Under such circumstances, there were subtle changes within the rebel army. For example, Liu Dongyang had a different kind of emotion in his heart. If it wasn't for Bo Bai's encouragement, he would still be a comfortable head of the army. Although he didn't have any status, he had enough money and food. His days were good and he had a group of subordinates. When everyone was free, they would play around. When there was something to do, they would run around. It was actually quite easy for them to fill their stomachs.
But now, even though he was the head of the army, he was surrounded by the army of the imperial court. They had sworn to kill him. A good Han soldier had actually allied with the rebel army. Not only would he be ridiculed by the future generations, he would not be able to keep his own life. His parents and family would definitely suffer.
Although he had killed the person who said these words, these words did not necessarily not affect Liu Dongyang's mentality. The emotion called regret gradually affected Liu Dongyang. Towards Bo Bai, Liu Dongyang also gradually developed feelings of resentment.
On the seventh day of the fourth month, Liu Dongyang and Bo Bai once again united and made an effort. They sent Tu Wenxiu and Xu Chao together to lead 800 elite cavalry to rush out of the city through the north gate to seek help from the grassland tribes. At the very least, they wanted to ask them to be responsible for receiving the Ming Army. Together, they would work together to defeat a portion of the Ming Army so that they could enter the grassland to seek survival. But they didn't expect that the troops that rushed out would once again return in defeat.
They could only blame their bad luck. Previously, the military supervisor Mei Guozhen had heard Xiao Ruxun's evaluation of Ma Gui. In addition to the rumors of "Li from the east and Ma from the west", he had developed an interest in Ma Gui. At that time, he was inspecting the troops in Ma Gui's camp. Hearing that the enemy was coming, he immediately pulled himself together and mounted his horse.
He was very excited to lead Ma Gui's cavalry and Wang Hui's firearms battalion to intercept the enemy. Facing a strong enemy, Mei Guozhen, who was a civil servant, was unexpectedly not afraid at all. He calmly drew his bow and shot seven to eight rebels in a row. This greatly boosted the morale of the Ming Army. If it wasn't for Xiao Ruhui's dissuasion, he would have personally led the charge.
Ma Gui and General You Ji Xiao Ruhui personally led the troops to fight with Tu Wenxiu and Xu Chao. In order to leave a better impression on Mei Guozhen, they used all their strength. After a round of angry words, the 800 cavalry was beaten to a point where only 300 people were left. The rebels at the top of the city wall hurriedly fired cannons to cover them. Ma Gui led his troops to retreat. The Ming Army obtained another victory and beheaded 407 people. This was confirmed by Mei Guozhen on the spot and rewarded!
Tu Wenxiu's arm was injured by Ma Gui and was almost dismembered. Xu Chao's ear was chopped off by Xiao Ruhui and he fled in a sorry state. At this moment, there were less than two thousand horses left in the city.
This defeat intensified the conflict between Bo Bai's group and Liu Dongyang's group. Liu Dongyang angrily scolded Tu Wenxiu for being useless and wanted to kill him to restore the morale of the army. Bo Bai and Qi Chengen were furious. They argued with Liu Dongyang that Xu Chao was timid and wanted to kill Xu Chao to restore the morale of the army. The two were tit for tat and almost fell out. In the end, Zhou Guozhu and Qi Chengen tried to smooth things over and found a scapegoat to kill. Only then did they reluctantly dissuade Bo Bai and Liu Dongyang.
But after this confrontation, it was only a matter of time before the relationship between the two groups completely broke down. Both sides were preparing for their next move. For example, Liu Dongyang wanted to surrender, while Bo Bai wanted to think of a way to break out of the city and find outside help to save him.
They had all neglected a problem — after the three thousand cavalry under Mighty Rabbit was almost completely annihilated by Xiao Ruxun, the few hundred cavalry who returned to the grasslands were still in shock and spread the story of the descent of heavenly lightning. This caused fear in the interior of the Taowu people about the civil war of the Ming Dynasty.
For a moment, the few tribes that were eager to try all calmed down. No one wanted to follow in the footsteps of Mighty Rabbit's troops. Then, they suddenly focused their gazes elsewhere — they looked at Mighty Rabbit's troops, who had lost a lot of strength but still had abundant water and grass, and began to have other thoughts …
Very soon, Mighty Rabbit's troops entered a state of war with the other tribes, and their troops and horses were almost wiped out.
The outside help that Bo Bai had placed such high hopes on actually started a civil war! How could Bo Bai not want to vomit blood?
That night, Xu Chao secretly came to find Liu Dongyang. The two old comrades discussed in Liu Dongyang's secret room.
"The current situation is that the city is surrounded on all sides, and Bo Bai's repeated attempts to break out have failed. He can't even protect himself now, but he wants to drag you and me down with him. We shouldn't do this kind of unprofitable business. We were once Daming's soldiers. If we surrender the city and say that we were bewitched by Bo Bai and offer up the heads of the Si father and son, you and I might be able to live!"
Xu Chao tried his best to persuade Liu Dongyang, who was wavering.
Liu Dongyang was still a little hesitant.
"I heard that the imperial court has already issued a bounty for you and me. Doesn't the imperial court want to kill us? If we surrender, do you think we can live? "
"You can't say that. The imperial court just wants to make a gesture to prevent others from betraying us again. This rebellion was originally proposed by Bo Bai first. You and I were just bewitched. To be honest, you and I can even be regarded as being coerced into following the thief! When the time comes, we will kill the Si father and son and pour dirty water on them. We will say that they killed Dang Xin and Zhang Weizhong in front of us and forced us to rebel together. We were only forced to do so. I think the imperial court will not investigate further. "
Xu Chao analyzed carefully.
Liu Dongyang frowned and said hesitantly, "Is that true? The imperial court will allow us to surrender and not investigate what we have done? It's not just Dang Xin and Zhang Weizhong! Princess Qing was forced to her death by us! Crown Prince Wang's whereabouts are still unknown. "
Xu Chao thought for a moment and felt that he also needed to confirm whether the imperial court really did not care about this rebellion, so he said, "How about I hide it from Bo Bai and secretly send someone out of the city to ask Wei Xuezeng? If he agrees, we will need his handwritten letter to allow us to surrender and pardon our crimes. In that case, we will open the city and surrender."
Liu Dongyang narrowed his eyes. After a while, he slowly exhaled.
"Okay, you go and do this. As long as it is done, you and I can calmly enjoy glory, splendor, and wealth!"
At midnight that day, a special envoy of Xu Chao was sent down from the city tower in a basket. Taking advantage of the darkness, he snuck into the Ming Army's camp.
Wei Xueceng had spent the whole night thinking about how to break into the city and had not fallen asleep. Suddenly, she saw the captain of the bodyguards come in with a strange look on his face. He said that a wretched man had been sneaking around outside the camp and had been caught by the night guards. He claimed to be Xu Chao's trusted aide and had come to see the Governor.
Xu Chao?
Wei Xuezeng's tiredness and drowsiness were immediately swept away. He was full of energy and his eyes brightened. He hurriedly said, "Bring him to see me immediately!"
The captain of the bodyguards immediately nodded in agreement. Suddenly, he was stopped by Wei Xuezeng. Wei Xuezeng's face was serious. "Don't alert anyone else. Bring him to see me secretly!"
"Yes, sir!"
The captain of the bodyguards turned and left.
Wei Xuezeng immediately realized that the key to breaking the situation was right in front of him! If he handled it properly, he could easily take over Ningxia City. Not only could he avoid trouble, but he could also avoid countless killings! Thus, he straightened his clothes and sat in the tent. Not long after, a few bodyguards appeared in the tent, guarding a wretched man with his hands tied behind his back. Once this man entered the tent, his eyes darted back and forth. He looked like he was up to no good.
"You are the traitor Xu Chao's trusted aide?"
Wei Xuezeng opened his mouth to ask.
"Governor Wei, you keep calling him a traitor and spoiling the good intentions of my general. If you continue to talk about my general like this and look at him like this, then the purpose of this lowly one's visit will be completely lost. My general's heart will be cold. How can he work for the governor?"
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