Zuo Yingxuan enthusiastically led the way and said to Li Yingfang as he walked: "How are you doing in Yongping, my dear brother?"
"Of course it's good. The Khan's benevolence and righteousness are all praised by all the people in Yongping." Li Yingfang was so anxious to win the election that he could say whatever he wanted.
"That's good. This will put my brother at ease. After all, as an official, you have to explain something to the people." Zuo Yingxuan looked relieved, and the two of them were acting out each other.
"The people of Changli City are really lucky to have such a good parent and official as Brother Wucai!" Li Yingfang also flattered Zuo Yingxuan.
The two of them were chatting and walking, and when they were about to arrive at the county government office, Zuo Yingxuan suddenly said: "Brother Xian, I have seen along the way how my brother's defense is going. Brother Wei managed to hold on for many days with these country soldiers."
."[
Li Yingfang had become familiar with Zuo Yingxuan. He relaxed his caution when he first came in, and slowly showed his arrogance. Listening to Zuo Yingxuan's bragging, he said disdainfully: "Brother Wucai should know what I am capable of. If I tell him
It will be a matter of course for the Great Khan to present his sharp weapons and attack the city."
Zuo Yingxuan heard this, stood up, looked at Li Yingfang and said, "Why, you haven't told the Great Khan that you are proficient in firearms and know how to make Hongyi cannons?"
"I will make it clear to the Great Khan after I have accomplished a great service. This will show my younger brother's ability, which is not just about making artillery." Li Yingfang proudly stated her plan.
Zuo Ying listened and shouted: "Okay."
Li Yingfang was startled by him, and there was no need to be so loud when she agreed with her plan.
The squires following behind all looked to the left, wondering what the county magistrate was going to do.
"Where are the outstanding people?" Zuo Yingxuan called the name.
"County Lord, the students are here." At some point, Wanjie had already followed them. Seeing the County Lord's call, he stepped forward to answer.
Li Yingfang frowned. The voice of Wanjie sounded so familiar. Then when he saw Wanjie stepping out, he looked more and more familiar. Suddenly he remembered that this person was not the one who was unwilling to surrender at the top of the city and was escorted away by Zuo Yingxuan.
Why aren't you locked up?
"Call all the people in the city to gather in the square immediately." Zuo Yingxuan said with a solemn face and a deep voice.
"Yes, County Lord." Wanjie agreed, ordered two rural soldiers who followed him, and went to gather the people.
"Where is Shi Guozhu?" Zuo Yingxuan then called his name again.
"The end will be here." Shi Guozhu had been following Zuo Yingxuan, and immediately stood up to respond to Zuo Yingxuan.
"Capture this thief and escort him to the square with the former county magistrate," Zuo Yingxuan ordered.
Li Yingfang originally thought that Zuo Yingxuan was going to call the people to announce the opening of the gates and surrender, and did not react for a while. It was not until Shi Guozhu commanded two village soldiers to tie his hands that he finally realized and quickly asked Zuo Yingxuan: "Brother Wucai,
What do you mean?"
"Exterminate traitors for the country and eliminate harm for the people." Zuo Yingxuan answered resoundingly, and then ordered: "Take them away."
Li Yingfang thought about it and realized that Zuo Yingxuan had never thought about surrendering at all, but only wanted to trick him into the city.
So, he cursed Zuo Yingxuan loudly, regretting in his heart that he should not have entered the city.
Watching Li Yingfang being taken away, a squire following Zuo Yingxuan asked: "County Lord, why didn't you kill him immediately after entering the city? Instead, you had to walk such a long way and chat for so long before you killed him.
"[
Zuo Yingxuan looked at him and then at the other squires, and found that they were all looking at him. So he explained: "This man is from my hometown. He was taught by foreigners. He is proficient in firearms and can make red barbarian cannons. Be careful, officer."
He is being used by the captives, so it is necessary to inquire about the situation. If unfortunately he has donated the artillery making method to the slave chief, I must report this to the court."
So that's it. The squires all nodded and understood Zuo Yingxuan's intention. But one squire asked again: "Such a talent is so rare, why not dedicate him to the court and build cannons for the court? It would be a pity to kill him."
Zuo Yingxuan sighed after hearing this: "This man's heart is not right. He only wants to be rich and powerful. The imperial court has been able to cast red barbarian cannons, and he has sighed for this many times. Seeing that he has devoted himself to Jianlu, we can see that Jianlu does not know how to build cannons."
, if he goes, he will be rich and prosperous. And"
When Zuo Yingxuan said this, he looked at the squires and said in a low voice: "Jianlu is attacking with all his strength. Are you really sure that Changli can be defended?"
These squires are not something that ordinary people can fool. Everyone knows what the real situation is. Their only hope is to persist until the imperial reinforcements come to rescue them.
The squires said to each other that the county magistrate had a thoughtful idea and that this disaster could not be left to the Jianlu.
"It was God who blessed the Ming Dynasty. He wanted to persuade Changli to surrender before telling the slave chief what he was capable of. Otherwise, if the captives entered the pass and he was the only one left, it would be the disaster of the Ming Dynasty." Zuo Yingxuan sighed.
Immediately, he realized that everyone was in a low mood, so he changed the subject and said: "Let's go to the square to jail and punish these Han scum."
After the county magistrate heard that his acquaintance had come to persuade him to surrender, he became interested and secretly summoned his cronies to discuss opening the city gates to surrender. People secretly arranged by Shi Guozhu found out everything and was naturally arrested.
This time, Zuo Yingxuan decided to deal with it together. On the one hand, it would deter the potentially restless people, and on the other hand, the harm would be eliminated and he could concentrate on dealing with the rebels outside the city.
Just after Zuo Yingxuan announced the charges of a group of traitors and executed them, the rumble of horse hooves came from the distance again.
Zuo Yingxuan quickly asked the squire in charge of civil affairs to arrange for the people to return to their respective places, while he and others rushed to the top of the city to observe the situation.
At this time, it was almost dusk, and the sky was a little dark, but we could still clearly see many Tatars coming. Unexpectedly, what Li Yingfang said was true, and the slave chief sent a large army.
Zuo Yingxuan felt a little heavy. At that moment, he arranged for people to take turns keeping watch at night to prevent Jianlu from stealing the city at night.
A prisoner camp was built outside the city. Daishan was meeting with the leaders of the Mongolian tribes, watching them rush to attack the city. He knew in his heart that Huang Taiji must have fooled them. From this moment, it can be seen that he should not
He would argue with himself about the military order, otherwise there would be no need to trick these Mongols into coming to help him.
Daishan agreed on the spot to let them attack the city, and explained to some extent the defense situation of Changli City.
So, these leaders each went back to their camps to make some preparations and decided to attack the city early tomorrow morning.
In Yongping City, Huang Taiji took many Jianlu leaders such as Baylor and Beizi to participate in the large-scale dust-cleansing banquet arranged by Bai Yangcui.
After so many days of fighting, it was a habit to eat and sleep in the open in the cold weather, but it was not as comfortable as in Yongping City. Everyone ate freely, drank fine wine, and enjoyed the singing and dancing, and had a great time.
After three rounds of drinking, Bai Yangcui, as the biggest traitor in Yongping City who surrendered to the Jianqi, took the lead in toasting to Huang Taiji to congratulate the Great Khan on his illustrious name.
Huang Taiji drank happily and praised: "You Han people are still very capable. You know Fan Wencheng, you are resourceful. You also arrange these things properly. I like it very much."
"Thank you for the compliment, Master. I wish I could have done my best to my master. If ordered, I will fight to the death." Bai Yangcui took the lead and knelt down to thank the master for the compliment.[
The Jianlu leaders sitting on both sides had long been numb to the servility of these Han dogs. They didn't care when they flattered Huang Taiji, and they were drinking and having fun.
Huang Taiji suddenly remembered what happened during the day, and asked Bai Yangcui: "Does the Juren you mentioned during the day who went to persuade him to surrender have any skills?"
"Master, that man is just a bit of a craftsman, but he is arrogant about his talent and made rude remarks to Shangguan. I have taught him a lesson several times." Bai Yangcuimei replied with a smile.
"Oh, the skill of a craftsman, what kind of skill of a craftsman dares him to be disrespectful to Shangguan." Huang Taiji was a little curious.
"I don't have any extraordinary skills, I just know how to make cannons." Bai Yangcui was a little disdainful. That man made it seem like he was the only one in the Ming Dynasty who could make cannons. It was not just a lowly skill.
"What gun?" Huang Taiji was a little sensitive to the word gun, so he asked in passing.
"Western cannon." Bai Yangcui did not dare to call him Hongyi cannon for fear of causing Huang Taiji's displeasure.
"What's a Western cannon? Is it a Hongyi cannon?" Huang Taiji sat up straight and asked.
"Yes, according to his own words, he can make it. I have never seen it." Bai Yangcui saw that Huang Taiji seemed to take it seriously, so he quickly explained.
Huang Taiji had suffered losses from the Hongyi cannon many times. He knew how powerful it was, and he also knew that with high-quality Hongyi cannon, it would be much easier to attack the city in the future. It was precisely because of this understanding that he thought it would be better to bring the cannon with him.
If you use Yongping City's artillery to attack Shanhaiguan, you will be confident.
Talents who could make cannons passed by under his nose, which made him regret it. Now he went to Changli to persuade him to surrender. Don't end up like the first two people who went to persuade him to surrender. It would be a huge loss. So he no longer paid attention to Bai Bai.
Yangcui quickly called his confidant Obai and asked him to rush to Changli overnight and bring back Li Yingfang.
On the afternoon of the same day, in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the cabinet, persuaded Emperor Chongzhen in the Wenhua Palace. For the first time, their opinions differed.