Late at night, Jiang Guozhu personally led the team to quietly come to the city gate. After seeing his subordinates take Gan Hui and other six Zheng Chenggong generals out of the city, Jiang Guozhu walked up to the city tower and stood at the forefront of the urn city to look at the Ming army camp, his face was full of sorrow. Tonight's action, Jiang Guozhu didn't dare to inform Guan Xiaozhong at all, for fear that his stubborn temper would come up and he would have to break the agreement between himself and Deng Ming.

"The wood is in the boat, everything that needs to be done has been done, I hope Guan Xiaozhong can come to his senses and be in the same boat with me." Jiang Guozhu silently calculated in his heart, this was his last chance, if he couldn't kill Lang Tingzuo and Liang Huafeng in one fell swoop when Deng Ming retreated, then he would never have a chance to put all the charges on his opponent.

Along with Gan Hui and others, there was also a team of cavalry sent by Jiang Guozhu, who were ordered to closely monitor the whereabouts of the Ming army, and whenever the Ming army withdrew ten miles, they sent a person back to Nanjing to report. Jiang Guozhu was very worried that Deng Ming would suddenly kill the horse pistol and attack the city gate while he was on fire and Liang Huafeng, but he couldn't let go of this last opportunity: "I just hope that the Bodhisattva will bless me and let me survive this catastrophe." ”

When Gan Hui and the others walked to the front of the Ming army camp, they saw that the lights were bright on the opposite side, and a group of Ming officers and soldiers were dressed in draped bodies and lined up in front of the camp gate to welcome them. After seeing a few emaciated men coming over, the Fujian army officer next to Deng Ming immediately cheered and reported to Deng Ming: "That's right, this is General Gan, this is General Wan......

Deng Ming stepped forward and saluted Gan Hui and the others: "General Gan, I have admired the name for a long time." ”

Gan Hui and the others have endured a lot of hardships in the prison and have been tortured to the core. Before being brought out by Jiang Guozhu today, the Qing army also smeared them with rouge, so that the faces of these Yanping generals could be a little bloody.

Several Fujian army officers standing beside Deng Ming were all released yesterday, and they were in better health among those people, and most of the others were now recuperating in the camp. ”

As Zheng Chenggong's confidants, Gan Hui and Yu Xin both knew Deng Ming's identity as the "Young Tang King", so Gan Hui was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to greet him. At this time, the colleagues beside him who were full of joy and sorrow had already bowed to Deng Ming and thanked him deeply: "The Admiral is very gracious, let the last general be reincarnated as a human being." ”

Yu Xin walked at the end of the line, and when he was first captured, he was shaken, and even wanted to surrender and beg for his life. Although he later regained his courage under Gan Hui's reprimand, he felt that he couldn't raise his head during this time. Seeing that the young master was in front of him, Yu Xin felt even more frightened, and his already shaky body couldn't hold on any longer, and fell to his knees with a puff: "Admiral, the sin will be a coward, it's really not worth mentioning." ”

Deng Ming hurriedly beckoned the stretcher over, and at the same time looked at Gan Hui with some confusion.

Gan Hui looked at Yu Xin, who was kneeling on the ground, and sighed softly: "Lao Yu almost died of the late season." ”

After hearing this, Wan Li also knelt down suddenly. After seeing Yu Xin's intention to surrender, Wan Li also knelt down to Lang Tingzuo together, but after seeing Gan Hui scolding Yu Xin, Wan Li, who was ashamed, also hurriedly stood up together. Now Wanli thinks of the weakness at that time, and he is ashamed of himself.

Listening to Gan Hui's brief account of the experience, Deng Ming's heart suddenly fell to the ground. Just now he was afraid that these two people had confided in Zheng Chenggong's military secrets to the Qing court, or did other serious things that endangered the Ming army—although in Deng Ming's view, such mistakes during his captivity were not completely unforgivable, but if there was such behavior, with the values of this era, the two of them would be almost like traitors. Deng Ming comforted Yu Xin and Wan Li with good words: "The two generals don't have to blame themselves, who hasn't wavered?" Hurry up, please. ”

"The Admiral not only came to the rescue, but also personally welcomed him out of the camp, which is really a shame for the sinner." When Yu Xin was pulled up, he still didn't dare to look up at people, but just swore vigorously: "Sinners will definitely fight to the death in the future and atone for their sins." ”

"It's just the relatives of several generals, and I really can't find their whereabouts." Deng Ming said with a hint of apology. The families of the captured Fujian soldiers were all divided among the Qing army, and Lang Tingzuo couldn't tell who took them away, let alone where they were taken, so although Deng Ming wanted to ask for it back, he couldn't do it at all.

Like those Fujian army officers who were released back yesterday, although Gan Hui and the others were also mentally prepared, they were all gloomy after hearing the bad news with their own ears and having all their hopes shattered.

"Send a few generals into the camp to rest." Deng Ming commanded.

Gan Hui and Yu Xin saw Mu Tan one after another, they and Mu Tan looked at each other for a moment, and then looked at Deng Ming together, and looked at Deng Ming again and again.

Deng Ming felt strange in his heart, so he followed the two to the camp tent and left the guards outside.

After there were only three people in the tent, Gan Hui and Yu Xin bowed to Deng Ming again and shouted in a low voice, "Your Highness." ”

Then Yu Xin hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, where is the king now?" Are you back in Fujian? Your Highness will go to Fujian with us, and the last general will swear to protect His Highness's integrity. ”

After finishing speaking, Yu Xin's face suddenly turned red, he just thought that he was rescued by Deng Ming, but he claimed to be able to protect the other party, which sounded like a kind of shame.

"No, I'm not going to Fujian." Deng Ming shook his head: "Don't call me that." ”

"Your Highness," Gan Hui turned a deaf ear and said anxiously: "There are more than 100,000 soldiers in Fujian, as well as a large number of boat divisions, who are as safe as Mount Tai. ”

"Yes," Yu Xin also echoed: "When the son abandons the country today, His Royal Highness should ascend to the position of prison country as soon as possible to reassure people." ”

"If I go to sea, then don't I also abandon the country?" As soon as Deng Ming's words came out, he knew that it was inappropriate. He is obviously not a clan, and he has not abandoned the country at all, as soon as this came out, as if admitting that he was the king of the Shaotang Dynasty, Deng Ming was busy and said: "You still call me the admiral, I am not a clan." And now the soldiers in Sichuan and Huguang are fighting bloody battles, and I can't leave them. ”

Seeing that the two were still arguing, Deng Ming told them: "The king of Yanping will probably be able to get here, and you can see the king of the county himself tomorrow." If I don't go to Fujian, I will explain it to him personally. The two generals should rest in peace. ”

At this time, Lang Tingzuo also heard the movement outside and guessed that Gan Hui and they had been put back.

"Jiang Guozhu, Guan is loyal, the two of you are really not enough to atone for their sins." Now Lang Tingzuo has believed from the bottom of his heart that all the responsibility lies with Jiang and Guan, and his deal with Deng Ming is also forced to be helpless. Lang Tingzuo hoped that Liang Huafeng would hurry up and bring the silver, so that he could get out and go back to Nanjing City to eliminate harm for the country.

After accepting the prisoners of war released by Deng Ming, Jiang Guozhu let the silver chariot out of the city, and he took his subordinates to manage the government. There, Jiang Guozhu found a drunken Guan allegiance.

After hearing that Jiang Guozhu not only released all the prisoners, but also gave Deng Ming 500,000 taels of silver, Guan Xiaozhong jumped three feet high again: "You are an adulterous thief and a traitor to the court!" ”

"You had a share in the beginning!" Not to be outdone, Jiang Guozhu retorted: "Don't you know that when you mentioned that Deng Ming killed Lang Tingzuo and sent him information to ambush Liang Huafeng? ”

"Big mistake, I'm so confused." Guan Xiaozhong howled out in frenzy: "I just thought that I would get rid of my guilt and save my family, and I hated Lang Tingzuo for falling into the well, but I was angry that Liang Huafeng's villainous face had done such a thing!" I'm sorry for the Emperor. If I had known that I would let go of so many sea adversaries in the end, I would never have agreed to make a deal with Deng Ming in the first place, and I would have chopped the messenger he sent into meat sauce and fed it to the dogs. ”

Shut down

"Don't shout, if you don't work hard now, we'll all be finished." Jiang Guozhu angrily pulled Guan Allegiance, and shouted in his ear: "I used 500,000 taels of silver to buy Deng Ming and leave for three days, and we took this opportunity to solve Lang Tingzuo and Liang Huafeng." Don't you want to chop his messenger into meat sauce? Here's a chance! I have promised Deng Ming that I will give him a sum of money when he returns. But as long as we are in great trouble, we don't need to look at Deng Ming's eyes, and when the time comes, I will hand over to you the messenger he sent to ask for money, hang the city gate, and then taunt him fiercely. Aren't you ashamed of the first emperor, there is a chance to atone for your sins. Deng Ming may be angry and attack the city, you can go and fight with Deng Ming, atone for your sins, and repay the kindness of the emperor to you. ”

"I'm not going." When Guan Xiaozhong heard that he wanted to fire and Liang Huafeng, he immediately shook his head: "I have made a big mistake, and now the emperor is cutting me with a thousand knives, and I have no complaints." The fire and Liang Huafeng will only give Deng Ming a chance to sneak attack Jiangning. And Liang Huafeng is definitely not such a loyal courtier as me, if he loses, maybe he will go to Deng Ming and betray Jiang Ning to the thieves. Then I am the great sinner in the southeast. ”

"Am I going to be out of the way? We have at least two days to fortify the city. Jiang Guozhu told sù Guan that he had already sent people to follow Deng Ming's army, and he must not let Deng Ming have the opportunity to sneak attack Nanjing: "You also said that the city built by Zhu Hongwu will definitely not be breached lightly, as long as there is no chaos for us, including Lang Tingzuo and Liang Huafeng, we are still afraid that Deng Ming will not succeed?"

But no matter what Jiang Guozhu said, Guan Allegiance was like a dead dog who refused to say anything, and still drank vigorously. When Jiang Guozhu went to grab it, Guan Xiaozhong grabbed the wine glass and shouted: "Let me drink to death, I will be in prison soon, and I will never have a chance to drink again." ”

"Where's your family?" Jiang Guozhu is still making his last effort: "What about your mother, wife, and children? Don't you think for them? ”

"This was given to me by the first emperor, without the first emperor, I would have been a slave, and I would not have a wife and children, and now that I have committed such a big crime, they should have any fate." Guan Xiaozhong doesn't seem to care about anything anymore, but Jiang Guozhu is not as open as him, and he still wants to save his life and his people.

When Jiang Guozhu left the Guan Mansion empty-handed, he already looked lost and depressed: "What should I do?" What to do? ”

Jiang Guozhu felt that relying on his own strength, most of the time he couldn't beat Liang Huafeng. As for the appeal in Nanjing, Jiang Guozhu feels that it is not as good as Lang Tingzuo: "Where is my way of life?" After thinking for a while, Jiang Guozhu sent a messenger to Liang Huafeng's military camp: "Now Lang Tingzuo already hates me to the core, and he is in Deng Ming's camp, so he can't be contacted." I don't have much old grudge with Liang Huafeng, let's see if he can say a few good words for me. ”

After Liang Huafeng finished talking with Jiang Guozhu's confidants, he immediately said impassionedly that he was willing to be an intermediary between Jiang Guozhu and Lang Tingzuo to resolve their grievances for the two of them.

After sending away the emissary who was grateful for his kindness, Liang Huafeng sneered: "Governor Jiang, what did you say that it was Guan Xiaozhong who betrayed my whereabouts, you don't know anything, do you treat me as a three-year-old child?" Fooled by you? ”

"Then the Lord promised to tell the Governor for him?" A henchman who was listening asked.

"Hmph, talk about comforting their hearts."

Jiang Guozhu's henchmen said that his master wanted to turn against him and join forces with Liang Huafeng to deal with Guan Zhongzhong, and when Liang Huafeng heard Jiang Guozhu's expression, he knew that the other party was desperate for the form. Although Liang Huafeng felt that the victory ticket was in his hands, he became more and more cautious, he didn't want to force Jiang Guozhu to jump over the wall to join Deng Ming. Now that the Ming army is still outside the city, and Jiang Guozhu and Guan Xiaozhong not only have a group of henchmen, but also control several city gates, Liang Huafeng feels that the great work of defending Nanjing is about to be completed, but he can't force the opponent to rebel at this juncture.

Liang Huafeng had already sent the silver to Deng Ming, and Lang Tingzuo would be able to come back tomorrow night. Liang Huafeng planned to persuade Lang Tingzuo to pretend to forgive Jiang Guozhu at that time, first pack up Guan Allegiance, and then settle accounts with Jiang Guozhu. As long as Jiang Guozhu defects, the military advantage of Liang Huafeng's side will become very large, and the opponent will be solved soon, and the loss will be much smaller, not to mention that Deng Mingqiang will attack the city.

Outside the city, after Deng Ming checked the amount of silver, he informed Lang Tingzuo that he could pack his bags.

"This guy is much more effective than Jiang Guozhu." Li Laiheng said mockingly.

"Yes, because he has a noble purpose." Deng Ming commented: "Jiang Guozhu and Guan Xiaozhong knew from the beginning that what they were doing was wrong, and they felt ashamed of the Tartars, so they kept hesitating; But Lang Tingzuo is different, he firmly believes that he is doing a great thing, he wants to eliminate the harm for the court, and he can only defend the southeast for the Tartars if he returns alive. "Lang Tingzo seems to have hypnotized himself, so he feels justified in whatever he does. "The more some people think their goals are noble, the more they have no scruples to use despicable means. Or that some people have to find a good reason for themselves in order to be able to do evil with impunity. ”

"What the Admiral said is interesting." Zhang Huangyan nodded in agreement: "That's why my army must always remind ourselves that we must not harm the people just because we want to expel the Tartars." ”

"What Zhang Shangshu said is extremely true." Deng Ming sighed lightly, fortunately, Lang Tingzuo's purpose was only to defend the southeast for Shunzhi, if his ambition was to liberate all mankind, then he would definitely be able to commit all the crimes against humanity with peace of mind.

…… The next morning, Zheng Chenggong finally led a team of soldiers and horses to the city of Nanjing. He did not raise his banner, but entered Deng Ming's camp with some personal guards without attracting attention.

"The name of the king is like thunder." Deng Ming, together with everyone, met with Zheng Chenggong, and handed over all the Fujian soldiers rescued these days to Zheng Chenggong.

After seeing Gan Hui, Yu Xin and others, Zheng Chenggong also had mixed feelings. In front of Deng Ming, Li Laiheng, Zhang Huangyan and others, Zheng Chenggong apologized to his subordinates and said: "I am incompetent, even the soldiers are involved, and the generals can come back safely, the sky really does not abandon me." ”

Zheng Chenggong hugged his fist to Deng Ming again and said: "This time the city of Nanjing was defeated, and more than 20,000 soldiers were lost, all of which were successful. The Admiral is a reprimand, and it is deserved. It's just that the great cause of Zhongxing has not been accomplished, and I want to have a chance to make up for my merits if I succeed, and I hope that the admiral will allow me to make meritorious contributions, and if I suffer another defeat, I will judge myself to thank the world for my success. ”

Although Zheng Chenggong said it very seriously, the generals of the surrounding Yanping Domain were not too excited. The military law of the king of Yanping has always been very strict, and the defeated generals are generally only given another chance, and if they are defeated again, they will often be killed. For example, Yu Xin had such an experience before: after being defeated, he was ordered by Zheng Chenggong to make meritorious service and redeem himself, Yu Xin knew that he would die if he was defeated again, so he rushed to the death, defeated the Qing army and saved his life.

However, not every general can be like Yu Xin. After the last sneak attack on Xiamen, Zheng Chenggong executed the most responsible general and ordered another criminal general, Huang Wuli, to fight to atone for his crimes. But Huang Wu was afraid of being defeated again, so he simply surrendered to the Qing court, and it was this person who later proposed to the Qing court to move the border and ban the sea.

Zhang Huangyan was shocked when he heard Zheng Chenggong's words. Although Zhang Huangyan was very clear about Zheng Chenggong's personality and temper, what puzzled him was that Zheng Chenggong would actually say such things to Deng Ming, as if Deng Ming was not the governor of Jiangnan appointed by Wen Anzhi, but the Son of Heaven and the prison of the country.

Looking around at the people around, Zhang Huangyan saw Gan Hui and Yu Xinmian as usual, and the other Fujian army officers also showed puzzlement......

"Both of them are Yanping's henchmen, Yanping is so respectful to Deng Ming, the two of them shouldn't be strange at all, then they must know something." Zhang Huangyan immediately made such a judgment, and then his gaze swept to Li Laiheng.

Seeing that Li Laiheng also looked like he was doing nothing, Zhang Huangyan suddenly sighed again in his heart: "Why, in the eyes of Lin Guogong, is it reasonable for the King of Yanping County to ask Governor Deng for guilt?" ”

Although Deng Ming and Li Laiheng were tight-lipped, Zhang Huangyan always believed that Deng Ming was indeed a clan, which can also explain why Wen Anzhi trusted him so much. But Zhang Huangyan thought that it was mainly because Wen Anzhi was not completely at ease about breaking into the camp, and he couldn't run with the army when he was old, so he needed a young clan in the army to act as his eyes, ears and representatives.

If this is all the case, Zheng Chenggong has absolutely no reason to ask Deng Ming for guilt. Zheng Chenggong and Wen Anzhi are on an equal footing, or even slightly higher, how can they be willing to live under Wen Anzhi's representatives?

At this time, Deng Ming, who was embarrassed, smiled bitterly: "The king of Yanping County is serious. ”

Glancing at Zhang Huangyan next to him, Deng Ming did not continue, but diverted the topic: "King Yanping, please take a seat, we are discussing the matter of Nanjing." ”