Xu Mao's house is not far away, and it is obvious that someone is coming.

"Dashuai, Lord Xu has arrived. He Changxing's voice sounded outside.

"You're here, get inside. He Zhi opened the door and personally welcomed Xu Mao in. He Changxing also commanded: "Hold here, don't let idle people approach." ”

He Changxing agreed, and He Zhi closed the door.

"I don't know what happened when the marshal came to Xu?" Xu Mao first saluted, and then asked straight to the point, wearing a silk robe and a gauze crown, a little thin.

He Zhixian was silent, pursed his lips, and gave the document to Xu Mao.

Xu Mao thanked him, and then read it, word by word, page by page, very carefully, three pages of documents, read it for a moment before putting it down.

"What do you think, sir? I can't tell you the truth, I see that this is difficult to decide, and I want to discuss with you. ”

"Hu Ren is only afraid that the king's qi is insufficient. Xu Mao sighed and said directly, saying this directly, which made He Zhi brow.

"The king's spirit, the root is deep, it is like iron, it is peaceful, the Hu people originally had a grassland, this foundation is also counted, but the invasion of the Han land, repeatedly frustrated, now the order of the sword change, capricious, unpredictable, this is the appearance of the snake, but not the appearance of the real dragon. ”

He Zhi listened, sighed, and frowned deeply: "Indeed, I really can't imagine that Hu Ren acts like this." ”

"Some time ago, you and I talked about the affairs of the world, you said, now the overall situation of the world has been decided, I only have the land of the three counties, I am afraid that it is difficult to have a chance to compete for the big position, and now it seems that this is indeed the case.

If it is true as the gentleman said, what should I do next, so that I can keep the peace of the land, and the peace of my family and subordinates?"

"Hu Renlong's anger is wavering, so cruel, even if he is now given preferential treatment to the generals, but once there is a change, I am afraid that I will be the same as this people, I will regard them as pigs and dogs, and then say that they will harm the people of these three counties for their own selfishness, and I will be uneasy, you see ......"

"This matter is still urgent. Xu Mao shook his head and said.

"How?"

Xu Mao said: "The Hu people are indeed declining, but they are not desperate, this way of luck is unpredictable, at this juncture, it is not suitable to take refuge." ”

"How can you tell the number of the two?"

"At this moment, the two armies are gathered in the Yellow River, just look at the situation in Luoyang and Yanzhou, and you can determine the number of qi in the next twenty years. ”

"If Wang Hongyi can take Luoyang and Yanzhou, Qingzhou will be difficult to resist, once he wins Gong, Qing, and Luoyang, the last bit of true dragon qi will be decided. ”

"If you can't, the Hu people still have the number of qi to seize the world, and then decide according to the situation. ”

"What do you mean to go", once Dacheng pacifies Yanzhou, he will immediately surrender to Dacheng?" He Zhi thought about it and felt that this matter was reasonable.

This is the first time between the two armies, and it is a crucial confrontation, and whoever can gain the upper hand can see who has more advantages.

"That's what the gentleman said. He Zhi sighed and said.

Linping County, East County

At this time, at night, the city was quiet outside the city, there was a moon in the sky, the moonlight was not visible, the city was dark, only a few houses were still lit up, and after a while, they were extinguished one after another.

Not far away, the Dacheng military camp, the fire rose, reflecting a dazzling red, this is the enemy's army for several miles.

Depending on the situation, this Dacheng army is going to attack the city tomorrow.

Li Xiu, the county commander, stood on the city, looking at all this, and his heart was desolate.

Two days ago, the Dacheng army defeated Dongjun, thinking that if the county was defeated, Dongjun would be pacified, but I didn't want to have stupid people jump out.

Dongjun is not a unified situation, but it was forced by Zheng Guogong's momentum before, and several forces have been holding each other back in secret, fighting fiercely.

At this time, there was less restraint in the county town, and the local forces rose one after another, although some people were willing to surrender to Dacheng, but there were also people who followed the example of the princes who became powerful, taking advantage of the chaos to rise up, ready to fight for the time to meet the Hu people.

Li Xiu sneered, but her heart became more and more sad.

Although Li Xiu is an official of Zheng Guogong, he is originally from Dongjun, and the Li family, which has some fame in Dongjun, is his clan, but Li Xiu is a side branch, in the early years, his parents died early one after another, because his family left hundreds of acres of fertile land and was red-eyed, he was framed and driven out of the clan by several uncles.

It was the bleakest time for him.

Later, he became an official by chance, and step by step to today, it can be said that he has returned to his hometown.

For the hometown of Dongjun, Li Xiu has both hatred and remembrance, but the changes in Dongjun over the years have made him feel a little cold.

There are no fewer families here than in other places, but there are very few princes who can really become powerful.

As early as when the county town was broken by the Dacheng army, the elders of the clan came to him, and the meaning could not be clearer, Yanzhou was already a mess, and Zheng Guogong was now unable to protect himself, hoping that he could take the opportunity to defect to the Hu people.

At that time, Li Xiu had a cold face and drove people out.

As a result, there was a riot in the city that night, and troops were sent to suppress it overnight, and it was calmed down, among which it was said that there was no shadow of several families, including the Li family, Li Xiu would not believe it.

Of course, there were also people who persuaded him to surrender to the Dacheng Dynasty.

Li Xiu kept hesitating, and now looking at the continuous army outside, Li Xiu was silent.

He has the support of his family, not the only choice of the family, once there is no way out, I am afraid that the family will withdraw faster than others, and surrender to the Hu people, in Li Xiu's opinion, it is absolutely unacceptable.

And the Dacheng army outside is well-equipped and orderly, and it does have the spirit of a king.

In the past two days, he sent people to suppress the riots, and paid the soldiers another salary, which finally suppressed the unstable morale of the army.

But as soon as the Dacheng army arrived, Li Xiu immediately felt that the hearts of the people in the city were unstable again.

At this time, he turned around and walked down, and there were soldiers with weapons in their hands, with a blank look on their faces.

When the soldiers saw him coming, they lowered their heads and did not dare to make a sound.

Without looking at the expressions of those soldiers, Li Xiu had a gloomy face, and went down the steps to the temporary house below, where he had moved since the arrival of the Dacheng army.

He had barely sat down on his chair and had not yet taken a sip of water when someone came to the door.

"My lord, County Lieutenant Zhao asks to see you. The soldier said in a report outside.

The county lieutenant Zhao was referring to Li Xiu's deputy general Zhao Yu.

When Li Xiu heard that he was coming, she said, "Let him in."

"Yes, sir. ”

After a while, the door opened, a general in armor, walked in from the outside, this person is tall, a head taller than Li Xiulai, after coming in, Zhao Yu first saluted to Li Xiu who was sitting on the seat, and said with a sad face: "My lord, the city has now been trapped by the army, although the previous riot in the city has been pacified, but now there are signs of riots, and if this continues, I am afraid that the army's heart will be in turmoil, my lord, please make a decision as soon as possible." ”

"Yes, the current situation is indeed worrying. Li Xiu sighed, raised her head, stared at Zhao Yu who was seated down, and asked lightly: "According to what you said, how can you get out of this situation?"

Li Xiu's gaze made Zhao Yu feel a little pressured.

However, thinking of the current situation in the city, Zhao Yu pondered for a moment and said, "My lord, someone must have persuaded my lord before to let my lord surrender to the Hu people...... However, the lower officials did not agree with this matter. ”

"Far water does not quench the thirst of the near, and Xia Guan feels that no matter what aspect you look at, this Hu person is not comparable to the Dacheng Dynasty. I really want to choose a side, and choose Dacheng to descend to the dynasty, which is more beneficial to you. ”

"This battle cannot be fought any further. At present, the Luoyang army is losing and retreating one after another, and Zheng Guogong himself is unable to protect himself, so where can he still send reinforcements? This county is surrounded by the Dacheng army, and I am afraid that it will not be able to hold on for a few days. ”

"How can we hold on without food and grass in front of us and without the support of a large army......?

"What do you mean, are you persuading me to surrender to the Dacheng Dynasty?" Li Xiu didn't say whether he agreed or disagreed, but just stared coldly.

Zhao Yu couldn't help oozing cold sweat, and said: "My lord, this is not only the idea of the lower officials, but also the thoughts of many people in the city, it's not that we are greedy for life and afraid of death, but now instead of sending us to death in vain, killing with the Dacheng army, and cheapening the Hu people, it is better to surrender to the Dacheng Dynasty and fight against the Hu people!"

Li Xiu sat in the chair, looked at him with a complicated face, and said later: "Come with me to the city to have a look." ”

With that, Li Xiu stood up and walked out.

Seeing that the county order did not punish him, or called someone to drag him out, Zhao Yu knew that this matter was almost done, so he didn't dare to say anything more at this time, but only respectfully followed behind Li Xiu and walked towards the city.

When they came to the city and looked at the black company camp below, Li Xiu looked at it for a while, and finally couldn't help but sigh secretly.

Regarding the uneasiness of the people in the city now, he knew in his heart that the matter had come to this, as Zhao Yu said, he couldn't watch his hometown and his lives ruined after all.

"Zhao Yu. After a while, Li Xiu said in a loud voice.

"Xia Guan is here. ”

"What you said is not unreasonable, the matter has come to this, and it can only be so. You go and get ready, go out of the city in a moment, and bring them a letter from me, would you like to?" Li Xiu looked at Zhao Yu and asked.

"The lower officials are willing to go!" Zhao Yu was overjoyed when he heard this, but he endured it and said respectfully.

Li Xiu nodded, her face complicated: "I'll go down and write a letter, and you can go back with me." ”

"No!"

There are large camps outside the city, and the view is very spectacular.

At this time, the night was getting deeper, the oil lamps in each camp were extinguished, only the main camp tent was brightly lit, and Lu Gao was sitting in front of the desk, looking at the documents briefly.

Soon after setting up the camp, let the army rest and recuperate at the same time, and let people go to persuade to surrender, if not surrender, at dawn, the army will attack the city, but it is the county seat, a drum can be down.

At this time, someone reported: "County Lieutenant Zhao Yu, with a letter asking to see."

Lu Gao sat back on the high seat, his own soldiers came in and stood on the left and right, Zhao Yu came in, bowed and saluted, and said: "The lower official was ordered by the county order to ask the general to surrender." ”

As he spoke, he held up a letter.

"Oh?" Lu Gao didn't scream, he took the letter and watched it first, and sure enough, he was humble in his words, but he asked to surrender, and then he showed a smile: "Get up!"

"General Xie. "Zhao Yu got into trouble.

"Since your county has abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, then it is not under the control of this general, and you will wait for the will of the imperial court. After a few more words, Lugo said, waving the messenger back.

Seeing the messenger leaving, Lu Gao smiled slightly, as soon as the city fell, the whole county of Dongjun had been leveled, and there were two more counties below.

"Send an order down, send people to the other two counties, go down to the county order, go up to the county guard, send a letter of persuasion, and order them to surrender immediately when the army arrives!"