Bianliang City was filled with panic. Yesterday's battle outside the city, the Northwest Army was defeated by the Jurchen army, which quickly extinguished the fire of hope that had been ignited in the hearts of the people. The 150,000 cavalrymen of the Northwest Army were just there.
Everything disappeared in one day. When the northwest army arrived, the people thought that Bianliang was saved this time, but they did not expect this result.
The people in the city already knew that the Jurchens were preparing to attack the city again, and there were rumors in the city that the Jurchens had increased their troops by more than 100,000, and they arrived overnight. Moreover, the Liao army that had been dispersed in Taiyuan Prefecture was also coming to the capital to join forces.
Their number of soldiers and horses will reach 400,000, which is more than double the number of the defenders in Bianliang City.
Even more frightening news is that the Jurchen army raised a black flag, threatening that if the defenders of the capital did not surrender for three days, they would massacre millions of people in the capital after the city was broken, leaving no one behind. The Jurchens originally marched all the way
They had a lot of misdeeds when they came to the south, and they slaughtered several cities with extremely cruel methods. The people who had fled to the capital had already spread their deeds to the streets and alleys. The people were already aware of the Jurchens' evil deeds of killing innocent people indiscriminately.
I have heard about it before, and now I hear such news again. Everyone is as scared as if the end is coming.
A well-informed person received further news, saying that the Jurchens had sent envoys to the city to put forward conditions, and that the court and the Jurchens were discussing it. The people were eagerly looking forward to a good result.
…
In the inner palace, Guo Xu's bedroom, Guo Xu looked haggard and pale, sitting on a chair, staring blankly through the window at the corridor outside. It was already mid-February, although the last scene
The heavy snow still remains in the dark corners under the eaves of the flower bed and under the tree roots. It has not melted completely, but there is already a breath of spring in the air and sunshine. Through the window, you can see the whirling branches of the green willow next to the lotus pond in the corner of the dormitory courtyard.
There is already some faint yellow color on the top, which is a sign that the willow buds are about to bloom.
Spring is coming, and the cold winter is about to pass. Soon the entire capital and the entire Zhou Dynasty will become a world of blooming flowers and prosperity. Everything will become vibrant, beautiful and prosperous. However, in Guo Xu's heart,
But it was filled with solid ice, as cold as the depths of a cold pool, without a trace of warmth. Spring is here, what's the deal with Guo Xu?
Guo Xu already knew the news of the defeat of the Northwest Army. Li Gou'er, the chamberlain, risked his life and walked under the eyes of the guard in front of the palace. He used the opportunity of changing his clothes to whisper the news in his ear. Guo Xu
The last glimmer of hope in Xu's heart was extinguished. He was mentally prepared for the failure of the Northwest Army. After all, he also knew that the Jurchens had an invincible heavy horse like Tiefutu in frontal combat. He regretted that day.
He did not tell Yuan Zhenqian this information that night. The conversation that night did not involve combat matters, so he did not think of reminding Yuan Zhenqian. Who knew that the old thief would actually deceive Yuan Zhengqian into fighting the Jurchens head-on, leading to such an uncontrollable situation?
situation. After being ordered by Lu Zhongtian to be taken back to the capital on the top of the city that day, he could not get out of the dormitory. In fact, he was imprisoned.
One can imagine the anger in Guo Xu's heart, but he had no choice. He threw things, smashed things, and smashed the dormitory and bedroom upside down, but it was of no avail. He thought about seeking death, but he didn't have the courage, or rather
He couldn't make up his mind. If he really wanted to die, it would be easy. He could hit his head against the wall at the corner of the table or hang himself with a curtain, but he really couldn't make up his mind. He was the majestic Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty.
, now being imprisoned in the dormitory like a human dog, what if he died? Maybe Lu Zhongtian wanted him to do this, and then he got his wish. Guo Xu found a reason for himself not to die,
That is, 'Even if he dies, the old thief must bear the charge of regicide, and he cannot be given any advantage.' This reason does give him a reason to live.
However, the situation has not changed at all. After the defeat of the Northwest Army, are the Jurchens taking the opportunity to attack the city? What does Lu Zhongtian, an old thief, want to do? Does he want to depose himself and establish a new emperor, or is he going to usurp the throne and become emperor instead of himself?
?Under the current situation, Bianliang may not be safe. Even if he has an idea, can he save Bianliang?
Guo Xu's mind was so dizzy that his head was about to explode. He felt like he was going crazy. All kinds of voices in his head were talking to him. There were the voices of his father, his brother, and the Queen Mother's voice.
, there was the Queen's voice, and the voices of many people. Without exception, these people were accusing him, scolding him, and viciously cursing him. No matter what he did, he couldn't get rid of their voices appearing in his mind.
.
Heavy footsteps and familiar coughs came from outside, and the buzzing in Guo Xu's head immediately disappeared. He took a long breath, glad to be free from the torture of those sounds, but when he saw from the window
When Lu Zhongtian, dressed in black robe, appeared under the corridor of the courtyard, his heart felt as if he had been hit by a boulder again, making him unable to breathe.
Lu Zhongtian walked quickly from the corridor to the door of the bedroom. His steps were brisk, and his face was calm with a faint smile. He was obviously in a good mood. Several palace guards guarding the door saluted him, and he even nodded back.
He bowed, making several palace guards feel flattered. Then, his face became serious, and he slowly walked into the house and came to Guo Xu's bedroom.
"Your Majesty, I'm so polite, veteran." Lu Zhongtian cupped his hands and said in a deep voice.
Guo Xu gritted his teeth and glared at him, and shouted coldly: "Do you still have the nerve to call yourself a subject? Is this how you treat me? I am the Emperor of Zhou Dynasty, and you have locked me up here. Thief, you want to usurp the throne?
What? Kill me, I know you have already arranged it. All the soldiers and horses in the city are yours, and all the people in the court are yours. You have arranged everything. Just kill me."
Lu Zhongtian said quietly: "Your Majesty, please be patient. You are still so irritable, so what can you do to help? I have watched you grow up, and your impulsive personality has never changed. I have reminded you no less than a hundred times.
Well, you don't take it to heart at all. So, Your Majesty, everything today is your own responsibility."
Guo Xu shouted angrily: "It's ridiculous. This is my fault? You are so ambitious that you tried to usurp the throne, but in the end you said it was my fault? It would make people laugh. You deliberately helped me seize the throne just so that you could replace it.
.It’s ridiculous that I confided in you, but ended up like this. I am indeed too stupid, but I fell into the trap of an old thief like you.”
Lu Zhongtian said coldly: "Your Majesty, I am your grandfather. If you don't want to call me your grandfather, you don't have to call me an old thief. When I helped you win the throne, I really wanted to help you become a good emperor.
Yes, I have no intention of usurping the throne. But you are too incompetent. Not only are you not grateful for everything I have done for you, but you are also suspicious of me. You want Yuan Zhengqian to come to Beijing and then win him over to fight against me. Don’t you know this?
I have done so much for you, even risking the world's disapproval to help you usurp the throne of the late emperor, condoning your many actions of killing your brother and forcing your father to kill the queen mother, queen and concubine. I have tried my best to cover up your crime for you. As a result,
What did I get? What I got was just your suspicion? What I got was that you wanted to deal with me secretly? Humph! Even if it is a dog, after I have done so much for it, it should still wag its tail and head at me. And you, not even a little bit
I have no intention of repaying my kindness. Are you blaming me? Why don’t you think about what you did?"
Guo Xu shouted sternly: "Are you doing it for me? You are helping me because of your ambition. You want to help me rise to power, but you want to take away my kingdom. I am just a canary you raised.
.After I ascended the throne, you took all the military, political and financial power into your hands. For your own ambitions, you ignored our country and the country, colluded with the Liao people, and used me to kill Privy Yang and eliminate dissidents. I have become a loner in the court.
Do you have the slightest concern for the country and the country of the Great Zhou Dynasty in your heart? Thank you for coming to talk to me about your kindness. As for kindness, how much my father trusted you and favored you back then, and how did you treat him? Yes,
I did make a big mistake. In order to become this emperor, I did something against heaven and committed a heinous crime. I am a sinner, but what about you? It is not an exaggeration to say that you are unfaithful, unjust and ungrateful. Even if one day I do
People and gods are outraged by those things, but weren't these things you instigated before? You repeatedly hinted that I would use extraordinary measures at critical times, and used Li Shimin as an example to compare with me, implying that I could do whatever it takes. I was instigated by you to do those things,
I regret it so much."
Lu Zhongtian sneered and said: "Your Majesty pushed it all away, what did you do?"
It's all blamed on me, but it was wrong for me to help you. Haha, it's really ridiculous. You want to be the emperor, and you come to me every day to ask for advice, but you blame me for helping you? That's all, you can say whatever you want.
I don’t care about this anymore. I have worked for your Guo family for decades and worked as a horse for your Guo family. I have suffered more than these one or two grievances. I have suffered more than these one or two grievances, but those are all in the past.
Well, I'm not someone who settles old scores. You can think whatever you want, I don't care at all."
Guo Xu sneered and said: "Of course you don't care. You are the one who wants to usurp the throne. What do you care about? Kill me. Kill me and become the emperor yourself. Let's see if the people of the world obey your Lu family. I want to see it."
Let’s see how you die in the end.”
Lu Zhongtian said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty! Don't mix things up, don't say these resentful words. You are still the emperor of Zhou Dynasty now. I am not here to kill you today, but to inform you of the current situation.
.Don’t say these sentimental words. If you really care about your country and the country, what you should be thinking about now is how to solve the current predicament."
Guo Xu angrily scolded: "Bah! What are you hypocritical about? When will it be my turn to make the decision again? Am I happy? Are you going to kill me? If not, I'm going to sleep."
Lu Zhongtian shouted: "Guo Xu, do you know that the Jurchens are going to massacre the city? Do you know that they are going to massacre all the millions of people in Bianliang? They have increased their troops. There are already nearly 400,000 soldiers and horses surrounding the capital outside the city. They
They gave us an ultimatum, requiring us to agree to their conditions within three days, otherwise we will invade Bianliang and massacre all the people. Do you understand?"
Guo Xu was startled, then laughed and said: "So what? Aren't you very capable? Didn't you just watch Yuan Zhenqian's army defeated and did nothing to save it? Now you know you are afraid? Have you come to see me? I can't
I don’t have the ability to take care of it. I can’t protect myself, so how can I take care of these things? You didn’t expect this day when you hurt others. Hahaha, I’m so happy, I’m so happy.”
Lu Zhongtian said coldly: "You will never be a qualified emperor, and you will always think about yourself. That's all, I won't tell you more. I just came to tell you that I agreed to the Jurchens' conditions. Tomorrow morning,
I will send you to the Jurchen camp. Just get ready."
Guo Xu was shocked, with goosebumps all over his body, and said sternly: "What Jurchen camp? Why are you sending me to the Jurchen camp? I won't go."
Lu Zhongtian sneered and said: "It's not up to you. One of the conditions for the Jurchens to withdraw is that you, Your Majesty, go to the Jurchens as a hostage. In addition, they also put forward a series of conditions, and I agreed to them all. The Jurchens said We have gone back on our word too many times, and they cannot trust us, so they need the emperor to be a hostage. Your Majesty, for the sake of the millions of people in Bianliang, I can only wrong you. The Jurchens promise to treat you well. As long as you don't lose your temper, they will I won’t embarrass you.”
Guo Xu exclaimed in shock: "I won't go, I won't go. Bastard, bastard, I am the Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, how can I be a hostage for the Jurchens? Lu Zhongtian, you old thief is too cruel."
Lu Zhongtian shouted: "Stop being ridiculous. You did this to save millions of soldiers and civilians in Bianliang. You did it voluntarily, and the people of Zhou Dynasty will miss you. Do you want to be a coward all your life, or do you want to be a coward now?" Hero? You must do something for your people. Otherwise, what have you, the Emperor of Zhou, done for the people? Be obedient and go on your way."
Guo Xu's legs became weak and he collapsed on the ground, shouting in horror: "I won't go, I won't go. Grandfather, I am your grandson. What I said before was not as good as a pig or a dog. Don't let it go if you have a lot of money." In my heart, I will listen to you in everything, okay? Even if you want my country, I will give it to you. Please, don’t send me to the Jurchens, it would be better to kill me with one knife. Grandfather, please Yes, my grandson is wrong. My grandson knows he is wrong."
Lu Zhongtian sneered and turned around. Guo Xu got up and rushed towards Lu Zhongtian, but was blocked by two guards. Guo Xu gritted his teeth and cursed loudly: "Dog thief, old dog thief, you will not die well, I Curse you to be exterminated, curse your father and son to be cut to death by a thousand cuts, and curse you to die forever after death..."
Lu Zhongtian was completely unaware and only said to the guards beside him: "Watch the emperor, if he commits suicide, you will not be able to live."
