The warm evening breeze blew by, and the city, where many hideous blood stains had not yet dried up, gradually returned to quiet.

In the many small camps behind the city walls, many firefighters, men, and even women were busy preparing dinner, and the fragrance of the cauldrons had begun to waft out, so that all the tired and hungry people finally had some comfort.

But whether it was the defenders at the head of the city or Huang Degong's Chinese army, almost no one spoke, and countless people looked at the dense Qing army tents under the city, without any expression, as if they were dead.

It's huge.

It's hard to look at.

It's a completely crushing force......

Huang Degong has indeed accumulated a lot over the years, raising two or three thousand family members, and in the chaos of the past few years, he has continued to gather good hands, and his fighting power is not 10,000 but almost 8,000, plus other vassals, the combat power has been claimed to be '50,000'.

If it is placed in an ordinary state, it is definitely the head of the army.

But at this time, they are facing ...... The scale and manpower are not inferior to their main force of the Great Qing Kingdom!

Rao is Huang Degong has many old brothers who have followed him since the beginning of the plains, but in the face of this pressure, even these old brothers are like ashes, and they really don't know what to do.

It is precisely because they all had military experience in Liaodi in their early years that they better understand the horror of real Manchuria.

If there are only 18,000 people in Huai'an City at this time, with their accumulation in Huai'an City for more than a year, it is not too empty to defend desperately, and the chance of holding is still very great.

But the ...... is in front of you

This is the main force of tens of thousands of the Great Qing Kingdom......

What the hell is going to do with this?

If the main force of the Qing army adds a little more fire to the siege this evening, they will definitely not be able to hold it, and the city will be broken and killed!

At this time, although Huang Degong had made a lot of money and added a lot of meat to dinner, the aroma of meat had already spread, but not many people thought about this fragrant fat meat at all.

This meal is very likely to be their severed head meal, who can eat it?

The gate tower of the Chinese army.

In the room of the wide city wall, a pot of mutton is stewed fragrantly, with a sultry aroma, but neither Huang Degong nor several of his henchmen and generals have any intention of cooking.

The current situation is actually clear.

With the scale of the Qing army, Huai'an City was categorically unable to defend it.

This is mainly determined by the topography of Huai'an, the surrounding area is too flat, and there is no danger to defend at all.

When Huang Degong chose to settle in Huai'an, he actually hesitated.

But there are not only salt farms around Huai'an, but also the fields are quite fertile, and the brothers under his command who have followed him for thousands of miles, born and died, are tired.

I thought that with Xu Changqing Ding along the Haicheng line, Huai'an City was definitely safe, but I never thought that the good days had passed and the disaster had already befallen before a year......

"Dong Weng, you can't hesitate any longer, if you can't make a decision as soon as possible, we tens of thousands of people will have to explain here, and we must break through as soon as possible!"

"Breakout?"

"Heh, Master Liu, what you said is good, where should we break through? The Tartars are all fine horses, but we go out but they are all plains, if we are guarded by the city, we at least have a way to live, break through, I am afraid that we will become a live target of the Tartars! ”

"If you don't break through, are you waiting to die here? What does Xuzhou City look like, can't everyone see it? Once the city is broken, none of our wives and children will be able to escape! Qi Ye, your eldest daughter has fifteen, right? ”

"You?! The surname is Liu, what do you mean?! ”

"Shut up, don't make any noise!"

Seeing that he was about to turn into a martial arts fight, Huang Degong slapped the table tyrannically and scolded sharply.

As the head of a time-honored old army from Liaodi, Huang Degong's majesty is still undoubted, and the room suddenly quieted down, and everyone looked at their backbone and guide with blank eyes.

Huang Degong looked at the familiar faces of anger and panic in front of him, couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and closed his eyes in pain.

In the final analysis, it was he who didn't arrange it well, causing the brothers to fall into this place of no return......

Looking at the painful look on Huang Degong's face, everyone's face was not good-looking, and their hearts were even more mixed, and they couldn't say it for a while.

If the framework of the Qing army at this time is 'slavery', an old army leader like Huang Degong must at least be regarded as semi-slavery.

To put it more bluntly, since Li Chengliang opened the precedent of the 'family Ding system', the Ming army is no longer the army of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court, and is basically the private soldiers of the military leaders.

Truly.

The generals generally only support their families, and there are not many people, only dozens or hundreds, at most thousands of people, and all the rest are still the Son of Heaven and the imperial court.

But in the structure of the Ming army, the family members are all proper professional soldiers, and the big soldiers who belong to the Son of Heaven and the imperial court are no different from cannon fodder.

Even if there are a few capable thorns in the cannon fodder big head, how can they be the opponent of professional soldiers with such a huge framework, system, and foundation?

Huang Degong has come to this point, relying on the support of these old brothers, and over the years, they have already formed a community of interests, basically one is prosperous, and one is lost.

The silence continued, and the expressions of each person became more and more depressed, and the transformation became more and more complicated.

In fact, at this time, many people already have a new choice in their hearts, but at this time, it is not yet the last step, and no one can say it first.

Looking at these familiar faces, Huang Degong's heart became more complicated and depressed.

How could he not know how to live at this time?

But~~, if you really make that choice, then there will be no turning back, if you let the ancestors know, even if you go to Jiuquan......

In the continuous depression, a report from the commander of the pro-soldier suddenly came from outside: "Marshal, a messenger from the Qing army has come, yes, it is Shi Ye......"

"Shi Ye?"

Everyone's complexion changed.

Huang Degong's brows also raised suddenly: "Which Shi Ye?" ”

The commander of the pro-soldier has followed Huang Degong for many years, and after being entangled for a moment, he still said: "Yes, it is Shi Tingzhu Shi Ye......"

"This ......"

The expressions of everyone in the room suddenly became wonderful.

Shi Tingzhu is no stranger to them, when they were in Liaodi, everyone worked together, especially Huang Degong, who had a very good relationship with Shi Tingzhu back then, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it was a fateful friendship, Huang Degong once saved Shi Tingzhu's life.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Huang Degong couldn't help but feel even more pain in his heart.

It's an unspeakable pain!

Shi Tingzhu is a native of Guangning, but he Huang Degong is a native of Kaiyuan.

If he Huang Degong wanted to take refuge in Tartar, he would have taken refuge as early as the Wanli period when Kaiyuan was lost, so why wait until this time?

I heard that Shi Tingzhu has now mixed with Gushan Ezhen, and his Huang Degong is no worse than Shi Tingzhu's ability, if he took refuge in Tatar in his early years, let alone Gushan Ezhen, like Kong Youde and them, I am afraid that the king will be sealed.

In fact, Huang Degong was very reluctant to see Shi Tingzhu in his heart, at least at this joint, but~, looking at the extremely expectant eyes of these old brothers in front of him, he could only say dullly: "Please come over." ”

"Yes."

As the commander of the pro-soldiers went to invite someone, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, and some people couldn't stop getting excited, although they didn't dare to say anything, but they were all signaling to Huang Degong with their eyes, including pleading.

Forcing these old brothers to be sent away first, Huang Degong let out a long breath, as if he had aged several years in an instant.

On one side is faith, and on the other side is reality.

How to choose?

"Brother Huang, I haven't seen you for many years, but are you okay?"

I was trembling and wanted to pour myself a glass of wine, calm my nerves first, when a strange and familiar hearty voice suddenly came from outside the door.

I saw Shi Tingzhu wearing a royal robe inlaid with red flags of the Han Army, and walked in sassy, although there are still some shadows of what he looked like back then, but regardless of spirit and momentum, he has long been incomparable, a proper middle-aged successful man.

And although he Huang Degong is wearing battle armor, he hasn't taken it off yet, but for some reason, just from the momentum, he has fallen to the downside.

"Brother Shi, I haven't seen you for many years, brother, I always thought that we would never see each other again, but I didn't expect that today I actually have the opportunity to see you again."

Huang Degong put on a smiling face, beckoned Shi Tingzhu to sit down, and personally poured a glass of wine for Shi Tingzhu.

Shi Tingzhu sat down with a smile, and simply drank the wine in the cup decisively, "Brother Huang, actually, brother, I have wanted to contact you for a long time, but I just ...... Hey, don't talk about the bad things. Are sister-in-law and children okay? ”

As soon as he heard Shi Tingzhu ask about his family, Huang Degong's eyes turned red, and he almost didn't shed tears, and the momentum he had built up collapsed instantly.

This is also the problem he is most worried about at this time.

He died himself, sacrificed his life for the country, and his husband's horse leather shroud was the best destination, but what about his wife and children?

Even if he thinks about it with his ass, he can know the terrible consequences.

According to the fierceness of his wife Weng, if he was killed, she would definitely follow him, but his daughter, the concubine, ......

Huang Degong didn't dare to think about it anymore......

Shi Tingzhu also knew that it was a bit too much, so he hurriedly remedied: "Big brother, it's the younger brother who is confused." But don't worry, no matter what choice you make, the younger brother can swear to the eldest brother here that he will definitely protect his sister-in-law and the child. ”

Huang Degong nodded with red eyes and dullness: "Brother Shi, I have you to thank you." ”

Then there was silence again.

Shi Tingzhu knew Huang Degong's temperament very well, and couldn't help but sigh deeply, and said with a wry smile: "Big brother, you, why are you so hard?" Why bother not getting along with yourself, with your wife and children? Big brother, our brothers, that's a friendship in a pair of pants, and I won't hide it from you, little brother. What Lord Belle means, as long as you are willing to submit to my Qing Dynasty, the king does not dare to say it for the time being, but at least he will be able to lead the army of one banner alone. In addition, whether it is my eldest nephew or niece, you can intermarry with the Qing royal family, and you can choose it. If you are willing to come over, I am willing to give up the real position of the Han army with red flags and solid mountains! ”

Shi Tingzhu looked at Huang Degong with great sincerity.

Huang Degong was also a little stunned for a while, he didn't expect that the Great Qing Kingdom could offer him such a price, which was definitely full of sincerity.

As a Kaiyuan person, I still know a lot about the set of Huang Degong of the Great Qing Dynasty.

Of course, it is also because he has this capital.

Even if the losses in today's battle are quite heavy, he still has 30,000 soldiers available now, especially two or three thousand family members, if he really votes for the Qing Dynasty, it is really not a dream to be crowned king.

However, after thinking about it for a while, Huang Degong still shook his head: "Brother Shi, I understand your kindness, but I can't accept this matter!" ”

As he spoke, Huang Degong stood up: "Brother Shi, you and I have been brothers for many years, you know what kind of person I am." If I wanted to cast the tartars, I would have voted long ago, so why wait until now? You go back and tell Rao Yu Baylor that I thank him for his kindness, but forgive me! As for your sister-in-law and children, if ...... That's their life, too! ”

Huang Degong said the last words almost with red eyes.

"Big brother, you, why are you here?"

How could Shi Tingzhu have thought that at this time, the sincerity of the Great Qing Kingdom is so full, and Huang Degong still does not enter the urn? I'm also a little anxious.

said with a wry smile: "Big brother, I know that you are a hero, but if you don't think about your sister-in-law and children, you have to think about these old brothers below, right?" Big brother, you can't lead these old brothers into a place of no return! ”

"You?!"

"You threaten me?!"

Huang Degong's momentum changed suddenly, he locked onto Shi Tingzhu directly, his big hand had already touched the hilt of the knife on his waist, the sluggish momentum dissipated instantly, and the majesty of the top general of the Ming Dynasty appeared on his face again.

"Threat?"

Shi Tingzhu continued to smile bitterly: "Big brother, you should understand that these things are not only you and me, but the brothers are also people in the rivers and lakes, and they can't help themselves!" Big brother, Lord Belle didn't give you and me too much time, you still have half an hour. If you can't give me accurate information within half an hour, then I can only go back to my life. At that time, this huge Huai'an City will be the second Xuzhou! ”