Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 178 Begging Si Fan

Qifu Tulei heard that a messenger had come from Wugushan in the wheat field. He didn't know what happened at home, so he came to see Qifu Sifan.

Since there were outsiders present, Si Fan smiled and said:

"It's just that my father asked me if I wanted to mobilize the other three troops to come for reinforcements."

Qifu Tulei shook his head and said:

"No, there are enough soldiers and horses in the city now. If Si Yin, Chu Lian, and Tu Lu go south, once Huan Xi attacks Wugu Mountain in Maitian, all our family members will be captured by him."

This time, the reason why only the 30,000 cavalrymen of the Qifu tribe went south was to leave the other three troops to rescue at any time.

Qifu Si Fan heard this and smiled bitterly in his heart:

Uncle! Huan Xi had already quietly approached the camp, and the other three troops were probably too late to rescue him.

But he didn't dare let the news leak out, lest it cause riots.

Just when Qifu Tulei said goodbye to Qifu Sifan and was about to leave, Qifu Sifan stopped him and said:

"Uncle, wait a minute! My nephew still has some things to discuss with his uncle."

Seeing that the uncle and nephew had something to say, the rest of the people left one after another. Only the uncle and nephew were left in the wing of Prince Liang's palace.

Qifu Tulei saw Qifu Sifan's face turned pale, and finally realized that something was wrong. He asked uneasily:

"What happened?"

Qifu Sifan took a deep breath and then said:

"We were all deceived. Huan Xi never thought of attacking Guzang, but went straight to Wugu Mountain in Maitian."

Qifu Tulei was shocked, but he quickly calmed down and said:

"There are still 20,000 cavalry in the three troops. I believe they can resist Huan Xi. Si Fan, we will return to the army to rescue him now and surround Huan Xi at the foot of Wugu Mountain in Maitian.

"If Huan Xi can be captured and killed, Guanlong will be in chaos. Even if we don't plot against Guanlong, we can still take advantage of the opportunity to secure Liangzhou."

Qifu Tulei became more and more excited as he talked, but Qifu Sifan broke all his illusions with one sentence:

"Huan Xi arrived suddenly, and my father was unprepared. He didn't notice the Jin cavalry until more than ten miles away. I was afraid that by the time the three reinforcements arrived, Huan Xi had already captured the people and animals and left."

Qifu Sifan had never personally fought against Huan Xi's elite cavalry, but he also knew that the remaining 10,000 young men in the tribe were really vulnerable to a single blow.

Otherwise, he would not have been left behind, but would have followed him to Guzang.

He was begging for help and vomiting thunder, as if he had been struck by lightning, and his whole body seemed confused. He also knew how he could protect everyone's children and resist Huan Xi's elite cavalry with just over 10,000 young men.

"Is there any concrete news?"

Qifu Tulei said bitterly.

Qifu Sifan shook his head:

"Not yet, but it will be soon."

The next day, a group of begging sentries met Zhang Shisheng and others on a narrow road outside the city. If Zhang Shisheng had not understood the Xianbei language and explained loudly, there would have been a fight first.

Of course, if Zhang Shisheng didn't understand Xianbei language, Huan Xi wouldn't have sent him.

Knowing that the other party was here to deliver a message, one of the sentry riders returned to the city to report, while the rest stayed behind to continue to monitor them.

After hearing the news, Qifu Sifan immediately asked his followers to drive a carriage out of the city, secretly brought the people in, and sent another person to invite his uncle.

Zhang Shisheng allowed the visitor to search him. When the personal attendant wanted to take the letter, Zhang Shisheng took it away:

"My master has told me that this letter must be delivered to your master personally by me."

I had no choice but to give up.

Zhang Shisheng left all the more than ten cavalrymen who came with him outside the city, and got on the carriage entering the city alone with his entourage.

In the carriage, due to Si Fan's warning, the entourage did not dare to ask any more questions, and Zhang Shisheng would not take the initiative to talk to him. The two arrived in front of Prince Liang's palace in silence.

Zhang Shisheng is very familiar with Liang Palace. He once served as the guard of Liang Gong here.

Arriving at the side room, Qifu Sifan and Qifu Tulei's uncle and nephew were already waiting here.

Si Fan, begging for help, said to his followers:

"You should step back first."

After his entourage left, Qifu Sifan pretended to be calm and asked in Chinese:

"Mr. Liang, you came to deliver a letter. Where is the letter?"

Zhang Shisheng asked:

"I dare to ask, but in front of the prince?"

Qifu Sifan nodded and said:

"Exactly."

Zhang Shisheng had no doubts. After all, the only one who could make Liang Palace his home was Si Fan. He handed over the surrender letter from Li Dahan.

Just by seeing his father's handwriting on the envelope, Qifu Sifan knew that his guess yesterday was true. The Qifu Ministry had indeed been breached by Huan Xi.

Otherwise, why would Huan Xi's cavalry come to deliver the message for his father?

Qifu Sifan opened the envelope with trembling hands. Qifu Tulei didn't know what was on the letter, but looking at Qifu Sifan's current appearance, his heart kept sinking.

After a long time, Qifu Sifan gave a long sigh and handed the letter to his uncle Qifu Tulei for him to read.

There is nothing new in the letter of persuasion to surrender. Qifu Dahan just told Qifu Sifan that Huan Xi had not insulted their family, that all the women and children in the tribe would be taken away, that the soldiers would know the news, and sooner or later the army would be demoralized and so on.

Of course, the most important thing is to tell Qifu Sifan and Qifu Tulei that if they can sacrifice their guzang, hunt down the gangsters in the city, and make up for their mistakes, Huan Xi will definitely pardon them.

While Qifu Tulei was reading the letter, Qifu Sifan asked Zhang Shisheng:

"Does Mr. Liang have any words?" Zhang Shisheng nodded and said:

"Gong Liang asked me to ask a question: Shi Zhao Juke, the governor of Liangzhou, is still alive?"

Qifu Sifan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He cherished Zhao Ju's integrity and did not kill the scribe. He just locked him in prison and did not care about providing an extra prison meal to support Zhao Ju.

"Mr. Zhao is so loyal and loyal, how could I bear to kill him?"

With that said, Qifu Sifan called in his entourage who was waiting outside the door and asked him to go and fetch Zhao Ju and take Zhang Shisheng down to rest.

In the spare time of arranging people, Qifu Tulei also read this letter of persuasion to surrender, and his heart was full of annoyance.

When only their uncle and nephew were left in the wing, Si Fan asked:

"I wonder if my uncle can show me the way?"

Qifu Tulei sighed:

"After hearing the bad news today, I am now without a master. Since my brother regards you as the main general, it is up to you to decide whether to fight or surrender."

Qifu Sifan weighed the pros and cons, thought about it for a long time, and then said:

“The news of the attack on the rear cannot be concealed, and it will spread sooner or later, but I really don’t have the ability to comfort the three armies under such circumstances.

"In terms of intelligence, Huan Xi is far better than me. He just used a little trick to drag me down in Guzang. I am convinced that I lost this battle.

"If we defect to the other Xianbei tribes, not to mention how many soldiers are willing to follow, I am afraid that no one will truly accept us. Sooner or later, our uncles and nephews will be killed and our tribes will be annexed.

"Once we refuse, our family members will also suffer misfortune under Huan Xi's wrath.

"Now that the matter has come to this, I would like to follow the story of Hu Hanxie Chanyu, surrender to Huan Xi, and rely on Huan Xi's power to protect myself."

After saying that, Qifu Sifan looked at Qifu Tulei and asked:

"What does uncle think?"

Qifu Tulei felt relieved, nodded and said:

"This is a mature way to make a living."

He was also living under someone else's roof. Of course, he also hoped that Si Fan, a beggar, could join Huan Xi. Even if he was moved to Chang'an in the future, he could still be a wealthy man and reunite with his wife, concubines, children and grandchildren.

While the uncle and nephew were discussing the arrest of the rebels in the city, in the prison of Liangzhou City, the unkempt Zhao Ju did not know that he was about to leave the prison.

Zhao Ju has been looking a lot haggard recently. This is not because he begged Si Fan to mistreat and torture him, but because Zhao Ju believed that he was incompetent and that's why he lost his daughter. As a result, the situation in Liangzhou was corrupted and he felt guilty for Huan Xi's trust.

Therefore, Zhao Ju has been deep in regret and anxiety these days.

In the original time and space, it was clearly brothers of the same clan who killed Zhongliang, but it was Zhao Ju who died in grief and anger because of this. His sense of responsibility was too strong.

Zhao Ju was imprisoned in a cell, and except for the fact that someone sent him prison meals every day to ensure that he would not starve to death, no one paid any attention to him.

Today, I saw a Xianbei man suddenly appear in front of the cell. Zhao Ju thought he was coming to kill him, but he was not afraid. He only felt relieved. He said to the visitor:

"My lord is in the east, please allow me to die facing the east."

With that said, Zhao Ju stood up and sat down on his knees facing east. He closed his eyes and waited for death.

The personal attendant sent by Qifu Sifan naturally understood Chinese. He knew that Zhao Ju had misunderstood his purpose, so he explained:

"I am not here to take your life, but my master wants to see you."

Zhao Ju did not move, he just opened his eyes and said:

"Your Lord and I have nothing to say. Zhao is dead. Please don't taint my ears with those words of persuasion to surrender."

I had no choice but to reveal:

"Gong Liang sent an envoy to deliver the letter. My lord only ordered me to pick up my husband from prison after receiving the envoy. I think it may be that Gong Liang wants to ransom him."

However, Zhao Ju has a stubborn temper:

"I have betrayed Duke Liang's great trust. I have no face to see Duke Liang. How can I let him go to all the trouble to redeem me now?"

The attendant felt helpless, so he had to find someone to silence Zhao Ju, and put Zhao Ju on the carriage regardless of his struggle.

Zhao Ju was forcibly taken to Qifu Sifan's wing. Qifu Tulei had already left, and he was already arranging for soldiers in the city to capture the rebels.

Seeing Zhao Ju entering the door, Si Fan stood up to greet him and said apologetically:

"I have offended many people before. Please forgive me, Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Ju was startled when he heard this. He didn't know what kind of medicine was being sold in Si Fan's gourd.

But he soon had the answer. Qifu Sifan continued:

"I have decided to submit to Duke Liang. From now on, I will ask Mr. Zhao to speak kindly to me in front of Duke Huan."

Zhao Ju was stunned. He didn't know what happened during his imprisonment to make Qifu Si Fan so humble.

"But my lord is approaching the city with his troops?"

Zhao Ju asked tentatively.

Si Fan shook his head and said:

"Mr. Liang is no longer in Guzang. He has now returned to Wugu Mountain in Maitian. Mr. Zhao is afraid that it will take some time before he can meet Mr. Liang again. Please wait patiently."

Zhao Ju suddenly realized that of course he knew that Wugu Mountain in the wheat field was the lair of Qifu Xianbei. All his doubts were explained.

　I originally thought it would be 10,000, but it turned out to be only 8,000. The cold is basically gone. Thank you for your concern.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)