The closer you get to the Jingshi, the more chaotic you become.

Among the people around the capital, most of the wealthy and noble families have some contact with the officials of the DPRK and China, and when they heard the rumors, they had already arranged for their people and family properties to take refuge in the south; Seeing a little floating wealth, he also hurriedly dragged his family to join relatives and friends; The most bitter are those poor peasants and civilians, leaving the local area is a dead end, either sitting at the door of the house and crying vigorously, or carrying the little luggage on their backs, blindly following the crowd south......

Ji Qingwen saw the poor man on the road at first, and he couldn't help but reward a few taels of silver, but later there were more and more such people, even if he divided all the 100,000 taels of silver he brought from Suzhou, it was not enough for them to eat a full meal.

After thinking about it, Ji Qingwen could only end such a human tragedy by hurrying to join the war and drive out all the Jurchens who had invaded the Central Plains as soon as possible.

So Ji Qingwen and his entourage hurried to Beijing and rushed to Beijing.

Walking to the vicinity of Tong County, south of the Beijing Division, a soldier who had been sent out by Chen Wenzhao to fight the outpost came back and reported: "There is a group of cavalry in front, numbering more than 4,000 people, galloping towards this side, and it is expected to arrive in a quarter of an hour." ”

Ji Qingwen was taken aback when he heard this, fearing that it was the Jurchen cavalry that came by surprise, so he hurriedly asked Chen Wenzhao to lead the army to temporarily avoid or line up to meet the enemy.

Chen Wenzhao thought about it calmly and said, "Don't panic. It is reported that the 4,000 cavalry came from the east, and the Jurchens mainly attacked Xifengkou, and even if they had broken through the defense line of the official army, they should have come from the northwest. Even if a small force were lucky enough to pick up the leak, it would not be possible to have 4,000 people. Lord Ji rest assured, I expect that it must be the official army sent by the imperial court to reinforce Xifengkou! ”

Having said that, Chen Wenzhao still did not dare to be too lazy, and immediately ordered his soldiers to change from the marching queue to the enemy queue, with the shield bearer and wolf handler standing in the front row staggered, and the musketeer standing in the back row, loaded and ready for battle.

Chen Wenzhao really had rich combat experience, and as he expected, not long after, he really saw a group of cavalry dressed in the uniform of the Ming army, rushing along the official road, and raising a puff of smoke and dust in the east.

Before the cavalry of the Ming army approached, a cavalryman wearing the uniform of a thousand military generals galloped over, and saw from a distance that although the military appearance of the team of 500 or so people in front of him was extremely neat, the military uniforms on his body and the weapons in his hands were not in the Ming system, and he was not sure where these people came from.

Therefore, he deliberately stepped forward, arched his hand from a distance, and shouted loudly: "The young master of the prince, the general of Pingliao, the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan, and the soldiers and horses of the Eighth Route of Jizhen Zhao led the command of Lin Yida, may I ask the name of this Shangguanzun?" ”

Chen Wenzhao reminded in Ji Qingwen's ear: "My lord, Zhao Shujiao is a powerful person, you have to deal with it carefully." ”

Ji Qingwen nodded, and bowed back to the Qianzong: "Ji Qingwen, the commander of Suzhou Weaving, is ordered to go north to King Qin." ”

The Qian general named Lin Yida repeated Ji Qingwen's official position and name, then clasped his fists again, turned the horse's head and walked back.

After a long time, I saw a military general taking the lead, and under the escort of several cavalrymen behind him, he rode towards Ji Qingwen's department.

Ji Qingwen saw that he was wearing iron armor, covered with python robes, and the clothes on his body were the clothes of the best generals, and he was sure that he must be Zhao Shujiao, so he walked to the front of the battle and arched his hand: "General Zhao, under Ji Qingwen, this is polite." ”

Immediately, the man was also busy returning the salute: "It turned out to be Lord Ji of Suzhou Weaving Mansion, and he has admired his name for a long time." But since Lord Ji's surname is 'Ji', why do you still hold high the banner of the word 'Qi'? ”

Ji Qingwen was just about to explain, but Chen Wenzhao behind him walked around to him and arched his hand: "General Zhao, do you still recognize me Chen Wenzhao?" ”

Zhao Shujiao was stunned when he heard this, looked at it, and saw a military general who was not tall but stocky standing in front of him, the corners of his mouth immediately raised a smile, and he immediately rolled the saddle and dismounted, held Chen Wenzhao's hand, and said with emotion: "General Chen, after the first battle of Hunhe, I didn't know your whereabouts, and I didn't know that I could meet here again today, dare not say that it was God's will?" ”

It turned out that when Chen Wenzhao was fighting in Liaodong, Zhao Shujiao was his comrade-in-arms. It's just that Chen Wenzhao returned to Jiangnan in disheart after the Qi family's army was wiped out, while Zhao Shujiao continued to serve the imperial court, and the tired officials had already sat in such a high-powered position as the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan.

Therefore, Chen Wenzhao also sighed: "Back then, you and I were brothers, but now it is not what it used to be, you are already the best official among the generals, but I have even lost the position of military general......"

Zhao Shujiao smiled: "Brother, why should you be like this? When you were a guerrilla in the Qi family's army, I was still a dismissed general. It's better to do this, there is a great opportunity for meritorious service now, brother, it is better to follow me, take this opportunity to make great contributions, the court will inevitably be reinstated, and maybe it can be promoted to another level! ”

Ji Qingwen was afraid that Chen Wenzhao would be taught by Zhao to leave like this, and was about to speak, but Chen Wenzhao shook his head and said, "General Zhao's kindness, brother, I understand it." It's a pity that my brother has now joined this weaving Ji master, determined to restore the residual prestige of the old general Qi Jiguang and rebuild the elite of my 'Qi family army'. Now that it's starting to take shape, I can't bear to leave these brothers......"

When Zhao Shujiao heard this, he turned his head and looked at the five hundred township brave regiments behind him, and saw that the sergeants were all tigers, the soldiers were sharp and sharp, and the queue was rigorous and neat, and he couldn't help but praise from the bottom of his heart: "Brother's shot is really extraordinary, I see that these soldiers you recruited for Lord Ji are not inferior to the 'Qi Family Army' back then!" ”

Chen Wenzhao also looked at the army led by Zhao Shujiao, and said worriedly: "General Zhao, although these cavalry under your command are elite, their faces are full of fatigue, could it be that they are going to fight against the Jurchens?" ”

Zhao Shujiao nodded, shook his head again, and said, "Brother's expectation is good. This is exactly what was ordered by the emperor to rush to Zunhua to resist Huang Taiji. ”

"What!" Chen Wenzhao exclaimed, "Zunhua City is already in the pass, could it be that the Jurchens have already broken through the Xifeng Pass?" ”

Zhao Shujiao subconsciously glanced at the situation left and right, and replied in a low voice: "That's right, according to the battle report from the front, the former emperor Taiji suddenly attacked south, and broke through Jimen within an hour, and then took advantage of the victory to attack Xifengkou, and broke through the pass on October 27, and now I am afraid that the army is reorganizing and preparing to attack Zunhua City." ”

"Unexpectedly, after Nurhachi's death, the Jurchens still acted so quickly and sharply!" Chen Wenzhao said.

Zhao Shujiao frowned and said: "Therefore, the emperor has issued a strict decree and asked me to lead the soldiers in Shanhaiguan to rush to reinforcements immediately." Our army set out early this morning, and has already walked 170 miles, and there are still nearly 100 miles to go from Zunhua City......"

Chen Wenzhao hurriedly said: "General Zhao, this can't be done." The Jurchens' large-scale invasion this time must be a large number of soldiers and a large number of people. The general, with more than 4,000 horses, was already sleepy and tired all the way to Zunhua, how could he be the opponent of the Jurchens like hungry wolves? ”

Zhao Shujiao sighed and said: "Brother, I am also an old military officer, how can I not understand such a truth?" How can the emperor urge three holy decrees in a row, and I have no way. No, I quickly urged the soldiers to advance, thinking that I could rush into the city before Huang Taiji captured Zunhua City. It's better to rest and recuperate, and then fight to the death with the Jurchens. ”

Chen Wenzhao said: "General Zhao is honest in his heart, and his brother is just one more word. However, the Jurchens are very powerful, and they also ask the general to defend first and then attack, and after the reinforcements gather, it is not too late to fight a decisive battle with the enemy. ”

Unexpectedly, Zhao Shujiao sighed again and said, "It's a pity that Zunhua is a small city, I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold on." Alas! Only one step, one step at a time......"

Ji Qingwen, who had been silent for a long time, couldn't help but interject when he heard the two of them talk about it until now: "General Zhao, you can't lead the army to fight all the way to the dark." A great military strategist once said: 'When the enemy advances, I retreat, when the enemy retreats, when the enemy is tired, I fight, we cannot care about the gains and losses of one city or one place, but we must preserve the vital strength of our army and destroy the vital force of the enemy'! ”

Zhao Shujiao's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this, but then he dimmed, sighed vigorously, as if he wanted to spit out all the stuffy air that had accumulated in his chest, and said, "Lord Ji's knowledge is really clever. Pity...... It's a pity that it is now at the foot of the capital, and the emperor and hundreds of civil and military officials are staring at countless pairs of eyes. If you retreat a little with your front foot, I'm afraid that your back foot will have a recital of impeachment against you and go straight to the heavens......"