Dongshan Huangtu waved his hands to everyone and said intermittently: "Help me start doing it!"
Everyone carefully supported Dongshan Huangtu and asked him to sit up. Dongshan Huangtu's originally distracted eyes were now slightly focused. He looked at Zhao Gui and asked feebly: "Zhao Gui, Liu Xiu sent you to persuade him to surrender.
I wait?"
Zhao Gui said seriously: "Actually, I asked King Xiao for this trip." He looked around at everyone present and said: "King Xiao hated the rebels who were causing trouble in Hebei, and during the battle with the general, King Xiao's officers and soldiers
There were also many casualties. According to King Xiao's original intention, he did not intend to surrender. It was only after my repeated pleas that King Xiao agreed to the matter."
Zhang Huai sneered and said angrily: "So, we still have to thank you?"
Zhao Gui waved his hand and said: "I regard you all as brothers. There is no need to talk about gratitude between brothers." Zhang Huai wanted to speak, but Zhao Gui continued: "I don't need any thanks from you brothers either! We all rose up together at the beginning.
I rebelled against the imperial court and made a promise to live and die together, to share the blessings and the hardships. No matter when the time comes, I, Zhao Gui, will never only care about my own survival, regardless of the lives of my brothers."
Zhang Huai stared at him, took a deep breath, swallowed the words on his lips, and turned to look at Dongshan Huangtu.
Zhao Gui also looked at Dongshan Huangtu. Without any warning, he knelt down with a bang and said in a trembling voice: "The general is seriously injured. If we don't receive treatment, his life will really be in danger! General, for your own sake,
For the sake of the 200,000 brothers below, it’s better to surrender!”
Dongshan Huangtu slowly closed his eyes. After a long time, he slowly raised his eyes, stared blankly at the ground, and asked: "If we surrender, Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu, will he really not kill me?"
Zhao Gui's face straightened up and he said hurriedly: "Prince Xiao personally promised not to kill any of the soldiers who surrendered. General, Prince Xiao has a good reputation and has always been true to his word. Since Prince Xiao said so, he will never do it."
Break your promise."
Dongshan Huangbal remained silent for a while, then shook his head and smiled, a bitter smile.
He slowly glanced at everyone present and said: "Gaohu has surrendered to Liu Xiu, Qingyuan has been occupied by Liu Xiu, and now our army is in a desperate situation with no way out. What do you brothers think?
"
Although he did not speak too directly, everyone understood that the general was asking himself about surrendering to Liu Xiu.
Zhang Huai was the first to stand up and express his position, saying fiercely: "General, we and Liu Xiu have a deep hatred and are at odds with each other! Even if we fight to the death of one soldier, we will fight Liu Xiu to the end!"
"
Qi suddenly lowered his head and remained silent. Shang Huai Kuang looked up to the sky and sighed, saying: "Kang, listen to the general!"
Dongshan Huangtu nodded and said: "Since you are still willing to listen to me, then give my general order to surrender to Liu Xiu!"
As soon as "General" Dongshan Huangtu said these words, everyone present was shocked. People knelt down and cried. Many people couldn't help holding their heads and crying.
Zhang Huai cried and choked and said: "When we followed the general to rise up, the general once said that when we rise, we should put life and death at risk. Now, how can the general ask me to wait for the rebellion?"
Will Liu Xiu surrender without a fight?"
Dongshan Huangtu looked at Zhang Huai who was crying, his eyes were red, and he said: "We are not surrendering without a fight, but we have been fighting for too long. It has been too long. I am tired, and my brothers are also tired. Now
, our army is in a desperate situation, besieged on all sides, fighting to the death, and surrendering to survive. I am a bald man in the East Mountains, and I have long thrown my own life and death out of the sky. However, I cannot watch 200,000 brothers die with me."
"General!" Zhang Huai knelt and crawled forward, lying on the meadow in front of the deserted Dongshan Mountain, crying loudly.
Dongshan Huangtu raised his hand, weakly patted Zhang Huai's shoulder, and then said to Huai Kuang: "Pass my order!"
The surrender of Gaohu Army was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The Bronze Horse Army, which numbered 200,000, was trapped between Guantao and Qingyuan. Finally, in desperation, all the soldiers surrendered to the Han army under the instruction of Dongshan Huangtu.
The Bronze Horse Army is the largest and most proficient rebel army in Hebei. Among the many rebel armies in Hebei, the Bronze Horse Army can be said to be very representative and iconic.
Their surrender to Liu Xiu was not only an earth-shattering event at the time, but also a major event in Chinese history.
Liu Xiu had a nickname, the Bronze Horse Emperor. The origin of his nickname, the Bronze Horse Emperor, came from the Bronze Horse Army. This shows how meaningful the surrender of the Bronze Horse Army was to Liu Xiu.
significant and extraordinary.
It is true that the Bronze Horse Army is an insurrectionary army, and it is indeed not a regular army, but the foundation of the Bronze Horse Army is very good. From top to bottom, they are all desperate soldiers who pull them onto the battlefield. No one is timid and fights with the enemy.
Everyone moves forward bravely.
The only thing they lack is that they have not received formal training. But formal training can be easily compensated for, but not everyone can possess that kind of hard-working spirit and the kind of bloody spirit that is not afraid of any strong enemy.
The active surrender of the Bronze Horse Army was what Liu Xiu wanted to see and most expected. When he heard that Zhao Gui had successfully persuaded the Bronze Horse Army to surrender, Liu Xiu was so excited that he almost jumped up from his seat. He clapped his hands and said: "
Great things are done!”
As he spoke, he could not suppress his excitement. He stood up, walked back and forth in the Chinese army tent, and asked the soldiers who reported the news: "Where is General Zhao now? Can you be sure, is the Bronze Horse Army really surrendering?"
"
"Reporting to your Majesty, General Zhao is returning to our army's camp. In addition, the Bronze Horse Army has pulled the weapons out of the camp and is transporting them to our army's camp."
The so-called ordnance refers to weapons, armor and other combat equipment.
Liu Xiu nodded excitedly. Cen Peng stood up, raised his hands to Liu Xiu and said: "Congratulations to the king, congratulations to the king! The king's foundation in Hebei has been completed!"
Summoning the Bronze Horse Army to surrender not only gave the Han Army one less powerful enemy in Hebei, but also greatly improved the Han Army's military strength, and could even be said to have undergone a qualitative change.
Liu Xiu looked at Cen Peng, smiled brightly, and said, "Thanks to Jun Ran this time! Jun Ran is indispensable for our army's success in summoning the Bronze Horse!"
If Cen Peng hadn't summoned Zhao Gui to surrender first and captured Qingyuan City, it would have been impossible to summon the tough Bronze Horse Army to surrender.
Cen Peng said with a smile: "It's all because of my lord's wisdom and high moral standing that he was able to conquer the Bronze Horse. The general will not dare to take the credit."
While Liu Xiu was talking and laughing in the Chinese army's tent, Zhao Gui returned to the Han army camp, and with him were Shang Huai Kuang and Qi Ran.
Entering the Zhongjun tent, Shang Huai Kuang and Qi suddenly looked up and saw that most of the people in the tent were old acquaintances. To be precise, they were all old opponents who had encountered them several times on the battlefield.
The world is so strange. Before today, they were enemies fighting to the death on the battlefield, but now, they are actually standing in the same tent.
Zhao Gui waved to Liu Xiu who was sitting in the middle and said: "General Shanghuai, General Qi, this is King Xiao!"
After hearing his introduction, Shang Huai Kuang and Qi Su both knelt down, kowtowed forward, and said: "The defeated general, go up to Huai Kuang (Qi Su) and kowtow to King Xiao!"
Immediately afterwards, Shang Huaikuang said again: "General... General Dongshan was unable to move because he was too seriously injured, so he couldn't come to visit him. I hope King Xiao will show mercy!"
Liu Xiu stood up, walked up to the two of them, helped them up with one hand and said with a smile: "General Shanghuai and General Qi are willing to abandon darkness and surrender to the light. Since they are bronze horses, it is a blessing for the soldiers of the two armies to reunite."
It is a blessing to the officers and soldiers of the Han army, and the righteous deeds of the two generals have benefited the three armies, marked their achievements in history, and consolidated Ningbo!"
Neither Shang Huai Kuang nor Qi Ran expected that Liu Xiu would be so polite to them and speak so highly of themselves.
The two of them were just generals of the defeated army. Now they had no choice but to surrender to Liu Xiu. They had fought badly with Liu Xiujun before, causing countless casualties.
But instead of blaming himself or complaining, Liu Xiu was even more polite, which was really surprising.
Shang Huaikuang and Qi suddenly looked at each other, and then subconsciously looked at Zhao Gui. After all, Zhao Gui surrendered first, and had early contact with Liu Xiu, so he had a better understanding of Liu Xiu's temperament.
He said with a smile: "I have already said that the worries of King Xiao Renshan, Corporal Li Xian, General Shanghuai and General Qi are completely unnecessary!"
Liu Xiu smiled, waved his hand and said, "Two generals, please take a seat." wavv
Shang Huai Kuang and Qi Suo's tense nerves relaxed a little. They both saluted Liu Xiu and knelt down on the seats beside them. Liu Xiu asked: "How is General Dongshan's injury?"
When Liu Xiu took the initiative to ask, Shanghuai Kuang, who had been worried, said hurriedly: "Return to King Xiao, General Dongshan is seriously injured, and our army has no medicines. I hope..."
Before he could finish his words, Liu Xiu immediately turned to Zhu and said: "Xian Zhong, go find the medical officer with the best Chinese medicine skills in our army, bring the best medicines, and immediately go to the Bronze Horse Army station to prepare for General Dongshan."
Heal, be sure to heal General Dongshan, I will give you a big reward!"
"General, I obey!" Zhu stepped in to accept the order, stood up and walked out quickly.
Shang Huai Kuang stood up, walked to the center of the camp, straightened his clothes, knelt down respectfully and kowtowed to Liu Xiu, and said with emotion: "King Xiao is so kind. Kuang, on behalf of General Dongshan, and on behalf of the entire Bronze Horse Army, kowtow to King Xiao for your kindness!"
Liu Xiu waved his hand and said: "General Shanghuai, there is no need to be polite, please get up quickly."
When Shang Huai Kuang returned to his seat, Liu Xiu said meaningfully: "Now, the Han army and the bronze horses are one and the same. From now on, they are all brothers. I heal my brothers, so why should General Shang Huai thank me?"
I?"
On the battlefield, Liu Xiu was an enemy who could make his opponents hate him to the very core. However, in terms of his behavior as a person, Liu Xiu was a particularly easy-going person who valued love and justice.
Liu Xiu was born at the bottom of society, a farmer in Nanyang who cultivated the land very well, and was the leader of the peasant uprising army with good roots.
But what makes him different from those peasant rebel leaders who forget about themselves when they gain power is that he is a student.
He was educated, far-sighted, ambitious, and ambitious. He followed the example of ancient sages and flaunted himself as a scholar.
Of course you can say that he is deliberately putting on airs and caring about his noble destiny, but after gaining power, he can continue to put on airs and care about his noble destiny without revealing his true nature. This in itself is beyond ordinary people's abilities.
What about Wang Mang, who was at the same time as Liu Xiu? After gaining power, he fell off the altar and showed his true colors: selfish, excluding dissidents, headstrong, and ignorant.
What about Liu Xuan? After gaining power, he played songs every day, ignored the government affairs, and had fun with the women in the harem all day long. The third assistant was in turmoil.
Power is like a master key. It can open the deepest door in everyone's heart and release all the desires stored in people's hearts.
After gaining power, he can still maintain his original intention, suppress the desires in his heart, and remain consistent. How can he fail to succeed if he has such strong restraint? This is Liu Xiu's ability.
Ordinary people are controlled by power. Such people are like crucian carp crossing the river. They can be found everywhere throughout the ages. Therefore, in the long river of history, they can only be a flash in the pan at best.
But those who are successful can control power in turn. Such people will become eternal wise kings respected by future generations. Liu Xiu is one of them.