The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1202: Burning Incense to Pray for Life (Part )

Cheng Yaojin's words were seven parts true and three parts false. If he had not been worried about his family in Chang'an, he would not have feared death. However, he had offended the Guanlong nobles, and he did not dare to die easily without seeing his family safe.

But this feeling of grief and indignation that made it difficult for him to die made him depressed. When he said these words, coupled with the tears that overflowed due to grievance, there was a sense of the solemn and tragic feeling of "the wind is whistling and the Yishui River is cold, the hero leaves and never returns".

Cui Demao's heart trembled. He knew that these killers who were willing to kill with blood on their swords were speaking the truth. They were not afraid of death at all. However, if you are determined to die, how can the entire Cui family survive?

Don’t you know that it is better to live a miserable life than to die?

Only when we are alive is there any meaning. When we die, there is nothing left. Whether it is a good death or a bad death, it is better to live.
"My dear son-in-law, you can't say that. Uncle knows that you are not afraid of death."

Cui Demao's mind raced as he tried desperately to come up with reasons to persuade him: "It's just that the emperor has so much trust in you and entrusted hundreds of thousands of troops to you. If you die like this, won't the emperor be left with no one to rely on?"

"Also, if you leave like this, who can my niece and the whole family in Chang'an rely on? Without you to support them, if they are bullied by others, who will stand up for them? You can't die, can you?"

Cheng Yaojin was in a dilemma: "Uncle, I am trapped in the enemy camp now. If I don't surrender, I will die. If I surrender to the Turks, I will become a traitor, and my family will be punished by the court. Even for them, I can't live!"

Seeing Cheng Yaojin's concerns, Cui Demao said quickly, "My dear son-in-law, the lives of hundreds of people in my thousand-year-old Cui family depend on your thoughts. Even if you consider that my Cui daughter has given birth to several children for you, can you bear some grievances?"

"Pretend to surrender to the enemy first and save our lives."

"If you can return to Chang'an, I promise you with the lives of more than 400 members of the Jaw Tribe that I will ensure the safety of your family."

"what?"

Cheng Yaojin's face changed, and he said angrily: "Uncle, I call you uncle, but now you want me to surrender to the bandits just to save the lives of your family. Then where will my wisdom be? How can I face the emperor and the people of the world in the future?"

"No, absolutely not. It's just a matter of death. I'm here with you. What do you have to be afraid of?"

"Fuck, no matter who's with us, we don't want to die!"

When the Cui clan members nearby saw Cheng Yaojin's refusal, they immediately cried out: "Zhijie, in public you are a general of the Tang Dynasty, and you have the responsibility to defend the land and protect the people; in private you are a member of our Cui family, and now that it has come to this, can't you put your reputation aside and save us?"

"That's right, Yaojin, in an emergency, you should act according to the circumstances. Why be so pedantic? Just pretend to surrender, and when the opportunity is right, you can rebel again. You are still a hero of the Tang Dynasty. Why be so pedantic and throw your life away in vain?"

"Uncle, are you more valuable than the hundreds of people in our Cui family?"

"Besides, I'm not asking you to die. I'm just pretending to surrender. If you don't help and this gets reported back to Chang'an, I'm afraid my aunt will never forgive you in her lifetime."

"As long as you bow your heads temporarily, both our families can save their lives. Then we can tell you about your predicament today. When aunt finds out that you are trying to save the lives of hundreds of people in my Cui family, she will never blame you."

"." For a moment, everyone tried to persuade him, some appealed to his emotions, some tried to reason with him, and some even panicked and threatened him secretly.

Cui Demao was even more indignant. You, Cheng Yaojin, are just a poor man and a bandit. Everyone in the world knows you. What kind of fame do you have?
He was just lucky enough to follow Li Shimin and became a founding hero.

You really think you are an innocent person. It's not the first time you have done something like subduing bandits. What psychological barriers could you have?
At this time, Zhuolibuhua came over and said loudly: "Okay, Cheng Yaojin, that's enough. What's the point of talking to a bunch of dead people? Go away quickly. Brothers, get to work, chop them up, and go back to drink mutton soup to warm ourselves up."

A group of Turks stood up and shouted, and walked towards this side.

Cui Demao saw that the situation was critical and could no longer care about anything else. He bent his waist and made a loud noise.
He kowtowed several times to the ground, and when he raised his head again, blood was already flowing from his forehead. He pleaded with tears in his eyes: "Zhijie, Zhijie! I kowtow to you, and the entire Cui family kowtows to you. Please bear with it for a while and save our entire Cui family!"

After saying this, the Cui clan members kowtowed one after another and begged Cheng Yaojin in every possible way.

This scene made the nearby people sad and shed tears. Some even shouted: "General Cheng, if you can save them, please save them! Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."

"Yes, we are all Han Chinese, can you please show some mercy?"

"Saving so many lives is a great deed. Even if you surrender to the Turks, we will not blame you. If you surrender to the Turks, you must persuade them to kill less and do more good deeds. We, the people, will remember your kindness and will not call you a traitor."

'Well'

I didn't expect that such an act could have such an effect. If such a scene spreads out, even the court will have to give some face! Even if I rebel against the Turks in the future, I won't be criticized by thousands of people and called a slave of two surnames, greedy for life and afraid of death.

Seeing that the people were also begging for mercy, many people in the Cui family felt guilty.

Normally, they didn't treat these people as human beings, but as cattle and horses in their farms, and they were not harsh on them. Unexpectedly, at this time, they actually begged for mercy for themselves, which made them feel ashamed and embarrassed. Cheng Yaojin also sighed that the people were kind, even when facing the nobles who enslaved them, they still wanted to save their lives at this time. He was very clear about what these nobles did in normal times, and they didn't think about leaving a way out for the people.

They take every opportunity to squeeze someone to death; it's no exaggeration to say they're sucking the marrow out of their bones.

All the groundwork had been done, and the situation was better than he had imagined. Cheng Yaojin stood up, bowed to Zhuolibuhua, and said decisively: "I have already made a decision on the matter the Khan asked about. General Zhuolibuhua, please wait for a moment. I will go and ask the Khan for orders."

"Ok?"

Zhuolibuhua pretended to be silent for a moment and said, "Well, I will make it easier for you for the Khan's sake."

Then, with a wave of his hand, a trusted confidant came up holding a stick of incense and stuck it into the ground in front of the execution platform.

When everyone was puzzled, Zhuolibuhua said, "I will give you one incense stick of time. When the incense burns out, I will immediately order the execution of the Cui family. Don't miss the time."

"Thank you, General."

"Go, the north wind is cold and the incense burns very quickly, you won't be late!" As soon as the words fell, the people and Turkic soldiers around all stared at the incense and candles in front of the execution platform with nervous faces.

Sure enough, when incense is burned, there is always fragrant mist, and sometimes the incense ash can even curl up and not fall off.

But now it was winter, and with the howling north wind, the incense mist just floated up and then dissipated into the air without a trace, and the incense ash was burning and falling. A red dot burned down at a speed visible to the naked eye, making everyone feel nervous.

The Cui clan members stared at the incense stick intently, as if they were staring at their own lives!
Zhuolibuhua smiled secretly. This Central Plains person is very cunning. The idea of ​​burning incense to pray for life was proposed by Cheng Yaojin himself, just to put further pressure on Cui's family. Through these twists and turns, he highlighted the difficulty of the rescue and the sacrifice he made.

In the eyes of Zhuolibuhua and Cheng Yaojin, this play was just for Cui family and the people to watch, in order to protect the Cheng family in Chang'an. But in the eyes of Shiluodie, it was just to deceive Cheng Yaojin, to make him think that the Turkic Khan had given him great grace, and then believe his surrender.

Various calculations are hidden deep inside, and outsiders can only see the surface.

The normal burning time of a stick of incense is about half an hour, but at this time it is only half of the usual time, about a cup of tea time.

The people around were just watching the fun at first, but after being played like this, they were all very curious. They wanted to see if Cheng Yaojin could ask the Turkic Khan for a way out for the hundreds of people in the century-old Cui family before the incense burned out.

Everyone stretched their necks and looked in the direction where Cheng Yaojin left.

Time passed by minute by minute, and when the incense was about to burn out, Cheng Yaojin's figure still did not appear in the distance. The hope that the Cui clan members had just raised was extinguished again. In their desperate eyes, the incense burned out and the candle went out, and the last wisp of ash scattered in the wind.

It was as if their lives were slowly falling from the dead branches in the autumn wind and turning into dust.

Zhuolibuhua's face turned serious and he ordered loudly: "Executioners, prepare to execute."

The Turks stepped forward again and forced the Cui clan members to squat on the ground. Their faces were pressed against the crimson ice again. They were all desperate and ready to be killed. The Turks slowly drew out their scimitars and raised them high.

At this moment, a burst of hurried horse hooves sounded, and they rushed into the execution ground unscrupulously, which seemed extremely abrupt in the quiet place.

When everyone looked back, they saw that it was not Cheng Yaojin, but an unfamiliar soldier.

He did not dismount, but rushed directly into the execution ground. He pulled the reins hard, letting the warhorse cry in pain.

The messenger said to Zhuolibuhua, "General, the Khan has ordered that the execution be suspended today. All members of the Cui family be taken back to prison."

"I respect the Khan's order!"

Everything was perfect. Zhuolibuhua grinned at the Cui clan members who had managed to save their lives with a look of horror on their faces, revealing a terrifying expression like a demon: "You are lucky to have escaped. Brothers, take them back."

"Yes, General."

The Cui clan members had been tossed back and forth several times, their mentality collapsed and stood up again, and they had already collapsed like mud, without any temper left. Each of them opened their mouths and breathed in big gulps of air.

The northwest wind, which used to be bland and tasteless, now seemed so sweet that I could not bear to let it go.

(End of this chapter)