knife

Chapter 719 Certificate of Surrender

Staying at home is always good, but going out is always difficult.

Unless absolutely necessary, who would willingly leave their homeland to live under someone else's roof?
I once thought the Cui family was a family standing at the pinnacle of the world, unshaken by wind and rain, or by the changing of dynasties.

For the Cui family, a dynasty that lasts for centuries and a family that has existed for millennia is nothing more than a toy. When it no longer represents their interests, they can simply replace it with another.

They were used to being proud and never imagined that one day they would find themselves in a dilemma, with no way out but to retreat.

Those who could sit in this room were at least the heads of a branch of the Cui family or extremely important figures. Normally, they would command the wind and rain and feel that they were omnipotent, but at this moment, they were all at a loss. All eyes were focused on Cui Shu, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Regardless, Cui Shu is still a master of innate level and the clan leader recognized by everyone. Even the third and fifth branches, which have always supported the eldest branch Cui Cheng, now have no choice but to support Cui Shu in taking the position of clan leader.

Cui Ming's death bound everyone together.

Cui Shu wasn't stupid. He was indeed the one who killed Cui Ming, but the decision was made by everyone in the room. And this decision was now in Cui Shu's hands, with everyone in the room having signed it.

If this gets out, the Cui family will cease to exist.

Regardless of the reason, such a thing is bound to be unacceptable to the world.

Cui Ming has fallen into the demonic path; anyone can kill him, but no one from the Cui family can.

The act of putting righteousness before family ties may be praised in public, but it will be criticized behind one's back in private. If it were a small person, it would be fine, but for a large family like the Cui family, the principle of "ruler and minister, father and son" is paramount. The first four words can be disregarded, but the latter four words are the foundation of their character.

"Second brother, you are now the head of the family. You need to make a decision about what we should do next!" Cui Tu from the fourth branch of the family shouted.

Cui Shu stood up, her gaze sweeping over everyone's faces. The room gradually quieted down, and everyone's eyes focused on Cui Shu.

“Actually, our options are very limited now!” Cui Shu said. “Brother’s failure in Nanyang has made us even more passive. The old patriarch’s earlier plan to make a comeback in Nanyang is now impossible.”

"We can't hold Boling, and we can't go to Nanyang. Without new territory, how will our family survive?" someone asked. "Moreover, Patriarch, if I may be frank, without a piece of land that truly belongs to us, our Cui family will inevitably lose its greatest centripetal force and cohesion, and we'll likely fall apart. Those branches that were previously wealthier will be better off, but those who are poorer might do something desperate for survival! If the Cui family loses its territory and its reputation is further damaged, the outcome is self-evident!"

"We've provided so much support to the Linghu family over the years by sending them to Chang'an to seek refuge with Linghu Ye. It wouldn't be unreasonable for us to ask him to give us a piece of land in the Central Plains to recuperate, would it?" Cui Dong from the third branch said somewhat hesitantly.

Cui Tu chuckled: "Third Brother, are you naive, or just stupid?"

"How dare you speak to Third Brother like that?" Cui Dong roared in anger.

"Haven't you figured out Li Guohua's intentions yet? Our informant in Boling County just sent back Li Guohua's new plan. He's convinced that Boling County can't be held, so the defense of Shanggu and Yuyang is crucial for them. After that, it's the Hetao region, which will be their second and third lines of defense. The purpose of Boling County now is to buy time for the deployment of these second and third lines of defense. And the Cui family will be pushed to the front lines to shed blood and sweat!"

"Dream on! Why don't they go?" "Because they want to wear us down before swallowing us whole!" Cui Tu said coldly. "With five thousand armored men gone, Li Guohua thinks we're just easy targets. Patriarch, if we can't go to Nanyang, then our fourth branch will resolutely oppose leaving Boling County. Once we leave, our fate will inevitably be to become vassals of the Linghu clan, and then be driven by them to bleed to our last drop!"

“But our Cui family and Li Dachui are mortal enemies. If we don’t follow the Linghu family, who else can we follow to fight this battle?” someone sighed. “The general situation of the world is now clear. It’s nothing more than a struggle between Li Dachui of Beiting and Linghu Ye of Chang’an.”

“Who said we’re mortal enemies with Li Dachui!” Cui Peng from the sixth branch shook his head. “The previous generation did have some grudges, but those grudges were settled with the passing of the old patriarch. Why can’t our generation start over?”

"Will Li Dachui agree?"

“How will we know if we don’t try? Didn’t Lu Xin’s father from Fanyang also participate in the Battle of Chang’an back then? Look at how Lu Xin and Li Dachui are still fighting so fiercely. This shows that Li Dachui is a very pragmatic person who values ​​tangible benefits and advantages. He doesn’t care about other empty titles. This is also very consistent with our investigation and understanding of this person over the years. But Second Brother, oh no, Patriarch, we can put aside our old grudges with Li Dachui. This new injury on your body was also caused by Li Dachui. What do you think about this? You are the Patriarch, you make the decision!”

Cui Shu took a deep breath, his left hand slowly stroking his left shoulder, his face showing some pain. His right arm had been severed by Li Dachui.

"What Lao Liu said is also a possible path. If everyone is determined to negotiate with Li Dachui, then my personal face and grudges don't matter. Naturally, the interests of the family should be the priority!"

“Even if the patriarch is willing, how much leverage do we have left to negotiate with Li Dachui?” Cui Dong shouted.

“How can we lack capital? We have abundant capital!” Cui Tu said, “Isn’t Li Guohua our capital? Aren’t those tens of thousands of troops in Boling County our capital?”

Everyone in the room fell silent. Cui Tu's words had made no attempt to conceal his true intentions.

That is to use people like Li Guohua from Boling County as their stepping stones for advancement, which can also be regarded as a pledge of allegiance.

“If we really do that, wouldn’t my elder brother, who is in Dongdu, be in danger?” Cui Dong shook his head repeatedly.

"Third Brother, you're not concerned about Eldest Brother, you're concerned about the people from your third branch of the family who just arrived in Dongdu, right? I think you don't need to worry about it at all. Even if we fall out with Linghu Ye, he won't do anything to Eldest Brother. He might even treat Eldest Brother better!"

"What do you mean by that?" Cui Dong asked, puzzled.

Cui Shu glanced at him and said, "Third brother, Bofu is the foundation of our Cui family, but in recent years, our Cui family has also been expanding outwards, with wealth, friends, and reputation all over the world. Linghu Ye also wants to control these things. If Linghu Ye turns against us, he will most likely severely punish us while supporting our eldest brother to compete with us for the right to speak. So our eldest brother and the others are not in any danger!"

Cui Dong suddenly realized that what Cui Shu said made perfect sense.

“Third Brother, if Eldest Brother had a falling out with Linghu Ye here, he might have become even bolder and more open-minded. He could have joined forces with Xiao Zhongren in Nanyang, or even gone to Xiangyang to find Jiang Qian and use Dongdu as leverage to form an alliance with her. In that case, our Cui family might still be able to maintain a leading position in the new dynasty!” Cui Tu said with a smile.

Hearing this, Cui Dong gasped. Cui Tu's idea was indeed far-fetched, but it was actually possible to implement it.

“Big brother wouldn’t have thought of these things!” Cui Shu shook his head: “Besides, we can’t coordinate with big brother to act in sync right now, because it’s too late. In a few days, Li Guohua and the others will be coming to the Cui family’s old house. If we want to use them, this is the only opportunity we have.”

(End of this chapter)