Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Cai Jing! You old scoundrel! You're not even human!"

Cai Jing's hostage situation put Li Gang in a passive position.

He had to admit that although Cai Jing was always criticized as a treacherous minister and a sycophant, he was indeed very capable, especially in his ability to scheme against people, which was truly remarkable!

This move, for example, has put him in a difficult position.

Should we continue to protect the royal family, or protect the common people?

"Sir, what should we do now?"

The soldiers on the city wall also heard what Cai Jing had just said, and they panicked because they couldn't see the faces of the people below the city wall, so they couldn't be sure if any of them were acquaintances!

"Wait first!"

Li Gang decided to take a gamble; he wanted to see if Cai Jing would really kill someone.

He was also gambling, betting that Cai Jing was bluffing!

"Did they react at all?"

Cai Jing, standing in the crowd, noticed that half an incense stick had already burned, and wanted to ask about the current situation on Li Gang's side.

"Your Majesty, Li Gang has not made any move."

Cai Jing's confidant came to report that there was no movement above the imperial city.

"Oh? Li Gang is quite composed."

Cai Jing nodded. He was impressed by Li Gang's composure. If Li Gang had panicked, he would have thought the guy was incompetent.

"Give the executioners a command to pick an unlucky guy from there and chop him up."

"Your Majesty, are you really going to execute him?"

"What else? Why did I bring these people here? To mess around?"

Cai Jing rolled his eyes at his trusted confidant, who immediately understood Cai Jing's meaning.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, this humble general will personally go and cut down the enemy!"

After this man went down, he randomly picked an unlucky guy from the group of hooligans dressed as commoners, kicked him down, grabbed his hair, and dragged him out.

These people are all gagged, so they can't say a word. And because their hands and feet are tied, they can't break free and can only writhe and try to struggle.

"Listen up, you people on the city wall! My emperor gave you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, but I'm not giving it to you! Will you open the gate or not? If you don't, I'll kill this man right now!"

"I'll only count to three! One! Two! Three!"

Cai Jing's confidant quickly counted to three, then looked at the still unresponsive city walls, sneered, and drew his sword with a "whoosh"!

"I'm sorry, but remember this: the reason I killed you is because that guy named Li Gang on the city wall didn't open the gate."

"You didn't have to die, so if you want to blame someone after you go down there, blame Li Gang!"

After saying that, the man didn't even look at the unfortunate fellow, and with a swift swing of his sword, he chopped the man's head off!

After chopping him up, the man even held the unfortunate man's head high in the air!

"Li Gang! Did you see that? Because you didn't open the door, this commoner died!"

"If you don't open the gate, even more people will die!"

"Li Gang! You claim to be the people's father and mother official, what are you doing now? Are you just watching the people die?"

It must be said that this rhetoric was very effective. The morale of the defenders on the city wall plummeted when they saw the still-bleeding head.

"Sir, they are really killing civilians!"

"Sir, we can't just do nothing!"

"Sir, let us go down and rescue them!"

……

Listening to the words of the imperial guards on the city wall and watching the scene of beheadings below, Li Gang felt a pang of sorrow. But he couldn't open the city gates just because of one head.

"Li Gang! It seems you're just another fame-seeking opportunist!"

"I'd like to see how many heads you can tolerate!"

Cai Jing's confidant forcefully threw the head at the city wall. The head hit the wall and fell, leaving a large bloodstain on the wall.

Then, he retreated back into the crowd and reported to Cai Jing:

"Your Majesty, did I do a good job just now?"

"Good. After the incense goes out, chop off a few more heads and throw them onto the city wall. But be careful not to throw them over the wall, so that people will recognize you."

Cai Jing wanted to make Li Gang feel that he was capable of killing ordinary people, and he wanted to see how long Li Gang could hold out!

"Your Majesty, rest assured! This humble general understands!"

After receiving Cai Jing's affirmation, the man grinned, then went out again, staring intently at Xiang.

After the first incense stick went out, without saying a word, he dragged out two more unlucky guys and killed them one by one, practicing his decapitation technique!

"Li Gang! An incense stick has burned for a while! Because of your inaction, two more people have died!"

After throwing out the heads of the two men, this confidant provoked Li Gang again:

“My Emperor only kills one person at a time, which is because of his benevolence. But Li Gang, I don’t care about benevolence. I am the sword in His Majesty’s hand. I’ll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If you don’t open the door this time, I will kill ten more people!”

"And I will tell the entire city! You, Li Gang! And the Zhao Song imperial family, only care about your own safety, disregarding the lives of the entire city!"

"You're saying that by then, the people won't want to follow you anymore, how long can you hold out!"

"Bastard!"

Li Gang was furious. He hated that Cai Jing's men were so vicious, so he snatched a bow and shot an arrow down from the city wall!

The arrow was powerful, but Cai Jing's confidant was not incompetent. He reacted the moment Li Gang released the arrow and deflected it with his sword!

"Li Gang! You want to kill me? Fine! Because you want to kill me, I'll be chopping up twenty people later!"

"Li Gang, I want to see what your expression will be after I kill all these people!"

Li Gang was so enraged by the man's words that his chest ached, and he could no longer hold back. He roared towards the city below:

"Cai Jing, you old traitor! Get out here! If you want to rebel, do it openly and honestly, don't resort to these underhanded schemes! Don't harm the people!"

However, his words did not elicit a response from Cai Jing. Instead, Cai Jing's confidant mocked him after hearing Li Gang's words.

"Li Gang, aren't you ridiculous? You could have avoided these problems simply by opening the gates of the imperial city, but you refused. It was your decision that killed these people. Don't try to frame my Emperor!"

"Brothers on the city wall, aren't you afraid that some of these people might be your brothers? Are you just going to watch them die without doing anything? Do you still want to be loyal to this hypocritical and incompetent Song Dynasty?"

The repeated words made the atmosphere on the city wall even more oppressive. Many of the imperial guards couldn't help but look at Li Gang, wondering what he would do in this situation.

Li Gang looked at the scene below the city, his brows furrowed. Although he didn't say a word, his hands were clenched tightly together, his fingernails almost digging into his flesh!

"I, Li Gang, have failed the Song Dynasty!"

After a moment, Li Gang seemed to have made a decision. He turned around, knelt down in the direction of the palace hall, and kowtowed several times.

When he stood up again, his forehead was red, and his eyes were filled with a death wish.

"Gentlemen, is there anyone willing to fight their way out with me and save those people?"

Li Gang looked around and spoke slowly.

The soldiers were stunned. "No, Lord Li, when we saw you kowtowing just now, we thought you were going to open the city gate. But now you're saying you're going to your death?"

“In my life, I, Li Gang, have not been able to bring much benefit to the people of the Song Dynasty. I am ashamed of my official position, I have failed to defend the city well, and I have also failed the Empress’s trust.”

"But I, Li Gang, will never be threatened by anyone!"

"Isn't Cai Jing just trying to force me out of the city? Then I'll show him!"

"I have done something that has disgraced the Song Dynasty, but it has not disgraced my conscience! Gentlemen, is there anyone willing to come with me?"

……