Huai'an.
The capital of canals, the thoroughfare of nine provinces.
This place is adjacent to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and is known as the "Canal Capital of the World".
During the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Yunwen sent Mei Yin as the chief military officer to guard Huai'an with 400,000 troops to serve as a barrier to the north of the imperial capital of Jinling and defend the Yangtze River defense line.
Huai'an is located to the north of the Yangtze River. Its area includes many strategic points on both sides of the Huaihe River and is an important barrier to the north of the imperial capital of Jinling.
Zhu Di wanted to go south to attack the imperial capital of Jinling, so Huai'an held the important southward passage and was the most important link in the Yangtze River defense line.
When Zhu Di tried to persuade Mei Yin to surrender and cross the river from Huai'an, Mei Yin sternly refused and blocked the road.
However, no one expected that Zhu Di was just a delaying tactic. He detoured directly to Yangzhou and used a sneak attack to break through the Yangzhou defense line. He was finally able to cross the Yangtze River and go south. Immediately after the Yangtze River defense line, the land and sea armies surrendered one after another. Zhu Di successfully arrived at the gate of the imperial capital of Jinling, and finally The battle broke through the city and destroyed the Jianwen court.
As a result, Mei Yin's 400,000 Huai'an troops fell into an embarrassing situation.
But no one knows why after Zhu Di broke through the Yangtze River defense line, Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen urgently summoned all the troops to Beijing to help the king, but the Huai'an army remained stationary, and Mei Yin showed no sign of bringing troops back to help.
If Mei Yin was really a die-hard loyalist to Jianwen, why would he stand still and watch Zhu Di attack the Jinling Imperial Capital?
If Mei Yin was not a die-hard loyalist to Jianwen, then why did he keep strictly refusing Zhu Di's surrender and pretending to be loyal to Zhu Yunwen?
Mei Yin, Mei Yin, what are you thinking about?
This is also a question Li Hongbi has been thinking about.
He had some vague guesses, but he still needed actual evidence to verify them.
That's why Li Hongbi proposed to follow Li Jinglong on a risky mission to Huai'an.
He wanted to see with his own eyes what the problem was with Huai'an's 400,000-strong army.
After Li Jinglong and his party entered the Huai'an Army, they were immediately surrounded by the enemy.
However, they did not take action. Although these Confederate soldiers wanted to skin Li Jinglong and eat him alive, they did not take action after all.
It's not because of Ji Gang's elite Qian Yulin Forbidden Army, but because Li Jinglong holds the Emperor's Banner in his hand!
The so-called "jing" refers to the flags. The double flags include the dragon flag representing the emperor's envoys and the gate flag indicating the personal identity of the envoys.
The so-called "section" is a half-foot long staff decorated with gold and copper leaves and wrapped in red silk.
In the picture of "Su Wu Shepherding Sheep" that has been passed down through the ages, Su Wu holds a wooden staff covered with leaves. The wooden staff is called "Jie".
Jingjie means using Jing as a talisman, usually using bamboo as a staff and decorated with feathers. This is a symbol of national prestige and imperial power!
Only those who are envoys on the basis of the banner are legitimate envoys. Even if the enemy sees this banner, they will not dare to commit a minor insult, let alone use weapons. This is a taboo on the battlefield.
Integrity is a token, so those who have it have more weight, those who don't have it have less power, and those who lose it are guilty.
This banner not only represents the identity of the envoy, but also has the power to dispatch the border troops of the country. It can be regarded as a talisman for mobilizing troops, which is also one of the powers of the envoy.
The so-called "jiedushi" in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, as the name suggests, means to command the military and political affairs of a party based on the festival.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was a Department of Travelers, who were responsible for envoys holding festivals. They were responsible for issuing edicts, conferring vassals, approving foreigners, recruiting talented people and giving rewards, condolences, providing relief, military services, offering sacrifices, etc. The emperor sent pedestrians to hold festivals. To make.
As an envoy sent by the Yongle Court, Li Jinglong should have a passerby to carry out the mission, representing the majesty of the Yongle Emperor and the national prestige of the Yongle Court!
Because of this, their group was able to travel unimpeded, and no one dared to have any evil intentions.
However, Li Hongbi still noticed Li Jinglong's pale face and couldn't help but joked: "Dad, why are you cowardly?"
"My son, the looks in these people's eyes are too scary!"
Li Jinglong is not cowardly, but chooses to follow his heart.
No matter where he went, every Confederate soldier stared at him fiercely, and his eyes were red and bloodshot. Who could look at him without feeling frightened?
"Dad, don't worry, they have no other intentions."
"Then what do their fierce looks mean?"
"I want to kill you!"
"..."
Li Hongbi succeeded in chatting to death.
Ji Gang looked at the father and son and felt a little funny.
An old dandy and a young dandy, no matter how you look at them, they feel abnormal.
But Li Jinglong, the father, only followed Li Hongbi's lead, which was even more abnormal.
Could it be that the person His Majesty the Emperor ordered him to track down, the man standing behind Li Jinglong, was none other than Li Hongbi?
When he thought of this, Ji Gang couldn't help but look at Li Hongbi a few more times.
Ji Gang is indeed the Sento of Habayashi Vanguard, but he also has another identity, that is, Masa Sento of Jinyiwei.
This trip was ordered to accompany Li Jinglong as an envoy to the Meiyin Army. In addition to monitoring Li Jinglong, the idiot prince, Ji Gang also had a major mission - to find out the person behind Li Jinglong.
Ji Gang smiled slightly.
Maybe he has the answer now.
Silently all the way, under the friendly "escort" of the Huai'an Army, the group soon arrived outside Huai'an City.
The capital of canals in the world stands not far away.
Li Hongbi finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he entered Huai'an City, and one-third of his mission was completed.
The remaining two-thirds will depend on what happens next for the father and son.
At this moment, there was a faint commotion ahead.
Li Hongbi felt nervous, so he ordered the soldiers of the imperial army to mount their horses and prepare for battle.
The combat quality of the Imperial Army was indeed impeccable. After hearing this, they immediately drew their weapons and stared solemnly ahead. Under the command of Chito Notsuna, the soldiers quickly gathered into a defensive formation.
Li Jinglong and his son, as well as Xingren Si Zhijie, were in the center of the battle formation. They were surrounded and protected by a thousand Yulin elites.
The Huai'an Army General Zuo who was escorting along the way came forward to investigate. After a while, the commotion subsided.
"nothing!"
"It's just a group of refugees causing trouble."
Huai'an Army General Zuo explained casually, and then looked at Li Jinglong.
That murderous look in his eyes made it hard not to think too much.
"Just keep going!"
"When you arrive at the city gate, the errand of a certain family will be over."
The danger is over and the team continues moving forward.
But Li Hongbi felt a little uneasy in his heart.
This uneasiness was unreasonable, but it made him alert.
When I opened the curtain, I saw many homeless people begging along the road with their families.
A peaceful war devastated the entire northern Xinjiang region. Countless people suffered from the war and became homeless and hungry people.
Li Hongbi let out a long sigh and looked at the city gate without thinking much.
However, just as they were about to enter the city, a group of refugees suddenly rushed up and knelt down in front of Li Jinglong.
The leader was a burly man with ragged clothes, a bruised nose and a swollen face, and looked quite miserable.
"Commander, do you remember the villain?"
"The villain went out with the commander-in-chief back then, and he was a personal soldier in front of the commander-in-chief's tent!"
When Li Jinglong heard the word "marshal", he immediately stopped and looked over subconsciously.
"Who are you……"
"Commander, your brothers are having a miserable life!"
The burly man seemed to have found his backbone and knelt down in front of Li Jinglong.
Li Jinglong couldn't help feeling sad when he saw this, and quickly stepped forward to help the man up.
"Good men, what is going on with you, why are you so miserable..."
"It's not thanks to you, Li Jinglong!"
Before Li Jinglong finished speaking, his expression suddenly changed when he heard these words.
The burly man also tore through his disguise, took out a small dagger from his arms, and stabbed Li Jinglong in the heart!
In the midst of lightning and flint, the change happened so suddenly that Ji Gang and the Forbidden Army soldiers had not yet reacted. They could only watch as the dagger stabbed Li Jinglong in the heart!
In an instant, Li Jinglong was in danger!
