From beggar to emperor: I am not Zhu Yuanzhang

At dawn, some sneaky people gathered on the edge of the Yangtze River, apparently trying to cross the river.

Zhu Yanshou got a few small boats from nowhere, and under the command of Tian Kai, everyone crossed the river in a low profile and entered Du Hong's territory. The news soon reached Du Hong's ears. When he heard that the two brothers were coming to surrender, he must have been beaten up by Yang Xingmi and ran away. He sent someone to inquire, and it turned out to be the case.

Not long after, Tian Kai's envoy arrived in Ezhou and asked to see Du Hong.

Du Hong originally wanted to refuse, but then he thought that these two brothers were Yang Xingmi's traitors, and he might be able to get some information about Yang Xingmi from them. Thinking of this, he invited the envoy to come in and answer.

The envoy brought Tian Kai's personal letter and asked Du Hong to read it.

Du Hong read the letter and had one idea: Our brothers and Yang Xingmi are incompatible with each other, and we are willing to do Du Hong's service.

To put it bluntly, it is just one sentence, please give Boss Du a bowl of rice.

Du Hong thought about it and felt that this was a good move to deal with Yang Xingmi, so he readily agreed.

Du Hong took in Tian Wei and Zhu Yanshou, which made Yang Xingmi furious and decided to immediately send troops across the river to attack Ezhou. Du Hong had already prepared for the battle, and a war was about to break out.

The surrender of Tian Wei and Zhu Yanshou was originally an expedient measure. Now that they saw that Du Hong was strong on the outside and had an opportunity to take advantage of him, they secretly plotted to launch a mutiny, capture and kill Du Hong, and take Ezhou as their own.

However, what they never expected was that Du Hong thought the same way and planned to use these two people to deal with Yang Xingmi.

Therefore, at a meeting, Du Hong said to the two of them with great expectations:

General Su Wentian and General Zhu have extraordinary courage and superb martial arts. They are the top brave generals under Yang Xingmi. This time Yang Xingmi comes to attack for no reason. We, Ezhou, are in danger. I have asked these two generals to help Du out of the city to defeat the thieves. I don’t know what your intentions are. how?

Tian Wei and Zhu Yanshou were caught off guard and forgot their lines for a moment.

Does this mean that we two brothers should go out and die?

You, Du Hong, actually played this trick. Since you are unkind, don't blame my brothers for being unjust.

After the meeting, Zhu Yanshou asked Tian Kai: Brother, do we really want to go out of the city to confront Yang Xingmi? Yang Xingmi is not easy to deal with.

Tian Kai sneered and said: This old man Du Hong wants us to fight Yang Xingmi. He sits on the mountain and watches the tiger fight. He is happy no matter who loses. Even if we defeat Yang Xingmi, our vitality will definitely be severely damaged. He will definitely attack from behind and kill us. Get rid of you and me, brothers, to avoid future troubles.

So what do we do? You can't sit still and wait for death.

Zhu Yanshou asked.

Tian Kai said coldly: If Du Hong is in the first grade of junior high school, we will be in the fifteenth grade. We will give him a pre-emptive strike.

Immediately, he made a gesture of wiping his neck.

The night was hazy, and everything was silent.

Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou took their gang members and sneaked into Du Hong's mansion quietly, preparing to assassinate Du Hong.

The two brothers were full of confidence and thought that their plan was perfect and absolutely foolproof. However, Du Hong's spy among them had already reported their actions.

A big net awaits them.

Not long after, Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou led people into Du Hong's inner courtyard. Tian Kai, expressionless, coldly ordered to rush in and kill Du Hong.

His men rushed into the bedroom, but they were greeted by a hail of arrows, followed by a circle of torches outside the yard.

Broken, fallen into a trap——

Zhu Yanshou yelled and wanted to run back, but it was too late.

Du Hong's ambush troops rushed in howling and captured Zhu Yanshou on the spot. Tian Kai resisted stubbornly and was soon captured at the end of his strength. His henchmen were wiped out in three strokes.

Just when Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou sighed secretly, a burst of laughter came from outside the door:

Hahaha, how about this drama? Isn't it exciting?

The person coming was none other than Du Hong.

Du Hong walked in surrounded by his entourage.

He looked at Tian Kai and vomited bitterly:

I took you in with good intentions, but I didn’t expect that you two ungrateful dogs would actually want to bite you back.

No wonder Yang Xingmi hates you so much. With your character, what will happen if you fall into Yang Xingmi's hands?

Otherwise, I will hand you over to Yang Xingmi, what do you think?

After saying that, Du Hong laughed.

Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou felt chills running down their backs. If this lunatic really handed them over to Yang Xingmi, they would probably die without a burial place. What should they do?

But the matter has come to this, and it's too late to regret.

Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou looked at each other, lowered their heads, and sighed.

Outside the city, Yang Xingmi increasingly intensified the siege of Ezhou, attacking day and night, which made Du Hong feel a lot of pressure. In order to save his life, Du Hong had to put away his arrogance the day before and began to think about how to reconcile with Yang Xingmi.

But his advisers persuaded him to take another gamble.

Du Hong frowned: How to bet? Do I still have a bet?

The counselor reminded him: My lord, have you forgotten that you still have two cards in your hand?

Du Hong is a smart man who knows everything at once.

Got it right away.

You mean, those two people in the prison.

The counselor advised: My lord Rong Zhen, Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou are Yang Xingmi's most hated enemies. If my lord hands these two people over to Yang Xingmi, he will definitely gain Yang Xingmi's trust.

At that time, the lord will use another trick...

The counselor came close to Du Hong's ear and whispered something in a low voice. After hearing this, Du Hong was very excited and praised: "A wonderful plan, it is indeed a wonderful plan. If this plan succeeds, I will have nothing to worry about."

A few days later, Du Hong sent an envoy to see Yang Xingmi, asking both sides to stop fighting and make peace. To express his sincerity, Du Hong was willing to hand over Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou to Yang Xingmi.

At the same time, in order to express Du Hong's feelings, a banquet was specially held in the city for Yang Xingmi, at which time Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou would be personally handed over to Yang Xingmi for disposal.

When he heard that Du Hong was willing to hand over Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou, Yang Xingmi was moved and wanted to agree. Yuan Xi reminded him not to believe Du Hong's words, but Yang Xingmi disagreed.

Yang Xingmi comforted Yuan Xi and said: Our army is powerful and we have been besieging Ezhou for several days. Du Hong saw that he could not win, so he had to choose to hand over the two thieves in exchange for the peace of Ezhou. In my opinion, there is no fraud in this, and the military advisor is too worried. .

As soon as I see Du Hong in the city, I will personally ask him for people. My army is pressing down on the border and I cannot tolerate him not complying with his request.

Yuan Xi still wanted to persuade him, but seeing that Yang Xingmi had already made up his mind, he had no choice but to swallow the words that came to his lips.

Three days later, Du Hong sent people to welcome Yang Xingmi into the city.

Yang Xingmi entered the city with only Liu Wei, Xu Wen and a few close associates. When Du Hong heard that Yang Xingmi was coming, he personally greeted him at the gate of the city, looking frightened.

Seeing Du Hong's performance, Yang Xingmi became more convinced that his judgment was correct, and Du Hong would never dare to play tricks.

In the banquet hall of Du Hong's mansion, the banquet had already been prepared, just waiting for Yang Xingmi and others to sit down.

Du Hong accompanied Yang Xingmi into the banquet hall. Everyone present stood up to greet Yang Xingmi. After the guests and hosts took their seats, Du Hong began to toast frequently. Yang Xingmi was a little wary at first, but after three glasses of wine, he completely relaxed.

After three rounds of drinking, Yang Xingmi was already a little tipsy, so he asked Du Hong:

General Du, is it time to hand over the two thieves Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou? Yang came here for them this time.

Du Hong smiled slightly: Of course, no problem.

As he said this and clapped his hands, he saw Tian Kai and Zhu Yanshou leading a group of armored warriors wielding scimitars and charging in, heading straight for Yang Xingmi.

Yang Xingmi jumped up and was about to draw his sword. At this moment, the crossbowmen Du Hong had ambushed in advance fired all the arrows. Yang Xingmi accidentally hit the arrow, and was hit by Liu Wei, Xu Wen and others. With desperate protection, he fought his way out of the city.

However, all the accompanying cronies were killed and injured, and the losses were heavy.

Yuan Xi, who was outside the city, saw that Yang Xingmi had fallen into the trap and hurriedly ordered his army to attack. A large army attacked fiercely from outside, and Xu Wen, Liu Wei and others cooperated from inside. They set fire everywhere, and the city of Ezhou was in chaos.

In the chaos, Liu Wei opened the city gate and led his troops into the city, while Xu Wen escorted Yang Xingmi out of the city.

After a night of fierce fighting, at dawn the next day, Du Hong committed suicide in desperation. Zhu Yanshou and others were captured and beheaded in front of the formation.

Yang Xingmi's condition was not good. He was seriously injured and had to return to Yangzhou overnight.

After returning to Yangzhou, Yang Xingmi's injuries were not serious but serious. Even the doctor in the palace was unable to do anything. Knowing that his time was running out, Yang Xingmi urgently recalled his eldest son Yang Wo to explain the funeral arrangements.

At that time, Yang Wo was serving in Xuanzhou. After receiving his father's personal letter, he immediately rushed back to Yangzhou and accepted Yang Xingmi's instructions in front of Yang Xingmi's bed.

Before Yang Xingmi died, he ordered Xu Wen, Liu Wei and others to assist the young master carefully, and at the same time handed over the military and political power of the Huainan Military Mansion to the young Yang Wo.

Soon, Yang Xingmi died of illness and was buried in Wushan, Luzhou with royal rites. Xu Wen and others assisted Yang Wo to continue to consolidate the power of the Yang family. A few years later, Xu Wen, who was too powerful to lose his position, overtook the Yang family and became the real head of the Yangzhou court.

After Xu Wen's death, his adopted son Xu Zhigao deposed the last monarch of the Yang family, proclaimed himself emperor, and established a new regime. He soon unified Jiangnan and fulfilled Yang Xingmi's last wish. However, competing in the Central Plains was too far away for them. .

(Finish)