Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 756 Ladder and Night Attack

"It depends on how you use it!" Ijilianbod smiled and said: "As far as I know, even the king of the Tang Dynasty would do some not very good things when marching and fighting on his own land. Isn’t that right?”

"What do you mean by 'not a good thing'?" Cui Hongdu asked in confusion.

"Burn, kill, loot, buy and sell by force, etc., just like you did when you were in Japan and Baekje!" Igilian Bod said with a smile.

"This -" Cui Hongdu's face looked a little ugly, but he still nodded: "Yes, but this is inevitable. When we are marching and fighting, how can we care so much!"

"That's natural, that's natural! I don't mean to blame!" Yijilianbod said with a smile: "I just said that if Chang'an sends troops to conquer us, the local merchants and people in Shaanzhou will probably be unlucky. Right? After all, due to water transportation, Shaanzhou is much richer than the neighboring states and counties!"

"Of course!" Cui Hongdu has gradually caught up with Yijilianbode's thoughts: "You mean to tell those people this and let them stand on our side?"

"That's right!" Yiji Lianbod said with a smile: "They won't sacrifice their lives for our reputation, but they will do it for their own lives and property, right? As long as we publicize the burning, killing, and looting wherever the troops from Chang'an go, leaving not a blade of grass behind. , what do you think will happen?"

"It is estimated that many people will escape!" Black Teeth Changzhi interjected.

"But there will be people who stay! To put it bluntly, you can only save your life by running away. Most of the family wealth cannot be taken away. It is equivalent to losing all the family wealth and the hard work of generations will be in vain. Such people are always in the minority! "

The room fell into silence. After a few minutes, Cui Hongdu nodded: "Okay, just follow this method! Brother Yiji, I will rely on you this time!"

In the next two days, as if to foreshadow the chaos to come, a frightening storm raged in the eastern part of the Guanzhong Plain. Strong winds mixed with hail swept across fields, hills, rivers and woods, and heavy rain broke through in some places. The dams turned many villages into marshes. Hailstones the size of small potatoes fell all over the ground, smashing the heads of pedestrians and livestock on the road. The residents of Chang'an City unanimously believed that this was the wrath of God, issuing divine punishment for the sins of the world. All the major temples and Taoist temples in Chang'an City were packed to capacity. People poured in, prayed devoutly, and were anxious and terrified about the coming disaster.

At Daci'en Temple, the square in front of the Buddhist temple was crowded with people, all of whom were praying for blessings. People whispered to each other, exchanging their current predicaments and expectations for the future.

"This is such a bad weather, with such heavy hail, I don't know how many people's roofs were smashed!"

"I heard that the imperial court is going to send troops to conquer the rebellion in Shaanzhou! But this is not a good time to send troops!"

"Yes, there is hail in the sky, which means that the Bodhisattva and the gods are very unhappy. If you don't find a way to eliminate the anger of the gods and Bodhisattvas first and rush to send troops, it will be difficult to win!"

"Yes, the price of rice has risen to 400 cents per dou, and you still want to go to war! It's really hard for people to live!"

"Four hundred cents per dou? Hasn't the Yamen already issued a notice stating that anyone whose rice price exceeds twenty cents per dou will be punished? Who is so bold?"

"The article is the article, and the grain and rice are grain and rice! To be fair, the price of four hundred cents per dou of rice is indeed high, but twenty cents per dou is nonsense. You will know when you go to Guangyuntan and take a look Now, the wharves that are usually full of watercrafts are now empty. Water transportation has been cut off, and war is about to begin. Chang'an is eating less grain and rice. What is this grain and rice? It is life! Your family has gold and silver. Can you eat and drink? If you ask someone to sell you their life for twenty cents a dou, why not just close the door and keep the food in the warehouse for yourself to eat?"

"Is it true? There are no ships in Guangyuntan?"

"Who can lie to you? If you don't believe me, just go see it with your own eyes. It's only half a day's journey anyway!"

"If this is the case, it will be over! In the past two years, all the grain from Guanzhong has been transferred to Longyou to fight the Tubo people. The hundreds of thousands of mouths in Chang'an City are all pointing to the grain to eat! Mother! How can this be possible!"

"Either I heard that the water transportation was cut off or it was because the rebels in Shaanzhou cut off the water transportation? As long as we win the battle this time, the water transportation will naturally be opened, and the price of food will naturally recover!"

"If we win the battle to restore water transport, what if we fail to win? Wouldn't it be worse?"

"Why can't we win? It's not easy for Master Wang to defeat a few rebels?"

"That's not necessarily the case. You have forgotten what happened a few years ago. How did the rebels who passed through Guanzhong fare? The North and South Yamen Forbidden Army couldn't defeat them at all. In the end, they were won by a group of Huihe talents!"

"Yes, and you said that he was rebellious, but he didn't think so! Haven't you heard of it? Didn't he say a few days ago that the emperor's dragon body was not hesitant, so he recalled King Pei to supervise the country? In fact, they are all lies. The emperor was imprisoned and was usurped by King Pei. The rebels in Shaanzhou were originally part of the Beiya imperial army and were loyal to the emperor. They escaped because of something going on in the palace——"

"You don't want your life, you dare to say such things!"

"What nonsense, I'm not the only one who said it, it has been spread long ago!"

"So these rebels are still loyal ministers?"

"Whether you are a loyal minister or not depends on whether you win or lose!"

"That's true, hey, actually it has nothing to do with us who the palace saint is, as long as we don't fight!"

The discussion in front of the Buddha statue is like the waves of the sea, rising and falling. The dark clouds blowing from the east are getting thicker and heavier, the rain is pouring, and there is even thunder, which is extremely rare in winter. Under these circumstances, neither marching nor fighting is possible. Godway's crusade has just arrived at Baqiao. We had to camp and rest until the weather cleared again.

The sudden heavy rain did not end until two days later. Ge Dewei did not immediately give the order to set off, but waited for another two days until the road was mostly dry before starting to set off for Shaanzhou. Although he said it very lightly in front of Pei Judao, he still attached great importance to this battle in his heart.

Whether Cui Hongdu or Black Tooth Changzhi, they all relied on their military exploits to get to where they are today with one sword and one shot. They definitely would not be a loser. As for the thousand cavalry, he had seen them before. They were indeed elites who had experienced hundreds of battles. The bows and arrows Ma Xianshui can't compare to those people in Beiya who serve as honor guards all day long. So the soldiers he brought out this time were all soldiers from Hedong, Longyou and other places who came to Chang'an to garrison. Although they were not as brightly armored and good-looking as the guards in Beiya, they were much more reliable in fighting. There are five times as many people as the opponent, so there should be no problem in winning.

However, although Ge Dewei was mentally prepared in advance, he was still surprised when he arrived in front of Shaanzhou City. The villages outside the city are deserted. Wherever you look, even the trees near the city wall have been cut down. The city wall has been repaired. There are wooden sheds and shooting cages on the top of the city to block arrows, and you can still vaguely see them. The long shaft of a sling. It doesn't look like a town in the interior, but like a border pass. "Here, what is going on?" Godway asked in surprise: "Aren't there only a thousand rebels in the city? How can it be so well-repaired?"

"It was probably built by the traitors who forced the people in the city to build it!" the deputy general replied in an uncertain tone.

"Nonsense!" Godwei said angrily: "So many equipment and fortifications, as well as city wall repairs, can be built in just a few days. Are you going to force me to take a look?"

The lieutenant general was speechless. As Ge Dewei said, although Shaanzhou is located in a strategic location, it is inland after all. The people have not heard of fighting for forty or fifty years. Not to mention the defense facilities on the city wall, even the city wall itself must have a lot of damage. place. Repairing and constructing it is a very arduous and technical job. Without the active cooperation of the residents in the city, even if the rebels used coercive means, it would not have been possible to complete the operation in such a short time.

"There are also trees outside the city and residents in the villages. If you tell me that the rebels forced the local people to do it, this ghost will believe it!" Godwei said angrily: "Someone, go to these villages to investigate and see what happened. What’s going on!”

Soon, the scouts who went out to explore came back, and the news they brought made the generals look even more ugly. According to the reports of the scouts, all the houses in the village were empty, the property, food, cloth, and even the door panels were all gone. However, there were no traces of burning, killing, and looting. Obviously, the villagers spontaneously took away all their belongings and retreated into the city, leaving no supplies for the attackers to use.

"Those rebellious people in Shaanzhou!" Ge Dewei's teeth were grinding. As he expected, he had no intention of launching a siege. The reason is simple. He represents the court, and the enemy is the rebels. The residents in Shaanzhou City will definitely stand on their side. Without the cooperation of the residents, the rebels' thousand cavalry are not enough to stand around the city wall.

As long as the rebel generals are not fools, they will not be trapped in the city. Instead, they must be careful that their opponents set fire to the city first, and then take advantage of their own time to put out the fire and kill them.

"General, since the city has been secured, I'm afraid I won't be able to capture it in a hurry. It's better to set up camp first and think about it first!"

"Yeah!" Godway snorted and nodded.

Late at night.

On the city wall, Hei Te Changzhi was dressed in black, like a silent ghost, walking through the horse paths, corners, and watchtowers. Whenever he saw the sentry on duty dozing, whether it was a soldier or a temporarily recruited militia, he would Pat him awake. When he finished inspecting the last city gate and was about to go back to the city to rest, he suddenly stopped.

At this time, it started to rain again, and the whole city of Shaanzhou seemed to be indulging in a sweet dream. There was no movement and lifelessness everywhere, only the drizzle was like a fine sieve, making a thin sound. Gradually, an unusual sound can be heard. Although the sound is very deep, the volume is not low. It is just covered by the sound of rain, so it is difficult to hear clearly. As time passed, the sound became closer and clearer.

Black-toothed Changzhi stuck his head out, and with his night eyes, he could see a large crowd of people beside the trench under the city wall. Their heads were so dark that they were darker than the sky.

Hei Teochang then took a step back and said in a very calm tone to the militiamen next to him: "The enemy is attacking at night. Use the fork pole to push the ladder and pass it over one by one!"

The militiaman opened his mouth wide, as if he was going to scream in the next second, but he was still overawed by Hei Te Changzhi's calmness. He nodded hard and lowered his voice to another militiaman beside him: "The enemy is attacking at night, use Push the ladder with the fork pole and pass it down one by one!"

Black Teeth Changzhi turned around, waved, then leaned against the female wall, watching carefully what was going on under the city wall. The night raiders lowered their ladders, walked down the trench, then waded up to the other side of the trench, and finally raised their ladders and climbed up to the wall. There was no sound in the city, as if no one was aware. The creaking of the long ladder dismantled by the heavy feet of the attackers was particularly harsh in the night.

Hei Te Changzhi pulled out his saber and pointed the tip of the knife at the end of a long ladder. He saw one hand grabbing the end of the long ladder, then the other hand, and then the helmet tassel, rising up, rising up .

Black Teeth Changzhi stabbed the tip of the knife forward hard, and the tip of the knife penetrated the attacker's throat. Then he withdrew the tip of the knife, then he picked up the fork pole, pushed it out against the long ladder, and suddenly there was a burst of sound from under the city wall. A desperate howl, followed by several muffled thuds.

Almost at the same time, similar sounds were heard from both sides of Hei Te Changzhi. Only two lucky ones jumped onto the top of the city, and were quickly chopped down by Hei Te Changzhi and his soldiers.

"How's it going? Is everything okay? Are there any enemy soldiers coming to the city?" Black Teeth Changzhi shouted loudly.

"no!"

"no!"

"It's okay, we overturned the ladders, and no thieves came to the city!"

Hearing these optimistic responses, Heiji Changzhi breathed a sigh of relief: "Then no one was injured, right? Those who were injured should also respond!" When no sound was heard, Heiji Changzhi smiled and said: "Everyone, please be careful. Be careful to prevent the thieves from coming again!" "That's easy to say! This is also for your own family, everyone should do your best!"

"Yes, the thief has entered the city, and everyone has no way to survive, but don't be careless!"

The soldiers guarding the city responded one after another. Although these militiamen who defended the city were not very good at fighting, there was no doubt about their enthusiasm and courage in defending the city. Hei Te Changzhi encouraged him a few more words before leaving.

"How's it going? Black-toothed brother!" Cui Hongdu didn't sleep either. He just leaned on a short table, took a nap and dealt with things for a while.

"Godway's men just attacked the city!" Heiji Changzhi replied: "I climbed over the trench with a ladder and started to climb the city. I discovered it and climbed over the ladder first. It is estimated that many people fell to death and were injured."

"Oh? Ladders?" Cui Hongdu said with a smile: "We have cut down all the trees near the city wall, so it is not easy to make these ladders!"

"Yeah. I guess these ladders were not easy to come by, so after we overturned the ladders, the enemy soldiers outside the city stopped attacking. I guess it was because they didn't have any equipment to withstand them."

"Hehe, I guess I'll come here tomorrow to get serious. Ge Dewei has a bad temper!" Cui Hongdu said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)