Above the gate of Tongguan, looking at the people who were blocked outside the gate, Qu Tutong couldn't help but frown. Especially after those people made a fuss for a few times and were immediately frightened away by several Tang army soldiers. Qu Tutong couldn't help but frown. Tutong couldn't help but feel a wave of irritation in his heart.
Since the imperial edict came from Chang'an half a month ago, Li Yuan, who had just ascended the throne as emperor, ordered that the gate of Tongguan be closed and no one would be allowed to enter or exit Tongguan. And Qu Tutong also started to feel upset. Qu Tutong felt upset in his heart. It was not because Li Yuan ordered the blockade of Tongguan. It was because Li Yuan actually deposed Emperor Gong Yang You and ascended the throne as emperor himself.
When Qu Tutong surrendered to Li Tang, although he felt sorry for Yang Guang's support to him, after thinking about it, he was supported by Li Yuan. He was also the grandson of Yang Guang, and could be regarded as a bloodline of the Sui royal family. So Qu Tutong also You can comfort yourself by surrendering to the Sui Dynasty but not to the Tang Dynasty. But now Li Yuan actually deposed the Sui Emperor and established himself as the emperor. So now Qu Tutong is no longer a Sui minister. This makes Qu Tutong even more unable to deceive himself. Already.
It's not that Qu Tutong never thought about leaving. But firstly, his surrender back then had already left the mark of Li Tang on his body. Who else in the world dares to accept him? Secondly, Li Yuan seemed to I also guessed that Qu Tutong would be dissatisfied, so he sent people to isolate Qu Tutong early. Now within this pass, Qu Tutong can only command more than ten soldiers under his command. As for Tongguan The other people inside would not obey Qu Tutong's orders at all. On the contrary, if Qu Tutong showed any signs of rebellion, these soldiers would immediately capture Qu Tutong and take him to Chang'an.
Of course, this second point is not the important reason that restricts Qu Tutong. Since Qu Tutong can become a famous general in the Sui Dynasty and guard the Western Capital for Yang Guang, he is naturally not an easy person. How can he be controlled by a few juniors. What Qu Tutong really cares about is the first point. The only one in the world who can truly accept him is the King of Liang who dominates Luoyang. But the enmity between Wan He and Li Yuan is a fact known to everyone in the world. Will a surrendered general of the Tang Dynasty rush to Luoyang and end up with the same fate as now? Qu Tutong is not sure about this. This is a matter related to his own life. Qu Tutong Don't dare to make a decision casually.
"Dad." Just when Qu Tutong was standing there alone in a daze, a shout came from behind. But it was a young general who looked somewhat similar to Qu Tutong who came over and looked at Qu Tutong. Tong just asked: "What are you doing here?"
This young general was Qu Tushou, the eldest son of Qu Tutong. Qu Tutong turned to look at Qu Tushou in his eyes, but there was no warmth in his eyes like a father towards his son. Instead, he was full of indifference. He was just cold. Humph. He said, "Why should I report to you?" After saying that, Qu Tutong turned around and walked towards the pass.
Regarding Qu Tutong's words, a trace of embarrassment immediately flashed on Qu Tushou's face. Of course he knew why his father treated him like this. When Qu Tutong was trapped in Tongguan, he had already surrendered to Li Tang. And He also came to persuade Qu Tutong to surrender on behalf of Li Tang. This was a great humiliation for Qu Tutong, who had always regarded himself as a loyal minister of the Sui Dynasty. If it was just this, it would be fine. I don’t know who persuaded Li Yuan Idea. In order to prevent Qu Tutong from rebelling this time, Li Yuan actually sent Qu Tushou to Tongguan to evade Qu Tutong's control in Tongguan. In this way, Qu Tutong would not hate Qu Tushou until he died.
Although he felt helpless, Qu Tushou still gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He knew that he had done nothing wrong by surrendering to the Li family. Otherwise, the Qu Tu family would have been killed by the Li family a few years ago. Where is the current scenery? Qu Tushou turned his head and looked at the people who were still making noise before closing the door again. He became more and more determined in his heart. Hold on. As long as you can pass this level, you can win the trust of the Li family. .When the time comes, their Qutu family will definitely become a family of famous generals in the world again.
After Qu Tutong returned to the pass, he simply went straight into his house and sat in his room alone, sulking. After a while, there was a knock on Qu Tutong's door. Qu Tutong couldn't help but He was stunned for a moment. Then he shouted and asked: "Who is it?"
"General." The voice of Qu Tutong's confidant came from outside the door. "There are two people who claim to be the general's old friends and come to visit the general."
"My old friend." Hearing this, Qu Tutong's heart skipped a beat. Although there were several households of common people in Tongguan, apart from these common people, the rest were all the troops stationed in Tongguan. Among these people Inside, where did Qu Tutong's old friend come from? Qu Tutong's first feeling was that there was something wrong. When he walked quickly to the door, he opened it directly. He frowned and looked at the man guarding the door. The confidant shouted and asked: "What kind of person is he?"
"One is a middle-aged scholar. He looks very frail. The other is a young man. But he has obviously practiced kung fu." The confidant immediately described the characteristics of the two people who came to visit Qu Tutong. It was obviously observed. Very carefully. Then he added: "The one who is said to be an old friend of the general is the middle-aged scholar. As for the young man, he should be protecting the middle-aged scholar."
"Middle-aged scholar." After hearing this, Qu Tutong couldn't help but frown. He was a martial artist, so he had no old friends with scholars. But instinctively, Qu Tutong felt that there was another mystery in this. He hesitated for a moment. He still said: "Invite the person into the living room. I will go see him later."
"Here." The henchman immediately responded and retreated. Qu Tutong hesitated for a long time, but still couldn't guess who the other party was. After thinking for a long time, Qu Tutong finally gave up and stepped forward directly. Walk to the living room.
Soon, Qu Tutong had arrived outside the living room. From a distance, he saw two figures in the hall. One was sitting and the other was standing. Qu Tutong obviously did not recognize the standing young man. But He could also feel the other party's extraordinary strength from the other party. As for the middle-aged man sitting on the chair, drinking a sip of tea, Qu Tutong felt familiar, but he still couldn't recognize the other party. He waited until Qu Tutong left. Entering the hall, when he was about to say hello to the two of them, his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked at the middle-aged scholar with surprise on his face and asked: "You... you are Mr. Wang Gui."
"Hahahaha." When he saw Qu Tutong, he recognized himself at a glance. Wang Gui also laughed. He stood up directly and saluted Qu Tutong. He smiled and said: "Long time no see. General Qu Tutong is here well." "
Qu Tutong knew early on that Wang Gui had betrayed the Li family. This time Tongguan was blocked. The arrest order issued from Chang'an also included Wang Gui's arrest order. But Qu Tutong was not there to see him. After arriving at Wang Gui, the surprise at the beginning turned into the extremely strange expression now. However, he did not order his cronies to take him down. After a long time, Qu Tutong looked uncertain. He yelled to the left and right: "Everyone, get out of here. No one is allowed to break in without my order."
Qu Tutong suddenly issued such an order. Wang Gui, who was standing opposite Qu Tutong, and Zhang Qingyu who was following Wang Gui, immediately had a flash of joy in their eyes. This time Wang Gui took the initiative to come to Tongguan to persuade Qu Tutong to surrender. As for Zhang Qingyu, it was because Tongguan was now blocked. With Wang Gui’s small arms and legs, he naturally couldn’t sneak into Tongguan. So Zhang Qingyu, who was almost in good condition, was sent to escort Wang Gui into Tongguan.
The so-called natural barrier in Tongguan actually only stops ordinary people. But for martial arts masters who can go up and down, it is like flat ground. So with the help of Zhang Qingyu, Wang Gui naturally came to the pass easily. And under the protection of Zhang Qingyu, he avoided those Tang soldiers all the way and came to find Qu Tutong. It turned out that the biggest worry was that Qu Tutong was too loyal to Li Tang. Then Wang Gui was sending a sheep into the tiger's mouth. But now it seems Qu Tutong's attitude was clearly rebellious. In this way, Wang Gui's mission was not impossible to complete.
Just when Wang Gui and Zhang Qingyu glanced at each other with smiles on their faces, Qu Tutong also sighed and said: "Master Wang, Qu Tutong also knows a thing or two about your purpose of coming here. But now this Tongguan is no longer under my control. I am just a decoration here. Even if I promise to help you, I can't help you with this matter. I can't help you out."
Wang Gui heard Qu Tutong's words. Instead of being disappointed, he smiled. Now that he had heard that Qu Tutong had objections, the biggest difficulty had been solved. What Qu Tutong said just now .It's just an excuse. Wang Gui could hear it. Qu Tutong just didn't want to take too many risks. Then Wang Gui smiled at Qu Tutong and said: "General Qu Tutong, you and I are both To be honest, if General Qutu is living a comfortable life now, I will not disturb General Qutu's good life. But now General Qutu is not happy. Has General Qutu never been like this? I regret my decision that day.”
Of course Qu Tutong knew that the regret Wang Gui mentioned was referring to his surrender to Li Tang. Thinking of this matter, Qu Tutong's face suddenly sank. But in front of Wang Gui's face Qu Tutong didn't know what to say. He just looked around with a little embarrassment. He seemed to be making sure that no one was eavesdropping. After a long time, Qu Tutong let out a long sigh and said: "Mr. Wang Now that everything is known, I won’t say anything more. Living in the Tang Dynasty is becoming more and more uncomfortable day by day. Li Yuan doesn’t trust me. I can only stay here for the rest of my life, until I die. .”
PS: I recently checked the information and found out that Qu Tutong’s surname is not Qu, but Qu Tu. This is a compound surname. It is more common among Hu people. I hereby explain it. Book friends, please correct me in the future~~