On the tower of Deshengmen City, Yu Qian also stared coldly at the overwhelming Mongolian army in the distance, and there were also Shi Heng and Shen Yichen standing beside him.

"The Mongol Tatars are all in armor, and it seems that the defeat of Tumu Fort in the first battle has improved their equipment a lot."

Yu Qian once served as the governor of Shanxi, although he did not lead the army to fight against the Mongol tribes, but he did not see the soldiers of the three major Mongolian tribes in Jiubian.

At that time, in addition to the well-equipped Tile Division, there were very few iron armor in the Tatar Department and the Uliang Habe Division, which were mainly light leather armor and cloth armor. Now in terms of the enemy's equipment, it is no longer inferior to the elite of the Ming Dynasty, and even ahead of the current Beijing garrison.

"Why do you need the battle of Tumu Fort, the battle of Yanghe, the Tile Spur army already has equipped cavalry, bronze guns and other equipment, all thanks to the greedy people of Datong Xuanfu, otherwise how could we suffer such a fiasco!"

Shi Heng replied indignantly, he was always haunted by the fiasco in the battle of Yanghe.

You must know that before the Battle of Yanghe, Shi Heng belonged to the recognized general star of the Ming Dynasty, and it is not surprising that he will serve as the chief military officer of the important town of the Nine Sides, and it is not impossible to be knighted with military merits in the future.

As a result, 40,000 Datong soldiers in Yanghe World War were destroyed, and he escaped alone and picked up a life, and was imprisoned in prison by the imperial court afterwards, which can be said to be ruined in a lifetime.

Shi Heng never believed that the Yanghe fiasco was the reason for his improper command, but that there were people at the border who smuggled the enemy, which led to a serious strategic miscalculation.

What's even more outrageous is that this person who is an enemy is known to the world, as early as the 11th year of orthodoxy, he was impeached by the border generals, and he was reprimanded by the imperial court in the 12th year of orthodoxy. But the result was unharmed, and there were rumors that he was about to return to Beijing to serve as the palm seal of the twelve supervisors.

Just reflects the saying, kill people and set fire to the gold belt, build bridges and repair roads without corpses!

Listening to Shi Heng's angry words, Shen Yichen set his eyes on him, and his heart was still full of curiosity about this key figure in history.

Shi Heng is a standard martial artist, tall and powerful, with a thick beard. In addition to not having a red face, it is quite similar to the appearance of Guan Gong in many portraits.

From the perspective of martial arts alone, Shi Heng is undoubtedly excellent, and it is not an exaggeration to even call him a contemporary celebrity. The defeat of Yanghe did not have much impact on him, and the brave killing of the enemy in the follow-up Jingshi Guard Battle perfectly repaid Yu Qian's high hopes for him.

And during his tenure as the chief military officer, he selected his subordinates to "be eclectic and meritocratic", and commanded an elite army that was willing to serve the dead, which also became the help of the later Nangong Revolution to help Zhu Qizhen restore.

It's just that in many cases, once a person controls the peak of power, it is easy to be overwhelmed and blind. Shi Heng took the Jingshi to guard the war, as well as the subsequent restoration of Nangong, and began to form a party to interfere in the government and politics without scruples, and even stretched out his hand to the border town.

The civilian governors who played the role of supervision and balance were all replaced by him as confidants and military generals, and cooperated with his nephews to "captive" tens of thousands of officials and soldiers, and half of the generals inside and outside the court worshiped under the Shijiamen.

Later, he entered the palace without a summons, regarded the palace rules as nothing, and became a thorough minister.

After the restoration, Zhu Qizhen fought in a sparse manner, and the emperor's way of controlling the government was full of talent, and you Shi Heng wanted to monopolize the power and turn the emperor into a puppet, so you really found the wrong opponent.

In the third year of Tianshun, Zhu Qizhen used thunderous means to find Shi Heng's nephew for rebellion and humiliation of the prince, and gave Shi Heng to a belt and a unit, and all the court henchmen were deposed.

In the fourth year of Tianshun, he took advantage of his illness to kill and instructed Jinyiwei to command Lu Gao to impeach Shi Heng with ill intentions and plots. Zhu Qizhen seized the opportunity to issue an edict to punish him for the crime of treason, and by the way, he beheaded Shi Heng's sons and nephews together, so as to achieve the effect of cutting the grass and eradicating the roots.

Since then, this military general who leans towards the government and the opposition has become a piece of history in the Ming Dynasty.

That's why, Shen Yichen always reminds himself to stay humble and low-key, and never get carried away. The reason is that weakness and ignorance are never an obstacle to survival, arrogance is!

Of course, this is all a later story, and the current Shi Heng may not dare to imagine that one day he will be able to hold the power of the extremely human minister.

Yu Qian is upright and does not play tricks, which does not mean that he does not know who the "greedy man" in Shi Heng's words is. No one has conclusive evidence for this kind of thing, and it is easy to offend the internal officials and eunuchs, so it is naturally inconvenient to investigate deeply.

So he deliberately put aside the topic and said: "The Tartars are not in a hurry to attack, but are building siege equipment, it seems that they are bound to win the Jingshi this time." ”

Since the defeat of the Great Yuan in the grassland, the Mongols have invaded the interior more of a grab-and-run, and rarely will seriously build equipment to attack the city. This time, he also occupied a double advantage in strength and equipment, but he was able to hold back his fighting spirit and wait for the siege equipment to be in place, which showed his will and determination on the side.

"What Xia Guan is worried about is not a foreign enemy, but that he will also use the Emperor Taishang to disturb the morale of the army first."

Shen Yichen looked at the main formation of the tile spurs in the distance, and replied with some concern.

Although Zhu Qizhen no longer has the status of emperor, he is still the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and there is still the beloved son of the Empress Dowager Sun in the imperial city, which can easily lead to unpredictable consequences.

"Young Sima Mu needs to worry, as long as the Tartars dare to escort the Emperor Taishang to the front of the battle, the general will definitely lead the army to kill the Emperor Taishang to welcome back the Emperor!"

Shi Heng said arrogantly, he had been aggrieved for a long time in the shame of the battle of Yanghe, and he was waiting to make a miraculous feat to wash away the shame of defeat, as well as to prove that he was worthy of the title of Wu Qingbo and the chief military officer of the Beijing Division!

"General Shi is brave, and this official naturally knows."

Shen Yichen echoed with a smile, and did not raise the bar on whether Shi Heng had this ability.

Now Shen Yichen can be regarded as the ups and downs of officialdom for several years, and on the two points of sleek and bent and extended, he does not lose a lot of old fritters in Beijing.

"In the battle of Shao Sima Tumu Fort, his bravery and good fighting are also not lost to the generals."

Shi Heng took the opportunity to compliment, Shen Yichen now has the skill of being a dragon, and he is also a celebrity in front of the emperor, so he naturally will not treat him lightly.

"The soldiers will come to block, the water will come to cover the earth, and the official believes that Shao Sima can handle the affairs of the emperor."

Me?

Hearing Yu Qian's words, Shen Yichen showed a wry smile on his face, to be honest, he didn't know how to lead the peace negotiation, so that the Emperor Zhu Qizhen could not come back, and at the same time, he could not be used by the enemy.

The clouds of war, with the passage of time, covered the sky of the entire Beijing Division little by little.

Three days later, the Mongol army finally built a batch of siege equipment, and they aimed at the outer city of Quang Ninh Gate. This gate does not belong to the core nine gates of the inner city of Jingshi, but is one of the seven gates of the outer city, and it is also the only gate that opens to the west.

Compared with the nine gates of the inner city of the Beijing Division, the importance of the seven gates of the outer city is relatively low, and the terrain is more conducive to the attack of the army.

For the capture of Guangning Gate, Taishi also had absolute confidence, believing that the Mongol army was strong and strong, and the siege equipment was well prepared, so it was only a matter of time to capture the gate.

But the reality gave Ye Xian a hard slap, the tenacity of the defenders on the city wall is beyond imagination, almost the kind that does not retreat. The Mongol army had climbed to the top of the city several times, but it was beaten back, which shattered the optimistic expectations before the battle.

"Taishi, the barbarians are very resolute in defense, do you continue to increase your troops and attack or find another way?"

The Arazhiyuan, who had retreated from the front line, told Xiang Yexian about the current situation, and in just half a day, there were thousands of casualties in the attack on Guangning Gate, and even if the Mongol army was now a big business, it could not withstand such losses.

"Send someone to inform the Ming Kingdom, and say that we are going to return them to the emperor and ask for peace talks!"

Hearing Taishi Yexian's words, Ah Razhiyuan showed a hesitant look on his face. The news that the Ming Dynasty "promoted" Zhu Qizhen to the title of Emperor Taishang has been learned by the Mongolian side.

In addition, during the period of escorting Zhu Qizhen to knock on the door, the word "peace talks" has been used by the Mongols, and I don't know how much gold and silver treasures were extorted from the Ming Kingdom. Now that he is talking about peace talks, even if the Ming court is full of fools, I am afraid it will be difficult to work, and it is impossible to open their doors wide.

"I'm afraid that Ming Guo will not believe in our peace talks."

"I know."

also nodded very calmly, of course the Ming court is not a fool, it is strange that they can accept peace talks.

"So what's the peace talk about?"

Arazhiyuan asked rhetorically, the strategies of Taishi Yexian are really not suitable for the straight-headed Mongols.

"There is an ancient saying in the Ming Kingdom, which is called Ming Xiu Plank Road, and the darkness is Chencang."

"Using the peace talks as an excuse, you led your troops and horses tonight to take advantage of the night to bypass the northwest and go straight to Fuchengmen in the inner city."

"Fuchengmen?"

Hearing that it was an attack on this city gate, the puzzled look on A's face became even worse.

"Taishi, didn't you say before the war that the main attack direction is Deshengmen and Xizhimen, and you have to go around a long distance to attack the Fuchengmen army, which consumes the physical strength of the children."

The Guangning Gate of the outer city is in the west direction, bypassing the outer city defense line to attack the Desheng Gate and Xizhi Gate, which are also in the northwest direction, the Mongol army does not need to "travel long distance".

You must know that Jingshi is not a small city, and the circumference of the walls of the entire inner city is as high as forty-eight miles. During the war, it was impossible for the soldiers to remove their armor, and marching in dozens of catties of armor was a great physical exertion, not to mention the siege of the city immediately afterward.

Therefore, when the Mongol generals made plans before the war, they never considered attacking Fuchengmen and other places, and this was equivalent to changing the hexagram in battle.

"The guard of Fuchengmen is Gu Xingzu, the former governor of the Shenji Battalion, and now serves as the deputy commander of the Beijing garrison. This person is a coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death, and he must not have the determination to live and die with the city gate, and attacking this place is the best breakthrough. ”

He also said his reasons in a calm tone, but when he heard these words, he was a little shocked. How did Taishi learn about the deployment of the nine gates of the Ming army's Jingshi, and even knew the character and qualifications of the guards?

"Taishi's vision is as keen as the wolf king!"

The Elder Governor praised him with admiration, the Watt Thorn tribe has such a leader, why can't he regain the glory of the Great Yuan?

"I'm going to send someone to inform Ming Guo of the peace talks."

"Yes."

Just a quarter of an hour later, the imperial court received a request for peace talks, looking at the national letter that was still stamped with the treasure of Emperor Zhu Qizhen, Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu only felt a headache, and the most troublesome thing finally came.

"Cheng Jing, what do you think about this matter?"

Zhu Qiyu didn't have enough close henchmen around him, so he could only put the direction of asking for help on the eunuch Cheng Jing.

Cheng Jing was born as a Jinshi, if he hadn't been inexplicably involved in the rebellion of the Han King and was corrupted, maybe he would be able to rank as a cabinet minister today.

Just as Zhu Qizhen treated Wang Zhen at the beginning, Zhu Qiyu now also does not treat Cheng Jing as an ordinary eunuch, and the emotions of the teacher and the courtiers are mixed.

The only difference is that there is no hazy "father-son" affection.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is always paying attention to the peace process, and we can't ignore the request of the Watt Thorn."

Although Empress Dowager Sun intervened in the affairs of the previous dynasty from time to time, objectively speaking, except for her son Zhu Qizhen, she really had no desire for power, and she was not interested in engaging in the imperial system.

Of course, whether you are interested or not is one thing, and whether you have the ability is another.

If Zhu Qiyu ignores Empress Dowager Sun's "love for his son", then the consequences will be very serious, and he can even deprive him of imperial power and listen to politics.

"Then send Shen Yichen to envoy the enemy camp to make peace?"

Letting Shen Yichen serve as the minister of peace is something that Zhu Qiyu has planned for a long time, but he has been trying his best to delay it.

After all, after the envoy saw Zhu Qizhen, it meant that there were infinite possibilities, what if the Mongolian Tatars really put the emperor back when their brains were hot?

In order to avoid this from happening, Zhu Qiyu put off the matter of peace negotiations, no matter how eager Empress Dowager Sun was.

As a result, now that the Mongol Tatars have taken the initiative to mention the peace talks, it seems that they cannot drag on.

"The slave suggested that it is best to send a few low-level officials to make a show, and there is no need to use Shao Sima for the time being."

Anyway, the peace conference is just to give an explanation to the Empress Dowager Sun, who to send to talk about it?

Listening to Cheng Jing's suggestion, Zhu Qiyu thought for a while, then nodded and said, "It's indeed a way to get the best of both worlds, according to what you say." ”

So Zhu Qiyu ordered Wang Fu, a member of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhao Rong, Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, to go out of the city to pay homage to the emperor, and also held peace talks with the Mongolian Taishi first.

Seeing that the envoys to the peace talks sent by the Ming Kingdom were actually two "petty officials" in green robes, Ye Xian's face instantly became gloomy. He didn't even see the Emperor Zhu Qi in front of the town, so he sent the two of them away directly, and said: "You are all small, urgently order Shen Yichen, Yu Qian, and Shi Heng to come!" ”

"The Almighty Soldier King of the Female President"

The translated meaning of this sentence is that you sesame petty officials are also worthy of talking to me, so hurry up and order officials at the level of Shen Yichen, Yu Qian, and Shi Heng to come to the peace talks!

At the same time, for some reason, the news that the Mongolian army wanted to negotiate peace and released the Emperor Zhu Qizhen reached the ears of the Empress Dowager Sun through the mouth of the eunuch, which was a big basket.

The Empress Dowager Sun immediately broke into Zhu Qiyu's imperial study in a rage, and then bluntly asked him to send a high-ranking official delegation to negotiate peace with Wa Shao, otherwise she would abolish the emperor's honorific title in the name of unfilial piety and support the crown prince Zhu Jianshen to succeed to the throne!

Zhu Qiyu, who succeeded to the throne temporarily, did not have the strength to compete with the Empress Dowager Sun when the Emperor Zhu Qizhen was still alive. He could only accept it in a panic, and officially ordered Shen Yichen to be the minister of peace, and led the left deputy capital Yu Shi Yang Shan to envoy to the Mongolian camp.

In the Xizhimen Tower, Shen Yichen was holding the envoy's decree in his hand, and his emotions were a little complicated, this day had finally come.

To tell the truth, putting aside the righteousness of the family and country, Zhu Qizhen, as his old master, is in a sense the grace of knowledge.

But Zhu Qizhen once served as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, so there is no way to put aside the righteousness of the family and the country, and go to the left to talk about other things!

At the same time, Yu Qian, who learned that Shen Yichen was going to envoy to the Mongolian army camp, also hurried over from Deshengmen. When the two armies faced each other, they also used an ordering attitude to summon the ministers of the imperial court to negotiate peace, which was equivalent to a provocation and humiliation.

Yu Qian didn't know the agreement reached between Shen Yichen and Cheng Jing, he only knew that Da Ming was iron-clad, how could he allow the Tartars to jump off the beam?

"Young Sima, please also postpone the envoy to the Tartar camp, and wait for this official to explain the situation to His Majesty before making a decision."

Even if Zhu Qiyu's holy decree had been issued, Yu Qian was still unwilling to let Shen Yichen envoy at this moment.

Yu Gong, Shen Yichen is an important minister of the imperial court, a guard of the nine gates, representing the dignity of the Ming court, and it is impossible to accept such an order and humiliation from the Mongolian Taishi.

For private reasons, the Tartars did not have any argument that the two armies would not fight each other, and it was very likely that they would not be able to come back.

Shen Yichen's talent, no one knows better than Yu Qian, this son will definitely become a pillar of the country in the future, and he can't just lose it in vain!

"Da Sima is kind, and the lower officials have it. His Majesty's holy edict has been issued, and it is a taboo for the courtiers not to obey it. In addition, His Majesty's new monarch succeeds to the throne, and he needs to maintain his imperial dignity, which cannot be shirked. ”

"But the Tartar wolves are ambitious, they can't choose peace talks at this time, there must be a plan behind them, and you may be in danger if you go north."

The malice of the first peace talks is almost clear, even if he uses Zhu Qizhen as a threat, but in Yu Qian's eyes, the society is important, and the monarch is light, not to mention that the other party is already the emperor.

In the face of Qian's insistence, Shen Yichen was grateful, but said with a wry smile: "Da Sima, I was appointed as the minister of peace at the court meeting, even if I don't send an envoy to the enemy camp today, it will be the same in the future." ”

"What's more, I am deeply affected by the Emperor Tailong, and I have been criticized for supporting the establishment of King Yu as the new king. Now he refuses to send an envoy regardless of the slightest kindness of the old master, and he will definitely be pointed out by thousands of people in the future. ”

In a sense, even if he knew that this was a trap for the Taishi Yexian, Shen Yichen had to jump in and go out, this was the equivalent exchange after getting the power of the cabinet minister!

Shen Yichen's words made Yu Qian silent, it is indeed as he said, the emperor is gracious, and now His Majesty has a life, but in fact, there is no room for refusal.

"Since this is the case, then the official will not say more, please do everything cheaply."

"Xia Guan understands."

Shen Yichen arched his hand, and joined Yang Shan, the deputy capital who was already waiting at the city gate, and with the sound of "squeak" hinge friction, the two thick gates of Xizhi Gate slowly opened.

It's just that what is presented in front of the Mongolian army is not just a lone envoy team, there is also a neat line of Ming troops standing behind Shen Yichen!

The neat marching footsteps of "winter, winter, winter" sounded, and refracted through the deep city gate hole, and it sounded a shocking echo. Tens of thousands of well-equipped soldiers of the Ming army walked out of the inner city in such a arrogant manner, lining up behind the city to face hundreds of thousands of Mongolian troops.

Looking at the picture of Shen Yichen's envoy, the expression on Taishi Yexian's face was very exciting, worthy of the champion of the Ming Kingdom who fought two bloody battles with himself in Tumubao and Huailai City, and the courage to lead the army out of the city to respond to the provocation is unbeatable!