The flames of war were spreading in Beijing, and Zhang Wen and others retreated to the inner city with their familiarity with the terrain. I saw that the south side was full of smoke, and the fire was soaring to the sky, as if there was a fire, and the fireworks were like the flames of war, spreading and scattering.

As soon as Zhang Wen got home, he saw Cao An waiting at the door, Cao An looked anxious, and hurriedly greeted him and said: "Young master, someone came to the palace just now, and the emperor summoned you to the palace to face the saint, and the old slave had to reply to the father-in-law who passed the decree, saying that you went out of the city." ”

"When?"

Cao An bowed down and said, "Just now." ”

Zhang Wen walked towards the courtyard and said, "Prepare the horse, I'll go to the palace immediately; Tell someone to get my robes back, and be quick. ”

He took off the armor on his body, threw weapons and other things on the ground, and waited for the people to clean up, this is the slaves and maids brought tea, Zhang Wen only wore dirty clothes and sat on the chair, picked up the teacup and poured it violently, and suddenly squirted out the tea with a "plop" sound, and said angrily: "Why is it so hot?" ”

The maid who delivered the tea hurriedly knelt on the ground, crying and mourning, and said, "The slave should be damned......

Cao An next to him shouted: "Why don't you go and change the herbal tea?" ”

At this moment, the girl trotted over with Zhang Wen's official robe, Zhang Wen put on the official robe with the help of everyone, and walked out of the door, the slave maid happened to carry herbal tea up, Zhang Wen took the teapot, poured a few sips at the spout, and rushed out of the door.

The four gates of the forbidden city have long been closed for martial law, and when Zhang Wen walked to Dong'an Gate, the three gates of Dong'an Gate were closed, but the eunuch of the forbidden army guarding the gate knew that it was Zhang Wen, and quickly let him in, and said: "Lord Zhang, you have to hurry, the emperor is summoning ministers in the Wenhua Palace, and you are missing." ”

Zhang Wen hurriedly quickened his pace and walked to the Wenhua Palace, and was meeting the eunuch Liu Chao, Liu Chao said: "Lord Zhang has returned from the outer city?" Come in, let's go in with us. ”

Liu Chao didn't know where he came from, he looked out of breath, probably tired from walking for a while, Liu Chao was fat, and his physical strength couldn't catch up with Zhang Wen at all. Zhang Wen walked over from Dong'anmen without even taking a breath.

So Zhang Wen followed Liu Chao into the Wenhua Gate, knelt at the door, and saluted. Hearing Zhu Youxiao's faint words, the two got up from the ground and ran to stand where they should stand.

Before Zhang Wen could stand firmly, he heard Zhu Youxiao shouting, "Zhang Wen." ”

Zhang Wen hurriedly walked out of the queue, knelt on the ground again, and knocked: "Weichen is here." ”

"I heard you just went out of town? What are you doing out of town? ”

Zhang Wen replied calmly: "Back to the emperor, when the news of the fall of Yongdingmen came, the minister was at home, and when he heard the news, he realized that the seven gates of the outer city were not guaranteed, and the enemy army was very likely to control the city defense, intending to block the reinforcements of King Qin outside the city. Chen thought that if Jianyu gained a firm foothold in Jingshi, it would be very difficult to get rid of it, and it would not be a good thing for Jianyu to not leave for a long time, and the people of Jingshi would be panicked. At that time, the situation was critical, and the ministers did not have time to play, so they hurriedly rushed out of the city and persuaded Qin Liangyu, the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan, to lead the army to control Zuo'anmen and maintain the passage for King Qin's reinforcements to enter the city. After the minister did this, he hurried home, and when he learned that the emperor had summoned him, he hurried to the palace without stopping. ”

At this moment, the military department shang: "The minister has something to play." ”

"Say."

Cui Chengxiu glanced at Zhang Wen and said, "The minister thinks that Zhang Wen's intentions are wrong, but he is here to confuse the public!" ”

Zhang Wen said coldly: "Master Cui, you can't talk nonsense like you!" ”

Cui Chengxiu held the ivory card, bent down to the throne and said: "Emperor Mingjian, as we all know, the outer city and the inner city are in the shape of a 'convex' character, and the outer city is in the south of the inner city, and only encloses the south city of the inner city and the southeast and southwest corner towers, and does not enclose the entire inner city outside a circle. Therefore, even if Jianyu controlled the seven gates of the outer city, the reinforcements of King Qin could still enter the city from the gates of Desheng Gate and Anding Gate in the north of the capital division, and it was not that the fall of the outer city as Zhang Wen said, which could completely block the connection between the reinforcements and the imperial city.

When Yongdingmen had just fallen, the total army of Shanhaiguan had 20,000 soldiers and horses, and they should make every effort to recapture Yongdingmen and protect the defensive circle of the outer city. Zhang Wen intervened without authorization, transferred Qin Liangyu to Zuo'anmen, and let the enemy soldiers enter the city. What is his intention? Besides, Zhang asked that it was just the imperial history of the Imperial Procuratorate, and the military department had not decided on it, so what right did he have to mobilize soldiers and horses? Why did Qin Liangyu listen to Zhang's question? Please be enlightened, don't be fooled by traitors! ”

Zhang Wen said angrily after hearing this: "Master Cui, you are the secretary of the military department!" Don't even have this bit of common sense? The inner city is the last strong defensive ring of the Beijing Division, how can foreign soldiers and horses enter the inner city without permission? Even if King Qin's soldiers and horses come to Deshengmen, they can only be stationed in the urn city for repairs, you don't even know this? Does the Ministry of War still dare to order the release of foreign soldiers to the inner city? The reinforcements are in the urn city, the enemy soldiers have gained a foothold in the south city, and directly threaten the Xuanwu Gate, at that time, what strategy should you offer to the emperor? Do you want the emperor to take the risk of putting foreign soldiers into the inner city and participating in the defense of the inner city? ”

The two quarreled back and forth, but Zhu Youxiao never interjected, although he was more inclined to Zhang Wen's point of view, but he did not think that Wei Zhongxian, Cui Chengxiu and others would collaborate with the enemy and commit treason. The booklet that Wang Tiqian presented was a spy on the prisoners, and Zhu Youxiao had already figured out the contents of it. Zhu Youxiao thought that he was the captain of Yongdingmen who collaborated with the enemy, and Wei Zhongxian was just accidentally involved, so there was no need for him to collude with foreign enemies.

Zhu Youxiao has no culture, but his brain is very clear, what can Wei Zhongxian get for treason?

Zhu Youxiao has been the emperor for three years, and he has realized that the emperor is indeed a lonely man and cannot completely trust anyone, but his suspicion should not be too heavy, and everything should be analyzed rationally. It is impossible for Wei Zhongxian to commit treason, Zhu Youxiao thinks that his judgment is not wrong, but Wei Zhongxian's party is obviously unbearable and too greedy, otherwise the captain of Yongdingmen will not have a chance to master the important city gate.

When the ministers were still arguing about the affairs of Yongdingmen, Zhu Youxiao thought more, he not only thought about the current crisis, but also thought about the balance of the entire court. Wei Zhongxian's party can no longer be reused, but it has a role that cannot be ignored in balancing new forces, and a sudden attack on the powerful eunuch party may also cause turmoil.

Zhu Youxiao used his brain excessively, his body was a little unwell, he was dizzy, and his spirit was a little trance, and he didn't hear what the ministers said in the back. He calmed down, closed his eyes for a while, and then said weakly: "Zhongxian, let them stop arguing." ”

Wei Zhongxian, who was next to him, hurriedly said loudly: "The emperor said, let you be less restless, don't be anxious, don't make noise." ”

Zhang Wen and Cui Chengxiu stopped arguing at this time, and they both quietly listened to what the emperor was going to do.

Zhu Youxiao paused for a while and said, "Zhang asked." ”

Zhang Wen hurriedly replied: "Weichen is here!" ”

"I give you the sword of Shang Fang, let you be the governor, and when the reinforcements of King Qin arrive in Beijing, I will coordinate and dispatch the soldiers and horses of the world." Zhu Youxiao's voice was not loud, but his tone was unquestionable, he had already figured it out, from Zhang Wen's performance in military affairs in eastern Liaodong and the south, Zhang Wen was a capable minister, and at this critical juncture, only the most capable minister could resolve the crisis.

Zhang Wen was overjoyed, and hurriedly knelt down and said: "The minister received the order to thank him, and the minister thanked the emperor for his trust, and he will definitely repay the emperor's kindness." ”

Zhu Youxiao snorted, not much moved, and then said, "Liu Chao." ”

Liu Chao trembled, unexpectedly the emperor suddenly called himself by name, and hurriedly fell to his knees with a thud, "The slave is here." ”

"I ordered you to be the commander of the Nine Gates, to supervise the inner city of the army, and to surround the imperial city for safety."

"How can the slave and maid be ......" Liu Chao was not mentally prepared at all, and then quietly glanced at Wei Zhongxian, and saw that Wei Zhongxian was desperately giving himself a look, Liu Chao hurriedly said: "The slave and maid are grateful for the order, and they must live up to the emperor's trust." ”

Zhu Youxiao closed his eyes after speaking, he arranged it this way to reassure Wei Zhongxian and his party. Zhang Wen is obviously Wei Zhongxian's opponent, he reused Zhang Wen, and now he reuses Liu Chao, which just shows the emperor's attitude, Zhongxian, I still believe in you. Liu Chao was one of Wei Zhongxian's henchmen, and the Admiral of the Nine Gates was related to the safety of the Nine Gates of the Inner City of the Beijing Division, and the person who handed over such an important position to Wei Zhongxian was enough to show the emperor's trust.

At this moment, Zhang Wen clenched his fists and bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has another request." ”

"Say."

"Please make an order for the emperor to release Liu Ling, at this critical juncture, the country needs such a fierce general."

Zhu Youxiao said without hesitation: "Quasi-play." "Since the minister is reused, there is nothing to hesitate to ask for. After Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, he said: "Get up and go back to the palace." ”

The ministers shouted long live and saw the emperor away, and then they got up from the ground and left in order. Zhang Wen waited at the gate of the palace, and when the eunuch brought Shang Fang's sword and holy decree, he left the Forbidden City with his things.

When Zhang Wen came, he was in a hurry, he came on horseback, and when he came out of the Forbidden City, there was already a sedan chair waiting for him at the gate of Zuo'anmen, and Cao An sent him to pick up Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen carried Shang Fang's sword on the sedan chair, and couldn't help but pull it out to watch, only to see that the sword was sharp, it was a veritable sword, also known as the "horse sword", and even the horse could be cut off. In fact, its intangible value is much greater than its own function, "first seal the sword of Shang Fang, and punish the traitor according to the law." "I have the right to cut first and then play!

Zhang Wen still has two Shang Fang swords at home, both of which were given by the Emperor of the Apocalypse, and now this one is the third in his hand. Zhang Wen sighed in his heart, Emperor Apocalypse was indeed a great favor to the Zhang family. At the moment, he decided to do something practical to repay the emperor's kindness, in fact, Zhang Wen felt that the current emperor was a good emperor, and he felt that he was public and selfish, after all, he was favored by the current emperor.

On 20 August, tens of thousands of reinforcements arrived with the commander-in-chief of Datong and Xuanfu, and the commander-in-chief of Datong was Zhu Yanguo and Hou Shilu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, who brought about 50,000 reinforcements. Zhang Wen put on his armor, hung his sword, and came to Deshengmen with a group of guards, and sent messengers to transfer reinforcements to Deshengmen Urn City for repairs.

Zhang Wen also immediately went out of Deshengmen, brought the military salaries, grains and grass allocated by the imperial court, set up a big tent of the Chinese army in the urn city, and officially assumed the position of governor.

The two chief military officers, Zhu Yanguo and Hou Shilu, had never met each other, so he first summoned the two to meet in the big tent of the Chinese army and get to know each other first.

After waiting for a while, I saw two big men in heavy armor walking to the door of the tent, and they consciously took off their swords and handed them to the guards at the door, and then entered the big tent. I saw that the two of them were tall and big, with tigers and bears. The man on the left was half a head taller, with a rectangular face and a goatee; The man on the right, though shorter, was stronger, especially his shoulders, which were very broad, probably half wider than ordinary people's shoulders, with a round face and a beard on both cheeks.

The tall man on the left hugged his fist and said: "The last general, Zhu Yanguo, the general of Datong, will meet Lord Zhang." ”

"Hou Shilu, the last general of the Xuanfu Army, visited the military gate." This broad-shouldered strong man is Hou Shilu.

Zhang Wen immediately stood up and said politely: "Let's take the time to meet, that is, to get to know and understand, so that we can serve the court together." You may be seated, two generals. ”

The two chief soldiers sat down on both sides, and they all looked at Zhang Wen with some curiosity, because Zhang Wen was so handsome, although he was wearing armor, he still gave people a feeling: Brother Gongzi does not know the suffering of the world. Such a look made the two big men a little suspicious.

Seeing the puzzled expressions of the two, Zhang Wen smiled and said, "I'm Zhang Wen, you must have all heard of me, right?" ”

The two said one after another: "I have long admired the prestige of Lord Zhang. ”

Zhang Wen knew that there was no need to be modest at this time, so he nodded and said: "This official was born in the imperial examination, and his ancestors did not follow Rong, but this official has studied the art of war for many years, Liaodong annihilated 30,000 prisoners, captured the enemy chieftain alive, and Fujian quelled the rebellion, swept away the enemy, and captured the traitor Ye Feng alive, all of which were done by this official...... Of course, the specific battle formation still relied on the loyalty and bravery of the soldiers who served the imperial court, and the official was just arranging a strategy. This time, in cooperation with the two generals, the official will arrange the strategy, and I hope that the two will believe in the ability of the official and implement it rigorously, and will be able to drive out the enemy and make meritorious contributions. ”

After hearing this, the two glanced at each other, and said suspiciously: "The last general will definitely kill the enemy to repay the country's kindness." ”

They are not completely suspicious of Zhang Wen's ability, as Zhang Wen said, he is a civil official, of course, he does not need to be muscular and unstoppable, and he may rely on strategy to win.

Zhu Yanguo said at this time: "Please also ask the military gate to make it clear, what are the arrangements for us?" ”

Zhang Wen said with a look of bamboo in his chest: "At present, in addition to Zuo'anmen is still in Qin Liangyu's hands, Jianyu has already controlled the six gates of the outer city, because they have not taken Zuo'anmen for a while, in order to prevent reinforcements from threatening them to attack the inner city, they also arranged a troop of soldiers and horses outside Zuo'anmen to block the reinforcements. What you have to do now is to defeat the enemy soldiers outside Zuo'anmen and open up contact with the outer city. ”

Zhu Yanguo asked again: "How many people are there outside Zuo'an Gate?" ”

"About 10,000 cavalry."

The other broad-shouldered Hou Shilu hurriedly interjected after hearing this: "The last general is willing to mention the soldiers and horses of the headquarters to defeat this army. ”

Zhang Wen saw that he looked fierce, and immediately agreed: "Okay, let's go around the whole army outside Zuo'anmen, and General Hou will take the lead, open Zuo'anmen first, and get in touch with General Qin." ”

Now that the arrangements have been made, early the next morning, 50,000 officers and soldiers marched out of the city of Deshengmen Wengcheng, marched to Zuo'anmen and set up a military camp five miles away, and then ordered Hou Shilu to go to battle.

Zhang Wen stood at the gate of the Chinese military camp, drove a mighty horse out of the camp, and advanced to the north. There are more than 10,000 troops stationed outside the moat, and Hou Shilu's infantry cavalry and horses are about 30,000 people, about two to one troops.

At a distance of five miles, the sound of gunfire and cannons was soon heard, and there was a faint shout of killing, and the two armies should have fought. Zhang Wen stood for an hour, his legs were numb, and he returned to the tent to wait for news.

Unexpectedly, until noon, I did not see the messenger who reported the victory. After noon, a cavalry sergeant came to the Chinese army, walked into the big tent, and bowed to Zhang Wen and Zhu Yanguo: "Yu Junmen, General Zhu, and General Hou's headquarters rushed and killed several times, but did not break the enemy formation, and the two armies fought for several miles, regardless of victory or defeat." ”

Zhu Yanguo stood up and said: "Military gate, the enemy camp has moved, the last general, please bring 10,000 soldiers and horses to attack Jianyu on the side, and you will definitely win a big victory." ”

Zhang Wen agreed to Zhu Yanguo's request, and ordered him to bring half of the men and horses to reinforce, leaving the other half of the men and horses to garrison the Chinese army, thinking that the front line should respond. ”

In the afternoon, there was still no news of the victory, and then another sergeant came to report: another group of Jianyu men came out of Yongding Gate and went straight to the Chinese army.

The generals sitting on the left and right sides of the tent listened to it and suggested that Zhang Wen take the Chinese army to transfer, because the Chinese army was not strong enough. Zhang Wen thought for a while and said, "Jianyu is a cavalry, only a few miles apart, and we can't outrun them." Moreover, if the Chinese army moves, it will shake the morale of Zhu Yanguo and Hou Shilu's troops. Immediately ordered to form a chariot formation and defend the camp! ”

Most of the Ming troops had chariots, artillery, and muskets, which were surrounded by chariots and equipped with guns, bows and arrows, and had good defensive capabilities. Soon after Zhang Wen gave the order to hold still, the Jianjian soldiers approached the camp, and soon there was a deafening sound of gunfire outside the tent, and it didn't take long for the smell of gunpowder smoke to disperse.

A general rushed to the door and said, "My lord, we are surrounded. ”

Zhang Wen calmly said, "So what? Jianyu has to divide his troops to garrison six gates, and he has to monitor the 20,000 horses of Qin Liangyu of Zuo'anmen, and there is also a guerrilla attack with Hou Shilu of Zhu Yanguo, how many soldiers and horses can be drawn to surround us? Order all the ministries to hold on! ”

Perhaps it was Zhang Wen's attitude that infected the generals, and the Che Battalion's extremely strong defensive ability made it impossible for Jianyu to break the formation. It was fought until after the hour, when night gradually fell, and Jian Yu withdrew his men. After nightfall, Hou Shilu and Zhu Yanguo also returned to the Chinese army with their troops.

Zhang asked, "Why didn't you defeat the enemy soldiers?" ”

Hou Shilu wiped his face and said bitterly: "Jianlu transferred reinforcements from the city, and the last general waited for a hard day, broke thousands of soldiers and horses, and failed to break the formation. ”

Zhang Wen said depressedly: "If you can't get through Zuo'anmen, General Qin will be attacked by the enemy on his back, and I don't know how long he can hold out." If Zuo'anmen falls into the hands of Jianlu, and the Jingshi City Tower is tall and sturdy, how can we deal with Jianlu? ”

At this moment, a sergeant came to the door of the tent and said, "Hello to the military gate, someone outside the camp asked to see the military gate, claiming to be Liu Ling." ”