Jinghong Tower

Chapter 352 Feint Attack
Although they were on the march, after sending out three basins of dog blood, He Ran had been paying attention to the situation in Jinling.

Jinling City did not disappoint her and it really became chaotic.

And the person hiding behind the scenes finally showed up.

Ever since the last time He Ran confiscated the assets of the emperor and the Qian family, He Ran felt that an invisible hand had stepped into the situation.

Unfortunately, Jinghong Tower’s spies in Jinling City have never been able to find the person hiding behind the scenes.

When He Ran decided to make the royal scandal public, she guessed that someone would use this incident to change the political situation.

But He Ran didn't expect that this person would be Duke Dingguo.

In her previous life, she had a very good impression of Duke Dingguo's Mansion.

Most of the nobles are still in the second generation, such as the Yan'an Earl's Mansion, and only the Dingguo Duke's Mansion and the Wu'an Marquis' Mansion are in the third generation.

The first generation Marquis of Wu'an was named Lu Qing'an. He was Li Jinxiu's father-in-law and Lu Pingnan's grandfather.

In his early years, Lu Qing'an became a bandit. He robbed a caravan and captured the martial artists in the caravan to the mountains. Among them was the old Duke Dingguo Jing Dashan.

Lu Qing'an valued Jing Dashan and gave him a mountaintop. Later, the two of them went to Zhou Chi together and made great contributions.

Although Jing Dashan came from a humble background, he married a woman from an aristocratic family, namely, Old Lady Meng.

Old Lady Meng is still alive and is over ninety years old.

Starting from Jing Dashan, marrying into a wealthy family became a family rule in the Jing family.

All the daughters-in-law of the Jing family are legitimate daughters from prominent families.

As the saying goes, a good wife brings prosperity to three generations. The children of the Jing family are both talented in civil and military affairs, and they are outstanding among the founding heroes.

Since the founding of the dynasty, no matter which emperor sat on the throne, the Duke Dingguo's Mansion was as stable as a rock and was able to handle matters with ease.

He Ran thought about this and narrowed her eyes slightly. Duke Dingguo stood up at this time, killed Liu Shanhe, and imprisoned the emperor. It was obvious that he had been prepared. However, no one knew what he would do next.

Be an emperor?
He Ran shook her head. She had a hunch that Duke Dingguo’s real big move had not yet been released.

She said to Xiaoli, "Tell Xiugu that even if we have to dig three feet underground, we must find out the grudge between Duke Dingguo and Liu Shanhe. Forget about the things that are exposed in the court."

In a blink of an eye, a few days passed. Lu Zhen and Jiang Tao arrived in Bozhou first. Lu Yuncheng stood on the city wall and looked through his clairvoyance at the army rushing towards him in the distance like a vast river.

Just now, Lu Yuncheng received news from Jinling that the emperor was under house arrest!
This news was like a bucket of cold water poured on Lu Yuncheng's head.

Why is this happening?

He has been sitting on the bench for several years and finally has his chance to shine in front of the emperor, but you tell me that the emperor is going to be replaced?

Is God playing a trick on him?
The news came too suddenly, and Lu Yuncheng was confused for a moment.

"Ran's army is only ten miles away. General, give the order!"

Several deputy generals were rubbing their hands, already impatient to wait.

They couldn't understand why the commander, who was so excited yesterday and wanted to fight immediately, looked like he had aged twenty years today, with fatigue written all over his face and eyes.

Lu Yuncheng took a deep breath, put down the clairvoyance in his hand, drew out his sword, raised his arm, then put it down again. Finally, he gritted his teeth and finally raised the sword high.

"All soldiers, follow me to fight the enemy!"

The Ran army arrived at the city in the blink of an eye. Their young faces were covered in sweat and their eyes were shining with excitement. The two young generals in the lead were dusty and their youthful look had faded from their faces.

One after another, artillery carts were pushed to the front of the battle. These were built under the supervision of Dong Jinzhen after he arrived at the Ministry of Works, and they were built using the silver earned from selling the new emperor's private property.

This type of artillery was inspired by the artillery of the Red Haired People. It is lighter than the traditional artillery that cannot be moved, and has a higher hit rate than the artillery of the Red Haired People.

He Ran named this artillery Benlei.

He Ran divided the first batch of twenty Thunder Cannons between Lu Zhen and Feng Zan.

This was also the first time that the Thunder Cannon was used in actual combat.

Lu Zhen stood on horseback in the center of the army, his mood was very calm.

He is no longer the young and inexperienced boy he once was.

He looked at the figure that flashed past the gate and smiled slightly.

That must be Lu Yuncheng.

It seems that Lu Yuncheng is already prepared, so there is no need to curse, just start fighting directly.

A deep drumbeat sounded, as if knocking on everyone's heart.

Lu Zhen suddenly waved the red flag in his hand, and his clear voice was like a glacier breaking: "Thunder cannon, attack the city!"

A loud bang startled Lu Yuncheng who was watching. It was a cannon!

Then, there were a few more cannon shots, and a big crack appeared in the middle of the solid city wall. After the last cannon shot, the city gate was opened.

While the artillerymen were loading gunpowder and igniting it, a group of soldiers rushed out of the city gate and rushed towards the Thunder Cannon in the front. One artilleryman was lifted up by a spear, and a sky full of iron arrows shot in from all directions, like a big net, blocking the Thunder Cannon and the artillerymen outside the net.

Without the help of artillery fire, war horses neighed and swords clashed. The next moment, the thunder cannon was fired again, and flames were blazing on the city wall. The soldiers of the Ran army pushed ladders towards the city wall, and the thick city wall was shrouded in smoke and flames.

The iron arrows on the city wall were flying all over the sky. A burst of artillery fire blew, and more than a dozen archers fell down. In the artillery fire, the ladders of the Ran army were pushed away when they reached the city wall, and ropes with iron claws were thrown up. Several soldiers with extraordinary arm strength climbed up the city wall with the help of ropes, and swung the long swords in their hands to clear the way for their companions on the ladders.

After a round of rain of arrows, there were only a few soldiers left to go out of the city to fight the enemy. Jiang Tao urged his horse to meet them, and in a few rounds he cut off the head of the leading general. He raised his voice loudly and looked provocatively at the soldiers on the city wall who were still desperately resisting.

After another rain of arrows, the gong to retreat sounded, and the Ran army soldiers retreated with ladders. The thunder cannons escorted them a little further, and in the firelight, the Ran army sounded the gong to retreat.

It was not until everything around him finally quieted down that Lu Yuncheng got up from the ground in a mess.

The artillery fire just now almost hit him on the head.

"Damn it, we were fooled by that bastard Lu Zhen. Such a big fuss was just a feint!" the deputy general cursed.

Yes, it was a feint.

Lu Yuncheng gritted his teeth and said, "When did the Ran army have such a powerful weapon? I have never heard of it before."

The deputy general said: "It is probably bought from the red-haired people. I heard that the red-haired people have this kind of artillery."

Lu Yuncheng shook his head. "Impossible. Even if He Ran had a way to buy this kind of artillery from the red-haired people, how did the artillery get from the red-haired country to the capital? Whether it was by sea or by the Silk Road, even if it got in, it couldn't be delivered to the capital. It was robbed on the way. Do you still think that the whole world belongs to He Ran?"

The deputy general thought so too. Whether it was by sea or by the Silk Road, it would be extremely difficult to avoid road inspections. Besides, these were cannons, not small things. They were so big and there were so many of them. How could they be hidden?

If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. What they have to face now is that Lu Zhen has this kind of artillery in his hand that can push wherever he wants. Today is just a feint attack, to put it bluntly, it is to establish power and scare them.

But what about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow?
It's impossible that Lu Zhen is feinting every time.

They are just flesh and blood. Are they going to use their flesh and blood to resist these artillery fire?
After hearing the news from Jinling City, Lu Yuncheng was in a panic. He finally mustered up the courage to fight Lu Zhen, but he didn't expect that Lu Zhen would give him such a big surprise.

No, it's shock!
That night, no one in Bozhou city slept well.

Twenty miles outside the city, Jiang Tao laughed as he thought about today's battle.

"Guess, is that old guy Lu Yuncheng crying or cursing at this moment?"

Lu Zhen snorted coldly: "I won't cry. If you continue to scold me, you might even scold my father and my grandfather. He can be considered my grandfather's disciple."

Jiang Tao: "What a shitty disciple, isn't it just the dog raised by your Lu family? Look at your family, you can't even raise a dog properly. If it were outside our border, people would laugh their heads off. Whose dog would bite its master?"

Lu Zhen: "You talk too much today, like a chatterbox, very annoying."

Jiang Tao: "Okay, it's your turn, we'll break up!"

After saying that, Jiang Tao went to concentrate on grilling the meat.

The meat was cooked, and the severance was over. Jiang Tao asked, "Is there any new news from Jinling?"

Lu Zhen shook his head. Never mind. He would eat and drink enough today to conserve his energy and continue fighting tomorrow.

Before daybreak the next day, Jiang Tao led his men to curse in front of the city gate, cursing and laughing at the same time. The city gate must have been repaired overnight, but it was a pity that the city wall could not be repaired in a short time as cracks had been blown out by artillery fire.

Lu Yuncheng hardly slept all night and fell into a drowsy sleep just before dawn. However, he was woken up just as he closed his eyes. Before dawn, Ran Jun came to scold him.

"The swearing was really filthy. This is the first time I've seen someone swear so filthy."

Lu Yuncheng frowned, it was really useless, it was just a quarrel, was it worth talking about?

But soon, Lu Yuncheng experienced Jiang Tao's unique style of scolding.

In fact, it was also because Lu Yuncheng had not led troops for many years. Anyone who had fought with Lu Zhen and Jiang Tao knew that they were very good at swearing.

That's what a street rogue is like.

Lu Yuncheng became furious after hearing just a few words. When did he become a dog raised by the Lu family?
It’s just a dog, but it’s not completely castrated.

Jiang Tao said that a dog must be castrated so that it can grow white, fat and obedient. However, if a dog is castrated but not cleanly, although it can grow white and fat, it will be disobedient. Not only will it be disobedient, but it will also be cowardly. A good castrated dog will become a coward.

Jiang Tao was afraid that everyone might not understand, so he specifically mentioned Lu Yuncheng's name. Lu Yuncheng was the dog of the Lu family that was not castrated properly and eventually became a coward.

Lu Yuncheng shouted, "Beat him! Beat him! Bring Jiang Tao's head to me!"

A group of people rushed out of the city gate. Jiang Tao had already disappeared, and they were greeted by artillery fire.

Unlike yesterday, when the artillery only hit the city gates and walls, today the artillery only hit people. Ten artillery pieces were aimed at this group of people, and in the blink of an eye, they were beaten to pieces.

Lu Yuncheng stood on the city wall, looking at the corpses on the ground, and felt a fishy and sweet taste in his throat. He tried to suppress it, but his head was buzzing.

But Lu Zhen did not give him time to rest and the attack began.

Just like yesterday, a round of artillery fire was followed by a rain of arrows, but today's rain of arrows was different from yesterday's, as it was replaced by rockets.

The fire arrows were coated with oil and quickly caught fire when they hit the city wall.

A rocket flew past Lu Yuncheng's shoulder. Although there was armor between them, Lu Yuncheng could still feel a burning sensation.

The ladder truck was pushed over, and the Ran army began to attack the city under the cover of rockets. At the same time, the city gate that had just been repaired yesterday midnight was once again opened by artillery fire. However, today was different from yesterday. Yesterday, the Ran army had already called off the troops at this time, but today, they began to attack the city gate.

In the long city gate, the Ran army and the defenders were fighting. A soldier rushed up to the tower and shouted, "Commander-in-chief, the city gate can't be defended!"

Lu Yuncheng's face was as gloomy as water: "Follow me."

When the first group of Ran troops rushed out of the city gate, they saw a group of people blocking the way.

The leader was Lu Yuncheng.

Seeing the huge word "Lu", Ran Jun shouted loudly: "Lu Yuncheng is here, kill him!"

Amid the roar of killing, Lu Zhen rode his horse forward and stabbed at Lu Yuncheng with the spear in his hand.

Jiang Tao shouted at the side: "Xiao Lu, the dog surnamed Lu is yours, he belongs to you, we won't fight with you for it."

Lu Yuncheng was so angry that he wanted to kill someone.

What he hated most in his life was being told that he made his fortune by relying on the Lu family.

But now, these two bastards simply said that he was a dog raised by the Lu family, especially since one of them was Lu Zhen. How could he tolerate it?
"You are indeed a person born by your mother but not taught by your father. Let me teach you a lesson on behalf of your father!"

Lu Zhen sneered. He had a cold relationship with his parents since he was young and was raised by his grandmother. When he was a child, he fought with others. Someone scolded him for having a mother but no father, so he pounced on the person and fought to the death.

At that time, this was the sentence he hated the most.

I think Lu Yuncheng also knew about it. At that time, Lu Yuncheng racked his brains to please the Lu family. Lu Yuncheng knew the preferences of everyone in the Lu family. How could he not know about the fights between Lu and others?

So when they were on the battlefield, Lu Yuncheng used this sentence to stimulate him.

Lu Yuncheng still thought that he was still the reckless boy in the capital.

Sadly, he is no longer that.

Having experienced the baptism of war and crawled out of piles of the dead countless times, the scars on his body are his medals, and every victory is a symbol of his growth.

There are many things in this world that are more terrifying than that sentence.

At this point in time, how could he lose his composure because of just one sentence?
If that were true, he wouldn't be standing here now, and he would have died countless times.

Only someone like Lu Yuncheng, who focuses all his energy on flattery and taking advantage of others, would think that everyone is like him and is standing still.

Lu Zhen sneered: "Lu Yuncheng, I think you are too idle. Even if you had fought with the thugs more in recent years, you would not be as self-righteous as you are now. Lu Yuncheng, you are useless, you have ruined yourself!"

Lu Yuncheng was stunned. Is he useless?
What is this nonsense?

How could he be useless?

And these were the words spoken by a young child.

Lu Yuncheng became furious and swung the sword in his hand to chop at Lu Zhen.