Standing on the city wall of Yizhou City, the first border city in Western Xinjiang and looking down, the crowds are like ants, rising up like a flood, and then receding like a tide as the rolling stones and logs and hot water and oil fall down.
Even the howling wind could not dissipate the smell of blood under the city that was getting stronger day by day.
If you look down from a high altitude, the city of Yizhou at this moment is like a slowly blooming mandala, blooming with a coquettish red color in the white snow.
The day after Lu Shiyu's troops escorted Sheng Weiqiao across Yanbo Crossing, Ruru's forward army arrived sixty miles away from the border, while Rong Suihe led the 3,000 Jishan camp and escorted 100,000 Western Xinjiang troops to prepare troops at the border.
For the remaining 100,000 troops from Western Xinjiang, Le Yangwen and Xu Lianshan urged Ni Jidao and others to send orders to urgently repair the city defense.
On this day alone, hundreds of soldiers were killed as a warning to monkeys due to disobeying orders, slacking on fortifications, gathering crowds to make trouble, etc.
The relaxation of the Western Xinjiang Army is evident.
The result of the one hundred thousand infantry against the 50,000 Ruru elite cavalry was that Rong Sleeping Crane had a slight victory. This small victory was not caused by the disparity in strength, but by the dedication of the Fuzhen tribe. The bamboo tube explained the various roles of Ruru's forwards like beans. This kind of exhaustive information, especially the grudge between the general Qi Ganyou and the deputy general A Tuo, was the result of Rong Shuihe, Le Yangwen and others spending all night calculating.
However, the victory of Damu's army ended here.
Thousands of 100,000 infantrymen were killed in this battle, but tens of thousands were separated, and some escaped. After Rong Suihe ordered to retreat to Yizhou City, they followed him in, but were found by Jishan Camp the next day. Go out and act like an owl in public to serve as a warning to others.
"The morale of the army is useless!" Faced with such a situation, Le Yangwen and others all looked downcast, "Even if they defend the city and have the advantage of the geographical location, such soldiers have no ambition at all. When encountering the enemy, they either want to escape or Thinking of surrender... Among the people who died at the hands of Ruru's vanguard, at least hundreds of people were killed by Ruru after they knelt down and surrendered! If there are no reliable people on the four walls to supervise the battle, what if they get down the ladder? They were just put up, and then they dispersed in a hurry...the consequences would be disastrous!"
Rong Suihe said calmly: "From today on, Gu, Mr. Leyang, Lianshan and Yingdun will each guard a city wall. Ruru will be in charge of the main wall of the city attacked by Gu."
"Prince, this can only solve the urgent need." Le Yangwen reminded him, "In this way, the four of us are stuck on the city wall and have no time to sort out the overall situation, let alone take care of the city! Even Gao Qieyi and Meng The family members are all gone, but if you don’t tell others, Ni Jidao is still a hidden danger after all!"
"Then there are the ruffians in the city. They usually suffer from ringworm and scabies. Now if they are incited by others, or they have malicious intentions, and wreak havoc in the city, it may also shake the overall situation!"
He sighed, "In the final analysis, the time we came to Yizhou was too short. In these few days, there is no way to teach the soldiers and civilians in the city to fight against Ruru together! The terrible thing is that Western Xinjiang is not like Northern Xinjiang. This place has been peaceful for a long time. I'm afraid they have long forgotten Ruru's cruelty and ruthlessness, just like the soldiers who knelt down to surrender. Even if many people have heard about how Ruru treated my people, I'm afraid they are just lucky and think that they kneel down. We can stand a chance of survival if we welcome each other and surrender to our orders!"
"It's just a temporary measure." Rong Suihe said slowly, "Sir, don't worry, it doesn't have to be a long-term operation if we want everyone to work together to fight against Ruru."
He laughed coldly, "Let them completely despair and understand that there is no other way to survive except picking up the sword and fighting Ruru. Those who want to live will naturally rise up and fight!"
He added, "Gu deliberately arranged the Nafuzhen tribe outside the city, and kept Ni Jidao, Dai Gulian and Lou Peng... just to prepare for this moment!"
The next day, Rong Suihe personally watched Ni Jidao and the others go up to the city tower to supervise the battle. While the young prince personally inspected the battle situation with arrows, he also took the opportunity to shoot an officer from Ruru who was too close to the battlefield, causing damage to a nearby section of the city wall. The morale of the soldiers has improved somewhat... but it is only the soldiers in this section, and the improvement is not very obvious.
Although the three Ni Jidao and others fought hard in the rain of swords, guns and swords in their early years, after being pampered and pampered over the years, they have already lost all their ambitions in the heap of brocade. Facing the bloody scene of tens of thousands of people fighting, they all lost the grace that a military general should have. He was even a little dizzy. Seeing this situation, they all persuaded Rong Suihe to retreat to the city, mainly to take them down: "The prince has a noble status and is involved in the safety of the city. Please don't get involved in danger yourself!"
However, Rong Suihe ignored them at all. Not only did he look around, encourage his soldiers, and mobilize his generals without fear of death, but he would also drag them with him wherever he went. Whenever the three of them were delayed even a little bit, the surrounding guards would be filled with murderous intent. He cast his gaze over, silently urging them to follow.
This situation has already caused Ni Jidao and the other three to complain incessantly. They are cursing him that he had better be shot by arrows from the city or frightened. In short, if he wants to die, don't drag them with him!
However, Rong Suihe is not a brave man. He is also very skilled in martial arts. What makes Ni Jidao and the others puzzled is that he is strangely familiar with this kind of scene where arrows are raining down from his pocket. He is as familiar as a fish in water. In addition to protecting himself, he actually still had time to take care of his left and right guards.
Of course, the three Ni Jidao are also within his partial protection range. This part means that if the arrows aimed at the three of them are aimed at the fatal point, Rong Sleeping Crane will shoot them down.
But if it wasn't fatal, for example, if Dai Gulian was shot through the shoulder with an arrow, Rong Suihe could just pretend he didn't see it!
"This can't go on like this. If this goes on, before Ruru can call in, our three old lives will have to be handed over to that kid first!" Taking advantage of Dai Gulian's injury, Ni Jidao and the others finally got the chance. Sleeping Crane graciously allowed them to leave the city wall.
The three of them gathered in Dai's house. After the doctor treated Dai Gulian's wound, Dai Gulian cleared the scene and said miserably to Ni Jidao and Lou Peng, "We must find a way!"
Ni Jidao smiled bitterly and said: "Why don't you want to think of something? It's just that in the other courtyard, General Meng and his party are all gone! Previously, we followed General Meng's wishes and gave all the military power to that kid. Now, except for the servants, We can't control the others at all! How can we fight him in this situation?!"
"These are extraordinary times, and that kid is cruel and ruthless." Lou Peng also agreed with Ni Jidao's words, "If we are not completely sure and rashly defy that kid's words, what if he kills us? Our family is small, but everything can be done. In Yizhou City!"
The three of them were frustrated for a long time, and finally Ni Jidao gritted his teeth and suggested: "Why not... take refuge in Ruru?"
Dai Gulian and Lou Peng were shocked when they heard this and said: "This... how can this happen?!"
"Why can't we do it?" Ni Jidao asked back, "We have been operating in Western Xinjiang for many years. Even if we don't win the hearts of the soldiers, we still have one or two confidants! Now that Mi Zhen'er is gaining power, these confidants may not be trustworthy. . It may not be possible to just ask them to fight Mi Zhen'er for us. We can't refuse the request to leave the city at night, right? What's more, we don't know what the Western Xinjiang Army is thinking? They are probably just messing around. , who is willing to sacrifice his life?!"
"If after we leave the city, we are accepted by Ruru and get benefits, and we can shout outside the city, making everyone in Yizhou City know that resisting is a dead end. If we want to survive, we have to kill Mi Zhen's son and surrender to Ruru! Such is the case in Western Border The army doesn’t need to work hard anymore, why wouldn’t they be willing?!”
"Can Ruru treat us well?" Dai Gulian and Lou Peng looked at each other and asked hesitantly, "According to the people under Mi Zhen, Mi Zhen personally led the army to the border to fight against Ruru's forward two days ago. , those soldiers who knelt down and surrendered were all beheaded by Ruru and then tied to their saddles to praise their victory!"
Ni Jidao sneered and said: "Mi Zhen's son doesn't know the heights of the world. He only wants to defend Yizhou. Naturally, he wants to make up the lie that Ruru is cruel and cruel and will not accept surrender to intimidate the Western Xinjiang Army! We were not present at all about what happened that day. , who knows whether what his people say is true or false? But that day we were watched by that old guy Le Yangwen who was watching the soldiers fortifications in the city, but we knew that Le Yangwen had been ordered by Mi Zhen's son to kill chickens to scare the monkeys! "
"In this case, God knows if those soldiers were killed secretly?!"
He added, "Even if Ruru really kills the surrendered soldiers, the three of us are generals, how can our status be compared with the soldiers? They just kill the surrendered soldiers, and the small soldiers are insignificant anyway! If they kill us, How can the people in Yizhou City not think that even for people like us, surrender is a dead end, let alone them? Of course they will fight to the death with Ruru! If they treat us well, the people in Yizhou City will inevitably feel that the imperial court is far away and inferior. Rescue, in order to survive, we might as well surrender to Ruru!”
"Such an invincible tactic... How stupid does Ruru's commander have to be to not use it?!"
Dai Gulian and Lou Peng thought for a moment, but still couldn't make up their minds: "This makes sense! However, we are generals of Damu after all. We and our family members are rewarded by the imperial court. With this surrender, the fame earned by half a lifetime of military service has been lost. It’s all going to be in vain! So as a last resort, let’s take another look!”
Dai Gulian added, "Besides, I'm injured right now, and it's human nature to have to stay in bed to recuperate for a few days. Just say you're worried and have to take care of me personally, and drag me on... When the fighting gets fierce next, secretly Zhen’er may not be able to care about us?”
"You don't want to shed tears until you see the coffin!" Ni Jidao sighed after hearing this, "Can't you see it yet? Mi Zhen's son doesn't trust us at all, otherwise he wouldn't even go to the city to supervise the war and suppress us. ! If he is really too busy, he will definitely not ignore us, but simply kill us!"
He added, "Besides, Lao Lou and I are not doctors. If you are injured, you can stay in the mansion to recuperate. How can we always stay by your side?"
Dai Gulian's eyes flashed and she said: "Otherwise, if Mi Zhen escorts you to the city wall next, you will also find a chance to get injured, and then use the excuse to recuperate to escape?"
"We haven't been on the battlefield for many years. When I think about that scene now, my heartbeat is still a little fast!" Ni Jidao said, "You still look for opportunities to get hurt? Arrows in the rebel army don't have eyes. If they miss, what will happen?" Didn’t he just lose his life?”
"Lao Ni, you are really stupid!" Lou Peng had an idea after hearing this, and smiled, "Anyway, as long as we are injured, we have a reason not to go to the city wall. In this case, why bother to go to the city wall and be exposed to Ruru's Arrow?! Can't you just throw it in the city and fall off your horse when you return to your mansion later?"
After saying this, Ni Jidao suddenly became enlightened and nodded repeatedly.
So the two couldn't wait to say goodbye to Dai Gulian. On the way back to their respective mansions, one fell off his horse and claimed that he couldn't use the strength in his legs, and the other fell unconscious after drinking a cup of tea after returning to the mansion.
But what he never expected was that Rong Suihe would not accept this trick at all. After listening to the reports of the two housekeepers, he directly ordered: "As long as the person is not dead and can't climb the city wall by himself, then let him be carried up by Gu!"
Even Dai Gulian, who was released after being injured today, was affected. "Isn't his leg okay? I will go up to the tower by myself tomorrow to supervise the battle! Otherwise, don't keep his legs!"
When these words reached the ears of Ni Jidao and the others, it was like a bolt from the blue!