Wu Qidong's words immediately made Zuo Qianhu, the commander of Wu Sanjia's personal guards, tense up.
He instinctively advised, "General, you must not put yourself in such danger!"
Since Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin raised an army in Longcheng to quell the rebellion, he ordered the city gates to be opened to allow Wu Fengxian, the young general of the Yunhui Army, to enter Longcheng, and then killed him;
All the military commanders of the entire Xin Dynasty seemed to be terrified by this incident.
Upon hearing that the other party had invited their commander to enter the city alone, they turned pale with fear, lest their commander suffer the same fate as Wu Fengxian, being trapped like a turtle in a jar and ending up dead.
However, Wu Sanjia truly lived up to his reputation as a hero of a chaotic era, possessing both courage and charisma, and being both confident and arrogant.
Back then, his skill and strength in passing through five trials and defeating six generals to finally be selected as the new martial arts champion in the selection training ground of the Great Xin Dynasty was the source of his confidence as one of the top three martial arts champions.
Now, he is only one step away from becoming the top military general of the Great Xin Dynasty. This is the only chance he can have to bring glory to his ancestors as a son of a concubine, so Wu Sanjia is naturally unwilling to give it up.
He immediately ordered a loud shout to the city wall of Jinan: "General Wu, order the drawbridge to be lowered and the city gates to be opened. I will personally bring the imperial edict into the city so that you may verify its authenticity!"
On the city wall, Wu Qidong, the garrison commander of Jinan Prefecture, raised an eyebrow and immediately ordered: "All troops on alert! Lower the drawbridge and open the city gates!"
"Lower the drawbridge and open the city gates!"
Wu Qidong's orders were relayed to every soldier in the garrison by the messengers behind him.
A moment later, with a loud crash, the heavy drawbridge that had been suspended above the moat fell heavily, spanning the two banks of the moat outside the city.
Immediately afterwards, the two heavy city gates of the north gate of Jinan Prefecture were also pushed open from the inside by the soldiers guarding the city.
Seeing this, Wu Sanjia arrogantly ordered Zuo Qianhu, the commander of his personal guards, "Zuo Qianhu, you lead the left and right garrison troops to wait here. I will be right back!"
Before he finished speaking, Wu Sanjia's Akhal-Teke horse had already reared up and was carrying its master across the moat at breakneck speed, heading straight for Jinan Prefecture.
Zuo Qianhu watched the general enter the city, then watched helplessly as the city gates closed and the drawbridge was lowered.
The anxious wait began.
After Wu Sanjia entered the city, he was immediately led by soldiers guarding the city, who guided him from the wide horse track inside the city wall to the city gate tower where the garrison general Wu Qidong was located.
Wherever he went, the soldiers guarding the city were all armed with swords and spears, ready for battle.
Inside the pavilion atop the city gate tower, Wu Qidong, the garrison commander of Jinan Prefecture, was already waiting.
Behind a screen in the adjacent attic, a squad of fully armed axemen lay hidden, listening intently for the sound of the cup being drawn.
"General Wu has arrived!"
Soon, with the messenger's announcement, Wu Sanjia, who had entered the city alone, came in with his head held high and chest out.
Inside the room, Wu Qidong, the garrison commander of Jinan, rose to greet him, cupping his hands in greeting: "General Wu!"
General Wu!
On the other side, Wu Sanjia also greeted Wu Qidong with a cupped-hand salute.
After exchanging pleasantries, the two took their seats as host and guest, and their attendants had already prepared hot tea on the square table in front of them.
Without further ado, Wu Sanjia handed the imperial edict to Wu Qidong and stated bluntly, "General Wu, this is the imperial edict bestowed upon me by His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, granting me supreme command of all military forces in the realm."
"Furthermore, an imperial edict was issued ordering this general to lead the Tiger Warriors south to defend the emperor upon receiving the decree!"
Wu Qidong accepted the imperial edict with some skepticism, but his shrewd and intelligent eyes never left Wu Sanjia.
It wasn't until the latter calmly picked up the hot tea in front of him and poured himself a drink that his gaze fell on the imperial edict in his hand.
This imperial edict was indeed issued by Empress Dowager Su Wan'er.
The contents of the imperial edict were identical to what Wu Sanjia had dictated.
The imperial edict also bears the same seal as the imperial edict Wu Qidong had previously received.
All indications suggest that Wu Sanjia was indeed ordered to come to the capital to rescue the emperor.
Snap!
Suddenly, Wu Qidong, sitting in the main seat, slammed the imperial edict onto the square table in front of him without warning. The force of the slam was so great that it almost caused the executioners behind the screen in the next room to rush out.
Looking at Wu Sanjia, who was sitting in the guest seat, he remained calm and composed as he drank tea alone when Wu Qidong suddenly attacked him, as if none of this concerned him.
"You audacious traitor Wu Sanjia, how dare you forge an imperial edict and secretly mobilize troops to the south! You are plotting a rebellion!"
Wu Qidong glared at him angrily and shouted, "Speak! Did you lead your troops south to the capital under the orders of the traitorous minister Chen Huai'an?"
"Under the guise of an order to come to the capital to defend the emperor, they are actually plotting to overthrow the Great Xin Dynasty?"
Hahaha!
Upon hearing this, Wu Sanjia suddenly burst into laughter.
He gently put down the teacup in his hand, then suddenly turned around, his sharp gaze shooting out and staring straight at Wu Qidong, the garrison commander of Jinan Prefecture.
Then he said, "General Wu, you know very well that this imperial edict is not a forgery!"
"Your feigned profundity and feigned rage are merely out of consideration for the kindness and support shown to you by the current Prime Minister Qin Ruhui, but—"
"General Wu, you probably know in your heart that the person who overthrew the Great Xin Dynasty and brought chaos to the court is not me, Wu Sanjia, but the treacherous minister Qin Ruhui who usurped the country!"
"Between loyalty to the emperor and patriotism and the patronage of a treacherous minister, you, General Wu, are still hesitant and wavering, aren't you?"
brush!
Wu Sanjia astutely pointed out Wu Qidong's thoughts, causing the latter's face to flush red and then pale.
Wu Qidong held the teacup in his hand, and several times he hesitated between smashing it and not smashing it.
Click!
The next moment, Wu Qidong crushed the teacup in his hand with one hand, but ultimately decided against smashing it and summoned axemen to hack Wu Sanjia to death.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Wu Sanjia, saying each word slowly and deliberately, "Wu Sanjia, if one day you hold military power and overthrow the Great Xin Dynasty;"
"General, will you regret not having decisively given the order today to have the executioners hack you to death on the city gate tower of Jinan?"
Faced with Wu Qidong's probing questions, Wu Sanjia did not answer.
However, when Wu Qidong asked this question, a sly glint flashed in Wu Sanjia's deep eyes.
hehe!
Wu Qidong laughed self-deprecatingly, "Well, who can say for sure what will happen in the future?"
"In any case, this general is prepared to live and die with Jinan City!"
Then, Wu Qidong shouted sharply, "Men, convey my order: open the city gates and let the Tiger Warriors outside the city pass through!"
"Open the city gates and let the Tiger Warriors pass through!"
In an instant, the messenger conveyed the garrison commander's orders to all the soldiers guarding the city walls of Jinan.
At this moment, a smug smile finally appeared on Wu Sanjia's rugged face.
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