Late Tang

(Thanks to Yuexi Lazyman and yezzhiqiu for their support, and special thanks to Yuexi Lazyman for the reward of [-] coins. The engine oil is good! People are a little uncomfortable today, so there are only three shifts, but although the three shifts, but There are [-] words, which is equivalent to the fourth update, but I am too lazy to split it up, so I will send it together. Ask everyone for a monthly pass!)

It was a dark and damp prison.

The cell is completely underground, cold, damp and dark, very dark and very dark.Although a few pine oil torches were inserted on the wall of the corridor on one side, and the dim and flickering orange light shone in through the mottled railings, most of the cell was still shrouded in darkness.

The dungeon is very humid, which is normal in a northern city like Youzhou City.What Liu Rengong hates the most is the ubiquitous rats.Like any shady place, there are even more rats in a dark cell.

However, Liu Rengong complained about the humidity and darkness, but did not complain about the mice.On the contrary, he is very happy about the rats appearing in the dungeon.

As a once well-known captain of Beidi Mojin, Liu Kutou has robbed many tombs, so he is no stranger to and afraid of this dark and humid underground environment.What made him most uncomfortable in prison was loneliness and hunger.

He was running a fever when he was brought in here.When Wozhou broke through, he was Li Maoxun's personal guard and general. After Li Maoxun's death, he was naturally left behind by other generals of the Chinese army to be the unlucky ghost in the rear.However, Liu Rengong did not die so easily. The 1000 men and horses in the rear fought to the last man, successfully covering the breakout of the Chinese army.At that time, he killed several enemy soldiers in pursuit, but was also stabbed twice in the thigh and waist.

He couldn't forget the damn spear now either.It was neither an iron spear nor an ordinary spear.It's the damn three-edged lance.A three-foot-long edge.With three-sided blades, the iron armor on his body was useless in front of the lance, it was directly pierced, and then severely opened a hole in his body, and the blood spurted out.

He desperately stabbed one to death with a knife, and finally hugged one and bit off the other's throat, but he also lost a lot of blood.Plus there is a leg injury.Unable to escape, he finally changed into the armored shirt of the man he killed.When it was dawn, a group of logistics soldiers from the Zhendong Army came to clean up the battlefield. They bandaged him to stop the bleeding and stopped his injury.In the wounded barracks, he also ate a few delicious meals of meat porridge, especially the canned whale meat, which was really delicious.In August, those Zhendong troops still had canned fruits such as peaches, pears, bayberry and so on.

There is food, drink, and medicine.After several days, he was finally able to barely dismount.At this time.The main force of the Zhendong Army has sent troops to Youzhou City, and only some wounded soldiers and united soldiers are left behind in Wozhou City.One day, he took the opportunity to sneak out of the city, and then stole a pen plow horse from a rich family on the way.They fled all the way back to Youzhou City. At that time, there were already soldiers and horses of Zhendong Army outside Youzhou City.

But he couldn't enter the city gate, but he had a way to enter the city.Finally he jumped into the moat, and then sneaked into the city in a sewage ditch under a corner.But as soon as he entered the city, he was arrested.He revealed his identity and asked to see the young master Li Keju.But Li Keju didn't see it at all, and was thrown into the dungeon instead.After thinking about it, he thought it was because of the uniform of the Zhendong Army on his body.At that time, he didn't change it, because he was afraid of encountering soldiers from the Zhendong Army on the road.

It didn't come to fruition, but in the end it became the cause of suspicion.Thinking about it, the soldiers and horses behind the palace had already been wiped out, but he suddenly appeared when the Zhendong Army was besieging the city, wearing a set of Zhendong Army uniforms, and sneaked into the city again, no one would suspect him.He wanted to explain, but no one wanted to hear it.

Because the injury was not healed, he rode a horse all the way, slept in the open air, and got into the smelly ditch, and the wound recurred.Ben's injury seemed to be getting better, but it broke out again.After being imprisoned, he kept having a fever. In this dark prison, no one gave him sick meals, no meat porridge, no canned fruit, not to mention those canned beef and canned whale meat.And no one came to change his dressing, not even clear water to wash the wound, let alone the kind of alcohol that smells good and tastes good.

But Liu Kutou's fate is very hard, there is nothing in the prison, but there are mice.

These rats are everywhere, Liu Rengong used his years of training skills to catch the unscrupulous rats in a fever, and directly killed them, skinned them, drank their blood and ate their flesh.As long as there are mice who dare to break into his cell, they will be eaten by Liu Rengong in the end.After eating dozens of rats, he finally miraculously recovered.

He once thought that he was going to die, and he remembered thinking that I would die alone in this dark underground dungeon, without anyone knowing, with the pile of rat fur as companions.

But now, he felt that he was stronger than when he escaped from Vaud.His whole body was filled with a kind of wild power, stronger than ever.

There are no windows on the thick earthen walls of the black prison, and the sky is dark.In this dungeon, he could only tell the difference between day and night by the shifts of the guards.

But the two guards didn't talk to him. He was lonely and bored, so he had to give them a name according to their appearance. The one with the long face was called the horse face by him, and the short and strong one , he nicknamed him Niutou.Bull head and horse face, he often called them in his heart.

Based on the two daily meals of mush, and the torches on the walls in the corridor of the cell, he secretly guessed the date.

In the dark, Liu Rengong is not afraid of moisture or mice, but he becomes lonely and lonely, and he longs to hear the sound.Every time the guards came to his cell, whether to deliver food or make rounds, or change the toilet, he made an effort to talk to them.Every time he asked, he didn't answer, but he was still not discouraged, and only hoped that one day they would be able to answer him a sentence or two.

"How is the battle going?" he asked, "Is Young Marshal Li taking over in Youzhou now? How is he?" Besides these, he sometimes asked other questions, "Have other departments of the Lu Long Army come to aid Youzhou?" Has the Eastern Army retreated?" "Has the Eastern Army attacked the city today?"

But no matter what he asked, it was fruitless, they never answered his questions.But among these two people.Ma treated him better.Occasionally look at him.As for the bull's head, he was regarded as a cow or a horse at all.

The torch on the wall was replaced with a new one, and Ma Mian took over the bull's head.Another new day passed, Liu Rengong felt emotional in his heart, and then Ma Mian brought him dinner.The dinner was very rich, and Liu Rengong was very surprised by the richness.

"A bowl of tall corn and rice, there are even two steamed cakes, and a stack of dried radish sticks. There is also a pile of salted fish, and there is even a bowl of mutton soup, and slices of mutton can be seen in it. Except In addition, there is a small jar of wine."

"Is this a farewell meal?" Liu Rengong asked bitterly.These days being locked up here, although no one cares about it, he is still full of hope, thinking that the more this is the case, the more it means that there is still hope of getting out alive.But seeing this rich prison meal now, he immediately remembered a tradition in the prison, for those prisoners on death row who were about to be executed.They will be given a last sumptuous meal of wine and meat, so that they will be full ghosts when they die.

Ma Mian opened his mouth very rarely today.nodded to him. "The boss said something, and I will cut you off yesterday afternoon."

After Liu Rengong lost his mind slightly, he laughed lightly, finally laughed loudly, and then laughed wildly.

"I worked my life for the Li family, but I never thought that it would end up like this." He burst into tears with a smile, which was very vicissitudes in the end.

Ma Mian was a little surprised and said, "I heard that you are a spy of Zhendong Army?"

"Fuck the spies, I Liu Rengong is the general of the commander-in-chief's personal guard. This time the commander-in-chief died, and I led a thousand guards to fight to the rear until the last one. I was also shot twice and killed There are three enemies. If it wasn't for Fu Da's fate, he would have followed the commander-in-chief long ago. He rushed back to Youzhou all the way, but he was treated as a spy, which is ridiculous, embarrassing, and lamentable!"

"You are Liu Kutou?" The horse face seemed to have heard the name Liu Rengong before, and exclaimed. "It turns out that you are the commander-in-chief's personal guard, no wonder."

Hearing what the horse face said, it seemed that there was something hidden in it, so he quickly asked, "What's going on?"

Talking about pouring a glass of wine for Ma Mian, Ma Mian seemed to be a little emotional, but he didn't refuse, picked up the dirty wine and drank it down, sighing: "I am also under the command of the Marshal Guizhou. In the battle, the young commander was originally the fifth army, but later the young commander received an order to stay in Youzhou. Then Li Jing defeated the front army and then the left army, scaring off the right army, and besieged the commander in Wozhou. After that, the city of Youzhou Many people in Guizhou began to stir up trouble. They united and almost emptied the young general. Many of us soldiers and horses who followed the general in Guizhou were seized. Many people were even purged from the army. , arranged to other places. Like me, I was assigned to be the guard of this dungeon."

Liu Rengong originally thought it was Li Keju who refused to see him, but now that he saw Li Keju, he might not even know that he was alive.He was a little taken aback, his mind was in a mess.

"Then what's going on now?"

The horse face sighed, "What else could happen? If it wasn't for the news of the death of the commander in the back, and Li Jing led his troops to the city, the young commander would have been killed by them. But when these people saw When Li Jing came to kill, many of them fled with their families and soldiers, and threw the city of Youzhou and Li Jing to the young marshal. Although the young marshal took over Youzhou again, but There are less than 5000 soldiers and horses. These days, young and strong are temporarily called up, and about [-] young and strong are recruited to defend the city, but they still don't have much confidence in dealing with Li Jing."

"Why didn't the commander-in-chief call you back?"

"I have already called, and I will not come again tomorrow."

Liu Rengong sighed secretly, maybe you will never come again.He has seen Li Jing's Zhendong army strong, and now those generals in Youzhou city have run away, only the little soldiers under Li Keju's men are left, there is no hope.

"Youzhou City is four feet high and has a circumference of 23 miles. It is the largest fortress in the north of the Tang Dynasty. Even if Li Jing wants to attack, it may be difficult to conquer. Maybe the young commander can drive Li Jing away."

The horse face smiled, knowing that this was impossible.The bigger the city, the harder it is to defend.It would be fine if there were more soldiers, but there are only so many soldiers in the city now, and it is obviously stretched to defend a big city with a circumference of 23 miles, with loopholes everywhere.

"However, it's not that there is no chance. The young commander is sending someone to seek peace with Li Jing. Maybe Li Jing can finally retreat."

Liu Rengong's eyes lit up, begging for peace.yes.This is the only chance.but.If you don't take out the blood book, Li Jing probably won't agree casually.Didn't the commander-in-chief send Li Jing several times to ask for peace terms in Wozhou, but in the end Li Jing ignored him and kept calling all the time.

Early the next morning, the cell door opened, Liu Rengong opened his eyes, straightened his clothes, and prepared to die.

But the person who came in turned out to be Ma Mian who said yesterday that he might never come again.He has changed his outfit today, wearing a set of familiar red Lulong army armor and an iron helmet on his head.There was also a horizontal knife in his waist.His face was also very clean, and his beard was specially trimmed.Seeing Liu Rengong, he immediately smiled and said, "Liu Kutou, you don't have to die, just follow me, the commander wants to see you."

He was stunned for a moment when he heard that the commander-in-chief wanted to see him, and then he immediately realized that this commander-in-chief was no longer that commander-in-chief, but the new commander-in-chief Li Keju.

"Liu Kutou. You're not dead, that's right." Li Keju was still the same Li Keju.He even became a little haggard, but his whole person seemed to have a little more majesty. Finally, Liu Rengong thought that maybe the crown suit he was wearing had something to do with the handsome position he was sitting in. "You're alright, can you still have this commander in battle to kill the enemy?"

"Although I spent some time in the dark cell, my job is better than before."

"Is there anything else you're missing?"

"How are my family members and children?" Liu Rengong never asked about his family members in prison.

Li Keju looked at Liu Rengong, an old subordinate, with a smile, "Don't worry, they are all fine. At first I thought you had died with the soldiers and horses in the rear, so I announced your death to your wife and children. Unexpectedly, you I came back alive." After a pause, Li Keju stared at Liu Rengong and said, "I heard that you have been sent to Li Jing's military camp several times on behalf of your father, and now, I hope you can attend Li Jing's barracks on my behalf."

Liu Rengong nodded and did not refuse. "There is no problem. Commander-in-Chief, he is willing to die. However, Commander-in-Chief, Li Jing is not a good guy, and ordinary conditions may not satisfy him. Especially right now, he still has such an advantage."

"These commanders all understand that we will give Li Jing whatever he wants." Li Keju didn't hesitate at all, "Back then, the commander-in-law cared too much about Youzhou, and guarded Youzhou as his own home. But the commander-in-law forgot , this Youzhou has not only our Li family, but also countless families, big and small, watching from behind. Therefore, in my eyes, save yourself first, and then talk about Youzhou. If I can’t even save myself, If you can't even protect the soldiers from Guizhou, how can you protect Youzhou?"

Liu Rengong was shocked, he didn't expect that Li Keju would have such an idea.But when you think about it, it is true.For example, this time, Li Maoxun fought against Li Jing, on the one hand, for himself, and on the other hand, it was not to protect Youzhou, but other military leaders would not think so.When Li Jing was besieging Li Maoxun, they did not work hard, and even sat on the sidelines, refusing to save them.Li Keju, even being ostracized, almost lost his life.

In mid-September, after Liu Rengong was released from the black prison, he resumed his post again.This time, he is still the general of the capital, but his capital has 3000 troops, and it is the newly expanded guard capital.Among them, one thousand were Uighur tribesmen, and the remaining two thousand were recruited Khitan, Xi and other Hu people.

Later, Liu Rengong went out of the city to ask to see Li Jing.

After arriving at Zhendong Barracks, Liu Rengong offered peace terms.

Li Keju is now completely convinced by Li Jing, and because Lu Longjun once wanted to replace him, he is not only asking for peace and a truce, but even has the idea of ​​using Li Jing's power to secure the position of Lu Longjun's commander-in-chief.

"Mr. Zhendong, this time Liu came here on behalf of our young marshal, with [-]% sincerity."

"Tell me your conditions!" Li Jing said.

"Liu proposed on behalf of my family's commander-in-chief that Lu Longjun offer 200 million coins to the Duke of Zhendong as a reward to the brothers of the Zhendong Army. In addition, he offered [-] stones of grain and grass to the army, and the proposal of borrowing the four cities proposed by the Duke of the County was also fully agreed. .And, in order to express our respect for the Duke, we will also marry the Marshal’s younger sister to the Duke.”

Li Zhen laughed lightly at the side: "Li Maoxun already mentioned this condition before he died, is this also called sincerity?"

"Liu Rengong didn't panic, and continued: "Of course, this is only a partial condition.In addition, our commander-in-chief is willing to respect the Duke of the county as his uncle from now on, and from now on, I, Lu Longjun, will follow the lead of the Zhendong Army and be willing to follow the tail.Every year from now on, [-]% of the taxes collected by my Youzhou Town will be handed over to the Zhendong Army. "

After this follow-up condition was put forward, Li Jing and Li Zhen couldn't help but look at each other, slightly surprised.This is no different from the previous clause of losing money. This is equivalent to Li Maoxun surrendering to Li Jing, and Youzhou Town will be Li Jing's vassal in the future.Although this kind of vassal is only a temporary thing, it still has great attraction to Li Jing.

Although moved, Li Jing was not willing to agree immediately.So after pondering for a while, he said: "If Li Keju is really sincere, I can consider it. However, first send 200 million guan coins and 50 shi of grain to the outside of the city, and then talk about other things. And, the latter thing, I have to Let's talk after entering Youzhou City. If Li Keju is willing to open the city gate to welcome our Zhendong Army into Youzhou City, everything is easy to talk about. If not, there is nothing to talk about. The big deal is that our Zhendong Army will take it by itself."

Liu Rengong's expression changed a few times in an instant, he didn't expect things to go so badly and Li Jing to be so ruthless.Not only did they increase the amount of money and food, but they even asked Kaicheng to welcome the Zhendong army into the city.

He wanted to refuse on the spot, but remembering Li Keju's previous words, he finally endured it, forced a smile and said: "Such an important decision must be made by my commander. I will go back to the city and ask the commander for instructions."

"No!" Li Jing picked up the teacup, and gently picked up the tea leaves in the cup with the lid! (To be continued..)