On June 28, the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the sky was clear and the Dushikou Castle on the North Road in Xuanzang Town was visited.
Officers and generals gathered outside Nanguan, and the generals in red official robes were all in the clanking iron armor. They were waiting respectfully in front of the huge monolith inscribed with "Unexpected and Solitary Show".
In the blink of an eye, it was almost noon, and I saw sentry riders running all the way along the north side of the Baihe River Valley. They loudly reported each number. Every time they reported, the guests arriving in the palace were one step closer to the Dushikou.
"General, aren't you just a eunuch? Why do we go out of the city ten miles to greet him like this?" Zhang Guangda also asked with some confusion.
Chen Zheng beside him was also looking at Zhang Cheng. At this moment, two strong horses came running from a distance. As soon as they got close to Zhang Cheng, they shouted: "The carriage is already two miles away."
Zhang Cheng was still lying on a soft tent with a canopy, being carried forward and backward by two strong soldiers. He waved his big hands and said in a deep voice: "Listen to us, the lieutenant from the palace. That means His Majesty the Emperor is here in person.
Later, you must kneel down to welcome the angel in an orderly manner as you did during the rehearsal. You must not mess up the rules and lose the face of my North Road. Generals Jin Xinpeng, Yan Qingrong, Zhang Guangda, and Chen Zheng will follow me. Go forward and welcome the angels to come! "
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The mansion next to the General's Office in Dushikou Castle had been idle before. Zhang Cheng had been using it to hold wine and banquets, but today a distinguished guest was welcomed here.
In the main hall of the mansion, Zhang Cheng and others who had just received the imperial edict were sitting at the bottom, while the newly arrived surveillance eunuch Li Guofu was sitting at the top. He stood up and said in a solemn voice: "The Holy Father has spoken. Zhang Cheng kneels down quickly to pick him up!"
Not to mention everyone else here, even Zhang Cheng was shocked. Why is there such a thing as an oral instruction?
But before they could think about it carefully, everyone hurriedly stood up and knelt behind Zhang Cheng to accompany him to receive the Holy Emperor's instructions.
When Li Guofu saw that Zhang Cheng and everyone else were already kneeling, he raised his head and said loudly: "Li Guofu, go tell Zhang Cheng and ask him to train my new army well, to cause less trouble, and to serve me seriously. That's the right thing to do." way!"
After he stopped, a smile appeared on his face, and he said again in a high-pitched voice: "Admiral Zhang, we have finished passing on the Holy Spirit's oral instructions. Get up quickly."
This Li Guofu, named Tengyu, was born in Daxing. He was the adopted son of Emperor Chongzhen's former official and eunuch Han Zanzhou. He was a decent man and had no obvious bad deeds.
In the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, he was awarded the title of Royal Horse Eunuch and was ordered to supervise the army at Zijingguan. After returning to the palace to resume his duties, he was sent to the North Road of Xuanzhen to monitor Zhang Cheng's training of the new army.
Of course, the above information was reported by Niu Sheng in the second secret letter sent from the capital, and it was also information that Niu Sheng obtained through various means and channels.
In fact, what Zhang Cheng didn't know was that the new surveillance eunuch Li Guofu was just like his adoptive father Han Zanzhou. Both of them were extremely loyal to Emperor Chongzhen and the Ming Dynasty.
According to historical records, both of them were later sent to Nanjing. After the death of Emperor Chongzhen, they still served the Nanming until their death. They did not commit themselves as thieves. Compared with Gao Qiqian, Du Xun, Yan Siyin, and Du Zhiyi I don’t know how much better it would be to wait for the eunuch.
However, Zhang Cheng did not know about these historical records. Although he liked the Ming Dynasty and paid close attention to it in later generations, he could only have some impressions of those major events and relatively famous historical figures. But for people like Li Guofu, Zhang Cheng really knew nothing about him.
At this time, I heard Li Guofu saying that he had finished pronouncing Emperor Chongzhen's oral edict, and was calling him to get up and take a seat, but he was still kneeling on the ground. It was not until Zhang Guangda and Chen Zheng got up and came to help him that he reluctantly got up. He helped him back to the chair and sat down.
Until then, Zhang Cheng said tremblingly: "Eunuch Li, you must have been working hard all the way. Please rest for a while and prepare some water and wine here. Later, I will invite your father-in-law to come over and have a banquet for Eunuch Li." Take the wind and wash away the dust. I don’t know, how are you?”
Li Guofu coughed twice before saying, "We are also a little tired, so we should rest for a while.
However, I still have to ask Admiral Zhang. Your Majesty is also very concerned about Admiral Zhang's injury in the palace. He still needs help from others. I don't know how he is doing now and when will he recover? "
"Ah, back to Eunuch Li, Zhang Cheng's arrow wound should have been cured long ago, but the traitor Xue Wu poisoned the arrow, and now the wound always recurs. There is a doctor who can heal the arrow wound next to me. According to reports, He said that if you repeat it once or twice, you will be cured.
It's really hard for my father-in-law to worry about me. Zhang Cheng felt deeply uneasy and was afraid that he would miss the opportunity to train for your majesty! "
Zhang Cheng's sincere words made Li Guofu nod his head repeatedly. It seemed that he was also very concerned about Zhang Cheng. He continued: "Xue Wu deserves to die for rebelling against the party. Our family also thinks that these thieves are very abominable." ,
Now that the bandits have risen again, the emperor is working hard day and night in the palace. Our family feels sad when they see it. We can only devote ourselves to the king's affairs and share the worries of the emperor. Please take good care of your health as soon as possible, Admiral Zhang, and become a strong force as soon as possible to serve the emperor. ! "
"This is natural. My father-in-law will take a short rest first. Zhang Cheng will leave. I will invite my father-in-law later."
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That night, in the flower hall of the back house of the General's Office, Zhang Cheng held a family banquet to greet the supervisor and eunuch Li Guofu. After some refusals, the two old ladies finally sat at the head of the table.
Eunuch Li Guofu sat next to Zhang Cheng's aunt Zhang Han, the second-grade imperial concubine. Zhang Cheng, no less, let his direct orders support him and sat next to Li Guofu. Opposite them were Jin Xinpeng and Yan Qingrong, two elderly people from the North Road. Invited to accompany.
Eight side dishes, four cold and four hot, were simply placed on the Eight Immortals table, plus a bowl of chicken hyacinth mushroom soup. In front of each person was a small pot of freshly warmed Huadiao.
Because the room opposite the two old ladies was empty, Zhang Cheng ordered someone to pull up a gauze curtain in front of them. Liu Ying and Liu Yan opened their red lips behind the gauze curtain, whispered softly, and sang softly. To add to the fun of this reception feast.
Li Guofu seemed to like this kind of warm and emotional family banquet very much. He took the lead in raising a wine cup and toasting to the two old ladies. Li Guofu was only in his recent thirties and was only a few years older than Zhang Cheng.
However, Li Guofu grew up in the palace since he was a child. He was able to climb from an unknown eunuch to his current position not only because of the care of his adoptive father Han Zanzhou, but also because of his own intelligence and alertness.
During the banquet, apart from occasionally listening to Yingying Yanyan's ditty and tapping on the table, I chatted with Aunt Zhang Cheng, for no other reason than because Aunt Zhang Cheng's maiden name was Han, which was the same as his adoptive father's. He just has a natural sense of intimacy.
Everyone was chatting and drinking elegantly, and time gradually passed. Li Guofu suddenly asked Zhang Cheng: "Admiral Zhang, can you take our family to the camp tomorrow to see how the newly recruited soldiers are doing bravery drills?"
