"General Ji clearly knows that Han Erlang is pretending to surrender!" In the small county government flower hall, there were only two or three large tables with only a dozen people. They all stood up and looked at the ground in the middle of the flower hall, where a newly surrendered village chief was standing. He was lying on the ground, shaking all over.
When everyone in the hall heard this, they also trembled and frightened.
When Ji Zeng heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then smiled, and then looked at Han Erlang, who had a normal expression: "That's just right, Han Erlang is also here, you two can confront each other, one of them will die."
After saying that, the Seventh Taibao sat down directly without any panic, while the others looked at each other in awe.
Han Erlang did not panic. He first bowed his hand to Ji Zeng, and then looked at the commander. His tone was light but direct: "Captain Liu, you said I pretended to surrender. Let me ask you, I made a plan yesterday. , What are your plans for today?"
"Of course it was yesterday, last night." Chief Liu knelt on the ground and answered with his head lowered. "We were here last night. Everyone was in chaos. It was Erlang Han who came out to call the shots and said he wanted to surrender! Then he also arranged the affairs of the whole city! General Ji, I never lied. This is a trap! They said that General Ji led We don’t have many soldiers, the city defense is enough to cope with it. We only have one general, you are Ning Dan. Without reinforcements, our group of field soldiers cannot reach us, so we have to lure you in, kill you, and then we can continue to defend!"
At the end of his words, the man raised his head and looked at Ji Zeng, his eyes full of expectation.
The corners of Ji Zeng's mouth were slightly raised, as if he was sneering, but he didn't know who he was laughing at, but he was still speechless.
"What I said at that time was that it was better to surrender, not to pretend to surrender. I can swear by the three radiances and four emperors... However, that is not what I asked." Han Erlang still did not panic and did not look at Ji Zeng. He just continued to bow his hands to the people on the ground. "I dare to ask Chief Liu, I am not even a chief. How did I plan to fake surrender with many chiefs and a leader yesterday? And also arranged the affairs of the whole city inside and outside? Everyone knows that I am in charge of the power and responsibilities in the city today. They were all given to me by General Ji after I met with him... Chief Liu, are you dissatisfied?"
"General Ji, don't listen to his nonsense, capture this person quickly!" Contrary to the other party, Tuen Commander Liu did not respond at all, but just came to see Ji Zeng.
Ji Zeng raised his eyebrows slightly: "Captain Liu, I asked you two to confront each other, why do you always stare at me and talk? Han Erlang is asking you something, you can ask him if you have anything... You must know that I am I am used to dealing with Jingantai affairs. If two people attack each other, the one who has no evidence will die. Of course, I still have to make it clear. It is related to military affairs. If two people have no evidence, Both of those people are going to die."
Tuen Chief Liu was startled and quickly looked at Han Erlang on the ground, but was speechless for a moment.
Han Erlang was not in a hurry and just waited quietly.
After a moment, Chief Liu came to his senses, got up hastily, and then replied seriously: "Although you are not the chief, Chief Huang has always obeyed your words, and Chief Huang is the leader, so naturally he will listen to you."
"What you said is true. I relied on Chief Huang to speak last night, but in the terms of the peace negotiation last night, there was a clause for Chief Huang to leave, and Chief Huang was appointed as the temporary chief yesterday. Clerk, even if I can convince Chief Huang, how can Chief Huang suppress the rest of you?" At this point, Han Erlang paused, but then changed the topic slightly. "Does Chief Liu feel that General Ji actually let Chief Huang leave easily? He feels aggrieved..."
"Don't make false accusations." Liu Tuanzhang shouted anxiously before the other party finished speaking. "Actually, it's not just because of Chief Huang, you yourself are also famous in Qinghe! You were the former deputy captain under Cao Shancheng! Everyone believes in you! We won the battle the night before, and everyone believes in you even more!"
"Is it because of Chief Huang or because of Han Erlang himself?" Ji Zeng interrupted impatiently.
"Both of them, both of them! But Han Erlang himself is heavier!" Chief Liu explained quickly.
"If everyone believes me, why are you confronting me here today?" Han Erlang sighed. "Moreover, if I hadn't been the deputy captain under Cao Fujun, why couldn't I even be a village commander? How could the deputy captain under Cao Fujun still be in charge of the Deposed Dragon Gang?"
Chief Liu was a little confused when he was asked, but he still tried his best to retort: "What's the use of saying this? What does it have to do with you pretending to surrender? You proposed to surrender last night, and everyone accepted it. This is the key!"
"Tun Zhang Liu admitted it last night?" Han Erlang finally found the gap he wanted.
"I...I admitted it last night of course! If I didn't admit it at that time, I would have died!" Liu Tunzhang hesitated and tried his best to get it right. "How dare you deny it?"
"This is lying in public." Han Erlang scolded him on the spot. "Suppose I wanted to surrender last night as you said. If I don't admit it, at most I don't agree with the surrender. There is still a pattern of defending the city and it is still integrated. How could I die at that time?"
Chief Liu was speechless for a moment.
"I was afraid that I would die immediately. There was only one possibility, that is, we wanted to surrender, and some people didn't want to surrender... But even so, Chief Huang was unwilling to surrender because he had just received the temporary chief's document. I also specifically asked General Ji for mercy. , let him out today, why do you think you are going to die?" Han Erlang's words finally became sharper.
Chief Liu came to his senses and immediately refuted: "No, I was afraid that I was going to die at that time, because I wanted to surrender. You all have to feign surrender. If I say it, wouldn't I be killed on the spot by you?!"
Han Erlang sighed: "What Chief Liu said is that we are talking on one side and there is really no way to confront him."
Tuen Chang Liu himself was visibly relieved.
"However, I still want to say one more thing. There are six villages in one city. The soldiers in the villages below were distributed in various places to farm and work in the past few years. The six village leaders were not under each other. In a few days, they would be caught on the front line by chance. , faced with continuous attacks, how can we be united and united? What if five of the six camp commanders are determined? Whether it is to feign surrender or surrender? This is not common sense." Han Erlang seemed a little frustrated. "I worked very hard to convince everyone to surrender last night."
The people around him were silent and just lowered their heads and crossed their hands. Ji Zeng, who was sitting still, couldn't help but smile and then said: "Since the verbal confrontation is on one side and there is no result at all, then I asked... Commander Liu, if I pretend to surrender, how are Han Erlang going to deal with me?"
"I'm not sure... but it seems like they're talking about poisoning the wine?" Chief Liu was half confused and half anxious. "My mission is to attack the soldiers and horses entering the city. He actually didn't tell me much else. I heard it all from my own family."
Ji Zeng looked at the drink in front of him on the table, smiled again, and pointed at Han Erlang: "Han Erlang, can you drink?"
There was already silence in the flower hall, and everyone else could not help but look at the wine. At the same time, Han Erlang almost without hesitation stepped forward to take down the pot of wine without saying a word, then picked up a glass and drank it all in one gulp. , and that's not all, he continued to pour and drink while the people around him were stunned. After a while, he drank four or five cups in a row, and half of the pot was drained.
Ji Zeng just kept his expression unchanged at first and allowed the other party to drink. At this point, he felt bored, but finally he took the other person's arm and laughed: "Han Erlang, stop drinking, otherwise I won't have to drink!"
That's not all. After saying that, the man took the newly poured glass of wine from the other party and drank it all in one go.
After finishing the drink, the Seventh Taibao looked at Tuan Zhang, who was already sweating profusely, but did not call him, but only looked at the others: "Everyone, the confrontation is no longer interesting at this point, but you still deserve to get over it. Come on, now we need the other three village chiefs who were at the scene last night to come forward and identify themselves. Which of you is here to stand up and say who is lying?"
There was a slight lull in the field, but soon, someone came out, leaned over and raised his hand: "General Ji Mingjian, everyone was debating last night. It was indeed Han Erlang who was the first to say that he wanted to surrender... As for Liu Tun Commander, he has no bad intentions, he is just jealous that Chief Huang can leave, or that Han Erlang can be assigned to take charge by General Ji. I would like to ask General Ji to forgive him and drive him out."
As soon as this person came out, the other village chiefs also came out, but they all agreed.
Chief Liu was immediately furious and wanted to speak.
"Shut up, or I'll kill you!" At this moment, Ji Zeng suddenly waved his hand to stop him, and golden glow of energy escaped from his palm, instantly attracting everyone's attention and making the gradually commotion in the flower hall quiet down again.
As soon as these words were spoken, soldiers following the Seven Taibao came forward at the entrance of the flower hall and drew their swords in front of him. Chief Liu's face turned pale and he could no longer control his mood.
At this time, Ji Zeng said seriously: "I know the truth and lies better than anyone else... Chief Liu, let me ask you, you said everyone wanted to surrender yesterday, but you were the only one who wanted to surrender, and you didn't dare not to do so. Yes, is this true or false?"
Tuen Chief Liu came to his senses at this time, but did not dare to answer.
The reason couldn't be simpler. He had already reacted at this time. He seemed to bite the bullet, creating an excuse for each side, so that both sides could not verify it. But in fact, from a common sense point of view, it was impossible for him to be single-minded at that time. If you want to surrender, it is impossible for others to surrender wholeheartedly.
This is indeed the case. Last night, everyone was hesitant. In the end, Han Erlang persuaded them one by one. It was also today that Chief Liu saw the other party's majestic entry into the city, and his heart trembled, so he rebelled.
But isn’t this to show loyalty?
"General Ji, I just exaggerated a bit to show my loyalty." Thinking of this, Commander Liu was only cautious around the knife.
"Then what's going on with this poisonous wine?" Ji Zeng asked, pointing to the wine on his table.
"Perhaps I misunderstood." Chief Liu was obviously startled, but he could only deal with it. "But General Ji, they are really pretending to surrender."
"That's all." Ji Zeng waved his hand. "There is another key point here. If you can answer it, I will make further calculations."
"General, please tell me..."
"Taking it a step back, it's exactly what you said. They are pretending to surrender and want to make money from me... Then where do they have the confidence to make money from me?" Ji Zeng asked seriously. "Han Erlang has already proven his innocence about the drinking matter... Then I dare to ask, there is a master of elixir condensation and a thousand soldiers in the city, and there are sufficient backup troops and horses outside the city, but there are two or three thousand of you, and there is not a single master in cultivation. Why should you make money from me?!"
Chief Liu was confused for a moment and could not respond.
"To put it bluntly, since I entered the city, I accounted for 90% of the current situation. Even if the people in this room worked hard, they did make me a profit tonight. Speaking of soldiers and horses, you are just fighting for your life. A 40% chance of winning...are you crazy?" Ji Zeng said, scanning the people in the flower hall, and then laughed. "Actually, this is Tuen Chang Liu's biggest flaw... Tuen Chang Liu?"
"exist."
"Let me ask you, why did you make your first appearance? Don't tell any more lies!"
"It's... it's fear."
"Afraid of failure?"
"right."
"Aren't the others afraid of failure?"
"..."
"Weren't they afraid of defeat when they decided on the strategy last night? A group of field soldiers!" When Ji Zeng said this, he couldn't help but spread his hands and laughed, which shook the flower hall. "If you say that a group of field soldiers are short-sighted and dare not act without permission, and follow the original strategy to defend the city, that is normal; if they are afraid of surrendering, it is also normal; if they grit their teeth and try a surprise attack at night, it is not incomprehensible; but Fake surrender... It's not impossible to fake surrender, but you have to risk your life to fake surrender. Why? Did the Deposed Dragon Gang give them drugs?! I'm sorry I can't understand!"
"General Ji!" Commander Liu knew that the situation was not good at all, so he could only wait for the other party to finish speaking and try his best to speak. "The main reason is that Han Erlang has great prestige, and then he himself insists on doing so."
"The person least likely to pretend to surrender is Han Erlang. Why would he risk his life to pretend to surrender?!" Ji Zeng suddenly changed his mind. "The first thing you said today, I thought you were lying! I just don't know why you lied, and this is the military, a frontline, and I have to be on guard, so I listened to your nonsense! Later I found out that you were jealous of Han Erlang After gaining power, Chief Huang escaped and didn't bother to listen to your words!"
"General Ji, jealousy is real, but so is the false surrender! The fear is also real!" The other party's attitude was obvious, and Chief Liu was completely helpless and could only cry and plead.
"Han Erlang, I have entrusted you with all the affairs in the city. It is up to you to decide this matter!" Ji Zeng was too lazy to pay attention to the other party and only looked at Han Erlang. "Tell me, is this person alive or dead?"
Tuen Chang Liu still wanted to speak, but when he heard this, he could only look at Han Erlang, with a look of last hope on his face.
Han Erlang was silent for a moment and met the other person's gaze: "If you can let this go, it would be like showing off to win over people's hearts... I think this person deserves death."
Tuen Chang Liu collapsed completely and howled immediately.
But Ji Zeng just waved his hand, and someone dragged the completely out-of-control Captain Liu out, easily beheaded him in the courtyard outside, and quickly put his head on display.
No one in the flower hall dared to make a sound, so Ji Zeng waved to everyone to sit down and drink.
Only after this incident, everyone was a little uneasy, but Ji Zeng didn't bother to pay attention to it. He only asked Han Erlang to take a seat, and then invited everyone to drink, which gradually eased the atmosphere... Of course, it was Han Erlang himself who was also very clever, and whenever he served a dish , you must use it yourself first. Whenever you take a drink, you must pour it yourself first.
The only hidden danger was blocked, so the Seven Taibao could hardly relax. In addition, Han Erlang was very down-to-earth and spoke speculatively, so that he gradually became drunk with wine.
In this way, the meal was finished without any mistakes, and just a moment after everyone left the county government office, Han Erlang was recalled again and entered the backyard of the county government office.
"Han Erlang, let me ask you something..." The Seventh Taibao was drinking tea in front of the bed at this time. He just put down his cup when he saw the visitor.
"General Ji, please speak." Han Erlang bowed his head and saluted, but his figure was a little swaying. It seemed that he had drank too much before and his cultivation could not avoid drinking.
"You don't need to be so cautious, I'm just asking casually... Do you think the Deposed Dragon Gang's large army, which is dozens of miles apart, will come to take back this city?" Ji Zeng asked seriously.
"Probably not." Han Erlang raised his head, his face turned red as expected.
"What do you mean?" Ji Zeng couldn't ask further.
"We in the city definitely don't know what happened above, but after the last war, Wei Xuanding over there hurriedly sent a document from the temporary chief of Huangtun, but did not mention reinforcements. Obviously, he did not plan to use this city as a must-defend place. Yes." Han Erlang also answered seriously. "It is precisely because of this that everyone has more thoughts of surrender."
"Then there is probably a real war. Is it in the wilderness between this city and Pingyuan City?" Ji Zeng nodded repeatedly. "After all, the Deposed Dragon Gang is famous for its strong field camps, good use of trenches and earthen forts, and tight formations...especially the spear formation."
"That should be the case." Han Erlang nodded.
"I had guessed this before. Speaking of which, it was Tuen Chief Liu who made me confirm this idea today." Ji Zeng pondered for a moment and suddenly smiled. "If the Deposed Dragon Gang has designated this city as the last line of defense, how can it be possible that there is no backup plan? Then no matter what his position is, why would he do what he did today?"
At this point, Ji Zeng looked at Han Erlang seriously and said sincerely: "I have wronged you today."
Han Erlang smiled, but held his forehead to answer: "Military affairs are serious, why should General Ji care? On the other hand, I, the wine was a bit strong and I drank too much, it is really difficult to support me at this time."
Ji Zengfu laughed again and waved his hand to let the other person go down.
Next, Ji Zeng drank a few more cups of tea and waited for the team generals who had followed him into the city to come and make a routine report to confirm their plans for Cangcheng, the county government, the main road, and a city gate tower after entering the city in the afternoon. After taking proper control, I finally put aside my last thoughts and rested peacefully.
However, after Qitaibao lay down, his head gradually became dizzy, he became sensitive and curious about any movement, and his mouth and tongue gradually became dry and numb... This was obviously a symptom of drinking too much... So after enduring it for a while, he only hated himself. I had been nervous for many days, but today I was greedy for tea, so I got up and called for tea again.
After a few drinks, I felt a little moved, but I didn't dare to drink more. Instead, I called up my guards again and went outside to get water from the well. When the water was delivered, I drank it. My head and tongue were not good, but I felt uncomfortable in my stomach. .
At this point, the Seventh Taibao was completely helpless. He lay back on the couch half embarrassed and half wary. Then he endured some discomfort and fell into a drowsy sleep.
I only closed my eyes for about half an hour, and I felt that the drunkenness was getting stronger and stronger. However, this drunkenness did not make people fall into sleep further, but instead caused an increasingly obvious discomfort. As for the sudden dryness of the mouth, I opened it again. Open your eyes.
At this point, Ji Zeng was a little undecided, or in other words, just a little bit suspicious. This was because he drank alcohol and drank cold well water at his own peril, which was very consistent with his current symptoms. In addition, Han Erlang drank There were more than him, and the "Fake Surrender Storm" just analyzed really made him unwilling to lead to that suspicion.
However, when this master of condensing pills tried to use his true energy to move his lungs and exhale a little bit of the alcohol, he was suddenly surprised to find that the meridians in his limbs gradually became numb at some point. Whenever he exerted force, his muscles spasmed and his heartbeat accelerated. , the numbness of the mouth and tongue even faintly spread to the cheeks.
At this time, the Seventh Taibao still didn't know that he was indeed poisoned.
But he heard that it was a quiet night outside, but he only focused on running his true energy, protecting his organs and flushing his meridians. He hoped to suppress the poison in his body and return to the army in private to talk about other things. He did not dare to say anything, but he was afraid of shouting. It would shock the night and cause some big commotion.
After a while, Ji Zeng's mind gradually became heavy. For a while, there was only one thought left that was still circling, that is, how did he get poisoned?
Tea is not easily poisoned, and it is not safe. It seems obvious that there is something wrong with the wine at today's dinner, but Han Erlang, who has a lower cultivation level than himself, drank more than himself. What does this mean?
So, where? How did you get poisoned?
Can't it be well water?
However, my head was so dizzy that I couldn't think clearly at all.
It was mid-February, and most of the moonlight was already bright. The ground inside and outside the city was washed clean by the moonlight. At the same moment, at the field army station in the south of Cangcheng, southwest of the county government, several field commanders were surrounding a person under the moonlight, with worried expressions on their faces.
The man being surrounded was slurping down a bowl of raw eggs. After trying hard to swallow it, he couldn't bear it anymore and vomited it out again.
Several village chiefs were splashed all over, and the iron-clad crotch in front of them was stained with a large area of sticky goo. However, no one dodge, but just stared at each other.
When the latter raised his head, he saw an extremely pale face with obvious muscle twitching under the moonlight, and it turned out to be Han Erlang.
Han Erlang gasped several times, managed to slow down his body, and then looked at the people around him: "Don't hesitate. Ji Zeng and I drank wine before and after, but now there is no reaction. It cannot be to avoid the poison, but it must be a poisonous attack." It worked, I just didn't dare to say it or couldn't say it. I... can't move now. You all should attack everywhere as planned. First focus on taking the city gate and the county government... to separate the inside and outside and earn Ji Zeng. Then slowly map the inside and outside...Huang...if Huang Tuanzhang sees the movement, he will definitely attack from the outside and involve the enemy camp. You...just...just tell the brothers below that they are reinforcements from within the gang...from within the gang."
The others remained silent, only staring at Han Erlang and breathing heavily, because by the end of the sentence, the latter had shuddered many times, gritted his teeth and paused several times, clearly speaking on his own with his tongue.
When Han Erlang saw this, he once again suppressed the discomfort in his stomach, used his tongue to push away his clenched teeth, and sneered: "It's just one life, why do you care?! The reason why Ji Zeng, including the entire army, is I fell into the trap. In the final analysis, I just feel that we, a group of field soldiers, don’t know how to fight to the death. But we don’t know that we are going to fight them to the death! And we have to fight to the death! Everyone, go quickly, I, Han Er, will never die today! I will die! It’s just him Ji Zeng!”
Upon seeing this, several village chiefs who had already put on iron trousers and helmets turned around and left without hesitation.
For a moment, a scene that Ji Zeng couldn't accept but had already expected appeared. There was a fire outside, and shouts of death were heard from all directions. The latest one was even more clear and could be heard:
"Ji Zeng is dead! Reinforcements from the gang have arrived! Han Erlang has an order to kill the Dongdu thieves!"
(End of chapter)
