Although Liu Qi looked down on Wei Tong, he was ultimately unable to fight against the Queen Mother's will and led 30,000 troops out of the city to kill on the Qiantang River ten miles away. The Western Army's pontoon bridge was still being built, and endless tents appeared on the other side, with flags like a forest.
Groups of cavalry patrolled the river.
Lieutenant General Li Fuyuan whispered: "Looking at the Western Army, it doesn't look like they are about to cross the river."
Liu Qi said bitterly: "We can't cross the river in the first place. If the Western Army wants to enter Lin'an Mansion, they will advance together, not just from the south. That idiot Wei Tong doesn't understand, and he actually used the Queen Mother to suppress me!"
Another commander, Zhang Rui, said: "There are rumors that the Queen Mother wants to ascend the throne. Is it true?"
"It should be true. In fact, there are still several Zhao royal families in the city, but she doesn't consider the new emperor and obvious things."
"Does she want to be Wu Zetian's second?"
Liu Qi sighed: "If she had Wu Zetian's talent and strategy, I would be willing to support her, but she has nothing but ambition. She will lead the Song Dynasty into disaster!"
"It's better to support King Yong!" Lieutenant General Li Fuyuan said.
Liu Qi turned around and glared at him, "Don't talk nonsense!"
"Du Tong, I'm not talking nonsense. King Yong led his army in the Northern Expedition, regained the territory of the Han Dynasty, treated the people lightly, treated the people leniently, and the world has returned to its heart. Brothers all want to submit to the Western Army. This is what everyone is thinking."
At this time, a soldier came to report, "Someone from the Western Army came to deliver a letter, saying it was an autographed letter from King Yong!"
Liu Dutong is Liu Qiong, the younger brother of Liu Qi. Now the entire Liu family has taken refuge with King Yong, and only one Liu Qi is left. Liu Qi was recruited by Chen Qing many times, but he was favored by the emperor.
Willing to betray, now that the emperor has passed away and Weishi has shown signs of usurping the throne, Liu Qi naturally has no worries.
Dozens of generals around him suddenly cheered. According to rumors, 30,000 soldiers also cheered. They had long been unwilling to sacrifice their lives and wanted to surrender to the Western Army.
Lu Gang shook his head, "There will be no negotiations until she ascends the throne. You have to stabilize her. She not only has Lin'an but also Lingnan. She can go to Lingnan and continue to be the empress."
"Yes!" Zhu Shengfei said awkwardly.
Now Zhu Shengfei began to think about his future. Of course he would not be stupid enough to tie himself to Queen Mother Wei, but he found that even if he returned to his hometown to take care of his old age, Chen Qing would have to agree to it, not to mention what he would do if he still had descendants?
He was really a little anxious these days, so Lu Gang's visit made him feel like a drowning man holding on to a piece of wood. He hurriedly invited Lu Gang to his study in person.
"His Royal Highness King Yong hopes that Empress Dowager Wei will ascend the throne as emperor, establish Wei Hao, Wei Tong's son, as prince, and change the dynasty. He hopes that Xianggong Zhu can facilitate this as soon as possible."
He himself was from the Western Army, so he could accept it emotionally, but he couldn't lose face by asking him to eventually return to the Western Army.
At this moment, there was a chaos in the rear army, and the soldiers ran away one after another. Liu Qi asked in shock: "What's going on?"
"Xianggong Zhu should be well aware of the purpose of my coming here at this time!"
Some soldiers came to report, "Tens of thousands of Western troops came from the east and cut off our retreat."
He read two letters, especially the letter from His Highness King Yong, which he read twice. In the letter, King Yong still solicited him as before, inviting him to join him in destroying the Jin Dynasty and wash away the shame of Jingkang with the blood of a soldier's sword.
Second, cut the grass and roots and kill all the remaining Zhao royal family members in Lin'an City.
But what Wei Tong didn't expect was that the news of Liu Qi's army surrendering to the Western Army caused huge waves in the army, and the morale of the army was completely shaken. In fact, most of the soldiers were not from Lin'an, and their parents, wives, and children were all the sons of King Yong.
People, newspapers also published the news that the Western Army committed no crimes in Qiu and treated the people well, which had already spread among the soldiers.
"I didn't say anything. I have suppressed these words in my heart for a long time. It is obvious that the Song Dynasty is dead and there is no heir to the throne. It is obvious that Wei Shi wants to usurp the throne. My eldest brother wants to be loyal to Wei Tong and the Wei family. We will not do it!"
Zhu Shengfei nodded, "I can persuade her, but what about the negotiation?"
Especially when Chen Qing visited Lin'an, Zhu Shengfei had been in charge of negotiating with Chen Qing and got along well with him. He helped the emperor reach an agreement with Chen Qing. He was also the one who dealt with Wei Tong's kidnapping by Chen Qing and made Wei Tong pay a fee.
Large ransom.
For a moment, Liu Qi was extremely disappointed. How could a fool count the money for others after being sold?
Zhu Shengfei nodded, "What does Your Highness want me to do?"
"But you can think more carefully for her. I hope you can persuade her to do three things."
The last sentence touched him deeply, and Chen Qing also gave him enough face. Liu Qi glanced at the expectant eyes of the generals, nodded and said to the soldier who delivered the message: "I tell you Liu Dutong, I accept the invitation of His Highness King Yong.
, willing to be loyal to him!"
Liu Qi was immediately shocked. How could it be possible to come from the east?
"First, it is suggested that she follow Wu Zetian's example, establish a new Plum Blossom Guard, and kill all dissidents who oppose her ascension to the throne, except Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun can be placed under house arrest, but he cannot be killed.
His thoughts changed and he suddenly understood that the camp on the other side was empty. In fact, the Western Army had already crossed the river. This was obviously a trap. Could it be that it was an empty camp?
Of course Wei Tong was not a spy of the Western Army, and there was probably someone around him. Liu Qi thought of Sima Chun, and it was very possible that he had secretly surrendered to the Western Army, and encouraged Wei Tong, a fool, to let him fight.
Of course Zhu Shengfei was also considering his own retreat. In fact, he and Chen Qing did not have any deep hatred. When he was appointed as the Xuanfu envoy to Sichuan and Shaanxi, he basically ignored Chen Qing, who was still the envoy of Qinzhou at that time. When he was the prime minister, he did not act like Qin Hui.
Targeting the Western Army everywhere like that, he was more of a sympathizer.
Third, I can tell you that once she ascends the throne, Yang Yizhong will definitely rebel. Currently, Yang Yizhong already suspects that she assassinated the emperor, so she must kill Yang Yizhong."
Liu Qi immediately ordered the entire army to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Western Army.
"What three things?"
After a while, a messenger soldier was brought up, knelt down on one knee, saluted, and handed over two letters, "This is a letter from His Royal Highness King Yong and Liu Dutong!"
All the generals looked at Liu Qi together, and Liu Qi nodded, "Bring him up!"
"Have you finished speaking?" Liu Qi glared at him.
How could Zhu Shengfei not understand the intention of King Yong Chen Qing to let the Song Dynasty be destroyed at the hands of Wei Shi? He sighed and said: "Actually, she doesn't need my persuasion, she has already decided to do it."
Liu Qi was shaken. He knew that everyone was right. Wei Tong sent him out to fight in the city just to get rid of him with the help of the Western Army. Even Empress Dowager Wei issued an order to force him to fight. Wei wanted to eliminate him and completely control the military.
His intention was obvious, and he was at a loss for a moment.
"Then let's be honest! If Mr. Zhu still wants to return to his hometown to take care of his old age, or if he hopes that your son will continue to serve as the county magistrate in Yanzhou, then something must be done. Mr. Zhu should understand what I mean!"
Zhang Rui also advised: "The eldest brother is at odds with Wei Tong. Once Wei Shi usurps the throne, Wei Tong's son will be the heir to the throne. Will Wei Tong spare his eldest brother? Will he spare us?"
The news that Liu Qi's army surrendered to the Western Army soon spread to Lin'an City. Wei Tong, instead of feeling that he had done anything wrong, felt very lucky. Liu Qi must have secretly surrendered to the Western Army long ago and was preparing to cooperate with the outside world to capture Lin'an. Fortunately, he was
See through it yourself and drive out of Lin'an City, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.
As soon as night fell, a special guest came to Zhu Shengfei's house. The guest was none other than King Yong's special envoy Lu Gang.
Although the morale of the military has gradually disintegrated, those in power still have the thoughts of those in power. They don't really care about what the army does, but consider their own interests more.
Zhu Shengfei was stunned, "Do we really want her to go to Lingnan?"
Lu Gang said calmly: "I told you, it's just to stabilize her, everything is to allow her to successfully ascend the throne!"
"I see!"
Lu Gang stood up and put a letter on the table, "This is an autographed letter from His Highness King Yong to you. You can take a look at it!"