A dozen or so heavy watermelons were parked at the intersection beside the city gate, looking extremely crowded. The leading officer frowned, strode forward, and walked straight to the first vehicle with a broken axle to check. This is a quite ordinary cargo truck, which can be seen everywhere in the Eastern Continent. It has four wheels and four horses, a high compartment and a low roof. The rear compartment baffle can be lowered to drag the road surface, making it easier for porters or porters to load and unload cargo. The front left side had sunk crookedly, and dozens of large watermelons rolled to the ground. Some of them had broken, and the bright red juice and flesh splashed all over the ground, attracting countless mosquitoes and flies. The wheel spokes were twisted and damaged, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong.
However, because he had already been suspicious, the leading officer did not intend to let it go. He bent down to carefully examine the cause of the axle's breakage. What caught his eye was a thick axle, and the marks of a new saw on the axle suddenly appeared in front of him. At this moment, the leading officer was horrified. He turned over suddenly and tried to stand up. However, a sharp pain came from his waist. He turned around in shock. The ferocious smile of the melon seller was slowly disappearing from his face, like a fountain. The blood suddenly surged out and splashed all over the other party, "I'm sorry, you shouldn't be so serious."
His throat seemed to be pinched by the other party all of a sudden, and all the strength in his body disappeared. He leaned limply against the shaft of the car and slumped down. He used his last strength to point at the other party: "You-"
"Yes, we are from Lujiang!" Grinning, the leading melon seller shook his head regretfully and was about to leave.
He gritted his teeth and wanted to use his last bit of strength to call for help, but something seemed to be stuck in his throat. His eyes went dark for a while, and his body went limp, and he suddenly fell into endless darkness.
"He's a man, but it's a pity that he was born in the wrong child!" He shook his head regretfully, and the leading melon seller looked back and signaled. Several wolf-like melon sellers and the idle people who had been watching the excitement immediately looked at each other and didn't know that something had happened here. Several other patrol soldiers who were still enjoying the watermelon pounced on him.
After a few muffled groans, the patrol, which had no time to react, ended its mission. The freed melon vendors and idlers rushed against the city wall towards the sentry tower on the top of the wall, leaving only a few melon vendors and idlers. The Han Dynasty had already controlled the city gate, and a bell-ringing arrow shot straight into the woods on the hill in the distance with a shrill whistle. Soldiers in tan uniforms soon roared out from the hills and woods. While wailing gold warnings and risking their lives to fight with the Lin family agents who sneaked into the sentry tower, the Taiping soldiers suddenly felt powerless. No wonder these two The Tiantian caravan was much smaller. It turned out that the enemy had already prepared for a sneak attack.
The garrison soldiers who received the alarm and the Lin family's army that swooped in from outside the city rushed to the open city gate almost at the same time. There were no unnecessary words or other fancy words, just fighting for their lives with red eyes and exchanging lives for lives. Everyone knows the importance of the city gate. Whoever controls the city gate will win the final victory!
The originally spacious city gate suddenly seemed so crowded. The Taiping Army in white and red robes and the Sanjiang Army in brown armor were clearly distinct. All formations here were useless. Who could make the other side fall first? Whoever has the upper hand will have the upper hand. The clash of gold and iron, the dull sound, the shouting, the shouting of the golden drum, all the sounds intertwined together form an extremely cheap auction house of life.
The battle remained in a stalemate until heavy infantry wearing heavy armor and holding halberds appeared in neat formation at the other end of the fortress. The Taiping Army, which had been gritting its teeth and persisting, finally lost their fighting spirit and collapsed across the board. The two torrents quickly merged into one, immediately sucking the struggling white foam into it, and were soon lost in the dark brown tide of soldiers, with a few traces of blood appearing, but no trace left.
On July 26, 696 in the Chinese calendar, the Sanjiang First Army suddenly attacked Xin'an Mountain, an important town in the south of Jincheng Prefecture. The Taiping Army's five thousand-man troops stationed in Xin'an Mountain were completely wiped out, and Xin'an Mountain changed hands. On July 29, the Sanjiang Army marched non-stop westward and swept across the southern border of Jincheng. On July 31, they captured the southwest fortress of Jincheng, Baima Pass, and continued to advance north, forming a siege of Jincheng Fucheng a hundred miles away. Jincheng Urgent.
Faced with the aggressive and severe situation, Qiu Zicheng, the Taiping Army defender on the eastern front of Jincheng, was forced to abandon the dangerous terrain on the eastern front and retreat across the entire front under the threat from the south and the great pressure from Feng Qi, the prefect of Hanzhong who was in charge of the overall situation in Kansai. Qiu Zicheng's entire opposing Imperial Fifth Army entered the territory of Kansai without any bloodshed. This was the first time that the Imperial Central Army set foot in the hinterland of Kansai since the fall of Kansai.
"Master Qiu, we abandoned our dangerous position and ran here. The walls of Jinchengfu City are low and dilapidated, and it is located on a flat land. There is no dangerous place to rely on. If the Sanjiang Army and the Imperial Army form an encirclement With such momentum, I'm afraid our only way out will be cut off!" The worried lieutenant couldn't help but remind the haggard-looking coach.
"But if we retreat without even fighting a battle, how can we explain it to Prime Minister Bo and Master Feng? Military law is ruthless, and I'm afraid we won't be able to pass this level." His voice was low, Qiu Zicheng seemed a little tired, and he was no longer as good as before. The heroic figure in Hanzhong Mansion, strolling on the city wall of Jincheng Mansion.
Because Jincheng Prefecture is located in the hinterland of Kansai, close to Wuhu County to the east, there has been no war for hundreds of years, and the city defense facilities have long been in ruins. Successive local governments have not paid much attention to the city defense facilities, and most of them have done nothing but perfunctory work. On the surface, there is no moat, and most of the regular sentry towers and bunkers on the city wall are unusable. If there is a big battle, they will not be able to assume the responsibility of defense. Qiu Zicheng also knows this very well, and his heart is just as heavy.
When the Sanjiang army raided the southern part of Jincheng, Qiu Zicheng was keenly aware of the secret collusion and surface disguise between the Empire and the Lin family, and concluded that the Empire would definitely launch an offensive on the eastern front of Jincheng. Although the two families had a secret agreement, the two It is impossible to have such close cooperation between the appearance and the spirit. We only need to draw 30,000 to 50,000 people from Hanzhong Mansion to rush into Jincheng, and our own side will defend according to the danger. The Imperial Army team will not be able to cross the thunder pool at all. It only needs to be delayed for a while. , the Sanjiang army will consider whether its Lujiang base area will be attacked by the imperial army and withdraw its troops. However, Feng Qi, who was in charge of the overall situation, ignored the changes in the situation and blindly retreated to Jincheng Fucheng instead of sending troops to Jincheng, which put him in a dilemma and ended up in this situation.
"But sir, think about it, the two elite divisions of Sanjiang are already in a pincer attack, and now the empire's army of more than 100,000 troops is overwhelmingly pressing from the east. With a mere Jincheng Prefecture and our less than 50,000 troops It's just a matter of striking an egg against a stone. Do we have to be completely wiped out in order to fulfill Feng Qi's wishes?" The deputy general's words were full of resentment.
"Be presumptuous! Don't talk nonsense!" He stopped his subordinates' complaints, but Qiu Zicheng's heart was still churning like boiling water. Feng Qi gave random orders and made himself abandon the favorable terrain to defend this useless Jincheng city. , now that the situation in Jincheng is over, he has been repeatedly ordered to stick to Jincheng, otherwise he will have to engage in military law. It is obvious that he wants to kill people with a borrowed knife and let himself bear the blame for the unfavorable situation in Jincheng, but he has no way to resolve it. Could it be that Fortune is really such a trick. I have so much knowledge and ambition, but I have to end up in such a dismal end? For a time, so many past events kept coming to my mind, and my heart was in a state of confusion.
"Sir, you must make up your mind early. Tens of thousands of our brothers all followed you from our hometown. People don't take us seriously. We must cherish ourselves." The deputy general seemed a little moved when he saw the coach. , relying on the special relationship between the two, he dared to speak out.
Glancing at the other party with a stern look, Qiu Zicheng did not say anything, but just walked forward silently with his hands behind his back. The deputy general shrank back and did not dare to say any more. He knew that his coach needed to think carefully at this time. After all, tens of thousands of brothers' lives were at stake. In this moment of thought, a slight negligence may lead to disaster.
The dusk is sinking, the red sun is setting in the west, but Qiu Zicheng's heart is filled with gloom and coldness. What should he do? Time waits for no one. If you want to retreat, you need to take action immediately. Otherwise, once the empire and the Lin family armies form an encirclement, it will be too late to escape even if you want to. What should I do if I just evacuate Jincheng? When he went to Hanzhong, he was afraid that Feng Qi only wanted his head to silence everyone in the sect and did not want to see himself.
Or just keep doing nothing and simply shake his head, Qiu Zicheng showed a wry smile, surrender to the Lin family? I'm afraid there won't be any good results. The Lin family of Sanjiang has always paid attention to blood relations and seniority. Just from the military control of the Lin family of Sanjiang, we can know the xenophobic nature of the Sanjiang army. If you surrender to them, you will definitely not be reused. If not, the Lin family will still be In order to please the empire, he would hand over his people to the empire; what about surrendering to the empire? I'm afraid there won't be any good results. The Taiping Sect has become a serious problem for the empire. With his surrender, he also brought tens of thousands of troops with him. Can the empire rest assured
If you fight, you won't win; if you retreat, there will be no way to retreat; if you surrender, you dare not surrender. Qiu Zicheng himself is a little desperate. What should he and the group of brothers who followed him from his hometown do
"Sir, why don't we—" the deputy general couldn't bear it anymore and ventured again.
"Why not?" Qiu Zicheng did not interrupt the other party this time, but asked softly.
"If we had surrendered to the empire, I don't think this Taiping Religion looks like the master of a big thing. It's completely different from what they said when they invited us to join. Damn it, you don't know shit and you still give directions blindly. It is better to dedicate this Jincheng Mansion to the empire, and maybe get an official position for the brothers." The deputy general finally spoke out what was in his heart.
Qiu Zicheng pondered for a long time without saying anything. His brothers who followed him from his hometown were not devout believers of the Taiping Sect. Get involved with the Taiping Sect? The situation has changed at this time. If surrendering to the empire can bring a good future, then it is no wonder that everyone has different aspirations.