Ahead is Jiujiang City, and the sergeants sent by Gao Jie are already waiting in front to greet them.

Zhang Dongtao looked at Li Yan beside him and spoke softly.

"Brother Li, do you still remember those years when we were with Li Zicheng? At that time, if Li Zicheng had completely trusted you and followed your suggestions, the outcome might have been really different."

Li Yan shook his head.

"Brother, I finally understand what the emperor said. Li Zicheng cannot completely listen to me. This is determined by his character. The emperor's accurate analysis of Li Zicheng makes me worship him. He can see a person so deeply.

, It is rare in this world that the emperor looks deeply at me. When the emperor looked at me, I felt that there was no secret in my heart."

Zhang Dongtao let out a long sigh.

"Brother Li, I originally thought that you would have a lot of opinions about me. I am a member of Denglai's new army. I was ordered to lurk next to Li Zicheng at first, and later I was ordered to let you surrender to the imperial court."

Li Yan looked at Zhang Dongtao and spoke firmly.

"Brother, you must not have such thoughts. This is why I worship the emperor. You have been with Li Zicheng for more than ten years and helped Li Zicheng achieve a lot of military exploits. During this period, the emperor did not interfere.

Most people don't have this kind of courage. Li Zicheng changed a lot later, especially after entering Beizhili. He was completely different from before. I originally thought that this was all bewitched by Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others. Now

It seems that my understanding is completely wrong. Li Zicheng has that kind of character in his heart. He had no chance to enjoy it because he had to survive. Once the opportunity came, Li Zicheng's true nature was exposed. The emperor has long seen this, but I have been slow to

I can’t see through it.”

"Your Majesty has a keen eye for great things, which makes me sincerely frightened. If it weren't for your help, I would not have such a good ending. When Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance had just surrendered to Li Zicheng, they also showed extraordinary abilities. The Emperor was able to judge the difference between the two.

People's character is defective, and I will never be able to learn this kind of ability in my lifetime."

Zhang Dongtao stretched out his hand and gave Li Yan a thumbs up.

"Brother Li, you are much more knowledgeable than me, so you don't need to be humble in front of me. As for being in front of the emperor, I will always feel the pressure. Well, this time you and I have gone deep into the tiger's den and shouldered the responsibility."

This time, you and I took the initiative to take on the important task, and we jointly made suggestions to the emperor..."

Li Yan also laughed.

"Brother, neither you nor I thought that the emperor had such a plan. If you and I did things well according to the emperor's plan, the imperial court would be able to completely control the south. In any case, the emperor has a far-reaching view than you and I. What's next?

, we must do things according to the emperor’s will.”

The sergeants sent by Gao Jie have already come forward.

Zhang Dongtao smiled coldly.

"Brother Li, Gao Jie didn't come out of the city to greet him personally. It seems he still wants to put on airs..."

Li Yan also shook his head.

"I'm afraid Gao Jie has other ideas. Brother, please pay attention. You will know when you see Gao Jie later and look at his attitude."

...

"General Zhang, General Li, the Commander-in-Chief has an order, please enter the city. No other sergeants are allowed to enter the city..."

Li Yan's expression changed. Gao Jie meant to let Zhang Dongtao and him enter the city.

The expression on Zhang Dongtao's face was calm, and he did not show any surprise.

"I understand, you go tell Commander Gao Jie that we are coming to Jiujiang on behalf of the emperor and the court. If Gao Jie had not wanted to submit to the emperor and the Wu court, we would not have led the troops. If Gao Jie was worried, he would not dare to leave the city.

Come and see us, I can enter the city, you go and report immediately, we are waiting here..."

After the sergeant left, Li Yan became anxious.

"Brother, you must not enter the city alone. If Gao Jie does not sincerely submit to the court and takes the opportunity to detain you, the soldiers will not know what to do..."

Zhang Dongtao shook his head, looked at Li Yan and spoke.

"Brother Li, don't worry, Gao Jie doesn't have that kind of courage, otherwise he wouldn't have listened to Mr. Lu's order and wrote a letter to Zuo Liangyu. Gao Jie didn't go out of the city to greet us, but he still had illusions in his heart. He might think

The 50,000 sergeants under his command are good capital, and they can be used to negotiate a good price in front of the emperor. If Gao Jie is bold and dares to detain me, lead the sergeants and leave Jiujiang immediately, return to Nanjing, and report the situation here to the emperor quickly.

.”

Zhang Dongtao's expression was very calm and determined.

Li Yan knew that Zhang Dongtao had already made up his mind, and persuasion would not be of much use at this time.

"Brother, it's better for me to enter the city and meet Gao Jie. You stay outside the city and wait and see what happens..."

Zhang Dongtao turned to look at Li Yan with a smile on his face.

"Brother Li, you don't know Gao Jie. When you entered the Dashun Army, Gao Jie had already submitted to the Ming Dynasty. I had contact with Gao Jie, although not much. Gao Jie was still my subordinate at that time. You

Don’t worry, behind Gao Jie is the Xing family, and the Xing family will not let Gao Jie mess around..."

...

Zhang Dongtao followed the sergeant to the city. He didn't even bring any personal soldiers.

Looking at Zhang Dongtao's back, Li Yan's face turned red and he spoke to the messenger beside him.

"If there is anything unusual in the city, follow me and fight in. When the time comes, I will personally kill Gao Jie..."

As if knowing that Li Yan was worried, Zhang Dongtao, who had already reached the city gate, looked back and waved his hand vigorously.

Seeing Zhang Dongtao's figure disappearing into the corridor, Li Yan let out a long sigh.

"Your Majesty, you have such a brave new Denglai army at your side and such a loyal general. It will be unbearable if the world does not belong to you."

...

General Military Mansion, lobby.

Dozens of officers were waiting in the lobby. When Zhang Dongtao entered the lobby, many officers were stunned for a moment, and then they all looked at Zhang Dongtao with a nonchalant expression on their faces.

Zhang Dongtao's expression was quite solemn. He looked at many officers and walked straight to the front position.

"Stop, who are you? That position belongs to my Commander-in-Chief..."

The officers who can enter the lobby of the General Military Mansion must be Gao Jie's confidants. No news about Gao Jie's surrender to the court has been released to the outside world. It has been kept secret so far. As for Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan coming with five thousand sergeants, they did not wear uniforms.

The military uniforms of the Denglai New Army are all those of the Ming Army.

Zhang Dongtao is also wearing the military uniform of a Ming army deputy general.

Gao Jie is the commander-in-chief, and Zhang Dongtao is wearing the military uniform of a deputy general. In terms of rank and position, Zhang Dongtao is indeed a subordinate. However, when Zhang Dongtao came to Jiujiang, he represented the emperor and the court. From this perspective, Gao Jie should have long ago

Wait in the lobby.

With a cold smile, Zhang Dongtao looked at the many officers and spoke.

"I don't know how high the sky is and dare to speak out nonsense. When you come to the lobby, you should know what is going on. You should also know who I am. Since Gao Jie trusts you, you should add glory to him instead of adding chaos...

"

Several officers standing in front of Zhang Dongtao lowered their heads but did not move out of the way.

Zhang Dongtao's expression changed instantly, he looked at everyone again, turned around and walked out of the lobby.

"Since Gao Jie has such an attitude, I don't need to say anything. You go and report it to your commander-in-chief and tell him that I, Zhang Dongtao, have been here. I didn't see Gao Jie's sincerity, so I have to leave. If Gao Jie wants to

If you see me, come outside the city..."

An officer quickly walked up to Zhang Dongtao and spoke with a smile.

"It turns out to be General Zhang. I have admired him for a long time. I have heard of General Zhang's name a long time ago..."

Zhang Dongtao looked at the officer's malicious smile and smiled coldly.

"Why, do you know my name? Is it because I have been with Li Zicheng for more than ten years and am somewhat famous? Is it because I counterattacked Li Zicheng in Henan or because I led troops to encircle and suppress more than 100,000 Dashun troops in Daming Mansion?

fame..."

The lobby instantly fell silent. The news that Zhang Dongtao led 40,000 sergeants of the Denglai New Army and forced the 100,000 Dashun Army sergeants stationed in Damingfu City to surrender spread far and wide. Gao Jie knew about it, and the officers under Gao Jie also knew about it.

The smile on the officer's face that stood in front of Zhang Dongtao froze and he looked a little embarrassed.

"General Zhang, please don't worry about this. My commander-in-chief just had something important to do. He has specially ordered us to greet General Zhang here. My commander-in-chief will be coming to the lobby soon after finishing the important things...

"

Zhang Dongtao laughed.

"In that case, why didn't you tell me earlier? Then I will wait for Gao Jie here, but I want to remind you that my patience is limited. If Gao Jie doesn't have any sincerity with you and still wants to be the same as before, then I don't have to

Met Gao Jie..."

Zhang Dongtao walked forward while talking.

This time, no one stood in front of Zhang Dongtao, and he watched helplessly as Zhang Dongtao sat down at the front.

After sitting down, Zhang Dongtao's face was as calm as water. He knew very well that these were Gao Jie's tests, not only to test the attitude of the emperor and the court, but also to test his own integrity.

If he hadn't wanted to let Gao Jie become the flag to disrupt the situation in the south, Zhang Dongtao wouldn't have had to do this. When they were just outside the city, Gao Jie was unwilling to come out to greet them. Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan would turn around and leave. With Gao Jie's 50,000

Sergeant, it is impossible for the Denglai New Army to do anything. It is not particularly difficult for the Denglai New Army to wipe out these 50,000 sergeants.

Therefore, Zhang Dongtao repeatedly suppressed his temper and watched the situation quietly. This was the first time he fought against Gao Jie. He wanted to completely suppress Gao Jie and not give Gao Jie any illusions. According to his judgment, Gao Jie was in the room next to the lobby, secretly observing the lobby.

everything that happened.
Chapter completed!