stubborn thief

Chapter 656 Convinced

Chen Qiuyu's family was going crazy.

Those with fragile minds cried bitterly, while those with strong minds felt as if struck by lightning.

They could never have imagined it in their dreams. Not only them, but even Zhang Xianzhong, King Han, and even Zhou Qing, who personally executed the executioner, could not have imagined it.

Liu Chengzong went to great lengths to send people across the Yellow River to Baode Prefecture to capture Chen Qiuyu's family, not to persuade them to surrender nor to vent his anger, but to stuff them into the mighty city of Xi'an.

Of course, the one who was even more dumbfounded was Chen Qiuyu on the city wall.

Ever since Xi'an Prefecture City started letting people leave the city, he has been eating and sleeping on the city gate tower these days, and he has sent people to keep an eye on the movements of the Marshal's Army at all times.

But to be honest, he himself didn't know what he was looking forward to or fearing.

Liu Chengzong didn't know whether to be happy or sad whether he would accept the people or not.

Liu Chengzong didn't know whether to look forward to it or to be afraid, and he could either attack the city in a rage or accept it calmly.

Most of the officials and officers in Xi'an city were like him.

In short, they were exhausted by the siege.

But he did not expect that Liu Chengzong would escort people out of the camp.

So as soon as he heard the news, he hurried up to the city wall and took a look through the telescope. He was surprised!

Although those people leaving the camp were too far away to be seen clearly, Chen Qiuyu felt that those figures were very familiar, but he just couldn't remember where they were.

On the one hand, as the most distinguished descendant of the Chen family, he had been serving as an official between Xi'an Prefecture and Yansui in Shaanxi since the Shaanxi Uprising, and had not returned home for many years.

On the other hand, he couldn't think of that direction at all, and only thought that it was his fellow officials who surrendered to Liu Chengzong.

But it seems that there are also women and children. Whose family did Liu Chengzong bring here?

I don’t know, let’s take a look.

As the large group of people got closer and closer to the trench, Chen Qiuyu was suddenly struck by lightning and was fixed on the top of the city wall.

  Good guy!

Isn't that my brother?

He is not in his hometown, why did he come to Shaanxi?

Oh, there are also mother and Aunt Bai, fourth uncle and Chen Qiying. Is that little guy Chen Qizhang? I haven't seen him for a few years. He has grown up.

Nine years.

Since the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, when he served as the deputy envoy of Guannei Road in Shaanxi, he has only returned to his hometown twice.

The first time was when he took office as a councilor of Henan in the first year of Chongzhen. He thought that Guo’s scoundrel son was not worthy of his younger sister, so he went home to break off the engagement.

Then in the second year of Chongzhen, his younger sister committed suicide and he returned home to attend the funeral. He was hastily appointed as the Shaanxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. After that, he never returned to his hometown of Baode Prefecture.

  I thought it was someone's family member that was brought here by Liu Chengzong, but it turned out to be my family member!

Chen Qiuyu stood there in a daze, blood rushing to his head, his hair standing on end with rage, and his eyes instantly turned red.

He never expected that Liu Chengzong would bring his family over.

Because Chen Qiuyu is not a traditional official like Duan Fuxing, who believes that if one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit.

He has been cutting ties with his family.

To be precise, he has been deliberately curbing the development of his family.

His family and relatives wrote to him, hoping to work for him as an official, but he flatly refused.

As a senior official from another province who had worked in Shaanxi for many years during the Chongzhen period, Chen Qiyu felt deeply uneasy when he saw high-ranking officials such as Wu Zhiwang lining up to die a miserable death.

At the same time, because of his sister Chen Jing's suicide, he also felt guilty towards his family and did not want to see anyone die because of power, wealth and other external things.

Therefore, after gaining power, he advised his peers that those who did not have a title should take the examination to become a scholar, and those who had the title of scholar should focus on their studies and not pursue the status of a juren or jinshi.

Anyway, the Chen family is a scholarly family in Baode Prefecture, a local wealthy family, and they are very wealthy.

In the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Baode suffered a disaster. Chen Qiuyu, who had just been appointed as the deputy envoy of the Guannei Road in Shaanxi, took out 3,000 taels of silver from his home for disaster relief and paid the rent and taxes for that year on behalf of his hometown.

Even if no one takes up official post, it will not affect life.

After all, the world is in chaos, and there is no benefit in passing the imperial examinations and becoming an official at this time.

It is better for you to stay in your hometown and study. I am already in Shaanxi anyway. I have done a good job. It will not be too late for you to become an official after the disaster is over.

If things don't go well, even if I die, it will be considered that the Chen family has done its best to be loyal to the court.

It is also because of this that all of his brothers of the same generation in his family were given the titles of scholar or tribute student, but not even one was a juren.

Chen Qiuyu doesn't believe in the success of others.

He knew how dangerous this road was, and he didn't give his brothers and nephews the chance to ascend to heaven with him.

Faced with such an environment, it is normal to be in unrest, not to mention that the whole family may perish together if you are not careful.

Protecting his family was something Chen Qiyu believed was the best decision he had ever made for a long time.

However, despite his hiding and being stopped, Liu Chengzong still sent his family to the city of Xi'an.

Chen Qiuyu's world was about to fall.

The officials on the city walls looked at each other, and the soldiers guarding the city whispered to each other. People didn't know why the Marshal's troops were driving those innocent people away. They could only see those people crossing the moat outside the city and getting closer and closer to the moat.

Only Chen Qiyu knew what happened.

His eyes were almost spitting fire as he stared at the city below, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.

Chen Qiuyu was so angry that he wanted to bite his teeth to pieces, and his heart was in a state of confusion.

There was only one question in his mind: Is Liu Chengzong crazy?

  This doesn't make sense!

Put family members and relatives under the city to persuade them to surrender. The real relatives under the city would rather die than persuade them to surrender, and the people on the city would rather their relatives die than surrender!

Times have changed, Marshal.

This is not the end of the Han Dynasty. I, Chen Qiuyu, am not a local lord like a provincial governor, nor am I a frontline troop commander during the Three Kingdoms period. Even in this era, I am not a prefect or county magistrate who has direct jurisdiction over the local area.

Moral kidnapping won't work. You use your family to kidnap me morally outside the city, and the officials behind me inside the city will use the morality of loyalty to kidnap me.

In our time, persuading people to surrender can only be done privately, by secretly opening the city gates.

  But the damn gates of Xi'an were already opened for you a long time ago, you bastard, you didn't even try to go in!

Now you are bringing my family to the outskirts of the city, what are you doing?

At this moment, a cavalry general led two men, holding two flags, galloped across the trench covered with boards, and rode towards the city.

There are two yellow flags, with a dragon pattern on a yellow background on the left and black words on a yellow background on the right. The words are clear: Zongrenying.

After he crossed the trench and got closer, people realized that the general was not riding a war horse, but a tall and strong black donkey.

The man ran all the way to the other side of the moat drawbridge without a weapon, raised his finger and pointed at the city wall and shouted at the top of his lungs: "I am Zhu Danyu, the lieutenant general of the clan camp of the Grand Marshal's Office. Is General Chen on the city wall?"

To be honest, when the defenders on the city saw the general running towards them, many of them thought that their chance to make a contribution had come, and the musketeers even lit the fuse.

But after hearing the self-introduction, they all looked gloomy and extinguished the fuse on the city wall.

He is from the clan camp and is the immortal Golden Cicada. This bastard has been reincarnated several times. Why would you mess with him?

To be honest, the soldiers were not afraid of the clan camp. After all, these people were different from the King of Han. They had no title and were just commoners. If they joined the rebels and rebelled, and were known thieves, killing them would be a merit rather than a fault.

There is no way out, but there might be a complaint from the royal family. But if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up, so it won't be a problem.

Fortune and wealth are sought through risk. But Jin Chanzi is different.

This bandit has been killed too many times by government troops and has been reincarnated too many times. The imperial court and the Shaanxi local government have long stopped recognizing him as a famous thief.

You won’t get any reward for killing a golden cicada.

Of course, the second-generation Golden Cicada Zhu Danyu who was under the city didn't know about this. He just thought that the name Golden Cicada was impressive, so when others heard it was him, they all put down their weapons.

Chen Qiyu on the city wall was about to answer, but was stopped by Wang Qiaonian, the political advisor and education officer beside him. He then walked to the battlement and said, "The general is not here, just tell me if you have anything to say!"

"It's good that you're not here, haha!"

Zhu Danyu reined in his donkey and circled across the suspension bridge before shouting to the people on the city wall, "General Chen is kind-hearted and sent the homeless people out. Our great marshal is very grateful and has sent people to bring General Chen's family from Shanxi to the city so that you can be reunited. Open the city gate and lower the suspension bridge!"

After Jin Chanzi finished speaking, he rode his donkey back to the camp.

Officials such as Wang Qiaonian on the city wall looked at each other in confusion, unable to react for a moment to what was happening.

Even Chen Qiuyu didn't understand what was going on. He thought that all his family members and clansmen were going to die outside the city, but when he suddenly heard that they would be allowed into the city, he was overjoyed.

Liu Chengzong's siege of the city trained the officials and soldiers in the city very well.

At this moment, no one suspected that he took the opportunity to attack the city when the city gate was opened.

I wouldn't even think about it.

Then everyone on the city wall saw groups of people, young and old, being driven towards the city by the soldiers from the siege camp.

At this moment, Wang Qiaonian was still wondering why Chen Junmen’s family looked... unhappy, as if they were not willing to come here, and were even crying.

Chen Qiuyu had already reacted. He gritted his teeth and stared at the siege camp outside the city. He wanted to curse a few words, but he couldn't say it.

He was almost vomiting blood because of holding it in.

  Damn, Liu Chengzong has such a vicious heart!

What is the current situation in Xi'an? If I move my family into the city, doesn't that mean my whole family will be buried here?

In fact, he was wrong.

Because soon, Jin Chanzi came back on his donkey and shouted to the city: "Please tell General Chen that these are 64 of his close relatives. Send them into the city first."

"There are still 470 clansmen who are not out of the fifth degree of mourning. They are on their way. Please rest assured, the commander-in-chief said that we will carry the sedan chair for the old man who has difficulty walking. We will ensure that no one is left behind and that they are all sent into the city!"

"The Grand Marshal also said that our Ming Dynasty governs the world with filial piety. If you miss your relatives and need this, just tell me and the Marshal will do it for you!"

Chen Qiuyu felt dizzy and almost fell down - damn, it's not the whole family, it's the whole clan.

And outside the city.

Liu Chengzong put down the telescope while watching Jin Chanzi's back, clapped his hands with satisfaction, and said to Zhang Xianzhong and others: "Well, the Chen family is reunited, and this is considered a good deed done by the Grand Marshal's Office."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go and see how the hungry people are resettled."

Zhang Xianzhong followed the living king of hell closely and learned new knowledge every day.

The Eighth King was now both completely in awe of Liu Chengzong and terrified at the same time.

Ever since he found out that Liu Chengzong decided to send Chen Qiuyu's family into the city, he didn't dare to look at Liu Chengzong.

Really, let alone a leader like Zhang Xianzhong who was on the edge of a knife, just look at the current situation in Shaanxi. If you randomly pick out ten people, they will not only kill people like crazy, but at least turn a blind eye to matters of life and death.

very common.

But this kind of... Zhang Xianzhong didn't dare to think about it. If he and Chen Qiuyu were in each other's shoes, what would he think and say at this moment.

Zhang Xianzhong felt that he had a lot of things on his mind, but he couldn't say anything, so all he could do was hold his breath in his throat and couldn't spit it out.

  How to say?

Are you saying that Liu Chengzong has a very vicious mind?

Can't say.

There are so many eyes staring at you from behind. Oh, they sent your family to the city with such vicious intentions.

  We have been following your orders and staying in the city the whole time, so what?

Zhang Xianzhong thought that if he was in the city, even if he bit his teeth into pieces and swallowed them, he would still have to pretend nothing had happened and write a letter to the outside world.

Thank you Marshal Liu for taking care of our family.

Otherwise, nothing can come out.

  So suffocated!

After they walked a long way, Zhang Xianzhong finally exhaled and said, "The Marshal is extremely intelligent. If I, Old Zhang, were to handle this matter, I'm afraid that even if I chop his entire family off outside the city, it would not be as generous as sending them into the city."

"Oh, Brother Bingzhong, you are exaggerating. There is no wisdom at all. I am just making you misunderstand me because I am so foolish."

Liu Shizi sighed and shook his head slowly.

In fact, he didn't have any vicious intentions, he was just tired of the idea of ​​surrender.

The most tormenting thing in this world is not being able to get what you want. How did Cao Cao feel when he saw Guan Yu?

But then again, if Guan Yu really abandoned Liu Bei and joined Cao Cao because of Cao Cao's power, he would not be the Guan Yu that Cao Cao had been longing for.

The same thing applies to Liu Chengzong.

Those loyal ministers and generals who were highly regarded by him would rather hang themselves on the beams, fall to their death on the city walls, or go through fire and water than surrender to him.

Chen Qiuyu was defending a broken city, out of ammunition and food, helpless, but he was unwilling to surrender.

It would be fine if he didn't surrender. Liu Shizi didn't like to force people to do things against their will.

Bringing family members to the city and asking them to persuade Chen Qiuyu to surrender would only be counterproductive.

Liu Chengzong was tired of such things. Why bother? Of course, other people's lives should be decided by others.

He respects other people's ideas and actions.

“Everything has a price, and everyone can do anything they want, as long as they can pay the price.”

"This city, I didn't do anything to them."

Liu Chengzong looked back and glanced at the distant Xi'an City: "Everything they did was what they wanted to do. When the soldiers ran out of food, they went down to the city to buy food. When the officials wanted to defend the city, I didn't force them to surrender."

"Chen Qiyu wants to be a loyal minister. Ming's loyal ministers naturally cannot be used by me. Let him get what he wants. I will fulfill his wish."

"I can lose, but I have to accept it with conviction."

Zhang Xianzhong was very confused by this: "Lose, how could the Marshal lose?"

Liu Chengzong shook his head. Zhang Xianzhong might find it difficult to understand his thoughts.

He wanted to help Chen Qiuyu abandon all excuses and make sure that the Ming Dynasty had no restrictions on his surrender.

The city was in his hands, and his family and clansmen were by his side. Whether he surrendered to the Marshal's Office and became a traitor, or died in Xi'an as a loyal minister, depended entirely on Chen Qiuyu's own thoughts.

If this is the case, he is still a true hero who chooses to die.

Of course Liu Chengzong lost to Chen Qiuyu.

But he admitted it and was convinced.

good morning!