As soon as Xu Xinsheng's words came out, the generals in the city were in an uproar. Those who are stupid and slow to react are still wondering why the commander of the city, who has always called him a brother and brother and actively helped Lord Taiwei achieve the "great cause", did not open the city to greet everyone as agreed, but said such a thing that was obviously accusing Lord Taiwei, could it be that he was playing a scene with Lord Taiwei to confuse the other generals in the city. And those who have smarter brains and faster reactions have already tasted some taste from the other party's words, and realized that this action of "adding a yellow robe" and "seizing the capital in one fell swoop" is only afraid that there will be great variables, and the former brother and comrade in the city may have betrayed his master and friends for glory, and completely surrendered to the imperial court.

The generals under him had such and such speculations, but Zhao Kuangyin knew very well that Xu Xinsheng's actions were definitely not part of the previous strategy to seize the city gate. At this time, since the other party was able to say this, the only reason that could be explained was the possibility that this confidant and confidant, whom he had always valued and trusted, had betrayed him and defected to the imperial court.

In fact, for Zhao Kuangyin, it is not terrible for his subordinates to betray him, what is terrible is that the other party, as his confidant and cronies, knows everything about the "great cause" he intends to make, as well as the various preparations and arrangements made to achieve the "great cause". If he defected to the imperial court, then the strategy that his own side had previously formulated to achieve the "great cause" would inevitably be used as a bargaining chip to ask for merit and reward from the Chai Zhou court. In this way, you will inevitably lose the opportunity, and the process of achieving the "great cause" will become very difficult. If one is not careful, not only will his life be at risk, but he will also affect his family, relatives and friends, and his confidants.

Although with Xu Xinsheng's words, the relationship between the two sides has almost changed from the same party to the enemy. But seeing that his long-planned and much-paid strategy to usurp power and seize the throne had such a huge variable when it was about to be realized, that it was likely to fall short, Zhao Kuangyin was really unwilling. He thinks that since he met each other, he has not only never treated Xu Xinsheng badly, but also given him a lot of favors, vigorously promoted, and trusted him and entrusted him with important tasks. In addition, the current situation also makes him more willing to take the capital in a bloodless way, rather than fighting the defenders in the city in a dark and bloody manner.

First, since Xu Xinsheng had betrayed him, then the confidants and cronies he had originally arranged in Kaifeng City to help him enter the city thought that they had been targeted by the imperial court. Even before he completely reveals the so-called "traces", the imperial court may not wipe out all these people, but it is almost impossible to rely on them to help him. In this way, the original plan to take Kaifeng will inevitably turn into a storming of the capital.

Second, although there are 70,000 elite forbidden troops under his command, he can face the 30,000 defenders who are defending the city, whether in terms of the quality of soldiers, weapons and equipment, training level, or the ability of leading generals, they are almost the same as themselves, even if they do not care about casualties and the huge losses brought by the war to the gentry and people in the capital, it is difficult to take the imperial court soldiers and horses that are defending the fortified city in a short time. And as you spend more time under Kaifeng City, there will be more and more variables. Once the imperial court issued an order to "Qin Wang rebelled" in various places, not to mention those Jiedu envoys loyal to the Chai Zhou court, they would lead troops to help, I am afraid that even those Jiedu Fangzhen, who did not have much loyalty to the imperial court, would attack themselves, in order to get a piece of the court's reward afterwards. Therefore, in a sense, the key to whether Zhao Kuangyin can enter the city smoothly and achieve his "great cause" is the attitude of Xu Xinsheng in the city.

Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin signaled the generals not to make a noise, and at the same time stepped forward with a tentative purpose, and said to Xu Xinsheng with an innocent face: "Why did Commander Xu say this. This time, this Taiwei was ordered by the imperial court to lead his generals back to Beijing to accept the reward from the officials, so why did he not obey the order. As for the army outside the city, it was because most of the generals in the army would enter the city with Captain Ben to receive rewards, and in order to prevent accidents in the conquest army, he planned to order them to camp on the edge of the city, so that the generals who entered the city could return to the camp at any time to control the soldiers and horses, and there would be no attempt. ”

"Easy to control the soldiers and horses outside the city?" Xu Xinsheng asked, "In the holy decree, only the commanders and above generals are ordered to enter Beijing, and there are still commanders of various armies and envoys of Yu Hou in the conquest army, so why do you need generals to sit in charge." Moreover, according to the practice of the imperial court, important ministers of the imperial court will also be sent out of the city to reward the three armies. If there is really any accident in the army outside the city, the generals in charge of leaving the city will deal with it on the spot, so why bother to quench the thirst of the generals in the city. ”

"What Commander Xu said was that Captain Ben only wanted to enter Beijing as soon as possible, so that after receiving the reward from the official family, he could lead the army to fight again as soon as possible to quell Li Chongjin's rebellion, so that he neglected some of the details written in the holy decree." Zhao Kuangyin said with a sincere expression, "When you enter the palace to see the driver, this Taiwei will definitely ask the official family for guilt." ”

"A moment of negligence?" Xu Xinsheng sneered twice, "According to Xu, I'm afraid that Taiwei Zhao's arrangement is intentional and has a plan, right?" According to what Xu heard, when you set up camp in Chenqiaoyi, the general of the camp made a noise and shouted, and wanted to make Taiwei Zhao the Son of Heaven, and found a yellow robe to put on Taiwei, I don't know if it is or not? ”

Hearing Xu Xinsheng tell about his "yellow robe" yesterday and this morning, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but be shocked. You must know that it has only been four or five hours since the "yellow robe" was added in the early morning, and on the way to the capital, the generals under his command have been strictly restraining their subordinates, and it is impossible for anyone to sneak to the capital to report the news without being detected. In the previous secret discussion process of the Zhao Group, although the steps and methods of raising troops were also discussed, they were definitely not so meticulous. In other words, before Xu Xinsheng arrived in the capital, he had learned the details of his "yellow robe" through other channels.

Although he was very surprised in his heart that Xu Xinsheng knew the details of his Chen Qiao mutiny and the "yellow robe", and he wanted to find out the source of the other party, now is obviously not the best time to get to the bottom of this matter. The most important thing at the moment is to get into the city immediately, and the problem of leaks can only be solved later. Therefore, although he was surprised in his heart, Zhao Kuangyin put on a look of panic, grievance, and anger on the surface, and said hurriedly: "How can Commander Xu say this?" I think that I, Zhao Kuangyin, have been favored by the emperor and have always been loyal to the Great Zhou court, how could I do such a thing that is contrary to heaven and morality. This must be because those who really have ill intentions and bad intentions are afraid that Captain Ben will ruin their 'good deeds' and turn black and white upside down, maliciously slander and spread rumors and frame Captain Ben, and want to get rid of Captain Ben with the help of the imperial court. I also ask the commander to make the official family of Captain Daimoto, so as not to be deceived by traitors, and do such wrong things that make relatives painful and enemies happy, so that in the future, he will regret his actions today.

At the same time, Captain Ben also hoped that Commander Xu would be able to distinguish between right and wrong, recognize the situation clearly, and not be deceived by that traitor, who would be used by traitors for a little petty profit, and act as the vanguard of his efforts to disrupt the dynasty, suppress loyalty, and even seek to usurp the throne. Instead, we should focus on righteousness and respond to the people, so that we can have a bright future and soar. Otherwise, I am afraid that in the end, the glory and wealth that were originally at my fingertips will not be obtained, but I will lose my future and even my life. ”

If the first half of Zhao Kuangyin's words was somewhat vague and reserved, then his two sentences were completely devoid of scruples and concealment, and turned into a naked co-optation and threat to Xu Xinsheng - as long as you Xu Xinsheng obeyed me Zhao Kuangyin and acted according to the previous agreement, I, Zhao Kuangyin, would naturally protect you from glory and wealth and ensure that you have a bright future; But if you Xu Xinsheng is still obsessed, don't blame me Zhao Kuangyin for being ruthless and taking your life after entering the city.

Xu Xinsheng naturally understood the meaning of Zhao Kuangyin's words, but this kind of co-optation and threat was meaningless to him. If he had heard Zhao Kuangyin's words a few days ago, Xu Xinsheng might have pretended to think, weigh, and perfunctory the other party, so as to buy some time for the Beiping Army to go south. However, the problem is that at noon today, Xu Xinsheng had already received the news sent by Zheng Zhiwei from the "Hidden Garden" in Chenqiao, and knew that the vanguard troops of the "Jingnan Army" had already arrived at the Yellow River and were only three or four days away from Kaifeng. And the main force of the "Jingnan Army" will also go out tomorrow and go south along the Yongji Canal, and he is full of confidence and has no interest in playing word games with Zhao Kuangyin and fighting a lawsuit.

Therefore, after listening to the other party's threatening words, Xu Xinsheng didn't think so, waved his hand, and reprimanded: "Zhao Kuangyin, don't talk nonsense and demagoguery here again." The evidence of your guilt is conclusive, and you cannot sophistry to deny it. This commander advises you not to be obsessed with it anymore, give up those unrealistic ideas, immediately dismount and be bound, and go to the palace to ask the officials for their guilt. Although you will inevitably die when the time comes, your family members who have been imprisoned in the prison may be able to save their lives. ”

Seeing that Xu Xinsheng not only did not enter, he didn't care about his co-optation and threats, but also used the net worth and lives of his relatives to threaten himself, Zhao Kuangyin finally lost Zuihou's patience. The original expressions of fear, grievance, and anger were swept away, his face became serious and cold, and his eyes were even more cold and murderous. I saw him turn his horse back into the phalanx, point to the Fengqiu Gate in front of him with his hand, and ordered in a deep voice: "Siege the city." ”