Chapter 4213: The position is wavering
Zheng Rentai's expression did not change. He knew that Yuwenshi and the good man were not coming. He sighed and said: "If we put it in the past, what would this injury mean? Back then, we followed the late emperor's command, fought in the north and south, conquered the east and west, and wiped out all the princes in the world. , often even after being wounded several times, they still fight to the death and bleed for several fights, but they only need a bandage. After a few days, he still went into battle... But now he is getting older. He usually catches a cold in hot or cold weather, and he doesn't recover after lying on the bed for several days. Now his muscles and bones are even more injured, and his whole body seems to be falling apart. ...I have great ambitions, but I am weak and short of breath, so what can I do?”
A long sigh expresses the desolation of the hero's twilight years and the old man's helpless life.
Almost blocked all Yuwen Shiji's words...
However, Yu Wenshiji was not an ordinary person after all. Seeing Zheng Rentai's expression of "he wanted to kill the enemy but was unable to save his life", he mused: "It stands to reason that the general is seriously injured now, so I shouldn't be merciless... ...But I don’t need to say much about the current situation. The general also knows the importance of it. Once the king of Jin is overthrown, the powerful families in Shandong and Jiangnan will suffer. It is a life-or-death situation that will inevitably lead to disaster. Although the King of Jin has the support of the world's nobles, he still lacks major generals and cannot resist the imperial army. Only the generals who fight hard can turn the tide. Therefore, it is still possible. Please put the overall situation first and reluctantly leave Hangu Pass."
Following his words, the study fell silent. Zheng Rentai looked solemn and remained silent. Yu Wenshiji also knew that too much is too little, so he said no more and slowly lowered his head to drink tea.
Everyone knows Li Chengqian's political philosophy, which is in line with the late emperor's national policy. In short, it is "supporting poor families and suppressing wealthy families."
In fact, sects in various places also know that no matter the late emperor or today, this is a last resort.
Since the end of the Han Dynasty, after hundreds of years of struggle, rise and fall, and development, the aristocratic families have become behemoths. They are deeply entrenched and intertwined in various places, and they have developed spheres of influence that can be said to be impenetrable and water-splitting. Not included.
And these powerful families support and help each other through marriages, alliances and other means, making their power even more powerful.
It is easy to destroy or destroy a country, even to build or destroy a country...
In such a situation, no matter who is sitting on the throne, how dare he sleep peacefully? If you want to sit firmly on the throne and gather the imperial power for yourself, you can only go to war with the noble families.
Do the aristocratic families really not understand the truth? They understand it better than anyone else, but the more they understand it, the more they cannot retreat.
The reason why a clan is called a clan is that it has established a deep foundation. By monopolizing education, monopolizing official career, annexing land, etc., it has trampled hundreds of millions of common people under its feet, and they can only be suppressed for generations to come. They enslave, they break the bones of these common people and suck their marrow, sucking their essence and blood to support their own dignity.
Once the humble family rises, it means that the monopoly of the aristocratic family is completely broken.
Without various monopolies, the aristocratic families would not only be unable to maintain their former aloof life, but even their inheritance would be threatened.
For the members of aristocratic families, suffering can be endured and there is no need to panic when dormant, but inheritance must not be threatened in the slightest...
If you sail against the current, you will retreat if you don't advance.
Therefore, they knew that the talented and strategist His Majesty Li Er regarded the family members as a thorn in their flesh, but they had to fight back and fight to the death with the imperial power.
Now that His Majesty Li Er has passed away, the sharp sword hanging over the family has not been removed, because the new emperor who ascends the throne will continue His Majesty Li Er's policies.
Nowadays, if the family members want to get rid of their bad luck, they have two ways: either persuade the new emperor to abandon the national policy of the previous emperor and restore the power center structured by the family members, or support the Jin king, fight back to Chang'an, and rise to power...
The first way is basically impossible.
Li Chengqian's power framework is dominated by Cen Wenwen, Li Xiaogong, Fang Jun and others. These people strongly support Li Chengqian's pursuit of the imperial policy, and trying to persuade Li Chengqian beyond these people is simply a fool's errand.
The second path may be successful, but the risk is huge, and it is a dangerous path that the family must take.
Zheng Rentai naturally understood that once the King of Jin was overthrown, Li Chengqian would definitely attack the family members, and what a dangerous situation the Zheng family in Xingyang would face.
But judging from the tyrannical combat power that the navy has unleashed, Zheng Rentai has very little estimate of the probability of King Jin succeeding. If he fails, he will face Li Chengqian's liquidation. This is not just waiting to weaken his power. Gentle breeze and drizzle...
To put it bluntly, times have changed, and the era of belonging to aristocratic families is gone forever.
Therefore, after being silent for a long time, he flatly refused Yu Wenshi's approach and said in a deep voice: "My body is overwhelmed and I cannot go into battle to kill the enemy and serve the King of Jin. I also ask Duke Ying to select another talented person to shoulder the important task."
Yuwenshi's heart sank.
After pondering for a long time, he observed Zheng Rentai's expression and saw that it was difficult to convince him that he was determined, so he had to settle for the next best thing: "If so, I am reckless and have made things difficult for the general. But now His Highness the King of Jin is in danger, and the safety of Hangu Pass is too important. , even if the general cannot go to take charge in person, can he send the private army of the Zheng clan to Hangu Pass? "
Now that he has felt Zheng Rentai's resistance, it is not difficult to guess that he has gradually lost trust in King Jin. This is extremely dangerous, because Zheng Rentai may turn to Li Chengqian at any time.
Compared with the Qinghe Cui family, the Boling Cui family, the Fanyang Lu family and other Shandong families, the Xingyang Zheng family may not be powerful, but the location where it is located is too important.
The areas around Xingyang are all within the Zheng family's sphere of influence. Once they betray the King of Jin and switch to Li Chengqian, they can release the entire sphere of influence and allow the navy to pass through. They can directly approach Luoyang. How can the current defenders of Luoyang withstand the powerful fighting force? Navy?
If Luoyang falls, the naval force will be able to reach Hangu Pass. By then, the Jin Wang faction will have no strategic room for turning around and will have no choice but to fight to the death at Hangu Pass. And Chang'an will definitely not miss this opportunity. Once Donggong Liu leads a fierce attack on Tongguan from the west... it will be a doomed situation where he will be attacked from both sides and catch the turtle in the urn.
Yuwen Shiji stared at Zheng Rentai nervously, waiting for his answer.
In the bottom of his heart, he was even thinking about whether he should contact other Shandong aristocratic families if Zheng Rentai refused, and recruit another army to give the Zheng family a thunderous blow, putting Xingyang under complete control and ensuring the safety of Luoyang.
Zheng Rentai didn't know that Yu Wenshi had a murderous intention in his heart. He thought for a long time and finally nodded slowly: "Later, I will send five thousand private troops to Hangu to help guard the pass."
The Shandong aristocratic families have been in the same spirit for hundreds of years, and they are intertwined with each other in politics, military affairs, marriage, economy, etc. They have long been prosperous and harmed. Now the entire Shandong family is fully supporting the King of Jin. If the Zheng family in Xingyang dares to rebel, they will be suppressed by the other families at all costs.
The struggle between clans often does not need to be as gentle as a battle for supremacy on the battlefield...
It is said that before the King of Jin was defeated, the Zheng family in Xingyang had been destroyed by the other Shandong families...
Yu Wenshiji secretly breathed a sigh of relief, relaxed his clenched palms, and said happily: "The general really understands the general situation, and the contribution of the Zheng family in Xingyang will definitely be remembered by His Highness the King of Jin."
Zheng Rentai smiled slightly and said calmly: "His Royal Highness King Jin is the late emperor's favored crown prince, and he has the late emperor's edict in hand. Since we are loyal to the late emperor, we should do our best to assist King Jin in ascending to the throne and inheriting the ancestral temple. How dare you say the word "contribution" to the matter? "The Duke of Ying made a serious statement."
Yu Wenshiji also knew that such empty promises would never be able to impress Zheng Rentai's loyal ministers and veteran generals in hundreds of battles. He could only nod his head and suddenly remembered something. He changed the topic, looked at the other party with scorching eyes and asked: "Now the Navy The ship is going up the Yellow River. Although the Duke of E sent people to delay it, it can't resist for a long time. If it suddenly launches an attack on Xingyang in the middle of the journey, I don't know how the general will respond. "
In the Battle of Banzhu, Zheng Rentai was defeated and seriously injured. He immediately returned to Xingyang and stayed behind closed doors. Obviously, he had other plans in mind. If he had not come to the door in person to lobby today, he would have known where the Zheng family in Xingyang would go.
But no matter what, there is no doubt that Zheng Rentai is timid about fighting.
If he is afraid of the navy's tyrannical fighting power, knows he is outmatched, and does not want the entire Zheng family in Xingyang to be annihilated, will he completely get rid of the Jin Wang family and surrender to the navy when the navy suddenly attacks?
If Zheng Rentai had this idea, he would be in big trouble.
Even if he is willing to send troops to reinforce Hangu Pass, there is no guarantee that the Zheng family in Xingyang will firmly support the King of Jin... (End of this chapter)