In the early morning of the 16th day of the first month of the fourth year of the Great Tomorrow Apocalypse, a ray of sunlight passed through the thick clouds and shone on the East Yanyi Tower of the Forbidden City's noon gate, casting a huge shadow on the square in front of the noon gate.

The altar is erected on the square, and seven apricot-colored flags are erected in front of the altar, which are respectively written "Flag Head General", "Six Commanders", "Five Flag Gods", "God of Ruling Warships", "God of Golden Drums and Horns", "God of Bows, Crossbows, Flying Spears and Flying Stones", "God of Fronts and Afters".

On the left side of the altar, there are four golds, including a pin, a bracelet, a cymbal, and a priest; On the right side of the altar, there are six drums, including thunder drums, spirit drums, road drums, drums, drums, and drums.

On the altar, there are three tiger skin chairs side by side. On the left, there is an old man with a silver beard, a whole body, and no anger and self-authority, who is Sun Chengzong, a scholar of the East Pavilion University, a scholar of the leading army, and a supervisor. On the right, there is a young eunuch, dressed in a python robe, full of ambition, it is Jun Guan Ning, the director of the soldiers and horses of the king of Qinwang in the world.

On the big chair in the middle, although a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy was also wearing a python robe, he was wrinkled and slightly embarrassed. He sat there shivering, his crotch slightly damp.

He is Comrade Zhu Youzhen, the king of letters, who went out on behalf of the Son of Heaven.

And under the altar opposite him, dozens of generals with bright armor stood silently. Behind them, thousands of Imperial Forest soldiers mounted horses and spears in their hands, lined up from the noon gate to the main gate of the imperial city, outside the Chengtian Gate. Despite the grandeur of the scene, the entire reading team was silent, just waiting for the commander's order.

Although Zhu Youzhen was sitting in the middle, he was like a puppet at the mercy of others, completely at a loss, and could only look at Sun Chengzong beside him timidly.

"The auspicious time has come!" Sun Chengzong spoke slowly, with a murderous aura in his tone, "Lord Supervisor, please provoke the drum and sacrifice the flag!" ”

Guan Ning smiled reservedly at Sun Chengzong, then stood up with his head held high, strode to the middle of the altar, and shouted: "Take the prisoner Xiong Tingbi!" ”

As soon as the words fell, a prisoner dressed in prison uniform and with a cape was carried to the altar by several brocade guards, and fell to his knees by force.

Zhu Youzhen peeked and saw that this person was about fifty years old, and the wrinkles on his face were like axes and chisels, and the ravines were vertical and horizontal. At this time, he had already been severely punished, his body and face were full of scars, and the tattered prison uniform was also stained with blood.

He is Xiong Tingbi, the former Liaodong Jingluo. Although Zhu Youzhen had never seen him, he had overheard him at the Tongzhou Station. At that time, there was only a wall apart, but now one of the two is sitting on the stage, and the other is a prisoner under the stairs, Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Seeing Xiong Tingbi arrive, Guan Ning sneered, took out a scroll of holy decree from his sleeve, and shouted screaming: "There is a holy decree, and everyone will listen quietly!" ”

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!" On the square, thousands of people suddenly shouted the same sentence at the same time, and knelt on the ground in unison, which really felt like the earth was shaking.

Zhu Youzhen was startled and quickly bounced up from the chair. Although he was reluctant in every way, he had no choice but to follow the example of everyone and kneel down for Guan Ning, who was about to read the holy decree.

Seeing this scene, Guan Ning was even more proud, shaking his head and preaching: "Fengtian carrier, the emperor said: Xiong Tingbi, the former Liaodong Jingluo, lived up to the grace of the saint, feared the enemy like a tiger, retreated without a fight, and humiliated the country. The Criminal Department, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Dali Temple will be tried and sentenced to Ling Chi. I inherited the will of heaven, and I didn't want to kill more, but my crime was very serious, so I reduced it to the punishment of Dapi, ordered the three armies, and passed the head to the nine sides. The generals and sergeants of King Qin should obey the military orders, just like Xiong Tingbi, and they will be punished more severely. Chin this! ”

"Long live my emperor, long live!" There was another thunderous response in the square.

"Xiong Tingbi, take the order!" Guan Ning smiled pitifully.

"Sinner Xiong Tingbi, thank you!" Xiong Tingbi raised his head with trembling hands and took the holy decree, but he still looked indignant.

Sun Chengzong saw it and asked in a deep voice: "Xiong Tingbi, what else do you have to say?" ”

"Master Inspector, Liaoxi has fallen, and the death of the guilty minister is not enough to excuse him!" Xiong Tingbi seized this last opportunity and generously stated, "But the criminal minister has been in Liao for many years, and he knows that the Jianyu army is very sharp, and there is no chance of winning in the field, so defending the city is the best policy. In this battle of Guangning, Wang Huazhen did not listen to the moderation of the criminal ministers, and went out of the city in vain to fight with Jianyu, which led to a fiasco. When the Overseer goes out on the expedition, he must not be overlooked! ”

Sun Chengzong listened very carefully and fell into deep thought. Guan Ning said impatiently: "Xiong Tingbi, don't talk nonsense!" Someone, fire, execution! ”

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!! Three thunderous soul-chasing cannons rang out in succession, destroying people's hearts. The executioner pulled up Xiong Tingbi's disheveled hair and raised the ghost-headed knife high.

Zhu Youzhen couldn't bear to look at it anymore, so he hurriedly didn't look over.

only heard the sound of "click", and when Zhu Youzhen looked back, Xiong Tingbi's headless body had fallen under the stage, full of blood spraying several feet.

"Drum and flag!" Guan Ning commanded murderously.

The executioners moved when they heard the sound and smeared Xiong Tingbi's blood on the six drums. The drummer then beats the six-sided drum, and the drum beat from slow to urgent, impassioned. In the dense drumming of popping beans, the seven flags were splashed with blood one by one, hunting in the bitter cold wind.

When Sun Chengzong saw that the ceremony was completed, he immediately got up and shouted: "The generals listen to the order!" ”

Dozens of generals in the audience intervened and said, "Master Inspector! ”

Sun Chengzong took a deep breath and said categorically: "Liaoxi has fallen, and the criminal minister Xiong Tingbi has been ambushed. This superintendent has the sword of the monk Fang of the Holy Festival, and as soon as the military order comes out, the drum will enter, and the gold will retreat. If anyone does not obey the order, acts without authorization, and escapes from the battle, he will not be pardoned! ”

"Obey the orders of the Overseer!" The generals agreed.

Sun Chengzong nodded with satisfaction and ordered: "Baoding Chief Military Officer Liang Yonglie!" ”

Liang Yonglie stepped forward in response and bowed his hand. Zhu Youzhen saw that he was about forty years old, with a big belly, and at this time, his whole body was draped, and he had a hard time walking, and he couldn't help but think in his heart: How can such a general go into battle to kill the enemy?

Sun Chengzong also frowned slightly, and said after a while: "This governor has ordered you to be the vanguard officer, lead 3,000 cavalry, pass through Tongzhou, Jizhou, Fengrun, and Yongping, and go straight to Shanhaiguan, and arrive within five days." After arriving, the Governor of the Governor of the Governor of Liaodong ordered the King of Liaodong to be in Jin, and ordered him to lead the defenders to guard the pass, and wait for the Governor to lead the army into the pass. Make no mistake! ”

This Liang Yonglie is the chief military officer of Baoding, and he is also the highest-ranking military attache in the soldiers and horses of King Qinwang in the world. His jurisdiction is Baoding, Zhending and other places, which are the gateways to the south of Beijing, so they are also quite reused by the imperial court. Over time, he became more and more arrogant.

At this moment, seeing that Sun Chengzong ordered him to be a pioneer officer, Liang Yonglie was very dissatisfied in his heart. There is a saying that "the general presses the back", he thinks that he has the highest rank among the generals of King Qin, and he should be the chief general of the Chinese army. The second is to let him take the lead, in case he encounters the Houjin army first, he really has no bottom in his heart.

But if he wants to confront Sun Chengzong, then he will never dare. Don't look at his official rank as a positive first grade, and Sun Chengzong's official worship of Dongge University Scholar sounds quite scary, but in fact it is only a positive fifth grade. Even if he received the title of secretary of the Ministry of War, it was only a second grade.

However, the Ming Dynasty emphasized literature and suppressed military force, and middle and senior military attachés above the sixth rank could only lead troops when they were fighting, and they did not have the right to command troops in peacetime. When going on an expedition, the imperial court must send a civil official as the commander-in-chief, and the military attache must obey the civilian official dispatch no matter how high the official rank. Therefore, there are countless cases in which the general soldiers of Zhengyipin bowed to the civil officials of the fourth and fifth ranks, not to mention that Sun Chengzong was the Son of Heaven's edict supervisor.

But to obediently obey orders, Liang Yonglie was unwilling. He cautiously probed: "Master Inspector, Shanhaiguan is more than 600 miles away from Jingshi, and at this time, it is freezing and freezing, so I will arrive in five days, is the time a little tighter?" ”

Sun Chengzong immediately raised his eyebrows and said unhappily: "If there is an infantry army, it will be difficult for you to arrive in five days." But your vanguard is all cavalry, and the marching route is all official, and a hundred miles a day is the minimum requirement. If General Liang didn't dare to take this order, the superintendent would have to change generals! ”

Liang Yonglie was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and said in his heart that this Sun Chengzong not only had a big temper, but also knew the military affairs well, so he was not easy to fool, so he quickly knelt down on one knee and took the token, and said loudly: "How dare you disobey the orders of the Inspector!" ”

Sun Chengzong bowed his head lightly at this time, which can be regarded as letting Liang Yonglie go.

The rest of the generals, some of them are the third-grade generals, and some are the fifth-grade guards, at this time, Liang Yonglie, who saw the largest rank, was all taken aback, and they didn't dare to make a mistake, so they all stood up and waited for Sun Chengzong's order.

When Zhu Youzhen saw Sun Chengzong's words, he erected his prestige in front of the generals, and secretly admired it in his heart.

Sun Chengzong continued to pass on the order and assigned dozens of military attachés to tasks one by one. He divided the whole army into six major parts: the vanguard, the front army, the left army, the right army, the middle army, and the rear army. Except for the vanguard of 3,000 cavalry, the Chinese army of 5,000 cavalry, and 15,000 infantry, the other four armies were all 1,000 cavalry and 9,000 infantry. He is the chief general of the Chinese army, and the other four army generals are respectively served by deputy commanders-in-chief, staff generals and other military attachés.

In addition, he also allocated 1,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantry to escort grain and grass.

In this way, the total number of troops on the expedition to Shanhaiguan was 66,000, which can be described as a strong force.

Finally, Sun Chengzong said: "The five armies went out of Beijing and went to Tongzhou first, bringing enough grain and grass for the march. Then go to Pinggu, Jizhou, Zunhua, Qian'an, inspect the defense of Jiliao, and rush to Shanhaiguan in early February. ”

After completing the military deployment, Sun Chengzong shouted: "Blow the horn, beat the drum, and the army will leave the city immediately!" ”

In an instant, the earth-shaking drums and trumpets sounded, and the generals divided their headquarters and began to leave the city. People shouted and neighed, swords and guns were like a forest, and the scene was extremely spectacular.

Zhu Youzhen was stunned and watched, Sun Chengzong suddenly turned around and said coldly to him: "Your Highness, it's time for us to set off too." ”

"Ahh Good! Zhu Youzhen hurriedly stammered and replied.

"Your Highness is walking slowly in a car, and the minister has sent a thousand households and five hundred sergeants to accompany the guard." Sun Chengzong had a hint of disdain on his face, "The minister wants to go to Tongzhou to arrange military supplies first, and I will not accompany him!" ”