Chapter 640: The Last Wait

Since Daning is now stationed in the army, the four post stations to Kaiping in the east of Daning are also included in the agenda of rebuilding the garrison, as long as the East Four Posts are completed, then from Kaiping to the west, Huanzhou, Weilu, Ming'an, and Xining Four Posts, all the way to the Dushi Water Fort, and then to the Longmen Guard; To the east of Kaiping, you can go directly to Daning through the pavilion, Shen A, Safran and Huangya four stations. The entire Saiwai is reconnected into a line, just like during the Hongwu Dynasty.

Because Daning has been abandoned for a long time, Songting Pass and Xifengkou have become a major road guarding the north and south, and they are also the only way for the Uliangha people to make pilgrimages or raids. Songting Pass is in danger, Xifengkou is a horse Pingchuan, although the city was built before, the garrison is still not as good as Songting Pass. This time, no one expected that the emperor would happen to encounter the Wuliangha people who committed Daning, and he did not expect that the emperor would personally lead his troops to pursue in anger.

The night before, Zhu Di insisted on going his own way and led his troops north overnight, and Yang Rongjin Youzi, who was left behind, urged Xue Lu to hurry almost all the way, but when he arrived at the peak of Zhongtianxi in the sun, he got a report from Songting Pass to disturb the Tartars. After receiving this information, Xue Lu was worried about the emperor's safety, so he simply left 300 foot soldiers to guard Yang Rong, Jin Youzi and others, and he hurried to Songting Pass with Xing'an Bo Xu Heng.

Even if Yang Rong is still young, he is now nearly fifty years old, and Jin Youzi is in his early sixties, and when the two arrived at Xifengkou, they were left alive and dead by the guards, saying that Xue Lu, the Marquis of Yangwu, left a message, and when the battle at Songting Pass in front of them was decided, they would invite the two of them over. Therefore, even Yang Rongjin Youzi was anxious, and he had to stop at Xifengkou first.

Among the various passes of the thistle, there are dangerous passes such as Songting Pass and Gubeikou, and there are also plains and rivers like Xifengkou. The former is to defend one place against the invasion of the captives, while the latter is to facilitate the invasion of the invaders. At the beginning of the year, the rebuilt Xifengkou road is majestic and wide, and the two sides of the city can be heavily armed, and in previous years, when the Wuliangha people were particularly obedient, the tribute team of hundreds of people often had to work tens of thousands of people to escort them along the way to the capital, which was the most prestigious place. And because there is a pine pavilion in front of it, this place is very safe.

The Xifeng Pass is full of barracks built with large logs cut from the nearby mountains, even the official offices of the guards. At this time, Yang Rongjin Youzi was in the signing room of the official office, standing and sitting one by one, and his mind was not here at all. At this moment, Yang Rong, who had persuaded Jin Youzi to stay in the rear team, regretted it. It must be known that he did not advise the emperor last night, the biggest reason is that the Wuliangha people have been seriously injured and cannot make any great names, but seeing this scene now, he has to think of the worst possibility. Walking back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back for a while, he saw Jin Youzi sitting there with his teeth clenched, so he stepped forward.

Jin Youzi, who is in his early sixties, has been bumpy on the road these days, and his body has been a little unable to hold on, and he was worried and in a hurry last night, at this time he only felt a tingling pain in his chest, and suddenly raised his head: "Mian Ren, why don't we send a letter back to Beijing?" ”

After thinking about it carefully, Yang Rong shook his head and said, "Every day, there are routine documents to send back to Jingshi, no matter what you say at this moment, it is not appropriate to send a letter!" We are not like Shi Qi who is an official of the East Palace, the more we can't take a wrong step at this time, otherwise we will not only harm ourselves, but also others. The Marquis of Anyuan and the Marquis of Ningyang are all generals, and the five thousand people are also elite. ”

Jin Youzi naturally knew these truths, and he was also the one who followed the three northern expeditions, and knew that the Jingying and the Imperial Horse Prison were the emperor's real and most trusted team. But the more this is the case, the more he feels bottomless. Even if he assisted the emperor in handling military affairs, he was not a general who led troops to fight after all, and he did not have any real power. At this time, the emperor is not here, he can't mobilize a single soldier, he can only wait here, and he can't do anything.

The two people who were anxious waited until the sun set, and finally there was movement outside. Jin Youzi, who had been sitting, stood up suddenly, took three steps and two steps to the door, and opened the door. The sergeant outside happened to rush up the steps all the way up at this time, and almost collided with Jin Youzi. Yang Rong, who was one step late, didn't have time to pay attention to the sergeant's repeated apologies, and hurriedly asked, "How is it outside?" Is there any news from the emperor? ”

"Returning to Bachelor Yang and Bachelor Jin, news came from Songting Pass that Yangwu Hou Xing'anbo had retreated from the enemy. In addition, Daning sent someone to send a military newspaper to announce the victory, the emperor first defeated the three guards of Wuliang Ha, and then defeated the Tatar army, and now he has arrived in Daning safely! ”

Jin Youzi was not moved by the word "great victory", but gasped and calmed down, and then he barely settled down. Seeing that Yang Rong was also pale, he asked astringently, "Where is Yangwu Marquis Xing'anbo now?" ”

"When Yangwu Hou Xing'anbo learned of the great victory, he ordered the army to be stationed in Songting Pass first, sent an envoy to Daning to report the military situation, and ordered someone to go to Xifengkou to pick up Bachelor Yang and Bachelor Jin. The person who came also said that the British Duke of Daning brought a message, saying that the emperor could not leave the two bachelors for a long time, and asked Bachelor Yang and Bachelor Jin to go north to Daning as soon as possible. ”

After the sergeant finished speaking, the two bachelors in front of the meeting did not answer, and he couldn't help but be extremely puzzled, and when he looked up, he found that Yang Rongjin Youzi was frowning. He hadn't served the civil official, so he was a little confused at this time, and was about to open his mouth to explain something, when he saw Yang Rong on the left nodding at him: "You go down first, and Master Jin and I will come immediately!" ”

With a word, the sergeant was sent away, Yang Rong closed the door, and seeing that Jin Youzi still couldn't raise his eyebrows, he persuaded him: "Brother Youzi, don't think so much about it first." The emperor is talented and brave, and he is invincible three times before and after, since he has arrived in Daning safely, then we will rush over as soon as possible. Yangwu Hou Xing'an Bo are all military attachés, let's not delay things because of looking left and right! ”

Jin Youzi saw that Yang Rong's face was solemn, so he clenched his fist and pinched his palm with his middle finger, and then nodded. He and Yang Rong have worked together for many years, so they naturally understand why the other party didn't dare to pierce that layer of window paper. Xue Lu Xu Heng is really a reckless man, what do they actually believe in what they report over there, where do they need to take care of Songting Pass at this moment, they should go to Daning immediately! It must be known that the 5,000 elite soldiers led by the emperor don't know how much they lost after the two wars, but Daning originally had 20,000 soldiers and horses stationed!

However, since the British public Zhang Fu piggybacks on that kind of words, there should not be any major problems......

Although the two of them are dusty, there is nothing to prepare for at this juncture, and it was originally just to clean up and tidy up their mood. Before going out, Yang Rong suddenly grabbed Jin Youzi's sleeve, and when he saw him turn around, he said in a low voice: "In this way, let's go and meet the local guard first, and let him immediately send the news of the victory back to Jingshi, don't delay." The crown prince is smart, and Yang Dongli is here, and the things that should be prepared will always be prepared. ”

For such a proposal, Jin Youzi naturally understood it. After going out, the two immediately found the guard of Xifengkou. Sure enough, this request did not cause any waves, and the soldiers up and down Xifengkou were rejoicing because of the emperor's personal victory, and immediately sent someone to Beijing to report. And here Yang Rongjin Youzi didn't care about what it was dark, and hurried with hundreds of entourage footmen overnight, although he kept urging, it was still easy to arrive at Songting Pass in the middle of the night.

One hundred and twenty miles north of Songting Pass to Xifengkou, it was the first line of defense of Daning in the past. During the Battle of Jingjing, Zhu Di led troops to rescue Zunhua, and Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, urgently ordered the general to retreat to Songting Pass. Considering that Songting Pass was dangerous, Zhu Di deliberately led his troops to bypass this checkpoint with heavy troops, and directly took Daning to coerce Zhu Quan and Duoyan Sanwei to go south, and then incorporated the Songting Pass garrison, winning his biggest bargaining chip in the world in one fell swoop. Although the pioneer Daning has been abolished, there are still 6,000 garrisons here, and now the number of troops has increased to 10,000.

After the emperor led the army to cross the border the night before, a large number of soldiers and horses invaded after dawn, and although the Songting guards were worried, they did not dare to rashly switch and retreat from the enemy. Fortunately, Xue Lu led the troops to arrive, and the two sides joined forces, so Xu Heng of Xing'an led the Shenji Battalion, and Xue Lu, the Marquis of Yangwu, led the horse infantry army to battle, and finally retreated from the enemy in one fell swoop.

In the middle of the night, they rode horses slowly, so Yang Rongjin Youzi immediately asked to see Xue Lu and Xu Heng after arriving at Songting Pass, and proposed to lead the army to Daning overnight. Xue Lu has rich experience in warfare but does not understand political affairs, Xu Heng is even more cautious and cautious in everything, the reason why the first person temporarily garrisoned the army after receiving the military report from the emperor's side is because he is afraid that he will rush into the ambush of the Tatar army.

"The emperor has already entered Daning in the west, and it is another great victory, so it is naturally safe. It is not safe to go out of Songting Pass, this night march is a taboo, and now we don't know anything about the situation of the Tartars in the north, and it is easy to fall into an ambush if we go out rashly. The two bachelors are people who have been on the northern expedition several times, so they should know the seriousness of the matter. Daning has the British Duke in charge, plus the emperor's department, there are more than 20,000 troops and horses, with the power of the previous victory, there will be no problem in supporting the plan for a few days. ”

Although Xu Heng's words are reasonable, even if Yang Rongjin is deeply versed in military strategy, he still can't feel at ease at this time, and at the same time, he doesn't dare to express the worries and worries in his heart. They all know that these nobles are all old people who have followed the emperor to fight the world, and they look down on them in their hearts as civil officials who went out of the city to greet them when the city of Nanjing was broken, and in their hearts they regard the Son of Heaven as a god and Buddha who live with heaven and earth. But no matter how anxious they were, neither of them could refute Xu Heng's words.

The emperor hurried at night on the eve of the Ming Dynasty, and it was early in the morning when he left Songting Pass. But at this time, a large area outside the Songting Pass was once a haunt of the Tatars and Uliangha, and God knows who the march in the middle of the night will bump into?

Although the Songting guards will make proper arrangements, Yang Rongjin Youzi still couldn't close his eyes at all in the second half of the night. In the early morning, there were a few eunuchs who stayed in the rear team with black circles under their eyes like them, because they had their own tasks and missions, everyone was nervous at this time, and they only hated to beat their horses and gallop along the way. But because there are both horse infantry in the army, and the horse army has few infantry and many foot soldiers, plus it has to march in formation, this speed is naturally not fast. When we finally arrived in Daning, it was already noon on the second day. Fortunately, there were only scattered herders on the road, but they did not encounter any enemies.

Whether it was Xue Lu Xu Heng or Yang Rong Jin Youzi, or those eunuchs who usually served the emperor, no one cared about the fatigue along the way, and after entering the city, they hurried to the Ning Wangfu Pavilion to meet the Son of Heaven. However, as soon as they entered the hotel, everyone felt the dullness of the slaughter here, so they all felt nervous.

"The emperor summoned the lieutenants Ma Yun, Qi Zheng, Lu Sheng, Wang Hai ......"

Although everyone knows Zhu Di's cronies and eunuchs, at this moment, the two most trusted cabinet scholars and the two nobles are outside, but they only summon the eunuchs, which can't help but make the four of them stunned. Compared with Xue Lu and Xu Heng's confusion, Yang Rong and Jin Youzi felt cold in their vests. Then the sergeant came and took them to the next room to rest, but divided them into two rooms far apart.

"I'm afraid things are changing." Yang Rong couldn't maintain his unfazed face at this moment, and whispered to Jin Youzi, "Now, we have to quickly come up with a method." ”

"When the emperor asked us to deal with military affairs, he once gave us a special small seal for covering, and many officers below saw it. If there is a case, if you can hand the handwritten book, it may be effective. Jin Youzi gritted his teeth and couldn't help but clench the armrest of the chair, "I just thought about it, those eunuchs were summoned, I'm afraid they were also suspected." Although these are either the celebrant or Shang Bao, there is no one in the palace who is worry-free...... And at this time, Xu Heng Xue Lu is elsewhere, maybe it means to isolate us from them. ”

What Jin Youzi can think of, Yang Rong will naturally not think of, but the so-called Xiaoyin is absolutely useless at the moment. This is the first time he has encountered such a helpless situation. After a moment of silence, he was about to speak, when there was a sudden knock on the door. At this moment, he glanced at Jin Youzi, and stepped forward to open the door calmly. Seeing that it was Zhang Yue outside the door, he was immediately stunned.

Finding that Jin Youzi's face was full of vigilance, Yang Rong also looked at him lightly for a moment, Zhang Yue didn't know what was going on, so he immediately waved his hand to the two of them as if nothing happened: "Master Yang, Master Jin, please come with me." ”

Although these words were vague, Yang Rongjin Youzi were all people who knew the opportunity, and when they saw Zhang Yue turn around and leave, they didn't have time to think about it, and hurriedly followed. Turning through a small door, there is a long sandwich road, and on both sides stand brightly armored sergeants, each with their hands on the hilt of their swords, and it is a solemn posture. Walking in it, Yang Rongjin Youzi, who had seen a lot of big battles, was stunned, but his heart gradually sank. After a while, the two saw another courtyard gate in front of them.

After the courtyard gate, there was an empty courtyard, Zhang Yue walked to the door in the middle first, opened the thick cotton curtain, and saw that Yang Rongjin Youzi was a little hesitant, so he said softly: "The emperor and the British duke are inside." ”

This is undoubtedly the greatest guarantee, no matter how much fear is in his heart, Yang Rongjin Youzi immediately sped up his pace. When they entered the room to the east from the hall, the two of them saw at a glance the bed with a green curtain and the British public Zhang Fu next to it. In a flash of thought, two old and sophisticated ministers hurriedly stepped forward to salute. I don't know how long it took before a deep voice came from the bed.

"I've finally seen you one last time...... You have come at the right time, write the edict! ”