Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Outside the east city of Chengdu, more than 50,000 troops slowly approached the standing capital on the plain. Looking from the top of the city, it seems that the ocean has filled the Basin of the Kingdom of Shu, and the ocean is full of people.

Mrs. Huarui was wrapped up tightly, and accompanied by several eunuchs, she climbed to the top of the city, wanting to see the moment when the country collapsed. She seemed to hear a broken voice deep in her heart.

The city walls of Chengdu Mansion have no smell of beacon smoke at all, and even a lot of peonies were planted. Back then, Meng Chang got an imperial edict from Mrs. Huarui to plant them everywhere. Even the city walls had a lot of flowers, but now the flowers have faded... because Mrs. Huarui likes peonies, but people have gradually forgotten how to grow so many peonies. This tall city wall looks majestic and majestic, but it has not passed the test of war for a long time.

Below the city wall, a cavalry force of several hundred men was reorganizing the formation. The "Marshal of Soldiers and Horses" Hou Mao was ordered to go out to the city for a decisive battle. There were only a few soldiers who could gather enough troops, and the soldiers who did not want to come out were not forced.

Hou Mao drew out his sword, and all the soldiers took the long weapons in their hands one after another, and got on their horses one after another. The banner in front reads: Dashu.

Hou Mao shouted loudly: "My lords, the weapons in our hands are to protect the people of Shu! Now, the capital of the country is about to be ravaged by the enemy. Do we have the face to watch the people being trampled?"

All the soldiers were in an uproar, shouting: "No!" "Soldiers can be killed but not humiliated!"

The general shouted: "In this battle, we will fight to the last man with the determination to die, so as to fulfill our duty of guarding the land!"

Hou Mao nodded, gritted his teeth, and sighed: "Good brother..." Hou Mao was a person who failed the imperial examination several times, and he said with some emotion at the moment, "Spring is gone and the flowers have fallen, but in the spring of next year, the heroic spirits of the strong men will turn into flying flowers flying over the Chengdu mansion, and beautiful peonies blooming on the city walls, guarding the ancient city and the rich hometown forever..."

Mrs. Huarui on the city wall couldn't help crying when she saw this, and she almost fainted. She choked up and said, "The real husbands are all dead, the city is empty, and only weak people are left to survive and endure humiliation..."

At this moment, Hou Mao pointed forward with his sword, and a group of cavalry began to jog forward, rushing straight into the central crowd of Zhou's 50,000-strong army.

Like a drop of water in the sea, it can't be shocked by the slightest wave. There seems to be a fight coming from a distant place, the sound is faint, ethereal and indistinct...

...

Meng Chang ordered Li Haoxiu to surrender to the Zhou army with absolute superiority in combat power, announcing the demise of the Shu Kingdom. Li Hao led the decree to write the form of surrender, and was preparing to go to Zhou Jun's camp early the next morning. When he opened the door, he saw a few large characters on the door: Shixiu's surrender form to Li's family.

Li Hao's beard stood up in anger, and he reached out to tear off the paper, but stopped and let out a long sigh.

When the former Shu Kingdom fell, it was also Li Hao who wrote the surrender form; now that the Great Shu has perished, the surrender form is from him again. People scolded as if there was nothing wrong... Li Hao witnessed the fall of two regimes.

There were two other people accompanying Li Hao out of the city, one was Wang Zhaoyuan's son-in-law Li Liangyou, and the other was the eunuch Wei Zhong who was brought by the imperial concubine Huarui.

The three of them rode in a carriage along the main road to the Zhou army's camp. Wherever they went, they saw the Zhou army's banners like clouds, men and horses in order, and the tents in the camp were arranged in an orderly manner. It was completely different from the military appearance of the Shu army.

The scouts on the road asked about the situation, escorted them to the camp, and sent people back to report.

After a while, I saw a neat group of cavalry coming towards us. A tall and burly young man clasped his fists on the horse and said, "Dong Zunhui, the forward of the imperial army of the Great Zhou Dynasty, has been ordered to welcome the envoy of the Kingdom of Shu, please!"

Li Hao waited to get out of the car to salute, and then continued on in the carriage. The cavalry cleared the way and was never questioned again.

In front of the big tent, I saw two rows of heavy armored infantry covered in strange iron plates, all tall and strong men covered in iron, "Ka, Ka, Ka..." The sound of heavy and orderly footsteps was very shocking. Seeing this, Li Hao thought to himself: How can the Shu army be undefeated?

A general raised his saber obliquely at the front, and all the troops turned around beside the road, raised their cherry guns neatly with a "wow", and stood on both sides with their heads held high. The general of the cavalry dismounted and said, "Only the envoys of the Shu Kingdom are allowed to enter to see Marshal Guo, and the rest are outside to obey orders."

Li Hao held his breath and followed the general named Dong Zunhui to the tent door. As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the tent, I heard the voice of Hou Mao who had spoken in the hall that day: "It's useless to talk, but I want to die!"

Another deep and gentle voice said: "I don't want to hear how you died, I want to hear how people in Shu live."

"My lord, the envoys from the Kingdom of Shu have arrived!" Another voice said.

Li Hao was brought in, and he saw a tall and straight general sitting on top of him, with a straight face, and his bronzed skin was a bit rough... so young, Li Hao didn't expect that the most powerful general in the Zhou army, known as Guo Tiejiang, was such a young man.

This person is only a general of the Zhou army, not the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty. Even if the Kingdom of Shu surrendered, according to etiquette, he would not have to kneel down. Li Hao pondered for a while, then glanced sideways at Hou Mao, bowed his head and said, "Li Hao, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Shu, pays his respects to Marshal Guo at the request of the King."

The person above nodded, just staring at him intently, without speaking. Li Hao held up the surrender form with both hands: "The Shu army was defeated, and the Great Zhou army is approaching the city today. The Lord of our country does not want to see the loss of life, so I present the surrender form to the Great Zhou, and plead guilty..."

… Guo Shao got the surrender form, unfolded it calmly, looked at it first, and then carefully put it back in the envelope. Turning around, he said, "Seven hundred li urgently, and deliver it to the Empress Dowager Shangcheng in Tokyo."

"To order."

Guo Shao still didn't talk to Li Hao, this kind of silence made Li Hao look a little nervous. Guo Shao glanced at him, and finally said: "At this time, Mr. Li is very nervous, right?"

Li Hao said: "A minister who has lost his country can only be dealt with by Marshal Guo. It is useless to be nervous."

Guo Shaodao: "Actually, I'm also concerned... The demise of the Shu kingdom is not the end, but just the beginning. The Meng family has ruled the Shu kingdom for decades, and the Shu people are used to it. They will feel the humiliation of subjugation..."

Both Li Hao and Hou Mao stood there in surprise, without saying a word.

Guo Shao turned his head and glanced at Hou Mao, and said again: "Shu is not without people. General Hou rushed to kill our formation with hundreds of people. This courage is worthy of our army's respect."

After saying that, he opened his pamphlet, searched, and found Li Hao from the scribbled handwriting, and then reviewed the information collected from the prisoners of war and officials of the Shu Kingdom. As he watched, he unconsciously tapped his fingers on the rough chopping board.

"Li Xianggong, his reputation in Shu is not very good." Guo Shao laughed.

Li Hao was speechless.

Guo Shao said: "However, it is not all about a person's reputation, but also about what he has done and said. I think Shu mainly listened to you earlier, and maybe it can last a little longer."

Li Hao hurriedly said: "Everyone is the master, the criminal officials don't intend to be enemies with Da Zhou."

Guo Shaodao: "Mr. Li, you have seen the fall of the former Shu Kingdom. You should understand that this is just a change of ruling power, right?"

"Return to Commander, yes." Li Hao replied respectfully, "As long as the court of Zhou treats the people of Shu Kingdom well, everyone will return to their hearts soon. No matter who is in power, they are all members of our own family."

Guo Shao immediately became interested: "Li Xianggong thinks, what should I do in Shu Kingdom?"

Li Hao hesitated for a while, and then he said: "Try to avoid the burning, killing and looting of soldiers, and restore the government's laws as soon as possible. The criminal officer said that although the Zhou army occupies the land of Shu, once an uprising is aroused in all directions, it may not be worth the loss if we have to work hard to put down the rebellion."

"Everything!" Guo Shao said, "The Kingdom of Shu no longer exists, and so does your original official. I am now temporarily appointing you as a 'judgment of the Chengdu government'. The official is smaller than before. Are you willing to do it?"

Li Hao looked surprised: "Guo Dashuai can trust the criminal officer?"

"As long as you can trust me, I can trust you." Guo Shao looked at his face seriously.

Li Hao immediately bowed and said: "I thank Marshal Guo, I am willing to take orders."

Hou Mao at the side said in a daze: "Mr. Li, you..."

Li Hao said: "We should be thankful! You surrendered quickly!"

Guo Shao said again: "I led the elite soldiers into the city, and only took over the defense of the city gate. The army camped outside the city. They were forbidden to enter the city and waited for the military order. Strictly order all the ministries not to hurt a single person, otherwise the crime will be aggravated."

Li Hao was even happier after hearing this.

Guo Shaodao: "For the time being, the affairs of Li's family will be settled in the camp. After I finish the deployment, you will follow me into the city to take over the defense."

Then he turned his head to look at Hou Mao, and reached out to take out a piece of paper: "You and the soldiers go home. If you figure it out someday, come to me with this letter before I leave Chengdu, and I will let you continue to be the general of the Zhou army. If you really don't want to, let the brothers go home and live a good life."

Hou Mao's expression was extremely complicated, and he blurted out: "What is the meaning of Marshal Guo...Then why do I have to risk my life? For what..."

Guo Shaodao: "For the sake of your 'Emperor of Shu' continuing to fish and meat the common people, collect the money for pleasure. I heard that the Lord of Shu raised tens of thousands of beauties? It is really enough to form an army of women. Let's go!"

Hou Mao took the paper blankly from the guard, shook his head, and walked out of the tent. The short figure cast a long shadow under the sunlight at the door, looking very lonely.

After all the people from the Kingdom of Shu had left, Guo Shao glanced over Cao Bin's face, and looked at Xiang Gong: "General Xiang has done Cao Bin's meritorious deeds. Among them is his benevolence and righteousness. His subordinates have committed no crimes. Is what he said true?"

Xiang Gong said: "Xiang and Marshal Guo have known each other for many years, when have I been fooled by Marshal Guo?"

"Haha..." Guo Shao couldn't help laughing, "Cao Bin, you will be the garrison of Chengdu Mansion, and you will control all the troops stationed in the cities of Chengdu Mansion."

Cao Bin stood up and said, "The last general has orders!"

Guo Shao casually flipped through the booklet, remembering that he didn't get to know Cao Bin... But he seemed to have heard of it somewhere, a long time ago, but he didn't think much about it for a while. So I don't know much about this general for the time being, but fortunately, the person recommended by Xiang Gong should be more reliable. Guo Shao can't trust Cao Bin, at least he can trust Xiang Gong.

!!