Seeing this, Li Yue was also stunned. Although he managed to remain calm, his heart was pounding and his calves were shaking slightly.
The county magistrate glanced at him and bowed slightly: "Sir!"
"Well?"
"Can we go to a quiet place to talk some words?"
Li Yue stared at the county magistrate for a long time before nodding and followed the magistrate to the next door. His soldiers immediately surrounded him.
"Master Li!" As soon as the county magistrate entered, he stopped: "You also know what I want to say, right?"
Li Yue also stopped, stared at the county magistrate, and said after a long time: "Surrender and then rebel again, this is not a good thing, no one will tolerate you."
The county magistrate smiled bitterly: "It's better than death."
He said and glanced at Li Yue: "That day when the army of the Marquis of Jibei arrived, our county was small and outnumbered, so we had to surrender. Now that the imperial army has arrived, its military power is several times greater, so we have to surrender."
"General Li, think about it carefully, how many soldiers do you have, seven hundred or eight hundred, and how many veterans are there among them? Even though I am not familiar with military matters, I can tell that there are only one group of fifty, right?"
"With these fifty people and hundreds of new soldiers, how long can they resist the army?"
"An hour, or a day?"
"When the time comes, both the jade and the stone will be destroyed, and the body and the clan will be destroyed. Are you really so loyal to the Marquis of Jibei?"
"I asked you to talk alone, just because I want you to surrender to Kaicheng. The imperial court has orders. As long as you Kaicheng without fighting, you will be spared from death immediately, and you will have a better chance of making meritorious deeds."
Li Yue trembled, bit his lip and muttered: "But Lord Marquis promoted me from a team member to a guerrilla, which is a great favor to me."
The county magistrate smiled gloomily and said: "The Marquis of Jibei is just unavailable, so he is promoted out of the ordinary, but it is a good thing for the general."
"Now the general leads seven or eight hundred men. I will give the general two or three hundred more, which will be one thousand."
"He led a thousand soldiers to surrender to the imperial court. Even if he has done meritorious service, he is still the leader of a battalion. As long as the general follows the imperial court and performs more meritorious service, he will not be able to escape."
"General, do you really want to die and wipe out your family? If you do, please behead me first and hang it in the city."
"This is not to kill me, but to love me. At least I died because I failed to fulfill my duty - even if it is not a martyrdom, I can be exempted from the crime, and my family can live on." The county magistrate said with a long sigh.
Li Yue shook his body and said: "Let me think about it again, think about it again."
"General, please, but the time is limited." After the county magistrate said this, he said no more.
Not long after, the white flag was waved in the city, and clanging sounds could be heard in the distance. The city gate slowly opened, and a dark crowd came out to welcome them, arriving on both sides.
"Master, the troops have surrendered in Jishui County." Someone quickly reported to Pei Ziyun. Pei Ziyun glanced at it and showed a smile: "I saw it."
"The front is the county magistrate, and the one side seems to be the guerrillas."
"It's just a fake general!" said a lieutenant with a dissatisfied tone. In order to attract people's hearts, the Marquis of Jibei granted officials and made promises and promoted them extensively. Putting aside this, Pei Ziyun led his army closer and closer to the city. The county magistrate general led More than a dozen officers and generals knelt down and signed up to greet them in unison: "The guilty ministers welcome the heavenly army of the imperial court."
He said signing up one by one.
"Although you are in the bandit camp, you still have the imperial court in your heart. You should set an example by raising a banner of righteousness. You can be convicted and return to your original positions." Pei Ziyun took a look and directly ordered: "Where is the county magistrate?"
"The guilty minister is here!" An official stepped out and knelt on the ground.
"You are in charge of the county, and I will send a battalion into the county to maintain law and order."
"yes!"
"The county magistrate, and Li Yue, please gather all the county troops and follow me on the expedition. When you encounter the next county town, you can step forward and shout, and set an example."
"Yes!" Li Yue and the county magistrate looked at each other and had no choice but to agree.
Wuyu County
A large army gathered under the city, but on the seventh or eighth day, the army of 10,000 became 15,000, and the momentum became even greater. At this time, more than a dozen people came forward and shouted.
"I am the magistrate of Ganshui County."
"I am guerrilla general Li Yue."
"I am the magistrate of Sheya County."
"I am the magistrate of the county in this town."
"The imperial army has arrived, with 50,000 men (an exaggeration). Your county only has a thousand people, how can you resist? Look, we have surrendered. The imperial court is very gracious. Not only does it not ask for guilt, but it can also make meritorious deeds. Don't hesitate, surrender soon." !”
These county magistrates and generals are full of confidence, especially the magistrate of Ganshui County, who has a large army as his backing. He sets an example and shouts, and the counties he goes to are surrendered. They have made some achievements in the past few days, and now they are shouting even more vigorously. is also very close.
Suddenly hearing a "pop" sound, the magistrate of Ganshui County suddenly felt a sharp pain in his body, an arrow was stuck in his shoulder, and he screamed.
The two soldiers rushed back with support.
Seeing this, all the generals were furious, and one general came out: "Master, this county only has a thousand soldiers, and our army is ten times more. As long as the master gives an order, we can break through in one day, capture and behead this thief officer." "
Pei Ziyun looked at the city: "Who is the guard of this city?"
"It's Luo You!"
"I heard that they are the direct descendants of the Marquis of Jibei. No wonder." Pei Ziyun smiled grimly: "Now is not the time. Yang Yan, I will give you three thousand soldiers. You camp in this county and continue the confrontation until I have defeated the whole county in a few days and return."
"Yes!" Yang Yan was a short but strong general. He listened to the order and immediately responded.
hills
The old Taoist led Qi Aiguo to stand on the top of the mountain, looking down from a high place with a solemn expression on his face: "Huh?"
Qi Aiguo asked: "What's wrong, Master?"
"Nothing!" The old Taoist sighed: "The Marquis of Jibei has five counties, but their fortunes are dim in succession, and they have been suppressed. In this county, all five counties have surrendered, and only Wuyu County is still there. We are resisting stubbornly, but the fate of the remaining two counties is bleak, and it is obvious that they will surrender as soon as the army arrives."
"The blood in Wuyu County is soaring to the sky, and Pei Ziyun is afraid that he has already developed a terrifying intention."
"The Marquis of Jibei's Qi is really exhausted. The last time he was granted the title of Duke, it seems that he was punished by God. The Dragon Qi is very weak. If this county falls, a chain reaction will occur. How long can it last?"
"Fortunately, I, the Holy Prison Gate, hesitated for a moment and didn't get involved too deeply."
The next day, the army arrived and Nanrong County surrendered. On the fifth day, before the army arrived, Hongshi County surrendered. By this time, Qibei County had surrendered seven of its eight counties.
The army returned, and 17,000 people gathered at the foot of Wuyu County. It was so dark that it was scary to look at it.
Under the heavy protection of the soldiers, Pei Ziyun galloped to a nearby place to observe. He saw that although the county town was not tall and solid, the generals inside were encouraging and shouting, but their morale was still maintained.
A school captain reported: "According to the intelligence, the county magistrate wanted to surrender, but Luo You killed him brazenly. There were thousands of soldiers inside. Should we persuade him to surrender again now?"
Pei Ziyun observed for a long time and revealed a cold smile: "Now we are waiting for a plan. The army will turn against the enemy before it arrives. The officials will be retained. The troops will surrender at the gate of the city. They will not be charged and retain their official status. Now that this person has been given the opportunity, he will not surrender. It is obvious that he will not surrender." He wants to be the dead minister of the Marquis of Jibei, and I will take it as his responsibility."
"Order the generals to prepare to attack the city. If there is no one who surrenders, all the officers and soldiers in the county will be killed and their heads will be beheaded for public display."
"If an official of the ninth rank or above kills an entire family, he will be rewarded by the entire army!" Most of the wealth in the city is in the hands of the officials, and such rewards are enough to boost morale. Pei Ziyun smiled grimly: "But the matter of confiscating homes cannot be done by soldiers. You wait for the county magistrate to take charge of this." thing."
The seven surrendered county magistrates agreed loudly, and a cold current surged up. Originally, they were tolerant of Pei Ziyun's persuasion to surrender, but now they are too lazy to even persuade them to surrender, and ordered to kill them all, causing harm to the whole family, and everyone can't help but tremble. , secretly glad that I chose.
After the order was given, the horns sounded, the war drums sounded, and dozens of carts were pushed up. The county town was only more than one foot (five meters) high, and the cart itself was more than one meter high. When it reached the corner, the ladder was set up. stand up.
"Shoot!" Someone ordered from behind the truck, and a hail of arrows suddenly rained down, and the whole county screamed.
"Kill, kill, kill!" Hearing the shouts, some soldiers climbed up.
"Pour the golden juice!" Someone in the city also ordered, and they saw waterfalls pouring down, shining golden light in the sun. Then they fell, and the miserable screams sounded, and dozens of soldiers held up their shields to no avail. , the cotton armor on his body smoked, and he fell down.
These people rolled on the ground and screamed. This kind of severe burns were corroded by fecal juice and the wounds were infected and rotten. Unless the Taoist used the method, there was no way to survive. Seeing this miserable scene, the people behind showed hesitation and fear.
"Whoever dares to retreat will be shot to death!"
When Ci was not in charge of the troops, there was a school captain who was shouting, and a group of archers were ready, forcing the soldiers to rush forward.
"Kill, kill, kill!" I saw people constantly screaming and falling down. The battle suddenly became intense. Auxiliary soldiers rushed in and carried off the injured soldiers from time to time. The whole scene was like a Shura field.
Pei Ziyun sat on a high platform to watch the battle, listening to the reports coming from the flowing water.
"The second battalion pounces!"
"The third battalion has been ordered to prepare."
"The fourth battalion rushed to the city wall, failed to capture the city, and retreated..."
These reports were accompanied by the constant sharp sounds of arrows piercing the air, killing sounds, screams, and occasionally loud cheers. However, the county was short of soldiers in the city. After only half an hour of fighting, the county was exhausted.
Pei Ziyun calmed down and sat upright to watch. On the city, Luo You's eyes were wide open and bleeding. Locusts were flying like flying arrows and crossbows. A large number of officers and soldiers had already rushed up.
Within a moment, the officers and soldiers were heard cheering loudly: "Kill the thief general, kill the thief general, open the city gate quickly, open the city gate quickly."
As soon as Luo You saw it, he knew that his deputy was killed in action, and suddenly laughed wildly, "Old Qian, die well, walk slowly on the road to hell, I will chase you right now!"
Almost at the same time, there was a "boom", the city gate opened wide, and a large number of officers and soldiers rushed in. The sound of killing was loud for a while.
"The city is broken." Pei Ziyun said lightly, and the killing sound gradually deepened, and the screams continued. There may not be only enemy soldiers inside, but Pei Ziyun remained unmoved.
After a long time, the sound of killing gradually stopped, and a group of people were tied up. The leader was Luo You. He had been injured several times, his left arm was cut off and wrapped in straw, and there was blood all over his body.
"Really, all officials of rank nine and above in the county have been arrested."
The officials, thieves and soldiers were all kneeling on the ground. Luo You stood upright without kneeling. The soldier kicked him, and only heard a "pop" sound. If you become a ghost, I will take your life."
Pei Ziyun didn't even raise his eyelids: "In that case, I will grant you a favor and kill anyone who comes."
The soldiers were pressing down on him, but Luo You didn't resist. He just shouted: "Lord, Luo You is trying his best!"
Before he could finish his words, the sword flashed, and he saw the head falling down, rolling on the ground, with blood spurting out, and his eyes still wide open.
"Kill, kill all the rest." Pei Ziyun saw it and said.
"Yes!" Dozens of swords flashed down, no matter whether they were loyal or traitorous, brave or cowardly, their heads rolled down together, and there was nothing left.
(End of chapter)