Compared with Helian's vigorous Tongwan City back then, the four walls of Yunzhou were originally not inferior. Even though it was abandoned for more than 40 years, when Yunzhou was still in the hands of the Tang Dynasty, what was repaired was the rammed earth city wall when the Northern Wei Dynasty built the capital, and the solid foundation made Du Shiyi use a lot less effort. In addition, Yunzhou is located in the north, and the rain is already scarcer than that in the south of the Yangtze River, and the old walls of the Northern Wei Dynasty at the bottom of the northern city wall, even if the Hercules use an awl, they can only pierce shallow holes, let alone other means of destruction.

However, after the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, in order to cut off the desire of the Xianbei nobles to return to the north, Emperor Xiaowen once ordered the reconstruction of the southern wall of the old capital Pingcheng and reduced its area. Although this matter is not completely completed, but Yunzhou has always been aimed at the north, after the early Tang Dynasty beat Liu Wuzhou, once destroyed the south wall of Yunzhou again, it can be said that the entire Yunzhou, the latest is here.

For the city wall, the newest does not mean the strongest, just like at this moment, Sima Chengzhen followed Du Shiyi to inspect the four city walls, and when he finally came to the south wall, his brows couldn't help frowning. He is good at face-to-face but rarely plays tricks on people, let alone the miraculous means of selling blame. However, Du Shiyi noticed his repeated actions of looking at the sky, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Sect Master Sima is watching the sky?" ”

"The moon sets and the stars sink, how can human beings calculate, not to mention that I am not the famous Li Taishi who wrote "Yi Si Zhan". That time on the day of your wedding, it coincided with the comet Ziwei, and Bixia was in a hurry to summon me, but I didn't have the ability to rob Taishi Ling's duties, not what people say, how can I be round? Sima Chengzhen smiled disapprovingly, seeing that Du Shiyi was stunned at first, and then suddenly realized, thinking that he understood the reason why Princess Jinxian and Princess Yuzhen and Princess Gu'an were all stumped that day, he smiled and said, "I have lived in seclusion in the mountains for decades, and I am not good at astrology, but I have some experience in watching clouds." When I was in Tiantai Mountain, I also recorded a book of cloud observations. ”

It is said that old horses know the way, and many experienced farmers and herders can often distinguish the impact of various cloud changes on the weather. However, it is about rare to have such a detailed record with Sima Chengzhen, and also write a book to analyze it. Therefore, Du Shiyi immediately woke up and hurriedly asked, "That sect master has gained from watching the clouds now?" ”

"Otherwise, why do you think I want to be anti-guest-oriented, in the middle of the night, and just disturb you to run around with my old decay?" Sima Chengzhen saw that Du Shiyi suddenly realized, he thought for a while, and finally said, "What is the arrangement of the strategic plan you discussed, I don't want to know from outsiders. But from the time I arrived in Yunzhou during the day, to the clouds I saw at this moment, I am afraid that within a day, the weather will change suddenly. At least 50% of the time, there is a chance that it will snow in a day. ”

Snow? Snow at this time? In this case of the soldiers and civilians in Yunzhou City buying rice at a high price, it is snowing like crazy when the autumn harvest is almost over? How is this possible

If it weren't for the fact that Sima Chengzhen was definitely not a man of his word, Du Shiyi would never believe it. However, the snow flying in June is by no means only Dou E's injustice, not to mention July, although it happens once in decades or even hundreds of years, it is by no means untouchable. Fifty percent of the chance of snow is definitely not negligible for the current Yunzhou City, so he turned to stare at Sima Chengzhen and asked again: "Sect Master, do you mean that even if it doesn't snow, the weather will be cold in an instant?" Caught off guard? ”

"The possibility of a sudden cold should be seventy percent. By now, the direction of the wind has changed. ”

The change in the direction of the wind, Du Shiyi, who didn't pay attention to what kind of wind was blowing during the day, didn't notice it at all, but since he handed over the use of troops to an expert like Wang Zhongsi, at this moment, he decided to believe in Sima Chengzhen's cloud observation technique. However, thinking that the sudden cold weather would also bring great consequences to the Yunzhou military horses, when he came down from the city that was still calm at this moment, he immediately sent Sima Chengzhen back to the Governor's Mansion, and immediately attracted the most trustworthy Chibi, and ordered him to go to inform Wang Zhonghei quickly. Thinking that he intended to hoard a lot of the furs he had traded with the Khitan on Baishan Mountain, he had to let people inform Wang Peiyi to prepare to support Wang Zhonghei, and Zuihou sent someone to Taiyuan Mansion to report the news.

After all, although the current Metropolitan Governor's Mansion has become the northern capital of Taiyuan, it still surpasses the entire prefectures and counties of Hedong Province, and no one will suspect him anymore of being alarmist. As for whether Taiyuan Yin and the subordinate officials of Taiyuan Mansion knew that Princess Jinxian Yuzhen and Sima Chengzhen had crossed the border, and what their reaction was now, he couldn't care about it

He remembered very well that when Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, was trapped in Baishan Mountain, it was rain and snow for days, so that in the end, Chen Ping's plan made the Xiongnu retreat, but the Han army still suffered heavy losses. I only hope that Wang Zhongsi can listen to his reminder and use the furs hoarded in Bai Mountain's mountain in time to keep out the cold.

Therefore, when a man returned to the governor's mansion and slept in his clothes, and had only dealt with two hours of sleep in the whole night, he woke up in a daze, and came to the window with his clothes and shoes in his sleepy eyes, and only pushed the window open for a short while, and he keenly felt the chill that came to his face. It did cool down, although it wasn't too cold, but it more and more corroborated Sima Chengzhen's inference.

In the freezing weather, do you want to fight a battle to defend Yunzhou?

When he turned around and tidied up his clothes, and put on the scarlet official robe, Du Shiyi ordered in a deep voice: "Someone is coming."

As a figure pushed the door and came in to salute, Du Shiyi couldn't help but be stunned: "Ji Yun? How about you? ”

Unlike when he gave Chen Bao'er a scientific name, but still habitually nicknamed him Bao'er, since he officially gave Nan Ba his scientific name Nan Jiyun, Du Shiyi has always used the word Jiyun to call him. At this moment, Nan Jiyun lowered his head and held the tea tray, and then said in a low voice: "Uncle Chibi is out of the city, and the others also have their own responsibilities, only I am idle and have nothing to do. ”

Although this seemed to be no problem at first glance, Du Shiyi heard a sense of unwillingness. He didn't speak, just looked at the young man thoughtfully, until Nan Jiyun's face turned red, and he asked lightly: "What, do you think that I won't let you go to battle with the army, so I am not convinced?" ”

"Ji Yun doesn't dare" Nan Ji Yun raised his head suddenly, gritted his teeth and said, "It's that Ji Yun is not skilled in martial arts, he doesn't know how to use the army, and he has never experienced a battle ......formation."

"No, you've already been there. In the night battle that night, you captured the head of the thief, and the credit was not small, and the reason why you did not pay the merit was because killing the head of the horse thief was not a great feat. But" Du Shiyi interrupted him, turned around and sat down on the main seat, and then asked, "You haven't thought about how many people are still in Yunzhou City today?" ”

"This" Nan Jiyun was stunned for a moment, and then his face changed suddenly, "Changshi means to say

"Yunzhou is almost an empty city now, and the original plan to lure the enemy is impossible to use anymore, after all, there are now four thousand people living in Yunzhou City, and there is no place to close the door and fight the dog as much as before, and the most important thing is that there are fewer military horses left in Yunzhou City than the night before, and there are still many casualties, not to mention that at present, in addition to the three Turkic departments, it is more likely that there will be soldiers and horses to attack. If at that time, the four city walls, General Wang, General Luo, General Hou, are all gone, do you think that in Yunzhou City, except for your lord and me, who else can be alone in the arrows and stones? ”

Nan Jiyun only felt that a stream of blood in his chest rushed to his brain, and he actually stepped forward quickly and blurted out: "I."

"Very good, ambitious" Du Shiyi immediately showed an excited expression when he saw it, and couldn't help but say, "Okay, from today onwards, the whole city will be under martial law, and follow me to the city wall"

Although Sima Chengzhen was not able to pinch the calculations, he guessed that in addition to the other group of enemies of the three Turkic tribes, on this day, after the four gates of Yunzhou were closed as usual in broad daylight, they finally appeared at noon. Although Viga Khan once contemptuously regarded the Xi Khitan as slave dogs in his conversations with the envoys of the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the wars among the three clans, there were also many defections and annexations, so at this moment, looking at the army of more than two or three thousand people in messy clothes, Du Shiyi would be difficult to distinguish which clan it was for a while.

When one of the first riders shot an arrow at the wall, although it was only a tentative arrow, but the arrow that spanned two hundred paces, Nan Jiyun beside Du Shiyi immediately changed color. Zhun Tou aside, but he doesn't have such strength now, although he has a famous teacher, but the time he has studied is too short, and his family is poor, and his stature is still in Yunzhou in the past few months, he has only grown tall and strong...... However, even with such self-knowledge, looking at the power of that arrow, he still had an irrepressible eagerness to try. This is the battlefield, this is the battlefield of defending the homeland and defending the country

And this kind of change, Du Shiyi sees it in his eyes. After all, the current Nan Jiyun is not the most powerful confidant general around Zhang Xun, and he is not the famous general of Suiyang who left the city angrily because Helan Jinming refused to send troops to help, half an arrow is deep in the tower, and his archery skills can almost be called invincible Suiyang famous general, but after all, that pride has taken root in his heart

Seeing the overwhelming rain of arrows pouring down on the city wall, Du Shiyi, who had avoided the arrow tower, saw that the trebuchet had begun to operate, so he shouted to the left and right: "Behind you is Yunzhou, your wife and children

As long as you hold on for half a day, General Wang will return to the division, and then you will be able to make the enemy unbearable."

At this moment, he was accompanied by the most loyal wolf guards carefully selected by Princess Gu'an, as well as the longest-following of his entourage guards. In the overwhelming sound of arrows breaking through the air, the roar of the brush immediately reached the ears of the soldiers who were panicked on the city wall.

Although it has only been more than half a year since the restoration of Yunzhou City, there is a holy will, and Du Shiyi has already designated two whole li squares as workshops, and all the craftsmen recruited live in groups. He gave these artisans the most haode treatment, but temporarily restricted their freedom. Therefore, he did not have time to mass-produce the bed crossbow at three moments, but he had prepared a full twenty catapults in advance, and a certain number of stone bullets were also prepared. The assembly that began this morning didn't take much time, but the firing of the stone-throwing in the midst of a rain of arrows was enough to cause deep panic among the soldiers who had never really experienced the battle.

Most of the soldiers and horses in the city have already left the city, and they only have a few hundred people, can they really hold Yunzhou

At this moment, a relay-like roar came from one arrow tower after another.

"Du Changshi ordered that behind you is Yunzhou, that is, your wives and children, you will live if you advance, and you will die when you retreat

As long as you hold on for half a day, reinforcements will come"

One after another, in the roar that was still difficult to hide on the battlefield, thinking of the reward order issued by Du Shiyi before, as the veterans braved the rain of arrows to inspect the orders back and forth, the soldiers at the head of the city finally gradually calmed down.

That's right, there are more than 1,000 soldiers and horses outside the city that Wang Zhongsi pulled out to practice before, and just returning to the division can make this army and horses who suddenly came to attack Yunzhou unbearable

In Yunzhou City, from yesterday's Chibi ordering the whole city to hunt for giant thieves under martial law when Princess Yuzhen and others arrived at the Governor's Mansion, and then to the gathering of young and strong preparations in the streets, the people have already noticed a bit of unusual meaning. Although Yunzhou has a curfew like other states and counties, Du Shiyi has a decisive side of killing, but most of the time it is very close to the people, and during the Dragon Boat Festival, the Governor's Mansion even used to send small zongzi in front of the door like a Buddhist almsgiving, which made many people happy. The tense atmosphere that suddenly appeared this time was like a heavy cloud pressing on people's hearts.

As a result, the sound of arrows breaking through the air and shouting killing outside the city not only confirmed people's hidden worries, but also made many manic people unable to stand it anymore. In the neighborhood adjacent to the Governor's Mansion, a stout man opened the door in a continuous and rapid knock on the door, and when he opened the door and saw the panicked Lizheng, he couldn't help but reflexively scolded an old man in the house: "What kind of land, what official to the house, I know that there will not be such a haode thing in the world, peace of mind in Shuozhou as our tenant farmer, what's wrong, even if it's hard, you won't lose your life or leave your homeland, Shuozhou is our hometown, and coming back to Yunzhou is looking for death."

Hearing this, Chen Bao'er, who was ordered to summon the young and strong behind him to prepare for the city defense, suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Especially when he saw that the big man was actually angry, he went up and pulled the old man out, and cursed and scolded for a while, and even had to do something to the old man, he finally couldn't help it, and an arrow stepped forward and grabbed the big man's right hand, and shouted: "Stop"

"What's the matter, Yunzhou can't hold on, and now you still have the kung fu to take care of my family affairs?" Chen Baoer can almost be regarded as the most exposed person in the Yunzhou Governor's Mansion except for Wang Zhonghei, but at this moment, everyone respectfully calls him Chen Jishu or Chen Xiaolangjun, but instead he has aroused the more contemptuous eyes of the big man, and even more vicious sarcasm, "Milky child, if you have kung fu to meddle in your affairs, it is better to go back to the Governor's Mansion and tremble"

However, he thought that he would be able to shake off Chen Bao'er's hand at once, but with enough strength, the seemingly thin hand was still tightly wrapped around his wrist. Annoyed and angry, he was about to fight back, but he only felt a strong force from his shoulder, and when he was about to resist, there was a sharp pain in his abdomen, and he was thrown to the ground and fell to the ground. At this time, he noticed that there were still many young people around, and everyone had fear and anxiety written on their faces.

"Who said Yunzhou can't hold it?" Chen Bao'er didn't realize it at all, and his voice became extremely sharp in an instant, "Du Changshi personally went to the southern city of Yunzhou, where the defense was the weakest, and your lord personally came to the north city to supervise the battle, and the other two city walls, several soldiers from the Yunzhou Governor's Mansion have already rushed over to sit in the town, but they are just one or two thousand captives, and they can't attack Yunzhou and now call you, not to let you go to death, the people in the army not only enjoy the salary of recruitment, but also enjoy all kinds of rent-free and mediocre discounts at home, so they will naturally fight to Zuihou alone, You're just responsible for preparing sandbags, what will happen if the captives enter the city? Mrs. Du is a woman, and she is still appeasing people in the city, but at this time, she will only complain, you are still not a man."

The man lying on the ground was speechless, and the old man, who had just been speechless by his fierce words, suddenly paused his crutches, and for a while he burst into tears, and said with a crying voice: "When the tenants are dead, but there are no military disasters but floods and droughts, and even more man-made disasters, you ask yourself, how did your younger brothers die, and how did your daughter-in-law die?" When you first came to Yunzhou to divide the house and land, how happy were you, what did you say, but now you are talking about this kind of frustration, you are a useless thing, if you are not willing to be served, I will go for you."

The young men around listened to the words of the father and son, and thought about Chen Bao'er's words, and saw that the old man who was at least in his early sixties was about to join his ranks as soon as he threw away his crutches, and he didn't know who blurted out: "In case Yunzhou City is broken, no one can please anyone, and at this time, what strange things are said The horse thieves before were so fierce, wasn't they exterminated by Du Changshi?" If you can fight as a soldier, so can we."

With the echo of one, two, three, and Qingzhuang, who was originally reluctant to be recruited, finally burst out with blood and determination. And Tang Zhen and Tang Xiu, who were like Chen Bao'er and a fart, saw that Chen Bao'er was hurriedly leaving with these people, Tang Zhen couldn't help but ask in a very immature Chinese: "Xiao Langjun, can you really hold it?" ”

Chen Baoer didn't look at the stunned man on the ground, and burst out a word with all her might: "Can"

Seeing that the upper and lower spirits were greatly lifted for a while, he immediately ordered: "The soldiers on the city wall are fighting bloodily, and they also ask the old and weak women and children of each family to open the stove to prepare for food, and be ready to receive the wounded at any time."

In the governor's mansion, Princess Gu'an personally went to the north city wall to supervise the battle, Wang Rong personally went to the city to appease the people, and Wang Han Cui Hao Guo Quan also had their own duties, the only one who stayed in the governor's mansion was the only one who had just recovered from serious injuries, and Du Shiyi gave a death order to stay in the mansion. Although Wang Lingran and Princess Yuzhen are also quite familiar with each other, they really don't know how to get along with these golden branches and jade leaves who are going to experience the biggest thrill unintentionally, so they can only use the excuse of inspecting the governor's mansion to dodge. Therefore, listening to the faint sound of shouting and killing, Princess Yuzhen couldn't help but hug Yunu tightly.

"Supreme True Master, Master will be fine, right?"

Hearing Yunu's question, Princess Yuzhen couldn't help but smile bitterly, but finally cheered up and said: "Your master is blessed with a great life, and he can easily avoid many dangers when he encounters them, and he won't be fine, master, don't you say."

Seeing Princess Yuzhen and Princess Jinxian, even the jade slaves looking at him with expectant eyes, Sima Chengzhen couldn't help but shake his head and sighed: "Du Jiulang is indeed not an early death, you can rest assured." ”

said this, but he couldn't help but gently recite Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching in his heart. However, on the battlefield of the real Jin Ge Iron Horse, whether it is physiognomy or numerology, it is not the master of everything. I just hope he's not mistaken

Princess Jinxian was older after all, and when she saw that Princess Yuzhen was full of anxiety and Yunu was dumbfounded, she deliberately livened up the atmosphere and said: "Yuan Yuan still remembers, when Brother and Aunt joined hands to seize the palace?" That time, we waited in Grandpa's palace, and we were all very scared. At that time, the shouting and killing seemed to be greater, and the atmosphere in the house was even more dreary. At that time, I once told you that if you fail, let alone grandpa, aunt and brother, there will be no future for the two of us. ”

"Sister" Princess Yuzhen couldn't help but have red eyes, seeing that Princess Jinxian nodded to herself with a smile, she took a deep breath and cheered up, "That's right, we have also seen such strong winds and waves, now what Huo Qing is, you go and tell Wang Lingran, if there is still someone in the city to suppress and appease, I will go with my sister Since I am here, I can't just be an idle eater."

The upper army is scheming, the second is the enemy, the second is the army, and the next is the siege. However, the soldiers of Yidi have been trapped in the cities of the Central Plains since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, not to mention the fact that the siege ladder has already been used skillfully. Since it had long been anticipated that Yunzhou's biggest shortcoming was the lack of well-trained soldiers, this sudden army of horses immediately attacked the city after two rounds of arrows. Sure enough, in addition to catapults and boiling oil on the city, there was only a weak archery counterattack, which strengthened the belief of Yu Luoyu, the leader of the city's troops.

Before dark, Yunzhou will descend to that time, even if those Turks win or lose, they are the ultimate victors

Therefore, with a wave of his long knife, he almost tore open his throat and shouted in Turkic: "After attacking Yunzhou City, the gains of the plunder will belong to me."

Historically, all the tribes of the grassland have been fighting, and even if the soldiers below plundered good things, they would eventually fall into the pockets of the princes and nobles above. Therefore, as soon as these words came out, the soldiers who had already heard that Yunzhou's rich and oily soldiers were so stimulated that they screamed, and one after another they rushed forward along the cloud ladder to Yunzhou City. Especially on the lowest south city wall, there are one or twenty ladders set up densely, although from time to time there are ladders being pushed down, and from time to time people fall from the high ladders, but more people below are still red-eyed and determined to climb up.

As the first man jumped onto the wall, the horses below burst into loud cheers. But at this moment, the man didn't have time to rejoice that he had become the first person to climb the city wall of Yunzhou, so he saw a cold light flash on his chest, and immediately after, the people under the city clearly saw that the tip of a spear was revealing from his back. As the tip of the spear suddenly retracted, the guy who had just been considered the lucky one by many fell straight down from the high city wall, like a heavy stone hitting the ground.

Almost at the same time, on the rest of the ladders, there were also people who jumped up to the city, but with a spear that was as flexible as a snake, they were forced to fall into the ladder without a firm foothold, and the young man who forced them back shouted loudly with the power of these two blows: "All cheer up, fight to the death and never retreat"