Just as You Chu and the others saw Li Wenqi's boundless army.
Some timid officials simply collapsed to the ground.
At this moment, many officials and generals exchanged glances.
They both understood each other's meaning: the enemy's forces were too strong, and they couldn't fight them head-on.
You Chu, of course, took in their expressions.
Finally, he shook his head helplessly. He knew very well what these people were thinking.
They simply didn't have the courage to hold out to the death and fight Li Zicheng to the bitter end.
Faced with this situation, all he could do was offer reassurance and try his best to maintain the status quo.
To be honest, if Li Qin hadn't listened to him and attacked Ningyuan, but instead launched a full-scale attack on Jinzhou...
He even doubted whether these people would voluntarily open the city gates to welcome Li Qin.
They've been in Jinzhou for too long. Jinzhou is too close to Liaodong. They've long been terrified by Li's decades-long reputation.
They were all terrified of the enemy.
If he had been sent to Jinzhou by the imperial court earlier, he could have accumulated prestige and suppressed them sooner.
However, he was only in Jinzhou for a very short time.
He was parachuted in; he had no real power base in Jinzhou.
They had no control over the generals in Jinzhou.
Just as You Chu and the others were standing nervously on the city wall.
A cavalryman immediately ran out from Li Wenqi's army in the distance.
The cavalryman ran to the foot of Jinzhou's city wall, raised his hands, held up two items, and shouted to them:
"General You, Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan have been captured by the Heavenly Army. This is the head of the Ningyuan garrison commander and the official seal of He Xiuwu, the Shanhaiguan garrison commander."
"I hope the general will keep his promise. After you ascend the throne and eliminate the treacherous officials, you will abandon the darkness and embrace the light. I will then certainly request Your Majesty to bestow upon you the title of duke or marquis."
At this moment, You Chu and the others on the Jinzhou city wall heard the words of the cavalryman below the wall.
Everyone was stunned and stood there in shock.
One of the generals with good eyesight saw clearly the head that the cavalryman was carrying in one hand.
He immediately exclaimed, "Yes, it's the garrison commander of Ningyuan!"
How is that possible?
How could Li Qin have broken through both Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan checkpoints so quickly?
They were able to quickly breach Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan.
If they attack Jinzhou, how long can they hold out?
Thinking about this, many people began to tremble.
It should be noted that many of them have been operating locally for many years, with beautiful concubines at home, shops in the city, and farms outside the city.
Basically, they all live a life of luxury. Now, how can they dare to fight against the infamous Liao soldiers?
Most importantly, many of their generals had private connections with the Li family.
After all, he had been stationed in Jinzhou for many years, and Jinzhou was adjacent to Liaodong. The Li family had been in Liaodong for decades, so how could they have no contact at all?
Therefore, many generals thought that since they had a good relationship with the Li family, even if they surrendered, things wouldn't be bad for them.
After all, we were colleagues who served as officials together before.
It's all about social etiquette and interpersonal relationships.
Upon learning the news, You Chu's expression gradually shifted from shock to despair.
Because he knew it was over.
Everything is over.
The fragile balance he had been trying so hard to maintain collapsed completely with the fall of Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan.
The fall of Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan meant that the connection between Jinzhou and the imperial court was completely severed.
They couldn't wait for reinforcements from the imperial court.
They have become an isolated city.
This made those who were already prepared to surrender to Li Zicheng even more determined, and caused those who were wavering to completely side with the surrender faction.
At this moment, he could already feel that many people around him were looking at him.
He knew very well that all he had to do now was give the order to continue holding the line.
These people would immediately rush up, tie themselves up, and surrender to Li the traitor.
Finally, after letting out a deep sigh, he turned to the generals around him and said:
"Gentlemen, I am an official appointed by the imperial court and receive a salary from the court. It is my duty to defend the territory for the court and I will never surrender to the traitor Li."
After You Chu finished speaking, he immediately noticed that the way the people around him looked at him had changed.
After all, this is not what he promised in the first place.
But You Chu didn't finish her sentence; instead, she changed the subject and continued speaking to them:
"Now that the rebel army is powerful and Jinzhou is difficult to defend, I have decided to retreat to the mountains and continue to fight guerrilla warfare against Li."
"Would you all be willing to fight a guerrilla war with me, or continue to hold Jinzhou to stop the traitor Li?"
After You Chu finished speaking, he placed his hand on the sword at his waist.
What he was worried about was whether these people in front of him would arrest him and go to Li Qin to ask for a reward.
The people in front of him exchanged glances but did not make a move.
They knew very well that You Chu meant that Jinzhou could not be defended.
The question was whether the group should follow him to continue fighting guerrilla warfare against Li Qin outside, or stay in Jinzhou and surrender to Li Qin.
After some eye contact, some generals were still willing to follow You Chu out of the city and fight guerrilla warfare with Li Qin.
The remaining generals did not object to their departure.
Outside the city, Li Wenqi, Wang Taihe, and others anxiously awaited the reaction from inside Jinzhou City.
He very much hoped that the people in Jinzhou would surrender as agreed after learning that Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan had fallen.
Of course, Li Wenqi did not place all his hopes on others.
He also ordered the army's craftsmen to collect timber and build siege weapons.
If Jinzhou refuses to surrender, a full-scale attack will be launched immediately.
At the same time, he ordered his nephew Li Xuanshang to continue leading 20,000 troops south to clear out the military fortresses and cities in western Liaoning.
After all, their time is very precious right now.
One person can only do the work of two.
We absolutely cannot let Jinzhou delay so many of them for too long.
Just as Li Wenqi and the others were anxiously awaiting the results from Jinzhou.
The previously closed gates of Jinzhou suddenly opened.
Then, squads of soldiers began to emerge, and the generals from Jinzhou also left the city without riding horses.
Upon seeing this, Li Wenqi, Wang Taihe, and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.
They knew that Jinzhou had finally surrendered.
Their worst fears ultimately did not come true.
Next, he can focus his forces on clearing out the military fortresses and cities in western Liaoning.
Then came the decisive battle against the imperial army at Shanhaiguan.
Just as Jinzhou opened its city gates and surrendered, You Chu led more than a thousand people and quickly left Jinzhou from the other side of the city.
After all, Wang Taihe only had a little over 10,000 cavalrymen, which was completely insufficient to encircle Jinzhou from all sides.
Li Wenqi and his men had just arrived and had not yet completely surrounded Jinzhou.
Before leaving Jinzhou, You Chu took one last look at the city and made up her mind.
That is, I will definitely come back.
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