The night was deep, and a waning moon hung over the sky.

On the empty Jianguo Building, the cold wind blew most of the candles in the hall had been extinguished, and only a few candles placed in the leeward area were still lit, emitting a dismal candlelight.

In normal times, the attendants would have come forward to light the extinguished candles without any orders; However, at this time, those attendants had long since fled to nowhere to go, and naturally no one came forward to do these things.

And Zhu Youzhen and Huang Fulin are even more unlikely to do it themselves.

After silently taking a few sips of wine by candlelight, Zhu Youzhen only felt that the wine that tasted like a sweet spring on weekdays was bleak and tasteless at this time.

"Everyone else has already fled, and they don't want to stay by my side at all, even Zhao Yan and Zhang Hanjie, my henchmen, don't know where they are now. Your Emperor Fulin, a commander of the crane army, is neither an important minister of the court nor a marshal, why are you still here at this time? After a long time, Zhu Youzhen asked.

"Your Majesty, although the minister is not a pillar of the country, he is loyal to His Majesty, and this will be unswerving. It's a pity that the minister's ability is shallow and he can't share his worries with His Majesty. Huang Fu Lin replied respectfully.

Zhu Youzhen was a little surprised, he raised his head and squinted at the person in front of him, as if he wanted to see through whether Huang Fulin's words were sincere or deliberately said this to please him.

But then he smiled bitterly, Liang Guodu was almost finished, and he was now like a plague god, and ordinary people didn't want to get close to him at all; Huang Fulin is still willing to stay by his side at this time, which is already commendable, why should he doubt his intentions anymore?

Thinking of this, he pointed to a chair in front of him and said, "Huangfu Aiqing, come and sit down and have a few drinks with me." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Huang Fulin stepped forward and saluted, picked up the wine jug and poured Zhu Youzhen full of wine, and then poured the cup in front of him full, and then sat down respectfully.

Zhu Youzhen said: "Huangfu Aiqing, do you think I am a faint monarch?" ”

Huang Fulin silently didn't answer, Zhu Youzhen said: "If you have any ideas, just say it directly, no matter what you say at this time, I won't blame you." ”

Huang Fulin said: "The minister thinks that His Majesty has a benevolent temperament, has been diligent in state affairs since he ascended the throne, sleeps at night, and is not good at women and is not greedy for money, how can such an emperor be said to be a faint king?" ”

Zhu Youzhen's face was slightly happy when she heard this, at least she still got some recognition for governing Liang Guo for so many years, and it was not completely useless.

But then he wondered: "Since Aiqing thinks that I am not a faint king, then why is my Liang where I am today?" ”

He thought to himself that he was not a faint king, like those kings who died in history, such as Emperor Yang of Sui, Empress Chen, etc., one by one, they were either cruel and unkind, so happy, or addicted to wine and wasted on political affairs, so their country would perish.

But Zhu Youzhen has no problem in these aspects, but he has been conscientious since he ascended the throne and became emperor, and he did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

Huang Fulin sighed and said in his heart: "Your Majesty may be diligent in national politics and have a gentle and frugal temperament, but his ability to govern the country is greatly lacking, and he reuses Zhao Yan, Zhang Hanjie and other henchmen too much, and alienates Jing Xiang, Li Zhen and other old ministers, so that the upper and lower sides are centrifugal, and the government is deserted; This is the fundamental reason for the ruin of the Liang State. ”

In fact, there are many reasons for the collapse of the Liang State, such as a fatal problem is that there are too many enemies; However, these problems are all external, and if Zhu Youzhen really has enough ability and courage, these problems are not impossible to solve.

It's a pity that Zhu Youzhen has neither enough ability nor courage; However, his opponents, Li Cunmiao, the king of Jin, and Yang Wu, the king of Wu, were both first-class figures in the world, and it is not surprising that they were attacked from the north and south by these two people, and the Liang State was destroyed.

Although Huang Fulin sighed in his heart, he didn't intend to say these questions, after all, the situation had reached the current situation, so why bother to say those unpleasant words that made Zhu Youzhen unhappy?

He muttered, "Maybe it's the destiny of heaven! Ministers heard that the rise and fall of the country often had a certain fate: in the past, when the Tang Dynasty was strong, all the barbarians from all over the world came to pay tribute; The land of the Tang Dynasty is no less than 10,000 miles, and the coins in the national treasury are piled up like a hill; However, with the strength of the Tang Dynasty, it is still inevitable that there will be a day when the country will die, why is this? Because Datang's fate is like this. Your Majesty is not a faint monarch, but the fortunes of the Great Liang are lacking, which is the will of heaven and cannot be disobeyed. ”

"Is it really providential?" Zhu Youzhen was silent when she heard this.

He knew that the real reason was certainly not destiny, there must be other internal reasons; However, since Huang Fulin explained it with the Mandate of Heaven, he didn't want to ask.

Zhu Youzhen asked again: "I heard that the Wu army has more than 100,000 troops, and it has completely besieged the city gates on all sides, and now even if you want to escape, you can't get out of the city." Aiqing felt that if I had listened to Jing Xiang's words and decisively retreated the main force to Luoyang, or even retreated to Guanzhong, would there still be the danger of losing the country now? ”

"Your Majesty, it is certainly a good plan to retreat to Guanzhong, but it is also difficult to implement. Today's Guanzhong is not as good as it was back then. In the past, when the Han and Tang dynasties were prosperous, Guanzhong was fertile for thousands of miles, and it was enough to pacify the Quartet; However, in recent years, the land in Guanzhong has been deserted, the population is sparse, and the people are poor, which is very different from the Han and Tang dynasties. Li Maozhen, the king of Qi, has to pass the gates, but he can only sit on one side, which is the reason. ”

"What does Huangfu Aiqing mean that it will be difficult for me to hold on even if I retreat to Guanzhong?" Zhu Youzhen asked.

"This unknown thing, the minister does not know." Huang Fulin shook his head and said.

……

The two of them drank and talked freely, and they looked like kings and ministers were getting along with each other, and the situation that seemed to be about to fall did not affect their interest.

After a long time, the waning moon had already set, the sky had begun to brighten, and there was a faint sound of horns outside the city, obviously the Wu army had woken up and was ready to bury the pot to prepare for today's siege battle.

Looking at the candles that had long been burned out, and then at the wine jug that had been drunk in front of him, Zhu Youzhen sighed: "I have been diligent in national affairs since I ascended the throne, but now I am the king of the dead country. The Yang family is the feud of my Zhu family, and it is difficult to bow down and surrender, let alone wait for the time when Wu Bing's sword and axe are added. I can't cut myself, so Aiqing will behead me; Qing dedicated it to Wu Jun, which is also a great achievement. ”

Huang Fulin exclaimed: "Your Majesty, why should you be like this? Although the Yang clan is the enemy of my Daliang, it is not the Li clan after all; If Your Majesty is willing to surrender it, it may not be impossible to save it! ”

As far as hatred is concerned, the hatred between the Liang State and the Jin State is naturally more, and the two families have been fighting each other since the era of Zhu Wen and Li Keyong, and it has been more than 30 years.

There was a "honeymoon period" between Liang and Wu at the earliest, and the two sides once formed an alliance to deal with Sun Ru; However, later, in order to prevent Yang Xingmi from becoming a dominant family in the south, Zhu Wen made enemies with Huainan.

At the beginning, Zhu Wen's power was strong, and he had defeated many powerful feudal domains such as Qin Zongquan, Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin, and Shipu, and basically occupied the Central Plains. At that time, Yang Xingmi had just pacified Jianghuai, with few soldiers, meager money and food, and the Huainan soldiers were not very good at fighting, so it was difficult to compete with Zhu Wen's army.

Therefore, at that time, Zhu Wen could be said to have taken the initiative to attack Yang Xingmi without fear, and it was not until the Huainan Army won a complete victory in the Battle of Qingkou that the forces of the two sides gradually stabilized and began a campaign that lasted for more than 20 years.

In general, the wars between the Jin and the Liang were much more than the wars between the Liang and Wu states, and the hatred between the Wu and Liang states was relatively small.

Therefore, Huang Fulin felt that if Zhu Youzhen surrendered to Wu, he might not be able to live.

Zhu Youzhen said angrily: "Are you acting as a lobbyist for Wu Guo and trying to persuade me to surrender to Wu Guo?" ”

Huangfulin cried: "The minister is not a lobbyist for Wu Guo, but for the sake of His Majesty. And the minister is willing to wield a sword for His Majesty to kill the enemy, even if he dies in the hands of Wu Jun, he has no regrets, and he will never dare to obey His Majesty's edict. ”

Zhu Youzhen was even more angry and said, "Does Aiqing want to betray me?" ”

Huang Fu Lin drew his sword and wiped it at his neck, he shot quickly and accurately, obviously not for show, but really intending to kill himself.

Zhu Youzhen hurriedly stopped him and said, "I died with Qing!" ”

Huang Fulin saw that his attitude of begging for death was very resolute, and he did not have the slightest intention of surrendering to the Wu army, coupled with the sound of horns outside the city at this time, it was obvious that the Wu army had begun to attack the city, he immediately no longer hesitated, and stabbed Zhu Youzhen with his sword.

The blade of the sword pierced Zhu Youzhen's heart, killing him quickly; Then, Huangfu Song turned his sword and killed himself, not repenting of his promise to his king.

Zhu Youzhen, as the emperor of the Liang State, was also known as the orthodoxy of the world, and all the remote feudal towns sent envoys to pay tribute; Now that the country is dead, there are only people around him who are willing to be buried with him, but only Huang Fulin, an ordinary general who is usually unknown and is not even Zhu Youzhen's confidant.

And those courtiers who he relied on as his confidants in the past, such as Zhao Yan, Zhang Hanjie and others, had already fled for their lives at this time.

……

Wu Wuyi was fifteen years, Jin and Qi Tianyou were nineteen years, and Liang Longde was in the spring of the second year.

On the second day of the second month of February, Yang Wu, the king of Wu, personally led his troops to attack Luoyang, and Zhu Youzhen, the lord of Liang, ordered the commander of the crane army to kill Huang Fulin first, and then commit suicide; Soon, the soldiers and civilians in the city opened the city gates and surrendered to the Wu army.

At this point, Luoyang fell into the hands of Wu, and since Zhu Wen usurped the throne and established the country, the Later Liang, which lasted for a total of 15 years, officially perished.

Before entering the city, Yang Wu, the king of Wu, restrained the army and ordered the soldiers of all departments not to kill innocents indiscriminately after entering the city, let alone kill, burn and loot, and do evil; At the same time, he ordered Zhou Ben to lead a small number of soldiers into the city, and led Zhang Quanyi, who had surrendered to Wu, and others to appease the people, maintain order in the city, and seal the treasury money and grain.

At noon, Yang Wucai led the army into the city from the Yongtong Gate in the east of the city, and hundreds of officials in the city greeted him under the head of the horse, and they all bowed down and pleaded guilty.

Yang Wushan comforted the officials, and at the same time ordered someone to arrest Zhu Youzhen, the lord of Liang.

Soon after, someone came to report that Zhu Youzhen, the owner of Liang, had committed suicide; Yang Wu then ordered Zhang Quanyi to come forward to collect his body and bury it with the gift of King Liang.

For Huang Fulin, the person who died with Zhu Youzhen, Yang Wu ordered him to be posthumously crowned as the envoy of the Yiwu Festival and buried Zhu Youzhen's side.

……

At the same time, an uninvited guest came to Jingxiang Mansion, who was Li Zhen, the governor of the government.

These days, the army of Wu has pressed the border, and the whole court has long lost its moderation, and the ministers are in a panic, either taking the initiative to surrender to Wu, or sitting at home waiting for the last moment to come.

Jing Xiang had no intention of surrendering to Wu, but he was helpless about the current situation, so he could only return home and close the door of the mansion, indifferently waiting for the situation to develop.

However, Li Zhen's mind was different, although he knew that the general trend of the Liang State had gone at this time, but he still wanted to continue to serve the Wu State.

Of course, no matter what Li Zhen said, he was also the prime minister of Liang State, and he would not be as impatient as other civil and military officials to welcome King Wu, so he also closed the door of the mansion and waited at home, letting other civil and military officials surrender to Wu first to test King Wu's attitude.

Now that King Wu's attitude has basically been tentatively revealed, Yang Wu is generally quite magnanimous to them, the civil and military forces of the Liang State, and he appeases the officials with gentle words, which makes Li Zhen see a glimmer of hope.

So he hurriedly came to visit Jing Xiang and wanted to go with him to meet Yang Wu.

"Brother Jing, I heard that King Wu has an edict, and he will not add to us the old ministers of the Liang State, and he will appease many officials. Although you and I had the talents of the world before, they could not be reused. I heard that King Wu is a meritocracy, reusing talents, how about you and I go to the court together? After seeing Jing Xiang, Li Zhen didn't ramble and directly said his thoughts.

He felt that he and Jing Xiang had a lot in common: both of them had extraordinary talents, and they were both meritorious veterans of the Zhu Wen era, and they made great contributions to Zhu Wen's hegemony; Later, after Zhu Youzhen succeeded to the throne, although both of them were nominally participating in political affairs and ruling the government, Zhu Youzhen did not trust either of them, and the two were at home together.

With so many common experiences, it was natural for Li Zhen to regard Jing Xiang as a person of the same kind, so at this time, he did not shy away from saying his thoughts directly.

However, what he didn't expect was that Jing Xiang and him were really not the same kind of people.

In the face of Li Zhen's persuasion, Jing Xiang replied coldly: "You and I are the prime ministers of Liang State, the king is stupid, and the villain is appointed, but you and I can't advise; The country is in danger, the temple is collapsing, but you and I can't save it, if the new monarch asks, how will you and I answer? ”

"This ......" Li Zhen was speechless.

Jing Xiang thought about it and felt that the two of them had a lot of friendship in the past, so he persuaded him in turn: "King Wu has always been in the name of reviving the Tang Dynasty, and so far he has only called the king but not the emperor, and regarded the Tang Dynasty as orthodox; In the past, in order to ascend to the throne, the first emperor killed the Tang family many times, and most of these things were masterminded by you; Now if you go to surrender to King Wu, the old man is afraid that you will not be able to escape death after all. It's better to be martyred for Daliang now, and you can still keep the evening festival. ”

Li Zhen silently did not answer, said goodbye and left.

When it was not dark that day, someone came to report that "Chongzheng Li Taibao has entered the court." ”

After Jing Xiang heard this, he sighed and said, "Li Zhen is a husband in vain!" The Zhu family and Wu Wangshi are enemies, and the king of the country is dead, even if the king of Wu does not punish the old man, what face does the old man have to go to the court to see the king of Wu! ”

That night, Jing Xiang hanged himself at home.