The Beacon of Kyushu

Time flies, and six or seven days have passed in the blink of an eye.

That evening, the setting sun hung high in the sky like blood, making the earth feel inexplicably desolate.

Hou Renbao sat in the study, staring at the battle report sent by Liu Cheng on the table. It was the only battle report sent by him in so many days. His face was horrifyingly gloomy, "Liu Cheng, I have no grudge against you in the past, and I have no grudge against you recently. In your last It was my help at the critical moment that allowed you to defeat Shiratengjiangkou. Who would have expected that you would retaliate for your kindness and wait for me to be defeated so that you can reap the benefits!"

"My lord... I'm so happy!" Wang Shaozuo's voice came from not far away. He didn't know what kind of happy event was coming from heaven, but he was so excited that his voice couldn't help but tremble. He staggered into the room without waiting for Hou Renbao to call him in. He lost his footing and fell heavily to the ground.

Hou Renbao stood up in great surprise, walked to him, stretched out his hand to pull him up from the ground, "General Wang, that fellow Liu Cheng did not join me to take the ancient snails together, but instead watched the fire from the other side. I am not angry enough, so where can I go?" The great joy?”

Wang Shaozuo was so excited that he almost lost his breath. He tried hard to suppress the ecstasy in his heart, and after a while he said: "Sir... Sir, you don't need to attack Guluo City, and you don't even need to send troops to Hualu. Li Huan heard that the Central Route Army Company Zhan Company Jiejie, the East Route Army broke through the Baiteng River mouth again. Knowing that the situation was over, they have sent... General Li Gongyun has been sent to surrender! "

Hou Renbao was so shocked by the sudden good news that he could not speak for a long time. From this chin, he could clearly hear that his heart was beating faster and faster, almost to the point of jumping out of his chest. He slowed down and said in disbelief: "You...what did you say? Li Huan surrendered!"

Wang Shaozuo nodded vigorously and said: "Yes, Li Huan surrendered, Li Huan surrendered!"

After Hou Renbao heard Wang Shaozuo say it again, he was convinced that he heard it correctly and couldn't help laughing loudly. He was born into a wealthy family since childhood and mingled among dandy men. Later, he entered an official career with the recommendation of Zhao Pu. Although he had some good reputations for managing states and counties properly, he still couldn't believe that he could accomplish such extraordinary feats on the battlefield.

Li Huan's talents are definitely not comparable to those of Meng Chang, Li Yu and others, and Qu Yue's power is no less powerful than that of Hou Shu, Southern Tang and other countries. With Li Huan's surrender, Hou Renbao was now on par with the founding fathers Cao Bin, Pan Mei, Wang Quanbin and other famous generals in terms of military merit. This was undoubtedly something he never dared to dream of, but he did it today.

Hou Renbao felt that his breathing was about to stop. He looked at Wang Shaozuo and trembled: "General Wang, where is Li Gongyun now? I want to see him, and I want to see him now!"

Wang Shaozuo said hurriedly: "The scouts just came to report that General Li is less than ten miles away from Beining City. It must not take long to enter the city!"

Hou Renbao smiled and walked towards the gate to greet Li Gongyun in person. But when he reached the door, he was suddenly stopped by a young man, "Master Hou, where are you going? Are you going to greet Li Gongyun?"

"Kou Tongpan?" Hou Renbao was a little unhappy when he saw that the person who stopped him was Kou Zhun. "Kou Tongpan, it was just that you didn't allow General Wang to persuade the Guluo defenders to surrender before. Now that Qu Yue has surrendered, don't you think so?" Do you still want to prevent me from surrendering?"

Kou Zhun shook his head and said, "I don't dare, but there must be some fraud involved. I hope..."

Hou Renbao didn't wait for him to finish his words, and his eyes were filled with raging anger, "Kou, even if you want to make meritorious deeds, you can't ignore the overall situation! Li Huan's surrender is a once-in-a-lifetime happy event. If you only consider personal merit, what will you think about it?" If you come up with some ideas and seize more cities without allowing them to surrender, Li Huan will definitely rebel. Can you afford the consequences?"

"But Li Huan..." Kou Zhun wanted to persuade him again, but he was slapped hard by Hou Renbao, and his cheek suddenly hurt. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stepped aside helplessly, and let Hou Renbao laugh away.

In a moment, Hou Renbao walked out of Beining City Gate and met Li Gongyun head-on. When Li Gongyun saw Hou Renbao, he quickly got off his horse, knelt on one knee in front of Hou Renbao, and said loudly: "The last general, Li Gongyun, has met Mr. Hou!"

Hou Renbao helped him up with both hands and said with a smile: "General Li, I heard that Li Huan intends to surrender to our Song Dynasty. I wonder if this is true?"

Li Gongyun nodded and said shyly: "Master Hou is indeed well-informed. I wonder if you can forgive us for betraying the master country and resisting the heavenly soldiers, and accept the surrender of Your Majesty and all the officials?"

Hou Renbao smiled and said: "It is the best thing for Qu Yue to surrender to the Song Dynasty. How can I refuse to allow it? General Li, why don't you go to Beining to rest for a night? I will lead my army to go with you early tomorrow morning." I wonder what you think about going to Hua Lu to surrender?"

Li Gongyun cupped his hands and said: "Everyone in the world says that your Excellency is generous, and it is true when I see you today. I will follow your Majesty's instructions and accompany you to Hualu to surrender tomorrow. I hope you will not change your mind temporarily and let down our Majesty." What a painstaking effort!”

Hou Renbao said firmly: "General Li, don't worry, I will go to Hualu tomorrow no matter what, and accept the surrender of Li Huan and others."

Li Gongyun smiled and cupped his hands again, and then handed Li Huan's handwritten credentials to Hou Renbao. Hou Renbao took the certificate of credence and looked at it, his eyes full of joy. When he was overjoyed, he couldn't help but made a gesture of invitation, and took Li Gongyun back to Beining City proudly.

In the early morning of the next day, Hou Renbao ignored Kou Zhun's objections and led his army to leave Beining and march directly to Hualu. The army walked for two or three days and arrived at the Zhiling River in the evening.

Kou Zhun stood silently on the bank of the river, looking alone at the roaring river water. An elegant and peaceful face seemed to appear in front of his eyes. Although the owner of this face has long since passed away, his voice and smile will always remain in Kou Zhun's heart. "Father, when I was young, you always hoped that I could stand out and shine on my family. But now, not only can I not be able to serve Jun Yao and Shun, but I can't do it anymore." To make the customs pure, even if I see Master Hou, who has been kind to me, something will happen to him, I can't do anything about it. I really let you down..."

In a trance, Kou Xiang seemed to come to life, and whispered in a gentle tone: "Zhun'er, everything in the world has a destiny. As subjects, we certainly have to advise you, but we must also understand the destiny. You can't force anything. "

Kou Zhun shook his head hard and said: "No, famous officials in ancient times have always tried to frame the king's injustice and punish the common people unfaithfully. Why can't I do it! The number of days? I don't believe in the number of days!"

Kou Xiang was startled for a moment, then smiled and said: "Haha, you don't believe in the number of days? If you really don't believe in the number of days and want to imitate the benevolent people of ancient times, why don't you try to persuade them? For the sake of the family, the country, the common people, and the world, you don't dare to block it. Will you risk your life?"

Kou Zhun's heart beat a few times, but then he impulsively returned to silence. After a long time, he smiled bitterly and said: "It's useless. He won't believe me anymore. It's too late, too late... If I could do it all over again, But, maybe...maybe..."

He said "maybe" several times, but he couldn't say the following words no matter what. Because he knew that even if he had to do it over a hundred times, the outcome would still be the same. With his own abilities, he could not make the situation better at all. What he said after "maybe" made no difference whether he said it or not.

Kou Zhun didn't know how long he stood like this, from when the sun set over the mountains to when the sky was filled with stars and moon. The evening wind by the river was strong, blowing the hem of his loose clothes, and the sound of "hunting" kept echoing in his ears. He slowly turned his head and saw that the lights in the camp behind him had been turned off, then he sighed and walked back to his tent.

He entered the tent, took off his loose official clothes, and lay on the bed to have a good sleep. But there are so many thoughts in my mind that I can't stop for a moment, and I can't sleep. He closed his eyes and listened to the loud and quiet wind outside the camp, trying hard not to think and to endure the time. (End of chapter)