1. Weird tent
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing army invaded the Central Plains on a large scale, destroying cities and villages along the way, and the Ming Dynasty was in danger. However, the Qing army, which was singing triumphant songs all the way, encountered obstacles in Xiangcheng. The city defender Fu Rucheng was brave and good at fighting. He led 80,000 dead soldiers to defend the city. Once the Qing army invaded, they would order the dead soldiers to stand high on the city top and use arrows and heat. Oil pushed back the Qing army and actually blocked the way of 200,000 Qing troops.
Fu Rucheng's idea is very simple: the Qing army has consumed a lot of money in the battle, and the reserve supplies will definitely be insufficient. Over time, they can only retreat. However, what he did not expect was that three months had passed in the blink of an eye. Although the Qing army was still unable to advance a step forward, they had no intention of withdrawing their troops. Instead, they sang and sang every night, causing panic among the soldiers and people in the city. In desperation, Fu Rucheng sent a small team to sneak out of the city and secretly inquire about the enemy's military situation.
On this day, Fu Rucheng was thinking hard about a strategy to retreat from the enemy in the military tent. Suddenly he heard a report from the guards outside the tent that the person spying on the military situation had returned. Immediately afterwards, a bloody man in black stumbled in, knelt down in front of Fu Rucheng with a plop, and said with a pale face and a trembling voice: "Commander, there is a ghost, there is a ghost!"
Fu Rucheng was shocked when he heard this. He was about to ask more questions, but unexpectedly the other party had already passed out. He quickly asked the military doctor to come over. After some first aid, the man in black woke up faintly. Fu Rucheng asked again what happened. The man in black still had a frightened look on his face and told him everything about what happened after he left the city.
The man in black is named Zhang Shun, a captain in Fu Rucheng's spy camp. That night, after receiving the order, he sneaked out of the city with eight soldiers in his team and quietly went towards the enemy's tent. After several months of continuous fighting, the enemy army was exhausted and neglected to take precautions, which allowed Zhang Shun and others to sneak into the enemy's garrison without any hindrance. After entering the camp, Zhang Shun found that the entire camp was divided into two parts. The tent in the front was brightly lit and a large number of enemy soldiers sang and danced around the bonfire in front of the tent, while the tent in the back was dark and silent.
Zhang Shun thought to himself that the enemy's arrows and weapons were probably stored in these tents. It was dry at this time. If all these weapons were burned down with a fire, the enemy would probably retreat without a fight if they had no weapons. . Thinking of this, Zhang ordered his men to disperse into various tents at the back, waiting for an opportunity to light a fire. After the arrangements were made, Zhang Shun took the lead in entering one of the tents. As soon as he entered, he felt a gust of cold wind blowing against his face and couldn't help but shiver. Zhang Shun gritted his teeth, hid in a corner, took out the fire sticks from his arms and lit them. He couldn't help but feel a cold breath rushing from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He saw that the entire camp was densely packed with people, and they were all dead. Stare at him!
Zhang Shun panicked and quickly put out the fire seal, but to his surprise, these people didn't make any noise. Zhang Shun, who felt strange in his heart, got angry again. Only then did he realize the problem. These people were all wearing Ming Dynasty clothes, which were completely different from the Manchu and Qing Tatars! Moreover, he also saw many familiar faces among these people, but these people had died in the battle a few days ago, including Fu Rucheng's son Fu Changguo!
At this moment, frightened screams came from several tents next door. Zhang Shun panicked. Others in those tents probably saw these acquaintances who died in the battle, and they were frightened and exposed themselves. . Zhang Shun quickly slipped out of the tent and was about to call others to leave together. Unexpectedly, the screams just now alerted the enemy troops, who were chasing after them with torches. In desperation, he fled alone.
Because the scene he just experienced was so weird, Zhang Shun panicked and ran away to a wasteland. When he escaped, his feet fell down and he fainted. When he woke up, he realized that he was not far from Xiangcheng. This was the cemetery where the people in the city buried their dead. The place where he had just fallen was actually a tomb that had been hollowed out! Zhang Shun crawled out of the cave in fear and almost fainted. He saw that all the tombs within a radius of five miles were empty, leaving only large pits, like those with fangs bared to eat people. Mouth!
Zhang Shun was so frightened that he stumbled and fell to the ground. After a long time, he got up from the ground and ran staggeringly towards the city.
2. One Hundred Thousand Yin Soldiers
At this point, Zhang Shun's face turned pale, his lips couldn't help but tremble, and he seemed to be unable to hold on anymore. Fu Rucheng waved his hand and asked someone to help him down and nurse him back to health. After everyone went down, Fu Rucheng was unsteady and almost fell to the ground. He had been shocked when he heard Zhang Shun say that his son Fu Changguo, who had died in the battle not long ago, appeared in the enemy's camp. , and now I can no longer support it.
After calming down for a while, Fu Rucheng felt more and more strange the more he thought about it. What was the purpose of the Qing army in stealing the corpses of officers, soldiers and civilians? Could it be that he wanted to insult the corpse in front of the city's officers and soldiers in front of the battle to anger himself, so that he could order the battle in Kaicheng?
After thinking about it for half a night, Fu Rucheng couldn't come up with a clue. Instead, he had a suspicion about Zhang Shun. Maybe he was too frightened and was talking nonsense. Thinking of this, he ordered another unit of the spy camp to sneak out of the city to find out the news.
However, what Fu Rucheng didn't expect was that the spies sent out this time not only proved that what Zhang Shun said was true, but also saw with his own eyes that the eight spies under Zhang Shun were also sitting in the enemy's camp. In this way, they also brought back an even more terrifying news: these corpses were actually the legendary Yin soldiers!
Fu Rucheng broke into a cold sweat after hearing this. He had heard about the Yin soldiers. Legend has it that during the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao had a strange man who could make recently dead people crawl out of their graves to fight for them. These "people" were invulnerable and only moved at night, so they were called Yin soldiers. Moreover, these Yin soldiers only obey the orders of the person holding the spell, otherwise they are just dead bodies. This can also explain why when Zhang Shun and others discovered the Yin soldiers, the Yin soldiers became motionless. However, what makes Fu Rucheng feel incredible is that he actually encountered these legendary Yin soldiers! If the enemy army really has such a group of shady soldiers, then it is only a matter of time before Xiangcheng is captured.
At this time, a sound of golden drums suddenly came from outside the tent, and a soldier hurriedly rushed in, saying in a hurried tone: "Report to the commander, the enemy is attacking the city!"
Fu Rucheng's heart suddenly tightened and he rushed out immediately.
It was already late at night, and except for the swaying torches on the top of the city, everything was dark. Fu Rucheng looked around and saw figures shaking in the dark outside the city, and a fire moving slowly in the distance. He thought to himself that the Yin soldiers naturally did not need torches when traveling at night. Wherever there were torches, there must be the warlock commanding the Yin soldiers. After hesitating for a moment about the ghost stories in the military camp , Fu Rucheng discovered that those Yin soldiers were only a stone's throw away from the outside of the city. Looking at the darkness, they numbered a hundred thousand. At this time, the soldiers on the top of the city had begun to panic. They had also discovered that the group of enemy soldiers below the city were wearing the same clothes as themselves, and some of them were known to them. What made them even more frightened was that , these people have obviously died on the battlefield long ago!
With red eyes, Fu Rucheng bent his bow and nocked an arrow, and suddenly shot at the person standing at the front. The arrow hit the center, and the person hit by the arrow fell to the ground. After a while , the man actually got up again and stood there steadily! Fu Rucheng trembled as he looked at it. He gritted his teeth and drew his full bow again. Just as he was about to shoot, a soldier suddenly rushed forward, knelt down in front of him, and cried loudly: "Commander, please don't do it." Shoot, that’s my dad! He died in the battle to defend Xiangcheng not long ago. Although he is being used by the gangsters, we can no longer harm his body no matter what!"
As soon as the soldier finished speaking, others knelt down and begged Fu Rucheng to show mercy. Fu Rucheng sighed softly and put down the bow and arrow with a soft hand. This group of people worked hard to defend Xiangcheng. Most of the dark soldiers standing downstairs were their close relatives. Who could be so cruel as to raise the sword in their hands? Thinking of this, Fu Rucheng suddenly understood that this was the enemy's most vicious move. As the saying goes, the closest relative is invincible! Presumably the enemy planned to use these underhanded soldiers to weaken the fighting spirit of the officers and soldiers defending the city, and then capture Xiangcheng in one fell swoop!
3. Trouble rises again
Fu Rucheng stayed on top of the city all night. What surprised him was that the Yin soldiers had no intention of attacking the city. Instead, they stood neatly a stone's throw away from the city gate and remained motionless until daybreak. At this time, they retreated quietly under the command of torches in the distance.
What do the enemy forces want to do? Are these Yin soldiers just decorations? At this time, Fu Rucheng had no intention of thinking about these issues anymore. He was highly nervous all night, making everyone exhausted, and he was no exception. When all the Yin soldiers disappeared, Fu Rucheng ordered the soldiers guarding the city to defend the city strictly, and then he steeled himself and returned to the tent to rest for a while.
As soon as Fu Rucheng got off the tower, he saw chaos in the city, and all the people were in a hurry, looking panicked. He felt strange and quickly stopped an old man and asked him what happened. The old man said in a panic that he heard that the enemy army had recruited a hundred thousand Yin soldiers, and everyone was very scared, so he planned to pack up and flee from here. The old man said: "Commander, I heard when I was very young that when Yin soldiers crossed the border, nine out of ten people were killed. The remaining one was left to collect the corpses for others! There are more than ten people in my family. , several sons have died in the battlefield, and if several of my grandsons also die, then the blood of my family will be cut off!" After that, the old man bowed, turned around and hurried away.
Fu Rucheng secretly shouted "no" and hurried towards the north gate. At this moment, the soldiers were approaching the city, and the surrounding city gates had already been closed. If the people wanted to leave the city, they would go to the north gate. Fu Rucheng rushed to the north gate and took a look. As expected, people from all directions gathered at the city gate with their families and their families, shouting for the soldiers guarding the city to open the city gate and let them out. The soldiers guarding the city used their bodies to form a human wall, blocking the people from the city gate.
At this time, a middle-aged man with beards in the crowd shouted loudly: "Everyone has heard of the Yin soldiers crossing the border. If the enemy's Yin soldiers come at night, we will all die!" If you soldiers don’t want to live, don’t drag us guys to be buried with you! Let’s work together to open the city gate and run for our lives!” As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, the common people began to push forward with all their strength, pushing those The wall of Taoists was so crowded that they were about to rush through. Seeing this, Fu Rucheng yelled: "Everyone, stop!" After shouting, he flew down to the top of the city and said loudly: "Don't panic, everyone. There is no such thing as Yin soldiers. If there were, we would have been there early last night." Already dead. This is just a cover-up trick by the enemy. The purpose is to make everyone panic. If the city gate is opened, the enemy troops ambushing outside the city will rush forward, and then the city will be destroyed and people will be killed!"
After a few words, the people immediately became quiet. An old man came forward tremblingly and said: "Commander, thanks to your presence these years, we have been able to live a stable life for a few years. To be honest, we don't want to leave, but if the other side really has evil soldiers, , what should we do?”
Fu Rucheng pondered for a moment and said, "Don't worry, sir, within three days, I will make sure this dark soldier shows up!"
After the people gradually dispersed, Fu Rucheng breathed a sigh of relief. If he couldn't suppress it just now, if everyone got into trouble, the consequences would be disastrous. How did the people get the news? How could they gather at the city gate in such a short period of time? Fu Rucheng's mind flashed, and he immediately whispered a few words to the soldiers around him…
For several nights, the enemy's undercover soldiers stood motionless outside the city. Fu Rucheng asked the officers and soldiers to remove half of the torches at the top of the city, and then placed thousands of armored scarecrows on the top of the city. Only three or five soldiers were left to patrol along the top of the city, while the remaining soldiers went to rest, completely Don't take these underworld soldiers seriously.
That night, Fu Rucheng came to the city for inspection again. From a distance, he saw that the Yin soldiers had come to the city to demonstrate early again. Fu Rucheng asked someone to bring Zhang Shun, who was gradually recovering, to the top of the city. Zhang Shun looked at the densely packed Yin soldiers under the city and couldn't help but take a breath: "Commander, so many Yin soldiers are approaching the city, what should we do?"
"The most important thing for a military strategist is to remain unchanged in response to all changes." Fu Rucheng smiled slightly and said, "Zhang Shun, I heard that you are from Raocheng, Jiangxi?"
Zhang Shun was stunned and quickly answered: "Yes!"
Fu Rucheng frowned and said, "Is Ning Banai okay with you?"
Zhang Shun's face changed drastically when he heard this. He suddenly pulled out the sword from his waist and stabbed Fu Rucheng quickly! Unexpectedly, before his sword could reach Fu Rucheng, he was knocked down by the soldiers around him. Several people immediately rushed up and pushed him to the ground tightly.
"I am also from Raocheng. I just asked how your parents are. How could you do such a rude thing?" Fu Rucheng said calmly, "This can only mean one thing. You are not Zhang Shun, so I know I’ve been exposed!”
Fu Rucheng waved his hand, and a soldier next to him reached out and touched Zhang Shun's bun. Then with a force of his hand, he tore off a human skin mask. Under the mask was a pale face with two eyes. There is a fierce look in it!
4. The dark soldiers appear
"Zhang Shun" saw that he had been exposed, but he was no longer afraid, and said arrogantly: "Yes, all the spies you sent before have been killed by my general, and I disguised myself as Zhang Shun and sneaked into the city, waiting for opportunities to create Chaos, to help my general capture the city! But, how could you suspect me?"
Fu Rucheng smiled slightly and said: "The Yin soldiers had just arrived late that night. Early the next morning, the people gathered at the north gate and clamored to leave the city. That's when I began to doubt you. Just imagine, only a few people knew about the Yin soldiers at that time. Man, except for you, everyone else followed me and guarded the city. In order to win my trust, you used a trick of bitterness. You couldn't go out and spread rumors by yourself, so you sent the middle-aged man with a beard to encourage the uninformed. The people are leaving the city. I only need to send people to follow the middle-aged man, and I will naturally find you."
"Rumors?" "Zhang Shun" sneered, "Are you so ignorant that you have never heard of the legend of the Yin soldiers? Didn't you know that when the Yin soldiers crossed the border, nine out of ten people died? Didn't you try it yourself that night? Yin soldiers cannot be killed!"
Fu Rucheng burst out laughing and said bluntly: "Of course I have heard the legend of the Yin soldiers, and I also know that Cao Cao once had a team of Yin soldiers who would hide day and night and destroy tombs wherever they went. But, this Yin soldier The soldiers are not the ghosts of the underworld, they are just a group of tomb robbers who dig up treasures in the tombs to pay for the army. If I am not wrong, you Yin soldiers naturally have this purpose, so all the nearby tombs have been emptied. , the corpse was processed by you and placed here as a gimmick to scare people. Naturally, the corpse will not die after being hit by arrows. When it stood up after falling down, it was only supported by someone behind it. We couldn't see clearly from far away… "
"A gimmick to bluff people?" "Zhang Shun" laughed wildly, "I'm afraid you won't know it when you are about to die!"
"Is death imminent?" Fu Rucheng pretended to suddenly realize it, slapped his thigh and said, "That's right, I'm afraid you guys are really going to become Yin soldiers!" After saying that, he asked people to say "Zhang Shun" "Going down the tower.
Under the city tower, more than a dozen temporarily cast large furnaces stood along the street. The people in the city continued to send all kinds of discarded iron tools at home to the large furnaces for smelting. On the other side, officers and soldiers were assigned to various places in the city. From time to time, some people leaned down. He put his ear to the ground and listened to something.
At this moment, a soldier shouted: "Here, it will appear soon!" After several other soldiers heard it, they immediately carried the iron cans on the furnace. A few minutes later, the soil on the ground shook. , suddenly a hole opened, and a gray-faced head poked out! Before he could understand what was going on, a jar of red molten iron was poured down from above his head. The Qing soldiers in the cave were turned into ashes before they even had time to scream.
Not long after, warning sounds came from several other places, and jars of molten iron were poured down…
Looking at "Zhang Shun" who was so frightened that his face turned pale, Fu Rucheng said with a smile: "Isn't the most powerful thing about the Yin soldiers is tunneling? You use the Yin soldiers to build a plank road to cross Chencang secretly, then I will use your trick and cast Xiangcheng with molten iron. It’s a copper wall and an iron wall, let’s see how you get through!”
"Zhang Shun" couldn't bear it any longer, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, and he was so angry that he died on the spot!
The pouring of copper and iron walls continued until dawn, and all the 100,000 Yin soldiers of the Qing army were poured into the tunnel with molten iron. Seeing that the situation was over, the Qing army commander withdrew his troops in despair on a dark and windy night.