Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 49
In Chuzhou Mansion and Zhoucheng, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and other thieves will stand at the top of the city in high spirits, watching the crowd pour into the city like a tide.

Gao Yingxiang said happily: "Broken Hezhou, brothers, happy three days! I plan to send a man to attack Chuzhou, which brother would like to go?" He said, looking at Zhang Xianzhong.

Before Zhang Xianzhong could speak, his confidant Ma Shizhong said carelessly: "King Chuang, I'm going to fight Chuzhou! But you need to give me more troops to take down Chuzhou. I will go north and I'm going to dig another side of Zhuzhou." The old grave at home made Emperor Zhu cry every day for his ancestors!"

"Okay! Brother Ma is so proud! You go to fight Chuzhou, and after you win, fight Fengyang, and I will lead the team to go north. We have broken a lot in this small prefecture and county. seal up!"

After losing to Lu Xiangsheng last time, Gao Yingxiang marched eastward from Ruyang with a group of people, captured Queshan, Zhenyang, Guangzhou, Lu'an and other prefectures and counties along the way, and plundered a lot of money and materials. Ruyang lost to him The shadow brought by it was swept away.

At this time, Gao Yingxiang was full of arrogance, and he no longer bothered to attack a small county or a small mansion. Now he was eager to attack an influential city in order to gain a better reputation and attract more people to follow.

Zhang Xianzhong followed Gao Yingxiang all the way from Henan to Nanzhili. Along the way, he kept recruiting young and strong men, plundered counties and counties, and broke through the villas of the noble gentry.

The army also took in thousands of robbed women for him and his subordinates' cronies to have sex with.Adopted son Li Dingguo once bluntly said that it was ominous to have women in the army, and advised him to release these women, but Zhang Xianzhong ignored them and remained the same.

Hearing that Gao Yingxiang wanted to divide the troops, although Zhang Xianzhong agreed, he was not optimistic about Ma Shizhong.

He knew the purpose of Gao Yingxiang's return to Henan. First, he wanted to attack the big city and test the situation of the officers and soldiers. The most important point was that the river network in Nanzhili was densely covered, which was not suitable for large-scale cavalry movements.

Although after several consumptions, Gao Yingxiang still has more than [-] cavalry under his command, which is where his confidence lies.The terrain of the Central Plains is flat and open, which is most suitable for cavalry operations.Even if they can't beat the official army, the cavalry is highly mobile and can withdraw from the battlefield at any time.

Zhang Xianzhong smiled and said: "King Chuang, I will follow you to open the seal! If Kaifeng is captured, our rebel army will become famous, and all the heroes in the world will come to join King Chuang! The king of Zhou in Kaifeng is a big fat pig. If Kaifeng kills King Zhou, we will get rich, hahahaha!"

Gao Yingxiang knew that he was cunning, and he only wanted to follow him to eat meat, and he didn't want to easily lose his hands, so he didn't force him, but he was already tired of him in his heart.

Gao Yingxiang smiled and said: "With the help of a hero like Brother Zhang, it is no problem to win Kaifeng! Stop talking nonsense, brothers, go quickly! Hahaha!"

Zhao Yunsheng, the magistrate of Hezhou, who was in his forties, sat calmly on the chair of the main case in the lobby, wearing a brand-new official uniform. The original official uniform was already dirty when guarding the city. After the city slope, he returned to the Yamen Changed it down.

Li Ju, the state judge, was sitting in the hall, his official uniform was covered with blood, and he was still holding a chipped sword in his right hand.

Tongzhi Gao Deyou was shot through the neck by a thief at the top of the city and died, and the rest of the state government officials and servants had already fled.

Several servants of Zhao Yunsheng and Li Ju used wood and bricks to block the gate of the state government office. From the street outside, women's screams, pleadings, children's cries, and men's screams were heard, accompanied by a burst of yelling. At that time, rumbling footsteps came to the gate of the state government. The thief found that the gate was closed, so he found beams from the surrounding houses and began to hit the gate.

Zhao Yunsheng's servant Zhao Hai walked out of the second hall with tears streaming down his face and sobbing. A puff of smoke rose from the backyard and spread into the lobby. Zhao Yunsheng smiled bitterly and said, "It's over?"

Zhao Hai collapsed to the ground, burst into tears, intermittently said: "Old...Master, husband...Madam, Young Master...Master...Small...Small...Sister...Leave ...little...listen to...little...Miss's crying, I hate...I hate...you have to go...die!"

Zhao Yunsheng said dumbly: "They take a step first, I will go down to accompany them right now!"

Li Ju also burst into tears, and said, "Brother Zhao, what are your wives and children? They should have been sent away long ago!"

Zhao Yunsheng's tears flowed down silently, he shook his head and said: "If you can't go, you can't go! As the official of the imperial court, I must never let my wife and children fall into the hands of thieves!"

With a bang, the gate was knocked open, and bandits rushed into the yamen in a panic. Several servants were hacked to death in an instant, and then rushed into the lobby screaming.

With a loud shout, Li Ju got up and stabbed straight with his sword. Several thieves drew aside their long swords, slashing or stabbing with knives and guns in their hands. Li Ju fell to the ground dead with his eyes wide open.

Zhao Haikong rushed towards the thieves with his hands in his hands, and was hacked to death by several knives in the blink of an eye.

The thieves in front shouted excitedly and rushed towards Zhao Yunsheng.

"It's a high official!"

"It's an old man!"

"I caught it first!"

One of the thieves rushing to the front threw away the knife in his hand and hugged Zhao Yunhai, laughing triumphantly, and all the thieves shouted.

The thieves who hugged Zhao Yunsheng realized something was wrong, Zhao Yunsheng didn't move, and hurriedly released his hands to check, only to find that Zhao Yunsheng had a short knife stuck in his heart, and he was already dead!
At this time, the hall was already filled with thick smoke. In anger, a bandit chopped off Zhao Yunsheng's head with a single knife, and ran out of the yamen with his hands to claim credit.Some of the other thieves went to chop off the head of Li Ju, who was wearing an official uniform, and most of them ran to the backyard.After passing through the second hall, they found that a house in the backyard was already on fire, and the fire began to spread to other houses. The thieves had no intention of fighting the fire, and left the yamen screaming and cursing.

In a courtyard near the east gate in Hezhou City, the gate was closed. Hu Qing held a red-tasseled gun used for martial arts and stood guard outside the gate. Inside the house, his wife Li was sitting on the edge of the kang with her frightened daughter in her arms. 14 Hu Chun, a [-]-year-old son, tightly held a bright short knife in his hand, and looked nervously at the door of the house.

Hu Qingzu lived in Hezhou for several generations, and his parents supported him and his younger brother by running a small business.

A few years ago, my parents died of illness one after another. When my younger brother became an adult, he worked as a waiter in a food store in Nanjing. Then he married a wife and settled down in Nanjing. Because the distance is too far, the two families seldom see each other.

Hu Qing was active since he was a child. At the age of seven, he worshiped a martial artist in the city to learn martial arts. When he became an adult, he married Mrs. Li and gave birth to a son and a daughter. But the income is good.

In his spare time, he also teaches his son Hu Chun to practice martial arts. When his son grows up, he will follow his father's career. His wife Li is gentle and virtuous, and his eight-year-old daughter Xiaohua is cute and cute. The family's life is quite happy. Unexpectedly, all this is beautiful A complete change took place in the last few days.

A few days ago, many refugees fled to Hezhou City. The news that the bandits broke through Hanshan County and wantonly burned, killed, and looted spread throughout the city. Many wealthy households in the city have already begun to flee to Nanjing with their families and valuables. Hu Qing was reluctant to leave The place where my ancestors lived, so I didn't flee with others.

A few days ago, the Zhizhou Yamen organized young and strong people to go up the city wall to resist the thieves. Hu Qing signed up without hesitation. great fear and despair.

The city wall was only guarded for a few hours before it was breached by thieves and the city gate was opened. The officials guarding the city and the minzhuang were killed and injured countless times, and the rest scattered.

Hu Qing rushed home, and by the time he packed up his belongings and prepared to flee, the thieves had already spread on the street.In desperation, the family had no choice but to go back home and close the door, praying for God's blessing that their home would not be broken into by thieves.

Hearing the screams from outside, the cries of women and children, and the excited and frantic shouts of the thieves, Hu Qing's hand holding the gun was already full of sweat, his face turned pale, and his mind went blank.

Suddenly, the sound of chaotic footsteps stopped outside the gate, and with a few muffled sounds, several bandit soldiers began to knock on the door from the outside.

Hu Qing gripped the barrel of the gun tightly and stared at the door.

After more than a dozen hits in a row, the two gates were suddenly knocked open, and four bandits with knives and guns rushed in one after another. The last bandit who came in leaned his spear on the door frame to show that the house was already occupied.

After seeing Hu Qing holding a gun blocking the door of the house, the thieves froze for a moment, and then a stout thieves rushed over with a long knife.

Hu Qing stabbed at his throat with a long spear. The thief swung his knife sideways, trying to block the spear. At the shoulder blade, the bandit screamed, and the long knife in his hand fell to the ground, so he wanted to grab the spear with his hand.

Hu Qing quickly pulled out the spear from the bandit soldier's body, and then lunged down. The tip of the gun pierced into the bandit soldier's lower abdomen. The bandit soldier's face twisted in pain. With all his strength, he slowly fell to his knees, as if he had been evacuated.

Hu Qing took a step back and pulled out the tip of the gun. A large stream of blood gushed out from the bandit soldier's abdomen.

After the remaining three bandit soldiers looked at each other, they spread out quickly and surrounded Hu Qing in a semicircle.

A bandit soldier gave a low shout, and stabbed Hu Qing with a long spear in his hand, while another bandit soldier with a knife took a few steps forward and chopped off his head with a knife.

Hu Qing withdrew sideways and blocked the spear, but a long cut was cut on his arm by the long knife, and blood was dripping immediately.

Hu Qing endured the severe pain, and when the saber was old, the spear stabbed out, hitting the bandit soldier's thigh.

Suddenly a hatchet flew towards him, and Hu Qing couldn't dodge in time. The hatchet hit his chest and embedded in his left chest.

Hu Qing roared in pain, threw away his long spear and drew out his hatchet, and threw the hatchet with all his strength with his right hand at the bandit soldiers who were attacking him.

The bandit soldier was in joy, but he didn't expect Hu Qing to be so desperate. The hatchet came seven or eight steps away in an instant, and the blade of the ax hit his forehead. died on the ground.

The bandit soldier with a spear took the opportunity to stab, and the tip of the spear pierced deeply into Hu Qing's lower abdomen, and then stirred vigorously to smash the inside of his abdominal cavity.

Hu Qing staggered a few steps, a large stream of blood mixed with broken internal organs poured out of his mouth, his hands trembling and trying to grab the barrel of the gun, the thief let out a hey sound, stabbed the spear in and then pulled it out suddenly, Hu Qing's body seemed to be hollowed out. Like a broken sack, he fell forward and died.

Seeing this, the bandit soldier who was injured and fell to the ground endured the pain and shouted: "Lao Qi, come and help me!"

Lao Qi threw away his spear and ran over to take a look, turned around and tore off a section of Hu Qing's robe, then squatted down, and while wrapping the injured bandit soldier's wound, he said, "It's really bad luck! This little place can break Without Lao Chang and Da Qi, where are the men who are more difficult than the officers and soldiers!"

The injured bandit soldier said: "Okay, hurry up and look around in the house, look at the posture, maybe there is something good in the house!"

Lao Qi picked up a long knife and got up and walked towards the house, cursing as he walked: "I knew he would have gone to another place to rob it, it's really a fucking evil way!"

The wounded bandit soldier sitting on the ground shouted: "Lao Qi, be careful!"

Lao Qi kicked open the door and stepped into the house. There were only tables and chairs in the small hall. Lao Qi looked into the back room and found a pretty woman looking at him with hatred eyes, and a little girl hugging him tightly. Her waist, looking at him in horror.

The old seven was overjoyed and shouted: "Donkey! There is a mother-in-law here, she is very handsome!"

(End of this chapter)