Chapter 37: Magnificent! Zhongyongbo (Part 2)

  "When the people are not afraid of death, why should they be intimidated by it? Although I have never received a single day's salary from the great Ming dynasty, I am also willing to die for my country. If one lives in a world where the relationships between ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife are all lost, and the five constants are destroyed, is he still human?"

  "Hurry, don't let him speak again, take him down, take him down!" Wu Sangui was like a wounded beast, roaring loudly, and his soldiers rushed up to drag Gu Zhenhua away.

  "You don't have to lift a finger, I'll go myself!"

  Gu Zhenhua said, shaking his shoulders and pushing them away. He then strode out of the central army tent with big steps, without any hesitation. As soon as he stepped out of the tent, he heard a loud noise coming from inside, followed by a series of chaotic sounds.

  Wu Sangui was enraged!

  Everything that can be done has been done, whether Wu Sangui can make up his mind depends on fate. Thinking of this, Gu Zhenhua also let go and came to this era, perhaps it was just a dream, maybe one day he would wake up and everything would be over.

  "Hey brother, got wine?"

  "Wine?" The executioner was shocked. What's in this guy's head? The general had never been so angry before, and he still wanted to drink wine. Let him wait for death!

  The executioner's face was stern and silent, Gu Zhenhua rummaged through his pockets, damn it! He didn't bring any money. After thinking for a moment, Gu Zhenhua reached into his boot and pulled out a dagger.

  "Brother, this dagger is a real treasure, it can cut through iron like mud. Anyway, I don't need it anymore, I'll trade it with you for a jar of wine, you won't be losing any money!"

  Just as the executioner was stunned, a sudden rush of footsteps came, and a young officer holding a jar of wine appeared in front of Gu Zhenhua. The person who arrived was Yue Po Xu.

  "Lord Gu, to be so carefree between life and death, I admire you. This wine jug is a humble gift from me. My mother taught me since childhood to be a loyal subject and filial son, but it seems I won't be able to achieve that in this lifetime."

  "Everyone is afraid of death, but there are things in this world that are more frightening than death." Gu Zhenhua said with a bitter smile: "It was you who brought me to this military camp, and it's also our fate. Let's have a cup of farewell wine together."

  "Ah!" Yue Po Xu hastily tore open the seal, just about to pour it into a bowl, but Gu Zhenhua directly snatched it over and tilted his head to pour it straight into his mouth.

  Having been used to the strong liquor of later generations, the wine and water of this era were simply insignificant. Gu Zhenhua took a long drink, pouring down two or three bowls' worth before handing the jug over to Yue Pojun.

  "General Gu is a great drinker, although there are military rules against drinking, but I'd rather die with a gentleman!" Yue Po Xu said, hugging the wine jar and opening his mouth wide to take a big gulp.

  Gu Zhenhua was drinking outside, but the military account inside had turned upside down. In fact, the Guanning Army had always had strong disagreements over whether to surrender to Li Zicheng, and in the eyes of these arrogant generals, they looked down on Li Zicheng.

  But like Wu Sangui, many people's families were in the capital, and Liaodong couldn't support the consumption of tens of thousands of troops, so Wu Sangui had to choose to surrender.

  But the appearance of Gu Zhenhua brought no small shock to the Kunning Army, and those generals who were thinking of the Ming Dynasty began to waver again. Especially Gu Zhenhua's last words, which touched Wu Sangui's sore spot, his old father Wu Xiang was tortured, and the beautiful woman Chen Yuanyuan fell into Liu Zhongming's hands. How could Wu Sangui, a great hero, wear a colored hat? It was simply too humiliating!

  Watching Wu Sangui smashing things in the big account, General Gao Di of Shanhai Pass said, "Chang Bo, don't be angry anymore. I think that guy with the surname Gu is just talking nonsense. He himself said he's just a low-ranking officer, what does he know? Just kill this madman and forget about it."

  "No." Lei Yutian hastily said, "If Gu Zhenhua can bring the prince out of the city, he is definitely not an ordinary person. Just now, in our conversation, his demeanor was calm and composed, and he was loyal to the Ming dynasty. Such a person can at least be called a righteous man. In my opinion, we shouldn't kill him yet. We should ask him carefully what happened in the city and whether his family is safe."

  Li Yutian said this, and couldn't help but sneak a glance at Wu Sangui. He saw that the Pingxi Earl's face was flushed red, still panting heavily. As the Governor of Liaodong, Li Yutian knew very well that Wu Sangui's feelings for Chen Yuanyuan were genuine, and not long ago he had mentioned wanting to take her to Shanhaiguan. If it were true what Gu Zhenhua said, that Liu Zhongmin had snatched away Chen Yuanyuan, things would be quite troublesome indeed.

  Gao Di waved his hand: "Governor Li, what crown prince are you talking about? I think it's probably fake too. In a chaotic world, there are all kinds of monsters. Holding up a piece of broken cloth and claiming it's an edict is simply nonsense..."

  "The will is genuine!"

  Wu Sangui suddenly spoke up: "The commander has already seen it, the will is real, and the seal found on Gu Zhenhua's body is also real!"

  "General, since it's true, this person can't be killed." Deputy General Chen Kun hastily said: "There is a will, there is an imperial seal. There is a crown prince. If Li Zicheng really deceives the emperor too much, we should assist the crown prince in ascending to the throne and issue a clear edict to punish the rebels!"

  "That's right." Several other generals stood up: "Li Zicheng has many powerful generals under his command, and even if we go, there will be no position for us. Sooner or later, we will still be eliminated as a threat to the heart of the dynasty. It is better to continue to protect the Ming Dynasty. If the mountains and rivers are restored, that would be an unprecedented achievement, and it would also be possible to obtain a hereditary title."

  Listening to his subordinates' words, Wu Sangui was also particularly annoyed and couldn't come up with a plan.

  Bang!

  "Shut up, everyone, and let Leng cool down for a moment."

  Just then, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside, and soldiers rushed in: "Report to the general, the king's envoy has arrived and wants to meet with the general."

  Messenger! Wu Sangui's eyebrows were tightly locked, and he sank for half a moment before suddenly standing up and saying to the crowd: "Quickly, follow me to welcome the messenger."

  Everyone saw Wu Sangui's attitude and understood that he still wanted to surrender to Li Zicheng. The crowd didn't dare say anything else, they could only follow behind him. A group of people arrived at the camp entrance with a whoosh.

  At this time, the atmosphere at the camp gate was very eerie. Originally, Gu Zhenhua was pushed out to be beheaded, but Wu Sangui hesitated and did not give the order. Gu Zhenhua and Yue Pojun drank a whole jar of wine together, and Gu Zhenhua, who was full of alcohol, was laughing and chatting with the guards at the camp gate.

  "Brothers, I know you are stationed in the border garrison of Guanning, fighting against the Tartars until the sky is dark. I, Gu Xiang, also have the intention to join the border army and sacrifice my life for the country. To be honest, what's the difference between the great Ming or Da Shun? It's all the Han people's world; whoever becomes emperor, except for those officials, everything remains the same below - farmers still pay taxes, soldiers still fight wars. A real man wants to achieve great things and establish a career, he must slaughter foreign tribes like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, roaming freely on the battlefield. You are all fine men!"

  "What Master Gu said is really good." Yue Po's tongue also grew longer, and he said vaguely: "My mother gave me the name Po Xue, it was my father who died at the hands of Lao Qiu Nu Ha Chi in those years, let me avenge my father!"

  The two drunk men shouted loudly, and the surrounding soldiers also heard it with their ears. From the beginning of the Tianqi era, Liaodong had been killing for decades, and the Gengjing Army was on the front line. How many people's families were sacrificed, how many brothers died, and even more so, several generations of people went to war one after another, all dying on the battlefield.

  Never mind how Gu Zhenhua is, he's a loyal and brave man after all. He can say such words that warm the hearts of everyone present. The executioner's eyes turned red, muttering in a low voice: "Lord Gu, I'm not capable of letting you go, but when it's time for the execution, I'll make sure you don't suffer!"

  Just then, Li Zicheng's envoy suddenly felt it and happened to see this scene. These two guys were named Li Jia and Chen Yi, and they sounded like cannon fodder.

  Li Jia sneered and took a glance at Gu Zhenhua: "Young man, who are you? Why do they call you 'Lord'? Do you have a noble title?"

  "Hmph, I am the loyal and brave Duke of the Great Ming. Did Li Zicheng send you two scoundrels to persuade Wu Sangui to surrender? It seems that Li Zicheng is also a fool, completely unaware of the importance of the Guanning Army. The mountains and rivers of Dashun will not last long."

  "You dare to curse King Chuang, I'll kill you!"

  "Your Excellency, Wu Sangui's welcome is late, please forgive him." Wu Sangui led the crowd out to greet him, and Li Jia turned his head in anger, forcing a smile at Wu Sangui: "General Wu, His Majesty misses you very much, hoping you will enter the capital soon, high-ranking officials and wealth are waiting for you!"

  "It's all thanks to the emperor's kindness, Wu is truly grateful from the bottom of his heart."

  Chen Yi suddenly interrupted: "General Wu, since you cherish the emperor's kindness, there is an exit that is not inferior to a madman. Shouldn't he be beheaded and displayed in public?"

  Chen Yi's finger pointed at Gu Zhenhua, Wu Sangui was taken aback, then hastily said: "Haven't you heard the imperial envoy's order? Why haven't you carried out the execution?"

  Gu Zhenhua thought that Wu Sangui would turn against Li Zicheng after hearing his words, but now it seems that Wu Sangui didn't believe him at all. Maybe the information wasn't transmitted clearly, and Wu Sangui hasn't received the news yet. Anyway, his own head is going to be removed!

  At the moment of life and death, Gu Zhenhua was unusually calm, he still wanted to make a desperate struggle!

  Gu Zhenhua suddenly looked up at the sky and laughed loudly: "I didn't expect that Gu would die in the hands of two rats, you take my head to see Liu Zongmin, Li Yan and others, maybe you can get a lot of rewards."

  "Kid, is your head so valuable?"

  "Hum, Gu's troops are only three hundred, all the way from Beijing city killing out, injuring Li Guo, almost killed Gao Yigong, one arrow shot off half of Liu Zongmin's ear. Set up an ambush in Xiao Wangzhuang, annihilated Li Yan's thousand cavalry, if he didn't have a good wife, he would have died at Gu's hands long ago. If Gu had three thousand elite soldiers in his hands, he would dare to disturb the world, ten thousand troops, sweep away the bandits, a great man living in the world, how can he be humble and submissive?"

  Gu Zhenhua's words were passionate and stirring, and the generals present had not expected that this Lord Gu would have such brilliant military achievements, just listening to them made one's blood boil with excitement.

  How magnificent!

  What a loyal and brave Lord of Da Ming!

  Especially Yu Fan and others, were even more shining with admiration. Of course, this was mainly said for Wu Sangui to hear, but he still had no expression on his face and didn't say a word.

  Li Jia suddenly laughed and said: "Youngster, hearing you say that, I'd rather take you back to the capital city and teach you a good lesson!"

  The words had hardly been spoken when another horse suddenly rushed towards the camp gate like a madman, with the rider shouting at the top of his lungs:

  "Master! Something terrible has happened, the old master has been arrested!"