"Whoa, whoa, whoa" There was a sound ......of planers pushing wood from the Yangxin Palace, and it was obvious that it was Zhu Youxiao doing carpentry work. In the entire Ming Dynasty, apart from him, who dares to dig wood in the Heart Cultivation Palace? The planing sound is a little messy, there is no sense of rhythm, Zhu Youxiao's heart is a little messy, but he is indeed doing carpentry!

If the ministers knew that Zhu Youxiao was still in the mood to do carpenter work at this time, their minds would definitely pop out of two words: faint gentleman! However, as a sober-minded person, even if he is suspected of illiteracy, the enemy soldiers have all hit the gate of the imperial city, so he should know that he is in a hurry, right? How many people can calm down and dig wood?

At this moment, Wang Tiqian cautiously came to the Heart Cultivation Palace, and he tried to lower his footsteps as much as possible, for fear of disturbing the emperor.

But Zhu Youxiao didn't even reply, so he said: "Wang Tiqian, what's the matter?" ”

Wang Tiqian was taken aback, and couldn't understand how the emperor knew that it was his own, could it be that the emperor had eyes on his back? At this time, he realized that there was a eunuch standing opposite Zhu Youxiao, the eunuch was his own person, Wang Tiqian immediately understood what was going on, it must be that eunuch who saw him come in, and his expression was different.

Wang Tiqian knelt on the ground and shook his head very chicly...... The elegant Wang Tiqian can even kowtow so handsomely. In fact, kneeling does not completely mean that there is no dignity in a low voice, in the Ming Dynasty, kneeling is an important etiquette, such as kneeling the emperor, kneeling the ancestral tablet, not only does not feel humiliated, but kneels so justifiably, kneeling so proudly: if we are not the descendants of Yan and Huang, we are not qualified to kneel to the ancestors.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Wen has the latest news......" Wang Tiqian saw that the emperor did not say anything, so he continued, "On August 22, the minister coordinated with Hou Shilu, the chief soldier of Xuanfu, and Zhu Yanguo, the chief soldier of Datong, with a total of 50,000 soldiers and horses, with the general Liu Ling as the vanguard, to break the enemy army in front of Zuo'an. When the enemy camp was defeated and retreated to the west, most of the enemy soldiers of Yongdingmen went out of the city to reinforce, looking at its banner, it was suspected that the enemy chief Dai Shan personally commanded. The two enemy armies merged in one place, rushed to Zuo'an Gate, and were defeated by the ministers more than ten times, and the enemy soldiers retreated to Yongding Gate......

“…… On the evening of 22 August, the ministers were stationed in Zuo'anmen and decided to launch an offensive against Yongdingmen this morning, that is, on 23 August. The minister sang when crying, looking north and worshipping, feeling the emperor's trust and the emperor's grace, the minister has made up his mind, and if he does not succeed, he will become benevolent, in order to repay the emperor's kindness......"

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao was a little moved, and suddenly turned around and said: "Quick, hurry up and send out the holy decree, ordering Zhang Wen not to die regardless of success or failure!" I command him to live, not to disobey the decree! ”

Wang Tiqian's heart was happy, Zhang Wen had a deep relationship with him, if Zhang Wen got the emperor's trust, after gaining power, he would only benefit himself, and there would be no harm, so he hurriedly said: "Yes, the slave and maid will be called to pass on the decree." ”

Zhu Youxiao dropped the planer knife in his hand, and the eunuchs around him hurriedly came up to wait, wiped their faces and hands, and brought tea to Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Youxiao had just taken a sip of tea, and suddenly there was a eunuch next to him who had relatives in his face, and a tear slipped from the corner of his eye. Seeing this, Zhu Youxiao said: "Something that has no interest! I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of? ”

The eunuch fell to his knees with a thud and cried: "The slave and maid should die, the slave and maid are not afraid of Jianyu, but they are thinking about ...... Thinking...... The slave and maid should die, the slave and the maid dare not say it, and Grandpa Wei knows that he has to pull out the skin of the slave and maid. ”

Hearing Father-in-law Wei, Zhu Youxiao frowned, and said sharply: "Say, I told you to say, Wei Zhongxian!" Can Wei Zhongxian's words be more effective than my words? ”

The eunuch hurriedly kowtowed, and said: "The slave and maid obey the order, the slave and the maid said, the slave and the maid are thinking about the water that the emperor drinks...... was so sad that I couldn't help but shed tears. ”

Zhu Youxiao was stunned, took another sip of the water in the teacup, the taste was pure, and couldn't help but say: "By the way, I know that the water in the Jingshi City is bitter, and the water drunk in the palace is all transported from Yuquan Mountain in the northwest of the city. Jingshi has been under martial law for so long, and there is still water on Yuquan Mountain? ”

The eunuch cried: "All the slaves and maids risked their lives to transport them back from Yuquan Mountain, because they often encountered the guerrillas of Jianyu, and there were many casualties along the way...... The slave and maid were sad for a moment, and then they wept. ”

Zhu Youxiao sighed and said, "Wei Zhongxian asked you to go out to carry water?" ”

The eunuch nodded and said, "Grandpa Wei said that the emperor's body is more important than anything else, and the emperor is not used to drinking the bitter water in the city. Our entire Jingshi City and the entire Ming Dynasty rely on the emperor, and it is worth dying a few slaves and maids......"

Zhu Youxiao took two steps, and said in his heart that although Wei Zhongxian, this guy can't do big things in the court, but he still has me in his heart, he sighed in his heart, and said: "Go down, don't go out of the city to carry water." You are my people, and I feel sorry for you if you die unjustly, and when you go out of the city to transport water, if it affects the military and city defense, it will be even more serious. ”

"Yes, slave and maid...... The emperor is worried about the cheap lives of the slaves and maids, and the slaves and maids will go out and talk about it for a while, but I don't know what kind of people will be moved. ”

……

There are three big characters engraved on the gate hole of Xuanwu Gate: regret late.

A crack opened in the gate, and a eunuch rode out at a gallop and ran straight to the southern city. The outer city could encounter the Jianyu soldiers at any time, and the eunuchs risked great danger, whipping the horses vigorously and hurrying as hard as they could.

Due to the tense situation between the two sides, the battle was imminent, there were no stragglers in the city, and the eunuch was lucky enough to reach Zuo'anmen smoothly. When the sergeant on guard saw the clothes he was wearing, he knew that he was a eunuch, so he did not stop him, but only asked, "What is the matter with my father-in-law?" ”

"Humph!" The eunuch was frightened just now, and he was so frightened that he almost didn't pee his pants along the way, but then he said arrogantly, "Don't look at what your identity is, is it necessary for our family to talk to you, do you have time to talk to you?" ”

"Hehe......" The sergeant laughed awkwardly, and when the eunuch was gone, he spat at his back.

The eunuch went up to the city wall, but was stopped at the gate of the tower and asked what he was doing. The eunuch said: "Don't look at what your identity is, is it necessary for our family to talk to you, do you have time to talk to you?" Our ......"

"If you don't say we don't know who you're looking for, no one will take you there." The guard said coldly.

When the eunuch heard this, he said, "Our family is to announce the decree to Zhang Wen. ”

"You come with me."

The two went up to the top of the heavy building together, and came to the base camp where Zhang Wen was, and the guards arched their hands and said, "The owner, someone from the palace has passed on the decree." ”

Zhang Wen hurriedly stood up from his seat and glanced at the eunuch...... I didn't know him, but I still walked down from the middle according to etiquette, looked left and right, and said, "Is my father-in-law here alone?" ”

The eunuch was stunned and said, "You are Lord Zhang Wenzhang?" ”

"Yes, this official is Zhang Wen."

The eunuch immediately said with a smile on his face: "There are many soldiers in the city, and it is useless to have a few more people, so our family came out alone, so let's be more profitable." Our family is from the Qianqing Palace, and it was the prince who sent our family to make a special trip to deliver the decree to Lord Zhang. The eunuch said, and took out a waist card.

Zhang Wen hurriedly asked the eunuch to stand up. The eunuch cleared his throat and said with his chest held high: "Tell Zhang Wen." ”

The people in the room all knelt on the ground with Zhang Wen and pricked up their ears to listen.

"I command you not to die, whether you succeed or fail! I want you to live, not to disobey the decree! ”

Just one sentence, Zhang Wen paused, and after a while, he didn't hear the eunuch say anything more, and then he howled with emotion: "Your Majesty...... The emperor's longen, the minister doesn't know how to repay it! The emperor is sympathetic to his subordinates, and even if the ministers are sick and brainy, they can't report it in case ......"

"The emperor wants you to live, you can take the order."

Zhang Wen was moved and said: "The ministers are grateful!" Long live my emperor, long live, long live! Zhang Wen's high-sounding words of gratitude just now were of course deliberate. But he was really moved...... But the real emotion doesn't need so many nice words to embellish, so those few words of gratitude are all scene words.

Zhu Youxiao's purpose was very simple, but Zhang Wen completely felt his concern. Zhang Wen is a person who understands, who is good to him and who is not good to him, he knows completely well that the emperor can do this part, it is already a holy favor...... For a while, Zhang Wen unconsciously gave birth to a passion for serving the country.

It can be seen that Zhu Youxiao's emperor is actually not doing badly, but the country is too bad, and the arid climate is also very bad.

After Zhang asked, he got up from the ground, and the eunuch hurriedly said: "Lord Zhang, the emperor is worried about you in his heart, you must take care of your wealth, so that you can do things better for the emperor." ”

"My father-in-law is right, if his life is gone, there is no chance to be loyal to the emperor. Please tell the emperor that the minister's life belongs to the emperor, and the minister does not dare to despise his own life, and must do his best to do more practical things for the country. ”

The eunuch nodded: "Yes, our family will definitely pass on your words." Our family has to rush back, otherwise the prince doesn't know if our family has passed on the holy decree. ”

At this moment, a guard rushed to the door and hurriedly said, "Boss, Jianyu is calling from the east!" ”

Zhang Wen didn't bother to talk to the eunuch, and immediately strode to the city platform, and sure enough, he saw a tide of enemy soldiers pouring from the city and the west city wall. Zhang Wen immediately said: "Order, prepare for war!" ”

The eunuch next to him suddenly turned pale, his legs trembled, and he muttered vigorously: "Our family's luck is too bad...... A general was passing by, patted the eunuch's shoulder, and said: "With our military gate here, don't be afraid, just stay." ”

After a while, Qin Liangyu also went up to the city tower, walked to Zhang Wen's side and said, "The Yongding Gate side has also begun to attack. ”

Zhang Wen nodded, turned around and said, "Send someone to inform the people over there in Yongdingmen, don't worry about this side, you have to do everything you can to take Yongdingmen!" ”

"Yes, Junmen."

"Boom!" A cannon rang out, and a cloud of smoke rose into the air from the tall and mighty city walls, and the battle officially began. Zhang Wen estimated the height of the tower, worried that he would be hit by a stray missile, so he turned around and walked into the tower, leaving only the guards outside to watch the situation.

Qin Liangyu then walked in, frowning and said: "Junmen, the last general suggested that you immediately transfer a number of soldiers and horses from Yongding Gate, because when the last general designed this fortification, it was arranged according to the scale of 20,000 people, and now there are less than 10,000 left. Moreover, the strength of the Jianyu army in this attack is not less than that of the previous attack on Zuo'anmen, and the last general in the past can hold it, but this time it may not be able to hold it. ”

The noisy sound of killing, the sound of gunfire and cannons had already sounded loudly, and the fighting outside was about to start, Zhang Wen listened to what Qin Liangyu said, and was silent.

Seeing this, Qin Liangyu sighed: "Since the military gate has made up its mind, then you can inform Liu Ling, and rush back to reinforce as soon as you capture Yongding Gate!" We dragged our feet and waited for rescue, and that was the only way to go. ”

Zhang Wen's hand tightly grasped the hilt of Shang Fang's sword, and said coldly: "No need, saying this will make Liu Ling worry in his heart, and he can't attack Yongding Gate wholeheartedly." Order the generals of all departments to slowly shrink the defensive circle and defend Zuo'anmen! ”

The sound of fighting outside was getting louder and louder, and although Zhang Wen didn't see it with his own eyes, he could imagine the fierceness of the battle from the dense gunshots, and the fierceness of the battle from the screams that tore his lungs.

The frequency of the guards on the city platform reporting on the situation of the battle gradually increased, and Zhang Wen realized that the battle was getting worse and worse.

"Report to the military gate, the enemy soldiers on the city wall have broken through the first line of defense!"

"Report to the military gate, the enemy soldiers have broken through the second line of defense!"

……

Zhang Wen's palms were drenched with sweat, slippery, such a defensive battle, all of them were piles of corpses in exchange for their lives, there was basically no strategy at all, and it was useless to be anxious, but people were uncontrollable anxious at such a critical time. However, Zhang Wen still looked calm on the surface, and he was still calm.

"Order the army under the city to send troops to the wall for reinforcements, and not let the captives cross the range of the stairs!"

Unfortunately, in less than a stick of incense, the sergeant reported: "Military Gate, Jianyu has taken control of the wall ladder on the west side." ”

Zhang Wen said coldly: "Order the troops to go up the wall from the stairs on the east side and recapture the west wall!" ”

Qin Liangyu hurriedly said: "Junmen, if you listen to me no matter what this time, you have to go downstairs immediately, otherwise, if the city tower is occupied by enemy soldiers, we will have nowhere to go!" ”

Zhang Wen's face turned pale, his eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth and said, "As soon as I leave the city tower, where are the soldiers still determined to defend desperately?" Once you lose the tower, how can you get it back? ”

At this time, Zhang Ying, who had been silently beside him, couldn't help but start persuading Zhang Wen. Because it is dangerous to go to the battlefield, Zhang Ying has always been close to Zhang Wen's side for protection, but because she doesn't know how to arrange troops, she has never interjected.

Qin Liangyu walked up quickly, he couldn't care about etiquette, he directly grabbed Zhang Wen's arm, stared at Zhang Wen's eyes and said, "The situation is critical, staying here is more than lucky, you have to leave immediately!" ”

"If you want to go, you go, this official and Zuo'anmen will live and die together!"

Qin Liangyu was about to kneel down and beg Zhang to ask, she said nervously: "Zhang ask!" You leave here immediately, and I, Qin Liangyu, stay! Listen to me, I've been a person for most of my life, and I don't have many regrets when I die. ”

Zhang Ying glanced at Zhang Wen with a complicated expression, and whispered in his ear: "I can die with Xianggong." ”

Zhang Wen grabbed Zhang Ying's hand with some emotion, then turned his head and sighed and said, "General Qin, I'm not afraid of death, I have to take my life." But where can we go now? The wall ladder on the west side has been lost, and it is impossible to escape from the west, and the city wall on the east side used to be Yongding Gate, and it is still in the hands of Jianyu, and the city is full of enemy soldiers. Defend the city tower, give the soldiers a determination, and there is a glimmer of life, once shaken, there is no place to bury! ”

He walked to the city platform, pulled out Shang Fang's sword, pointed to the sky, and shouted: "This official Zhang Wen is here, swearing to live and die with Zuo'anmen, and fulfill the responsibility of defending the country and the land!" ”

Seeing that the governor was not afraid of death, and lived and died with the group, the morale of the soldiers was greatly increased, and the crowd was excited, shouting to kill the enemy and serve the country. And Zhang Wen is still inciting everyone's emotions, "This is the imperial city, the foundation of my Han family's bloodline, is it to serve the battlefield and be loyal to the country, or is it greedy for life and fear of death waiting for the disaster of extermination, and become a barbarian slave of the country?" ”

"The heroic souls of the war dead live forever, and those who retreat have no shame to see their ancestors and ancestors underground!" Zhang asked how to stir up the emotions of the officers and soldiers, saying that they should be loyal to the imperial court and serve the emperor, many people were the targets of exploitation and did not get much benefit from the state...... But the ancestors who moved out of the Han family, everyone agreed, the Chinese people are not without faith, especially the ancients...... They believe in their ancestors. There is a basis for the patriarchal system, which is greater than the law.

When Zhang Wen continued to incite, the generals were also very cooperative, raising their arms and shouting, and the crowd was angry for a while...... Emotions sometimes cost lives.

Zhang Wen's resolute refusal to leave the castle tower and his extremely inflammatory tone moved many soldiers and Qin Liangyu, who no longer persuaded Zhang Wen.

However, morale does not mean that people are invincible, strength and weakness are objective factors, and they cannot be completely reversed because of how determined people are. At this time, the sergeant reported: "The military gate, the city tower below has been occupied by the Jianqing." ”

At this moment, Zhang Wen was a little desperate, he was so scared that he was going to die, he was actually very willing to live a long life. However, Zhang Wen is very self-controlled, and he understands that all emotions are useless. At such times, he was still calm.

The Jianyu had already seized the castle tower below, and the people on the upper floor obviously had nowhere to go, unless they could fly. The generals and soldiers next to them looked at each other with sadness on their faces, because the situation was: I am going to die today.

One of the generals said in a daze: "We are surrounded......"

Zhang Wen said calmly: "Yes, we have no place to go, and we have become turtles in the urn." ”

But Qin Liangyu saw it very openly at this time, she pulled out the waist knife on her body, looked at Zhang Wen with a smile and said: "Half a life of fighting horses, my greatest wish is to die on the battlefield, and today is the time!" ”