Dalinghe City has been out of cooking for more than a month, the soldiers and civilians in the city are so hungry that they have no strength to live, the mice have eaten all the food, the war horses have also been eaten, and there are people everywhere who are dying and struggling, whether they are soldiers or civilians, their faces are colorless, their eye sockets are deep, and they seem to be able to see the bones inside through the thin human skin, which looks quite hideous.

On the dirty streets, you can see people and people dying of starvation everywhere, and the death is extremely miserable. However, this is not the most horrific scene, but even more terrifying is that when the dead or dying people fall to the ground and cannot move, the still strong companions in the vicinity will come forward, slaughter their corpses with knives, and then cut off the pieces of meat and roast them on the fire to eat.

Sometimes there was no wood to cook the meat, so the frenzied hungry people would use the bones of their dead companions as firewood, cook their meat, and eat it......

The city was full of hungry people roasting human flesh, the smell of burnt meat wafting through the streets, the glow of burning fires, and the disgusting smell of smoke......

Dalinghe City is like a purgatory on earth, which is shocking and unbearable......

He Kegang saw all this, was anxious in his heart, and at the same time fell into deep self-blame. As a border general of the Ming Dynasty, he was unable to protect the people of the Ming Dynasty, and he couldn't even give them a little food, so that such a tragic tragedy occurred - some hungry people even ate their relatives who had just starved to death!

Tiger poison still doesn't eat children, let alone people? Here, humanity is extinct, and there is only life, and death......

Not only the people eat people, but the soldiers also eat people. How can this be stopped, because people are hungry and crazy, who will take him, the amiable and respectable Chinese military lord on weekdays, in his eyes?

Zu Zeqing, the fourth son of Zu Dashou, opened his mouth and said: "Father, now that the Tartars have been besieging the city for more than a month, the city has been interrupted for a long time, and if it continues like this, I am afraid that it will not be a way!" What are the plans of my father and my uncles? ”

He Kegang coughed a few times, and said weakly: "Zu Shuai, brothers, although there are many Tartars, we still have more than 10,000 soldiers, if we fight to the death, we can't break through without trying......"

He Kegang was worried about hard work, he became ill from hard work, and there was no food to replenish his strength, so he fell ill a few days ago, and he had to stop breathing after saying a few words.

Zu Dashou looked at He Kegang's sick face, and couldn't help but ask with some worry: "Kegang, are you okay?" ”

Zu Dashou didn't think about breaking through desperately, but a few previous breakthroughs were unsuccessful, and now the soldiers are not physically strong, their fighting spirit is lost, and the hope of breaking through is even more slim. Second, the Wanlai people under this hand are the foundation of his ancestral family in Liaodong, and it is also the foundation that he can bargain with the imperial court.

He Kegang shook his head, and said with a strong breath: "Thank you Zu Shuai for your concern, Ke Gang is fine, as long as he can live with dignity, Ke Gang is willing to sacrifice his life for the country at any time." ”

Zhang Cunren sighed and said: "Zu Shuai, General He, fellow comrades, we have been without food for many days now, and the soldiers are physically weak, so we can only wait for the arrival of reinforcements from the imperial court. ”

Zu Dashou's son, Zu Kefa, peeked at Zu Dashou, and then looked at Zu Zerun, and then said tentatively: "Father, generals, there is a sentence in Kefa that I don't know whether to say or not. ”

Zu Dashou glanced at him meaningfully and said, "Kefa, if you have something to say, don't swallow it." ”

"Yes, Father." Zu Kefa took a deep breath and said, "Father, generals, in fact, can we consider opening the city gate......

"No! Absolutely not! Before Zu Kefa finished speaking, He Kegang stood up excitedly and said loudly: "We are soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, how can we surrender to Jiannuna City?" Wouldn't that be a sinner for the ages? ”

"General He, that's not what I said, it's true that we are soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, but we have also guarded the Ming Dynasty and the emperor for more than a month! We don't want to surrender, but it's been more than a month, and the imperial reinforcements haven't come, so how can we continue to defend without food or drink? Is it just starving to death here? Zu Kefa said disapprovingly.

"Even if you starve to death, you must not surrender!" He Kegang said angrily: "Have you forgotten last year's Yongping Massacre? There are also cities that were breached by Jiannu before, how many of the guards and soldiers who surrendered were not killed by Jiannu? Surrender is also death, not surrender is also death, rather than surrender and be killed, it is better to starve to death, starvation can still leave a good reputation of loyalty! ”

Zhang Cunren nodded and agreed: "What General He said is reasonable, the Jiannu Tartars are barbaric and inhumane, and everyone knows that if we surrender, I am afraid there will be no way to live." ”

Zu Kefa was not convinced, opened his mouth and said: "But, didn't the Tartars send a letter of persuasion from Mrs. Hong a few days ago, Mrs. Hong said that the slaughter of the city in Yongping was done by Amin, and now that Amin has been locked up, they will not kill our ......"

"Joke! Can you believe the words of the dog tartar? He Kegang sneered, and his sickly face also had a hint of ruddy because of excitement: "What's more, the slave chief Hongtai is a person who has no great ambitions, he has already entered Gyeonggi, but he has withdrawn, and he has no ambition to dominate the world at all." What is the difference between the Tartars coming and going is nothing more than the word "robbing", and the robbers who occupy the mountains as kings? Surrender such a person will never end well in the future! I'm the first to object! ”

"General He, you ......" Zu Kefa was so choked by He Kegang that he couldn't speak.

Most of the generals present nodded after listening to He Kegang's words, thinking deeply. Originally, everyone didn't have any good impression of Jiannu, and not many people were willing to surrender to Jiannu on the charge of betraying the country for glory, groveling, and at this time, after listening to He Kegang's words, they all agreed.

Zu Dashou, who had been silent, suddenly said: "Okay, Kefa, General He is very reasonable, Jiannu is my mortal enemy of the Ming Dynasty, and I, as a Ming soldier, should wear my liver and blood to guard the frontier for the Ming Dynasty, how can I surrender to the enemy?" Remember your first offense, don't take it as an example! ”

"Yes, father, the child knows that he is wrong." Seeing this, Zu Kefa hurriedly confessed.

In fact, Zu Kefa said this precisely because of Zu Dashou's instructions. Last night, their father and son talked secretly for half the night, talking about the predicament they were in, and both father and son were interested in opening the city and surrendering in order to survive.

But Zu Dashou was worried that He Kegang would not surrender, so he hinted that Zu Kefa would say the idea of surrender and test He Kegang's thoughts and attitudes.

After trying it today, He Kegang really refused to surrender, and Zu Dashou gave up and played a round.

He Kegang's prestige and status in the army are actually not lower than Zu Dashou, but He Kegang is dead-eyed, and he doesn't like to form gangs, so he is not as powerful as Zu Dashou, but many generals and soldiers in the army respect and support He Kegang, which is an undeniable fact. He Kegang refused to surrender, and Zu Dashou was not easy to force, otherwise he was afraid of civil strife.

Everyone was silent, and suddenly the general Guo Hu ran in and shouted: "Zu Shuai! Zu Shuai! Imperial reinforcements are coming! ”