After Zhao Tai led his army to cross the Yellow River, he did not say that he came to attack Xuzhou, but only said that he wanted to discuss with the official slaves and others.
Now that the Jin Kingdom's court is gone, they, the remnants of the Jin Kingdom, have to find a way out.
When Zhao Tai came over at this time, he was immediately welcomed by the people of Xuzhou, hoping that Zhao Tai could point out a clear way for them.
Therefore, Zhao Tai crossed the Yellow River and reached Xuzhou City with almost no obstacles.
"Your Majesty, twenty miles ahead is Xuzhou." Wang Bin, the right military advisor, looked at the map and said with a smile.
Hearing this, Zhao Tai reined in the horse's reins and looked around, "Since it's only twenty miles away, let's set up camp here."
Wang Bin nodded, "If we get too close, it will be easy for the slaves to see clearly, and it will also be unfavorable for us to prepare siege equipment. The place chosen by the king is a good choice."
Although no matter what the official slaves do, Zhao Tai will win Xuzhou, but what Zhao Tai should cover up still needs to be covered up, and it cannot be too obvious.
After all, Chinese culture, unlike Anglo-Saxon culture, cannot be so shameless.
At that moment, Zhao Tai gave an order, and the marching army gradually stopped. Under the command of the officers, a camp was built on the spot.
At this time, the soldiers were busy setting up camp. Zhao Tai dismounted, sat down on a baggage cart, and then told Wang Bin: "Military advisor, send a team of cavalry to Xuzhou and tell Pu Chaguannu to come and see Gu."
A month ago, Zhao Tai summoned Pu Chaguan's slave to Pizhou, but Pu Chaguan's slave said he was not sick.
Now Zhao Tai personally leads the army and summons him again. If Pu Chaguan's slaves don't come to pay their respects, Zhao Tai will have reason to deal with him.
"Military advisor, do you think the official slave will come out?" Zhao Tai asked casually as he picked up the kettle and took a sip.
Wang Bin said with a smile: "The Kingdom of Jin is overthrown. Your Majesty is the territory of Shandong. He is the highest military and political officer of the Kingdom of Jin. His slaves should be controlled by your Majesty. Previously, your Majesty summoned him to Pizhou, but he refused because he was ill. Now that the king is here, he will do anything. There is no way to evade it. I thought that he was under pressure and would probably come to see the king. However, if he continues to pretend to be ill, it doesn't matter. The king can go directly to the city to check on his condition. When the city gate opens, The army swarmed in, took control of the official slave's mansion, and then took away his military power on the grounds that he was seriously ill."
Zhao Tai laughed, "This is good."
While Zhao Tai was talking with Wang Bin, the cavalry dispatched had already galloped to the gates of Xuzhou City.
The defenders on the city had long known that the Zhongyi Army was approaching Xuzhou, and the official slaves also issued military orders to the defenders, asking them to guard the city tightly and not open the door to the Zhongyi Army.
At this time, the cavalry galloped to the bottom of the city, and the defenders on the city immediately became nervous.
"Hurry up and open the city gate! I am Hu Youde, one of the 100 households under the command of King Zhong, and I have an order to give to your husband!" The cavalry galloped to the door, reined in the horse, and said loudly.
The garrison at the top of the city heard this, and the general stationed at the city gate immediately ordered his subordinates, "Go and report to my husband at once."
Not long after, Pu Chaguan slave, who got the news, hurriedly came to the city.
He was still wearing the official robe of the Kingdom of Jin, with a gold belt around his waist and a jade pendant. When his subordinates saw him arriving, they immediately saluted, "My lord! This is the envoy sent by King Zhong."
Pu Chaguannu waved his hand. He did not stand by the city wall, but hid behind the wall stacks. Looking down, he saw hundreds of cavalry standing in front of the city gate, shouting impatiently.
The official slave frowned. After hesitating for a moment, he said to a subordinate next to him: "Ask them what they are here for?"
The general was aware of this, leaned out half of his body from the top of the city, and shouted down: "Why are you coming to Xuzhou?"
Hundreds of loyal households under the city raised their heads when they heard the sound, and said angrily: "Previously, when the king called me, your husband did not go to Pizhou. Now that the king has arrived in Xuzhou, do you still want to stay behind closed doors?"
After speaking, Hu Youde took out his bow and arrow, tied the letter to the arrow, then straightened his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot an arrow at the top of the city.
"This is the order of our king, ordering the Xuanfu envoys on the east and west roads of Shandong to inspect the official slaves and go to see them immediately. Those who disobey the order will be severely punished!" Hu Youde said loudly.
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the city whispered. After hearing this, the official slave frowned and the corners of his mouth twitched, "Arrogant, that fellow Zhao Tai dares to threaten me like this."
"Ms. sir, how do you reply?" the general turned around and asked.
Pu Chaoguan's slave had a dark face. Zhao Tai led his troops over, clearly wanting to annex him. Now he asked him to go out of the city to pay a visit, probably because he wanted to lure him out of the city and then control Xuzhou.
Pu Chaguan Nu didn't want to leave the city, but Zhao Tai's army was right under his nose, so he didn't dare to refuse directly.
At this time, the official slave was still hesitating about what to say, but Hu Youde from the city pulled the reins of his horse, and without waiting for a reply from the city, he hit the horse and galloped away.
This made the officers at the top of the city look at each other. Since they were here to deliver a message, why did they leave without waiting for a reply?
When Pu Chaguan Nu saw this, his heart trembled. He frowned and approached the city wall. He held one hand on the wall stack and looked down at the cavalry retreating down the city, his face full of anger.
"Damn it, if King Kong is dead, Zhao Tai will be at war with me and want to annex me." The official slave punched the city with his fist, feeling extremely sad and angry.
Zhao Tai led his troops over and said that they were discussing with him how to go in the future. In fact, the official slaves knew very well that Zhao Tai must be plotting against him in Xuzhou.
The messenger sent by Zhao Tai left directly without waiting for his reply, which showed that Zhao Tai was very confident. Zhao Tai had already prepared to deal with whether he was going or not.
Now Zhao Tai's army came to the city and invited him out of the city to discuss, which made the official slaves angry and very uneasy at the same time.
"Father, what should we do now?" Ash Siming asked worriedly.
"Mother, I don't believe it anymore. I just won't go. What can Zhao Tai do to me?" the official slave gritted his teeth.
As soon as these words came out, the generals behind him immediately panicked, "Commander, Zhao Tai is a loyal king granted by the imperial court. Shandong has two envoys. He has already arrived outside the city. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate not to pay a visit!"
The official slave turned around and glared at a few people. He scanned everyone with his sharp eyes and said with narrowed eyes: "I usually treat you very well. Could it be that you see Zhao Tai's power and want to abandon me and join him. If you have second thoughts, That handsome guy can’t let you wait.”
After Zhao Tai crossed the Yellow River to the west, many soldiers and civilians near Xuzhou took the initiative to seek refuge with Zhao Tai, and some people in Xuzhou City also sent letters to Zhao Tai.
Several generals were so horrified that they quickly bowed their heads and saluted, "I don't dare to do this for those in humble positions."
When he said this, Ji Ming's subordinates did not dare to persuade him, but his son Ash Siming said: "Father, Zhao Tai summoned you to discuss matters in Pizhou earlier, but you did not go. Now that Zhao Tai has come in person, you are afraid that you will not go to see him. It will anger Zhao Tai. If he gets angry and attacks the city, what will we do?"
The official slave calmed down and was speechless for a moment. With his current strength, he was unable to challenge Zhao Tai.
The confidence shown by Zhao Tai gave him no confidence to go against Zhao Tai's will.
In addition, after all, he was the Xuanfu envoy of the Jinguoshan East and West Roads, and he could also be regarded as a feudal official. He expected that Zhao Tai would not dare to kill him.
After all, the Kingdom of Jin has just fallen, and Zhao Tai is snatching his territory. If he is killed, it will not be very good for Zhao Tai's reputation.
Therefore, he thought carefully and felt that Zhao Tai's purpose here was to make him surrender and then extort a sum of money from him.
Thinking of this, the official slave gnashed his teeth and said, "Ashi Siming, go make arrangements! I'll go see Zhao Tai!"
Now Xuzhou is surrounded by Zhao Tai and his allies. In addition, many Jin people in the city do not support the official slaves against Zhao Tai.
After all, Zhao Tai is a loyal king and has high prestige in the Jin Kingdom. Now that the Jin Kingdom's court is gone, the remnants of the Jin Kingdom all regard Zhao Tai as their backbone.
This can be seen from the fact that Zhao Tai crossed the Yellow River to the west and the villages and towns around Xuzhou took refuge in Zhao Tai.
The official slave knew very well that if he and Zhao Tai went to war, half of the people in the city would defect to Zhao Tai.
Ash Siming said quickly: "Father, I will go and prepare now."
The official slave stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, have someone open the treasury and withdraw 50,000 yuan. I will take it to Zhao Tai's camp."
Ash Siming saluted, "Son, let's do it now!"
When Ashi Siming hurriedly came down from the city, the official slave turned around and supported the wall. He looked far away outside the city and comforted himself in his heart: "A man can bend and stretch. I will pretend to give in and endure it for a while. When Mongolia goes south, I will call Zhao Tai. nice!"
Outside the city, the loyal army camp.
Zhao Tai led an army of 20,000 men, falsely claiming to be 50,000 men. He arrived at Xuzhou City and set up camp outside the city. He then ordered his slaves to come and pay homage.
In the big tent, Zhao Tai waved his hand after listening to Hu Youde's report, "You have worked hard, go and rest."
Hu Youde bowed and left. Zhao Tai looked at Wang Bin and said, "Military advisor, it seems that the official slave does not intend to come out to pay homage."
Wang Bin stroked his beard and said, "Then tomorrow morning, after breakfast, the army will march directly to the city and order the defenders to open the door on the pretext of visiting the city. If the defenders do not open the door, they will claim that Pu Chaoguan's slaves did not listen to the order. , intending to surrender to Mongolia and directly attack and seize the city."
Zhao Tai nodded, and then ordered several generals: "Chen Zhong, you arrange the manpower to assemble the siege equipment overnight."
Chen Zhong immediately clasped his fists and said, "I will take your orders."
It was night, the camp of the Zhongyi Army was brightly lit, and the soldiers spent the night assembling siege equipment. Siege towers rose one after another, and several large pieces of trebuchets were assembled into the city, which could be assembled and used directly after being transported to the city.
Zhao Tai got up early in the morning and prepared to lead his troops directly to Xuzhou City after breakfast.
At this time, Wang Bin suddenly raised the curtain and entered the big tent, "Your Majesty, the scouts conveyed the news. The gate of Xuzhou City was opened, and Pu Chaguan's slave led a group of people and several carts to the camp. "
Zhao Tai raised his eyebrows when he heard this, a little surprised, "This soldier has come out of the city to pay homage to the orphan."
Wang Bin said: "In order to guard Kaifeng, Heda took away the elite soldiers in Xuzhou City. The official slaves had thousands of them, and they were all old, weak, sick and disabled. He should know the purpose of the king's troops coming here, and he did not dare to give them to the king. This is an excuse to attack Xuzhou, so after much thought, I decided to come out to see the king."
Zhao Tai stroked his beard and said, "Now that he's out, it saves me the trouble. Send an order to the army to cancel the march and wait for the official slaves to come."
Wang Bin saluted and said, "I will go and deliver the order right now."
Zhao Taidao: "Find something to cover the equipment assembled last night."
An hour later, Pu Chaguan Nu led a group of Jin survivors to the outside of the camp, preparing to meet Zhao Tai together.
Pu Chaguan Nu was worried that Zhao Tai's summons was a Hongmen Banquet. He brought these Jin Kingdom dignitaries here because he hoped that with these people present, Zhao Tai would have some scruples and not dare to blatantly harm and annex him.
At this time, Wang Bin came to greet him, "Xuanfu Xianggong has recovered from his illness! If you don't come today, the king should go to the city to see you."
Pu Chaguan's slave was frightened. He looked around the Zhongyi Army camp and saw many huge objects covered with cloth and straw. When he took a closer look, he immediately saw that they were siege equipment.
This made Pu Chaguan Nu feel furious. It seemed that Zhao Tai really wanted to annex Xuzhou.
Zhao Tai said that he was summoning the remnants of the Jin Kingdom to discuss the retreat, but to discuss the retreat, is it necessary to bring siege equipment?
For a moment, Pu Chaguan Nu was shocked and angry, and at the same time he was a little lucky. Fortunately, he came here today, otherwise Zhao Tai would definitely find an excuse to attack Xuzhou.
He doesn't have many troops at his disposal now, so he is no match for Zhao Tai.
The official slave couldn't help but swallowed his saliva, "It was already my big mistake to let His Highness Prince Zhong come to Xuzhou. How could I dare to let His Highness Prince Zhong come to visit first?"
Wang Bin smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Xuanfu, please come with me!"
The official slave quickly handed over his hand and said, "Thank you, sir."
At that moment, the soldiers opened the camp, collected the weapons of the officials and slaves, and then let them enter the camp.
At this time, Pu Chaguannu and others were led outside the big tent, and they saw hundreds of fully armored soldiers, holding iron spears in their hands, arranged on the left and right. The waist is very powerful!
"Mr. Xuanfu, please!" Wang Bin smiled and extended his hand.
When Pu Chaguan Nu saw the mighty armored soldiers, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He forced a smile and said: "Your Majesty's subordinates are really the masters of tigers and wolves."
The next group of people walked through the soldiers and came to the big tent. The curtains were rolled up high. Inside, two rows of officers were neatly dressed and sitting upright. Zhao Tai was wearing a dragon robe and sitting on the command post with a big horse and a golden sword.
The official slave stood in front of the tent, his Adam's apple squirmed, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then took a deep breath to gain courage and enter the tent.
He pretended to be calm and glanced at the officers on both sides, but saw that they were looking at Zhao Tai intently, while Zhao Tai was looking at him with squinted eyes.
The official slave's heart trembled, and he saluted quickly, "The official slave, Pucha, pays homage to His Highness King Zhong. When the official learned that His Highness had arrived, he ordered someone to prepare a small gift, and asked His Highness to accept it."
The official slave thought, and stretched out his hand to avoid hitting the smiling man. He came to see him and brought 100,000 yuan to honor Zhao Tai. He expected that Zhao Tai would not do anything to him, but Zhao Tai suddenly shouted loudly and slammed the table and chairs. , "Pu Chaguan slave, you sit back and watch the fall of Kaifeng with the intention of surrendering to Mongolia. Do you know your crime!"
When the official slave heard this, he was shocked and quickly defended, "Prince Zhong, is there any misunderstanding in this! I am loyal to Dajin, how could I collude with Mongolia..."
"Pah!" Zhao Tai slapped him again on the armrest of the chair without giving him a chance to explain. "You dare to quibble! Someone, drag him down and chop him down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers outside the tent rushed in, controlled the official slave, and wanted to drag the official slave out.
At this time, the official slave also reacted and knew that Zhao Tai was going to kill him. He immediately struggled and cursed, "Zhao Tai, if you dare to cheat on me, you will not die in peace. I will kill your ancestors..."
