Shaolin Bajue

Chapter 776 The Emperor's Letter
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it suddenly rained in the capital.Although the rain did not fall heavily, it made people feel a special chill because it came at an untimely time.It has been a month since the Son of Heaven's personal conquest, and the people in the city, from high-ranking officials and aristocrats to poor people, are waiting and inquiring about the battle situation ahead every day.All kinds of news, whether good or bad, can always cause a lot of vibration.

In fact, there were some well-informed Beijing officials who secretly moved their family property and family members to the south before the battle of Tumubao. Although Beijing is still as lively as usual, behind this bustle, there is an atmosphere of imminent disaster hidden .

It was the night of the sixteenth of August.As the saying goes, the moon on the fifteenth day is sixteen round. Although the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, the moonlight on the sixteenth night seems to be better than that on the fifteenth day.

In an old mansion in central Beijing, the sage of Tiandu was playing chess with an old man who was over fifty years old.In terms of age, the Tiandu sage was older than the old man by an unknown number of years, but even the Tiandu sage himself had to admire the old man's spirit since he had contact with the old man.This old man is none other than Yu Qian, who was then Minister of War (equivalent to Deputy Minister of National Defense).

"Master Yu, according to this old man, your mind is not entirely on the chessboard." Seeing Yu Qian's suddenly worried expression, the sage of Tiandu said.

Yu Qian held a white chess piece in his hand, with a sad face on his face, and it took him a long time to settle the piece. He sighed and said, "Senior, today is already August [-]th. Logically speaking, the emperor should return to Beijing, but this For two days, I didn’t know anything about the whereabouts of the army, and I was always worried about what might happen.”

The Tiandu sage said with a smile: "Didn't there be good news some time ago, that the Oala army has been forced to retreat outside the Great Wall by hundreds of thousands of soldiers of my Ming Dynasty, what else do you have to worry about?"

Yu Qian shook his head and said, "I've been an official for many years, don't you know that there are many people who are very happy in the court? Hey, also, a few days ago, Miss Long and others said they would come to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with me, but they They didn't come, and Nephew Hongxian and Girl Ling haven't been seen in the past two days, if I'm not wrong, they must have heard some bad news and went to the front."

Tiandu Shengren said: "How dare you conclude that they are going to the front?"

Yu Qian said: "Senior, don't forget that I am also a servant of the Ministry of War. Although the Golden Dragon Warriors do not belong to the regular army of the capital, I have also heard about the secret order of a thousand Golden Dragon Warriors to go out of Beijing by King Tan. This morning, I once asked the king, but the king said there was no such thing, and later, I was pestered by me, so he asked me to ask you, saying that you knew about it all the time. When I ask now, I don’t know if senior can tell me.”

Tiandu sage said: "We didn't mean to conceal you, if we make a big fanfare, it will only harm the situation in the capital and not benefit." , I and other people in the mountains and fields don't want to intervene, but at this time, we have to intervene, but it is limited to suppressing the forces of all parties in Beijing as much as possible. As for Wang Zhen's subordinates, because they are all officials people, even if we have the power to kill them, but the teacher is unknown, the future disaster may spread to the entire martial arts. You also know that there are many people with schemes in this capital city. If these people are desperate There will be trouble, if you don't have great courage, no matter how good your martial arts are, you won't be able to calm the chaos for a while."

Yu Qian thought for a while, and immediately understood the meaning of the other party's words, smiled wryly, and said: "Senior thinks too highly of me, Yu Qian."

The sage of Tiandu said seriously: "Don't you have a poem called 'Lime Yin'? You can read it to me."

Yu Qian was stunned for a moment, and immediately, a burst of heroism gushed out, and he chanted: "Thousands of hammers and ten thousand strikes out of the deep mountains, the fire will burn like nothing, and you will not be afraid of being smashed to pieces. You must stay innocent in the world."

Tiandu Shengren said: "Why did Wala choose to attack at this time? I think they must have made sufficient preparations. Therefore, this battle cannot be resolved in a month or two. Mongolian iron cavalry can be called the best in the world." , I am afraid that sooner or later you will hit the capital. Since you have great ambitions, why should you care about other people's opinions?"

This made Yu Qian feel ashamed.Thinking of him, Yu Qian, since he became an official, everything he has done has been for the country and the people. Even in front of a traitor like Wang Zhen, he can argue with reason and refute it bluntly.But since the emperor's personal conquest, the capital city is like a pan of loose sand, and everyone is in danger. If it weren't for the empress dowager and king yi who pulled them and other ministers, the current capital city would have been in chaos.

In fact, why didn't he want to take this opportunity to take down and punish Wang Zhen's subordinates, but after all, Wang Zhen is the emperor's most trusted person. If the emperor returns to Beijing, let alone Wang Zhen will make trouble for him, even the emperor will be furious , he died alone, but he still has a wife and children, so they can't be troubled too.

While Yu Qian was thinking deeply, footsteps came from the corridor outside, the sage of Tiandu frowned, probably thinking of something, his face suddenly changed, and said: "Hong'er, Ling'er, why did you come back so soon? gone?"

Yu Qian was awakened by his words, looked up and saw six people walking in.Walking in the front was a man and a woman, both in their early twenties. When they met Yu Qian, they called each other "foster father".This man and a woman are Yu Qian's "adopted son" and "adopted daughter". The male is named Yu Kang and the female is named Yu Min. Both of them have outstanding abilities.The next four people are two men and two women, namely Fang Jianming, Dongfang Tianjiao, Zhuo Hong and Zhuo Ling.

Seeing Fang Jianming's sudden arrival, the sage of Tiandu was overjoyed, got up and said, "Nephew Fang Xian, where did you come from?"

At this time, Fang Jianming had just entered the city, and because they were too eye-catching, Fang Jianming wanted to come to see Yu Qian in a hurry, so he and Dongfang Tianjiao came to Yu's mansion, and the others settled in the inn that had already been booked.

Fang Jianming first bowed to the sage of Tiandu, and said: "Uncle Tiandu, my nephew just came back from Tumubao." His eyes turned and fell on Yu Qian, who was also looking at him. There is a feeling of "seeing each other late" spontaneously.

Fang Jianming was refreshed, stepped forward to salute, and said: "Young Fang Jianming, I have met you."

When Yu Qian heard that he was "Fang Jianming", he laughed, stretched out his hand to help him, and said: "So you are the famous Fang Jianming and Fang Shaoxia. I have already heard about some of your deeds. When I saw you today, you are indeed worthy of being a martial arts hero."

Dongfang Tianjiao saluted Yu Qian and said, "Master Yu, please forgive me, Sister Long and I have not..."

Yu Qian already knew what she was going to say, and waved his hand and said: "Ms. Dongfang, don't say such things. It is so late at night, and you come suddenly, there must be something urgent to say, is it about the war ahead?"

Dongfang Tianjiao's face was gloomy, and he said: "Brother Fang and I came here because we have something important to tell. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers in my court were besieged by the Oirat army in Tumubao. Just yesterday, the two sides fought. It was a crushing defeat, with countless casualties."

With the sound of "ah", Yu Qian was shocked and asked, "Where is the emperor? Is he out of trouble?"

Fang Jianming sighed: "He has been captured by Wala."

When Yu Qian first heard the news, he still didn't believe it. He was stunned for a while, sweating, and murmured: "This... How is this possible? Isn't there a master guard like Commander Sima? How could the emperor be punished? First..." He wanted to say "I was captured first", but he was a member of the court after all, so he didn't go on.

Fang Jianming said sadly: "Commander Sima has already sacrificed his life for the country. Among the officials accompanying him, whether they were civil servants or generals, they either died in battle or killed themselves. There are very few Beijing officials who escaped. We came all the way. I saw a lot of wounded soldiers on the road, and I think that these wounded soldiers will return to the capital in a few days, so please make preparations early."

Yu Qian was still a little skeptical at first, but after looking at his words, he saw that what Fang Jianming said was not a lie, so he was convinced. Thinking of hundreds of thousands of troops being buried in the civil castle, the emperor was covered in dust, and most of the accompanying ministers died in battle, he couldn't help feeling sad.

At this moment, a middle-aged man with the appearance of a housekeeper came in a hurry and said that there was a Jinyiwei Qianhu named Liang Gui who had important matters to see outside the door.

When Yu Qian heard that this person came, he was both surprised and happy, and said, "Call him in quickly."

The middle-aged man who looked like a housekeeper went, Fang Jianming asked, "Master Yu, who is this Liang Gui?"

Yu Qian said: "He is one of Commander Sima's subordinates. He also went to this personal conquest. I think he must have brought news from the emperor."

Fang Jianming said secretly: "This man came so fast, could it be that there is something urgent?"

Soon, under the leadership of the middle-aged man who looked like a housekeeper, a man dressed as a royal guard came in, raised his eyes, bowed forward, and said, "Your Majesty Liang Gui sees you."

At this time, the Tiandu sage had already sat back to his original position, and looked at this person coldly with a thoughtful expression on his face.

In desperation, Yu Qian went up to help the man who claimed to be Liang Gui, and said in his mouth: "Liang Qianhu, please hurry up, where is the emperor now? Come..."

"Lord be careful!"

Fang Jianming saw that something was wrong, he yelled, his figure flashed out, and he waved his hand with a palm.At the same time, Tian Dusheng picked up a black chess piece and played it as a hidden weapon.

At the moment when the two of them shot, the man who called himself Liang Gui jumped suddenly and struck out six poison-enhancing concealed weapons with both hands. Fang Jianming arrived in time, and with his palm like a mountain, he knocked out the concealed weapons, and all of them fell into the opponent's body.The chess pieces played by the Tiandu sage contained supreme true energy. Even if Fang Jianming didn't make a move, he could knock down six hidden poison weapons at a critical moment. After the man who called himself Liang Gui was hit by six hidden poison weapons, he retreated several times. Unfortunately, he was hit by a chess piece played by the sage of Tiandu again.

Unsurpassed zhenqi is something ordinary people can bear, I saw that his huge body flew out from the shock of a small flag, and fell far away in the courtyard with a "click", how could he still feel it? Breathe.

At this moment, the sound of "bang bang bang" fighting was heard in the distance, Fang Jianming jumped out, and was about to help out in the front yard, when the voice of Tiandu sage came from behind him: "Nephew, there are people from all over the house Guards, assassins can't get in, take a closer look at this guy who calls himself Liang Gui."

Hearing this, he turned around and landed next to the corpse in the courtyard. Soon, he returned to the hall, thought for a while, and asked, "Master Yu, have you seen Liang Gui?"

Yu Qian was taken aback, and said, "I've met him several times, but I'm not very familiar with him."

Fang Jianming said: "The person who calls himself Liang Gui has been disguised."

Yu Qian was taken aback and said, "What? This person is not the real Liang Gui."

Fang Jianming nodded and said, "As soon as he came in, I became suspicious."

Speaking of this, suddenly there was a loud "boom", the sage of Tiandu smiled and said: "With Heizi guarding outside, even if there are thousands of troops, it is difficult for assassins to break in."

Fang Jianming didn't know who the "spot" he was talking about was, but judging from the loud noise, the power of this person must not be underestimated.After the loud noise, there was no sound of fighting again.

Not long after, two men with quite similar appearances came and said to Qian: "My lord, I surprised you."

Ever since he offended Wang Zhen, Yu Qian had been attacked by assassins quite a few times. He had already calmed down and asked, "How many assassins have come, but can you catch them alive?"

The man on the left said: "A total of seven came, and two were caught alive, but they all committed suicide with poison."

Yu Qian said: "Can you see their origin?"

The man on the left said: "Just like the assassins last time, they are all from the Jianghu."

Yu Qian said: "Thank you for your hard work, go down and rest."

The man on the left asked: "My lord, should the corpse in the courtyard be taken away now?"

Yu Qian looked at the Tiandu sage, and the Tiandu sage said: "Take it away, you have to be careful, he was hit by his own poison-strengthening hidden weapon, and his whole body is full of poison."

The two said "Understood", and went out with the middle-aged man who looked like a butler to dispose of the corpse without mentioning it.

As soon as the three of them went out, Fang Jianming's face turned pale, his body swayed, and he was almost upside down. Fortunately, Zhuo Hong stretched out his hand to support him, and shouted, "Brother Fang, what's wrong with you?"

Fang Jianming smiled wryly, and said: "I used my true energy just now, but now I feel weak all over, and I don't know what's going on."

The Tiandu sage was startled, and asked Zhuo Hong and Yu Kang to help him to sit on a chair, and stretched out their hands to feel his pulse.

Yu Qian said: "It's all my fault for being too careless."

Although Dongfang Tianjiao was nervous about Fang Jianming's body, seeing Yu Qian's self-blame, he hurriedly said: "Master Yu, don't say that, if you want to blame it, blame the assassin for being too vicious."

The sage of Tiandu took Fang Jianming's pulse for a while, frowned deeply, and said in his mouth: "Strange, strange."

At this time, Fang Jianming's face was no longer pale, but showed a strange red color, as if he was drunk. He opened his eyes slightly and said, "I'm fine, don't worry, I'm just a little Just want to sleep."

Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard this. Yu Qian saw that his complexion had improved a lot, and he was much more stable. He was thinking about the matter of "the emperor's dust", and was about to go to the study to repair a book, when he heard hurried footsteps. walked in.

Seeing that his expression was different, Yu Min hurriedly asked, "Uncle Zhong, what made you so flustered?"

"Uncle Zhong" is named Yu Zhong, and he had followed Yu Qian when he was young.

"Miss, another man named Liang Gui came outside and said that he has important matters to see the master."

Everyone was startled when they heard this, Yu Qian let out a loud laugh, and said, "Yu Zhong, go and bring him in, I want to see if he is really Liang Gui."

Yu Zhong said: "This..."

Yu Qian said: "Are you still afraid that I will be fooled again? There is a senior Tiandu here, who can hurt me, go quickly."

Yu Zhong had no choice but to go out, and after a while, he brought in the man who called himself Liang Gui.

As soon as this Liang Gui came in and saw so many people, he opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say a word, and Yu Qian didn't make a sound, and looked at the other party carefully.

"Master Yu, can I take a step to speak?"

"Liang Gui, where are you from?"

Liang Gui was taken aback when he heard Yu Qian's rhetorical question, and said, "Master Yu, I just came from Tumubao."

Yu Qian said in a deep voice: "Let me ask you, where is the emperor now?"

Liang Gui's heart was shocked, his face was sad, and he said: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty has already... already..."

"Already what?"

"It's... already covered in dust, and the quilt has been left in the Wala camp first."

When he said that, he shed tears, took out a letter from his bosom, handed it to Yu Qian, and said sadly: "It's all the fault of the damned Wang Zhen, who commanded the army indiscriminately, causing the army to go around and delay At the end of the journey, Yexian's soldiers and horses finally caught up and besieged in Tumubao. I didn't know that the emperor had been dusted. I had no intention of making peace and locked me up. Just last night, the Wara soldiers asked me to meet someone. I never thought that I would meet the emperor. The emperor wrote a letter and asked me to bring this letter to the capital. Come here."

Yu Qian took the letter and was about to tear it open. After thinking about it, he didn't dare to tear it.In fact, even if he didn't read it, he could still guess what was written in it. Besides the predicament and conditions, what else could there be in the letter?

Yu Qian asked Yu Zhong to arrange meals for Liang Gui, and asked Yu Kang to bring a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and asked and wrote in hand. Soon, a document was drafted, and then he handed over the document and the letter written by Zhu Qizhen to Yu Kang. Said: "Kang'er, quickly hand over these two things to Eunuch Jin."

The "Eunuch Jin" he mentioned was Jin Ying, a very famous and powerful eunuch in Beijing.This Jin Ying, in terms of qualifications, is even higher than Wang Zhen. When Zhu Zhanji (Ming Xuanzong, Zhu Qizhen's father) was in power, he had obtained the imperial edict to avoid death and served as a eunuch.After Zhu Qizhen succeeded to the throne, he favored Wang Zhen, and within a few years, Wang Zhen replaced Jin Ying and took the position of eunuch.

Although Jin Ying is down, he still has some power, especially after Zhu Qizhen's personal conquest. On the one hand, Zhu Qiyu, the king of Yi, was ordered to stay in the capital, and on the other hand, Jin Ying and another eunuch were asked to assist several ministers in handling political affairs. There are few who do not curry favor with him.If Yu Qian wanted to send Zhu Qizhen's letter and the documents he wrote to the palace through normal channels, he had to go through Jin Ying.Although Jin Ying was not a good eunuch, at least he was much better than Wang Zhen, and Yu Qian had something to say with him.

(End of this chapter)