When the guards went to invite Lang Tingzuo, Deng Ming said to Li Laiheng and the others: "The first thing we have to find out is: Guan Xiaozhong and Jiang Guozhu want us to kill Lang Tingzuo, I estimate that Lang Tingzuo probably knows it. ”

"I'm afraid he won't say it." Li Laiheng's face sank: "The thief has been eating and drinking in our camp for so many days, if he doesn't know how to lift today, let him suffer a little." ”

Deng Ming knew that Li Laiheng wanted to torture to extract a confession, so he hurriedly stopped: "No." ”

"If we have already guessed the general situation of the matter, we only need him to confirm it, and it is not impossible to use torture." Li Xinghan, who was on the side, began to explain his opinion. From the beginning of the journey to Chengdu, Deng Ming often organized psychology seminars, and his guards benefited greatly from this: "But now we don't know anything, and the torture will only make him follow our wishes, and the confession he gets may not be true." ”

"Yes." Deng Ming smiled: "We have to let him sue us willingly." ”

After a while, Lang Tingzuo was brought by the guards. When he was captured, he thought he was going to die. When he met Deng Ming for the first time, Lang Tingzuo could also answer Deng Ming's questions honestly, not only admitting that Gan Hui and Yu Xin were alive, but also confessing the approximate strength of Nanjing. But seeing that Deng Ming was very polite to him, did not abuse him, and provided him with food, the governor of Liangjiang gradually became emboldened and began to ignore the Ming army.

In the past, when Lang Tingzuo caught the prisoners, there were many beatings and tortures, and some people would surrender if they couldn't hold on. Now that Lang Tingzuo has eaten and drank, he has not suffered any flesh and skin, which makes Lang Tingzuo feel that it is not a big deal to be captured, and Rìzi is so comfortable that he has the idea of becoming a martyr.

After being brought in today, Lang Tingzuo sat down on the chair in a big way, held his head high and closed his eyes, putting on a look that a soldier could be killed and not humiliated, and made a generous statement without waiting for Deng Ming's question: "This official is an official of the imperial court, and he has already put life and death aside if he is raised by the emperor's grace. ”

To Lang Tingzuo's surprise, no one in the Ming army in the camp shouted and cursed.

Deng Ming replied with a smile: "Knowing that Mr. Lang is a banner man, of course I will not persuade him to surrender, even if Mr. Lang wants to surrender, I don't dare to accept it." ”

Lang Tingzuo, whose eyes were closed, snorted, feeling slightly lost, and at the same time a little strange, pondering in his heart: "If Deng Ming doesn't want to persuade me, why doesn't he beat or scold me, and give me food?" No, this is his plan to capture and indulge, he just wants to persuade me to surrender, I must hold on, and I must not surrender to the thief. "Lang Tingzuo's abacus is to eat when he should eat and drink when he should drink, anyway, being killed in the end is a matter of a knife, and he will not suffer much.

"Today I sent someone to Nanjing City, Jiang Guozhu and Guan Xiaozhong have returned, I want to exchange prisoners with them......"

Deng Ming had thought about asking Lang Tingzuo to order the release of the people before, and the governor of Liangjiang was still willing to cooperate at that time, but as a prisoner, the warrant was no longer useful, even if he wrote the warrant, the prefect of Jiangning and the defenders in the city would not follow it. After hearing Deng Ming mention the names of these two people, Lang Tingzuo still didn't move, and his eyes still refused to open.

"Jiang Guozhu has agreed." Deng Ming said slowly in a long voice, while continuing to observe Lang Tingzuo's expression.

"Hmph." Lang Tingzuo let out another sneer, as if this qiē had already been expected by him.

"However, Jiang Guozhu and Guan Zhongzhong have one condition, that is, they want me to exchange Mr. Lang's head."

As soon as Deng Ming finished speaking, he saw Lang Tingzuo open his eyes suddenly, and his gaze swept towards him.

"Originally, my condition was: they returned Gan Hui, Yu Xin and other generals, and I sent Mr. Lang back intact. But they wrote back and said that they did not want the living, but only the dead. Deng Ming noticed that Lang Tingzuo's beard had begun to tremble, and he was obviously furious: "If something is abnormal, it is close to a demon, I can't figure out the reason for this, so I don't dare to agree to them, so I asked Mr. Lang to come over and ask, what is the deep hatred between you?" Is Guan Allegiance and Jiang Guozhu's words credible? In Mr. Iro's opinion, if I meet their demands, will they release the people of the Yeonpyeong Domain? ”

Lang Tingzuo was already trembling with anger, and he didn't know how to answer Deng Ming's question. Everyone in the camp looked at him quietly, and after waiting for a long time, Lang Tingzuo suddenly stopped trembling and burst into a burst of wild laughter: "Deng Mingxiao'er, don't think about separating us." ”

"What am I doing with you?" Deng Ming pretended to be surprised and asked, "I have been entertaining Mr. Lang for the past few days, just to exchange Mr. for the people of the Yanping Domain." If Jiang Guozhu and Guan Allegiance want to change their lives, then Mr. will naturally be able to go back safely, and when the time comes, it will be useless for me to use a discordant strategy; If they have to change their lives, Mr. will definitely not be able to leave alive, so why should I bother with Mr. ”

Lang Tingzuo was speechless, he lowered his head and thought for a while, and found that Deng Ming's logic was indeed impeccable, and couldn't help but ask: "Then what is Mr. Deng calling the old man here for today?" Do you understand that the old man will die? ”

"No, I always felt cheating. Mr. Lang and their colleagues have a fight, what resentment is there that can't be resolved? Deng Ming asked, "Mr. Lang must have something in his heart." ”

Lang Tingzuo laughed miserably: "Deng Ming will kill if you want to, why play this kind of cat and mouse trick." ”

Seeing that he was really dying, Lang Tingzuo was full of desolation, and he also hated Guan Xiaozhong and Jiang Guozhu who fell into the well, but unfortunately there was no chance to retaliate again.

"I'm just not worried, do you really have a deep hatred?" Deng Ming asked again, "Why did they kill you?" Can I really exchange your head for someone from the Yeonpyeong Domain? ”

"Yes, these two guys do have a reason to kill the old man. If it weren't for the old man's mistake and capture, they would never have had good fruit to eat. But it was useless for the admiral to kill the old man, the two of them would definitely not release the people of the Yanping Domain. Lang Tingzuo, Jiang Guozhu and Guan Xiaozhong have known each other for many years, and after a while, he has guessed the thoughts of the two, knowing that the other party wants to trap himself, so that the court has to rely on them and try to make meritorious contributions.

"Really?" Deng Ming dragged out his voice and asked: "They don't want Mr. Lang's head, but they also want me to do another thing, they want to inform me of Liang Huafeng's whereabouts, and let me ambush Liang Huafeng......"

"Good thief!" Lang Tingzuo's hair was all open, and he jumped up from his chair, only to feel that his chest was filled with a ball of depression, and he almost spurted blood. After a long time, Lang Tingzuo straightened out his tone, beat his chest and shouted: "It's really true, only killed the old man, and the two of them still can't guarantee to get away with it." ”

"Exoneration? What sin is exoneration? Deng Ming was overjoyed, this Lang Tingzuo really knew the reason.

Lang Tingzuo glared at Deng Ming, and his face showed jǐng Tizhi sè: "Why does Mr. Deng want to know the reason?" ”

"Because only when I know why, can I be sure that they are telling the truth."

"There are reasons, but the old man dares to say that Mr. Deng killing the old man is tantamount to killing the people of the Yanping Domain with his own hands!" Lang Tingzuo is not young, he has more experience in officialdom, and his brain is not slow at all, so he immediately analyzed it for Deng Ming: If Deng Ming killed Lang Tingzuo and Liang Huafeng, Jiang Guozhu and Guan Xiaozhong would definitely kill all the people Deng Ming wanted, so as to show that he had nothing to do with Deng Ming and had not made any deals: "The most poisonous thing is that even if the old man reads the book, they can say that this is forced out by Mr. Deng by torture." They will never let people go in order to protect themselves, otherwise it will be evidence in the eyes of those who have a heart. ”

"Oh." Deng Ming thought about it carefully and found that Lang Tingzuo's analysis was very reasonable.

"Let the old man go back." Lang Tingzuo noticed Deng Ming's hesitation, and immediately proposed a proposal: "When the old man returns to Nanjing, arrest these two wolf-hearted things, and immediately release all the people of the Yanping Domain." ”

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because they're definitely not going to let them go." Lang Tingzuo said confidently: "If Mr. Deng wants to save the people of Yanping Domain, he must believe the old man once. ”

"It could also be that you are singing a double reed and trying to take risks to save you, but in fact, there is no hatred between you." Deng Ming finally seized the opportunity: "In this way, you can tell me carefully what grievances there are between you, as well as Liang Huafeng and their grievances, you can't hide them at all." After a pause, Deng Ming said again: "Mr. Lang swears that he will release him when he goes back, so tell me the truth first and show some sincerity." ”

Seeing that Lang Tingzuo was still hesitating, Deng Ming threatened: "I will also ask them why they want Mr. Lang's life." If I find that they speak more in detail than Mr. Lang, then I will think that Governor Chiang is more sincere with them, and that they are more certain to cooperate with them than with Mr. Lang. ”

Deng Ming did not ask Lang Tingzuo to explain the reason immediately, but sent an envoy to Nanjing in front of him to inquire about Jiang Guozhu and Guan Xiaozhong.

After sending the envoy away, Deng Ming said to Lang Tingzuo again: "Mr. Lang should go back and think about it first, and be careful not to miss anything, lest they speak more carefully than Mr. Lang, and I think Mr. Lang is not sincere." ”

……

When he saw the Ming army send an envoy for the third time, Jiang Guozhu thought that he could see Lang Tingzuo's head. Not wanting the envoy to sue him, Lang Tingzuo promised Deng Ming that as long as he let him go back to Nanjing, he would release Gan Hui and the others as a thank you.

"How can Admiral Deng trust Lang Tingzuo?" Jiang Guozhu shouted in a frustration: "When he returns to the city, he will definitely break his promise." ”

"So my admiral asked me to ask, why does Governor Jiang want the head of Governor Lang, and what grievances are there between you?" The envoy also told Jiang Guozhu, and Deng Ming also asked Lang Tingzuo the same question: "My admiral has never dealt with you, and I don't know which of you is more trustworthy, so I ask you the same question to see who is more interested in my admiral." If Governor Chiang confesses to meeting each other, my Admiral will cooperate with Governor Chiang, and if Governor Chiang deceives in such a trivial matter, then it will be difficult for my Admiral to believe that you will keep your promise to release the people of the Yanping Domain. ”

Jiang Guozhu said that he wanted to discuss it with Guan Xiaozhong, and the envoy went out patiently to wait.

"How did it come to this?" Guan Xiaozhong said anxiously: "If you tell us that Deng Ming is not good for us, he will know the weight of Lang Tingzuo, and maybe he will make more demands." ”

"But if we don't say it, Lang Tingzuo will say it too." Jiang Guozhu said: "Then Deng Ming will not be able to trust us." ”

"Lang Tingzuo won't say it, if he sues Deng Ming for the grievances between us, it will be even more difficult for him to get out. If Deng Ming really planned to cooperate with us, he would definitely kill him. Guan Xiaozhong felt that Lang Tingzuo would not confess for his own interests.

But he didn't dare not say it, because he was afraid that if we told the truth, it would be useless for him not to confess, and he would harm himself. Didn't he still want to convince Deng Ming to let him come back? Jiang Guozhu sighed: "Unless we can sue Sù Lang Tingzuo, we must not say it, let him not say it." The question is, do you have a way to inform him? Even if he did, would he be able to trust us? ”

Guan Xiaozhong was loyal for a long time, and suddenly scolded: "This Deng Ming is only in his early twenties, why is he so bad?" ”

"Sue him, even if he asks more, he is not afraid, anyway, as long as he is willing to kill Lang Tingzuo. Whatever we promised him, we just didn't admit it in the end. ”

Jiang Guozhu reached a consensus with Guan Xiaozhong, summoned the envoys in, and told them in detail about the secret decree of the imperial court.

……

"Psychologically, this is called the prisoner's dilemma, and the point is to create contradictions between the two parties and completely destroy their trust in each other. It's best not to say it, but in the end, they will say that they will betray each other. After reading the same statements on both sides, Deng Ming figured out the ins and outs of the matter, and introduced Li Laiheng and the guards: "If you encounter this kind of opportunity in the future, you must not let it go." ”

"It sounds a bit like a trial." Li Laiheng felt that Deng Ming's method seemed to be a means of judging cases, but Deng Ming had never been an official, and there was no criminal master by his side, where did he learn it?

"It's the way the case is heard." Deng Ming smiled. The reason why the later generations are called the era of information explosion is because a modern person can get a lot of knowledge from the media, which is unimaginable to the ancients, and what many people in this era see and hear in their lives is not as good as the amount of information that people living in the Internet age can get in a month.

Lang Tingzuo was brought again, and this time he did not close his eyes and hold his head high, but looked at Deng Ming with hope.

"Jiang Guozhu and Mr. Lang are as detailed as they are, and they both have a heart-to-heart for me, so I still don't know who is more credible." Deng Ming said that he couldn't let Lang Tingzuo go back for the time being: "So I invited Mr. Lang to come because I wanted to ask if Mr. Lang had any good way to ensure that the people of the Yanping Domain would be released, so that I don't have to worry about Mr. breaking his promise." ”

Lang Tingzuo shook his head: "The old man has no way. ”

"Mr. Lang is too modest, Mr. has been in Nanjing for so many years, there must be many protégés and old officials, there are always trustworthy people, can you let them let some people out first, and show me Mr.'s sincerity?"

"Impossible, even if there are still some people who are thinking about the old man, they will definitely be targeted by Jiang Guozhu and them now. If you want to release people out of the city, you must not only release them from the jailers, but also release them at the city gate," Lang Tingzuo shook his head desperately: "Now the city is full of loyal people, and the old man's subordinates can't do it at all." ”

"What if I let General Liang Huafeng go back to the city?" Deng Ming asked, he took out a piece of paper and showed it to Lang Tingzuo: "This is the whereabouts of General Liang, Jiang Guozhu has just told me, he is in a hurry to rush back to Nanjing from Suzhou, and there are only two thousand people around him." If I don't ambush General Liang, what will happen to him when he enters the city? Will he listen to Mr. Lang? He controls a few city gates, and it's no problem to let the people of Yanping Clan out of the city, right? ”

Lang Tingzuo was stunned at first, and then understood what Deng Ming meant, it seems that Deng Ming was willing to release himself after seeing Zheng Chenggong's person first. Although Lang Tingzuo had a way to persuade Liang Huafeng and himself to form an alliance against Jiang Guozhu and Guan Allegiance, what he was worried about was Deng Ming, because Lang Tingzuo secretly made up his mind and planned to break his promise after escaping: "How does the old man know that Mr. Deng will not break his promise?" ”

"Because I will give Jiang Guozhu the same conditions." Deng Ming replied with a smile: "But don't worry, Mr. Lang, as long as Mr. Lang is willing to cooperate, repair a letter to General Liang to state the benefits and disadvantages, and let him help, I will put forward the same conditions to Jiang Guozhu after General Liang enters the city." ”

Lang Tingzuo jumped up from his chair again: "Admiral Deng still wants to cooperate with Jiang Guozhu?" Aren't you going to work with the old man! ”

"Whoever releases the people of the Yanping Domain, I will cooperate with whomever I want." Deng Ming said confidently: "If Jiang Guozhu released the person in the end, I would say that it was Mr. Lang who confided in me the secret matter - this is actually not wronged Mr., right?" I also used this to blackmail Jiang Guozhu and Guan to surrender, but they refused. As long as I report the contents of the secret decree, Běijīng will definitely believe me, because Jiang Guozhu and Guan Xiaozhong obviously will not take the initiative to sue me themselves—this is certainly not true, but it will be the case from the perspective of common sense. Mr. Lang, what reward will your emperor have for your behavior? Seeing Lang Tingzuo's pale face, Deng Ming was afraid that he would be angry, so he hurriedly comforted: "But if Mr. Lang and General Liang release my people, I will say that it is Guan Xiaozhong and Liang Huafeng told me the content of the secret decree, and they plan to surrender, and use this to win my trust - Governor Lang, please see, this statement is also completely reasonable." When the time comes, I will still make the contents of the secret decree public, and your emperor will judge from common sense that there is no reason for you to leak it, it must be what they said, confirming that their surrender is imminent, and Governor Lang can kill them on the grounds that the situation is urgent. ”

It took Lang Tingzuo a long time to straighten out what Deng Ming said, and found that the other party's strategy was indeed no problem. However, Lang Tingzuo still muttered and asked, "Is the Admiral planning to say the same thing as Jiang Guozhu?" ”

"Yes." Deng Ming nodded, now his position is in an absolute advantage, not only Lang Tingzuo must cooperate with him if he wants to save himself, Jiang Guozhu and Guan Xiaozhong are the same. When Deng Ming recalled their initial conditions, he only felt angry and funny: such a bad card in his hand, he actually dared to rob the landlord!

"You want us to fight with the mussels, hello fisherman!" Anger made Lang Tingzuo start to lose his mind, and he jumped up and shouted, "Are you going to watch Guan Xiaozhong and Liang Huafeng Huo merge so that they can take Jiangning lightly?" Don't! The old man would rather die than let you succeed. ”

"Mr. Lang is calm, calm." Deng Ming felt that Lang Tingzuo was too excited, so he patiently explained: "I don't have the ability to conquer Nanjing, otherwise I wouldn't have bargained with Mr. Lang and Jiang Guozhu, wouldn't it be good to go directly to the city to save people?" As for the fire merger and infighting, I believe that as long as I am still under the city of Nanjing, Guan Xiaozhong and Liang Huafeng will not fight. Moreover, Mr. can also remind General Liang that I don't mind Mr. making this clear in his letter at all, so that he can endure for the sake of the country, and not ignore the affairs of the country for the sake of personal grievances; I will also remind Governor Chiang of this. Actually, I don't want you to fight, whether it's because you are loyal to Liang Huafeng's troops, or vice versa, I have to worry that you will break your promise, and it's good to do this now. ”

Although he was calmer than just now, Lang Tingzuo was still resentful. In his eyes, this Deng Ming's hateful Cheng dù is no longer under Jiang Guozhu: "To release the sea rebellion is to ignore the country's major affairs!" The old man was blinded by lard earlier, greedy for life and afraid of death, and was deceived by you, but now this official has figured it out, this official will never write a letter to General Liang, and will not help Hai Reverse to get out of the city. This official swears allegiance to the Holy Lord! ”

Seeing Lang Tingzuo's appearance, Li Laiheng and Deng Ming's guards were a little worried, afraid that this old guy would be stubborn and unwilling to cooperate with Deng Ming, which would lead to the failure of the competition mechanism and allow Jiang Guozhu to regain his monopoly position.

Deng Ming was also a little worried, feeling that he might not be a little unskilled just now, which made Lang Tingzuo feel too humiliated.

"How can I get it back?" Deng Ming pondered countermeasures in his heart, and suddenly, he remembered a scene he saw when he squeezed the bus in his previous life:

The carriage was so crowded that day that there was no extra space left, and the conductor pulled a man at the door down. This is a father with a child, Deng Ming's first feeling when he saw the anxious look on the man's face and the crying child in his arms was sympathy, but the conductor reversed Deng Ming's opinion with a word, and she shouted at the man: "Are you still a father?" Squeezing such a small child into a car? This sentence not only made Deng Ming immediately stand on the side of the conductor, but the man's expression immediately changed from anxiety and anger to shame.

"It's not important what you do, the key is to have noble motives." Deng Ming found his way of thinking: "Well, that's right, it's hard to hear about robbery x robbery, but if you add a poverty relief after robbing the rich, it will be doing the right thing for heaven." ”

"Mr. Lang, the so-called lesser of two evils." Deng Ming calmly enlightened Lang Tingzuo: "If Mr. gives up, then I can only cooperate with Jiang Guozhu, and I may be deceived by him, and I will not be able to rescue the people of Yanping Domain." But has Mr. ever thought about what Jiang Guozhu are going to do? They wanted to murder the loyal minister General Liang and deceive the emperor. Mr. is dead, but then who can expose the true colors of Jiang Guozhu and Liang Huafeng? Who can remove this great evil for the imperial court? ”

Deng Ming suddenly aggravated his tone, and reproached in a fierce voice: "Mr. Lang, doesn't you really know who is in danger to the imperial court compared to the two thieves of Guan and Jiang?" Mr. and I were angry, so we connived at these two thieves to deceive the world and collude with the enemy. Is there still an emperor in my heart? ”

Now it was not only Lang Tingzuo who was dumbfounded, but Li Laiheng and the other guards were also stunned to look at Deng Ming, who was righteous and stern.

"Okay, sir, go back and think about it, I'll say that." Deng Ming breathed a sigh of relief, he also felt that this scene was a little too much. Now that this reason has been given to Lang Tingzo, let it ferment on its own.

"Why does the Admiral value the old man so much?" Lang Tingzuo was already a little confused, and instead of leaving, he asked slowly.

had no choice but to continue acting, Deng Ming replied: "If Mr. is dead, I must also detain the crime of leaking the secret will on Mr. in order to cooperate, then Mr.'s family may also be in trouble, but Guan Allegiance and Jiang Guozhu can get away with it." In order to save the people of the Yeonpyeong Domain, I had to do this. But from the bottom of my heart, I despise them very much, and I respect loyal ministers like Mr., so I hope that Mr. will release the people of the Yanping Domain. ”