Chapter 50 Three hundred years of imperial lineage
The number of words in some of the previous chapters is too small, and the plot seems fragmented and wordy. I have combined the chapters about Shanyang County into a few chapters, which does not affect reading. In the subsequent chapters, I will try to ensure that the content of each chapter is more substantial and concise. Thank you, readers.
For tips and help, this chapter will be compensated by a 5,000-word chapter.
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Only Zhang Shoubei and dozens of Qin soldiers under his command were left in Shanyang County. Li Laiheng estimated that in such a short period of time, no matter how urgently the government and army mobilized, they would not be able to draw many civilians out.
Moreover, in the previous ambush, the Little Tiger Team killed so many squires. Without these leading squires, there is a layer of separation between the government and the gentry and the people. It will be very difficult to mobilize a large number of resources such as servants and civilians.
.
Therefore, Li Laiheng decided to take a risk and use Hao Yaoqi's strategy to use Wangzhi County to deceive the city gate of Shanyang County. Because the number of troops who fraudulently opened the city gate could not be too large, lest the officers and soldiers would see the flaw. Li Laiheng
He asked Hao Yaoqi to carefully select ten warriors from the Sword Team, put on the clothes of local braves, pretend to be defeated soldiers, and then fled back to the county town with Wang Zhizun in his arms.
"Wai Qi, you must do it more firmly for me this time! Don't make any mistakes again!"
Li Laiheng was most worried about Hao Yaoqi. However, if he wanted to deceive the city gate, the number of troops sent should not be too large, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the defenders at the top of the city. After deceiving the city gate, he still had to rely on this small number of sharp soldiers.
Controlling the city head, blocking the first wave of counterattack by the defenders, and then waiting for the main force of the Little Tigers to swarm in. In this situation, only a powerful general like Hao Yaoqi could take action.
"Team manager, don't worry this time. If something goes wrong again, my head will be at your disposal!"
Hao Yaoqi was talkative and kept talking nonsense. While changing into the clothes of a rural warrior, he smeared dust and blood on his face and body, creating the illusion that they were fleeing troops.
Li Laiheng put the sword on the neck of the county magistrate Wang Zhizun, the blade was close to his skin, and a streak of blood seeped out, and he threatened: "Master, if you still want to live, just be obedient. All you need to do is shout.
Just 'I am the magistrate, please open the door for me.' If you say too much nonsense, we will kill you immediately."
Wang Zhizun's skin on his neck was cut open by Li Laiheng with a blade. He felt a cold feeling on his neck, and the slight oozing of blood destroyed all his courage and resistance. He could only nod his head out of instinct.
"good."
Seeing that Wang Zhizun had lost any courage, Li Laiheng withdrew his sword. He and Gao Yigong also arranged for the main force to break into the camp, and carefully lurked the main force in the woods not far from the county seat in case Hao waved the flag.
After occupying the city gate, they can rush over to support at any time.
Gao Yigong was still worried that Wang Zhixian would be disobedient, so he walked over and picked up Wang Zhizun's collar and threatened: "Even if you don't pretend to open the city gate for us, break into the camp and attack the county for a few days, we can still defeat it."
The city. After the city is destroyed, your family property, young and old... will be hard to save. If you still have the heart of a parent and a Bailihou, then do your best. After the city is destroyed, we will only take food and not kill people!
Otherwise... you will know when the time comes!"
Gao Yigong always has a gentle and gentle appearance on weekdays. In addition, he is best at making peace with people and regulating interpersonal relationships, so Li Laiheng often regards him as a good old man like Maitreya Buddha. But at this time, Gao Yigong threatened Wang Zhixian.
Inside, there was a heavy murderous aura, and a fierce look in his eyes.
Wang Zhizun was so scared that he didn't dare to move, his eyes were panicked and dull. It was Li Laiheng who pressed his head and made him nod twice.
"Wave the flag, you take the county magistrate to the city gate first. Brother Gao and I will lead a large group of people to guard the back. Once we succeed, we will all go in!"
It was getting late, the sun had almost all set on the mountain, and the night wind in the mountains and forests was blowing louder and louder at night. Hao Yaoqi had just put on Xiang Yong's short clothes, and the skirt of his clothes was blown up by the wind. He tucked up the corners of his clothes.
, waved his hand, and led a group of Little Tiger soldiers dressed as country warriors to escort Wangzhi County to set off first.
Li Laiheng also put on a cloak to keep out the cold outside his cloth armor. He tied the collar of the cloak tightly and looked at Hao Yaoqi, who was gradually losing sight of his figure as he walked into the night. He still asked uneasily.
Gao Yigong said, "Brother Gao, do you think it can be done by waving the flag?"
Gao Yigong looked into the distance, then turned back, looking in the direction of Longju Village, and replied: "It doesn't matter, you have done a good job this time. Our task is not to seize the city, but to break into the camp."
It's just the vanguard. I estimate that tonight or tomorrow morning, your adoptive father and Fang Liang's troops will arrive in Shanyang County."
"Well..." Li Laiheng was speechless. He still hoped that Hao Yaoqi would be more reliable and not trick him again. It would be best to capture the county seat before Li Guo's reinforcements arrived in Shanyang County.
The night is dark and the stars are scattered.
Li Laiheng and the main force led by Gao Yiqiang first extinguished all the torches to avoid attracting the attention of the defenders. Hao Yaoqi's small team of more than ten people, holding three or five torches, stood in front of the dark city.
Below, they were erratic like a few fireflies.
As the distance became shorter and shorter, Hao Yaoqi could already clearly see the scene on top of the city. The officers and soldiers were indeed very vigilant and did not relax their defense at night. Six or seven large lamps were placed on the city gate, and the light was very bright.
Through the light of the headlight, Hao Yaoqi made a rough count and saw that there were about a dozen figures moving on the top of the city. He silently calculated in his mind, feeling that after opening the city gate fraudulently, he and the ten capable soldiers would
, it should not be a problem to deal with the dozen or so officers and soldiers at the top of the city.
Hao Yaoqi was too tall and had a distinctive image, which made it easy for the defenders to spot the problem. So he asked another ordinary-looking soldier to shout, and in order to deceive the Qin soldiers, Hao Yaoqi also asked his subordinates to deliberately imitate him.
Spoken with the local accent of Shanyang County.
"Hey! The defenders at the top of the city! We are the personal soldiers of the county king, and we finally led him out of the siege. Please let the county king enter the city to have a rest!"
The defenders on the top of the city saw someone shouting under the city, so they gathered over. They saw a group of people dressed as country warriors below the city, but because of the darkness and the distance, they couldn't see clearly the appearance of Hao Yaoqi and others.
, I can’t quite confirm it, I’m a little hesitant.
When Hao Yaoqi saw that the officers and soldiers did not open the city gate immediately, he poked Wang Zhixian in the back with the handle of his knife and pushed him out. He also repeated the lines designed by Li Laiheng behind his ear.
"Master County Master, it's your time to come on stage. Please tell the defenders to open the door. Just say, 'I am the magistrate, please open the door for me.' Don't say any other nonsense."
Wang Zhizun, the magistrate of Shanyang County, was pushed from behind by Hao Yaoqi. He was unsteady and almost fell to the ground. He looked at the hesitant defenders at the top of the city, and then at the hidden blades beside him.
The wolf-like thief opened his mouth and wanted to shout according to the lines given by Hao Yaoqi.
But he didn't make a sound. He just opened his mouth and suppressed his blush, but still didn't say a word. The defenders on the city looked strange. Some of them had seen Wang Zhizun and recognized him.
The magistrate called out: "Is this Sir Wang? Do you want us to open the city gate for you now?"
When Hao Yaoqi heard that the defenders were taking the initiative to open the city gate, he felt happy and hurriedly slapped Wang Zhixian on the back with the back of his knife, urging: "Say yes quickly! Tell the defenders to open the door!"
Hao Yaoqi's urging made Wang Zhizun even more nervous. He knew that once he opened his mouth and helped the thieves to open the city gate, he would be the same as joining the thieves. But if he didn't open his mouth and shout, Hao Yaoqi would probably be hacked to death on the spot.
He did.
He was burning with anxiety, but the more he tried to make a sound, the less his words came out. The defenders on the city gradually became suspicious when they saw that Wang Zhixian was silent under the city and looked strange.
Hao Yaoqi, who was behind Zhi Zun, became even more angry when he saw that he was not cooperating. He slowly unsheathed his knife halfway and said with a threat: "Say something quickly! If you don't shout, I will kill you now!"
Wang Zhizun stretched out his hand forward and felt his vocal cords vibrating. The defenders in front of him and the thieves behind him were life on the one hand and thieves on the other. Life meant the possibility of living; being thieves meant the possibility of survival.
It means that he will lose all the reputation created by writing since his birth, which means that he will turn his back on his father who is as big as heaven and earth.
He was not a hero who could die heroically. On the contrary, he was timid and timid. Under Hao Yaoqi's repeated urging, Wang Zhixian felt his crotch wet again and became nervous and incontinent.
"You should hurry up and shout!" Hao Yaoqi was equally anxious. He knew that the longer the time passed, the easier it would be for the defenders on the city to see the flaw, so he urged Wang Zhixian even more to deceive the city by shouting.
Wang Zhizun's face turned purple due to his own suffocation. He puffed out his cheeks, as if he wanted to shout, but also as if he couldn't breathe.
When I think of the words "concubine", "king and father", "loyalty", "sage", "Ling Chi", "death" and "family destruction", the old father's anger, the decline of the clan in his hometown, and the eternal infamy in local chronicles... all these things flooded into Wang Zhizun like a tide in an instant.
His brain strangled his throat, preventing him from uttering even a single word.
He seemed to struggle for a while, and finally opened his voice and shouted the most powerful sentence.
"It's a thief! Don't open the door!"
Wang Zhizun's answer shocked Hao Yaoqi. The defenders at the top of the city were confused at first, but they soon realized that the defeated troops below the city were obviously disguised by rogue bandits.
The defenders were already frightened, and were even more shocked than Hao Yaoqi. They quickly set up their bows and shot arrows in an attempt to drive away the bandits below the city. Hao Yaoqi, however, lifted Wang Zhizun up like a chicken with one hand and glared at him angrily.
"Guan Gu! Are you looking for death?"
Wang Zhizun was lifted up in the air by Hao Yaoqi. He was so frightened that his face burst into tears again, and his crotch was covered with filth. His mouth was trembling with fear and crying, and he could not utter a complete sentence. Hao
Waiqi could only barely make out the words "I will never be a thief".
"I'll kill you!"
Hao Yaoqi was so angry that he racked his brains to come up with the idea of fraudulently opening the city gate in order to avenge his crime. However, he did not expect that this dog magistrate, who was as timid as a mouse and as fearful of enemies as a tiger, would be at the critical moment.
At this moment, Hao Yaoqi actually got tough, causing Hao Yaoqi's plan to completely go bankrupt.
He pulled out the sword with half of its blade exposed, aimed at Wang Zhizun's heart, and pierced it in. Then he twisted the blade and pulled the blade out of Wang Zhixian's heart.
Wang Zhizun was stabbed in the heart and had no chance of survival anymore. He was thrown to the ground by Hao Yaoqi. Blood spurted out from his mouth, but at this time, his mouth became sharper and he shouted "I don't want to die"
, I don’t want to die” and “I will definitely open the door, don’t kill me”.
But Hao Yaoqi knew that the defenders were prepared and it was impossible to attack the city even with ten sharp soldiers, so he left Wang Zhizun's body on the ground and led his men back.
Wang Zhixian lay on the ground, covering his heart with one hand and grabbing the soil with the other, still muttering the words "Don't kill me" in his mouth. But in the end his voice became smaller and smaller, and he became a dead body.
Li Laiheng and Gao Yigong, who were lurking in the woods behind, saw that the defenders at the top of the city suddenly started firing arrows, and they already knew that Hao Yaoqi's plan had probably failed. They hurriedly led the main force to rush out from their hiding place to meet Hao Yao.
The bannermen retreated and fired a row of arrows and bullets at the top of the city.
Li Laiheng was greatly disappointed with Hao Yaoqi's another failure in using troops. But this time the strategy was weighed and considered by himself and Gao Yigong, and he could not blame Hao Yaoqi alone. He was just very surprised that the man was casually
How come Wang Zhixian, who peed his pants after being frightened, suddenly died heroically at the last critical moment?
Wang Zhizun was obviously afraid of death, but why did he suddenly gain courage in the end?
Li Laiheng was confused. He looked at Gao Yigong and asked: "Brother Gao, that county magistrate is obviously afraid of death. Why did he suddenly regret it when he came to the city?"
Gao Yigong was not very surprised by the current situation. He had never pinned his hopes of breaking the city on Wangzhi County to open the city gate. More importantly, he did not think that a court official would be so easy.
"Serving a thief" means doing things for an outcast thief.
"What's so strange about this? Magistrate Wang is afraid of death. If you ask him to scold us or hit us, he won't dare. But if you call him a 'thief,' I think he won't dare even more."
"An official is an official, and a thief is a thief. If you can be an official, who can be a thief?"
Li Laiheng was silent in his heart.
Wang Zhizun was afraid of death. He wanted to take a chance. After being captured by the intruders, he did not want to commit suicide to save his reputation. Instead, he followed the instructions of him and Hao Yaoqi and prepared to falsely open the city gate. But when it came time to call the city, he
And he was unwilling to cross his own bottom line and help break into the camp to deceive the city gate.
Wang Zhixian is very incompetent, but he seems to be a little persistent; but although he is brave, his behavior is really cowardly.
He is afraid of death, but for Wang Zhizun, is surrendering to a thief more terrifying than death?
Li Laiheng suddenly realized that this was the power created by the imperial court's three hundred years of accumulated prestige. In a sense, breaking into the camp was not a fight with the officers and soldiers, nor a fight with Chongzhen, but with Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di...
The remaining power struggles behind him.
The honor of a gentleman will be cut down in five lifetimes.
The accumulated prestige of Ming Taizu and Ming Chengzu could make a person who was extremely afraid of death willing to die three hundred years after their death.
Is this the power of orthodoxy?
Li Laiheng suddenly realized that such ethereal things as orthodoxy, clear opinions, and public opinion were not fragile, but contained a great energy. This energy could make the timid Wang Zhizun die resolutely, or it could also change in the future.
Many things.
The power of the human heart.
His opponent is the 300-year-old Ming Dynasty created by Zhu Hongwu. What he wants to do is to compete with Emperor Hongwu for 300 years of popular support and 300 years of orthodoxy.
Zhu Yuanzhang's great imperial legacy has lasted for three hundred years and still has such brilliance and power.
But a stronger fighting spirit arose in Li Laiheng's heart, because he knew that there is no imperial lineage that lasts forever, but there is a Taoist lineage that lasts for thousands of years.
Zhu Yuanzhang's three hundred years of imperial rule could not withstand the iron hoofs of the Manchus. But Li Laiheng held an even greater power in his hands.
God sees himself and the people see him, God listens to him and the people listen, God's will is his own public opinion.
Public opinion is the most powerful force in the world, and public opinion is the will of God.
If God's will is in hand, what's the point of fearing three hundred years of imperial rule?
In the distance, more lanterns were lit up on the city wall of Shanyang County. Probably the defenders were worried about breaking into the camp and launching another attack at night, so they strengthened their defense. There were shadowy figures everywhere on the city walls.
But what Li Laiheng was thinking about was the complexity of people's hearts. When it comes to loyalty and filial piety, Wang Zhizun's performance seems to be far from firm enough; when it comes to awe-inspiring righteousness, Wang Zhixian's style is even worse. But people are so complicated.
, in addition to immediate interests, there are many other deeper things that govern people's behavior and thoughts.
Of course, for Li Laiheng, the biggest lesson is that one learns from every experience. Emperor Hongwu's lingering power still envelopes the spiritual world of scholars, and there is still a long way to go to break through the camp. Oh, one more thing is that Hao Yao
Qi, this damn cheater, should really be taught a lesson!
"Brother Gao, I will give Hao Yaoqi dozens of military sticks. Does it comply with the rules of our camp?"
Hao Yaoqi, who was in the wrong, tightly protected his buttocks with both hands and did not dare to speak. Gao Yigong smiled bitterly and said: "This is not to blame on Waiqi. People's hearts should not be taken lightly. We still wait for you.
After the adoptive father arrives, shall we make long-term plans to attack the city?"
"Huh..." Li Laiheng took a long breath. He still needs to have a better understanding of the people's hearts in this troubled world. "Well, I wanted to capture the county seat as a meeting ceremony before my adoptive father arrived in the county.
.Now it seems that haste makes waste, so just wait!"
Starlight is hanging, dots are colorful.
The late night wind blew a chill, Li Laiheng wrapped his dark cloak tightly around his body, and the thoughts in his heart gradually increased.
After being drunk, I don’t know that the sky is on the water, and the boat is full of clear dreams that overwhelm the stars.
Under the starry sky late at night, am I dreaming about someone else? Or is someone dreaming about me?
"Brother Gao, the weather has turned cold again. Let's take the brothers back to the camp to rest for the night."
Gao Yigong also felt a chill. The winter of the twelfth year of Chongzhen seemed to be a little colder than previous years. He raised his collar to protect his neck, then lit the torch, and the other soldiers followed his example.
Light the torch and raise the fire slowly.
Late at night, in the dark Shangluo Mountain, dots of sparks slowly gathered into a long dragon. The team returned to the Little Tiger Team's camp in an orderly manner, and then the sparks lit up the camp again. Looking down from high altitude, it was still...
A small number of sparks can be seen keeping vigil around the camp.
From higher in the sky, water vapor condensed into pieces of ice crystals, slowly falling. This was the winter of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, a cold, icy, but early winter that concealed vitality.