"Zuo thief, you are here too!" Li Guo yelled and cursed when he saw him.
Liu Tichun stared at Zuo Liangyu and said with hatred: "Your precious son took the initiative to run out and ask us for food. Haha, we risked ourselves. In order to reunite your father and son, we took the initiative to greet the officers and soldiers. We are very loyal. Bar?"
"Zuo thief, you and your son must pay for my adoptive father's life!" Li Dingguo said excitedly and sharply when he saw Zuo Liangyu.
At this moment, he could still remember the scene when Zuo Liangyu hacked Zhang Xianzhong to death.
"..."
Listening to the thieves shouting and cursing Zuo Liangyu, Chen Qiyu probably understood what was going on. Chen Qiyu's face suddenly darkened. He bowed his head and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, these thieves cannot be kept. I am a humble minister. If you see it, you should kill it!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little strange. He looked away, looked at him, and asked curiously: "Oh, how can you see it?"
"These bandits are all seeking revenge on the left bandits, and would rather take their own lives." Chen Qiyu immediately responded, "It can be seen that they are completely devoted to the bandit leader. They must be the best friends of the original bandit leader, and they must be dissatisfied with the imperial court. No matter how you deal with it, it is a disaster!"
"Oh? Is that so?" After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was noncommittal and turned to look down the city, seeing the four bandits shouting and scolding Zuo Liangyu.
Chen Qiyu was a little confused about what he meant, so he turned to look at the bottom of the city, wanting to see again what the emperor was looking at, and what was special about the people below?
After a while, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly said: "Actually, in my opinion, these four thieves risked their lives to do this, which is kind of righteous! They must have prepared for the worst before they came. , even if they might be killed. However, they still came here to avenge their former leader. If they were more selfish..."
It seemed that something was wrong. He paused and thought for a moment before continuing: "It's not selfish. They can make an excuse for themselves, saying that Zuo Liangyu will die if he falls into the hands of the imperial court. The hatred of their leader That would be considered retribution. However, they did not, but threw themselves into the trap, just to bring Zuo Menggeng and let Zuo Liangyu know the pain of losing a loved one."
When Emperor Chongzhen said this, he turned to look at Chen Qiyu and said: "In this world today, there are not many people who are kind and righteous!"
Hearing this, Chen Qiyu couldn't help but fell silent.
In the officialdom, he has experienced ups and downs in officialdom, especially when he was exiled to the frontier before, and he saw clearly the changing world. A compassionate person? Haha, I’ve never seen it before! Those whom you usually see smiling faces in the officialdom are considered good if they don't step on you when you are in trouble!
As for those people who are usually brothers and sisters among thieves, or in the market, don't have too many stabbings in the back! It is indeed rare to see someone like this sacrificing his life for the sake of friendship.
As he was thinking, Emperor Chongzhen had already looked towards the city and suddenly said loudly: "Bring the four of them up!"
Hearing this, the officers and soldiers below looked up and were startled to find that the emperor was there.
Just now, they saw the four thieves yelling and scolding Zuo Liangyu, so they didn't push them and just let them scold them. Unexpectedly, the emperor was watching from the top of the city.
"According to the order!" These cavalry soldiers did not dare to neglect and responded quickly in unison.
When Li Guo and others heard this, they all subconsciously looked up. For a moment, they forgot to scold Zuo Liangyu for venting his anger.
I saw a young man standing on top of the city. He was wearing bright yellow clothes and seemed to have a dragon embroidered on them. Beside him was an official wearing a scarlet robe. Needless to say, this young man was the emperor. He looked very friendly and didn't look grim when he saw them.
When they wanted to take a closer look, the officers and soldiers urged them. When the emperor spoke, they did not dare to neglect it.
On the top of the city, after Chen Qiyu heard this, he quickly reminded: "Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. They are ruthless thieves who are not afraid of death..."
He still wanted to speak, but Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "Why, am I still afraid of the four of them? What does Li Qing think?"
When Li Ruolian, the commander of the Jin Yiwei who had been standing by the side, heard this, he immediately cupped his fists and said: "The general is here, please protect His Majesty's safety!"
Just kidding, there are a bunch of royal guards here, and those who can be around the emperor are all selected elites. Just these four bandits, search them, and ask them to keep their distance, what else can they pose!
In fact, after Emperor Chongzhen traveled to this era, he certainly knew that the martial arts masters on TV in later generations were all nonsense.
Lu Xiangsheng must be brave and powerful, right?
But if he had to fight with his bare hands against a group of elite armed guards, believe it or not, he would not be able to get close and would be killed.
As for the battlefield, Lu Xiangsheng has armor, weapons, and personal guards to protect him, so that he can display his powerful combat power!
There are some archery masters who can pierce the Yangtze River with a hundred steps, and Emperor Chongzhen has seen several of them. However, you must at least have a bow and arrow to show your strength, right?
Throughout the dynasties, it seems that it has never happened that an emperor was killed from the front with bare hands. At least Emperor Chongzhen did not remember such an unlucky emperor.
Chen Qiyu saw that the commander of the Jinyi Guards had made a promise. Thinking about it, he felt that he was really making a fuss, so he never saw this again.
Under the city, when passing through the city gate, the youngest Li Laiheng suddenly said: "Look at the dog... the emperor seems to be very clean, how can he look like he is going to save people himself!"
As soon as he spoke, the officers and soldiers escorting them turned their heads and glared at him. Although he paused just now, these officers and soldiers were not fools, and they immediately heard that he had just cursed the emperor.
However, seeing that he was still young, the leading officer whispered solemnly: "For the sake of your kindness and righteousness, you'd better keep your mouth shut. The emperor is dedicated to the people, not thieves like you." Anyone who has the right to question it!”
Just now, all the officers and soldiers almost unanimously glared at him. If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely wet his pants. However, even though Li Laiheng had experienced a lot and had a strong endurance, he felt the pressure and stopped saying anything.
Li Guo was slightly surprised, because he could see that these officers and soldiers respected the emperor from the bottom of their hearts, just like they respected King Chuang from the bottom of their hearts. This emperor is really different from what he imagined!
After passing through the city gate, we came to Wengcheng. This place is guarded by the Jinyi Guards. Jinyiwei Qianhu Liu Yue led his men and handed over the four bandits.
A special military officer in uniform began to search him very carefully, not missing any part.
Li Guo and others naturally knew that this was the proper meaning. They cooperate very well and do whatever is asked.
But just for a moment, Liu Tichun stared at Liu Yue. The more he looked at him, the more doubts appeared on his face. Finally, he couldn't help it anymore and asked Liu Yue, "Do you have a twin brother?"
Hearing his words, several other people couldn't help but look over and felt that Liu Yue looked familiar.
When Liu Yue saw him, he knew why he asked so, so he replied: "No need to guess, the person next to General Liu is me!"
"Ah..." Liu Tichun lost his voice when he heard this, "The traitor who broke into Taotian..."
When Liu Yue heard this, he immediately interrupted and shouted: "Stop your mouth, General Liu's loyalty to the country, how can it be compared to you thieves? If nothing else, how many lives were lost just outside Nanyang City? You are the only ones He is a traitor among the common people! If you really ask me, all of you should be like the left thieves, let you also taste the loss of your family and your family, life and death!"
Upon hearing this, the person being spoken to was unconvinced and immediately retorted.
"Do you think we are willing to rebel? We have already tasted the feeling of family destruction and death!"
"I am less than ten years old and I am an orphan. My adoptive father adopted me. Otherwise, I would have been eaten by others!"
"..."
Arguing unconvinced made the city a little louder. When Liu Yue saw this, he frowned and shouted: "That's enough. Is this the reason why you have caused so many people to have their families broken up and their lives to be separated?"
Staring at them angrily, he didn't even bother to say anything. He pointed at the four of them and said, "When I see the emperor, please be honest!"
After finishing speaking, he waved his hand and said: "Take it away!" Then he turned and walked towards the city.
There were two Jinyi guards holding one between them, and there were also Jinyi guards with swords watching them.
During this process, from beginning to end, Li Guo remained silent. Even when he understood that breaking into the sky was actually a matter within the imperial court, he didn't have any special reaction. However, when he heard Liu Yue yelling at them, his expression finally changed, and he lowered his head and was speechless.
As soon as they reached the top of the city and heard the noise coming from the city, Li Guo subconsciously turned his head to look.
More than half of the houses in the city were in ruins. However, on the ruins everywhere, there were officers and soldiers in military uniforms. They did not hold swords and guns, but were busy carrying mud and wood from the ruins with their bare hands. Among them, there were many people wearing common people's clothes, who were also busy together.
This harmonious scene between the military and civilians was deeply imprinted in Li Guo's mind at this moment, shocking him to the point of standing still with an incredible look on his face.
His abnormality quickly attracted the attention of several other people. Following his gaze into the city, they were all stunned. Even the youngest Li Laiheng was surprised and said: "This...how is this possible?"
Seeing their surprised expressions, the captain in charge of guarding them felt proud for some reason. One of the imperial guards in Jinyi even said something extravagantly: "When we were in Jingyang, the emperor personally took us to cull the locusts with the people of Jingyang City. That was truly spectacular! Tsk, the smell of locusts..."
"Don't delay, the emperor is still waiting!" Liu Yue saw the emperor turning his head and spoke quickly, urging them to leave quickly.
This time, none of the four bandits spoke, with shock on their faces as they were brought to Emperor Chongzhen.
"Kneel down, kneel down..."
The captain of the Jinyi Guards shouted, asking the four thieves to kneel down.
Li Laiheng and Liu Tichun were stubborn and didn't want to kneel down. When they were about to fight, they were surprised to see Li Guo kneeling down on his own initiative. Following that, Li Dingguo also knelt down.
This made the two of them hesitate for a moment, then they knelt down without resisting.
Emperor Chongzhen saw this scene in his eyes and just asked lightly: "Send your name!"
"Li Guo, a common man, nicknamed Yi Yihu, is the nephew of King Chuang." Li Guo was the first to speak, speaking without reservation.
Emperor Chongzhen was a little surprised when he heard this, and couldn't help but look at Li Guo carefully. It was not because he had heard of Li Guo's reputation in later generations, but because Li Guo had a high status in the bandit army and could be said to be one of the bandit leaders. If he declares his family status like this, isn't he afraid that he will behead a thief?
Li Guo's answer made the other three people a little stunned. It was not that there was anything wrong with this answer, but that Li Guo answered too simply.
With him taking the lead, several others followed suit and announced their families.
"Liu Tichun, known as Erhu, is a general in King Chuang's army!"
"Li Laiheng, a junior general in King Chuang's army!"
"Li Dingguo, the Eight Great Kings are my adoptive fathers!"
Emperor Chongzhen listened and was not familiar with Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng because he didn't know much about the historical events of Nanming. Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng became famous during the Southern Ming Dynasty's resistance to the Qing Dynasty. One was named the Duke of Anhui by the Southern Ming Dynasty, and the other was named the Duke of Lin by the Southern Ming Dynasty.
However, he had heard of Li Dingguo's name, and becoming king twice was probably the most significant achievement in the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty.
After hearing them announcing their homes, Emperor Chongzhen was about to speak when he saw Li Guo raising his head, staring at Emperor Chongzhen and saying, "I wonder what the emperor will do after winning the battle of Nanyang? Will he drive back to Beijing or..."
"Bold!" Chen Qiyu immediately became angry when he saw it. This traitor actually took over the guest's place. As a prisoner, he actually asked the emperor what he wanted to say!
Almost at the same time, Li Ruolian also shouted angrily: "How brave, don't be rude!"
However, Li Guo held his head high, without any fear on his face, he just looked at the emperor in front of him.
Emperor Chongzhen was not angry because of this. Instead, he waved his hand and told Chen Qiyu and Li Ruolian to step back. Then he looked at Li Guo and said patiently: "Killing you bandits is only the first step. I have already sent an order to Jiangnan before I came." We transported food and promoted capable ministers and officials to build water conservancy projects and provide disaster relief..."
He spoke briefly. Of course, this was due to the fact that Li Guo and Li Dingguo in front of him were both famous people in later generations. If it were an ordinary bandit, he would not be so patient.
After finishing speaking, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Li Guo and asked, "What? What do you think?"
He was a little curious about this. Not only him, but also Chen Qiyu, Li Ruolian and others who had shouted angrily just now were curious about why this bandit asked this?
And Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng also didn't know what Li Guo meant? Only Li Dingguo blinked, seeming a little surprised.
