Chapter 485: Hongmen Banquet
At the ferry on the south bank of the Yangtze River, medium-sized ships have been ready to be installed. The Wuchang Army soldiers who have been boarding the ship quietly lined up outside the ferry. The food has been transported onto the ship first. New artillery pieces are arranged in a row, revealing a dark muzzle on the south bank. The range of these artillery can be enough to cover the other shore. As long as 50,000 troops cross the river, the artillery can provide cover at any time and blow up the defenders on the other shore.
Li Xiao, while his hands were behind his back, waiting anxiously for the news. In the afternoon, the cannons on the other side sounded again. It was obvious that the siege had reached a white-hot stage. To Li Xiao regretted that Li Laiheng obviously made up his mind and did not send people to report the news. But he didn't know that at the moment when the Qing army was constantly bombing Hankou City, a great show was staged in Hankou City.
The entire half of the afternoon of bombardment had turned the walls and urban areas of Hankou North City into a mess. Almost everyone was convinced that the entire Hankou would be captured in no time. However, Li Laiheng was thinking that it would be better to leave the city to fight than to sit in the city and wait for death. Although the possibility of victory was slim, at least he could still kill a few Tartars. At this time, Yang Qilong sent a banquet.
The banquet was in a huge mansion in Dongcheng District. The house was originally the private residence of the local general. After the Hubei general died in battle, it was naturally taken over as public ownership. After a simple decoration, it was a unique flavor. Yang Qilong felt that the mansion was quite majestic and had already made up his mind to convert it into a temporary palace after he ascended the throne in the future. However, Li Laiheng has been delaying it. Since he did not get the support of Li Laiheng, Yang Qilong had to give up. However, this place became the place where Yang Qilong lived on weekdays.
Li Laiheng led a few leaders and a pair of personal soldiers to the east of the city. There were still 100,000 defenders in the city. The city walls had collapsed several holes. Even if the Tatars had powerful firearms, they would probably not have much advantage if they rushed in and fought in the streets. Therefore, Li Laiheng was not worried that the Tatars were eager to attack the city. The number of Kuidong Army was the advantage, and the long-range firepower of the Tatars was their advantage. He believed that no matter how stupid these Tartars were, they would probably not give up the advantage of long-range firepower, and rushed into the city to fight in close combat. The problem now is to reach an agreement with Yang Qilong as soon as possible, otherwise where could the city be defended.
Turning over a corner of the street, a group of people came towards him. Walking in front was a stubborn man with a ginseng beard in his fifties. He came over with the hilt of the knife. As soon as he saw Li Laiheng, he immediately called out loudly: "Brother Li."
Li Laiheng stopped and saw that he was an old brother from Zhongzhen Camp that year. His surname was Ye and his name was one of the leaders of the Eastern Army. After the emergency occurred in the north of the city, Li Laiheng, the defense in the east of the city, gave him the defense, and he led a group of elite troops to the north city to increase troops to rescue.
"Brother Li." Ye Zhen glanced around, approached Li Laiheng, and lowered his voice: "At noon, the two leaders of the Sanlang Xiang Club were killed."
Li Laiheng couldn't help but frowned. Who assassinated the two leaders at the moment of siege? Is there a traitor in the city who had affair with the Tartars? He shook his head. It was obviously unlikely that the average leader had some seven or eight personal soldiers around him. As long as he shouted, hundreds of brothers could be killed out at any time. If the traitor caught a loophole and assassinated a leader, it might be explained. It would be incredible to kill two at one time. Unless they were assassinated, even so, they would definitely cause big trouble. Assassination was easy, and it would be difficult to escape unscathed.
"What did Brother Yang say?" Li Laiheng asked.
"He?" Ye Zhen curled his lips and looked around again. He whispered: "I asked a few people from Zhong Sanlang Xiangtang. They only said they didn't know. There was no sign of condolence in their expressions. The two corpses were buried in a hurry. In my opinion, they might be the ones who did the land."
Li Laiheng deeply agreed with Zhendi's analysis. There are only two major forces in the city that can kill two leaders at the same time. Only Li Laiheng and Yang Qilong have this ability. Li Laiheng knew that he had never given such an order. Then it was probably Yang Qilong who took action. The question is, why did Yang Qilong take action?
"I originally had no intention of being Yang Di. But later something happened. Then I felt heartbroken. Just one hour ago, two Zhong Sanlang Xiang met with the local ecstasy to go out of the city from the east gate. Our brothers stopped at the gate. They said that Yang Qilong's orders went out of the city to investigate the enemy situation. I was not able to stop it at that time, so I let it go. Of course, I had to send a brother to follow me. But who knew that they had not come back yet.
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Li Laiheng asked back: "What do you mean?"
"I'm afraid that Yang Qilong wanted to surrender to the Tartars. He first secretly killed two brothers of his own. I know these two leaders. They are reckless and straightforward men. Perhaps it was because of their opposition that Yang Qilong killed them and silenced them. He sent two incense crowds from the city to investigate the enemy situation. Hehe. When we stand on the city wall, we can see the movements of the Tartars. What else do we need to investigate? Perhaps these two people are going to contact the Tartars."
Li Laiheng first shook his head and expressed his disbelief, then thought of Tartars.
Yang Qilong's various strange behaviors caused some doubts, and the dialogue involuntarily lowered a little voice: "No matter what, this matter cannot be made public, otherwise it will inevitably be a tyranny of brothers, allowing the Tartars to take advantage of the situation. As for whether Yang Qilong has made a small plan, let's take a look."
Ye Zhen nodded. Without evidence, such things could not be promoted. He couldn't help but laugh: "Where is Brother Li going? What's the situation in the north of the city?"
"Yang Qilong invited me to the banquet and said there was something important to discuss. Alas, now the Tartar soldiers are at the city, he still has the time to set up..." Li Laiheng suddenly stopped talking when he said this. He looked at Ye Zhen in shock. Ye Zhen seemed to feel something was wrong and frowned.
Li Laiheng is not a fool. At this time, Yang Qilong invited him to the banquet, naturally he might not have to be kind. In fact, Li Laiheng was persuaded by Yang Qilong, not because he trusted this slick person. After all, the two of them were just a combination of politics, and basic trust was not necessarily discussed.
"Brother Li, it's okay to go there. You have dozens of guards around you. Outside the house, I will naturally lead troops to help you, but you must be careful with the food and drinks." Ye Zhen said.
Li Laiheng's first point: "This is the reason. In addition, I will send you a way to contact the Ming army on the south bank. It is only a matter of time before Hankou falls. No matter what, you must not put it back to the hands of the Tatars. If the Ming army takes over, it will be better than the Tatars."
Ye Zhen nodded helplessly: "I will arrange it."
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"General Li." As soon as Li Lai entered the house, Yang Qilong and a group of leaders had already stood up and greeted him warmly.
"Why is Brother Yang still holding a banquet in front of the enemy?" Li Laiheng's favor for Yang Qilong turned into a false sense. There were dozens of guards behind him. Ye Zhen was also lurking outside the house, and he was ready to respond at any time, so he was not afraid that Yang Qilong would turn against him.
Yang Long smiled and said, "Of course, General Li is invited to discuss the current situation. Please give General Li a seat."
Li Laiheng sat in the upper head with Yang Qilong sitting beside him, and the other leaders sat on both sides, but the dozens of guards brought by Li Laiheng were crowded in the hall, and even the door was blocked.
Yang Qilong glanced at the guards unexpectedly: "Brothers, thank you for your hard work. Yang also held a banquet outside. Zhang Xinshun, take these brothers out to drink."
A leader responded and was about to stand up, but was stopped by Li Laiheng: "I don't think it's necessary. These brothers are born and die with Li. They always sleep together and fall together, and they sleep together. The old brothers who wear pairs of pants are here to accompany each other. Brother Yang is not surprised, right?"
Yang Qilong couldn't help but look quite embarrassed, and he was also a little anxious. His idea was to set up a Hongmen Banquet, kill Li Laiheng, and then offer Li Laiheng's head and Hankou City to the Qing army. Now the descendants of Zhu had long been killed by Manchus. Yang Qilong claimed to be the third prince of Zhu. If surrender in a simple sense, it would be a dead end. What was the purpose of Manchus killing Zhu's surname? Are you still afraid that the influence of these people will be used by the rebels who rebel against Qing and restored Ming? Yang Qilong killed Li Lai, an anti-Qing righteous man.
Heng is equivalent to a complete break with the anti-Qing rebellion party. From then on, his reputation has probably become terrible. The anti-Qing forces, not to mention what they have to do with him, may be unable to help spit out when they hear this name. It is precisely because of this that Yang Qilong was confident that he could find a way out from the Manchus after taking down Li Laiheng's head. Maybe for political propaganda, Yang Qilong could still get a job as a half-time position. Although the dream of becoming an emperor is gone, it is safe to live a life of his life.
At this moment, Li Laiheng obviously felt sorry for him. Dozens of guards were in trouble in this hall.
"What is General Li saying? Come on, go get a stool for your brothers. Everyone can make do with it, and don't go back if you don't get drunk."
Li Laiheng's eyebrows were closed: "Didn't Brother Yang say there is something important to discuss?"
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Chapter completed!