At the third watch, Guo Kun, Wei Dakui, Zhao Youji and others arrived at the place where the fire broke out. Although the fire had been extinguished an hour ago, the fire that had burned fiercely for two hours had destroyed dozens of people in the surrounding area.
The ground within a few steps was scorching hot. The leaves and grass on both sides were roasted into charcoal. As soon as one turned the corner and faced the red embers of the fire, he immediately felt like he was being burned in a steamer.
Baked in general.
However, at this time, there was no obstruction to the line of sight, and the two sides were talking loudly from a distance of hundreds of steps.
"Is it Lin Jue?" Guo Kun shouted loudly.
"Uncle, it's us. Hahaha, I knew immediately that it was my uncle who led the cavalry. Uncle, you've worked hard." Lin Jue's voice came from the opposite galloping road filled with smoke.
"Ashamed, ashamed, I should have listened to your advice earlier. It's not hard on me. If it weren't for you this time, I'm afraid I would have made a big mistake." Guo Kun shouted.
"No more, no more, how can one be without fault if he is not a sage? We will talk about these things later. What I want to know is that all the bandits have been wiped out? I was worried that you would not dare to attack." Lin Jue shouted loudly.
smiled.
"How can you let your thoughts go to waste? You burned so many fires, didn't you just want me to attack? As you wish, all the bandits will be wiped out. Hahaha." Guo Kun laughed.
"Hahaha, congratulations to my uncle, this is a huge achievement. Before they marched into the five counties in northern Beijing where the religious bandits rebelled, they had already wiped out all the religious bandits. It only took a few days for the troops to be sent out, and they had already achieved success. After that,
You can easily sweep through five counties. Congratulations." Lin Jue also laughed loudly.
Guo Kun was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized that the victory in today's battle was actually the end of the religious bandits in the five counties. Because the two to thirty thousand religious bandits were gathered from the five counties and annihilated them all.
, the five counties could be swept through and recovered in one fell swoop. The task of quelling the rebellion in the five counties had been completed tonight. Guo Kun felt a burst of ecstasy in his heart.
"Hahaha, if you don't tell me, I haven't realized this yet. We have indeed sealed the victory in one fell swoop. This is the credit of everyone, especially the credit of your troops defending the city. I will write a victory memorial with His Highness King Jin later.
, describe in detail your achievements in defending the city. Especially the bravery and fearlessness of you and your three hundred cavalry brothers, who have performed a feat that shocked the world. This battle will definitely make the world famous, and the court will also praise you greatly. Hahaha." Guo Kun shouted loudly.
smiled.
Lin Jue laughed and nodded, and the more than a hundred cavalrymen standing behind him also laughed happily. These past few days have been like a dream, and incredible things have been accomplished one after another. A great achievement fell from the sky, all because of Mr. Lin
The result of planning. If Mr. Lin had not taken the lead, made decisions for everyone, and guided the strategy, there would never have been such a result. Everyone admired Lin Jue, and Bai Bing, who stood next to Lin Jue, also had a look on his face.
Looking at her husband with reverence, she quietly put her little hand into Lin Jue's palm and held it.
Lin Jue said loudly: "Thank you for the compliment. It's not easy to get praise from my uncle. By the way, have you caught Meng Xiang?"
Guo Kun said in astonishment: "Meng Xiang? Who is Meng Xiang?"
Zhao Youji on the side quickly told Guo Kun his past relationship in a low voice. Guo Kun was stunned and suddenly laughed and said: "Is this Meng Xiang actually a pirate on Peach Blossom Island? This is really bizarre. Is it possible?
The Buqingjiao people are actually our old acquaintances?"
Lin Jue laughed and said: "Brother, do you know it now? Yes, it was a group of pirates on Peach Blossom Island who were causing trouble back then. The leader of the Qing Sect, who claimed to be the Holy Gong, was the pirate who escaped that year.
Bandit Hai Dongqing. This Meng Xiang was the head of the Eight Great Vajras under his command at that time. I only found out about this after meeting Meng Xiang. It really shocked me. These guys are really capable of causing trouble."
Guo Kun laughed loudly and said: "It's unbelievable. This world is too small. It's really unbelievable that these pirates are still alive and causing such a big thing. Meng Xiang hasn't been caught yet. Maybe.
He refused to surrender and went deep into the Bolang Sands. I will go back and ask the prisoners to see if they know his whereabouts."
Lin Jue said loudly: "This man can't run away. He wants to see people alive and dead, and he will see corpses. If he runs away, there will be endless troubles. This time we can't let them run away like we did before. We have done our best to eradicate evil this time, otherwise this group of people will not be able to blame."
What kind of tricks are you going to create again?"
Guo Kun nodded and shouted: "I understand. I will search with all my strength to find people alive and bodies dead. Lin Jue, the ground is hot. I'm afraid you won't be able to come here until tomorrow morning. I think you guys should rest on the spot.
Let's get together tomorrow to talk in detail. I also have to make some arrangements here. My brothers are all very tired. I haven't slept a wink for two days and two nights. I will have a good sleep tonight."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "You should at least give us some water and food. We are hungry and thirsty, and we can't sleep if we are hungry."
Guo Kun stretched out his hand to hit his forehead and said with a smile: "Look at me, I'm confused. Someone, hurry up."
The soldiers wrapped the dry food and water bags and threw them far across the hottest embers in the middle. Lin Jue and others finally drank clean water and had a decent meal for several days. After eating and drinking,
Everyone fell down on the road, relaxed their minds, and fell asleep.
In the early morning of the next day, when the sky was bright, Lin Jue and others were awakened by a strange smell and a roaring noise. When they got up to take a look, they saw dozens of soldiers emerging from the swamp beside the road.
Water was filled in wooden barrels in the pit and watered on the road. The ground was still hot, and when the water was sprinkled on the road, it made a sizzling sound and emitted the stench of the swamp. It was this smell and sound that woke everyone up.
Lin Jue was speechless, frowned and shouted, "What are you doing?"
The group of soldiers shouted: "Mr. Lin, it's still too hot to walk outside. They asked us to pick you up. They said they found the body of the bandit leader. But we can't walk on this road, so we want to pour some water on the road to cool it down."
"
Lin Jue waved his hands and shouted: "This method of yours is not possible. Why don't you cut some branches and spread them on top. The ground is just hot, but it won't catch fire."
The soldiers kept scolding themselves for being stupid, and the stench was so bad. Moreover, pouring water on the road had no effect at all. After evaporating, the ground was still hot and difficult to stand on. Master Lin's idea was reliable. Everyone immediately cut down dozens of trees.
The road was paved with dozens of steps of tree roots, and Lin Jue and the others jumped over on the tree trunks.
When passing through the middle section of the road, Lin Jue found that the surrounding ground was burned to a bluish-gray color, and even covered with a smooth layer of glaze. The clay sand road was almost burned into a glass shape, which shows the power of the burning of the pile of miscellaneous trees yesterday.
It is so big that this section of the road has probably become the strongest section of the whole road. From now on, it cannot be washed away by water or crushed by carriages and horses, and it can be guaranteed to be indestructible for eternity.
In later generations, archaeologists excavated this section of the roadbed in Bolangsha and proposed that it was the ruins of the ancient Bolang City wall. This was recognized by everyone for a while. However, they did not know that this was just a road laid by Lin Jue to block the retreat of the Qingjiao bandits.
The result of setting fire to fire. It can be seen that unless you experience the truth of some things personally, speculation and conjecture, even the words of experts and scholars, cannot be fully trusted. (PS: This paragraph is nonsense, do not take it seriously.)
Lin Jue and others, surrounded by soldiers, rushed to the corner of the Chi Road where Guo Kun and others were. Guo Kun and others were standing beside the Chi Road and pointing at the swamp below. Seeing Lin Jue's arrival, Guo Kun and others
Zhao Youji, Wei Dakui and others hurriedly came forward to welcome him.
"Hahaha, brother-in-law, did you sleep well last night? I was covered in mosquito bites and couldn't sleep much the whole night." Guo Kun laughed.
Lin Jue smiled and cupped his hands and said, "You should be like me, sleeping on that hot road. The fire has driven away all the mosquitoes nearby. I don't know how sweet my sleep was last night."
Guo Kun slapped his thigh and said, "Oh, why didn't you tell me earlier? This was a miscalculation."
Lin Jue laughed, while Wei Dakui, Zhao Youji and several generals bowed and saluted. The eyes of these people looked at Lin Jue with admiration, and Wei Dakui did not hide it at all.
"Master Lin, Master Lin, I am really convinced. I have never seen anyone as powerful as Master Lin. Master Lin can win the first prize in literature and defeat thousands of enemies in martial arts. Wei Dakui has never been convinced by anyone in his life.
, but this time, I am really impressed and bowed to the ground. Please accept my bow, Mr. Lin." Wei Dakui bowed to the ground and gave Lin Jue a respectful salute.
Lin Jue laughed and said: "Wei Dutou must not do this, I can't afford it. This time is the result of our mutual cooperation, not my alone. It's not just me, but the group of cavalry brothers behind me."
Those who really deserve to be admired. Wei Dutou, this time I must give them all military merit awards, and I agreed to them."
Before Wei Dakui could answer, Guo Kun chuckled and said, "Does that need to be said? We'll talk about these things in detail later, but first come and see who this is?"
Guo Kun pulled Lin Jue, surrounded by everyone, to the side of the road. He pointed at a dark thing in the swamp below and said, "Look, who is that?"
Lin Jue looked at it intently, and suddenly felt so sick that he wanted to vomit. Bai Bing beside him only glanced at it and turned away, not daring to look at it a second time. But he saw a corpse lying stiffly in the mire, black and white.
Huhu's body was covered with stinky mud, his mouth was wide open, his eyes were wide open, and there were large groups of flies crawling around his mouth and eyes, which was extremely disgusting. Upon closer inspection, Lin Jue discovered that the corpse was
The exposed arms and half of the cheek were covered with mosquitoes, sucking blood happily from themselves.
"This is..." Lin Jue frowned and asked in shock.
"Meng Xiang, that guy you are talking about is him. Last night I went back and asked the captive cult bandits, and they told me that Meng Xiang fell into the mire. This morning, my brothers followed their instructions and found him.
Here. This guy didn't die when he fell down last night. He lay in the mud all night. It looked like he was bitten to death by mosquitoes. Look at his cheeks and arms, which are sunken. He must have been sucked out of his flesh and blood.
The mosquitoes here are really poisonous. They are all long-legged flower mosquitoes. They are so big that they can be eaten as vegetables. Come here this night, why don't you suck all the flesh and blood?" Guo Kun pointed at Meng Xiang's body.
Lin Jue felt chills in his heart. This way of death was the most miserable way to die. Being trapped in the mire and bitten by mosquitoes to death was equivalent to death from severe torture. According to Lin Jue's knowledge, there is a kind of punishment.
It is the punishment of insect bites. For those who have committed the most heinous crimes, cut wounds on their bodies, sprinkle them with sugar water, and tie them in a forest densely populated by ants and mosquitoes. After one night, their flesh and blood will be gone, which is not much better than Ling Chi. Meng Xiang's
It was only natural that the guy died in such a way.
"Get him out and clean him up. This man is one of the bandit leaders and can be transported to the capital to report to the court. Oh, what a pity." Lin Jue frowned.
"What a pity? Are you still pity for him?" Guo Kun rolled his eyes and said.
Lin Jue said: "I'm not sorry for him, I'm sorry that I couldn't capture him alive. If I could capture him alive, I could ask him some questions. He is a senior leader of the Qingjiao, and he must know the secrets of the Qingjiao. I really want to
Ask him something that puzzles me."
"What's that? You seem to be quite interested in the Qingjiao. These guys should be killed as soon as they are caught. Are they allowed to live?" Guo Kun said.
Lin Jue said: "I want to know how the Qingjiao can develop so much in such a short period of time. Moreover, the Qingjiao actually has a large number of weapons and equipment. At first, I heard that they spend money to win people's hearts. That requires a lot of money.
I don’t know how Hai Dongqing got so much money and food. We kicked him out of Peach Blossom Island like a dog back then. I suspect someone was funding him to do this. Meng Xiang must know these inside stories."
Guo Kun nodded slightly, this is indeed a bit strange. What is known so far is that the Qingjiao made its fortune by spending a lot of money and food to win people's hearts. This money is not a small amount, and where it comes from is a question. There are also these equipment and weapons, although
There are not many, but they are not folk craftsmanship, and they must have been learned from somewhere. These things are worthy of further investigation. If Meng Xiang is not dead, he may actually find out some inside information.
"Everyone is dead, so there's nothing we can do. I think we should clean up the battlefield quickly, withdraw our troops back to the city to rest, and recover the five counties in a few days." Guo Kun said.
Lin Jue nodded and said: "That's right. There are still dozens of cavalry brothers trapped in the Bolangsha swamp and need to be rescued. Those religious bandits who escaped into Bolangsha are likely to encounter them, so they need to search quickly.
Without further ado, let’s do it immediately.”
…
Just when the battle in Yangwu County was over and Guo Kun, Linjue and others were annihilating the invading religious bandits led by Meng Xiang, the brutal siege at Yingtianfu City, more than 900 miles away in the southeast, was already on its third day.
Three days ago, Huai Wang Guo Xu led 50,000 forbidden troops and a large number of siege equipment and supplies of food and grass and marched to the east and west roads of Beijing. After taking Xiangyi and Ningling without bloodshed, the troops arrived at the gate of Yingtianfu City.
From the very beginning, Huai Wang Guo Xu’s goal was Yingtian Mansion. Yingtian Mansion is the largest city on the East and West Roads of Beijing, with a population of nearly one million under its jurisdiction. It is one of the top five major state capitals among the cities of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Take Yingtian Mansion.
Not only can it greatly alleviate the current situation of religious bandit rebellion, but it can also stabilize people's hearts and let the court see the immediate effect of suppressing the rebellion. Moreover, Yingtian Mansion is located in the south of Jingxi East Road. After Yingtian Mansion is captured, it can effectively prevent the religious bandits from going south and spreading.
to the Huainan East Road area.
Therefore, both Guo Xu himself and the counselors who followed Guo Xu and were personally selected by Lu Zhongtian reached a high degree of consensus, which was to capture Yingtian Mansion in one fell swoop and fight a beautiful siege.
Everyone was still full of confidence in the combat operation to capture Yingtian Mansion. Everyone regarded the religious bandits as a mob and thought they were vulnerable. They led an army of 50,000 well-equipped and well-trained Imperial Guards, and even carried
With a large number of siege equipment, there is no possibility of losing this battle. In fact, many people think that this is a great contribution to Guo Xu in vain for the entire counter-insurgency operation. Because no matter whether he is a soldier
In terms of the quality of the horses' equipment and the supply of supplies, the officers and soldiers of the imperial court had no reason to fail.
In the early morning three days ago, the siege operation officially started. It started with the bombardment of three hundred catapults. Under the cover of the catapults, tens of thousands of forbidden troops carried a large amount of earth, stone and sandbags in carts, and forcibly attacked Yingtian Mansion.
The moat, which is more than five feet wide, has filled in more than a dozen passages to facilitate the army to attack the city.
After that, more than fifty Yunxiao chariots loaded with nearly 5,000 forbidden troops attacked the city. The Yunxiao chariot was a new siege weapon unique to the Zhou army. It was a behemoth that was three feet tall and equipped with eighteen huge wheels.
The interior of the rectangular roller coaster is a layer of platforms connected by stairs. When such a siege vehicle approaches the city wall, the suspension bridge lowered from the top can be built on the city wall, and the soldiers hiding inside can climb up the ladder.
From the top, rush directly along the suspension bridge to the city wall. Each of these vehicles can hide a hundred soldiers. Once it is close to the city wall, not only can these hundreds of people quickly climb the city to fight, but it is also equivalent to setting up a passage connecting the lower and upper walls of the city.
This was the latest siege weapon of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was originally an extremely confidential siege weapon, but at this moment, Guo Xu first brought more than fifty of them. That was also the entire number owned by the Forbidden Army.
In addition, tens of thousands of forbidden troops charged on the side of the ladder carrying hundreds of ladders, and five giant assault vehicles drove towards the west gate of Yingtian Mansion, preparing to smash the gate. In addition, five thousand archers headed towards the city.
Archery suppression, new siege methods and traditional siege methods are combined to form a three-dimensional siege method that combines old and new, and combines far and near.
In addition to the 10,000 reserve troops, Guo Xu mobilized more than 30,000 forbidden troops. His goal was very clear, which was to break through Yingtian Mansion in one go and seize the city. He would not be sloppy.
However, the facts gave Guo Xu a slap in the face. The battle of Yingtianfu, which he thought he could successfully capture, encountered fierce resistance from the religious bandits. Under the personal supervision of Shenggong Hai Dongqing, the 20,000-strong defenders on the city wall
The Skitarii and tens of thousands of religious bandits were extremely brave, shouting the slogan of the Holy Father's greatness, and used endless methods.
Nearly six thousand skitarii equipped with bows and arrows shot arrows from a high position, causing huge casualties before the Forbidden Army reached the city wall. Thousands of Forbidden Army soldiers were shot and killed on the way to charge. Facing the siege vehicles of Yunxiao, the defenders
Fang did not let his opponent take advantage. When the Yunxiao siege vehicle approached the city wall, the religious bandits at the top of the city threw bottles of kerosene into the huge upper exit of the Yunxiao siege vehicle. This was the case for more than twenty Yunxiao siege vehicles.
It was burned near the city wall. While the raging fire claimed the lives of the imperial guards, it also burned the extremely precious roller coaster.
The Skitarii on the city wall tightly clamped down on the city wall, preventing the officers and soldiers from having the slightest chance to board the city. Moreover, they had obviously made careful preparations. The city had abundant supplies, a large number of archers, and several missiles installed on the city wall.
The crossbows were originally all crossbows owned by the Zhou army, and they effectively became a weapon to prevent the officers and soldiers from attacking.
The first siege lasted for more than an hour, and finally ended with the religious bandits repelling the attack of the officers and soldiers. Due to the large number of casualties and insufficient estimation of the situation, Guo Xu had to order a halt to the attack and make another plan.
Good strategy.
In the next three days, Guo Xu launched nine sieges, but none of them succeeded. The most likely one was the attack two nights ago. At one time, part of the city wall had been captured, but the opponent did not know where he came from.
A group of religious bandits appeared and started a hand-to-hand battle with the siege officers and soldiers. Finally, with their absolute numerical superiority, they defeated the officers and soldiers at the top of the city and regained control of the city wall.
