Fenghou

……

In the afternoon, Chen Qing took Zheng Ping and Zhao Xiaoyi to find He Jian.

For defending the city, Chen Qing has enough experience and lessons, he knows how to deploy troops to be the most effective.

"Although the bandits came from the south, the south is mostly piles of rocks, which is not suitable for large-scale siege. On the contrary, the north of the city is open and flat, which is good for attacking the city. Let's look at the forest on the west of the city, and the river on the east. Shoal, so on the whole, if I were Zhang Kui, I would definitely choose the north of the city to attack, as the focus of defense, the north of the city should deploy heavy troops."

He Jian nodded and said, "The Commander is right. The bandit's attack a few days ago was indeed an attack on the north of the city. Then should I mobilize the people again this time? I think it is still a bit difficult to rely on officers and soldiers to defend the city."

Both Zheng Ping and Zhao Xiaoyi were instantly annoyed. The governor's attitude was obvious, and he didn't take them seriously at all.

Zheng Ping immediately retorted: "Does the other side have tens of thousands of troops? It's only a few thousand mobs. Isn't [-] troops enough to fight them? Mr. He looks down on us too much!"

Chen Qing turned his head and glared at Zheng Ping, Zheng Ping turned his head resentfully, and said no more.

He Jian quickly explained: "General Zheng misunderstood. What I mean is that the city wall is too long, and the deployment of two thousand troops will be too scattered. Adding more strong men will also prevent the bandits from sneaking in."

When He Jian mentioned the sneak attack, Chen Qing's heart moved. He pondered for a moment and then smiled slightly: "Actually, I think it's unnecessary for us to discuss how to deploy defenses here."

He Jian was stunned for a moment, and asked in puzzlement, "What does the commander say?"

Chapter 64 Sneak Attack

Chen Qing said with a faint smile: "The reason is very simple, what will the opponent use to attack the city?"

One sentence reminded He Jian, and he suddenly realized, "The commander is right. When the opponent retreated, he didn't take away more than a dozen siege ladders. It's only been a few days since the opponent couldn't make them. Build a batch of siege ladders." , It will take a month at the fastest, it seems that I am worrying too much."

Chen Qing shook his head, "He Zhizhou didn't worry too much, I think they will definitely come in these two days."

He Jian was stunned for a while and said, "Commander, I'm a little confused now."

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said, "There are many ways to attack a city. You don't have to carry a ladder to charge to call it a siege. Sneak attack is also a kind of siege."

"The commander said that the other party will attack us at night?"

Chen Qing nodded, and he asked Zheng Ping with a smile: "If you were asked to sneak attack Chun'an County, what would you do?"

Zheng Ping was still a little bitter about He Jian's underestimation of himself just now, he said bitterly: "If it were me, I would first send people into the city to ambush, and then cooperate with outsiders at night to seize the city in one fell swoop, kill his mother, rob his mother, Chop those officials into minced meat and make buns!"

Zhao Xiaoyi' poof! 'Laughed out loud, and quickly turned away.

Chen Qing saw that He Jian's face was a bit ugly, so he explained with a smile: "My brother's speech is a bit vulgar. He Zhizhou should not be as knowledgeable as him."

He Jian had no choice but to smile wryly, "I was the one who said something wrong just now, but what General Zheng said makes sense, and it is very likely that he will cooperate with the outside. Should I close the city gates to prevent outsiders from entering or leaving?"

Chen Qing thought for a while and smiled, "It's better to set up a pot and boil the water, let's have a stew of bastard in clear water!"

……

The north city gate of Chun’an County was closed, and the south city gate was opened. In the afternoon, a group of hunters drove a cart to deliver a batch of wild game, including deer, roe deer, wild boar, bamboo chicken, wild duck and other birds. Wang Yangji The butcher shop suddenly became lively.

Not long after, another group of hermits came to deliver medicinal materials. These two groups totaled more than [-] people. When they entered the city gate, they were watched by Zhao Xiaoyi and his subordinates.

Zhao Xiaoyi hurried to the barracks to report to Chen Qing. At this time, the barracks was very quiet. The soldiers had rested for the first time and did not continue training. There might be a fierce battle today and tomorrow. Chen Qing wanted to save some energy for the soldiers.

In the room, after listening to Zhao Xiaoyi's report, Chen Qing asked, "Is there only Wangyangji Butcher Shop and Xinghetang Pharmacy?"

"That's right, they went to these two houses, and these two houses are very close to each other, diagonally across a street. After they went in, they never came out again!"

"Are there soldiers watching?"

"The humble subordinates are watching the two shops."

Zheng Ping next to him said: "I also know a little about this kind of shop that collects prey and medicine. Usually, I have to go back the same day after paying the bill. If I stay overnight, I will go to a brothel or a restaurant, or find a cheap foot shop to sleep well. Once I feel it, I will definitely not come out after entering the butcher shop, and the same goes for the medicine shop, there must be something wrong here."

Chen Qing thought for a while and said to Zhao Xiaoyi: "Go and inform He Zhizhou, and ask him to arrange elite government officials to arrest people with us, and we will discuss the specific time to decide!"

"Follow the order!" Zhao Xiaoyi left in a hurry.

Chen Qing said to Hu Yantong again: "Wake up all the soldiers, have a good meal, and act after dark!"

……

As night fell, the drum to close the city gate sounded, and the south city gate was slowly closed.

Pedestrians on the street are gradually thinning out, butcher shops and drugstores close early and close their doors.

Zheng Ping and Hu Yantong each led 300 people and surrounded the two shops. At this moment, a carriage drove up, followed by several yamen servants, and the carriage stopped at the entrance of the medicine shop.

A yamen servant knocked on the door of the pharmacy, "Open the door! Open the door!"

"what's up?"

"The county lord is a little uncomfortable, please ask Jiang Dongzhu to go there quickly!"

"The pharmacy is closed today!" The person inside refused straight away.

"Asshole! It's the county monarch who is sick, and you still want to put on airs?"

The people inside had no choice but to report it. Not long after, the proprietor, Dr. Jiang, came out, followed by a boy carrying a medicine box.

"Since the county lord is not feeling well, then hurry up!"

Jiang Dongzhu got into the carriage with a face of reluctance, and the carriage immediately headed towards the county government.

In just a moment, Chen Qing got Jiang Dongzhu's confession. There were a total of sixteen warriors hiding in the East Wing, and they began to respond at the second watch of the night.

Chen Qing rolled his eyes, smiled and said to Zhao Xiaoyi: "Tell Jiang Dongzhu, give each of those warriors a bowl of soft tonic, and I can spare his whole family."

……

The butcher's shop did the same thing. Mr. Zhizhou was going to have a treat tomorrow and bought some high-quality game. The proprietor Wang Long sent two assistants to deliver some fresh venison.

The information about the butcher shop was also obtained, a total of 24 people, plus four guys.

Half an hour later, the 16 people in the pharmacy were the first to deal with it. They drank the refreshing soup made by Jiang Dongzhu, and they all fell down, and they were grabbed without any effort.

The following is the arrest of 24 people in the butcher shop. In order to prevent them from escaping, the government specially prepared more than a dozen large nets around the butcher shop, so that there is no chance of any fish slipping through the net.

Zheng Ping entered through the main gate with a shield and a sword in his hand, followed by more than 100 soldiers with shields, spears and crossbows.

After a while, they came to the backyard, the house on the left side of the yard was locked, Zheng Ping waved his hand, and dozens of soldiers with shields surrounded the city in a circle, with hundreds of crossbowmen standing behind them.

The crossbow was aimed at the window and the gate. At this time, dozens of soldiers shot crossbows into the room from the rear window. The dense crossbow arrows shot into the room, and there was a scream of screams.

The gangsters in the room rushed out from the front door and the window like a nest, but they were shot head-on by the arrows. More than a dozen gangsters were shot down by the arrows one after another. Then, the second round of arrows shot into the room. , There were a few more screams.

Zheng Ping kicked open the door and rushed in. The last three gangsters tried to resist, but were knocked down by Zheng Ping. The room was full of corpses and wounded soldiers. Zheng Ping only left two alive, and the other wounded soldiers They all ordered the soldiers to kill.

At the same time, the shopkeeper Wang Long and four fellows were also caught by soldiers and tied up.

Chen Qing and Zhizhou He Jian arrived together, and Zheng Ping stepped forward to report: "To the Commander, all the insiders have been seized, and none of them slipped through the net!"

"Have you been interrogated?"

"Separate interrogation. At the second watch, open the south city gate and hold two torches as signs!"

He Jian asked with great interest: "What does the commander plan to do next?"

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "Of course it's boiled bastard in clear water. Is the mud bag I asked Zhizhou to make ready?"

"It's already done, do you need it now?"

"Please send them to the city gate!"

A thousand township soldiers quickly sent five thousand bags of earth, and Chen Qing used them to surround the city gate with three earth walls. There was no urn city in Chun'an County, so we had to use earth bags to build an urn city artificially. The city was also surrounded by dirt bags.

The pot has been set up, and the water is boiling, and the next thing is to wait for the bastards from outside the city to get in by themselves.

……

When the time came to the second watch, Zhang Kui led four thousand men and appeared one mile outside the south city gate. The sky was covered with a thin layer of clouds, and the moon passed through the clouds, making the earth half-dark.

Zhang Kui stared excitedly at Nanchengtou. He saw the weakness and uselessness of the two thousand officers and soldiers with his own eyes, and thought of being fooled by the other party that day.

Their subordinates were even a little impatient, they thought of women and money, and it was the middle of the night when they were doing good things, and their hearts suddenly felt like a cat scratching their hearts, each of them itched unbearably.

"Look, general!"

A soldier pointed at the top of the city and shouted: "The torches are lit!"

Zhang Kui could see clearly that two torches were waving, the suspension bridge was lowered, and the city gate was opened.

"Rush in!"

With Zhang Kui's order, thousands of thugs rushed towards the city gate, howling with excitement. Although the ground was uneven, these small obstacles could not stop their restless hearts.

On the top of the city, a thousand township soldiers and a thousand officers and soldiers crouched beside the battlements holding bows and arrows.

Around the sandbag wall under the city, Chen Qing personally led 1000 men with crossbows and arrows to stand ready.

After several days of hard training, the soldiers have undergone some changes. The strengthening of their physique has also boosted their confidence and morale.

They were also full of excitement in their hearts, and they set up an ambush to deal with the gangsters. Their hearts were full of expectations. For a while, the morale of the soldiers was high.

Chapter 65 Nepotism

Chen Qing calmly looked at the gangsters who were faintly visible outside the city. The other party was not riding a horse, but rushed towards the city gate in fear. This reminded him of the puppet Qi army he encountered in Guanzhong. Greed and lust led them to death.

More than [-] gangsters shouted wildly, leading hundreds of people rushed up the suspension bridge and rushed into the city gate. The moment they rushed into the city gate, Chen Qing shouted, "Shoot the arrow!"

'Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang! '

There was a loud sound of clappers, and the soldiers above and below the city fired arrows at the same time. More than 100 gangsters who had just rushed into the city were shot by the dense crossbow arrows, and fell down one by one screaming.

The two thousand soldiers on the top of the city also shot arrows down the city at the same time. The arrows were as dense as rain, shooting at the bandits below the city, especially the [-] officers and soldiers on the front of the city holding bows. Arrows shot into the dense crowd.

This round of arrows killed the gangsters by surprise. Hundreds of people fell down from the arrows, lying on the ground and crying in pain. Perhaps because of the darkness, many gangsters didn't react and continued to attack the city.

At this time, the second round of arrows was shot. If we said that the first round of arrows was a little flustered, many crossbow arrows were shot crookedly, but everyone calmed down a lot in the second round of arrows.

A thousand crossbow arrows shot at the hundreds of bandits rushing into the city like a storm. Amidst the screams and wailing, countless bandits fell to the ground. At this moment, the sound of gongs to withdraw troops was heard outside.

'when!when!when! The sound of the gong was rapid, urging the gangsters to retreat immediately.

Zhang Kui finally realized later that they had been tricked, and the officers and soldiers had already laid a net.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Zhang Kui shouted.

The gangsters reacted one after another, and at the same time they heard the gong of withdrawing troops, they turned around and ran away in a panic, how excited they were when they came, and how embarrassed they were when they retreated.

The soldiers fired a third round, and the arrows rained like a torrential rain. One or two hundred soldiers who were fleeing were hit by arrows in the back and fell down one after another.

The gangster fled away in a panic, Chen Qing waved his hand, "Change your weapon, come with me!"

A thousand soldiers picked up their spears and sabers and followed the general out of the city. When Chen Qing stabbed an injured bandit to death with the green dragon halberd, the soldiers came to their senses and drew their swords to deal with the injured bandits who were still alive.

Chen Qing's heart was as hard as iron, and he showed no mercy to the injured gangsters. Even if they begged for mercy, they would be stabbed to death with a halberd. He knew in his heart, what are these gangsters scrambling to do in the city?To show mercy to them is to be cruel to innocent people.

Not long after, more than 200 wounded soldiers were killed, and all kinds of trophies were collected. Chen Qing ordered his troops to return to the city, reopened the drawbridge, and closed the city gate. More than 1000 dead bodies will be disposed of tomorrow.

This battle had a major impact on 1000 officers and soldiers. This was basically the first battle in their lives, and they achieved a brilliant victory. More than [-] people were wiped out, but none of them were killed or injured. It is simply a miracle.

The morale of the two thousand soldiers was high, and the soldiers petitioned to fight Zhang Kui's bandits. Even Hu Yantong was tempted, and advised Chen Qing to take advantage of the victory to pursue the enemy and wipe out Zhang Kui's bandits in one go.

But Chen Qing was unmoved, and ordered the soldiers to cut off more than [-] heads and hang them on the top of the city to warn the whole of Muzhou. Anyone who dares to follow Zhang Kui and join the bandits will be killed without mercy!

As for the [-] soldiers, they started running again early the next morning to train their physical strength, practicing marksmanship and bow and arrow in the morning, squatting in the afternoon, and practicing night fighting in the evening.

Let the soldiers go through devilish training every day...

After the time entered May, the weather became hotter day by day. It has been a month since Chen Qing came to Muzhou. Except for setting up an ambush to defeat the sneak attack of the bandits, he never launched an attack on Zhang Kui, but focused on training his troops.

But this does not mean that Chen Qing does not pay attention to Zhang Kui's movements. On the contrary, he uses various channels to closely follow Zhang Kui's every move, and patiently waits for the opportunity to suppress the bandits.

Lin'an.

This afternoon, a guest came to the mansion of Shenzhi Zhengshi Qin Hui. It was Wang Bo, a martial arts student. When Wang Bo came to visit the Xiangguo Mansion, he didn't need to hand over a post like other officials. To make an appointment, his aunt was Qin Hui's. His wife, Wang Shi, Wang Bo was able to enter martial arts because he was recommended by Qin Hui.

Wang Bo's task was also to train the Xiang army, but he didn't have the heart to train the army, and he didn't even go through the gate of the barracks. This month, he and a few yamen hang out in various romantic places, living a happy life.

But Wang Bo is also paying attention to the situation of Chen Qing in Muzhou. In the past few days, he heard a news that the bandit officers and soldiers beheaded more than a thousand prisoners of war in Muzhou, and used their heads to build a Jingguan, which caused a lot of controversy in the court. Big controversy.

Wang Bo saw an opportunity to add insult to injury.

At this time, there was a crisp ringing sound from the inner hall, followed by the sound of footsteps. It was my aunt who came, and Wang Bo stood up quickly.

Soon, a large group of servant girls came out of the inner hall surrounded by a noble lady, and the hall was filled with fragrance.

The noble lady is Qin Hui's wife, Wang Shi. Wang Shi is about 40 years old, with high cheekbones, thin lips, and slender eyes. She may have been pretty when she was young, but as she gets older, her mean face becomes more obvious.

Wang Bo hurriedly knelt down and saluted, "My nephew pays respects to my aunt!"

Wang Bo is the youngest son of the second elder brother of the Wang family. He has been sweet-talking since he was a child, and he is good at pleasing people, so he is deeply loved by the Wang family.