A young man in wrinkled white clothes, with a face full of sparse and messy short stubble, bare feet and extremely tall, rushed to the living room very quickly. Facing the pile of uneven rice grains in front of him, he fell into deep thought. Then he stood up and looked at a sheepskin map on the wall. He began to search around with his finger from a person named Mingzi.
A quiet girl followed him in quietly and sat down beside him. Although she came for him, she had no intention of disturbing him. She just looked at him silently.
The young man looked at the seven arrows on the map and became confused. He frowned and said nothing. Suddenly he shouted loudly, "Is the person who reported the news just now?"
Someone outside the house quickly responded, "The person is still there!"
"But it really came from the southwest?"
"Yes."
"Oh?" It was unclear whether this was an answer or a continuation of the question, but he did not wait for the person outside to reply, but started talking to himself: "Once the two thieves Huang and Wang are eliminated, they will go south to help others, and the north has been completely leveled, how can anyone come here?" The young man stepped back a few steps, turned around and looked at the terrain map made of rice grains on the ground, and finally he actually lay on the ground and began to carefully observe the ups and downs of the ground. The girl also leaned forward with his action, somewhat confused.
"It's totally impossible? This is really weird. Where did these people come from? Since they set off the beacon, these opponents of unknown origin must be of considerable scale, otherwise the hundreds of brothers in the beacon towers and guard towers would have solved the problem directly. Unless they passed by Brother Xing and the others but no one saw them, where did the blind people come from in the army? And are two thousand people all blind?" the young man muttered.
This is of course impossible, so there must be some puzzling problems here. The young man couldn't think of them for a while, and the last few questions were almost hoarse, because he knew that there were only 500 old and weak soldiers in the city now, and they couldn't even fill the city walls. Moreover, the city walls had not been repaired and there were still many gaps.
When the young man turned his head and looked at the map again, he suddenly frowned. After a little thought, his whole body trembled and he stepped back. As he was retreating, he stepped on empty air and sat down on the ground. He pointed at the map and was speechless for a while.
"Zirui, are you okay? What army are they?" the girl asked anxiously and concernedly.
However, the man named Zirui never answered the inquiries from the side, but ordered in a louder voice, "Go and find out how many people there are and where they are now. Invite Mr. Song to come, close the city gates, and have all the soldiers prepare. We are going to fight."
After shouting, the young man took a long breath and tried to calm his nervousness. He stood up, walked to the girl, and said with a contradictory look: "I have something to do, please leave quickly and don't distract me."
The young man immediately called his servants and said, "All of you, please go to Guiyang with the Madam and the two musicians Xing Xi, and... this and that."
After he finished speaking, he didn't even look at the girl, and ran back to his bedroom without any shoes.
When I came out of the house again, the young man called Ping An Feng Yun Hou was already wearing full armor and had tied his hair tightly with a headband. When he loosened it, his hands were shaking. I put both swords on the sword rack on my back. I tried to pull them out and it was easy. Then I took out the spear from the gun rack and saw a golden light on the tip of the spear. Only then did I realize that it was a sunny day today and the sun was already high in the sky.
"Good weather doesn't always bring good things." I muttered, "Damn it, I'm not going to die today!"
I was in the most desperate situation many times, but I was not afraid at all. Maybe just like Zhou Cang, I finally became numb.
But I still have a lot of things to do, and a lot of people I haven't visited. Maybe now is the time to leave a will, but I really don't want to.
I gritted my teeth, mounted my horse, and ran straight to the west gate of the city, where I finally saw the signal from the beacon tower, a black column rising up, becoming wider and fainter, gradually disappearing in the clouds in the sky. However, uncertainty and panic gradually spread to everyone here, and slowly became stronger.
Noticing the change in mood among the troops, I removed the stern expression from my face and replaced it with a smile.
"Gather the residents in the city on the slope in front of the county government office. I want to talk." After that, he walked down along the city wall. The defense of the west city was more difficult. There was a very wide moat flowing through the northeast and northeast sides, and under the south city wall was a cliff, and under the cliff was another mountain. The green color from the spring on that mountain gradually spread to the Wuling Mountains, blending into one color, which was quite resentful.
"My lord, who is coming?" Someone was about to leave, but when he heard someone else on the city wall asking me, he stopped and looked at me.
"Dong Zhuo." However, I ignored his look and just said the name very calmly. On the other side, I just kept looking at the situation on the city wall. The people who had stopped ran away quickly after hearing the name. The situation on the city wall immediately got out of control and everyone was talking about it.
I stopped, waved away their discussions, asked everyone to come together, and made my final decision.
I sat on the city wall with my legs resting outside the city, just like the way Wei Yan had sat before. The wall was very low, so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to jump off it. I patted the new dirt on the battlements and squinted at the undulating mountains in front of me. Slowly I felt the back was becoming crowded with people. It seemed that many people wanted to get close to me and listen to me.
"I need two hundred volunteers, and the rest will go with the civilians." I let out a long sigh, and my tone became calmer. "We can't go anywhere. They are all cavalry, but we must have someone to guard this place. Let everyone leave in a few hours. I will be the first one, and I didn't intend to drag you with me, but I can't hold you back for long. If we are caught up, we will all die."
I paused at this point and said, "So, those who don't have any family members should stay. The rest of you should quickly evacuate with the common people. I will definitely bleed here. I need people to bleed with me now to hold Dong Zhuo here until dark. By then, no matter whether those of us outside come back or not, at least they will be exhausted and have no choice but to rest here for a night."
"I will go and discuss this matter with the people of Mingzi now. Those of you who want to leave can go with them. Those who stay behind can prepare arrows and logs here. There is no moat on the east side now, so the enemy will attack from here. No matter what, this is the main place to be attacked. I will only leave a dozen people on the other walls, and the others will be here. You can discuss who will stay. If you all want to leave, I won't stop you." He stood up and turned to leave, leaving silence on the city wall.
Actually, I didn't have that many sentimental words with the people. They seemed to think that I would be gone for a long time, so when I came back after a while, both of us were shocked.
They were naturally surprised that I came back so soon, but I only said one sentence: "Dong Zhuo's army is coming. They have never had good military discipline. We will leave before dark. You should leave quickly through the official road." If you count the "People of Mingzi, please listen to me" I said at the beginning to suppress their discussions, that would be two sentences.
What surprised me was that none of the five hundred people left. When they saw me, they all bowed solemnly but said nothing, and then went about their own business.
I helped to tie up a few pieces of wood, but still asked with some doubt: "Are you all staying? If you want to leave, leave quickly! Those who stay... do you know?"
Others did not dare to answer me. A white-haired old soldier took off his helmet and gasped for breath. After a short rest, he calmly said to me: "Marquis Ping'an Fengyun, please don't be offended. I understand you. I am almost sixty years old. I am from Jingzhou. I was only fifteen years old when I started to eat this meal. There is no one in my family now. Even if there is, I don't recognize who it is."
I decided to perform the ceremony of a junior, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. He waited until I returned to normal, then he smoothed the broken silk and silver threads on his hair and continued to say to me: "Don't mind what I said. To be honest, I have never seen an official like you since I was a child. At this time, the order is just, why do you still consider us? We know that you are a good person, but how can we abandon you and just run for our own lives? If others ask us in the future, how did Ping'an Fengyun Hou die? We who went out would have no face, because he died in order to protect us and the people to escape; but if we really die in the battle this time, others will remember it in the future and ask others, you know how old Liu died in the past, and they answered that he died in the battle against Dong Zhuo with Ping'an Fengyun Hou to protect the people. Even if we die, it's worth it, and it's also glorious. At my age, I will die, and I don't have many days to live anyway, so I might as well do what I should do here."
I still respectfully bowed to the elder again. He didn't say anything else and continued with the work at hand. I just changed my direction and looked at a very strong young man next to me. He was only shorter than me, but bigger than me. His face was rough and angular. At this time, his head was still wrapped in cotton cloth for bandaging the wound, and a trace of blood was seeping out of it. As soon as I saw his figure and appearance, I guessed that this man must be a member of the Yellow Turban Army.
He seemed embarrassed by my gaze and hurried up, but it was obvious that he was not very articulate. He just scratched his head and said honestly: "We used to criticize soldiers for bullying the common people and not protecting them. This time I am a soldier, and I can't let anyone poke my spine. This is what I should do, so of course I will stay."
I patted his shoulder and laughed foolishly with him. The local people from Mingzi next to me said to me directly and coldly: "This is my home. If people can destroy and insult my home at will, am I considered a human being?"
Someone nearby also took over: "Dong Zhuo is a Qin man, right? We Chu people never fought against our ancestors. It's time for us to get back at him and make him stop looking down on us."
I looked at them without saying anything and then went on my inspection, mainly looking at the conditions of those places that had not been rammed well and discussing with them how to remedy the situation. However, there was basically nothing I could help with because they all rushed to do it before me and faced me.
The city was a little complicated, and it didn't take long to walk around it. The most strenuous part was when we were walking to the south, because there was a very steep wall going up, and we were going up the mountain along the wall. And when we turned to the east and came down, I always felt that I would roll down if I lost my footing. Fortunately, these two sections were not very long, but even so, the 500 people seemed to be spread out on the entire city wall. But when a real fight broke out, it was estimated that most of them would be on the east side. However, this section on the south was still useful. When I walked to the north wall, looking at the high slope of the south city, I had a general idea of how to fight this battle.
There was a sudden commotion on the city wall, and someone shouted loudly from the west gate: "Marquis Fengyun, the scouts we sent out are back!"
"Sir, there are three thousand people coming, wearing black clothes and black armor, riding horses, without any flags, and moving very quickly. Fortunately, they are taking a detour and are crossing a river under a ridge now, but they will definitely reach Mingzi within an hour." The child was out of breath and almost rolled off his horse. He stood by the trench and shouted to me who had just run to the top of the west gate tower.
"I got it. You should go into the city and have some rest. There will be tiring work for you to do down there. Open the city gate quickly!" I said to him with a smile while lying on the parapet. I said the last sentence to the person next to me. Everyone laughed. As a result, when the city gate opened, the half-grown boy down there, leading the horse, was at a loss as to what to do.
"Do you know who is coming? Isn't it an enemy?" When he was right below the city gate, he couldn't help but raise his head with a childish look on his face, but the drawbridge was still pulled up until he was squeezed into the city and I couldn't see him anymore.
"It's the enemy." This voice was not directed at him, because the voice was very soft, and I straightened my body and looked forward while thinking.
The north city gate was opened again. This time I was the one who sent the new kid away. "I've changed your horse. It's the best horse. Now you have to take the northern ridge and follow the mountain road. Hundreds of us have trampled here and there. It should be easy to find. When you reach a southern village on the road, turn west. They have built a road down the mountain. There are cassava fields at the foot of the mountain. Don't step on their seedlings. They have just planted them. When you get to the river, follow the river to the south and you will see a bridge we just built. It's strange. There are no bridge piles. There are wooden piles nailed on both sides of the bank and pulled up with ropes. After crossing the river, you have to climb a ridge. It's probably already night. The mountain There is our guard post on the top. Remember, it should be night when we get there, so just rest there for a night. The road is very difficult to walk at night. Change horses tomorrow. Oh, no, when you get there, if it is still light, let them set off smoke, and if it is dark, set fire. I hope they can see it in the mountains. Remember, let them take the mountain road, not the main road. The enemy is all cavalry. Well, that's it, you go quickly, I won't keep you for lunch, the dry food is in the bag on the saddle. Okay, okay, I'm not dead, why are you crying, go quickly! "Finally, I got angry, he held back his tears, sobbed, quickly got on the horse, turned around to say something to me, or wiped his tears and rode away.
"Poor child, but Mingzi depends on you." I said softly, looking at the flying dust behind him. Suddenly I felt like I had seen this guy somewhere, but I couldn't remember where.
The sun was setting slightly in the west. Compared to the usual weather, today was a warm day, but it was so warm that it made people shiver. The waiting time seemed so short, yet so long. The people on the wall were hurriedly sorting out their arrows and shields, but their eyes kept sweeping over the hills in the west.
"Excuse me, where is Mr. Song?" Finally someone thought of him. It was thought that no one would think of him in such a matter.
"Who are you?"
"I was his guard. When you summoned him, I followed him, but he disappeared as soon as he entered your house."
"Yes. Do you think he can fight?"
"No, just think about the gentleman's appearance."
"I agree with you. Do you think he will leave if I ask him to?" I laughed and felt like laughing.
"No, my master is a bit pedantic. He won't leave if you stay here. He will definitely accompany you."
"Well! Do you know your master well?" I leaned close to his ear and whispered softly: "I will call him first, and then give orders that as soon as he comes in, have him wrapped in silk and sent to Guiyang. You don't stay outside, I don't want Mr. Song to lose face in front of everyone."
"You also..." Many people around were very interested in this, and when they saw us like this, they gathered around. In response, we both stood up seriously and just did our own things, as if nothing had happened.
Song was probably very upset at this moment, because he thought I wanted to discuss something with him, but I packed him up and sent him away without even seeing me. But at least he had some company, and he was able to talk to my wife and two musicians on the way.
"Marquis Fengyun, we are thinking of burning the drawbridges at the two northeastern city gates to prevent them from climbing up the city wall and cutting down the drawbridges. They will then be able to attack from several directions. We don't have many soldiers to begin with, and we will be even more passive at that time." An old soldier said to me as I was making my final inspection.
"No need. If we burn our opponents, they will know that we are guilty and will attack us more confidently. But you are right. Come on, order the city gates to nail the drawbridge shut."
Fortunately, Mingzi only has three city gates.
As the sun set further, I divided the more than 500 people into five battalions and appointed five captains. Three were stationed on the east city wall, one on the other walls and on the slope south of the city, and one inside the city as a reserve. I explained the entire combat procedures and how to respond to various situations.
The situation is extremely unfavorable to us. The enemy obviously knows something about us, but we can only know ourselves but not the enemy. I have thought of many other plans, but when I found out that the enemy were all cavalry and thought about the terrain of this section, all of them were overturned. I had no choice but to defend this road. After all, we have thousands of civilians on the road behind us. This time, I really can't afford to take risks.
He heaved a long sigh and said to several newly promoted lieutenants, "Choose your own successors around you. If you die, let them lead everyone. If I die, Lao Liu will be the leader among the five of you. Follow my plan. The longer we can hold on, the greater the chance of our survival. The more of the seven groups of troops come back, the more the other side will be unable to hold on.
In fact, I am still very worried. If the enemy really captures Mingzi, and they outside only have dry food for tomorrow, by then, the enemy's more than 3,000 people will defend Mingzi to the death, and we may not be able to take it down for a while. Even if we have more than 10,000 people, it will be dangerous, not to mention that if the rescuers are anxious and march from the hills, it will be even worse if they are dispersed and slaughtered by their cavalry.
"We must hold on!" I finally shouted to everyone. Although they were close to me, they seemed unprepared for my shout and stood there in silence for a long time.
"The drawbridge has been nailed!" When the last reply came from the East City Gate, my shadow became the same height as me, which meant that we couldn't leave even if we wanted to. However, jumping directly from the West City Wall might be an option, but it seemed that no one was considering it.
"They seem to be a little late. I don't know why they were delayed on the road." I felt a little relieved. The longer they stay outside, the better. It would be best if they don't come at all.
Of course I didn't have such extravagant hopes, so I still felt a little nervous. The soldiers were no better than me. I could tell from the trembling hands they had when they were sorting arrows. I didn't want to blame them, as they were also trying hard to curb their gaffes, but it was indeed difficult.
"Marquis Fengyun, I want to tell you something." A local soldier from Mingzi City suddenly let go of all his pride, and spoke in a humble tone, while constantly glancing at the houses in the city. Several Mingzi soldiers nearby also surrounded him.
"What's the matter?" I felt something was wrong.
"Hello, Marquis Fengyun!" Suddenly, someone shouted, "Our soldiers are coming back. They might be our brothers in the beacon tower!"
"Why are they coming back? Why don't they just hide in the mountains? The enemy won't have time to look for them." I admit that I was a little moved when I saw the soldiers on the hill in front of me, but I still shouted loudly. This sound was enough for everyone on the city wall to know. However, I still said to the back: "Bring out the wine and food."
When I turned back and ordered, "Pry open the iron..." Suddenly, I felt something was wrong behind me, so I stopped talking and turned around quickly. Then I knew why those Mingzi soldiers spoke to me like that.
"Why are they still here?" I almost flew into a rage, "People are dying, why are you still letting your wife and mother stay here?"
"We sent the children away, but they either killed them or they wouldn't leave. We couldn't do anything."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier that it wouldn't work? What should I do now?" I continued to roar, with a clue in my mind. I clenched the spear in my hand and smashed it to the ground. There was a dull thud, and the sound around me was silenced.
"My lord, do you want to break open the door and let them in?" the person next to him asked. At that time, they had already arrived at the foot of the city. Many people were exhausted from the long run. Most of them hung their heads. Only a few leaders in the front looked at us, panting, and looked back nervously from time to time.
I was in a very bad mood and finally couldn't bear it anymore. I got angry at the people who ran such a long way to support us: "Why did you come back? The enemy soldiers are attacking Mingzi, they will not deliberately take a detour to attack you. Even if they do, you have escaped into the jungle, and the enemy will not waste time to take any action against you. Why did you come here? Do you really want to die so much?" I stood on the top of the city wall, and the people around me were all persuading me to let them in quickly so that my brothers could rest. Some people who were familiar with the people below even began to greet them and asked about the situation of the Xiliang people.
They had already started to pry and chip the big iron nails that secured the chains, and I did not stop them. After all, with a few hundred more people, I would have the confidence to hold out until tomorrow. I began to change the entire plan in my mind.
Suddenly, someone in front of me shouted, "Xin, they are from Xiliang... Ah!" A scream accompanied by a flash of blood pulled me out of my thoughts.
"They are people from Xiliang, shoot them quickly!" I immediately understood what was going on, and shouted desperately, bending my body down. With the sound of bowstrings beside me, a rain of arrows came from the front!
The arrows are coming! They are coming towards me! I have already leaned down and rushed down the wall, because I saw my brothers being cut down in front of their team!
But at this moment, everything seems slow to me, and my tears appear where they should appear earlier than me.
Facing the setting sun, dark clouds tried to block it, but I refused and plunged into the clouds until they were dispersed. However, the person who was originally under the clouds was lying on the ground, and the grass around him was covered with red flowers.
My eyes turned red. No, one was red, and the other was still the same. Where the red and blue in the sky intersected, a black iron stream flowed in. It was only black, no matter how I looked at it, it was black.
"Retreat back to the city!" I knew we had finished dealing with the Xiliang people under the city, although I couldn't remember how. I had regained my consciousness and shouted to the people who followed me down from the city wall, and then I shouted to the people on the city wall, "Let go of the rope and pull us up!"
"Marquis Ping An Feng Yun! This brother still has energy!"
"Take all our brothers away, don't leave them to the enemy to pollute them."
The brothers silently competed to carry their former companions and quietly walked towards the city wall. Although the ground had begun to tremble, our steps were still firm and our legs were not shaking. Those who carried their brothers on their backs were in the front, and no one rushed to go ahead until I was the last one. At this time, I could still hear the sound of bowstrings on the city wall and a heavy sound of falling to the ground behind me. I did not look back.
I was the last one to reach the city. I watched my shadow stretch from the battlement to the parapet and whispered, "I've finally arrived."
On February 28th of the first year of Chuping, the Liangzhou army appeared on the land of Jingzhou, from a place and direction we had never thought of.
That day, I was eighteen years old, sitting in the setting sun.