The next morning, as soon as the city gate opened, several people entered Qizhou City.
After walking several hundred steps, Luo Hu said: "Master He, their barracks is ahead."
He Lianyi stuck his head out to take a look, and saw scattered lights in front of him, but rows of Ning Jun's banners hung shockingly high. After walking for a while, the driver was stopped by someone, "Stop, who are you?"
Chen Liuxiang poked her head out of the car window and proudly took out a jade talisman and handed it to the blocking soldier: "Give this talisman and this letter to Du Shaojie."
When the soldier heard him calling the commander in chief by his first name, he immediately scolded him: "How dare you call our general by his first name."
Chen Liuxiang did not hesitate at all and said with a cold face: "Listen up, give these two things to Du Shaojie and ask him to come out quickly to greet the distinguished guests."
Before the soldier could attack, he was stopped by another soldier who came over and pulled the corner of his clothes and snatched away two objects, saying: "Okay, you guys wait here."
About an hour after touching the stick of incense, a general came out in a hurry, walked to the car, and looked around the car. He knew that He Lianyi had been living outside, but he was not sure that it was indeed He Lianyi inside the car, and shouted : "Who is in the car who dares to impersonate an official of this dynasty?"
Chen Liuxiang shouted, "General Du, is this how you treat guests?" As he spoke, Chen Liuxiang jumped out of the carriage first, then lifted the curtain to welcome He Lianyi out.
He Lianyi came out of the carriage. Du Shaojie had met He Lianyi before. This meeting made him startled. Although the person was dressed in men's clothes, his original appearance could not be concealed. The person was genuine, but her current identity was very embarrassing, so she shouted loudly: "Come here, kidnap these two madmen pretending to be imperial officials into the camp."
"What are you doing, how dare you be so rude!" Chen Liuxiang continued to scream hoarsely: "Du Shaojie, you have to see clearly."
"Come here, seal their mouths and tie them up."
Seeing that their goal was achieved, He Lianyi and Shen Liuxiang did not struggle too much and allowed themselves to be tied up and pushed into a tent. Luo Hu, who was dressed as a coachman, shouted: "It's none of my business. It's none of my business. The villain is only responsible for delivering these two people. He doesn't know anything else." After saying that, he drove the carriage and prepared to escape.
How could those soldiers let him come and go freely? They pressed the halberd against his neck. Luo Hu was so "scared" that he didn't dare to move anymore. He was also taken into the camp and locked up in a random place.
He Lianyi's master and servant were imprisoned in a tent. After entering the tent, Du Shaojie said to the others: "I will personally interrogate these two people. You all should get out."
After the others left the camp, Du Shaojie hurriedly apologized: "I never expected to see the princess here. I just had to do it out of necessity. I have offended many people. I hope the princess can forgive me."
He Lianyi didn't mean to blame him at all. He just looked at him calmly and said, "General Du, I came here today to inform you of something."
Du Shaojie said: "Princess, please tell me."
"General Du must have known that Xiao Yunyan set up camp in Song County yesterday afternoon?"
Du Shaojie said: "Back to the princess, the general already knows. According to the spies, Xiao Yunyan only has a thousand troops stationed in Song County. Huh, just a thousand people want to attack Qizhou. I think this Xiao Yunyan is extremely arrogant. .”
He Lianyi said: "One thousand? Does General Du really believe it?"
"This..." Du Shaojie didn't know how to answer for a while.
"General Du still doesn't understand Xiao Yunsheng's military strategy, right? I just got the news that the two brothers are just using a trick to confuse you, so I came to inform you. I hope you will never underestimate the enemy. .”
When Du Shaojie heard this, he hurriedly thanked him. After thinking about it, he did not dare to have any doubts about the name of Xiao Yunsheng, the God of War in Daliang. For a moment, he believed He Lianyi's words, but he still said righteously: "Princess, even if only the last general is left, the last general will be the last one." I am also willing to fight to the end.”
Helianyi looked at him with approval on his face, but said: "Since General Du is so loyal, I can rest assured. I also want to live and die with the soldiers, but I don't know if General Du has room for me. Where?"
Du Shaojie saw that her face was pale, as if she was ill, so he just thought that she was just looking for a place to stay. It was neither a temporary refusal nor a refusal. If he refused, she was the late emperor's favorite eldest daughter after all. Female, he also heard that many generals deliberately turned a blind eye to Helianyi's escape and allowed her to pass. Nowadays, the people of Daning still cherish the kindness of the late emperor. If he sacrifices the princess to please the new emperor, he will definitely be cast aside by the ruling and opposition parties of Daxia. Don’t refuse, but I was worried that her identity would be exposed and it would affect me, so I had no choice but to think of a compromise in my heart, "I will thank the princess for her willingness to advance and retreat with the soldiers, but as the princess said, Xiao Yunsheng used his troops treacherously. Once a war breaks out, our Qizhou City will be in great danger. The general would also like to ask the princess to retreat from this place as the best policy."
Helianyi nodded, "That's natural."
After hearing this, Du Shaojie withdrew with satisfaction.
...
Five days later, the spies found out that Xiao Yunyan's army was ready to move. He Lianyi calculated the opportunity and was saying goodbye to Du Shaojie when he saw a young man reporting: "General, a scribe came outside and asked to see the general. He said his surname is Lu."
"I don't need any scribes here, I don't see you."
"He said that if the general said he couldn't see him, he would ask the last general to tell him that the second eldest son in his family had heard that there were distinguished guests here, so he came here specially to meet him."
"Distinguished guest?" Du Shaojie couldn't help but look at He Lianyi, and then said to the young general: "There are no distinguished guests here. Send him away."
"Yes." The young general was about to be ordered out when He Lianyi called to him: "Wait a minute."
The young general stopped and He Lianyi asked: "He said his surname is Lu and he is the second in the family?"
"That's right."
"Is this man about forty years old? He is thin and slender, and looks elegant?"
Seeing that what he said was correct, the young general was slightly stunned and responded: "That's right."
He Lianyi looked at Du Shaojie and said, "General Du, this person's surname is Lu, and the second child is Zhongzi. Could it be that this person is Lu Zhongjian?"
"Lv Zhongjian?" Du Shaojie finally came back to his senses, "It seems right. But he said he wanted to see an honored guest, so..."
"If this person is Lu Zhongjian, there is no harm in General Du meeting him."
"Okay, then let him in."
"yes."
After a while, Du Shaojie brought in a Confucian scholar. Although this man was dressed in civilian clothes, he had an elegant air about him. When Helianyi, who was hiding behind the curtain, saw him, he immediately opened the curtain and came out, shouting happily: "Lu Qing, It really is you."
The scribe looked at He Lianyi and was also overjoyed, "Princess, you are really here."
He Lianyi said: "How did Mr. Lu know that I am here?"
"I have been inquiring about the whereabouts of the princess recently. Unexpectedly, two of my guards found out that the princess was at General Du's place."
Du Shaojie was shocked, and asked together with He Lianyi: "How do you know this?"
"Princess, General Du, I'm telling you the truth. I heard that the princess has been in and out of this area recently. Two of my men inquired today and learned that they said that the palace platoon sent people to Qizhou camp to capture the princess. I expected: The new emperor may have heard the news and is planning to take action. The matter is very important, so I decided to inform the two of them before they come and think of countermeasures."
At this time, Du Shaojie was like an ant on a hot pot, panicking. Unexpectedly, Lu Zhongjian said calmly: "General Du, you have to check the cronies around you."
"Yes, yes." At this time, Du Shaojie was already restless, with cold sweat on his forehead, but someone else came in a hurry to report: "General, it's not good."
"What's up?"
The general replied: "Someone came from Beijing. They said they learned that the princess was in our camp and wanted to capture Her Royal Highness..."
Du Shaojie was suddenly struck by thunder: "What? How could this be spread to the capital so quickly?"
He Lianyi said from the side: "General Du, Helian Dingbang is so fast, I am afraid that they will know about it as soon as I enter the army. As I expected, there must be his cronies hiding in the army. .”
When Du Shaojie heard this, he felt that it made sense.
The general said again: "And..."
"what else?"
"The visitor said: He came to replace General Du on orders."
"What?" Du Shaojie was even more livid this time. What he had been worried about for the past few days finally happened.
Helianyi asked: "Where are they?"
The general replied: "In the main camp of the general."
"How many people are coming?"
"There are five people in total, bringing His Majesty's imperial edict and oral instructions."
"Who's coming?"
"I don't even know him. He is said to be an old subordinate of the new emperor."
Du Shaojie thought about it and didn't become suspicious. Because the new emperor does not trust any of his old ministers, he has recently been trying to find ways to add his old generals to the army.
He Lianyi had no choice but to speak at this time: "General Du, can you listen to me?"
"Princess, please speak."
"General Du, since it was me who caused the trouble, I should bear the responsibility for you. Now there is only one way: hand over me."
"This this......"
"This is just because I was too careless that night. I thought that when midnight came, I would be unaware of it, but I didn't expect it, but I was still exposed."
Du Shaojie didn't show it on his face, but he said in his heart: You two were too arrogant that night, so you exposed your secret.
Lu Zhongjian said: "Princess, this is not appropriate. With Helian Dingbang as a person, even if the princess is handed over, I am afraid that General Du will have to suffer a lot. The new emperor is suspected of being seriously ill. I, I have another one." Method."
"What can we do?" Du Shaojie asked eagerly.
Lu Zhongjian suddenly knelt down in front of He Lianyi and said, "I kindly ask the princess to forgive me for my disrespectful remarks."
"Lu Qing, before my father was alive, he always evaluated you as the most enlightened person in the world. Your wisdom and loyalty are obvious to all in the court. If Lu Qing has something to say, you may as well say it directly. I forgive you. Get up and answer first."
Lu Zhongjian stood up and said to Du Shaojie: "General Du, please take those people into custody first."
"This..." Du Shaojie was shocked after hearing this.
"General Du, Lu knows your majesty very well. In order to establish his authority as a king, your majesty will kill loyal ministers and generals at will. He can even be ruthless to his brothers and juniors. What's more, General Du, once the Qizhou General Seal is handed over, Du will The general will have no choice but to die."
Du Shaojie thought about it and was convinced that what Lu Zhongjian said was indeed true. He saw another soldier coming to report: "General, Liang Jun has already attacked us."
"how many people?"
The soldier replied: "There are about a thousand people attacking the city, and they are led by Xiao Yunyan himself. In addition, they seem to have set up ambushes in various passways, but they are too cunning. The exact number of people is still unclear."
"Probe again, report again, we must find out the truth."
"yes."
After the general left, Lu Zhongjian knelt down and faced He Lianyi: "Princess, I would also like to ask the princess to pardon my death penalty."
He Lianyi glanced at him and said, "Master Lu, if you have anything to say, just say it."
Lu Zhongjian said: "General Du, from Lu's point of view, you have only one way to go now."
"What way? Please give me some advice, Prime Minister Lu."
"Burn the imperial edict and surrender to the Liang army."
"W-What? Surrender...surrender?" Du Shaojie thought he heard wrongly and looked at Helianyi, but she also looked shocked.
"That's right, please forgive me, princess. Even if Lv is in front of the princess, there is only one way. General Du, don't you understand that you are already under attack from both sides."
"Yes." Du Shaojie finally calmed down, but suddenly fell to his knees, "But, princess?"
He Lianyi still stood there in shock. Lu Zhongjian said: "Princess, there is only one way to go at this time. Time is running out. Please make a decision as soon as possible."
Chen Liuxiang scolded: "Mr. Lu, what nonsense are you talking about? The princess is the princess of Daxia. How can she surrender to an enemy country?"
However, Lu Zhongjian ignored Shen Liuxiang and only advised: "Princess, Helian Dingbang knows that the princess is here, but Liang Guo does not know that the princess is here. The princess can escape unharmed."
"That's not possible. As the daughter of the Helian family, Daliang has been our old enemy in Daxia for decades. How can I hand over the city to the Xiao family."
"Princess, if you don't want to be sent to Xikang again, and if you want to protect General Du from being cut into pieces, please listen to me. I'm not worried about leaving the green mountains without firewood. This is just a stop-gap measure. In the future, I will definitely find a way for you, and these cities will definitely be back in our hands."
Du Shaojie was anxious and frightened at the side, and hurriedly responded to Lu Zhongjian, "Yes, yes, yes, Mr. Lu is right. Don't worry about running out of firewood to keep the green hills."
"Okay. Mr. Lu, I believe Mr. Lu today. I hope Mr. Lu will live up to what he said today and regain the city for us in the future."
"I swear to God that I will live up to what I said today and live up to the princess's expectations."
Du Shaojie finally made a decision, "Okay, Prime Minister Lu, I will raise and lower the flag to open the city gate..."
