District 9

In the detention room, after Gu Shen heard his cousin's answer, he completely collapsed. He lay on the iron chair and cried bitterly: "...Brother, I...we never thought...things would reach this point. When we formed the alliance, , it was not my father’s wish, but all the rebel generals in the World War II area were dissatisfied with Lin Yaozong’s appearance. They felt that Lin Yaozong’s unification of the eight districts and foreign operations did not contribute as much as our Gu family... And he came up , we have to cut down the vassal vassal, we also have to...break up the family factions and take away the positions of meritorious generals, so the generals will not do it."

Gu Yan smoked a cigarette and did not respond.

"Even if the leader of the Alliance is not my father, he will be someone else. Sooner or later, the World War II zone will lose control. Those generals who have rolled over countless times on the battlefield, except for the uncle, no one can suppress them." Gu Shen He continued: "My dad came to power out of desperation. I tried to persuade him, but he said that he didn't know how far someone could go if they were the leader of the Alliance, but he was the leader and the Eighth District was still controllable. He Tell me, after my uncle left, we used political oppression and autonomy to force Lin Yaozong to compromise. With the support of the Chen clique, it would be difficult for Lin Yaozong to handle such a big deal by himself. As long as he is willing to hand over his power, let the new The governors of the three major regions were born from the Gu family, so everyone must be in peace."

Gu Yan glanced at him and remained silent.

"We didn't want to start a civil war at all. The Alliance has been in a state of avoidance and dormancy in the early stage. We were just waiting for the uncle to leave... But we didn't expect that Qin Yu and Lin Yaozong pressed forward step by step, completely exposing the Alliance... things Pushing back step by step led to today's situation." Gu Shen looked at his cousin with tears on his face: "...What I said is true. Today's situation is not what we wanted."

Gu Yan turned to look at him blankly and suddenly asked: "Xiao Geng, you and I are brothers with the same blood flowing from our bodies. We have played together since we were young. When we were young, we almost couldn't tell each other apart. What I have, you have." . But as an adult... Because I am the son of the leader of the Gu family, I have always been a few steps ahead of you in my career. When you became a soldier, I went to study; when you were promoted to battalion commander, I returned to the army; when you became a soldier Brigadier, I have become the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Advance Army. You and I both have the same surname and are from the same ancestor... But the treatment we receive in our careers has never been the same... Tell me the truth, have you ever had any problems? Have you balanced it?"

When Gu Shen heard this, he was stunned for a moment.

"I believe what you said, but he went against it after all. Whether the purpose is to make me the governor, or...to control the power myself, it doesn't matter anymore." Gu Yan's mouth twitched, and he continued in a trembling voice: "I I don't blame you, because he is your father, and you should help him fulfill any wish. But at the same time... I am also fulfilling my father's last wish. I never wanted to be a bullshit governor... I never will I can't forget what my dad said to me before he died... He said... The Gu family is so big, but before I died, I was the only relative around me. What's so good about the Governor?! He stayed until the end... Everyone around me is gone...!"

Gu Shen shed tears and was speechless.

"...Xiao Gentleman, as long as I am here, no one can take your life." Gu Yan stood up slowly, touched the other person's head and said, "My family is ruined...you are the only relative. I...I protect you. I will protect you... just like my second uncle protected me when I was in trouble when I was little."

After speaking, Gu Yan wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and turned to leave. He knew that he could not protect Gu Taixian, and he could not protect him. The Eighth District had already started a war, and the loser would definitely pay for this military war.

…

In Qufu, in the war room of the World War II Zone Headquarters, all the generals left under Gu Taixian's persuasion, leaving only himself and Meng Xi in the room.

"Are you Master Meng's son?" Gu Taixian asked.

"Yes." Meng Xi admitted frankly.

"That's wrong. I've never heard of someone like you in the Meng family?" Gu Taixian looked at Meng Xi strangely.

"I am his illegitimate son. He has a high status, has an official position, and is a scholar. He cherishes his reputation very much." Meng Xi replied with a trembling voice: "So, my mother and I have been living in the outer area."

"What about your mother?"

"When I was in the outer district, I got sick and died." Meng Xi replied in a low voice: "I also hate Meng Zhaotang... In all these years, I have only been back to the Eighth District once, when he celebrated his sixtieth birthday."

"Meng Zhaotang's first wife also gave birth to three children for him, right?"

"Yes, I have two brothers and one sister." Meng Xi said this, clenching his fists: "They are all very good to me, especially my eldest brother, who took good care of me when he went to study in other districts... But They were all killed by you."

Gu Taixian was silent.

"Before Tang Zhang fell, the Meng family had already decided to surrender. Why do you still want to kill them all?" Meng Xi shouted.

Gu Taixian was silent for a long time, then turned to look out the window and replied: "Meng Zhaotang, the first adviser of the Zhang family in the Tang Dynasty, has the ability to instigate rebel troops. For me, I would rather kill him by mistake than let him go."

"...!" Meng Xi heard this and replied hoarsely: "So, today is your retribution."

"Maybe." Gu Taixian looked at him: "What you said, can you do it?"

"Yes." Meng Xi nodded without hesitation.

"In this case, you give Gu Yan a message for me, just say...his second uncle...didn't expect to reach this point." Gu Taixian picked up the pistol on the table and said in a hoarse voice: "We two Old grudges are settled today. You can leave."

Meng Xi paused for a while, turned around and walked out.

"Then... that Meng Xi, wait a minute!" Gu Taixian shouted.

Meng Xi turned around.

"... Regarding the Meng family, I did something a little extreme." Gu Taixian paused and replied: "... People, the perspective of looking at something when you are in power is different from the perspective of looking at something when you are down. It’s the same. I’m sorry, you and I can encourage each other.”

Meng Xi stayed for a while and left decisively.

Gu Taixian stepped out of the room, holding the gun, and shouted at the generals who were waiting for him: "...I'm sorry, everyone, I failed to lead you...to victory in the last battle of my life. The battle is defeated, As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I should take the initiative to bear all consequences. We have shared weal and woe for more than ten years, and we have too many emotions worth remembering... I hope that after my death, there will be no more smoke in Qufu. Goodbye, brothers!"

"Kang!"

The gunshot rang out and Gu Taixian committed suicide.

When he was at the end of his rope, he did not ask for help from his nephew, asking him to save his life at the price of emotion.

Some people said that he was framed, while others said that he had been under Gu Tai'an for too long and his heart was unbalanced, so he established the alliance.

Some people even say that he is one of the war god generals in the three major regions, a person who made outstanding contributions to the nation in his early years. His death also represents the complete end of the older generation of leaders.

This is a man who was full of controversy in his later political years. Perhaps this is the history of a special period. There is no absolute glory or absolute gloom.

Right and wrong will be judged by future generations.