In December of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the weather in Hebei was extremely cold. There was no snow. There seemed to be only the whistling sound of the cold wind between heaven and earth.
However, in such weather, a rapid "thump, thump, thump" sound suddenly sounded, and in the distance of the official road, three fast horses were galloping in the cold wind.
"Hey, who has such courage? Aren't you afraid of being hit by Manchu horses?" Someone in the leeward area said unexpectedly, "Let's go and have a look. Maybe there's something urgent!"
As soon as the words fell, the Ming army drove their horses to meet him without stopping at night, shouting loudly: "Who is it?"
The cold wind blew against my face, which made the leader speak concisely and to the point, wishing he could just say the least words.
When the three knights saw the Ming army approaching at night, they did not slow down at all. They did not slow down at all until they were approaching, and then they hurriedly reined in their horses and stopped. The leader raised his chest and raised his head, and shouted loudly and urgently: "I am the head of the Ministry of War under Shilang Lu. Where is the senior director?"
This man was Yang Tinglin who came out under the orders of Lu Xiangsheng. As he spoke, white air spurted out, and even his long beard was coated with a layer of white. This was obviously caused by the rapid freezing of the exhaled air.
Looking at their clothes and listening to the introduction, they knew that they were in front of a sixth-grade civil servant. The people who came to greet him immediately looked at each other. No matter what, these warriors admired from the bottom of their hearts the civil servants who were ordered to go on official business in such horrible weather at the risk of running into the Manchus.
The leader, Ye Bushou, immediately clasped his fists and saluted respectfully: "My lord, Director Gao is now leading the troops to be stationed in Jize, ten miles away from here!"
Without any nonsense or any hesitation, when Yang Tinglin heard this, he suddenly clamped the horse's belly, lowered his upper body again, and urged the horse to move quickly. His two servants immediately followed and escorted the master away.
Ye Bu took them and watched them go away until they were out of sight. One of them sighed: "It's really rare to see civil servants like this who don't talk empty talk and are willing to endure hardships and take risks!"
"Yes, there are very few civil servants like this in the imperial court. Otherwise our Ming Dynasty wouldn't be like this, allowing the Manchu and Qing armies to come and leave whenever they want. It's really cowardly!"
"..."
Yang Tinglin couldn't hear these compliments. He was only thinking about the military orders. He only knew that Minister Lu urgently needed him to bring food, grass, soldiers and horses. After galloping, we soon arrived at Jize.
Looking up, with Jize City as the center, densely packed military camps came into view. From time to time, I heard the neighing of war horses. Apparently there were a lot of cavalry here.
Yang Tinglin was anxious and had no intention of watching, so he hurried into the city and headed to the county government office. He turned over and dismounted, not caring about the horse at all. Before he could stand still, he had already taken out the seal, raised his hand to the guard at the door and said: "Under the command of Minister Lu, Yang Tinglin, the staff director of the Ministry of War, has been ordered to see Director Gao if there is an urgent military situation."
When the captain at the gate heard this, he didn't dare to be negligent. He immediately stepped forward to check the seal and hurried in.
At this time, Yang Tinglin breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that he had not delayed anything on the way here. Minister Lu could still afford to wait. It was only at this time that he felt so cold. He couldn't help but rub his hands quickly, and then rubbed his face vigorously to wipe away the frost hanging on his beard.
But after waiting for a while, I felt that the time was almost up, and I didn't see the captain returning yet, so I felt a little anxious. But he is only a sixth-grade civil servant, and this is the governor's residence. He is not qualified to go in, so he can only crane his neck to take a look from time to time. After a while, I started walking back and forth impatiently, trying to calm down the anxiety in my heart.
Although Lu Xiangsheng didn't say it explicitly, Yang Tinglin had already sensed that there would soon be a war on Lu Xiangsheng's side. What's more, the Manchu and Qing armies are watching with eager eyes and may take the initiative to start a war with Lu Xiangsheng's army at any time. In this way, the army's food and grass must be in place as soon as possible, and reinforcements should also arrive as soon as possible, so that they can be considered to have the strength to confront the Manchu army.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but touch Lu Xiangsheng's letter again, thinking to himself, he wonders what clever plan Lu Shilang has to fight with the Manchu army?
Just as he was thinking about it, Yang Tinglin heard footsteps coming from the Yamen. He quickly stood up and looked up, only to see that the captain who had communicated had returned. Suddenly, he was anxious and walked inside.
Unexpectedly, the captain stopped him and said coldly: "The director is not free. If you have anything, the general will convey it to you on your behalf."
When Yang Tinglin heard this, he was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had already said that he had an urgent military situation and asked to see him, but he was still not available. What on earth was the director doing, that he didn't have time to take care of the urgent military situation?
In his mind, a look of a tall, beardless face with a sinister expression immediately flashed across his mind, and he knew that he was afraid that he still didn't want to see Mr. Lu.
As soon as he thought of this, Yang Tinglin suddenly became furious. At this time, it was a major military and national matter. Could it be that Gao Qiqian still wanted to take advantage of Minister Lu? If this continues, not only delaying the military plane, but also Minister Lu will most likely be in danger!
Staring at the captain's face and seeing his cold expression, Yang Tinglin suddenly came to his senses again. I came here to beg others, not to impeach Gao Qiqian, a dead eunuch.
With this in mind, Yang Tinglin immediately took out Lu Xiangsheng's letter and handed it over with both hands. At the same time, he forced a smile and said in a slightly condescending voice: "General, please pass the trouble to the director. Just say that Lu Shilang's army has been supplied with food and grass." We need to make up our minds urgently. Moreover, Shilang Lu has a plan to defeat the Manchu and Qing troops. Please read the letter and make a quick decision. I will wait for your response at the door."
It was quite rare for a civil servant, a dignified scholar, to be humble to the gatekeepers in this era. When the captain heard this, his face suddenly looked much better, and he immediately ordered the people at the door: "Please go to the concierge to get out of the cold!"
After he finished speaking, his face improved, and he said to Yang Tinglin with a little respect: "Sir, please wait a moment, General Rong Mo will pass on the message again."
Then, the captain quickly walked in and went straight to the back courtyard. Hearing the sound of silk and bamboo coming from the room, he remembered the anxiety of the civil servant at the door. He suddenly sighed in his heart. After standing still, he immediately loudly reported: "Report, I have an urgent letter from Mr. Lu and submit it to the Director-General!"
After the words fell, the sound of silk and bamboo in the room was still there, and faintly, there was also the sound of a woman's charming laughter, a rough voice, and the sound of pushing cups and changing cups.
The captain looked at the two soldiers guarding the gate, gritted his teeth, raised his voice, and repeated it again, and even added, "The army is out of food, and Minister Lu has a plan to defeat the Manchu army."
In the lobby, an official with a white face and a scarlet robe sat in the main seat. On both sides sat a large man dressed as a military commander. There were maids accompanying him. There were several women dancing in the middle of the lobby. Near the door are several musicians, playing and singing.
After the warning sound outside the door was repeated several times and became louder each time, it was finally heard in the house. The musicians at the door stopped first, the dancers also stopped, and the generals who were drinking also stopped and looked at the person in charge.
This person was naturally Gao Qiqian, the director who commanded the main force of the Ming army. In fact, he had heard it a long time ago. At this time, when he saw everyone in the lobby stopped and the sound of reporting sounded outside, he frowned and seemed very annoyed.
From the look on his face, it seemed like the sky was falling outside and he didn't want to care. But at this time, everyone in the hall was looking at him, and it seemed that it was not good to go too far, so he had to ask someone to get the letter with a gloomy face.
After a while, Gao Qiqian took Lu Xiangsheng's letter in his hand, and without any scruples, he watched the military event in this drinking place. The generals in the lobby were all silent, waiting for the director's words.
They all heard just now that Lu Xiangsheng had a plan to defeat the Manchu army. If this was really the case, they all had a doubt in their hearts. I wonder if Director Gao would still stand still?
