There was another intensive sound of gunfire in the west. Lan Shaozhong's face changed drastically and he shouted: "Sir, leave quickly!" Deng Su did not listen to him, but continued to look at the person in the lottery room, the scribe here. They are all talents trained by him. Now, it is the time to recognize the sincere minister in times of crisis. "We are willing to follow you, sir!" Immediately, someone shouted first, and then, almost all the civil servants in the prison room expressed their willingness to follow Deng Su out of the city to summon troops to quell the chaos. Deng Su nodded. He looked at the officials with emotion. He didn't say much. With the dignity of the prime minister, he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you all." When this happened, Lan Shaozhong hurriedly half-asked and half-moved to protect Deng Su from leaving the prime minister. Mansion, a group of civil servants stumbled behind, because there was no movement in the north, Lan Shaozhong and others hugged Deng Su out of the north gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion. At this time, the street was deserted, and in the panic, a group of civil servants did not He knew the direction and just followed Lan Shaozhong and other generals and guards in a hurry. After leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion, the cold wind blew, and Deng Sucai gradually came to his senses. "Old thief Cao Di," he asked Lan Shaozhong, "Have anyone been sent to guard the palace? Your Majesty must not fall into the hands of thieves." "General." Someone has been sent to pick him up," Lan Shaozhong replied as he walked, "However, we haven't reported back yet." Seeing Deng Su's unhappy expression, he added, "Don't worry, Mr. Cao, the thief came from afar and succeeded only temporarily. The leaders of the Eighth Army are all reliable. As long as they reach the outside of the city, Xianggong can use his troops to put an end to the chaos. " "Reliable?" Deng Su frowned as he was dragged away quickly by Lan Shaozhong. asked rhetorically. After the Liao army invaded the south, the war in the north became tense. In order to reinforce Hebei and appease the various princes, the leaders of the Eighth Army outside Ezhou City, Yue Yun and other powerful generals and their subordinates were transferred to the north one after another. On the other hand, the Ministry of War unknowingly replaced the heads of the eight armies outside Ezhou City with trustworthy generals, and transferred new battalion heads from elsewhere to strengthen the ranks. However, the Ministry of War was trustworthy, and the problem of soldiers and horses in the camp not knowing the soldiers, and the soldiers not knowing the generals broke out again. These days, they were busy dealing with side affairs, and before they had time to rectify it, Cao Di rebelled and attacked Ezhou. At this time, people's hearts and grass were all in disarray, and Deng Su also had a question mark in his mind as to whether the soldiers and horses outside the city could be relied on. However, the situation was difficult and he had to rely on them to quell the chaos. "Oops-" Lan Shaozhong stopped, grabbed Deng Su, and said in a deep voice: "There are also thieves ahead." Deng Su followed his gesture and looked forward, only to see not far away was a hastily constructed by the army outside the city. At the barricade, in front of the barricade, dozens of cavalry appeared on the far corner. Ezhou is the center of the world, and cavalry are prohibited from running in the city. This group of cavalry is undoubtedly a rebel army. Dozens of riders are just forwards. More cavalrymen turned the corner. The cavalrymen rested their horses and looked this way, making no secret of their hostility. The city guards were preparing ammunition while looking at each other nervously. "My lord, will I escort you back to the Prime Minister's Mansion first?" Lan Shaozhong looked ahead and said nervously. Although he is a professional doctor, he has never experienced a major war. When he saw the confrontation between the two armies, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, especially Deng Su's safety. , this mistake cannot be made up for. The scribes who followed behind became timid when they saw the generals of the Ministry of War acting like this. They looked at Deng Su eagerly, and some wanted to run away immediately. "No, return to the Prime Minister's Mansion, which is just a trapped beast still fighting. Rush out first." Deng Su shook his head, looked ahead, and said in deep thought, "The art of war says, surround ten. If the thieves attack Ezhou, the total number of people and horses will not be too many. But they came from all directions, and the troops on each route must have been quite weak. However, they took advantage of the sneak attack and rushed into the city as soon as they came up, disrupting people's hearts. They planned to capture the thief first, and we wanted to take advantage of it. When the rebels are still weak and unable to take care of everything, they break out of the trap in one fell swoop!" Deng Su spoke faster and faster. It was obvious that these words were not only meant for Lan Shaozhong and others, but also for him to convince himself. "My lord is very worried." Lan Shaozhong nodded and immediately sent people to gather the troops and prepare to break out. At this time, the barricade defenders in front also saw Lan Shaozhong and others. A captain ran over to inquire. Lan Shaozhong took out his official badge and asked him about the situation. It turned out that the defense here was transferred from the palace. As soon as a barricade was built, a firecrackers camp encountered the rebel cavalry. The two sides had been facing off for about a quarter of an hour. "It seems that there is a traitor in the Ministry of War." After checking the notice and seal of the defense transfer, Lan Shaozhong said worriedly. The palace defenders were transferred away. It was obvious that the thieves were well prepared. While reporting to Deng Su, he asked all the officers from the garrison above his head to report to him and take orders. After a few words, he took over the command of the battalion from the battalion commander and set about arranging formations to break out. The battalion commander was a middle-aged officer in his forties, and he also had a wink. He stood behind Lan Shaozhong with his hands lowered throughout the whole process, as if he were a deputy general. A clerk stepped forward and spoke to Deng Su in a low voice:?"Taking the words of the emperor to order the princes" "If the rebel army hijacks your majesty," Deng Su glanced at him appreciatively and nodded. This man's name is Yu Yutong. When life and death are at stake, he still thinks about young people who will succeed. After waiting After surviving this calamity, he is actually a resource that can be made. However, you have to get through this hurdle first. He retracted his thoughts and sneered: "Times have changed, and the thieves are just trying to hold the emperor hostage to order the princes to seek their own death." At this time, Lan Shaozhong had made arrangements for a breakout, looked at the surrounding civil and military officials, and headed forward The cavalryman glanced at it, took a deep breath, and said to Lan Shaozhong in a deep voice: "Give me your saber." "My lord, you have a body of ten thousand gold," Lan Shaozhong said in surprise, "How can you be in danger?" He immediately made a gesture. Kneel down to stop it. "Shut up." Deng Su said sternly, "It's true. I, Deng Su, have an important responsibility in the world. How can I fall into the hands of a thief and be humiliated by him? Stop talking nonsense and go quickly." Lan Shaozhong did not dare to persuade, so he had to take off his clothes. The saber was given to Deng Su, and he took another waist saber. The officers and soldiers of the Fire Gun Camp did not know Deng Su's identity, but knew that he was a great official, and they were ready to go into battle in person. When the scribes who followed Deng Su saw this scene, they knew that he had made preparations for justice, and their hearts were heavy. Yu Yu and others also went to the Fire Gun Camp to find extra swords and other weapons to hold in their hands. More than 600 people lined up behind the barricade to form a fish-scale formation to attack the cavalry. The first three rows of muskets were loaded with ammunition, while those in the back removed their ammunition and replaced them with muskets and spears. At this time, the cavalrymen in the distance were still looking this way idly, never expecting that these gunmen huddled behind the barricades had the courage to defeat them all. "Protect your Excellency." Lan Shaozhong hurriedly explained to the two guards, then turned to greet the commander of the Fire Gun Battalion, "Get ready to charge into the formation." The battalion commander nodded, turned around and issued military orders with a standard gesture, and the Fire Gun Battalion commander They all stood up from their half-crouched state, "Move forward -" the centurions gave orders loudly, and the five hundred gunmen immediately obeyed the order and moved forward. The quality of the Ezhou City Guards was immediately apparent. Although the marching speed was not fast, the pace was very orderly. There was a sudden commotion on the opposite side of the cavalry, and the officers began to shout loudly to organize the cavalry. The Fire Gun Battalion dared to launch an attack so brazenly that it greatly surprised the cavalry. The place where the horses were stationed was only a few dozen steps away from the barricade, which was not enough for the horses to use their strength to run forward. At this time, the momentum was lost after taking a step back. The cavalry officers had time to quickly organize their formation, and the phalanx of fire gunners was almost thirty paces away. "You bastard, come to me and crush them¡ª¡ª" the cavalry officer's loud order was interrupted by a burst of rapid gunshots. "Bang -" "Bang Bang -" The gunman in the first row stood there after firing a gun, without bothering to clean up the debris, he took out his gun from his waist and inserted it into the barrel. The fiery blunderbuss roared away, knocking several people over immediately. The gunmen in the second row stepped forward quickly from the gap in the first row, set up the gunpowder, "Send the gunpowder -", under the officer's hurried command, he blew the gunpowder and lit the gunpowder primer. "Damn it, rush over and kill them all!" The cavalry on the opposite side also reacted, scolding loudly, desperately controlling their horses and rushing towards the fire gunmen. Almost at the moment when the second row of fire guns opened fire, the cavalry's iron flow and The fire gun battalions collided. "Bang bang bang" "bang bang" "kill", all kinds of sounds intertwined together, blood and flesh spattered, the gunmen in the second row were knocked to the ground by the war horses before they had time to load their guns. They had just loaded them. Some of the gunmen in the first row of guns were almost stunned by fright, while others desperately pierced the opponent's horses with their guns. Under the loud urging of the officer, the gunmen in the third row, the fourth row, and the back continued to rush forward and merged into the line of gunmen in the front row. Compared with the front row firing cannons, the fire gunmen in the front of the camp were far behind. The density of the gun almost tripled, and a cold light shimmered from a distance. "This is true." Yu Yutong felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his throat. Like other scribes, he followed the group of gunmen with swords in hand. Although he had not directly faced the enemy cavalry, he was already shocked by the life-and-death scene in front of him. The front was filled with smoke, and there was a choking smell of sulfur everywhere. Blood splattered, and Yu Yutong's face was also splashed with a few drops of something unknown, which made him retching. He looked cautiously towards Deng Xianggong. , but found that Deng Su's demeanor was very calm, no different from when he signed the pledge room in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Suddenly, Yu Yutong felt ashamed, but found that he could do nothing but force himself to stay calm, and could only follow the Fire Gun Battalion in vain. The two armies met each other, and the gunmen and the cavalry on the opposite side refused to give way to each other, and soon they were scattered and mixed together. Both sides gritted their teeth and fought fiercely. The muskets and spears and the cavalry's horizontal knives kept rising and falling, causing blood to spatter. From time to time, people screamed and fell. Yu Yutong twice stomped on the corpses on the roadside, and once he was almost killed by the rushing cavalry. Soon, he no longer had any emotion, he only remembered to save his life on this chaotic battlefield.