***
Under the city of Yuanzhou, a horseman galloped into Zhang Xianzhong's camp, shouting in panic all the way: "My lord, my lord, it's bad, Changsha has been captured by the government soldiers, Changsha has been lost..."
Bang! Zhang Xianzhong slapped his desk, raised his eyebrows, and shouted at the soldier who came to report the news with a sharp look: "Nonsense, Huguang has been conquered, Changsha is invincible on all sides, and there are 30,000 troops defending it. How could it be lost? Come on! Take this guy who lied about the military intelligence out and chop him up."
"Your Majesty, everything I said is true. Please spare my life. Changsha has really been lost. Qin Mu, the military governor of Ganzhou, led a large army to attack Changsha at night. There were people in the city who assisted Qin Mu. The officers and soldiers rushed into the city silently. Changsha has been lost. It has been lost. Your Majesty, even if I had ten heads, I would not dare to lie about such military intelligence!"
"Qin Mu? How is that possible? Isn't Qin Mu still in Wanzai? It's only been two or three days, how could he have gone to Changsha? Li Zhaoguang, call Li Zhaoguang!"
Military Advisor Xu Yixian said quickly: "Your Majesty, the most urgent thing is to find out the situation in Changsha first, and then we can investigate the responsibility. Tell me, when you came, what was the situation in Changsha like? Where is General Zhang Wenxiu?"
"When I arrived, King Qin was opening his warehouses to release grain and recruiting soldiers. Countless people responded. King Qin also posted a recruitment notice, which received enthusiastic responses from the gentry and wealthy families in Changsha. In addition, the soldiers and civilians in several small counties around Changsha rebelled, killed the king's officials, and rushed to submit to King Qin..."
Bang! Zhang Xianzhong hit the table with his palm again, breaking it completely. The teacups and other things on it flew all over the floor. "They deserve to be killed! All of them deserve to be killed!" Zhang Xianzhong was furious, with veins throbbing all over his head.
At this time, Xu Yixian asked: "Where is the princess? Has she escaped?"
"I didn't know it, but Qin Mu's army attacked the palace. Only then did we realize that the princess might..."
"Ah!" Zhang Xianzhong roared wildly, drew his sword and chopped. The soldier who came to report the news had his head fall to the ground instantly, and blood was all over the ground. This bastard shouted that Changsha had fallen as soon as he entered the camp. Now he could no longer hide it.
Most of the gold, silver, treasures, food and supplies looted in Huguang were stored in Changsha. Not to mention how much of a blow the fall of Changsha would cause to the morale of his 200,000-strong army, the mere loss of those countless gold, silver and treasures was enough to drive him crazy.
What's more, he, the Great Western King, had only been king for two or three months, and his wife had already fallen into someone else's hands. Now he had no idea how many green hats he had put on his head. The Great Western King had become the Cuckold King.
Thinking of this, Zhang Xianzhong could not help but slash the body of the soldier who brought the news a few more times, then he looked up to the sky and roared: "Qin Mu! Qin Mu! I will not be a human being if I don't cut you into pieces!"
Xu Yixian said: "Your Majesty, Qin Mu has only 2,000 troops, but he can annihilate Zhang Qi's 20,000 troops. Now he has taken Changsha in one fell swoop, which has become a great concern for Your Majesty. He is now recruiting troops in Changsha, and the military and civilians of Huguang have responded to the news. If Your Majesty does not recapture Changsha and annihilate Qin Mu as soon as possible, I am afraid that the entire Huguang will be in chaos;
Now that the soldiers in the army know about this, the truth can no longer be hidden. Lu Daqi in Yuanzhou City will soon find out. Our army is unstable, and Lu Daqi's morale will be boosted. I'm afraid it will take more than a day or two to capture Yuanzhou. If it takes too long, Zuo Liangyu will definitely send troops to reinforce Yuanzhou. In addition, Qin Mu will gain a foothold in Changsha. We will be attacked from all sides and be caught in a dilemma..."
"Gather all the generals in the army to discuss the matter, go quickly!" Zhang Xianzhong roared, and the sword in his hand flew into the air and stabbed into the tent door. The personal soldiers at the tent door were so scared that they knelt on the ground, their faces pale.
***
On the top of Changsha City, Qin Mu was wearing the uniform of a fifth-rank Ancha Censor. The Juque sword was too heavy, so he asked Li Shi to hold it. He himself held a feather fan and stood on the top of the city wall in a very free and easy manner, observing the enemy situation.
Behind him followed a large group of Changsha gentry. Each of them raised his head and looked towards the northwest in doubt. They saw smoke and dust in the northwest, and under a large flag with the word "Zhang" on it, the rebels were running towards them like ants, with swords and guns like a forest and footsteps like the tide.
The one who came this time was none other than Zhang Wenxiu who had escaped from Changsha City. Zhang Wenxiu was one of the four generals under Zhang Xianzhong and was responsible for staying in Changsha. Since the Dashi Army went south from Wuchang, it had been invincible and had made smooth progress. In addition, the entire Huguang region had been conquered. Changsha was in the heart of Huguang, and no one expected that the enemy would attack, so the defense was inevitably a little lax.
Now, overnight, Changsha has changed its owner, and Zhang Wenxiu knows better than anyone what this means.
So after he fled to Yiyang, he immediately brought more than 10,000 troops from Yiyang back to attack Changsha. At the same time, he ordered all states and counties to send troops to support. No matter what, Changsha must be recaptured before Zhang Xianzhong returned, otherwise there was only one word waiting for him: death!
"Is there anyone who can play the general's order?" Qin Mu sat down on a chair and asked the gentleman behind him with a relaxed look on his face.
A young scholar in a Confucian robe replied, "Scholar Yang Shen knows a thing or two. If the military officer does not mind, I would like to offer you a song."
"Yang Shen?" Qin Mu couldn't help but take another look at him. This man was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a clear face, an upright figure, and an attitude that was neither humble nor arrogant.
Of course Yang Shen knew why Qin Mu asked this question, he did not explain much, but just bowed again as a greeting.
There are so many people with the same name in ancient and modern times, Qin Mu didn't care too much, nodded and said: "Okay, quickly fetch the zither, I and everyone else will listen to a song "General's Order" on the top of the city."
The zither was quickly brought over, and Yang Shen spread out his sleeves, sat facing the city, stroked the strings with both hands and closed his eyes, listening to the noise of the rebels outside the city getting closer and closer. He stroked the strings, and a tense and mysterious melody sounded, like the sound of drums and horns, solemn and dignified.
Qin Mu pointed the feather fan in his hand toward the outside of the city. Zhu Yijin waved his flag, and the west gate of Changsha opened with a bang. Su Jin's cavalry formed a neat formation and marched out of the city first in small steps.
Following closely behind were the infantry led by Meng Ke, Liu Meng, Huo Sheng, Ling Zhan, Ning Yuan, Huang Lianshan and others. Every soldier had his face painted black, and when contrasted with the gleaming swords and spears, they looked as grim as ghosts. Although there were less than two thousand of them, the integrated military formation was as solemn as a mountain, full of secrecy, coldness and domineering feeling.
That's right, this time Qin Mu was going to fight ten with one, and fight a fair battle under Changsha. No more tricks, he was going to attack with a fierce axe, chopping Zhang Wenxiu's more than 10,000 rebels into pieces;
He wanted to tell the officials and citizens of Changsha, and even the people of Huguang as a whole, that he did not capture Changsha entirely by luck. He was not just a man who could use tricks. With his strength, he was able to fight ten people at once.
Of course, it cannot be said that he did not take any shortcuts at all. Zhang Wenxiu led his army to rush here in a hurry. Qin Mu took advantage of the fact that he had come from a long distance and had not yet established a firm foothold and sent out the strongest lineup to meet him. If you think about it carefully, this was still a bit of a shortcut, but it did not lose the reputation of being grand.
At this time, Yang Shen's piano sound, through the exaggerated humming and sliding techniques of his left hand, outlined the image of a wise and brave general; then he used the continuously accelerating "fast four-point" technique to express the situation of the soldiers' rapid advance in formation.
The Qin army under the city did begin to advance rapidly. First, Su Jin's cavalry rushed out to the left wing like an arrow from a bow, causing billowing smoke and dust to rise into the air. The sound of iron hooves like raindrops made people's hearts numb.
Then came the infantry formation led by Meng Ke, Liu Meng, and others. Their shields were like a wall, their spears were like a forest, and their steps were like a moving mountain. They charged towards the rebels head on.
Yang Shen's zither music was played in one breath, with a tight and measured rhythm, solemn and awe-inspiring, and full of momentum. He waved his sleeves again, and used the sound of the zither to depict the heroic scenes of two armies facing each other, fighting on the battlefield, and trumpets blowing, while at the same time he raised his head and sang in the voice of Hunan and Chu:
The sun sets over the desert. The waning moon is in the sky.
Listen to the camel bells day and night, and return to my hometown in my dreams.
There is a three-foot-long sword in my hand and six letters from home by my pillow.
I will definitely chop off the enemy's head, and tears will flow after seeing it.
Report to the court... ... ... ... ... ..
Thousands of troops under the city collided with each other in the unrestrained singing, the rain of arrows covered the sky, the waves of shouting and killing echoed, and clusters of blood bloomed like flowers in the sun. The infantry led by Meng Ke and Liu Meng were ready to die and resolutely plowed into the enemy's formation from the front, just like the giant axe of God splitting the enemy's chest.
Su Jin's cavalry split into two, one on the left and one on the right, forming a crescent-shaped arc and flying past the enemy's wings. Boom! Boom! Boom! Huge explosions came from the enemy's wings, and flames and smoke filled the air. Countless shrapnel swept the enemy's wings into a mess.
Then the two cavalry forces joined forces and rushed in from the chaotic left rear, rushing towards Zhang Wenxiu's flag like cutting through the waves. One enemy soldier after another was knocked back by the galloping horses, and bright sword lights flashed, blood splattered like rain, and limbs flew everywhere.
Looking from the top of the city wall, the city below had become a bloody slaughterhouse. The gentry on the top of the city wall saw such a tragic scene for the first time. They all held their breath, not even daring to breathe. Their palms were full of sweat. Only Qin Mu was fanning himself gently, and only Yang Shen was playing the piano... ...
After the song "General's Order" was played, the rebels under the city were defeated under the pincer attack. The area within a radius of four or five miles was filled with fleeing soldiers. Su Jin's cavalry had already swept out of the periphery and divided into two teams again, galloping continuously, encircling the rebels like sheep.
Meng Ke, Liu Meng, Huo Sheng and other generals each led a team of infantry to attack each other. When the Changsha gentry on the city wall saw this, they were already exclaiming in surprise and the voices of flattery were heard one after another, one to ten. In less than an incense stick of time, the rebels were defeated. If you didn't see it with your own eyes, who would dare to believe that this was true
When Zhang Xianzhong went south to Huguang, the officers and soldiers of the entire Huguang did not put up a decent resistance. All they heard were surrendering at the first sign of danger, and all they heard were abandoning the city and fleeing. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, who would have believed that there were such brave and battle-hardened officers and soldiers
However, the story was not over yet. The flattery of the Changsha gentry soon disappeared because the Jingguan, the legendary Jingguan, appeared again at the foot of Changsha city, and thousands of bloody heads piled up into a small hill outside the west gate.
The gentry looked at Qin Mu, who was wearing a feather fan and a green turban on the top of the city wall, and then looked at the soldiers below the city wall with dark faces like evil spirits. Their eyes changed completely, and some of them were so scared that their legs went weak and they fell to the ground on the spot.
Demon army, this is a demon army.
Everyone couldn't help but think of the legend circulating among the rebels, that the troops under Qin Mu were a legion of devils.
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ps: It's so quiet, are you guys tired? Recommendation votes, please! Of course, it would be even better if you can also vote for monthly tickets to encourage me... ... ... ..
.(To be continued..)
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