The news that Zhang Xuan sent a special envoy to meet Xu Shiji soon spread throughout the city. That night, in a large tent in the military camp in the city, Cheng Yaojin was just talking in a flash and inciting a group of middle and low-level generals.

"I know Zhang Xuan better than anyone else. When he had not yet made a fortune, I worked as a friend for him. He was kind to others and finally gave me hundreds of taels of gold. Later, those days were the most refreshing days in my life, so beautiful with money."

Cheng Yaojin is rarely so sincere. Even he himself was almost intoxicated by the situation back then. He suddenly shook his head and said to everyone: "We want to persuade Lao Xu to give up resistance. No one wants to fight. I still have my mother to support him at home. What should we do if we die?"

Everyone was moved by Cheng Yaojin's words. The more important thing was that they only had 5,000 people, but there were 30,000 elite Sui troops outside. The final resistance was undoubtedly dead. "Old Cheng, what do you think we should do?" Everyone asked in a verbal way.

Cheng Yaojin was excited and said, "The key is that everyone should work together. Everyone will petition Lao Xu, expressing that we are willing to surrender. I understand Lao Xu. As long as all of us don't want to fight, he can only admit defeat."

"But Mr. Li treats us well, too."

Before someone finished speaking, Cheng Yaojin glared at him viciously, "It's a big deal, he ran away first."

Cheng Yaojin took out a handful of leaflets and threw them on the ground, "What did you say above? He fled from Baixing to Bingzhou with 20,000 troops, and left us brothers here and there. There were so many brothers' families in the city. What should I do if I don't surrender? He doesn't care about my life or death, would he still have to work for him?"

Everyone was indignantly encouraged by Cheng Yaojin. Li Jiancheng led the army to escape and really hurt the hearts of these generals. Although several generals were a little suspicious of the authenticity of the flyer content, they had to remain silent after everyone was unanimously condemned.

Seeing that everyone had been basically convinced, Cheng Yaojin said, "I'll contact some brothers. When everyone asks each other together, Lao Xu will have no choice. First, set the petition time and correct the five times, and everyone will gather outside the Central Army's tent."

"Don't worry! We will definitely go."

Cheng Yaojin and everyone set the time for the party and petition, and hurried to other places to encourage the generals to rebel. He would not let any officers above the brigade commander and above.

Zheng Yan, the magistrate of Xinxiang County, is the eldest son of Zheng Shanguo, the minister of Dali Temple. Zheng Shanguo and Li Yuan have a relative. Zheng Shanguo's eldest daughter married Li Jiancheng, Li Jiancheng's eldest son, and Li Jiancheng's wife Zheng is Zheng Yan's sister.

The reason why Li Jiancheng used Xinxiang County as his foundation was because Zheng Yan served as the county magistrate here.

Zheng Yan was about thirty years old, tall and thin. He was originally a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel. When Yang Xuangan rebelled in the ninth year of Daye, he surrendered to Yang Xuangan in Luoyang and was later liquidated. However, the emperor Yang Guang did not punish him severely for his father and family, but only demoted him to Xinxiang County Magistrate and was soon promoted to county magistrate.

He has done a lot for Li Jiancheng over the years and has spared no effort to support Li Jiancheng, but this time he is a little dissatisfied with Li Jiancheng.

Half of the population of Xinxiang County is the family of Li Jiancheng's soldiers, including Li Jiancheng's wife Zheng, while Li Jiancheng's sons are in Taiyuan. In order to protect himself, they abandoned their wives, and it was thanks for his support for him. Zheng Yan was so angry that his teeth were itchy when he thought of Li Jiancheng leading his army to flee north.

It was already five o'clock in the middle of the night, but Zheng Yan couldn't fall asleep. The letter Zhang Xuan gave him was placed by the bedside, and he read it many times.

Zhang Xuan said it very clearly in the letter that as a parent and official in a county, the lives of the elders of a county should be placed first, and his reputation should be less important. "To protect the people, he is wronged and obeyed the thief, Xuan respected him deeply. He hoped that the king of the county should consider the parents and fellow villagers, judge the situation and avoid war.

At this time, there were rapid footsteps outside, and a follower reported outside the door: "The county lord, something seems to be happening in the military camp."

Zheng Yan was secretly shocked and quickly got up and put on his clothes. He walked out of the room and asked, "What happened to the military camp?"

"It seems that the generals are gathering to petition!"

Zheng Yan felt that the problem was a bit serious. The generals actually petitioned collectively. If they were not done well, they would mutiny. Once the army lost control, it would be a disaster for the whole county's elders.

At this time, the housekeeper hurried over and bowed under the steps and said, "Master, General Xu sent someone to invite the master to the military camp, saying that there is something important to discuss."

Zheng Yan nodded, he got on his horse and took a few followers towards the military camp.

There was a noisy scene in the military camp. More than 300 generals with brigade commanders gathered outside the central army's tent and asked Xu Shiji to negotiate with the Sui army. They were all encouraged by Cheng Yaojin to come and petition Xu Shiji.

"General Xu, our family is all in Xinxiang, and we have no eyes. Everyone is red from killing. Who will ensure the safety of our family?"

"General Xu and Lu Mingyue's 100,000 troops were beaten to pieces. We only have 5,000 troops and have no support. What can we do to resist the elite Qingzhou army?"

"General Yang is right. We are fighting against Qingzhou Army to hit the stone with eggs. We are not cowards, but we don't want to die in vain!"

"Mr. Li left us and ran away. Why do I still have to work hard for him?"

Everyone kept shouting, their tone getting more and more angry and excited, asking Xu Shiji to give them an explanation.

In the big tent, Xu Shiji was really worried. He didn't expect that the generals would ask for surrender so unanimously. Of course, Xu Shiji never dreamed that it was Cheng Yaojin who encouraged the connection behind his back.

But no matter what, the situation has reached this point, and this battle to defend the city cannot be fought again.

Xu Shiji sighed helplessly, and on the table next to him was Zhang Xuan's letter of persuasion, and Zhang Xuan's sincerity in the letter also moved him quite.

'The general is a loyal person, and he is entrusted by others. He is loyal to others. No matter whether Xinxiang can be defended, the general is worthy of his heart. However, the world is about to be in chaos. Zhang Xuan wants to calm the people of the world and save the people from water and fire to express his ambitions. Zhang Xuan has always heard that the general has great ambitions and is waiting for the whole house. He is willing to discuss with the general the strategy of safe country'

At this time, the soldiers reported at the door: "General, Zhengxianjun is here."

Xu Shiji was waiting for Zheng Yan and hurriedly said, "Hurry and invite him in!"

Soon, Zheng Yan walked into the tent and smiled and said, "It seems that General Xu is under great pressure!"

Xu Shiji smiled wryly and shook his head, "It's not that the pressure is too high, but that this battle cannot be fought. Generals are afraid of war and soldiers are afraid of death. There is no point in fighting. I want to hear the opinions of the county magistrate."

Zheng Yan understood why Xu Shiji came to him. Xu Shiji had already wanted to surrender, but he couldn't let go of his face. He was Li Jiancheng's inner brother. If he even surrendered, he would be worthy of Li Jiancheng.

Zheng Yan said slowly: "In my letter to me, Zhang Xuan also advised me not to move military forces for the sake of the people in the city. In fact, I am the official of the Great Sui Dynasty. He is the local commander of the Great Sui Dynasty. There is no surrender between us, but I still have to persuade the general to comply with the current affairs. Of course, if the general is unwilling to surrender to Zhang Xuan, it can also be regarded as a condition for leaving the city. If the general is willing to follow Zhang Xuan, I think it is also a good choice."

Xu Shiji was silent for a moment and said, "Can I ask the county lord a private question?"

"Please tell me, General, I will tell you the truth."

"Mr. County thinks I have a future if I follow Zhang Xuan, or will I continue to follow the construction of the building?"

Zheng Yan laughed, "Since the general trusts me so much, I will tell you what I think. In fact, both of them are among the people, both of them have great ambitions. However, there is also a Li Gong on Jiancheng. As the general of Prince Li Gong, he is one layer away from following Zhang Xuan directly. But I don't think the problem is here. Jiancheng is the background of the Guanlong nobles. Zhang Xuan started his family with the Shandong genius. These are the two strongest forces in the world. Think about his background, which side should he choose?"

Xu Shiji woke up as if he was dreaming. He was born in a Shandong family. How could he be welcomed by defecting to the Guanlong nobles? At this moment, Xu Shiji finally made up his mind.

"I want to ask the county lord to go to the Sui Army camp and talk to Zhang Xuan for me. I wonder if the county lord is willing to join us?"
Chapter completed!