"Zhongli County Prince, take the initiative to surrender?"

At the edge of the woods, Zhao Tuo, who had just returned here and was about to eat something, received the news from the front Shima and couldn't help but be stunned.

It is not uncommon for Zhongli County Gong to be able to see through Qu Ming's trick of defrauding the city, after all, the Qin army has traveled all the way, and the news that they pretended to be the Chu army to defraud the city must have leaked a long time ago, which is expected.

Zhao Tuo didn't even report any expectations, just gave it a try, so as to take the opportunity to rest the soldiers, and then attack the city, who expected that the Zhongli County Guild in the city would suddenly come out like this.

"Interesting, Zhongli County surrendered to my Qin army, and he was willing to provide heavy supplies and send our army across the Huaishui, isn't he afraid that after our army leaves, the King of Chu will clean him up?"

"Lonely, what do you think?"

Zhao Tuo turned his head to look at the beggar on his side.

Xi Qigu thought for a while and said, "Back to the army, in my opinion, the county prince Zhongli should be a smart person. Whether the king of Chu will clean him up at that time is a matter for the future, but now if he does not surrender to us, he will defend himself according to the city, and when the city is broken, I am afraid that he will be killed. ”

"So in order to save his life and property, it is also possible for him to take the initiative to surrender to our army, as for how he was punished by the king of Chu afterwards, it must be better than being cut off by our army and Zhongli suffered a military disaster."

"And didn't he send an envoy out of the city to negotiate terms with our army? This kind of approach, on the contrary, shows that his surrender this time is very sincere. ”

Zhao Tuo nodded, there was some truth in what Xi Qigu said.

If you don't talk about the conditions, just open the door and surrender, but it makes people feel cheating.

But Zhao Tuo always feels that this thing will be a little too smooth?

After a little silence, he said, "I'll go and ask General Xin, and you let the messenger come later, and then I'll hear the conditions of the county duke." ”

"Yui."

……

After the Chu envoy searched his body and confirmed that he did not carry a blade, he followed the Qin general who led the way towards the forest.

Along the way, he really saw that this forest was full of black-armored Qin soldiers with their heads held high, halberds and swords.

There are a lot of them, and although the armor on these Qin soldiers is mostly broken, and the hair on their heads and faces and necks are full of dirt, their spirits are very good, and those eyes are staring at him tightly, coupled with the shining blades in their hands, there is quite a sense of oppression.

The envoy of the Chu people hesitated slightly, lowered his head, and walked forward slowly, trembling slightly with every step he took with his legs, as if he was full of fear of the Qin pawn on the road ahead and on his side.

Xi Qigu looked back and saw this scene, and smiled secretly in his heart: "I thought what kind of character this envoy was, it turned out to be a brave person, and he could send this kind of person as a messenger, it seems that Zhongli County Gong is not knowledgeable, and he is a mediocre talent." ”

"Don't be afraid, envoys, since the county prince of Zhongli is willing to surrender, our army will naturally not be embarrassed as an envoy."

Xi Qigu comforted each other with a pleasant face.

The envoy of the Chu people nodded hurriedly and said: "Very good, very good, please also ask the general to lead the way, the villain is just wearing a little thinner today, a little cold, see the general to complete the mission early, and go back to the city to add some clothes." ”

After speaking, the envoy also showed an embarrassed smile to Xi Qigu.

Xi Qigu glanced at the other party's still trembling body, and couldn't help laughing, scared, scared, and said that the weather was cold and thin, it was really laughing to death.

Thinking of this, Xi Qigu didn't bother to say much to such a small character, and walked straight to the main general.

The commander of the Qin army sat in a wide clearing in the forest, and the weeds and branches on the ground had been cleared by the short soldiers, and they looked quite neat and clean.

The envoy of the Chu people walked into the clearing and raised his head boldly.

I saw a middle-aged man in his forties sitting on the throne.

This person was dressed in a wide robe, with a square face, and a temperament of non-anger and self-authority between his eyebrows. At first glance, he looks like a veteran who has rushed to kill commanders on the battlefield, but his posture with one arm hanging down is a little strange, and it looks like he has suffered some kind of injury.

On the side of this veteran, there were several Qin generals, perhaps because of the long journey, the crown on the heads of these Qin generals that originally symbolized their titles was damaged, so they were not worn, making it difficult to see their titles at a glance.

This is nothing, anyway, this Chu envoy is not very good at the title of the Qin people, but there is one thing in the order of these people that makes him very surprised.

A young man, younger than him, who looked sixteen or seventeen years old at most, was on the right hand side of the middle-aged general.

The Qin people are still right.

Doesn't this kind of sitting order show that this young man's status in the Qin army is second only to the main general.

Who is he?

After keeping this doubt in mind, the envoy of the Chu people stepped forward, saluted the Qin generals, and spoke in a trembling voice.

"The villain Zhong Liyi, specially ordered by the county magistrate, came to discuss the surrender, and I have met the generals here."

At the moment when Zhong Liyi said his name, he seemed to see the young Qin General's body move, and a surprised expression appeared on his face, although it was only a flash, and he quickly regained his calm, but it still made Zhong Liyi aware of it.

Why is this person so?

Have you heard my name?

Of course, Zhong Liyi only thought about it in his heart, so he laughed and denied it.

Just kidding, he is a little Chu man, he is not from the upper nobility, and he has not made any fame, how could his name reach the ears of a Qin general, thinking that the other party has a different look, it should be for another reason.

Perhaps feeling Zhong Liyi's gaze, the young Qin Jiang also turned his head to look.

The eyes are facing each other.

Zhong Liyi was stared at by those eyes, and in a trance there was a feeling of being seen through by them, and he hurriedly lowered his head and made a frightened appearance.

At this time, the commander of the Qin army in the middle also spoke.

"The general Xin Wu is the general under General Li Xin. Since Zhongli County wants to descend, I don't know what kind of surrender method it is? Speak of it, thou messenger. ”

General Pi?

Zhong Li was startled, but he immediately calmed down, pretended to be afraid, and spoke according to the originally scheduled answer.

"The villain dares to give the general, this time the general led a large army to the city, and the county prince wanted to fulfill the responsibility of defending the land, closing the city to resist the enemy, and being with the city. But he also took pity on the lives of the Zhongli clan and tens of thousands of people in the city, and in order to save Zhongli from the war, he was willing to surrender to the general. ”

"The county prince said that the general led the army to come, and he must have wanted to cross Huai from Zhongli to Huaibei. Therefore, I Zhongli is willing to provide all the ships to help the general's soldiers cross the Huaishui, and at the same time I am willing to provide all the food and grass baggage, and never let the general's subordinates lack food and clothing. ”

Xin Wu glanced at the generals and saw that everyone was in harmony, and Black Buttocks, Zhang He and others were even more overjoyed.

What Zhong Liyi said was exactly what everyone in the Qin army wanted the most now.

The boats crossing the Huai River have enough food supply.

Zhongli County Duke is willing to take the initiative to provide it, it will definitely be much better than them attacking and seizing, at least the Qin army will not have to attack the city, and there will be no robes and Ze will die in battle.

"Zhongli County Duke is a smart man, I don't know what conditions he has."

Xin Wu opened his mouth lightly and put the matter away directly.

"The county prince has nothing else to ask for, I just hope that the general will not kill in Zhongli, if he can lead the army to stay outside the city and not enter the city, it is best." Zhong Liyi said cautiously: "As long as the general agrees to this, the county prince will definitely do his best to help, immediately collect boats, and help the general's subordinates cross the Huaishui as soon as possible." ”

The Qin generals glanced at each other and nodded slightly.

Zhongli County was afraid that the Qin army would enter the city to kill and rob, so he did not want the Qin army to enter the city.

The Qin army did not enter the city, this was his condition.

Helping the Qin army cross the Huai and providing grain and baggage was his exchange.

Seems reasonable.

Xin Wu thought for a moment, then bowed his head and said: "Yes, our Qin army is not an indiscriminate army, as long as the county prince provides enough ships and food, we will not enter the city, let alone kill a single person." ”

Hearing this, Zhong Liyi was overjoyed and said, "Thank you for your promise." ”

As he spoke, he said embarrassedly: "It's just that the county magistrate said that if the general only verbally agreed, it would be okay, it would be better to set up a contract coupon, which could also be used as proof, so that people could feel at ease." ”

Hearing this, Xin Wu and the generals looked at each other and said with a smile: "This county prince is interesting, since we have agreed, we will naturally not regret our promise, and the general will naturally restrain his subordinates, let alone regret the promise to attack the city." But since you want to prove it, let's write one. ”

Soon, Xin Wu asked people to cut a piece of wood, write the corresponding matters on it, and give it to Zhong Liyi for him to take back to his life.

Before Zhong Liyi left, Xin Wu looked up at the sky, saw that the sun was beginning to set in the west, and thought that it was too late to cross Huai today, so he said to him: "Since the two sides have agreed on the terms, then you go back and tell this county magistrate that you must immediately send the grain, food, and clothing we need out of the city, and it must be delivered today." ”

"And collect ships as soon as possible, early tomorrow morning, our army will cross Huai, when the time comes, if the county prince can't do it, it will ruin the agreement, don't blame the general for being ruthless."

As he spoke, Xin Wu made a straight face and slapped his thigh with his intact arm, and the Qin soldiers of the surrounding guards all shouted loudly and raised their blades in their hands to demonstrate.

Zhong Liyi was frightened by the voice, his legs suddenly weakened, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Yes, yes, the villain must explain the general's words to the county lord when he goes back, and tomorrow morning, the county lord will definitely be able to help the general cross the Huaishui, and please don't be angry." ”

Seeing that the envoy of the Chu people named Zhong Liyi left tremblingly while confessing his guilt, all the Qin generals laughed.

"I didn't expect Zhongli County Gong to know each other so well, and with his help, we will definitely be able to successfully cross the Huaishui this time. When you arrive in Huaibei, you can go all the way north and return to Qin. Being able to arrive here so smoothly today is all due to you Zhao Tuo. ”

Xin Wu turned around and smiled at Zhao Tuo, his eyes were full of praise, and he was very happy at the thought of being one step closer to going home.

The generals also chimed in and said, "It is the generals and the military candidates who are well led, and we can have a smooth journey." ”

The black buttocks turned his head sideways and said with a smile with Xi Qigu, Zhang He and others: "You can see that the kid named Zhong Liyi just now is very cowardly, and as soon as the second and third sons shouted, he was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, like the king of Chu at the head of Shouchun City." That look is really laughing to death, no one cares about Chu Diguo? ”

Xi Qigu also teased: "Yes, this Zhong Liyi has already begun to tremble with fear when he is outside just now, it would be good if Chu was full of this kind of people, how could we defeat Chu." ”

"Hahaha, it turns out that kid is so cowardly. In my opinion, we don't need to talk about surrender, a charge, maybe we can take Zhongli City, why do we need to talk to these Chu people about any conditions, military waiting, don't you say? The black buttocks talked and laughed, looking at Zhao Tuo.

Zhao Tuo ignored him.

But he had just heard all the words of Xi Qigu and Black Buttocks.

Zhao Tuo closed his eyes, and Zhong Liyi's timid and cowardly appearance just now appeared in his mind.

Is that really the posture of a messenger?

"Is that him?"

"Xiang Yu's bone-headed minister, Han Xin's 'lifelong friend', and Zhong Liyi, the general of the Chu army."

"If this is really the case, will he surrender to the Qin army?"

……

Outside the forest, Zhong Liyi, who had just walked out of the woods, couldn't help but look back.

He thought that after the generals of the Qin army heard his surrender speech just now, there was no sign of suspicion.

Only that young Qin General didn't say a word from beginning to end.

But his gaze seemed to be fixed on him.

"Whoever he is, tomorrow will be nothing but a dead man's ear."

Zhong Liyi whispered in his heart.

Three more sent

(End of chapter)