After nearly 20 days of travel, Xu Liang and other 20,000 Qinwang troops finally arrived in Beijing. Standing outside the Yongding Gate of Jingshi, looking at the city wall that was bombarded with thousands of holes, the city guards on the city tower with numb expressions, and the closed city gate, Xu Liang and the others were stunned.

The smell of gunpowder outside the city doesn't seem to have completely dissipated, and there are some depreciated knives and guns scattered outside the city, and the blood-stained land is still strong. Everything is indicative of the fact that there was a great war here not so long ago.

Hong Chengchou ran to negotiate with the defenders in the city on behalf of the Qinwang army of Shaanxi. Xu Liang and others led the army to be stationed outside the city, waiting for the next order.

Next to the carriage, Tietou approached the carriage and whispered to the car: "Young master, look at the four doors of the Jingshi closed and nervous, it seems that Houjin has not yet withdrawn." ”

Xu Liang's eyes fell on the city tower, he didn't know what he was thinking, for a long time, he said to Tietou: "Try to contact Yan Qi in the capital and let him come to see me." ”

Tietou nodded, beckoned to the two Tsing Yi guards, and after a few words, the two Tsing Yi guards who had been ordered left the army and blended into the crowd on the official road.

Two hours later, Hong Chengchou returned to King Qin's army, gathered Xu Liang, He Huchen, Sima Qiudao, Huang Daozhou and others, and said with a serious expression: "We are still late." On December 17, the Houjin soldiers gathered a large army to storm the Yongding Gate of the Beijing Division, and retreated. ”

Zodiac Zhou counted the days and said, "Today is the 20th, which means that there was a great battle here three days ago?" No wonder the smell of blood is so strong here. ”

When Xu Liang and the others heard that Houjin Bing had retreated, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, although they were in the name of King Qin. But after a long time, the Jin soldiers were brave and good at fighting, and the Ming army fought with them and lost nine out of ten battles!

Xu Liang saw Hong Chengchou's brows tightened. Then he asked strangely: "Zhongcheng, since the enemy soldiers have retreated. You should be happy, why are you frowning? ”

Hong Chengchou sighed and said, "Everyone, things are not as simple as we imagined. Three days ago, in the battle of Yongdingmen, the Ming army suffered heavy losses, and even the general Man Gui was killed. Moreover, although the Houjin soldiers retreated, they did not really withdraw, and still deployed heavy troops to occupy Zunhua, Luancheng, Yongping and Qian'an. Tiger eyes Jingshi! Once you find a flaw, you can make a comeback! The crisis in Jingshi has not been completely resolved. ”

Xu Liang chuckled and said, "Zhongcheng is too worried. We are close to the capital along the road, but we have seen a lot of Qinwang troops from all over the country, not to mention no less than 100,000 people. The army gathered in Beijing, and Huang Taiji was good at fighting, but he didn't want to win it. ”

Hong Chengchou listened, and instead of a relieved look on his face, he had a disdainful expression.

Xu Liang and the others were secretly surprised. He Huchen asked, "Lord Hong." What do we do now? ”

Everyone also realized this problem in a blink of an eye, these 20,000 soldiers and horses came to enter King Jingqin, and now that the enemy has retreated, although he still occupies Zunhua. Luancheng, Yongping, Qian'an four cities. But that was the defense area that belonged to the governor of Jiliao, and the Houjin soldiers there. The soldiers of Shaanxi did not have the obligation to kill the enemy for them.

At the moment, it is not the turn of King Qin, it is to go or stay. Hong Chengchou, as the commander, has to come up with an idea. After all, if it is consumed outside the capital, the daily consumption of grain and grass for an army of 20,000 people is also an extremely heavy burden.

Everyone stared at Hong Chengchou with a blank eye, waiting for him to come up with an idea. Hong Chengchou furrowed his brows and groaned for a while, his expression seemed quite hesitant, and after a while, he finally made up his mind, and said solemnly to everyone: "Although we are holding the banner of King Qin, the foreign enemy has not been eliminated, and it will eventually be the trouble of Jingshi's henchmen." My 20,000 soldiers have traveled thousands of miles, and if they have not made an inch, they will return to Shaanxi, and I am really unwilling. I heard that Sun Chengzong, a university scholar and secretary of the military department, was reorganizing the army near Tongzhou, and I wanted to go to Tongzhou to wait for Lord Sun's dispatch. Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any doubts? ”

When Xu Liang and the others heard this, they all wanted to go back empty-handed, but they were indeed unwilling, so they all bowed their hands and said: "Everything is up to Lord Hong's arrangement." ”

Hong Chengchou looked at everyone approvingly, and said hello repeatedly. So the Qinwang army was handed over to Xu Liang for the time being, and he set up camp in the suburbs outside Yongding Gate, and Hong Chengchou himself rushed to Tongzhou with a team of guards to see Sun Chengzong.

The people who stayed didn't have any other ideas, after all, the capital was important, after all, it was not as good as Shaanxi, and there could be anything wrong with it. Xu Liang arranged for He Huchen and Sima Qiudao to command the soldiers to settle the camp. But he took Huang Daozhou and Tietou in civilian clothes, wandered outside the gate of Yongding City, looking for an opportunity to enter Beijing.

However, a cool breeze blew outside the city all day, and the gates of Yongding were tightly closed, and the sergeant on the tower looked at the crowd wandering outside the city with a wary face.

Huang Daozhou shrunk his neck and said to Xu Liang: "My lord, you see that the people outside the city who are waiting to enter the city are gathering more and more, and looking at their appearance, most of them are refugees who have been affected by the war. I look at the level of vigilance today, and I can't enter the city gate today, so let's go back. ”

Huang Daozhou said that Xu Liang and Tietou also noticed it. The people gathered outside the city were all grief-stricken and disgraced, and many of them were still wounded, and it seemed that they must have been affected by the war.

An old man in his sixties looked at Xu Liang and the others for a long time, and finally leaned over with a cower.

The Tsing Yi guard who was guarding Xu Liang's side stopped him and shouted, "Stop! ”

Seeing this, the old man was frightened for a while, stopped and beckoned to Xu Liang: "This son, son?" ”

Xu Liang's dress today, wearing a warm coat, covered with a blue cloak, plus the wind god is handsome, the surrounding Zodiac Zhou, Tietou and more than a dozen Tsing Yi guards and others are protected in the center like stars holding the moon, this situation falls in the eyes of the old man, and the old man guesses that Xu Liang must be a rich man with a noble status.

Huang Daozhou and Tietou looked at Xu Liang.

Xu Liang squinted at the old man a few times, waved his hand to let the Tsing Yi guard who was blocking him get out of the way, and when the old man stepped forward, Xu Liang asked, "This old brother, your name is this official...... What's the matter with this son? ”

The old man stood in front of Xu Liang, his eyes fell on the Qingyi Wei who looked at him vigilantly, his expression was not afraid, but he was relieved, and then looked at Xu Liang, and then bowed his hand and said: "The prince is a noble person at a glance, and the old man is a lowly person, but he has a reluctant request." Please also ask the son to be fulfilled. ”

"Oh?" Xu Liang was surprised, and looked at the sallow face on the old man's face. With chapped lips, he chuckled and asked, "It's not like I haven't eaten for a few days." Hungry and want to ask Ben Gongzi for something to fill his stomach? Oh, I boldly opened this mouth at my brother, and my son will reward you with some food. With that, Xu Liang raised his head towards the Tsing Yi Wei beside him.

A Tsing Yi guard took out his own dry food from his arms, but it was two large cakes, which were reluctantly stuffed into the old man's hands.

However, the old man didn't answer, pushed it back again, and bowed his hand to Xu Liang again. said: "It can be seen that the prince is a kind-hearted person. If it is to fill his stomach, the old man has hands and feet, as long as he can still breathe, he will not starve to death. What the old man asked for was not to ask for food. ”

When the old man said this, not only Xu Liang was surprised, but even Huang Daozhou and Tietou were amazed and looked at the old man.

The old man stomped his feet and said to Xu Liang, "That's it." The old man said it bluntly. The old man's surname was Yang, and he was a farmer outside Zunhua City. took the opportunity to escape with a family. fled all the way to Chengjing, but there was chaos everywhere in these years, when the old man's family escaped from Zunhua. Even the old man with his son and daughter-in-law. There are four granddaughters, and now only the old man and his granddaughter are left. The son and daughter-in-law were all killed by the Houjin soldiers. ”

The old man's eyes shed two lines of tears, stretched out his thin hands to cover his face, and said with a snarl: "The old man is old, and half of the loess is buried, and it is not a pity to die." Poor my granddaughter, who is only fifteen years old this year, if the old man leaves, she will become a lonely person, and most of them will not survive in this troubled world. ”

"Son-in-law, I will let go of this old face, and I am willing to beg Son-in-law to have pity on my hard-working granddaughter and take her away, it is okay to be a slave or a maid, as long as she is given food to eat, so that she can live." Old Hanken pleaded.

Xu Liang was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth and was silent for a long time. Huang Daozhou persuaded: "This old brother, since you have successfully escaped outside Beijing, now the enemy soldiers have retreated. Cabinet scholar Sun Daren is also reorganizing the army in Tongzhou, and with the ability of Sun Daren, he will be able to repel the Houjin soldiers in one fell swoop. When the time comes, brother, you can return home with your granddaughter, and then find a good family to marry your granddaughter, which is better than giving your granddaughter away, right? ”

The old man turned to look at Huang Daozhou, and saw that he was a little older and well-dressed, so he choked up and said: "This lord, you don't understand the suffering of our ordinary people, Houjin has invaded Zunhua City since November, and now it is the end of December, and the officials and troops of the court have not been able to drive away the Houjin soldiers." When will my hometown Zunhua be recovered? The case was taken back, and the old man went back, where is there still a home? My granddaughter followed this kind-faced son-in-law, although it was a little bitter, but she could eat three meals a day, in case she was pitied by her son-in-law, she would give birth to a son and a half daughter in the future, and the old Yang family would be considered a queen......"

"Ahem, cough ......" Xu Liang coughed incessantly when he heard it, and the more the old man spoke, the more he lost his score.

Huang Daozhou and Tietou listened to it, and they both looked at Xu Liang with a smile.

Seeing this, the old man turned around and went back, and soon pulled a slender woman with a cloth towel on her head and came to Xu Liang, the old man whispered a word of comfort in the woman's ear, lifted the cloth towel on the woman's head, and arched his hand to Xu Liang: "This son, the old man is not boasting, the granddaughter of the old man, not only is she ingenious and good-looking, but she also read a few books with the old man, can read and hyphenate words, and under the hands of the son, it is more than enough to be a messenger." As he spoke, he said to the woman, "Come, Rou'er, I've seen my son." ”

The woman timidly saluted Xu Liang and called, "Rou'er has seen Gongzi. As he spoke, a pair of wonderful eyes glanced at Xu Liang curiously, and then quickly lowered his head.

Xu Liang glanced at the woman, and had to say that although the fifteen-year-old little woman was wearing coarse, extremely ill-fitting clothes, covered in dust, and had vegetables on her face, just listening to the voice and looking at those smart eyes, Xu Liang couldn't help but feel a love from the bottom of his heart.

Weak woman, really weak woman.

Huang Daozhou saw Xu Liang staring at the little girl, but he was silent, his expression moved, and he said to the old man: "Old brother, I see that your grandfather and grandson are in this wilderness, they are not familiar with the place, and they have no ability to protect themselves. In this way, I will make the decision for you, and you two will follow our son first. ”

When the old man heard this, he looked overjoyed, and was just about to agree, but suddenly the granddaughter next to him pulled his clothes, and the old man stopped talking, turned to look at Xu Liang, and said embarrassedly: "The old man thanks this old man." It's just that the old man's grandfather and grandson, following the son-in-law, have no name and no share, and the old man is not down-to-earth. ”

Huang Daozhou said angrily: "Hey, you are quite poor and exquisite!" I don't care, Son, you see the idea. As he spoke, he squeezed his eyebrows at Xu Liang with a lively expression.

Xu Liang glared at Huang Daozhou, his eyes fell on the little woman again, the more he looked, the more satisfied he became, just this time he entered Beijing, and he was waited by the clumsy man Tietou all the way, and there was also a lack of a waiting maid ring around him, so he had the heart to take him in. Then he said to the old man: "That's it, this old brother, there is just a shortage of people around my son, so your granddaughter will spend money to buy it, and I will stay by my son's side in the future, how about it?" ”

"Yo, that's a good idea." The old man said: "Rou'er, thank you soon." ”

The granddaughter of the old man, Rou'er didn't squeak, staring at the ground under her feet with a pair of eyes.

Tietou took out fifty taels of silver from his bosom, put it in the old man's hand, and said, "This is to buy gold, you take it." From now on, your granddaughter will be our son-in-law's man. ”

When the old man saw the fifty taels of silver, his lips trembled, and he gritted his teeth and pushed the Rou'er beside him to Xu Liang's side.

Rou'er pulled the old man and reluctantly called: "Grandpa, Rou'er can't bear to ...... you"

The old man turned his head, waved his hand and said, "Let's go." ”

"Grandpa......" Rou'er didn't let go.

The old man was ruthless, broke Rou'er's hand away, shook his hand and shouted: "Hurry up!" ”

Seeing this, Xu Liang and the others turned around and walked in the direction of the barracks.

Rou'er followed behind Xu Liang and the others step by step. Xu Liang lifted the curtain on the carriage and saw it outward, only to see Rou'er reluctantly following behind the carriage, walking a few steps, and then looking back. And the old man stood there like an old tree.

After walking for a while, Xu Liang shouted: "Stop." ”

The carriage stopped, and Xu Liang waited for Rou'er to approach the carriage, poked his head out of the window, and said to Rou'er: "Your name is Rou'er?" ”

Rou'er glanced up at Xu Liang, her face was full of tears, then she lowered her head and said in a low voice, "Hmm." ”

Xu Liang sighed and said, "You go back and ask your grandfather, can you drive the car and feed the horses?" Ben Gongzi suddenly remembered that there was a shortage of grooms around me. ”

"Oh." Rou'er responded indifferently, suddenly raised her head suddenly, and looked at Xu Liang in surprise, "Huh? ”

Xu Liang scolded with a smile: "Don't go yet!" ”

Rou'er looked at Xu Liang gratefully, burst into tears, smiled, turned around and ran the same way. (To be continued......)