Chapter 427 Since Wang Kangxin was born, why was Ye Mingsheng born!
"General, we have captured Li Xuanren!"

Cai Zhongyuan, the commander of the First Division, brought several captives from the palace and came to Yuan Song and reported excitedly:

Upon hearing this, Yuan Song glanced at the dejected palace guards who were dressed in ordinary soldiers' clothes, frowned slightly and said:

"Cai Zhongyuan, are you mistaken? Why would Li Xuanren wear this?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Zhongyuan directly pulled Li Xuanren out from among the group, pointed at him and explained to Yuan Song:
“General, you don’t know that although Li Xuanren is not good at fighting, he is quite cunning. He prepared clothes before the city was captured, hoping to pretend to be a defeated soldier and get away with it. If it weren’t for his subordinates pointing him out, we would have almost been fooled by this kid…”

Cai Zhongyuan's words also made Yuan Song a little interested in the tall man from Gongdu in front of him. He could not help but look him up and down. In this turbulent era, ordinary people from Gongdu were only four or five feet tall because of hunger and malnutrition.

The man in front of him was six feet tall. Although he had a lot of soot on his face, which made him look very embarrassed, if you look closely, you can see that his skin is actually fair. It is obvious that he is not from the working class. Therefore, Yuan Song believed Cai Zhongyuan's words a little bit and asked in a deep voice:

"Are you Li Xuanren, the commander of Hamheung County?"

Li Xuanren was already prepared for Yuan Song's question. He had heard that the Fengwu Army treated prisoners fairly well and never killed innocent people. Some prisoners who behaved well were even released directly.

And if his identity was exposed, although his life would be safe, becoming a captive of the Zhou people would become a huge stain on his future political life and affect his future career...

So after weighing the two options, Li Xuanren decided to deny it outright, pretending to be very aggrieved and said:

"My lord, I am just an ordinary soldier, not Li Xuanren at all. I was caught here without knowing why. Please understand me, sir!"

Hearing that Li Xuanren was still trying to lie, before Yuan Song could say anything, Cai Zhongyuan got anxious and grabbed Li Xuanren's neck and shouted:
"With so many people pointing fingers at you, Li Xuanren, you still want to deny it? Do you believe that I will chop you to pieces with a knife?"

Although he was a little breathless due to Cai Zhongyuan's strangling, for the sake of his future political life, Li Xuanren still gritted his teeth and did not relax, still pretending to be very aggrieved and said:

"My Lord, the lives of those people are in your hands. If you ask them to identify me as Li Xuanren, do they dare not identify me?"

In response to Li Xuanren's sophistry, Cai Zhongyuan, a rough man who had only attended a private school for a few days, was so anxious that his face turned red, but he didn't know how to explain it. He could only stand there anxiously, pointing at Li Xuanren's nose and said:

"you···············"

Yuan Song looked at the scene in front of him with a faint smile on his face. If before he only somewhat believed that the man in front of him was Li Xuanren, then now he was very sure that he was Li Xuanren. How could an ordinary palace soldier have such eloquence and courage?
Thinking of this, Yuan Song decided to tease the other party. He waved his hand to stop Cai Zhongyuan who was about to take action, and said lightly:
"Since he is not Li Xuanren, he is useless. Take him out and kill him!"

"Yes!"

After hearing Yuan Song’s order, the soldiers on both sides took action immediately. They lifted Li Xuanren and wanted to drag him away. Li Xuanren was dumbfounded when he saw this scene. He thought that after his quibbling, the other party would release him and treat him as an ordinary prisoner. If he behaved better, maybe he could be released. Then he could sneak back and no one would know that he had been captured by Zhou army...
But he never expected that this Zhou army general would want to kill him over a disagreement. Wasn't it said that this Zhou army treated prisoners well?

Seeing that he was being dragged further and further away, the swordsman beside him was also in position. The other party was not trying to scare him, but was playing with him for real. Li Xuanren decisively made a wise choice between his political future and his life, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"General, I am Li Xuanren! Don't kill me!"

“Please, don’t kill me. I’m Li Xuanren... My father is the king’s uncle, Lord Ruiyang Li Zaidong. If you don’t kill me, my father will give you a lot of silver..."

Seeing that Li Xuanren had given in and stopped pretending, Yuan Song smiled and waved his hand. The guards who were holding Li Xuanren immediately pulled him back. Seeing himself away from the executioners, Li Xuanren finally breathed a sigh of relief and put his heart at ease.

"You said you were Li Xuanren, but that's just empty talk. Do you have any proof?" Yuan Song looked at Li Xuanren and said calmly:

Seeing that this Great Zhou general actually wanted to prove himself, Li Xuanren was a little bit stumped. He had thrown away all the seals on his body because he was afraid that his identity would be discovered by the Zhou army. He had nothing on him that could prove his identity. After thinking for a while, he bowed to Yuan Song and said:

"Sir, many people in Hamhung County know me. You can find them and verify my identity!"

Yuan Song heard this and said jokingly:
"Now we are not the ones who identified it?"

Seeing this, Li Xuanren bowed awkwardly and said flatteringly:

"General Tianwei of the Great Zhou saw through my tricks at a glance..."

Yuan Song was indifferent to Li Xuanren's compliments and ordered his men:
"Take him away and keep him under strict watch! Don't let him get away!"

Hearing Yuan Song's words, Li Xuanren immediately wilted like an eggplant hit by frost. This time he could not escape at all. He was captured and his political life in the palace was over. Seeing Li Xuanren being taken away, Cai Zhongyuan, who had just been teased by Li Xuanren, was a little angry and hesitated to speak to Yuan Song.

Yuan Song glanced at him and asked:
"what do you want to say?"

Hearing Yuan Song's question, Cai Zhongyuan no longer had any scruples and said angrily:
"General, what's the use of a two-faced villain like him? In my opinion, it would be better to kill him with one sword!"

Yuan Song shook his head helplessly upon hearing this:

"You are such a rough man. Didn't you hear what Li Xuanren said? His father is Li Zaitong, a big shot from the royal family of Gongdu. Yesterday, Director Wang of the Coordination Office wrote me a letter asking me not to kill Li Xuanren after I capture Hamheung County. How can this guy be of much use to the Coordination Office?"

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Liujing, the main camp east of the city.

A lieutenant general hurriedly walked into Wang Kangxin's central army tent, knelt on one knee and reported to Wang Kangxin respectfully:

"General, news has been sent from the front that the enemy's Fengwu Army Yuan Song's troops have now captured Hamxing County, and the 2,000 defenders of Hamxing County have been wiped out. The life and death of Hamxing County garrison general Li Xuanren is currently unknown. In addition, the enemy's Guo Zhiping's troops have now appeared 30 miles west of Wanfeng Prefecture."

Wang Kangxin, who was looking at the map with a frown on his face, punched the map hard upon hearing the news. The lieutenant general kneeling on the ground shuddered in his heart and became extremely uneasy, not daring to breathe.

He had heard that ever since the enemy Fengwu Army broke into the palace, their general had gone completely crazy, and would beat and kick people around him if he was not satisfied, and some were even killed directly. He was extremely cruel and merciless, like a tyrant in the world...

Just when the lieutenant general was worried that he had somehow angered Wang Kangxin and lost his life, Wang Kangxin waved his hand weakly, indicating that the lieutenant general could leave. Seeing this, the lieutenant general was overjoyed and quickly bowed and retreated.

As soon as the lieutenant general retreated, Wang Kangxin could no longer bear it and spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground. Looking at his own bright red blood on the ground, Wang Kangxin's face undoubtedly became three points gloomier. After a moment, the gloominess turned into a little helplessness.

He was in his prime and should have been strong and healthy, but for some reason he had been very weak during this period. He had consulted the imperial physicians in the palace, but they could not find the specific cause of his illness. They only said that he had exhausted all his energy during his time in power in the palace and had indulged too much in women.

Wang Kangxin still believed in the imperial physician's diagnosis, which made him look forward to returning to the Great Zhou even more. Being a stranger in a foreign land, he dreamed every night about how those people in the palace were plotting against him behind his back. Even if he died, he did not want to die in a foreign land.

Although Wang Kangxin had begun to consciously take care of his body and reduce his exposure to women, his health had not improved. Moreover, the Fengwu Army had invaded the palace capital with unstoppable force in the past few days. Wang Kangxin was exhausted and powerless, and his condition deteriorated rapidly to the point of vomiting blood...
Wang Kangxin sat in the chair for a while and finally felt a little warm. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and ordered his personal soldiers to come in and clean up the blood on the ground secretly. Because the situation he was in was very dangerous, any carelessness would lead to eternal damnation. So Wang Kangxin had to be very cautious and concealed the news of his illness.

If the news of his illness were to leak out, the already nervous troops in the palace would probably be even more panic-stricken.

Shaking his head, Wang Kangxin refocused his attention on the map in front of him. He knew his condition well. It would not take his life in a short period of time, but if he could not deal well with the Fengwu Army's invasion of the palace, he would die in an instant.

At present, the army in Gongdu is divided into two categories, one is the local army of Gongdu, and the other is the new army of Gongdu under the command of Wang Kangxin. The local army of Gongdu is more of a security army, and its combat effectiveness is not strong. It is mainly responsible for the public security of the city. Sometimes it suppresses the peasants who can't survive under the landlords and gentry and rebel with hoes and sticks.

The other type is the Gongdu New Army, which is actually controlled by Wang Kangxin. This army was originally established by the generals of Da Zhou to assist Gongdu. Its training methods, weapons configuration and other aspects are all configured in accordance with the Da Zhou army. The purpose of Da Zhou to establish this army is to let Gongdu, a vassal state, assist in defending the Luobi people and reduce the pressure of Da Zhou on the northeastern border...
However, it was unexpected that not long after the establishment of this army, the Great Zhou fell into chaos. And this new army in the palace, which the Great Zhou had spent a lot of effort on, fell into the hands of this ambitious man, Wang Kangxin, due to his conspiracy.

Because Wang Kangxin was well aware of the weakness of the local military force in Gongdu, he was not surprised by the Fengwu Army's overwhelming momentum. He also never expected that these local troops could stop the Fengwu Army's pace.

But to his disappointment, as the Fengwu Army was advancing like an unstoppable force, many people in Gongdu had begun to back down, and some had even thought of handing him and Shen Jianzhong over. This undoubtedly made Wang Kangxin feel a chill down his spine.

Wang Kangxin could already imagine that if these people knew that the Fengwu Army's troops had already captured Hamheung County and were less than 300 miles away from the capital Ryugyong, they would probably be even more determined to surrender.

Realizing this, Wang Kangxin couldn’t help but feel very annoyed. He had already talked with Shen Jianzhong and knew that Shen Jianzhong wanted him to concentrate his forces and defend the city to the death. Wang Kangxin also deeply agreed with Shen Jianzhong’s idea of ​​delaying for a month and felt that this plan was very constructive...

This is also the reason why Wang Kangxin remained silent and watched Yuan Song capture Hamheung County with 50,000 troops under his command. Hamheung County was small and its fortifications were not perfect, and were far less strong and thick than the walls of Liujing City. So after Wang Kangxin and Shen Jianzhong discussed, they decided to put the city to be defended in Liujing and not waste troops on the periphery.

But unfortunately, plans cannot keep up with changes. Judging from the current development, the Fengwu Army does not even need to reach the city of Ryugyong. Even crossing Ruishan County will be enough to make the surrender faction in the palace take action. By then, with strong troops outside and unrest inside, it will be almost impossible to defend the city to the death. Ryugyong may even fall without a fight.

Thinking of this, Wang Kangxin couldn't help but feel despair and lowered his head and sighed. That bastard Ye Mingsheng was truly his enemy in this life.

Back then in the palace, he was schemed by Ye Mingsheng and ended up in this situation. Now, he was forced into this desperate situation by Ye Mingsheng again!
Oh God, you are so blind. Since you gave birth to Wang Kangxin, why did you give birth to Ye Mingsheng?
The only thing we can do now is to wait for the result of the talk between Shen Jianzhong and Sato Kaga. If Sato Kaga can give his full support and help him stabilize the interior of the palace, so that he can still execute the tactics of concentrating troops and defending the city, that would naturally be the best!

If not, Wang Kangxin will never sit and wait for death. Even if he dies, he will bite off a piece of flesh from Ye Mingsheng!
(End of this chapter)