Before dawn, blacksmith Zhao Yongshi had already arrived at the workshop and started making spearheads.
The fight lasted until noon, and Zhao Yongshi had already shot seven spearheads.
After working in the workshop for more than a month, Zhao Yongshi's craftsmanship became better and better, and he earned more and more. He made more than 300 yuan a day. Together, he made almost 10 taels of silver.
At lunch time, Scar Hundred Man served a bowl of broth, and there was a large piece of fat in the soup.
When the steamed buns were enough, everyone started eating and drinking. A blacksmith whispered: "I don't know how many more days we can make a living. I heard that the war in the north is almost over."
Another craftsman said: "It's time to finish, it's almost the Chinese New Year."
When Zhao Yongshi heard this, he felt bad.
He had saved enough money to build a workshop, but Zhao Yongshi wanted to save two more to send his son to a workshop.
Even if you have your own workshop, you can't make money as fast as here.
Even if I can work for another ten days and a half, my child will still be able to save enough money.
How come this battle is over so quickly?
He came close to Scar Hundred Man and asked in a low voice: "If the war is over, will there be any other livelihood in the future?"
Scar Baifu smiled and said: "Why do you want to go so far? This battle will take a long time."
"Didn't they say the fight is almost over?"
"Listening to their nonsense, they know very well that this battle may last for some time."
What year?
Zhao Yongshi blinked: "Isn't it like the Chinese New Year?"
Scar Baifu sighed and said, "Mao Sha is serious about it this time. He doesn't care whether you celebrate the New Year or not."
"What do you mean by seriousness?" Zhao Yongshi didn't quite understand.
"We want you to fight to the death. The news from the Ministry of War Yamen is that Mao Sha will fight all the way to Shenlin City. He will not stop when he reaches Shenlin City, and even threatens to penetrate Qiancheng Kingdom."
Zhao Yongshi swallowed his saliva and asked carefully: "Even if Mao Sha comes to fight, it will be replaced by a divine king, right?"
Scar Baifu shook his head and said: "I don't know about others. If Mao Sha comes, he won't be replaced by another god.
I fought with them in the north. We were not very good at fighting. In one fight, we could lose several villages at least. If we made a little more noise, we could lose a county.
If this place is taken over by Maosha, the people will have to change their species. The men will be taken to do hard labor, and they will die of exhaustion in less than two months.
No matter how old a woman is, in their hands, they will all be destroyed in less than a month.
You are too stubborn to die. When autumn comes, they will all be chopped down. In short, they will take the land and not even a single person will be left alive for you."
The more Zhao Yongshi listened, the more frightened he became: "Then why don't we have a good fight with Mao Sha?"
"What does it mean not to fight well? The scars on my face are from when I fought hard with Tu Nu, and I hate that my hands are useless. As long as I have a good knife, I can pick off a hair and cut the head back."
Zhao Yongshi was surprised and said: "You don't even have a sword to fight?"
Scar Baifu smiled and said: "I do have knives, a short knife two feet long. It was rusty from the moment it came to my hand. I didn't dare to sharpen it for fear of breaking the knife."
As a result, no matter how careful, no one was killed on the battlefield, the sword still broke.
I also had a spear, and after stabbing it twice, the spearhead fell off. Finally, I used a spear pole to fight with Maosha, but I didn’t give in!"
Zhao Yongshi felt more at ease: "If we make this spearhead strong, we will definitely be able to poke it continuously!"
Scar Hundred Man sighed: "This spearhead is strong, but how many soldiers can use it? We only have dozens of blacksmiths, how many spearheads can we make in a day?"
Zhao Yongshi was stunned for a long time. There were some accounts he couldn't understand: "Then I'll hit the target every day!"
"Yes, we fight every day, but there are tens of thousands of people waiting in front of the array to use it."
"Then how can we fight Mao Sha if we don't have a guy on hand?"
Scar Baifu sighed, stood up and said, "This battle is hard to say..."
After lunch, Zhao Yongshi picked up the hammer and started working.
Hammer after hammer hit the spear head, Zhao Yongshi kept muttering in his heart.
I hit spearheads every day, why don’t I have a spear to use?
If there is no guy, how can I fight Maosha?
Is Wu Zhanxiu still alive?
He hasn't married a wife yet.
…
The war in the north began for more than a month, and a total of three battles were fought.
After three battles, Qiancheng Kingdom was defeated.
In the first battle, the general commanded improperly. The two armies started fighting. Before they could gain a firm foothold, they beat drums and charged. The infantry directly ran into Tunu's cavalry. The cavalry charged and the infantry was in chaos. The cavalry took advantage of the situation and killed people.
The 10,000 forward troops were completely destroyed.
In the second battle, the formation was formed and the cavalry attack was blocked. Just a moment after the battle, the left wing army suddenly fled in large numbers. The entire front collapsed, and more than 20,000 people were killed.
After asking about it later, I learned that the left-wing troops were civilians who were forcibly recruited. They were not paid a penny and were forced to go to the battlefield. These people did not want to fight, so they collapsed at the first touch.
All the military pay has been allocated, but where has the money gone?
The explanation given by the Minister of War, Zuo Shilang, was that he kept it at home and kept it temporarily for the sergeants, and then distributed it after the war was over.
Hong Zhenji immediately ordered the beheading of the left minister of the Ministry of War, and his head was hung in front of the camp for public display.
But it was useless to chop him, Tu Nu came after him in the blink of an eye.
The army retreated again and again, retreating to Qingsong Pass.
Qingsong Pass is an extremely dangerous pass, and Hong Zhenji ordered it to be defended here.
After guarding for two days, just when Tunu was about to advance and attack, Hong Zhenji led his army and abandoned the pass.
This was not Hong Zhenji's fault. Niu Yuxian found dozens of flaws on the city wall. As long as a war started, the city wall would collapse after a round of stone throwing.
Hong Zhenji sent an edict back to Shenlin City, asking the Ministry of Works to find out who built the pass and kill his entire family.
The army retreated all the way back to Heilu City. If Heilu City is lost again, Tu Nu's cavalry will really have to march straight in and fight all the way to Shenlin City.
But can Black Deer City be defended?
Niu Yuxian checked the city wall. There were also injuries on the city wall of Black Deer City. Although it was not a serious injury, if he fought hard with Tu Nu, he wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
Most of the defense facilities on the top of the city were in decay. There were two trebuchets. I pulled them out and tried them. After two rounds of stones, the beams broke.
Hong Zhenji called the prefect of Heilu Prefecture over and beat him up in front of the generals: "Every year, the imperial court asks for money to build the city, but where have you spent the money?"
The prefect was beaten half to death. Hong Zhenji was exhausted and sent the generals away, leaving only Xu Zhiqiong alone.
Hong Zhenji cried, crying at the top of his lungs.
"Xu Zhiqiong, I will listen to you in everything. If you say to be a god king, I will be a god king. If you say to fight, I will fight!
Now tell me how to fight this battle? I have been a divine king for three months, and I am about to become the leader of a subjugated country! Xu Zhiqiong, please tell me clearly!"
Xu Zhiqiong was also helpless. When he was campaigning for the Northern Expedition, Xu Zhiqiong felt that the battle was difficult, but that was because Emperor Zhaoxing was obstructing him, and people in Luzhou were willing to surrender to the enemy, leaving Chu Xin isolated and helpless.
place.
This time the situation was different. Qianchengguo used all their strength. They were only so capable.
Qiancheng Kingdom not only doesn’t know how to fight, it doesn’t even look like one!
The prefect, who had been beaten, did not want to build the city properly, but came to offer a beautiful woman to Hong Zhenji, and was beaten again by Hong Zhenji.
The battle situation seemed irreversible, but Xu Zhiqiong saw some order.
"It's all settled, that's good."
Hong Zhenji said in astonishment: "Reorganize? Tell me where it went? We lost three times in three battles. More than 30,000 soldiers were killed, and more than 20,000 were lost. There are only 50,000 people left. What do you call this rationalization?"
"
Xu Zhiqiong: "There are only more than 50,000 Tunu."
Hong Zhenji said angrily: "They are a serious army and can fight. What kind of soldier am I? I hold a hoe before going into battle!"
At this point, Hong Zhenji lost all hope and sighed: "Retreat. If we retreat any further, we can no longer take Black Deer City."
"We can't retreat," Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said, "defend Black Deer City."
"This city cannot be defended, so stop saying such angry words!"
"I'm not angry, let's sort out the army first. The weapons and equipment are not in good order. From the 50,000 people, we will select 30,000 strong men to go to war first. The remaining 20,000 will be used as hard labor for the time being to repair Black Deer City."
Hong Zhenji seemed to see some hope: "Is it still too late to build the city?"
"There's enough time!"
Xu Zhiqiong called Niu Yuxian.
Qiancheng Kingdom has serious discrimination against craftsmen, and Mohist cultivators are extremely rare.
Xu Zhiqiong asked Niu Yuxian to gather all the Mohist cultivators and work hard to build the city. They must gain a firm foothold in Heilu City and must not let Tu Nu keep chasing them.
Before going on the expedition, Niu Yuxian kept a careful eye and hid Qin Xulan among the Tsing Yi Guards.
Qin Xulan is the fifth grade of the Mo family, and his cultivation level is slightly higher than that of Niu Yuxian. In addition, Bao Huailuo and Zhang Shifeng came to help. Four people cooperated, two built the city wall, two built the weapons to defend the city, and brought 20,000 hard workers.
Go all out to reinforce Black Deer City.
Xu Zhiqiong also invited Liang Yuyao to inquire about ordnance matters.
Among the thousands of troops, there was a serious shortage of ordnance. There were no more than 10,000 fully equipped troops, and nearly 20,000 sergeants did not even have a decent weapon.
Emperor Changle promised to support the Qiancheng Kingdom with 10,000 ordnance. The ordnance has already arrived at the shore, but it will take half a month to reach the front line.
"Ten days, just ten days!" Xu Zhiqiong said to Hong Zhenji, "Immediately order all states and counties to fully respond. The ordnance must be delivered within ten days."
Hong Zhenji immediately issued an order: if there is any delay in the matter in any state or county, the prefect and county magistrate will send their heads together.
Xu Zhiqiong called Qin Yan again and asked about the status of local ordnance.
Thousands of workshops across the country are still sending out ordnance one after another.
"What's the status of the reinforcements?"
"Eighteen hundred people are arriving in Black Deer City every day."
What is needed most now is time. Tunu is less than fifty miles away from the city.
Xu Zhiqiong said to Hong Zhenji: "Remove those idiot generals under you who should be spared, replace those who should be replaced, and only leave a few who can fight."
Hong Zhenji counted on his fingers: "Is there anyone who knows how to fight?"
have!
Northern Admiral Choi Luk Hyun!
There are no cultivators in the Qiancheng Army, Cui Luoxian is an exception, he is a fourth-level cultivator of the art of war.
When Hong Juncheng was in power, he made a special case for Cui Luoxian because he needed a general who would deal with Tunu for many years.
In this war, it was Cui Luoxian who blocked all the way that allowed the army to successfully withdraw to Heilu City.
This person must be reused, and the position of commander of the army should be given to him.
In addition to Cui Luoxian, there is also Cong Ming.
Cong Ming returned to the Shenji Division. He originally did not accompany the army on the expedition, but Hong Zhenji ordered someone to use a magic circle to transfer him over.
When fighting against Yuan Chengfeng, Cong Ming showed his military ability and was definitely a master in fighting.
Who else besides the two of them?
Only Yu Shan is left.
Yu Shan and the Wuwei army under his command had experienced hundreds of battles, but their numbers were too small. Xu Zhiqiong asked Hong Zhenji to allocate 10,000 troops each to Yu Shan and Cong Ming, and let them go out of the city to meet the enemy.
Hong Zhenji was surprised and said: "Going out of the city to meet the enemy? Why are you crazy!"
Xu Zhiqiong frowned and said, "If we don't leave the city to meet the enemy, how can we have time to repair the city when Tunu attacks the city?"
This is the truth. Hong Zhenji rubbed his hands and said: "But you may not be able to fight in the city. If you go out of the city, aren't you seeking death?"
Xu Zhiqiong called Yu Shan and Cong Ming over and told them one thing again and again: they would only harass, not fight, and it would be great if they could buy Niu Yuxian three days.
Xu Zhiqiong said to Hong Zhenji: "With these three days, there is a chance of winning this battle. From now on, Qiancheng Kingdom will have to look like a war."