golden scales

Meng Qiaofang had found many famous doctors with great reputations, but unfortunately, these famous doctors "lacked" professional ethics and were unwilling to treat the Tartars.Some people stayed behind closed doors, some pretended to be dead, and some were timid and ordered to come, but after they came, they pretended to be stupid, acting more unreliable than Manchurian shamans and witch doctors.

If it wasn't for the fact that the doctors outside the pass were far worse than those inside the pass, Meng Qiaofang wouldn't have made such a bad move.On the one hand, it exposed the military secrets of the Shanxi coach's poor health, which affected the morale of the army; on the other hand, he also risked being assassinated by "Emperor Ming elements".

In fact, Meng Qiaofang really worried too much.

Because of his thin body, anyone with normal eyesight knew that he was seriously ill.From the speed of feedback on military and civilian affairs, the yamen in Shanxi can easily know that the governor is almost unable to handle official duties.The so-called "secret" is actually well known.

As for the fear of being assassinated, it is completely unnecessary.

Because someone had poisoned him in the first place.

While Xu Dun inserted "Yizhimei" beside Meng Qiaofang, he inserted three more nails one after another.These four people originally contacted Xu Dun through a single line, and none of them knew the existence of others.Before the Spring Festival, the winter offensive was victorious. Zhu Cihong reminded Xu Dun that the next stage was to work in Shanxi, so that Xu Dun could get ready.

Xu Dun was quite surprised. He thought that the crown prince would open up the situation on the northern straight front and attack the capital directly, but he didn't expect to start from Shanxi.However, he is the commander of Jinyiwei, not the commander of the general staff headquarters of the admiral's headquarters, so he is not allowed to speak on strategic issues.

So Xu Dun decided to do something big: assassinate Meng Qiaofang.

It is very simple for Yizhimei and other intelligence agents to let Meng Qiaofang die unexpectedly.Yizhimei helped Meng Qiaofang get dressed almost every day, and occasionally even cameo as a barber to shave his scalp.However, if Meng Qiaofang died, the Qing court would send other governors and governors. At that time, all the nails and eyeliners installed would be invalidated, which was an act that was not worth the candle.

The best way is to prevent Meng Qiaofang from fully devoting himself to official duties, but also to allow him to stay in Shanxi and let him die at any time.

So Yizhimei thought of the most direct method: poisoning.

Poisoning seems simple, but it is very difficult to operate.People with a little bit of status are very cautious in using cooks.If you are at the level of a big boss in the court and a big official in the frontier, all the food you eat must be tasted by the cook first, and then the waiter will test the poison with silver needles and chopsticks before it can be served on the table.

During the blizzard in Shanxi a few years ago, Meng Qiaofang suffered from a cold, so she asked a doctor to prescribe sweat medicine.Yizhimei seized this opportunity and waited on her all night with her clothes untied, and even offered to try the medicine for her "master".Such a loyal servant is hard to find!Meng Qiaofang was greatly moved by this, and she trusted Yizhimei very much.

After Yizhimei tasted the medicine, she had to personally serve the soup for Meng Qiaofang to take, and this was the best opportunity.He hid the prepared arsenic in his fingernails, dropping a little inadvertently every time.Arsenic is highly soluble in water, colorless and odorless in small amounts, it is really the holy medicine for court murders, and it is naturally a piece of cake to use against Meng Qiaofang.

With the ingestion of this poison three times a day, the toxicity accumulated in the body, and soon destroyed Meng Qiaofang's liver and kidney system.Even a man in his prime couldn't resist such damage, not to mention that Meng Qiaofang was already over half a century old, and she definitely entered the ranks of the elderly in this era.

"I'm worried that my master won't be able to bear it anymore."

The Governor's Mansion of Donglu was located in the Prince Jin's Mansion.In the backyard kitchen, sat two young men.One of them, with a shaved head and a patched gray coarse cloth monk robe, was drinking corn porridge from a cracked porcelain bowl.Sitting in front of him was Meng Qiaofang's personal servant, Jinyiwei Tiqi, codenamed Yizhimei.

The monk poked the corn in the bowl with his chopsticks, and said: "Auspicious people have their own appearance, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will protect your master."

Neither of them deliberately lowered their voices to speak. No matter who overheard it, they would only think that the "loyal servant" was worried about the "master".But the monk ate alms from others and said some comforting words.

But Yizhimei clearly heard the implication: now is not the time to kill Meng Qiaofang.

If Meng Qiaofang were to die now, the commander of the Qing army would be Doduo who was coming from Datong, and the [-] Manchurian soldiers under his command would cause the Ming army a lot of trouble.As long as Meng Qiaofang survived, he would still be the top leader of the Qing government in Shanxi. Even if Prince Yu Duoduo wanted to mobilize other troops, he would have to go through Meng Qiaofang's procedures.

No one wants their power to be blocked by others, so no matter how obedient Meng Qiaofang is, it will make Dodo feel uncomfortable.

What's more, Meng Qiaofang and Duoduo are people from two worlds.

Duoduo inherited the violent gene of the old chieftain Nuerhachi, and firmly believes that killing can solve all problems.This has been confirmed by the original historical script: Yangzhou Ten Days is his masterpiece.

Although Meng Qiaofang is also a bannerman, he still retains the way of thinking of a Ming military general, attaches great importance to the talents and training of generals, and attaches great importance to local governance.

In the original historical script, Meng Qiaofang served as the three-sided governor of Shaanxi for ten years. He defeated He Zhen, Wu Dading, Mi Layin, and Ding Guodong, and won 17 people. He also promoted Zhao Liangdong among the "Four Generals of Hexi". , Zhang Yong, and Wang Jinbao are three famous generals.This shows that he is also a capable minister.

"Let's go through the back door after the monk has finished eating. These few big coins are my offering." Yizhimei stood up and wiped a few copper plates from the money bag, and the words on them could no longer be distinguished.

The monk wiped his mouth and said together, "Thank you for the benefactor. There is a statue of Medicine Buddha here, my little monk. If you choose to chant scriptures and pray every day in the room, the master of your house will surely turn evil into good luck and live a long life."

This is also a common trading scene in the market.Donors give money, and monks give blessings.Although paying with one hand and delivering the goods with the other, there is no trace of money.In the hands of Yizhimei, this portrait of Medicine Buddha concealed the mission assigned to him by the Commander of Jinyiwei, and the copper plate he handed over, if you carefully cut it open, you can see the small characters and patterns engraved inside.

The whole jointing process was just a meal of millet porridge, and there was no need to avoid people's eyes and ears. The Qing army's city defense map in Taiyuan had already been circulated.

……

"The city of Taiyuan is too thick! The artillery has been pushed to seventy paces and it still can't be defeated!" Zuo Guang first rode on the horse, holding up the binoculars, looking helplessly at the artillery under the protection of the rushing car. back slowly.

As the feudal state of the Jin Dynasty, Taiyuan has been an important town in the north since the Hongwu era. The core of the city wall is rammed earth, the outside is covered with bricks, and the joints are filled with glutinous rice juice mixed with lime, which is not inferior to Nanjing's city wall.The Nanjing City Wall was repeatedly bombarded by Japanese mortars during World War II, leaving only a few white spots.

Looking at the tall city wall, Zhu Cihong was filled with emotion, and said, "In the first month of 17, if I had 5000 soldiers under my command, I might not have given up Taiyuan to Li Zicheng." Zuo Guang nodded in agreement first. The crown prince had only [-] people, and if one died, one less, Li Chuang couldn't help but waste his life.

"If there were so many cannons in September last year, I would not let Chen Yongfu give up Taiyuan." Zhu Cihong shook his head.

"Yes, at that time the general will be able to enter the city, but I'm afraid he can't defend it without artillery." Zuo Guang said first.

"Well, if you are not strong enough, you have to pay a price." Zhu Cihong said, and saw Min Ziruo coming over with a red box.

Inside the red box is a drawing of Dan Qing's sketch of the city.In the southeast corner of the city, there is a specially circled location, with small characters written on the side: collapsed in October, newly built.

Zhu Cilang put the drawing back into the red box and put it in his sleeve, as if nothing had happened.He and Zuo Guangxian recalled the lack of troops that day and the difficulty of being chased away by Li Chuang's army. Then he said: "I'm afraid there will be no progress today. Let's withdraw the troops early and rest."

"Your Highness, there is still one more round to attack." Zuo Guang said first: "At the end of the day, the general wants the engineering team to try the pottery vat blasting method, maybe it can open a hole."

"Let's try again later." Zhu Cihong said with a weary look on his face, "Or use the cannon again. This time, we'll go to a different place. Hey, I think it looks good there, let them try to fire a few shots." Zhu Cihong pointed to the southeast corner from afar. , to Zuo Guang first. (To be continued.)