The gunshots outside the hall gradually became sparse.
Based on Xu Pingxi's many years of military career, it was easy to judge that the battle outside was about to end.
"I blamed you wrongly."
Xu Pingxi put down the gold- and jade-encrusted cigarette he had smoked all night, sighed, and then said this sincerely to Ouyang Hai, who was sitting opposite him.
Ouyang Hai sat on an iron chair, his whole body tied with iron chains, his hands pinned behind the chair, and a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. His thick and beautiful bangs were already wet with sweat and stuck tightly to his body. His forehead looked very embarrassed.
But Ouyang Hai still had a smile on his face.
"Would it be too late for you to apologize now?"
He smiled and said to his commander:
"Also, while you're apologizing, could you please untie these things from me first?"
Xu Pingxi apologized and was about to order someone to untie the chains on Staff Ouyang. However, when he looked around the hall, he found that except for him and Ouyang Hai, there was no one else in the hall. People.
All the guards had gone outside to fight, and hearing the gunshots outside gradually subsided, they should all be dead by now.
Those personal guards may be the only group of soldiers loyal to them in Jingcheng today. It's a pity...
Xu Pingxi sighed sadly again.
It all started when Shu Guan sent him the list a month ago.
After learning that even the chief staff officer in his staff room had betrayed him, Xu Pingxi almost lost any sense of trust in his subordinates in Jingcheng.
But he did not attack Ouyang Hai directly at that time, nor did he attack anyone on that list.
He had to wait for his sworn brother Tang Huanpei to come to Jingcheng with his army before he could start to eliminate the rebellion.
Because the number of troops transferred from Xiangzhou has changed from one division to one army, the time will naturally be delayed a lot.
The cross-continental mobilization of 20,000 to 30,000 troops is not a simple matter. Arms, equipment, and logistical support are all very troublesome.
So on the tenth day after getting the list, the vanguard of Tang Huanpei's army entered Jingcheng. This was only possible because of the outstanding military skills and abilities of Tang Huanpei, a veteran on the battlefield.
Five days later, Tang Huanpei's Second Army finally arrived in Jingcheng.
However, Xu Pingxi still did not take action immediately. Although he had the strength to eliminate all the traitors under his command at that time, the cost of taking action directly would be too high and he might cripple half of Jingcheng.
Xu Pingxi naturally didn't want to see such a result.
He was not like Zhang Laogao in the Northeast, who lost his troops and generals in a counter-insurgency battle and severely damaged his own vitality.
So after Tang Huanpei's army arrived in Jingcheng, relying on the suppression of this army, he carried out a series of continuous personnel transfers, such as replacing the original security commander of Jingcheng, changing the commanders of several armies, and vacating some of the troops. The actual power of the generals who appeared on this list.
Of course, doing these things cannot be too intense, and you cannot change them all at once, otherwise it will easily arouse suspicion and trigger mutiny.
So it took Xu Pingxi another dozen days, issuing two or three personnel orders every day, to slowly complete Le Zi's planning and layout.
Finally, it was time to get started.
The day Xu Pingxi chose to take action was today.
In the morning, Xu Pingxi specially found an excuse to accompany his grandma to his hometown of Xiangcheng to relax, and sent his ninety-year-old mother and daughter Xu Chuxiang out of the city.
Although Xu Pingxi was very confident that he could easily suppress those men who secretly communicated with the Kingdom of the Rising Sun, Xu Pingxi still sent his mother and daughter away from Jingcheng just in case.
Moreover, the atmosphere in Jingcheng was indeed a bit wrong during this period, so it would be good for them to leave for a while.
Although Xu Chuxiang was a little unhappy because the construction period of the building she designed and presided over was reaching a critical moment, she could not bear the responsibility of accompanying her grandma to Xiangcheng and finally left.
Then in the evening, Xu Pingxi ordered his second brother Tang Huanpei, who was stationed in the Jiangyang military camp, to indicate that he could start a city-wide purge according to that list.
After giving this order, Xu Pingxi issued another order, that is, to capture Ouyang Hai, the chief chief staff officer of his staff room, and to interrogate him personally.
At that time, Ouyang Hai was pouring himself a drink in his room, and then a group of Xu Pingxi's personal guards, armed with live ammunition, kicked open the door and broke in. They pointed their guns at his head and were then escorted in front of Xu Pingxi tied up.
Ouyang Hai's expression was very strange at that time.
He looked at Xu Pingxi carefully for a while with a rather unexpected and admiring look, and then asked a question.
"How did you know?"
"If you don't want others to know, you have to do nothing."
While smoking a dry cigarette, Xu Pingxi said proudly to his chief staff officer with a smile:
"I said a god told me this, do you believe it?"
"Gods don't care about these things."
Ouyang Hai thought for a moment, then muttered.
"Tell me, what is your relationship with that girl from the Kingdom of the Rising Sun?"
"Well, you better be honest, I don't want to torture you."
Then Xu Pingxi started to get to the point.
But his question made Ouyang Hai look extremely shocked.
"What woman from the Land of the Rising Sun?"
"It's the girl from the Kingdom of the Rising Sun named Sakurako Nakata who came here last time. When I saw the way you looked at each other, I felt that you two were having an affair."
"...You asked people to arrest me because of this incident. Do you think I am a spy from the Kingdom of the Rising Sun?"
"Otherwise? Or are you hiding something else from me?"
But Ouyang Hai didn't reply. He frowned tightly and began to lower his head in thought again, as if he was thinking about a very complicated matter.
Usually when he was helping Xu Pingxi formulate a battle plan in the war room, he never had such a serious expression.
Xu Pingxi began to urge impatiently.
"I don't want to torture you because you have done a lot for me in the past few years, but that doesn't mean I won't torture you. So if you don't want to suffer, you'd better give me an honest explanation immediately. "
Ouyang Hai seemed to have finally figured something out at this time. He raised his head, looked at Xu Pingxi with a very sympathetic look and said:
"I'm not sure whether I'll suffer or not, but I'm sure you'll suffer soon."
"Besides, I did have something to do with Sakurako, but her surname is definitely not Nakata. When I met her, her surname was Yuan."
Xu Pingxi was suddenly startled.
Not only because Ouyang Hai used a nonchalant attitude to show that he was the one who wanted to suffer.
What's more, Ouyang Hai said that the woman from the Kingdom of the Rising Sun was not named Nakata but Yuan.
source?
Although Xu Pingxi is a rough man, he also knows that the surname Yuan is the surname of the royal family of the Rising Sun Kingdom.
This is also one of the oldest surnames in the Eastern Continent, as ancient as the Ji surname of the royal family of the Great China Dynasty.
At this moment, a thunderous sound suddenly sounded in the sky outside the house.
Then purple-black lightning lit up half of the sky.
Then there was the faint sound of gunfire coming from far away.
Xu Pingxi knew that Tang Huanpei's purge operation had begun.
But for some reason, his mood was not happy at all. Instead, he became inexplicably restless. So he turned cold and said to Ouyang Hai:
"I don't care whether that woman's surname is Nakata or Yuan. What is her relationship with you? What is her purpose in arranging for you to lurk next to me? How much information have you stolen to give to the Japanese?"
Ouyang Hai sighed, his expression became a little melancholy and said:
"She and I were indeed old lovers, but after I returned from the Kingdom of the Rising Sun, I lost contact with her."
"Besides, she didn't arrange me to be with you."
"Every word I say now is the truth. As for whether you believe it or not, it's up to you!"
"I believe you, you big-headed devil..."
Xu Pingxi just uttered a curse word, but was interrupted by a burst of gunfire as fierce as fried beans.
The sound of gunfire just now was very far away, and it basically came from the direction of Jiangyang.
But the gunfire now was so close that it seemed to be ringing from outside the manor on Lion Slope.
Xu Pingxi's expression changed in shock.
"I told you, you're about to suffer."
Ouyang Hai sighed again.
Because of the loud gunshots outside the house, it was quickly figured out.
Because several officers from Xu Pingxi's personal guard rushed in nervously.
"People from the Second Army sneaked up on us and they rebelled!"
The usual guarding of Shizi Slope, where Xu Pingxi's mansion is located, was originally handled by his personal guards, which numbered about one company.
After Tang Huanpei brought the Second Army to Jingcheng, in order to strengthen the defense of Shizi Slope, he specially sent a regiment of troops over.
So Xu Pingxi's original personal guard was responsible for the defense of the manor, while the defense outside the manor was handed over to the regiment sent by Tang Huanpei.
Now, the regiment of Tang Huanpei's Second Army suddenly surrounded Xu Pingxi's manor and launched an attack.
What happened is self-evident.
When Xu Pingxi received the report for the first time, his whole body seemed to be frozen, and he stood there for a long time, but there was not much change in expression on his face.
Then he took out the cigarette rod from his waist, sat on the Taishi chair and started smoking silently.
Naturally, all the guards in the hall were sent out to fight.
According to the report of the guard officer who came in just now, the entire manor has been completely surrounded, and the enemy seems to have sent an additional regiment to seal all the roads under the Lion Slope.
There was definitely no way to escape, so Xu Pingxi could only stay in this hall and wait for the outcome of the battle.
Only Xu Pingxi and Ouyang Hai were left in the hall.
But Xu Pingxi seemed to have forgotten Ouyang Hai and kept smoking for a full hour. It was not until the gunshots outside the hall began to fade away that he finally put down the cigarette rod and said sorry to Ouyang Hai.
…
Looking at Xu Pingxi, who was walking toward him and preparing to untie himself, and whose appearance seemed to have suddenly aged more than ten years, Ouyang Hai couldn't help but ask with some sympathy.
"How do you feel now? The majestic King Xiang of Chu. Now that everyone has betrayed and separated from his relatives, doesn't it feel good?"
It's just that his original intention in replying was to comfort Xu Pingxi, but his words were still the same as before, making it sound like he was being sarcastic.
Xu Pingxi grinned. There was no desolation in his smile, just some regret.
"In my entire life, when I was a child, my family was so poor that we couldn't even afford food, but in the end, I was able to dominate the two continents of Chu and Hunan. I had more than 100,000 tiger warriors under my command, and I slept with so many women. I have enjoyed all the blessings in this world. , Life has long been enough."
"This time my mother and daughter have also left Jingcheng. The money I left for them in Shencheng Bank will not be spent in ten lifetimes."
"If there is something that makes me unhappy, it is that I have been blocking the Chu and Hunan governors for all these years, and I have not let the foreigners or the Japanese from the Kingdom of the Rising Sun take any advantage. But in the future, I may not be able to do so. The two continents of Chu and Hunan The master behind the scenes may become a Japanese."
"If I had known this, I might as well have handed over the two continents to the central government earlier. It is better than falling into the hands of the Japanese."
Xu Pingxi walked up to Ouyang Hai and prepared to untie him from the iron chains.
"Actually, it doesn't seem necessary to untie it. I might be able to survive for a while, but you are definitely dead."
"Don't be so sure, and please don't curse people to death casually."
Ouyang Hai replied dissatisfiedly.
At this moment, the gunfire outside the hall completely subsided, and then there were the sounds of many people running towards this direction. Soon a large group of soldiers rushed into the hall and pointed their guns at the two people in the hall.
These are naturally rebels.
There were no surprises in the outcome of the battle. Although Xu Pingxi's guards were composed of the most elite soldiers in the army, and even included many martial arts masters, the disparity in numbers was too great after all. The opponent had two regiments, and they were also equipped with mortars. The ability to resist heavy weapons such as artillery for several hours is enough to prove the strength of Xu Pingxi's guard.
Xu Pingxi's eyes slowly swept across the faces of the soldiers who rushed into the hall.
No one dared to meet his eyes.
Everyone subconsciously looked away, with more or less a look of shame on their faces.
"Who dares to point a gun at me!"
Xu Pingxi suddenly let out a loud shout.
Although he was at the end of his rope, this old man, who looked extremely ugly but could also be majestic, still looked like a majestic lion.
Many of the soldiers surrounding Xu Pingxi lowered their guns subconsciously.
Although they belong to the Second Army, they are still soldiers under Xu Pingxi's command. Before tonight, many of them didn't even know that they had to deal with Marshal Xu, who had a high prestige in their minds.
Then there was another sound of footsteps outside the hall. Before entering the door, I heard someone laughing and saying:
"Brother, your majesty is still the same as before!"
Following this voice, several soldiers wearing officer uniforms strode in, led by Tang Huanpei, Xu Pingxi's sworn brother.
Tang Huanpei had a smile on his face, feeling proud and full of ambition.
Xu Pingxi looked at his sworn brother, his eyes slowly turning cold.
"Originally, I was still thinking about whether you were restrained by your men like me. This rebellion was actually started by your men."
"But now it seems that I am blind myself."
"Haha, brother, your judgment of people has really become bad in the past few years."
Tang Huanpei waved his hand, and one of his subordinates behind him threw a head over to Xu Pingxi's feet.
It was the head of an old man with snow-white hair. Although his face was covered in blood, Xu Pingxi recognized the head at a glance. It belonged to Cheng Dahai, the division commander who had just been dismissed a few days ago.
"This old guy is very loyal to you. I asked him to follow me from now on, but this old guy brought his guard platoon and charged me directly. He refused to surrender until he died. If it weren't for you After removing him from his post, he now has no military power. If I want to disarm his division, I really can't."
Tang Huanpei said calmly.
Every word he said was like a sharp arrow piercing Xu Pingxi's heart.
Xu Pingxi finally changed his color.
Since the rebellion started tonight, Xu Pingxi has remained calm, even indifferent.
But at this moment, his body was trembling slightly, and grief finally appeared on his face.
He stared at the head of the veteran who had been with him for many years at his feet.
In fact, the time that Old Man Cheng stayed with him was not much shorter than that of Tang Huanpei, but the old man was a little naughty and timid when he was young, so he could only become a teacher in the end, and Xu Pingxi saw that he had been with him for many years. Those who are promoted without merit but with hard work are the exception.
Last time, the old man kept nagging him to cooperate with the Rising Sun people, and there was also evidence on the list that the old man Cheng had accepted gifts from the Rising Sun people. Xu Pingxi's investigation was very clear, so he spared Cheng Dahai a few days ago. position of teacher.
It's just that this Cheng Dahai, although he is an old Hutu, must have really received money from the people of the Rising Sun Country.
But Hutu returns to Hutu, but he will never let me down, Xu Pingxi!
Xu Pingxi regretted the decision he made a few days ago.
Xu Pingxi slowly raised his head and looked at his second brother Tang Huanpei, who had also been with him for half his life before tonight. There was indifference, pain, and confusion in his eyes.
"Why?"
He asked Tang Huanpei in a dumb voice:
"You have never been greedy for money, sex or power in your life. What did those Japanese people use to bribe you?"
Ouyang Hai, who was still tied to the iron chair at this time, also had a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
Yes, after his observation over the past few years, this Tang Huanpei is indeed a very honest and responsible person.
Before tonight, he would never have imagined that Tang Huanpei would rebel against Xu Pingxi.
So how did the people of the Rising Sun country make Tang Huanpei rebel against Xu Pingxi?
Ouyang Hai was also extremely curious.
