Chapter 196 Death Day
Wang Kai, who was worried about defending the city, collapsed. He strode to the corner of the county temple and satirized the county magistrate:
"Why should a three-hundred-ton official of the country handle the affairs of the kitchen?"
Unexpectedly, after being ridiculed, the county magistrate showed no trace of embarrassment or embarrassment. Instead, he taught Wang Kai a lesson in a serious manner:
"Your Majesty, don't underestimate the work of the cook. You know, if a person doesn't have enough to eat, he will feel upset. If he gets upset, he won't have enough energy. Now that the Prime Minister is responsible for the livelihood of thousands of people, his health is not a trivial matter. It’s a major event for the people of Zhang County.”
Wang Kai was confused by this mediocre official's expression and asked:
"You also know that your stomach will panic if you don't have enough to eat? Don't you know that Ding Yong on the tower is also suffering from hunger and cold?"
Seeing that Wang Kai was really angry, the county magistrate did not dare to say anything more, but carefully explained:
"Things have to be prioritized. First, protect the belly of the Prime Minister, and then Ding Yong's belly will be safe, right?"
Wang Kai didn't want to spend more time on this mediocre official, so he went to the Shu Temple angrily. He wanted to find Li Zan, the Prime Minister of the country, for advice.
The country was ruined by these little people.
When Wang Kai entered the hall, he informed Li Zan of the situation in the city and once again admonished the leader to pay more attention. The morale in the city had reached a very dangerous point.
After all, Li Zan still had a bottom line. Wang Kai caught him eating mutton this time, which really made him a little embarrassed. While he said that it was the people below who made their own decisions, he once again promised that he would share the joys and sorrows with the whole city.
This time, Wang Kai didn't believe much. Instead, he asked Li Zan to go to the top of the city with him to once again boost the morale of the city, otherwise the city would be ruined.
Li Zan was a little hesitant. He had another staff member over there, but Hu Zhen dissuaded him:
"Prime Minister, the soldiers on the city are fierce and dangerous. It is better to calm them down inside the city. The current situation is that the Taiping thieves are unable to attack the city. As long as they hold on to the city, there will be no problem. Of course, we still have to send supplies as soon as possible. "Chengtou"
Hu Zhen was a student of Li Zan and a native of his hometown. This is what people in Tiji refer to as Hu Zhen.
Wang Kai wanted to scold Hu Zhen, but what he said did make some sense. The reason why everyone is not panicking now is because they really think that defending the city is okay. However, if the Prime Minister personally visits the city to boost morale, it will make these brave men who are not determined to fight think too much.
Thinking of this, Wang Kai didn't want to cause trouble, so he didn't say much. But before he left, he still suggested that Huang Cen distribute rewards to appease the 100 chapter county soldiers.
Li Zan nodded and immediately asked someone to do it.
In the end, Wang Kai had no choice but to leave.
On the way back home, Wang Kai already felt that something was wrong with Li Zan's mentality, as if he was escaping. But if Li Zan was afraid of death and would not do anything, then he would not have entered Zhang County again after boarding the ship that day.
But in this current situation, no war, no peace, no surrender, no leaving, I don’t know what Fu Jun is thinking.
He did not go back directly to the government, but went to Xu Bang, another staff member. He had many things to say to Xu Bang. Xu Bang, too, had become a different person since he returned to Zhangxian County, and he began to shirk his duties. .
Wang Kai was still thinking about Xu Si. He had no idea what happened to the prince Li Zan who was still in the hall after he left.
Just before Wang Kai left, Hu Zhen, a township party member who had been covering up for Li Zan before, cried and said to Li Zan:
"Master Fu, is this really the case? Zhao Shu and Li Zou's troops are still there, and they can still protect Master Fu and kill him."
Li Zan also cried at this moment:
"It's useless. Now we can only hold on to the city wall a little bit, but once we break out of the city, Zhangxian will fall immediately. I am destined to live and die with Zhangxian. The governor of my Han family, who has a slanderous streak, did not abandon the city. It’s just a shame for you that you will die with me. After the city is broken, you should find a chance to escape.”
Hu Zhenning choked and shook her head without saying anything more.
Looking at the stubborn students, Li Zan sighed, then held hands with each other and cried goodbye.
Why! I, a great man, have raised men for two hundred years, and the festival of righteousness and death is now.
——
On the other side, Xu Bang was also persuading Wang Kai:
"Renbiao, what I mean is that if things go wrong, you still have to go north. If you keep your life, everything will be in time."
Just now, the two of them drank wine and suddenly talked about the situation in the city in the past few days. Wang Kai, who had previously encouraged Xu Si, became drunk while drinking. He said that the current situation really has to be discussed with the city. Died with him.
Then Wang Kai told Xu Si about the situation on the top of the city and what he encountered when he met Li Zan today, which is why Xu Si's words were mentioned above.
But Wang Kai shook his head and said that although he did not receive much favor from the Han court, he was conquered by Li Zan, so he naturally wanted to be loyal to his ruler. How could he be greedy for life and afraid of death. But when he saw Xu Bang saying this, he knew that this person was probably ready, so he asked:
"You must have prepared your luggage. What are your plans?"
Xu Bang nodded, but did not tell Wang Kai the plan.
The two fell silent for a moment. Then the wine was finished without any taste.
On the occasion of parting, Wang Kai tugged on Xu Bang's sleeve, held it in for a long time and suddenly said:
"I leave my wife and children to Xu Jun."
After saying that, Wang Kai knelt down and kowtowed to Xu Bang three times, and then went back with a tear.
Xu Bang looked at Wang Kai's lonely back and wanted to say something, but in the end he sighed and went back. After all, he can't protect himself, so what's the point of talking more?
Judging from the state of the civil and military forces throughout the city, we already knew that everyone did not have much hope of defending the city. Li Zan kept guard for one day, Wang Kai tried his best to maintain it, and Xu Si didn't know what means he could use, thinking that he could still get out of the city.
But no matter how pessimistic they were, they never expected that Zhang County would be broken today.
This city was not captured by the Taishan Army outside the city. To be honest, Zhang Chong had no intention of rushing to attack the city when he knew that Prime Minister Dongping was in the city. On the one hand, the casualties caused by the siege were too great. On the other hand, with Prime Minister Dongping here, reinforcements from various counties in the country could continue to arrive. Wouldn't it be more comfortable for him to lead the Taishan Army to annihilate these bandits in the field?
But today, Zhang County opened its city gate directly in front of him. A group of soldiers claiming to be soldiers of Zhang County opened the city gate directly and surrendered.
It turned out that today Zhang County's soldiers finally couldn't stand Huang Cen's repeated coaxing, and accidentally killed Huang Cen in anger. Huang Cen's face was still full of shock at that time, and he never expected that these stupid people would have the courage to kill him.
In fact, this is the tragedy of people like Huang Cen. The concepts that these powerful people have cultivated over time make them believe that superiority and inferiority are destined by nature. As long as they say a word, they can scold those timid mud-legged people. Because they have been immersed in grace and power for a long time, those people have the courage to resist. But the great change of the times is that these mud-legged people were forced to have no way to survive. They broke through the shackles of the past, picked up swords and guns, and began to fight for everything they deserved. However, these powerful scholar-officials who had not yet recovered their brains would He is the earliest victim in the chaos of this era. As long as war becomes the main theme of the times, these scholar-officials will realize that the swords and guns in their hands are the new power. By then, they will have no illusions about hairpins.
The Zhang County soldiers who killed Huang Cen in passion had no way to retreat, so they had to open the door and surrender to the Yellow Turbans of Mount Tai.
In an instant, Taishan's army rushed into the city, killing all enemies who dared to stop him along the way.
While walking on the road, Wang Kai also heard the sound of Taishan's army entering the city. He subconsciously wanted to run back to Xu Bang's mansion, but he stopped before taking two steps and returned to his own mansion.
This mansion was lent to Wang Kai by the county, and he had only one old servant to attend him. After Wang Kai returned home, he asked his old servant to close the door, and then he locked himself in a quiet room.
He first waved the offering in the direction of his home to bid farewell to his deceased parents and ancestors. Then he offered sacrifices in the direction of Kyoto to show his loyalty to the emperor. Finally, he went in the direction of the emperor in the city and bowed for the last time, bidding farewell to master and servant forever.
While there was still time, he drank a little more wine and murmured repeatedly:
"It's just death, it's just death." Keep giving yourself courage.
Finally, he drank the wine in one gulp and wrote his farewell letter to his family on the slip.
In the letter, he repeatedly told his youngest son to be a gentleman and practice martial arts, and asked him to form a stronghold with his clan members to protect themselves and hibernate in the countryside. He said that troubled times are coming, and it is necessary to unite more powerful people in the clan, and do not think that they are the direct descendants of the clan, so they should not think of themselves as majestic. The world has changed, and from now on it will be the world of warriors. In short, he expressed his father's feelings in the letter and only hoped that he would be safe.
After writing this family letter, Wang Kai called his old servant and asked him to find a place to hide when the war broke out. When the situation was calm, he would find an opportunity to leave the city and give the family letter to Shao Langjun.
The old servant guessed what Wang Kai meant and just cried.
At this moment, Wang Kai saw that the Zhangxian County Office was already burning with fire. Wang Kai was a smart man. After looking at Li Zan's behavior, he guessed that Li Zan had committed suicide to show his loyalty.
Wang Kai praised:
"Death in danger to repay the kindness of the country. It can be said that he is a true husband!"
Seeing that the master had set himself on fire, Wang Kai had no reason to live anymore. He poured himself another glass of wine, and this time he drank slowly. But when the wine was finally finished, Wang Kai was about to think of a death poem for himself. This is the tradition of their scholar-bureaucrats. As the saying goes, when the geese pass by, they leave a voice. Before people leave, they should also have their own strongest voice, so that future generations will know their aspirations.
But today, for some reason, Wang Kai, who has always been a talented writer, thought for a long time but didn't come up with a single word. Finally, he smiled bitterly at the old servant and said:
"After all, I owe a lot to practice on weekdays. When I am in a state of confusion, I am greedy for life and afraid of death. After decades of studying the sage's way, I can't see through the word death."
Finally, he handed the Yujue he was about to fuck to the old servant and looked at him deeply:
"Old friend, let's go!"
After saying that, he no longer held back, stabbed his neck with his pen knife, and committed suicide.
When the old servant saw his old master commit suicide in front of him, he kept kowtowing and burst into tears.
After all, many people are going to die today. After all, the Han Dynasty has been raising scholars for two hundred years and has been talking about filial piety for two hundred years. Even though they are greedy for life and afraid of death, for the sake of family reputation, they can only die for the country at this moment.
But these people chose to die, while some people today choose to live in a different way.
(End of chapter)