Zhao Mengqi did not return to the city, and those who came were not rebels.
"The last general, Ma Xingsi, is the commander of the right army. Cao Lie's reinforcements arrived late. Please forgive me." Cao Lie bowed and paid homage, feeling very uneasy.
As soon as he reached the shore, he had no time to sort out his subordinates, so he hurriedly found him with a team of personal followers. He was relieved to see that King Yan was safe and sound.
It's just that the battlefield has not yet been tidied up. As far as the eye can see, there are streams of blood and corpses everywhere. From this, we can infer how tragic the battle was. King Yan was even covered in blood, indicating that the fighting was happening around him.
Cao Lie didn't know that it was Zhao Mengqi who took the initiative to attack him. He thought that the rebels were attacking him. The situation must be extremely dangerous. If something happened to King Yan and he was late again, the consequences would be...
Thinking of this, how could Cao Lie not be frightened.
Zhao Mengqi noticed his anxiety, smiled, and said in a very friendly tone, "General Cao, please come up. I don't mean to blame you. It's not a short journey from Jiankang. You can arrive at this time." , it’s already faster than I expected.”
"Your Highness is magnanimous, which makes me even more ashamed. If it weren't for my slow march, why would Your Highness be put in danger? Fortunately, God bless the Song Dynasty and your Highness is safe. Otherwise, I will be responsible for the death of my general!"
Cao Lie didn't know Zhao Mengqi very well, so he didn't dare to be careless and still maintained the attitude of pleading guilty.
Seeing that he still didn't dare to get up, Zhao Mengqi stepped forward to help him, "Haha, speaking of it, at first when I wrote you a letter, I wasn't really sure that you would actually come. After all, it was a private arrangement without the permission of the Privy Council and my father. Bing, it's normal for you to ignore me. I'm overjoyed to be here, so I can't complain."
Due to the strict control of the army in the Song Dynasty, Cao Lie must have taken great political risks if he chose to obey the orders of King Yan without a formal order from the court to mobilize troops.
"Your Highness is the crown prince, and you are always on guard in front of the palace. Since there are orders, you must abide by them." Cao Lie said this, but the real reason was other.
He is the thirteenth generation grandson of Cao Bin, and the Cao family is the oldest general family in the Song Dynasty and has a very close relationship with the royal family. King Yan is the only heir to the throne, so naturally he is the best object of allegiance.
"Haha, you are very good. Lao Qu did not misjudge the person."
Naturally, Zhao Mengqi did not choose him for no reason. Originally, he wanted to find Jia Sidao to mobilize troops, but Yangzhou was still too far away from here, and then he thought of Ma Junxingsi, the bodyguard's personal army stationed in Jiankang.
The chief officer of Ma Xingsi is named "in charge of the affairs of the guards and pro-army Ma Jun Xingsi". Nominally, he is the commander or deputy commander of the army stationed in front of Jiankang Imperial Palace, and he is responsible for the affairs of Ma Jun Xingsi.
However, after all, Ma Xingsi is a bodyguard and one of the three yamen. He has a certain degree of independence. Therefore, the internal commanders of the six armies take turns to take charge of management. This is also an old tradition of military management in the Song Dynasty.
At this time, it happened to be Cao Lie's turn to take charge, and Qu Moxuan had recommended him to Zhao Mengqi many times, so Zhao Mengqi wanted to give it a try.
Cao Lie brought his troops here, which was tantamount to taking a stand. The risks were high, but the rewards were also considerable. It was a big gamble.
Zhao Mengqi deliberately chatted with Cao Lie about daily life, which brought them closer to each other and made Cao Lie relax a lot.
"By the way, didn't Qiu Yue stop you from coming?"
Qiu Yue is a bachelor of Baowen Pavilion and the current envoy along the river and knows Jiankang. He is in charge of all the troops on Jiangnan East Road, including the Jiankang imperial garrison and Ma Xingsi.
Cao Lie replied, "I reported it to the bachelor and showed him His Highness's letter. He didn't comment or deny it. He just said that it was up to the general to take care of himself. He must be worried about His Highness's safety."
"Oh, I know." Zhao Mengqi nodded, feeling that Qiu Yue should also be leaning towards him, so he could give it a try.
After the atmosphere relaxed, Cao Lie remembered the business, "Your Highness, the general just blocked the rebels who were escaping by boat on the lake. In addition, the general also took it upon himself to send troops to chase down the rebel deserters on land. "
Zhao Mengqi was a little surprised, "I was just going to tell you about this, hahaha, look, didn't you come at just the right time?"
Soon after, Liu Xiuren, Cui Jianzhang and others were escorted to Zhao Mengqi, kneeling side by side with Liu Xiuli who was tied up.
Fall to the ground.
Liu Xiuli had taken off his clothes, and he was disheveled and looked depressed. His mouth was tightly closed, but his eyes were still unruly.
Zhao Mengqi walked around Liu Xiuli a few times, "Gu is very curious. Logically speaking, your Liu family's affairs are known to Gu, and your best choice is to flee immediately. Why do you want to attack Wujiang? Even if you kill Gu, it will not matter. It’s useless, but you insist on sacrificing so many lives, why bother? You’re going to die anyway, can you tell me your reasons?”
Liu Xiuli squinted at Zhao Mengqi, "What's there to say? Winners and losers, kill them if you want!"
"Hey, you seem very unconvinced by your defeat?"
Judging from the quality of the rebels, Liu Xiuli was quite good at training, so Zhao Mengqi became a little interested in him. He was not in a hurry to kill him anyway, so he wanted to understand his methods.
"Hmph, when it comes to leading troops in war, Chen Mayu is no match for me. If he hadn't used some insidious tricks that couldn't be put on the table, Wujiang City would have been destroyed by me long ago, and you are the one who is tied up now!"
Liu Xiuli knew that he was going to die, and begging for mercy was useless, so he just fought hard to the end.
Zhao Mengqi smiled, "Haha, then you are blaming the wrong person. Your so-called insidious tricks are actually Gu's ideas, so to be precise, the person who defeated you is Gu."
"Bah, just you?" Liu Xiuli didn't believe it at all.
Chen Xiaokun on the side saw that he was so rude, so he slapped him in the face, "You are a dying man, His Highness needs to lie to you!? Let me tell you, since the water bandits attacked the city last night, His Highness has been commanding the battle. I I'm just responsible for the defense of the city, and it was His Highness's plan to break your turtle formation just now."
"What!? Impossible, absolutely impossible, how could I lose to a young boy!" Liu Xiuli looked shocked, unable to accept this fact.
He prides himself on his talents as a general. Not to mention Chen Xiaokun is not as good as him, not even Jiang Huai can compare with him, and even no one in the entire Song Dynasty can surpass him. It's just that he didn't have the opportunity to show off his talents, otherwise he would definitely become a famous general.
This was something Liu Xiuli had always been proud of, but now he was told that a young boy who was still young could beat him to a complete defeat, and killing people could only do that.
"My judgment is indeed correct. The second son will definitely be a great hero. I just regret that today I fell short of success and failed to prevent this disaster. I'm sweating profusely. I've tried my best!" Cui Jianzhang murmured to himself, his voice like a gnat.
Zhao Mengqi had sharp ears and heard these words clearly, "Great Khan!? Are you a Mongolian female cadre?"
Cui Jianzhang was stunned. He didn't expect that he could be heard even if he spoke so quietly, "I..."
Everyone looked at Cui Jianzhang, but Chen Xiaokun always felt that this person looked familiar, "Your surname is Cui?"
Before Cui Jianzhang could answer, Chen Xiaokun's eyes flashed, and he rushed up and grabbed his collar and lifted it up, "It's really you. You are not a businessman, but a Mongolian craftsman! Say! It was you and Liu who colluded back then. Did you harm Brother Jiang!?"
What's happening here?
Zhao Mengqi was stunned, and then he seemed to think of something, "Chen Du Yuhou, do you know this person? Is he related to the war in Shuzhong that year?"
After hearing Zhao Mengqi's question, Chen Xiaokun calmed down a little, "Your Highness, I have been trying to find this person for these years. When we were sent to Sichuan, this man often came in and out of Liu Xiuli's camp. After the war, he disappeared. I have always wondered before, with Brother Jiang’s caution, how could he fall into the trap of the police so easily. After thinking about it, I always feel that this person is a bit strange, but it is a pity that I have never been able to find him."
After answering Zhao Mengqi, Chen Xiaokun couldn't hold back the urgency in his heart. He raised his fist and pointed it at Cui Jianzhang's cheek, "How did you kill Brother Jiang? Come here quickly, or I will beat you to death!"
Cui Jianzhang was lifted in the air, his face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were full of panic, but he gritted his teeth and said, "So what if he dies? Cui has been loyal and upright all his life. How can he be a person who succumbs to coercion? Cui is indeed the person in charge of confidential matters." , but don’t expect to get any news from Cui!”
Chen Xiaokun was furious. He raised his fist and was about to smash it down, but Zhao Mengqi grabbed him. "Don't worry, how can you ask questions after beating him to death? Just let him down."
There will be a way to get him to talk. "
When Cao Lie and others saw this scene, they were surprised by King Yan's strength, and Chen Xiaokun had to resist his impulse and threw Cui Jianzhang to the ground.
"Your Highness, leave the interrogation to the humble position. With the methods of the Imperial City Division, even if he peed the bed several times as a child, he will be able to find out clearly!" Hou Tao volunteered to take over this business.
Zhao Mengqi waved his hand, "No need to bother."
With that said, he walked up to Cui Jianzhang and said, "Be loyal and upright all your life? Haha, do you think you have a sense of superiority when you treat yourself as a dog to a foreign race? In this case, then I will help you. If you are upright, take off his shoes. Wu Qiong, get a hammer." Come here and crush his toes, one by one!"
its not right!
Aren’t those in high positions the ones who appreciate loyalty?
Shouldn't this King Yan be tolerant and generous, and then treat me with reason and affection, and use his magic weapon to subdue me?
I have already said that I am responsible for the confidentiality, doesn’t he understand the value of that! ?
Cui Jianzhang was dumbfounded. He didn't understand why King Yan didn't follow the routine and his plan of "abandoning Mongolia and surrendering to Song Dynasty" could not be performed.
While he was in a daze, both boots were ripped off. Wu Qiong swung the hammer lightly and hit his big toe, knocking it into a puddle of flesh.
The pain in his heart caused Cui Jianzhang to scream inhumanly and at the same time he woke up.
"Ah!...I'll do it! I'll do it!...I can do anything!...Ah!"
Wu Qiong turned a deaf ear and continued to hit the other big toe.
"Stop! I've done it, I've done it... I have many secrets, I've done it... Please, don't smash it again!"
Wu Qiong was about to hit the fourth toe when Zhao Mengqi said, "Wait a minute, haha, is this your loyalty? It's just three toes. It's really worthless. You know, a person has two hundred and six yuan on his body. Where are the bones? Where are they?"
Cui Jianzhang was shaking with pain and sweating profusely. Hearing Zhao Mengqi's words, the fear in his heart became even more intense. He did not dare to hesitate at all, endured the pain and rushed to explain.
