South bank of the Yellow River, Flowery Horse Pond, Ming Army Bandit Suppression Headquarters, Three Borders Governor Wei Xuezeng's garrison camp.
Two people wearing tattered clothes that could be vaguely recognized as Ming Army uniforms appeared not far from the garrison camp. They were seen by the Ming Army cavalry on sentry duty.
"Hey! Look! There, there are two people there? "
One of the cavalry called out to his comrade beside him.
The comrade looked not far away. "Hey! It's true! Let's go and take a look! Draw your sword. If it's a spy, just kill them! They're quite daring, daring to come and spy on the military in broad daylight? "
The two sentinel riders urged their horses forward, whistling as they charged in that direction.
"Who are you?! Stop immediately! Don't go forward! Otherwise, you will be beheaded!! "
They shouted as they charged over.
The two people saw that they did not run, but stood still obediently. They bent their bodies as if panting. The two cavalry felt it was strange. When they got closer, they realized that they were two Han people wearing tattered uniforms.
"Which division are you from? Or are you spies?! "
Not far away, two sentries on horseback wielding sabers shouted at the two unarmed weirdos. At the same time, another group of cavalry rushed out of the camp, and the entrance of the camp was instantly filled with a group of archers.
"No … no … no … we … we are … are Pinglu City's … General Xiao Ruxun's … beg … beg … beg to see Wei Zhitai!!"
One of the strange people knelt on the ground and shouted with all his strength. The two seemed to be exhausted.
"Pinglu City? Xiao Ruxun? Didn't Hexi City fall to the enemy? There are still cities holding out? "
The two horsemen were extremely astonished. They hurriedly called over a new batch of knights to help the two men onto their horses and brought them to the barracks. Afterwards, they sent someone to report to Wei Xueceng. They searched their bodies and found no weapons. Only a letter was left in the bosom of one of them, as if it was some kind of treasure.
"Don't … don't take it … this is … this is General Xiao's … handwriting …"
Before he could finish, the man fainted, and the other man seemed to have lost his breath as well. Everyone looked at each other in dismay. At this moment, the messenger came and said that the supervisor wanted to see these two men. As a result, everyone was dumbfounded. The horseman had no choice but to hand the crumpled letter to the messenger. "Before this man fainted, he said that this was a letter personally written by General Xiao of Pinglu City. We are illiterate. Can you bring it to the supervisor?"
The messenger had no choice but to take the letter and walk quickly to the main camp.
In the commander's tent in the main camp, Wei Xuezeng was bending over a desk and writing military orders. These days, the Ningxia deputy commander-in-chief, Li Zhi, and the guerrilla commander, Zhao Wu, had made some progress. They had recovered some lost territory and pushed Bo Bai's forces back to Hexi City. However, the rebel army's counterattack was also quite fierce. Both sides were fighting fiercely in various cities and fortresses. The situation was at a stalemate. This made Wei Xuezeng very angry!
Dozens of cities and forty-seven fortresses. If only a few people could hold out for a period of time, they would be able to hold out until he led the army to counterattack. At least that would reduce some of the pressure. In the end, almost all of Hexi City was occupied by the rebel army. The rebel army had expanded from a few thousand to tens of thousands. It was obvious how many of them had been coerced into the rebellion!
They were all bastards who could not be placed in an important position! Bastards who did not care about the emperor's grace! These martial artists from the Nine Sides General Clan were not reliable! After quelling the rebellion this time, he must use this opportunity to ruthlessly kill a group of vermin! Eliminate the traitors for the country!
The stalemate of the battle caused Wei Xuezeng to have no choice but to write a military order to mobilize the troops of Xuan Fu, Datong, and Lan Jing to help in the battle in Ningxia. It must be known that Ningxia, one of the strategic towns of the Nine Sides, had already been occupied by the rebel army. Once the rebel army contacted the Mongols and lured them south to help in the battle, the situation would become even more dangerous. The strategic towns of the Nine Sides could not be lost. This was the line between life and death!
And just now, a piece of news made his eyes light up.
The tent flap was lifted and a messenger walked in. He knelt on one knee and said, "Commander, those two people have already fainted. They look exhausted. They only have this letter with them. It says that it's a letter personally written by General Xiao of Pinglu City."
Wei Xuezeng made an "oh" sound and stood up. He walked over and took the letter. He looked at it — Commander, Duke Wei.
Wei Xuezeng hurriedly opened the letter and took out the paper. He quickly finished reading and looked at the inscription: 3rd of March … Today was the 8th of March. This letter was written five days ago. Those two people were probably messengers who rushed out of the encirclement to deliver the letter. That was why they were so exhausted.
He handed the letter to a middle-aged scholar who was standing at the side. Wei Xuezeng walked in front of the map and carefully examined the location of Pinglu City.
"What do you think?"
Wei Xuezeng asked the middle-aged scholar.
"I thought that the Nine Border Generals were already like fallen dogs. I didn't expect that there would still be useful people. This Qiu Ba is not simple. This letter can be handed to the Emperor for him to read and tell him that he still has loyal generals. As for us, if Xiao Ruxun is still defending Pinglu City, it will be no different from stabbing a nail in the chest of the rebel army. The rebel army will have to divide their forces to deal with Pinglu City. They won't be able to fight us with all their strength. That's great!"
Wei Xuezeng found Pinglu City and carefully looked at it. Then he turned around and took the letter. He said with a smile, "Xiao Ruxun, Hsiao Jixin, the Yan 'an Xiao Clan is not an ordinary Qiu Ba. Listen to the names of the four brothers — Ru Lan, Ru Hui, Ru Zhi, and Ru Xun. How can they be the names of Zhang San and Li Si? His father, Xiao Wenkui, is an official in the capital and has dealings with some officials of the imperial court.
I've also heard people say that the four of them are well-educated and well-mannered. This is the minority among the Northwest Generals' families. Especially this Xiao Ruxun. Not only is he good at military strategy, but he's also good at poetry and literature. If he wasn't from a General's family, he would probably be a Juren if he took the imperial examinations! Otherwise, how could the former Minister of War, Eunuch Yang, marry his beloved daughter? Eunuch Yang is a legitimate Jinshi. If the Xiao Clan is just a Qiu Ba, how could they be valued by Eunuch Yang? "
The middle-aged scholar was a little surprised. He then slapped his head. "Earlier, I heard a rumor in the capital that the daughter of a fragrant scholar had married a crude soldier. It's simply absurd. So this is what happened?"
Wei Xuezeng smiled and nodded. He then said, "Now it seems that Eunuch Yang didn't choose the wrong person. Xiao Ruxun is indeed not ordinary. Forty-seven forts in Hexi have been destroyed, and only Pinglu Citadel is still standing. This news will greatly increase the morale of our army. I want to record Xiao Ruxun's merit. As long as he can hold on until reinforcements arrive, I will personally write a memorial to request for Xiao Ruxun's merit."
"You have a relationship with Eunuch Yang?"
Wei Xuezeng didn't give a clear answer. He only smiled. "We have to give face to Eunuch Yang, and we also have to reward those who have done meritorious deeds. The country has fallen, and the Nine Border Generals have fallen. The country has no generals to use, so we scholars have to throw away our pens and join the army. It's fine if we go into battle, but we still have to rely on the generals to command. Since we have discovered a talent that can be nurtured, we should promote him. It might not be a bad thing in the future. I have a feeling that something big is about to happen …"
"What big thing is there in Jiangling? His Majesty has been dissatisfied with the civil officials for a long time. Although his Majesty and the officials are becoming more and more antagonistic, it shouldn't be to the point of shaking the country, right? At most, it's just a copy of the Jiajing story. "
The middle-aged scholar was puzzled and confused.
"Just?"
Wei Xuezeng smiled bitterly. He looked at the middle-aged scholar with a gaze full of helplessness and bitterness. "When I was young, I was oppressed by Zhang Jiangling too much. Now that I am in power, I am already extremely dissatisfied with the officials. Settling Zhang Jiangling was already a signal. If the officials don't know when to stop, what should I do now? Since ancient times, if the Emperor is dissatisfied with the powerful officials, he will use power to oppress them or appoint another powerful official to balance them. Now that the Emperor hates the civil officials, who should it be? "
"Eunuch?"
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