In June, it is the rainy season in Annam. However, the weather was sunny today.

A team of men and horses from the Daming Jingshi had already passed through the place controlled by Lang Son Wei, and this section of the road under their feet belonged to the Bac Giang Prefecture. The group wore straw hats and rode horses, all sweating profusely, and the sweat mixed with the dust on the post road, making people dusty and dirty. In addition to Ruan Jingyi, there were also eunuchs and soldiers of Jinyiwei in the team.

The rice paddies on both sides of the "......" post road are filled with the noise of various insects and the sound of frogs. There are no people in sight under the scorching sun, but the environment is quite noisy.

The accompanying eunuch was called Meng Ji, a man with a very different face from the Han people, with a more three-dimensional outline, curly black and gray hair, and yellow eyes in blue. With his comparison, Ruan Jingyi felt that the Han people and the Annam people looked quite similar. But Meng Ji spoke fluent official dialect with a very obvious Fengyang accent, such a color-eyed person always made Ruan Jingyi feel a little strange.

Meng Ji stretched out his hand and pressed the straw hat, looked up at the sky for a while, and muttered, "It's not going to rain this day, right?" ”

Ruan Jingyi said: "It's not good to say, at this time of year in Annan, it is normal for heavy rain to fall. ”

The two of them said a few words, but they didn't expect that after a short while, the rain "crackled" and fell on the straw hat, and the rain became heavier and heavier in an instant. On the post road and in the rice fields, there was a "whoosh" sound, and the surrounding scenery was blurred.

"Father-in-law Meng, there is a grass shed in front." A military general said.

Meng Ji said: "Let's go over and hide." ”

A few people rushed forward, but Ruan Jingyi was still caught in the middle by the Jinyi guards. They dismounted and went into the hut at the edge of the rice paddies, but found that there was no one inside, and the place was not large, so they had to tie their horses outside to get wet in the rain.

Everyone stood at the door of the straw hut, shaking the rain off their bodies. Meng Ji said in a joking tone: "Ruan Jingyi, you can be regarded as returning to your own territory, don't you think about running away?" ”

Ruan Jingyi said: "If I can run, the Holy Lord will not let me go." ”

Meng Ji smiled at the generals of Jinyiwei: "What he said is quite reasonable. ”

The military general glanced at Ruan Jingyi and nodded quietly.

Ruan Jingyi's expression was calm, but he suddenly felt a chill in his heart: "To be honest, Annan has nothing left for me to be nostalgic for." I didn't come back here of my own free will. ”

The eunuch Meng Ji seemed to feel something, and glanced at Ruan Jingyi twice, but finally said nothing. After they stopped talking, the rain outside became louder.

Ruan Jingyi looked at the rain curtain outside for a while, not knowing when the rainstorm would stop, and he took the initiative to speak again: "Gonggong Meng should not be a person who was born in the Ming Dynasty. ”

"Of course, you can see the appearance of our family." Meng Ji nodded.

Ruan Jingyi asked, "Has my father-in-law ever thought about going back to his hometown?" ”

Meng Ji glared and said, "What are we going back for?" Our family has nothing on the side of Xifan, and we can't even speak the words of our hometown, and we are a eunuch, can people still call our father-in-law after we go back? People like our family can only live in the palace, and even if they die in the palace, that is the best destination. ”

Ruan Jingyi said: "I feel that I am almost the same as my father-in-law in some places now. ”

"Huh!" Meng Ji shook his head with a smile and said, "Didn't General Ruan still ask our family to go to the Fuller House to find you a girl?" Can this be the same? ”

When the brocade guards heard this, they also laughed.

Ruan Jingyi couldn't laugh at all, he still said to himself: "When I come back here now, I suddenly feel as if I have never been an outsider. ”

Just then, the rain outside gradually faded. Meng Ji ignored Ruan Jingyi's words, beckoned the people around him, and went out to lead the horse and continue to hurry.

…… Meng Ji and the others stopped and stopped all the way, but the journey to Dongguan City on horseback was not far, and they arrived the next day.

Zhang Fu was in the Governor's Mansion and first read the official document sent by Meng Ji, but there was nothing useful about it, only the customs clearance seal issued by the celebrant and the Jinyi Guard. He then summoned the eunuch Meng Ji alone and talked with him for a while.

The two talked for a long time, and Zhang Fu finally gradually understood the ins and outs of Meng Ji's trip, as well as about Ruan Jingyi and Chen Xianzhen.

The room was shady, but Zhang Fu had become restless, and his face was getting more and more ugly.

Zhang Fu realized that he had made a very ridiculous and completely unnecessary mistake!

For a moment, he could hardly hold back his shame and wanted to slap himself. He is a noble who relies on military merits, not a military general in brocade clothes, why does he want a dog to take a mouse and want to send a woman to the palace?

Well, now that Chen Xian really seems to be an assassin. Zhang Fu was easily deceived by a woman.

Zhang Fu suddenly looked back on what he had done before, and was stunned for a while, why did he do that thing in the first place?

Meng Ji's voice said: "Chen Xianzhen was not convicted, the emperor sent her to Fengyang." The emperor also said, 'Zhang Fu is a good general, so this matter is over, otherwise I am afraid that there will be a big storm and it will be unfavorable to him'. ”

When Zhang Fu heard this, he immediately had mixed feelings, and he didn't think much about it for the time being, and hurriedly said: "Holy Longen, the minister doesn't know how to repay him." ”

Meng Ji, the eunuch, was quite good at talking, and immediately said: "Xinchenghou is a person who does great things, do you want to know how to repay it, and the emperor will worry about you?" ”

Zhang Fu said: "What Gonggong Meng said is extremely true, the minister can only repay the grace of the saint in case of emergency. ”

Meng Ji hugged his fists and said: "Our family's errand is done, and the person has been handed over to Xinchenghou." The emperor ordered, this Annan people let Xinchenghou deal with it, and you have the final say. ”

Zhang Fu said politely: "Gonggong Meng has worked hard all the way. ”

"No, no, how many people in the palace want to run errands for the emperor, but they can't." Meng Ji smiled, "Let's not bother our family and say goodbye." ”

Zhang Fu said: "I will send someone to take Gonggong Meng to settle down and rest...... Come! Drop-off. ”

After Meng Ji left, Zhang Fu paced back and forth for a few steps, and suddenly swept angrily on the table, overturning all the teacups, decorations and other objects on the ground, and there was a sound of "ding ding ding". A wave of anger in his heart suddenly rushed to his head.

"Dashuai, who you off?" Behind him, the voice of the subordinate general Huang Zhong came.

Zhang Fu turned around and glanced at Huang Zhong, and saw that Huang Zhong had already walked into the door, and he didn't know how to answer Huang Zhong's question. Zhang Fu thought for a moment before scolding: "Li Li! It's Li Li, who made Lao Tzu miserable! ”

"What's wrong?" Huang Zhongxian asked cautiously.

Zhang Fu didn't answer, he still took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down a little, and sat down on a chair next to the messy case.

Huang Zhong didn't dare to ask more, so he had to bow down and stand beside him.

Although Zhang Fu was emotional, and the various emotions in his heart were very complicated and chaotic, he had already understood the stakes of this matter in a short period of time.

He originally wanted to find an opportunity to try to enter the emperor's circle of confidants; Unexpectedly, now it was used by Li Li's calculations and sent an assassin to the emperor, which was self-defeating.

Before that, after the end of the Great War in Annam, Zhang Fu gave Liu Sheng the matter of entering Beijing to sacrifice prisoners, and gave up the possible conscription of Japanese military merits. But as a result, he couldn't find a way to deal with Li Li, and he didn't make any more achievements in this place.

In such a situation, Zhang Fu was irritable and difficult to solve.

But he still has some good fortune and fear. Fortunately, the current emperor Zhu Gaoxu is a person who understands, and he is also very cunning and will not be fooled at all; Otherwise, as long as the emperor is suspicious of Zhang Fu's suspicions, the consequences will be unimaginable.

And because Zhu Gaoxu himself is also a general, he knows how to appreciate Zhang Fu's generals, but plans for Zhang Fu in advance to prevent the courtiers from attacking. Otherwise, this matter will definitely make people find all kinds of faults and charges, and make Zhang Fu walk around without eating; If that's the case, it's hard to say whether Chen Jikuo's military exploits can be offset by his military exploits this time, in short, Zhang Fu will definitely work in vain.

"He's ...... mother," Zhang Fu scolded, got up from his chair, and walked back and forth in the study. After a while, as if trying to calm himself down again, he went to the window and looked out at the scorching sun without saying a word.

Huang Zhong said behind his back: "What does the commander think of the strategy suggested by the Governor's Mansion before?" ”

Zhang Fu was silent.

Huang Zhong said: "Li Li is just a fugitive, with neither money nor food, nor soldiers worthy of war. As long as the rainy season passes, we will issue the 'joint sitting law', kill all those who conceal the military situation and do not report it, and help the rebels, and then send troops to attack and suppress the rebels in Li Li by many routes. ”

Zhang Fu turned around: "Your method is very useful to weaken the rebel forces in a short period of time, but you have to go to the imperial court first, and let the imperial court revise the general plan of pacifying Annan, otherwise you will work against the imperial court."

Moreover, this stupid method is almost useless against the designated one or two people. In the west of Annan, there are so many jungles and mountains, isn't it a needle in a haystack to find a person in it? In the west of Annam, there are also Laos, Chenla, Siam and other places, even if we send hundreds of thousands of people to dig three feet into the ground in Annam, we may not be able to find Le Li. ”

Huang Zhong asked tentatively: "The person that the big boss wants to deal with the most is only Li Li?" ”

Zhang Fu looked calm, but his words were very ruthless: "Yes, if Ben Shuai doesn't kill him, he won't be able to eat well and sleep well!" There is no longer any reason. ”

Huang Zhong looked embarrassed and speechless.

Zhang Fu was silent for a long time, and suddenly said, "You go and bring Ruan Jingyi over, Ben Shuai wants to meet him in person." ”

Huang Zhong said: "In the end, I will find someone to do it." ”

Zhang Fudao: "You go in person, Ruan Jingyi's identity can't be known to more people, and it will be kept secret from now on." ”

Huang Zhong clenched his fists and said, "The last general will be ordered!" ”

Zhang Fu's face was still not good, but compared to the dazed anger at first, he seemed to have found the direction of thinking, and the pace under his feet was slower. He lowered his head and walked slowly as he pondered something.