readx;?readx; Chapter 693: The Defender and the Betrayer

The night is as cool as water, the moonlight is clear, and the chickens and dogs are jumping in Shenjing City, and it is a mess. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Surrounded by a group of ministers, Emperor Jiankang personally went up to the city to check the water potential. Standing on the high city gate tower and looking down, I saw that the endless wilderness outside the city had turned into a Ze country. When I looked down, the water had already exceeded the city wall, and under the reflection of the bright moon in the sky, the sparkling waves were boundless. As far as the eye can see, there is only a vast expanse, only the high platform built by the Qin army in the past, like a small island that rises abruptly, standing in the ocean.

Listening to the sound of rushing water, Jian Kangdi suddenly found that the noise in the city behind him had been silent. He turned around, but saw thousands of soldiers and civilians rushing up at some point, standing densely all over the city. People opened their mouths wide but no one spoke, and at that moment, everyone was trembling, all worried about their future fate.

Fire and water are ruthless, and after all, it is what the common people are most afraid of.

Looking at the rising water level, Emperor Jiankang, who was already skeptical about the future, was afraid, he grabbed Zhu Lie's arm tightly, and said with a distorted face: "Guo Lao, is it really okay?" ”

"Your Majesty, don't be impatient, it's not a big deal." After being silent for a long time, Zhu Lie gave such an answer, although he felt a strong uneasiness in his heart, but in order to appease His Majesty the Emperor, princes and nobles, officers and soldiers who had lost their courage, he decided not to say a word until he figured out the plans of the Qin people.

"That's good, that's good." Emperor Jian Kang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, turned around, and said to his subjects calmly: "You don't have to panic, my Shenjing City is more than ten zhang high, with its back to the East China Sea, even if the people of Qin attract the water of the three rivers and five lakes, they will not think about not passing our city walls." In order to appease the people, he decided to make some blood, so he gritted his teeth and said: "I am full of materials in the capital city, and the grain storage can last for at least four years. As he spoke, he clapped his hands and said, "I want to see who can beat whom!" "It's quite a turtle with a shrunken head.

Zhu Liexin said: 'Isn't this a way to grow other people's ambition and lose their own prestige, how can anyone talk like this...... so he had to follow the emperor's words and said: "Everyone still doesn't know, Qin has encountered a big problem in Qi State, suffered a defeat in Shangjing, and has been driven out of the Gyeonggi region." ”

Hearing Shangzhu Guo say this, the soldiers and civilians at the head of the city, who had been lifeless, suddenly became angry, but some people had the courage to ask: "The Qin State is so strong, how can it be defeated by the dying Qi State?" These words are quite marketable, and they have extinguished a lot of the fighting spirit that Zhu Lie has so easily stirred up.

I only heard Zhu Lie snort coldly: "Someone! ”

"Yes!" The pro-soldiers of the General's Mansion responded in unison.

"Arrest those Qin State spies who are bewitching the people!" Zhu Lie's halberd pointed at the crowd.

"Yes!" The pro-soldiers drew their blades and stepped forward to take people. But seeing that everyone in the crowd was the same, and no one had the word 'spy' written on their faces, I couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

The captain of the pro-soldier asked in a low voice: "Guo Lao, which ones are spies?" ”

"Whoever speaks just now will be arrested." Zhu Lie commanded in a low voice: "It is better to be in vain! ”

After another burst of chickens and dogs, hundreds of spies and seemingly spies were pulled out of the crowd and pressed to the top of the city one by one.

After the panicked people calmed down again, Zhu Lie continued: "Now the old man has come to tell you why the Qin State was defeated by the Qi State, because they were in the midst of civil strife! ”

"Civil strife?" Needless to say, Chu **min, even Emperor Jiankang, who was unhappy, was stunned for a moment, and then said in ecstasy: "But then Qin Yutian stepped down?" ”

"Pretty much." Zhu Lieshi was shocked: "According to the news from the Qi State, the old emperor of the Qin State has been restored. ”

This finally caused a sensation, and the people said: 'It is impossible for Shangzhu to talk nonsense about this kind of thing. Then he cheered excitedly: "God bless Da Chu! God bless my emperor! ”

Jian Kangdi was very proud when he heard this, stood in the center again, raised his hand and waved a few times, and the crowd suddenly quieted down. This made him a little proud, cleared his throat and said: "With the blessing of my ancestors and ancestors of Great Chu, how can Guozuo die easily?" On the other hand, the tigers and wolves of the Qin State are tyrannical, and the heavens will punish them now! We only need to hold on to Shenjing, and they will surely fall into civil strife and collapse without a fight! Taking a deep breath, very satisfied with his performance today, Emperor Jiankang lied that the Qinwang army from all over the country would send warships to relieve the siege, and asked the people to wait for reinforcements in their own places.

As a result, the panicked people of Shenjing City finally breathed a sigh of relief, anyway, there was nothing to do except wait for a miracle to appear, and everyone went home to sleep.

"Guo Lao, is there really civil strife in the Qin State?" When everyone dispersed, Jian Kangdi couldn't wait to ask.

"Oh......" Zhu Lie pondered for a long time before he whispered, "Maybe." ”

"What? Perhaps? Jian Kangdi's eyes were as big as oranges, and he was dumbfounded: "Isn't it the exact news?" ”

"The Qin army is besieging the city, and the old minister has no wings, how do you know what is going on in the capital? What is the situation in the middle capital? Zhu Lie's patience was exhausted, and he said in a stiff tone: "These things are worried about by the old ministers, Your Majesty just needs to sit in the palace." As he spoke, he arched his hand and said, "The old minister still has military affairs to do, and His Majesty is out of company." After finishing speaking, he swaggered away.

When Zhu Lie left, there was still a group of princes who were indignant and counted his arrogance and lack of rulers, and said that he was no different from the 'general Bahu'. Emperor Jiankang, who was blue with an iron face, clenched his fists and released them, and said with a long sigh: "The overall situation is important. And he bowed his head and went down the tower.

In fact, all of Zhu Lie's speculation came from a letter, which was sent by a Qi man who claimed to be a member of the Yum clan after the Qi and Qin Wars last year. In the letter, Zhao Wuji revealed the whereabouts of the spies lurking in the Qin State and Emperor Zhaowu, and concluded that the guy who had mastered Emperor Zhaowu would definitely attack when the war reached a stalemate...... Even if he wouldn't, the spy would have pushed him to do so.

Zhu Lie did not doubt the authenticity of this letter, but he did not take it to heart at first, because in his opinion, with Qin Lei's current power, any idea of grabbing power was unreliable...... Unless the people of the world rise up against him, or suffer a fatal defeat militarily.

And for the unification of the lord, the possibility of the former scenario is very small. As for the latter case...... The person who can defeat Zhao Wuyi will not make a big low-level mistake and throw away the low-hanging fruit.

The situation was urgent, so he told this unreliable news, and sure enough, he temporarily stabilized those people...... Of course, if the situation is corrupt, why doesn't he secretly pray that this dream can come true?

The days passed, and after a month, the water level really stopped at a height of six or seven zhang and did not rise, and just when the soldiers and civilians in the city breathed a sigh of relief, some strange phenomena appeared...... The water level of several rivers that run through the city began to rise sharply, and soon overflowed the banks. Soon after, the same happened to all the wells in the city, and the water overflowed from the wells, and even carp with the water of a foot long.

The whole city of Shenjing seemed to be soaked in a water tank, the soft ground began to seep out, the streets and alleys were covered with water for several feet, and the walls of all the houses were extremely damp, and the water beads were hung with patches. A large amount of grain turned moldy and green, and large areas of livestock died and stinked. When people noticed the anomaly, they moved their food and livestock to the roof, hoping to save some of them from the sun.

However, the house leak coincided with the overnight rain, this year's rainy season was born very early, just halfway through April, it began to rain and rain, even the moon did not disperse, there was no sun in the sky at all, even the quilt grew green hair, and the remaining grain also sprouted.

The water in the street gradually increased, and Shenjing City finally became a water city, and the people even had to sit in wooden basins and row boats to come and go, and the house was also flooded for several feet, and the pots and pans were floating everywhere, and they couldn't find a little dry place, so that people had nowhere to lie and couldn't lie down, and they wanted to commit suicide in depression. In fact, in this month, it is not uncommon for people to take the initiative to end their own lives.

In the smell of mildew in the sky, Shenjing City no longer has the vigor of the past. Within ten days, the large adobe houses collapsed into piles of mud, and the mud mountains gradually turned into yellow-brown mud soup, and finally disappeared......

Even the seemingly sturdy city walls were soaked open, causing long strips of bricks to fall off one by one, revealing deep cracks.

At this time, the fleet of the Qin army appeared, but they did not approach, but concentrated their firepower, using thousands of general cannons, repeatedly bombarding a section of the city wall dozens of zhang long. The original bombardment could only leave a crater of varying shades on the city wall - but now as the wall structure is soft, each cannon will shake down a large number of city bricks, and several cannons will go down in succession, and the city bricks will fall in a deafening sound of cannons.

When a thousand cannons rang out, the foundation of the entire city wall was finally shaken, the cracks were expanding bigger and bigger, and the widest place could even allow an adult man to drill through, although the soldiers and civilians defending the city desperately blocked the leakage, but the flood that did not drill seamlessly began to penetrate into the city, making the breach bigger and bigger, and the water became more and more fierce, and finally in the middle of the night, with a loud noise, a section of the city wall dozens of zhang long finally collapsed.

The flood was monstrous, rushing in, and in an instant, thousands of soldiers and civilians who were in danger were swept away, and the momentum poured into the city......

Of course, no matter how big the flood is, it will not reach the officials and nobles, who have been living on a big boat a few days ago, with meat to eat and drink, and occasionally to fish, and their lives are really nourishing. This is not an exaggeration but a fact, on the eve of the country's break, many people want to open it-***, since the Chu State is not saved, let's not follow the funeral, for Lao Tzu, it's just a change of boss to continue to work. Even if the people of the Qin State don't plan to use us, for the sake of the stability of the occupied area, they won't move our deep-rooted big families.

The most deeply touched by this change must be the spy agents of the Qin State lurking in the city, who have changed the unlucky energy of rats crossing the street and everyone shouting and beating in the previous few months, and have become the guests of honor of these princes and nobles.

Those 'men of the dead country' who used to shout 'blood will not be shed and fight to the death' began to answer shyly and ask for the price of selling their bodies.

Although he could not get in touch with the outside of the city, the spy leader Zhu Gui still resolutely exercised the right to 'act cheaply' given by the prince, patted his chest to ensure the safety of their lives and property, guaranteed that those who had merit would be rehired, and guaranteed that those who did not want to engage in politics again could also be a rich man with peace of mind, and would not be reluctant.

The first promise was to ensure that the Qin army would not slaughter the city or plunder, and first dispel everyone's concerns; The second promise is to tell those big families that if they want to continue their glory and stand tall, they must come up with something practical, and it is absolutely impossible to steal a high position from the capital of the past. The third promise is to warn those who do not cooperate that they will lose all political privileges and will have to go back to their local masters honestly.

This is the famous 'Sannuo Falling City' in history, at this critical moment when the edifice is about to collapse and the wind and rain are shaking, these three promises hit the upper camp of the Chu State hard, accelerated its disintegration and differentiation, and prompted something to happen......

When the flood finally flooded the palace, Emperor Jiankang, who had always been reluctant to face the reality, finally gathered his ministers and came to the meeting by boat. He thought that when this kind of time was about to 'fall down and scatter', there would be a lot of absentees, but who would have thought that none of them would be pulled, and all of them would be there, and even many old guys who had been in the company for many years also showed up.

Except for Zhu Lie, who was commanding the flood fight and rescue and could not come, all those who should have come and should not have come have arrived.

Looking at the crowd...... Oh no, it should be the princes and ministers of the ship, Emperor Jiankang quickly understood, knowing that these guys were here to probe and listen to the news, naturally one was more positive than the other.

"A few days ago, someone swore to me that there would be no problem in Shenjing City, so let us just rest assured." The first sentence had a strong smell of gunpowder, and it seemed that the resentment and resentment in Emperor Jiankang's heart had reached the point where he could no longer bear it: "Have you heard that?" ”

"I'm waiting for you to hear it." Everyone said in unison: "I will never let him pay his debts." ”

"Yes!" The corners of Emperor Jiankang's mouth twitched, and he gritted his teeth and said, "That person deceived us and pulled the Great Chu Kingdom into the abyss of no return, and he must pay for it!" ”

"Kill his whole family!" Someone shouted nonsense.

"Your Majesty and your lords, whether it is merit or demerit or after the war, let's discuss it after the war." The Prime Minister finally couldn't stand it anymore and came out to remind: "The urgent thing now is, how to get through the current difficulties? ”

As soon as these words came out, the princes who were still in high spirits just now immediately quieted down, and everyone was silent, and no one had the intention of speaking. The old prime minister was helpless, and personally consulted one by one, but there was still no one to speak. Chu Feijiao was finally furious, and kicked over the imperial case, so painful that His Majesty the Emperor jumped with his feet in pain, and grinned and said, "Today...... The speaker is not guilty, and the content of the conversation is not allowed to be leaked, so it's okay, right? ”

There was a long silence, and finally a trembling old prince said a few words on behalf of everyone: "The current situation is irreparable, and the fate of Da Chu is known to women and children." Even though we have food, the walls will not be able to support them. The water is difficult to get off, only the temple is enough! ”

Emperor Jian Kangdi knew very well that this old guy meant that there was only one way out, and that was to descend to Qin......

'Descending to Qin', what a harsh word, but why do you agree with it in your heart, and don't feel ashamed? Jian Kangdi's face turned pale, and he sat there motionless, but his heart was struggling violently.

After a long time, he said quietly, "What do you think?" ”

The ministers exchanged glances, and the most eloquent Ministry of Rites Shangshu came out and said: "Your Majesty, Ya Shengyun: 'The people are precious, and the king is light!'" 'Please give up your blessing to protect their safety with the millions of ordinary people in the city. ”

This is the legendary step. The emperor, who was in a dilemma in the air, could finally get off the donkey, but he still had to do enough tricks, only to see him sigh and say with tears streaming down his face: "But what about the ancestor's Sheji?" We lost it after all. As he spoke, he finally felt the pain of losing his country, and he really cried bitterly.

Everyone also shed a few tears with them, and the eloquent Ministry of Rites Shangshu persuaded again: "Your Majesty doesn't need to blame yourself too much, the Three Kingdoms were originally one family two hundred years ago, and we and the others are all the people of Huaxia Shenzhou." The general trend of the world will be united for a long time, and now it is just a combination of separation, how can it be regarded as giving away the society? ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, how many fewer people will die with your one decision? This is a great merit. The crowd exhorted.

Under the persuasion of a group of princes and nobles, Emperor Jiankang's mood finally stabilized, and he asked in a deep voice: "Which of you has contact with the outside of the city." ”

The cabin suddenly fell silent, and everyone's heads shook into rattles, but no one dared to deny it.

"Hypocrisy!" With an impatient cold snort, Emperor Jiankang said with a gloomy face: "No matter who it is, go and tell the people of the Qin State our decision, and then put forward our conditions." Then he was ready to discuss with his subordinates to see what he should ask.

"Shangzhuguo must be arrested immediately before this," someone suddenly whispered, "Otherwise, it will be useless to say anything." ”