Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 737 Accident
Zu Dashou wanted to delay the matter in order not to offend either side. No matter whether it was the Donglin Party or the Regent, it was your business to fight in the court, as long as it did not affect him. Moreover, the Zu family was a military family in Liaodong, and they were deeply rooted in Liaodong. No matter whether the east wind prevailed over the west wind or the west wind prevailed over the east wind, as long as Zu Dashou remained neutral, any faction would try to win him over.

Zu Dashou’s calculations were good, which was why Gong Dingzi remained safe and sound for several months after arriving in Liaodong.

At first, Zu Dashou was worried that the Jinyiwei would urge him, or that Zhu Shenzhui would lose patience and send someone to secretly deal with Gong Dingzi.

Fearing that he might get into trouble or be blamed, Zu Dashou even sent someone to secretly protect Gong Dingzi. But as time went on, the Jinyiwei showed no signs of anxiety, and there was no unusual movement. Even Zhu Shenzhu never mentioned the matter, so Zu Dashou gradually put his mind at ease.

But Zu Dashou never expected that just when he thought he could balance both sides and not offend either side, the situation suddenly changed like this.

Gong Dingzi's attitude and words today directly angered Zu Dashou, making him hate this man to the extreme.

If it wasn't for his grandfather's birthday, Gong Dingzi would have turned into a pile of dry bones long ago. How could he show off his power in front of him? Now he is threatening him and even telling him how to fight? It's ridiculous!
Today, Zu Dashou finally understood that in the eyes of people like Gong Dingzi, he was just a worthless soldier, no different from an ordinary soldier. If he said no, Gong Dingzi would turn hostile at any time, and now he was the Ningqian military governor, so even if Zu Dashou was the commander of Jinzhou, he had to be under his control. Unless Zu Dashou really wanted to surrender to Huang Taiji, he had to bow his head if he wanted to continue to live in the Ming Dynasty.

How could Zu Dashou bear such humiliation? You should know that when Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned by Emperor Chongzhen, Zu Dashou did not even give Emperor Chongzhen face, and left the capital that was being attacked by Huang Taiji with the Guanning Army.

If Emperor Chongzhen had not asked Yuan Chonghuan to write a letter to Zu Dashou in prison and asked his old boss Sun Chengzong to come out, Zu Dashou would have returned to Liaodong long ago. As for whether the capital could be defended, it was none of his business.

Zu Dashou got so hot-headed that he even dared to ignore Emperor Chongzhen, so why would he be afraid of a mere fourth-rank Ningqian Bingbei Dao? If he hadn't been rational, Zu Dashou would have wanted to draw his knife and chop this bastard.

Thinking back on it now, Zu Dashou got angrier the more he thought about it. The angrier he got, the more stuffy his chest felt. He felt uncomfortable and everything was off-putting to him.

"Someone come!" Zu Dashou suddenly shouted outside.

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards at the door came in hurriedly.

"Go! Invite Captain Liu to me." Zu Dashou gave the order directly.

"Captain Liu? Marshal, which Captain Liu?" The personal soldier was confused by Zu Dashou's nonsensical words and asked hesitantly.

"Who else? Of course it's Lord Liu, the captain of the imperial guards!" Zu Dashou glared at him, and the guards quickly said yes. Just as they were about to turn around and leave, Zu Dashou seemed to remember something and stopped them. He told the guards to go quietly, not to make a big fuss, and not to let anyone know. After the guards came, they should not go through the main door, but enter through the small door at the back. If they were discovered, he would take the guards' heads.

The guard was startled and hurriedly said he would take note of it, then left in a hurry. After the guard left, Zu Dashou glanced at the broken teacup on the ground and sneered, "You don't want to take the road of life, but to take the road of death. Humph, don't blame me for this, you asked for it..."

Two days later, Zu Dashou assembled his troops and prepared to leave the city to fight.

Gong Dingzi was very happy to know that Zu Dashou took the initiative to attack, and he even put on a complacent expression. In his opinion, he had the greatest contribution in allowing Zu Dashou to fight. If he had not forced Zu Dashou, he would still be hiding in the city like a coward.

The enemy was at the gates of the city, but the Ming army did not dare to fight and could only hide in the city. What was this? When did the great Ming Dynasty reach such a point that the generals on the front line did not even dare to fight, so how could they talk about annihilating the Jiannu and completely recovering Liaodong?

These generals are all cowards who are afraid of death and will not really work hard unless they are forced. How can the Ming Dynasty defeat the Jiannu with these soldiers? Not to mention recovering Liaodong.

Only civil officials like them are the backbone of the court, and are the true loyal ministers and warriors of the Ming Dynasty. It is impossible to rely on military generals, only civil officials like him can have hope.

In order to urge the battle and to show his courage, Gong Dingzi put on armor and stood in the main seat to send Zu Dashou out of the city to fight.

Compared to Gong Dingzi, who was high-spirited and full of confidence, the soldiers going to the expedition were in low spirits. Many of them even looked terrified, looking around, intending to be prepared to run away immediately if there were any signs of a war.

Even Zu Dashou's deputy generals, lieutenant generals, and guerrillas were the same. They were all nervous under their forced smiles. Everyone knew that defending the city was fine, but going out of the city to fight was a different matter. Didn't they know how strong the Eight Banners were? They could only barely defend the city with just these people, so why would they go out to fight in the field?
"Marshal Zu, I am here to see off the soldiers today. When you return triumphantly, I will personally recommend you and your soldiers for credit!" Gong Dingzi said with a heroic look, holding a bowl of wine.

Zu Dashou also had a big smile on his face. He patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, sir. I will show the bravery of our Ming soldiers. Today is the day to defeat the enemy!"

"Okay! I will watch the battle from the top of the city wall and personally beat the drum to cheer for Zushuai!"

"Thank you, sir!" Zu Dashou took the wine that Gong Dingzi handed to him and drank it all up. Seeing Zu Dashou so straightforward, Gong Dingzi reached out for another bowl of wine and drank it too.

Unfortunately, although Gong Dingzi wanted to act heroic, his alcohol tolerance was really poor. He drank only half a bowl of wine and felt a little exhausted. However, he could not stop drinking in front of everyone, so he had to continue drinking. It would be better to say that most of the last half bowl was spilled rather than drunk. After drinking, he raised his hand to wipe his mouth, showed the empty bowl in his hand and laughed.

Zu Dashou praised, clasped his fists towards Gong Dingzi, turned around, mounted his horse, raised his sword and swung it forward, the city gate opened wide, and he led his troops out of the city.

Watching Zu Dashou leading his troops out of the city, Gong Dingzi felt a little dizzy but was still excited. He led his men straight to the top of the city wall, came to a big drum, rolled up his sleeves, took the drumstick, and started beating it hard.

The sound of drums could be heard. Looking further ahead, the troops coming out of the city were slowly moving southward. Ten miles away, the Eight Banners troops, who had already noticed the unusual movements of the Jinzhou defenders, also adopted a defensive posture and began to gather in this direction.

Beating the drum vigorously and watching the mighty Ming army marching out of the city to fight, Gong Dingzi was filled with pride and excitement at this moment.

He suddenly thought of the historical story of Liang Hongyu beating the drum to fight at Jinshan. Today, Gong Dingzi beating the drum to fight at Jinzhou can be said to be a story that will be passed down through the ages.

However, as soon as this thought came to his mind, Gong Dingzi felt that something was not right. Although Liang Hongyu was a heroine, her background was not very good. But he was a genuine Jinshi and came from a scholarly family. How could he be compared to Liang Hongyu?

After this battle, I am afraid that people will only remember Gong Dingzi and no longer think of Liang Hongyu. What could be more joyful than leaving a name in history?

After hammering for a while, Gong Dingzi was exhausted and out of breath. As a scholar, he was not in good health. He was not a man of both civil and military talents like Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting. They were very good at speaking, but their physical fitness was not even as good as that of an ordinary soldier.

Moreover, in order to act cool today, Gong Dingzi even put on a full set of armor. This set of armor weighs dozens of kilograms. It is difficult to walk in it, let alone beat the drum.

But now that he had started hammering, he couldn't give up halfway, could he? He had to wait until all the troops had left the city and formed up before he could stop. Helplessly, Gong Dingzi could only grit his teeth and hold on, hammering one after another, with increasing force, causing the people around him to frown.

"Sir, why don't you take a break?" A subordinate couldn't help but stepped forward and advised.

"Why should I take a break? The soldiers are watching me. I still have the strength!" Gong Ding was stubborn and stubborn. His face was flushed to the extreme, his head was covered with sweat, and the drumstick in his hand could hardly hit the drum, but he was still standing firm.

Seeing him like this, his subordinates didn't dare to persuade him anymore. They could only hope that time would pass quickly. Looking at Gong Dingzi's current condition, if he continued to be beaten like this, he might go into shock.

The drum beats continued, intermittently and weakly, until finally all of Zu Dashou's troops left the city. When the troops gathered outside the city gate and formed a formation, Gong Dingzi finally stopped beating the drum.

Putting down the hammer, Gong Dingzi's hands became weak, and he was sweating profusely. He was so tired that he could hardly stand. But at this time, he still had to show off. He had already walked ninety-nine steps out of a hundred, and there was no time left. He whispered to the people around him and asked them to help him go to the top of the city. He wanted to stand on the top of the city and wave to the army outside the city to encourage them.

Due to his insistence, he had no choice but to be supported by two of his personal soldiers and brought to the edge of the city wall. At this time, Gong Dingzi asked the personal soldiers who were supporting him to let go. He barely managed to stand straight, leaned half of his body out from the parapet, and waved to the army under the city.

After waving twice, just when Gong Dingzi was about to shout a few words, he suddenly felt dizzy and his vision went dark. It seemed as if he was tripped by someone. Before he could come to his senses, he staggered and fell out of the parapet.

This scene happened so suddenly that even the personal soldiers beside him did not have time to react. Amid the exclamations of the crowd, Gong Dingzi suddenly climbed over the parapet, and then fell directly down in full view of everyone like a torn sack thrown from the top of the city wall.

"grown ups!"

"Ah! Help!"

"Oh no! The master slipped and fell off the city wall...!"

In an instant, it was too late for everyone to react. Countless people ran towards the city wall. When they ran to the parapet and looked out, they saw that Gong Dingzi, who was on the top of the city just now, had fallen on the open space outside the city. His whole body was twisted in an extremely strange posture, with his back to the sky and his face on the ground, lying there motionless.

(End of this chapter)