Heavy rain poured down, and the city wall that was blown down by gunpowder looked like the gaping teeth of a giant beast. The messy bricks and stones were piled up in all directions. The corpses of soldiers were scattered everywhere and almost filled the place. From there, it extended towards the city. Blood was diluted by the rain and flowed everywhere.
The defenders who had put down their weapons stood dumbly in the city, looking at the extremely tragic scene in front of them, their hearts filled with fear. The rows of heavily armored infantry waiting outside the city were like countless giant beasts. Although they were quiet and orderly,
But they will pounce at any time to choose someone and devour them.
Zheng Rentai endured the pain and wounds on his body and walked step by step from the barracks. Along the way, he saw that all the soldiers under his command were looking miserable and distracted. It was obvious that their courage was exhausted and their morale was completely gone. He couldn't help but shake his head and sighed in his heart.
One sound.
He is a veteran of hundreds of battles and has been on the battlefield for half his life. Naturally, he knows that such an army will be difficult to win a war no matter what.
After all, unlike the Sixteen Guards in Suwei Pass, and the hundreds of battle divisions that fought against foreign tribes in various parts of the border for many years, these private armies guarding Xingyang City have never really set foot on the battlefield, and have never seen life or death. They are just a group of people wearing clothes.
Sheep in wolf skins usually run rampant in the countryside, but now they are facing a pack of real wolves, and they will naturally collapse at the first touch...
Fortunately, he had experienced a huge defeat in the Battle of Banzhu, but he still hoped that such an army could gain some initiative for him. It was simply a fool's errand.
At this point, all the little thoughts were gone, and all the ministries were strictly ordered to stay where they were and not to move without permission. Then they took several elders of the Zheng clan who had already arrived, wrapped in raincoats, and walked out through the gap in the collapsed city wall.
The sky is dark, dark clouds are rolling in, and the rain is not letting up at all.
With his eyes narrowed under the bamboo hat, Zheng Rentai looked at the motionless battle formation with thousands of men and horses on the opposite side. He repeatedly evaluated the navy's combat effectiveness in his heart, especially since it was not only invincible in water battles, but also invincible in land battles.
Such force and sharpness made him even more shocked and frightened... If he had known this, why would he have done so much and ended up in the current situation where he had no face left?
"well!"
A clan elder on the left sighed and said quietly: "During the Guanlong Mutiny, Donggong Liu led his own forces to resist the fierce attack of an enemy that was more than ten times stronger, laying the foundation for the Youtun Guards' strange troops to break into the Jinguang Gate and win a complete victory.
The foundation; now this navy is not only invincible at sea, but also invincible in land battles... With these two armies, one in the east and one in the west, one inside and one outside, no matter how hard it seems, there is no possibility for the King of Jin to achieve anything. Before, we relied on the Shandong Family
It’s okay that we have to recruit private soldiers to support Tongguan, but the previous battle of Banzhu and the defeat of Xingyang this time, Rentai, you are a little impatient."
"Rentai" is originally the character of Zheng Rentai, and his famous work is "Zheng Guang", which is written in characters...
As soon as this person finished speaking, another person said: "Who says it's not the case? The entire Shandong family raised private soldiers to support Tongguan. Even if the King of Jin is defeated in the end, it will not be easy for His Majesty to pursue him. After all, the law does not punish everyone, but this time
I'm afraid it won't be easy to explain after trying to block the navy. Someone has to be responsible for it to quell the anger of His Majesty and Fang Jundao, otherwise the whole family will be implicated."
Zheng Rentai frowned.
The person on his right said dissatisfiedly: "Now that the matter has come to this, what's the use of saying these words? When Rentai led his army to defend Banzhu, you all agreed with it, and you thought you could use this to achieve great achievements for the king of Jin.
As for the military exploits, now that we have lost, we have to think about how to keep the family, instead of making sarcastic remarks here."
Zheng Rentai suppressed his anger and remained silent.
The core of the family inheritance lies in the set of rules of "ancestral succession" that have been passed down for thousands of years. In short, it is the "inheritance system of the eldest son", and the "eldest son" is always the first in line of succession. .
But things are unpredictable, and no rules can be consistent and remain unchanged forever.
Whenever we encounter troubled times, no matter how powerful the family is, they will rise and fall in the chaos, rise and fall, or establish new branches, or establish direct descendants, all for the sake of the family's survival and inheritance.
For example, at this moment, once the King of Jin is defeated, the Zheng family in Xingyang will inevitably suffer a thunderous suppression from the emperor and the court, even more than other Shandong aristocratic families. The family inheritance is at stake. Under such circumstances, someone stands up and takes on all the responsibility. The top priority is to be able to exonerate the entire family from the guilt.
And he, Zheng Rentai, is naturally the best candidate to bear the responsibility.
He, Zheng Rentai, takes responsibility and will be punished. No matter whether he lives or dies, it will be difficult for him to continue to control the blood heirs of the Zheng family temple in Xingyang. The inheritance will naturally fall behind the other direct descendants...
The real situation has not yet come, and the family has already begun to fight for power and gain, and even throw him out, the head of the family who led the Zheng family in Xingyang to achieve greater glory, in order to appease the anger of the emperor and Fang Jundao.
I have spent half my life thinking about my family, going through life and death, and ended up like this...
Suddenly, the well-organized heavy armored infantry in front of them moved slowly. The middle part spread out to both sides, revealing a passage. A group of cavalry came galloping from far to near. The sound of horse hooves trampling on the muddy ground was heard by the soldiers standing on both sides. Blocking, shrinking, becoming more and more deafening, even covering up the sound of rain all over the sky.
Suddenly, this group of cavalry came galloping through the wind, rain, and wind, until they were in front of Zheng Rentai and his party. They suddenly reined in the reins, raised the front hooves of the war horse, and let out a "Herodian" neighing. With the powerful momentum, it was breathtaking. .
Zheng Rentai raised his head slightly, and his eyes under the bamboo hat intertwined with the leading general on the opposite side through the rain curtain. The man was holding the reins and riding on the horse, looking down at him. His face under the hat was as cold as iron. , no end to anger.
After a pause, Zheng Rentai took a breath, knelt on one knee in the muddy water, and said loudly: "Xingyang Zheng Rentai, I have met General Liu!"
The clan elders around him didn't dare to be too big. They looked at the back of Zheng Rentai kneeling on the ground in front of him with complicated eyes. They all bowed to the ground and said in unison: "I have seen General Liu!"
Liu Rengui was sitting on horseback, his upper body straight, standing motionless in the wind and rain.
Behind him, thousands of soldiers and horses were waiting in formation, and their morale was as high as a rock.
For a few moments, the only sound between heaven and earth was the sound of rain.
Zheng Rentai's heart was shocked, and his heart slowly sank. Could it be that Liu Rengui really had the intention to annex Xingyang and exterminate the Zheng family...
A moment later, he heard a "pop" sound, and someone jumped off the horse and knelt on the ground. It was the voice of his eldest son Zheng Xuanguo: "The Zheng family in Xingyang is loyal to the Tang Dynasty and has absolutely no rebellious intentions! The reason why my father To stop the navy, someone in the Gaiyin clan was bribed by a traitor to deceive my father. Please ask General Liu to find out and allow the Zheng family in Xingyang to serve your majesty!"
Listening to this voice, Zheng Rentai, who was gradually despairing, felt relieved and filled with relief...
But behind him, the elders of the Zheng clan who had previously tried to push Zheng Rentai out to bear the wrath of the new emperor all felt a "thump" in their hearts, secretly thinking that something was wrong.
Someone must bear the responsibility, and if it wasn't Zheng Rentai, it might be them. Originally, maybe Zheng Rentai would still protect them out of the love of his family, but just now they ran against Zheng Rentai openly and secretly, trying to make Zheng Rentai
He took the initiative to stand up as a scapegoat, but he didn't know how Zheng Rentai would retaliate against them...
After a moment, Liu Rengui jumped off his horse, took two steps forward, put his hands on Zheng Rentai's shoulders, lifted him up with force, and said in a sincere tone: "How can I bear such a gift from the Duke? You are an honorable minister of Zhenguan.
If you have made great contributions to Sheji, please get up quickly, please get up quickly!"
Zheng Rentai stood up with the help of his strength, with a look of shame on his face: "I mistakenly believed in the villain's words, so that I made a mistake, causing the land of Shandong to suffer from military disasters, and not even a tenth of the young and strong people in Xingyang remained. It is really a serious sin and I am ashamed.
I have no confidence in the late emperor, and I have no shame in meeting the current majesty."
The elders of the Zheng clan behind him became increasingly panicked.
Sure enough, Liu Rengui said with emotion: "What did the Duke say? It is said that there is no greater good than knowing a mistake and being able to correct it. Now His Majesty's reputation for benevolence is resounding throughout the world, and he respects and worships the Duke even more. What's more, the Zheng family in Xingyang is now attached to a Shandong family.
If you are actually being deceived by an adulterer, how can you blame the Duke? It’s just that military affairs have their own rules and regulations. We also ask the Duke to point out who are disloyal, unjust, attached and rebellious, and we will arrest them one by one.
Let’s face it and restore the Duke’s innocence!”
All the Zheng clan members were trembling, but they could not say anything to beg for mercy.
As they said before, now that the city of Xingyang has been destroyed, someone must take responsibility for the actions of the Zheng family in Xingyang, either Zheng Rentai or the other direct branches of the Zheng family. Now the Navy has accepted Zheng Rentai's surrender.
, then the person who takes responsibility must choose one of them.
Even though they can face Zheng Rentai's cynicism and the wind and frost swords to force them, they have a common goal with Zheng Rentai, which is the inheritance of the Zheng family in Xingyang.
Some people die for the inheritance of the family, and some live for the inheritance of the family.
If we can't give an explanation to the navy and the new emperor, how can the Zheng family in Xingyang still have any chance of survival?
So now they can only wait silently for the verdict of fate and see who Zheng Rentai chooses to bear this responsibility...
Zheng Rentai was silent for a while, then let out a long sigh.
He thought deeper than the clan elders behind him. The real purpose of Liu Rengui's move was not only to ask someone to take responsibility and appease the Zheng family, but also to use it to destroy the Zheng family's houses one by one and severely damage the foundation of the Zheng family in Xingyang.
power.
Nowadays, there are three direct descendants of the Zheng family in Xingyang. One of them must bear the responsibility and be completely destroyed. Although the other one is still alive, how can he not be suspicious and resentful of him, the direct descendant of the eldest brother?
The Zheng family in Xingyang, which had already suffered heavy losses, was able to survive after this incident, but it was also severely damaged and would probably not be able to recover within a hundred years.
It can be regarded as being completely divided...
This Liu Rengui...is a strategist with a dark heart and ruthless hands. He is definitely not a creature in the pool.
Feeling bitter in my heart, I could only smile bitterly and said: "We will discuss this matter later. I would also like to ask General Liu to lead his subordinates Tiger Tiger into the city and take over the defense. I can also prepare a banquet to welcome the general and wash away his dust."