General Qin

Chapter 244: Zhong Limei

"Master Zhongli, surrender yourself?"

On the edge of the woods, Zhao Tuo, who had just returned here and was about to eat something, couldn't help being stunned when he received the news from Shejian ahead.

It is not unusual for the Duke of Zhongli to see through Qu Ming's deceitful tactics. After all, the Qin army has traveled all the way, and the news that they pretended to be the Chu army's deceitful city must have leaked out long ago. This is expected.

Zhao Tuo didn't even report any expectations, he just gave it a try, so as to take the opportunity to rest his soldiers before attacking the city, but he didn't expect the Zhongli County Guild in the city to come out suddenly.

"Interesting, the Duke of Zhongli County surrendered our Qin army, and is willing to provide supplies to send our army across the Huai River. Isn't he afraid that the King of Chu will deal with him after our army leaves?"

"Gu, what do you think?"

Zhao Tuo turned his head to look at Xiqigu beside him.

Xiqigu thought for a while and said, "Returning to the army, in my opinion, the Duke of Zhongli County should be a smart man. Whether the King of Chu will deal with him at that time is a matter for the future, but if he does not surrender now We, instead, defend the city by ourselves, and when the city is destroyed, I am afraid that we will be killed."

"So it is possible for him to surrender to our army to save his life and property. As for how he will be punished by the king of Chu afterwards, it is definitely better than being beheaded by our army and Zhongliyicheng suffered a military disaster."

"And didn't he send envoys out of the city to negotiate terms with our army? Such an approach, on the contrary, shows that his surrender this time is very sincere."

Zhao Tuo nodded, Xi Qigu said something reasonable.

If you open the door and surrender without negotiating conditions, it will make people feel cheated.

But Zhao Tuo always felt that this matter would be too smooth?

After pondering for a while, he said: "I'll go and invite General Xin, and you'll let the envoy come over later, and then we'll hear the county magistrate's conditions."

"only."

...

After the envoys of the Chu people searched the bodies of the Qin soldiers and confirmed that they were not carrying weapons, they followed the Qin general who led the way and walked towards the forest.

As he passed along the way, he really saw that the forest was full of black-armored Qin soldiers with heads held high, holding halberds and swords.

There are a lot of them, and although the armor of these Qin soldiers is broken, the buns on their heads and the faces and necks are full of dirt, they are in good spirits, their eyes are fixed on him, and their hands The shiny weapon has a sense of oppression.

The envoy from Chu hesitated for a moment, lowered his head, and walked forward slowly. Every time he took a step, his legs trembled a little, as if he was full of fear for the road ahead and the Qin soldiers beside him.

Seeing this scene, Xiqigu turned his head and smiled inwardly: "I thought this envoy was some sort of person. He turned out to be a coward. If he could send such a person as an envoy, it seems that the county magistrate Zhongli didn't know people well. Mediocre."

"The envoy should not be afraid. Since the Duke of Zhongli County is willing to surrender, our army will naturally not make it difficult for the envoy."

Xiqigu comforted the other party with a kind face.

The envoy from Chu nodded quickly and said: "Very good, very good, I would like to ask the general to lead the way. The villain is just wearing a little thinner today, and I feel a little chilly. See the general complete his mission earlier, so I can go back to the city and add some clothes."

After finishing speaking, the emissary showed an embarrassed smile to Xi Qigu.

Xi Qigu glanced at the trembling body of the other party, and couldn't help but chuckle, he was afraid when he was afraid, and he said that the cold clothes were thin, it was really ridiculous.

Thinking of this, Xi Qigu didn't bother to talk to such a small character, and took him directly to the general.

The general of the Qin army was sitting in a wide open space in the forest. The weeds and branches on the ground had been cleared by short soldiers, and it looked quite neat and clean.

The Chu envoy walked into the open space and raised his head boldly.

I saw a middle-aged man in his forties sitting on the main seat.

This person was dressed in a toga, with a square face, and there was a calm and majestic temperament between his brows. At first glance, he looked like a veteran who had charged and commanded on the battlefield, but the posture of one of his arms hanging down was a bit strange, as if he had suffered some kind of injury.

Beside the veteran, there are several generals of the Qin Army. Perhaps because of the long journey, the crowns on the heads of these Qin generals that originally symbolized their titles were damaged, so they did not wear them, making it difficult for people to see them at a glance. knighthood.

It's nothing, anyway, the envoy from Chu didn't quite know the titles of the Qin people, but there was one thing in the order of these people that surprised him.

A boy, younger than him, who looked at most sixteen or seventeen years old, actually lived on the right side of the middle-aged general.

The people of Qin are on the right.

Doesn't this order mean that this young man's status in the Qin army is second only to the chief general.

What is his identity?

After keeping this point of doubt in mind, the envoy from Chu stepped forward, saluted the Qin generals, and spoke in a trembling voice.

"The villain Zhong Limei was specially ordered by the county magistrate to come here to discuss the matter of surrender. I have met all the generals here."

The moment Zhong Limei said his name, he seemed to see the young General Qin's body move, and a surprised expression appeared on his face. Zhong Limei noticed it.

Why is this person like this?

Have you heard my name?

Of course, Zhong Limei just thought about it in his heart, and then denied it with a smile.

Just kidding, he is a little Chu, he is neither from the upper class aristocrats, nor has he achieved any fame. How could his name be passed to the ears of a military general of the Qin State? It seems that the other party has a different look, there must be other reasons.

Perhaps sensing Zhong Limei's gaze, that young General Qin also turned his head to look.

The four eyes are facing each other.

When Zhong Limei was stared at by those eyes, he had a feeling of being seen through by them in a trance, and hurriedly lowered his head, pretending to be afraid.

At this time, the chief general of the Qin army in the middle also spoke.

"This general, Xin Wu, is a general under the command of General Li Xin. Since the Duke of Zhongli wants to surrender, I don't know how to surrender. You, the envoy, can tell you all you want."

General?

Zhong Limei was startled, but he calmed down immediately, pretended to be afraid again, and spoke according to the originally planned answer.

"The villain dares to report to the general. This time the general led the army to the city. The county magistrate wanted to fulfill his duty of guarding the land. He closed the city to resist the enemy and stayed with the city. But he also pitied the lives of the Zhongli clan and tens of thousands of people in the city. In order to let Zhongli To avoid the fire of war, this is willing to surrender to the general."

"The county magistrate said that the general came here with the army, and he must want to cross the Huai River from Zhongli to Huaibei. Therefore, I, Zhongli, are willing to provide all ships to help the soldiers under the general's command cross the Huai River. At the same time, I am willing to provide all food and supplies. I will never let the general The subordinates lack food and clothing."

Xin Wu glanced at the generals and saw that everyone nodded in agreement, Hei Ji, Zhang He and others were even more delighted.

What Zhong Limei said was exactly what everyone in the Qin army wanted most.

There is enough food and fodder for ships crossing the Huai River.

The county magistrate of Zhongli is willing to offer it, which is definitely much better than their forced attack. At least the Qin army will not have to attack the city, and no one will die in battle.

"Mr. Zhongli is a smart man. I don't know what conditions he has."

Xin Wu opened his mouth lightly, and directly opened up the matter.

"The county magistrate has nothing else to ask, but I hope that the general will not commit murder in Zhongli. If he can lead the army to stay outside the city, it would be best not to enter the city." Zhongli said cautiously: "As long as the general agrees to this matter, the county magistrate will We will definitely help you with all your strength, immediately collect ships, and help the general's subordinates cross the Huai River as soon as possible."

All Qin generals looked at each other and nodded slightly.

The Duke of Zhongli County was afraid that the Qin army would enter the city to kill and rob, so he did not want the Qin army to enter the city.

It was his condition that the Qin army not enter the city.

It is his exchange to help the Qin army cross the Huai River and provide food, fodder and supplies.

It seems reasonable.

Xin Wu thought for a while, then nodded and said: "Yes, my Qin army is not a division that kills indiscriminately. As long as the county magistrate provides enough ships and food, we will not enter the city, let alone kill anyone."

Hearing this, Zhong Limei was overjoyed and said, "Thank you General for your promise."

As he spoke, he said embarrassingly again: "It's just that the county magistrate said that if the general just agreed verbally, it's not enough. It's better to make a contract letter, which can be used as a proof. In this way, it can also make people feel at ease."

Hearing this, Xin Wu and the generals looked at each other and smiled: "This county magistrate is quite interesting, since we agreed, we will naturally not regret our promise, the general will naturally restrain his subordinates, let alone attack the city. But since you guys want to prove it, then write one.”

Soon, Xin Wu asked someone to cut a piece of wooden tablet, wrote down the relevant matters on it, and handed it to Zhong Limei, asking him to take it back and report back.

Before Zhong Limei left, Xin Wu looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set to the west. He thought that it would be too late to cross the Huai River today, so he said to him: "Since the two parties have agreed on the terms, then you go back and tell this County magistrate, we need to send out the food and grain we need out of the city immediately, and it must be delivered today."

"And collect the ships as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning, our army will cross the Huai River. If the time comes, if the county magistrate can't do it, then the agreement will be broken. Don't blame the general for being ruthless."

As he spoke, Xin Wu sternly slapped his thigh with his intact arm, and the guards around him all shouted loudly, raising their weapons in protest.

Zhong Limei was frightened by the voice, his legs softened immediately, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Yes, yes, the villain must explain the general's words to the county magistrate when he goes back. The county magistrate will definitely help the general cross the Huai River tomorrow morning." , General, please don’t get angry.”

Seeing the envoy from Chu named Zhong Limei pleading guilty and leaving tremblingly, all the Qin generals laughed.

"I didn't expect Zhongli County Lord to be so knowledgeable. With his help, we will be able to successfully cross the Huai River this time. When we get to Huaibei, we can go all the way north and return to Qin. Today, we can get here so smoothly It's all thanks to you, Zhao Tuo."

Xin Wu turned around and smiled at Zhao Tuo, his eyes were full of praise, he was very happy when he thought that he was one step closer to going home.

The generals also echoed, saying: "It is the generals and military officers who lead well, so we can go smoothly."

Heizhi tilted his head and smiled with Xiqigu, Zhang He and others: "You can see that the kid named Zhong Limei just now was very cowardly. When the second and third sons shouted, he immediately knelt down in fright, like a very The king of Chu at the head of Shouchun City. That look really makes me laugh, is there really no one in Chu?"

Xi Qigu also made fun of him: "That's right, Zhong Limei started to shake his feet in fright just now outside. It would be great if the Chu country was full of such people. How can we fail when we attack Chu?"

"Hahaha, it turns out that kid is so cowardly. In my opinion, we don't even need to talk about surrender. We might be able to take down Zhongli City with a single charge. Why do we need to negotiate with these Chu people? Don't you think so?" Heixu looked at Zhao Tuo while talking and laughing.

Zhao Tuo ignored him.

However, he had already heard all the words of Xiqigu and Heiyu just now.

Zhao Tuo closed his eyes, and the timid and cowardly appearance of Zhong Limei just now appeared in his mind.

Is that appearance really the attitude a messenger should have?

"is it him?"

"Xiang Yu's loyal minister, Han Xin's 'lifelong friend', Chu army general Zhong Limei."

"If this is the real person, will he surrender to the Qin army?"

...

Outside the forest, Zhong Limei, who had just walked out of the forest, couldn't help looking back.

He thought that the generals of the Qin army showed no signs of doubt after hearing his surrender statement just now.

Only the young Qin general remained silent from the beginning to the end.

But his eyes seemed to be fixed on himself.