Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Murong Miao returned to the house and quickly looked around to see if there was no one around. Then he took out the sachet from his arms and examined it carefully. However, even though he looked through the sachet from the inside out, he couldn't find anything unusual. , no matter how you look at it, it is just an ordinary embroidered sachet. He sighed in disappointment: "Did that Xu Cairen really just ask me to bring a sachet to Cui Hongdu? It was in vain that I spent so much effort to meet their mother and son!"

He thought about it, and finally had no choice but to lie back on the bed, and fell asleep like that. The sachet was left on the table, unattended.

The next morning, Murong Mu woke up from bed. He subconsciously touched his arms and broke into a cold sweat. He looked at the sachet on the table and breathed a sigh of relief. He thought about it and wrote a letter. , the letter mentioned the matter of the sachets, and said a few good words at the end of the letter, suggesting that the food shipped to Chang'an should be doubled to 400 shi per day. Then he took a pocket and put a sachet in it, walked to the door and said, "Here comes someone!"

"What's the matter with Tan Yue?" A monk came up to greet him and put his hands together in greeting.

"This letter and the bag are sent to Shaanzhou, you send them together for me!" Murong Miao said.

"Yes!" The monk took the letter and pocket, turned and left. Watching the monk's leaving figure, Murong Moo thought to himself: "This letter and bag must be given to Pei Judao before they are sent out. If he wants food, he has to send the letter to Shaanzhou, but if he only sends the letter, Withholding the sachet would contradict what was mentioned in the letter, so naturally Cui Hongdo would not send food."

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Political Hall.

"This Murong Parrot dares to play such a little trick with me!" Pei Judao dropped the letter and looked at the sachet next to him: "That's all, send it together, I'll give him a try!"

"Father, how is this possible!" Queen Pei said anxiously: "If this sachet falls into Cui Hongdu's hands, he will definitely use it to make a big fuss!"

"If we don't send it, someone in Chang'an City will make a fuss about the food!" Pei Judao said coldly.

"Chang'an City?" Queen Pei asked puzzledly: "Who is so bold?"

"That's a lot!" Pei Judao sighed: "It is said that the price of rice today is almost as high as the time when Emperor Wen just came to the throne and the Turkic soldiers came to the Weishui River. The state supervision and supervision are like this. It's really It is better to ask the emperor to reset his throne, so that the country can be at peace!"

"These bastards!" Queen Pei was furious: "Why don't you kill them all?"

"There are too many, how can we kill them all?" Pei Judao sighed: "We can only deal with Shaanzhou first, and then deal with the thieves. Don't worry too much. Pei Xingjian has already returned to Beijing after receiving the order. It should be over again We can reach Chang'an in a few days!"

"That's great!" Queen Pei was overjoyed when she heard this: "By the way, I heard that he is also the Wenxi Pei family and is from the same clan as my family, but I don't know what the relationship is?"

"He is indeed the Pei family of Wenxi, Hedong, like mine, but he is the middle family member, and our family is the Dong family, so there is a big difference!" Pei Judao sighed: "Now we can only rely on him. !”

Outside the city of Shaanzhou, there is the Tang army's camp and the commander's tent.

"Shizhong Pei is really out of his mind!" Ge Dewei complained angrily: "Does he think he is playing house? A few buzzing mosquitoes in Chang'an City scared him. What should I do if the price of rice is high? Won't everything be fine if we capture Shaanzhou? It's good for him. He started bargaining with the rebels in Shaanzhou City. He asked me to temporarily stop my troops for two hundred shi of food a day. Couldn't he see that they were just stalling for time? Nuo Da What can a city of Chang'an do if two hundred shi of food a day are enough? When Wang Wenzuo's army moves south and reaches the gate of Tongmen, what will he do to resist it?"

"Actually, Shizhong Pei may not understand!" the lieutenant general persuaded: "After all, it takes time for us to build siege equipment. He also gave the general the right to recruit soldiers from several nearby states and counties!"

"I guess he's not that stupid!" Ge Dewei snorted coldly: "To tell you the truth, the dignitaries in Chang'an City are all two-faced. They will listen to whoever wins. As long as they can defeat Wang Wenzuo, everything will be fine. Otherwise, no matter how well you serve them, it will all be in vain in the end! Shizhong Pei doesn't understand such a simple truth!"

"General, there is an envoy from Chang'an!" The voice outside the tent interrupted Ge Dewei's complaints. He stopped complaining: "Please come in!"

"As ordered!"

A few minutes later, the envoy came into the tent. He was a familiar face from Ge Dewei in the Forbidden Army. After entering the tent, he smiled and said: "Old Ge, how does it feel to lead troops abroad? It's much better than staying in Chang'an!"

"It turns out it's you!" Ge Dewei pointed to the brocade cushion in front of him: "Just like that! Both sides are angry. By the way, why did Pei Shizhong ask you to come here?"

"What else can I do? Send a message to Shaanzhou!" The messenger pointed in the direction of Shaanzhou: "It's all your fault. You couldn't win this place in one go, and I ended up like a beggar, coming here to beg for rice. !”

"Begging for rice? How do you say this?" Godwei asked.

"Didn't the traitor send an envoy to Chang'an?" The envoy complained: "First he was imprisoned for more than ten days, and then he was released. He was docile and obedient. It was not easy to get him to write a letter to Shaanzhou and let him Their comrades have doubled the daily food delivery, you are so angry!"

"A letter comes with an extra two hundred stones of food every day?" Ge Dewei frowned: "This is obviously a delaying strategy by the rebels. Can't Shizhong Pei even understand this?"

"Why can't you understand?" The envoy smiled bitterly and said, "There is no way. You have not been in Chang'an these days. You don't know what Chang'an has become now. The curfew has long been in name only. There is no need to mention it at night. There are people openly pulling the strings on the streets in broad daylight. They rob good girls with swords, and the night before I left, Prince Jing’s mansion was set on fire and looted, it’s simply out of line with the king’s law!”

"How could this happen?" Ge Dewei said angrily: "Are all the bad guys and Wuhou dead?"

"Bad people, Marquis Wu?" The envoy laughed: "Did you know? Most of these things are done by them. There is no way, the price of rice has risen to the sky, and nine out of ten grain and rice shops have closed. I'm okay, I have some savings at home. The question is, what should I do with the common people in small households and the green-robed officials who live on their salaries? Do they have to watch their families starve to death and freeze to death? Hungry and cold are like thieves!"

"Then Shizhong Pei is just watching helplessly?" Ge Dewei said anxiously: "The traitor can give you 400 stones today, or not give you a grain of rice tomorrow. Is this a long-term solution?"

"So Shizhong Pei has recruited Pei Xingjian back!" the envoy said with a smile.

"Pei Xingjian?" "Yes, he should be bringing soldiers and horses from Beiting and Hexi! Once he comes, there should be no problem!"

The messenger did not mean what he said, but Ge Dewei listened with intention. When he started the uprising with Pei Judao, it was simply to further his official career, and Pei Xingjian's arrival gave him a sense of crisis. With the military power and prestige held by the opponent, he would definitely be inferior to others. Then wouldn't all the risks and hardships he had taken previously be in vain?

"Old Ge!" The messenger did not see Ge Dewei's thoughts and said with a smile: "It's getting late, I have to go on my errand. When I come back from Shaanxi Province, I will come back to bother you with water and wine!"

After seeing off his old friend, Godway's expression changed endlessly. After a long time, he suddenly said: "That's it, how can we be inferior to others!"

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In the reception room, Cui Hongdu was studying the map of the city. On the opposite side of the table, Igilian Bod was holding a calculation chip, his brows furrowed, and he didn't know what he was calculating.

"Ijilenbode!" Cui Hongdu raised his head: "Come over and help me see if I want to build a fort here at Ximen!"

"Tubao?"

"Yes, look at the map. With this fort, the dock can be protected, and it will be much easier for ships to dock!"

"It's good, but I'm afraid we won't be able to use so much people's power to repair it!" Ijilianbod looked at the map and said hesitantly.

"There are tens of thousands of men and women in Shaanzhou City alone, right?" Cui Hongdu said: "With the strong women, old and weak guarding the plate, the men and women worked all night, and the construction was completed in three to five days. Isn't that how we repaired the city before? "

"One moment and another! At that time, the people in the city were afraid of being burned and killed by the army. Now that the enemy has not attacked the city for more than ten days, it will be difficult to force them to work day and night! "Igilian Bode smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Cui, this is Shaanzhou after all. There has been no fighting for decades. The people have become accustomed to ease. In the past few days, when I patrolled the city at night, I found that many militiamen on duty were lazy. It’s not a good sign to hide in a sheltered place to sleep!”

"Is there such a thing?" Cui Hongdu was furious. At this time, it was reported that an envoy from Chang'an had come and brought Murong Mu's letter. Cui Hongdu hurriedly asked him to bring a messenger, and said to Yiji Lianbod: "This time, among us, Murong Miao has the greatest credit. We took such a huge risk and turned the situation around. It is really not easy!"

After a while, the messenger came and delivered Murong Mu's letter and sachet. Cui Hongdu read the letter and raised his hand: "Thank God, Your Highness is fine. Well done. The Tang Dynasty is very lucky, and the world is very lucky!"

Igilian Bode also read the letter and was very happy. He asked the messenger to go down to have a meal and wine: "Do you think we need to transport more food?"

"Let's discuss it together when Brother Black Tooth comes back!" Cui Hongdu said: "But I think it's better to agree to it. Chang'an City is so big, and two hundred stones more food every day can make a huge difference?"

"Well, that's what I think. After all, it's just Pei Judao and King Pei who have done this. How can the people of Chang'an deserve it? It's a credit to us that we can delay it for a little longer until the general arrives."

The two of them had reached an agreement and waited for Hei Te Changzhi to come back before discussing the matter.

Between the official road leading to the south gate of Shaanzhou City and the sidewalk that bends toward the dock area, there is a mound, almost directly next to the city wall. This section of the city wall is more than ten feet shorter than the other sections. On both sides of the mound, there are small pieces of flat land where farmers have planted mulberry trees and fruit trees, while there are patches of pine trees on the mound. In order to prevent this piece of pine trees from being used by the besiegers, the defenders cut down many of the trees above, and set a raging fire on the rest, burning them in a mess, leaving only some charred trees. It was miserable during the day, and at night, the cold wind blew through, bringing with it bursts of sobbing sounds, like ghosts crying.

The clouds at night obscured the moonlight, only about ten steps away. Can't see clearly. There are pits in the soil, and tree stumps are left everywhere on the mounds. If you are not careful, you will break your head. The night raiders almost groped their way through the mound. They bumped and bumped their way through the remains of the pine forest and arrived at the edge of the mound. From this distance, they could clearly see the light of the torches coming from the crenellations of the city wall, flickering on and off. It's like the light of a firefly.

"Now, go down the mound from here, cross the moat, and climb up the city wall." Godway said.

"General, think twice!" the deputy general lowered his voice and advised: "It is difficult to climb the city in such a dark sky. If you fail, it will definitely anger the guards. At that time, let alone doubling the food transportation, even if the original two hundred stones per day The food is gone. What will Chang'an do if there is no food?"

"Shut up!" Ge Dewei said angrily: "I have observed that you have been slacking off these days. As long as you can win, why worry about food? Go quickly, or I will punish you for being timid!"

The deputy general had no choice but to accept the order. He led more than a hundred skilled soldiers down the hillock, climbed over the ditch, and came to the city. After confirming that there was no movement on the top of the city, he climbed up the top of the city with a rope hook, only to find that no one was on the top of the city, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Quick, climb up! You guys go and watch on both sides!" the deputy general said.

The night attackers filed up along the rope. After climbing the city, the deputy general quickly raised a fire as a signal and contacted Godwei outside the city. Then he led the troops to open the city gate. After walking for a while, he found that all the soldiers on night duty in the city were hiding. He was warming himself by a fire in a crenel sheltered from the wind, and was easily caught by night raiders.

"This group of trash can actually resist us for more than ten days."

The deputy general recalled his appearance just now, feeling angry and ashamed at the same time. He ordered the two men to stay and lead the way, execute all the remaining prisoners, and then go to the west gate.

Hei Te Changzhi suddenly opened his eyes, and the oil lamp on the table beside the bed came into view. He remembered for a long time that he had forgotten to turn off the lamp when he was asleep. The candle flame flickered and shadows swayed around him, making the room seem more obvious. Darker and colder.

Hei Te Changzhi sat up, feeling that his legs were stiff and numb. He moved his legs, trying to find a thick coat to put on. Suddenly he heard a slight sound coming from outside, which seemed to be the wind. Skimming through the winter forest treetops. He listened carefully and his expression changed greatly.

"Get up, get up quickly, there are thieves stealing the city!" Black Teeth Changzhi shouted loudly. He quickly took off his saber and bow and arrow, tightened his belt, and shouted to the guards with shit-faced eyes: "Blow the horn, blow the horn! "

The desolate horn sound tore through the silence of the night and echoed over Shaanzhou City. This seemed to be a signal. Several pillars of fire rose into the sky, lighting up the night sky and reflecting on Hei Te Changzhi's face, like a bronze mask, ferocious and cold.

"The city is broken!"