When dried yellow leaves encounter an open flame, they ignite almost instantly.
There are so many dry dead leaves and dead trees in autumn?
Although the fire came from the outside of the forest, the soldiers' escape speed was not as fast as the fire spread.
The mountain road was too narrow and crowded with people, so many people were trampled to death or fell off the cliff, or even burned to death.
Cries, wails, and screams were all drowned in the roar of the rapid fire.
Fortunately, there are steep slopes at high places, so the spread is relatively slow. After the fire ignited the woods at the bottom of the mountain, it began to spread to the left and right.
The Yellow Turban Army lost hundreds of people, and the large army finally reached the pass halfway up the mountain.
Most of them were trampled to death in the chaos, but a few fell to death or were burned to death, which shows how fragile the human body is in the face of natural disasters.
The monstrous flames were raging. Xu He stood on the mountainside and looked back down the mountain. Although the flames had not burned over yet and were extending to both sides, it would only be a matter of time before they reached the mountain.
"General..."
The left and right faces looked sad. Since they were in the middle of the woods at that time, they were a little far away from the officers and soldiers. The officers and soldiers could only shoot thirty or forty steps with their arrows, so the place where the fire broke out was only on the outskirts of the woods, which gave them enough fire.
Time to escape.
But because of this, a wall of fire was erected outside the forest. Blocked by the fire, they could no longer go down the mountain. When the flames burned upwards in circles, the people here would still die.
Xu He's face turned pale and he said dejectedly: "The situation is over, you all can run for your lives."
"The fire surrounds the mountain, where else can we escape?"
Everyone was crying and sad.
"Yes, it's too late to surrender to the army now."
"Our family is still on the mountain, what a good thing."
"The fire will soon break out and we will all die."
“I still don’t want to die?
The soldiers were mourning each other. Many of them had collapsed and cried loudly.
Xu He seemed to have aged twenty years at this moment. He knelt on the ground and said with a sad smile in tears: "It seems I was wrong. I should have surrendered earlier."
"General."
Are you still loyal? He said in great pain: "We are willing to follow the general and die together."
"Why die? Your family is still here."
Xu He smiled bitterly and said: "How many springs are there in the mountain? You should take your family and hide in the spring cave. Tens of thousands of people should be able to survive."
There are unique caves in Woniu Mountain. The water springs are in the caves, and people can hide inside.
The men on the left and right looked at each other and smiled sadly.
The officers and soldiers can even do such inhumane things as setting fire to mountains? Even if they can survive, what will they do after the fire?
When the time comes for the army to search the mountain, I and my family will still be captured and made prisoners.
Rather than being tortured to death by the officers and soldiers, or even having their bodies piled up in the Jingguan, why not be reduced to ashes in the fire? At least you can avoid that kind of pain and torture.
The Yellow Turban Army was already in chaos, some were wandering around like headless flies, some were running madly into the village, trying to find their families, and some were cursing Xu He loudly, saying that he had harmed them.
When Xu He heard such a voice, his face became more and more painful, and his spirit was in an extreme state of collapse.
Time is passing? Every second is torture for Xu He.
yes.
If he had surrendered earlier, they wouldn't have died.
The man at the foot of the mountain was wrong.
It was all selfishness that killed them.
Xu He smiled sadly and looked up at the sky.
The knife in his hand was slowly raised.
Maybe it would be easier to kill yourself than to be burned to death.
I don't know when, but the sky was actually covered with dark clouds, and it was so gloomy that it looked like it was about to drip water.
Boom!
Suddenly there was a thunderbolt, and silver lightning pierced the void.
Xu He opened his eyes wide with disbelief on his face.
The knife in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
A raindrop as big as a bean hit his face with a "pop" sound, and the refreshing touch was so unreal.
But soon, the raindrops continued to fall one after another.
Soon, the tears on his face intertwined with the rain, forming a stream of water that dripped down his chin.
The real touch of all this told him that this was real and this was not a dream.
Xu He trembled.
It's raining.
It's really raining.
The rain was pouring down.
Countless raindrops pattered on people's bodies, in the mountains and forests, and in the flames.
Everyone was stunned.
Sky.
It actually started to rain.
"It's raining....."
"It was Master Huang Tian who saved us."
"Ah ah ah ah ah, we are saved."
The Yellow Turban soldiers cried with joy, going from great sadness to great joy almost in an instant.
Many people felt sad and happy at the same time. At this moment, they opened their arms and bathed in the rain. For the first time, they felt that rain was so immersed in their hearts.
At the foot of the mountain.
The officers and soldiers watched all this blankly.
It's raining?
Isn't that the governor's plan...?
People looked at Chen Mu.
But he found that Chen Mu's face was filled with a smile.
The soldiers couldn't help but wiped their eyes and looked over again.
The governor was really smiling, as if all this was no problem at all.
"this......"
Liu Bei also looked in disbelief.
How come it's so normal and then it starts raining for no reason?
The weather was still sunny during the day. Although there was no strong sun, the climate was still very muggy.
Why did it happen that it started to rain at this time?
Could it be?
Liu Bei looked at Chen Mu.
Just then he saw Chen Mu looking towards him.
"Fourth brother, this..."
Liu Bei couldn't help but ask.
Chen Mu laughed: "Brother, don't worry, once the fire is put out, it's time for us to surrender."
That calm and confident smile, as if everything is under control.
The rain was pouring down.
Although the fire was strong, the rain was pouring in. In less than a quarter of an hour, the raging flames had been extinguished, leaving only curls of green smoke floating in the forest.
The mountain forest seemed to be covered by mist, and there were half-burned dead branches and broken trees everywhere. The ashes mixed with the rainwater, dyeing the ground black.
In the fog, several war horses slowly came to the foot of the mountain. Without the cover of the large trees, the Yellow Turban soldiers could already see countless figures in the fog, slowly walking towards the mountainside.
People instinctively picked up weapons, and Xu He suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed: "Hahahaha, it's raining, it's raining, God doesn't want us to die!"
"Brothers, pick up the weapons in your hands and fight to the death with the officers and soldiers!"
He started to boost morale.
"You are happy too early!"
A voice came from the fog at the foot of the mountainside.
Xu He got up from the ground, covered in mud and water, and said coldly: "Even God is helping us, why do you say that I am happy too early!"
Chen Mu walked out of the fog. He raised his head, looked at Xu He on the hillside indifferently, and said slowly: "Do you know why you didn't set a fire yesterday or the day before yesterday, but you set a fire today?"
yes.
He could have set fire a few days ago, so why did he choose today, and it happened to start raining today?
Not only Xu He, but also the Yellow Turban soldiers looked at each other and thought about this problem.
Xu He couldn't help but replied: "It's Huang Tian who is helping us!"
Chen Mu looked at their confused looks and chuckled: "You are overthinking it. It's because I knew it would rain today, so I set a fire today. This fire is a warning to you!"
"warn?"
Xu He felt like the hair on his head stood on end, and his heart seemed to have stopped.
Could it be that all this is part of his plan?
"good."
Chen Mu said loudly: "I had already calculated that it would rain today more than ten days ago, so I set the fire today. I also told you the determination of the army to suppress the bandits, and told you not to resist stubbornly."
The Yellow Turban soldiers were stunned.
Xu He shouted loudly: "Don't believe his lies, he is deceiving you. This is Huang Tian's protection and God's help to us!"
Chen Mu frowned and said coldly: "Xu He, you still want to confuse people's hearts. You have to know that even if it rains today and the fire goes out, in a few days, when the rain stops, I can still set fire to it.
Do you just think that every time I set a fire, it will rain?"
As soon as these words came out, almost all the Yellow Turban soldiers were stunned. Some soldiers actually dropped the knives in their hands unconsciously and hit their own feet without feeling anything.
yes.
Even if it rains today, it can only be considered a fluke.
It won't rain every day in the future.
At that time, the officers and soldiers will still have to set fire, and they can escape for a while, but not forever.
As long as the officers and soldiers really dare to set fire, they will still die.
The feeling of being helpless in front of a fire and waiting for death in despair has been experienced once today, and no one wants to experience it a second time.
After these words, no matter how prestigious Xu He was, the eyes of all the soldiers looking at him were full of evil.
Xu He was also stunned.
Because Chen Mu is right.
This time the officers and soldiers set fire to it, and it was raining.
What can happen later?
After the weather dries up, the officers and soldiers can continue to set fires.
It is impossible for the officers and soldiers to set fires so coincidentally every time. If they count on God's help, then the generals will not be defeated.
If the army continues to besiege them and set fire to them in the future, their final result will be nothing more than being burned into cokes.
Thinking of this, Xu He was already in despair. For the first time, his firm heart was filled with wavering.
"Xu He, it's time to surrender!"
Chen Mu sighed: "As I said, as long as you surrender, not only will I not kill you, but I will also report your merits to the court, and the people of the two counties will also deal with it properly. What do you think?"
"General, surrender."
"Yes General, I don't want to be burned to death."
"Our family is still on the mountain. General, do you really only think about yourself?"
All the Yellow Turban soldiers put down their swords, and the accusations seemed to hit Xu He's heart.
Xu He smiled miserably, knelt on the ground, and said softly: "Xu He, surrender."
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!"
The officers and soldiers cheered and raised their weapons high.
Liu Bei looked around at the scorched mountains and forests, then looked up at the rain in the sky, and remembered his oath to bear the infamy for his fourth brother. At this moment, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
But no matter whether it is the official army or the Yellow Turban soldiers, at least no one will be sad at this moment. Even Xu He feels that maybe this surrender is not so uncomfortable.
Because every Yellow Turban soldier's face was not filled with pain, but with a sense of relief. They all knelt on the ground, and no one was willing to resist.
This plan of using water and fire to attack the heart shows that Chen Mu has great insight into people's hearts.
At the same time, after this battle, everything in Qingzhou was peaceful.
Liu Bei.
Officially captured the entire territory of Qingzhou!
Chen Mu turned around, looked at his good brother, and smiled slightly.