When all the ministers heard that Zhao Heng intended to make Lu Jinzhong king, they couldn't help but feel jealous. A minister couldn't help but stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Your Majesty, there may be something wrong with naming someone with a different surname as king!" All the ministers agreed, and Huang Cong said: "Your Majesty, we can wait until Marshal Lu recovers Bianliang before we can discuss this matter. Too late!" Zhao Heng nodded. Immediately, the monarchs and ministers chatted and had a good time under the background of singing and dancing.
At the same time, Marshal Lu, who the emperor and his ministers said was about to regain Bianliang, was secretly gathering an army and preparing to break out. The army assembled in the north. Since the two breakouts during the day were launched from the south, everyone felt that the south should be the key defense direction of Yanyun's army, so they decided to try it from the north. Maybe this was the opponent's weakness.
After the army gathered together, they quietly sneaked down the mountain. When we arrived at the foot of the mountain, we didn't find anything unusual. Everyone was excited, thinking that they could break through the siege in one fell swoop! But at this moment, countless torches suddenly lit up in front and on the left and right, turning the night into day. At the same time, shouts were loud, and Yanyun's soldiers and horses appeared under the firelight, with numerous shadows, as if they were endless. The soldiers of the Song Army were shocked. Lu Jinzhong immediately had no time to think, turned around and ran away. As soon as he ran away, all the soldiers of the Song Army rushed towards the mountain in a hurry! Before Yan Yun's army could launch an attack, the Song army trampled on each other and killed two or three thousand people. The rest fled back to the mountains in panic!
The next morning, a Yanyun general rode up to the mountain alone and said to Lu Jinzhong: "The King of Yan is kind and cannot bear to cause more killings. I have sent this general to give you an order to surrender immediately. Don't make any mistakes!"
Lu Jinzhong had long lost his fighting spirit. After listening to the words of the envoy Yan Yun, he couldn't help but nodded and said: "Thank you, King Yan, for your generosity! However, this matter is of great importance, so please allow us to discuss it!" The envoy Yan Yun said: "King Yan I only give you three days, you can figure it out on your own!" He handed over his hand and turned around.
Lu Jinzhong quickly discussed with his subordinates: "Then King Yan wants me to surrender, what do you think I should do?" The confidant said: "Commander, now our army is in a desperate situation. If we don't surrender, we will die. ! The wise man will not do anything if he resists stubbornly. The marshal is very resourceful and must be able to make the right decision!" Lu Jinzhong frowned and nodded, sighing: "This is also the will of God! The Song Dynasty has exhausted its energy, and I will obey the destiny. It’s not a betrayal!”
The confidant said happily: "The commander is wise!" Then he frowned and said: "But commander, I'm afraid this won't be easy. I'm afraid that Yao Zhong and others will disobey. Then not only will the commander's surrender be difficult to succeed, I'm afraid his life will be in danger. Ah! We have to get rid of them first!" Lu Jinzhong's eyes showed a ferocious look, he nodded and said: "I have long disliked these people, so I will take this opportunity to get rid of them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there were sudden sounds of fighting, shouts and screams outside the tent. Lu Jinzhong and others were startled when they suddenly heard these sounds. Lu Jinzhong said anxiously: "What happened?" The confidant said: "Go down and have a look!" After that, he ran out of the tent. Then the big tent was opened, and the cronies rushed in, and their bodies were actually full of arrows. Lu Jinzhong was shocked when he saw this. The cronies stumbled and fell to the ground, exclaiming: "Oh no, Commander, Liu Feng, Yao Ping and the others have rebelled!" Lu Jinzhong was so horrified that his face turned pale.
A large group of people rushed into the tent. Lu Jinzhong hurriedly looked up and saw dozens of soldiers including Yao Ping, Liu Feng and others pouring in, all looking fierce! Lu Jinzhong was so frightened that he took a step back and almost fell. He supported the desk, pointed at the dead crony and shouted: "He was the one who instigated me to surrender. I didn't mean that!"
Yao Ping and others laughed mockingly, and Yao Zhong looked strange and said: "You don't mean that, but we do!"
Lu Jinzhong was greatly surprised. Yao Ping stepped forward, grabbed Lu Jinzhong's shirt with his left hand, and raised the bloody steel knife high with his right hand, with a fierce look on his face. Lu Jinzhong was so frightened that he peed his pants and exclaimed: "Commander, I have decided to surrender to Yan Yun! Don't kill me!"
Yao Ping smiled mockingly and said, "We know you want to surrender to Yan Yun!" Lu Jinzhong was confused and couldn't figure out what the other party meant. At this moment, I saw the light of the sword falling! Lu Jinzhong was so frightened that he lost his mind. He didn't have time to shout, but he saw a surge of blood, and Lu Jinzhong's head was missing! Yao Ping mentioned Lu Jinzhong's head, which still had an expression of extreme horror, and sneered: "We also want to surrender to Yan Yun, but we can't let people like you take the lead!"
Liu Feng came up and said, "Now you can go down the mountain and surrender to King Yan!" Yao Zhong nodded. Yang Peng received the news that the Song army on the mountain was coming to surrender, and immediately led his army to the foot of the mountain to wait. Regarding the surrender of the Song Army, Yang Peng only believed 50%. Therefore, all Yanyun's army was ready to respond, and ambushes were laid out in all directions. If the Song Army dared to play tricks, it would be self-destruction. !
Half an hour later, hundreds of thousands of Song troops were seen driving down the mountain. As soon as they reached the bottom of the mountain, they all threw away their weapons and knelt on the ground to wait for disposal. Seeing this scene, Yang Peng was sure that the other party had really surrendered. Yao Ping, Liu Feng and others rode out on their horses, threw away their weapons, dismounted, walked to Yang Peng's horse, and worshiped together: "We are willing to submit to King Yan! Please forgive us for our previous sin of disrespect!"
Yang Peng smiled and said, "Everyone was their own master before. You resisted to the death, which is considered as fulfilling your responsibility, not disrespectful!" After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but let go of their worries.
"Get up." Everyone thanked them and stood up, bowing their heads. Yang Peng looked them over and asked, "Which one of you is Lu Jinzhong?" The generals looked at each other, and Yao Zhong cupped his fists and said, "Lü Jinzhong has been killed by us! The head is here!" Turning to look at Li Zheng. Li Zheng immediately came up with a wooden box, bowed down, and opened the wooden box. Yang Peng only saw a bloody human head in the wooden box. He expected that this person must be unwilling to surrender, so he was killed by the generals, but he didn't care that much. He looked away and said to everyone: "What are your identities?"
The generals reported their identities in turn, namely Yao Ping, Liu Feng, Li Zheng, Fang Hong, and Liu Dali. Yang Peng looked at Yao Zhong and asked with a smile: "Are you Yao Ping?" Yao Ping quickly clasped his fists and said: "That's right!" Yang Peng looked at him and nodded in praise: "You are worthy of being the number one under Cao Yong. The warrior is indeed extraordinary!" Yao Ping couldn't help but feel happy when he heard King Yan's praise.
Yang Peng said: "You guys just follow me." A few people were stunned, Yao Ping clasped his fists and said: "Your Majesty, King Yan, these hundreds of thousands of troops still need to be restrained by me!" Yang Peng said with a smile: " You don't have to worry about this!" The five people looked at each other. Although they were unwilling to hand over their military power, they had no choice at this moment, so they had to clasp their fists and agree, feeling depressed and anxious. They also expected that King Yan would let them continue to command the army, but they did not expect that King Yan would put all five of them under house arrest with just one sentence!
Liu Feng said: "King Yan, we can help King Yan persuade Xiangyang and other cities to surrender." Yang Peng said with a smile: "No need! Xiangyang, Junzhou, Gucheng, and Yicheng have already surrendered before you surrendered!" Liu Feng and others were greatly surprised. They glanced at Yang Peng and felt that this King Yan was really unpredictable!
Yang Peng immediately ordered the hundreds of thousands of Song troops to be dealt with, and all the forcibly recruited people were returned to Xiangyang. The people were overjoyed and thanked the King of Yan one after another; while the 200,000 Song troops were divided into five groups and handed over to them respectively. To command each legion, at the same time, some officers were transferred from each legion to assist the original officers in the Song Army to specifically command the soldiers and horses of each battalion.
When the army entered Xiangyang, the people were originally very worried and frightened. However, seeing that Yan Yun's army was strictly disciplined and Yu Minqiu did not commit any crimes, their worries were put down, and Xiangyang City quickly returned to its former lively atmosphere.
Yang Peng left only more than 10,000 troops to defend Xiangyang, Junzhou, Gucheng and Yicheng. He led the main army beyond Xiangyang and headed south. The frontiers of the troops were heading towards the states and counties in the north of the Yangtze River. At the same time, reports of battles came from the west. , the Western Army led by Han Bing had already defeated Zigui, and Cao Hu had retreated to Yiling.
Cao Hu received the news in Yiling that Xiangyang's army had been completely annihilated and Xiangyang and other places had been lost. He immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. He would have been cut off by the Yanyun army from the direction of Xiangyang. He had no choice but to abandon Yiling and retreat to In the north of the Yangtze River, relying on Jingmen Mountain and the two cities of Changyang and Yidu, they are preparing to resist Yan Yun's western army. At the same time, they are also waiting for opportunities to attack the flanks of Yan Yun's main force heading south from Xiangyang!
The main force of Yanyun led by Yang Peng arrived at the gate of Jiangling Mansion without encountering any resistance. Gangneung has been an important town on the Yangtze River since ancient times. Thanks to the convenient water transportation conditions and the dangerous terrain around it, Gangneung has been a metropolis with a prosperous economy and people gathered in peacetime since ancient times. In wartime, it has become a choke point and must be fought over by military strategists. land. It is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River and is the last pass for Yanyun's army to cross the Yangtze River!
Yang Peng rode on the black dragon horse and looked at the majestic Jiangling City. He saw that the gate of Jiangling City was closed tightly, and the city top was filled with local government soldiers and civilians holding weapons. The Yanyun Army marched south from Xiangyang, and everything they passed was defeated by the wind. Even the Jingmen Army (now Jingmen City), which had an extremely important strategic position and sufficient reserves, surrendered without a fight. This was the first time I encountered a city with a tightly guarded gate.
Yang Peng couldn't help but become curious and asked: "Who is this Jiangling governor?" Liu Feng said: "It's Yao Fengcheng, the governor of Jiangling Prefecture." "What kind of person is he?" Liu Feng said: "Report to King Yan, this Yao Fengcheng has been a scholar for generations. He is an honest official, quite talented, and is loved by the people. He is just a bit dull and accepts death."
Yang Peng smiled and said: "So he is an upright official! No wonder!" Then he asked Liu Feng: "Do you know this person?" Liu Feng immediately understood Yang Peng's intention, clasped his fists and said: "I know him. , I wanted to take a trip to say he was coming!"
Yang Peng glanced at Liu Feng and nodded, "Okay, you just have to work hard." Liu Feng bowed to Yang Peng and went down. Liu Feng rode alone to the gate of Jiangling Mansion. He raised his head and shouted, "I am joining the army under General Cao Yong. I have something to ask of Lord Yao Fengcheng." The guards on the city gate were nervous when they saw someone coming on horseback. It didn't work. It wasn't until he heard the other party informing him of his identity and purpose of coming that he breathed a sigh of relief. The man in the leader's costume, who was wearing a headhunter's uniform, raised his voice: "Please wait a moment, I will report to my family!" Liu Feng raised his hands towards the city gate upstairs. : "Thank you." The catcher explained to the people around him and then left.
A moment later, a middle-aged man wearing a Song Dynasty official robe appeared on the city gate tower. He was tall and thin, with a slender face and a frown on his face, as if he had infinite troubles.
"Master Yao!" Liu Feng clasped his fists and shouted from below. Yao Fengcheng glanced at him, frowned and asked, "Who are you?" Liu Feng said with a smile, "Master Yao asked knowingly. As soon as I informed you of my name and official title, you and I are old, do you really not know who I am?"
Yao Fengcheng snorted coldly and said: "I only know Liu Feng who joined the army in the Song Dynasty, but I don't know Liu Feng, Yanyun's lackey!" Liu Feng frowned and said loudly: "No matter how you think of me now, I am still Yanyun. Yun's envoy, is it disrespectful for you to close the door and not accept him?" Yao Fengcheng frowned, turned his head and said loudly: "Open the city gate!" Someone agreed, and then the city gate creaked open. Upon seeing this, Liu Feng immediately urged his horse to gallop in, and the city gate was immediately closed.
Liu Feng turned over and dismounted, and someone immediately came up and held the horse's bridle. The catcher I had just seen came over and cupped his fists at Liu Feng and said, "Master Liu, my lord is waiting for you on the city gate tower. Please come with me." Then he led Liu Feng to the city gate tower and came to the city. In a room in the gatehouse, Yao Fengcheng was seen sitting at the top of the table, with a tall man with a majestic physique and a long sword at his waist standing on each side.
The head catcher bowed to Yao Fengcheng and said, "Sir, the envoy from Yanyun is here." Yao Fengcheng said, "Step back." The head catcher responded, bowed and retreated. Liu Feng cupped his fists and said, "Master Yao, it's been half a year since you and I last met. Are you okay?" Yao Fengcheng snorted coldly and said angrily: "After only half a year, that high-spirited, loyal, brave and benevolent Liu Canjun turned out to be... You are willing to degenerate yourself, abandon the laws of nature and human relations, and become a traitor and a lackey!"
Liu Feng smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't expect Master Yao to treat me like this."
Yao Fengcheng said angrily: "Did I make a mistake?" Liu Feng glanced at Yao Fengcheng and asked: "I wonder why Mr. Yao came to study since he was a child?" Yao Fengcheng said angrily: "Do you still need to ask? Of course it is. In order to understand the principles of saints! When people are alive, they should understand the principles of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. Otherwise, how are you different from animals? As a human minister, you should serve the country loyally and die. However, you are greedy for life and fear of death, covet wealth and honor, disregard the laws of nature and human relations, and betray the king. Father, I am willing to be a traitor and a lackey! If you are so treasonous and unethical, if man does not punish you, God will punish him!" Yao Fengcheng became more and more angry as he spoke.
Liu Feng said: "To be honest, if it wasn't for Lord Cao Yong, I would have defected to Yanyun long ago! Lord Cao Yong will swear to serve the official family to the death. I am grateful for Lord Cao Yong's loyalty, so I will assist you with all my strength, regardless of life and death. Now the official family I listened to the slanderous words, removed Lord Cao Yong from his official title, and arrested him and brought him back to the capital for prosecution. Why should I work for that official again?"
Yao Fengcheng glared and shouted: "Shut up! Don't say such treacherous words in front of me!" Liu Feng sneered: "Master Yao is really a loyal man! But I don't know that Master Yao puts the people in front of me!" Where?" Yao Fengcheng raised his eyebrows and said loudly: "The common people and ministers are all your Majesty's subjects. When your father is in trouble, you should sacrifice your life to share your worries for your father! If you are finally unable to turn the tide, you should die to be loyal! "
Liu Feng said loudly: "No! The most precious thing between heaven and earth is the people. Everything should be done for the welfare and lives of the people, not for the king! The king should sacrifice his life for the sake of the people, not for the people. Go die yourself! Such an approach is clearly putting the cart before the horse and confusing black and white! It is clear that the king is sacrificing the world and the people for his own selfish desires!"
Yao Fengcheng stood up and shouted angrily: "Nonsense! Heaven and earth are stable. The king and father are originally the masters of the world. It is only natural and right for all the people in the world to serve the king! Just like a family, if there is no master, wouldn't the world be in chaos! What you said is simply fallacy and heresy, and you should be punished!"
Liu Feng stared at Yao Fengcheng, while Yao Fengcheng stared at Liu Feng angrily. Seeing Yao Fengcheng's extremely determined attitude, Liu Feng knew that he could not convince him no matter what. He couldn't help but sigh and said: "It seems that you are not willing to surrender to King Yan for the sake of the people!" Yao Fengcheng said He said categorically: "Children of one family cannot accept someone from another family as their father just for the sake of glory and wealth!"
Liu Feng felt that Yao Fengcheng was as smelly and hard as the stones in the pit, and unreasonable, but he still planned to work harder. He glanced at Yao Fengcheng and said: "Yan Yun is so powerful that he is unparalleled in the world. Marshal Lu led nearly 500,000 horses and his entire army was wiped out in an instant! In Jiangling City, there are only a few local soldiers, government officials and civilian troops fighting against Yan Yun's army. Resistance is basically just throwing an egg against a stone and seeking death! Since defeat is inevitable, why bother to resist in vain? Why not surrender in Kaicheng for the sake of the peace of the people in the city? "
Yao Fengcheng glared and shouted: "Stop, the people of Jiangling are the people of the Song Dynasty. They should fight to the end for the Song Dynasty. How can they surrender to the enemy!" Liu Feng was a little angry, but had nothing to say, and said: "In this case, I have nothing to say either. But you said it!" He cupped his fists toward Yao Fengcheng and said, "Take care, sir!" Yao Fengcheng snorted coldly, "I won't send it away!" Liu Feng left.
Liu Feng returned to Yang Peng's horse and said with a frustrated expression: "Report to King Yan, my subordinates are incompetent and failed to persuade Yao Fengcheng to surrender." Yang Peng nodded, glanced at Jiangling City, and said, "In that case, I have no choice." Liu Feng said angrily: "This Yao Fengcheng is simply unreasonable, he actually wants to drag all the people in the city to be buried!"
Yang Peng raised his right hand and waved forward, the war drums rumbled loudly, and then hundreds of thousands of troops approached Jiangling City like an endless wave. The earth was shaking, and the rumble was like thunder. The defenders on Jiangling City had never seen such a magnificent and terrifying scene before. They were so shocked that their faces turned pale and their whole bodies were trembling!
Yanyun's army finally stopped two hundred steps away from the city. The sound of thunder disappeared instantly, and the world was filled with murderous killing. It was even more terrifying than when it took action just now! Xiang Danian raised his mace high, and the 100,000 Yanyun infantry took off their crossbows and bent their bows and arrows at the top of the city. As mentioned before, the Yanyun Army is different from other armies in that it does not have specialized crossbowmen. In addition to the Mo Dao Army, the Yanyun Infantry Army is equipped with both spears and swords and shields for close combat, as well as strong bows and hard crossbows for long-range attacks. , so when necessary, all Yanyun's infantry are crossbowmen!
"Fire the arrow!" Xiang Danian swung his mace suddenly, and the 100,000 Yanyun infantry fired arrows together. There was a loud buzzing sound, and the sky suddenly darkened. Then the Song Army officers were shocked to discover that the opponent's The arrows fired actually poured down like a torrential rain! There was a crackling sound on the top of the city, and the defenders turned into gourds rolling on the ground. There was chaos on the top of the city, and there were screams and screams!
At the same time, Yanyun's assault troops carried ropes and crude ladders and charged towards the city wall.
In the blink of an eye, Yan Yun's army attacked the city. The defenders on the city fought hard, but found that their opponents were as formidable as wolves and tigers. Their morale was immediately plummeted. They fled one after another, and the city wall fell. Immediately, the soldiers who stormed the city wall opened the city gate, and Yan Yun's large army rushed in. The defenders were defeated and ran around, and some threw away their weapons and ran back home. The people never dreamed that the city would be breached in an instant. They could not help but be frightened, and with boundless fear, they looked out from the doors and windows. He peeked through the cracks to see the terrifying army entering the city.
Yang Peng and Ye Qi Guanyin entered Jiangling City surrounded by soldiers and went straight to the government office lobby. At this time, all the servants and maids in the government office had disappeared. There was no one in the huge government office. Yang Peng went straight to the top and sat down. Naren brought a soft chair and placed it next to Yang Peng, and then helped Ye Qi Guanyin sit down.
Duan Zhixian ran in, clasped his fists and said, "Brother, find that Yao Fengcheng. He took his family and set fire to himself at home!" Everyone changed their colors slightly, Yang Peng frowned and shook his head, "This stupid and loyal idiot! For a The so-called emperor is willing to die, but he actually drags his whole family to die with him! It can be seen that such so-called loyal ministers who cannot distinguish right from wrong are sometimes even more hateful than those corrupt officials!" Then he asked Duan Zhixian said: "Duan Zhixian, did he set fire to others?"
Duan Zhixian said: "Brother, don't worry, he set the fire in a wooden building in his backyard. There are no buildings around and it will not affect others." Yang Peng nodded. Duan Zhixian asked: "Brother, we have captured thousands of native soldiers, militiamen and government officials, what should we do with them?" Yang Peng said: "These people are common people, let them all go." Duan Zhixian responded and ran down. …
Above the Jinling court. Grand Master Huang Cong presented a scroll and said, "Your Majesty, this is a drawing that I asked a skilled craftsman to draw. Please take a look at it."
Zhao Heng was very interested and immediately asked his attendant to bring it up. The nearby eunuch responded, walked down, took the scroll with both hands, and came back to present it to Zhao Heng. Zhao Heng picked up the scroll and unfolded it on the dragon table. The dragon's eyes couldn't help but shine. It turned out that the scroll painted an extremely magnificent palace, even more magnificent than Genyue and Shenxiao Wanshou Palace.
Zhao Heng raised his head and asked with great interest: "What is this?"
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
