The First Yamen of the Great Song Dynasty

Gao Ming's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that the imperial army set out to attack Fang La's hometown of Runzhou. Fang La took a surprise turn and sent troops to attack Hangzhou.

Shi Qian was still in a hurry to say something, when a man's voice came from outside the door, "Master Gao, Zhao Ting, the prefect of Hangzhou, please see me!"

Hearing the voice, the person had already arrived at the door. Gao Ming got up and walked towards the door while saying, "Come in."

A burly middle-aged man walked in with two other men.

Gao Ming recognized them, they were Zhao Ting, the prefect of Hangzhou, and the two people behind him were Chen Jian, envoy of the system, and Zhao Yue, envoy of Lianfang.

After Gao Ming came to Hangzhou, these people all came to meet him and had dinner with him, but they were all simple entertainments in the officialdom, and they hadn't done anything together yet.

The prefect Zhao Ting urged straight to the point: "My lord, there is no need to delay, Fang Tianding's men and horses are coming soon, you should leave quickly."

And Gao Ming is currently one of the most important figures in Hangzhou, we must first ensure his safety.

Gao Ming calmed down his attitude first, "I want to advance and retreat with the city of Hangzhou, and I won't leave."

No matter what aspect he considered, he couldn't leave. From the perspective of personal safety, if he left Hangzhou City at this time, he would be caught by the enemy directly just like he left Qingzhou City last time.

In terms of reputation, he fled the battle, and this kind of stigma would last a lifetime, and if Li Qingzhao was asked to write a sentence like "I still miss Xiang Yu, but dare not cross Jiangdong", he would really be notorious.

When Zhao Ting heard this, he said urgently: "My lord, this is a war, not a joke. You don't know that every time Fang La's men conquer a city, they will arrest all the officials, dismember their bodies, dissect their hearts, and even boil oil in a hot pot! If you leave, once the city is broken, it will be unimaginable!"

The system envoy Chen Jian and the Lian visit envoy Zhao Yue did not express their views, and they might still be watching Gao Ming's attitude.

But Gao Ming knew that these two people definitely didn't want him to leave, if they wanted to, they would have talked to each other a long time ago.

Especially Chen Jian, the envoy, who is in charge of the military defenses of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, of course hopes to have one more person and one more force. Once the officials flee, it will be fatal to shake the hearts of the people.

All the officials ran away, and when the common people saw it, the fools would not run away.

Gao Ming once again made his attitude clear, "Prefect Zhao, as a deputy privy envoy, I will never abandon the city and the people in the city. Don't tell me to leave Hangzhou. Now, you call all the officials in Hangzhou. Go to the magistrate's yamen to discuss countermeasures against the enemy."

The system made Chen Jian seem to be relieved, and he nodded with a busy smile, "I'll send someone to call the system and the capital supervisor."

Lian Fang made Zhao Yue feel relieved and said, "It's really great that Mr. Gao is willing to stay and guard the city with us."

Because Gao Ming recently held the election of Taihu Stone with great momentum, the people have a good impression of him. They all think that this person can bring a good turning point to the local area, and they all have deep expectations for him. The coming blow can be imagined.

Zhao Ting shook his head again and again, "Fang Tianding is said to have brought 15 troops, but do you know how many troops are there in Hangzhou City?"

Gao Ming showed an expression of "willing to hear more about it".

Zhao Ting said word by word: "Five thousand is not enough!"

Gao Ming took a deep breath, shit!He thought that Hangzhou could have more troops than the Mengzhou garrison he had stayed in, but it turned out to be the same virtue.

This dynasty has fully learned the lessons of the Tang Dynasty and overcorrected. It is afraid of local troubles and pursues a policy of strong stems and weak branches.

15 to [-], no matter how you listen, it is the rhythm to finish.

Fearing that Gao Ming would run away, the envoy Chen Jian and Lian Fang envoy Zhao Yue hurriedly said, "History is full of battles in which the less wins the more, and the Battle of Feishui is an example!"

Zhao Ting wanted to laugh, "The battle of Feishui was a big deal! Chen Jian, Zhao Yue, you two are planning to die here, but there is still an old father in the yamen trying to get him back. Waiting for him to come back to life, you are instigating him to defend the city like you, wanting to see him die, what are you doing?"

Both Chen Jian and Zhao Yue became angry, "What are you talking about?!"

Gao Ming coughed heavily, "Don't make noise! ​​I know what you're thinking. Again, I won't abandon the city, and besides, I won't stop anyone who wants to leave." He glanced at Zhao Ting.

The reason why Zhao Ting said so much was to persuade Gao Yanei to leave Hangzhou City with him. When the officials started to investigate and Gao Yanei was involved, the Taiwei would naturally protect him.

Gao Ming saw through this and told him to leave as soon as he wanted, so as not to disturb the morale of the army here.

Although Zhao Ting was able to run, after all, he would be held accountable by the officials after he ran away. He really wanted to take Gao Yanei with him, "My lord, I..."

Gao Ming looked at him sideways, "Still leaving?"

At this time, a servant came to report in a hurry, "My lord, Zhu—" Before he could finish speaking, he was pulled aside by someone behind him.

Gao Ming and the others saw Zhu Qian appearing behind the servants, he had an urgent expression on his face, "I heard that Fang Tianding brought troops to call here?"

Gao Ming thought to himself, you are quite well-informed, "There is such a thing, I wonder if you have any way to defeat the enemy?"

Retire the enemy, what joke are you talking about?Zhu Xi looked at Gao Ming like a lunatic, "Fang Tian must lead 15 troops, and the defenders in Hangzhou City are less than [-]!" He continued bluntly: "This city must not be able to keep it, so hurry up and withdraw!"

When Zhao Ting heard that he was going to withdraw, Zhao Ting was very happy. Isn't this someone with the same goals as him? He shouldn't have come to Gao Ming, but should have gone to see Zhu Yu. , don’t hit a stone with an egg. According to the military report, Fang Tian decided that it would take at least two days for them to reach the vicinity of Hangzhou. In addition to the repair time, it would take three to five days to attack the city. Let’s take advantage of this time to hurry up and seize the precious items in the city. Take it all away, reduce the loss, right now, this is wise!"

Zhao Ting's words got Zhu Xi's approval, "That's right!" Then he pointed at Gao Ming and the others, "Do you want to defend the city?"

Gao Ming nodded, "Advance and retreat with Hangzhou."

Zhu Mian lowered his head, let out a series of low-pitched sneers, then took a deep breath, and smiled at Gao Ming, "You have great courage. I came to ask you how to transport Hua Shigang away, but since you want to defend the city, I will not accompany you."

Zhu Miao thought that Gao Ming wanted to retreat, so he came over to discuss with him how to transport Hua Shigang away. When the officials asked him later, Zhu Miao was credited with transporting Hua Shigang before the city was destroyed.

It's a pity, Gao Ming wanted to die by himself, so don't blame him for reading a joke.

Before, I was worried about how to get rid of Gao Ming, but now, the helper came here,

Zhao Ting immediately followed Zhu Xi's footsteps.

Gao Ming heard them walking and chatting about transporting the treasures and family members in the city to the nearby state capital.

At this time, he probably felt that there was little hope of surviving, so Chen Jian shouted at the backs of the two of them: "Coward! You bastard!"

Both Zhu Xi and Zhao Ting heard it, but they just turned their heads and glared at Chen Jian, probably because they felt that there was no need to care about the dead.

"Forget it, let's go, it's better than staying and making trouble." Gao Ming said: "Don't waste time on them. We still have business. Chen Jian, go and call the local officers, I want to see them."

After a while, these people arrived.

Everyone's complexion is not good, and they all know that they will die this time, and their complexions will not look good even if they want to.

"I listen to the adults' arrangements. If we are told to go out of the city, we will fight to the death. If we are told to defend the city, we will defend the city." The officers said, and they all made the worst plan.

Gao Ming looked at the officer who had put his life and death aside, and encouraged him: "There is a large army from the imperial court nearby, but they are going to attack Runzhou. If they know that Hangzhou is trapped, they will definitely come to rescue us. The speed is much faster than sending troops from Tokyo. Oh, maybe rescue will come just as soon as Fang La's troops arrive. We just need to hold on for a few more days until the reinforcements arrive."

Everyone knows in their hearts that it is of course the best to last until the arrival of the reinforcements, but they are afraid that they will not be able to.

But at this time, no one dared to tell the truth, they all said: "We understand."

"Believe me, someone will come to save us!" Gao Ming said firmly.

Everyone had some confidence. Gao Ming was the son of the Taiwei, and now the emperor's favorite minister. In order to save him, reinforcements would arrive soon.

"Then call the garrison to enter the city tomorrow, and assign manpower to each gate. Before the enemy arrives, familiarize yourself with the situation of each gate and check the reinforced weapons." Gao Ming swept everyone's face one by one, "Wait for the battle to begin." Before that, I will go to inspect. Remember, we live and die with Hangzhou!"

The eyes of the officers were a little red, a simple sentence of life and death together, but how much life was behind it, they couldn't help saying in unison: "We will advance and retreat together with the city!"

After the officer went down, someone asked to see him again, it was Zhao Mingcheng and his wife, so they hurriedly asked them to come in too.

Zhao Mingcheng asked straight to the point, his tone full of worry, "I heard that Fang Tian has ordered 15 troops to attack Hangzhou City... Is there such a thing?"

Although Li Qingzhao didn't speak, his eyes were full of eagerness for proof.

Gao Ming waved his hand, "Where is there 15, just listen to this kind of number, if there are [-], he is considered amazing."

Zhao Mingcheng was shocked, even if it was [-], it would be ten times that of the government army, and he knew exactly what kind of combat power the local army had.

He couldn't help regretting that he would never have come to Hangzhou if he had known earlier.

Li Qingzhao frowned. Obviously, even if the opponent had [-] troops, they outnumbered the defenders. "Master Gao, what are you going to do?"

Gao Ming said to Zhao Chengming: "Zhao Ting has run away, from tonight onwards, you will act as the prefect."

Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao said in unison: "The magistrate abandoned the city?"

Gao Ming nodded, "Yes."

Li Qingzhao said in a low voice: "The generation who live in idling."

Zhao Mingcheng was right next to her, and he could hear it very clearly. The hesitation that flashed in his heart just now was completely shattered by his wife's words. If he had any thoughts of avoiding the war, he would become the same person as Zhao Ting in his wife's heart. .

Zhao Mingcheng said to Gao Ming: "At this very moment, I am willing to act as the magistrate."

The magistrate is usually a good position, so everyone comes to grab it, but when the city is destroyed, the magistrate usually dies miserably, and it is estimated that disembowelling is easy.

Li Qingzhao listened, and nodded firmly to her husband, it should be like this, how could a man surrender without a fight!

Gao Ming is also very satisfied. He even thinks that Zhao Ting's escape may not be a bad thing, "Then, from tomorrow onwards, Governor Zhao, you send people to put up a list to beat the gong, ask every household to report suspicious persons, and ask the yamen servants to search every inn for their origins. Unknown person. No need to investigate, but anyone who thinks it may be Fang La's espionage will be arrested and imprisoned. It is better to catch one thousand by mistake than let one go."

Before Liang Shan attacked the state capital, he liked to send spies to the city to cooperate with the outside. The usage rate of this trick should not be low, and Fang La would also like to use it.

Regardless of whether Sanqi 21 is caught first, it will not be too late to check slowly after the crisis is resolved.

"I'll start to do it at dawn tomorrow!" Zhao Mingcheng said.

Li Qingzhao had doubts in his heart, "My lord, will you tell the people that Fang Lajun is coming?"

"Say, I will tell the people in the city at the Taihu Stone Competition tomorrow." Gao Ming said: "At this moment of life and death, it is not enough to rely on the officers and soldiers alone. The people must also be mobilized. Well, it's getting late, everyone Go back and have a good rest, starting from tomorrow night, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep even if I want to sleep."

Everyone went back to rest first, and after a lot of thinking, dawn was ushered in.

The news of Fang Tianding's attack was only known among the upper-level officials and some dignitaries. The general gentry and ordinary believers didn't know about it. They were all happy to watch the Taihu Stone competition like every day.

But I didn't want to, I didn't see the Taihu Stone today, but I saw Mr. Gao standing on the stage with a solemn expression, talking to expert Zhao Mingcheng from time to time, and he seemed to know that something happened, and it was not a good thing.

What's wrong?Did the officials go back on not meeting the winner?

This is the worst outcome the average person can imagine.

In the end, Master Gao cleared his throat and said, "Last night, Fang La's son Fang Tianding brought an army of [-] troops to attack Hangzhou City!"

A hundred times worse than imagined.

Some people were so shocked that they couldn't speak, some people fainted directly, and some people stood up immediately, and it seemed that they wanted to go home immediately, pack their bags and run away.

"Everyone be quiet!" Gao Ming said loudly, "I have something to say!"

After these days of operation, he still has some prestige in Hangzhou, and everyone present is quiet.

"I tell you this in the hope that everyone will advance and retreat with the city of Hangzhou. If Fang Tianding is asked to capture Hangzhou, he will definitely wreak havoc."

Hearing this, someone has already shouted in his heart, that's why he wants to run away!

"If they burn down the houses, it's nothing, they can be rebuilt. However, Fang La and the others are Ming Cultists, and what they believe in is different from us. They don't build graves and die naked. So every time they capture a city, they have to Destroying the local tombs, do you have the heart to watch your ancestral graves being excavated and destroyed by them?" Saying this, please invite the old scholar who spoke at the opening a few days ago.

Everyone knows that he escaped from Fang La's ruled area.

Gao Ming said to the old scholar, "Say a few words."

The old scholar glanced at Gao Ming, swallowed his saliva, and said according to the order: "Fang La is a heretic. They didn't wear clothes when they died. No one else was allowed to bury them. They dug up all the local graves, and their bones were ashes." Some of the bones were dug up and fed to the dogs, some were cut from the middle, and some were simply thrown into the river.”

After everyone heard these words, those who were about to get up and run away just now sat back.

It doesn't matter if you run away, the ancestor's grave must not be dug by Fang La?

But can they dig so many?Maybe it won't dig into your own head.

As soon as this idea came up, the old scholar continued: "Some of the things that can't be dug out are simply covered with feces. In their eyes, we are the heretics, and our ancestors were also heretics. If they can be destroyed, they will be destroyed. If they can't be destroyed, they will be destroyed." Tell our ancestors to eat their shit."

The crowd was in an uproar, and it had changed from cowardly wanting to escape to extreme indignation.

Others can be ignored, but ancestral graves cannot be ignored.

Gao Ming saw that the fire was almost ready, so he winked and told the old scholar to go down, "Everyone heard that Mingjiao used to be called Manichaeism, but they changed their name to Mingjiao because of their bad reputation, but in fact they are Demonic Cult."

Mingjiao is not accepted, largely because of their unique concept of funerals, which is contrary to the generous burials advocated by Confucianism.

How to treat ancestors is the bottom line for many people.

The words Gao Ming asked the old scholar to say successfully aroused hatred for Mingjiao, "So, I hope everyone will stay and protect our homeland and our ancestors together."

Speaking of this, some people were filled with righteous indignation and vowed to stay to protect their ancestral graves.

Although some have the intention of retreating in their hearts, they do not dare to risk the displeasure of the world and leave alone when they see that other people have expressed their intention to stay.

If he managed to escape, regardless of his own ancestral grave, he would be stabbed in the back for the rest of his life.

Besides, the emperor's favorite minister and the son of the Taiwei didn't run away, and were willing to stay and defend against the enemy together. Is my life more expensive than others'?

What's more, the family's ancestral grave is not here yet, and my ancestors are watching me from the sky, so how dare I run away.

Gao Ming deeply felt that the atmosphere below had changed, and let out a long breath.

Ordinary people don't have a good impression of Mingjiao, and they don't know much about it.

Gao Ming invited an old scholar to speak convincingly, and no one doubted that this matter was false.

Even if there are people who understand Mingjiao, they dare not stand up and argue for Mingjiao, unless they want to be beaten to death by the angry crowd on the spot.

A consensus was basically reached: Fang La should not be asked to break through the city, otherwise, if his ancestors were to be dug up by Fang La's people, and when their souls returned to Jiuquan, they would not be beaten up by their ancestors collectively.

Gao Ming saw that it was almost done, so he called Zhao Mingcheng over, "Go ahead and continue."

Zhao Mingcheng said: "The original magistrate Zhao Ting went to rescue the soldiers, so I will take the responsibility of the magistrate temporarily. Everyone go back and take a good look around to see if there are any strange people. If there are, I hope you will report them to the yamen. Because these people may be Fang La's secret agents."

You can't tell the people that Zhao Ting has absconded, so as not to shake the hearts of the people.

Zhao Mingcheng is an expert on the jury. Through these days of contact, the common people all recognize him, and he is even more authoritative than Zhao Ting himself. "Don't worry, my lord. If you find something suspicious, you must report it to the government!"

There are also those who are eager to fight, "If you really work hard, you must be beaten first!"

After explaining everything to the public, Gao Ming announced, "Then, the Taihu Stone Beauty Contest can only be put on hold for the time being, and it will continue after Fang La is defeated. Alright, everyone go back first."

After finishing speaking, several gentry sitting in the front row surrounded him and asked in a hurry: "My lord, what if Fang La can't be defeated by this?"

Gao Ming sighed: "Then all the efforts so far have been in vain, and the matter of going to Beijing to be received by the emperor is naturally out of the question."

These wealthy gentry are the most promising to enter the capital to meet the Holy Spirit. Hearing this, he hated Fang La to death, "My lord, we must defeat Fang La's army horse!"

Gao Ming said, "It's not enough to rely on the imperial court alone, but also on you. If it's convenient, can you provide some manpower to cook for the defenders? The government still needs to focus on careful work, and there are not so many manpower."

Among these rich gentry, which family does not have dozens or hundreds of servants, and it is no problem to send a man to the army as a cook.

"No problem! How many people do you need?"

These rich gentry keep their homes on the ground, not only have a large population, but also have a lot of property, so it is not so easy to relocate. The most important thing is that the ancestral graves of several generations are there.

Now, coupled with the easy-to-get opportunity to enter the capital, if Fang La's entry into the palace is not repelled, these things will not be kept.

Gao Ming said to Zhao Mingcheng: "You estimate it, and then explain it to them."

While the wealthy gentry were talking around Zhao Mingcheng, Gao Ming was busy with other things.

Just after he walked out of the Taihu Stone competition site, he ran into Shi Qian who was looking for him.

"By the way, you pick ten competent generals, preferably as nimble as you, and most importantly, courageous. When Fang Tianding's men arrive, I will send you to sneak into their camp and make a fuss."

But Shi Qian said confidently: "It doesn't take so many people, I can do it by myself. If there are too many people, I'm always worried that other people will be caught and do bad things instead."

"Can you do it alone?"

"Don't worry, my lord, it's not easy to make them sleep well." Shi Qian smiled slyly, "It's as easy as pie."

Gao Ming thought about it. Professionals are solitary, and there are too many people but they are restrained. "Then go alone, be careful."

Seeing that the yamen was very calm, Shi Qian tried to inquire: "My lord, do you know the exact time when General Hua will come to rescue us? He will arrive within a few days?"

Gao Ming said truthfully, "I don't know either."

Shi Qian was a little disappointed, "Will it really be too late?"

"It must be in time." Gao Ming said firmly, "General Hua will come to rescue us."

-

Fang La's crown prince, Fang Tianding, came to fight Hangzhou this time, bringing a total of 5 horses, which was claimed to be 15. Even if the figure is exaggerated, [-] is enough to flatten Hangzhou City.

He believes that the city of Hangzhou must be in chaos now, with people fleeing and paralyzed by fright, and even the officers and soldiers may not even run away.

"Your Highness, the people we sent into the city haven't contacted us yet, are they all right?" General Li Tianrun said worriedly.

Shi Bao, who was one of Fang La's four marshals along with Li Tianrun, laughed and said, "Even if something happens, it doesn't matter. I didn't expect them at all. Without internal support, we can still flatten Hangzhou City."

The secret agents sent into Hangzhou City will shout at night when the army arrives, such as: "Fang La is coming in, everyone run for your life--" to disturb the hearts of the people and make the people in the city suffer physically and mentally. A few times, I was in panic all day long, on the verge of collapse.

Fang Tianding agrees with Shi Bao's words, "Careful work or something can only be regarded as icing on the cake. If you really want to win the city, you have to rely on this!" After finishing speaking, he looked at the weapon in his hand with a fierce look in his eyes, "Go back and have a good rest, tomorrow morning Let's go to Hangzhou city!"

After the generals came out of the camp, Fang Tianding himself fell asleep with the weapons on his head.

In a daze, he had a dream. In the dream, they not only occupied Jiangnan, but even Tokyo. Since then, the world has changed from Zhao to Fang...

"It's in the water—it's not good—it's in the water—come and help—" Suddenly there was a noise from outside the tent, waking him up.

Fang Tian Ding sat up, grabbed his weapon and left the camp. He saw black smoke rising into the sky from the northwest corner, and soldiers carrying buckets kept running back and forth in front of him.

"What's going on?" He grabbed the guard who guarded his tent and asked.

"Your Highness, there was a small fire piled up with fodder. The fire was not big, just a handful, and it was extinguished."

Fang Tianding heaved a sigh of relief, but still called the head of the army who was in charge of fodder to interrogate him for a long time, and it took almost half an hour before he fell asleep again.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly heard someone shout, "There are assassins—quickly catch the assassins—there are assassins in the army—"

He ran out of the tent with the weapon in hand, and saw that the people in the other tents were also awake, and the entrance of one tent was particularly messy.

Soon, Li Tianrun came to report, "A soldier was stabbed in his sleep, but luckily it wasn't fatal. He didn't see who did it, he only knew it was a man wearing a red turban. Look..."

Fangla's army all wear red turbans, that is to say, their own people did it?

"only one person?"

"He only saw one person." Li Tianrun said, "I'm afraid it was someone who had a grudge against him in the barracks and committed crimes while taking advantage of the chaos."

If it is from Hangzhou, it is impossible to send only one person to rob the camp.

Fang Tianding felt that something was wrong, first he ran into the water, and then someone was stabbed in his sleep, "Tell half of the people in each camp to watch the night and be careful."

Those who were unlucky were arranged to watch the night, and watched the other half sleep soundly, feeling suffocated.

Suddenly, there was a loud crackling sound coming from outside the tent, and then someone screamed like crazy, "Run!"

The other half of the soldiers, who were still dreaming, sat up suddenly, but then saw a mad cow with an iron bucket tied to it, and the firecrackers inside were crackling, which made the cow go on a rampage desperately.

The soldier who had just sat up was trampled over mercilessly by its hooves.

Lying on the ground, clutching the wounded area, before he passed out, he saw the cow rushing away all the way and rushing to another camp.

Hearing the noise, Fang Tianding ran out of the tent again, and saw a few cows with iron buckets tied to their bodies running wildly. Wherever they went, people turned their backs.

Fang Tianding was furious, "Come here, shoot!"

After finally killing almost all of them, only the last one was still running around. At this time, I saw Marshal Shi Bao holding a meteor hammer, standing directly in front of the mad cow running wildly. The moment the cow came to the front, he shouted With a sound, the round meteor hammer smashed down hard, and with a muffled sound, the cow fell to the ground.

If Fang Tianding couldn't see clearly that someone was making trouble on purpose, he would be a fool, "Okay, you sent people to rob the camp to make trouble, didn't you? Tomorrow you will break into the city of Hangzhou, and you will be smashed to pieces!"

Fang Tianding was so angry that his seven orifices were filled with smoke. He didn't expect that Hangzhou would not only be captured without putting up his hands, but also dared to resist.

He went back to his tent and remained angry until dawn.

Unexpectedly, at dawn, the bad news came again, "Your Highness, it's not good, the horses in the stables were let down by crotons. Although not all of them were injured, many horses were injured. In addition, there was a strange white powder by the well. I don’t know if they were also drugged.”

Fang Tianding can't wait to destroy Hangzhou City immediately, "Pass my order, send troops immediately! Go straight to Hangzhou!"

Don't stop until the heads of the officers and soldiers defending the city of Hangzhou are screwed off.

So what if people are exhausted?He has elite soldiers in hand, so why not be afraid of such trivial skills, let them take a look, even so, taking down Hangzhou City is still like picking something out of a bag.