Fujian, Tingzhou Mansion.

North of Tingzhou City, about 20 miles away, on a small road, one or two thousand Ming troops crowded forward, difficult to advance, and ten carriages were mixed in, slowly moving forward, Zhu Yujian was on one of the carriages, leaning against the big bookcase, as if he couldn't feel the bumps, still tirelessly looking at the book.

At this time, the carriage with the carriage passed by, walking side by side, and a pretty woman poked her head out and shouted: "Your Majesty, it's still the carriage of the courtier's concubine, the flatbed car is too bumpy, and you don't read well?" ”

However, Zhu Yujian was unmoved, still immersed in the book he was holding in both hands, reading it with relish, he didn't raise his eyebrows, but replied lightly: "Okay, queen, don't worry about me, you just sit in it, the reason why I sit here is not only to read books, but also to prevent these warriors from losing all the books." ”

Obviously, this is not the first time that Empress Zeng has persuaded her, as soon as she heard Zhu Yujian's words, and then saw that her husband was obsessed with the book, she just shook her head helplessly, only sighed lightly, didn't say anything more, and retreated into the carriage.

Immediately afterwards, General Xiong Wei rode his horse and walked up, with a worried look on his face, looking at Zhu Yujian's appearance, and then looking back at him, there were nine cars full of books, although he was helpless, he sighed again and again, at such a critical juncture, the emperor is still so book-loving, and there is no one else.

In the end, Xiong Weidu's helplessness in his heart could only turn into a thick melancholy, and he couldn't hate Zhu Yujian, the emperor, so he could only remind in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the last general has sent several teams of people to Quanzhou Mansion, so far, there has been no news from Uncle Guo's side, I'm afraid I can't count on reinforcements from Quanzhou Mansion......"

I don't know when, Zhou Zhifan also came to the front, glanced at Xiong Weidu, stopped him from speaking, but continued in his mouth: "Your Majesty, even if there is no uncle to bring troops to help, don't worry, just drive a little longer, and there will be Tingzhou City ahead." As long as we enter Tingzhou City, we will not only be able to rest and recuperate, but also replenish some food, grass and soldiers. ”

Speaking of this, Zhou Zhifan was speechless, and seeing that Zhu Yujian's expression was still as usual, he turned to say: "Your Majesty, no one thought that the chaotic army would come so quickly, so suddenly, and we were caught off guard. It's not as good as ......."

Before Zhou Zhifan finished speaking, he was just about to say something, but was interrupted by Zhu Yujian.

"Okay, Lord Zhou, needless to say, it is impossible for me to agree, and I will not go to Guangdong and lead the war to the Tang King, even if I die, I will die in Jiangxi, die on the way to the war, instead of stealing my life."

While speaking, Zhu Yu bonded the book and rolled it into a cylinder, his hands kept stroking and swaying, he glanced at the southeast direction, revealing a faint look of memory, and said to himself: "I have long been prepared for this kind of psychology, since he Zheng Zhilong is running so fast, abandoning Fujing and retreating to Quanzhou Mansion, he will definitely have today's result, and he will never send troops to help." ”

At this time, Xiong Weidu had already retreated, followed from afar, always maintained a certain distance, rode side by side with Lai Gao, saw Zhou Zhifan talking to Zhu Yujian, and ignored himself, his heart suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, his face showed doubt, he approached Lai Gao slightly, and asked in a low voice: "Lord Lai, I really don't understand, why did Lord Zhou glare at me when I reported the situation to the emperor just now?" ”

"You~ have a loyal heart, but you don't know how to behave in the world, no wonder the emperor didn't entrust you with important tasks."

Although Lai Yu's words were a little tricky, they showed the irreversible relationship between the two, and glanced at Zhou Zhifan and Zhu Yujian, who were still talking, then lowered his voice and explained: "At this time, the morale is the most low, and the military spirit is the most unstable, you can report it, why are you shouting so loudly?" If Lord Zhou doesn't stop it, then what's weird? ”

At the same time, ten miles away from Zhu Yujian and his party, Niu Yan and his party scattered in all directions, as if they were looking for something in a large area, and the marching speed of the army was very slow.

After an hour or two like this, Niu Yan led the army to march less than five miles, and couldn't help complaining: "I don't know which of Zhu Yujian's generals commanded it, and where did he find so many dead soldiers, but he actually used the method of gecko breaking its tail to survive, and at the cost of sacrificing thousands of people, he stopped the army for nearly three hours." ”

"It's good now, so that Zhu Yujian and others completely disappeared from our field of vision, after searching for so long, they didn't find a trace of it, it's really strange, is it possible, Zhu Yujian, the scholar emperor, has wings? Even if everyone has wings, what about the truckload of books? ”

didn't wait for Niu Yan to continue to complain, with a loud shout, everyone was overjoyed and surprised.

"Newspaper... Traces were found, traces of the Ming army's escape were found! ”

Following the prestige, Niu Yan did not have any stop, let alone any nonsense, waved his big hand, rode away at the same time, and shouted: "Follow me, the rest of the people continue to search!" ”

Soon, Niu Yan and the others came to the side of a mountain, beside the dense forest, and a soldier was excitedly saying aloud: "Lieutenant colonel, you see, these ruts and footprints are almost exactly the same as the tracks of the Ming army. ”

"This Zhu Yujian is really cunning enough, he actually chose such a path and walked through the mountains and dense forests to hide his tracks."

Obviously, Niu Yan agreed with the scout's judgment, and while sighing, his eyes kept scanning ahead, and after a while, he said to himself: "It is not difficult to judge from the direction of their escape, these Ming troops should have fled to Tingzhou City." ”

Without waiting for the others to respond, Niu Yan immediately gave an order.

"Pass my general order to go down, immediately divide the troops into two ways, one way to pursue along the trail, looking for the specific whereabouts of Zhu Yujian and others, and the other way to follow me and rush to Tingzhou City, and strive to rush to Tingzhou City before Zhu Yujian and take it down."

In the Forbidden City of Nanjing, in the Xingning Palace, Li Zicheng's hearty laughter echoed, and his words were full of excitement.

"Haha... This Niu Yan is worthy of being the son of Niu Venus, and he really still has some wisdom, I am afraid that the war in the southeast will be ahead of schedule, and it will end earlier than I expected! ”

At this time, Xu Xiake was with him as usual, and as soon as Li Zicheng finished speaking, he reminded: "Your Majesty, you have been out for more than half a year, a year younger, and now seeing that the war in the southeast is about to end, you should also return to the capital." ”

Li Zicheng stopped laughing, his expression narrowed, he nodded solemnly, and said thoughtfully: "Yes, it's been a year since I left the capital, and Mr. Song has urged him many times, if he doesn't go back, he will have to strike." ”

Xu Xiake smiled knowingly, and responded in a harmonious voice: "This can't be helped, Song Yingxing is also forced to be helpless, and has to urge the emperor to go back early, the court is still at the beginning of its establishment, and there are all kinds of wastes waiting to be rebuilt, and there are natural disasters as disasters, there are many things, and many major affairs need the emperor to take your ideas." Otherwise, it simply can't be solved. ”

"Okay, in a month at most, I'll be back in Beijing!"

Li Zicheng waved his sleeves, made a promise heartily, with a slight smile on his face, looked at Xu Xiake deeply, and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu, Mr. Song has written to you a lot, asking you to persuade me to go back, and at the same time, I also ask for good things for him, right?" ”