On the fifth day of June in the Thirteenth Year of Chongguan, shortly after nightfall, a curfew was imposed in Yanjing City. Except for the piles of beggars who were flooded along the street, the entire streets and alleys were so quiet and lifeless. The so-called curfew only meant that people were prohibited from walking around at will.
, the streets are full of refugees, where can they be driven to?
A group of soldiers patrolling the streets were sitting feebly in the corner of the alley, holding big guns. A faint light came from the entrance of the alley, shining on them. Their faces were full of hunger and despair. They were wearing military uniforms.
They were all stained with blood. They had just suppressed a riot by refugees who robbed a grain store. They killed more than a hundred people in the street before the mob was dispersed. The corpses were dragged out of the city by other teams. They no longer paid attention to the pool of blood on the street. They hid in the
Rest here.
Since dozens of such things happen every day in Yanjing, even after suppressing them, they didn't rush back to the military camp to rest - the city was full of hungry people, and there was not enough food in the military camp. The people who had just been killed were so soft that they would not rest.
I can hardly walk anymore.
"Ding Dutou, why do you think that except for Chen Zhihu, King Qin's army in the south has not been seen until now?" A younger soldier came over, kneeling on one foot and asked Dutou, who was wearing a crimson uniform.
, but an old soldier next to him came over and said mysteriously, "It's forbidden to speak up above. The second son of my cousin's aunt's family was the flag leader in Datong Town. He escaped a month ago and saved his life. He said that Datong was finished.
The Xuanfu side didn't move, so they must be having fun. There are so many cavalrymen from Donghu, and they can't even see their heads when standing on the top of the city. Not to mention that the south doesn't dare to send troops to rescue, even if they send troops, they won't be enough to stop teeth.
Sewn…”
"Japan, do you think you've lost your life by escaping back?" A soldier with a scar on his face spat, weakly spitting the yellow-green phlegm in his mouth onto the heels of his shoes, "Fleeing south is the right thing to do.
In Yanjing City, half of your life will be handed over to the Palace of Hell..."
"What the hell, no matter how powerful the Donghu cavalry is, why should we ask them to crawl in from outside the four-foot-high city wall?" The young soldiers were dissatisfied and argued. On the other hand, several old soldiers next to them smiled without moving their skin and flesh, Jingying
Even ordinary soldiers in the army are more knowledgeable and well-informed than rich men in the countryside when it comes to discussing state affairs.
The old soldier with a scar on his face spat: "What the hell! I'll give you half a catty of rough grain every day and drag it for three to five months. The Donghu people will crawl in from outside the city. Do you have the strength to kill them?"
"The scar-faced old soldier crawled to the captain and said in a low voice: "It's not right to drag him down. Even if the brothers can endure it, the family will also starve to death - Hu Ji's rice shop in Tongqian Lane has been stepped on.
After passing the plate, this wave of chaos has just dispersed, we need to act quickly, so that we can blame the chaos on the mob... In this age, if you want to have clean hands, you will not be able to survive!"
Although the Donghu people did not press forward with their troops, Yanjing's contact with the outside world was indeed cut off from the beginning of March. It has been almost three months since Yanjing was besieged. When the Donghu people's forward cavalry passed through the Taihang Mountains
When they arrived at Yannan, the more than 20,000 soldiers and horses of the South Camp tried to intercept them. In just three or four days, they were all eaten up, and the remaining 60,000 soldiers of the Beijing Camp did not have the courage to leave the city to fight.
Fortunately, Chen Zhihu's troops and the Xuanfu army came in in time to form the West Road Qinwang. With 30,000 elites at their disposal, they entered Taihu Lake east of Yanjing and stationed themselves, barely holding out a space and preventing Yanjing from encircling it.
However, the Donghu people surrounded and refused to fight, nor did they withdraw their troops, and no troops from King Qin came from the south. The situation in Yanjing city became worse and worse day by day.
In the city of Yanjing, in addition to the imperial palace and hundreds of officials' families, as well as civilians and the influx of refugees, the largest number of people were the families of the soldiers in the Beijing camp and the craftsmen's families of officials.
At its largest scale, the Jingying Army had nearly 90,000 people, and nearly 300,000 military dependents were resettled in the counties of the capital. The Donghu people invaded from several directions, and a large number of military dependents and military dependents flowed into Yanjing City along with the refugees; There are 40,000 craftsmen's households with a population of 160,000 to 70,000. This population alone has become a burden that Yanjing City cannot bear at this time, turning the entire Yanjing city into a chaotic refugee camp.
Officials have always given preferential treatment to the troops in the Beijing camp, paying them six dou of grain and six coins of silver every month.
After the ninth year of Chongguan, the price of food in Gyeonggi Province skyrocketed. Six coins of silver could not buy a bushel of rice and flour. However, even if the soldiers were exploited, they still squeezed some out of their own rations to support their families, and they could barely survive starvation. But in March, the troops in the Beijing camp were only given rations by the dice and no longer paid. The rations were also reduced again and again. Today, the soldiers who are not on duty are only given half a catty of rough grain every day - the situation has taken a turn for the worse, let alone Ordinary soldiers were dead, and even the grassroots military attachés could not stand it. There were constant incidents of children becoming ill from hunger and even starving to death. There had been several mutinies in succession since May. Although they were suppressed, the entire Beijing camp army was still under control. The morale is even worse than before March, and the situation is even more chaotic. Not to mention being dragged out to fight, there is no intention to even defend the city.
In the city of Yanjing, dozens of robberies, killings, and riots occur every day. The Jiucheng Division under the Jingying Army has 20,000 soldiers and horses, which are directly responsible for the security of the city. They are constantly running around, and even secretly participate in robberies and riots. Killing. The influx of a large number of refugees caused epidemics to breed in the city. Every day, hundreds of corpses were dragged out of the city and thrown into the wilderness due to killing, starvation, disease or epidemic.
Just as a patrol soldier hiding in the corner of the street who had just suppressed a robbery was secretly planning to rob the rice shop, the sound of rapid horse hooves came from the direction of Xinhua Gate from the east. The soldiers who were watching the wind at the entrance of the alley Looking around, he saw dozens of black figures approaching from a distance. The cavalry on the outside were all wearing black armor and were the cavalry of the North Garden Guards. They were galloping towards the palace city surrounded by seven or eight ragged people in the middle.
The cavalry passed by the entrance of the alley for a short time, but people could clearly see that the man in the middle of the cavalry was tied to the saddle with a rope. He was almost thin and his body was stained with blood. For a moment, it made people confused. One can't guess whether the man in the middle was tied to a horse and taken to the palace because he had committed a crime, or whether he was tied to a horse and brought back because he was too thin and too injured to ride a horse.
Listening to the sound of cavalry passing through the street, Chen Dingbang and two old soldiers who followed him from Jizhen to the capital took shelter under the low eaves of a street shop. Li Zhuo's cough became severe again at night, and the city was not peaceful. Chen Dingbang was highly skilled in art. He was too brave to just walk across the street and alley with his money to get some medicine, so he asked two old soldiers to follow him and take care of him.
As the cavalry passed by, a lantern was hung on the eaves of the shop, illuminating the face of the almost thin man standing in the middle. Although the man's cheeks were as thin as bones, he turned into ashes, and Chen Dingbang also recognized it, and his heart I was shocked: Wasn't Hao Zongcheng captured by Donglu in Linyu? Why did he appear here and be tied to a horse?
Another person in the middle with Hao Zongcheng subconsciously turned around and looked at Chen Dingbang's face for a moment - Chen Dingbang also recognized him instantly. It was Zhang Xi who was captured in Linyu at the same time as Hao Zongcheng. obliterate.
The cavalry did not delay, and passed by in the blink of an eye, heading for the palace city. Chen Dingbang did not delay either. He took two old soldiers to a shop he often frequented, opened the door, grabbed medicine, and rushed back to kill what he had just seen on the street.
Li Zhuo, who had been bedridden since he returned to Beijing, told the story.
"Hao Zongcheng and Zhang Ximing are back. Hao Zongcheng has been transformed into a humanoid..." Li Zhuo responded softly, just like a very light sigh. Before Hao Zongcheng and Zhang Ximing came back,
If he had any comment on the matter, he just said to Chen Jiabang, "Bring me a pen and ink, and I will write a letter. You will find an opportunity to go out of the city to Jinhai today and hand the letter to Zongting..."
After returning to Beijing for more than two months, Li Zhuo's condition has not improved. His body is like dry grass and he is losing weight, as if the life in his body has been exhausted, like a candle in the wind, with only the last remaining fire left.
Chen Dingbang didn't know why the commander-in-chief suddenly wanted him to go to Jinhai to contact Gao Zongting and ask the old soldier to cook the medicine. He ran to the study to get pen and ink, went to Li Zhuo's bed, and helped Li Zhuo sit up from the bed.
After Gao Zongting and Geng Quanshan went to Jinhai, there was no sign of the Jinhai reinforcements. Li Zhuo ignored him and just wrote a letter on the third and fifth days and handed it to the palace to wait for a reply - Li Zhuo came back to Beijing just in time.
As soon as the news of Songshan's fiasco came back, there were calls from the imperial court to discuss his crime. After the collapse of western Liaoning and the entire Jizhen, the palace issued an order to cut off the title of Duke Li Zhuoyan, and there was no other news; Li Zhuoyan
Naturally, there was no reply to the three or five letters sent to the palace.
Li Zhuo laboriously bent over the desk to write the letter, packed the envelope, and asked Chen Dingbang to hide it close to his body. At this moment, the old man boiled the medicine and brought it to him.
After drinking it, as if to reassure Chen Dingbang, he said to Chen Dingbang who had changed his clothes, "Without further delay, go to Jinhai!"
Chen Dingbang originally wanted to wait until daybreak and take advantage of the opportunity of sending a firewood truck into the city to sneak out of the city, but seeing how anxious Li Zhuo was, he wanted to go to the west city and find a defender he knew who would slide down the city wall with a rope.
Chen Dingbang didn't waste any time, left Li Zhuo's room, called several old soldiers who were waiting in front of him, and said: "This city is also in chaos. You must guard the house tightly. If there is any trouble, don't worry about the commander-in-chief."
No, send someone to the Prime Minister Chen’s house to inform..."
Chen Dingbang left the mansion and walked to the west city, looking for a familiar general. He drove the general off duty and rushed to the general's house in Beicheng. Only then did he realize that the man's command had already been
Call up the sequence of defending the city.
It is okay to secretly let people out of the city and do it personally. The general can also trust Chen Dingbang, who was born under Li Zhuo's family. But it is not convenient to entrust others to do it. If the news leaks out and is accused of collaborating with the enemy, no one can bear the responsibility.
Get up. The general refused to come forward and ask someone to help Chen Dingbang out of the city, leaving him drinking until dawn.
Although the Donghu people have not yet pressed forward with their troops, the nine city gates of Yanjing are still closed under martial law in broad daylight. Only corpses are carried out of the city or firewood and water are brought into the city. Only one or two city gates are occasionally opened for people to come and go.
However, Chen Dingbang wandered around for a long time and still couldn't find an opportunity to leave the city. When it was almost dusk, he had to give up and come back to see Li Zhuo first, thinking about taking Li Zhuo's name card to the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion in an upright manner tomorrow.
I went to Taihu Camp to meet Chen Zhihu under my own name. After arriving at Taihu Camp, it would not be too late to sneak to Jinhai to deliver the message.
Since Li Zhuo went north, he has only served in Yanjing. His family returned to his hometown in Western Qin from Jiangxi when he was a child. Compared with other important ministers, Li Zhuo's mansion in Xihuaizi Lane is very poor, with only a dozen old soldiers waiting in the mansion.
Useless.
There are several large locust trees in front of the house. In the past, when Li Zhuo was the Minister of War in Beijing, these locust trees were always full of mules and horses, and cars and sedans were parked under the shade. When Li Zhuo came back this time, there were many people in the courtyard.
Yes, even Chen Xinbo and Chen Xiangye have been visiting me for a long time.
Chen Dingbang hurried back to the house and walked to the entrance of the alley. He saw several carriages parked under the trees in the distance, and a large group of armored soldiers guarding the house. The carriages were palace carriages, and the armored soldiers were the guards of the North Garden. Chen Dingbang suspected that Dou Da
Zeng, thinking to himself: The commander-in-chief has been passing notes to the palace every three days, but there has been no response. How come Hao Zongcheng and Zhang Ximing came back inexplicably last night, and the palace sent someone here?
Chen Dingbang rushed in. The armored soldier guarding the door removed his sword and shouted: "Who is here?"
When the gatekeeper was not in front of him, Chen Dingbang reached out and took off his belt tag and said: "I live here, and I want to ask who you are..."
Although Chen Dingbang did not hold the position of general, he still had the rank of military attache of Cavalry Commander from the third rank. His waist badge was made of silver, and the head of the badge was shaped like a tiger's mouth, like a tiger charm. The leading captain looked at Chen Dingbang's shabby clothes and there was no weapon.
He looked up and said, "Could it be you who picked it up?"
"Li Shuai is very frugal. We even have brocade clothes and trade them for food. How can we allow you to look down upon us here?" Chen Dingbang cursed. At this moment, someone came from inside, and Chen Dingbang called out: "You bitch, you are
Why are you guarding the door? Where has your soul gone? How can you let people in the palace guard the door for you?"
"General Chen, why are you back?" Gou Duzi didn't know what to do. When he saw Chen Dingbang returning, he asked in a confused tone.
Chen Dingbang frowned slightly. This little brat just didn't have any foresight and ignored his question. He asked, "Where have the others gone? What kind of guests are here in the house?"
"Everyone else was sent away by the Superintendent, but I refused to leave. There was nothing the Superintendent could do to me. When someone came, I went inside to greet them," Goudazi said proudly, "Mr. Chen and the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Mr. Wang Qishan has come over. He is talking to the Commander-in-Chief in the West Branch. The Commander-in-Chief asked me to come out and greet all the soldiers..."
Chen Dingbang's heart sank, and then he guessed that the Commander-in-Chief asked him to go to Jinhai urgently to deliver a message, but he was actually sending him away on purpose. The Commander-in-Chief knew what was going on, so Chen Xinbo and Wang Qishan's visit this time was definitely not a good thing.
Chen Dingbang walked to the west side courtyard in a muffled voice without taking back his badge from the school captain. Seeing that Chen Dingbang was indeed from the mansion, the school captain didn't stop him. Seeing that he was walking in a hurry, he didn't think of it until after a while.
I didn't give him back the badge.
Chen Dingbang was wearing the attire and outfit of a man sneaking out of the city. He was as impoverished as he walked around silently. There were more than a dozen old soldiers in the house to take care of them before, but today they were all dismissed by Li Zhuo. The courtyard of Nuo Da was deserted and seemed extremely lonely.
When Chen Dingbang walked to the west courtyard, not only did he not see anyone in the mansion, but he also didn't see Chen Xinbo. Wang Qishan was waiting to follow him. It seemed that they only brought a group of armored soldiers from the north garden to protect them.
"Master Hao is back. The defeat of Western Liaoning has been decided. This glass of wine is given to you by the emperor!" This was Chen Xinbo's voice.
Chen Dingbang was wondering, what does the decision to defeat Liaoxi have to do with the gift of wine? He hesitated and slowed down.
"I can drink this glass of wine. I don't regret dying. But Hao Zongcheng was captured in Linyu for more than two months and suddenly escaped last night. It was really a conspiracy of the fake Yan!" Li Zhuo's voice was sad.
"Are you talking about the Donghu people's torture plan?" Chen Xinbo asked back, "Hao Zongcheng would have died in the Donghu prison if there were not brave soldiers who were unwilling to be driven by the Donglu and risked their lives to save others. I heard that they came back at night/passed by Zhuque
Street, you met your general Chen Dingbang. Hao Zongcheng looks like a human, a ghost, and you won't think it's a trick! As for the defeat of Liaoxi, I know you are unwilling to accept it, but it was
Is it true that you made an empty promise to pacify the rebels in five years? Is it true that the expedition to western Liaoning was carried out at your initiative? It is also true that you held back your troops and missed a good opportunity. Otherwise, how could the captives escape from Datong first?
The defeat in western Liaoning was all due to Yuan Lishan leading his troops to surrender first and the whole army collapsed. Yuan Lishan was your right-hand man when you were governing Ji Town, right? You can't blame all these mistakes on the emperor, right?"
Chen Dingbang seemed to have a ball of fire in his chest, about to burst out. He suddenly understood that the so-called gift of wine was actually a cup of poisonous wine that would kill the Commander-in-Chief. This bastard Chong Guaner still wanted the Commander-in-Chief to take his place.
Taking the blame for the defeat, Chen Xinbo and Wang Qishan came over to act as accomplices - he turned around and went back to the house to get a weapon, and cut Chen Xinbo and Wang Qishan into seven or eight pieces before leading the commander-in-chief to break out of Yanjing City.
Find Chen Zhihu! What can the Commander-in-Chief do against them?
"If you want your minister to die, I have to die. This is also the duty of an minister. If Chen Zhihu asked, he would say that I committed suicide out of fear of sin. You must have arranged it this way. This is the suicide note I wrote to Chen Zhihu. Without me,
Chen Zhihu will not believe your words - I have drunk this glass of wine, and Prime Minister Chen can go back to pay errands. I also ask Prime Minister Chen to thank the emperor for my great kindness. Please give me the last words to the emperor: Yanjing breaks out,
After making Chen Zhihu Palace, there is still a glimmer of hope for the southward journey. You must not listen to Hao Zongcheng's words and go east to Jinhai! Yuan Lishan still has some brave generals, and his family members are all in Beijing. It is impossible to surrender without a fight! Please ask the emperor to tell the generals and family members of Jizhen
They all gave generous rewards, and when they were unable to break through, the Jizhen army was used by the Donghu people! And..." Chen Liang's tragic words stopped abruptly here, and then there was the sound of the wine glass falling to the ground and breaking.
Chen Dingbang did not bother to get the weapon and broke in through the door. Li Zhuohao's body stood in front of the table, lifeless, but his hands were holding on to the table to keep him from falling...
"Commander!" Chen Dingbang cried loudly, feeling hateful, sad, painful and regretful in his heart.
I hate how unfair it is for the acting governor-general in the world. I hate that the governor-general regarded Chen Xinbo as his teacher and friend, but Chen Xinbo came to force the governor-general to death!
It is sad and painful that the commander-in-chief is in a miserable situation, his ambition has not been fulfilled, and he has to suffer on behalf of the king.
Regret may not have reacted in time and snatched the poisoned wine from the hands of the commander-in-chief.
Chen Dingbang broke in, and both Chen Xinbo and Wang Qishan were shocked. Chen Xinbo didn't care that he had known Li Zhuo for decades, and took the letter written by Li Zhuo to Chen Zhihu on the table and left without having time to check it. Wang Qishan's reaction
Quickly, he followed Chen Xinbo and walked out. After walking out of the west courtyard, he lowered his voice and said, "Who is this person? Is it possible to tell him anything?"
Chen Xinbo and Li Zhuo had known each other for decades, and Chen Dingbang naturally recognized him. He walked toward the gate without saying a word. When he saw the leader of the Beiyuan Jia soldiers, he waved him to him and lowered his voice and said: "Li Bingbu is afraid of death."
Suicide, two thieves broke into the house, please Lieutenant Liang to kill them, don't let them get away!"
Only then did Wang Qishan realize that he had underestimated Chen Xinbo, and he decided to eradicate Li Zhuo's two disciples to eliminate their legacy. How could Chen Xinbo have been lacking in position in these years?
The captain waved his hand and led many soldiers to rush in. Chen Xinbo stood at the door and said to himself: "Li Zhuo, Li Zhuo, don't blame me for being cruel to your disciples. You are willing to take the responsibility for me. You can't do it anymore."
Is it an extraneous problem?"
Chen Xinbo had no intention of killing them all. Based on his understanding of Li Zhuo, it would not be difficult for him to commit suicide on behalf of the emperor. Moreover, he did not expect that Li Zhuo would dismiss the servants in the house first, but
The contents of the secret conversation in the West Branch Courtyard just now are likely to be heard by Chen Dingbang. Chen Dingbang has a fiery temper, and Chen Xinbo does not want too many accidents to happen.
At this moment, the gatekeeper Gouduzi poked his head out of the hall and asked Chen Xinbo under the eaves: "Mr. Chen is leaving now!" It seemed that he was really missing a leg, and four or five soldiers on the left and right pulled out their swords.
He didn't notice anything unusual, but when he raised the knife and stabbed him, he turned pale in horror and shouted: "Oh my God!" His strong body shrank into the concierge. Except for being stabbed once in his left arm, he avoided fatal injuries.
A few blows.
The people serving in Li Zhuo's mansion are all loyal soldiers he brought out from the army over the years. It is not surprising that the gatekeeper is very skilled in martial arts.
An armored soldier stood in front and was about to rush in with a knife. Chen Xinbo saw Gouduzi punch a pot-sized punch as fast as lightning, and flattened the armored soldier's face with one punch. The armored soldier was suppressed.
Then he breathed his last - who could be so brave with the power of a punch? Who would have thought that the gatekeeper of Li Zhuo's house was so brave that no one could stop him, and no one dared to break in.
Four soldiers with swords and armor blocked the door. The people behind them took off the bows on their backs. The leading captain asked the soldiers to protect Chen Xinbo and Wang Qishan. Before they were ready to rush in, something came from the side.
There was a loud bang, but Goudazi broke through the wall from the side, holding a pair of black steel maces in his hand, and ran towards the west side courtyard like a shooting star.
Gou Duzi shouted as he walked: "Chen Gui'er, Chen Gui'er, Mr. Chen is going to kill me!" He is not a Gou Duzi, he is obviously a bear kid! The walls and doors of the house are twists and turns, which are not conducive to shooting arrows. Here, the soldiers are chasing
It's too late.
When Goudazi broke in covered with blood, Chen Dingbang suddenly woke up. He knew that Chen Xinbo had murderous intentions and said to Goudazi: "The commander-in-chief was killed by them. They want to kill us to silence us..."
When Goudazi saw Li Zhuo standing like that despite his lifelessness, he forgot about chasing him and sat down on the ground and began to cry loudly. Chen Dingbang slapped him hard twice to wake him up and said:
"Lu Xiong, only you and I know how the commander-in-chief died. Let's escape separately. Remember, you must escape and keep yourself alive. Do you know? You must not let the commander-in-chief die unjustly.
I don’t know why!”
There are not many people in Li Zhuo's house, but after all, it is a house arranged by him when he was the Minister of the Ministry of War. There are still seven or eight people entering the courtyard. Although there are many soldiers in Beiyuan, they are not familiar with the terrain of the house, and there is no encirclement at the beginning.
, Chen Dingbang and Gou Duzi had to climb over the wall and escape.
There were hundreds of thousands of refugees in Yanjing, and Chen Xinbo felt regretful. In addition to notifying the city guards to strengthen their vigilance, he had no choice but to return to the palace to reply.