Jingyang County, Teshan District.
That was the administrative center of Jingyang County.
The person in charge of administrative affairs in Jingyang County was the Deputy County Governor, Wang Li.
Wang Li was a native of Teshan District.
He was in his early forties.
He had been the Deputy County Governor of Jingyang County for six years. Before that, he had been the county magistrate of Teshan District for nearly ten years. During that period, he had been Wang Xuandu's subordinate and helped Wang Xuandu with his affairs.
Wang Li was gradually getting older, but he had rich experience in handling administrative affairs for many years. He wasn't an ambitious person. He just wanted his family to be safe and sound. That was enough.
When Wang Xuandu attacked Songyang County, Wang Li tried to dissuade him, hoping that he would not start a war with Songyang County.
Both sides were safe.
However, Wang Xuandu wanted to start a war.
As the Deputy County Governor, Wang Li could not stop him. He could only obey the arrangements. He had been taking care of the rear and preparing provisions and weapons for Wang Xuandu.
That way, Wang Xuandu would not be affected.
Although Wang Li was at the rear, he had been paying attention to the situation at the front line.
He had been understanding the situation.
The more he understood Songyang County, the more worried he became.
That was because the information Wang Li received was that Songyang County was extremely powerful, especially Du Qi's scheming. In a short time, he went from a person with nothing to someone who controlled Songyang County.
Du Qi even destroyed Pandou County's Bennett. He was really not simple.
Under such circumstances, Wang Li was naturally worried.
Although Wang Li was worried, he had no choice but to do things steadily. He could only take care of everything at the rear and ensure that Wang Xuandu at the front line would not be affected.
On this day, Wang Li was dealing with administrative affairs.
A yamen runner rushed in and reported, "Deputy County Governor, a soldier rushed back from the front line. He said that he has important news to report to you."
Wang Li said, "Bring him in."
"Yes!"
The yamen runner went to pass on the order.
Not long after, the soldier entered Wang Li's office. He bowed and handed over a letter, saying, "Deputy County Governor Wang, this is a personal letter from the County Governor. Please prepare immediately and bring all the supplies and civil and military officials to Cangshan Pass at the border of Fushan District to surrender to Du Qi."
Whoosh!
Wang Li's expression changed greatly.
What was going on?
Wang Li quickly opened the letter and skimmed through its contents.
The handwriting was Wang Xuandu's.
His tone was the same as Wang Xuandu's.
In Wang Xuandu's letter, he described the situation of their defeat and asked Wang Li to surrender with supplies and officials.
Wang Li finished reading the letter and sighed in his heart. Then he looked at the soldier and asked, "What exactly happened in this battle? The number of soldiers led by the county governor was not small. However, he was directly defeated. What exactly is going on? "
The letter did not mention the details of the battle.
Therefore, Wang Li asked.
The soldier reported, "We have arrived at Cang Shan Pass. As Cang Shan Pass is easy to defend and hard to attack, the county governor chose to take a shortcut. He sent people to find the shortcut beside Cang Shan Pass and directly entered Cang Shan Pass. "We launched an attack and charged straight for Cang Shan Pass. Midway, we were ambushed and bombarded by cannons. We suffered heavy losses and in the end, we had nowhere to run. Thus, the governor gave the order to surrender. Now, the Prefectural Governor has already submitted to Du Qi. "
Wang Li sighed and said, "Got it. You may leave."
"Yes!"
The soldier turned around and left.
However, Wang Li's expression was extremely solemn.
He had lost!
What should he do now?
Should he surrender according to Wang Xuandu's instructions?
As someone who had followed Wang Xuandu for almost twenty years, Wang Li knew Wang Xuandu's character very well. He was definitely not someone who would admit defeat easily. Therefore, Wang Li thought that although Wang Xuandu seemed to have surrendered on the surface, he still had other ideas in his heart.
It was impossible for him to truly surrender.
Wang Li was familiar with Wang Xuandu's character, and he was also thinking about how he should deal with it.
After a long while, Wang Li made up his mind.
He could not interfere or influence the confrontation between Wang Xuandu and Du Qi, so he chose to follow Wang Xuandu's instructions.
He would surrender first.
After thinking it through, Wang Li immediately summoned the officials of the County Governor's Mansion and told them about the situation at the front line. He also told them that Wang Xuandu had been defeated and had surrendered to Du Qi.
Since Wang Xuandu had surrendered, everyone else naturally had to follow suit.
No one wanted to fight.
Even Wang Xuandu could not withstand it, let alone the others.
Wang Li relayed the news and told them that he was going to surrender to Du Qi. Then, he once again packed up the population and land register of the entire Jingyang County. He even brought along the county magistrate of Tishan District. The group left Tishan District and headed to Cangshan Pass.
This time, not only were there more than a hundred officials, there were also more than three thousand soldiers.
These were the soldiers guarding Tishan District.
Now, everyone was following them to Cangshan Pass.
At the beginning of December, the weather was getting colder and colder, and there were even signs of snow. Under such circumstances, Wang Li did not slow down and arrived at Cangshan Pass at the fastest speed.
Wang Li brought his men to the pass and immediately reported his name and identity to request an audience.
Li Jingcheng had been stationed on the tower. When he received the news from Wang Li, he quickly entered the pass and came to the main tent in the camp. After seeing Du Qi, he reported, "My Lord, the County Governor of Jingyang County, Wang Li, has brought a group of officials and a group of soldiers to request an audience. All of them are here to surrender. "
Du Qi instructed, "Since they're here, arrange for everyone to stay in the pass. Remember, let them take off their armor and throw away their weapons before entering the pass. Do not be careless. "
"Yes!"
Li Jingcheng immediately responded.
Du Qi continued, "Then, call Wang Li over."
Li Jingcheng said, "Yes, my Lord."
After that, Li Jingcheng turned and left, while Du Qi waited quietly. Time passed little by little, and there was a burst of hurried footsteps outside the tent. The tent curtain was lifted and Li Jingcheng brought Wang Li in.
Wang Li stood still and bowed, "The County Governor of Jingyang County, Wang Li, pays his respects to Lord Du."
Du Qi said, "Wang Li, I heard that you are very good at governing the place."
Du Qi had heard about Wang Li from the captive soldiers of the Jingyang County during this period of time.
Therefore, he knew about Wang Li.
Wang Li shook his head and said, "Lord Du, my ability is insignificant. It is not worth mentioning. What I did was to have a clear conscience. At the very least, I have a clear conscience. I have a clear conscience to the heavens and the earth. I have a clear conscience to the tens of thousands of people.
Du Qi smiled and said, "No matter what, this is already very good."
Wang Li said, "Lord Du, I have brought the remaining three thousand soldiers of Jingyang County. In addition, I have also brought all the land and population books. They will all be handed over to Lord Du. From now on, the entire Jingyang County will submit to Lord Du. "
He directly stated the purpose of his visit.
Let me make it clear.
After hearing this, Du Qi nodded slightly and continued, "Speaking of which, you are able to govern Jingyang County. Under such circumstances, are you willing to be the governor of a county? "
"Ah!"
Wang Li was shocked when he heard this.
He had a surprised expression on his face.
He did not expect that Du Qi would say such a thing. He actually wanted him to be the governor of Jingyang County.
One must know that this was the governor of a region.
Wang Li was the County Governor.
Logically speaking, he was the second-in-command of the Jingyang Army. However, in reality, Wang Li was equivalent to Wang Xuandu's assistant. Everything about Wang Li depended on Wang Xuandu's arrangements.
If Wang Xuandu wanted to dismiss Wang Li, it would only take a few words. In fact, Wang Li did not even dare to refute.
This was the truth.
Wang Li's breathing gradually quickened. He looked at Du Qi and said, "Lord Du, are there any conditions for me to be the governor of Jingyang County? What do you need me to do? "
Du Qi said with a smile, "What else can it be? Of course, you have to be loyal to me and work for me."
Wang Li said, "This is the most basic condition. Otherwise, you would not let me be the governor. What I mentioned is, other than me being the governor, what other conditions are there? "
He was also curious.
What did Du Qi mean by this?
He actually wanted him to be the governor. This was not a simple and easy task.
He was even worried that Du Qi had ulterior motives.
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