"He is already a desperate beggar, Li Dusi said that Hudun Tuhan's nest in the West Liaohe let Jiannu end, this time he suffered a big loss in naturalization, and now he is homeless and extremely poor, why should the old man be angry about this lost dog." Song Tongyin comforted Zhang Xiao on the side.

"Is it Li Dusi who is writing again?" Zhang Xiao let out a long sigh, glanced at a letter in Song Tongyin's hand, and asked.

Song Tongyin nodded and hurriedly submitted the letter, Zhang Xiao unfolded the letter and read it carefully - he paid more and more attention to Li Yu's letter, since Song Tongyin released Li Yu, he knew the situation over there in his heart, and he no longer had to smear his eyes, Zhang Xiao reported the information he got to the court, the courtiers were amazed, such detailed and accurate information is rare, the cabinet instructed the military department to give priority to the use of the information he reported, and now the courtiers don't need to make up nonsense when they talk about things outside the Xuanda border, and the little emperor also praised him for being well versed in side affairs, No one has mentioned the topic of whether Zhang Xiao is a fish that has slipped through the net by the eunuchs. Song Tongyin's brain was hot, and he even wanted to blow out a naturalization victory, but the scheming Zhang Xiao quickly dispelled his idea, and the Han still has an absolute advantage, and it will not end well after the cowhide is blown up, after all, except for Li Yu who hung up the rank of Ming officer, the rest of the war has nothing to do with the Ming army.

According to the confession of the Chahar captives he caught, after February this year, Emperor Taiji of the Great Khan of Jin suddenly personally conquered the Xiliao River, and destroyed the old den of Chahar Khan in the Xiliao River in one fell swoop, and the old camp of the Dorot Department that remained behind was destroyed, and more than 10,000 people and animals were captured. Chahar Khan's move was obviously not intended to return to the east to recover his homeland, but to live outside the Xuanda border for a long time, and now Chahar is heading south to the eastern outpost, and the leaders of the eastern outpost Tumut led by Ulutaiji are struggling to resist. Li Yu said that he had received a request for help from the East Outpost, but he was now hungry and panicked, people and livestock could not eat, and he was really unable to send troops to rescue, he thought that the strength of the East Outpost was too weak, and it would soon be defeated, and then the Chahar army would reach the border wall of the Ming Dynasty, how would the Ming Dynasty respond? Therefore, he hoped that the Ming army could send troops to the east post as soon as possible to isolate Chahar's strength from the border wall, even if the current situation of the Ming army was inconvenient to fight, as long as the main force of Chahar was contained, then give him some food and horse feed, and he would be sure to fight a big victory, thus forcing the Chahar people not to dare to enter the border wall.

Zhang Xiao was silent after reading the letter, and after a long while, he asked, "How many people does Li Dusi have in his hands now?" ”

"He wrote to him that there are about 20,000 men, women, and children combined," Song Tongyin replied, seeing that Zhang Xiao didn't speak again, he asked cautiously, "We only allocated rations to him according to about 200 people, and he can hold out south of the Barbarian Mountain for a month, which is really difficult for him, should we give him some more grain and grass?" ”

"I'm afraid that raising tigers will cause trouble!" Zhang Xiao replied after a long time, he got up and walked a few steps, then suddenly stood up and said to Song Tongyin, "You let Li Dusi come to Yanghe for a trip, and I want to meet him in person." ”

Three days later, the dusty Li Yu stood in front of Song Tongyin, Song Tongyin was taken aback when he saw Li Yu's appearance, it was only two months since the last time they met, the handsome and tall young man had become dark and thin, and the new clothes he sent were also patched, almost unrecognized, Song Tongyin was sad for a while, and couldn't help but want to say a few words of caressing, but Li Yu spoke first: "My lord, do you have anything to eat here, I only drank a bowl of porridge last night and rushed here, my stomach was hungry and panicked, this look is not good to go to see the governor." ”

As soon as the meal was served, Li Yu devoured it, and Song Tongyin patted him on the back and said, "Eat slowly, don't worry, a few of the soldiers you brought are eating, and the horse has also arranged for someone to feed it." ”

"Let the adults laugh, the food in the Barbarian Mountain has been eaten, and the villagers have not had a meal for several days, but fortunately, the snow has melted, everyone is looking for food everywhere in the mountains, everything is eaten, as long as you don't die of hunger," Li Yu wiped his mouth after eating and said in a low voice.

"I'm sorry for you!" Song Tongyin's voice was a little choked, the dark and thin young man in front of him was only in his early twenties, but he had to provoke the livelihood of nearly 20,000 people, and the burden was too heavy in this day and age! He said softly: "Child, come back, Yanghe has something to do here." ”

"My lord, can we attach it? Boshuo Ketu Khan is the Shunyi king of the Ming Dynasty, and the people of Fengzhou are also the people of the Ming Dynasty. Li Yu's eyes lit up, Song Tongyin immediately bowed his head and was silent, Li Yu's eyes dimmed again, "Forget it, I'm still with the villagers, I took them to Barbarian Mountain, I can't leave them alone." ”

The two were silent for a while, Song Tongyin changed the topic and asked about the situation in Manhan Mountain, Li Yu cheered up and carefully talked about the situation after he arrived at Manhan Mountain, the villagers arrived at Manhan Mountain, some people managed to enter the customs, but most of them stayed in Manhan Mountain to suffer, hello folks! The people who stayed behind took out their own food and enjoyed it with everyone, and everyone stayed up by drinking porridge during this time, and sometimes came back from the mountains to hunt some prey, and that was when everyone was most happy, and the Chahar people's squad came several times, but they were all defeated, and the Chahar people saw that they were poor and hard, and they were not interested in making trouble with them.

Li Yu continued: "My lord, the villagers are very good, we have a hard time, but all the people work together to help each other, after the snow melts, we also plant crops and herd sheep, our village Li Fugui brother is teaching everyone to plant potatoes, Brother Li said that this thing is easy to live without picking the ground, and you can harvest four or five hundred catties of one acre of land after planting, my lord, maybe our life will not take a year to get better." ”

Song Tong listened with relish, and seeing Li Yu's happy appearance, he also forced a smile and nodded, "Yes, your life will definitely be better!" ”

In the afternoon, Song Tongyin took Li Yu to the governor's palace to meet the governor of Xuanda, Zhang Xiao carefully inquired about the naturalization war and the situation of the Chahar people, and also learned about the topography, population, Ding Zhuang and the number of reclaimed land, cattle, sheep, and horses in the Barbarian Mountains, and Li Yu answered them one by one.

Li Yu said, "There are more than 19,000 people in the Barbarian Mountain, half of the Han and Mongolian people, nearly 5,000 men, 2,500 people who have horses to fight, and a lot of land that can be cultivated under the Manhan Mountain, but we lack agricultural tools and seeds, and we have only planted two or three thousand acres of land so far, and there are very few cattle and sheep, adding up to only more than 3,000 heads, and it is not possible to feed nearly 20,000 people. All the soldiers we can muster have participated in the naturalization war, and we are not afraid of Chahar, as long as we are given food and weapons, it will not be a problem to contain Chahar. ”

Zhang Xiao nodded, and changed the topic again: "Li Dusi is from the Han Dynasty in Liaodong, right?" I heard Deputy Envoy Song say that you have read books and know some poems, Ling Zun must also be a reader, right? ”

Li Yu lowered his head and said: "I don't know who my parents are, I only remember wandering alone outside the Beiguan in Liaodong Town, herding sheep, herding horses, picking up cow dung, as long as I can eat anything, fortunately Uncle Kulu took me in, or I would definitely starve to death, I have asked a lot of learned people to know where I am, but no one can say clearly, saying that I am Han, Zhushen and Mongolian. ”

Zhang Xiao stared at Li Yu and said firmly: "This official is a third-class jinshi, and he is still a little learned, this official has been pondering your life experience for a long time, this official tells you that your parents should be Han people in the Kaiyuan area, and it coincided with the Jiannu Rebellion and you were separated, Daming is the state of your parents, and it is God's arrangement for you to serve in my Ming army, so no matter where you are, everything should be based on my Ming Dynasty and be my Ming's hot-blooded good man." ”

Li Yu hurriedly saluted and said, "My lord's words, the last general will remember them." ”

Zhang Xiao smiled and said: "Li Dusi is young and promising, and he has a bright future in the future. ”

"Let's call it Hermes-Epitek, and never forget that I am a man of the Han family." Song Tongyin thought for a while and said.

"Li Yu Li Hanmin, good words, in the future, we will call Li Dusi Hanmin." Zhang Xiao clapped his hands and praised.

Li Yu's face flushed with excitement, he had only heard that only learned people and powerful people could have words, but he never thought that he could also have words, and he was also given by the governor and the deputy envoy, what an honor!

Zhang Xiao put away his smile and said seriously: "Hanmin, you can go deep into the desert and contain those Tatars who are unwilling to surrender to Hudun Tuhan and guard the Barbarian Mountain, this matter is very good, this great achievement is written down for you first, and you will definitely be rewarded in the future, but the official has one more thing to trust, the war in Fengzhou caused nearly 10,000 Tatars to flee into the customs and be homeless, they have no food and clothing to live a miserable life, and the official is also sad to see it!" Bu Lost Rabbit is the Shunyi King of my Ming Dynasty, and his subordinates are also the people of the Ming Dynasty, this official can't ignore it, you can also contain them, this official entrusts you with a heavy responsibility, and takes care of these poor people for the Ming Dynasty. ”

Li Yu's heart sank suddenly, where can he afford nearly 10,000 mouths, this will completely drag down the Barbarian Mountain, Zhang Xiao looked at the pale Li Yu, smiled and said: "Hanmin don't be afraid, this official will never ignore you, I will arrange for Datong to receive a part of your grain every month, and your camp outside Yanghekou will also be withdrawn, it is far away from the Barbarian Mountain, and it is inconvenient to do anything." ”

"My lord, we still have some fur and scattered silver taels in our hands, and we also want to exchange livestock for some seeds and farm tools. Li Yu hesitated for a moment and asked.

"This official has promised, as long as it is your people, you can enter the market and trade." Zhang Xiao readily agreed, and seeing that Li Yu still wanted to say something, Zhang Xiao immediately continued, "Hermes-Epitek has worked hard all the way, go back and rest early, you stay in Yanghe for a few days and then go back, Deputy Envoy Song will come to you to discuss how to arrange grain and grass." ”

Li Yu had planned to ask about sending troops to the east post again, but now he had to swallow his words back, he understood that the governor had not considered sending troops at all.

After Li Yu left, Song Tongyin couldn't help but say: "Boss, now there are not many people like Li Dusi who are sincere in doing things, are we treating him too badly?" ”

"What can we do! Xuanda Sanzhen has no food and no salary, it has long been an empty shelf, we can only maintain this situation, and live one day at a time," Zhang Xiao said with a sad face, he pushed a letter on the table to Song Tongyin, "Look at it, Zhang Yiming sent a letter, he asked to open a porridge factory outside the pass, and lure out the Tatars in the pass, he thought too simply, the little grain he took out can be managed for a few days, and the Tatars will not mix in the pass again if they have no food to eat, or leave the people to Li Dusi to manage, you go and take care of an official document, Let Zhang Yiming give Li Dusi dozens of stones of grain every month, he will take out this bit of food, you tell Zhang Yiming to give these Tatars a bowl of rice to eat, they and Chahar have become mortal enemies, as long as they are alive outside the pass, Hudun Tuhan has to have some scruples, it is best to let them fight to the death with the Han Insertion. ”

Zhang Xiao paused for a while and said: "We can't treat Li Dusi too badly, this time we will reward him with some silver, and then promote him to guerrilla in a few days, we can still use this person." ”

Li Yu went out of the Governor's Palace, and happened to be met by Zhang Chuanjie, the Governor of the Metropolitan Division, Zhang Chuanjie couldn't say that he had to pull him to the house to eat knife noodles, Li Yu hurriedly shirked and said that he had a few pro-soldiers, and it was inconvenient to go to the house to disturb, so it was better to go back to the post house to eat.

"What's the matter, go together, I can still afford a meal," he said and pulled Meng Ke, Jida, Chen Erzhu and Liu Shishi together, turned his head and called out to the two officers under him, "Wang Yongqiang, Liu Qian, you two will also accompany you." ”

When everyone arrived at Zhang's house, they all praised Zhang's sister-in-law's noodles for being delicious, Zhang Chuanjie asked about the situation in Manhan Mountain by the way, and he couldn't help but shake his head again and again: "Yuzi, this errand is too hard, you better come back, our superintendent is still better than the town soldiers, although the military salary can't be paid, but the governor will still give us a bowl of rice to eat, it's better than you starving in the mountains." ”

"Forget it, I'm starving, and the Governor has added another dose to me," Li Yu lowered his head and told everyone what Zhang Xiao had arranged, pretending to be relaxed, "That's fine, anyway, I can't bear to leave the villagers alone, although the Barbarian Mountain is hard, but there are not so many calculations, and life is easier." ”

Meng Ke was angry, slapped the table and said: "How can there be such a bully, the people they don't want to care about are stuffed here and want to starve us to death!" Lao Tzu quit. ”

Zhang Chuanjie also persuaded: "Yuzi, don't be dead-eyed, Daming's practical affairs are not so serious, I really can't hold on, you just come back, no one will do anything to you." ”

"Your Excellency the Governor has promised to give me some food, and I have accepted to add some people, and there will always be greater hope for everyone to live in a group," Li Yu said with a sad face, "I'm afraid that there are more than 10,000 people, and the East Outpost is fighting again, and I'm afraid that many people will flee to Barbarian Mountain." ”

Tumut East Outpost is outside the Yanghe border, where the battle is fierce, but the Ming army is standing by, Zhang Chuanjie knows this very well, he stood up and roared: "I don't understand, I have a territory of thousands of miles of land and hundreds of millions of people, how can I not even dare to provoke a small barbarian, do you have to wait for them to hit the doorstep, is this still the Ming Dynasty created by Emperor Taizu?" ”

Zhang Chuanjie's words caused Wang Yongqiang and Liu Qian to sigh for a while, Li Yu and Meng Ke buried their heads and continued to eat noodles.

When Li Yu was waiting for Song Tongyin to arrange grain and grass for him in Yanghe, Li Huai, who went to Beijing to participate in the examination, came back, he spent a lot of time exploring the side wall all the way, and entered the examination room within a few days of arriving in Beijing. Li Huai had something in his heart, and went straight to Yanghe after leaving the Beijing Division, Song Tongyin was overjoyed when he saw him, and immediately led him to see Zhang Xiao, Zhang Xiao saw that Li Huai came back so soon, and immediately knew that this guy must have just been in the examination room for a few days, and Zhongjin Shi definitely didn't count on it, but this is okay, his subordinates are also lacking competent manpower, this Li Huai is a lifter, and it is not bad to leave him in the Governor's Mansion as a guest, so he didn't ask Li Huai how to take the imperial examination, but asked him about the recent movements of the Beijing Division.

Li Huai also visited a few fellow villagers who were officials in the court this time, and he knew some things in the court, speaking of things in the court, Li Huai was also sad, and the action of clearing the eunuchs in the court continued, Wei Zhongxian hanged himself, the emperor seemed to be angry, and the edict dismembered Wei Zhongxian, hanging his head in Hejian Mansion, and whipped the first emperor's nursing mother Keshi to death in the Huanyi Bureau, Wei Zhongxian and the brothers and nephews of the Hakka family Wei Liangqing, Hou Guoxing, and Keguangxian were all executed on the street, and Cui Chengxiu of Wei Zhongxian's party hanged himself, Tian Ergeng, Xu Xianchun, etc. were imprisoned, So far, Wei Zhongxian's power has collapsed, but the little emperor is still unsatisfied, and appointed Yan Jizu, Ren Zanhua and a group of Qingliu in the court as the six departments to the matter, the Imperial History of the Imperial Procuratorate to clear the Wei eunuch Yu party, the battle above the court is more intense, Qingliu finally waited for the time to raise their eyebrows, see the villain who is not pleasing to the eye, directly buckle the hat of the eunuch party, the Hanlin Academy editor Ni Yuanlu called the most fierce, the first month to the emperor connected two twists, openly for the Donglin party people to complain, he said that if the Donglin people are evil party, So how do you call Wei Biao, who persecuted the Donglin Party, an evil party? The Donglin Party is persecuted by the eunuch party, and the eunuch party is falling, and the eunuch party is incompatible with the Donglin Party is naturally a righteous gentleman, and should return to the court, the dead Donglin party boss Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Zhou Shunchang and others should also be rehabilitated Zhaoxue, Ni Yuanlu's performance won the support of the Qinglius, they simply agitated in the government and the opposition to ban the destruction of the "Three Dynasties Classics", "The Three Dynasties Classics" involves Wanli, Taichang and the old cases of the three dynasties of the Apocalypse, involving too many people, and the courtiers immediately fought with each other. The emperor not only did not calm down the situation as soon as possible, but followed the troubles, the cabinet ministers were panicked and had no mental government, Shi Fenglai, Zhang Ruitu, the two treacherous and cunning cabinet ministers simply went home, Xuanda border and foreign war clouds are dense, ever-changing, and the overall situation is affected, but the emperor and the court have fallen into internal strife, and they completely ignore the major matters related to the safety of the Ming Dynasty.