As the saying goes, every gain must have a loss, and every loss must have a gain.
On the battlefield, the general gave the order and the soldiers fought tooth and nail. The credit for winning the battle belonged to the general, and the soldiers were just rewarded.
Similarly, if a battle is lost, it is the commander-in-chief who bears the responsibility.
There has never been a precedent for holding ordinary soldiers accountable for losing a battle, not to mention that they served their lives sincerely and had no disobedience.
Of course, the emperor's whereabouts were unknown, he was likely to die for his country, and the battle was lost. They felt uncomfortable, but compared to being able to survive, these were nothing.
The big-headed soldiers join the army more for their livelihood. They also have the mentality of being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, but... not much.
There are people with noble character, but most people are more pragmatic.
The military camp was filled with joy, but it was quickly stopped by the generals. The soldiers were fine, they were fine!
Zhang Fu was a little dreamy, and Tatar's move was so unreasonable.
Shi Heng was also puzzled, pulling his hair and unable to figure it out.
Suddenly, the two men looked up at each other at the same time: "The Tatars have robbed the emperor!"
The two of them said in unison, and then a flash of joy flashed across their faces, but it quickly disappeared.
It would be good if the emperor was not dead, but it would not be much better if he was taken captive. The lessons learned from the Song Dynasty were only a few hundred years old.
Shame on Jingkang, how shameful...
Is it going to happen again?
The two of them looked more solemn, especially Zhang Fu.
At this moment, he even hoped that the emperor would die for the country, so that both the emperor and the Ming court would be honorable.
And now...
Shi Heng also knew the seriousness of the problem and immediately shouted: "All soldiers, search for the whereabouts of the emperor with all their strength. If the emperor cannot be found, no one can eat."
"No," Zhang Fu stopped him quickly, "Let the soldiers eat something. They tried their best, but it was our dereliction of duty."
"Can……"
"The matter is already clear, don't bother with that anymore." Zhang Fu waved his hands in pain, "Let them rest, and use strong methods again. If there is a riot in Yingxiao, you and I will be recorded as guilty. I’m going to add another one.”
Shi Heng's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said: "My lord, the general has also tried his best!"
"...My lord understands." Zhang Fu was disheartened and no longer bothered to think about it. "Go and give the order. Leave some people to stand guard around and let the soldiers rest."
"Hey." Shi Heng felt a little relieved and cupped his hands: "I will go right now."
After taking two steps, he turned back to comfort him: "The emperor's matter has not been finalized yet. Don't be too pessimistic, Duke. There may be a miracle. After dinner, I will lead someone to look for him."
Zhang Fu was speechless.
Shi Heng sighed, turned and left.
…
The next day, the battlefield was cleaned.
The miracle Shi Heng said did not appear. The Chinese Army Commander's Camp and even the surrounding area were searched for several miles, but there was no whereabouts of Zhu Qizhen.
However, there was an unexpected gain.
Wang Zhen was kicked unconscious by Li Qing, but his life was not injured. Fortunately, he was not hit by Tatar.
When the soldiers were collecting the official's body, they woke him up.
"Don't, don't, don't... don't kill our family!" The first thing Wang Zhen did when he opened his eyes was to beg for mercy.
Immediately, he found that all he saw were Ming troops, and the war was over. His face that was greedy for life and fear of death suddenly stopped, and his waist straightened:
"Where are the Tartars? Where are the Tartar children?"
Several soldiers didn't know Wang Zhen, but they didn't dare to offend him when they saw that he was very impressive.
He replied: "The Tatars have withdrawn."
"Withdrawal?" Wang Zhen was stunned, then he laughed, put his hands on his hips and said: "Why can't the reinforcements save us? We..."
Turning to look at the ministers who died tragically, Wang Zhen hummed: "Our family has great fortune, wealth and longevity, how can it be compared to these short-lived ghosts?" ωＷω.ＧoＮЬ.οrＧ
However, Wang Zhen knew exactly what was going on, so he felt strong gratitude to Li Qing for kicking him unconscious.
If it weren't for Li Qing, he would probably be like these people.
For the sake of you indirectly saving our family, as long as the emperor doesn't hold anyone accountable, our family won't talk nonsense after returning... Wang Zhen thought to himself and asked happily:
"Where is the Emperor?"
Several soldiers looked at each other and one of them replied: "The Emperor has not been found yet."
"Then look hard, but you can't find it...ah!" Wang Zhen suddenly woke up and jumped three feet high.
The scream was so sudden and sharp that several soldiers were so frightened that they staggered and got goosebumps all over their bodies.
They had never heard such a loud scream before.
"Have you found it? Have you found it?" Wang Zhen's face turned green. He grabbed the collar of the soldier who was replying, his face was fierce, his eyes almost popped out, and he yelled urgently: "Have you found it?"
"Looking, looking, and looking again."
"Trash, a bunch of trash." Wang Zhen gritted his teeth anxiously, "Where's Li Qing? Where did Li Qing go?"
Seeing the soldiers' confused faces, Wang Zhen asked again: "Who is the highest general in the army now?"
"General Soldier Shi, oh no, Mr. British." The soldiers replied one after another.
They dare not forget Mr. Shi's instructions. They will obey the British male in everything, but the British male will follow his lead.
"Take our family to see him quickly." Wang Zhen said anxiously.
~
"Wang Zhen, you're not dead?" Zhang Fu was shocked.
Shi Heng was also quite surprised: This old eunuch is really lucky!
Immediately, he suddenly woke up. Isn't this the one who took the blame?
"Wang Zhen!!" Shi Heng yelled, "You gelding, how dare you trick the emperor into leaving the camp privately, which led to... You will never be able to atone for your sins even if you die!"
Wang Zhen was startled, and immediately became furious: "Bastard, who do you think you are? How dare you talk to our family like that? You are looking for death, right?"
Shi Heng is the chief military officer and holds real power to guard one side, but Wang Zhen is not afraid of him.
Since the last time he got angry, in the capital, who among the ministers, ministers, and bachelors would not respect him?
"You are the one seeking death!" Shi Heng took action directly and beat Wang Zhen with one punch until his nose started to bleed.
Shi Heng didn't dare to let go before, even though he was the chief military officer.
But it is different now. When the emperor is captured, someone must take the blame, and it must be someone in a high position.
The more such people there are, the better it is for him.
Obviously, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony was qualified to take the blame, and Wang Zhen's only backer had been taken away, and there was no one to protect him anymore.
Now that the owners are gone, the dogs can naturally be beaten as they please.
Although Shi Heng was in Datong, he knew something about the affairs in the capital, and he knew that almost all officials disliked Wang Zhen.
Putting the shit basin on Wang Zhen is absolutely politically correct.
Shi Heng was beating and blaming Wang Zhen for all the blame.
Wang Zhen was furious at first. He was not Shi Heng's stature at all, so he could only say vicious words while being beaten. But as he listened, he became frightened.
It's not that I was defeated, but that I realized the pros and cons.
"It's not our family, it's not our family, our family didn't trick the emperor, it didn't... ah, it's not our family..." Wang Zhen was completely panicked, and he didn't even care about the fists and kicks that fell on him, and kept explaining.
Shi Heng smiled ferociously and said nothing.
There is a saying: Those who have wronged you know better than you that you have been wronged.
Of course Shi Heng knew that Wang Zhen was unjustly accused, but what did it matter? After all, it was just an eunuch who had lost power and everyone shouted that he would be beaten to death.
It can also help attract firepower and let the court vent its anger. It is simply a scapegoat sent to the door.
"Okay Shi Heng." Zhang Fu raised his hand to stop him.
Shi Heng stopped immediately because he didn't want to beat Wang Zhen to death.
"My lord, Wang Zhen has committed such a heinous crime. He needs to be sent to the capital to wait for the imperial court to deal with him!" Shi Heng said with cupped hands.
Seeing Zhang Fu nod, Shi Heng immediately raised his hand and said, "Someone, tie him up."
"yes."
The soldiers didn't care who was who, they took off their belts and put them around Wang Zhen's neck.
"Let go of our family. We are wronged. We want to see the emperor. Please help us..." Wang Zhen's screams gradually faded away.
Shi Heng's face turned away from the fierce look and looked at Zhang Fu in a flattering manner, "My lord, what should we do now?"
Zhang Fu frowned and said: "It stands to reason that the Tatars captured the emperor and tried to force the emperor to enter the country. How could they immediately return to the grassland?"
Shi Heng thought for a while and said: "The general thought that they also suffered serious losses this time, and they might want to regain their strength first. After all, the emperor...the initiative is in their hands."
"Hmm... maybe." Zhang Fu said in a deep voice: "Shi Heng!"
"The end will be here."
"Clean the battlefield as soon as possible. As soon as the reinforcements from the Xuanfu arrive, send them back immediately, and then you lead the army back to Datong to garrison." Zhang Fu said, "The Tatars will come at any time, and you have to make up for it."
The situation is such that it is not appropriate to involve too much. Zhang Fu patted Shi Heng on the shoulder and said, "When I return to the capital, I will take the blame on myself. I hope you will not let it down."
Shi Heng burst into tears of gratitude and knelt down on his knees: "In the end, I will definitely live up to my duke!"
Zhang Fuqiang smiled and said loudly: "Prepare your horse!"
…
Half an hour later, Zhang Fu escorted Wang Zhen and embarked on the road back to Beijing.
He looked up at the sky, filled with loneliness and sadness, which was more uncomfortable than death.
After returning to Beijing...what did he say?
