Li Guorui and Sun Sanjie were a little disappointed. The joy they felt when they heard about the arrival of reinforcements had now faded.
The reinforcements standing in front of them were indeed brightly armored and had fat horses. They were also equipped with two horses, which was extremely luxurious.
However, there are not many people on horseback, and there are only thirty or forty people who can be seen at a glance, and the soldiers under the armor are old, young, thin, and even women!
Is this reinforcements? Isn't this a team formed by random people on the road? If it weren't for the fat horses and sophisticated armor, it would be enough to call them refugees.
Couldn't they have stolen this horse and armor?
With the recent withdrawal of troops from Hebei West Road, military management will inevitably be lax, and the armory may have been robbed.
"Who are you?" Li Guorui asked with a frown, "What are you doing here?"
"Of course it's reinforcements." Zhao Hanqing said, pointing to the city gate in front of him, "Hurry up and open the city gate to let the refugees in."
Who are you?
Li Guorui and Sun Sanjie looked strange.
A little girl movie...
"Tell your person in charge to come out and speak." Li Guorui said impatiently.
The queues split up and people arrived first before they showed up.
"Master Li, we are indeed here for reinforcements."
The female voice is soft.
Li Guorui and Sun Sanjie saw the people coming.
Another little girl movie...
This one is not as good as the previous one. At least the previous one was wearing armor. Although it was nondescript, it still put on an appearance.
At this moment, the woman who came forward was wearing a cotton robe and a red cloak, with a pink face and light makeup, looking like a young lady from some family traveling.
"Let you in charge do the talking." Sun Sanjie said angrily, "What are you doing? What time is it?"
"That's me." Miss Jun said.
What is it?
Li Guorui and Sun Sanjie were stunned for a moment.
"I am in charge of the Qingshan Army." Miss Jun said, "We are here to reinforce and help you defend the city. Please open the city gate to let the refugees in."
Why?
"With the seal of Duke Cheng." Miss Jun said, reaching out and handing over an envelope.
Duke Cheng?
Li Guorui and Sun Sanjie were startled, then subconsciously reached out to take it and opened it. Sure enough, there was the seal of Duke Cheng.
"Really or not?" Li Guorui asked in a low voice.
Sun Sanjie is a civil servant who is very good at distinguishing notes and seals. What's more, he is in a geographical location where he often interacts with Cheng Guogong, so he can tell the authenticity at a glance.
"It's true." He said with a complicated expression.
Li Guorui's expression suddenly became excited.
Unexpectedly, Duke Cheng Guo was thinking about them and sent reinforcements... Well, although the reinforcements were a bit small and didn't look like an army at all... However, it was understandable. After all, Cheng Guo was currently on the border against a fifty- to sixty thousand Jin army.
It's hard for me myself.
Even in such a difficult time, he distributed troops to them. As expected, Duke Cheng never abandoned anyone.
Trusting and obeying Cheng Guogong has become a habit in their bones, and neither of them said anything more at the moment.
"General (junior), I obey your orders." They said solemnly in unison.
……………..
Although Changfeng is only a county town, due to its important geographical location and the place where military strategists compete, the city is extremely strong. Therefore, the first choice of refugees from all over the country is to flock here.
At this time, the sun was in the middle of the day. Standing on the city wall, you could see the crowds of people outside the city gate. Although they were turned away, many people were reluctant to leave.
I don’t know when many shacks were erected in the wilderness outside the city, and it became a settlement.
But there is nothing to be thankful for in this gathering place. The weather is freezing, the ground is freezing, the people are suffering from hunger and cold, and they are getting weaker and weaker. The suffering makes the humanity fade away and the bestiality flourishes.
With a scream, the black stone-like steamed bun in a girl's hand was snatched away. At the same time, she was picked up by a man with a sallow complexion but a sinister appearance.
"Have mercy on me." An old woman rushed over and hugged the man's leg.
"You haven't paid back the steamed buns you owed me last time, and you want to default on the debt." The man shouted fiercely, "If you don't pay back the steamed buns, I'll get someone to pay you back."
After saying that, he kicked the old woman away.
Three other men gathered around and looked at the struggling and crying girl with greedy expressions.
"Although I have lost some weight, I am still young and tender." One grinned, showing yellow teeth.
The meaning of these words made the old woman even more desperate, and she rushed over again.
"Take me, take me, let my granddaughter go," she cried.
The men kicked her away again.
"Who wants you, old thing?" they cursed.
Looking at this scene, some of the people around were angry and some were numb, but they did not stand up to stop it. They had seen this kind of thing too many times, and they couldn't take care of it. It was not certain whether they could survive, so how could they care about others?
.
Several men laughed and shook the girl.
"You can play with it before cooking," he said.
The old woman was kicked so hard that she couldn't get up, and her face was filled with tears as she looked at the screaming and crying girl.
How come this day is like this?
"Oh my god, do you still have eyes?" she cried, stretching her hands toward the sky.
Before he finished speaking, there was a pop, and the man holding the girl fell straight to the ground, and the girl in his hand also fell.
The man knelt on the ground, like a piece of broken bamboo, and finally lay motionless on the ground.
On his neck, an arrow quivered.
There was a pause of crying, followed immediately by screams.
"who?"
The remaining men who were in a daze came back to their senses and looked around hurriedly, only to see a group of officers and soldiers coming not far away at some unknown time, with a big red flag flying behind them. Among them was a thin man with his face covered.
Soldiers of unknown gender pointed their bows and crossbows at them.
Officers and soldiers!
It took several men to shout loudly, but with two buzzes, bows and arrows flew over, and three arrows shot through the throats of these three men.
He coughed a few times and died before he could even scream.
It was quiet in the wilderness, except for the granddaughter held by the old woman who was still crying.
"The city gate is open!"
Suddenly a refugee shouted.
Only then did everyone see that the city gate, which had been closed for half a month, was actually opened.
Suddenly the whole wildness was boiling, and everyone got up and rushed towards the city gate.
There was a crash, and the group of officers and soldiers standing not far away lined up, pointing their bows, arrows and spears at the refugees.
The excited refugees stopped and looked frightened.
Is this going to kill them?
"Refugees can enter the city, but rioters cannot enter the city." A man walked out of the group of officers and soldiers and shouted loudly, "Anyone who commits robbery, rape or theft will not be allowed to enter the city."
What?
There was a commotion in the wild.
"The old, the weak, women and children go first." The man continued, "Anyone who messes with the crowd can point it out."
There is actually such a rule.
Many people in the wilderness changed their faces, but they still looked doubtful.
Slowly, the old, weak, women and children came forward and walked towards the city gate under the watchful eyes of the officers and soldiers. As expected, there was no obstruction.
"After entering the city, go to the Chenghuang Temple. There is a porridge factory there." The man added.
He even served porridge?
Suddenly more people came to the wilderness, and this time there were young people pushing forward and running at the front.
But the next moment an arrow shot at his feet.
The young man was so frightened that he immediately stopped.
"The old, the weak, women and children go first," the man said coldly.
Looking at the row of officers and soldiers holding crossbows, the young man did not dare to step forward.
The refugees began to enter the city quietly and orderly. Suddenly, a scream rang out from the crowd, and a woman rushed forward and grabbed a skinny man.
"He killed my daughter, he killed my daughter," the woman shouted.
The man threw his arms and his eyes flashed.
"I didn't, you're talking nonsense." He also shouted.
Zhao Hanqing's crossbow was aimed at him.
"Are there any witnesses?" she asked.
The crowd was silent, and suddenly someone stood up. He was a thin child.
"I, I saw it." He stammered, pointing at the man.
Soon more people came forward.
"I saw it."
"I bear witness."
"He did evil and **** someone's daughter to death."
Seeing this chaotic scene, the man could no longer conceal his panic.
"She did it voluntarily. She asked me to eat voluntarily." He raised his hands and shouted, throwing the woman away and running towards the city gate.
After running for only two steps, Zhao Hanqing's arrow had already penetrated the back of his heart, causing the man to fall to the ground and twitch for a few moments without moving.
Looking at the dead man, the woman cried loudly, knelt down and kowtowed to the officers and soldiers.
"Hurry into the city." Zhao Hanqing said, still holding the crossbow steadily at the refugees.
But at this moment, many people no longer had any fear in their hearts, and looked at the officers and soldiers' crossbows and spears with great peace of mind.
The old woman hugged her granddaughter, with tears streaming down her face, and slowly kowtowed to the ground again.
"It's not that I won't retaliate, the time has not come yet." She murmured, "God still has eyes, God still has eyes."
She kowtowed repeatedly, and someone next to her helped her up.
"Mom, come into the city quickly," they said, with the joy of surviving a catastrophe.
The old woman stood up tremblingly and took her granddaughter.
"What kind of soldier is this? I want to remember my benefactor." She murmured.
"That flag says," an old man wearing a torn Confucian robe heard, squinted at the big flag behind the officers and soldiers and said, "Qingshan Army." (To be continued)