October 18th, Hengyang County, Hengzhou Prefecture.
Ever since Wu Sangui, Emperor Zhaowu of the Great Zhou Dynasty, stationed in Hengyang and turned this ancient city on the bank of the Xiangjiang River into the de facto capital of the Great Zhou Empire, the atmosphere in Fuqian Street in Hengyang City, where the emperor walked, has never been as good as it is today. Sad and depressing. The entire row seemed to have become a tomb. The brass-nailed door of the row was tightly closed, and the official sedans and carriages that used to be able to discharge the elders at the door were gone. Only Wu Sangui's Yiding soldiers stood guard at the door with a straight face. These Yiding soldiers are the Yiding cavalry who followed Wu Sangui across the battlefield. Now they are all old people in their fifties and sixties, with white beards and hair. Most of them have considerable official positions, but now they are all wearing outer clothes. Wearing white armor with blue cloth-covered armor in the style of Guan Ningjun, holding a spear with a shiny tip, they were standing guard for the last time for their old emperor.
And the reason why they wear white armor and blue cloth armor is to pay tribute to their young master, the Crown Prince of Da Zhou, Wu Yingxiong!
Today is the day when Wu Yingxiong arrived at Hengyang Mansion. The Prince of Zhou was placed in a fine nanmu coffin. He was escorted by Guo Zhuangtu, Hu Guozhu, Lin Xingzhu and 10,000 released prisoners of war from the Wu and Zhou army, and took a boat along the Xiangjiang River. Go south and go straight to Xiaoxiang Gate in Hengyang City.
Although Wu Yingxiong was the same as in history, he still could not escape an unexpected death. But the treatment after death is much better!
The day after he "died", Li Laishun, who had traveled day and night, arrived in Jiujiang with the general's order to "release Wu Yingxiong and return to the country." He was really a step too late!
Once this man died, he could not be resurrected, so Li Laishun had no choice but to find the best coffin in Jiujiang City, put Wu Yingxiong in it first, and then sent a six hundred mile rush to report to Li Zhongshan.
And Li Zhongshan had no idea! Li Laishun has tried his best, and Li Fengtian (Li Zicheng) seems to have done nothing wrong. Wu Yingxiong "hanged himself", not after being captured. Guo Zhuangtu can prove this!
So Li Zhongshan had no choice but to commend Li Fengtian and others, and at the same time asked the loyal king Li Laishun to select a full 10,000 strong men who were willing to help Wu Shifan from the Zhou army prisoners of war detained in Jiujiang and Hukou, plus the prisoners captured in Jiujiang Guo Zhuangtu, together with Hu Guozhu and Lin Xingzhu who were captured on the Yangtze River, escorted Wu Yingxiong's coffin to Hengyang and handed it back to Wu Sangui - the reason why he did this was to support his good friend Wu Shifan to continue to fight with Wu Yingqi. ; The second is to show to Wu and Zhou’s soldiers that “all the people in the world are one family.”
As soon as the news reached Hengyang, Wu Sangui, who had just suffered a huge defeat at Laodaohe, was anxious, sad and angry. As a result, his old habit of heartache relapsed and he almost died on the spot. , although he recovered later, he still reached the point where he was dying, just hanging on for his last breath.
In fact, Wu Sangui had already been prepared to lose Wu Yingxiong, so Wu Yingxiong's "suicide" was not the main reason that completely knocked him down. The reason why he was dying of illness actually made Li Zhongshan angry.
This Li Zhongshan is so hateful. He even threatened his life but still pretended to be a good person. Not only did he pretend to be a good person, he also used the method of releasing Wu Zhou prisoners of war to strengthen Wu Shifan - this was to provoke a civil war in the Wu family after Wu Sangui's death. !
Originally, after the two wars of Laodaohe and Jiujiang, Wu Yingxiong and Wu Guogui's factions were severely weakened, while Wu Yingqi's faction maintained more strength. Therefore, as long as Wu Sangui canonize Wu Yingqi as the prince, the future Wu and Zhou regime will be able to maintain internal stability.
Although Wu Zhou's family fortune has been reduced to less than half, as long as everyone can unite and support Wu Yingqi, then the country will be able to survive. It is nothing more than changing from "Cao Wei" to "Shu Han" and "three points" It is probably impossible to "return to the Zhou Dynasty", but it is still possible to build the foundation of the family and the country for three generations and four generations for decades.
Wu Sangui estimates that the two generations of emperors Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong are still stable. When Wu Shicong's son takes the throne, it may be time for the three parts to be unified.
But Li Zhongshan is so hateful!
They actually used the method of releasing prisoners to strengthen Wu Shifan's power - those released prisoners, needless to say, must come from the military guards and Zhechong Mansion controlled by Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shifan!
Wu Shifan originally had several thousand people in his hands, and with the addition of these ten thousand, the number would be tens of thousands.
In addition, Wu Guogui's son Wu Shijue also led tens of thousands of people to retreat to Hengyang after dealing with He Tianran for a period of time. If he also joins Wu Shifan's camp, which is a high probability event, then there will be 30,000 people on Wu Shifan's side!
After Wu Yingqi suffered a defeat at Laodao River, he only had about 30,000 direct troops at his disposal.
Now the two sides are evenly matched again!
Once Wu Sangui died, would the old Wu family have to fight with uncles and nephews? This is to follow the old path of the old Yuan family in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Wu Sangui woke up from his half-sleep in a daze. His body was already failing, but he still couldn't worry about what happened after him. People around him felt that he became terminally ill because of the defeat in the war and the loss of his beloved son. But in fact, he didn't love Wu Yingxiong that much. What really made him fall was that he anticipated the internal strife that would occur in the Wu family after his death. But so what if it was expected? He is now powerless to change anything, and he doesn't even dare to announce a change of heir - Wu Shifan has long had the title of grandson, so after Wu Yingxiong's death he is the natural heir to the throne, and there is no need to re-canonize him.
If Wu Sangui deposes Wu Shifan now and appoints Wu Yingqi instead. The troops supporting Wu Shifan may resist, and may even directly defect to Li Zhongshan after the resistance fails!
But if Wu Sangui does not depose Wu Shifan, can Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong, who have 30,000 troops in Hunan alone, agree?
At first glance, the troops of Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong did not seem to be large. In addition to the 30,000 troops in Hunan, there were also a small 20,000 troops in Shaanxi and Gansu. However, Wu and Zhou's government army system and the recruitment system are different. The government soldiers are actually based on households!
Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong's army was not 60,000 or 70,000, but 60,000 or 70,000, and each household had more than one soldier! Even if a household has only one male who can serve as a soldier, as long as someone is willing to fill the vacancy, the household's soldiers will still be there.
Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong's territory is in Shaanxi and Gansu. For the men in Shaanxi and Gansu where the land is barren and the population is relatively large, joining the army is their only way out. There is no need to wait for Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong to return to Shaanxi and Gansu. The Zhechong Mansion they control can help them make up for their losses.
Therefore, the current Wu Zhou Group cannot do without Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong.
When Wu Sangui opened his eyes, he saw Wu Yingqi, Wu Shifan, Wu Shicong, Wei Pu, Fang Guangchen, Liu Xuanchu and others standing in front of his bed with worried faces.
Wu Sangui sighed silently: "Is the boss here? What is the current situation? Are Li Zhongshan's troops still in Changsha? Where are the Ming troops from Guangdong?"
Now the situation in Hunan is very obvious. Li Zhongshan, who has won the great victory of Laodaohe and captured Changsha, seems to be taking all of Hunan. Now the Ming army has divided into two groups and launched a pincer-shaped offensive against Hengyang where Wu Sangui was entrenched.
However, the well-positioned Ming army did not immediately launch a fierce attack, apparently waiting for Wu Zhou's army to retreat from Hunan.
And Wu Zhoujun also knew that Hunan could not be defended. The reason why he had not escaped yet was mainly because Wu Sangui was seriously ill and could no longer move!
Under this situation, Li Zhongshan had no choice but to allocate some troops to capture Yuezhou, while resting and reorganizing his troops in Changsha City, waiting for Wu Sangui's death - because he did not want to force Wu Yingqi, Wu Shicong, and Wu Shifan to fight again. It would not be difficult to wipe out the remaining main force of the Wu family on the Hunan battlefield. But once the main force of Wu and Zhou was completely destroyed, Kangxi would seize the Wu family's territory in Henan, Shaanxi, and Gansu and reunify northern China.
Wu Yingqi replied: "Father, my eldest brother's coffin is almost at Xiaoxiang Gate. As for Li Zhongshan's army, it has not moved south. The Ming army from Guangdong is also staying in Chenzhou and Guiyang. They probably also need to rest and recuperate. You can rest peacefully for a few days. As long as you get better, we can regroup and defeat Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen."
Although he was comforting Wu Sangui, the sadness in his tone could no longer be concealed.
Wu Sangui smiled bitterly. His life was at stake, and his heart felt heavy, but his mind did not seem to be confused. He knew that he could not get up, and Wu Zhou could only be like Shu Han. He waved his hand and said: "Yes." Qi and Shicong stay, while the others retreat outside first."
Hearing his words, everyone frowned - the old man insisted on not dying, so he still wanted to ask an orphan to arrange his funeral arrangements?
Everyone understood Wu Sangui's reluctance and felt that he was going to die, so they didn't say anything. Except for Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong, they withdrew first. "
Wu Sangui sighed first, and then said slowly: "When a bird is about to die, its song is mournful. When a man is about to die, his words are also kind. My life is not long, and I have no ability to leave an iron bucket for you, so I have to throw it away." Only you can handle this mess, Shifan can't handle it."
"No, it's hard for Sun to catch it!" Wu Yingqi became anxious upon hearing this.
Seeing that this mess was about to hit his hands, could he not be anxious?
Given the current situation in Wu and Zhou, what is the emperor doing here? To be a subjugated king and then be caught and killed by Li Zhongshan?
If they are not emperors, they can advance and retreat freely as long as they hide in the northwest. Jin Ke can learn from Wu Guogui and become the king of the Ming Dynasty. Just retreat. Just retreat far away and never come back!
Wu Shicong also quickly expressed his loyalty: "Grandpa, my grandson understands that you are trying to imitate Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty! My father and I must learn from Zhuge Liang. We must work hard and die!"
Wu Sangui was stunned for a moment, looked at his son and grandson, and said in his heart: You are not a foreigner, how can you imitate Zhuge Liang? You want to "replace yourself"!
Thinking of this, Wu Sangui said: "Shifan is a boy and a girl, and he doesn't look like a human king. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to hold a big position."
"Father, don't worry," Wu Yingqi said, "In the past, Li Yuan, the great ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, was also a man and a woman. He was nicknamed "Grandma Face" by Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, but he still founded the Tang Dynasty for three hundred years!"
Wu Shicong also said: "My grandson is extremely smart, and he is by no means comparable to the empress of the Shu Han Dynasty. My father and I will definitely assist him and work tirelessly."
Or do you want to be Zhuge Liang?
Wu Sangui thought: What's going on with these two people? Did you binge watch "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms"? No, it must be an act!
"Second brother," Wu Sangui looked at Wu Yingqi, "You are the King of Qin, and Li Shimin is also the King of Qin. You shouldn't be able to"
"Li Shimin and I are different, my surname is not Li!" Wu Yingqi knew that Wu Sangui had misunderstood, and quickly explained, "Father, don't worry, I will definitely assist my grandson in the future."
"Yes, yes, grandson too!"
It really looks like it.
Wu Sangui didn't know what to say for a moment, so he had to let Wu Yingqi and Wu Shifan exit first, and then Wu Shifan came in to talk.
Wu Shifan had just cried. His eyes were red and there were tears on his cheeks. His face was green and delicate, and he looked like a big girl. Wu Sangui sighed and said to Wu Shifan: "Shifan, I will not accept it, what will you do?"
"Grandpa," Wu Shifan said with tears in his eyes, "My grandson doesn't know where to go?"
He originally had a good plan. If he could be the emperor of Wu Zhou, he would be the emperor. If he couldn't be, he would go to the Ming Dynasty and join his brother Shikai. But now that the death of his father Wu Yingxiong is inseparable from brother Shikai, he can't go to the suspected murderer of his father, right?
Wu Sangui nodded laboriously and whispered: "The Thirty-six Stratagems are the best. I am here, and your uncle and your cousin dare not do anything to you. If I am gone, be careful of the Xuanwu Sect's changes!"
Xuanwumen?
Wu Shifan was frightened.
"Grandpa, do you think my second uncle wants to imitate Emperor Taizong Li Shimin?"
Wu Sangui nodded.
Isn't it? Wu Shifan was dumbfounded. Wu Zhou was already like this. He was burning his buttocks just sitting on the throne, so why fight for it? Striving to be the king of a subjugated country?
The princes of the Wu family and the emperor of the Wu family were treated differently after joining the Ming Dynasty! The Wu family has shares in the Republic of Ming Dynasty. As long as the Wu family is not the mortal enemy of the Republic, there will always be rich people.
But the probability that the Wu family who had been the emperor would be killed was very high!
Seeing that his grandson was scared, Wu Sangui felt a little relieved and said to him: "Shifan, after your father's funeral is finished, you can leave. Run to Ming Dynasty and join your brother-in-law Li Zhongshan!"
Is it true that Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong are coming?
Wu Shifan was so shocked that he couldn't speak clearly, "Grandpa, grandpa, my grandson can no longer be a grandson, okay?"
Of course not!
Wu Sangui shook his head: "Shifan, you were born in an imperial family, don't you still understand the rules of this imperial family?"
The most ruthless emperor's family seems to be a republic!
Wu Shifan said in his heart: It seems that the only choice is to join Brother Shikai.
Wu Sangui said worriedly again: "When you go back, pack your things immediately. Remember, you must keep it secret and don't let anyone know! Otherwise."
What else would happen?
Wu Shifan's heart attack nearly frightened his grandfather. "If my grandson knows, he will definitely escape quietly!"
"Okay, okay, go get ready!" Wu Sangui finally felt relieved.
He had already killed Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shilin, and he felt a little sorry for Wu Yingxiong's family. Now that he could save Wu Shifan, he would be able to give an explanation when he met Wu Yingxiong later. I just don’t know what to say when I meet Chongzhen? Did he die of illness on the way to attack Li Zicheng? Can he be regarded as a loyal hero of the Ming Dynasty?
At the same time, Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong, father and son, were walking side by side on Fuqian Street where there were few pedestrians. They were going to Xiaoxiang Gate to wait for Wu Yingxiong's coffin to arrive. Both of them looked a little worried. When he was approaching Xiaoxiang Gate, Wu Shicong suddenly said: "Father, how about we escape?"
"Escape?" Wu Yingqi looked back at Wu Shicong, "Where do you want to escape?"
"Gansu!" Wu Shicong said, "Father, the Western Region has a lot to offer, but we have to take advantage of the Thirty-six Strategies. We have soldiers and guns, and when it comes to the Western Region, the sky is vast and the earth is vast, and we are the biggest."
Wu Yingqi shook his head: "No! It is true that the Western Regions have great potential, but that is for Lu Shiming! He was ordered by Feng Fujian to lead 75,000 troops to attack the Western Regions.
The reason why you were able to pacify Ye'erqiang last time was because you followed the emperor's edict instead of fleeing and wandering away. If we escape back to Gansu, then the Wei Mansion below will not regard us as their lords! By then, let alone opening up a new country in the Western Regions, even Gansu won’t be able to stay! "
"Then, what should we do?"
At this time, the father and son had arrived at a city gate cave in the east of Hengyang City.
Wu Yingqi looked up at the city gate and muttered in a low voice: "Xuanwu Gate, Xuanwu Gate has arrived!"
"Xuanwu Gate?" Wu Shicong looked up at the city gate, "Father, this is not Xuanwu Gate, this is Xiaoxiang Gate."
Wu Yingqi shook his head: "No, it is Xuanwu Sect!"
(End of chapter)
