Chapter 28 Twenty-seven

After receiving the warning, Li Shimin took Feng Deyi, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Hou Junji to the top of Chang'an city to check the defenses, and a small school led the way with a lamp.Li Shimin angrily said to the courtiers around him as he walked: "What do so many officials in the states and counties north of the Wei River do? Hu Kou has achieved martial arts, so a messenger came here!" Fang Xuanling said: "The enemy It took a sneak attack route, avoiding all the cities, and besides, the imperial court is in great chaos, some state officials and county magistrates don’t even know who the new emperor is, and many local officials are simply remnants of the party, and they are looking forward to it all the time. Hu Kou went to Chang'an to avenge their master! It's not surprising that no one reported it."

Li Shimin glanced at Changsun Wuji: "Besieged on all sides, but today there are still people who insist on killing Wei Zheng and others, don't you think we don't have many enemies?" Changsun Wuji knew that Li Shimin was talking about himself, and argued: "I ——" Li Shimin blocked his mouth: "What are you? You are the Minister of the Ministry of Officials. You need to be more broad-minded and far-sighted—hey, what's going on!" He I saw a soldier dozing off with a spear under the crenel not far ahead.The little principal who led the way hurried over and scolded: "You are so bold, you are sleeping on the top of this city!" Li Shimin was quite angry and said to the ministers: "Look at it, the enemy is now, such soldiers are not well disciplined. Why are you still fighting?" Feng Deyi shouted: "Take it quickly, and wait for the emperor to deal with it!"

The soldiers who violated discipline were taken to the emperor, trembling with fright, and shouted repeatedly: "The emperor has mercy, I still have a hundred-year-old mother who needs to be taken care of in my youngest family." Li Shimin said angrily: "Hmph, you are so glib, your mother is a hundred years old. , how old are you—" Before finishing speaking, Li Shimin's eyes fell on the soldier's face, it was a very old face, trembling with fear, Li Shimin realized that he had trained the wrong person, he His face softened: "You, how old are you?" The old soldier said tremblingly: "The young one is seventy-two years old this year." Li Shimin hurriedly helped the old man up, and said angrily to the people around him: "Who asked him to guard the city?" of?" No one dared to say anything.Li Shimin pointed at several ministers and said angrily: "Go and find out for me, who did this!" Hou Junji said: "The Holy One, calm down, except for those who escaped, there are men in Chang'an who can climb the city wall They're all here, no one is forcing them." Li Shimin looked at the old man with a moved expression on his face.

At this time, someone shouted: "Hu Qi is here!" Someone else shouted: "Fire the arrow!" Li Shimin hurriedly turned and walked towards the crenel. Feng Deyi wanted to stop him, but Li Shimin threw him away. With a wave of his hand, a group of guards and Imperial Guard officers and soldiers rushed up.Fang Xuanling ordered: "Turn off the lights, be careful to expose the target." From the dark place on the opposite side, there was a burst of shouts from the enemy, very arrogant.Changsun Wuji said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it's too dark to see anything." Li Shimin closed his eyes and opened his ears to listen carefully, Fang Xuanling signaled left and right to keep silent.While listening, Li Shimin said: "Listen to the sound of the horse's hooves, and there are only three hundred riders. They must be scouts from the enemy."

At this time, the opposite side began to shoot arrows towards the city, and the arrowheads fell to the top of the city one after another.Fang Xuanling said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, this place is too dangerous, you go down." Just as he was speaking, an arrow flew towards Li Shimin, a general stepped in front of him, and the arrow pierced into the general's right shoulder , In order not to expose Li Shimin's position, the general covered his wound and remained silent.Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling were startled, they fought to block Li Shimin. Li Shimin shouted: "Get out of the way!" As he said that, he turned his head and reached out to pick the bow and arrow from the bow pot and quiver of the injured general, pulled the bowstring, and shot an arrow with a "swish".There was a scream from the opposite side, and someone fell off the horse.Everyone cheered in a low voice, Li Shimin's face showed a bit of color, and he turned around and handed the bow back to the general: "What's your name?" The general replied: "The last general Ma Xuanliang." Li Shimin stretched out his hand and patted Ma Xuanliang's left shoulder : "Good job! From tomorrow on, follow me into the palace!"

Going down to the city tower, everyone surrounded Li Shimin and wanted to go back to the palace. At this time, a group of soldiers carried down several wounded numbers from the top of the city.A young man threw himself on a stretcher and cried loudly: "Grandpa!" Li Shimin went to the front and turned on the light to see that it was the veteran he had just seen. He was dying with a spiked arrow in his chest.Li Shimin hurriedly called: "Old man, old man!" The old man struggled to open his eyes: "Long...long live, I can't...I can't defend the city for you!" After speaking, he tilted his head and died.The younger generation cried loudly: "Grandpa!"

This scene made Li Shimin feel a nameless anger. He stood up and grabbed the guard's long spear, flew on the horse, and shouted: "Hou Junji, hurry up and five hundred cavalry will follow me to fight out of the north." door!" Feng Deyi, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others stepped forward and grabbed the horse's reins to stop them.Feng Deyi said anxiously: "Your Majesty, it's so dark, you must not do it!" Li Shimin's eyes widened with anger, and he slashed at the horse: "You hear me clearly, I am the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, if you don't follow my orders Such a stake!" After Li Shimin raised his hand and dropped it, a horse-holding stake as thick as a bowl on the side of the road was broken in two, and no one dared to speak.

Hou Junji quickly called in five hundred cavalry, and they formed a four-way horizontal line below the city gate, because they wanted to rush out of the city with the emperor to take revenge, every soldier's face was full of excitement and tragedy.Feng Deyi, Changsun Wuji, and Fang Xuanling were also affected by the emperor's emotions and stood in the ranks of the expedition.But Li Shimin said sternly: "You are literati, stay in the city for me!" As soon as the city gate opened, Li Shimin led the way, followed by Hou Junji. The Son of Heaven galloped his horse into the black wilderness.Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others quickly climbed up the tower, and there were fierce fighting sounds outside the city.Fang Xuanling yelled: "Hand up the lanterns and beat the drums!" The lights on the city tower were brightly lit.

The eldest grandson Wuji, who had just sent Li Shimin to the pinnacle of power in the Tang Dynasty through the Xuanwumen Incident, now showed his wild character of a street knight. He snatched a drumstick from Li, clenched his hands tightly and struck it vigorously.Blood flowed from Changsun Wuji's tiger's mouth. He didn't feel the slightest bit, and he was still beating the drum with passion. The sound of the drum resounded throughout the night sky of Chang'an City. The sound of killing outside the city finally subsided, and Li Shimin appeared under the city gate with a long spear and triumphant athletes, and cheers like a tsunami came from up and down the city wall.Li Shimin threw several heads on the ground, Hou Junji followed behind him, with wounds on his shoulders, also dropped several heads.A small school came to report with a torch: "Report to the emperor, there are a total of 307 heads!" Li Shimin said to the grandson of the veteran: "Son, your grandpa can rest in peace!"

In a newly erected tent in Wugong City, Jie Li was sitting on a tiger-skin chair. Botie cut a leg of lamb with a delicate dagger and handed it to Jie Li.Jieli didn't eat it, he stared at the meat and swallowed.A blood-stained schoolboy knelt on the ground and reported anxiously to Jieli that he was ordered to go to the north gate of Chang'an to spy on the truth of the Tang army. Unexpectedly, Li Shimin, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, led tens of thousands of cavalry to fight out. , but more than three hundred brothers were murdered.Jie Li slapped the table and said angrily: "Nonsense! There are only 30,000 soldiers in Chang'an City, of which there are no more than 10,000 cavalry. How did Li Shimin get tens of thousands of cavalry? After losing the battle, he talked nonsense to disturb the morale of the army. Drag it down and chop it up for me!" Several guards stepped forward, and Xiaoxiao was dragged down crying.