Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 133: Ke Ding Jia Lin
"Smash!"

"Boom bang bang-"

On the morning of March 16, as the sound of catapults rang out again, the military and civilians inside and outside Jialin City welcomed a new day.

Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian sat in the tent wearing armor and had breakfast together, while Suo Xun, Zhang Chang, Ma Cheng, Jiu Juyan and others each performed their duties.

"Today is the third day. Many gaps have been made in the west wall. When do you think it is best to attack?"

Zhang Huaishen held a bowl of corn porridge and asked Liu Jilong. Liu Jilong swallowed a mouthful of porridge and said, "We can wait and see."

"Wait and see?" Zhang Huaishen asked in surprise: "Do you think Shang Moling will come again?"

“It’s hard to say…” Liu Jilong took a sip of porridge and ate a piece of meat pie. After swallowing it, he said, “Yesterday, Mang Longhua sent light cavalry to Guzang. I think it was to ask for help.”

"If the request for help is successful, Mang Longhua should fight to the death. If the request for help fails, I think Mang Longhua will change."

"I understand!" Zhang Huaishen listened with great interest and expressed his opinion after responding:

"But even if he wants to surrender, he still has to consider the revenge for his father's murder."

"Don't forget, you were the one who killed General Mang Luo."

Hearing this, Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Huaishen speechlessly: "You were happier than I was at that time."

"Hahaha..." Zhang Huaishen laughed heartily, but Liu Jilong said with a sigh:

"If he is willing to surrender, I will go to his father's grave and kowtow to him."

"Uh..." Zhang Huaishen was speechless after hearing this, and couldn't help asking, "Don't you feel ashamed to kowtow and sweep the grave of your defeated general?"

"Haha..." Liu Jilong chuckled, "As long as we can capture Jialin and save a bunch of brothers from dying, what does face matter?"

His words made Zhang Huaishen at a loss for words. He was stunned for a long time, and finally could only say:
"Your mindset is comparable to that of Emperor Taizu of the Han Dynasty..."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Liu Jilong said, then he lowered his head and drank a big mouthful of porridge, and stuffed a few more meat patties into his mouth.

Seeing him like this, Zhang Huaishen just thought that what he said just now was a joke.

But he didn't know that Liu Jilong was not joking when he said these words.

When he was living in the school dormitory in his previous life, he would call people "big brother" or "brother" in order to get them to bring him breakfast. Now, just by kowtowing to others, he can get a city and thousands of soldiers. What's the big deal?

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong ate a few more bites of the meat pie, then wiped his hands, stood up and walked out.

Zhang Huaishen had finished eating a long time ago. When he saw Liu Jilong stand up, he walked out with Liu Jilong.

The laborers were eating in the camp, and the camp gate was facing the Jialin West Gate.

The West City Gate was in ruins at this time, and the city wall, which was nearly two miles long from north to south, was full of gaps. The largest gap was even more than ten steps wide, and the houses in the city could be vaguely seen.

"Jiedushi, governor!"

Seeing Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian coming, the soldiers and generals saluted and bowed to them. The two men rode their horses slowly to the front of the formation and watched the catapults continue to fire.

At this time, the catapults and crossbows on the horse road at the west gate of Jialin were almost all destroyed, and there was no sign of their means of counterattack.

"Is throwing stones enough?"

Zhang Huaishen asked Suo Xun, who nodded and said, "Geng Ming, Ma Cheng and others have taken people to dig for stones three miles away. There is enough for now."

"That's good." Zhang Huaishen nodded in response, and at this time dozens of elite cavalry suddenly appeared returning from the south.

Zhang Huaishen, Liu Jilong and others watched them gradually approaching, until finally they saw Jiu Juyan's figure.

"Jiedushi, we have captured the light cavalry that broke through yesterday and returned at the east gate!"

Jiu Juyan bowed and reported from a distance, and Liu Jilong and Zhang Huaishen also became interested.

They watched Jiu Juyan and his elite cavalry approach, and finally saw more than a dozen captured Jialin light cavalry.

"Mang Longhua sent you to break out in order to seek help from Guzang, right?"

Zhang Huaishen pointed out their purpose, and then asked: "Looking at your posture, have you not asked for reinforcements?"

"Yes..." The light cavalrymen had bruised and swollen faces, obviously they were taught a lesson by Jiu Juyan when they came.

"What did Shang Moling say?" Liu Jilong raised his chin and asked. Several light cavalrymen also told Liu Jilong what had happened.

Liu Jilong was speechless after hearing this. He looked at Zhang Huaishen and said, "Shang Moling is really two-faced. He clearly dispatched a thousand armored soldiers to Mang Longhua, but he was afraid to fight at the critical moment."

Zhang Huaishen smiled when he heard this, "What he did is just the right thing to help us persuade Mang Longhua to surrender."

After that, he said to the dozen or so light cavalrymen: "I will let you go back to Jialin now, as long as you tell Mang Longhua what Shang Moling said truthfully."

"In addition, tell Mang Longhua that if he is willing to surrender, I can return his father's head to him, and give him 5,000 mu of arable land, 100,000 mu of grassland and 5,000 herds of livestock in Zhangye."

"If he still feels unsatisfied, I can visit his father's grave and apologize on his behalf!"

Although Zhang Huaishen teased Liu Jilong, when it really came time to apologize, Zhang Huaishen chose to visit the grave himself to make amends.

Liu Jilong was speechless after hearing this, while Suo Xun and others were indignant:

"Jiedushi, why do you have to do this?!"

"Jiedushi, why don't we just attack directly? There's no need to do this!"

"Jiedushi..."

Everyone was talking at once, but Zhang Huaishen just waved his hand and said, "If this can calm down a war and save our brothers from casualties, what's the harm in visiting the grave ten times?"

After pacifying everyone, Zhang Huaishen looked at the group of light cavalry and said, "Remember this, if you don't want to die in battle, you'd better tell Mang Longhua what I said."

"Yes!" The light cavalry responded one after another, and seeing this, Zhang Huaishen asked Jiu Juyan to let them go.

"Stop throwing stones. It will only take an hour or two."

Zhang Huaishen gave instructions, and Suo Xun had no choice but to stop attacking Jialin.

"Go back and tell Mang Longhua that I will wait for him for two hours. If he does not express his opinion after two hours, I will attack Jialin."

"Yes……"

Following Zhang Huaishen's instructions, Jialin's cavalry cautiously headed towards the west gate.

In less than a cup of tea, everyone watched with their own eyes as they were escorted into the city by the guards at the city gate, and then they waited patiently.

"Get the cloud car ready. If there is no news of surrender in two hours, we will attack the city!"

Zhang Huaishen turned his horse around and left, and finally gave instructions to Liu Jilong and Suo Xun.

The two nodded, and then began to order people to build the cloud car and the crash car.

At the same time, the light cavalry returning to the city were also brought before Mang Longhua.

"What happened to you? How did you get captured?!"

When he saw this group of people, Mang Longhua started scolding them.

Seeing this, these light cavalry could only confess everything, from breaking out to seeking help, to being rejected, to being captured by the elite cavalry of the Guiyi Army, and finally being released by Zhang Huaishen...

"Zhang Huaishen said that if we are willing to surrender, he is willing to reward you with 5,000 acres of fertile farmland in Zhangye, 100,000 acres of pasture, and 5,000 herds of livestock."

"If we don't get a response within two hours, he will attack the city..."

The words of the light cavalry made the Jialin generals under the eaves look at each other in bewilderment.

Even the Jie'er and ten centurions sent by Shang Moling were speechless at this moment and had no idea how to express their opinions.

As for the generals under Mang Longhua, they cursed directly: "This pig-dog Shang Moling, he was the one who told us to hold the city to the death, and he led the elite cavalry to support us outside the city!"

"Now, the Tang army is at the gates of the city, but he is hiding in Guzang like a turtle!"

"Stop arguing, what are we going to do now?"

"Dong Ben, what do you think we should do?"

"Why not break out..."

"Break out? There are only a few horses at the city gate? Even if we can break out, what about our relatives?"

"This……"

For a moment, everyone was arguing in a mess, but no one persuaded Mang Longhua to surrender.

After all, the hatred for killing one's father is an irreconcilable hatred in the eyes of anyone. Only Mang Longhua can make the decision. Anyone else who tries to persuade him will die.

Because of this, everyone could only argue, but no one dared to persuade Mang Longhua.

Mang Longhua also understood this, and his face looked very ugly because of this.

He never expected that Shang Moling would treat him and his two thousand soldiers as abandoned pawns.

These are two thousand armored soldiers. A few years ago, that number of soldiers would have been enough to dominate an entire state.

But now, facing the troops of Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian, Shang Moling was able to attack at will, which made Mang Longhua a little at a loss.

He didn't want to surrender, after all, his father's murderer Liu Jilong was outside the city.

But the problem is that he doesn't want to die, and breaking out is not feasible, which undoubtedly puts him in a dilemma.

He hesitated, and his generals were divided into two factions.

The generals sent by Shang Moling wanted to break out, while Jialin's generals wanted to hold on.

The former was worried that his family would be killed after surrendering because their families were all in Guzang. The latter had no such worries, but felt that the enemy troops outside the city were numerous and it was more than 50 miles from Jialin to Guzang.

Under the attack of Liu Jilian, they did not think that they could escort thousands of families to Guzang with only 2,000 armored soldiers.

Therefore, relying on the current occupation of the city, it is possible to hold out or negotiate.

"You pig-dog guys, do you want to surrender?" Gu Zang's Jie'er drew his sword and pointed it at them.

"Idiot, you will die if you leave the city!" Jialin's Jie'er also drew the long sword from his waist.

For a while, the two sides confronted each other and neither could convince the other.

Although they were in confrontation, they all turned their attention to Mang Longhua.

Mang Longhua was in a dilemma, while at this time Ji'er of Guzang led the centurions to retreat outside the yamen.

"We don't care whether you want to hold on or surrender, we are going to break through to Guzang!"

"What do you want to do?!"

Seeing that Gu Zang's Jie'er was trying to break out, Mang Longhua perked up and scolded him.

Unfortunately, his scolding failed to stop them, but instead accelerated their exit from the yamen.

"Damn it! Do it now, don't let them get out!"

Mang Longhua drew the long sword from his waist, and the generals under his command immediately swung their swords and charged forward upon hearing his words.

"kill!"

"Kill these pig-dog things!"

"Get away!!"

For a moment, shouts of killing were heard everywhere in the courtyard. The generals of Gu Zang fought and retreated at the same time, which soon attracted the attention of the soldiers outside the yamen.

Since they didn't expect Shang Moling to abandon them, they came to the yamen almost unprepared.

At present, the yamen was filled with Mang Longhua's men. Soon they were captured by Mang Longhua and his men. Ji'er of Guzang and three centurions were killed on the spot, and seven centurions were thrown into prison.

After doing all this, all Jialin generals turned their attention to Mang Longhua.

Looking at the blood-stained swords in their hands and their eyes, Mang Longhua hesitated for a long time and finally made a decision.

"Tell Zhang Huaishen...I want Liu Jilong to sweep my father's grave for three days!"

"Yes!!"

Upon hearing this, the generals wiped the blood off their swords, sheathed their swords, and sent light cavalry to communicate with the Guiyi Army outside the city.

"Damn it! What are these pigs dreaming about!"

"Fucking fart!"

"It's not enough to give him his father's head, but you want my governor to sweep his father's grave? Bah..."

When the light cavalry brought the news to the front of the Guiyi Army, Zhang Chang, Li Ji, Hu Siguang and others started cursing one after another.

However, Suo Xun and Li Yizhong's eyes gleamed with light, and they all turned their gazes to Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilong.

Jiu Juyan, Ma Cheng and Shang Duoluo were hesitant to speak, while Zhang Huaishen turned his gaze to Liu Jilong.

For a moment, everyone was waiting for Liu Jilong's reaction, but Liu Jilong smiled and said, "I thought he would propose some conditions, is this it?"

After saying this, without waiting for anyone to speak, Liu Jilong bowed to Zhang Huaishen and said:
"Jiedushi, this is a trivial matter. I am willing to sweep General Mang Luo's grave for three days."

"It just so happens that our army can also take advantage of these three days to bring Xiduoyu from Fanhe."

"Governor!" Zhang Chang and the others were unwilling to speak, but Liu Jilong turned around and looked at them, chuckling, "What's the big deal?"

After saying that, he turned around and looked at Zhang Huaishen, who nodded and said, "Okay, I will go with you to sweep General Mang Luo's tomb for three days."

Zhang Huaishen sacrificed himself, so even Zhang Chang and the others did not continue to attack.

Suo Xun was the most anxious. Seeing Liu Jilong's agreement, he immediately looked at the Qingqi and said, "Let Mang Longhua lead his troops out of the city and surrender!"

"Yes!" Qingqi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard that Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian were willing to visit the grave of their old boss.

In their eyes, Liu Jilong must be a very strong-willed person, so they were worried that Liu Jilong would be unwilling to visit the grave of his old boss.

But the facts proved that they still underestimated Liu Jilong's bottom line.

As the light cavalry got up and returned to the city, the gates of Jialin City were opened soon. Mang Longhua led his troops out of the west gate with a gloomy face, quietly waiting for the next move of Liu Jilong and others.

Zhang Huaishen turned his eyes to Liu Jilong. After all, he had made the greatest sacrifice, and he should be the one to send people to occupy Jialin City and take the credit.

"Zhang Chang, you lead the troops into the city and take over the city defense."

Liu Jilong chose Zhang Chang without any hesitation. Zhang Chang felt aggrieved when he heard that.

He wanted to be the first to climb up, but he didn't want to do that by stepping on the dignity of his own governor.

"Governor, you..."

Zhang Chang was about to speak, but was interrupted by Liu Jilong: "Don't delay the military plan!"

"Yes!" Zhang Chang took a deep breath and responded, then led a thousand armored soldiers towards Jialin City.

For a time, both sides were very nervous. Mang Longhua was worried that Liu Jilong would not keep his word and send people to attack and kill them.

Zhang Chang was worried that Mang Longhua would pretend to surrender, so he attacked them when they entered the city.

When Zhang Chang and his men entered the city wall, the muscles of both sides tensed and they were ready to draw their swords.

Fortunately, no conflict broke out in the end. Zhang Chang successfully took over the city defense, raised flags on the top of the city, and planted the flag of the Guiyi Army in front of the city gate.

"Armored soldiers enter the city, elite cavalry and civilians set up camp outside the city!"

Zhang Huaishen raised his hand and gave an order, while riding his horse towards the city gate.

Liu Jilong followed closely behind, and Suo Xun and others followed even more closely.

Soon, they arrived at the west gate of Jialin, and Mang Longhua also walked to the gate and handed over the seal of Jialin City with both hands.

Zhang Huaishen originally wanted to take it, but he didn't expect Liu Jilong to get off his horse first and walk in front of Mang Longhua.

Mang Longhua watched Liu Jilong roll off his horse, and the hatred in his eyes for him almost overflowed.

Liu Jilong, on the other hand, played it down with a calm look in his eyes.

He took the seal from Mang Longhua with both hands, then looked him up and down: "Your father died in battle, but he was still a hero."

"Since I promised to visit your father's grave for three days, I will not go back on my word, and I will not target you in the future."

"If you think that three days of tomb sweeping is not enough, and you want to seek revenge on me in the future, I will also take responsibility for it."

After saying that, he turned around and walked towards Zhang Huaishen, revealing his defenseless back.

Even though he was wearing armor, if Mang Longhua took advantage of this gap to launch a sneak attack on him, he might succeed.

Unfortunately, Mang Longhua was afraid of death in the end and retreated back to the team with his head down.

Seeing this, Zhang Huaishen also loosened the handle of the knife in his hand and turned his gaze to Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong handed over the Jialin seal, and Zhang Huaishen took it before continuing to look at Mang Longhua:
"Since I, Zhang Huaishen, have made a promise, I will naturally fulfill it. I will reward you and your soldiers with farmland, herds, and pastures as agreed!"

"Now you can have your men take off their armor and hand over their weapons!"

He looked at Mang Longhua. Before Mang Longhua opened his mouth, many Jialin generals and soldiers behind him had already begun to take off their armor.

Obviously, he had lost control of the Jialin Army at this time, which also made Zhang Huaishen, Suo Xun and others feel relieved.

Mang Longhua took off his armor with a sad face and handed over his weapons. All the armor and weapons were confiscated by the soldiers of the Guiyi Army, and Jialin City was no longer threatened.

At 3:00 p.m. on March 16th of the sixth year of the Dazhong reign, the Guiyi Army completely took over the entire Jialin City. However, Liu Jilian and Zhang Huaishen did not immediately enter the government office, but went to the tomb of General Mang Luo.

General Mang Luo's tomb is not very big and is hidden in a courtyard in the southwest corner of the city.

Under Mang Longhua's gaze, Liu Jilong and Zhang Huaishen picked up their brooms and began to sweep the tomb, clearing away the weeds that had grown in the past few days.

During this period, Suo Xun, Shang Duoluo, Zhang Chang and others also took over important places such as warehouses and storehouses, and brought all of Jialin's documents to the tent outside the city.

"Rest in peace old man..."

Liu Jilong sighed in his heart, and at the same time lit three incense sticks. He bowed three times towards General Mang Luo's tombstone before inserting the incense in front of the tombstone.

He turned and walked away, exchanging glances with Zhang Huaishen.

The look in their eyes was like the look they gave each other when they were caught by the head teacher and called out of the classroom and made to stand outside the classroom as punishment.

Without reverence, one has to rely entirely on one's thoughts to appear serious.

After watching Zhang Huaishen repeat the same action he had just performed, Liu Jilong turned around and walked out of the courtyard.

Mang Longhua at the door stared at him, but he ignored him.

After Zhang Huaishen came out, the two of them agreed with Mang Longhua on the time for tomb sweeping in the next two days, and then rode towards the yamen outside the city.

As for Jialin's government office, Mang Longhua would still temporarily reside there before he moved to Zhangye...

(End of this chapter)