Zheng Chao smiled bitterly and said to Zheng Ke: "Brother, after all, we still fell behind."
Zheng Ke was stunned for a moment, his face changed slightly, he looked at Zheng Chao blankly, his eyes gradually turned red. He smiled, trying to hide his excitement.
"You... haven't called me brother in many years."
Zheng Chao was also stunned, and then laughed.
"Brother, you have always advised me not to listen to the imperial court's orders and to carve out a world for myself. You said that with Zuo Zhenwei's elite soldiers, there will always be a piece of territory for us in the world of Zhou Dynasty. I know, you said
That's good. But I have never promised you, brother, do you know why?"
Zheng Chao smiled: "Because we are officers and soldiers after all. Our clothes, armor, weapons, and bones are all the same! If we really raise the flag to rebel, Zuo Zhenwei's combat power is even worse than that of Xu Shengzhi and Liu Shalang.
People like me can do much better, right? But in this case, the tens of thousands of brothers under my command will have to remove the official character from their heads and replace it with bandit! Change it with thief! I joined the army at the age of sixteen and have fought hundreds of battles so far.
I can’t say that I am invincible, but I always win more often than not. Why? Because the word “official” above my head makes me act aboveboard and confident!”
Zheng Ke smiled bitterly: "I know that the reason why you still have hope for this struggling imperial court is actually for the sake of the future of the tens of thousands of brothers below."
Zheng Chao shook his head: "I'm not as selfless as you said. In fact, fundamentally speaking, I still think more about myself. I don't want to be a thief, and Zuo Zhenwei's strength is not enough to change the dynasty, nor is it enough to transform our Zheng family.
The family is the country. In the past two years, I have been gentle with Xu Shengzhi and Liu Shalang and suppressed the Black Flag Army because Xiao Pojun is difficult to control. His ambition is not to be a prince but to look at the whole world. Xu Shengzhi and Liu Shalang can be won over.
People, I always want to take these two people as my own. Why do they always treat me Zuo Zhenwei with respect? Because they are both officials! I have no choice but to bear the word thief. In the final analysis
, they still don’t want to be thieves. Therefore, even though our Zuo Zhenwei suffered a disastrous defeat, Xu Shengzhi did not add insult to injury."
Zheng Ke was a little confused: "General...what exactly do you want to say?"
Zheng Chao hesitated and said: "I'm just thinking about Zuo Zhenwei's future. If this continues, he will be a thief sooner or later. Unless..."
Zheng Ke was shocked: "The general really wants to surrender to the Han?"
Zheng Chao shook his head and said: "Go back and discuss it with the generals. If they want to follow me, who is about to be demoted from the imperial court, to become a thief, I will listen to everyone. If you want to be a thief, you will be a thief. At worst, they will occupy the mountain and become the king."
.If you still want to retain an official position, there are two ways to go. One is to wait for the new general of Zuo Zhenwei. As for who that person is, or the court has really banned me, Zuo Zhenwei.
The flag, this is unknown. Second, it means surrendering the Han army, whether it is the official army of the Zhou Dynasty or the official army of the Han Dynasty, in short, it is a matter of changing the flag."
Zheng Kedao: "If the general really intends to surrender to the Han Dynasty, it cannot be said that the imperial court will send someone to take over the position of General Zuo Zhenwei. It can only be said that after successive defeats, the imperial court will cut off the banner of our Zuo Zhenwei!"
Zheng Chao's eyes lit up, he looked at Zheng Ke and said, "Brothers, please teach me more."
Zheng Ke said helplessly: "In the final analysis, we are a family. My future depends on you. I will both prosper and suffer, so I must think more about you."
What he said was a little ruthless, but Zheng Chao felt a strong sense of family affection.
Returning to the Zuo Zhenwei camp, Zheng Chao summoned a dozen of his generals to discuss matters. He mentioned that the imperial court planned to remove the Zuo Zhenwei flag, which really aroused the anger of the crowd.
"When traitors are in power, the country will not be governed by its generals, great general! Let's... rebel!"
"Yes, General, instead of just sitting back and waiting for death, it is better to give him a try. It's done. We support the General as the master of the world. It is not impossible to conquer the world with the combat power of our Zuo Zhenwei. Even if it fails, after all, we
Fight vigorously and die with no regrets!"
"It's just that in this way, we will be no different from Xu Shengzhi, Liu Shalang and others, alas...!"
"What are you talking about! The imperial court is no longer the original imperial court. Those few traitors are controlling the government and will destroy the country sooner or later! Although the Twelve Guards are still under the orders of the imperial court on the surface, in fact who will
Do you pay attention to that bullshit order? Even if the flag is not raised, the twelve guards are still controlling their own affairs. We are just making a start, let's see, as long as we raise the flag, there may be a few generals following behind!"
"Having said that, you have never heard of the saying that the first rafter dies first? Your Majesty is still in power, and if we raise an army with an unfair name, who among the soldiers will be willing to serve?"
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty might have died a long time ago. Xu Zhonghe and Pei Yan kept the government secret in order to keep the government secret. Isn't it possible?"
"Uh... don't talk nonsense about this matter!"
"Why are you talking nonsense? The country is in chaos and the country is in danger. Do you think His Majesty has ever come out?"
"But, no matter what, I feel uncomfortable being in the same company as Xu Shengzhi and Liu Shalang. After all, we are officials and they are thieves."
"Thieves? The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. If we support the general and take over the world, who would dare to say that we are thieves!"
Seeing these generals under his command arguing endlessly, Zheng Chao was actually very happy. No one remained silent and no one chose to leave. This showed that the generals under his command still supported him in their hearts. No one wanted to leave.
If you leave alone, your work as a general in the past few years will not be in vain.
"Everyone, please be quiet."
Zheng Ke knew that there were some things that the general couldn't say clearly, so it was best for him to play this role himself. Everyone knew Zheng Ke's position in Zuo Zhenwei, so when they saw him speaking, they all calmed down and waited for his next words.
"Everyone, actually... we still have a way to go, which can not only guarantee the banner of Zuo Zhenwei, but also ensure that everyone is an official. It's just that the official has changed to a court that has to obey orders."
"How do you say this, General Zheng?"
The organic person immediately thought: "Could it be... the north?"
Zheng Ke cleared his throat and said: "Today, the general and the Han loyal king Liu Ling met at Lihua Pavilion, ten miles south. His highness Liu Ling, the loyal king of the Han Dynasty, wanted to invite our general to switch to the Han Dynasty, and the conditions he offered were very real. First,
The banner of Zuo Zhenwei remains unchanged. Secondly, all official positions will be promoted to one level, and the troops under his command will not be dispersed. Thirdly, as long as we vote over and do not have to participate in the war, King Zhong will give up Cizhou to Zuo Zhenwei.
Settlement."
"this……"
"To surrender to the Han Dynasty?"
"The Han Kingdom is far less numerous than the Zhou Dynasty. Doesn't this mean abandoning the strong and surrendering to the weak?"
"You really don't have to join the war? Are you going to give Cizhou to us? Liu Ling, isn't he afraid that we will give him a fatal blow from behind?"
"Could it be a trap?"
Zheng Chao gently knocked on the desk, stopping everyone's discussion. After sorting out his words, Zheng Chao said: "This general did not agree to Liu Ling, nor did he refuse, just to come back and discuss it with you.
After all, this is not a matter for me alone, it concerns the future of Zuo Zhenwei’s tens of thousands of troops, and also the future of everyone. I don’t want to act arbitrarily, the future of Zuo Zhenwei needs all of us to plan together.”
"Thank you, General!"
Everyone bowed in admiration.
Zheng Chao said: "Some people just said that Han is weak and Zhou is strong, and we have no future if we join them. This is true, but that was a few years ago. If the Zhou Dynasty is still as strong as it was five years ago, let alone the small Han country, even if the country is
Who can compare with the Liao Dynasty? But now the Zhou Dynasty is no longer the most powerful country in the world, and it can't even compare with the Han Dynasty! The Han Zhongwang only had 60,000 troops, and he easily conquered three cities in a row. This is already very clear.
question."
"Everyone, I just want to hear what you have to say. If you don't want to rebel, then Zheng will take off his armor today, hang up his seal and leave, so as not to be angry with those few people in the court. You all have the right
It is expected that the imperial court will not abandon all those who have made great achievements in war. Whether it is disbanding Zuo Zhenwei and joining other guards, or turning them into county soldiers of a certain state, you are not obliged to follow Zheng on the single-plank bridge."
His words actually made it clear that he planned to surrender to the Han army. The last sentence, you don't have to follow Zheng on the single-plank bridge, actually explained his position. As for what he said before, he took off his armor and hung up
If it is printed away, it is not the point at all and can be ignored.
Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect the general to throw out the question so directly. This was a difficult problem he posed to everyone. To put it bluntly, he was asking who would like to follow him?
After being stunned for a while, everyone finally reacted after seeing Zheng Ke's hand holding the knife tightly.
"I am willing to follow the general to the death!"
"Wherever the general goes, we will follow; wherever the general points, we will fight!"
"Only the general is following his lead!"
Zheng Chao smiled and glanced at Zheng Ke. Zheng Ke understood and quietly waved his hand, and the soldiers who were ambushing outside the tent slowly retreated.
"Surrendering to the Han Dynasty is a big deal, and I will not nod easily. Even if I really want to join the loyal king of the Han Dynasty in the future, I will fight for more if I can get more benefits for you. It's not that I, the general, am sorry for the court by cheating on others.
It was the imperial court that forced me to do something I didn't want to do. When we originally sent Zuo Zhenwei to go north, the imperial court didn't even send a pound of food. We relied on the food and grass we brought to support ourselves until now. We can't go back to Puzhou.
We have gone. Although Cizhou is small, there is no war. This is what the general cares about. I just want to find a place for you to settle down and live your life!"
He let out a long sigh, which was indescribably desolate.
All the generals were left speechless.
Ten days later, Zuo Zhenwei of the Great Zhou Dynasty announced that he would change his flag and join the loyal Han Dynasty King Liu Ling. Liu Ling handed over the Cizhou garrison to Zuo Zhenwei and quickly withdrew the Han army from Cizhou. His decisiveness was surprising. Some people
Some people say that he employs people without trust, and some people say that he is an idiot. Only he knows whether Liu Ling is stupid or shrewd. But one thing is an indisputable fact, that is, Zheng Chao never joined Liu Ling's sect.
One day, there was no reluctance until the end. A few years later, when someone asked Zheng Chao, who had become the Duke of the country, why the prince believed in him so much in the first place? Zheng Chao said with a wry smile, after Cizhou was sacked by the Black Flag Army, it had already
It is just an abandoned city. There are no people, no food and grass. The daily expenses of the army are all supplied by the Jinzhou warehouse. This life and death is in the hands of the prince. What can I do? Furthermore, the prince wants to conquer the Great Zhou Dynasty, and occupying Cizhou is just a matter of time.
It hit the Zhou Dynasty in public opinion, but it had no real significance. The Han army in Cizhou also relied entirely on Jinzhou to supply it. It was really a waste to raise an idle army without using it. I left Cizhou to me, but the prince withdrew.
Tens of thousands of elite soldiers capable of fighting, so shrewd."
Liu Ling burst out laughing after hearing this.
This is a later topic, let’s not mention it for now. (To be continued)
