An oil lamp, the beans in it jumped, and in the dark room, a sitting figure also swayed.

The owner of the sitting figure closed his eyes lightly and sat cross-legged on the couch. His cheeks were slender and thin, and if you looked closely, he had a long beard under his chin, and two strands of long hair connected to his temples, and together with the long beard, the three strands hung down to his chest, and they converged into a thick black strand.

There was silence inside and outside the room, without a single murmur, and the man had been sitting, breathing slightly. Apparently, he was meditating. What he was meditating on, no one knew, the turmoil in his head was known only to him - this man told himself in his heart that there must be a result tonight, because this result was a matter of life and death.

His name is Chang Zeyu, he is forty-five years old this year, and if people who don't know meet for the first time, most of them will think that he is a decent and learned master. It's no wonder that Chang Zeyu, who has an elegant and handsome white face and exudes a tranquil and elegant temperament all over his body, makes it impossible to associate it with the word "Liukou".

However, Chang Zeyu is already an old man with nearly ten years of experience.

In the first year of Chongzhen, the Shaanxi Righteous Army rose all over, as an ordinary private school gentleman in Fugu County, Chang Zeyu followed his old friend Wang Jiayin to start an incident. In fact, many people don't know that Wang Jiayin, who was born as a short-term worker, originally did not have the courage to rise up, and even after hearing about the spread of the beacon fire in northern Shaanxi, he also intended to flee to other places to avoid the military disaster. It was Chang Zeyu and another fellow villager named Wu Tinggui who strongly persuaded Wang Jiayin to "follow the trend". Wu Tinggui is a big household in Fugu, Chang Zeyu is also famous in the local area, under the Zhang Luo of the two of them, the situation is very good, Wang Jiayin saw that things are profitable, only then agreed to lead the uprising.

As for why Chang Zeyu would go against the normal state of "loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness" and actively seek "great rebellion", there is no shortage of speculation from others, but Chang Zeyu himself has always been secretive. There was a rumor that Chang Zeyu had a dream in his early years, in which the sun lost its light and the moon lost its light, and he woke up and pondered, thinking that the "day" and "moon" in the word "Ming" were dim and withered, thus extending the meaning of "the number of Ming Qi has been exhausted". And because Wang Jiayin's appearance is "quite emperor-like", he came up with the idea of assisting him to raise troops and fight for deer.

Wang Jiayin's soldiers were all peasant households, homeless people and a small number of miners and military households at the beginning, even if they robbed the treasury and had some standard equipment, they lacked training, and the generals did not have the experience of commanding and training troops, so once they encountered a large number of officers and soldiers, they were often powerless to fight back.

In response to this situation, Chang Zeyu suggested that Wang Jiayin contact Gao Yingxiang and other forces from the border army to cooperate with the battle. Under the planning of Chang Zeyu, Wang Jiayin not only successfully established relations with leaders with strong combat effectiveness such as Gao Yingxiang and Shen Yiyuan, but even relied on the numerical advantage and huge influence on the account to successfully suppress Gao Yingxiang and others, and became the leader of the Shaanxi Qunkou.

At that time, Chang Zeyu, as the first mastermind next to Wang Jiayin, sat firmly in the position of military advisor, compared to Wang Jiayin, who was confused, he was the one who was in charge of the actual power, and it was not an exaggeration to say that "one person is above ten thousand people". In order to further seize control of the army, he united with Wang Jiayin's subordinate Wang Ziyong to force another old man, Wu Tinggui, to death, and from then on he monopolized power. It can be said that the time from the third year of Chongzhen to the fourth year of Chongzhen was the most proud time of Chang Zeyu.

But his golden period didn't last long. In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Wang Jiayin encountered Cao Wenzhao, the deputy chief soldier of Yansui East Road, who was fighting in Jin and Shaanxi for the first time at that time. The powerful Wang Jiayin did not take the first meeting of Cao Wenzhao in his eyes, he forcibly crossed the Yellow River according to the predetermined plan, entered Shanxi, fought fiercely with the official army in Caiyuangou, and won the victory. This victory made Wang Jiayin very excited, Chang Zeyu was also confused by the situation, thinking that the Ming Dynasty had really reached the point of vulnerability, full of thoughts about gathering the Jinzhong group, and then parted ways Henan, North Zhili, and finally smashed the capital to change the dynasty.

Unexpectedly, fate played a big joke with him, in June of the fourth year, Wang Jiayin's light army ventured, fell into the siege of the official army in Yangcheng, and died under the blow of Cao Wenzhao, full of ambition turned into a dream of Nanke. After his death, the internal turmoil of the Liukou was shaken, and there was almost a situation of complete collapse, and Chang Zeyu judged the situation, and promptly brought out Wang Ziyong, and was regarded as Wang Jiayin's successor, and at the same time won the support of Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and other first-class strong men, which stabilized the situation.

After Wang Ziyong took charge, he did not reuse Chang Zeyu, on the contrary, because he had conspired with Chang Zeyu to kill Wu Tinggui, Wang Ziyong was very wary of Chang Zeyu both openly and secretly. Although Chang Zeyu still holds the title of "Great Military Division" and sits in the second position, he knows in his heart that Wang Ziyong does not trust him at all.

Chang Zeyu stayed in Wang's self-use camp for nearly two years, until Wang Ziyong did not listen to the advice, and insisted on going north to Yuci and Shouyang in Shanxi, and pressed Taiyuan. Soon after he left, Wang Ziyong really fought in Lianbei under the "key care" of the official army, and finally suffered a serious injury in Wu'an and died of his wounds in Jiyuan in May of that year.

After Wang Ziyong's death, the heroes of the Liukou rose together, but whether it was Gao Yingxiang or Zhang Xianzhong or even other Dakou, none of them were willing to take the initiative to recruit Chang Zeyu. The reason is very simple, Chang Zeyu's qualifications are too deep, even so deep that they can overshadow them, and they can't find a suitable position for placing him. The more important reason is that they have all dealt with Chang Zeyu more or less, and they know that this person is difficult to control, if they are recruited at will, I am afraid that the harm will outweigh the benefits, and Chang Zeyu himself knows this.

Therefore, in the following years, Chang Zeyu has been looking for a place in small and medium-sized rogue groups in various places, most of these rogues have heard of his name, but they have never had the opportunity to contact him before, so they have a sense of reverence from the beginning. In addition, Chang Zeyu made good use of power and basically frightened all the hosts into a daze, and worshiped himself as a god. However, he knew very well in his heart that it was not a long-term solution to go on like this, after all, he was not a person who was content with plainness, or because he had been brilliant, he was not willing to end up in silence like this, and the fire in his heart was still burning.

Chang Zeyu can't count how many battalions he has changed since Wang used it for his own use, he only knows that every time he changes the court, no one will question him, thinking that he is capricious. On the contrary, everyone in his account believed that his choice to give up the previous "owner" could not be more correct. With his own ability, he can always gain the trust of the "new owner" in a very short period of time, just like now, he is one of the few henchmen of Wu Dading, who is suspicious by nature.

Sometimes, he will also "discover his conscience" and reflect on whether his deception of other people's feelings is the work of a gentleman, but whenever he thinks that this is a world where people eat people, he will immediately put away his compassion and kindness. He reminded himself more than once that from the moment he killed Wu Tinggui, the word "gentleman" had nothing to do with him for the rest of his life.

Now, in this claustrophobic small room, Chang Zeyu fell into contemplation again, and every time he meditated like this, there was only one reason - he wanted to change.

He followed Wu Dading for a few months, and he already decided in his heart that Wu Dading was not the material he was looking for, and the moment Zhao Dangshi appeared, he began to waver. It seems that compared with the self-righteous Wu Dading, the "young and promising" Zhao Dangshi seems to be a good next home.

But he didn't make a rash decision, years of training made him completely inconsistent, the waves in his heart from beginning to end no one saw the clues, and even not long ago, he proposed that Wu Dading break away from Zhao Ying and develop alone. No one thought that such a person who was in the eyes of Wu Dading had already begun to think differently.

Chang Zeyu was quite cautious, even if he had heard about Zhao Dangshi's previous deeds, and knew that Zhao Dangshi was more suitable for himself than Wu Dading, he still decided to observe for a while, after all, Zhao Ying was now surrounded by foreign enemies, and it was difficult to protect himself, and he didn't want to throw himself into the arms of a mud bodhisattva who was crossing the river.

A few days ago, news came from Chu County, Hao Shaoqi's forward was defeated in Feixian Ridge, and suffered heavy losses, he originally thought that Zhao Dangshi would not be able to bear it, and he would lead the main force to support quickly before the arrangements were made. Chang Zeyu didn't know Zhao Dangshi's specific thoughts, but just with this calm and unhurried courage, Chang Zeyu appreciated Zhao Dangshi a little more.

The officials and troops around Luoyang and Chuxian are not far from Baocheng, which is related to their own safety, and Chang Zeyu is naturally also very concerned about the movements of the other side. Hao Shaoqi resisted his impulse after Cui Shu's strong defeat and shrank wholeheartedly in the county. Most of Zu Dabi's troops are good at field warfare, but they are not good at attacking fortifications. Hong Chengchou was constrained by the constraints of northern Shaanxi, and his policy in southern Shaanxi was "to act cautiously, wait for the northern affairs to be decided, and then slow down the plan", Fei Yizai and Zu Jie, who were stationed in Luoyang, did not dare to follow up with support without permission. For the performance of the two, Zu Dabi scolded his mother ten thousand times in his heart, he was at ease outside, and he didn't want to go back to Luoyang to be angry with Hong Chengchou and others.

The controller of Baocheng is the "Yellow Nest" Wu Dading, he didn't expect Zu Dabi to dare to advance so rashly, and the more than 1,000 people stationed in Jitou Pass fled without even firing a single bullet or arrow. Wu Dading was both shocked and angry, beheaded a few generals who left without a fight, and sent nearly 2,000 people to the front line of Jiweng Mountain to block Zu Dabi who came to win the victory. However, in the face of the overwhelming Zu Dabi, his defense line was not as strong as it seemed. In less than two days, several villages in Jiweng Mountain were all attacked by Zu Dabi, and more than 1,000 soldiers and soldiers were lost in the martial camp, and the remaining soldiers and horses had no courage to defend the field, and almost all of them shrank into Baocheng overnight.

This battle happened just two days ago, and the blow to the martial arts camp was very big, and Wu Dading, who had always been accustomed to being powerful in Hanzhong Mansion, was completely revealed, and only then did he realize how vulnerable he was. To this day, Wu Dading has not recovered from the fiasco, and after he handed over all the details related to the defense of the city to his henchman Xiong Wanjian, he began to close his hut and borrow wine to drown his sorrows. It has continued to this day, and many generals, including Chang Zeyu, have gone to look for him, but all of them have run into a wall.

Wu Dading's negative performance made Chang Zeyu more determined to leave this person. He even thinks that if this continues, it is unknown whether Baocheng County can be saved. The weak resign themselves to fate, the strong change their lives against the sky, Chang Zeyu will never put his life on others, tonight, is the time for him to make a choice.

Where did you go after leaving Wu Dading? When Chang Zeyu does things, he will find a way out in advance, but this time, he meditated for most of the night, but he still couldn't come up with a plan that satisfied him. The Shaanxi group of Kou either went north to Li Zicheng, or gathered under Zhao Dangshi in Hanzhong Mansion, in addition, there are still some cats and dogs, and they can't get into his eyes at all.

Li Zicheng is determined not to want himself, in the past years in Shanxi, he even had a quarrel with him. So in front of him, the only choice is Zhao Dangshi.

I can hear rumors that Zhao Dangshi is heroic and wise, not a master who is easy to fool, and there are also three or two strategists under his hands to give advice, if he votes in the situation of Wu Dading, he really can't find a good rhetoric and capital to win a suitable position in front of Zhao Dangshi. But when Wu Dading is really in a desperate situation, then the fire at the city gate will affect the pond fish, and he may not have a chance to jump out of the circle again.

Chang Zeyu thought about it and found that he had fallen into an embarrassing situation, saying that it was embarrassing, Wu Dading was nominally Zhao Dangshi's subordinate, as long as he was still in the day, he would not be able to say anything about his surrender to Zhao Dangshi. But if you don't vote for Zhao Dangshi, where can you go?

In the second half of the night, the oil lamp was getting darker and darker, and Chang Zeyu was upset, got up and wanted to relieve himself and add some lamp oil to the oil lamp. As soon as he walked to the table, there was a sudden rapid bangzi sound in the southwest, Chang Zeyu didn't care, because in the past few days, the city has been panicking for the ghostly Zu Dabi soldiers, and every night there are watchout soldiers who claim to find suspected night raids on the outskirts of the city.

"If you let the old bear guard the chicken Weng Mountain, how can the surname Zu succeed so easily." Chang Zeyu shook his head, feeling sorry for Xiong Wanjian, who was left behind in Baocheng to defend the city in the battle of Jiweng Mountain. This person has a straightforward personality, but he is quite talented as a royal soldier, and if you calculate carefully, almost all of Wu Dading's rare victories this year were commanded by Xiong Wanjian.

Chang Zeyu listened to the sound of bangzi that was gradually ringing away, and silently added some mutton fat to the oil lamp, and the flame had combustibles, and it became bright again.

At the moment when the room was bright, Chang Zeyu's mind seemed to suddenly open up, and he thought of one thing, to be precise, he thought of two people - Wang Ziyong and Xiong Wanjian.

"Alright, alright." He didn't say anything, he muttered to himself, his slender eyes striated with a smile. Immediately afterward, he blew out the oil lamp that had just been lit in one go, and the whole room suddenly fell into a dark silence.