Chapter 178 You pig and dog!
Youzhou, inner city tower.

Amid the noisy voices and the rustling of wind and snow, Li Zhen held on tightly to the battlements of the city wall, staring down at the city without blinking.

The imperial guards on both sides were also holding their breath at this moment. No matter how speechless they had been towards Li Zhen or how many complaints they had in private, their hearts were now tense. Like Li Zhen, they were staring at the three envoys who were lowered from the hanging basket outside the city and were gradually approaching the Yan army brigade.

Although there were three envoys, there was actually only one, a green-robed official who was protected by two old officials from Hebei. He was walking through the messy long street and passing the battlefield under the city where black smoke was rising and corpses were everywhere. He was finally stopped by several Yan soldiers with spears.

On the city wall, Zhu Hanbin, who had always been sarcastic about Li Zhen, narrowed his eyes at this moment. He first glanced at Li Zhen, who was pretending to be calm but was actually extremely nervous, and then stared at the green-robed official who was particularly conspicuous on the battlefield. He sneered softly, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

Li Zhen and the others, seeing that the official was forced to stop by the Yan army, just started to make noises. Almost everyone felt that it was impossible to negotiate with the Yan army after a series of battles. And the official Zheng Jue who was sent over was probably going to be beheaded by the Yan army.

Li Zhen didn't care. Although his face was a little pale, he still held on to the parapet tightly and stared at Zheng Jue's figure.

The next moment, the generals started to murmur again. It turned out that after Zheng Jue said a few unclear words in a loud voice, someone from the elite armored soldiers behind the Yan army actually came to take away the envoy representing Li Zhen, and then rushed out in front of everyone until his figure was hidden.

But everyone could see that most of them were heading towards the Yan army camp outside the city.

After all, if one wanted to kill Zheng Jue, wouldn't it be better to just kill him with one blow in front of the soldiers defending the city?

"Done, done?"

"Lord Li is truly amazing! Could it be that the Yan army actually has room for mediation?"

"Look, the Yan army is really staying put! Damn it, can I finally take a break?!"

The crowd was suddenly in an uproar, but they could not hide the joy on their faces. They all talked at once, just guessing why the Yan army would accept that envoy to see Yuan Xingqin, who rarely showed up.

Li Zhen just breathed a sigh of relief.

Sure enough, he made the right bet.

Yuan Xingqin, Li Mang and others from the Yan army were indeed closely related to Xiao Yan, otherwise they would not have stopped their offensive just because of Zheng Jue's words.

So he is really wary and afraid?

He loosened his grip on the parapet slightly and stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Zheng Jue was the Youbuque brought from Bianliang. Although his rank was only seventh grade, he was a close minister and attendant to the emperor. Unlike other minor officials, he could often have close contact with the emperor. His actual status was much higher than that of officials of the same rank. Although this official title had been quite common since the late Tang Dynasty, it was still quite popular.

And most importantly, Zheng Jue, like him, had served the Tang Dynasty. Li Zhen's great-grandfather was Li Baozhen, a famous general during the reigns of Emperor Daizong and Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty. According to the theory of blood relationship, Li Zhen should be a Sogdian, and his ancestor should have the surname An. The "Li" was given to him during the reign of Emperor Suzong. But by Li Zhen's generation, he was no longer grateful for the emperor's grace. He was the number one organizer of Zhu Wen's usurpation of the Tang Dynasty. The surname Li was not a special honor for him.

Zheng Jue was the grandson of Zheng Heng, the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong, and the son of Zheng Hui, the magistrate of Henan Prefecture. He had passed the imperial examination and served as a censor in the reign of Emperor Zhaozong. As a descendant of a famous family and a minister of the Tang Dynasty, Zheng Jue was able to survive until today amidst all the disasters and was even able to secure an official position as Youbuque in front of Zhu Wen, which must have been guaranteed by someone.

But this person was not Li Zhen, but Henan Yin Zhang Quanyi (appeared in Chapters 52 and 60). Zhang Quanyi once ruled Luoyang during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong. However, because he was good at pacifying the military and civilians and developing production, he was valued by Zhu Wen. Therefore, since he defected to Zhu Wen, he has been the Henan Yin in Luoyang. Zheng Jue's father was Zhang Quanyi's judge, so Zheng Jue was able to survive the changes of dynasties.

As for why Li Zhen, a man who hated Li Tang's emperor and ministers extremely, trusted Zheng Jue and even gave this important task to the latter, it was because Zheng Jue, like him, had failed in the imperial examinations several times. Zheng Jue's status as a Jinshi was due to the fact that Zhang Quanyi "thought that Jue was under the jurisdiction of an official, so he was able to pass the examination", which means that he got the title of Jinshi through the back door.

As they were both wanderers in the world, Li Zhen naturally had a good impression of Zheng Jue. He had tried to win him over in Bianliang. This time he brought Zheng Jue to Hebei with the intention of gilding his reputation and then expanding his party after returning to the court.

At this moment, he saw Zheng Jue entering the Yan camp safely. While he secretly praised him for not choosing the wrong person, he was already weighing the pros and cons, thinking about what to do after Xiao Yan was willing to negotiate with him.

The situation was like this, with Xiao Yan being the butcher and he being the meat. He certainly could not threaten Xiao Yan any more. The only thing he could do was to let Xiao Yan save his life and let Youzhou hold out in his hands until reinforcements from Bianliang arrived.

If Xiao Yan was more aggressive, as long as his life could be saved and he could return to the court safely, he would not be afraid of giving up Youzhou.

As long as he could go back, relying on his own means and the secret help of the Hades, and dealing with people honestly for a few years, when Zhu Wen remembered his kindness, the chances of him making a comeback would be very high.

Although he is starting over again, he may have to give up many things, such as the Underworld Emperor. In the past, he could use his status to raise his price, but from now on he may have to live under the control of the Underworld Emperor. As for his political enemies in the court, such as some civil and military officials who were suppressed by him in the past, they will inevitably turn around and suppress him desperately from now on, especially Jing Xiang, who he has always secretly envied. There will probably be a huge gap between the two in the future, and it will be difficult for him to be on an equal footing for several years.

However, at this critical moment of life and death, these are certainly not something he could ask for, and Li Zhen didn't dare to think about it any more.

And the most important thing is, if things go well, from now on, he and Xiao Yan may become grasshoppers on the same rope. Although he handed the things to the Hades Emperor, he can also use the Hades Emperor to control Xiao Yan a little. Although everything is too far away, as long as he can turn things around again, it is hard to say who will win by then...

"Mr. Li is really calculating."

A voice interrupted Li Zhen's thoughts. It was Zhu Hanbin who came over. He no longer had the sarcastic look he had in the past few days. He just asked in a low voice: "What method did Lord Li use to make the Yan army..."

"Why does General Zhu ask so many questions?"

Li Zhen glanced at him and interrupted with a fake smile: "How can we relax in the current situation? In my opinion, General Zhu is asking so many questions here, why don't you think more about how to defend the city so as not to die defending your integrity!"

Zhu Hanbin heard the sarcasm in his words, but just sneered. When he was about to say something else, Li Zhen was surrounded by a group of generals who rushed over.

"Lord Li, can the Yan army retreat?"

"Lord Li, are we still going to defend you? Why wait until now to send an envoy? Why not send an envoy earlier?"

Faced with numerous questions, Li Zhen just waved his hands and smiled. The tiredness of these days suddenly dissipated, and he vaguely regained some charm.

"Don't worry, don't worry. While the Yan army is stationed and not advancing, I will send someone to arrange for food to be delivered. You generals, please stay on the top of the city for now. We can discuss this after the soldiers have had enough food and drink. How do you think?"

"Mr. Li, why do you have to keep us in suspense? At this critical moment, whether we live or die, Mr. Li must give us an explanation, right?!"

Seeing that Li Zhen had made up his mind, the generals became even more impatient and urged him on.

Seeing this, Li Zhen laughed out loud, clasped his hands and said, "You all just need to know that I didn't send an envoy in the past because the time was not right. Now that the time has come, how can the Yan army not be defeated?"

They looked at each other, but were a little unconvinced at first. However, looking at Li Zhen's appearance, they asked carefully, without any of their usual domineering attitude, and began to flatter him.

"Lord Li is your Majesty's right-hand man. His strategy can bring peace to the world. However, the Yan army is about to capture the city. How can we give up all our efforts? I hope Lord Li can give me some advice..."

Seeing that these imperial guards finally showed respect to him again, Li Zhen was very happy and finally explained. However, he knew that he should not mention the matter of Xiao Yan, so he just talked to Yuan Xingqin and said, "I have been observing and thinking day and night. How can this Yan bandit rise to power? Is it because of Liu Shouwen and Liu Rengong? No, it is because Yuan Xingqin is a veteran general in Yan. He has many subordinates and is also the only elite of the Yan bandits. As long as he can make them rebel, with Liu Shouwen's reputation and ability alone, without strong soldiers and generals, how can he command and mobilize these Yan bandits who are like bandits? I am just using some tricks to confuse Yuan Xingqin's mind..."

Everyone was stunned.

Why didn't you use your ability earlier, Old Deng? Why did you wait until we were at our wit's end to do it? How dare you not take the lives of our Imperial Guards seriously?

However, considering the current situation, even if the generals had some complaints, they had to hold back. After all, it was a happy event that they could save their lives, which made people happy no matter how they thought about it.

It must be known that the families of the imperial guards were all in Bianliang, and they had no choice but to fight to the death. Now that they knew they could survive, they were naturally happy. After Li Zhen's serious words, the people on the city wall began to get excited.

Next, except for the necessary people who were left on guard, the remaining soldiers who had not dared to close their eyes for three days and two nights finally lay in a disorderly manner on the top of the city wall or under the corridors of the tower to take a rest with their eyes closed.

Although Zhu Hanbin had been watching from the sidelines, he also listened to the entire conversation. Although he was suspicious that Li Zhenbi could not have persuaded Yuan Xingqin to stop the Yan army's siege on the city, he could not think of any other key points for the time being, so he had to give up.

Although he could guess that there was some shadow of Xiao Yan behind the Yan army, he always felt that there were paradoxes everywhere and had given up this idea. And the reason why he was always confident in front of Li Zhen was not because he was secretly colluding with Xiao Yan as Li Zhen guessed, but because there were always two bad guys who were responsible for monitoring him. He didn't believe that Xiao Yan spent so much effort and finally let him die in Youzhou in vain, just like he didn't believe that the chaos in Yan was led by Xiao Yan.

He calmly glanced at the two bad guys who were now his personal generals. One of them was named Shi Peng and the other Ling Zhong. They had been placed by Xiao Yan's side since Caozhou. No matter whether he was in Luoyang, Bianliang, or in Youzhou, he was always under their surveillance and he had almost gotten used to it.

From beginning to end, Shi and Ling just folded their arms across their chests, staring indifferently outside the city, as if they didn't take the crisis seriously at all.

……

Li Zhen came down from the city wall and immediately began to arrange for food to be supplied to the entire army. He then returned to the government office and changed into a purple robe.

If he wanted to negotiate, he must have the momentum. Only by maintaining the momentum could he make Xiao Yan believe that he really delivered the things to the hands of the Hades of Bianliang.

There were almost no people in the government office. Apart from a few loyal servants that he carried with him at all times, there were basically only some female relatives of the Jiedushi's mansion left. After all, after several days of siege, ordinary ladies had long been forced by Li Zhen to go to the top of the city to transport equipment.

However, despite this, he still asked the two remaining beautiful concubines of Liu Shouguang to prepare toiletries for him, and then at this juncture, he calmed down and began to clean his face and shave.
Even his beautiful beard, which he had not been in the mood to take care of these days, now began to trim it with a razor.

From the reflection of the bronze mirror, he could see two beautiful maids waiting pitifully by the side, and his heart was moved for a moment.

In the past two months, he has not had any meat at all. Even under great pressure, he has not used these beauties to relieve his sexual desire.

Immediately, he put his arms around the two women's slender waists, kneading a certain soft spot, and lying on the chair with his eyes closed, letting the two women shave him.

Things that were once disdained in Bianliang are now a rare enjoyment.

Li Zhen sighed comfortably, closed his eyes and said slowly: "You two, are you willing to follow me to Bianliang? Glory and wealth are up to you."

The two girls timidly asked, "How can you return to Bianliang when the army is besieging the city?"

Li Zhen laughed and said casually: "I can't pacify the Yan bandits? You two just wait and see, within today, Youzhou will definitely..."

boom--

Suddenly, a cry of killing seemed to suddenly sound from the south, and it seemed that at this moment, an overwhelming sound rang out.

"Get rid of Liang thieves and revive Dayan!"

"kill!"

The two girls suddenly panicked, and their hands holding the razors suddenly became unstable, scratching Li Zhen's cheek, leaving a bloody wound.

Li Zhen didn't feel the pain for a moment, but opened his eyes in surprise and panic, pushed the two beautiful maids away with his hands and feet, and asked in disbelief and confusion.

"Where does the shouting and killing sound come from!?"

At the door, several servants looked at each other, and no one could answer.

Li Zhen was clearly panicking and had already guessed something, but at this moment he was just furious and shouted hysterically, "Why don't you go and see what happened? Show me what happened!"

Several servants responded in panic at the same time and ran out in a panic.

Li Zhenze just realized the pain in his cheek, so he pressed the wound hard with his sleeve and walked out in panic.

The two maids ran after him, crying, "My lord, my lord, please don't abandon us. If the city is breached, we..."

"Go away!"

Li Zhen was already a little flustered, and when he heard the words "city broken", it was as if a gust of ice was poured directly on his head. He ran out in a panic, not forgetting to slap everyone in the face to vent his fear caused by panic.

"Who said the city could be taken? How could Youzhou City be taken? How could it be possible..."

Just at this moment, a loud shout suddenly came from outside.

"Don't let Li Zhen go!"

The next moment, Li Zhen looked out with a pale face, only to see several servants going and coming back, all running inside in panic.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Li, run! The Yan thieves are coming..."

Puff puff--

Several arrows were shot in randomly, and several servants fell down, screaming miserably.

However, they did not die immediately, but continued to crawl towards this side, shouting incoherently.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Li, help..."

puff.

Dense footsteps rushed in, countless soldiers with blood all over their bodies rushed in, and with the swords slashing, the heads of several servants fell down.

They almost walked in over the corpses of several people.

The two maids were so frightened that they screamed and ran backwards.

But the soldiers who came in ignored the two women and just surrounded the hall with murderous intent. Their swords were stained with blood and they were pointing at Li Zhen who was already stunned.

At this moment, a servant was trying to crawl to the innermost part and raised his hand: "Mr. Li..."

Suddenly, his hair was lifted by a big hand, and then a long knife rudely slashed his neck. A trickle of blood splashed out and sprinkled on Li Zhen's face.

The latter's legs finally became weak, and he took two steps back in a daze, then collapsed on the ground in disbelief.

The big man holding the long knife glanced at him, let go of the head with glaring eyes and blood, and sneered.

"Mr. Li of Bianliang?"

"Pooh!"

"Pig and dog!"

(End of this chapter)