The warm evening breeze blew past his face, and many hideous blood stains on the city that had not yet dried up, gradually regained silence.

Among the small camps behind the city walls, many fire soldiers, civilians, and even women were busy preparing supper. The fragrance began to float out of the pots, which finally made all the tired, tired and hungry people feel a little comforted.

But no one spoke, whether it was the defenders on the top of the city or Huang Degong's central army. Countless people looked at the dense Qing army camps under the city without any expression, as if they were dead.

Too huge.

It's simply impossible to look directly at it.

This is completely crushing pressure...

Huang Degong has indeed accumulated a lot over the years. He has raised two or three thousand servants and has been gathering good players in the chaos in recent years. His ability to fight is not ten thousand, but almost eight thousand. In addition to other vassals, his combat power is already known as the "50,000".

If it is in an ordinary state, it will definitely be the leader of the army.

But at this moment, what they were facing was... the main force of the Qing Dynasty, which was not as large as theirs!

Even though Huang Degong had many older brothers who had followed him since Kaiyuan, facing this pressure, even these older brothers were all in a state of dismay. I really didn't know what to do.

It is precisely because they had military experience in Liao in their early years that they understood the terror of True Manchu.

If there were only 8,000 people under Huai'an City at this time, relying on their accumulation in Huai'an City over the past year, it would be too late to defend it, and there would be a great opportunity to defend it.

But in front of you...

These are tens of thousands of main forces in the Qing Dynasty...

How can he play this?

If the main force of the Qing army sieges a little more fire, they will definitely not be able to defend it. If the city is destroyed and people are killed, it will be dawn!

Although Huang Degong had invested a lot of money at this time and added a lot of meat to dinner, the aroma of the meat had already dispersed, but not many people thought about the fragrant fat meat.

This meal is most likely their slaughtered rice, so who can continue?

Central Army City Gate Tower.

In the room with a wide and thick wall, a pot of mutton was stewed with a scent of mutton, and the aroma of smell was fascinating. However, neither Huang Degong nor his confidant aides and generals had the intention of having a meal.

The current situation is actually clear.

Huai'an City could not be defended at the Qing army's scale.

This is mainly determined by the terrain of Huai'an. The surroundings are too flat and there is no danger to guard at all.

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

But not only are there salt fields around Huai'an, but the fields are also quite fertile. The brothers under his command who followed him for thousands of miles and lived and died were already tired. The show of these salt merchants and wealthy families in Huai made it difficult for them to refuse, and Huang Degong could only accept it half-response.

I thought that with Xu Changqingding along Haicheng, Huai'an City was definitely a safe place, but I never thought that after a good life, there was not a year before, and the catastrophe had already come...

"Dongweng, you can't hesitate anymore. If you can't make a decision as soon as possible, all tens of thousands of us will have to explain here. We must break through as soon as possible!"

"Breakthrough?"

"Ha, Master Liu, what you said is nice. Where should we break through? The Tartars are all elite cavalry, but when we go out, they are all plains. If we guard the city, we will at least have a way out. If we break through, we are afraid that we will become the target of the Tartars!"

"Will you wait to die here if you don't break through? Can't you see what Xuzhou City looks like? Once the city is broken, no one of our wives and children can escape! Mr. Qi, your eldest daughter is fifteen, right?"

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

"Shut up, stop making noise!"

Seeing that as he was talking was about to turn into a martial battle, Huang Degong slapped the table violently and scolded him sternly.

As an old military leader from Liao, Huang Degong's majesty is unquestionable. The room suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at their backbone and guided the way.

Huang Degong looked at the familiar faces in front of him, angry and panic-like, and couldn't help but sigh and closed his eyes in pain.

After all, it was because he didn't make any arrangements, which led to his brothers falling into this irreversible place...

Looking at the painful expression on Huang Degong's face, no one looked good, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings and could not speak for a moment.

If the Qing army's framework at this time was "slavery", an old military leader like Huang Degong would at least be considered semi-slavery.

To put it bluntly, since Li Chengliang set the precedent for the "household system", the Ming army was no longer the army of the emperor and the court, but basically the private soldiers of the military leaders.

indeed.

The generals usually only raise family servants, and there are not many people, only a few dozen or a hundred, at most only a thousand. The rest are still from the emperor and the court.

But in the Ming army's structure, the servants were all professional soldiers, and the emperor and the imperial court's big-headed soldiers were no different from cannon fodder.

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

Huang Degong has come to this day because of the support of these old brothers. Over the years, they have already formed a community of interests, and they have basically prospered and lost.

The silence continued, and everyone's expressions became more and more depressing, and the changes became more and more complicated.

In fact, many people have already had new choices in their minds at this time, but at this time, it is not even the last step, and no one can say it first.

Looking at these familiar faces, Huang Degong felt even more complicated and depressed.

How could he not know his way of life at this time?

But, if you really make that choice, you will never have a way back. If your ancestors know, you will be in the nine springs...

In the continuous depression, the personal commander suddenly came from outside: "Master, a messenger from the Qing army has come here, yes, it's Mr. Shi..."

"Master Shi?"

Everyone's expressions changed.

Huang Degong's brows also raised: "Which Master Shi?"

The personal commander followed Huang Degong for many years, and after a moment of confusion, he said: "Yes, it's Shiting Master Shi..."

"this……"

The expressions of the people inside suddenly became wonderful.

Shi Tingzhu is not unfamiliar with them. When they were in Liao, everyone worked together, especially Huang Degong. They had a very good relationship with Shi Tingzhu back then. It is not an exaggeration to say that they had a life-long friendship. Huang Degong once saved Shi Tingzhu's life.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him with a gaze, Huang Degong couldn't help but feel even more painful.

This is an indescribable pain!

Shi Tingzhu was from Guangning, but Huang Degong was from Kaiyuan.

If Huang Degong wanted to surrender to the Tartars, he would surrender to the time when Kaiyuan was lost during the Wanli period. How could he have to wait until this time?

I heard that Shi Tingzhu has now been at Gushan Ezhen, and his Huang Degong is no worse than Shi Tingzhu's ability. If he had defected to the Tartars in his early years, let alone Gushan Ezhen, like Kong Youde and others, he would probably have been granted the title of the king.

In fact, Huang Degong was very reluctant to see Shi Tingzhu. At least at this joint, but, looking at the eyes of the old brothers in front of him, he could only say dullly: "Please come here."

"yes."

As the personal soldiers went to invite people, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Some people could no longer stop being excited. Although they didn't dare to say anything, they were using their eyes to signal Huang Degong, including begging.

He forced himself to kill these old brothers first, and Huang Degong let out a long breath, as if he had grown several years old in an instant.

On one hand, there is faith and on the other hand, there is reality.

How to make a decision?

"Brother Huang, I haven't seen each other for many years, but how can I be safe?"

Just as I was trembling and trying to pour myself a glass of wine, I calmed down first, but suddenly a strange and familiar cheerful voice came from outside the door.

Shi Tingzhu walked in happily wearing a royal robe with the Han army inlaid with red flags. Although he still had a shadow of his appearance back then, no matter his spirit or momentum, he was already incomparable to the same age. He was a middle-aged successful man.

Although Huang Degong was wearing armor and had not taken off yet, for some reason, he had already fallen to the disadvantage just because of the momentum.

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

Huang Degong forced his smile and asked Shi Tingzhu to sit down. He poured a glass of wine for Shi Tingzhu himself.

Shi Tingzhu sat down with a smile, and simply drank the glass of wine decisively, "Brother Huang, actually, brother, I have wanted to contact you for a long time, but... hey, it's okay if I don't say anything bad. Are my sister-in-law and the child okay?"

When Huang Degong heard Shi Tingzhu ask about his family, his eyes turned red and he almost burst into tears. The momentum he had to hold on to collapse instantly.

This is also his most worried issue at this time.

He died by himself. Sacrifice for the country. A real man is the best destination, but what about his wife and children?

Even if he thought about it with his butt, he could still know the terrifying consequences.

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

Huang Degong no longer dares to think about it...

Shi Tingzhu also knew that it was a bit too much, so he hurriedly remedy: "Brother, I'm confused. But don't worry, no matter what choice you make, I can swear to you here, and I will definitely protect my sister-in-law and the child."

Huang Degong nodded dullly with red eyes: "Brother Shi, I'm here to help you."

Then there was another silence.

Shi Tingzhu knew Huang Degong's temperament very well, and couldn't help but sigh deeply and smiled bitterly: "Brother, why are you doing this? Why can't you get along with yourself? You can't even get along with your wife and children? Brother, we brothers, that's a friendship with you in pairs of pants, I won't hide it from you. Master Beile's meaning, as long as you are willing to submit to my Qing Dynasty, you won't dare to say that you have been the king for the time being, but at least you really have to be a Gushan E, and you can only marry the Qing Dynasty royal family. You can choose it with your brother. If you are willing to come here, I am willing to give up the real position of Gushan E, the Han army inlaid with red flags!"

Shi Tingzhu looked at Huang Degong with great sincerity.

Huang Degong was a little confused for a moment. He didn't expect that the Qing Dynasty could offer him such a price, which was definitely full of sincerity.

As a Kaiyuan person, he still knows the Huang Degong of the Qing Dynasty very well.
To be continued...