Faced with the words of persecution from the county magistrate Zhang Woyi, Liu Guoneng replied with a sneer: "Since the county parents also want to surrender to the bandits, I dare not say more words, but the county parents should also think that they have received the country's favor and food. How will those who receive the emperor's salary treat the emperor in the future?
Even if the people in Ye County can understand the county parents' love for the people, how can the national law understand the county parents? "
Zhang Woyi didn't take Liu Guoneng's sarcastic words seriously at all, and still said to him very patiently: "The day before yesterday, the honorable Cao Sizheng of Xiangcheng County surrendered to the bandits and donated mules, horses, grain and grain, and the whole city was saved.
The county also thinks that at this time, it is necessary to use the power to make changes. We cannot stick to the word "loyalty". We must first protect the people of the city. When the traitors retreat, we will still defend the territory for the court. Isn't it the best of both worlds? "
Liu Guoneng shook his head and sneered again, "I'm afraid it will be too late to regret it by then!"
While everyone in the meeting hall was arguing endlessly, someone suddenly rushed into the meeting hall and delivered the second "Xiaoyu" arrow letter that King Chuang had shot into the city.
The gentry surnamed Chen, who had previously firmly advocated surrendering to the bandits, actually ignored the presence of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu Guoneng and County Magistrate Zhang Woyi, and took the lead to grab the "Xiao Yu" into his own hands. He looked at it once, and his expression changed drastically.
I just heard him say loudly: "Everyone...you don't have to fight anymore, please listen to me... read..."
All the gentry were also urging with great urgency, shouting: "Hurry... read it quickly!"
So, the gentleman surnamed Chen held Li Zicheng's "Xiao Yu" with slightly trembling fingers and read out loud: "I save the people and fight against crime, but I am terrorizing the innocent people. I tell you again to break the city early tomorrow morning..."
Everyone in the hall didn't wait for him to finish reciting all the "Xiao Yu", but when they heard "break the city in advance tomorrow morning", they started talking one after another.
Someone said: "Oh, why are we going to attack the city tomorrow morning? We were told that we would have two days to decide whether to surrender, but why only one day?"
Another one immediately answered: "How good...how can this be good..."
Another one murmured to himself in a low voice: "You are threatening innocent people, but you still want to attack the city in advance?..."
The gentleman named Chen ignored what others were saying and raised his voice and continued reading:
"Quickly negotiate to open the door and surrender, Paul will not be surprised.
If the state is willing to surrender, it will be treated with leniency and tolerance as per the rules.
No questions asked about previous crimes, I hope you will be loyal and perform meritorious service. "
After he finished reciting all the "Xiaoyu", there was a sudden silence in the hall, and you could hear a pin drop. Everyone looked at each other, and finally their eyes focused on Liu Guoneng's face again, quietly waiting for his statement.
Liu Guoneng still had a sense of luck at this time. When he learned that Li Zicheng's original two-day limit for surrender was suddenly reduced by one day, Zuo Liangyu's troops must have come to rescue Nanyang, which made him dare not stay here too long. , that’s why he acted like this.
He thought that since Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai did not dare to stay outside the city of Ye County for a long time, it was better to work together to defend the city. As long as they could not break it for a few days, the traitors would be able to retreat. .
However, when Liu Guoneng said his conjecture, the gentleman surnamed Chen immediately retorted loudly: "I don't think so. In my opinion, it must be King Li Chuang who saw that the soldiers and civilians in our city have no intention of holding on, so he ordered the decision to be made today." To surrender or not to surrender.
A general cannot destroy the lives of the people of our city just for the sake of one person's reputation! "
As soon as he said this, there was a chorus of agreement in the hall. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu Guoneng knew that his situation was very isolated. If all the officials and gentry in the city were unwilling to defend, it would be difficult for his two thousand troops to defend Ye County. Not broken.
Liu Guoneng was silent for a while, then he couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said, "Everyone, why don't we discuss it tonight. I, Mr. Liu, will never implicate the officials and gentry of a city no matter what!"
…………
After seeing off the magistrate Zhang Woyi and all the gentry, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu Guoneng climbed onto the city wall and inspected from south to north, wanting to see if there was still a possibility of breaking out.
However, he saw that there were rebel camps outside the city, and Dingye County was surrounded on all sides. There was no way for him to take advantage of it. If he forced his way out of the encirclement, he would be trapped in it and it would be difficult to escape.
At this moment, it was the crisp autumn season. The weather was clear and cloudless. Even on Woyang Mountain, which was ten miles away, many flags could be vaguely fluttering. It seemed that the way to escape had indeed been completely cut off.
After sunset, the county magistrate Zhang Woyi and the gentry elders came to look for him again, asking him to make a decision quickly, so as not to affect the lives of the people in the city. They repeatedly forced Liu Guoneng and kept telling him that if he didn't make a decision tonight, the rebel army would be in danger tomorrow morning. If we attack the city, it will be too late.
Seeing them like this, Liu Guoneng felt helpless, but he was helpless. He paced back and forth in the hall, sighing repeatedly, but even so, he still did not utter any words of surrender.
In his opinion, the hard persecution from the county magistrate Zhang Woyi and the old gentry in various villages seemed to be more troublesome to him than the bandits of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai outside the city, but he was helpless.
Finally, Liu Guoneng stared, turned around and said to a general: "Go to the south gate tower and shout outside the city, saying that we will leave the city at midnight tomorrow and meet King Chuang in person.
Please ask King Chuang to suspend the attack on the city tomorrow morning to prevent the innocent people of the city from suffering. "
The general asked doubtfully: "Do you mean that the general has decided to surrender?"
Liu Guoneng's eyes widened and he shouted: "Just tell me what I say, why bother asking? This town just went to see Li Zicheng in person, where did you get the surrender?"
"Follow the order!"
The general no longer had ink marks. After receiving the order loudly, he quickly turned around and exited the hall.
Here, Liu Guoneng said to everyone in the hall: "The county parents and all the village elders, please go away. Please tell the people of Hecheng that they can rest assured that the thieves will not attack the city of Ye County again.
I, Liu, cannot be loyal to the emperor in guarding the city, but I should sacrifice my life to save the people of Hecheng and prevent you from being massacred. "
Seeing this, everyone could only withdraw silently.
Some of them also secretly praised Liu Guoneng in their hearts. After all, he was a generous and loyal man, while others thought that he was forced to surrender today and might still be a "thief" in the future. What's more, some even secretly guessed that Liu Guoneng could see Chuang. Will the Queen be killed by King Chuang?
However, these thoughts were kept secretly in their hearts without being expressed. The biggest thing at the moment was to surrender to King Chuang to avoid being ravaged by the bandits and their lives would be ruined.
The county magistrate Zhang Woyi also wanted to leave the meeting hall with everyone, but was stopped by Liu Guoneng, the deputy commander-in-chief, who told him in a sincere tone: "Tomorrow the thieves will enter the city. I hope the county parents can endure the humiliation and bear the heavy burden and not let down the people of Hecheng."
After hearing these words, Zhang Woyi wondered whether Liu Guoneng would commit suicide tonight. Although he also advocated surrender, he felt a little bit in his heart that Liu Guoneng could be so loyal to the court even though he was a bandit and was promoted as the deputy commander-in-chief. disturbed.
At that moment, Zhang Woyi persuaded him: "I heard that King Li Chuang has a generous heart, and General Kuang has an old acquaintance with him, so he will definitely treat the general with great courtesy.
As long as the general's loyalty remains intact, it will not be too late to serve the imperial court in the future! "
Liu Guoneng was speechless. He sneered several times full of grief and indignation, but did not say a word. He just cupped his hands and walked back to the inner house by himself.
…………
On the morning of October 12th, the sunshine was particularly bright and dazzling. Although the ground was slightly frosty, it did not appear to be very cold.
After breakfast, Liu Zongmin, the general of the intruder army and the general sentry of the camp, was dressed in armor and rushed outside the city. However, he saw that the rebels had prepared siege ladders and more than a dozen cannons were mounted on the earthen city outside Nanguan, which was dark. The muzzle of the gun was aimed at the south gate of Ye County.
When it was just past midnight, a white flag appeared on the city tower at the south gate of Ye County. It was waved repeatedly. Then a large basket was placed on the city, and two people sat in it and slowly lowered it down to the city.
Liu Guoneng took his ten-year-old son out of the basket, crossed the dry ditch, and headed straight to where Liu Zongmin was standing. He bowed his hands from a distance and asked loudly: "But General Jiexuan? Where is Zicheng?" ah?"
A slight smile appeared on Liu Zongmin's tense face. He returned the salute at first, then turned over and jumped off his horse, replying: "It is Zongmin who is waiting here. King Chuang is not far ahead. Junchen, please follow me." Just meet each other."
Li Zicheng had moved to a high ground two miles away from the city yesterday. Now he was sitting firmly in the military tent, discussing with Song Xiance the military attack on Nanyang and Kaifeng, and waiting for Liu Guoneng to come and surrender.
Although he expected that Liu Guoneng would definitely come, in order to prevent him from playing tricks and using this as a delaying strategy, he ordered the commander-in-chief Liu Zongmin to bombard him with artillery if Liu Guoneng did not leave the city on time.
If he doesn't come out of the city to surrender again, then we will attack and beat him hard from all sides.
At the same time, Li Zicheng tried to win over the people in southern Henan, and repeatedly told Liu Zongmin to send orders to the entire army. After entering the city, he would only kill Liu Guoneng, and not kill the people in the city rashly.
Even for Liu Guoneng's soldiers, those who are willing to surrender must not be killed and must be properly placed.
Cao Cao and Luo Rucai also concluded that King Chuang would kill Liu Guoneng, but he neither wanted to save Liu Guoneng's life from King Chuang nor wanted to be known as a friend-killer, so he pretended to be unwell and stayed in his tent to participate in the future. Today's siege military.
Li Zicheng saw these little thoughts of his, but his heart was extremely bright, but now he still had a lot to borrow from Luo Rucai, so he didn't care about it.
Just when Li Zicheng and Song Xian were planning to capture Nanyang, a soldier came into the tent and reported: "Vice General Liu came to surrender and has already arrived outside the tent."
Li Zicheng gestured to Li Shuangxi with the corner of his mouth, and Li Shuangxi immediately ordered the soldier: "Invite him in."
Immediately, a shout came from outside the big tent: "Please!"
Liu Guoneng followed Liu Zongmin into the tent, closely followed by his ten-year-old son. Wu Ruyi, the general of King Chuang who was ordered to wait outside the camp gate, also entered the tent with them.
Li Zicheng and Song Xiance stood up at the same time to greet him. After he and Liu Guoneng bowed to each other, he took a step forward, took Liu Guoneng's hand cordially, and said, "Junchen, I have been separated from my dear friend for several years, but I didn't expect to meet again here.
All the things in the past will be written off from today on. I will never remember them in my heart. I hope to work with my dear friend again and conspire with the world, okay? "
Faced with Li Zicheng's kind invitation, Liu Guoneng refused: "Zicheng, after we parted ways with you, we went our separate ways. I didn't want to meet here today, but we already have our own masters.
Brother Yu came here today just to die, with no other ideas! "
Li Zicheng quickly said: "My dear friend, why did you say this? Please sit down and talk quickly. I really don't hold back any old grudges, and I say that I will work with you from my sincerity.
Come... sit down, sit down quickly. "
After Liu Guoneng sat down, Li Zicheng asked him to surrender again, but Liu Guoneng had already made up his mind and said bluntly: "Zicheng, I don't tell lies in front of real people, so please don't persuade me anymore.
A man dares to act bravely. Now that I have been taken care of by the imperial court, I can no longer rebel. All your words to persuade me are in vain. I came to Baozhang this time just to die quickly, and I didn’t want to go back alive. "
Liu Zongmin also persuaded him from the side: "Junchen, what you said is nonsense! You were also a suffering person. It was only because of your confusion that you surrendered to the imperial court. Now you can look back."
You are not the filial son and grandson of that old dog Chongzhen, so there is no need to die for him. "
After hearing what he said, Liu Guoneng replied unhappily: "Jixuan, how can you speak like this? Your Majesty is my lord, and I am a military minister of the imperial court. It is my duty to be loyal to you!"
Liu Zongmin couldn't help but show contempt on his face. He snorted coldly, but saw King Chuang winking at him, but did not say the curse words below.
King Chuang still persisted in persuading: "Junchen, although you are willing to be loyal to the court, the Ming Dynasty has run out of energy and cannot survive for a few more years. Why not find another way out?"
Liu Guoneng looked resolute and said in a cold tone: "Brother Fool was ordered by the court to be recruited by the imperial court, so he deserves to be trusted and reused by the emperor today. If he is not loyal to the emperor today, how will he see his late mother underground?"
Song Xiance also interjected at this time: "General Liu, please think again. Just now, King Chuang has already said that the Ming Dynasty is exhausted. If the general can work with King Chuang, he will be the founding father of the country in the future."
It is much better to be a founding father of the new dynasty than to be a loyal minister to Jie and Zhou. "
After listening to his words, Liu Guoneng felt angry. He clasped his fists towards the north and said: "The current emperor is not Jie Zhou, nor has he been immoral. It is just that the officials are ignorant and he is here today.
What's more, it is still unknown whether the Ming Dynasty has been exhausted. Please don't say this too early, Mr. Song. "
Seeing this, Li Zicheng knew that Liu Guoneng had surrendered to the court wholeheartedly and would never work with him again no matter what. He sighed and said, "Junchen, we are both fellow countrymen and sworn brothers.
Since you want to be loyal to the court and to that foolish emperor Chongzhen, there is nothing I can do to stop you. If you have anything else to say today, I will try my best to comply with it. "
Liu Guoneng said very generously: "As my brother, I only ask that after you enter the city, don't kill anyone indiscriminately among the officials, gentry and people in the city."
Li Zicheng smiled and said to him: "Why do you need to give me these instructions?"
He then pulled Liu Guoneng's son in front of him, held him on his knees, caressed him for a while, and then said to Liu Guoneng: "Junchen, you are willing to die, don't you think about this child?"
(End of chapter)
