After a bloody battle until the sky was covered with fish belly white, it was not until Yang Yihang, who had been waiting at the mouth of the Zhulong River for many days, also sent a group of elite infantry to come ashore to rescue him, that he beat back the closely chasing pursuers, and Gu Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief. , retreated to a gentle slope.
At this time, only half of the three thousand dead soldiers who followed him to the east to attract the enemy's attention were left. The others were either scattered at night or had died under the enemy's sword.
Even the remaining more than a thousand dead soldiers fought their way out of the siege in blood. Almost all of them were injured. They relied on the last bit of energy to hold on and did not fall down tired on the spot. Although the number of Jinwei Island reinforcements was small, their strength was Completely equipped with bows and crossbows, he beat back the chasing troops several times and stood firm...
As the sky became brighter, Gu Siyuan could see the situation around the river mouth more clearly, and the number of enemy troops attracted was far less than expected.
Since there are many tidal flats, lakes and swamps at the mouth of the river, the terrain is not conducive for large armies to launch operations, and it is even less conducive for cavalry to come in and rush to kill. Thousands of enemy cavalry chased here, and they wanted to shrink, and they had no intention of inflicting heavy casualties on the more than a thousand remnants of the army who fled eastward. Kill them all.
"I wonder what's going on with daddy?" Gu Siyuan looked into the distance. In the clear morning light, he could only see the paper-cut shadows of mountains and rivers several miles away. It was unclear whether the main force had successfully broken out.
"Young Master, Colonel Yang, Colonel Ma, Master Gu, where are the others?"
Gu Siyuan turned around and saw Chen Enze, a rich boy from Chongzhou back then, and a bearded general wearing scale armor walking from the back of the short hill. He thought that the bearded man should be Yang Yihang, Huaidong's chief general on Jinwei Island.
"Oh, it turns out it's you," Gu Siyuan said after seeing his old friend from Huaidong again. Facing Chen Enze, it was inevitable that he would be embarrassed. "I led the dead soldiers to break out of the siege from the east city, attracting the enemy's main force and disrupting the enemy's sight, so as to cover my father's main force. Breaking out to the south, at this time I don’t know what the situation is with the troops breaking out to the south..."
Chen Enze and Yang Yihang looked at each other and said subconsciously: "How can the main force of the Qingzhou Army, tens of thousands of people, break out of the encirclement to the south under the prying eyes of several enemy cavalry?"
"It's very difficult, but as long as we can break out to the south bank of the Xiaoqing River at night, we can at least escape some people." Gu Siyuan said.
The only two pontoon bridges in the lower reaches of the Xiaoqing River were under the strict control of the new auxiliary army. If they could not seize the pontoon bridge and the soldiers would swim across, Chen Enze doubted how many people could escape. But seeing that Gu Siyuan was quite confident, he also It is inconvenient to question, but introduce Yang Yihang to Gu Siyuan, Yang Pu, and Ma Chao...
"Yihang has met the Young Master, Captain Yang, Ma..." Yang Yihang came over to greet Gu Siyuan and others. When he handed over his hand to Ma Chao, he only saw that Ma Chao's face was wrong. Seeing that his body was shaky and about to fall, he hurriedly stretched out his hand. Help him.
Ma Chao gave Yang Yihang, who was supported by Gu Siyuan, and sat down on the ground. He was a fierce general just now, but now he seemed like a candle that was about to burn out, and his eyes began to lose focus. He just gritted his teeth and held on and said to Gu Siyuan: "When the young master saw the master, he told the master that Lao Ma can no longer serve the master and the young master..." Then he let go and passed away.
After putting down Ma Chao's increasingly cold body, everyone saw a broken arrow stuck in Ma Chao's chest. The arrow shaft had been broken long ago, and only a short length was exposed and stuck in the body without being pulled out. Ma Chao's jersey Already stained with blood, the broken arrow stuck in his chest was only seen by others at this moment. It is not known how long Ma Chao kept fighting with this broken arrow, and he persisted until this moment before suddenly passing away. .
Gu Siyuan stood there stunned, crying without tears.
Yang Pu looked at Ma Chao's cold body with tears streaming down his face. He sat there, slowly took off his armor, and said to Gu Siyuan: "If possible, please young master take Lao Ma's body with him."
Huaidong was buried, and he served as a soldier. After following the Lord, he lived a few years of settling down. He also longed to continue living such a life. Now it seems that Huaidong can only stop for a while." He took out a few letters from his arms.
Come, "Here is a letter from my lord to my uncle, my little sister and my wife. It would be great if my wife could escape to Huaidong. I will entrust them to the young master at this time..."
Yang Pu took off his armor and wore only a brown short shirt. He tied the sword around his waist again and said to Gu Siyuan: "If young master meets Yang Shi, tell him that there is nothing to be sad about. Kill more people."
He is just a Huru." At this point, Yang Pu walked to a war horse nearby, got on the horse's back, and said, "This old slave has followed your master..."
Gu Siyuan, Yang Yihang, and Chen Enze didn't know what Yang Pu meant. By the time Yang Pu whipped his horse and galloped away, it was already too late to intercept him. They could only watch Yang Pu galloping through the gap in the formation alone, staring at the people outside.
Yanhu's pursuers rushed forward.
Gu Siyuan howled in pain and watched helplessly as Yang Pu approached the enemy's formation and as soon as he drew his sword, he was hit by dozens of arrows. He fell down and dismounted, unable to get up again.
The enemy pursuers were also very suspicious of Yang Pu's desire to die, and dispersed without stopping them from sending people to retrieve Yang Pu's body - Gu Siyuan collapsed on the ground in despair, as if he was stupid.
Yang Pu resolutely begged for death. Yang Yihang and Chen Enze were also caught off guard. Seeing the bodies of Yang Pu and Ma Chao hiding side by side on the top of the slope, they vaguely guessed the reason. They both remained silent for fear of causing further trouble. They half dragged and half dragged Gu Siyuan away.
He was pulled onto the ship and at the same time, more than 1,600 dead soldiers were evacuated to the sea and out of contact with the enemy.
Looking at the messy battlefield below the city, Gu Wuchen closed his eyes in pain. He didn't know whether Si Yuan, Yang Pu and the others had broken through the encirclement. He could only do this one step.
Seeing Zhao Qinmin walking up, his son Zhao Jin also followed him up to the top of the city with ten guards.
Gu Wuchen said: "I didn't expect it to fail. Will you come and have a drink with me?"
Zhao Qinmin's face was uncertain, and he followed Gu Wuchen to the city gate without saying a word.
Yesterday evening, Gu Siyuan led 3,000 dead soldiers out of the city, which indeed had a tendency to attract the enemy troops surrounding the city to the east. However, Gu Wuchen ordered the opening of the other three gates in advance and sent troops to break out, which instead attracted the enemy troops outside the east city.
The battle lasted until midnight, and except for a small group of soldiers and horses who were scattered and nowhere to go, the main force was finally forced to retreat into the city.
When Gu Wuchen decided to break out, Zhao Qinmin became suspicious. When Gu Wuchen ordered the other three gates to be opened in advance yesterday, he concluded that Gu Wuchen was only leaving a way for his son to survive.
At this time, seeing that Gu Wuchen's expression was as usual, Zhao Qinmin sneered in his heart but did not point it out.
"You have been with me for five years, and you have not gained anything. Instead, you have been trapped in an isolated city without being able to escape. I owe you..." Gu Wuchen walked into the side hall of the city tower and sat down behind the long desk. There was a sandalwood disc on the desk.
There was an exquisite tin pot and a pair of amber cups inside. Zhao Qinmin knew that the tin pot and amber cups were Gu Wuchen's favorite things.
Gu Wuchen invited Zhao Qinmin to sit down at the table, took the amber cups and placed them between himself and Zhao Qinmin. He filled the two cups with wine, and the aroma filled the room. He said, "Today, I can only toast you with a glass of wine and chat."
I apologize..." He picked up the wine glass first.
"Your Majesty, your words are serious. Without your Majesty, Qinmin would be nothing more than a humble person..." Zhao Qinmin quickly picked up the wine glass and watched Gu Wuchen drink the wine first...
"Why, you don't think my apology is enough?" Gu Wuchen asked with a smile as he saw Zhao Qinmin holding the wine glass beside his chest but not drinking.
"I already regretted not letting Zhao Jin follow the young master. Why do you have to fight so hard with me?" Zhao Qinmin looked at the wine glass in his hand and put it in front of the case. He didn't drink it, but looked at Gu Wuchen calmly.
Gu Siyuan, Yang Pu, and Ma Chao have all left. The soldiers who are truly loyal to the Gu family will either leave or die in battle. Regardless of the Qingzhou soldiers and horses left in Yangxin City, there are nearly 20,000 soldiers, but there are no soldiers loyal to the Gu family.
To enforce military discipline among them, in this desperate situation, how many of these people are willing to follow the Gu family all the way to the dark side?
Zhao Qinmin thought to himself that if he didn't drink this glass of wine, what could Gu Wuchen do to him!
"Alas! Your thoughts are too heavy after all. How can I blame others when things have come to this point? The glass of wine I just drank was a sincere tribute to you." Gu Wuchen refilled the empty cup with wine.
, said, "Do you think I will let you drink the poisonous wine together? This is the poisonous wine I have prepared, and I am not willing to give it to you." Gu Wuchen took out a paper bag from his arms and put the paper bag in with shaking hands.
Unfold it, reveal the white powder inside, carefully pour it into the wine glass, put your finger in it and stir it, drink it all in one gulp, and say with a smile, "If I die ugly, please help me...
..." The poison was very strong, and in just a few breaths, Gu Wuchen's heart ached, and he covered his chest, breathing heavily, and slowly fell down. Black blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth, and he let go and left the world...
Although black blood overflowed from the corner of Gu Wuchen's mouth, his face was as lifelike and the majesty of his life was still there. Zhao Qinmin stood stunned for a long time, not daring to test whether his breath was broken. Zhao Jin waited outside the door for a long time and couldn't hear it.
There was some movement inside, so he couldn't help but walked in, ran over and felt Gu Wuchen's breath, and said softly: "Your Excellency has passed away..." He still didn't dare to show the slightest disrespect to Gu Wuchen.
"Oh!" Zhao Qinmin came to his senses and told his son Zhao Jin, "You lead people to guard the door and never allow outsiders to come in. You must calmly think about how to escape the siege, and no outsiders are allowed to come in."
Master Dayou..."
Gu Siyuan, Yang Pu, Ma Chao and others had already left Yangxin. Zhao Qinmin sat and thought carefully. None of the officials or generals who stayed in Yangxin could pose a threat to him. After Gu Siyuan died, he appointed Shi Shi, the envoy chief under the Qingzhou system.
He was ranked first among all the officials in Qingzhou, and joining Yanhu could easily be exchanged for the title of fifth-grade prefect.
Zhao Qinmin couldn't help but laugh when he thought that as long as he sent a confidant to the enemy camp to contact and surrender, he would be rich and wealthy at his fingertips.
The more he thought about it, the more proud he became. Zhao Qinmin looked at the two amber cups on the long table and became interested in drinking a glass of wine to celebrate.
Zhao Qinmin did not touch the cup filled with poison and still had residual liquid. He picked up the other cup filled with wine and drank it all in one gulp. He felt that drinking from this amber cup really tasted different from usual, and it still felt unsatisfactory.
, he poured two more glasses of wine and drank it. By the time he felt angina in his chest, it was already too late...