At this time, Shi Feng returned to the capital and entered the palace to see the emperor, simply to plead guilty.
He was ordered to reinforce Zijingguan, but as a result, almost all his troops were lost, and Zijingguan also surrendered to the enemy.
According to normal logic, this person should be beheaded.
So the first question Zhu Houzhao asked him was about this point.
"I and all of you dear friends believe that Shi Qing has died for the country. As long as he is in danger for the country, I will never forget this loyalty. Normally, you can stay anonymous, why do you want to enter the palace?"
"Back to Your Majesty, the guilty minister wants to kill the Tatars again!"
Wang Bingqi said: "We lost the Zijin Pass and put the capital of the capital in a dangerous situation. Your Majesty, this crime should be punished!"
Zhu Houzhao took a closer look at Shi Feng's side face. There was a blood-red crescent-shaped wound there.
"Things can be taken lightly, or you can be given power. I think that when the Tatar soldiers invaded the capital, it was the right time to employ people. General Shi did suffer a defeat, and I will not not punish those who deserve it. But at the beginning of the war, I As I said, this battle is a battle to the death between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars.
Since it is a fight to the death, anyone who is willing to kill the enemy can be our soldier of the Ming Dynasty. General Shi's crime is not light, even if he beheads him, it cannot be said to be too much. But at this time, it would be beneficial to let him kill even one more Tatar. Shi Feng, I ask you, are you willing to use your sword to kill the enemy again? Even if it's just a soldier. "
"I am willing!" Shi Feng felt hope in his heart and shouted louder.
Zhu Houzhao glanced at the faces of the ministers and saw that they were still a little bit reluctant to let go, so he snorted softly, "I am the emperor, and this is how I do it. Shi Feng dared to lead his troops out of the border to engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. Such bravery I haven't seen many generals have such a spirit!
Now the name of the Ming Dynasty is Zhengde, and those who are upright also have this strong martial ethics! I don't care about anything else. If any of my Ming soldiers dare to draw their swords, even if they are defeated, I will not behead them. Why? Because he is fighting for Ming Dynasty and me! It doesn't matter if they don't succeed, I will accompany them to save money, save military supplies, and try again!
At this point, his voice suddenly rose: "Look at General Shi again, who was injured on his body? Whose blood was shed on him?! Could it be that he was stabbed by a Tatar and returned? If you go to the palace and get stabbed by one of your own people again! Absolutely not!
The Emperor is the most powerful person and must bear the responsibilities of the world. Today I will leave this defeated general for the people of the world! As for the merits and demerits of right and wrong, it will be left to future generations to comment after thousands of years! "
Shi Feng was greatly moved after hearing this.
This is the heroic emperor.
"I thank your majesty for not killing me! Shi Feng hereby swears that in this life, he will kill all the northern captives for the sake of the Ming Dynasty!"
After Li Dongyang and Xie Qian left, no one in the court would oppose him at this juncture.
In fact, Wang Hao, Min Gui and others all agreed with the emperor.
There is nothing wrong with the emperor having such responsibility and courage.
To say something treasonous,
Back then, if the orthodox emperor could stay in the palace and arrange the ministers who should be arranged as he does today, why would he have the shame of a civil fortress?
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
In the end, it turned into three cheers for long live the song.
However, the handling of Shi Feng still needs to continue.
His current official position cannot be saved. After all, he lost the battle. If there is no certain reward and punishment mechanism, then losing the battle will become insignificant.
"Shi Feng, there are still about half of the Huben Guards. These people are also your old troops who experienced the tragic defeat at Zijingguan. I still hand them over to you. You will be demoted to the commander, and Zhu Feng will be demoted to the commander. You , are you willing to accept the order?!"
"I am willing to receive the Holy Order!"
"Okay. At this moment, there are large armies stationed in Yizhou and Laishui, and temporary transfers are taboo. So, you go to Liangxiang County. At this time, the people are particularly active in resisting the Tatars. After you arrive in Liangxiang, I allow you Recruit local warriors, connect with the militia, and fight with them. I hope you live up to your reputation as a fierce tiger!"
"Wei Chen, thank you for your kindness!"
…
…
Although Shi Feng was unconscious at the time, he was exhausted and the subordinates around him kept protecting him, so he was only slightly injured.
After coming out of the palace, he took the token of the Huben Guard commander and found Zhu Feng.
Zhu Feng fought hard that day. He was blocked by the Tatar army attacking from the back of Zijin Pass. However, he did not escape. Instead, he gathered all the soldiers of the Huben Guard and attacked several times. In the end, he was really outnumbered, and he himself suffered a little. He was injured and his head was still wrapped in gauze.
Perhaps men are easily infected by the atmosphere of life and death in the military. After Zhu Feng witnessed the death of those around him in battle, his temperament also changed somewhat.
It's not that he suddenly realized something, he just wanted to take revenge and avenge his shame.
Fortunately for Shi Feng, he still has the honor of being the son of Duke Cheng.
The ancestors massacred everyone, and the descendants hurriedly broke out?
It's a joke.
"Commander Shi, when will we set off?"
"The imperial court has given three days to select capable soldiers from the Tiger Guards, and we will set off at noon three days later."
"The end will surely come!"
Logically speaking, Shi Feng should advise him that although the injury was not fatal, he should at least heal the injury first. But as someone who also experienced the Battle of Zijingguan, he understood Zhu Feng's thoughts.
So he didn't say a word of advice.
…
…
At this time, Zijingguan was the Tatar camp.
Dayan Khan allowed his troops the luxury of two days of rest,
It was Ma Yiqian who made this suggestion.
He thought that rushing to the capital non-stop like Ye Xian was not a good choice.
He said to Dayan Khan: "The Great Khan still has 50,000 soldiers and horses, of which there are still more than 30,000 elite cavalry. As long as the army's morale is available and the soldiers are strong enough, they will be generals who dare to fight. The Ming Dynasty is not capable of defeating it." Sweat profusely. Unless, like Grand Master Yexian, he turned an elite army into a tired one. Compared with this, what does it matter if we arrive at the capital two days earlier or two days later?"
Dayan Khan was quite reasonable when he heard it. In addition, the battle at Zijingguan was indeed too difficult and it was impossible for the soldiers to fight continuously.
Now after two days of rest, the situation is much better.
But resting for too long is not possible, not because of fear, but because their food supply can hardly keep up.
In other words, it's time to strike.
In addition, during the past two days, Dayan Khan did not completely let go. He sent out many scouts to explore.
He also understood some situations.
"Defenders have arrived in Yizhou and Laishui. How do you think we should deal with this?"
Ma Yiqian said nonchalantly: "Zijingguan Pass can't stop the sweat, how can two county towns stop it?"
That makes sense.
"But there is a strange phenomenon." Dayan Khan encountered it for the first time. "Some of the people sent out by Ben Khan to inquire about information always fail to come back. What is the explanation for this?"
Ma Yiqian also knew that "the Ming army was so incompetent that they were instigating the common people to fight against the Great Khan."
"People? Hahaha." Dayan Khan and the generals in the tent laughed. "Can the people withstand this Khan's army?"
These people were laughing, but Ma Yiqian didn't laugh.
"It is indeed funny to say this at this time, but the problem is that this is the strategy decided by the Emperor of Heaven."
"So?" Dayan Khan disagreed.
However, Ma Yiqian still had lingering fears, "The emperor always thinks carefully when planning his affairs."
"He is really so powerful, why did he still suffer defeat at Zijingguan?!"
"Hahaha!"
There was laughter again in the tent.
Only Ma Yiqian muttered in his heart, if I hadn't reminded you, you would still be wasting your time in front of Zijin Pass. You don't know what to waste. They are waiting for reinforcements. What are you waiting for?
How is it like now? Although there are some casualties, the situation is open and it is many times better than being blocked in front of Zijin Pass.
In other words, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually did not make any mistakes in his arrangements, but there was just one more variable: himself.
"Send the order! Start marching!"
Woo! Woo!
The sound of bugles resounded throughout the valley, and the rumble of horse hooves could be heard ten miles away.
As soon as there was movement here, Yizhou and Laishui began to receive news. The Tatars marched slowly, so after the loss of Zijingguan, most of the people in the two counties fled. In a few days, 70 to 80% of them were gone. Those who stayed were not because of anything else, but because they listened to the imperial court and chose to kill the Tatars!
So when Dayan Khan led his troops to Yizhou County, they found that it was an empty city.
"Empty City Strategy?" Dayan Khan is also someone who knows some history of the Han people.
Ma Yiqian couldn't figure out what was going on. He was somewhat talented, but he was not an incompetent strategist and could not control everything.
He just had a gut feeling. The Ming army must have prepared means of attack.
"You can't enter this city!"
Bals yelled, "Fart! Even if there are defenders all over the city, they can't stop us! Why can't we enter an empty city?!"
Dayan Khan was more cautious, "Kutai, take a group of people to search for some food in the city, and the rest will be stationed outside the city."
"yes!"
This continued until evening, and there was nothing unusual about it, although Ma Yiqian was very nervous.
But after dark night, things started to change.
Phew! Phew!
A firework shot into the sky, followed by a sudden shout.
"Rush!!"
"Kill the enemy and receive the reward!!"
(End of chapter)
