In peacetime, Sui Zhong can be said to be one of the best figures in Zhengyangmen, after all, he, the commander of the Beijing battalion with the rank of guerrilla general, is the highest military commander of Zhengyangmen. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

But after the war, the situation was different, not to mention the prince and ministers such as VIPs, only on the day of the Zhengyangmen battle, the Ming army was nearly 30,000, and the three governors of the Beijing camp, although Sui Zhong had been promoted to a level, but still had no right to speak, and after the war, he did the work of a small soldier.

Xie Qian thought that Sui Zhong was going to look for the crown prince, but ignored it, and only after a while did he find that Sui Zhong was coming directly at him.

In the past, a small city gate general was not qualified to talk to an old man like Xie Qian, but Sui Zhong didn't seem to have any scruples, and when he came to Xie Qian, he said directly: "Xie Ge Lao, a fine ...... has been captured at Xizhimen."

Xie Qian didn't treat the generals very well, in the minds of a civil servant like him, the generals were just reckless, and they could just execute the order, and there was no need to communicate at all, not to mention that he was in poor physical condition due to blood sickness at this time, and he was becoming more and more impatient.

Seeing that Sui Zhong was not interested, Xie Qian simply sat on the steps of the city wall, and his tone was not good: "It's just a careful work, just deal with it yourself, what do you say to the old man?" ”

Being reprimanded by the court elder, Sui Zhong's face turned red, and after a while, he said: "Pavilion elder, it's not that the last general doesn't know the current affairs, the letter from the border pass found on this person's body is from Juyong Pass......"

Hearing that it was Ju Yongguan's letter, Xie Qian Huoran stood up and asked, "Ju Yongguan's letter?" Why don't you send it directly to the Governor's Office or the Ministry of War? ”

Sui Zhong said: "Back to the elder, this letter was sent to the elder by the general of Juyongguan, the guard of Xizhimen did not dare to make the decision without authorization, and learned that the elder of the pavilion was supervising the battle in Zhengyangmen, so he sent someone to inquire, just the end of the general learned, and came to report!" ”

Xie Qian was stunned for a moment, and pondered: "Why would someone in Juyongguan send me a letter?" Even if it's a letter to me, why are you so mysterious? ”

But then he realized that private letters from occupied areas or areas surrounded by strong enemies during the war were themselves problematic, and even the people in the Yamen of the City Defense Department understood that such letters were either evidence of the crime of traitorous officials or a counter-plot used by the enemy, because there were few private letters in wartime.

No matter what the situation is, it is aimed at the old man of the court who accompanied the prince to supervise the battle in Zhengyangmen today, and the generals below do not dare to make a big deal casually, they know very well what Xie Qian's status is in the court, and they also believe that this kind of thing is mostly against Xie Qian.

Rather than playing the cabinet from the Governor's Office of the Five Armies, the Ministry of War, or the General Political Envoy, and after being seen by Xie Qian, there was a great chaos in the government and the opposition, and the monarch and the ministers were not in harmony, it was better to send it directly to Zhengyangmen to ask Xie Qian's handling opinions.

Xie Qian's expression was restrained: "Where is the letter?" ”

Sui Zhong said: "Elder Ge, the person has been escorted to Zhengyang Gate, and the letter is still on the messenger, do you want to inquire about this case?" This person claimed to have gone from Tumubao to Juyongguan and then to the capital......"

If there was no last sentence, Xie Qian might not continue to ask and blame the matter to the Yamen, but when he heard that it was from Tumubao, Xie Qian's heart sank, and he secretly thought: "Isn't it that the letter sent by someone before Shen Xi'er was martyred was only sent to the capital today?" ”

Originally, he had almost forgotten about Shen Xi's matter, but suddenly brought up the old matter, which made Xie Qian's heart feel depressed, and at this time, even if he risked being investigated by the imperial court, he had to go and inquire about the matter in person.

Xie Qian waved his hand: "Lead the way!" ”

……

……

After the battle of Zhengyangmen lasted for a day, the number of soldiers and horses stationed at Zhengyangmen itself, plus reinforcements and civilians recruited from all over the capital, exceeded 40,000.

At this time, there were some ordinary people who came to inquire about the status of their relatives on errands in Zhengyangmen, and the city head of Zhengyangmen and the streets below were crowded with people.

Although there were many people, there was a bleak scene all around, Xie Qian came down from the city, and almost didn't hear much, even those wounded soldiers were just lying on stretchers, silently waiting for the doctor's help.

As for the rest of the soldiers, they were even more lazy, either with their backs to the city walls, or lying on their backs, with their eyes closed and resting, while the women urgently recruited from the surrounding areas were helping to cook the stoves.

"Alas, the war is fierce, and I don't know when such a hard day will be a head!"

Xie Qian sighed with emotion, people unconsciously arrived at the head of Zhengyangmen City, Sui Zhong waved his hand, and several soldiers came from a distance, escorting a hooded person over, and then the man's hood was lifted, and inside was a young man in his twenties, who looked a little smart.

"From the Civil Fort?" Xie Qian asked.

Xie Qian's soft words made the young man hesitate, as if he didn't understand too much, and someone behind him gave him an elbow: "What did the adults ask you, are you deaf?" ”

"Humph!"

The young man's face was disdainful, and he raised his head and said, "Yu Datong, the second-class reconnaissance captain of the left army of the Daming Beijing Battalion, is ordered by the Lord to pass the book to the capital!" ”

Xie Qian's face was full of doubts, this young soldier spoke with a Shanxi accent, he basically didn't understand too much, what is the "second-class reconnaissance captain of the left army in Beijing", this official position seems to be a temporary appointment, and Daming does not have this establishment at all.

Although Xie Qian was full of suspicion about Datong, he still had some expectations in his heart and asked, "Which adult?" ”

At this time, Sui Zhong pulled out the letter that Yu Datong had been carrying in his arms and handed it to Xie Qian. Although this letter was found before, because it was handed over to the old man of the court, it was probably a trick by the Tatars, so no one was willing to take responsibility, so he stuffed the letter back and waited for someone who was qualified to inquire about the situation to come and examine it.

Xie Qian took the letter, but saw that the envelope containing the letter paper was not an ordinary envelope, but the outer envelope used by the generals of the Beijing camp to present the recital to the imperial court was temporarily changed, even if the paper was heavy, but because of the upheaval along the way, the envelope paper was rubbed into a shape, and a few words were faintly seen on it: "Daming Taibao Xie Gongqin Kai!" ”

This font made Xie Qian feel a little familiar, and when he pondered it, he couldn't help but feel a stirring spirit...... Isn't this Shen Xi's handwriting? He couldn't bear to open the letter, because he was afraid that this was Shen Xi's masterpiece left in Tumubao.

Yu Datong was questioned by Xie Qian, looked around left and right, and didn't seem to want to say it in public, but there were officers and soldiers behind him who wanted to beat him, but Xie Qian raised his hand to stop him.

Xie Qian waved his hand and said, "You wait to retreat!" ”

Sui Zhong was a little anxious: "Your Excellency, ......"

Xie Qian shouted: "Stand down!" ”

Sui Zhong and the others were very embarrassed, they didn't understand why Xie Qian had such a fierce reaction, Sui Zhong didn't dare to disobey, so he could only retreat the soldiers and leave with him.

But in order to ensure Xie Qian's safety, Yu Datong was still tied hand and foot, and he couldn't break out.

Yu Datong looked at Xie Qian and asked, "You...... Is it Xie Gong? ”

"It's me."

Xie Qian asked eagerly, "Tumu Fort...... What's going on? ”

When he asked this, Xie Qian regretted it a little, as if he wanted to uncover the scar he had just healed and see the bloody truth again.

Xie Qian thought to himself: "What am I asking for this?" Since Shen Xi'er sent a messenger to the capital, naturally the civil fort had not been breached at that time, and now Juyongguan and Jingshi were trapped one after another, obviously the civil fort had already been captured by the Tatars, and this messenger might not know anything. ”

Yu Datong hesitated for a moment, it seemed that the matter he was going to report was in some conflict with the matter that Xie Qian asked, he thought about it carefully before replying:

"Lord Shen sent six reconnaissance teams to the capital with letters, and he was the second-class reconnaissance captain of the third reconnaissance team, as for the ...... The current situation of the civil fort is not known! ”

Xie Qian sighed: "Yes, presumably you...... When I left, the civil fort had not yet fallen! At that time, how many soldiers and horses were there around the city wall? ”