Li Zicheng stared at Liu Cheng's eyes, and only after half a sound did he slowly reply, "Why should I tell you?" ”

"That's right, there's no such thing as an errand in vain!" Liu Cheng smiled: "That's it, if you tell me, this piece of venison is yours!" While speaking, Liu Cheng picked up the knife and picked up the four or five slices of venison that had been roasted on the grill, and the golden venison exuded a charming luster.

Li Zicheng swallowed his saliva, the small bowl of chyme not only did not relieve his hunger, but raised the hunger in his belly higher, Li Zicheng's body subconsciously tilted forward, as if there was an invisible iron hook in the air, pulling him towards the venison. At last he gave up the futile effort, and whispered, "Okay, I say, but you must give me the meat first!" ”

"Good!" Liu Cheng made a gesture, and a slave girl put these pieces of venison on a plate and sent them over, Li Zicheng quickly stuffed the venison into his mouth and swallowed it almost without chewing. His gaze turned to the remaining venison on the iron frame, and then he lowered his head: "If it weren't for you, I would have stayed in the city of Dunzhou for another six or seven days, and raised more Ding Zhuang, and if there were 10,000 people, I would cross the Yellow River to Shanxi." ”

"Shanxi?" Liu Cheng laughed: "You don't change your mind!" I remember that when you were under Shen Yikui, you tried your best to advocate going to Shanxi, should I say that you are stubborn or persevering? Speaking of this, Liu Cheng stood up, paced back and forth a few steps, and suddenly stopped and asked, "Okay!" Tell me, what's next for you? “

Almost the same question came out of Liu Cheng's mouth again, Li Zicheng was stunned for a moment, he raised his hands, let Liu Cheng see the shackles on him, and asked rhetorically: "What else can I plan?" “

"Let's put it this way, if you want to survive, you'll have to find a way to prove to me that you're useful, or I'll cut off your head. Or send it to Hong Zhijun alive, in fact, both are about the same, do you know what I mean? Speaking of this, Liu Cheng stretched out his hand to stop Li Zicheng's sneer: "I know you're not afraid of death, but you are a person who wants to do a career, dead people can't do things, I'll give you two days, think about it!" Speaking of which, Liu Cheng didn't give Li Zicheng a chance to speak again: "Take him down and send him to the cell in Qianhu City." Feed the spot! “

When the gate was closed again, blocking Li Zicheng's back. Min Min suddenly asked, "You value him very much?" “

Liu Cheng turned around, the girl's bright eyes were staring at him, Liu Cheng decided not to try to hide it anymore, he nodded: "Yes." “

"Why? He's just a thief leader, and you're the Ming Dynasty's third-rank general. “

"A person's talent is not necessarily commensurate with his status." When Liu Cheng said this, he decided to use a more understandable analogy: "Minmin, who is Temujin's most dangerous enemy?" “

"Naturally, it was his knot that answered Zamuhe, and Temujin was once defeated by Zamuhe in the Battle of the Thirteen Wings. If it weren't for the fact that Zamuhe was extremely cruel, the captives were boiled and killed in seventy cauldrons, and the people were separated, I am afraid that it would be Zamuhe who finally unified the Mongolian tribes! “

"Really?" Liu Cheng sneered: "But Zamuhe used to compare himself with Anda Temujin before he died. Say that you have a wise and kind mother, and a versatile brother, and seventy-three warriors are like seventy-three war horses for you to drive. If you want to do great things, the first thing you need to do is win souls. This Li Zicheng is persevering and has a good understanding of others, even if I send it to Hong Zhijun. At most, it is a few hundred taels of silver to reward me, how can it be compared to taking it under his command and thinking that it is an arm help? “

"I see!" When Min Min heard this, his eyes suddenly rolled and he smiled: "Although you don't have a wise and kind mother, and you don't have versatile brothers, you have some Temujin who doesn't either!" “

"Temujin didn't have one?" Liu Cheng was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Yes, I still have you, which is indeed something that Temujin does not have!" “

The late spring of the fifth year of Chongzhen was not easy for the people of Beijing, if it was in the peaceful days of the past, these lucky people who lived in the capital of the greatest empire of this era would bring their wives and children to the suburbs of the capital to enjoy the scenery and enjoy all kinds of fun in the spring flowers. However, a few years ago, the Later Jin army broke the gap and poisoned many prefectures and counties in Beizhili and Shandong, although the people in the city were not harmed, but many people's Zhuangzi were looted, relatives and tenants were killed or plundered out of the customs, which could not be said to be a huge blow to their economy and emotions, and the situation was made worse by years of wages and famines, and the streets were also depressed a lot.

A small sedan chair of two people crossed the street, an old servant in Tsing Yi followed the sedan chair, talking to the inside from time to time, and the sedan chair was followed by two young servants, carrying a large food box. The people on the side of the road hurriedly get out of the way, the people at the foot of the imperial city are all very sharp, although the sedan chair is not big, but look at the dress of the sedan chair man, the utensils in the hands of the servants, it is obviously a high-ranking official and noble who travels in disguise.

"Young master, there is a prison in front of you, have you figured it out?" The old servant whispered to the people in the sedan chair, his voice full of worry that could not be concealed.

Sitting in the sedan chair was a middle-aged man in his early forties, who was seven or eight points similar to Yang He in appearance, and it was Yang He's son Yang Sichang, both of whom were famous poets and eunuchs at that time, and were known for knowing soldiers. When Yang He was imprisoned, he was patrolling the military affairs of Yongping and Shanhaiguan as the right imperial historian, at this time the battle of Daling River in Liaodong had just ended, the Ming army was defeated, not only the reinforcements were defeated, the famous general Zu Dashou and other dozens of generals and more than 10,000 soldiers were trapped in the city, and they were in danger, coupled with the ongoing Denglai counterinsurgency, the entire North China was almost shrouded in gunsmoke. And his own father was sent to the prison of the Criminal Department, and his life was on the verge of death, and the complexity of Yang Sichang's mood as a son of man can be seen.

"It's okay!" Yang Sichang said in a deep voice: "I have already written to the saint, please resign from my official position, die on behalf of my father, and when I see my father, I will go home to bathe and change my clothes, and wait for the wrath of thunder!" “

"Young Master!" The old servant hurriedly persuaded: "No, the master once explained to me before he came to the capital, saying that the young master, you must not get involved in this matter, you just need to concentrate on state affairs." ”

"Nonsense!" Yang Sichang's emotions finally exploded. He slammed his feet: "Father and son are close to each other, how can there be a reason that the father is in prison and the son is a high-ranking official?" How is this different from an animal? I, Yang Wen, read the books of sages and sages, how can I do such a thing as a beast? “

"Young Master! Master! Seeing that persuasion was useless, the old servant simply ran to the front of the sedan chair and stopped it, and the sedan man had to stop. But Yang Sichang simply jumped off the sedan chair and went to the prison of the Criminal Department not far away, and the old servant had to follow when he saw this. When the master and servant came to the prison, Yang Sichang took out a famous thorn from his arms and said, "This is your Xue Shilang's famous thorn." I want to see someone! ”

The two gatekeepers saw that Yang Sichang was extraordinary, and they were able to take out the name of the squire of the headquarters, so they hurriedly invited Yang Sichang to enter and sent someone to invite their bosses to come. When Yang Sichang entered the prison, he immediately smelled a foul air, and subconsciously reached out to cover his mouth and nose.

"Lord Yang, Lord Yang. How did you get here? The official on duty hurriedly ran over to salute, and Yang Sichang returned the salute and said: "The old father is here, Yang is in a mess, and his actions are ridiculous." Please forgive me! “

When the Lang official heard Yang Sichang say this, he couldn't help but sigh, Yang Sichang's approach was naturally quite unwise politically, and he gave people a handle. But according to the Confucian moral norms at that time, which centered on loyalty and filial piety. But it is irrefutable and right. He knew that this was not something that could convince the other party, and said with a wry smile: "The old man is in the C-shaped room, Tianzi." Come with me! ”

Yang Sichang followed the Lang official through the two courtyards, and came to a more secluded courtyard, the two cells are very different from the previous ones in terms of ventilation, light, and hygiene, and the Lang official pointed to the corner of the room and said: "The old man is in that room, but the door can't be opened!" ”

"Thank you, brother!" Yang Sichang knew that the other party was already accommodating, and said in a low voice: "Yang An! He took a silver ticket of five hundred taels from the old servant's hand, and offered it with both hands, saying, "When you come, you are in a hurry, bring me some tea!" ”

The Lang official did not shirk, took the silver ticket and said: "My lord, please take care of yourself!" And he walked away.

Yang Sichang walked to the prison door, took a deep breath, knelt in front of the door and kowtowed three times: "The child Sichang is late, please forgive my father!" “

There was a sound of chains crashing in the cell, and after a while, it calmed down again, and Yang He's deep voice came out: "You rebel, what are you doing here?" “

Yang Sichang heard his father's voice, a trace of excitement appeared on his fair face, he took two steps forward, came to the prison door and grabbed the railing, saw Yang He with his back to him, sat on the bed, hurriedly kowtowed two more heads, and said: "Father, you were killed by a traitor and were thrown into the prison of the Criminal Department, the child is fighting for this life, and you must be rehabilitated Zhaoxue!" ”

"Shut up!" Yang He in prison was furious when he heard this, and scolded: "Thunder, rain and dew, all for the grace of the king, I, Yang He, have been entrusted by my father and have been in charge of the military affairs in the northwest for several years. “

Yang He's words seemed to pour a basin of cold water on Yang Sichang's head, he was originally determined to die and planned to do everything possible to overturn the case for his father, but he didn't want Yang He to have this attitude, and his heart was resentful and aggrieved, but he didn't dare to say a word under the old father's authority, and he calmed down for a while. After about half a cup of tea, Yang He in the house suddenly sighed and asked: "I don't know the outside news here, I don't know what the battle between Liaodong and Denglai is, you say and I will listen to it!" “

"Yes, Father!" As the governor of Yongping and the right of Shanhaiguan defense, Yang Sichang's position was equivalent to the representative of the Soviet Union's command during World War II, responsible for supervising and coordinating the logistics, command, deployment and other affairs of the army in several directions, and had the power to put forward various requirements and suggestions to the central government, which shows the great power of his power. Naturally, he was very clear about the battle situation in these two important battlefields.

"The battle of the Daling River has been seen, the slave chieftain was not in a hurry to surround the Daling River at the beginning, but only built a trench on the periphery, the enemy camp, thinking that it was a long-term plan, the slave chieftain Taiji personally led the troops outside, and continuously broke my Jinzhou and Songshan reinforcements, and went straight to the city of Jinzhou. Sun Inspector had no choice but to recruit soldiers from inside and outside the pass to rescue, with Liaodong Governor Qiu Hejia as the commander, but this person and Zu Dashou have had a festival, before this two of them wrote to each other to attack, Zu Dashou was ordered to build the Daling River, Qiu Hejia said that this place is far away, if the city is built here, the capture of the army is great, how to deal with it? Instead of throwing money and food at the soldiers, it is better to repair the side wall of the thistle field, thinking that it is a long-term solution. After the Daling River was surrounded, this person insisted on Jinzhou and did not come out, saying that he was strong and weak, and waited for the army to come to the aid when he was willing to do so. Seeing that there was no way to fight, the captive chieftain ordered the soldiers to gallop in the direction of Jinzhou and raise dust as reinforcements. The ancestor in the city had a big life, led the troops out of the city, and when he captured Taiwan, he was a thief soldier from the side, and he returned to the city after a big defeat, so far he did not dare to go out of the city again! “

"Hey, it's not the same up and down, and you can be undefeated! Is this the case in Sarhu, and is it still the case in Quang Ninh——! Speaking of this, Yang He lowered his head in a dejected manner.

"A month ago, Zhang Chun, the Taifu Siqing, was the supervisor of the army, and led the reinforcements of all roads to join the general soldiers Wu Xiang and Song Wei, a total of 40,000 soldiers, crossed the Xiaoling River five miles east, built a train camp, and supported Daling. The slave chieftain sent troops to choke the long mountain, and he was not allowed to enter. Qiu Hejia sent deputy generals Zhang Hongmo, Jin Guochen, Meng Dao and others to fight in Wulizhuang, but they were also unsuccessful. At night, he approached the Xiaoling River, went to Changshan to engage with the Dongyu, and the captives were very sharp, and first broke the right camp of our division; Wu Xiang of the left battalion, Song Wei saw that the wind direction was favorable, so he set fire to attack the slave chieftain, did not want the sky to rain heavily, the wind to the west, our army was suddenly in chaos, the slave chief took advantage of the situation to attack, the left battalion could not be supported, so it collapsed. Zhang Chun and 33 people, including Hong Mo, Yang Huazheng, and Xue Dahu, were executed, and the deputy generals Zhang Jifu, Manku, and Wang Zhijing were killed in battle, and more than 40,000 people were killed in one battle. Is it the ancestor of the Great Linghe City who thinks it is still the deceit of the Dongyu, and none of them leave the city! “

Speaking of this, Yang Sichang suddenly saw his father's shoulders twitching, and then heard a slight sob.

"Father, what's wrong with you!" Yang Sichang hurriedly asked, only to see Yang He turn around, his face was already full of tears, and he couldn't cry: "Master Wang has failed!" Then he fell on the ground and began to weep. (To be continued.) )