On November 15th of the second year of Zhonghe, Lü Yongzhi died suddenly.
Yao Guili and Yu Gongchu, who were in Jiangdu city and secretly communicating with Bi Shiduo, immediately gathered nearly a thousand soldiers and guards under their command, secretly contacted the rebels, and prepared to help them enter the city.
The sudden death of Lu Yongzhi made his subordinates panic-stricken. They had done so many bad things that they couldn't sleep well. Now that the big tree above their heads had fallen, these people had to worry about their own future.
As people were in panic, their defenses were naturally lax. With the support of Yu Gongchu and Yao Guili, the two sides worked together, and the rebels including Bi Shiduo and Qin Yan broke through the city gate in one fell swoop and entered Jiangdu.
The rebels entered the city and searched the entire city, capturing more than 400 of Lu Yongzhi's accomplices. These people, who usually acted arrogantly and had no conscience, were all beheaded in the downtown area by the angry Bi Shiduo. Lu Yongzhi's party headed by Zhang Shouyi and Zhuge Yin was destroyed.
When the city was broken, generals under Lu Yongzhi, including Dong Jin and Qin Chou, fled westward and joined the army of Yang Xingmi, the governor of Luzhou, and encouraged Yang Xingmi to march eastward to attack the rebels.
Under the instigation of his adviser Yuan Xi, Yang Xingmi prepared his troops and horses, ready to go to war with Bi Shiduo and others at the beginning of spring.
Liang Zun, as Gao Pian's top general, did not get involved in this riot from beginning to end. He only met Gao Pian for the last time when the rebels imprisoned Gao Pian, and no one saw him again after that.
Gaoyou, the former residence of Lu Yongzhi, is now known as the mansion of Yan Mansion.
Five uninvited guests broke in here. These five people were from two groups of guests. They just happened to meet each other by chance, so they came together and entered the mansion.
One of them was a young general in silver armor who was as handsome as Song Yu and more beautiful than Xi Shi, but he did not look very well. His brows were slightly frowned and his eyes were filled with murderous intent. As soon as he entered the mansion, he walked straight into the living room with a swagger without waiting for Yan Keqiu to greet him, and even sat on the main seat without any scruples. He looked around and did not consider himself an outsider at all.
Yan Keqiu was helpless about this. The key was that the ghost warriors who were left behind by Zhu Li to guard the mansion were like mice seeing a cat when they saw the newcomers. Apart from trying their best to show a heroic and high-spirited look, they actually turned a blind eye to what the young silver-armored general did, and even tried to avoid him.
The ghost warrior ignored him, and Yan Keqiu, a mere scholar, was left with no choice.
What's more, this young general was accompanied by two burly men with fleshy faces and as strong as lions and tigers. One of them was holding two axes as big as washbasins, and the other was holding two hammers as big as winter melons. They looked extremely ferocious.
Behind the three men followed a burly man in his forties with brown hair, deep eyes, a high nose and a wide mouth. It was obvious that he was not from the Central Plains. Behind the burly man followed an elegant scholar in his thirties, who looked a little nervous.
Yan Keqiu, who was confused, looked up at the incredibly beautiful young general in silver armor, with a slightly bewildered expression, but still gritted his teeth and bowed, "Excuse me, young general, why did you break into my house for no reason?"
This young general was none other than Yuchi Jin, who had forced Guo Qizuo to reveal Zhu Li's whereabouts. How could she not be angry when such a big thing had happened and she was kept in the dark? Now that she was sure that Zhu Li was safe, she would not be able to let it go if she didn't come and see him in person.
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jin glanced at Yan Keqiu.
He said sullenly, "Where's Zhu Li? Let him come see me."
"Ah" Yan Keqiu was a little dumbfounded. Who is this person? Why is he so arrogant
However, Yan Keqiu is not an ordinary person. From the strange behavior of the ghost warrior, it can be inferred that this young general is probably not ordinary, and is very likely an old friend of the general. When he thought of this, he felt relieved and his attitude became more gentle. He said in a gentle voice: "The general is not in the mansion now. He went out to deal with some things. It will probably take some time for him to come back. I don’t know what the young general wants to say. If it is convenient, Yan can convey it on his behalf."
"Hmph, I'm afraid you can't convey my little... general's words." Before Yuchi Jin could respond, Xie Tian on the side shouted in a muffled voice.
Speaking of which, the two brothers were also angry. They were just waiting in Shuozhou for Zhu Li to return triumphantly and marry his young lady. Then they could naturally join Zhu Li's army. At that time, they could lead troops to garrison a region and go to the battlefield like Huo Qing and Gao Su.
The two brothers had long been envious of Gao Su and Huo Qing, and their mouths were watering.
But they waited anxiously, but did not wait for the news of Zhu Li's triumphant return. Instead, they learned that Zhu Li was forced into the Wei River by the court, Li Keyong and others, and his life or death was unknown. The dream of galloping on the battlefield was shattered in an instant, which made the two men lost and sad for a while.
Unexpectedly, under the pressure of Yuchi Jin, Guo Qizuo had to tell the truth, and the two became even angrier. It turned out that Zhu Li was not dead. He was actually staying in the south, living a carefree and happy life, and his brother was sad for nothing. It would be strange if he didn't have resentment in his heart.
Xie Tian's words made Yan Keqiu confused. At this time, the big man in his forties said, "Don't worry, young general. From what I have seen, Envoy Zhu should not be interested in Yangzhou. I believe he will be back soon."
"Excuse me for disturbing you. I am Liang Zun, and I am Han Zhong, the military secretary. To be honest, I have come here to surrender to you, Your Excellency."
"Liang Zun?" Yan Keqiu was shocked. This guy didn't care about Gao Pian's life or death, but now he found here and claimed that he wanted to surrender to the general. What was going on
Yan Keqiu couldn't help but be surprised. You know, he had planned to plot against this person. Now that he suddenly appeared in front of him, it would be strange if he didn't have any ulterior motives.
Liang Zhan glanced at Yan Keqiu and said gently, "This must be Mr. Yan, the mastermind behind the rebellion of Bi Shiduo, the overthrow of Gao Pian, and the elimination of Lu Yongzhi. I really admire him."
Facing Liang Zhan's flattery, Yan Keqiu was surprised and doubtful, and said, "I am just a down-and-out man, I should not be the person that General Liang is talking about."
"Sir, you are worrying too much. I have no ill intentions. It's just that I have fought for Gao Pian all my life, but in the end, all my passion was wasted. It really makes me heartbroken." Liang Zun had a bitter face and seemed a little depressed.
Such an expression made Yuchi Jin, Yan Keqiu and others feel very regretful. No matter who is full of passion, if he gives it to the wrong person, it is inevitable to be heartbroken.
Fortunately, Liang Zun's expression did not last long, and he continued: "I am just a barbarian, and I don't have a large and powerful tribe to support me. At my current age, it would be almost impossible for me to start over again."
"Fortunately, God has mercy on me and allowed me to secretly notice Zhu's actions. Since Gao Pian can't be helped up, I have no regrets.
As for him, he had to consider his people and subordinates while he still had some energy, so he came uninvited and surrendered to General Zhu Li."
Liang Zun was very honest and did not show any falsehood.
Yuchi Jin narrowed her beautiful eyes and said calmly, "Liang Zun, a Western Rong man, was a former general of the Zhaoyi Army. After joining Gao Pian, he fought in many battles and was known as Gao Pian's best general. Why did he abandon Gao Pian and choose to join Zhu Li?"
"General Liang should know that Zhu Li is just a small governor, and now he is also known as a traitor. I am really curious about the general's choice."
Yuchi Jin's careless comments on Zhu Li made Liang Zun realize that this young general in silver armor must have a close relationship with Zhu Li, otherwise he would never speak so recklessly about others. With this thought in mind, he became more open-minded.
"Haha, young general, you are joking. If I am not mistaken, Gao Su, the governor of Xiasuiyin, is a subordinate of General Zhu Li, and a very loyal one at that. Wu Dao, the governor of Yunzhou, is General Zhu Li's mentor. Now that all 24 states have been pacified, General Zhu Li's strength is shocking. What's more rare is that he is a positive person. If I don't choose General Zhu Li, who else can I choose?"
"What's more, there are many ethnic minorities in the area controlled by General Zhu Li, including the Dangxiang, Shatuo, Khitan and so on. Since the general can tolerate them, he can naturally tolerate us Xirong people." Liang Zun spoke his mind frankly. He was especially moved by Zhu Li's attitude of treating Han people and ethnic minorities equally, so he took the initiative to surrender.
Historically, five years later Bi Shiduo rebelled and Liang Zun was killed. At that time, he was almost 50 years old and was probably powerless, so he could only hang himself on a tree. But now it is different. He can at least fight for a few more years.
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jin nodded, agreeing with his words, and then asked, "General Liang just said that Zhu Li will be back soon. Is that true?"
Liang Zhan nodded seriously after hearing this: "In fact, the young general should not ask me this question. Mr. Yan should know it best. The current situation in Yangzhou was planned by you. Naturally, he knows when General Zhu Li will come back."
After hearing Liang Zun's words, Yuchi Jin turned to look at Yan Keqiu and said directly: "I am Yuchi Jin, didn't Zhu Li mention me to you?"
When Yan Keqiu heard this, his expression immediately became interesting.
No wonder these ghost warriors look so weird, with such vigor and spirit, and act so high-spirited. It turns out that this one is the legendary Lady Yuchi.
Although Zhu Li did not mention Yuchi Jin to Yan Keqiu, it does not mean that Jing Ming and other people from Shuozhou did not mention it. As a strategist, he would always inquire about some information in advance. For example, Yuchi Jin in front of him was recognized as the future wife by all the people under Shuozhou. How could he ignore this
After confirming the other party's identity, Yan Keqiu did not hide anything and told him everything that had happened during this period in detail. He answered almost every question, for fear that he did not sell Zhu Li well enough, and his expression was indescribably flattering.
Seeing this look, Liang Zun, Han Zhong, Xie Tian, Xie Di and others twitched their lips and secretly resolved to have less involvement with this guy in the future. Otherwise, even something like changing underwear a day would be spread by this guy, and they would regret it then.