Chapter 539 Chapter 0541 Breaking a promise
“Lü Dai led his army to sail on sea ships, day and night, from Panyu to Hepu in no time at all.”
Seeing Shi Hui's panic, Shi Kuang frowned slightly. Although he despised his clan brother for not being a general, he still explained patiently.
After all, in Shi Kuang's mind, if Shi Hui really had a way to defeat the Wu army and protect the Shi family's foundation, that would be the best thing.
Unexpectedly, when Shi Hui heard this, his hands and feet began to tremble slightly. He couldn't help but get up and take a few steps back and forth. His lips trembled a little, "It shouldn't be! How come there is no news at all, and it comes so soon?"
When Shi Kuang saw Shi Hui's appearance, he really wanted to slap him in the face, and all the little hope in his heart was finally dashed.
This is still called fast? How many months has it been? You are not prepared at all? You are like this, and you still want to separate the academic clan into one party? I really don’t know where the confidence comes from!
“Brother, Lu Dai not only arrived at Hepu, but before letting me leave Hepu, he also told me that the army was about to follow. You’d better think of a way out!”
"What!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Hui fell to the ground.
Shi Kuang sighed. He really didn't want to see him looking so useless, so he took out two letters from his arms and put them on the table, "This is the letter written by General Lu and Mr. Zhang to you."
"General Lu said, if you can surrender, except that you will not be able to serve as the county guard, everything will remain the same as before. You should think about it carefully."
After saying that, Shikuang strode out and went to find his great master.
Shi Yi is Shi Xie's younger brother. When he heard that his son had returned safely, he was overjoyed and welcomed his son back to his mansion to inquire about it carefully.
After learning what happened in Hepu, he gloated and said, "When Shi Hui wanted to rebel, anyone in the clan who disobeyed would be scolded by him. I wonder what he will do now."
When Shikuang heard this, he was surprised and said, "Your Excellency, you don't agree with your clan brother's rebellion against Wu?"
Shi Yi sneered, "Since he became the head of the family, he has never looked down upon others. Even my uncle, he is always shouting at me. Who is willing to obey him? Not only do I disagree, but even your third uncle I also disagree."
Shi Kuang’s third uncle is Shi Shi.
The Shi family can have today's foundation in Jiaozhou, in addition to Shixie, there are also the concerted efforts of several of their brothers, each in Jiaozhou, and communicating with each other.
Now that Shi Hui considers himself the head of the family, he does not take his two uncles seriously, which naturally arouses their dissatisfaction.
So during the battle between Shi Hui and the Huan family, all the scholars gathered together and watched.
Shi Kuang then suddenly realized, "I wonder how our Shi family could be in such a state of decline that we can't even defeat the Huan family. It turns out that your Excellency and your third uncle didn't do anything."
"Not only did we not contribute, the two of us were just watching, and let Shi Hui's brothers beat them so that they could wake up. It is not their brothers who have the final say in this Shi family. Without us elders, how can they help? What's up?"
Hearing this, Shi Kuang could only sigh. The Shi family had reached a critical moment of life and death, and they were still fighting among themselves. It seemed that the Shi family was really unable to escape this disaster.
"Sir, the army of Wu State has arrived. With the state of our scholar family, it seems that there is no way to resist it. It is better to find a way out as soon as possible."
Shikuang advised.
"It doesn't matter." Shi Yi didn't care, "This time Shi Hui rebelled against Wu, my third brother and I closed the city and didn't make a clear statement. No matter how much the Lord Wu blames, he can't blame us. On the contrary, I'm afraid that the Shihui sect will be doomed."
Shi Yi said with a proud look on his face, "Even if Shi Hui is defeated by then, won't Wu still have to ask our Shi family to help calm people's hearts?"
The Shi family has been operating in Jiaozhou for several generations. No matter who takes control of Jiaozhou, they cannot avoid them.
Therefore, you can sit on the sidelines with your troops to avoid offending both sides. You can only place your bets at the last moment. This is what my eldest brother did back then.
My nephew is still too young.
"Even so, we can't just sit back and wait for it." Shi Kuang whispered, "Instead of waiting for the Wu soldiers to arrive, it is better to take the initiative to show our goodwill and let the Lord of Wu know our sincerity, so as not to be implicated by Shi Hui."
“Let’s wait a little longer.”
Shi Yi still wants to wait.
After Shikuang set out, Lu Dai reorganized his troops and led his army to follow closely on the second day.
On the third day after Shikuang returned, the Wu army had already arrived at Jiaozhi City and set up a battle array.
Shi Hui climbed to the top of the city and was horrified when he saw the Wu army's massive and well-organized formation below.
Looking back at the brothers behind him, they all looked pale. He sighed and ordered, "Open the city gate."
After a while, the gate of Jiaozhi City opened with a rumble.
Shi Hui was the first to come out, followed by his brother Shi Zhi, his disciples Shi Qian, Shi Song and others, all of whom took off their shirts and were naked.
Several people walked to the front of the formation and knelt down. They heard De Shihui shouting loudly, "The sinner Hui dare not resist the heavenly soldiers, so he came here to receive his punishment and die."
A group of people hurriedly walked out of the gate of the camp. The leader was none other than Lu Dai.
Lü Dai took the clothes from the guards and put them on the emblem with his own hands.
“Thank you, General Lu!”
Feeling Lu Dai's kindness, Shi Hui's trembling body calmed down. He choked and said, "The sinner was confused for a moment and bothered the general to lead his army all the way. It is really an unpardonable crime."
"After that, the Shi family managed Jiaozhou for a long time, which is a credit. The general Shi also said that he was confused for a while, and he just needs to return to the right path in time."
Lu Dai said generously, "General Shi, don't worry, the king has always been tolerant and will not blame you more."
One was pretending to be generous, the other was flattering, and for a while, the atmosphere between the two parties was extremely harmonious.
After the surrender of Jiaozhi, Lu Dai moved into the county government and ordered the soldiers to hand over the weapons of the Shi family's clan soldiers and let the Wu soldiers take over the city defense.
On the second day, people were ordered to set up a tent in the house, saying that they were going to have a banquet for Brother Shihui.
Shi Hui and others were flattered and rushed to the county mansion early, but found that there was no place for themselves and others, so they asked with a smile, "General Lu, the banquet is too small, please beg for a seat."
Lu Dai, who had been chatting with him yesterday, sneered, stood up, and ordered, "Get the talisman and the edict!"
The personal guard presented the talisman and the edict given by Sun Quan. Lu Dai held the talisman in his arms and held the edict in his arms. He loudly said, "Rebelling against the emblem of a traitor and resisting the king's order is disloyal. Killing a loyal and righteous person is unjust. Treating the state indiscriminately will destroy the state." It is unkind for the people to live in water and fire..."
After hearing this, Shi Hui suddenly wet his clothes with cold sweat. He shouted in a hissing voice, "General Lu, you said you would not pursue the past and let me become a rich man. Why did you break your promise today?"
Lu Dai sneered, "Soldiers came from afar, how can they return without success?"
As soon as these words came out, all the soldiers in the tent smiled knowingly.
“Mr. Zhang, you are a member of a famous family in Jiangdong. I believed your words in the first place and that’s why I was willing to leave the city and surrender. How dare you harm me so much?”
When Shi Hui saw what Lu Dai said, he knew there was no hope and quickly turned to Zhang Bai.
Although he knows that hope is slim, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, he must hold on tightly.
Zhang Bai had long been stunned by what Lu Dai had done. When he heard Shi Hui's words, he was startled and was about to speak.
Lu Dai ignored him and shouted directly, "What are you waiting for?"
I saw the swordsmen and axemen who had been ambushing them for a long time swarmed out and hacked the unarmed Shi Hui brothers to death with knives, chopped off their heads, and spread the news throughout Jiaozhi City.
Lu Dai and the other soldiers laughed loudly and ordered the curtains to be removed and the blood stains washed away.
"This place is not clean at the moment, so everyone should go next door. The banquet will have been prepared by then."
Lu Dai finished smiling and said.
Everyone agreed enthusiastically.
Only Zhang Bai remained silent and lagging behind others.
After the banquet, Zhang Bai found an opportunity to meet Lu Dai alone.
“Why did Mr. Zhang see me?”
Lu Dai asked casually while fiddling with the ivory in his hand.
In front of him, there were piles of various spices, pearls, shells, glass, jade and other objects, all of which were collected from the county government.
“Go back to the general, I have nothing to ask for.”
“What’s the matter?”
"The Shi family once saved Bai's life, and the Shi family brothers were friends with Bai. Now he is dead. Although he took it by himself, Bai Yu couldn't bear to have his body exposed in the wild, so Bai Yu asked the general for permission to kill him. bury."
"Um?"
When Lu Dai heard this, he finally raised his head and stared at Zhang Bai without speaking.
Zhang Bai was sweating coldly on his back.
After a long time, Lu Dai nodded, "Okay."
“Thank you, General!”
Zhang Bai breathed a sigh of relief.
With Lu Dai's permission, Zhang Bai collected the headless corpses of the four Shihui brothers and had their heads braided with tew straw, sewn together with the corpses, and found a place to bury them. Only then did he feel at ease.
At the same time, he whispered in front of Shi Hui's tomb, "General Shi, Lu Dai personally promised to spare your life in public, so I wrote a letter to persuade him to surrender. But I didn't expect that he would break his promise for utilitarian purposes. I really didn't mean to lie to you. .”
“Now I am also known as a deceiver. I really regret that I couldn’t help you...”
After muttering for a long time, Zhang Bai got up and returned to the city.
(End of this chapter)