Jiajing stood up suddenly, staring at Lu Bing, and then slowly sat down again.
"When did you find out?"
"The two Jinyi guards who mingled with Qi Jiguang's army last night came back. There were spies in the army who leaked the whereabouts of the reinforcements. Although Xiao Feng designed to eliminate the spies, it was still a step too late. Five thousand cavalry were surrounded by Tatars on the mountain.
Xiao Feng led a hundred cavalry to attract enemy firepower, allowing Qi Jiguang to lead a team to break out and head towards Gubeikou.
The two of them managed to get into the one hundred cavalry led by Xiao Feng. They wanted to take advantage of the chaos to hide and escape with Xiao Feng. Unexpectedly, the gravel on the hillside was weathered, and they and Xiao Feng were caught together. "
Jiajing frowned but did not interrupt Lu Bing's narration. Lu Bing took the initiative to stop for a moment, seeming to think that Jiajing should have questions to ask here. Seeing that Jiajing was silent, he continued.
"The Tatars threatened Xiao Feng's life to make him kneel down, but Xiao Feng refused. Later, the Tatars used the lives of two soldiers as a bet, and Xiao Feng knelt down.
Unable to break their promise, the Tatars released them both. Because they had no horses and had to climb mountains and walk all the way back to Beijing, they arrived last night and both of them were seriously injured. "
Seeing that Lu Bing stopped talking, Jiajing pondered for a long time before slowly letting out a breath.
"What is your opinion on what Yan Song said in the court?"
Because Lu Bing was very busy recently, he was not present at this court meeting, but Jiajing did not report it to him at all, because he knew very well that with Lu Bing's position and means, these public things in the court were like live events to him live streaming.
Lu Bing stood up straight with a solemn expression. He had not spent so much time organizing his words in front of Jiajing for a long time. Because he knew that this question would involve the lives of too many people, and might even involve the fate of the Ming Dynasty.
"Long live, I don't believe it."
"Do you think what Yan Song said is completely unreasonable?"
"No, what Prime Minister Yan said is logically possible, and it has indeed happened in history. But I don't believe it."
Jiajing glanced at Lu Bing. In the past few years, Lu Bing had rarely denied something so decisively. As a spy chief, the nature of intelligence work makes him always cautious in his words and deeds, adhering to the mentality that anything is possible.
"Why are you so sure?"
"Long live, before I explain, there is one more thing I want to report to Long live. After hearing this, Long live may become more suspicious of Xiao Feng."
"Oh? What's the matter?"
"According to what the two Jinyi guards said, there was also a man named Xiao next to Anda Khan, who had a very high status, and the Tatars called him Mr. Xiao.
He is middle-aged and has a very good demeanor. His exact age is hard to tell. It was he who made the bet with Xiao Feng, asking Xiao Feng to kneel down in exchange for the life of his own soldier. "
Jiajing's eyes suddenly widened. There is also a Tatar named Xiao? Moreover, this person named Xiao did not kill Xiao Feng, but detained him. In this way, it seems that Yan Song's deduction has gone one step further!
"Since you have this doubt, why do you still insist on not believing Yan Song's inference?"
"Long live, since Xiao Feng was nine years old, and Xiao Wannian was dismissed from office, his whole family has been under the protection of Jin Yiwei. While protecting, it actually also plays a role of surveillance.
In the past eight years, neither Xiao Wannian nor Xiao Feng, including those two women, had ever had contact with anyone suspicious. If Xiao Feng becomes a Tatar spy, it will definitely not happen overnight. It will require at least several secret contacts.
If Xiao Feng is really under the surveillance of Jin Yiwei and can become an internal agent of the Tatars, then I should be the first to commit suicide and apologize! "
Jiajing's face softened slightly, and he nodded slowly to express his approval.
"After Xiao Feng woke up from a coma, he said that he met immortals in his dream and was fascinated by Taoism. From then on, he had constant friction with the Yan family, and the Jin Yiwei guarded his family even more closely.
Until this time when he led the army on the expedition, there were still no guards around him. These royal guards were all trained by the minister himself and would be replaced every once in a while.
Unless he can instigate every Jin Yiwei around him to rebel, he can't possibly act secretly without anyone noticing. But if he can really instigate and bribe every royal guard around him, then he won't need to cooperate with the Tatars if he wants to rebel. "
This last sentence was not only arrogant, but also extremely risky, but Jiajing nodded appreciatively, seeming to be very impressed by Lu Bing's arrogance.
"Yes, if he has the ability to bribe so many imperial guards, then you should really commit suicide and apologize, and I should abdicate in favor of others."
Seeing Huang Jin smiling and saying nothing, Jiajing gave him a dissatisfied look.
"Didn't these yellow companions think of it? Why didn't you remind me?"
Huang Jin quickly bent down and apologized: "How dare you, old slave? Long live is wise and wise, and has a clear heart, so there is no need for old slave to say anything. Previously, Long live only cared about him, but it was chaotic. It can be seen that Long live loves Mr. Xiao deeply in his heart."
Jiajing shook his head, expressing his helplessness towards this old cunning guy who had been playing around since childhood.
"A Han has such a high position among the Tatars. I don't know who he is. The Mongols have always been strong in force, but they lack intelligence. If there are Han people who are resourceful and help the tiger, it is indeed hateful."
Lu Bing dared to report this matter, so he naturally did his homework.
"Long live, I am not sure, but Shen Lian once said that Xiao Feng had tested Qiu Luan's handwriting before and calculated that the Tatars and the White Lotus Sect had colluded.
I infer from this that this person should be a high-ranking figure in the White Lotus Sect. The White Lotus Sect and the Ming Dynasty have been fighting for many years, and the undercurrents are surging. The Jinyiwei have never relaxed their pursuit.
Since Taizu, the White Lotus Sect has been attacked many times and fell apart. Its leader has long been in name only, and the real power lies in the hands of the so-called Holy Envoy.
Among the several holy envoys of the White Lotus Sect, the one who is actually in power is named Xiao. There has been no news about this person for many years. I infer that Mr. Xiao among the Tatar soldiers should be him! "
Jiajing nodded: "Yan Song is right in what he said. Those who have Taoism are not necessarily good people. But Xiao Feng has Taoism, but he does not abuse it, and what he has done in the past year is obvious to all the people in the capital."
At this point, he suddenly laughed, as if he remembered something funny, and shook his head while laughing. Huang Jin and Lu Bing looked at each other, wondering where Jiajing's smile came from when what they were talking about was so heavy.
"Based on one thing, I can conclude that Xiao Feng is not a traitor. Xiao Feng has no interest in power. I force him to do things every time, and he is very low-key in matters between men and women.
Not only is his unique taste well known throughout the city, but he also takes care of my harem. If he is a traitor, it would be too high-profile for him to be considered a traitor. "
Lu Bing breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that although Jiajing was suspicious, he was also very conceited. These words showed that he completely believed that Xiao Feng was okay, and at the same time affirmed Jin Yiwei's loyalty and ability.
The loyalty of the Jin Yiwei is more important than their ability. Their loyalty is fed by running water of money, and is guaranteed by the wealth and lives of the nine tribes. Their loyalty to the emperor is by no means comparable to that of any official.
But the price is that once the emperor doesn't trust them, they will have no choice but to die, and there will be no middle route to choose from, including Lu Bing.
"Since both of them are in the reinforcements, they should naturally know the truth about killing good people and taking credit."
"Yes, that was done by Tatars pretending to be our cavalry. Xiao Feng told Qi Jiguang that there were almost no old people at the massacre, which means they deliberately let those old people go."
"Why?"
"The old man is blind and deaf, and he knows little about outside things. Those mountain villages have inconvenient transportation, and as people get older, they rarely go out to the mountains.
Young people often go to Miyun City and other places and are familiar with the military uniforms and flags of the Ming Dynasty, but older people may not be so familiar with them. In their haste, the Tatars would certainly not be able to make it perfect, and the young people might see the flaw.
But the old man's eyes were dim, and his whole family was massacred. In the panic, it was difficult to notice those details, and he would only think that the Ming cavalry wanted to kill good people and take credit.
This plan was extremely vicious. It was probably not the Tatars' intention, but probably the work of the holy envoy. If it hadn't been for the wisdom of Long Live that allowed Shuntian Mansion and Dali Temple to suppress the trial for the time being, I'm afraid Qi Jiguang and the others would have been recalled to hold him accountable regardless of victory or defeat.
And to prove their innocence, they must rush back to the capital. In that case, their route of action will become very easy to predict, and there is a high possibility of being caught in one fell swoop. "
Indeed, if there was an imperial edict calling them back to Beijing for confrontation, if they did not return they would be resisting the edict. If they did, they would not be able to attack the enemy unprepared in the direction of Gubeikou as they did later.
Huang Jin couldn't help feeling pity when he thought about the tragic scene of massacre in the village. He said softly: "Those old people are in their dying years. The mountains are high and the road is far away. Aren't the Tatars afraid that they will die on the way and waste their efforts in vain?"
Lu Bing smiled bitterly and said: "Xiao Feng also said this. He said that the Tatars must also have this concern, so instead of letting one person from each village go, all the old people were let go.
In this way, even if a few die on the road, someone will always make it to the capital. It was precisely this that made their careful calculations come to light. "
Huang Jin suddenly realized that indeed, if it wanted to be more realistic, it would be more realistic for a village to deliberately leave out an old man. For the sake of insurance, they let go of so many old people, but Xiao Feng saw their purpose.
Jiajing was silent for a long time and suddenly asked: "Since Xiao Feng saw that this was the Tatar's vicious plan to draw out the fire, why didn't he turn back quickly? It should be too late by then.
He returned to the capital and with his eloquence, he made the matter clear in a few words. If he is not in the capital, it is inevitable that the three of them will become a tiger. This was something he specifically reminded me of before he left for the expedition. "
Lu Bing was silent for a moment, feeling a little excited. Jiajing and Huang Jin both looked at him, waiting for his answer.
"Long live, Xiao Feng vomited blood on the spot when he saw the tragic massacre of the village.
He told the entire army that the Ming cavalry should protect the people of the Ming Dynasty, and the real people of the Ming Dynasty should protect the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty. Everyone does his or her part, and there will be no hesitation.
The whole army was furious and was willing to fight to the death with the Tatars. I don't know who took the lead in shouting "Great Tomorrow Master". The whole army shouted in unison, and the sound shook the valley. "
Jiajing stood up, looking through the endless darkness over Xiyuan and looking at the stars in the distant night sky.
"Great Tomorrow Master, Great Tomorrow Master, okay, okay, okay!"
Some people died, but not completely...
