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In front of the yamen of Guide Prefecture, King Chuang Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai met each other. After saying hello, they entered the yamen one after another. They saw that many people were tied up in the second gate. It was obvious at a glance that except for the current officials on duty , they are the country gentry and officials in the city.

Li You, the general of the Chuang army, stood in the middle of the courtyard with great dignity. A man who looked like a scribe was standing respectfully beside him, pointing out who among the tied people was an official and how much money his family had. , who is the bully and evil gentry on one side?

Anyone who is identified by him will be pulled aside and waited to be punished!

After King Chuang Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai entered the courtyard, they watched all this. After a while, everyone in the courtyard was almost identified. Li Youcai came to King Chuang and asked him for instructions: "Big Brother" Marshal, should we deal with these bad things now?"

King Chuang nodded and said: "Let's deal with it immediately to calm the people's anger. The root of the disaster cannot be left alone."

Li You turned around and shouted an order. The soldiers around him escorted the identified officials, eunuchs and gentry out of the door, and pushed them out of the west gate to behead them in public.

Li Zicheng was walking to the lobby when suddenly someone pushed an old man with a gray beard over. Li You reported to him that this man was Zhou Shipu, who had been the Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

As early as on the way to Shangqiu, many people had already accused Zhou Shipu, saying that he was rich and unkind, and relied on his power as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry to harm the people and seize fertile land.

When King Chuang saw him, he couldn't help but stop and asked him personally: "Zhou Shipu, do you know that you are guilty?"

Zhou Shipu was wearing servant's clothes and looked like a simple old man. At this moment, when he heard King Chuang's question, he quickly knelt down and replied: "General, since I returned to my hometown, I have been living in poverty. How can you be guilty if you haven’t committed any fault?”

Before Li Zicheng could reply, a servant came out from the side. He pointed at Zhou Shipu and said to King Chuang: "King Chuang, don't believe him. He has fourteen vaults of silver in his house. I know where they are buried. I will take you to pick him out. He is unkind and brings harm to the whole country because of his wealth. You must not spare him..."

Li Zicheng nodded solemnly, looked at Zhou Shipu and said, "Zhou Shipu, you still dare to slander me, do you think I don't know your crime? Push it out and chop it down!"

After King Chuang finished speaking, he ignored him and walked straight into the lobby.

But Li Guo was surrounded by some people nearby. They said that the scribe who identified others for Li You just now was not a good person. He had harmed many people, and now he went to the rebels to save his own life. Fake hospitality.

Li Guo looked the man up and down coldly and said, "I don't think he's a good guy."

After saying this, he told Li You: "Let's do this. You tie him up first and lock him outside the government office, and see if there are many villagers who accuse him. If there is a serious crime, he will definitely be executed without mercy; but if the crime is not serious, he will be killed." , let’s spare his life.”

As a result, not long after this man was tied up in front of the government office, many people came to accuse him, saying that he relied on the power of the government to blackmail people and rape their wives and daughters.

Li You had been guarding outside the yamen. After he heard these accusations, he didn't even bother to ask Li Guo for instructions, and directly ordered him to be beheaded in public to express the anger of the people.

In the lobby of the government office, Li Guo first reported to King Chuang that he had ordered the rebels to enter the city. They were not allowed to kill anyone, rob, or rape women. He also sent the Laofu horse team to patrol the city to punish those who violated the "Sealing the Sword Order". "People.

Li Zicheng nodded and asked him, "What's going on at the Hou Mansion?"

Li Guo replied: "When we entered the city, I had already sent a cavalry team to guard the gate of the Hou Mansion, and no soldiers were allowed to enter at will. Now the eldest son Hou Fangyu is still in Nanjing, and the second son Hou Fangxia escorted his family two or three days ago. Dongmen escaped.

At that time, the people who were guarding the city did not allow them to escape. It was his servants who forced the city gate open and escorted the master out. Now there are only some servants guarding the gate in the Hou Mansion. "

"Even if the master is not at home, no one else is allowed to enter the Marquis' mansion and disturb him."

After listening to Li Zicheng's words, Luo Rucai smiled slightly. He fully understood Chuang Wang's ulterior motives.

Li Zicheng then ordered Li Guo to lead the attacking troops and immediately withdraw to station outside the city. Only 1,500 people were left in Shangqiu City, 1,000 from Laofu, 500 from Cao's camp, and none from Xiaoyuan's camp.

The commander-in-chief Liu Zongmin stayed in the city, and Tian Jianxiu assisted him in taking charge of all major events in the city!

…………

After giving instructions, Li Zicheng, together with Luo Rucai and others, exited the city and returned to their respective stations. Because he was worried that the soldiers in Xiaoyuan Camp would be unhappy, he called Yuan Shizhong to his generalissimo's tent.

Li Zicheng first asked Yuan Shizhong about the situation in the camp and encouraged him a few words, and then said to him: "You have to tell the brothers that we did not come to rob Shangqiu, nor did we come to rape, burn, and kill. Instantly.

Now we are conquering the country, and we must behave as if we are conquering the country. We must eliminate harm for the people, and more importantly, we must protect the safety of the people. We must never harass the people again.

When I entered the city today, I saw that many people were killed and robbed. Although I refused to surrender and presented the city, I wanted to massacre the city. But now that we want to dominate the world, we cannot kill all the people, so I It was ordered to "Seal the Sword" and only kill those who openly resisted, as well as corrupt officials and evil gentry who were unkind for the sake of wealth, and did not intend to kill more innocent people.

When I entered through the west gate, I saw some women's corpses lying on the roadside, and some of them had their pants taken off. This was strictly prohibited among the soldiers of the old manor.

But now that our team is bigger, with more and more people, it’s hard to tell who did the bad thing, and I don’t plan to pursue it too much.

However, from now on, you must strictly restrain the officers and soldiers of Xiaoyuan Camp. No matter who they are, they must strictly abide by military orders and act according to my instructions. We can forget about the things that happened before sealing the sword. After sealing the sword, there will be no more rape and burning. The killing happened. "

Yuan Shizhong stood at the side and listened respectfully, like a child being scolded by his parents. In fact, he felt a little scared in his heart, and there were slight beads of sweat on his temples.

He knew that his soldiers had indeed committed many murders, arson, robberies, and adulteries.

Although not all the people in King Chuang's mansion were so obedient, compared with the two, the people in Cao Ying and Xiao Yuan Ying would only violate military discipline more.

Regarding King Chuang's warning, he did not dare to say a word of explanation and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes. Shizhong will definitely obey King Chuang Jun's order to restrain his subordinates and not allow them to violate military discipline again."

Li Zicheng smiled slightly, and then said to him in a gentle tone: "Don't be afraid, I am treating you well by telling you this. Originally, we are now more powerful, and we can no longer have orders as easily as before. If it is allowed, then stop if there is any prohibition.

But as the saying goes, "There are a hundred people, all kinds of people." These ten fingers of mine are not even equal. What's more, I originally told Shangqiu to open the door and surrender, and there will be no offense in autumn; if you dare to defend it, the whole city will be destroyed. Slaughter'.

The soldiers risked their lives to attack Shangqiu, but they always punished the defenders and civilians to vent their hatred. This is human nature. Now they have killed many people, burned some houses, and raped and robbed. happened, there is no need to pursue any of this.

But I have ordered to "seal the sword". If anyone dares to continue like this, it will not work. Therefore, I withdrew all the troops outside the city, leaving only a few troops to suppress them in the city. "

Li Zicheng looked at Yuan Shizhong with very soft eyes, and comforted him with gentle words: "The words I said above are not directed at your little Yuan camp, but the people from the eighth team who broke into the camp occasionally do some things. He's really doing bad things." After hearing Li Zicheng's heartfelt words, Yuan Shizhong couldn't help but express his sincere admiration from the bottom of his heart. He felt that Chuang Wang's achievements today must be extraordinary. It seems that he still has many shortcomings. !

…………

Shangqiu City is not an ordinary state city, but an important city in eastern Henan, that is, the seat of Guide Prefecture in Henan Province. It governs one state and seven counties. During the reign of Zhenzong in the Northern Song Dynasty, Shangqiu was promoted to Nanjing, which shows that it important position.

However, since the end of Tianqi, famine and war have been everywhere in Henan. Compared with this, eastern Henan has been relatively peaceful, and Guide Mansion has become particularly prosperous. Many famous families are still singing and dancing as in the past, and they raise a large number of domestic slaves. , with more and more property, coupled with years of war, many wealthy people from surrounding states and counties also came to live with relatives and friends in Shangqiu City, making it even more prosperous.

Now that King Chuang has defeated Shangqiu City, the army will naturally stay here for a longer time, not only to collect mules, horses, rations, and property, but also to recruit bravery to expand the army. However, the nearby states and counties, under the pressure of Chuang's army, all To transport grain to Shangqiu, Gao Yigong and others who were in charge of Laofu affairs were all very busy.

Just three days after the city was broken, Chuang King Li Zicheng celebrated the victory of Shangqiu City and ordered a banquet to be held in honor of the important generals of Chuang, Cao and Yuan battalions, as well as some newly surrendered scholars.

Since Li Zicheng became determined to conquer the world and dominate the world, he has also paid more and more attention to scholars. Everywhere he went, he would invite them to join his team to gather talents for future governance of the world, and he would often entertain them with banquets.

In addition to the brothers Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Li Yan, there are also some poor scholars who have surrendered in recent years. They are all people with poor reputations, including a group of old doctors like Shang Shenxian. apprentice.

There were many important generals in Cao's camp, and among the scholars, apart from his military advisor Ji Gui, there were only some scholars who dealt with literature and calligraphy. On the other hand, in Xiaoyuan's camp, there were also Liu Yuchi, Zhu Chengju, Liu Jingyi and others.

In addition, after the capture of Shangqiu City, some poor scholars also joined the rebel army. Among them, Chuangying gathered the most, and they helped with literary and calligraphy affairs in the army.

King Chuang invited all these people, and no one was left out!

Of course, in addition to these scholars, important generals from each camp were also invited to attend. The banquet was hosted by Tian Jianxiu, the general of the camp, and the location was also at his residence, the mansion of the Daxiang eunuch Zhou Shipu.

Although King Chuang's status in the army was extremely respected, as the host of today's banquet, he came to Zhou Shipu's house early.

However, Cao Cao and Luo Rucai were different. No matter who was hosting a banquet, he would almost never arrive in advance.

However, Yuan Shizhong did not dare to neglect. He led the civil and military officials of his camp to arrive very early. It was just past noon. Only Luo Rucai's civil and military officials from Cao camp had not arrived.

Li Zicheng sat in the hall with a smile on his face, listening to everyone chatting. Generals Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu and Yuan Zongdi were also chatting with King Chuang in the hall.

Everyone knew that King Chuang loved to hear allusions from past dynasties, especially those about the rise and fall of success and failure, so everyone's topics were focused on these aspects. Everyone showed off their talents and knowledge, and the conversation was very lively.

Yuan Shizhong's military advisor Liu Yuchi had a bold personality, and in his heart he was not convinced by Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, but he was very attached to Luo Rucai's military advisor Ji Gui.

He was the one who talked the most on the field today, and seemed to know everything. Even Li Zicheng, the King of Chuang, admired his erudition, but for some reason, looking at Liu Yuchi in front of him always reminded him of the "Eight Great Kings" Zhang Xianzhong. Military advisor Xu Yixian came.

At this moment, he continued to listen to the talk of Liu Yuchi and others with a smile on his face. At the same time, he turned back to Wu Ruyi and whispered to Wu Ruyi beside him: "Ziyi, go and invite the general in person and say that all the guests have arrived. He is just waiting for him." Come and sit down."

Wu Ruyi stood up in response and went to urge General Luo Rucai to go, while everyone here continued to gossip.

After another half an hour, Luo Rucai led a group of civil and military talents from Cao Ying to arrive belatedly. Everyone stood up to greet them, including Li Zicheng, who went out of the hall to greet them.

Luo Rucai clasped her fists at Li Zicheng with a smile on her face and said, "Oh... I'm a step too late, please don't blame the general."

Li Zicheng laughed and said: "Please come and take your seat quickly, we are waiting for you to have a banquet."

After Luo Rucai took his seat, he looked at the place full of wine and food, looked left and right, and couldn't help but sigh. He said to Li Zicheng: "What's the point of drinking dumb wine? How can I have fun with it? Marshal, do you want to do it?" How about I call a group of singing girls from the camp to sing a song for everyone to help them enjoy the drinking?"

The smile on Li Zicheng's face did not change and he said to him: "Let's drink at the Mute Bar today. There are many things to do in the afternoon, so we can't get everyone drunk."

Luo Rucai had no choice but to say: "Forget it, let's do as the Generalissimo wants today. The day after tomorrow, we will also prepare a small banquet in the camp to pay tribute to the Generalissimo. All the civil and military friends who came to the banquet today will also go."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Zicheng and asked him with a smile: "Generalissimo, are you willing to reward me?"

"As long as your general invites guests to a banquet, everyone will naturally go."

"Okay, it's a deal. When we get to Cao Ying, it won't be like drinking dumb wine here. There will be playing and singing, and maybe there will be more lively things."

Li Zicheng smiled and asked him, "Is there anything else?"

"We are a happy man. We can also find two theater troupes. We can drink and watch the theater at the same time and make him happy. Wouldn't it be fun?"

After hearing this, Li Zicheng nodded and said, "You will indeed be happy..."

"Hehe. That's what we are. I'm not afraid of fighting, but I'm not like you, who works hard day and night to win the world. According to others, I'm a drunkard and a womanizer. Alas... …That’s right.”

After everyone listened to Luo Rucai's words, there was a burst of laughter. While everyone was talking and laughing, the food and drinks were brought to the table, mostly cold dishes and delicious dishes. Everyone started eating and drinking with their chopsticks, glasses and toasts.

Suddenly, a burst of "haha" laughter came, and then Liu Zongmin said loudly: "Master Liu, I am a blacksmith by trade, but I am not convinced by the story you told me, so don't take what is in the book." , come to bluff our general who rarely reads poetry!"

Liu Zongmin was always full of energy and his voice was particularly loud. Now he was a little drunk, which attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.

Chuang Wang Li Zicheng sat with Luo Rucai, Li Yan, Yuan Shizhong, Niu Jinxing, Tian Jianxiu and others, while Liu Zongmin sat with Ji Gui, Song Xiance, Liu Yuchi, Zhu Chengju, Liu Jingyi and Cao Cao's trusted general Sun Shengzu. At the next table.

Li Zicheng also knew that Liu Zongmin usually hated Liu Yuchi. Especially after conquering Shangqiu, he was very dissatisfied with the military discipline of Xiaoyuan Camp. He guessed that he wanted to take the opportunity to suppress Liu Yuchi's arrogance.

Although he thought that Liu Zongmin was acting too hastily, he was also very interested in the topics on their table. At this moment, he couldn't help but turn his head, smiled at Liu Zongmin and Liu Yuchi and asked: "What interesting topic are you talking about? Why don't you teach us How about everyone come and listen?"