Autumn is crisp, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the sky is blue and blue. The weather in early autumn is good, and I feel comfortable when I take a breath.

Today's Shanhaiguan is particularly lively, it can be said that the gongs and drums are noisy and the firecrackers are ringing in unison, and the colorful flags are crowded. Two rows of soldiers in new uniforms stood on either side of the gate, new muskets clutched to their chests, bayonets glistening in the sun.

"Brother Xiao, that Lord Sun is really so powerful. It's worth your big fight, get the salute out? When Ao Changhai saw this scene, he looked at Li Xiao with some doubts.

He had never seen Li Xiao treat any official of the Ming Dynasty with such respect, even in the face of the emperor. Li Xiao also has a kind of unruliness in his bones, what is the origin of this Lord Sun, how can he make Li Xiao look at him so differently?

"It's worth it!" Li Xiao stood in front of the pass, looking into the distance with his two eyes. This scene is like the father of the child in the family looking back from afar.

Others are not worth it, but this big man is definitely worth it.

This big man is called Sun Chengzong, the official worships the Dongge University Scholar, the prince and the young master, and the title of secretary of the military department. In the Ming officialdom, this brother can be regarded as the number one. The emperor saw it, and he still performs disciple salutes.

Although the power is not as great as Ye Xianggao and Wei Zhongxian, the prestige faintly overshadows the two of them.

The reason why Li Xiao respects him is definitely not because of his official position. People like Ye Xiang Gao Wei Zhongxian can't arouse Li Xiao's respect, let alone an emperor with the title of secretary of the military department.

Respect him because he is a person who is absolutely loyal to the Ming Dynasty and the Han nation. When the hometown was attacked by the Tartars, nearly 200 members of the whole family died collectively and none of them survived.

On the other hand, those Donglin Junjie, Qian Qianyi committed suicide by throwing himself into the water. After going down, I climbed up again, and it was said that I hated the water because it was too cold. Wen Tiren defected to the Manchu Qing Dynasty and pursued the Ming army too hard, resulting in a sudden death from a heart attack. There are so many that there are too many to count.

Li Xiao just wanted to ask, why is the gap so big between the same Donglin Party members?

Sun Chengzong was not only loyal, but also an excellent commander. Inspector Yuan, who was powerful in history, was just for him.

The Guanning Iron Cavalry he trained single-handedly created the Guanning Jin Defense Line. The Ming Dynasty, which was in the midst of party struggle, relied on this line of defense for more than ten years. Nurhachi and his sons, whatever they do. For more than ten years, this line of defense has not been breached.

If there was no Guanningjin defense line, maybe the Ming Dynasty would have been wiped out long ago.

Ao Canghai beside him looked puzzled, and Li Xiao didn't say anything to him. After all, this is a record in the history of later generations, and this will never happen again due to its own appearance.

Everyone craned their necks to look into the distance, all wanting to see what this big official who made the chief soldier look at him was like. Mao Wenlong pulled Yuan Chonghuan, and the two guys were muttering on the side. One is doing earnest teaching, the other is suddenly enlightened, and I don't know what the two old glasses are talking about.

"Big brother, it's here!" Li Hu rode a tall horse and galloped over from the road with a little smoke and dust. Came to a place two or three feet away from Li Xiao, with the reins of a horse. The horse's front hooves are raised high, and it takes two kicks before it falls to the ground.

I know that this thing is showing off his horse skills, but this is not the time to talk about him. It's not a joke to play with horses like this, in case something happens. This third child, why can't he be as stable as the second child. The injury has not been fully healed, so he actually got a boat to come to Shanhaiguan.

Li Xiao has no way to treat his younger brother.

A procession appeared on the road in the distance, and there were not many people, only twenty or thirty people. This made Li Xiao a little surprised, the officials of the Ming Dynasty traveled, that is, how big the official spectrum is.

Zhang Juzheng's sedan chair needs thirty-six people to lift, and it is impossible to do it without one. The honor guard of this Dongge University scholar is not as much as Zhang Juzheng's sedan chair wife. It was these twenty or thirty people, and there were more than a dozen guards sent by Li Xiao to greet Li Hu.

When the team came to Shanhaiguan, Li Xiao hurriedly greeted him personally.

"Big brother! This is Lord Sun. Li Hu, who went out ten miles to greet him, whispered to Li Xiao.

Li Xiao looked at the old man riding on a horse in front of him, with sword eyebrows, apricot eyes, a nose like a gall, and a mouth like Danzhu. A pair of ears are not only big but also have wheels, and the big earlobes can be compared to the Shakyamuni Buddha in the temple.

A slightly gray beard, very delicately combed. It swayed naturally with the wind, and he was wearing a big red scarlet robe that only second-grade officials were qualified to wear. He wore a swallow-winged official hat on his head and a jade belt around his waist. Sitting on the horse, majestic and majestic, people naturally have a sense of respect.

"Shanhaiguan General Soldier Li Xiao, see Lord Sun." Li Xiao bowed to Sun Chengzong.

"It turned out to be Mr. Li, the old man has heard of you. I heard that you are a young talent, and I was still thinking about how to do it. Now that I have seen it, it is indeed an eye-opener for the old man. Sun Chengzong also looked Li Xiao up and down.

It's no wonder that Sun Chengzong spoke like this, if it weren't for Li Xiao making trouble in the capital. Maybe now he has become the Jiliao Governor, commanding the most elite army in the entire Ming Dynasty, fighting to the death with the Tartars to restore Liaodong.

But now, he can only inspect Shanhaiguan as the emperor's envoy. It is used to assess the defense capability of Shanhaiguan. If the Tartars tore up the secret agreement and brazenly launched an attack, would Shanhaiguan be able to hold back the Tartars' cavalry.

Although a major disarmament was carried out, those high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty were still not at ease. If Sun Chengzong returned, he believed that Li Xiao would be defeated under the attack of the Tartars.

Those scheming Ye Xianggao will definitely not support Li Xiao anymore.

After all, although everyone is distressed about spending money, if they really let the Tartars rush in to grab such a vote, then a good life will not be possible.

Zhao Nanxing and Ye Xianggao argued for a long time, and finally agreed to let Sun Chengzong take a look first. Mr. Sun's reputation and vision that he spent a lot of time building are still impressive.

"Your Excellency, please!" Li Xiao did not answer Sun Chengzong's words, and with a wave of his hand, Li Hu walked up and personally led Sun Chengzong's mount to the dismount stone.

Sun Chengzong dismounted, and Li Xiao arched his hand and said, "Please review the new army trained by the lower officials." ”

"Oh! It has long been heard that General Li is good at training soldiers and is good at firearms. Today, I want to see what kind of person can make Shuntianfu upside down. Sun Chengzong's words were tingling, but there was some appreciation in his eyes.

The old guy has a lot of thoughts, and Li Xiao can't guess what he's thinking for a while.

"Stand upright! Salute! Seeing Li Xiao leading Sun Chengzong over, Ao Canghai immediately gave an order in a loud voice.

The soldiers in new-style military uniforms saluted Sun Chengzong with firearms in their hands. Ao Canghai raised his right hand high and was at eye level, his fingertips were attached to the brim of his hat, and he saluted Sun Chengzong. The drums also sounded.

Sun Chengzong looked at Ao Canghai with some surprise, this was the first time he had seen this kind of etiquette. It's a little weird, but there's a heroic aura.

This is not in line with the etiquette of the imperial court, but Sun Chengzong didn't say anything.

"Please!" Li Xiao was in front, leading Sun Chengzong on the red carpet.

Wherever Sun Chengzong went, the eyes of the soldiers followed. Holding the musket tightly in his hand, the cold light and shining bayonets stood like a forest, and the aura of murder made people shudder. People who are less timid are watched by so many people, and it is common for them to walk smoothly.

Li Xiao glanced back at Sun Chengzong, this old gentleman was actually strolling around under the gaze of so many soldiers. A pair of eagle-like eyes scanned the faces of each soldier.

These soldiers were all carefully selected by Li Xiao, and they were all about 1.8 meters tall. All of them were strong young men with great health, before Sun Chengzong came. I have also specially practiced eyes, and according to Li Xiao's requirements, the eyes must be fierce. I can't wait to peel off its skin and eat its meat, so cruel!

Under Ao Canghai's supervision, Li Xiao was a little scared with that look. Sun Chengzong can actually walk leisurely, and sure enough, all the big names left in history are not easy to give.

After reviewing the team, Mao Wenlong took Yuan Chonghuan to greet him.

Li Xiao is just the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan, and Mao Wenlong is the governor of Jiliao. The only person here who is qualified to talk to Sun Chengzong on an equal footing is this Inspector.

"Huh! Scold! Scold! Wenlong has seen Lord Sun, and the adult has worked hard all the way. Mao Wenlong arched his hand at Sun Chengzong and greeted with a smile.

"Inspector Mao, the old man has the emperor's order. Inspecting Jiliao defense, this Shanhaiguan is naturally the top priority. The wicked guest came to the door, hoping that Inspector Mao would not drive the old man away. ”

Master Sun laughed, and the defense of Shanhaiguan was reasonable. As long as there is Brother Xiao'er, the old man is at ease. If the Tartars come to attack, something really goes wrong. The old man, the head of the six yangs, is not stingy with a knife at the entrance of the vegetable market. ”

Mao Wenlong didn't have the reverence for Sun Chengzong in Li Xiao's heart, and after the two old guys met, they began to pinch violently, which made Li Xiao very worried that the two old guys would fight.

"Brother Xiao? Oh, it turned out to be Mr. Li. This soldier is good, and the Shenji Battalion in the Beijing camp doesn't have such sharp eyes. Peek at the appearance and know that Guan Bao, the hidden dragon and crouching tiger under the command of General Li are there. When Sun Chengzong spoke, his eyes looked at Ao Canghai, who was standing at the front of the team.

"That is Captain Ao, who has fought many battles with the Tartars, and has been able to win them all. Master Mao really has an extraordinary vision! ”

"Yuan Chonghuan, the director of the Ministry of War, has seen my lord." Yuan Chonghuan is a member of the Ministry of War, and now the big officials in Beijing have arrived. Naturally, I want to go and see you!

"Master Yuan has worked hard!" Sun Chengzong said lightly, and Yuan Chonghuan immediately retreated.

"Lord Sun, please!" Mao Wenlong made a gesture of please, and Sun Chengzong entered Shanhaiguan surrounded by Li Xiao and others.

After entering the Chinese army in the Governor's Mansion, Sun Chengzong saw at a glance the sand table that Li Xiao had made people drum.

"It's ......! This is Liaoshui, this is the Daling River. This is Jinzhou, this is Ningyuan, this is ...... Liaoyang. Whoever made this thing is simply wonderful. Sun Chengzong also came to Liaodong back then, and with the memory in his mind, he quickly recognized that this was the terrain of Liaodong.

"Your Excellency, this is what General Li ordered his subordinates to make. The terrain of Liaodong, special Shanhaiguan and Liaoyang are placed here. Where there are mountains, where there is water, where there are bridges to cross rivers, where there are roads to climb mountains. It's all marked in detail! Yuan Chonghuan immediately came out to explain, saying that he was also extremely envious of this thing.

"Being in the big tent, but you can see the whole battlefield at a glance. Very good! Very good! Sun Chengzong nodded with satisfaction, and looked at Li Xiao's eyes softened a lot, and Li Xiao even felt kindness inside.

"This is ......!" Seeing that Sun Chengzong was happy, Yuan Chonghuan wanted to continue to explain, but was stopped by Sun Chengzong. Pointing to Li Xiao's nose and said, "You come on." ”

"No!" Li Xiao answered the promise and walked to the front of the sand table.

"These red flags represent my Ming official army, and those white flags represent the Houjin Tartars. If you look closely, those white flags are painted with different colors. This represents the Eight Banners of the Jurchens! ”

"Oh, that's kind of interesting. Go on, the old man wants to see how you arrange your troops. Sun Chengzong glanced at the pile of red flags stretched out far away, looked at Li Xiao and asked.

"That's what Xia Guan thinks, instead of waiting for the rabbit at Shanhaiguan. Why don't you take the initiative and stick it all the way under the enemy's nose. Here, Jinzhou.

Jinzhou's city defense has been initially stabilized, and the four city gates have urgently built urn cities. The city wall also stretched out several forts, so that when the Tartars attacked the city wall, they would be hit from behind, which had a great impact on the morale of the army. ”

"Oh! What if they don't attack your wall first, but chisel your broken stone wall first? Mao Wenlong pointed to the sand table and asked.

"Huh! My lord, this fort is solid. In order to let the Tartars attack. In this way, the city can pour ammunition on their heads. ”

"What an idea." Sun Chengzong carefully looked at the strange-looking Jinzhou city wall.

"Xiaguan is going to transfer 30,000 people over to help defend Jinzhou City. As long as Nurhachi is under the city of Jinzhou, the lower officials have ninety percent certainty of killing him. ”

"Humph!" Sun Chengzong snorted heavily with his nose.

Ever since Nurhachi raised his army, he did not know how many people wanted to eat his flesh, drink his blood, and draw his tendons. But now people are still living well in Liaoyang City, and it is said that the longer they get, the stronger their bodies become. The Jurchen sorcerers said that this Nurhachi could live for a thousand years.

If the Jurchen shaman knew Chinese, he would definitely die of depression. Because of Li Xiao just now, a strange expression appeared on his face.

The thousand-year-old king is eighty-thousand-year-old turtle, and someone is willing to be the eighth king, so let him say it.

"You send 40,000 men to Jinzhou, then if the Tartars don't attack Jinzhou. The second is to bypass Jinzhou and go straight to Guanshan Customs. When the time comes, the Jingshi will be shaken, and you kid won't be able to get out of it. Sun Chengzong's eyes stared at Li Xiao like an eagle, and his eyes were so sharp that he seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, livers, spleens, lungs and kidneys.