Chapter 39: Attacking Huining
Under the deep night, Liu Sheng, the former commander of the Imperial Army of the Song Dynasty, huddled in a dirty pit in despair, quietly waiting for the coming of a new day.
The biting cold wind roared into the cracks of the simple shack, freezing half of his body to the point of freezing and turning blue; the frostbites and wounds all over his body were aching, as if to indicate the loss of life force.
It's so cold!
In the extreme cold, I could still feel the stinging pain of thousands of needles at first, but soon it turned into the pain of being bitten by insects and ants, and in the end, I was left with the numbness of a walking corpse. His limbs no longer seemed to belong to him, and it was difficult to move, while his mind was floating in the void... His neck was probably frozen stiff, and even looking up and looking outside had become an extremely difficult movement. Through the deep night, Liu Sheng wanted to see far into the distance, but the thick snow covered everything in his field of vision, cutting off the possibility of him escaping alone.
——Right now, in Saibei, it is the time when "thousands of people have disappeared, and thousands of mountains and birds have disappeared." The vast and heavy snow has filled up the ravines, flattened the rivers and lakes, and made the roads full of traps. Walking on the snowfield at this time, on the surface it seems to be a vast and flat land like a mirror, but if you are not careful, you will fall into a snow pit or an ice cave. Once this happens, even if the victim desperately calls for help, because there is no human trace for hundreds of miles in the vast snowy sea, most of them can only lie in the place of distress, being cold, frozen to death, drowned, until they turn into a zombie. Unknown.
Alas, I really regret it! Even if I fought with Hu Lu and was hacked to death with a knife, it would still be better than suffering like death now!
He crossed his arms tightly in a vain attempt to retain the last bit of warmth, while muttering silently in his heart.
——Last autumn, the Jin army tore up their alliance and broke through the border and headed south. Guo Yaoshi, who was stationed in Yanjing, changed sides and changed his banner, which opened the door to the north of the Song Dynasty. The Bianliang court hastily assembled 30,000 Hebei imperial troops to stop the enemy, but they were defeated in a battle on the outskirts of Zhending Mansion. Liu Sheng also surrendered and became a prisoner after this battle. He was first imprisoned in Yanjing for a while, and then was escorted north to Huining to work as an errand for the Emperor of Jin.
This journey north is truly a journey through thousands of mountains and rivers, with a narrow escape from death. The prisoners lacked food and clothing along the way, and were often beaten by the Jurchen guards. They almost died along the way, and countless corpses were left behind along the way. By the time they reached Huining, all the old and infirm people had been eliminated, and those with a strong spirit of resistance either died or fled, leaving only a group of obedient people whose will to resist had been completely destroyed and who had completely succumbed to the fate of slaves. .
Liu Sheng struggled like this in Huining for several months, cutting wood, quarrying stone, laying foundations, and building palaces for the Emperor of Jin... The various tasks were numerous and dangerous, but he could never fill his stomach with food. But with his strong body, Liu Sheng still persevered.
Then, the real nightmare finally arrives - winter is coming!
Liu Sheng had never thought that the weather could be so cold. If he wasn't careful, his fingers and toes would be frozen black, and even his urine could freeze into an icicle! The people of the Song Dynasty who lacked food and clothing could not adapt to such extreme cold. Hundreds of them froze to death, starved to death or contracted the plague. They were then dragged into the woods by the Jurchens to feed wolves...watching their former colleagues and friends die violently. , Liu Sheng's heart was filled with despair and fear.
Because the weather was too cold and the ground was frozen hard, no matter how many hoes were damaged, they could not dig. The Jurchens finally ordered the work to stop out of kindness. But this is by no means a leisurely New Year's holiday - lack of filling food and no heating bonfires, each slave can only huddle in the mud cave of the simple shack, trying to let the heat of his body dissipate as slowly and quietly as possible. Quietly looking forward to the coming of spring or death.
In a daze, it became light again outside the shack. Liu Sheng sighed, knowing that he had finally survived another day.
He tried hard to stand up and move outside to prevent his limbs from freezing and dying, but this effort made him dizzy.
In desperation, Liu Sheng had to crawl out on his hands and knees, looked at the rising sun in confusion for a while, and then considered whether to take advantage of the lax control during the Chinese New Year to wander around the nearby woods to see if he could Find some grass seeds or pine cones to satisfy your hunger...
However, at this moment, there was a sudden noise from the bank of the Tiger River not far away, and he couldn't help but turn his head to look... So, at the next moment, Liu Sheng, the former commander of the Imperial Army of the Song Dynasty, saw A scene that stunned him:
A group of Song Army cavalry with bright red flags flew across the wilderness next to the slave camp at lightning speed, and rushed towards Huining City with great force!
Liu Sheng shook his head vigorously, rubbed his eyes, and smiled to himself, thinking that he must have seen it wrong. But when he raised his head again, he saw more Song Army infantry crossing the Hushui River. The ice surface surged towards him with great momentum. First, he easily chopped down the few Jurchen guards who were shouting outside the slave camp, and then chased the remaining Jurchen guards who turned around and ran away, and entered the slave camp. The center of the camp.
For God's sake? How come there are imperial guards here? Am I dreaming?
The former commander of the Imperial Army of the Song Dynasty stood there at a loss, looking at the familiar military flag in disbelief. His mind was so confused that he couldn't tell whether it was a dream or reality. It wasn't until he finally recognized the figure of an acquaintance among the incoming Song troops that he finally shouted at the top of his voice:
"...Po Han Wu! Po Han Wu! I am Liu Sheng! Do you still recognize me? How did you get here?!"
Han Shizhong, who was urging his men to surround and kill two Jurchen warriors, heard the shouting and turned his head in confusion. He saw a ragged, skinny, and dirt-covered "savage" shouting and jumping excitedly not far away... Place Saying that things are different and people are different, Han Shizhong squinted his eyes and looked carefully for a long time before Han Shizhong recognized the unrecognizable opponent: "...you are...Liu Laosi? We haven't seen each other for only two years, why are you like this?"
"...Oh, it's hard to describe in words! I didn't expect to meet Brother Xu here, and we are all still alive."
Old Liu Sheng cried with tears, "...If I had known this, I shouldn't have surrendered in the first place. Think about those good brothers who did not die on the battlefield, but were starved to death and tortured to death. Each and every one of them died too much." It’s unjust. There are also the wives, children, and children in Zhending Mansion. I don’t know what’s going on right now..."
After nagging a few words, Commander Liu couldn't help crying. If you are someone who can talk, you will definitely use nice words to coax the other person now. But Han Shizhong, a rough guy, obviously did not have such delicate thoughts. He hesitated for a moment, then answered honestly: "...This autumn, the Jin soldiers went south again and massacred the Zhending Mansion as soon as the war started. Not many people in the whole city escaped. I would like to ask Brother Liu to express my condolences and stop by." …”
Before he finished speaking, Liu Sheng's eyes darkened, his body went limp, and he staggered and fainted.
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Just as Han Shizhong, who was leading the main force of the infantry, easily swept away the slave camp in the suburbs, and was performing a tragic comedy with his former colleagues in the Forbidden Army, "when a fellow countryman meets a fellow countryman, tears come to his eyes", Yue Fei, who led a hundred cavalrymen into Huining City, unexpectedly... We encountered quite a bit of trouble.
——Indeed, after being smoked by the anesthetic gas that enveloped the whole city for several hours, Huining City was completely silent in the early morning. Yue Fei's cavalry easily passed through the narrow and messy streets without encountering any obstruction, then worked together to break open the palace gate and entered the Jin Kingdom's palace.
At this time, the anesthetic gas that filled Huining City had drifted away without a trace, but the effect of the medicine on people was far from dissipated. After hearing the huge noise outside the palace gate, there were finally a few confused palace people. The guard got up from the room and drew out his sword out of the professional reaction of a soldier, but his whole body was trembling and he couldn't even stand firmly. It was obvious that he had completely lost his fighting ability...
As a result, the Song army with high morale quickly cut down the last few resisters and began to sweep through the palace. At this time, the Jin Empire was only rough, and the so-called imperial palace was not very big. In terms of scale, it may not be Not as good as the luxurious manors of the rich and powerful in the Song Dynasty. Therefore, a hundred Yu Song Army cavalry who poured into the palace quickly took control of all the entrances in the palace. He also used cold water and whips to forcibly wake up several palace maids, and used knives to force them to identify the Jin Emperor. Finally, from under a pile of unconscious naked girls, the naked buttocked and sleeping Jurchen Emperor Wanyan Wu was begged to buy. He was dragged out.
By this time, the assault on Huining had been completed, and all the officers and soldiers of the Song Army were celebrating. Unexpectedly, a huge noise suddenly came from outside. A Song army soldier climbed up the palace wall with a sword on his head and looked out. He was suddenly shocked to find: I don’t know when, a group of dark Jurchens appeared outside the palace wall. There are no one knows how many of them, just like the roaring waves crashing on the shore, swarming towards the palace like a tide!
The next moment, a sharp arrow whizzed past and hit the Dutou in the throat, causing him to fall headlong into the palace wall. At the same time, countless Jurchens in messy clothes, men, women, old and young, holding various weapons of their own, poured into the open palace gate with shouts, and started a fierce fight with the astonished Song Army soldiers - the real The battle has just begun...