In the restaurant, Zheng Haizhu did not show false courtesy, and said bluntly to Chang Zhongxin, the young owner of the Jin merchants: "I will talk about some military affairs with the two generals Ma and Zhang, and Chang Gongzi does not have to be present to accompany him." There is Lao Gongzi, who takes good care of the wine and meat for the little soldiers to drive away the cold. Later, when he visited the governor of Xuanda and the general soldiers of the town, the prince could be with him. ”

Chang Zhongxin respectfully stepped back.

His face was calm, and his heart was filled with joy.

The strength of the Chang family in the Jin merchants is still in the lower reaches, and this time it is really the ancestral tomb that is smoking, so that the close ministers of the Son of Heaven take a fancy to it, and they can get the opportunity to climb the Xuanda feudal officials.

Zheng Haizhu paced to the window, but when he saw the grassy slope outside the restaurant, the second young master of the Chang family was in high spirits, and he took the servants to roast the sheep and distribute the white-flour buns.

Immediately, she raised her head and looked out at the mountains that stretched beyond.

Ma Xianglin walked over.

"Is that the Great Wall?" Zheng Haizhu asked.

Ma Xianglin nodded, and his eyes also turned to the beacon tower: "However, this dynasty is not called the Great Wall, it is called the side wall." Shanhaiguan is there, just after entering the town, I heard the soldiers and civilians of Xuanfu also call it so. ”

"Oh? Why isn't it called the Great Wall? ”

At the table behind him, Zhang Mingshi, who had already poured wine and warmed up, said with a sneering tone: "The Great Wall reminds people of Meng Jiangnu, and Zhu Ming has become a tyrannical Qin." ”

Zheng Haizhu glanced at Ma Xianglin, turned over and sat opposite Zhang Mingshi, and served himself a bowl of steaming haggis soup, but he didn't drink it, staring at Zhang Mingshi.

Zhang Mingshi leaned on the old man and quipped: "What does Madame think I do? I have a horse general good-looking? ”

Zheng Haizhu sneered: "It's far worse than him, but with you, the peppers in the sheep soup are saved." ”

Zhang Mingshi sneered: "I know that my wife dislikes my mouth. No way, I'm different from Xianglin, Xianglin has only been in prison for a few days? How many years has my old Zhang been imprisoned by the imperial court? The eunuch surnamed Wei in the left and right palaces is not there, and he is not allowed to complain a few words? ”

Ma Xianglin also came over and sat down, picked up the wine glass and touched it with Zhang Mingshi, but he didn't say anything, and drank it all.

Zheng Haizhu said gently: "The disaster has already turned the page, why bother to say it again." Right now, the two of you are the heaviest one in the Nine Border Towns, not the edict that is still in the Fusi Prison in Beizhen. General Zhang, I told you that day, the court revived you, and your joy is not like pretending. ”

Zhang Mingshi grabbed a mutton bone stick, took a few bites, touched the mutton fat on his beard, and admitted: "Okay, listen to Madame, control your tongue." The family is all in Beijing, can we not guard the side wall for the imperial court? What's more, 'Shanhaiguan Zhao Zilong' is such a well-known general, and he also gave Lao Zhang me a guerrilla, Xianglin, you say yes? Hey, Xianglin, your daughter-in-law just gave birth to a big fat girl for you, and my son just added a grandson to me, so let's get married, right? ”

Zhang Mingshi chattered happily, and Ma Xianglin's face showed gloom.

Zheng Haizhu understands how the state of mind of the two people in front of her can be the same.

A few days after Ma Xianglin was imprisoned, Zhang Fengyi was about to give birth, although the mother and daughter were safe, but at the same time, they also had to face the pain of parting from the husband and wife.

Zheng Haizhu went to the palace and begged the Son of Heaven to allow Ma Xianglin to live in his house for two days before the punishment to see the baby who fell to the ground.

Therefore, when Ma Xianglin left Beijing the day before yesterday, he hurriedly glanced at Fengyi, who had just come out of confinement and had just come out of confinement, and the infant girl.

And Ma Xianglin's father-in-law, Zhang Quan, in order to avoid endless discussions between the DPRK and China, asked for his resignation from the military department. It was Ye Xianggao who used the wisdom of a veteran politician to teach Zhu Changluo to transfer Zhang Quan to Nanjing Dali Temple as a temple secretary, so that this virtuous minister, although he lost the real power of the military department, at least remained in the court official system, but he was only demoted from the second-rank military department Shangshu who was originally going to be promoted to the third-grade Dali temple.

Ma Xianglin knew that he had affected his father-in-law's career.

Moreover, Zhang Mingshi is a refuge, Ma Xianglin is a punishment side, one is awarded to a general, and the other is under the holy judgment of several merits and one crime, so he retains the title of guerrilla, and he is a bare-bones guerrilla, which is managed by the general.

Fortunately, he begged for his friend's voice, and the generals often sympathized with each other, Zhang Mingshi saw Ma Xianglin, and he put "Lao Zhang, I will serve your mother and you" on his lips, and mentioned the past in the southwest, and mentioned that each other had been imprisoned.

Zheng Haizhu had already discovered that Zhang Mingshi had the potential to be a social cow, and thought that in history, even Yao Zongwen and others would come forward to lead troops in Liaodong, and he was really a character, and then saw him go all the way to Ma Xianglin to call him a brother and talk about military affairs, and he was finally relieved.

At this moment, Ma Xianglin naturally didn't have the heart to pick up Zhang Mingshi's jokes, but turned to Zheng Haizhu to get down to business.

"Ah Zhu, do you also think that Xuanfu Town is more important than Liaodong Town?"

"Yes," Zheng Haizhu said without hesitation, "I have laughed several times in my dreams when you come to this town." When Xuanfu was in Yongle Ye, it was the same as Liaodong, it was an independent commander, and there were only these two in the Ming Dynasty, which shows the importance of its status in the eyes of the imperial court. Now don't look at Houjin's momentum stronger than Beiyu, but Xuanfu Town has more things to do than Liaodong Town. ”

Zheng Haizhu said, put away a few small dishes on the table, and continued to compare: "Xuanfu is in the middle of the nine sides, only more than 300 miles away from Beijing City, closer than Shanhaiguan, and we can see clearly all the way over, the official road of Jingshi through Xuanfu is the best built in the Gyeonggi area, and there are several rivers connecting it, so it is easiest for soldiers and soldiers, food, and firearms to be carried by land and water, and supplies to Xuanfu Town, not to mention horses, which can be bought directly from the north. First, second, the west of Xuanfu is Zhangjiakou and Datong, Houjin wants to hook up with Jin merchants, Xuanfu is an unavoidable boundary, if Xuanfu Town is guarded in the open, the secret spy work is beautiful, so that the Tartar car to the mountain to cut off the road. Third, Xuanfu Town is further north than Datong, such as the horns of the north of the land, and the east of Ningyuan City far away, then, what if the Ming Dynasty is united to resist Jin? ”

"Lianmeng anti-gold?" Zhang Mingshi put down the mutton bone stick, and said while picking his teeth with his little nails, "Didn't we come to Xuanfu Town to fight the Beiyu, why do we want to call it a brother and a brother?" ”

Zheng Haizhu said: "Because there is a leader of the northern captives named Lin Dan Khan, he has become stronger and weaker. This Lin Dan Khan is the descendant of Genghis Khan, and when he ascended the throne, the northern captives had already lost their power, and the tribes such as Monan Horqin were not under control at all. Five or six years ago, Lin Dan Khan regained Inner Khalkha and became stronger. However, Lin Dan Khan, persuaded by a lama in Wusizang, wanted the nobles to change their surnames from the Yellow Sect to the Red Sect, which naturally caused dissatisfaction. Three or four years ago, the old chieftain Nurhachi had already married the Horqin tribe. Therefore, Lin Dan Khan, who has border trade contacts with my Ming Dynasty and receives silver rewards every year, met the Jurchen foreign enemies in the east under internal worries, and should be quite willing to join forces with my Ming Dynasty to fight the Tartars. ”

(End of chapter)