The sound of gunshots roared as the rebels retreated to the third wall. They crawled on the wall stacks and in the blind spots behind the wall and were suppressed so that they did not dare to come forward. Outside the wall, the Zhenwei Army was preparing for the final attack under the command of Zhang Yin. .
This time it was the last wall. Zhang Yin expected that the opponent would fight to the death, so he ordered his soldiers to make more complete arrangements. In addition to collecting and reinforcing more arrow-blocking boards, he also arranged for two cavalry teams to prepare for the opponent's breakout. Prepare. Who knows whether Zhu Zhixiu will take advantage of the chaos to break out from other directions, and who knows whether there is a secret passage in the Anhua Palace that leads to other places. In short, we must ensure that just in case.
It was almost noon, and the weather was getting a little hot. Zhang Yanling sat on the gate tower above the plaque of Prince Anhua's Mansion on the first wall to watch the battle. His condition was not good. The wound on his shoulder was aching, and his body felt uncomfortable. But Zhang Yanling gritted his teeth and persisted. He had to persist until Zhu Zhixiu was captured before he could feel at ease.
Just when Zhang Yin was about to give the order to attack, someone on the third fence waved a white flag. At the same time, someone shouted loudly.
"Master Zhang from the capital, please stop attacking for the time being. My prince has something to say."
"What nonsense! Who wants to listen to that old thief King Anhua at this time? Mr. Zhang, give the order to attack. General Mo will be the first to rush in and catch that old thief Zhu Zhixiu. This credit belongs to me, no one else Don't fight with me." Feng Mazi, standing next to Zhang Yin, said loudly.
Zhang Yin thought for a while and said: "It's better to report it to the Marquis. General Feng, this credit belongs to you anyway, no one can take it away."
Zhang Yin ordered someone to report the matter to Zhang Yanling, and Zhang Yanling also saw the white flag waving on the wall. So he ordered to postpone the attack. He went down from the tower to the open space outside the third wall, and the guards moved a chair for Zhang Yanling to sit down. .
Since this place was within the range of the opponent's bow and arrow, Zhang Yanling was protected by all the guards. Zhao Yuancheng on the wooden tower even ordered the gunners to be ready. If anyone intended to shoot arrows, they would be sniped as soon as possible. .
"Zhu Zhixiu, what else do you have to say at this time? Surrender immediately is the right thing to do." Zhang Yanling shouted loudly.
A short man with a goatee on the wall waved a white flag and stood up and said, "Master Zhang, can we talk face to face?"
Zhang Yanling squinted and frowned: "Who are you? Where is your prince?"
"Oh, my Excellency, Meng Bin, was entrusted by the prince to have a few words with Mr. Zhang. If the prince has no objection, Meng will come down the wall to talk to the prince face to face." Meng Bin shouted hurriedly.
"Mr. Marquis, I'm afraid it's a scam. I'm afraid Zhu Zhixiu is playing tricks. This guy must have evil intentions and want to assassinate the Marquis at close range. If you have anything to say, just ask him to say it directly. There is nothing to say anyway. "Feng Mazi said in a low voice.
Zhang Yanling laughed, shook his head and said: "This Meng Bin is a scholar, and he assassinated me? Isn't that asking for death? Besides, you are all by my side, how can you let others do harm to me? Isn't it a joke? Let him come over and see. What did he say?"
A ladder was protruded from the wall, and Meng Bin climbed down carefully. As soon as his feet landed, he suddenly ran over quickly. Several guards wanted to reach out to stop him, but Zhang Yanling waved his hands and said: "Don't stop him, let him come over."
Meng Bin rushed to Zhang Yanling, knelt on the ground and shouted loudly: "Master Marquis, sir, Ningxia student Meng Bin has seen Master Zhang."
Zhang Yanling was a little dazed, stood up and said: "Meng Bin, you can't be so polite. Aren't you the deputy military advisor next to Zhu Chixiu? Sun Jingwen is dead, you should be the main military advisor now. Master military advisor, Zhang can bear this I don't deserve such a generous gift from you."
Meng Bin cried and kowtowed: "Master Zhang, I am all forced. Zhu Zhixiu is domineering, cruel, and ambitious. He has long wanted to be the emperor. This time he rebelled, was treasonous, and wanted peace. To resist the imperial court is to punish the nine tribes. Who is willing to follow him to rebel? He forced me. I, Meng Bin, have read the books of sages and know loyalty, filial piety, etiquette and justice. How could I join in with such traitors? I'm an old thief. The knife was put on our necks to force us to rebel against him. We all wanted to eat his flesh, sleep on his skin and drink his blood. It took a lot of effort to trick him into letting me come to see the Marquis, but he still wanted to negotiate terms with the Marquis. .How can I help the tiger again? When I heard about the arrival of the imperial army, I had long thought of escaping from the clutches of the devil and turning from darkness to light. Today I finally took this opportunity to escape, and I was finally able to scold the old thief. Mr. Zhang, I feel terrible at this moment. Happy."
Everyone was stunned by what Meng Bin said. Zhang Yanling was stunned for a moment and laughed.
Originally, he thought that Meng Bin was here to negotiate terms for Zhu Zhixiu, but it turned out that this guy actually came out to surrender. It was really funny that he betrayed Zhu Zhixiu on the pretext of helping Zhu Zhixiu negotiate with him.
"I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it. Meng Bin, you are turning your back on the dark side and switching sides before the battle. Hahaha. Not bad, not bad. You are very sensible." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
"That's it, that's it. Mr. Zhang, I know that I am also guilty, so I am willing to take the blame and perform meritorious service, and persuade the people around Zhu Zhixiu to surrender on my behalf. Zhu Zhixiu, an old thief, is now at the end of his rope, trying to use gold and silver treasures to bribe Mr. Zhang wanted to save his life and then fled to the Tatars, colluding with the Tatars to make a comeback. The old thief is crazy and will never die. This time Mr. Hou must not be fooled by him, and he cannot be spared." Meng Bin said repeatedly. road.
Zhang Yanling laughed and thought to herself: This time I have finally seen what it means to be a capricious villain. The Meng Bin in front of me is undoubtedly a despicable villain. Zhang Yanling does not believe his lies about being forced to become a thief. This The general situation is over, so he betrayed Zhu Zhixiu through scheming. This kind of person is an out-and-out opportunist, an unscrupulous and unscrupulous person with despicable character. Compared with Zhu Zhixiu, Zhang Yanling is more Hate such people.
"Meng Bin, that's very good. This is called a wise man who knows the current affairs, and a gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall. Very good. If you want to make meritorious deeds, this is very good. I will naturally give you a chance. Then go and persuade Zhu to surrender. It will be easier for Zhixiu and the people inside to meet each other with swords." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
Meng Bin kowtowed repeatedly and said: "Thank you, Lord Marquis. Thank you, Lord Marquis. I will go and persuade them to surrender."
Meng Bin got up and patted the dust on his body and turned around to speak. Zhang Yanling stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, Meng Bin, you just said... Zhu Zhixiu wants to bribe me with gold and silver? How much does he have?" Gold and silver treasures?”
Meng Bin laughed and said: "Master Zhang, this old thief Zhu Zhixiu has plundered a lot of people's wealth and wealth. This old thief's estate is huge. There must be at least more than 100,000 acres of fertile land. He also owns the mine in Shizuishan Mountain. I don’t know how much gold and silver treasures were seized, as well as many antique calligraphy and paintings. There were many priceless antiques and calligraphy paintings by famous Han and Tang Dynasty artists. They were all hidden in the secret room. Lord Marquis, the secret room is in the palace inside. The old thief was caught. Just force him to tell it. I know what punishment the old thief fears most. When the time comes, I will interrogate him for you and I will make him confess."
Zhang Yanling smiled and nodded: "Very good. You know it very well. It seems that you know Zhu Zhixiu quite well. What punishment is Zhu Zhixiu most afraid of? I would like to hear it."
Meng Bin laughed in a low voice and said: "The old thief has a quirk. He is most afraid of cats. He can't see or hear cats. He gets a headache when he hears them, and he trembles with fear when he sees them. Do you think it's strange? I heard, He was scratched by a cat when he was a child, so now he is afraid of cats. Hehe."
Zhang Yanling said: "You scratched a vital part?"
Meng Bin pointed to a place below and said with a disgusted smile: "This is it. Why do you think this is so late, old thief? I'm afraid it's because you have ruined this place and it's inhumane. Hehehe."
Zhang Yanling laughed loudly, waved his hand and said: "Go and persuade him to surrender."
Meng Bin's face was flushed and he felt proud. He felt that he had completely gained Zhang Yanling's approval. Zhang Houye had become one with him. He didn't expect Zhang Yanling to be so easy to talk to. He was originally worried that he would pursue his pursuit of being a thief, but now It seems that it won't happen anymore. If I flatter him more later, I'm afraid the guilt will be wiped off. In the future, following Mr. Zhang and working as a guest at the Marquis's Mansion in the capital may not be a bad path.
Meng Bin happily turned around and walked a few steps to the wall, raised his chest and shouted loudly: "Generals inside, listen. I am Meng Bin. Now I have abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side. I have switched sides in front of the battle and will no longer help the tiger. Mr. Zhang With great benevolence and righteousness, I am willing to open the net and let bygones be bygones. Soldiers, please stop working for this old thief Zhu Zhixiu. It is a great achievement for you to take the old thief and surrender. Mr. Zhang will let bygones be bygones. I understand. What?"
In the main hall, Zhu Zhixiu heard this clearly and his face was ashen. Only at this moment did he realize that he had been tricked by Meng Bin. This wallflower actually deceived him and ran out to surrender to the enemy.
"Meng Bin, you bitch, I treat you so well, why did you betray me? You are a scoundrel, I have raised you for so many years, and now you come back to bite me. You bitch, I want to kill you. Shattered into thousands of pieces!" Zhu Zhixiu shouted loudly.
"Zhu Zhixiu, don't be arrogant. You have betrayed all your relatives and are at the end of the road. Why don't you surrender and surrender? You dare to rebel. This is a crime of treason. Who will join you? I, Meng Bin, was just with you before. It's just hypocrisy. I, Meng Bin, have read the books of sages and know loyalty, justice and integrity. You, an old thief, still want me to work for you. I'm afraid you are crazy. In my whole life, I, Meng Bin, will only be loyal to the emperor, the court, and my Ming Dynasty!" Meng Bin! Bin shouted loudly.
Zhu Zhixiu roared angrily: "Meng Bin, you villain, I am blind. If I had known this, I would have broken your dog legs and made your life worse than death."
"Hey, old thief Zhu Zhixiu, I'm afraid it's you who will be worse off than dead. You're still arrogant at this time, so you can just wait for death. The soldiers inside listen, whoever takes the old thief and offers it to you will have done a great job. At this time, are you still working for him? Don't be stupid, those who know the current affairs are heroes. Take the old thief and atone for his sins, so that Lord Zhang can forget the past." Meng Bin shouted loudly.
After listening to these words, the generals and officials at the entrance of the palace turned to look at Zhu Zhixiu standing on the steps. Zhu Zhixiu felt something was wrong in their eyes and knew that these people had been moved. At this moment, he did We are at the end of our rope and have no other choice. But how can we be captured by them and sacrificed to people outside? We must not be captured alive, otherwise we will not know how much torture we will suffer if we send them to the capital.
"Everyone, my situation is over, and I don't want to implicate you any more. Please wait a moment. When I change my clothes, you can tie me up and offer it to the enemies outside. I have only one request. Wait for me. Can you change your clothes and go out in a decent manner?" Zhu Zhixiu said in a deep voice.
Everyone outside the palace remained silent, each harboring evil intentions in their hearts, but none of them wanted to be the first to stand up and stop him. It would be best if the prince surrendered voluntarily. He would also save the chance of being criticized as not being loyal enough in the future.
Zhu Zhixiu turned around and quickly disappeared into the main hall. Soon after, a woman's frightened scream came from the inner hall of the main hall. Everyone at the door rushed into the hall to check. As soon as they entered the inner hall, they saw two dying women lying in the corridor. , was stabbed several times. They were none other than Zhu Zhixiu’s concubines, Nuancui and Lengxue.
Then in the bedroom in the back hall, thick smoke billowed and flames rose. A general kicked open the door, but the room was already full of fire. Zhu Zhixiu's shrill and crazy laughter could be heard from inside.
Everyone wanted to save him, but the fire was raging and the flames were so fierce that it was impossible to save him.