Liu Jin was clear-headed and relatively capable, and knew how to use methods to cater to the prince. Liu Jin used to be greedy for money, but now he has experienced hardships and has restrained a lot. He helped the prince out of the palace several times and finally gained Zhu Houzhao's trust.

Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin left Dong'anmen, immediately opened the bag he carried with him and changed into casual clothes. But at this time, the capital was under martial law. If there were no cars or government guides, he would not have walked far.

Liu Jin seemed to have prepared everything long ago, presented the Lu Yin official certificate and said respectfully: "Your Highness, you must go and return early!"

Although Zhu Houzhao doesn't like to listen to such words, he really couldn't bear to refuse Liu Jin who was like a "good guy". He immediately said, "Don't worry, I'll go to Zhengyangmen to see it. If I can't catch up with Mr. Chen's team, then I won't leave the city... I won't cause trouble for you. After all, I'm the one who comes out of the palace. If I don't come back, you may have something to do!"

Liu Jin knelt down and respectfully kowtowed to Zhu Houzhao, and the two of them said goodbye.

Zhu Houzhao took the official certificate and ran all the way along the Jiadao, Taijichang Street, and Jiangmi Lane towards Damingmen.

Daming Gate is only one street away from Zhengyang Gate. Before the construction of the outer city of the Jiajing Dynasty, the imperial city in the inner city almost blocked the traffic between the east and west of the Ming capital.

When Zhu Houzhao arrived at Zhengyang Gate, the defending general who was supervising the civilians to restore the city, never expected that the prince of the governor would come in person.

With the end of the Battle of Zhengyang Gate, Zhu Houzhao's prestige in the minds of the soldiers in the capital increased greatly, which was related to his personal visit to the front line in the battle to supervise the battle, and even the close fight of the Tartars.

Today, Zhu Houzhao hit the city. Although the city defense soldiers thought the prince was wearing casual clothes a bit strange, they did not question too much because they were very familiar with each other. They just thought that the prince had a strange temperament and did not want anyone to know his identity.

After a fire at Zhengyang Gate, there were mottled traces everywhere. Thinking that thousands of people had been burned to death here yesterday, Zhu Houzhao couldn't bear to look at it again. He casually called a soldier and called the Zhengyang Gate guard Sui Zhong, preparing to ask Sui Zhong to open the city gate and let him go out of the city. However, Zhu Houzhao was very smart. After seeing Sui Zhong, he did not immediately make a request. He first asked Sui Zhong about his well-being, and then asked about the situation outside the city.

Sui Zhong said: "Your Highness, the Tartars have retreated now, and the King's soldiers and horses outside the city are catching up. As for what the situation is, they can only be reported through the Ministry of War. The last general does not know the details!"

Zhu Houzhao turned his back and asked angrily: "You are at Zhengyang Gate, don't you see clearly?"

Sui Zhong was confused by Zhu Houzhao's sudden anger and thought to himself: "Will the prince hold the fire responsible for the day? Why did he blame me when he came up? I was at the top of the city and I could see less than ten miles away. How could I know the specific movements of the Tartars?"

Sui Zhong had some political awareness and knew that he would not have any good results when he contradicted the prince, and he might be resentful to him. But at this moment, he didn't know how to answer, so he could only speak without saying a word.

Zhu Houzhao asked the question in anger. After that, he felt that he was too harsh on Sui Zhong. He waved his hand and said, "Since you don't know, I won't ask for it for now. Give me a quick horse and allocate 100 cavalry to me and leave the city with me!"

Sui Zhong almost thought he had heard it wrong, and the prince was going to leave the city?

"Haven...Your Highness!"

Sui Zhong's voice trembled due to fear and asked nervously, "You are going to leave the city, but the general has not received the official documents from the Ministry of War. You cannot... the general cannot open the city gate without authorization!"

Zhu Houzhao was furious: "As the prince of the governor, isn't what I say good at?"

Sui Zhong looked ugly and immediately explained the situation in detail, saying: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is the future emperor. Every word and action are all golden rules for the last general. However, although the last general is the garrison of Zhengyang Gate, he is not qualified to open the city gate. Zhengyang Gate has always been under the jurisdiction of the Later Army Governor's Office, and the Ministry of War is responsible for it in wartime. Should Your Highness... ask the Ministry of War?"

Although Zhu Houzhao was always whispering and seemed to know everything, he did not know the situation of the nine gates of the capital. According to the rules, when the emperor held suburban sacrifices and major festivals, the Central Army Governor's Office was specifically responsible for the city gates inside and outside the capital, while the Later Army Governor's Office was responsible for guarding it.

Now it is wartime, if you want to open the city gate, you must have a warrant from the Ministry of War. Xiong Xiu, the Minister of the Ministry of War, has to be present in person, and even the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet has no right to order the city gate to be opened.

According to the rules, this is true, but the actual operation will still be deviated. If a cabinet minister really ordered the opening of the city gate, no one dared to stop it.

Zhu Houzhao was confused and thought Sui Zhong was trying to make things difficult for him. He said angrily: "General Sui, I respect you so much that I asked you to open the city gate and transfer troops to go out of the city with me... If you disobey your orders, do you believe it or not, I will dismiss you and send you to the army?"

Zhu Houzhao's methods of threatening people, including exploring the psychology of being threatened, etc., basically learned from Shen Xi.

When Zhu Houzhao was angry, Sui Zhong was helpless and thought to himself: "I fought desperately at Zhengyang Gate. I finally made a contribution, but I wanted to send me a military force? Where can I go? Is it a bitter and cold place in the northwest border? The prince speaks very insightful on his daily life, so why do he repeatedly put pressure on me today?"

Sui Zhong himself was quite respectful to Zhu Houzhao, but as Zhu Houzhao was perplexed, he couldn't help but feel that the prince was still immature and could even be said to be very childish.

Sui Zhong knelt on one knee and cried bitterly: "Your Highness the Prince's clear view that the defense of the capital is the most important thing at present. I am just a general in Zhengyang Gate and have no right to open the city gate. Please ask the prince to go to the Ministry of War and his party. After receiving the official documents of the Ministry of War, he will go to the governor's office for inquiries... If the prince leaves the city, I am willing to escort him with death!"

In terms of emotion and reason, Sui Zhong did not dare to agree to Zhu Houzhao's request to leave the city, but he said it beautifully, in exchange for Zhu Houzhao's understanding.

Zhu Houzhao was furious at the head of Zhengyang Gate, but unfortunately it was useless. Finally, he said angrily: "Wait, I will go to the Ministry of War now. At that time, not only will I open the city gate, but I will also remove your post and impose you... beat your military sticks and see who dares not listen to my orders in the future!"

Zhu Houzhao went down from Zhengyang Gate, so naturally he did not go to the War Department's Office foolishly, but went to Xizhimen. He didn't know many familiar city gates in the capital, but because of the two battles between Xizhimen and Zhengyang Gate, he became familiar with the defending generals of Xizhimen and Zhengyang Gate. If he couldn't get out of Zhengyang Gate, he was going to Xizhimen to try his luck.

...

...

Outside Zijing Pass, Shenxi's troops have been stationed for more than a day.

Shen Xi was waiting for the report of the battle at Zijing Pass. In theory, the Tatars retreated in a hurry this time and it was unlikely that they would stay in the Ming Dynasty for a long time, so the Tatar soldiers should not be entrenched in Zijing Pass for too long.

As long as the Tatars withdraw from Zijing Pass, the troops led by Lin Heng and Wang Ling can follow in, and naturally take over the defense of Zijing Pass.

Otherwise, Lin Heng and Wang Lingzhi would have no chance at all! Because the biggest problem in Chenxi's army is not the shortage of food, but the lack of siege equipment, and their forces are not equal.

Although Chen Xi had artillery at hand that could be used to attack the city, it would be difficult to capture a key pass like Zijing Pass even if it launched an attack from Neiguan.

The temporary siege equipment was too late to be manufactured, and the court had issued an edict to withdraw troops. If he insisted on attacking Zijing Pass, he might not be able to win. Therefore, Chen Xi was very "aware of the situation" and simply stopped moving and waited for the further situation of Zijing Pass before deciding whether to advance or retreat.

On this issue, Xie Qian stood completely from Shen Xi's position and did not urge him to return to Beijing immediately.

After Xie Qian slept, he enjoyed delicious horse meat soup rice. Then he came to the Central Army tent and had a candle-holding night talk with Chen Xi, and asked Chen Xi about all the details of the start of Chen Xi's troops.

Xie Qian was cautious by nature, fearing that he would not understand the incidents encountered by Chen Xi in his journey, and was questioned when he asked for me.

"...Chen Xi, it is also a good idea to lead troops to defend the king and break the siege of Xizhimen, but the battle of Tumu Fort you mentioned...who would believe it to the people in the court?"

Xie Qian did not question anything else Chen Xi said, but he had doubts about the great results of Chen Xi's series of wars.

Chen Xi thought about Xie Qian's meaning and asked, "The Lord of the Pavilion, I don't want the general to repay all his merits, so why not just report less or not?"

Xie Qian nodded: "That's what I mean!"

Chen Xi did not expect that Xie Qian was so timid in dealing with the final result. He obviously wanted to help him win military merits, but he did not let the whole reward be paid, so that the court could believe that all this was true.

Chen Xidao: "Xie Ge Lao, the results achieved by the students are well documented. Even some prisoners of war among the Tatar generals have been detained in Longqingwei. Why should we report it under or not?"

Xie Qian said: "Chen Xi, do you know how annoying your contribution this time? Liu Shaofu and Grand Secretary Li have more doubts about you. Although I am a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, His Majesty’s trust in me is not as deep as his two people!"

Chen Xi thought to himself: "Xie Laoer clearly wants to balance. He not only asks me for me, but also doesn't want to lose face of Liu Jian and Li Dongyang. If I don't calculate my merits, then I can't rank among all the meritorious officials. In this way, the court may just give me a job that is not painful. Don't transfer me to Nanjing as a six-department minister, right?"

Chen Xi had thought that the court would not do this before, but after hearing Xie Qian's words, he suddenly felt that this possibility was quite good. Chen Xi knew that with his qualifications, even if he went to Nanjing, he could not be the Minister of the Six Ministry, and the Minister of the Six Ministry was the most appropriate. Although the Minister of the Six Ministry of Nanjing was the same in terms of grades and the Minister of the Six Ministry of the Beijing City, there were essential differences in meaning.

Chen Xi argued with reason: "If only part of the credit is reported, the soldiers of the three armies may not be convinced, and it will be of no use to the court!"

Xie Qian said angrily: "No matter whether he is beneficial or not, you are all bad soldiers from the Beijing camp. You have also said that at the beginning, these people were just a group of mobs. It would be great that the court could ask them for rewards for merits. What else do you want to do? You declare this way, and see who dares to commit rashness!"
Chapter completed!