Shang Cheng left Fangzhou in the early morning of the fourth day of November. He was afraid of delaying his trip on the road, and he couldn't arrive in Shangjing before the imperial court appointed Zhu Xu as the governor of Yanshan, and he even ignored his own illness, and did not warm the car but rode a fast horse, and a group of more than ten rode fast horses to the Central Plains. On the fifth day of the first month, he rested in the drinking horse station, and on the sixth day of the first month, he passed the big mountain fort before noon, and he had already left Yanshanwei, and entered the boundary of Luzhou at night. Because the road was too hurried and they missed the lodging on the way, Duan Si and a few guards had no choice but to borrow two rooms from the upper family in the village on the side of the official road to rest temporarily.

After this stay, something happened in the middle of the night.

In the long-term military career, Shang Cheng's body was originally extremely strong, and his age was in the good years of rough and round, if on weekdays, let alone two mud grass houses, even in the cold weather, find a place to shelter from the wind and rain and clothes can lie down, and jump a few times the next morning. But not now. He was originally sick, although it was not a major problem that hurt his muscles and bones, but after several months of illness and torture and fierce medicine of tigers and wolves, his body and bones were already a little weak. In addition, the imperial court suddenly transferred him out of Yanshan, and seeing that the plan that he had worked hard to plan could be stillborn, and the good situation of fighting countless soldiers in the past three years with blood and life was even more likely to be in vain, so in the past three or four days, all kinds of emotions have been tumbling and rising in his heart, the yin deficiency and fire in his body are vigorous, and the wind is rushing in the winter moon, and the cold air is forced all the way, coupled with the cold water and hard bun cold kang, the place where the Zhuang family stays is still a leaky firewood house, and the cold and hot are mixed in a few times, Even a man with iron can't stand it......

Shang Cheng fell ill. According to the medical book, this is a "cold wind into the body" of wind and cold fever, which is actually a high fever that does not go away. When it burns up, it is hot, and when it is cold, it is still frozen and teeth are still cold when wrapped in two furs. Duan Si, they brought all the liquor they brought with them to smear his forehead, chest, back, and armpits, and it could only be a temporary relief. That's it, the next morning the man stood and shook, and he was still insisting on hurrying.

Duan Si: Where did they dare to let him go on the road? Gao Qiang Li served these guards to persuade hard, but Shang Cheng couldn't listen to them at all. Duan Si was so anxious that he jumped to his feet, his eyes were red, and finally pulled out the knife and stuffed it into Shang Cheng's hand, and said again and again, if you want to go on the road, you can only go out unless you step on his corpse!

In fact, Shang Cheng also knew that his physical condition did not allow him to go at all. As a last resort, he could only rest in this unstable place. But his people stopped, but his hands did not stop, and he endured a high fever and headache for a day to write two letters, one to be delivered to the military department, and the other to be presented to the prime minister's office. Let Duan Si immediately contact the local garrison in Qi County, and send it directly to Beijing through the military post road and "Wan Yi".

In his letter to the Ministry of War, from a military point of view, he carefully analyzed the various situations that the two Wei towns of Yanshan and Bohai and the left wing of the Tuqi Ci were currently facing, compared the respective advantages and weaknesses of Da Zhao and the Tu Qi Ci, and especially highlighted that the two Wei towns of Yanshan and Bohai had just won a big victory, and it was when the morale of the soldiers was high and the soldiers were full of ambition, but on the one hand, the Tu Du Ci was internally unstable, and on the other hand, there was a rare shortage of troops, and the strength of the two sides was rising and waning. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a large-scale military use of the left wing of the Turks. He is very confident that he will win the decisive battle next year. He sincerely hoped that the military department would retract the appointment of Zhu Xuan after seriously considering these circumstances, and still let him serve as the commander of Yanshan. He repeatedly stated that this request was not because he was arrogant, but because Zhushangzhu had never served in Yanshan, and he was not familiar with the generals of the various departments in Yanshan, and the generals of the various departments were not familiar with him. And although he is a little rough and blunt, and he is not too competent as the governor of Weizhen, he has been in Yanshanwei for the past few years and is very familiar with the situation in Yanshan, so he recommended himself without any effort and wanted to continue to stay in Yanshan.

In the letter to the Prime Minister's Office, in addition to repeatedly reiterating the certainty of next year's decisive battle, he also discussed the necessity of next year's decisive battle from the perspective of the cost of war. From the Northern Expedition in the 19th year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty to the Autumn Campaign that has just passed, Da Zhao spent a total of 4.32 million yuan or 4.32 billion yuan for several large and small wars, equivalent to 16 months' income from the national treasury, and also levied more than 136,000 people for labor, 74,457 soldiers were killed or missing, and more than 13,200 soldiers were retired due to injuries. Now, there is an unprecedented opportunity in front of Da Zhao. In order to avenge the fallen soldiers, in order to avenge the countless families and hundreds of millions of people of Dazhao who suffered boundless suffering caused by the repeated southern invasions of the Turks, and in order to wash away the shame caused to Dazhao by the Turquoise for a hundred years, he implored the Prime Minister's Office, the Prime Minister and the Vice Minister, to let him finish this battle......

The letter was delivered, and he also lived in the small courtyard that the local garrison had found for him temporarily. He was supposed to go to live in the post house, but there were too many officials and people coming and going in the post house, and he didn't want to be disturbed, so he didn't go. The barracks is a good place, but there are only about 50 people in the local garrison, and the garrison is no bigger than a slap. So he asked people to find him a small courtyard near the barracks. It's good here, one is clean, and the other is that there are no idle outsiders, and he specially instructed the garrison not to make noise, and he happened to wait for Shangjing's reply while recuperating his body.

But five days passed, and neither the military department nor the prime minister's office wrote back to him. The two letters seemed to have been sunk into the sea, and not even a single response was heard.

He couldn't care about the hurt he'd been hurt in the matter anymore. Shangjing's silent attitude made him very sad. He didn't understand what Shangjing was thinking. What a chance this is, why not let it slip past your eyes in vain? He, Zhang Shao, Sun Zhongshan, Guo Biao, Lu Ji, Di Xu, Pan Lian...... For this day, in order to completely solve the threat faced by Yan Shanwei, how many people couldn't sleep all night, and how many people threw their heads and spilled blood on the battlefield, facing the enemy's scimitar and spear one after another, so that today's result was finally achieved? And those people who are unfortunately involved in the scourge of war, fathers who have lost their sons, wives who have lost their husbands, children who have lost their fathers and brothers, how much have they paid for this day? Is it really just an opportunity to slip through in vain, which was entirely exchanged for blood and life? Do you really want to let the people of Tulu rest and recuperate, let the king of Donglu Valley put the interior in order, let the enemy's scimitar be raised again, and then everything starts all over again?

He felt very uncomfortable and angry when he thought that all the efforts and sacrifices of the past two or three years might go to waste. No! Of course, he was not angry at the unfair treatment he had suffered, nor was he angry at those who ran out to pick peaches in a panic, he didn't care about being angry with these people now! He was angry at Zhang Pu, the southward faction in the court! In order for their faction to carry out their so-called political ambitions, which they do not know whether they are right or wrong, these guys ignore the facts and ostracize dissidents, and frantically attack all those who stand in their way, even to the point that they cannot tolerate any ideas and ideas that contradict them! Especially Zhang Pu, the right minister who is the leader of the southward faction, a politician with a shrewd mind, can't he see who is more threatening to Da Zhao among the northern Turks and the southern edicts in the south? Now to fight Nanzhao, it is difficult to predict whether the result will be a victory or a draw, and now to fight the Turquoise is to win, a war that does not know the consequences and a war that is bound to win, doesn't he know how to choose? Yes, he can understand Zhang Pu's distress. As the soul of the southward marching faction, Zhang Pu himself could not jump out against himself, could not oppose the southern expedition, and could not clearly support the northward war, but Zhang Pu was fully capable of slowing down the pace of the southern expedition and letting Yan Shanwei finish this turning strategic decisive battle. But Zhang Pu didn't do that. He could have done this, but he didn't. He can obviously give Yan Shanwei a little time, and Yan Shanwei only needs a little time, but he just doesn't give this insignificant time. As long as there is half a year, at most eight months, the situation in the north of Dazhao will change dramatically......

He was so angry. The turbulent emotions and the torture of illness made him completely lose his calm. He was angry with the Southward Advancers. See what you're all doing? Your original intention was also for this nation and this country, but what you did was to hurt her! He hated Zhang Pu. You have completely lost the bearing and judgment that you should have as a prime minister! Don't you know that as the helmsman of a country, your current actions will turn this giant ship on which we are riding will turn a detour, which will make us pass by an opportunity that countless people have worked hard for and looked forward to for a hundred years! He even hated the Nanzhao in the southwest and the bureaucrats who made trouble. He felt that if there was no Nanzhao State, if there were no wingmen, Zhang Pu and the Nanjin faction would not have been able to launch the southern expedition, and he would not have been able to be transferred out of Yanshan, and the Tu Quanci people and the king of Donglu Valley would never have a chance to survive again! He even hated Tibet. If Tubo had promised to coerce Nanzhao with Da Zhao, would Nanzhao, a small country, still have the courage to stir up trouble in the southwest again and again? Da Zhao released goodwill, but the Tubo people refused to accept it, it is obvious that behind the rampant southwest of the Southern Zhao Kingdom, it is the Tubo people who are stirring up and instigating!

But in the midst of his anger, he also felt pain and confusion. He clearly had the opportunity to knock the enemy into the abyss, but he had no strength to exert it; He clearly saw that the enemy had embarked on a road of no return, but he could not add a hand to it and push them from behind...... There is nothing more painful than watching someone else slash an enemy while you can only be a spectator. Moreover, in the past two years, he has been training troops, fighting, and busy with official business, when he suddenly stopped, and in a hurry, he didn't know what to do. And he didn't know if he would be able to return to Yanshan after he recovered from his injuries. He even thought pessimistically that maybe his headache would never get better, so he could only stay in Shangjing until one day, when he felt that there was no hope of recovery, or when others felt that he had become a complete burden, he had to silently return to his county fiefdom like an old leper dog. At that time, perhaps no one remembered him except his relatives, and no one knew what he had done, let alone remembered that it was he who had forced the invincible Tuqi and the king of Donglu Valley to a desperate situation, and he almost wrote an epitaph for them, which was the last and most crucial step. He also thought ironically, maybe the person who remembered him the most deeply and longestly in this world was the old opponent of the King of Donglu Valley......

It wasn't until the eighth day that he waited for a reply from Shangjing.

The reply came with Zhenqiang.

When he left Fangzhou, Shang Cheng did not let anyone inform Zhenxiang, so Zhenxiang only learned the news of Shang Cheng's departure for Beijing before the morning of the fourth day of the new year. Zhenqian, who was entrusted by the imperial court, was in a hurry at that time, and hurriedly went out to catch up. But how did he know that Shang Cheng would be seriously ill in Luxi when he left Yanshan, and this chase was too much. It wasn't until he received a report from the Ministry of War and the Prime Minister's Office on the south bank of the Yellow River in Xiangzhou that he knew that he was still ahead of Shangcheng. He didn't dare to delay, crossed the Yellow River twice in one day, and rushed back without touching the ground. Now, the left squire of the military department is standing in front of the hall, the head is full of loess, the official robes and boots are also covered with mud, his face is yellow and black, the sideburns that are usually neatly groomed are gone, and the gray hair and whiskers are emerging from the feet of the head one by one, and it is completely impossible to see the origin of the jinshi and the demeanor of the commander of the sailor. He didn't care about the fatigue of running all the way, so he first asked Shang Cheng how his condition was.

"It's fine." The corners of Shang Cheng's mouth twitched. His illness can only be said to be fine. The doctor in Qi County is good, he looks surprisingly tall and looks amazing, and the prescription is also solid, and the fever is subsided after drinking two decoctions, but the stomach is out of order, and he runs for four days in a row...... He waited for Zhenqian to wash his hands and face, then let him into the house, poured him a cup of hot tea and soup, and said apologetically, "I really don't want to let you run around on this cold day." ”

Zhen Qian waved his hand indifferently and said, "You read the letter first." He said to Duan Si by the door, "Go, find me something to eat first." Today, when the day dawned, I started to hurry, and now I have only eaten half a piece of dead dough cake, and I am really hungry and can't stand it. "That's true. It's not that he's so hungry that he panics, and he's not going to be able to speak and behave like he does now.

Shang Cheng smiled gratefully, so he didn't bother to talk to Zhen Xiang, and first looked down at Shangjing's reply.

The reply from the Prime Minister's Office was written by Zhang Pu: "Uncle Yingxian received the letter on the seventh day of the first month of winter." Ying Bo was still concerned about military and political affairs, and Park and Zhugong were deeply impressed. As stated in the letter, the company has been instructed to handle it with discretion and prudence. Ying Bo has left Yanshan, and it is better to go to Beijing for a long time. Park and the princes of the court and the central government all looked north to wait for the county uncle. Simple. Date. ”

Shang Cheng muttered strange things in his mouth, and he really couldn't say it in his heart. Disappointment was certain, but because it had long been expected that it would not be successful, the blow of the letter was not as intense as he had imagined. He is even in the mood to examine Zhang Pu's every word, which is not as good as himself. But the perception of myself and others is greater. Look at Zhang Pu's letter, from beginning to end, he does not mention the word "general", that is, this matter is over, and it will end here. He sighed silently, it seemed that there was really no hope. However, what is going on with this county uncle? Didn't you say the county in front?

"I don't know." Zhen Xiang swallowed the egg sesame oil noodle soup that he had eaten in the morning, and said vaguely. In fact, he knew it very well in his heart. On the third day after Shang Cheng left Fangzhou, that is, on the sixth day of the first month of this month, Zhu Xu left Beijing to take up his post, and he was accompanied by a large number of officials of the Ministry of Rites with a large number of edicts to bestow knights. The imperial court must have wanted to announce the promotion and knighthood of meritorious soldiers through the prefaces, so as to lay a good start for Zhu Shangzhu to take over Yanshanwei. Shang Cheng's title was changed from the county to the county uncle, most likely to pave the way for Zhuxu. After all, it is impossible for ordinary generals and soldiers to understand the difference between real and virtual knights, they know that the county of Shangcheng is several levels different from Sun Zhongshan's national tolerance, and when the time comes, the soldiers will clamored for this matter, whether Zhu Xuan can take over Yanshan by the way is a trivial matter, the key is where to put the face of the imperial court? He ate and drank with a red face and a greasy mouth, and said in his busy schedule, "But the county uncle is better than the county." First of all, I congratulated Ying Bo. I also met Xue Xun, the left attendant of the Ministry of Officials, at the crossing of the Yellow River in Xiangzhou, and he came to give you an edict. I heard that your knighted county lord is the fifth generation of Enxi, and he has 560 households, which is stronger than those county marquis. Xue Qiaosong is a civil official, and he walks slowly in a carriage, and he will arrive about the day after tomorrow. ”

Shang Cheng remembered who this Xue Shilang was. When he entered Beijing at the end of last year, this Lord Xue also stopped him and recommended his younger brother Yazhong, the sixth concubine in his family, to Yanshan to be the lieutenant of the cavalry battalion and Tian Xiaowu's deputy. Sun Zhongshan also mentioned it to himself twice, saying that it was a rare good riding school. It's a pity that together with Guo Biao and Zheng Qi's cavalry brigade, they were all lost on the grassland......