The Beacon of Kyushu

While Wang Shaozuo was sighing, he vaguely heard muffled thunder outside the city. But after half his life in the army, his intuition told him that the sound outside the city was definitely not thunder, but the footsteps of tens of thousands of troops. The sonorous footsteps were getting closer and louder, until they finally wanted to shake the entire city of Beining to the ground.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the door, and a soldier shouted in Quyue dialect: "General, Hou Renbao has led his army to surround the city. It seems that the city is bound to be captured!"

Wang Shaozuo took off his long sword from the bedside, opened the door and walked out quickly, "Go and pass this general's order to tell the soldiers guarding the city to hold on. Anyone who dares to take even half a step back will be shot to death!"

"Yes!" The soldier responded and ran towards Beicheng. Wang Shaozuo did not hesitate, went to the stables to fetch the war horse, and galloped towards the north city where Hou Renbao was located.

Soon, he rode his horse to the bottom of the city, rushed to the top of the city in three steps and two steps at a time, stood behind the female wall and looked out. But when they saw the black crows under the city, they looked up at the Song army, which was armed and strong, and their eyes were full of flags embroidered with the word "Song". Many soldiers fired arrows at the city, many soldiers covered the advancing chariot, and many soldiers rushed over carrying ladders.

Wang Shaozuo was not a young general who was on the battlefield for the first time, so naturally he would not take this seriously. But when his eyes glanced at the rustic young man next to Hou Renbao and Kou Zhun, who still had a wooden stick around his waist, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his eyes were full of fear!
He hurriedly rubbed his eyes, and then looked at the man carefully, feeling more and more panicked, "No! Didn't Wan Jianfeng go to Baitengjiang? Why did he suddenly appear here? This man looks playful and smiling, with no ink on his chest." , but he is actually full of evil ideas. He captured Lang Son effortlessly last time. If we let him capture Bac Ninh again, I, Qu Yue, will really be in danger!"

Wang Shaozuo thought about it, and said to the soldiers beside him: "Go to the magistrate of Beining and ask him to write two letters in the tone of the general. One is sent to General Jiang, asking him not to return to the city for the time being, and to wait for the general's instructions at any time. One is sent to General Jiang. I sent this letter to His Majesty, begging him to come to Beining in person no matter what, otherwise I am afraid that Beining will not be protected and Guluo will fall! Remember, these two letters are delivered by carrier pigeons, otherwise once they fall into the hands of the enemy, we will be in danger. !”

Three days later, Qu Yue's palace.

Li Huan leaned on a chair made of gold, holding a wine glass made of crystal, which contained half a glass of wine as rich as blood. He stared at the wine in the glass with a proud smile on his lips.

Li Gongyun was wearing silver armor and a light yellow cloak. He was holding a letter written by Wang Shaozuo in his hand and stood quietly opposite Li Huan. The seal of the letter in his hand was destroyed, indicating that the letter had been read. His eyes lingered on Li Huan's face, looking at the inappropriate smile on the corner of Li Huan's mouth, and he felt surprised.

No one knew what Li Huan was laughing about. Seeing that Qu Yue, who had just acquired Qu Yue, was about to be captured by the Song army, why could he still laugh? Li Gongyun was extremely smart, and he had known Li Huan for many years. He thought he was quite familiar with Li Huan's temper and character, and he could always understand and guess what he had done in the past. Only at this moment, this inexplicable expression, even he couldn't see through.

Li Huan took a sip of the fine wine in the glass, and then slowly said: "Zhao Yan, are you thinking, seeing that half of my country in Qu Yue has returned to the Song Dynasty, why do I still have the heart to laugh?"

Li Gongyun nodded, "Your Majesty is wise, the general is indeed thinking about this matter."

Li Huan's smile grew thicker when he heard this, "Haha, if you can't guess Zhao Yan, then even if Hou Renbao lives ten more lives, he will die by the Zhiling River!"

"Zhilingjiang?" Li Gongyun repeated in a low voice, and then his eyes suddenly brightened, and he actually laughed, "Haha, your Majesty must..."

Li Huan waved his hand and said: "Buddha said: 'It cannot be said, it cannot be said.'"

Li Gongyun nodded and said: "General, I understand now. Let's prepare a decree for Your Majesty. I hope this plan will succeed and all the enemies who will invade will be wiped out in one fell swoop!" "Go." Li Huan waved his hand with a smile and moved his eyes again. Drink the wine in your cup and don't look at Li Gongyun again. Li Gongyun understood that Li Huan's not looking at him was the greatest trust in him. With a slight smile on his lips, he cupped his hands towards Li Huan and withdrew wisely.

In the blink of an eye, three days later, a white-feathered homing pigeon flapped its wings and landed at the top of Beining City in the afternoon. Wang Shaozuo waited for the homing pigeon, looking through the autumn water. At this moment, his eyes were full of excitement. For a moment, he no longer cared about commanding the soldiers to defend the city. He walked to the carrier pigeon in three steps and two steps at a time, bent down and took off the letter tied to the pigeon's paw.

When Wang Shaozuo read the letter, he couldn't help being deeply surprised. Sun Jian's excited expression turned into despair, "It's impossible. How could your majesty refuse to save you even if you die? I never believe it!" After he finished speaking, he rolled his eyes and suddenly shouted loudly. laugh.

One of the generals looked at Wang Shaozuo cautiously and asked: "General Wang, what's wrong with you? How far away are the reinforcements led by His Majesty?"

Wang Shaozuo shook his head, "His Majesty said in the letter that reinforcements will not be sent. In the current situation, we have to surrender in Kaicheng to make plans for the future."

The partial general never expected such a result, but General Wang had ordered surrender, and he could not resist the order. He had to shout to the soldiers: "Brothers, didn't you hear General Wang's order? Put up the white flag quickly and start shooting." City gate, welcome the Song army into the city!"

"Yes!" All the soldiers responded in unison. Although most of them were unwilling, they still did as they were told. In an instant, the "King" flag flying at the top of Beining City was replaced by a striking white flag, and the closed city gates gradually opened wide.

Hou Renbao was sitting on his horse, still planning how to attack the city. Seeing the sudden change in the situation, he was extremely surprised. Kou Zhun furrowed his brows and whispered: "Master Hou, please quickly order the army to suspend the attack on the city and retreat three miles. Be careful of fraud!"

"Well, what Brother Kou Xian said is true!" Hou Renbao said and was about to order the withdrawal of troops.

However, Wang Shaozuo shouted from the top of the city: "Master Hou, please don't be suspicious. We are sincerely surrendering. Please lead your army into the city quickly!" Hou Renbao looked up, hit the horse whip with a wave of his hand, and was about to lead his army into the city.

Kou Zhun hurriedly pulled on his reins, his tone vaguely worried, "Master Hou, Wang Shaozuo is both civil and military, and Li Huan is even more cunning. If the enemy intends to catch a turtle in the jar, wouldn't we play into the enemy's hands by rushing into the city?"

Hou Renbao frowned and asked: "Brother Kou Xian, Wang Shaozuo has sincerely surrendered. If I don't lead the army into the city, won't I let the Qu Yue barbarians laugh at me as a cowardly bunch of rats in the Song Dynasty?"

Kou Zhun thought: "In my opinion, it is better for us to return to the camp temporarily and let Wang Shaozuo personally escort a few hundred stones of grain and grass over. If he has a ghost in his heart, he will never dare to enter the dangerous area without permission. If he has no ghost in his heart, he will bring some grain and grass into the camp. What's the problem? Besides, we captured Beining a few days ago because of the danger of this place, but wasn't it more about the food and grass in the city?"

Hou Renbao subconsciously wanted to nod, but suddenly thought to himself, "If we follow Ping Zhong's words, Wang Shaozuo may be annoyed. Once he surrenders and rebels again, when will our army be able to capture Beining City? If it is delayed for a long time, not only will the food and grass supply be insufficient, I will let the other two armies do this. I can be humble in everything, but the first contribution to the expedition against Quyue must be mine. This is not only about whether I can serve as an official in the court and meet my beloved wife, but also about whether I can serve as an official in the court and meet my beloved wife. It’s about whether my brother-in-law can regain his position and establish peace for our Song Dynasty. Even if the enemy is pretending to surrender, with tens of thousands of troops in my hands, what’s the point of fear?”

Seeing that he was speechless for a long time, Kou Zhun couldn't help but ask: "Master Hou, what are your concerns?" (End of Chapter)