In the distance to the north, the ground shook slightly, and even the gravel on the ground shook.
Traces of party cavalry appeared in the distance again.
The soldiers who had fought hard for half a day were holding the injured robes in their hands and stepping on the crunching yellow sand. They all looked back at this scene with bitter expressions.
Since the battle with the party's elite "Yuyuan Liubanzhi", the Xihe Road soldiers and horses at the rear have suffered heavy losses. Although the enemy troops were defeated, they also paid a heavy price.
After that, Dangxiang Qingqi began to pursue them one after another, causing a large number of casualties to the Song army.
During the battle, the Song army's horses died in large numbers, and many of the cavalry became infantry.
When they arrived at Mingsha City, there were less than five thousand soldiers around Zhang Zhi, and many of them were injured. The rest of the troops would never be able to catch up.
Zhang Zhi looked at this scene, shook his head and said: "I am really a mediocre general! I am so tired that all the three armies died here with me."
The place where he and Zhongshi Dao agreed to meet the troops on Jingyuan Road was still far away. Now that the Xixia army was pursuing them, Zhang Zhi sighed like this.
While he was talking, the gate of Mingsha City opened, and he saw a general arriving with more than ten riders.
Zhang Zhi saw that it was You Shixiong who responded.
When the other party saw Zhang Zhi, he immediately bowed down and said, "You Shixiong has met the commander-in-chief!"
Zhang Zhi was overjoyed and got off his horse to help You Shixiong up and said, "Uncle Jing, you are really here!"
You Shixiong immediately brought his horse to Zhang Zhi and said: "Mr. Jinglue, Dangxiang's pursuers are coming soon. You can ride my horse back to Jingzhou District as quickly as possible."
Zhang Zhi looked back at the vast crowd of soldiers behind him, shook his head and said, "Since my queen is here with tens of thousands of soldiers, how can I abandon them and leave first?"
"If I leave, won't the morale of the army be shattered?"
Everyone on the left and right advised each other: "Commander, if you leave, we will all have something to say to you if you die on the battlefield in the future. We will all have a source of compensation and posthumous gifts from the imperial court."
"If you die here with us, the entire army will be wiped out, and the imperial court will blame you..."
The soldiers in the audience all said this, and Zhang Zhi couldn't help but move.
Who in this world is not afraid of death?
Zhang Zhi is also afraid of death.
But Zhang Zhi immediately thought that if I killed Wang Zhongzheng and brought shame on the official family, the court would be held responsible. If my third uncle knew about it, he would risk everything to protect me in front of the emperor. How could I put my third uncle in trouble and embarrass my Zhang family?
, bringing shame to the ancestors.
If you don't perform some great deeds to atone for your crime, you can only die here. This will not damage the name of our Zhang family's loyalty!
Zhang Zhi thought of this and said seriously: "A man should die standing up and never live on his knees!"
"I have written to Xianggong Zhang about this matter. Don't worry about the pension. You all kindly accept it. There is no need to persuade me any more!"
The generals didn't know what Zhang Zhi was thinking. They thought that as the commander, he could escape, but he insisted on living and dying with the soldiers. They all shed tears.
The generals thought that back then, Mr. Zhang Jinglue did not hesitate to put a knife across his neck in order to protect the officers and men of Guangrui Army. Such deep loyalty can be seen today.
You Shixiong said: "Now that the party's pursuers have arrived, I would like to ask Mr. Jinglue to follow me into the city for temporary shelter."
Zhang Zhi said: "Uncle Jing, you are a civil servant, so you don't have to stay here with me."
Youshi ambition said, I am deeply favored by your third uncle. If anything happens to you, your future will be ruined.
It would be better for me to accompany you to play a game here. If I can make great achievements, your third uncle will not treat me poorly when he returns to the political position. He will rely on me for glory and wealth in his life.
You Shixiong said: "Commander, Mingsha City has ten days of food for five thousand troops and two wells. It may not be a desperate situation. I am willing to accompany the commander to defend the city here."
When Zhang Zhi heard this, he was happy at first and then sad. Ten days later, the food and grass would be exhausted and the whole army would be annihilated.
Zhang Zhi said: "Thank you very much, Uncle Jing."
You Shixiong said: "I don't dare to lower my rank. As the saying goes, jade can be broken but its whiteness cannot be changed; bamboo can be burned but its knots cannot be destroyed."
"The commander-in-chief is loyal and upright, and the master admires him so much that he falls to the ground."
Zhang Zhi immediately led his army and You Shixiong into the city and settled the wounded.
After Zhang Zhi entered the city, he learned that You Shixiong had already made preparations. He mobilized the civilian workers who had previously transported grain and grass, and built a lot of stones on the city. He also built stone barriers below the city to prevent cavalry attacks, and reinforced the sheep and horse wall.
The key is that You Shixiong did not obey Wang Zhongzheng's previous order to transport grain from Mingsha City, cut off the grain and grass that could support five thousand soldiers and horses for ten days, and dug a new well.
You must know that in the yellow sand desert, whether there is a well in the city is two different things.
When You Shixiong learned that the Song army had retreated hastily under Lingzhou City, he sent back the civilian service early, leaving only 300 soldiers to guard the city.
As soon as Zhang Zhi's men entered the city, the soldiers carried buckets of water to provide supplies and place the wounded. The soldiers and horses on Xihe Road had been hungry and thirsty for many days. When they saw water, the soldiers and horses rushed to put their heads into the common trough to drink.
Zhang Zhi saw that You Shixiong was not only courageous, but also extremely considerate in his work. His third uncle was really wise and discerning, so he left me such a talent.
In the middle of the night, fire broke out under the city, and the party's cavalry arrived.
The Dangxiang cavalry tried to steal the city while the Song army was still on its feet, but were ambushed by the crossbowmen of the Xihe army ambushing the city.
Thousands of divine arm bows, crossbows, and bows were all aimed at the party cavalry who were galloping towards them holding torches.
Suddenly, the crossbows were fired at full strength, and the sound of men and horses falling could not be heard. The party's cavalry who stole the city suffered hundreds of casualties and retreated hastily.
The Dangxiang cavalry did not dare to approach the city again, but surrounded them from a distance. However, they saw that the Song army went out of the city at night and dragged all the Dangxiang men and horses who had fallen below the city into the city. For some unknown reason.
Zhang stood straight at the top of the city and watched this scene. The cold wind at night blew his armor-covered robe.
In this endless yellow sand desert, the bones of countless soldiers have been buried. A crescent moon is shining alone on the city head, holding the sword and standing straight.
In this epic scene, Zhang immediately thought of his family members in Bianjing.
There is also the woman from the Wang family who is plain-looking but considerate.
…
Less than a hundred miles south of Mingsha City, Shen Kuo, the commander of the Jingyuan Road, rushed to meet him with five thousand cavalry.
After discarding all their heavy weapons and equipment, the panicked soldiers on the Jingyuan Road saw their own troops and horses, and they all felt the hope of finding a way out of desperate situations. They hugged their robes and burst into tears.
Shen Kuo rushed to see Zhongshi Dao and asked stammeringly: "Where is the chapter... Where is it...?"
Zhong Shidao said with shame: "I'm leading the army to the rear."
Shen Kuo was so anxious that he almost cried: "Uncle Yi, you... are so dizzy that you dare to let Zhang Jinglue... take the throne!"
When Zhong Shidao saw Shen Kuo acting like a woman, he immediately said: "What else can I do? It was Zhang Jinglue who requested the order himself, and it was not what I wanted. Besides, I am the commander of the soldiers and horses of Jingyuan Road, and I must protect the soldiers of this road."
Ma Zhouquan."
Shen Kuo shook his head and said: "Confused, confused... confused, you are such a confused and reckless man. If Zhang Jinglue were to die in battle... how could the two brothers-in-law of the Zhang family and so many high-ranking officials in the court let us go!"
"It would not be a pity for one of you to die as a teacher. Even if you have a whole family, they will accompany you!"
When Shen Kuo said this, his expression changed.
…
Zhongshu.
"Prime Minister, Prime Minister!"
That night Zhang Yue woke up from his seat in the duty room and saw Xu Xi, the inspector of the Zhongshu Military Room, standing next to the duty room door.
Zhang Yue swept his hair and said: "Come in!"
Xu Xi said: "The Jingyuan Road Army finally has news!"
Zhang Yue wiped his face with a hot towel and glanced at Xu Xi when he heard the words. He immediately took the report and read it ten lines at a time.
Halfway through watching, Zhang Yue wanted to slam the table and curse, but finally restrained his anger and scolded: "What a good Shen Kuo!"
Xu Xi looked at Zhang Yue's expression and thought, if Shen Kuo were here, he would probably pee on the spot.
