Chapter 93

Taizhou City.

The defensive battle, starting from the third day, made the city become precarious.

The long-disrepaired city wall collapsed in many places under the artillery fire of the imperial army.

It was all thanks to the soldiers risking their lives that the gaps were barely blocked.

In order to stabilize the front line, the supervision teams were busy.

The number of soldiers who died under the butcher knives of their own people every day exceeded three digits.

With the situation developing to this point, everyone in the righteous army realized that the situation was not good.

Sensing the change in the thoughts of his subordinates, the Huang brothers, who had long wanted to run away, no longer had the intention to hold on.

"Brothers, Huang is incompetent and cannot lead everyone to defeat the imperial army.

Ashamed of the trust of many brothers, Huang is here to apologize to everyone.

I suppose all brothers have realized that Taizhou falling is about to become a foregone conclusion.

Huang cannot lead everyone to achieve the great cause of overthrowing the Great Dayu, nor will I force everyone to stay and be buried with Taizhou City.

These boxes in front of you are filled with treasures.

They are all our gains from these recent days.

I haven't distributed them to everyone because I wanted to use them as capital for us to compete for the world and build a foundation for our descendants.

Now that the situation has changed, I suppose the Great Dayu's destiny is not yet exhausted.

Going against the heaven is not advisable; all the sins belong to Huang, and it has nothing to do with you brothers.

These treasures will be distributed to everyone later, just as a parting fee for our brotherhood.

Taking this money, leave this sad place of Yangzhou, and everyone should hide their names!

Use it sparingly; it should be enough for everyone to be carefree for the rest of your lives, and it won't be in vain that we were brothers.

When midnight arrives, Huang will lead the team to break out and strive to carve out a bloody path for you brothers.

I won't say any more nonsense; let's all drink this last bowl of wine together!"

Huang Renlong said with a tragic face.

Reaching this step was completely beyond his expectations.

The current sadness, besides fooling people into risking their lives, is more about being full of confusion about the future.

Others can hide their names and start a new life in another place, but he, the rebel leader, cannot.

Even if the rebellion is quelled, the imperial court will not stop hunting him.

The local gentry everywhere also hate his kind of existence deeply.

There are too many people in the world who want his life, and he dares not fully trust anyone around him now.

"Grand General, if a person dies, they die; if they don't die, they live for ten thousand years.

We have reached this point, so why talk about parting ways?

Is there any land under the sky that is not the King's? Even if we go out and hide our names, where can we hide?

Don't forget that each of us has the blood of imperial court officials on our hands; they will not let us go.

From raising the rebel flag until now, have you ever heard that the imperial court intends to offer amnesty?

No matter what we do, the imperial court will wipe us out; it's better to just fight them.

If Taizhou cannot be held, then change to another place and continue to rebel.

This kind of land of fish and rice in Jiangnan is not suitable for rebellion, so go to the barren land in the northwest.

Perhaps most of our brothers will die on the way, but as long as we brothers persist, someone will definitely see the day the Great Dayu collapses!"

A man with a scar said heroically.

It is a pity that this kind of performance is destined to be a futile effort.

If confidence is lost, and it could be restored in a few words, there would not be the term "scattered morale" in the world.

Even if they don't care about the situation, everyone knows that the large-scale Great Huai'an Uprising is nearing its end at this time.

The righteous armies everywhere have been suppressed one after another; just this remnant army of theirs is simply unable to turn the tide.

It is now late autumn, and the climate no longer restricts the combat effectiveness of the imperial army.

With the right time, the right place, and the right people, the righteous army has not occupied any of them, so what can they use to overthrow the imperial court's rule?

Realizing that people's hearts cannot be reversed, Huang Renlong picked up the bowl and drank the wine in one gulp, then threw the bowl in his hand to the ground.

After a "Bang" sound, Huang Renlong ordered coldly: "Distribute the money!"

As a righteous army commander who had been afraid of poverty since childhood, he would never distribute the money he got if he had a choice.

But now it is different; carrying a large amount of wealth, it is impossible to run out smoothly.

Choosing to distribute the money to everyone is both to buy people's hearts one last time and to arrange for scapegoats.

Having done private salt business for more than ten years, he had dealt with the imperial army countless times and knew very well that these people were masters who would not get up early without profit.

He is not a big shot famous all over the world; just relying on a portrait on a wanted poster, it is difficult for imperial army soldiers to recognize the real person at a glance.

With a little makeup, one can pretend to be an ordinary soldier and escape.

Unable to distinguish who is the rebel leader, whoever has the most money on them will be the primary target for the imperial army soldiers to chase and kill.

One person carrying a large amount of money may not necessarily be discovered, but when a group of people carries a large amount of money, it will definitely be exposed.

If the personal guards around him all carry a large amount of treasure, it is easy to be mistaken by the imperial army as the rebel leader.

Even if the plan fails, it doesn't matter; traveling light always allows one to run faster when escaping.

Adding up the men, women, old, and young in Taizhou City, there are still nearly 100,000 people; the imperial army simply cannot catch them all for a while.

It doesn't matter if you can't outrun the imperial army soldiers, as long as you can outrun your teammates.

……

Midnight.

"What happened outside?"

Li Mu, who was awakened from his sleep, hurriedly asked the guard.

"Battalion Commander, the rebel army has broken out!"

Upon receiving this news, Li Mu could no longer care about sleeping.

"Pass the order down, notify all officers and soldiers to prepare for battle!"

While giving the order, he got up directly and put on his armor.

Although in this Taizhou siege battle, he played the role of a melon-eating crowd, concurrently serving as a reserve team.

According to normal circumstances, without Marquis Wuyang's military order, he does not need to act.

The colleagues responsible for the siege are also unwilling to let him intervene in the big battle.

But being on the battlefield, being a little cautious is never wrong.

It is better to be prepared in advance and wait for the commander's order than to have the commander's order come while one is still in a dream.

Don't look at Marquis Wuyang as if he is easy to talk to; if military opportunities are truly delayed, changing his face is a matter of the blink of an eye.

The sound of shouting and killing is getting louder and louder; from the movement outside, it can be judged that the nearby friendly forces and the breaking-out rebels have fought together.

"Big Wu, please invite Mr. Zhou over; I have something to ask him."

When it was chaotic outside, Li Mu suddenly remembered that there was still someone in his camp who understood the rebels.

……

"Mr. Zhou, Battalion Commander invites you over!"

Hearing this title, Zong Guangtai, who had just been awakened, was startled.

Ever since he met Li Mu last time, he had been sitting on pins and needles.

Intuition told him that Li Mu had discovered that there was a problem with his identity, but for some reason, he did not expose it on the spot.

In the days that followed, the two did not meet again, but deep in his heart, Zong Guangtai became increasingly terrified.

Someone who saw through that there was a problem with his identity and did not choose to expose it on the spot must have other plans.

During this period, he wanted to run away several times, but the guards in the camp were too strict, and every time it ended in failure.

"Military Lord, I don't know why the Battalion Commander called me over?"

Zong Guangtai asked suspiciously.

In the days in the camp, he didn't spend them in vain.

He had inquired about Li Mu's background.

Although the Great Dayu Dynasty values civil officials and slights military ones, that is only the general trend; specifically applied to individuals, this rule is not completely applicable.

Like Li Mu, a military general with a significant background and real power, even if the Zong family was in its heyday, they could not be underestimated.

Falling to this point, what is worth plotting on him is the wealth hidden by the Zong family outside.

It is a pity that this wealth is scattered and hidden, and is kept by many people; with his status, he only knows one of them.

It is mainly based on books; the gold and silver treasures inside are an astronomical figure for ordinary people, but for aristocratic families, it is nothing.

It is not that the Zong family has no money; it is mainly because they could not predict in advance that their family would encounter a disaster so quickly.

The family's wealth mainly existed in the form of industries and had not yet had time to be transferred.

"If you are told to go, just go quickly.

How would I know what thoughts the Battalion Commander has?

Calling you Mr. Zhou is giving you face; don't really take yourself for a gentleman!"

Hearing the complaints of the soldiers outside, the courage that Zong Guangtai had finally mustered suddenly leaked away.

There is no way; Li Mu does not value him.

Mr. Lan, who originally looked at him differently, also decisively alienated him after realizing that there might be a problem with his identity.

With no one to specifically take care of him, Zong Guangtai's status in the camp suddenly became awkward.

"This student will go over now; sorry to trouble you, Military Lord, to lead the way in front!"

Zong Guangtai said fearfully.

People under the eaves have to bow their heads.

Even if he was once famous in Jiangnan, now he is just a prisoner.

If he angers the soldier in front of him, he might even get a beating.

In the past days, just because of a failed escape, he had learned the fists of the patrol soldiers.

Coming to Li Mu in fear and trepidation all the way, what greeted him was a pair of sharp eyes.

"Mr. Zhou, have you been getting used to living in the camp recently?"

Hearing this familiar yet strange voice, Zong Guangtai's body suddenly stood unsteadily and almost fell to the ground.

In the days of a prisoner, it would be a ghost if one could get used to it.

It can be said that the hardships he had suffered in the more than thirty years he lived before were not as much as the hardships he had suffered in this recent period.

Even in the righteous army camp, he was the high-and-mighty Mr. Zong, and no one dared to provoke him.

"Many thanks to the Battalion Commander for your care; this student has been doing okay!"

Zong Guangtai replied, suppressing the desire to complain.

Reason told him that complaining had no meaning.

His miserable life in the camp would not have happened without the tacit approval of the person in front of him.

"Since Mr. Zhou is used to living here, then there is no need to change places for the time being.

The rebels are breaking out; with your intelligence, I suppose you should be able to guess Huang Renlong's next destination.

If you can capture the rebel leader, Mr. can be considered as making up for your crimes with meritorious service."

Li Mu said with a smile that was not a smile.

Backed by the Great Dayu Dynasty, in these recent days, a large amount of intelligence about the rebels has been collected.

Combining the information from all sides, it can almost be determined that this Mr. Zhou in front of him is the talented scholar Zong who disappeared from the rebel camp.

Deliberately not exposing his identity is because the moment his identity is exposed is the end of the person in front of him.

As a second-generation member of the Great Dayu Dynasty with a correct background, Li Mu cannot get mixed up with the rebels.

No matter how talented Zong Guangtai is, as long as his identity is exposed, he must die.

It is merely a question of whether to execute him on the spot or hand him over to the imperial court for execution.

"Battalion Commander, the rebel Huang Renlong is cunning by nature and has many hideouts.

Where he is going to escape to now, this student does not know.

However, this student knows several of his secret hideouts and can provide them to you, Commander!"

Zong Guangtai said through gritted teeth.

The Zong family was Huang Renlong's benefactor; if it weren't for their promotion, Huang Renlong would be a salt-boiling stove household and it would be impossible for him to have his later glory.

As a result, the little brother they helped up became the master instead, and also slaughtered the entire Zong family.

Thinking of his wife and children, Zong Guangtai could no longer control his hatred for Huang Renlong.

Even if it means cooperating with the imperial court, he wants to kill this traitor.

"Get the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone; sorry to trouble Mr. Zhou to write down all the rebel leader's secret hideouts on paper!"

Li Mu said with a smile.

For some things, being prepared in advance is definitely not wrong.

If it's not useful, it's just wasting a bit of pen and ink; if it is used, it's another merit.

(End of chapter)