In 1647 of the Western calendar, the first year of the Yongli calendar of the Ming Dynasty, the eleventh day of the first month, a big flag fluttered above the city of Zhaoqing, and the word "Ming" in the middle of the banner was particularly conspicuous, and pedestrians from ten miles away could clearly see it. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

On both sides of it, there are two slightly lower boom flags with black characters on a white background, and the two long pole flags are written with four wild grass characters on them: Expelling the Tartars, Recovering China! The large-character penmanship is vigorous, and the force penetrates the back of the paper, as if it is going to spray the full of grief and anger on this three-foot white cloth.

In the distance, one after another black and oppressive crowds of displaced people flooded over like a tide, dozens of city gate guards who maintained order were rushed to the ground, and the gatekeeper who led the team squeezed out of the crowd with sweat, jumped on a big rock next to the city gate, waved his arms vigorously, and shouted loudly: "The cabinet lord said, everyone can enter the city, don't squeeze, don't rush, the tartars are still far away!" ”……

His shouts did not last long before they were drowned out in the cries of the homeless, ragged, old and young, carrying the few valuable household goods, desperately rushing into the city, most of them had fled on foot for several days, ten days, although they were already exhausted, they could fall at any time, but they still gritted their teeth, desperately trying their last strength, just to squeeze into this fortified city, to save their lives and their families.

Zhaoqing Fucheng is the temporary capital of the Yongli Dynasty of the Southern Ming Dynasty, backed by the North Ridge, facing the Xijiang River, controlling Cangwu on the top, controlling the South China Sea under the system, the north is the Lihu Lake formed by the Beiling Mountains and the ancient river channel of the Xijiang River, the middle is the alluvial plain of the river valley, the east and west ends are stacked with peaks and peaks tightly locked in the river, forming the Three Banyan Gorge, the Dading Gorge and the Antelope Gorge, it is a veritable Xiongguan, and it is also one of the few fortified cities in Guangdong, if there is a place that can block the iron cavalry of the Qing army in the whole western part of Guangdong, it is only here.

In this turbulent era where human life is as cheap as grass, under the threat of the Han people's extinction of the country and species, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in western Guangdong have pinned their last hope on it, but can Zhaoqing City bear their hope?

The wails and wails of the fleeing people, one by one, rose up and clearly reached the head of the city, under the desolate banner of expelling the Tartars and recovering China, an old man with a solemn face with his eyebrows tightly locked was standing on the battlements of the city gate, looking at the miserable state of the displaced people in the city, his heart was heavy, his eyes were red, and his face was sad.

He has a wide mouth, thick eyebrows, scarlet clothes, his hair is covered with a scarf, and there are three strands of beard floating under his chin.

The footsteps sounded, Zhang Tongchang, the great-grandson of Zhang Juzheng, the commander of the military department, the commander of the Beijing camp, and the great-grandson of the famous minister Zhang Juzheng, hurriedly walked up to the city with a sword, stood behind the old man, bowed, frowned and said softly: "Cabinet Department, the students have transferred 3,000 stone grain from the treasury according to your instructions, and built the porridge shed and residence, but in the process of supervision, Zhu Zhitai seems to be a little reluctant and does not want to cooperate with the students. ”

"Humph!" The old man looked back, and it turned out that he was a scholar of Dongge University, and Zhai Shiyun, the assistant minister of Jingying Rong.

Zhai Shiyun looked at Zhang Tongchang and said coldly: "If you are reluctant, you must be willing, no matter what, the people must be resettled, and they must not be allowed to endure cold and starve." ”

Zhang Tong's eyes were blazing, and he replied with his fists clenched, and his voice was low and powerful: "Obey the orders of the cabinet department." ”

Zhai Shiyun nodded, and said, "How is the military situation ahead?" ”

Zhang Tong's lips twitched a few times, and he stopped talking.

Zhai Shiyun sighed softly and said, "Don't hide it from the old man, just say it." ”

Zhang Tongchang lowered his head and said, "Just now, Deputy General Zhang Youde abandoned Sanshui...... led the troops to surrender ......"

After hearing this, Zhai Shiyun's face was bruised, his teeth gurgled, and after taking a deep breath, he regained his composure: "Is there anything else?" ”

Zhang Tongchang shook his head, with a hint of gloom in his expression, how much he hoped to report good news to his teacher! Even if this news is insignificant, the sad thing is that the military newspapers are full of bad news one after another.

University scholar He Wuchao, governor Geng Xianzhong, Hong Tianyao, chief soldier Ye Chengen and others surrendered one after another, and the western part of Guangdong was in chaos, and Zhaoqing had become an isolated city. As soon as Sanshui City, the eastern gateway, was lost, Zhaoqing was exposed to the iron cavalry of the Qing army, and it was only a matter of time before the day the soldiers came to the city.

Zhai Shiyun didn't ask anymore, put his hands behind his back, and looked up at the west. Zhang Tongchang knew what he was staring at, because the soldiers and civilians in Zhaoqing were staring, but more than ten days had passed, but he didn't see a single reinforcement coming.

Zhaoqing was originally the capital of the Ming Dynasty and an important town in western Guangdong, but now there are less than 3,000 soldiers in the city, and most of them are on the squad army, that is, the guards who go to the capital to take turns to practice and defend, without the slightest combat power at all, the elite has long been drawn away by Ding Kuichu, facing a large number of fierce and warlike Qing troops, this strength is really insignificant. Therefore, whether or not enough reinforcements can be gathered has become the key to the survival of Zhaoqing City.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tongchang's heart was desolate, and then looked at Zhai Shiyun's isolated and helpless back, which was even more bitter, took a step forward, and whispered with relief: "Teacher, the emperor values you the most, and he will not leave you alone, and when the emperor gathers enough Qinwang army, he will definitely send it to help us, and the teacher is relaxed." ”

Hearing this, Zhai Shiyun said: "I hope so." "But the heart is a wry smile, no one knows better than him, generous and benevolent, but cowardly, if you are in a peaceful world, with the assistance of capable ministers, you will be able to become a generation of Ming Jun.

But now, what is needed to govern the country and the country is the king's determination to kill and deal with chaos without panic, and these qualities can only be seen in the body of the founder of each dynasty.

He is not afraid of death, as the central ruler, it is an honor for him to be able to die for the community, but the people in the city are innocent, even if it is for them, he will not give up.

"And how long has Nong (Wang Fuzhi, the word and Nong) been in Wuzhou?" After a long time, Zhai Shiyun asked leisurely.

Zhang Tongchang replied, "Back to the teacher, it's been two days." ”

Zhai Shiyun nodded and said in a deep voice: "Counting up, it is estimated that there will be two or three days before you can reach Wuzhou." ”

Zhang Tongchang's solemn face showed a hint of relief: "Yes, and Nong is a pedestrian and pedestrian, young and promising, good at words, I believe that he will definitely live up to his mission on this trip, and bring the reinforcements sent by the emperor to save Zhaoqing from danger." ”

Now the situation in Zhaoqing has reached the most critical juncture, the Qing army is fierce, the defenders everywhere are defeated too quickly, the military situation has changed several times overnight, Zhai Shiyun frequently issued orders to transfer troops, but the Qing troops pressed the border, the Son of Heaven heard the alarm and ran westward, the military heart of the Ming army in western Guangdong has long been in chaos, the military order is like waste paper, the defenders everywhere surrender without a fight, those who abandon the city and flee, and those who rush to Zhaoqing to rescue, there is no one. So far, the last hope is only whether the Son of Heaven in the West can send reinforcements.

Zhai Shiyun deeply understood this, so he was doubly worried, not only was he afraid that it would be too late, and Zhaoqing would be broken without waiting for reinforcements to come, but he was also afraid that the emperor would not send reinforcements.

Before the emperor left, let him be the governor of the defense of western Guangdong, he also tried his best, and strive not to dishonor the emperor's life, several efforts, finally made the panic situation in Zhaoqing City have a preliminary stability, at least under his supervision and inspiration, the officials and gentry gathered from all over the country are still united on the surface, but he knows that this is just an illusion, once the Qing army comes to the city, the city is difficult to defend, and civil strife may break out in the city immediately, thinking of this, Zhai Shiyun felt sad in his heart, he raised his eyes, staring at the direction of Wuzhou, Guangxi.

Zhang Tongchang sighed, also raised his eyes, and Zhai Shiyun stood under the clear sky, looking at the west, looking forward to a big flag marked with the word 'Ming' suddenly appeared in his eyes, and under the banner, the crowd surged, thousands of horses galloped, and countless heroic Ming soldiers were whipping their horses and galloping towards Zhaoqing City......