Chapter Forty-Eight: A Lifetime of Loyalty and Righteousness

Wang Zhiren laughed, remembering that he and Zhang Mingzhen went to sea together, and met Shi Lang's volley on the way, after a big battle, the fleet was scattered, Wang Zhiren only had a boat by his side, and even Zhang Mingzhen didn't know where to drift.

Wang Zhiren was already disheartened.

In the past six months, there have been no less than ten years before and after, and there have been many defeats and few victories, from one or two thousand soldiers at the beginning, to thousands, and now dozens of soldiers. One time less than the other.

And Wang Zhiren also understands that the reason why he is where he is today is all thanks to the support of his brother Wang Xinxin in the palace.

It is simply impossible for him to make a comeback with dozens of people. And Zheng Zhilong's surrender wiped out the only water power that the official army could rely on. No matter how much Wang Zhiren thinks, he can't think of a way to break the enemy. In addition to being disheartened, he was even more depressed. That's where I am today.

Wang Zhiren said: "My Wang is a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, and after the defeat of the army, he went overseas, or some people will think that Wang Zhiren surrendered to the thief, or some people think that I fled overseas. Now after a hundred battles, but I owe one death, but I borrow your hand to tell the world that my king's benevolence will live up to the court. ”

"Why is that?" Zhang Xuan couldn't understand Wang Zhiren's actions.

In his mind, even if he is a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. After they can't fight, there are many people who surrender and retreat, as long as they don't go out of the new dynasty, in fact, no one cares about them.

Just like now, if Wang Zhiren is somewhere in Jiangnan, incognito, and lives an ordinary life, with King Wu's management of Jiangnan, Wang Zhiren may not be able to find out.

Along the way, Zhang Xuan has seen a lot of deaths, but only today's Wang Zhiren's actions made him feel very exhausted, and a life was just sacrificed in vain.

Wang Zhiren was not at all reluctant to explain to Zhang Xuan. said, "Please kill me quickly." ”

Zhang Xuan didn't know Wang Zhiren's heart, and Wang Zhiren had a deep sense of inferiority in his heart.

Why, his ascension to the throne is entirely because of the support of his brother Wang Zhixin, who made him from an ordinary person to a member of the Ming Dynasty magnates.

The King's Heart is not a good bird either.

Among the eunuchs of the Chongzhen Dynasty, Wang Zhixin can be said to be the richest man. It is said that the family has as much as two or three million.

As for how the money came from. Not to mention the details.

Wang Zhiren is like this, and Wang Zhiren will not have a good reputation in Jiangnan.

But Wang Zhiren didn't want to do that. He has nothing now, he just wants to leave a name in history, he knows too well the pen of the literati, if he doesn't die in the Ming place, maybe how he will arrange him after his death. So after the defeat, he was disheartened and just wanted to leave a reputation.

It's just a name

Sound and that's it.

Zhang Xuan didn't understand what Wang Zhiren thought, but Zhang Xuan would never kill Wang Zhiren. Although it is the season of the collapse of the imperial court, it seems that there are many people in the north who surrender and break into the camp, and there are few people who surrender to Cao Ying in the south, so Zhang Xuan cherishes every general, whether it is Wu Zhiping or Wang Zhiren.

Because compared to fighting, recruiting and surrendering is the least costly means of war.

"Come on, press down General Wang." Zhang Xuan rubbed his head and said.

"Yes." Zhang Yuanchu agreed, and then pressed Wang Zhiren down.

Zhang Xuan thought for a while and said, "Invite Mr. Wu over." ”

The Mr. Wu that Zhang Xuan said is Wu Zhiping.

This is also a headache for Zhang Xuan, how should Wu Zhiping's Shangshu position be honored?

Although Cao Zongyu stabbed a basket, Zhang Xuan, as Cao Zongyu's boss, also tried his best to clean up the situation for him, otherwise who would do his best for Zhang Xuan. Zhang Xuan has already put this Shangshu position on the Ministry of Industry.

Without him, Zhang Zhen was also a secretary of two ministries, and was fully responsible for the logistics affairs of all armies. He is the only one who has a place for Shangshu vacant here.

However, this matter is still to be taken care of in Nanjing.

This time, Zhang Xuan went north to Nanjing, and Wu Zhiping and his party also accompanied him.

Zhang Xuan told Wang Zhiren about the situation and said, "Please also ask Mr. Wu to go for me and persuade General Wang to surrender." ”

Wu Zhiping sighed slightly in his heart, he knew that Wang Zhiren had already had a dead heart, and it was difficult for such a person to persuade him to surrender, but he didn't dare to disobey Zhang Xuan's order, and said: "My subordinates obey orders." ”

Wu Zhiping went on a trip, but came back in a moment, his face was extremely ugly, and he immediately left. Zhang Xuan learned from the mouth of his entourage that Wang Zhiren saw Wu Zhiping, and Wu Zhiping only opened his mouth to say one or two words, and was snatched up by my Wang Zhiren, and he sprayed violently, and Wu Zhiping's face darkened.

Seeing this, Zhang Xuan knew that Wang Zhiren couldn't be persuaded for a while, so he said secretly: "Let's go, let's put this matter aside for a while." ”

After all, Nanjing was in a hurry, and Zhang Xuan didn't have time to spend it on Wang Zhiren, and Zhang Xuan also inquired about Wang Zhiren's soldiers being defeated by Zheng Zhilong, and there were no soldiers in his hands for a long time, so Wang Zhiren's use value was not so important to Zhang Xuan.

Wu Zhiping returned home full of anger, and he didn't know who to send the evil fire to. After pacing back and forth in the study for a while, the anger in his heart dissipated a lot, he sat on the chair, and said with a wry smile in his heart: "In my life, the name of the second minister probably can't be removed." ”

"Master, a letter from the eldest prince." A servant said.

Wu Zhiping was overjoyed and said, "Submit it quickly." ”

Wu Zhiping's eldest son Wu Erxun is Wu Zhiping's pride, and he is also the most worried about him during this period of time, he

returned to Shaoxing's home, although there were some things in Shaoxing, and the Wang clan had lost a lot because of the resistance to Cao Ying's soldiers and horses, but the Wu family was still there, and Wu Zhiping breathed a sigh of relief.

In troubled times, if you can keep your family small, it's okay, where else do you want to think.

Only the eldest son Wu Erxun is in Beijing Hanlin Academy, and the recent news of the fall of Beijing has made Wu Zhiping's heart mixed, on the one hand, he has determined that his choice is correct, and on the other hand, he is worried about his son's safety. I remembered something, and I couldn't sleep all night.

The mother of the son is worried, why is the father not worried?

Seeing the letter to the family at this moment, Wu Zhiping's face was full of joy.

But when Wu Zhiping opened it, the smile on his face suddenly froze.

But he saw the epistle in a box. Wu Zhiping opened the box, but the first thing he saw was a finger, which should be an index finger, and then opened the letter to look at it, and suddenly felt dizzy.

The letter was written before Li Zicheng had captured Beijing. It's a farewell letter.

"The country is like this, I'm afraid I can't be filial to my knees. I hope that my father, take care of my body, and bury this finger in the ancestral grave, and his soul will return one day, and then repay my father's kindness for raising him-----"

At this moment, when I saw this letter and this finger, I suddenly had a feeling that his pride, he had been the son of the family's hope since he was a child, I am afraid that it would be gone at this time. The sky is high and the road is far away, and the war is chaotic, who knows where he will become a corpse.

There was only one finger in front of him.

Wu Zhiping burst into tears silently, letting the tears flow down one by one. He was proud of his son, and he remorseled his deeds. What he taught his son, he did, but he didn't. Even if his glory and wealth deepen in the future, I am afraid that he will not be at ease.

"Erxun, Erxun." Wu Zhiping said softly. Don't even dare to cry. There is a little hope in my heart that my son will come back.

For a while, what Shangshu was in the position, what kind of family and country in the world, suddenly faded. Only in the study, the echo more than ten years ago seems to be the echo of Wu Erxun's reading when he was a child: "Kong said to be benevolent, Meng said to take righteousness, only righteousness is exhausted, so benevolence, read the book of sages, what is the so-called thing, and now and in the future, you can have no regrets." ”

And at this moment, in the study, there is no one else, Wu Zhiping looked at this family letter and asked himself: "Now and then, can you have no regrets?" ”

Can you have no regrets?

All night, Wu Zhiping locked himself in the study, and the next day, he was sick, and he ordered the family to be sealed. Even the thought of going to Nanjing faded, Zhang Xuan extended the invitation several times, but he retreated again and again.

But there are some things that he doesn't want to shirk.

。 m.