When the military general Huang Zhong went to see Ruan Jingyi, Ruan Jingyi was in a corridor room in the Governor's Mansion, and he fell asleep.

Perhaps all the way to Dongguan (Hanoi) City, Ruan Jingyi was really tired. The sweltering heat of the afternoon was also drowsy, and he leaned back on a chair and slept deeply. However, he did not sleep well, not only was his posture not very comfortable, but he also had nightmares one after another.

The feeling in a dream is not the same as when you are awake. The time and scenes in the dream are ethereal and jumpy, which makes the various feelings clearer; And when I'm awake, I pay more attention to what is in front of me.

He seemed to see his deceased father, whose expression was sad and faintly pouring out that his death was as light as a feather. It seems that I have seen Chen Xianzhen again, she is a little girl in a white dress for a while, and a beautiful woman for a while. One moment Ruan Jingyi thought it was very beautiful, but the next moment she was defenseless and suddenly pulled out a short sword, and a sword pierced Ruan Jingyi's heart: Dream! You live to be sinful.

"Ah......" Ruan Jingyi woke up suddenly, opened his eyes and saw the face of a strange man. After a while, he found a Ming army general standing in front of him.

The military general said: "General Ruan, what's wrong?" ”

Ruan Jingyi sat up, looked back and said, "I walked a long way, I was too tired to fall asleep just now." ”

The military general nodded and said: "The general's name is Huang Zhong, and I invite General Ruan to meet in the study at the meaning of Marquis Zhang Dashuai of Xincheng." ”

Ruan Jingyi stood up, clenched his fists and said, "Obey." ”

"Please." Huang Zhong said a word, walked in front, and left the corridor with Ruan Jingyi.

One after the other, they walked north along the road and then onto a corridor built into the courtyard.

A few days ago, there seemed to be a thunderstorm in Dongguan, and the grass and trees in the yard were luxuriant; Weeds also take advantage of the situation to grow wildly, and the colors are bright in the sun, but the paint of the corridor wood looks old and dull. The terrain of Dongguan is flat, but the dense grass and trees, the walls of the houses block the view, the field of vision is not wide, and the boring singing of summer insects is still pervasive.

A gust of wind blew, bringing with it the mixed smell of heat under the scorching sun and the smell of grass and earth. Everything is very familiar, after all, Ruan Jingyi is a person who grew up in Annanguo.

However, familiarity did not make him feel familiar, but a very boring feeling. There is nothing interesting to look forward to, nothing to make him happy, things are familiar but not interesting.

After a while, the two of them walked into the study. I saw that there was only one person inside, he was wearing a red robe, his hair was tied without a hat, and he was burly, probably Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng. Zhang Fu turned his back to the door, looking out the window, and didn't even seem to notice that someone was coming in.

Huang Zhong saluted and said: "Handsome, Ruan Jing is here." ”

Zhang Fu turned around and glanced at Ruan Jingyi. Ruan Jingyi also hugged his fists and bowed: "Meet Zhang Dashuai." ”

"Good, good. Sit down. Zhang Fudao looked indifferent. It seems that Zhang Fu seems to have the same feelings as Ruan Jingyi, and there is nothing interesting about it.

Ruan Jingyi said: "Xie Dashuai appreciates the seat." ”

Zhang Fu didn't say a word politely, and asked directly: "What are your plans after General Ruan comes back?" ”

Ruan Jingyi was stunned for a moment: "But it depends on the handsome." ”

Zhang Fu said: "The saint didn't cure your sin, and the general can't do anything to you, don't worry." If you don't want to do anything, you can leave tomorrow. ”

"What else can I do?" Ruan Jingyi asked.

The tone of the Chinese he spoke was still different from that of Zhang Fu and others. He used to barely speak Chinese and read and write; A while ago, I went to Beijing for a while, and followed the eunuch Jinyi guards back for thousands of miles, and the Chinese dialect became more and more fluent.

Zhang Fu pondered for a moment and said, "I have to find a way to do something." Your home in Thanh Hoa no longer exists, and I heard that the slaves and relatives of the Nguyen family have all been dispersed, some may have returned to their ancestral hometowns, and some may have fled to other places incognito. ”

Zhang Fu paused, and then explained: "We are busy dealing with the remnants of the rebels, and we can't take care of your families. The people who encroached on the Ruan family's family business, plundered slaves and maids, and oppressed the relatives of the Ruan family were all local families; Those Annan people have nothing to do with the Ming officials and soldiers. General Nguyen can inquire at that time and verify whether what the general said is the truth. ”

Ruan Jingyi's expression was gloomy for a while, "Perhaps, I have always been just an outsider. It's kind of ridiculous to think that I was still young before. ”

Zhang Fu listened and observed him for a while, and then thought of something silently.

After a while, Ruan Jingyi said again: "Originally, there was a nobleman named Ruan Gonggui in the Chen Dynasty, and when the Hu clan was in turmoil, he was the first to take refuge in the Hu clan, and of course he didn't do anything good under the Hu clan. Ruan Gong was famous for his arrogance, luxury, lewdness, and later defected to the Ming army. The people of Annam were very ashamed of him, and I used to think so too; But now it seems that Ruan Gonggui may be the one who understands. ”

Zhang Fu said: "Ruan Gonggui can't do it now, he has no money to enjoy, and he doesn't have any power, so he just sits and eats empty of the rest of his family property." The Ming court also hoped that the people of Annan could abandon the darkness and turn to the light, but there were so many benefits in this place of Annan, and it was impossible to share them with people who were useless and just willing to take refuge. On the contrary, Ruan Zhi, a fellow of Ruan Gongzhui, is now the prefect of Dongguan Mansion and one of the confidants of Empress Dowager Chen because of his meritorious service to the imperial court. ”

Ruan Jingyi nodded: "That's the truth." ”

Zhang Fu continued: "Ruan Zhi used to be a person who couldn't write poetry and couldn't fight, except for a little personal relationship, he simply had nothing, and Ruan Gonggui's relatives became a low-level military general, and he ended up in a mess. But if you look at the current Ruan Zhi, as long as he can do good things, he can really be regarded as a pivotal minister in Annan.

And with your qualifications, talents, and identity, if you can make a great contribution, your future future is limitless, and you should have a wider path than Ruan Zhi. ”

When Ruan Jingyi heard this, he quickly became a little moved: "What does the big boss want me to do?" ”

Zhang Fu didn't answer for a while, and said: "The noble lady who was born in the Chen clan and the beauty that everyone admires is not the only one in Annan. Why don't General Nguyen change your mind, and when you have power, who is not up to you? There are no outsiders here, Ben will tell the truth, people like Ruan Zhi, even if they fall in love with a reluctant woman, forcibly take advantage of it and do some bad things, it is not a big deal, understand? Of course, he shouldn't have to do this, there are all kinds of beautiful women and willing people, if General Ruan doesn't meet the one he likes, it's because his strength is not big enough. ”

Ruan Jingyi knew that Zhang Fu was talking about Chen Xianzhen, he thought about it and nodded earnestly and vigorously.

Zhang Fu suddenly asked, "Do you dare to deal with Li Li?" ”

Ruan Jingyi was stunned for a moment and said, "How to do it?" ”

Zhang Fu said: "Try to gain his trust, get close to him, and then cooperate with our people who guard the Northern Department of the Imperial Division and the Jinyi Guard to report the news; Or if you really have a chance to cut off your head and get it back, it's okay. As long as Le Le dies, the head merit will be regarded as General Ruan. ”

Ruan Jingyi didn't answer immediately, because he had just learned about it, so he immediately thought about it.

Zhang Fu said: "After General Ruan was escorted back to Beijing, the matter of being forgiven by the Holy Lord has not been seen in the official documents. The people who handled this matter were either the confidants of the Holy Lord, the civil and military, or the special yamen in the court, such as the celebrant eunuch, the guardian of the northern department of the imperial department, and the Jinyi guard. Eliel was hiding in the mountains, and he had no way of knowing such news.

General Ruan was on Chen Jikuo's side, and he was once a person in a high position, not the leaders of the grass bandits under Le Li's command who could be compared, but the generals that Le Li urgently needed. If you go for it, you're almost certainly going to be reused. And as General Nguyen, he is himself a person in the rebel army, and he is also easily trusted and won over by Le Lê. ”

Ruan Jingyi's brows furrowed, and he tried his best to think. The previous boring state of mind no longer exists, replaced by a nervous feeling, and sure enough, the man still has something important to do, so that he will not be so depressed.

Zhang Fu then said in a deep voice: "We can also cooperate with General Ruan to make it easier for you to gain Li Li's trust." When Liu Sheng returned from captivity, a rebel general jumped into the water and killed himself when he crossed the river, and later the Jinyi guards found the body downstream of the river. But ordinary soldiers didn't know about the corpse. Let's make up an incident and say that there are two people who jumped into the river, one is dead, and the other is missing, and that person is you. ”

When Ruan Jingyi heard this, he subconsciously nodded slightly.

Zhang Fu said: "We can also spread the news that you may have fled back to Annan." ”

Ruan Jingyi asked nervously in a deep voice, "Even if I get to Li Li's side, what can I do?" ”

Zhang Fu immediately said: "The Northern Administration of the Imperial Division will set up strongholds in the counties and counties in the mountainous areas to the west, and maintain the number of carrier pigeons raised in Dongguan. As long as there is news, the few elites we have deployed will be able to deal with General Ruan. As for what to do, it depends on what opportunities General Nguyen can encounter, and you can only decide on the spot. ”

The two were silent for a while, and Zhang Fu sighed again: "It's the same as leading troops to fight, even if it is a famous general commanding the army, how can he manage the tactics of a hundred households on a small hillside?" It's not just a matter of relying on the generals who are in it. ”

Ruan Jingyi frowned and said, "Let me think about it for a while." ”

Zhang Fu said: "I'm not in a hurry, it's just that General Ruan won't go out for the time being." Ben will be a little good at this, and the most important issue is General Nguyen's loyalty. Let the tiger go into the mountains, and we won't be able to catch you anymore. However, General Ruan should think twice, if you betray, the Governor's Mansion will shake out the fact that you are a traitor; If you are willing, no one will persecute you. ”

"I do!" Ruan Jingyi said suddenly.

Zhang Fu Zhengse asked, "Really think about it?" ”

Ruan Jingyi nodded and said, "What can Li Li give me?" What can the Ming court give me? ”

Zhang Fu smiled and nodded slightly: "Those who know the times are Junjie." ”

Ruan Jingyi sneered: "I should have abandoned them a long time ago. Zhang Fu immediately asked, "Who are 'they'?" Ruan Jingyi said: "The world." ”