Chapter 38: Guest of Honor

Wu Sangui held fifty thousand elite Guanning troops in his palm, and Li Zicheng was advancing with the momentum of a conqueror sweeping across the realm. Compared to powerhouses of this caliber, Gu Zhenhua was essentially a man with nothing.

To maneuver among them, he had to firmly occupy the moral high ground and wrap himself in the banner of righteousness. Otherwise, the moment he showed weakness, he would be crushed like an ant, without leaving a trace behind.

In truth, Gu Zhenhua felt a bit like Zhuge Liang at the Battle of Red Cliffs, going to Eastern Wu to negotiate with nothing but empty hands. However, this man Wu Sangui was far more inscrutable than Zhou Yu. Appeals to the duty between sovereign and subject could not stir him; he did not believe the talk about Chen Yuanyuan, and taunting him for cowardice was useless. He was truly a slippery, hardened rogue, worthy of being the ultimate turncoat warlord.

"Earl of Pingxi," Gu Zhenhua said, "although I have received my title, I have never even worn an official set of Ming court robes. Since you are now intending to surrender to the Rebel King, I wonder if you could lend me your official Earl's attire. Let me wear it to meet the late Emperor and the ancestors of the Great Ming."

Wu Sangui remained silent for a long moment before giving a slight nod. Soldiers hurriedly brought over a set of his official robes. Gu Zhenhua was much taller than Wu Sangui, and the clothes would not fit; he could only drape them over his shoulders.

Gu Zhenhua’s movements were agonizingly slow and deliberate, as if he were lingering in his devotion to the Ming, though in reality, he was merely stalling for time. His heart was thumping wildly against his ribs: *Heaven, I cannot die like this! Send reinforcements, quickly!*

Of course, Gu Zhenhua could not delay indefinitely. Wearing the robes, he sat upright on the ground, his spine straight as a rod. Looking toward the south, he laughed aloud: "I firmly believe that sooner or later, the gentlemen of the south will sweep away the dust and restore the Great Ming!"

At that moment, the executioner raised his blade high. "Lord Gu, I am here to see you on your way!"

The heavy blade flashed with a cold light like a thunderbolt. As it prepared to fall, the head was mere moments away from being severed.

At that critical, hair-breadth moment, a warhorse came racing from the distance like a madman. The rider was swaying, barely clinging to the saddle. Upon reaching the camp gate, he tumbled off, covered in mud. Ignoring his pain, he opened his mouth wide and wailed, "Young Master! The old master has been captured by the rebel bandits! You must save him!"

Hearing this, Wu Sangui was struck as if by a thunderbolt. He rushed to the man’s side in a few swift strides.

"Wu An, is what you say true? What of the young mistress?"

"Young Master, a man named Liu Zongmin broke into the manor and seized the young mistress!"

"Li Zicheng, you have gone too far!" One might not believe Gu Zhenhua’s words, but Wu An was an old subordinate of Wu Xiang who had served the family for years and watched Wu Sangui grow up; his word could not be doubted. Like a wounded beast, Wu Sangui roared at the heavens.

"You forced the late Emperor to his death, captured my father, and abducted my wife! Li Zicheng, I will not share the same sky with you! We are irreconcilable enemies!"

As Wu Sangui roared in madness, the anger of those present ignited, especially among those who had been reluctant to submit to Li Zicheng in the first place.

Yet, among the crowd, the one truly rejoicing was Gu Zhenhua. It seemed his head was secure for now. As expected, after a burst of rage, Wu Sangui turned back sharply.

"Bind these two envoys!"

Without a word of protest, the soldiers swarmed forward, pinned Li Jia and Chen Yi to the ground, and trussed them up like rice dumplings.

Wu Sangui suddenly strode toward Gu Zhenhua and dropped to one knee. The surrounding men were stunned and let out gasps of shock.

"Commander!"

"Say no more. Lord Gu, I have offended you greatly. You are the true loyal subject of the Ming. I am ashamed—my hesitation and wavering, my foolish attempt to surrender to the rebels—I am ashamed to the core. I beg for your forgiveness!"

Gu Zhenhua hurriedly helped Wu Sangui to his feet and smiled. "Earl of Pingxi, to put it bluntly, those who own nothing have nothing to fear. I, Gu Zhenhua, am a lone man; if I die, so be it. But you are the backbone and the leader of tens of thousands of brothers. You cannot act on impulse; you must weigh the pros and cons. I understand your difficulties all too well!"

Wu Sangui’s eyes reddened with emotion. He bowed to Gu Zhenhua. "Lord Gu, your breadth of mind and spirit are unmatched under heaven. I admire you deeply. From this day forward, I shall raise my army to eradicate the rebel bandits. I hope you will set aside past grudges and offer me your counsel."

"I am willing to serve you with all my strength!"

Wu Sangui, visibly moved, gripped Gu Zhenhua’s wrist tightly and declared to the officers present: "Everyone, listen well. From now on, treat Lord Gu with the same respect you show me. Whoever dares to show disrespect shall be dealt with by military law!"

"Yes, we shall follow the Commander's orders," the men replied, bowing one after another.

Gu Zhenhua looked on, a cold smile hidden within his heart. This was merely a performance. If Wu Sangui wanted to resist Li Zicheng, he had to fly the banner of the Ming. And with the halo of a loyal Ming subject upon his own head, Wu Sangui could not afford to disrespect him—he had to make use of him.

If he truly believed his status had changed for the better, he would be a fool. But then again, being useful was better than being useless; at the very least, his head was safe.

Gu Zhenhua smiled and said, "Earl of Pingxi..."

"Do not call me Earl of Pingxi," Wu Sangui said with a feigned sternness. "You are the Earl of Loyalty and Valor, and I am the Earl of Pingxi. If you don't mind, call me Brother Wu!"

"Very well, I shall accept the honor," Gu Zhenhua said. "For now, we should go and pay our respects to the Crown Prince."

"Right, I must go and beg the Crown Prince for forgiveness!"

With that, Wu Sangui cast his eyes toward Li Jia and Chen Yi. "Execute these two wretches!"

At his command, the executioner who had been prepared for Gu Zhenhua turned his blade toward them. With a swift strike, two heads rolled onto the ground.

Gu Zhenhua watched with a cold smile: *Do you know what a protagonist's halo is? I stayed for so long and my head is still intact, while you two, with your cannon-fodder names, were indeed cannon fodder—gone in a single stroke.*

After the execution, Wu Sangui and Gu Zhenhua, surrounded by the crowd, arrived at a small grove near the camp gate. The hundred men Gu Zhenhua had brought were stationed there, guarded by a large number of Guanning troops who were forbidden from leaving.

The old eunuch Kou Gui was fretting over the Crown Prince, Zhu Cilang, while Gao Hongtu sighed repeatedly by his side.

"That scoundrel Gu Zhenhua left and hasn't returned. He’s surely been beheaded by Wu Sangui. His death is one thing, but he has implicated His Highness—truly detestable!"

"You old eunuch, is that human speech?" Gao Hongtu snapped, losing his temper. "Lord Gu risked his life to meet Wu Sangui so that we might survive. What else could he have done? Fled? If the Guanning army and the rebels had chased us together, how many of these hundred brothers would have survived?"

"That’s right! Lord Gu treats us as true brothers. We are willing to die following him. Old eunuch, if you dare speak nonsense again, we’ll chop you down first!"

Several soldiers had already drawn their blades, pressing forward. Kou Gui trembled so violently he looked like a sieve.

"You... you brutes, you are truly lawless."

"The Emperor is gone, we’ve been lawless for a long time. If it weren't for us 'brutes' risking our lives, you’d be dead too."

Just as they were arguing, a rush of footsteps approached from outside. A large group of men arrived, their armor shining brightly, visible from a distance.

A sharp-eyed soldier spotted Gu Zhenhua in the center and shouted in surprise, "Look! Look! Lord Gu is back with his men! We are saved!"

Gao Hongtu’s eyes widened in disbelief. To sway a massive army of tens of thousands with one’s own efforts was something not even novels dared to imagine. Was Gu Zhenhua a god to have such ability?

"Heaven! Is there anything Lord Gu cannot do?"

Gao Hongtu and the others rushed to the edge of the grove just as Gu Zhenhua arrived.

"Lord Gu, are you unharmed?"

"Hahaha, what could possibly happen to me? The Earl of Pingxi is a loyal subject of the Ming, and his men are all patriots dedicated to the country. I explained the situation to them, and the Earl has come to pay his respects to the Crown Prince."

Hearing this, the officials behind them gave thumbs-up signals. This man was truly magnanimous! He had nearly lost his head, yet he hadn't mentioned it once. Such grace and spirit were truly remarkable!

Gu Zhenhua led Wu Sangui before Zhu Cilang. Wu Sangui knelt to beg for forgiveness. Zhu Cilang was overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events and at a loss for words; Kou Gui was filled with such shame and rage he dared not speak, and the atmosphere grew stifling.

Gu Zhenhua smiled slightly. "Brother Wu, His Highness the Crown Prince has been through much on this journey. Let us arrange for him to rest first. The most urgent matter is to consider the safety of your tens of thousands of troops."

"Indeed, you are right, brother. The rebel bandits surround us on all sides; we must decide on a course of action as soon as possible. Do you have any thoughts?"

Gu Zhenhua thought for a moment and said, "Brother Wu, I believe we should protect the Crown Prince and head south with all our might. The losses may be heavy, but once the Prince reaches the Jiangnan region, the wealth and manpower of the south can make up for everything. And with your merits, Brother Wu, a title of Prince is well within reach!"

As Gu Zhenhua spoke, his heart was in his throat. If Wu Sangui adopted his suggestion, the Qing forces might never cross the pass, history might be rewritten, and the pigtails would be gone forever...