A few days later, Zhong Nan came to the capital of the empire again, and the capital was still so prosperous that people would not want to return. However, before Zhong Nan could appreciate it, he was called away by the little eunuch from the palace - saying that the emperor wanted to see him. Zhong Nan was surprised, he only arrived in Beijing yesterday, but in one day, the emperor was about to announce that he would enter the palace to face the saint, it seems that Zhu Yijun is still quite concerned about himself?

is still the place where they last met, the supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijun of Mingshenzong, and Zhong Nan, the new deputy chief soldier of Jizhou, who seems to be inconspicuous now, met again. Compared with the first meeting, this meeting was faintly more cordial and natural. Zhong Nan was about to bow down, and the emperor opened his mouth to avoid these red tape.

"In the future, when you discuss state affairs in the imperial study, you don't have to bow down!"

"Thank you for your grace!" Zhong Nan could hear that the emperor didn't care about these vain etiquette.

"Do you know why I summoned you?"

"Weichen is stupid and doesn't know the emperor's deep meaning."

"Since the founding of Taizu, this dynasty has governed the country with literature, and throughout the past dynasties, it is probably the same. It's just that the border of the four sides is not peaceful now, and although the battles between Ningxia and Korea have been won, as you said last time, they may not be able to stabilize for a few years. Fighting a war is not only about silver, but generals are also very important, but now at a glance in the court, there are few people who can fight well, and even fewer of the younger generation. Zhu Yijun didn't sit down, but just paced back and forth in the imperial study with his hands behind his back, "I heard that you have built an elite army of hundreds of people in Dongchang?" ”

The emperor's question didn't seem salty, but it shocked Zhong Nan into a cold sweat, he didn't sit still, and when he heard this question, he immediately got up and knelt on the ground, and said tremblingly: "Back to the emperor, Weichen has indeed trained a team of about 800 people, and what he wants is just to refer to the way of General Qi and others to train a winning division for the emperor." Please Emperor Mingjian! ”

"Okay, okay, you don't have to be afraid," the emperor smiled, not the slightest displeasure, seeing that Zhong Nan still couldn't kneel, so he rarely stepped forward to help him up, "I know that you have no other thoughts, otherwise I wouldn't have summoned you here today." ”

"The emperor is wise!"

"Sit down!" The emperor waved his hand, "I have read the battle report sent by Shandong, and you fought very well in the suppression of bandits in Phoenix Mountain!" ”

"That's not thanks to the emperor's wisdom and martial arts!"

"Don't learn to slap me like those old men," Zhu Yijun shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Although I am the Ninth Five-Year Supreme, how many people in front of me dare to tell the truth and are willing to tell the truth?" ”

"The Emperor's ......"

"You don't have to argue, I know that you all think that 'a companion is like a tiger', so you can't help but figure out what you want, but it's just ......" may have felt off topic, Zhu Yijun's words were only halfway through, and he didn't continue, but returned to the previous topic, "Your performance in North Korea and Dongchang is very good, so I hope you can make persistent efforts, and after you arrive in Jizhou, you will create an invincible tiger and wolf army for me!" ”

"The minister will never give up!"

"Also, last time I heard you analyze the threat of the Jurchen clan, and I think it makes sense, so after you arrive in Jizhou, in addition to beware of the Mongols, you should also pay more attention to the situation in Liaodong." The emperor explained the tasks one by one, "Also, I feel that there are many problems in the army at present, and some things are not unknown to me, but I haven't thought of a good solution yet. ”

After saying all the most important things, the emperor sat down, it seemed that he was a little tired, maybe there were some people or things in the court that made him more than capable of strength, Zhong Nan saw this and planned to retire. Just looking at the "first person in the world" sitting on the chair, he didn't have the slightest sense of envy, on the contrary, he felt that Zhu Yijun was a little pitiful. Although the emperor is high, but no one is willing to really talk to him, and no one will sincerely regard him as a friend, those old men, which one does not use the emperor's power to realize his various ambitions, this kind of "high place is not cold" days, is he really happy?

Thinking about it, Zhong Nan came to the ghost by surprise, "Your Majesty, in fact, you should go out and take a look more, find someone who is willing to listen to you and have a good chat, or ......"

But halfway through the sentence, Zhong Nan realized that he shouldn't have said this to the emperor, so he stood there embarrassed and worried.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhong Nan, as if he could see what his courtiers were thinking, but he didn't feel anything wrong, "Yes, I've been locked up in this Forbidden City since I was a child, and I can't go out for a walk if I want to, I can't remember the last time I left the palace!" ”

Zhong Nan didn't know how to answer, and he couldn't turn around and walk away, not to mention how embarrassing the scene was. Fortunately, the emperor seemed to be still immersed in the thoughts of reminiscing about the past, and did not notice Zhong Nan's awkwardness, and waited for a few minutes before the emperor spoke again, "I think you haven't had dinner yet, it's better to stay and dine with me!" ”

Zhong Nan didn't feel much honored, he estimated that the emperor wanted to find someone to talk to, so he didn't refuse, "Your Majesty, don't say it, since I ate the imperial meal last time, I really have been thinking about that taste!" ”

"Huh...... Then I'll eat it again today! The emperor also seemed to be interested, the big eunuch behind him didn't need to command, he knew how to behave, he walked out of the imperial study to command, and immediately a eunuch passed the word, and it didn't take long for the palace maids to bring in the exquisite imperial food made in the imperial dining room.

The two chatted while eating, as if friends who had known each other for many years were gossiping. Zhong Nan told his real growth process, but he didn't explain the location and age, and he didn't conflict with what he said before; Zhu Yijun also told people for the first time the bitterness and depression in his heart. The chuckle from time to time proved that the atmosphere of the dinner was harmonious, which surprised the eunuchs.

More than an hour later, when dinner was over, the emperor seemed to be in a much better mood, and bluntly said that he hadn't been so comfortable for a long time, so that his senses of Zhong Nan were more pleasing to the eye. The emperor stepped forward and shook the hand of the guerrilla general, and said emotionally: "I hope you can be sincere and help me create a great cause!" ”

Zhong Nan could see that the emperor was speaking from the bottom of his heart this time, and there was no hypocrisy in it, and he was also very moved, "Weichen must live up to the emperor's kindness!" ”

The two clasped their hands together, and the scene of "full of affection" made the eunuchs around them look at it in their eyes and be shocked in their hearts, it seems that Lord Zhong's "holy family" is thick, and all the eunuchs are thinking in their hearts, how to report this major news to their masters in the future.

………

The Great Wall was an important part of the Ming Dynasty's military defense, stretching from Jiayuguan in the west to the Yalu River in the east. During the Yongle period, along the Great Wall, the Ming Dynasty set up nine important military towns to guard the frontier, in order to protect the peace of the country and the people, and the Great Wall and the nine important towns together formed the northern border defense system of the Ming Dynasty.

Nine important military towns, historically called the nine border towns, from west to east are: Gansu Town, Ningxia Town, Guyuan Town, Yulin Town (also known as Yansui Town), Shanxi Town, Datong Town, Xuanfu Town, Jizhou Town, Liaodong Town. Among the nine important towns, Jizhou Town is located in the northeast of Jingshi, and it is the closest military town to Beijing. At that time, the general of Jizhou was the veteran general Wu Weizhong, in the war of aid to Korea, the old general was strong, bravely killed the enemy, although seriously injured but still did not get off the line of fire, after the victory returned to the court, he was promoted to the general army of Jizhou, the commander-in-chief of Jizhou's military defense.

The Great Wall under the jurisdiction of Jizhou starts from Shanhaiguan in the east and reaches the gray ridge mouth of Juyongguan in the west, with a total length of more than 1,200 miles. This section of the side wall is in the north of Beijing, which is an important barrier to maintain the safety of the capital, and the side wall is all made of stone and blue bricks, which is very strong. The city wall in the area of Juyong Pass is even more triple, and there are many passes along the line, which are divided into three sections of defense: east, middle and west.

After Qi died a few years ago, he was represented by his nephew Qi Jin for a period of time, and Wu Weizhong was the general of Jizhou at that time. Later, pirates raged along the coast of Fujian, so Qi Jiajun and Qi Jin were transferred to the southeast Pingwa, and the military affairs of Jizhou were temporarily taken care of by Wu Weizhong, the old department of Qi Jiguang, with the rank of general.

It was not until later that Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, Wu Weizhong took thousands of soldiers from Jizhou to aid Korea, and after the end of the war, the class returned to the DPRK to reward meritorious deeds, and the old general was promoted. It's just that Wu Weizhong is old after all, and he was seriously injured in the war to aid Korea, and he needed bed rest not long ago, so he wrote to the imperial court, hoping to send someone to Jizhou to take over as soon as possible.

After Zhu Yijun learned about it, the first choice that came to mind was Zhong Nan, and then he asked for the opinions of some generals, and the old general also recognized it, after all, Zhong Nan's performance in the war of aiding Korea was obvious to all, brave and strategic, and worthy of a great responsibility. Not only Wu Weizhong, but also the generals of Li Rusong's family also thought that he was the right choice, and the most important thing was that everyone saw that the Dongchang guerrilla was the favorite candidate of the emperor himself, so neither the military boss nor the border general objected, so Zhong Nan received the unexpected order.

At the end of June, Zhong Nan took office in Jizhou, accompanied by Qiu Xiang, and the 800 men and horses of his descendants also arrived a few days later.

After arriving in Jizhou, the first thing Zhong Nan did was to visit the old general Wu Weizhong. In fact, the two are not strangers, they often met during the Korean War, but this time when Zhong Nan saw Wu Weizhong, he almost didn't dare to recognize him - although the old general looked in good spirits, his body was extremely thin, as if only a skeleton was left, and his face was not ruddy, and he looked a little swollen. It seems that the gunshot wound in the chest before has brought great damage to this iron-blooded old man, and he is already old, so he will not have much time left.