In a small wooden house under Huangzhu Mountain, Zeng Ziyun leaned against the small window and looked at the sky outside through the cracks in the wooden bars nailed on the window.
There was not a single white cloud in the sky outside, and the azure blue looked hollow and cold, just like his current mood.
The tragic defeat three days ago was still vivid in his mind. He could not forget the way the army he led that day collapsed instantly after encountering an ambush, let alone the way large numbers of soldiers knelt down and surrendered in front of him.
At that time, he was filled with grief and anger and chose to commit suicide.
However, he had the intention to commit suicide but did not have the strength to commit suicide. At the last moment when he was grabbing a knife and committing suicide, he was actually stopped by his own soldiers.
As for suicide, especially emotional suicide in grief and anger, you can only try it once. After one attempt, you are unsuccessful. When you calm down, you will no longer have the intention to commit suicide.
But this does not mean that Zeng Ziyun has recovered and his mood has improved again.
On the contrary, now he is heartbroken!
For three days, he was like a puppet. From being taken to Huangzhu Mountain, to being escorted to the puppet Emperor Li Xuan of the Tang Dynasty, to being sent to this small wooden house for custody, he did not resist at all, even during these three days.
He didn't even say a word.
In the words of literary youth: Although he is still alive, he is already dead, and even his heart no longer beats!
After a long time, he sighed, then looked away from the window, walked to the tattered bed, only covered with dry straw, and lay down.
But after lying down, he still kept his eyes open, thinking about many things in a mess in his mind.
I don’t know how the imperial court will treat me after this defeat. Maybe I will be dismissed directly. It is normal to be dismissed after a defeat, and even beheading is not an exaggeration.
I just don’t know if it will affect my family!
If he had died at that time, it would have been over and done with. Maybe the imperial court would still treat his family well. After all, the dead were the most important and he had died for his country on the battlefield, so the imperial court would always have some concerns.
But he did not die, but surrendered. This kind of thing would never be tolerated by the court.
When he thought that his surrender would bring disaster to his family, Zeng Ziyun felt very uncomfortable. He should have been more determined at that time, grabbed the knife, and then slashed his neck fiercely.
…
Zeng Ziyun does not know that the county magistrate Su Jiakang, who has just escaped back to Zhengtai County, has written a memorial in which not only the responsibility for the defeat is put on Zeng Ziyun, but also directly states that Zeng Ziyun is dead.
Already.
Now outside, Zeng Ziyun was already defeated and died, and he was also the main person responsible for the defeat.
From this point of view, Su Jiakang treated him well, at least covering up the fact that he was captured. After all, telling Su Jiakang to be dead would always be better than the court knowing that he was captured.
The former is, at most, incompetent and will tire out the entire army, while also killing himself, but the latter is a matter of face for the court.
The emperor could forgive a defeated general, and even treat him favorably if he died on the spot.
But the emperor will never forgive a general who surrenders!
In the mighty Ming Dynasty, there could be generals who died in battle, but there could never be generals who were captured and surrendered to the enemy.
After sighing again, his eyes were full of confusion and fear about the future.
Just as he was lying there dreaming and thinking, suddenly there was a sound of footsteps outside. Someone was coming, and there were more than one person coming.
Why would anyone come? Are they trying to kill themselves?
Although Zeng Ziyun surrendered, he didn't know if he could survive after surrendering. After all, his captors were not ordinary bandits, but rebels in the guise of the Tang Dynasty.
If an officer and soldier of his fall into the hands of rebels, how good will his fate be?
Maybe, today they will sacrifice their own flags.
After hurriedly starting to do it, Zeng Ziyun took a deep breath to suppress the fear in his heart and looked at the small wooden door.
Soon, the small wooden door was opened, and several strong bandits holding long knives came in. These bandits walked directly to Zeng Ziyun, and one of them shouted: "Get up and follow us!"
Upon hearing this, the fear that he had taken several deep breaths to calm down emerged again. Zeng Ziyun's legs were already a little weak, and he said: "Where are you going to take me?"
This was the question, but Zeng Ziyun was already guessing that they were probably going to take him to the guillotine!
He wanted to resist and fight to the death, but when he saw the long knives shining in the hands of these people, he lost the courage to do so.
Then try to stand up.
But on the one hand, he didn't want to stand up and die. On the other hand, his legs were really weak, which made Zeng Ziyun unable to stand up for a while.
Seeing this, one of the bandits showed disdain and said: "What are you afraid of? Don't worry, we won't kill you now. My emperor wants to summon you now!"
Speaking of this, he smelled the stench emanating from Zeng Ziyun's body because he had not been washed for several days. He immediately covered his nose and said immediately: "Also, you should wash up first. If this smell enters the palace, it will also
Don’t smoke our Majesty to death!”
He was escorted by a few bandits to the stream outside. He took off his dirty clothes, which even had some blood stains on them, and then washed them with cold water. It was already winter, and the cold water almost killed him.
I was freezing.
But after all, he has been fighting hard since he was a child, and he has good physical fitness due to his outstanding martial arts skills. He can endure this even if he grits his teeth.
After changing into a pair of coarse cloth clothes brought by the bandits, although the clothes obviously did not fit and were a bit tattered, he still felt that his body was warming up again.
As soon as he finished washing and changed into clothes, the bandits couldn't wait to escort him to the palace of the Tang Dynasty.
Walking on the road, Zeng Ziyun once again looked at this bandit's den. From the surface, it was absolutely impossible to tell that this was a bandit's den. There were well-proportioned wooden houses. Many fields in the small plain in front had been reclaimed, waiting for them.
Farming has begun in the spring, and from time to time you can see old and weak women and children working, and children running around.
This scene is a typical village scene.
But who would have thought that this place would be the largest bandit den within a hundred miles.
And who would have thought that this place was not only a bandit den, but also the seat of the Pseudo-Tang Dynasty, and that the people here were all rebels?
With a sigh, Zeng Ziyun came to the Tang Dynasty Palace for the second time. When he was escorted here three days ago, he was sent to the palace as a symbol of victory and accepted the blessings of Emperor Li Xuan of the Tang Dynasty and the officials of the Tang Dynasty.
review'.
Now Zeng Ziyun still remembers the surprised expression on the face of the young rebel leader and pseudo-Tang Emperor Li Xuan when he saw him.
He probably didn't expect that he, a member of the fifth-rank Qianhu household and an official of the imperial court, would be captured by bandits like them!
I just don’t know why the young pseudo-Tang Emperor Li Xuan wants to see me!
Do you want them to show off their illustrious achievements again? Or do you want them to be judged and then dragged down to the entrance of the village and beheaded?
If he really wants to kill him, what should he do next?
Otherwise, when the time comes, he suddenly attacks and directly assassinates the pseudo-emperor Li Xuan?