12dz Chapter 532 Taking Over Mayi
Chapter 532 Taking Over Mayi
In front of the two armies, the surrender issue had been negotiated, and the situation was settled during the verbal confrontation between the two sides.
Just at this time, Cao Youde led his troops back, but was surprised to see that the army had begun to withdraw in an orderly manner.
He was filled with helplessness as he looked at the team that was moving further and further away. He knew that there was no other way at the moment. He could only temporarily place his army outside the city and wait silently for the next instruction.
On the other side, the Dingzhou army did not dare to delay for a moment and immediately selected fast cavalry and galloped towards Jinyang at full speed, carrying the surrender letter presented by Wang Shixiong of Mayi City in their arms.
The horses' hooves kicked up a cloud of dust and they hardly stopped along the way.
Hong Kui originally thought that the war would last at least three to five days, and he had not yet made thorough preparations for sending troops. Unexpectedly, the surrender letter came to him like a bolt from the blue.
He opened his eyes wide, his face full of disbelief, and stared at the watch in his hand, as if he was afraid that it was an illusory dream.
He thought to himself: With this surrender, it means that the Wang family's power is no longer as strong as before and is declining. Moreover, he will be able to take sole control of the army under their command in the future.
Thinking of this, Hong Kui could no longer suppress his inner joy, and a smug smile slowly appeared on his face.
In order to take over Mayi as soon as possible, Du Ziqing, who had just arrived in Jinyang, did not stop for a moment and immediately led his army and marched towards Mayi without stopping.
As soon as Du Ziqing arrived in Mayi, his first priority was to go straight to Wang Shixiong, and he completely ignored the Dingzhou army as if they did not exist.
In Mayi City, in Wang Shixiong's residence,
Du Ziqing was in a leisurely mood, sitting steadily on the main seat in the central hall, exuding the majesty of a superior.
Wang Shixiong stood aside with a respectful expression, his body slightly bent, his posture extremely humble, his tone full of sincerity:
"General Du, I, Wang Shixiong, know full well that I have committed grave sins. Please consider my diligent and tireless efforts for Bingzhou for twenty years!"
I also implore you, General, to be magnanimous and show some mercy. Please do not implicate my family members, as they are truly innocent."
Du Ziqing looked calm. He raised his hand slightly, and gently pressed the lid of the teacup on the table with his slender fingers. He seemed absent-minded and spoke slowly and calmly:
"Sir Wang, I came here to take over the mission in Mayi, not to receive a decree from the Emperor to punish you. If there's anything you did wrong, it's that you didn't handle the Shizhou incident properly, which isn't serious enough to warrant the death penalty!"
When Wang Shixiong heard this, his heart suddenly tightened, and then he thought to himself that it seemed that there might be a chance for this matter to turn around, and there might be room for maneuver.
Seeing Wang Shixiong remained silent, Du Ziqing continued, "Your Wang family is dissatisfied with Lord Hong, which is not very decent.
Now that Lord Hong is the Governor of Bingzhou, you should fully cooperate with his work. Why do you have to deliberately make things difficult for him?"
As soon as these words came out, Wang Shixiong's heart moved, and he keenly grasped a key information: their current situation seemed to be just a mistake, not an unforgivable crime.
It seemed that if he managed it properly, he might be able to escape this dire predicament. However, he was not sure what the conditions would be.
Wang Shixiong moved closer to Du Ziqing, lowered his voice deliberately, and asked cautiously:
"Master Du, we've worked together for so many years. For the sake of our past friendship, please tell me the truth. What should I do?"
Hearing this, Du Ziqing slowly raised his hand that was holding the teacup and picked it up gracefully.
He gently opened the lid, stretched out his fingers to gently stir the tea leaves floating on it, then slowly took a sip of the tea, and then slowly put down the teacup.
He frowned slightly, spit out the remaining tea leaves in his mouth, then gently dusted off his already spotless armor. A meaningful smile slowly appeared on his face, and he said:
"How did the walls of Mayi become so dilapidated? Could it be that your Wang family's artillery firepower is even inferior to that of the Dingzhou army?"
This sudden and confusing sentence made Wang Shixiong stunned for a moment. He seemed to be completely confused and had no idea what Du Ziqing meant.
He was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied:
"Master Du, to be honest, the power of the Dingzhou Army's artillery is truly beyond imagination. Before we could even fire a single shot, the city walls were already riddled with holes.
In order to prevent the civilians in the city from suffering the ravages of war, we have no choice but to hastily submit our surrender."
After hearing Wang Shixiong's explanation, Du Ziqing's smile grew even wider, as if hiding some deeper meaning:
"You have chosen to surrender, and that is the right thing to do. Don't worry, I will report your sincerity to the court."
These words left Wang Shixiong completely bewildered. He felt completely puzzled and confused. He had no idea what Du Ziqing was up to.
But even though he was full of doubts, Wang Shixiong still cooperated very well with Du Ziqing, helping him take over Mayi smoothly without any obstacles.
However, he did not let the Dingzhou army withdraw, but quietly separated part of the Mayi army on the pretext of reorganizing the Mayi army.
In this series of personnel changes, Cao Youde was directly promoted by Du Ziqing to the position of governor of Mayi County, while Su Dingshan was appointed as the general.
Cao Dawang also returned to his original position as county magistrate.
Wang Shixiong was recalled to Jinyang and appointed to the post of Director of Craftsmen, where he was specifically responsible for the production of Bingzhou cannons.
During the month that the Dingzhou army was stationed in Mayi, Wang Shixiong's side treated the soldiers with good food and drink and did not treat them unfairly at all.
Until the time of retreat, the soldiers of Dingzhou Army did not notice anything unusual.
However, on Du Ziqing's desk, there were several mortar shells.
Du Ziqing's face was solemn, and he said to the attendant beside him in a deep voice:
"Go, take five cannonballs to the Jinyang Artisan Supervisor and tell them to decipher the secret and find out why their cannonballs are so different from ours."
"Yes!"
The attendant responded concisely and forcefully, carefully picked up the cannonball, turned around and left quickly.
In the Jinyang Artisan Supervisory Office,
The craftsmen disassembled the shells they received with great concentration and care, and arranged the gunpowder, fuse and other components neatly on the wooden pallets.
There was a small paper tube with a copper cap and a short black tube at the bottom of the shell, which was obviously filled with gunpowder.
However, they could not figure out what it was.
The craftsmen began to carefully weigh the gunpowder, meticulously dissect the fuse, and even took apart the objects inside the copper cap and observed them carefully.
What's more, some craftsmen even put this thing in their mouths and tasted it gently, trying to solve the mystery hidden in it through this peculiar way.