Li Yan dragged his tired body back to his new home in the capital, and the virtuous Tang saw her husband coming back, and hurriedly asked the servants to prepare hot water and let her husband bathe well. []

As soon as Li Yan sat on the chair, a maid immediately put a cup of hot fragrant tea on the table next to him, and Li Yan picked up the teacup without thinking, and it immediately squirted out as soon as he entered his mouth.

"Poof"

Tea suddenly fell on the ground in front.

Li Yan put the teacup back on the table and asked unhappily, "What's the matter, why is it so hot?" ”

And the maid who brought the tea leaves on the side was already so frightened that she knelt on the ground with a blank face, and claimed to be guilty.

"Okay, what are you angry about?" On the other hand, the Tang family on the side said that he was upset for the maid, "Husband, don't blame the subordinates, the tea is naturally hot when it is first served, is it possible that you like to drink herbal tea?" ”

"Alas"

Li Yan sighed lightly, gently put the teacup on the table, and smiled at the maid: "Okay, go down, Fang is the official who blames you." ”

After the maid cleaned up the ground, Tang, who had been observing Li Yan's expression, asked carefully: "Husband, why do you look so trance-like, is there something going on in the court?" ”

Li Yan sighed lightly and said: "It's nothing, it's just that the emperor stayed with his husband today, and asked if he wanted to go to Liaodong to supervise the teacher, and he was very hesitant in his heart." ”

After a moment of silence, an exclamation echoed in the room: "Go to Liaodong Governor!" Hit the tartars? ”

Immediately after that, Tang immediately walked up to Li Yan and said urgently: "Husband, how can the emperor send you to Liaodong?" You are a dignified military secretary, not a military general with troops! ”

Tang was born in a family, and he has always given the impression of being gentle and virtuous, and he speaks softly, but today he asked his husband in an almost sharp voice.

"Ma'am. It's useless. Li Yan shook his head: "Today, the emperor has carefully discussed with his husband. The emperor wanted to use troops against the Tartars, but the generals of Liaodong were originally the important places of the previous dynasty, and those arrogant generals were extremely difficult to bring.

Besides, I am standing anew. Although there are many generals who can lead troops, there are not many people who can take charge of Yunwen and Yunwu alone, and the emperor asked his husband to go to Liaodong, which can be regarded as a tall one among the short ones. After all, the stakes are high in this crusade. If I can annihilate the Tartars in one fell swoop, I Dahua will be able to avoid the suffering of the Tartars every year, which can be regarded as a good thing with immeasurable merits. ”

The Tang family is not an unreasonable person, but although her husband is reasonable, she always can't help but be sad, and she sobspers: "The concubine heard that the Tartars have been a lot more honest in the past two years, and they have not violated the border of our dynasty, why does the emperor still want to go east?" ”

Li Yan's face sank. "What do you know about a woman? Why hasn't Tartar committed a crime in the past two years, isn't it because he was scared by His Majesty a few years ago? It's not that people don't dare to break the test now, but they are recuperating. Once the time comes. They'll still show their fangs. Your Majesty is right, we cannot trust our own safety on the kindness of others. Iron has to be hard, not to mention the safety of a country. ”

Hearing her husband's firm tone, Tang knew that she couldn't stop her husband's long journey, she turned sideways and secretly wiped the corner of her eye, and asked softly, "When will the husband travel?" ”

Li Yan thought for a while and replied, "It is estimated that it will be a month later, Your Majesty has promised me to allow my husband to bring a legion of soldiers to Liaodong, and also prepare grain, grass, ordnance, armor and weapons to Liaodong and other things, and all of this needs to be shipped from Shandong, and all of this will take time." Besides, Your Majesty is going to get married next month, as a courtier, you have to drink Your Majesty's cup of wine for your husband to set off, by the way, lady, we have to give gifts for the emperor's wedding, and the gifts at that time depend on your choice. In order to comfort the lady's heart, Li Yan also deliberately said it in a relaxed tone. {}…,

After hearing this, Tang's heart relaxed slightly, it was not good to go immediately, at least he and his husband could get along for an extra month. As a woman who has been educated in the Chinese tradition, Tang thinks about family the most, and her husband is the sky, her earth, and everything in her heart. However, her mind was quickly attracted by Li Yan's words later.

"That's right, the emperor's wedding, husband, as the secretary of the military department, you have to take the lead in giving gifts, and this gift can't be too cold, otherwise it will make people laugh."

Tang grabbed the handkerchief in his hand, and felt a little worried, the emperor is rich all over the world, even if he gives more gold, silver and jewelry, people may not be able to look at it, but his husband is the secretary of the military department of the dynasty, and the gifts he gives cannot be discounted, which is really nerve-wracking

Not to mention Tang's nerve-wracking at home, let's just say that almost everyone in Beijing now knows that the emperor is going to get married, and for a while, the various trading houses that buy and sell antiques are bullish in the market, and the same calligraphy, painting or utensils are at least fifty percent more expensive than in the past, you don't want to be too expensive, it's still for the sake of acquaintances.

In the southwest corner of the outer city of Gyeonggi, there is a willow alley, there is a rather high-grade inn in it, the signboard on the door reads "good again", and there is a shopkeeper wearing a square scarf on his head and a white towel on his shoulder standing at the door to greet the guests.

Because this inn also takes into account the function of a restaurant, the weather at this time has reached noon, it is the point of eating, many guests eat in the lobby of the inn, and people come and go.

At this moment, from a distance, a man in a light blue robe, this man was about twenty years old, with a delicate face and a temperament of not being angry and arrogant, holding a folding fan in his right hand, and was walking slowly towards the door of the inn, while behind him was followed by a burly middle-aged man and a young man with a white face and beard.

I saw that the man came to the door of the inn slowly, and when he saw the three "good again" in front of him, he smiled and said, "Xiao Dezi, is this inn?" ”

The young man who followed behind him hurriedly lowered his head and said softly: "Master Qiyu, it is this inn." ”

"Alright, let's go in!"

"Yes!"

The three of them came to the door of the inn, and the sharp-eyed child hurriedly walked over and nodded and said, "Eh, the three guest officers are looking at each other, but their eyes are tight, you are the first to come." Do you want to stay in a hotel or do you want to be sharp? Or is it a meal? ”

The man at the head smiled and said, "No, we're looking for someone, I don't know if it's okay?" ”

"Oh? I don't know who the guest officer is looking for? ”

Young children are not very old. But as a child, observing words and emotions is the basic skill of these people, although the clothes worn by the man at the head are not very luxurious. But the well-dressed and finely cut was obviously made by a master, and although he tried his best to suppress it, a majesty still emanated faintly from his body, and the man was obviously a big man who was used to giving orders. Therefore, although people are just here to find someone, the shopkeeper still doesn't dare to slack off, and asks diligently.

The man said: "Let's find Mr. Hong and Mr. Cao from Jiangnan!" ”

"Oh. It turned out that I came to find Master Hong, please let the villain show you the way. ”

After speaking. The child diligently walked in front and led the way for everyone.

Soon. The shopkeeper took the people to a small and clean courtyard.

At the door of the second courtyard of the shop, he said respectfully: "Guest officer." Master Hong and a few of them live here, and they will report to you when they are younger. ”

"No need, we can just call him ourselves, you can go down." The man at the head waved his hand and motioned for Xiao Er to go down. …,

The shopkeeper even claimed that it was, but he stood aside and did not move, and the man in charge frowned at first when he saw it, and then smiled faintly, and glanced at the young man behind him with a white face.

The young man hurriedly took out a piece of broken silver from his sleeve and threw it to Xiao Er, shouting in a sharp voice: "Come on, you go down quickly, don't be an eyesore here!" ”

"Thank you for the reward, thank you for the reward!"

The shopkeeper secretly weighed the silver in his hand, which was one or two weights, almost equivalent to a month's salary for him, and he smiled so much that he couldn't see his eyebrows, and his fart went down.

After Xiao Er left, the man led by him was about to push open the door of the store, and the burly man behind him stepped forward and whispered: "Master, you are a golden body, why bother to take risks in person, if there is a bad pool, the villain can't afford to pay for 10,000 lives." ”

The male character said resolutely: "What are you afraid of, everyone is carrying a head on two shoulders, more expensive than anyone, they all dare to come to the capital in person, don't I even have the courage to meet them?" ”

It turned out that this man turned out to be Pang Gang, the first emperor of Dahua, and I am afraid that no one in the Manchu Dynasty would have imagined that he would come to an ordinary inn in person to find someone with the dignity of the Ninety-Five.

After Pang Gang finished speaking, he stretched out his hand and pushed open the gate of the front yard, and walked in first, and the big man behind him had no choice but to follow in, and the last one was the young man who spoke sharply.

In a small hut in the courtyard, a middle-aged man in a blue robe with a long beard under his chin and an old man in his fifties with a white beard and white hair sat opposite each other.

The old man's brows were tightly furrowed, and he asked with a look of displeasure: "Lord Hong, why haven't you been able to contact the emperor for so long, is there something wrong?" ”

The middle-aged man said unhappily: "Gonggong Cao, what do you mean by this, the emperor is now in the Forbidden City, if you want to contact the emperor, it is not so simple, you used to be the commander of Dongchang, don't you have no way to contact the emperor?" ”

"You" The old father-in-law shouted: "Okay, you Hong Chengchou, you dare to speak to our family like this, could it be that you have a different heart?" ”

It turned out that the middle-aged man in the house was Hong Chengchou, the former governor of Jiangnan, and the old man next to him was Cao Huachun.

Without waiting for Hong Chengchou to answer, he heard a loud laugh from Lang Lang outside the door, "Hahaha, Grandpa Cao, I haven't seen you for two years, are you still so anxious?" ”

With the sound coming, the door was also pushed open, and several people also walked in, and the awe-inspiring one who walked in front was that Pang Gang.

When Pang Gang walked in, the two people in the room almost jumped.

"Pang Gang, you're here!"

Cao Huachun's face turned as pale as snow in winter, and his right hand trembled and pointed at Pang Gang who was standing in front, and his body trembled like a squirrel in winter.

"Hahaha, isn't it me, Cao Huachun, you didn't expect it, I've been looking forward to your arrival for a long time."

Pang Gang came to the house with a smile. I looked left and right. I found a stool and sat down, and at this time, Hong Chengchou, who had been silent on the side, changed his expression very complicatedly. In the end, he knelt down like a jade pillar and said softly: "Hong Chengchou, the former criminal minister of the court, knocked on my emperor, may your majesty live long live, long live, long live!" ”

Seeing Hong Chengchou kneeling on the ground and praising His Majesty, Cao Huachun on the side suddenly realized. Angry, he almost vomited blood, stretched out his "orchid finger" and scolded tremblingly: "Okay, you Hong Chengchou, I didn't expect you to betray Your Majesty, betray Daming, are you worthy of Your Majesty's trust?" ”

Hong Chengchou, who was kneeling on the ground, quickly flashed a trace of shame on his face, but he soon disappeared, and his face regained firmness, only to see him resolutely say: "Gonggong Cao, if it is not that this official has failed the emperor's trust, it is really the number of great Ming Qi has been exhausted." Didn't even the emperor give the throne to the current emperor, as courtiers, we just have to obey the order, why should you be stubborn to the end? ”…,

"Good. Hong Aiqing said it very reasonably. Pang Ganglang, who was sitting in the chair, smiled: "As the saying goes." Good birds choose trees to perch, and my seat is also given to me by the Emperor Taishang. It's only natural for me to sit in this position, so why not? ”

"Phew!" Cao Huachun glared at Pang Gang angrily, "You traitorous villain, in vain The Emperor valued you so much before, and promoted you from a small thousand households to the position of Champion Hou, and this is how you repay the emperor?" And you, Hong Chengchou, you are a complete villain and hypocrite, you lied that you wanted to take me into Beijing to meet the emperor, but I didn't expect you to secretly take refuge in Pang Gang, the pseudo-emperor, you are extremely shameless! ”

Cao Huachun was also out of the way, and even pointed at Pang Gang and Hong Chengchou and scolded at the same time.

"You are bold! How dare you insult the saints of today! ”

Cao Huachun scolded happily, but the younger young man standing beside Pang Gang stopped doing it, and he shouted in a sharp voice: "Cao Huachun, the saint is here today, if you don't kneel down quickly, you are not afraid of punishing the nine clans?" ”

Cao Huachun sneered and said: "Hehe, it turns out that it is the same as our family, it is also rootless, and it is actually a lesson to our family, little monkey cub, you don't know where to eat when our family enters the palace, and our family is not your turn to teach a lesson!" ”

"You"

The young eunuch standing behind Pang Gang blushed angrily, stood up and was about to teach this fellow a good lesson, but was stopped by Pang Gang.

"Huh"

Pang Gan laughed, and he said loudly: "Okay, Cao Huachun, you have a complaint in your heart, I can understand, didn't you venture into Beijing this time just to see the Emperor, I will fulfill you, at this moment, the Emperor's family is in the palace, how about I send someone to take you into the palace to see the Emperor Taishang?" ”

"Are you serious?"

Cao Huachun's eyes widened, and he looked at Pang Gang in disbelief, this old eunuch who was loyal to Chongzhen risked killing his head this time to enter Beijing, just to see Chongzhen for the last time, at this moment, when he heard that Pang Gang had agreed to his wish, he was incredulous. Pang Gang looked at Cao Huachun's unbelievable face, but he sat on the chair and looked at him with a smile and was silent.

The entry of Hong Chengchou and Cao Huachun into Beijing was also very unexpected to him. Originally, for Jiangnan, Pang Gang planned to let it go first, and then attack Jiangnan after recovering Liaodong, and Hong Chengchou's surrender was indeed beyond his expectations.

Just after Pang Gang ascended the throne last month, he secretly sent an envoy to contact Hong Chengchou, and originally Pang Gang was just trying to get in touch with Hong Chengchou to see if it was possible to try to bring Jiangnan peace into his pocket. Unexpectedly, after contacting Hong Chengchou, Hong Chengchou's reaction was beyond his expectations.

Hong Chengchou happily agreed to the envoy who came to contact, he not only promised to lead all the soldiers and civilians in Jiangsu and Anhui to surrender to Dahua, but also very simply promised to take Cao Huachun into Beijing to personally surrender to Pang Gang.

After getting the report, Pang Gang couldn't believe that this pie that fell from the sky really had such a good thing, and he could recover the two provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu without a single shot? It wasn't until Hong Chengchou and Cao Huachun, who was recruited by him, entered the city that he accepted this fact with half a doubt.

So today, Pang Gang came to this inn with Shi Bowen, the head of the personal guard, and a personal eunuch to take a look. Originally, this matter was strongly opposed by Shi Bowen, according to Shi Bowen, as long as he led a group of guards to come over and arrest them back, everything would be understood, but Pang Gang was unwilling, Comrade Pang Gang, who had been in the palace for several months and had not come out to breathe, had to come in person regardless of it, so this was the scene just now.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the room is very weird, to say that the most nervous person in the heart is Hong Chengchou, Hong Chengchou is a person who has talent, but he is a more speculative type, when he heard about Chongzhen Zen in Jiangnan, after the establishment of the Dahua Dynasty, he knew that the Ming Dynasty has gone, although he occupies Jiangsu, Anhui Province, there are Zuo Liangyu father and son who fled to Zhejiang looking at him with fierce eyes, the upper and left sides are still surrounded by the forces of the Dahua court, it can be said that if he resists stubbornly, his end is doomed, The difference is only in how much time he can struggle, so when Dahua came to the messenger, he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet to lean on the big tree of Dahua