After Liu Zhongcai was escorted down by his personal guards, he was quickly taken to a separate room.
Because Liu Zhongcai had followed Yao Ge through life and death in his early years, and because he was quite tactful and sophisticated in his dealings with others and had quite a following among the soldiers, the guards did not dare to make things too difficult for him.
After all, no one can tell when Liu Zhongcai will be released. When the time comes, it will be the people who are doing things unlucky!
The guards, after saying they were offended to Liu Zhongcai, invited him into the room.
The furnishings in the room are very simple, with only a table, a bed, and a few pieces of furniture.
Later, Liu Zhongcai sat down on a chair with an unhappy face and spoke in a voice that only he could hear.
"Hmph, that's really stupid. You've already been pushed to Sangmuguan to serve as a guard, but you still want to be loyal to Yang?"
"How much credit have we made for the man named Yang over the years, and what's the result?"
"You want to be buried with Yang Lie, but I don't want to. This is a crime against the nine tribes!"
"If it weren't for the fact that you saved my life in the early years, I would have taken people away!"
When Liu Zhongcai said this, the scene of Yao Ge carrying himself out from the pile of dead people in his early years appeared in his mind unconsciously.
It was in the 23rd year of Jiajing that Liu Zhongcai, in order to stand out and provide his family with a good meal, participated in the war between Yang Lie and An Waquan for water pipes and Tianwang.
That battle was extremely brutal, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Later, Liu Zhongcai, who was only alive, was dug out of the dead body by Yao Ge. Later, after treatment, Liu Zhongcai was lucky enough to save his life.
From then on, he followed Yao Ge. Due to their bravery in battle and fear of death, the two soon made contributions and were promoted.
Later, Yang Lie believed the slander and became suspicious of Yao Ge, and exiled him to Sangmuguan as a guard. Liu Zhongcai, as Yao Ge's general, also followed his footsteps and came to Sangmuguan together.
Over the years, Liu Zhongcai often defended Yao Ge and believed that with his talents, he should not serve as a guard in this border area.
But Yao Ge didn't care about it and laughed it off every time.
At this moment, there was a "squeak" sound, and the door of the room was pushed open, and the officers who had warned Yao Ge earlier to surrender to the court came in quietly.
From the corner of his eyes, Liu Zhongcai caught a glimpse of the guards lying in a pool of blood outside the door, as well as the heavily armed and tense soldiers. A faint smell of blood gradually filled the air.
Later, Liu Zhongcai calmed down, glanced at the officers, and asked coldly.
"What are you doing here?"
The officers were swept by Liu Zhongcai's gaze, with unnatural expressions on their faces. Then, one of the officers gathered up the courage to stand up after organizing his words in his mind.
"General, I think what you said earlier is very reasonable. If we continue to fight like this, our brothers will only die in vain!"
"Yes, if you go against the imperial court, you will definitely not end well. Besides, this is a charge of rebellion, and it will punish the nine tribes!"
"Rather than wait until tomorrow when the city is broken and we are all executed by the imperial court for treason, why not take this opportunity to surrender to the imperial court and find a way out for ourselves?"
As soon as the officer finished speaking, someone quickly followed suit.
At this moment, everyone in the room was holding their breath and nervously waiting for Liu Zhongcai's answer. Some people had even quietly touched the weapons on their waists.
If Liu Zhongcai refuses their request, they will immediately take action and kill Liu Zhongcai in the room!
After killing Liu Zhongcai, they will lead their soldiers according to the original plan to kill all Yao Ge's personal guards, then take them hostage, open the gate of Sangmuguan, and surrender to the Ming army outside the city!
Although with the help of Liu Zhongcai, it will be much easier to control the army in the future, but now, the arrow has to be fired, and they cannot take the risk of leaking the news. Once the news is leaked, only death awaits them!
Time passed by slowly. Seeing that Liu Zhongcai had not responded for a long time, the patience of the officers waiting in the room gradually ran out.
Just as they were about to greet the soldiers waiting outside the house, they heard Liu Zhongcai's extremely serious voice ringing in their ears.
"I can agree to your request, but you must not hurt his life during the whole process!"
When the officers saw that Liu Zhongcai was willing to join, they were overjoyed and responded repeatedly.
"It's natural. No matter what, the general treats us well, so we can't be ungrateful!"
"Um."
Liu Zhongcai was noncommittal about their promise, and then followed the officers out of the room.
Outside the room, the bodies of the two guards were lying dead in a pool of blood. Liu Zhongcai just glanced at them and then looked away.
It was only at this moment that he suddenly discovered that there were more than a hundred soldiers participating in the rebellion at the scene, and he didn't know how many more were behind the scenes!
At this moment, the more than a hundred soldiers were holding weapons and looking at him feverishly.
Liu Zhongcai glanced at the soldiers and said in a deep voice.
"Since everyone is willing to trust me, I will risk my life and seek a way out for my brothers!"
After that, Liu Zhongcai began to make corresponding arrangements. He looked at the officer closest to him and gave instructions.
"You immediately lead people to control the city gate, saying that you are under the general's order. Anyone who dares to block it will be killed on the spot!"
"After taking control of the city gate, stay still and wait for my order. If there is no order from me after half an hour, then you open the city gate and lead the imperial army into Sangmuguan!"
After listening to Liu Zhongcai's instructions, the officer immediately bowed his head and responded in a deep voice.
"Yes, general, I'll take the people there right now!"
Then, without any hesitation, the officer quickly led more than twenty fully armed soldiers in the direction of the city tower.
After the officer left, Liu Zhongcai turned his eyes away, looked at the remaining soldiers and officers, and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"The rest of you, follow me!"
"Yes, General!"
Then, under the leadership of Liu Zhongcai, a group of more than 80 people went straight to the place where Yao Ge rested.
Since the patrolling soldiers had long been dismissed by the officers around Liu Zhongcai for various reasons, Liu Zhongcai and his party arrived at the place where Yao Ge rested effortlessly.
At this moment, Yao Ge's personal guards were standing at the door like statues, always alert to the surroundings.
When Liu Zhongcai and his party appeared in front of them, they quickly aroused their vigilance.
"Who dares to..."
Before one of the guards could finish speaking, he fell into a pool of blood with a look of disbelief on his face.
Then, Liu Zhongcai pulled out the sword in his hand from the chest of the dead guard with an indifferent expression, and gave instructions in a cold voice.
"kill!"
"Yes, General!"
As soon as Liu Zhongcai finished speaking, the soldiers under his command drew out the long swords from their waists and rushed towards the unprepared guards like wolves and tigers.
'Poof! ''Poof! '
There was a sound of swords piercing flesh, and within a short time, most of Yao Ge's personal guards were eliminated.
Yao Ge was naturally aware of the movement coming from outside the door, but before he could touch the dagger hidden under his pillow, he was controlled by Liu Zhongcai's soldiers.
At this time, looking at these heavily armed and menacing soldiers appearing in their room, even the most stupid person understood the whole story.
Then, Yao Ge looked at the subordinates in front of him who he usually cherished very much. He was so angry that he trembled and turned to speak.
"You...what are you doing? Is it worthy of you to do this..."
Before Yao Ge finished speaking, he was interrupted by Liu Zhongcai on the side: "Brother, we are obviously no match for the imperial army. If you do this, won't your brothers die in vain?"
"Or do you want to use the lives of your brothers as bargaining chips to achieve your good reputation?"
Hearing this, Yao Ge quickly explained: "No, it's not like that!"
Hearing this, Liu Zhongcai shook his head and spoke unhurriedly.
"No, brother, if you continue to work for that Yang Lie, all you can get is eternal infamy!"
"After all, the imperial court came here under the pretext of suppressing rebellion. Besides, brother, don't forget how the people of Bozhou lived under his rule, Yang Lie!"
"If we surrender like this, we can still be known as a person who has returned from the lost way. You can buy horse bones with a thousand pieces of gold, and the court will not embarrass us!"
"Besides, under the governance of the imperial court, the local people in Bozhou will also live a good life!"
Liu Zhongcai was so painstaking in admonishing him. After so many years of getting along with him, he already knew Yao Ge's temper very well. He was a person who would accept softness rather than hardness.
Seeing that the matter was irreversible, a wavering look appeared on Yao Ge's face, and then he sighed helplessly and said slowly.
"Oh...okay!"
When Liu Zhongcai saw this situation, his face was full of joy and he immediately responded.
"Brother, I have wronged you, and the brothers will definitely remember your kindness!"
"As long as I am alive, I will definitely take good care of my sister-in-law and nephew!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Zhongcai waved his hand violently, and the soldiers who had been waiting at the side immediately stepped forward and tied up Yao Ge Wuhuada.
Seeing that the matter had been settled, Liu Zhongcai couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, he looked at an officer not far away and gave instructions.
"Send someone to send a message immediately, saying that everything is going well on our side and you can send someone to contact us!" |
"Yes, General!"
The officer on the side looked overjoyed after listening to Liu Zhongcai's instructions, which meant that they would be able to save their lives.
Then, without any hesitation, the officer quickly led people to the city gate.
…
On the other side, inside the Ming army camp.
At this moment, in the camp, Shi Bangxian was planning tomorrow's battle plan with his generals.
Shi Bangxian looked away from the map in front of him, which was full of annotations, and ordered in a deep voice.
"Although we suffered the casualties of more than 1,500 soldiers today, we have also successfully figured out the strength of the Sangmuguan defenders. Tomorrow we will concentrate our forces to attack the right side and strive to capture Sangmuguan in one fell swoop!"
"Yes, General!"
When the generals on the side heard this, they immediately looked stern and responded in a deep voice.
At this moment, a rush of footsteps was heard outside the camp. Not long after, a soldier hurriedly entered the camp and reported respectfully.
"General, someone is coming from the other side, saying they want to surrender to the court!"
"What!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of Shi Bangxian and many generals in the camp were full of surprise.
Then, Shi Bangxian came to his senses first and gave instructions.
"Well, this general knows, let him come in!"
"Yes, General!"
After the soldier left, Shi Bangxian turned around, looked at the general beside him, and gave instructions.
"Send someone immediately to inform the governor of this news!"
"Yes, General!"
When the general heard this, he immediately bowed his head and responded in a deep voice.
Not long after, under the leadership of the soldier earlier, the envoy sent from Sangmuguan entered the camp cautiously.
When he saw Shi Bangxian sitting in the main seat and the murderous Ming army generals lined up in two rows in the tent, he felt even more panicked.
Then, he was seen kneeling on the ground, trembling all over, and said respectfully.
"Meet...meet the general!"
"Well, get up!"
Shi Bangxian, who was sitting in the main seat, heard the words, responded in a subtle way, and immediately gave instructions.
After receiving Shi Bangxian's permission, the envoy slowly stood up from the ground.
Afterwards, Shi Bangxian looked at the visitor up and down before asking coldly.
"I have heard, General, that you plan to surrender to the imperial court?"
"Yes, yes, general, we have now controlled the city gate of Sangmuguan and the guard Yao Ge!"
As soon as Shi Bangxian finished speaking, the envoy panicked and told everything about the current situation in Sangmuguan.
When Shi Bangxian heard this, he took in the expression on the envoy's face, raised his eyebrows, and asked.
"Tell me, what do you want?"
"General, we were deceived by Yang Lie earlier and blocked the progress of the imperial army. We really deserve death. Now that things have happened, we don't dare to ask for anything else. We just want to ask for a way out!"
After listening to the request made by the envoy, Shi Bangxian pondered for a moment and said slowly.
"Well, I can agree to your request, but you must leave Yao Ge to our disposal!"
"Yes, General, I'll go back and report right now!"
When the envoy heard this, he couldn't help but responded as if he was afraid that Shi Bangxian would regret it. (End of chapter)
