After the rain, the mountains and forests are verdant. People pass through the grass and trees, and the dew stains their clothes.

The south of Dengfeng County, Kei Mountain.

The pines and cypresses on both sides of the bluestone mountain trail are towering, and the black locust is in patches. It's October, climb to the top and look down, the red leaves all over the mountains are covered like red glow, and the crimson sunset reflects each other, the trees are all autumn colors, and the mountains and mountains are only sunset.

Next to a pool of clear ponds, more than a dozen people stood and waited. Zhao Dangshi said hello, smiled and said to the two people in the front row: "Brother Tian and Brother Liu, I haven't seen you for a long time." "The Qingxiu Confucian general on the left is Tian Jianxiu, the commander of the camp in the army, and the bearded man on the right is Liu Zongmin, the deputy marshal of the right.

Tian Jianxiu and Liu Zongmin bowed their hands politely, and when they saw Zhou Wenhe and more than ten other guards accompanying Zhao Dangshi, they shook their heads and said: "King Chuang has ordered that tonight's banquet is just a family banquet for King Chuang and Zhao Shuai. King Chuang was already waiting alone in the Dahong Village on the top of the mountain, and asked Zhao Shuai to leave the rest of the people here, and there would be another banquet to entertain later. ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded in agreement, but said: "King Chuang's kindness, I am grateful, but Zhao also brought someone here, speaking of which was also a member of King Chuang's family, I don't know if I can participate in this family banquet?" He beckoned backwards.

Tian Jianxiu and Liu Zongmin watched suspiciously, Zhou Wenhe led the person Zhao Dangshi said in front of him, and their expressions instantly turned to surprise.

"Xing, Mrs. Xing?"

I saw a woman in her thirties and a bikini skirt standing silently with her head half-bowed. Rao hadn't seen her for many years, but Tian Jianxiu and Liu Zongmin still recognized her at a glance.

"How could she be with Zhao Shuai?" Tian Jianxiu frowned and asked, full of suspicion.

"Gao Jie's thief has been ambushed a few days ago." Zhao Dangshi said lightly, "He abducted King Chuang's things, and Zhao now wants to return the things to King Chuang." Turning to look at Mrs. Xing, who looked sad, she rubbed the corners of her clothes nervously with her hands, how could she still have half of the heroic posture of the day.

Xing appeared suddenly, Tian Jianxiu was still thinking about it, but Liu Zongmin stroked his palms and laughed: "Enter!" Why can't you get in! Compared with Tian Jianxiu's disdainful gaze, he looked at Xing's family, obviously more of a joke.

Tian Jianxiu heard him say this, and nodded and said, "Then please Zhao Shuai and Xing ...... Mrs. Xing went to the stockade. ”

At that time, it had been three days since the defeat of the Shaanxi official army in Jiaxian, Sun Chuanting retreated to Tongguanwei with the soldiers and horses of Shaanxi, and Zhao Dangshi secretly met with the envoy of the intruding army and accepted Li Zicheng's invitation, so as to have this trip to Jishan. Hei Bangjun and Li Benshen, who were sent to Tongguanwei, acted smoothly, and robbed Xing and Gao Jie's youngest son Gao Yuanjue to Lushan County the day before Zhao Dangshi left, and then Zhao Dangshi brought them to meet Li Zicheng.

Dahongzhai is located on the top of Jishan Mountain, when Zhao Dangshi stepped into the gate of the village, the sky was basically dark. Li Zicheng, who had finished his outfit, personally greeted him outside the hall, Zhao Dangshi saw him, flew up two steps, bowed down and said, "Little brother will make amends to King Chuang!" ”

Li Zicheng held him up and said, "Brother, you're serious." ”

The two entered the hall hand in hand, and there was only an eight-square table and two stools in the hall, a pot of pork legs, a pot of steamed buns, and a pot of soju and two wine cups on the table. Other than that, only a few red candles illuminated, nothing else, no one else.

"In just two years, King Chuang has swept Henan, and his prestige is world-famous, and the younger brother really admires it!" After a few words of greeting, Zhao Dangshi admired and drank a cup with Li Zicheng, "I want to follow this trend of breaking bamboo, and the unification of Henan is just around the corner." ”

Li Zicheng smiled and said: "Sun Chuanting has not been removed, how can it be called 'unification of Henan'?" ”

It's a blessing or a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided. When Zhao Dangshi heard this, he put down the wine cup and arched his hand: "The little brother knows that King Chuang can't let go of this matter. He continued, "The younger brother is here, first and foremost, to make amends." ”

Li Zicheng said: "I said at the beginning, my brother is in Huguang, and I am in Henan. But my brother not only occupied Nanyang Mansion before, but recently sent troops to help Sun Chuanting. ”

Zhao Dangshi was silent for a moment and said, "King Chuang is not happy, and the little brother knows it." However, the reason why the younger brother did this is also bitter, and I hope that the elder brother will understand. Then he explained, "Huguang is close to Henan, and the elder brother is blooming in Henan on all sides, and the younger brother is a general of the imperial court, and if he does not make any action, he will be blamed." Besides, Sun Chuanting saved the life of the younger brother, and if he didn't pull him, the younger brother felt uncomfortable. ”

Before coming to Jishan, Zhao Dangshi prepared a rhetoric, and he believed that no matter how many objective reasons he said to Li Zicheng, it was not enough to convince people, and it was better to use the word "righteousness" as a shield. Li Zicheng is also from a mixed background, no matter whether he really recognizes "righteousness" in his heart or not, at least he is not good on the surface and ignores it directly.

"Sun Chuanting saved you?" Li Zicheng raised his head and drank all the wine in the cup.

"Exactly, it's a shame to say that Sun Chuanting led the army to Nanyang Mansion half a month ago, when Gao Jie was in the army, and he wanted to raise troops to make trouble and murder the younger brother, or Sun Chuanting found out in time and passed the matter to the younger brother, so that the younger brother was able to plan in advance and capture Gao Jie's fanatic."

"Oh, is Gao Jie dead?" Li Zicheng's face did not have a trace of waves.

"The younger brother can never forget the ugly deeds committed by Gao Jie's thieves, how can he be allowed to live in the world again, as soon as he got his hands on it, he killed him with his own hands without waiting for Sun Chuanting to send him. His cronies only escaped from Li Chengdong, Hu Maozhen and other Xiaoxiao, so there is nothing to worry about. Zhao Dangshi said, "In addition, the younger brother took advantage of this opportunity to capture the Xing family, who had been robbed by Gao Jieba and eloped, and returned the present thing to its original owner and dedicated it to King Chuang!" ”

"Xing's?" Li Zicheng was not moved until this time, his body shook and he was uncertain, "Where is she?" ”

Zhao Dangshi clapped his hands, the figure at the entrance of the hall flashed, Li Zichengshun looked over, but saw a woman standing there sadly, but it was not the Xing family who made him grit his teeth at the beginning.

"You ......" Li Zicheng's lips trembled, his right hand held the wine cup tightly, his joints gurgled, and it was obvious that old grievances had surged into his heart.

Zhao Dangshi said loudly: "There is a debtor and a master, the Xing family has failed King Chuang's kindness, and he should have accepted King Chuang's disposal." The younger brother regards King Chuang as a brother, and he has the responsibility to bring people back, but what happens in the future depends on King Chuang's orders. ”

Xing's was originally Li Zicheng's trust in charge of the logistics books, but before eloping with Gao Jie, in order to add chaos to Li Zicheng, he burned these important documents and books cleanly, which caused great trouble and losses to Li Zicheng at that time, so for the army, Xing was not only Li Zicheng's personal enemy, but also the public enemy of the entire army.

Li Zicheng's anger was visible to the naked eye, Xing Shi caught a glimpse of his round eyes in panic, knowing that he was only afraid of being forgiven, so he simply knelt on the ground and cried: "The concubine knows that she is guilty of death, and she does not seek to steal her life." But the king of Wangchuang had a large number of concubines and forgave the children of the concubines. He was still young and ignorant...... "tears rained down and he was sobbing incessantly."

Li Zicheng's face was gloomy, his chest rose and fell, and he pursed his lips tightly and didn't speak for a long time.

"Brother......" Zhao Dangshi waited for a while and made a tentative sound.

saw Li Zicheng slowly stand up, hesitated in place for a moment, and then walked to the crouching Xing family. Xing cried and cried, and didn't dare to move. After a while, he heard Li Zichang sigh and say, "You get up, I won't harm you, and I won't harm your children." ”

When Xing heard this, he cried even more sadly, and Li Zicheng said coldly: "I'm not bluffing you, one day husband and wife for a hundred days, you and I will be married after all, and the past love can't be erased." Now that Gao Jie is dead, what am I doing to your mother and son again? ”

"Woo, concubine...... The concubine thanked King Chuang for not killing him......" Xing hurriedly kowtowed.

"You go down, since you have been my Li Zicheng's woman, you are not allowed to go anywhere else. In the future, I will live in the army, and your mother and son should eat and drink, and I will take care of it. Li Zicheng threw down a sentence, clenched his fists and turned around, "Let's go quickly!" ”

"Yes, yes......" Xing thanked him again and left in a hurry.

Zhao Dangshi waited for Li Zicheng to return to the throne, and said solemnly: "King Chuang's benevolence and righteousness are unparalleled, and the younger brother admires him." ”

Li Zicheng smiled bitterly and said: "It's not a secret, before I saw her, as long as I remembered the ugly things at the beginning, I had a lot of hatred and resentment in my mind, and I never had to be comfortable, I just looked forward to one day being able to slash this adulterer and adulteress." I heard from my brother that Gao Jie was dead, and when I saw the embarrassed appearance of the Xing family, the anger disappeared. ”

"My brother is like the sea, and he repays his grievances with virtue, which is really a model for my husband."

Li Zicheng said: "If it weren't for the brothers who brought people to their eyes, it would be difficult to resolve a matter of heart for many years." As he spoke, he let out a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy mountain had been lifted from his shoulder.

The two drank a few more sips of wine, but Li Zicheng did not mention Sun Chuanting's matter again. Zhao Dangshi knew that his plan to use "Sun Chuanting saved himself" as an excuse and then use Xing's as a gift of reparation had achieved the desired effect. Regardless of whether Li Zicheng is in the way of face or not, the matter of sending troops to rescue Sun Chuanting this time is generally over.

A pot of steamed buns was almost eaten, Li Zicheng stiffened his neck, wiped his oil-stained hands on his clothes a few times, and said, "Brother, do you still remember the old king's iron top meeting in the past?" ”

Zhao Dangshi knew that the main topic was coming, put down the meat cutting knife, sat down and said, "Of course I remember." ”

"I wonder what my brother plans to do next?" Li Zicheng smiled as if to alleviate the embarrassment, "If in the past, there were Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue, Zuo Liangyu and others in Henan between you and me, now Ding Qirui is in prison, Zuo Liangyu is dead, Yang Wenyue is still breathing, and only the brothers and the army are left to break into the army." The brother also said before that as a general of the imperial court, he had to enter Henan. Could it be that saving Sun Chuanting this time is just the beginning, and you and I will inevitably have to meet each other in the future? ”

Zhao Dangshi said awe-inspiringly: "Where does my brother speak, my younger brother abides by the covenant of Laojun's iron top, and he has no ambition to compete with his brother." ”

"I also believe that my brother is a human being, but the trend of the times is forbidden, can my brother really be alone?" Li Zicheng smiled and said, "My brother invited my brother this time, I really hope to really fight side by side with my brother, raise volunteers to save the people of Li from fire and water, and overthrow the Ming court." And said, "Zuo Liangyu is dead, Kaifeng Mansion has been flooded, Sun Chuanting has been defeated, Henan has no strong opponents, this is a good time to make persistent efforts, why not give up the official body of the Ming Dynasty and create a great cause with my brother!" ”

"The elder brother has the heart of the younger brother, but this is not the time." Zhao Dangshi's heart was shocked, and he pleaded.

"Brother, don't worry, there is no one else here, when the elder brother first put his heart here. You and my brothers work together to take this Ming Dynasty, if it really happens, then the golden dragon chair you and I are half, and the world is also divided! ”

Zhao Dangshi sighed: "The younger brother is a despicable person, how can He De share the world with his brother, he really won the world, and the respect of the Ninety-Five should also be his brother's." As long as the younger brother can watch his brother get a big treasure, he will be born with no regrets! Having said so, he also knew the scruples in Li Zicheng's heart, after all, there was indeed no force in Henan that was capable of being the enemy of the army, but Huguang under the command of Zhao Dangshi and Shaanxi under the command of Sun Chuanting were still strong. From Li Zicheng's point of view, Sun Chuanting needless to say, it is inevitable that they will not be able to stand together, but if Zhao Dangshi also begins to change his position against the Chuang army, the Chuang army will inevitably continue to struggle in the quagmire of Henan, which is not the best result for Li Zicheng, who is eager to open up the situation.

In the final analysis, Zhao Dangshi is still qualified to sit in the main hall of this Jishan Dahongzhai and talk to Li Zicheng, relying on the ethereal friendship by no means, but by the strength of not mixing water. Li Zicheng and he both knew in their hearts that although there were many troops and few soldiers in Zhao Ying, Zhao Dangshi had been operating in Huguang for many years and had a deep foundation, and once the two sides started a war, the time and cost required for the army to completely attack Huguang and destroy Zhao Ying would never be less than tossing before and after in Henan. This is still a relatively ideal situation, if the progress of the war is not ideal, and the long-term attrition, the Zhao Ying, which is backed by the Ming court, still has a huge possibility of turning from defense to attack. There are too many variables, and Li Zicheng, who finally gained the advantage, will not want to have an opponent who is enough to drag him to death just because of one sentence.

Li Zicheng was silent, and Zhao Dangshi continued: "Brother rest assured, saving Sun Chuanting is only this time, the younger brother has returned the favor, and he will have nothing to do with him in the future." In accordance with the old agreement, the two armies of you and us will not invade each other. In addition to Huguang asking his brother's subordinates to show mercy, Henan, Shaanxi, and even Nanzhili and Jingshi, the elder brother's iron cavalry is only in charge of vertical and horizontal, and the younger brother will never interfere. ”

"Could it be that my brother is willing to live in Huguang for the rest of his life?" Li Zicheng smiled, clearly not believing his guess.

Zhao Dangshi also smiled and raised the wine cup and said: "Naturally not, although Zhao has no ambitions, he still has a small enterprising spirit." The elder brother is in the bright and the younger brother is in the dark, and the big tomorrow is planned together. The elder brother only wants to fight to the north, but the younger brother's mind is in the south. ”

Li Zicheng said expressionlessly: "What do you mean by your words, with Chu Yu as the boundary, and each end of the way?" ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded and said: "My brother's foundation is in the north, not in the south, and the younger brother is responsible for helping my brother sweep the south, and my brother has no worries." ”

Li Zicheng thought for a moment, frowned and said, "Let me ask you, is this Ming official really so comfortable?" ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled: "Being an official, who doesn't like it." Besides, as long as the younger brother is in the official skin, it will help the elder brother even more. Coughing twice, he said first, "If you don't have the official skin of your little brother, how can the Henan Zuojia Army be easily wiped out?" He lowered his voice and said a few names to Li Zicheng, "These people still need to be pressed by the younger brother, but they don't need the black gauze hat on their heads." My brother is as wise as a torch, so he can naturally see the pros and cons. ”

Li Zicheng thought about it, touched Zhao Dangshi, and suddenly asked: "If his brother is lucky enough to open a government office, is my brother interested?" ”

"What officer?" Zhao Dangshi said with a smile.

Li Zicheng took a sip of soju lightly and slowly put down the wine cup. The candlelight shone like a red mist, and the reflection on his cheeks was particularly solemn.

"The official of Beijing City."