"Li Danqing! Stop blaming me! I, Manghuan, am loyal to the imperial court! I have never done anything disobedient!"
"What is your identity and what qualifications do you have to arrest me?"
Mang Huan didn't take what Li Danqing said seriously at all. He roared and spoke angrily.
His personal guards behind him also walked up at this time, drew their swords, and faced off against the Xuanwu Army brought by Li Danqing.
"I have been ordered by the imperial court and the eldest princess to caress the beards of the victims. There is a handwriting from the eldest princess here. I don't know if this can be used to arrest General Mang!" Li Danqing said and took out the waist of Princess Ji from his arms.
Card, as soon as this thing came out, the expressions of Mang Huan and his son suddenly changed.
But let’s not say that Concubine Ji was only the acting supervisor of the country and was not the real Emperor of Wuyang.
Even if she really takes the position of emperor, an emperor who has no confidants or power in the court is just a decoration at best.
Of course, it was impossible for Mang Huan to just surrender at this time just because of Concubine Ji's reputation.
After a brief surprise, he came back to his senses, looked at Li Danqing and said, "Li Danqing, don't think that you can do whatever you want by relying on the mountain of the eldest princess!"
"I don't know whether this belt is genuine or not. Even if it is genuine, the eldest princess only asked you to caress the beards of the victims. How did she ever give you the right to treat me, an official of the imperial court?"
"Come here! Please get this Li Danqing out of the city gate!"
The surrounding Shenhu troops were originally a little afraid of Li Danqing who took out the eldest princess's waist card, and were hesitant in taking action. However, after Mang Huan's words came out, they temporarily relaxed and took action.
To step forward.
Li Danqing's face darkened at this moment, he looked at the group of soldiers of the Divine Tiger Army and shouted: "Who dares!"
The group of soldiers were probably shocked by Li Danqing's sudden burst of momentum, and they immediately froze in place as they stepped forward.
"Keep your dog eyes wide open and let me see clearly!"
Li Danqing immediately said at this moment: "This is the eldest princess's belt! The eldest princess was entrusted by the late emperor to supervise the country. Before the new emperor was established, the eldest princess was the helmsman of the Wuyang court! How dare you stand up for General Mang?
, when the time comes to investigate, it will be the crime of disobeying the emperor and deceiving the king! Can you bear this responsibility? "
Li Danqing was full of momentum, and this accusation hit the critical point of these soldiers.
For people in high positions like Mangku Manghuan, they naturally understand that the eldest princess's current supervision of the country is only temporary after all, and at the same time, she has no foundation in the court.
They didn't want to take action against her, firstly because they didn't want to be known as someone who held an unfair position, and secondly, because they were jealous of each other, so they maintained this delicate balance.
Therefore, important people like Mang Huan were not too afraid of Master Ji. If they were really afraid, it was probably because of the Crown Prince Li who served under Master Ji.
But these soldiers are different. They are just ordinary people who have an instinctive awe for the imperial power. When Li Danqing mentioned the name of the eldest princess in such a firm tone, the deterrent effect it brought to them cannot be underestimated.
.
"Can't you hear what I'm saying! Drive Li Danqing out of the city gate!" Mang Huan also saw the hesitation of his soldiers, and he shouted loudly, hoping to frighten these guys.
.
"Mangku, bring me someone to drive this bastard out! If anyone dares to disobey, he will be dealt with according to military law!"
Although the soldiers were hesitant, they knew after all that Mang Huan was their immediate superior. As soon as the words "martial law" were spoken, the faces of the soldiers suddenly changed.
Mang Ku also took steps at this time, although he had been puzzled by his father's actions of shooting civilians before, and even had some faint resistance.
But for Li Danqing, Mangku hated him deeply and could not do anything to kill his relatives out of justice, so his face darkened and he took the lead in walking to the crowd, preparing to attack Li Danqing and his party.
The Xuanwu Army brought by Li Danqing was not a vegetarian either, and also took up its stance at this time.
Seeing that the two sides were about to confront each other with swords, Li Danqing was heard asking loudly at that time: "Are we still going to fight?"
his voice
It was very loud, and the tone wrapped in the tone was no longer the domineering anger as before, but also pure ridicule, but instead contained a bit of sadness and sigh.
The people who came forward were stunned again, but Li Danqing continued: "Outside the city gate, we Wuyang's own people want to beat us Wuyang soldiers!"
"Inside the city gate, we soldiers from Wuyang will fight with those who are also soldiers from Wuyang!"
"The people in the four counties west of Wuyang City and up to Longwuguan have been displaced!"
"The Liao people's 800,000-strong army galloped wantonly on our land of Wuyang, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of evil!"
"And we're going to kill each other here?"
Li Danqing said loudly, and everyone present was stunned when he said these words, and their bodies froze in place.
Li Danqing also paused at this moment, his eyes deliberately glanced at the soldiers present, and then continued: "Everyone! We are soldiers of Wuyang!"
"Our natural duty is to protect the people of Wuyang and resist Wuyang's foreign enemies!"
"And now?"
"Foreign enemies are raging, and people are taking desperate risks in order to survive!"
"This! Isn't it the responsibility of us Wuyang soldiers?"
"Could it be that you have been in the army for many years, training hard every day, and practicing hard day after day just to swing the swords in your hands at the helpless civilians under the city? Or are you pointing the swords at your own people!?
"
Li Danqing's inquiry stunned the soldiers present. Most of them did not necessarily have great ambitions, but their people were kind-hearted. For most of them, under the command of Mang Huan, they had just attacked the people under the city.
Shooting arrows by civilians is not something they are willing to do.
"I know that we all have our own concerns. If you want to fight, tens of thousands of my soldiers are waiting under the city gate. If we fight, the outcome is still unknown!"
Li Danqing saw that these soldiers were wavering, and then he continued: "But does it make sense to continue fighting like this?"
"After heavy casualties, what will happen to the living people? Continue to stand on the wall and shoot a steady stream of civilians, but can you kill them all? As long as the Liao people continue to wreak havoc in the Western Territory, there will be a steady stream of civilians.
Civilians have fled here. Today there are millions, and tomorrow there will be tens of millions. Do you want to kill them? Can they be killed completely?"
"If you can understand what I'm saying, please get out of the way and let me negotiate with the refugees to prevent this human tragedy of fratricide from happening!"
Li Danqing's words were so sincere that the soldiers also changed their expressions.
Mang Huan was furious when he saw this, and shouted sternly: "Don't listen to Li Danqing's nonsense! Stop him!"
But this time, both his soldiers and even his own son Mang Ku showed hesitation.
After hesitating for a while, Mang Ku turned to look at his father and said: "Dad...since Li Danqing has an order from the court, it's better to let him try. For these refugees, I think it's better to
It's better to be gentle..."
Having said this, Mangku turned his head to look at Li Danqing and said in a deep voice: "Li Danqing, my father is guarding the city gate here under the orders of the palace master. You have no right to arrest him. If he really did something wrong,
, it’s not your turn to criticize, if there is any dissatisfaction, it’s over here, we can just confront each other in the court, do you understand what I mean?”
Mang Ku's meaning was of course very clear. He could make concessions and leave the matter of dealing with the refugees in the city to Li Danqing, but he could no longer pursue his father's fault.
In Mangku's opinion, such conditions were very reasonable, so reasonable that he himself could not find any flaws.
But Li Danqing frowned, and he glanced at Mangku silently, with a look that looked at him, as if he was getting to know the person in front of him again.
"Of course." Li Danqing nodded immediately, his frown relaxed, and he smiled slightly: "According to the wishes of the young general, the general will not be held responsible for the time being, but this matter will be dealt with in court.
There must be a matching book."
Mang Ku's face changed when he heard this. To be fair, he thought he
I have already given Li Danqing enough face.
Firstly, it was really difficult to approve his father's action of wielding a knife against civilians. Secondly, since Li Danqing accepted the imperial decree and continued the stalemate, they would be the ones to suffer in the end. Therefore, he was willing to let Li Danqing go, but he didn't want Li Danqing to show up.
He agreed, but he still insisted that his father should be held accountable. In the eyes of Mang Ku, this behavior seemed somewhat inflexible and unkind.
"Li Danqing, don't push yourself too far. My father had no choice but to order the arrows to be fired, but some civilians were killed and injured..." Mang Ku frowned and said.
"But some civilians were killed or injured!?" Li Danqing's voice suddenly grew louder at that time.
This sudden furious momentum made Mangku stunned, and the soldiers of the Divine Tiger Army behind Mangku were also stunned.
"The words of the young general are so light. Do you know how many hardships these civilians have gone through to escape to Wuyang City? Do you also know how many people died in the Liao people in order for them to survive to Wuyang City?
Can you please dismount?"
"They bear the hatred of their wives and children, the death of their parents, as well as the White Wolf Army and many unknown defenders from various places. In order to allow this small group of people to escape the sea of misery, they sacrificed their lives to fill it! But they
They probably never imagined that after leaving that hell, coming to Wuyang City, and coming to the feet of the Emperor, what would be waiting for them would be another hell!"
"We soldiers in Wuyang don't carry swords to avenge our compatriots, but here we kill each other! Do you think this is a small matter? Is this a matter of just a few lives!?"
"I promise you, I will give General Mang some face now, but this prince will definitely settle this debt with him!"
After Li Danqing said this, he stretched out one hand and pushed the cave in front of him away.
Mang Ku, who had always been in tit-for-tat with Li Danqing in the past, trembled and stepped aside. It was not that he couldn't resist, but Li Danqing's words hit him inexplicably.
Maybe the only remaining conscience has been awakened, or maybe I just feel embarrassed and speechless.
Although Mang Ku was unwilling to be kicked off by this guy whom he had always looked down upon, he did not have the courage to say another word at that time.
Li Danqing walked up to the city, and at the same time Qingzhu, Xia Xianyin and others also came forward with a large number of soldiers.
Li Danqing frowned and looked outside the city gate below him, where a large number of refugees had already gathered.
During the dispute between Li Danqing and Mang Ku, this group of refugees had gathered around and arrived outside the city gate.
The densely packed refugees were like a crowd, almost occupying every area within sight outside the city.
"What should we do now? From the looks of this group of people, it seems they have no intention of doing anything good." Gongsun Zhi asked in a deep voice beside him.
His brows furrowed, obviously realizing the seriousness of the matter.
Li Danqing was silent, and seemed to be shocked by this scene.
"Hmph! Your Crown Prince speaks beautifully. Today Mang Huan wants to see what kind of means His Highness the Crown Prince has to deal with this group of refugees." Although Mang Huan and Mang Ku acquiesced to Li Danqing taking over the matter, they
He did not leave, but was still standing on the city wall. Seeing Li Danqing in trouble, Mang Huan naturally couldn't help but sarcastically say something.
"The imperial court does not provide rice, and even a clever woman cannot survive without rice. It is only a matter of time before these refugees rebel. Prince Li's talk of righteousness cannot fill the empty stomachs of these refugees!"
Such cynicism immediately caused Qingzhu beside Li Danqing to frown and look at Mang Huan with an unkind look.
However, Li Danqing stretched out his hand at this moment, stopped Qingzhu who was about to argue with Mang Huan, and then smiled and said: "Open the city gate."
After these three simple words were spoken, everyone's expressions suddenly changed.
"Li Danqing, you are crazy! If these refugees enter the city, they will definitely cause banditry everywhere in Wuyang City, and Wuyang City will definitely be in chaos!" Mang Ku, who was on the side, heard this and shouted loudly at that time.
Li Danqing said calmly: "Don't worry, now is indeed not the time to let them enter the city."
"I just want to have a good talk with them first."