Chapter 1208 Fence City
Chapter 1208 Fence City (Part )
It was dark and I couldn't see the target clearly.
The wind was strong and there was a vague noise everywhere.
The snow was heavy, so the arrow didn't fly far and its accuracy was impressive.
Even so, the two thousand advancing Jin troops were still in chaos.
The person holding the torch in the front row was hit by an arrow first and fell to the ground screaming.
In the crowd, more torches were knocked away, and the rest were extinguished by the wind and snow.
Hoarse shouts, blood-curdling screams, panicked footsteps and the chaotic sounds of swords being drawn out of their sheaths all flooded into Sima Yu's ears in an instant.
From his perspective, it was pitch black and chaotic all around. He had no idea what was going on and was completely confused about what to do next.
In the carriage, Wang Shu looked at him calmly, with no sign of panic on his face.
Sima Yu felt relieved and asked subconsciously, "Huai Zu, did I do something wrong? Should I get off the car to boost morale and command the soldiers to charge?"
Wang Shu was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty is not Yao or Shun, how can you be right about everything?"
Sima Yu nodded repeatedly and asked, "What should I do?"
"Dang!" An arrow hit the carriage, making a dull sound.
The noise was getting louder and louder, as if in the dark, no one could tell friend from foe, and some people were hacking and killing people indiscriminately, subconsciously attacking anyone who got close to them.
"I just did a fortune telling in my mind, and it's a good omen." Wang Shu said.
The screams were getting closer and closer. Sima Yu was almost crying in anxiety. He said in a serious tone: "Huai Zu, what plan do you have to repel the enemy now?"
"A gentleman should act in accordance with the right path—" Wang Shu had just finished his words when a military officer rushed over and pulled Sima Yu off the carriage.
"My king, let's go." The military school was followed by more than ten relatively calm sergeants. They surrounded Sima Yu, pushed through the chaotic crowd, and headed towards the mountains not far away.
Wang Shu suddenly leaped out, picked up a spear from the ground, and followed Sima Yu closely.
Their running away meant that the two thousand soldiers they had brought with them would be completely dispersed. Not many would die, but they would definitely be scattered. Fortunately, this was Jianye, and the soldiers were familiar with the geography, so they would not be unable to find their way back.
Behind Sima Yu and others, Qiu Xiaozhong, the commander of the Huangjia Camp, climbed up a stone rampart, shivering with cold.
When he was approaching the shore, he fell into the water. After being pulled up by his comrades, he entered a beacon tower.
The soldiers immediately lit firewood to warm him, and at the same time took clothes from the dead Jin soldiers and changed them for him.
After warming himself by the fire for a while and taking a few gulps of mare's milk, Qiu Xiaozhong finally recovered.
He did not ask about the situation of the former army.
In fact, the first group to cross the river consisted of only more than 20 people, each carrying a horse.
They were the second group to cross the river, with only about fifty people, but they carried slightly more horses, as well as some dry food and wine.
The boat was found by a local nobleman, who also provided the dry food. Pu Gu Zhongchen and Sun Jianjun repeatedly asked him who ordered him to do so, but the man hesitated and didn't say anything.
Pu Gu, a loyal minister, did not understand it, but Qiu Xiaozhong, who was smarter, did understand it.
The decline of the Jin people was not only reflected on the battlefield. Perhaps there were important figures in Tangyi County who secretly colluded with the Jin regime in the hope of being exempted from punishment in the future.
There are some in the north of the Yangtze River, and perhaps in the south of the Yangtze River as well.
Therefore, Qiu Xiaozhong led the Yellow Armor Army across the river without hesitation. The first batch had more than 20 people, the second batch had more than 50 people, and a total of 80 people landed. As for the third batch, it might be late at night if the ferry was not intercepted by the Jiangdong Navy.
Eighty riders, that's enough! Charge at night and kill wherever you can. It's just a life after death. After death, the Great Chanyu will give them a pension and let their sons and nephews inherit the title of noble. What's there to be afraid of?
"The group of Jin people... Wu soldiers we just encountered, there seem to be more than a thousand of them?" After taking another sip of wine, Qiu Xiaozhong wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said, "There are only so few people. Eighty cavalrymen are enough. Follow me."
Seeing that everyone was hesitant, Qiu Xiaozhong said in order to boost morale: "Jianye is such a big city, there should be a lot of wealth. The military supervisor is still in Jiangbei, you can hide some in private, no one will know."
As soon as these words were spoken, the morale of the troops was greatly boosted.
Qiu Xiaozhong smiled and walked out of the beacon tower first.
A moment later, dozens of riders mounted their horses and disappeared into the vast snow.
******
In the darkness of the night, Sima Yu felt as if his soul was about to dissipate.
I had only run five miles when my chest started to feel hot and I was having trouble breathing. I felt so uncomfortable that I wanted to die.
Seeing that he was really in no condition, everyone had to stop and find a sheltered place to rest, then carefully identify the direction to see if there were any familiar houses nearby to take shelter.
"We heard the sound of horse hooves from the west and east just now, and the bandits are coming from the north. The only way to survive is to head south." The military school student who had just protected Sima Yu all the way to the south suggested.
Sima Yu's face was extremely pale. After panting for a long time, he asked, "Who are you?"
"The Yu family is a distant clan and was born out of wedlock. Their humble name may taint the ears of the wise king." The military school replied.
"You saved me, so you have done a great deed. What is your name, warrior? What is your position?"
"Yu Jie of Kuaiji will temporarily assume the position of deputy chief of the imperial guards."
"Okay, I'll take note of it. I'll definitely reward you handsomely when you return to the city. How many guards do you have now?"
Yu Jie turned around and took a look, then said, "We have gathered some people on the way, more than 40 people, and two donkeys. Your Majesty can ride one to save your energy."
"Good." Sima Yu was overjoyed when he heard there was a donkey. He immediately stopped panting and his feet were no longer sore. He stood up and said, "We can't stay here for long. Let's go back to the city and report first." Yu Jie said nothing, and asked the soldiers to bring the donkeys, one for Sima Yu and one for Wang Shu. Then he surrounded the two of them and disappeared into the vast wind and snow.
This journey is not easy.
After walking three or four miles to the south-west and collecting dozens of defeated soldiers, they heard the sound of horse hooves behind them. Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they didn't even have the courage to turn around and fight the enemy, and they all retreated to the side of the road.
The pursuers, numbering no more than a dozen, discovered the group of people.
They rode their horses and fired dozens of arrows. There were cries and screams in the bushes, and the vague figures exploded in an instant and fled in all directions.
Several of the pursuers rode straight towards the bushes, while the rest continued forward and soon disappeared.
Sima Yu was so frightened that he fled into a bamboo forest. Wang Shu and others followed him, all of them looking terrified and at a loss as to what to do.
Yu Jie was quite brave. He found a bow, squinted his eyes, aimed for a long time, and then shot an arrow.
The dark figure of the knight swayed and fell to the ground with a bang.
Yu Jie's confidence was boosted, and he fired three arrows in succession. Perhaps the darkness and the snow and wind affected his accuracy, and this time he only knocked over one horse. The knight rolled over when he fell to the ground, and instead of retreating, he advanced and rushed straight into the bamboo forest.
Yu Jie threw away his bow and grabbed his sword, gritted his teeth and called on several soldiers beside him, and rushed forward. At the cost of injuring one of their own, they killed the confused Liang soldier outside the bamboo forest.
After losing two horses in succession, the remaining few dared not go any deeper. Perhaps they thought that they were just a group of defeated soldiers and not worth risking their lives, so they turned their horses around and chased after the team ahead.
Sima Yu was stunned watching from the side.
It turns out that if I fight well, I may not be defeated by these bandits. Was I too panicked just now? If I didn't run, I wouldn't necessarily lose, right? Who knows how many soldiers the Liang bandits have? Anyway, what I have seen so far are only a few or more than ten riders, which doesn't seem to be too many?
He turned his head and looked at the other side of the bamboo forest.
It was a quiet courtyard, not too big or too small, with dozens of houses. The lights seemed to be on just now, but they went out again after hearing the screams of fighting in the bamboo forest, obviously not wanting to cause trouble.
Sima Yu knew that this might be a villa outside the city belonging to a royal family.
The top dignitaries of the Jin Dynasty liked to live in the south of the city, the general dignitaries lived in the east, and the idle royal family members liked to live in the north.
Thinking of this, Sima Yu had an idea and decided to take refuge in this house and wait until dawn.
But reality soon shattered his fantasy.
Another round of horse hoof sounds came from the north. Sima Yu no longer mentioned the matter. Under the protection of Yu Jie, he slipped out from the other end of the bamboo forest and headed south.
******
I had better luck this time.
They only encountered the Liang army once in the entire second half of the night. They even took advantage of the terrain, killed three Liang cavalrymen in a row, and seized four horses.
As day was about to dawn, the Beili Gate was already in sight in the distance.
Yu Jie asked Sima Yu and others to find a private house to take shelter temporarily, and he led several soldiers on horses and donkeys to check.
The so-called Beili Gate is considered a city gate of Jianye's outer city.
Literally, this city gate is opened in the fence wall.
The outer city of Jianye reached Fuzhou Mountain and Xuanwuyuan in the north, and a line stretched along Yanque Lake and Nanshi in the east. In the west, it reached Shitoucheng and the Yangtze River, and in the south it extended to the swamp wilderness. It was all surrounded by fences, which was the outer city.
There is another fence wall along Qingxi River and Huaishui River (Qinhuai River), which is the inner city wall.
In the entire Jianye City, only the Palace City or Taicheng City has a proper city wall and relatively complete defense facilities.
This relatively perfunctory city defense system is still an improvement compared to the past, because there was not even a fence two years ago!
When Yu Jie and others arrived near Beili Gate, they suddenly discovered that there were forty or fifty Liang cavalrymen gathered there.
A Jin soldier stuck his head out from above the door and was shot dead on the spot by a precise arrow. After killing several people in a row, no one dared to step out again.
The wooden door itself was useless and was knocked down by the Liang soldiers who dismounted from their horses, who chopped it down with swords and axes.
Yu Jie even heard a smug laugh coming from the wind.
It's over, the Liang bandits have entered the city! A whole night has passed, and I don't know if Jianye City has received the news. If not, I'm afraid it will be a terrible sight.
Yu Jie did not dare to stay and hurried back to the house where Sima Yu was resting and told him the situation.
"There is a thief at the North Gate and we can't get in. What should we do? If we go through the East Gate or the West Gate, it's too far." Sima Yu said in surprise.
He didn't want to go anywhere now, so he just wanted to go back to the city first. If he could sneak into Taicheng, that would be great. He even thought of a reason: to report urgent military information.
Yu Jie didn't know what Sima Yu was thinking, so he just said helplessly: "My king, is the outer city very high?"
"As tall as me..." Sima Yu quickly understood.
A bamboo fence that is one person high can only keep out gentlemen, but not villains.
In fact, the Liang group didn't need to attack the North Gate at all. They could just cut through a section of the fence and rush in directly.
"Go south, straight to the Daxia Gate, and enter Taicheng from Hualin Garden." Sima Yu made a decision quickly.
Almost at the same time, the Liang army that crossed the river to the south had reached more than a hundred cavalrymen. Most of them abandoned other goals and rushed straight to Jianye City. They were so excited that they didn't even care about their lives.
(End of this chapter)