turmoil

The purpose of Xiao Heshan's trip was indeed related to Zhang Jingche - before leaving Beijing, Emperor Xinglong specially called him to him and ordered two things: first, to find out Zhang Jingche's whereabouts; second, if he saw him, no matter what he paid No matter what the price, he must be brought back to Beijing unscathed.

Xiao Heshan was not surprised at all.

He had heard the reputation of the former commander of Jinyiwei, and also knew that Youyunwei was founded by Zhang Jingche.In Xiao Heshan's impression, Zhang Jingche had committed suicide four years ago. He never thought that someone would be so bold as to replace a death row prisoner.What's more, he didn't expect that the former commander of Jinyiwei, who should have been panic-stricken like a bereaved dog, would have the ability to open up sea trade routes and start a huge business.

Because of this, when Xiao Heshan found out that Zhang Jingche was still alive, he was extremely shocked.What surprised him even more was that Han Xun knew about all this a long time ago, and concealed the news on his own initiative.

At that moment, Xiao Heshan finally knew Liu Yanzhao's purpose of putting himself next to Han Xun. The emperor on the throne had long suspected that the dog he was raising had a different intention, but he didn't want to tear his face immediately, so he used the method of supporting the newcomer to restrain his subordinates.As expected, Xiao Heshan lived up to Emperor Xinglong's expectations and sent this concealed letter to the Hall of Qinzheng, which caused an uproar afterwards.

Xiao Heshan expected that Liu Yanzhao would order him to find out the whereabouts of the imperial convict, and he was ready to arrest him, but he did not expect that the emperor would let him bring him back to Beijing without any injuries.This means that the difficulty of arrest has increased a lot out of thin air. Even if the casualties are heavy, they must still capture people alive.

However, Zhang Jingche was too cunning, as early as the moment the Xuanfu mission arrived at the Northwest camp, he smelled the wind and rain, and disappeared without a trace.Xiao Heshan could feel that he hadn't gone far, but searched all over the northwest camp, but still found nothing.

It was You Yunwei's task to find someone, Hong Lu didn't ask any questions, just conveyed the emperor's will to the army officers and soldiers, and confirmed the situation of Marquis Dingbian by the way.Seeing that Yang Fan was sick in bed, he didn't intend to recover for a while, and the imperial doctor couldn't give any accurate news. He was tired of waiting, and he couldn't bear the hardships in the northwest, he just wanted to return to the prosperous and prosperous Beijing as soon as possible.

"It's not that our family is complaining. You have searched inside and outside the Northwest camp. That person named Zhang is a mouse, so he should show his tail?" Honglu muttered, "After searching for so long, even one person I haven't seen the shadow, maybe he is not in the Northwest camp long ago, and it would be a waste of time to stay any longer."

Xiao Heshan glanced at him: "That person must still be in the Northwest Camp... Even if he's not there, he won't be too far away. He's probably keeping in touch with the general in some way."

He paused, narrowing his eyes meaningfully: "The person who cooperates with him is very likely to be the deputy general of the Northwest Army—Zhuo Jiusi!"

Hong Lu wondered, "How do you know?"

Xiao Heshan said every word: "Because Marquis Dingbian is still ill! Marquis Yang is the backbone of the Northwest Army. If he can't get up for a day, the Northwest Army's morale will be unstable for a day. At this juncture, he will not let go. Never mind."

Xiao Heshan had never met Zhang Jingche, but this did not prevent him from inferring his temperament from his behavior.From Xiao Heshan's point of view, Zhang Jingche's way of handling things is often contradictory. Sometimes he is unbelievably cruel, and sometimes hesitant to the extreme. He jumps from one extreme to the other without even a moment's compromise.

At first, Xiao Heshan couldn't figure it out, but soon, he thought of a possibility - the so-called "naturally rebellious" and "ruthless" are just appearances, Zhang Jingche is not loyal to any faction, not even the emperor, and only four words in his mind: Sheji and the people.

It was the first time for Xiao Heshan to see such a thankless idiot, and he thought it would be easy to catch, but Zhang Jingche's cunning was far beyond his expectations.Xiao Heshan lingered in Northwest Daying for several days, still looking like a headless chicken, full of anger and hatred, and his evaluation of Zhang Jingche went up to a higher level.

"No wonder the Son of Heaven is so confronted with a formidable enemy," Xiao Heshan thought convincingly, "This man...is really difficult to deal with!"

Zhuo Jiusi patiently stayed up for half the night, finally waited until midnight, changed his armor as if nothing had happened, and went out to patrol the camp with his saber.You Yunwei's spies followed behind him, and after a small half-circle aimlessly, they saw Vice-General Zhuo heading straight for the isolation camp—a fence was erected between the isolation camp and the camp of ordinary soldiers, and there were many barriers. The guards, even if they were You Yunwei's masters, couldn't get past them easily.

You Yunwei had no choice but to watch Zhuo Jiusi's back disappear from sight.The two looked at each other, one stayed in place to watch, and the other rushed to report to Xiao Heshan.

Zhuo Jiusi walked to the front of the tent as if nothing had happened, and winked to the left and right. The guard understood and guarded the door with a knife in his hand. Zhuo Jiusi lifted the curtain and slipped in.The next moment, a candle was lit in the pitch-black tent, Zhang Jingche blew out the fire, and with a face that his mother couldn't recognize, smiled slightly: "General Zhuo, I've been waiting for you for half the night."

Zhuo Jiusi said apologetically, "Young Master Lao has been waiting for a long time, it's You Yunwei's haunted spirit, I spent a lot of effort to get rid of him."

Zhang Jingche raised his eyes: "You Yunwei? Are you sure it's You Yunwei?"

Zhuo Jiusi nodded: "Sure! This person's surname is Xiao and his name is He Shan. He is the current deputy commander of You Yunwei, and he is Han Xun's deputy...Mr. Zhang should be well aware of the pros and cons of this."

Zhang Jingche nodded slightly: "Understood...he is a chess piece to contain Han Xun, and he is also the eyeliner placed in You Yunwei today."

He paused, and raised the corners of his mouth sarcastically: "The courtiers all say that today's Qingming and benevolence are not the same as those of the late emperor. Now it seems that the emperor's inherent suspicion is not lacking at all."

Zhuo Jiusi couldn't be bothered to follow the "fugitive prisoner" to criticize the Ninth Five-Year Supreme, and changed the subject nonchalantly: "I'm visiting late at night for two things—the commander-in-chief has returned from the grassland."

Zhang Jingche really changed his mind: "Really? Is Yuan Zhou still safe?"

Zhuo Jiusi handed over the letter with a smile: "My lord, you can read it yourself."

Zhang Jingche snatched the note, his fingers trembled slightly when he unfolded it, and after scanning ten lines at a glance, he finally heaved a sigh of relief, with a smile on his face: "He really did it..."

"The commander-in-chief defeated the royal court of Beile and beheaded more than a thousand enemies!" Zhuo Jiusi lowered his voice, with indescribable excitement and hesitation between his words, "The nobles of Beile fled in a hurry, the news reached Kaipingwei, Tumen Khan is bound to lead his troops back to help... The commander-in-chief intends to intercept halfway, but is also worried that the escaped Beile people will kill a carbine, and they will be attacked by the enemy at that time, so it is inevitable to lose sight of the other."

Zhang Jingche groaned and tapped on the table: "The court's Xuanfu Mission has not left yet, and the Northwest Camp cannot attack rashly. If a flaw is revealed, all the previous hard work will go to waste. 'Conspiracy to commit crimes'."

This is exactly what Zhuo Jiusi was worried about. In the absence of Marquis Dingbian, he was temporarily acting as the chief general. There was really no one to discuss it, so he could only ask Zhang Jingche for advice: "The military situation is urgent, and we must try to send troops. It's just that the Xuanfu Mission Bian...if only we could find a way to let them leave earlier."

"Leaving aside the Xuanfu Mission, since Yuanzhou has sent a letter, soldiers must be dispatched," Zhang Jingche said after a long while, "But the Northwest Camp cannot be moved, let alone You Yunwei can see the flaws... I am concerned about this matter. Let's do it, and Yuanzhou will not be bullied by the Beile people."

Zhuo Jiusi: "..."

Those who don't know the tone of this protector think that Marquis Dingbian is the young son-in-law of his family who stepped in the door.

Zhuo Jiusi had seen Zhang Jingche's ability, and had almost blind trust in the former commander of Jinyiwei. Now that he got his promise, he felt that "this matter is settled" for no reason.

"Then I'll leave it to Mr. Zhang. In the future, Beile will confer the title, and there must be a young master in the merit list!" Zhuo Jiusi said gratefully, "There is another thing-these days, Youyunwei is clearly searching for the generals inside and outside the camp. After reading it over and over again, knowing that there is no gain, but still refusing to leave the capital, I am worried, and want to discuss with the young master, in your opinion, did You Yunwei discover something? "

Zhang Jingche didn't answer immediately, and thought for a long time without saying a word.

"I was careless," he said in a deep voice, "now that I know that I am still alive, I can probably guess that I can escape without the help of a distant boat. He has saved me, and I will never There is no reason to let him go, even if you don't stay in the Northwest camp to wait for news, you won't run away immediately."

Zhuo Jiusi was a little anxious: "Then what should I do? I can't go on like this... The commander will come back one day. If You Yunwei bumps into him, wouldn't he be accused of sending troops without authorization?"

"It's okay to run into each other, as long as you come back with a big victory, even You Yunwei will not dare to make trouble easily." Zhang Jingche smiled at him comfortingly: "Don't worry, there will always be a solution."

For Zhang Jingche, You Yunwei was like a shit-stirring stick. Although it was difficult and tricky, it would not waste too much effort.At this moment, his mind and heart were all affected by the battle situation thousands of miles away, and he looked out of the window, as soon as he touched someone deep in the water plants.

"This is the last battle," Zhang Jingche thought casually, "If you win, your name will go down in history!"

Tumen Khan, who was far away in Kaipingwei, didn't know that his deadly enemy was about to use his own head to achieve the reputation of Dingbian Hou as an "eternal famous general".Xinying flew very fast, and Anzhuan's hands and feet were not slow. In less than ten days, Tumen, who was far away in Kaipingwei, learned of the change in the Beile Royal Court.

At that time, the Beile Iron Cavalry was launching the most violent attack against Kaiping Guards. They even built stone catapults following the example of the Yin army. Huge stones fell from the sky and fell on the wall like a torrential rain. The Kaiping garrison was caught off guard, bloody Poured a slice.

What's worse, the city wall couldn't stand the indiscriminate bombing, and half of it collapsed.The Beile people were ecstatic, and with their last breath, they rushed forward like a tsunami. The Kaiping garrison, not to be outdone, mobilized the last batch of bows and crossbows to the wall, and forcibly blocked the Beile people's onslaught with arrow rain and repelling horses.

Tumen Khan personally charged the formation. Seeing that the elite under his command could not attack for a long time, he swung his arms and the cloak fell off his shoulders. He said with a long laugh, "Take my strong bow and see how I can shoot down the banners of the people from the Central Plains."

The soldiers agreed, and galloped away, and after a while, they brought a longbow with an iron arm and beef tendon.Tumen Khan bent his bow and set his arrow, aimed at the big banner on the wall, and was about to release the string, when suddenly there was the sound of hurried footsteps behind him.

"Khan, it's not good!" The visitor was out of breath, and his panic was palpable, "There is an urgent report from the royal court!"

Tumen's fingers trembled slightly, the iron arrow had already left the string, the arrow was extremely powerful, but not very accurate, it rubbed against the guard's helmet and nailed it into the wall, with a sound of "du" it hit three points into the stone, its tail feathers trembled endlessly.

The defending general was drenched in cold sweat, and almost didn't come up in one breath.

Tumen looked back suddenly: "What did you say?"

The visitor knelt on the ground with tears on his face and said: "Khan, the people from the Central Plains took advantage of the gap and broke into the royal court! It was at night when they launched a surprise attack. Our warriors were defenseless and were killed without leaving any behind. , the left and right virtuous kings took advantage of the chaos and fled without a trace..."

Tumen strode forward and picked up his collar: "Well, what about the princess?"

The visitor gritted his teeth, his cheeks were tense, and he finally swallowed the choked sobs that reached his mouth: "But Chidun and the little princess... fell into the hands of the barbarians of the Central Plains! Then the Marquis of Dingbian ordered someone to let go, I want you to surrender immediately, otherwise, otherwise..."

Tumen Kehan's veins were throbbing: "Otherwise, what? Say it!"

The visitor couldn't bear it any longer, and whimpered, "Otherwise...he will use Ke Chidun and the little princess as military prostitutes!"

Tumen was furious: "He dares!"

The visitor wiped his face vigorously, and the seven-foot-high man had red marks at the corners of his eyes: "Khan, what should we do? My brothers' wives and children are all in the royal court. If they are taken by the Central Plains barbarians..."

The news came so suddenly that it shattered Tumen's mind in an instant. In a hurry, he put aside the upcoming victory and didn't even pay attention to some flaws that should have been noticed: "No... Su Rina is not an ordinary woman, It's not so easy for her to fall into the hands of the Central Plains people! And Uncle Wang, his subordinates are all elite, and nothing will happen to Su Rina and Tu Lunya!"

At this moment, the Beile army, which is in sight of victory, has no fighting spirit at all. Their only thought is to go back—back to the grassland, back to the royal court, to witness the safety of their families with their eyes, and to expel those Central Plains robbers who broke into their homes with their hands. leave the country.

But this meant that they had to give up the city they had obtained. They had been besieging the city for many days, and countless warriors fell under the city wall one after another.The blood stained the bricks and stones, and the corpses piled up to grow. If the city was abandoned and the troops were withdrawn at this time, the previous blood and casualties would be in vain.

Tumen has never made such a difficult choice. In front of him are the clansmen in the wilderness with violent corpses, and behind him are his wives and daughters whose life and death are unknown.He paced back and forth like a trapped animal, his hands behind his back clenched tightly.The guard who came to report the news raised his head at this moment, hesitated to speak: "Khan, I have something to report..."

Tumen was in a state of desperation, heard this and said without thinking: "Say!"

The personal guard hesitated for a moment: "This matter has a lot to do with it, I..."

Tumen waved his hand, motioning the guards to step aside: "What's the matter? Tell me!"

The personal guard was still worried, looked around, got up and fell to Tumen Khan's ear.Tumen was about to listen to what he had to say, but his heart felt strange, he raised his hand to block without thinking, and then, a dagger pierced through the back of his hand, piercing his chest for three points!

This happened suddenly, and no one around the bodyguards reacted, Tumen endured the severe pain, grabbed the "bodyguard"'s wrist with his backhand, used a wrestling technique, pulled the assassin over his shoulder, and fell hard to the ground.

Only then did the personal guards come back to their senses, and hurriedly swarmed forward, holding the assassin down in a hurry.Tumen staggered two steps and was supported by the guards. He reluctantly pulled out his dagger and glared at the assassin fiercely: "You...you are from the Central Plains? Tell me, who sent you here!"

The assassin struggled to raise his head, with a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but a sneer flashed in his eyes: "It's the people of the Central Plains who died tragically under the knife of Beile...I'm here to demand your life!"