Chapter 158: Entrapment of Xu Dingguo 2
"What? Did he really say that?" Xu Dingguo asked.
"Sir! I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears! And Sir Zhao said he was sorry for not doing the job well, and asked me to return the 100,000 taels!" Wen Zhiping said.
Xu Dingguo paced back and forth in the room, hesitating. Finally, greed overcame reason, and he said to Wen Zhiping, "Take two hundred guards with you, and let's go to Haozhou!"
"Yes!" Wen Zhiping said.
"Why go to Bozhou?" Xu Dingguo asked.
"I heard that the Jianlu suffered a defeat, and Duoduo may have to return to Shanxi to provide support. Bozhou and Xuzhou here may return to the hands of the Ming Dynasty. So Huang Degong, Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing will continue to move north to expand their territory!" Wen Zhiping said.
In Bozhou, Zhao Xiaokun, Huang Degong, and Gao Jie were sitting together eating hot pot! Zhao Xiaokun said, "You two are working together well! Next, we will send troops separately. From the left and right, we will attack Xu Dingguo's troops and make sure to wipe them out. We can't let the silver fall into the hands of thieves!"
"Don't worry, Lord Zhao, I have already sent out the troops. We are just waiting for that guy Xu Dingguo to show up! Who the hell is he? He wants to betray the Ming Dynasty?" Gao Jie said.
"I will take his life!" said Huang Degong.
"Okay! Let's go! I wish this matter will be a success!" Zhao Xiaokun said, raising his glass.
Tonight, Bozhou Prefecture was a scene of singing and dancing. Zhao Xiaokun had invited quite a few famous prostitutes; the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai were all married. Two of them were still married to the brothers, so of course they couldn't bring them out. They had to find new prostitutes to liven up the atmosphere!
"Come on, come on! Everyone, today there are no official positions, no titles. There is only brotherhood! We are all here to lead troops to fight, why would we have so many thoughts? Isn't it for the Ming Dynasty, for the future titles for our wives and children? Lord Huang, Lord Xu, come and raise your glasses, let's write off the past, and drink this glass to the bottom!" Zhao Xiaokun said, raising his glass.
"We've almost finished listening to the song and dance. Lord Xu, drink up this small jar of wine! Take the silver immediately!" said Huang Degong.
Xu Dingguo said, "Great! Master Huang, you're so happy!" He then picked up the small jar of wine on the table and began to chug it down. There was no soldier who couldn't drink, and Xu Dingguo loved it even more. He drank the small jar of wine like it was plain water, and he drank it down in one gulp.
"You have a good alcohol tolerance! Sir Xu, take the silver now!" said Huang Degong.
"Okay! Let's not talk about the past anymore, we are all brothers!" Xu Dingguo said with a silly laugh.
"Cheers!" Everyone raised their glasses and drank them all at the same time.
After finishing the glass of wine, Zhao Xiaokun's expression immediately changed and he asked, "Master Xu, I heard that Duoduo promised the title of First-Class Jingqinihafan?"
Xu Dingguo was horrified upon hearing this, his face pale with fear. He trembled and said, "Zhao, Zhao Da, sir, this is absolutely not true!"
"That's absolutely not true? Then what about your son? Was he given to Duoduo as a hostage?" Zhao Xiaokun asked.
Xu Dingguo finally understood that giving and robbing the silver was all a show for him. He immediately stood up, drew his knife, and rushed out of the house. Zhao Xiaokun and the others did not try to stop him and let him rush out.
Xu Dingguo rushed out of the house, only to hear shouts and cries of killing outside the yard. Wen Zhiping then rushed into the yard and said to Xu Dingguo, "Sir, we've been tricked! The court is trying to get rid of us! All the brothers we brought here are finished!"
At this point, the shouting and screaming stopped, and the courtyard entrance was now tightly blocked by Huang Degong's men. Zhao Xiaokun, along with Huang Degong and Gao Jie, also emerged. Behind them were musketeers, their guns pointed at them.
Xu Dingguo shouted, "Zhao Xiaokun! You despicable people! I, Xu Dingguo..."
A gunshot interrupted Xu Dingguo's words, and a bloody hole appeared on his forehead. Brain matter and blood spurted out from the back of his head, like an exploding watermelon. Xu Dingguo stared at Zhao Xiaokun and the others with his eyes open, then slowly knelt on the ground. Then, his body suddenly collapsed, blood pouring from the back of his head, creating a bloody red pool.
Zhao Xiaokun put down his gun and said to the people around him, "Excuse me! Excuse me! As an admiral, I should have practiced more. I didn't mean to kill him, but... Hey! It's his life!"
Huang Degong said: "Xu Dingguo is a traitor seeking personal gain, he deserves death!"
"Sir, if you kill this traitor, it will restore order to the court and stabilize the morale of the army!" said Gao Jie.
Zhao Xiaokun thought to himself: "I'm saving you, okay? Without us brothers, you might have been killed by Xu Dingguo as a gift for advancement, just like in history."
Besides, the two armies they had previously deployed had already surrounded Suizhou, where Xu Dingguo was stationed. Furthermore, the Kenan Army had already produced cannons. The army was waiting for the Kenan Army's new cannons to come and test their prowess!
Wanshan had prepared these cannons long ago and brought a lot of blacksmiths from Anqing City. They and the blacksmiths Zhao Xiaofei invited from Foshan, Guangdong, began to manufacture iron cannons using the iron mold casting method in the newly built artillery bureau in Nanjing.
The iron mold casting method for cannons was invented by Gong Zhenlin, the county heir of Jiaxing County, during the Opium War. This method allows for rapid production, independent of weather conditions. Zhao Xiaokun and Zhao Xiaofei used high-quality materials and were frugal, resulting in copper cannons that are both light and sturdy. There's no risk of them exploding! Furthermore, a batch of cannons were made using modern steel ingots, ensuring the Kenan Army now has no shortage of artillery. With over a hundred pieces in total, they're more than capable of engaging in a cannon battle with the Shun army and the Jianlu. Combined with the existing Ming artillery, which Wanshan had meticulously modified, the Ming army now possesses more artillery than both armies combined.
However, Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun still felt it wasn't enough. They felt it would be embarrassing to claim their Kenan Army possessed artillery without several thousand pieces, so they continued to manufacture artillery. Their goal was to capture most of Shandong and occupy several gold-producing areas, such as Yantai and Zhaoyuan, which were rich in gold. They would bring this gold back to the modern era and exchange it for cash to purchase supplies to support the Ming Dynasty's war effort.
After more than ten days of transport, the artillery finally arrived at the city. He'd already offered the heads of Xu Dingguo and Wen Zhiping to the Ming army, but they'd refused to listen. Zhao Xiaokun thought to himself, "Looks like there are quite a few traitors among us! And some pretty hardcore ones! Why am I being so polite? If not you guys, who will be my test subjects?" I just don't understand why even after surrendering to the Jianlu, they're all so loyal and patriotic, acting like they're ready to die. If everyone had been so loyal to the court, would the Ming Dynasty have fallen?
Boom boom boom boom, boom boom boom boom! Under the continuous bombardment, how could the Suizhou city wall withstand the bombardment of hundreds of cannons using yellow explosives as shells after using the new materials for fixed-mounted artillery? In just a few minutes, several city gates were shattered by the artillery.
The remaining rebels immediately raised their white flags and marched out of the city to surrender. Zhao Xiaokun called in one of Xu Dingguo's confidants and asked, "Where's the 500,000 taels of silver?"
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