Chapter 35: Magnificent! Zhongyongbo (Part 1)

  Gu Zhenhua's mind quickly analyzed the situation in front of him, Wu Sangui's sudden appearance had completely disrupted his plan. However, this might not be a bad thing, the enemy of an enemy is a friend, at least for now Gu Zhenhua and Li Zicheng were opponents, so Wu Sangui was a force that could be borrowed.

  He lost his crown for a beauty!

  Gu Zhenhua silently sighed in his heart, suddenly his eyes lit up, that's right! Wu Sangui did not oppose Li Zicheng at the first time, but after Wu Xiang was tortured and Chen Yuanyuan was taken away, he decided to fight against the Dashun Army and collude with the Manchu to enter the pass.

  That is to say that before this, Wu Sangui may have had the intention of surrendering to Li Zicheng and proactively left Shanhai Pass to pay homage.

  Gu Zhenhua gradually figured out the situation in front of him, and his speculation was indeed close to the historical facts. Li Zicheng sent General Tang Tong to persuade Wu Sangui to surrender, and the traitor agreed, but changed his mind halfway through. As for the reason, there were many rumors, but the most widely known one was Chen Yuanyuan...

  "General Guo, Wu Sangui's troops are approaching, you must make a decision quickly!" Kou Gui said anxiously.

  Gu Zhenhua suddenly raised his head and smiled confidently: "Lord Kou, don't worry, Wu Sangui is a subject of the great Ming dynasty. Since we are protecting the crown prince, we should go to see him openly and ask Wu Sangui why he didn't lead the army to rescue the emperor, allowing the bandits to occupy the capital. We must punish him for his crime!"

  Kou Wei was so shocked by these words that he almost fell over. This guy is crazy! Wu Sangui doesn't even listen to Chongzhen's words, why would he care about a crown prince? And go ask for punishment? The other side has tens of thousands of troops, and with just one mouthful of saliva from each person, they can drown these few people to death. Isn't this looking for trouble?!

  "Your Excellency, the Crown Prince's fate is tied to the rise and fall of the dynasty, this is no laughing matter."

  "General Wu, I'm not joking, I'm dead serious. If you really surrender to Li Zicheng, the elite soldiers and brave generals of Dashun Army will be nothing but a lingering ember even if they escape to the south. Our only hope now is to persuade you to rise up against Li Zicheng, that's our only chance for survival!"

  "Mad, mad, really mad!" Kou Gui's lips trembled with rage, and he wished to grab Gu Zhenhua's head to see what on earth he was thinking. He actually wanted to change a great general, and thought that this dogshit Zhongyongbo was some kind of valuable person!

  The old eunuch increasingly felt that handing over the crown prince to such an unreliable person was probably a huge mistake!

  "Sir, are you sure you can persuade Wu Sangui?" asked Gao Hongtu with a quivering voice.

  "Give it a try, there's always a way." The more casually Gu Zhenhua spoke, the less confident Gao Hongtu felt.

  Just as everyone was trembling with fear, a sudden sound of horseshoes came from afar, and a team of black-clad cavalry rushed over quickly from the horizon.

  This cavalry team and Li Yan's subordinates are completely different, with a strong killing aura all over their bodies. The war horses gallop like a group of dragons, and the knights on horseback are like fierce tigers. Wherever they pass, even the eagles in the sky have to avoid them, and the momentum is so powerful!

  A black wave rolled in, and the earth shook with it. Not a single soldier was spared from fear, their hearts racing and cold sweat dripping down.

  What a magnificent sight! What an imposing aura! It's no wonder they're known as the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry. Even Ku Zhenhua couldn't help but praise them.

  Wu Sangui was indeed a notorious Han traitor, but it cannot be denied that he held a powerful force in his hands.

  Dealing with an opponent who is treacherous, cunning and extremely ruthless is like walking on a tightrope over a precipice - one misstep will result in utter destruction.

  Moreover, Gu Zhenhua was also aware that Wu Sangui was now in a state of hesitation, between the Ming, Shun and Qing. The three were tearing at Wu Sangui, to put it bluntly, the current Wu Sangui was like a three-headed vicious dog, no matter which side you stood on, there was a possibility of being bitten to death by the other two heads.

  This is the vortex of history, and the trend of China's development over the centuries will be decided in these few days. Being in it, Gu Zhenhua really has a feeling of suffocation.

  Two lifetimes as a human being, the current situation in front of us is absolutely the biggest challenge!

  "Who is it?"

  "Halt!"

  Just as Gu Zhenhua was rapidly thinking, the Guanning Iron Cavalry had already rushed to where Gu Zhenhua and his men were resting. The soldiers raised their knives and guns, blocking them.

  The arrogant and domineering Geng Ning army didn't even bother to look at this group of fleeing people, and with a swoosh, they all drew their weapons, both sides were on high alert, the air was tense.

  Gu Zhenhua suddenly burst out laughing loudly: "Brothers, put away your swords. Don't you see that they are the renowned Guanning Army, the most powerful troops in the land? Are you tired of living?"

  The soldiers heard Gu Zhenhua's order and put away their weapons. Gu Zhenhua walked out of the ranks with his head held high, standing in front of everyone.

  These leaders of the Guanning Army were led by Qianhu Yue Po Xu, who was only in his early twenties. He had a handsome and refreshing appearance, like a scholar. However, don't be deceived by his looks, he had already been in the army for five or six years, rising from an ordinary soldier to a Qianhu, and was very experienced.

  He was originally in charge of the vanguard when he happened to run into Gu Zhenhua's scouts and followed them all the way here. He didn't expect to encounter over a hundred cavalrymen here, so he was extra vigilant.

  "What kind of people are you, and why don't you have a flag?"

  "How can we dare to put up our flag when there are bandits everywhere? Are we supposed to go looking for death?"

  "Bandits?" Yue Po's brows furrowed: "Are you remnants of the Ming army?"

  "That's right, I am Gu Zhenhua, the Left Pillar of State of the Great Ming, Viscount of Loyalty and Bravery, General of the Dragon and Tiger Regiment, and Commander-in-Chief of Ji Town. If I'm not mistaken, you're under Wu Tongbing, the General of the Gua Ning Army, aren't you? Please take me to see Ping Xi Bo, I have something to say to him!"

  Yue Po Xu couldn't help but reveal a hint of cold smile upon hearing Gu Zhenhua's words: "If you want to impersonate an official, find a more reliable one. I've also met General Zhang Shixian of Ji Town, so what kind of person are you? If you don't tell the truth again, we won't be polite!"

  Gu Zhenhua couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Whether this prince is real or fake, it's not for you to say. Hurry and tell Wu Sangui that the Taizi of the Ming dynasty is here, let him come and pay his respects immediately!"

  "What? This suddenly startled Yue Poou: "You, you say the prince is here?"

  Gu Zhenhua turned his face away, too lazy to look at him, and with one hand, he unfastened a yellow cloth-wrapped seal from his waistband and held it in his hand.

  "The late Emperor's seal is here, and you still don't kowtow?"

  At this time, a hundred households behind Yue Po's body rode over on horseback, laughing and saying: "General Yue, this is what they call 'the whole world dropping a pie', the Marquis of Pingxi wants to go pay respects to the Great Shun Tianzi, just happens to be short one gift, this Zhu Ming prince isn't bad, let's just tie them up!"

  "Hold on!" Yue Po Xu reached out to stop him: "Don't be rash, first we can't determine what's true or false, it's not good to make a judgment. Secondly, you and I are also subjects of the great Ming dynasty, even if there is a change in the imperial court, we cannot be disrespectful to the crown prince."

  Yue Po Xu said, looking back: "Don't hurry up and report to the adults, ask Ping Xi Bo to decide!"

  The soldiers under his command hastily retreated, leaving Gu Zhenhua alone, sitting on a large stone under the tree, continuing to gnaw on dry rations.

  "Aren't you afraid?" Yue Po Xu asked this person in increasing astonishment.

  "What is true cannot be false, what is false cannot be true. The one who should be feared is Wu Sangui, since ancient times traitorous ministers have never had a good ending!"

  "Don't you dare slander Ping Xibei." Several soldiers drew their waist knives, glaring at him with anger in their eyes, but Gu Zhenhua remained completely nonchalant.

  "Do not be rash, wait for military orders!" Yue Po Xu said in a deep voice.

  It wasn't until half a moment later that those cavalrymen returned.

  "Yue Qianhu, Ping Xibo has an order, let's take these people over, and they will see them in person!"

  Gu Zhenhua smiled self-deprecatingly: "Don't blame others for being rude, a fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken. Let's go, I also want to see the famous Ping Xibo."

  Yue Po Xu pressed down on Gu Zhenhua and the others, directly arriving at the temporary military camp. Along the way, the Gongning Army's armor was resplendent, their knives and guns gleaming brightly, each one exuding an aura of majesty without even being angry.

  Yue Po Xu was also secretly paying attention to Gu Zhenhua, and saw that this guy didn't put the thousands of troops in his eyes at all. There was even a hint of disdainful smile on the corner of his mouth. Just by looking at his demeanor, he really looked like a great general.

  They arrived at the central army tent, with robust men standing on both sides, holding ghost-headed knives, majestic and murderous.

  "Please come in, Ping Xibo is waiting for you inside!"

  Gu Zhenhua's face was suddenly covered with a layer of frost: "Even the courtesy is gone, forget it, I'll call myself!"

  "Grand General of the Great Ming Dynasty, specially promoted to be a high-ranking official in charge of ceremonial affairs, Grand Protector of the Crown Prince, Left Commander-in-Chief, Viscount of Loyalty and Bravery, Generalissimo of Ji Town, Gu Zhenhua, has come especially to meet with the treacherous and unfilial traitor, Duke of Pingxi, Wu Sangui. Won't you, his son, come out to see me, your superior?"

  Gu Zhenhua used his dantian energy to shout, "So clear and loud that it echoed far away." The big men beside him immediately got angry and raised their ghostly knives.

  "Dare to scold Pingxi, we'll chop you up!"

  The ghostly head knife reflected a cold light, with dozens of them, if they fell down, Gu Zhenhua would immediately become a dumpling filling.

  Just at this critical moment, someone inside the tent shouted loudly: "Halt!"

  Right behind him, a military officer in his thirties walked out with the crowd's support, and happened to meet Gu Zhenhua's eyes.

  "You're Wu Sangui from Pingxi, aren't you? What a great reputation."

  "Great job."

  "What a pity that this majestic appearance should be wasted on an unfaithful and unfilial person!"