Chapter 877: The Predicament of the Dangerous City
(2-in-1)
The anxiety in Guo Xu's heart can be imagined. He certainly understood the great significance of this expedition to quell the rebellion. He fully understood his grandfather Lu Zhongtian's intention of recommending him to lead the army to quell the rebellion. This was a battle that could gain great credit, and
The credit given to him was almost in vain, and he must not screw it up. Not to mention that his brother Guo Mian was also leading the counter-insurgency in the five counties north of Beijing. This was actually a competition to see who could successfully complete the counter-insurgency plan.
It will be extremely helpful for future events.
However, in the past three days, the Forbidden Army's siege troops had killed and wounded up to 7,000 soldiers and horses. Half of them were killed on the battlefield, and the rest were injured and unable to continue fighting. Guo Xu himself felt that this was unreasonable, as he had led five soldiers.
Ten thousand troops. It is a huge joke that these 50,000 troops cannot capture this city in their own hands.
However, Guo Xu did not act out of anger. On the contrary, his shrewdness is that he is not anxious because of setbacks. An excellent commander must have the mentality of not being arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat, otherwise he will not be able to prove that he is a good commander.
Mature commander.
Therefore, Guo Xu did not blame the siege troops. Instead, what he saw in front of him sounded the alarm: it turns out that the religious bandits are not just a mob, but have extremely strong combat power. If you are not careful again, you will have to understand it from the bottom of your heart.
If the cult bandits are strong, they may suffer a disastrous defeat in Yingtian Mansion.
Guo Xu reconvened the military meeting and re-formulated the siege strategy. He could no longer attack the city in this taken-for-granted way. He had to think of new ways to find a breakthrough and capture Yingtian Mansion as soon as possible.
The continuous siege operations entered a short truce, with both sides accumulating strength for the next wave of operations.
In Yingtian Mansion, the fanatical Qingjiao believers who did not know the truth rejoiced and celebrated the victory of defending the city. Under the deliberate exaggeration of Hai Dongqing and others, the results of the three-day city defense battle were exaggerated to the annihilation of 30,000 enemies.
, the enemy’s commander was seriously injured. The number of casualties among our followers was exaggeratedly less than 3,000.
What's more, there are rumors in the city that the Holy Duke stood on the city wall and summoned gods and soldiers to help out. It was said that the heavenly soldiers and generals drove golden chariots to help the battle, shouting to the Holy Duke that the Holy Duke is great. What about the Holy Duke calling the wind and rain, thundering and violent winds?
A masterpiece. Thousands of thunder struck from the sky, instantly killing tens of thousands of officers and soldiers on the battlefield. Five-colored auspicious clouds hovered over the Holy Duke's head, and nine black dragons protected him. All arrows and stones shot at the Holy Duke were unable to get close.
No sane person would believe these ridiculous rumors, but the fanatical believers believe them without doubt. Anyone who dares to question them is risking the disdain of the world.
In fact, the losses of the defenders and the churchgoers far exceeded the losses of the officers and soldiers. The officers and soldiers suffered more than 7,000 casualties, while the casualties of the defenders and churchgoers were twice that number, with as many as 10,000 casualties.
More than 5,000 people. The sophisticated siege equipment of the officers and soldiers was not just a decoration. The continuous siege by hundreds of catapults killed and injured more than 4,000 people. During the siege, the siege of the 5,000 archers
Intensive shooting and several hand-to-hand battles with the Sky Crane attacking the city wall made the cult bandits pay a huge price.
Let’s take a simple example. The Sky Cart can transport more than a hundred people at a time. If a Sky Cart successfully lands on the city, the hundreds of forbidden soldiers who have climbed onto the city will need to be cleared out by the church members at twice or more than twice the price. This is still in isolation.
The situation was such that the Forbidden Army's siege was blocked, largely because of the failure of mutual coordination. The breakthrough failed to receive support from other aspects, resulting in too few troops and horses attacking the city, and ultimately they were outnumbered. However,
In terms of equipment and combat power, the Custodians are much higher than the Skitarii and the Bandits. Therefore, the Bandits must pay more to offset the opponent's advantage in equipment and combat power.
In addition to the huge losses in manpower, the defensive facilities on the city were basically destroyed by the siege catapults of the Forbidden Army. The temporary heightening of the city wall fortifications was smashed and collapsed, and dozens of watchtowers were destroyed.
All of them were smashed, and half of the city towers collapsed. The mountains of supplies on the city wall were also consumed. All in all, the ability to hold on for these three days was due to the poor coordination of the Forbidden Army's long-term battle formation and the initial mentality of underestimating the enemy.
The consequences of this are also the result of the cult bandits relying on their early preparations and a large amount of manpower to resist with all their strength. But as the saying goes, 'A strong dragon will never be able to survive for a long time.' It took all the strength to barely hold on, and it consumed all
With a lot of manpower and resources, the next results are unpredictable.
Because of this, in order to maintain this exciting morale and fanatical atmosphere, and create an atmosphere in which the Skitarii were invincible and the Holy Father was invincible. Therefore, the number of casualties and losses, and all news that was unfavorable to the defenders were suppressed.
It was sealed off. False battle losses were widely publicized, and there were even ridiculous rumors about the help of heavenly soldiers and generals with thunder and lightning, and the black dragon protecting the body. All of these were actually measures to stabilize people's hearts and not cause panic.
But at the same time, Haidongqing issued an order to recruit young and strong people to go to the city to defend the city. Although the number of followers was large, there were not many who could fight. In addition to tens of thousands of religious guards, Yingtianfu Zhongshangcheng
There are actually only about 10,000 members of the church helping to defend the city. After experiencing the casualties in the past few days, there is a huge manpower gap, and the required manpower must be filled. Not only the manpower to fight at the top of the city, but also the transportation of large amounts of materials to the city and in the middle of the war are needed
The rapid reinforcement of fortifications also requires manpower. These need to be replenished quickly.
If the entire city of Yingtianfu were Qingjiao believers, there would be no worries in this regard. However, in a large city like Yingtianfu, the citizens are not as easy to fool as the people in the countryside and remote counties. Although there was a severe drought last year,
Although the impact on the citizens of Yingtianfu is not to the point of having no food to eat. Therefore, although Yingtianfu is the home of the Qingjiao main altar, not one out of the millions of people in the city believes in the Qingjiao.
Therefore, in order for these people to help defend the city against the officers and soldiers, it is absolutely impossible to voluntarily and consciously do so, and can only use coercive means.
Therefore, taking advantage of the short truce, a large number of the Skitarii began to recruit young and strong civilians in the city to help defend the city. For a time, Tianfu City was in a state of chaos and the whole city was in commotion. Anyone who was willing to sacrifice his life for the religious bandits would naturally be
If they refused, they would be forcibly tied up and escorted away. The bandits would even take advantage of the opportunity to rape, rape, plunder, kill and set fire to, causing chaos in the city and putting everyone in danger.
On the street, squads of guards and bandits were shouting and shouting unscrupulously. Some were carrying stolen gold and silver treasures and running around drunk. All the people closed their doors and were in panic.
They hide uneasily at home. But they all understand that this cannot prevent the coming of bad luck. They don't know when the vicious religious bandits will break in, arrest people, kill people, and set fire to loot. Every group of religious bandits on the street
After passing by, the people were frightened. After they left, they breathed a sigh of relief. Then they prayed that the next wave of people would not break in. Everything was like a gamble, and life and death were like trying their luck.
.
…
The sky is dark, and the originally bustling intersection of Yingtianfu North Street is now deserted and littered. On the street facing east and west, a tall three-story building stands alone at the intersection. This was originally an elegant and exquisite building.
The building, but now half of it is burnt black, and the grandeur is gone. The plaque on the lintel has long been broken into two halves and fell on the damaged front steps. The red velvet background is covered with messy footprints. What can be vaguely distinguished is the plaque.
There are five large gilded characters of "Jiangnan Grand Theater" on it.
This is the semicolon of Yingtianfu of Jiangnan Grand Theater. Since its opening last year, this place has become the most prosperous and lively place in Yingtianfu. Every exquisite drama is performed here, and the city has become the talk of the people of Yingtianfu all the year round.
Talk. With its wonderful scripts, unprecedented light and shadow dance techniques, and the acting skills of professional actors, Jiangnan Grand Theater has quickly become a hot spot in Yingtian. It has become the top-ranked theater in Jiangnan Grand Theater.
A place to attract money.
But the bustling Grand Theater has long become a thorn in the side of the Qing Sect believers. They did not dare to do anything openly before. After all, although the Qing Sect has grown in scale in Yingtian Prefecture, even the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture has become a loyal Qing Sect.
However, on the surface, they did not dare to act rashly. In addition, in Yingtianfu City, the citizens who despised the Qingjiao were still the mainstream, so they could only keep their hatred in their hearts. But the moment the Qingjiao rose up, the first wave of
When the burning, killing and looting began, the Grand Theater became the first victim.
On the night of the Qing Jiao uprising, hundreds of Qing Jiao bandits broke into the Jiangnan Grand Theater. They destroyed the stage background, smashed the lighting and shadow facilities, burned all the clothes and musical instruments in the backstage, and even set fire to the building before leaving.
A fire. Fortunately, Zheng Nuanyu and Qian Liuer were rehearsing a new play that night, and they didn't take a break until the third watch. When the city suddenly changed, everyone quickly hid in the secret room where gold and silver were stored.
, so they were not found by the crazy Qing Cult members. More than twenty musicians, handymen, and actors survived. Otherwise, when they were found by the Qing Cult members that night, they would definitely be dead.
Fortunately, there was a thunderstorm that night, and half of the fire was extinguished by the downpour. This also prevented everyone from being burned alive in the building. But in the next ten days or so,
, but they didn’t dare to show up. They all knew that as long as they showed up, they would be dead. Fortunately, there was still some dry food in the building. They secretly went out in the middle of the night to get some water and dry food, and survived for several days and nights.
Later, as the situation in the city improved slightly, they were finally able to walk around the building, and occasionally peeked out for movement, but they never dared to take a step out. Especially during the day, they did not dare to take a single step.
At this moment, in a messy room on the second floor, a dozen women including Zheng Nuanyu, Qian Liuer and others were huddled nervously in the corner behind the curtain and shivering. They were originally sitting in the room discussing
How to escape. The officers and soldiers outside the city were attacking the city. Zheng Nuanyu and the others were discussing how to survive until the city was breached and whether they should leave here at night. Because the food was all gone, they needed to find a new hiding place. Zheng Nuanyu
He and Qian Liuer have a residence in Niuche Street, where there is food and water.
They were discussing how to secretly go to the house to hide. At this moment, a group of bandits suddenly broke into the Grand Theater and blocked the road to the backstage secret room on the first floor. They were forced to hide in the house.
I prayed fearfully that the bandits would leave quickly.
What came in were eight drunken guards and instructors. They were originally Yingtian Mansion soldiers. On the day of the Qingjiao uprising, under the leadership of the prefect Qian Dezhang, all five thousand Yingtian Mansion soldiers threw themselves into the Qingjiao.
Among the Qing Sect. Except for a few rebellious generals and hundreds of disobedient soldiers who were killed, the rest chose a more sensible way to join the Qing Sect. Because they had complete weapons and armor, they quickly became the main guardians of the Qing Sect.
Military members.
These eight people had come to the Jiangnan Grand Theater to watch a show before, and they did not resent the fact that women appeared in public. When they looked at the dazzling Zheng Nuanyu, Qian Liuer and other women on the stage, they only hated that they were just ordinary soldiers.
, there is no way to kiss Fangze. After becoming the Qingjiao Skitarii, they suddenly became a big shot who can take away from the people in the city, so they have been thinking about finding the women in the Grand Theater. The first wave
They were among those who came.
But there was no trace of the people in the Grand Theater and they could not be found. They all felt very puzzled. They came and went almost every time they had free time, but they never saw anyone. Today they were robbing and harassing elsewhere.
I was very drunk. When I returned to the camp, I passed by the Grand Theater and decided to look for it again. So I decided to break in at the last minute.
In the hall on the first floor, tables and chairs were overturned and rubbish was strewn all over. The walls were charred and black after the fire. Several skitarii and bandits walked around the hall and found nothing. One of the bandits did.
A still painting of Zheng Nuanyu hanging on the wall to promote a certain drama. I don’t know how this painting was preserved.
"Damn it, this little lady Zheng Nuanyu just disappeared and I don't know where she hid. Look at her figure, waist and legs. When I looked at her in the audience, all I could think about was how to sleep.
Now the opportunity has come, but she has disappeared. Damn it, you are really out of luck." A bandit chewed his teeth and stared at Zheng Nuanyu's handsome face and said.
"Hehehe, everyone thinks so. If we find Zheng Nuanyu, we have to kill her to death. Unfortunately, we can't find her, and I don't know which bastard got it. It's strange to say,
When we rushed over that night, everyone in the building was gone. The lights were still on on the second floor, so why couldn't we find them?" Another bandit smacked his lips.
"Isn't that true? It's like seeing a ghost. Why is she gone? If she is found, we brothers can fulfill our long-cherished wish. How about stripping her naked and asking her to sing for us? Hehehehe."
"Hahaha, that's a good idea. But when I saw it, we didn't have time for her to sing. I'm afraid her upper and lower mouths wouldn't be enough, so why would she be used to sing? Hehehe."
Several religious bandits spoke unscrupulously and laughed obscenely.
Suddenly, a bandit's foot accidentally stepped on a soft object under the overturned broken table, and the object let out a scream.
"What the hell?" All the cult bandits were startled and jumped back one after another, making loud noises. Their weapons were all unsheathed and they stared blankly into the darkness under the broken table.
"Get out, you damn thing. If you don't come out, I'm going to kill you." The bandits shouted loudly.
"Spare your life, spare your life. Come out, you villain, spare your life, heroes." A man wearing a dirty black robe and disheveled hair emerged from under the table. He raised his hands timidly and shouted.
"Who are you? Why are you hiding here? You scared everyone. Isn't it worth your life to scare people to death?" shouted one of the bandits.
"Little man... I came here to find something to eat. Little man... I'm very hungry. There's nothing to eat at home, so..." the man said hurriedly.
"Looking for food? Come to the Grand Theater to look for food? Can you find anything to eat here?" another bandit yelled.
"Young man... I don't know where this place is. When I saw the door open, I came in. I thought it was a wealthy family." The man said hurriedly.
"Damn, I'm scared to death. It's a pity that you are a little older, otherwise you could help defend the city and have enough food and drink." One of the religious bandits said.
"Let's go, let's go. I'm so frightened by this guy that I'm so drunk. It's getting late, we have to go back. Let's go, brothers." A bandit said in a deep voice.
"Let's go, let's go. The bad luck is so bad that I'm so scared that my heart is still pounding." Several religious bandits turned around and tried to leave.
"Wait a minute, no, this guy looks familiar to me. Do you think he looks like Manager Lin from the Jiangnan Grand Theater? The one who often stands at the door and bows?" A bandit suddenly shouted, pointing with his eyes wide open.
The unkempt man in front of me.
All the religious bandits stopped and stared at the man. The man covered his face with his hands and shrank back, shaking violently.
"Come here. Take your hands away. Otherwise, I'll chop off your hands." A bandit rushed forward, grabbed the man's messy hair, and pulled him to the light. Everyone pulled his hands down and looked carefully.
After looking at that face, several cult bandits shouted in unison.
"Manager Lin, hahaha, it is indeed you."
"I'm not..." Manager Lin shouted loudly.
"Repay him? Do you think we are blind? Manager Lin, it turns out you are alive, hahaha, you are hiding well. I haven't found you for so many days. I thought you were dead. I didn't expect you to be alive and well."
.Hahaha." The religious bandits laughed.
"Brothers, we are lucky. If Manager Lin is alive, doesn't it mean that Zheng Nuanyu, Qian Liu'er and the others are also alive? And maybe they are hiding here somewhere?" A bandit shouted suddenly.
"That's right, isn't it? Hey hey hey, good luck has come. Manager Lin, tell me quickly, where are Zheng Nuanyu and the women from your Grand Theater hiding? Tell me quickly. I'll kill you if I don't."
Everyone started asking questions.
The steward's name was Lin Bofang, an uncle from the Lin family in Hangzhou. He originally worked as a shopkeeper in the Lin's Cereal and Oil Shop. When the Lin's Cereal and Oil Shop was reorganized, he and many other shop assistants and shopkeepers received training and became big bosses.
Theater employees. Lin Bo was sent to Yingtianfu Grand Theater as the second steward by Lin Bonian. He was specifically responsible for managing the theater's ticket sales and tea service, so he often appeared in front of the Grand Theater to take care of them.
He originally escaped this disaster and hid with everyone in the theater for so many days without being discovered. Not long ago, he was guarding the theater, but he was really frightened and tired during this time, so he started fighting in a daze.
Take a nap. When several religious bandits rushed in, he didn't see it in advance. When he was awakened, it was too late to warn him, so he hid under a broken table. But he was caught out unexpectedly. Lin Bofang screamed in his heart.
Bad luck.
"If you don't tell me yet, I will kill you, old dog." The bandits threatened loudly.
"Heroes, heroes, there's no one else there, I'm the only one. They all ran away without a trace. You have been here many times. If there was someone, you would have seen it long ago." Lin
Of course Bo Fang refused to explain and tried his best to argue.
"Fart! You dare to lie. There is a fire here, but you are alive. There must be a place to hide. We have been here many times, but haven't we seen you? How dare you lie to me? I won't give you any clues.
Look, it seems you are unwilling to tell the truth. Beat me." One of the bandits yelled.
Several bandits grabbed Lin Bofang's hair and began to beat Lin Bofang with fists and kicks. Lin Bofang received several slaps on the face and several punches and kicks on his body. His whole body was in unbearable pain, as if he had fallen apart.
