However, within a few days, the defenders of Tongzhou, Zunhua and Miyun successively returned to the Shunyan army under the leadership of the defender.

Ordered to command an army of 50,000, Song Zhong, the governor of the Kaiping Guard, hurriedly led the army and horses after hearing about the rebellion of the King of Yan, intending to enter the Juyong Pass to contain the Yan army.

More than ten days later, Zhu Di, the king of Yan, left Zhu Neng, Zhang Xin led 10,000 soldiers to guard Beiping, personally led the army to conquer Huailai, Jizhou, killed the governor Song Zhong, and commanded Peng Ju, Sun Tai, commanded Ma Xuan, collected and surrendered most of the soldiers and horses under the command of the four, and the commander of Yongping Weisho made Guo Liang lead the army to surrender. At this point, the total number of Yan troops has approached 100,000.

On the Fengtian Palace, Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen, who was wearing a five-clawed golden dragon robe, had a pale face, glanced at the civil and military generals in the hall, and was silent.

An old man in a bright red official uniform, with gray hair, who was over sixty years old, walked slowly up to the hall under the call of the eunuch at the palace gate, and kowtowed: "Weichen Geng Bingwen see Your Majesty." This person is the one who followed Emperor Hongwu to fight in the Quartet in the past, and then led the army to contain Zhang Shicheng during the Battle of Poyang Lake, avoiding Zhu Yuanzhang from leading the army to meet Chen Youliang's army when he was attacked by the enemy.

Zhu Yunwen saw that although Geng Bingwen was old, his voice was like a bell when he spoke, and he was quite old and strong, and his heart was a little peaceful. When he was recommended by Qi Tai, the secretary of the Ministry of War, he was slightly worried that Geng Bingwen, who was highly qualified in the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty, was old and mediocre and overwhelmed. Wu Jie, Marquis of Anlu, Wu Gao, Marquis of Jiangyin, and Geng Xuan, the governor of the capital, all commanded Sheng Yong, Pan Zhong, Yang Song, Gu Cheng, Xu Kai, Li You, Chen Hui, and Ping'an, and went their separate ways. The political envoy of Ping Yanbu is in Zhending, and the squire is in charge of affairs. ”“

Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, looked at the military generals and ministers in the palace who were lying on the ground to receive the order, sighed slightly in his heart, and secretly thought to himself: In the past, the emperor indiscriminately killed the dynasty so that there were no generals available, if the former blue jade, Fu Youde, and Feng Sheng were alive, Zhu Di was three heads and six arms, and it was difficult to escape defeat.

"You Aiqing are the generals in the army, I hope to fight hard, exterminate the rebellion, and don't let me bear the name of killing my uncle." Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen, who was sitting on a high place, said coldly.

When the generals who knelt down to accept the order heard His Majesty the Emperor's contradictory words, they couldn't help but look at each other a little, not knowing how to answer.

Geng Bingwen has been idle at home for a long time, and His Majesty the Emperor, who has not been on the throne for a long time, has never met, and when he looked up, he saw Zhu Yunwen's cheeks frosty, and he did not dare to disobey him, so he had to reluctantly say: "Weichen Geng Bingwen respectfully obeys His Majesty's will." ”

About an hour later, in the hall of the official office of the Ministry of War, a group of civil officials and military generals who had been ordered to kill Zhu Di today sat in two columns, quietly watching Qi Tai, the secretary of the Ministry of War, who was standing behind the table. It turned out that the expedition of the army was not child's play, and the mobilization of grain, grass and ordnance had to be planned, and these had to be coordinated and arranged by Qi Tai, who was the head of the military department.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Qi Tai frowned and asked, "Do you have doubts in your hearts about Your Majesty's talk about killing your uncle?" ”

When An Luhou Wu Jie received the order in the palace, he was old and sullen, and at this time he couldn't help but stand up and said angrily: "When the two armies are fighting, the sword has no eyes, who knows what uncle Wang?" In front of the two armies, there was only the difference between the king and the rebel. Your Majesty has made such an order, doesn't it make me wait for me to tie my hands and feet? "When a group of generals received the order in the Heavenly Palace, they were silent due to the unpredictable power of the heavens, and at this time, when they gave Wu Jie such a teaser, they felt that His Majesty's will was too absurd, so they got up and responded, and the lobby of the military department was noisy.

Qi Tai glanced at the generals, and saw that in the hall, except for the old and serious Changxing Hou Geng Bingwen frowning and silent, only a military general who was about thirty years old poured himself a drink with a smile on his face, and couldn't help but move slightly in his heart, waved his hand to let the generals sit down, turned his head and asked, "General Sheng doesn't seem to care about this matter at all?" "It turns out that this Han who is still in good time when the generals are arguing endlessly is Sheng Yong, who followed Lan Yu to sweep away the Golden Horde Yuan army on the side of the fishing sea, and captured the younger brother of the Tartar general Wang Baobao, the minister of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, who was promoted to the commander of the capital under Lan Yubao.

Sheng Yong saw His Majesty the Emperor's words and demeanor in the Fengtian Palace, and knew that he hated Zhu Di, the king of Yan, to the core, and when he heard his words and what generals led the army to quell the rebellion, he could not make him bear the name of killing his uncle, and he had already been very thorough after thinking about it, so he was indifferent when he heard Qi Tai's words. Speaking of this, he made a complaint to a group of marquis with qualifications far higher than himself, and continued in a deep voice: "From the point of view of the last general, Your Majesty's words have other profound meanings. ”

Qi Tai's eyes flashed when he heard this, and he secretly thought to himself in his heart: Most of the generals in the army are Geng Jie's temperament, and this Sheng Yong has such a cautious temperament, which is really rare. It's no wonder that Lan Yu in the past has always been unruly and unruly, and he also attaches great importance to this person. He summoned the emperor to the imperial study last night to discuss the extermination, and Zhu Di's heart was naturally clear about the emperor's meaning.

Geng Bingwen followed the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang to sweep away the heroes in the past, and he had rich experience, but when he heard Sheng Yong's words, his heart moved slightly, and he couldn't help but turn his head and ask: "In your opinion, what does Your Majesty mean by that?" ”

"The soldiers are in danger, the swords in front of the two armies have no eyes, and the last general is just a normal thing to wait for the horse leather shroud, how can he have the ability to let Yan Shun Zhu Di be safe?" Sheng Yong said eloquently.

Qi Tai shook his head when he heard this, and said in a deep voice: "There is merit in rebellion, how can it be guilty of killing thieves?" If any general captures Yan and Zhu Di alive and sacrifices him to the Fengtian Palace, before the civil and military officials, it will make His Majesty think of family affection and be in a dilemma. ”

At this time, the generals and colonels were no longer open-minded, and they also understood the meaning of the Lord Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and even knew the meaning of what His Majesty the Emperor said, "Don't let me bear the name of killing my uncle", and all the doubts in their hearts were gone, and they all bowed down and hugged their fists to receive their lives.

Changxing Hou Geng Bingwen smiled slightly bitterly in his heart, and secretly slandered himself: It is His Majesty the Emperor who was taught by these rotten Confucians, and only then did he have such a twisting and turning intestine in his belly. Obviously, let's not show mercy to our subordinates, it's best to let Zhu Di die in the chaos, and he said it so high-soundingly.

Zhu Ying's pink face was stabbed by Zhu Quan's beard, and in anger, he raised his small fist and slammed it twice on his father's broad and sturdy chest, struggling not to take it off, but it made Zhu Quan laugh.

Xu Ying saw that as soon as her husband returned home, she was bullying her daughter like this, and she couldn't help but be angry and funny in her heart, and hurriedly came to take away her daughter, firmly held it in her arms and said angrily: "As a father, he plays tricks on his daughter like this all day long, where is he still like a dignified prince." Although there was a lot of anger between the words, there was a lot of joy in my heart. It turned out that since Feng Xuan gave birth to Zhu Hanmin, she had a lot of hidden worries in her heart, at this time, seeing that Zhu Quan had no patriarchal thoughts at all, and had always treated her sons and daughters equally, she let go of the boss's worries, and sighed softly when she reached out and patted her beloved daughter's back: "His Majesty the Emperor released Zhu Di's three sons back to Beiping, it seems that he may not have a plan to kill them all, but unfortunately this move is tantamount to returning to the mountains." ”

When Zhu Quan heard this, he couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart: Zhu Laosi is by no means a person who is willing to sit still and wait to be killed, even if Zhu Yunwen does not let go of his three sons, will he be killed? Since Zhu Hu, the king of Zhou, was demoted to a concubine, I am afraid that he will inevitably fight against the water and survive in death. Although I thought so in my heart, for some reason, I didn't declare it.

Jing Kun sat under the pavilion, and after carefully reading Zhu Di's text on Fengtian Jingjing from Beiping, his face showed a little ridicule, and he sighed softly and said: "Dao Yan Bald Donkey's article about him left and right, the so-called Fengtian Jingjing, the text of destroying traitors, is worth tens of thousands of male soldiers. ”

Zhu Quan recalled the news from Beiping today, frowned and said: "Although there are no less than 100,000 soldiers and horses in the hands of Zhu Laosi, after all, it is only a corner of the place, and if you want to defeat the strong with the weak, I am afraid that it will not be easy. ”

"With the soldiers and horses in the hands of His Royal Highness, even if he goes to Beiping to join forces with Zhu Di, it is inevitable that he will be the wedding dress of others under his strength and weakness, and the only way to do it is to be strong and wait for the changes." Jing Kun turned his head to look at Zhu Quan and said in a deep voice.

Zhu Quan pondered for a moment and then bowed his head and said: "If Zhu Laosi loses his troops, this king will immediately lead his army to Beiping." At this moment, he already knew that the current Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen's move to cut the vassal was intended to eradicate all the vassal kings in one fell swoop, although only Zhu Di rebelled at the moment, but as the king of the vassal who led the army, he would also be regarded by the emperor and a group of ministers as a thorn in the side, like a thorn in the flesh, and he would want to get rid of it quickly, and it would be difficult to stay out of this battle of appeasement.

At this moment, Ma Sanbao came quickly, bowed down and said: "Your Royal Highness, I have just been rewarded by the patrol army and horses outside the city, and I sent Gonggong Li and his party from Dengzhou, Shandong Province to come by boat across the sea, and I am afraid that they have already entered the city at this moment." ”

Zhu Quan couldn't help frowning when he heard this, and said with a wry smile: "His Majesty the Emperor will not be so naïve as to think that an edict can allow this king to lead his troops and horses to attack Beiping, and the imperial army will attack Zhu Laosi before and after." Speaking of this, he immediately whispered a few words to Ma Sanbao, turned around and walked towards his bedroom, about half an hour later, a dusty, tired, about thirty-year-old eunuch surrounded by twenty imperial guards, stepped into the Ning Wangfu in Daning City.

He was a messenger who had traveled thousands of miles to deliver the decree, and after leading the crowd into the spacious living room, he ordered the incense table to be arranged, and said coldly: "Our family has come by order, so please ask His Royal Highness King Ning to come and receive the order." ”

After a while, Xu Ying, who was dressed in a gorgeous costume, walked out slowly, and said with a smile on her face: "Lord Wang, he has been sick in bed for more than half a month, and he really can't get up, so my father-in-law might as well go to the bedroom to announce the decree." ”

Gonggong Li was displeased when he heard this, and said coldly with sarcasm: "Your Highness should also be delirious, right?" His Majesty's personal will is here, how can it be so flouted? "It turns out that as a courtier, no matter how sick he is, as long as there is still a breath there, he must also kneel on the side of the incense case to receive the decree, how can there be such a rude thing to send the bedroom to announce the decree? Xu Ying really makes no sense to say this.

Xu Ying has been practicing martial arts since she was a child, and she has been Princess Ning for a long time, so she didn't panic at all when she heard the words, and she glanced at Qin Cha and the imperial guards with a pair of big eyes, and said softly: "The first emperor had a strict order that eunuchs should not interfere in politics in the past, and whether the mourning family despised the holy decree or not, but it was not the turn of the father-in-law to make irresponsible remarks. ”

Seeing Xu Ying's gaze sweeping, Gonggong Li felt a slight fear in his heart, and he had no choice but to follow Xu Ying with the little eunuch holding the holy decree in his hand.

As soon as he stepped into Zhu Quan's bedroom, there was a smell of medicine coming to his nose, and he was lying on his back on the bed under the tassels of the brocade tent, his eyes were closed and he seemed to be unconscious, not Zhu Quan but who was it.

Xu Ying's face was worried, she reached out and took the hot towel in the maid's hand, wiped Zhu Quan's face, and said in a low voice: "Husband woke up, and sent Gonggong Li to deliver the decree." Although he has been married to Zhu Quan for a long time, he still can't help but feel a sense of shame when he calls the word "husband" so lightly in front of people he doesn't know before. Seeing that Zhu Quan was still lying on his back a few times, his eyes were tightly closed, and there was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, knowing that he was deliberately playing tricks on himself, he reached out and quietly twisted his arm under a nudge.

Zhu Quan couldn't bear to scream under the pain, but he couldn't pretend to sleep anymore under the sudden opening of his eyes, and slowly turned his head after coughing a few times, pretending to be angry and asked, "What time is it now?" Love Concubine. ”

Xu Ying saw that Zhu Quan pretended to be three souls and seemed to be sick like two souls, so she couldn't help but smile and said softly: "Your Majesty has a will from heaven, and the husband still doesn't get up to accept the order?" ”

Zhu Quan slowly turned his head and looked at Gonggong Li not far away, and finally got up after two strong supports, fell back on the bed, and said in his mouth: "I'm afraid that this king's body is not a ......" Before he finished speaking, he coughed again.

Gonggong Li saw that the husband and wife were acting in a similar way, but he was helpless under the suspicion in his heart, so he had to take the Huang Aya holy decree in the hands of the little eunuch beside him and hastily proclaimed: "Fengtian carries the emperor, and the edict says: Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, will return to Beijing immediately and face the king, and it shall not be postponed." ”

Although Zhu Quan listened to the holy decree, although he did not order himself to command the army and horses to deal with Zhu Laosi, he ordered himself to return to Yingtian immediately, and he couldn't help sneering in his heart, and secretly thought to himself: I really don't know what the emperor and a corrupt Confucian are thinking in their minds, and they still want to let me rush back thousands of miles to die with just one will?

Xu Ying "wiped her tears" with the silk scarf in her hand, stood up from the edge of the bed, turned her head and whispered to Gonggong Li: "Lord Wang, he is so sick, if he travels thousands of miles, I am afraid that he will have to give his life." Your Majesty has a will here, look at this ......"