Chapter 4446 Surrender
The carriage passed through the streets and alleys of Chang'an City in the wind and rain, and finally arrived at Chengtian Gate. Chu Suiliang, who had been waiting here for a long time, breathed a long sigh of relief, and hurried forward to welcome the two people to the door, and helped them one after another. After dismounting, we entered the duty room inside Chengtian Gate together.
Chu Suiliang poured the hot water he had prepared into the teapot and made a cup of tea for each of them. Then he sat aside and asked with concern: "What was the result of the discussion?"
Ever since the two of them went to negotiate with Liu Rengui, he had been on tenterhooks. If the two were taken down by Liu Rengui, it would easily lead to all the Shandong private troops wanting to fight to the death. By then, if there was no "merit", Chu Suiliang would take it. How to win Li Chengqian's trust and how to return to court?
Now that I see the two of them coming back together, I feel relieved...
Xiao Yu took a sip of tea, exhaled a breath of cold air, picked up the handkerchief on the side and wiped the rain off his face, shook his head and sighed: "Liu Rengui is too shrewd and refuses to let go. This trip is in vain."
Cui Xin on the side said dullly: "It's not in vain. Judging from Liu Rengui's attitude, whether we surrender or not will not affect the outcome of the battle. This just proves that our choice is right."
Why does Liu Rengui have such a strong tone and attitude? Naturally, they believed that victory was within their grasp. Tens of thousands of Shandong private troops could not influence the outcome of the battle at all, so they refused to give any negotiation conditions. If Liu Rengui had not needed such a meritorious service, he would not even be able to see him...
Chu Suiliang nodded and asked: "How do you two decide?"
He didn't care what surrender conditions he had negotiated with Liu Rengui, he only cared about whether he surrendered. As long as the Shandong private army surrendered to Liu Rengui, it would be regarded as his merit, and he would be able to say it in front of His Majesty.
Xiao Yu asked: "How is the battle situation on King Jin's side?"
Chu Suiliang shook his head and said: "It is not optimistic. Although His Highness the King of Jin entered Wudemen, the King of Jiangxia County has been defeated and captured. Fang Jun blocked the way in and out of Wudemen. Now His Highness the King of Jin and the Duke of E If you storm Wude Hall, you will either capture Wude Hall and occupy the center, or you will be defeated, captured or killed.”
Xiao Yu sighed again and said helplessly: "The situation has changed. In the past, if we captured Wude Hall, we might be able to announce the central order to the world, ascend the throne as emperor, and force Li Chengqian to retreat to Hexi to regroup. But now even if it is After capturing the Wude Palace, Li Chengqian only had to exit the city through a secret passage and wait until Fang Jun calmed down the rebels in the city before he could come back. King Jin was surrounded and helpless in the Wude Palace, so who would listen to him? "
The three armies of An, Li, and Liu went to Chang'an and were defeated. The impact was so great that the garrison and nobles in Guanzhong were scared out of their wits and no longer dared to rush to Chang'an to support the King of Jin.
Even if someone is blinded by force, how can he break through the lines of defense of Cheng Yaojin, Li Jing, and Xue Wanche?
It now seems that although Li Jing and Xue Wanche were stationed outside the city, which put Taiji Palace in danger, precarious and even on the verge of collapse, and took huge risks, they cut off the way for the outside world to enter to support the King of Jin, leaving Youtunwei to face only the enemy The rebels, but not the entire city of Chang'an and its surroundings, fell into a full-scale melee, causing the situation to collapse and Guanzhong to be turbulent.
And Youtunwei did indeed live up to his expectations. He blocked ten times the enemy force with his own strength, and finally ushered in a reversal of the situation...
The strategy is right.
Xiao Yu looked at Cui Xin: "Is that settled?"
Cui Xin gave a wry smile and exclaimed: "What can we do otherwise? Liu Rengui dared to let us come back because he didn't want all the Shandong private troops to die in Chang'an City, which would cause Shandong to be alienated from the central government and full of hidden dangers. We also have sufficient confidence, and those who know the current affairs are heroes. Not only do we have no room for bargaining, but we also have no ability to change our fate against the will of heaven. ”
It is not difficult to make the decision to surrender, but it is extremely difficult to face the situation of stabilizing the land of Shandong after suffering heavy losses, and even to preserve the few assets of the Shandong family.
He had been pampered all his life. As the head of the Bolingcui family and the leader of the Shandong family, he was extremely glorious and highly respected. However, when he was old, he had to swallow the bitter fruit of failure, which ruined a generation of the Shandong family.
It is conceivable that after returning to Shandong in the future, he will face the kind of criticism and rejection from the children of Shandong, and his reputation will be lost for the rest of his life...
At this point, we can only admit our mistakes and stop the losses in time. Even if we cannot obtain additional benefits during the negotiations, we must try our best to bring as many Shandong students to Shandong so that they can return home and retain their vitality.
Seeing that the two of them had made a decision, Chu Suiliang was afraid of long nights and dreams, so he couldn't help but urge: "It's better to act sooner rather than later. It's better to act quickly."
Xiao Yu and Cui Xin nodded together.
The King of Jin is still fighting fiercely in Wudemen and is in danger, but there is a huge difference between surrendering to Liu Rengui before his defeat and surrendering after his defeat. Now surrender means changing evil and returning to the right, abandoning darkness and turning to the light. It will be brought to the King of Jin after his defeat To surrender means to be desperate and treacherous. Not only will you not be treated with leniency, but it will also lead to infamy.
Xiao Yu said: "I'll leave everything to Cui Gong."
Cui Xindao: "It's my duty."
Now that the troops gathered at Zhuque Gate, Chengtian Gate, and even the entire imperial city are Shandong's private troops, they naturally need Cui Xin to order them to surrender and be appeased. However, because the Shandong family has suffered heavy losses this time, and because he is worried that His Majesty will lose his mind in anger and severely punish the Shandong family, Xiao Yu and Chu Suiliang must be brought together.
Xiao Yu is the leader of the Jiangnan gentry and surrenders to His Majesty along with him. Your Majesty has to worry about whether the Jiangnan gentry will feel bitter if they severely punish the Shandong family, which will lead to unrest in the entire Jiangnan region.
Although Chu Suiliang had little power, and the Qiantang clans had no qualifications to influence the situation, he was an old minister of the Zhenguan Dynasty after all, and had been accompanying Emperor Taizong since the beginning of his Eastern Expedition. After all, he was somewhat weak-minded to Li Chengqian...
After walking out of the house, Cui Zhixin looked up at the sky where dark clouds gathered. He let the cold wind carry the rain and hit his face. He exhaled heavily and called the disciples of Shandong aristocratic families who were waiting outside the door to him and gave them instructions one by one.
After hearing that Cui Xin ordered all Shandong private troops to lay down their weapons, surrender on the spot, and wait for the custody and supervision of the navy, these Shandong men not only did not feel the slightest humiliation of surrendering without a fight, but they all breathed a sigh of relief and immediately complied and returned to their respective ministries. Convey orders.
Shandong has had many heroes since ancient times. Although they were just hastily raised private armies, they also had the bloody spirit to fight to the death. However, this time they entered Chang'an City in an attempt to overthrow the imperial power, but were killed by the Navy's Mo Dao Team. They were completely frightened and brave. Being chilled by the wind and rain.
Until now, with the continuous advancement of the Navy Modao Team, both sides of Zhuque Street have been piled with the corpses of Shandong private soldiers, layer upon layer, densely packed, and the entire long street is soaked in blood donations, even in this heavy rain. The donated blood gurgling out of the corpse cannot be washed away... Who wouldn't be frightened by such a tragic scene?
Soon, the entire Shandong private army from Chengtian Gate to Zhuque Gate put down their weapons under the orders of their respective captains, waiting for the navy to come and escort them out of the city and take care of them.
There was no rebelliousness, fighting to the death, no resentment or complaints, only silent disarming and squatting in silence. Some private soldiers even gathered together and whispered for a while, then couldn't help but burst into laughter...
No one likes war. If it is okay to resist foreign aggression and defend the country, who would be willing to sacrifice their lives if they fight against each other like this?
These Shandong children imagine that now that the war is over, they will soon be able to return to their hometown to see their parents, wives and children, and they cannot help but show their longing...
……
Liu Rengui quickly led his army to the Zhuque Gate. Xue Wanche also mobilized a group of troops into the city. He divided the disarmed Shandong private troops into groups of about a thousand people and drove them eastward. Li Jing had also received Liu Rengui's request to open the Chunming Gate. , the Shandong private army will be temporarily detained near the Sixth Army Camp in the East Palace after leaving the city from Chunming Gate.
There was no final struggle or fight between trapped beasts. The entire surrender process went smoothly, and more and more Shandong private troops were driven outside the city.
Liu Rengui asked officials and government servants from Jingzhao Prefecture to come, and led his troops to arrest the bandits one by one, appease the people, and maintain order. The chaos caused by the rebels' entry into the city gradually subsided.
……
In the military camp outside Chunming Gate, Li Jing listened to the battle report and drank tea slowly.
The most dangerous stage has passed. After almost all the Shandong private troops have been driven out of the city, giving way to the Zhuque Gate, Chengtian Gate and the entire imperial city area, the Sixth Leader of the East Palace and the Youwuwei can send some troops into the city to reinforce the Taiji Palace. The rebels It can be destroyed with the snap of a finger.
After this battle, all the forces that were not loyal to His Majesty were almost wiped out, and the few remaining fish that slipped through the net were frightened out of their courage. They no longer dared to defy the emperor's orders and disrespect the emperor's orders. Li Chengqian's rule will be completely stable. , all imperial power was in his hands, and the degree of concentration of imperial power was even greater than that of Emperor Taizong.
After all, no matter how talented Emperor Taizong was, he still had to worry about the influence of the powerful families all over the world. Even though he was the king of the empire, he could not do whatever he wanted.
Li Chengqian, who had just ascended the throne for less than a year, did it...
Of course, the price paid is extremely heavy.
In Shandong, almost every household is covered with plain cloth and every house hangs banners. The wealth accumulated by Shandong families for hundreds of years has been wiped out. The people have delayed the farming season. Seeing that winter is approaching, how to fill the stomachs of Shandong people so that they can survive this period safely? Winter is going to be a big deal.
Although the Jiangnan noble families were not as miserable as the Shandong noble families, they were still injured.
Not to mention that the Guanlong Clan launched two mutinies in succession. No matter how strong the family is, it cannot withstand such a torment. Almost all of its outstanding sons will be exhausted, which will make the Guanlong Clan unable to recover from the fall. Even if the court does not hold them accountable, they will never be able to withstand it. There is no chance of recovery.
The most serious loss was the loss of the empire's center. (End of chapter)