Traveler Major League

Chapter 176 Xi'an

In the Zhenwu Nunnery near the East Gate of Xi'an, Yang He, who has been restless because of the military situation these days, just found his acquaintance Shao Yizheng and asked for a lottery, and the divination was: Kun Genqian hexagram.

The interpretation of the hexagrams is: the upper hexagram of the Qian hexagram is Kundi, the lower hexagram is Genshan, and the mountain is underground, which is the image of the auspicious hexagram.

Only then did Yang He calm down, he went out of the nunnery, looked at the sun that was still high, and thought that as long as he waited until tomorrow night at the latest, as soon as the reinforcements from the commander-in-chief Du Wenhuan arrived, the giant bandit Liu Ze could be completely wiped out, and the real Good luck.

The shops and streets everywhere are still crowded with pedestrians, even more populous than before. You don’t need to look to know that they are people fleeing the flames of war. Looking at the hungry people dragging their families along the street and begging on the side of the road, Yang He helped With a long sword in his waist, Ai sighed softly, "Dark clouds are pressing down on the city, and the city is about to be destroyed, and the light of the armor is opening to the golden scales of the sun." It is even more determined to put down this giant bandit, only to restore peace to the world.

When Yang He was walking towards the Changle Gate in the east city, he saw more and more hordes of refugees, and suddenly woke up: "I haven't left the mansion for a long time, and I didn't realize that there are so many refugees in the city. If there are people from the city who should infiltrate the city and make trouble, how can it be?" Not extremely dangerous."

Thinking of this, I broke out in a cold sweat, stopped immediately, and hurriedly said to the attendant: "Pass my order, all the refugees in the city will be gathered in one place, and they are not allowed to wander around. Open a porridge shop and distribute food, in case there is any change."

When the attendant heard this, he had a bitter face, and wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words together with his saliva, looked up at Yang He, and felt that he had to say something, so he cupped his hands and said, "My lord, We don’t have much food, a few days ago Mr. Zheng, who participated in politics on the right, wanted to open a warehouse to release grain to help the hungry people, but you rejected it. Now that Mr. Du is leading the army again, it will cost a lot of money and food, why bother?"

Hearing this, Yang He suddenly remembered that he was inspecting the storage of the granary a few days ago, which really shocked him. What's more, the day before he inspected the stored granary, a fire dragon burned the granary again, and nearly half of the stored granary was lost. It made him worse, and he couldn't blame him for being so anxious, even if he killed a few managers, it wouldn't help.

Yang He had no choice but to shake his hand, indicating that there is no need to say any more.

"Seed cakes, freshly made sesame cakes."

Hearing the cries of food stalls on the side of the road, followed by a burst of aroma, Yang He suddenly felt a little hungry, touched his flat stomach and said, "Come, get me a sesame seed cake."

The peddler hurriedly held the crispy biscuits wrapped in oil paper in both hands. Yang He stretched out his hand to take the biscuits. Seeing that the front side was baked brown and sprinkled with a layer of sesame seeds, he grinned and praised: " This cake is delicious, the old man has not eaten such a delicacy for many years."

"My lord, the pancakes in our family are the best in Dongcheng. Three generations of villains have made pancakes here, and they have been handed down to my generation. This pancake has to be smeared with a layer of sesame sauce when it is mixed with noodles. When baking, brush a layer of soy sauce on the surface of the cake, sprinkle with a layer of sesame seeds, and bake it over a low heat until golden, the skin is crispy and the inside is soft and tender, and it’s not bad to eat.” The hawker saw the official with A group of guards were very dignified, and they were also very happy to hear the official boasting about his cake.

Yang He took a bite of the biscuit, chewed it a few times and swallowed it, nodded to the peddler, and asked, "How much is it?"

"Don't dare, this is the villain's filial piety to the old man, how dare you ask for more money?" The peddler hurriedly refused, shaking his hands.

This soldier is in chaos, how dare he provoke this kind of person, he would rather give a cake to beg for favor. Unexpectedly, the entourage stepped forward and grabbed the peddler's arm and said: "My lord is asking you something, how much is it?"

"One, one money." The peddler saw that the entourage had a fierce look on his face, and he was not easy to provoke, so he could only watch and reply, wondering in his heart: Why is the entourage so fierce while the official is so easy-going? The two got it wrong?The peddler patted his forehead, then looked down at the ground again, not daring to say anything.

Seeing the frightened look of the peddler, Yang He stopped his followers, patted the peddler on the shoulder, bowed his body and asked softly, "Then how much do you usually sell?"

"Your Excellency asked you something, tell the truth!" Someone next to him yelled vigorously.

Hearing this sound, the peddler trembled with fright, his hands kept shaking, he quickly bowed his head and knelt down and said, "I sold it for two yuan before, but these days there are thieves disturbing us, Xi'an is full of refugees, and the food is expensive. Sell ​​it for ten cents now." As he said that, the peddler hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy, until his face and body were covered with dust.

Listening to the peddler's words, Yang He estimated in his heart that the biscuits had risen five times, sighed in his heart, and then said to his followers: "Give him ten coins." Then he turned and left, not going to Changle Gate anymore. Get on the sedan chair directly and go to Qin Wangfu.

Because the Prince Qin's Mansion in Xi'an is the richest, just looking at the area it occupies, it is the largest among all the mansions in Xi'an. refugees, because at this time he knew that if such a large number of refugees were directly driven out of the city, it would increase the source of troops for the bandits, and if they were left unchecked in the city, it would be a disaster.

I didn't know that the city was so severe before, but now that I found it, I had to deal with it immediately. Yang He smugly handed over a letter of worship outside the east of the Qin Palace to explain his intentions. Xing only got one reply: King Qin has been feeling cold recently and can't see people, but he is still willing to give up his family to relieve the difficulties after hearing Master Yang's intentions.

Then the steward of King Qin's Mansion took Yang He and others to a mansion not far from King Qin's Mansion. As soon as he entered the courtyard, there were a total of three earthen houses, which seemed to be a place where no one lived for a long time.

The butler understood etiquette, and bowed to Yang He: "Master Yang, this is my master's residence, and it is used to help refugees. If there is any shortage, please forgive me."

Yang He blinked when he heard this, turned his head and left without looking at the smug expression on the housekeeper's face.

The follower glared at the steward, then cupped his hands and asked, "My lord, are the refugees in this city still receiving relief?"

Yang He glanced back at Prince Qin's mansion, sighed, and could only helplessly say: "You will arrange to open a porridge shop, but each person can only get a bowl of porridge a day, so let's hang on to your life first, and everything will wait until the bandits are defeated." Say it again."

"Yes, my lord."

"Also, pass on my order to gather all the refugees in the Nursing Home, Anquan Temple, Beiwutai, Lianchi Temple and other temples in the northwest of the city. No one else is allowed to enter or leave, and the Chang'an County Office will deploy troops to guard them."

"Follow the order."

Soon the entire city of Xi'an became chaotic, and the government servants and civilians began to patrol the streets, driving the refugees and hungry people scattered in the city to the northwest corner of the city. Arrange for a unified entry into the city.

Wang Shanbao was in Dongcheng Guo at this time, still scratching his head as to how to sneak into the city. He led hundreds of robbers, deserters, and other various experts gathered during this period. He left the brigade as early as five days ago and pretended to be refugees. I wanted to sneak into the city, and I was going to set fire to seize the gates in the city when I was attacking the city, but I never thought that I would be trapped just by entering the Guo wall. Wasted time.

Just as he was clasping his feet and looking at the sky with a helpless face, a burst of chaos came from the west, which was the direction of the east gate of Xi'an. An official beat the gong and shouted along the street: "The government has an order, and the refugees and hungry people in the attached country can all be killed." Going to Xi'an to take refuge temporarily, there is a porridge shop in the Northwest Sanitarium that sells Zhenmin porridge to drink, so hurry up."

"Brother Wang, what should we do?" Boss Dong stood up and watched the officials walk around the streets to sing, and pulled Wang Shanbao anxiously. In fact, Wang Shanbao is the youngest here, but during this period of time, Liu Ze and Lao Kong specially With the training experience, and the words and deeds of the prison boss, he was very thoughtful, and gradually convinced the gang of murderers and robbers, and Boss Dong was one of them.

Not long ago in the mountains, Boss Dong was also a strong man in the mountains and forests of Tiger Roaring. He just followed the landlord Lao Cai to drink soup and dawdle. To put it bluntly, he colluded with each other to make white gloves and do some dirty work. Wang Shanbao singled out him because he was tall and strong. People like him are not suitable for fighting on the battlefield, but they are suitable for this kind of high-mortality business.

"This Dongcheng Guo is a residential market. When the time comes, the commander will lead his troops. This place will definitely not be able to stop us. We will all go to Xi'an to see what happens. If there is any change at that time, we will all mobilize." Wang Shanbao saw that the officials began to force people away Then he turned his head and looked behind him, and said with a serious face: "The person who ordered us, enter Xi'an City."

"Follow the order." Boss Dong quickly replied, turned around and went to the back to deliver the order. He has always been very convinced of Wang Shanbao's decision-making.

When Wang Shanbao and the others entered the city, they realized that everything was not so simple. The gate of the city was only half open, and there were many soldiers guarding the city with weapons ready to close the gate at any time, even though Liu Ze's group was still on the east bank of the Bahe River.

Dozens of white servants searched one by one at the gate of the city, and opened all the parcels and boxes for inspection one by one. Wang Shanbao turned his head to look at Boss Dong, and motioned. rest assured."

Sure enough, after Wang Shanbao and Boss Dong passed through the border and entered the city, Anzi, who was in the back line, also came in after a short wait. They were all dressed as scholars with rattan bookcases on their backs. Packed with dynamite packs in a catty, the shape of a round strip is very concealed. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief, because apart from the dynamite packs, they were unarmed.

Before Wang Shanbao and the others waited too long, soldiers along the street urged impatiently: "Go quickly, don't stay here." When they heard the words of the officers and soldiers, their faces were ashen-colored in fright, they all lowered their heads and looked at the ground, and walked forward obediently. Let the refugees fall to the ground and don't care. A dead person is no different from a dead chicken these days.

No way, Wang Shanbao and the others had no choice but to follow the flow of people escorted by the soldiers to the resettlement site. Although they were looking for opportunities to escape along the way, there were indeed a lot of officers and soldiers escorting the victims, and they were all very fierce, so they couldn't escape. It wasn't until the subordinates gathered to inquire that everyone was not assigned to one place, but the others were assigned to nearby temples, and there were armed guards everywhere, so they had no choice but to continue to calm down and wait for the opportunity.

Zheng Chongjian, who was by the Bahe River, was caught in a deadly battle at this time. No one thought that the people's army would launch a general offensive in a hurry as soon as the reinforcements arrived. Two consecutive days of shelling and tentative attacks paralyzed them. They were all small-scale militias coming by rowing boats, and the government army defeated them with a burst of firecrackers and arrows, losing hundreds of people each time, making everyone think that the people's army's ability to cross the river was just that.

Seeing that the people's army began to prepare large and small ships, and began to cross the river to attack. In the previous battle, it was tested that the fire range of the people's army was beyond the range of the people's army's artillery. Instead, it is doing camp fortifications, so it can be seen at a glance. As long as the people's army goes ashore to form a team, the many large and small artillery of the official army on the hillside can cover it.

But never expected Liu Ze to concentrate all 46 cannons this time, and a deafening roar completely smashed the official army formed far away from the shore. It turned out that in the previous shelling, the People's Army deliberately concealed the range of the artillery. This time As soon as the raid came up, it was full of effort. The thick white gunpowder smoke suddenly rushed up like a thunderstorm, covering the river bank front line that was as long as one mile. Super officer's imagination.

The gunners at each gun position frantically loaded and fired. The auxiliary militiamen chanted and used ropes to pull the guns that retreated to the small slope due to the recoil of firing to reset them. The hot gun barrel, which was continuously fired, gave off a burst of steam when it encountered water, and then cleaned it again with a dry sheep towel rod, filled the silk medicine bag again, and stuffed it with flowering bullets. Put on the fire cap, pull the rope, and with a bang, another shell was fired, and it fell straight into the formation of the army.

The personal bravery of officers and soldiers is not worth mentioning in front of artillery. The muscles of carbon-based organisms can't resist the steel tempered in the fire of more than 1000 degrees. Although the distance is far, the sound of wood cracking, all kinds of screams and exclamations There are also the mournful sounds of horses and livestock, which can still be clearly discerned.

After five consecutive rounds of shelling, the positions of the 46 artillery pieces finally calmed down. At this time, the artillery barrels were already very hot, and they needed to cool down before firing again.

At this cooling time, the riflemen and militiamen who had been waiting for a long time set off in boats one after another, and nearly half of them had already reached the other side of the Bahe River by this time.

The exploding bombs scattered shrapnel and dyed the officers and troops assembled in the distance red. Liu Ze, who was watching the battle from the artillery position, trembled in the roar of the artillery fire. This shocking scene of hitting the artillery battle made him truly appreciate Seeing the power of the God of War, the formation of officers and soldiers two miles across the river bank gradually disappeared in the exploding dust, Liu Ze knew that this time the river crossing was safe.

The city of Xi'an is just ahead. If Xi'an cannot be captured this time, the troops must be assembled immediately to return to the territory of Hongmaoman. Thinking of this, Liu Ze also blames himself a little, careless, and wants to eat a fat man with one bite.

It was only the second year of Chongzhen, and the victory in the mountains in the past few months made him seriously underestimate the strength of the army. It has not yet reached the situation where even the landlords can't afford to eat. In other words, the time is not yet ripe. .

After all, Liu Ze is only a mediocre person, and his previous success was just standing on the shoulders of a great man, not because his ability is higher than others.

(End of this chapter)