The land of the Central Plains is supposed to be the essence of the world, with unparalleled wealth.
However, after more than ten years of war, it has become desolate and desolate. Although the trees and grass are green in summer, there is no life except the bones hidden among them.
A sparse motorcade moved slowly, as if it could blend into this powerless world at any time.
The flag of "Prince Zhou's Mansion" drooped on the front of the car, showing no dignity whatsoever, and looked as panicked as a bereaved dog.
It is obvious at a glance that the dozen or so carriages are improvised. Not only do they have different specifications, but they also lack any gorgeous decorations. But under the current situation, they are already the best means of transportation.
The weak soldiers stumbling around the convoy made it hard to believe that they could play any role in protecting them.
Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen was sitting alone in the only car covered by a curtain. His organs were tumbling due to the bumpy road, but he had to endure it.
He could clearly hear the non-stop crying of the young child, but he didn't want to care.
The dike was dug and the city of Kaifeng was flooded, and the Zhou Palace was not immune to the disaster. In desperation, Zhu Gongzhen had no choice but to petition Chongzhen and prepare to temporarily stay in Zhangde Mansion.
Prince Zhou's Mansion also has a separate courtyard over there. Although it has been abandoned for a long time, it is not easy to be picky at this time.
Another one, Li Zicheng attacked Kaifeng three times, which really frightened Zhu Gongzhen.
Especially now that there is no effective Ming army in Henan, how can we talk about defending Kaifeng? If he just goes back and the Chu army comes again, his head will not be saved.
After running to Zhangde Mansion, just one step further north is Zhili, not far from the capital.
Zhu Gongzhen made a good calculation. If he stayed closer to the emperor, he would definitely be safer.
Although the emperor in the capital was mean, he would definitely pay attention to his own safety. If something happened, he would have to run to the emperor's side to have any hope of survival.
The only thing that made him angry was that despite all the preparations, there was still a lot of property in the palace that had not been transported.
That was the savings of several generations of the Zhou Dynasty, and it was all lost. How would the whole family live in the future?
When Zhu Gongzhen, who is in his sixties, thinks of losing all the gold and silver he has worked so hard to accumulate, he can't help but feel evil and ill, making it difficult to persevere.
His illness made everyone in the Zhou palace even more panicked.
At this time, if Zhu Gongzhen disappeared and the emperor took the opportunity to cut down the vassal clan, the whole family would be doomed.
No one in the entire Zhou palace felt guilty for the people who drowned in the flood.
The whole world belongs to their Zhu family, let alone some untouchables?
He is just a slave of their Zhu family.
The convoy was moving slowly and meandering, so it was easy to be spotted in these troubled times.
Suddenly a bowstring rang out in the weeds beside the road, arrows flew everywhere, and a large number of the unprepared guards were shot to death.
Suddenly, everyone was frightened, and the screams of women and children were harsh and sharp. The guards did not think about resistance first, but looked for bunkers to avoid death from random arrows.
Zhu Gongzhen was extremely scared.
"Escort him! Hurry and escort him! If something happens to this king, your whole family will be buried with him!"
Needless to say, more guards gathered around him.
"kill!!!!"
Countless figures rushed out of the grass.
Although their costumes were messy, they were all very tough, and they instantly overwhelmed the convoy of Prince Zhou's Mansion.
As soon as the guards of Prince Zhou's Mansion took over, they realized something was wrong.
These people who ran out were all highly skilled in martial arts, and their attacks were accurate and ruthless. They were obviously not ordinary thieves.
The number of people is several times theirs, and there is absolutely no chance of victory.
Immediately, many guards began to move their eyes around, looking for opportunities to escape.
Fight to the death to protect King Zhou?
The stingy King of Zhou didn't even give him wages, so who would be willing to work for him?
However, not only were these killers more skilled in martial arts, they also cooperated perfectly with each other, leaving the guards with no chance at all.
Without even a stick of incense, the ground was covered with dead people.
When I looked again, I found that the killers were uninjured, and the dead were all the guards of Prince Zhou's palace.
At this time, the guards knew that the situation was over. They quickly threw away their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy.
It's obvious that these killers are coming towards King Zhou. They are just careless people. As long as they don't mess around, they should be able to save their lives.
Sure enough, seeing that the guards were no longer resisting, the killers just drove them aside and took care of them.
The scene was calm, and the group of people separated to the left and right, and a figure appeared.
"Catch the King of Zhou."
Several killers rushed to King Zhou's carriage and slashed all the eunuchs in the way to death. Then they dragged Zhu Gongzhu out like a dog and beat him to the ground.
Zhu Gongzhen was already seriously ill, and after being thrown down like this, half of his life was lost.
He was dizzy and struggled to look at the leader.
"I am the vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, a noble man of the heaven. You don't know the dignity and inferiority, and you disobey the power of heaven. Aren't you afraid of having your family confiscated and your clan exterminated?"
The killer leader looked at him condescendingly, and informed the family in a calm tone.
"I am Zuo Fu, the Minister of Intelligence of Xia State. King Zhou, you should know why I am here?"
Zhu Gongzhen was stunned, and the soul of the dead emerged, as if falling into an ice cave.
The reason why he wanted to run to Zhangde Mansion was not only to get closer to the emperor, but also because he was afraid of being chased by the Xia Kingdom.
Although before today, he had always been proud that as a vassal king, the Xia Kingdom could do nothing to him.
Even though Gao Mingheng, Huang Shu, Yan Yunjing and others were all dead, it was because they were timid and scared themselves to death.
Unexpectedly, he was intercepted by people from Xia Kingdom before he even reached Zhangde Mansion.
This was within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and they couldn't even protect his safety.
Zhu Gongzhen's fat body shook violently, and his crotch was hot, and then the earth was wet.
In the face of death, no one is worthy of mentioning, such as being a member of the imperial family or being a loner.
"It's all...it's all Gao Mingheng's idea. I...this king...has nothing to do with me..."
Zhu Gongzhen was so scared that he kept shirking responsibility.
Since Zuo Fu came here in person, how could he let him go?
The sharp blade came out of its sheath, making a clattering sound, and glowing with a penetrating cold light. Then like a flash of lightning, Zhu Gongzhen's huge human head flew high into the sky.
When his family members not far away saw this scene, they were all frightened and screamed and cried one after another.
But Zuo Fu thought it was not enough, and raised his hand to point at all of Zhu Gongzhen's family members.
"These worms who harm the world and enrich themselves have killed many people because of their greed. No one is innocent. Kill them all and hang their heads on the city gate of Kaifeng. Let the people of the world take a good look.
, the consequences of greed and evil.”
Following the orders, the subordinates drew their swords and rushed towards the carriages.
Zuo Fu didn't even bother to take a look, turned around and mounted his horse, preparing to leave.
Bang……
There was a gunshot from nowhere, and Zuo Fu felt a violent shock in his body. Then a chill filled his chest, and the world in front of him was spinning.