gnovel Chapter 75 Emperor Liu Jun of Northern Han Surrenders
Chapter 75 Emperor Liu Jun of Northern Han Surrenders
At dawn, before the fog on the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains had dissipated, dust billowed up on the official road outside the south gate of Luzhou, obscuring the sky.
Twelve thousand Northern Han soldiers arrived as dawn broke, their black banners with white Chinese characters fluttering in the morning breeze. The soldiers' faces were filled with undisguised excitement, their hearts pounding with the anticipation of reclaiming control of the Central Plains.
Liu Jun, clad in gilded armor, rode a tall horse, gazing at the nearby city walls of Luzhou, a smile he could barely suppress.
He reined in his horse and shouted towards the city wall, "Li Shoujie! Open the gate! I have personally led a large army to your aid. Why don't you open the gates and welcome me at once!"
The flags on the city wall swayed, and Li Shoujie, clad in silver armor, leaned out from behind the crenellations, his face displaying just the right amount of embarrassment: "What brings Your Majesty here? Luzhou's defenses are impregnable; why must Your Majesty come in person?"
"Enough with the nonsense! Do you think I don't know that Zhao Kuangyin is dead?" Liu Jun's face darkened, and his tone instantly turned cold. "Your father, Li Jun, has already pledged allegiance to me, so I am your sovereign! Now I have personally led a large army to rescue your Zhaoyi Army, and you dare to refuse to let them in? Could it be that you intend to secretly collude with the Song army and betray your father?"
He paused, then softened his tone and offered a tempting offer: "I have already sent the Privy Councilor Duan Chang to the Liao capital to request troops. My father, Emperor Yelü Jing, will arrive soon with 100,000 iron cavalry. If you open the city gates to welcome me, I will enfeoff you and your son as the Princes of Hedong after I enter Kaifeng, a hereditary title."
"If you refuse to open the city gates, I will take Gaoping first and trap you all. If you miss such a golden opportunity, I will still have my father's 100,000-strong army to assist me. What will you do then?"
"This..." Li Shoujie looked very hesitant.
Liu Jun's expression softened, and he said, "Good nephew, let me in first. Now that Zhao Kuangyin is dead, the world is without a ruler. This is precisely the time for us, as ruler and subject, to work together to accomplish great things. I can swear to Heaven that after we conquer the world, I will share it with you and your son. Even if our two families were to turn against each other in the future, it would only be after we have conquered Kaifeng and reclaimed our Han Dynasty. Don't you agree?"
"I have personally led troops to support you and your son. The Liao emperor has also prepared a full 100,000 iron cavalry. Are you just here to watch the show? You won't even let me enter the city. How can I let this go? Good nephew, open the city gates quickly, lest things go wrong."
"this……"
Li Shoujie on the city wall remained silent for a moment, seemingly persuaded, yet still seemingly with reservations.
Wang Lu, standing behind him in the armor of an ordinary soldier, said in a low voice, "That's enough, any more and it'll be too much."
Li Shoujie nodded slightly, sighed towards the city below, and looked like he had no other choice: "Your Majesty is too kind. I will open the city gates now and let you in."
As Li Shoujie gave the order, the heavy sound of the winch rang out, and the barbican gate of the south gate of Luzhou slowly opened, revealing the dark entrance.
It's done!
Liu Jun couldn't help but feel smug: [He's still young after all. A few words and I've got him wrapped around my little finger, hahaha. I heard Li Jun suffered heavy losses outside Zezhou. With Luzhou captured, Li Jun's only option is to let me annex it. Hahaha, Li Jun, you went to fight Zhao Kuangyin, but in the end, didn't you all just benefit me?]
The soldiers of the Northern Han army could no longer contain themselves and rushed into the city. Leading the way were Liu Jun's personal guards, who were all arrogant and did not take the Zhaoyi army seriously at all.
Liu Jun, accompanied by several hundred personal guards, rode in the middle of the column, his heart filled with increasing pride as he looked at the towering city walls on either side. He turned to his attendants and smiled, "The world is at peace. Having incorporated the ten thousand troops of the Zhaoyi Army, we will march south and take Kaifeng!"
The courtiers quickly echoed, "Your Majesty is wise! This empire originally belonged to the Liu family. Zhao Kuangyin was nothing but a usurper. Now that he is dead and his influence has vanished, it is the perfect opportunity for Your Majesty to restore the Han Dynasty!"
Just then, a cannon shot rang out, followed by a deafening roar of gongs and drums. A line of heavily armored soldiers, clad in neat formation and carrying large shields, suddenly emerged from the wide-open gate of the barbican, blocking the gate and trapping all the Northern Han soldiers inside.
Liu Jun's expression changed: "What's going on?!"
Before the words were finished, a rapid clapper sounded from the city wall. From behind the previously empty crenellations, countless soldiers armed with crossbows suddenly appeared, their dark arrowheads aimed at the Northern Han army inside the barbican.
A bright yellow banner bearing the character "Song" slowly rose, and a burly, dark-skinned man, carrying a dragon-patterned staff on his shoulder, appeared beneath it without warning. His expression was relaxed. Li Shoujie, Wang Quande, and other high-ranking generals of the Zhaoyi Army immediately kowtowed and shouted in unison:
"The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is here! The entire Zhaoyi Army, obey my command! Abandon the darkness and embrace the light! Slay the Liao lackeys beneath the city walls!"
"Zhao Kuangyin! You, you, you're not dead?!"
Only then did Liu Jun realize it was a trap. He was terrified and, with a loud shout, he fell headfirst off his horse.
It turned out that after Li Shoujie personally went to meet Zhao Kuangyin at the foot of Zezhou City the day before yesterday, Zhao Kuangyin was overjoyed and approved of their plan to trick Liu Jun.
However, Luzhou was ultimately short of troops, and the fact that it changed hands and did not change its banner made people feel uneasy.
He was both highly skilled and daring. That very night, he ordered the army in Zezhou to be handed over to Shi Shouxin and Zhao Pu for command, while he himself, along with Li Shoujie and two thousand of the most elite soldiers in the entire Song Dynasty, rushed back to Luzhou through Gaoyang Pass overnight.
The next day, Li Chuyun again had Wang Quande use his connections to lead another three thousand elite troops through the checkpoint into the city.
At this point, while those gathering information at Gaoping Pass and Taiping Post Station all believed Zhao Kuangyin was dead, Zhao Kuangyin had already personally led 5,000 elite troops and completely controlled Luzhou City. The remaining mid-level generals, seeing that Zhao Kuangyin was already sitting in the main hall of the Zhaoyi Army in Luzhou, what else was there to say? Naturally, everyone pledged their loyalty without hesitation.
Most of the lower-ranking soldiers of the Zhaoyi Army didn't even know what was happening, but they could still tell who was friend and who was foe. The Zhaoyi Army and the Northern Han Army were originally sworn enemies and had only barely formed an alliance. Now that the alliance had collapsed, they naturally had no psychological burden when they started fighting. In just a moment, arrows began to rain down from the city walls.
"Back off! Back off! Back off now!"
But there was no time to retreat. The battle was already raging ahead, and people behind were still pushing forward, unaware of what was happening. Naturally, the Zhaoyi army at the front suffered heavy losses.
"Liu Jun, why aren't you surrendering?"
With a loud shout, Wang Quande led a squad of heavy infantry, armed with shields and short axes, into the chaotic enemy cavalry ranks, hacking and slashing wildly as they charged straight at Liu Jun. Once the cavalry lost their speed and stopped, they became easy targets for the heavy infantry.
Liu Jun mounted his horse and tried to run away, but his back was blocked. Overwhelmed with grief and anger, he couldn't use his spear effectively, so he drew his saber and prepared to fight to the death.
Upon seeing Wang Quande covered in blood and looking like a ferocious demon, his courage vanished instantly. He hurriedly threw down his saber and shouted, "Don't kill me! I'm willing to surrender!"