Chapter 24: Four Generals
Chapter 24: The Four Generals
The Chinese military tent.
"My brother is still alive... Oh, it's just wishful thinking."
General Li Tongyan waved his hand to dismiss the personal soldiers who delivered the order. There were only two clerks and two spear-bearers in the tent. As time passed, the army of tens of thousands became more and more impatient, and more and more people were sent out to maintain order. The Qing soldiers were eating and drinking well in Yangzhou City, but they had to wait outside. News of mutiny had already been heard from the subordinates of other generals a while ago.
Not long after, the general personally led someone into the tent. General Li Tongyan just took a look and seemed to have lost all interest.
"Drag him down and chop him off."
"Yes!" The general clasped his fists and accepted the order.
Jiang He pulled the curtain, then summoned the Changhen Spear, aimed it at the back of the general's head and chopped it off. The heavy mass of one and a half tons was released, and in the blink of an eye, the brain burst into pieces and the entire head disappeared.
"Come……"
Before he could shout, Jiang He suddenly swung his arm and drove the spear, making a crisp sound, as if a whip was whipping in the air. The weight of the Changhen Spear combined with the bright power hit the tent, causing a strong wind, blowing over the table and almost hitting the general's face.
In a flash, Jiang He pushed out his spear, killing two guards holding halberds. He then leaped up like a tiger and killed the clerk not far away. When the table fell to the ground, all five people in the tent were dead.
General Li Tongyan did not panic. He wiped the lamp oil that splashed on his face and asked, "Brave man, what do you want?"
Jiang He said calmly: "You claimed to be seriously ill and invited the other three generals to the banquet."
A long silence.
Li Tongyan raised his head with a look of disgust. He had been a general for many years and could certainly guess what the other side would do next. The various military camps had been trying their best to hold back for many days, like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Once there was no leader, no one could stop the chaos.
"This is impossible."
Li Tongyan flatly refused and regretted in his heart why he did not arrange more people to guard him. It was a pity that the Qing soldiers swept across the north bank, and the four towns in northern Jiangnan returned to defend due to civil strife. There was no more fighting within a thousand miles. In his view, the resistance of Yangzhou City was a joke. There was no cavalry that could rush directly into the camp and threaten the big tent.
If he agreed to the current request and let the other party kill the other three generals, he would have to fight to the death with the Qing soldiers. Tieduo would never let him go.
Jiang He gripped the gun and stretched out his arm. When he let go, the Changhen gun fell down and crushed the table without any hindrance.
"Given the fact that your brother died in the city, I bet that you value your life. From now on, the distance between you and me will not exceed three meters. You can try this gun."
Li Tongyan stood up and stretched out his hand to raise the gun, but it didn't move at all. He gathered all his strength and grabbed it with both hands, but the result was no different. The weight of the gun was beyond imagination, and this also seemed to represent the difference in force between the two sides.
Li Tongyan's brows were furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川". He wondered what kind of monster could wield this thing.
"In ancient times, assassins hid swords in the belly of fish. Today, warriors pretend to be brothers and show their guns. I admit defeat, but you have to know that 50,000 disorderly soldiers without any command can't withstand a few rounds of attacks by white-flag cavalry."
Jiang He nodded, "I will assassinate Tie Duo, and you will become a hero who endures humiliation and recovers Yangzhou."
Li Tongyan just smiled. Both parties knew the truth. The atmosphere just seemed to be relaxed at the moment. As long as the other party dared to leave the military tent, he would run away immediately and mobilize his elite troops to launch a siege.
……
The next morning.
When the soldiers of the Royal Guard Battalion entered the tent and found several dead bodies, they were so frightened that they turned pale, thinking there was a mutiny. However, when they saw the commander-in-chief was still sitting at the head of the group, they quickly calmed down and began to clean up the scene in an orderly manner.
Several teams of cavalry left the camp and sent invitations to the other three generals. As they were about to enter the city, everyone was going to gather together and plunder Yangzhou's interests after dividing the city. This time, Li Tongyan claimed to be seriously ill, which undoubtedly disrupted the previous tacit understanding.
In the big tent, the chef brought mutton soup. Li Tongyan chewed it with big mouthfuls and ate it all up. He did not feel the embarrassment at all that his life was in the hands of others.
Three steps away, Jiang He was holding a spear and closing his eyes to rest.
"Brave man, where is your home? Maybe we are from the same hometown."
"You said that you were willing to destroy your face just to deceive me. It's really not worth it. Let alone entering the camp alone, even if you come straight here, your courage is worth my opening the bed to welcome you."
"To be honest, I have several beautiful girls in my camp. They were all given to me by wealthy merchants from Yangzhou. They are all top-notch beauties. Why don't you and I play with them for a bit?"
……
Li Tongyan kept on talking and looking for flaws. He didn't want to die, nor did he want to fall out with Tieduo. By the night, there would be no turning back.
Jiang He suddenly opened his eyes and said, "I only want Tie Duo's life. Other wealth, gold, silver, and beautiful women must give way to it. Your nagging is meaningless."
Li Tongyan smiled wryly, "The soup is poisonous. If you are in a bad mood and take a sip, I will succeed."
Jiang He nodded and said calmly, "You know I won't kill you and ruin the plan before a certain limit, so it's understandable that you try. Of course, if you tamper with the invitation, then there's nothing to say between us. Anyway, on my side, if the three of them don't die, you have to die. There should be people who consider the overall situation, but you who surrender shouldn't be one of them."
Li Tongyan threw the soup bowl in anger. He had no way to deal with this smelly and hard stone. Even though this guy saw through the trap, he didn't get angry at all.
After a while, Li Tongyan said, "Can I really become a hero who recovers Yangzhou?" Jiang He remained silent, and he couldn't guarantee that he would win.
Li Tongyan was shocked and asked, "You are not even willing to give a perfunctory response?"
Jiang He said perfunctorily: "It's a 50-50 split."
Li Tongyan touched his chin and assessed the situation. Since the opponent's martial arts strength was far superior to his own, he would not be able to survive this disaster safely. In this case, he might as well give it a try to avoid failure at the last minute.
……
Yangzhou City fell, on the sixth day and night.
Three generals were invited to come. The leader was named Gao Jie, who was originally a general under the great bandit Li Zicheng in the late Ming Dynasty. He was nicknamed Fanshan Yao. Later, he defected to the old dynasty, supported the new emperor in Jiangnan, and was named Earl of Xingping. He had 20,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and was the leader of the four generals of the surrendered army.
Gao Jie entered the tent first and laughed heartily: "How are you, my dear brother? It's been a long time since we last met. I miss you so much!"
The other two generals also entered the camp, and their personal soldiers were placed in the central army, where they were entertained with a banquet.
Li Tongyan stood up with difficulty, coughed violently for a while, and said with a pale face: "Brother Gao, please forgive me. I caught a cold and my old illness was triggered. I may have to discuss entering the city again with you three. The west of the city is rich, and I am afraid I am not virtuous enough to live there."
The three of them looked at each other. Before they came, they all thought that Li Tongyan's so-called serious illness was just an excuse, but now it seems to be true.
Gao Jie waved his hand as if he didn't care, "Don't let this trivial matter hurt our brotherly feelings. Let me have a taste of the wine and meat in your camp."
The banquet was soon held. The chefs of Yangzhou were famous all over the world. After three rounds of wine, twelve beauties from Huaihe River entered the tent. They were all slim and graceful, dancing in light gauze, looking charming and graceful.
Li Tongyan sat at the head, with several veterans in the camp sitting at the back. After a few dances, the beautiful girl from Huaihe came gently to the generals and poured them wine.
Li Tongyan said, "Brothers, let me speak frankly now. There is a granary in the west of the city, which is enough to feed 80,000 troops for three months. However, it was burned down a few days ago. However, there is still a granary under the He family tomb that is just as good. It is one of the things that Shangshu Shi relies on to defend the city. If there is food, there will be soldiers. I am willing to exchange this granary for 300 war horses."
During the banquet, General Liu's eyes flickered. His uncle Liu Taibao had come out of the city to visit him before. He had carefully inquired about the location of food, fodder and military equipment in the city, but did not know about any underground granary.
Gao Jie narrowed his eyes, "Brother Li, this granary is in the hands of Lord Tieduo, don't lie to us."
For a moment, everyone had their own thoughts.
Li Tongyan said calmly: "Come here, send the location of the granary to the three adults for their review."
An armored soldier approached respectfully carrying a wooden table.
When Li Tongyan saw the other party leaving him, his expression changed several times. Finally, he sighed and sat back in his seat. The big tent was only a dozen feet wide. The three of them had not yet realized that they were in the territory of tigers and leopards.
Within three steps of approaching, the soldier suddenly raised his head.
Gao Jie's heart skipped a beat. He had seen this kind of murderous look too many times.
Jiang He swung his arms, making a crisp sound. With unstoppable force, he summoned the Changhen Spear and stabbed it straight in with all his might.
Close range gun: Dragon goes out to sea.
The Ming force exploded, and the tip of the gun pierced Gao Jie's chest.
"How dare you, thief, rebel against the emperor!"
The burly leader of the personal guards next to him roared angrily, and without even thinking about where the other party took out the spear, he immediately swung his iron mace and smashed it on the head.
Jiang He drew his spear and swept it across, breaking the iron mace and blowing up the head of the leader of the personal guards.
Changes occurred suddenly.
General Liu ran away, leaving his personal guards behind.
When he ran out of the tent, he found that the soldiers he brought with him were foaming at the mouth and falling on the banquet table outside. The scene was in chaos.
A long spear flew over, bringing with it a deafening sound of breaking through the air, and shattered General Liu's heart with one shot.
In the big tent, all the veteran generals were horrified. Gao Jie and General Liu were killed, and the only remaining General Yan had his legs broken.
Li Tongyan stood up and dragged the wailing General Yan to the front of the veteran generals.
"One knife per person, no one is allowed to escape."
(End of this chapter)