Jin Zhong turned around to retreat, Cao Huachun suddenly seemed to remember something, and asked, "Why did the emperor come to Kunning Palace again?" ”

"This ......" Jin Zhong glanced at Yuan Chonghuan and stopped talking. Yuan Chonghuan was concerned about the secret of the forbidden middle, and hurriedly turned his head and listened attentively in the direction of Deshengmen. Jin Zhong leaned over to Cao Huachun's side, and whispered in his ear: "The sound of the cannon is sky-high, and the mother ......" I didn't really hear it, and the voice below was getting lower and lower. At this time, the sound of the cannon had stopped, Yuan Chonghuan couldn't hear the slightest movement, his heart was very anxious, and he turned his head to see that the two of them were still whispering, intermittently hearing some words from the imperial doctor and the fetus, like falling five miles of clouds and mist, unpredictable. After another half of the tea, Jin Zhong said: "Father-in-law, go back first, so as not to be out for a long time, there is no one to serve in front of you, and you are angry, and your father-in-law's face is not good-looking." ”

Yuan Chonghuan was about to ask about the outcome of the Battle of Deshengmen, but when he saw that Jin Zhong was leaving, he hurried a few steps and pulled him and asked, "How is the Battle of Deshengmen?" ”

"The Houjin soldiers were repelled by the red-coated artillery, and the Manchu soldiers were also wounded."

"Badly hurt?" Yuan Chonghuan was extremely concerned.

Jin Zhong turned around and smiled, and said politely: "Won't the adults see it later?" The small ones are also heard. ”

Entering the Qianqing Palace, Cao Huachun pointed inside: "Lord Yuan, you wait here, let's not go in, go back and see when the Long Live Lord will drive." ”

"Father-in-law Cao, please." Yuan Chonghuan stepped inside, a warm self-breath rushed to the face, the tightened muscles and bones suddenly opened up, the warm pavilion has a throne with the back to the east to the west in the center, the throne, the imperial case, the incense table, etc. are all made of light-colored agarwood and dark rosewood, which are extremely precious. On each side of the throne was a gilded brazier, and the red charcoal inside was burning brightly, exuding a faint fragrance. At this time, it was the middle of winter, the Yanshan area was extremely cold, but the huge warm pavilion was as warm as spring, Yuan Chonghuan saw that the two braziers had such heat, and he was secretly surprised, but he didn't know that the underground fire ditch of the warm pavilion was staggered, and it had already been filled with charcoal fire, and it was not extinguished day and night, so how could it not be warm? Looking around, but seeing that the pavilion is brilliantly furnished, and the chairs on the couch are covered with bright yellow flying dragon brocade cushions. Although Yuan Chonghuan was an official to the respect of the superintendent, he was poor in his early years, and he went to Liaodong for a few years after being a scholar, and every day he was either building a city or fighting with soldiers, and he had never seen such a rich and comfortable place. Yuan Chonghuan sat in front of the throne and waited, not daring to move, thinking about when the emperor would arrive and when the war outside Desheng Gate would stop. For more than half an hour, there was still silence all around, he turned his sore neck a few times, and caught a glimpse of a small frame of Mo Lan hanging on the wall behind the throne, two or three slanted slender leaves supporting a half-open and half-closed orchid, lifelike, flowing breath, great curiosity, see the above paragraph: Concubine Shuying Gong pen, next to the painting of a very strange word, only seen in life, really incredible. He was originally born in Wen Jinshi, and he had more than ten years of hard study under the cold window, he couldn't read a word, the shame of Confucianism, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed when he thought of this, and secretly comforted himself: I haven't calmed down to read for many years, but there are more than 10 million books in the world, and I don't know how many people I haven't seen. But his heart was unwilling, so he straightened up and looked up. Suddenly, someone behind him laughed and said: "Element is really an elegant Confucian general, he is a fierce general who is a golden iron horse and swallows Liaodong, and he has become an elegant scribe with poetry and books when he puts on a green coat and a small hat." ”

Yuan Chonghuan turned around and saw Chongzhen walking in with a smile, followed by a middle-aged man with a thin face, wearing a second-grade brocade chicken supplement, and finally a tower-like man, with an unkempt beard covering most of his face, a white belt tied around his neck, and bloodstained on the sleeve of his left arm. Yuan Chonghuan couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw that he was fine, and bowed to the emperor and said, "The minister is late to save him, and the emperor forgives his sins." ”

"Qing went to the danger and traveled thousands of miles to help, I was very relieved, and sat down and talked together." The three of them waited for Chongzhen to sit down on the throne before sitting respectfully. Yuan Chonghuan gestured to Man Gui, and Man Gui also nodded a few times, the king is in front, and it is not good to spit out the block after parting.

Chongzhen said: "Element, if you look at that frame of Melantu, it must be that you don't know the last word!" This is my imperial charge, which is not a word, but a mark. ”

"The emperor is wise, and the words used by those scholars are not enough to show dignity, so it is natural to find another way." The middle-aged man had a smile on his face.

"You don't think you've met yet! This is the new secretary of the military department. Chongzhen pointed at the middle-aged man.

"Lord Yuan's name is in the sea, and this soldier has long admired him." Shen Yongmao made a gesture, and said to Man Gui: "The general army of Man fought in the bloody battle of Deshengmen, loyal and brave, and the soldiers are also very admired. The two hurriedly returned the salute and didn't dare to say anything.

Yuan Chonghuan secretly said: The book of the military department has been changed so quickly, a year ago, the platform summoned Wang Zaijin, and within half a year, I heard that Wang Qia, who had changed his body and appearance, had never seen it, so he was arrested and imprisoned because of the fall of Zunhua City for three days, and was replaced by this person in front of him. was thinking about it, but saw Wang Chengen bring in a few little eunuchs from the imperial dining room, carrying two large food boxes with vermilion lacquer, and set up the banquet in an instant, all of which were extremely exquisite imperial dishes.

Chongzhen picked up the wine glass and said: "The element rate Guan Ning Tie rode into the aid of Gyeonggi, Man Gui defeated the strong enemy outside the Desheng Gate, and drank this cup, he retreated from the enemy one day, and then rewarded him." He drank Taixi Bai, and said: "Man Gui, I said that you will enter the palace immediately, I heard that you will change your battle robe and come again, I know that you are afraid that you will lose your honor in front of the king, but you don't know that I see your blood-stained robe, so I can imagine your appearance of fighting bravely to kill the enemy." ”

Man Gui was thrilled when he heard this, and said with tears in his eyes: "The minister is a martial artist, and he originally likes to fight...... If those Jianzhou Tatars don't retreat outside the border, what will happen to the emperor in the capital? There are so many Lebanese people...... In the end, the ministers could not watch the Tatars take captive and plunder. He was clumsy in words, but at this time, he saw the emperor urging him to drink, and he didn't know how to thank him for a while, but he only said these few words back and forth, and there were no other words, and his whole body trembled in a hurry, and his blood-stained robe rattled.

Chongzhen left his seat and walked up to him and asked, "How many wounds do you have?" ”

"The minister can't remember, there are no less than 100 old injuries plus new injuries." Man Gui hurriedly stood up.

"It's really incomplete." Chongzhen's face was a little painful, and he shouted: "Xiao Chunzi, serve General Man's wide clothes, and I will count the scars for him." ”

Cao Huachun carefully peeled off the armor, and after a while, he took off the sleeve of his left arm, revealing an arrow wound the size of a copper coin, the wound had not healed, and blood gushed from the vultures, and the entire arm was dyed red when he was young. Man Gui smiled: "It's better for me to take it off by myself!" After that, a few brushes actually pulled the armor down, stripped off his upper body, and knelt on the brocade pier. Sure enough, there were many scars on his body, some of them were old and new, one after the other, and the wound that had just healed was pulled and oozing a little bit of blood, flowing down his back, making it even more difficult to distinguish. Rao is Yuan Chonghuan has experienced a hundred battles, and he secretly admires in his heart, and he can't help but shed tears. Shen Yongmao, Wang Chengen, Cao Huachun and others don't take a step out of the capital on weekdays, where have they seen such a bloody scene, they are even more shocked to see it, and they almost close their eyes and hide their faces, not daring to look at it again.

Chongzhen lowered his head and counted carefully, where there were one hundred and sixty-five, the more he counted, the more frightened he felt, stroked Man Gui's back, and sighed: "The so-called military generals do not hesitate to die, I saw Man Gui's scars, only to know that death is actually common, isn't it a big scar?" Injured and wounded, bleeding endlessly, he still fights by himself, he is a hero! The ancients had a scar and a good story about drinking a cup, I thought it was a wild history talk, but today I saw the scar of Man Gui, and I realized that it was not a lie. I also imitate the ancients in giving wine, do you have this amount of wine? ”

Man Gui kowtowed and said: "The minister is not afraid of death, where would he be afraid of these glasses of wine!" ”

Chongzhen ordered Cao Huachun to pour wine, and Man Gui said: "Don't be so troublesome, drink like this cup by glass, how long will you eat?" This cup holds wine for two dollars, and according to this calculation, the emperor gave about three catties of wine, and it is inconvenient to take it together! He got up and grabbed three bottles of golden stem dew in the food box, and asked Wang Chengen for a blue and white porcelain bowl, unscrewed the lid of all three bottles of wine, poured them into the big bowl, put his hands flat, and poured them into his mouth. Everyone saw that he drank three catties of wine in the blink of an eye, and they were surprised and admired.

Chongzhen said: "Did you drink well? ”

"Good wine! Wine! Man Gui wiped his mouth and snorted, but shook his head again and said: "It's a pity that the taste is too thick and too sweet, it's better to burn a knife and drink it." ”

"What kind of wine is the burning knife, which is better than my imperial wine?"

Yuan Chonghuan knew that the emperor had misunderstood Man Gui's words, and hurriedly explained: "Man Gui likes spirits, and he is used to drinking them on weekdays. ”

"That's easy, the first-class soldiers retreat, I will give you a tank and teach you to eat enough!" Chongzhen said and turned to Yuan Chonghuan and said, "You have been fighting for many years, and I heard that you have not been injured at all, you are really a blessing!" ”

"Thanks to the emperor's blessing."

"How blessed are I? If I was stabbed a few times, Huang Taiji would withdraw his troops to change my territory, but he was willing to do it. Did Huang Taiji agree? Houjin Bing has arrived in Gyeonggi, what do you say? Won't I finally make an alliance with Huang Taiji under the city? Chongzhen looked up at the window, and his words were full of grief and indignation.

The three of them were so frightened that they left their seats and knelt down, and Yuan Chonghuan said: "Jianyu entered the customs, and the minister could not escape the blame." ”

"Since the Jianyu Pass is under the jurisdiction of Liu Ce, the prime minister of Jiliao, it has responsibilities and has nothing to do with the secretary." Chongzhen raised his hand and motioned for them to get up and said: "You have traveled thousands of miles to help, which shows that you are loyal, you don't have to blame yourself, what is the strategy for retreating from the enemy." ”

Yuan Chonghuan said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the soldiers are coming from afar, and the advantage is to fight quickly, and the strategy of retreating from the enemy must be held on, and when the food is exhausted, the people are sleepy and the horses are lacking, so they will naturally be defeated and flee." ”

Chongzhen secretly had a trace of displeasure in his heart: Huang Taiji is showing off his might under my nose, if he doesn't fight, just blindly sticking to it, where is my face? Shen Yongmao saw Chongzhen silently, and pondered: "It seems too ugly to retreat from the enemy like this, if the world laughs, won't the superintendent's face also lose its brilliance!" ”

Yuan Chonghuan saw that he was so ignorant and ignorant, thinking that he was the first time he met his own soldier, and in front of the emperor, it was not easy to attack, so he suppressed his anger and explained: "This is the most prudent strategy, under the feet of the Son of Heaven, it must not be made." ”

"That's nature, nature." Shen Yongmao saw Chongzhen nodding, secretly regretting Meng Lang, afraid that the emperor would be angry with the emperor, so he didn't dare to say more, and laughed, looking very embarrassed. Fortunately, Chongzhen was quite preoccupied, so he just lowered his head and pondered, and Man Gui was busy putting on his clothes and armor, so he didn't pay attention to it.

After a while, Chongzhen raised his head and asked, "Is this the only way to retreat from the enemy?" ”

"What Fang Caichen said is the middle strategy, and there are two strategies."

"What's the best policy?"

"Hold on and wait for help, secretly send strange soldiers to burn the gold grain and grass, and then send troops to seize the key passes of the Great Wall, cut off its retreat, and wait for the divisions of the King of Qin to gather in all places, attack from the north and south, and wipe them out in the pass."

"The division of King Qin will be together for a while, if Emperor Taiji harasses Gyeonggi here, how to resist it?"

"The minister sent Hou Shilu to lead 2,000 men and horses to garrison Sanhe to deal with Jizhou. In Funing, Yongping, Qian'an, Fengrun, and Yutian along the way, troops were left to deploy defenses, and it was not difficult to intercept them. As for Changping, where the imperial tombs of previous dynasties are located, the ministers did not dare to be negligent, and sent You Shiwei to lead 2,000 men and horses to assist in guarding it. ”

Chongzhen groaned: "What is the next policy? ”

"Decisive battle under the city."

"According to me, these three strategies, what you said is not necessarily the difference between the upper, middle and lower, and the decisive battle under the city may not be the next policy. I have never led soldiers to fight, but I know a little about the way of using soldiers to fight. Now that the Emperor Taiji soldiers are in the city, the situation is different from you in Liaodong, and Beijing is also different from Ningyuan. I think that today's plan is to settle down first, the government and the opposition are shaken, and the city is terrified, how can it be done? I must first calm their hearts, otherwise there will be some chaos, and the wall will be ruined, and our own house will be in chaos first, will the city be able to defend it? At that time, I was afraid that there was no need for Huang Taiji to attack, so some rebellious ministers and thieves rushed to sacrifice the city. I want to see success in a battle, and teach the government and the opposition to have a hope. Chongzhen walked back and forth, his eyes shining.

Yuan Chonghuan was quite surprised and extremely embarrassed, but he felt that what the emperor said also made some sense, but it was a dangerous move, if he failed...... He didn't dare to think about it, he just felt that his heart was pounding, didn't the emperor expect to be invincible in a decisive battle? He blurted out: "The enemy has 100,000 soldiers, our army plus the Beijing camp is less than 50,000, and the 30,000 horses in the Beijing camp have not been in battle for a long time, the strength and weakness can be divided. The capital is heavy, and it is not possible to be sloppy at all, once it is ......"

"Huh? Why didn't he go to war, his spirit was gone, and what was the heroic feat of recovering Liao in the five years of that year! Chongzhen's eyes swept at him sharply, and then his tone softened again, but his tone was still stern: "You don't need to remind me, where is there anything that is not once, only victory is not allowed to lose!" ”

"It's not a pity for the minister to die, but I'm afraid of losing the grace of God." Yuan Chonghuan suddenly felt a chill in his heart, only to feel that the emperor's eyes were as clear as a knife, not only like a mang's back, but also all over his body, even his heart was full of thorns, he clearly felt the supreme monarch and unspeakable fear, and did not dare to defend again.

"When I go out of the city for a decisive battle, I am also thinking about you and stopping the slander for you." Chongzhen sighed softly and said, "It's not that I forced you, it's hard for me!" ”

"Your Majesty-" Yuan Chonghuan thought of those rumors, looked at Chongzhen gratefully with tears in his eyes, and said, "The minister asks the emperor to postpone it for a day." ”

"Why?"

"The minister entered the customs from Ningyuan, galloped 600 miles in five days, and recently traveled to Jizhou and other places, the soldiers have been extremely laborious, and the pain is unspeakable, please ask the emperor's ministers to lead the army into the city to rest for a day and then fight."

Chongzhen groaned: "I know that the soldiers are hard, and it is reasonable to enter the city to rest. It's just that the strong enemy is around, close at hand, the Beijing division is terrified, Ning Yuan's soldiers are the best in the world, if they retreat into the city, first, they will show weakness and encourage the fierce flames of the enemy, and secondly, the Beijing division will inevitably be fierce and there will be no moment of peace, and the disadvantages will outweigh the benefits! ”

"Tomorrow is the battle, please return to the battalion to plan."

"I'll come to the city tomorrow to cheer you on!" Chongzhen personally sent the three of them to the gate of the palace.

It was almost time for the lantern to be held, and the sky was fluttering with snowflakes, and a thin layer had accumulated on the ground. Yuan Chonghuan's clothes were thin, and he had just come out of the warm pavilion, and his warm body was blown by the cold wind, and he couldn't help but shiver a few times. When Chongzhen saw it, he hurriedly shouted: "Take my big man!" ”

Cao Huachun thought that Chongzhen was going to go out of the palace, so he hurriedly stepped forward to put the sable big sable in his hand on him, but Chongzhen ripped it off and said to Yuan Chonghuan next to him: "I didn't say that you were guilty, why did you come to the small hat in Tsing Yi, where do you look like a generalissimo?" Be careful not to freeze, otherwise how will you kill the enemy for me tomorrow? ”

"The emperor - the minister is stationed in Liaodong for the emperor, and now the emperor Taiji has penetrated deep into the customs and ravaged Jinggi, not only the minister's hard work in Liaodong has been wasted, but also the emperor has made the people panic, and the minister is ......unwilling" Yuan Chonghuan had mixed feelings, stunned outside the hall, forgetting his gratitude for a while, and just wanted to vomit the depression in his heart.

Chongzhen waved his hand to stop him: "Which one is guilty and which one is meritorious, I know in my heart." This time the enemy entered the customs, the capital was in danger, the crime was Liu Ce alone, the military department Shangshu Wang Qia did not learn about border affairs, heard the police and delayed the report, the dispatch was perverse, the crime was unforgivable, I have ordered the Jinyi guard to arrest them and take them to the Zhenfu Division Prison for detention. It's up to you tomorrow, Elemental, don't let me down! ”

"Ministers will fight to the death!" Yuan Chonghuan looked down at the sable on his body, gritted his teeth and said.

At dawn the next day, the drums and horns outside the Guangqu Gate thundered, and the Houjin soldiers rushed in like a tide. Yuan Chonghuan knew that it was no longer the time to wear light robes, talk and laugh and use soldiers, a fierce battle was coming, he wore armor, draped neatly, and personally went into battle to supervise the battle. He immediately looked at it, only to see that the Houjin soldiers were all over the mountains, and there was no end in sight, and the thin layer of snow on the ground was trampled on by people and horses, and it disappeared in an instant. Rao is he experienced the battle of Ningyuan and Ningjin, and he is used to seeing battle formations, but he was also secretly surprised when he saw the prosperity of the Jin army and the strength of his troops this time. The urgent general waved the flag, and the red-clothed cannons on the city fired in unison for a while, and they fell into the Houjin army and exploded, raising how high the smoke and dust were, and the Houjin army broke 2,000 men and horses, but the Wus followed one after another, and bravely attacked.