The sky was dark, and at about midnight, Zhu Ping'an led Wang Jinfa, Zhang Ergou, Cheng Zhen and two hundred cavalry to go out of the north gate of the camp of the Shenwu Right Guard, and galloped all the way to the north.

There were 50 auxiliary soldiers, as well as more than 150 regular cavalrymen under Zhang Dagou, all of whom wore iron helmets with flip cornices, and the helmets were wrapped in cotton cloth and covered with animal furs, which were much more heroic than the common red tassels. Outside of the iron armor on the body is a large red placket filled with cotton, which is thick and warm, and can resist the impact of firearms if necessary. The auxiliaries who watched were envious.

Li Rujing didn't think to use it on this, he already knew about the equipment of the high-wall guards, especially the cavalry, and what he was thinking about now was what Zhu Ping'an planned to do tonight. The elite of the Xuanda army is exhausted, and it is not in the same direction, and the actions of these officers and soldiers are really incomprehensible.

In the blink of an eye, the distance of fifty miles to the north has been rushed, and the speed and efficiency of the eight hundred miles that the ancients often said are not so exaggerated. The so-called urgency is to gallop at any cost, with the help of the post station at that time to replace the horses, it is normal to gallop 300 miles in one night, of course, under special circumstances, 400 miles is also possible.

Li Rujing calculated the distance, and there were scouts and other people along the way to send news, and after meeting Zhu Ping'an in a hurry and whispering a few words, he rode away to the north and east. Li Rujing guessed that Zhu Ping'an was in contact with several other groups of men and horses and scouts who spread north, and the farther north he went, the closer he was to the Tartar army. I heard that Gao Yang has fallen. The Tartars are continuing to move south non-stop, and if they continue like this, sooner or later they will meet.

Where is Zhu Ping'an going? When they arrived at Xinle County, there were already people waiting at the city gate in the county, and the group changed horses, hurriedly took some food and water, and then passed through the city, without stopping.

A place name flashed in Li Rujing's heart in an instant-Dingzhou.

Zhu Ping'an's heart was up and down at this time. Although he is a traverser, he only understands a rough outline of this big battle in the late Ming Dynasty. The details have long been lost in the dust of history. If you want to seize the chance, the most important thing at the moment is to race against time.

Through the analysis of the battle report, Zhu Ping'an could already determine that the Manchu Qing Dynasty had already established a complete set of latent personnel structure in the northern Zhili Hebei region. These people are not necessarily engaged in the work of gathering important intelligence. But in this battle of the Qing army going south. But it is providing it with news of grain and forage. Even a certain amount of grain and grass had already been hoarded for the Qing army. Otherwise, it would not be easy to squeeze out the grain and grass for tens of thousands of troops in the barren land of Hebei.

The Ming army couldn't do it, but the Qing army did it easily. There's got to be a problem.

Seven or eight times out of ten, Shanxi merchants made trouble, just like Fengyang, relying on local commercial branches to provide intelligence and supplies for the Qing army to go south.

At the end of the day, the group rushed to Dingzhou, where the state seat of Dingzhou was located. It was dark at the head of the city, but as soon as Zhu Ping'an and the others approached the city wall, there was a sudden bang on the city tower, and the lanterns and torches lit up.

Wang Jinfa hurriedly rode alone close to the city wall, and shouted to the city: "We are the headquarters of the Xuanda army, and we are ordered by Inspector Lu to come to Dingzhou on business!" ”

After speaking, he bent his bow and arrows, and shot the words that had been prepared up to the castle tower. The people on the tower did not dare to slack off, and shone their torches for a while, and then slowly opened the city gate.

As soon as the city gate opened, a group of people waited for their horses to slowly enter the city, only to find that hundreds of soldiers and young men had gathered at the city gate, holding various blades in their hands, waiting for the battle, and vigilantly looking at Zhu Ping'an and others who entered the city.

"Which one is the commander of the Central Capital Left-behind Division, Lord Zhu Ping'an?" An official wearing a six-grade official uniform came out of the crowd and bowed his hand to everyone.

Zhu Ping'an didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly dismounted to salute, "Isn't it Zhu Ping'an, I don't know ...... this adult is?" ”

Someone on the side had already said: "This is my Dingzhou Mansion Ya's general judgment Liao Jinda Liao!" ”

"Oh?" Zhu Ping'an was stunned for a moment, but Liao Jinda, the general judge of Dingzhou, was a young man with red lips and white teeth, but his description was a little haggard, and it seemed that the Qing soldiers were approaching to put pressure on him and the entire Dingzhou City.

"Time is pressing, so the official won't say kind words, I don't know if the prefect has received the documents sent by Inspector Lu yesterday?"

Liao Jinda nodded, "I've received it!" ”

"Then bother Lord Liao to lead the way, and take this official to see the prefect quickly, this official has an urgent military report!"

Liao Jinda shook his head and took out an official document from his arms, "Lord Zhu misunderstood, it was the official who received the official document!" ”

"What about the prefect?" Zhu Ping'an was suddenly a little anxious, and he didn't know why Liao Jinda was selling Guan Zi so much.

Liao Jinda smiled bitterly and threw his hand at Zhu Ping'an, "Don't hide it from Lord Zhu, Liao is now the biggest official in this Dingzhou Mansion City!" ”

"Ahh Zhu Ping'an suddenly exclaimed.

The people and soldiers who gathered around them also immediately lowered their heads, and a look of grief appeared on their faces.

Liao Jinda continued: "The prefect of Dingzhou received the news that Gao Yang was in danger a few days ago, and even received a letter from Sun Ge Lao. To tell the truth, the prefect of the Mansion was a student of Sun Gelao, and when he heard that Sun Ge Lao was in distress, he dispatched Dingzhou soldiers and horses to the north to rescue. Unexpectedly, near Zhang Deng, he encountered a Tatar blockade, and the prefect died in battle. A few days ago, the Lord Tongzhi of the Mansion, who led the people to strengthen the city defense, accidentally fell from the city and died of his injuries. As a result, Liao had to temporarily act as a substitute for the government! ”

Liao Jinda sighed, and then his face was slightly red, "To tell the truth, Liao Mou just took office last month, and he is not familiar with the affairs of Dingzhou, but it made Lord Zhu laugh!" ”

Zhu Ping'an was indeed solemn, "Lord Liao was ordered to be in danger, but he resolutely went to this dangerous place to take office, seeing that the soldiers were approaching the city, and he also led the army and the people to wait for him. Such courage, although Zhu is a martial artist, he is also admired! ”

Liao Jinda said a few polite words, and then said directly to Zhu Ping'an: "The news that this official just received, in the afternoon, Boye was lost, and the Qing soldiers slaughtered the city and looted, wasting some time. ”

Hearing the news, Zhu Ping'an immediately breathed a sigh of relief. If it is really as Liao Jinda said, if there are two days, then the arrangement will be much calmer.

"That's right, when tonight's major event is over, Lord Liao can organize the army and civilians to retreat slowly, and the whereabouts of the Tartars have not been found in the Quyang area, so it should be safe."

Liao Jinda shook his head with a smile, "Thank you for your kindness, but the people can go, but Liao can't." ”

Zhu Ping'an was stunned, "Why?" ”

"This official has the responsibility of guarding the land, the prefect and the Tongzhi have done their duty, and next, it is the official, the court will hand over Dingzhou to our officials, and we should be responsible for guarding the land, even if it is burned with the city!"

Zhu Ping'an was silent for a while, this is the pride and dignity of the scholars, you can accuse them of endless party differences, you can also disdain their ignorance and arrogance, and you can also hate the shamelessness and betrayal of some of them. But it is undeniable that there are still people who truly believe in loyalty and responsibility among scholars, and Liao Jinda in front of him is one.

Liao Jinda smiled slightly, and the corners of his eyes revealed a slightly childish old age. "As mentioned in Inspector Lu's letter, this official has already sent reliable people to investigate in detail, and the time is urgent, so we might as well talk while walking!"

The soldiers led a horse, and Liao Jinda called for nearly 200 troops, including officials, soldiers, and people, and then marched towards the city.

"The Shanxi business name mentioned by Inspector Lu does have a branch in Dingzhou, called Dechang, which is in the southwest of Dingzhou County. The shopkeeper's name is Diao Gui, who was stationed here three years ago, this person has a good reputation, is kind and charitable, and donated a lot of silver to the school, and also repaired the school last year. People are called 'Diao Da Shan Man', can such a person have a connection with the Tartars? Liao Jinda looked skeptical.

"Inspector Lu's meaning is also to take precautions, check carefully, let's go to the door to search, isn't it all clear?"

Zhu Ping'an changed his mind, "What, is this Diao Gui still in the city?" ”

Liao Jinda is not a fool, after a little thought, he knows that something is wrong, the Tartars are getting closer and closer, and almost all the rich families in the city have fled in all directions recently, leaving behind the hungry people who have nowhere to go and the young people who volunteered to stay to defend the city. This Diao Gui is delicate and expensive, why is he still in the city at this time, this is not logical!

The Dechang occupies a large area in the south of the city, with a shop in front and a shopkeeper's house and warehouse in the back, which occupies almost two streets of length. As soon as the team of nearly 500 people approached, dark shadows immediately gathered around.

Liao Jinda took out another piece of paper from his arms, and then handed it to Zhu Ping'an in the clear moonlight, "This is the information collected from the surrounding neighborhoods, and the purchase of goods in the middle of the day alone has reached ten times, and each time it is more than 20 carts of Yunjin warehouse." The Dechang claimed to be cloth and other items to be transported to the nine-sided border town. ”

Zhu Ping'an snorted coldly, "Not to mention the thousands of miles, where does the cloth used in the nine sides need Hebei turnover, it seems that there is indeed a problem with this Dechang." ”

As soon as the words fell, there was a noise in front of the procession, and it seemed that the officials who were leading the way had met the people who had been arranged by the Dechang to guard the vicinity.

Liao Jinda frowned, lowered his head and instructed the soldier in front of the horse: "Sue the people in front, don't entangle with them, I'm here to find the shopkeeper tonight, let them report quickly, just say that I, Liao Jinda, have something important to see!" ”

The soldier agreed, and ran forward with his torch held high, when suddenly there was a dull sound of strings in the air, followed by the faint sound of sharp weapons cutting through the air.

As soon as Zhu Ping'an raised his head, his feet clamped the horse's belly, blocking in front of Liao Jinda, and his right hand had already pulled out the saber on his waist at the same time with lightning lightning, and slashed into the air, and the oncoming ray of cold light was directly split into two sections.

The blind man in the auxiliary camp was already sitting on a horse and dozing, but the sound of the bowstring rattling made him stand up suddenly, and when his head was raised, the longbow in his hand was already open like a full moon, and a feathered arrow was immediately shot.

On the wall dozens of steps away, with a muffled snort, a black shadow fell straight down. (To be continued......) u