The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Zhu Houzhao carefully climbed into the rattan basket, carrying a package behind him.

It contained one hundred thousand taels of silver notes that had been redeemed.

Gu Da used to untie the rope and throw out a few stones. After more than a month of experiments in Liangxiang, no one was more familiar with the Kongming Lantern than him.

After all, he was the first person to ascend to heaven.

Kongming lantern slowly rises into the sky, the huge black lantern body seems to blend into the night.

Zhu Houzhao also considered the overflowing blazing flames and surrounded the stove with wooden boards.

Looking from below, I can see some light, but I don't know what it is.

Zhu Houzhao said thoughtfully: "At Chen time, the Jin Yiwei will definitely find out that I still have two hours to escape. How many miles can this Kongming lantern travel in a day?"

He wanted to accurately calculate the difference between the sky lantern and the horse.

A horse can run four hundred miles in a day at the fastest, and Commander Mou will definitely change horses.

The only advantage is that Jin Yiwei doesn't know which direction to chase from, so he can have up to one extra day.

Gu Dayong pulled the bellows and said: "I don't know, Lord Song. Master Song said that the speed of this thing depends on the wind speed. The stronger the wind, the faster it flies."

At this time, the wind in the sky was so strong that it threatened to overturn people.

The huge black sky lantern, like a gliding goshawk, gradually made the Forbidden City the size of a fist or the size of a finger, until it was no longer visible.

Zhu Houzhao didn't know where the Kongtian lantern would fly.

"At this speed, I'm afraid even the horse can't catch up."

But Gu Dayong pulled the bellows and flipped the package: "Your Highness, this is the compass."

Zhu Hou looked at the compass, and the needle was pointing north, which meant that they were flying towards the Tatar steppe.

The next day, East Palace.

After calling several times outside the door, there was no response. The little eunuch opened the door and was stunned when he saw the scene in front of him.

"Your Highness... Your Highness? Someone come quickly! Your Highness has run away!"

The news soon spread to Fengtian Palace.

The play in Emperor Hongzhi's hand fell to the ground, and he asked with a trembling voice: "Then...that traitor ran away?"

Liu Jian stared at Mou Bin, and the Jinyi Guards, Yulin Guards, and Jinwu Guards surrounded the East Palace.

Ran away?

Yan Chengjin fell into deep thought and still couldn't figure out how Zhu Houzhao escaped.

Mou Bin's back felt cold: "The Jin Yiwei has found no trace, and the lock has not been clocked. My subordinates guess that His Highness may still be in the palace."

Yan Chengjin said: "Your Majesty, I want to go to the East Palace first."

After a while, the princes arrived at the East Palace.

Different from usual times, the mahogany seats and stools in the East Palace were missing.

But there was no sign of Zhu Houzhao.

"His Royal Highness has left the palace." Yan Chengjin said firmly.

Mou Bin retorted: "It's impossible. The Jinyi Guards have been guarding here. There are three lines of defense inside and outside. If His Highness leaves the palace, he will definitely be discovered."

Emperor Hongzhi thought it made sense.

"Your Highness walked from the sky. The missing mahogany seat must have been used as fuel. Did you smell the smell of kerosene?" Yan Chengjin said.

Officials from the Cabinet and the Sixth Ministry sniffed their noses carefully, and sure enough they smelled a faint smell of kerosene.

Actually, he actually ran away from the sky!

Yan Chengjin frowned. The Kongming Lantern was as big as a house. When it was raised, it took a quarter of an hour to burn and inflate.

This guy was not discovered by the guards?

Emperor Hongzhi's mind suddenly went blank and he almost fainted.

Last time, I heard that the prince was trapped in a killing array, but fortunately he escaped from death thanks to the blessing of his ancestors.

How can I be so lucky every time?

A moment later, Fengtian Temple.

All the officials stood in the hall in panic, the thing they were most worried about happened.

Emperor Hongzhi took a deep breath and looked at Yan Chengjin: "Yan Qing's family, do you know where this thing will fly to?"

"In this matter, you may need to ask Qin Tianjian what the wind direction was last night."

Yan Chengjin didn't know if it was accurate.

The wind direction at high altitude and the wind direction at the ground may be different.

Wang Hao looked at Yan Chengjin and said righteously: "This thing has no other use. If you hadn't asked Song Jing to make this thing, how could His Highness escape from the palace!"

The officials' expressions were complicated, and what Wang Hao said made sense.

"The Kongtian lantern will be of great use if used against the Tatars."

Yan Chengjin said firmly.

The beacons on the nine sides are used to observe the enemy's situation.

Indeed, we will try our best to build it higher than the city wall.

But fighting on the grassland and constantly moving, it was obvious that we could only build a simple one out of wood.

Not as far as Kongming Lantern can see.

…

Ningxia, frontier army tent.

Yan Kesong sat in the tent with a tired face: "More than 40,000 people like me alone cannot resist Dayan Khan."

Ningxia's thousands-mile-long defense line is guarded by more than 30,000 people, all of whom are mobilized here.

If you want to borrow more troops, you can only mobilize troops from Gansu and Yansui.

"I think this is not possible. There are millions of people in Gansu and Yansui. If there is no army to guard them, they will be massacred!" Zuo Zongyi objected.

After the Great Wall was built, millions of refugees were resettled here.

There are also more than one million people in prefectures and counties in Gansu and Yansui.

The Tatars are accustomed to slaughtering the strong men of the Ming Dynasty, even in their grasslands. All men who are taller than the wheel of a chariot will be slaughtered!

To avoid becoming enemies with them in the future.

The imperial court promised to protect the people of Ming Dynasty. If it withdraws its troops at this time, its credibility will be destroyed.

Yan Kesong took a deep breath: "It seems that we can only recruit troops. There are no less than 300,000 strong men on the three sides."

"What a pity, the unscrupulous commander is in charge!" Zuo Zongyi sighed.

The three sides do have a lot of reserve troops, and there are more than 300,000 men repairing the Great Wall.

But going to the battlefield like this, facing the elite Tatar cavalry, is undoubtedly a chicken and a dog.

"The Tatar army has been outside the city, just to contain us."

...

Outside the pass, on the vast grassland.

The snow-white tents, like white chess pieces scattered on the grassland, are arranged in an orderly manner, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Liu Jin carried a bucket to feed the horse.

He has been feeding for a year. Although he eats and lives with the Tatars, he has not forgotten the fact that he is a spy.

Hmm?

Liu Jin saw that on the grassland not far away, several fast horses were rushing towards here. They should be spies sent by Dayan Khan.

He turned and walked into the tent, holding a pot of milk tea and walked towards the central camp.

At this moment, in the central camp.

Dayan Khan sat on a big chair made of tiger skin, looking down at the two of them: "What news do the Han people have?"

"The Ming court sent the Beijing camp to the north, and it should have arrived in Xuanfu. Soon, it will go west from outside the Great Wall." The Tatar spy reported.

Liu Jin carefully poured tea for Dayan Khan, pouring it bit by bit, very slowly.

Dayan Khan snorted coldly: "Rest for a day, and fight a decisive battle with the Ningxia border army tomorrow night."

"Yes!"

Liu Jin's heart moved slightly. Marching at night must be a surprise attack, and he must notify Anding Hou.

But if he left the tent at this time, he would be discovered by the patrol.

Dayan Khan glared at Liu Jin: "What are you eavesdropping on? Get out of here!"

This slave was picked up from the grassland, and one can do eight things.

Not only can she feed horses, chop wood, light fires, relieve boredom, and sing operas, she is also proficient in Han people's cooking.

A cold light flashed in Liu Jin's eyes, and she smiled respectfully, "I will leave now, Khan, enjoy your meal."

Dayan Khan picked up the teacup unhappily and drank it all in one gulp.

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