Chapter 86 Zhai Rang's Troubles

All the leaders were silent.

Li Ji waved his hand and shouted, "Take him away and give him fifty lashes."

As soon as Li Ji finished speaking, two of his personal soldiers carried Li Ai and walked towards the gate of Cangcheng.

After a while, Li Ai's screams of pain were heard from the other side.

"ah!"

…

When Zhai Rang heard Li Ai's wailing, he was already frightened to death.

Suddenly, I felt a warmth in my trouser legs and a fishy smell wafted out.

With a crash, he fell headfirst into the pile of rice.

Yu Cheng ordered his personal soldiers to help Zhai Rang up.

After a while, the law enforcement officer came running to report: "Your Excellency, the flogging has been carried out."

Li Ji took Yu Cheng and hurriedly walked out of Cangcheng.

He looked at Li Ai lying on the ground and burst into tears.

All the leaders present were in tears.

Li Ji ordered in a tearful voice: "Send the housekeeper to the Xingyang camp and take good care of him."

"yes!"

Several personal soldiers slowly lifted Li Ai and put him into the carriage.

Li Ji looked at the carriage going away and felt heartbroken.

He shouted loudly, "Where is the leader of the Jizi Camp?"

"I will be here in the end."

Ji Hua responded loudly.

"Seal off the gates of the granary and temporarily close the granary."

"yes!"

Jihua took the order and left.

"Jia Runfu, listen to my orders!"

Warehouse supervisor Jia Runfu fell to his knees with a thud.

"I'm here!"

"I order you to serve as the military officer of the warehouse, specifically managing the distribution of rice from Luokou Warehouse. Strictly review the identities of the hungry people and prevent any leakage. If there is any waste of food, you will be beheaded. "

Jia Runfu responded loudly: "Yes, sir!"

Li Ji arranged a pause and led his personal guards back to Xingyang County.

Zhai Rang was not blamed at all during this grand event of opening the granaries and releasing grain.

However, when he heard that Li Ji was going to behead Commander Li Ai, he was so frightened that his soul was wandering and his seven spirits were in a state of panic.

The leaders pleaded for mercy and the common people knelt down, and only then was Li Ai rescued.

Next, he was lashed with fifty lashes, which frightened Zhai Rang greatly.

He lost control of his bowels and bladder on the spot and collapsed like a limp.

Yes, everyone wants to be king; everyone wants to be a leader.

How many people can see through the risks behind this ?

Power is a double-edged sword. If you are a head coach, you must dare to take responsibility, and responsibility means sacrifice.

People only have one life. Is it worth losing your life for that vain seat?

Li Ji was determined to capture the Eastern Capital, and in fact, his idea was correct.

Only by occupying the Eastern Capital can we organize a large army to march west to Chang'an.

Xingyang County and Wagang Village are just one area.

It was just a tiny place in the territory of the Sui Dynasty.

Just think about it, the Central Plains was filled with smoke, and bandits and powerful families were rising up in rebellion.

The great waves wash away the sands, leading countless heroes into the evening mist.

As the old saying goes: "He who does not plan for the overall situation is not qualified to plan for a specific area; he who does not plan for eternity is not qualified to plan for the moment."

I can’t even manage Wagangzhai well, how can I capture cities and advance into the Central Plains?

stop!

Whoever becomes the leader will fight for his life.

I don't have that ambition. It's not that I don't want to be an emperor, but I'm timid by nature.

Forget it , just give up your position to the butler who has suffered for you.

I see that he has a good relationship with Lord Li, and he is his direct descendant. Well, you can fight and snatch him however you want.

Anyway, I have no responsibilities and am free from burdens.

I will give you the top spot in Wagangzhai!

Zhai Rang paced back and forth in the Wagang Army's headquarters.

He privately asked someone to find his brother, Zhuguo, and Xingyang Duke Zhai Hong to discuss countermeasures.

But Zhai Hong was a vulgar and stupid person. When he heard that his brother was going to give up the leadership position to Li Ai, he felt very uncomfortable.

He asked Zhai Rang, "You, the emperor, should do it yourself. Why should you let others do it?"

Zhai Rang immediately retorted: "Brother, are you really confused, or are you pretending to be confused? Look at Li Ji's skills, we are no match for him."

Zhai Hong said angrily: "He is just a young man, who the hell does he think he is? He actually got involved in the internal affairs of the Wagang Army."

Zhai Rang quickly covered his brother's mouth, trembling with fear. He advised in a muffled voice:

"Brother, keep your voice down. There are spies everywhere in the camp. If this gets to Lord Li's ears, our lives will be in danger."

"Damn it, this is really too much. The Wagang Camp is obviously named Zhai, and now they are about to change their flags and banners."

Zhai Rang was heartbroken and said with tears in his eyes: "When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Lord Li is like a flying dragon in the sky, we can't defeat him."

Zhai Hongmeng slammed the table and said viciously:

"Brother, how about this, if you value your life, and you don't want to be the leader, then let me do it."

When Zhai Rang heard this, his face suddenly turned pale.

"Brother, you can't do that. If that happens, the Zhai family might be wiped out immediately."

Zhai Hong's face turned pale, and he pointed at Zhai Rang's nose and cursed:

"Look, you are afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind. Why would you give up the throne to an outsider?"

Zhai Rang went up again, covered Zhai Hong's mouth with his right hand, and said in a low voice:

"Brother, let me stop here. Don't speak nonsense in the future."

Before Zhai Rang finished speaking, the guard outside the door reported: "Lord Li from Xingyang County has arrived!"

He was shocked and quickly asked Zhai Hong to hide behind the screen.

He hurried to the door, bowed and greeted Li Ji.

Li Ji walked with his head held high, smiling.

"Mr. Zhai, did you escape a rainstorm?"

Zhai Rang was so frightened that he dared not even breathe.

"Of course, you have already handed over the military power to Li Ai in advance, so the responsibility for the Luokou warehouse rice scattered incident falls on Li Ai."

Zhai Rang replied tremblingly: "Sir, I, Zhai Rang, also have a responsibility, and I am willing to accept the punishment."

Li Ji smiled and said, "No! We are facing a powerful enemy. Since we are allies, we must abide by military discipline together. "

Zhai Rang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Of course, everyone must abide by the agreement, no exceptions."

"As the commander, Li Ai made poor command and lacked supervision. This caused chaos on the scene, rampant banditry, and serious waste."

He suddenly raised his voice and said, "According to the law, he should be beheaded!"

"But I still gave you and the other great leaders some face. The death penalty can be pardoned, but the punishment of life cannot be avoided, so I only gave him fifty lashes."

Zhai Rang's legs were trembling with fear and he almost fell down.

At this time, Li Ai's voice came: "Come on, Mr. Zhai, let's go see the housekeeper Li Ai together."

Zhai Rang immediately responded: "Okay, let's go now!"

He also deliberately said loudly:

"Mr. Li, you are very compassionate. Although you are young, you are a role model for us to learn from. Let's go and see General Li."

When Zhai Hong heard that there was no movement in the shogunate, he walked out from behind the screen and ran away in shame.

Li Ji brought Zhai Rang to the camp.

I met Li Ai in a dark room.

Li Ai lay on the soft straw mat, unable to move.

Zhai Rang said softly, "General Li, the Lord sees you coming!"

Li Ai looked up and suddenly saw Li Ji's gentle smile.

However, he saw that behind Li Ji's smile, there was still an unfathomable secret...