I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

At this moment, the city of Jiankang was as quiet as death.

The guarding soldiers' eyes were fixed on the Yan army camp in the distance, and no one would notice the secret meeting taking place under the city wall.

Zhou Bailin looked around vigilantly, then came to Hu Mingwei and whispered, "I came here today to discuss an important matter with you."

Hu Mingwei's expression remained unchanged: "Master Zhou, please speak."

Zhou Bailin said: "I want you to act as an insider, open the city gates, and let the Yan army enter the city."

"Master Zhou? What does this mean?"

Hu Mingwei frowned immediately and looked at Zhou Bailin with a puzzled look.

Zhou Bolin said: "The prince has already fled the capital, and may have now surrendered to the Yan army. This is your highness's order, let the Yan army enter the city and destroy Prime Minister Liu's party."

Hu Mingwei hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is the prince really still alive?"

Before this, the news that the prince had rebelled and been killed must have spread in the capital.

As a centrist, Hu Mingwei actually did not want to take sides, but he was personally more inclined to the side of the prince. However, Hu Mingwei had disguised himself well over the years and had never been caught by Prime Minister Liu's party. Now the capital was in urgent need of manpower, so Prime Minister Liu's party did not make things difficult for Hu Mingwei, the general of the North City.

Zhou Bailin said: "Just the day before yesterday, I ordered people to force open the city gate and let His Highness escape."

"Someone opened the city gate without permission earlier just to let the prince escape?"

Hu Mingwei suddenly remembered this incident. Just a few days ago, after the palace mutiny, there were a lot of riots in the north city.

Some soldiers opened the city gate without permission and almost implicated all the soldiers defending the North City. Hu Mingwei did not know who the mastermind was for the time being, but today he learned from Zhou Bailin that the purpose of doing so was to save the life of the prince.

Zhou Bailin nodded and said, "We need the help of your northern defenders. Tomorrow morning, open the city gates and let the Yan army in. This is your highness' plan."

"Master Zhou, do you trust the Yan army so much?"

At this moment, Hu Mingwei was actually unwilling to open the city gate. After all, as the commander of the defending army, if he opened the city gate like this, wouldn't he be surrendering to the Yan army outside the city?

The offensive of the Yan army has become more and more fierce in the past few days, so much so that the soldiers defending the city have a lot of hostility towards the Yan army. If they say they want to open the city gates and surrender at this time, wouldn't it cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers?

"Compared to the Yan army, I don't trust Liu Xiangguo, this treacherous minister, even more. Your Highness the Crown Prince has figured it out. As long as the Yan army can destroy Liu Xiangguo's party, we still have a chance to restore our country in the future. At this moment, we are just temporarily handing over Jiankang City to the Yan army."

Zhou Bailin continued, saying that after several days of inner struggle, he had accepted the plan proposed by the prince.

This radical approach must be used to deal with Prime Minister Liu and his clique of sycophants.

The Chen court was corrupt to the core and had to be eradicated before the Chen state could be reborn.

There was a hint of hesitation on Hu Mingwei's face. After all, this matter was too strange.

Although Hu Mingwei respected Zhou Bailin in his heart, he couldn't help feeling a little resistant when he thought about surrendering to the Yan army.

"The soldiers will not agree to that."

Hu Mingwei still shook his head.

"Prime Minister Liu has taken control of the government and persecuted loyal officials. Do you still want to be his accomplices?"

Zhou Bailin said in a questioning tone. In his heart, he looked down upon those who submitted to Prime Minister Liu.

It was precisely because of the existence of those fence-sitters that Prime Minister Liu was able to cover the sky with one hand.

"They even dared to kill the crown prince, not to mention other loyal ministers and generals. I believe that after the Yan army retreats, the knives will be placed on the necks of you, the defending generals."

Zhou Bailin's face was full of anxiety.

Hu Mingwei had no doubt about this, because of his special status, the Prime Minister's Party would not take action against generals like him for the time being, but who could guarantee whether the Prime Minister's Party would eliminate dissidents after this war.

Zhou Bailin said again: "It is meaningless to hold on any longer. Why not let the Yan army attack Jiankang City and eliminate all the treacherous officials and villains?"

Hu Mingwei was still somewhat conflicted in his heart.

Hu Mingwei could not understand Zhou Bailin's strange idea. He said worriedly, "I am afraid that the Yan army will burn, kill, rob and harm the people after entering the city."

"For the sake of the people in Jiankang City, we should surrender. Most of the people in the city have been forcibly conscripted by the imperial army. Sending them to the battlefield is like sending them to their deaths. Prime Minister Liu and his party don't care about the lives of the people at all. On the contrary, I heard that after the Yan army captured the cities of Chen State, most of them treated the people well. There is no need to worry about this."

Zhou Bailin continued to persuade. Before this, he had also heard about the deeds of the Yan army in Guangning City. If the Yan army could really maintain such military discipline, and if the Yan army could take over Jiankang City, it would only be better than the rule of that group of treacherous ministers.

Hu Mingwei hesitated and said, "Sir Zhou, I need to think about it again."

"No need to think about it. If we don't make a decision now, sooner or later more of us will die, and I will also be hunted down by the Prime Minister's party. For the sake of this world, let's take a risk."

Zhou Bailin said with a serious expression.

Although he did not want to surrender to the Yan army in his heart, this was the only way to save the people of Chen State.

Although the Yan army was an enemy, compared to the tyranny of the Prime Minister's party, the Yan people were more like good people.

"Do we really want to do this? I don't want to become a sinner..."

Hu Mingwei's expression has changed somewhat.

Zhou Bolin said: "Trust His Royal Highness, for the people of Chen State."

These words have already moved Hu Mingwei a little.

At this time, Zhou Bailin said again: "Think about it, when Prime Minister Liu seized the power of the Imperial Guards, he almost murdered all of you generals. It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who managed to save you. Have you forgotten? This time, the Crown Prince is saving our lives. If you hesitate any longer, you will have to drag the entire Jiankang City to be buried with him."

Hu Mingwei naturally had not forgotten this incident. He still remembered that internal purge of the imperial guards. It was the closest time for Hu Mingwei to death. Since then, Hu Mingwei dared not provoke the power of the Prime Minister's Party.

It was pitch black at this time, and everything was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the faint footsteps of the soldiers on the city wall.

"Is this really what the prince meant?"

Hu Mingwei confirmed again. The fact that he asked this question proved that his inner thoughts had changed a little.

Zhou Bolin nodded and asked again: "Have you thought it through?"

Hu Mingwei turned his head and looked at the city gate not far away. After a moment, he slowly nodded.

Faced with such a situation, Hu Mingwei had no time to think and had already chosen to join the plan. One was the person he promoted, and the other was his benefactor, so Hu Mingwei naturally knew how to make a choice.