Nanyang, outside Xihui Town. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Quick, let Lao Tzu keep up, if you are one step late, don't talk about Lao Tzu, even your heads have to move!" A Ming soldier shouted loudly, and behind him, the Ming soldiers of the brigade gritted their teeth and hurried forward desperately.

Although it was already night, Nanyang was still as hot as ever, and the soldiers of the Ming army were almost sweating profusely all the way, but no one was left behind, and every figure was strong in the queue, letting the sweat soak their clothes.

"Dutou, a mile further on is the high tree slope," a scout came out of the darkness in three steps and two steps, "the Mongolian Tartar forward light cavalry is expected to arrive at the high tree slope in half an hour, and there is no sign of the Mongolian Tartar scouts yet, but it stands to reason that the people of the indigenous tribes who should have come to join us have not seen it either. ”

The Ming army was stunned, made a stop gesture, and turned to run towards the middle of the group.

"Lao Cheng, what's going on?" Di Meng strode over, with a dissatisfied look on his face, "The military situation is urgent, why stop?" ”

Cheng Dutou hurriedly said: "Commander Qiyu, there is Gao Shupo in front, but we haven't found the local people in charge of the joint yet, so my subordinates feel that something is wrong." ”

The expression on Di Meng's face suddenly became solemn, Cheng Dutou is an old scout in the army, although he has no great merits, but he is better than experienced and qualified, so he is also promoted to the head of the capital, responsible for commanding the scout capital of the first division, the scout is the eyes of the army, and even the sharp knife of the army, with great responsibility, he can hand over this position to Cheng Dutou, which shows Di Meng's trust in him.

And this time, the task of opening the way for the army also fell on Cheng Dutou's shoulders. Even if this kind of old scout hasn't killed many enemies, he has come over in the blood and fire of the front line, and has a strong premonition, that is, the sixth sense, so others say that maybe Di Meng can be reprimanded for disturbing the morale of the army, but Cheng Dutou said that even if Di Meng is in a hurry and needs to rush to Gaoshupo now, he has to think about it carefully.

"Gaoshupo is twenty-nine miles away from Xihui Town, and it is already outside the scope of our army's scouts' usual exploration," Jiang Shao, the supervisor of the first division of the Dali Army beside Di Meng, said in a low voice, "If the Mongolian Tatars rush to Gaoshupo first, we really don't necessarily know." ”

"Is this possible? You must know that the two thousand-man teams that the Mongol Tartars explored in front of were all killed, and the forward behind will come so quickly? Di Meng said suspiciously, and with a wave of his hand, one of the guards hurriedly approached the torch and illuminated the map in Di Meng's hand.

Jiang Shao stretched out his hand and pointed on the map: "Division commander, Gao Shupo is located in the middle of the Mongolian Tatar north and south exploration front, and it is the only way for the main Mongolian Tatar army to directly attack Xihui Town, and the reason why they are exploring the road to the south and north is probably because they are afraid that we will cut off a road and have no way to make a temporary detour, so they prepare in advance." After all, the rainforest of the South Seas is different from the Central Plains, and as long as there are no roads, there is basically no way to pass. ”

Jiang Shao was born as a descendant of a former Song Nanyang merchant, and he knew everything about this Nanyang, so he quickly grasped a key point. And Cheng Dutou nodded heavily on one side.

Di Meng took a breath of cool air, the Mongolian Tartars came so fast, if calculated at this speed, then the Mongolian Tartars' north-south pathfinder vanguard team basically arrived at the same time as the main striker, but it was half a day faster, although Lou Yong and Di Meng estimated that the Mongols used the cavalry as the vanguard, and they must have wanted to sweep over with the posture of the wind and clouds, but in any case, when they did not figure out the situation in front, the vanguard would not rush forward, I didn't expect them to be so decisive.

The Mongolian Tartars are going to fight hard, but it's good to come this way, Di Meng cheered up and looked at Yutu. Gaoshupo is one of the few ambush sites that can be used on the road to the west of Xihui Town, not far from Xihui Town, which can attack and retreat, and at the same time, there is a small tribe of indigenous people in the rainforest to the south and north of Gaoshupo, even if it is really pursued by the enemy, it can successfully retreat under the cover of the local tribe.

The blow to the two Mongol Tatar teams in the north and south has proved the loyalty of the natives, obviously many years of hard rainforest life have made them full of yearning for the blueprint that the Ming has drawn for them, and the Ming is different from the Zhenla people and the Delhi Sultanate who wanted to conquer them before, even if the two countries agreed to their annexation, it was to deceive people out and then eliminate them in one fell swoop, and the Ming had precedents such as the Three Buddhas in front, so the indigenous people had more confidence in the Ming Dynasty.

As for the Ilkhanate, which had only vaguely heard that it was not a good man, that Chenla had attacked this indigenous region last time at the instigation of the Ilkhanate's envoys, and that the Ilkhanate could therefore form a situation with Chenla in the east-west attack the Delhi Sultanate - the natives certainly did not have much favor.

But after all, the natives only occupy the advantage of the terrain here, even Di Meng, who took the initiative to contact the natives, was not naïve enough to think that he could rely on the natives to resist the army of the Ilkhanate, and even rely on Xihui Town, the fundamental reason for the change in the situation of the Nanyang war was that the navy could succeed, and their main task now was to do their best to hold back the enemy.

Therefore, even if the high tree slope is only a slightly more dangerous hillside in the rest of the place, but in the small maneuver space outside Xihui Town, it is something that Daming must strive for. Once Gaoshupo fell into the hands of the Mongols, the space that the Ming could use would be directly compressed to Xihui Town, which was absolutely not good for the Ming army, whose main purpose was to delay time.

It can even be said that once Gaoshupo falls into the hands of the enemy, there will be no danger to defend Xihui Town, and more importantly, the previous achievements on the roads on the south and north sides, as well as the efforts and promises made by the natives, will have no effect, and the Daming bamboo basket will be empty.

Lou Yong would never allow this to happen, and neither would Di Meng.

Stretching out his hand and knocking on the high tree slope, Di Meng looked back at Jiang Shao, who also looked solemn: "The high tree slope is a hillside, but in fact, only by occupying the high ground on the south side of the high tree slope and the valley under the high ground on the east side can it be regarded as completely occupying the high tree slope, after all, this road is to pass directly through the valley after passing under the high ground, if you want to cut off the enemy, you must cut off both places at the same time." ”

Jiang Shao smiled bitterly: "There are just two dangerous places on this road, and they just come together." Now it seems that we must advance to the high tree slope anyway. ”

"Lao Cheng!" Di Meng said loudly, "Take your people, extinguish the torches, move forward, and be sure to find out the situation on the high tree slope!" ”

"No!" Cheng Dutou hurriedly responded and turned away.

And Di Meng glanced at Jiang Shao, Jiang Shao solemnly bowed his head, and Di Meng then ordered: "The whole army marches quickly, and at the same time all the scouts are sent out, extinguish the torches, and be vigilant!" ”

Several brigade commanders, commanders, and leaders around hurriedly responded.

When they left, Jiang Shao said worriedly: "Although Gaoshupo is not a dangerous place, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is definitely a bone that is not easy to gnaw, what if Gaoshupo has now fallen into the hands of the Mongolian Tatars?" ”

"But even now in the hands of the Mongols, let's just take it down. The battlefield is changing rapidly, and it is uncertain who will end up with this tall tree slope! Di Meng gritted his teeth and said, glancing at Jiang Shao, "If we don't want to go up the slope now, and retreat directly to Xihui Town, how long can this Xihui Town hold on, so from here to the twenty-nine miles of land in Xihui Town, every inch of land will be contested!" ”

Jiang Shao slowly clenched his fists, and although Di Meng's voice was flat, it carried an unshakable resoluteness: "Even if so-and-so dies here, you have to drag the Mongolian Tartars." ”

Looking at Di Meng, who was striding forward, Jiang Shao followed silently.

Under a round of moonlight, the soldiers of the Ming army moved forward silently.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

The city of Nanjing is illuminated by a touch of fish belly white on the horizon, and the sun is already gathering momentum on the horizon.

This light awakened the entire city of Nanjing in its sleep.

"Wen Xianggong, I haven't seen you for a long time, Wen Xianggong is still a Yushu Linfeng and a talent!" A middle-aged man smiled and arched his hand at Wen Tianxiang, and the surrounding civil officials saw him, their faces changed slightly, and as for Liu Shiyong, Zhang Shun and other generals on the other side, they quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Wen Tianxiang was stunned for a moment, and returned the salute with a smile: "I didn't expect the long-cherished Xianggong to come, you and I haven't seen each other for a year since the last time we said goodbye to Nanjing. ”

This middle-aged man is Li Si, the superintendent of the Eastern Province of Liaodong Province of the Ming Dynasty. Although it is only a supervising imperial history, even in Liaodong Province, it is at most an enemy of the governor and pacification of Liaodong Province, but it does not mean that Li Si can be ignored. This is Ye Yingwu's earliest staff, and he is also the implementer of Ye Yingwu's Nanyang strategy, and more importantly, Li Si is undoubtedly Ye Yingwu's absolute confidant.

Ye Yingwu simply pulled him out among the pirates, and helped Li Si avenge the family feud, and at the same time personally officiated the wedding for Huang Daopo and Li Si, whether it was rewarding the benefactor or giving the marriage grace, it was enough to make Li Sian stumble on Ye Yingwu's liver and brain. And Li Si is not stupid - on the contrary, he is very smart - he knows that he has been marked with the indelible symbol of Ye Yingwu's henchmen, so what he can do is to stand on Ye Yingwu's side wholeheartedly.

In the past, Ye Yingwu was not only kind to Li Si, but also a little sorry for Li Si in his career. In Ye Yingwu's system, Li Si is like a firefighter, let him go wherever there is difficulty. At the beginning, Ye Yingwu handed over Yizhou Island to Li Si, and let Li Si build this springboard facing the South Seas with his own strength, and then the Ming Dynasty went to the South Seas, and Ye Yingwu handed over the important task of pacifying Annan Province to Li Si, it can be said that now Nanyang can become the granary of the Ming Dynasty, and Li Si has contributed a lot. Later, Li Si was sent to Liaodong from thousands of miles away, and changed from pacifying to supervising the imperial history, just to ensure that Liaodong was foolproof.

It can be said that no matter what position he is in, Li Si has fulfilled his duties and made a lot of achievements over the years, but he has indeed only been wandering around the local feudal officials, and has never entered the court. Although Li Si had hung up for a period of time when the Ming Dynasty was just established, in fact, he had been on the local front line, and he had never reported to the ministry at all, this ministry servant was more like a fictitious title with an honorary nature, and then when Li Si served as the supervisor of the imperial history, the title of this official servant was naturally removed - the ministry and the imperial history platform can be said to be each other's enemies, of course, the supervision of the imperial history of the imperial history platform cannot be allowed to serve as an official of the ministry.

According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, the beginning of the Great Dynasty, only one of the local officials needs to come, so as to ensure that there are enough people left to deal with any emergencies, and this rule falls on the province, that is, the pacification, governor and supervision of the imperial history of a province only need one person to come, after all, its main purpose is also to represent the position of the province and convey the will of the imperial court.

And the appearance of Li Si at this moment naturally shows that Liaodong Province is represented by him, which makes many people with ghosts in their hearts shocked. Because according to the law of the Ming Dynasty, there was a war or rebellion in the locality, so there was no need for the Great Dynasty to send officials to come--the primary purpose should be to pacify the incident--and now Li Si not only came, but also came so openly, which shows that the events in Liaodong were far from developing to the point of erosion.

At the same time, the supervision of the imperial history at the provincial level is to play the role of supervising the governor and pacifying, and the relationship with the governor and pacification is generally not much better, so in order to prevent the supervision of the imperial history from coming to the court to sue his black state, the governor and pacification will not let the supervision of the imperial history come. Now that Li Si is here, it can show that Liaodong Province appeases Zhao Wenyi and Governor Huang Wei trust Li Si enough, and trusting Li Si means that they are resolutely on His Majesty's side.

Wen Tianxiang looked at Li Si, who slowly walked behind Chen Yizhong, and raised his eyebrows. Compared with others, he has more contact with Ye Yingwu, the former chief of staff and now the most famous firefighter in the Ming officialdom, and Wen Tianxiang has a high opinion of Li Si.

Li Si's character is tenacious, he is very loyal to Ye Yingwu, and the most important thing is that he travels south and north, and even Wen Tianxiang sighs to himself, and there is more or less Ye Yingwu's deliberate behavior behind this. This time, Li Si entered Beijing, not only the opinions of Zhao Wenyi and Huang Wei, but also Ye Yingwu's instructions.

The reason why Li Si appeared here is naturally self-evident, Ye Yingwu just used him to put out the fire, and it was no longer the fire in the frontier, but the fire in the interior of the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Yizhong saw Li Si, and his face also showed a relaxed look. He subconsciously pinched the music in his sleeve and nodded at Li Si. Li sighed and didn't say anything, but everything he had to say was clearly expressed in the hurried exchange of eyes.

Seeing this scene, Wen Tianxiang couldn't help but shake his head slightly, he knew that someone would definitely be unlucky today, and the people standing behind Wen Tianxiang were Xie Fangde, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Wang Lixin, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Xia Shilin, and others were looking at their noses and noses, and they didn't say anything.

"There's a lot going on today." Liu Chenweng, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy in the distance, couldn't help but whisper. If there is anyone who remains outside the vortex now, I am afraid that only Liu Chenweng of the Hanlin Academy and Deng Guangjian of the Academy of Sciences are left, and the two of them are originally idle positions, so naturally no one will hit them with their ideas.

"It's not a big deal for you to really see the excitement," Deng Guangjian glanced at his companion, and then said in a condensed voice, "And no matter what other excitement is attractive enough, today's court meeting will definitely discuss the palace examination, the compilation of books and the selection of young masters, these things have been spread in the upper echelons of the capital, and they have a lot to do with you and me." ”

Liu Chenweng laughed: "For the general trend of the world, these are just trivial matters, if Your Majesty wanted to solve it, it would have been solved long ago, and there is no need to delay it until today." Today, His Majesty clearly wants to concentrate on so many problems and take this opportunity to break through in one fell swoop. ”

"This impasse, where is it so easy to break." Deng Guangjian was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked up at the hall in front of him, behind the high steps and closed doors, what was the young emperor thinking in his heart?

"Old Deng," Liu Chenweng stroked his beard lightly, his voice smiling, "Zhu Xi and Zhu Zi's thought-provoking poem, you must still remember." ”

Looking at Liu Chenweng, who seemed to have noticed something, Deng Guangjian couldn't help frowning: "Zhu Zi is rich in five cars, and there are many poetry heirs, how do you know which sentence you are talking about?" ”