots of firelight.
On the high platform behind the military formation, the war drums beat rhythmically again. The well-trained soldiers of Guan Ning dispersed to both sides, leaving a passage several feet wide for the carriage. Fu Zaiyin took over from the sergeant.
He shook the horse's reins vigorously and drove the king straight to the bottom of the city tower.
Under the command of Zhu Run, the three thousand defenders in Suoyang Pass had already formed three rows on top of the city in order to take turns to defend the enemy. The defenders saw that the troops were neatly arranged and arranged in an orderly manner, which was even more unusual. If he dared to be negligent, he stood on the top of the city and shouted loudly at the approaching Chengyu:
"You guys, don't come any closer! Otherwise, shoot and kill!"
"I am Lu Qiu Borong, the lord of the Wei Liang Kingdom! Now I have learned that the traitor in the capital is in power and the imperial power is at stake. As a blood relative of the Baijiang clan, the Lu Qiu clan has no reason to sit back and watch. Therefore, I killed the envoy and led my troops north to ask Gao Gao to be executed. Thief, I will keep you on my side!"
Zhu Rong was not moved at all:
"I think Wei Lianggong is not coming to Qingjun's side this time, but to Qingjun! Guan Ning's soldiers are famous all over the world for their combat prowess. Now that they have come out in full force just to get rid of one person, it would be too much fuss! If the Japanese generals let you wait for it today, , he is the eternal sinner of the Great Sheng Dynasty!"
"If you don't let me pass today, you will be the real sinner of the ages! You are all the pillars of the Great Ascension. Can't you see that the Bai Jiang family's power has long been emptied out? Today's Great Ascension is no longer what you have in mind. The great promotion you have been thinking about is coming! You don’t even know who you are fighting for, so don’t listen to slanderous lies and miss important events!”
Luqiu Borong raised his voice and wanted to persuade the other party to submit. Unexpectedly, there was no answer from the top of the city. Instead, there was a shout of orders, followed by the sound of bowstrings!
Fu Zaiyin had quick eyes and quick hands. He immediately threw away the reins of the horse in his hand, turned around and picked up a huge shield that was as high as half a man in the hand of a guard infantry on the chariot, and placed it in front of Lu Qiu Bo Rong.
In the blink of an eye, an arrow flying from the sky hit the shield with a clanging sound. At the same time, Zhu Ruan shouted with all his strength from the top of the city again:
"If we had listened to your deception today, we would have really missed a big deal! Who should we fight for? We don't need you rebels from the Luqiu family to worry about it for us!"
After he finished speaking, he shouted another order. However, this time it was not the sound of a bow, but a burst of dazzling firelight that erupted from the top of the city. It created a slender light that was several miles long at Suoyang Pass. It is accompanied by a pungent smell that is clearly discernible even in the wind and rain, and a muffled sound like rolling thunder.
In the darkness, I could only hear a few clicks, and I didn't know what kind of flying stone and iron arrow the opponent shot. It was several times faster than before, and it hit the giant shield in Fu Zaiyin's hand hard. This time, it was as thick as an inch. Xu's giant shield failed to block it, and a hole the size of a bowl suddenly burst out.
What's even more weird is that the thing that shot through the giant shield didn't stop, but went straight through the hole, and then penetrated Luqiu Borong's mask on one side, severely injuring her left shoulder.
"Escort, escort!"
Fu Zaiyin did not expect that the opponent would have such a sharp weapon in his hand. He immediately pulled the reins of the horse in his hand, took up his chariot and tried to turn back to the formation. However, as soon as he turned around, he saw that the weapon used by the opponent was far more powerful than Imagine that a single salvo actually hit the vanguard of the soldiers behind him who were far beyond the range of ordinary bows and crossbows!
It was difficult for the chariot to turn around. When it slowly turned around, a rush of drumbeats sounded again in the Chinese army's formation. In the blink of an eye, several groups of soldiers came out to meet them. However, suddenly they heard another volley from behind, which actually directly hit the horses pulling the cart. At the scene of the shooting, even the body and skirt made of solid beech wood were punctured, making it impossible to move forward.
Even the thick iron armor worn by Guan Ning's soldiers was as easy to penetrate as soft tofu in front of the weapon. As a last resort, countless soldiers could only build a human shield with their flesh and blood. Under their cover, Fu Zaiyin just then
Protecting Lu Qiu Borong, he hurriedly escaped from the enemy's firing range and returned to the Chinese army's tent.
As soon as he entered the tent, the general, who was covered in blood, immediately ordered dozens of candles to be lit on both sides, illuminating the surrounding area. Then he gently put down the king in his arms, and started to relieve himself.
The armor he was wearing.
Lu Qiu Borong felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder. He could not move at all, let alone say a word. He had no choice but to let the other party manipulate him, while his eyes kept looking at the soldiers standing around him.
The general with a short beard seemed to be able to read the thoughts of the female princess. He immediately ordered all the people to leave, leaving only a few experienced palace maids. After he took off the shawl from the other party's shoulders, he untied it.
From behind the covered clothes, he took out a sharp dagger and burned it in the candlelight until it turned red.
Fu Zaiyin signaled Luqiu Borong not to move with his eyes, and just stuffed a roll of thick cloth into her mouth. He held his breath and concentrated, raised the knife and stabbed at the rather terrifying blood hole on his shoulder, but it didn't work.
Without the slightest hesitation.
With a shrill groan, the thing that injured the female monarch was finally lifted out from under her flesh. The general could see clearly this time that the shots fired from the top of the city were actually quail eggs.
Big and small, a round black iron pill!
"It seems that Gao Li has already prepared a stubborn resistance. And his strength is by no means as simple as you and I had estimated before!"
Lu Qiu Borong's head was covered with sweat, but the injury was no longer as painful as before. He stood up on the spot, but the expression on his face was extremely solemn.
"For the present plan, we should temporarily order the entire army to retreat five miles and use rocks and tamped earth as a defense. Don't be careless."
Fu Zaiyin threw the dagger aside, took the white handkerchief handed by the maid, and wiped off the blood on his hands. The female princess hesitated, and then asked:
"It's just that I don't know what kind of weapon that is on top of the city, and what's the way to crack it."
"What I saw today is that although this thing has a long range, it needs to be prepared after several rounds of volleys. It will not be possible to fight again for a certain period of time. Otherwise, no matter how many soldiers come to rescue, the two of us will never be able to
He may come back alive... Therefore, I also ask the Lord to send five hundred elite soldiers to my subordinates. You can wait here with peace of mind. Zai Yin may be able to break through Suoyang Pass!"
The general opposite pondered for a moment, and suddenly thought of something, but did not directly answer the king's question.
Lu Qiu Borong immediately wanted to persuade her not to take risks. However, when the words came to her lips, she could not say them out - she really knew her right-hand man very well. If she was not sure of it, the other party would not even ask her.
Any request would be fulfilled. In this case, she could only choose to trust the other party at the moment, and repeatedly told him to be careful.
The starting point is not the first release, and all copies are free.
Thank you for liking my work. For more exciting works, please follow the author’s WX public account with the same name to support it.