When he came out of Miyagi, the sun was setting, and it was almost dinner time, Luo Sigong was silent all the way, as if he was thinking about his thoughts. Gao Jie didn't bother him, just followed him and walked slowly.

Today's face saint, the performance of the Emperor of the Apocalypse made Gao Jie feel incredible, and it can be said that it completely subverted his previous perception of this carpentry emperor. Faintly, Gao Jie seemed to see some clues, some secrets about Wei Zhongxian.

History is written by the royal literati, representing their position and the interests of those in power, and it is not necessarily the truth. In the Ming Dynasty, unlike later generations, when the Internet led to freedom of speech and well-informed, the tools of public opinion were in the hands of emperors and civil servants, who could point fingers at the deer and distort the facts to achieve the goal of consolidating power and cracking down on dissidents. If Gao Jie hadn't traveled to the Ming Dynasty, it would have been absolutely impossible to see the truth of those things recorded in the history books.

Gao Jie was bowing his head and thinking nonsense, when he heard Luo Sigong say, "Xiaojie, what do you want?"

Gao Jie hurriedly raised his head, saw that Luo Sigong had stopped, looked at him with a smile, and hurriedly replied: "Uncle Shi, Xiao Jie just felt that some things were not as he originally thought, and he lost his mind for a while!"

Luo Sigong raised his head to look at the gorgeous sunset in the sky, and said meaningfully: "In the officialdom, the relationship is intricate, just like this sunset, layered and entangled. Even the emperor, who is the Ninth Five-Year Emperor, sometimes has to disguise himself, lie down and taste his courage, and keep his head in obscurity!"

Gao Jie asked, "Does Uncle Shi also think that the Holy Lord is not as unbearable as the rumors say?"

Luo Sigong laughed and said: "Since the Holy Lord can create so many exquisite and exquisite furniture, he must be a person with a clever mind, how can it be unbearable?!"

"What about Uncle Wei, what do you think?" Gao Jie asked again

"I don't know much about Grandpa Wei, but one thing I can be sure of is that he is absolutely loyal to the Holy One, although he is illiterate, but he is very shrewd, and what the Holy Lord arranges him to do, he will definitely carry it out without hesitation!" Luo Sigong replied lightly.

"In other words, if some things that are inconvenient for the saint to come forward in person, and hand them over to Uncle Wei, even if he knows that it will be difficult, he will be scolded, and even become a sinner for the ages under the pen of the literati, he will definitely do it without hesitation?!" Gao Jie was emotional and asked hurriedly.

Luo Sigong looked at Gao Jie with a loving look on his face, nodded and said, "Yes! He will! Moreover, not only him, but also me!"

Gao Jie's heart was depressed, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

Luo Sigong patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Officialdom is like this, you don't have to worry too much, in fact, there are many people who have a more difficult life!

Gao Jie sighed, and followed Luo Sigong towards the inner city.

To the west of the inner city, there is a building that covers a fairly large area, and it is surrounded by elite soldiers and is heavily guarded. Seeing Luo Sigong, those soldiers hurriedly stepped forward to salute, Luo Sigong took out the waist card that Gao Jie returned to him, and said after handing it over for inspection according to the regulations: "Take us to Lord Xiong's cell!"

The two soldiers didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly led the way, Luo Sigong and Gao Jie walked into a dimly lit prison, and a pungent musty smell came to their faces, and Gao Jie couldn't help frowning. Luo Sigong said softly: "This is the prison of the Criminal Department, you can bear with it!"

Soon they were led to a separate cell, where the soldiers unlocked the door and let them in, and then remained outside the cell door.

In this cell, there was no window, but a dim, flickering oil lamp, and when they entered, a tall, unkempt old man stood up from the humble wooden bedside, and his eyes shone brightly in the dimly lit cell, and he looked quite imposing, no ordinary prisoner.

Seeing Luo Sigong, the old man laughed and said, "Brother Luo, you're here again!"

Luo Sigong nodded slightly, quickly stepped forward and grabbed the man's hand, looked him up and down carefully for a long time, and then said, "It seems that your health is not bad! These guards didn't embarrass you!"

The man smiled and said, "You, Lord Luo, have spoken, who dares to embarrass me! Eating well and sleeping well every day is much more comfortable than being on the front line!"

Luo Sigong turned around, pulled Gao Jie and said, "Xiaojie, this is Uncle Shi's old friend, Master Xiong Tingbi Xiong!"

When Gao Jie heard that this felony was the famous Xiong Tingbi, his head buzzed in shock, and he hurriedly respectfully prepared to curtsy, but was grabbed by Xiong Tingbi and said loudly: "I am a felony of the imperial court, no need to be polite!"

Gao Jie only felt that Xiong Tingbi, who was over fifty years old, had a lot of strength, and his kneeling momentum was stopped by him, and he hurriedly used his internal force, gently flicked his hand away, and then respectfully kowtowed three times before getting up.

Xiong Tingbi looked at Gao Jie, then turned his gaze to Luo Sigong again, and said in surprise: "Who is this young man, his kung fu is really extraordinary!"

Luo Sigong laughed and said: "He is a disciple of my junior sister, called Gao Jie, he is not yet sixteen years old, and it is appropriate to give you a big gift to this elder!"

Xiong Tingbi said suddenly: "It turned out to be the senior brother of your Emei Sword Immortal Sect, no wonder! It's just that his current cultivation is not much worse than your family's temperament, and he can be described as talented!"

Luo Sigong laughed and said: "It's not that I'm boasting, Xiaojie is the most amazing genius I've ever seen in my life, so I brought it today for you to see, brother!"

Gao Jie said embarrassedly: "Two bosses, don't laugh at me?!"

Xiong Tingbi looked at him curiously and said, "Boss?! This title is a bit interesting!"

Luo Sigong also smiled: "This kid has a flamboyant tongue, his words are quite peculiar, and he is very interesting!" After speaking, he beckoned Xiong Tingbi to sit down on the bed, and then took a long bench from the corner and sat down with Gao Jie.

Gao Jie looked at Xiong Tingbi in front of him and couldn't help but feel emotional.

Xiong Tingbi, the word Feibai, the number Zhigang, Huguangjiangxia, Wanli Jinshi, Chu Dang. Xiong Tingbi's family was poor when he was young, herding cattle to study and practice martial arts, hard work, and eventually became a talent for both civil and military affairs. "The official promoted the imperial history and patrolled Liaodong. In the thirty-sixth year of Wanli (1608), Xiong Tingbi was ordered to patrol Liaodong. In the forty-seventh year of Wanli (1619), Yang Hao, the right attendant of the military department, passed through Liaodong, recruited exiles, rectified military orders, built chariots, firearms, dredging trenches to repair the city, and garrisoned Dagu. He was later deposed.

Last year, the imperial court appointed him as the secretary of the military department and the right deputy capital of the imperial history, stationed in Shanhaiguan, and was promoted to Liaodong Economic Strategy for the second time. At the same time, the imperial court promoted the king to the governor. Although Wang Huazhen was courageous, he underestimated the military strength of the Later Jin and advocated taking the initiative to attack and defeat the Later Jin within three months. The two of them are the main battle, and the other is the main defense, resulting in a situation of "economic disagreement". However, the Ming Dynasty has always emphasized literature over military force, and because Wang Huazhen was a student of the new first assistant Ye Xianggao, the Donglin Party members who controlled the cabinet supported Wang Huazhen and abandoned Xiong Tingbi's strategy. Wang Huazhen supported heavy troops to defend Guangning, while Xiong Tingbi had a vague reputation and only a few thousand soldiers. Wang Huazhen did not listen to moderation, and planned to attack with Li Yongfang, the enemy general, as an internal response. Before it could be implemented, in the first month of this year, Nurhachi personally led 50,000 men and horses to attack Hexi in three ways. Cross the Liao River and capture Xiping Fort. Wang Huazhen sent out the garrisons of Guangning and Luyang to attack the Houjin army, and the 30,000 army was annihilated. At the same time, Sun Degong, a spy sent into Quang Ninh by the Later Jin side, provoked a mutiny and opened the city gate to welcome the Later Jin army. Wang Huazhen escaped from Guangning in embarrassment and met Xiong Tingbi in Youtun. Wang Huazhen suggested that he try to stop the Houjin army again, but Xiong Tingbi thought that it was impossible to do anything, so he withdrew to Shanhaiguan. Guangning was lost, Xiong Tingbi did not lead the army into the city for a desperate battle, and fulfilled the responsibility of defending the land, but retreated to Shanhaiguan, and then Wang Huazhen also retreated into the pass. The entire Liaodong outside the Shanhai Pass was completely occupied by Nurhachi, who ordered the people west of the Liao River to be driven to the east of the Liao River to be slaughtered. At the suggestion of Sun Chengzong, Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen were sent to the prison of the Criminal Department for questioning.

When Xiong Tingbi was the imperial historian, Luo Sigong made friends with him because of martial arts, which was quite irreversible, and he always thought that he was martial arts and martial arts, proficient in everything, and he was a rare handsome talent in the world. This time Xiong Tingbi was convicted and imprisoned, Luo Sigong once defended him, but Donglin was powerful, coupled with the insistence of the emperor Sun Chengzong, Xiong Tingbi was finally convicted.

Luo Sigong looked at the unkempt old friend in front of him, his mood became heavy, and said: "During this time, I lobbied everywhere to rescue the virtuous brother, but the Donglin people are determined to ask you to carry the black pot for Wang Huazhen, they are now powerful in the court, plus Sun Chengzong Sun doesn't know why, he must also put you in the crime of losing your land, so far my brother still can't save you from prison, it's really incompetent, and I feel guilty every day!"

Xiong Tingbi waved his hand and said: "I have already told my brother before, I don't have to worry about Tingbi's affairs anymore, but you don't listen!

Luo Sigong shook his head and said, "The old man just doesn't understand, what kind of festival does Lord Sun have with his brother, and he must put you to death!

Xiong Tingbi sighed abruptly, got up and paced back and forth in the cell a few times, before he said quietly: "Lord Sun's move is not because he has a personal grudge with me, I and he are both for the country and the public, but the way is different!"

Luo Sigong asked puzzledly: "I didn't expect my brother to be imprisoned for his crime, and he helped him speak, I don't know how to say this?"

Xiong Tingbi sat down again and said in a deep voice: "The tripartite arrangement I have proposed is to set up a cavalry in Guangning (now Beizhen, Liaoning) to contain the main force of Houjin; in Tianjin, Deng, and Lai (now Penglai and Ye County, Shandong) to set up governors and boat divisions, and take the opportunity to enter southern Liaoning; in the east, unite with Korea to attack Houjin from the rear; and set up a strategy at Shanhaiguan to control the three parties. Wang Huazhen did not understand military affairs, did not reorganize the army, did not make actual preparations for attack, and pinned his hopes for the restoration of Liao and Shen on the dispatch of troops by the Mongol Lin Dan Khan and the internal response of the rebel general Li Yongfang; he believed that Nurhachi had no intention of staying in Liaoyang for a long time, the defensive force was weak, and the submarine division sent troops, which was bound to be defeated. He sent Mao Wenlong to attack Zhenjiang, which prematurely exposed the tripartite strategy and caused heavy losses to the anti-Nurhachi forces of the four guards in southern Liaoning. I oppose Wang Huazhen's practices, but Zhang Heming, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Ye Xianggao, the first assistant, actively support Wang Huazhen and obey his words. Wang Huazhen is not subject to my control. The reinforcements transferred from the Quartet, Zhang Heming did not go through the strategy and launched on his own. I asked about the situation, but Zhang Heming ignored it. Wang Huazhen has 140,000 soldiers, while Wu Tangtang Jinglu only has 5,000 soldiers around him. There are no soldiers to be armed, and there is no power to have power, which has led to the fact that our tripartite strategy has come to naught. And the reason why Sun Chengzong is like this is precisely out of public intentions, because he and I have a fundamental difference in the strategy we are implementing. Because of this disagreement, he hated my behavior so much, believing that I had deliberately abandoned the land and lost my teacher, and the sin was unforgivable. Master Sun is a capable man with a military vision, and he saw that I did not make a choice after Wang Huazhen's defeat, but had already included this intention in the tripartite layout strategy, but it was not so straightforward. In the end, I withdrew to the pass, not because I was unable to defend the last resort, but because I was in the middle of the arms and got off the donkey down the slope. In this way, in the eyes of Lord Sun, I am deliberately deceiving the king and the country, deliberately abandoning the city and land, which is also a capital crime!"

Luo Sigong frowned tightly, and said in a heavy tone: "But in my opinion, you and Lord Sun's strategies have quite something in common, both of them are defending instead of attacking, how can there be such a fierce conflict?"

Xiong Tingbi smiled and said: "It's not that I laugh at you, brother, you have outstanding martial arts, and the younger brother is beyond the reach of the dust, but in the way of using soldiers, the elder brother still hasn't carefully studied the root cause."

The strategy pursued by Master Sun and I is fundamentally the opposite of each other. Master Sun is the main defender, and for him, guarding means guarding everything, and guarding whatever can be defended at all costs, which is his fundamental principle. It is a great sin to abandon a city or a place. His strategy is not only to defend the existing territory, but also to try to advance layer by layer by building fortresses, defending is attacking, until he reaches the door of Houjin's house, and then seals Houjin to death!"

Gao Jie couldn't help but say loudly: "I don't know how much manpower and financial resources it will cost and how much time it will take to do this!"

Xiong Tingbi smiled at Gao Jie and said: "Regardless of whether his strategy is correct or not, at least the idea is still good, and this method is also most in line with my identity as a dignified Heavenly Empire! In my opinion, whether it is defending or fighting, it is not the end in itself, and how to grasp the strategic initiative in your own hands is the real key." When Liao and Shen were still in the hands of my Ming Dynasty, they were indeed able to defend instead of attacking, and slowly blockade and strangle the power of Houjin. However, in the case that Liao and Shen have already been lost, at this time, relying on fortress tactics and relying on stubbornly defending a few strongholds can only give the initiative to others, which will not work. At this time, it is necessary to fight, but before the battle, it is necessary to retreat, and the safety of the Great Wall defense line must be ensured first. It's like a boxer, in order to deal a heavy blow to the opponent, he must first retract his fist. The reason why I gave up the land of Quang Ninh and cleared the wilderness has this deep meaning, which is also the essence of our tripartite arrangement. But the problem is that this strategy of retreating first if you want to fight is something that Master Sun can't understand, let alone accept. This time, he insisted that I should be convicted of a capital crime, but his original intention was not to really take my life, but mainly because he was worried that once I was released, it would affect his strategic arrangements. ”

After listening to this, Luo Sigong finally understood the reason, and couldn't help but sigh: "It's the same country, why be in a hurry to fry each other!"