As night fell, the dark clouds in the sky were very low. Except for the thieves wandering around the city of Quzhou County holding torches and shining a little light, the night outside was as dark as thick ink, and from time to time there were gusts of strange wind.
It fits the saying that the moon kills people on a dark night and the wind blows high and sets people on fire.
Shi Qian stuck his head out, avoided the city gate tower, and quietly sneaked under a secluded city wall outside Quzhou County. He looked at the top of the city wall, which was less than two feet high. It was far higher than other dangerous places in the state capital.
He was very short. This time he just sneaked into a county town. Shi Qian didn't even bring Feizhu to help him climb high and over the wall. He only brought a fire seal and a fire coal tube, and he also got two sealed cans from Wei Dingguo's firearms.
Use the fierce fire oil and carry it on your back with a baggage.
This time Xiao Tang tried to protect Shi Qian, only saying that he was a close confidant in his house, and after other people persuaded Wei Dingguo to reluctantly agree. Shi Qian also held back his energy and was determined to successfully complete the task of sneaking into the city and cooperating inside and outside.
, also tells those who despise themselves to know the benefits and disadvantages of having fleas!
Shi Qian looked left and right, reaching out and tapping the city wall gently. The city wall in Quzhou County was also made of rammed earth, and the bricks were staggered with white mortar. Due to years of disrepair, some parts of the wall's surface had lost its layer of soil.
Finally, I moved to a location and saw that at a height of 15 to 6 feet, there were three or two slight bumps on the surface of the city wall, which would have been difficult for an ordinary person to climb over.
"I only treat this city wall as a country fence, but it doesn't show that I am trying to attract fleas!" Shi Qian's lips curled up, and he listened again. Shi Qian, who was used to acting on moonlit nights, had no vision or hearing.
They were more sensitive than ordinary people. He knew that there were no thieves on the city wall at this time, so he took two steps back, ready to leap.
Shi Qian took a deep breath and jumped up more than ten feet high. He stepped on the city wall and used his strength to jump up a few feet. Then he stretched out his hand to grab it. His three fingers were clasped on the slight bumps on the city wall and he jumped up again.
Just like a civet climbing a tree or a gecko swimming on a wall, using both hands and feet, he had climbed to the top of the Quzhou City Wall in a matter of seconds.
"I just don't know where the pastures and granaries are in Quzhou County. There must be many thieves patrolling the city gates everywhere. If I open the city gates, I'm afraid the trap will be exposed..." Shi Qian thought about it and leaned down.
Sneak around, find a foothold, jump off the city wall and sneak into the county.
This man in night clothes seemed to be completely integrated into the night. Although there were bandits patrolling not far away from time to time, he did not notice any movement around him. At that time, he sneaked for a while, and then slipped into the strip after getting farther away from the city wall.
In the alley, I jumped up to a house and sneaked on the roof to explore. Even when I stepped on the tiles, it was silent and I couldn't hear the slightest sound.
"Straight mother-in-law! We rushed to fight with the army and lost most of our brothers. Zhang Li and Zhao Neng only watched the excitement, but they dared to have sex with us! How can I bear this!?"
Qian suddenly heard shouts and curses coming from the house in front of him, which seemed to be thieves from the southern Hebei army, so he sneaked over, pried open the tiles, and looked down.
"Who do I think it is, it turns out to be this bad guy again! It's unlucky for this guy, but it's not this stupid bird's bad luck that he bumps into Brother Xiao Tang this time?" Shi Qian couldn't help but chuckle to himself, it turned out that the person in that house was yelling loudly.
, it was Dong Cheng who he saw fighting with Xiao Tang in front of the battle in Weicheng that day.
At this time, Dong Cheng looked angry. He, Shen Ji, and Geng Gong were sitting in the house when they heard Geng Gong say: "The strongmen of each village in the Southern Hebei Alliance are ranked high and low based on the number of soldiers and horses they bring. Brother Dong
After several battles, how could we ever fall behind? Alliance leader Zhang asked us to lead the remaining troops to assist Zhang Li. Zhao Neng and his men guarded Quzhou County. It was already difficult to resist the vanguard of the few battalions of officers and soldiers. If the army from the government headquarters arrived, we
How to block it?"
Shen Ji also said angrily: "Brother Zhang's behavior makes our brothers angry! Not only Bian Xiang, the hero from Hedong, but also several strong men were sent back to Yongnian and Linming to guard Dazhai. We brothers worked hard for him, but Being put here to fight against the army! I don't think it's better..."
Just as he was talking, Shen Ji looked outside, and then lowered his voice and said: "I think it's better for us to take our brothers back to Fenglong Mountain. Otherwise, if this continues, it will be difficult for our brothers to leave a whole body!"
Dong Cheng pondered for a moment after listening to Shen Ji's words, and then immediately shook his huge head like a rattle, and said decisively: "No! We just returned to Fenglong Mountain, what can we do with just these troops? Besides, we brothers Since I have already worshiped Zhang Di as the leader of the alliance, wouldn’t it destroy the loyalty of the world if we leave without saying goodbye?”
Shen Ji paused and said, "Oh my eldest brother! Since Zhang Di is not our brother's confidant, eldest brother, what kind of loyalty are you talking about with that guy?"
Dong Cheng said angrily: "Shut your mouth! I, Dong Cheng, have been a bandit since I became a bandit. I am a good man who tucks his head in his trousers and is not afraid of death! If I escape in despair now, wouldn't I be a leader in the world?" A good man laughs at me for being a coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death. Although Zhang Di treats me unfairly, I will argue with him. But if you ask me, Dong Cheng, to be a coward who runs for his life in front of the battle, that is absolutely unacceptable! You have to go and look after yourself. Go! But I won’t go!”
Seeing Dong Cheng's anger, Shen Ji and Geng Gong had no choice but to keep silent. Shi Qian eavesdropped on the formation, and suddenly his plan came to mind, and he secretly said: According to what these three thieves said, most of Zhang Di's thieves are The mob is fighting with each other openly and secretly. Since the two groups of strongmen in the city are at odds with each other, I might as well wait until midnight and set fire to it when most of the gangsters are asleep. Even if it doesn't work to provoke the two groups of strongmen, I can take advantage of the chaos and open the city gate.
Shi Qian then waited until the third or fourth watch, after Dong Cheng and others had fallen asleep soundly, he quietly slipped down from the house, found a few dry thatched wooden houses around, poured a pot of hot oil up and down, and then climbed up On the ridge of another roof, a fire was lit and a coal tube was thrown away. The sparks touched the fire oil and a fierce fire broke out immediately. In the Song Dynasty, most of the residents in the towns were thatched and tiled houses, and the houses in Quzhou County were mostly made of bamboo and wood. Once the structure catches fire with the help of strong fire oil, it will be full of flames and thick smoke billowing into the sky within a short time.
"The water has broken out! The water has broken out!" A thief was shocked to realize that there was a fire inside. When he rushed to the scene, the heat wave was already hitting his face. He saw dozens of rooms in flames soaring into the sky, reflecting half of the night sky brightly. Except for the guard, Most of the thieves in the city and the people in the county rushed out of the house. Countless people were pushed over and overturned at once. They were wailing and the situation was extremely chaotic.
When Dong Cheng, Shen Ji, and Geng Gong rushed out of the room in panic wearing only their underwear, Shi Qian took advantage of the turmoil in life and shouted loudly: "Zhang Li! You bitch! You've come to assassinate me." ......ah!"
Dong Cheng's minions, Zhang Li, and Zhao Neng's thieves woke up from their dreams, feeling groggy. Seeing the fire spreading, they all panicked. For a while, there was a roar of people. Who could tell where Shi Qian shouted? Then immediately Shi Qian took a few more steps, jumped to another room, and shouted loudly in a different voice using his good ventriloquism skills.
The situation in front of them was in chaos. Dong Cheng and the thieves did not have time to think carefully. When they heard someone screaming, they subconsciously swung their weapons to chop down Zhang Li and Zhao Neng's thieves who were coming. Dong Cheng also said angrily: "Zhang Li, Zhao Neng These two thieves dare to attack me!?"
Dong Cheng rushed back into the house, picked up the wind-splitting knife, rushed out of the house, and chopped off his head. Although Shen Ji and Geng Gong felt that this matter was a bit strange, the situation in front of them gave them no chance to make it clear. Seeing Dong Cheng take action After killing Zhang Li, Zhao Neng and his two men had no choice but to rush forward to help.
Two groups of thieves were fighting in one place. Although the surrounding residents wanted to put out the fire, how could they dare to get close to the murderers who were fighting in a bloody fight? After only a few moments, the fire spread and burned into the sky. Several groups of thieves at the east gate of Quzhou City saw the fire in the city and listened to the soldiers. The swords were connected with each other, and the screams and screams were endless. They hurried to the city to check, but only a dozen thieves were left guarding the city gate.
Only a moment later, a jar of burning oil was thrown from the east gate tower of Quzhou City and hit a thief on the head. The thief groaned and fainted, and the burning oil also splashed all over the bodies of several people around him. yes.
After Shi Qian made a sneak attack and killed two thieves on the city gate, he lit a fire stick and flew down. The fire stick he threw was stained with fire oil, and a wall of fire suddenly separated Shi Qian from a group of thieves. There were seven or eight thieves. Swallowed by the fire, they howled in agony, and the remaining few were stunned. Shi Qian pushed open the door pier that supported the hinge of the door leaf. The city gate made a muffled creaking sound, and was pushed open by Shi Qian. .
Xiao Tang, Wei Dingguo, Shan Yangui and other troops had already been ambushing outside the city. Seeing the fire coming from inside the city, they knew that Shi Qian had succeeded. Xiao Tang shouted to Wei Dingguo and Shan Yangui: "Brother Shi Qian, everything is done now. The thieves are in chaos, it’s a good time to break the city!”
Wei Dingguo, Shan Yangui, the second general, led the water and fire battalion to rush to the east side of Quzhou County, smashed open the city gate, and filed in one after another. The thieves in the city were already trapped and frightened, but when they saw the official troops entering the city, they fled in disorder. The thieves general Zhao Neng just ran away When they arrived at the east gate, they saw Wei Dingguo and two generals, Shan Yangui, rushing towards them. They fought with them for seven or eight rounds with their guns drawn. However, they were unable to support themselves alone and were knocked down by Shan Yangui with a single shot. Wei Dingguo caught up with him on horseback, wielding a cooked copper knife in his hand. Chop off Zhang Neng’s head!
At this time, Xiao Tang had also led Suo, Hua Rong, Zhou Jin, Wang Ding, and Xue Yong to rush in. Suo and Zhou Jin went straight to the county government office to kill, and ran into the thief general Zhang Li. Zhang Li was not interested in fighting at all, so he did not count. Then he was knocked off his horse with an axe. Xiao Tang, Hua Rong went to the south gate, Wang Ding, and Xue Yong went to the north gate to cover up the murder. All the thieves were caught in a fire, internal strife, the leader was killed and a series of changes, they were like headless flies. Murdered corpses littered the streets, staining the streets with blood.
Dong Chengwu fought on his own, but when he saw the officers and soldiers pouring in, he knew it would be difficult to resist. He chopped off a few people, grabbed a war horse, and with Shen Ji and Geng Gong led thirty or forty thieves to Ximencang, Quzhou County. They fled in panic, but they met Xue Yong and Wang Ding who led their troops to attack and cut them off.
"Coward! One after another, and this time it is so embarrassing!" Dong Cheng screamed and cursed. Seeing that there were so many officers and soldiers, he had no choice but to ride with Shen Ji to fight a bloody road. Geng Gong and several small bosses were surrounded. , Wu Zi kept complaining, and when he was in a hurry, Xue Yong rushed out and stabbed Geng Gong in the thigh with a spear.
Geng Gong howled miserably and fell down from his horse. He and three or two of his men were killed by Wang, and Xue Yong's soldier Xiang Yong was beaten with all his hands and feet.
The raging fire still illuminates the night sky brightly, but the battle of Quzhou is coming to an end.