He Mansion, study.

The main local officials of Lianzhou Mansion gathered here, and He Ji sat on the tea couch with a gloomy face, not knowing what he was thinking.

There was silence in the field, and even if a needle fell to the ground, it could be heard.

"Tell me, what do you think of this?" said He Ji.

There was silence in the field, and He Ji said impatiently, "Lao Yu, you speak first." ”

Lianzhou Tongzhi Yu Changjing was sitting next to He Ji.

Hearing this, he hesitated for a moment, and then said slowly: "Lord He, this letter is just a letter to sow discord, and there is no need to worry! The letter said that only military generals would be accepted to surrender, and civilian officials would be killed, originally intending to make Lianzhou civil and military discord. ”

Hearing this, He Ji nodded nondeniably.

"Haha, this letter highlights that Lei Shaoxuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty is young and ignorant, and there is no one in his eyes. A disdainful voice rang out abruptly.

"Zhang Su prides himself on being a famous general, but he has no war and cannot prove himself. Now that Dongxing is besieged, Zhang Su is not surprised and happy, and sticks to Dongxing City, trying to become famous by defending the city. As for guarding Dongxing City, what he is most worried about is that the civil officials in Lianzhou are not thinking about each other and dragging them back. This letter made the civil officials of the city have no way out, and they can only wholeheartedly help Zhang Su defend the city, which is really stupid!"

The voice paused, and then said: "Lei Shaoxuan's attempt to use this letter to divide the civil and military officials of Lianzhou is just wishful thinking and a matter of course. ”

He Ji turned his face to look, and it was the staff member Xu Xian who interjected, and he couldn't help frowning, and reprimanded: "Nonsense! Lianzhou is a county of the imperial court, and the civil and military officials are one, could it be that defending the city is the business of Zhang Su's family, and we are just watching the excitement drag our feet?"

Xu Xian's face instantly turned red with embarrassment, and he was speechless for a while.

After a moment, Lianzhou Gong Cao Shi Songzhe put down the teacup and said, "Mr. Xu's words are wrong! Lei Shaoxuan is by no means young and ignorant. ”

Hearing this, the eyes in the field were all focused on Shi Songzhe.

"This credit is sinister and very vicious, so you can't guard against it!"

Shi Songzhe said slowly: "Although the civil and military forces are one, it is true that Zhang Su and we have always been at odds! At present, Zhang Su is bent on defending the city, but when it is critical, who dares to bet that Zhang Su and Dongxing City will live and die together?"

Shi Songzhe looked around the field, his eyes were sharp, and he said: "Suppose Zhang Su abandons the city to break through in order to plan for the future, what should we do? What should I do with my family? The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and Zhang Su breaks through by surprise, will he notify us? Will he wait for us?"

As soon as these words came out, the audience instantly fell into a death-like silence.

Everyone knows that Zhang Su and most of the people present are in the same boat, and they are eager to get rid of them as soon as possible, and if Zhang Su really wants to break through the siege, how can he bring the civil officials? Zhang Su is eager to borrow the hand of the Northern Wei army to get rid of these people present, especially He Ji!

From this point of view, Lei Shaoxuan's letter is nothing less than a signal, this signal is for Zhang Su: Don't stick to it, let me help you get rid of the full range of civil officials, that's your mortal enemy!

"If Zhang Su has a good relationship with us, and vows to live and die with Dongxing City, this letter will allow us to unite and defend the city together;

"Hmph, abandoning civil officials and running away is also a capital crime!

"If he can break through and escape, he only needs to say afterwards that he is afraid of death and tries to surrender, but he would rather die than surrender, and is forced to break through in order to counterattack. At that time, I was trapped in the city, and it was not up to him to have the final say?" Xu Xian whispered.

"Even if Zhang Su wants to trap me in the city, it's not up to him to have the final say. Don't forget, Lord He has mastered the first battalion of the garrison, the militia group, the government service and other forces. In addition, the recruitment of young and strong men is the responsibility of local officials, although they are all incorporated into the city defense team, we are still responsible for the daily management, and it can be regarded as the control of our state government yamen. It's not that we don't have the strength to fight, what are we worried about?" said Cai Shen dissatisfied.

"Many of the soldiers and civilians defending the city are natives of Dongxing City, and we expelled the old and young women and children out of the city and were taken in by the Northern Wei Army, and I don't know how many people are disgruntled and hated us......!

The expulsion of the people from the city was a double-edged sword, on the one hand, although it could consume the enemy's food, on the other hand, it also greatly damaged the morale of the soldiers and civilians defending the city. The formulation and implementation of this plan was very hasty, and Dai Wenqing, governor of Lianzhou, had very opinions.

"Okay!" He Ji interrupted Dai Wenqing's words and glared at him, "This matter is a foregone conclusion, there is nothing to change, so don't be verbose." Discuss how to defend the city in front of you, don't get confused first. ”

He Ji reprimanded Dai Wenqing impatiently, and a feeling of powerlessness rose in his heart.

As the prefect, He Ji holds most of the power in Lianzhou, and the main officials at all levels in Lianzhou are his cronies. However, there are still some officials, such as Lianzhou Tongzhi Yu Changjing and Dai Wenqing, who are respectful and respectful to themselves on the surface, but in fact they are dissatisfied.

He Ji glanced around and said coldly: "If the city falls, I will certainly not be able to escape death, can it be that you will be able to live?" Don't forget, it is Lei Shaoxuan who killed thousands of troops in the granary, will he let a few of you go?"

Hearing this, everyone's hearts sank, and a cold breath rose from their hearts.

Only then did I remember that Lei Shaoxuan's two letters before and after were murderous, resolute, and without any tolerance and discussion.

In particular, the second letter directly determined that the defenders had mercy in letting the people out of the city, and that the expulsion of the people from the city was due to the cruelty and viciousness of the local officials. Therefore, it is necessary to exterminate the local officials.

Isn't this a reversal of black and white?

Everyone knows that the expulsion of the people from the city is fundamentally an attempt by the defenders to reduce food consumption? What is the matter with the local officials? However, can the local officials present explain all this to Lei Shaoxuan?

Lianzhou Tongzhi Yu Changjing suddenly sighed: "A letter has already made you decide that Zhang Su will abandon the city and abandon us." At the moment of the great enemy, you and others gathered here, not only to discuss how to defend the city, but more like discussing how to guard against Zhang Su's injustice, so that civil and military officials beware of each other, and there is a faint intention of a complete break. It can be seen that the story of 'a letter worth thousands of troops and horses' recorded in the history books is not a lie. ”

When everyone heard this, their faces heated slightly, their expressions became unnatural, and they simply pretended not to hear it, bowing their heads and saying nothing.

He Ji's face sank, and he said with some dissatisfaction: "What do you mean, Lord Yu, is it possible that Lord Yu is not a local official, and he is different from us?"

He Ji snorted coldly and warned: "You are all local officials in Lianzhou, at the moment of life and death, no matter how many grievances you have in the past, you must put it aside for the time being! Don't forget, your wives and children are all in Dongxing City, if you die, in the chaos of the army, burning, killing and plundering, who will divide your wives and children, old and young, into us and others?"

Yu Changjing pondered for a long time, and said with a wry smile: "Everything is willing to listen to Lord He's dispatch." ”

As the second-in-command of Lianzhou, Yu Changjing has been suppressed by He Ji, and he is very dissatisfied with He Ji, although he does not dare to openly confront him, he is not to be outdone, and he secretly dismantles each other, causing a lot of trouble to He Ji. At this time, his wife and children in the city sounded, and they no longer dared to confront He Ji, so they gave in softly.

Everyone in the audience discussed for a long time, with different opinions and different emotions. There is ridicule, there is mockery, there is quarrelling, there is cruelty, there is fear...... Gradually, a hesitant atmosphere spread.

On the premise of determining that Zhang Su had abandoned everyone, everyone suddenly found that they had no way at all, and everyone would face a desperate situation. And Zhang Su, who was vulgar, annoying, and arrogant in the past, became the only life-saving straw in the eyes of everyone for a while.

It's a pity that the relationship with Zhang Su in the past was very stiff, and this straw will never save them!

The more I discussed, the more I found that there was no way out, and slowly, in everyone's hearts, a thought could no longer be contained, and it came to mind, but no one dared to say it, just the eyes of each other, more and more tacit understanding.

Between the words, there was a gradual increase in small talk that had nothing to do with the letter.

"Alas, I worked hard for half a life, I was meager, I was frugal, and I easily saved a few taels of silver. Originally, I just waited for Zhishi, and then returned to the mountains and forests, and since then I have been indifferent for the rest of my life, and the will of God has made people, but now I have to bury my bones in a foreign land. I still have old mothers and children at home, how unfair is the way of heaven!" Shi Songzhe cried and lamented.

Hearing this, everyone was stunned, with an incredible expression on their faces.

Yu Changjing was stunned for a moment, and scolded in his heart: "Nima! If you want to say that He Ji is the first greedy in Lianzhou, you Shi Songzhe is the second greedy." Who doesn't know from top to bottom of Lianzhou, as a gongcao, you treat the Lianzhou treasury as your family's treasury, and Lao Tzu is the second-in-command of Lianzhou, and you don't have any money. ”

"Master Shi, don't be sad. Alas, my wife and children are all in the city, and if I die, what a miserable fate they will be!"

"I am the only child in my family, and if I die, I will cut off the incense. What can I do......

“......”

Everyone looked at He Ji and kept complaining about their suffering.

In the end, even Yu Changjing couldn't help but say: "Lord He, the child is pregnant." The old man is over half a hundred years old, and he has never looked at his grandson, so he went to the national disaster, and he is really unwilling!"

He Ji secretly scolded in his heart: "The old man is not dead, the old man is confused! The son can still be pregnant? ”

Forcibly impatient, He Ji's face twitched, and he smiled bitterly: "The great enemy is currently relying on Lord Yu to help defeat the enemy, how can he sacrifice lightly?"

Seeing that He Ji always persuaded him with good words and without a trace of impatience, Xu Xian couldn't help it, glanced at He Ji cautiously, and said: "It's a pity that the Northern Wei army has come to the city, so I don't have any room for maneuver, if only I could take a step back, it would be good." All the adults are the pillars of the country, if they are all martyred for the country, won't the people of Lianzhou be leaderless?"

When He Ji heard this, he was noncommittal.

Seeing that He Ji did not object, Shi Songzhe boldly said: "Exactly, it is better to contact the Northern Wei Army, let Lei Shaoxuan let me go, save my life, and continue to contribute to the imperial court, saving sacrifices in vain!"

Dai Wenqing couldn't hold back any longer, and sneered: "Won't you just say surrender?

Surrender!

Everyone was silent for a while, their faces were complicated, and their eyes were staring straight at He Ji.

"In fact, the sailor Bai Dashuai once ordered: After the sailor retreated, the Northern Wei army was bound to take the opportunity to cross the river, and if the enemy could not be defeated, he could pretend to surrender and secretly wait for the imperial court to counterattack. He Ji said slowly.

Hearing this, everyone was in an uproar and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Great, in this way, we don't have to worry about the court being held accountable!"

"Why did Lord He hide this order from us? ”

"Lord He is worried that it will disturb the morale of the army. ”

“......”

While they were discussing, He Ji interrupted everyone's words and said loudly: "The commander's order said that the enemy could surrender, but it didn't say that he could surrender without a fight, and surrendering without a fight would be a capital crime!"

When everyone heard this, it was like falling into an ice cave.