In the fifteenth year of Tianji, April 18th, Yuanzhou City.
Half of the city is covered in smoke and sand, with broken walls and ruins.
Thick smoke and broken tiles filled every alley and street in the city, and wailing and sobbing evoked the sadness of war.
With 70,000 demoralized "abandoned troops" facing 500,000 elite troops, they held on for four days.
The performance of the Shuzhou Army and Liangzhou Army has been tenacious enough.
But that’s basically where it ends.
"Master Liang..."
The atmosphere in the Yuanzhou Yamen, which had been requisitioned as a "wartime headquarters", was depressing. A middle-aged man in white armor looked at Liang Zhen and sighed softly.
He was none other than the Liangzhou Commander-in-Chief, Wen Wen, who was also "abandoned" in Yuanzhou City.
His eyebrows flew into his temples, his sword-shaped eyebrows were like stars, he wore a sword at his waist, and the white armor on his body was spotless.
Such a gentle name and image do not seem very much like a general leading an army in battle.
But Wen Wen did come from Liangzhou, a city with the toughest folk customs in Daning.
"Lord Liang, there are less than 20,000 soldiers in the city who are capable of fighting a battle. They are not enough to cover the entire city wall, let alone defend the city."
"At this point, it is absolutely impossible for Wu Ding to come back for reinforcements, and there is no hope of breaking out. It is time for you and me to make an idea about where to go."
"..."
The bright sunshine slanted down from the window, and it was already dusk.
There were several soldiers in the courtyard standing in the afterglow of the setting sun. The red color on their bodies was not sure whether it was blood or sunlight.
Holding the handle of the knife tightly with one hand, Liang Zhen was speechless for a long time as his gentle words echoed in his ears.
He didn't know when Da Feng would attack next, but he knew that the next time would be the last.
Wen Wen is right. There are less than 20,000 soldiers left in the city now. They can't even stand on the city wall, so how can we talk about defending the city...
"Brother Wen... I am a little older than you, so let me call you brother."
"I don't know, what do you think we should do?"
Liang Zhen's tone was a bit harsh, while Wen Wen was much calmer in comparison.
He also raised his eyes and looked out the window, but instead of admiring the dusk scene, he reached out and gently closed the wooden window.
"Brother Liang, since you asked, I will tell you directly."
"Now that Yuanzhou City cannot be defended, we have only three ways to go."
"First, fight to the death and use the lives of tens of thousands of remaining brothers to fight for the reputation of both of you and me."
"Second, gather all the brothers who are above level 3 to protect you and me from breaking out... Little brother, I have calculated that if we break out from the south of the city, if we can rush into Meishan, there is a 30% chance that we can escape."
"And this third way is..."
He glanced at Liang Zhen and uttered two words gently and calmly.
"Surrender to the enemy."
"..."
Liang Zhen's pupils suddenly contracted as if the light reflected from the white armor on Wen Wen's body had irritated his eyes.
As time went by, the hand holding the handle of the knife slowly relaxed.
Wen Wen is right, there are only these three roads in front of them now.
Choose the first option and you will die.
If you choose the second option, you might be able to survive.
If you choose the third option, you will definitely survive.
What's more important is that not only will he not die, but his nearly 10,000 brothers will also survive.
Thinking of this, a deep feeling of powerlessness and anger surged into his heart, making Liang Zhen's expression extremely complicated at this moment.
More than half a month ago, he brought 30,000 people all the way from Shuzhou to support Yuanzhou. Even though he knew that this trip was very dangerous, he still had no hesitation.
But who would have thought that now there are only less than 10,000 of the 30,000 people left... abandoned soldiers.
People always die in wars, and Liang Zhen naturally understands this truth.
But there is value in dying.
If we look at the overall situation, these people bought time for the army to reposition in Fengxian County, so it seems that they deserved their death.
But... to be abandoned is to be abandoned.
There's nothing much to say about this.
"Brother Wen..."
Taking a deep breath, Liang Zhen looked up at Wen Wen: "It seems that you have made a decision."
"yes."
Wen Wen did not hide anything, nodded and said seriously: "Brother Liang, tonight I will take the Liangzhou army to remove their armor and leave the city. I hope you can come with me."
"..."
Take off your armor and leave the city.
Hearing this expected answer, Liang Zhen was not surprised and just stared at Wen Wen.
"Brother Wen, this is a crime of treason."
"Of course I understand that this is a conspiracy, and I also understand that I will be scolded in the spine by the people of Daning for the rest of my life."
Wen Wen's expression remained calm.
"Brother Liang, I am not a person who is afraid of death, and the men from Liangzhou are not people who are greedy for life and afraid of death."
"But since it was Wu Ding and the emperor who abandoned us first, why should I sacrifice my life for them again?"
"I only know how to repay kindness with kindness, but I don't know how to repay kindness with kindness."
Shaking his head, Wenwen sighed again, which seemed to be mixed with endless disappointment.
But Liang Zhen's thoughts at this time were somewhat different.
"Brother Wen, this is wrong."
"The imperial court has indeed failed us this time, but you must know that no matter what, you and I are citizens of Daning."
"If there was no Daning, where would you and I have a place to live, and where would we be able to sit in the position of commander-in-chief?"
"Why do you only see the 'resentment' in front of you, but not the 'virtue' in the past?"
Obviously, Liang Zhen did not want to choose the third path, and felt that Wen Wen's statement was just an excuse to comfort himself.
However, the latter's next few words made him instantly confused as to how to answer.
"Brother Liang, you are right."
"Whether it is the imperial court or the people of Daning, they have indeed been kind to me before."
"So, no matter how heartbroken and angry I was, I still guarded Yuanzhou City for four days."
"These four days are just to repay these kindnesses."
"Now that the debt has been repaid, Daning and I owe nothing to each other. It's time to go our own way."
"..."
The favor has been repaid, and everyone goes his own way from now on.
Liang Zhen, who finally understood what Wen Wen was thinking, was silent for a long time. He couldn't say anything until the former had already reached the door.
"Brother Liang, won't you stop me?"
Looking back, he asked with a gentle smile: "If I walk out of this door, you will never have a chance again."
"Let's go."
With a wry smile, Liang Zhen waved his hand feebly.
"What's the point of stopping you."
"good."
Wen Wen took a deep look at Liang Zhen and left one last sentence.
"Brother Liang, if you also want to understand, just take people to the west gate at this time... Before that, Dafeng will not attack the city again."
"Squeak..."
The door opened and closed, and with a few "General Wen" sounds outside the room, only Liang Zhen was left in the room.
Dafeng will not attack the city before Zi Shi.
This sentence means that Wen Wen may have already expressed his "surrender" to Dafeng.
It also means that if he does not remove his armor and surrender together, then Dafeng will launch his final attack after a while.
"Wow!"
The heavy general's armor was casually thrown onto the table, crushing the already riddled Yuanzhou City on the sand table.
Liang Zhen only wore the shirt that Wei Changtian lent him before leaving, and slowly walked back and forth in the house for an unknown number of times.
How should I choose...
Please remember the first domain name of this book: ._