"Hope you're not hurt!" Liu Cheng pushed the girl away with some embarrassment: "Otherwise, I don't know how to explain to Batur Khan!" “

"How could it hurt!" Min Min smiled, "I wear the best iron armor, and I only shoot with bows and arrows and birds. Speaking of this, she sighed: "It's a pity that I'm not a man, otherwise I would have rushed into the ranks of the enemy like my brother in Chechnya." “

Liu Chengwei was afraid that Min Min would really fight with his own hands next time, so he hurriedly persuaded him: "It is the hunting dog that pounces on the fox, but it is the hunter who gets the prey!" I didn't shoot an arrow today, but wasn't I the victor? “

"That's nature!" Min Min rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "By the way, you won so beautifully this time, is His Majesty the Great Emperor going to give you an official and a knight?" ”

"Maybe." Liu Cheng smiled disapprovingly, at this time he didn't care too much about his own officials, after all, he is now a general, he can lead the way alone, and he is the deputy general and the chief soldier at the top. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was chaos in dispatch, and there were many opportunities for civil and foreign wars, and a military general like himself who had soldiers at hand, not to mention the deputy general and the general army, even if it was a commander, it was a matter in the palm of his hand. After all, the famous instrument of the imperial court is the same as the banknote issued by the government, and its real value does not lie in the number printed on the banknote, but in the number of catties and taels of the government that issued the banknote.

Min Min was so alert, and immediately felt Liu Cheng's attitude: "What, don't you want to be promoted?" “

"Not really!" Liu Cheng smiled: "Which one doesn't like Ronghua and wealth?" It's just that it's not interesting for me to be a military attache in the Ming Dynasty, to put it bluntly, I'm a big soldier, so I'm naturally a little slack. “

Min Min nodded a little ignorantly: "Then what should I do?" You're not going to take the entrance examination, are you? ”

"How is that possible!" Liu Cheng laughed: "Don't say that I can't leave this big stall, even if I go, I can't pass the exam, the taste of ten years of cold windows is not comfortable!" Speaking of this, Liu Cheng showed a smug smile on his face: "But it's not impossible, I can't be a civil official myself, so I can find someone who can be a civil official." ”

Qingyang. Trilateral Governors.

"My lord, there is an urgent military situation in the Yanzhou Mansion!" A staff member cautiously admonished.

"Oh?" Hong Chengchou raised his head, his fair face was a little thinner than before, but his eyes were focused, and he still looked shrewd and capable.

"The messenger is waiting outside." Speaking of this, the staff took two steps forward, approached Hong Chengchou and said in a low voice: "That guy said that he had a little heart." “

"Mind?" Hong Chengchou's brows furrowed, bribery at this juncture may not be a good thing, after all, he has just taken office as the governor of the three sides, and his reputation is still very important. A gentleman loves money and takes it in a good way, and compared to money, it is what Hong Chengchou values most.

The staff looked at Hong Chengchou's face and said with a smile: "Boss, what's the harm in seeing it." ”

"Well, let him in!"

The messenger who came in was a scribe in his early thirties, and after saluting Hong Chengchou, he presented the book with both hands. Hong Chengchou frowned and took it and opened it, his brows immediately relaxed, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Is Dunzhou safe and sound." More than 600 levels of decapitation? More than 1,000 people were captured, is this serious? “

The scribe smiled: "Naturally, it's true, the head is under General Liu, and it must be there soon." As for the captives remaining in Dunzhou, the adults can send someone to count them. ”

Hearing the other party's answer, Hong Chengchou finally breathed a sigh of relief, according to what was written in the letter: The thief disguised himself as a showman. Infiltrated the city and tried to seize the city, but the defenders of the city found out and captured and killed all of them. The thieves outside the city were angry and besieged on all sides. Lu Zhizhou, who defended the city, personally risked the arrows and stones, and encouraged the soldiers to defend the city head, but the thieves were strong, and at the time of crisis, Liu Cheng, the general of the left battalion of Xingxi Yansui Town, led the troops to arrive, and attacked the thieves inside and outside. Since Hong Chengchou took office, although he was very anxious to attack and suppress, he did not achieve much, which made him quite anxious, if there was a fuss like the city of Yanzhou for the thieves to capture, I am afraid that he would also go to the edict to accompany his predecessor.

"Okay, Lord Lu has meritorious service in defending the city, and this official will naturally give the court a reward for it!" Speaking of this, Hong Chengchou said with a smile: "It's a pity that the thief leader Li Zicheng never got it, for the sake of competition!" ”

"What the Lord of the Army said is very true, but General Liu has already ordered a strict arrest, and it is expected that the thief will be able to be arrested soon." Speaking of this, the scribe raised his head, turned his head sideways and looked at the staff next to him, the staff looked at Hong Chengchou with an inquiring gaze, and saw Shangguan nodding slightly, so he hurriedly retreated, and there were only two people left in the room at this time. The messenger took two steps forward, took out a gift slip from his bosom, presented it with both hands, and said with a smile: "A little heart, please also accept the army with a smile!" ”

"Wait!" Hong Chengchou didn't stretch out his hand to receive the gift list, and said with a smile: "Lord Lu is so polite, I don't know what is going on?" ”

"It's just that I want to go one step further, and attach the tail of the adult." The scribe laughed.

"I see!" Hong Chengchou couldn't help but relax when he heard the original vigilance here, and said with a smile: "It is natural that merit will be rewarded, and Lord Lu is too careful!" He casually put the gift list on a few cases, and glanced at it slightly, Rao Yi had his many years of eunuch career, and his heart couldn't help but move.

"Five hundred horses of high-grade wool, two thousand taels of silver, three hundred taels of gold, ten pieces of mutton fat and jade, and 1,000 acres of land with Guo water in Yanzhou." Hong Chengchou flipped over the gift list and pressed it on several cases, and asked in a deep voice: "What does Lord Lu want, please say clearly." ”

"It's just that I want to patrol Yan all the way!"

"Yan Yan Road? Governor? In order to support the war with the Western Xia, the Northern Song Dynasty established five frontier areas in Shaanxi from east to west, namely the famous Shaanxi Five Roads, which were commanded and dispatched by the Jingluo pacification envoys, in addition to the army in the region, it was also able to levy civil and financial resources, in addition to serving as civilian officials. The power is almost comparable to that of the Tang Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was not without similar official positions, such as governors and governors with border defense responsibilities, etc., but compared with the Northwest Five Roads of the Northern Song Dynasty, the power of these governors and governors in the Ming Dynasty was much smaller, and the reason may be that the threat of border troubles in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty was much lower than that of the Western Xia of the Northern Song Dynasty, so it was naturally not necessary to give it so much arbitrary power.

Seeing Hong Chengchou, he was a little hesitant. The scribe said in a low voice: "If the adults are embarrassed, can they be transferred to the same state military department?" “

"Soldiers in the same state?" When Hong Chengchou heard this, he suddenly remembered that Liu Cheng had asked him not long ago to transfer a "knowledgeable" civil official to serve as the prefect of the same state, and his heart couldn't help but move.

"If that's the case, it's not something to be considered!" As he spoke, Hong Chengchou had already put the gift list into his sleeve.

After about half a sound, the scribe came out of his journey, and Du Gu, who had been waiting outside for a long time, greeted him and asked, "Ma Gongzi, how is the situation?" “

"Hong Zhijun has already accepted the gift. It shouldn't be a big problem! Ma Rencheng wiped the sweat on his face and said with a wry smile: "It's the first time I've dealt with such a big official, and it's really difficult." “

"It's good that the mission is done!" Du Gu said with a smile: "If this thing is done, it will be indispensable to the benefits of your Ma family, how about it, do you want to consider finding an official to be an official?" “

"Forget it!" Ma Rencheng hurriedly shook his head and said: "It's still easy to do things under Lord Liu, I didn't think it before, but now I feel that if this official is really not an ordinary person, I don't even know when my life will be gone!" “

"That's right!" Du Gu nodded: "Speaking of which, I have to praise our master." Whether it is a thief, a civil official, or even a Tartar, he flies in the sky and runs on the ground. Swimming in the water, there is no one he can't deal with, and the whole one is not taboo with ups and downs, bitterness and saltiness. I'm really blessed to be able to keep up with this general. ”

"Yes!" Ma Ziyi sighed and said, "That's right." Mr. Du Qian, tell me why Lord Liu attaches so much importance to the thief leader surnamed Li, and not only urges all the troops to pursue it strictly. There was also a bounty of two thousand taels, which had never been done before? ”

"How do I know, if I knew, I would be the master?" Du Gu smiled indifferently: "As the saying goes, although the generals of the soldiers follow the wind, as soon as we become soldiers, we will be paid what they say and how to do it, what are you doing with that idle mind?" ”

"And where do you say the thief leader is now?"

"I should have escaped, otherwise I would have been turned out by someone after so many days. didn't die in that valley road, count him fate! Speaking of this, Du Gu smiled: "Actually, it will be sooner or later." “

"Why do you say that, didn't you say he should have escaped?"

"yes, isn't there a bounty?" Du Gu said with a smile: "As long as the head of the thief Li Zicheng comes to report, wash away the old sins, and reward two thousand taels of silver." Ma Gongzi, you are from a scholarly family, and these two thousand taels of silver can't be earned by ordinary people for ten lifetimes. You also know that I am also a thief, this thief is usually fine, once he loses the battle, he is panicked, everyone is holding back their strength to find a way back for themselves, just clearing the charge has already made many people excited, not to mention that there is a reward of two thousand taels of silver. “

"Hehe, what Brother Du said is true, what he said is true!" When Ma Ziyi heard this, she couldn't help laughing loudly: "Listening to Brother Du's explanation, it was really a whip in, I was still a little worried, but now I am completely relieved." “

Time back to a few days ago, the battle of Dongguan outside the city of Dunzhou.

Li Zicheng tried his best to open his mouth wide, the cold and fresh air rushed into his lungs, suddenly he coughed violently, the whole person was bent like a shrimp, he could feel his stomach twitching violently, and then he vomited, first food, then water, and finally bile, until there was nothing, Li Zicheng knelt on the ground and began to retching in pain. When he got up from the ground again, he found that he only had shoes on one foot, and the other must have fallen off while escaping. Li Zicheng turned his head and looked at the valley, the sound of birds and shouts of killing was gradually subsiding, the battle was almost over, the pursuers were coming soon, and at this time the foot was equal to life. Li Zicheng laboriously tore off a large piece of cloth from his jacket, wrapped his feet, jumped on a deserted horse, and fled to the northwest.

From noon, the sky began to turn dark, and the drizzle continued to fall, drenching Li Zicheng's whole body and blurring his hoof prints. He fled all the way to the northwest, crossing two ravines and entering an inaccessible valley, which is common on the Loess Plateau, where a heavy autumn rainstorm would make the hard loess too soft to resist the impact of the water, and the towering cliffs collapsed into a steep ravine. Li Zicheng rode his horse as hard as he could, and his side turned from open space to thorns, and thorns to small shrubs, and finally to a sparse tree, and he stopped his horse from time to time to make sure that no one was chasing him. He knew very well that the officers and soldiers would try their best to catch him, they would count the corpses, question the prisoners, and finally confirm that they were not dead, and then they would send troops to arrest them, and even offer rewards, even if the officers and soldiers would not, the prefects and gentry who were captured alive and extorted ransom would not let them go, as long as they caught themselves, they would cut off their own heads, and then hang them on the tower to intimidate the poor people who were cornered by them. Li Zicheng knows this very well, but he doesn't regret it, he doesn't regret it at all.

In this way, Li Zicheng and his horse ran endlessly for two days, and suddenly the front hooves of the mount were weak, and Li Zicheng, who was caught off guard, rolled off the horse, fortunately he was not pressed by the mount. It took him a while to get up from the ground, to his mount, and to curse in frustration, that the poor beast's front hooves had broken off, that it was impossible to continue running, that it was dark, and that it was still raining. Li Zicheng had to draw the knife and kill it so that it would not continue to endure the pain, and after a while, he got up from the horse's corpse, walked hand and foot to a locust tree, sat on the root of the tree, curled up and kept his body temperature as much as possible, in the late spring of Shaanxi, the low temperature at night is still fatal. The last thing he did before closing his eyes was to tighten his right hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist, and soon he fell asleep. Even in his dreams, he did not get peace, he was still fighting with the officers and soldiers, and unlike in reality, he was no longer an army of outcasts with incomplete armor, but well-equipped iron cavalry, under his own leadership, they broke through the layers of enemy formations, and rushed straight to their flags, he could even smell the fear emanating from the enemy, hear the panicked shouts of people and horses, and people fell from their horses, and were killed by horses' hooves and swords. He drove his mount full of joy, rushed into the ranks of the officers, brandished his saber, cut down the enemy's standard-bearer, and then drove the mount to trample the enemy's flag into the dirt. (To be continued.) )