The supply army was already accustomed to the Yingyang Guards' "rebellion against their superiors", and no one went up to help anyone.
Muchun fought against four people alone, and the game ended in a draw.
He wiped the blood from his nose, put on his hat, and said, "You fought well. If you get off the horse and stretch your muscles, you won't feel cold anymore, right?"
The four subordinates rolled their eyes at Mu Chun.
Mu Chun got on his horse again, "We'll be at the Zhuoying County Post Station soon. I won't lie to you this time. If I lie to you, I'll crawl in the snow and bark like a dog."
Mu Chun swore a solemn oath, and his men half believed and half doubted, but they continued to follow him. However, before they had taken two steps, they heard the rhythmic sound of reading coming from the north.
Where does the sound of reading come from in such a desolate mountain and wilderness? Could it be that I am seeing a ghost in broad daylight
Muchun took off his hat so he could hear more clearly. "Hey, did you hear anything?"
The subordinate said, "He looks like a scholar. Is there a school in this mountain?"
Mu Chun took out the sheepskin map and said, "Strange, it's not marked on the map. Wait a moment, I'll go closer and listen."
Mu Chun rode his horse halfway up the mountain. The sound became clearer and clearer, as if a group of people were reciting poetry:
"The Gutless Young Master should be very charming, wearing a helmet and dancing with a spear and playing the Yumen flute. He has been on a campaign for 8,000 miles outside the Great Wall, and now he takes off his armor and visits the chrysanthemums when he sees the cooking."
Mu Chun was stunned: How could the poem that Sister Shanwei gave me appear here? Could it be...
Mu Chun immediately called his men together, scratched the snow with his fingers a few times, arranged the tactics, and then rode up the mountain alone.
Subordinate: "Do we really want to listen to him? He seems a little unreliable."
Another subordinate: "Anyway, he is the one who did the most dangerous thing. Even if he is a bastard, he is a brave bastard who leads by example. Just listen to him."
The subordinate nodded: "Yeah, that makes sense."
In the Eighteen Villages.
Hu Shanwei commanded 300 Jinyiwei and 500 bandits, "Come again!"
Baihu was about to cry, "I have never touched a wet (poem) in my life. I have to recite it ten times today. I really can't do it."
Only Ji Gang knew what was going on: This was the poem Hu Shanwei gave to Mu Chun, "On July 20, I ate crabs and drank chrysanthemum wine with Jingchun in a Hangzhou restaurant", written on a Sichuan gold fan. Mu Chun once showed off the fan in the middle of the night. He told her the truth that it was not well written, and the two had a fight over it. When Mu Chun heard this poem, he realized that Hu Shanwei was in the mountain village, and the bad guys were outside the mountain village...
Outside the Eighteen Villages.
General Lu was stunned: What’s going on
If it was just a warning or a call for help, the Jinyiwei had plenty of guns in their hands, and if they fired a shot, the whole valley would hear it. Why did they collectively recite this kind of bullshit, third-rate poem
Could it be that everyone inside has gone crazy like the Princess of Qin
General Lu was puzzled and did not dare to launch an attack at this time.
After a while, Mu Chun rode up alone. Seeing the flag of the Prince of Qin's mansion, he greeted General Lu warmly as if he had seen a relative. "Old Lu, is that you? Are you here to suppress the bandits?"
General Lu looked at the unshaven Mu Chun and didn't recognize him for a moment. Mu Chun took off his hat and showed his badge, "I am Mu Chun. We have met many times in the capital."
Prince of Qin was the second son of Emperor Hongwu. Mu Chun's father, Mu Ying, was the godson of Emperor Hongwu. Mu Chun was brought up by Empress Ma since he was a baby and was very familiar with all the princes of the Ming Dynasty.
General Lu still had the impression that Mu Chun was a troublemaker, so he was a little surprised: "Why did Young Master Mu come to the northwest? Why didn't you fly your own Mu army flag, but the Feng family's flag?"
Mu Chun laughed loudly: "Of course I came to deliver some supplies and accumulate some military merits, so that I can look good when I am named the Crown Prince in the future, so that people won't always say that I can only rely on my father. As for the flag, my father thought I was embarrassing and refused to give me the Mu family's flag. So I stole the flag from my uncle's family, hoping to borrow some of my grandfather's prestige. By the way, I heard someone reciting a poem at the foot of the mountain, and I was very curious. The map clearly doesn't indicate that there is an academy here."
As expected, it’s that troublemaker again. He didn’t even understand the situation, yet he dared to come up here alone and wander around.
Mu Chun came to the meeting alone, with a relaxed expression, so General Lu did not think much of him and said:
"It's not an academy, it's a group of bandits. They were so bold that they robbed the gift from the King of Qin to the empress and killed Liu Siyan and others. Today, I am here on the orders of the King of Qin to suppress the bandits and wipe out the Eighteen Villages. They are guilty of unforgivable crimes and they resisted arrest. They are at a dead end and surrounded by enemies. They recited a crooked poem and tried to imitate Zhuge Liang's Empty City Plan in the Three Kingdoms to confuse me. It's ridiculous."
"Fight the bandits?" Mu Chun clapped his hands and cheered, "This is fun! I want to fight the bandits too! I'll call my brothers over right now—"
"Master Mu!" General Lu thought to himself, "Aren't you in a hurry to deliver supplies to the border? How can we delay your future? Just leave this to us."
"I'm just trying to make a career." Mu Chun said with a shameless face, "Let's practice with the bandits first. After all, bandits are easier to fight than the Northern Yuan army, right? When you write a victory report, remember to include my name and give me credit for my achievement."
He actually came here to steal the credit!
The soldiers of the Prince of Qin's palace looked at each other in bewilderment: We have never seen such a shameless person!
General Lu really wanted to strangle Mu Chun to death, but the supply team at the foot of the mountain were waiting for Mu Chun to come back, so he could only be patient. After all, Mu Chun's father, his uncle, and his great-uncle were not easy to mess with.
Mu Chun supported himself on the artillery turret with one hand, flipped over, and rode on the thick and long barrel of the cannon.
General Lu: "Young Master Mu, be careful! If the shell explodes, you will be blown to pieces!"
Mu Chun ignored him and sat on the barrel like a monkey, looking left and right, even lying on the barrel, keeping his body parallel to the barrel, looking straight ahead, and said:
"You need to raise the position of the cannon a little higher and blow up the cliff behind the stronghold directly. The rubble from the cliff will roll down and flatten the stronghold, killing half of the bandits first. Then we will launch a frontal attack. The bandits will be attacked from both sides and will definitely not be able to hold on. If they surrender quickly, we will win."
General Lu said: "The effective range of our artillery is only 250 meters, which is only enough to hit the gate and wall of the mountain stronghold."
Need you tell me
General Lu thought, why not just kill this annoying guy, then launch an attack and frame the Eighteen Villages for Mu Chun's death...
Mu Chun punched the cannon barrel, "You can't do it, but I can. The supplies we sent this time are mainly cotton-padded clothes to keep warm. In addition, there are ten cannons made by the gunpowder factory imitating the Portuguese. Each cannon weighs more than 3,000 pounds, and the effective range is as long as two miles. They are prepared to restrain the Northern Yuan cavalry in the future Northern Expedition, and are more than enough to hit the cliff behind the mountain stronghold. During the review this year, the Shenji Battalion demonstrated in front of the emperor. They were invincible and exploded like a tidal wave. It was very exciting. I will push my brothers up to show you. With 50 shells, I guarantee that the cliff will be blown in two and the mountain stronghold will be filled up."
The Northern Yuan Dynasty was a nation on horseback, skilled in mounted archery. The Ming army usually relied on muskets and artillery to counter the impact of enemy cavalry. For this reason, Emperor Hongwu set up a gunpowder factory in the capital to develop various new firearms, which currently mainly imitate (copy) various firearms from Western countries.
General Lu was tempted. He had to say that Mu Chun's idea was a good one. It could end the battle quickly. Moreover, if there was any loophole, he could also put the blame on this young man who tried to take the credit and drag him down with him.
"Old Lu, wait for me. I'll ask the brothers to push the Portuguese cannon up." Mu Chunfei mounted his horse and went down the mountain.
Therefore, when General Lu saw Mu Chun commanding the soldiers to push brand new cannons up the mountain, he was not on guard at all and allowed them to go up the mountain.
When they reached halfway up the mountain, Mu Chun's supply troops suddenly stopped. Not only that, they also adjusted the angle of the turrets on their vehicles and pointed the black muzzles at General Lu and his men.
Got fooled!
General Lu yelled, "Turn the guns around and fire! Fire now!"
Boom!
The artillery shells from the supply army hit the 5,000 palace soldiers, killing and injuring countless people instantly.
Although the Qin/Wangfu's artillery shells had the advantage of terrain and were in a commanding position, their range was limited and most of the shells fell in uninhabited areas.
The fight between a cannon with a range of 250 meters and a new Portuguese cannon with a range of two miles was like a boxing match between a short-armed Tyrannosaurus Rex and a long-armed kangaroo. The kangaroo's fist hit the head, but the poor Tyrannosaurus Rex's hands were stretched straight out, but he still couldn't reach the other person's hair.
At this time, the gate of Shibazhai was wide open, and five hundred bandits pushed out their homemade cannons to fight back. Three hundred Jinyiwei lit their matchlock guns to cooperate from inside and outside.
The five thousand soldiers were attacked from both inside and outside and suffered heavy losses. Some died in battle, some surrendered. In despair, General Lu drew his sword and committed suicide.
Xi'an city.
The border guards cooperated with the Jinyiwei to surround the Qin Palace, imprisoned the palace's chief steward and other servants, and tortured them severely.
The butler explained the whereabouts of Liu Siyan and his group:
After Liu Siyan's tongue was cut off, he and the murdered Jinyiwei were pushed to the crematorium on the outskirts of Xi'an, which was used to burn patients with leprosy and other infectious diseases. They were burned to ashes, their bones were crushed and the ashes were scattered, leaving nothing behind.
Ji Gang was furious and ordered his men to have the butler executed by slicing.
But when it comes to the prince and the concubine, Ji Gang did not dare to act on his own. Hu Shanwei summarized 24 crimes of the Prince of Qin and Concubine Deng, attached evidence and confessions, Ji Gang and Mu Chun signed and sealed them, confirmed the matter, and sent people to the capital day and night to report the news, waiting for the emperor and empress to judge. The Princess of Qin and the eunuch Ma Sanbao also went to the capital as witnesses.
After dealing with all this, it was already night and the snow was falling silently.
Hu Shanwei was looking through the case files of the murder of Liu Siyan and his group. They were clearly written in ink, but to her, every word seemed to be written in blood.
Behind the gorgeous and extravagant Prince Qin's Mansion is actually hell. She doesn't want to stay there for a moment, but she must stay here and wait for the final decision of the Emperor and Empress. Only after this matter is completely settled can she leave this devil's den and return to the capital.
Boom boom boom!
Someone knocked on the door, "Sister Shanwei, are you asleep?"
It’s Muchun.
Ever since they met again in Shibazhai, she and he cooperated with each other to turn the situation around, and they have been busy all the time, dealing with various things. When they met, they just nodded hurriedly and had no chance to sit down and talk alone.
Hu Shanwei opened the door and Mu Chun stood at the door covered in snow. "Sister Shanwei, I'm here to say goodbye. I have to continue delivering supplies tomorrow and can't stay in Xi'an any longer. I have to guard the border and wait for the Duke of Wei to dispatch me."
It will be spring in two months. Judging from the Ming Dynasty's current active preparations for war, it will start its fourth Northern Expedition after spring.
Since ancient times, peace has been won through fighting. Compromise, concession, and marriage cannot bring lasting peace.
Hu Shanwei uttered an "oh" and stood at the door, holding onto the door frame. It seemed that he had no intention of letting him in to reminisce and talk in detail, leaving him outside in the cold.
Mu Chun was in a dilemma. Sister Shanwei seemed different today. It might be because she had been worried and frightened recently, surrounded by all kinds of evil in Prince Qin's mansion, so she was uneasy.
Mu Chun coughed twice and reminded: "After this separation, the next time we meet will probably have to wait until the Northern Expedition is over."
Hu Shanwei's figure swayed, and she finally responded. She looked up, but didn't look at him. Her eyes fell on the heavy snow outside. "Since you are leaving tomorrow, go back and have a good rest. I still have to read the files. Good night."
Hu Shanwei closed the door and pressed her body against it, making the door panel creak. She closed her eyes and memories came flooding back.
Why is it like this again
The only people who cared about her, who always thought about her, who she thought were her confidants, kept saying the same thing to her:
"I'm going to the Northern Expedition. I'm afraid the next time we meet will have to wait until the Northern Expedition is over..."
But their choices were all right. She had no choice but to support them.
Muchun was turned away and felt really bad. He was expecting Sister Shanwei to bless him, encourage him and give him advice. Just a look from her could bring him warmth.
But she didn't say anything.
Mu Chun was unwilling to give up, so he put his fist on the door, ready to knock again, but he was afraid that Sister Shanwei would be unhappy.
At this moment, he didn't know that his fist was placed on the back of Hu Shanwei through a thin layer of door panel.
Mu Chun put down his fist, turned around and walked into the snow.
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and he heard the sound of footsteps stepping into the soft snow behind him. It was fast and urgent, but eventually stopped and did not come closer.
He heard the man behind him say, "I have done everything. I have told him to take care of himself. I took out all my private money and went to the pharmacy to buy all kinds of first aid pills and ginseng pills for him, hoping that they can help him avoid illness on the battlefield."
"I ate vegetarian food, I went to worship Buddha, I gave alms to the poor... I did everything to pray for peace, but it was no use. He didn't come back."
"So, this time I don't want to do anything, because I don't want to wait for the same result again."
Mu Chun turned around and saw Hu Shanwei standing in the snow in just his indoor clothes, his tears frozen on his eyelashes, looking crystal clear.
It turns out that in Sister Shanwei's mind, I am as important as her fiancé. Li Muchun ran over quickly, took off the warm red gorilla blanket on his body, wrapped Hu Shanwei, and said:
"You don't have to wait for my result, you just need to do your own thing and grow a shell to protect yourself. The same goes for me. I will do my own thing and grow a shell that even my father can't break. After we say goodbye tonight, we should respect each other and we will be fine."
The author has something to say: Chunchun has grown up and is becoming more and more like a man~
I will give out 100 red envelopes tonight, and there will be a 100-point big red envelope prize question. In the past, I tended to favor liberal arts students, but today I want to give benefits to science students.
Please listen to the question:
The fight between General Lu's cannon with a range of 250 meters and Muchun's new Portuguese cannon with a range of two miles was like a boxing match between a short-armed Tyrannosaurus Rex and a long-armed kangaroo.
So the question is, which era of the Earth did Tyrannosaurus Rex live in
a Cretaceous b Cambrian c Devonian d Jurassic