Xian Sun of the Ning Mansion of the Red Chamber

Chapter 329
In the northwest corner of the capital, above the tens of steps wide river beside Deshengmen, the entire city wall collapsed, cutting off the communication between internal and external water flow, and at the same time opening a gap for the rebels to attack the city.

A steady stream of rebels are pouring in from the gap, and the guards in the city are also desperately resisting. Even the imperial guards guarding the palace city have joined the battlefield.

There were constant roars of artillery in the city, and the shells exploded at the gap where they fell, harvesting the influx of rebels, hoping to suppress the rushing rebels and regain the gap.

The shells used here are not wrought iron solid shells used to attack the city, but copper-clad lead bullets. There are countless small lead bullets in a single shell. Armor can also cause fatal damage to soldiers.

Lan Tianyu wanted to regain the gap several times, but the two sides had a huge disparity in combat power, so they could barely maintain their invincibility by relying on the gunpowder accumulated in the city, but this situation obviously couldn't last long, and the ammunition was about to bottom out.

In the direction of Chaoyangmen in the east city, the battle situation is also not good, because Lantian Yu mobilized most of the defensive firearms, so that the defense of the east city seemed a little weak, and the rebels who had already climbed the top of the city could be vaguely seen, again and again. It was blocked once, but fortunately the opponent's main force was not here.

The two sides were at a stalemate like this, and as a result, whether the reinforcements outside the city could arrive in time became the key to the outcome of the battle.

In the direction of the southeastern suburbs of the capital.

Liu Fang also did not stay idle, leading thousands of troops assembled from guards from all over the country, and pinned down tens of thousands of rebels. The battle here was even worse than in the city. In the wilderness, there was no cavalry. a united enemy.

Yang Yi's original intention was to crush Liu Fang's army as quickly as possible, and then concentrate on attacking the city gate.Liu Fang is also a veteran in the battlefield, so naturally she won't fail to understand the other party's intentions, so in the open land between Daxing and Tongxian County, Liu Fang kept fighting with the rebels with the help of private houses. Retire, you chase me and run, you stay and harass me, and you fight when you are tired. If Jia Ying were here, she would probably admire Liu Fang's proficiency in guerrilla warfare.

Therefore, the Liaodong iron cavalry, who clearly had an absolute advantage, lost their temper by Liu Fang, so they started setting fires everywhere, and all houses they encountered, regardless of whether there were defenders or not, would be burned.

Of course the people are the ones who suffer, but at this moment, no one cares about the life and death of the people.

Even so, less than half of the army behind Liu Fang was left. In just over two days, thousands of people died under the swords of the rebels. There is no civilian house that can be used to fight with the enemy, and there is a wilderness behind them, and what awaits them will be a massacre.

"My lord, what shall we do?"

Liu Fang glanced at the approaching rebels, pulled out the arrow feathers embedded in the gaps in the nail leaves, her tired face paled for a while, then looked at Wei Ruolan and said, "Brother Lan, we may wait If the reinforcements are not coming, there will be chasing troops behind, and there will be no way out, I am afraid that my old life will end here today."

"My lord, let's fight him." Wei Ruolan's young and handsome face showed no trace of fear.

Liu Fang smiled bitterly, and said: "The Liu family has been favored by the emperor. It is no pity to throw this old life here. Fortunately, Xu'er and the others are still under the tent of Prince Suzhong. As long as the incense burns, the Liu family will still be happy Can't stand up."

"But you are different. You are the only son of the Wei family. Your father just passed away. This old man can't let his old friend lose his incense. While there is still a chance, you can go and join Jia Ying in the south. Maybe you can survive."

Wei Ruolan shook her head and said, "Wouldn't that be a deserter? How will my nephew meet his ancestors in the future?"

Liu Fang shook her head and said: "Wrong, the old man ordered you to ask for help. If you dare to be a deserter, the old man will kill you first."

Wei Ruolan still shook her head, turned around to look at the soldiers under her command, and said: "The guards in Xingzhou are all old soldiers who have followed their father for many years. Now that the son inherits his father's business, my nephew cannot just watch the Wei family fall."

Without these confidantes of the Wei family, the Wei family would only be left with an empty shell.

"There is not much time left for you, the old man will do it again, whether to go or not."

Wei Ruolan shook her head firmly.

Liu Fangfu no longer insisted, everyone has their own choice, although Wei Ruolan is a generation shorter than him, she is the contemporary head of the Wei family, and will support the Wei family in the future, even if she has no What qualifications force him to do.

"Combine!"

Liu Fang pulled out the saber from her waist, looked at the rebels who had slowly started to speed up, and shouted loudly.

"Shield gunners go forward, archers behind."

"Stabilize the formation!"

Closer, closer, closer.

The trembling of the ground could be clearly felt under the soldiers' feet.

"Raise the gun!"

boom!
The turbulent iron hoof wave collided with the shield gunmen, and several gaps were opened in the front row. The horses jumped high and went straight into the formation. Some timid soldiers dropped their weapons and ran towards the rear , and then began to spread, and the human nature of fearing death was most vividly expressed at this moment.

Wei Ruolan beheaded a few deserters casually, but with the army collapsed, even killing everyone would be useless.

A cavalryman's legs were tightly clamped on the horse's back, his upper body was in a forward position, and he swung a cold knife and slashed at Wei Ruolan's head.

Wei Ruolan rolled on the spot to avoid the blade, and casually pulled out the short blade at her waist and threw it at the cavalry. Ruolan took advantage of the gap to get on the horse, turned the horse's head and stomped, and the soldier died under her mount.

Wei Ruolan didn't stop there because of this, but looked at a certain place on the battlefield.

Liu Fang is over [-] years old this year, after repeated fights, no matter how strong she is, her physical strength will be exhausted. One of them was not in a hurry to dodge, and was knocked out by the horse, but the other party obviously did not intend to let him go. The armor on Liu Fang's body made Liaodong soldiers who were also a major frontier army recognize his identity, and he became the object of their competition.

"Uncle be careful."

Wei Ruolan galloped on his horse and cut a rebel under his horse, but Liu Fang was still some distance away from him, and at the same time another rebel was thinking of Liu Fang and leaving.

Just when the other party was thinking about Liu Fang who just got up and swung down the butcher knife
call out!
A rain of arrows pierced through the air and pierced the soldiers' hearts. The archery is surprisingly powerful, even with the armor blocking it, it is still embedded in the body. Only the three stone bows can do this.

who is it?

"Jing Ning Bo Jia Ying, the great cadre, led 20 heavenly soldiers to suppress the rebellion. Those who armed the rebels will be shot to death. The army, follow the official!"

It was Jia Ying who arrived in time with the vanguard of the Japanese soldiers. There were not many soldiers and horses, only [-] of them, and more than [-]% of the horses in the Japanese soldiers were mobilized.

But it doesn't matter, the number of Liaodong rebels on the opposite side is not large, and more importantly, reinforcements have arrived.

The dust was flying, in the end it was the Liaodong rebels who retreated first, leaving a mess. The speed of the imperial court's counter-insurgency army rushed to help, which surprised the other party, and three days had not passed yet.

"Uncle Shi, how is the injury?"

Liu Fang's face became paler and she felt severe pain in her viscera, but she forced herself to sit up and said, "It's okay, boy Wei?"

"The injury was serious, but fortunately he survived." Jia Ying replied.

When Wei Ruolan rescued Liu Fang, he did not expect a sneak attack from behind by the rebels, and unfortunately fell off the horse. If it hadn't been for the young man who turned his body around to avoid it, his intestines would have flowed out.

"That's good, that's good." Liu Fang murmured.

"Shi Bo, what's the current situation in the capital?"

Only then did Liu Fang get down to business and said: "Yesterday evening, a gap was blasted in the city wall next to Deshengmen. I sent people to investigate. The enemy has invested a full 3 troops in the north of the city. There are only [-] defenders, including the young and strong temporarily formed and servants from various prefectures, I'm afraid it won't last long."

[-] troops, this number made Jia Ying stop thinking about going to sneak attack.

"What about the three directions of east, west and south?"

"Besides the northern city, the eastern city has the largest number of troops, but I lured some of them away. There are still more than 8000 people, but most of them are guards at Shanhaiguan and young and strong captured along the way. Thousands of people, nearly ten thousand in West City."

"Marquis Lan abandoned the southern city and concentrated all his troops in the inner city. The battle between the west city and the east city was mainly to disperse the troops in the city. How many people did you bring?"

Jia Ying said: "Only the ones in front of us, more than 5000 people, but the follow-up army will arrive in half a day. There will be 5 Japanese soldiers, [-] sailors, and thousands of brave men from Shandong, totaling nearly [-] horses."

"fifty thousand."

Liu Fang shook her head and said, "It's not enough. Among the rebels, there are only [-] Liaodong elites, and there are [-] troops who haven't put up a banner. It's hard to tell which army it is, but their combat power is not weak. No matter how many Just click."

Jia Ying said helplessly: "It's already lucky, I dared to prepare Japanese soldiers and happened to be on the way north, but Master Feng has also mobilized soldiers from Henan and Shanxi to go east, but it will take some time."

"How are you going to fight?"

Jia Ying looked at the gate of the capital, which was already faintly visible in the distance, and said, "You can't stay here for long, in case the opponent's cavalry counterattacks, attack from the weakest place first."

"I did an inventory just now. There are more than 2000 people in your team. I have pardoned all those deserters. I led the cavalry to make a hole and send the 2000 people through. The outside of the city is flat ground. Legs can't run as fast as a horse, but it can give the defenders in the city a boost, inform the city that reinforcements have arrived, and boost morale."

"how about you?"

Jia Ying said: "I have to stay outside the city and wait for the follow-up army. There are only two ways in front of Yang Yi. One is to withdraw from Liaodong, and the other is to put all his eggs in one basket. It depends on whether he can stabilize the morale of the rebel army. .”

"It's not too late, let's act now." Liu Fang stood up holding the tree trunk.

"Can Shi Bo fight again?"

In the north of the city, the camp of the rebel army.

"Report! In the southeast direction of the suburbs, imperial reinforcements were found."

Yang Yi's complexion changed upon hearing this: "Who will lead the army? How many troops?"

"Bo Jiaying, Jingning, claims to have 20 heavenly soldiers, but the vanguard has less than [-] troops, all of whom are cavalry."

"Jia Ying?"

Yang Yi gritted her molars and slammed her fist on the table.

"Hmph, where did he get the 20 army? How is the army ahead?"

"Returning to the prince, we have already invaded the north of the city. The stubborn army in the city is resisting fiercely, and the progress is not going well."

"General Lee."

"The end is here."

"There is no way to retreat. This king can't retreat, and neither can you. The only thing we can do now is to give it a go. I hope you can understand." Yang Yi looked at the generals in the tent and said.

"My lord please show me."

"Let the soldiers and horses in the east city back down, turn around and block Jia Ying, and call back the soldiers and horses in the west city, and the [-] troops will press up. I will give you half an hour to take down the Desheng Gate, and the army will go straight to the palace. Otherwise, You and I will die without a burial place."

"My lord, no." A general suddenly stood up and said.

Yang Yi looked like a mad beast, staring at the general with scarlet eyes, "You want to escape?"

"My lord, even if Deshengmen is captured, it will take a certain amount of time for tens of thousands of troops to enter the city. The existing troops in the north of the city are already enough to accommodate them. , the reinforcements from the south of the imperial court have arrived, what about the Xuan Mansion behind us? Once the army is surrounded and morale is low, we can only be prisoners of the ranks. Why don't we send troops to guard the back road leading to Shanhaiguan? If things go wrong, the prince can also stand on his own in Liaodong, so there is no chance of a comeback."

After Yang Yi heard the words, she didn't get angry, but her heart moved intentionally.

To be honest, Yang Yi had a bad premonition in his heart from the time when the army came to the city, but the internal response in the city did not meet the army as promised, but it was a pity that there was no turning back.

Yang Yi also thought about what to do after failure, and at this time the general's proposal moved him intentionally.

"General Li, what do you think?"

"My lord, what General Zhang Shen said is not unreasonable. No matter how many troops are invested at the moment, the army cannot be deployed and will not be useful."

Yang Yi immediately said: "Order the army besieging the western city to retreat [-] li to the west and guard the army's retreat route."

"Half an hour, this king will only give you half an hour. Whoever captures Desheng Gate will be named king with a different surname. If you fear the enemy and fight timidly, the military law will not spare you!"

The city gate was finally broken. Under the strong pressure of the generals of the rebel army at all levels, and after beheading several low-level officers who were disadvantaged in combat, the rebels who fought their last stand opened the Desheng Gate leading to Miyagi from the city.

Looking at the gate slowly opened, Yang Yi let out a long sigh of relief, got on the horse and said, "After entering the city, we will separate out 2000 people and rush to Xianyifang first. This king wants all the family members of Jia's mansion."

"Enter the city!"

Royal Palace.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, it's not good, the rebels have broken the city!"

All the officials in the hall also panicked at this moment, and one by one began to consider their own retreat.

"Before the rebels reach the palace, there is still a chance to escort His Majesty out of the city."

"Yes, we can move back to the old capital of Nanjing, and plan the Northern Expedition in the future."

"Your Majesty, please stop."

"Shut up! The rebel army hasn't entered the palace yet. There are still three thousand defenders in the palace city. As subjects, you and I can also go to battle to kill the enemy. How can you persuade the emperor to abandon the country and flee south in a hurry. " Fu Donglai came forward and shouted.

"Old Fu Ge, Your Majesty is a body of gold. If there is a mistake, you may be able to bear it?"

"That's right, His Majesty is leaving Beijing to go south for a hunting tour. Nanjing is the capital to stay in. Why do you talk about "fleeing south"?"

"When I first received the news, I should have escorted His Majesty to the southern tour. In the current situation, the cabinet should give everyone an explanation."

"Yes, because of your cabinet's selfishness, you put His Majesty in danger, and you are ashamed to be a subject."

Fu Donglai wanted to say something, but he was held back by Feng Hengshi on the side. It is probably because Dagan has been in peace these years, and the Qingliu line in the court has gradually increased, and there is a faint tendency to form a party. For these clamors Feng Hengshi is no stranger to the people in this area. They were the ones who wanted to elect him as the leader of the Qing Party, but after being rejected by him, they still invited Jin Dairen back from Nanjing to take up the post of Zuodu Censor of the Inspectorate.

Faced with the cooperation of the ministers, even if Jiade was unwilling, he had to compromise. Of course, maybe he also had the intention of using this to contain the cabinet.

The power of the cabinet is too great. Yang Jing, the chief assistant, reassures Jiade, but also disappoints him. The current cabinet has become Fu Donglai's monopoly, and Ye Baichuan is half of it.

But the result was the farce in front of him. The enemy army was approaching the city, but his trusted servants were persuading him to escape.

Southern tour?

After all, it is the face of literati, I am afraid that the city walls of the capital are not as thick-skinned as them.

"enough!"

Jiade said in a deep voice: "Why, that Nizi hasn't entered the palace yet, do you seem to be looking for a new master for yourself?"

"Zhen, I have already said that anyone who dares to move the capital will be regarded as an accomplice to the rebel army."

Jiade's cold eyes swept across the faces of the ministers, and finally looked at Fu Donglai and said, "Fu Qing, how should we deal with it?"

Fu Donglai bowed to the golden seat, turned around and said, "Where are the guards in front of the palace?"

"Take people down."

Dozens of tall guards in golden armor rushed into the hall, and under Dai Quan's instruction, they arrested all the people who had just been there, and dragged them outside.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the minister is loyal."

"Your Majesty, how can Your Majesty kill loyal ministers unjustly!"

In the crowd, Jin Dairen, who had never spoken, couldn't sit still, and went out to play and said: "Your Majesty, my lords have given me sincere advice, and please forgive me."

"Why, do you also want Zhen to leave Beijing so that you can worship your new master?" Jia De said with a gloomy face.

"Your Majesty, I didn't say that, sir"

"If not, then"

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, Bo Jingning Bo Jia Ying led the Japanese army's vanguard to the outside of the city, and Master Liu led the reinforcements to attack from the south city, and they are already fighting with the rebels."

Fu Donglai heard the words and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, the reinforcements have arrived, and Miyagi has been saved."

"Okay, okay! Pass the word to Jia Ying, and I and all the officials are waiting for the news of his victory in the palace. If he wins this battle, he will take the lead!"

At this time, the palace was not peaceful, because the rebels attacked the palace from the Xuanwu Gate. If they were captured by the rebels, the inner palace would be the first to suffer.

Therefore, at this moment, the concubines, maids, eunuchs and eunuchs in the harem are rushing to the Hall of Renzhi to avoid disaster, and Yuan Chun is among them, including Empress Yin.

Halfway through the journey, I suddenly heard Yin asked, "Where's Qi'er?"

The maid looked around, but she couldn't see Yang Cheng, and replied: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that Your Highness has lost, so I will go find you."

"If you can't find Qi'er, don't come back to see me." Yin said sharply.

That was her only son, and also her last reliance.

At this time, Jia Ying was chasing and killing the rebels who besieged Nancheng with soldiers and horses.

Both sides had few soldiers in the south city, and Yang Yi's troops in the south of the city were not elite. In addition to the news that the imperial reinforcements had arrived, the rebels in the south of the city had no intention of fighting, but a confrontation broke up the opponent's formation.

"Report!"

"My lord, someone claims to be a servant of the Ningguo Mansion and wants to see you."

Jia Ying reined in the horse's hooves, raised his hand to stop the army, looked at the oncoming dust in the distance ahead, and said, "Don't chase, the other side's reinforcements are here."

"Send someone to find out when the rear army will arrive."

He looked at the man just now and said, "Bring him here."

Soon two men came over, one of them was dressed as a Taoist priest, Jia Ying recognized him, he was Jia Jing's personal entourage, he was accompanying his master to practice in Xuanzhen Temple, the other didn't look like a servant.

"Master Jing, what do you want to say?" Jia Ying asked straightforwardly.

"Greetings to the second master, the master asked the younger one to bring a letter to the second master."

After Jia Ying took the letter and finished reading it, he glanced at the other man, and said to the boy: "Go back and tell Master Jing, and say I agree."

After the boy left, Jia Ying looked at the other man and said, "Since it's a transaction, I must see your sincerity."

"Uncle Jingning, please take a look."

The man pointed to the dusty rebel reinforcements not far away.

Jia Ying looked up and saw that there was a sudden commotion among the reinforcements from the rebel army who had come from the east city. Some of the rebel army swung their butcher knives at their comrades.

Jia Ying glanced at the man meaningfully, not wanting to miss the opportunity, he swung his saber and said, "The order will be passed on, those in red robes and brown armor will not be killed, and the rest will be killed."

"kill!"

But this time, Jia Ying didn't go with the army, but looked at the man and asked, "The letter said that there are [-] such troops."

The man replied: "There are still [-] people in the north of the city, who are guarded by Yang Yi. As long as the lord gives an order, they can turn back at any time."

Looking at the battlefield where the battle was about to be decided, Jia Ying couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "Good method."

History is always so similar. Back then, Yang Huang was betrayed by his own woman, and the Tsing Yi Army did not follow the agreement to cross the river. Today, outside the capital, Yang Yi was once again betrayed by private soldiers from Pingan Prefecture, whom he relied on as his trump card.

Repeat the same trick, the difference is that the object of action is not the same person.

But these two things were written by the same person, Mu Hong.

Others use the lower ranks as pawns, this one is good, the two princes are actually played by him in the palm of his hand.

It's all greed.

At the same time, Jia Ying secretly warned herself that in the future, she must never leave important matters related to life and death in the hands of others. At critical moments, the so-called allies in your eyes will be the first to stab you.

If you want to use others, don't you know that others will also use you.

People, you still have to restrain your greed, because with greed, you will naturally have weaknesses.

"My lord, the army of Song Junmen has arrived."

The shouts of the army came from a distance, and Song Lu joined the battle group with the Japanese soldiers.

Jia Ying calmed down and said: "Send an order to Song Lv that the Beiwa army station three miles outside Deshengmen, raise more dragon flags, surround and not attack. The Navy Firearms Battalion will enter the city from Yongdingmen with this officer."

Originally, Jia Ying didn't intend to enter the city, if he did, he would become a trapped beast and let Yang Yi go, the credit for this would be greatly reduced.And before that, Jia Ying felt that preparing the Japanese soldiers would always have to fight the rebels. If only Song Lv was left to face the rebels alone, Jia Ying would not feel at ease.

But now it seems that it is unnecessary, how many troops are left by Yang Yi's side?

One in and one out, the balance of victory is still reversed.

However, before entering the city, Jia Ying met Song Lu once. Although there were rebels fighting against each other, Jia Ying was not at ease with them.

(End of this chapter)