Wu Gang walked out of the handsome camp and walked on the street, looking at the people coming and going, and saw that their eyes were all scared, and there was a hint of helplessness. As he walked down the street, the people rushed up and looked at him intently, as if in prayer.

"General, vote!" All the people petition, this is a great thing! Everyone fell to their knees and finally spoke what was in their hearts.

Wu Gang hurriedly helped up the people kneeling in front of him, "Let's get up and talk about it!" ”

"If the general is attacked by the Song army, our people will suffer again, and how many people's wives will be separated and their families will be ruined!" The oldest elder in the city, who had some prestige in the local area, told with tears in his eyes, "The grass people know that the general can fight well and take good care of our people, and it is because of the general's efforts that we can enjoy peace." ”

"However, the Song army has been besieging the city for more than half a month, besieging but not attacking, we all know this. Now that there is no food in the city, the situation will be even worse. The grass people have come to ask the general, open the city gate and surrender! If this continues, I really don't know when it will be the end. ”

Wu Gang was a little helpless and a little sad, and he was also worried in his heart. After all, Song Jiang besieged and did not attack in order to make them surrender automatically. In fact, he himself measured that if there was a real big war, with their forces, they would definitely be defeated, and the only way to achieve victory was to fight a protracted war and cut off the Song army's food and grass. It's just that this method is useless, with the support of Ulzhou, there is no need to worry about the problem of grain and grass at all, and there is also the support of the Great Song Dynasty, but they are isolated and helpless.

It can be said that, in comparison, the outcome of this battle is already doomed.

Wu Gang is a loyal person, even if Emperor Liao Tianzuo is mediocre and incompetent, he still sticks to his position, will never abandon the city and surrender, and will not leave the people in the city to live and die. However, he was born at the wrong time, and encountered an unprecedented crisis in Daliao, he had the heart but was powerless.

The snow was falling all the time, and the people gathered in the streets, begging the general to open the gates and surrender. If it were other generals, they wouldn't dare do so. Because this is the most rare time, if the people gather together to persuade them to surrender, I am afraid that they will already be lost.

At this moment, they can't take care of too much, the most important thing is that Wuhan Iron and Steel is indeed a rare good general, and he is deeply popular with the people. The people persuaded him to surrender for the sake of his life. If there is a real big war, I am afraid that my life will be lost.

In the end, Wuhan Iron and Steel asked them to go back first and give them an explanation in a few days. Everyone left, but he was still the only one who continued to walk forward, and some of those who had not yet left looked at his lonely back and silently shed tears.

"Is there really only one way to surrender?" Wu Gang thought silently, looking ahead again but there was no way out, but his feet continued to walk forward without obeying the call, which made his steps very heavy, but it was difficult to stop, because it was really difficult to choose.

A moment later, Wu Gang's figure appeared in the barracks, looking at the soldiers standing outside the camp tent, no matter how heavy the wind and snow were, they still stuck to their posts, not daring to be negligent. When the guards saw Wu Gang appear, they greeted respectfully and continued to stand there motionless.

Wuhan Iron and Steel stepped into the barracks with the front foot, and the adjutant general came to report on the back foot: "General, there are deserters in the army!" ”

"Bring them in, I have something to ask them!" Wu Gang himself doesn't remember the desertion, it happened a few times in the past half a month. Now, he just wanted to ask them a few things.

This time, all the deserters were brought into the big tent, and Wu Gang looked up and saw that there were more than a dozen people, more than before. In addition, more than a dozen of them were caught, and some of them have fled and are missing. They kept their heads down, not daring to look at Wuhan Iron and Steel, full of shame.

Because Wuhan Iron and Steel treated them really well, they were forced to become deserters.

"You don't have to, I know what you're facing!" Wu Gang sighed, "Let me ask you something, why did you want to escape, what is the reason?" But it doesn't hurt for you, I will never blame you, as long as you answer truthfully. ”

They still didn't dare to speak, lowered their heads, remained silent, and finally the adjutant general shouted: "You have followed the general all these years, don't you know that the general is true to his word?" As long as you tell the truth, the general will not blame if he says that he will not blame! ”

"General Hui, the reason why we escaped is also a last resort!" One of them raised his head and said guiltily: "The Song army is besieging but not attacking, and we have already eaten enough food, and it is difficult to hold on." In addition, the heavy snow is coming again, and I am afraid that if this continues, many more brothers will die. If it was a vigorous battle to die on the battlefield, we would have no complaints, and now it is really a wretch. ”

"If there is a big battle, we will die in battle, and we will have no regrets; If you don't go out, you can only sit and eat empty, and one day the food will be eaten, and how to fight like this can only sit and wait for death. In this case, it is better to open the city gate and let the Song army in. ”

After Wu Gang listened, he asked the deputy general to take them down, and then sat alone in the camp tent, bowing his head and pondering: "It seems that there is really no way!" ……”

The adjutant general took all those people down, and returned to the camp tent, just in time to see Wu Gang bowing his head and being silent, his face was full of sadness, he shouted respectfully, and then after returning the result of the matter, he continued: "General, it really can't go on like this, if the desertion continues to happen, I am afraid that our army has been defeated before the battle." ”

"Vice Admiral Wang, let me ask you, do you think what they said is right?" Wu Gang did not answer Vice General Wang's words, but asked such a sentence.

Vice General Wang was stunned for a moment, and after a pause, he said in a deep voice: "The last general thinks that what they said is not wrong, but we are the generals of Daliao, and if we open the city gate and surrender, we will become traitors." But they are soldiers, and they are very different from us. ”

"The Song army besieged but did not attack, that is, we ran out of ammunition and food, and we were in chaos, and in the current situation, they succeeded. Not only is the morale of our army unstable, but there are also deserters one after another, and the people in the city are also worried, this is their goal, and I have to say that the means are really clever. ”

Wu Gang nodded, he also knew that this was a strategy used by the Song army, but the strategy made them helpless, difficult to deal with, not to mention, it was in the hands of the Song army. In the end, Wu Gang sighed helplessly: "Vice General Wang, you give me an order: open the city gate and surrender, you don't have to flee anymore!" ”

Vice General Wang was stunned for a moment, then nodded, turned around and went out.

After Wu Gang said this, his whole body was shocked, his eyes were a little moist, his heart was very struggling, this was the choice he made, for now the only way to do this is to open the city gate and surrender, and let all the generals remove the armor and other weapons on their bodies, which is to show that he has really made up his mind.

In addition, Wu Gang wrote three more letters, two of which were sent to the other two generals, and one of which was sent to the Song army's tent and finally handed over to Zhao Gou. It wasn't until he saw this surrender that Zhao Gou's face finally showed a long-lost smile.

(End of chapter)