Taoist Qingsong is indeed the kind of fortune teller who cannot help but speak out his mind, but he is also aware that not everything he predicts can be good. Life has its ups and downs, and it is impossible to have everything go as planned. Some things, in particular, are still very cruel, even though Taoist Qingsong has occasionally expressed them in a more embellished way over the years, so he is always prepared to be scolded or even beaten. However, Du Changsheng did not lose his composure in the end, which made Taoist Qingsong think more highly of him.
Taoist Qingsong feels quite accomplished to think that Du Changsheng, who has a special identity and a special and ambiguous face, can be figured out through divination the fate of the man.
So when Du Changsheng was sulking alone in the training ground to calm down, Taoist Qingsong felt refreshed and returned to the tent assigned to him to rest contentedly. As for the issue of the war, Dazhen was now on the defensive and should not move too much. The generals in the army would make arrangements.
…
Qizhou is relatively cold in winter. On New Year's Eve, heavy snow fell across the entire northern Qizhou. Before nightfall, the snow had covered most of the places where it could fall.
On the wall of Qilin Pass built along the mountain pass, Yin Zhong was inspecting the defense. It was cold these days and it was approaching the New Year, so both sides of the war intended to reduce their activities.
When Yin Zhong walked across the city wall, many soldiers along the way would salute him.
"General!" "General!"
The familiar and unfamiliar soldiers saluted and greeted each other, and Yin Zhong nodded to them one by one. Seeing that many of them had red hands and faces from the cold, he couldn't help but ask the captain beside him a question.
"Do you have enough warm clothing?"
"In reply to the general, Qizhou has been freezing cold since winter, and cold-weather supplies are the top priority for the army. The rear has already supervised the completion and delivery. Every soldier has inner and outer cold-weather clothing, as well as their own raincoats, firewood and charcoal."
Yin nodded and looked outside Qilin Pass. Whether it was the forest vegetation or the wild plains, they were all covered with a layer of snow-white.
"General, our army has all the supplies, but we are still shivering with cold. The country of Zuyue is in turmoil. Even if we are forcibly integrating the rear because of the war, the supply of supplies is bound to be insufficient..."
Yin Zhong raised his hand to signal him not to continue and shook his head.
"According to the scouts, the enemy's current size is said to be one million. Excluding the exaggerated words and auxiliary soldiers and conscripts, there are also quite a few soldiers capable of fighting. With so many people, they can do anything in a day like this. The people of Qizhou, who have already suffered from the looting of the bandits, are afraid that they will suffer again..."
Although Yin Zhong is now a military commander, he was born in the Yin family after all, and his vision is not comparable to that of ordinary young soldiers who have just joined the army. He is also familiar with the situation of Zuyue Kingdom and the habits of hostile soldiers. If the army of Dazhen is a well-trained army with strict military discipline even for the new recruits who have just graduated from the training camp, then Zuyue is a group of fierce soldiers full of wolfish and bandit nature, and seven out of ten may be **.
Zu Yue's army lacked supplies of its own, and they either fought with each other or robbed the people of Qizhou, picking on the weak. Not only Yin Zhong knew what the situation would be like, but many knowledgeable people also knew it.
The facts were pretty much as Yin Chong had thought. The Zu Yue army formed a camp of 30,000 to 50,000 men. In the Qizhou area outside the Qilin Pass, the camping area alone stretched for more than 300 miles. All the towns and even villages in Qizhou that were close to the Zu Yue army's camp suffered severe damage.
Especially in some villages and towns, it is still better in big cities. After all, the Zuyue Kingdom is now dreaming of expanding its territory and will not be too determined. But those places like villages and towns are completely lambs to be slaughtered.
Jianqiu Prefecture, north of Qilin Pass, was the main garrison point of one of the main forces of the Zu Yue army. On the day of New Year's Eve, a general in the army said that the soldiers should have a good new year, and took the opportunity to relax the recent restrictions. Many enthusiastic Zu Yue soldiers rushed to nearby counties and villages.
This year has been bad luck for the people of Qizhou. Normally, people dare not go out to buy too many things. But today is New Year's Eve, and they don't have to buy firecrackers. They must prepare a decent reunion dinner. It would be best to find a familiar scholar to write Spring Festival couplets or something. Some people also hope to go to temples and other places to pray, praying that the bandits will not come and praying that King Dazhen's army will defeat the bandits as soon as possible.
The original county lieutenant of Zhuluo County and most of the county's runners and soldiers had been killed or maimed when Zu Yue's army attacked. Now the county was in an undefended state, and order was maintained by the prestige of the county magistrate, the few remaining yamen runners, and the self-consciousness of the people.
There were several vegetable farmers carrying baskets at the city gate and were about to enter the city. People were afraid to go out during this period, but today, on New Year's Eve, some people couldn't help but do business. They sold some stored radishes and other vegetables, hoping to exchange them for some meat to take home.
Before the farmers entered the city, they suddenly heard a noise behind them. After looking back into the distance, they were puzzled for a moment, and then expressions of fear gradually appeared on their faces. It was the dust raised by the approaching army.
"Thieves, thieves, they're coming again!"
"Run, run!" "Don't go out! If we walk like this in an open area, we will be shot to death by the bandits!"
"That piece of land is entering the city, hurry up!"
Several farmers carrying their shoulder poles hurriedly ran towards the city. Some simply abandoned their baskets and cabbages and just grabbed a shoulder pole and ran as fast as they could. When they entered the city, several of them started shouting.
"The bandits are coming~~~The bandits are coming again~~~~~"
"Ah?" "Dad!"
"The bandits are coming?" "Hurry, go home!"
"Run! The bandits are coming again!"
“Ah…” “Wuwuwu… Mom, where are you?”
The people in the city were in a panic, with screams of fear and the cries of children intertwined. The crowd fled in all directions like headless flies. Some ran straight home, some were a little dazed and rushed to seemingly secluded and remote places, and there were also children who were separated from their adults and just cried on the spot.
With a "bang", a child was knocked down by a panicked person and fell directly in front of a shop door beside the street. The shop owner was locking the door, and the man who knocked down the child just looked back at the child and continued to run away.
“Woo… woo… woo… mother, mother…”
A farmer with a gray beard saw the child, rushed over and helped him up.
"Hey, whose child is this? Where are the adults? Where are the adults? Child, where are your parents? Don't cry all the time, don't cry! Oh!"
The old farmer didn't care anymore, so he grabbed the child's hand and ran deep into the city. Ten breaths after they left, a woman with a pale face ran into the chaotic street, shouting for her child, and was then taken away by the people around her to other places.
Such situations are not uncommon, and are just a microcosm of the chaotic scene in the county. People instinctively realize that disaster is approaching.
“Patta, pat, pat, pat…” “Tatt, tatt, tatt…”
The sound of horse hooves and chaotic footsteps finally spread to the gate of the county town. The gate was half closed. No one knew who was going to close the gate, but gave up and ran away halfway. The street at the entrance to the city looked deserted at the moment. Only the cold wind blew a few bamboo baskets rolling on the street. The city was silent. If the Zu Yue soldiers had not heard the noisy and panicked shouting in the city from a distance, they might have thought it was an empty city.
A middle-aged man wearing an official robe, a square-topped black hat, and a sword slung at his waist, walked towards the end of the street step by step. His steps were steady, and his face was calm but angry.
The sergeant leading the Zu Yue soldiers rode into the city with his soldiers. When he saw the man coming from afar, he narrowed his eyes and raised his hand. Even though the soldiers in the rear were getting agitated, they had to gradually stop. They hadn't started fighting yet, so they could keep their composure and would not openly disobey the orders from the front.
The man in the official robe walked step by step to the officer's horse in the cold wind, raised his hands and saluted slightly.
"I am the magistrate of Zhuluo County. Your army has promised to keep Zhuluo County safe. General, are you going to break the promise by mobilizing your army here today?"
The man on top of the military horse was only a captain, but he liked to be called a general, so he said with a forced smile.
"Oh? County Magistrate, since we have already made an agreement, we will naturally abide by it... But, doesn't it mean that no one is allowed to carry a weapon? What is that thing on the county magistrate's waist?"
When the soldiers in the rear heard the captain say that they would abide by the agreement and not violate it, there was a commotion. The captain turned his head and looked behind him, and the commotion subsided.
The county magistrate looked serious.
"The Scholar's Sword is just an accessory. Since the general said he would keep his promise, please take your men and leave. If you have any difficulties, please find another way to discuss with me, and I will do my best to help you."
"Well, that's no problem. Oh, by the way, may I ask, County Magistrate, who told you that they would keep Zhu County safe?"
"General Wang Chenghu from your army."
The captain nodded, smiled again, and looked back at the soldiers behind him.
"Brothers, who is General Wang Chenghu? I have never heard of him. Have you heard of him?"
“No~~~” “No, hahahaha…”
“Hahahahahaha…”
The captain turned around and smiled.
"Since this person doesn't exist, the agreement is naturally invalid, hahahaha..."
The county magistrate's face was ferocious and he was extremely furious. He pointed at the captain on the horse and shouted.
"You rats will all die a miserable death! When my great master, the Great Zhen, comes to kill you, I will surely torture you to death—"
"Zheng~"
Before he finished his words, the county magistrate had already drawn his sword and slashed at the captain. He had no intention of living when he came here.
“Woo~~” “Dang~”
The captain raised his spear and easily blocked the county magistrate's sword, then thrust the spear forward.
With a "puff" sound, it pierced into the county magistrate's chest and lifted it up.
"Master Dazhen? He is just as weak and powerless as you."
"Brothers, take whatever you can and move, and do it!"
As the captain spoke, he swung his spear, throwing the county magistrate to the side of the street, and then rode his horse towards the city. The soldiers around him shouted excitedly and rushed to various places in the city.
"Ahem... ahem... thief... bandit..."
The county magistrate tightly grasped the hilt of the sword, cursed angrily, and died with his eyes open.
An officer in armor and two soldiers walked up to the county magistrate. He looked at the magistrate with bulging eyes sternly, and then looked at the sword that the other was tightly grasping.
The officer bent down, reached out to close the magistrate's eyes, and spoke in a low voice.
"A scholar-county magistrate has such character..."