Chapter 128: Matchmaker
Outside Tianjin, Li Zicheng's troops had already assembled. Zhao Xiaofei stood on the city wall and looked out over the vast sea of people surrounding Tianjin.
There was a large "Li" written on the enemy's flag. Zhao Xiaofei asked Wanshan, "Who is this enemy general surnamed Li? Is he a relative of Li Zicheng? He probably has 50,000 men under him!"
"He has a nephew named Li Guo! But he should be with Li Zicheng now. Li Zicheng is probably busy dealing with those officials who are about to surrender. How could he have the time to send his nephew to us! I just counted them, there are about 30,000 of them!" Wanshan said.
"Who could that be?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Li Zicheng also has a general under him named Li Yan!" Wanshan said.
"Are you related to her?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"No! It's a general named Li! His wife seems to be called Hong Niangzi! Oh, right! When Marshal Zhou rushed out of the capital, he captured a female general. I guess she came to ask for his wife!" Wan Shan slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered this.
"Where is she? Could it be that Zhou Shuai likes to take her to Nanjing?" Zhao Xiaofei suddenly asked this nonsensical question.
"No! Just think about it, how beautiful could a wandering performer be? I've seen her, and I can only say she's a bit pretty. But she's tanned! Her hands are full of calluses! She has a country-bumpkin air!" Wanshan said. His two wives were both Ming Dynasty beauties, with fair skin and gentle personalities. Naturally, he wouldn't be interested in a wandering rebel like Hongniangzi.
"Okay! Send someone to bring her here. Let me see if Li Yan dares to attack when he sees his wife tied to the city wall!" Zhao Xiaofei said.
Upon hearing this, Wanshan immediately ordered someone to bring Hongniang up. Not long after, Hongniang was brought up to the city wall. Zhao Xiaofei took a few looks at her. He could only say she had a nice figure, but her red outfit made her look rather rustic. She was quite dark, with a hint of red in her complexion. Perhaps it was due to her constant travels.
"Are you Matchmaker?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Are you the Prince Consort Zhao who aided and abetted the tyrant?" Hongniang glared. She had been under guard for the past few days, expecting the troops to abuse her. She had even prepared to bite her tongue and commit suicide. But the Ming army treated her with respect, neither beating nor scolding her. Three maids took turns to wait on her daily. She was well fed and well treated!
"Yes! It's me! But how can you say I'm aiding and abetting the evil?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Chongzhen was extremely licentious and the people were living in misery! We rose up in rebellion because we couldn't eat enough. Can't you see the situation clearly now? I advise you to surrender to my lord immediately. Maybe you can get a title for your wife and children!" Hongniang persuaded.
"I believe that the people are suffering, but I don't understand why my father-in-law is so licentious. How many wives does he have? Only 5! Look at your generals, who doesn't rob food, money and women after they capture a city? Who doesn't have dozens of wives at home? Besides, what about giving titles to wives and children? My wife is a princess, who can be as noble as her? Can Li Zicheng give my wife another title of princess?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
Hong Niangzi had nothing to say. As soon as those generals entered the city, they would go to the wealthy families to rob beautiful women. Some generals had dozens or even hundreds of women in their homes. If it weren't for her own prowess, Li Yan would have remarried long ago. But Hong Niangzi said unwillingly, "But it's true that he's making the people's lives miserable, right?"
"The people's miserable lives are caused by the weather! There have been droughts and little rain in recent years, and it even snows in Guangdong in summer. Can my father-in-law be blamed for this? Besides, you are right. You have killed no fewer people than the government troops! We are all crows, so let's not say who is black!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Hmph!" Hong Niangzi hadn't read much, so how could she argue with Zhao Xiaofei? She simply turned her head and ignored him!
Soon, someone holding a white flag arrived at the foot of the city. Zhao Xiaofei ordered someone to lower a hanging basket and pull the person up. The person appeared to be a scholar. Zhao Xiaofei asked, "What are you doing here?"
"My general asks you to release his wife! As long as you release her, my general promises to say a few good words for the emperor and even arrange an official position for Prince Zhao!" said the scholar.
"Hahaha! He yawns like a toad with such a loud tone! Go back and tell Li Yan that if he wants to attack the city, just come and attack, no need to waste words! Go back! I don't want to kill anyone today!" Zhao Xiaofei said with a smile.
"Your Highness, have you ever thought about your own fate and the fate of the people in this city?" asked the scholar.
"What? Do you still want to learn from the Jianlu and massacre the city? Then what is the difference between you and the Jianlu? Go back and tell Li Yan that if I knew that he wanted to massacre the people, I would make him regret coming into this world, and by the way, give him thousands of green hats! Get out!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
The scholar looked at the tied-up Lady Hong not far away and shook his head. Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Xiaofei suddenly asked, "What's your name? You seem like a scholar, but you've learned all the moral principles of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame?"
"The Ming Dynasty made the people suffer terribly, and the Dashun Dynasty replaced it in accordance with God's will!" the scholar said loudly.
"Great! As the old saying goes, those who are loyal are mostly butchers, and those who are most unfaithful are mostly scholars." After saying that, he gave Wanshan a look.
Wanshan understood and cut the rope when the scholar was still four meters away from the ground. The scholar suddenly fell out of the hanging basket. He was thrown all over and in a mess! Zhao Xiaofei laughed heartily from the top of the city wall!
Li Yan waited for a reply, only to see the messenger return in a state of disarray. Needless to say, he understood that there was no room for negotiation. Before the messenger could speak, Li Yan gave the order, "Attack the city!"
By this time, the Chuang army already had a number of artillery pieces, all of which were Ming army artillery pieces, and even the artillerymen were former Ming army artillerymen. They slowly pushed the artillery pieces to a distance of 500 steps from the city wall and began to adjust the muzzles and prepare to fire. Unfortunately, before they could prepare, Zhao Xiaofei had Wanshan command the artillerymen to fire!
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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