Chapter 16 Chapter XV

Zhou Liansheng reported: "Shen Hongying failed to capture the city after two days of onslaught, and suffered heavy casualties. She became angry from embarrassment. Today, she specially drank blood wine with the thieves, and vowed that once captured, they will be bloodbathed for seven days and seven nights. No matter men, women, old or young, they will kill every blade of grass. Stay." Yi Hao gasped, and said: "Shen Hongying really has a heart like a snake and a scorpion!" In the middle of the night on October 22, 1926, suddenly thousands of torches were raised together, reflecting the sky red, and the sound of gunshots and shouts under the city wall was louder than later——

"Take Wugang City!" "Seven days and seven nights of bloodbath!" Looking back, Zhang Xiangdi's troops were divided into three groups, attacking Zhang Yunqing, Zhu Yunhan, and Zhang Shuncai, focusing on clearing Zhang Yunqing.According to the information, Zhang Yunqing was entrenched in Shibei's hometown, and he thought he would be able to catch him, but who would have thought that he would use a dustpan to escape. Zhang Xiangdi came out of the cave this time, and the three bandit leaders slipped through the net and escaped.Annoyed, he vowed to let Zhang Yunqing and other gangsters have no way to go to heaven and nowhere to go to earth.

The troops were still divided into three groups to pursue and suppress Zhang, Zhu and Zhang respectively.Zhu Yunhan and Zhang Shuncai were chased all the way to the hinterland of Xuefeng, but Zhang Yunqing disappeared into the sea like a mud cow and never heard from again. In order to completely wipe out Zhang Yunqing, Zhang Xiangdi appointed Yi Hao as the commander of the supplementary battalion and sent an additional machine gun company. Yi Hao is Zhang Yunqing's old rival, and they know each other very well. He thought, since Zhang Yunqing can't be found anywhere, he must be hiding in his hometown.Yi Hao sent Zhou Liansheng to disguise himself as a shopkeeper and sneak into Zhang's house on Shibei to inquire.Shibei Zhangjiahou Village.There is a well-known Ma'an Mountain. There is a Guanyin Temple on the mountain. On the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, devout men and women go up to the mountain to burn incense and worship God.

One day, Zhou Liansheng overheard the pilgrims who came down the mountain discussing that the monks in Guanyin Nunnery had changed, and only the abbot was still the original enlightened monk. The speaker has no intention, but the listener is interested, Zhou Liansheng disguised himself as a pilgrim, and went up the mountain on the first day of the new year.Except for Zhang Yunqing, he didn't know any of the others, but he was very scheming, thinking that if he was a monk in disguise, he must not be familiar with reciting scriptures, so he paid attention, and sure enough, many people were delusional.

After burning three sticks of incense, Zhou Liansheng pretended to be in a hurry and went to the back of the hall. He saw a row of houses there, all the doors and windows were locked, which was very suspicious.Go back to the city and report to Yi Hao, but not sure.Yi Hao thought for a while and said, "Now the Chinese New Year is coming soon. If Zhang Yunqing is on the mountain, he must buy New Year's goods. Of course, monks also buy New Year's goods, but they are all vegetarian. If they buy pork and beef from the city , fish, etc., you can be sure that Zhang Yunqing is on Ma'anshan."

Zhou Liansheng sneaked to the foot of Ma'an Mountain again as ordered, and found that on the day of "Xiao Nian" (December 24th in the lunar calendar), several monks came down from the mountain, all carrying empty baskets.He followed all the way to the city. These people changed their clothes halfway, wrapped their heads in a dish, and dressed up as mountain people. Naturally, they bought a lot of meat when they arrived in the city.Zhou Liansheng reported to Yi Hao.Yi Hao discussed with Zhang Xiangtou again, and decided to encircle Ma'anshan on New Year's Eve and wipe out Zhang Yunqing in a "carpet style".

On the eve of the New Year's Eve, Zhang Xiangdi's whole group arrived at Zhang's house in Shibei.Borrowing firecrackers and firecrackers from the four townships, a company of machine guns was sent to quietly seal off the checkpoints around Ma'anshan, and then climbed up Ma'anshan from the east and west sides in the dark. Guanyin Nunnery is on the top of Beilu Mountain. Zhang Xiangdi ordered to attack with powerful firepower. Who would have thought that Zhang Yunqing had gone to the nunnery.At this moment, Yi Hao noticed a group of people fleeing towards Donglu, and turned around to chase after them.When they reached the edge of the cliff, those people disappeared one by one.

Yi Hao paid attention, and found that there was a dark and ghostly cliff below.Everyone was puzzled.At that time, it was already midnight, and the people in the four townships stopped setting off firecrackers, and everything was quiet.Suddenly seeing that the people under the cliff were still alive, everyone came to their senses and knew that there was no danger below. Some brave soldiers were overjoyed and jumped off one after another to make a contribution...then there was no sound after jumping.Yi Hao felt strange, and while he was wondering, someone at the bottom of the cliff yelled not to jump, and the branches below had been removed.Yi Hao knew he had been fooled.

That night, Zhang Xiangdi led his troops to retreat to the outside of the mountain. The officers and soldiers braved the cold and waited for death, but there was no news of Zhang Yunqing.He also found the machine gunners who were on guard at various intersections, and they also said that no one had passed by from last night to today. After guarding for three days, there was no movement. Just as they were about to evacuate, a monk suddenly came down from the mountain and asked for help.Yi Hao heard the voice and asked, "You reminded us that night under the cliff?" "It's the poor monk."

"Dare to ask the law name?" "The poor monk is enlightened." "I realized why the master came out today?" "I'm ashamed and ashamed." Wu Liao said, "At that time Zhang Yunqing was in a hurry to hunt down, the poor monk hid in the cave in the dark, and dared not come out. Today I was very hungry, and I thought that Zhang Yunqing should have left long ago, and came out to eat some fast food to satisfy his hunger. I don't want to meet the army." Yi Hao asked: "I realized that the mage has lived here for a long time, so he must be familiar with the terrain. Apart from the four roads from east to west, north to south, where else can we escape?"

Wu Wu shook his head and said, "Not anymore." "So, is there a big hole in this mountain?" Enlightenment nodded: "A few years ago, my disciples said that there is a cave at the foot of this mountain, which is unfathomably deep and extends in all directions." Yi Hao thanked him for his enlightenment, reported the situation to Zhang Xiangyu, and offered advice: "Master Zhang, after realizing it, the master said that there are more than 30 or 40 people in Zhang Yunqing's group, and there is not enough food. He is hiding in the cave now, why don't we Block all the intersections and trap them in the cave?" Zhang Xiangdi believed that this plan was feasible, and ordered Yi Hao's department to implement it in Ma'anshan. Yi Hao stayed behind and made preparations for a long-term stay. He set up camp at the foot of the mountain, set up a village, built fortifications at four intersections, set up machine guns, and waited for Zhang Yunqing to come out. Time passed day by day, and it was more than three months in a blink of an eye.In the past three months, the situation has changed drastically.The most unexpected thing for Zhang Yunqing was that Zhao Hengti planned to send troops to conquer Zhang Xiangtou, but he did not send troops. Because Zhao Hengti arrested Liu Shaoqi and his wife He Baozhen, after the Spring Festival in 1926, Xia Xi, a representative of the Hunan District Committee of the Communist Party of China, went to Hengyang to join forces with Tang Shengzhi to defeat Zhao. On March 9th, Xia Xi contacted various public groups in Changsha to hold a meeting of 30,000 citizens, and passed the "Twenty-Four Proposals for Dealing with the Hunan Bureau in the Future" proposed by the Provincial Party Headquarters. , Ask the Kuomintang government to make a northern expedition and urge the provincial army to crusade against Wu Peifu.And set up the Hunan People's Provisional Committee to mobilize the people of the whole province to drive away Zhao.Zhao Hengti couldn't resist, and on March 12 he announced his resignation and appointed Tang Shengzhi as acting governor. Zhang Yunqing originally thought that even if he was found in the cave, once Zhao Hengti's rebel army arrived, he would be able to get out of the siege quickly.Who would have thought that Zhao Hengti would go to the field, Zhang Xiangtou would electrify the Tang Dynasty, and the commander of the 17th regiment of the Hunan Army would act accordingly and suppress bandits in Wugang as usual. Zhang Yunqing was trapped in the cave for more than three months. Seeing the end of the road, there was only one dead end.But the world is changing rapidly, good is bad, bad is good, and good or bad can be changed at any time.Zhang Zhuanzi, who was away from Zhang Yunqing, learned that Zhao Hengti had lost power and the Communist Party was on the rise, so he took advantage of this. As mentioned earlier, the leaders of the Communist Party of Wugang, Ouyang Dong, Deng Zhongyu, and Xia Xi were close friends and comrades. Xia Xi expelled Zhao Chenggong, and Zhao Rong and Liu Yi in Wugang County also left, and Ouyang Dong acted as the county magistrate. .Zhang Zuanzi took advantage of the fact that the Communist Party was a group of young students who did not know the inside story, agitated their tongues, excused themselves, and pretended to surrender. The siege of Zhang Yunqing. Zhang Xiangtou mentioned that Zhang Yunqing committed a heinous crime and was the chief culprit of the Xi blood case.The young Liu Zhuo said: "They took the initiative to explain this to me, saying that it was purely false. It was Yi Hao who intentionally spread rumors for revenge. If there was something true, "Ta Kung Pao" would disclose it. "Ta Kung Pao" I read every day. Indeed, I have never seen it. In addition, I have an uncle who lives in Xixi, and I happened to go to Xixi that year, so I didn’t hear about it.” Zhang Xiangtou didn't believe it, and asked, "How many days did you stay there?" "One day. I didn't get any money, so I had to hurry back." "Have you spoken to your uncle or cousin?" Liu Zhuo nodded: "I've talked about it. Whenever I talk about my uncle, I hate him. His house was also robbed." Zhang Xiangto shook his head and sighed: "If you stay a few more days, maybe you can know more." Liu Zhuo said: "If Zhang Yunqing is really heinous, and there is still time to investigate, once it is found out, we can use this opportunity to detain him and hand him over to the people of the county for public trial. Wouldn't that be much better than going to war?" Zhang Xiangdi praised: "This is a good way!" Liu Zhuo said: "So, it is best to clear the siege. Once he jumps over the wall in a hurry and rushes out, we will inevitably suffer casualties. In addition, only the two of us know about this matter, let alone Yi Hao. Zhang Yunqing is suspicious by nature. Once Yi Hao withdraws suddenly , he must be prepared and refuse to enter the circle." After the discussion was over, Zhang Xiangdi ordered Yi Hao to make a rescue on the grounds of "taking care of the unity of the two parties".Yi Hao really couldn't accept it. Before retreating, he used psychological tactics to create internal strife among Zhang Yunqing's subordinates, but failed. After Zhang Yunqing rescued from the siege, he still occupied the Zhang family on the back of the stone.At this time, it was the middle of March in the lunar calendar and the beginning of May in the Gregorian calendar. Liu Zhuo was about to go to Xixi to investigate the Chenjiazhai tragedy.He had no choice but to hand over the matter to Deng Chengyun, a member of the Communist Party. Deng Chengyun disguised himself and sneaked to Xixi, and verified Zhang Yunqing's heinous atrocities.In order to stabilize Zhang Yunqing, he invited Zhang Bu to the city for training on behalf of Liu Zhuo after he came back.But Zhang Yunqing was extremely cunning and refused to submit. When Deng Chengyun returned to the county seat, it was already July, and the peasant association was surging, but it was also obstructed by local tyrants and evil gentry, especially Xia Yumin, a tyrant in Beixiang, took advantage of his family's wealth and gathered a group of fellow party members to openly confront the peasant association and sabotage the revolution.Deng Chengyun discussed with Zhang Xiangtou and said: "Zhang Yunqing refused to enter the city under the pretext of Yi Shunman being plotted against by you. In my opinion, he took advantage of this opportunity and asked him to go to Beixiang to suppress Xia Yumin. The head of the regiment Zhang deployed there in advance. When he enters the ambush circle, he will be caught off guard!" Zhang Xiangtou thinks this plan is very clever.It was also Zhang Yunqing's life that should not be terminated. The day after Deng Chengyun returned from Xixi, the county party committee received an urgent telegram from the provincial party committee, saying that a large force of the Northern Expedition Army would arrive in Hunan, and asked each county to send two representatives to Changsha to hold a welcome meeting. That night Ouyang Dong came to Deng Chengyun's room with an urgent telegram and said that the welcome party for the Northern Expedition was a big event, and two representatives were indispensable. Liu Zhuo was still in Changsha, but one more representative was needed, and the county party committee decided to let Deng Chengyun go. Without further ado, Deng Chengyun discussed with Zhang Xiangtou and decided to wait for him to come back from Changsha before taking care of Zhang Yunqing. At that time, Xia Yumin would become more and more arrogant, so he sent Zhang Yunqing to suppress him. Since Zhao Hengti stepped down from the field that year, Hunan has become the focus of the Civil War.On the one hand, Wu Peifu supported Zhao Hengti all the time, hoping that Zhao would be reinstated as soon as possible; on the other hand, the National Revolutionary Army continued to send troops from Guangdong to support Tang Shengzhi's early ruling, and wanted to use Changsha as the rear base of the Northern Expedition. In mid-May, the first and second divisions of the original Zhao Hengti's department formed the "Hunan Army", and Zhao Hengti was promoted as the commander-in-chief. In fact, Ye Kaixin, the deputy commander-in-chief, led the crusade against Tang Shengzhi. The battle for Hunan in the Northern Expedition officially started. On May 20, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Ye Ting Independent Regiment of the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army to set off from Zhaoqing, Guangdong, and advance to Hunan via Guangzhou to help Tang Shengzhi. The next day, the National Government telegraphed Tang Shengzhi of Hengyang as the commander of the Eighth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and the commander-in-chief of the former enemy of the Northern Expedition. On May 22, Tang Shengzhi went north to attack Ye Kaixin in Xiangtan. Wu Peifu sent the "Hunan Army" to join the battle. Tang Shengzhi failed, and Ye Kaixin turned to counterattack. On May 24, Chiang Kai-shek sent divisions Chen Mingshu, Zhang Fakui and Ye Ting's independent regiment to advance in Hunan to aid Tang. On June 2, Tang Shengzhi officially announced in Hengyang that he would be the commander of the Eighth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and the commander-in-chief of the former enemy of the Northern Expedition. On the 4th, Tang Shengzhi set up a provisional provincial government in Hunan and assumed the post of governor.On the same day, the Party Headquarters of Wugang County was formally established, and 15 members were elected as temporary and executive committee members, including nine members of the Communist Party.Ouyang Dong officially became the county magistrate, and Zhang Xiangtou was the head of the 17th regiment and the captain of the Volunteer Corps. From early June to mid-June, the National Revolutionary Army arrived in Hunan one after another, and Ye Kaixin's "Hunan Army" was defeated. In late June, entrusted by Zhao Hengti, Sun Chuanfang called Chiang Kai-shek, suggesting that Zhao Hengti return to Hunan for mediation. On the 5th, Tang Shengzhi, Chen Mingshu, Zhang Fakui, and Ye Ting attacked Changsha in three ways. On July 1, Wu Peifu sent an additional aid to Hunan Fourth Route Army into Hunan. On the 7th, Tang Shengzhi's interim provincial government ordered the cancellation of all old farmers' associations and reorganized new farmers' associations.After the order was issued, Liu Zhuo and other leaders of the agricultural associations in various counties stayed after the meeting in Changsha. On the 11th, various Northern Expeditionary armies entered Changsha City. On the 12th, representatives of various groups in Changsha met to set up the Preparatory Office for the Hunan People's Welcome to the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army, requiring each county to send at least two representatives to participate. The next day, the magistrate of Wugang County sent Deng Chengyun to the provincial capital to participate in the Northern Expedition Conference. On July 16, 1926, representatives from all walks of life in the provincial capital and counties welcomed the victory of the Northern Expedition Conference, with more than 50,000 people present. After the meeting, Liu Zhuo and Deng Chengyun participated in a series of important activities and listened to Xia Xi's instructions on the current work. On August 12, Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Changsha with his Soviet adviser General Galen, Bai Chongxi and Deng Yanda, and then held a military meeting and decided to quickly attack Hubei. On August 14, Chiang Kai-shek held a military parade in Changsha. On the 16th, the "Declaration to Discuss Wu" was publicly issued.Liu Zhuo and Deng Chengyun attended the conference.At the meeting, Chiang Kai-shek shouted hoarsely in an official tone with a strong Fenghua accent: "Now, the National Revolutionary Army will fight the Beiyang Legitimacy in Jianghan... The struggle between the people and the warlords, the revolution and counter-revolution, the Three People's Principles and imperialism The battle has come to the final stage of the decisive battle!" Sending off the Northern Expeditionary Army, Liu Zhuo and Deng Chengyun returned to Wugang in late August with Xia Xi's work instructions to the peasant associations in various places. On the way home, Liu Zhuo and Deng Chengyun had been discussing the matter of trapping and killing Zhang Yunqing. They both agreed that it would be most appropriate to use Xia Yumin to make troubles to lure him out of his lair. Back in the county seat, first report to Ouyang Dong and Zhang Xiangtou about the trip to the province. Then, Liu Zhuo conveyed Xia Xi's instructions on various tasks to Ouyang Dong; Deng Chengyun and Zhang Xiangtou discussed the matter of trapping and killing Zhang Yunqing.When the two came to the living room of the Volunteer Corps, Deng Chengyun was the first to break the silence: "During this time, what happened to Zhang Yunqing?" Zhang Xiangdi said: "During this time, Yi Hao has been keeping a close eye on him, and there has been no major movement, but he has already connected with Zhu Yunhan and Zhang Shuncai, and the fight is fierce." Deng Chengyun frowned: "So, is it true that he belonged to us?" Zhang Xiangtou sighed, looked at Deng Chengyun in silence. "Head Zhang, what are you sighing for?" "I'm lamenting that I lost another chance to hunt and kill Zhang Yunqing." "Do you think he has suspected us?" Zhang Xiangto avoided Deng Chengyun's gaze: "Not already, he was suspicious from the beginning." "Is he so smart?" "A person who always has a murderous heart is always on guard against others killing him. This has nothing to do with his shrewdness." "Did you tell Yi Hao about our affairs?" Zhang Xiangdi nodded: "We can't hide it from him. On the day you went to Changsha, he knew that you had just returned from Xixi, so he guessed that you would definitely use traps. He also told me that trapping and killing Zhang Yunqing is impossible for anyone. and he brought a more unfavorable news." "what news?" "Yi Hao said that recently he discovered that Zhong Xuehua, Zhang Yunqing's subordinate, came back from Guangxi." Deng Chengyun was puzzled: "Is it not good for us when his men come back from Guangxi?" "Zhang Yunqing is not just a backbone who came back from Guangxi. You have been studying abroad, and you don't know much about Zhang Yunqing's internal situation." Zhang Xiangdi said patiently, "Zhang Yunqing's team was originally dragged out from the old Guangxi Clan." "Will he go to Guangxi to rescue soldiers?" Zhang Xiangtou nodded: "It can be said to be like this, but it is more complicated. Zhang Yunqing's Yin Dongbo, Xie Laogou, Zhong Xuehua and more than a dozen backbones were originally Shen Hongying's subordinates——Shen Hongying, do you know?" Deng Chengyun nodded: "When I was studying, I could see his reports in the newspapers almost every day. He seemed to be chased by Bai Chongxi and had nowhere to hide." Zhang Xiangtou nodded: "I don't know much. Shen Hongying has been hunted down by Bai Chongxi since last year. In order to survive, she had to turn to Wu Peifu for help and hid in Tibet at the border between Jiangxi and Hunan. Now she has no money and no food. There is no place to live. Zhang Yunqing sent someone to contact him this time, and it hits his heart, and he will definitely come here in a short time." Deng Chengyun was taken aback when he heard this: "How can this be good! We only have one regiment and one battalion, how can we defeat tens of thousands of people!" "There are tens of thousands of people that Shen Hongying boasted to the outside world. There are only 10,000 people. But they are all good soldiers and good generals who are used to fighting. According to Yi Hao, Shen Hongying has sent his men to contact Zhang Yunqing. Shen Hongying will drive to Wugang." Deng Chengyun stood up: "This matter is of great importance, let's go and discuss countermeasures with Ouyang Dong county magistrate!" Zhang Xiangtou and Deng Chengyun went to the county magistrate's office to report to Ouyang Dong, and it happened that Liu Zhuo was also there.Deng Chengyun briefly stated the reasons first, and then asked Zhang Xiangto to explain the details.Ouyang Dong and Liu Zhuo were shocked when they heard the news, thinking that this was the most important thing in their current work. Ouyang Dong, Zhang Xiangtou, and Liu Zhuo analyzed the enemy's situation together: Shen Hongying's department currently has 10,000 elite soldiers, all of whom are veterans who have experienced many battles and are capable of fighting well. , the power is self-evident.In Wugang, there is only one regiment and one battalion of troops, the weapons and equipment are outdated, and the strength of the enemy and ourselves is very different. The advantage is that the city wall is tall and strong, and there are 50,000 citizens in the city, which is a force that cannot be ignored. Ouyang Dong said: "We now have no choice but to follow the mass line - the Wugang garrison itself is not strong enough, and the revolutionary army is currently fighting fiercely in Hubei Province. Once the battle starts, far water cannot save the nearby fire. If we follow the mass line, five Ten thousand citizens are fifty thousand soldiers, plus the impregnable city wall, once the city gate is closed, even Shen Hongying's thousands of troops will never be able to break through this iron wall and copper wall. I am a member of the Communist Party, and the Communist Party organization believes in the masses and relies on the masses Yes. I will do the work in this area. Commander Zhang is a professional soldier, and he is fully responsible for military affairs. Commander Zhang, what do you think?" Zhang Xiangtou said: "If the magistrate of Ouyang County can do the work of the masses, it will be half of my help. Our regiment plus 500 volunteers, there are only 2,000 people in total, and we have to deal with Shen Hongying's 10,000 vicious bandits. It is indeed not an easy task. Wugang City is high in the north and low in the south, and the north is the heart of the whole city, but it is the most dangerous place. As long as the guards and the gunners of the artillery positions guard day and night, they will be safe. It is estimated that Shen Hongying will not attack from the north of the city. ;Although there are three inner and outer city walls in the south, the terrain is low-lying and the guards are insufficient. In particular, there are too few artillery towers. , although Wugang City did not miss a single shot, but that was the era of broadswords and spears, and now Shen Hongying uses submachine guns, carbines, machine guns and other weapons, so this hard battle will be very tragic. I suggest From now on, martial law will be enforced throughout the city, guard posts will be added at each city gate, and all people entering the city will be searched, especially those from out of town. You must be vigilant at all times.” Ouyang Dong, Liu Zhuo, and Deng Chengyun all praised Zhang Xiangtou's thoughtful plan.That night, the staff on duty of the Volunteer Corps were ordered to notify the owners of the inns and restaurants one by one to hold an emergency meeting. The next day, Zhang Xiangdi convened a meeting of the owners of more than 200 inns and restaurants in the city in the auditorium of the county party headquarters. The battalion commanders, Yi Hao, and Zhou Liansheng also attended the meeting. The bosses didn't know what happened, and they arrived one after another from morning to afternoon.On the spot, Zhang Xiangdi decided to let Ouyang Dong speak, because he is a foreigner, it seems more appropriate to let Ouyang Dong come forward. When all the staff arrived, the two whispered to each other for a while, then Ouyang Dong bowed his hands to the audience, motioning for everyone to be quiet. Ouyang Dong said in pure local dialect: "Fathers and folks, let me tell you a piece of good news. The Northern Expeditionary Army set out from Changsha to attack Hubei in mid-August. They were invincible all the way and successively recovered Miluo, Pingjiang, Yueyang, Tongcheng, The Battle of Siqiao defeated the Beiyang warlords. On September 16, the Eighth Army of the Northern Expedition Army occupied Wusheng Pass, Wu Peifu had retreated to Xinyang, Henan, and our Northern Expedition finally succeeded!" hand. Zhang Xiangtou, Liu Zhuo, Deng Chengyun, Yi Hao and others snapped photos on the rostrum.The audience didn't react too much at first, but after seeing the above shoot, they followed suit. "Our Northern Expedition was successful." Ouyang Dong glanced at the audience again, "However, the enemy will not be reconciled to their failure, and is still making the final struggle. While announcing the good news, today, I want to tell my parents Sad news for us—" The noisy sound of the audience stopped abruptly. "Since May of this year, Wu Peifu has been sending telegrams to order Shen Hongying and Han Caifeng, the remnants of the old Guangxi Clan, to harass the Northern Expedition from the rear. On April 16, Han Caifeng invaded the passages and city steps, and peeped at Wugang, seeing that the city walls of Wugang are tall and strong. , dare not act rashly. As of August this year, the bandits Zhang Yunqing, Zhu Yunhan, and Zhang Shuncai in our county, out of a revenge mentality of hating the revolution and the people, colluded with Shen Hongying, a veteran warlord of the old Guangxi clique, and dispatched 10,000 bandits. Let's attack the city!" The audience was in an uproar. "Be quiet, be quiet!" Ouyang Dong pressed down with both hands, "We have less than 2,000 guards in the city, and our weapons and equipment are also behind others. Especially, Shen Hongying's purpose of attacking the city this time is not just to disrupt Behind the Northern Expedition'. He is an ambitious and cruel rogue warlord. When the old Guangxi clique occupied Guangdong, it was Shen Hongying who condoned his subordinates to plunder and rape, which caused the Cantonese to hate the Guangxi army. Especially now, he is being attacked by Bai Chongxi. Those who fled to Hunan after chasing them have no pay or food, and there are only a group of vicious bandits left. Once they invade Wugang, the fathers and villagers will suffer!" The atmosphere in the audience was extremely tense. "The people of Wugang are a group who are not afraid of violence. Since the seven years of Chongzhen, there have been many robbers coveting our geomantic treasure land. Because of the concerted efforts of the people, we have never suffered a disaster of bloodshed. Because of this, this ancient city is so rich that the robbers of all ages coveted it! There is a saying in western Hunan that the silver in Wugang City is waist-deep. This legend is not unreasonable, because for hundreds of years , this place has never been directly looted by war, it has deposited the wealth gathered and created by our ancestors for generations! If Shen Hongying and Zhang Yunqing's conspiracy succeeds, we will not only be sorry for ourselves - but also for our ancestors! "Therefore, we must do our best to protect our city at all costs! The elders who are here today are the owners of various inns and restaurants, and they are distributed in every part of the city. I invite you to come today to remind you that from now on , pay close attention to every stranger who stays and eats—especially foreigners, and if there is any suspicious person, you should immediately report to head Zhang!" After the meeting, Ouyang Dong and other Communists stayed in the county party headquarters to work, while Zhang Xiangtou and Yi Hao went back to the office of the Volunteer Corps to discuss matters.Zhang Xiangdi asked Yi Hao what he disagreed with Shen Hongying's offense.Yi Hao said: "Tuan Zhang's deployment is generally flawless. The problem is that there must be no problems in every link. Especially the guards of the four city gates. It is true. If we attack hard, we have city walls. It’s not enough to be a barrier to fear, what is feared is that Shen Hongying will send people to sneak into the city.” Zhang Xiangdi nodded and said: "Your opinion is very important. If the robbers are allowed to sneak into the city and attack from inside and outside, the consequences will be disastrous. How do you think the robbers can be prevented from sneaking in?" "Of course the gate guards are doing their duty. I think the method of 'body search one by one' proposed by Captain Zhang is not ideal. Generally, when robbers enter the city, their weapons are hidden in baskets or firewood poles. Therefore, searching for objects is more important than body searching. Even if They can sneak into the city and without weapons they don't pose a serious threat to us." "Very good!" Zhang Xiangdi said, "We will do this right away. Intelligence work is also very important, and you must be highly responsible for this link. You are a local and are familiar with the terrain everywhere." "I promise that there will be no problems in the link I am in charge of." Yi Hao said: "I have sent many more spies. In addition to paying close attention to Zhang Yunqing and Zhu Yunhan, I have also sent people to sneak into Nanxiang - that is from Guangxi. A must pass through Wugang City." It is said that Wugang City is ready to fight Shen Hongying, and it is safe and sound in a short period of time, and no abnormalities have occurred. In early October 1926, Zhou Liansheng, who was in charge of detectives in Nanxiang, reported to Yi Hao that an army of about 10,000 people had arrived in Nanxiang and was temporarily stationed in Longxi.Two days later, the spies in charge of monitoring Zhang Yunqing reported that Zhang Yunqing had left Shibei Zhang's house in disguise, and his whereabouts were unknown. Yi Hao reported the situation to Zhang Xiangtou in time, and the two agreed that the army belonged to Shen Hongying's department, and Zhang Yunqing left Shibei Zhang's house to join Shen Hongying.So the two immediately reported to Ouyang Dong. That night, Ouyang Dong urgently summoned the persons in charge of the various streets and told them that now that the army is coming down the border, all the folks must cheer up and be ready for a bloody battle with the robbers at any time. As the news spread, the entire Wugang City was enveloped in an atmosphere of tension and fear. A few days later, at noon, Zhang Xiangtou and Yi Hao had just had dinner when a young woman rushed over and asked to meet with the head of the delegation.The guard at the gate led the young woman in, and she hurriedly reported: "Master Zhang, there are more than a dozen foreigners who have come to my shop, their behavior is very suspicious, and they also speak foreign dialects. The cargo was neither purchased nor sold in a hurry. My husband guessed that they were definitely not people who knew the way, so he pretended to be fine and kept them safe while quietly sending me into the city to report to Commander Zhang." "Don't worry, speak slowly." Zhang Xiangto let the young woman sit down, "Which shop do you work in, and what is your husband's name?" The young woman sat down and wiped off the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief: "My husband's name is Jiang Taibing. His parents opened a Yingchun Pavilion inn outside the east gate, but unfortunately they were killed by Zhang Yunqing. This inn is owned by my husband and I." Take care." Zhang Xiangdi nodded: "In this way, your family has a sworn feud with Zhang Yunqing, and I hate the bandits very much." "Not only my family, but all the people in Wugang hate bandits." Mrs. Jiang said. "Very good. It's just that you have been out for so long, have they already left?" Mrs. Jiang said: "We have been on guard against this for a long time. Before going out, my husband told the people in the clan first, if the robbers really want to leave the inn, the clan will do it." Yi Hao got up and said to Zhang Xiangtou, "I'll go and see the proprietress first, and I will report the situation in time." Zhang Xiangtou nodded: "Proceed carefully. If the other party is not in a hurry to leave, don't act rashly. Observe for a while longer, hoping to get more information." Yi Hao agreed, went outside, and ordered more than 20 soldiers with fast actions and good marksmanship to drive to the east gate. When he arrived at the gate of the city, Yi Hao asked Mrs. Jiang to go out of the city to have a look. After a while, Mrs. Jiang came back and said, "They haven't left yet. My clansmen are guarding each house with sticks, and they can go to beat the thieves at any time!" Yi Hao nodded: "You go back to the inn first, as if nothing happened." Turning to his subordinates, "You guys go to the gun towers on the city wall to hide for a while, don't move around without my order, I will come back as soon as I go." After Mrs. Jiang went back for a while, Yi Hao took off his military uniform, put on a doctor's cap, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, a spun silk gown, and three-jointed black leather shoes. Go to the inn. When he came to the inn, Yi Hao picked an unremarkable table and sat down. He ordered a plate of peanuts, a plate of pig ears, a plate of Wugang stewed beef, and a pot of rice wine.Mrs. Jiang was serving him, and the two pretended not to know each other, just like ordinary guests coming to drink. While drinking, Yi Hao quietly paid attention to the dozen or so guests in the East Wing.I saw that their faces were very strange, and several of them had high foreheads, pointed chins, and dark faces. Obviously, this is not a characteristic of Hunanese. After drinking several glasses of wine, I finally heard them talking in a low voice—it just happened to be Hakka that I didn't understand very well.Yi Hao heard from Zhang Xiangtou that Shen Hongying was originally from Lianshan, Guangdong, and later settled in Guangxi. He spoke Hakka, and most of the soldiers who served with him also spoke Hakka.In the old Guangxi Clan, relatives were distinguished by language, and Guangxi dialect had the highest status.Lu Rongting is from Guangxi and speaks Guangxi dialect. This is also the main reason why Shen Hongying is not taken seriously. Yi Hao was 90% sure that this group of people was sent by Shen Hongying to spy on information.So what were they doing at this inn instead of going into town to spy on military installations? The burden around them caught Yi Hao's attention. This is a load of charcoal, which was built very high. In order to prevent the charcoal from the edge of the basket from breaking and falling to the ground, a circle of straw was placed around it, and the straw almost wrapped all the charcoal tightly. Yi Hao estimated the height, and quickly realized that there were submachine guns and other weapons sandwiched between the charcoal. Because the four doors were checked too tightly, he made a detour to this inn to avoid the search.So why didn't they leave immediately now that they had evaded detection? After a while, Yi Hao noticed that those people were looking out the window from time to time.He knew right away who they were waiting for, most likely their accomplices who had come into town to scout military installations.He hurriedly drank the wine in the jug, got up to pay the bill, and then went straight to the east gate. The guards guarding the city gate all knew him, but in order not to reveal his flaws, Yi Hao raised his hand and accepted the search voluntarily.After entering the door, turn to the left and climb up the city wall along the stone steps. Zhou Liansheng has already been greeted in the blockhouse. "Liansheng, what are you doing here?" Yi Hao asked. The two went into the gun tower and sat down. Zhou Liansheng said: "I just came back from Beixiang and found that Zhang Shuncai and Zhu Yunhan's bandits came out of Shuangbiyan. I guess they went to Shibei Zhang's house to join Zhang Yunqing's bandits. Therefore, I came back here. Report." Yi Hao: "It seems that this time it's going to be serious. You are working very hard and you are not resting at home. What are you doing here?" "It's not hard." Zhou Liansheng said, "As soon as I came back to report to the head of the delegation, I ran into a thin man named Qiao Licheng who came to report. He said that a foreigner drank his tea today and was still interested. He poured the tea on the ground, and there was a local man accompanying the foreigner, looking very suspicious." "A foreigner, a local?" Yi Hao said to himself, "Could it be that a local bandit accompanied Shen Hongying to inspect the military facilities in the city?" "Yes, that's very likely!" Zhou Liansheng immediately echoed. "If so, they must go out from here, Lian Sheng, you know many of Zhang Yunqing's subordinates, pay attention and see who is accompanying Shen Hongying." It was almost dusk at this time, and those who wanted to go home hurried out of the city gate.The two of them stood in the gun tower on the east gate wall and looked down, and they could clearly see the passers-by who had just walked out of the city gate. Suddenly, a familiar figure came into the eyes of Yi Hao and Zhou Liansheng at the same time - Zhang Yunqing was walking towards Yingchun Pavilion with a fat foreigner. Yi Hao said to Zhou Liansheng: "Hurry up, go downstairs and inform the people outside the city immediately, tell them that the two fat men in front of you are bandits, and ask them to pretend to be woodcutters and follow behind, and I will be there soon." Zhou Lian gave birth to the gun tower, and Yi Hao ordered the more than 20 fast gunners who came with him and the more than 20 defenders on the gun tower to prepare for battle.He himself stood at the window facing the east of the blockhouse, watching the backs of Zhang Yunqing and Shen Hongying without blinking. In his field of vision, a group of farmers with skewers came out of the house one after another, following behind Zhang and Shen... Not long after Zhang and Shen entered the inn, they went upstairs again led by a young man who looked like a boss.Yi Hao was secretly delighted, he knew that Zhang Yunqing and Shen Hongying must have opened a room to spend the night in the inn.If so, it would be best to wait until they go to bed to act. However, it didn't take long for Zhang Yunqing and Shen Hongying to go downstairs again.At the same time, the farmer pretending to be a woodcutter has lost his composure, holding a skewer and posing. "Hurry up, brothers!" Yi Hao gave an order, and more than forty soldiers came down from the gun tower, opened the city gate, and rushed towards the Yingchun Pavilion Inn. The gunshot rang out—it was bandit soldiers shooting at the people holding sticks... No matter how sharp the stick is, how could it withstand the bullets? There were waves of gunshots coming from there. More than a dozen civilians fell in a pool of blood... Yi Hao led his troops to surround the Yingchun Pavilion Inn in a semicircle, and quickly caught fire.At this time, there was a sudden chaos in the inn. The residents wanted to escape through the back door, but they were shot by bandit soldiers. The residents who stayed in the inn cried out in fright. The sun sank to the west, and even the rosy glow on Maple Ridge disappeared. During the fierce battle between the two sides, Yi Hao tried several times to rush across the open area in front of him and cut off the bandit army's retreat, but failed.Then Zhang Xiangdi heard the gunshots and sent a brigade of reinforcements, and the bandit army had already fled towards the back of the Yingchun Pavilion Inn and towards the Lingyun Tower. Cleaning the battlefield, the bandits did not leave a body, but more than a dozen local people and seven or eight inn guests were killed by the guns of the bandits.The young proprietress of the inn also died.The gunfire stopped for a long time before the boss Jiang Taibing crawled out from under the bed, threw himself on his wife's dead body and wept bitterly. 这一次又让张云卿逃走了，易豪十分懊丧。如果早知是张云卿进了城，只要在客栈后方布置一个排的兵力，量他插翅也难飞走。 易豪回到城里，向张湘砥汇报详情，当他知道张云卿、沈鸿英竟敢亲自进城侦察，倍感惊讶，叹道：“张云卿、沈鸿英不愧为一代枭雄，竟有如此胆略！” 易豪道：“这就是张云卿的性格，越是让人感到不可思议的事情，他偏偏去干，竟然还次次成功。” 欧阳东、刘卓、邓成云闻讯赶来，询问详情。大家唏嘘不已，都切切实实地感觉到，一场血战已无法避免。 当晚，张湘砥为提防沈鸿英攻城，将驻扎在水西门外的官兵全部迁入城内，又以驻军团长和义勇总队长的身份发布命令，全城实行戒严，所有寄住在内城各旅店、客栈的外乡人除了严格盘查之外，一律关进大牢，确认身份之后，于次日天亮后逐出县城，数日之内不准进城。 紧接着，欧阳东、张湘砥连夜拟写文告，动员所有政府人员誊写，于次日天亮贴往四门，派义勇兵分别到各乡集镇张贴。 文告称：旧桂系巨匪沈鸿英联合本埠土匪张云卿、朱云汉、张顺彩，为破坏北伐后方，觊觎武冈城，将于近日入城烧杀抢掠。故此，本城从即日起实行全面封闭，任何人不得进城，特此告示。 文告贴出，全城一片风声鹤唳，紧张异常。城墙上增加岗哨，日夜看守，两千官兵和衣而卧，枪不离身，一声令下，数分钟内即可投入战斗。全城市民，则通宵不眠，夜不闭户，提防潜入城中之贼军放火。 一时间，武冈城就像定时炸弹临炸前的沉默，在平静的外表下酝酿着一场惊天动地的爆炸…… 一天、两天、三天……直至第十天仍然平安无事。有些人开始失去警惕性了。 第十天傍晚，易豪发现各处守兵有所松懈，即爬上城墙从南至西至北，大声疾呼：“弟兄们呀，这是贼军的麻痹战术，千万不要上当！越是到了这种时候，越是到了最后关头！越要振作起来，今晚贼军就要攻城啦！” 这是1926年10月20日，深夜，在朦胧的月光下，一大群黑影如蚁似蜂般从南乡穿过赧水河对岸的半边街向这边涌来。 站在城南炮楼上的守城兵最先发现了敌情，根据事前约好的暗号，朝天向城内连放三枪。 枪声打破了旷日持久的宁静，三声枪响过后，小王城那边传来“嘀嘀哒，嘀嘀哒”如鬼叫一般的军号声。 随即，两千余名荷枪实弹的官兵跑步来到城南城墙上。 此时，沈鸿英正好率贼军兵临城下。 一万贼军黑压压一片，像一股潮水，借着风势就在瞬间涌到城墙这边来。 他们用机枪掩护抬着云梯的敢死队呐喊着向墙脚逼近。守军借着坚固厚实的炮楼，把枪从炮眼里捅出去，对着城墙外打枪。 枪林弹雨中，尖厉清脆的枪声和沙哑雄浑的呐喊声交织在一起，响彻云霄，把全城已经麻木的市民们惊醒了。 各家各户，留下老和幼，青壮年男人挑着早已备好的石块主动爬到城墙上，与守军一道，向墙外一块接一块地扔石头。 沈鸿英第一次攻城坚持了二十余分钟，因损失惨重，鸣号收兵，在城墙下留下一大堆尸体。张湘砥部也伤亡十数人。 贼军虽然暂退，但城墙上的军民仍不敢怠慢，提起精神，准备迎接贼军的第二次进攻。 半个小时后，如蚁的贼军又向城墙脚下涌来，这一次改变了方向，向正南一转，后面的机枪掩护，前面的敢死队抬起一根数百斤的大楠木撞击南城门…… “嗵——”“嗵——” 沉闷的撞击声仿佛不是撞在厚实的城门上，而是撞在每一位军民的心里。 张湘砥身先士卒，手持双枪，冲上正南门城楼，一边左右开弓，一边大声鼓动：“弟兄们，父老乡亲们，生死决战的关头到了，打呀，杀呀，狠狠地杀！” 随后，易豪率数十名枪手跑过来，向南门外开枪……贼军敢死队员中弹纷纷倒毙，撞门声由强变弱，终于没有了声音……贼军收兵号吹响了。 It was night without words. 次日天亮后，张湘砥、易豪登上城楼，发现贼军早已撤走，在河对岸离城三里路远的黄家坊扎寨安营，一派不拿下武冈城绝不收兵的架式。 易豪粗略点了一下，在正南门有五十多具尸体，靠西的城墙下，有三十多具尸体。他派了补充营的官兵从城门出去，对尸体逐一搜查，除了一些烟卷、香袋、女人相片之外，几乎没有一样值钱的东西。其中有一样稍值钱的是一块旧怀表，那是从一位中校连长身上搜来的。 由此可知，沈鸿英及他的手下目前是何等的贫困、潦倒。这也难怪，广西被新桂系占领，几乎没有了他的安身之所，加之被白崇禧穷追猛打，无喘息之机会，当然会很穷。 同时，武冈军民也料想到，日暮途穷的沈鸿英如今已是孤注一掷，若攻下武冈城，不仅能解决吃喝、用度和军饷问题，还能以这座固若金汤的城市作为他的发展基地。如今陆荣廷早去苏州当寓公了，旧桂系里就沈鸿英势力最强，他无时无刻不在想着东山再起，恢复他那失去的天堂。 易豪把对尸体检查的结果向张湘砥作了汇报，又令手下把尸体从赧水桥上扔下去，任滚滚波涛将其吞没，卷走到遥远的洞庭湖。 赧水是资江河的上游，赧水的源头在雪峰山腹地，经过九曲回肠的流淌和百川的汇集，来到武冈城已初具规模。每当夕阳西下，悬挂于西北面枫木岭之巅，满目夕照，红霞百朵，这时，如果站在南门口古老的石桥上极目远处风光，最引人注目的就是夕阳、红霞倒映在水里的美景。赧，《辞海》解释为“因羞惭而脸红”，这大概便是赧水河的来历。赧水河上面的桥名“赧水桥”，最早建筑于宋代，那时不过是木桥而已。现在留下的桥，复建于崇祯七年，朱王为便于修筑城墙，先建了这座赧水桥。赧水桥自古至今，有一远近闻名的小吃——米粉。此种米粉柔韧爽滑，色泽晶莹，配上佐料，是各阶层人员竞相享用的食物。其实，若追溯起来，武冈米粉的发源地在云南，云南“过桥米线”与之同出一辙。洪武年间，朱元璋之第十八子朱楩封藩云南，其兄登基后，怕他造反，连哄带骗，让其迁至武冈，以便看管。云南“过桥米线”的工艺流程，也就在那个时候带入武冈。 却说1926年10月20日半夜，沈鸿英连续两次攻城败退后，是夜无事。 但守城军民不敢怠慢，彻夜固守，次日一早，发现沈鸿英军据南门外三里处黄家坊，知其贼心不死，在清除城墙下、南门口的敌尸后，仍旧紧闭城门，动员全城市民投入战备。青壮年搬运石块垒上城墙，老翁、妇女则在城墙下打灶架锅煮稀饭。忙碌一整日，至21日半夜，贼军又来攻城。 此次贼军攻城有所不同。前面敢死队掮着三根数百斤重的楠木柱梁，径冲南门口。临近时，喊杀震天，枪弹呼啸，连成一片。贼军以梯队形攻城，后面由机枪向城楼和两翼开枪，子弹密集，守城军民被压在炮楼或掩体里，抬头不得。 很显然，沈鸿英此次攻城比昨日更为凶猛，而且做了周密的部署。 “嗵——”那是楠木柱梁撞击城门之声。一次撞击，城门摇摇欲裂，沉闷的撞门过后，又是一阵震天动地的呐喊声，随即是更为凶猛的撞门声再加上密集的枪声，仿佛地在动，山在摇。 很快，易豪看出了问题，对张湘砥说：“团长，贼军以阶梯式撞城门，又有机枪掩护，要不了多久，城门就会被撞开，那时候，我们就只有死路一条！” “怎么办？”张湘砥急得像热锅上的蚂蚁。 这时，刘卓从墙下爬上来，对张湘砥说：“张团长，城门快要给撞开了，怎么办？” 张湘砥对易豪说：“易营长，你负责在城墙上指挥狠打，我下去看看。” 张湘砥随刘卓走下城墙，来到城门内，只见一群士兵用木棍在拼命顶，但外面楠木撞击力之巨大几乎无法抗拒，两边衔接在铁槽里的门枢已经裂开了裂缝。 如今，这道门已成了全城近六万军民的生死之门，能顶住，大家有活路，顶不住被撞开，死路一条。 正在万分焦虑中，欧阳东领着一帮市民扛着锄头、挑着筐涌到了门口。张湘砥一拍大腿，叫道：“好办法！欧阳县长，真有你的！” “所谓兵来将挡，水来土掩。”欧阳东说，“如今我把这成语改了一下，叫'兵来土掩'。” 张湘砥大笑，和欧阳东一起加入了搬石运土的行列。 外面的贼军冒着枪林弹雨疯狂地撞着城门；城内，欧阳东率市民们拚命搬运土石，在城门内垒起了一道厚厚实实的土石内墙。 用木和铁皮交叉做成的厚实城门终于撞破了——不得而知，贼军兴奋之后旋即就是大失所望。沈鸿英恼羞成怒，率部向西移动，转攻旱西门。 城墙上的守兵齐声呐喊：“贼军去旱西门啦，打呀，杀呀！” 城内欧阳东闻声，迅率挖土方的市民向西飞奔。来到旱西门，正好贼军在外面呐喊着撞城门。子弹在头顶上呼啸，守城官兵在奋力还击。 旱西门内的土方较多，搬运起来十分方便，这一次贼军坚持不到半小时，又向水西门移动。 水西门是穿城河引资水进城的入口，入口之上有一座石拱桥名牛市桥，俗名“牛屎桥”，那里有一个湘西闻名的耕牛交易市场，云集了来自各地的耕牛或菜牛和牛贩。 欧阳东是土生土长的武冈城人，自小他常和伙伴们光着屁股在这河里摸鱼捉虾拾贝。对水西门再熟也没有了。他心里十分火急，知道这里是全城最薄弱之处，一旦沈军在土匪的带领下来到这里，从“牛屎桥”下钻过来，那么全城就危险了。因此，早在贼军攻旱西门时，他就防到了这一步，组织上千名市民，把大量的土石倒在牛屎桥下，当贼军真的赶到时，已经无懈可击了。 凌晨3时，沈鸿英鸣号收兵，是夜再无战事。为掌握贼军情报，沈鸿英收兵后，易豪用软梯放周连生从南门东侧出去，涉过赧水河，潜往黄家坊。 1926年10月22日，秋高气爽，艳阳悬天，与城南遥遥相望的云山正是景色绝佳、香火旺盛的时节。 云山，乃佛教第七十二福地，与南岳衡山齐名，山上寺庙、塔林林立，有僧民近千人，远近善男信女求神拜佛者络绎不绝，但如今武冈城被重兵围困，人民水深火热，云山的菩萨呀，如果你们真的有灵，难道就眼睁睁地目睹这一场人间惨剧发生在眼皮底下吗？ 第三天夜里，贼军又在南门、旱西门、水西门丢下近百具尸体。易豪还要把尸体扔入赧水河，欧阳东得知后，立即予以制止，以免污染下游水质。最后，分别在三道门外各挖一个大坑，就地掩埋，只剩下一部分人头，分别悬于东西南北四道门外。 已经进行了两夜激战，贼军还是不会死心。眼下秋高气爽，风高物燥，最怕的是贼军火攻。当日，欧阳东、张湘砥、易豪召集各街道的头领，动员各家各户备足水，以防贼军放火，同时又动员老人、妇女，在城墙下继续烧稀饭，青壮男人仍每天向城墙上搬运石块。 已经两天两夜没合眼的军民，经过十数个钟头的紧张准备，又迎来了守城的第三个夜晚。 晚饭过后，周连生抄原路回到城墙下，易豪下令守军放下软梯。 周连生爬上城楼，易豪关心地问道：“吃过饭了么？” 周连生道：“吃过了，当地老百姓知道我是城里出来的探子，都很热情，他们备受贼军骚扰，恨不得贼军早日离开。” “有重大发现么？” 周连生点头：“沈鸿英经过两夜猛攻未能拿下，恼羞成怒，大骂武冈刁民比军队更为可恶。今日早晨，他派张云卿、朱云汉到附近几个村庄大肆抢劫粮食、猪、牛、羊、鸡、狗。下午举行誓师大会，喝血酒，沈鸿英在会上痛哭流涕，说他南征北战，从未有过这样的经历。区区一座小城，守军不过两千人，他以一万雄兵连攻两夜，死去弟兄二百人，居然还拿不下来，如此奇耻大辱，实难咽下这口气。今日特地和贼众喝血酒誓师，定要攻破县城。一旦拿下，血洗七日七夜，武冈城中，无论男女老幼，一个不留！” 易豪倒抽一口凉气，喃喃道：“沈鸿英果然心如蛇蝎！” “可不是。”周连生道，“当时我正躲在黄家坊附近的村子里，只听到惊天动地的喊叫声，什么'攻下武冈城，血洗七天七夜'，听起来真是令人不寒而栗。” 易豪道：“这事一定要尽快告诉张团长、欧阳东县长。连生，走。” 周连生随易豪来到南门炮楼，向正在这里观察敌情的欧阳东、张湘砥报告贼军的情况。欧、张听后大惊。欧阳东说：“此事一定要转告全城军民，让他们知道一旦城市失守，立刻就会血流成河，尸堆如山。”转对邓成云，“你马上组织宣传队，敲着锣鼓沿街宣传，告诉市民们沈鸿英的狼子野心！” 邓成云下去后，周连生接着汇报：“还有，他们连攻两日，知道硬取困难，誓师大会后，张云卿等土匪还领着大队广西佬在云山脚各村大抢特抢，见值钱的就要，见女人就强奸，见青壮年男人就杀，仿佛是拿不下城市，要在无辜百姓身上宣泄似的。特别有一点最值得注意，土匪每抢一处，总是把各家各户的煤油、桐油搜集起来。” 张湘砥叹道：“他们果然采取火攻！” 易豪提醒道：“张团长、欧阳县长，关于火攻一项，张云卿是很有经验的，他曾经成功地火烧过溪陈家寨——那年也是现在这样的季节和天气。我们不能不防。” 城楼上正说着话，突然一大群贼兵向城墙涌来，刹那间千百个火把齐燃，映红了半个天际，呐喊声一阵高过一阵，一遍又一遍地重复一个内容： “拿下武冈城！” “血洗七天七夜！” “拿下武冈城！” “血洗七天七夜！” 然而，奇怪的是贼兵除了呐喊，并不攻城，只向东西两个方向转移。 一会，东门、迎春门、北门、北门闸、旱西门、水西门各门守军纷纷来正南门炮楼报告敌情：贼军已包围全城，尚未发起攻击。 张湘砥、欧阳东令全城军民除各户留守一名防火人员之外，全部登上城墙，严阵以待，随时准备血战。 已经是秋末初冬之际，深夜寒风刺骨，霜雾很重，全城约四万多军民在城墙上站成一道人墙，在寒冷中，不一会儿，每个人都能从头顶上扫下大片露水。 各家各户，都把家中的煤油倒入捅空的竹子里，一端塞上棉花，做成久燃不灭的火把，插在城墙。上万个火把把古老的城市围成圈，在黑暗的夜空下闪烁，这是一道怎样蔚为壮观的风景啊！ 贼军一直在声嘶力竭地呐喊，却并不发起攻击，直至天亮。 天亮后，城墙上的军民发现各处道路口已被全部封锁…… 看着这阵势，易豪很快明白对方的真实意图，对张湘砥、欧阳东说：“不好了，贼军封锁我们，是为了切断我们与外界的联络，他们所以暂不攻城，是因为还没有抢够足以烧毁这座城市的煤油。” 张湘砥一听急了：“我们该怎么办？” 欧阳东道：“现在已经晚了，其实我们早就该派人去邵阳搬救兵。靠自己的力量是不足以守城的。” 张湘砥捶着胸道：“是呀，我们怎么就忽略了这一环节！” 众人嘘唏，这时易豪干咳一声说：“早在迎春客栈与张云卿