Jingnan, the capital.

Although it was the New Year, there were very few pedestrians on the streets of this city. Occasionally, a few passers-by were walking on the road, and they were all in a panic and were walking in a hurry.

Not to mention the festive atmosphere of the New Year, it is even the peace and peace that should be there on weekdays, and there is no such thing as here.

Nine out of ten shops on both sides were closed, and every house was closed and the people's residences on both sides were closed, without any sound.

Compared to the strange quietness inside the city, it is much more lively outside the city, and the sounds of fighting exercises sound from time to time.

In the Chu Hou Mansion, the servants were doing things carefully. The master was in a bad mood these days and severely punished several unsightly slaves. The rest of them were naturally cautious in doing things and did not dare to cause trouble.

Behind the mansion, in the large study room of Chu Hou’s dedicated mansion, the brazier was burning brightly, making a crackling sound.

Zheng Pingyuan sat behind the desk, his right hand trembled slightly. In his hand, a letter had been unfolded. Judging from his appearance, he had already read the contents of it, his face was ashen.

Judging from his expression, he wanted to tear the letter into a ball and throw it into the brazier, but he finally resisted it.

This letter was sent from Wu Yue.

Some time ago, after Zheng Pingyuan brought his people back in order to quell the rebellion, Zheng Pingyuan sent people to explain to the King of Wu again that even if there were various reasons, he would inevitably offend Wei Yue after withdrawing his troops first.

However, having a common enemy is understandable. I expected that although Wei Yue was furious, he would endure it and fight the enemy together.

But I didn't expect to receive only a reply from the other party.

This letter was polite in his tone, but the content of it made Zheng Pingyuan angry.

In the letter, Zheng Pingyuan's request to join forces with the King of Wu again was not only rejected, but also made a vague statement. If Zheng Pingyuan was willing to submit to Wei Yue, Wei Yue, as the monarch, would naturally not sit idly by and ignore the safety of his ministers, and would definitely send a large army to help him again.

The words are full of threats.

In Zheng Pingyuan's view, the meaning of this reply was not so much that Wei Yue refused his request for help, but rather that he was using Wang Hongyi's threat to threaten him to submit and let him recognize the Wu Dynasty and the title of Emperor Wei Yue!

"Hmph, Wei Yue is just a rebel minister. Zheng Pingyuan, I was born in the Jingzhou clan, how could this old thief compare to? Humph! I want my Zheng clan to recognize your throne, which is really delusional! Even if I, Zheng Pingyuan, died here, I cannot ruin the reputation of Zheng!" With a snap, Zheng Pingyuan threw the letter in his hand to the ground.

However, even if he scolded Wei Yue's old thief, Zheng Pingyuan had to admit that Wei Yue was indeed so bold that he was deeply surprised. By the way, who would not want to sit on the supreme throne, but who would dare to speak out now?

Wei Yue not only said and expressed his opinion, but also did it.

If it weren't for the change on the day of sacrifice to heaven, Wei Yue might have succeeded and successfully abdicated and ascended the throne... In the end, the luck was not good, and the changes were arising from the sudden change, which made the previous abdication plan fail.

Wei Yue's actions made it difficult for him to get on the verge of being in trouble, so he had to bite the bullet and get on.

What made Zheng Pingyuan even more sighed was that when Wei Yue saw the emperor die in public, he simply did not do anything and killed all the royal family within one day. It can be said that the royal family in Wu and Yue was destroyed, and the royal family of the Dayan Dynasty was almost completely cut off in the hands of Wei Yue. It is impossible to say that this person's methods are very cruel.

Zheng Pingyuan was thinking about things and paced back and forth in the study with his hands behind his back. He thought about the question of having to choose one person to surrender and who to surrender.

However, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, Zheng Pingyuan will never give up the foundation that only a few generations of family management can be used.

After taking a few steps in the room, Zheng Pingyuan gritted his teeth and asked sneeredly: "What do you think?"

The person who asked was Ji Gui and Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu glanced at Ji Gui and said nothing.

The last time the Navy was defeated, Wei Yue was elected emperor and Wang Hongyi was elected king, which immediately made him feel cold.

Zhang Yu didn't know how to look at the air, but he knew how to look at the body and appearance. The young man in front of him was sweating slightly on his forehead, his behavior was anxious, and his mind was unstable. How could he have the great fortune and noble character?

My heart was even colder.

Ji Gui said in a deep thought: "Master, the King of Wu is not far away when he dies."

"The death of the Great Rebel must be crazy first. The murder of the emperor has caused the Wu land to fall apart. In the past few months, Wu land has been silent. The King of Wu thought that he had called himself emperor and suppressed his anger. He was secretly proud, but he did not think that this was the darkness before dawn - this silence is really scary."

"He and our army can also prolong his energy. Now he is arrogant and wants us to surrender. This is a desperate situation. This is an extraordinary truth. The King of Wu has no idea about it. It can be seen that his mind and spirit are so confused that it is completely useless."

"It is impossible to unite with such a person, let alone surrender? Besides, he is the rebel emperor, and we will follow him as the rebel minister, which is absolutely not possible."

Zheng Pingyuan walked and asked, "Mr. Zhang, what about your opinion?"

Zhang Yu was stunned, but his expression was normal, and said, "It's... what Mr. Ji said is reasonable. He originally praised Wei Yue, but he was the minister of Da Yan. People in the world did not object. However, now Wei Yue killed the emperor and proclaimed himself emperor is a great rebellion in the world. You must not surrender to him at this time."

"You can't give up on me, but you won't give up on me. This man is so stupid, he will refuse to send troops - what should I do now?" Zheng Pingyuan murmured.

As soon as he said this, Zhang Yu sighed, and had already seen the person's fearless and weak mind at the critical moment. He thought about it in his heart, but said: "King, these unfavorable situations are just a battle. Wang Hongyi is an outsider after all, and he has not had much time to occupy Jingbei. As long as the king can take the initiative to fight a battle and win, the situation will suddenly change - whether it is foreign enemies or Jingnan, it will be peaceful immediately, and it will not be too late to plan at that time."

When Ji Gui heard this, his eyes suddenly became bright and he showed his agreement.

At this time, the snow outside was a little lighter, and it was still falling like jade flowers. Zheng Pingyuan didn't say anything for a while. After a long time, Zheng Pingyuan said: "You are talking about the truth, but it's not easy to win!"

This sigh made Ji Gui feel even more heartbroken. Ji Gui concentrating on his mind for a long time and asked: "Our navy is far above the enemy. Only the enemy has a navy, but he has failed. I wonder what has the progress of the master imitating the muskets and other firearms?"

Speaking of this, Zheng Pingyuan couldn't help but look as if he was ashen and snorted coldly: "I have already imitated these mediocre talents. They look exactly the same on the outside, but once they use it, they are strong on the outside and do not use it. Although they have some power, they are far less than the enemy's range."

The power and safety of gunpowder weapons are actually not only in terms of structure and formula. The structure and formula can be debugged again and again to achieve the optimal level.

The most important thing is actually a secret, which is particle gunpowder.

Gunpowder should meet the following requirements—

Enough energy to ensure the range of the projectile.

The combustion stability and regularity of gunpowder to ensure ballistic performance and shooting accuracy

Before granular gunpowder appears, the power of the gunpowder is actually not great and safety is also problematic. However, after the invention of granular gunpowder, the particles can generate more powerful detonation waves. Under this drive, the projectile can reach a greater speed and cause a devastating blow to targets in a certain direction and range.

Although this is very simple, if you can't imagine, you may not be able to create it for thousands of years. In the history of the earth, Chinese gunpowder has been invented for thousands of years, but there is still no particle inventing it, making gunpowder weapons unable to surpass bows and arrows.

This problem is a technical problem. Even though the three people present had amazing talents, they could not solve it. They were speechless for a moment and did not create a firearm to confront Wang Hongyi. How could they win?

I have to say that they have firearm phobia.

"With your knowledge, what else can I do besides this?"

Zhang Yu stood up. He was a clear-minded person. He became more and more mature and deeper over the years. In fact, he felt that this situation was more dangerous than when he was in Jiangling. In Jiangling, there was an imperial court, foreign aid, and there was room for vacancies. Now it was a chess game, and it was not even a breath. As long as Wang Hongyi threw another son and the navy transport army rushed over, it would be a chess game.

The only way now is to surrender when there are still chips. The lord did not call him a king or a prince, so he called him a marquis. This is not a taboo.

But Zhang Yu also understood that when he offered advice and gave in to Jiangling, he did not achieve the results of the battle, but instead fell into a desperate situation. Although this was not a strategic mistake, it had been cast into a deep shadow.

No matter what the surrender is, you can't say it yourself. As soon as you say this, disaster will be unpredictable.

Zhang Yu paused for a moment, had an idea, and said, "The current situation, outside and inside are actually the same battlefield. As long as the navy can defend the river and prevent the enemy from entering the south, it is a great good thing."

"Jingnan has sorted out one by one, accumulated food, pay and armament, and worked step by step to suppress a place, followed by politics and comforting the place. Although it is slow, it can be stable. This is my opinion. Please observe clearly!"

Zheng Pingyuan was very upset when he heard this, and glanced at Zhang Yu coldly: "I don't want Mr. Zhang to have no choice, it's such a pity."

When Zhang Yu heard this, he was shocked and chilled. Although this method was not a wonderful way to turn the situation around immediately, it was the only way now. He could not imagine that he was very careful and honest advice was received by this unshakable sentence. Moreover, he was a smart person, and even heard a little murderous intent.

Zhang Yuqiang swallowed the sorrow in his heart, and his expression showed panic: "The Lord treats his ministers with great kindness. Since he is asked and does not speak truthfully, he is disloyal to serve the king. Unfortunately, his ministers are shallow and cannot think of a way for a moment. I also ask the Lord to sue him!"

"Yes." Zheng Pingyuan responded without comment, took a heavy breath, held back the anger in his heart, and said, "I will discuss this today, you can retreat!"

As he said that, he left the room directly. Several guards stood with their necks tilted down. Seeing Zheng Pingyuan coming out, they were so scared that they all fell to their knees.

Zheng Pingyuan ignored it and went straight to go.

After a while, Zhang Yu had to go out. Ji Gui comforted: "Mr. Zhang, the situation is critical, the Lord is anxious for a moment, don't take it to heart."

Zhang Yu hurriedly said, "How dare you? The king is worried about the humiliation of the minister. I am ashamed of being so embarrassed and can't think of a solution."

This was a good reply, Ji Gui nodded and left.
Chapter completed!