"Master Zhang is overthinking. His Highness King Yong never does anything to please the imperial court. You are surrendering, not prisoners of war. King Yong will treat those who surrender well. If Han Dutong surrenders, according to regulations, he will be demoted to the rank of commander and then continue to be used again."
Han Jin was startled and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Zhang Ziqi asked anxiously: "What if it's me?"
Wang Yong smiled slightly and said: "His Royal Highness King Yong has a very good impression of Mr. Zhang, exaggerating his generosity. He personally said that if Mr. Zhang is the head of a state, the people will be lucky. These are the exact words of His Highness King Yong. I
It is estimated that His Highness will use the young master as the governor of the state, maybe to know the affairs of Shouzhou."
Zhang Ziqi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said: "I understand, I will give you a clear answer before dark."
Wang Yong said goodbye and left. Zhang Ziqi asked Han Jin: "If I choose to surrender, will General Han object?"
Han Jin sighed and said: "The food for the soldiers is about to be cut off, what reason do we have to support us? The marshal wants to surrender, and I have no objection due to my humble position."
"Where are the other generals?"
Han Jin shook his head, "The prince is the marshal of the army. Such matters are decided by the marshal. There is no need to consider the wishes of his subordinates. Those who are not willing to be loyal to King Yong will choose to go home and work in farming."
Zhang Ziqi's biggest fear was that the Western Army would hand him over to the imperial court, and he would be beaten to death on the streets of Lin'an. This was the reason why he couldn't sleep all night.
Now King Yong will use his promise as a state official to relieve his worries. Zhang Ziqi no longer hesitated and immediately said: "Pass my order, put up a white flag on the top of the city, open the south gate, and order the soldiers of the three armies to put down their weapons and armor.
Get out of the city and surrender!”
The 90,000-strong army finally chose to surrender before food was cut off. Liu Qiong immediately promised everyone on behalf of King Yong that all soldiers would be released and returned to their hometowns, and all generals above the commander level would be demoted one level to be used by the Western Army. If you don't want to join the army, you can
Return to hometown.
When the news came out, the 90,000-strong army burst into cheers. At this moment, everyone wanted to spread their wings and fly home to reunite with their wives and children.
Liu Qiong arranged for the surrendered troops to have a good meal, and then led the army back to Jiangzhou. They would cross the river from Jiangzhou and head north. All the surrendered troops would be escorted to their hometown counties for release, so that they would not harass the people along the way.
In the northernmost part of Taiping Prefecture, there is a small village close to the Yangtze River called Cihuzhai. The village is less than 20 miles away from the Yangtze River and is under the jurisdiction of Dangtu County. The village is very small, with only a few dozen households, and is surrounded by low mountains.
, the people in the village make a living by farming, working at sunrise and resting at sunset. It has been very quiet for decades, and it is a paradise without any competition from the world.
But a war that took place in Niutoushan more than a hundred miles away caused this village to suffer disaster. Zhang Jun fled to this village with dozens of his soldiers.
Zhang Jun sent his men out to look for the boat, while he and other soldiers hid in the village.
At this time, Zhang Jun's ruthless side emerged. In order to prevent the villagers from reporting the news, he ordered his soldiers to kill all the men in the village. The soldiers' bestiality was stimulated by the killings, and they began to act recklessly in the village, raping women, and bullying the elderly and the weak.
.
Zhang Jun did not interfere. When he was about to leave, he killed all the men, women, old and children in the village.
After living in the village for four days, several of his men who were looking for the boat have not returned yet. Zhang Jun became worried. After all, this place belongs to Dangtu County, which is only forty miles away from Dangtu County. What if his men were captured by the west of Dangtu County?
If the army catches him, he will be in big trouble and he will be confessed.
At night, a soldier came to report that a woman had run away.
Zhang Jun was so angry that he yelled, "If you can't even look down on a woman, what use are you?"
The soldier explained with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, wasn't her son sick? He couldn't bear it today and died of illness. The woman said she would bury her son, so I went with her, but I waited for her for a long time before going to see her again.
, the hole was dug, but the people were gone.”
Zhang Jun slapped the table hard and said angrily: "That woman's husband was killed by you, and her son also died at your hands. You still believe her. I think you are confused. Why don't you go find her quickly?"
Go to the village entrance and she will definitely report the news!"
The soldier ran out in a panic. Zhang Jun ordered other soldiers to search for her together, but they couldn't find the woman even in the middle of the night. Zhang Jun ordered the soldier to be beaten with thirty sticks to punish him for his mistake.
Everyone brings a shadow of insecurity.
"Ah - someone come quickly!"
At the fourth watch, Zhang Jun was awakened by a shrill scream, followed by a series of screams. Zhang Jun heard that these were the screams of his own soldier Li Wu, who was beaten after letting the woman escape.
Thirty army sticks.
Zhang Jun stood up, put on his leather boots, drew his sword and rushed out. He saw two soldiers running towards him in a panic, "Your Majesty, it's bad, something happened!"
"what happened?"
"That woman brought many farmers, maybe hundreds of them, with hoes and sickles to kill our brothers. Your Majesty, please leave immediately!"
Zhang Jun was also panicked. He didn't care about taking his luggage and ran to the stable next door. "Bang!" The door was kicked open and dozens of young men holding hoes and sticks rushed in. Someone pointed at them and shouted, "This way.
There are three of them, kill them!"
The peasants roared and rushed forward with wooden sticks. Two soldiers held swords to resist, turning around and shouting, "My lord, leave quickly!"
In just a moment, the two soldiers were knocked to the ground, and wooden sticks and hoes dug like raindrops on their bodies and heads. The soldiers only screamed twice and then fell silent. Their necks were broken by the hoes.
Zhang Jun was panicked, rushed into the stable, and got on his horse. Unexpectedly, his legs were hugged by someone, and he shouted: "This thief wants to escape, everyone, come quickly!"
Zhang Jun stabbed the young man to death with a backhand sword, and then ran away. He killed three people in a row and opened a bloody path. He galloped, but after only ten steps, the horse neighed and fell heavily.
Falling to the ground, a farmer broke the horse's leg with a hoe. Zhang Jun fell heavily to the ground. Before he could get up, dozens of farmers swarmed up and struck him with sticks like raindrops. Poor Zhang Jun, a great hero, finally died.
Died at the hands of peasants.
This was also their retribution. The woman fled back to her parents' home in the neighboring village and cried out, which aroused the anger of the whole village. They united with more than 400 young and strong men from three villages and came to take revenge, killing Zhang Jun and his 30-year-old husband.
All the remaining soldiers were beaten to death, and finally their bodies were thrown into the Yangtze River and fed to the fish.
It was not until a month later that the magistrate of Tu County learned of the incident and led archers to investigate. Judging from the relics left by Zhang Jun: military symbols, gold medals, swords and other items, it was finally confirmed that Zhang Jun had died in Cihu Village.
Immediately, this news was published on the front pages of the "Beijing News" in Lin'an and Jingzhao.
"The hero fell down and died at the hands of a farmer!" reported in detail the events in Cihu Village, and the court also announced that Zhang Jun's rebellion was over.
