Chapter 585: There is no rogue, only even more rogue!

Zhao Wujiu's appearance made the situation in Tongguan City very complicated.

The capture of Emperor Zhaowu and the fall of Hulao Pass and Hangu Pass made the disrepaired Tongguan City unprepared to become the forefront of fighting against the invaders.

Before the arrival of the Qi army, the soldiers and civilians could still obey the orders of the captain, work hard to repair the city walls, accumulate supplies, and be full of energy to protect their homes.

But when the Demon King Zhao came with a dark army and set up a dozen miles long camp in front of the pass, panic inevitably appeared. For a moment, people in the city were panicked, and many people believed that even the strong passes like Hangu Pass could be broken, and that Tongguan City, which was several levels short of the pass, could not be defended for long.

However, the power of Niu Xiaowei and Li Sihai were seriously lacking in ability, unable to handle defense and stabilize the morale of the army. The situation was becoming increasingly serious, and they even attacked the back door post.

When he received the report, Qin Lei was inspecting the city defense. He smiled without surprise and said, "Go and take a look." He knew that the two of them could not cover the scene, but by the way, it was not easy for him to deprive them of their power as soon as they came. It would be better to go with the flow.

The city gate behind was full of fire, and there was a bright spot. The soldiers and civilians of Tongguan who were carrying a baggage and were crowded in front of the city gate, shouting loudly, and were very excited. The Shenwu Army, who was responsible for the city defense, drew their swords and held their bows, and was on guard tightly. The scene was very tense.

"Greetings to the prince!" Seeing Qin Lei riding a horse from the street surrounded by black guards, the Shenwu Army knelt on one knee.

The soldiers and civilians in Tongguan on the scene were shocked. They only knew that the court had sent reinforcements, but under Qin Lei's deliberate low-keyness, the soldiers and civilians in Guancheng did not know that the one who led the troops was actually a prince.

After a moment of shock, the soldiers and civilians knelt down in a panic and said in a lingering manner: "Greetings to the prince." "Please pay tribute to the prince..."

"Get up." Qin Lei smiled and turned over and dismounted, threw the whip to the Shenwu Captain who was coming up, and asked knowingly: "What's going on? Is the atmosphere not harmonious?"

The captain quickly briefly explained the situation, and Qin Lei's expression gradually became serious. After hearing this, he said in a deep voice: "Put the weapons away first, and the swords and guns can only be pointed at the enemy." He pointed to the soldiers and civilians in the field and said: "Are they enemies?" The soldiers of the Shenwu Army quickly loosened the bowstrings and put their swords into the sheath.

Seeing that the young prince did not come up, he shouted to fight and kill. The people's vigilance was greatly reduced, but they still knelt on the ground, as if begging to let them out of seclusion.

"Get up quickly," Qin Lei said with a smile: "Do you still need the Lone King to help him up one by one?" As he said that, he took a step forward and helped an old man kneeling in the front row up personally.

Only then did the people get up one after another and look at the prince pitifully.

"Where is this father-in-law going?" Qin Lei asked the old man with a smile.

"Oh... Prince." The old man trembled and saluted Qin Lei, "It's almost time to fight, we want to go out and hide for a while."

"Where can you hide?" Qin Lei's voice was calm and majestic. He pointed to the city wall in the east and said, "This is the last line of defense for the Qin Dynasty. If this place is broken, the entire Qin Dynasty will be exposed to Zhao Wujiu's claws. Whether it is the prosperous southern country or the vast northern land, there is no safe place. Where will you escape at that time?"

Everyone was silent. They knew that the prince was telling the truth, but I was dead, and I was not dead. Everyone still wanted to make sacrifices. They muttered, "We are just military households, not real officers and soldiers. What's the use of staying here?"

The so-called military households are residents living in military fortresses. They also receive some military training on weekdays, but their main task is to provide labor services for the fortresses and do some handling and maintenance to support their families. Compared with ordinary people, they are more disciplined, but after all, they are not considered real soldiers without military regulations.

In fact, Qin Lei encouraged them to stay. In addition to trying to make efforts to defend the city, the more important thing is to consider the 60,000 defending troops... If these military households flee on a large scale, the blow to the morale of the military will be absolutely devastating. On the contrary, if the military households do not escape, then as a soldier of the Qin Dynasty, he will be embarrassed to escape first.

Therefore, Qin Lei decided to do the work of connecting these military households, and he heard him say loudly: "Why is it useless? Nearly 60,000 troops have to eat when they want to fight, they will be injured, and they need continuous support from weapons. Moreover, after the battle every day, the damaged city wall needs to be repaired, and the soldiers who died in battle need to be collected. If the staff is tight, someone will need help to patrol the city at night."

As he said that, his eyes swept across the dense crowd, he said with emotion: "Our officers and soldiers need to face the crazy attacks of hundreds of thousands of enemies. Do we have the heart to let them do these tasks when they are bleeding and sacrificed, tired and painful?" His words all said the military households who were originally righteous and down.

Qin Lei struck while the iron was hot, and said excitedly: "Our soldiers headed south from the northern Hu Pass thousands of miles away. In order to enter the city before the Qi army, we did not bring supplies, and even had winter clothes. Everyone knew the danger of such a march! But they still set out on the road without hesitation. In just seven days, they completed the 800-mile march..." As he said that, he looked back at the soldiers beside him, and said in a low voice: "The price paid is... more than 10,000 people were sacrificed!"

The soldiers and civilians were shocked. They could not imagine what kind of marches would require more than ten thousand casualties to complete, and what kind of belief would support this army. After enduring such sacrifices, they still started preparing for the war as if nothing had happened.

"What are they doing?" Qin Lei roared: "It's not for money and status, not for emperors and marshals, they're just to protect their homes! Facts have proved that if there were no such huge sacrifice, Tongguan City had changed hands, and the Qin Empire, which I lost three passes in a row, would have no barriers! Are there old people among you who have experienced that time twenty years ago, have you forgotten the scene of thousands of miles of naked land and full of bones? Are you willing to experience the ravages of the enemy's iron cavalry again?"

The old man was already filled with tears in his eyes as he said, and turned around and said to everyone: "Let's go back, the prince is right. For our own sake, we can't give Tongguan to the Demon King Zhao!"

Many people nodded, but there were also ulterior motives, hiding in the crowd and whispering strangely: "A person as noble as the prince always has a way to save his life. Even if Qi captured Tongguan and we were all killed, he could still go back alive and continue to be his prince!"

Shi Gan narrowed his eyes and wanted the black-clothed guard to catch the man, but Qin Lei shook his head slightly to stop him. It was indeed a meticulous work, otherwise how could he know that he was the prince, not the prince? But the scene was very subtle at this time, and the people's trust in Qin Lei did not have much more than that meticulous work.

After a moment of pondering, he pulled out the sword and looked at everyone with a serious expression. The scene suddenly became quiet. Everyone looked at him in fear, not knowing what would happen, but Qin Lei swore aloud and said: "Please rest assured, I swear to live and die together with Tongguan, and I will not let you die alone!" As he said that, he cut off the wooden stakes on the edge of the road with a knife and said loudly: "If you violate this oath, heaven will be punished by the earth!"

Everyone was moved and finally said, "Then we won't leave..."

Qin Lei smiled faintly and said, "Please go back, everyone, have a break soon, there is still a lot of work tomorrow." The soldiers and civilians kowtowed to Qin Lei, and then turned back with the elderly and the young.

Although those who are willing and unwilling to accept it, the situation is over, so they have to be mixed in the crowd and dispersed.

The man saluted Qin Lei and was about to turn around and leave, but he was pulled by his hand and said, "Old man, how many years have you been in the city?"

"If you want to go back to the prince, you will be born and raised here." The old man said respectfully.

"That father-in-law should have some understanding of the population who have moved to the city in the past twenty years, right?" Qin Lei said kindly.

"How can so many people remember clearly," the old man laughed and said, "But we are Guancheng, with 3,730 households, 27,500 people and 7,400 strong men. Remember clearly in the household registration book, and the ins and outs are well documented."

"Very good." Qin Lei laughed and said, "The father-in-law is a thoughtful person... Shi Gan!"

"What are the instructions of the prince?"

"Send someone to follow your father to investigate and take out the list as soon as possible." Qin Lei ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes." Shi Gan went down to arrange for the Black Guard to carry out the matter.

The old man was a little confused and whispered: "What did the prince ask me to do?"

"Eliminate the traitor!" Qin Lei said mysteriously: "There are traitors in the city!"

"The traitor is the most hateful!" The old man became angry when he heard this, and glared at him, "I will definitely catch you all!"

Qin Lei nodded and smiled, "I'm working hard."

The old man quickly saluted and said, "Your Majesty is so polite." He said, looking up at Qin Lei and said, "Young man dares to ask, don't blame me, your prince."

Qin Lei smiled and shook his head and said, "Ask."

"Which prince are you?" the old man asked in a low voice: "Why can the old man not match the number?"

Qin Lei couldn't help but smile: "Who do you want to match me?"

"..." After thinking for a while, the old man mustered up the courage to say, "Your Highness, Prince Cheng." When he said these five words, his eyes shone brightly, obviously he admired the Your Highness very much.

The officers and soldiers around him laughed softly, and Qin Lei also held back his smile and said, "Why is it him?"

Seeing that everyone around him was laughing, the old man's face turned red and said, "Prince Cheng is young and mighty, he loves the people. More importantly, he can beat Zhao Wujiu, of course I would like you to be him... If he is here, we will definitely not escape." As he said, he couldn't hide his disappointment: "But I also know that Prince Cheng is still in Qi State and there is no time to come back."

"Thank you for your father-in-law's fault." Qin Lei stopped teasing him and said in a deep voice: "Little Wang is Qin Lei."

As he said that, he left the dull old man, turned over and left.

Inspired by Qin Lei's courage, the military and civilians finally worked together, united as one, and fearlessly waited for the challenge of Qi.

But Zhao Wujiu became addicted to pinching soft persimmons. He hoped that as long as Emperor Zhaowu stood under the city and shouted, Tongguan City would belong to him without bloodshed... Although it was just a beautiful wish, how could he know if it could become a reality if he didn't try it?

As soon as the sky was dawn, he used the same trick again and took His Majesty Zhaowu hostage to the outside of the city.

Looking at the vast ancient city built along the mountain, Zhao Wujiu felt his scalp tingling and thought to himself: "This place is too difficult to attack, right?" He became even more determined to let Mr. Zhaowu knock on the door.

Look at the pale-faced emperor of Qin standing beside him... Well, although it has expired, he is essentially the supreme of Qin. Zhao Wujiu felt infinite pride in his heart and said secretly: "His grandma can actually hold an emperor of a country as a hostage. It's really the first time."

After calming down his smile, Zhao Wujiu said to Emperor Zhaowu: "Your Majesty, please help me, just like you have done in the past."

Emperor Zhaowu closed his eyes slightly and said nothing.

Zhao Wujiu realized that he was too frivolous. It seemed that no one could help but be proud in the face of glorious victory. He quickly kept his smile and tried his best to reply to the majesty: "Actually, it's the same whether you say it or not. It's just for the sake of His Majesty's decency."

"I have no decent status for a long time." Emperor Zhaowu didn't look at him, and his voice was calm: "And I am no longer a His Majesty, they won't listen."

"Shameless." Zhao Wujiu sneered: "Press him and walk around the city, so that all the officers and soldiers on the city can see their emperor... Oh no, the Supreme Emperor, how miserable it is."

Zhao Hu then lifted Emperor Zhaowu, tied his back to the back of a donkey, and led him to Tongguan City.

The officers and soldiers on the city could see clearly, their eyes were full of blood and their grief and anger. The angry one kept slamming their heads against the city wall, and their heads were broken and bloody, but they could not relieve the humiliation in their hearts.

After being satisfied, Zhao Wujiu, who had been cautious all his life, finally made the first mistake. He should not insult the supreme of a country in public. This was no benefit except to make the defenders angry.

But he didn't care, because the main force of Qin was stranded in the Taihang Mountains, and there was no other army in this country that could match him. At this time, Qin was a completely weak person in his heart, and why should the weak require respect?

After Zhao Hu led the donkey around, he opened his voice and shouted to the city: "Your Majesty has issued an order to let you open the city gate."

The guard in the city was Bo Shang Saiyang, and he replied according to Qin Lei's instructions: "According to regulations, if an enemy country attacks the border, the door is absolutely not allowed to be opened!"

Zhao Hu was stunned and had to look at his own marshal. Zhao Wujiu rolled his eyes and said, "Tell them that we are not enemies, we are friendly forces escorting their emperor back."

Zhao Hu shouted as soon as possible.

Bo Shang Saiyang was also stunned. He looked at Qin Lei who was disguised as a soldier and learned from what Qin Lei said: "Thank you, now you have penetrated 200 miles deep into my Great Qin border, and there will be no danger. Please withdraw your troops ten miles, and we will take His Majesty back to the city!"

Zhao Wujiu suddenly had smoke from his orifices, and did not let Zhao Hu pass the message. He opened his voice and said, "I asked you Captain Niu to speak!" He knew the situation of various passes in Qin State, which shows how much effort he had put into practice.

Just like what he did outside Hulao Pass, this is a decisive move. As long as he calls out the city guard and threatens the life of Emperor Zhaowu in front of him, even if he has the courage to surrender.

But the answer from the city almost caused Lao Zhao to suffer from a cerebral hemorrhage.

I heard the treacherous general slowly say: "Our lieutenant has gone to Beijing for a meeting!"

Resisting the urge to eat people, Zhao Wujiu gritted his teeth and said, "It's okay to find Li Sihai."
Chapter completed!