Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 288 Welcome the army and enter the city to quell the rebellion!
Zhao Ju, a small landlord who was a die-hard fan of the four major families, was also among the fleeing crowd.

He also felt extremely panic in his heart.

Hands-on!
These officers and soldiers actually took action!

The peasant army they formed temporarily was a group of mobs.

Under the impact of the army heading south, they had no power to fight at all, not even a trace of decent resistance, and were defeated and fled in a flash.

As long as these officers and soldiers take action, the four major families in Xuzhou Prefecture will be finished.

run!
Run!

Not only do you have to run out of the Xuzhou city, you also have to run out of Xuzhou and run out of Jiangnan to be safe!
Zhao Ju ran away. He was so frightened that he ran away in fear.

He wanted to take his entire family and flee from the entire Jiangnan region.

No ancestral property or land is as important as their own lives.

The small landlords and rich peasants in the crowd had the same idea as Zhao Ju.

run!
Run far away!
Not only did they not step forward to organize the fleeing crowd.

On the contrary, the few people who ran the fastest were afraid that if they ran a step slower, they would be caught by the army behind them.

On the city wall of Xuzhou Prefecture, the patriarchs of the four major families were so frightened after seeing this scene that their legs went weak and their whole bodies were shaking like a sieve. Their faces were pale without a trace of blood.

"Let's do it... Soldiers, let's do it!"

The head of the Zhou family pointed at the chaotic battlefield in front of him and stammered, his heart filled with despair.

The head of the Li family had a gloomy face, gritted his teeth, and spoke word by word: "I'm not blind, I saw it!"

"It's over! It's all over! What should we do? Are we all going to die?!"

The head of the Sun family collapsed to the ground, his face pale and his eyes dull, as if he had been sentenced to death.

The head of the Wang family said nothing, but was so angry that he suddenly felt a black screen in front of his eyes and fainted backwards on the ground.

"Chief! Chief, what's wrong with you?"

"Old Wang, Old Wang, wake up!"

"Press his Ren Zhong point and call a doctor to take a look!"

"..."

The fainting of the head of the Wang family made everyone, who were already nervous, even more panicked.

Everyone was busy for a while, and fortunately, the head of the Wang family soon opened his eyes and woke up.

"Waste! A bunch of waste! These unruly people are all a bunch of waste!"

The first thing the head of the Wang family did after waking up was to curse at the peasant army fleeing outside the city.

But no matter how harshly he cursed, it was of no avail.

The head of the Wang family looked sadly at the endless fields outside Xuzhou City and burst into tears.

These lands are his ancestral property!
"It's gone, everything is gone!"

"The army is right outside the city. We are finished. Our land is gone too!"

The head of the Wang family cried bitterly and was in despair.

But at this moment, the head of the Li family still said optimistically: "No, don't be anxious, things have not reached the point where they cannot be reversed."

"Whether it was the previous attack on the government office or the current confrontation with the army below, these were all done by those unruly people. What does this have to do with us?!"

The head of the Li family forced himself to smile and tried his best to persuade the heads of the other three families not to give up hope.

"Didn't Tang Fang say before that Your Majesty still needs to rely on our influence in Xuzhou Prefecture to appease the people?!"

"Then why don't we just agree to them?"

"Not only do we not want any conditions, we also want to fully support Your Majesty and re-measure the land in Xuzhou Prefecture."

"I'm sure your Majesty will be happy and accept such conditions, right?"

"Besides, keeping us alive will definitely be more useful than killing us, right?"

"Don't you think so?!"

The head of the Li family smiled and looked at the other three heads of the family, his eyes filled with a desire to live.

In the face of death, all so-called bottom lines can be broken.

At this time, they no longer cared about whether it was ancestral property or not, or whether it was property or not.

They now support the land survey, which they had previously been extremely opposed to.

As long as I can survive, anything is fine.

The Zhou family head and the Sun family head looked at each other with some hesitation in their eyes.

When people are on the verge of despair, they tend to have a sense of hope.

Even if the probability of this happening is less than one in ten thousand, they are willing to believe it wishfully.

"That's right, that's right, what Patriarch Li said makes sense!"

"Then... let's open the city gates right now and welcome the army into the city. Then we can say that we had to close the city gates because of the group of unruly people besieging the city."

"Okay, that's a good idea! We will then take the initiative to offer to help Your Majesty appease the people and assist Your Majesty in surveying the land in Xuzhou... maybe this matter will just pass!"

"At most, we will just lose some land now. When this storm is over, we have plenty of ways to get the land of Xuzhou Prefecture back!"

In just a few words, the patriarchs of the four major families rekindled their hope.

There is no time to lose, they must do it immediately.

The head of the Li family looked at a middle-aged man beside them who was wearing military uniform and had a resolute face. "Commander Cui, quickly ask your men to open the city gate!"

The middle-aged man looked at the chaos below the city without saying a word, but just frowned with a pensive expression.

His name was Cui Zhu. He was the commander of the Xuzhou garrison and commanded all the garrison troops in Xuzhou Prefecture.

On that night in Pei County, if Cui Zhu had not fanned the flames and provided secret assistance, the peasant army would not have been able to break through the county government office so easily.

Cui Zhu had tens of thousands of acres of land under his command, all of which were occupied from the military households under his command.

Originally, he thought that by following these four clan leaders and Tang Fang from Nanjing, he could pass the test smoothly and protect himself.

But now, Tang Fang ran away, and the four clan leaders were helpless. He had to think for himself how to break the impasse!
At this moment, after hearing the words of the head of the Li family, Cui Zhu suddenly turned his gaze to him, with his eyes flashing frequently.

"Commander Cui, what are you still hesitating about?!"

"Didn't you hear what I said? Hurry up and get your men to move!"

Seeing that Cui Zhu had not given any order for a long time, the head of the Li family became extremely anxious and his tone of voice became heavier.

Cui Zhu said nothing, just staring at the four clan leaders, thinking in his mind how to protect himself through the existing conditions.

No matter it was the previous attack on the county government office or the current attempt to stop the army from entering the city, it was the patriarchs of the four major families who were jumping around from beginning to end, and it had nothing to do with him.

Perhaps, if I hand over the patriarchs of these four major families to the army heading south, it can be considered as meritorious service despite committing a crime?
Using the four lives of the patriarchs of the four major families in exchange for my own life, this deal should be reasonable, right?

Besides, he has no choice now. If he waits any longer, he will die...

Why not take a gamble!
Thinking of this, Cui Zhu's eyes changed when he looked at the patriarchs of the four major families. His originally thoughtful eyes flashed with a fierce light. The change in Cui Zhu was seen by the head of the Li family. He was shocked and felt a chill on his back. He suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Cui Zhu, what do you want to do?!"

The head of the Li family cried out in shock. The next moment, Cui Zhu issued an order: "Come here, arrest all the heads of the four major families!"

After hearing Cui Zhu's order, the guards on the city wall subconsciously took two steps forward.

Upon seeing this, the head of the Wang family immediately screamed and shouted, "Who dares to touch the four of us?!"

"Cui Zhu, are you crazy? How dare you order us to be arrested?!"

"You dare to catch one of us and try, you unruly people, are you rebelling?!"

"..."

The four clan leaders were horrified, looked around in panic, and began to make threats.

At the same time, people from the four major families also took the initiative to surround and protect the four clan leaders behind them.

This trick was really effective. After hearing the threats from the four clan leaders, the guards around them actually stopped and looked hesitantly at their companions.

These garrison soldiers have lived in Xuzhou Prefecture for generations. Although the fields they cultivate are all owned by Cui Zhu, they are still afraid of the influence of the four major families in Xuzhou Prefecture.

Cui Zhu became furious when he saw that his soldiers dared not follow his orders.

"Why don't you go quickly?!"

"Those who shrink back will be punished by military law!"

After Cui Zhu threatened the surrounding garrison soldiers, the fear of Cui Zhu in their hearts was greater than their fear of the four major families, and they all rushed towards the four men.

"You dare?!"

"Stop it! Stop it!"

"Stop! Cui Zhu, you are really crazy, make them stop!"

"..."

Chaotic shouts came one after another, and Cui Zhu's guards quickly dispersed the people from the four major families and took control of the four clan leaders.

At this point, the four clan leaders knew what Cui Zhu was planning. They were filled with anger and cursed at Cui Zhu.

"Cui Zhu, you will not have a good death!!! You want to use us to exchange for military merit?! I tell you! If we die, you will not have a good life either!"

"Cui Zhu, let us go immediately! Do you think you can escape by arresting us and using us as tokens of surrender?! Don't dream! What you have done is enough for His Majesty to chop off your head ten times!"

"Cui Zhu, if you dare to hand us over, I will tell you everything you have done, and you will die! You will die too!"

"Cui Zhu, let us go! There must be other ways, don't get excited!"

"..."

The four clan leaders shouted loudly and used threats and inducements, but Cui Zhu was not moved at all. Instead, he showed a hint of sneer.

"Patriarch Sun is right. This reminds me that your mouths will ruin my plans. I really need you to shut up."

The head of the Sun family opened his eyes wide, his face turned extremely pale, and a trace of cold sweat slid down his forehead.

"Cui Zhu! What do you want to do?!"

Cui Zhu put away his smile, a fierce look flashed across his face, and he ordered fiercely: "Come here, chop off their tongues and teeth!"

"Yes, Commander!"

The surrounding guards immediately bowed and obeyed the order.

They held down the four clan leaders and were about to start cutting their tongues and chopping their teeth.

“Cui Zhu, you dare...Ahhhhhh!!!”

The head of the Wang family wanted to curse again, but suddenly he felt a piercing pain in his mouth!

The guard in front of him was hitting his mouth hard with the handle of the knife, and three teeth fell out!

In just a moment, his mouth was full of blood.

Before he could scream, severe pain came again and again, and all the teeth in his mouth were knocked out alive!

The head of the Wang family struggled desperately on the ground in pain, but he was pinned down by the guards around him and could not move.

“Ah! Ah! Ahhh!!!”

A heart-wrenching scream came out of his mouth, and the blood in his mouth fell all over the ground. His face was also covered in blood.

But this was not the end. After the guards knocked out the Wang family head's teeth, they pried his mouth open and pinched out his tongue.

Then, in front of the horrified eyes of the Wang family head, he slashed with a knife!

"Ah ah ah ah ah!!!!!"

The head of the Wang family let out a scream that shook the sky, and a piece of bright red flesh was chopped off by the guards.

"Ahhhhh!!! Wow! Ah! Aba Aba!!!"

The head of the Wang family screamed strangely and made a series of meaningless sounds.

From then on, he could no longer utter a complete sentence.

In addition to the head of the Wang family, the other three heads of the family were also undergoing such torture.

“Cui Zhu! You despicable villain, you shall not die horribly! Aaaaaaaah!!!”

"Cui Zhu, please let me go! If you have something to say, please talk nicely. There's no need to be so ruthless!!!"

“Cui Zhu, don’t be stubborn. You betrayed us and you won’t have a good ending! Aaaaaaaaaah!!!”

The screams from their mouths never stopped, and they kept struggling and roaring frantically.

But it was all in vain. The guards smashed their teeth and chopped off their tongues one by one.

From then on, the four clan leaders could no longer speak a complete sentence.

In this short quarter of an hour, a huge change took place in the hearts of the four clan leaders.

Despair and regret filled their minds.

They never imagined that the first person to attack them was not Zhu Youtang, but Cui Zhu who was in cahoots with them!

Cui Zhu watched all this coldly, and only after he was sure that the patriarchs of the four major families were speechless did he give another order: "Tie them up and take them to the city gate to kneel!"

"Notify the soldiers guarding the city to open the city gates immediately and welcome your majesty's army to enter the city to suppress the rebellion!"

"Yes, Commander!"

As Cui Zhu's order was given, the four clan leaders, who were already half dead from the pain, were dragged to the foot of the city by the guards and knelt in front of the city gate.

Afterwards, the garrison soldiers guarding the city worked together to open the heavy gate of Xuzhou City.

Cui Zhu, the commander of Xuzhou Prefecture, took the initiative to lead the deputy generals behind him, walked out of the city of Xuzhou Prefecture, and saluted to the Xianzhen Camp army outside the city.

"I, Cui Zhu, the commander of Xuzhou Prefecture, respectfully welcome the imperial army to enter the city to quell the rebellion!"

(End of this chapter)