The Reborn Duke of Ming Dynasty

The setting sun is like blood, and the winter sun sets very early.

On the frozen river, the gunfire had long since ceased.Pieces of broken ice floated aimlessly on the river, and with them the dead bodies of the Tartars.Walking southward from the river bank, there were corpses of Tartars everywhere, all the way to the main battlefield three miles away.The fighting has long since ceased, and on the battlefield, the corpses of the Tartars have piled up like a mountain.

Soldiers of the victorious Ming army are searching for the bodies of their compatriots who died in battle, preparing for burial.They didn't spare a Tartar, even Zarlie who was captured alive, Qi Jiguang didn't intend to spare his life at all, and ordered the soldiers to execute him on the spot.

"Master Qi." Zhang Fan greeted Qi Jiguang when he saw Qi Jiguang approaching.

"En!" Qi Jiguang responded, "Young Master Zhang, the battle here is over, what are your plans?"

"I don't know when General Qian Shen will return to Shaanxi?" Zhang Fan asked.

"There is no more fighting here. I have sent people to send the battle report to the capital overnight. When we return to Jizhou and the court envoys arrive, we can go back." Qi Jiguang said.

"Then I have to go back with me." Zhang Fan said, "This is the first time I have traveled far away. After so many days, my mother at home must be anxious to see me go home. Besides, the Chinese New Year is only a few days away. It’s also a little homesick!”

"It's human nature at this time." Qi Jiguang said.

"I don't know what your lord's plans are in the future." Zhang Fan continued to ask.

"The Japanese pirates in the east are no longer as arrogant as they used to be." Qi Jiguang said, "Master Zhang of the court sent me a letter a few days ago, asking me to supervise the Ji Liao army, to organize a battalion of [-] chariots and cavalry, and let me defend the capital. "

"This is great." Zhang Fan said, "I will go to the capital to take part in the examination next year. If I have time, I will definitely visit you."

"Hehe, it's very good." Qi Jiguang was also very happy, "I hope you remember what I said to you the day before yesterday."

"Zhang Fan will keep it in his heart, and he will never forget it in this life." Zhang Fan said solemnly.

The army cleaned up the mess, and it was getting dark.The soldiers were all very tired after a day of fighting.Qi Jiguang immediately ordered the army to camp on the spot, rest overnight, and prepare records and handovers at the same time.

At night, except for the soldiers sent on patrol missions, those soldiers who had worked hard all day fell asleep, and there was a sound of snoring in the camp.After Qi Jiguang and several generals finished their work in the army, they all went to rest.In the entire camp, Zhang Fan was the only one who couldn't fall asleep, and even Wang Degui, who was guarding him, was snoring loudly.Zhang Fan thought about everything that happened in the past few days, from meeting the first refugee in his home to receiving an order from the court; from watching the first battle in his life to being surrounded by Tartars and almost dying; The miraculous reinforcements arrived, and when they met Qi Jiguang, they wiped out the last army of Tartars invading south.Perhaps the stories of the past few days were more exciting than Zhang Fan's previous life combined, but Zhang Fan didn't like it, and of course, Zhang Fan didn't hate what happened to him either.Zhang Fan didn't know how much his life had changed in the past few days. At that time, he only wanted to go home as soon as possible and see his mother at home.

On the second day, early in the morning, everyone in the camp began to get busy.Hearing the report from the messenger who came back on a fast horse, the court received the good news, and the emperor was very happy. The envoys of Lao Jun were already on their way to Datong.Qi Jiguang didn't dare to be negligent, and immediately ordered the battalion to go back, and he took all the generals and Zhang Fan back to Datong to meet the angel.

Several people rode a horse on their crotches, and led another behind them, and ran towards Datong non-stop. At noon, they saw the city wall of Datong Mansion.When they came to the city, they immediately took a shower and changed their clothes.Just as everyone was getting ready, the imperial envoy arrived.

"The imperial decree has arrived!" With a sharp cry, everyone shouted long live and knelt down.Hearing this voice, Zhang Fan thought that this was probably the eunuch in the legend, but he was not allowed to look up at random when the imperial decree was read out, as Zhang Fan had no idea what kind of eunuch it was.

The content of the imperial decree seems to remain unchanged for thousands of years, with a long section of praises and great truths, and only the key points are named at the end.Zhang Fan is also a juren, so he naturally knows the content of the imperial decree, but this imperial decree can make a stereotyped scholar sleepy.After finally waiting for the eunuch to finish reading the imperial decree, everyone immediately thanked them and stood up, only then did Zhang Fan see the eunuch who came to announce the decree. In his thirties, his face was fair and clean, not as gloomy as the eunuch in Zhang Fan's image.

"Hehe, it's Eunuch Feng!" Qi Jiguang seemed to have a good impression of the eunuch when he saw the visitor, and said with a smile, "The last time the Emperor was in power, I met Eunuch Feng in the palace. The emperor this time I sent my father-in-law to pass the decree, it seems that my father-in-law has been promoted, congratulations!"

"His Majesty's new policy today, and the court is still beautiful. His Majesty asked our family to serve as the eunuch, the eunuch, and the eunuch. Now that the end of the year is approaching, the palace is full of places for employing people, and our family is the most idle. No, it was sent by the Holy Majesty. Come to pass the decree. But it is also a blessing to see General Qi!"

"Who is this father-in-law?" Zhang Fan felt a little strange, and asked Qi Jiguang's adjutant in a low voice.

"This is Eunuch Feng, with a single name of one precious word. This eunuch is a worthy man, and the adults appreciate it." The adjutant explained to Zhang Fan in a low voice, "This eunuch admires the old eunuch Ma very much, so He also likes generals very much, isn't he now Master Qi!"

"But the Three Treasures eunuch who went to the West seven times back then?" Zhang Fan asked after thinking about the "Eunuch Ma".

"Yes, it's this one!"

"That Xie Yuankai from Shaanxi this year?" Feng Bao's voice suddenly came.

"I'm next, Zhang Fan." Zhang Fan hurriedly responded when Feng Bao called his name.He heard that eunuchs are narrow-minded people. Although Qi Jiguang's adjutant had a good evaluation of this father-in-law just now, he couldn't neglect him.

"Sure enough, a boy born from a hero since ancient times." Feng Bao's face was full of joy when he saw Zhang Fan, and for some reason, Zhang Fan felt goosebumps.

"Elder-in-law praised him!" Zhang Fan was humbled again.

"Oh, this is not what our family said." Feng Bao said, "You were specifically mentioned in Lord Qi's success report yesterday. Your Majesty, Lord Xu and Lord Zhang all praised you when they heard about it, and even asked you specifically. This year's test questions, Mr. Zhang is particularly important."

"It's a great honor for me to be favored by the Emperor and the Cabinet Scholars." Zhang Fan didn't know that he would have such influence.

"This time the emperor specially ordered our family to visit you. Now that you are here, it saves our family to go to Shaanxi." Feng Bao said, "The emperor also specially rewarded you with a thousand taels of silver and ten bolts of silk as condolences. Your contribution to the imperial court also sets an example for scholars in the world."

"Thank you, Lord Long En." Zhang Fan didn't realize it at first, but Liu Jinquan secretly nodded at him from behind, and Zhang Fan immediately knelt down to thank him.

Several people were busy on their way and didn't eat.At that moment, Qi Jiguang and others held a banquet and invited Feng Bao.At the banquet, everyone also talked freely about the wine, Liu Jinquan and the others hadn't drunk a drop of wine for several days, and now they wanted to have a good drink, everyone only focused on the wine jar in front of them.After Feng Bao ate a little, he pestered Qi Jiguang and Zhang Fan to tell him what he had seen and heard on the battlefield. Qi Jiguang was born in Wuju, and he was good at fighting and writing, but telling him to tell a story would not work.Fortunately, Zhang Fan had also listened to storytelling for a few days in his previous life, and he was on the sidelines for all the wars, and the words were vivid and dramatic.

Listening to Zhang Fan's narration, Feng Bao sometimes frowned and sometimes laughed.Hearing that they raided the tartar tent, his whole body tensed up; when he heard that Zhang Fan was deeply trapped in the enemy camp and killed several tartars, Feng Bao's hands that were holding on to the armrests of the chair all trembled. Bai Lai, his buttocks left the chair; hearing Qian Yang and his reinforcements rushing to the rescue, his nerves relaxed, and he collapsed on the chair again; hearing Zhang Fan's description of how the Qi family army wiped out the tartars, There was a smile on his face again, full of joy.

After the banquet, it was dusk.Because Feng Bao wanted to rush back to Beijing to report to the emperor, he refused everyone's persuasion and went back to Beijing.The army behind has also arrived at this time.But Liu Jinquan and the others were already as drunk as mud.

Zhang Fan hadn't slept for two days, now that he was full of wine and food, he was completely at ease, a burst of drowsiness invaded him, how could he hold on, and fell asleep soundly in a room that Qi Jiguang arranged for him.