Late Tang

The officers and soldiers began to move forward slowly, approaching the castle step by step.

Li Jing stood on the city wall, looking at the approaching array below the city with some doubts.Are Feng Zhang and Wang Jin really insane and doing whatever they want?For most of the day, he dared to openly send troops to besiege the town of Samana?

The phalanx stopped a hundred steps away from the city, probably because they were concerned about the archers on the city.A full-body armored soldier was walking towards the city holding a red battle flag in his hand. Zhang Chengzong raised his bow to shoot, but Li Jing stretched out his hand to stop it.This man is obviously a messenger, let's first listen to what he has to say.

"Listen, people in the city, we are the officers and soldiers led by Dengzhou Inspector Song Shijun and Dengzhou Biejia Zhaowang. They are the five divisions of Longshan Camp, Dengzhou Soldiers, Dongmo Shouzhuo, Dengzhou Navy, and Daxie Village. United soldiers and horses, if you are sensible, open the city gate and surrender immediately, if not, you will step down on the castle and kill all the thieves and bandits here! I will give you time to burn incense and think carefully."

When these words were shouted, everyone in the city was dumbfounded.

Li Jing was also stunned. Not only did the troops from the Dengzhou Navy and Daxie Village come, but also the Longshan Camp, Dongmou Shouzhuo, and Dengzhou Zhizhou soldiers, and they even claimed that Song Wenwen and Li Rui were personally leading the army. ,what on earth is it?When did Song Wenwen and Li Rui get together with Wang Jin, and they actually came to attack him?This thing is too weird, and there is a problem in it.

"Where are Song Shijun and King Zhao? Please come forward, I want to see them." Li Jing shouted.

The man under the city was obviously stunned for a moment, and then replied loudly: "If you want to see Song Shijun and Zhao Wang, you come out of the city!"

Li Jing thought about it carefully, and was a little worried that this was the enemy's trick, so he didn't dare to leave the city rashly.But if it was really Song Wen who came, then there would be some doubts about this matter.After thinking about it, he felt that it was hard to see whether Song Wen was really in the army because of the distance, but he simply wrote a short message, and mentioned a few words in the letter that only Song Wen knew about the two people. , then shoot down the city with an arrow.He believed that if Song Wen was really in the city and read this letter, things would be clear.

Sure enough, as soon as the letter was shot down, the envoy ran back again and asked loudly, "Is the person in the city Li Jing and Li Zhenjiang?"

"It's right here." Li Jing replied loudly.

The messenger was a little puzzled, and asked again: "May I ask if Shamen Town was attacked by pirates yesterday, and where are the pirates now?"

Li Jing said loudly: "Are you talking about the thousands of pirates led by the Cyclops?"

"Exactly."

"Hahaha!" Li Jing laughed loudly, "If you're talking about him, then it's a pity that all of the One-Eyed Flood Dragon's troops have already been killed by our soldiers from the Salmonella town, so you are one step too late."

The messenger ran back again, and after a while, he brought Song Wen's family general and a team of family members forward, met each other, and finally confirmed what was going on.Li Jing immediately ordered the city gate to be opened to welcome Song Wen and others into the city, and Li Jing's generals greeted them personally at the city gate.

Song Wenwen and Li Rui arrived first, and after seeing Li Jing, they were amazed.Seeing the blood-stained black and red land everywhere under the city, and the entire wall of the west city wall being torn down, one can imagine the intensity of the battle last night.When asked about the pirate attack, Song Wenyou couldn't believe Li Jing's previous answer.

"The one-eyed flood dragon was really beheaded by you, and all his subordinates were also annihilated?"

Li Jing nodded: "That's right, the Cyclops led nine hundred pirates to attack yesterday. Fortunately, I found out in time and set up defenses early. I called all the men and women in the town to fight desperately with the pirates. After a fierce battle all night, I finally killed all the pirates." Pirates. The one-eyed dragon also died in the chaos."

Li Jing didn't tell the truth about that battle.If one thousand pirates plus one thousand and eight hundred people from the Wang family attacked and were defeated by them, it sounds too mysterious.Moreover, it will inevitably reveal the true military strength and combat power of Shamen Town.Besides, Li Jing didn't want to reveal the hundreds of captives, lest he demand to hand them over at that time. These people are now his captives, and he has already determined that these people will be slaves on the island.

"How many casualties did you have?"

Li Jing replied with a painful face: "A total of 600 people died in the battle, [-]% of the newly recruited town soldiers died in the battle, and many people who helped in the battle also died in the battle. Your lord, this battle has seriously injured our vitality. , I also ask the envoy to deliver the batch of weapons as soon as possible, so as to increase the strength of our army. In addition, in terms of money, food and pensions, I also ask the envoy to help."

Song Wen didn't expect Li Jing's casualties to be so heavy, but after thinking about it, it was already a miracle that they wiped out the nine hundred pirates of the Cyclops with the lone army of Shamen Town yesterday.It is normal to have more casualties, and he would feel strange if the casualties were not.Immediately nodded: "Okay, I will try my best to arrange this matter. The treasury of Dengzhou government is not rich, but I will try my best to get it out if I can."

Li Rui asked about the safety of his daughter and Yu Youniang with concern, and Li Jing told with a bitter face that Li Huier and the others played drums on the tower to help the army yesterday.Originally, there was a small report for Li Rui to take them away, but after hearing this, Li Rui actually smiled all over his face. Can't bring it up.Seeing Li Jing's depressed look, Li Rui smiled lightly and patted Li Jing's shoulder and said, "It's hard for you." But after all, he insisted on not mentioning the meaning of taking Li Huier and the others away.

Li Jing brought Song Wen and the others to a corner outside the city, where hundreds of heads were piled up, and these heads were exactly 900 of the pirate subordinates of the Cyclops.In addition, there were two hundred other heads belonging to the guards of the Wang family. Li Jing separated those heads and did not take them to see them at this time.

Seeing the pile of pirate heads piled up like a mountain, now no one doubts the fact that Li Jing and the others defeated the pirates.Song Wen was all smiles and praised Li Jing loudly.Annihilating a group of thieves at sea at once and capturing so many heads is a great feat.Not only Li Jing's great merit, but also his Song Wen's great merit, and even being able to report directly to the capital Chang'an is also a great merit of Song Wei, the Jiedu envoy.Right now, bandits are swarming everywhere, and the imperial court is having a headache.At this time, the pirate One-Eyed Jiao actually dared to lead the crowd to attack the officers and soldiers' garrison, but was annihilated by the officers and beheaded nine hundred levels.

Song Wen ordered all the heads to be counted, and then they were packed and prepared to be taken back to Dengzhou, and sent to Ziqing Town to claim credit.

Looking at these heads, not only Song Wenwen and Li Rui were happy, but also the generals of the other five barracks were envious.With so many heads, if they report to the imperial court, they will be rewarded and at least be promoted to three ranks.

Song Wen stroked the three long beards and looked at Li Jing, and couldn't help but pay more attention to Li Jing.Before, he only regarded Li Jing as a guy who had some skills, but was more lucky and valued by the nobles.But after this battle, Li Jing, who was originally just a small pawn he sent to Daxie village, couldn't help but magnify Xu Da at this time.

"Ji Yu wiped out the invading pirates in one fell swoop this time, and displayed the prestige of our Dengzhou army. It's really amazing. I will definitely report all these leaders to Jieshuai's mansion and ask for credit for you." Many generals around showed envious and jealous expressions, especially Feng Xun and Wang Song, the two commanders of Daxie Village and Dengzhou Navy.They originally thought that after such a long delay, Shamen Town must have been breached and looted by the Cyclops. They came to the island just to see the miserable end of Li Jing and others. The one-eyed flood dragon was completely wiped out.Now they are constantly cursing the one-eyed dragon in their hearts, it is unbearable.Especially Wang Song, who knew in his heart that it was not just the pirates this time, but also Wang Fu brought 200 people to help.But now why only hear about the pirates being wiped out, but not hear any news about Wang Fu and others?

Li Jing saw the expressions of the generals in his eyes, smiled slightly, and said: "It is a blessing to win this battle, not to mention that my soldiers in the Shamen town were almost killed in the battle, and hundreds of young and strong people were recruited. Now Even the castle was destroyed, and the temporary camps outside the city were also burned. Now, I don’t know how to live in the future. Therefore, I have a proposal for military merit. I am not very old, and I have served The position of the town general is what it is today because of inexperience. How can I dare to expect to be promoted again, and to be promoted again, with my ability, I will be roasted on the fire."

"Therefore, I want to sell these pirate heads. The heads of ordinary pirates are [-] guan, the heads of small pirates are [-] guan, and the heads of big pirates are [-] guan. The head of the Cyclops is [-] guan .It can be sold in retail or in bulk. You can also get a [-]% discount for the whole purchase! It's not that I, Li Jing, are greedy for money and things, but because there were [-] dead in the battle. Qian, the castle in Shamen Town was breached, and the camp outside the city was burned down. Right now, all kinds of pensions and rewards are all asking for money. I really have no choice. I just hope that everyone can help and buy one or two heads, which can be regarded as supporting brothers .”

When everyone saw Li Jing say such a thing, they were stunned for a moment.Song Wen pointed at Li Jing and sighed, "You, you are such a fool!"

However, although Song Wen said so, he didn't mean to stop the opposition. It is not uncommon for the military to falsely claim and resell military achievements. Basically, as long as you are willing, even the chief officer will not interfere.Everyone really only thought that Li Jing was so poor that he sold the head now, and they were unwilling to delve into whether it was true or not.

Song Wen was the first to speak: "I know it's not easy for you, so, give me the heads of the one-eyed dragon and his subordinates. I'll pull out a thousand stone meters for you later."

Li Jing pretended to be troubled: "Mr. Song, the one-eyed jiao alone has 72 coins. He has [-] big bosses and [-] small bosses. If you give more, look at my subordinates." These people don’t even have the shacks to live in, and they don’t know how to live in the future.”

"I'll give you another [-] bolts of linen, and I'll give you another [-] pieces of old army accounts from the barracks. That's all. I'm not a local tyrant, so I don't have any more."

Li Jing quickly thanked with a smile, and the 91 heads were worth nearly [-] guan. Although it was less than the [-] guan for each pirate head he offered, it was worth the waste recycling.

With Song Wen taking the initiative, others naturally do not intend to miss such an opportunity.These days, although the promotion is relatively sudden, it is enough to spend some money, but it is better to have a few pirate leaders in front of you who are easy to talk to. This report is a real iron military achievement.The heads are limited, a total of 150 heads. Song Wen took away all the heads of all the pirate leaders, and there were [-] left. The officers of the five military battalions got together to discuss and directly It was divided up, [-] for each of the five barracks, exactly [-], and the remaining nine were directly given away by Li Jing for free.

The eight hundred heads Li Jing insisted on fifty guan, and finally sold for [-] guan. Linen is fine too.After the agreement is made, a note is drawn up, and everyone's business is considered to be done.Li Jing was not afraid that they would renege on their debts. Anyway, with Song Wenwen and Li Rui as guarantors, no one would dare to rely on his little money.

After the business was negotiated, the expressions on everyone's faces looked much better.While everyone was counting the heads they had bought, the commander of Daxie Village pulled Feng Xun aside and Li Jing, and made a request, that is to take back Feng Ming and the imprisoned guards of the Feng family .

"Feng Ming, the three hundred guards, and fifty garrison soldiers, as well as their more than 200 family members, are you going to take them back?" Li Jing asked coldly.Feng Xun also said in a bad tone: "Today I came to solve the problem, and I came with sincerity. If General Li refuses to cooperate, you should know the consequences."

"Consequences, what consequences?" Li Jing sneered, "How about the one-eyed dragon? Didn't 900 people be killed by me and now they are sold by weight like selling dog meat? If you are really sincere, then I will Let me tell you something, I am short of money right now, you can take away Feng Ming and those three hundred guards, and fifty garrison soldiers and those more than 200 family members, but you have to give me money, the value is the same as just now The price of selling pirates is 600 guan for one person. I will count you as 2000 people. You can take [-] guan or equivalent grain and silk cloth. When you send the money, when will I hand over the people? Give it to you, otherwise, they can only work for me in Shamen Town for the rest of my life. Don’t scare me, I’m not afraid of [-] pirates, but do you think I’m afraid of the [-] people in Daxie Village?”

"You!" Feng Xun pointed at Li Jing angrily, but Li Jing turned around and left, leaving only a back view for him, without even a place to get angry.

Li Jing directly went to Wang Song, who was in command of the Dengzhou Navy, and handed him three beautiful wooden boxes.

"What is this?" Wang Song asked suspiciously.

"This is a gift for Ambassador Wang Youyi, and he needs to open it himself. You bring it for me, and he will know it after opening it." Li Jing smiled slightly, and the smile was a little touching, which made Wang Song Feeling cold.

(To be continued)