Sitting by the west window of Penglu, looking at the stream and autumn forest outside the window, Zhu Qiming was almost settled.

Ouyang Tong quickly walked inside, "Your Highness, hurry up and report that hundreds of thousands of Beijing troops have not been in Datong for a short time, and they have not yet engaged in battle with the captives, so they hurriedly retreated, and now they are on their way back to Beijing." ”

"Really?"

Zhu Qiming got up suddenly, his eyes flashed with shock, disappointment, and anger, and after a long time, he kicked the seat away, and with a "bang", the seat fell to pieces.

"Hundreds of thousands of troops, far outnumbered by Tartar thieves, but they don't fire a single arrow, they don't fight a battle, they go and return, it's ridiculous! It seems that the imperial court was not woken up by the Warats, but was stunned! ”

Ouyang Tong sighed, "Wang Zhen is brave and unplanned, and the hundred officials are war-weary and afraid of war, which will only wear down the fighting spirit of the Ming army." It is rumored that after the army left the customs, the hundred officials still dragged the reason for not letting the Son of Heaven go to the risk to oppose the war. ”

Zhu Qiming smashed his fist on the case, and the wooden case fell apart. "Hundreds of thousands of troops are gathered in Datong, and there are several strong castles to rely on. The king had envisioned the worst-case scenario, in which our Ming army was almost wiped out, only to inflict heavy losses on the Tartars and cripple them. However, this king never thought that there was an even worse outcome waiting for our army, that is, according to the current situation, the Tartar thieves only had to pay a very small price to annihilate hundreds of thousands of Ming troops! ”

Pacing angrily, "A bunch of powerful people are so stupid and rotten! ”

Ouyang Tong looked puzzled, "What does His Highness mean ······?"

"How can you not know the truth of 'avoiding its edge and hitting its laziness'? The Ming army retreated in a panic, and it was also trapped in the middle first! ”

Ouyang Tong was shocked, "The Son of Heaven is in charge, and the King of Servants is in charge of the country, why don't Your Highness return to the capital as soon as possible and discuss this matter with the King of Servants." ”

Zhu Qiming looked up to the sky and sighed, "I'm afraid it's too late!" "Run out of the inner room and stop Tang Ji," the order went down, and the guards immediately packed their bags, and set off half an hour later, rushing to the front line of Shanhaiguan to wait for news! ”

······

Pang Zhe came to the noon gate with King Yu, and whispered when he parted: "Your Royal Highness is ordered to supervise the country, but the emperor also secretly ordered King Xiang to enter Beijing, please pay attention to this matter." ”

"Got it."

King Yu left Pang Zhe, entered alone, and came to the left side of the noon gate.

Although it is said that he is ordered to supervise the country, after all, King Yu is only a prince, so he cannot listen to the government in front of Fengtianmen, and he is not allowed to enter the Fengtian Palace, the Jinshen Palace, and the Huagai Palace, let alone break into the harem. The Chang Dynasty can only be held at the noon gate, and the court meeting can be selected in the Wuying Palace.

Cabinet ministers Chen Xun, Miao Zhen, and Gao Gu were waiting there early, and when they saw King Yu, they hurriedly saluted.

Chen Xun took a few steps forward, "His Royal Highness, Xuanfu, Datong, and Ganshan are all short of grain and grass, and the household department has moved to various places to collect and transfer, and it is expected that it will be replenished within half a month." It's just that Datong has been stormy for days, and it is rumored that the army led by the emperor is short of food and grass, and the ration of fried wheat is unusable after the rain, and His Royal Highness is asked to convene the officials of the household department to discuss this matter quickly. ”

King Yu pondered for a moment, and his gaze slowly swept to the side of Fengtianmen, "There is a large group of officials accompanying the household department, and they will choose the opportunity to recruit from the nearest warehouse. Besides, isn't the emperor's car on the way back to Beijing? ”

Chen Xunzheng wanted to reply, but saw Yu Qian hurriedly entering.

"Yu Qian, the right attendant of the military department, see His Royal Highness the King of Servants."

King Yu did not bow his head, but returned a very rare salute, "Lord Yu doesn't need to be polite." ”

"Your Royal Highness, according to Yushu's report, the army led by the emperor himself originally wanted to return to Beijing through Bauhinia Pass, but was followed and intercepted by the captives, and now it has moved to the direction of Xuanfu, and plans to return to Beijing via Juyong Pass."

Chen Xun, Miao Zhen, and Gao Gu were shocked when they heard this, and Miao Zhen said: "Why did the army change its route? ”

Yu Qian's expression was solemn, "The ground between Datong and the capital is flat, if it is intercepted by heavy soldiers, our army will be more auspicious." The Xuanfu side of the mountain is high and the road is dangerous, and the castle is dense, so the army detours to Xuanfu and returns to Beijing through Juyong Pass, which is the safest choice. ”

Miao stared at it, but there was still a trace of doubt in his eyes.

Yu Qian's eyes lit up, "However, if the captives intercepted on the way are not also subordinates, but Ah Ra's subordinates, then it will be a big deal!" ”

Chen Xun, Miao Zhen, and Gao Gu were stunned for a moment, and King Yu said, "What does Lord Yu mean by this?" ”

"If that captives are really Ala's troops, it means that the castles along the border of Xuanfu have been broken by Ala, and our army's move to return to Beijing through Juyong Pass must have been in the calculation of the captives. also joined forces with Ara, and the strength increased greatly, and most of our army was still in the dark! ”

Chen Xun, Miao Zhen, and Gao Gu were shocked when they heard this, and Miao Zhen paused, "What Lord Yu said is true, something big must have happened in Xuanfu!" The defenders of Xuanfu lost the city, but Yang Hong concealed it and did not report it, how could he be expected to lead the army out of the city to help? His Royal Highness, the situation is critical, please ask His Highness to summon the important ministers to discuss it quickly! ”

King Yu pondered for a long time, and said slowly: "Quickly convey this matter to the internal officials of the ceremonial supervisor, and the Empress Dowager will decide." ”

······

The orthodox emperor in the military is still implementing the "long arm" management of the government, and the major affairs of the court and the central government are decided by the Son of Heaven, the trivial matters are asked to the king of Yu, and the urgent matters in Beijing are decided by the empress dowager.

At the beginning of August, the emperor ordered Guangning Bo Liu An to serve as the chief military officer, and the governor Guo Dengchong to serve as a staff member to guard Datong. Shi Heng, who escaped from the advent array, was an official and recruited soldiers and horses to make meritorious contributions.

After passing through the boundary of Xuanfu, seeing that Juyong Pass was close at hand, and there was no one around to make noise, the emperor was clear, and he felt a little relieved in order to get rid of the tailgating of the captives, and there were many castles in Xuanfu as barriers, but unexpectedly, the catastrophe was imminent!

On the way, the emperor was still in the mood to seal the officials one after another and enrich the border generals. Shengdu commanded Sun An to be the governor of the rear army and guard Huai'an City; Shengxuanfu was the commander of the military capital and served as a general.

Diametrically opposed to the scene of the repeated admonitions of the ministers at the same time, no one spoke out on the way back, although the monarchs and ministers and soldiers were hungry and thirsty, but no one wanted to stay for a while, and they couldn't wait to rush back to Juyong Pass in one breath.

However, as soon as the army passed the Leijia Station and was about to transfer to Xuanfu, they heard a spy report.

"Report!"

A fast horse galloped close to the royal car, "Your Majesty the Emperor, there are captives attacking my rear team!" ”

Relatives, military generals, and internal and external officials gathered in front of the royal car one after another when they heard the news.

"Stay put!" Wang Zhen ordered.

After some urgent deliberation, the emperor ordered Gongshun Hou Wu Kezhong to lead an army of 20,000, and the queen of the palace refused the enemy.

Wu Kezhong held a spear, stepped on the war horse, ordered 20,000 horses, took his younger brother and son, and the three of them led the army to rush behind the army.

He wanted to take advantage of the geographical advantage to give the captives a head-on blow, but he obviously underestimated the Warat people's familiarity with the terrain of Xuanfu. Just near Harrier Ridge, Wu Kezhong's troops broke into the ambush circle of the Tartar thieves.

There was a loud bang, and I saw the boulders on the mountain rolling down one after another, and the arrows flew like rain.

The soldiers who were overly frightened and had no fighting spirit along the way suddenly encountered such a battle, and they were stunned all of a sudden, and in a moment, they died and fled, and only Wu Kezhong, the commander of the light pole, was left on the scene.

Wu Kezhong was loyal to his father in the sixteenth year of Yongle as a marquis, and was one of the rare brave and warlike relatives of the Ming Dynasty, but unfortunately he could not lead the army in peacetime, and could not bring out a group of iron-blooded warriors.

Fly and dismount, and shoot several arrows in a kneeling position, killing several enemies. Seeing the Tartar thieves surging from all directions, Wu Kezhong roared, waved his spear, and flew towards an enemy chieftain.

"Die!" The man raised his scimitar to hold the spear, and for a moment sparks flew everywhere, and in the piercing whistling, the spear still did not deviate, and with a "whoosh" sound, it hit the throat of the enemy chieftain.

The sound of hooves is loud, the shadow of the knife is sufficient, Wu Kezhong is under siege, wearing several wounds, and a spear is still dancing vigorously. But the howls of the Tartar thieves rang out one after another.