Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

In late autumn, the north wind is cold.The leaves that had already withered to earth color were easily stripped from the branches by the wind, rolled up and fell in the middle of the road, cracked softly, and shattered into several pieces under the wheels.Carriage-carrying carriages rumbled along the road one after another, and stopped not far away, at the gate of the Ming army camp.Yang Sichang stepped down from the leading carriage, straightened his clothes, looked around, raised his head and shouted:

"Minister of Rites, Yang Sichang, is here to escort the imperial gifts!"

The little soldier on the observation deck stretched out half of his body and looked down. Seeing that the visitor was nice, he shouted, "Master Yang has worked hard all the way!" After saying that, he retracted his head and gestured towards the door.

After waiting for a while, the gate slowly opened, and Lu Xiangsheng in armor walked out from the camp with Yang Lukai and a few attendants.I saw Lu Xiangsheng stepped forward and bowed his hands respectfully, with a smile like a spring breeze on his face: "The weather is cold, Mr. Yang is very hard to escort the convoy, come, come and have a cup of hot tea with me."

"Lord Lu, you are welcome. Please." Yang Sichang also politely agreed, and followed Lu Xiang into the big tent.

Yang Sichang knew very well why the emperor picked him out of such trivial matters as Lao Jun—this was forcing himself, the backbone of the peace faction, to give up his position, and also put on an attitude of supporting the war faction. The posture, or at least the battle and the boundary between the two factions, has been smoothed out so that it is not so blunt and harsh.The emperor's order cannot be violated, and Changping's experience must be gone.But no matter what the spectators thought, Yang Sichang did not obey the meaning of his actions.Of course, Lu Xiangsheng also understood the emperor's intentions, and the proposal to divide the troops a few days ago was quickly approved by the emperor. He believed that in the emperor's heart, it must be the main battle.Now that everything has been concluded, there is no need to dwell on the past.Lu Xiangsheng led Yang Sichang into the tent to entertain him with refreshments. He only chatted and exchanged pleasantries, and didn't mention the peace talks that seemed to be a thing of the past.

But Yang Sichang was unwilling to give up reconciled, he had already made up his mind on the way to the camp, even if the possibility was slim, he would try to persuade Lu Xiangsheng to join forces again.After several rounds of talking, Yang Sichang saw the opportunity, so he started the conversation according to his calculations.

"Excuse me for what Yang said bluntly, Mr. Lu's move to divide the troops is really ill-considered in Yang's opinion."

"Oh? What did Master Yang say?" Finally, this matter was brought up.Lu Xiangsheng narrowed his eyes and responded calmly.

"Lord Lu, don't blame Yang's squad for using an axe." Yang Sichang pulled his face and smiled, "This time the Qing army's [-] troops invaded, but the city's defenders were only [-] to [-] at full strength. Now Lord Lu divides the main force of the [-] to [-] troops into two places, and wants to use [-] to [-] to counter the [-]. Isn't this just a combination of clumsiness and cleverness, taking advantage of oneself? The second division of Xuanda Guanning is the elite of our army If the main force is outnumbered and lost in vain, the capital will be in danger immediately, and the combat power of the entire Ming Dynasty will be greatly weakened."

Using clumsiness against cleverness, taking advantage of one's own disadvantages, the words are high-sounding, but they just want to join forces so that they can teach Gao Qiqian to restrain himself.What is the situation now, this Master Yang is still thinking of reconciling... Lu Xiangsheng was unhappy, but he smiled slightly on his face and replied calmly:

"Your Excellency Yang does not know that the Qing army's so-called [-]-strong army is actually only [-]-odd. Even if only [-] troops fight against each other, if the tactics are right, there is no chance of winning. Moreover, the two armies are separated. For the battle, it is easier for the two groups of troops to help each other, and it is easier to adapt to the situation, and it also prevents the main force from being trapped in one place at the same time. Regarding the matter of the enemy, Lu must think about it with all his strength and consider it thoroughly, so Master Yang needn't worry too much."

"Hey~ Master Lu, what are you talking about? Yang and Master Lu share the imperial salary and receive the favor of the emperor. Ming is in trouble. Yang's heart is no less than that of Master Lu. How dare he not do his best, Help Daming survive this calamity." Yang Sichang looked straight at Lu Xiangsheng, his eyes full of sincerity and earnestness, "It's just that dividing troops is not a safe strategy, if there is a slight mistake, the consequences will be disastrous, please think again, Master Lu."

"Your Majesty Yang, you don't need to say too much, this matter is well known to Lu." Lu Xiangsheng frowned, and said simply, no more words.Yang Sichang did it for containment, and he himself wanted to get rid of it. Both of them were ulterior motives, and no matter how they discussed this irrelevant strategic issue, it was just a waste of time.

Lu Xiangsheng didn't answer much, and Yang Sichang was alone for a while, so he changed the subject and said: "Just now, I walked here once, and saw that everything in the camp is in order, and all the soldiers are high-spirited. Master Lu is really good at running the army, and his reputation is well-deserved." "Yang Sichang smiled approvingly, "I never imagined that Mr. Lu, who is an official with his writing, is actually such an outstanding general. It is really rare in the world."

"Your Excellency Yang is too much." Lu Xiangsheng smiled faintly.

"Lord Lu, don't be self-effacing. If the four words of the paper are Taowulue, I am afraid that no one in the current court can surpass Master Lu." Yang Sichang said, slightly restraining his smile, "If Guan Ning Army also has Master Lu It's a little reassuring to be led by Shuai Cai, but... hey." Yang Sichang sighed, "Yang also heard about the reason why the army was defeated in a sneak attack a while ago. That father-in-law who stands tall and hides high... is really not leading the army. materials. Can Lord Lu rest assured that he will hand over [-] elites?"

After going around for a long time, this is still the case.It seems that if you don't make it clear, Yang Sichang doesn't know how long he will have to deal with him.Lu Xiangsheng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, and said word by word:

"Why is Lord Yang so determined to advocate peace?"

"Ah...?" Yang Sichang was taken aback, but he didn't expect that Lu Xiangsheng would suddenly pierce the window paper and point directly at his original intention. The painstaking efforts to cover up just now became a ridiculous little trick in such an instant.Before he recovered his composure and answered, Lu Xiangsheng in this room went on to say: "I have heard that Brother Yang knows both the past and the present, but don't you know how shameful and disgraceful the alliance under the Spring and Autumn City is? His Majesty Lu Moumeng bestowed Shang Fang with a sword, which can be used in battles. Yu Sheji did not dare to be negligent in the slightest, otherwise the officials in the court would talk like swords, and if they were not careful, the disaster of Yuan Chonghuan in the past would immediately fall on Lu. Even if they are not afraid of this disaster, Lu and Brother Yang are both People who are filial and robbed of love, if they only want to protect themselves and don't think about serving the country, so that they lose both loyalty and filial piety, what kind of face will they stand in the world!"

Even though Lu Xiangsheng's words were still polite, to Yang Sichang's ears, these words were no different from scolding himself for disloyalty and disfilial piety.Embarrassment welled up in his heart, his face changed drastically, his eyebrows raised, he stood up abruptly and said loudly: "Okay, okay! It's a good sentence of loyalty and filial piety! Since Mr. Lu thinks Yang is so unbearable, Why don't you use the Shangfang Sword bestowed by the emperor on Yang first!"

Lu Xiangsheng's expression did not change, and he was as calm as ever, but his voice was a little higher: "Master Yang, don't belittle yourself. If it is difficult to be loyal and filial, Lu is just like Master Yang. My father passed away, and I can't go to the funeral. You can't fight, this sword is based on emotion and reason, and you should start with Lu! Lu thinks that his life is worthless, but he is afraid that after his death, the Qing army will take advantage of it and come in, harming our people and messing up our capital. Lu A certain has failed His Majesty's great trust, and it is difficult to die in peace! Therefore, if you make peace without a fight, Lu will definitely not follow!"

Yang Sichang was speechless for a moment, bit his lip, and had no choice but to turn around and say: "Peace without fighting? What is the basis for Master Lu's words? When Yang came here, when did he persuade you to make peace without fighting!"

"Zhou Yuanzhong went to Liaodong several times for peace talks. Although Gao Qiqian appointed him, all of them were Lord Yang's will. The whole country knows about this matter. Who else does Master Yang want to hide!" Lu Xiangsheng replied seriously .

"You..." Yang Sichang opened his mouth, but was finally at a loss for words on the spot, unable to answer.Lu Xiangsheng half-closed his eyelids, and remained silent, as if he was waiting for Yang Sichang to leave on his own.At this moment, a sharp singing suddenly came from outside the tent, just breaking the embarrassment of tit-for-tat in the room:

"His Majesty's handwriting to—"

two

"Manuscript?"

Lu Xiangsheng was startled, and subconsciously glanced at Yang Sichang, but saw Yang Sichang looking at the tent door with a slight twitch of his mouth, as if he had expected it all.Lu Xiangsheng didn't have time to think about it, he got up quickly and walked out of the tent, and saw a group of eunuchs standing outside the tent, the eunuch in the lead was holding a bright yellow document in his hand.

"Excuse me, is this Lu Xiangsheng, Supervisor Lu?" the leading eunuch asked, looking at Lu Xiangsheng, and then at Yang Sichang who was leaving the account.

"My official is Lu Xiangsheng." Lu Xiangsheng took a step forward and answered with a salute.

"Okay, here is His Majesty's written order, please kneel down and listen to the announcement, Governor Lu."

Lu Xiangsheng knelt down as he said, and the leading eunuch spread out the handbook, and read aloud: "The Qing army gathered in Tongzhou, and it was overwhelming. "After reading, the leading eunuch closed the handbook again, and put his hands in front of Lu Xiangsheng.

Lu Xiangsheng's mind sank, he reluctantly accepted the handwriting, turned his head slightly, and gave Yang Sichang a hard look.No wonder he put on an unsurprised look just now, the emperor had just agreed to divide his troops to garrison Changping, but changed his mind so quickly and ordered him to help Tongzhou, the reason was exactly the same as what Yang Sichang said, the troublemaker was not the person in front of him, but the person in front of him. who!And Yang Sichang also glanced at Lu Xiangsheng, and his heart skipped a beat.I thought that the emperor approved my suggestion, but who knows that the emperor gave such a compromise order. Although Lu Xiang was promoted to Tongzhou, the soldiers were still divided, and Gao Qiqian was still unable to monitor him in the end political enemies.The two of them darkened their expressions and suppressed their thoughts, and the scene was a little awkward.The leading eunuch handed over the letter, glanced at it, and seemed to have noticed the unusual atmosphere, so he said wisely:

"Send the letter, and our family will bid farewell."

"Elder-in-law has been exhausted all the way, if you don't mind the rough food and drink in the military camp, it's not too late to leave after the meal." Lu Xiangsheng politely persuaded him to stay.

"Inspector Lu is very kind to our family, but our family has to go back to report to His Majesty, it is not suitable to stay for a long time, so let's leave." After finishing speaking, the leading eunuch bowed his hands to Lu Xiangsheng, and then led the people back to the city.

Lu Xiangsheng sent a group of eunuchs out of the gate of the camp, watched them go away, turned his head to look at Yang Sichang behind him, his face suddenly turned cold.Naturally, Yang Sichang didn't want to stay any longer, and was about to say goodbye, but Lu Xiangsheng took the lead and asked:

"Lu has something unclear and wants to ask Mr. Yang for advice."

"Master Lu, please speak."

Lu Xiangsheng glanced at Yang Sichang, and said: "Your Majesty has already agreed to the previous request by Lu to divide up troops to guard Changping. Why did you suddenly issue such an order?"

"Holy will is unpredictable. Master Lu asked Yang, and Yang didn't know." Yang Sichang smiled with a trace of indistinct contempt.

"Master Yang doesn't know, that's the best." Lu Xiangsheng looked away, looked straight into the distance, and didn't look at Yang Sichang again. "One last piece of advice from Mr. Yang is that negotiating peace at this time is no different from betraying the country. No matter what happened in the past, you should be loyal and filial to the country, the people, and the whole. Please, Mr. Yang, don't think about it again in the future."

Such direct and sharp words completely tore apart the already thin and broken relationship between the two.Yang Sichang's face turned red immediately, his chest was stuffy, and it took him a long time to hold back a sentence: "Zhan... Zhan Zhan... don't know how to choose between flexion and stretching, blindly being pedantic and stubborn, this will harm Daming sooner or later!"

"Huh. What is right and what is wrong, Lu's heart is like a mirror!" Lu Xiangsheng said awe-inspiringly, "Life in the military camp is poor, and there is no good wine and food, so I will not keep Mr. Yang for a meal. Mr. Yang also returned to the palace earlier to return to his command." .”

"You...!" Yang Sichang was angry in his heart, but the eviction order had been issued, but he didn't have the face to stay here any longer, so he could only grunt resentfully, and walked away.