Harue Kagetsu - Chapter 165

The Royal Garden Beiyuan, which is connected to the Jiankang Palace, has been expanded and repaired several times. Among the flowers and trees, the inexhaustible carved railings and jade, flying pavilions and flowing pills, are like a fairyland on earth.

Now even here, there is no escape from the fate of being ravaged. The rebels poured in like locusts and swept away all the valuables inside, not even the gilded outer layer that decorated the pillars. As for the flowers, trees and birds in the garden, they were either trampled and flattened, or their necks were broken and their wings were broken.

This night, the fourth watch will pass, it is the darkest moment before dawn. It was pitch black in Beiyuan, and the cold wind swept over the corner of the eaves, making a rustling sound.

…

The secret passage is very narrow, and at the widest point, only two people can pass side by side. It is about ten miles long. It starts from the underground of the original site of Xingshan Temple and leads all the way to the city.

The end of the secret path is in Beiyuan. The opening is so small that it can only allow one person to bend in and out, and it is hidden in a rockery, covered with strange rocks, and it fits seamlessly with the surrounding. Before the rockery, there was no clue.

After finding out the situation overnight, the group followed the original path, quickly returned, and summoned people to discuss countermeasures.

Considering that the secret passage is narrow, it is difficult to allow a large group of soldiers to go up at the same time in a short period of time, and the distance from Beiyuan to the pit where the hostages are murdered is not too close. Find.

The person who led the soldiers into the city, in addition to ensuring that he can get out of the siege that he may face, is more important to save those hostages who may die at any time before the main force enters the city and reaches the pit.

The arduousness of this action can be imagined.

The lights in the tent were bright, illuminating the faces of Zhang Zhang.

Those generals in the army who were usually brave and innocent, but no one said a word at this moment. There was silence in the tent.

It is not that they are timid and dare not accept it, but that they are worried that they are not capable enough. If it fails, the consequences can be imagined.

No one can afford thousands of lives.

Gao Yin was about to take it down by himself, when he heard Li Mu say, “Let me bring someone into the city.”

Gao Yin was startled and hurriedly said, “I’ll go. I will do my best to save the lives of the hostages.”

Li Mudao: “If you were to command the siege battle, how sure would you be?”

Gao Yin thought for a while.

“After the Jiankang City Wall was originally built, it has been reported several times in the past few years. Due to the wet and soft foundation, it collapsed and deformed. Although it has been repaired several times, if a trebuchet throws a large number of boulders at the same time, it will continue to hit. It works.”

“That’s how it is arranged. You are responsible for attacking the city outside, and I will lead people through the secret passage into the city. The inside should be coordinated with the outside, and the casualties will be minimized as much as possible.”

His voice fell, and the large tent fell silent again.

Gao Yin looked at Li Mu.

His eyes were calm, his tone was the same as usual, and there was no publicity at all, but it made people feel a calm and hidden power like Taiyue standing in front of him.

Gao Yin was very clear in his heart that if he did this, the odds of winning would be greater than his own.

But correspondingly, the danger is even greater.

And many of the people in the pit he wanted to save were his enemies not long ago.

He and Li Mu looked at each other for a moment.

For the first time in his life, he really knew what it meant to be respectful.

He no longer insisted. He got up from his seat, came to him, knelt down on one knee, gave him a military salute, and said respectfully, “Gao Yin leads the order, and he will live up to the orders of the Great Sima!”

The rest of the generals in the tent followed suit, all kneeling behind Gao Yin, hoping to accompany Li Mu into the city.

Li Mu got up, helped Gao Yin and everyone up one by one, and said with a smile: “Those who jump on the beam will be killed even if they are strong, let alone this group of rabble! In this battle, evil will be eradicated to the end, so as to alert the Quartet and promote righteousness and martial arts! “

Everyone’s blood was boiling, and they gathered together. After taking the order, they dispersed to prepare, and quickly disappeared into the night.

The battle is coming.

…

After entering the city and killing Rong Kang, Murong didn’t step into Jiankang Palace again, and stayed in the barracks near the city gate.

In the second half of this early winter, before the fifth watch, he woke up from a dark dream, and suddenly had an almost instinctive ominous premonition in his heart.

It seems that in this city, at this moment, there is a danger that he cannot know about.

He knew that sooner or later the army outside the city would launch a storm.

He also knew that he wanted to rely on this group of thugs in the city to gain momentum again, even if he just defended Jiankang, it was a fool’s dream.

Those rebels who were persuaded by him by shaking their lips and talking with real money and willing to temporarily gather under him are just like him, but they have their own plans. It is like a house built on quicksand, crumbling and about to collapse at any time.

But he doesn’t care about that.

Those people died in the end, and they could only blame themselves for being driven by profit lust.

When he entered this city alone, he did not think about the future.

He is a man without a future.

There was only one thing he thought about, and that was waiting for Li Mu’s arrival.

Li Mu’s primary purpose must be to rescue the hostages. And he has set up a lot of barriers at the city gate, waiting for a lot of troops.

As long as Li Mu attacked the city, the hostages would be completely buried alive.

Among those people, in addition to the high-ranking gentry officials of the Southern Dynasty, there were many surrendered soldiers.

He wanted to let Li Mu also taste the feeling of powerlessness under failure, how heart-wrenching it was.

Murong Ti’s eyes became congested and red due to the tiredness and excitement that had been intertwined in the past few days.

He was about to walk out of the camp when he heard a loud noise coming from the direction of the city in the distance.

His heart skipped a beat and he rushed out immediately. When he saw that direction, there was a throbbing fire, which was extremely dazzling under the reflection of the morning light that was about to be white and about to break in the distance.

An old general of Rongkang was coming on horseback. When he got close, he told him excitedly that the soldiers of the Southern Dynasty outside the city had just suddenly approached, trying to take advantage of the darkness to launch a surprise attack on the city. Under the countermeasures, the other party died down, gave up the siege, and retreated again.

“Your Majesty is really clever, I expected that the people of the Southern Dynasties would attack! Then Li Mu is no more! Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I have set up a net with my brothers. As long as Li Mu dares to enter the city, I will tell him to go and return…”

The man kept flattering in Murong Ti’s ears. But the ominous omen in Murong Ting’s heart became stronger.

He turned his head and stared at the direction of the pit field. When he was still hesitating, suddenly, in the direction of the palace north of the city, there seemed to be a sound of fighting and shouting.

Although there seems to be nothing, but because the whole city is dead silent, the sound is still in the ears.

His face changed slightly.

That Rongkang’s subordinate also heard it, stunned for a moment, then his face showed anger, and he scolded: “A bunch of mud that can’t support the wall! Don’t look at when it’s time, and just focus on fighting! It’s a big deal, Lao Tzu. Cut their heads first!”

He sternly summoned a deputy, ordering him to immediately take someone over to find out what happened, and to arrest all the soldiers who dared to leave the station without authorization and fight each other at such a time.

These days, soldiers fighting in groups and even killing each other because of the uneven distribution of spoils have often happened in the city. The noise must be something like this again.

The deputy was about to leave, when Murong Ting suddenly shouted, “Go in person, deploy more people, add bows and crossbows, and if there is any abnormality, give it to me!”

The man hesitated: “Your Majesty, it should be just a fight between soldiers. There are enough people there, and if you transfer there, won’t the army be scattered and the original plan will be ruined…”

“Do as I say!”

Murong roared.

The man was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, secretly scolding the Xianbei people for being gloomy and difficult to serve. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had been the emperor of Beiyan, he would rely on him to plan to get rid of Li Mu’s confidant and occupy him permanently in the future. How could he listen to the command of this Xianbei people in this fertile land of the Southern Dynasty.

He complained in his heart, but did not dare to neglect his actions, and hurriedly summoned people to dispatch troops.

Murong had already grabbed a warhorse, flew up, and rushed in the direction from which the commotion came. Only halfway through the road, he encountered a few panicked soldiers rushing towards this side, shouting: ” Your Majesty, it’s not good, an army of people from the Southern Dynasty suddenly came out from Beiyuan and was heading for the pit, we couldn’t resist…”

Their cries were filled with fear.

“Boom”, Murong Wei’s whole body’s blood, at this moment, seems to be rushing to the top of his forehead.

He froze for a moment, then suddenly drew his sword and stabbed to death a soldier who was running in front of him.

…

Dawn is breaking in the east, and the sky is turning white.

In the dim and bleak morning light, Li Mu and the team behind him who followed him from the ground successfully passed through the empty and devastated Beiyuan.

But not long after he came out, when he was rushing towards the pit, he was noticed by the sentry arranged by Murong for the whole city, attracting nearby soldiers.

Without any extra words, Li Mu pulled down the face shield connected to the pocket, and took hundreds of soldiers behind him, who were dressed in full armor like him, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other, and strode towards the opposite side. , waved the knife in his hand towards the first opponent who rushed in front of him.

In the dim morning light, the blade drew out the most dazzling icy rainbow light, as fast as lightning.

Before the other party even had time to raise the knife, the person was cut open on the head.

A streak of salty and hot blood suddenly splashed into the air and sprinkled on Li Mu’s mask.

The massacre, in such a cold and cruel way, kicked off.

The secret passage in Beiyuan had been discovered and was quickly sealed.

And here, opposite Li Mu, there were dozens of people at first, then hundreds, then thousands.

More and more rebels are coming. Under the command of the leader, they want to slaughter this broken underground army on their way to the pit.

But this triangular army consisting of hundreds of people is moving fast.

On the opposite side of the samurai who was listed at the top of the triangle, the rebels couldn’t see his face hidden behind the mask, let alone who it was.

In their pupils, they only saw that person like a sharp sword that cut through waves. One shield and one knife, one step at a time. Wherever they passed, their limbs were flying, and their flesh and blood were like rain, so that the rebel soldiers who were ordered to come to encircle and suppress them were afraid of this terrifying killing power that seemed to be unstoppable by manpower, and did not dare to approach directly. .

“General Li Mu is here!”

“Those who stand in the way, kill without mercy—”

At this moment, behind him, hundreds of soldiers roared in unison, and the sound shook the ear drums and moved people’s hearts.

It was as if the air had frozen for a while.

“It’s Li Mu! Li Mu is here!”

Among the rebels, chaotic cries rang out. With frightened eyes, the soldier looked at the masked and armored warrior in front of him who was killing him.

He is the rumored Southern Dynasty man Li Mu!

When he was still unknown, he created the myth of defeating 100,000 Liangzhou soldiers and horses with a mere thousands of people, thus opening an era of legends about the **** of war in the Southern Dynasties.

As the lowest soldier, he married the daughter of the most noble Gao clan in the Southern Dynasty with strict hierarchies and clear barriers, regained Chang’an, and achieved the official position of Grand Sima.

One emperor after another died under the sword on his northern expedition.

He also broke through the legendary Heavenly Dangerous Jedi Kanglong Pass in one night, and with his own power, turned the tide, made Hong Ze change his way, and saved thousands of people from being killed and displaced.

No one knows his name, no one knows it.

But today, he actually appeared here in such a way.

Until this moment, these rebels really felt a threat of death.

When Li Mu waved his knife again and chopped off the arm of one of their comrades, the filthy blood sprayed, the painful and frightened moan, instantly seemed to be amplified to the extreme, filling every corner, calling everyone The people who were involuntarily felt terrified and dared not face him directly, so they turned around and fled away.

“Shoot an arrow—”

Across the street ahead, the archers of the brigade had already rushed over on horseback and quickly set up their bows and arrows.

Arrows clustered like rain, whizzing.

Those rebels who turned and fled, before they had time to run a few steps, were shot by arrows, as if stubble of rice and wheat that was quickly harvested fell under the sharp arrows fired by their own people, the corpses were stacked, and the wounded sent out The sound of the call sign, one after another.

Li Mu gave an order, and a row of soldiers behind him quickly caught up, lined up side by side with him, and blocked in front of him with the strong shield held in his hand, forming a shield wall.

At the same time, the soldiers behind him also quickly turned into an inverted triangle formation, raised their shields to protect the roof, and rushed forward.

The bowmen saw that the arrow formation did not exert the expected power. Seeing the enemy braved the rain of arrows, they quickly moved towards them. They gradually panicked and began to disobey orders.

Li Mu led the soldiers, facing the arrow formation, and continued to run forward. The two sides got closer and closer, and the bow and crossbow finally completely lost its power.

Just as the rebel general riding on the horse drew his sword and forced his men to fight hand-to-hand, a man suddenly threw the shield in his hand in the middle of the front row on the opposite side.

With the force of the throw, the shield spun rapidly in the air, making a whirring sound, and at a very fast speed, it rushed towards the general of Rong Kang who was giving orders immediately. When the man found out, it was too late to dodge.

With a dull “bang” sound, the entire heavy shield slammed into his chest, breaking his ribs on the spot.

The man screamed, vomited blood, was carried by the shield’s remaining strength, and fell off the horse.

Almost at the same moment, the figure moved out, jumped on the horse’s back, turned the horse’s head, and galloped away in the direction of the pit.

The soldiers behind him followed suit, rushing into the camp of the rebels who were dumbfounded and had no intention of fighting, seized the horses, followed the figure in front, and chased after him.

The morning light was faint, and above the pit, this scene of **** on earth was being staged.

Outside the city, under the repeated bombardment of more than a dozen huge catapults capable of projecting nearly a thousand tons of boulders, the weakest part of the Jiankang city wall collapsed suddenly, the mud bricks flew up, and the city wall was smashed. Smashed open a huge opening as wide as a city gate.

The army rushed in like a tidal wave and started a hand-to-hand battle with the rebels.

In this pit, the guarding rebels, the soldiers did not know that the city wall was broken, and they did not know that a legion gushed out from the ground, killing blood, and approaching in a blink of an eye.

They carried gold and silver jewelry as spoils of war on their waists, dreaming sweet dreams, and according to the original plan, they wantonly filled the people in the pit.

Buried in the ground for many days, many people were already unconscious, and the rest seemed to be dying, dying.

At this moment, knowing that the time of death is really coming, driven by the desire to survive, it seems to wake up again.

But this awakening only means more intense and clear pain.

All they can do is cry in vain.

When Li Mu rode his horse to the pit, most of the people had their chests and necks buried in the soil. Some only had noses and eyes, and their mouths were stuffed with soil and could not make a sound. , only two raised arms are still stretched out on the ground, grasping in vain, as if praying to the sky for the last ray of life.

The sky above the pit was filled with endless mourning and cursing sounds from a few people. The miserable state was like a **** on earth.

“It’s all buried—”

The general in charge of this place saw a soldier of the Nan Dynasty who had been buried in the ground beside his feet. He was still holding on to the ground with both hands. He laughed wildly. .

As if condensing all the resentment and anger before dying, the strength of that hand was unusually large, and it was firmly clamped.

The general couldn’t break free, and became angry with shame.

At this moment, a feather arrow, with the sound of breaking through the air, shot towards his skull.

The sharp iron triangle cluster head, rotating at a high speed without any bias, inserted into the center of his slightly lowered head.

It’s like breaking an eggshell.

With a “bang”, in his ear drum, he seemed to hear a strange sound that was infinitely amplified when his skull burst and his brain splattered.

The moment before he realized that he was dead, most of his skull, like a beehive, was smashed by the sharp arrow with terrifying power and fell down.

Riding like a fly, in a blink of an eye, it came close.

The nearby rebel soldiers who were busy filling the soil, watching this scene, happened under the eyelids, as if it was just a blink of an eye, and it was too late to react, watching a blood-stained man in armor and mask, from the horseback Flying down, he quickly dug up the soil beside the hands, and pulled the head and face of the still-life-spanning Southern Army soldier out of the soil.

“kill him-“

Another leader rushed over and shouted loudly.

Only then did the soldiers react, and they raised their weapons and gathered around.

“The city gate is broken! My army of the Southern Dynasty will arrive immediately! You wait for the traitors, the time of death has come—”

Amidst the roar of hooves, bursts of shouts came from behind.

The rebel soldiers turned back.

The yellow dust filled the air behind him, and he lost his sight. I don’t know how many warriors from the Southern Dynasty who were the same as this armored man were heading towards here and galloping.

Li Mu lifted the iron face covering his face, revealing his face.

He was covered in blood, but his face was spotless, with a chilling expression and sharp eyes.

“Big Sima!”

“The boss is coming!”

“We’re saved—”

The Southern Dynasty soldier whose head was pulled out of the soil by him slowly opened his eyes, breathing hard with his mouth open, and when he looked up, he recognized him at a glance. Under the ecstasy, I did not know where the strength came from, and there were three roars in succession.

After shouting, tears flowed down her face, and she couldn’t cry.

“Da Sima, save me—”

After a brief silence, the ecstasy and exhausted shouts filled every corner of the pit again.