Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 212 Emperor Wanli has a telepathic connection! Wild Boar Skin leads his troops to arrive!

When Ye Xianggao returned to the cabinet, Guo Zhengyu and Fang Congzhe had already finished their argument.

The candidate for the third place in the first class, Tanhualang, has also been selected.

After learning that this year's third place winner was a man over 30 named Gu Qiyuan from Jiangning, Yingtian Prefecture, Ye Xianggao turned around and left again.

At the same time, in the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Yijun was taking Zhang Yunxiu's essay and examining it carefully. After a while, he said:
"The level is average, at most the end of Class II."

Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor did not look at the top scorer's paper, but instead looked at the paper of a criminal, Chen Ju didn't know what to say.

"Oh, right." Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Ju and asked knowingly:

"I heard that the chief examiner, deputy examiner, co-examiner, and examiners had not even looked at Zhang Yunxiu's paper?
The Ministry of Rites even directly reserved for him the last place in the third class?"

"Your Majesty, I have also heard about this matter." Chen Ju replied:
"When I sent someone to get Zhang Yunxiu's paper, I heard that it was thrown in a corner and no one even touched it."

"Haha..." Zhu Yijun smiled helplessly and said, "Those old foxes, why don't they act properly? If Zhang Yunxiu's last place is announced, I will be branded as mean and ungrateful in the end..."

Zhu Yijun was somewhat conflicted and helpless. He agreed with the examiners' approach, but was helpless because after the results were announced, some people would say that he, the emperor, was deliberately targeting the descendants of Zhang Juzheng and deliberately letting Zhang Yunxiu come last in the palace examination.

Seeing that the emperor was beginning to waste his time on himself again, Chen Ju hurriedly said to him,

"Your Majesty, even if he is a third-class scholar, he is still a Jinshi. Zhang Yunxiu is just the descendant of a criminal. This is already your heavenly grace to him."

"The descendant of a criminal..." Zhu Yijun smiled bitterly, self-deprecatingly, "Whose descendant of a criminal can be reinstated and take the imperial examination..."

"That's because of your kindness, Your Majesty!" Zhang Cheng continued to make amends for the Emperor:
“Not only did you not care about Zhang Yunxiu’s status as a descendant of a criminal, you also gave him so many rewards and allowed him to take the imperial examination.

How many wise and enlightened monarchs are there in this world who are as wise and magnanimous as you, Your Majesty? Isn't it enough that you are so kind to Zhang Yunxiu? He is the descendant of a criminal! "

Chen Ju’s meaning was very clear, the main point was - Your Majesty, you have done a great job!

Chen Ju's comfort was effective, especially for Zhu Yijun who wanted to hear comfort.

"Forget it." Zhu Yijun perked up a little and asked, "The results should be announced tomorrow, right?"

Chen Ju nodded and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites has been working all day and night. Logically, the results should be announced early tomorrow morning, or the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"Oh." Zhu Yijun was not in a hurry. After all, he was not a candidate. Moreover, these new scholars who emerged one after another like mushrooms after rain were all the same to him.

It’s just that after the old people laugh, the new people laugh, and when the new people laugh, the old people cry.

"I heard that there are Tartars from Liaodong invading the border again?" Zhu Yijun suddenly remembered this.

"Your Majesty, yes," Chen Ju replied.

If it were in the past, when Zhu Yijun heard the old news of barbarians invading the border, he would at most ask a question and then say nothing more.

After all, he believed in Li Rusong's ability.

However, this time, Zhu Yijun suddenly felt uneasy for no reason.

"Pass the order down." Zhu Yijun suddenly ordered: "After Li Rusong finishes this battle, summon him back to the capital to see the emperor, and tell him that I miss him."

Zhu Yijun did miss Li Rusong. After all, he was the only general who was absolutely loyal to him and only to him.

As long as Li Rusong is there, Zhu Yijun will never be afraid that his Ming Dynasty will be defeated!
……

Just as the officials of the Ministry of Rites were busy and working overtime to prepare for the announcement of the results of the palace examination the next day.

The top three rankings of this palace examination were somehow leaked out in advance!

The places where the information was leaked were mostly teahouses, wine shops, and brothels where the flow of people was the highest!
Flower shop.

The sound of the piano is lingering and the fragrance of the wine is wafting in the air.

Wen Tiren leaned back on the soft jade chair, with an intoxicated look on his face.

I don't know if it was the music of the piano that intoxicated him, or the wine, or the fragrance of the beauty behind him that intoxicated him.

"Changqing, you are so bad."

Feng Menglong looked at the blue-faced beauties behind Wen Tiren and said with pity:
"How can you use a girl as a support? You really don't know how to be gentle with women."

"Hahaha." Wen Tiren laughed a few times and said, "Youlong, please don't talk nonsense. I am the most compassionate to women."

As he spoke, he casually pulled a woman from behind him into his arms, lifted her chin with his fingers, and asked with affectionate eyes:
"Does my master love you?"

Faced with the seduction of the handsome young man, the woman inevitably blushed. She had been leaning against the back for a long time and quickly put on a coquettish look and responded softly with two words:
"Disgusting~"

This is just a girl's way of acting coquettishly. Any normal man seeing this scene would not be able to resist taking a step further.

However, Wen Tiren pushed the woman out, still looking at her with his affectionate peach blossom eyes, and said:
"If you hate it, then go away."

After being humiliated like this, the woman didn't have the face to stay any longer. She wanted to curse a few words before leaving, but thinking of Wen Tiren's abnormal look, she held back.

After all, everyone knows that you can offend anyone but never offend a mentally ill person!

"I hate people who speak in a sarcastic way the most." Wen Tiren looked at Feng Menglong and explained his confusing behavior just now.

Feng Menglong was also stunned. If he had not known Wen Tiren for many years, he would have been scared away by his "occasional" abnormality.

"Ahem, have you heard?" Feng Menglong changed the subject and asked, "The results will be announced tomorrow, but I just heard that the top three places in the first class have been announced."

"Is that so?" Wen Tiren said indifferently, not seeming too interested.

Seeing Wen Tiren so calm, Feng Menglong was puzzled and asked, "No, Changqing, aren't you curious about your ranking in the palace examination?"

"Anyway, you can get in, either second or third place." Wen Tiren said nonchalantly:
"As for the top three, it all depends on popularity. After my great-uncle, my Wen family has no popularity in the court."

"Who said that the top three in the first class depend on popularity?" Feng Menglong didn't think about Wen Tiren's words, and asked with a gossipy face: "Do you know who this year's third place winner is?"

Wen Tiren was too lazy to even ask, he just looked at Feng Menglong and waited for him to speak himself.

"It's Zhang Yunxiu!" Feng Menglong said excitedly, "It's the fifth son of the criminal Zhang Juzheng! He actually won the third place in the first class! It's incredible!"

After hearing this, Wen Tiren only said three words: "Impossible."

"Really!" Feng Menglong said, "Now people are talking about the couplet, 'The first and second place in the imperial examinations were once Zhang, and now that the husband is dead, Wu Lang is still the third place in the imperial examinations'!"

"Impossible." Wen Tiren still said these three words, but this time he added three more words: "I don't believe it."

"You..." Feng Menglong didn't know what to say, so he slowed down and said, "You're right. We won't know the real news until the results are announced tomorrow."

This time, Wen Tiren laughed for no apparent reason, and said:

"At this point, it doesn't matter whether this news is true or not. From now on, whenever someone mentions the third place winner in the 26th year of the Wanli reign, everyone will only remember this doggerel and Zhang Juzheng's son. They are all the incarnation of the God of Literature."

"Not really?" Feng Menglong didn't understand these things, but when Zhang Juzheng was mentioned, he thought of Zhang Chonghui who owed him fifty taels of silver, and couldn't help but complain:
"Speaking of Zhang Juzheng's grandson, I don't even want to talk about him!"

"Hmm?" Wen Tiren's eyes suddenly lit up: "You mean Zhang Chonghui?"

"Yes! That's him!"

"What happened to him? How did you two know each other?"

"This is a long story. Anyway, Zhang Chonghui is really... He still owes me fifty taels of silver! He even had the audacity to ask me to find someone else to help him pay the debt. He is such a deadbeat!"

"Elaborate."

"Actually, there's nothing much to say. Zhang Chonghui fell in love with a prostitute. He had no money, but he came to me, a person he had only met once, to borrow money to go to whorehouse, and then..."

"Which brothel girl? What's her name?" "Shi Niang."

"Shi Niang? I want to meet her, too."

Just as Wen Tiren was about to ask someone to call the madam, Feng Menglong said in advance, "Don't even think about it. Shi Niang has stopped accepting guests for a long time."

"What are you thinking? I'm not interested in the women here." Wen Tiren said with a smile:

"I just want to take a look at what kind of extraordinary woman could make that kind of person fall in love with her."

……

The night before the announcement of the results was destined to be a long one, and the officials from the Ministry of Rites were extremely busy.

Emperor Wanli in the Qianqing Palace was obviously very sleepy, but he kept tossing and turning and couldn't fall asleep.

At the same time, Fushun, Liaodong.

Li Rusong, who was standing by the Hunhe River, was about to fall down.

Li Rusong, who was covered in blood, never dreamed that Zhang Chonghui's bad luck would come true again.

The last time, he was ambushed by tens of thousands of Japanese troops in Pyeongyang.

This time, he was ambushed by tens of thousands of Mongolian troops in Hunhe River.

Both times the odds were against a larger force, and both times there were heavy casualties.

However, the only difference was that last time, the backup plan he had came in very handy.

But this time, the backup plan he left did not have the slightest deterrent effect on the enemy, except for attracting more people to die together.

It was as if the enemy already knew that he only brought over 3,000 troops!

Li Rusong guessed that if nothing unexpected happened, there must be a traitor around him.

And this time, the ambush is probably not only aimed at him as the general of Liaodong, but also at the entire Li family!

Seeing that the personal soldiers protecting him were becoming more and more scattered and fewer and fewer, Li Rusong, who had been fighting for a long time and was almost exhausted, seemed to have returned to Biti Pavilion a few years ago at this moment.

When death was approaching, Li Rusong was still very relieved. At least he did not die in a foreign country like Korea, but died in Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty where he was born and raised.

"Dad, Mom, I can't fulfill my filial duty anymore."

Li Rusong's mind was becoming increasingly unclear. He had just been wounded by an enemy musket not long ago, and at this moment it was only his instinct on the battlefield that was driving him to swing his weapon and kill the enemy.

The personal soldiers who were protecting him had been completely dispersed. He, the 'big fat sheep', had no protection at all and was about to fall into the tiger's mouth!
Soon, Li Rusong was surrounded by the enemy, and the swarming enemies were all muttering something in Mongolian.

Li Rusong understood that the enemy wanted to capture him alive, the main general of the Ming Dynasty!

"You want to capture me alive? You bastards don't deserve it!"

After Li Rusong uttered his last arrogant curse, he took a deep look towards the southwest.

This direction is the direction of the Forbidden City in the capital.

Li Rusong was bidding his final farewell to his emperor and father.

……

At the same time, Emperor Wanli, who was thousands of miles away, seemed to feel something.

Zhu Yijun sat up uneasily, an indescribable feeling of uneasiness running through his heart, which made him very uncomfortable.

But just when his heart was palpitating and he felt like vomiting, this uneasy and uncomfortable feeling suddenly disappeared!

Zhu Yijun was also puzzled, what on earth was going on! ?
Why do I feel uncomfortable one moment and then... fine the next?
Zhu Yijun didn't understand why it was so strange.

At the same time, Li Rusong, who was far away in Hunhe, was also puzzled...

……

Li Rusong was completely confused. Not only was he confused, but even the Tartars were confused!
At the same time, the Tartar leader was also at a loss, and was even more shocked in his heart:
"Didn't the intelligence say there were only about 3,000 people? How come reinforcements are coming? Could it be that the intelligence was false? Are the Ming Dynasty people deliberately playing tricks on me?!"

With the sudden appearance of the reinforcements, all the Tatars were stunned for a moment!

It was already dark, and they couldn't see how many Ming Dynasty reinforcements had arrived. They only knew that a lot of people had come, and from the noise, they were cavalry!
Seeing that the situation was so unclear, the other generals of the Mongolian army also panicked!

Although they had the advantage in numbers, no matter how great the advantage was, they had already fought with the Ming army for a whole day and were already exhausted!
Under such circumstances, the arrival of another team of reinforcements from the Ming army was like a bolt from the blue, making the situation worse!
In addition, the current actual situation does not match the intelligence, which shows that the intelligence is very likely to be false, or the matter has been exposed!

The battlefield waits for no one, and after being persuaded by several Mongolian generals, the commander-in-chief finally had to give the order - retreat separately!

……

The Tartars retreated just like that. The last time Li Rusong saw such an absurd scene was at Biti Pavilion.

However, although the Tartars retreated, before leaving, a few of them desperately stated that they had to get rid of this big fish, Li Rusong!
The hope that was finally ignited in despair is about to face ruthless destruction.

Li Rusong was tired, and even though reinforcements had arrived, he still fell down.

These Tartars were like desperate criminals, and their fighting power suddenly exploded!

After knocking Li Rusong to the ground, a Tartar rushed directly at Li Rusong, quickly took out the sharp dagger from his waist, stared with his eyes, and said something in somewhat broken Chinese:
"You cut off my brother's head! I'm going to cut off your head too! Go to hell!"

After saying that, he raised his hand and was about to stab Li Rusong's neck with the sharp dagger!

It was just like that year, when he saw with his own eyes his own brother's head being chopped off piece by piece by the young Li Rusong, like cattle or sheep!
Looking at the sharp knife light under the moonlight, Li Rusong knew very well that this time, his brother Li Rumei would not be there to save him from the critical moment...

This time, he didn't even have any relatives around him. Even those soldiers and generals who had accompanied him in battle for decades had almost all died on the battlefield...

In the brief moment when the sharp blade stabbed his neck, Li Rusong felt it lasted for a long time.

He even recalled the time when he was six years old and had to pee on his old father's head.

He also thought of a lot of things, his father who was strict but also extremely doting and indulgent towards him, and his younger brothers who were scared to death of him.

"so good……"

Li Rusong closed his eyes, and his mood was calm and peaceful as he had not felt for a long time.

So this is what death feels like. It doesn’t hurt at all.

"General! General! Wake up!"

The urging voice in his ear woke Li Rusong up. When he opened his eyes, he saw Qin Liangyu's face.

"Why is it you?" Li Rusong was shocked. Soon he saw the Tartar who had wanted to cut off his head but had been stabbed through the heart.

"General, I'm glad you're not dead. I was so scared!" Qin Liangyu heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly helped Li Rusong, who was still in a daze, up and said:
"I only brought more than 2,000 people with me. We have to retreat quickly!"

"Where did you come from?" Li Rusong was even more surprised. Thinking of the person behind Qin Liangyu, he blurted out:

"Could it be possible that Zhang Chonghui could help you mobilize troops?!"

Qin Liangyu was just about to explain something, but at this moment, a man came hurriedly on horseback!

"Big brother!"

After Nurhaci got off his horse, he looked like he had just arrived at the right time, and asked with concern: "It's good! It's good that we made it! Brother, are you okay?"

Li Rusong, who was covered in blood, said: "..."

(End of this chapter)