The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 174 Surrendering Zhou Guangxun

Zhou Guangxun walked quickly westward along the city wall.

He has been guarding the south gate of Luocheng for nearly three years. No one is more familiar with this section of the city wall than him.

There were several horse stables built on the west wall. Zhou Guangxun knew that there was originally a drainage ditch underneath the stables. After the city wall was reinforced and the terrain was raised, the drainage ditch was no longer needed, so it was covered with stone slabs.

The drainage ditch leads directly to the outside of the city. Six months ago, Li Shouzhen widened the moat, and craftsmen sealed the exit with soil. The river water just flooded below the seal.

Almost no one knew about this place, and Zhou Guangxun accidentally learned about it from the people who built the stables.

There were more than a dozen horses in the stable, and Zhou Guangxun's late-night visit frightened them. Several horses sneezed uneasily, and Zhou Guangxun tiptoed over to comfort them.

In the darkness, Zhou Guangxun groped carefully in the dirty, wet and smelly straw pile, ignoring the stench of feces and urine, looking for a few stone slabs to cover the drainage ditch.

After searching for a long time, which made him covered in filth and sweat, he finally found a few protrusions and dug up the haystacks to reveal a few uneven stone slabs.

Zhou Guangxun was overjoyed, pulled out a knife and inserted it through the gap, prying it up hard, and it took a lot of effort to move the stone slab away.

In the dank ditch, several rats squeaked and fled in panic, and a rotten smell hit their nostrils.

The drainage ditch was just large enough for one person to lie down. Zhou Guangxun leaned over and took a look. It was pitch black with no light visible.

He took off his leather armor, took off his saber and threw it into the ditch. He took a few deep breaths, jumped down into the ditch, moved the stone slabs to cover them, then lay down and crawled toward the outside of the city.

The narrow ditch was blocked at both ends, with almost no ventilation. It was humid and hot, and the pungent putrid stench was nauseating.

In the dark ditch, Zhou Guangxun could only hear his own heavy breathing and violent heartbeat.

After climbing for an unknown amount of time, Zhou Guangxun was stopped by an earth wall. He reached out and touched the uneven earth and rocks.

There were gaps in the air holes that sent some fresh air in, and Zhou Guangxun seemed to smell a trace of water vapor, which was the smell emanating from the moat outside the city.

Zhou Guangxun cheered up, put his palms against the earth wall, and pushed it out hard. He tried it, but there was no response. The air-dried soil layer was still strong.

Zhou Guangxun struggled to turn around in the narrow ditch, and his head and face were scratched by the protruding stones on both sides of the tunnel, causing burning pain.

He pressed his feet against the earth wall and pedaled hard. A "bang bang" sound came from the ground. The horses in the stable were frightened and sneezed uneasily.

Fortunately, there was no one near the stable at night, and most of the time, no patrolling soldiers would approach.

Zhou Guangxun could feel the earth wall loosening under his desperate pedaling, so he gritted his teeth and continued to exert force.

There was less and less air in the ditch, Zhou Guangxun's breathing became faster and heavier, and his whole body was soaked with sweat.

Finally, the earth wall collapsed, and the earth fell into the moat, making a popping sound, which seemed a bit unexpected in the middle of the night.

The cool night breeze sent the air into the ditch. Zhou Guangxun lay down and breathed a long sigh of relief. He carefully cleaned up the remaining mud with his feet, then slowly extended his feet out of the tunnel and moved his body out little by little.

More than three feet below the exit was the water surface of the moat. Zhou Guangxun's feet were submerged in the water, and he took a deep breath and fell into the water with a pop.

A dip in the cool river water lifted his spirits. Zhou Guangxun dived into the water and swam to the west, looking for a place to go ashore where he would not be discovered by the soldiers at the head of the city.

Growing up by the Wei River, Zhou Guangxun was good at swimming. He swam to the corner of the city wall and behind the turret before climbing ashore.

He lay on the shore and rested for a long time, always paying attention to the movement on the top of the turret.

The moonlight is thin tonight and the night wind is blowing. It is difficult for the soldiers guarding the city to see clearly what is going on below the city.

Zhou Guangxun stood up, ducked and quickly ran away towards the official camp.

The imperial army set up camps on three sides outside Puzhou City, and set up checkpoints and blockades at various crossings. They sent dozens of cavalry squads to patrol around day and night in rotation. The heavy blockades surrounded Puzhou City, hoping to It is impossible to escape alone.

Zhou Guangxun spent the whole day monitoring the movements of the camp at the top of the city and noticed something.

The civilians in each camp will be taken out of the military camp after dark, a separate camp is set up not far away, and several tents are pitched for the civilians to live.

The defense there was much looser, with only a few patrols stationed there.

Thousands of civilians lived mixedly. Zhou Guangxun had been watching them for days and secretly laughed at the disorderly management of the government and army.

But tonight, it was this chaos that gave him the chance to escape.

As long as they sneak into the camp, among thousands of civilians, no one will be able to find out.

He hid for a few days, then found an opportunity to escape, crossed the Wei River from Chaoyi and returned to Huayin, picked up his mother and left for a foreign country. From then on, he lived in anonymity and lived in anonymity.

Zhou Guangxun's eyes were a little moist and hot. He turned back and looked in the direction of Puzhou City. In the dark night, the towering city looked like a crawling ancient beast.

That was the place where he had shed blood, sweat and worked hard for many years. Once he left, he was afraid he would never come back.

Zhou Guangxun quickly wiped the corners of his eyes and smiled to himself. The light from the bonfire not far away shone into his eyes, revealing a certain look of determination.

He was lying on the ground in the bushes, and a group of patrolmen walked past him a few feet away.

There were several bonfires burning in the camp, and more than a dozen military tents were randomly set up everywhere, looking scattered and disorderly.

Zhou Guangxun saw the right moment, ran into the camp at high speed, and got into a military tent near the edge.

Both ends of the tent were opened for ventilation, but it was still a bit stuffy inside, with snoring coming and going, and a sour smell.

I don't know how many civilians slept in the tent. Zhou Guangxun lay in the corner and did not dare to move. He held his breath nervously and could hear his heart beating.

After lying there for a while, there was nothing strange. It seemed that no one noticed that someone sneaked into the military tent.

Zhou Guangxun was completely relieved. The officers and soldiers set up camp with great force and besieged Puzhou City. The blockade seemed tight, but it left a defensive loophole in the civilian camp, which he could take advantage of.

Zhou Guangxun has already decided that if anyone asks him tomorrow, he will claim to be a civilian from Huayin. He is very familiar with Huayin and will never cheat.

After thinking about his plan, Zhou Guangxun completely relaxed his mind. Waves of sleepiness and fatigue swept over his body, and he soon fell into a deep sleep.

What Zhou Guangxun didn't know was that from the moment he approached the camp, his every move was watched by secret sentries in the distance.

The entire civilian camp seems to be laxly guarded, but in fact it is loose on the inside and tight on the outside. There are hidden sentries on the outside to closely monitor the movements of the camp.

Even if a mouse runs past, it cannot escape the eyes of the secret whistle.

After confirming that someone had sneaked into the military tent, a secret sentry quickly returned to the camp and reported the news.

The camp outside the south gate of Puzhou City happened to be manned by Zhu Xiu and Li Chongjin.

Zhu Xiu woke up from being shaken in her sleep. When she opened her eyes, she saw Li Zhongjin's big dark face in front of him, with a pair of bright copper bell eyes.

"What do you want to do if you don't sleep in the middle of the night?" Zhu Xiu cautiously pulled the quilt and covered her chest.

Li Chongjin said excitedly: "A secret sentry outside the camp came to report that someone just sneaked into the tent where the civilian husband lived!"

"Oh? It's finally here!" Zhu Xiu suddenly woke up from her drowsiness.

"I just don't know if he is the person you are waiting for! No matter what, arrest him first and then talk about it!" Li Chongjin hurriedly grabbed Zhu Xiu to leave.

"Hurry up! Let me take a nap!" Zhu Xiu broke free, yawned, and put on her clothes, shoes and socks in a leisurely manner.

"Tell Pan Mei to invite the old man here. Get your people ready and don't make too much noise, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the rebels in the city." Zhu Xiu thought for a while and warned.

"I understand, let's go now. You should hurry up and don't delay!" Li Chongjin ran down to deliver the order in a hurry.

Half an hour later, Zhou Guangxun, who was sleeping, was awakened by a dazzling fire and sat up suddenly.

A black face appeared in front of him with a bit of a sinister smile. When he saw him waking up, the black face smiled very sneakily: "You're awake." Zhou Guangxun was so frightened that he raised his fist and smashed it hard. The black face turned his head to hide. Pass.

Zhou Guangxun rolled to the side to avoid it. He subconsciously wanted to draw the sword, but when he touched his waist, he found nothing.

"Bang" a knife was thrown in front of him, Li Chongjin sneered solemnly: "You want a knife? I'll give it to you!"

Zhou Guangxun was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up and pulled out the sheath, clasping his hands across his chest and scanning the surrounding environment with vigilant eyes.

Only then did he see that the civilians who had been sleeping in the tent had disappeared. Apart from the black-faced general, there was also a young man in a white shirt sitting on a chair, dozing off with his chin on his head.

Several sergeants stood at both ends of the tent holding torches, the flames swaying in the night wind.

Zhou Guangxun quickly assessed his situation and looked for an opportunity to escape.

"Don't waste your time. I've been waiting for you for so many days. Now that you're here, how can I let you leave so easily?"

Li Chongjin looked at him enthusiastically, and hooked his fingers at him: "Come on, beat me, and you can leave!"

Zhou Guangxun was furious, roared and approached with his sword, slashing with all his strength.

Li Chongjin did not dodge or dodge, he pulled out the Yanling sword from his waist like lightning, and swung the sword fiercely towards him. With a clang, the two swords collided and sparked sparks. Zhou Guangxun's sword fell out of his hand. Li Chongjin took a diagonal step and leaned on his body. , hit Zhou Guangxun's chest hard with his shoulder!

Zhou Guangxun groaned and took a few steps back. His body swayed and he almost fell, but he managed to stand firm.

Li Chongjin pouted: "I almost didn't mean it."

Zhou Guangxun's face was ashen, he laughed miserably, and rushed forward to pick up the knife and wipe it on his neck. Two sergeants rushed to hold him down.

Zhu Xiu waved his hand, and a sergeant put away his knife and released Zhou Guangxun.

"Kill if you want, no need to humiliate me!" Zhou Guangxun yelled angrily.

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "What is your name? Seeing that you are good at martial arts and can escape from Puzhou City without anyone noticing, you must not be an ordinary soldier? Also, how did you escape from the city?"

Zhou Guangxun frowned and said angrily: "Why do you ask so many questions? Just kill me with one knife! Before I die, I want to know how on earth you discovered me? When I sneaked into the camp, I asked myself that no one noticed me!"

Li Chongjin laughed and said: "Idiot, do you really think you can sneak into the center of our military camp casually? Grandpas let you in on purpose! Do you really think the people sleeping in this tent are civilians? Haha~ That's all my god The heroes and soldiers pretended to be just to lure you fools into being fooled!"

Zhou Guangxun's face turned livid, he clenched his fists, and after a while, he finally let out a sigh of relief and said sadly: "Since I have been captured, I have nothing to say, just give me a good time!"

Li Chongjin nodded with a smile: "He is quite a man."

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "Why wait until now to kill you? You probably didn't escape from the city to die. In that case, you might as well cooperate well and maybe you can still have a chance to survive.

Let me ask you again, what is your name?Any position in the rebels? "

Zhou Guangxun looked at him, hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, "My name is Zhou Guangxun, and I am the military envoy under Wang Jixun."

Zhu Xiu and Li Chongjin looked at each other in surprise, and it turned out to be this person!

Zhu Xiu felt very excited, and the big stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.

Later, Zhou Guangxun chose to surrender under great pressure and anxiety after being besieged for several months.

Now, Zhu Xiu intervenes through a series of means to make the established fact happen in advance. This is another historical event that has been changed by his hands.

Zhu Xiu looked at him and said calmly: "Why did you escape from the city? Do you want to leave temporarily, or do you want to never return?"

Zhou Guangxun lowered his head in silence.

Zhu Xiu smiled faintly and said: "I can guess it even if you don't tell me. You want to escape back to Huayin, pick up your mother, and then go away! You don't even have weapons on you, but you carry a gold collar weighing more than ten taels." , you shouldn’t think about going back to serve Li Shouzhen anymore, right?”

Zhou Guangxun was shocked and raised his head with a look of disbelief on his face: "How did you know?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said nothing. Li Chongjin glanced at him secretly and secretly became vigilant. He warned himself in his heart that this kid is good at pinching and calculating, so he must not provoke him in the future. It is too dangerous!
Zhu Xiu said calmly: "This game is specially designed for you."

"For me?" Zhou Guangxun was puzzled.

Zhu Xiu nodded to a sergeant, and the sergeant resigned. Soon, Pan Mei walked into the tent, supporting an old woman with a stooped waist.

The old woman's clothes were simple and covered with patches. Her eyes were ill and she could not see clearly. She was groping forward with one hand, and her steps were staggering and somewhat lame.

"Elder. Is that you, eldest?" the old woman called in a hoarse voice.

"Mother? Mother!" Zhou Guangxun was stunned for a while, as if he couldn't believe that his mother would appear in front of him.

"It's Da'er's voice. It's Da'er." Zhou's mother staggered forward when she heard the voice of thinking day and night.

Zhou Guangxun knelt down for a few steps, held his old mother's withered hand tightly, and burst into tears: "Mother!"

Zhou's mother's voice trembled with surprise. She carefully groped Zhou Guangxun's face with her withered hands, and muddy tears fell down: "He is my eldest son!~ It has been more than half a year. I heard that there was a war outside and many people died. My mother asked about it. I’m feeling anxious when I don’t hear from you.”

Zhou Guangxun hugged his mother tightly, suppressing his sobs and shaking his shoulders.

"Mom, did they hurt you?" Zhou Guangxun asked hurriedly.

Mother Zhou wiped away her tears, shook her head and said, "No, no, some officials are very polite to my old lady."

Zhou Guangxun was relieved and looked at Zhu Xiu and others with complicated eyes.

Zhou's mother thought of something and asked nervously: "Sir, mother, heard them say that you have become a rebel, causing trouble, and want to rebel against the imperial court? Son, listen to my mother's advice, you have fought wars every year, and finally calmed down." How could you continue to rebel and cause trouble and harm the people in a few years?
Beheading a rebel is a must, and none of our neighbors and relatives in Huayin can escape!Son, you must not do anything stupid!You haven't married a wife and had children yet, do you want our family to die? "

Zhou's mother cried while talking. Zhou Guangxun panicked and whispered comfort with red eyes.

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "Old man, don't cry, don't panic, your son has surrendered to the army and saved his life. From now on, he will also be an officer and serve the court!"

Zhou's mother happily said: "Surrender is good, good! My eldest son, you must know what is good and what is good, and you must never do stupid things again! You must work for the government as you should. You don't want to be rich and powerful, as long as you can be safe and stable." Living life is better than anything else!”

"Little official, little official?" Zhou's mother reached out and groped around. Zhu Xiu stood up and took two steps forward: "Old man, I am here."

Zhou's mother grabbed Zhu Xiu's arm with one hand and held Zhou Guangxun's hand tightly with the other: "elder, this little official is an official. He talked a lot with mother and promised her that as long as you surrender, we will My family can save your life, and I can also give you a job so that you can have food to eat! Quick, kneel down with me and kowtow to the little official!"

Zhou's mother pulled Zhou Guangxun to kneel down and kowtow. Zhu Xiu hurriedly supported her and said with a smile: "I'm old, so I don't need to be polite! Don't worry, whatever we agree on will be kept! I'll go first." Rest, let me have a good talk with your son."

"Okay, eldest son, the junior official is a good person. If you follow him from now on, you must serve him well," Zhou's mother said naggingly.

Feeling sad and helpless, Zhou Guangxun tightly held his mother's hand, choked up and speechless.

Pan Mei stood next to Zhu Xiu with her knife in hand, watching Zhou Guangxun's every move, smiling secretly in her heart. Zhu Xiaozi could talk the dead into living things with just one opening of his mouth. Zhou's mother, an old country woman with little knowledge, was not coaxed into confusion by his few words.

Zhu Xiu glanced at Pan Mei, knowing that this guy must be belittling her in his heart, so he said angrily: "Pan Dutou, why don't you ask the old man to go down and have a rest?"

Pan Mei glanced at him, reluctantly hummed "Yes" and stepped forward to help Zhou's mother.

Zhou Guangxun was anxious to stop him, but Li Chongjin slid his sword out of its sheath with a bang and stared at him fiercely.

Zhu Xiu said calmly: "It's late at night. Let's send the old man down to rest. Come and talk to me about the rest!"

Zhou Guangxun hesitated for a moment, let go of his hand, forced a smile and whispered in his mother's ear: "Mom, go and have a good rest. My son still has something to talk to them about."

"Okay, son, don't be stupid again, and you must listen to the little officials." Zhou's mother nagged a few words, and Pan Mei helped her out of the tent slowly.

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "Now, we can have a good talk."

(End of this chapter)