Late Tang

Li Jing broke through the ambushes in Beisha City, beheaded nearly a thousand soldiers, and captured the rest.The two thousand crane-controlling troops drove directly to the city, Zhang Dewei turned pale with shock.Summon all the generals, intending to abandon the city and leave.

"Li Jing is powerful now, and both Shicheng and Shirenzhu City are falling into trouble. Then Li Jing is not even his opponent in Duli Town. It is difficult for us to compete. I want to abandon the city and avoid it. I wonder if you have any opinions?"

Some subordinates said: "Why don't you vote for Duli Town? In the past, we also joined forces with them."

A school lieutenant under the seat said: "It must not be done. The town of Duli has been defeated and conquered by Li Jing. Both times it was saved by huge indemnities. Now they can't take care of themselves, relying on marrying Wang Pu's daughter and Li Jing Concubine, they also sent a huge sum of 400 million guan to make Li Jing stop fighting. At this time, they would never offend Li Jing and take us in. What's more, Li Jing is a wolf, and the town of Duli is also a tiger, and they are not safe for us kindly."

Another school lieutenant also said: "Li Jing is a fierce tiger, but Wang Pu is a jackal. If he goes for refuge, he will be annexed. In my opinion, it is better to take the initiative to surrender to Li Jing. As long as the city lord sends a letter to Li Jing to express his submission, then send With some money, food, gold and silk, Beisha City can be protected.”

Zhang Dewei sighed, drooping his head: "If I surrender Li Jing, I'm afraid he won't let me."

The captain said: "It's not that the lord really wants to surrender. We wrote a letter saying that the surrender is just a step for Li Jing to retreat. Although we are weak, Beisha City is a mountain city. It is strong and dangerous. If Li Jing really wants to attack, we only need to If he sticks to it, even if he can win, he will have to lose a few teeth. From the point of view that Li Jing defeated Du Lizhen and is willing to negotiate a peace with them, Li Jing is a cautious person. If he is not fully sure, he is not willing to take risks easily. Attacking the city. We surrendered to Li Jing and sent money and silk, while holding on to the city, behind closed doors, and Li Jing will retreat."

Zhang Dewei hurriedly said: "Let Captain Guo go out and send a letter to Li Jing in person."

The two captains are a pair of brothers, Guo Zhenshan and Guo Zhenhai, both in their twenties, are children of a rich Han family in Beisha City.He has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and he is familiar with military books.Not only are they good at riding and archery, but they are also familiar with the art of war and warfare. Although they are young, the two brothers are of good background, and they are also very capable. Although they are young, they each lead a battalion of soldiers and horses.This time Zhang Dewei sent troops to Qingni City, and the brothers stayed in the city.Last night the king went to battle, and they also persuaded him to be careful, but the king didn't listen, that's why he was defeated.

The brothers did not refuse, went straight down the mountain to meet Li Jing, and said: "After Zhang Dewei was defeated, he killed people indiscriminately. Now Beisha City is in chaos, and the people are all in chaos. My two brothers have long heard of General Ji Yu's reputation and know that the general is benevolent. The people under the rule live in peace. Now I can't bear the destruction of Beisha City in the flames of war, and the suffering of the people. I am very willing to join the general and be the predecessor of the general."

Li Liang said aside: "How do we know if you came here to feign surrender?"

Guo Zhenshan said: "We came here just to tell the general. I would like to stay and let my brother Zhenhai go back. We have a plan. We have contacted some generals who are dissatisfied with Zhang Dewei, and we will launch a campaign soon. Attack and capture Zhang Dewei alive. At that time, there was no need for the general to act. We only hope that after we capture Beisha City, we will dedicate it to the general. The general only needs to promise that after winning the city, he will not embarrass the people in the city."

Li Jing pondered for a moment, and said happily: "It's a great fortune to have the help of two generous generals. As long as you can really take Beisha City, then I promise not to invade the people in Beisha City. And as long as the matter is successful, I will pay you two, humble I can also appoint one of your brothers to be the new city lord of Shacheng."

Guo Zhenhai looked excited, and was about to agree with a smile. Standing next to him, Guo Zhenshan saw that several generals in armor beside Li Jing were looking at them coldly.He took the lead and said: "The general is too good. My brother is just a small school in the army. He came here to ask for orders because he couldn't bear the suffering of the people in the city. He is willing to contribute. How dare he covet the position of the city lord."

Guo Zhenhai also heard what the elder brother said at this time, and hurriedly said: "What elder brother said is that after the capture of Beisha City, it must be dedicated to the general. My brother, I only want to follow the general from now on, and only the leader will follow."

Guo Jia's big family in Beisha City saw Zhang Dewei's loss of soldiers and generals, and Beisha City was in danger.At this time, who would want to continue to stay with Zhang Dewei on the same wreck that was about to sink.After much deliberation, the only way to go to Li Jing is the best policy.Even Duli Town has bowed to Li Jing, and Qingni City has already belonged to Li Jing. Their Guo family is just a big family in Beisha City, but they are nothing in Liaodong.With Li Jing's current momentum, following Li Jing is also a good way to return.However, it is not so easy to attach to Li Jing. After thinking about it, it is best to launch a mutiny and capture Beisha City as a gift to Li Jing.

The Guo family has this strength, and Zhang Dewei lost his troops and returned, but he repeatedly made stupid moves to cleanse the barbarians in the army and the barbarians in the city.It makes people flustered. For hundreds of years, since the time of Goguryeo, Beisha City has long been mixed with various ethnic groups.Up to now, the intermarriage between various ethnic groups has long been unclear.Zhang Dewei killed Hu, but it made those Tang people who had an intricate relationship with Hu people flustered.

After the 5000 soldiers and horses disappeared last night, there are still more than [-] soldiers and horses in the city, but only [-] of them are real veterans.Among them, the Guo Zhenhai brothers each led a battalion of one thousand people, and many other lieutenant colonels were also dissatisfied with Zhang Dewei and wanted to find another dock.There was planning for Sima's father of two, Guo Cheng'an, in Beisha City, and things didn't hinder much.What matters is whether they can get Li Jing's support after they capture Beisha City.Guo Chengan was scheming, thinking that Li Jing had swallowed Qingni City, but even if Beisha City was dedicated to Li Jing, he would not have enough people to take over it for a while, and he would have to hand over Beisha City to them for management.At that time, the Guo family can still guarantee the same status, and even take the opportunity to improve.

Li Jing was very satisfied with the attitude of the Guo Zhenhai brothers, and ordered a banquet for the two of them. In the end, Li Jing did not leave one of them as a hostage, but sent the two of them out of the camp in person.

Li Juyi said: "I'm afraid that what these two people said is not all the truth."

Li Jing chuckled: "Whether he tells the truth or lies, let's just wait and see how things change. If there is a civil strife in Beisha City, no matter who wins or loses, it will be a good thing for us. If the Guo family really wins Wouldn't it be better to dedicate Beisha City to us? If they take Beisha City but want to claim it for themselves, after the civil strife, they will be weaker, so how can they resist us?" He chuckled. "Originally, I only planned to come to Beisha City to extort a fortune, beat them and return to Daxie Village, but I didn't expect that there would be such an unexpected joy."

On the same day, after Guo Zhenshan returned to Beisha City, he told Zhang Dewei that under my brother's persuasion, Li Jing had reluctantly agreed to our terms.Said that as long as my Beisha city handed over three thousand horses and one hundred thousand shi of grain, he would forget the past and retreat.And in order to show his sincerity, he has already taken the initiative to retreat fifty miles.

Zhang Dewei sent scouts to investigate, and the scouts reported back that Li Jing had already retreated and stationed fifty miles away.Several other soldiers and horses who were scattered to suppress the bandits also returned to the division together and retreated for fifty miles.

Although I heard that the conditions for 80 war horses and [-] shi of grain are very harsh, but the total value is only [-] million guan. Although it hurts, it is still worthwhile to exchange this money back to Beisha City.Zhang Dewei immediately ordered the city to prepare [-] horses and [-] stone grain, but on the one hand he still felt a little heartbroken.But he didn't dare to bargain for the conditions Li Jing offered, and in the end he directly ordered all the wealthy families in the city to pay one thousand coins per family, and ordinary people to pay one thousand coins per household, so as to make up for their losses by searching.

Guo Chengan nodded excitedly after hearing his two sons report on their meeting with Li Jing in the mansion. "Li Jing has already agreed, so there is no need to worry about this matter. Today, Zhang Dewei, who knows nothing about life and death, actually ordered to search the whole city for money in order to make up for his losses. This is really a crime, and the sky can't stop it Stay here. He has done us a great favor by going against the grain like this. Today he gave an order, and dozens of families who were still hesitant have already sent people to express their consent to participate in the incident."

That night, Guo Cheng'an held a banquet in the mansion, and invited Zhang Dewei, the generals in Beisha City, and the heads of major families and other famous people to the banquet to celebrate the end of the crisis in Beisha City.At the banquet, Guo Chengan invited dancers and kabukis, and there were countless delicacies and wines.He kept persuading Zhang Dewei and the other generals to drink alcohol. In the middle of the banquet, Zhang Dewei was already half drunk, and the other generals were also in the same situation.

Brother Guo Zhenhai reported softly to Guo Chengan, "Everything is ready. Zhang Dewei's bodyguards are all drunk from the wine they sent. Brother and I have surrounded the place with the second battalion, and we can attack at any time."

Guo Chengan nodded: "Okay, I have ambushed [-] famous fighters with knives and axes in the side rooms on both sides. After a while, I threw a cup as a sign, and the knives and axemen immediately came in and beheaded Zhang Dewei and the generals. Your brothers are responsible for solving Zhang Dewei and others After succeeding, according to the plan, together with the servants of other families and the soldiers and horses under their control, they will separately attack the four gates and the warehouse government barracks, etc., and if there is any resistance, just shoot and kill."

Zhang Dewei was half drunk, saw Guo's father and son talking there, and shouted: "Guo Changshi, come on, let's continue drinking, your wine is indeed delicious, but it's a bit high."

Guo Chengan stepped forward and said with a smile: "To tell you the truth, this wine is called Wuliang Yuye, and it is said that it is the tribute imperial wine drunk by the emperor of the Tang Dynasty today."

"Oh, you can even get the emperor's imperial wine, why don't you send me some." Zhang Dewei said slightly drunk and dissatisfied.

Guo Chengan chuckled: "This wine was given to the old man by Li Jing, and given to the city lord. I'm afraid the city lord won't dare to accept it." After speaking, regardless of Zhang Dewei's horrified face, the white porcelain wine glass in his hand fell heavily on the ground .

The beautiful white porcelain wine glass was torn apart on the ground, and it still carried the unique mellow aroma of fine wine.

Throw the cup for the number!

Countless heavy footsteps could be heard suddenly outside the hall, the hall door was pushed open with a slam, and groups of Guo Jia Ding in armor and armed with spears and knives rushed in.Zhang Dewei understood what happened, but Guo's father was nowhere to be seen when he turned around.

There were screams in the hall, and many people who knew about it had already stood aside, and the rest were still too drunk to understand the situation.A general was half drunk and said: "Guard, where is the guard!"

What responded to him was a whizzing white feather arrow, which accurately penetrated through the opened mouth, and came out with a pool of blood from the back of the head.

"Xuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu whouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu whom to whom to shoot.

Those from families not involved in the mutiny were also targeted and shot dead one by one by the archers.It happened suddenly, and they were all half drunk, how could they prevent this from happening.He wanted to resist and escape, but he was so drunk that he couldn't even walk steadily, how could he escape.

Within a few breaths, twenty or thirty of the hundreds of people in the hall had fallen down.Zhang Dewei was slapped in the face by the head of the Guo family's servant, his lip was broken, his teeth were shattered, and he fell to the ground. He was quickly tied up with cowhide ropes by several servants.

The rest of the people either died, or knelt on the ground begging for mercy after reacting.

Guo Chengan reappeared at this time, looked at the people in the place, and with a wave of his hand, they all tied up.Looking at Zhang Dewei whose face was swollen like a pig's head, Guo Chengan chuckled lightly: "Put it on hold, and send more guards. This is a good gift for General Li Jing, so don't miss it."

Zhang Dewei was already sober from the wine at this time, half of his face became numb due to the severe pain on his face.He glared at Li Jing and shouted: "Guo Cheng'an, I have always treated you and your Guo family well, how dare you treat me like this."

"No way, who made you mess with someone you can't mess with, and now we are also in danger of being burned by you. So, for our safety, I have to feel sorry for you."

Beisha City was in chaos at this time. The brothers Guo Zhenhai and Guo Zhenshan launched a mutiny based on their two battalions of soldiers and horses. Together, there are thousands of people in chaos.According to the plan they had made earlier, they raided the military camps, as well as the gates of the cities and the warehouses of the government treasury.

In the military camps in the city, most of the generals were invited to the Guo family's night banquet, and many of them were newly recruited this time.After being raided, the reaction was chaotic, all kinds of fighting.Some resisted desperately, some surrendered immediately, and some fled around.

The battles continued, and many rebels and ruffians took the opportunity to create chaos, looting, adultery, and arson.The entire town of Duli was in chaos, with shouts and flames everywhere.

The chaos didn't end until after dawn. Under the sunlight, corpses were everywhere in the streets and alleys of Beisha City on the top of Dahei Mountain.Teams of rebels with white cloth strips tied around their arms are clearing away the last resisters.Some people started to come out with buckets to help put out the burning houses, and some folks were called out to clean the city and carry the corpses.

In Beisha City Lord's Mansion, Guo Zhenshan and Guo Zhenhai, covered in blood, strode into the hall, and excitedly said to their father who was sitting in Zhang Dewei's former seat as the city lord: "Father, Beisha City is already ours."

Guo Chengan stood up from the seat of the city lord, looked back at the throne of the city lord with some reluctance, and said, "No, Beisha City is now Li Jing's."

(To be continued)