The subordinates beside Ma Duanlian also clearly saw these four words.
"They... are they trying to force us to surrender?!"
Surrender?!
Hearing this sentence, the silent atmosphere suddenly became restless.
"Is Wu Jiajun really willing to let us go..."
"Is it credible or not?"
"Do you really want to surrender? Don't you know what happened to the soldiers who surrendered since ancient times? Maybe if we step out of the mountain, they will shoot us on the spot!"
"But... isn't it the same as waiting for death if you continue to stay here?"
"Okay, shut up! Listen to the general!" A tall, thin, middle-aged man with a messy beard shouted loudly.
Ma Duanlian's eyes fell on the bottom corner of the letter paper.
Wu Chao...
A letter of persuasion to surrender written personally by the grandson of the Wu family.
If we say whether it is credible or not, it is of course relatively credible.
But - drop...
This word was something he had never thought about before he sent out troops. He thought about winning, losing, or dying in battle, but he never thought about surrendering.
"I believe the Wu family... they will never go back on their word!"
Suddenly, among the crowd who had been scolded to be quiet, a young soldier knelt down towards Ma Duanlian. Tears flashed in his eyes on his sallow face, and he choked: "General Ma, I don't want to die!"
Ma Duanlian recognized that he had an accent from the nearby area.
He led more than 50,000 troops this time, almost all of whom were defenders transferred from several nearby cities.
Some of them were temporarily recruited by a military conscription order.
Many of them are people from the area near Ningyang. They have parents, wives and children at home. Some of them even have relatives in Ningyang city...
Following him to attack Ningyang, he was acting under military orders and had no choice but to do so.
Thinking of this and looking at the faces in front of him that were struggling to survive, Ma Duanlian's throat seemed to be blocked by a thick layer of cotton wool. For a moment, he could no longer say "I will not surrender until I die" and "Death in battle is also the supreme honor."
” and other such words.
Two of his three confidants have been killed in the battle, and one is seriously injured and cannot be cured, but who will remember them? Will the current court be grateful for their contribution? Those who defeated the battle only have faults, not merits.
Those empty words used by the army to encourage soldiers to move forward seem to be full of deception when it comes to life and death.
The person who knelt out reignited the atmosphere that had been suppressed with great difficulty.
"I also believe in the Wu family. The Wu family always sticks to their word... Since they promise to surrender without killing, then we must still have a way to survive!"
"As long as there is still a chance of winning, we will fight with General Ma even if we give our last drop of blood, but right now..."
"I don't want to continue waiting to die like this..."
"General -" the middle-aged man frowned: "I will deal with all those who disturb the morale of the army!"
"No need..." Ma Duanlian's voice was hoarse. He took one last look at the soldiers who were kneeling one after another, turned around slowly, returned to the cave and sat down slowly against the wall.
He held the surrender letter in his hand and sighed softly.
Once the letter of surrender was sent to the Wu family, it was really impossible to kill them...
When there is still a way out and a chance of escape, people's hearts are in chaos, and it is no longer possible to have the tragic and indignant determination to risk one's life.
Outside the cave, more and more soldiers were kneeling.
A series of sad or weak pleading sounds penetrated his mind.
Can we say that they are greedy for life and afraid of death, and are not worthy of being soldiers of Daqing?
Throughout the ages, these low-level soldiers don’t even know what the emperor looks like. What’s more, they don’t know why they are fighting and how long they will fight for——
They are just knives in the hands of those in power, cutting wherever they point.
But they are also human beings.
People have fear.
No one is born to be loyal to the death, especially when their monarch and court can no longer give them any courage and strength to move forward desperately.
Ma Duanlian sat back in the cave until it got dark.
The soldiers who requested have not left yet, but more and more.
"General, if things continue like this, there will definitely be trouble. I just saw that a few people have begun to secretly make arrangements. They seem to be taking the opportunity to gather people to discuss surrender..." The middle-aged man entered the cave and whispered: "
Will the general come forward to calm people's hearts? If we continue to indulge, my subordinates are afraid that they will be detrimental to the general."
In the darkness, as the man spoke, his right hand slowly pressed the scabbard on his waist.
Ma Duanlian put his hands on his sides and stood up with some difficulty.
Seeing this, the man reached out to help.
"We were defeated and trapped here. So many people died. As the leader of the army, I cannot absolve myself from the blame." Ma Duanlian's voice was extremely hoarse: "Since they are willing to trust the Wu family, they think this is a way to survive...
"
After a slight pause, he seemed to have made up his mind, and then sighed slightly: "Maybe we should let them choose for once..."
"General, have you considered this?" The man's hand tightened on his arm.
Ma Duanlian nodded.
"Then my subordinates can safely fulfill the general's righteousness, and the general can fulfill his subordinates..."
Before the man finished speaking, a cold sword flashed in front of Ma Duanlian's eyes.
Ma Duanlian's expression changed, and he subconsciously touched the sword at his waist——
But it's too late.
The long knife went right into his heart and pierced his chest.
Under the light of the fire outside the cave, the black shadow of the long knife being pulled out was cast on the stone wall in the cave.
When the knife fell again, it cut off a head.
Blood spurted on the black shadow of the stone wall, and the real and the fake overlapped for a moment.
"In this desperate situation, Lieutenant General Ma is stubborn and regards us as ants, regardless of our life and death - now I have killed him!" The man came out of the cave with Ma Duanlian's head and shouted to everyone: "
Is there anyone willing to come out of the mountain with me and submit?!"
Under the dancing firelight, everyone saw clearly what he was carrying and couldn't help but turn pale with shock.
General Ma is dead!
This change was so sudden that before anyone could react, someone in the crowd suddenly stood up: "Well done! It was his idea that caused so many of our brothers to die!"
"I am willing to surrender!"
"I do too!"
"And me!"
Urgent voices sounded one after another, so that the person in desperate situation had no time to think too much, and there were countless echoes.
The man held Ma Duanlian's head and was the first to get on the horse.
Some soldiers didn't even know what was happening, so they blindly chased them out in the crowd - no one wanted to be left alone.
Listening to the commotion in the mountain, the soldiers of the Western Camp guarding the entrance were on guard early. Under the torch, bows and crossbows were ready to go.
"We are here to surrender!"
The man dismounted and dropped the knife first.
The soldiers behind him followed suit.
For a moment, the clanging sound of swords and arrows being dropped at their feet echoed everywhere.
The news quickly spread to the camp.
Wu Chao rushed over immediately.
He originally thought that Lieutenant Ma would have to think about it for a few more days——
At such a juncture, Ken Zhan is a character.
Ken surrender is even more of a character.
He wanted to meet this person in person.
Accompanied by General Xiao, the group left the camp, walked through the night, and galloped towards the foot of the mountain.
"Shisun, General Xiao."
All the soldiers guarding the foot of the mountain saluted together.
The young man wearing soft armor and a dark cloak tied behind him turned over and dismounted.
Among the surrendering troops, the middle-aged man looked over and saw that the young man was handsome and noble. He was really sure of the other person's identity and quickly came forward and knelt down to salute: "I have seen Wu Shisun before!"
Wu Chao heard the sound and looked towards him.
The man held the head high and said: "This is Ma Duanlian's head! Shisun didn't know anything, and this raid was a trick of this man! And after Shisun ordered someone to send a letter to persuade him to surrender, this man
He is still stubborn and determined to be the enemy of Shisun! Now the villain has killed him and enshrined his head to Shisun to show our sincerity of surrender!"
"...You villain killed the general!" In the crowd, a seriously injured man pushed aside the crowd and pushed forward with an injured leg: "You killed the general in order to serve the Wu family...I
I’m going to chop you up!”
He tried hard to rush forward, but fell heavily to the ground due to the injury on his leg.
The man turned his head slightly and sneered silently.
Kill him?
He killed Ma Duanlian this time, and it was considered a merit in front of the Wu family. If he could show his face and be appreciated by the Wu family, he would have a bright future in the future. How could these idiots compare to him?
"We were ordered to act before and followed the army to attack Ningyang City but we couldn't help it! From now on, I am willing to sincerely submit to the Wu family and make up for my current mistakes!" The man put the head in front of him and kowtowed.
Wu Chao looked at the gray head with messy bun in front of him and asked: "Did you kill General Ma?"
This voice was calm and cold, but it made the man's heart perk up. He immediately replied: "Yes! It was the villain who killed him with his own hands! The villain's surname is Gao. He was originally a captain in Fengqi County. He was transferred according to the order...
"
As the head suddenly flew out from the neck, the sound stopped abruptly.
The head rolled to the ground, and his eyes were wide open, as if he still didn't know what happened or who killed him until his death.
"噌——" There was a soft sound, and the long sword in Wu Chao's hand returned to its sheath.
Xiao Shou took a "pooh" at the headless corpse that was still kneeling and said, "You really think you are so smart when you can't carry a black-hearted thing that you can't carry!"
Even the head coach can kill to show his merits, but such a person would not worry even if he was left to clean up the manure bucket!
Seeing the leader's head falling to the ground, the frightened soldiers were all panicked.
Wu Chao looked at Ma Duanlian's head and said: "Go to the mountains to find General Ma's body and bury it together with his head."
General Xiao should come down.
Upon hearing this, the man who had rushed out to avenge Ma Duanlian fell to the ground with red eyes.
So what about our own people? In the end, they are more merciful than the enemy who cannot respect their opponents!
Wu Chao then explained: "We will count the number of people and bring them back. We will leave it to General Wen and Deputy General Gao to make the decision, and then assign them to each battalion for service."
"Yes!" General Xiao agreed again and immediately ordered people to make inventory and arrangements.
When the surrendering soldiers heard this sentence, their anxious hearts finally calmed down, and there was only one thought in their tense minds - no need to die!
There really is no need to die!
Throughout the ages, there are many precedents for killing all prisoners of war after battles between the two armies. Firstly, it is inconvenient to relocate, and secondly, there will be no future trouble.
At present, the Wu family is willing to keep their promise. Even if they surrender and serve as slaves, everyone will just feel like they are surviving a disaster.
That night, soldiers in Xishan came and went to clean up corpses everywhere until daylight.
Wu Chao took care of the post-war matters and returned to the city early the next morning.
When he dismounted in front of the palace, he saw Wu Ran, more than ten clan members, and Manager Yin waiting outside the door.
Seeing him dismounting, everyone gathered around him.
"Second brother, are you not injured?" Wu Ran asked nervously.
"What kind of injury I suffered? I didn't mention it in the letter, and I never went to the battle." Wu Chao threw the reins to Sui Jiang.
Wu Ran whispered: "What if they make a sneak attack?"
Isn't he worried that his second brother will report good news but not bad news?
"Shisun is back..."
"This time, thanks to Shisun, he noticed it in time, took the opportunity, and deployed it properly..."
"If we accidentally fall into their scheme of seducing the east and attacking the west, the situation will become chaotic again, and the consequences will be disastrous."
The tribesmen were talking as they accompanied Wu Chao to the house.
The expressions on everyone's faces were relaxed and calm.
After this battle, the imperial troops stationed outside the city like thorns in the flesh were eliminated, and other forces were deterred. Ningyang City would not experience any major changes in a short period of time.
The next step is to strengthen the defense and pay attention to the movements of King Yan's army.
And what they know very well is that even if Ningyang City can maintain peace for a while, outside Ningyang, it is destined to become increasingly turbulent... No one can predict how turbulent it will be and how long it will take.
Conclusion.
Thinking that Shisun had returned home for the first time and saw that the Qing Dynasty had lost a lot of weight, he had to go back to take a bath and rest first, so the group of clan members went to the side hall to discuss matters.
Only Wu Ran was still following.
"Where are my grandfather and father now?" Wu Chao asked.
"Out in the study, my eldest brother is also here..." mentioning this, Wu Ran lowered his voice: "We are still discussing the burial of my second uncle."
The eldest brother had to keep vigil for his father and had returned home early.
As early as five days ago, the second uncle had been in mourning for seven days.
But there are some disagreements among the clan about where to be buried...
The second uncle's murder of his father and brother was a serious crime, and some clan members claimed that he should no longer be allowed to enter the Wu family's ancestral tomb.
My father's intention is that since a person has committed suicide, his heart of repentance can be seen. When a person dies, his lamp is extinguished and everything returns to dust. No matter what his faults are, he is still a member of the Wu family.
Grandfather has not yet released his stance.
Wu Chao took Wu Ran to the outer study room.
A servant had already reported the news of his return home earlier.
As soon as he saw Wu Chao, Wu Jingming said: "...Why did you come here like this? Everything has been arranged, why don't you go back to change clothes and rest first?"
"My son is not tired." Wu Chao saluted and said, "I heard that my grandfather and father are discussing the death of my second uncle here. I wonder if I can leave this matter to my eldest brother and me to discuss?"
Wu Jingming was slightly startled when he heard this.
Wu An looked at Wu Chao.
King Dingnan also looked at the young man who looked a bit dusty and seemed to be much calmer and more restrained after this battle. After a moment, he nodded slightly.
…
Outside Ningyang City, at the foot of Qingting Mountain, a bamboo forest grows beside the water, and the frost-beaten maples dye half of the mountain red.
This is the burial place chosen by Wu Chao and Wu An for Wu Jinling.
On the tombstone erected, there is no identity or surname, only six characters written by Wu An himself - the tomb of a layman in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
A layman in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this is what Wu Jinling called himself during his lifetime.
