the enlightener says

"Fourth Uncle." Gongshu Yinxue looked at Gongshucha and frowned. Although she knew that what Gongshucha said was true, but Wang Xuanwei was sitting in front of him, and he was the one who was really involved in the center of the vortex. He didn't say anything, but Gong Shucha began to yell and curse, which was really inappropriate.

However, Wang Xuanwei did not intend to blame, but just smiled lightly.

Speaking of which, when he was dismissed just now, he naturally had an unknown anger in his heart, but looking back now, he was relieved that he was not as good as Zhuge Wanling, and he slowly accepted this fact. Lost in resourcefulness, but also lost in the huge Mohist court behind him.

Although Zhuge Wanling was restrained by the gentry as in Jingwu, but the lord of the country is still young, Zhuge Wanling is the actual owner of Jingwu.

He can let the gentry destroy dikes and flood the fields under his nose, and then take advantage of this matter to slap the gentry in the face with a beheading ax and torture platform, making them so painful that they would not want to live. It made them fearful.

But Wang Xuanwei thought he couldn't do it.

The Mohist court situation is different from that of Jing and Wu. It is not as simple as two factions wrestling with each other. The Mohist faction headed by Juzi, the Confucian faction headed by Master Zhong, and the Legalist faction composed of official families, these three seem to be made of iron. Triangle, the structure is very stable, no matter which faction, they all have deep-rooted supremacy in the Mohist school and cannot be easily shaken.

When the Mohist school was most prosperous and powerful, all these three factions thought about how to stand out from the crowd, and they were willing to go to one place if they were powerful. People who were dead were vegetarians, and even small officials could not sit securely. The court hall is a thriving scene.

In recent years, the factions of Mohist schools have gradually declined, and the two schools of Confucianism and Legalism have continued to expand their influence and began to compete for the position of supremacy. As a result, the internal struggles of Mohist schools have become increasingly severe over the years, and all he can do is to stand firmly on the side of the giants , with big victories in exchange for one game after another, the giant's somewhat precarious position was supported.

The Mohist school adopts the abdication system, which is not as stable as the homeland after all. At least in other countries, no matter how much the officials below fight, who really dares to covet the highest throne?

But as he said, the state affairs are like this, and he can only do his best. He only hopes that Sun Boling, who sticks to the court, can do well the things he explained before he left...

"Xiang Chu came with an army of [-]. It seems to be extremely powerful, but in my opinion, Jinzhou is not invincible." Speaking of military affairs, Wang Xuanwei's face became confident, as if his face was radiant, and he returned to Jicheng again. He turned back to the general who commanded all the soldiers and horses of the whole country.

The 20 troops seemed ordinary in his mouth, which shows that he has great pride in his heart. He said with a smile: "The purpose of the Tang army is not in Jinzhou. The reason why the order to massacre the city is to threaten the court. Forced the imperial court to send reinforcements to rescue Jinzhou. This time, Xiang Chu entered the Mo family with [-] troops, one hundred thousand outside the city, and one hundred thousand more, led by his most trusted general Yunhui Longju. Longju used his troops to make a lot of tricks This time, he and Xiang Chu were one in the open and the other in the dark. The purpose was to fight for aid, not to destroy the city. Although Zhao Kuan had read military books thoroughly, he didn't know how to distinguish the changes in the current situation. , Now, they want to repeat the old tricks and capture another Zhao Kuan, so they surrounded Jinzhou. Most of the rumors among the common people probably came from Xiang Chuan's spies in the city."

"When will the reinforcements come?" Gongshu Yinxue frowned and said, "Although the [-] troops that Zhao Kuan lost were not the main force, they were wiped out. They couldn't arrive on time either, so they...are they going to give up Jinzhou and retreat to Xingzhou? After all, compared with Jinzhou, Xingzhou's terrain is more dangerous, and it's a strategic point..."

"That's right. If I were to use troops, I would give up Jinzhou and retreat to Xingzhou." Wang Xuanwei's words surprised the two, but they had to agree with what he said next, "Although several cities in Jinzhou are also settled by the people of my Mo family, So, the Tang army is coming in menacingly now, but the Mohist family has just experienced a big defeat, their morale is weak, and if they confront each other head-on, I am afraid that it will not be easy to win, the only way is... to stabilize the foundation first, and then seek to retreat from the enemy."

"However, I am stepping back now. The position of the general in charge of the military in the court is vacant, and the giant has not promoted anyone to take up this position. This battle... will definitely not develop as I thought." Wang Xuanwei He said: "Since the Tang army has issued an order to massacre the city, no matter whether it is Confucianism or Legalism in the court, they must send people to rescue them. Even if they know that Jinzhou is difficult to save, they still have to send troops."

"Why?" Gongshucha asked with a frown.

"Because none of them dared to say 'abandon Jinzhou' lightly. Once they said that, the people would be outraged, and the other faction would use this as an excuse to criticize in the court. At that time, who can afford to lose the hearts of the people? This kind of responsibility?" Wang Xuanwei now sees it clearly, "Besides, in the view of the Confucian scholars, this Jinzhou must be saved, otherwise it will violate their belief in benevolence and righteousness, but they don't know anything about military affairs, so naturally they don't know about it. difficulties."

Gongshu Yinxue nodded, and she agreed with Wang Xuanwei's idea of ​​"not saving Jinzhou", but as a native of Jinzhou, as the head of the Gongshu family, she naturally did not want Jinzhou to become an "abandoned son", she said: "In this case, So Xiang Chu doesn't want to destroy the city too soon?"

Gong Shucha nodded and said, "Yes, if Jinzhou is broken within half a month, the reinforcements will turn to defend Xingzhou, and Xiang Chu's plan will come to nothing. But even so, we shouldn't sit still. Chu beat Zhao Kuan as usual, and if the second support soldier is eaten, not only Jinzhou will still die in the flames of war, but our Mo family will also lose another iron army. At that time, how to resist the follow-up army of Tang State... and Canghai... Tiger Leopard ride?"

For this question, Wang Xuanwei obviously made a judgment earlier, he spoke without haste, looked at Gongshu Yinxue, and said: "That's why I came to Gongshujia, I hope Miss Gongshu can do something for me."

Gongshu Yinxue looked at Wang Xuanwei curiously, his long eyelashes trembling slightly: "What is it?"

Wang Xuan said softly: "The messenger pigeon who wants to come to Jinzhou is still there. I hope Miss Gongshu will send someone to write back to the imperial court, saying that Xiang Chu's army outside Jinzhou city is just suspicious soldiers, less than [-]. Jinzhou city is well-defended and there is no need for rescue."

Immediately, both Gongshu Yinxue and Gongshucha looked at him incredulously.

When the sun just came out the next day, many people in Jinzhou could no longer lie on their beds and sleep. The defenders at the top of the city looked like they were facing a big enemy. Tang Jun's heart was pounding.

Sure enough, this day has come, and it has come faster than everyone thought.

Tang Jun's armor was facing the new sun, sticking to the morning dew, with a bit of chill, and the spears in their hands had been polished, pointing at the sky, like a sharp steel forest.

The huge trebuchet was behind, and countless soldiers were struggling to carry the heavy stones.

The generals rode on horses and ran all the way, blunt and loud, commanding the entire army and keeping them in order.

They came with a big victory. Just a few days ago, their swords were still covered with the blood of the enemy, and the fire was still shining in their eyes. Although Jinzhou seemed to be well-defended, it was unbearable in their eyes. one strike.

Xiang Chu sat in the tent, as if he was waiting for something, until Li Mo lifted the felt cloth and walked in, he smiled meaningfully: "Arranged?"

Li Mei looked worried, and said respectfully: "General, are you really going to do this?"

Chapter 437 The Captive

Xiang Chu looked at Li Mo with raised eyebrows, and said with a smile, "You seem to have a lot of questions recently."

Li Mei was not in the mood for joking at this time, since Xiang Chu issued that order last night, the entire army has been in an uproar, with some supporters but also many doubters.

However, most of the troops who conquered the Mohist this time were Xiang Chu's Southern Conscript Army. They all had an almost blind trust and respect for this General Xiang, so no one would openly stand up to oppose it.

Li Mei has also been a subordinate of Xiang Chu's account for many years, but what he is more worried about is the impact of doing so: "General, even if you don't care about your reputation after returning to China, the soldiers and people in Jinzhou will definitely be angry with you if you do this. , and will do everything possible to defend the city, I am afraid that our army will suffer more damage."

But Xiang Chu shook his head, holding the sword hilt at his waist, stood up and brushed past Li Mo, and walked out of the tent, saying: "I just want to make them angry, if the fire in their hearts doesn't burn If it is more prosperous, how can the court of Jicheng feel the heat?"

And when he walked out of the tent, his tall and straight figure seemed to stand taller in the morning light. He squinted his eyes, stared at the rising sun, and took a deep breath, as if he wanted to pour all the smell of the entire battlefield into him. in the lungs.

Thinking about the moment when the blade of the sword penetrates the flesh, it will also be beautiful.

His voice became cold, like a steel knife: "Follow the order, and if you have any questions, you will be dealt with by military law."

"……Yes."

"What are they waiting for?" Gong Shucha looked at the silent Tang army from a distance, and the drums had not yet sounded, and all the Tang troops stood outside the range of Jinzhou's bows and arrows, as if they came this time just to show off Formation, decorate the facade.

But Gongshucha knew that this matter would never be so simple.Although Wang Xuanwei had already said that the Tang army came this time not to destroy the city, but if they did not attack the city with a violent attack, how could they force the Mo family to send reinforcements to defend?

"Perhaps... not ready yet?" Beside him is Bai Qi with a calm expression. He walked through the city before and applied the Mohist's method of defending the city to deploy defenses everywhere. Standing side by side, he took off his black robe at this time, and the original knight-errant temperament has faded a lot, replaced by the unique fortitude of a fierce general in the army.

"What are you preparing for?" Gongshucha frowned, feeling a little wrong, "A hundred thousand troops attacking a city of Jinzhou, do you still need the right time, place and people?"

"I don't know." Bai Qi stared at the seemingly endless battles of the Tang army, "However, Xiang Chu never sticks to dogma when using soldiers. He is not Zhao Kuan's idiot who only knows how to read military books, so in my opinion, the more he It’s so slow, the more weird it is, I’m afraid that once the siege starts at that time, the power will exceed our imagination.”

"Look, the Tang army's formation has changed." Bai Qi pointed forward and said in a deep voice.

The Tang army's formation did change. Almost at the same time, all the infantry seemed to have made an appointment. Under the urging of the sound of war drums, they split towards the two sides, and a wide road appeared.

It's just... the figures stumbling along this road were beyond the expectations of everyone in Jinzhou City.

"This is... a pawn?" Gong Shucha's expression changed.

The soldiers who forcibly removed their armor and weapons stared at a pair of empty eyes. Their bound arms had already been strangled bruises, some places were bleeding, and some places had obvious burn marks. Not receiving care is now festering, with pus and blood staining their ragged clothes, which is shocking.

The generals of the Tang army shouted thickly and loudly. Countless soldiers held spears and drove the crowd forward. Some people who couldn't run were even stabbed by spears abruptly, leaving bloodstains on the tip of the spears.

Among the crowded soldiers, Lao Bangzi was like a stone wrapped in sand. The squeeze of people made him almost breathless. In the past few days, he only relied on a few pieces issued by Tang Jun. Pancakes to satisfy hunger, all the way to Jinzhou, my stomach was already empty, and my yellow face looked like a persimmon that was about to rot.

That night, he witnessed the death of his brother Paoze in the fire. With a feeling of grief, he finally climbed down the steep mountain, but soon found Tang Jun who had been waiting for a long time. They were like calm hunters , quietly, watching them escape from the sea of ​​fire, but walk into their own trap.

At that time, the people had already dropped their weapons, and they were unable to organize a line of defense in the exhaustion and panic. It was logical that they became prisoners and followed the Tang army all the way to Jinzhou.

It's ironic to say that they were originally reinforcements to save Jinzhou, but at this moment...they are already standing at the foot of Jinzhou, looking at the towering city of Jinzhou, but they have lost the opportunity to walk in with their heads held high, and they can't enter the city again. A hot meal and a sip of noodle soup.

Swords and spears drove them all the way to the center of the army formation, and then that road was also blocked by countless sharp edges, like a mass of dark night gathered again, blocking all their escape routes.

The old Bangzi, who was finally able to catch his breath, knelt down recklessly. In his opinion, he was dead anyway, so he didn't insist on standing or kneeling. Anyway, no matter how straight he stood, when he was stabbed to death It can only be a lying corpse, no difference.

"Oh. He didn't have a full meal before he died." This was the only thing he regretted before he died.

But in the middle of the surrender, there was one person who persistently shouted: "Xiang Chu! Xiang Chu! Come out! Xiang Chu! What kind of ability is there to plot people behind the scenes? If you have the ability, you fight me face to face, and I will die. , I am convinced too!"

And the old stick was already tired of this voice, he didn't know where the strength came from, he stood up suddenly, and shouted at the voice: "General Zhao, shut up, all defeats are lost, just shout here!" What is the use?"

Today's Zhao Kuan has already lost the demeanor he had when he just left for the expedition. His hair bun is scattered in all directions, and many places are still knotted with blood. The black ashes on his face are naturally stained when he escaped from the fire. Come.

Although at first he thought about using the clear water Tang Jun sent to wash his face, but the thirst in his throat made him unable to make such a decision.

He was the commander in chief, and when he heard the old stick's shout, he turned his head and glared at him: "What are you, what right do you have to make me stop? Xiang Chu! Come out..."

Old Bangzi no longer cared what others thought of him, and the fire that was simmering in his heart these days also burst out: "Zhao Kuan! What the hell are you talking about qualifications? If it weren't for you, how could we brothers have fallen into this situation? What happened to you? More than 3 brothers were buried alive in the fire, even if you escaped and returned to Jicheng, you should be beheaded! How dare you still have the face to shout here? I’m ashamed for you!"

Zhao Kuan was speechless at the sound, his dark cheeks turned a little red, and he stared: "You...what do you know! Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. It's following the trend of the trapped enemy, not fighting, and harming the strong and benefiting..."

He bit his chapped lips, unable to speak.

At this time, the sound of the war drum became more and more urgent, and with a shout of "Spear out", countless clangs and collisions sounded from every gap in the shield. A sea of ​​gold and iron.

At the rear of the army formation, there are rows of bowstrings that are tensed, making "cackling" sounds constantly, and the arrows reflect the sunlight, which is cold and weird.

The entire Tang army was like a wild beast, suddenly opened its bloody mouth, revealing its sharp fangs.

The soldiers finally panicked. At the beginning, they already had some bad premonitions, but they never expected that Tang Jun would really do such a decisive move. It seems that Tang Jun actually planned to fight against Jinzhou City. The defenders, in front of thousands of soldiers of the Tang army...

Kill and surrender!

Everyone became excited immediately, shouting and begging for mercy, but the spear didn't care about their shouts at all, and still moved forward one step indifferently.

Countless spears were pierced at the same time, and countless screams were intertwined into a tragic piece of music.

Among the crowd, it was Zhao Kuan and Lao Bangzi who looked calm.It's just two people, one of them is devastated and his face is gloomy, while the other one's expression is calm, even with a bit of relief, as if life has come to an end and everything returns to dust.

In the crowded crowd, Lao Bangzi felt that his eyes were gradually getting darker, and the air in his chest was slowly being squeezed, as if he had been stripped from his body, and he felt like he was flying lightly...

He felt no pain as the spear pierced him, and he closed his eyes and smiled.

Chapter 438 Siege

"These beasts!" On the top of the wall, Gongshucha saw countless arrows soaring into the air and then fell into the crowd of soldiers, his eyes widened and he roared angrily.

Countless spears pierced into the bodies of those unarmed people, and then brought out scarlet blood. Even the soldiers holding bows and arrows on the top of the city were pale, and could hardly hold the weapons in their hands.

Bai Qi also had an ugly face. As a Mohist, nearly [-] soldiers were killed in front of his eyes. Such a scene made him almost unable to stand. If he didn't hold the scabbard tightly, he would almost bear it He couldn't help running down the city to lead the horse and fight out of the city.

"This is to irritate us!" Bai Qi roared in a low voice, "Xiang Chu wants to prove how firm his opinion on massacring the city is!"

Gongshucha gritted his teeth and looked at Tang Jun, and said in his heaviest voice: "If there is a chance, I will definitely kill him! Xiang—Chu—"

Bai Qi glanced at him and smiled bleakly. In fact, both he and Gongshucha knew that the only person who could face Xiang Chu was the one sitting in the room, but even he couldn't lead him now. With [-] miscellaneous troops, among the [-] elite Tang troops, they rushed to Xiang Chu.

A little intolerance can lead to chaos and big plans. Now he is not only the fourth master of the public loser, not only a warrior, but also the commander-in-chief of the Jinzhou Army. He must be responsible for the entire Jinzhou.

On the other side, Wang Xuanwei, who was kneeling in the tent, listened to the orderer's narration, the light in his eyes dimmed slightly, and he nodded: "Is that so. I see, you go, tell General Gongshu, let He passed on the order to strictly restrain the entire army and not let anyone act without authorization."

"Yes." The messenger bowed respectfully, turned around and walked out the door.

After the messenger left, Wang Xuan lowered his head slightly, and slowly put down a chess piece on the chessboard.

Although he looked very calm, the trembling of his hands also exposed his not very peaceful heart.How can it be possible for a person who is an army and a general to be indifferent to the slaughter of his own soldiers?

However, compassion does not command soldiers.

And he is sitting here, it's not that he doesn't want to go to the top of the city to command the battlefield in person, it's just that he has been dismissed now, and he is no longer the general of the Mo family who commanded thousands of troops. Come more trouble.

Wang Xuan lowered his head slightly and looked at the chaotic chessboard. Although the black and white chess pieces hadn't started fighting, they had already shown their claws and claws, and were constantly encroaching on the enemy's space. playing black chess.

The real victory or defeat is yet to come, just like the battle between Tang Guo, Canghai and the Mohists, no one can know the outcome until the end.

He frowned, and said in a low voice: "I'm afraid that if this matter spreads to the court, even Bo Ling may not be able to suppress it."

Although he, the general, has been dismissed, Sun Boling is still the military adviser of the Mohist army. This is also the best result that the giant has won, but this best result is still not enough.

"If I take charge of the soldiers again..." Wang Xuan murmured in a low voice, but still shook his head, knowing that it would not be easy to do this, the current court of the Mo family is almost a mess, and it is not easy for the giant to keep himself The resignation of his position is also to give an explanation to those who impeached him.

"In that case, now we can only count on that person..." He raised his head, and a calm face appeared in his mind.He slowly reached out and took out a letter from his pocket...

This letter is from the south.

Gongshu Yinxue had already sent a letter telling the court that the situation in Jinzhou was not urgent, and Gongshucha had also raised a question in amazement: "If this is the case, won't Jinzhou completely cut off its own retreat?"

And his answer was: "Don't worry, even if this letter is sent, there will still be reinforcements to rescue Jinzhou, and these reinforcements are enough to compete with Xiang Chu's [-] troops."

Gongshucha thought that he had some arrangements for Sun Boling, but in fact, he did have arrangements for Sun Boling, but it had nothing to do with Jinzhou. The people who really came to support Jinzhou were people that even Gongshu Yinxue and Gongshucha could not imagine.

Afterwards, he heard the sound of trumpets resounding throughout the city, and the thunderous war drums shook the clouds outside the window like thunder.

The Tang army finally began to attack the city.

When a stone of a hundred catties flew over, it landed on the heads of the two archers. After a loud noise, the two archers couldn't even make a call sign. After the billowing smoke and rubble, the city head There were two puddles of disintegrated minced meat on the top, which looked very disgusting.

And this was just the beginning. Under Tang Jun's command flag, Tang Jun's trebuchets continued to throw stones, and they fell towards the city wall of Jinzhou with great power.

The trebuchet was powerful, but it was difficult to be accurate. Some stones fell straight and hit the solid city wall of Jinzhou fiercely, but they could not leave any traces and fell in a dejected manner.

But most of the stones also fell from the sky onto the top of the city. These stones looked like hail, but they were far bigger and more terrifying than the hail. For a moment, the entire city was in chaos.

Although the weight of the catapult transported by Tang Jun this time was not particularly heavy for the convenience of maneuvering, the stones weighing a hundred catties fell down after being thrown, which was still enough to crush people's skulls and turn them into meat paste.

Most of the Jinzhou Army has never experienced such a tragic battle. What's more, among the 5000 people on this east gate, [-] were even recruited from those victims. Where have they seen such a scene? Many people have lost their lives. Putting down the weapon in his hand, he panicked and wanted to run away.

But they just think about it and don't put it into action right away.

Because in front of them, there was still a figure standing straight, never backing away, so they naturally had no reason to escape.

The broken stone fragments cut Gongshucha's cheek, but Gongshucha didn't even blink his eyes, just stared at the Tang army's formation, raised one hand, and said in a low voice: "Don't mess up! Those who retreat will be killed!" !"

Amidst the billowing smoke and the screams of pain at the top of the city, he saw that Tang Jun's formation finally began to move forward, and he shouted: "Ying!"

Perhaps it was because they were afraid of being beheaded for violating military orders, or perhaps it was because Gong Shucha's tenacious aura infected them that many soldiers who originally wanted to escape also returned to the top of the city, looked down, and took a deep breath , pulled the bowstring hard.

"Don't worry!" Gongshucha shouted, "Wait until they get closer."

The trebuchet was still projecting stones. Countless stones drew curves in the air and fell with a bang. Every time they fell, the floor tiles at the top of the city shook violently.

At this moment, the trebuchets at the top of the city and inside the city also started throwing stones under Bai Qi's command. As early as when Gong Shuren was still alive, he had arranged for people to continuously transport stones into the city. Prepare, just for this moment.