On the other side, Chu Dongyu had a heated discussion with several subordinates.
Except for a few deputy captains who did not express their opinions, the other deputy captains believed that Chen Ling could be exchanged for 5,000 civilians.
Among these five thousand civilians, there are directly thousands of soldiers. If we can get it back, the soldiers can fight with peace of mind.
But Chu Dongyu was conflicted. What he wanted was not five thousand civilians. Because his family members were not in Dalcheng, he didn't care much. What he cares about is Dal City, which is a very mature resource city whose strategic value far exceeds that of five thousand civilians.
"Everyone, how about we try again and ask Jiang Ze to give up Dal City."
"Captain, if Jiang Ze is willing to give in, that would be the best. But let's be realistic, do you think Jiang Ze might give up Dal City because of Chen Ling?"
"Yes, to be honest, one Chen Ling can be exchanged for five thousand people, which is already very good."
"But the superiors have already ordered us to get to Dalcheng." Chu Dongyu frowned.
"Da'er City must be taken, but at least get these five thousand civilians here before we fight this battle. Only in this way will the soldiers be dedicated to working for us."
"If soldiers are reunited with their relatives, wouldn't they be more afraid of death? It's better not to reunite. This way the soldiers will be braver to save their families."
"Captain, Jiang Ze is not a kind person. The reason why he is not harming civilians now is because the situation is favorable to them. However, if we launch a strong attack and gain the upper hand, then Jiang Ze will 100% Pull out those civilians who threaten our soldiers."
"Okay, if Jiang Ze does this, our soldiers will be braver for revenge."
"Captain, it's easy for you. Jiang Ze will not kill five thousand people at once. He will kill a hundred people first, and then throw the corpses, heads and other things to our soldiers to disrupt the morale of the army. Then he will threaten again, If you want to be reunited with your family, switch sides. At that point, what should we do? Are we really going to kill each other?"
"That's not true, is it?"
"This is really hard to say, because your family, Captain, is not in Dalcheng, so you are not in a hurry."
"Oh oh oh, I understand, Rani. You must have family in Dal City, so you are so anxious to change someone."
"Captain, if I can gain victory by sacrificing myself and my family, I will have no hesitation. What I am thinking about is not myself, but the five or six thousand soldiers under our command. What should we do if they become disheartened and defect?"
"I'll think about it again, and then you can also do a survey to find out exactly how many soldiers have relatives in Dal City."
In this way, Chu Dongyu temporarily canceled the meeting because he still couldn't figure out whether it would be better for those civilians to be replaced or not.
On the other side, in Dalcheng, Li Xiuwen came to Jiang Ze's office.
"Brother, what are you calling me for?" Li Xiuwen felt that the atmosphere was not right.
"Sit down." Jiang Ze pointed to the sofa.
After Li Xiuwen sat down, Jiang Ze said seriously: "If something like this happened today, there is something wrong with it."
"Brother, just tell me."
"Okay, why does Erhu care so much about Chen Ling? Now I can't help but think about the secret service training camp. At that time, Chen Ling had a very good relationship with us, but she seems to be closer to you and Erhu. You Wondering, do you know something?"
"I...how should I say...sigh..." Li Xiuwen frowned and hesitated to speak.
"What? Is there any secret? Can't even I tell you?"
"No, brother. Let me tell you, I'm not sure about this. This is just my feeling."
"Tell me, what does it feel like?" Jiang Ze asked curiously.
"Second brother, maybe you like Chen Ling."
"How is this possible?" Jiang Ze asked in disbelief.
"At that time, Chen Ling fell in love with the eldest brother. But the eldest brother didn't seem to have feelings for Chen Ling, and you always tried to avoid Chen Ling. Later, Chen Ling became smarter, and he started to get close to me and the second brother. On the one hand , she learned more about you through the two of us. On the other hand, because our three brothers usually have a very close relationship, so if she gets closer to us, she can have more contact with you in disguise. "
"In other words, Erhu has been in love with Chen Ling for a long time?"
"There is this possibility. I remember that he was very troubled for a while. He also discussed one thing with me, that is, does the new marriage law of Lieguo allow polygamy? I said, not only polygamy is allowed, but even polygamy is allowed. Polyandry, as long as everyone is willing. After hearing this, he sighed helplessly and said that they would definitely not be willing."
"Damn it, after all calculations, it didn't reach this level." Jiang Ze said angrily.
"Brother, that happened in the past. Second brother must have let it go now."
"If he had let it go, nothing like that would have happened today. Even Chu Dongyu could see it in his words and deeds."
"But I beg the eldest brother not to punish the second brother."
"Punishment? How should I punish him? He is my brother. However, he has made me very angry twice. I really don't know if there is another time, will I lose control?"
"No, second brother won't do it again."
"Can you guarantee that he won't make the same mistake again? Can you guarantee that?"
"I..." Li Xiuwen thought for a while and felt less confident. Because Luo Erhu has a relatively straightforward personality, it is easy for him to make mistakes.
"Look, even you can't guarantee it. In fact, you and I both know that Erhu is too simple and doesn't know how to be flexible and straight-forward. To put it bluntly, this kind of person is not suitable for being an official."
"Brother, do you want to demote him?" Li Xiuwen asked worriedly.
"I have this idea. I want him to return to the Central Army."
"Brother, you can't be like this. Erhu regards you as everything. Every time he fights, he will be the first one. He has been working hard for you. You can't just burn the bridge when you cross the river."
"Am I trying to burn bridges? I'm trying to protect him, do you understand?"
"No, the second brother won't accept it. I know him, if you do this, he will go crazy."
"If I don't do this, I'm afraid something will happen sooner or later."
"No, eldest brother, you have to tolerate the second brother. We were sworn brothers in Taoyuan, right?"
"If Erhu continues to make mistakes, how can I tolerate it? And I told you, I don't believe in the sworn brotherhood in Taoyuan. I don't believe in the pledge of honor either."
"Brother, do you really think so? My second brother and I have always believed in this brotherhood." Li Xiuwen felt his heart go cold and tears welled up in his eyes.
Jiang Ze, who rarely saw Li Xiuwen cry, was moved when he saw the scene in front of him. He immediately changed his words and said: "I... I was just joking, I also care about this brotherhood. So, what happened before I won’t pursue the matter. From now on, please help me pay attention to Erhu. It’s just a small mistake. Try not to make any big mistakes again.”
"Okay, thank you, brother, I will."
"Well, it's okay. It's getting late. You should go and rest first." Jiang Ze helped Li Xiuwen up.
"Then I'll leave first." Li Xiuwen bowed slightly and left Jiang Ze's office.
Half a minute later, Gu Nian walked out from behind the curtain.
"Did you hear everything?" Jiang Ze asked.
"Well, now I finally understand. No wonder Erhu's feelings for me have become much lighter. It turns out that he already has other women in his heart."
"But Erhu is a good husband. There are very few people who can abide by monogamy now, especially under the national conditions where the number of men is far lower than the number of women. Although he likes Chen Ling, he did not say it out, nor did he Action, that’s because he doesn’t want to make you sad.”
"I know."
"Well, so you don't have to blame him."
"I don't blame him. I have never blamed him." Gu Nian shook his head.
"Oh? So open-minded?"
"Because I'm no better than him."
When Gu Nian said this, Jiang Ze stopped drinking tea instantly, and his expression froze.
The two suddenly fell into silence. After several minutes, Jiang Zecai said: "You are good to me, do you regret it?"
"I don't regret it, because this is what my heart wants. It's just that every day I feel that I owe Erhu a lot. I really want to confess to him, but I don't dare." Gu Nian said with tears.
"Don't confess. There are some things that you can't confess. Otherwise, not only will the brother have nothing to do, but it may also cause bigger problems. I think as long as we are careful, he will never notice it. After all, he is very simple." Jiang Ze advised. road.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
On the other side, Luo Erhu spent most of the day completing the investigation. This was also thanks to the secretary of the former city lord of Dal City, who mobilized the computer system of the military department, which recorded the list of soldiers in Dal City. Checking the list through a computer is many times faster.
It was now past one o'clock in the morning, and Luo Erhu, who was supposed to go to bed, arrived at the west city gate.
There was a deputy captain on duty here. When he saw Luo Erhu, he said politely: "What? Are you here on duty too?"
"No, I just couldn't sleep, so I came to check it out."
"Actually, you don't have to worry. The regimental leader said that there is no chance of a sneak attack by the other party, at least not tonight."
"Why do you say that?"
"The opponent has a big card like Chen Ling. If they carry out a sneak attack, wouldn't it be a waste of this card? Moreover, the opponent's compressed food should be enough for about three days, so they won't be in a hurry to launch an attack tonight."
"Okay, but I can't sleep, so I'll help keep an eye on him."
"It's up to you." The deputy leader yawned.
After another two hours, the deputy leader stood up and said, "I'm leaving first."
"Why are you leaving?"
"The regiment leader said that after three o'clock in the morning, I can take a nap. Because once this point is passed, the best time for a night attack is also passed, so relax and leave this place to ordinary city wall guards. We’ll be fine.”
"Okay, then you go and rest."
Just like that, Luo Erhu, the deputy commander, was the only one left in the city.
After another ten minutes, a scout came over in a hurry.
Luo Erhu had nothing to do, so he personally received the scouts.
The Scout Report: "The Chu army was very quiet. Except for the sentries watching, most of the soldiers were sleeping. Then we discovered that General Chen Ling was locked up in the last area of the army. The defense in that place is now very lax."
"Is this true?"
"It's true. Actually, I couldn't believe it at first, but we did see that General Chen Ling was imprisoned in that area. Maybe it was because he was at the end of the army, so there were very few soldiers there."
"So, how many people do you think we need, and we can secretly rescue Chen Ling." Luo Erhu said excitedly.
"I can't say for sure."
"Speak boldly."
"I think it only takes a dozen elites with over 100 combat abilities to rescue General Chen Ling easily."
"Okay, I will personally take ten elites there."
"Deputy Captain, it's better to report this kind of thing to the Captain. What if there is fraud?"
"No, among those Chu troops, no one is stronger than me. Even if there is a trick, I can escape unscathed. In short, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even if it is risky, I must give it a try."
"Should we report it to the group leader?"
"No, with Jiang Ze's cautious personality, he will never agree to go to the rescue. It's just us. Don't worry, if something happens, I will be fully responsible and won't harm you. You can just lead the way."
"Oh, okay."
In this way, Luo Erhu quickly contacted his close subordinates and brought ten elites and scouts to the small gate.
The guard at the small gate was a little worried: "Deputy commander, it's so late, do you want to go out?"
"Yes, the leader has a secret mission for us, so hurry up."
"yes."
Although the guards were a little confused, they did not dare to disobey the deputy commander's order.
One of the guards said: "Do you think we should report to the captain?"
"Well, just in case, I'd better report it."
After the captain got the information, he wanted to contact the group leader. But then I thought about it, the regiment leader had only ordered before that if he encountered an enemy attack or found any strange movement in the Chu army, he should report it immediately. But now there is no enemy attack, and there is no movement of the Chu army. It is just the deputy commander leading a few people out of the city. In theory, there is no need to report such small things, because the deputy leader himself has such authority.
The captain of the guard thought over and over again. If he didn't report it, it wouldn't be a dereliction of duty. And if I report it myself, it may disturb the leader's peaceful dream. If the leader becomes angry, then the gain outweighs the loss.
In the end, the guard captain did not report it.
Early the next morning, at around six o'clock in the morning, the city wall guards at the West City Gate discovered that a senior scout emerged from the ground, and he also brought an unconscious and injured man with him. If you look closely, that person seems to be General Chen Ling.
The guard quickly opened the small door and let them in.
As soon as the scout captain entered the city, he shouted excitedly: "Where is the regiment leader? Contact the regiment leader immediately. I want to see the regiment leader."
The captain of the guard immediately realized the seriousness of the matter and immediately dialed Jiang Ze's number.
Jiang Ze had just gotten up and was pouring water to drink.
"Ring ring ring..."
Jiang Ze picked up the phone and heard the voice of the reconnaissance brigade captain on the phone.
As Jiang Ze listened, the relaxed expression on his face gradually stiffened, and his eyes gradually widened with anger flashing in his eyes.
Suddenly, there was a bang, and the cup in Jiang Ze's hand was crushed.
