Time is like flowing water, in the blink of an eye it has already reached the afternoon, the rain does not know when it has stopped, the sky is already dark, coupled with the dust and smoke, it seems that it is already dusk in a trance. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

The Ming army camp on the platform had been taken by Liu Chengjun by almost two-thirds, and the two armies faced each other across a small open space. Although the Jurchen elite soldiers who served as the vanguard were stoic and durable, they were also flesh and blood after all, and they were already exhausted after fighting hard in heavy armor for more than an hour, and they stopped to drink water and rest. Most people have either run out of water bladders around their waists, or they have also been punctured in the fighting, leaving them with no water to drink. The soldiers' lips were chapped and swollen, their throats were hoarse, and one soldier saw that the ground was pitted, and because of the rain in the morning, there was some muddy water. He was so thirsty that he had to unbuckle his helmet and visor and lie on the ground licking the muddy water from the pit.

"The muddy water is too dirty to drink!" A veteran grabbed his companion, took a clean cloth towel from his bosom, dipped it in muddy water, and then lifted the soaked cloth over his head and twisted it, opening his mouth to quench his thirst with the dripping water. When others saw it, they followed his example and took water to quench their thirst.

At this time, a gust of wind blew, blowing away a lot of smoke on the battlefield, and the sky suddenly brightened, and the confrontational Ming army happened to see the Jurchen soldiers quenching their thirst with muddy water, and couldn't help but be shocked. The army's heart was suddenly in turmoil, and they no longer had the fighting spirit, they all retreated, Lu Xiangsheng beheaded several people, but he still couldn't stop it, knowing that he couldn't do anything, so he had to lead a small number of henchmen and fled westward. In this way, in just one day, one of the two most powerful heavy military groups of the Ming Empire has been reduced to nothing, while the other is controlled in a narrow corridor about 185 kilometers long and 8-15 kilometers wide, and the fate of the entire Northeast Asian region has actually been decided.

"Uncle, what do you say King Liu will do to us?" Cao Bianjiao looked at Liu Chengjun's camp not far away, looking a little nervous.

"Don't worry!" Cao Wenzhao said in a deep voice: "He wrote to me three times and twice, and he didn't send troops to attack my camp today, so naturally he won't treat you and me slowly at this time!" ”

As he was talking, there was a sharp sound in the air, Cao Bianjiao heard the sound of a ringing beetle, and his nerves immediately tensed, Cao Wenzhao patted his nephew's shoulder twice, and said in a low voice: "It's okay, it should be King Liu's sentry!" ”

Sure enough, as Cao Wenzhao expected, dozens of horsemen surrounded him after a while, and the iron helmets on their heads were decorated with helmets made of white horsehair. Below is Cao Wenzhao, the deputy chief soldier of Datong Town, who is here to meet King Liu! ”

The knight at the head was about his early thirties, not tall but stocky, and he said in a not very proficient Chinese language: "Since you have come to see Jinong, please come with me!" After that, he first sent people back to the camp to make a report, and then led the rest of the knights to disperse into two teams, on both sides of Cao Wenzhao and his party, which was like a guard and an escort.

Cao Bianjiao saw that the knights did not leave the bow and arrow, looking tense, and subconsciously reached out to touch the saber on his waist, but was stopped by Cao Wenzhao: "Don't bring trouble on yourself!" ”

The group came to the front of Liu Cheng's camp, only to see that there was already a large team of people in front of the door, Cao Wenzhao's eyesight was very good, and he saw that the person who was the leader was Liu Cheng, so he hurriedly jumped off the horse, walked more than 100 steps and bowed to the ground and said: "The king himself came out to greet him, and he was tormented!" ”

Liu Cheng jumped off the horse, stretched out his hand to help Cao Wenzhao up, and said with a smile: "Why is Wenzhao late?" ”

"Wen Zhao is dull, he doesn't know the general situation, and he hopes that the king will forgive his sins!" Cao Wenzhao bowed and said.

"Wen Zhao is a straight person, loyal to the top, I love it very much, what is the crime?" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "If it weren't for Lu Xiangsheng's blindness, refusal to go south to Baoding, Linqing, and the outcome is still undecided, how could there be today's defeat?" Today, I don't like to break Lu Xiangsheng, but I like to get the edict! Speaking of this, Liu Cheng shouted: "Come on, bring the horse!" As soon as the words fell, Hao Shaoqi led a horse, this horse's ears are like bamboo batches, eyes are like hanging bells, the coat color is shiny, like grease, the chest is broad, the hips are round, the four legs are slender and powerful, but it is a rare horse. Cao Wenzhao was originally a horse lover, and when he saw his eyes, he couldn't leave, and said: "This kind of horse general is also the only one in his life!" ”

"Last year, my two children started to learn to ride and shoot, and their grandfather gave them 50 good horses, saying that they could learn to ride and shoot!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "They are all horses collected from the Kazakh, Hezhong, and South Russian steppes, and this horse is also considered good among them, so it was given to General Cao!" ”

Cao Wenzhao was overjoyed when he heard this, and subconsciously stretched out his hand to take the reins, only to realize that he was rude, and hurriedly excused himself: "The last general is poor and has not made an inch, how dare he accept such a generous gift from the king?" ”

"General Cao said he was laughing!" Liu Cheng pointed to the generals behind him and said, "You ask them, which one is not poor when I am with me?" Which one hasn't made countless achievements now? Besides, the horse was supposed to be ridden by warriors to make achievements, with my current status, could I still go into battle and kill it? Letting them follow me is just a long time in the stable! It's better to let it follow the general, today's good horse with a warrior, why not try it out, and wait with me to see"

"Do as the king commands!" Cao Wenzhao owed Liu Cheng a debt to his body, and flew on his horse, and before he could whip it, the mount ran in accordance with his thoughts, and the horse ran so smoothly that Cao Wenzhao did not even feel that he was on a bumpy dirt road, but on a soft carpet. He smacked the stirrups lightly, and the horse flew forward like an arrow. Cao Wenzhao only felt that the wind was whistling in his ears, and the trees were flickering backwards, like riding a dragon horse in the clouds. Beware of a deep ditch in front of him, about seven or eight feet wide, with steep cuts on both sides. Cao Wenzhao tried a new horse for the first time, and was about to rein in the horse, but he didn't want to jump off the crotch of the mount, and he soared smoothly into the air, flying over the deep ditch like a glide, landing lightly on the opposite bank, and continuing to run forward. Cao Wenzhao couldn't help but praise repeatedly: "Hey, good horse! Good horse! Then he wiped a large cold sweat from his forehead.

Cao Wenzhao jumped off the horse, he was very fond of this horse, this lap ran down and couldn't let go of his hand, he reached out to measure the height of the horse, and found that his right hand was more than a palm away from the horse's ear, and the horse's shoulder was a few inches higher than his shoulder, and he was overjoyed, so he took off his hat and thanked him: "Liu Wang's great grace, Wen Zhao will never forget, and he should repay him with his fate!" ”

Liu Cheng stretched out his hand to help him up, and said with a smile: "With General Cao's help, the world is not enough?" ”

It was late at night, and Liu Chengduan was sitting next to several cases, facing the map with Zhao Wende, discussing the next step.

"My lord, I have already checked Cao Wenzhao's roster, and there are about 17,000 soldiers he brought. According to him, Lu Xiangsheng's trip has already emptied the soldiers and horses of Xuanda Town, and Shanxi is now very empty! According to the eyes of his subordinates, he should send a partial division into Jin, and not give Lu Xiangsheng a chance to make a comeback! ”

Liu Cheng nodded, but did not speak. Seeing this, Zhao Wende continued: "Based on what his subordinates saw, he led the original department to take Shanxi's good with Cao Wenzhao, his headquarters soldiers and horses are intact, and he is the general of Xuanda Town, both his connections and his internal affairs are very knowledgeable, and he will definitely be able to defeat Lu Xiangsheng!" ”

"No, Cao Wenzhao, I have other arrangements!" Liu Cheng categorically rejected the suggestion of his subordinates: "I plan to let Min Min lead the soldiers and horses left outside the Saiwai to preside over the matter of taking Shanxi, and at most let Babu lead 3,000 to ride Bauhinia Pass to respond!" ”

"Another arrangement?"

"Not bad!" Liu Cheng picked up the quill and drew twice on the map: "As soon as Lu Xiangsheng is finished, it is a matter of time before Shanxi and Jingshi fall into my hands, Guan Ningjun did not move before, and now there is Daishan in the north, and Yue Tuo and I in the south, which are sandwiched in the small corridor of western Liaoning." The generals of the Guanning Army are all smart people, as long as they are given a step down, they will not fight with me, and this is not a problem. Wang Anshi of Shaanxi is my old department, and he is controlled by Du Ruhu's uncle and nephew, and he is at most self-contained. There is no big problem in the north anymore, but it will take time. We can't let anything go wrong in the south! ”

Zhao Wende's mind was so sensitive, he immediately understood what Liu Cheng meant, and said with a smile: "My lord, do you want Cao Wenzhao to lead the army south to be a pioneer?" ”

"Not bad!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "My foundation is outside the Saiwai, so the most important thing is to ensure the safety of the passage into the Central Plains outside the Saiwai, so that I can attack and retreat, so the Shanxi and Liaoxi corridors must not be handed over to others." Let Cao Wenzhao go south along the canal, first, he can help Brother Xu and ensure that Nanjing and Yangzhou are controlled before our army goes south; Second, I can also control the land of Xuanda and ensure that the land in the clouds is owned by me! ”

"Then we will draft the documents immediately, and let Cao Wenzhao prepare tomorrow, and strive to set off as soon as possible!"

"Don't worry, let's take down the Jingshi first, so that we will have the name of righteousness in hand, and we will have a greater grasp!" Speaking of this, Liu Cheng paused slightly: "You write a letter to Hu Kejian for me, explain the situation here clearly, and tell him that as long as you can ensure the safety of the Son of Heaven, you don't have to worry about wealth and wealth!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

Capital.

Around the Mid-Autumn Festival is the most beautiful time in Beijing. The weather was neither hot nor cold, and the length of day and night was evenly divided. There is no yellow wind blowing from Mongolia in winter, and there is no heavy rain carrying hail in the sky. The sky is so high, so blue, so bright, as if telling people with a smile: in these days, nature will not give you any threat or damage. The blue of the west and north mountains has deepened, and every evening it is covered with various colors of haze veils. In previous years, the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Beijing Division would have gone out of the city to visit the surrounding mountains and rivers and enjoy the wonderful gifts of nature, surrounded by attendants and servants. But the autumn of the eleventh year of Chongzhen is already a completely different scene, even in the daytime, the city gate is closed, only the small door with a corner is opened for entry and exit, the people of each family are requisitioned to repair the city wall, the price of rice and firewood in the city has risen to the sky, even if the high-ranking officials and dignitaries are walking on the road, their faces are worried, as if it is a scene of the coming of the end.

Hu Kejian is one of these people, it should be said that he still has a double worry, although he and Liu Cheng have long had a very close relationship, but he doesn't know if Liu Cheng really breaks through the capital, he will recognize this friendship; What's more, as long as Liu Cheng does not enter the city for a day, these relationships may one day become evidence of others attacking him. Anxiety tormented his body and spirit at the same time, and he was obviously emaciated and emaciated these days, and even received praise from Chongzhen Gongzhong for this.

As the eunuch of the palm seal of the imperial horse eunuch, Hu Kejian is actually the highest military governor in the palace, he not only commands the supervision of various armies, but also has a small number of eunuch troops at hand - Nei Cao. The combat effectiveness of the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty was far from being comparable to that of their predecessors in the Han and Tang dynasties, and their greater role was symbolic. However, as long as it is armed, it must be pulled into battle at this juncture, and these days it will still be as if Hu Kejian's tired body is about to fall apart. On this day, he had just returned to his private house from the palace, and he collapsed on the Hu bed, and poured two mouthfuls of ginseng soup to relieve his strength.

"Sir!" The butler cautiously whispered, "Someone wants to see you!" ”

"Nope!" Hu Kejian shook his hand angrily: "Eyeless things, master, I look like this, how can I have the strength to see others!" ”

The housekeeper gritted his teeth, weighed the pros and cons, and said in a low voice: "Master, it's Liu Cripple of Chongfu Temple, he said it's important news!" ”

"Chongfu Temple Compassion Shrine!" Hu Kejian got up one by one, he naturally remembered that this Chongfu Temple was entrusted to him by Liu Cheng, and the tablets of the soldiers who died in the frontier were enshrined, and even the few people who were doing miscellaneous work in it were also disabled soldiers who had retired from Liu Cheng's army. Will it lead to the death of yourself? Hu Kejian hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "How did you reply to them?" ”

"The villain sent that Liu cripple back! Before leaving, he left this for me and asked me to hand it over to the master! At this point, the butler took out a wax pill from his bosom. Hu Kejian hurriedly snatched the wax pill and shouted, "Why don't you take it out at the beginning?" You go out first, watch outside, and don't let anyone else come in and disturb you! ”

As soon as the housekeeper went out, Hu Kejian peeled off the wax pill, revealing a paper ball, unfolded it and shuddered after reading two lines: "My mother-in-law, is this really going to change the sky?" ”

Hu Kejian read very quickly, but in a few minutes he read all the words on the paper, he stood up and paced back and forth in the room a few times, suddenly stopped, and paused: "Okay, so far, it can only be like this!" ”