My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 177 If you do not abandon me, I am willing...

Erzhu Rong did not specify how he would implement it.

Gao Yu wouldn't ask; he was only responsible for offering suggestions. How to translate those suggestions into concrete actions was Erzhu Rong's own business.

However, Gao Yu did notice something.

The army's direction of march changed. It seemed that Erzhu Rong did not intend to lead the army back to Xiurongchuan. Instead, seven days later, an army that seemed to have come from Xiurong joined Erzhu Rong's command. The leader of the army was Erzhu Rong's uncle, Erzhu Yusheng.

Gao Yu finally learned Erzhu Rong's destination: the capital of Sizhou.

He ordered his army to camp outside the city, and Erzhu Rong sent a letter to Wei Qingbin, the governor of Sizhou, inside the city.

Within half a day, his personal guards emerged from the city, and Erzhu Rong's letter was returned intact, making Wei Qingbin's attitude very clear.

He completely ignored Erzhu Rong's attempts to win him over and flatter him, and had no intention of befriending Erzhu Rong at all.

"what!"

Enraged, Erzhu Rong tore the letter in his hand to shreds, kicked the table in front of him to the ground, drew his precious sword from his waist, and roared, "You old scoundrel, how dare you insult me ​​like this? Do you really think I dare not kill him?"

Hit someone but don't slap them in the face.

The handwritten letter was returned untouched; Wei Qingbin truly showed Erzhu Rong no respect whatsoever.

Erzhu Zhao, Erzhu Tianguang, and the others rose to their feet, swords drawn, their faces also contorted with rage. "Tianbao, give the order! Just give the word, and I'll charge into the city and bring that old scoundrel to you!"

"it is good!"

Gao Yu was slightly surprised. Why did you agree so readily?

Erzhu Rong was extremely decisive: "Reward the three armies, and attack the city tomorrow!"

Gao Yu was even more puzzled.

Erzhu Rong is openly planning to rebel; otherwise, why would he suddenly come to attack Sizhou?
And shouldn't siege weapons be built first when attacking a city?

He suppressed his doubts and did not express any opinion. After returning to his tent, he suddenly realized what was going on.

Erzhu Rong must have already sent people to infiltrate the city as inside agents.

Because he suddenly brought a large army, and Wei Qingbin was not a god who could predict the future, he naturally could not have made any preparations in advance. It was a case of being prepared but not prepared.

Why did Tianbao suddenly decide to do this?

Gao Yu still couldn't understand how Erzhu Rong could suddenly have the idea of ​​becoming a rebel in just a few days.

Or……

There is information that I am not aware of.

Thinking about it carefully, this is the only possibility. Something must have provoked Erzhu Rong, and it's not as simple as Wei Qingbin not giving him face on the surface.

The next day.

Gao Yu received the military order and led his soldiers to the east gate, where they hid in the mountains and forests outside the city.

Erzhu Rong adopted the strategy of "surrounding three sides and leaving one open," leaving the east side undefended. He personally led his men to attack from the other three directions, but in reality, it was to deceive and lure the city's defenders into coming over. His inside man in the city would start from the east gate, raising smoke signals to open the gate and let Gao Yu in.

Since the goal is to quickly rush into the city, mobility is essential.

Gao Yu could not wear three layers of armor like he did when charging into battle, and he could not also put armor on his horse.

The horse wears no armor, while the rider wears only one layer of heavy armor.

Mulan and Peng Le came to Gao Yu's side, and Peng Le said, "Are we going to rebel too?"

Gao Yu shook his head and said decisively, "No."

He reviewed the situation again and, after weighing the pros and cons, came to the conclusion that the benefits of rebellion for Erzhu Rong were not great. He had already sent Erzhu Ying'e to Luoyang to become a concubine of Yuan Xu, and the young emperor would also have to rely on his power to help him regain the throne. Erzhu Rong only needed to follow the steps and, if not dominate the court, would certainly hold great power.

How could they possibly rebel suddenly?

The current attack on Sizhou is most likely a test. He wants to take advantage of the court's attention being drawn to the rebels to do something 'out of line' to test the court's attitude towards him.

Gao Yu said so.

Peng Le didn't ask any more questions.

Sure enough, wisps of black smoke rose from the city shortly afterward, and Gao Yu immediately gave the order.

"Mount your horse and follow me into the city!"

The soldiers of the Xuanjia Army and the Zhusheng Army mounted their horses one after another.

Gao Yu, as usual, took out the demon mask, put it on his face, raised his lance high, and shouted, "Black Armor Army! Charge with me!"

He squeezed his legs together and lashed out with his right hand, whipping the horse hard. The horse, in pain, galloped forward.

The Xuanjia Army had followed Gao Yu through many battles and had long since developed a tacit understanding.

Each cavalryman maintained a relatively stable distance from the others, forming a 'triangle' formation with Gao Yu as the arrowhead, and galloped away.

Gao Yu looked up and saw people on the city wall frantically nocking bows and shooting arrows. A sparse 'rain of arrows' came down, which meant that Erzhu Rong's plan had succeeded. There were not many guards on the east gate, and the inside agents in the city were seizing control of the gate, which also tied down some of the guards.

The number of soldiers was already small, and this made their situation even more dire.

A volley of arrows came, but it posed no threat whatsoever to the Xuanjia Army.

Before Gao Yu even got close, the east gate was slowly pushed open, and the guards on the city wall simply abandoned their defenses and ran away.

"Charge! Follow me to the governor's mansion and capture Wei Qingbin alive!"

They encountered almost no resistance along the way; the people in the city all kept their doors tightly shut and hid in their homes, and the streets were deserted.

Gao Yu easily led his troops into the governor's mansion.

When Wei Qingbin saw him remove the ghost mask, he was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Gao Yu to arrive so quickly.

Gao Yu was quite polite to him, bowing with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Now that things have come to this, please send your personal guards to persuade the defenders on the city wall to give up resistance and avoid innocent casualties. If the casualties of the army outside the city are too great, there will be great suffering after the army enters the city. I hope you will have compassion for your soldiers and the people in the city."

Wei Qingbin had no choice but to give up, waving his hand to send his personal guards to convey the military order.

soon.

Erzhu Rong, surrounded by Erzhu Zhao and others, arrived at the governor's residence.

Before he even entered, a hearty laugh broke out. Upon seeing Wei Qingbin, Erzhu Rong continued to laugh, then made a sarcastic remark.

“I wish to invite you to come out of the city to meet me, but you refuse. So I have no choice but to come into the city in person to meet you.”

Wei Qingbin made no attempt to hide his disgust for Erzhu Rong, and snorted coldly, "I have received imperial favor for generations, how can I associate with a traitorous minister?"

"You old scoundrel, how dare you! A prisoner like you still barks and howls? Do you really think the Erzhu clan is easy to bully?"

"Kill him! Avenge our fallen brothers!"

Erzhu Tianguang was furious. He took two steps forward and kicked Wei Qingbin to the ground, then held a knife to Wei Qingbin's neck.

"stop!"

Erzhu Rong shouted to stop him, quickly stepped forward, snatched the weapon from Erzhu Tianguang's hand, angrily threw it to the ground, and slapped him across the face. "How dare you! Apologize at once!"

"Tianbao?"

Erzhu Tianguang was clearly stunned by the slap, standing there in astonishment.

Obviously.

Erzhu Rong's seemingly schizophrenic behavior left them completely bewildered.

Yesterday, Erzhu Rong was still furious because he had been 'humiliated', and he drew his sword in public and threatened to attack the city.

But today?
Why did their attitude change so quickly after capturing Wei Qingbin?
Erzhu Rong was unwilling to offer further explanation, but simply urged him on.

"Quickly! Apologize to Lord Ming!"

Erzhu Tianguang reluctantly turned his head away and bowed to Wei Qingbin with clasped hands.

"I am a crude and uncouth person, ignorant of etiquette. I hope you will forgive me, sir."

Not to mention the Erzhu clan, even Wei Qingbin was completely bewildered, having no idea what Erzhu Rong was up to.

Erzhu Rong, however, very respectfully helped Wei Qingbin to the main seat.

He immediately bowed and said, "I was forced by circumstances to take action and offend you, my lord."

"Now, I've finally managed to see you, sir, and apologize to you."

Immediately afterwards, Erzhu Rong spoke again with a serious expression.

"If you do not reject me, I am willing to become your godfather!"

Volume 20 of the History of the Northern Dynasties: After Qingbin was appointed Prefect of Sizhou, Erzhu Rong's military power was growing. He once passed through Sizhou, and Qingbin disliked him, so he occupied the city and refused to let him in. Rong attacked him, arrested Xiurong, and called him his adoptive father.

(End of this chapter)