Han Zuo Gaomen

Chapter 1462
The outside of Xindu City is very different from what it was at the beginning of the year. Seven out of ten people fled. The refugee camps that stretched for tens of miles and could not see the border at a glance shrank sharply.

Up to now, only the shallow layer next to the city is still alive, and the farther area is full of devastation, ravines, crypts, human and animal bones and filth piled up in a thick layer. It has not completely melted away, I am afraid that the stench is already smoky, but even if the strong smell has not yet diffused, the scene is really disgusting, and I don't want to see it carefully.

As for the remaining people, most of them are old, weak and disabled, and no longer have the ability to travel long distances. Even if they flee, they will die on the way.If you are lucky enough to be lucky enough, you may be able to open your eyes and wait until the moment when you witness the fall of Jie Kingdom.

Zhang Jackal rode out from the south gate, his face was gloomy.Hundreds of soldiers ahead opened the way, and it took more than a quarter of an hour just to drive away the paralyzed refugees in the openings of the city gate and clean up the mess.

"Dog thief, dog thief...the death is not far away! Harm my folks, destroy my home, stay in the underworld, and watch you be bitten by fierce ghosts, and your soul will be scattered..."

The refugees lying paralyzed in front of the city gate were mostly old and sick, and there was still a faint breath lingering in their throats. However, after seeing Zhang Jack who was surrounded by soldiers, these dying people suddenly Revived, one by one struggled and rushed to both sides of the road, pointing at Zhang Jackal in the army and sternly cursing.

Desperate people have already feared nothing. They may not know Zhang Jackal's identity, but their hatred for Jie country has penetrated deep into their bones.With a dying body, he has long been unable to fight against the bandits, and his anger and resentment can only be vented in words
That stern and ferocious tone was like the murderous voice of a dead soul demanding his life.Even though Zhang Jackal was already used to life and death, when he heard the gnashing of curses in his ears, and saw the blood-red eyes of the refugees glaring at him, his heartstrings still couldn't help being tensed suddenly, even piercingly. A chill came from the bottom of my heart.

Zhang Jack's mood was depressed and his expression was numb. His whole body seemed to be turned into a lump of cold ice. The soldiers before and after him scattered to both sides, yelling loudly at these lowly people to shut up. Terrible people.

It's just that when the butcher knife fell, there was no blood and flesh flying around. These people were already dying, and even the blood flow in their bodies was almost stagnant. A tinge of dark red oozes out from under the shrunken flesh, which is shocking!

After leaving the city, Zhang Jack was surrounded by thousands of soldiers and guarded, and wandered outside the city to watch.The wilderness is full of scars as far as the eye can see. Originally hundreds of thousands of living people gathered here, although it was chaotic, but at least it was still full of people, but now, the entire Xindu outside the city is like a ghost, no matter how vicious people walk. In the meantime, all feel creepy.

A few miles away from the city, there are hardly any living people in the countryside. Under the bones of the corpses that died of hunger and cold, there is new life. There are tender green weeds that have pierced the frozen soil, trying to absorb the nutrients left by the bones to stretch the young leaves.There are many wolves and beasts under the ditches, planing and biting the corpses.

"Bring the bow!"

Zhang Jackal raised his arm, took a riding bow from his own soldier, and shot at those hungry wolves digging up human corpses. The emaciated wolf shot out nearly half a foot away.The rest of the hungry wolves were frightened and flew out to the surrounding fields. They rushed to a safe distance before turning back, arching their spines and howling low and ferociously.

A hungry wolf was shot to death with one arrow, but Zhang Jackal's expression didn't change much, he just frowned slightly, and after hanging the bow back on the saddle, he calmly rubbed his arm that was swollen and sore from pulling the string.After all, he is not young anymore, thinking back in the past when he was full of vigor, it was easy to open three stones, but now this old body, I don't know how long he can last.

There is still a garrison fort set up by the Jie army in the outskirts of Xindu City. Knowing that Zhang Jack is out of the city for inspection, all Jie tribes from all sides sent troops to greet him.

After the contingency change in Huguo Temple, the internal power of Jie Kingdom has undergone a new round of adjustments.The original Sixth Army of the Inner Army and the Sixth Army of the Outer Army had only remained in shape, and they were simply abolished, leaving only the establishment of the Imperial Guards of the Internal Army and the Foreign Army.

The crown prince Shi Shi supervised the country, and the former noble concubine Liu became the empress, and she was the interim emperor.As for Shi Hu, the Capricorn Lord, it is said that the old illness has come back to life, the hearing and hearing are blocked, and he needs to rest in the garden, but in fact he has been completely under house arrest in the East Terrace of the Huguo Temple.

In this round of struggle, Zhang Jackal won the position for himself as Prime Minister You, Inspector of Jizhou, and in Xindu at present, it can be said that he is second only to the general in charge of internal and external military affairs, Wei Wang Shibao.But Shi Bao is just a puppet, the cavalry general who is in charge of more than half of the elite guards is Zhang Jackal's son-in-law, and the foreign army formed by the merger of the six foreign military provinces are all Zhang Jackal's minions.

So today's Zhang Jack is No. 1 under the Queen of Xindu and the Crown Prince. He controls all affairs with one hand, except for the Taiwei Zhang Ju who is stationed in Fuliu City and has a strong army, and Zhang Ju, who fled the country and pretended to be the King of Zhao. Except for Shi Zun, the rebel king who founded Xingtai in Zhaojun, no one in the country dared to disobey his color.

Although the situation has reached its peak, Zhang Jack did not feel relaxed. Every time he entered a fort outside the city, the first question he would ask would be: "Have you found any traces of Jin's enemies approaching in the wild?"

None of the troops found any signs of the Jin army's bullying, which undoubtedly made Zhang Jack's tense heartstrings a little easier.Although he is in charge of power now, he has to admit that if the Lord Shihu hadn't forced the people from all sides to gather here earlier, the massive fleeing of the people would have stopped the advance of the Jin army to a certain extent. Xindu had long been besieged and attacked by the army of the Southern Kingdom, and it was in jeopardy.

Before the Jin army sent the letter, everyone was overjoyed, but Zhang Jack didn't relax for a long time. After that, all the generals asked for military funds with one voice, which made Zhang Jack completely speechless. There are no traces, the fields are desolate, and it is ashamed to let these soldiers raise their own money and food.

Yes, today's letters are almost exhausted.Previously, Zhang Ju of Fuliu City threatened to defect to Wang Shizun from the west and extorted a full 20 hu of grain and grass from Zhang Jackal. Dendrobium!

This number seems to be quite impressive, but there are still many dignitaries and their families in the city of Xindu, as well as a group of powerful tribes that Zhang Hao gathered into the city in time before the Shengmin fled. The food reserves are not even sufficient to last until the end of March.

Thinking of this, Zhang Jack couldn't help gnashing his teeth with hatred for the traitorous king Shi Zun.After Liu Hou came to power, he issued an imperial edict to all parties on the suggestion of Zhang Ji, calling on the people on all sides to send grain to help the poor. Anyone who imported more than a hundred dendrobium would be given the title of Yamen, and those who imported more than a thousand dendrobium would be awarded Jigong was awarded the official position of Shishou County.

Zhang Jack himself was born as a powerful army leader in Guangping, so he naturally understood how to better attract those powerful men who took advantage of the chaos to gather people.It is one thing that the southern country is powerful and oppressive, but what is most indispensable in the troubled times are fierce and tyrannical people who will not understand until death. , There is an extraordinary desire for fame.

Although the Jie Kingdom has declined now, it was once the overlord of the Jiuwang Northern Kingdom after all, and this brand still has strong appeal and allure.Especially those tyrants who cross the border, they just cross counties and counties. They may have heard of the prosperity of the Southern Kingdom, but it is actually hard to imagine how strong the Southern Kingdom, which has beaten the Jie Kingdom until its last breath, has become. A bit of temptation can still attract a group of desperadoes to flock to vote.

However, the idea was good, but Zhang Jack was still one step behind.Shi Zun, a little bastard, didn't know how to steal the seals of the master and deputy to make false edicts. After leaving Xindu, he ran all the way west, and the generals and eunuchs he gave along the way were countless.

Those local tyrants in the countryside are already trapped in knowledge, and it is even more difficult to know the detailed rules of the power struggle in the country of Jie. They can get high-ranking officials and power with a little sacrifice of money and food. There were more than [-] people, and the surrounding counties such as Julu, Boling, Zhongshan, Changshan, etc., and the followers flocked even more, each and every one of them was dreaming of being a leopard-tailed marquis and heir.

Of course, if only Shi Zun was alone, there would not be such a big battle in such a short period of time.

Zhang Jackal knew that the source of the truth was still here in Xindu. Now the people in power in Xindu are himself and the massacre dignitaries who obeyed Empress Liu. General Jiehu chose to support Shi Zun to fight against the king's order of Xindu, and even Sun Fudu, the Jie general who was originally in Xindu, took advantage of people's unpreparedness and led thousands of troops to throw Shi Zun westward.

Jiehu is a native of the country for a long time, and he is the most trusted force of Jiehu Shihu. Even the powerful Jin people who searched and drove away the surrounding counties gathered in Xindu to make it more convenient for Jiehu people. place of control.

Now the life and death of Lord Xindu is unknown, Empress Liu and Zhang Jack are outsiders in the eyes of these Jie Hu. They exercise power internally and externally, which naturally arouses Jie Hu's dissatisfaction. In addition, Shi Zun's departure has become their only target for serving.

"The tyrant has never cultivated virtue, and he raises animals in the court. If he is the emperor of the country, how can he be undefeated!"

Thinking that at this most critical moment of resisting the Jin army, Shi Zun, the prince, would ignore the fate of the country and pretend to be King Zhao to confuse people, causing the already dying state of Jie to collapse again, Zhang Jack was filled with bitter hatred.

Correspondingly, the sense of guilt for taking over the king's power and arrogating power has disappeared. Shi Hu, a tyrant, can't even control his son's heart of a tiger and wolf, fighting to eat each other.

However, offsetting this sense of guilt is not enough to make Zhang Jack feel better. It is precisely because Shi Zun is making waves outside that the people in the capital have to be trapped here and dare not leave this place without permission. The threat of military affairs has become more and more serious, making every inch of space above Xindu full of fear and anxiety.

(End of this chapter)