The God King died suddenly at the beginning, what can I do?

After recalling this memory, Li Rubai had already walked to the gate of Chihe City without knowing it.

He ordered his guards to come forward and announce: "Master Li Rubai, the governor of Jizhou in Liao Dynasty, please meet with Master Zhang Yuke, the magistrate of Northern Mengzhou!"

After a while, the gate of Chihe City slowly opened, and a man wearing a civil official uniform walked out quickly.

When Li Rubai saw him, he immediately got off his horse and walked towards him. When the two came to each other, their eyes were filled with emotion and memories.

"Brother Rubai!" "Brother Yuke!"

At this moment, the two people's hands are tightly held together. It has been twenty years since they rode together that year. This is the first time they have been in such close contact.

After that year, the two took completely different paths

After the army was dispersed, Li Rubai did not choose to return to Wei Ming. Instead, he traveled around on his own, exercising his body and mind. In the process, he met Wuji, the real person.

Zhang Yuke returned to the court and was appreciated by the third prince, King Liao, and was promoted to an official position along the way.

Later, Li Rubai returned and rejoined Wei Ming. At this time, he had made great progress in all aspects of literary, Taoist and military strategy, and made various great contributions. He soon became a feudal official and a restrained person.

But although the two of them were still in court, it was a serious crime for a foreign general to interact with courtiers in private, so they never had the chance to sit together and chat and drink like before.

Only when Li Rubai occasionally returns to Beijing to meet the saint, can the two of them look at each other from a distance and express peace with their eyes.

Therefore, today the two of them were able to shake hands again, which made both parties filled with emotions.

"We haven't seen you for many years, how are you doing, Brother Rubai?" Zhang Yuke asked in greeting.

Li Rubai replied: "It's okay, it's just that I'm getting older and seeing the decline of the country, I feel very powerless."

Zhang Yuke shook his head and said with a smile: "Brother Rubai guards the border for the country. He is the pillar of the country. He has always been a role model that Yuke admires and respects."

Then Zhang Yuke called Li Rubai into the city and went to his house to reminisce about the past. Now that the two armies are facing each other, it is definitely not appropriate to stand here and chat.

Looking at the back of Li Rubai entering the city, Qin Yu curiously asked Ye Ming: "Senior Ye Ming, can Mr. Li really persuade him to surrender to us?"

On the way here, Qin Yu heard other people talking about Zhang Yuke. Most of their comments about him were "pedantic" and "rigid", which are typical stereotypes of scholars.

This is also the reason why Li Rubai has left him far behind after so many years. Zhang Yuke cannot see current events clearly, does not know how to adapt, and only knows how to be loyal to the imperial power.

The most typical thing is that although he was promoted by the King of Liao and was technically considered a member of the King of Liao, he often publicly criticized other colleagues who were also members of the King of Liao's forces. Even some of the actions of the King of Liao himself were criticized by him many times. public accusation

Because these people did not act according to the instructions of the central government, Zhang Yuke felt that they had disobeyed the Holy Power, and he had to stand up and correct these mistakes.

Faced with such a person, Qin Yu didn't think Li Rubai could persuade him to surrender to the Prince's Mansion just by talking.

Even Qin Yu, a political novice, could see this. Princess Zetian had naturally given up hope for a long time, so all her actions were planned according to the attack on the city.

Now the army has formed a formation in the city. When the three days are up, if Zhang Yuke does not surrender, she will immediately order an attack on the city!

And even if Zhang Yuke is persuaded by Li Rubai, it may not be possible to solve the problem peacefully.

Because Zhang Yuke is just a prefect, in charge of local government affairs, and the military power is not in his hands, he may not have the final say whether to fight or not.

However, if Zhang Yuke is willing to surrender, then he should be able to persuade the generals who command the troops. After all, in a real fight, these front-line soldiers will be killed.

……

After Li Rubai entered the city, he never came out again until the morning of the fourth day.

At this time, three full days have passed since he entered the city. "In a quarter of an hour, if Mr. Li doesn't come out, attack the city immediately!" Princess Zetian ordered the others.

However, not long after she finished speaking, the gate of Chihe City slowly opened, and Li Rubai and his team walked out.

It's just that Li Rubai's face doesn't look good. Qin Yu wonders if the negotiation has broken down. It seems that a fight is still inevitable.

When Li Rubai walked to the array, he loudly said: "Your Royal Highness, let the soldiers go into the city to receive them. They have surrendered!"

When everyone heard this, they were stunned for a moment, and then burst into violent cheers and cheers.

"Master Li is mighty!" "Master Li has good tactics!" Several generals hurried forward to congratulate and praise Li Rubai's achievements, but Li Rubai just smiled bitterly and returned to the array.

Princess Zetian immediately ordered the army to enter the city, but she still kept a cautious eye and left some troops waiting outside the city to avoid any accidents.

However, after entering the city, I found that I had been worrying too much. Indeed, as Li Rubai said, officials at all levels in Chihe City were already waiting for them.

The military generals also led the soldiers to line up on both sides of the road and hand over their weapons and equipment. Everything went surprisingly smoothly.

Princess Zetian also fulfilled her promise and did not punish or kill anyone. She did not even change the property and treatment of the officials. She only replaced some key departments and positions with her own people.

After arranging most of the recruitment work, Princess Zetian and a group of senior generals went to the government office

Everyone stood in the lobby. Princess Zetian asked Li Rubai: "Master Li, just now the commander-in-chief, deputy generals and civil servants of Northern Mengzhou have surrendered to the palace. Why haven't you seen Zhang Yuke?"

Qin Yu was also surprised that he hadn't seen Zhang Yuke since he entered the city. Logically speaking, he, the top chief executive of the place, should take the lead.

Is it possible that she is not giving Princess Zetian face? That shouldn't be the case. They've already surrendered. There's no point in fighting back.

Li Rubai sighed and said with grief and desolation in his voice: "Brother Yuke...has committed suicide."

Hearing this, everyone around him exclaimed in amazement. No one thought that Zhang Yuke would actually choose to commit suicide.

Even Princess Zetian was surprised, "Why is he like this? Didn't I already agree to pardon everyone?"

Li Rubai first closed his eyes, looking sad, thinking for a moment, then opened his eyes and told what happened in the city in the past three days.

……

After Li Rubai entered the city, he followed Zhang Yuke to the government office. When he arrived, he was surprised to find that the envoy of the King of Liao was also here.

It turned out that the King of Liao was worried that Zhang Yuke would surrender directly, so he sent someone to urge him to hold on, and promised that even if he couldn't hold on in the end, he would find a way to take him away, and the King of Liao would not blame him and would reward him for his merit in holding on.

The King of Liao did not do this because he really hoped to save Chihe City. What he wanted was an attitude and a signal.

If Zhang Yuke surrenders easily, officials and military governors in other places will be shaken and their attitudes towards the Prince's Mansion and Princess Zetian will change.

Failure to resist resolutely means resolute non-resistance. This is something that the central government will never tolerate. They must put the Prince's Palace and the entire family on the opposite side of the empire and let everyone resist.

That's why the King of Liao sent people to urge Zhang Yuke to stick to Chihe City, even if he was defeated.