The soldiers guarding the city huddled under the crenellations in the cold, hugging each other with their weapons in hand to keep warm.
Some soldiers with official positions had already hid in the turret, lit a charcoal fire, and were warming themselves comfortably inside.
The patrolling soldiers were the most unlucky. They were patrolling the city walls in the cold wind and had to look south to guard against the rebels who were ready to attack again at any time.
Although the distance was a bit far, the patrolling soldiers could still see the rebels camped in the forest on a hillside in the distance, with no intention of retreating.
At this moment, in the tower on the city wall, the remaining civil and military officials of Jinling City were gathered together.
The person in charge was Ambassador Yang who came from the capital.
Last time, General Ji led his troops into the Hou Mansion and killed many officials. In addition, Li Liangjin rebelled, and officials involved with the Hou Mansion were dismissed from their posts and detained. This resulted in the chaos in Jinling City.
There is a serious shortage of various officials. Otherwise, how could a Jinling city have this Yang Shangshi taking the lead?
Shang Yang was wearing a thick fur coat and was sitting in the city, warming himself on the charcoal fire in front of him. The bruises on his face had not improved yet, but he could no longer bear to grudge Li Xiuyuan.
"Three, three times. The rebels have attacked Jinling City three times. They have completely blocked the inside and outside of Jinling City. Moreover, the rebels have camped outside the city. If this continues, Jinling City will definitely be breached." There was panic in his tone.
, looking very uneasy.
In the officialdom, he can rely on his father's name to do whatever he wants.
But he was not able to deal with such a thing. Once the city was breached, according to the rebels' style, he would definitely have his head chopped off.
At a time when life and death were at stake, how could Commander Yang still sit still? If he had not been able to escape, he would have fled back to the capital alone.
"Sir Yang, before I took up my post, I took a look at the situation of the rebels. Although the rebels have a large number of people, their combat effectiveness is not strong. It is also winter, and they lack siege equipment and food. As long as we rely on the strong walls of Jinling City,
If we hold on for a month, the rebels will definitely defeat themselves."
Next to him, Zuo Qianhu said, not feeling pessimistic about the war in his words.
Commander Yang said angrily: "Defend for a month? Do you mean you want me to stay here for a month? You have also seen the situation of these rebels attacking the city. Let alone a month, Jinling City cannot be defended for ten days."
I don’t even think about how many rebels there are, 150,000, a full 150,000. How many are the defenders of Jinling City? Less than 40,000."
"The rubbish are all a bunch of rubbish. It is said that there are 200,000 troops stationed outside Jinling City? As a result, I found out that there are only 40,000 soldiers, and most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled. If they are asked to guard for a month, I would rather let you protect them.
I rushed out."
"You corrupt officials have emptied the military barracks in Jinling City. When I return to the capital, I must take a copy of you."
As he spoke, he angrily pointed at the officials, big and small, in the tower, and there were also many generals in the military camps.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of these officials and generals all changed, and they did not dare to speak.
"I tell you, if you cannot defend Jinling City, you will all move your heads. Even if you risk your life, you must defend the city. Jinling City is a big city, and the imperial court will not sit idly by. My father knows that I have been
Being trapped in the city will definitely make the housekeeper send reinforcements."
Ambassador Yang said: "If you have any good ideas, please tell me immediately. I am also a very open-minded person. As long as I can defend the city, I will allow it. When the rebels retreat, I will still do it for you."
Please take credit."
"Sir, the rebels attacked too quickly, and the ordnance brought to the military camp is still insufficient. The most lacking are weapons, armor, and arrows. I would like your permission to send a few hundred people out to clean the battlefield to make up for the military needs.
"A general in the army said.
"This is a good idea, but there are not many troops guarding the city. It would be bad if the troops go out in case they are attacked by the bandits. Let the people in the city go. There are so many refugees in the city. Let them die outside the city.
It's not a pity." Yang Shang said with a sudden thought.
A civil servant nodded and said, "This is a good idea. It will benefit the people and is better than wasting soldiers in the army."
"At this critical moment, can Master Fu be released from prison? After all, he is the minister of the Ministry of War and knows some war affairs, which will be beneficial to the defense of the city." The former general said.
Ambassador Yang shouted: "This is absolutely impossible. Mr. Fu is a felon named by Your Majesty. He is involved in Li Liangjin's rebellion. What if we let him out and he liaises with the rebels?"
He is not stupid. If he lets Fu Tianchou out, if he gets the credit and is re-employed by the court, wouldn't he be in trouble in the future?
He will not do anything to help his political opponents.
So he wouldn't let Fu Tianchou have any chance to make a comeback.
About a moment later.
A small official came to the city wall where the refugees gathered and shouted: "Listen, the adults above have spoken. Seeing that you refugees are freezing in the cold and have no food or clothing, the adults have given you a
For work, a small door will open under the city gate later. Anyone who goes out to pick up weapons, armor, and arrows will have food to eat. A pair of armor is exchanged for three bowls of rice, and one weapon is exchanged for one bowl of rice. Ten arrows
Exchange the arrow for a steamed bun."
"Listen, the adults above have spoken."
The clerk repeated the words several times.
Many of the refugees who were huddled under the city wall, covered in blue and purple from the cold, raised their heads when they heard the sound.
"I'll go out to the city and bring back a pair of armor and give you food in exchange for it."
An elderly farmer stood up tremblingly without thinking.
An old woman next to her said worriedly: "There's a war going on outside the city. Can I come back? Let's forget it."
The old farmer said: "I haven't attacked the city for two or three days. It's so cold now that I won't attack the city. I'll go and come back. If I don't eat, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive these days. I can only survive with enough food."
After this winter, the rebels will retreat in the spring next year, and they can rush back to the village to sow seeds. With so much snow this year, next year will definitely be a good year."
"Then you have to keep an eye out, and come back when the momentum is not right." The old woman said.
"Grandpa, come back soon."
A little head poked out from the old woman's arms. It was a little boy.
"My dear grandson, grandpa will make you some steamed buns later."
The old farmer laughed, with the wrinkles on his face piling up. He patted his sweet grandson's head dotingly, shrunk and faced the biting cold wind and walked out of the city without looking back.
Not far away, a farm boy about thirteen or fourteen years old was holding a four or five-year-old sister. Hearing the news, he happily said: "We have food, little sister, let's go and pick up things outside the city."
Eat in exchange for food."
"Okay, there is food to eat. Let's pick up some things and exchange them for food."
The little girl jumped up happily and clapped her hands.
"Let's go together. How about being a companion?"
There were a few older teenagers nearby who came over and suggested.
The farm boy nodded and said, "Then let's go together."
The more people we have, the more courage we have, and the less fearful a group of people will be.
There is also a woman who is holding a crying baby and is separated from her husband. She is now penniless, suffering from cold and hunger, and has no friends in Jinling City. Now she sees many people going out of the city to pick up things in exchange for food.
She hesitated for a moment, then followed everyone out of the city with her child in her arms.
If she doesn't eat anymore, she and her children will starve to death.
Like this, there are still many refugees who venture out of the city to clean up the battlefield just for a bite to eat.
At this moment, in the rebel camp a few miles outside the city.
Li Liangjin's flag was raised high, with three characters written on it: King of Nine Mountains.
He made great progress and proclaimed himself a king long ago. Nine refers to the number of poles, and mountains refer to the country and the country. The king of the nine mountains means that all the mountains and rivers in the world belong to him. Before he captured Yangzhou, he already had the ambition to unify the world.
In the military tent, the leaders of the rebels gathered together to discuss one thing.
Take Jinling City or not.
Li Liangjin sat on the main seat and said angrily: "Why don't you take Jinling City? Didn't you persuade me before that taking Jinling City would mean taking the entire Yangzhou? That's why I followed your advice and gave up taking Yangzhou.
city."
However, none of the leaders in the military tent paid attention to him, and no one responded.
"What? They are all mute and no one can speak?" Li Liangjin said angrily.
Shi Hu grinned, glanced at Li Liangjin, and smiled.
Wang Ze touched his belly with a big smile, like a Maitreya Buddha.
Aunt Hua combed her black hair, her face was calm and thoughtful.
The gorgeously dressed Mr. Chen looked indifferent, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
None of the four leaders seemed to care about Li Liangjin's anger.
The military advisor next to him, whose pseudonym was Nanshan Weng, was actually Hu Hei, a thousand-year-old fox spirit. He said: "My lord, please calm down. The reason why we don't take Jinling City is because there are still many concerns about it. This is an important city, not as good as the previous one."
For small towns, whether to attack or not, and whether to take or not, you need to think twice before deciding."
"You have been thinking about it for so long, haven't you come up with a reason? I have tried it out. The defenders of Jinling City are weak, with less than 40,000 people. We have more than 100,000 people attacking the city. We only need to swarm them and surround them.
"First, we will definitely capture Jinling City in less than three hours. I don't know what you people are hesitating about. Where has the momentum gone? Shi Hu, aren't you the most fierce?" Li Liangjin said angrily again.
Shi Hu glanced at them, then looked at the other leaders and continued to remain silent.
Hu Hei, whose pseudonym was Nanshan Weng, sighed in his heart at this moment. The reason why these four leaders were unwilling to act rashly was not because they could not take Jinling City, but because Li Xiuyuan was very likely to be in Jinling City.
He is guarding there with a sword that kills immortals. That monster dares to take the lead in entering the city?
Three of the four major leaders were frightened by Li Xiuyuan's immortal-killing sword.
Even Shi Hu, known as the Old Demon of Black Mountain, was defeated many times and nearly died several times.
Although he survived every time, there is no guarantee that he will not fall into the hands of Li Xiuyuan next time.
"It's not an option to waste it like this. It's better to take Jinling City." Mr. Chen, who had not spoken yet, said calmly.
Shi Hu grinned: "Are you willing to be a spearman? The gods of the Heavenly Palace have not yet been involved, but Li Shengren has spoken. He has taken down Jinling City, and he has abandoned the Immortal Killing Sword, otherwise hundreds of thousands of troops will not be able to do it.
If you don't take Yangzhou, come and take Jinling City."
"The gods are by our side, Mr. Chen, you are the most suspicious." Aunt Hua glanced at him and said.
"If we don't take Jinling City, how can Li Xiuyuan be willing to come out, and how can the gods show up? Only when success or failure is critical, those gods will show up without sparing any effort." Mr. Chen said.
The Maitreya Cult King's eyes moved: "This is a plan to drain the fire from under the cauldron. If it fails, we will be bitten to death by Li Xiuyuan. His immortal-killing sword cannot be underestimated."
"If we don't go to Jinling City, won't we be bitten to death by Li Xiuyuan?" Mr. Chen said.
Aunt Hua looked aside slightly and said, "Shi Hu, what do you think we should do?"
Shi Hu fiddled with the ring-shou sword in his hand, his eyes flickering, he looked at Mr. Chen, and then at the armored guards in the military tent.
At this point, things were beyond his control.
According to his idea, he first took Yangzhou and alerted Li Xiuyuan so that Li Xiuyuan could lead his troops to quell the rebellion. Then he forced out the hidden gods in the army and involved the forces of the Tiangong. Then he sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, turning from light to darkness.
, continue to hibernate.
Taking advantage of the life-and-death fight between Tiangong and Li Xiuyuan, he took the opportunity to take action.
One blow killed Li Xiuyuan and ate him alive, achieving unparalleled fame.
"I'm unhappy, I'm so damn unhappy." Shi Hu grinned, feeling a little irritable.
Until now, except for the few times he met Li Xiuyuan, he has always been successful. However, with this victory right in front of him, he became a little uneasy.
It's like a mantis hunting a cicada, even though it knows the oriole is right behind it, it still has to catch the cicada.
"What are you talking about? Why can't I understand a word of it?"
Li Liangjin heard the conversation of these leaders and didn't know what they were talking about.
How did he know that he, the King of Nine Mountains, was just a facade? The real and absolute big deal was these leaders and the gods in the dark.
This is a major event that affects the world and will last forever. How can a mere mortal like him control it?
However, no one has paid attention to Li Liangjin's words for a long time.
Even Hu Hei next to him didn't dare to say anything. Although he was also a thousand-year-old fox spirit, he couldn't compare with these old demons and evil ghosts.
"I've taken Jinling City. Damn it, I don't want to wait any longer. Listen to your surname Chen Yiji. It doesn't matter if you lose anyway. It's not like I haven't fought with that Li Xiuyuan. The worst I can do is keep fighting. If I win, I'll drink and eat meat."
, If you lose, your bones will be buried in the mountains.”
Shi Hu suddenly stood up and drank suddenly, making up his mind.
"We are all in the same boat, I will not harm you." Mr. Chen said calmly.
Seeing Shi Hu preparing to take the city, Aunt Hua responded: "Now that we have decided, let's prepare to lead troops to attack the city and take Jinling City in one go."
"Every person has a city wall, and it's easy to control the proportions." Wang Ze said with a twitch of his eyes.
"Can."
Everyone nodded, then stood up and left the military tent without saying anything.
"What are you doing? Are you going to rebel? Do you want to attack Jinling City without my order? How dare you make your own decisions?"
Seeing this, Li Liangjin was furious and said, "Why don't you come back and plead guilty to me?"
However, the four leaders still left without looking back, and no one paid any attention to Li Liangjin.
King of Nine Mountains?
Such a big reputation is just something that everyone holds up. Now you can hold it up or throw it away, so why bother paying attention to the orders of a mere mortal.