Jinyi Town Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 113 General Feng

In the next seven or eight days, He Liu and Lao Hu met hundreds of defeated soldiers who had experienced the defeat of Datong.The details of the defeat they described were exactly the same as what Li Hu, the former commander in chief, had said.

At the same time, the Flying Pigeon Biography of the capital has also arrived.

Lao Hu took the letter box from the carrier pigeon and handed it to He Liu.

He Liu opened the letter box and opened the note inside, only to see that it read: "The phalanx belongs to a six or seven-year-old child. It is impossible to be Zhao Jianzhi's bone. Twelfth brother Zhao Ci."

He Liu handed the note to Lao Hu.

After looking at it, Lao Hu exclaimed, "What the North Town Governor's 'corpse idiot' said is absolutely unmistakable! The one in the coffin was not Zhao Jianzhi at all! Could it be that Zhao Jianzhi cheated his death?"

He Liudao: "Now there are two possibilities. One is that Li Hu of the Yan Party is collaborating with the enemy, and the other is that Zhao Jianzhi of the Yuwang Party is collaborating with the enemy. Heh, if we find out the truth, we will offend the big shot again!"

Old Hu said: "Since Zhao Jianzhi may still be alive, as long as we find him, won't the truth be revealed?"

He Liudao: "Daming has two capitals and [-] provinces, with [-] million people. How easy is it to find a person who disappeared on purpose? He may even have gone to the grassland!"

The two were talking, when He Liu's men came forward and reported: "Master Liu, there is a beggar looking for you at the door! He said he has important military information to tell you!"

He Liudao: "Bring it up!"

Not long after, Lushi led a beggar-looking man forward.The man was dressed in rags, and there were some blood stains on the rags.

He Liu asked, "Who are you?"

The beggar's answer startled He Liu: "The last general is Feng Dao, the former general of the Datong Guards and the gatekeeper of the Northern Gate!"

He Liu walked up to him and looked him up and down.Although this man was dressed in rags, his waist was straight and his back was heavy. He really didn't look like a beggar, but a military officer serving as a soldier and eating food.

He Liu asked: "Since you are a majestic fourth-rank general, why are you dressed like this?"

General Feng Shen said: "The last general lost the Beibian Gate, causing the entire Datong to fall to the enemy. He really has no face to return to the army, so he has to pretend to be a fleeing civilian..."

He Liu smiled and said, "I'm afraid it's not about returning to the army without face, but about returning to the army without courage? You lost the Beibian gate in just half an hour. If you are really held accountable, you will be a loser." country's death penalty!"

General Feng Shen said: "If I'm afraid of death, I won't come to you, Master Liu!"

He Liu asked, "Tell me, what can you do with me?"

General Feng Shen said: "For more than a month, when I closed my eyes, I dreamed of my dead brothers! They died wronged! I want to seek justice for them! If Liu Ye gave my dead brothers a To be fair, even if I suffer the death penalty, I can still rest in peace!"

Seeing that General Feng Shen seemed to have an injury on his right leg, He Liu asked Lao Hu to move him a chair: "Sit down and talk!"

General Feng Shen said: "Beibian Gate was breached because there were insiders who cooperated with the enemy! My lord, do you know that we have deployed 200 Francophone guns and more than [-] three-eyed guns at Beibiao Gate? The Tatars attacked When we were in the city, the gunpowder used in these firearms was all wet! They couldn't fire at all!"

He Liudao: "I already knew about this."

General Feng said: "There is something you definitely don't know! Gunpowder has always been stored in the arsenal of the Datong Guard. It is strictly guarded by the guards of Datong. The Tatars attacked in a large scale, and all the guards went to the tower. The transfer of gunpowder from the arsenal to the tower was done by the soldiers of the governor’s yamen! More than a dozen days before the Tatars attacked the city, it hadn’t rained in Datong at all! How could the gunpowder get wet? The officials concluded that it was the governor’s yamen The soldiers of the governor's yamen have tampered with it! The soldiers of the governor's yamen only listen to the governor Zhao Jianzhi..."

He Liudao: "What do you mean, Governor Zhao secretly ordered his own soldiers to tamper with the gunpowder? Impossible. What kind of hatred does Governor Zhao have with you, General Feng? To kill you, he will recruit tens of thousands of soldiers to do it." Back! And Governor Zhao committed suicide and died for the country. Is he going to die with General Feng Shen? Did you take Governor Zhao's wife and daughter, or killed his mother and father?"

General Feng looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: "Master, don't you know that you haven't heard that the local officials and generals in Border Town love 'Death Escape'?"

He Liu asked: "What is death escape?"

General Feng Shen talked eloquently: "Law of the Ming Dynasty, the current general will be killed if he loses the army, and the current magistrate will be killed if he loses his land. In recent years, the Tatars have repeatedly harassed the Nine Sides. The important towns on the Nine Sides will lose one or two counties every now and then. One or two prefectures. Those county magistrates and prefects who lost their land often cheated their deaths in order to avoid guilt. For example, they wrapped their dead bodies in their official uniforms and 'immolated'! In this way, not only would they have a way to survive, but their Family members can also become loyal orphans, and will be comforted and cared for by the court. This is called 'Death Escape'."

He Liu took a deep breath and thought to himself: Could it be that the governor Zhao Jianzhi who killed himself and became benevolent used the trick of 'death escape'?
He Liu asked: "General Feng, who was ordered by Zhao Jian to carry the gunpowder for you?"

General Feng Shen replied: "It's the governor's yamen's personal soldiers Song Liujin from thousands of households!"

He Liu told Lao Hu: "Go to the Governor's Yamen and ask Governor Wang Tingshu, where is Song Liujin now?"

He Liu turned his head and asked General Feng again: "In addition to gunpowder, I heard that after the Beipian Gate was broken, dozens of cavalry rode around the city and shouted: "The Beipian Gate has been broken, and the Tatars have come in." Brothers, run for your life' and other rumors that distract the morale of the army?"

General Feng Shen said: "That's true! The Beibian Gate is lost, and the main force of the Datong Guard has not been damaged. As long as we regroup, we can regain it. But when these dozens of people shouted like this, the morale of the brothers was gone, and they could only scatter like birds and beasts." , slaughtered by the Tartars like chickens and sheep! But this is not the most important thing."

He Liu asked: "Then what is the most important thing?"

General Feng Shen said: "I saw with my own eyes that four people raised the bar on the north side of the city gate! It's like opening the city gate for the Tatars!"

He Liu was surprised: "Who is so bold? This is a real Tatar insider!"

General Feng Shen smiled: "The leader of the four is my banner officer! Zhao Kui, Zhao Jianzhi's nephew to Governor Zhao!"

He Liu pondered for a long time, and said, "If these testimonies come to Beijing, do you dare to say them in front of the officials from the Jinyiwei, the Sanfa Division, the Ministry of War, and the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion?"

General Feng Shen said: "Why don't you dare! I came to find you with the intention of dying! I'm not even afraid of death, what else is there to be afraid of?"

He Liu suddenly asked a question: "We have never met before, why do you trust me so much? How do you know that I will clear up the grievance of defeat for your brothers?"

General Feng Shen said: "I'm ashamed. I also planned to 'death'. Yesterday I went to the third camp of Zuoge. Yang Shoubei of the third camp of Zuoge is my brother-in-law. He persuaded me to come to you. He said , Judging by your appearance, you are a loyal person."

He Liu smiled and said, "It's Yang Shoubei who loves me. Well, General Feng, you are an important witness to the defeat of Datong. It's impossible to tell how many people want your life outside! During this time, You can stay at my imperial envoy's office first. I have Jinyi guards brought from Beijing to guard my place, so it's safe."

(End of this chapter)