Chapter 8: The Enemy
broken!
Liu Zheng felt uneasy.
The fat man was the county marquis of Yangzhou City, named Lu Zhengyi. He glared at Qin Changfeng and shouted, "Who are you, you thief? You are committing a crime in the street. You are guilty of a heinous crime. Catch you!"
More than thirty soldiers responded and pressed forward.
Qin Changfeng glared at him coldly, and was about to attack with the long sword in his hand shaking.
Liu Zheng didn't want this ranger to be accused of "rebellion against the government", so he ran out and shouted, "Stop, stop!"
Lu Zhengyi scolded: "Who are you?"
Liu Zheng smiled and said, "My Lord, I am the son of the Yinzhou County Marquis. If you have anything to say, please talk to me nicely!"
Lu Zhengyi was stunned for a moment, then angrily said, "Where did this little brat come from? When did Yinzhou have a county marquis?"
Everyone laughed.
Although Yangzhou is poor, it still has some weight and pride compared to the incorruptible Yinzhou.
Liu Zheng took out the customs clearance document and handed it to Lu Zhengyi, saying, "Please look, sir. My father, Liu Dahao, will soon take office as the Marquis of Yinzhou County. We are all family, family!"
"It really is the seal of Liangzhou Prefecture!"
Lu Zhengyi confirmed this, but still sneered: "You are the Marquis of Yinzhou County. You want to be in charge of things in my Yangzhou. Aren't you too ambitious? Please get out of the way!"
Liu Zheng continued, "Sir, you must not do that. This knight repelled the bandits in the street, and the people were delighted when they heard about it. If you punish him, won't that make the people feel disappointed?"
At this time, many people came over and pleaded for Qin Changfeng.
Qin Changfeng sneered: "Why bother asking this dog official! It turns out that the soldiers in Yangzhou City don't know how to defend themselves against the enemy, but only know how to oppress the people. What's the point of keeping such a county magistrate? Look, I'll bring you his head!"
With a loud shout, he rushed into the crowd of soldiers.
This ranger was indeed very capable and had astonishing skills. Even when facing more than thirty people, he was like a dragon swimming in the river or the sea. After a few rounds, the more than thirty palace soldiers could not even touch him.
Everyone exclaimed in surprise. Lu Zhengyi's face turned pale. His own soldiers were not able to defeat a ranger, which really made him lose face.
"Stop fighting, stop fighting!"
Liu Zheng was afraid that Qin Changfeng might accidentally hurt the soldiers or kill someone, and then there would be no room for mediation in this matter.
"Stop it, everyone!"
Lu Zhengyi shouted.
More than thirty soldiers retreated as if they had been pardoned.
Qin Changfeng wields his sword with extraordinary grace.
The more Liu Zheng looked at him, the more he liked him, and he thought he must recruit this person under his command.
Lu Zhengyi's expression changed several times, and he finally sighed: "A warrior is good at martial arts, but do you really think that I don't want to fight the enemy? In fact, there are only 1,000 soldiers in the entire Yangzhou Prefecture, but there are 3,000 horse bandits! What you repelled on the street today was just a small group of them. The horse bandits suffered a loss in Yangzhou today, and they will definitely attack in large numbers!"
"You are a knight-errant, so you can leave in style!"
"But how can Yangzhou City resist?"
"Excuse me, did you save the people or harm them? I can only arrest you and bring you to justice, which will also be an explanation to the bandits ! After a while, I will release you, and Yangzhou will be safe!"
"What?"
Lu Zhengyi's eyes were red, and his words sounded helpless and melancholy, and it didn't seem fake.
Qin Changfeng and Liu Zheng were both stunned.
The two had just thought that it was the Yangzhou County Marquis who did nothing, and even suspected that he and the horse bandit were colluding with each other, which was why they were furious at Qin Changfeng's chivalrous deeds. Now it seems that this is not the case. The horse bandits are powerful, and Yangzhou has only one thousand soldiers. They can only use this method to protect the people and survive in this chaotic world.
This is a tacit understanding in troubled times.
The bandits needed to eat, and they didn't want to destroy Yangzhou City. If that happened, who would they rob?
The government can only strike a balance.
The whole thing reveals the infinite sadness of this troubled times.
As for why not recruit soldiers?
It’s very simple, I can’t afford it!
Yangzhou’s annual tax revenue is not enough to deal with natural disasters, so where would the money come from to recruit more soldiers?
"this……"
Qin Changfeng, a knight-errant, was used to being wild, so he had no idea how difficult it was to be the head of a household. He had good intentions but ended up doing something bad. With a face full of shame, he shouted, "It's Changfeng's fault that I didn't know that the Lord cared about the people! When the bandits come again, Qin Changfeng will be the first to charge into battle!"
"What a good man!"
Lu Zhengyi sighed: "If you care about the people, go to prison and rest for a few days..."
Qin Changfeng clenched his fists. He was unwilling to give in, but it was probably the only way. After all, the enemy had three to four thousand people, and no matter how powerful he was, he was not a god.
Liu Zheng thought that this was his chance, and asked, "Sir, how many men and horses does this bandit have? How strong is his fighting ability?"
Everyone looked at him with disdain.
Lu Zhengyi smiled bitterly: "Why, sir, do you still want to destroy that horse bandit?"
Qin Changfeng immediately shouted: "If you have this idea, I will lead the way!"
Liu Zheng was overjoyed. This is exactly what you said! In this day and age, a man will die for his friend. He wanted to win Qin Changfeng over, but he couldn't do it by crying like Liu Bei did. You have to show your extraordinary qualities to make him want to follow you.
He smiled slightly: "Maybe."
Lu Zhengyi was about to speak, but at this moment, a horse suddenly galloped over, and a man jumped off and rolled over: "Sir, a group of horse bandits have gathered outside the city. It looks like there are at least three or four thousand of them. They are clamoring to besiege the city. The situation is critical!"
Everyone was shocked. Lu Zhengyi gritted his teeth and waved his hand: "The bandits are going too far. Do they really think that there is no one in Yangzhou? Give the order to defend Yangzhou to the death. Anyone who retreats will be killed without mercy!"
"yes!"
Liu Zheng and a few others also ran to the city wall.
Looking up, there were already crowds of people outside the city. The horses were produced in Liangzhou. This horse bandit had only one horse and one sword, and was full of murderous intent. He rode his horse around the city gate, shouting and mocking.
This scene made the soldiers of Yangzhou Prefecture terrified. In terms of momentum, these horse bandits had an absolute upper hand.
It was the first time Liu Zheng encountered such a scene, and his scalp tingled.
Three or four thousand people, which was equivalent to a regiment in later generations, stood so densely together that it seemed as if there was no end in sight.
“Run!”
"The horse bandits are coming!"
The people in the city had already been in a panic, and every household was packing up their belongings and planning to flee Yangzhou.
Lu Zhengyi immediately ordered the city to be sealed off to stabilize the people's hearts, but because some of the government soldiers went to maintain law and order, the number of people guarding the city was greatly reduced. With only 600 people, although it is easier to defend a city than to attack it, the enemy was so aggressive that they finally found an excuse to occupy Yangzhou City.
"Old Man Lu, how dare you let the thief hurt my brother? I will not stop until this man is punished!"
"If you don't do anything, open the city gate and let us go in to search!"
"Open the door!"
Three thousand people shouted in unison, their voices shaking the sky, and they did not take Lu Zhengyi, the official, seriously at all.
"What should I do?"
Lu Zhengyi was extremely desperate.
Liu Zheng asked anxiously: "Lord Lu, how many days can we hold out?"
Lu Zhengyi said: "Although our Yangzhou soldiers are not afraid of death, we are outnumbered and can survive for at most three days!"
Liu Zheng observed for a moment and found that although the bandits were bandits, their horses, weapons and equipment were much better than those of the palace soldiers. No wonder these people were desperate.
This is simply not at the level of combat effectiveness.
"I, Qin Changfeng, will go first!"
Qin Changfeng felt both ashamed and angry.
Liu Zheng quickly pulled him back and turned to ask Lu Zhengyi: "Master Lu, is there a stone quarry in Yangzhou?"
"Stone quarry?"
Lu Zhengyi nodded: "Yangzhou is rich in bluestone, and the quarry is just north of the city."
Liu Zheng was overjoyed: "Lord Lu, you must hold on for three days. After three days, I will come to repel the enemy!"
"ah?"
Everyone looked at him in confusion, thinking it was just a child's joke.
Liu Dahao was also sweating profusely: "Son, don't joke, don't joke!"
Lu Zhengyi shook his head: "Captain Luo!"
"exist!"
"Send the Marquis of Yinzhou County and his son, as well as this ranger, to Ximen and leave!"
"yes!"
Liu Zheng shouted, "Lord Lu, please trust me once! I don't need a single soldier or horse, just give me fifty strong men!"
Lu Zhengyi looked at him suspiciously. This son of Liu County Marquis seemed to be a dandy young man with fine clothes and delicious food, but at this moment when a great battle was imminent, there was no fear on his face. He was not an ordinary person.
"We have prepared a lot of rolling stones to defend the city. Why are you still going to the stone quarry? I will trust you for now, but it will only take three days at most. After three days, you must leave!"
Lu Zhengyi nodded.
He immediately ordered Captain Luo to take Liu Zheng and the other two on horseback to the quarry in the north of the city.
When Liu Zheng saw the quarry, his face showed joy.
It has been cloudy for the past few days, and it looks like it will rain heavily. This heavy rain is the key to whether Yangzhou can defend the city! Rolling Stone?
hehe.
What if it was lime instead of stone that was rolling?
