Jiang Kaiyuan returned to the camp with a heavy heart, he had already heard the power of the Longyou Army's sky-shaking thunder, but the first time he saw it today, it still made him feel extremely shocked, he actually understood that Wang Siyu wanted to cross the river very easily, his trebuchet was dead, but the other party's ship was alive, and it was not threatened at all, as for the crossbow arrows, could it still be able to defeat the other party's sky-shaking thunder?

But it doesn't matter whether Wang Siyu crosses the river or not, there are still 30,000 elite horsemen behind him, this battle, in fact, he has already lost, so Jiang Kaiyuan sat in a daze for an hour, and before he knew it, he slept with his clothes, and when he woke up, the big tent was quiet, only to see a blood-red sunset shooting in from the gap in the tent. ^UC eBook^ to see the latest

"Did anything happen when I fell asleep?" Jiang Kaiyuan opened the curtain and asked the soldiers.

Several pro-soldiers were gathering around for dinner, and when they saw that the commander had woken up, several pro-soldiers immediately stood up, and one of them replied: "Report to the envoy, General Liu came to look for him twice in the afternoon, and it seems that the army is unstable when I hear him." ”

"Bastard! Why didn't you wake me up with such a big event. Jiang Kaiyuan was furious, pointing at his own soldiers and angrily reprimanding.

Several pro-soldiers trembled and said: "It was General Liu who didn't let you wake up the envoy, and he said that there would be no way to wake up the envoy, and he was very depressed." ”

"What are these words, immediately go and call Liu Bingsheng to see me." Without waiting for the soldiers to run away, Jiang Kaiyuan stopped him again, "Forget it, I'll go by myself!" ”

At this time, it is the time to eat, the soldiers eat according to the group, a group of people in a circle, while eating, while talking loudly, generally speaking, the topic is mostly women and food, every time at this time, the barracks will be very lively, laughter, scolding together, but today's dinner is very silent, everyone is eating with a heavy heart, occasionally some soldiers are whispering something, but as soon as they saw Jiang Kaiyuan coming, they immediately lowered their heads and stopped talking.

Jiang Kaiyuan naturally knew it. He shook his head. Without asking too much, he left quickly, and when he walked behind a tent, Jiang Kaiyuan suddenly heard someone in the tent talking loudly about the explosion at noon. He was intrigued, and stopped.

"There is still a need to fight this battle. A row of earth-shaking thunderbolts were thrown, and we all fried them into roast meat, just to give them wine. ”

"Humph! Ignorance, do you think we can beat it without shaking the thunder? Li Shidao knows! A well-known wolf in the Central Plains, I heard that he was slaughtered by others in Yancheng. Most of the 20,000 people were killed, and that was the Anxi Army, the invincible first cavalry of the Tang Dynasty, and the more powerful Modao Army heard that it hadn't come yet! ”

"You guys! I only care about who is great, but I don't think about it. Who are we fighting against? Court! So what are we? Rebels! Do you understand? No matter whether we win or lose, we are destined to be scolded by the world, I am worried that after the war, our family will be labeled as a rebel, at least we will not be official slaves, and at worst we will be sent to the Western Regions, now that I think about it, it is really stupid for us to work hard for the Chu family. ”

"Shhhh Be quiet, it's hard to be heard from above. "I'm afraid of a fart! Lao Tzu slipped away tonight. If you can't escape, Lao Tzu surrenders when he goes into battle. The children of the Chu family spent all day drinking and playing with women in Guangling, but let Lao Tzu come to work for them. Dream! ”

Jiang Kaiyuan couldn't listen to it anymore, he snorted heavily, turned around and left, at this moment he didn't have the heart to talk to his subordinates anymore, he returned to the Shuai tent sullenly, and there were still more than a dozen steps away from the Shuai tent, a personal soldier ran over in panic, and whispered in Jiang Kaiyuan's ear: "Envoy, Zhang Huan sent someone to see you, it's in the big tent!" ”

Jiang Kaiyuan was taken aback, "Who brought him in?" ”

"It was General Zhao who brought it, and he happened to be on duty today. The starter"

Jiang Kaiyuan looked at both sides and immediately ordered: "Block the news of this matter, and no one should know about it." ”

"My subordinates understand." Several of the pro-soldiers immediately went to set up.

Jiang Kaiyuan walked quickly towards the big tent, he sneered in his heart, first used the sky-shaking thunder to intimidate at noon, and then sent someone to persuade him to surrender at night, Zhang Huan was really fine! When I opened the tent curtain, I saw a lean middle-aged man sitting in the big tent, who was about the same age as himself, but his appearance was vaguely familiar.

When the man saw Jiang Kaiyuan coming in, he got up and laughed: "Brother Jiang, I haven't seen you for thirty years, don't come unharmed!" ”

"You are Jiang Kaiyuan, I can already be sure that he is his acquaintance, but he can't remember the past thirty years ago.

"Brother Jiang forgot? Back then, we went to Beijing together to take the exam, and your family was poor, so we used a travel fee to eat and sleep together.

Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Jiang Kaiyuan remembered who he was, this person was his own fellow villager Qi Lu, who was quite good back then, I heard that he had been Zhu's staff, and later took refuge in Zhang Huan, although he was an old man thirty years ago, but Jiang Kaiyuan did not have the joy of meeting his old acquaintance in another country, he said coldly: "Are you here to lobby me for Zhang Huan?" ”

Qi Lu's smile also disappeared, and he said solemnly: "I'm here to save your life, are you willing to listen?" ”

"Sit down and talk! For the sake of my fellow countrymen, I'll give you a chance to speak. ”

Qi Lu sat down, he muttered for a while and said: "You must have heard of the battle of Yancheng, Li Shidao's 20,000 troops fought hard, and as a result, he was killed and wounded, while the Longyou army suffered less than 200 casualties, of which only 20 were killed in battle. ”

"Are you threatening me?" Jiang Kaiyuan interrupted him coldly.

"Definitely!" Qi Lu shook his head and continued: "The governor of my family asked me to bring you a word, everyone is the Tang Army, he doesn't want to kill each other, so he won't attack you for a long time, if you are willing to surrender, then you can not blame the past, the army under your command is still the Tang Army, and you can be named the Shangjun Assassin, otherwise, once the two armies start a war, he will be killed!" ”

Jiang Kaiyuan looked up to the sky and laughed, with a hint of ridicule in his laughter, his laughter gradually faded, he glanced at Qi Lu and said: "I, Jiang, am a civil official, my legs and feet are unhappy, and my arms are weak, but my here is very hard. ”

He pointed to his neck, and said, "If Zhang Huan wants to kill me, tell him to raise his sword to cut it, but he wants me to bow to him and daydream!" ”

Qi Lu glanced at him with pity, "You don't think about yourself, you should also think about the soldiers, betraying the Tang Dynasty for the private interests of a family, how many people do you think will be as pretentious as you." ”

"Shut up!" Jiang Kaiyuan shouted angrily, he pointed at Qi Lu and reprimanded: "For the sake of my fellow villagers, I won't kill you, but if you dare to talk nonsense again." I will show you your head. ”

Qi Lu was undaunted. He straightened up and said proudly, "Show my head to the public? Hum! You'd better save your head first! ”

Jiang Kaiyuan suddenly came back to his senses, he stepped forward and looked at Qi Lu and said, "What do you mean by this?" ”

Qi Lu sneered and said nothing, at this moment. There was a commotion outside the camp, and a personal soldier ran into the tent and hurriedly said, "Envoy." Dozens of generals came from outside the tent, and they wanted to see the envoy of the prison state. ”

Jiang Kaiyuan was taken aback, he looked at Qi Lu, and suddenly walked out of the tent quickly, and the outside of the tent was already illuminated by torches. More than 50 generals were talking about something with emotion, and when they saw the commander coming out of the account, everyone suddenly surrounded them.

"When the envoy and the special envoy of the prison country come, they must persuade us to surrender. What is the attitude of the envoy! ”

Jiang Kaiyuan was furious, and he yelled: "Bastard! I am the main general, how can I decide to make up my mind, do you dare to threaten me? ”

At this time, his lieutenant Liu Bingsheng stood up and arched his hand to him and said: "Please make the king understand everyone's hardships, we are not willing to betray the court and the Tang Dynasty, and the prison country has sent someone to show that he knows our thoughts." The Chu family's confrontation with the imperial court was nothing more than for the family's selfish interests. We are the people of the Tang Dynasty, and we don't want to betray the court for the Chu family! ”

"Well said!" Qi Lu walked out of the big tent. He bowed his hand to everyone and said: "In Xia Qilu, it is the envoy sent by the Lord of the Prison State, the Prison State said that the Anxi Army can kill the Hui people, can kill the Tubo people, can kill the big cannibals, can kill the Khitans, but can not kill the Tang Dynasty's own soldiers, the battle of Yancheng is a last resort, he does not want to have another cannibalistic tragedy, I hope everyone will return to the imperial court, and in the future, we will go together to open up territory for the Tang Dynasty, and protect our Tang people from being bullied by foreign races, this is the duty of the Tang Dynasty soldiers, but your local commander refuses to be loyal to the imperial court, I don't understand why he protects the interests of the Chu family so much, what is the relationship between him and the Chu family? I want everyone to be martyred for the Chu family together! ”

Everyone glared at Jiang Kaiyuan angrily, and a few people raised their arms and shouted angrily: "He is the son-in-law of the Chu family, of course he doesn't care about our life or death." ”

"Stay calm, everybody!" Liu Bingsheng waved his hand to everyone, signaling everyone not to get excited, and then he bowed his hand to Jiang Kaiyuan and said: "I can tell the envoy the truth, we have all decided to return to the imperial court and be soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, if the envoy is willing to lead everyone to surrender, we still listen to the arrangement of the boss, but if the boss is unwilling to surrender, then for the sake of everyone who has been together for many years, please make the gentleman leave by himself, don't force us to turn our faces and deny people." ”

After that, Liu Bingsheng took a step back, pressed the handle of the knife with his hand, and looked at Jiang Kaiyuan coldly, waiting for him to make a final decision, Jiang Kaiyuan smiled miserably, "Okay!" Good! Good! You've all decided, so what else can I say? Let me write a letter to the commander and reply to you at once. ”

He staggered back to the big tent, ordered all the soldiers to retreat, and after a long time, there was no movement in the big tent, Qi Lu suddenly felt bad, turned around and opened the tent curtain, but was so shocked that he took a step back, only to see that Jiang Kaiyuan had committed suicide.

On April 20, the 40,000 troops deployed by the Chu family in Linhuai mutinied, the middle and lower officers were unwilling to work for the Chu family, and collectively surrendered to the Longyou Army, the commander Jiang Kaiyuan would rather die than surrender, and committed suicide, Zhang Huan felt his loyalty, and ordered him to be buried at the foot of Duliang Mountain, on the third day of Jiang Kaiyuan's suicide, on April 22, Chu Xingyun, who came from Huainan, arrived in Linhuai County.

Chu Tandi's original wife had two sons and a daughter, the sons were Chu Xingshui and Chu Xingyun, and the daughter was Zhang Huan's mother Chu Banglan, so Chu Xingyun was still Zhang Huan's second uncle, but the two of them met for the first time, although Chu Xingyun was Zhang Huan's second uncle, his officialdom was the deputy envoy of Huainan Jiedu and the deputy driver of Guangling County, and he could not lose his courtesy in front of Zhang Huan.

He was brought into Zhang Huan's big tent by his own soldiers, and saluted respectfully, "Your subordinate Guangling County, don't drive Chu Xingyun to see His Royal Highness the Prison State." ”

"Chu Envoy Jun has worked hard all the way, please take a seat!" Zhang Huan put the pen down and lukewarmly invited him to sit down.

Chu Xingyun heard Zhang Huan call himself Chu Envoy, he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart, it seems that this pro can't be recognized today, Chu Xingyun has already known the news of the Linhuai mutiny, the 100,000 Huainan army has gone to 60,000, and the remaining 40,000 troops are mostly water troops, and they can't compete with Zhang Huan's most elite Anxi army at all, the Chu family is gone, even if the head of the family doesn't give orders, he knows what he should do.

"I came to discuss with His Royal Highness the Prison State the way to solve the Huainan crisis on the order of the head of the family, the head of the family is unwilling to hurt the civilians, and is willing to hand over the army to the imperial court, I wonder what the imperial court can leave for our Chu family?"

Zhang Huan smiled faintly and asked him, "I don't know what your Chu family wants?" ”

This Chu Xingyun couldn't answer this question, before he left, the eldest brother's bottom line was to hand over the army, and everything else was as usual, including his position as the secretary of the local punishment department, but Zhang Huan's tone made him feel that the prospect was not good.

He hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "The Chu family's army is cultivated by the Chu family's decades of painstaking efforts, unlike the Cui and Pei families, which are all broken armies, the Chu family's army is completely handed over, so the conditions should be a little more favorable than the Cui and Pei families, and the Chu family requires that in addition to handing over the army, everything else will remain the same, including the position of the head of the family in the court." ”

"Hand it over completely?" Zhang Huan sneered, "I don't understand what it means to hand over completely, who did I defeat in Yancheng?" Who is Linhuai who surrendered to me, has nothing to do with the Chu family? ”

He stood up and said coldly to Chu Xingyun with his hands behind his back: "If the Chu family had taken the initiative to hand over the army a month ago, I might have considered all the conditions of your family master, but now, I might as well tell you the truth, except for Chu Wei and I can spare his life, your Chu family no longer has any qualifications to bargain with me." ”

Chu Xingyun's face was swollen red, his heart was horizontal, and he simply tore his face, "Zhang Huan, my Chu family still has 40,000 troops, if you force people too much, my Chu family will destroy Yangzhou and burn your jade." ”

Zhang Huan's gaze suddenly sharpened, "Then you go!" You went to ruin Yangzhou! Do you see if my brows will wrinkle, Yangzhou is razed to the ground, and it is a big deal for me to rebuild it, but I will kill all of your Chu family. ”

He suddenly shouted, "Someone! Behead Chu Wei for me. ”

"And, wait!" Chu Xingyun was so frightened that his voice changed, and his lips trembled: "I offended His Highness the Prison State just now, I apologize!" I apologize! ”

Zhang Huan waved his hand, "Leave people under the knife first." ”

He walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and finally stated the conditions for his dismissal, "First, the Chu family unconditionally handed over all the troops and slaves, and the armed family must not exceed 100 people; Second, the Chu family could keep 10,000 hectares of land and ten shops, and the rest of the land and shops would be handed over to the imperial court, and the money and grain stored in the warehouses of Danyang County would also be confiscated; Third, Chu Xingshui dismissed Shangshu and Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, and changed his appointment to Yuzhang Assassin History. ”

Zhang Huan said one condition, Chu Xingyun's face was white, when the three conditions were finished, Chu Xingyun's face was already like ashes, it was obvious that Zhang Huan was going to make an example of the Chu family, but if he agreed to these three conditions, the Chu family's decades-long foundation would be over, Chu Xingyun stood up weakly and said: "The stakes are very high, I can't be the master alone, please ask His Royal Highness the Prison State to allow me to go back and discuss with the clansmen, and reply within ten days, is this good?" ”

"Good! I'll give you ten days to think about it. Zhang Huan turned around, stared into Chu Xingyun's eyes, and said word by word: "Within ten days, I will not attack Jiangdu City!" ”