The God King died suddenly at the beginning, what can I do?

The envoy of the King of Liao was also surprised when he saw Li Rubai. He looked at Zhang Yuke and said, "Master Zhang, what do you mean? Do you want to negotiate peace with the rebels?"

Li Rubai has now been designated as a rebel by the central government, and all the vassals and towns across the country have been called upon to boycott and crusade against him. Of course, no one has responded.

Zhang Yuke replied: "My Lord Envoy, Chihe City is now an isolated city and there will not be any reinforcements. If we hold on and resist, when the city is broken, the enemy will definitely kill the surrendering people to vent their anger."

The envoy said disdainfully: "So what, their lives were sacrificed for the stability of the empire, and the empire will praise their tenacity!"

Zhang Yuke shook his head and said: "You and I are both born and raised by our parents, why would we trade other people's lives for our own prosperity?"

He told the truth directly, and the envoy advised him to stick to it. It was just to complete the mission and go back to receive the reward. It was not for the sake of the country at all.

Seeing that he was so frank and disrespectful, the envoy said angrily: "Zhang Yuke, don't forget that you have His Highness the King of Liao, who you are all relying on today. Do you want to burn down the bridge and become an ungrateful villain?"

Zhang Yuke said with a calm face: "The King of Liao has been kind to me, and I can only repay it by serving the people sincerely and being a good official."

"Over the years, I have sincerely worked for the benefit of the people, and I have a clear conscience without taking anything from them."

Seeing his appearance, the envoy said angrily: "Well, Zhang Yuke, are you planning to surrender?"

Zhang Yuke did not answer the question, but said: "Your Majesty the Envoy, I will arrange for someone to send you away safely. Please go back and report to His Highness the King of Liao for me that Yuke has failed to live up to his expectations."

As he spoke, he clapped his hands and a team of guards came in. Zhang Yuke ordered: "Come here, escort the envoy out of the city."

Before leaving, the messenger angrily tossed his sleeves and said, "Zhang Yuke, His Highness will never forgive you for your betrayal!" After that, he strode away from here.

Li Rubai, who witnessed the whole process, said with surprise on his face: "Yuke, have you already thought about it?"

Zhang Yuke nodded and said: "Yes, instead of resisting to the end and taking human lives, it is better to open the city and surrender to protect the safety of the people and soldiers."

These words surprised Li Rubai. In his impression, Zhang Yuke would not speak like this. He was a proud man who never bowed his head.

But since Zhang Yuke is willing to surrender, he definitely can't delve into the reasons. That would be too rude.

In the next three days, Zhang Yuke discussed with him the details of surrender and handover matters.

Zhang Yuke handed over the affairs of every county and even every county, township and village in Northern Mengzhou to Li Rubai.

Which problems need to be solved urgently, and which problems can be alleviated first, are all listed in detail.

For three days, Zhang Yuke hardly ate or slept while sorting out these materials and documents.

It wasn't until this morning, half an hour before the deadline, that Zhang Yuke stopped what he was doing and wanted to send Li Rubai out of the city.

When leaving, he said to Li Rubai with a slightly sad expression: "Brother Rubai, I won't send you out of the city. You go ahead. I will wait for the arrival of Princess Zetian in this government office."

Although Li Rubai was tired because of the big thing he had solved, he was very happy and excited. He said: "Brother Yuke, Her Royal Highness will treat the entire Northern Mengzhou well. You have made great contributions to the people and the world. You should be happy."

Zhang Yuke forced a smile and said: "I hope so. Go and tell Her Royal Highness the result quickly, so as not to waste time."

Li Rubai nodded and said: "Okay, I'll go right away, you just wait here." After saying that, Li Rubai turned around and left the government office.

After Zhang Yuke lowered his head for a moment, he raised his head again and called out to Li Rubai, who was about to leave, and shouted loudly: "Brother Rubai, don't worry about being ignorant in the future. No one in the world will know you!"

Li Rubai, who was riding on horseback, heard his shout, turned to look at him, then gave him a bright smile, then turned and left

After walking for a while, Li Rubai thought about the poem Zhang Yuke had just recited. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

He asked the group to stop, and then thought about it for a moment. Suddenly he seemed to understand something, tightened the reins, turned around, and rushed towards the government office at full speed.

When he entered Zhang Yuke's office room again, Zhang Yuke had fallen to the ground and was breathless. There was a broken wine glass beside him. He chose to commit suicide by poisoning the wine!

There is a letter left on the table for Li Rubai, which is also the suicide note left by Zhang Yuke

In the letter, Zhang Yuke first apologized to Li Rubai for lying to him and not waiting for his return.

Then comes reflection and repentance, reflection on what he has done in his life, repentance for betraying the King of Liao in the end, betraying the emperor's favor, and being a sinner of the empire.

"The moment I learned that I had won the election, I made an oath to be loyal to the country and to the Holy One, and to bless all people with the grace of the Emperor."

"It took me a lifetime to understand one truth - the people are the creators of history, so at the last moment, I chose to stand by the people."

Zhang Yuke has been loyal to the imperial power all his life. He wants to benefit the people so that everyone can live a good life in peace and contentment.

However, despite his hard work throughout his life, the whole country has been going downhill day by day. People everywhere are in dire straits, and changes are happening all over the place.

Only now did he understand that relying only on etiquette, morality, and integrity, these sage books cannot save the country and the people.

"Yuke can be where he is today because of the great kindness of the late Emperor and the King of Liao. However, the surrender of Chihe City without a fight is the biggest stain on Yuke's life. He can only die to repay his kindness."

Zhang Yuke's scholarly integrity does not allow him to surrender without a fight, but now in his heart, the people's well-being comes first, and he is willing to surrender for the sake of the people.

But the guilt and shame also made him very painful, and he could only choose death to relieve himself.

"Yuke hopes to become close friends with Brother Rubai in the next life, but I no longer have the merit to accompany you in this life. I hope you will say hello to Her Royal Highness on my behalf. I hope Her Highness the Princess will keep her promise and treat the people well."

After reading the last sentence of this letter, the entire government office lobby had already fallen into silence. Everyone was shocked by Zhang Yuke's loyalty and righteousness, and they all mourned for him.

After a long time, Princess Zetian ordered people to collect Zhang Yuke's body and bury him properly. She also asked Li Rubai to treat Zhang Yuke's family well.

Li Rubai replied with a wry smile: "Yu Ke has been honest all his life. His family has no property, and he has never been married. He came and went alone."

So Princess Zetian decided to order the construction of an ancestral hall for him, and asked relevant local departments to worship him every year. She also told the world that Zhang Yuke did not surrender, and she was given the posthumous title of "Zhong Xiao"

Some people around the princess raised concerns: "If you praise Zhang Yuke's deeds, will other officials follow suit, which will be detrimental to the great cause?"

Princess Zetian replied: "Master Zhang has devoted his life to serving the people. If other officials can learn from him, then our career will only become more and more successful."