Wishful Things

Those who descend will not be killed.

The subordinates beside Ma Duanlian also saw these four words clearly.

"They...are they trying to force us to surrender?!"

Surrender? !

Hearing this sentence, the silent atmosphere around suddenly became restless.

"Will the Wu family army really let us go..."

"Credible or not?"

"Do you really want to admit surrender? Don't you know the fate of surrendering soldiers since ancient times! Maybe we go out of the mountain with our front feet, and they will be shot and killed on the spot with our back feet!"

"But... isn't it the same as waiting to die if you stay here?"

"Okay, shut up! Listen to the general!" A tall, thin middle-aged man with a messy beard scolded.

Ma Duanlian's eyes fell on the bottom corner of the letter.

Wu Chao...

A letter of persuasion written by the descendants of the Wu family.

If it is credible or not, it is naturally relatively credible.

But - drop...

This word was something he had never thought of before sending out troops. He thought about winning or losing or dying in battle, but he never thought about surrendering.

"I believe the Wu family...they won't go back on their promises!"

Suddenly a young soldier knelt down towards Ma Duanlian in the crowd who had been scolded and quiet. Tears flickered in his eyes on his sallow face, and he said in a choked voice, "General Ma, I don't want to die!"

Ma Duanlian recognized that his accent was from the nearby area.

This time he led more than 50,000 troops, almost all of whom were defenders dispatched from several nearby cities.

Some of them were recruited temporarily by a conscription order.

Many of them are people from the vicinity of Ningyang. They have parents, wives and children at home, and some even have relatives in Ningyang City...

Following him in attacking Ningyang was following the orders of the army and had no choice but to do so.

Thinking about this, looking at the faces in front of him seeking survival, Ma Duanlian's throat seemed to be clogged with a thick layer of cotton wool, and for a moment he couldn't say "swear to die" and "death is a supreme honor" " and so on.

Two of his three confidants had died in battle, and one was seriously injured, but who would remember them? Will the current imperial court appreciate their contributions? Those who have defeated the battle have only faults and no merits.

Those empty words used by the army to motivate the soldiers to move forward seem to be full of deception in the face of life and death.

The man who knelt out rekindled the atmosphere that had been suppressed with great difficulty.

"I also believe in the Wu family. The Wu family has always kept their promises... Since they promised to surrender their troops and not kill them, then we must still have a way to survive!"

"As long as there is still a slight chance of winning, I will fight to the last drop of blood with General Ma, but right now..."

"I don't want to continue waiting to die like this..."

"General—" The middle-aged man frowned tightly: "This subordinate will deal with all those who disturb the morale of the army!"

"No need..." Ma Duanlian's voice was hoarse, and he took a last look at the soldiers who were kneeling one after another, turned around slowly, returned to the cave and sat down slowly against the wall.

Holding the persuasion letter in his hand, he sighed lowly.

Once this letter of persuasion from the Wu family is delivered, it is really impossible to kill him...

There is still a way out in front of him, and people's hearts are in chaos, and it is impossible to have the grief and indignation determination to risk their lives desperately.

Outside the cave, there were more and more kneeling soldiers.

One after another, sad or weak begging sounds drilled into his mind.

Can it be said that they are greedy for life and afraid of death, so they are not worthy of being soldiers of Daqing?

Throughout the ages, these low-level soldiers don't even know what the emperor looks like, what's more, they don't know why they are fighting, and how long they will fight——

They are nothing more than knives in the hands of those in power, who can cut wherever they point.

But they are also human.

Human beings have fears.

No one is born to be loyal to the death, especially their monarch and court can't give them any courage and strength to go forward at this time.

Ma Duanlian sat in the cave until it was dark.

The soldiers who requested have not left, but more and more.

"General, if this goes on like this, there is bound to be trouble. The subordinates have just seen that some people have begun to secretly assign people, and they seem to be taking the opportunity to gather people together to discuss surrender..." The middle-aged man entered the cave and whispered: " Does the general want to come forward to calm people's hearts? If you continue to indulge, the subordinates are afraid that they will be harmful to the general."

In the darkness, while the man was speaking, he slowly pressed the scabbard on the side of his waist with his right hand.

Ma Duanlian put his hands on his side and stood up with some difficulty.

Seeing this, the man stretched out to help.

"I was trapped here in this defeat, and so many people died. As the leader of the army, I cannot escape the responsibility." Ma Duanlian's voice was extremely hoarse: "They want to believe in the Wu family, and they think this is a way to survive... "

After a slight pause, as if he had made up his mind, he sighed slightly: "Maybe they should also let them choose one time..."

"General, have you considered it?" The man's hand holding his arm tightened.

Ma Duanlian nodded.

"Then the subordinates can fulfill General Gao Yi with peace of mind, and the general can fulfill the subordinates..."

Before the man finished speaking, a cold knife light flashed in front of Ma Duanlian's eyes.

Ma Duanlian's expression changed, and he subconsciously touched the saber at his waist——

But it's too late.

The long knife was right in his heart, piercing his chest.

Under the light of the fire outside the cave, the black shadow of the drawn long knife was cast on the stone wall in the cave.

When the knife fell again, it was a head that fell off.

Blood gushes out on the black shadow on the stone wall, and the truth and the false overlap for a moment.

"At the moment of desperation, Deputy General Ma is obsessed with obsession, treating us as ants, and disregarding our life and death-now I have killed him!" The man came out of the cave with Ma Duanlian's head, and shouted to everyone: " Is there anyone who is willing to come out of the mountain with me?!"

Under the light of the fire, everyone saw clearly what he was carrying, and they couldn't help but turn pale with shock.

General Ma is dead!

The change was so sudden that before everyone could react in time, someone in the crowd stood up abruptly: "Good kill! It was his idea that caused us to kill so many brothers!"

"I am willing to surrender!"

"I would too!"

"And I!"

A series of urgent voices sounded one after another, urging the people in the desperate situation to think too much, and there were countless choruses for a while.

The man was the first to mount the horse with Ma Duanlian's head in his hand.

Some soldiers didn't even know what happened, so they blindly chased them out amidst the crowds—no one wanted to be left alone.

Listening to the movement in the mountain, the Xiying soldiers guarding the entrance had already taken precautions. Under the torches, a bow and crossbow were ready to go.

"We're here to surrender!"

The man got off his horse and dropped the knife first.

The soldiers behind him followed suit.

For a moment, the jingling sound of the knife and arrow thrown under the feet echoed around.

The news quickly reached the camp.

Wu Chao rushed over immediately.

He originally thought that Vice General Ma would have to think about it for a few more days——

At such a juncture, Ken Zhan is a character.

Ken surrender is more of a character.

He wanted to meet the man himself.

Accompanied by General Xiao Shou, a group of people left the camp, walked through the night, and galloped all the way to the foot of the mountain.

"Grandson, General Xiao."

All the soldiers guarding the foot of the mountain saluted together.

The young man in soft armor and a black cloak behind him got off his horse.

In the middle of the army, the middle-aged man looked over and saw that the young man described him as handsome and elegant, and he was really sure of the other party's identity, so he hurriedly came forward and knelt down to salute: "The villain has seen Wu Shisun!"

Wu Chao looked at him upon hearing the sound.

The man held the head high and said: "This is the head of Ma Duanlian's neck! The descendants don't know, this surprise attack is a trick of this man! After the grandson ordered someone to send a letter of persuasion, this man Still stubborn, determined to be the enemy of the grandson! Now the villain has beheaded him and enshrined his head to the grandson to show our sincerity of submitting!"

"...It was you villain who killed the general!" In the crowd, a seriously injured man pushed away the crowd and squeezed forward with a wounded leg: "You killed the general in order to contribute to the Wu family... I'm going to chop you up!"

He tried his best to rush forward, but fell heavily to the ground due to the injury on his leg.

The man turned his head slightly, sneering silently.

Kill him?

He killed Ma Duanlian this time, at least it was a meritorious service in front of the Wu family. If he can show his face and be appreciated by the Wu family, he will have a bright future in the future. How can these idiots compare?

"I was ordered to act before, and I couldn't help myself to attack Ningyang City with the army! From now on, I would like to sincerely submit to the Wu family and make up for my mistakes!" The man put the head in front of him, kowtowed and said.

Wu Chao looked at the gray head with the messy bun in front of him, and asked, "Did you kill General Ma?"

The voice was calm and cold, but the man's heart was shaken, and he immediately replied: "Yes! It was the villain who killed it with his own hands! The villain's surname is Gao, and he was originally a school lieutenant in Fengqi County. He was assigned by order... "

As the head suddenly flew out of the neck, the sound stopped abruptly.

The head rolled to the ground, and the eyes were wide open, as if until death he still didn't know what happened, and he didn't know who killed him.

With a soft "噗——", the long sword in Wu Chao's hand returned to its sheath.

Xiao Shoujiang gave a mouthful to the headless corpse that was still kneeling on the ground: "You really think you're so smart for such a black-hearted bastard that you can't figure out!"

Even the coach can kill to contribute, such a person is not at ease even if he stays to clean the dung bucket!

Seeing the head of the leader fall to the ground, all the terrified soldiers panicked.

Wu Chao looked at Ma Duanlian's head and said, "Go to the mountain to find General Ma's body, and buried it with the head."

General Xiao Shou responded.

Hearing this sentence, the man who rushed out to avenge Ma Duanlian before fell to the ground with red eyes.

What about one's own people, in the end they are more benevolent than the enemy army who has no respect for the opponent!

Wu Chao then confessed: "Count the number of people and take them back, hand them over to General Wen and Vice-General Gao, and then divide them into battalions one after another."

"Yes!" General Xiao Shou replied again, and immediately ordered someone to check the arrangement.

Hearing this sentence, the soldiers who surrendered were finally able to calm down their anxious hearts, and there was only one thought in their tense minds - don't need to die!

There is really no need to die!

Throughout the ages, after the war between the two armies, the precedents of killing all prisoners of war abound.

At present, the Wu family is willing to keep their promises, even if they surrender to the service, all they have is the feeling of survival after the catastrophe.

That night, the soldiers in Xishan went back and forth to clean up the corpses everywhere until the sky was bright.

After dealing with the post-war affairs, Wu Chao returned to the city in the early morning of the next day.

When he got off his horse in front of the palace, he saw Wu Ran, more than ten clansmen, and Guanshi Yin waiting outside the door.

Seeing him get off his horse, everyone surrounded him.

"Second brother, are you not injured?" Wu Ran asked nervously.

"What kind of injury did I suffer? Didn't the letter mention it, and I never went to the front of the battle?" Wu Chao threw the reins to Sui Jiang.

Wu Ran whispered: "What if they sneak attack?"

Isn't he worried that the second brother will report the good news and not the bad news?

"The grandson is back..."

"This time, thanks to the timely detection by the grandson, who took the lead and arranged properly..."

"If they accidentally fall into their strategy of attacking the east and attacking the west, the situation will be chaotic again and again, and the consequences will be unimaginable."

The clansmen were talking while accompanying Wu Chao to the mansion.

Everyone's faces were relaxed and calm.

After this battle, the thorn-like court soldiers stationed outside the city were resolved, and other forces were also deterred. There will be no major changes in Ningyang City in a short time.

The next step is to strengthen the defense and pay attention to the movements of King Yan's army.

And what they know very clearly is that even though Ningyang City can maintain peace for a while, outside of Ningyang, it is destined to become more and more turbulent... No one can predict how much turmoil will be and how long it will take. conclusion.

Thinking of the grandson's first return to the mansion, seeing that the clearness has decreased a lot, he had to go back to take a bath and rest first, so the group of clansmen went to the side hall to discuss matters on their own.

Only one Wu Ran followed.

"Where are grandfather and father now?" Wu Chao asked.

"It's in the study outside, and the eldest brother is also..." Wu Ran lowered his voice when he mentioned this: "We are still discussing about the burial of the second uncle."

The elder brother had to keep watch for his father, and he had already returned home earlier.

As early as five days ago, the second uncle had been inactive for seven days.

However, there are some disputes among the clan about where to be buried...

The second uncle's murder of his father and brother was really a big mistake, and some people said that he should no longer be allowed to enter the Wu family's ancestral grave.

What the father meant was that since a person has committed suicide, it can be seen that there is a heart of repentance. When a person dies, the lamp is extinguished, and everything returns to dust. No matter how much he has done, he is still a child of the Wu family.

Grandfather has not let go of his position yet.

Wu Chao took Wu Ran to the outer study.

A servant had reported the news of his return to the mansion earlier.

As soon as he saw Wu Chao, Wu Jingming said: "...Why did you come here like this? The left and right things have been arranged properly, why don't you go back and change clothes to rest?"

"My son is not tired." Wu Chao bowed and said, "I heard that grandfather and father are here to discuss the affairs of second uncle's death. I wonder if you can leave this matter to me and elder brother to discuss?"

Wu Jingming was slightly taken aback when he heard the words.

Wu An looked at Wu Chao.

King Dingnan also looked at the young man who seemed to be a bit of a traveler, who seemed to be calm and introverted after this battle, and nodded slightly after a while.

...

Outside Ningyang City, at the foot of Qingting Mountain, a bamboo forest grew by the water, and the frost-beaten maple trees dyed half of the mountain red.

This is the burial place Wu Chao and Wu An chose for Wu Jingling.

On the tombstone erected, there is no identity, no surname, only six characters written by Wu An himself - the tomb of a layman in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

A layman in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, he was called by Wu Jingling during his lifetime.

Thanks to the book lovers such as Cainiao Yixin, Wu Yue Picking Mulberries, and Asking Yourself for their rewards.

Thank you for your monthly pass.

(There will be an update later after twelve o'clock. It's not considered a burst update, but it's within our capabilities. You can watch it tomorrow morning.)