"Those who have evil ambitions will not wait for success. Those who are the first to commit crimes will be guilty of particularly serious crimes. Those who are upright will be punished lightly." [Spring and Autumn Fanlu·Essence]
"...You!" A bad thought flashed through Hu Zhen's mind. He reined in his restless mount and shouted around: "Since the imperial court has pardoned us, why are we going back on our word? Aren't we afraid of ten people outside the city?"
Wan Dajun?"
"Hu Zhen, Yang Ding, when you two betrayed the imperial court on the battlefield and Ah Fu rebelled, you should have thought that this day would happen. How could you have the face to beg for pardon from the imperial court?" Lu Ben ordered Zhang Liao to surround him with hundreds of people.
Gongmen said coldly.
At this time, behind Li Jue and others, Wang Zhong led his troops to block the door, and in front of them were surrounded by Zhang Liao. Strong bows and crossbows were lined up on the four walls, making it difficult for them to fly.
At this time, no matter how stupid he was, he had figured out the whole story, but he really couldn't believe that Jia Xu, whom he had always trusted, would betray him and secretly defect to the court.
As if he could see what Li Jue was thinking, Jia Xu said loudly: "Li Zhiran, before the army started, the imperial court sent an envoy to Shaanxi County with an edict of pardon. Your Majesty has already pardoned us, why did you conceal the news in private and coerce us to follow?"
Are you rebelling? Since you were the first to be unjust, don’t blame me for being the last to betray you."
As soon as these words came out, not only Guo Si next to him, but also Dong Cheng next to Jia Xu looked stunned. Zhang Ji had obviously been informed by Jia Xu in advance and looked at him coldly as he had coaxed and frightened them to lie to them.
Li Jue, who rebelled, spat on the ground.
"General Fan!" Jia Xu said: "Li Jue, Guo Si, Hu Zhen, Yang Ding and others are all criminals designated by the imperial court as unpardonable. Your Majesty recognizes your bravery, never participated in the mastermind, and took the initiative to submit to you for your merits. I will spare your life."
, The official title remains the same. Come to us quickly, lest you be hurt by a stray arrow later."
Fan Chou's mood went from being frightened and angry towards the court at the beginning to resenting Li Jue after hearing what Jia Xu said. He also said that he was deeply implicated and thought he would die. It was not until he heard what Jia Xu said that he
His mind became active again.
Seeing that Fan Chou beside him was also moved by the words, Li Jue, who wanted to use the brave Fan Chou to fight out of the palace, said anxiously: "Fan Chou! We are the leader of the army, you must not listen to the villain's words!"
Although Fan Chou was reckless, he knew the situation at this time. He immediately sneered and turned his horse to run towards Jia Xu.
"You're such a fool!" Li Jue was furious and chased after him, drew his sword and cut him.
When Fan Chou heard the movement behind him, he quickly turned sideways to avoid it and at the same time drew his sword to fight.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Liao immediately ordered everyone to surround Li Jue and others with shields, and let the soldiers on the city wall and towers bend their bows and fire arrows.
"General Li!" Wang Ling, who had been hiding behind Zhang Liao, sneered: "Dong Zhuo died here more than a month ago. Since you claim to be the remnant of Dong Zhuo and have loyalty first, you can just go with him to show your heroism.
.”
Li Jue and others were unwilling to kill him, but they were no match for thousands of arrows piercing the heart.
After they died, Wang Ling sent someone to report the news to the palace, and at the same time asked Dong Cheng, Fan Chou and others to personally cut off the heads of Li Jue and others as certificates of surrender.
Jia Xuze, Zhang Ji, and Dong Cheng rushed to the south of Weiyang Palace with the heads of Li Jue, Guo Si and others.
A simple camp was stationed on the narrow corridor between Sima Gate and Xi'an Gate in the south of Weiyang Palace. The soldiers brought into the city by Li Jue and others temporarily stayed here.
At this time, these more than a thousand troops were blocked at the end of the street by the Northern Army Infantry Colonel Wei Jie and others. Shooting Colonel Jujun and guard Ling Gao Shun each led their troops to guard the palace and city walls on both sides.
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This group of tribesmen were surrounded from all sides, and they didn't know what was going on. They didn't say anything until Fan Chou and others arrived, and each of them called away his own cronies, leaving only Li Jue and others' guards in the circle.
Lieutenant Li Wei, Li Jue's younger brother, stood in the crowd and felt extremely anxious as he watched Fan Chou and others' personal soldiers being surrounded by groups of soldiers who were summoned to prepare for battle.
Seeing Jia Xu and Wei Jie whispering something to each other, Li Wei shouted to Jia Xu: "Jia Gong! May I ask what happened?"
Without even looking at him, Jia Xu ordered Fan Chou, Dong Cheng and all his men, then rode away, leaving Li Huan and others where they were.
An ominous premonition appeared in Li Wei's mind.
When Wei Jie saw this, he immediately said: "Li Jue, Guo Si, Hu Zhen, Yang Ding and others intend to cause rebellion and rebellion. Their crimes cannot be pardoned! I have received an edict from the emperor, specifically ordering us to lead troops to attack the traitors. May I
Those who respect the country will kneel down to avoid death! Those who disobey the king's orders will be killed without mercy!"
On the way to Xuanpingmen, Dong Cheng and Jia Xu walked side by side, and heard the faint voice of Li Wei and others' desperate resistance coming from behind. Compared with Fan Chong, who looked defeated and trembling, Dong Cheng was indifferent.
, and even had time to talk to Jia Xu.
"Jia Gong originally vowed to counterattack Chang'an and serve the country to punish disloyal subjects. Now I don't know when he clung to the imperial court. It really surprises me."
Dong Cheng had been in Hedong for a long time and had not personally experienced Jia Xu's resourcefulness like Li Jue and others. Even so, he did not dare to underestimate Jia Xu's influence on the rebel soldiers.
Originally, he thought that Jia Xu, as the culprit who proposed the counterattack on Chang'an, would definitely not be able to escape the imperial court's ambush. Unexpectedly, Jia Xu somehow gained the imperial court's trust and not only escaped death, but also had to pacify the army outside the city on behalf of the imperial court.
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Since Jia Xu cannot die for the time being, it would be better to take Jia Xu under his command and use his prestige in the army to allow Dong Cheng to more completely control the 100,000 troops outside the city.
Jia Xu nodded slightly and looked at Fan Chou beside him. Wang Fang and others also cast inquiring glances. He thought it was necessary to give an explanation: "Li Jue secretly killed the court angel and knew that the court had pardoned us, but he concealed it and did not report it."
, to deceive us into rebellion. How can these thieves, even if they are Paoze, work with us? In addition, Cai Gong was ordered to recruit, and the court's sincerity is obvious. Why should we die with Li Jue and abandon the wealth and honor in front of us?"
"What Mr. Jia said is that now the court is wise and clear about rewards and punishments. It is the time for men like us to make contributions and make achievements." Zhang Ji followed Jia Xu's lead and immediately agreed: "Back in Shaanxi County, Mr. Jia saved us and others.
Once again, this time Jia Gong saved me. If he betrayed his robe for his own benefit, it is Li Jue who deserves to be reviled! Not Jia Gong!"
Fan Chou, Wang Fang, and Li Meng looked at each other. After being flustered at first, they finally calmed down and thought about the cause and effect. Indeed, if Jia Xu hadn't come out to rescue him just now, Fan Chou would have ended up with Li Jue.
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What's more, what Jia Xu said was correct. Why should he work so hard to make knives for Li Jue and use his own life and that of the soldiers to satisfy his personal desires?
Seeing that Fan Chou and others were gradually showing gratitude to Jia Xu, Dong Cheng's heart was alarmed. He did not have the ability to win over people's hearts with just a few words like Jia Xu. At this time, he had to use his greatest advantage.
Dong Cheng said with emotion: "I went into the city this morning to inspect Wang Yun's body. Beforehand, I met Wang Bin, the emperor's uncle and the Lieutenant Commander of the Northern Army. He said that it was a pity that I, as a foreign relative, would willingly become a traitor! He also talked about all the pros and cons.
, I said that anyway. I thought at that time, if we and the hundred thousand soldiers can be settled well and each has a future, then what if we just surrender? What's more, we are the soldiers of the imperial court, not the lackeys of Li Jue and others, why should we lose them?
To risk one's own life and fulfill other people's fame?"
Having said this, even Jia Xu couldn't help but glance at Dong Cheng sideways, with a trace of scrutiny in his eyes.
Dong Cheng seemed to be encouraged and continued: "We were deceived and had no choice but to become thieves. For the sake of the lives and property of the soldiers, I made an agreement with Wang Bin at that time to earn Li Jue and others to enter the city and die in order to preserve their lives.
The three armies!"
"Thank you for your righteousness, thank you for your righteousness!" Fan Chou was greatly moved. He did not expect that Dong Cheng, who had not been in close contact with each other on weekdays, would do this for them.
Seeing that Jia Xu continued to be indifferent, but looked at him more and more leisurely, Dong Cheng swallowed and thought to himself, 'I have to conquer you this time!'
"Everyone, please relax. I, Mrs. Dong, have done a great job in raising you today. Wang Bin has promised me on behalf of the emperor. As a cousin, after this incident, my little daughter will move into Jiao Fang.
"Dong Cheng saw the change and everyone's expressions changed. Even Jia Xu's expression became much more solemn. He said proudly: "I will be the general by then, and you will be the same as me. Why worry about losing wealth?"
Fan Chou thought he had seen the situation clearly and was quick to speculate. He, Wang Fang, and Li Meng immediately bowed their hands to Dong Cheng on horseback and said, "We thank the general for your kindness in protecting him, and we are all willing to take the general as the leader!"
Dong Cheng laughed "haha" and turned to stare at Jia Xu, who was silent. Zhang Ji on the side did not speak, as if waiting for Jia Xu to express his position.
Jia Xu suddenly smiled and replied gently and politely: "Xu would like to congratulate the general in advance. I hope that the general will remember his friendship with Pao Ze and not forget to support us."
Zhang Ji immediately took action and followed Jia Xu to show his submission.
Dong Cheng felt relieved now. As long as he mastered absolute strength, he didn't believe that Jia Xu would have any other thoughts.