Chapter 258 Burning Barracks
No matter who sent the three assassins, it means that the battle for the throne in the capital is about to come to an end, so some people feel that there is no need to let Juanhou continue to live.
Therefore, Han Ruzi decided to return to Beijing immediately. He had no time to wait for the arrival of the main force of the Northern Army, nor time to consolidate his position in the Southern Army.
At dawn, Han Ruzi ordered the three thousand soldiers in Yingfengzhai and set off immediately.
In order to ensure the speed of the march, Han Ruzi could only take these people. If the number of people was larger, he could only wait until the afternoon to set off. As for the southern army at the foot of the mountain, after the rapid march yesterday, it has not yet recovered. People are not even equipped with weapons and armor, so they can't go on the road again. They can only let them return to the base camp one after another, and then set off after rectification.
In Baiqiao Town, Han Ruzi stopped for a while and ordered Cai Xinghai to make preparations. An hour later, he led the soldiers of the Southern and Northern Army in the town to the capital.
In fact, Han Ruzi gave similar orders to the battalions of the Southern Army, but the departure time was different. If they could strictly abide by them, he would be able to welcome an army every hour in the capital.
Cui Teng has always been curious about what Hou Juan wants to do. After leaving Baiqiao Town, Han Ruzi revealed his plan: "I am not a general of the Southern Army, and I am not going to fight with your father, so this army belongs to you. Commander, you have to take these 3,000 people into the southern army camp, of course, I will also go in."
"Hehe, this is called uninvited. Brother-in-law, don't say I didn't warn you, my father will definitely be very angry when he sees you. I even suspect that the three assassins were sent by him."
"There is no need to ask about the assassin. If you want to help me, just announce my arrival publicly after entering the southern army camp. The more people who know, the better."
"You want to enter the camp quietly, but after you enter, you have to make a big announcement. This...why can't I understand it?"
"Sneak into the camp to keep the Confederates unprepared, lest they think I'm here to fight, and make a big noise after entering the camp - to make your father have to protect me."
No matter what, the people in the DPRK who hated the Marquis Ruan the most could only send assassins to assassinate them, and did not dare to do it directly, so Han Ruzi wanted to enter the camp quietly and publicize it loudly.
Cui Teng still didn't quite understand it, but he had the advantage of forgetting what he didn't understand, and didn't bother to guess.
Meng E hid in the dark last night to protect Juan Hou, but at this time she appeared beside him again, paying attention to every word he said.
Baiqiao Town is not very far from the capital. After Han Ruzi and the 3000 Southern Army entered the night, they saw the lights of the Southern Army camp. They were already exhausted and they wanted to enter the camp to rest as soon as possible. Cui Teng took the lead, "I will bring you into the camp! It went well, and there was no one to stop it along the way.”
Han Ruzi felt that this was a big problem. The Southern Army had always been known for its strict military discipline. The 60,000 Southern Army was stationed here, but they did not send troops to set up cards on the road, and there were not even scouts and sentries. It was really a strange thing, especially Baiqiao Town fell, and Taifu Cui should strengthen the defense at the rear.
As we got closer to the camp, even Cui Teng felt weird, "Why is no one coming out to welcome me?"
Finally, the southern army camp was displayed in front of everyone. It turned out that what they saw before were not lights, but flames burning everywhere.
Cui Teng's face was bloodless, and the southern troops who arrived one after another were stunned.
"Brother-in-law, what's going on?"
Han Ruzi turned his horse's head, looked at the three thousand soldiers, raised his voice and said, "Let's come a step later, the capital is obviously already fighting, we don't know who will win, we have come from afar, and we must adapt accordingly." He paused for a moment, "There is a trap ahead. Countless, I need you to carry out my orders exactly, or to avoid the catastrophe, if anyone is unwilling, please leave the team, I will not force it."
The three thousand southern troops were all from Yingfeng Village. They were both respectful and afraid of Marquis Tien. Seeing that the southern army camp was destroyed by fire, the situation in the capital was unpredictable. They were all huge problems that they could not solve. At this moment, it is also the most dependent on the tired Hou.
"Listen to Hou Juan's command!" "Just listen to Hou Juan..." The generals replied in a hurry.
Han Ruzi's first order was to have everyone line up in an offensive formation and send out several scouts to investigate in different directions, especially the situation in the capital.
Cui Teng volunteered and galloped toward the capital with a dozen soldiers. Han Ruzi led the rest of the army to march slowly. From this moment on, the team could no longer be chaotic.
Han Ruzi looked to both sides, and the southern army camps that stretched for dozens of miles seemed to have been burned down, but as far as he could see, there was not a single corpse within the range of the fire.
The scouts who went to the flank quickly returned and brought news that the Confederate camps had indeed been burnt down. Strangely, except for the position of the central army, there were no signs of fighting in other camps. Those tents seemed to be set on fire by the Confederate soldiers themselves. of.
Han Ruzi looked at the capital, but he could see nothing in the darkness, and he couldn't hear a sound after more than 20 miles away. His heart became more and more suspicious. If the Southern Army set fire to the camp, then Mrs. Cui would fight to the death. . The military discipline of the Southern Army is still very strict. When such a big thing happened, no one left the team.
If Mrs. Cui seized the capital, Han Ruzi's departure would be tantamount to throwing himself into the net. The other party would not need to send any more assassins, and he could be imprisoned or killed in the name of the imperial court.
Another group of scouts returned, and there were some houses in front of them, which had obviously been damaged by the Confederate army. When they saw the soldiers of the Confederate army, the residents all fled and cursed from a distance.
The Southern Army was the guarding force of the capital, but it was regarded as an enemy by the people outside the city, and everyone was even more frightened and restless, and they were more dependent on Marquis Juan.
Han Ruzi speeded up a little, and soon saw the house that had been burned by the fire. The residents had extinguished most of the open flames, and the smell of smoke had not dissipated, and it was suffocating.
No matter how angry the people were, they did not dare to approach the marching large cavalry, or cursed, but they were all drowned in the sound of horses’ hooves. Only some shrill weeping could still get into their ears, making it even more eerie in the dark night.
Nearly midnight, Han Ruzi and others could see the fire in the capital.
Just when they came to a wasteland, Han Ruzi ordered the entire army to stop and wait for news from the scouts ahead.
Not long after, the scout at the front came back, but Cui Teng disappeared.
"The Southern Army and the Su Wei Army are fighting. It is said that the Southern Army has invaded the capital from the west gate. The second son asked us to come back and return. He went to the west gate to find the big Sima." A scout said.
Han Ruzi had already guessed such a result, but he was still shocked after hearing about it. The Queen Mother and Taifu Cui were both forbearing people. , there must have been an accident that made the two sides have to gamble.
It was an unexpected and strange thing for the Southern Army to break through the west gate of the capital in just one day.
The news that the main force of the Southern Army was in a decisive battle with the Suwei Army in the city quickly spread, and the three thousand people brought by Han Ruzi were all excited and wanted to support the Southern Army.
Han Ruzi often takes risks, but at this time he understands that prudence is the most important thing. Most of his previous adventures were sneak attacks while others were unprepared. Now, two tigers are fighting each other in the city. result.
"Camp here tonight." Han Ruzi ordered, and then sent more scouts, but they were not allowed to enter the city.
It was said to be camping, but this team did not carry tents and other necessary items. They just dismounted, loosened the horse's girdle, fed some soybean meal, and ate some dry food themselves.
Han Ruzi took off the saddle and put it on the side of the road. After sitting down, he closed his eyes and rested.
In fact, he couldn't control the 3,000 soldiers of the Southern Army, so he could only let nature take its course.
Not long after, three generals of the Southern Army came and stood in front of Marquis Juan.
Han Ruzi opened his eyes and asked, "Is something wrong?"
The three nodded, and one said, "Marquis Tien once said that he wanted to rescue Sima Cui, so we are willing to follow you, but... the Southern Army is in a decisive battle with the Su Wei Army, why is Marquis Tien holding on?"
"How many troops does Master Cui lead?"
"About 60,000 people," the general replied.
"How many soldiers are there?"
The general shook his head, indicating that he did not understand.
"More than 30,000, no more than 50,000, more than half of them are newcomers, and they have been trained for less than half a year." Han Ruzi stood up, "But the Guards have their own advantages, they have been stationed in the city, occupying key points everywhere, familiar with the streets, and have The location is favorable, there are still 20,000 to 30,000 scattered troops in the nearby county, and they are probably rushing to the capital. Mr. Cui's entire army entered the city to make a quick decision, but what if the battle doesn't end tonight? Three thousand of us are thrown in. It's useless, but if you stay outside, you may become an amazing soldier. Even if Mrs. Cui is here, she will make the same choice as me."
The three generals were speechless, and after apologizing, they went to persuade the other soldiers.
Han Ruzi sat down and continued to close his eyes.
The scout came back and confirmed that Taifu Cui had indeed led his army through the west gate into the city. The battle was going on, and the city wall blocked the screaming and could not hear it from the north.
They also brought back a wounded Confederate soldier who knew more.
First, the generals of the Central Army rebelled and intended to murder Taifu Cui, but they killed Cui Sheng, the eldest son of the Cui family. At that time, he hadn't said that he would attack the capital, but he just wanted to force the city to hand over a group of fleeing Confederate soldiers.
It happened that the King of the East Sea occupied the west gate and sent someone to invite the southern army. Mrs. Cui changed his mind and turned to attack the west gate. The Su Wei army also arrived from the city. The two sides fought inside and outside the city gate. , he didn't know what happened next.
The circumstances of the Queen Mother, Champion Hou and others are all unknown.
Han Ruzi could not wait to fly into the capital, at least to rescue his mother and wife in the palace, but he still ordered not to move. He had too few people, so he could only wait until the situation became clearer before making a decision.
Cai Xinghai arrived and brought five or six thousand people, half of them from the Northern Army, and some tents. Although not many, they were able to build a real camp.
With the protection of the soldiers of the Northern Army, Meng E volunteered to go to the city to inquire about the situation, without asking for consent, she just said: "I will go to the city to see and come back before noon."
Han Ruzi couldn't keep her, and he really needed to understand the situation in the city urgently, so he had to watch Meng E disappear into the night.
Before dawn, another group of southern troops arrived. Han Ruzi had more than 10,000 soldiers and soldiers, but he still ordered to rest, and no one was allowed to leave the camp, not even scouts.
Halfway up the sun, Cui Teng came back on horseback, sweaty and panting, and when he saw the Marquis, he shouted, "Crazy, all crazy, there are actually three emperors in the city!"