In the afternoon, war drums beat and horns sounded loudly outside the North City.
The defenders at the top of the city thought that the enemy was about to launch an attack and quickly raised the alarm. They rested nearby in a house inside the north city gate. Zhao Sui hurried up to the top of the city. He observed the enemy's situation and felt a little annoyed.
After all, they were a group of people who had not experienced much fighting. They thought the enemy was about to attack when they heard the horns and drums. They did not even look at the mobilization of men and horses in the enemy camp. The enemy's soldiers did not move, and there was no big movement.
With such a huge formation, they thought that the opponent was about to attack the city.
Besides, the opponent doesn’t even have siege equipment, so how can they attack the city?
However, the opponent still made some moves. After the sound of horns and drums, several cavalrymen slowly left the camp and walked towards the city. The leader was a man in black helmet, black armor and black cloak, with a red tassel on his helmet beating like a flame.
.
There were five cavalrymen beside him, but one of them caught Zhao Sui's attention. Zhao Sui hurriedly picked up the telescope and looked at it from a distance. When he saw the man's face clearly, Zhao Sui was stunned with shock.
That's Liu Qi.
For a moment, Zhao Sui couldn't believe his eyes. The most impossible situation that had flashed in his mind happened. Liu Qi's soldiers and horses were annihilated in Xiong County, and Liu Qi was captured. The opponent actually came in such a short time.
Within a short period of time, Liu Qi's eight or nine thousand troops were annihilated and they arrived at Baoding Prefecture. How was this done?
What's even more troublesome is that Liu Qi was actually captured. It wouldn't matter if he was an ordinary person, but he was Liu Qi, the biological brother of Fengtian Marshal Liu Chong.
"People in the city, listen, my general who is a traitor, the deputy governor of the Ming Dynasty regiment, and the Marquis of Jianchang Zhang Yanling are here. General Zhao Sui, who is guarding the city, please come out and say a few words."
A cavalryman rode forward, came a hundred steps away and shouted loudly towards the city head.
Zhao Sui took a few deep breaths to calm down. He raised his voice and said, "I, Zhao Sui, are here. If you have anything to say, please tell me."
Zhang Yanling squinted to follow the sound and saw a dark-faced man standing above the crenellations of the city gate tower, looking towards this.
"Liu Qi, is that Zhao Sui?" Zhang Yanling turned around and asked.
Liu Qi sat on the horse, looked at the city with a pale face, nodded and said: "It's him."
Zhang Yanling nodded, rode his horse forward slowly, reined in the horse a hundred steps away, cupped his hands in the distance and said: "General Zhao, I am Zhang Yanling. You are polite."
Zhao Sui cupped his hands from a distance and said loudly: "Master Zhang is polite. I have long admired your name."
A rebel general next to him whispered: "A crossbow can reach this distance from the bed, and one crossbow will kill him."
Zhao Sui waved his hand and whispered: "No, let's listen to what he said. Deputy Commander Liu is in their hands. If they fail, Deputy Commander Liu will die."
Zhang Yanling's voice came from the city: "I have long admired your name, Madman Zhao. I heard that under your plan, even defeated the Shenwu Zhongwei and the three guards of Hejian Prefecture, Hui'an Bo Zhang Wei and Zuo Fudu Censor Ma Zhongxi
Both of you were defeated by your men, and they are still in prison. They are all thanks to you."
Zhao Sui felt proud and laughed loudly: "That's because the imperial court has exhausted its power, the officials are corrupt, and the generals are incompetent. It's not that I, Madman Zhao, have any great abilities. Mr. Zhang has given me the award."
Zhang Yanling laughed loudly and said: "It's rare for you to be so humble. In my opinion, you, General Zhao, don't have to submit to others and be a deputy commander. You should be the generalissimo of Fengtian. Liu Chong is not as good as you."
Zhao Sui was stunned and shouted in a cold voice: "Master Zhang, you are also a respectable person. Don't you think it is beneath your status to use such tactics to sow discord? If you lead the army to attack us, we will see the real results on the battlefield and play with these things.
All means are useless."
Zhang Yanling laughed loudly and nodded: "That's right. We will compete. I'm here, right? But before the war begins, I need to discuss something with you. Look, who is this person?
who?"
Zhang Yanling pointed at the person on the horse behind him. Zhao Sui frowned and shouted loudly: "Brother Liu, is that you?"
Liu Qi weakly shouted: "Brother Zhao, save me."
Zhao Sui shouted: "What on earth is going on? Didn't you lead your troops to retreat? Why is this like this?"
Liu Qi sighed and stopped talking.
Zhang Yanling laughed loudly and said: "Zhao Sui, it's all you who caused him to be like this."
Zhao Sui shouted: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "I'm not talking nonsense. You, Liu Qixue, were hiding in the reeds of Baiyangdian and wanted to ambush you, but I set you on fire. If you hadn't used that trick, how could he have ended up like this?"
"
Zhao Sui said "idiot" on his lips, but finally held back and did not say it out loud. Liu Qi really had no brains. He had taken various factors into consideration at the beginning. It is absolutely inappropriate to repeat the same tricks. What is this other than an idiot?
"Brother Liu, what do you want me to say about you?" Zhao Sui sighed.
Liu Qi shouted: "Stop saying anything and save me quickly."
Zhao Sui shouted: "Brother Liu, don't panic, wait until I defeat this man named Zhang, and then I can save you."
Liu Qida said loudly: "What did you say? Will I still be alive by then? You can save me now."
Zhao Sui frowned and said, "How to save?"
Liu Qidao: "You agree to Zhang Yanling on one condition, and he will let me go. It's just a little effort."
Zhao Sui's face darkened and he said loudly: "I don't know what the conditions are. Do you want me to surrender?"
Liu Qida said: "Of course not. As long as you lead the army to withdraw from Baoding Mansion, he can let me go."
Zhao Sui was stunned for a moment, frowned and said nothing.
Zhang Yanling looked towards the city with a smile, waiting for Zhao Sui's answer. Zhang Yanling actually knew the answer in his heart, and he didn't think Zhao Sui would agree to this condition. He just wanted to give it a try. If it worked, it would be the best. If it didn't work, there would be another magical effect.
"Brother Zhao, what are you thinking about? No need to waste a single soldier, no need to fight, just give up Baoding Mansion. You can save my life. Mr. Zhang swore to God. He will not break his promise."
Liu Qi shouted.
Zhao Sui breathed a sigh of relief and shouted in a deep voice: "Brother Liu, I cannot agree to this condition."
Liu Qi said angrily: "Why not? Is my life, Liu Qi, not worth a Baoding Mansion?"
Zhao Sui frowned and said: "Brother Liu, listen to me. This is Zhang Yanling's trick. Baoding Mansion is our foundation. If we lose this place, our troops will become rogues. Now the Generalissimo and Deputy Marshal Zheng lead
The army moved south but failed to capture important cities.
.I don’t know what we will encounter. This is the last territory, ensuring the supply of materials and manpower, and giving us protection. If this city is lost, it is a matter of life and death. This is Zhang Yanling’s deliberate trick to reduce us to rootless people.
.Do you understand?”
Zhang Yanling had to admire Zhao Sui's wisdom. It was rare for him to have such a clear understanding of the situation. Baoding Prefecture was their base. Under the current circumstances, if they lost Baoding Prefecture, they would have no room for maneuver and could only concentrate on going there.
Once the southern attack is frustrated, it will fall apart and there will be no room for maneuver.
Zhang Yanling wants them to lose their base in Hebei. Most of the people in Hebei support them and will provide materials and manpower, so it is difficult to destroy them. If they leave Hebei, it will be much easier to destroy them.
.
Therefore, if Liu Qi's life can be used to trick him into giving up Baoding Mansion, it will be equivalent to cutting off the rebel army's retreat. After that, the cavalry will chase them all the way, forcing them to run around like a wolf or a wolf. By then, although maybe
It will be more chaotic, but this group of people will never become a problem.
From an overall perspective, it is beneficial to counterinsurgency.
However, Zhao Sui actually understood this.
Liu Qi frowned and thought. Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Liu Qi, it seems that your brother Zhao is determined to kill you. This is refusing to save you. I just don't want to attack the city and hurt too many lives. After all, you guys
They are all common people who were forced to rebel. I don't want to cause too many casualties.
The imperial court gave me ten days to recover Baoding Mansion, so I wanted to use your life to make a deal with him. As for what he said, I never thought about it. I can deliver the mission after taking Baoding Mansion, but I didn't think about all this mess.
But I’m afraid this deal won’t go through.”
Liu Qidao: "If he refuses, what will you do to me?"
Zhang Yanling said: "Although I admire your courage to rebel. However, you are rebels and I cannot tolerate it. I am willing to trade you for the city, but I am taking a huge risk. If the trade fails, your life will be with you."
It’s useless. If I cut off your head, I might be able to get some credit.”
Liu Qi turned pale and was speechless for a moment.
Zhang Yanling said softly: "I'm sorry. I only blame your brother Zhao for not caring about your life. You can't blame me. I gave you a chance to live. Hey, you can never see this colorful world from now on. It has changed."
He has become a headless ghost."
Zhang Yanling spoke and waved his hand. Cang Lang, a personal guard beside him, pulled out a long knife with a sound, and the reflected white light stung Liu Qi's eyes.
"Wait a minute, I'll talk to Zhao Sui again." Liu Qi shouted hurriedly.
Zhang Yanling shrugged and made a light gesture.
Liu Qi shouted at the top of his lungs: "Zhao Sui, damn you, are you going to watch me die for the sake of a city? What you say is bullshit. What a rootless thing. If the city is gone, then you can defeat it."
. My brother and Brother Zheng didn’t have any
I planned to defend Baoding Mansion. It was you who insisted on staying here. I stayed here because I trusted you. But you refused to save me. Do you want to make yourself king? Are you unwilling to follow my brother and the others? You, Madman Zhao, want to
Do you want to rebel and become emperor yourself?"
Zhao Sui's face was ashen and he shouted loudly: "Liu Qi, what are you talking about? From the day we raise the flag, we are ready to lose our heads. In order to survive, how can you waste the safety of everyone in the Fengtian Army? It's not that I don't want to.
The truth is very clear about saving you, I can't ignore the overall situation for you."
Liu Qi cursed loudly.
Zhang Yanling waved his hand, and his bodyguard rode up with the sword in hand, raising the steel sword towards Liu Qi.
"Liu Qi, do you have anything else to say? I can bring it to your brother Liu Chong." Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
Liu Qi cursed: "I'll fuck your eighteenth generation ancestor!"
Zhang Yanling sneered and said: "Zhao Sui is the one who doesn't save you, why are you scolding me?"
Liu Qi turned to the head of the city and shouted: "Zhao Sui, I'll fuck your eighteenth generation ancestors. Brothers, listen, you must tell my brother, Marshal Fengtian, about this matter. Zhao Sui refused to save him, so he wanted to
I want to cut off my dissidents and build my own mountain. Ask my brother to avenge me."
Zhang Yanling nodded with satisfaction, waved his hand, and the guard chopped off Liu Qi's head with a single blow. His head rolled away into the dust, and his body fell off the horse.