On January 20th, it was already early spring in the south of the Yangtze River, but the Yanji Plain in the north was still covered with snow and covered with ice for thousands of miles. The weather has been slightly warmer in the past few days, and the fields outside the city revealed bits and pieces of dark brown. Outside Yangxin City
The earth meanders across the Zhulong River like a plain white belt, more clearly revealed in front of you.
The water source for Yangxin City's city protection is drawn from the Zhulong River. Naturally, it was so frozen at this time that it couldn't be broken with a sledgehammer, so it couldn't provide any more barrier for Yangxin City.
Go downstream along the meandering Zhulong River until you reach Zhulong Bay, which is more than 80 miles away.
News of the fall of Jinan has spread to Yangxin. More and more Donglu cavalry have appeared outside Yangxin City. The road out of Yangxin has been completely blocked. Even if they want to escape, there is no way to escape. The situation of Donglu
But he had to capture Yangxin before he would stop.
County Lieutenant Cheng Weiyuan was so worried that he scratched his head a lot.
If he hadn't appeared early, the county magistrate Zhang Zhijing would have hung himself from a beam in his house. Although he was saved, he refused to come to the city again, saying that he would sit in his house and wait for death. The county magistrate Zhang Jinxian didn't know where he got it from
Wearing iron armor, it is said that he will live and die with Yangxin City. The fifty or sixty kilograms of iron armor is so tired that he is sweating profusely and can't breathe even after wearing a stick of incense.
The army cheered: "Looking at the weather getting warmer, the Zhulong River will thaw in ten days. By then, the bandits will have to retreat if they don't retreat. After three months of defense, there will be no less than the last ten days..."
Cheng Weiyuan knew that Zhang Jinxian was just talking empty words to boost morale. Generally speaking, the Zhulong River would not thaw for another month. Although the weather had warmed up slightly, the wind still felt like a knife cutting on the face. It was not a thawing spring breeze.
When the river thaws, the bandits will retreat, but how can Yangxin wait until that time? The city of Jinan, which was garrisoned by 40,000 elite soldiers, was captured in only twelve days. In addition to the more than 100 that Yangxin usually used to catch thieves and bandits, it was barely enough.
Except for the swordsmen and archers, the other defenders were all brave men recruited from the city and refugees, and their number was less than two thousand.
The small town of Yangxin, with a population of less than 3,000, took in nearly 30,000 refugees who failed to escape south in time after the Donglu invaders invaded. The consumption in the past two months has also exhausted the food stored in the city... It will last another ten days.
It can only eat human flesh.
"Da da da", dozens of soldiers rode towards the frozen moat. They dismounted at the moat and poked the ice hard with their long knives, as if they were testing the ice.
thickness.
The county magistrate Zhang Jinxian hurriedly shouted: "Archers, archers..." Dozens of archers swarmed up without any order, opened their bows from the crevices of the city wall and shot at the dozens of captive soldiers.
It was just that the arrows were shot out in scattered pieces, with no accuracy and no clue. Only two soldiers were shot in the thigh because they couldn't avoid it. I saw the soldiers retreating a hundred steps and taking off their shields from their horses.
Covered up, he approached the edge of the city guard.
"What do they want to do?" Zhang Jinxian asked Cheng Weiyuan, the county captain, in confusion. He poked his head out of the crevices of the city wall to see what the shield-wielding soldiers were coming back to do.
"Be careful!" Cheng Weiyuan saw the prisoner's shield slightly open, revealing the large bow at the back. The arrow was cold and cold. He hurriedly pulled the magistrate Zhang Jinxian back.
Zhang Jinxian was wearing iron armor, but did not wear a heavy helmet that made him breathless. He was pulled back by Cheng Weiyuan and fell over. His head hit the brick floor and a big bump formed. He was so painful that tears were about to flow out. He was about to
He complained that Cheng Weiyuan was not steady, but he saw that the three defenders around him had fallen down after being hit by arrows, and blood was seeping out from the wounds on their chests and necks. He could not live without seeing it...
Realizing the weakness of Yangxin's defenders, the captive soldiers used shields to cover up the men who were skilled in archery and approached the fortress. They divided into seven or eight groups and shot the defenders who had their heads protruding from the crevices of the wall.
After dozens of people were shot and killed in this way, no one from the defenders dared to approach the entrance to the wall.
County Lieutenant Cheng Weiyuan and County Magistrate Zhang Jinxian sat on the city gate tower regardless of their manners. They looked at each other and could see the despair in each other's eyes. When they heard another burst of thunderous horse hooves coming from the city, they had no intention of standing up.
Wait and see.
However, some daring defenders looked out from the entrance of the crenellated wall and shouted: "The captives are killing each other! Master Zhang, Master Cheng, the captives are killing each other!"
Cheng Weiyuan got up and wanted to kick the sergeant, secretly thinking that you dare to amuse me at this moment? When he got up, he saw a group of cavalry like a brown dragon thrust straight in from the northern field like a sharp knife, killing the lax soldiers outside the city.
The outpost was pissed and hurriedly fled to the outside. A high flag was spread out in the wind, and the big embroidered characters made it clear for people to see:
"Jiangdong Qinwang's Zuojun, Jiangdong's envoy Si Dujianlin!"
The dozens of cavalry at the forefront were surrounded by a general in blue armor and red helmet. Who else could it be if it wasn't Lin Fu?
The sergeant was illiterate and did not recognize the flag of the Jiangdong Left Army. He thought that the cavalry coming over were soldiers from the East, so he shouted that the soldiers were killing each other.
"Master Zhang, Master Zhang, our savior is here, Master Lin of the Jiangdong Army is here to save us!" Cheng Weiyuan was so excited that his eyes filled with tears and his voice was distorted. He wanted to help Zhang Jinxian up from the ground, but Zhang Jinxian was even wearing armor.
It weighed two hundred kilograms, but he failed to pull it and almost rolled down the road to the city.
Zhang Jinxian hurriedly got up from the ground, almost being crushed by the armor, and hurriedly ordered the people around him: "Hurry up, help me up, where are the reinforcements?" From the crenellations of the city wall, he saw the cavalry of the Jiangdong Left Army quickly dispersed the prisoner outposts outside the city.
After being defeated, I burst into tears and hurriedly ordered the city gate to be opened to welcome the reinforcements...
Lin Fu entered the city exhausted both physically and mentally. When he saw Yangxin County Lieutenant Cheng Weiyuan, he dismounted and cheered up a little. He raised his hands to Cheng Weiyuan and said, "Master Cheng, it's been a long time!"
Lin Fu's physical and mental exhaustion was not due to fatigue from long-distance riding. He received another piece of bad news on the way: just five days ago, when the Jinan offensive and defensive battle was at its fiercest, Chen Hansan, the commander of the anti-theft battalion stationed in Huai'an, was found guilty of selling smuggled salt.
The Hongze thief rebelled after the incident was exposed, and took refuge with Liu An'er. He joined forces with Liu An'er's troops to encircle and annihilate the Huai army of the governor of Hao. Zuo Shangrong, the admiral of Jiangzuo, was captured but refused to surrender and was killed. The situation in Haozhou and Huai'an immediately deteriorated...
The house was leaking and it rained all night long. It was a suitable word to describe the precarious Dai Viet Chao at this time. Dai Viet Chao was like a broken house. The holes were getting bigger and bigger, and it seemed difficult to repair them.
Regarding the matter in Jiangdong, Lin Fu was beyond his reach. Jiangning still had Li Zhuo in charge, and Dongyang Xiangyong also had the ability to fight. He could only focus on the immediate future and continue to lead his Qingqi to rescue Yangxin according to the original plan. It only took two days and one night.
He ran for more than three hundred miles in the ice and snow to enter Yangxin City before the main force of the soldiers arrived.
Cheng Weiyuan was like a drowning man washed up on a desert island by the current. He had a feeling of escaping from death. He tightly grasped Lin Fu's sleeve armor and was so excited that he didn't know what to say. After a while, he finally thought of introducing himself.
The county magistrate Zhang Jinxian.
Lin Fu looked at Zhang Jinxian, the magistrate of Yangxin County, who was thin, but wearing iron armor, with a messy bun, and a big blood bump on his forehead. After seeing the ceremony, he had no unnecessary nonsense: "Master Zhang, the defense of Yangxin County can make me Jiangdong Zuo
Will the military take over completely?"
"Are there any reinforcements behind?" Zhang Jinxian asked.
"It's just us," Lin Fu said. "Nine hundred and eighty-seven people, including me, are nine hundred and eighty-eight people. We are in a hurry. There are dozens of people who fell behind and returned to Jinhai.
, there are dozens of people sent to me to report to Bohai, Bincheng and other counties, but I am afraid they will not be able to enter the city..."
"Only less than a thousand people?" Zhang Jinxian looked disappointed. Forty thousand defenders could not hold Jinan. What's the use of Yangxin having a thousand more people.
"One thousand men are enough," Lin Fu laughed, "I led the Jiangdong Left Army here not to die. Please trust me, Mr. Zhang. I will take over the city defense now. The main force of Donglu will be one day at the latest.
They are about to come, and we don’t have much time to prepare..." Of course, Zhou Pu will lead the main force of infantry to come by sea, but Lin Fu will not transfer them outside Yangxin City and stay on the outside to contain them.
Attacking the enemy's cavalry can further reduce Yangxin's pressure on defending the city.
Although Zhulong Bay, the mouth of the Zhulong River, is eighty miles away, if the weather warms up a little, ships can break through the ice and proceed to Jinshui Mouth, the main tributary in the lower reaches of the Zhulong River, which is less than forty miles away from Yangxin and Bincheng.
Forty miles is the distance that infantry can travel at night and still have enough strength to fight. This distance is just enough to contain the enemy's cavalry...
Besides, the small town of Yangxin is different from Jinan. The total area around the city wall of Yangxin is only more than 1,300 steps. Even if Donglu has a million-strong army, they will not be able to deploy in front of Yangxin City.
As long as the city wall is not broken down by heavy equipment, Lin Fu has more than a thousand elites, and the original defenders and the brave people in the city cooperate to fight, it will not be a problem to defend until the spring comes.
Lin Fu led the left army in Jiangdong to achieve the miracle of victory in Cangnan and victory in Xiaobotou Village. This was originally the guarantee of confidence and morale that Yangxin City has persisted to today.
What Lin Fu said gave Zhang Jinxian some confidence. He didn't blame Lin Fu for taking over the entire city defense as soon as he came over. After all, Lin Fu and Jiangdong Zuojun were Yang Xin's last support. He ordered Cheng Weiyuan: "Master Cheng,
You fully cooperate with Mr. Lin in defending the city. In addition, Zhang Jinxian will also obey Mr. Lin's orders!"
"Master Zhang, you're welcome," Lin Fu breathed a sigh of relief. If Zhang Jinxian didn't let go, he would be tough. He would not let Jiangdong's left army take the risk of Jinan. The host and guest armies could live in harmony. He was very good at defending the city.
Confidence, he asked Zhang Jinxian, "How much food is left in the city now? How many people are there in the city? How many days can it last?" He knew that Yangxin had been trapped for nearly two months, and there were so many refugees pouring into the city, so he came into the city.
Seeing the hungry look on the faces of the defenders, he was worried that there was not enough food in the city.
"It can barely last three or four days!" Zhang Jinxian said.
"Okay, that's enough," Lin Fu said, and then told Cheng Weiyuan, "As for all the large households in the city who may have grain stores, please Master Cheng draw up a list, and I will send a hundred elite soldiers to Master Cheng to collect grain. The grain is for the defense of the city.
It is urgent that all stored grains need to be centralized and strictly supervised, and the army, civilians and strong laborers should be supplied in equal proportions... We all came here with light armor, and each of us carried twenty kilograms of dry grains. Now we still have a lot left. In addition, run
The dead horses are slaughtered first and stored. The horses are not fed. If there are horses that have lost fat, they are slaughtered immediately..."
"These thousand horses are just unofficial horses!" Zhou Tong, deputy lieutenant Zhenwei of the Jinzhong Admiral's Mansion who came with Lin Fu to aid Yang Xin, said heartbrokenly. He was a cavalry officer. How could he be willing to kill the horses until the last moment?
"Keeping Yangxin is more important than anything else!" Lin Fu said. There is no extra food to feed the horses. The horses will be starved for a few days and they will be useless. It is better to kill the horses while they are not losing weight and save more horse meat. Who knows Yangxin?