Chapter 703 Fierce Battle
In the hall, the fire pit was burning hot.
Guo Shu, Tai Shi Ci, Zhang Xiang, and Wang Yao were wearing armor and holding bows, holding their breath, while Deng Dang and Lu Meng stood on both sides with a wooden frame.
The only people in the circle were the chained prisoner and the coachman, Lao Liu. The prisoner grinned and muttered to himself, while Old Liu shivered and cocked the hand crossbow on the ground.
To be honest, Guo Shu was not too worried about the situation in front of him, because the four of them were not ordinary people. Whether it was himself or Taishi Ci, Zhang Xiang, and Wang Yao, they were all heroic generals in the army.
Now the four of them were wearing iron armor and were prepared. If the people opposite were really malicious, there were ten or dozens of them, and they wouldn't be able to kill melons and vegetables.
But just as Taishi Ci and others were holding their breath and looking at the entrance, something suddenly happened in the fire pond.
It was indeed the tension in the hall that made the people on Zhou Shang's side a little confused. One of them, a middle-aged scholar, accidentally knocked over a wooden box next to him, and then a bunch of scattered things were scattered on the ground. .
One of the green ribbons was the most dazzling among the pile of debris, although the middle-aged scholar moved quickly and threw the ribbon into the fire pit.
But Guo Shu and Tai Shici had already seen clearly.
The green ribbon made of silk exuded a strong smell of burning in the fire pit, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became sharp.
Seeing the suspicious looks in Guo Shu and Tai Shici's eyes, Zhou Shang and others felt numb. Under the pressure, four samurai directly drew their Huanshou swords and pointed them at them.
As a result, the two groups of people who were supposed to be unanimous in speaking out suddenly became at war with each other.
Taishi Ci glanced at Guo Shu and saw that he was still silent. He suddenly laughed with Zhou Shang and the others opposite:
"There is no need to be nervous. We should be united now. Don't you think that those bandits will only attack us? Yes, as the gentleman said just now, those people came for us, but after they succeeded, Will we let you go? So, we should be in the same boat now.”
The person on the other side didn’t say anything, but Wang Yao who was next to Taishi Ci added in a loud voice:
"We didn't see what you just dropped, so don't be so suspicious."
After Wang Yao finished speaking, Taishi Ci cursed secretly:
"Xiao Wang, Xiao Wang, if you can speak, speak more. When you say this, people don't know that you must have seen it?"
Who would have thought that after hearing Wang Yao's words, the man opposite him laughed along with the words:
"So what if we saw it? Yes, we did escape from Kyoto, and we did have some status in the Han Dynasty, but so what? The Han Dynasty has perished, and we are just a group of subjugated people who want to return home. How can people hinder your army? Do you also want to capture us in exchange for merit? ”
At this moment, the husband Jun Leilei said it generously, but Guo Shu and the four of them were a little embarrassed to say it openly.
But this person was right about one thing, that is, even though they were ministers of the Han Dynasty, as long as they were not on the list of the Taishan Army, they would not count as much merit.
The most important thing for the Taishan Army is military merit. Capturing a general in the army is much more useful than a minister.
It’s just...
Guo Shu asked Na Langjun directly:
"I don't know how to call Xiao Langjun? A certain Guo Shu, here are my Paoze Taishi Ci, Zhang Xiang, and Wang Yao, and those two are our fellow righteous men Deng Dang and Lu Meng."
Since you are upright, I, Guo Shu, will tell you your name directly and openly, just to see if you have anything to hide.
The man was also generous. He stood up and bowed to Guo Shu, and then introduced:
"I'm at Lujiang Zhou Jin. This is my father Zhou Shang. This is my father's good friend Liu Gong. These four are my family members, Zhu Tao, Zhu Ran, Yu Fan and Quan Cong."
After hearing the names of these people, Guo Shu frowned and seemed to be recalling something. After a while, he asked the person named Zhou Jin in front of him:
"Since Zhou Lang is from Lujiang, have you ever heard of Zhou Yu in Lujiang?"
When he said this, Guo Shu kept staring at Zhou Jin, and when he saw him, he answered him calmly:
"I've heard that he is a handsome man in the lower clan, but it is said that he lives in a remote place in his hometown in Lujiang. I wonder how your army knew about this clan brother of mine?"
Guo Shu smiled and did not answer the person's question. Instead, he turned his head and looked directly at the noble and beautiful woman, and then asked Zhou Jin:
"Zhou Lang is not sincere. Everyone in your circle has introduced you, why is this lady missing?"
Zhou Jinran solemnly:
"This is my mother, how can I introduce it to you? Is this the kind of military discipline your army has? Is this how your King Zhang trains his army?"
Guo Shu was startled, but he didn't expect that this person would suddenly turn against him.
Taishi Ci hurriedly interrupted. He could see something was wrong with Guo Shu. It seemed that Guo Shu was paying too much attention to the middle-aged beautiful woman.
But Taishi Ci didn't think much about it and just thought that Guo Shu was young and vigorous.
He didn't want to damage Guo Shu's reputation here, so he said seriously to Zhou Shang and Zhou Jin, father and son:
"Now we have to work together. We don't know how many enemies there are in the first place. Wouldn't it be stupid to fight among ourselves now? In this way, I guarantee that as long as you help us defeat this army, we will pretend that you and your group have never met. How? ”
Zhou Shang opposite and Liu Gong next to him whispered to each other for a while, and then asked Zhou Jin to ask:
"How can we trust you?"
At this time, Tai Shici did not need to say anything, Guo Shu himself threw a military card from his waist to the opponent:
"This is my military card. You can use this card to pass the Taigu Pass. Just leave the general card inside the pass after passing the pass."
Yu Fan, who was next to Zhou Shang, took the initiative to pick up the military badge and handed it to Zhou Jin.
Zhou Jin looked at it again and again, stuffed the general card into his belt, cupped his fists and said with a smile:
"We are in the same boat and we will overcome the difficulties together."
Therefore, Zhou Jin and others quickly moved their team to the southeast corner of the hall, forming a corner with Guo Shu and others in the southwest corner.
Among them, Zhou Jin is in the middle, brothers Zhu Tao and Zhu Ran are on the left, and Yu Fan and Quan Cong are on the right. Behind them are Zhou Shang and Liu Gong, and the middle-aged beautiful woman is the one at the back.
Seeing this configuration, Guo Shu felt suspicious again, but said nothing more.
Just at this time, there was a sound of footsteps coming from the entrance to the backyard.
Then someone came out, it was the man with the burn scar who first greeted Guo Shu and the others. As soon as he came out, he saw Guo Shu and the previous group of people standing ready, and he was very confused.
But just when he opened his mouth to speak, a crossbow arrow came out directly from the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground.
However, Wang Yao, who had been impatient for a long time, killed this man with a crossbow.
Neither Guo Shu, Taishi Ci nor Zhou Jin had any objections to this behavior. Are you kidding me? We are already in this situation now. If we don’t cut the knot quickly, we can play riddles.
And sure enough, as the man with the burn scar fell to the ground, a large group of warriors rushed out from the corridor behind.
These people were all wearing leather armor and had standard military weapons in their hands, so as soon as they rushed out, Guo Shu realized that something was wrong.
These people were clearly from the army, and who else could come to ambush them besides Yuan Jun?
But the question is, how did they get into the country, and how were these weapons smuggled in?
Not to mention taking the mountainous route, it is simply unrealistic for such a large amount of military resources to take the mountainous route.
At this time, Guo Shu felt gloomy in his heart, and he vaguely felt that there might be some danger on the other side of Dagu Pass.
But the situation in front of him did not allow Guo Shu to think too much.
These Yuan Jun warriors were obviously elite soldiers. They quickly dispersed after running out of the corridor and did not swarm up. It seemed that they also knew that they would be hit by their own arrows.
But unfortunately, these people obviously want to keep things simple.
At this moment, in this hall, Taishi Ci was undoubtedly the focus of the audience. I saw him holding a hard bow and an arrow stuck on the ground, and then Taishi Ci fired like a storm. Every arrow shot from his hand hit one person. In an instant, while Guo Shu and Zhang Xiang only shot three arrows, Taishi Ci had already shot ten.
In other words, Taishi Ci alone formed a dense arrow coverage.
Those Yuan Jun warriors who rushed out did not know that they would encounter monsters like Tai Shici. Taking advantage of the number of people and their armor, they rushed forward without even carrying cards.
So, when Taishi Ci shot the last arrow, Yuan Jun in the hall had already fallen to the ground.
When the dust settled, Guo Shu took a breath and saw Tai Shi Ci's strength for the first time.
He had also heard some "stories" about Taishi Ci, such as "riding the savior alone in white robes" when he was in Liaodong. But to be honest, Guo Shu also felt that Taishi Ci had good luck, so he seized the opportunity.
After all, the king is so powerful that he still needs you, Taishi Ci, to save him?
But when he saw Yuan Jun dead on the ground, Guo Shu suddenly understood that Tai Shi Ci really had this strength.
After Taishi Ci finished shooting, he quickly said to Lao Liu behind him:
"Crossbow."
Old Liu came to his senses and hurriedly handed the crossbow to Tai Shici.
Taishi Ci raised his crossbow towards the corridor with a serious look on his face.
Guo Shu and others also reacted and immediately raised their crossbows towards the corridor, as if there was some hidden giant beast slowly approaching in the deep corridor.
……
Taishi Ci's efficient killing shocked Zhou Shang's group, and only Zhou Lang was thoughtful.
Of course, Zhou Shang is just a pseudonym, and the so-called Zhou Jin and Liu Gong are also pseudonyms. Their group is Liu Yu, Zhou Yi, and Zhou Yu.
During the bloody battle in Beigong early yesterday morning, after learning that the emperor had died in the battle, Zhou Yu led his elite soldiers to protect his father, Liu Yu, and Tang Mao and broke through to Yongle Palace.
Zhou Yu is a very thoughtful person.
When the emperor made a bloody killing at the Suzaku Gate, he knew that the situation was at its worst. Originally, according to his idea, the emperor would follow him to Jiangdong. On the one hand, the Sun family would have the great righteousness of the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty would be able to get the Sun family's help to rectify the world.
In Zhou Yu's view, the only loyal and patriot in the world today is Sun Jian.
This is Zhou Yu’s public spirit.
As for his personal relationship with Sun Jian's eldest son, it is not important at all.
But now the situation has reached its worst, and the emperor is obviously provoked and wants to die for his country, so Zhou Yu can only do some makeovers.
First, he found the emperor's imperial seal, drafted an edict by himself, and then stamped the edict.
This edict was a great gift from him to Sun Jian. In the edict, he not only named Sun Jian the shepherd of Yangzhou, but also conferred the title of Marquis of Wuting, the general to assist the Han Dynasty.
Especially the last title, General Fu Han, was a trap set by Zhou Yu for Sun Jian. If you, Sun Jian, want to gain the entire Yangzhou with justifiable authority, then you must fly the banner of the Han Dynasty. This is the bottom line for Zhou Yu and others.
And having the edict and the seal was not enough, he also had to welcome the Queen Mother to Jiangdong.
If the Queen Mother is in court at that time, she can just find a branch of the Han Dynasty in Yangzhou and establish a Jiangdong court. Even Zhou Yu had his own ideas about the candidate for emperor.
This person is Liu Ye.
Liu Ye is a descendant of Emperor Guangwu's son, Prince Fuling. He is very far away from the current imperial lineage, but this man is famous in the Jianghuai area. Everyone knows that he is a courageous and resourceful hero.
Although in Zhou Yu's view, Liu Ye was a bit too speculative and a bit treacherous. But when you are at the bottom, this is a bad character, but when you are at the top, it becomes an advantage.
But now the Han Dynasty needs such an emperor who is knowledgeable, courageous, and resourceful.
Zhou Yu is very aware of the current situation.
With the martial arts of the Taishan Army, after capturing Kyoto, it was just a matter of time to pacify the Central Plains.
Although Yuan Shao seems to have hundreds of thousands of troops now, in Zhou Yu's opinion, there is no way to escape defeat in the end. It's not that there is any fatal problem on Yuan Shao's side, but that the Central Plains area where Yuan Shao is located is not geographically favorable.
Without mountains and rivers to rely on, strength determines the outcome of both sides, and Yuan Shao is undoubtedly the weaker side.
And what will happen to the Taishan Army after they capture the Central Plains?
In Zhou Yu's judgment, in fact, before Yuan Shao's defeat, Cao Cao in Qingzhou, the puppet dynasty in Guanzhong, the Yuan brothers, and the Zhang brothers would join forces to fight the Taishan army.
This is the only chance for the Central Plains side to make a comeback.
What will be the final result? Zhou Yu couldn't tell, but he knew that no matter who was the final winner, a huge power group would inevitably form in the north.
And when the time comes, the only ones that can compete with this huge power group are Jiangdong and Yizhou.
In Zhou Yu's judgment, these two places can form a stable corner of the world in the end. Jiangdong has the advantage of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and Yizhou has the natural danger of the Qinling Mountains. They are both areas that can protect one side.
Not only Zhou Yu has this understanding, but also all the elites of Jianghuai have such plans.
In order to fight against the Taishan Army rising from the north, these Jianghuai aristocratic families and local tycoons have united one after another and decided to use force to protect their ancestral heritage.
Now they have Sun Jian as the leader of the warriors on the surface, fighting on the battlefield, and below they have various families recruiting people and resources locally.
Now there is only one great thing left. Once Zhou Yu successfully brings the Queen Mother He, the emperor's seal, and the call to Jiangdong, and supports Liu Ye in the Jianghuai area, a complete interest group will be formed.
For the Han Dynasty, moving to Jiangdong was also the best choice.
In Zhou Yu's view, it was a very stupid choice for the Han Dynasty to cling to the capital, and in vain the last bit of the Han Dynasty's wealth was consumed.
Since there are no allies or loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty on all sides of Kyoto, how can the Taishan army not be destroyed by fighting in one place? But once they abandon the Central Plains region with ulterior motives and go to the south, the situation will completely change.
In the Huai River area, there was Chen Deng, the Zhendong general who was loyal to the Han Dynasty. In the hinterland of Yangzhou, it was Sun Jian's family. In the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, it was Liu Biao, the patriarch of the Han Dynasty.
It can be said that as long as the Han Dynasty goes to Jiangdong to start a new business, it will immediately obtain the best geographical situation.
But unfortunately, it was too late now, and Zhou Yu could only do a little to make up for the situation.
So at this moment, the imperial seal and edict in Zhou Yu's package, as well as the Queen Mother He behind them, became the hope of everyone in Jiangdong.
And to bring this hope back to Jiangdong, it seems that we really have to kill.
So he and the Jianghuai heroes on his left and right drew their swords and spears, aimed at the dark corridor, and decided to fight to the death.
(End of chapter)