"Yeah." Zheng Tang slowly turned his head and said, "What did your old classmate say?"
"I didn't say anything." Zheng Yan whispered, "It's just reminiscing about old times..." He paused and said, "Father, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to resolve."
"Yes." Zheng Tang turned back, looked at the couplet and said, "My father has always kept Mr. Zhengxue's couplet, even though he knew that we might not be able to escape the same ending."
"It's just that..." Zheng Yan said sadly: "It's too unfair to the tribesmen."
"Alas." Zheng Tangcang sighed and said in a trembling voice: "Loyalty and filial piety have been a dilemma since ancient times. My father finally realized how difficult the choice made by Mr. Zhengxue ten years ago was." On one hand, there is loyalty, filial piety and justice, and on the other hand, the clan members.
Life, when you can't have both, no matter what choice you make, it's a complete tragedy.
If you choose the former, you will become a cold-blooded loyal minister. Although your name will be left in history, behind every word is the blood of the entire clan. If you choose the latter, you will still be a sentimental person, but you will betray your own beliefs.
, becoming a disloyal minister. Not only will he be infamy for thousands of years, but he will also bring shame to the entire clan. This is a punishment more cruel than death...
In the countless sleepless nights before, Mr. Zheng repeatedly asked himself who he should be responsible for and who he should be loyal to. But the answer was without exception... People must repay their kindness. Emperor Taizu treated the Zheng family favorably and granted the Zheng family
The highest honor, Emperor Jianwen reduced taxes for Zhejiang, and chose to trust the Zheng family in times of crisis. The Zheng family had no other choice but to protect Jianwen to the end, even at the expense of the entire family.
Although he had made a choice long ago, when he came to this pass, Mr. Zheng was still heartbroken. In the past few days, whenever he closed his eyes, his eyes were filled with mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Fortunately, by now, we have no choice. If we betray the emperor at this time, not only will our reputation be tarnished, but the lives of our entire family will also be in danger. How could a tyrant like Zhu Di tolerate the Zheng family, who took Jianwen in, to exist in the world?
Woolen cloth?
"Father, when will you tell them the truth?" Zheng Yan had no choice but to retreat and ask, "The tribesmen have the right to know the truth."
"Of course, but not now." Zheng Tang said slowly: "Now, we are not at the end of the road yet, there is still a chance to protect the master and the clan." After a pause, his old eyes became sharp and said: "So, kid
, cheer up until the last moment, don’t talk about despair.”
"Do we have any other trump cards?" Zheng Yan asked doubtfully.
"Yes," Zheng Tang said in a deep voice, "It is not only my Zheng family who are concerned about Master's safety, but also the loyal and righteous people in the world. They will try their best to save him."
"I hope so." Seeing that his father pinned his hopes on foreign aid, Zheng Yan couldn't help but be disappointed. Under the watchful eye of Emperor Yongle, and under the pressure of tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, no god could fish people out of the Pujiang River.
But Zheng Tang didn't want to elaborate. The reason why the trump card became the trump card was that it was the top secret in the first place.
"Father, there is one more thing." Zheng Yan changed the topic and revealed a more realistic crisis: "The government troops are digging deep trenches around the town. Will they dig out our secret tunnel?
"..." Zheng Tang heard this and whispered: "Zhou Xin is too cunning. I didn't expect to do this right away." This seems to be a stupid method, but it is the most fatal: "Fortunately, my grandfather considered the secret and kept it secret."
The secret tunnel is opened very deep underground. The court does not know the specific location, so it can only use even force. It cannot be dug in a short time." After a pause, he said: "If it is really impossible, the only way is to divert water from Tanxi River into the tunnel.
"
"Then the master will have no way to escape at all." Zheng Yan whispered: "Why doesn't father let the master leave through the secret passage, or there may be a possibility of escape."
"It's impossible. The imperial court's eyes and ears are all over the county. As soon as Master and the others show their heads, they won't be discovered without going far." Zheng Tang shook his head.
"Alas..." Zheng Yan was deeply depressed after hearing this: "I really regret it now. I didn't listen to Sixth Brother and cooperated with Mingjiao to raise the flag of righteousness. Even if I die, it will be vigorous. How can I be like this now... I can only be cowardly?"
Waiting for the butcher's knife to fall."
"I think you are out of your mind," Zheng Tang scolded categorically: "Why do you think the imperial court besieged my Zheng family but did not attack it? Isn't it because we occupy the rightful position. If we join forces with the Ming Cult, it will be against the Taiyi family."
After Emperor Zu's betrayal, the imperial court will naturally raise the butcher knife without any scruples." He grabbed his son's wrist, and the sharp nails stung him and said, "We don't need to do anything, even Emperor Yongle will do it.
We cannot clearly destroy the Zheng family, this is our chance of survival." After a pause, he said word by word: "Remember, although we put the lives of our clansmen second, apart from the safety of the master, it is still higher than the safety of the master.
everything"
"Yes..." Zheng Yan ignored the pain and chewed on these words over and over again, finally realizing that his father still had not given up on protecting his people...
"As for the Mingjiao people, they are simply stupid to choose Zhejiang to start the uprising. Don't drag us along with you if you want to die." Zheng Tang sneered at the Mingjiao. In his opinion, the people of Zhejiang have a heavy burden, and the gentry have true intentions, but they want to succeed.
, is absolutely impossible.
Because in the past ten years, too many scholars in Zhejiang became officials in the Yongle Dynasty, which divided the gentry into two factions. One of them was the old man Jianwen who was brutally murdered. This faction was very prestigious among the people. Unfortunately, after the bloody massacre of Emperor Yongle,
Already in decline, it was difficult to compete with the rising upstarts of the Yongle Dynasty. Not to mention, facing the world-famous Emperor Yongle and his wolf-like General Jingnan.
As for the refugees that the Mingjiao relies on, Mr. Zheng despises them from the bottom of his heart. What can they achieve in this world with their weak legs?
But the facts shocked him and made him regretful...
On the top of Pujiang City, the Mingjiao bastard whom Mr. Zheng looked down upon gave a head-on blow to General Jingnan, whom he feared.
Although Qin Zhongyuan, the commander of the Mingjiao Red Scarf Army, was a rough man, he grew up on the battlefield in the late Yuan Dynasty. He also helped the Annan people resist the imperial army in Jiaozhi for many years. His war experience was even better than that of Tang Yun. And he was around him.
There is also a Magistrate of Mi County. When Lao Mi is not drinking, he is also a well-known ruthless character. When the 20,000 troops of the Zhejiang Dusi suddenly arrived at Pujiang City, although the Mingjiao people were not afraid of death, they had no intention of taking the initiative to attack.
They all wanted to occupy the city and defend it. However, Mizhi County said to them: "The officers and soldiers coming to attack this time are elite troops led by Tang Yun. They have been chasing Japanese pirates to the north all year round. They are very arrogant and must be underestimating themselves."
.If we take advantage of this, take it by surprise and launch a surprise attack, we will definitely be able to severely defeat the enemy and boost our morale."
When the generals heard this, their expressions changed, but Tiger King Qin Zhongyuan stroked his beard and laughed and said: "It's just what I want." He asked Mi Zhixian to lead the people to defend the city. He personally led two thousand elites and suddenly rushed out of the city and went straight to the army camp.
.
In that compartment, Tang Yun really underestimated the enemy. He didn't expect that these mud-legged men would dare to attack. So the whole army was busy building engineering equipment without setting up defenses. As a result, the officers and soldiers were caught off guard and were killed in large areas, so they had to
Temporarily retreating... However, the troops who have experienced hundreds of battles are indeed outstanding. When the front army was attacked, the rear army established a defense line and stabilized its position. There was no major rout, and the casualties were not too large.
But the terrible thing is that the accessories for building siege equipment were burned to the ground by the mud-legged men wrapped in red scarves... and it would take at least half a month to assemble new equipment, which greatly affected the official army's ability.
Siege intensity.
In the days that followed, Uncle Tang became so angry that he could not wait for new equipment, so he ordered his men to attack the city by force. However, although he surrounded Pujiang City tightly and no longer gave the Red Scarf Army any opportunity to take advantage of it, he still continued to attack.
If you don't come down, you will suffer serious casualties.
The reason for this situation. In addition to the disadvantages of the equipment, the main reason is the Red Turban Army's fearlessness of death. The brave will win when they meet on a narrow road, let alone the one who defends the city. They used rolling stones to knock down wood, and bows and arrows to roll oil to snipe the officers and soldiers.
Attack the city, but the low city wall cannot give them enough protection. After paying a heavy price, the officers and soldiers can always climb to the top of the city. At this time, the Red Scarf Army soldiers will always kill them fiercely. They chop them with knives.
Kick with your feet, bite with your teeth, and even jump down the city with the officers and soldiers in your arms...
In just a few days, countless corpses were piled under Pujiang City, including those from the official army and the Red Scarf Army. No matter which side they were on, they were all turned into dust forever, and even their names would not be remembered...
This scene was unexpected by Tang Yun. He was completely stunned. Looking at the low but difficult-to-conquer city in Pujiang County, Uncle Tang's eyes were red and he became angry with embarrassment, but he was experienced after all.
The veteran general knew that his army had been defeated and that continuing to attack would be ineffective and would only increase sacrifices. He had no choice but to endure his rage and ordered a truce to repair, waiting for reinforcements to arrive with siege equipment before attacking the city again.
The city of Pujiang, which had been fighting for several days, suddenly became quiet. The Red Scarf Army also took advantage of this rare opportunity to lick their wounds. Most of them had not been on the battlefield for a day. Although they occupied a favorable location and looked forward to death, they suffered more casualties than the official army.
, I have to say that the situation is extremely bad.
But there was no trace of anxiety on Qin Zhongyuan's face. He smiled proudly, patrolling around the city, encouraging his heroic men, comforting the wounded soldiers, and attending the funerals of the victims... Ming believers were all cremated. They
A firewood pile was set up in the due west, the remains were placed, and then they were poured with vegetable oil and set on fire. The raging fire devoured the remains in an instant...
Qin Zhongyuan stood at the front, and behind him were thousands of believers attending the funeral. They murmured together in a low voice, reciting the Mingjiao mantra: 'The blazing holy fire will burn my broken body. How happy will it be to live, and how miserable will it be to die...'
Mizhixian stood aside, the firelight reflected his old face red, and also showed the despair in his old eyes... because he was tied to a wooden frame and was about to be thrown into the fire.