I have 800,000 private soldiers. The emperor forces me to hand over military power?

One of the four garrison towns in Anxi, General Tan Li of the border army in Yanqi City, is a loyal and courageous man.

Chen Huaian was somewhat impressed by his willingness to sacrifice his own head to protect the defense of the western frontier army in Shule City.

But Chen Huaian was determined to win Shule City no matter what.

This time he personally led an army to the Western Regions. He not only wanted to conquer the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions headed by Uihe, but also conquered the hearts and minds of the people in the four towns of Anxi and along the Silk Road to prepare for his future enthronement and proclaiming himself emperor.

And Tan Li also kept his word. In order to avoid the situation where the Anxi frontier troops fought with each other and killed each other, he went to Shule City alone and risked being shot by cold arrows.

This time, he was neither wearing armor nor carrying a knife.

Wearing a pair of coarse linen clothes, he walked to the gate of Shule City with his head held high.

Surprisingly, Deng Yucheng, the chief defender of the city, did not order the unarmed Tan Li to be shot. Instead, he opened the city gate and let him into the city.

It's night, the General's Mansion.

Shule City garrison commander Deng Yucheng ordered the dining room to prepare a sumptuous dinner for the first time, and invited Yanqi City garrison Tan Li, who was alone in the city to lobby, to the dinner.

Tan Li looked at a table full of sumptuous food and wine and said with a bit of joking, "General Deng, are you planning to treat me to a decapitation meal?"

snort!

Deng Yucheng snorted coldly and said: "General Tan, as long as you don't talk about letting me surrender to the traitor Chen Huaian tonight, I will guarantee that your life will be safe."

"Come, take a seat!"

With that said, Deng Yucheng made an inviting gesture and invited Tan Li to the table.

He also said: "General Tan, farewell to Chang'an Mansion. We haven't seen each other for two years, right?"

Tan Li smiled and said: "Yes, it has been two full years."

Deng Yucheng said: "Come and drink. We will only talk about the past tonight, not state affairs!"

"Dry!"

"Dry!"

With that said, the two began to drink at the table.

Tan Li also complied with Deng Yucheng's request and never mentioned that he was asked to lead the border army soldiers in Shule City to surrender to Jin King Chen Huaian.

But he also knew that Tan Li's invitation to the banquet and drinking party must have a deep meaning.

After three rounds of wine, the five flavors of food are gone.

Deng Yucheng's words also obviously increased.

He seemed to be talking to Tan Li, but also seemed to be talking to himself: "I, Deng Yucheng, joined the army with the late emperor at the age of fifteen. I was a horseman in the imperial camp back then, and now I am a third-rank military officer in the imperial court;"

"This road has taken me thirty years!"

"A whole thirty years!"

With that said, Deng Yucheng drank all the strong wine in the wine cup.

Still feeling that it was not enough, he simply picked up the wine jar in front of him, raised his neck, and drank most of the jar.

Under the influence of alcohol, Deng Yucheng's face suddenly turned red. He burped and continued: "The world only knows that I, Deng Yucheng, was the former prince's party and a die-hard henchman of Emperor Jian'an."

"But no one knows that in the battle of Hulao Pass, if His Royal Highness hadn't risked his life to save Deng Yucheng of Qianhu, he would have been trampled into a pile of rotten flesh by the iron hooves of the Turkic war horses, and where would the imperial court be today? Deng Yucheng, the third-grade ginseng general."

"In that battle, His Highness the Prince, for the sake of me, the nameless Qianhu in the imperial camp, one more and one less, was hit by two Turkic arrows. One of the arrows was less than half an inch away from the Crown Prince's heart. If it's just a little bit, the prince will die on the spot."

hehe!

After saying that, Deng Yucheng smiled bitterly twice and said: "I admit that after the crown prince succeeded to the throne, he indulged in women and favored sycophants, which caused many loyal and good people in the court and the previous dynasties to suffer. This is a fact."

"But, isn't this the art of controlling people used by emperors throughout the ages?"

"Emperor and courtier, this is a matter of course and eternal."

Gu Gu Gu Gu!

Deng Yucheng picked up the wine jar again and drank several large gulps.

Tan Li, who was accompanying Deng Yucheng, seemed to have realized what was going to happen next. He silently picked up the wine jar next to him and drank a few sips of wine with Deng Yucheng, letting the alcohol burn his internal organs.

Deng Yucheng said as if no one else was watching: "Chen Huaian, the rebellious minister and traitor, was able to raise an army of 8,000 Polu troops in the fiefdom of Longcheng. He first destroyed 300,000 Yunqi troops, then destroyed the Turkic royal court, and then used more than 10,000 cavalry to attack thousands of miles and defend the Tumu Fort. Defeated the more than 200,000 troops led by Emperor Jian'an himself;"

"I have to say that this son's military ability is far better than that of his father Chen Polu;"

"He also implemented benevolent policies in the various places he occupied. For five years, taxes were completely exempted, and for ten years, taxes were halved. This is enough to show Chen Huaian's talent in the world."

"Eh--"

Deng Yucheng sighed and said: "To be honest, in less than three years, the surname of Jiangshan State in this new dynasty will definitely be changed from Zhao to Chen."

At this time, Tan Li on the side finally saw the opportunity and interjected: "General Deng, can you listen to me?"

Shh!

Deng Yucheng put his finger to his mouth, made a silent gesture, and said to himself: "Chen Huaian may be a good emperor;"

"This general also fully believes that he has the ability to completely make the countries in the Western Regions surrender to the Han nation. Within a hundred years, or even three hundred years, they will not dare to invade our Han border and massacre our Han border residents;"

"but--"

Deng Yucheng changed the topic and said helplessly but unwillingly: "None of this has anything to do with me, Deng Yucheng, and I don't want to have anything to do with him."

"In this general's view, no matter whether Chen Huaian becomes an emperor through the ages who can rival the Qin Emperor or the Han Dynasty in the future, or he becomes a hypocritical person who is inconsistent with his appearance, it will not change the fact that he committed regicide and treason."

"Historians of later generations will not record in the history books that Chen Huaian's throne was justifiable!"

Clang!

Suddenly, Deng Yucheng pulled out a ring-head knife from the wall of the room and threw it in front of Tan Li.

The cold blade hit the floor with clanging echoes.

Clang!

In the blink of an eye, Deng Yucheng pulled out a dagger again and held it tightly in his hand.

Then, the sword pointed directly at Tan Li, who looked solemn, and said sternly: "Tan Li, pick up the sword, defeat this general, and all the Anxi frontier troops in Shule City will be under your command!"

"If you are unfortunate enough to die miserably under my sword, this meal will be treated as a meal that I will treat you to!"

In this situation, no matter how stupid Tan Li is, he can still understand what Deng Yucheng means.

With tears in his eyes, he finally picked up the Huanshou knife on the ground and asked with a hint of luck: "General Deng, does it have to be like this?"

"Stop talking nonsense and look at the sword!"

Before he finished speaking, Deng Yucheng raised his sword and pounced on Tan Li, slashing and stabbing him with fatal blows.

Tan Li could only use his instinctive muscle reaction to block and provoke with his knife, and resolved Deng Yucheng's fatal attacks one by one.

But he knew very well that Deng Yucheng did not use all his strength. He clearly wanted to die.

Otherwise, why did Deng Yucheng, who was good at using short swords, give up the Huanshou sword and instead choose a short sword to duel with him?

puff--

The next moment, the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was heard.

Deng Yucheng, who was holding the dagger high and about to slash Tan Li, slipped and accidentally hit the blade in Tan Li's hand.

The sharp ring-shou knife instantly pierced Deng Yucheng's body.

Under the influence of inertia, Deng Yucheng threw himself on Tan Li.

He leaned close to his ear and said with a smile: "If this general does not die, the soldiers of the Anxi frontier army in Shule City will not survive!"

"Promise me to treat them well!"