The location of Kaifeng and the administrative seat of Weihui Prefecture north of the Yellow River is Ji County.
It can be said that Ji County is the largest city in the surrounding area, and the vassal king Lu Wang was entrusted here.
The first generation of King Lu was the half-brother of Emperor Wanli, but he was dead at this time. The current King of Lu is his third son Zhu Changzi, who is thirty-four years old.
Needless to say, since the brother of Emperor Wanli was entrusted here, Weihui Mansion must be a good place. Even Emperor Chongzhen said at the beginning that Weihui Mansion connected ten provinces in the south and Shenjing in the north.
In addition, Chen Yucheng, the later British King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was captured alive by the Manchu Qing because of betrayal by a traitor. When he was escorted north to the capital, he also passed through Weihui Mansion. He received the Manchu order and was buried on the spot. His grave was in Weihui.
If nothing else, just say that right now, outside Ji County, there are crowds of people coming from the south and rushing toward the city.
In panic, the shouts of adults and the cries of children became a commotion.
Groups of soldiers were shouting loudly, scolding the common people to move faster.
On the top of the city, a group of officials were watching the situation outside the city, each of them looking worried.
I saw a man dressed as a general, and said to the leader: "Master Huang, I am worried that the thieves will definitely follow. If Wei Hui is not protected, if His Highness King Lu makes a mistake, you and I will all die."
ah!"
After hearing his words, other officials also agreed.
"Yes, yes, sir, these are still old and weak, and the city cannot accommodate so many people!"
"Sir, you can't let me in anymore. Otherwise, what if the bandits give up on Kaifeng and attack me, Wei Hui?"
"Sir, His Highness Prince Lu has also sent someone to ask, saying, what is Mr. Huang's motive for letting so many old and weak people into the city?"
"..."
The leading official looked very ugly. Hearing them talking, he suddenly turned to look at them and shouted sternly: "When I accepted the food before, why didn't I see you trying to shirk it?"
At this point, he pointed with his hand at the people who were entering the city outside the city and said: "The emperor's decree has made it clear that those grains are prepared for them. Now that the grains have been collected, they must be refused outside the city and let people
Will the bandits capture them and threaten Kaifeng?"
"The imperial edict has stated that if anyone does not cooperate, my Shang Fang Sword can be killed first and then played!" The leading official said with his hand in the direction of the capital, and then said fiercely, "I have been transferred here from the beginning.
Wei Hui, why are you here? How can you keep them out?"
Having said this, he sneered again and said: "Don't worry about His Royal Highness King Lu. Either he had better learn from King Zhou and work together with the people of the city, or he will be the lucky king of Luoyang!"
Previously, King Lu had proposed to leave the city and go elsewhere, but he refused on the excuse that there was no such precedent unless there was an imperial edict.
The reason why he was so bold was that he was Huang Shu, the official of Kaifeng, who had participated in the first two battles of Kaifeng. This time, after Sun Chuanting arrived in Kaifeng, he sent a message to him, asking him to take the old and weak people of Kaifeng with him.
He crossed the Yellow River and was appointed magistrate of Weihui Prefecture. He was also given the sword Shang Fang.
It has to be said that Emperor Chongzhen really racked his brains for this battle of Kaifeng.
Originally, the 100,000 old and weak people in Kaifeng were originally assigned to Yanjin and Weihui. However, if there are signs that the bandits are crossing the Yellow River north, no matter what their purpose is, the old and weak people in Kaifeng in Yanjin will
If they are weak, they will be transferred to Wei Hui Mansion.
No, not long ago, Yanjin said that the bandits were showing signs of crossing the Yellow River north, so they sent all the old and weak from Kaifeng to Wei Hui.
The reason for such a strategy is actually because there is a sheep on Wei Hui's side, and he can pull out the wool when necessary.
King Fu and King Zhou were representatives of the two situations. Emperor Chongzhen felt that King Lu should be able to see clearly who would be better to imitate. With the financial support of Prince Lu's palace, Huang Shu had experience in the two battles of Kaifeng.
, guarding Wei Hui shouldn’t be a problem.
At this time, when the officials of Wei Hui Mansion heard what he said, none of them dared to speak out.
Unless they want to subjugate the thief, they dare not listen to Huang Shu. In such a critical moment, the Shangfang Sword is really not a decoration!
In addition, they themselves actually know that even if they want to subjugate the thieves, there is no way. Those thieves have made trouble by now, and they already know the tricks. If there is any reason to recover stolen money and support, officials like them, then
In the eyes of thieves, they are fat sheep and must be killed!
Surrendering to the bandits is no different from seeking death!
As a result, the city became quiet.
People outside the city came in an endless stream and came to the city in panic.
Many elderly people and children could no longer walk, so they rested on the roadside.
However, when the soldiers outside the city saw it, they immediately sent out their men and drove them along the official road, telling them to hurry up.
"You old thing, hurry up!"
"You don't want to leave, do you? You can just die outside!"
"..."
All of them were so vicious that they could be beaten with whips.
These old and weak people from Kaifeng, facing these soldiers and government officials, naturally did not dare to talk back and could only move on. Even the children did not dare to cry anymore and followed their elders.
Because although they are young, they have seen many such people and know that in these troubled times, if they don't listen to these people, the consequences will be very bad.
I don’t know how long it took, but suddenly, dust was flying in the distance and the rumble of horse hooves could be heard.
Suddenly, there was a scream on the top of the city.
"Oh no, the thieves are chasing us, right?"
"It must be a bandit, that direction is Yanjin, but there are no cavalry in Yanjin, there are still so many, it is definitely a bandit!"
"Quick, quick, close the city gate!"
"..."
Before they could see clearly, the officials on the top of the city were in a panic.
Several of Huang Shu's men, whom he had brought over from Kaifeng, heard the shouts of officials from Wei Hui's side and immediately objected.
"What if it's someone from the imperial court? I haven't seen it clearly yet, so why are you panicking?"
"There are still so many people outside the city who have not entered the city, please wait!"
"..."
Huang Shu said nothing and stared into the distance with a cold face.
Any time his officials quarreled, without his nodding, it was just a quarrel.
Suddenly, people with good eyesight finally figured it out and shouted in panic: "Sir, they are rogue thieves and the cavalry of rogue thieves!"
"Quick, quick, close the city gate!"
"If you don't close the city gate, it will drag us down!"
"..."
Sure enough, the outlines of the cavalrymen in the distance could be roughly seen, and judging from their clothes, they could already be distinguished as bandits.
They galloped directly towards the city, ignoring the old and weak people on the road. Obviously, they also wanted to seize the opportunity to seize the city.
When Huang Shu saw this, he decisively ordered: "Send an order from the top of the city to let the people go around the city and go to the north gate."
When the general who defended the city heard this, he was immediately overjoyed and quickly accepted the order and ordered the city gate to be lowered.
Outside the city, there was a sudden cry and shouting, and everyone wanted to rush into the city.
The soldiers outside the city also rushed back one after another, pushing away the old and weak who were blocking the way, almost stabbing them with swords, trying to get into the city first.
However, the stone gate at the city gate was slowly being lowered, cutting off their hope.
There were cries, shouts, and the sound of horse hooves in the distance.
At the reminder of the shouts from the top of the city, those soldiers who had not yet had time to enter the city were the first to go around the city, leading the desperate old and weak to follow them.
In the panic and under the stampede, many old people fell to the ground and groaned, and they even stopped moaning.
There were also some children sitting on the ground, crying in fear when faced with this panic scene.
However, everyone was running for their lives and no one paid attention to them.
In troubled times, human life is like a piece of grass. It is the most common thing to ignore human life.
Outside the city, the figures of the rogue cavalry became clearer and clearer. They came at a gallop and saw that the city gate was closed, and the people below the city took a detour.
So, they immediately divided their forces and took a detour to intercept the people who were still outside the city.
Those people who could not escape were scolded by the powerful thieves, waving whips and weapons, and drove them away from the city.
Few of the defenders on the top of the city fought back against the bandits outside the city. They watched helplessly as the bandits' cavalry roared and drove the people still below the city away from the city.
"What's going on?" When Huang Shu saw it, he immediately yelled and yelled, "There are bows, arrows and fire blunderbuss, forcing the thieves to retreat!"
"Sir, don't do it. Maybe the bandits will retreat if they don't take advantage."
"Yes, sir, if the counterattack angers the bandits, what if they continue to add more troops to fight?"
"It is better to do less than to do more. We have already taken in so many people. Forget about those outside the city!"
"..."
Faced with his subordinates replying in all directions, and even seeing the few subordinates he brought from Kaifeng silent, Huang Shu knew that this was their unanimous thought.
In the end, he didn't say anything.
Therefore, the officers and soldiers on the top of the city watched the thieves outside the city being arrogant, ignored them on the top of the city, and drove away the people outside the city who had not had time to escape into the city.
After everything calmed down, to the disappointment of the city leaders, the bandits did not retreat, but instead set up camp outside the city. Looking at this posture, it goes without saying that they are going to attack Wei Hui.
Sure enough, on the next day, the bandit infantry arrived, a total of 20,000 people, plus the previous 3,000 cavalry, and took up an siege posture.
"People in the city listen, hand over the people of Kaifeng, and I will spare your death!"
"If you dare not to hand it over, when the city is broken, Wei Hui will be slaughtered with blood. Do you decide what to do?"
"..."
Before attacking the city, the bandits issued an ultimatum, causing the morale of the soldiers in the city to become chaotic again.
Those from Weihui all approached Huang Shu one by one, trying to get him to agree to the bandits' demands. Even King Lu sent people over to coerce and induce Huang Shu, and also demanded that the Kaifeng people in the city be driven out.