At the gate of the camp, Li Yan said to Cheng Niandong: "I know that you are feeling aggrieved, but this is the only way to calm their anger. Your newly arrived foundation is not stable, so you should focus on tolerance. When you get stronger in the future, no one will dare to bully you."
Cheng Niandong was dissatisfied with the peace talks, but he was sincerely grateful to Li Yan: "I can count on General Li for support in the future."
"You and I have the same origin, and we should work together to advance together." Li Yan patted Cheng Niandong on the shoulder: "The complexity of the factions among the officers and soldiers is no worse than that of the Shantou among the bandit army, but remember one thing, our surrender faction is not as strong as
Not weak at all." He said with a slight smile and said goodbye.
These words made Cheng Niandong's heart move. The orthodox faction in the imperial court generally looked down on the generals, but there were also some awesome people among the generals, such as Li Yan, Gao Jie, etc., who were beyond the reach of many orthodox factions.
Now that Bai Wang has been executed, it is only a matter of time before the officers and soldiers raid De'an's lair. It can be said that the rebel forces in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River have been uprooted, and it is difficult to do anything. I originally wanted to surrender first, then leave, and then start again, but now it seems...
It is unrealistic to take away thousands of people at once, because Li Yan will not give him a chance to act alone now. This is known from the fact that he did not send himself to attack Wangjiang County. But even if he could take away thousands of people, there would be no food and no money.
With thousands of mouths to eat, how many people are willing to follow him to the end of the world, not to mention that Li Yan will definitely send troops to chase him as soon as he leaves.
Why don't you stay and have sex with Li Yan first? It won't be too late to leave when the time is right. Cheng Niandong thought this way. He had a very good impression of Li Yan at this time, and every move he made was towards him, an unknown surrendered general.
He showed the utmost respect and care, which could be seen from the fact that he personally sent him out of the city, not to mention his kindness in protecting the lives of him and three thousand soldiers.
After returning to the city, Li Yan did not immediately go to the Yamen to rest. Instead, he turned around and went up to the East City Tower. Looking at Cheng Niandong's military camp by the river, he felt very sad because he never thought that one day he would break his promise and kill someone.
Although I know that soldiers are always willing to deceive, and although I know that the overall situation is limited and I have to do it, I still feel very guilty in my heart.
Whether it's pretentious or showing true feelings, only he knows best. At least for Chang Yu, he doesn't have this kind of psychological burden. He can kill if he wants to. If you lie to you, you will be unlucky. You are an adult. Who told you?
So innocent.
"Why don't we do it in the city?" When they had just returned to the Yamen and were about to take a rest, Gao Jie, who originally seemed to be drunk, came up to us. He didn't even look drunk at all.
"When I sent him back to the camp, none of his men were sleeping and gathering near the camp entrance. It was raining so heavily..." Li Yanhei sneered, and Gao Jie immediately realized: "This guy is very scheming."
.
Li Yang chuckled: "I've been so ready to make a move since I got home late. If they start something in the city, we can't explain it clearly. We insist that we are here at Hongmen Banquet specifically to kill Cheng Niandong. It's strange that his men don't mess up."
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Gao Jie exclaimed: "No wonder you let him choose his own place to stay in everything from the beginning, and even sent him out of the city just to escape afterwards. He said with a long sigh, no wonder the little governor values you so much, you
We can’t even keep up with this idea.”
Li Yan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Who wants to get involved in this kind of shameful thing? Since I have no choice but to fall into it, I have to protect myself first."
It was sunny and rainy, and the atmosphere in the camp outside the city became strange.
Early in the morning, Li Yan ordered the entire battalion to enter a state of wartime alert. This made many people wonder. Could something have happened if the city was destroyed and the people surrendered?
event!
For this matter, Li Yan mobilized the three troops of Huang Degong, Zhang Qingzhen, and Wei Shichun to implement martial law and blockade the gates of Anqing City. No one could enter or exit at will. Liu Zeqing's and Cheng Niandong's troops were also not allowed to leave the camp without orders. Anyone who disobeyed the orders would be executed!
And all this is to resolve the grievances between Cheng Niandong and Liu Zeqing. As agreed yesterday, today we will kowtow in front of Liu Zeqing's coffin to apologize.
Liu Zeqing had been dead for several days, and the weather was hot. In order to prevent the body from rotting and smelling, Li Yan had his body disposed of. There were many opinions on how to dispose of it. Some people said that they used antiseptic herbs, while others said that Liu Zeqing was now just a piece of bacon.
But it still smells bad.
The mourning hall was located in Liu Zeqing's camp. His servants were kneeling on both sides wearing sackcloth and mourning. The generals headed by Ma Huabao were lined up on both sides with solemn expressions. Perhaps it was because of the drinking party last night that the murderous look on everyone's faces was gone.
Cheng Niandong, who came accompanied by Li Yan, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Cheng Niandong did not come alone. He showed great sincerity with four or five subordinates. In order to avoid accidents, Li Yan ordered those involved not to carry weapons. This also made Cheng Niandong and others grateful. Li Yan was everywhere
Think about him.
In front of Liu Zeqing's coffin, Cheng Niandong's expression was indescribable. Liu Zeqing beside him could not see that all eyes were focused on him. No one shouted angrily or urged him.
For a long time, Cheng Niandong knelt on his knees, and then kowtowed three times: "General Liu, have a good journey."
At this time, a servant walked up to Cheng Niandong with a sharp blade. Cheng Niandong was about to reach out and take it. Gao Jie next to him took a step forward and snatched the sharp blade, looked at it carefully, and then swiped it on his hand. Everyone knew that he
It was to check whether it was poisonous. This move naturally moved Cheng Niandong and others. As expected, the capitulationists were united in their hearts.
After checking, there was nothing wrong. Gao Jie handed the knife to Cheng Niandong and nodded. Cheng Niandong took it, took a long breath, and stabbed his left arm three times, causing blood to flow from the three inches into the flesh.
Stabbing oneself three times is just an attitude, of course it cannot be a stab at the heart.
Cheng Niandong pulled out the knife and handed it to the soldier. When the person next to him was about to move forward to bandage him, the servant took the sharp blade and suddenly stabbed Cheng Niandong's throat and heart several times. In the blink of an eye, Cheng Niandong was lying in a pool of blood.
His eyes were wide open, his mouth was trembling, and he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
The incident happened suddenly, and everyone was stunned by the sight before them. By the time they realized it, Cheng Niandong had already fallen into a pool of blood and expired. Several of his men rushed over and kicked the servant away, and then rescued him, but it was too late.
Not only Cheng Niandong's men were panicked, but Liu Zeqing's men were also stunned, including Li Yan, Huang Degong and other bigwigs on the side who were also dumbfounded.
"Get that man!" Li Yan shouted angrily. Without waiting for others to take action, the servant threw the knife in his hand and knelt on the ground: "General Liu, I have avenged you!" He said angrily and scolded everyone: "General Liu, please treat me with kindness.
It is as heavy as a mountain, and if revenge is to be avenged, I will kill you and cut you into pieces.”
The news of Cheng Niandong's assassination spread quickly throughout the military camp. His subordinates were furious and clamored for repayment with blood. Li Yan personally went to the camp to comfort him. He had taken every precaution but failed to prevent this. He would definitely get to the bottom of it and expose it to everyone.
An explanation.
Like Cheng Niandong, the surrendered soldiers trusted Li Yan very much, and several of Cheng Niandong's subordinates witnessed the whole process. It can be seen from the looks of Ma Huabao's subordinates that they were also shocked by this sudden incident.
It's not like they arranged it, it's more like Liu Zeqing's servant seeking revenge for his master.
When will the injustice be repaid? Li Yan stated that he will investigate this matter to the end and allow Cheng Niandong to participate in the interrogation of the servant. If there is no one behind the scenes who killed the servant, we will understand. If there are still people who continue to make trouble.
If he goes down, don't blame him for being ruthless.
At this time, Cheng Niandong's men were silent. If Li Yan had betrayed his promise and killed Cheng Niandong to pay for Liu Ze's life, they would have had reason to launch a rebellion.
But Li Yan protected them from the beginning.
But now it was the servants who wanted to avenge their master, and it was true that they killed a general of the imperial court in the first place. If Li Yan had not protected him, the whole camp would have been in trouble.
What other reason do they have to launch a military rebellion? Let Li Yan kill all Liu Zeqing's subordinates? That's impossible. They can't find any reason. Li Yan secretly ordered Cheng Niandong to kill Liu Zeqing, something so secret that Cheng Niandong couldn't possibly reveal it to
Others, and Li Yan went to great lengths to kill Cheng Niandong. Every word he said and every move he made were carefully planned and deliberate, just to make this matter a mystery without leaving any trace or trace.
An accident.
If Chang Yu or Li Muxian could see the flaw based on some small clues, but Cheng Niandong didn't have such talents, they had no doubts about Li Yan and were very grateful.
Although they are very angry now that Cheng Niandong was killed, perhaps this is the best result. Only with Cheng Niandong's death can the grievances between the two families be truly understood.
Besides, not all surrendering troops may care so much about Cheng Niandong's life and death. After all, during the siege, some people wanted to pull troops to surrender, which shows that there is very little unity within them.