A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 240: Ten Brothers Become Brothers
midnight.

Central Army Tent,

The north wind carried snow particles, making the cowhide tent rustle.

Qin Qiong tapped his fingertips lightly on the scabbard, and the flame of the tallow candle flickered with the howling cold wind outside the tent, stretching the more than ten figures in the tent into a long distance.

"Bing Yuanzhen's adopted son,"

Cheng Yaojin squatted down and used his rough fingers to look at the faces of the three corpses. He recognized one of them at a glance. It was the military supervisor sent by Bing Yuanzhen to their army and one of Bing Yuanzhen's many adopted sons.

"Why did he die? Could it be that he wanted to assassinate my second brother?" Li Junxian was puzzled. This general had the lowest military rank among all the generals, just like Chang He, only a fourth-rank cavalryman, but he had superb martial arts. Although his riding, shooting, and horse lance skills might not be as good as Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin, he was very good at boxing and kicking, especially in grappling techniques.

"because I."

The curtain was suddenly lifted, and a cold wind wrapped in snow foam rushed in. Luo Shixin walked out with Li Yi.
The generals stood up in an uproar, and some even pressed their hands on the hilts of their swords.

"Everyone, sit down!" Qin Qiong's voice was like thunder, and the tent was instantly quiet. "You all recognize Luo Dadan. This is General Li Yi, the commander-in-chief of the Li Tang Valley Waterway and the founding marquis of Qianshui County."

Cheng Yaojin came over and suddenly slapped Li Yi on the shoulder with his big hand like a palm leaf fan. Li Yi groaned and staggered half a step. Cheng Yaojin, with his full beard, grinned and said, "I thought he was some extraordinary person, but it turns out he is just a delicate young man.
Why would Li Tang use a child as the chief military commander?

"Li Yuan is your father?"

Li Yi was slapped so hard that half of his body was numb. "General Cheng, please be gentle. The arrow wound on my shoulder hasn't healed yet."

"Oh, sorry," Old Cheng quickly apologized with a smile, "I'm a martial artist, so I'm tough and thick-skinned, and I didn't know how to control my strength. Please forgive me, Steward Li."

A few people sat down again, and the atmosphere in the tent relaxed a little.

"Second brother, although Bing Yuanzhen's adopted son has hundreds of people, this one is the one he favors the most. He even holds a sixth-rank military rank, Qianniu Beishen. If he were to be killed, it would be hard to explain."

Luo Shixin snorted, "Old Cheng, do you really want to continue working for Wang Shichong and befriend a scoundrel like Bing Yuanzhen?"

Qin Qiong's eyes swept over the old brothers one by one.
"Brothers, tell us your opinions."

Cheng Yaojin spoke first, "If you ask me, now that things have come to this, there is nothing more to say. Let's just join Luo Dadan in surrendering to the Tang Dynasty.

As for Wang Shichong, to be honest, I really despise him. He is always nagging and whining. I have been fed up with him for a long time. He is a complete hypocrite, narrow-minded and likes to play tricks. Have you forgotten the battle he fought with us in Mangshan?

What's with the Duke of Zhou's dream, Yongtong, and even looking for a witch? He's just an old witch. Such a person will never achieve anything great."

His deputy general, Niu Jinda, also said bluntly, "Indeed, this guy likes to talk about every little thing, but his words are repetitive and have no focus, which makes people sleepy."

Wu Heita also said that Wang Shichong posted three notices at the gate of the Taiwei Mansion. One notice was for scholars who could handle government affairs, one was for soldiers who could fight in battles, and another was for people who could judge unjust cases and suspicious cases. Every day, hundreds of people recommended themselves or came to recommend themselves. Wang Shichong personally examined all of them and treated them with great hospitality, but he actually did not recruit many of them. He still liked to appoint his own people.

He asked officials to write letters to express their opinions and make suggestions. Even when others made serious suggestions, he ignored them and did not accept or implement them.

"This person loves to do small favors, it's so fake."

Chang He said that Wang Shichong also used cruel laws to govern. If one person in the family escaped, the whole family would be killed. If five families were to protect one person, the other four families would be executed. He also encouraged couples, fathers and sons, and brothers to inform on each other.

"Wang Shichong is not as good as Duke Wei."

Qin Qiong and others were originally from Wagang, and some were even officials of the Sui Dynasty. They were old rivals of Wang Shichong.

For example, Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin were all seriously injured during the battle of Mangshan and surrendered after being surrounded.
Now everyone has seen through Wang Shichong, especially after Luo Shixin surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Wang Shichong forced them to fight, which was even more obvious.

No one had much psychological burden about betraying Wang Shichong.

In troubled times, it was common for military generals to change sides. Cheng Yaojin was originally a local tyrant. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he formed an army to defend his hometown. Later, he led his troops to Wagang. Qin Qiong was originally an official army that suppressed bandits and was an old enemy of Wagang, but later he also went to Wagang. Last year, they both surrendered to Luoyang.

There is nothing wrong with voting for Li Yuan now.

But what about the family?

"Brother, our family is all in Luoyang. If we surrender to the Tang, what will happen to our wives, children, and elders?"

Still the same problem.

Li Yi spoke at this time.

"Generals, given the current situation, if you don't quickly protect yourselves and choose another wise leader, you will not only be in danger, but will also bring disaster to your wives, children, and parents. But if you switch sides with Lord Tang, at least you can protect yourself first.

You are safe. Your family is temporarily trapped in Luoyang, but there is always a chance to rescue them.

Whether you pay money to redeem him or exchange him for someone else, I believe the emperor of Chang'an will not ignore it."

The generals were silent.

"If we don't take the Three Forts and Five Strongholds within three days, Wang Shichong will also punish us. Now he has killed Bing Yuanzhen's adopted son. That son of a bitch will make a big fuss and will definitely accuse us of collaborating with the enemy and treason.

It's death either way, so why not rebel against him first?" Cheng Yaojin slammed his palm on the table.

Born into a wealthy family, Cheng Yaojin was a skilled archer and horseman, possessing a wealth of experience and insight. His family had been officials for generations. To be a wealthy local tyrant, one must be both wealthy and powerful.

Regarding the current world situation,
It is obvious to everyone that since Li Mi's defeat, the person with the most potential to conquer the world is Li Yuan of Guanzhong.

Liu Demin was the first to speak out in agreement. His elder brother, Liu Dewei, had followed Li Mi into the Pass and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty the previous year. He was granted the title of General Zuo Wuhou and the Duke of Teng County, and later served as Sima of the Bingzhou General Administration.

"Second brother."

The Liu Demin brothers were both generals under Pei Renji. Qin Qiong and Luo Shixin were originally generals under Zhang Xutuo. After Zhang Xutuo's death, Qin and Luo were transferred to Pei Renji's command. They had a good relationship with Jia Wuben and Jia Runfu.

Now Jia Runfu and Liu Dewei have both entered the pass first, and their official positions are also quite good.

"Old Niu, Old Wu, Old He, Old Tian, and Old Li, what about you? If you don't want to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, I won't stop you. You can return to Wang Shichong's camp after dawn." Qin Qiong said.

Niu Jinda blushed and said, "Second brother, are you scolding me, Old Niu? If we want to leave, we leave together. If we want to stay, we stay together. We are brothers who have fought side by side for many years. We are not like those mean people like Bing Yuanzhen."

Wu Heita, Li Junxian, Tian Liuan, and Chang He also expressed their willingness to surrender to the Tang Dynasty together.

"Manager Li, the eight of us brothers have come to you for help."

Li Yi was overjoyed.
"Second brother, why are you so reserved? I will immediately send someone eight hundred miles to urgently report to the Crown Prince and the Emperor of Chang'an. You are all famous generals of the time. The Sage will surely be extremely pleased and will not hesitate to reward you with official titles and rank."

Everyone started to call each other brothers.

Among the crowd, Luo Shixin, who was originally 19 years old, was the youngest, but now Li Yi is at the bottom.

At Luo Shixin's suggestion,

Li Yi, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Luo Shixin and ten other people each reported their age, ranked the elders and the younger ones, and treated each other as brothers.

Qin Qiong is the oldest and Li Yi is the youngest, but everyone is still used to calling him the second brother according to his ranking in the family, and Li Yi becomes the tenth brother or the oldest brother.

Cheng Yaojin said, "If we had known this would happen, why would we have fought to the death for two days, losing so many brothers in vain?"

Everyone sighed.

In fact, if Bing Yuanzhen’s adopted son had not died in the camp today, it would not have been so easy for everyone to make up their minds to abandon their families and join the Tang Dynasty.

early morning.

Wang Shichong and Bing Yuanzhen led their troops to the outside of Qin Qiong's camp.

"Qin Qiong, all the generals, listen to my orders. The Grand Commandant has issued an order for the eight generals of Qin Qiong to go and pay their respects to the Grand Commandant immediately."

After delivering the order, the messenger turned and left.

Cheng Yaojin slapped his thigh and said, "Why doesn't Wang Shichong come into the camp? Otherwise, we should capture him alive and present him to the emperor in Chang'an."

Qin Qiong frowned: "Wang Shichong suddenly led his troops here, I guess he must have noticed something."

"Maybe he just came to watch the fight. When the three-day deadline is up, he will use your knives to execute you." Luo Shixin sneered.

"Now that he's here, let's raise the flag."

"Change the flag and replace it with the red flag of the Tang Dynasty!" Qin Qiong ordered.

The Sui flag fell in the camp.

The red flag of the Tang Dynasty was slowly raised.

The remaining 5,000 soldiers and horses of the entire camp gathered together.

Qin Qiong and his generals, wearing bright armor, rode their horses forward.

"The Sui Dynasty has run its course, and Wang Shichong is no longer a wise ruler."

"Today, we are willing to submit to the wise ruler, the Tang Emperor. Those who are willing to submit to the wise ruler, the Tang Emperor, will wrap their arms with white scarves."

"If you wish to inherit and follow Wang Shichong, please leave the camp on your own!"

Most of these thousands of troops were former Wagang soldiers and former subordinates of the Eight Generals. At this time, they all expressed their willingness to follow Qin Qiong and others to join another wise leader.

More than 5,000 soldiers all had white scarves wrapped around their arms.

Follow Qin Qiong and others out of the camp and form a battle line.

Wang Shichong, who was outside the camp, had already discovered that something was wrong in the camp.
When he saw Qin Qiong and others riding horses to the front of the battle,

When Luo Shixin appeared next to him, his face turned red with anger.

Bing Yuanzhen excitedly shouted: "General, I have already said that Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin and others have been secretly plotting rebellion with Luo Shixin for a long time. They are in the same group."

"Captain, these rebel generals must all be executed."

Wang Shichong shouted angrily, "Shut up."

Qin Qiong, Li Yi and ten other generals slowly stepped forward.
"Qin Qiong, why did you betray me?" Wang Shichong raised his whip and pointed at Qin Qiong and asked.

Qin Qiong bowed to Wang Shichong on his horse and said, "Although I have been honored with this special honor, I cannot serve you. Please take my leave now!"

He also gave Wang Shichong some face, and even if he changed sides at the last minute, he didn't want to break off relations with him and say something unpleasant.

"Cheng Yaojin, I treated you well, why did you betray me?"

Old Cheng hated Wang Shichong the most, but his wife, Sun, and others were still in Luoyang, so he could only bow slightly and say, "I am grateful for your hospitality, and I wish to repay you. However, you are suspicious by nature and prone to believe in slander. You are not a place for me to stay. I respectfully take my leave."

You are a suspicious person, and you like to believe the slander of villains like Bing Yuanzhen. I really can't work with you. Goodbye.

Liu Demin said that the Mandate of Heaven had returned to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Emperor had fulfilled the prophecy that the Li family would rule the world. General Wang, you are a capable man, so why don't you follow the trend and join the Tang Dynasty.

Wang Shichong was so angry that he almost died.

Bing Yuanzhen also clamored for Wang Shichong to give orders immediately, send troops to flatten Qin Qiong's camp, capture Nangang Fort, and behead these rebel generals and soldiers as sacrifices.

"How dare you bully me!" Wang Shichong drew his sword and pointed angrily at Qin Qiong and other generals.

At this moment,

In the distance, along the banks of the Gushui River, came the sound of a horn.

East,

Dust and fog rose everywhere,

A huge army swept in like a red tide.

A Zheng scout rushed to the front of the army and said, "Report, report to the Grand Commandant, the Tang Crown Prince Li Jiancheng is leading his army to attack us. His general Yang Mao is leading the vanguard cavalry and is only ten miles away!"

On Nangang Fort,

The smoke of war is rising,

Wang Shichong gritted his teeth, glared at Qin Qiong and others fiercely, then looked at the Tang flag that appeared in the east, and finally could only wave his hands helplessly.

"withdraw troops!"

Qin Qiong and his generals had already rebelled. They had their backs against Nangang Fort. Now the Tang Crown Prince Li Jiancheng led his army to attack. Wang Shichong did not want to be attacked from both sides, so he retreated decisively.

The entire army slowly retreated to the camp outside Guzhou. Wang Shichong hesitated for a long time, but finally ordered the camp to be disbanded and the troops to return to the capital.

The second siege of Guzhou was still unsuccessful.

"Li Yi," Wang Shichong kept muttering this name on the way back to Luoyang. A sixteen-year-old young man actually persuaded nine of his generals to rebel. How hateful.

"Investigate this Li Yi for me. I want all the information about him. I want to know what kind of person is this who could have persuaded all the nine Wagang generals, whom I treated so well and won over, to rebel, just by talking."

Bing Yuanzhen came over,
"Taiwei, I seem to have heard of this Li Yi. He seems to be, yes, the son-in-law of Du Yan, the Chief Clerk of the Taiwei Mansion, the Minister of Personnel, and the Duke of Anji!"

Wang Shichong was stunned. Du Yan’s son-in-law?
(End of this chapter)