Chapter 160 Everyone gets a share of the money
The sky was just getting light, the ground was covered with frost, and the cold wind blowing everywhere made people shiver.

"Lu Changshi~Lu Changshi~the enemy soldiers are attacking the city!"

The shouts of the captain of the North Gate were heard at the side door of the Yecheng Governor's Mansion, and then spread inside through the layers of guards.

In order to handle military intelligence quickly, Lu Zhi recently lived in the Governor's Mansion and did not even go home.

He couldn't sleep either, so he got up early and asked the servants to help him wash up. Unexpectedly, the bandits outside the city arrived earlier than him.

"This damn traitor!"

After angrily scolding, Lu Zhi ordered the servants behind him to simply tie up his hair, and then hurriedly put on his robe and heavy armor.

The guards on duty in front of the Governor's Mansion were all breathing heavily and stamping their feet. Only after Zuo Changshi came out did they try hard to pretend to be energetic.

Langzhong Ling Du Liang had already learned the enemy situation from the captain of the North Gate. After meeting Zuo Changshi, he stepped forward and relayed it to Lu Zhi.

"Tens of thousands of enemy soldiers? They also have trenches, bridges, battering rams, and ladders?"

As soon as Lu Zhi heard this, he knew that the bandits outside the city were serious. He thought that the bandits would wait for a few days until the moat was completely frozen before attacking the city, but he didn't expect that the bandits would come so quickly.

"Master Lu, please recruit able-bodied men in the city to help defend the city. If we delay any longer, the enemy troops will have completely crossed the moat." Du Liang requested.

"You and Chang Qian take the county officials and go to the mansions of the great families to recruit private soldiers. I will go to guard the north city wall first."

Lu Zhi pointed out another official who stayed behind.

Like Du Liang, Chang Qian was also from Shu County. Many officials in Shu followed the example of honest officials such as Zhuge Liang and Qiao Zhou. They were not only capable in their work, but also did not pursue land and wealth. Lu Changshi quite admired the behavior of Shu officials.

The doctor ordered Du Liang to leave. Chang Qian was over sixty years old and he was fifty-four, both of them were not young anymore. Recruiting private soldiers from big families was a thankless task, and they would both suffer today.

The left chief clerk then mounted his horse and led dozens of guards to the north city wall.

When King Chengdu led his troops to escort the emperor back to the capital Luoyang, he took away 40,000 of the most elite armored soldiers and left only 18,000 military households to garrison. After that, reinforcements from various places who responded to King Chengdu's uprising arrived one after another. The number of troops in Yecheng once reached 30,000. Half a month ago, more than 5,000 people were sent to garrison the two cities of Xindu and Handan.

According to Lu Zhi's estimation, if the private soldiers of the big families and the able-bodied men of the regular households in the city could be recruited, the total number of defenders in the city would be 40,000 to 50,000.

Yecheng is seven miles wide from east to west and five miles wide from north to south, and the circumference of the city wall is 24 miles. The total number of rebel soldiers and civilians outside the city is only about 30,000. Let alone attacking the four walls, even attacking the north wall is a bit beyond their ability.

Therefore, the army in Yecheng only needs to be on guard against the bandits' tactics of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. In a proper offensive and defensive battle, the bandits will not gain any advantage.

There was chaos near the north city gate. The armored soldiers who had been assigned to defend the city were gathering in groups with flags. Laborers were running to the top of the city with unlit torches and backpacks full of charcoal. Soldiers carrying large crossbows were moving slowly on the stairs to the city, and they couldn't move for a long time.

The Sima and Du of the other troops who were summoned to the city were so anxious that they cursed their mothers and fathers.

More soldiers and civilians were rushing over. The civilians who were transporting weapons and equipment could not get out, and the soldiers who wanted to go to the city could not get in. Tens or twenty thousand people gathered here, and the area near Beimen Street was actually congested.

This was unthinkable before.

"Send Lieutenant Yang Bin to the city gates to command the soldiers and able-bodied men."

After giving the order to the captain of the North Gate, Lu Zhi led his guards and followed a group of archers to the top of the city wall.

Most of the towers outside the city had been breached and burned, with thick black smoke billowing out of them. The bandits' four trench bridges were located on the east side of the north city wall, half a mile away from the city gate tower.

It has to be said that the distance was calculated quite cleverly. The space on the top of the city wall was limited, and the city defense equipment and supplies had to be transported from the street opposite the city gate tower. After the laborers moved them to the top of the city wall, they had to run another half mile, which greatly consumed the physical strength of the young men defending the city.

The Jin soldiers on the top of the city were throwing stones with smaller catapults in an attempt to destroy the four moat bridges, but the bandits' twelve or thirteen ladders were already in place, and the battering rams and catapults seemed to have crossed the moat. The swarming bandits didn't even need to walk on the moat bridges, they could cross the river by holding on to the edge of the bridges and stepping on the river ice.

The howling cold wind reminded Lu Zhi that the moat would only become more solid as it froze, and the battle to defend the city in the next few days would only become more and more difficult.

"Send a message to the South Gate Captain and the Zhonglang Army, and order them to find a way to dig open the dam between the Twelve Channels and the moat to see if they can bring in some fresh water."

A few days ago, the Yecheng army released the water from the moat, lowering the river level by three feet, intending to create a trench using the height difference between the ice surface and the moat.

But this trick didn't work. The bandits attacking the city simply dug several up and down slopes on both sides of the river to make the trench bridge stick to the ice surface, so the bandits walking on the ice could also cross the river smoothly.

After receiving the military order, a messenger would deliver the order from the Left Chief Clerk to the vicinity of the South Gate.

The battlefield half a mile east of the city gate tower has entered the fighting stage. Although the archers and grenadiers on both sides of the attack and defense are still pulling strings to shoot arrows and loading bullets to throw stones, the Jin soldiers and bandit soldiers near the top of the ladders ignore these factors. The halberds in front of them are the main factors that determine life and death.

After seven or eight armored soldiers came up and were thrown into the battlefield one after another, the soldiers of Yecheng finally stabilized the situation. The bandits who were attacking the city with knives could only climb up the ladders and wait to be stabbed, pecked, hooked, and chopped. The gap in main weapons was further widening. If the bandits did not have a fierce general rushing up to break the situation, the Jin soldiers could not hold out for a long time.

"Have the thief generals Li Hao, Li Lian, Wang Mi and others appeared?"

After observing the enemy situation, Lu Zhi felt more and more that something was wrong. According to the bandits' usual fighting style, when they encountered a situation where the soldiers were unable to defeat the enemy, the enemy generals should have come out to fight fiercely. However, none of the famous bandit generals showed up.

"Reporting to Lu Changshi, Wang Mi appeared near the east gate, and seemed to be preparing to capture and kill those who escaped from the city. The bandit leader Li Hao once commanded the siege at the north gate, and now we don't know where the bandit leader is."

The scouts will report the specific situation to the Left Chief Clerk.

"Alas..." Lu Zhi exhaled a stream of white. After this breath, his whole momentum fell. "Go to the palace quickly and send a capable person to escort Concubine Cheng to escape. Go through the west gate and go to Yanzhou or Xuzhou."

He did not say who the capable person was, and the Northern Front Captain, the Zhonglang Army and others did not dare to send anyone casually.

"Just send General Qianxiu."

Lu Zhi thought about it and felt that there were not many trustworthy people in the city. Military officers such as the commander of the corps, the commander of the cavalry, the lieutenant, and the lieutenant general were generally of low birth, and their families were all in the vicinity of Yecheng. If he sent them to escort Concubine Cheng, there was a fear that once Yecheng was captured, Concubine Cheng would return with her servants.

Now only the officials and generals from high-ranking aristocratic families can be relied upon, because the bandits have been investigating the land and households of the high-ranking aristocratic families. The soldiers from military households may lead Concubine Cheng to surrender to the bandits, but the officials and generals from aristocratic families certainly will not do that.

The Zhonglang Army at the North Gate sent someone to the city to convey the order from the Left Chief Clerk.

"Send another 2,000 armored soldiers out of the city to fight fiercely, bring fierce fire oil and heavy swords, and destroy their ladders."

The city wall is still in the hands of the Jin army. Sending troops out of the city to the corner of the city to engage in battle with the bandits can relieve a lot of pressure on the city wall.

The battle of life and death was before their eyes. The officers defending the city quickly gathered their troops, formed a battle line inside the city wall, and then prepared to march out of the city gate.

Lu Zhi had anticipated that there would be major changes on the battlefield, but he did not expect that the elite soldiers of Yecheng near the ladder would not hold out for more than half an hour. At the third quarter of the morning, the number of bandits climbing the city walls increased significantly, and the Zhonglang Army of the North Gate had no choice but to personally approach the battlefield to command and dispatch the soldiers to join the fight, but the bandits kept advancing and actually connected that section of the city wall.

"This, this, this, the bandit leader Li Hao has long been famous. Now that I have seen him, I realize that most of the people who previously praised him as a bandit general have never seen him fight in person, otherwise the rumors would be even more terrifying."

Looking at the corpses and pieces of flesh that kept flying out, Yang Bin, who had also climbed to the top of the city wall, was amazed.

Lu Zhi wanted to denounce these absurd remarks that would boost others' morale and undermine his own prestige, but he was powerless to do so. He only hoped that Concubine Cheng could escape from the bandits.

"Dispatch another three or four battalions of soldiers to the city, and continue to increase the number of soldiers sent outside the city, and strive to push back the attacking bandits on two fronts."

The Left Chief Clerk gave orders again, and his close followers all advised him to retreat to a safe place, but Lu Zhining refused to retreat, so Yang Bin turned around and left the city wall with a group of military officers who did not want to die or surrender to the bandits.

On the post road west of Yecheng, seventy or eighty cavalrymen were galloping around a carriage. The leading general Qian Xiu even had the heart to comfort Concubine Cheng, the mother of King Chengdu, who was in the carriage.

"Don't worry, Grand Concubine. With Xiu here, no enemy soldier dares to do anything to you."

This general was the grandson of Qian Zhao, the prefect of Yanmen during the Cao Wei period. He had previously served as a Zhonglang official in the Ministry of Works in Luoyang, but was later impeached and dismissed from office. Qian Zhao then fled to the palace of the King of Chengdu.

Concubine Cheng in the carriage fled in a hurry. She was unwilling to do so in the first place, and the shaking of the carriage made her face pale and nauseous. She was on the verge of death.

After hearing Qianxiu's words of comfort, she thought the situation was still under the control of the Jin army, so she lifted the curtain of the carriage window and asked softly, "General, can you please find a secluded place for me to rest for a while? I really can't hold on any longer."

Sima Ying was the most handsome of Sima Yan's sons, and his handsome face was passed down from Concubine Cheng.

Qian Xiu's eyes suddenly lit up. Concubine Cheng was still as beautiful as ever. Just this one glance made the general feel itchy in his heart.

The reason he was dismissed from office was that he took someone else's wife on a night trip and indulged in revelation in the car.

"Don't worry, Toffee. There is a forest one mile ahead where you can rest."

Suddenly something happened and Qianxiu didn't know where to go. After being aroused by Concubine Cheng, she led her people in a carriage and went into the woods to rest for a while.

"My Lady, I know a little bit about medicine. I wonder if my Lady is nauseous or fainting?"

Most of the people escorting the Concubine were Qian Xiu's confidants, and a small number were guards from the royal palace. Concubine Cheng was feeling very uncomfortable, and when she heard that the general escorting her knew medicine, she ordered him to sit in the coachman's seat and take her pulse.

Qianxiu requested to enter the carriage for treatment on the grounds that he needed to be examined by a doctor. Although Concubine Cheng was concerned about the gender gap, no one dared to offend her since she gave birth to the favored Queen Chengdu, so she reluctantly agreed to let the general enter the carriage for treatment.

The space inside the car was small and cramped, and the only servant who served Concubine Cheng personally was kicked out of the car.

"How can you be so rude, General... You can't... Hehe..."

Concubine Cheng in the carriage made a strange sound and the carriage began to shake. The personal maid and the palace attendants wanted to get on the carriage to check the situation, but they were surrounded by the Qianxiu troops with evil smiles on their faces.

Qianxiu was over 40 years old, and the incident only lasted a short while. Just as she was about to put on her clothes and clean up the mess, she heard a sudden shout from the soldiers outside the car.

"General, it's bad. Hundreds of bandits are surrounding us."

Afterwards, Qianxiu felt something was wrong. He quickly put on his armor and looked out of the car door. A powerful arrow hit the car door. Qianxiu was so scared that he shrank back and found his helmet and put it on.

Some soldiers helped drive the carriage, but it stopped after a short while. The sounds of fighting outside the carriage became much quieter. Qianxiu finally dressed herself, lifted the curtain and looked out. She found several crossbows with arrows loaded on them were pointed at the inside of the carriage. She was so frightened that her hands were shaking.

"General, please spare my life, General, please spare my life!"

Qianxiu didn't have the courage to fight against the dozens of mounted bandits outside the car, so he begged for mercy.

The leader Wang Mi cursed his bad luck. He received military intelligence saying that a group of people escaped from the west gate, so he went around in a big circle to chase them, but he only caught up with the Queen Mother of Chengdu and a general of miscellaneous rank.

If I had known this earlier, I would have followed the general to attack the city. The merit of being the first to attack the city is much better than capturing Sima Ying's mother.

Sima Ying's mother was tortured half to death, which further reduced Wang Mi's military achievements.

After cleaning up this small battlefield, Wang Mi took the captured people to Yecheng.

……

The Yecheng soldiers gathered near the north gate were the last wave of Jin soldiers who had the courage to resist. After the rebel soldiers roughly occupied the north city wall, Li Hao swung a knife cart and jumped directly into the Yecheng soldiers to circle around.

There are usually wooden swords and iron swords at the front of the knife cart. The cart in the general's hand is equipped with more than 20 iron swords, and the cart itself weighs about 100 pounds. Even the elite Jin soldiers wearing heavy armor did not dare to collide with the knife cart.

The army formation of these two or three thousand Jin soldiers was broken by Li Hao, but the rebel soldiers were on high alert, and after the general finished his task, they would give an order and move five steps forward to attack.

The war once again turned into the familiar process of capturing deserters for the rebels. Deserters in the city were much easier to capture than those in the wild because they could only flee along the streets, and when they had nowhere to escape, they would turn around and surrender to the rebel soldiers.

"Li Ji, Li Xiang, Lu Rong and other Zhonglang troops will each lead their troops to seize the three gates in the east, west and south. Make sure that no nobles can escape with their troops and money. I will lead my own troops to collect the surrendered soldiers."

After the general issued the military order, the rebel forces completely occupied Yecheng.

The left chief secretary Lu Zhi in the city had been captured. After his soldiers and troops were defeated and scattered, Lieutenant Yang Bin and other officers surrendered one after another. Without a leader, the resistance in Yecheng was ineffective. However, the noble families who did not have time to escape were quite stubborn and would rather burn their own mansions and treasuries than open the gates to surrender.

After noon, the most common work done by the rebel soldiers was to put out fires in the mansions of various nobles and rescue the spoils of war that belonged to the rebels.

Wu Zhi, who had made several small contributions, became the logistics officer of the rebel army. He was also responsible for confiscating the official warehouses, county government offices, and military depots in Yecheng.

"Ten thousand taels, ten thousand taels..."

In the official warehouse of Ye County, Wu Zhi ordered his men to pile up the confiscated five-zhu coins by tens of thousands. Unexpectedly, the pile formed nine small hills, and there were still several thousand strings that did not make up the ten thousand.

The rest of the yellow and white things were too numerous to count, and even a commander like Wu Zhi started to tremble.

"Add to that what's copied from the various governments, and each soldier in the rebel army will get eight or nine hundred yuan!"

The wealth in Yecheng dazzled him. Wu Zhi rubbed his eyes and counted them again. After confirming that everything was correct, he recorded them in the book. Then he took the book to find the general to report.

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(End of this chapter)