Xu Minlian sent his staff to appease the Chen Yingshang and Chen Yingjue brothers, and persuaded them to lead the army to surrender in Qiaojun. Of course, behind the arrangement was the arrangement of the prefect of Qiaojun, Chen Yingliang. I had hoped that the surrender would be successful, but there were actually two real purposes. One was to spread the news that the main force of the Qiaojun army had moved to Pengcheng through Wang Youfang, so that the Chen brothers could take it lightly. The other was to take the opportunity to spy on the Chen brothers. Move, confirm their location, and then, our Chen Xiaozheng will have a chance to make a surprise attack
Although the wishful thinking plan was crackling, Xu Minlian and Chen Yingliang lost their glasses in shock. Wang Youfang, who was originally used as a deathbed, returned to Qiao County safe and sound. The news that the Chen brothers and Liu Zhiyuan agreed to accept the surrender, as well as Liu Zhiyuan's autographed letter to Xu Minlian. Surprised, Chen Yingliang, who had quietly arrived in Qiao County, didn't care to hide his presence, and personally met Wang Youfang, who had never expected to come back, and learned about the mission process from him. Ask Chen Yingliang where he got out of that corner.
Naturally, Chen Yingliang didn't need to answer Wang Youfang's question. He just urged Wang Youfang to quickly introduce the history of the mission. After submitting Xu Minlian's surrender letter to the Chen brothers and Liu Zhiyuan, the Chen brothers did not give a reply until that night, saying that they agreed to accept Xu Minlian's surrender and let Wang Youfang come back to report the letter. He led the army eastward to Zhengjiaji, which borders Qiao County and Huaiyang County, and waited for Xu Minlian's reply and arrangement.
Of course, it was not without conditions that the Chen family brothers agreed to surrender. Fortunately, the conditions were not harsh. They just asked Xu Minlian to call Qiaojun officials, celebrities, representatives of the people and representatives of the rebel army to testify in front of Hua Tuo in Huazu Temple, a famous nunnery in Qiaojun. The god statue burned incense and made an oath that he would never kill anyone who surrendered to the rebel soldiers. Then the Chen brothers put down their weapons and surrendered to Xu Minlian, and unconditionally accepted all the reorganization and dispatch of Xu Minlian.
After listening to Wang Youfang's report, Chen Yingliang carefully read the letters brought back by Wang Youfang, and found that the new big thieves in Huaiyang County spoke plain words and their attitudes were quite sincere. Disregarding human life, they killed officials and turned them into bandits on impulse. At the same time, they also admired Xu Minlian's love for the people and his benevolent governance. They were also afraid of the bravery of the officers and soldiers in Qiaojun, and they were invincible. That's why they never dared to harass those in Qiaojun. Afraid of an inch of land, he was willing to accept Xu Minlian's offer to surrender, and let Xu Minlian, who has quite good character and virtue, be a cow or a horse.
After reading Liu Zhiyuan's sincere letter several times, Chen Yingliang couldn't help but frowned, with a look of hesitation on his face, and Xu Minlian next to him said excitedly: "Chen Tongshou, you two brothers from the same clan and Liu Zhiyuan should be I really want to surrender. You may not know that this Huazu Nunnery in Qiao County was built by Cao Cao who regretted killing Hua Tuo by mistake. My family has been an official and practiced medicine for generations. The Chen brothers and Liu Zhiyuan Maybe it was because I knew this that I was asked to swear in front of the statue of Hua Tuo, because if I did this, there would be absolutely no possibility of going back on my word. From this, it can be seen that they are really moved."
"Yeah, they should really surrender." Wang Youfang, who had just returned from his envoy, also said, "Chen Tongshou, the younger one forgot to see the matter, and the brothers Chen Yingshang and Chen Yingjue even admitted it themselves, saying that they Your ancestral home is also in Yiyang, Henan. When your great-grandfather Chen Xingong rebelled against the Wei Dynasty, their great-grandfather almost participated in it. Not only are you of the same clan, but they may also be related. They agreed to surrender because they wanted to recognize you. Dear, to serve under your command."
Chen Yingliang still frowned and said nothing, Xu Minlian was a little puzzled, and asked, "What? Chen Tongshou, do you suspect that they are pretending to surrender?"
"The possibility of false surrender is not very high. Just relying on this group of mobs, even if they falsely surrender, they will not be able to play any big tricks." Chen Yingliang and Li Mi made the same mistake of underestimating the enemy, confident that the opponent could not be his opponent. After shaking his head, Chen Yingliang said with a frown : "What I'm thinking about now is whether to follow the original plan? Or really accept their surrender?"
"So that's how it is." Xu Minlian was stunned, and then said generously: "Chen Tongshou, the old man thinks that he should be recruited. This group of thieves are very sensible. They have been wandering around the edge of Qiao County for more than a month. Be in awe of our Qiao County, recruit them here, and reward them with a life, you can set an example for the surrounding thieves in Qiao County, that is, as long as you don’t provoke our Qiao County, there is hope for survival, but if you dare to provoke them Our Qiao County is a dead end!"
Feeling that Xu Minlian's words were reasonable, Chen Yingliang, who had a good start in cross-border operations with this rebellion, was also a little shaken. After careful consideration, Chen Yingliang smiled and said: "Prefect, if you really plan to recruit this rebellion, then I will You don’t have to object, but you have to be prepared, more than 3,000 surrendered soldiers eat, drink, and scatter, that’s not a small number.”
The muscles on Xu Minlian's face twitched, and then he gritted his teeth and said: "It's okay, I can bear it. The young and strong will be recruited into the army, and the old and weak will be given their fields. Anyway, there are quite a lot of laborers who have escaped recently, which is just right for them It will be much easier to till the fields that have been abandoned until autumn."
"If that's the case, let's surrender." Chen Yingliang nodded, and said: "Seven or eight regiments will be recruited, mixed with our original township soldiers, and let them be stationed in Qiao County and Chengfu area to prevent chaos in Ruyin The thieves go north, and when I go out of the county to hunt for thieves, I can rest assured."
Chen Yingliang also nodded and agreed to surrender, Xu Minlian didn't hesitate any longer, and immediately sent someone to summon Wu Que, the deputy captain of Qiao County, and Song Lianxu, the magistrate of Qiao County, to discuss the important matter of surrendering. Song Lianxu was also taken aback, and hurriedly asked Chen Yingliang why he came, and Chen Yingliang finally told him frankly that he had sneaked into Qiao County to hunt down the Huaiyang rebels, and then severely reprimanded Deputy Captain Wu Que for his negligence General idea—the five regiment soldiers I brought from Yongcheng had already broken up and secretly arrived outside Qiao County. As Xu Minlian's military assistant, Wu Que hadn't noticed the report so far, it was simply dereliction of duty!
Wu Que submissively pleaded guilty, but shouted in his heart that he was wronged. He said in his heart that because the emperor conquered Goguryeo three times, there were refugees everywhere in the world. At the same time, Qiao County, which borders Huaiyang and Liang County, is now full of refugees in small groups. Well, the outside of the city wall is simply full of refugee shacks, and I am already tired enough to help maintain law and order, how can it be possible to pay attention to all of them
After reprimanding Wu Que for his dereliction of duty, Chen Yingliang quickly discussed a surrender plan with Xu Minlian and others, and decided to ask Wang Youfang to bring some wine and meat to the Chen brothers' team again, telling them that Xu Minlian had agreed to the conditions and let them lead the team to the city of Qiao County After accepting the surrender, Wu Que will lead the township soldiers from Qiao County to monitor the surrendering army, and allow ten representatives of the surrendering army to enter the city, and ask them to supervise Xu Minlian's vow not to kill the surrendering army in the Huazu nunnery in the city, and then let the surrendering army be relieved Armed, resettled into the camp and reorganized.
The surrender plan was basically like this. Xu Minlian arranged for the county magistrate Song Lianxu to start preparing wine and meat immediately. Wu Que had some objections, and pleaded with Chen Yingliang: "Tong Shou, just now you said that you brought five regiments of troops, can you arrange some for me to help me monitor the rebellion? After the soldiers were transferred, I only have about 800 Xiangyong in Qiao County, and when the time comes, I have to defend the city, maintain law and order, and monitor to bring down rioters, which is really not enough.”
Chen Yingliang wanted to agree, but changed his mind when the words came to his lips, shaking his head and said: "No need, just let them help you in the dark to prevent surrender, judging from the fact that they asked Xu Taishou to swear an oath in front of the statue of Hua Tuo They must have figured out the situation in Qiao County long ago and told them to surrender, but a large number of well-equipped regular troops suddenly appeared in Qiao County. Anyone would suspect that this is a trap. If we scare them away, we But the bamboo basket was empty."
Although Chen Yingliang felt that Chen Yingliang was a little too cautious, but his official position was not enough, Xu Minlian, who sincerely wanted to recruit this turned militia, also agreed with Chen Yingliang, Wu Que didn't dare to say more, so he just kept his mouth shut. Chen Yingliang added: "Also, don't rush to announce the news that I have arrived in Qiao County. You also know that I am a little famous on the counter-insurgency battlefield. Many rebels have been afraid of me and have been ignoring me." Dare to harass Qiao County, so let's keep this matter a secret, so as not to frighten those thieves."
Everyone agreed together, and Chen Yingliang pointed to Xu Minlian's aide, Wang Youfang, and warned: "Master Wang, especially you, don't say that I have arrived in Qiao County! Don't forget that you told them that I have already gone to Pengcheng Jun, if you suddenly say that I'm here, those thieves will not only be frightened, but may even chop you off!"
Wang Youfang, who was still excited just now, changed his face, and hurriedly sang promises to agree, keeping Chen Yingliang's advice in mind, and said with a bow and bow, "Master Tongshou, please don't worry, the villain will definitely not talk about it, wait until your two fellow clansmen are taken care of." Please go to Qiao County, I will give them another surprise."
…
Just like that, Xu Minlian's aide, Wang Youfang, wanted to give the "Chen Brothers" a big surprise, and went west again to contact the militia army. Ten altars of good wine, and the team of the "Chen Brothers" has successfully arrived at Zhengjiaji on the edge of Qiao County, which is less than 50 miles away from Qiao County, so Wang Youfang and his party ran into the target of the mission that evening. Xu Minlian's reply and gifts were sent to Li Mi and others who had changed their names.
As a despicable villain who is definitely not inferior to Chen Yingliang in treachery, Li Mi certainly did not dare to trust Xu Minlian's sincere surrender. Apart from warmly receiving Wang Youfang and his party with hypocrisy, Li Mi naturally had to ask Wang Youfang about Xu Minlian's reply, and at the same time Li Mi also very treacherously arranged some capable soldiers to inquire about the information of the servants brought by Wang Youfang under the guise of a banquet, and to get information about the situation in Qiao County, so as to analyze whether Qiao County is a trap.
Li Mi's cautiousness is doomed to be a waste of effort. As the saying goes, people are not afraid of crooked shadows. Wang Youfang, who has no ghosts in his heart, no matter how Li Mi interrogates him, never utters a word that will make Li Mi worry and vigilant. On the contrary, Li Mi tricked out Xu Minlian's sentence Important original words - after Xu Minlian recruited Li Mi's team, he planned to select the strong and strong ones to form eight regiments, stationed in Qiao County and Chengfu area, to prevent the Ruyin bandits from the south from spreading to the north, and distribute the eliminated ones to the abandoned land , let them feed themselves, and Xu Minlian, who is small and rich in food, will bear their rations until autumn.
Hearing the words relayed by Wang Youfang, Li Mi was of course secretly happy in his heart, and hurriedly asked Wang Youfang again, asking if Chen Yingliang knew about Xu Minlian's surrender. He lied, saying that Chen Yingliang didn't know about it for the time being, and that Xu Minlian planned to surprise Chen Yingliang after he succeeded in recruiting. Li Mi was very happy, and when he continued to test uneasy, Wang Youfang, who actually had no malicious intentions, answered confidently, and Li Mi didn't find any flaws.
At the same time, the soldiers who went to talk to Wang Youfang's entourage also came to report one after another, saying that they had already told the truth from the drunken officers. More than 800 famous townships served bravely in the army, and a considerable part of them were farm children temporarily recruited by Xu Minlian after the soldiers went north. They usually have one meal a day, one rice meal, and three buckets of rice a month. A meal and a reward of copper coins. ——From this point, Li Mi can conclude that the combat effectiveness of the defenders in Qiao County is not strong, and their morale is definitely not very high.
Combining these circumstances, Li Mi finally had confidence in his heart. When discussing the next move secretly with the Yang family brothers, Li Mi said with great confidence: "Now I can be sure that this is not a trap set by Chen Yingliang, and I can also be sure that Xu Minlian has already fallen into the trap." According to our plan, I believe we will surrender to him, and our army's plan to attack Qiaojun has a great hope of success."
It was rare to see Li Mi's tone so confident and sure. The Yang brothers who knew Li Mi's talent were overjoyed, and then Yang Jishan asked: "Military teacher, what should we do next?"
"Do it as soon as possible, the sooner the better." Li Mi said solemnly: "My opinion is that we should rest overnight tonight, set out for Qiao County tomorrow morning, arrive in Qiao County in the afternoon, and then seize the city immediately!"
"So fast?" Yang Jishan was stunned, and quickly asked: "Military Master, didn't you tell us to be careful before? Why did you make the plan so hastily this time? Didn't you first check carefully whether there is an ambush in Qiao County? ?”
"There is no need to waste time, and there is no need to waste time." Li Mi replied: "We can be sure that there are no ambushes in Qiaoxian County, but we must worry about that little thief Chen Yingliang seeing the flaw after receiving the news, or sending out an army just in case. Junxi came to Qiao County to respond, so we must act as soon as possible, so as not to give the little thief Chen Yingliang time to respond!"
Yang Xuanting and Yang Jishan nodded together, and then Yang Jishan hurriedly asked again: "Military Master, then how should we seize Qiao County, should you say it now?"
"Take two steps." Li Mi already had a plan in mind, and said quickly: "First, organize two teams of elite men, tell them the truth in secret, promise them a big reward, and let them act according to plan. Then, when we arrive at Qiao County tomorrow If there is no accident, Xu Minlian will go out of the city to meet us in person. At that time, one of you will lead a few confidantes to come forward, pretend to surrender to Xu Minlian, take the opportunity to get close to Xu Minlian, and then take Xu Minlian with a short weapon. Hostages, at the same time, we arranged two elite teams before, one team stepped forward to capture Xu Minlian alive, took the opportunity to attack and kill other Qiao County generals, and the other team went straight to the city gate! If all goes well, Qiao County will definitely be in our pocket Things in the middle!"
Yang Xuanting and Yang Jishan were overjoyed when they heard this, and quickly nodded in agreement, while Li Mi carefully added: "Just in case, I still have a contingency plan. If Xu Minlian doesn't come out of the city to welcome us, then we will take the gate of Qiao County to open the door." If there is an opportunity, using the slogan as a sign, one team will go directly to grab the city gate, while the other team will attack and kill the leader of the army with all its strength, so that the army will have no leader and fall into chaos, and there is also a great chance of winning."
Yang Xuanting and Yang Jishan nodded again, and after a little discussion, Yang Xuanting, who was the best in martial arts, decided to feign surrender by himself and surprise Xu Minlian himself. He is in charge of commanding the entire army, commanding the army that seized the city gate to launch a surprise attack. Li Mi also agrees with this arrangement, and the three of them will not mention the surprise attack plan overnight.
After the plan was successfully arranged, in the early morning of the next day, the Yang family brothers and Li Mi decisively led their troops westward to Qiao County. At the same time, they generously asked Wang Youfang to return to Qiao County to report first, and took the initiative to let Xu Minlian know about the movement of their own army. At the same time, they were cautious by nature. In order to take precautions, Li Mi naturally had to arrange several capable scouts to sneak into Qiao County first to scout and grasp the movements of the officers and troops.
Everything was going in a good direction. Near noon, when the troops of the Yang brothers and Li Mi were only 20 miles away from Qiao County, the scouts sent to reconnaissance the enemy reported one after another, saying that the defenders of Qiao County had dispatched an emergency Zhixiangyong's team gathered outside the east gate, and there were only two regiments of more than 400 people. The banner was Wu Que, the deputy captain of Qiaojun. Apart from this, no abnormal increase in the transfer of officers and troops was found. . Immediately afterwards, Wang Youfang, Xu Minlian's aide, came to Li Mi and the others for the third time, and brought good news with a smile on his face. To arrange the surrender, he also personally led the civil and military officials of Qiao County to meet Li Mi and others outside the city.
Seeing Wang Youfang's sincere smile, and seeing him offer to lead the way for his own army, Li Mi no longer had any worries. He thanked Wang Youfang politely with a smile on his face, and smiled more relieved and relaxed in his heart. He secretly said: "God bless, bless our army." This trip successfully captured Qiaocheng. If it is really like this, Chen Yingliang, little thief, how will you explain to Yang Guang at that time? You owe me, and I want you to pay back with interest!"