Chapter 500: Everyone has their own thoughts! (Thanks to book friend Aipao Niao and book friend 54996 for the reward!)
Sun Zhunde couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he heard Zhao Jianan's words, but considering his loyalty, he still bowed to Zhao Jianan and said in a deep voice:
"Report to the eldest master, the Fengwu Army has already rushed in from the Dongyi Gate..."

As soon as these words came out, Zhao Jianan's face suddenly changed, a little fear appeared in his eyes, and he stammered:

"How is it possible... Isn't Zhang Hongxiang guarding the Dongyi Gate? Didn't the Fengwu Army gain any advantage at the Dongyi Gate before?"

Sun Zhunde said with a gloomy look upon hearing this:
"Zhang Hongxiang has rebelled. He opened the Dongyi Gate and let the Fengwu Army in. Now more than 10,000 Fengwu Army soldiers have rushed into the city and are heading towards the Governor's Mansion. Our army has collapsed across the board. Young Master, you should make a decision soon. It will be too late if you delay any longer!"

As soon as Sun Zhunde finished speaking, Zhao Jianan was completely panicked. He no longer had the arrogance he had just shown when he was scolding. He asked Sun Zhunde for help:

"Mr. Sun, please teach me, what should I do now?"

Looking at Zhao Jianan, who was arrogant at first but respectful later, Sun Zhunde felt an indescribable sadness in his heart, but he still adhered to the duty of a minister and gave his own advice:
“My lord, you should disguise yourself and take a few trusted men with you to sneak out from Xiyi Gate. That place is still under the control of our army. After leaving Yijing, you can take the small trail south to Zhuo County. Once Yijing is lost, our Yan army will no longer have a place to stand in the northern part of Youyan. Only the southern part is still safe…”

After listening to Sun Zhunde's suggestion, Zhao Jianan, who was at a loss, immediately regained his mind and began to pack up his gold and silver and prepare to run away. After quickly packing up, Zhao Jianan saw Sun Zhunde standing there without any preparation, and asked in surprise:
"Mr. Sun, have you finished packing your things?"

Facing Zhao Jianan's question, Sun Zhunde shook his head and said calmly:
"I am nearly sixty years old and have lived in Yijing for almost my entire life. I can no longer run and don't want to run anymore. Besides, if you want to break out, you need someone to stay behind in the city and lead the troops to hold back the Fengwu Army!"

Listening to what Sun Zhunde said earlier, Zhao Jianan seemed to want to give him some more advice, but after hearing what Sun Zhunde said later, Zhao Jianan realized the key point, hesitated for a moment, gave up trying to persuade him, bowed to Sun Zhunde and said:
"Then I am free from everything, Mr. Sun. I will repay you for your kindness in my next life!"

Faced with Zhao Jianan's hypocritical words, Sun Zhunde, who had already made up his mind to die, was too lazy to pretend with him and just nodded to deal with it.

After handing the city defense seal to Sun Zhunde, Zhao Jianan hurriedly left for Xiyi Gate. Sun Zhunde, who had taken the city defense seal, began to organize the remnants of the defeated army in the city, trying his best to resist the fierce attack of the Fengwu Army, trying to buy some time for Zhao Jianan to leave. However, Sun Zhunde would never have dreamed that Ye Mingsheng didn't want Zhao Jianan's life at all, and would send him out of the country even if he caught him. Send him back to Zhao Fuqu...
Although Sun Zhunde tried his best to lead his troops to resist in order to repay the Zhao family for their kindness, the Yan army was already defeated in Yijing and he could not do anything about it. Soon after an hour, the whole city of Yijing was declared fallen, and the remaining Yan troops in the city were either killed or captured. Even Sun Zhunde himself was captured alive by the Fengwu army before he committed suicide and brought to Ye Mingsheng who entered the city.

"Your Majesty!"

Seeing that Sun Zhunde held his head high and refused to kneel when he met Ye Mingsheng, the two soldiers who escorted him over shouted at him angrily and used their arms to force Sun Zhunde to kneel down.

Although Sun Junde was unwilling to surrender, he was old after all. He was no match for the two strong men in their prime. After a little resistance, he was forced to his knees. Even so, Sun Junde was still struggling to stand up.

Ye Mingsheng, who was riding on a horse, saw this scene and waved his hand slightly. The two personal soldiers who received his instructions immediately let go of Sun Junde.

When Sun Zhunde slowly got up from the ground, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said to him:

"Mr. Sun, we meet again!"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's greeting, Sun Zhunde turned a deaf ear to it. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng did not get angry at all and continued to ask with a smile:

"Mr. Sun, I can tell you a piece of news. Your Governor Zhao has returned to Youyan and is now in Jiangshan County, 300 miles west of Yijing. But do you think he still has a chance to turn the tables?"

After listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Sun Zhunde snorted coldly, looked at Ye Mingsheng and said coldly:

“Ye Mingsheng, you are a shameless and despicable villain. You may succeed for a while, but you will never succeed for the rest of your life…”

Looking at Sun Zhunde, who was as smelly and hard as a stone in a toilet, Ye Mingsheng smiled, shook his head and said to the people around him:
"Take him away! Report to me when he changes his attitude!"

Ye Mingsheng had been planning Youyan for a long time and had done in-depth research on several important officials under Zhao Fuqu, including Sun Zhunde. Sun Zhunde was a pillar of Youyan and a key figure in the maintenance of Zhao Fuqu's regime. The Zhao family was so greedy for pleasure and fond of pomp and glory, but the regime was still able to maintain stable operation. Sun Zhunde made an indelible contribution.

Therefore, for Ye Mingsheng, who lacks talented people under his command, he naturally hopes to recruit Sun Zhunde as a talent under his command. This will be of great benefit to his Fengwu Army's takeover of Youyan government.

As soon as Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, his men beside him hadn't made any move yet, but Sun Zhunde suddenly rushed towards Ye Mingsheng. Although his action was sudden, he was a civil servant after all and was old and frail, so before he could touch Ye Mingsheng, he was pressed to the ground again by his personal soldiers beside him. Even so, Sun Zhunde still did not stop, struggling hard and spitting at Ye Mingsheng.

Looking at the saliva on his sleeves, Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly and said to Sun Zhunde:
"Mr. Sun, you should know that I don't want to kill you..."

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Sun Zhunde, who was pinned to the ground, struggled and said:

"I have received great kindness from the Governor-General. How can I join the army of a traitor like you? Ye Mingsheng, stop dreaming about your great dreams!"

Feeling the determination revealed in Sun Zhunde's words, Ye Mingsheng realized that it was impossible to persuade him to surrender. He shook his head in disappointment and said:

"Since you, Mr. Sun, are determined to die, then I will fulfill your reputation of loyalty and righteousness!"

"Take him away and execute him!"

Sun Zhunde, who got the result he wanted, finally showed a smile on his old face. As he was escorted to the execution ground, he sang loudly and generously:

“The wind is whistling and the Yi River is freezing; the hero will never return once he leaves... Hahahaha!”

Looking at Sun Zhunde's heroic back, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but admire this sixty-year-old man and sighed in a low voice: "There are indeed many generous and tragic people in the land of Yanzhao. The ancients were not deceiving me!"

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The next day, Yijing.

In the study of Zhang's house, Gu Shouting and Zhang Hongxiang were sitting opposite each other. After enjoying the joy of reunion, they began to plan for their future.

"Shouting, I heard that Governor Ye gave Sun Zhunde a grand funeral?" After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Hongxiang asked Gu Shouting tentatively:
Facing Zhang Hongxiang's question, Gu Shouting nodded slightly and said:

"That's what happened, what's the matter?"

"It's not a big deal, but there is one thing..." Zhang Hongxiang seemed to be hesitant to talk when he said this.

As a surrendered general, Zhang Hongxiang has always been a little worried. Now Ye Mingsheng is praising Sun Zhunde who would rather die than surrender. This undoubtedly touched Zhang Hongxiang's sensitive point.

Seeing Zhang Hongxiang like this, Gu Shouting also understood what he was thinking, and couldn't help but comfort him:

"Don't think too much. Sun Zhunde has been in the Youyan officialdom for decades. He has friends, students and disciples all over the Youyan officialdom. Governor Ye arranged a grand funeral for him. Isn't this just to win over these people? Governor Ye summoned you last night and said that it is very rare for you to abandon the dark and join the light. Does he think highly of you?"

Hearing what Gu Shouting said, Zhang Hongxiang remembered what happened last night and nodded slightly. His emotions also eased a lot. After completely controlling Yi Jing last night, Gu Shouting took him, who was feeling uneasy, to find Ye Mingsheng and asked Ye Mingsheng for credit on his behalf.

Ye Mingsheng's attitude towards Zhang Hongxiang, the "hero of breaking the city", was also very friendly. He promised Zhang Hongxiang on the spot that he would serve as the deputy general of the Sixth Division. In addition, he encouraged Zhang Hongxiang and asked him to work hard. The Fengwu Army would not treat any meritorious person unfairly.

Ye Mingsheng's words and attitude dispelled many of Zhang Hongxiang's doubts, and made him begin to look forward to his future days in the Fengwu Army...

After pacifying Zhang Hongxiang, Gu Shouting asked:
"How many people do you have now?"

Facing Gu Shouting's question, Zhang Hongxiang said without hesitation:
"There are probably about 3,000 people left, but only about half of them are veterans, and the rest are generally young and strong men who have been in the army for a few days!"

After listening to Zhang Hongxiang's answer, Gu Shouting hesitated for a moment and ordered:

"When you go back, clear out those young and strong men and find some people you can trust from your team!"

Zhang Hongxiang was a little surprised when he heard this and said:
"Shou Ting, what are you doing?"

Under Zhang Hongxiang's gaze, Gu Shouting hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell Zhang Hongxiang the truth:
"In addition to you and me, the Fengwu Army will also send a group of key generals to assist you and me in forming the Sixth Division!"

Zhang Hongxiang's heart, which had been somewhat relieved, suddenly became tense again after hearing these words. He asked Gu Shouting with some concern:
“Shou Ting, what do you think the Fengwu Army meant by sending these people in? Are they spying on us? Does Governor Ye not trust us brothers…”

Facing Zhang Hongxiang's question, Gu Shouting sneered and asked back:
"Do you think Governor Ye can trust us?"

Feeling the meaning of Gu Shouting's words, Zhang Hongxiang said anxiously:

"We have already betrayed the Yan army by listening to him. If Zhao Fuqu catches us, we will both be dead without any chance of escape. Why doesn't he trust us?"

Listening to Zhang Hongxiang's words, Gu Shouting snorted and said in a low voice:
"Don't forget that our Governor Ye is a man with eagle eyes and wolf guard, just like Cao Cao in the storytellers, Cao Mengde, who is the most suspicious. Although he wants to use us brothers to deal with Zhao Fuqu, he must keep a hand to guard against us!"

"Do you know who is the person who led the team to our Sixth Division this time?"

"This man is called Ye Dong, and he is Ye Mingsheng's cousin. Before Ye Mingsheng became famous, he served as a personal soldier beside Ye Mingsheng when he was the commander of the imperial guards. Later, he also served as the captain of Ye Mingsheng's personal soldiers. He is Ye Mingsheng's absolute confidant. Such a person led the team to our Sixth Division to supervise the battle on behalf of Ye Mingsheng!"

“The Fengwu Army is powerful. We must not have the intention to harm them, but we must be on guard against them. Find the brothers you trust, and I will quietly transfer them to Ye Dong’s side and let them follow Ye Dong to tip off us…”

Zhang Hongxiang didn't seem to understand what Gu Shouting meant when he heard these words, and asked in confusion:
"Shou Ting, what are you doing? I don't understand what you are doing."

Seeing that Zhang Hongxiang had not yet come to his senses, Gu Shouting could only speak clearly:
"Hong Xiang, haven't you heard the saying, 'When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked; when the birds are gone, the good bows are hidden.' When the Fengwu Army wipes out Zhao Fuqu and pacifies the Youyan area, you and I will be of little value to the Fengwu Army!"

"It would be best if the Fengwu Army still treats you and me as before. It would also be good if they let us go back and live in peace as wealthy men. But what if the Fengwu Army wants to kill us after we've died? What should we do?"

"That's why I asked you to place someone with Ye Dong. If the worst happens, we will have someone to tip off the situation so that we won't be at the mercy of others. Even a rabbit will bite when it gets angry!"

After hearing what Gu Shouting said, Zhang Hongxiang suddenly realized it, gave Gu Shouting a thumbs up and said:
"Shou Ting, you still have a long-term vision. I will listen to you on this matter! I will do as you wish when I return!"

After discussing these precautions, Zhang Hongxiang seemed to have thought of something and smiled as he introduced to Gu Shouting:
“Last night, I had planned to let the Fengwu Army in, and then go to the Governor’s Mansion to capture Zhao Jianan and present him to Governor Ye as a gift for him. However, the Fengwu Army stopped me and wouldn’t let me go. I thought the Fengwu Army wanted to take all the credit, but they didn’t even catch a hair of Zhao Jianan. Don’t you think they are ashamed?”

(End of this chapter)