When all the kings and ministers heard this, their eyes lit up. Emperor Dali said excitedly: "Yes, yes, yes, go ask the Ming Dynasty for help! As long as the Ming Dynasty army comes, we will be saved!" All the ministers agreed.
Princess Qionghua looked at these monarchs and ministers, and she couldn't help but have a thought in her heart: 'How can these people lead the country with such shallow vision! This thought only flashed in his mind, and then he said: "I'm afraid it's not as easy as before to ask for help from the Ming Dynasty!" The monarchs and ministers looked at Princess Qionghua in confusion, and the emperor asked: "What do you mean? what for?"
Princess Qionghua sighed and said, "If someone is flirting with us, can we still trust them as before?" Everyone was stunned, and then their faces turned pale, and a feeling of despair surged in everyone's heart. The emperor said with infinite fear: "So, then, we, we only have one, only one way to die?"
Princess Qionghua shook her head, "That's not true! I think the Ming Dynasty will not want our Dali to be ruled by foreigners. It's just that the Ming Dynasty will inevitably have doubts about us. It may not be easy to convince them. !”
The emperor was very worried, and suddenly his heart moved. He quickly looked at Qionghua and said: "Qionghua, you once lived in Bianliang and had a harmonious relationship with the imperial concubines. You are able to speak. Why don't you go to the front of the Ming army?" Let's lobby the Ming army to come for help!" Qionghua felt that this matter was really not easy to handle, but since her father had a destiny and the country of Dali was in danger, she naturally had a duty as the princess of Dali, so she clasped her fists and bowed, "I will do my best. Go all out!" The emperor was very happy when he saw that she had agreed. He immediately ordered the relevant departments to prepare gifts immediately and let Princess Qionghua go home to make some preparations before setting off for Shanchan Mansion. Princess Qionghua agreed and hurriedly left the hall.
Later that day, Princess Qionghua took a simple carriage and rushed to Shanchan Mansion with the precious gifts entrusted to her by the royal family and the Ming Dynasty envoy who had previously been under house arrest. Today, Shi Liancheng leads a legion of the Ming Army to be stationed near Shanchan Mansion. Shi Liancheng is the commander-in-chief of this Ming Army operation, so Qionghua has to rush to Shanchan Mansion.
At the same time, the Emperor of Dali ordered the troops near Dali City to defend themselves to the death, and told them that the Ming army would come to support them. The Dali Emperor was not very capable, but he was a little clever. He claimed that the Ming army would soon come to support him, which immediately boosted the morale of the troops around Dali City and made the people feel more at ease.
However, Dali's ministers are very clear about what the current situation is. That night, several ministers gathered in one person's home, drinking and talking about the current situation. One of them said: "Now the Zhu army is attacking Longwei Pass, the Bagan army has appeared on the east side of Erhai Lake, and Duan Zhichun's army is overwhelming Fengyu County. The situation is already extremely dangerous! Let's not worry about whether the Ming army will come or not. Support us, I think even if the Ming army is willing to support us, their 200,000 soldiers and horses are probably no match for the 800,000 coalition forces!"
Several other ministers nodded in agreement, and one of them said worriedly: "There are intact eggs under the overturned nest! Once the coalition forces invade Dali City, I am afraid that our wealth and lives will not be saved! Alas!" The atmosphere at the scene There was solemnity. Suddenly someone said: "As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall! Instead of sitting around and waiting for death, we should find a way to save ourselves!" Everyone's hearts were moved, but no one spoke. Seeing that everyone was silent, the man said angrily: "Although you think it in your heart, you dare not say it with your mouth! I say, the situation has reached this point, how can you still be reserved? Besides, we are defecting General, you are not surrendering to a foreign race, that is not considered a betrayal!"
Everyone felt that what he said was reasonable, and their uneasiness was immediately reduced by more than half. Looking at each other, one person said: "I think we all think so! But we have to discuss how to act!" Another person said: "It is obviously not feasible to escape the city with the whole family and join the general. ! Now the city is under martial law, and all the passes are under martial law. No one can get out without His Majesty’s order! I think we might as well jointly send a trustworthy person to contact the general, secretly help him seize Fengyu County, and then help He captured Dali City! In this way, Dali City can be kept safe, we have made great contributions to the general, and our glory and wealth can be preserved!" Everyone nodded in praise, and then started discussing specific matters.
Turning their eyes to the other side, Princess Qionghua and Fan Yong felt the Ming military camp outside Shanchanfu City and saw Shi Liancheng.
Princess Qionghua paid her respects: "Meet General Shi!"
Shi Liancheng said: "There is no need to be polite. I wonder what you are doing here?"
Princess Qionghua said with some shame: "We listened to the slander and neglected your army. Please forgive me, General!"
Shi Liancheng said: "It's natural for you to be suspicious because of this. There is no need to apologize! Princess Qionghua, you should explain your purpose of coming."
Seeing that the other party went straight to the topic, Qionghua stopped talking nonsense and said with cupped fists: "I am here to implore your army to fulfill their promise and help our country resist the invasion!"
Shi Liancheng said: "One moment you treat us as enemies, and the next moment you beg us for help, you think things are too simple!" Qionghua sighed and said very sincerely: "This time the fault is on our side, I have no choice but to take the matter too seriously!" I can only express my sincerest apology to the general! Please forgive me for this time!" Then he raised his head and said: "If Dali City is attacked by the enemy, Breaking through, this is probably not what you want to see! At this moment, you and I have common interests and common enemies. Please, General, please don’t care about what happened before and join forces with us to deal with the enemy!" Then he looked at Shi Liancheng's face depends on what he says.
Shi Liancheng was silent for a moment, glanced at Qionghua, and said, "Okay! I agree to your request!"
Qionghua was stunned. She didn't expect that the other party would put aside her previous unhappiness so easily and agree to the rescue. She asked in disbelief: "General, did you agree?" Shi Liancheng nodded and said, "It's just like you said. , we have common enemies and common interests, so why don’t I agree!”
Qionghua couldn't help but sigh: "The general is worthy of being the brother of His Majesty the Ming Dynasty. He is indeed a hero!"
Shi Liancheng said: "Go back and tell your emperor that if you want our support, stop being half-hearted. Open all the passes immediately and prepare food, grass and baggage to support us! We will handle the rest!"
Qionghua asked: "How can our army cooperate with you?"
Shi Liancheng said: "It's very simple. You only need to concentrate all your troops around Dali City to resist the enemy's attack. You don't need to worry about other things." Qionghua nodded thoughtfully, She thought that her side and the Ming Dynasty still lacked trust after all, and it was difficult for them to cooperate with each other in fighting. Moreover, based on her own combat effectiveness and combat characteristics, it was also difficult to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty army in fighting. Therefore, it was best to divide labor and cooperate according to Shi Liancheng's plan. choose.
Shi Liancheng said to Fan Yong: "Fan Yong will follow Her Royal Highness the Princess back to Dali to coordinate the actions and messages between us." Fan Yong promised with clasped fists.
Shi Liancheng said to Princess Qionghua: "Your Highness, if you have nothing to do, you can go back!" Princess Qionghua asked in surprise: "We have an agreement here?" Shi Liancheng smiled and said: "It's an agreement. Yes!" Qionghua felt that the other party was really neat and tidy, so she clasped her fists and said, "I have a request. Please write down what we both said, make two documents, and then ask the general to stamp it!" Then he said! Explained: "I absolutely trust the general. The general has promised a huge sum of money, so why bother resorting to writing! But if His Majesty and everyone in the court cannot see a formal document, I am afraid it will be difficult to rest assured!"
Shi Liancheng turned to a staff officer and said, "Immediately make two documents of what I just said." The latter promised and immediately complied. After a while, the two documents were ready. The staff officer picked up the two documents and came to Shi Liancheng, presenting them to Shi Liancheng for review with both hands. Shi Liancheng took the document and read it, then handed it to Qionghua and said, "See if there are any problems." Qionghua took the document, read it carefully, and felt that there was no problem, so she gave it back to Shi Liancheng and said : "No problem." Shi Liancheng put down the documents, picked up his general's seal, and stamped both documents. Then he picked up two documents and handed them to Qionghua. Qionghua took the document and bowed: "Thank you, General. Qionghua bids farewell!" Shi Liancheng nodded, "It's easy for the princess to leave, so I won't see you off!" The princess turned and left. Fan Yong bowed to Shi Liancheng and said went.
When the Emperor of Dali saw the two documents stamped with the seal of General Shi Liancheng, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and did not dare to delay. He immediately ordered all states, counties and passes to stop blocking the actions of the Ming army and to cooperate. At the same time, he ordered various places to prepare food and grass. The baggage and supplies were sent to meet the Ming army. After issuing this order, the Emperor of Dali ordered to summon all the troops from the north and east to rush to Dali City to resist the enemy's attack. However, before these words were finished, someone came out to object. The objector was Duan Gai, the emperor's uncle and the dean of the Privy Council of Dali.
Duan Gaidao said: "Your Majesty, if the troops from the north and east are mobilized, and if the Ming army makes any changes, wouldn't it mean that the north and east will fall into the hands of the enemy in an instant!" Several ministers agreed.
After hearing this, Emperor Dali couldn't help but feel worried and hesitant. Qionghua frowned and said: "Father, the total number of troops in the north and east is only tens of thousands! If the Ming army really changes, what can these tens of thousands of troops do? Previously, we were treacherous, but the Ming army did not The attack shows his sincerity, but how can he betray his promise now? And Shi Liancheng is a hero who always keeps his word, and will never do anything that breaks his word! Father, you must not miss important events because of doubts! "
The Emperor of Dali was moved by Qionghua and nodded: "What you said makes sense!" Then he ordered: "Bring back all the troops from the north and the east immediately!" Duan Gai and others looked very shocked and continued to persuade him heartily. . Emperor Dali was a little annoyed and said angrily: "I want you to make a decision, but you have no idea! Now that I have made a decision, you want to stand in the way. What is your intention?" Everyone was stunned and did not dare to say anything more.
Completed transfer to Duan Zhichun Camp outside Fengyu County. The envoy Duan Zhichun sent to lobby the Fengyu County guard came back and reported to Duan Zhichun: "General, the other party refuses to surrender!"
Duan Zhichun frowned and cursed angrily: "Does he want to see our Dali army killing each other to be happy?" All the cronies looked at each other, feeling a little weird in their hearts.
Duan Zhichun took a deep breath to calm himself down. Thinking of the current situation, he couldn't help but feel confused. He couldn't figure out whether what he was doing was right or wrong. Was he saving Dali or harming Dali? And I can't help but think of what Princess Qionghua once said, "If we divide for a long time, we will unite and we will unite for a long time." Dali was originally under the rule of the Central Plains Dynasty, so why not return to the Central Plains Dynasty now? Duan Zhichun suddenly thought of a question. Is he trying so hard to resist the unification of the Ming Dynasty as high-sounding as he said? Or maybe those are just excuses, and the real purpose of doing this is to maintain the Duan family's ruling power in Dali! As for the well-being and future of the people, he doesn't seem to think about it! Duan Zhichun's mind was in confusion, his face was pale, and he was sweating coldly. Seeing his strange expression, all the confidants couldn't help but feel strange.
There were rapid footsteps at the door. Duan Zhichun came back to his senses and saw a veteran scout running in. He frowned and made up his mind: "Our Duan family is the Zhengshuo of Dali. Only by protecting Zhengshuo can the people live a good life. Everything I do is for the people of Dali!" 'As soon as I thought of this, a determined look appeared in my eyes.
Just listen to the report from the scout: "General, the Tianzhu army is attacking Longwei Pass. The Bagan army has broken through Zhao Yancheng and is crossing the Erhai Sea!" Here is a brief explanation of the terrain around Dali. Dali City is located on Cangshan Mountain. Down, on the bank of Erhai Lake, it is located to the east of Cangshan Mountain and to the west of Erhai Lake; dozens of miles south of Dali City, the Erhai Lake veins and the remaining veins of Diancang Mountain merge, leaving only a narrow and dangerous passage. Longweiguan Pass is located This combined point is the only way to enter Dali City from the south; Fengyu County is located in the high mountains to the north of Diancang Mountain, and is the only way to enter Dali City from the north. Longweiguan and Fengyu County are the only ways to enter Dali City. If you stagger these two directions, there are only two ways to enter Dali City. One is to climb the steep Diancang Mountains from the west, and the other is to That is to cross the Erhai Lake from the east and directly attack Dali City across the sea. The current situation is that Duan Zhichun's 80,000 troops are overwhelming Fengyu County, Tianzhu's nearly 500,000 troops are storming Longwei Pass, and the Bagan army is trying to cross the sea to attack Dali City after breaking through Zhao Yancheng. .
Duan Zhichun frowned and murmured: "If they attack Dali City first, the consequences will be unimaginable!" Then he asked the scout: "What is the current situation of the battle everywhere?"
The scout reported back: "The Tianzhu army was blocked at Longwei Pass and suffered considerable losses in the past few days. Bagan attacked across the sea several times, but the Erhai army was repulsed and no progress was made."
Duan Zhichun felt relieved for a moment, then frowned and said resolutely: "I must seize the time, time waits for me!" At this point, Yan Nian immediately sent an order to all the armies to prepare to attack Fengyu County early tomorrow morning. Duan Zhichun felt that he had no choice.
Early the next morning, Duan Zhichun's army mobilized in full force and rushed towards Fengyu County. The offensive and defensive battle in Fengyu County began. At this point, Dali City has been involved in fierce fighting in three directions, and the situation can be said to be precarious for Dali!
The Emperor of Dali continued to receive bad reports from the front line, and was worried. The only consolation was that the enemy's fierce attacks had been resisted from three directions, and so far the enemy's defenses had not been breached. However, the enemy's troops are huge, their offensive is fierce, and their momentum is like a rainbow. However, our own morale is low and our soldiers are few. Although the enemy is temporarily blocked by the favorable location, if the war continues like this, sooner or later the enemy will break through the defense line.
Emperor Dali summoned Fan Yong several times a day to inquire about the progress of the Ming Army. In the emperor's mind, the Ming Army seemed to be his only savior. But every time he summoned Fan Yong, the answer he got was, "The army is gathering and will arrive soon." Emperor Dali was disappointed every time, but he felt that hope was right in front of him.
On this day, Emperor Dali summoned Fan Yong again to ask about the progress of the Ming army. Fan Yong still replied as before: "The army is about to arrive. Your Majesty, please be patient!" Emperor Dali couldn't help but become angry and said angrily: "Your Majesty, the army is about to arrive." The commander always said that the army is about to arrive, but so many days have passed, why is there no news at all?" Fan Yong smiled and said: "Your Majesty, please be patient! I think our army has arrived nearby and is about to launch an attack! Why? We haven't received the news yet. It must be because the enemy troops are surrounded on three sides and it is difficult for the news to come in!" The Emperor of Dali felt that Fan Yong was right, and then thought about the current situation. He had no choice but to hope that the Ming army would You can arrive in time to defeat the enemy.
Fan Yong came out of the palace, got on the carriage and prepared to go back to the post house to rest.
The carriage started, but stopped after not far. Fan Yong was feeling strange when he heard the entourage driving the car say: "Sir, this is Princess Qionghua."
Fan Yong's heart moved, and he opened the car curtain. Sure enough, he saw Princess Qionghua's carriage blocking the front on the street. The car curtain opened, and Princess Qionghua's beautiful face was revealed. Her beautiful eyebrows were furrowed, looking a little annoyed. Fan Yong clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness Princess!" Princess Qionghua said, "I have something to ask you, come with me!" Then she lowered the car curtain regardless of whether Fan Yong agreed or not. The carriage turned around and headed towards the princess's mansion. Fan Yong felt that it was difficult to refuse, so he ordered his entourage to follow him in the car.
Two carriages arrived at the gate of the princess's mansion one after another. Fan Yong got off the carriage, saw Princess Qionghua, clasped his fists and asked, "I wonder what your Royal Highness has to say?" Princess Qionghua gave Fan Yong a strange look and said, "Go in and talk." Then she walked in first. Fan Yong followed the door.
After a while, the two came to the hall and sat down respectively. The maids brought tea, and Princess Qionghua said to the maids: "You all stand down!" The maids agreed and withdrew. In an instant, Princess Qionghua and Fan Yong were the only two people left in the hall. Fan Yong picked up the tea bowl and drank tea, while he was guessing the princess's intentions.
Princess Qionghua asked angrily: "Honestly, what are you planning?"
Fan Yong put down the tea bowl and said with a smile: "Why did Her Royal Highness say this? Doesn't Her Royal Highness know our intentions? We are here to help Dali!"
Princess Qionghua snorted and said angrily: "Do you think I will believe this? Zhu and Bagan came to annex our Dali that day, and so did the Ming Dynasty, but their methods are much smarter!"
Fan Yong remained calm and asked with a smile: "Since Her Royal Highness thinks so, why do you want to promote the reconciliation and alliance between Dali and Ming Dynasty?"
Princess Qionghua glanced at Fan Yong, turned to look at the ceiling, sighed, and said: "Dali's era is over. I hope that Dali will eventually return to the embrace of the Central Plains Dynasty instead of being ruled by foreigners!" Fan Yong couldn't help but feel solemn. He stood in respect, clasped his fists and said, "It is really commendable that Your Highness the Princess has such a big heart!"
Princess Qionghua looked at the other side and said angrily: "But you are playing tricks!"
Fan Yong huffed and said, "What the princess said really makes me confused!"
Qionghua snorted coldly and asked, "Let me ask you, why didn't you come to the rescue this time?"
Fan Yong said: "The road is rugged and long, and the army moves with a large amount of supplies, so it cannot be done very quickly. I understand the mood of Her Royal Highness, but this kind of thing cannot be rushed!"
Qionghua said: "Don't think I don't understand military affairs! It's only more than two hundred miles from Shanchan Prefecture and Huichuan Prefecture to Dali. After so many days, let alone the Ming Army, which has always been called the Tiger and Wolf Division. The other armies have already arrived. What’s more, the Ming Dynasty’s war cavalry moves like lightning. If you want to rescue them, the war cavalry troops would have appeared on the battlefield many days ago!”
Fan Yong smiled bitterly and said: "Her Royal Highness the Princess must say so, I don't know how to explain it."
Qionghua said: "You have no intention of rescuing at all, am I right?"
Fan Yong shook his head and said: "This is absolutely not the case!"
Qionghua said: "You want our Dali Army to be exhausted in such a war, so that you can unify Dali in one fell swoop in the future to avoid obstacles! At the same time, you also want to use the Dali Army to consume the effective strength of the Tianzhu people and Bagan people and dampen their spirit. ! Kill two birds with one stone, you guys are really good at calculating!"
Fan Yong didn't say anything, but he couldn't help but admire Qionghua: "The monarchs and ministers of Dali are all poor people, but I didn't expect that this princess was so wise and could see the plans of her majesty and the general." Although what she said is not entirely correct, it is roughly the same. But when things have developed to this point, even if she reports the matter to Emperor Dali, it will no longer help! Sue for peace with the coalition? Even if it were possible, the strength of both of them has been almost exhausted! '
Qionghua noticed Fan Yong's expression and sighed, "It seems I guessed it right!"
Fan Yong asked: "What is the princess's plan?"
Qionghua smiled bitterly and said: "What else can I do? In fact, Dali has no choice for a long time!"
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
