The messenger from Luxia County looked at the "Lu" flag, which was stained with dried blood and half burned black, but still standing. He dismounted and took a few quick steps. He didn't care about the dirt on the ground and fell to his knees. The dull sound made his knees hurt.
His eyes were red and tears could no longer be stopped from flowing.
He bowed deeply towards the city wall.
I am also grateful to God for his mercy.
Luxia County was held out and the reinforcements were successfully delayed until they arrived.
He sobbed and cried emotionally, but no one around him laughed at him for it - if you put yourself in his shoes, you would know that they might be even more emotional than the messenger, because before arriving at the capital, they all thought that the capital of Luxia County had already fallen.
If it falls, haha.
As the deeds of these vagrant bandits spread everywhere, who didn't know the consequences of being targeted by this group of locusts
Nine out of ten houses were empty and corpses were everywhere.
The bloody means of massacre in the city were no less than Zheng Qiao's back then, and even worse.
You know, in the eyes of some outsiders, Zheng Qiao's methods were not considered cruel - because Zheng Qiao only allowed the soldiers to plunder and amass wealth in the first seven days after the city was captured.
After these seven days, no evil deeds are allowed.
As for the massacre after the city was captured
In order to keep their money, the common people did everything they could, hiding in places you wouldn't dare to hide. After conquering the city, the victorious party used bloody heads to intimidate the common people in the city to buy their lives with money, and they had to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey" to see whether they thought material possessions were more important or the heads on their necks were more important.
The enjoyment of looting women and children can only be considered an "add-on".
It is called-
"Reward" his brothers who accompanied him in his battles.
Only a lord who makes money and succeeds together with his brothers can win the support of the army and the loyalty of the soldiers.
This is basically an unspoken rule that has been agreed upon by all. Brothers leave their hometowns, fight for you in battles all over the country, and fight for you regardless of their lives. There must be something to gain from this.
Who would be willing to fight and risk their life if there are no benefits
Soldiers are also human beings and they also have to support their families.
Is the military pay enough
Or is the status and fame enough
That meager military pay was barely enough for the soldiers to eat, let alone send back home to support their parents, wives and children.
The biggest source of income for soldiers is the "extra money" after conquering cities and plundering land! Moreover, blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents. Other soldiers make money this way. There are very few who do not disturb the people or rob.
This is the case for the "regular army" that has military pay and food supplies, not to mention the refugees and bandits who lack nothing but food. In order to force the common people to pay for their food, their methods will only be more thorough, cruel, and resolute!
The common people who were lucky enough to survive had no choice but to join them to plunder other places in order not to starve to death.
It's like a snowball that gets bigger and bigger.
If the capital of Luxia County was lost, not only would no one be left alive in the city, not even a live chicken, duck or earthworm would be left, and the eggs laid by the old hens would have to be taken away. The survivors who survived were basically lucky and well-hidden.
The messenger's relatives are all in the city.
The government office has not been destroyed and the family members are still alive.
Isn't this worth crying out for
There's nothing shameful about this.
The messenger cried until his voice was hoarse, and the guards on the city wall also saw the huge crowd of people and thought that it was refugees and bandits coming to attack the city again, so they hurried to pass on the message. The messenger ignored the pain in his throat and used his luck to spread his voice to the entire city wall.
"Not the enemy!"
"It's reinforcements!"
"The four counties of Heyin, Tianhai, Shangnan, and Yiru have come to our aid! Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission. I beg Duke Lu to come out of the city to see me!"
Squeak—
Soon, the patched and dilapidated city gate opened.
A guard ran out.
The guard observed the messenger carefully, took the token from the messenger, and immediately turned back to the city. After waiting for nearly a quarter of an hour, the Lu County Magistrate hurriedly rode out of the city under the escort of two teams. However, the other party's face was a little dark.
Shen Tang was riding on the back of a motorcycle.
He clasped his fists and said, "Duke Lu, nice to see you again. We didn't expect to see each other again like this since we last met in Sibao County. How is everything in the city? We rode here as fast as we could after receiving the news, but we ran into an ambush of tens of thousands of bandits on the way, which delayed us for a while."
Shen Tang's mouth couldn't stop talking.
Besides, she didn't like exchanging useless pleasantries with others, so she spoke first and got straight to the point.
The governor of Lu County was also a tall and strong middle-aged man.
He has a thick beard.
But his eyes are narrow and narrow, with downward-facing eye corners, and his face looks rather mean and vicious, which makes it hard to like him.
Shen Tang really didn't like it, and he had a quarrel with the governor of Lu during the alliance. The other party preferred tough men with masculine aura, and Shen Tang was short and beautiful at that time, which was exactly the type he disliked the most.
Let’s not talk about these grudges at this moment.
Magistrate Lu carefully identified Shen Tang and barely matched him with the one from a year ago. He asked, "Why did you come now?"
The tone was somewhat dissatisfied and questioning.
Shen Tang: “???”
Shao Chong said dissatisfiedly: "How can you talk like that?"
The people in charge of Tianhai and Yiru also had dark faces.
The most embarrassed among them was the messenger from Luxia County.
Ten thousand troops rushed to rescue him. He was not grateful or overwhelmed, but at least he didn't look like that. He acted as if someone owed him something. Was he dissatisfied with the bandits' attack and wanted to change his opponent
Upon hearing this, the subordinates beside him suddenly changed their expressions and hurriedly jumped out to smooth things over, apologizing to Shen Tang again and again.
"Don't blame me, Lord Shen. Don't blame me, Lord Shen. My lord didn't mean to offend you. It's just that I lost my young son on the battlefield today and I was so sad that I spoke nonsense. Lord, Lord Shen, Lord Shen has forgiven the past and sent troops to help. He is a great benefactor to the people of Luxia County. How can you say this? If it gets out, you will be ridiculed by all the heroes in the world."
The subordinate who was speaking was of a high status.
He is probably a relative of the Magistrate of Lu County.
Being scolded by his subordinates in front of outsiders, the governor of Lu County only looked darker, pursed his thick dry and curled lips, as if there was anger brewing in his chest, and his cheeks were tense. However, in the end, he still suppressed the unnecessary emotions.
He let out a breath of foul air.
He apologized to Shen Tang stiffly: "The saddest thing in life is the death of the young. My young son died today. I am so sad that I can't stop crying. I hope that Shen Junshou will forgive me. I will hold a banquet another day to apologize to Shen Junshou."
Then
And then nothing happened. They didn’t even ask Shen Tang to come into the city to welcome them and entertain the reinforcements coming from afar. Did they mean that they were planning to let the army spend the night outside the city
Shen Tang calls herself a "good man" and a "good old man", but she is kind, but that doesn't mean she is a pushover! She went through a lot of trouble to help - although she did this to keep the refugees and bandits out of He Yin, she could fight freely on other people's territory and not feel bad if they got hurt. But no matter what, she was kind-hearted.
Mr. Lu, I am your father-in-law!
Shen Tang cursed inwardly.
Just as he was about to spit back, the subordinate passed by the governor of Lu and said cautiously, "It's getting late. Governor Shen and the generals have worked hard to come here to eliminate harm for the people. If you don't mind, why don't you stay in the city for a night? However, Luxia County has suffered from robbery and looting, and we don't have anything good to treat you. Please don't blame Governor Shen."
Shen Tang laughed in his heart.
She curled her lips inwardly, and said with a bit of displeasure: "Forget it, we don't need this meal. Since the bandits have retreated and the crisis in the capital has been resolved, we plan to stay outside the city for one night and search for the bandits tomorrow. If they have changed their route and gone somewhere else, we will also go back home."
When the subordinates heard this, they immediately became anxious and kept winking at the Lu County Magistrate who had a gloomy face.
Valley Simulation
He stepped on his foot and said angrily, "My Lord!"
The governor of Lu said, "Wait!"
Shen Tang looked at him coldly.
The governor of Lu County took a deep breath, lowered his posture, and asked Shen Tang to enter the city with a tone that was mixed with pleading but reluctant. Shen Tang was puzzled and became a little wary. He said, "In that case, thank you very much."
After saying that, the tense and stiff atmosphere suddenly eased.
The governor of Lu County personally led Shen Tang into the city.
Shen Tang secretly exchanged glances with Chu Yaokang.
I always feel it's a little strange.
But I'm not sure.
Because when the Four Treasure Counties formed an alliance, the Magistrate of Lu looked at Shen Tang with disgust - well, it wasn't just the Magistrate of Lu, most of the people had this bad attitude, and it was said that it was related to Shen Tang causing trouble after drinking.
Shen Tang said that he felt wronged.
She just has a bad drinking habit, but she is not a bad person.
How can we just kill him with one blow
Besides, what does the bad things done by drunk Shen Tang have to do with sober Shen Tang? It's not okay to make collective punishment!
It is hard to imagine how fierce the battle was just by looking at the traces on the city wall. It was not until we entered the city that we saw the corpses lying scattered around the city walls that had not yet been cleaned up. Most of them were bandits wearing tattered hemp cloth. There were also broken door-blocking stones and wooden pillars lying quietly. This showed that the bandits had broken through the city gates at one point and entered the outer city several times, causing the city to be in danger!
A rough estimate shows that there are hundreds of them.
This is the case in the city walls, and even worse in the outer city.
When his subordinates saw Shen Tang frowning with a look of pity, they said, "The fierce battle has just ended, and we haven't had time to send anyone to clean up yet."
Shen Tang waved his hand to indicate that he didn't mind.
It's a pity that these people died in an unclear way. If the world was not so difficult, they would not have been forced to become bandits and die here. This scene also strengthened Shen Tang's determination to protect the common people of Heyin. As long as she is still the master of Heyin, she will not allow these people to run into her territory and overturn her stall.
Wherever we find him, we will kill him!
He was found in the toilet and drowned on the spot!
The governor of Lu County hosted a banquet to entertain the envoys.
In addition, he brought in fine wine and delicious food to entertain more than 10,000 soldiers. Shen Tang secretly ordered Bai Su to pay attention to the fine wine and delicious food to see if anyone had tampered with them. Bai Su was puzzled: "My Lord, do you mean that this Lu guy wants to harm us?"
But why
They are reinforcements, not here to attack the city.
If they were killed, the refugees and bandits would turn around and attack the Luxia County government. Judging from the current defense, the government would not be able to withstand the next attack. Using conspiracy to deal with the allies at this time is tantamount to giving yourself a drug!
Shen Tang said: "Be careful when you go out."
It is better to be safe than sorry.
Although Bai Su was confused, she still followed the order.
Chu Yao asked: "My Lord, have you also discovered the problem?"
Shen Tang nodded: "There is indeed a problem. You said, what is the city gate and the city hole? That is the vital point of the city! The enemy once broke into the outer city. In such a crisis, why are you so confident that the repelled enemy will not take advantage of their fatigue to launch a second attack? The correct way is to clear the corpses in the city hole as soon as possible, and then move stones, or even use corpses to block the gate."
But apart from this problem, everything else is fine.
The governor of Lu County really had no motive to harm anyone.
Since he was already here, if he left in anger for this reason, it would alert the enemy. Secondly, if there was nothing wrong with the enemy and they were simply killed so that there was no extra manpower to clean up the city holes and deploy defenses, Shen Tang would be infamous for doing so.
The previous grace of rescue was also erased.
I have more enemies for no reason.
This information was also passed on to the other three companies.
We have to stay alert tonight and not let our guard down. If the food is fine, we should eat and drink as much as we can, just for the sake of showing our respect, and don't let anyone see any flaws. We will make our plans after it's completely light. No one objected.
For safety reasons, Kang Shi, Xian Yu Jian, Gong Shuwu and others did not attend the banquet, and found excuses to keep them.
Zhao Feng and Chu Yao followed.
Shao Chong's Gu mother had just been suppressed, so it was not appropriate for him to show up at such an occasion, so he only sent an official as a representative. Tianhai and Yiru families had similar arrangements. Luxia County did not understand the military strength of the four families and did not notice it.
Although the times were difficult and poor, the banquet for the reception was decent, with wine and meat. The governor of Lu also arranged some simple singing and dancing, but they had just lost their son and were not in the mood for meat or wine, so they served vegetarian dishes and tea instead.
Shen Tang also expressed his understanding.
After all, she can't drink much.
They both drank tea, and soon, Bai Su's message came - there was no problem with the rice and grain for entertaining more than 10,000 soldiers, and there were no suspicious people watching them in the temporary camp. Shen Tang digested this information calmly.
Is she too paranoid
As the atmosphere at the banquet heated up, the others gradually began to eat and drink. Compared to the sullen face of the Lu County Magistrate, the subordinate was very enthusiastic. He personally came down to persuade everyone to drink. He was very talkative and his words were pleasant to the ears.
Shen Tang received the most toasts.
I drank a full pot of tea.
With the light of the candles in the room, she saw the other officials of the Lu County Magistrate and asked casually, "Hey, Lord Lu, where was your aide when the Sibao County formed an alliance last time?"
The governor of Lu asked, "Who is it?"
Shen Tang gestured: "A short, small man with a goatee, a strategist who looks to be in his forties."
The governor of Lu County said with a dark face: "There is no such person around me, Mr. Shen may have remembered it wrongly."
He admired tall and strong masculine men, such as him, who were real men. Anyone who was not as tall as his neck and as thin as a bamboo pole was a fake man in his eyes. He would not be able to use him at all, let alone take him to such an important meeting. It just so happened that Shen Tang described it so clearly, she must have mixed it up.
Shen Tang smiled awkwardly and apologized to the other party.
I muttered to myself: This is not fake
The so-called "goat-bearded strategist" was naturally a lie made up by Shen Tang to deceive the governor of Lu. The other party's reaction was natural, and it was obvious that he was the real person and not a disguise. Just when Shen Tang was about to let down her guard, she found that among the officials of Luxia County, the middle-aged man dressed as a strategist, who was the deputy driver, was
It doesn't quite conform to the aesthetic taste of Lu County Magistrate.
Tsk tsk tsk—
Shen Tang became wary.
By drinking tea, he gave Chu Yao and Zhao Feng a look that said "you know what I mean", and the two understood. The rest of the people were coaxed by the eloquent subordinate into drinking one glass of wine after another, but the alcohol content of the wine in this era was not high, and one person would not feel drunk after drinking three or five jars, not to mention that most of them were scholars with literary minds and warriors with courage.
After three rounds of wine, the dishes have five flavors.
No matter how good your alcohol tolerance is, there is a limit.
With a thud, a man fell on the table. Shen Tang was still chatting with Lu Junshou—specifically, it was Shen Tang who was chatting, and Lu Junshou was listening patiently. When she heard the noise, she turned her head and said with a smile: "Alas, such a drinking capacity, tsk tsk tsk!"
Lu County Magistrate: ""
Although he didn't say anything, his expression and eyes revealed everything.
Shen Tang's alcohol tolerance is well known. He was drunk after one glass, and he laughed at others who could drink several jars
Shen Tang didn't blush at all.
When the conversation was almost over, she suddenly asked the governor of Lu: "Hey, your deputy looks strange. I have never seen him before, but I know he is a talented person just by looking at his appearance."
Lu County Magistrate: ""
He knew that Shen Tang was a strange person, but he didn't know that he would talk nonsense in a serious occasion. He followed Shen Tang's line of sight and said, "Of course you haven't seen him. He didn't go to Sibao County with me before."
Shen Tang asked with a smile: "May I know your name, sir?"