Chapter 886: Thunder in Winter, It's Not a Good Omen!

（0886）

[Today's fourth shift is delivered! ] 】

Shaanxi.

The superintendent walked away, and it was quiet. There were no pedestrians coming and going, and even the figure of the patrol disappeared quietly. Even the sentries who stood there tried their best not to make any noise. They seemed to be standing statues, completely condensed on the sentry post.

The big flags in the barracks were also drooping on the flagpoles, motionless. The soldiers who were in charge of guarding the military flag did not have a special general flag unfurled, so as not to alarm the overseer with the sound of the military flag being blown by the wind. Because, as everyone knows, after the news of Luoyang being broken, the mood of the Inspector has not been very good.

There is news that after receiving the bad news from Luoyang, the Inspector has not closed his eyes, and every night, he stands in front of the dripping eaves, looking at the deep starry sky, and sees the dawn until he sees it. Anyone who is qualified to have close contact with the Overseer will find that the Overseer's eye sockets have been deeply sunken, and they are covered with dense bloodshots.

Many soldiers who used to think that the Overseer was very hateful suddenly discovered that their Overseer was also very vulnerable, and it turned out that he was also deeply hit. Come to think of it, such a big blow, no one can stand it! Even Emperor Chongzhen couldn't stand it.

Seeing that he was about to completely exterminate the Shaanxi Liukou, he was about to create unprecedented feats, and he was about to become famous all over the world and go down in history, but he was suddenly beaten with a stick, and he was beaten to the ground, and his brain burst, and no one could stand it!

At this moment, the Inspector, Hong Chengchou, is standing in front of the dripping eaves of the ancient Inspector's line, looking at everything outside weakly. His face was gloomy, and his eyes were bloodshot, indeed very similar to what outsiders had described.

In fact, Hong Chengchou also knows that his image must be very unsightly, and his image of the Inspector is very incompatible, but he has no heart to clean it up for the time being. When the news of Luoyang was broken, Hong Chengchou felt that he seemed to be ten years old overnight. His ambition, his ambition, all came to naught.

Zhang Zhun's attack was indeed too ruthless, and it just hit the seven inches of the official army. It can be said that all the officers and troops in the Central Plains have been completely defeated. Originally, in Shaanxi, the official army had already organized many encirclement and suppression of the rogues, and each time they killed a lot of rogues, and it seemed that they were about to be completed. Hong Chengchou felt that in just three months, he could completely eliminate the rogue. However, at this time, the bad news came.

Now, Hong Chengchou has no interest in pursuing the Shaanxi Liukou. At this time, even if he killed all the Shaanxi Liukou, Emperor Chongzhen would not let him go. Hong Chengchou is very clear about this. Luoyang was broken, and it was not a big problem. However, when King Fu was killed, the problem was bigger than the sky.

Hong Chengchou has been in the army for more than ten years, and it is the first time he has heard such bad news. He couldn't recall clearly who gave the Tiger Ben Army such an opportunity, and who made such a low-level mistake when he was dispatching troops. However, at this time, there is no point in pursuing these things.

If you want to catch it without being tied, you have to take precautions. This has a lot of meanings. First of all, it is necessary to conceal the news of King Fu's death, so as not to make Emperor Chongzhen angry. Secondly, it is to put the blame for Luoyang's loss on others. Thirdly, it is necessary to think about what kind of retreat you have in the most unfavorable situation.

"It's strange, why do I have such an idea?"

Hong Chengchou suddenly asked himself quietly.

In the past, he never thought that he would have such thoughts about the court and Emperor Chongzhen. In the past, he had always carried out the orders of the imperial court and the edicts of Chongzhen. But now, he is actually thinking about what he can do to avoid the punishment of the imperial court, how to avoid the investigation of Emperor Chongzhen, and even, once the imperial court punishes him, what will he do.

Could it be that he also thinks that the imperial court is no longer sustainable? Is it time for a change of dynasty? Could it be that Luoyang's attack has made the last straw in his heart fall quietly and crush his psychological defense? Could it be that God destined everything he had done before to be in vain? This world, after all, is it the world of the Tiger Army?

"Master Inspector, Liu Xingguo is back."

The guards suddenly came in to report.

"Call him in!"

Hong Chengchou hurriedly said.

"Lord Governor!"

Liu Xingguo strode in and knelt down to salute.

"Arise, tell me, what's the situation?"

Hong Chengchou said a little impatiently.

Liu Xingguo gave a detailed account of the meeting with Yang Sichang, especially mentioning Yang Sichang's coma. Yang Sichang sent troops to Longmen Pass, wanting to find trouble with Zhang Zhun, and he also reported it truthfully. However, he did not know what happened after Yang Sichang set off for Longmen Pass. Because by that time, he had already returned to Tongguan.

"Got it."

"Go down."

Hong Chengchou said quietly.

"Yes!"

Liu Xingguo hurriedly saluted and retired.

"Shh

Hong Chengchou couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yang Sichang's reaction was indeed not unexpected. This guy is really a guy who is ambitious and talented, has no one in his eyes, is stubborn and self-serving, has empty eyes, and has a very poor psychological endurance. After arriving in the Central Plains Theater, this guy wanted to kill this and that all day long, and he was fierce and more active than anyone else, which aroused the disgust of many people.

At the beginning, Hong Chengchou thought that Yang Sichang really had some skills, but he didn't expect that Yang Sichang would immediately have a psychological breakdown when he heard that King Fu was killed. How can such a guy take on a big responsibility? But that's okay, as long as he knows that he is afraid and knows the preciousness of life, he will cautiously cooperate with himself to cover up the news of King Fu's death.

Regarding collusion to cover up the death of King Fu, Hong Chengchou is most worried about the two people. One is Yang Sichang, and the other is Shi Kefa. Yang Sichang is the person reused by Emperor Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen has repeatedly promoted Yang Sichang, to the point of falling in love, Hong Chengchou is afraid that he will "deeply feel the emperor's grace" for a while, or he can't tell the powerful relationship, so he stabbed the truth of the matter to the emperor.

Shi Kefa is a stunned young man, who doesn't understand the world, goes straight, and doesn't know how to turn around at all. King Fu's death, as long as it is a person, knows that it cannot be easily poked out, but Shi Kefa is not among them. This guy has never been afraid to take responsibility.

Now that Yang Sichang's problem has been solved, it's time for Shi Kefa. Fortunately, by Shi Kefa's side, there is an old fox like Wang Kun. As for the seriousness of the matter, Wang Kun must be clear. Therefore, unless Shi Kefa plays alone, it is impossible for the two to explicitly mention the death of King Fu in the joint recital.

It's rare, it's so rare. The *** of the Ming Dynasty seems to have never been so united. In the past, a few of them, you always dismantle my stage, I dismantle yours, and no one wants to have a good life. However, Brigadier Zhang killed King Fu, and they united like never before, what a freak. If we had been so united before, would we still be where we are today? However, if King Fu does not die, will they be united?

"Jokes."

"Big joke."

Hong Chengchou laughed at himself and said to himself outside the dripping eaves.

I believe that Zhang Zhun must be quietly snickering next to him at this time. He broke Luoyang, killed King Fu, and robbed countless wealth, but the reaction of the officials and soldiers of the imperial court was that nothing happened, as if he acquiesced to Zhang Zhun doing so. In front of Zhang Zhun, who was secretly snickering, Hong Chengchou felt that he was simply a clown.

But what can he do? If he didn't, it would be tantamount to sending his head to Emperor Chongzhen's butcher's knife. It's better to be a clown than to fall to the ground and bear a lifetime of infamy. Besides, if you want to kill Emperor Chongzhen, you really ask yourself to behead yourself, Hong Chengchou feels that he is really wronged.

King Fu's death, Hong Chengchou admitted that he had to bear a certain amount of responsibility, but it was definitely not the main responsibility, let alone to the point of being arrested and imprisoned, or even beheaded. But is his idea useful? The key is still Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts.

If Emperor Chongzhen blames him for everything, he can only be helplessly passively stabbed. If you want not to be passively stabbed, you can only get out of the control of Emperor Chongzhen. In other words, a new owner.

"No, no, no, how can I think that?"

The idea of changing the owner suddenly popped up in his mind, which made Hong Chengchou feel sweating profusely, and his heart was so heavy that he almost couldn't breathe. It's terrible to think like that. As an important minister of the imperial court, how could he have such thoughts?

Suddenly, Hong Chengchou turned his head and looked at the deep middle hall. In the middle of the central hall, there is a simple long sword with a golden spike. This is the Shang Fang sword that Emperor Chongzhen gave him only a month ago. The situation of giving Shang Fang's sword that day, Hong Chengchou still remembers it vividly.

On the same day, also here in Tongguan, Hong Chengchou received an edict from the capital, and when he hurried to the gate, the eunuch Liu who delivered the edict had already galloped in. According to the usual practice, the emperor's edict was sent to the cabinet to send it, and there was no need for the eunuch to be sent directly by the palace celebrant. However, Chongzhen has always been suspicious of his subordinates, even Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting, who are loyal and hardworking, are not very at ease, so he sent a close eunuch to come to see if the soldiers are willing to fight.

Hong Chengchou and the civil and military forces knelt outside the gate in two rows, and Eunuch Liu jumped off the horse, took off the yellow burden from his back, held it in his hand, and entered the middle of the Yongdao from the middle, passed through the instrument gate, walked into the lobby, and stood in the middle of the incense case that was hurriedly placed. Hong Chengchou led all the civil and military forces to follow in and kneel down again.

Eunuch Liu said to everyone: "Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting listen to the order, and the rest of the civil and military officials retreat!" ”

After the civil and military forces withdrew, he opened the yellow satin wrapping and took out a vermilion lacquer painted gold plate dragon box. He opened the box, took out a yellow silk dark dragon envelope, and took out the edict from the envelope, and read it aloud:

Fengtian carried the emperor's edict and said: The thieves will bring disaster to the country, nine years will be in the country, all the surnames will be ruined, and the mausoleum will be shocked. Whoever is my courtier, who does not cut his teeth! Wandering around is disgusted, and there is a turnaround. The culprit is huge, and he carries two of them, or the head is awarded in Guanzhong, or he is successively in Hanbin. Ge, Zuo and other wait-and-see wanderers in Huaidian, and Lao Hui Hui and other Yu Yu are cramped in southern Henan, which are all prisoners to be killed, which is not a big trouble for the imperial court. However, the thief Li Zicheng, although he has been defeated repeatedly, the fierce flame has not been defeated; Running alone, still thinking about it. There is a skill in enveloping, and the dead party is consolidated but not dispersed; Small favors confuse people, and foolish people are willing to be their eyes and ears. If it is not flattened, the disaster in the heart of the country will be stopped!

I have issued an edict before I have issued an edict and earnestly admonished: We must break into the rebellion and destroy it quickly, especially the traitor and the thief's wife Gao, the giant thief Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, etc., one by one, or beheaded, and do not let one of them slip through the net. Erhong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting have always been powerful in suppressing thieves, and they have made outstanding achievements, and I am very grateful. The generals who suppressed the thieves have been rewarded as soon as possible. I hereby give Erhong Chengchou a sword again, and act cheaply before the battle. He also gave 30,000 taels of silver, 200 horses of red silk and 200 horses in the table, and 500 silver medals for the purpose of rewarding merit before the battle.

Yu play! Triumphant drinking, there is a classic of praise in ancient times; Offering prisoners, I hope for today. But there are special honors, and the court does not hesitate to reward the marquis; If the burden is re-sent, the national law has its own penalty. Once the rebels are cleared, you will be the king of the starry night, and you will not be allowed to stay and miss the opportunity. Chin this!

After the edict was read, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting kowtowed and thanked them, and the mountain shouted long live. As soon as Hong Chengchou stood up, took the edict with both hands, and put it on the incense case, Eunuch Liu had already taken Shang Fang's sword from the hand of a little eunuch beside him, and said, "Qin gave Shang Fang's sword, Hong Chengchou knelt to take it!" ”

Hong Chengchou hurriedly knelt down again, took Shang Fang's sword with both hands, and kowtowed again to thank him, and shouted long live. He stood up and held Shang Fang's sword on the bar, then carefully held it up with both hands and placed it in the center of the central hall to show respect for Emperor Chongzhen.

For Chongzhen's gift of Shang Fang's sword, Hong Chengchou is indeed very satisfied. Because, among the military commanders in front, only Yang Sichang has the Shang Fang sword. This made Hong Chengchou feel very unhappy. Yang Sichang has the sword of Shang Fang, and he has the power to cut first and then play. This is an obvious challenge for Hong Chengchou. Fortunately, Emperor Chongzhen gave him the sword of Shang Fang, and finally drew with Yang Sichang.

Immediately, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting began to express their lack of advice to Eunuch Liu, greeted each other, and let Eunuch Liu into the flower hall and ordered to prepare a banquet. They returned to the hall and passed on the civil and military officials to announce the contents of the decree. Everyone knelt down and kowtowed, and the mountain shouted. Gratitude and uplift are woven into everyone's heart. Everyone is determined to make a difference in the big battle of tomorrow.

In fact, in the following month, Hong Chengchou did lead the army to fight and constantly launched attacks on Shaanxi Liukou. He continued to hit the Shaanxi Liukou and dealt a great blow to them. Li Zicheng and the others mentioned in the edict have already been surrounded, just waiting to clean up the mess.

However, at this time, Zhang Zhun appeared. Zhang Zhun appeared as soon as he appeared, and Hong Chengchou did not feel any surprise. When the Shaanxi Liukou are cornered, they will definitely make a desperate bet and try every means to ask for help from the outside world. And Zhang Zhun, who once accepted the title of the 37th Battalion, was their most ideal target for help.

Even, subconsciously, Hong Chengchou had prepared a certain amount of troops to deal with Zhang Zhun's attack. If Zhang Zhun led the army to Shaanxi, he would definitely tell Zhang Zhun to walk around without eating. Zhang Zhun wanted to rescue Li Zicheng and the others, it was absolutely impossible. However, no one expected that Zhang Zhun did not come to Shaanxi, but only attacked Luoyang.

As a result, Zhang Zhun's action changed all the situation. The encirclement of the officers and troops collapsed in an instant. The besieged Shaanxi Liukou also fled one after another. The commanders of all walks of life in the official army have no intention of fighting. I can't think of it, I can't think of it. It's all a dream!

"Inspector, when are we leaving for Luoyang?"

Ding Qirui, a soldier in Tongguan, suddenly came in and asked Hong Chengchou for instructions.

Ding Qirui, like Sun Chuanting, is Hong Chengchou's henchman. The only difference is that Sun Chuanting is leading troops to fight on the front line and personally fighting against the enemy, while Ding Qirui is coordinating military rations and soldiers in the rear, working in obscurity. For a long time, Ding Qirui's official position has been a military preparation. He started from the military preparation of the fifth grade, and now he is a member of the third grade.

The military officials of the Ming Dynasty are a bit special. You have to say that he doesn't have much power, and he controls the food and salary of the surrounding armies. Common sense tells everyone that if the army has no food and pay, it will not have to fight at all. Therefore, the army has to maintain a certain reverence for military preparation. Even if he is the chief military officer of the first grade, he must maintain respect when he encounters the military preparation of the fifth grade. Otherwise, there is a high risk of being constrained in terms of food and wages.

However, if you want to say that the power of military preparation is very great, it is not necessarily, because it rarely goes to the front line in person, and its own grade is not high. Most of the soldiers are just officials of the fifth grade. In addition to playing prestige in front of military generals, in front of civilian officials, they are scum. Ordinary governors, governors, prime ministers, and governors can all look at the military preparation road as a doll.

In order to facilitate the war, so as not to constrain their own food and salary, every relatively powerful army commander, well, an army commander who is a civilian official, will bring his own military officials. It seems that Ding Qirui was brought by Hong Chengchou. Wherever Hong Chengchou goes, his official position will go. Over time, it became a routine.

"To Luoyang?"

"What are we going to Luoyang for?"

Hong Chengchou said indifferently.

"Fortune ......"

Ding Qirui wanted to speak and stopped.

"He's dead."

Hong Chengchou gently spit out two words in his mouth.

In fact, from the moment he received the bad news that the Tiger Ben Army had conquered Luoyang, Hong Chengchou knew that King Fu must be dead. Why is there such a judgment? Hong Chengchou couldn't explain it. Perhaps, it was a personal intuition. Hong Chengchou personally feels that it is absolutely impossible for a person like King Fu to live in front of Zhang Zhun.

In short, no matter what, King Fu must be dead. Since King Fu is dead, there is no point in the army going to Luoyang. You can't be naïve enough to expect to be able to catch Zhang Zhun in Luoyang, right? With the benefit of hindsight, like a pig beforehand, Hong Chengchou never liked this way of doing things. What's more, at this time, there is something much more important than recovering Luoyang, that is, colluding with the officials of all parties to suppress the news of King Fu's death.

"So what do we do?"

Ding Qirui looked around and asked in a low voice.

We here not only include Hong Chengchou, but also Sun Chuanting, Yang Sichang, Wang Kun, Shi Kefa, Yu Yinggui and a large group of people. They are all responsible for the death of King Fu. If you want to get through such a difficulty, you must collude well, and everyone will work together to keep Emperor Chongzhen in the dark. Because of the great pressure, Ding Qirui also couldn't sleep at night, and his eyes were all densely bloodshot.

"Wait."

Hong Chengchou said concisely.

Indeed, at the moment, he can only wait. There is no longer any point in counterattacking Luoyang. Unless he has the ability to kill Zhang Zhun. Does Hong Seungchou have what it takes to kill Jang Joon? He himself is not optimistic about himself. Since Zhang Zhun can't be killed, everything is in vain.

Yang Sichang led his troops to approach Luoyang, which was actually a very stupid move. With his 30,000 Huguang army, it is simply impossible to recover Luoyang. 100,000 Tartars can't eat Zhang Zhun, and 30,000 Huguang troops want to eat Zhang Zhun? No kidding.

Even if they mobilize a large army, make a crazy counterattack to Luoyang, and finally take Luoyang back, what will they get? All they got was the Fuwang Mansion that had been burned by the fire. At that time, the news of King Fu's death will be even more difficult to conceal, and they will all be removed from their posts and investigated.

"Understood."

Ding Qirui said in a low voice, and then quietly turned around.

"Tick tock!"

"Tick tock!"

"Tick tock!"

Suddenly, Hong Chengchou heard a strange sound. When I looked up, I saw that it was actually raining. In the perennial arid Shaanxi region, it actually rained in this winter. Faintly, there were even bursts of thunder. Hong Chengchou's brows couldn't help but jump quietly. Thunder in winter is not a good sign!

Big drops of rain kept falling from the sky, hitting the rooftops, hitting the dirt. The raindrops are getting denser and denser, the rain is getting heavier and heavier, and the heaven and earth gradually become white, and more than ten zhang away, there is a misty. After a moment's effort, a curtain of water was formed in front of the roof, and the water on the ground became more and more, and the entire courtyard became a huge pool.

"Could it be that the sky is really going to change?"

Hong Chengchou slowly stretched out his hand and let the raindrops fall on his arm.

The winter raindrops felt a little cold, which just stimulated Hong Chengchou's somewhat numb heart. He slowly retracted his mind and slowly returned to floating astronomy, and his brothers and sisters who were interested in managing the book review area enthusiastically signed up. Thank you! 】