Chapter 144 Going eastward along the river

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, on the south bank of the Han River that meanders to the southeast, General Zhao Jin was riding on his horse, following the flow of people with a heavy heart.

This is the fifth day since Zuo Liangyu's army left Xiangyang.

Because it had been more than a day since they left Chengtianfu City, the entire army fleeing eastward was finally no longer so nervous, and its speed also slowed down a lot.

Compared with the speed of escaping from Xiangyang to Chengtian Fucheng in the first two days, the current speed is almost slow.

It was more than 300 miles from Xiangyang to Chengtian Fucheng (Chengtian Fucheng governed Zhongxiang County) in two days. For such a scattered and huge army, it was really fast and extremely rare.

But Zhao Jin didn't feel much about this, and he didn't find it surprising that a group of bereaved dogs performed miracles in order to escape.

Of course, the consequence of such a hasty journey is that everyone is extremely tired, and now it is difficult to get up quickly.

Originally, they planned to rest outside Chengtianfu City for a few more days, but after only one day of rest, they had to embark on a panicked escape again.

The peasant army has begun to attack Yicheng, which is sandwiched between Xiangyang and Chengtianfucheng. Chengtianfucheng is no longer safe.

No one had any hope for the small county town on the south bank of the Han River, less than 100 miles away from Xiangyang. Although they saw the small county town with its gates closed when they passed by, and flags flying on the city, they finally

It would be a mantis trying to block the car, just overestimating his ability.

At this time, Zhao Jin somehow remembered the officials in green wailing at the gate of the city who saw them when they left Yangchun Gate (East Gate) in Xiangyang.

official uniform color).

It was difficult for him to imagine what would happen to those low-level officials who insisted on staying in Xiangyang, but those people undoubtedly chose to stay.

At this time, Zhao Jin's thoughts were interrupted by a burst of tragic crying from the front.

He looked up and saw several simple thatched houses appearing in his sight. This was a poor village with only a few families.

When Zhao Jin approached with the numb flow of people, he saw an old woman sitting on the ground next to a thatched house, crying and shouting around a body whose gender could not be clearly seen. Several men in tattered clothes but holding weapons were cursing.

They were kicked in and out of the thatched house.

Those guys who were probably soldiers probably found nothing, because the chicken coops and duck nests in the fence around the thatched house had obviously been destroyed for a long time and were empty.

With so many troops, how could there be anything left for these latecomers?

Of course, only the no-name among these no-names would still want to pick up some leftovers in such a shabby place.

Finally, amidst someone's shouts, a soldier began to use the torch in his hand to light the thatched huts one by one. It seemed that they were acting under orders.

The painful old woman raised her head and looked at everything blankly, crying even louder.

At this time, an obviously irritable soldier suddenly walked over and slashed at the old woman's head with a knife. But his knife was obviously very slow, so he had to pull out the knife with difficulty and stabbed it several times before she let go.

Everything becomes quiet.

Everyone passing by looked at all this indifferently, no one stopped him, and no one asked a question, as if everything was so natural.

Even Zhao Jin felt that his heart was like stagnant water and could not make any big waves.

"Light up all the houses and docks that pass by, block all wells in sight, and kill or take away all living creatures that can breathe."

This is Zuo Liangyu's military order.

But this military order was issued before they arrived at Chengtianfucheng, and now that they have left Chengtianfucheng for more than a day, why are they still executing it?

Is this still necessary?

Zhao Jin felt unspeakable pain in his heart.

Justice and evil are always so ironic.

However, Zhao Jin soon discovered that he still underestimated the misery and chaos of this world.

When they passed a small town built along the road, Zhao Jin was completely stunned by what was happening in the town. Even though he had been mentally prepared enough and was almost completely numb, it was still hard for him to accept it.

It was no longer unusual to go around demolishing and dilapidating houses in search of property, and people had become accustomed to the sight of corpses on both sides of the town's roads, but the completely unconcealed act of beast finally began to make his heart twitch.

Some soldiers actually lined up on both sides of the road as if there was no one around, openly insulting the women they had just kidnapped in broad daylight. The unbridled laughter of the onlookers and the cries of the women made the final conscience completely collapse.

Some of the other troops passing by were chatting and laughing as if they were watching a play, while others simply broke up and rushed forward.

Expressions of resentment and intolerance are rare.

This defeated army has completely become an army of beasts.

Zhao Jin, with an almost livid face, ordered his troops to speed up. No one was allowed to participate in this absurd feast. They must stay away from here.

The Battle of Baimadu made Zhao Jin famous.

In the past few days, they not only had enough food and grass, but also received a lot of meat and fish as rewards, and they were basically not assigned to perform any chores. This also made the soldiers in Zhao Jin's army not worry about their stomachs at all, and naturally

No need to rush to the front of the army to rob.

"What's going on? Didn't Jianbi Qingye stop when they arrived at Chengtian Mansion? Why did it start again? Why are these people becoming more and more jerks?" Wang Chengwu finally couldn't help but leave his team and ran to ask Shi Ming.

Shi Ming curled his lips and said sarcastically: "The governor of Huguang lives in Chengtianfu City, and he still wants to resist the peasant army! Of course, the three-guang policy cannot be carried out under his nose. Now that he is far away and has resumed, it is probably for

We want to slow down the pursuit of the peasant army. After all, there is a high probability that Chengtian Mansion will not be able to defend it, and we can’t run away."

"Then we can't just let the soldiers do whatever they want. How is this different from wild beasts?" Wang Chengwu said angrily.

Shi Ming sighed and said: "This is a crazy habit, and it is also a method used by generals to boost morale. I heard that this is also a common practice. You can do whatever you want, and I will help you, so there are many people

Are you willing to work with our General Zuo?"

"This...but we are the army! The bandits probably...can't do such a thing." Wang Chengwu was so depressed that he didn't know what to say.

"Officials or gangsters, in this world, as long as you are orthodox and strong, who cares what you have done. Zuo Liangyu has done enough to massacre the city, so what does this small case mean?" Shi Ming said with a sneer.

.

Then he looked back at the interested Li Shengcai in the distance and said, "However, some people are happy."

…

When it started to get dark, Zhao Jin took his troops away from the main road where the chaotic army was marching, and chose a relatively less crowded place near the mountains to rest.

They must keep a certain distance from the crazy crowd, otherwise Zhao Jin is worried that his soldiers will completely fall into madness.

That night in Xiangyang left Zhao Jin with lingering fears. There was a time when he was worried that he would not be able to control his subordinates and that his subordinates would become complete demons.

Since nearly 200,000 troops could not march in one line, nor could they stop at all times, most of the troops actually just dispersed into large horizontal lines and marched along the river under the leadership of their respective generals, leading to the entire Han River.

There were people and carriages flowing everywhere within a few miles on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

In order to find extra supplies, some teams would even go more than ten miles away from the Han River.

Therefore, although Zhao Jinxuan's temporary resting place is located in a remote area, some soldiers and horses will occasionally pass by.

After the team stopped, Gao Lei, who had been sulking in the carriage and looking pale all day, must take Zhao Lanyue to find a quiet stream and wash it carefully.

Zhao Jin, who was very worried about this, had no choice but to agree reluctantly after seeing Gao Lei's resolute look, and sent a dozen trustworthy soldiers to accompany him.

While cleaning, Gao Lei couldn't help but choked up again: "I can't stand it anymore. I don't want to stay here any more."

In the past few days, Gao Lei's spirit has obviously been greatly stimulated. The scenes of atrocities vividly performed before her eyes completely shattered her, a white-collar woman who basically lives in the sun, her understanding of human nature and cruelty.

"We are somewhat used to Li Ping. Maybe this is how the world should be. I wonder what happened to him and Song Baolai?" Zhao Lanyue said with a wry smile.

Because she and Gao Lei had lived together in the villa for a while, Zhao Lanyue knew that Gao Lei had a mysophobia due to her previous professional relationship, and it was quite serious.

In the past few days, I have been driving all the way in a noisy and noisy way, and I have been trapped in the carriage and cannot easily get out. I am also frightened every day. It is really uncomfortable.

And in the past six months, they have been spoiled by Li Ping, and they are a little ignorant of the "fireworks of the world", which makes the excitement even more exciting.

"Yes! I don't know what happened to them?" Gao Lei felt lost again.

After cleaning and putting away her makeup, Gao Lei said apologetically to Zhao Lanyue: "Lanyue, you go back first. I want to go there alone to see the sunset and be quiet for a while."

Zhao Lanyue followed Gao Lei's gaze and glanced at a high place not far away. After a moment of silence, she nodded with a smile and said, "Then I'll go back first. It's enough for two soldiers to accompany me. Leave the other soldiers behind."

You, you have to be more careful."

After Zhao Lanyue left, Gao Lei stood quietly on a small hillside and looked at the setting sun on the horizon. The eight or nine guard soldiers gathered in a corner of the hillside in boredom and waited.

The gentle rays of the setting sun shone on Gao Lei's body, making her already tall figure even more exquisite, and the skin on her face also looked more soft under the reflection.

And her infatuated and confused expression coupled with an elegant underskirt added to the refined elegance and nobility, making her look so peerless and independent, so beautiful.

Most of the guards at the corner of the hillside were also fascinated by Gao Lei. They seemed to be chatting nonsense, but many of them were actually secretly glancing at this stunning beauty.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves gradually came over, and a group of knights slowly came out from behind the slope and headed towards the Han River. They should have come from the south.

The guards at the corner of the hillside immediately stood up and observed the group of knights.

There are a dozen knights in this team, most of them wearing armor and capes, and they look quite elite.

It's just that the person at the head is a pink-faced young man dressed as a Confucian scholar wearing a green Huluo shirt outside in the middle of winter. His style of painting is extremely uncoordinated.

Gao Lei, who was on the hillside, also noticed this group of knights. She couldn't help but lower her head and look sideways.

The pink-faced young man also happened to follow the gaze of Gao Lei's guard up the hillside, and happened to make eye contact with Gao Lei.

Gao Lei frowned slightly, ignored it, and fell into her own world again.

But the pink-faced young man was fascinated by it. He reined in his horse and exclaimed in a low voice: "What a beautiful woman."

Then, he immediately tidied his messy hair on his horse, and then he clasped his fists and shouted loudly: "Young man is being too polite. I don't know which lady has disturbed her elegance. Fang Wuke apologizes to the lady for being unintentionally abrupt."

But how could Gao Lei pay attention to him? He immediately turned around with a cold face and walked down the hillside to the group of guards, and then left quickly.

Fang Wuke didn't feel displeased when he didn't get any reply. Instead, he got off his horse early and stood aside, keeping a smile on his face, but his eyes were fixed on Gao Lei's figure.

It wasn't until Gao Lei had gone far that he murmured to himself with lingering thoughts: "This girl is really shy, and she is also unusually tall. Although she is cold, she has a unique charm. I like her so much."

"
Chapter completed!