Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 399: Making meritorious deeds
These people had already been supported and stood up from the ground when the secret sentry reported the news.

At this moment, he was looking in the direction of Yan Qi with anticipation.

Yan Qi saw a pair of eyes filled with worry, fear and hope, and shook his head and said, "It's not them, they don't even know I would run this way!"

His escape routes during this period were all random, except this time.

But before that, the subordinates had no idea.

Only when he was fleeing in this direction did he inform his subordinates.

Even if there really were traitors, it would be impossible for the imperial troops to surround them so quickly once they learned the news.

It seemed as if the officers and soldiers had already learned the news and had ambushed here, waiting for them to escape.

"Brother, you mean the leader..."

"Whether it is true or not, we have to get through this hurdle." Zuo Qi interrupted Zuo Qiang.

"Brother, there are mountains and forests here. Let's just set a fire and escape in the chaos." Zuo Qiang said.

"Snapped…"

“Brother, you…” Zuo Qiang covered his face and looked at Zuo Qi in disbelief.

Zuo Qi looked at Zuo Qiang, his face gloomy as he said, "It is late autumn now, the grass and trees are withered and yellow, do you know the consequences of setting fire? This forest stretches for hundreds of miles, if a fire is set, what will happen to the people living near the forest?"

"Brother, it's already this time and you're still thinking about these things. If we don't set the fire, all of us will die!" Zuo Qiang shouted.

"There is another way to survive without setting fire."

Zuo Qi looked at the remaining people and said, "I am the one who led you to this dead end. Don't worry, the imperial court has ordered that only the main culprits will be executed. If you lay down your weapons and surrender, the officers and soldiers will not embarrass you."

"Impossible. The officers and soldiers were just trying to trick us into surrendering. If we really surrender, we will definitely be liquidated."

Zuo Qiang shouted loudly, pulled Zuo Qi aside, and said in a low voice: "Brother, are you crazy? Once these people surrender, how can the two of us escape?"

"I have killed many people. Now I am at the end of my rope. Why should I let them die in vain?"

Zuo Qi said wearily, "I've seen a lot of fallen leaves on the ground. I'll take my men away soon, and you can take the opportunity to escape and hide in the leaves. If the soldiers catch a General Tianwei like me, they may not conduct a large-scale search, so you still have a chance to escape."

"I won't leave unless my brother does!" Zuo Qiang shook his head.

"What nonsense!"

Zuo Qi said with an unpleasant expression: "If both of us die, who will carry on the Zuo family's lineage? How can I face my ancestors?"

Zuo Qiang clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, "Brother, I am good at martial arts. With just the two of us, without any burden, I can definitely help you escape."

Zuo Qi smiled bitterly and said, "Your martial arts are good. If you were in the plains and had a good horse, you might still have a chance. But this is in the mountains. How can you force your way out? Listen, you..."

"The officers and soldiers are here!"

At this time, someone saw soldiers appearing at the foot of the mountain, slowly climbing up the mountain in formation with long spears. Twenty or thirty steps behind them, soldiers holding bows and crossbows followed, advancing in two layers.

Seeing this scene, Zuo Qi gave up the idea of ​​escaping.

Giving Zuo Qiang a look, Zuo Qi took a few steps forward, came to a dead tree stump, and shouted down the mountain: "Please ask the officers and soldiers to come out and see us!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers below hurriedly reported it to Song Chaozhong. Song Chaozhong hesitated for a moment and stepped forward under the protection of his personal guards.

"I am Song Chaozhong, the commander-in-chief of the imperial court's Shen Ce Army, and also the main general in this rebellion suppression. Now that you can't escape even if you have wings, why don't you surrender early!" Song Chaozhong shouted.

"Meet General Song!"

Zuo Qi bowed and said, "I am the mighty general Zuo Qi. I believe you have learned my appearance from some of the people you have captured. I am willing to wait for my death. However, these people were originally just civilians. The court has ordered that only the main culprits should be executed. General Song must promise me that you will not take action against them!"

"As long as we determine after investigation that they are civilians, I will naturally not take action against them. I can guarantee this publicly!" Song Chaozhong shouted.

Zhao Xing came to the emperor several times, repeatedly admonishing him not to kill people indiscriminately, but only to punish the main culprit. Not to mention that Zuo Qi's request did not conflict with his own, even if it did conflict, he would agree to it first.

Given the current situation, Zuo Qi can only trust Song Chaozhong.

After Song Chaozhong agreed, he was silent for a while and said loudly: "General, send someone."

Upon hearing this, Song Chaozhong ordered his personal soldiers to go and inform the soldiers in front to speed up.

Soon, the soldiers came to Zuo Qi. Zuo Qi did not resist at all and simply stretched out his hands to be tied up.

The soldiers took out ropes and tied up Zuo Qi.

Seeing this scene, Song Chaozhong breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the soldiers to bring Zuo Qi over.

"Did you train those trained people in the rebel army?" Song Chaozhong asked after looking at Zuo Qi.

"That's right!" Zuo Qi nodded calmly.

"Where is the leader of the Wizard Cult now?" Song Chaozhong asked.

If he could capture the leader of the Wizard Cult, he would have made a great contribution.

Zuo Qi remained silent in response to Song Chaozhong's questions.

"From the moment I appeared here, you should know that someone has informed me. And I firmly believe it, otherwise I would not have appeared here in person." Song Chaozhong said.

If he was not absolutely sure that what the informer said was true, although he would not worry about being ambushed, he would also worry that this was a trap set by the other party to lure him away.

Zuo Qi was naturally very clear about this, and he only asked someone to tell Chai Yining that he would escape here. Therefore, the person who informed on him could only be a high-ranking official of the Wizard Cult, or even Chai Yining.

But he had his concerns and remained silent.

Song Chaozhong was still trying to persuade him, but a personal soldier came running over and saluted, saying, "General, there is a young man who claims to be the younger brother of the rebel leader and says he is willing to redeem himself for meritorious service!"

Zuo Qi's face changed when he heard this. Noticing Fang Qi's expression, Song Zhaozhong smiled and said, "Bring it here!"

"Yes!" The personal soldier responded and hurried away.

"You are unwilling to cooperate, but it seems someone else is willing to cooperate. That person claims to be your brother, so he should know a lot of information."

Song Chaozhong smiled and said, "I promise that if you are willing to confess now, I can still plead with His Majesty for a lighter punishment. Although you caused the rebellion, you are not the real leader, so there is still a chance to be exempted from the death penalty."

"General, there is no need to waste your breath." Zuo Qi said lightly.

Upon hearing this, Song Chaozhong stopped persuading her and looked towards the hillside.

Two soldiers were escorting a young man towards this side. The boy was not strong and had a young face, and did not look threatening.

Therefore, the soldiers did not tie him up, but just grabbed his arms on both sides and controlled him.

Song Chaozhong didn't care. After a while, the young man was brought to the front by the soldiers.

"Is it you who said that you wanted to make amends for your crime?" Song Chaozhong looked at the young man and asked.

"That's right!"

Zuo Qiang showed no fear at all, and said bluntly: "This rebellion was caused by the Wizard Cult. General, I'm afraid you don't know it?"

"I already know this. If you want to make a contribution, this is not enough." Song Chaozhong said, "You can only make a contribution if you can tell the whereabouts of the leader of the Wizard Cult."

Zuo Qiang was skeptical when he heard this and said, "How do I know whether what you said is true or not? If I tell you the whereabouts of the leader of the Wizard Cult and you say you already know it, then my words would be in vain."

"You don't have to worry about this. I still have some credibility." Song Chaozhong said.

(End of this chapter)