However, Zheng Miao and Qiu Yizhi now want to leave the enemy's territory as soon as possible, so the army is starry and night, and even when they encounter barbarian interception, they are not in love with war, so it only took five days to leave the Lingnan territory and return to Wenzhou Prefecture in Jiangnan Province.

This is where General Zuo Cui Nan is located.

Cui Nan led 100,000 forbidden troops to guard this Wenzhou place at the junction of Lingnan Road, in order to always guard against the rebellion of the king of Lingnan. Once the king of Lingnan rebelled, Cui Nan would use his troops and horses to block the passage of the king of Lingnan to the north, or fight back and counterattack into Lingnan Road.

With such a major mission, when Cui Nan heard that the emperor had sent Zheng Miao to Lingnan to deliver the funeral, he was a little worried, worried that if the third son of the emperor was held hostage by the king of Lingnan, it would be difficult to clean up.

But Cui Nan has always been a cautious person, and the emperor personally issued an order, although he was full of worries, he didn't dare to say it explicitly, just calculated the dates of Zheng Miao's departure and return day by day.

Therefore, when he suddenly heard that Zheng Miao was under the escort of Qiu Yi and came back from Lingnan Road, he was surprised and happy - what surprised him was that Zheng Miao had always been calm and moderate, and set a day to come back, maybe a day late, half a day early, how could it be ten days and a half months in advance; The good thing is that Zheng Miao came back safe and sound after all, and a stone that had been hanging in his heart for an unknown amount of time finally landed.

So Cui Nan lit up the guards around him, traveled ten miles to the big tent of the Chinese army, lined up on the road that must be passed, and made a special trip to greet Zheng Miao.

But seeing that Zheng Miao and his party were very embarrassed, needless to say, the clothes were not in order, they had not changed for a few days, and even the imperial guard of honor did not know where to go.

Cui Nan is a famous general who has been in battle for a long time, and he has already smelled that the situation is different, so he hurriedly drove forward, grabbed the reins of Zheng Miao's mount, and asked, "Third Highness, what's wrong?" Although he did not say much, his tone was full of anxiety and concern.

Zheng Miao was extremely relieved to see that it was the old man who came to pick him up, but he didn't want to greet him more when he was in charge, so he said: "The king of Lingnan has rebelled, so you will send someone to send an expedited horse for eight hundred miles, and this will be reported to the emperor." With that, Zheng Miao took out a carefully sealed piece of music from his arms and handed it to Cui Nan.

This recital was determined by Zheng Miao, Qiu Yizhi and Lin Shuhan along the way, which not only explained the causes and consequences of the rebellion of the king of Lingnan, but also wrote down the topography and defense situation of Lingnan Road, which was the most important reference and basis for the imperial court to suppress the rebellion.

Therefore, Zheng Miao said to Cui Nan: "This piece is very confidential and cannot fall into the hands of others. That's why I have to hand it over to you personally, and you must also hand it over to the person who entrusts it to the confidential, so that it is sent to the emperor before driving, understand? ”

Cui Nan took this piece that was as thin as a cicada's wings but as heavy as a thousand gold, tried to suppress the surprise and nervousness in his heart, nodded his head, and only said the word "yes".

Since Zheng Miao was sensible, Cui Nan has been a general in Youyan Palace, and he has always known that although this general does not talk much, he has a sentence that counts as long as he promises, he will definitely do what he says.

Therefore, Zheng Miao said with great satisfaction: "That's good, that's good!" With your words, I am relieved. ”

But I heard Qiu Yizhi next to him interject: "This matter is not appropriate!" ”

Zheng Miao and Cui Nan all turned their heads to look at Qiu Yizhi and listened to him continue: "It is not appropriate for anyone to send this concerto, only the third brother can send it in person, so that it can be foolproof!" ”

"No!" Zheng Miao immediately refused, "These are the two places where the king of Lingnan must pass through to the north, I want to stay in the army, and meet the enemy together with General Cui and the virtuous brother, how can I send the letter?" ”

Qiu Yizhi replied: "That's what I'm talking about. The third brother is right, a big battle is inevitable here. It is good for the third brother to be in command in the army, but the soldiers are fierce and dangerous, and if there is a mistake, it is difficult to say. Although the third brother can rest assured, with me and General Cui here, the King of Lingnan will not be able to step into Jiangnan Road for half a step! ”

"I am a descendant of the Zheng family, and I am from the old Youyan Dao, the army is pressing, how can I abandon the army?" These words still can't convince Zheng Miao.

Zheng Miao said again: "Where did the third brother say this? Only by knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent can one win a hundred battles. The third brother told the emperor the information of the Lingnan Palace, and this credit was no less than killing the enemy on the battlefield. If the third brother still intends to go to the front line to share weal and sorrow with me after returning to Beijing, he can naturally ask for orders to come over and lead the troops. Does the third brother think I have a point? ”

Zheng Miao thought for a while, and finally agreed: "Reasonable." In that case, I will take the letter and go back to Beijing. Without further ado, I'll set off now, and I hope that Brother Xian and General Cui will take care! ”

As he spoke, Zheng Miao took back the recital, lit the guard of honor of the guard, and didn't even eat a mouthful of food or drink a bowl of water, so he went north to Luoyang along the main road.

Qiu Yizhi saw Zheng Miao leave, and said to Cui Nan: "General Cui, you have just heard that the prince of Lingnan is rebelling, and this is the place where the soldiers must fight, so we should prepare as soon as possible." ”

Cui Nan pondered for a moment and only said one word: "Okay." ”

In the past few days, Qiu Yizhi has been running around continuously, and he was frightened again, and now his nerves have finally relaxed, and a sense of sleepiness suddenly came up, so he said: "General Cui, I am extremely tired, and the same is true for the soldiers under my command, I don't think I have to go back to Shanyin County, can I spare a vacant land, let me wait to set up camp, and when the King of Lingnan attacks and kills in the future, I will help General Cui on his own?" ”

Cui Nan knew in his heart that although the number of the two hundred or so under Qiu Yizhi was not many, the elite and capable were even higher than the forbidden army led by him - although he could not support at will due to his status as the emperor's son, he would play an irreplaceable role at a critical time, whether as the last reserve or an assault arrow. Moreover, Qiu Yizhi's ability to lead the army to fight, he has seen it with his own eyes, not to mention him, just leading the army on the frontal battlefield with Dai Luanxiang, the world's number one general, can also fight back and forth, with his assistance, this is an undesirable thing.

Cui Nan was overjoyed, but he still didn't want to talk more, he only nodded and agreed, and then stretched out his hand to summon his subordinates to inspect the school, and ordered: "Select the place next to the army and let His Highness Yi camp." ”

The inspector was obviously accustomed to Cui Nan's orders, so he didn't ask a word, and went down to do things after making a military salute.

In this way, Qiu Yizhi set up the camp next to Cui Nan's big tent, because there were forbidden troops of the imperial court all around, Zhao Chengxiao thought about it, and reduced the number of soldiers patrolling and garrisoning in the camp by half, so that this group of tired soldiers could recuperate.

Since Qiu Yizhi and Cui Nan jointly used troops, he has always paid attention to the intelligence dynamics of Lingnan Province, and he is full of the belief that Zhenggui, the king of Lingnan, is also a person who knows the soldiers, and knows the truth of "soldiers are expensive and fast", and he is bound to immediately raise troops to attack north.

But after waiting for a few days, Lingnan Road seemed to be a dark pool of stagnant water, and no news leaked out.

There is no information to report to the imperial court, and the imperial court has no countermeasures.

Emperor Zheng Rong sent a few holy decrees, all of which were to ask Cui Nan to be restless and wait for the king of Lingnan to take the initiative to attack, and after he entered Jiangnan Province, he would wait for the opportunity to annihilate his main force with the advantage of the landlord, so that Lingnan Road would be empty and then march on a large scale to suppress the enemy camp in one fell swoop.

Cui Nan is known for his offense, and passive defense does not suit his temperament. However, since the emperor had such a clear edict, Cui Nan did not dare to act rashly, so he had to reluctantly tighten the camp, spread his eyes and ears, and patiently waited for the king of Lingnan to attack.

However, the spies sent by Cui Nan to go deep into Lingnan Road to inquire about the news were like kites with broken strings, not only did they not bring back any news, but even the people sent out were not heard from nine times out of ten.

In this way, Cui Nan was even more anxious, and the general Zuo, who couldn't say a few words a day, was even more taciturn, and the generals below came to report the news, often just three or two words.

Cui Nan was in the middle of the big tent in distress, but he heard two people coming from outside the tent and greeted: "General Cui, there is no news from Lingnan Dao yet?" ”

Cui Nan looked up and saw that it was Qiu Yizhi and Lin Shuhan coming, so he quickly got up and replied, "Your Highness Yi, Mr. Lin." No news. ”

Qiu Yizhi took a breath of cold air, looked at Uncle Lin and said, "King Lingnan, what's going on?" He was the one who was going to fight against the imperial court. This kind of thing cannot be delayed the most, and if the fighter plane drags on for a long time, it will be difficult to guarantee that people's hearts will change, and they will be self-defeating. I wonder what General Choi has to say? ”

Cui Nan participated in the "rebellion" a few years ago.

Although this "battle of rebellion" is now said to be a crusade against the faint monarch and ministers, from the perspective of the time, it is a real rebellion, and it is no different from the current Lingnan King Zheng Gui. Therefore, Cui Nan understood very well in his heart, but he couldn't figure out why for so many days, King Lingnan didn't make the slightest move, and it seemed to be more peaceful and peaceful than usual.

Cui Nan has been thinking about this question for the past few days, but the more he thinks about it, the more confused he becomes, and the more he thinks about it, the more he doesn't understand, and now when he hears Qiu Yizhi mention it, he has to sigh: "Alas, I don't know ......."

Qiu Yizhi frowned and said: "The king of Lingnan has a sword in his belly, and he is resourceful, and he is good at hiding people's eyes and ears, the calmer he is now, the more he can't take it lightly." I'm afraid that under the stop water, there will be more undercurrents! ”

Cui Nan nodded: "His Highness Yi is reasonable. ”

Qiu Yizhi asked again: "Is there any news from Liu Qing's side?" ”

Liu Qingnai is the Jiangnan Provincial Jiedu Envoy, although he is called the highest military governor in Jiangnan, but in the territory under his jurisdiction, there is a general Zuo who is stationed as a top boss, and there is a righteous highness Qiu Yizhi who can't be provoked no matter what, and he is mediocre, so his high position as a Jiedu envoy sits very awkwardly.

Liu Qing was originally the personal guard of Youyan Palace, and he only began to lead the troops to fight in the "Battle of Rebellion", although he also made some contributions, but he was far less meritorious than Cui Nan's outstanding achievements.

Therefore, Cui Nan looked down on Liu Qing as a festival envoy from the bottom of his heart, and when he heard Qiu Yizhi ask like this, he shook his head, and said in a somewhat contemptuous tone: "There is no news from Liu Qing's side. ”

Unexpectedly, as soon as his words fell, he saw a person rushing in from outside the big tent of the Chinese army, holding a letter in his hand, and shouted: "General Cui, Jiedu has made Liu Qing have an urgent military situation!" There is an emergency military situation! ”

Cui Nan saw three trembling chicken feathers inserted in the letter from a distance, and knew that this was a hundred thousand urgent codes, so he hurriedly took a few steps, snatched the letter from the soldier's hand, tore off the three chicken feathers and threw them on the ground, and before he had time to take the paper cutter, he tore open the envelope with both hands, took out the letter and read it.

The letter was not written for a long time, and after Cui Nan quickly read it twice, he hurriedly handed it to Qiu Yizhi.

Qiu Yi hurriedly took it and held it in his hand to read, even Lin Shuhan poked his head curiously to take a look, only to see that the letter read:

General Nan of Cui Zuo recently learned that the rebels of Lingnan Province had landed on the north shore of Hangzhou Bay on 10 September. The anti-army arrogance was arrogant, and the officers and troops in the south of the Yangtze River were difficult to resist, and they were invincible all the way. I also hope that General Cui will send a large army to rescue him as soon as possible, and when the time comes, he will be able to wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop.