Bright Spring

Reinforcements are coming!

Reinforcements are coming...

Zhu Gaoxu was as long-winded as Mrs. Xianglin, constantly filling the soldiers with hope.

Chapter 58 Secret Order

"Reinforcements are coming! King Gaoyang really keeps his word!"

Zhu Gaoxu was lying on the top of the wall, and heard someone shouting excitedly nearby.He blocked the glare of the sun above his head with the palm of his hand, and stared at the outside of the city with round eyes. Wu Gao's Liaodong Army was retreating!Behind the fortifications, shovels, hoe, tents and other things were thrown everywhere.

Wu Gao, the Marquis of Jiangyin, was also a tease. He ran all the way to Hebei, and brought tens of thousands of people to work on the construction site every day. So he left behind the fortifications he had worked so hard to build, and ran away with his people.

However, what if King Yan's reinforcements don't come?

Fortunately, King Yan really came. First, a group of cavalry crossed the fortifications outside the city and pursued northward.Then the flags in the west were like clouds, people and horses were like a tide, and a black mass appeared on the horizon.Not only did the King of Yan come, but he also led the main force of the Yan army!

Zhu Gaoxu also had a thousand cavalry in his hand, but he did not order to pursue Wu Gaojun.He has no interest in chasing after him and killing a few people. Anyway, the ones he kills are all his own.

Not long after, surrounded by iron cavalry and banners like clouds, King Yan in heavy armor rode on his horse and swaggered to the foot of Yongping City.

The city gate had already been opened, and Zhu Gaoxu walked down from the city wall and came to the gate of the city.He clasped his fists to salute by the side of the road, and when King Yan came over, he bowed and said, "I respectfully welcome my father!"

Only then did he see that the third younger brother Gao Sui was actually following behind!Gao Sui was wearing a suit of armor, but it was useless except for looking. Zhu Gaoxu knew this third brother, he was very good at horseback riding and archery, and he was younger, so he might not even be able to beat a pawn.

Zhu Gaoxu greeted again: "Third brother, you're here too!" Gao Sui said: "Second brother, don't come here unharmed, I beg my father to bring me out, and I want to assist my father just like my brothers."

"Okay, okay!" King Yan had a smile on his face, and he didn't look like he was being bullied by an army of 50 people.

But soon he explained the reason, "Gao Xu did a good job, your Seventeenth Uncle was ordered to cut his military power!"

……

In the imperial city of the capital, there is a domineering street inside Hongwu Gate, called Qianbu Corridor.The Yamen of the Ministry of War is on the east side of Qianbu Corridor.

Magnificent and magnificent buildings, clean and flat ground, people who come and go here are courteous.Being able to work in such a place is a pleasure in itself.The office environment of Minister of the Ministry of War Qitai is not only superior, but also enjoys the compliment and respect of most people here.

Through the clear wooden windows, the autumn sunlight fills the study room, and the room is filled with the scent of ink.Qi Shangshu stopped the brush in his hand, picked it up, and paused in the air for a long time.He stretched out his hand to twirl his beard, his brows were furrowed...something always felt wrong, and he would occasionally think of it in the past two days, but he didn't know what went wrong for a while!

Qi Shangshu let out a breath, put the brush on the inkstone, turned his head and called out.

A scribe with tied hair and a net scarf came in and bowed to serve him.

Qi Shangshu said: "You go for a walk and invite General Li Taili to my study."

"The little one will do it immediately."

After Qi Shangshu finished speaking, he continued to pick up his pen and waited while he was busy with his business.

After a long time, the scribe just now came to the door and said, "Ministry, General Li is here."

"Okay, please come in, General Li, and make a pot of tea." Qi Shangshu said.

The general Li Tai didn't wear armor anymore, he was wearing a military officer's robe.When the two met, they exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Qi Shangshu quickly cut to the chase: "General Li followed King Liao back to Beijing from Daning. It's been a while. I've met both of you..."

Li Tai bowed his head and said: "Yes, yes, Qi Butang can meet anyone he wants, even the prince has to give you some face."

"Don't talk about this. I was writing something just now, and I suddenly remembered that the last time I had a face-to-face meeting, several ministers were present, including the King of Liao, but General Li was not among those summoned." Qi Shangshu said sternly.

Li Taidao: "The rank of the last general is too low... Besides, King Liao knows what happened in the north."

"Hmm..." Qi Shangshu nodded and said, "To bother General Li again today, I hope General Li won't bother you, and tell me what happened in Daning and Guangning again, okay?"

"Don't dare, it's not a nuisance. As long as Qi Butang likes to listen, the general will be fine if he repeats it ten times." Li Tai said, he raised his head and rolled his eyes, recalling, "That day In the end, he will be tricked out of the city by King Ning's people..."

So Li Tai described his experiences and knowledge in detail.

Qi Shangshu didn't interrupt in the middle, nodding from time to time, or making some trivial movements, as if he was listening.

"The last general is finished." Li Tai let out a long breath after talking on the phone.

Unexpectedly, Qi Shangshu said: "Drink tea, drink tea, moisten your throat, can General Li say it again?"

"Ah? Okay, okay." Li Tai nodded hurriedly, "I will be tricked out of the city by King Ning's people at the end of the day..."

"Wait!" Qi Shangshu raised his arms and said, "General Li is a general of Daning City. Why didn't King Ning's people tell you to leave the city instead of telling you to leave the city?"

Li Tai stared and said: "King Ning doesn't want the last general to know that he hired someone to do something bad!"

"That makes sense, but that's not what I mean..." Qi Shangshu paused, changed his tone, and said in a very slow and clear voice, "I didn't ask the right question, let me ask you this way... How did you get caught? Tricked out of town?"

Li Taidao: "That man took a forged secret order!"

Qi Shangshu immediately asked: "How did you know it was a forgery? Why didn't you know it at the time?"

Li Taidao: "That secret decree is really very similar! The handwriting is simply the imperial seal of the Holy Majesty. I have seen the imperial seal and appreciated it carefully! But later those killers said behind their backs, 'That is a forged secret decree. I easily fooled Li Tai'. The last general regretted it too much, it's just that he didn't think much about it at the time... Sigh! There was only one person who came, and he looked like a literati, the last general underestimated the enemy..."

"If you follow what General Li said just now, it's a bit strange. Two of your soldiers were shot | dead, and the bloodstains have been left behind; but the killer wanted to catch you alive, and then planned to bury you alive, so that General Li escaped. .Isn't this a little unreasonable?" Qi Shangshu said coldly.

Li Tai paused, "What does Qibutang mean?"

Qi Shangshu did not answer, but asked again, "What is written in the secret decree?"

Li Tai thought for a while, and said: "There are two lines written on it, 'Qing can judge the urgency and act expediently'."

"Okay... Thank you for letting General Li take a special trip today." Qi Shangshu picked up the teacup and gently slapped the water surface with the lid, but did not drink.

Seeing this, Li Tai stood up knowingly and cupped his fists, saying: "The last general will take his leave."

"Come here, see off the guests." Qi Shangshu called out.

When Li Tai left, Qi Shangshu also stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the study, heading for the thousand-step corridor outside the yamen.When he walked out of the government office, Qi Shangshu glanced at the sun in the west, guessed that there was still at least one hour before You, so he quickened his pace.

When Qi Tai, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, walked outside the Fengtian Gate, he suddenly found a person following him, so he slowed down, and when he turned his head to look, it turned out that it was the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple.

With a cold look on Qi Tai's face, he greeted him politely, and went to Fengtianmen to find the eunuch on duty.

...Emperor Zhu Yunqi was fairly diligent in administration, and when he was on duty, he almost stayed at the imperial gate, either listening to the administration or reviewing memorials.At this time, an eunuch cautiously walked to the side and stood there for a while without saying a word.

When Zhu Yunwen stopped writing and turned his head around, the eunuch whispered: "My lord, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple want to have an audience with Zou."

"Hmm." Zhu Yunqi made a sound.

The eunuch took a few steps back slowly, after pondering for a moment, he turned around and walked out of the imperial gate.

Not long after, the two ministers walked into the imperial gate, first saluted and thanked each other, and then got up.Qi Tai, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, took two steps forward, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have met Li Tai today, and he is the general who came back from Daning City. Li Tai said that he was deceived by a forged secret decree. Outside Ningcheng, the content of the secret decree is 'you can judge the priority and act expediently'..."

Qi Tai paused for a moment, then continued to straighten his arms and clasped his fists, and said, "Please, my lord, has your majesty ever granted such a secret decree to honor ministers?"