First Minister of Ming Dynasty

"Old man Jialu, Lu Fangweng has shown his son to set the Central Plains in the north. You are a descendant, how can you show your ancestors, and how can you show your descendants?"

Zhu Chong's eight voices were like thunder, not only could they hear clearly outside the city, but even Zhang Ximeng under the city couldn't help nodding, these words are powerful!

As long as you, Jia Lu, still call yourself a scholar, Lu You, who has written frontier poems all his life in Dashanguan, is determined to restore the Central Plains.Gray-haired, the layman Jiaxuan played the sword and sang, aiming at the unification of China.

Even after thousands of years, these two people are still admirable.

As scholars, the seniors hoped that you would set the Central Plains in the north, but in the end you surrendered to the enemy and became slaves to the Mongols, not to mention that you want your descendants to be slaves for generations... Anyway, it is a mistake.

After all, Jia Lu just let out a long sigh, turned his horse's head, and retreated.

At this moment, most of the barracks had been set up, and Jia Lu went directly to his big tent. There was a haggard scribe waiting here.

This is none other than Lu Anmin who went to Haozhou to persuade him to surrender!

It's only been a few days since I've seen each other, yet it's such a drag... I have to say, Lao Zhu's swearing has a lot of stamina!

"My lord, what's the situation? The lower official's body looks like this, so he can't follow your lord, he should be damned!"

Jia Lu sighed slightly, and stretched out his hand for Lu Anmin to sit down.

"You... don't worry about it, the old man just made people lose face." Jia Lu told the story of Shi'er recited in unison by the head of the city.

Upon hearing this, Lu Anmin couldn't help twitching, it was fatal!

The last time it was Zheng Sixiao, this time it was Lu Fangweng, where are they a group of grassroots thieves, they are simply masters of the Imperial Academy, why do they keep poking at the heart?

"Originally, the old man was a little hesitant. Looking at it now, there must be powerful people in Haozhou City!"

Lu Anmin naturally realized it too, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I think it must be some shameless scholar who bullies the emperor and is willing to follow the thief and advise the red scarf thief in the city. This person is really hateful! After it is broken, it must be cut into eight pieces and quartered by five horses!"

Lu Anmin hated it so much.

Jia Lu sighed again, looking very worried.

"This time, the red scarves echoed from the north to the south, and their momentum was huge. The northern red scarves announced the birth of King Ming, and the southern red scarves announced the birth of Maitreya. The Haozhou red scarves recalled the previous dynasty, and they had the heart to regain their homeland and the Central Plains... The ambition is not small!" Jia Lu's tone was full of anxiety.

Lu Anmin thought for a while and understood.

To mobilize millions of people to overthrow an imperial court, one must have something that can convince people.After the Yellow Turban Uprising, it became a natural pre-work to use religion to gather people and plot wrongdoing.

Especially the White Lotus Sect, this thing is simply a broken basket, you can put everything in it... Those who preached the birth of King Ming, you are the White Lotus Sect, and those who preached Maitreya's next birth, you are also the White Lotus Sect, and you who want to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty are the White Lotus Sect, If you want to keep one party safe, you are still the White Lotus Sect.

There is no standard teaching at all, or their teachings are open-ended and can be randomly edited according to needs.As long as you can fool a group of people, you are the leader of a party, and you don't even have an organization.

So since the Song Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect has almost become a mouse hole for rebels, and I don't know what ghosts and monsters will emerge from it.

It is precisely because of this that the White Lotus Sect can never be wiped out.

In this big uprising, the leader of the White Lotus Sect in the south is Monk Peng, and the leader of the North is Han Shantong. In other places, there are no less than a hundred leaders of all kinds, and the decentralization belongs to it.

Although this kind of White Lotus Sect is like weeds, it is difficult to eradicate... But there is also a problem, that is, it cannot form a joint force.

So at this time, it is necessary to have a program that goes beyond "King Ming comes to the world, Maitreya is born" to unify the heroes of the world.

Han Shantong's thinking is correct. He put forward the slogan of three thousand tigers and ben, reaching the land of Youyan;

It's a pity that Han Shantong fell into a box and was wiped out by the police station. Fortunately, Liu Futong came out with the remnants, regrouped, and ignited the flames of the uprising.It's just that Liu Futong can fight back and forth, but in terms of ideological construction, he is lacklustre.

"Even if there are tens of millions of bandits in the White Lotus Sect, they are not difficult to deal with. But if someone calls for the restoration of the homeland, not only the court will be in danger! I'm afraid that after I die, I will be ruined and stigmatized for a hundred years!" Jia Lu lamented, It seems to be much older.

Lu Anmin was terrified and couldn't help coughing. He was more frightened than Jia Lu.

"My lord, no matter what, we must take down Haozhou and completely wipe out this group of thieves. No one can be left behind! Otherwise, there will be endless troubles!"

Jia Lu pondered for a moment, and finally nodded vigorously in agreement.

……

"Brother Zhang, you have memorized "Shower", teach us another poem!" Mu Ying begged around Zhang Ximeng. six or seven years old.

Don't look at these little guys as inconspicuous, they help deliver water, food, and letters, but they are very useful.Only when he was free did he come to play with Zhang Ximeng.

A poem scared the old man out of his wits, and they all felt so bullshit.

No, a group of brave calves are not afraid of difficulties.

"It's a good thing that you are willing to learn. I'll teach you to recite "Song of Righteous Qi"!" Zhang Ximeng cleared his throat and began to read. Even Mu Ying ran away, without such a bully!

Four sentences can still be remembered, who can remember such a long sentence!

"Little Mister, just proceed step by step, why make things difficult for them?" Madam Ma begged them.

Zhang Ximeng also smiled wryly: "Ma'am, it's not that I'm embarrassing them, it's that Jia Lu is like this, we might as well prescribe the right medicine, and when he is really in a hurry to attack the city, we will use righteous songs to inspire people, and let old Jia Lu understand , people’s hearts never die, and their arrogance lasts forever! He, an old dog, never wants to take down Haozhou City!”

Mrs. Ma took a deep breath, and suddenly felt that what Zhang Ximeng said made sense, and there was nothing he could do, godsons, just work hard!

Zhang Ximeng taught Mu Ying and the gang, and at the same time paid attention to the battle situation between the two armies... In the afternoon when Jia Lu retreated, Yuan soldiers launched an offensive.

It's just that it's not the kind of attack that shakes the sky and the top of Mount Tai, but drives away the soldiers and horses that have temporarily joined, carrying sand and stones on their backs, filling up the moat, and sorting out the route of attacking the city.

The dense crowd, like swarms of ants, swarmed towards the city.

They are generally haggard, with disheveled faces, and their clothes are in tatters... Carrying hundreds of catties of sand on their backs, they staggered and almost fell down.

When the strength is about to be exhausted, panting heavily, and pouring the sand into the moat, the peasant husband will show a happy smile on his face.

When you go back with an empty basket, you can exchange for a pancake the size of a palm, and you can live on your last breath and live an extra day.

Master Jia is still trustworthy, and that's how it was when he followed him to open the river.

The only difference is that before the river was dug, but now it is filled. Anyway, the difference is not very big, so let's work hard!

As for the bows and arrows at the top of the city, although they can kill some civilians and cause panic, after a short retreat, they will gather again and continue to fill the river and pave the road.The defenders at the top of the city were also very helpless.

Taking advantage of noon, Zhu Chongba went down to the city for dinner, and sighed with Zhang Ximeng, "Sir, if I listened to you, I would have cleared the moat outside, built a wall of sheep and horses, and prepared more bows and arrows. Near the moat, if you don't die ten thousand, you will die eight thousand!"

Zhu Chongba gritted his teeth in resentment, these people in the city really made a mistake.

"Engong, it's useless to say these things. I think Jia Lu's general attack is coming soon. We need to be careful, especially the returning artillery. It is best to prepare some sand and wet quilts." Zhang Ximeng instructed .

Zhu Chongba nodded, "We know."

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted from the top of the city: "The Tartars are coming up!"

Zhu Chongba jumped up and ran directly to the top of the city.

Zhang Ximeng's heart was lifted instantly, the first battle finally came!

At this moment, the civilian husbands ran away with their buttocks pouted, and they left behind three siege routes ten feet wide.Then there was a Yuan army carrying a simple ladder and running quickly towards the top of the city.

"Everything is ready! Don't rush to release the arrows, wait until it is close before shooting!"

Zhu Chongba yelled loudly, until the enemy soldiers were within thirty steps, a dense rain of arrows fell on the top of the city, taking away dozens of people's lives in an instant, those who survived by luck, also pierced like a hedgehog, wailing and screaming, Seeing that I can't survive.

After a short period of panic, Yuan soldiers rushed to the bottom of the city, erected a ladder, and climbed up.

"beat!"

Another order was given, and the heavy log and the stone the size of a watermelon were thrown down hard.

The head was opened, blood flowed horizontally, accompanied by painful wailing, and after a while, the city was dark and covered with a layer of corpses...

Chapter 14 Engineering Men Are Scary

Today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and it is the 13th year since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. There are still 15 years left.

Today is the third day of the siege of Haozhou.

The future Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Chongba, was just an inconspicuous head of nine husbands, relying on his status as a marshal and righteous son-in-law to supervise the west city.

Among the famous nobles of Huaixi, Tang He was the only one who stood beside Zhu Chongba and helped defend the city together.

Tang He at this moment is still Guo Zixing's Qianhu, not Zhu Chongba's subordinate, that is to say, Lao Zhu's first and only minister is Zhang Ximeng who just passed his 12th birthday.

After 15 years of starting a business and building an empire, this is no more inspiring than the story of starting a business in a garage!

Zhang Ximeng's heart was surging and his blood was boiling, but he was also worried and shuddered.

For three consecutive days, Jia Lu was attacking the city with the collected offal.

Most of these people are robbers from all over the country, and they have no intention of rebelling against the Yuan court. They just rob houses, loot property, and harm the common people.Jia Lu collected them and gave them food, which saved many people from suffering.

But Jia Lu is not a bad person, he treats these gathered people as cannon fodder to consume the morale of the defenders.

"This old man, if I catch him, he will definitely wring his head off!" Tang He said viciously, and then bit down on the steamed bun in his hand, biting off most of it, as if the steamed bun was Jia Lu's head.

Zhang Ximeng was also holding hot steamed buns, he was much more elegant than Tang He, and he seemed full even if he was starving to death.

"Engong, Tang Qianhu, in my opinion, Jia Lu will send out elites today, and if the consumption continues, those people may not be willing to sacrifice, after all, they are all bandits and bandits, and there are not many good ones. The officers and soldiers are strong, and they have to obey, but if they are forced too urgently, if they are not given a way out, they will have to risk their lives."

Zhu Chongba thought for a while, then nodded vigorously, "Mr. Xiao is right, we must be more careful!"

After eating a few steamed buns, Zhu Chongba and Tanghe went to the city again.

Sure enough, as Zhang Ximeng expected, among the Yuan soldiers attacking the city today, there were many armored soldiers.

They gradually replaced those poorly equipped miscellaneous soldiers and became the main force for attacking the city.

It just so happened that more than half of the equipment in the city was consumed at this time, and the casualties of the Red Turban Army began to rise continuously.

According to Zhang Ximeng's calculation of the number carried off the stretcher, today's sacrifice is at least twice as much as yesterday's.The entire offensive and defensive battle has entered a relatively bloody stage.

But this is just the beginning, because Zhang Ximeng knows very well that Mr. Jia Lujia's real strengths are that he was born in the Ministry of Industry and is a water control genius, and he doesn't know when he will show his real skills...

While Zhang Ximeng was thinking about it, someone suddenly exclaimed from the top of the city, the Yuan soldiers have attacked!

I saw a few earth dragon-like things appearing behind Yuan Bing.

The height is at least about two feet, which is as wide as three or four carriages together. As for the length, it should be thirty or fifty feet long, in other words, it is more than a hundred meters long.

On the ground, there appeared such a behemoth, like a prehistoric behemoth, meandering, causing panic is a matter of course.

"Mr. Xiao, Zhongba will let you go up!"

Tang He came down from the top of the wall, grabbed Zhang Ximeng's arm, and almost lifted him up without any explanation.

When seeing the monster under the city, Zhang Ximeng also gasped, forgetting the pain in his arm.

"It's Bus Lu!"

When Zhang Ximeng called out his name, Zhu Chongba changed from being shocked to being overjoyed, and his heart was full of joy. Mr. Xiao really has a lot of experience and knowledge. Now that he knows him, he must have a solution.

"Sir, tell me quickly!"

Zhang Ximeng frowned slightly, looked again, and finally confirmed that this thing was Lu's bus.

It is recorded in "Continued Zizhi Tongjian": build Lugong chariots, fairy bridges, long wooden ladders, lazy dragon claws, swarm to the bottom of the city, as high as the city, and climb up the steps. "History of Ming Dynasty" also has records about Lu Gongche.

According to the records, the Lügong chariot was probably a siege tool that was used in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. When the Eight Banners of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties rose, they were good at using small 楯 chariots, which were different from the Lugong chariots.

It would not be a surprise if Jia Lu invented this widely used Lügong car, after all, this behemoth fits the aesthetics of engineering men.

The biggest feature of the Lvgong car is its huge size.

The height is more than two feet, which can be as high as the city wall, and the length can reach fifty feet. It is very slow and clumsy to move. It requires hundreds of people and a large number of cattle to push together to move forward smoothly.

The disadvantages of Lu Gongche are obvious, but the advantages are also prominent.

First of all, this thing is big enough and tall enough, which naturally saves the problem of climbing the city, and can go directly to the city like walking on flat ground.

Secondly, Lu's bus can transport hundreds of people at a time, which can be called a boat on land. Once an attack is launched, it will definitely be difficult to deal with.

In addition, Lu Gong's vehicle is made of wooden raw cowhide, which is tightly protected and cannot be pierced by bows and arrows. It is simply a super large armored personnel carrier.

As Lv Gongche approached step by step, the morale of Yuan soldiers outside the city was like a rainbow. Looking up at the huge siege equipment, their confidence doubled, as if Haozhou was at their fingertips.

On the other hand, at the top of the city, the soldiers were terrified, their faces pale with fright, and they kept trembling. Could they fight against this monster?

Seeing this, Zhu Chongba was also angry and anxious, burning with anger.

In fact, there is no way to deal with Lu Gongche.

If, as Zhang Ximeng reminded, clear the moat, dig trenches, build sheep and horse walls, and protect Haozhou layer by layer.There are ditches and ridges on the road, and there are layers of fortifications. If Mr. Lu wants to get close to the city, he doesn't know how much he will have to pay.

However, there were too few defensive preparations outside the city. It only took Jia Lu more than two days to fill up the moat, and then used miscellaneous soldiers to lay wooden planks and pile sand and gravel on the road. The bus is on its way smoothly.

What else can Zhu Chongba say, these insects in the city are really harmful!

"Grandfather, Mr. Lu's vehicles are mostly made of cowhide, so they should be afraid of fire. Let's use crossbow bolts, wrap them in sulfur grease, and burn this bastard!" Zhang Ximeng thought of a way.

Zhu Chongba resolutely agreed, and at this moment Lu Gong's car is only [-] steps away from Haozhou City.

Zhang Ximeng could clearly see that there was a feather flag on top of Mr. Lu's car, which was very conspicuous.It seems that it should pass the position to the follow-up soldiers and horses.

In the front car, it is divided into three floors, and each floor is protected by wooden boards, but these boards do not block all the sight lines, and there are gaps. People inside can observe the situation, and they can also shoot arrows and attack The defenders at the head of the city.