Although the ground in Ningyuan City was not really dug three feet, it was really turned upside down. Wu Sangui's subordinate Qin Yuzhong led 500 soldiers to cooperate with the Jinyi Guards in the city's search, and Shen Jianghu led the troops to patrol the gates and walls of the city. To prevent assassins from crossing the city.
With such a big fanfare, the assassin seemed to disappear out of thin air in this small Ningyuan City. Even though he was stabbed by Wuzhong, and even though there were traces of traces in the snow outside, he could not be found, not to mention the blood stains, even the footprints. I can't find them. Could it be that he walked in the snow without leaving a trace? It's really hard to imagine in Wuzhong that there is such a weird person. Could it be that he is really a ghost? I couldn't help but shudder at the thought of this.
But the bloodstains on the windowsill showed that the assassin had indeed been stabbed, and ghosts don't leave blood.
Chang Yu was not surprised that the search was fruitless. He had trained Gongziying. Jinyiwei was both good at assassination and proficient in counter-terrorism. However, this assassin could break through these two lines of defense and get into the house without anyone noticing. How can one easily catch the ability to test? There are so many refugees hiding in the city at this time, like searching for needles in the sea, and if they are good at concealment, they might be hiding in someone's house beams. Chang Yu thought of this I subconsciously looked up at the rafters, but of course there was no one there.
Lying on the bed and squinting, sleep gradually came over him, and he fell asleep unconsciously. Outside, Wuzhong was standing with a knife in his hand, his face solemn. The assassin's ability was unpredictable, and the little eunuch's internal strength was even more amazing. He was originally proud of himself. Martial arts seemed so unsurprising at this time.
At dawn, the wind stopped and the snow stopped, Gongziying went out of the city to practice, and the civilians went out to build fortifications. Not long after, Ningyuan's army left the city again and went straight to the Xishan Point General's stage. They started practicing formations a hundred meters away from Gongziying, not afraid of the severe cold. , not afraid of snow.
Chang Yu got up and washed up. He had been stabbed several times last night, but the wounds were not too deep. Although they did not heal overnight, the bleeding stopped and the pain did not affect his walking.
Pushing open the door, he saw the snow in the courtyard was as deep as his calves, and there was a vast expanse of white everywhere. He couldn't help but look happy. Although this snowstorm brought inconvenience to the march of reinforcements and the transportation of food and grass, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. The Qing army The march will inevitably be hindered!
The food was light, and the young eunuch ate it carefully. Xiao Ran hurriedly came to report that blood was found on the plywood on the top floor of the bell tower, and he suspected it was left by an assassin.
The Bell Tower is in the middle of the small town of Ningyuan. It is also the tallest building in the city. There are watchmen inside. The assassin can assassinate the young eunuch in the heavily guarded governor's mansion. It is not difficult to sneak into the bell tower.
At this time, the city gates were already wide open, so the assassin must have followed the civilians out of the city. It is even possible that a sweaty refugee digging a trench outside the city at this time is the assassin's true identity.
After dinner, Chang Yu went up to the city for inspection and looked at the sky. The mountains, forests and fields were all white. Civilians in the north and east of the city were working hard to dig ditches. Another group of people broke the ice from the moat to get water to pour the city wall. In the west of the city, tens of thousands of troops were practicing formations at the foot of the west mountain. The sound of shouts and shouts could be heard faintly, and the hearts of those who heard it were surging.
Half an hour later, Gongzi Camp completed the drill and returned to the city to rest in the camp. Fan Jiaqian said that Wu Sangui was training in person at the foot of the Western Mountain, but he approached Gongzi Camp several times to observe.
Chang Yu chuckled and said nothing. The daily training in Gongzi camp was actually archery, horseback riding, long-distance running, military boxing and sword training. There were no tricks, not even formation drills. They were all basic training of physical fitness and skills. I want to see it. Just watch.
There are several fast horses coming from the south of the city. Something big happened at Shanhaiguan!
The commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, Gao Di, supported his own troops and rebelled. Just when Tang Tong's troops were crossing the pass, Gao Di caught him by surprise and attacked him unprepared. Tang Tong was defeated and fled outside the pass.
The little eunuch looked solemn and asked how many troops Tang Tong had fled. After repeated confirmation, he learned that it was more than ten thousand, so he waved away the messenger and turned around with a smile. "Yu Wan", it seems that Gao Di's three thousand cavalry were with Tang Tong.
All came together.
Wu Sangui came after hearing the news, and they discussed secretly in the room.
The show was about to begin, with Gao Di taking the lead in the first scene. The excitement was huge and the influence was extremely wide. Everyone within a radius of dozens of miles knew that he and Tang Tong were fighting at the pass.
Just like fishing, the nest has been laid, and all we have to do is wait for the capital to throw out the bait and release the news, and then wait for Dorgon to take the bait. The most urgent thing now is to prepare for war!
Tang Tong's troops are close to Suizhong and will reach Ningyuan before dark tomorrow at the latest. With more than ten thousand troops and horses, Ningyuan City will be instantly congested.
The two discussed secretly for a long time, and finally decided that the Gongzi camp would go into the mountains first to hide, leaving the barracks free for Tang Tong's troops to move in. As for how to arrange the troops later, they would discuss it later.
On a whim, Wu Sangui said that after observing the Gongzi camp's training and seeing its proficiency with bows and horses, he became interested in competing. He proposed organizing a military exercise in the afternoon, with 300 people from each side competing.
Chang Yu flatly refused. The reason was simple. Even in military exercises, there would be injuries. The battle was imminent and he should use all his strength to defend against the enemy. Wu Sangui had no choice but to give up, but he speculated in his heart that the young eunuch must have a guilty conscience. After all, Ning Yuan's army was defeated by Gong Ziying in terms of fists and kicks.
However, although Ningyuan's army is in name only when it comes to riding bows and horses, the skinny camels are still bigger than horses after all.
But he didn't know that the reason for Chang Yu's refusal was not only that he didn't want his subordinates to be injured during the current war, but also that he actually wanted to save more face for Wu Sangui.
Since Gongziying left Beijing for the first time, the training of archery, horse riding, and archery has never stopped. During the period in Taiyuan, there were various confrontation drills. Zhou Yuji's men and horses, Tengxiang Guards, Jinwu Guards, and even the Jin Palace
All the servants have fought against him!
Although actual combat may not be as good as Ning Yuan's army, in confrontation drills, Ning Yuan's army can only beat Ning Yuan's army and call him daddy. After all, Ning Yuan's army has not fought in more than two years, and has even conducted daily drills a few times.
It was already noon, and meals were being prepared at the General Military Mansion. Chang Yu suddenly remembered another thing that Xiao Ran wanted to report to him in the morning. Seventy-eight refugees froze to death in the city overnight, so he mentioned it to Wu Sangui, hoping that he would do his best.
placement.
Wu Sangui did not take it seriously. At this time, the military situation was urgent. How could the officers and soldiers resettle these refugees now that they could not resettle them? How could they care about these refugees? Thousands of people died in the war. He was not bothered by the death of a few refugees. He secretly said to the little eunuch.
It's hypocritical, but it's true on the lips.
Seeing his expression, Chang Yu knew that Wu Sangui would not take this kind of thing to heart at all. He also knew that the current situation was critical and it was difficult to take care of other things. He couldn't help but sigh, in a troubled world, human life is like a piece of grass.
After noon, Gongziying left the city lightly. Except for Li Tiezhu who led fifty eunuch troops who stayed behind to take charge of Chang Yu's security, the rest of them, together with their servants, went into the mountain, delivered the silver cart to the General Military Mansion, and rushed to the west mountain with only a little food and grass.
The Gongzi camp went into the mountains to hide in advance. Eliminating traces could catch the Qing army by surprise at critical moments. Moreover, some fortifications could be built in the mountains before the Qing army arrived to deal with unexpected events.
On the west gate city, Chang Yu watched the Gongzi Camp enter the mountain. Everywhere he looked, it was covered with white snow. Only at the west point of the due north trench was the muddy black soil. If another snowfall covered up this trace, it would be really terrible.
Perfect.
But no, Wu Sangui said and looked up at the sky. Suddenly he screamed and snowflakes started to fall in the sky again!
"God is really helping me." Chang Yu was overjoyed and turned to ask Wu Sangui: "Did it snow before at this time in Border Pass?"
Wu Sangui nodded. It would snow at the border at the end of September according to the lunar calendar. It would not be surprising to have snowstorms closing the mountains in March or April after the Chinese New Year. It’s just that it’s really rare for the snow to stop falling for several days in a row. (To be continued)