Ideally, he accompanied the wine and served to bed, and the smiling beauty was replaced by a sworn enemy who he wanted to deal with, but he couldn't always succeed, which made Shi Heng's face suddenly sink, even if the other party greeted him with a smile at this time, and politely bowed his hand to salute: "Master Shihou, you and I haven't seen you for a few years, don't come unharmed?" ”

After a while, Shi Heng calmed down a little from the awkwardness, and hugged his fist with a smile: "It turned out that Lu Dudu was waiting here, which really made Ben Hou a little flattered." After a pause, he asked a little strangely: "It's just that I don't understand, why are you here in Tongzhou?" Is it a special trip to wait here? As he spoke, his eyes glanced to the side, and he glanced at Chen Chao, who had already retreated to the side, with some dissatisfaction, why didn't this guy tell himself that Lu Zhen was waiting here?

He forgot that in fact, this Chen Zhizhou had mentioned half a sentence before he brought people into the city, but he interrupted before anyone finished speaking, and there was no chance to elaborate later.

"It's really called Shihou Ye, you are right, this official learned about your itinerary earlier, so he will wait here. As for the official's intention......" Lu Zhen said, reached into his sleeve, and then took out a holy decree: "There is a will, Wuqing Marquis Shiheng will accept the decree!" ”

Shi Heng was stunned again, although he was a little reluctant in his heart, but after all, he honestly knelt down with a puff of his robe: "Chen Shiheng took the order." ”

"Holy Message: Today, there is a border general Shi Heng who has been ordered to return to Beijing, and the border army led by him has a tiring journey, and the special Jinyi guard commands Lu Zhen to comfort the whole army on my behalf, and Lu Zhen is as good as I am here!" This will is quite short, Lu Zhen opened his mouth to read it, and then stepped forward and helped Shi Heng, who was a little ugly in his face, up: "Lord Shihou, please get up." ”

Shi Heng really has some bad feelings in his heart, what is this? If it's just to treat yourself and others, do you need to send Lu Jin? And he added such a will, is this to embarrass himself? But before he could express his confusion, Lu Zhen said solemnly: "Marquis Shi, when the official left Beijing, His Majesty asked me to ask you a few questions. ”

Shi Heng's heart suddenly moved, and he understood that this was the key to Lu Jin's appearance here this time, so he said carefully: "Governor Lu, please speak." ”

"Your Majesty asks you, Shi Heng, why did you ignore the rules and bring two thousand border troops into Beijing without permission, is this an attempt to rebel?" Lu Zhen asked as he stared at the other party with a serious expression.

"I don't dare." Although he was facing Lu Jin, at this time, Shi Heng was like standing in front of the emperor and answering, and hurriedly explained with some trepidation: "The minister only brought some Mongolian prisoners because he wanted to enter Beijing to offer his victory, and in order to prevent everything, he brought some soldiers and horses, and he never dared to have any other thoughts." ”

"Your Majesty asks you again, how do you plan to settle these horses after you arrive in the capital? Do you want to bring them into Beijing and disturb the officials and people of Beijing? Lu Zhen immediately asked again.

Shi Heng's heart moved, he did think about things a little simple, but he still didn't dare to be presumptuous, and hurriedly said: "Naturally, the minister doesn't dare to bring troops into Beijing." The minister thought that it would be great to let these men and horses be stationed outside Beijing, and also let the soldiers and civilians in Beijing see the demeanor of our border army. ”

"It doesn't have to be. Your Majesty's intention is to let you settle this group of people here in Tongzhou temporarily, and when the official business is done, they can return to Datong. ”

"But then, those Tartar captives ......"

"Lord Shihou, please rest assured, this is the important land of Gyeonggi, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, will anyone dare to fight the idea of the imperial court? What's more, the official also brought hundreds of brocade guards with him, and with them to help escort them all the way, he didn't have to work hard for these soldiers to make a trip. Lu Jinxi hurriedly gave his own suggestions.

As soon as Shi Heng heard this, his eyes immediately narrowed. This guy in front of him really has to be embarrassed by himself, and he actually wants to obstruct his entire plan like this. But at this time, under the banner of the Son of Heaven, he really didn't dare to oppose anything, and the only way was to disobey Yang Fengyin, so he said: "Since all this is Your Majesty's will, I, as a courtier, naturally dare not disobey." But I don't know where the reward is mentioned in the will? ”

"Reward? Didn't you see it just now? The wine and meat sent to the barracks are the court's reward for you. In addition, there are some satin cloths, which are stored in the state treasury, if you want, just ask Lord Chen to get them. Lu Zhen replied with a smile.

"What?" Shi Heng's face suddenly changed: "Those wine and meat are actually the court's reward for us?" ”

"Of course, otherwise, how could this small Tongzhou suddenly make up so much wine and meat out of thin air in a short period of time to supply the needs of the two thousand border troops?" Lu Jin's answer was very natural, but Chen Chao on the side was somewhat embarrassed.

“…… Hmph, you guys really have a heart. Shi Heng was annoyed for a while, but he couldn't find a reason to vent for a while, so he could only snort sullenly and no longer dwell on this issue.

Lu Jin, who was on the other side, didn't see the ugly expression on his face, and still pointed to the banquet in front of him with a smile: "Master Shihou, now that the business is over, please come to the table." You see, the food is getting cold. This was specially prepared by Chen Zhizhou, and it was a piece of his heart. ”

So far, Shi Heng can only endure this black breath, come to the table according to his words, pick the position of the guest of honor and sit down. Lu Zhen sat in the master's seat after him, and Chen Chao and some other local petty officials accompanied him.

It's just that the atmosphere at this reception banquet is obviously a little dull, although several state officials tout Shi Heng a few words from time to time, and tell a few jokes in the middle, but Shi Heng's expression has always been sullen, and he doesn't even talk much. Because he has been thinking about how to bring those 2,000 men to Beijing.

Although he really had no intention of rebelling or anything, for the sake of his own safety, he must bring these two thousand cronies to Beijing. Even if they're just stationed outside the city, that's a deterrent. So that the officials of the Manchu Dynasty know that they are not ordinary military attaches who can be bullied by them, and if anyone really wants to find him, they have to weigh whether the thousands of elite soldiers outside will be dissatisfied because of this.

However, this Lu Zhen in front of him is not easy to deal with, and it is obvious that the purpose of his coming here is to separate himself from the two thousand soldiers and horses. It seems that they have to come up with a surprise victory, and in the early morning of tomorrow morning, before they can react, they will lead their troops directly to the capital. As for the possibility on the side, no, it must be a Jinyi Wei scout, so don't worry.

Just thinking about it, he heard Lu Zhen call to himself: "Lord Shihou ......" This made Shi Hengmeng excited, and asked casually: "What advice does Governor Lu have?" ”

"This official just wants to ask about Lord Hou, you just mentioned that there are Tartar captives who were escorted into Beijing, but I don't know how many people there are? Is there another big victory at the border pass? ”

"It's not too many, just two or three hundred Tartar captives. After all, Datong is on the frontier, and after a while, he will always have to fight a few battles with the Tartars, and it is natural to take some prisoners. Isn't this the imperial court transferring Benhou back to Beijing to report on his work, and other Benhou can't say clearly, so he can only prove his merits with real prisoners. After all, compared to those who only rely on words to make meritorious contributions in the court, we and other martial artists can only speak with facts. ”

There was a hidden sarcasm in these words, but Lu Zhen and others only didn't understand it, and praised Shi Heng and the border army with admiration, and bluntly said that with such soldiers stationed in the border fortress, the Ming Dynasty is naturally as stable as a rock, and the people of the world can be worry-free.

Flattering good words are naturally loved by everyone, even if Shi Heng was in a bad mood at this time, he also showed a smug smile after listening to it. made the atmosphere at the banquet a little lighter, and also touched a few glasses with Lu Jin, talking and laughing with each other.

If there were uninformed people watching at this time, they would not have thought that the two guests of honor at today's banquet had actually formed a grudge many years ago, and they wanted to get rid of each other as soon as possible, and even until now, both of them still have their own calculations in their hearts.

But for Chen Chao and others, this is the best result. They are small-spoken, but they don't dare to offend the two big people in front of them, if these two people suddenly quarrel here, they really don't know how to deal with it.

In this way, a reception banquet ended in a slightly strange way between the restraint of Lu Zhen and the deliberate flattery of several state officials. Subsequently, Shi Heng excused himself to share weal and woe with his soldiers, and politely declined Chen Chao's invitation to stay in the pavilion, but insisted on returning to the barracks.

As for the real reason why he made this decision, only he knew it in his heart, obviously Shi Heng was on guard that Lu Zhen would be unfavorable to him, or whether it was safest to be in the barracks. Don't look at the current Manchu Dynasty officials are afraid of Shi Houye, in fact, he also has a lot of worries in his heart.

It's just that when Shi Heng, who was walking drunk, got on the horse and left, he didn't notice that Lu Jin, who had sent him out, had a smug smile on his face at this time.

When Shi Heng and the others returned to the barracks, it was already the second watch, and the entire Tongzhou City had already fallen into silence. Fortunately, this road is also peaceful, obviously no matter how much prejudice Lu Zhen has against him, he still doesn't dare to attack the dignified border general, which makes his heart more and more determined, and he is even more determined to take these horses to the capital to make a strong reputation.

But just when a few of them came to the gate of the barracks and wanted to ask someone to open the door, a scene that made Shi Heng quite dissatisfied appeared in front of him. I saw that the whole camp was quiet, and there was no half of a figure in sight, and there were not even normal guards standing guard.

"How so? Did these guys become so slack when they got to the city? It seems that I need to put my military discipline in order, otherwise I will be looked down upon. Shi Heng's face sank, and he had secretly made up his mind in his heart.