The suspension bridge in front of the city gate was slowly placed on the moat, and then several more hanging baskets were lowered from the top of the city. A Tang Army general and several soldiers came out of the hanging basket and strode towards Xu Xian's location.

Come.

Before the person arrived, he had already seen the sad look on the other person's face. Xu Xian fully understood this, because anyone who was involved in such a thing would have turned gray in worry overnight.

Wang Kuangye did not go to Xu Xian directly, but ran towards the two prison cars. Looking at Li Hongji who was sleeping soundly in the cage, Wang Kuangye couldn't help shouting, "Commander! Commander! What are you doing?

Come on, wake up!"

Li Congjia, who was in another car, said: "Wang Jianjun, stop shouting. My brother was irritable and restless after he was captured, so they gave him drowsy medicine!"

Wang Kuangye turned around and held up the prison cage and asked Li Congjia, "Didn't the king go north to the Liao Kingdom? Why did he fall into their hands?"

"This matter is a long story, let's talk about it later! I can only tell you that you must not hand over Changzhou to them, otherwise Jinling will be in danger."

"What? They want Changzhou!" Wang Kuangye turned to look at Xu Xian between the two cars and asked coldly: "You are using the two princes to blackmail me into giving up Changzhou. Stop dreaming!"

Xu Xian helplessly spread his hands and said, "Just think that I am daydreaming. The Muggles will invite the two princes out and send them to the West!"

Upon hearing this, the Muggles and several of their men immediately pulled the two brothers out of the cage, pinned them to the ground and raised their knives to chop them.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Wang Kuangye waved his hands and shouted loudly. When he wanted to step forward, Da Kui immediately put his gun in front of him, "If you dare to take another step forward, I will stab you to death!"

Xu Xian laughed and said: "Wang Jianjun told me to stop. It seems that he agreed to exchange Changzhou for the two princes of your country."

Wang Kuangye stamped his feet and shouted: "Humph! Don't even think about it!"

Xu Xian winked at Jiubao, who immediately shouted to the city, "Wang Kuangye does not agree to exchange Changzhou for the prince, now we will kill Li Hongji and Li Congjia!"

Wang Kuangye pointed at Xu Xian’s nose and yelled, “You are despicable and shameless!”

Xu Xian ignored his scolding and said: "What are you doing in a daze? Why don't you take action quickly!"

The Muggle immediately showed his trademark ferocious smile and said, "Off with your head!" As he said this, he slashed at Li Congjia's head with the horizontal knife in his hand.

"No!" Wang Kuangye shouted in horror.

"Don't kill me!" Li Congjia cried and begged for mercy.

But it was too late, the sharp blade swiped across Li Congjia's head, and Li Congjia's bun immediately rolled to the ground. Li Congjia felt a chill on his scalp, a growl in his throat, and he fainted as soon as he rolled his eyes.

Don't look at it. It's just that the hair was cut off. It's even more terrifying than fighting in front of the two armies. When Guo Wei used this move on Xu Xian, Xu Xian almost peed his pants.

Wang Kuangye half-opened his mouth, as if his heart was about to jump out of his mouth. It would be a lie to say that he didn't care about the lives of the two princes.

As Li Jing's confidant, he knew Li Jing very well. Maybe Li Jing would praise him for his decisiveness for a while, but once he settled down in the future, he would only remember that he failed to save his two sons, but forgot that he saved Changzhou City. There would probably be nothing wrong with him in the future.

Good ending.

Seeing that Li Congjia had only had his hair cut into a bun, Wang Kuangye breathed a long sigh of relief but remained silent. As a loyal minister, such a choice was too difficult for him.

The Muggle took his fingers out of his nostrils and pinched Li Congjia's body. Li Congjia suddenly woke up and saw the Muggle's ugly face rolling aside and crying: "Wang Jianjun, you

Quickly give Changzhou to them, do you want to watch my king be beheaded by them?"

Feeling the horror of death, Li Congjia could no longer hold on. Seeing that Wang Kuangye was still silent, he yelled loudly and sternly, "Wang Kuangye, what are your intentions of not saving me even if you die! If my brother and I die, do you think you have defended Changzhou?"

Will there be great achievements? I now order you to trade Changzhou for my brother!"

Wang Kuangye handed over to Li Congjia and replied: "Unless I am unwilling, this matter is of great importance. I have the responsibility to protect the land and dare not make the decision without authorization. I will report to Jinling and ask your Majesty to make a decision!"

"Do you think I will give you so much time? I suggest you go back to Changzhou now to prepare more coffins and coffins. When you receive a reply from Jinling, you can mourn the two princes. I still have more than 10,000 prisoners there, so you must prepare more coffins and coffins.

Some!"

Wang Kuangye's expression changed drastically, "What! There are still more than 10,000 prisoners! Impossible. I, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, are incompatible with Zhou and Wu and Yue. How can I surrender to you!"

Li Congjia immediately said: "It is true that more than 10,000 Tang troops surrendered. He was the one who induced them to surrender with money. Not only did he give him money but also good food. The soldiers who had no choice but to surrender almost turned traitor after two days."

Perhaps this kind of thing that often happened in the Central Plains Dynasty rarely happened in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Wang Kuang was stunned and gritted his teeth and said: "Shameless!"

"Wang Jianjun, just listen to my advice and give Changzhou to them."

"The king is confused. Changzhou is the gateway to Jinling. Once Changzhou falls into the hands of the enemy, the foundation of our Tang Dynasty will be in danger!"

"Wang Jianjun, Emperor Zhou does not intend to annex our country. He just wants to occupy the north and south of the Yangtze River to block our country's northward path. Taking Changzhou is just a threat to our father."

"This man is treacherous, how can Your Highness believe his lies!"

…

Just like Xu Xian persuaded Li Congjia before, Li Congjia persuaded Wang Kuangye with sincerity. Just like Li Congjia, Wang Kuangye did not shed tears before seeing the coffin, but refused to agree.

Xu Xian said: "With the wisdom of Wang Jianjun, Xiang will know what I am going to do after receiving my letter. Since you are unwilling, why come out again? Just go back to the city. I will prepare to attack the city soon.

.”

"With more than 10,000 troops, it is simply wishful thinking to capture Changzhou City!"

"Hehe... It is indeed difficult for more than 10,000 soldiers to capture Changzhou, but if I use the two princes as human shields, I don't know how the soldiers in the city will fight back. By the way, I will call two thousand prisoners over later.

I cheered, I want to see how much the Tang army in the city is thinking about fighting!"

"You, you..." Wang Kuangye was so angry that he couldn't speak. It took him a long time to squeeze out the word "shameless".

Xu Xian said: "Wang Jianjun, can you say something else? I don't want you to judge whether I am shameless or not. You should worry about yourself. It is not terrible if the two princes die. It is easy to give Changzhou away, but Changzhou will not be afraid if the prince dies.

If you lose it, that will be the end of you. Dismissal from office and beheading is a light thing, but you are afraid that you will die and your family will be destroyed!"

Wang Kuangye couldn't help but be alert when he heard this, and his face became a little more hesitant.

Xu Xian winked at Li Congjia, and Li Congjia stepped forward and said softly: "Brother, he has suffered from madness. I'm afraid he won't recover. Xiao Wang will never forget the kindness of the supervisor today."

——————

Compared with Changzhou, the gateway to Jinling, Shouzhou, the gateway to Huainan, is simply a hell on earth. The soldiers and officials still have a mouthful of rice soup to eat. Most of the people have no food. Eating bark, grass roots is a trivial matter, and many people have begun cannibalism.

.

Bodies that had just been buried in the ground during the day would be dug out at night. The bodies were taken home but they did not dare to be steamed, for fear that they would be discovered by the smell of meat.

Those who eat the dead are all conscientious, and those who eat the living are common. It is not unusual for people to change their children and eat them in Shouzhou at this time. Even if the government imposes severe torture and torture, it is still difficult to stop them, so we might as well let them go.

Although his body was very weak, Liu Renzhan still managed to wear full armor, but his steps were no longer as vigorous as before, and every step he took seemed to be very difficult.

Especially the street in front of the Jiedushi Mansion made Liu Renzhan feel timid every time he passed by, because behind the doors and windows there were no longer eyes of admiration, but indifference and even hatred. They did not hate the people besieging the city.

Chai Rong hated him as a commander who refused to surrender.

Looking at the wild cats eating corpses in the streets, Liu Renzhan's heart twitched violently, and he was filled with hatred. What he hated was Chai Rong. Not only did he hate Chai Rong for his long siege, but he also hated Chai Rong.

Rong only besieged the city but no longer attacked it.

Based on the physical condition of the Shouzhou soldiers, as long as Chai Rong attacks the city again, he will definitely be able to break it without any effort. At that time, he can die on the city wall and avoid being known as a traitor to the enemy.

But Chai Rong hesitated to take action. People all over the city hated him, even the soldiers hated him. He asked in his heart more than once, "Guo Rong, Guo Rong, are you punishing me on purpose?"

In his wild thoughts, he unknowingly arrived near the city gate and saw a group of soldiers fighting together. Liu Renzhan immediately stepped forward and scolded: "The enemy is in front of us, why do you want to beat your own people!"

His power was still there, and the soldiers quickly separated. A young soldier pointed at the older veteran and said, "It was Niu Er who stole my porridge when I was in the hut. He didn't admit it and beat me!"

Niu Er said: "What kind of gruel is just a bowl of rice soup. You kid used to eat and drink with me a lot, but now I can't take a sip of your rice soup!"

Liu Renzhan scolded: "Shut up! Niu Er, you are a kind person in my eyes. Why do you bully the recruits and return the gruel to them quickly?"

"The porridge is gone! I was told to take it home for my grandson to eat. If your grandpa wants me, I will cut open my grandson's belly and return it to your grandpa!"

"You..." Liu Renzhan pointed at Niu Er and really didn't know what to say. On the contrary, Niu Er's eyes were red and he knelt on the ground, "They don't dare to tell me, sir, let's surrender, brothers.

I can’t hold it anymore!”

Liu Renzhan angrily scolded: "Shut up! Do you know what will happen to those who dare to surrender!"

Niu Ergen rubbed his neck and said: "I know! Your Majesty has already beheaded several people, and he won't be able to behead one more. But I have a request. After your Majesty beheaded me, he just found a place and threw my head away."

However, I have to keep my body. I will leave my left leg to your father-in-law as a way of repaying your great kindness; I will give my right leg to satisfy your brothers' cravings; and the rest will be left to my children. My grandson has been there for a long time.

I haven’t even eaten meat yet…”

Before Niu Er could finish what he said, the surrounding soldiers knelt down in front of Liu Renzhan and cried loudly: "Commander, let's surrender, brothers can't hold on any longer."

Liu Renzhan seemed to have been hit on the chest by a heavy hammer, and he staggered back several steps. Thanks to the supervisor Zhou Tinggou, he was supported. Unexpectedly, Zhou Tinggou immediately knelt down beside him and said, "Please forgive me for the officers and people in the city."

Plan, surrender."

"Even you have to surrender!" Liu Renzhan subconsciously grasped the handle of the knife and just pulled out half of it, when he suddenly rolled his eyes and fell to the ground. No matter how many people shouted, he couldn't wake him up.

Everyone was panicked and quickly carried Liu Renzhan to rest under the cool city gate. Zhou Tinggou was about to ask someone to invite the doctor, but Sun Yu, the deputy envoy of Yingtian of the Jiedushi Mansion, said: "Supervise the army.

Don't rush to find the doctor. Once Liu Linggong wakes up, we may still have to defend Shouzhou City."

This sentence was like an enlightenment. Zhou Tinggou nodded and said: "What Deputy Ambassador Sun said makes sense, this is indeed a good opportunity!"

"What's so unreasonable! Are you two just watching your grandpa die so that you can leave the city and surrender? If you have such thoughts, don't blame me for not recognizing anyone with my sword!"

A knife was then handed over and pointed at the two of them. The person holding the knife was actually Niu Er just now. Then other soldiers and Liu Renzhan's personal soldiers also drew their knives.

Zhou Tinggou waved his hands resolutely, "Zhou has absolutely no intention of harming your father, Niu Dutou... didn't he just say that he wanted to surrender?"

"I want to surrender, but your father-in-law doesn't nod, and I won't surrender even if I starve to death! Stop talking nonsense and go find the doctor quickly!"

Sun Yu said: "Commanders, don't be anxious. Sun and Zhou Jianjun are doing it for your good. Now there is no medicine or food in the city. Even if you can revive him temporarily, how long can your body last?"

As long as we surrender, we can send your father-in-law to the Emperor of Zhou for good medicine and delicious food, and your brothers and the people in the city will no longer have to suffer from hunger. Isn’t it true that we will kill two birds with one stone?"

The surrounding soldiers couldn't help but be moved when they heard this. Sun Yu and Zhou Tinggou tried their best to persuade them, and everyone finally nodded in agreement. The two men immediately wrote a letter of surrender in Liu Renzhan's name and asked someone to send it outside the city.

Chai Rong, who was outside the city, was preparing to launch the final attack on Shouzhou. He couldn't help but be overjoyed after receiving the letter of surrender. He had been waiting for this day for more than a year. He asked people to prepare food to distribute to the people of Shouzhou, and at the same time, he asked people to prepare ceremonial gongs and drums.

In addition to the imperial edict conferring Liu Renzhan's title, he also had to go outside the city in person to greet Liu Renzhan who had surrendered.

Although Liu Renzhan surrendered, it still did not affect his image in Chai Rong's mind. Being able to hold on for nearly two years under the attack and siege of more than 100,000 troops has proven his strength and loyalty. Such a minister

They were very rare in the Five Dynasties, so they should be carefully wooed.

Of course, some ministers believed that this was a conspiracy set up by Liu Renzhan and told Chai Rong not to go.

Chai Rong did not take it seriously, "Liu Renzhan is an upright person. Even if he is plotting, he will not surrender! My dear friends, please feel free to go with me!"

Chai Rong got up from his seat and before leaving the tent, Old Mutou entered the tent and reported: "Your Majesty is staying here. There is an envoy from the Tang State outside the camp, saying he is here to hand over a letter of surrender."
Chapter completed!