Chapter 0047: Guide Party
Outside the big tent, Li Yu saw more than a dozen carriages parked there. Many soldiers were smiling as they moved boxes from the carriages. It could be felt that the boxes were very heavy. On one side of the carriages, there were some women crowded together, with fear on their faces.
"General, I have arrested Cheng Hao, the county magistrate of Lu County. Hehe, after we caught him, he said that all these gold, silver, treasures and women were presented to you." Pang Jue strode over and said with a smile, "I saw that the old man wanted to escape, but after I found him, he quickly changed his words and said that he wanted to present these things to you."
"Dedicate to me?" Li Yu and Cen Wenben looked at each other , and immediately showed a trace of curiosity. Whether it was a temporary change of words or the original intention, the word "dedicate" was interesting. He waved his hand and said, "Let's go and meet this Cheng Hao." The three of them entered the big tent on the side.
"I am Cheng Hao, the humble servant, and I am here to see the general." As soon as Li Yu entered the big tent, he saw a middle-aged man leading two young men kneeling on the ground.
"Cheng Hao, you said that those gold, silver, treasures and women were all given to this general?" Li Yu looked at Cheng Hao. He was wearing a brocade robe, which showed that he had a good family background. He had a fair complexion, which showed that he lived a life of luxury. His eyes were wandering, which showed that he was a man with deep scheming minds and could not be trusted.
"That's right, that's right. I have long admired the general's reputation. Even Yuwen Tianbao is no match for the general. The people of Lu County are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot and cannot compete with the general at all. Fan Jin and Ding Meng are both seeking death. It doesn't matter if they die, but the people in the city cannot suffer because of this. I specially offer gold and silver treasures, on the one hand to reward the army, and on the other hand, I also want to ask the general to spare the lives of my family, Cheng Hao." Cheng Hao said quickly with a pale face.
"When you give a gift to someone, you must ask for something in return. The county magistrate gave away so much money and women, so it must be more than that!" Cen Wenben said quietly.
"I also ask the general to kill Fan Jin and Ding Meng." Cheng Hao gritted his teeth and whispered, "If so, I am willing to follow the general forever."
"You want to be the county magistrate of Lu County." Cen Wenben couldn't help but say.
Li Yu thought about it for a while, and then he realized that if Li Jing killed Fan Jin and Ding Meng, there would only be Cheng Hao in the entire Lu County, and the county magistrate would be him. But what does all this have to do with him! He smiled and said, "But until now, I, Li Yu, have not entered Lu County! It is impossible to agree to the county magistrate."
"I have a way to help the general enter the city." Cheng Hao threw away his hope and said, "The gatekeeper of the west city is none other than my mistress's younger brother. All his wealth and status depend on me. After nightfall, I can ask him to open the city gate and let the general in." In order to become the magistrate of Lu County, Cheng Hao used all means possible.
"Very good, if so, I will definitely spare your life and let you be the lord of Lu County." Li Yu's eyes flashed with a strange light. He agreed, but it was hard to say for others. For a person like Cheng Hao, who had thrown the people of Lu County behind for his own power, he wanted to escape, but he said he would welcome Li Yu. How could Li Yu use such a person? If he didn't kill him himself, he would let others kill him.
However, the thought that Lu County could be taken soon made him feel much more relaxed, especially since it was taken without any effort, which made him even happier. At least the lives of most of the beggars' soldiers could be saved.
"Thank you, General." Cheng Hao was overjoyed.
"Go down and have a rest first!" Li Yu asked Cheng Hao to leave with a friendly look. Not only did he have people prepare wine and food, he also returned the women to Cheng Hao to reassure him.
"I didn't expect that there would be such a person in Lu County. God bless General Tianyou. In this way, even if Master Yin Shi can arrive in time, he can only watch us occupy Lu County." Cen Wenben's face was full of smiles. At the beginning, everyone was worried that the army would suffer heavy losses because of the attack on Lu County. Now with Cheng Hao leading the way, many problems can be solved.
"No matter what, we still have to be careful of Yin Shishi. He is a veteran of the Sui Dynasty and has fought in countless battlefields throughout his life. He is capable of taking the enemy by surprise and attacking them when they are unprepared. This kind of thing is not necessarily something that only we can do. Yin Shishi may also be incapable of doing it." Li Yu shook his head and looked towards the north. He seemed to have sensed a murderous intent behind him.
Only a hundred miles away from Lu County, an army of tens of thousands of people was marching slowly on the official road. Leading the way were none other than Yin Shishi and his son Yin Hongzhi. The 30,000-strong army was entirely under the control of the father and son.
"Father, Lu County is ahead. Now the rebels have not only a thousand elite soldiers, but also tens of thousands of civilians following them. It is very difficult to move. We don't have to march like this. In this way, even if we reach Lu County, we will be exhausted." Yin Hongzhi didn't quite understand why Yin Shishi ordered the army to speed up the march.
"Yuwen Tianbao has been defeated, his cavalry was wiped out, and he fled back to Tongguan. Now it's just you and me, father and son, with these 30,000 troops. If we don't speed up our march, we may not catch up with Li Yu. Even though this guy has tens of thousands of people following him, he will not hesitate to throw these tens of thousands of people aside when the most critical moment comes." Yin Shishi shook his head and said, "He is now engulfing the people and marching in a mighty way, not for other reasons, but to intimidate the cities along the way. The big cities will go around them. If it is a small city, such as a small county like Lu County, with not many defensive soldiers and horses and dilapidated city walls, what will happen to these cities when they encounter these tens of thousands of people marching in a mighty way?"
"Surrender without a fight." Yin Hongzhi's face was pale. Not to mention the county magistrate and others in those cities, even if he encountered such a situation, he would probably be terrified and dare not fight back.
"Yes, they will definitely surrender without a fight." Yin Shishi nodded and said, "Our troops must arrive as soon as possible. Lu County is better. I have already inquired clearly. Fan Jin of Lu County still has some official reputation. The nobles in the city have a good impression of him and he is loyal to the court. Unfortunately, he has few troops and can only hold out for a short time, at most one day. So I can only speed up and get to Lu County as soon as possible. Even if we can't save Lu County, we must follow Li Yu and wait until the next time to attack from both sides and eliminate Li Yu."
In Yin Shishi's view, Lu County can be saved or not, and his mission is to eliminate Li Yu.
"Father is really capable. If Li Yu goes around the city, I think the tens of thousands of troops around him will be able to defeat him." Yin Hongzhi nodded and said, "Now I hope that Lu County can hold out for a little longer, so that it will be convenient for us to attack from both sides and kill Li Yu under the city of Lu County. Father can also return to the court as soon as possible and accept the reward from His Majesty the Emperor."
"Hmph." Master Yin Shi didn't say anything, just snorted coldly.
