Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Trick?" Black-toothed Changzhi shook his head: "It doesn't look like it. The garrison's false surrender was either to delay time, or to paralyze the enemy's search for an opportunity to go out of the city to make a surprise attack. But Pyongyang's city is strong and there are enough guards, so there is no need to delay. time."

"So the Goguryeo people are going to attack us?" Cui Hongdu asked.

"It doesn't look like it!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head: "But it's not a big mistake to be careful. Pass down the order, and the battalions will strengthen their vigilance, and watch out for raids by thieves!"

For this ordeal, Gao Zang specially changed himself into an undyed sackcloth, thick straw sandals on his feet, and a white cloth wrapped around his head, just like a dutiful son who had just lost his parents.He could notice the weird eyes cast from all around, but there was no other way, time was running out, Quanyuan Nanjian brothers could lead the troops to arrive at any time, and the situation in the city was also very unstable, so he had to gain the trust of the people of Tang as soon as possible, instead of Reach an agreement, and any accident will destroy your plan. Only by reaching an agreement quickly can you keep as much as possible in this catastrophe.

"Please follow me!" Li Bo looked curiously at the Goguryeo envoy. The man in front of him was far from the envoy he imagined. However, after following Wang Wenzuo, he became more stable in his affairs and spoke less.He led Gao Zang to the commander's tent, and said in a low voice: "The person among them is Wang Wenzuo, the governor of the Xiongjin Governor's Mansion of the Tang Dynasty. Don't be rude after entering!"

"Thank you!" Gao Zang cupped his hands to Li Bo, walked into the tent, then knelt down, and said in a deep voice, "The guilty minister Gao Qiang pays homage to the superior king and governor!"

When Wang Wenzuo saw the kneeling Goguryeo envoy, his face changed slightly. Of course he knew what the other party meant by dressing like this.Undyed sackcloth was a proxy for prison uniforms in ancient China, and envoys of a country wore plain clothes and straw sandals, which meant that they regarded themselves as sinners and pleaded guilty.Since the other party made such a gesture in accordance with the ancient etiquette, he should respond accordingly, otherwise it would be rude!
"Please stand up and give me a seat!" Wang Wenzuo said in a deep voice: "You just said that you have committed crimes in the country, where did you start?"

"Thank you, the governor of the Shang Kingdom!" Gao Zang kowtowed: "Our country has rebellious ministers Quan Gai Suwen and his son, who don't know big or small, don't know how to count, and resorted to war recklessly. , specially led the ministers to submit a letter to the noble army, begging for a county to guard the ancestral temple, wishing that the Tang Dynasty will be a vassal state for generations to come, and the borders will be stable! I also invite the governor of the Shang Kingdom to pass it on for me!"

"Oh? You came here under the order of King Goguryeo?" Wang Wenzuo immediately grasped several key information in the other party's words. First of all, according to the envoy, Quangai Suwen and his son are already "rebellious ministers", which shows that at the moment The person in power in Pyongyang is the opposition of Chuan Gaisuwen, so it is very likely that a military coup has just broken out in the city; and the mention of King Goguryeo later shows that the victory of the military coup is likely to be the original puppet King Goguryeo.

"That's right, my minister is here at the king's order! This is a letter written by His Majesty the King, please read it personally!" After finishing speaking, Gao Zang took out the letter from his pocket and presented it with both hands.

Wang Wenzuo took the letter from Cao Wenzong's hand, opened it, and saw that Quangai Suwen and his son were first scolded severely in the letter, saying that they deceived the emperor and provoked a big country, and deserved to die.Then he said that he had set things right and regained control of Pyongyang City, and expressed his willingness to open the city gate and surrender to the Tang army.The meaning of the Spring and Autumn Period: Survival and death will continue, if the defense is weak and violence is prohibited, if there is no intention of annexation, then the princes will be close.Begging for the land of a county, guarding the ancestral temple and the country, being the vassal of the Tang Dynasty from generation to generation, guarding the border, thinking it is infinite!
Seeing this, Wang Wenzuo finally understood that he led the army and drove straight in. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that Quanyuan Nanjian and his brothers were not in Pyongyang, go straight to the city of Pyongyang, and then fish in troubled waters.Unexpectedly, the King of Goguryeo, who was regarded as a puppet by Quanyuan Nanjian's brothers, took the opportunity to rise up, killed the people left behind, and captured Pyongyang City.And the first thing the King of Goguryeo did after he seized power was to beg for surrender from the Tang army outside the city, at the cost of handing over Pyongyang City, in exchange for keeping his ancestral temple.

"Your envoy, please step down first! This matter is of great importance, I will discuss it with the generals first, and then give you an answer!"

"Of order!" Gao Zang stood up, "However, time is running out and the situation is changing rapidly. Please don't hesitate, the governor. If you miss the opportunity, you will regret it!"

"Don't worry, I will give you an answer in half an hour at most!" Unknowingly, Wang Wenzuo's attitude towards him was much gentler.

"This guy is really bold, he even dares to teach the governor what to do!" Seeing Gao Zang's leaving back, Shen Faseng sneered.

"What he said is not bad. The current situation in Pyongyang must be short-lived. King Goguryeo has been a puppet for so long, and there must not be many people on hand. However, after Quangai Suwen and his son have been in business for so many years, King Goguryeo can come back. , relying on acting decisively and being unprepared. If time drags on for a long time, it will be late and things will change!" Wang Wenzuo said with emotion: "However, this King of Goguryeo is really an outstanding man. He has been lurking as a minion for so many years, but he can seize this opportunity Turning things around, and being able to lead our army into the city to protect ourselves immediately after the turnaround, this kind of heart, this vision, this determination, is amazing!"

"Could it be a trap?" Cui Hongdu asked.

"Trap? How should I say it!" Shen Faseng asked.

"For example, first lead our army into the urn city, then quickly close the inner and outer city gates, and fire the inner and outer bows and crossbows at once!" Cui Hongdu said.

"That's right, Commander, you have to guard against it!"

"Well!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "There is such a possibility, but it's not very big. After all, even if the Goguryeo king does nothing, it will be difficult for us to capture Pyongyang; and his biggest enemy is actually Quan Yuannan. Brother Jian is not Datang, and if Datang wins, he will at most be exiled to the smoky land; but brother Quanyuan Nanjian will come back, and it will not be easy for him to die a good death!"

"Then how do you plan to answer him, Governor?" Cui Hongdu looked worried: "The conditions proposed by the King of Goguryeo are not simple, not to mention you, even the British Duke may not be able to agree to his conditions. This is a matter for the court. , the matter of the Son of Heaven!"

"Let's go to the city first, anyway, the soldiers are not tired of deceit, so once they enter the city, we can't let him go!" Shen Faseng laughed.

"Hehe!" Wang Wenzuo laughed and said, "Seng Faseng's words are correct. You can do anything without entering Pyongyang City. If you enter Pyongyang City, you can't let him go!"

Hearing Wang Wenzuo's words, everyone in the tent burst into laughter, and the air became more relaxed.Gao Zang's letter mentions "the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period: survival and death will continue, the weak will be guarded against violence, and if there is no intention of annexation, the princes will be close!" It means that wars between princes in the Spring and Autumn Period often have a bottom line Yes, the victor either extorts tribute, cedes the land, or installs a member of the royal family who is close to himself to succeed him, but generally he will not completely perish.Even if it is an annexation, the other party's ancestral temple will usually be left behind, and dozens of small towns with hundreds of households will continue to worship their ancestral temples instead of exterminating them.

This practice also continued after the Spring and Autumn Period. For example, after Han Gaozu established the Western Han Dynasty, he sent [-] households to guard the tomb of Chen Sheng and worship him; five households were sent to guard the tomb of Prince Wuji of Wei and offered sacrifices at four o'clock.After Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, he did not kill Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, but made him the Duke of Shanyang, enshrined the Han Zhengshuo kimono in the fief, and built the Han Zongmiao to worship the Han Dynasty.The condition proposed by the King of Goguryeo was that he could get a county to continue guarding the ancestral temple, and continue to survive as a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.In doing so, Datang would have eliminated the threat of Goguryeo and gained a good reputation for not fighting wars for land annexation. It must be said that this was a rather clever request.

Gao Zang sat kneeling on the straw mat with his back straight. Not far away, the laughter of the generals of the Tang Dynasty came through the curtain and poured into his ears. He could imagine the pride of the generals of the Tang Dynasty at this time. The hard-fought and hard-to-get Fortified City is about to be obtained at your fingertips, and anyone who changes it will be ecstatic.He can also imagine how his actions will be recorded in the history books of later generations. A subjugated king would not have a good reputation, let alone a subjugated king who personally opened the city gate and surrendered.

But enduring humiliation and stealing life requires more courage than dying at the neck. Although this road seems humiliating, it is the only way out.It is not the first day that Goguryeo has a vast territory and many household registrations like today. If your plan is successful, Goguryeo will be able to continue to survive as a border guard vassal of the Tang Dynasty. There is hope for survival. Although Tang is powerful , but he will not be so strong forever; when the former king faced the threat of the Sui, the situation was probably as critical as it is today, but the former king overcame the difficulty with resourcefulness and courage, and finally not only defeated the Sui people's three attacks , and pushed the country to its peak.

"Envoy, please follow me!" Li Bo walked in from outside the tent: "The governor wants to see you!"

"Thank you!" Gao Zang stood up and followed behind Li Bo, ignoring the countless gazes cast from all around, he boldly walked into the handsome tent and bowed down to Wang Wenzuo.

"Envoy Gao!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I have already read your king's letterhead. The request he made in the letter is beyond my authority, and I cannot give an answer. But he can rest assured that in view of his actions, I will speak for him before the British public!"

"Thank you, Commander Wang!" Wang Wenzuo's answer was beyond Gao Zang's expectations, and he bowed to Wang Wenzuo again: "Then please give me a reply, so that I can go back and report to my lord!"

"En!" Wang Wenzuo nodded, and sent a reply letter. He looked at Gao Zang and said with a smile, "Your name is Gao Qiang, right? You are very handsome, and you are not someone who has lived under others for a long time!"

"Don't dare!" Gao Zang's body trembled slightly, he took the letter and lifted it above his head, he walked back a few steps on his knees, put it in his arms, and exited the tent.Soon after he returned to the city, he shot arrows from the top of the city, and at dawn the next day, the east gate of Pyongyang City will be opened, allowing Tang troops to enter the city.

For most of the officers and soldiers of the Xiongjin Governor's Mansion, the morning of June 668, 6 AD came very late.Whether it is Tang people, Baekje people, Japanese people, or Mohe people, they all anxiously look at the distant horizon, hold their breath, and wait for the light to rise slowly from the horizon, which marks the end of this long and arduous war. .

Wang Wenzuo could feel the atmosphere around him, as if the air was about to freeze. Everyone here was looking forward to victory and triumph, took off their armor, returned to their hometown, hugged their wives and children, and cultivated their fields. Smell the smell of gunpowder smoke and blood again!But can I go back to that life?Wang Wenzuo couldn't help lowering his head, looking at his hands, how many people's blood had already stained them!I have long been used to the bumpy saddle, the camp bed covered with hay, the sword under the pillow, and the bowstring between my fingers. Only in this life can I feel fulfilled and alive; Will it rot quickly?
"Sanlang, look at the top of the city! Goguryeo's flag has come down!"

Cui Hongdu's voice trembled violently. Wang Wenzuo looked towards the top of the city, and just as Cui Hongdu said, the white flag was slowly floating down. The last moment of a great power that has occupied Northeast Asia for 800 years.As if by instinct, Wang Wenzuo pulled out his saber, raised it above his head, and finally shouted: "Datang! Wansheng!"

"Datang! Wansheng!" Almost at the same time, everyone in the Tang army raised their weapons and shouted loudly. A big hole was torn open in the clouds in the sky.

The sun finally came out, and the sunlight crossed the city wall and sprinkled on the open space in front of it.The cheers gradually subsided, and everyone was staring at the city gate in the distance. Someone shouted: "Open the door, open the door!"

As if in response to the shout, the east gate of Pyongyang City was opened, and the opened gate was like the mouth of a beast, dark and long.A figure came out from the door opening, with his upper body naked, his hands tied behind his back, a silk bag tied around his neck, and a sheep leading behind him, looking desolate and weird.

"This is a meat-and-face bondage, leading the sheep to the left and the grass to the right, and I am apologizing to you!" Cui Hongdu said in a low voice, his voice was full of irrepressible excitement.

"What do you mean?" Wang Wenzuo asked, not knowing much about it.

"It's like this. When Zhou Wu destroyed Shang, Wei Zi visited the military gate of King Wu with a sacrificial vessel. He tied his flesh to his face, led a sheep on his left, and a grass on his right. He walked forward on his knees and explained to King Wu that he was far away from Emperor Xin. Moved, he let go of his shackles, returned to his position as before, and was still a nobleman, and granted the old capital of Weizi merchants, this is Song State!" Cui Hongdu said with relish: "If my guess is correct, then King Goguryeo It should be their jade seal and soldier talisman hanging on the chest!"

Wang Wenzuo took a closer look, and sure enough, the upper body naked man was holding a bundle of thatch in his hand. It was too dark in the city gate and he couldn't see clearly, but Cui Hongdu had better eyesight than himself, so he could see clearly.