My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 554: Submit your name!
A thunderous roar seemed to echo in Erzhu Rong's mind, as if a bolt from the blue had struck.

He stared intently at the messenger who had come to deliver the message, so much so that the messenger didn't dare to breathe, keeping his head down and trembling with fear.

"Hahaha, impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Dao Yuan would never betray me so easily! You must have misjudged him!"

"Prime Minister..."

The scout said, forcing himself to speak, "This humble general saw it clearly; it was indeed the 'Dou' character flag on Pinggao City."

Erzhu Rong, who had been laughing, suddenly froze, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness, falling off his horse.

"Prime Minister! Prime Minister!!"

Wang Xiang was shocked. He quickly dismounted and rushed over to help Erzhu Rong up.

"Prime Minister!"

Wang Xiang was anxious and flustered. Even though Erzhu Rong regarded him as a confidant, he was still thrown into a panic when faced with such a sudden situation.

After a long while, Erzhu Rong slowly opened his eyes.

"Why are you all looking so long-faced? I'm not dead yet!"

With Wang Xiang's help, Erzhu Rong managed to steady himself. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and tried to mount his horse. "I don't believe Dao Yuan would betray me so easily! I want to witness it for myself."

He tried to mount the horse several times but failed, so Wang Xiang had to grab him.

"Prime Minister, the situation in Pinggao is currently uncertain. You should not put yourself in danger! The heavy responsibility of the nation rests on your shoulders. If you..."

Erzhu Rong forcefully kicked Wang Xiang to the ground, yelling, "Get out of the way!"

He struggled to mount his horse, then waved his hand and shouted, "Continue onward!"

By this point, Erzhu Rong had already come to believe what the cavalryman had said, but Zhu Hunyuan had truly betrayed him.

but……

In this situation, he absolutely could not show any weakness; he had to be tough and hold on to the end to minimize the impact of Kezhu Hunyuan's rebellion.

If someone takes the lead, the generals of other cities will also open their gates and surrender, creating a domino effect that will make things difficult to control.

As they traveled to the vicinity of Pinggao, Erzhu Rong found a high vantage point to look out over the city walls.

really.

The flag bearing the character "Dou" fluttered in the wind atop the city wall.

Erzhu Rong gritted his teeth, and another sharp pain shot through his forehead, forcing him to suppress his anger and take deep breaths to calm himself.

The guards around him didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Riding on horseback, Erzhu Rong gazed at Pinggao City in the distance. After a long silence, he slowly spoke, "Pass on my military order: the army must quickly retreat to Beizhong City."

He then looked at Wang Xiang and said, "Go and have Lingchuo come to see me in Beizhong City."

Before leaving, Erzhu Rong gave Pinggao one last look, his face grim, and said, "Anyone who dares to discuss this matter in private will be killed without exception!"

His thoughts were in disarray. He needed to gather his trusted confidants, including Su Chuo, to his side and devise a countermeasure before the news spread, to prevent further unforeseen events from overwhelming him.

………………

Inside Pinggao City.

Dou Tai had already entered the city and met Ke Zhu Hunyuan in the prefect's mansion.

"Hahaha, Daoyuan, it's been a long time! You're still as dashing as ever, brother."

But Zhu Hunyuan looked at Dou Tai coldly, far less enthusiastic than Dou Ningshi, "Dou Ningshi, your move is so vicious, putting me in a position of disloyalty and injustice!"

"A soldier never tires of deceit."

Dou Tai chuckled and then said bluntly, "If you trusted the traitor Erzhu Rong, how could you have fallen for this trap? Your abandonment of darkness and embrace of light proves that in your heart, Erzhu Rong is a villain who cannot succeed."

"you……"

Zhu Hunyuan had no reply, so he could only wave his hand and snort coldly, no longer arguing.

Dou Tai is right.

This strategy wasn't particularly clever; it was simply exploiting an information gap.

He took advantage of the mutual distrust between Erzhu Rong and the generals leading troops in the field, especially generals like Kezhu Hunyuan who had connections with the Gao brothers.

People naturally seek advantage and avoid harm.

Upon learning that Erzhu Rong had not given prior notice, he led his army in a hurry toward Pinggao.

Zhu Hunyuan's first reaction was that Erzhu Rong was going to attack him, so in order to protect himself, he had no choice but to open the city gates and surrender first.

Did Erzhu Rong bring his large army to demand an explanation?

Or should we just come and take a look?

But Zhu Hunyuan dared not gamble.

Just as Dou Tai said, in the end, it was because he no longer trusted Erzhu Rong, so when faced with danger, he subconsciously followed his heart and made this choice.

"The situation is unclear at the moment, but I will definitely bring some good wine to apologize to you later."

Dou Tai adopted a very humble posture, and then took out a letter from his pocket.

"This is a letter from the Prime Minister that I entrusted to you, my esteemed brother."

However, after reviewing Gao Yu's handwritten letter, Zhu Hunyuan realized that the scheme was entirely Gao Yu's doing. Gao Yu was very cunning.

He targeted those who were prone to developing mutual suspicion with Erzhu Rong.

People like Hou Mochen Yue, Heba Yue, and Heba Sheng, Gao Yu would never use this trick, because it wouldn't work.

This group of people would not be able to betray Erzhu Rong, nor would they be suspected by Erzhu Rong.

It was precisely people like Ke Zhu Hunyuan who had such an opportunity.

But when Zhu Hunyuan finished reading, his expression became strange. He suddenly looked up at Dou Tai and asked, "Does the Prime Minister dare to let me continue to lead troops to defend Pinggao? Isn't he afraid that I will betray him?"

Under normal circumstances.

These surrendered generals would be stripped of their military power immediately and sent to Ye City to meet Gao Yu.

When it will be reinstated depends entirely on Gao Yu's mood.

Even if they were put into service immediately, it would be impossible to let them continue to lead the previous soldiers; instead, they would have to be sent to an unfamiliar environment where they had no loyal followers.

But Gao Yu didn't play by the rules and actually used him directly.

This extraordinary level of trust left Kezhu Hunyuan in disbelief.

Dou Tai chuckled and said, "Why wouldn't I dare? The Prime Minister said that Dao Yuan, you are a smart man. A smart man can see the situation clearly, and a smart man will not easily betray the Prime Minister."

"Besides, so what if you betrayed us? The Prime Minister persuaded you to surrender because he cherished the lives of our soldiers and did not want to cause unnecessary casualties, not because he was afraid of you. Even if you stubbornly resist, it will be in vain. The traitor Erzhu Rong is showing signs of weakness and is beyond saving. This is the will of Heaven!"

Zhu Hunyuan's expression was complicated, and in the end he could only sigh.

I said both good and bad things.

Even a fortified city like Yewang was conquered by Gao Yu's army in just one day, so Pinggao is no fortified city at all.

This actually makes Gao Yu seem more sincere.

He tried to persuade Gao Yu to surrender out of consideration for their past relationship, in order to reduce casualties among his soldiers. But if Ke Zhu Hunyuan naively thought that Gao Yu was afraid of him, then he would be very wrong.

"Daoyuan! Give me a straight answer."

"Do I have any other choice now?"

Zhu Hunyuan said helplessly, "I am willing to surrender to the Prime Minister."

"it is good!"

Dou Tai was overjoyed!

He turned around and summoned his personal guard, "Go to Yewang immediately and inform General Quan Jun of the news. Tell him to assemble a large army. If Erzhu Rong raises troops to attack, come to Pinggao's aid at any time!"

"You! Send this message back to Shanyang, and have them immediately inform the Prime Minister of Daoyuan's surrender, requesting further instructions from the Prime Minister!!"

The guards left one by one after receiving accurate information.

Dou Tai, on the contrary, became a lonely figure.

But Zhu Hunyuan said, “Ning Shi, you trust me that much? You are He Liuhun’s brother-in-law. If I were to tie you up and send you to Luoyang right now, it would be a great achievement!”

Dou Tai laughed and said, "What is there to fear? The Prime Minister is right. You are a smart man and should know that... even if you arrest me, you cannot change the deteriorating situation in Hanoi County. The Prime Minister has many brave warriors under his command. Losing just one Dou Tai will not change the overall situation."

But Zhu Hunyuan did not respond.

Dou Tai is absolutely right.

It's not like we captured Gao Yu alive, just Dou Tai, which is not enough to affect the overall situation.

On the contrary, it would completely offend Gao Yu, leaving him with no chance to recover in the future.

As far as he was concerned, if he surrendered to Gao Yu now, Gao Yu would treat him well.

He was set up as an example for other members of Erzhu Rong's forces who were secretly considering surrendering.

Gao Yu's decision to have him stay in Pinggao to continue leading troops was, in a way, a tactic intended to impress others.

Zhu Hunyuan sighed, “As a surrendered general, I have not made any contributions, yet I have gained such trust and importance from the Prime Minister. I am truly ashamed... Since things have come to this, I will... present a ‘pledge of allegiance’ to express my gratitude.”

"Oh?"

Dou Tai countered, "What does Daoyuan wish to send?"

Zhu Hunyuan did not answer him, but instead beckoned his younger brother to come over and took the seal from his waist.

"Go... take my seal and personal guards to Huai County and inform General Yao Xiong, the garrison commander of the city, that the bandit Gao's army is attacking and Pinggao is in danger, and request that he bring reinforcements to relieve the siege."

"Remember, you must act convincingly and not give yourself away!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Huntianyuan readily agreed, took the seal, and hurriedly left.

But Zhu Hunyuan then summoned his personal guards, "Go, convey my military order, and gather the soldiers!"

He finally looked at Dou Tai and said, "I still need Ning Shi's help in this matter. Come with me out of the city to ambush the reinforcements."

Dou Tai immediately saw through Ke Zhu Hunyuan's thoughts.

Huai County is to the east of Pinggao, so it was impossible for Erzhu Rong to have sent the news of Kezhu Hunyuan's rebellion there so quickly.

Zhu Hunyuan was able to use this to lure the garrison in Huai County to come out of the city to rescue Pinggao.

By setting up an ambush halfway, the garrison of Huai County can be defeated in one fell swoop, helping Gao Yu to take Huai County in one fell swoop!
This is also a way to pledge allegiance to Gao Yu!
(End of this chapter)