First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 566 What a surprise

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Hearing Tian Yangming's question, Gao Chong's expression changed and he directly ordered: "Attack the city."

On the top of the city, Ning Huizao heard this and was about to reveal his identity, "I am...".

But before these words were spoken, the Tang army roared forward and attacked the city directly.

When Tian Yangming saw this, he quickly retreated.

Returning to the formation, when he saw Gao Chong glaring at him, Tian Yangming shrank his neck and grinned, "My mouth is bald for a while."

Ning Chun's face was solemn, she just glanced at Gao Chong and stopped talking.

He understood Gao Chong's intention, and was also surprised by Gao Chong's courage, actually planning to directly kill Ning Huizao as a traitor to the party.

Even if Ning Huizao dies, Gao Chong still maintains his righteousness, and Ning Changzhen has nothing to say. After all, Gao Chong came to Hepu City with great fanfare and under the banner of military envoy, and it is a fact that he cannot leave the city.

Killing Ning Huizao can effectively intimidate the Lingnan states, and it can be regarded as the first spark of Gao Chong, the Lingnan economic envoy, when he takes office.

Ning Huizao was the eldest son of the Ning family in Qinzhou. Despite his status, he also died at the hands of the military commander. Who would dare to make a mistake?

On Hepu City, Ning Huizao saw that the Tang army attacked the city without saying a word. He was so angry that he gritted his teeth and cursed. Then he retreated and handed over the city defense to Ning Xu.

"Brother, what is Gao Chong doing?" Ning Xu shouted angrily while calling the soldiers to guard the city.

"Do what?"

Ning Huizao's face was livid. He now understood Gao Chong's sinister intentions, "He wants to deal with us directly as traitors to frighten the Lingnan states."

Ning Can's expression changed suddenly, and she yelled: "It's too much to bully others. I want to see how he breaks the city."

As the second son of the Ning family, Ning Xu was not a reckless man. Instead, he was well versed in military strategy under Ning Changzhen's deliberate training. Since a war had to begin, Ning Erlang quickly got into the mood.

Turn around and go down to organize the county government officials to drive away the people at the city gate, and then directly order people to demolish the houses, take the bricks, stones, tiles, and wood and transport them to the city wall as supplies for defending the city.

This temporary move undoubtedly aroused public dissatisfaction. The perfectly good houses were demolished immediately without any compensation and resettlement measures. Many people even had no time to move out their valuables, and all their food, grass, and soft goods were lost.

It's just that the Ning family is powerful, and the troops brought from Qinzhou strictly enforce Ning Xu's military orders.

On this side, Ning Can solemnly deployed defenses, while outside the city, Gao Chong only organized two tentative attacks, but he was surrounded but not attacked. Hepu City has no moat, and even the siege ladder of the Tang army was not close to the city wall. Gao Chong was Ordered to withdraw troops.

"What the hell is going on with Gao Chong?" Ning Can gasped and ran to the city, watching the Tang army retreat slowly. There was not a single body outside the city, only some sparse arrows.

His face suddenly became filled with grief and anger, and he immediately yelled angrily: "Straight bitch, do you want to fight me or not?"

Ning Huizao looked gloomy, "He just attacked the city to prevent me from revealing my identity. In this way, he could treat us as uninformed and directly kill us as Ning Daoming who rebelled against the party."

"How can he kill me if he doesn't attack the city?" Ning Xu glared.

Ning Huizao was silent after hearing this and fell into deep thought.

Half an hour later, Ning Huizao had just returned to the Governor's Mansion when he saw Ning Chu coming in a hurry.

"Brother, I understand," Ning Can said angrily, "Gao Chong intends to persuade him to surrender."

As he spoke, he took out an arrow with a letter tied to it.

Ning Huizao took a look and was stunned. When he reacted, he immediately said: "Quick, mobilize the troops and clear the streets. If you encounter anyone suspicious, kill him immediately."

Then Ning Huizao called the commander of the personal guards and "immediately dispersed all the servants in the mansion, blocked the other three doors, leaving only the front door, and all guards strengthened patrols."

Ning Can also changed her expression, "Brother, are you saying there is an insider in the city?"

"It's better to respond internally than to respond internally." Ning Huizao held the letter of surrender tightly and returned to his seat, rubbing his brows tiredly.

"Since arrows are thrown into the city, it will definitely not be thoroughly investigated and confiscated, and it will inevitably fall into the hands of interested people. The letter has stated that we are rebels, and we can exchange for wealth with our heads. In this way, the power of the Ning family will be It’s not worth mentioning.”

"So brave," Ning Can glared and scolded, "Let's see who dares."

Ning Huizao glanced at his second brother feebly, closed his eyes and thought for a long time, then stood up in confusion, "No, you must not prove your identity as a traitor to the party. You go to the top of the city immediately and hang a banner with Tang characters, and I will send an envoy out of the city. Universal identity."

Ning Can hesitated for a moment and then agreed.
At the same time, in a large mansion in the east of the city, important matters were being discussed.

"Uncle, don't hesitate any longer," a tall, dark-skinned man was speaking emotionally.

"Today Gao Jinglue has made a tentative attack on the city to express his intention. Now he has even stated that the people in the city are rebels from the Ning family. If we don't make a decision, it will be too late when the army enters the city."

There was an old man at the head, with white beard and hair, and a face full of wrinkles. He must be quite old. He was looking at the concise and concise surrender letter.

Seeing that the old man didn't respond, the man became even more anxious and shouted: "Uncle...".

The old man plucked his ears and glared at him dissatisfied, "What are you shouting about? I can hear you."

"Since I took over as the head of the family, I have been walking on thin ice for decades and have been repeatedly bullied by Ning Changzhen. Now it seems that things are turning around."

The old man chuckled lightly, shook his hand and said with a smile to persuade him to surrender.

"Uncle, you...", the dark-faced man's eyes lit up.

"Erlang," the old man folded the surrender letter and stuffed it into his arms. He stood up and came to the window. "How many people do you have?"

"One, more than 150 people." The man scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Cowardly", the old man spat: "The dignified Shangfu commander can only mobilize more than a hundred people, he is really cowardly."

The black-faced man looked sad and angry, and muttered: "Uncle, you asked me not to conflict with Ning Daoming before, and that's why he took the military power...".

"Okay", the old man waved his hand and said: "My Mo family's servants, plus the caravan guards and about [-] people, are all handed over to you. I only want to say one thing, either don't do it or do it. Just do it absolutely and never escape Ning Huizao."

The black-faced man was overjoyed and agreed firmly.

This man is Mo Zhongwen, the commander of the Hepu Military Mansion, and the old man is the head of the Mo family in Hepu.

"When?" the old man asked, twisting his beard.

"Will there be fewer people? I'll contact some more people and we'll tentatively plan to do it tomorrow night," Mo Zhongwen said after a slight hesitation.

"Confused", unexpectedly the old man reprimanded him again, "Things are accomplished by keeping secrets, and failure is revealed by words. Having more people is not necessarily a good thing."

Seeing Mo Zhongwen's astonishment, the old man said in a deep voice: "The Ning family has been suppressing Yuezhou for decades. Who is not afraid? If you contact those miscellaneous people, it is very likely to leak out, and then the Mo family will be destroyed." ".

"I understand," Mo Zhongwen nodded, "take him by surprise, attack him unprepared, and we will do it tonight."

"Don't be reckless, use your brain more." The old man nodded happily, "I believe you can do it."

Mo Zhongwen turned around and left with high spirits, muttering all the way, "take someone by surprise and attack them unprepared."

Following the order from the head of the Mo family, the family quickly took action. More than 500 servants and guards gathered in the backyard. In addition, more than [-] confidants brought by Mo Zhongwen from the military camp, a total of more than [-] people, crowded into the courtyard. group.

"Brothers, I don't have much to say. You just need to understand that wherever I, Mo Er, strike with my sword, you will kill me," Mo Zhongwen said in a deep voice.This is the scary thing about the clan power. They are extremely loyal to the clan. If it is a battlefield fight, some people may be greedy for life and afraid of death. But if the clan fights, if they are afraid of death and retreat, they will be expelled from the family tree.

At this time, a servant came in a hurry, "Erlang Jun, Ning Xu left the Governor's Mansion and went straight to the north gate, with only seventeen or eight guards following her."

"Seventeen or eight guards, north gate...".

Mo Zhongwen's eyes lit up, "Then we have to pass through Qiwan Alley to catch him by surprise and attack him unprepared...".

"Brothers, pick up the guy and follow me. Don't make any noise." Mo Zhongwen made a quick decision and led the group of people to Qiwan Lane in advance via a shortcut.

Qiwan Lane, as the name suggests, is a long street with seven bends.

Mo Zhongwen implemented the tactic of attacking unexpectedly and unprepared, and planned to directly attack and kill Ning Xu.

There was silence on the spacious street. Ning Can rode away, cursing non-stop, "Straight bitch, Ning Qi took down the flag but asked me to hang it up."

"Erlangjun, if we hang this flag, we are not rebelling against the party, and people outside the city have no reason to attack the city," the guard said, holding a big flag.

"Your second master doesn't know? Do you want to talk too much?" Ning Can was furious now and immediately scolded her with glares.

The personal guard just nodded and smiled and said no more.

"Hurry up and hang it up", Ning Can cursed and said: "Go back after patrolling the city again, remember to bring the wine with you."

The guard responded cheerfully.

"The wine in Hepu is okay." Ning Can talked a lot, and kept mumbling as she walked. "Look at this street, it's crooked and twisted, not as flat and straight as the Qinjiang River."

The personal guard knew that Ning Can was in a bad mood, so he just cursed her all the way, even if it was a wild dog or cat passing by. He didn't dare to answer her immediately, and just listened patiently to Ning Can's muttered curses.

Suddenly, a sound of piercing the air came from the slanting stab, and only a hissing sound was heard, followed by a scream.

"Erlangjun...", the guard widened his eyes, threw away the flag, and caught Ning Xu who fell from the horse.

I saw an arrow hitting Ning Chu's chest. After entering the city, Ning Chu had already removed her armor. The arrow pierced extremely deep.

"Hahaha brothers, Ning Xu was shot to death by me."

On the top of the wall in front of the right, Mo Zhongwen raised his bow and arrow and said with a smile: "Kill, no one will be spared", and then continued to draw the bow and arrow.

Ning Huizao ordered a flag with Tang characters to be hoisted at the top of the city. Ning Can went there in person to patrol the city and mobilize people to clear the streets. But he never expected that his killers would come so quickly.

There were only these eighteen guards around him, and he had no armor on his body. He carried a lantern on his horse head and swayed towards the north gate. He was a living target on this quiet and deserted street.

Mo Zhongwen, although his name is Wen, he has been fond of martial arts since he was a child and has considerable courage, especially good at shooting. He lurks on the wall and with a hard bow and arrow at such a close range, it is easy to shoot the unsuspecting Ning Xu to death.

The eighteen guards were weak and one round of arrows killed or injured five or six people. The remaining people fought hard to grab Ning Chu's body, and Mo Zhongwen soon led people to surround and kill him.

"General, it's Ning Chu," a lieutenant under his command stepped forward to check, and then said excitedly.

"Okay, what a surprise." Mo Zhongwen laughed and said, "Cut off the head and follow me to kill Ning Huizao."

He found that there is truth in the saying that people become better with age. As his uncle said, it was indeed true. You should not hesitate to do this kind of thing. You can do amazing things by taking things by surprise.

When he arrived at the Governor's Mansion, Mo Zhongwen was not reckless. He first sent people to investigate, but the three doors were blocked, except for the main entrance. After thinking about it, Mo Zhongwen simply carried Ning Xu's head and headed towards the main entrance.

"Stop, who?"

500 people walked forward on the street under the night cover, and finally came within sight. The guard guarding the door asked in panic.

"We are the city defense army. We are attacking the city outside. Ning Tong's army has died in the battle. Go and report to Commander Ning." Mo Zhongwen shouted in feigned panic while advancing quickly.

"what?"

The guards were shocked, "The city is under attack? Why didn't we hear...".

"No, they rebelled", another guard exclaimed: "You stop them, I will inform Lang Jun...".

"Kill", Mo Zhongwen drew his sword and shouted: "Brothers, be sure to kill Ning Huizao."

The guard was stunned on the spot. He glanced at the man running towards the backyard, then looked at the knife in his hand, and finally looked up at Mo Zhongwen and others who were rushing over. There was a huge area of ​​darkness, with countless people.

"I, I can't stop..." the guard yelled, turned around and ran away.

As the eldest son of the Ning family and the governor of a state, Ning Huizao's number of personal guards was not small, as many as a hundred, which was far beyond the regulations.

According to the "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty" records: The prince's palace has a marriage palace and a tent palace to serve as personal guards and ceremonial guards.

Among them, the Marriage Affairs Office is under the jurisdiction of the Marriage Officers and the Marriage Officers, that is, the commander of the archers and the cavalry commander. There are 330 three marriage officers under it, while the inner palace is mostly guarded by infantry, with 660 people in the permanent tent.

From this point of view, there are only about 1000 attendants in the Prince's Palace.

Of course, this is just a regulation, and many people do not follow the regulations.

Generally, powerful clans have specialized guardian servants, and noble houses also have specialized tribes. These are also armed forces.

Ning Huizao's one hundred soldiers were already quite large, but when Mo Zhongwen went all out to kill them, with an average of five to one, there was a huge disparity in strength, and more than half of the guards were quickly killed or injured.

The commander of the personal guards saw that things were not going well and hurriedly protected Ning Huizao from retreating, "Lang Jun, I can't stop him, retreat quickly and go through the back door."

Ning Huizao's face turned pale and he said, "The back door is blocked."

The guard commander's face was ashen.

"Still want to leave?" Mo Zhongwen saw it from a distance and sneered, then drew out his horizontal knife and rushed towards him.
After a while, the governor's mansion was in a mess, with corpses everywhere.

Mo Zhongwen covered his arms and grinned. Only the commander of the bodyguards and seven or eight people were left in the field to guard Ning Huizao tightly, and everyone was injured.

"Mo Zhongwen, you will regret it," Ning Huizao said with red eyes, "My father will let the entire Mo family be buried with me."

Mo Zhongwen grinned, "Either you don't do it, or you do it with extreme...killing."

After a round of killings, Ning Huizao, the eldest son of the Ning family in Qinzhou and the governor of Qinzhou, died under the knife.

"General, what should we do next?" His subordinates stepped forward and asked.

"You can't go to the north gate. The people in the north gate are all from Qinzhou." Mo Zhongwen was bandaging the wound on his arm while his thoughts were changing.

"Go to the south gate. Those are probably my fellow villagers from Hepu. Open the south gate and invite Gao Jinglue to enter the city."

"Mr. Erlang, the city defense army has reacted. Let's go quickly," the servant of the Mo family who inquired about the news reported.

"Withdraw", Mo Zhongwen did not dare to delay and quickly led the Ning brothers towards the south gate.

The Mo family is a first-class wealthy family in Hepu, and Mo Zhongwen has been in charge of the Hepu military mansion for many years. When Mo Zhongwen came to the south gate and took out two heads.

The guard general of the south gate opened the city without hesitation. He was originally from Yuezhou, and later attached himself to Ning Daoming. Now he could take advantage of his merits, which he couldn't wish for.

(End of this chapter)