Hello Chang’an

The biggest reason why Hu Lin chose to stick to Bianzhou was to protect the people in Bianzhou City from falling into the hands of the rebels and being slaughtered and bullied by all the thugs in these troubled times.

Precisely because he cares about the people and has just experienced a cruel battle at this moment, he clearly knows the purpose of Duan Shiang's words just now, but he has to fall into this kind of thinking - if he continues to persist in this way, once, twice. times, at most three times... Once Fan Yang's army attacks the city, they will retaliate doubly on the people of Bianzhou.

He is not afraid of death, but he is afraid of the people behind him who will be treated inhumanely because of his wrong decisions.

If you can hold it, you should fight to the last moment, but what if you know you can't hold it?

Originally, according to Hu Lin's plan, even if the half-month period given by King Fan Yang had passed, Fan Yang's army would be forced to the city, but he only needed to lead his troops to resist for five days, and there was a possibility of waiting for reinforcements from Jiangdu.

However, before the half-month period came, Fan Yang's army attacked the city ahead of schedule.

After such a **** battle, Duan Shiang's attitude was clear at this time, and the Fan Yang army he could mobilize was dozens of times larger than the Bianzhou defenders. If Duan Shiang attacked the city alternately day and night, the Bianzhou defenders would fight to the last drop of their blood. , and couldn’t survive for three days at all.

At this time, all this almost made Hu Lin stop trying to delay and wait for reinforcements to arrive. In terms of time, no matter how much time she calculated, it was too late...

Knowing that the hope of life has been completely cut off, he must worry about the future of the people in the city... Otherwise, his so-called persistence and protection will become an act of harm to the public just to satisfy his personal heroism.

Hu Lin turned around and finally looked at the scene in the city.

He is the governor of Bianzhou and a veritable parent official here. Over the years, he has devoted himself to local government affairs and people's livelihood. All of this has made him care about the people more than the war itself.

Duan Shiang's words, what was broken was not Hu Lin's will to hold the sword, but his heart as an official.

The sharp blades hanging in the world today are always more lethal to those who have compassion. This lethality is often even mixed with ridicule and malice from those who draw the sword in cold blood.

Duan Shiang looked at Hu Lin through the firelight, with a faint smile in his eyes.

Facing these stubborn people, he occasionally admired them, but this admiration was always laced with ridicule.

At this point, Hu Lin's persistence seems to be turning into a halfway joke.

However, Hu Min has no regrets.

He calmly took off his cloak and handed it to a soldier beside him who was covered in blood.

The soldier held his cloak and knelt down with red eyes.

"Sir!" The generals kneeling beside Hu Lin spoke out one after another.

"After I die, you no longer have to fight with your lives." Hu Min whispered to them: "Try to save your lives and the people in the city, and wait for the arrival of the Changjie Envoy and Jiangdu Army."

"Sir..." Tears rolled out of the eyes of some generals. Your Excellency has tried your best to plan a way out for them and the people of Bianzhou, but you have to choose to die because of this!

"Afterwards, if any of you can see the Changjie Envoy, remember to convey a message to me..." Hu Lin's face and words seemed to be somewhat blurred by the firelight.

"Hu Min was incompetent and failed to defend Bianzhou... After that, Bianzhou and Henan Province had to worry about Changjie envoys."

The generals were frightened and sad when they heard this. When they tried to dissuade him again, they were stopped by Hu Lin with an order.

They could only knock their foreheads heavily on the blood-soaked stone bricks with tears in their eyes.

Hu Min asked someone to put down a ladder.

Duan Shiang watched the more elegant figure descending the stairs, holding the knife, and walked out of the fire.

"Chief Hu is so courageous." Duan Shiang raised his hand and praised Hu Lin, then his eyes fell on Hu Lin's sword and said: "Since Governor Hu is good at swordsmanship, Duan will get off his horse to learn from him."

Duan Shiang jumped off his horse, threw the spear to the guard beside him, and took a long sword.

"Hu Lin from Bianzhou, please give me some advice from General Duan -" There was no trace of fear on Hu Lin's face. When her voice fell, she drew her sword with stern eyes and attacked Duan Shi'ang.

Duan Shiang's eyebrows narrowed, his murderous intent slightly revealed, and he quickly stepped forward to greet the general.

The swords in the two men's hands clashed with each other, making a sound. Hu Lin was forced to take two steps back, with sand flying under her feet, but she quickly stopped.

The first time they met, Duan Shiang did it more for testing.

Hu Lin's skill was somewhat beyond his expectation, but it still didn't pose a big threat to him.

After more than twenty moves, Hu Lin's moves were basically figured out by Duan Shiang, and the former soon showed that he was invincible.

Soon, Hu Lin's right arm was slashed, and blood gurgled out, but his action of wielding the knife did not allow him to stop for a moment.

Looking at the situation below the tower, the generals on the tower were anxious: "If this continues, I'm afraid..."

At this time, soldiers rushed towards the city, bringing another "bad news".

"Report—!"

"The defenders at the rear city gate rebelled!"

"An enemy cavalry has invaded the city from the rear!"

The soldier who was in charge of patrolling the city quickly rushed up to the tower, reported in a panic, knelt down and asked for orders: "... Sir, please respond quickly!"

"What did you say..." Joining the army grabbed the soldier's armor and said in disbelief: "Where did the cavalry come from? How could the defenders in the rear rebel?"

Knowing that among the states in Henan Province, some people would definitely choose to join King Fan Yang, they also deployed two thousand defenders at the rear city gate for defense, and the leader was his most trusted subordinate!

"...My subordinates also heard reports from the soldiers at the rear, saying that the guards opened the rear city gate and let the cavalry in!"

"It must be the Xuzhou Army!" The soldier said, "The Xuzhou Army has already made some changes!"

"Impossible..." Junjun's face was livid, but he felt that the news was doubtful. Although he could not think of other possibilities for the moment, he could trust his men and would not do anything to open the city gate without orders!

Joining the Army anxiously glanced at the situation below the city, and said in a difficult but decisive tone: "You stay here, I will personally take people to check it out!"

If an iron cavalry really enters the city, the people in the city will be in danger in an instant. This is the last thing the governor wants to see!

Joining the army quickly descended from the tower, grabbed a horse, and galloped away with the people.

The horse was galloping for only half a quarter of an hour when Jun Jun heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from the front, which seemed to shake the houses on both sides of the city.

Because it was wartime, the people in the city closed their doors and did not dare to go out. The streets were cleared, and the cavalry came in without any hindrance.

Not only was there no obstacle... when he joined the army and reined in his horse, he even saw his trusted guards at the rear, riding their horses in front to clear the way for the cavalry.

Seeing his henchmen galloping towards him, Junjun tightened his grip on the reins, still not believing that they would commit an act of betrayal.

The horse's hooves were on the ground and on the heart of the army. He looked steadily at the leading men and horses who were getting closer and closer, as if waiting for some kind of verdict that would determine the survival of Bianzhou.

"...Master joining the army!" The leader also saw him and immediately shouted loudly, his high-pitched voice full of excitement and excitement.

After joining the army for a moment, he suddenly raised his eyes and looked at the cavalry team that had followed closely behind.

The streets in the city were of limited width and were not suitable for marching. Only three or four cavalry were allowed to march side by side. However, the procession was winding and endless, showing how huge it was.

Soon, Joining the Army saw an eye-catching military flag with gold characters on a mysterious background among the cavalry troops rolling in -

That is…

Joining the Army's cheeks trembled, his eye sockets felt hot and stinging, and his throat suddenly choked up. Then, without even thinking of saying a word, he suddenly turned his horse's head around, trying to turn back as quickly as possible - Sir!

I have to save you, you don’t have to die for Bianzhou!

While the iron hoofs were galloping, in a three-story pavilion with a closed door in the city, several brightly colored figures secretly took a look at the fence on the second floor. After seeing the waving military flag clearly, one of the first ones came back to his senses. The woman cried with joy: "It's the Changzi Banner...! It must be General Ningyuan!"

"It's General Ningyuan who is entering the city! Not the enemy!"

"General Ning Yuan is here!"

Seeing the two girls excitedly going downstairs, one of them, the most beautiful girl, grabbed them and said, "What are you doing! Be honest!"

"Sister Haitang, this is General Ningyuan, what are you afraid of?"

"Then you can't go out!" The pretty woman's eyes were red: "... It's not a big deal for you to be trampled to pieces by horses' hooves, but it will delay the march!"

She said, still holding the two girls tightly, and turned to look at the groups of cavalry passing by outside the fence. Tears rolled out of her smiling eyes - That's great, Bianzhou The city is waiting for General Ningyuan again!

Since the Xuzhou governor colluded with Fan Yang's army, the Xuzhou governor has repeatedly ordered Bianzhou to be intercepted and sent east to spy on the scouts who were delivering the news.

Xuzhou is only two hundred miles east of Bianzhou, and Luoyang is west of Bianzhou. In addition, Bianzhou is surrounded by rivers in the north and south. As a result, the news channel to Bianzhou has been almost cut off in recent days.

They had no way of knowing that Jiangdu's army was approaching here, so when the soldiers patrolling in the city suddenly saw the cavalry entering the city, they were frightened and thought it was the Xuzhou army.

The first person who made a misjudgment informed the second person of the wrong news. The patrols, who were already weak, did not dare to neglect and soon spread the news to the tower in front.

After joining the army and leaving the main tower, the defenders on the tower fell into panic.

Their governor may die at any time below, and the Xuzhou army breaks into the city from behind? !

The atmosphere above the tower changed very obviously. Hu Lin, who was resisting Duan Shiang's offensive below, heard a few scattered words and pieced together the news of "Xuzhou Army entering the city".

Duan Shiang also heard it.

There was a flash of interest in his eyes, it would be easier if the Xuzhou Army arrived.

If he had known that the Xuzhou Army had arrived in such timely manner, he might not have had to deal with Hu Lin so much.

However, it is a good thing to take the life of the governor of Bianzhou in front of the battle...just to show the rest of the people what will happen to those who don't follow!

Duan Shiang swung his sword again, his moves even more murderous.

Hu Lin, who was covered with injuries, tried his best to raise the knife to block it. However, the next moment, the cracked blade suddenly broke from the middle. With a "bang" sound, Hu Lin's figure suddenly lost strength, and even After taking a few steps back, he finally fell to the ground.

But Hu Lin quickly gritted her teeth and sat up on her knees. The Xuzhou Army arrived and entered the city directly...

Hu Lin, who had no weapons in his hands, was shaking, and his mouth and teeth were stained red with blood. The huge pain and blood loss made it difficult for him to stay awake. For a short time, he couldn't even distinguish between true and false, but a determined anger burst out in his eyes -

Seeing Duan Shiang approaching again with his sword, Hu Lin stepped forward with his bare hands: "...you must not hurt the people of Bianzhou!"

He used almost all his strength. When he was approaching Duan Shiang, he suddenly lowered his body and knocked Duan Shiang to the ground with his scarred body.

Duan Shiang did not expect that Hu Lin still had such fighting spirit. After being thrown to the ground, he quickly turned around and pressed Hu Lin under him. He raised his sword and was about to stab Hu Lin's chest.

However, at this time, several military generals jumped down from the top of the city tower on a ladder. The two of them fought with Duan Shiang's guards. The other man jumped forward and used his spear to drive away the sword in Duan Shiang's hand.

The spear turned and quickly stabbed Duan Shiang in front of his face. When Duan Shiang retreated to dodge, the general quickly pulled Hu Lin up and protected him behind him.

There was a hint of anger on Duan Shiang's face: "Hu Governor, this is against the rules!"

"General Duan used hostages and the people of Bianzhou as threats, and then used his body as a general to engage in life-and-death discussions with my family. How can this be called upright!" The military general holding a spear said angrily: "General Duan wants to ask for advice. I don’t know if I dare to fight with you!”

Duan Shiang laughed instead: "A group of people who are about to die..."

This group of people saw the Xuzhou Army entering the city, so they simply ignored it and tried to die with him, right?

However, Duan Shiang ignored them at all. When he raised his hand, suddenly there were sharp arrows attacking Hu Lin and others.

Several Bianzhou military generals raised their swords to resist, but some people were still accidentally hit by arrows. At this time, the archers on the city tower also quickly released arrows.

It was easier for the arrows from above to gain the upper hand. Duan Shiang was protected by his personal guards and retreated, but he did not take it seriously. He had regarded today's battle as a must-win situation, and the Bianzhou people in front of him were just struggling to death.

"Remember to keep Hu Min's head, my general will need it—"

"yes!"

As soon as Duan Shiang finished this sentence, he suddenly noticed a change in the momentum on the Bianzhou City Tower, but at this moment he had withdrawn dozens of steps away and could not hear the sounds above clearly.

However, he didn't need to hear it clearly. The next moment, the Bianzhou City Gate slowly opened and gave him the answer.

The thick and solid city gate was opened, and several Bianzhou soldiers rushed out and quickly removed the iron barbed fence that blocked the outside of the stone tower of the city gate to block enemies and war horses.

Duan Shiang frowned subconsciously, feeling something strange.

The next moment, iron cavalry suddenly surged out of the city like an ink-colored tide.

Someone above the Bianzhou City Tower shouted loudly: "Reinforcements! It's Jiangdu reinforcements!"

The sound was quickly drowned out by the resounding sound of war drums.

The drumstick had long since disappeared. A military general was beating the drum head hard with his fists. Each hit left bright red blood marks, but it stirred up the hope of survival from a desperate situation. (End of chapter)