As the saying goes:

You should be a hero in life, and you should be a hero in death.

I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross the Yangtze River.

I think back then (in the future), Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, faced an encirclement and suppression campaign by Liu Bang's hundreds of thousands of troops and was defeated in Gaixia. He heard the song of Chu was rising at night, so he committed suicide in the Wujiang River.

Xiang Yu's integrity may be due to the influence of Qu Yuan, who believed that his death would inspire the determination and courage of the men in Chu to seek revenge. Coupled with his personal heroism that was desperate to save face, he ultimately preferred death to living in Jiangdong.

.

And who influenced Qu Yuan? Hearing that the emperor was humiliating the country and destroying it, he would rather jump into the Miluo River than endure the humiliation and live in poverty?

Thinking about it, it shouldn't be him, Zhu Fan.

But it is undeniable that, similar to Qu Yuan, Xiang Yu's willingness to die and never be humiliated is very similar to Zhufan at this moment.

At least they all completed what they thought was the most worthwhile and meaningful life choice in this seemingly tragic form.

However, Zhufan, the first king of a country to die in battle recorded in Chinese history, is in a somewhat special situation at this moment. (I don't know if this is the first case in world history)

If he dies at this moment, then first of all, the six thousand Wu men captured here will undoubtedly die with him.

In other words, all the more than 15,000 Wu men he brought this time will be buried here.

Naturally, he, Zhu Fan, could die bravely for his personal honor, leaving behind the eternal reputation of dying on the battlefield and preferring death to surrender.

But what about the soldiers under his command, those who followed him from life to death and were always loyal to him?

where are they?

In this era, their deeds may only appear in the annals of various countries, and may be nothing more than a dozen cold words: "On the twelfth month of the twelfth month, Wu Zi suppressed the attack on Chu, and his family was in the nest, and he died."

.

As for his brothers and sisters, who can still remember them? Who are they? Do they have names?

After this battle, these people will eventually turn into dust, blown away by the breeze one after another, until they finally disappear without a trace between heaven and earth.

Death is not terrible, what is terrible is that it means nothing.

Zhufan stood there blankly, his eyes were already bloodshot, and blood flowed out from the wound on his arm again. It mixed with rainwater and sweat along his arm, and finally soaked into this deep land.

His angry eyes said it all.

He doesn't like this choice, let alone make it.

Death? He was not afraid.

However, he really cannot let the death of one person affect the thousands of good men and women of the Wu Kingdom who have followed him through life and death!

"If the king dies, we will never survive!"

"Yes! I will never survive!"

At this moment, a deafening voice suddenly came from the Wu army.

Then, more than a thousand Wu soldiers who followed him out of the outer city clenched their weapons and shouted out the words of belief in their hearts with a fierce and stubborn attitude.

"I will never live!"

"I will never live!"

"I will never live!"

(Say important things three times.)

With their shouts, the men of Wu State clearly told their king that they would follow him all their lives and that they would die with him, even if their bones were buried in a foreign land and their souls flew thousands of miles away, they would not hesitate.

!

In this cold and rain-drenched world, the voices of the men of the Wu Kingdom were so loud and shocking, like thunder in a rainy day where there was no thunder.

The murderous intent cannot be stopped.

They are like towering trees growing crazily against the dome, standing on this vast land, thick and tough.

Zhufan turned around and looked at his sons. They were extremely familiar faces and extremely friendly voices. His mind couldn't help but recall the time when he launched an army to attack Shu Jiu.

The scene when troops are ordered.

"Sons of Wu Kingdom!"

"I will lead you to open up new territories and win your own land for the Kingdom of Wu, for me, and for yourself!"

At that time, they, these ambitious men, had endless hope in their eyes.

But now, as the king of a country, he has led them to such an end.

Thinking of the visions he had given them, they disappeared at this moment, and turned into droplets of cold rain mixed into the mud flow, so muddy that they could no longer be distinguished.

For some reason, Zhufan's eyes suddenly turned red when he looked at them at this moment.

Even though he is an indomitable hero, he still cannot resist the softness in his heart at this moment.

With their firm belief, their tenacity that they would rather die than surrender, and their loyalty to him that can be learned from the sun and the moon, his sons and sons shouted out their wishes to him, to Sun Wu, to the eager Chu army, and to the world that they could not conquer.

Voice.

He indeed did not choose the wrong person, nor did he wrongly invest his passion. He successfully won the trust and persistence of these men.

This is probably an achievement that any monarch would like to achieve, right?

Even if they die in battle, these good men who follow him will unswervingly maintain his dignity.

Even Li Ran, who was standing on the city tower watching this scene, couldn't help but be moved and shocked by these men of Wu.

In the past, he had seen similar plots in TV movies or military magazines.

But when he saw this scene with his own eyes, which was so real that it made his scalp numb, he suddenly fell into deep thought.

Throughout the ages, how many people have held the same belief as him and fought to the last moment for the persistence in their hearts?

Those people throughout the dynasties who would rather die than give in, fight tenaciously, and never give up under any adversity, seemed to appear before his eyes at this moment.

So, Li Ran also entered Chaoyi. At this moment, he appeared in front of Zhufan in the cold rain.

"King Wu, it's better to surrender."

Li Ran looked at Zhu Fan, whose eyes were red and his face was full of tears or rain, and he said this sentence that seemed to go against his true intentions.

In his heart, after seeing the Wu people's perseverance and unyielding spirit, he hoped that Zhufan would act according to his own wishes so that he could choose not to live in such a humiliating way.

However, he could not continue to let Wu and Chu continue to fight like this. He could not destroy the peace and stability of countless people just because of his reputation.

"I'm Li Ran, Li Ziming."

"All the men of the Wu Kingdom are heroes, but today's battle has already decided the outcome, so there is no point in making any more sacrifices. And if your Majesty insists on seeking death, then there will be no more conflicts between Wu and Chu in the future.

How many people died because of this.”

"Your Majesty can give up everything and go to death. The good sons of Wu may also be willing to follow you and be buried under the loess. However, all the consequences and sufferings here will ultimately require their relatives, their wives, children, and even everyone.

Wu people will bear the responsibility?"

"Besides, if the king dies, what will happen to the state of Wu? If Wu is in chaos and the power of Chu becomes more powerful, then the whole world will not be spared."

"So, please think twice, Your Majesty. For the great plan of keeping the world in balance, Your Majesty, please don't be willing to die just to understand the small details!"

Li Ran bowed towards Zhu Fan, his solemn face full of respect.

——

Chapter 251_Wu Ju, the bad guy

Li Ran's arrival and his words hit the point in Zhufan's heart that he least wanted to mention.

On the battlefield, life itself seems insignificant.

But outside the battlefield, the thousands of people whose lives are connected to these people are the lifeblood of the entire country.

In the land of China, there has never been a faith that everyone truly believes in.

The reason why Chinese civilization has a long history and has never been interrupted, and the reason why the descendants of Yan and Huang are indomitable and unyielding, is precisely because what they believe in is not an empty God, let alone an empty Creator. Rather, they deeply care for each other.

This land and the people who live on this land.

When Zhufan learned that his death would actually involve so many people, he felt a little shaken in his heart.

Although Zhufan could not be called a benevolent king, or even a wise king, when faced with such an important decision, his past stubbornness and arrogance were all gone at this moment.

All he could carry in his heart at this moment was his sons and his hometown.

He had naturally heard of Li Ran's name. Whether it was the Pingqiu Meeting or the Guo Di Meeting, or what he did in Zheng State, Li Ran's name was already resounding throughout the nine states.

Faced with such a "gentleman", Wu Wang Zhufan finally recognized the reality.

Although he didn't know why Li Ran appeared here, the Chu State with Li Ran's help was definitely not something he could defeat.

There is no crueler reality than this.

With the already powerful Chu State and the unparalleled ingenuity of Li Ran, how could the Wu State become their rival in the future?

For the first time, Zhufan regretted his arrogance and underestimating the enemy.
To be continued...