I

Xie Longwen tried to stop the soldiers from escaping at first, but suddenly he heard the shouts of rebels coming from outside the city, and he immediately ran down from the tower.

While running, he even distractedly took off his official uniform and shouted: "Open the city gate quickly!"

No one paid attention, and all the officers and soldiers ran away.

Xie Longwen wanted to open the door and escape, but without the help of soldiers, it was difficult for one person to open it. He did not dare to waste time, so he fled into the streets and alleys of the city, climbed over the wall and hid in the woodshed of a wealthy family.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Yang Jiamo quickly took off his cotton armor and ran to the north along the city wall.

According to the original plan, his two surviving servants also came to the north city to join them. After tying the rope and hanging down, the three of them grabbed the rope and slid down, quickly escaping into the streets outside the city.

Seeing several groups of rebels running past, seemingly all of them already entering the city, Yang Jiamo immediately ran away with his two servants.

When he ran to the moat, Yang Jiamo was instantly desperate. There were a few rebels guarding each bridge. He immediately returned to the streets and headed towards the west dock of the city. There was no moat here, but there was a wide Gan River, and no ships were allowed to dock during the siege.

Although Yang Jiamo is originally from Chongqing, he has settled in Liangzhou Wei for several generations. He and his two servants are all landlubbers.

The three of them took off their chainmail, forcibly removed the door panel of a shop, lifted the door panel and rushed towards the Gan River - they could not escape along the river bank because there was a moat in the middle, and the moats on the north and south sides flowed into the Gan River.

The three landlubbers, each lying on a door panel, ran downstream to Nanchang City.

One of the servants only floated more than ten feet when he suddenly lost his balance and began to gurgling water. He flapped his hands randomly and called for help in panic.

Yang Jiamo was so frightened that he didn't even dare to move his fingers, let alone paddling, and just lay cautiously on the door panel.

The night doesn't know which direction it is, it just drifts down the river.

"Bang!"

I don’t know how far it floated, but the door panel suddenly hit the bank and rolled over.

Yang Jiamo also drank water gurglingly, and his whole body sank. He waved his limbs in fear and swam to the surface with all his strength. Swimming and swimming until he was exhausted, Yang Jiamo finally accepted his fate, and then he stepped on the sand.

I tried to stand up, but the water level was only up to my waist. I had been busy for a long time, and I didn’t know who I was competing with.

Yang Jiamo was so happy that he quickly climbed to the shore and walked forward along the river. After walking a few steps, I lay down to rest. I was really exhausted just now and had a full stomach of water.

After taking a short rest to regain his strength, Yang Jiamo continued on his way.

While walking, Yang Jiamo suddenly fell into the water, and in front of him was the Gan River again.

Did the ghost hit the wall?

Gradually, the sky became brighter, and Yang Jiamo finally understood. He floated on a river island. And it is a small sandbank, completely covered with grass, not even farmland, and there are no residents or ferries.

There are rivers in all directions!

Yang Jiamo wanted to cry but had no tears. The dignified general was trapped on a small sandbank.

Yang Jiamo wandered around the sandbank and finally discovered to his surprise that there was a port town on the other side of the river to the east.

Jiangxi’s water network extends in all directions.

This port town is called Xigang Town. In addition to being close to the Gan River, it is also next to a small river, which is a tributary of the Fu River. Starting from this river, you can go to Raozhou in the north and Fuzhou in the south. You can also go around the Ganjiang River from the fork to return to the north of Nanchang City.

"I have money, I want to take a boat!" Yang Jiamo shouted wildly towards the other side.

No one cares.

"I have money, I have money!"

Yang Jiamo shouted at the top of his lungs that there was smoke, but no one came over. The sandbank is more than 300 meters away from the river bank, and it is a bustling town. Who can hear it under the din?

The first day passed extremely long.

The next day, Yang Jiamo was really hungry and began to dig up grass roots and eat them raw to satisfy his hunger.

On the third day, I finally saw a ship passing by. It should be that Fengcheng County had resumed merchant ship traffic.

"I have money, I want to take a boat!" Yang Jiamo shouted feebly.

He had a cold and a fever because the night was too cold.

After more than a dozen boats passed by in a row, someone must have seen Yang Jiamo, but none of them chose to stop. Because it is easy to run aground near the sandbank, larger ships dare not approach it. It wasn't until evening that a merchant ship docked in Xigang Town, and a small boat came to rescue them.

"Many... many thanks." Yang Jiamo passed out immediately.

This guy met a kind person who not only helped him cross the river, but also invited a doctor to treat his illness.

In a daze, Yang Jiamo opened his mouth to drink medicine, and then opened his mouth to drink porridge.

When he woke up, no matter how many days had passed, he was still floating on the boat, and there was a boy standing in front of him.

"Where is here?" Yang Jiamo asked.

The boy smiled and said, "You finally woke up. We have just passed Jishui County, and in front of us is Ji'an Fucheng. From your accent, do you think you are from the north?"

"Yes, from the north."

Yang Jiamo almost fainted again, but he was actually about to be taken to the den of thieves.

…

Yang Jiamo wrote a letter to lie to Li Maofang, saying that hundreds of his servants were still there.

Therefore, Li Maofang firmly believed that Fengcheng could be defended for a month or two, and wrote a letter asking Zhang Yinggao and Cai Bangjun to surround Wei and rescue Zhao.

When he learned that Fengcheng County had fallen, Li Maofang had no choice but to withdraw his orders to Fuzhou. Because the distance was very far, Fuzhou must have sent troops. He could only send out the messenger again. If he could catch up, he would call back. If he couldn't catch up, he could only sit back and watch the friendly troops in danger.

Two prefects, Zhang Yinggao and Cai Bangjun, set off with nearly 7,000 people.

After taking a boat all the way to the border of Chongren County, there was no waterway ahead. We had to pass through twenty or thirty miles of hilly land, and then walk another twenty miles of flat land.

The new recruits from Fuzhou Prefecture were directly transferred to work as food transporters.

The house leaked and it rained continuously all night. After walking only a dozen miles, the first snow of this winter suddenly started falling.

Sixty-five-year-old Zhang Yinggao ate and lived with the soldiers, which could at least boost their morale.

But Cai Bangjun, who was still young, could not brave the snow to cross the hills and insisted on moving forward while sitting on the sliding pole. As for the soldiers under his command, due to their lack of fighting ability, they were all thrown into the labor camp to carry food and grass.

After only half a day of marching in the hills, the Fuzhou soldiers became resentful and fled a third of them that night.

The next morning.

Zhang Yinggao found Cai Bangjun and said, "If you sit in the sedan chair again, all the soldiers will escape."

"We shouldn't have sent troops this time," Cai Bangjun complained bitterly. "How can a group of new soldiers go far in the winter? What's more, it's snowing again!"

Zhang Yinggao sighed: "If we don't send troops, once Fengcheng falls, Nanchang will face the rebels directly."

Cai Bangjun said resentfully: "It's all Li Maofang's fault. What does it have to do with me?"

Zhang Yinggao persuaded: "If you persist, it's only twenty or thirty miles away, and there are no steep mountains."

Cai Bangjun thought for a while and said, "There is only one way to boost morale."

"What method?" Zhang Yinggao asked.

Cai Bangjun said: "Tell all the soldiers that if they encounter villages and towns ahead, they can loot and enjoy themselves as much as they want. Otherwise, why should they stay away from their hometown and cross the border to fight in Jishui County?"

Zhang Yinggao wanted to rebuke angrily, but he still held back and walked away silently, which was regarded as acquiescing to this approach.

After another day and a half, there were only more than 5,000 soldiers from the two provinces left, and they finally came out of the mountains and reached the border of Yongfeng County.

It was still early in the evening, but they could no longer march. More than 5,000 officers and soldiers dispersed on their own initiative, robbed property, raped women, and occupied houses to sleep.

Another day later, when we arrived at a small town at the intersection of the two rivers, officers and soldiers rushed directly to the town to plunder.

Only Zhang Yinggao could restrain hundreds of soldiers and went to the dock outside the town to grab more than a dozen small boats. He could barely use the boats to transport some grain and grass.

Once the opening is opened, it is difficult to restrain.

Zhang Yinggao did not dare to say that he was the prefect of Guangxin, so he claimed to be Li Maofang's troops. More than 5,000 soldiers marched all the way to Yongfeng County.

Yongfeng County is under the jurisdiction of Ji'an Prefecture, but Zhao Han has not occupied it for the time being.

The city gate was closed tightly. Liu Mianzuo, the magistrate of Yongfeng County, stood on the city tower dragging his sick body, looking at the officers and soldiers outside the city with an angry look on his face.

Zhang Yinggao personally stepped forward and shouted: "I am under the command of Governor Li and have been ordered to make a surprise attack on Jishui County. Please provide grain, grass and ships from your county."

"Get out...cough cough cough!"

Liu Mianzuo covered his mouth and coughed repeatedly, and his palms were covered with blood.

Historically, Liu Mianzuo's eldest brother Liu Xizuo died fighting bandits. Liu Mianzuo's second brother Liu Yongzuo led troops to defend Xinghua. After the Tatars broke through the city, they committed suicide by taking poison.

As for Liu Mianzuo himself, before Zhao Han's uprising, he recruited 500 troops to suppress the bandits.

After wiping out the bandits in the mountains, Liu Mianzuo was injured and left the root of the disease. Because he was ill in bed, he did not follow Jie Xuelong to fight at that time.

Then there was a peasant uprising in Yongfeng County, and Liu Mianzuo could only take advantage of his illness to suppress the bandits. He now had a thousand elite rural warriors in his command. After seeing the governance of Jishui County next door, he suddenly did not want to fight with Zhao Han and only wanted to lead troops to defend Yongfeng County.

Seeing that the officers and soldiers outside the city refused to leave and seemed to want to enter the city, Liu Mianzuo suddenly shouted: "Follow me to assemble the army and fight out!"

"Ahem!"

Liu Mianzuo wiped the blood from his palms and led his troops out of the city to form an array.

Qian Xiangyong, facing more than 5,000 enemies, faced off without fear.

Liu Mianzuo roared angrily: "You are called officers and soldiers, but you are actually bandits. You have looted all the way here, and you are worse than the Zhao bandits in Luling. Leave Yongfeng County quickly, or I will kill you out!"

Zhang Yinggao and Cai Bangjun looked at each other, both feeling ashamed. After the soldiers grabbed some boats at the dock, they led their troops down the river to Jishui.

"Cough cough cough cough!"

"County Lord!"

"Hurry and help the county minister return to the city!"

The soldiers were panicked and escorted Liu Mianzuo back to the county government office.

Liu Mianzuo fought for several years, wiped out several groups of old bandits in the mountains, and suppressed the peasant army in Yongfeng County. The officials in the county had been replaced a long time ago, and they were all his confidants.

Moreover, after Zhao Han occupied Jishui, Yongfeng County no longer paid taxes to the court, and all the money and grain were used to train soldiers. Liu Mianzuo took the opportunity to engage in corvee and low taxes, and everyone from the gentry to the common people respected him.

The county magistrate was disobedient and had been beheaded by Liu Mianzuo, who claimed that he was killed by bandits.

After Liu Mianzuo woke up, he summoned the chief bookkeeper and the historian: "If I die, I will surrender to Zhao Yan immediately. You have a thousand elite soldiers and are not evil, so you will be used by Zhao Yan. Only Zhao Yan can keep the people of Yongfeng County safe, and the rest None of the officials can be trusted. Especially Li Maofang, I sent people to Nanchang to investigate, this bastard has made Nanchang Mansion angry and resentful!"

Both the chief bookkeeper and the history official were promoted by Liu Mianzuo, and through Jie Xuelong, they were officially appointed by the court.

"Your Majesty, don't talk too much. The main thing is to recuperate."

"Ahem...I can't survive. The old injury has lasted for three years. I will definitely not survive this winter. Remember, lead your troops to the city and surrender to Zhao..."

"County Honor! County Honor!"