After breaking into the room of the inn, the situation inside was horrible. The tables, round stools and other furnishings were in a mess. More than a dozen people were lying on the ground in a mess. The walls and the ground were stained with blood. Who killed someone and locked the door and closed the windows? When Guo Shao walked to the door, he smelled a very unpleasant and strong mixed smell, just like the person who was hanged under the eaves before. There was not only the smell of blood but also the stench of excrement. Even people killed by knives and guns were not so beautiful. It seemed that because the muscles had lost control, the filth in the body would flow out.
Guo Shao felt a chill in his heart. He was killed along with these nuns as a spy, and died in filth.
He stepped over the threshold, took off his scabbard, and turned over the prone bodies to look at them one by one. He had never seen Qingxu, but he had heard the description of the spy woman: a pointed chin, single eyelids, about fourteen or fifteen years old. And Qingxu was not a nun, she had hair.
He walked very carefully, and of course would not step directly on the body of the deceased. But when he turned back inadvertently, he found a trail of footprints and blood on the floor tiles, and inevitably stepped on the blood that was flowing all over the tiles.
These people were not killed by us, the official at the door said tremblingly.
Guo Shao turned around and asked: All the people you arrested are here
The official suddenly realized: There is another person imprisoned over there, a young lady who claims to be a disciple of Chen Tuan, the Master of Fuyao.
Are you still alive? Take me there immediately. Guo Shao threw away the scabbard and turned away.
Everyone quickly left the tragic massacre scene and went to another room. This time Guo Shao didn't have to do it himself. Luo Mengzi, who was even fatter, rushed in and slammed the door with his armor, knocking it over. Suddenly, a frightened girl screamed from inside.
After hearing this, Guo Shao rushed over. Under the small window at the back of the room, there was indeed a young woman standing. She was not tall and looked a little thin, with single eyelids and a pointed chin. She held a hairpin in her hand and said in a strong rural accent: What do you want to do? My master is Fuyaozi. My master is very powerful. Don't come over here.
I saw that there were thick wooden lattices on the small window at the back, one of which had a gap, and there were some wood scraps on the ground below. It turned out that she had used a hairpin to grind the wood.
When Guo Shao heard this, he felt as if a huge stone had fallen from his heart. He looked at Qingxu carefully and said: "Of course I don't want to do anything to you. I came to save you. You don't know that I even risked my life to save you."
You're so strange. Do I know you? Qingxu leaned against the wall. Being looked at by Guo Shao, she seemed a little uncomfortable. From time to time, she looked at Guo Shao. The two of them looked at each other, behaving very strangely.
They were originally unrelated, but Guo Shao cared about her so much. Of course, he knew why, but it still felt very mysterious. This was what they called fate.
The two men and women looked at each other for a while, and Guo Shao finally came to his senses, turned around and asked: "Where is Jingniang? Call Jingniang over."
After a while, Jingniang came over coldly, her face pale, but she said nothing. When she reached the door, she saw Qingxu and finally said: Qingxu, do you still remember me
Taoist Master Yuzhen Qingxu's face lit up with joy. After all, she was a teenage girl. No matter whose disciple she was, she would always feel safer when meeting someone she knew, and Qingxu was no exception.
Seeing this, Guo Shao quietly left the room. He said to the two soldiers beside him in a deep voice: "Watch them, don't let Qingxu get lost."
Qingxu and Jingniang met and talked for a few words. When they looked up, the strange young general had disappeared.
Guo Shao walked into the courtyard of the posthouse and turned around to ask the official who had led the way: Who killed the man
"I don't know," the official said hurriedly.
Suddenly, there was a clang, a flash of a knife, Luo Yanhuan drew his knife and swung it over, suddenly stopping it on the official's neck, a trace of blood flowed onto the blade. The official was horrified, his body went limp, and he fell to the ground in fear.
The official said tremblingly: Zhao Chongtao's order
Where is the person? Guo Shao asked again.
The official said: The defeated soldiers in front arrived at the posthouse. Zhao Chongtao learned that they had been defeated, so he went up to Qingniling with General Li and others.
At this moment, a rider came running to the gate of the posthouse and came in to report: The commander of the Shu army is Li Tinggui. He demands that we treat our captured subordinates well and will surrender as long as we agree.
Luo Yanhuan laughed and said: "It's still possible to negotiate conditions at this time.
Guo Shao waved his hand and said: Tell Wang Zhang to agree to Li Tinggui's conditions. The sooner the problem is solved, the easier it will be.
Guo Shao sent another person to ask Li Dazhu and other two commanders stationed at Baishui Road to gather their troops to the north. Then they divided their troops to escort the surrendered Shu army soldiers to the north of Qingniling. Guo Shao discussed with Li Chuyun and others and planned to abandon the posthouse and only occupy the Qingniling highland, and then return the main force to the north.
In the evening, a group of Shu army officers and officials were tied up with ropes and escorted to the posthouse. Guo Shao led his generals to meet them in the lobby. As soon as Li Tinggui and others entered the lobby, they found that the Zhou army officers' eyes were very strange. They were not angry or kind, but they seemed to have the illusion that Li Tinggui and others were pieces of wheat cakes or piles of gold and silver.
The defeated general should be killed if you want to, Li Tinggui raised his head and said angrily.
Guo Shao asked: Who is Zhao Chongtao
A Shu army general behind Li Tinggui said: It is me.
Guo Shaodao: Drag him out and peel off his skin.
Li Tinggui was furious after hearing this and cursed: "Who promised me not to kill the prisoners? You are talking nonsense. I am defeated and it is not a pity to die. If you have the guts, chop me up!"
Guo Shao said coldly: "Killing an opponent in battle does not require a life penalty, but killing an unarmed person requires a life penalty. It is only natural that a life should be paid for a life." After saying that, he waved his hand and detained the rest.
At this time, Zuo You, who was sitting at the table nearby, found a magnet from somewhere and held it over a pile of coins on the table. The coins were immediately attracted by the magnet. Zuo You said, "It is really iron money. Shu lacks copper, so we use iron to cast coins. These coins will not work if we take them back."
Guo Shao stood up calmly, neither treating the surrendered Shu generals with courtesy nor saying he would kill them, he only dealt with one person. He came out from the back door of the hall, called Luo Yanhuan forward, and said in a deep voice: You take people to coerce those Shu generals, and ask them to send people back to get money to redeem their lives. Don't use iron coins, but gold, silver, gems, and silk for nothing; let Zuo You do this with you, so that he can calculate how much money is required for each level, and the price is clear and fair.
Luo Yanhuan said: This group of Shu army soldiers are imperial guards. The imperial guards of Shu are not scarce and are often rewarded by the emperor of Shu. Thousands of captives, it is not a small amount to squeeze one person.
Okay, you and Zuo You will be fully responsible for this matter, Guo Shao said.
Li Chuyun said: If the Shu people really offer money to redeem us, we should just let them go. Especially if we let the Shu general go without saying anything, it will be bad if it gets reported to the court.
Guo Shao pondered for a while: Brother Li is right. I saw someone going to Tokyo to report in two days and ask for the emperor's order on how to treat the prisoners of war. First go to Fengxiang and tell the guest envoy Zan Jurun that there is no need to hide anything. Just say that they have squeezed money and he has a share.
Li Chuyun said: The soldiers of the Shu army should be fine, but those military generals, if the emperor issues an order to capture them and bring them back to Tokyo, we will take the money but not follow the rules. It is said that all green forest bandits will abide by the rules.
Zan Jurun will report the extortion in the army. We have already asked for permission, so the government and the court should go along with it. If they want to arrest him, then we will arrest him. Even the mountain bandits are not as good as breaking the rules. Guo Shaodao, extort money, except for the losses in the chaos, and then hand over some of it.
Li Chuyun sighed and said: "Before the war, I promised the soldiers to share the money. For now, this is the only way. My lord, why don't you leave this matter to me? How can the people I send tell Zan Jurun?"
Guo Shao nodded simply and said: Then Brother Li will do it.
Li Chuyun found a captain he knew in the guards and told him to go to Fengxiang to see Zan Jurun first. He repeatedly reminded him that the remaining Shu army was trapped in Qingni Ridge, and the generals were afraid of death and wanted to pay money to redeem their lives before they were willing to surrender. Our generals were afraid that if they went deep into the front and back of the country, they would be attacked by the reinforcements of Shu, so they wanted to fight quickly and decisively, so they agreed reluctantly.
A group of riders took the seal of Guo Shaogai, the commander of the Hujie Army, and the next morning they crossed Qingni Ridge and headed straight for Fengxiang.
Zan Jurun asked for the news in detail, pondered for a long time in the post house, and began to write a secret report. In order to make the matter clear, he also wrote about the looting of property by Wang Jing's troops and Xiang Xun's troops in Qinfeng Chengjie City, and then argued that the imperial guards did not occupy the city, so they blackmailed the reinforcements of the Shu army, etc. As for what the imperial guards said, it was the Shu army that took the initiative to ask for money to redeem people, which was quite strange.
After writing the secret memorial to the Privy Council, Zan Jurun sealed it with lacquer and sent a messenger to deliver it directly to Tokyo.
At this time, the Zhou Dynasty's rulers and ministers in Tokyo were celebrating the success of the attack on Shu. If Wang Jing and other troops continued to be deadlocked in Qinfeng, the Zhou army would not be able to easily declare war on Southern Tang for a while; only after the war situation became clear could they attack Southern Tang to avoid high-intensity fighting on two fronts.
Wei Renpu, the privy councilor, did not think that it was a big deal for the army to rob and extort. As long as they won the battle against Shu, they could avoid other matters. He reported to the emperor that the surrendered soldiers of the Shu army in Qingniling should be dealt with by the left wing of the Hujie Army; the ordinary surrendered soldiers of the Shu army in Qinfeng should still be allowed to stay or go, and those who were willing to leave should be released, in order to win the hearts of the soldiers, officials and people in Qinfeng. The emperor agreed and approved it immediately, and then asked the civil servants to write an edict to appease the surrendered soldiers in Qinfeng.
Wei Renpu also suggested that Wang Jing's troops should be rewarded for looting Qinzhou and others, and that Wang Jing should be relocated to Qinzhou and concurrently appointed as the commander of the western border. All the suggestions made by the Privy Councilor Wei Renpu were very appropriate and were soon implemented.