After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 262 Catching a turtle in a urn
"That's not true. You usually have so many people protecting me. I'm afraid the city lord doesn't have as many personal guards as I do." Luo Qingzhou was a little nauseated by what he said. "Okay, then I'll just stay alive and wait for you." Minister, please come and save me."

Atao, however, only cared about the issue of firearms. He said to Jiang Yongkang excitedly: "Minister, when are we going to attack the city! With these firearms, we don't have to wait for Zhu Kui's people to attack the city together. We can directly use the firearms to attack the city." Come on, won’t the gate of Xiangshui Mansion explode?”

"Yes, Minister! Let's go in and occupy Xiangshui Mansion first. Then Xiangshui Mansion will be our territory! When Zhu Kui comes, we will drive him away! In the past, we were afraid of others being outnumbered, but now we are not afraid of him!"

"But we are still under an alliance with Zhu Kui. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to kill the donkey as soon as we got the firearm?"

"That's not right, mother! We are soldiers, and Zhu Kui is our enemy. We must treat our enemies ruthlessly."

"Hey, hey, Lao Guo, why are you swearing again! Didn't the city lord say that we must be civilized? Last month's mobile red flag was given to Chang Zizai's class because you, an old boy, spitted everywhere. This month If you do this again, be careful the squad leader will beat you up!"

"I agree with what Lao Guo said. Anyway, Zhu Kui has been outnumbered all the way. Let's occupy Xiangshui Mansion first, and then catch him by surprise! Send him back to his hometown, and also take over the cities he occupied. return!"

Jiang Yongkang fell into deep thought.

This group of people still didn't know that Zhang Wanjun and her men had gone to steal Zhu Kui's hometown from behind, so they had to buy her a few days.

Besides, now that they have firearms, the combat strategy has to change slightly.

Although Zhu Kui's strategy is a bit lacking, he is more loyal and brave, and his brain is quite flexible. If he can be gathered together and trained...

Okay, anyway, looking at Xu Zhenying's posture, he will have to fight to Bianjing sooner or later. It is better to recruit some people early to fill the vacancies of generals as soon as possible.

"Don't be busy yet." After the soldiers under his command had finished talking, Jiang Yongkang slowly said, "This firearm is extraordinary. What if it hurts the people in the city? Not to mention the Wang Yi who is guarding the city. He has always been ruthless and regards human life as nothing. At this time, he must be holding a large number of people in the city hostage. We must try our best to avoid hurting innocent people. "

This time the soldiers were stumped.

In the past, they always believed that as long as they could capture a city, it was a military achievement. But later, after taking economics class, they realized that war is actually about the consumption of resources, so the cost of every war must be calculated.

This cost includes, but is not limited to, rear military pay, food, clothing, and medicine supplies, as well as soldier casualty pensions, civilian casualties, and infrastructure reconstruction.

When people fight, they just charge into battle. They have to calculate the cost before starting the battle.

But if you calculate it this way, many of them will have a weighing of pros and cons in their minds.

That is, is this battle worth fighting?
If the investment is too high, the casualties are too high, and even the entire state needs to be mobilized, then what is the significance of this battle?
What's more, the city lord always said that talents are the most precious resource, so when they calculated the cost of war, they began to unconsciously regard civilian casualties as a very important cost indicator.

"Okay, then everyone should think about how to avoid more civilian casualties when using firearms. When we have figured it out, let's blast open the city gate of Xiangshui Mansion!"

Jiang Yongkang said this and left.

However, Jiang Yongkang and others obviously underestimated Wang Yi's shamelessness.

More than 10,000 of them camped on the plains ten kilometers away from Xiangshui Prefecture. In the dead of night, they suddenly heard soldiers shouting "surprise attack", "fire", etc. Jiang Yongkang was awakened by a burst of smoke. My eyes could smell the thick smoke, and there seemed to be a fire burning in the corner of the tent!
When he opened his eyes, the tent was already on fire.

Fortunately, the soldiers did not panic. Everyone divided the work and cooperated in an orderly manner. Some of them went to catch the attackers, while others organized to put out the fire with wet cotton clothes and soil.

The fire was not big and was quickly extinguished.

However, there was some panic in the camp.

Everyone is holding a fire.

You can tell with your toes that it was Wang Yi from Xiangshui Mansion who was conducting a sneak attack!

"Director Jiang, the person who set the fire is so vicious! He actually used black fire oil! Once this thing sticks to the body, there is no way to extinguish it, so we can only attack it! If the brothers hadn't been alert and discovered it early, our camp would have been burned down. stand up!"

"Minister Jiang, I saw that the people from Xiangshui Mansion came from the top of the mountain over there. There were at least one or two hundred archers!"

Jiang Yongkang immediately shouted: "Where is Luo Qingzhou! How is the condition of his tent?"

Everyone knew the importance of Luo Qingzhou to Jinzhou Mansion, so they rushed in Luo Qingzhou's direction immediately.

Someone immediately replied: "Dean Luo is fine, the fire has not reached him!"

Everyone was relieved!

Soon, Atao and others caught the person who fired the arrow. These people were not running fast, and they were all captured at this moment.

Then Atao shouted angrily: "Damn Han people, how cunning! They actually let a group of women and children wear their military uniforms to set fire!"

Someone next to him immediately corrected him: "It's the Han people from the Zhou Dynasty who are so evil!"

Atao scratched his head and immediately said carelessly: "Yes, yes, the Han people in the Zhou Dynasty are cunning! The Han people in Qianzhou Prefecture are not cunning, they are smart!"

Everyone knew that Atao was careless and didn't take it seriously.

Their eyes were focused on the people captured by Atao.

Only then did I realize that the captured people were not soldiers at all. They were all skinny and skinny. Among them were women, young people, and old people. They were wearing military uniforms that did not belong to them. They looked nondescript and could only be seen in the dark. Not sure.

At this moment, they all looked at Jiang Yongkang and the others in horror, their bodies shaking like sieves.

"My lords, don't kill me! I have no choice but to do so. Then General Wang caught my wife and threatened to kill me if I don't come to kill you!"

"Me too, me too! Wang Yi, the man who killed a thousand swords, kidnapped my wife and children, and forced us to kill people and set fires. He said he would kill one of you and let one of my family members die! I was forced too!"

"My lords, please have mercy! I don't want to come, but if I don't come, my son will die!"

"Please, all officials, please hurry up and take down Xiangshui Mansion. Ever since our Xiangshui Mansion was attacked by King Li, they have been burning, killing and robbing us all day long, whether they are robbing food or women. They also force us to pay half of the tax. , they killed the whole family if they refused! What a good man our husband was, and they beheaded the whole family, they were all dead!"

When the soldiers in Jinzhou Mansion heard this, their faces turned red with anger and they couldn't help but curse.

"Damn it, is this Wang Yi still a human? He actually threatened unarmed people and charged into battle!"

"That's right! Killing common people is nothing like a soldier! Come and kill us if you have the ability!"

"General, I think Wang Yi is so arrogant, why don't we attack the city overnight?"

Jiang Yongkang was also furious. He quickly calculated the time for Zhang Wanjun's march in his mind, thinking that occupying the city first and then delaying Zhu Kui in the city would buy time, so he waved his long arm: "Okay, let's attack the city immediately!"

The soldiers all cheered.

In the past few days, they had only set up camp. Looking at the brand-new firearms, they had already been itching for a long time. They just wanted to push the firearms to the battlefield immediately to show off their majesty.

Fortunately, this moment is finally here!

Atao pointed to the trembling group of people on the ground and asked, "What about these people?"

"Let them go back!"

Jiang Yongkang was immediately retorted, "No, let these people go back. What if they tip off Wang Yikong?"

"And letting them go back will be a dead end!"

"Let them go back!" Jiang Yongkang insisted, and then said to the people, "When you go back, tell the people in Xiangshui Prefecture that we are coming to attack the city in the next few days, and we have powerful weapons in our hands. , let all the people hide.”

The soldiers present were somewhat silent when they heard this.

Atao didn't understand why he had to protect the people of Xiangshui Mansion?

Those are the people of Xiangshui Prefecture, not the people of Jinzhou Prefecture or Qianzhou Prefecture!
The people who occupy the city at all costs and surrender sincerely are their people!
This kind of behavior that does not distinguish between friend and foe is a woman's kindness in Atao's opinion!
But A Tao also knew that the person in power in Jinzhou Prefecture always valued the people and would never kill innocent people unless it was absolutely necessary.

Grandpa often said that this is the "benevolence" of a great man.

Atao doesn't understand.

The most indispensable thing in this world is people. Besides, this world has been like this since ancient times. If you don’t want to be eaten, you have to become strong. What’s wrong with this rule?
But Atao didn't dare to say this to Jiang Yongkang.

The soldiers from Qianzhou obviously disapproved, but due to Jiang Yongkang's pressure, few of them dared to speak out against it.

The group of people immediately kowtowed several times to Jiang Yongkang with tears of gratitude, and then supported each other and walked back.

----------------------

And when Zhu Kui led his 40,000 troops to fight against Xiangshui Mansion with great difficulty, he was shocked to find that Xiangshui Mansion seemed to have changed people——

In the distance, a huge red flag whirred in the wind, with a huge "Xu" written on it. Look at the soldiers on the city wall. They all have long hair and are wearing strange clothes. They are not the gang of young men from Qianzhou Prefecture. The chief thief?

Zhu Kui and his men were stunned.

Although it was not difficult to defeat the refugees under King Li's command, there were so many of them that they couldn't stand it. One group died and another group rushed forward.

Coming from Fancheng and entering the territory of King Li and Li, they suffered several waves of attacks.

Together with the attack on the city and the territory, although their casualties were not many, they were still in a state of embarrassment. The soldiers of Pianxiangshui Mansion were neatly dressed and energetic, as if they were waiting for them.

"General Zhu, is that from Qianzhou Prefecture?"

"They captured Xiangshui Mansion so quickly?"

"There are 50,000 troops stationed in Xiangshui Mansion. It's only been a few days. How come they defeated Xiangshui Mansion?"

"Is it possible they have reinforcements?"

"General, should we go in now or not?"

These words immediately set off alarm bells in the hearts of Zhu Kui and others, "Don't panic yet, send a few people to find out the information."

A scout had already circled the Xiangshui Mansion and came to report to Zhu Kui immediately after joining the army. However, the scout's eyes were blood red and his face looked like he was dreaming: "It's a monster! Everyone from Qianzhou Mansion is here." They are monsters! General, we can't defeat them, run away!"

Zhu Kui immediately slapped the man's ears with two big blows, which made the man's face hurt. It took him a long time to come back to his senses and said with a look of fear: "General Zhu, these monsters have powerful weapons. I just arrived near Xiangshui Mansion that day. I heard a loud noise in the sky, and the whole ground was shaking...and then the city wall was blown away! I could see clearly that not only the city wall, but also the people on the wall flew up, their arms, legs, My head was all moved! There was a burning smell!”

"You are talking nonsense about your mother! Where can there be such a powerful weapon in this world? It must be a magic weapon!"

"Really!" The scout shuddered, remembering the scene that day, he couldn't help but shudder. "Later, I rushed over quickly, only to find that their weapons were several kilometers away from the city wall, and they actually penetrated the city wall! I I heard them calling that weapon a firearm!"

When Zhu Kui heard this, his expression changed drastically!

"Is there really such a powerful weapon?"

"No! Later I went around the city again and heard the people saying that the sky and the earth were shaking that day, just like an earth dragon turning over! Everyone was scared to death that day! The king of Xiangshui Mansion Strange, the man was blown up more than ten feet before he hit the ground, and he died on the spot!"

Just by imagining it, everyone felt that the scene was weird and terrifying!
People who thought he was talking in his sleep at first were all listening with solemn expressions, feeling their scalps numb.

"The firearm only hit a few times, and all the people on the city wall were dead! Seeing this, the people of King Li and Li didn't dare to fight at all. They raised the white flag to surrender and happily welcomed the people of Qianzhou into the city!"

Zhu Kui grabbed the scout's collar and asked, "What about the casualties in Qianzhou?"

"Unscathed!"

"Fuck you!" Zhu Kui spat, "I don't believe there are such powerful weapons in this world!"

"General, if you don't believe it, go and have a look at the west gate! There are several big holes in the wall there, and they are still repairing them!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Kui immediately hit his horse and ran towards the west gate.

He, Zhu Kui, couldn't imagine such a powerful weapon in the world, let alone how they could fight with Qianzhou Prefecture with such weapons?
Several generals behind him also hurriedly followed.

When he arrived near the west city gate and saw the majestic and earth-shattering remains of the battlefield from a distance, Zhu Kui felt his scalp go numb!
I saw that the city wall seemed to have been punched out of thin air. There were huge holes everywhere, and you could even see the buildings of Xiangshui Mansion inside. The official road was blown to pieces, and there seemed to be an indescribable smell in the air, like the smell of smoke. The people of the Zhou Dynasty who had never seen fireworks naturally did not know that this was the smell of gunpowder.

Seeing this miraculous ruins with his own eyes, Zhu Kui finally believed in the existence of that astonishing weapon.

But then I felt nervous.

If the opponent uses this kind of weapon on a large scale on the battlefield in the future, is it necessary for them to play chess?
Wang Yi yesterday was just like them today. In the future, they would be just like Wang Yi and could only give up the city.

Fight, how?
This weapon can even explode something as solid as a city wall. If they, flesh and blood, rush forward, they are just going to die!

Xu Zhenying.

For the first time, the name of this rebel was deeply engraved in Zhu Kui's mind.

Just thinking of this name made Zhu Kui feel a chill in his back.

He seemed to see the unknown and huge figure through the ruins.

Several generals who followed also fell silent.

How is this fight going?
With just one glance, they already wanted to pack their things and go back to Fancheng, and then prayed day and night that the iron heel of Qianzhou Prefecture would not continue to expand to the east.

Someone came back to his senses and shouted: "General, we must inform His Highness Prince Ming as soon as possible!"

"General, shall we continue to attack the city?"

"Attack the city? How to attack? You tell me how to attack?!"

"But if we come all the way here, is it possible that we will hand over Xiangshui Mansion to these green-headed thieves?! If King Ming asks, how are we going to explain it? Could it be that we were frightened when we saw someone with powerful weapons? Do you have to hold back?"

They had previously thought of relying on the overwhelming number of troops to fight all the way from Xiangshui Prefecture to Qianzhou Prefecture. At this moment, these big black holes and rotten city walls seemed to slap them hard in the face.

Zhu Kui made a decision almost immediately, "Go back to Fancheng immediately!"

But it's too late.

Someone's face changed, and he suddenly looked ashen, "General, the people from Qianzhou Prefecture are here!"

This was the first time they met people from Jinzhou Prefecture.

In the past, they only knew that there was a small rebel in the southwest, named Xu or something. His subordinates were all refugees, and he was insignificant. He had never expanded outwards in the past year. In terms of momentum and strength, he was not as good as the big and small kings of Li and Zhoushan.

What a rabble.

They expected that as long as the imperial court freed up its hands, beating them would be like playing, they would disperse in a rush, and they could easily take back Qianzhou and Jinzhou.

I even heard that people there like to have short hair, and both men and women have short, inch-long hair, so they habitually call them green-headed rebels.

But now, after seeing the dilapidated and blown-up city wall, and then looking at their group, Zhu Kui and others felt uncomfortable.

Not to mention the weird clothes and green heads, the soldiers of Qianzhou Prefecture are all strong and have sharp eyes. Their momentum alone can completely overwhelm them!
Everyone was already feeling timid and expected that they might not be able to leave, so they had no choice but to step forward.

Jiang Yongkang led hundreds of people on horseback. When he saw Zhu Kui at the front, he immediately dismounted and welcomed him with a smile: "This must be General Zhu Kui and Zhu. I saw your people from a long way away. Why didn't you come here?" Going to the city?"

This sentence made everyone present feel a little stunned.

They were still far away from Xiangshui Mansion, at least ten kilometers away. How did these people know that they were already here?
Zhu Kui was a little nervous in his heart, but he smiled broadly: "No, I just heard that there was an earthquake in Xiangshui Prefecture two days ago, so I thought I would look around to see the situation first."

"It's not an earthquake." Jiang Yongkang didn't hide it from them. "It's a newly developed weapon by our city lord. This thing is a bit powerful, but it's the first time it's been used on the battlefield. Look, it blew up the city wall full of holes. Yeah, it’s really troublesome to go back and fix it!”

Everyone's eyelids jumped when they heard this, and they didn't dare to answer. Only Zhu Kui said with a smile: "Weapon? Developed by your city lord? I'm a little curious, what kind of weapon can penetrate the city wall?"

"If you are curious, you can go into the city and have a look."

Zhu Kui was stunned, "We...can watch?"

"What's wrong with this?" Jiang Yongkang laughed and put his arm around Zhu Kui's shoulders, as if he were brothers he hadn't seen for a long time. "We have made a covenant. Once we have a covenant, we are a family. What can’t the family see? Besides, it’s not a valuable thing. There are plenty of them in Jinzhou Mansion! Let’s not talk about these things for now. General Zhu is a guest from afar. Let’s go to the city first!”

Zhu Kui's mind was filled with that firearm, and he wanted to know the situation in Jinzhou Mansion. Now that he saw Jiang Yongkang's warm invitation, he could only agree wholeheartedly.

After entering Xiangshui Mansion, Zhu Kui discovered this unique place.

This place where the city had just been broken must be in ruins, and people would inevitably die. But most of the people in Xiangshui Mansion were happy and in order, showing no fear after the city was broken.

There were quite a lot of soldiers patrolling the city. When Zhu Kui walked in, he discovered that there were two patrols on almost every street here to help the people resume production.

The most commendable thing is that Zhu Kui keenly discovered that the people of Xiangshui Mansion did not seem to be afraid of these young thieves, and even had a good relationship with them.

After walking around like this, Zhu Kui became more and more frightened, and he didn't dare to underestimate these rebels from remote areas.

If he is a rebel, then King Ming is also a rebel. Who is nobler than the other?
But the rebels here have an unusual flavor everywhere.

Not to mention the firearm.

Jiang Yongkang said as he walked: "The people of Xiangshui Prefecture are living really hard. Ever since the people of King Li and Little Li took over this place, they forced them to pay taxes. These key positions are all filled with illiterate people. Mudlegs, as for farming, astronomy, calendar, and geography, we know nothing about it, which makes the people impoverished, so the people welcome us."

Zhu Kui laughed twice.

Jiang Yongkang's words made him even more unsure.

It sounds like the people in Jinzhou Prefecture, Qianzhou Prefecture, are very knowledgeable about government affairs.

Didn’t I hear that there are refugees over there?
Zhu Kui made up his mind to find out their true identity, and also thought that Prince Ming was behind him. If the man in Jinzhou Mansion knew how to behave, he would not embarrass him. Therefore, he boldly followed Jiang Yongkang to visit Xiangshui Mansion.

"General Zhu, you came all the way from Fancheng. How was the battle on the way?"

Zhu Kuiluo pondered, "After we received your secret message, we immediately gathered the army and set off. Within a month, we successively captured Zhaoxian, Yangxian, and Zhaoping."

"It seems that you have gained a lot this time." Jiang Yongkang's face was full of smiles, but it did not make people feel oppressive. He was the son of a wealthy businessman, so he also had a smooth side, "But the people under King Li are all refugees. , they couldn't help but fight. As soon as our people rushed, they almost abandoned the city and fled. Speaking of which, although this little Li Wang is famous, he is a showman on the inside. Now their people have been driven to the hinterland by us, hoping to make a comeback. I’m afraid it’s difficult.”