Han ride

Chapter 437 Shuozhou Falls ([-])

"Why are you so panicked?" Seeing that her apprentice was so panicked, He Xi said dissatisfiedly.

"Army, a lot of cavalry, a lot of troops outside the city." The young man in charge said loudly.

"It's the Duke's army coming." Hao Laosan stood up suddenly and said, "I didn't expect the Lord's army to come so fast."

"Duke of Liao really had a different reaction." Ding Ruhu said with a wry smile, "We didn't know the news until the army had already arrived at the city. Thinking about it, the Duke of Liao had already killed all those who didn't accept them at night, so we didn't get any news." Ding Ruhu His face was full of bitterness. If he thought that he was helping Li Xin by taking refuge in Li Xin just now, but now he no longer thinks so. Li Xin's army is so strong, even without his own help, I am afraid that a little Shuozhou is also irresistible.

He Xi also nodded, and said, "I'm afraid the whole city is in chaos now. It's not too late for Brother Ding to raise the flag, so it's better to do it tonight."

"That's right, let's do it tonight. General Hao, I'll have someone send you out of the city. Please tell your father. At midnight tonight, I will open the west gate and let your army enter the city." Ding Ruhu also nodded and said.

"That's very good." Hao Laosan also nodded, and immediately asked Ding Ruhu to send someone to send Hao Laosan out.

"Hehe, Qi Zhiwei bullied me too much, this time he wants to look good to him." Ding Ruhu sneered after Hao Laosan left, "It's been so hard for us all these years!"

"Brother, although a decision has been made on this matter, don't forget that besides us, there is another person in the city who needs to be careful! He also has hundreds of people in his hands." He Xi asked worriedly .

"You're talking about the old prefect Huang Qiong?" After hearing this, Ding Ruhu immediately said with disdain: "This old man is a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death, and the prefects in other places are showing off their power, even the general soldier dare not Presumptuous, but in my Shuozhou, even I, Ding Ruhu, didn't take him seriously. There are hundreds of people around him who are just yamen servants. It will fall on our side."

"Huang Qiong is quite capable, but under Qi Zhiwei's oppression, he is just a hero who is useless." He Xi shook his head and said.

"My dear brother, come here." Ding Ruhu suddenly thought of something, recruited He Xi, and whispered a few words in his ear.Let He Xi nod repeatedly.

"In this way, we can defeat more people. Hey, I didn't expect that although Huang Qiong is a little stupid, he can still be good to his family. Don't worry, brother, I will let someone do it." After hearing this, He Xi immediately laughed Laugh out loud.

"My lord, please go to the top of the wall to speak." At this time, Ding Ruhu's personal soldiers came to report.

"Hmph, it's ridiculous to find out that you are looking for me only when the matter is near." After Ding Ruhu heard this, a trace of disdain appeared on his face, but he still walked out. Right now, Qi Zhiwei is still in charge, and he has no choice but to resist.

On the top of the city, Qi Zhiwei's face was gloomy, Huang Qiong's face showed uneasiness, but he managed to keep calm, the other generals were all pale, and everyone looked at the group of elite soldiers slowly approaching from a distance, the cavalry all over the mountains and plains, the flags Covering the sky and covering the sun, the leader, holding a painted halberd in the sky, and stepping on dark clouds and snow, is none other than the legendary Duke of Liao, Li Xin.

"Master Bing Dao, Li Xin has come from a long way, why not attack while the opponent's foothold is not stable, I don't know what Master Bing Dao thinks?" Huang Qiong said cautiously.

"Li Xin is cunning in his military use, so don't underestimate him. Look, his cavalry is only 1. According to reports, he has 5000. How about [-]?" Qi Zhiwei looked at it disdainfully. Huang Qiong took a look.

"Maybe Li Xin only has 5000 people?" Ding Ruhu walked over and said.In fact, he also saw that Li Xin's troops were only 5000, but the momentum of these 5000 was far higher than the 1 imperial army.

"Li Xingui is the Duke of Liao and the leader of the northern army. If he goes out, there are not 3 or 5000 people around him, will the soldiers around him agree?" How could he only lead 1 people to the south?" In fact, the generals of the Ming Dynasty believed in leading 10,000 people to the south. He would not let Chongzhen go out. If Li Xin only led 5000 people to go out, even Qi Zhiwei would not believe it.

"Now that the enemy is coming from afar, if the plan is proper, it may not be successful." Huang Qiong said again.

"Since Mr. Huang said so, why don't you let Mr. Huang send troops?" Qi Zhiwei glanced at Huang Qiong coldly, and said with a sneer, "If you don't understand military affairs, don't command indiscriminately. It is best for scholars to study at home. Not everyone can understand the above things.”

"You." After Huang Qiong heard this, he trembled with anger. He Huang Qiong is also a person with ideals, but his luck is not good. If he is at this level in the Central Plains, how can a small military man have the courage to do this in front of him? Presumptuous, he would have been killed long ago.It's a pity that it's different here. This is the border of Shanxi, and Shuozhou City is not the biggest.After being taught a lesson by Qi Zhiwei, Huang Qiong could only hold the grudge in his heart for a while, and took two steps back.

After Qi Zhiweixun retired Huang Qiong, he didn't have any complacency on his face. If he was complacent in normal times, now Li Xin led an army here. Although it looked like there were only 5000 people, no one knew that there were not many troops around.Li Xin's prestige has already shaken the whole Shanxi. Although Qi Zhiwei thinks he is capable, he is really not sure whether he can defeat Li Xin.

"Looking at it now, Li Xin probably won't attack today. After all, he doesn't even have the equipment to attack the city." Ding Ruhu thought for a while and said, "I heard that the military gate has sent [-] troops to come. As long as we can resist In a few days, Li Xin will definitely defeat Li Xin. Let us defend the city together tonight."

"Defend the city?" Qi Zhiwei thought for a while and said, "Since Mr. Ding is so thoughtful, why don't you let Mr. Ding keep watch tonight? I don't know how Mr. Ding is? This is an easy job!"

"Well, how about letting Mr. Huang come with me?" Ding Ruhu thought about it and said to Qi Zhiwei.

"So, very good." Qi Zhiwei glanced at Ding Ruhu and Huang Qiong, and said after pondering for a while.If Ding Ruhu said that he was defending the city by himself, he might have hesitated in his heart, but when he heard that he was defending the city with Huang Qiong, the suspicion in his heart disappeared without a trace.

"How, hey, this is what a subordinate official should do." Huang Qiong glanced at Ding Ruhu, and said very reluctantly: "Lord Bing Dao, don't worry, with the two of us watching the night, Li Xin will definitely not be allowed to step in." Half a step in the city."

"That's natural, that is to say, Li Xin won't enter the city to attack tonight, and I won't know tomorrow." Qi Zhiwei said disdainfully: "Tomorrow night, General Ben will personally defend the city. Depending on you, I'm afraid you don't even know how Shuozhou was lost." .” Qi Zhiwei cast a disdainful glance at the two of them, then led his soldiers down the city wall.He ignored the livid faces of the two behind him.

"It's really majestic!" After Qi Zhiwei left, Ding Ruhu said coldly, "I think he left the city wall probably because he was scared away by Li Xin."

"Hey! In fact, this person is pretty good. If we really wait until tomorrow, I'm afraid you and I should be careful." Huang Qiong said softly.

After hearing this, Ding Ruhu gave Huang Qiong a disdainful look, and said, "I think Li Xin is nothing more than that. If he attacks Li Xin now, he might be able to win. Hey! Why is there another army coming?" Ding Ruhu suddenly pointed at the Said.

As expected, Huang Qiong saw black smoke rising in the distance and the ground shaking, but there was a large group of cavalry coming, and the banner with the word "Li" could be seen faintly on it.Huang Qiong's face turned pale from fright, and his eyes were full of horror.

"General, how many people should this be?" Huang Qiong asked quickly.

"About 2 people!" Ding Ruhu also said softly.

"This, can we keep it?" Huang Qiong looked at Li Xin under the city and said nervously: "I heard that Li Xin is so brave that he is like Xiang Yu reborn."

"So what if we can't keep it? Li Xin wants Shuozhou and Datong, but he will definitely not kill us." Ding Ruhu rolled his eyes and said softly.

"Why did the general say that?" Huang Qiong asked in surprise.

"Even if Li Xin occupies Shuozhou and Datong, he must be governed by someone! How many people does he have now? Li Xin's weak foundation will always be Li Xin's weakness. If he occupies Shuozhou, where will he find someone to govern him? In the end, it’s not about relying on us people.” Ding Ruhu said unhurriedly.

"General, who is this?" Huang Qiong pointed at Ding Ruhu and asked in horror.

"Hehe, this is only a last resort. If it really comes to the last step, it can only be like this. But right now, we still have to defend the city." Ding Ruhu saw Huang Qiong's expression in his eyes, and immediately knew the other party's thoughts in his heart. Suddenly a lot easier.

"Yes, yes, it's better to defend the city." Huang Qiong nodded, rolled his eyes, and said with a forced smile: "Actually speaking, Duke Liao also made a lot of contributions to the court. , I heard that the cabinet did not issue an imperial edict to the military sect, why did the military sect want to attack the Northern Army?"

"One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers!" Ding Ruhu said with a smile: "Such a person and such an army should fight for the court and expand the territory for our Ming Dynasty, but now they are being suppressed by some incompetent people, what a pity. "

"What the general said is true." Huang Qiong glanced at Ding Ruhu, and the two burst out laughing.Just now Ding Ruhu expressed Huang Qiong's thoughts. Huang Qiong seemed to be the magistrate in Shuozhou, but in fact, he had nothing to do with Qi Zhiwei. He just huddled in the magistrate's office and was just a scholar. Everyone can surrender, but Qi Zhiwei can't. If so, it's no wonder that the two secretly surrendered to Li Xin.

"The general doesn't know when to act. I have 50 cronies." Huang Qiong said proudly.

"Fifty people?" Ding Ruhu was taken aback when he heard the words, and finally said disdainfully: "Your Excellency, you should keep it for yourself!" A magistrate's yamen has dozens of yamen servants, and there are more than a hundred people who are arresting bandits. Qiong controlled it. In this way, Huang Qiong also had a team of hundreds of people, but this guy was lucky. In the end, he only had 50 confidants. Maybe these 50 people were still his confidantes.

"When is the general planning to start an incident?" Huang Qiong showed a hint of embarrassment on his face.But in his heart he was extremely resentful, on the one hand, it was the resentment towards Ding Ruhu, but more importantly, it was the hatred towards Qi Zhiwei. Once upon a time, he was such a useless magistrate, with only 50 cronies around him, spread the word, Didn't it make people laugh?
"My lord, there are some things that are better known by fewer people. If you follow this general, your lord can only do meritorious deeds. Duke Liao will not treat you badly." When Ding Ruhu saw that there were only 50 people around Huang Qiong, he immediately wooed him. His thoughts became much lighter, and he snorted coldly: "I forgot to tell my lord, your family is safe now. As long as your lord cooperates with me earnestly, Duke Liao will be very happy."

"You." Huang Qiong trembled angrily. He didn't expect Ding Ruhu to be so bold as to capture his family. Fortunately, he already had the heart to rely on Li Xin just now. Otherwise, after the incident, not only would he be unlucky, Even his own family members will follow behind.

"My lord, don't be angry. At the beginning, I didn't know that my lord had the heart to submit to the Duke of Liao, so that's why I was like this. Now that I know my lord's heart, naturally I won't let people treat my lord's family members lightly." Ding Ruhu also Not wanting to end the matter, he signaled to one of his confidantes immediately.After the confidant returned to the city wall and told about the situation in Huang Qiong's mansion, Huang Qiong reluctantly let go of his anger.

"The army of the Duke of Liao is indeed completely different from the army of the imperial court." On the top of the city, as the sun went down, Huang Qiong and Ding Ruhu looked at everything outside the city, and saw a huge giant in the distance. The camp appeared in front of everyone. It took only two or three hours before and after the establishment of the big camp, and there were all black tents outside.If it weren't for the Chinese army banner that appeared on it, no one would know where the Chinese army is. This is absolutely different from the imperial army.

"Master Huang, can you find Duke Liao's big tent? I guess that the place where the Chinese Army's banner is located is definitely not Duke Liao's camp." Ding Ruhu said with wandering eyes, pointing at the distance with his whip.

"Li Xin is treacherous, and what he likes to play the most is falsehood." A voice came, but it was Qi Zhiwei who came up under the guard of several personal soldiers. Mutually.

Ding Ruhu and Huang Qiong glanced at each other, then silently stepped aside.He knew in his heart that Qi Zhiwei didn't trust the two of them, if they weren't here, Qi Zhiwei might have sent someone to monitor them.

"In the history of the army, except for the Qin Dynasty, other armies marched and fought with white tents, but when they arrived at Li Xin's place, they were all black. In the dark night, if there were no torches, they would never know where the enemy's camp was. " Qi Zhiwei's eyes flickered with fear.Li Xin admired black, and his armor was all black, and his military discipline was extremely strict, just like the Qin Dynasty.The army of the Qin Dynasty is extremely famous in the history of warfare.Li Xin admired the Qin army, so his combat strategy was naturally similar to that of the Qin army.

"Quietly, I'm afraid we won't attack tonight." Huang Qiong rolled his eyes and said to Qi Zhiwei: "If the general defends the city tonight, I'll come tomorrow." Glaring at him, Huang Qiong shook his head, he could only suppress his dissatisfaction, and planned to settle the score with him later.

"We won't attack today, but we will definitely attack tomorrow." Qi Zhiwei glanced at the two of them coldly, with a trace of disdain on his face, and said, "Could it be that the two adults are still planning to command the battle tomorrow? Only the general who is in charge Only by keeping a clear head can you keep Shuozhou City, if you two can keep Shuozhou City with confidence, you will have nothing to say. Two adults, what do you think?"

"This coordinating army, sitting in the middle army, naturally still needs the strength of General Qi. Master Ding and I should use it to guard the city!" Huang Qiong said quickly, with a hint of flattery on his face.Such an appearance made Qi Zhiwei disdain even more, he snorted coldly, and led his soldiers down the city wall without even looking at the two of them.

"It's finally gone." Huang Qiong sighed: "Sure enough, he is an incompetent person. Let such a person guard the city, how can he be undefeated? The fall of Shuozhou City is also reasonable."

"If he's here, it's really hard for us to act." Ding Ruhu nodded and said: "I think this person won't come tonight, so it's just for me to act."

"Yes. As long as the third watch arrives, the Duke of Liao can enter the city." Huang Qiong nodded.His face was full of excitement. Li Xin's subordinates now had few civil servants, and even fewer had the experience of being in power. Huang Qiong just filled this gap.He believes that if he joins Li Xin's command, he will definitely be reused, which is why he has no hesitation in relying on Li Xin.

"My lord, the soldiers are ready. When will we set off?" In the dark night, Hao Laosan walked up to Li Xin, all dressed up, and asked softly, with a hint of worry on his face.The attack on Shuozhou this time is also a combination of inside and outside. It is really hard to say whether there are any other changes inside.If something goes wrong, it's not a big deal.

"Third watch." Li Xin looked stern, looking into the distance, his face was calm, and he couldn't see what he was thinking at the moment. He was riding on Wuyun Tuexue, and Wuyun Tadexue flicked his front hoof from time to time, spraying from his nostrils. There was a burst of breathing.Behind him, thousands of soldiers are ready.Only Zhang Xiazi led more than 100 people to guard Zhang Juan and guard the camp.The soldiers of the imperial guards were also well prepared. They were dressed in black armor and their faces were icy cold. Just like Li Xin, they hadn't changed or had any aura.After all, it is an elite army. Before the war, there will be no changes due to the tense atmosphere.

"Yes." Hao Laosan also felt the surrounding atmosphere, so he stopped talking, nodded, and retreated to the back.I have followed Li Xin for a long time, and I can feel the difference in Zhengbei Army when I follow Zhengbei Army.Before the war, it was very rare to look like this.Although he was standing behind Li Xin, countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

(End of this chapter)