Bao Yunyong's face darkened: "If you have to fart, do it now!"

Yan Sikong replied calmly: "After entering the city, I heard a lot of rumors, saying that everyone was plotting rebellion. I would rather submit to King Liang, who is of the orthodox royal bloodline, than follow the general and become a bandit."

Bao Yunyong shouted loudly and pointed at Yan Sikong with his shaking hands: "Someone, drag him away and give him to me..."

"My Lord," Yang Weiqi said in a deep voice, "The man is in our hands, so we are not afraid that he will run away. You might as well listen to what he has to say."

"General, have you ever thought about why there are such rumors in the city?"

Yang Weiqi said coldly: "What do you want to say?"

Yan Sikong looked around. Half of the generals in the room were probably former Kuizhou generals. Perhaps they were all the treacherous officials who had participated in the plot to murder the Kuizhou garrison and open the city to welcome the enemy. Even so, they would not be of the same mind as Bao Yunyong and would change their minds according to the situation. He shouted, "There are already spies of the King of Liang in the city. When the time is right, they will lead the former Kuizhou generals to defect to the King of Liang. The rest of them will be bait to hold back the Sheng army. I'm afraid that when you and I fight to the death, the King of Liang will lead his army to Nanjing!"

As soon as these words came out, the room was in an uproar. Others had guessed what Yan Sikong said, but no one dared to say it so bluntly and firmly. After all, King Liang had said that he would form an alliance with Bao Yunyong to work together for the great cause. Now that the Sheng army was approaching the city, it was a test of whether the two sides could advance and retreat together. Both sides must be full of suspicion of each other. Any spark could get out of control. In such a delicate and tense period, who dared to speak nonsense?

But Yan Sikong said it in front of everyone, and with such confidence, as if it were true.

Bao Yunyong gritted his teeth and said, "Don't lie. I have an alliance with King Liang."

"Has the King of Liang ever sent you a single pound, a single soldier, or a single piece of armor? The King of Liang knew that Kuizhou would be besieged sooner or later, but he did not send supplies from the wealthy Jingzhou to help. Instead, he recruited soldiers, built armor, and built ships, all in preparation for a big move south. The general should not take this alliance too seriously."

Bao Yunyong's face was pale and blue, and he was very excited. The King of Liang was recruiting soldiers and buying horses at the time, so he had no spare energy to help Bao Yunyong. This must have hit Bao Yunyong's sore spot.

Yang Weiqi snorted coldly: "Your remarks may seem reasonable, but in fact, every word is unstable and extremely provocative. You have sinister intentions. This is clearly your strategy to divide your forces!"

"Yes, you came all the way here to disrupt the alliance between me and King Liang, just to separate us and fight us, you, you villain!" Bao Yunyong was already full of murderous intentions towards Yan Sikong.

The atmosphere in the house was chilly and made one's hair stand on end. Feng Ye tightly gripped the hilt of the sword, and the half of his face covered by the helmet concealed a cold murderous intent.

It is true that no one can stand alone against all enemies, but Feng Ye knows that he can separate Bao Yunyong's head and body before he can finish his next sentence. If the situation forces him to do so, he will have no choice but to kill Bao Yunyong. As long as Bao Yunyong dies, they will have a great chance of survival.

Yan Sikong had a smile on his face, which seemed to carry a hint of pity: "General, you are so nervous, are you afraid that what I said is true?"

"Nonsense!"

"The King of Liang is also a descendant of the Chen family. The quarrel between the brothers is a family affair of the royal family. The general is an outsider after all. If the King of Liang really usurps the throne, the first person he will kill is the traitor. It is such a simple truth. How long will the general continue to deceive himself?"

The veins on Bao Yunyong's forehead began to beat.

"The note I wrote was just a test. There is a spy from the King of Liang among the old subordinates in Kuizhou. I want to prove it to the general. Since the general has already arrested the person, he will know the truth after a trial."

Bao Yunyong and Yang Weiqi looked at each other, with an unfathomable look in their eyes. Through the note, they did catch some people, but everyone was very tight-lipped and nothing could be found out, which made it impossible to judge whether Yan Sikong's words were true or false.

Yan Sikong knew that they could not find out anything, but his goal had been achieved. He had caused a rift between Bao Yunyong and King Liang, and also conveyed the information that Bao Yunyong might wipe them out at any time to the old Kuizhou people who were worried about their own safety. Bao Yunyong and the old Kuizhou people were all on board, and only Yang Weiqi was difficult to deal with. Yan Sikong said again: "General, the court has sent two envoys to negotiate with you. Isn't the intention obvious enough? My emperor has a broad mind and is willing to let go of the general's past, but he will never tolerate King Liang. As long as the general follows the invitation and joins me in attacking King Liang, the general will surely achieve unparalleled merit."

Bao Yunyong was not as angry as before. Instead, he glanced at Yang Weiqi, perhaps unable to make up his mind.

Yan Sikong also looked at Yang Weiqi. He knew that this man was the key to whether they could walk out of here alive today. He bet on Yang Weiqi's ambition, betting that Yang Weiqi would sell Bao Yunyong and the entire rebel army to the court for glory and wealth.

Yang Weiqi hesitated for a moment and said, "We will thoroughly investigate the affair between the former Kuizhou subordinates and the King of Liang. As for the two of you..."

Yan Sikong interrupted him: "We will return today."

Bao Yunyong's eyes widened: "You sneak around under my nose, and you think you can leave safely?"

"Is the general going to kill us?"

Bao Yunyong was speechless for a moment.

"Are you still going to lock us up?" Yan Sikong held his head high, his expression extremely calm. "I won't lie to you, General. If the two of us return without success, General Zhao and General Di Jiang will unite to besiege the city. Of course, it will be the same if you kill us."

Bao Yunyong clenched his fists.

"General, if you spare our lives, we will still have room for maneuver if you change your mind in the future. What do you think?" Yan Sikong seemed to be asking Bao Yunyong, but his eyes were glancing at Yang Weiqi.

Yang Weiqi's brows furrowed.

"When we besiege the city someday, generals, guess whether King Liang will come to help?"

Bao Yunyong remained silent.

Yan Sikong suddenly laughed three times, his voice hinting at a bit of arrogance: "I admire the general's courage and bravery, so I took the initiative to ask for leave and come here to persuade them to make peace. I hope the general can return to the right path, serve the court, and show his talent as a general. But the general is stubborn and refuses to learn his lesson. Instead of taking the Yangguan Road, he is trying to cross the single-plank bridge. It seems that I will return empty-handed. I pity those fellow villagers who followed you..."

Bao Yunyong said angrily: "At first I also accepted the invitation and became an official of Dasheng, but I didn't expect that they would change their mind after a few months and want us to continue to starve. If we don't rebel, we will die. If we rebel, we will die too. At least if we rebel, we don't have to starve!"

"The money allocated by the court is a huge amount of tax money, while the generals are eating and taking innocent people like you. Who is right and who is wrong? Do you want to rely on plundering for your whole life? When the Sheng army joins forces to besiege the city, how long will the food and grass in Kuizhou be enough for you? A year? Half a year? Three months?" Yan Sikong's words were sharp and heartbreaking. "From the moment you took control of Kuizhou, you were trapped in a cage. You have only two options: either follow King Liang in rebellion or submit to the court. King Liang can't even save himself. You have the promise from the current emperor. You can choose which way to go, which way to live or die. It's right in front of you."

In addition to Bao Yunyong and Yang Weiqi, there were more than a dozen officers in the room, and their faces looked a little strange at this time.

Yan Sikong took a few steps back, bowed deeply to the main seat, and said in a deep voice: "General, please think twice. I will take my leave now."

"You..." Bao Yunyong looked at Yan Sikong, then at Yang Weiqi, obviously undecided as to whether he should let Yan Sikong go like this.

Yang Weiqi shook his head towards Bao Yunyong and stood up. "Since Lord Yan wants to leave, our army does not want to be laughed at by the world as rough and unruly bandits, so we will not stop him."

"Thank you, sir."

Yang Weiqi thought for a moment and said, "I'll see you off."

"Sir, you are so polite."

——

Yang Weiqi sent Yan Sikong and Feng Ye to the pier, where the boatman had been waiting for them for five days.

Yan Sikong bowed deeply to Yang Weiqi and said, "Sir, can we have a few words in private?"

Yang Weiqi waved his hand and dismissed the guards on his left and right.

Yan Sikong whispered, "What I said in the hall today was all for you, sir. You understand my painstaking efforts."

Yang Weiqi's expression remained unchanged: "Lord Yan secretly communicated with the old subordinates in Kuizhou. It is hard to say who is behind this. I will investigate it thoroughly and then I will take it away."

Yan Sikong gently grasped Yang Weiqi's wrist and said earnestly: "Sir, you are a smart man. The sky is high and the sea is vast, allowing birds to fly freely. Don't let yourself die in a mere lotus pond."

The muscles on Yang Weiqi's face bulged beneath his skin, as if he was suppressing a strong emotion.

Yan Sikong and Feng Ye boarded the boat and bowed deeply to Yang Weiqi solemnly and respectfully. The two looked at each other from a distance for a long time before Yan Sikong returned to the cabin. His expression immediately changed, and he urged the boatman: "Push faster and leave here as soon as possible."

Feng Ye took off his helmet and left it aside. His hair was wet with sweat. He let out a long sigh, "That was a close call. I was ready to chop Bao Yunyong down with my sword."

"So we have to leave quickly. When they come back, they might really chop us up as sacrifices." Yan Sikong spread out his palms, which were full of sweat. His back was also already wet with cold sweat. The previous discussion seemed to be a verbal negotiation, but in fact, it was full of murderous intentions. A slight change in the mind of Bao Yunyong and Yang Weiqi could cost them their lives.

Feng Ye grabbed his hand and held it tightly, feeling Yan Sikong's slight tremors, feeling distressed and moved, his eyes full of admiration and pride: "Kong'er, you are great."

Yan Sikong looked towards the increasingly distant Kuizhou City: "I have tried my best. It will all depend on Yang Weiqi next."

"Even if Yang Weiqi doesn't turn against us, the alliance between Bao Yunyong and King Liang will fall apart. Neither of them is magnanimous and far-sighted. They don't trust each other at all. After you have caused such a stir, they will definitely be suspicious of each other."

"That's right." Yan Sikong showed a grim smile, "Just wait and see."

Ge Zhong, you wait for me in Jingzhou. On the day the city is captured, I will go to attend your funeral!