After hearing the news brought by the messenger, Jian Shuo sneered: "Hey, Yuan Benchu!"
Chen Cheng immediately said: "Let's go back to the palace first."
The Xiyuan Army brought by Yue Qi and Jian Shuo retreated slowly. On the opposite city wall, Zhou Ao watched the enemy troops retreat and thought for a while with a sullen face. Only then did he understand from the city wall that Chen Cheng was there.
He immediately shot twenty arrows and killed twenty-one of his own party, twenty of whom were middle- and low-ranking officers.
Facing such a terrifying marksman, anyone has to think twice. Besides, although the opponent is retreating, their formation is tight, so it is not a good idea to attack rashly. While he was thinking about it, Chen Cheng also saw that after the break,
Having already retreated into the palace wall, he descended from the city wall and headed straight to the White Tiger Temple.
In the lobby of White Tiger Temple, He Jin was discussing with several important officials of the imperial court.
"General!" Ding Gong said urgently: "A fire broke out in the east of the city, and the people were displaced. Most of the arsenal and Taicang have been burned down. We need to send troops immediately to put out the fire!"
He Jin listened and was silent.
General Zhang Zhang came back with less than half of his soldiers. Half of his hair was burned off by the fire and he had no time to clean it. Hearing this, he immediately retorted: "The thieves just took advantage of the fire to attack our army. We can't put out the fire without killing the thieves first!"
General, please allow me to fight again!"
Seeing that He Jin seemed to be interested, Ding Gong walked forward on his knees and cried: "Does the general want to watch so many innocent people perished in the sea of fire?"
He Jin looked at Ding Gong, then at Zhang Zhang, and said with emotion: "I am planning for the world, how can I care about the small people!"
Ding Gong's face was full of shock and disappointment. He Jin said: "Our army is outnumbered and the enemy is outnumbered, so we ordered the soldiers to attack all night! We will not discuss anything else until the thieves are defeated!"
He looked at Zhou Ao who was walking into the hall and asked, "What's the matter?"
Zhou Ao knelt down on one knee and said, "General, the thieves have returned to Nangong."
He Jin looked at the fire that burned the sky red, gritted his teeth and said: "The thieves can set fire, but I can't? Order Lieutenant Shooting Sheng to prepare more rockets and burn Nangong to me!"
During the previous daytime siege of the city, the Shesheng Battalion used rockets to burn down the curtains, hanging doors and other defensive facilities on top of the city, but they were very careful not to let the fire arrows fly towards the palace behind the wall. Occasionally, a few arrows landed in the palace.
Some fires were caused, but they were quickly extinguished.
If you really set the fire deliberately, all the carved and painted buildings will be burned to the ground very quickly.
Chen Cheng and Jian Shuo quickly withdrew. As soon as they entered the city, they heard that Yan Zhong had returned from Canglong Gate with his troops.
Yan Zhong said with shame: "The Northern Army set fire to the palace and then took advantage of the chaos to attack. The subordinates were incompetent and failed to defend the arsenal."
Chen Cheng looked at Yan Zhong with a complicated expression, sighed softly, and said, "As long as everything is fine."
After hearing this, the ashamed expression on Yan Zhong's face immediately disappeared, but Wei Li, who was following him, kept his head lowered and did not dare to look at Chen Cheng.
Yan Zhong looked around, stepped forward and whispered: "Now He Jin is defending the North Palace. He is in a hurry and can't get out. The troops of King Qin from all directions are coming... Your Majesty, it's time to make up your mind."
After he defeated a group of Northern Army infantry, he also thought about taking advantage of the chaos to kill He Jin, but when he arrived near Beigong, he realized that it was impossible, and then turned back to Nangong.
Chen Cheng asked his soldiers to stay away, stared at Yan Zhong, and asked: "Bo Dao, is this fire really set by the Northern Army?"
Before Yan Zhong could speak, Wei Li, who was not far behind him, began to tremble all over. Yan Zhong said calmly: "I let him go. If the prince blames me, I am willing to bear the blame."
"Don't say that. How can I blame others?" Chen Cheng sighed and said, "It's not easy for you either. Although you set the fire, but if you hadn't set the fire, we would be even more difficult now."
He touched the place on his body where he had been hit by a crossbow bolt, and found cold iron armor where he touched it. He said with emotion: "The Northern Army is so brave that it cannot be compared to the barbarians from the border areas."
"Luoyang is a big whirlpool now," Yan Zhong said: "It's better to jump out first, and then calmly clean up the mountains and rivers. As long as we have two palaces and two princes in hand, we can still beat He Jin into a traitor!"
"It may not be that easy, but it has to be like this," Chen Cheng looked at the fire in the distance and said with a bitter smile: "My original intention was to save the people and save a few people from dying in the world, but I didn't expect that it would cause such a chaos.
After today, I don’t know how many people are going to curse me.”
Yan Zhong asked: "Are you afraid of being scolded?"
Chen Cheng thought for a while, shook his head and said, "To be honest, I'm really not afraid."
Yan Zhong laughed and said: "Is that serious? A certain family is not afraid either!"
"Bo Dao said we have to jump out of Luoyang first, so where should we go?" Chen Cheng asked: "Should we go west to Guanzhong, or north to Yanzhao?"
When he thought about it, these two places were the places that people today considered to be "kingly". It was only after Liu Bang captured the Three Qin Dynasties that he was qualified to challenge Xiang Yu and then conquer the world. And Emperor Guangwu, who revived the Han Dynasty,
, with Hebei as the foundation, well-equipped soldiers and sufficient food, taking over the world is like searching for something from a bag.
But Yan Zhong shook his head and said: "There are Xiliang rebels outside Chang'an City. How to get there?"
The Xiliang Qiang people have been in trouble for more than a hundred years. After Han Sui Bianzhang joined, they gained the strength to threaten the Han Empire. The Xiliang cavalry was indomitable and once defeated Dong Zhuo, Huangfu Song and others. But to
It is an exaggeration to say that the Xiliang Army is outside Chang'an City. Among other things, Huangfu Song is currently stationing 30,000 troops in Fufeng County to defend Chang'an.
Although the Xiliang army led by Han Sui Bianzhang was powerful, it could not break through the defense line guarded by Huangfu Song. It was far from enough to reach Chang'an City.
"What about Hebei? Hebei is thousands of miles away, rich in resources and people, and has a strong army and a strong army. It is the perfect place to use force."
Yan Zhong smiled and said: "Hebei is indeed fertile, but there are many powerful families in the area. I am afraid that it will not be used by the princes, but will make things difficult for us."
"Neither Guanzhong nor Hebei is acceptable, so where should we go?"
"According to a certain family's opinion, it is better to go to Jingxiang via Nanyang."
"Jingxiang... I remember that the imperial court just sent Liu Biao to serve as the governor of Jingzhou, right?"
Yan Zhong smiled and said: "Yes, Liu Jingsheng has just handed over his post as a lieutenant in the Northern Army and taken up the post of governor of Jingzhou. But if he takes office alone, how can he compare to us taking the two palaces and the prince?"
Chen Cheng looked to the side and saw that Wei Li had already retreated into the distance. "Bo Dao said that there are many powerful families in Hebei, but aren't there any powerful families in Jingzhou? Won't they make things difficult for us?"
"What the Lord doesn't know is that Jingzhou borders the Southern Barbarians. The sects and thieves are powerful and powerful, but there are many powerful people but few aristocratic families. I waited until I arrived in Jingzhou, supported Donghou to succeed me, then recruited local heroes with imperial official positions, and then sent troops to the Central Plains. A major event
Can become!"
What Yan Zhong said was conclusive, but Chen Cheng didn't believe what he said now. He thought about it carefully, shook his head and said: "Jingzhou is easy to attack and difficult to defend, and it is surrounded by enemies on all sides. If we can go, He Jin can't send troops to pursue it.
?If you go there, maybe the pursuers will come and kill you before you can even gain a foothold."
Yan Zhong whispered: "The reason why He Jin is the general is because of the existence of the queen and the emperor's eldest son. As long as..."
He raised his palms, made a downward slashing motion, and said: "Then why does He Jin sit in the position of general? How can he command the generals and scholars in the world?"
Chen Cheng shook his head repeatedly and said: "We are fighting on the battlefield, and everyone has their destiny, so that's it. You ask me to kill women and children who have no ability to resist, but I can't do it."
He stared at Yan Zhong and said: "If I kill them today to solve the problem, won't I kill you for some other reason tomorrow? You still have to have a bottom line as a human being."
Yan Zhong said disapprovingly: "There is no need for the king to take action, I will do the evil for him."
The expression on Chen Cheng's face gradually turned ferocious, and his two beautiful eyebrows seemed to stand upright. He said sternly: "I told you not to do this!"
He had killed as many as eight hundred people on the battlefield with his own hands. At this time, he became angry and murderous. Yan Zhong was suddenly startled and felt that it became difficult to breathe. The soldiers in the distance heard this.
There was a noise, and they all looked over. Chen Cheng waved his hand to indicate that it was okay.
"Bo Dao, you are smart, but you may not understand who I am. There are some things I would rather die than do."
Yan Zhong had many other words in his mind, such as "If you are not afraid of death, then so many soldiers who are following you will also die together?" etc. However, facing the angry Chen Cheng, he did not dare to say it
Say something else.
Chen Cheng restrained his murderous aura and said slowly: "Your Majesty treats me well. His bones are not yet cold. How can I raise a butcher knife to kill his wife? If I really do that, can I still be considered a human being?"
Yan Zhong smiled bitterly and said: "I know, but if you don't use this strategy, I have no other way."
Chen Cheng thought for a while and said: "Maybe this way..."
Before he finished speaking, the soldiers reported urgently: "The Northern Army has broken through the Zhuque Gate and is heading towards Jiade Hall. Our army is small and we can no longer resist!"
It was getting late at this time. When Chen Cheng heard this, he hurriedly turned around and saw that in the afterglow of the setting sun, a large number of heavy armored infantry were pouring in through the city gate. The enemy troops were divided into three groups, and two groups went to seize the Baihu Gate and Canglong Gate.
, the soldiers and horses on the middle road came here along the passage between Qingliang Hall, Phoenix Hall and other palaces.
On the top of the city of Zhuque Gate, infantrymen wearing heavy armor and holding halberds killed the defending soldiers. A large number of crossbowmen were running up quickly, preparing to occupy the shooting positions on the city head.
Yan Zhong was shocked and angry, and shouted: "How come the Suzaku Gate was suddenly lost?"
Chen Cheng didn't pay attention just now, but then he discovered that in the Jiade Hall not far away, many green dots turned red at some point. He took a deep breath and said: "Someone opened the city gate!"
There was the sound of footsteps in the Jiade Hall, and more than a hundred soldiers rushed out and guarded the open space on the steps. Archers and crossbowmen then rushed out and aimed at the bottom. Soldiers from the Yueqi and Xiyuan Army immediately gathered and fought with the steps.
The soldiers on board formed a confrontation.
Chen Cheng suppressed the anger in his heart and shouted in the direction of Jiade Hall from a distance of fifty or sixty steps: "Zhao Zhong, what do you mean?"
Zhao Zhong poked his head out from behind the soldier and said with a wry smile: "Julu Hou, you can't blame me for this."
Chen Cheng was not afraid, but he felt extremely angry, and there were waves of powerlessness in his heart. With a dark face, he shouted: "Where is Jian Shuo? Let him come out to see me?"
