When the east is about to turn white, the city of Guangning, which is riddled with holes, is shrouded in a dark sky, which is so oppressive that it is hard to breathe.
The city was brightly lit and stayed up all night. There were soldiers and civilians who shuttled back and forth, those who repaired the city walls, those who took care of the wounded, those who took stock of the war damage, those who replenished gunpowder, and even those who started cooking. His face was in a hurry, and he couldn't find a trace of joy in forcing the enemy back.
Everyone knows that this is just the beginning.
In their first confrontation, they experienced the strength and bravery of the Jin army, as well as the great prince Zhuo Letai's rock-solid heart for Guangning.
If you survived the first time, can you survive the second and third times? The hatred between the Zhongyuan people and the nomads can be traced back thousands of years. Even if it is not far away, Zhuo Letai's two uncles and one younger brother died at the hands of the Cheng army. It is the time of death, and no one dares to imagine what kind of hell they and their loved ones will face.
Yuan Sikong assisted in the placement of the wounded. It was almost noon, and he hadn't had a drop of water since the start of the war. At this time, he was dizzy from hunger, so he hurried to beg for a bowl of porridge and dry food. Yuan Mao, he wanted to know what happened last night.
So far, Yuan Sikong can only imagine based on the dictation of the soldiers and the damage to the city wall. Even how Zhuo Letai deployed the army, how to mobilize the command, and what firearms and tools he brought were all told to him by others. Let him appear on the city wall when the battle begins.
Yuanmao's government office has become a command post. As soon as he entered the door, he heard the noise inside, and several mouths were speaking at the same time, which was extremely chaotic.
Suddenly, the sound of beating the case resounded heavily, and Han Zhaoxing shouted: "Quiet!"
Only then did the house calm down.
Yuan Sikong hid outside the door, not daring to go in, nor did he dare to poke his head rashly, he could only listen to the wall.
Han Zhaoxing said in a deep voice, "Talk one by one."
After a moment of hesitation, Chen Yulong's voice sounded first: "The general thinks that Zhuo Letai's letter written by himself promises to do no harm to the people of Guangning, and there is indeed peace. We should also focus on peace talks."
"Qiu Wucheng? Do you believe he will Qiu Wucheng?" Hu Baicheng said angrily, "How cruel and tyrannical the gold thief is, don't you know?!"
"How long can I hold out against the corner? Zoletai's army is twenty times stronger than mine!"
"Could it be that Mr. Chen has not lost his fighting spirit yet?"
Chen Yulong raised his eyebrows: "I'm looking at the overall situation. How can a general be foolish?!"
"Stop arguing." Han Zhaoxing's face was extremely ugly, "What's the use of carrying a roof?"
Guangning young general Liang Huiyong clasped his fists and said: "The general thinks that although Guangning is small, it has enough food, grass, and clothing to survive the winter. Although the golden man wears 70,000 armor, he consumes a lot every day. In addition to the cold weather, he must not be able to survive the winter." If I fight for a long time, I can hold my ground and retreat from the enemy."
"That's right, we have cities and food, how can gold thieves consume us more?"
Another hundred households in Guangning worried: "The thunderbolt cannon is powerful, and the gold bandits are numerous. I have tried my best in today's battle, and the gold bandits have not damaged their roots. The battles in the future will definitely go from bad to worse. If the Lord is peaceful, It can still protect the lives of the people, but if the city is destroyed after the bloody battle, then..."
"That's exactly what I mean." Chen Yulong said, "If Guangning City is not strong, it will be disadvantageous. Based on this weak advantage, how long can it hold?"
Han Zhaoxing looked at Yuan Mao who had been silent all this time: "Master Yuan, what do you think?"
Yuan Mao clasped his fists: "The general thought that whether the city is strong or not depends not on the city walls, but on the hearts of the people." The volume is not loud, but it is loud.
Everyone in the room looked at Yuanmao.
Yuan Mao paused, and then said eloquently: "Jurchen are a tribe of barbarians. They are wild and undisciplined. It is not uncommon for them to kill and surrender. As Master Hu said, if I negotiate peace, I will be unprepared once Zhuo Letai attacks. ...Furthermore, even if Zhuo Letai really kept his promise and did not harm the people of Guangning, Guangning is the gate of Liaodong, and within the gate are all the people of Dasheng, how can I be alone."
Han Zhaoxing frowned, then turned to Qian Anrong: "Master Qian, you are the prefect of Guangning, what's your opinion?"
Qian Anxuan cupped his hands and said: "Qian thought that he should prepare a memorandum, hurry up and submit it to the imperial court. Even if there is a reconciliation, his Majesty will have to decide how to reconcile it."
"It makes sense. The Governor-General went to the capital to ask for help yesterday, and I will order people to catch up."
Yuanmao said: "The general thinks what Mr. Qian said is very true. I should try my best to procrastinate, one is to recuperate, and the other is to hope for the holy will."
"Okay, Yuanmao, you write a letter, and keep Zhuo Letai first."
"yes."
After everyone dispersed, Yuan Sikong went in to find Yuan Mao. He was petrified when he saw Yuan Mao. He saw that Yuan Mao was covered in blood, his armor was ragged, his face was dirty, and his eyes were red, as if he had been dug out from a pile of dead people.
"Father!" Yuan Sikong rushed over, his voice trembling, "What's wrong with you? Where did you get hurt?"
Yuan Mao pressed his shoulder: "Father is not injured, his body is covered with the blood of soldiers." After speaking, his expression was sad.
Yuan Sikong felt that the hand on his shoulder was heavy, as if he was pressing the weight of his whole body, he breathed a sigh of relief for a while: "Where's the elder brother? Is the elder brother all right?"
"He's fine, I asked him to oversee the repair of the city wall." Yuan Mao's figure shook suddenly.
Yuan Sikong hugged Yuan Mao, his feeling was right, Yuan Mao was relying on him to stand firm: "Father, I will help you to sit down."
Yuan Sikong helped Yuan Mao to the chair and sat down, lifted the corner of his clothes, and wiped Yuan Mao's face distressedly: "Father, are you exhausted, have you not eaten yet?"
Yuan Mao took a deep breath, and seemed to have lost the strength to speak: "The city is guarded, so it doesn't matter if you are tired."
"I'll get you something to eat." Yuan Sikong said and was about to leave.
Yuan Mao grabbed him: "Old Hu will prepare it, don't worry about it." He looked at Yuan Sikong, "Did you hear that just now?"
Yuan Sikong frowned slightly: "Zuo Letai must be cheating, if he wants to make peace, he will not break his promise and cross Huangshui."
Yuan Mao sighed: "Yes, but you see, after the first battle, many people were scared of being beaten, including Han Zhaoxing. He didn't dare to say it, but Chen Yulong did everything he wanted to say. Zhuo Letai, I am more worried about the morale of the army being shaken."
"We have to be wary of discord." Yuan Sikong said solemnly, "Kong'er thought that Zhuo Letai didn't want to make peace, and we definitely couldn't make peace. If we want to protect the people of Guangning and Liaodong, we have to stick to it and let Zhuo Letai know." Difficult to retreat."
Yuan Mao said in a deep voice: "I think so too, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to hold on, and I'm afraid that they have no heart to fight."
Yuan Sikong said: "Can we keep it? We will do our best and obey the destiny, but the military spirit must not be shaken." He looked at the people on the left and right, and whispered into Yuan Mao's ear, "Father, the soldier talisman is in your hands. It really can't be done. Get a crime and take Han Zhaoxing." It was because of Han Zhaoxing that the Guangning garrison could not be under Yuanmao's command.
Yuan Mao covered his mouth and said in a low voice, "You haven't told anyone about this, have you?"
Yuan Sikong stared wide-eyed and shook his head.
"Don't mention it again in the future." Yuan Mao let go of him, "Go home and rest."
"Father, you should go home. Look at your clothes."
"I'm going home like this, your mother is more worried, wait until I tidy up."
Yuan Sikong had no choice but to nod his head.
—
Han Zhaoxing held back Zhuo Letai for the time being on the grounds of negotiating peace. While they were anxiously waiting for Li Boyun's news, they stepped up their preparations for the next battle.
A few days later, Li Boyun returned to Guangning, bringing mixed news. He was happy that the general sent troops to reinforce the Guangning Guard, but worried that the reinforcements would have to wait at least 20 days.
Twenty days was enough for Zhuo Letai to attack several times. If they could endure the onslaught like yesterday for 20 days, Zhuo Letai might have returned home before the reinforcements arrived.
But since His Majesty's holy will has been decided, there is no other way but to stick to it.
After dragging on for a few days, Zhuo Letai found that the city wall of Guangning had been repaired in sevens and eighties. He knew that he had been tricked, and Jin Bing's body was still covered in snow and no one was buried under the city. He had already marched into Guangning again.
Zhuo Letai lost nearly ten thousand soldiers in the previous battle, but looking at it now, it is not much different from that day, the army is still as strong as a tiger.
There are more detailed records of the defense of Guangning in the history books, but the pen and ink are more focused on the last battle, and only a few pens are written about the second siege of Zhuo Letai. The soldiers of Guangning faced Zhuo Letai's militarism and did not retreat. They killed 8,000 enemies and self-injured 500. Above the city wall, stumps hang on the wall. bright red.
In the face of war and death, the amount of pen and ink is meaningless. Only those who really participate in it can use their eyes to see the scene, their noses full of blood, and their ears to howl, and with their trembling souls, to describe the true story of what happened. What kind of hell on earth.
In the twilight of the morning, Zhuo Letai retreated for the second time, and Guangning City was defended for the second time. During that long night, only the city wall full of corpses was silently telling.
Yuan Mao was shot in the shoulder by an arrow, but he held on to the wall until the last moment. Han Zhaoxing claimed to lead the soldiers to prepare for street fighting, and hid from the top of the city at the most dangerous time.
After the two battles, nearly 2,000 people were killed or injured in the Sheng army, the city wall was seriously damaged, and the supplies were consumed seven or eight times. It was only a matter of suspense that they could last until Zhuo Letai retreated.
Since most of the defenders of Guangning came from Liaodong, or even Guangning, grief and fear invaded the whole city overnight, and the soldiers were exhausted physically and mentally.
—
During the day, Li Boyun called all the officials and generals to discuss matters.
"There are no more than a thousand capable fighters, and there are only two thousand strong men recruited temporarily. There are not many shells left in the Fengshen cannon, and the firecrackers have not been used yet, but the soldiers have not been trained, so they may not be of great use." Han Zhaoxing finished stating the military situation. Sighed, "Master Li, this step is a cliff."
Li Boyun stroked his gray beard, his eyes were cloudy, but still wise, he was silent for a moment, and said: "Conscript all males and strong women over the age of thirteen in the whole city."
"This... this woman and this child, how can they defend against the enemy."
"If you are united, you can defend against the enemy." Li Boyun said in a deep voice, "No matter what, we must hold out until reinforcements arrive."
Chen Yulong said: "Even if the reinforcements arrive on time, we still have to wait for eighteen days and nights. Guangning may not be able to stop the next wave of attacks."
"If you can't stop it, you have to stop it. Is it possible to feed the people of Guangning to tigers and wolves?"
Hu Baicheng raised his forehead and said: "Master Li, you are a civil servant, and we are military generals. This guard...he can guard this city just because he says so."
Li Boyun said seriously: "As the governor of Liaodong, I, Li Boyun, have lost the seven states in northern Liaoning. I have no face to face the people of Liaodong. If Guangning's door is opened wide and the central plains are poisoned, I will never die. break."
Han Zhaoxing turned his face away, his face was extremely ugly.
Li Boyun looked around: "Could it be that all my colleagues have lost their fighting spirit?"
Chen Yulong bowed and said: "Master Li has never participated in this battle, so he doesn't know the danger of gold thieves. We have not lost our fighting spirit, but we are just weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the enemy and ourselves, how many people are outnumbered, how strong and weak, we really can't fight."
Yuan Mao, who was silent for a long time, said, "Then what should you do?"
Chen Yulong looked embarrassed, and glanced at Han Zhaoxing: "This..."
Yuanmao stared at Ying, and suddenly his voice became stern: "You said I can't fight, so don't you want to surrender money?!"
Chen Yulong panicked, and knelt down on the ground with a thud: "The last general has no such intentions, please enlighten the governor, the last general is just..."
Li Boyun waved his hand to stop: "I want to hear some helpful opinions."
Han Zhaoxing said: "Master Li, persuading peace is not the same as persuading surrender. If Guangning can really hold on, how can we be willing to compromise? I'm afraid that the city will be destroyed in the future, and Zhuo Letai will wipe out the whole city."
Yuan Mao said: "Zuo Letai also killed 60,000 prisoners, how do you know that Guangning will not follow in his footsteps? Besides, how does General Han want to reconcile? Do you want to do business? Do you want to trade? Do you want to pay compensation? Or do you want to cede the land? ?!"
Han Zhaoxing stared straight and shouted, "Yuan Mao, don't talk nonsense!"
Ceding land is tantamount to betraying the country, who dares to bear such a reputation.
"Then how do you want to make peace? Zhuo Letai raised 70,000 troops, armed with hammers and cannons, did he come to make peace with you? If he wants to make peace, he made peace with you as early as on the edge of Huangshui."
Han Zhaoxing was so angry that his face turned blue: "You...you...you don't want to make peace, tell me, how can Guangning defend? One thousand weak soldiers, two thousand civilians, plus a city wall riddled with holes, how to defend?! "
"Why can't you keep it!"
In the conference hall, a clear and clear boy's voice suddenly sounded, which was incompatible with the dullness of the room.
Everyone followed the prestige, but saw a handsome young man standing in front of everyone with his chest upright, with no fear on his face.
Yuan Mao wanted to stop it but it was too late, Yuan Sikong shouted forcefully: "Zhang Wenyuan's 7,000 soldiers retreated from Sun Wu's 100,000, Zhang Xun had no food and grass inside, and no reinforcements outside. With few soldiers, the city was in danger and defended Suiyang for three years. There are tens of thousands of Anshi rebels, and Wang Jian defended the small fishing town Mayu and defeated Mengge Khan! There are many books about the battle history of the lonely city forcing the army back. Guangning City is small and strong, with sufficient food and grass. "