The topography of Henan Province is relatively unique, most of the east is flat fields, and most of the west is rugged mountains, such as Song Mountain, Funiu Mountain, and Bear's Ears Mountain. The towering mountains just separate Luoyang and Nanyang. To get from Luoyang to Nanyang, you have to go through Ruzhou, and vice versa. Therefore, militarily, Ruzhou is also a military stronghold and a battleground for soldiers.

At the beginning of October, the car of Yang Sichang, the governor of Huguang, happened to rest in the Ruzhou area. Along with him to rest, there was also the main force of the Huguang army of 30,000. In accordance with the policy of fierce pursuit and fierce attack designated by the imperial court, the official army has been constantly chasing the Shaanxi rebel army, and they will not let go even if they die.

Wherever the rebel army fled, the officers and troops pursued it until they eliminated the other side.

Such a strategy did achieve certain results, and many small groups of rebel troops were completely eaten. However, the officers and soldiers themselves are indeed exhausted. The Huguang army, which originally had 50,000 or 60,000 people, was dragged to less than 30,000 people. If this continues, the number of soldiers will continue to decrease.

In the end, there was no way, Hong Chengchou, Yang Sichang, Shi Kefa and a few others discussed, the troops still had to take turns to rest and recuperate, otherwise, they would all fall apart. At present, the main force of the Shaanxi rebel army is just in Shaanxi, the Qin army, the Jin army, and the Liaodong army are all encircling and intercepting, and the Huguang army can just rest for a while.

These days, the Huguang army is running around, and it is indeed very tiring. As a supervisor, Yang Sichang also felt very tired, and he was stationed in Ruzhou City, "just to have a good rest." was supposed to be under his command of the Liaodong Army, but he was also temporarily handed over to Shi Kefa to command. For Shi Kefa, Yang Sichang feels that he can still be trusted.

On the 10th day of the 10th month of October, "when it was almost dusk", there was a small group of officers and cavalry, a total of 20 people, who ran so sweaty that their horses galloped to the south gate of Ruzhou City. Ruzhou City is rumored to be taken by the Tiger Ben Army to respond to the Shaanxi rebel army, so in recent days, the city gate has been very strictly checked, unless there is an urgent official document, the verification is correct, and they are not allowed to enter the city.

This small group of cavalry immediately approached the city gate with the young officer led by the drawbridge, and took out the official document of the superintendent, proving that he had come to Ruzhou City on an urgent business. The gatekeeper carefully read the official documents of the general and understood that he was a small officer in the battalion of Shaanxi Governor Hong Chengchou, and his official position was also that of the general manager, surnamed Liu, named Xingguo, and he was 21 years old. But the goalkeeper was still not at ease, and raised his head and asked, "What other official documents do you have with the table?" ”

Liu Xingguo showed a contemptuous look, took out a fire-sealed emergency document, and asked the officer guarding the door to take a look. The officer guarding the door looked at the front, "It was handed over to Zhang Kejian Zhang of the Ruzhou City Soldier Preparation Road, and the word "urgent" was noted on the top, and the year, month and day of the document were written in the middle of the back, and the superintendent Hong Chengchou was on the top of the guard. He raised his head and said to Liu Xingguo: "Please wait for a while, I will go to Lord Mingli, even if I come back." ”

Liu Xingguo, a young officer from the superintendent, said unhappily: "What? Dude, is the official document of the superintendent we took fake? I'll tell you, I'm really in a hurry" Coming from Tongguan, "I was tired of three horses along the way." You're going to be delayed, how many heads do you have? ”

The officer at the gate thought to himself, are you scaring Lao Tzu? Coming from Tongguan and killing three horses, if the officials and soldiers were as active as you, the Shaanxi Liukou would have been pacified a long time ago. He thought that the other party was bragging, and he had a little contempt in his heart" However, on the surface, he still smiled and said: "Don't be surprised, don't be surprised." The official document is naturally true, but it needs to be approved by Lord Li before the door can be opened. ”

Liu Xingguo was indeed very anxious, and just wanted to hand over the official document to Zhang Kejian as soon as possible, which was explained by Hong Chengchou seriously. Liu Xingguo didn't know the content of this official document, "However, he knew that after this official document was handed over to Zhang Kejian, he would definitely take it seriously." He said angrily: "Brother, this is an urgent paperwork" and "You and I can't afford to be guilty!" ”

The officer guarding the door has long been experienced in dealing with such words, and with a childish expression, he said with a smile: "I won't make a mistake, I won't make a mistake." Lord Li sat on the tower of the city gate, "I'll go up and come right away." ”

When Yang Sichang was stationed in Ruzhou City, each city gate had a general with the rank of deputy general in charge, and he sat on the city gate tower or in the courtyard near the city gate during the day. Since Yang Sichang went to Huguang, "due to the easing of the military situation within hundreds of miles around Ruzhou City, all the city gates have been changed to Qianzong garrison, but the south gate is more important and has been changed to guerrilla generals."

The guerrilla general, whose name was Li Min'an, carefully read the front and back of the official document and saw nothing suspicious, but he still did not dare to rest assured, so he had to go down to the city tower in person. ”

To Heungkook respectfully replied: "Yes" sir. ”

General Li said slowly: "You are indeed from Tongguan, Shaanxi?" ”

Liu Xingguo said a little impatiently: "I have already told you, all kinds of identity documents are readily available, do you have any suspicions?" ”

General Li thought to himself, you are Inspector Hong Chengchou's subordinate, what kind of fire is there in the ground of our Inspector Yang Sichang? Don't look at Hong Chengchou's power at the moment, he is still above Yang Sichang for the time being, and he can still command Yang Sichang, but our top boss, who is favored by the saint, came to command the Huguang army, but it was just gilded.

As long as he makes a little record, Governor Yang Sichang can worship the prime minister and enter the cabinet, and his status and power are far above Hong Chengchou. At that point, everything will have to be reversed. Our family supervisor has a bright future, your family's supervisor, at most, is to hang a few more false titles, in front of our family's supervisor, what kind of cow?

Of course, he is a general, and he will not worry about a small officer, and seeing that others are sweating profusely, it seems that they have indeed come all the way from Tongguan, so there is no need to embarrass the other party. However, not being embarrassed does not mean not following the prescribed procedures. Hong Chengchou's people "When they arrived at Yang Sichang's land, of course they had to abide by the rules." Otherwise, it would not be able to show the majesty of Yang Sichang's supervisor.

General Li then said businessmanlikely: "Since this is the case, please rest and wait in the Nanguan restaurant." I immediately sent someone to send the official document to the Daotai Yamen. As soon as there is a palindrome, even if it is handed over to you to bring back to the superintendent. In this way, neither you nor I have to be involved. ”

Liu Xingguo was anxious, he just wanted to hand over the official document to Zhang Kejian as soon as possible, and hurriedly said: "Lord Hui, I am here to Ruzhou City to urgently transfer troops, and I must personally go to the Daotai Yamen tonight to hand over the military talisman to Lord Daotai, and I can't wait outside the city." I have to meet Mistress Daotai today, and it would be better if I could meet Master Overseer. ”

General Li thought to himself, what are you, "You also want to see Inspector Yang?" My dignified lieutenant general "can't even see the Inspector!" However, his attention was attracted by the soldier talisman mentioned by the other party. The other party actually came with a talisman, and it looked like something was going on. He asked curiously, "Do you have a talisman?" Why didn't you take it out earlier? ”

Liu Xingguo hurriedly took out half of the talisman from his arms and presented it.

General Li is very familiar with the style of the military talisman of the superintendent Xingyuan, "I understand that half of the talismans brought by the young officer in front of him are not fake, and the talismans are made of copper, and others cannot forge them in a hurry." In fact, the military talismans of the Ming Dynasty were all uniformly made by the imperial court. There is not much difference between the talisman used by Hong Chengchou and the talisman used by Yang Sichang.

But "seeing this talisman made General Li uncomfortable again." Hong Chengchou's people, holding their own talismans, came to transfer Yang Sichang's soldiers, no matter how you look at it, it's weird. Although Hong Chengchou has the power to control the three armies, Yang Sichang also has it! Yang Sichang has never done anything to mobilize the Qin army, "Today, Hong Chengchou is coming to such a hand, is he preparing to fight with Yang Sichang?"

The more I thought about it, the more depressed I felt, and General Li's originally relaxed expression began to tense again, and he said slowly: "You wait for a while in the restaurant outside the drawbridge, and also ask the brothers to eat tea and rest." I immediately personally sent the official documents and military talismans to the Daotai Yamen and presented them in person. The soldiers were found to be correct, and the elder brother was invited to take the brothers into the city to live. It's a business formality, and it has to be. ”

It's all about doing what the rules do. Just do what you do," you have to wait slowly. Well, I want to see Inspector Yang, dream! General Li even had some doubts that this Liu Xingguo was a fake from the Shaanxi rebel army. Take Hong Chengchou's talisman to transfer Yang Sichang's soldiers, is Hong Chengchou dizzy, or does the sun come out of the west?

Liu Xingguo was angry and helpless. This is Yang Sichang's territory, even if he is in a hurry, he can't come in a hurry. In desperation, he had no choice but to say: "Since this is the case, I have to obey the order, but please ask the general to quickly send the official documents and military talismans to Lord Daotai, if you can give them to the master to see it in person, it will be better." ”

After saying that, he gave a military salute and turned around and crossed the drawbridge.

At this time, Henan Daotai was Zhang Kejian. His Daotai Yamen is not far from the South Gate, and when General Li arrived, Zhang Kejian was bored practicing calligraphy. Since Yang Sichang came to Ruzhou City, Zhang Kejian has not had much fun.

Yang Sichang is a relatively arrogant person, and he rarely gets along with the people around him, and it seems that others don't like him very much, except for Emperor Chongzhen. Although Yang Sichang was in Ruzhou City at this time, he had no contact with Zhang Kejian. Except for official business, there is no contact at all in private.

For example, today, the Inspector went to the temple to play, but he, the Taoist Lord, didn't even have the opportunity to accompany him. To say that Zhang Kejian has no complaints in his heart, it is absolutely impossible. The relationship between the superintendent and the soldier is so stiff, and he still hopes to win the battle?

"What's the matter?"

Seeing General Li coming, Zhang Kejian asked casually.

"The urgent official document sent by Inspector Hong Chengchou of Shaanxi Province was sent from Zunguan."

General Li said simply.

"Hong Laojiu?"

Zhang Kejian muttered to himself and took the official document.

He put down the brush and opened the document. In the beginning, I didn't care much, just browsed casually. It is a well-known fact that the correspondence between two different systems usually begins with nonsense. However, after a few moments, his face changed dramatically, and he felt like he was going to suffocate his breathing. The complexion, which was originally ruddy, became snow-white. Suddenly, like an owl, he stared at General Li and said, "Quick! Call the messenger! ”

General Li suddenly felt a little bad and hurriedly turned around.

Fortunately, the road was very close, and he went out and galloped all the way, and found the messenger Liu Xingguo outside the suspension bridge. Liu Xingguo was actually very anxious, just waiting for the summons. The two hurriedly returned to the Daotai Yamen.

Zhang Kejian held the official document in his hand, stared at Liu Xingguo with his eyes, and said in a somewhat uncontrollable tone: "Have you ever received the news exactly?" When do you receive a message? Why not send reinforcements right away? Liu Xingguo said cautiously: "I only received it last night." No one could have imagined that the situation would be so critical. I always thought it could last three to five days. The cavalry of our army are all in the area of Fengxiang Mansion, and there are only 300 cavalry in Tongguan. By the time the bad news came, it was too late to react. When I heard that there were cavalry in Ruzhou City, the Governor sent me to hurry up. ”

"Poof!"

Zhang Kejian seemed to have lost his support, "paralyzed on the ground with weak energy."

After a moment, he remembered something and hurriedly shouted: "Quick! Prepare a sedan car! I'm going to the Carrier Temple! Liu Xingguo, you come with me too! ”

General Li hurriedly ordered preparations. In an instant, Zhang Kejian got into a sedan chair and hurriedly went to the direction of the carrier temple. General Li wondered in the back: "What is it that actually scares Lord Daotai, who has always been known for his thunderstorms, like that?"

Could it be that the Shaanxi rebel army is going crazy again? It's impossible, didn't you say a few days ago that you will completely exterminate the Shaanxi Liukou? How can such a thing be done again? Alas, these days, I don't know how many things are really too much.

Zhang Kejian arrived at the Carrier Temple and immediately asked to see Yang Sichang. It happened that Yang Sichang came out of the carrier temple, and he was very interested, and he was very happy to meet Zhang Kejian. Zhang Kejian didn't even give a salute, and directly handed over Hong Chengchou's official document.

Yang Sichang was very unhappy that Zhang Kejian had no rules, he was very sensitive, thinking that it was the people below, and he felt that he was not good at what he could do, so he did not have enough respect for himself. However, he decided to read the official document before speaking. However, after he finished reading the official document, he had forgotten Zhang Kejian's disrespect, "What? ”

"Luoyang lost?"

"King Fu is dead?"

For a while, Yang Sichang only felt that the world was spinning and he was involuntarily paralyzed.

The soldiers next to him hurriedly supported him. However, Inspector Yang, who has always been known for his grace, has no strength in his soft body. The two tall soldiers needed a lot of strength to hold him up. He gasped desperately, trying to speak, but couldn't say anything.

There was no way, the soldiers and staff had no choice but to help Yang Sichang back to the Carrier Temple, find a quiet room to lie down, and bring tea for Yang Sichang to drink. Yang Sichang's face was only slightly better.

However, he still had no strength to speak, and his face was still pale and terrible. His eyes were completely empty, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Zhang Kejian had long known that Yang Sichang would have such a reaction. This Yang Sichang is a big pillow embroidered huā, which looks good on the outside, but it is a ball of shit inside. Every day, he is shouting to exterminate the Liukou, to be able to derive B, and to shout to exterminate Zhang Zhun and calm the world, ambitious and ambitious. But when the real event came, he was immediately crushed.

Well, criticizing Yang Sichang like this is indeed a bit harsh. Such a major event, if anyone is replaced, even Emperor Chongzhen, there will be a big event. The reason why he didn't react so violently was mainly because his official position was too small and it was not his turn to be held accountable, otherwise, I am afraid that he would have fainted at this time.

Luoyang was breached, and it really didn't have much to do with it. What matters a lot is that King Fu was killed. Who is King Fu? He is the emperor's own uncle! Emperor Chongzhen, who has always flaunted benevolence and filial piety, received this news and did not go crazy. The Shaanxi rebel army over there was not all wiped out, but here he lost his own uncle, and it was strange that Chongzhen didn't vomit blood.

Zhang Zhun is ruthless enough, "It's really ruthless!" Luoyang's fleeting fighter planes "were all caught by Zhang Zhun." What's even more odious is that this person once let go of King Heng, "let go of King De, and even let go of King Lu, but he didn't let go of King Fu." Zhang Kejian believes that King Fu at this time has definitely gone to another world. Zhang Zhun wants to kill people, who dares to keep people until the fifth watch?

However, Liu Xingguo calmed down and said in a deep voice: "Master Inspector, the outside world is full of rumors, and I don't know whether it's true or not. Inspector Hong's meaning was to ask Inspector Yang to judge the authenticity nearby, and then decide how to report to the imperial court. ”

Yang Sichang broke out in a cold sweat, feeling that his spine and bones were all cold. Under the extreme fright, his ability to speak was completely lost. But "he is a smart person after all, and when he was reminded by Liu Xingguo, he immediately reacted, and his language ability also recovered, and he said in a loud voice: "Yes, it's a rumor, it's a rumor." ”

Hong Chengchou's thoughts, how could Yang Benchang not understand? Hong Chengchou's meaning is to ask a few of us to discuss it. I believe that the official document sent by Hong Chengchou must not only be sent to him Yang Sichang. Wang Kun, Shi Kefa and others should have received it. The consequences of this incident are too serious. If they report it like this, they're all going to lose their heads. Emperor Chongzhen's temperament, they don't know it.

"Rumors!"

"It's definitely a rumor!"

Zhang Kejian echoed and said in a deep voice.

It is good for everyone to hide the matter of King Fu, Zhang Kejian will definitely not poke this big thing because of his dislike for Yang Sichang, "Even if it is Dongchang and Jinyiwei, I am afraid that they will not dare to directly break this matter." Some ways to be an official, as long as it is a high-ranking official, who is not clear?

"Order the whole army to drive and go to Luoyang!"

After a long while, Yang Sichang shouted weakly.! ~！

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