In the first battle of Zhending City, Tian Kai's side won a small victory. But this still failed to alleviate the fear of the local tycoons near Zhending.
As the fighting became more frequent, these local tycoons began to drag their families and families to prepare to cross the Hutuo River and flee to the north of Changshan County.
The Hutuo River is the most important river in Changshan and the longest and widest river in the land of Youji. From west to east, it passes through the four counties of Changshan, Zhongshan, Hejian and Bohai, irrigating countless fertile fields along the coast.
In the past, the northern people of Changshan State did not regard themselves as border people. They believed that only the area north of the Hutuo River was the border area. The land there was sparsely populated and they would be attacked by barbarians at all times. On the contrary, south of the Hutuo River is the out-and-out hinterland, a place of real prosperity.
Therefore, the Hutuo River has become the dividing line between China and the outside world in the minds of Changshan people. To the north is the outside and to the south is the inside. Those living south of the Hutuo River are naturally more popular.
But now the world has changed. Nowadays, the people south of the Hutuo River have to flee to the north, which used to be regarded as borderland. How can we not make people sigh.
In the past, Jizhou, as a major money and food state in the north, had to bear 80% of the defense expenditures of Youzhou and Northern Xinjiang in the north. Therefore, in order to facilitate transportation, Jizhou built a series of ferries and pontoons on the Hutuo River.
The largest one is located between Zhending and Jiumen. The roads here are denser, there are more business trips, and the scale of the natural ferry is also larger.
Originally, this pontoon bridge was made up of a chain of twenty giant boats. Each boat was fixed with ten stone anchors. The boats were one foot six feet wide and about one foot apart. They were paved with wooden planks in the middle and covered with hay. On weekdays, the carriage and the horse pass by as if they were walking on flat ground.
On weekdays, this pontoon bridge has a patrol pavilion for every five boats, carrying bells and patrolling at night, and is tightly guarded.
But all this is in the past.
As the Taishan bandits in the south began their northern expedition, the gentry from the counties south of Changshan packed up their belongings, drove their cattle and horses, and followed the dark flow of people to cross the river here and head north.
For a while, men and women screamed and begged in low voices. Children cry and river officials scold, a scene of the end of the world.
Despite the chaos, the pontoon bridge was still open at this time. Many gentry and officials finally squeezed through the pontoon bridge and came to the north bank to temporarily gain safety.
After all, with the Hutuo River as a barrier, the south bank is the battle zone and the north bank is the rear area.
But the situation in the rear area is not so easy.
The situation became increasingly tense as Sun Jin was ordered to send a letter to the Prime Minister of Jiumen, strictly instructing no one on the south bank to cross the river.
Feng Xun, the Prime Minister of Changshan, issued a strict river ban, which contained only one sentence:
"South of Hutuo, swarms of thieves have sprung up. To prevent enemy spies and lawless people from spying, anyone coming from the south without official credentials will not be allowed to cross."
From here we can see Feng Xun's cunning as an old official.
He did not cut it across the board, but released a so-called public certificate. In other words, whoever has public authority to cross the river, then who will have it? Of course they are from influential and powerful families.
In order to prevent mobs from breaking through the bridge defenses, Feng Xun directly ordered the pontoon bridges to be removed, and all river crossings to be made by boat.
As a result, the river patrol soldiers guarding the river defense took the opportunity to extort money, and the once wealthy family was willing to lose everything in exchange for a public certificate to cross the river alone.
Perhaps, even if Taishan's army comes from the north, these ordinary wealthy households will not be reduced to this situation. It's a pity that these people are deaf and blind and cannot see the situation clearly. They only think that the nobles are running away, so they follow them.
Who knows, others have a way out, and you become their way out.
But compared to the ordinary rich people who had their marrows and skins ripped out, there was a group of people that Feng Xun had to take to the north no matter what, and that was the many kings surnamed Liu in Changshan.
This dynasty treats the clan quite generously. Not only does it grant more princes than the previous dynasty, but it also manages to start well and end well.
The Liu clan in Changshan were one of the few rich and noble clans that could span two dynasties because they followed Guang to conquer the world in their early years.
At this moment, the royal family members surnamed Liu, who were preparing to cross north, gathered in groups according to their respective royal families. They brought their families together and looked at the shabby households in the distance with a hint of hatred, but no emotion or anger could be seen on their faces.
Of course they are unwilling to go north. They have huge manors and fields in the south, and hundreds of slaves work hard to support their comfortable and comfortable life. How can they be willing to give it up?
But it won’t work if I don’t leave. They all heard about the fate of King Zhao and his family. The servants who used to be like pigs and dogs in the family suddenly became the masters, and even entered the house and occupied their fields.
After knowing this, these Changshan royal families no longer trust their disciples. And those disciples saw the situation getting more and more chaotic, and their eyes became more and more unruly.
Therefore, when people from the north came with official certificates and wanted to take them northward with all their families, they gathered their clansmen, discussed it, and finally went northward.
Because they know that even if they move to the north, they will not be disadvantaged. They will still have fields, docks and servants. After all, who made them the royal family?
In this way, all the people named Liu from Changshan went north together and rushed to the ferry on June 15th, waiting for the boat from the north to take them across the river.
……
"My lord, there is only one piece of cake today."
At this time, on an ox cart at the edge of the camp of the kings named Liu, a maidservant with a dirty face was saying this to the girl with the same dirty face.
The princess is none other than Liu Hui's sister, Liu Qian.
Since his brother's defection, the remaining land of King Zhending's family has also been taken back. Later, Liu Qian took refuge with her aunt's house with her only remaining old servant and personal maid.
Looking at the cake handed over by the maid, Liu Qian felt a little sad. She broke it in half and handed it to the maid.
Even though the maid said she had used it, Liu Qian still insisted on giving half of the cake to the maid.
Because she knew that in their current situation, a piece of bread from her aunt was all that was needed. If she didn't give it to her maid, she would have to starve.
On the oxcart without a roof, Liu Qian chewed half a piece of cake in her hand, while the maid over there tore up most of the cake and put it in her arms, only taking a small piece to bite.
Even after fleeing, the Liu family's masters and servants maintained the family tradition of saying nothing when eating and saying nothing when sleeping.
Soon, the old servant came back.
Unlike the old man who most people think is about to die, even though this old servant has a dusty face, it can't hide his toughness and strength.
The old man's name was Zhao Tong, and he was a general from the Zhending King lineage. Liu Hui's martial arts skills were trained by him since childhood.
This time he fled north, and it was only because of Zhao Tong's protection that Liu Qian and his two maidservants were safe. Otherwise, even if these two people deliberately smear their faces, they would still be harassed by the captives in the team.
When Zhao Tong came back, his mouth was still a little oily. When he saw Liu Qian eating cakes, he hurriedly took out a package from his arms, which contained several grilled fishes.
Zhao Tong said warmly:
"My lord, please eat some grilled fish, your body can't survive without flesh."
Yes, if someone who has eaten meat continues to eat cakes, she will not be able to bear it, both mentally and physically.
Liu Qian smiled, thanked her first, and then placed the bag of fish under the grass, obviously intending to save it for later rations.
After cleaning up, Liu Qian asked one thing again:
"Uncle Zhao, can the secret message we left in our old house really allow our brother to find us?"
Zhao Tong opened his mouth and hesitated for a moment, but finally said:
"Well, as long as we settle down in the north, we will send someone back to our old house to send another letter home. Mr. Lang will definitely be able to find us."
Liu Qian nodded with longing. Looking at his master's expression, Zhao Tong could only lament in his heart.
My husband has been missing since the brutal attack on Liu Hao in March this year. Although before he left, he told Bu Qu to take their family members into the mountains when he came back, but in the end he was oversimplifying the matter.
As soon as these Buqu arrived outside the residence of King Zhending, they were captured by the Changshan King Buqu who were determined to take revenge. In the chaos, Liu Tong could only escape with Liu Qian and a maid. Even Lang Jun's little wife was never taken away.
Later, he and Wengzhu escaped all the way to Guo's house and stopped in a foreign house. Later, he learned that all the famous people in Changshan were going north together. Zhao Tong was also worried about the safety of the princess, so he got involved.
As for what the princess said, it would be difficult to reunite with Lang Jun again. In this chaotic world, we may never see each other again for the rest of our lives.
Seeing that Liu Qian was still immersed in the expectation of being reunited with her brother, Zhao Tong quickly changed the topic. He patted the oxcart and pointed to the north:
"I heard that the ship is coming, and this ox cart will not be able to be taken on board by then. My lord, you have a choice and see what you want to bring."
When Liu Qian heard this, she couldn't care less about lamenting and started picking up the ones she could use.
You must bring food and some clothes. I heard that Youzhou is much colder than Jizhou. There is also some gold that I need to bring with me. Although it is useless now, I can still buy another manor when I get to Youzhou later.
Even though she has only been suffering for two months, Liu Qian already looks like a housekeeper. As expected, suffering is the most "tempering" person.
Liu Qian and the other three were cleaning up here, but suddenly something didn't feel right.
On the periphery of them are those rich people who were deceived after having their bones and marrow sucked out by the river officials. They are the worst off and they are also on the outermost periphery.
There, people were running everywhere and countless voices came:
"The Taishan thieves are coming."
"I'm dying!"
"Fight with those people!"
Seeing that the chaos outside was about to spread here soon, Zhao Tong's expression changed, and he hurriedly pulled Liu Qian and the maidservant to lie under the bullock cart. He also got in with a short knife, and he said to the two women seriously. ：
"Be sure not to move around. In this case, the more you run, the more likely you are to die."
Liu Qian and her maidservant nodded hurriedly, lying obediently under the bullock cart, carefully watching the chaotic scene.
Sure enough, chaos was like a tornado, quickly sweeping through the inner circle, and more and more people began to run, even if they had not seen the so-called Taishan thief.
As for why they are so afraid? They don't know either, so they are just afraid.
The little maidservant had been trembling there, and suddenly she took out the remaining pancakes from her arms and started to devour them.
Liu Qian didn't say anything, just hugged her tightly.
Yes, if you are going to die, it is also good to be a dead ghost.
Just like that, listening to the crying and wailing outside, Liu Qian and the little maid suddenly felt that time was so long.
Gradually, the chaos began to dissipate, and the originally crazy crowd regained its calm under the control of some knights in yellow armor.
Obviously, the so-called Taishan Army really came, and without any accidents, they captured the ferry.
This also means that their way north is cut off.
But at this moment, the little maid tried hard to grab Liu Qian's sleeve and opened her mouth to speak.
Liu Qian thought she was eating the pancake in a hurry, so she patted her back and told her to eat it smoothly, while scolding:
"Let you eat slowly."
It was also Liu Qian's diet that worked. The maid really felt relieved. Then she opened her mouth and said:
"My lord, do you think that is Mr. Lang?"
Liu Qian was shocked. Following the direction pointed by the maid, she saw her brother wearing iron armor, standing majestically on a horse, looking coldly at the Liu family members gathered around.
At this time, Liu Qian could no longer restrain herself and cried loudly:
"Brother, Akane is here, here!"
……
On June 15, the first year of Taiwu, the Zhending ferry was finally closed.
From then on, the rich, the poor, the warriors and the literati were divided into the north and the south because of the Hutuo River, and their destinies took completely different directions.
Those who can cross the Hutuo River will not necessarily enter the Paradise. Those who were blocked in the south and those who were unable to cross to the north did not fall into the abyss.
But regardless of whether it was north or south, compared to the people in Zhending City at this time, their fate was always better than countless others.
Because this town has become a military-controlled area, everyone in the city will have to shed their blood to protect this deadly place.
Since Tian Kai led his troops to a small victory over the Taishan Army outside the city on June 13, he did not feel any joy. On the contrary, he discovered more loopholes.
It turns out that these soldiers in the city were almost all people from the city's urban areas. They were cunning and cunning, had little desire to die, and were generally not used to fighting.
So Tian Kai spread his own troops and used violence to drive others to their deaths. On the city wall, there is a northern soldier guarding every four or five battlements. Anyone who dares to lower the city to escape will be killed immediately.
He also personally led the city's capable county officials to patrol the city morning and evening, and he would kill anyone who dared to slack off. When soldiers go down to the city, in addition to going to the peak to give them talismans, they must also go together. Two people sit together, one dares to escape, and the other is killed.
It was with such iron-blooded violence that Tian Kai really captured Zhending City. You can't fight in the field, but at least it's not a rabble that collapses upon hearing the news.
Afterwards, Tian Kai asked Sun Jin to supervise a team to carry out assassinations in the city.
Tian Kai believed that the southern part of Changshan Kingdom was lost so quickly because the enemy had spies in the city who were cooperating with others. He believed that there were collaborators in Zhending City, so he asked Sun Jin to take charge of the matter.
He said to Sun Jin:
"Within the monarch, my lord is outside. If the inside and outside are in harmony, thieves will not be able to take advantage of it."
Therefore, Sun Jin dispatched military supplies on the one hand, and began to clear the city on the other.
Those who speak evil words should be killed; those who speak evil words should be killed; those who disturb people's hearts should be killed!
After some tactics, Zhending City seemed to be impregnable, at least on the surface.
Finally, on June 16, Zhang Chong, who meandered over with his 20,000 troops and countless accompanying troops, finally arrived at Zhending City.
A bloody battle will test everyone.
Another heroine is online, and then a bloody battle is about to begin. Family members, aren’t your monthly tickets starting yet?