Zhai Rang's reply letter to Pei Renji was sent back to the Henan arresting army camp in the early morning of the next day. In the letter, Zhai Rang promised to give Pei Renji a reward of 50 catties each of gold and silver, and canonize Pei Renji as the five kings of the Wagang Army. One is to order Pei Renji to feign defeat tonight, flee to Luokou Cang to pretend to open the city gate, and cooperate inside and outside to welcome the Wagang Army to break through Luokou Cang.
After reading the letter from the Wagang Army, Pei Renji, who only slept for more than an hour last night in two days and two nights, was in no mood to rest again. He clutched the letter tightly in his hand, his face was so gloomy that it almost dripped, and he hesitated in his heart. One will be the terrible consequences after leading his troops to surrender, and the other will be the simultaneous punishment of the two crimes of Emperor Sui Yang after he failed to complete the task. If you are afraid of tigers, you are in a dilemma.
Just like in history, his confidant Jia Runfu firmly agreed with Pei Renji's surrender to the Wagang Army, and advised: "Ambassador, there is no way to turn back. Your letter has been sent to Hulao Pass. Now turn around, once the Wagang bandits reveal this matter, You still have a dead end, only one way to the end. Yang Guang has no way, the great Sui Dynasty is full of wars, and he is doomed to perish. The Wagang army is strong and strong, and they occupy the Hulao Pass, and take the initiative in the Central Plains battlefield. You go to them now, and in the future Wagang Volunteer overthrew the tyrant and rebuilt China, you are the founding father of the country, a prince for generations, isn't it far better than your current situation where you are always angry and may lose your head at any time?"
After hesitating for a long time, Pei Renji finally said, "I'm afraid the generals will not follow."
"Don't worry, commander, the general has already thought about it for you." Jia Runfu suggested: "The supervisor Xiao Huaijing is harsh on the soldiers and makes things difficult for the generals. Our army hates this thief. Tonight, the commander-in-chief will be in the camp of the Chinese army. Raise the tent and count the various crimes committed by Xiao Huaijing, and order the generals to join forces to cut Xiao Huaijing into pieces, and then you can tell the generals that killing the supervising army without authorization is a dead end, and they cannot be attacked within eight days At Hulao Pass, none of the generals in the army can survive, it is better to surrender to Wagang than to sit and wait for death!"
"In this way, all the generals will definitely obey their orders!" Jia Runfu said viciously: "Anyway, they are fighting in the big tent of the Chinese army, and the soldiers in the tent are all your own soldiers, commander. Even if someone refuses to obey orders, commander You can kill him with one knife!"
Pei Renji calculated with a gloomy face, nodded after a long time, and said, "A clever plan, let's do it like this!"
Having made up his mind completely, Pei Renji took out the letter he had already written from his bosom without hesitation, and handed it to his confidant, ordering him to ride back to Luoyang on a fast horse. He must deliver the letter to his son Pei Xingyan before tomorrow morning. , secretly summoned Pei Xingyan to come to Hulao Pass to meet him, so as to prevent his only seedling from being cut off by the court, and his wife and daughter in Luoyang City, Pei Renji could only resign himself to fate, and let his nephew's conscience speak.
After sending away the letter, Pei Renji discussed with Jia Runfu the details of the action for a long time. After it was finally over, Pei Renji wrote a pen and wrote back to Zhai Rang himself, agreeing to all the conditions Zhai Rang asked, and also promised to do his best to help the Wagang Army win the war. Luokou Cang, but the letter had just been written, and a messenger came from outside the account, saying that Pei Xingfang led about 500 soldiers to come outside the camp to request entry, and sent a batch of couch to the Henan arresting army (ancient marching bed) and wound medicine. In addition, some old wine for dispelling cold was sent to the Henan arresting army to help the Henan arresting army treat wounded soldiers.
"The old man didn't ask Luokoucang for couch and wound medicine?" Pei Renji was a little confused, but the orderly reported the truth, saying that Pei Xingfang saw many wounded soldiers from his own army in the back camp the day before yesterday, and many seriously wounded were still lying in the mud On the ground, feeling very distressed, Yue Zu made a request to Liu Changgong on his behalf, and Liu Changgong immediately sent Pei Xingfang to escort the supplies to help the Henan arresting army.
"It's so fucking troublesome!" Pei Renji, who had important matters to deal with, didn't appreciate it. He cursed at first, and then ordered: "Let them enter the camp and send them directly to the rear camp, and then ask Pei Xingfang to come see me." .”
The messenger led the order to go, and Jia Runfu next to him hurriedly said: "Commander, just in case, you must not leave the Dongdu army in the camp overnight. Thank them for a meal, and then send them away as soon as possible." Pei Renji also knew this At that time, the unreliable army must not be allowed to stay in the camp, so it was not easy to nod in approval.
Let's take a look at the situation on Pei Xingfang's side. After receiving Pei Renji's permission to enter the camp, Pei Xingfang immediately led the army straight to the rear camp. Chen Sangliang also took the opportunity to look at the situation of Pei Renji's camp, and found that the atmosphere in Pei Renji's camp was similar to what he expected. The generals and soldiers were listless and lifeless. Turning a blind eye to details such as uneven flag raising and dislocation of sentry posts, the morale of the army is obviously depressed. Not only can such an army break through Hulao Pass, but whether it can defeat the Wagang Army in field battles is also a big problem.
When I went to the back camp to take a look, I was a little shocked even if Chen Sangliang had seen it before. The number of wounded soldiers in the back camp far exceeded Chen Sangliang's previous estimate, and it was roughly estimated to be 1,500. More than one-tenth of Pei Renji's total army strength is more than that. In addition, if you add those lightly wounded soldiers on duty, at least 30% of Pei Renji's army is wounded. Seeing this situation, besides being worried, Chen Sangliang felt more distressed, his former subordinates, and the elite left behind by Zhang Xutuo, and he was even more convinced that his choice of not sending troops to help Pei Renji was correct— Helping Pei Renji keep his position is simply a disaster for the soldiers.
After handing over the 300 broken couches and the wound medicine and old wine to the generals of the rear battalion, Pei Xingfang was ordered to meet Pei Renji. Before leaving, Chen Sangliang whispered to Pei Xingfang: "Bring up the deadline and pretend to comfort him. Said that you, Uncle Pei Ju, and I will plead with His Majesty for him, pay attention to his expression and reaction, the more detailed the better. If I am not there after returning, I will go to General Qin Qiongqin and pretend that I have a message for him. will be there."
Pei Xingfang agreed in a low voice, and then he left with Pei Renji's personal soldiers. Chen Sangliang directed Ma Sanbao and Kan Leng's carefully selected Dongdu soldiers to come forward and offered to help the soldiers of Pei's army. Support the folded couch, and carry those seriously injured sleeping in the muddy water to the folded couch to rest. It was also a coincidence that the seriously wounded person who was personally helped by Chen Sangliang happened to be Zhang Xutuo's old unit, moaning and thanking him with a Qi County accent, Chen Sangliang also took the opportunity to say: "Brother, listen to your accent, are you People from Qi County?"
"Blessings from Qi Jun." The wounded soldier whose abdomen was pierced moaned and replied, and said, "Thank you brother, listen to the accent, are you from the pass?"
"He's from Daxing, and he's from the same town as Chen Yingliang and Chen Liushou." Chen Sangliang replied.
"You are lucky to be a soldier in Chen Liushou's team." The wounded soldier moaned, "A few years ago, we joined hands with Chen Liushou's army several times. At that time, Chen Liushou was still the deputy of Marshal Zhang. Say hello to our soldiers. Every time the battle is over, we have to visit our wounded brothers and give up our horses to our wounded brothers. He is as good to us as Marshal Zhang. It’s a pity that he was left in Dongdu by the emperor, otherwise If so, then it's the turn of the Wagang bandits to be so rampant? Alas, he forgot about us."
"I haven't forgotten you. It's Pei Renji who insists on holding you on. Otherwise, I'd like to exchange three of you for one." Chen Sangliang had a sore nose, and asked again: "Brother, listen to your tone, Dashuai Pei is right. Are you okay?"
"Marshal Pei is okay with us, and he rewards us very much." The wounded soldier moaned, "But he is too strict, the ground is so soft, the cloud car hits the city and the car can't get on, and he still wants to force us Siege, the brothers are carrying the flying ladder to attack the city, how many people can go up at a time? My injury was stabbed by the Wagang thief after rushing up the city wall. If it wasn't for the Zhang Wan brothers in front who tried their best to block it, I would not even be able to retreat , In the end, I turned back, and Brother Zhang Wan was killed by six or seven Wagang thieves..."
Moaning and saying this, the wounded soldier couldn't help but shed tears, choked up and said: "Brother Zhang Wan, how can I explain to your mother and your wife? When I came out with you, I promised to your mother that I will try my best to take care of you. ..., how should I explain to your mother?"
Tears flowed on the wounded soldier's skinny cheeks, and Chen Sangliang also shed tears in his heart. With a soft sigh, Chen Sangliang first comforted the wounded soldier, carefully covered him with a thin quilt, and then Then he stood up, looked around and found a general of the Pei army, stepped forward to ask him where Qin Qiong's camp was, and said that he was ordered by Qin Qiong's friend Cheng Yaojin to send a few messages to Qin Qiong. Chen Sangliang pointed out the location of Qin Qiong's camp, Chen Sangliang did not delay, and immediately rushed to look for Qin Qiong with two followers.
On the way, Chen Sangliang met several familiar Qijun soldiers. Fortunately, the makeup on Chen Sangliang's face was not bad, and he was not recognized by them. As soon as Chen Sangliang arrived at the gate of his camp, he was stopped to question him, and he couldn't touch it directly. Fortunately, the gatekeepers were reasonable, so they informed Qin Qiong on Chen Yingliang's behalf, and it turned out that Cheng Yaojin's banner really worked, Qin Qiong Immediately order an interview.
It is conceivable that Qin Qiong was surprised when he saw Chen Sangliang by accident. Although Chen Sangliang put on a lot of makeup, Qin Qiong still found Chen Sangliang's wretched figure very familiar at a glance, and Chen Sangliang didn't keep it secret from Qin Qiong. He said in a low voice: "The back account speaks."
Hearing Chen Sangliang's familiar voice again, Qin Qiong was no longer surprised, and immediately invited Chen Sangliang to the back tent, and then drove away the guards in the tent, then lowered his voice and asked Chen Sangliang in surprise: " Chen Liushou, why are you? Why are you here? Are you still dressed like this?"
"Of course I came here for something important." Chen Sangliang smiled, and then said in a low voice, "I'll tell you why I'm here later, and immediately use your reputation to invite He Yanyu and Luo Shixin."
"Okay." Qin Qiong agreed, and then asked, "Jia Runfu, please?"
After the last Luokou Cang defense battle, Chen Sangliang had met Jia Runfu a few times, and had a general impression of him, but considering Jia Wuben, who died for the country like Zhang Xutuo, Chen Sangliang agreed When Jia Runfu was invited to come to meet, he just explained very carefully that Qin Qiong must invite Qin Qiong in his own honor, and must not reveal a single word that he has come here.
Chen Sangliang still didn't introduce his purpose when the letter-delivering soldiers were sent out, but he immediately asked Qin Qiong about Pei Renji's military situation, and Qin Qiong replied truthfully: "The army is in very bad condition. There are too many, Marshal Pei forced us to attack the city and was very strict. The soldiers all had opinions. And Xiao Huaijing, the superintendent, also made things difficult for us all day long. The soldiers wanted to kill him. Fortunately, He Yanyu and I stopped him. Anyway, the soldiers are not in the mood to fight anymore, and they are all looking forward to retreating and resting as soon as possible."
"It can be seen that your morale is very bad now." Chen Sangliang nodded, and then said: "The day before yesterday, yesterday and today, what decision can Marshal Pei make? Or has he issued any new orders?"
"No." Qin Qiong replied truthfully: "After the third siege battle, after the King Quan brothers were defeated, until the third day today, Marshal Pei has not issued an order, nor has he called us to discuss the military situation. The end general can see Come out, Marshal Pei has completely despaired of taking back Hulao Pass."
Chen Sangliang nodded slightly, and after thinking for a while, Chen Sangliang asked in a low voice: "Shubao, in the past three days, have you found that Marshal Pei has contact with the outside world?"
"Have contact with the outside? Stay behind, you mean the outside?" Qin Qiong asked in confusion.
"Wagang thief!"
Chen Sangliang's answer made Qin Qiong's expression change immediately, and Qin Qiong jumped up in shock, and exclaimed in a low voice: "Wagang thief? Stay behind, do you suspect that Marshal Pei is collaborating with the enemy?"
Chen Sangliang nodded and admitted that he had this suspicion, but there was no evidence. He also explained that the reason for his suspicion was that the time limit given to Pei Renji by Emperor Sui Yang was running out, and Pei Renji was likely to take risks when he was desperate. Qin Qiong waved his hands again and again after hearing this, and said: "Impossible, impossible, Marshal Pei is not that kind of person, and I am the first to not believe that he is collaborating with the enemy and rebelling."
"Uncle Bao, you know people, you know your face, you don't know your heart. Uncle Pei, I am by no means as simple as you imagine." Chen Sangliang shook his head, and whispered the beautiful thing about Pei Renji's false accusation against General Youwu Hou Li Hun, and also said In order to get promoted and get rich, Pei Renji did not hesitate to implicate his fellow brothers and for the position of General Youwuwei, fighting with himself behind the scenes. Then Chen Sangliang said in a low voice: "As a junior, I shouldn't suspect Uncle Pei without grounds, but he is too focused on the present, and now his situation is extremely bad, so I have to prevent him from taking risks. Do something stupid."
After hearing Chen Sangliang's introduction, Qin Qiong was inevitably a little shaken, and after thinking for a while, Qin Qiong said: "The worry of staying behind is reasonable, but the general really didn't find out that Marshal Pei had any connection with the Wagang bandit, but he also It doesn't matter, Jia Runfu is Marshal Pei's confidant, if Marshal Pei really has such a move, Jia Runfu will definitely know."
"Jia Runfu is Uncle Pei's confidant?" Chen Sangliang raised his head violently.
"Yes." Qin Qiong nodded and explained: "After we old people from Qi County came to Marshal Pei's tent, Marshal Pei treated us very respectfully, but it was Brother Runfu who was most appreciated by Marshal Pei. All the letters and official documents of Marshal Pei, They are all ghostwritten by Jia Runfu, I heard that even if Brother Runfu goes to see Marshal Pei at night, he can go directly to Marshal Pei's bedroom without passing on information."
"So trust?" Chen Sangliang became suspicious. Fortunately, he hadn't let Jia Runfu know that he had arrived in the camp. Chen Sangliang immediately said, "Jia Runfu will come later. I won't see him, so I hide behind him." Just listen to your conversation, and when the time comes, you can tell him like this..."
After briefly explaining the cliché to Qin Qiong, He Yanyu and Luo Shixin were invited to visit Qin Qiong one after the other. When they saw Chen Sangliang, the two powerful generals left behind by Zhang Xutuo had to be taken aback. I had no choice but to continue wasting my saliva, while gesturing to He Yanyu and Luo Shixin to keep quiet, while whispering to them why I came. As a result, He Yanyu and Luo Shixin naturally refused to believe that Pei Renji was such a person, and Chen Sangliang had to be wordy again, telling them about Pei Renji's previous wonderful performance, and quietly telling them about Pei Renji's attempt to provoke the national army to reward him. Speak up.
"Is Marshal Pei such a person? Why didn't I see it before?" Luo Shixin, who had collected Pei Renji's body in history, was speechless, and couldn't believe Chen Sangliang's words at all.
"In order to get promoted and get rich, to pursue fame and fortune, there are many such things in the officialdom." Chen Sangliang smiled wryly, and sighed: "In the officialdom of the Great Sui Dynasty, there are very few real gentlemen, and of course Zhang Xutuo and Marshal Zhang are one. , My Bole Fanzi Gai Fan stays behind and counts as one, I don’t even call myself a real gentleman, in order to achieve my goal, I will use some shady means.”
He Yanyu, Luo Shixin and others were silent, but at this moment, another soldier came from outside the tent to report that it was Pei Xingfang asking to see Qin Qiong. Chen Yingliang wondered why Pei Xingfang came so quickly, so he immediately ordered Qin Qiong to meet him. After a while, Pei Xingfang He entered the back tent and met with Chen Sangliang, Qin Qiong and others. Before Chen Sangliang could ask, Pei Xingfang immediately said, "Brother, the situation is not right. My uncle's reaction is very wrong."
"What's wrong?" Chen Sangliang hurriedly asked, and then said: "Here are all our own people, so it's okay to speak up, just keep your voice down."
Pei Xingfang nodded, and said in a low voice: "After I saw Uncle, according to your request, the time limit was approaching, and I also said that Uncle Pei Ju and Elder Brother would definitely intercede for him. Not only did Uncle Pei not ask about your attitude , just sneered, didn’t match what I said, and kept urging me to lead the army to leave. Also, Uncle Pei exchanged glances with General Jia Runfu who was next to him a few times, as if he was hiding something from me.”
"Where's Jia Runfu? What's his reaction?" Chen Yingliang asked calmly.
"He was just listening and helping my uncle persuade me to leave quickly." Pei Xingfang replied.
"Urging to leave? Why? This time, the party sent Pei Renji an urgently needed couch. He didn't thank him, and he didn't ask if the quantity was enough. Why did he keep urging the party to leave?" Chen Sangliang was even more suspicious. After a little more calculation, Chen Sangliang ordered Pei Xingfang: "Xingfang, Jia Runfu is going to be here soon, you go to see your uncle again immediately, and ask him if he wants to transfer the seriously injured to Luokou Warehouse for treatment, and try to be alone with him." Talk, tell him your plan, and see his reaction."
After all, Chen Sangliang added: "Tell him, you can temporarily transfer Xiao Huaijing back to the Luokou warehouse through Liu Changgong, so that he can do things more conveniently. Go out through the back door and don't let Jia Runfu know that you are here. Wait in the back camp for a while." I, I will find you."
Pei Xingfang agreed, and hurriedly left the camp through the back door with Qin Qiong's help, but as soon as Pei Xingfang left, the report of Jia Runfu's arrival came from the back. Chen Sangliang sneered and hurriedly told Qin Qiong: "Shubao, you Go out to meet him, Yanyu, Shixin and I will listen behind and follow the plan."